                               TERRORPODS

Typed by ???  Edited by PARASITE.


STORY:
"Some missions have suicide written all over them.

And this was one.

Again I ask myself - 'What the hell am I doing on Colian?!

Stuck  out  on  the  edge of System 7,  Colian  has  never  been  the  most
hospitable  place in the Universe - the only thing this asteroid has  going
for it is the fact that it is very, very rich in mineral deposits, the kind
of  deposits that people will kill for.   Detonite,  a powerful  explosive,
Quaza,   an  energy  giving  crystal  capable  of  regenerating   molecular
structures,  Zenite,  a metallic ore capable of storing immensely  powerful
magnetic  fields  and  Aluma,  the  hardest  metal  known  to  man,  almost
indestructible and ideal for the construction of the weapons of war.

With stuff like this lying around, trouble is never far away.

Over the years a sophisticated mining operating had grown on  Colian.   Ten
separate mining colonies,  each with its mines,  dumps, stores and resource
centers  inter-linked by a complicated system of shuttles to transport  the
minerals throughout the network.

Mines  extract - Resource Centers distribute - Manufacturing centers  build
components - they all have a function, they all have a purpose and they all
depend on the shuttles.

Everything was going fine - new wealth being extracted daily.  The military
arrived  to  make  weapons from the precious  Aluma  at  the  manufacturing
centers.   A track was constructed across the main crater to carry  defence
and  surveillance vehicles to protect these valuable  assets.   Colian  was
running like clockwork.

Then it happened.

It literally dropped out of the sky to bring panic and fear to everyone  on
Colian  - an Empire Mother Ship - the enemy personified - the most  awesome
invention  of destruction ever imagined was in stationary orbit around  the
most  valuable asteroid in the Universe.   Things were bound to happen  and
they did.

Pinpoint  missile  attacks took out the  defense  systems,  the  population
cowered in fear as they waited for the final destruction....it didn't come!

The Empire had other plans - deadly plans.

Operators  were  enslaved  but  otherwise  left   unharmed,   installations
standing.   Instead of destruction,  occupation was their goal.  Occupation
in  order  to manufacture the most deadly of weapons  -  fearsome Terrorpod
fighting machines.  Machines the Empire needed for its program of planetary
conquest.   The purpose of the Mother Ship became clear - the Empire  would
only make components in the crater, final assembly would take place off the
planet surface.

This was a chance the Federation could not miss, an opportunity to discover
the secrets of Terrorpod manufacture, if only we could obtain the Terrorpod
components.

And guess who was sent to get them? - Yep, yours truly.

I  arrived  undercover with a fully functioning  Defence  Strategy  Vehicle
(D.S.V.),  a small trading drover and an incomplete map of the main crater.
Before  the Empire took control the military defence units only had time to
transmit  a section of map detailing one of the colonies - this was a  good
place to land.

For the first few months I kept a low profile,  trading with the frightened
operators, my initial goal to build up an arsenal of mineral resources.

Then things started to go wrong,  badly wrong.  The Mother Ship had learned
of  my  existence - there was an immediate change of strategy -  they  were
determined  to  destroy the manufacturing base and the secrets it  holds  -
their next priority will be me!

Things  are  now moving swiftly - The Empire has sent down  Terrorpods  and
Spoilers to blast and drain the installations of their mineral wealth.  The
Mother Ship seems to have a fix on me - I'm out in the open - all around me
mines,  dumps, resource centers and manufacturing units are being destroyed
- I'm being starved of the energy I need!

I must protect them, they alone can provide the resources I need, I have to
have somebody to trade with!  I can defend them from attack using phasers -
blasting Terrorpods and Spoilers will only buy me time - they will return.

Dare I risk loading a missile and taking out a Terrorpod for good?
Have I got enough Detonite to prime a missile?
Can I get a clean shot?
Will I destroy the installation if I miss?
Should I instruct the installation to explode on contact with a Terrorpod?

All  these thoughts flash through my mind in a split second.   If only  the
Mother ship would stop the barrage of missiles.   To make matters worse  it
was  now  using homing missiles to take out the shuttles.   I  have  Zenite
powered  shields to protect me,  the installations are at the mercy of  the
Terrorpods.

Down goes another Aluma mine.  That was the mine I needed.  One more mining
cycle  and  visit  from the shuttle and the Terrorpod  component  would  be
complete  and ready for collection.   Have I enough Aluma to trade for  it?
What an opportunity!

Got  it  -  now for the next component - but  where?   These  colonies  are
difficult  enough  to locate with a complete map let alone  this  scrap  of
paper.

