LSD Docs/LSD Docs.iso/FILEZ/lsdspr16.dms/lsdspr16.adf/AlienFires.Doc.pp/AlienFires.Doc

Text File | 1978-01-09 | 32KB | 739 lines

Alien Fires --- Part I, 2199 AD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Welcome to Alien Fires! This adventure, Alien Fires --- Part I, 2199
AD, is the first in the Alien Fires series. We have tried to create a game
that combines all of the essential elements of computer gaming: superb
graphics, great sound, lasting playability, and above all, fun. At Jagware we
are committed to bringing you the ultimate in entertainment for your Amiga
not only by adding advanced new features to the future parts of the Alien
Fires series, but also by creating exciting and unique new games that truly
test the power of this great machine.

   We hope that this game brings you many hours of entertainment...

   Sit back, turn up the sound and enjoy!!!

_____________________________________________________________________________
Galaxy's End --- 2199 AD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   You are sent into the distant future to a small planet at the edge of
the known universe called Galaxy's End by the TimeLord Elders. You are in
search of a great man known only to you as Samuel Kurtz, scientist and
- More (Y)/N/NS? ns
creator of an awesome device --- the use of which your TimeLord Elders
believe, threatens to twist the very fabric of time itself.

   Your mission: to find the mysteriously vanished Samuel Kurtz and
destroy all traces of the time-transportation device which he has begun work
on, thereby proving yourself worthy of the recognition of the TimeLord
Elders...


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Alien Fires --- Operating Instructions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STARTUP --- REQUIRES Kickstart 1.2!

   Alien Fires, 2199 AD is designed to run under version 1.2 of the
Amiga operating system. Simply start your Amiga using version 1.2 of
Kickstart, and then insert your Alien Fires, 2199 AD master disk at the
Workbench prompt.


Saving Adventures
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   While playing Alien Fires, 2199 AD, you may want to save your current
adventure. In order to do so, it is important that you format a blank disk
and name that disk "AF_CHARS". Be sure to do this BEFORE you begin to play
Alien Fires, 2199 AD. Keep in mind that as new parts of Alien Fires become
available, you will be able to use your existing stored characters in these
new adventures.


Resuming an Adventure
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   You may resume an adventure that you have previously stored by
selecting this option at the Main Menu. You will then be given a list of the
adventures currently on your Alien Fires adventure disk from which you may
select the adventure that you wish to continue.


Extended Memory Systems
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Users of extended memory systems, or RAM expansion systems, may make
use of additional memory to improve disk access during play, by copying image
and sound files from Disk#2 to a RAMDISK before running Alien Fires, 2199 AD.
Alien Fires will AUTOMATICALLY check for a


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particular file in RAM if you are using extended memory. The only hitch is
that the layout of the RAM disk must be the same as that of Alien Fires, 2199
AD, Disk 2. In other words, the subdirectories "GFX" and "SFX" must appear in
the RAM disk. The most commonly accessed files during play are "GFX/Death"
and "SFX/HB".


_____________________________________________________________________________
TimeLords
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   An immortal race of beings responsible for protecting the temporal
balance of the universe from chaos and destruction.

   As a new TimeLord on your first mission, your powers are temporary
and dependent solely upon your performance. The Elder's Council will be
constantly weighing your character's performance to determine whether you
should be allowed to continue on your mission to stop Kurtz.


TimeLord Skills
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   All TimeLords have abilities, called skills, which are selected by
you when you create a new TimeLord. These


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skills determine the overall ability of your character during game play.
There are seven skill values, each ranging from 0 to 99 points. These skills
are...

Fighting - The ability of your character in Hand-to-Hand and melee combat.
~~~~~~~~
Marksmanship - The ability of your character in using ranged weapons. This
~~~~~~~~~~~~   affects your character's overall performance during ranged
               combat.

Diplomacy - Determines your character's skill in interacting with other
~~~~~~~~~   characters in the game. This value will affect your character's
       chance of successfully gaining information from the other
       characters in Alien Fires, 2199 AD along with the purchasing and
       trading of items.

Dexterity - This is your character's skill in performing delicate operations
~~~~~~~~~   such as picking locks and disarming nuclear devices.

