User manual GAMES MICROSOFT XBOX X-COM - UFO DEFENSE

UFO DEFENSE PLAYER'S HANDBOOK ® Game Design and Program Copyright ©1994 Mythos Games Ltd Documentation, Packaging and Logo Copyright ©1994 MicroProse Ltd UFO DEFENSE TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT FOR IBM PC COMPATIBLES REQUIRED EQUIPMENT · Computer X-COM UFO Defense requires an IBM PC AT or a computer 100% compatible with this model. The computer must have a hard disk. X-COM UFO Defense requires at least an 80386 processor and a minimum of 4MB RAM. · Controls You will require a Mouse and Keyboard to play X-COM UFO Defense. · Display X-COM UFO Defense requires a color monitor with a VGA graphics system. If you are using a compatible graphics card/monitor, it must be 100% compatible with VGA systems. · Disk Drives X-COM UFO Defense must be installed onto a hard disk. · DOS You must have IBM PC-DOS or Microsoft MS-DOS version 5.0 or higher. SOUND X-COM UFO Defense supports the PC internal speaker, AdLib compatible cards, SoundBlaster compatible cards and the Roland LAPC-1. PAGE 1 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT GAME ENHANCEMENTS AND OTHER INFORMATION 1. THE BATTLESCAPE OPTIONS SCREEN The Battlescape Options screen (section 3.2.3.11 of the Player's Handbook) consists of the following: Scroll Speed Click on any of the numbered buttons to change the speed at which the view window moves, from 1 (slowest) to 5 (quickest). Scroll Type Click on either of the numbered buttons to change the Scroll Type between Trigger Scroll (press the Left Mouse Button when the Mouse Pointer is at the edge of the screen) or Auto-Scroll (the view window moves automatically when the Mouse Pointer is moved to the edge of the screen). Fire Speed Click on any of the numbered buttons to change the speed at which weapon shots move, from 1 (slowest) to 6 (quickest). X-COM Movement Speed Click on any of the numbered buttons to change the speed at which your soldiers move, from 1 (slowest) to 6 (quickest). PAGE 2 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT Alien Movement Speed Click on any of the numbered buttons to change the speed at which the aliens move, from 1 (slowest) to 6 (quickest). Click on the OK button to return to the Battlescape. Click on the Save Game button to save your current game. You will be taken to the Select Save Position screen. See section 7.2 of the separate Player's Handbook for full details of saving games. 2. THE BATTLESCAPE SOLDIER DATA SCREEN The Soldier Data screen (section 3.2.3.16 of the Player's Handbook) contains the following information: Time Units - the soldier's remaining Time Units. These are required to carry out everything from walking to firing weapons. Energy - the soldier's current Energy level. This will decrease as the soldier carries out energy-consuming actions such as walking through thick grass. The total energy available will be lowered if the soldier receives fatal wounds to the torso. Health - the soldier's current Health. If the soldier has received Fatal Wounds, each wound decreases Health by one point per turn. If Health reaches zero, the soldier dies from the wounds incurred. Fatal Wounds - the number of Fatal Wounds received by the soldier. The Medi-Kit can be used to heal Fatal Wounds. Bravery - the soldier's Bravery. This determines the likelihood of the soldier's Morale decreasing. Morale - the soldier's Morale. A soldier will lose Morale if the battle starts to swing in the alien's favor. If the Morale falls below 50, the soldier could panic. PAGE 3 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT Reactions - the soldier's Reactions. This determines how effective the soldier is at opportunity fire - taking a shot during the alien's turn (see section 3.2.6 of the Player's Handbook for full details). Firing Accuracy - the soldier's accuracy at firing weapons. This will increase as the soldier gains battle experience. Throwing Accuracy - the soldier's accuracy at throwing objects. This will increase as the soldier becomes more experienced. Strength - the soldier's Strength. This affects the distance which the soldier can throw objects. Psionic Strength - the soldier's Psionic Strength. This is a measure of the soldier's natural ability to defend against an alien psionic attack. Psionic Skill - the soldier's Psionic Skill. This is the soldier's ability to use the Psi Amp in mental combat. Armor - the soldier's armor status, divided into sections for Front, Left, Right, Rear and Under. This will rise as the soldier is equipped with armor manufactured by your engineers. 