Fatal Abyss - README.TXT (c) 1998 Humansoft (c) 1998 SegaSoft Networks, Inc. Full Version 1.0 October 19, 1998 www.segasoft.com www.humansoft.com www.fatalabyss.com ™™ 1. Getting Started A. Installing the Software B. Re-Installing The Software C. Network Connection Setting ™™ 2. Fatal Abyss - Quick Start A. Introduction B. Screen Navigation C. In-Game Default Controls ™™ 3. Vehicle Types A. Computer controlled vehicles and structures B. Vehicle Weapons ™™ 4. In-Game Screens ™™ 5. Last minute changes and additions A. Known bugs B. Cool things to try ™™ 6. Credits -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ™™ 1. Getting Started · Minimum and Recommended Machine Specifications Microsoft Windows® 95 or better 166 MHz Pentium Processor 32 MB of RAM 4X CD-ROM DirectX 5.0 (or greater) 150 MB Hard Disk Space For best results we recommend a Voodoo, Voodoo Rush or Voodoo 2 based 3D card. Increased system capabilities will improve game performance. · For multi-player or HEAT.NET or LAN - 28.8 modem (up to 16 players), IPX or TCP/IP network (for LAN play), Java Enabled Internet Browser - (Netscape Navigator 3.0+ or Internet Explorer 3.02+) and an Internet Connection A. Installing the Software 1. Start Windows® 95 and place the Fatal Abyss® disk in the CD-ROM drive, label side up. Close the CD-ROM tray and the Fatal Abyss® installer will automatically launch. 2. Choose the software you want to load by checking the appropriate option boxes. Whatever software you do not load can be loaded at a later date by following these same instructions. We recommend loading all the available software if hard disk space allows. 3. Follow the prompts on the screen to complete the installation. B. Re-Installing The Software Whenever you change your system components, such as RAM, the video card, or the sound card, you should re-install Fatal Abyss® from the CD. To re-install, follow the same procedure above for installing the software. C. Network Connection Settings Fatal Abyss allows up to 16 players to compete against each other in multi-player mode. Each player must run a fully installed copy of Fatal Abyss on their machine and their machines must be linked by either a physical connection such as a serial cable connection, a network connection, such as a LAN or over the telephone (Internet or modem to modem). IPX Connection for DirectPlay - All the machines must be connected to a LAN and must have the IPX Protocol installed and running. Machines will automatically find each other. The first machine to select a game will host the session. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ™™ 2. Fatal Abyss - Quick Start Fatal Abyss is a fast, futuristic underwater 3D combat game. Get ready for a high-speed shoot-out under the waves. From the main menu select single-player, select new game and choose your team. Read the mission briefing carefully. Once you’ve read through the mission briefing hit space or enter. Use the arrow keys to scroll through the ship selection screen. Select a vehicle by hitting enter. Once you have selected your vehicle you’ll be at the docking station. Load up on your weapons by either dragging the weapons onto your vehicle or right clicking on the desired weapon. Hit undock to start your game. A. Introduction Fatal Abyss In the near future there is a war being fought over Bacteria 241, a strange new energy source found in its raw form at the bottom of the ocean. The scientists of Eco Systems organization have developed a way to extract the energy source from the bacteria. Unfortunately their plans to be the sole providers of this energy to the world have been crushed by the invading and combative Proteus Tech. B. Screen Navigation Positioning the mouse cursor over a desired menu item will cause the item to become highlighted. Left click on the mouse to select the item. Right click to return to previous screen. The following options appear on the Main Menu Screen: · Single- Player Game: Select this option to begin a new game or continue a previously saved game (load game). Choose your allegiance - Eco-Sytems or Proteus-Tech. · Multi-player Game: Select this option to start or join a multi-player game. To join a LAN based game you will need to select one of the servers listed. To start a LAN based game, select start-server. You will then be able to choose one of the 7 stages or maps listed. To play this game on HEAT select "Play on HEAT.NET". This will automatically launch your browser to the Fatal Abyss launch page on www.heat.net. When you are joining into a multiplayer game you will first see a Player Setup/Accept screen. On this screen you can change your name, select the color of your vehicle and your vehicle type before hitting "Accept" to join into the game. · High Scores: This will review the Hall of Fame scores from the single player game. · Options: Several options appear under options: · Display: Select to play in 3Dfx mode, adjust the resolution, disable the Light Mode and 2D hardware and adjust the size of the game display window. (Note: To play in 3D-FX mode, you must have a 3D-FX card installed. If you are running in 3D-FX mode, you can choose to switch to software mode, and back again if you wish.) · Control: Configure your mouse controls to your specifications and adjust