___________________ | | | | | A L I E N S | | | | INSTRUCTIONS | | | |___________________| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE STORY SO FAR: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warrant Officer Ripley, the sole survivor of the star freighter Nostromo, is picked up floating in deep space in a hyper-sleep capsule. She is taken to Gateway Station, a giant space station complex floating high above the Earth - here she is interrogated by a hostile committee of top Company administrators. Her account of the alien creature which gestates inside a living human host is received with disbelief, and the committee ignores Ripley's frantic warning of an alien space ship containing thousands of unhatched alien eggs. Ripley is horrified to learn that the remote planet on which the crew of the Nostromo encountered the deadly extraterrestrial is now inhabited by the Company's space engineers and their families, who have set up a colony base and a mighty Atmosphere Processor to produce a breathable atmosphere within the base. When all contact is lost with the colony, Ripley reluctantly agrees to accompany the elite squad of Space Marines to the distant planet. On arrival they find an eerie, deserted base bearing signs of a savage struggle. Then, as night falls, the Aliens come out... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TO LOAD "ALIENS" - THE COMPUTER GAME ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sinclair Spectrum "Aliens" Cassette Users... 1. Set-up your Sinclair Spectrum Computer as detailed in the instruction booklets that accompany your Computer. 2. If you wish to use a joystick interface, insert now and plug in a joystick. 3. Switch your TV or monitor, computer and Cassette Recorder ON. 4. Insert the "ALIENS" cassette into your Cassette Recorder, and rewind to the beginning. 5.Inout the following command on your computer keyboard, then press the ENTER key: LOAD "" (If you are using a 128K Spectrum, put it into 48K Basic mode before typing this instruction.) 6. Press the PLAY key on the Cassette Recorder. Amstrad CPC "ALIENS" Cassette Users... 1. Set-up your Amstrad CPC Computer for cassette usage as detailed in the instruction booklets that accompany your computer. 2. If you wish to use a joystick insert it now. 3. Switch your Amstrad Computer and Monitor ON. 4. Insert the "ALIENS" cassette into the Cassette Recorder, and rewind to the beginning. 5. Hold down the CONTROL key and press the small ENTER key. 6. Press the PLAY key on the Cassette Recorder, then press any key on the keyboard. Amstrad CPC "Aliens" Diskette Users... 1. Set-up your Amstrad CPC Computer for disk usage as detailed on the instruction booklets that accompany your Computer. 2. If you wish to use a joystick, insert it now. 3. Switch your Amstrad Computer and Monitor ON. 4. Insert the "ALIENS" diskette into the disk drive. 5. Type the following in your computer keyboard, then press the ENTER key: RUN "DISC" The "ALIENS" game will now load into your computer. The credits and titles will soon appear - after a short while the game will complete loading and you can begin your mission. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YOUR MISSION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To retain control of the base by any means, keeping all crew members alive. You command six crew members on an exploration of the base. Study the attached plan of the base, and add to it any data you gather during your mission - room locations for example. Ripley suggests that you will need to get the crew members to the Queens' Chamber - Room 248. The crew have set-up the Mobile Tactical Operations Bay (MTOB) in the Armoured Personnel Carrier, just outside the colony base. You will remain here and direct the other crew members around the base using the MTOB to monitor their progress. Technical specs. of the MTOB follow: _______________________________________________________ /* *\ | +---------------------------------------------------+ | | |=| |=----> 1 | |=| [x] --------------------------> 2 | |=| |=| | |*|=| |=|*| | |=| |=| | | |=| |=| | | |=| |=| | | +---------------------------------------------------+ | |* -----------------------------> 3 7 <------------------------------------+ ----+ +---------+ | | | RIPLEY | |* +----------------|--+ *| | BISHOP -----> 6 | | 21 21 | || | RIPLEY +---------- 21 21 | | | | ||||||| | || +-------------------+ || | ||||||| | | 4 <-------------------- < +------+ = || +---------+ | 5 <-------------------------------------= || | VASQUEZ | | | | 21 21 | || < | | = || | 21 21 | | | | ||||||| | || > | | = || | ||||||| ----> 8 | +---------+ || < +------+ = || +---------+ | | | HICKS | || +-------------------+ || | BURKE | | | | 21 21 | || | 0 0 0 1 3 2 5 2 2 --------------------> 9 | | ||||||| | |* +-------------------+ *| | ||||||| | | \_+---------+__+-------------------------+__+---------+_/ 1. Video Screen. Receives signal from portable video camera strapped to the helmet of the selected crew member. Display may be moved left or right by moving Smart Gun sights. Enables you to see in real time what the selected crew member is experiencing. 