3. THE BASE INFORMATION SCREEN The Base Information screen (section 4.2.2 of the Player's Handbook) contains some extra features: The Base Icons In the top-right of the screen, there are eight Base Icons which allow you to change the currently selected base. These function in exactly the same way as the Base Icons in the Bases screen. PAGE 4 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT The Base Name Click on the base name in the top-right of the Base Information screen to change the base name. A flashing * cursor will appear. Use the Backspace Key to erase the previous name, type in the name of your choice using the Keyboard and press the Return Key. Short-Range Detection This is a display of the short-range detection ability of the base. Short range detection systems have a range of 300 nautical miles. Long-Range Detection This is a display of the long-range detection ability of the base. Long range detection systems have a range of 450 nautical miles. Note: X-COM radar systems, while very long ranged, rotate very slowly - once every 10 minutes. This means that your base will detect UFOs more effectively if more than one radar system is in place. The Stores Button Click on the Stores button to view a list of the items currently in the stores. The Maintenance Button Click on the Maintenance button to view a list of your monthly expenses. These are made up of the following:Craft - X-COM do not own Skyrangers or Interceptors, they are leased from their owners for a monthly fee. Personnel - your personnel are paid monthly, according to standard world pay scales. Base Facilities - base facilities are re-equipped monthly. See the UFOpaedia for details of the maintenance cost of each base facility. PAGE 5 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT 4. SOLDIERS The Soldiers screen (section 4.2.10 of the Player's Handbook) contains some extra features: Click on the Soldiers button in the Bases screen to access the Soldier List. This displays all the soldiers at the currently selected base, regardless of which craft they are assigned to. Use the Mouse to highlight and select a soldier. You will be taken to the Soldier Data screen. The Soldier Data screen The selected soldier's rank badge is in the top-left of this screen. The soldier's name is next to the rank badge. Click on this to change the soldier's name. A flashing * cursor will appear. Use the Backspace Key to erase the previous name, type in the name of your choice using the Keyboard and press the Return Key. PAGE 6 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT Click on the Armor button to change the armor worn by the soldier. The Select Armor window will appear, listing the types of armor available and the number of each in storage. Click on an armor button. The soldier will now be equipped with the selected armor - its name appears next to the Armor button. Below the buttons is a display of the following: Rank - the soldier's X-COM rank. Missions - the number of missions which the soldier has taken part in. Kills - the number of aliens the soldier has killed. Craft - the craft which the soldier is currently assigned to. Wound Recovery - the number of days before the soldier recovers to full health. In the bottom two-thirds of the screen, there is a display of the soldier's physical statistics. These are identical to those in the Battlescape Soldier Data screen (see the Battlescape Soldier Data Screen section of this Technical Supplement for full details). Click on the at the base. buttons to view data for the next/previous soldier Click on the OK button to return to the Soldier List screen. Click on the OK button in the bottom of the Soldier List screen to return to the Bases screen. PAGE 7 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT OPERATING DIFFICULTIES AND LOADING PROBLEMS Q. Why won't my game load? Check all memory requirements listed in this Technical Supplement. You will need 560 K of Conventional Memory and 1 Mb of Extended Memory (XMS) or Expanded Memory (EMS). Conventional Memory To check how much Conventional Memory is available, type MEM/C from the C:\> prompt and press the Return key. Look for the Largest Executable Program details. If there is insufficient Conventional Memory, you may need a Boot Disk. Q. What is a Boot Disk? This is a Start Up disk for your computer which contains alternative start up files to those on your hard disk. The Boot Disk will allow more Conventional Memory to be available. Making a Boot Disk Instructions for making an MS-DOS Boot Disk (also known as a System Disk) will be found in your Microsoft manual. Using a Boot Disk Insert the Boot Disk into your floppy disk drive A and then switch on the computer. You should leave the disk in the floppy drive during play. Slow Running If you are not running from a boot disk, please ensure that you have SMARTDRV.SYS or SMARTDRV.EXE loaded into your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. If you are using MS-DOS 5.0, make sure you have the following line in your CONFIG.SYS file: devicehigh=c:\dos\smartdrv.sys If you are using MS-DOS 6.0 or 6.2, make sure the following line is in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: loadhigh c:\dos\smartdrv.exe However, this line may need