Understanding - This skill determines your character's ability in using
~~~~~~~~~~~~~   unknown or new items. Generally, this will help your
      character point dangerous items like Plasma Rifles in the
      correct direction before firing them.

Tracking - This skill reflects your character's chance of seeing hidden
~~~~~~~~   objects such as traps --- before it's too late --- and secret
      doors!!!

Quickness - This is your character's speed of reaction to situations such as
~~~~~~~~~   an attack by one of the less friendly characters in Alien Fires,
       2199 AD. If your skill in this area is high, you just might be
       able to avoid the other character's first strike.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Note that all of these skills will go up -- or down -- during the game
depending upon how well your character has been performing. The decision to
raise or lower your character's skill points is the responsibility of the
Elder's Council, and is done automatically as they review your TimeLord's
success to date.


Creating a TimeLord
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   You create a new TimeLord when you begin to play Alien Fires, 2199 AD
simply by selecting the "Create a new TimeLord" option from the Main Menu.
Creating your TimeLord is done by selecting the values [0-99] for each of the
seven aforementioned skills until you no longer have any points remaining to
allocate. When you select 'OK' the adventure will begin using your newly
created TimeLord.


Viewing Your TimeLord's Stats During the Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   You will want to keep constant tabs on your character's state as you
progress through the world of Alien Fires, 2199 AD. You can view your
character's stat sheet at any time during the game simply by pressing the
"AF" logo on the control panel on-screen. What you will see is as follows...

Skills - A list of your current skill values by name.
~~~~~~
Name - The name that you selected for your character.
~~~~
Level - Your character's current Level. This gives you a rough indication of
~~~~~   how powerful your TimeLord is.


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EP's - The amount of Experience Points [EP's] your character has. This value
~~~~   is used to increase your character's overall Level above.

Combat Readiness - An outline of your character, the shaded locations of
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   which indicate where your character is currently protected
         by armor that he is wearing. Below this figure appears a
         number which represents your character's Hit Points [HP's]
         This value determines how much damage your character can
         take before dying. See the Combat section of this manual
         for more information on Hit Points and armor locations.
         The speed of the cycling band of colors below your
         character's outline varies depending on his performance.
         The better your character's performance, the faster the
         cycling colors.

Item List - The names of items -- up to a maximum of three -- which indicate
~~~~~~~~~   the objects in your inventory which you are currently using.


On Death and Dying
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Since your character is bound to run into some obstacles that he may
not be able to overcome, you may find yourself in the rather uncomfortable
situation of being faced with death. Remember, the Elder's Council is
reviewing your every move on this mission and dying is considered something
of a failure in their eyes. When you die, your character will be brought
before the Elder's Council for review. This review progresses visually before
you on your Amiga's display. if the TimeLord Elder's are satisfied with your
character's performance to this point, you will be ressurected and allowed to
continue on your mission. If however,


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 6 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


your character has dissapointed them once too often, your character will be
stripped of his TimeLord powers and will not be allowed to continue on his
mission. The TimeLord Elders will inform you of their decision by
communicating directly with you. If your character is resurrected, he still
faces some form of penalty to his skill levels and Experience Points since
death is usually a negative experience.


_____________________________________________________________________________
Playing Alien Fires, 2199 AD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   The commands used in Alien Fires are available by selecting either
the appropriate icon on the Control Panel that appears on-screen or by typing
a command shortcut from the keyboard. These commands are...

Forward - Move your character 1 step forward if possible.
~~~~~~~   Keyboard : UP ARROW

Reverse - Back your character up 1 step if possible.
~~~~~~~   Keyboard : DOWN ARROW

Left - Rotate your character's point of view 45 degrees to the left.
~~~~   Keyboard : LEFT ARROW

Right - Rotate your character's point of view 45 degrees to the right.
~~~~~   Keyboard : RIGHT ARROW


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 7 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


A Special Option for Movement
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Alien Fires, 2199 AD has a graphic option that may be invoked by
holding down the SHIFT key and pressing any of the cursor arrows. This option
allows you to forego the usual smooth 3D motion where you see intermediate
frames and replace it with a single step jump-frame animation.

