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Whale's Voyage Docs, Typed by Rygar! Supplied by JBM/FAIRLIGHT! Greetinx to: JBM, Access, Baser Evil, Scooter, Fallen Angel, Major Theft, Hoson, Cevin Key, Andeveron, Loons, SMM, Swayzar, IBM, Zool, Enforcer, Tcm & Joker, Elric, LSD + any doc typer out there except some tough (hah) UK guy who only types SHORT manuals for arcade games; which u never need, or have to read... HARHARHAR WHALE'S VOYAGE CONTENTS 1-27 GERMAN <NOT INCLUDED! RYGAR> 28-52 ENGLISH Programming Hannes Seifert Christoph Soukup Niki Laber Graphics Peter Baustaedter Pixlers Vienna Sound & Music Hannes Seifert Peter Baustaedter Game Design Hannes Seifert Niki Laber Peter Baustaedter Cover Artwork Peter Baustaedter/Vienna Paint We are grateful for the assistance of: Erik Pojar, Herwig Seitz, Peter Melchart and all our testers and others involved. Manual Flair Software Ltd. Typed by Rygar!!! Marketing and Distribution Flair Software Ltd, The Smithy Side, Ponteland, Newcastle NE20 9BD Copyright 1992/93 by NEO Software Produktions Ges. mbH, Dobrischgasse 10, A-2552 Hirtenberg (Austria). Important: This manual and the associeted software may not be reproduced, transmitted, amended or stored on data media, whether in mechanical, electronic, magnetic, optical, chemical or manual form, in whole or in part, without the written permission from NEO Software Produktions Ges. mbH. Exceptions to this are back-up copies for personal use. NEO Software Produktions Ges. mbH cannot vouch for the completeness and correctness of the program and its associated manual and accepts no liability for any consequential damage resulting therefrom. WHALE'S VOYAGE: INSTRUCTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Important note: Before you start playing, remember to make back-up copies from the original diskettes, and only work with these back-ups. Hardware Requirements: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AMIGA version: Requires 1 megabyte of memory. (If you wish to enjoy the additional sound effects, you will need a computer with at least 1.5 megabytes, of which 1 megabyte must be chip memory.) AMIGA 600: There are several versions of the 600 machine on the market, one of these may be unresponsive to the keyboard in the 3D sections of the game. If you experience this problem please use a joystick which will perform perfectly. AMIGA 1200: This is an enhanced version of this excellent game. The only extra command is the facility to toggle between the Music and SFX in the 3D section of the game by pressing M. PC version: all 100% compatible machines from 386 upwards with at least 1 megabyte of memory and a 100% compatible graphics card. LOADING INSTRUCTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AMIGA version: place disk 1 in the internal drive when you are asked to insert the workbench disk. The game is self-booting. If you need to change disks, you will be asked by the operating system. Loading from hard disk: If you have a hard disk, you can install the game on it. To do this, please use the INSTALL program included on disk 1. PC version: install the game on your hard disk using the INSTALL program supplied on the first disk. Key in b: or a: (according to which of these is your 3.5" drive) and run the program by keying INSTALL <ENTER>. CONTROLLING THE GAME ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The game is controlled in exactly the same way throughout, using either a joystick in port 2 or the cursor keys and Return. Menu options are selected in the same way: menus are selected by either left/right or up/down movement via the joystick (or the cursor keys). The currently selected menu option will always be indicated by a flashing red symbol (usually a box or a small arrow). The action shown can be carried out be pressing the Fire button (or the Return key). To return to the previous menu, the joystick (or cursor keys) must be used to move in a direction other that those for moving around the menu. This sounds complicated at first, but you will find yo get used to it very quickly, after which it provides very fast input. For example - when on a menu in which actions are selected by moving to the left or right, if you now try to move up or down, you will exit from the menu and return to the previous one. If you are in the Trading Menu, pressing the Escape key takes you to a sub-menu with the following options: S ... Save game L ... Load game Q ... Quit game C ... Continue If you press the "S" key the current state of the game will be saved. "L" will load the previous game at the point where it was saved. "Q" will return you to DOS. If none of these is required and you key "C" you will be able to continue the game. PLAYING THE GAME ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I New game or old game? ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First, a short program will be loaded, which will ask you if you wish to load a saved game or start a new game. If you are playing for the first time, you should select "NEW GAME". As only one game position can be saved at a time, the "OLD GAME" option will always load the last position. II The Crew Generator ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before you can move on to the action of the game, you must first create your crew - that is, your players. This is done in the Crew Generator: Select "CREATE CREW MEMBER", which will be the only option in the menu at this stage. A row of five men will appear at the top of the screen, from which you must select one to be the father of the crew member. After this, you select its mother in the same way. A baby will then be shown in the window underneath, and this should be given a name (as an exception, this is entered via the keyboard). The screen will now show the child's most important character features. You can select these by moving up and down and introduce mutations into them by moving left and right. The gene for each character feature in the DNA will be shifted as you cause it to mutate: the greater the mutation, the more it will shift. The number of mutations you can perform is shown in the top text field against the MUTATION RATE. The advantage of mutations is that the crew member becomes stronger in one or more sides of his character. However, there is a drawback which should not be taken lightly: the greater the mutations, the weaker the genes become, which makes the character more susceptible to diseases which crop up in the course of the game. After this you can choose an education for your character. You can select one of six schools and one of six colleges. However, not every character is automatically admitted to every school or college: this depends on certain qualifying values, which can be seen as a sort of "entrance examination". The available Schools are 1) UNIVERSAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL In this school the character is given a general all-round education and taught a broad range of subjects. 2) SPACE EDUCATION CAMP This camp gives the child and education oriented towards space travel. 3) ARMY SCHOOL In this school, military training comes first: the child will be taught to be a soldier and warrior. 4) SCHOOL OF LIFE The School of Life is not really a school at all: the child simply spends its youth roaming the city streets, gets to know life in the gutter, and becomes "streetwise". 5) CYBERTECH MENTAL SCHOOL This offers the child the chance to develop his mind and advance his mental powers. 6) NAGIKAMURA GAKKO This Japanese school provides a basic education centred on chemistry. The Colleges are 1) MILITARY ACADEMY On Completing his course at this college, the character will be a fully trained soldier and will have developed special combat abilities. 2) HOODSON MEDICAL SCHOOL This college trains its students to become doctors and also teaches them to handle mental energy. 3) ARANIAN MONASTIC SCHOOL Graduates from this establishment are warrior monks, not only capable of using weapons to excellent effect, especially in hand-to-hand fighting, but also the ability to use special mental powers. 4) PSI SCIENCE INSTITUTE This college gives its students complete control over the mind. Students learn how to use their mental energy and graduate as psionic initiates. 5) CHEMICAL UNIVERSITY Here, students are trained as biochemists, with a wide knowledge of the elements and composition of different planets and systems. 6) BOUNTY HUNTERS' GUILD The last college is run by the Bounty Hunters' Guild, and only accepts the best-qualified candidates, as the students are trained as rugged fighters. Every character must graduate from one of these six schools and colleges before his education is finished so that he can join the game. Once you have given a crew member a complete education, you have the choice of either designing a new character or erasing the first one. Before starting the game you must have designed four characters. Once this has been done, a second option will appear in the menu automatically. Here is a summary of all the symbols we have met: CREATE CREW MEMBER ^ icon of a bottle with some liquid in it REMOVE CREW MEMBER ^ something i can't see what it is but it says REMOVE on it so no prob. START GAME ^ this icon looks like a ship beaming down something on a planet. III The Trading Screen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The main part of the game is divided into two distinct sections: the Trading Screen and the 3-D Screen (which we will look at shortly). The Trading Screen relates to the part of the game when the crew is on board the Whale, where they are safe from pursuers they might meet, for example, in the cities (more on this a little later). However, the ship may still be attacked by other vessels (see below). The main commands available to you are as follows (from left to right) .