GB = readme.txt F = francais.txt D = deutsch.txt This file is also included in French and German - francais.txt and deutsch.txt respectively. These can be found in the directory you installed Terracide to. Terracide Manual ---------------------- Introduction --------------- "Centuries ago, a group of humans left the Earth behind to make a new life in the stars... But the worlds they found, though strange and beautiful, were unforgiving. The colonists were forced to adapt in order to survive. They used advanced technology to remake themselves in shapes more suited to the harsh conditions. For centuries we had no contact with the colonists. But we hoped one day to re-establish relations with them, and when our long-range sensors detected their fleet entering our solar system, our first action was to send a party of conciliation. We had no idea what we would find... The colonists had just one intention. To destroy our species and reclaim the Earth. With no chance of winning an all-out war against them, we had only one hope - a lone attack ship which could destroy the fleet from within. To survive, we must destroy their fleet craft by craft. It is our only option - we must prevent Terracide." Installation -------------- To install Terracide to your hard disk: 1. Insert the CD in the CD-ROM drive. 2. Enter Windows Explorer and click on the letter pertaining to your CD-ROM drive, then double-click on the setup.exe icon and follow the on-screen instructions. 3. Once Terracide has installed, you will find yourself with an option to install DirectX. This allows Terracide to run correctly under all configurations, and is necessary unless you have this version of DirectX already installed on your machine. On completion of setup, you should find a Terracide icon group installed on your desktop. Simply double-click on the Terracide icon to run the game. For more detailed information about installation and configuration, see the additional technical help document. Introduction and GUI --------------------------- On loading, the animated logos and introduction will play. Press any key if you'd like to skip each of the anims, or Esc if you'd like to skip all of them and go straight to the GUI. You start the game in the 3-dimensional GUI room. Turn around to highlight the different options and hit fire to select one. - Exit - quits the game (but makes sure you really want to, first.) - Load - load a previously saved game from one of the 8 save slots. - Continue - if you're in the midst of a game and have pressed Escape to get to the GUI, select this option to return to the game. - New Game - allows you to select a difficulty level (normal, hard or impossible), and then begins a new game from the first level. - Network - takes you straight to the Windows box for selecting levels/method for the multiplayer game. - Credits - information on the team behind Terracide. Default Controls -------------------- Control Keyboard Mouse Joystick Flight Controls Nose up Down arrow Down Down Nose down Up arrow Up Up Turn left Left arrow Left Left Turn right Right arrow Right Right Strafe up Space + Up arrow Space + Up Space + or Home, or S down, or POV down Strafe down Space + Down arrow, Space + Down Space + Up, or End or POV stick up Strafe left Space + Left arrow, Space + Left Space + Left, or Delete or POV stick left Strafe right Space + Right arrow, Space + Right Space + or Page Down right, or POV right Roll D - Button 4 Throttle Increase speed A - Throttle wheel up Decrease speed Z - Throttle wheel down Weapon Firing Fire main weapon Q Left button Button 1 Fire left weapon X X Button 2 Fire right weapon C C Button 3 Dismount weapon 0 - - Cycle Photon weapons 1 - - Cycle Bomb weapons 2 - - Cycle Missile weapons 3 - - Cycle Chaingun weapons 4 - - Cycle B-Bomb weapons 5 - - Cycle Special weapons 6 - - Select Guided missile 7 - - Mount weapon on left mount Ctrl+number - - (see above) Detonate Teleport/ Gravity/Guided Missile E - - Mount weapon on right mount Shift+number - - (see above) Fire flare F - - General Controls Fixed camera view toggle V - - HUD shield, munitions, charge indicator toggle / on keypad - - HUD weapons indicator toggle * on keypad - - Zoom in view G - - Level/secrets Information I - - Go to GUI Escape - - Drop Waypoint W - - Network Game Controls Message T - - Scoreboard toggle Y - - If you have some difficulty controlling Terracide, ensure your throttle is centred. You can also try changing the auto-levelling and auto-pitching options from the menus. Finally, since Terracide is a Win95 game, you can configure and test your joystick in Windows. Weapons Systems ---------------------- There are a variety of weapons available in Terracide, from the relatively harmless to the completely deadly. They all consist of a certain projectile type and a certain launch type. There are three different launch types available for the projectiles on the list marked with a [3] - the other projectiles are special weapons and appear in one type only. The launch types are: a) Single Fire Standard type of weapon delivery, one shot at a time with just one projectile - but still pretty handy. b) Rapid Fire Greatly enhanced weapon delivery, with state-of-the-art recoil mechanisms giving the ability to fire much faster, repeatedly. If you have an enemy straight in your sights, fire off a stream of shots for maximum destructive force. c) Scatter Fire Unique multiple-projectile-holding barrels create a deadly spread of fire, indispensable for despatching multiple enemies