Climb - Move your character in an up or down direction depending upon the
~~~~~   context.
   Keyboard : C


Interaction
~~~~~~~~~~~

   The following Control Panel options all require additional
information which you will be prompted to enter after you select one of these
options...
_____
|0~0| - Examine --- Allows you to select a particular object whose details
~~~~~   may be of interest to you. The default is the current object or
   character on screen.
   Keyboard : E
______
|/\/\| - Say --- Usually, this option lets you vocalize your thoughts to
|====|   another character in the game. Conversing with other characters in
|\/\/|   the game is an integral part of Alien Fires.
~~~~~~   Keyboard : S
______
|   .| - Give --- When another character is on-screen, you can give specific
|""""|   items to the character by using this option.
~~~~~~   Keyboard : G
______
| mm | - Hand --- This option has varied meanings which depend on the object
| UU |   you decide to handle. It will allow you to take or drop items, push/
~~~~~~   pull buttons, levers etc.
    Keyboard : H


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 8 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


   For more information on interacting with characters in Alien Fires,
2199 AD, see the Interacting With Characters section of the manual below.


Viewing Your Character's Stats
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AF Logo - View your character's vital statistics or character sheet.
~~~~~~~   Keyboard : A

   Note that the top line of the screen during play will continually
display your character's level and the Experience Points required [EPr] to
reach the next level. For more information on characters, see the TimeLord
section of the manual above.


Displaying Your Character's Inventory or Using an Item
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Clicking the right mouse button will display a requester on screen of
your character's possessions. Clicking on any one of the items listed in your
character's inventory, selects that item for use. To stop using a particular
item, you simply select that item from your character's inventory once again.
There are three classes of items in Alien Fires, 2199 AD: Weapons, Armor, and
Miscellaneous. Selecting an item in one of these three classes while your
character is using another item in the same class, automatically de-selects
the last item that your character was using in this class. For example, if
your character is using a Plasma Rifle, selecting another weapon de-selects
the Plasma Rifle. Sometimes, this rule doesn't apply with armor, since some
armor will work in conjunction with other types of armor. For more info on
armor and its usage, see the Combat section of this manual. Note that the
items that your character is currently using are listed on his character
sheet.
Keyboard : I


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 9 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Saving an Adventure in Progress
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Sometimes you may want to take a break from your adventuring. In
order to do so, you hit the sleep icon on the control panel after which you
will be asked for your Alien Fires Character disk and then the name which you
wish to save the current adventure as. Note that you cannot "Save & Play" in
Alien Fires, you must reboot your Amiga in order to resume a saved adventure.
For important details regarding Alien Fires Character disks, please see the
Alien Fires Instruction section of this manual.


Quitting Without Saving
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   You can quit Alien Fires --- Part I, 2199 AD at any time without
saving your current adventure by rebooting your Amiga. (CTRL-A-A)


_____________________________________________________________________________
Interacting With Characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Characters are an integral part of Alien Fires, 2199 AD and you will
find that your character's success in interacting with other characters in
the game will determine the overall outcome of your character's mission.

   Characters in Alien Fires, 2199 AD are exactly like real people. Each
and every one of them have friends and long term "memories". Many of the
characters in Alien Fires, 2199 AD have vital pieces of information that they
may tell you if you ask the right question(s) or offer something in return.
It's up to you to find out exactly what those questions, or that something
might be. However, since you can communicate and trade with characters just
as you


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 10 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


would in real life, you should find this process quite natural. But be
forewarned, characters in Alien Fires do not take kindly to insulting
behaviour!!!


Combat --- or Fighting With Characters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Fighting with other characters in the game is a special form of
interaction with its own set of commands and options. All combat takes place
on the special Combat Screen of Alien Fires, 2199 AD. The combat screen is
comprised of four major parts...

Weapon - The top line of the screen indicates the name of the weapon that
~~~~~~   your character is fighting with. If this weapon is a firing weapon,
    an ammunition guage appears next to the weapon's name indicating the
    number of rounds left in the weapon versus the maximum number of
    rounds possible for this weapon. The current color of the guage
    changes from shades of green, if the weapon is nearly full, to
    shades of red as the weapon runs out.