-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------. | | | | | | | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | | | | | | | | `-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------' 1) BUY GOODS 2) SELL GOODS 3) SHIP'S SUPPLIES 4) SELECT NEW TARGET PLANET 5) LAND SCOUTCRAFT OR BEAM DOWN 6) PHONE Buy Goods ~~~~~~~~~ If you select this sub-menu, contact is made with a trader on the currently selected planet, shown at top left. There is an extensive range of goods to trade during the game. In this selection from the menu, the trader you have contacted will offer some of these goods for sale to your crew. The prices for the various goods vary from planet to planet and may change in the course of thegame. The name and price of the product currently selected will be shown on the display monitor at top right in exactly the same way as the Whale's remaining free capacity. Pressing the Fire button (or the Return key) will cause the goods to be bought. Sell Goods ~~~~~~~~~~ This allows goods that have been bought previously to be sold to the planet you are currently in contact with. Needless to say, there is not much profit when buying goods then selling them back to the same planet in the same move. Ship's Supplies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you have sufficient money, you can equip the Whale with additional "extras", which could be very useful in the event of a confrontation with other ships (see SPACE BATTLE below). Fuel for the ship can also be bought from this menu, to enable you to fly on to another planet: If the red box is positioned over the "Refuel" icon, the text window will display the price for one unit of fuel. The number of units you need for a particular voyage will depend not only on the distance to your destination, but also, of course, on the weight of the goods you are carrying. The number of units of fuel required for the voyage can be found on the Star Map (see below). Clicking on the "Refuel" icon produces a display containing the following information: - MAXIMUM: 20000 tells you the capacity of the fuel tank. - YOU HAVE: 00000 tells you how much fuel you have in the tank at present. - PURCHASE: 9483 tells you the maximum amount of fuel you can buy before you fill the tank or run out of money. (In this case it is limited by the money available.) If you now press the Fire button (or the Return key) a maximum of 5000 units will be bought. If this is done for the above example, the following figures will now appear: MAXIMUM: 20000 YOU HAVE: 5000 PURCHASE: 4483 If you press the Fire button again, you will not be able to buy 5000 units, as you only have 4483 credits left. Additionally, this menu allows you to buy a small scoutcraft with which you can fly over the surface of a number of planets to prospect for mineral resources. There are 5 different extras per planet. If you want to buy a scoutcraft, for example, you must first find a planet offering them. You should also go carefully with your fuel reserves, because it may well happen that there is no fuel on the planet you are making for. Extras can be bought, sold or repaired. This is arranged by selecting one of the two icons at the far left. The text window will now indicate whether you are intending to buy or sell. You can now select one of the extras. An extra can only be rapaired if you already have it and the planet you are in contact with sells the item and thus is able to repair. If you select the "Buy" symbol, an indication will appear against each of the extras you already have, telling you whether it needs repairing. Clicking on the symbol will result in the extra being repaired. SELECT NEW TARGET PLANET AND TAKE OFF ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If this icon is selected a window will appear giving a short description of the planet you have currently selected. At the right there are two symbols. Ths top one takes you to the Star Map, where you can select a new destination from the planets in the system. This shows you how far it is to the new planet and how much fuel you will need. Once you have chosen a new destination and confirmed it by pressing the Fire button, you will be returned to the previous menu. The lower icon will now allow you to fly the Whale to your new destination. During your flight through space to the planet you have selected as your destination, you are very likely to meet trouble. For example, pirates maybe lying in wait for the Whale, with their eyes on the contents of your hold. In such an event, a SPACE BATTLE will be displayed on a screen of its own. .---------------------------------------------------------------------------. |<|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|~~~|>| |<|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|>| |<| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |>| |<|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|>| |<| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |>| |<|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|>| |<| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |>| |<|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|>| |<| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |>| |<|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|>| |<| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |>| |<|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|>| |<| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |>| |<|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|>| |---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Hits: 00 | Move: 00 | `---------------------------------------------------------------------------' The upper section shows the actual playing area. The Whale always starts in the centre of the screen. There are three ways to survive a space battle: 1) Destroy all the enemy ships. 