removing if memory problems occur. PAGE 8 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT Q. Can I run my game through Windows? No, this is not recommended, it is likely that you will have insufficient memory to do so. Q. Does my game run with DR DOS, Novell DOS 7 or OS/2? Success is not guaranteed. MicroProse games are currently designed to run with MS-DOS 5.0 or 100% compatible DOS. Q. What is Base Memory? This is the original 1Mb (1024K) in your machine. It is divided up into Conventional Memory (640K), where MS-DOS and all PC programs load and Upper Memory (384K), where system programs reside. In MS-DOS 5.0 the bulk of the operating system and associated drivers (such as the mouse driver) are normally loaded into Upper Memory. Other drivers held in the area of Conventional Memory will reduce your 640K available for the program. It is important to have as much Conventional Memory as possible free. Q. What is Extended Memory (XMS)? Further memory, beyond the 1Mb of Base Memory on your PC is called Extended Memory. XMS can be used to free more Conventional Memory so that bigger games can be run. XMS can also be used to simulate Expanded Memory. Q. What is Expanded Memory (EMS)? EMS was originally designed to give the PC more memory to run programs. It has been around far longer than XMS so most programs take advantage of it. Most MicroProse games take advantage of EMS. The DOS command EMM386.EXE can be used to turn XMS into EMS and should be in your CONFIG.SYS. Remember that hard disk space is also measured in Megabytes (Mb). Don't confuse this with memory - the two are completely different! Memory Managers If the program is occasionally freezing or crashing to DOS, you may have a conflict with your current memory manager. MicroProse recommend only the drivers which come with MS-DOS (i.e. HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE). Try using the memory managers which come with MS-DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1, MS-DOS 6.0 or MS-DOS 6.2, in that order. PAGE 9 X-COM TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT Mouse Drivers Another common cause of the program freezing or crashing is due to a conflict with your current Mouse Driver. MicroProse recommend the Microsoft driver, MOUSE.COM or MOUSE.SYS v8.20 or higher. See the MS-DOS manual for full details. To check which Mouse Driver you are using, run the MSD program which comes with Windows 3.1 and MSDOS 6.0/6.2. The Read Me File The latest notes regarding this program, additions, revisions etc. can be found in a file named README.TXT in the UFO directory. These notes may be read by using either standard DOS commands or the DOS 5.0 text editor (type EDIT README.TXT). PAGE 10 CREDITS Game Design and Programming Mythos Games Limited Julian Gollop Nick Gollop Graphics and Animation Julian Gollop John Reitze Martin Smillie John Broomhall Andrew Parton Pete Woods Andrew Luckett Richard Bakewell Darren Kirby Phil McDonnell Jason Sampson Kristian Ramsay-Jones Alkis Alkiviades John Emory Joe Morel Cesar Novoa Sarah Warburton Tim Roberts Paul Hibbard Pete Moreland Music Sound Effects Quality Assurance Manual Author Managing Editor Packaging and Manual Design Producer Publishers PAGE 11 INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND t is the year 1999. Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) have started appearing with disturbing regularity in the night skies. Reports of violent human abductions and horrific experimentation has struck terror into the hearts of millions. Mass public hysteria has only served to expose Earth's impotence against a vastly superior technology. I Many countries have attempted to deal independently with the aliens. In August 1998, Japan established an anti-alien combat force; the Kiryu-Kai. Equipped with Japanese-made fighter aircraft, the Kiryu-Kai certainly looked like a powerful force. However, after 5 months of expensive operations they had yet to intercept their first UFO. The lesson was clear: this was a worldwide problem which could not be dealt with by individual countries. On December 11, 1998, representatives from the world's most economically powerful countries gathered secretly in Geneva. After much debate, the decision was made to establish a covert independent body to combat, investigate and defeat the alien threat. This organization would be equipped with the world's finest pilots, soldiers, scientists and engineers, working together as one multi-national force. This organization was named the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit. PAGE 12 INTRODUCTION THE GAME -COM UFO Defense puts you in command of X-COM, with the finest Earth technology at your disposal to defend the Earth from alien invasion. Shooting down UFOs is just the beginning. You will then control a squad of heavily-armed soldiers, edging cautiously through the local terrain, battling aliens and recovering