with one shot or delivering a killer blow to an enemy lurking close to you. The following projectile types are available during the normal game:- Photon Fires super-dense clusters of charged photons, which vaporize enemy armour on impact. Slow moving and low-powered, the photon gun's strength lies in the fact that it requires no munitions to function. Though the basic form is limited in its use in combat, the rapidfire and scatterfire versions are useful for intense short-range combat due to their lack of a detonation explosion. [3] Bomb Simple metal-cased explosive shell which detonates on impact. Care must be taken to avoid damage from explosions if used at close range. The rapidfire version is particularly effective against well-armoured enemies, the scatterfire version is best fired from a distance against multiple enemies. [3] Rocket Fast moving and unguided, rockets must be carefully aimed. Their speed makes them a good choice for long-range combat, especially if the rapidfire version can be used. The scattergun version can be devastating when used to clear a room of enemies, but care must be taken to avoid the resulting blast. [3] Chaingun Fires a burst of high-velocity rounds. Best used against lightly-armoured, fast moving enemies. The rapidfire version allows quick kills when faced with a number of small enemies at medium range, the scattergun version is better at close range. [3] Bouncing Bomb A small charge of high-explosive linked to an array of sensors and encased in a thick rubber coating. Bouncing bombs will ricochet off walls, floors and ceilings and detonate on contact with a complex electrical field, such as those generated by an enemy. Perfect for firing around corners or at clusters of enemies down corridors, the rapidfire version is particularly suitable for quickly despatching a heavily- armoured enemy, whilst the scattergun version can be used to clear a room of moving enemies. However, since the skullship itself generates a complex electrical field, care must be taken to avoid rebounding bombs - often the best strategy is to fire a series of shots into a room and then retreat into the shelter of a corridor. [3] Guided Missile A more powerful version of the rocket, the guided missile's on-board camera relays pictures back to the skullship and allows full control over the missile's course. Detonation is on impact, by pressing the detonate button, or when the timer shown at the top of the screen reaches zero. The missile's speed may be increased by using the controls normally assigned to the skullship's throttle - however, once speed is increased, there is no way to throttle back. Whilst the missile is being steered, the skullship remains vulnerable to enemy fire, and therefore this weapon is best used at long-range, where safety is ensured. Gravity Bomb On impact, this shell creates a gravity vortex that attracts robots and, in a network game, other players. Use it to draw out enemies hiding round corners, or in the network game to trap another player so that you can bring your weapons to bear on him. Of course, it also attracts you, so be careful! During each episode you are required to fly between the various space ships of the enemy fleet. So that you can fire longer-range deep-space weapons, when you leave the hull of the ship your weapon automatically changes to: Space Laser Your standard space weapon fires high-energy laser bolts which are effective against most enemies. The laser draws only on your ship's batteries and does not require munitions. Space Torpedo A much more advanced weapon than the laser, the torpedo fires a computer-guided bolt which will follow an enemy until impact. To achieve a lock, manoeuvre until an enemy is in your gun cue. When a red and yellow target appears, a lock has been achieved and a torpedo may be launched. Other enemies may then be engaged while the torpedo hunts down your target. Finally, there are two guns which appear only in the Network game: Teleport Gun A network-only weapon, this gun will teleport the targetted player to a random location on impact. Can be used to prevent other players reaching a pickup before you, or to buy yourself time when losing a fight. Omicron Field When fired, this weapon gradually renders you invisible. Once the process is complete, other players can only see your engine trails when you move, and your projectiles when you fire. However, this weapon gradually drains your charge whilst in use, and when all your charge is exhausted, you will become visible again. HUD information Munitions indicator - Munitions are the actual amount of bullets you have - all of the weapons use a shared munitions store. More powerful guns use more munitions, and need to be kept stocked up by picking up munitions crates. You start the game with no munitions and a maximum of one munitions chamber (represented by one bar on the HUD). If you manage to find the increase maximum munitions pickups, you can increase you maximum to three chambers. Shield indicator - The state of your ship's hull, decreased by radiation, electricity and enemy fire. Restore it by picking up armour pickups. Your maximum armour can be increased by finding the right pickup. This starts off green (at maximum), and the skull slowly turns red, then black. When it's entirely black, you're dead. Increase maximum shields will give plus signs either side of the skull's head and slower colour change on the skull. Charge indicator - The amount of power left in your gun-launching mechanism. This