THROMULUS: THE ENEMY WITHIN The History of Thromulus In a secret laboratory in Madison WI., an eccentric geneticist named Professor Throm developed a strange new organism derived from ordinary red blood cells treated with a top secret formula. This unusual new breed of creature had the ability to replicate itself, it could also infect normal blood cells with its own genetic code, causing them to duplicate it. It would quickly try to take over the bloodstream of any creature it encountered, replicating itself and capturing other bloodcells until it alone was left. The Professor called this new creation - Thromulus Disgustus! As the Thromulus cells bred, the Professor found that they also had the ability to invade the human bloodstream. Unfortunately, by the time he discovered this, they had already infected his assistant, Stanley. Professor Throm quickly developed a new strain of Thromulus, using the oxygen-poor blood cells, stained blue with yet another secret formula. He then injected his luckless assistant in hopes that the new strain of Thromulus would overwhelm the old. All he can do now is monitor Stanleys bloodstream and hope for the best as these microscopic creatures battle for total dominance. Now you can join in this war for control of the bloodstream. Guide the Thromulus cells, causing them to divide and infect their enemies. Utilize platelets to block their enemies movement or defend your cells. Drive the enemy cells away using viruses, or just destroy them with white blood cells. You can challenge another human in this fight, take on one of six different computer opponents, or just sit back and have the computer fight itself. Getting Started Thromulus can be run from disk or installed on your hard drive. Just follow the simple directions below to install or run the game. Thromulus requires at least 1 megabyte of memory to run. Installing Thromulus Open a CLI window from workbench. At the prompt, type "execute thromulus:install dh0:thromulus". You may change dh0:thromulus to the name of the partition and directory you wish Thromulus to be placed in. The install program will create its own directory if the specified directory does not exist. After executing the install procedure you should add "assign thromulus: dh0:thromulus" just before the "loadwb" command in the startup sequence on your hard drive. As with the install procedure, dh0:thromulus may be replaced by the name of the partition and directory you wish Thromulus to be placed in. Loading Thromulus Thromulus will self boot if the disk is in df0:, otherwise it can be loaded from workbench by double clicking the Thromulus disk icon and then double clicking the Thromulus game icon. To load from the hard drive, just open the proper drawer and double click the Thromulus game icon. When the protection screen appears, find the specified page and look at the object pictured at the bottom of the screen with the Thromulus critters. Click on the icon on the screen that matches the one at the bottom of the page to start. Don't waste your time, this fucker has been cracked by SKID ROW! Game Options After the title screen, if you click the mouse button, the Game Options Menu will appear. Using this menu you will be able to alter the parameters of the game. You can change the size and layout of the game board, the skill level of the computer player(s), the available microorganisms, and even the volume of the music and sound effects. Listed below are the various user-configurable options for Thromulus. Board Size In the top row of the Game Options menu, just to the right of the box listing the colors of the opponents are three boxes, labeled (from left) "7", "9" and "11". These are the 3 legal board sizes that may be chosen, 7*7, 9*9, or 11*11. The numbers dictate how many boxes will be used to compose the playfield. Clicking on an any of these will cause that button to depress and the others to rise. The selected size will be used to generate all boards, random or edited. Loaded boards will have their own size stored with all other board data. Background on/off Just to the right of the Board Size buttons is a button that, when depressed, will eliminate the background graphics from the game. Clicking it once will depress it, clicking again will raise it. When raised, the background will be filled with a colorful graphic swirl. Random Boards By clicking on the Random Board button, the rightmost button in the second row of the Game Options Menu, a board will be generated by the computer using the selected board size and selected options (such as Movable Platelets, Viruses and White Blood Cells). Once a board has been generated, the game will begin automatically. Load Boards/Game Clicking the Load button, the lowest button on the left column, will allow you to load either a saved game or a saved board. Just insert the disk that the saved data is on and select the appropriate file, then click the "load" button on the file requestor. The saved game will start immediately, a saved board will start with whatever options were selected when it was saved, and whatever players were chosen on the Game Options Menu. There are a variety of sample boards that you may load in and play or edit on the Thromulus disk. Players The buttons to the right of the Start button dictate whether the game is played Human vs. Human, Human vs. Computer or Computer vs. Computer. Clicking the player buttons will toggle them between Human and Computer. The player plays the color listed directly above the player button. When a computer player is selected, it will play according to the skill level selected for it, listed under the appropriate player box. The skill level of the computer players may be modified by clicking the up and down buttons on either side of the "Level" box. These skills apply to the computer player directly above them. Clear Screen Option If you do not want the "roll down" effect to appear when you go to the main menu, then depress the "CLR" button located to the right of the computer skill level settings. To activate it again, click on it once more and it will become raised again. Platelets, Viruses and White Blood Cells To the right of the "CLR" button, you will find 3 buttons that will allow you to activate White Blood Cells, Movable Platelets and Viruses. Just click on the appropriate button, and it will depress and activate that option. To de-activate it, just click it again and the button will raise. The options, from the leftmost, are White Blood Cells on/off, Movable Platelets on/off and Viruses on/off. These additional microorganisms are described in more detail in the chapters on Moving and