UFO technology. X When you command a ground assault, you will use the 3-D isometric `Battlescape' display. This shows terrain, buildings, X-COM craft and UFOs, but will only display what your soldiers can see - so beware of danger lurking around corners or down dark corridors! Successful ground assault missions mean that X-COM scientists can research alien technology. Engineers can then reproduce their superior weapons and spacecraft. Soon you will be fighting the aliens with their own technology. As the game progresses, you will use the on-line `UFOpaedia' to learn the latest details from your research teams about alien technology, life forms and their real objectives. Above all, you must watch the world political situation. Look out for governments which may be forced to make secret pacts with the aliens and make sure you defend the countries who fund X-COM heavily. X-COM UFO Defense. Command Earth's forces against the alien terror! PAGE 13 INTRODUCTION THIS MANUAL This Manual is split into two main sections: Section 1: The Gameplay Tutorials are designed to get you playing X-COM UFO Defense as quickly as possible. You are recommended to follow each tutorial before you start to play the game on your own. Section 2: The Reference Guide is intended for the player who is familiar with how to play X-COM UFO Defense and needs to learn more about particular game features. The Controls You will require a mouse to play X-COM UFO Defense. This manual will refer to `clicking' on buttons, icons or highlighted text. To do this, simply move the cursor over the option and press the Left Mouse Button (LMB). PAGE 14 SECTION 1 THE GAMEPLAY TUTORIALS THE GAMEPLAY TUTORIALS BEFORE WE BEGIN... elcome to X-COM UFO Defense. These tutorials are designed to help you start playing with the minimum of trouble. The three main sections of the game are covered here; the Geoscape, the Battlescape and the Bases Screen. W For extra information on particular game features, see the Reference Guide section of this manual. First of all, we will start a new game. Starting a New Game 1. Install and Load X-COM UFO Defense. 2. After the animated introduction, you will be taken to the game options screen. PAGE 16 SECTION 1 3. Move the mouse pointer over the New Game option and click on the Left Mouse Button (LMB) to select. You will now be taken to the Select Difficulty Level screen. 4. Move the mouse pointer over the Beginner option and click on the LMB to select. You will now be taken into the main game screen, the Geoscape. The first thing you must do is to position your first XCOM base on the surface of the Earth. PAGE 17 SECTION 1 Setting-Up a New X-COM Base 5. The message Select Site for New Base will appear in the top of the screen. In the bottom-right hand side of the screen, you will see three green spheres surrounded by arrows. These are the View Controls which allow you to rotate and magnify the display of the Earth. · Click on the icon. The Earth display will be magnified, some borders around countries will appear. 6 · Click again on the icon. The Earth display will be magnified again, some country names will now appear. 7. · Click twice on the minimum magnification. 8. The or right. icon. The Earth display will return to its icon allows you to rotate the Earth display up, down, left · Click a few times on the up arrow, the Earth display will tilt towards you. 9. · Click a few times on the left arrow, the Earth display will rotate. 10. · Position the mouse pointer over the Earth and click on the Right Mouse Button to center the Geoscape on that location. By using a combination of these controls, you can manipulate the Earth display to show any part of the Earth in detail. 11. · Click on any part of the Earth's surface (except the sea) to position your first base. Note: It is a good idea to position your base in the middle of a large land mass such as North or South America, Russia or Europe. This will give you a better chance of defending that area from UFO raids. 12. A window containing the prompt Base Name? will appear. Type in a name using the Keyboard and press the Return Key. You have now set up a new X-COM base and you are ready to start playing X-COM UFO Defense. PAGE 18 SECTION 1 TUTORIAL 1: THE GEOSCAPE Menu Options Game Time Time Controls View Controls Tutorial 1 guides you through the Geoscape's basic controls and the process of intercepting UFOs. 1. The Geoscape is the main screen for playing X-COM UFO Defense. You will see your base on the 3-D view of the Earth, represented as a hollow blue square. On the right-hand side of the screen, there is a list of Menu Options, a display of the Game Time, the Time Controls and the View Controls. The Time Controls are very important to the game, and it is these which we will go through next. Note: If you wish to pause time at any stage during the game, simply click on any of the Menu Options. 3994 - 9668 PAGE 19