Opponent - A picture of your character's opponent appears in the centre of
~~~~~~~~   the screen.

Combatants - The generic outlines of your character and your opponent's
~~~~~~~~~~   character will all currently armored locations shaded. Below
        your character's outline which appears on the left side of the
        screen is a running total of your character's Hit Points.

Options - Combat options appear centred at the bottom of the screen.
~~~~~~~

   The combat session which your character is in continues until either
your character or your opponent runs away or dies.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 11 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Picking a Fight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   There are two ways to get into a fight or combat in Alien Fires, 2199
AD. One is to let your character start it by clicking on the figure of the
other character that is on screen. The other occurs when your character's
actions or presence has aggravated the character on-screen to the point of
violence. Either way, you will find yourself in the special combat mode of
Alien Fires, 2199 AD. It is only fair to warn you that if your character
picks a fight with another character, your character runs the risk not only
of dying, but of facing the vengeance of your opponent's friends.


Options and Interaction During Combat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Options during combat are restricted to those that are directly
relevant to the fight at hand. There are four options, three of which appear
on-screen, the fourth being your character's inventory which is associated
with the right mouse button. The four combat options are...

Fight - Attack your character's opponent using the currently selected weapon.
~~~~~
Panic - Attempt to run away from your opponent. This option will not always
~~~~~   succeed.

Dodge - Select an evasive action for your character that makes him a more
~~~~~   difficult target for his opponent.

   You can change your character's current weapon or reload a firing
weapon by clicking the right mouse button to bring up your character's
inventory and either selecting a new weapon to change weapons, or selecting
the ammunition for the current weapon in order to reload.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 12 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Damage and Armor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   There are seven locations for damage and armor in Alien Fires, 2199
AD. These are the head, chest, abdomen, and the right and left arms and legs.
Armor used by your character can protect any number of these seven locations.
Up to two pieces of armor can be used by your character at any one time.

   During combat, damage is reported on a hit by hit color-coded basis
by location. Every time a combatant takes a hit, the location of the hit is
highlighted by a color corresponding to the degree of damage done to the
character. The more damaging the hit, the closer the color is to red, the
lighter the hit, the closer the color is to green. Each hit is also
accompanied by a numeric damage value. This value indicates the actual damage
done to the character himself. This value also take into account any
protection offered to the character by armor covering the damaged location.
Note that it is possible therefore, for a character to have all or part of
his armor destroyed during combat. This is what has happened when a
previously armored location (a shaded area on the character) reverts to an
unshaded area.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 13 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


              C R E D I T S
             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Software Design and Development : Jeff Simpson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Sky Matthews

Original Rock Soundtrack : SkinnyChick Productions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cover Illustration : Terry Laurenzio
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Game Artwork : Ray Larabie
~~~~~~~~~~~~   Tim Cearns

Photography : Piper Huggins
~~~~~~~~~~~