is drained each time you fire a weapon, and then recharges gradually to full power again. This means that firing large amounts of rapid-fire projectiles stops you firing so fast after a while, as the charge struggles to regenerate. On the HUD, this works exactly the same as the munitions indicator, except you start with one full bar of charge. Remember that you can fire the photon weapons with charge alone, but all the other weapons need some amount of munitions to fire. Weapon type indicators- which of the 20 weapons you currently have. Each of the weapon type icons has 3 lights above it, corresponding to the normal, rapid-fire, and scatter-fire versions of the guns. If the light is off, then this means you do not have the corresponding gun. If the light is red, it means you have the gun but it is not currently mounted. If the light is green, then it means the gun is mounted on the central gun mounting. Conversely, if the light is shaped like a left arrow or a right arrow, it means the gun is mounted on the left or right gun mount. Pickup indicator - appears when your ship is close to a pickup, and is made up of two sets of concentric circles. When your ship is close enough to the centre of both of them (i.e. close enough to the pickup in 3D space), the pickup will begin beaming aboard your ship. The left-hand bar of the two shows the time left until the pickup is successfully grabbed, whilst the right-hand bar shows the time until the pickup explodes! External force indicator - this appears onscreen when your ship's sensors detect wind or gravity. Compass - which direction you're facing (this is a 3-dimensional heading cube.) N, E, S, W are North, East, South, and West, U stands for 'Up' and D for 'Down'. Pickups --------- These spinning objects left by destroyed enemies or found around the ships may be weapons, armour, munitions, mounts or pickups to increase your maximum capabilities. Fly close to one and your proximity radar will show you its exact location. Hover close by and the pickup will be teleported inside your ship. Pickups explode a few seconds after being dropped, so if you don't get to them quickly, you'll miss out. The following pickups are available in the game. Weapons : Extra weapons. Armour : Repairs any damage caused to your ship. Munitions : Extra munitions that are required to fire non-photon guns. Weapon Mounts : Extra weapon mounts to enable more weapons to be mounted at one time. You start the game with a single, central gun mount. Two more can be added to the left and right, allowing you to fire three weapons at once. You can add an extra mount by finding a gun mount pickup. When you have more than one mount, you can swap weapons between them by using the gun mount keys. Plus-ups : These will increase the maximum values for one of the following - charge, munitions, shield. Waypoints ------------- If you find yourself unsure of where you're going, you can press the 'W' key to lay a waypoint. This is a spinning object which will stay in place no matter where you go, so you can tell if you've been in the area before when you return there. The In-Game Menus ------------------------- A selection of in-game menus are available to the player. These are: File Game Options Help File Menu Load Game :- Load a previously saved game. Save game :- Save a current game. Exit :- Quits Terracide Game Menu New Game :- Allows you to select a difficulty level (normal, hard or impossible), and then begins a new game from the first level. Mission Brief :- Review your mission brief for the current level. Graphics Configuration :- This allows you to choose whether to run Terracide in Hardware on a 3D accelerator, using a 16 bit software emulator or, using 8/16 bit ramp model emulation. Once an option is chosen the user will be given a list of resolutions which the system can do, and can choose to run one of these resolutions full screen or windowed. Please see the additional technical help document for more information on this. Configure Terracide to run on your PC. Levels :- Allows the player to choose to replay any level again once they have previously completed it. Network :- Allows you to select one of four network levels before bringing up the network game options box. Restart Game :- Restart Terracide from the first level. Hi Scores - Brings up the high score table for your enjoyment. Save Screenshot - takes a snapshot of the current screen and saves it as a PCX to the directory Terracide has been installed in. You can do this multiple times and the screenshots will be named grab001.pcx, grab002.pcx, etc. Options Menu Head Movement :- Toggles your point of view moving separately of the ship. Auto Levelling :- Toggles the auto-levelling system. Auto Pitching :- Toggles the auto-pitching system. Crosshair :- Toggles the aiming crosshair. (NB - if using a 3D accelerator card which supports 3D lines, enabling the crosshair may cause the game to slow down.) Voice Actions :- Toggle whether the ships computer will use voice messages to keep you informed of events. Automount Weapons :- Toggles whether your ship's computer automatically selects the best weapon available (for which you have munitions to fire). Screen Messages :- Toggles whether your ship's computer informs you of the type of item you've picked up via an on-screen message. CD Player :- Allows you to turn the CD music on/off as well as use autoplay and random track selection. Configure controls :- Allows you to select the control system, redefine the keyboard controls