Attacking. Sound and Music The Sound Effects and Music can be turned up or down or even turned off by clicking the buttons on the lowest row of the Game Options Menu. The first set of buttons, to the right of the "Load" button are Sound Effects on/off and Sound Effects volume up/down. To the right of those buttons are the Music on/off and Music volume up/down. The adjustments you make on these buttons are in effect until you change them again or reboot the game. Exit Clicking the lowest right button on the Game Options Menu will allow you to exit the Thromulus Program. You will be asked if you really want to leave, clicking "Yes" will return you to DOS, clicking "No" will allow you to keep playing Thromulus. Board Editor The third button down on the left side of the Game Options Menu is the Board Editor. By clicking this, you will be able to design and save your own board layouts. The editor will use whatever board size you chose on the Game Options Menu, either 7*7, 9*9, or 11*11. Above the board are four buttons, Save, Load, Cells and Accept. The board will be empty except for the four starting Thromulus cells, these will be located in the four corners of the grid. Now you may move these cells, add Platelets or even remove squares from the board. All of your choices will be symmetrically duplicated in each of the four quadrants of the board. If you wish to move the starting location of the four Thromulus cells, click on the "Cells" button. You may now choose where the cells begin by clicking on one empty square on the grid. The other cells will be symmetrically positioned in each of the quadrants. You may also exchange the color between the blue and red Thromulus cells by clicking on them. When you do this, all the cells will change to the opposite color. To add Platelets, simply click on an empty square. A grey square will appear, this is a Platelet, three others will be placed in matching positions in each quadrant of the grid. Clicking again on an existing Platelet will turn it into a hollow square, this designates a missing section of board. When you play, this square will be a Gap. If you are not playing with the Movable Platelets option, any platelets on the Grid will simply be obstacles that the players may not reposition. You may load any board you have designed and saved to disk by clicking the "Load" button. A file requestor will appear, just insert your disk and click on the appropriate file, then click the "Load" button on the requestor to load in the saved board. There are an assortment of example boards on the Thromulus disk, you may select and modify any of these, or just play them. Once you have finished designing or modifying your board, you may save it to disk by clicking the "Save" button. This will bring up a file requestor, have a blank AmigaDOS Formatted disk with at least 10k free to place in the drive. When you have the disk ready, just enter the name you wish your board to be saved under and click the "Save" button on the file requestor. When you have finished designing and saving your board, you can play it with all the options you last selected from the Game Options Menu by clicking the "Accept" button on the top of the Edit screen. The game will start immediately after you click the button. If you start a game, and forget to save the design to disk, just save the game from the Play Menu and you can load in the board design from that file at a later date. Game Objectives You will control one of two Thromulus cultures as they fight for control of Stanley's bloodstream. The game is played on a grid layout, and then you try to take as many of the squares as possible while preventing the other side from doing the same. To do so, you must increase your number of cells, either by division or by capturing your opponents cells. You will also have to make strategic use of whatever other microorganisms are available. The game will end and declare a winner if one side is completely eliminated, or there are no more legal moves. If one side is destroyed, the other side wins automatically. If one side can no longer make any legal moves, the other side is awarded all the empty squares and then the computer determines a winner. In this case, the side with the most territory wins. It is not possible to end a game in a stalemate. Movement During your turn, you are allowed to move one microorganism, or take back a move. Microorganisms include your Thromulus cells (whichever color you are playing), Platelets, Viruses and White Blood Cells. When you have made a move, the opposing player (whether human or computer) may take their turn. If either you or your opponent cannot make any legal moves, the game ends. Cell Movement There are two ways to move Thromulus cells, they may either divide or jump. To move a cell, just click on it with the left mouse button and you will see it start to pulsate. If you change your mind, just click on a different microorganism before you complete your move. The new cell may now be moved. Once you have selected a cell, you may divide it into two Thromulus cells by clicking on an empty adjacent square (horizontally, vertically or diagonally). The cell will then split itself into two equal portions, one in the original square and one in the new square. Each cell thus created may be moved or divided again in a later turn. If you wish a selected cell to jump, you must find a nonadjacent empty square up to two spaces away and click. The selected cell will jump from its old square to its new square. As long as you are jumping over one square of space, the cell will not divide. Platelet and Virus Movement Platelets and Viruses may be moved either one or two squares by whichever side is taking their turn. Just click on the Platelet or Virus that you wish to move and then click on an empty space up to two squares away. If you change your mind, just click on any other microorganism before you complete the move. Platelets and Viruses may be moved as often as you like during the game. Once you have moved either a Platelet or a Virus, your turn ends and your opponent takes his. White Blood Cell Movement White Blood Cells may only be moved one time during the game, after that, they become immobile obstacles in the game. During their turn, either player may click on a White blood cell and move it to ANY empty square on the board by simply clicking the target square. If you decide you do not wish to move, just click on any other microorganism before choosing the target square. If a player moves a White Blood Cell, their turn ends and their opponent takes his turn. Attacking There are three ways to affect your opponent's