ALIEN In space no one can hear you scream DESCRIPTION ----------- The game is based on the film Alien and includes all the characters from the film. It was a strategy game set over the 3 levels of the commercial towing vehicle Nostromo and includes a maze of air ducts through which you and the Alien can reach all areas of the ship. There is no set way to win or lose the game but the more successful you are the better your rating at the end of the game. Each of the crew have their own personality and traits and may not obey your commands all of the time. As the games progresses the crew will become more frightened and may panic. To make the game harder one of the crew (the identity changes each game) is an android that will disrupt your actions and can kill your crew. CONTROLS -------- Use the D-Pad to cycle through menu options and crew members. "Left" cycles through the living members of the crew. "Up" and "Down" cycles through all members of the crew. "Right" will focus on whoever the Alien is currently attacking. The "A" button is used to open the options menu and to select options. The "B" button is used to close the options menu or cancel an action. INSTRUCTIONS ------------ On the main menu screen you can select the length of the game, the difficulty, who dies at the start, who is the android, and whether to display the game using the 'Enhanced' or the C64 based 'Classic' graphics. At the start of the game the Alien will kill one of the crew members as it emerges into the world. The aim is to kill the Alien or survive it by escaping the Nostromo using the escape shuttle. The escape shuttle can only accommodate 3 people, and the onboard Artificial Intelligence (Mother) will not allow the escape shuttle to be launched whist living crew (or other known life forms - Jones) are detected on board. Luckily for you the AI does not see the Alien as a valid life form. If you decide to take your chances in the shuttle you will need to gather all 3 (or less) living crew members, catch Jones the cat in the "Cat Box", and head for the shuttle. If you want to save the Earth it is recommended to set the "Self Destruct" before you leave the Nostromo. You can kill the Alien by using various tools and equipment scattered around the 3 floors of the ship. Think carefully about which items you use and which you leave behind. Each crew member can carry 2 items, but they can only use one at a time. ITEMS ----- The following items can be found scattered around the 3 floors of the Nostromo. Spanner Electric Prod Laser Pistol Incinerator Net Harpoon Gun Fire Extinguisher Tracker Cat Box Some items have special use. For example, the Spanner is used to repair damage around the ship, but it can be used a blunt weapon in an emergency. Special care should be taken when using the Incinerator as it could start a fire in the room. The Cat Box should be used to catch Jones in order to escape in the shuttle. A higher rating is awarded for catching Jones regardless of how the game is won. An icon (i) in the bottom right of the screen indicates when there are items within the room. You can pick up and drop items. MOVEMENT -------- You can move your crew members freely around the 3 floors of the Nostromo but the airlocks maybe inaccessible depending on the door controls. You can use the ladders on each floor to access the next area. It is worth exploring the ship and familiarising yourself with the layout. Each room has a grille which can be removed or replaced. The Alien might be using the under floor access tunnels in order to navigate the ship. Access the under floor tunnels using the grilles. In the bottom right hand side of the screen there is an icon which indicates whether the grille is open or closed. You can move pressing A, selecting the "Move" option and then use the D-Pad to select which nearby room you want to move to. It will take a short period of time for the crew member to carry out the action. Whilst a crew member is carrying out an action you can control another crew member. You can move to the tunnel system by setting the destination to the room you are already in, providing the grille has been removed first. There is a limit of 3 living crew members in any given room. If you want to move someone through a room where there are already 3 crew members, you will need to move one of the 3 crew somewhere else. There's safety in numbers! The Alien will have a harder time picking people off when there are multiple crew members in the same room. Your team will also have a slightly better chance of being able to attack and avoid the Alien when there are multiple people to distract or attack the Alien. If you have too many people in the room the Alien may feel outnumbered and may attempt to escape. SPECIAL ROOMS ------------- Command Center You can use the main console here to enable or disable the self destruct. Mother will provide a 5 minute back out warning, after which the ship will start to overload the engines - a process which takes 5 minutes and cannot be reversed. Cryo Vault Here you can put a crew member into suspended animation for the return journey home. This is recommended if a crew memory is critically injured. Infirmary When a crew member becomes injured, you can patch up their wounds here. Serious injuries can take significant time to heal. Corridor 6 In this room you can control both of the airlocks. Note that any crew members in an airlock may be killed as a result. Narcissus This is the 3 man escape shuttle. CREW & HAZARDS -------------- The Alien and Android can and will damage the environment. When fighting, some nearby damage to the room will likely occur. It would be wise to have a Fire Extinguisher on hand just in case a fire breaks out. Damage done to a room could affect computer and mechanical equipment within the room. You may need to perform some repairs if a room has sustained damage. If the damage level in a room reaches 100% the hull will breach. Each crew member has their own health and morale level. As they navigate the ship, collect items, or engage with the Alien, their Morale will be affected. Morale can be affected by light levels, inventory, health, and nearby companions (alive and dead). When a crew member has died in a room the body will remain there. This is indicated by a skull in the bottom right hand side of the screen. Any living crew members within that room will suffer a drop in morale due to the presence of their dead companion. A crew member with low Morale or low health may be unpredictable. THE ALIEN --------- The Alien will do anything it can to survive. It may deliberately or accidentally start a fire somewhere on board, perhaps in an attempt to lure someone to attend. The Alien will use the tunnel systems to its advantage, it will flee when outnumbered or when it is critically injured, it may even try to regenerate damaged tissue if it is badly injured. Try to corner the Alien and pay close attention to which crew members have which items, and try to position your team in a tactical manner.