Xenon manual
XENON - MASTERTRONIC PLUS
"Amazing shoot out classic. Action! Kwoar! Xenon is a must-buy game."
(Sinclair User)
SU CLASSIC
From the moment that Captain Xod's face appeared out of the static on
the communicator, you knew he was in trouble. As the only other
Federation ship in the sector you had to go to his aid. You need to
fight your way through sixteen zones, collecting essential supplies
for the fleet. At the end of each sector you have a chance to refuel
and restock but only after you have defeated the most vicious alien
you have ever seen.
A strategic vertically scrolling shoot-em-up. You have the option of
swapping between two very different craft, to suit the challenge
facing you at the time; either a ground-based saucer or well-armed,
and faster fighter aircraft.
A fast-moving, thinking man's shoot-em-up.
GAMEPLAY
You have to negotiate four sectors, each divided into four zones. You
have a choice of two craft, which you can change between at will. You
have a ground craft, capable of eight-way movement, and a faster jet
fighter. You need to select the appropriate craft to negotiate the
obstacles facing you and be prepared to change between them rapidly.
Certain of your opponents are ground-based and some are altitude. You
need to be in the correct craft to shoot the alien that you are
facing. Certain weapons can only be collected and used by the fighter
craft.
You can only use the ground craft on the ground. You cannot land on
the top of buildings. You need to fly over these in the fighter.
Shooting the aliens and their weapon emplacements reveals power cells.
Collect these by moving over them, to give your craft extra power.
There are eleven types of power pill:
A ARMOUR Makes your ship invincible for 15 seconds
F FUEL There are two types of fuel cell. Those with one
orange band restore five units of fuel; those with
three restore all your lost fuel
H HOMING Shoots homing missiles for 15 seconds
MISSILE
L LASER Arms your fighter with lasers
G GUN Cancels the lasers and reverts to normal bullets
P POWER Increases the distance your shots travel
R RATE Speeds up your ground craft
S SIDE Arms fighter with side lasers
W WINGS Gives you wing-tip weapons
Z ZAP Again there are two types of zap pills. Those with a
single orange band zap all aliens on the screen; those
with a triple band zap everything - aliens and
emplacements
Balls Collect up to three rotating balls that follow you and
mimic your fire pattern
Each time you are hit by the aliens' weapons you lose at least a unit
of fuel which is used to recharge your shields. If you collide with
any of the aliens you will suffer substantially more damage and
consequently use more fuel. If your fuel runs out you lose a life and
have to restart from the beginning of the zone. Some aliens will
require more than one hit to kill them. These flash every time you
successfully hit them. Some of the aliens are invulnerable.
Half way through each section you will be faced with a single large
opponent. This is a 'Sentinel' so called because they are set to guard
the path and they are fully sentient - that is smart. You need to find
out where they are vulnerable and concentrate your fire on the
appropriate points. Colliding with a 'Sentinel' is fatal.
At the end of each section you will have another larger and more
dangerous 'Sentinel' opponent. These are only vulnerable to certain
attacks, and completely invulnerable to all others. If you succeed in
defeating this you will be refuelled and re-equipped ready for the
next section. You lose any weapons you had collected on the previous
section.
STATUS PANEL
Down the right hand side of the screen there is a status panel. This
displays all the information you need to know about the state of the
game and your craft.
At the top of the display there are four numbers. The top number is
your score. Underneath this there are two single digit numbers. To the
left is the number of lives you have left, to the right the sector
number. Underneath these is your altitude.
Beneath this there is your long range communicator screen. Most of the
time this is blanked off, but at the start of each section Captain Xod
will appear and tell you which section you are starting.
Underneath this there is a bar display showing your fuel level.
Underneath this there are two bargraphs. The left hand one is your
rate or speed, and the right hand one your power - the distance your
shots travel.
At the foot of the display there is a weapon panel. This has ten
letters on it. Weapons active are highlighted in red. The weapons are:
W: Wing
S: Side Shot
A: Armour
L: Laser
H: Homing Missile
B: Ball
X: Extra ball making two
X: Extra ball making three
O: Time left on homing missile
O: Time left on armour
LOADING INSTRUCTIONS
Put your machine into 48k mode. Type LOAD "" and press ENTER. Press
'Play' on tape. Program will load and run.
CONTROLS
KEYBOARD
Q - Up A - Down
O - Left P - Right
SPACE - Fire M - Switch Craft
SHIFT - Pause/Continue
JOYSTICK: M - SWITCH CRAFT
JOYSTICK ONLY: SPACE BAR - Switch Craft
A MEMBER OF THE VIRGIN MASTERTRONIC GROUP OF COMPANIES.
WARNING: ALL RIGHTS OF THE PUBLISHER AND THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OF THE
WORK REPRODUCED RESERVED. UNAUTHORISED COPYING, LENDING, PUBLIC
PERFORMANCE, RADIO OR TV BROADCASTING OR DIFFUSION OF THIS PRODUCT
PROHIBITED. THIS PROGRAM IS SOLD ACCORDING TO VIRGIN MASTERTRONIC
TERMS OF TRADE AND CONDITIONS OF SALE COPIES OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE ON
REQUEST.
(c) 1990 VIRGIN MASTERTRONIC LIMITED
MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN.
IT IS ILLEGAL TO BACK-UP OR COPY THE SOFTWARE CONTAINED ON THIS TAPE.
XENON (c) The Bitmap Brothers 1987-90 & 1990 Virgin Mastertronic Ltd.