the sensitivity control on your mouse. · Sound: Adjust the game sound and effects to your specifications. You may find you can increase the performance of the game on certain machines if you set the sound resolution to medium or low. · Misc: Menu-Overlay: Turn the Menu-Overlay on or off. With the Menu-Overlay off, the title screen will be displayed behind the menu screens (menu screens are accessed by pressing the ESC key). With the Menu-Overlay on the demo will then be displayed. Auto-Camera: An in-game feature that takes advantage of the second status window in the HUD. With this on, and the HUD status window set to either the Sonar or Weapon Cam, you can target an enemy. Here a quick view of the enemy will appear in the Status Window with the name of the vehicle. When a missile is fired at that enemy, the Status Window will switch to the Missile Cam until the missile hits the target. This option is very useful for learning the type of enemy (drone, or turret, etc.) you are engaging with. Help-Hints: Hints will scroll across the screen detailing what keys to use, how to dock, etc. Depth-Grid: A grid appears within the game at the depth limits for both too high or too low. This option allows you to turn them off if you are having trouble with frame rate. · Credits: Reviews the game credits · Quit: Aborts the game C. In-Game Default Controls Default Pilot Controls Left Arrow Turn Left Right Arrow Turn Right Up Arrow Nose Down Down Arrow Nose Up A Accelerate Z Reverse Left-Alt+Left Arrow Slide Left Left-Alt+Right Arrow Slide Right Left-Alt+Up Arrow Slide Up Left-Alt+Down Arrow Slide Down E Engine On/Off Default Weapon Controls Left-Ctrl Fire Primary Weapon Space Bar Fire Primary Weapon 1-2 Change Primary Weapon 5-0 Change Secondary Weapon Q Cycle through Primary Weapons W Cycle through Secondary Weapons Miscellaneous Controls D Dock with Station (Auto-Dock) S Sonar Active/Passive H Headlight On/Off R Auto-Repair On/Off ~ Change Target Shift+F1 - Shift+F8 Change View To pause/un-pause the game in a single player game use the "Scroll Lock" key. Note: To change some of the control settings, go to the control config screen and just left click the item, type in the new key and press enter. Camera/HUD Options for the Scout Vehicle: F1 Change left HUD display window to Map View F2 Change left HUD display window to Sonar View F3 Change left HUD display window to Secondary Weapon Status F4 Change left HUD display window to Weapon Cam F5 Change left HUD display window to Text History F7 Change right HUD display window to Map View F8 Change right HUD display window to Sonar View F9 Change right HUD display window to Secondary Weapon Status F10 Change right HUD display window to Weapon Cam F11 Change right HUD display window to Message History Camera/HUD Options for the Fast Attack Vehicle: F1 Change HUD display window to Map View F2 Change HUD display window to Sonar View F3 Change HUD display window to Secondary Weapon Status F4 Change HUD display window to Weapon Cam F5 Change HUD display window to Message History Camera/HUD Options for the Heavy Attack Vehicle: F1 Change left HUD display window to Map View F2 Change left HUD display window to Sonar View F3 Change left HUD display window to Secondary Weapon Status F4 Change left HUD display window to Message History F5 Change center HUD display window to Map View F6 Change center HUD display window to Sonar View F7 Change center HUD display window to Secondary Weapon Status F8 Change center HUD display window to Message History F9 Change right HUD display window to Map View F10 Change right HUD display window to Sonar View F11 Change right HUD display window to Secondary Weapon Status F12 Change right HUD display window to Weapon Cam Map View: The console map is a 2D relief map of each level. Your position is displayed in the center of the map. Vehicles, Base Structures, Sonar Posts and Remote Docking Stations are also shown here. Use the Bracket Keys ([ ]) to zoom in and out of the map. Sonar View: The sonar view offers you a better view of vehicles, structures, even enemy missiles en route to your vehicle. You can zoom the sonar in and out using the Colon (:) and Comma Keys (,). Secondary Weapon Status: This console displays the weapons you have on board, and how much ammo is remaining for each weapon. This also displays the Number Key assigned to activate each particular weapon. Note: Number Keys and their assignments may change according to the position of other weapons in your payload. Weapon Cam: The weapon cam allows you a view from the nose of any weapon you fire. Note: The Weapons Cam does not work on Lasers or Plasma shots. Message History: This displays the log of each message you receive. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ™™ 3. Vehicle Types The following is a brief description of each vehicle. Scout RV- The Scout Reconnaissance vehicle is the fastest and quickest maneuvering vehicle, and is the only vehicle that can use the LM Flair, making it a key craft for some of the missions. The only draw back is that the Scout RV has very light armor, so it is not designed for extended periods of combat. Fast AV - The Fast Attack Vehicle is used the most throughout all the missions. The Fast AV is overall the best vehicle as it has stronger armor than the Scout RV and it can get around much quicker than the Heavy AV. Heavy AV - The Heavy Attack Vehicle is loaded with excellent armor and can carry the heaviest weapons. Slower than a Scout or Fast AV, what the Heavy AV lacks in maneuvering capabilities it more than makes up for in fire power. The Heavy AV is the best vehicle for attacking the enemy base as it is the only vehicle that can carry the ED Cargo, an extremely effective weapon against enemy base structures. A. Computer controlled vehicles and structures Drone Vehicles - The Drone Vehicle is a fast moving and intelligent robot-controlled vehicle. Equipped with a nose-mounted, single-barreled laser gun and two missile launch bays, the Drone Vehicle is a most formidable opponent. Turrets - Turrets are set up around key areas such as drop locations and base structure perimeters. When grouped together, they can be very deadly. Their limited aiming height is their only draw back. Transporter Vehicle - The Transporter Vehicle is used as a key vehicle in many missions. Fortified with a turret atop its hull, the TV is used primarily for cargo drops and placing Sonar Posts and Turrets. Destroying these crafty workhorses is vital to your overall success. SERV Vehicle (StingRay Explosive Robotic Vehicle "SERV") - This robot-controlled vehicle is basically a stealth bomb. Shaped like its aquatic counterpart, the SERV is a key force in disabling enemy structures. Once a LM Flair has been placed on an enemy structure, the SERV vehicle can target the LM Flair and inflict massive damage to the intended target. Recon Vehicle - Its the team's spy and observer unit for the base. These are sent out by the base to get information from key areas. Repair Vehicle - The robot-controlled Repair Vehicle is used primarily for base maintenance. When a base structure is damaged, the Repair Vehicle is deployed. Its actions are determined by the central base computer. Tanker Vehicle - The Tanker Vehicle is used for collecting and transporting bacteria 241 to the base. It moves relatively slow and is heavily armored. B. WEAPONS · RF Torpedo: This Rapid Fire Torpedo is a lightweight torpedo best suited for tight combat situations as it offers excellent offensive assault power. · LM Flare: The Location Marking Flare is used to mark either of two objects: Remote Docking Stations used by the enemy (so you they can be overtaken), or enemy Base Structures (so SERV drones can be deployed to target them). The LM Flare is only used by the Scout RV. · SG Torpedoes: The Sonar Guided Torpedo is one of the best weapons because of its relatively quick maneuvering capabilities and its plentiful availability. Its only drawback is that it sometimes has trouble tacking its intended target, causing it to make several passes around the target. · Tracker Missle: The Tracker missile is very effective in hitting its target, and it packs a stronger punch over the SG Torpedo. Its only drawback is its slower deployment rate, which can sometimes cause self impact on vehicle during high-speed maneuvering situations. · HW Torpedo: The Heavy Weight torpedo is a very powerful torpedo and can also seek out its target. · Blast Torpedo: The Blast Torpedo is an effective weapon for distracting the enemy by blasting a barrage of explosions all around its target. · Backshot Torpedo: When in doubt, break it out! A sure-fire defense mechanism useful against repeated attacks from enemy torpedoes, the ATDP can save your keister when it really counts. · CD Pod: The Control Disrupter Pod attaches to the enemy vehicle and exerts a propulsion force, temporarily disrupting its normal maneuvering controls. · EMP Pod: The Electrical Magnetic Pulse Pod sends strong electric pulses through its target which can hinder the targets defense and attack capabilities. · EB Mine: This excellent defense weapon is key for blocking open areas or unguarded routes. Detonates upon close proximity movements, making the Equal Buoyancy Mine a self-sufficient safeguard against surprise attack. Ideal for disabling enemy SERVs. · ED Charge: The Exploding Drop Charge is a very powerful weapon and best suited for fly-by drops over the enemy base. · DW Flare: The Defensive Weapon Flare is dropped out of the vehicle and is very effective in attracting seeking torpedoes that have targeted you vehicle. Both the Laser Shot and Plasma Shot are the main fire power of the vehicles. These two weapons can continuously be used as long as the vehicle still has energy. · Laser Shot: This is the default weapon for all vehicles. The Laser Shot harnesses the energy from Bacteria 241 for its power. · Plasma Shot: The Plasma Shot is a good offensive weapon that doubles as a defensive weapon. Because of its large size, incoming missiles can be shot down before the hit your vehicle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ™™ 4. In-game screens Mission Briefing Screen: Before you begin you will be given your mission briefing, outlining the various tasks you must successfully complete in order to advance to the next mission. Ship Select Screen: You have three underwater vehicles to choose from. Using the mouse, click on the Left and Right Arrow Keys to cycle through the ship selections. Click on "select" or press the enter key