2) Click on the "Give in" symbol. This means that your entire cargo will be looted by the pirates, but you will survive. 3) If small green arrows light up at left and right, it is possible to escape. Once the Whale reaches the left or right-hand edge of the screen it can get away, so the battle is over. If the ship is knocked out by the enemy's weapons, the game is over. In view of this, it is a good idea to equip the Whale with some "extras" and save the game frequently. The lower section of the screen contains the playing icons. The number of icons shown depends on what extras you have equipped the Whale with. +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | _ | __ | __ | / | / \ | a |some | | a | | | / \ | | | | | `--.|( o )|globe|kinda| ? |flag | >>> | | ~~~ | ` | ' | / | \ / | |globe| | | | +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ The following icons are shown at all times: - AHEAD Activating this icon moves the Whale one square in the direction it is facing. - PORT TURN The Whale will turn 90 degrees to the left. - STARBOARD TURN The Whale will turn 90 degrees to the right. - GIVE UP When this icon is activated the battle is over - END MOVE This terminates your move; it is now the computer's turn. - SHIELDS UP The shields will operate for one move (i.e.until you start your next move). - HOLOGRAM This activates the Hologram projector for one move PROJECTOR ON (i.e. until you start your next moove), and a second image of the Whale will appear on the screen. This means that the enemy cannot be sure which Whale is the real ship and which is the decoy. In the confusion, attacks may be directed at the wrong image. - CLOAKING The Cloaking Device will be activated for one move DEVICE ON (that is, until you start your next move). This makes the Whale invisible to the enemy, so that it cannot be attacked. - IDENTIFY This extra allows you to identify enemy spaceships and ENEMY SHIP the weapons that they are carrying. Every time you activate an icon it will cost you "movement points". The number of points lost for each action depends on the equipment on board the Whale. For example: one move ahead will normally cost 3 movement points. However, if the Whale has been equipped with the Booster Drive this will only cost 2 points. In addition, your remaining movement points (out of the fixed count set at the start) will be increased each time an extra is bought. This means that the better equipped the Whale is, the more flexible it will be in battle. Between the battle screen and the menu bar for the icons there is a small strip giving the number of hits you have taken and your remaining movement points. Land Scoutcraft or Beam Down ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This gadget has a double function: If you have bought a scoutcraft in the "SHIP'S SUPPLIES" menu, this option takes you into a new menu which allows you to fly across the planet's surface. If you have not yet bought a scoutcraft, activating this menu operates a Teleporter which beams the crew down to the selected planet. Phone ~~~~~ This icon allows you to phone people you have got to know during the game. IV The 3-D Screen ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The main action of the game takes place on the 3-D screen, where the player can move his characters around - for example through cities - and solve tasks and puzzles. To illustrate this, let's take a look at the layout of the top half of the screen: +--------------+---------------------+--------------+---------------+--------+ | __________ | | __________ | | _ _ | | | | | | | | | | | || | | | | | | | | | | | | || | | | | | | | | | | | | || | | | | | | | | | | | | || | | | | 1 | | | | 1 | | | |4||5| | | | | | | | | | | | || | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | || | | | | | | | | | | | |_||_| | | |__________| | | |__________| | | T O | | _EXT__._EXT__| | _EXT__._EXT__| | | || | | || | | | ______| || 2 | 2 | || 2 | 2 | | | | || | | || | | | | 6 | ||______|______| ||______|______| | | | |Whale's Voyage| |Whale's Voyage| | | | +--------------+---------------------+--------------+---------------+-+------+ ~ 7 1) Automapping 2) Space for "extras" purchased during the game. 3) View screen, showing the current field of view as seen by the crew. 4) Temperature indicator. Shows the temperature of the surroundings. 5) Oxygen indicator. Shows the oxygen content of the air. 6) This window shows the planet on which the crew is presently located. 7) Indicates that "WALK" mode is currently selected. If you are in "WALK" mode (shown by the small flashing light) you can guide your crew through the planetary locations: - Joystick forward Crew moves forwards. - Joystick back Crew moves backwards. - Joystick left 90-degree turn to left. - Joystick right 90-degree turn to right. - Fire button+joystick left One step to the left. - Fire button+joystick right One step to the right. - Fire button+joystick back Takes you into the lower section of the screen, where you can operate the crew's icons. The lower part of the screen gives you the control icons you need to play the game. These can be selected using either the joystick or the cursor keys. .