The Hacker's Encyclopedia 1998/hackers_encyclopedia.iso/pc/softdox/bloodnet.doc

Text File | 2003-06-11 | 11.6 KB | 239 lines

Bloodnet from Microprose                                           11/06/93

                              -─═[ INTRO ]═─-
        You're Ransom Stark... a brilliant hacker with an attitude. You have
been tricked into becoming dinner for a vampire named Abraham Van Helsing.
Now, the only thing coming between becoming a vampire and you is your neural
link. Too bad the link will last for only a few days. The link gives you two
suggestions. Find Deirdre Tackett's WELL with the address "hope" to see if any
of her text files can cure you and look through the notes on your hand-held
computer. You don't have much time... can your skills in cyberspace save you?


                     -─═[ KEYBOARD COMMAND SUMMARY ]═─-

        1 - Calls up a menu comatining your character's stats. Also gives you
            access to the inventory menu.
        F1 - Combat menu
        F2 - View menu: Look, examine, and use items. Also lets you search
             the area and access your map.
        F3 - Party menu: Dismiss or rest members of your group.
        F4 - Deck menu: For connecting to cyberspace and examining your
             Deck Unit.
        F5 - Computer menu: Gives you commands for your hand-held computer.
        F6 - Game menu: Lets you turn sound off/on, save/load games, restart
             game, quit, and view the credits.
        ESC - Aborts menus and brings up a menu in cyberspace.

                      -─═[ MOUSE COMMAND SUMMARY ]═─-
        Left Button - Go in the direction you are clicking in. Also puts stuff
                      you have picked up into your inventory.
        Right Button - Click once to pick up stuff. A double-click will give
                       you a description of your location or item depending
                       on where you're mouse icon is.

        You can also bring up the F1-F6 menus by moving your mouse icon to the
        top of the screen.


Bloodlust Indicator

The vertical bar to the right of the interface icons at the top of the
screen is your bloodlust indicator.  Though only half a vampire, you
must still drink the blood of humans to survive.    If your bloodlust
reaches the top of the scale Ransom Stark will die.  To feed, select
Bite form the combat menu, then select a victim.  Rmeember, choose your
victims wisely. The more innocents you take, teh faster your humanity
indicator, below, moves to the vampire sitde.

Humanity Indicator

Teh horizontal bar under teh game icons indiates your status as a
half-man/half-vampire.  It is only a matter of time before your neural
implant loses power and yoru vampire nature consuems your human aspects.
Choices you make - committing unneesasry voiok,l.ence or kiling
characters with a high innocnce factor- can accelerate the process,
moving you closer to the vampire side.


Comba tmode is initiated hwenever palyer selects the descriptinve or
quick combat options frmo the game menuk ro whenever an NPC attacks the
player.  When descriptive combat egings, the user will palc eparty
members ont eh amp before or after his popponent does so, depending upon
whether he has the character with the highset leadership skills.  A
messag across the bottom fothe screen will prompt you to place the
characters in your party one at a time.

Ransom Star kmust be palced on the screen for all combat, but you ahv
ethe option of witholding other members of your party.  Striking the
space bar will cause the character to dissappear from the mouse cursor.
Left click to obtain the next character tfor placing. When you have
placed all charactetrs the combat menu will appear.

Quick Combat - in quick combat hte computer makes all of the ocmbat
decisions,. You can halt the action at any timeby hitting escape, to
view the status of your charactres, resuem combat, 3enter descriptive
combvat, or retreat.

Descriptive Combat - DEscriptive combat affords you greater contorl ove
ryour paty during cobmat.  YOu can position your troops before combat,
issue battle orders, reposition and target your characters between every
round if you wish.

DEscriptive combat also offers a blow-by-blow accoutn of the battle.  AT
teh end of each round, the comptuer will update you on the action that
just occurred.  This report includes success of each attack, weapons
used, and hit point damage incurred by each charactger. For exmpae, a
reprot might red, "Jaz Bob (67/80) is struck by  laer blast inthe torso
(4/5) for 2 poitns of damage."

Once yo have placed your characters in descpriptive combat you will be
asked to issue orders to your forces a.  At this point you could select
quick combat from the combat menu if you do not wish to issue orders.
If you remain in descriptive combat, you will chave the opportunity to
issue new orders between every round of combat.  A character will
cotninue to carry out its latest orders until they are superseded by
anothe rorder.  When yo uwish to issue new orders, press the ESC hkey.
The issue orders menu will appear iwhen the furrent round ends.

During combat, ou can obtain brief status reports on characters by
resting the mouse cursor over them.  The status report will appear at
the top of the screen and includedes;  name, hit point, weapon in use,
reaminign weapon scharges (if appropriate), current ordres, and current
target.

Vampires in combat:  VAmpires enjoy enhnaced strenght and resiliency and
are thus quite difficualt to defaeat in combat. Vampites can onl ybe
kileld by having a stake or stake equivalent driven tino their heart
during comabt.  The player must target a party memeber's attack on a
vampire's torso.  If the character attacks with a stake or equivalent,
it will have a chance to kill its vampire target.

If a chracter enters combat carrying a cross, teh charactger can employ
the cross to ward attacking vampires.  The effectiveness of the cross is
linked to a charctaer's faith skikl.  The greater the player's belief,
the greater teh chance it will siccessfully ward a vampire.