Cover Character Concept : Mike Reed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inspiration : Emil Arndt
~~~~~~~~~~~

Special Thanks : Three-Guys-Named-Stan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Eric Feeley
       Sean Evoy
       Mike Jones


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 14 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

                 (The word for Page 15, Word 3 is "Jagware")




                             ALIEN FIRES DOC
                             ---------------

Before Playing: If you want to Load/Save your Alien Fires games you will
need to format a disk with the name "AF_CHARS". You will be prompted when
ever you need to insert the disk.

Starting the game: Place AF disk 1 in df0: and AF disk 2 into df1: the
program will automatically come up.

Once you have got tired of seeing the title screen, take your AF disk 1,
and rename the file called "INTRO" to "INTRO.bak" the program will then
skip the intro, and go directly to the beginning screen.

** NOTE: The manual says that you can (if you have the room) copy the
AF disk 2 to RAM: You must set it up exactly the same as disk 2 making a
GFX, and SFX directorys. When the program starts it will automatically
look for the RAM disk, and use it if its there. My startup-sequence was
altered to look like this:

Copy AF2: RAM: all
Echo "Copied AF2: to RAM: remove disk"
stack 7000
AFGO
;stack 25000
;af2199
endcli > nil:

To do this I had to ad the Echo, and Copy command to the AF disk 1 "C"
directory. This seems to work ok, I have done something it didn't like
because it made me put AF disk 2 back in.

Startup Screen: After the program has loaded you will get a startup screen
here you have two choices, CREATE A NEW TIMELORD, and LOAD A SAVED GAME.
Click on the appropriate box with the mouse.

    CREATE - You will see a screen with your timelord statistics on it.
click on the Name line, and enter the name of your timelord. All of the
timelords characteristics start at 20 points, you have 99 extra points to
distribute as you see fit. To distribute the points click on the points
box of the characteristic you wish to change then click on the Up or Down
arrow keys to change the value. It will deduct/add to extra points box
as you change the characteristics. Once you have distributed all of the
extra points as you see fit, click on OK to start the game.

     LOAD - If you click on this, it will ask you to insert the AF_CHARS
disk into any drive. It will read your diskette, and bring up a requester
window, with the names of all of your saved games. Click on the name of the
saved game you wish to restore then click on OK to start the game.

The Game: After completing the above sequence, you will get a little screen
telling you about the game, then the game will start. You will get a screen
of a space station with the markings OCTO on the side, press any arrow key
to get to the starting entry way.

     Game Play - Once at the entry way you will see your "control" up in
the right top corner of the screen. At the top there is 4 arrows, in the
middle of the control is an -----AF----- logo, and the bottom of the
control
is made up of 6 buttons.

          Arrows - This are pretty self explanatory, but here goes...

           ^  Move your character one step forward if possible
           <  Rotate your character 45 degrees to the left if possible
           >  Rotate your character 45 degrees to the right if possible
           v  Move your character one step backwords if possible

          The keyboard equivalent is the arrow keys below the HELP key.

          ===AF=== logo - When clicked will show you your timelords
          statistics. Across the top is your LeVeL, ExPRience, and
          your $ wealth. On the left side is your timelord outline, then
          just to the right is your characteristics. Below them will be
          the names of any objects you have that are "in use" You can only
          have 3 "in use" items at a time. Click on OK to exit. The key-
          board equivalent is A.

          Buttons - There is two rows of three buttons each across the
          bottom of your control. The topmost left that looks like a pair
          of glasses is "eyes" click on this, and it will tell you where
          you are in the colony. If there is a person there with you, it
          will give their description. The keyboard equivalent is E.

          The 2nd button in the top row is Up/Down arrows, if you click
          on this the "climb" button, in the proper place (say an elevator
          or stairs) you can go up or down there. The keyboard equivalent
          is the C key.

          The farthest right button on the top row, looks like a pair of
          lips is the "speech" button. Click on this, you will get a
          requester labeled Speech, type in what you want to say, and
          it will say it to whatever character is present. The keyboard
          equivalent is the S key.

          The bottom leftmost button, looks like a arrow pointing to the
          right is the "give" button. Click on this, and you will get a
          requester labeled item. Type the name of item you wish to give,
          press return and it will be given away, and removed from your
          inventory. The keyboard equivalent is the G key. There must be
          a character present for this button to work.

          The center button on the bottom looks like two z's is your
          "sleep" button. If you click on this, it will tell you to insert
          the AF_CHARS disk. It will bring up a requester for a file name
          then press return to save the game. It will save the game, then
          you will have to reboot. You can quit without saving the game,
          just by rebooting. There is no keyboard equivalent.

          The rightmost bottom button looks like a hand is the "hand" button
          This has multiple uses, it can be TAKE, PUSH, PULL, etc... Most