-------+---+---------------------------+---+---+H----------------+----------. | | | | | |M----------------| | +-------+---+---------------------------+---+---|H----------------+----------+ | | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |M------ 6 -------| | | 1 +---+---------------------------+---+---|H----------------| 7 | | | | | | |M----------------| | +-------+---+---------------------------+---+---|H----------------+----------+ | | | | | |M----------------| | `-------+---+---------------------------+---+---+-----------------+----------' 1) Special icons This area will display various icons during the game which are related to the immediate situation. At the start, only the Teleporter icon is shown: this beams you back to the Whale (Trading Section). 2) Duty icons Each of the four characters has a Duty Icon, which identifies the job allocated to him within the crew. The following duties can be assigned: L ... Leader The Leader of the group always goes ahead. This means that he is the first to be caught in any traps that have not been spotted beforehand. S ... Scout If this duty has been selected for a character, he will keep a look-out for traps and warn the group when he finds one. C ... Closer If this duty is assigned to a member of the crew, he will close every door after the crew has gone through. The advantage of this is that it makes things difficult for pursuers and while they are busy re-opening the door, valuable time is gained. T ... Targeter A character for whom this duty has been selected takes aim at the person standing in front of him, which means that "Select" does not have to be selected for this character in the event of an attack. However, the automatic targeting is not obvious - that is, the enemy will not be aware of it. J ... Joker A character charged with this duty will try to keep up the morale of the crew by telling jokes. If the crew's morale is high, they will not be intimidated so easily in battle. M ... Merchant A crew member with this duty is responsible for the crew's budget. This results in the number of credits available being shown on screen. W ... Weigher The Weigher shows the weight each character is currently carrying in the text window next to the character's name. U ... User If this duty has been selected, the present temperature and the current oxygen content of the air will be shown in the top right-hand corner of the screen. There is one further symbol, which cannot be selected but will be displayed during the course of the game: D ... Dead This character is dead. He can only be brought back into the game if he is brought back to life - either by a magician or a doctor or by using one of the "Healing Devices" which can be found in a number of cities. Special demands are made of each character according to the duty he has been assigned. For example, the Leader should have a strong personality to enable him to keep the crew under control and improve morale. A Scout, on the other hand, has to look out for traps and should therefore have had training in this particular area. 3) Name Icon If this square is selected, you will see the icons available to the character in question to carry out actions. For example, an object can be picked up, put down or used. These symbols will appear automatically when the situation requires. If an object is on the field where you are standing, for example, the "pick up object" icon will appear. The colours used for these icons are significant: weapons are shown in red, general objects (for example, a compass) in blue and guiding icons in yellow and/or green. 4) Profession Icons This will show you the variour abilities each character has. These depend on the profession that has been chosen: a doctor, for example, will have skills to heal wounds, whereas a magician will have a range of spells etc. 5) Level Icon This indicator shows you how many points you already have, what level you are on so far, and how many Experience Points are still needed to move up to the next level. 6) Readings Icon The Readings square displays the two most important readings: health and mental energy. If the square is activated (press Fire button or Return key) a list of all readings will appear, in figures. 