Now  its  me  against  them  - 'suicide missions'  are  getting  to  be  my
speciality.   As if my situation isn't desperate enough,  they now tell  me
that  even if I do succeed there will be a massive counter-attack from  the
Empire.  Who do they think I am......Flash Gordon!!

But the Federation know I'm a survivor - the best survivor in the  Universe
- and now they are making me prove it.

I'll show them, but...................
Can I complete the mission?
Can I survive the chaos of destruction?

I must master the Terrorpod construction technique - I must collect ALL the
components of the Terrorpod fighting machine.

Only one thing to do now.....................LET'S GO FOR IT!!"


SCREEN DISPLAY
The  screen  border displays a number of useful  readouts,  these  will
be updated every 2 seconds.
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|    \          A          B B B B                     D            /    |
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|    /           E                             F                    \    |
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|/______________________________________________________________________\|


A.   Fuel  and Detonite levels.   The upper reading is Fuel and  the  lower
     reading Detonite.

B.   Damage indicators.  Each one will turn red as you sustain a direct hit
     from a missile  or you are blasted by a Terrorpod.   (See  Shields,  5
     hits and you are destroyed!)

C.   Missile  counter status display.  This contains the number of missiles
     which have been primed ready for launch.  (See weapon systems).

D.   Points scored to date.  (See points scoring)

E.   X position in world co-ordinates.  (See map)

F.   Z position in world co-ordinates.  (See map).  You are limited to 8000
     units  forward  into the crater,  at 8000 units a  low  level  defence
     barrier is operative impeding any further progress.

G.   Intelligence  panel.   These  are  important  but  you  will  have  to
     determine their function for yourself.

CONTROLLING THE D.S.V.
The control functions of the D.S.V. are as follows:

"CURSOR KEYS"  Movement left,  right,  forward and backward.  (The joystick
               corresponds to these)
"SPACE BAR"    Activate shields when held down or lock on to target  during
               missile launch sequence.
"E"            Loads 'Detonite' into a missile warhead.
"A"            Commence missile launch sequence.
"D"            Dispatches the surface drover.
"T"            Commence trading operation whilst the drover is in  contact
               with an installation.
"M"            Activate and de-activate high altitude mapping systems.
"R"            Non target specific radio broadcast.
"S"            Commodity status display.
"W" & "RETURN" Switch between weapon systems and information systems.
"F1" - "F10"   Warp movement to the selected sector.  (F1 sector 1 etc.)
"HELP"         Access the load, save and game management functions.

The  mouse  moves  the sights.   The interpretation of  the  mouse  buttons
depends  on  whether the information system or weapon system  is  selected,
this  is explained in detail below.   In either mode when the sights  touch
the left or right hand of the screen,  the D.S.V.  will start to accelerate
in the corresponding direction.

SHIELDS:
To  activate  the shields,  hold the space bar  down,  whilst  active  they
surround the D.S.V.  with a semi-opaque protective field.   This field will
divert any incoming missiles and Terrorpod blasts.  It should be remembered
that  shields use vast quantities of Zenite and that they  only need to  be
active when the missile strikes.

WARP MOVEMENT:
By  pressing  F1 to F10 you will transport immediately  to  the  processing
heart  of  each  of the ten colonies.   This  technique  uses  considerable
quantities  of fuel and you should check your fuel level before  attempting
this operation.

MAPPING SYSTEMS:
Mapping  can be selected by pressing "M".   The normal screen display  will
transform into a high altitude scanner allowing you to view a wide  section
of the crater around your position.  Every activity continues as normal but
many of the D.S.V. functions are inoperable in this mode (Shields, Weapons,
Warp, etc... will not work).  However, this allows you to move more quickly
about  the  crater  and the extended field of vision  will  enable  you  to
pinpoint  Terrorpod  activity  and map  your  surroundings.   This  mapping
facility cannot be used when the Drover is active.

WEAPON/INFORMATION SYSTEMS:
You  may switch between weapon systems and information systems by  pressing
"W" or "RETURN".  The sights cursor will change accordingly.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS:
These enable you to both collect and distribute information.  The left hand
mouse  button will interrogate the object under the cursor and  report  its
identity, colony identity and purpose.

