INTRODUCTION ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Welcome to Gene Splicing. A science fiction roleplaying game which takes place roughly 75 years into the future, during the later half of the 21st century. With people living longer than ever before, the economy of the world began to feel the weight. Outer space looked more appealing as the answer for everything. New jobs off world and curving the population living on earth. For the first time in decades, governments began to increase funding towards space administrations. The Space Security Agency has been created in an attempt to help monitor the ever increasing off world activity. However many costly problems have plagued the development of this new agency. And now with several political groups calling for its termination, the SSA's future has come into jeopardy. In this game, you are the latest inductee into this agency. What perfect timing... CREATING A CHARACTER ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ When starting a new game you will need to create a new character. Your character will be your alter ego in the game world. Character generation involves accepting a set of randomly generated ability scores, choosing a gender, selecting a portrait, and providing a name for your character. STATISTICS ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ All characters have four ability scores... Strength - A high strength score can help inflict additional damage with melee weapons. It will also increase the number of items you can carry. Intelligence - The higher your intelligence rating the more PSI points you will have. Some NPCs, however, have no psionic capability and so a high IQ will not benefit them. Agility - A valuable attribute that can increase your Defense rating as well as increase your chances of striking a target using ranged weapons. Endurance - This determines how healthy your character is. A high endurance will increase the number of hit points you receive each time you attain a higher level. Ability scores start off for a level 1 character ranging anywhere from 1-10. The scores can increase over time as your character attains higher levels through experience. The maximum any ability score can be is 20. Gender - Either male or female. PSI - Represents the number of psionic points your character has. Hits - The number of health points your character has. Level - A measure of how much your character has advanced. When a character has achieved enough experience points, that character automatically increases in level. See the chart at the end of this documentation to learn how many experience points are needed to advance to each level. PLAYING THE GAME ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ The main game screen is set up with three windows. The upper left box displays a first person view of the area you are in. The upper right box is the message area. This will contain descriptions of areas and often present sub menus during special encounters. The box at the lower right, beneath the message area, displays party information. This can detail the roster of characters present or display data on a specific character. Also on this screen is a compass to assist you in exploring. Movement is accomplished by clicking on one of the arrow buttons beneath the 3-D window. Or positioning the mouse cursor within the 3-D window and clicking. Or by using the keyboard. Keyboard movement involves either using the arrow keys or the keypad. Left handed players can use the 6 farthest left keys on their keyboard for movement if they desire. Plus there are additional options available to you by pointing the mouse cursor to one of four buttons at the bottom of the screen and clicking the left mouse button, or by pressing the first letter of the option. OPTIONS MENU ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Selecting the "Options" button will present the following... SAVE GAME - Select this option to store your game so that you can resume it later at your current location. Remember to save often. Especially after really tough battles. RESTORE GAME - Select this option to resume a game from a previous saved position. RETURN TO GAME - As it implies, select this to return to your current game. Pressing the escape key also works. EXIT GAME - Select this to quit the game. Don't forget to save the game first if you want to continue at your current point at a later time. AUTOMAP ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ The automap displays where you currently are as well as where you have been and seen in the current area. Select the continue button to exit the map and return to the game. CHANGE ORDER ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Changes how the characters are listed when viewing the character roster. Those at the top of the list are closest to your opponents during combat. The first four characters are considered in melee range. Any more characters are behind them and safely out of range of hand-to-hand type attacks. However they can still be attacked by ranged weapons. VIEW ROSTER/VIEW CHARACTER BUTTON ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ The button at the bottom right corner of the game screen toggles between displaying the party roster and the active character. INVENTORY ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ During the course of the game you will discover many items along the way. Some equipment will have obvious uses like that laser rifle. However other not so obvious items may be important to finishing the game. The following options are available to you in the inventory window... Equip - Select this to ready an item in your inventory. Weapons and armor cannot be put to use until they are equipped. Unequip - To unready an item select this option followed by the item you want to de-equip. Trade - To pass an item to another character in your group. The item you wish to trade must not be equipped to perform the trade. Drop - To remove an item from your inventory. Select this option should you need to make room in your inventory to carry a new item. You will not be able to drop an item that is equipped until you unequip it first. Be sure that you want to drop an item! For once you do it will be gone forever. Tips on Inventory ----------------- While in the SSA headquarters stock up on ammunition clips in the armory. There are an unlimited number of clips to be taken. The higher a character's strength score, the more items that person can carry. If you are out of inventory slots and need to carry something, you can safely drop any empty clips as a way of making room. Careful about dropping keys. Also consider trading any items to an NPC to make more room. But be aware that some NPCs may not want