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- <HTML>
- <DIV align="center"><h1>
- <img src="images/4D.gif" alt="4D logo" align="left"><img src="images/4D.gif" alt="4D logo" align="right"><img src="images/Title.gif" alt="Title screen" width="640" height="512"></h1>
- </DIV>
- <br> <br>
- <h1>Copyright</h1>
- <p><b><i>
- This program is Copyright © Fourth Dimension</i></b><br>
- Fourth Dimension is a Trade Mark of APDL.</p>
- <p><font size="+1"><b>
- A.P.D.L.<br>
- 39 Knighton Park Road<br>
- Sydenham<br>
- London<br>
- SE26 5RN<br>
- </b></font>
- <a href="http://www.apdl.co.uk">www.apdl.co.uk</a>
-
- <br> <br>
-
- <H1>Background</H1>
-
- The place is Earth, the year 643 A.U. (After Unification). The
- United Planets Organisation has existed peacefully for many
- centuries since the exile of the war-like Vorian race that once
- dominated galactic politics. However, the Vorians have risen
- once more and have attacked several small planetary systems on
- the fringe of the galaxy, holding the native inhabitants as
- hostages. The United Planets must retaliate, but first the
- hostages must be rescued. (No, we CAN'T just nuke them.)
- <p>
- As Special Agent "Galactic" Dan Quicksmart, a promising
- graduate of the United Planets Bureau of Investigation (UPBI)
- training academy, you have been assigned the difficult task of
- rescuing the hostages on Lygon, the only moon of the Toorak
- system, which is one of the occupied star systems. You will be
- taken to Lygon by orbital shuttle and beamed down into the
- sectors where hostages are detected. Once there you will have to
- fend for yourself, with only a plasma rifle, protection suit, and
- weapon's computer to aid you. This could be your chance for
- glory or death - or at least some interesting stories to tell at dinner
- parties. Good luck!
-
- <H1>Controls</H1>
-
- Control is via the mouse and keyboard. The mouse controls the
- way you move and fire:<p>
- <img src="images/mouse.gif" alt="diagram of mouse">
- <p>
- To turn left and right, move the mouse horizontally left and right.
- <p>
- To start walking forward, press and hold down the right-hand
- button; release it if you want to stop. Practise walking around a bit
- until you get the feel of it. In general, the place your sights are
- pointed at is where you will go; this may help you get round
- difficult corners and tight spots.
- <p>
- You can move faster by pushing the mouse forward while holding
- down the right-hand "walk" button, and you can slow down or
- move backwards by pulling the mouse back towards you. You
- can also jump by pressing the middle button; try doing a running
- jump.
- <p>
- To fire, press the left-hand button. The plasma bullets go where
- your sights are pointing. You can aim them up or down by holding
- down the Shift key and moving the mouse. You can turn your
- sights (and head-up display) on and off with the Alt key.
- <p>
- You can get finer control over your movement by holding down
- the Ctrl key before you start to move. This makes you move very
- slowly, and is good if you're in a tight spot. You can run and jump
- in any direction, climb stairs, and jump onto lifts and platforms;
- but if you fall too far, or run full-tilt into a wall, it will hurt.
- Surprisingly.
-
- <H1>Keyboard Controls</H1>
-
- Shift - Aim sights up/down<br>
- Caps Lock - Lock sights in position<br>
- Alt - Turn sights on/off<br>
- Ctrl- Move slowly<br>
- Tab - Aim sideways (see below)<br>
- <p>
- f1 - Select normal bullets<br>
- f2 - Select plasma disrupters<br>
- f3 - Select neutron shells<br>
- <p>
- P - Pause game<br>
- Esc - Commit honourable suicide<br>
- <p>
- Aiming sideways: if you hold the Tab key down while running
- along, you can aim and fire to the left or right without changing
- direction. This is useful, for example, to fire through doorways as
- you run along a corridor.
-
- <H1>The Screen Display</H1>
- <img src="images/Main.gif" alt="Screenshot">
-
- At the bottom of your screen is the status bar. This displays
- information such as your speed (left, above), energy (bottom left),
- the number of hostages still left to rescue (middle), and any
- weapons you have available (the three boxes on the right).