The  right  hand mouse button will activate the  Radio  Transmitter.   This
allows  you  to  send coded messages to the object  you  are  pointing  at.
(Object  Specific).    For  non  object  specific  broadcasts,   the  Radio
Transmitter  can be activated by pressing "R".   Be careful which  messages
you transmit and when you send them as they all have limits as to how  many
times they can be used.   This list of valid radio transmission codes is as
follows:

               "INDE" **    Installation indestructible
               "EFRS"       Emergency Fuel Rod supply
               "RACO" **    Re-activate current object
               "DMTO" **    Defensively mine the object
               "EDES"       Emergency DETONITE supply
               "EZES"       Emergency ZENITE supply
               "EQUS"       Emergency QUAZA supply

                    (** Object specific)

WEAPONS SYSTEMS
PHASER  SYSTEMS:   Activated  by the left hand mouse  button,  the  phasers
appear  as a pair of fast moving blasts of energy from the top  corners  of
the  video screen accompanied by the shrill screech of the launch  systems.
These are DETONITE driven and will destroy anything they hit.

ENERGY  BEAM:   Appears as a flickering beam on the screen stretching  from
the top of the D.S.V.  to the sight position.  It is activated by the right
hand  mouse button.   The beam can be used to rebuild  installations  which
have  been  blasted  by the Terrorpods or by your  stray  phaser  fire,  it
operates   by  pumping  QUAZA  crystals  into  the  object  to   facilitate
regeneration.   The  amount of QUAZA required is dependent on the  type  of
object you are trying to regenerate.

MISSILE  SYSTEMS:   Missiles  are  the  only  known  way  of  destroying  a
Terrorpod,  use  them  sparingly.   The launch and strike  sequence  is  as
follows:

     PRIMING THE MISSILE:   Prior to launching you must ensure that  primed
     missiles are available, do this by checking the missile counter status
     display.   If  it is zero or blank,  you will need to prime a  missile
     before you can enter the launch sequence.  To do this press "E".  This
     removes Detonite from your store and loads it into a warhead.

     MISSILE LAUNCH:
     1.  Commence the launch sequence by pressing "A".
     2.  The  launch  control screen will scroll into view followed by  the
     sighting window in which horizontal and vertical sighting markers will
     appear.
     3.   The  upper  sighting counter will start to count  down.   If  you
     launch by mistake,  just leave the sighting operation alone,  when the
     counter reaches zero and the launch will abort.

     4.  Before  the  sighting counter  reaches zero,  select a  target  by
     scrolling  the sighting window with the cursor keys or joystick  until
     you  have  a  clear  view of your target and it  is  centered  in  the
     sighting markers.
     5.  Press  the space bar or joystick fire button to lock the sights on
     target and launch.
     6.  The  lower guidance counter  will now start to count down and  the
     horizontal  and vertical drift indicators will appear in the  sighting
     window.
     7.  To  keep  the missile on course you  must try to  hold  the  drift
     indicators  inside  the sighting markers.   You do this by  using  the
     cursor control keys or the joystick.


     If you manage to keep the drift indicators inside the sighting markers
     the missile will detonate and destroy the target.  If you have drifted
     off course the missile will self-destruct.

TRADING:
Trading represents the strategic element of the mission.  The purpose is to
exchange  commodities with other installations,  enabling both you and  the
installations  to  achieve  the commodity levels required  to  survive  and
ultimately  complete  your mission.   The colonies  cannot  complete  their
process without your interaction and provisions.

TECHNIQUE:   To trade with an installation you use the surface drover.  The
drover is a small self contained tracked vehicle.   It does not use fuel as
it  moves  about  the crater,  a  useful  technique  for  scavenging.   The
instructions  listed  below  cover  the  despatch,   docking  and   trading
procedure:

1.  Despatch your surface  drover by pressing "D".   The drover will appear
on the surface of the crater.

2.  Steer the drover to  the installation you wish to trade with by use  of
the cursor keys or joystick.

3.  A message will report when you have made contact with the installation.

4.  Pressing "T" will  start the trading sequence.   You will be  presented
with one of three options:

     a.   The  normal  trading screen with two lists of commodities  to  be
     exchanged.   With  this option you can trade with the installation  as
     detailed in 5. below.
     b.   A  status screen because the object you have contacted  does  not
     have trading facilities.
     c.   A component ready screen when a Terrorpod component is  available
     and  the  installation  has  checked  to  see  that  you  have  enough
     commodities to trade for it.   All manufacturing installations have  a
     constant supply of fuel.  You must confirm or abort the exchange.

5.  Your  commodities  are  shown   on left hand  side  and  those  of  the
installation  you  have  made contact with are on  the  right.   Each  line
contains the name, unit value and quantity of each commodity.