2. Smart Gun Sights. May be moved left, right, up or down. Each member has 1 Smart Gun, which is a computer aimed, video targetted automatic weapon. Ideal for blasting any biomechanical growth, locks, doors or other objects you may encounter as you explore the base. Use Smart Gun cautiously, as each crew member only carries a limited amount of ammunition for their Smart Gun. 3. Selected Crew Member Portrait. The name of the selected crew member is displayed above their portrait. 4. Bio-Functions Trace. Mechanism that plots the critical health status of the selected crew member - including heart rate, breathing etc. 5. Ammunition Level. The amount of ammunition being carried by the selected crew member. This may be automatically tapped up by entering the Armoury room. 6. Personnel I.D. Name of a crew member that you may select. 7. Room Number. The location within the base of this crew member. If there is no number, the crew member is dead and has become an Alien! 8. Bio-Monitor Bar. Linked to the Bio-Function Trace, the monitor serves two functions: 1) Life Status: A Green bar indicates a healthy crew member. A Yellow bar indicates a crew member that has been captured by the Aliens and is being impregnated. A Purple or Pink bar indicates that the selected crew member has been impregnated by the Aliens, and can no longer be saved. No bar indicates that this crew member is dead, and has become an Alien! 2) Stamina: Every move tires the crew member, and this bar will reduce in size accordingly. Rest restores the stamina. If the bar begins to flash, this crew member is almost exhausted - select a different crew member in order that this one may rest. An exhausted crew member cannot respond to your commands. 9. Credit Points: The bonus you will be paid by the Company if your mission is successful. Aim to get this as high as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STARTING THE MISSION: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Firstly, you will need to activate the MTOB. (Spectrum users press the 0 key, Amstrad users press the SHIFT key). When the MTOB is activated, you will see that the crew members have already blasted their way into the base, at room 1. If you direct the crew members outside the base from now on, they will be unable to breathe, so it's not a good idea! Spectrum users can now select the control method they require - keyboard or joystick - by pressing the C key, and selecting accordingly. Amstrad users can play by either keyboard or joystick at any time during the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMANDING THE CREW MEMBERS: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crew members are commanded individually - the crew member you are currently able to command has their portrait displayed on the MTOB. Selecting a Crew Member A confidential crew summary follows, together with the key you need to press in order to select that crew member: RIPLEY........................................................................R Flight Officer. Sole survivor of the Nostromo mission. Has witnessed the Aliens before, and despite being terrified she comes out fighting. GORMAN........................................................................G Lieutenant. The chief Space Marine - but no previous missions on his record, and is likely to crack-up under excess strain. HICKS.........................................................................H Corporal. A colonial Marine with a talent for survival and fast reaction in emergencies. BISHOP........................................................................I Executive Officer. An android (artificial person) - faster than any human and dependable. VASQUEZ.......................................................................V Private. She is tough, reliable, and reacts well under presure. BURKE.........................................................................B A Company man. Likely to be more interested in money than in the lives of his companions. Directing The selected crew member can be told to move up to 9 rooms at once in a given direction. To do this, type any number from 1 to 9, then immediately type a direction key N (North), S (South). E (East), W (West). Now select a different crew member. This member will now move as instructed. Note that if the crew member reaches a dead end, a locked door, acid blood or gets exhausted then they will stop. You may also move a crew member through rooms