to give the item back later. It's always safe to let another SSA agent hold equipment for you. Non-Player Characters (NPCs) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ During the game you will encounter numerous characters. Some will simply speak with you. Some will want to join your ranks and travel with you. And others will be out to kill you, in which case you will be forced to enter combat with them. Those npc's which can join your party of characters will fight along side you in combat. They have their own statistics and equipment just like your character, however when in combat, the computer handles their actions. These npc's also have their own behaviors. For example the npc, Ann Palmer, will happily trade any items to you and others. However not all characters that you meet will be so giving. Some will only assist you if it does not place them in too much jeopardy and others may be quite selfish. COMBAT ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Quite often you will enter combat. Combat consists of rounds. You determine what actions you want your character to take, NPC's in your group determine their actions, and your opponents decide theirs as well. Then the combat round begins where all actions set for that round are resolved and their results are displayed. If you find the scrolling text is moving too fast or too slow, you can adjust the speed at which it is displayed between combat rounds by clicking on one of the two arrow boxes in the window border. The red bar acts as a speed indicator. When the bar is completely red, the text is scrolling as fast as it can. When it's completely grey, the text is scrolling at its slowest. When you have an encounter with hostiles, you will first be presented with a menu consisting of 2 or 3 options: Fight - To initiate an attack. Run Away - To attempt to flee from the encounter. The farther away you are from the closet group of enemies, the more likely you will be able to successfully escape. Likewise, the closer you are to your opponents the less likely you'll be able to get away. Advance - To proceed forward by 10 feet. By spending time leading your group forward you miss out on any other actions for the current combat round. It may be necessary to advance if your opponents are out of your attack range. This third option only appears if your party is more than 10 feet away from your closest opponent. If you have selected to fight, you will be presented with another menu for which you can tell the game what you want your character to do for the next round. Attack Opponents - To perform a physical attack with a weapon. Although using a gun isn't necessary. With no weapon equipped, your fists are used. Defend - To stand back from fighting for the next round. Although your opponents may still attack you, they will receive a -2 to hit. If you have very few hit points left this may be a wise move to perform. Psionic Attack - To attack an opponent by focusing your mental energies on its mind. There is no such thing as "missing" with this kind of attack. The damage inflicted is determined by taking your experience Level and multiplying that by a factor of 2. Thus, if you are a level 1, then you will do 2 points of damage. If you are level 2, you will do 4 points of damage. And so on and so forth. The number of Psionic Attacks you can perform is revealed on your character's stats, labeled as PSI. Once you have a 0 for your current PSI, you will not be able to use this attack again until you have recuperated from the mental strain naturally or through the use of drugs. Give Order - If there are any NPC's with you, then this option will be present. You can tell an NPC to perform an action like one of the first three options you have above. Although odds are the NPC will perform the action you want him/her to do, the final call ultimately rests on that character to carry out your order. And so there is a small possibility the NPC will not do as you wish. Besides the options above, you can also access your inventory by selecting the "Inventory" option at the bottom of the screen. Each time you kill an opponent, you will receive a certain amount of experience points that will be added to your EXP score. Tougher opponents give more experience than weaker ones. The one who kills an enemy will receive full experience for it while remaining party members will get half. Tips on Combat -------------- The first four characters in your party are considered to be in melee range. If you have more than four characters in your party, move the weakest ones into the back, thereby keeping them out of range of any opponents who do not use shooting weapons. If you run out of ammunition and have no loaded clips to spare, remember to unequip your weapon so as to at least punch. Otherwise you'll miss out on attack rounds attempting to shoot an unloaded weapon. If a character has few hit points left, you should trade any sort of healing items to that character in between combat rounds and have him/her equip it to restore some of the lost hit points. TABLES ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Level Experience needed ----------------------------- 1 0 2 1000 3 2000 4 4000 5 8000 6 16000 7 32000 8 64000 9 128000 10 256000 11 512000 12 768000 13 1024000 14 1280000 15 1536000 16 1792000 17 2048000 18 2304000 19 2560000 20 2816000 *Required experience is doubled each level until Level 10. After that, an additional 256,000 experience points is needed to gain a level up to the maximum of 20th. When a character attains a level, he or she receives hit points as well as an additional skill point to one of their ability scores. The higher an ability score, the more proficient a character becomes. For example, a character with a Strength score of 11 has a +3 bonus, enabling him to do +3 damage with physical attacks and get 3 additional inventory slots. Ability Score Ability Bonus ------------- ------------- 1-8 0 9 +1 10 +2 11 +3 12 +4 13 +5 14 +6 15 +7 16 +8 17 +9 18 +10 19 +11 20 +12 Here are some of the items to be found in the game... Weapon Name Ammo Type Target Range Damage ----------- --------- ------ ----- ------ Knife None Single 10 1-4 9mm Pistol Clip Single 30 1-5+1 Minigun Clip Group 40 1-5+1 Laser Pistol Power Pack Single 50 1-8 Shotgun Clip Single 20 1-8+2 Defense Unit Increase Defense by ------------ ------------------- Shield Belt 2 Kevlar Vest 3 Combat Helmet 1 Health Unit Affect ----------- ------ First Aid Kit Heals 5 points of damage ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ WEB SITE: http://neptune.spaceports.com/~splicing/ EMAIL: genesplicing@spacemail.com Gene Splicing has been created by Adam Stanchos. Copyright (C) 1998, Nachos Software. All rights reserved. -End of Documentation-