to select your vehicle. Main Docking Station: This is where you select and load your weaponry in preparation for each mission. Choose "Undock" to exit the station and begin each quest. Available weapons are highlighted as each vehicle is allowed a specific number and/or type of weaponry. To select a weapon type, position the cursor over that weapon and right-click your Mouse Button to place that weapon in your payload. Note: Each ship accommodates only a specific weapon type. Weapon availability depends on the type of vehicle you are piloting. To replenish your energy, position the cursor over the energy arrow and right click on the mouse. Clicking the Left Mouse Button will moderately replenish your energy The Reset button will return all the weapons that you have moved during that docking session to their original position. Automatically load all of the weapons available for your vehicle by clicking on the weapons buttons labeled "Scout," "Fast" and "Heavy." You can create an entire weapons package in order to save time during docking. First you must define one of your "Undefined" buttons. To do so, fill up your weapon slots on your vehicle with the weapons you want (from within the Main Base or at a Remote Docking Station). Next, Right Click on any one of the Undefined buttons and you will be able to label that button using the keys on your keyboard. Hit Enter to complete. The next time you dock, click on any of your "Defined" buttons and your craft will automatically be stocked with that weapons set. Remote Docking Station: Remote Docking Stations are located throughout each mission. These work the same as the Main Docking Station accept you cannot choose a new vehicle. To gain access to a Docking Stations, approach the docking bay and press the "D" Key. Note: Remote docking stations may not always have the weapons you need as they are supplied by the main base. · As you place weapons to your payload in a Docking Station, you can assign each an activation number using the Number Keys on your keyboard. To do this, simply drag the weapon to an available slot. The number of that slot corresponds with a specific Number Key on your keyboard. Press that key to activate that particular weapon during gameplay. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ™™ 5. Last minute changes and additions A. Known bugs We are currently attempting to make a patch for the following problems. Please go to www.fatalabyss.com for any news and or possible file updates. 1. With a joystick or D-pad connected to your computer, trying to change the control configuration may be troublesome. There is a slight timing issue on how fast the new key is entered in, which makes it very diff- icult on some machines. 2. Multiplayer: Occasionally, in a multiplayer game, if players continually jump in and out of the game, the score and/or controls of the vehicle may exhibit problems. These problems will most likely not occur if everyone jumps in normally and plays without jumping in and out of the game. 3. Not seeing the intro video or other video's: The video will not play if Active movie was not installed when DirectX was installed on your machine. To check to make sure you have Active Movie installed, go to the "Control Panel", select "multimedia devices", select "properties", select "devices" if you do not see the Video compression Codex file called indeo 4.0 or higher, then re-install DirectX from the CD and choose to install all files. 4. With 3DFX, in the HUD view the Sonar and/or other status windows appear with a clear background: Installing the latest drivers from the Manufacturer of your VooDoo board should will solve this problem. 5. Save and Load games: Occasionaly, after saving a game, loading a game and completing mission's, the game score may be incorrect. B. Cool things to try · After pausing a single player game with the "Scroll Lock" key, switch to the "Shift+F5" view, then use the "Insert, Delete, Home, End, PageUp and PageDown" keys to view the paused action from different angles. · In software mode, in a window, you can stretch and skew the window size to many different sizes and the game should try to draw to a perspective to match the window size. ™™ 6. Credits · Humansoft Programmers Heffter Zsombor Lerch Janos Matis Miklos Nagymathe Denes Nemet Laszlo Graphics Draskoczi Judit Ocsai Zoltan Palko Gabor Zorkoczy Istvan Music Kis Konrad Zalka Erno Zalka Ferenc Zemplen Bertalan · Segasoft Producer Greg Becksted Lead HEAT.NET Tech wizard Britt Morris Assistant Producers Lance Nelson Darren Nagtalon Marketing Trish Dunne Sound Effects Tone Def Gordon Lyon Voice Tallent Kim Rogers Curtis Soldano Test Manager Jeff Loney Testers Alex Barreiro Art Datangel Brian Becksted Dave Paniagua Don Carmichael Graham Shaw Jason Pope Jeff Hedges Jeremy Caine Joel Brent Kurt Tindle Marc Dawson Samir Gupta Mark McCunney Matt Ironside Mo Berry Nicolas J. Azizian Paco Youngel Rick Greer Rod Hong Ryan Hurth Sean Potter Ron Kuzava Special Thanks Andrew Podesta Bharat Vemuri Bill Person Chris Johnson Clyde Grossman Dave Gray Dean Dierschow Erik Wahlberg France Tantiado Gene Shih Harry Chavez Jerry Markota Joyce Takakura Mark Griffin Mark Maderous Michael Person Mike Latham Mike Magano Mike Swarez Tony Van Randy Bruck Rich Krinock