I N F E S T A T I O N (By Psygnosis) ALL DOCS, AS EVER, TYPED BY THE ONE AND ONLY... _____ ___ _______ _____ _____ | | | | / \ |\ | | | | | | | |_____| | | | | | \ | | | | | | | | |-----| |-----| | \ | | | | | | | | | | | | | \ | | | | | | | | | | | | | \| | |_____| | | | _____ _____ _____ | | | | | | \ | | | |_____| | | | | | | \ | | | | | | \ | | |______ |_____| | \ |_____/ Are you ready for a new level of realism in computer games? Are you prepared for an atmospheric experience you will never forget? Can you cope with super-fast solid 3D vector graphics? Will you venture into the unknown, alone, and armed only with a single pulse rifle? Can you overcome the INFESTATION? THE GAME -------- In the distant future man has colonised the stars. Many surface installations and subterranean complexes have been constructed at distant, off-world locations, on hundreds of planets and moons. On one of these moons is the top secret colony Alpha II - a remote scientific community engaged in studying possible life forms on a nearby planet. One day the transmissions from Aplpha II begin to indicate that things have gone terribly wrong: an alien intelligence has infiltrated the base and is slowly exterminating the colonists. Later messages tell of the computer systems going haywire and becoming hostile, and of discoveries of strange eggs. Suddenly, without warning, the transmissions stop. Something needs to be done fast. To assemble a task fleet would take too long. Only one man is close enough to deal with the threat. That man is you (A-Team music in background. PL). As an agent of the Interplanetary Federation you have seen many dangerous missions completed, but this one is more potentially hazardous than any of your previous assignments. It is so dangerous that it may well be your last! LOADING INSTRUCTIONS -------------------- Firts: always switch off your machine for at least 30 seconds before loading the game. Failure to do this may result in virus contamination of the INFESTATION master disk. See the virus warning below and the warranty notice latter on for further information. AMIGA VERSION ------------- Switch on the computer. If the display prompts for a Kickstart disk, insert one into the internal drive. When the display prompts for a Workbench disk, insert the INFESTATION disk into the internal drive. The game is played with a joystick plugged into the second joystick port. LOADING TIPS ------------ If the title screen has not appeared within 45 seconds then there may be a problem with your comouter system. Check that the computer is connected up properly and that the above sequence of instructions has been followed correctly. If you are sure that the computer is functioning (i.e. other software is working correctly) and are still unable to load INFESTATION then you may have a faulty disk, in which case you can obtain a free replacement from Psygnosis. INTERPLANETARY FEDERATION GOVERNING COMMITTEE --------------------------------------------- Special Report --- T O P S E C R E T. NOTE: No additional copies of this document are authorised. All existing copies are to be destroyed on command. SUBJECT: Alpha II Colony stationed on Xelos (4th moon of Planet CX.D3a [Orbit=1,375,500 kilometres]) LOCATION: System Gamma III-fr. 4 billion light years from Earth. PURPOSE OF COLONY: Station Alpha II was established on Xelos to house a secret scientific research group. The object of the group was to make a detailed study of Planet CX.D3a. This is an ice-covered world with a unusual pink aura caused by the escape of various gases trapped beneath the ice. The ice itself is only a thin crust which is translucent in many places. It is also believed that the mantle of ice actually rests on a sea of dense gases. It is also believed that these gases form an atmosphere capable of sustaining life. This theory has been borne out by observation of sub-ice movement and surface changes that in all probability are indications of intelligent species. Station Alpha II has been passively observing these movements for the past nine months. Regular reports were transmitted to Earth. Over the past two weeks these transmissions have become erratic and grabled. Where intelligible they indicate a fatal hostile encounter. The final transmission (recieved yesterday) is appended to this report. ********** ETHER-NET TRANSMISSION ref: 0376.a45 SOURCE: Alpha II station. Xelos. DESTINATION: IF Central Scientific Committee. Earth. [start of message garbled] ...found three more bodies yesterday. Remains unidentifiable, as with others. Only five of us left. Alien untraceable. We are attempting a... [unintelligible] ...but central computer has been affected, and all systems are now hostile when human lifeforms detected. Humidity and toxicity of atmosphere rising daily. We cannot keep... [garbled phrases] ...lifeform has been laying what we believe to be eggs. We have destroyed some but there are too many to eliminate. I don't think we can hold out much longer. Brady has been relieved of command... [long pause] ...can't keep a grip on sanity. WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE... [mumbling, unintelligible] ...help us... please help us... [transmission ends]. AN ENCOUNTER OF THE WORST KIND Kal Solar quickly switched over to full manual control as he approached the moon's surface. If Alpha II's Central Computer was genuinely hostile