by aiming the Smart Guns Sights over the door, then pressing the SPACE BAR. Smart Gun/Video control Aim the Smart Gun by moving the Sights on the Video Screen on the MTOB. Movement of the Smart Gun Sights will also cause the portable video camera on the helmet of the selected crew member to pan around the room in the direction of the Sights. Control the Smart Gun as follows: Action Spectrum -------------------------- ---------- Key ---------- Gun UP ..................: Cursor UP (7) : Gun DOWN ................: Cursor DOWN (6) : Gun LEFT ................: Cursor LEFT (5) : Gun RIGHT ...............: Cursor RIGHT (8) : FIRE Gun.................: 0 (number key) : Amstrad CPC Joystick ---------- Key ----------- ------------------------- UP Arrow : Push Forward DOWN Arrow : Pull Back LEFT Arrow : Push Left RIGHT Arrow : Push Right SHIFT : Fire Button Pause Game To pause the game at any time, press the P key. Blast shutters will now cover the Video Screen of the MTOB. The total number of Aliens you have destroyed will be displayed now, together with the Alien Attack Wave number. To restart the game, press the P key twice. Suicide Key/Restart Game If the pressure gets to much, press M key. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDITIONAL NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proximity Meter Each crew member has a proximity meter, which sounds a warning whenever it detects a life form other than human in their current room. You can detect which crew member's Proximity Meter is sounding, as a crew member's name will highlight on the MTOB. Select that crew member immediately to investigate. Bio-Mechanical Growth Will appear in rooms where Aliens have passed through. Unless cleared, these will grow, creeping into the air ducts in the base, spreading to other rooms, and start to fill with Face Huggers and Alien Eggs. Keep the Armoury free of it. If the Control Room or Generating room become overun with Bio-mechanical growth, the lights will fail, making your mission even more perilous. Attack Waves The more you explore the base, the more active the Aliens will become. The higher the Attack Wave, the more restless the Aliens! Blast Shutters will close on the Video Screen to warn you of a new attack wave. Use the FIRE Gun command to continue. Dead Aliens & Acid Blood Dead Alien bodies vaporise very quickly. Watch out for a powerful organic acid which may ouze from an Alien when blasted with a Smart Gun. This blood will destroy just about anything it touches, including crew members! If you see a pool of Acid Blood in front of a door, don't try to go through! Small amounts of acid blood will vaporise fairly quickly. Doors Doors within the base may be sealed shut by blasting the lock mechanism next to the door with a Smart Gun. To go through a sealed door, it will be necessary to blast the door also - it can never be sealed again, however. Be aware that Queen Aliens or groups of Warrior Aliens can break sealed doors. Some doors are exits from the base. If you attempt to go outside the base, you will die from atmospheric poisoning. Also, the Aliens move around outside the base - they often bypass parts of the base by going around the outside and entering elsewhere. Queens Chamber The Alien Queen lays her eggs here. Try to get as many crew members here as possible - and be prepared for anything! Captured Crew/Impregnated Crew The Aliens may capture crew members. Then begins an impregnation process, indicated by the Bio-Monitor Bar turning yellow. An Alien stands guard whilst the impregnating takes place. You cannot command the captured crew member during this time, but you can send another crew member to the same room. If the second crew member can kill the Alien standing guard, the captive is freed. If, however the impregnation is completed, all communication from that crew member to the MTOB is lost, and the portrait will change to that of an Alien. Newt Newt is a little girl - the only surviving colonist from the base. She knows the base well and has many hiding places - often the ventilation ducts. Any time you see her, you will receive a bonus on your credit points. It is likely she will be frightened, and will not move. However, if you take your eyes off her, she will run back into the base and hide. You are about to realise that Ripley was right after all... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Design by Mark Eyles Code, Music and Effects by Soft Machine & Pennsoft Graphics by Focus A Software Studios Production Based upon a film by James Cameron THE MOTION PICTURE "ALIENS" (TM) COPYRIGHT 1986 TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX FILM CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROGRAM COPYRIGHT 1986 ELECTRIC DREAMS SOFTWARE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.