Secret Service 56b/SSERVCD_56B.bin/Sinclair/Games/information/TauCeti3.txt

Text File | 1998-02-02 | 10KB | 378 lines

THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE

NAME
Tau Ceti

PUBLISHER
CRL

AUTHOR
Pete Cooke

YEAR
1985

DESCRIPTION
A 3D exploration/action/puzzle game which puts you at the
controls of a skimmer vehicle on the planet Tau Ceti III.

KEYS
Redefinable, but the defaults on loading are:
O - Left
P - Right
S - Increase thrust
X - Decrease thrust
N - Fire laser
M - Fire missiles
F - Fire flare
A - Fire AMM
R - Status report
I - Infra-red on/off
H - Increase height
G - Decrease height
J - Jump (if near jump pad)
L - Land
BREAK - Pause (fire restarts)


INSTRUCTIONS (Inlay text)

The story begins in 2047 with the invention of the Interstellar
Drive.   Using hydrogen scoops mankind could collect fuel from
the thin spread of hydrogen between the stars.  This made it
possible for the exploration and colonisation of nearby systems.

in 2050 the first wave of colonists left Earth for four nearby
G-type stars, Alpha Centauri, Tau Ceti, Van Maanen's Star and
Beta Hydri.  Seven months later the first wave of colonists
arrived at Tau Ceti and began to build a civilization on the
third planet, an inhospitable desert world with very little life.
For over 90 years the colony grew and prospered.  The Cetans
built over 30 cities across the planet and a strong trade based
on mining, robot technology and hydroponics grew up.

Then, in 2150, disaster struck in this and one other of mankind's
four growing colonies.  A vicious plague, Encke's Syndrome, swept
across the planet.  Once contracted the disease was invariably
fatal and as it swept from city to city the few remaining
colonists finally admitted defeat and fled, leaving the planet
to the robot maintenance systems.

Two years passed and on Earth a cure for the disease was found,
and links between the two remaining colonies, Alpha Centauri and
Beta Hydri, were resumed.  About this time all radio contact was
lost with the automatic systems remaining on Tau Ceti III as a
massive meteor smashed into the planet.

As the remaining starbases recovered from the loss it was decided
to recolonise Tau Ceti and Van Maanen's Star.  In 2164 the first
expedition left for Tau Ceti.  A single ramscoop entered the
system and safely landed on the planet's surface.  Minutes later,
a mayday message was received, followed by total silence.
Experts decided that the robots, so skillfully designed by the
first colonists, had run amok after the meteor impact.  After
seven years, and the successful recolonisation of Van Maanen's
Star, a second expedition was organised.  The only way to stop
the defence systems without destroying the remaining buildings
was to send in an armoured ground-skimmer to shut down the
massive fusion reactor in the planet's capital city, Centralis.
A single skilled pilot might be able to succeed where fifty would
surely fail, and like a fool, you volunteered!!!

CONTROLLING THE SKIMMER

The Gal-Corp armed skimmer is a powerful and dangerous craft and
challenging for even the most experienced pilots.  The skimmer
is equipped with....

A single bow-mounted ruby laser
Defensive shields
Eight (8) heat-seeking missiles + targetting system
Eight anti-missile missiles (AMMs)
Eight starlight flares
Infra-red night sights
A Hoffman 360 degree scanner and 4-way selectable viewscreen to
avoid blindspots
Planetary compass and computer ADF (automatic direction finding)
beacons
A JCN command computer (guaranteed fully debugged for normal use)

On loading the program you will be presented with a view of the
skimmer's instrument panel.  The screen is divided into three
areas.  The large window on the left is your viewscreen, below
which is a long blue area.  This is your contact with the
skimmer's powerful built-in computer.  Finally on the right of
the screen are five information windows.  At the top is a compass
and real-time clock along with a message showing the view
selected, the city you are in and the ship's flight state.  Below
that is the scanner, and below that three more smaller windows.
The first gives the pilot's name and the skimmer's complement of
missiles/AMMs and flares.  The second shows speed, shield energy,
fuel remaining, laser temperature, and height, and the third
displays 2 ADFs - the upper one locked onto the city and the
lower onto your LANDER (if in the same city).

The skimmer operates in two modes, flight mode and ground mode.
In flight mode control of the program is via single keys or a
joystick.  In ground mode you are in direct communication with
the craft's computer via the computer window.  On loading, the
program will go into a demo sequence.  To stop the demo press
BREAK.

The commands available are given below along with a short
description:

HELP
    Lists commands as below.

LAUNCH
    Normally ground mode is only active when docked.  Launch will
send the skimmer out onto the planet's surface and the active
flight mode.

MAP
    The computer will display a map of the planet showing
information about the cities.  Use Left, Right, Up, Down, and
Fire keys to move the cursor over the map and Fire to select a
function.