he did not want to alert it by allowing his flight computer to start transmitting approach data. As he swung down to skim the surface of the satellite he switched on top and rear monitors and set the ether-net reciever to scan all frequencies. As he expected all he picked up was the quiet crackle of static generated by the ever-changing energies present in space. The monitors however showed a scene of devastating beauty. The distant twin suns, GX278 and GX279, were setting behind the overwhelming mass of the nearby planet. As the suns' rays glanced off the ice it threw off a scintillating rainbow of colours arcing high above its surface. But Kal was in no mood to appreciate its beauty. his mind was preoccupied with the task ahead of him; a task that could well cost him his life. Ahead of him now he could see the rim of one of the landing pads. Fortunately it was open, which would mean a safe landing but he had no idea whether he would be able to get inside. His fears soon proved to be unfounded. Someone had obviously has the good sense to disconnect as many systems as possible from the central computer. As he suited up, Kal briefly pondered on the possiblity that someone had survived, but dismissed the thought immediately. The chances of his finding any survivors were minimal. Kal could not know for certain what the atmosphere in the station would be like now, but he suspected that it would be largely unbreathable. With a hiss the outer airlock door opened and he stepped out onto the surface of the landing bay. With three bounds he had reached a nearby terminal. Without hesitation he punched the access code on the keypad. There was a short delay and then the terminals monitor flickered to life. Kal had not expected things to be this easy. Before him was a detailed plan of the whole complex, and the sensors were still working, allowing him to clearly see the location of the eggs. Once he had gathered all the information he needed, Kal logged off and moved away from the terminal towards the lift that would take him down into the heart of the complex. He hoped that the lift mechanisms had also been disconnected from the malfunctioning computer. Once more he was fortunate; a heavy nudge on the control panel was all it took for the life door to slide open releasing a blast of stale air as it did so. Once inside, Kal engaged his helmet's Head Up Display and selected Navigation aids. It would not do to get lost in this sprawling construction. His displays indicated that the air here was breathable so he removed his helmet. The nauseous stench that hit him almost caused him to vomit immediately, but he choked back the bite. The smell was unmistakably that of decomposing flesh; an ominous indication of what he wwas likely to find within the complex. As he touched the lift panel to descend, Kal also noticed a faint acidic taste in the air. It was a strange taste that he couldn't recall ever experiencing before. Perhaps it was just the staleness of the air that caused it, but he had an uneasy feeling that it might be sourced from elsewhere. As the lift doors slid open he replaced his helmet and stepped out into the dull glow of the stations emergency lights. the corridor stretched away from him into the distance, silent and empty. A few metres away a lead radiation shield had dropped across an access, and the radiation warning symbol was glowing brightly on the indicator panel. So, it looked as if he was going to have to cope with radiation leakage as well as hostile lifeforms. Kal had not gone far down the corridor when he caught a glimnpse of a ventilation hatch out of the corner of his eye. Of course, that would be an ideal way to move through the complex. The ventilation shafts ran everywhere, and many bypassed potentially tricky access hatches. Crouching he removed the grate and squeezed inside the narrow tunnel. He was at a terminal point here, so there was only one way he could go. After he had travelled some distance another tunnel branched off to the left. Looking down it he saw that it ended, after a short distance, at another grate. Beyond that he could see a room hazed over with a bluish mist. Intrigued, Kal decided to investigate. With some effort the grate became loose and dropped with a clang to the floor below, and was swiftly followed by Kal himself. The mist was thick enough to prevent him from seeing for more than a metre or so ahead of him, and it swirled violently each time he moved. He began to feel very uneasy about this place. Undeterred he stepped forward, but stopped again almost immediately. he was sure he had heard a small creaking noise to one side of him. Yes! There it was again: a very low, but definite creaking coming from floor level. He turned towards the sound but the mist was hiding whatever was making the noise. Reluctantly he took another step forward and his foot caught something causing him to fall violently to the floor. The fall knocked the wind out of him and left him dazed. As his blurred vision cleared he saw the pulsating mass before him. Its semi-translucent surface glistened, reflecting the luminous mist, and within he could see a dark shape slowly shifting in a thick jelly. There was another creak and in horror Kal watched transfixed as the hard petal like flaps at the top of the egg peeled open a little more revealing a shiny black tip of an inhuman skull. In shock