and alter the mouse sensitivity and point-of-view stick. Game View :- Allows you to switch between first-person and third-person (fixed-camera) views. You can also toggle the 3D cockpit from here. Help About :- Information about Terracide and Simis Cheats :- Enter a cheat code Help :- enter the help mode. Network Play Terracide allows players to link up and play either deathmatch, teamplay, or capture the flag games with up to sixteen players. The network game options box allows you to select the type of network you wish to play Terracide on - after which the network will be scanned for any games in progress. You may then either join a game or create a new one. If you create a new game, a new options box will appear asking you for a name to identify the game and another name to identify yourself. You can also pick the type of ship you wish to fly around with. The final options box will allow you to select the level to play and whether the game will be a deathmatch or a "Capture the flag" game. If you join a game, you will be given a choice of the games currently running on the network you've selected. Each player starts the network game in a ready-room, in which all weapons are deactivated. To start the game, fly down the marked corridor and you will be teleported into the level at a randomly-determined point. Weapons and other pickups are spread around the level and will reappear some time after being picked up. By pressing the message key ('T'), you can send text messages to other players in the network game - the message is sent to every other competitor. If you press the 'Y' key, you can bring up single-player scores, and by pressing the 'Y' key again, team scores will be displayed. There are also audio taunt messages, accessed by pressing ctrl+shift and the F-keys. If you'd like to customise these, you can also insert your own taunt WAVs by replacing taunt1.wav, taunt2.wav, etc. in the wavs directory of Terracide. Please remember that the other players won't hear your new wavs unless you copy them to their machines too. In a deathmatch game, the aim is simply to score as many points as possible by killing other players. You will be informed of any kills made either by you or other players. Press "Y" to bring up the scoreboard at any time. If your ship is destroyed, you may press a key to restart the level in the ready-room with your armour restored but without any pickups you may have found. A destroyed ship drops some of its pickups, so destroying other players is useful for personal gain as well as just for fun. In a "Capture the flag" game, up to five teams compete in a race to capture their opponents' flag and return them to their base. If a player carrying a flag is killed, the flag will be returned to its home base. Points are scored for killing enemy players, collecting the flag, killing the player carrying the flag, and bringing an enemy flag back to your home base. Credits -------- Team Leader James Brooksby Programmers Kingsley Pratt, Adrian Hawkins, Paul Mottram. Games Designers Kingsley Pratt, Simon Carless, Phil Marley. Artists Richard Carter, James Brooksby, Alex Jukes, Chris Williams, Andy Wood. Music John Hancock (Silicon Dreams) Sound Effects Max Little (Silicon Dreams) Intro Script: Laurence Scotford, Phil Marley, Simon Carless Intro realised by: Creat Studios, St.Petersburg, Russia. Intro music and sound effects: John Hancock (Silicon Dreams) Manual Simon Carless, Phil Marley, Paul Mottram Da Boss Ian Baverstock Core Technology Jonathan Newth, Julian Davis, Simon Clay, Paul Perkins, Stephen Birch, Ed Daly, Phil Rutherford, Robin Bryce, Dave Payne Network Support Engineer Peter Dorrington Games Testers Mick Wood, David Murphy, Andrew Furber, Mike McHale (US), the Kremlin testers. Additional Animation Andy Osiow Additional Programming Tom Beckmann, Phil Rutherford, Ian Baverstock, Simon Clay. Additional Concept Artwork Lee Brimmicombe-Wood Additional Game Design James Brooksby Additional Artwork George Grimshaw Thanks to.. Nik Wild - for obvious reasons, Magic for being there, Lidia Stojanovic - getting us noticed, Emma Ware + Carolyn Reed, Bozz for being very helpful, JK, Matt Miller, John Davies, The Leathern Bottle and all who work/drink in her. Personal dedications from the team to ENS Williams, Catherine, Brent, Duncan, John, Neil, Gary, RichardB, Ann+BrianB, Merlin, Bella, John Doyle, Doug Barham, Sarah, Deb, Stella, Liz, John Hawkins, Ali, Sappho, Venus, Louise, Martin Blee, Carl Thompson, Nathan W, Jared Holwell, Mike Webster, Nicky Barker, Andrew Fenton, friends+pubs+family generally.. Thanks to all those who've worked on Terracide in the past - Ash, Keith. Damon, Tim + others whose contribution has gone unnoticed. Final thanks to all 3D card manufacturers and driver writers for their help. Addendum to the Manual ------------------------------- - Joystick throttle wheels are, by default, disabled in the game. However, you can enable them if you wish by adding -AT on the Terracide command line, i.e. type "terawin.exe -AT" to run the game, or create a windows shortcut of the same form. - If a player carrying the enemy flag in a "capture the flag" game is killed, the flag will be left in that spot until one of the team the flag belongs to touches it, at which point it will be returned to their base. Until this is done, they can capture but not return their opponents' flag to their base. Simply put, in order to capture your opponents flag, you must return it to your base whilst your own flag is flying there.