RODS
    This will allow you to assemble cooling rods found throughout
your mission.

REACTOR
    When docked with the Main Central Reactor in Centralis will
give you access to the reactor room.

LOOK
    Shows a view inside the building.  Also any objects of use
there.

WAIT
    Waits 5 Earth minutes (about 1/12 of a Cetan "spin").

STATUS
    Gives a damage and progress report (also available in
flight).

EQUIP
    Allows access to building repair, refuelling, and rearming
facilities (if any).

NAME
    Used at the start of the game to give the computer a pilot's
name.

PAD
    An on-screen note pad.  Alows you to make notes of progress
etc.

NEW PAD
    Selects a fresh page in the note pad.

SAVE
    Saves game to tape.

LOAD
    Loads a game from tape.

KEYS
    Allows you to totally redefine the single key commands in
flight mode.

QUIT
    Abandons a game.

SCORE
    Gives a rating of your progress so far.

PAUSE
    Freezes the game (Fire restarts).

SIGHTS ON
    Switches on the laser sights.

SIGHTS OFF
    Switches off the laser sights.

To start the game type LAUNCH (and press ENTER).

Your skimmer will leave the safety of the lander and venture onto
the surface of the planet.

Exploration of the planet is carried out in FLIGHT MODE.  When
first loaded the keys used are as detailed earlier.


A MESSAGE FROM GAL-CORP CENTRAL: TAU CETI III GENERAL INFORMATION

The planet's day:

Tau Ceti III has a very short day, approximately equal to one
Earth hour.  The Cetans call this period a 'SPIN' and group 16
spins to a 'DAY'.  As the planet has no moon you will have to use
the Infra-red equipment to see anything after sunset.

Docking on the planet:

Many of the buildings on the planet's surface are equipped with
DFP's latest model energy screened airlock, recognisable by the
characteristic flickering pattern, and your craft will allow you
to dock with these buildings if you wait for the airlock to open
to full aperture and fly in SLOWLY!

Once inside a building the computer will return you to ground
mode giving you full access to any facilities available.

Navigation on Ceti III:

The planet has the now standard system of JUMP PADS to allow easy
transport from one city to the next.  Unfortunately the pads are
of the old non-programmable 'Super Traveller' type and each pad
is mapped to a single destination.  Luckily your ship's computer
has a complete map of the jump
network.  To jump from one city to the next simply find the
correct jump-pad (they are found at the NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND
WEST ends of the city) and press J.

Gal-Corp recommends caution on exit from a jump as reports
indicate that small 'sand hoppers', a native life-form, tend to
cluster around the feeder pipes of jump pads and lives have been
lost in the past due to collisions.

Defence estimates:

It is known that many of the cities will be defended by
late-model robot hunters marks I, II and III, sophisticated
hunter-killers.  Reports also indicate that land-based guardian
crawlers and heavily-armoured fortresses may be found in larger
cities.  Radar scans also detect the presence of proximity mines.
An identification chart for known robot defences is given at the
end of this report...

[The original documents have diagrams at this point.  They're a
bit difficult to re-create in ASCII, so the following are _rough_
outline versions...]

    /^\           Main Central Reactor
  _/   \_
 /       \
/         \

  _-=-_
 /     \          Reactor substation
/       \


_--"--_
\     /           Supply centre (civilian)
 \   /

   |
_--^--_           Supply centre (military)
\     /
 \   /

 ____^____
(____ ____)       Fortress
 ___| |___
(____ ____)
 ___| |___
(____ ____)
    | |

   _==_
   \  /           Control tower
    \/
    ||
    ||

  _---_
 /     \          Dome
(       )
 \     /


            Sphere (pretty self-explanatory!)

     ____
 ___/    \___
(____________)    Hunter Mk1




      __
__---/  \---__    Hunter Mk2
  ---____---


      _____
 ____/     \____  Hunter Mk3
/_______________\


           ||
           ||     Jump Pad complex
           ||
 ________  ||
/        \ ||



FINALLY A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRWOMAN...

Please try to avoid wanton destruction of unarmed buildings.
Gal-Corp central do want to COLONISE this world after you've
finished with it and each undamaged dwelling will save millions
on the next year's budget!!

GOOD LUCK

.....................
Message ends.



CHEATS

RE-RELEASES

URLS

SEQUELS
Academy - which made a great game even better.

NOTABLE FEATURES
Absolutely stunning game when it came out - a true Spectrum
classic!  Incredibly atmospheric (for their day) graphics, with
shadows and light moving as the sun rises and sets...

FACTS
Sinclair User wrote a complete players guide to Tau Ceti in one
of it's issues around 1984.  I think it was the one with Asterix
on the front.