- Immediately above the status bar, your head-up display includes
- compass (left), height indicator (right) and sights (centre). At the
- top of the screen is your remaining time allowance (top left) and
- your score (top right).
-
- <H1>Gameplay</H1>
-
- The natives of Lygon are Poloids, intelligent creatures which have
- out-evolved the need for war, violence, taxes, cars, clothes and
- even arms and legs. They spend most days bouncing around
- discussing poetry. Boring as they may seem, they are card-
- carrying United Planets members and must be protected; so
- please note that a stray plasma bullet will kill them, it will not
- "teach these pretentious layabouts a lesson" as one member of
- the Toorak exploratory team put it at his court-martial.
- <p>
- At the start of each sector you will be briefed by your
- commanding officer, and also given a password for that sector;
- note this, because you can skip straight to that sector by clicking
- on "Passwords" at the start of the game and typing the password
- <p>
- To complete a sector, you must rescue at least the required
- number of Poloid hostages and find your way to the multicoloured
- flashing sector exit. To rescue a hostage, just walk up to it and it
- will express its gratitude. Some Poloids are more co-operative
- than others when it comes to being rescued. You must do all this
- within the time limit, and you will also have to contend with the
- vast array of Vorian attack robots that will be guarding the
- hostages. When you finish a sector, you are awarded a time
- bonus equal to ten points for each full ten seconds you had
- spare, multiplied by the number of hostages you rescued.
- <p>
- You are provided with a T2 plasma rifle, a weapon's computer
- and a Reebs-Mortimer protection suit as standard. The plasma
- rifle is capable of destroying most unshielded enemies with a
- single shot; shielded ones may require more hits or may be totally
- resistant to plasma bullets. You have an unlimited supply of these
- bullets. Your protection suit will absorb direct hits and impacts,
- but only has a limited energy supply; this can be replenished with
- energy packs.
- <p>
- Your weapon's computer is vital. In addition to keeping you
- informed about the number of hostages left to rescue, the state of
- your energy supply and important events in your proximity, it will
- even order you a pizza (only joking). (Or am I?). Messages from
- your weapon's computer appear on your head-up display. The
- computer is particularly vulnerable to radiation from plasma
- bullets, and if you take enough hits it may go down on you. The
- Vorians have developed a special form of computer shielding to
- tackle this problem; if you find some of this shielding it could save
- your life.
- <p>
- Vorian weapon's technology is far more advanced than ours, and
- your computer has been designed to take advantage of any
- Vorian weapons you may pick up. The two main types are
- plasma disrupters and neutron shells. Plasma disrupters can
- destroy certain types of pulsing energy barriers, and neutron
- shells are approximately fifteen times as powerful as normal
- plasma bullets. Your weapon's computer will also handle any
- other pieces of military equipment you may find.
- <p>
- Note that for your own safety, you can't fire your plasma rifle too
- close to a wall; the backwash would be fatal.
- <p>
-
- <H1>Hints & Tips</H1>
- <ul>
- <li>Use the Ctrl key in tight corners and inside buildings. It will stop
- you bumping into walls so much and save on frustration.
- <li>The Tab key stops you from changing direction even if you jog
- the mouse. So if you're lining up for a tricky jump, hold down Tab
- and you won't veer off course.
-
- <li>When landing after a jump, you can stop yourself stumbling by
- giving a little half-twist in the air.
-
- <li>Robot guards sometimes drop things when they die. Aim high
- when shooting them and you'll be less likely to hit the thing they
- drop.
-
- <li>You can fast-wind through the rolling credits displayed at the
- start of the game to the high-score table by pressing F.
- <li>Click on "Options" at the start to change things like mouse
- speed, sound volume, etc.. The "Louder Sound / Better Stereo"
- options allow you to have louder sound at the cost of better
- stereo positioning. If you have headphones or speakers, the
- "Better Stereo" option is recommended for full realism; if you
- have only the internal speaker, select "Louder Sound".
- </ul>
- <p>
- <hr width="85%">
- GALACTIC DAN was written by and is copyright of Ian Holmes,
- with graphics by James Davidson ray-traced using Clares'
- Render Bender II. Sectors were designed by Ian Holmes, James
- Davidson & Tim Holmes. Please note that Dan does not have an
- American accent.
- <p>
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