6.  Each commodity  has a unit value,  colonies will regard each  commodity
differently.   For example,  Colony 'A' may regard DETONITE as an important
and  rare  and  therefore value it very highly i.e.,  a unit  value  of  8.
However,  when  moving along to colony 'B' there may well be a  surplus  of
DETONITE  production facilities and therefore it will only warrant  a  unit
value of 2.


Let  us look at two examples of trading using the  following unit value  and
quantity  model.   Say you wish to acquire ZENITE and you have a surplus  of
FUEL.

    OPENING POSITION      DETONITE        ZENITE         FUEL
                         U.Val  Qty      U.Val  Qty     U.Val  Qty
                         ----------      ----------     ----------
    YOU..................  1    500        1    500       1    500
    COLONY 'A'...........  8    500        2    500       4    500
    COLONY 'B'...........  2    500        4    500       8    500


Example 1 (a good trading sequence).
STEP 1  Go to Colony 'B' and trade 10 units of Fuel for Detonite.

    POSITION AFTER        DETONITE        ZENITE         FUEL
      TRADE              U.Val  Qty      U.Val  Qty     U.Val  Qty
                         ----------      ----------     ----------
    YOU..................  1    540        1    500       1    490
    COLONY 'A'...........  8    500        2    500       4    500
    COLONY 'B'...........  2    460        4    500       8    510

STEP  2  Go to colony 'A' and trade the newly acquired 40 units of Detonite
from colony 'B' for Zenite.

    POSITION AFTER        DETONITE        ZENITE         FUEL
      TRADE              U.Val  Qty      U.Val  Qty     U.Val  Qty
                         ----------      ----------     ----------
    YOU..................  1    500        1    660       1    490
    COLONY 'A'...........  8    540        2    340       4    500
    COLONY 'B'...........  2    460        4    500       8    510

This has resulted in the acquisition of 160 units of ZENITE for 10 units of
FUEL.

Example 2  (opening position as above)
STEP 1  Go to colony 'A' and trade 10 units of FUEL for ZENITE.

    POSITION AFTER        DETONITE        ZENITE         FUEL
      TRADE              U.Val  Qty      U.Val  Qty     U.Val  Qty
                         ----------      ----------     ----------
    YOU..................  1    500        1    520       1    490
    COLONY 'A'...........  8    500        2    480       4    510

This  has resulted in the acquisition of 20 units of ZENITE for 10 units  of
FUEL.

Study  the above examples carefully and make sure you are aware of how  the
advantage was gained.   This difference in commodity ratings can be used to
great advantage as each colony has a unique commodity profile which  should
be studied carefully.

7.  To trade  commodities,  select one line from each list by pointing with
the  mouse and clicking the left hand button.   When you have selected  the
commodities,  you may increase the quantities to be traded by pressing  the
'>'  rectangle  and  decrease by pressing the '<'.   You  may  change  your
selection  at  any  time and all quantities will be zeroed  ready  for  re-
calculation.

8.  When  you have completed  your selection,  click on 'CONFIRM' and  your
drover will return to you with your new cargo, having deposited your traded
commodity with the target installation.

9.  You  may  abort the operation at  any time by clicking on  the  'ABORT'
rectangle.

10. You  may  recall  the drover  whenever no trading is  taking  place  by
pressing 'D'.

STATUS  CHECK:   To  activate the status display press  'S'.   The  trading
window will scroll into view and you will be shown your commodity levels.

POINTS SCORING:
Your  success  is measured in different ways each being  interpreted  on  a
points scoring system as follows:

     For each installation left standing          -    50 points
     For each incoming missile shot down          -   100 points
     For each Terrorpod hit pod hit with a phaser -   100 points
     For each Tripod destroyed by missile         -  1000 points
     For each Spoiler hit with a phaser           -    30 points
     For your residual 'ALUMA'                    -    50 points/unit
     For each intelligence coup                   -   unknown
     For success in the end game                  -  5000 points

A high score table is provided for your convenience.   If you qualify, just
type in your name (15 characters max) and press return.

HELP SCREEN/PAUSE GAME:
Accessed  by  pressing the 'HELP' key.   This covers  all  game  management
facilities.  Whilst in this mode, the game and its timers are paused.

     SAVE GAME.......Saves the game on to the resident Terrorpods disk.
     LOAD GAME.......Load the saved game.
     SHOW KEYMAP.....Displays a list of the keys and their usage.
     SET DIFFICULTY..Set the difficulty level (1-Easy,  6-Impossible).  You
                     cannot reduce the  difficulty level once it  has  been
                     set.
     RE-INITIALIZE...Loads an initialized game from disk and restart.
     RESUME GAME.....Go back into Terrorpods.

End.