Kal slid away from the growwing abomination, instinctively moving to free his trapped foot. Without taking his eyes from the horror before him he felt blindly for the object he had tripped over. Grappling in the mist his hand closed on another which instantly came away with a sharp crack from the rotting corpse it had been part of... YOUR MISSION ------------ You are Kal Solar, agent for the Interplanetary Federation. Your mission is to eliminate the threat from hostile alien lifeforms. You will travel to Xelos in your interplanetary cruiser, and once there you will land and enter station Alpha II. Your main objective is to seek out the incubating eggs and destroy them. This is done by sealing them inside their incubation areas and poisoning them with cyanide gas. Once all the eggs have been destroyed you must progress to the power source at the heart of the complex. This is a huge shaft which taps power from the moon's core. Once you have located the power source you must work out how to set it to achieve critical mass, thus atomising the planet. When this is done you must escape before the moon explodes. Go to the surface and press ESC. EXPLORING THE COMPLEX --------------------- Your view of the complex is shown in high-speed solid three-dimensional graphics. You are free to move throughout the complex as you wish, although we do recommend you take time to make a map as you go. Movement is achieved using the joystick. Your support systems work in one of two modes. RECONNAISSANCE, in which you are free to look around at the surounding area, or TACTICAL, in which your pulse rifle is active and can be fired. JOYSTICK without fire button with fire button (Reconnaissance only) FORWARD LOOK UP TURN LEFT TURN RIGHT TILT HEAD LEFT TILT HEAD RIGHT REVERSE LOOK DOWN These controls will enable you to explore the level you are currently on. But remember that the complex is spread over several levels. LIFTS ----- You can move between levels using the lifts. These can be identified by the double sliding door embellished with a diamond shape. Pressing F1 will open or close the nearest lift door. Once inside the lift, and with the doors fully closed, press CURSOR UP to take the lift up a level and CURSOR DOWN to take it down. SHUTTLES -------- You will also come across shuttles. These provide fast transport in straight lines between two locations on one level. The shuttle can be made to open and close by pressing F1. VENTILATION TUBES ----------------- As well as exploring rooms and corridors you can also move around the complex by using the ventilation tunnels. The accesses to these are covered by grates. Pressing F1 will remove the nearest grate. You will have to crouch in order to move through the tunnels. Press F10 to Crouch, and once again to Stand. RADIATION AREAS --------------- Some areas have become irradiated. In some cases these have been automatically sealed off with lead doors, and indicated by a radiation warning symbol. Prolonged exposure to radiation will prove fatal. When your visor is sealed your life expectancy is longer. NETWORK TERMINALS ----------------- Scttered throughout the complex are special Network Terminals which can be accessed to show the layout of the complex, and the location of eggs and hostile systems. To access a terminal, move in front of it and press F2 to log on - provided you have the relevant entry key. Once you have logged on use joystick to scroll the map. Press F2 to log off. BLAST DOORS ----------- these are special aiur-tight doors which can be permanently sealed. Pressing F1 will lock the nearest Blast Door. be sure that you want to do this however. Once secured a Blast Door can not be reopened. YOUR EQUIPMENT -------------- You enter the complex in a sophisticated, pressurised body suit complete with a helmet, oxygen pack, battery pack, and cartridge pulse rifle, intravenous food, etc. MANNED MANOEUVRE UNIT (MMU) --------------------------- When activated, this allows you to fly above the surface of the moon. THE HELMET ---------- The helmet, as well as providing protection, is a vital source of statistical information. If you are in an area with a breathable atmosphere you can conserve your oxygen supply by removing the helmet. This will also allow you to see more, but at the expense of the helmet's built in displays. Press F3 to remove or replace the helmet. Inside your helmet the following information is displayed: OXYGEN - A graph shows your oxygen reserves. This is the stuff of life, so conserve it whenever you can. TEMPERATURE - This shows your body temperature which will usually be proportional to the exterior temperature. RADIATION - This shows the level of radioactivity in the vicinity. Avoid prolonged exposure. COMPASS - This displays your bearing relative to the moon's magnetic north. HEAD UP DISPLAYS (HUD) ---------------------- There are up to seven displays which can be overlaid on your view. Using the numeric keypad the displays that can be called up are: NAVIGATION : Key N1: Displays additional navigational data. STATUS : Key N2: Displays current mission status and number of eggs destroyed. INVENTORY : Key N3: This lists the items you are carrying, which will mainly be any items you have found. LIFE SUPPORT : Key N4: Displays life support status (Heart rate, liquid food level). SCRATCH PAD : Key N5: Displays your scratch pad. You can make notes on this for future reference. ATMOSPHERIC ANALYSIS : Key N6: Displays radiation level and atmosphere status. AVIONICS : Key N7: Displays all your vital flight dynamics for MMU. SIGHTS : This is the default display when in tactical mode. When the grid is displayed within the sights you are in tactical mode. Sights are used for aiming your pulse rifle. They can be reselected by pressing the key for the HUD currently displayed. THE SUIT -------- The suit maintains your body temperature and supplies you with food and water in an intravenous form. The suit also houses your oxygen and battery in a backpack. WEAPONRY -------- You carry a high power pulse rifle. This is attached to your nack-pack and draws its power from the battery. Use sparingly. ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT -------------------- Scattered throughout the complex are various items of equipment left by the scientists which you can make use of: COMPASS - When found this can be attached inside your helmet and aids navigation. INFRA-RED SCANNER - This will highlight items that are not normally visible to the naked eye, such as laser alarm systems. When this is attached the entire display is shown in red. VARIOUS KEYS - There are a number of keys which provide access to various lifts, shuttles, and rooms. You will have to experiment to discover which fits what. EXTRA OXYGEN - This is in the form of crystals which your suit can process into oxygen. They are very scarce. There are many other pieces of equipment waiting to be discovered in the game. HOSTILE FORCES -------------- You will have to contend with a number of hostile forces within the complex. These include: ALIEN EGGS - These go through several stages of growth, increasing rapidly in size. They are normally harmless but will release a deadly nerve gas just before they hatch. SENTRY DROIDS - These patrol certain rooms and will automatically attack anything that enters. You will almost certainly have to get past them on occasions. They can be disabled with your pulse rifle. WELDING DROIDS - These patrol the ventilation tunnels checking the seals. They will not attack, but due to the high voltage charges they carry contact is fatal. THE MOTHER ALIEN - No data... BRIEFING ENDS... ____________________________________________________________________________ | | | INFESTATION FACT BOX | | | | Game Code:..................................450k | | Number of 3D shapes:........................200+ | | Graphics Data:..............................500k | | Sound Data (Amiga):.........................100k | | Sound Data (ST):.............................70k | | Breathing Sample Rate:..................variable | | Overall Game Size:.........450k (ST) in one pass | | Overall Game Size:............400k intro (AMIGA) | | | | Unlike some similar 3D graphic systems, the system for Infestation was | | developed specifically for 16-bit machines. So, whereas in other systems a | | doorway into a room might be represented as a simple black oblong, the | | Infestation graphics system actually allows you to see through the doorway | | into the room. Infestation also features a far smoother movement that can | | be found in similar games and will allow you to go almost anywhere in the | | game world. Because of its elegant and efficient design, the Infestation | | system allows the computer's processor plenty of time for handling | | animated objects within the game world. Many previous systems could only | | handle static objects or very limited animation. | | | |____________________________________________________________________________| QUICK KEY GUIDE --------------- GENERAL CONTROLS ---------------- F1 Open/Close door of any kind (if locked a key will be needed). The door immediately in front of you has priority: if there is no door in front then the door behind gets second priority. F2 Use item, eg, log on to computer, throw switch, etc. F3 Lift/Lower helmet's visor. Default is helmet lowered. F4 Infra-red on/off. Default is off (if fitted). F5 Reconnaissance/tactical. Default is tactical. F6 Recentre view. F7 Drop gas cartridge. F8 Suit and helmet power on/off. Default is on. F9 Fast turn on/off. Default is off. F10 Crouch/Stand. Default is stand. HEAD-UP DISPLAY COMMANDS WHILE IN THE LIFT ------------------------ ----------------- All HUDs default to off. CURSOR UP Raise lift. N1 Navigation HUD on/off. CURSOR DOWN Lower lift. N2 Status HUD on/off. N3 Inventory HUD on/off. N4 Life support HUD on/off. N5 Scratch pad on/off. N6 Atmosphere analysis on/off. N7 Avionics on/off. WHILE ON THE MAP TERMINAL MOVEMENT CONTROLS ------------------------- ----------------- The joystick's North,South,East and The joystick's North,South,East and West control your movement over the West control your forward,backward, layout. If the fire button is held turn left and right respectively. If in the North and South then control the fire button is held in tactical zooms in or out respectively. mode, then, the shoulder-mounted laser will be fired. Otherwise they control raise,lower,tilt left and tilt right. MANNED MANOEUVRING UNIT (MMU) OTHER KEYS ----------------------------- ---------- N.B. Can only be used on the surface HELP Pause/resume game. of the moon. ESC Quit game (Only while paused). CURSOR UP Take off. TAB Sound on/off. CURSOR DOWN Land. All other movements by joystick. Use firebutton for extra thrust.