Denizens of Avara
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You never know who you’ll meet.

The Scout

Your HECTOR comes equipped with a remote video camera attached to a small hover vehicle. The “Scout Control” key acts as a toggle, and will release or recall your scout. When you release the scout from your HECTOR, it takes up a station above and behind you. When you move, the scout follows you around. Your scout keeps its camera trained on you, and  you can switch to the view from your scout at any time. The “Scout View” key toggles the view between your scout and your HECTOR. If you switch to “Scout View” when your scout is not released, your HECTOR will automatically launch your scout.

If you like, you can change the position of your scout relative to your HECTOR by using the “Scout Control” key in combination with the direction keys. In the standard keyboard mapping these combinations are attached to the arrow keys. If you want your scout to keep a station to your right rather than behind you, simply tap the right arrow. Your scout will move off to the right of your HECTOR and stay “on station” as you move. Likewise, the up arrow will make your scout keep a station in front of your HECTOR.

You can use the “Scout Control” key in combination with the “Aim Forward” key to force your scout to stay in one place. The camera in your scout will continue to track your HECTOR, but the scout will remain in place until you recall it by using the “Scout Control” key.

Your scout is hardy, but it isn’t indestructible! Hostile units can target your scout, and if it takes enough damage it will be destroyed. If you lose your scout, you won’t get another in that mission.

UFOs

Some Avara levels are populated with UFOs. UFOs deliver a nasty wallop, so it is wise to have a healthy respect for them! Although their energy bursts are powerful, they have a hard time hitting moving targets. It is best to keep moving when you are being attacked by a UFO. Try using missiles against them. Once the missile is locked on the target, you can fire and then concentrate on dodging!

Guards

A Guard is a gun emplacement. It tracks targets within its range, and fires a nasty bolt of energy whenever it has a clear shot. Guards fire fairly quickly and pack a big punch, but they turn slowly. When you are in range of a guard, it is best to step lively!

Parasites

Parasites lead a bizarre existence. Their sole purpose in life is to find a HECTOR and feed on its energy. If a parasite sees you, it will move slowly toward your HECTOR and try to attach itself to your hull. If a parasite successfully attaches itself to your HECTOR, it will drain some of your energy. When it is full, it will explode with joy!

Transporters

Transporters are simple things. Entering a transporter takes your HECTOR some place else. The fun is that sometimes you don’t know where you will go!

Switches

Switches can be used to control actions in an Avara mission. To activate a switch, just shoot it with your Plasma Cannon.
Keep an eye on the scene, since you will want to know what the switch does.

Mines

Mines in Avara work as you might expect them to, they blow up!

HECTORs

In Network Avara, you interact with the HECTORs of the other players.

Other HECTORs that are the same color as yours are on your team. You should work with them to reach your goal, or to destroy the other team.

Any HECTOR of a color different from yours is not on your team. This doesn’t necessarily make it your enemy, but that might just be the case.

Not all network games of Avara are “blow the other guy away” games. Some missions are set up to be cooperative, and some are competitive in a different way.

For example, you can play ball games in Avara. In ball game missions, the object is to score points by getting the ball in the goal. You can move a ball by shooting it, or you can pick it up and run with it. To release a ball, or any object you are carrying, hit any “load weapon” key.

Avara is an incredibly rich environment, and the type and style of missions that can be created is limited only by the imagination of the mission designer.

For more information on designing levels for Avara, see the section on Creating New Levels in Chapter 13, Avara Extras.

Objects

The world of Avara is made up of objects. Walls, doors, ramps, flowers, balls—there is no limit to what can be created. Particularly in the solo missions, much of what you do is to interacting with the objects in the level. As you work your way toward the goal of a mission, keep in mind that objects can be moved, carried, activated, or destroyed. Any one event in Avara can trigger something else. Walking across an open space might open a door, a platform might move vertically like an elevator, or destroying a block might unleash a hoard of UFOs!