          of the time it will be TAKE. When an object (Knife, Ammo, Remote
          unit, etc..) appears on your screen, click the "hand" button to
          take the object. The keyboard equivalent is the H key.

     Commands not on Control - There is two other commands not available on
     the control in the right corner, that you need to know. If you click
     on the right mouse button, you will get a requester showing you every-
     thing in your inventory. To equip an object (limited to 3) click on the
     objects name, then click OK. It may tell you that "you don't understand
     the object" try it again, and usually after 3-4 times, it will finally
     give it to you. The keyboard equivalent is the I key.

     Fight - To pick a fight with any character, just click the left mouse
     button on them, and you will go to the fight screen. On the fight
     screen it will show the person you are fighting in the middle, on the
     left will be your outline, and the right is the other guys outline.
     Different sections of the outlines will change color when they are hit,
     and they will have a number of points damage done. Below your character
     is his hit points, this will go down as you get damaged. If it reaches
     0 you die. In the middle bottom of the screen is three buttons, labeled
     FIGHT, PANIC, DODGE.

         Fight: This will make you "take a swing" with whatever object you
         have equipped yourself with.

         Panic: If you are losing your ass, click on this, and you will get
         out of the fight mode. **NOTE doesn't work EVERY time.

         Dodge: Clicking on this will make you dodge the other characters
         attacks.

     The keyboard equivalent for fight is the F key.

Other Characters: You will meet a number of characters as you journey
through the colony. There is no certain questions to ask. You can ask
anything you want. Some characters react differently than others, some may
answer your questions, and others may not.


ALIEN FIRES HELP FILE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well-- after hours tearing my hair out trying to draw some of the mazes in
this adventure, I've finally finished it. It is fairly short. This file is
intended to help someone who has not yet finished this adventure. I hope
the hints below will give you enough guidance to get through it.

1. This game is essentially about locating Kurtz and the Time- Transportation
device (however, in the actual game it is called a Time WARP device. Something
that is a bit confusing towards the end). You do not achieve this goal with
lots of finesse or even elaborate problem solving. ¥ou do it by being larger
and carrying bigger "sticks" than any of the characters who might get in your
way. In that sense, this is more or less a sci-fi Bard's Tale with one
character and a much less than satisfactory combat system. (I picked up all
sorts of items along the way- passcards, remote control units, signs, etc.-
that I never had any use for at all.) You therefore have a decision to make
from the very beginning: do you develop your character slowly over time,
getting killed a lot at first but achieving the satisfaction that you EARNED
the good character? OR do you hack the game from the very beginning- starting
out with a decent character?

I warn you- if you want to develop your own character, you'll spend a lot of
time on the first few levels getting killed and re-booting your machine
(thanks to the fact that Jagware didn't put more sophisticated save-and-
continue and restore-and-continue commands in the game).

If you do want to edit your character, however, it is VERY possible. Thanks to
the Plink author of Super_Timelord.txt I have discovered how it is done. The
9th to 15th bytes in any character file contain your character's Fighting,
Marksmanship, Diplomacy, Dexterity, Understanding, Tracking, and Quickness in
that order. If you can get your hands on a binary file editor, such as Plinks
NewZap, you can make your character as powerful as you like. The game is much
less frustrating this way.

2. The other difficulty with this game is mapping- which is a nightmare.
Unless you are VERY experienced at mapping and have a LOT of patience, I
suggest you put aside the normal graph-paper and pencils and use this method:

Every time you enter a new room, note the room color (ie- Dark Pink, Red,
Light Blue), the number of doors in that room and the directions in which
those doors lead. Draw a room that is approximately the shape of the room you
are in on a piece of paper and lines away from the walls to represent doors
(in the appropriate directions). Move through a door, connecting the next room
through the line you drew and continue the process, much as if you were
mapping an Infocom game.

This method isn't neat, but it keeps you from getting lost, and I found it
more than adequate for finishing the game.

3. There are three levels on the colony and then three levels on the space
station. The secret to finishing the game is finding a ladder or elevator on
each level to move to the next level, blowing away all hostile aliens that
get in your way.

4. If you have questions about something in the game, I find it helpful to ask
friendly characters (Angel, Jessica, etc.). They can often help you, but of
course they aren't available on the advanced levels. In general, any time you
meet a character, look at them and ask them who they are.

5. Any time you encounter an item, look at it and take it. The GUM MACHINES
are an especially helpful item because they restore your hit points. There is
one on every level (after the first)- and it is usually near the entrance to
that level. Beware, however, because if you have low Understanding, you may be
poisoned and die!

6. The most important rule for this game is...SAVE OFTEN. I know it is
frustrating to continually be re-booting (you shouldn't have to) but the odds
are you will die at least once on every level (unless you edit your statistics
to astronomical heights).

Good Luck.