Virus manual

VIRUS

GAME CONTROLS:

The hoverplane can be directly controlled via the mouse or the keyboard.

USING THE MOUSE
The movement of the mouse controls the orientation of the Hoverplane, subject to its inertia (that is-the Hoverplane will attempt to follow the mouse, but the Hoverplane may lag behind if the mouse is moved quickly).

Each mission commences with the mouse in the central position, and it is the position of the mouse relative to this central position that determines the orientation of the Hoverplane.

The distance of the mouse from the central position determines the declination (or angle of dip) of the Hoverplane. Thus, if you move the mouse a long way from the central position, the hoverplane will turn upside-down.

The angle of the position of the mouse away from the central position
determines the "compass direction" the Hoverplane will face, in the same way as it appears on the screen.

MOUSE CONTROLS
Left Button - Thrust control
Right Button - Fire Laser Cannon

USING THE KEYBOARD
As an alternative to using the mouse, the Hoverplane can also be controlled via the keyboard. Start the game by pressing the space bar. To change to mouse control, simply press the thrust button on the mouse. The keys are as follows:

A Dip Nose of Hovercraft
Z Raise Nose
< Rotate Left
> Rotate Right
Control Fire
/ Thrust Control

ADDITIONAL CONTROL KEYS
These kays are operative when using either the mouse or the keyboard to control
the Hoverplane.

M Fire homing missile
S Sound On
Q Sound Off
P Pause On
O Pause Off
ESC Restart the game/exit from
demo mode

REDIFINING THE KEYBOARD
All the game control keys are redifinable - to change the keys, press the R key
while the Hoverplane is rotating on the title page.

PLAYING INSTRUCTIONS:

SCENARIO
You are the pilot of the latext generation of Hoverplane - your orders are to
defend the country against waves of attacking alien spaceships. The alien race
are intent on polluting the landscape by spraying it with a debilitating red
virus.

Your Hoverplane is equipped with a long-range scanner, a laser cannon, and a
limited supply of intelligent homing missiles.

CONTROL CONSOLE
Looking across the top of the game screen at your control console, the
following information is displayed:

Current Score
Quantity of Spare Hoverplanes
Quantity of Homing Missiles Carried
Current Attack Wave
Best Player Score Achieved So Far

GUAGES
Below this, you will see two bar readings. The orange bar shows the amount of
remaining fuel you have. The green bar indicates the altitude above sea level.

LONG-RANGE SCANNER
The scanner display shows a map of the land areas (in green) and sea (in blue).
As the virus infects the landscape, the green areas of the scanner will become
reddish brown in color. The Hoverplane is depicted by a white dot. Your home
base is shown as a small grey square in the middle of the scanner, and the
alien spaceships are represented by various colored and flashing dots.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

TACTICS
After locating an alien spaceship on the scanner, fly towards it and decide
whether to destroy it by shooting it with your laser cannon, or unleashing one
of your homing missies. There is a penalty score of -1 point incurred each time
you fire your laser cannon.

A score of 40 points is awarded for shooting a mutated tree.

HOMING MISSILES
Whan a homing missile is launched it will head toward the nearest alien
spaceship. The missiles are short-burn, however, and may lose their target.

An extra homing missile is awarded every 5000 points.

SHIELD AND FUEL USAGE
A hit by an enemy bullet is repulsed by your Hoverplane's shields, but the
extra shield energy required means that some of your fuel will be used. If you
fly at too high an altitude, your fuel supply will cut out until you drop to a
lower altitude . Fuel can be replenished by landing at your home base.

A collision between two spacecraft will destroy both parties.

An extra hoverplane is awarded every 5000 points.

ATTACK WAVES
At the end of each attack wave, you will be awarded a bonus according to the
amount of the landscape which remains uninfected by the red virus.

A totally new virus-free landscape is generated on levels 5 and 10, and the
gravity is increased progressively on levels 3, 5, and 7.

GUIDE TO ALIEN SPACECRAFT:

SEEDER
The seeder is a blue flying saucer whose function is to spread red virus across
the landscape, causing wide-spread pollution and mutation of trees. it does
this in four phases:

1. Flying, and spraying the virus when over land.
2. Finding a suitable landing site, and then landing on the
ground.
3. Spraying the immediate vicinity with virus in order to create a
higher density of mutant foliage.
4. Re-launching to find a suitxable new landing site.

When it is about to land, is landed, or is taking off, a yellow undercarriage
is clearly visible.

Score for a kill: 100(in the air)
50(when landed)
Scanner Blip: Cyan

DRONE
A red and brown spaceship with a yellow underside, the drone flies in a similar
manner to the Hoverplane but it han a weaker thrust capability.

Its role is to shoot the landscape and your Hoverplane, and to attempt to
mutate itself by selecting a suitable bush and shooting it while within its
"spray zone".

Score for a kill: 300
Scanner Blip: Orange

MUTANT (MUTATED DRONE)
The mutant is red and purple with a yellow underside. It flies in a similar way
to the Hoverplane. It has a weaker thrust capability then the Hoverplane, but
more powerful than a drone.

Its objective is to annoy and ultimately kill you. It has a much higher firing
rate than a drone, and is also more accurate.

Score for a kill: 500
Scanner Blip: Flashing orange/red

BOMBER
Bombers are cyan and blue ships with a yellow underside. They fly straight and
level at very high speed, dropping parachute bombs most of the time. They are
detectable from a distance by the whooshing sound they emit as they fly along.

The bomber's role is basically to spread virus, but it does so at a much higher
rate than the seeder.

The parachute bombs, which swing as they are dropped out of the bomber have two
functions:

1. Proximity detonation on the Hoverplane.
2. Explosion above the ground, spreading concentrated virus around
the area of impact.

Score for a kill: 800
Scanner Blip: Cyan/dark blue

PEST
Pests are magneta and yellow octahedrons which always head towards your
Hoverplane. Their task is simple: to destroy you at all costs. A pest is
characterised by the distinctive twittering noises it produces and the smoke
trail that is left behind in its wake.

Score for a kill: 400
Scanner Blip: Magenta

FIGHTER
A fighter is a red,orange and yellow Chevron-shaped craft which flies in a
similar manner to a mutant, but has a higher rate-of-fire (the same as the
Hoverplane). However, a fighter has to be hit twice with the laser cannon or
once with a homing missile in order to destroy it. After it has been hit once,
its rate-of-fire is halved, and it turns a greenish color.

Score for a kill: 200 (for first hit)
700 (for the kill)
Scanner Blip: Flashing yellow/black

ATTRACTOR
The Attractor is one of the rarest and most dangerous of the alien spacecraft.
It is distinguished by its square base and red and white markings, as well as
the deadly lightning bolts that it shoots at the landscape below. However, the
Attractor's most powerful attribute is its tractor beam which pulls the
Hoverplane towards it and drains the Hoverplane's energy. To destroy an
Attractor, you will have to hit it a number of times.

Score for a kill: 1,000
Scanner Blip: Flashing red/black

MYSTERY SPACECRAFT
A secret new alien spaceship is roumoured to have joined the invasion force,
and may strike at any time. You will only recognise this craft because it does
not fit the description of any of the known aliens. Beware, as it may have a
lethal new weapons system fitted.

Score for a kill: ?
Scanner Blip: Unknown

Enjoy
A. Crowley