Thromulus cells during the game. You may either Infect them with one of your cells, reposition them with a Virus or you can simply eliminate them with a well-positioned White Blood Cell. Infecting When a Thromulus cell is moved next to a Thromulus cell of the opposing color (whether by dividing or jumping), it infects that cell with its own genetic material. By doing this, the immobile cell becomes part of the moving cell's culture (example - if a red cell is moved next to a blue cell, the blue cell becomes a red cell). The moving cell will infect ALL adjacent opposing Thromulus cells, horizontally, vertically and diagonally. Once all the adjacent cells have been infected, they become property of the player whose color they now possess. Viruses When a Virus is moved, it will reposition the contents of the squares adjacent to it. Whatever was in the square above it is moved to the square below it and vice versa. The game goes for whatever was to the right or left of it. Viruses only swap squares when they are moved, not when things are moved next to them. If one or more of the squares adjacent to the Virus are gaps (missing squares), then the corresponding swap will not be done (in other words, if there is a gap to the right or left of the Virus, it will not do a horizontal swap. If there is a gap above or below it, it will not do a vertical swap and if the Virus is put into a corner, it will not do ANY swaps). All microorganisms are affected by a Virus, with the exception of the immovable Platelets and immovable White Blood Cells (if the Movable Platelets option is in effect, they will be moved by a Virus, and if the White Blood Cell has not been moved yet, it will be affected although it will not kill the surrounding cells). Any cells that wind up adjacent to opposing cells will not be affected in any way by them. White Blood Cells When a player moves a White Blood Cell, it will kill ALL enemy Thromulus cells adjacent to its final location. Thromulus Cells of the controlling player will not be affected. White Blood Cells only kill when they are selected and moved by a player. At no other time will they be deadly. Once a player has selected and moved a White Blood Cell, that cell may not be moved again during that game. Play Menu The small menu that appears on the right side of the board during the game is called the Play Menu. The options present on it may be selected by the player currently taking their turn. It provides options for taking back moves, gaining help for your next move, and saving or ending the game. It also shows how many turns have been taken since the start of the current game. Counter The counter, the top box on the Play Menu, tells you how many moves have been made by both sides during the current game. Once the counter reaches 1000, it will reset itself to 0 and start again. This will not affect your game in any way. Help If a player does not know what pieces he has that may make legal moves, clicking on the Help button directly below the counter will activate one of his Thromulus cells that may make a legal move. The activated cell may be moved as normal, or you may select a different microorganism, or you may click Help again to see the next of your Thromulus cells that may make a legal move. Repeated clicking will cycle through all your Thromulus cells that may make legal moves. using Help does not take up your turn. Back This button, positioned below the Help button, does different things depending on who the players are. When two computer opponents are playing, this button will not be available. If a human is playing against a computer opponent, this button will allow the human to take back the last two moves that were made (the computer's and the human's). Repeated clicking will take back earlier and earlier moves until you reach the beginning of the game. When two humans are playing, this button will allow the controlling player to take back whatever move he just made and move again. Save You may save a game at any point by clicking the Save button directly below the Back button. You may save a game on any AmigaDOS volume with at least 10k free. When you click the Save button, a file requester will appear. Just insert your save game disk (any blank, AmigaDOS disk will do), enter the name you wish the game to be saved under and click the "save" button on the file requester. Once saved, a game may be loaded in from the main menu. All game elements are saved, board layout, current positions, score and counter. Exit Clicking the "Exit" button, the last box on the Play Menu, will end the current game and take you back to the Game Option Menu. Strategy Tips The first thing to remember is never leave yourself vulnerable. If you leave a hole in your mass of Thromulus cells, your opponent can place one of his cells in there and infect a lot of your cells. Try to divide rather than jump, this will ensure you have few gaps in your defense and it will give you a larger mass of cells to work with. Never let your opponent surround you, he will be able to prevent you from moving and that will give him all the remaining empty squares. Play defensively, if you start stretching your forces out to get him, you allow him to hit you where you are weakest. Don't always attack to infect your opponent, very often you will get one or two of his cells and he will then move and take 3 or four of yours due to an opening you leave behind. Try to lure him into making attacks that will leave him vulnerable to a well placed cell. Computer Strategy Each level of computer skill has its own unique strategy. The lowest level, 0, is more or less random. It places a slightly higher priority on dividing than jumping, but its actual movement is random. Level 1 puts more emphasis on capturing its opponents pieces, but it still moves in a random manner. Level 2 is a more cautious version of level 1. It plays more defensively, trying somewhat to protect itself. Level 3 will try to surround you. It tries to position its cells on the outside edge of the grid. Level 4 and 5 utilize an artificial intelligence system that will look ahead several moves to calculate the possible responses you could make to each of its movements. The only real difference between the two is that level 4 will play very aggressively, and level 5 will place its emphasis on defense. Choose a level that you feel would provide you with the most challenge, or see what the various matchups of skill would do when two computers play each other. Try using different sizes and layouts of boards to see how well each of these strategies would work, but most of all, experiment and have fun!