Because stark is not whooly a vampire, he is not as pwoerfulas other
vammpires in BloodNet.  Stark enjoys enhanced physical abilities, and
sufers fromthe vampire's blodo curse, but does not yet have a vampire's
immortality.  Thus Stark can be kille dlike any other character.

Stark will not require rest except to restore his hit points.  When he
does require rest, he must do so in a coffin lined with soil from his
native land.

Cybersapce:  A user's guide

Hardware:
Decks - TransTechnicals has produced three generations of decking
technology.  The praxis 2300XC, the Praxis 2300 Elite, and compatibles,
and the Praxis 3000. See the glossary for more information. For a deck
to function it must have some version of the components listed below.

Cloaks - Security in cyperspace is extremely tight ad deadly. Each time
you enter cyberspace you have a chance of being apprehended by security,
with teh penalty growing more severe with repeast offenses. Cloaks
shield yourprescence in the net from security.  Cloaks offer fourlevels
ofprotection, with safety ncreasing the higher the cloak level.

Soul Boxes - The sould box i shte software genereated means by which
your concsiousness moves throug hcyberspace.  Should the soul box
deteriorate, teh chractaer risks having his data corrupted. A
worst-case scenario would have the character's mind breaking up and
being dispersed throughout cyberspace, a fate akin to death.

Four types of soul boxes exist:  Tin soldier, Samurai, Azrael, and the
Dragon, each progressively stronger, allowing you to remain in
cyberspace for longer periods of time.  The soul box aldo determines how
you and other characters will appear visually in cyberspace.

Looker - The basic syberspace navagational tool; essential for a deck to
function.

Memory: Objects in cyberspac are reprseented by icons and arehandled
like objects found in Manhattan.  However, all items retrieved in
cyberspace must be stored in the decking unit's inventory.  The deck's
inventory is accounted for in the boxes along the bottom ofthe decking
unit screen.  there are four levels of memory chip, each freeing up
progressively more meory slots.

Selecting the "Enter Cyberspace" option if you have a functional decking
unit and if you are in a room with a cyberspace port enters you into
cyberspace.  If you have patch cords you can take other members of your
party into cyberspace with you (you only need one decking unit).

The General Plane - This is the virutal highway accessed by cyberspace
travelers. The General Plane allows you to access any locatin in
cyberspace.  Upon entering cyberspace you will observe that your
rotoscoped walking figure has been replaced by a rotating statuette
tahat is the effect created b your soul box.  Movement across a
cybespace map is identivcal to movement in other maps.

FATS - yu will frequently access a FATS (file access table system)
modeule. Teh fats is the mans by which you travel to various cyberspace
locations. Each location has an address code assocaited with it.  FATS
will propt you to enter a cyberspace address.  If thise adress is valid
yyou will be immmediately transported by modem to the exactly location.

Locations:  From the FATS system you can tranport to data clusetsr or
WELLS.  Data clusters are fashioned by TransTechnicals and are
repositories for data bases and other information services. WELLS are
niches in cybrspace illegally created by memebers of the
cyberundergroound.  Part of creating a WELL involves secretly entering
its location into the FATS system without the company detecting it.

Smart Drugs

The following drugs have specific effects but almost all have side
effects once the drug wears off.  You will find that a drug taken one night
to temporarily enhance strengh during combat, for example, wlill leave
you weak and worthless in the morning.  After each use of a drug, the
effects of that drug diminish as you bild up a tolerance.  YOu can
synthesize many of the drugs from componenets inf you have a
pharmeceutical kit in your inventory and you or a member of your party
has adequate medicinal skill.

Breathers:  increase alertness and sensitivity to stimuli, giving the
user a feeling of hak-like senses.  C:  Milacemine 27, Primaphetamine.

Hero Makers:  This amphetamine give smany the feling of invincibility,
often causing recklessness.  C: Cortiocyclidine, Milacemine 27,
Nootroamphetamine.

House Calls:  A combination fast-acting antibiotic, anesthetic, adn
anmphetamine that increases haealth recovery rate.  Thsi sinot a
narcotic and has no detrimental effects.  C:  House Call gel, Milacemine
27, Vitacompoud G

Nosferatutam:  A preventive to be taken tprior t combat; making ones's
blood toxic to vampies.

One-Tracks:  Causes tunnel visiona dn keeps the mind intensely focused.
C: Milacemine 27, Pilocarpine molder.

Psilo Blossom:  A psychadelic delivered b y the ingestionof
hauuiconogen-laced flower blossoms.

Red Lifters:  These amphetimnes give the user the feling of immense
strength.  C: Cortiocosteroid, Milacemine 27.

Vaspopressin:  A smart drug that increases intelligence by "waking up"
the brain, improving concentration attention, memory retntion, and
recall.

First Aid Items:

Nightengales:  These devices incrase one's injury recovery rate.  They
are used on the character's garb sheet to deliver apowerful analgesic
directly to the injured area.  c:  Bioprocessor, Flexi-cast, House Call
Gel.


Flei-Cast:  This cast conforoms to the injred area forming a strong
support while delivering medication.  C: Muscle Effector, ilocarpine
Molder, Vitacompound G