7) Health Status Icon The character currently selected will always be shown in this square by means of a small picture. If you click on this field, the character will tell you how he is. V Hints and Tricks ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This section passes on a few hints and tricks which may help you to get over any early difficulties, or to find answers to problems. For the time being, however, you can skip this chapter if you like and see how well you make out by yourself. Assembling a crew ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The crew should be put together very carefully so that you have a strong team later in the game. As you only have four characters, but there are six different professions, the right selection can be very important. Each of the professions has its own strong points, so it is important to build up four different characters with four different professions. Furthermore it is not a bad idea, as a rule, to include one character who is physically strong and one who is superior to the others in mental terms. Putting weapons down ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the 3-D section, if weapons are put down by the crew the magazine will automatically be removed. When this weapon is picked up again, you will not be able to shoot with it as it will be empty. Reloading weapons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you buy a weapon, it will not be loaded, of course. You will therefore need a magazine, which can also be bought from weapons traders. Any magazine will fit any weapon, as it comes with a special weapon-sensing unit and a calibre adaptor. It will therefore adjust automatically to the weapon used. Goods ~~~~~ If you want to trade in sensitive goods offered on the planet, it is advisable to equip the Wahel with an appropriate refrigeration unit (only available on certain planets), to stop such goods spoiling during long flights. Goods which must be refrigerated are: Food, infusions, brain implants, drugs, medical items, bottled blood. Fuel consumption ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you want to fly the Whale from one planet to another, you will of course need a certain supply of fuel, which will depend on the distance to the destination planet. If also depends on how much cargo you have taken on board. If the hold is full, you will naturally need considerably more fuel to cover the same distance. Saving more than one position in a game ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the Trading Menu you have the option of saving the current game to the Save Disk supplied. It is only possible to save ONE position in the game on this disk. If you want to be able to save the game at a number of different points, use a copy program to copy the Save Disk before you start playing. You will now be able to save different game positions to each of your Save disks. Creating new characters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you want to start the game with a new crew, the first thing you should do is store the game (press the "ESC" key in the Trading Menu), so that the new characters are secure. This allows you to continue with the old crew when you start again (the OLD GAME option). Dead characters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If a character dies in the course of the game, you will not be able to do anything with the character for the time being; but there are ways of bringing him back to life. If you have a powerful magician or a doctor among the crew, who is capable of bringing people back to life, you can breathe fresh life into your character. However, if you cannot do this, you will find a "Healing Device" in some cities, which will allow you to heal wounds or bring people back to life. The price for this depends on the seriousness of the injury. Political Background ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the Great Revolution on Irada in the year 2291 by the Terran calendar, the war between humans and Iradians came to an abrupt end. Freedom had a beneficial effect on all the races involved. After more than a century, the enslaved Sanxons were able to form their own government again. The Iradian military class and the dictatorship which existed with their support were completely eliminated. Within 3 years, the Iradian Empire evolved into a democracy on the model of the United Continents. With Earth supplying economic assistance and waiving claims to war reparation, it took less than a decade to establish a free market and working democracy. In 2035 the newly-established Union of Democratic Economies (UDE) decided to unify interstellar trade and form a new organistaion which would combine all known races into a single huge market. This Cosmic League, as it became known, set out to help the poorer populations such as the Iradians and Rexantas, by means of a single currency and universal manufacturing standards. Each planetary system was assigned a Central Government responsible directly to the League. These centres were combined in a federal fashion so that each could pass laws which would be binding on all members while within the respective planetary system. These laws and the results of their application were reviewed annually by General Inspectors from the League and corrected where necessary. As time went by, the Cosmic League gradually acquired more and more power, with the result that on 1/1/2371 the League amalgamated with the governments of the separate Empires with the aim of forming an overall union. In the framework of this organisation, the terrestrial solar system had lost its central position, as Sol was located at the edge of one of the spiral arms of the galaxy. The government and the League's headquarters moved to a planet which had hitherto been uninhabited and was known simply as Z-1. Some years later an experiment was started on Earth to re-establish the natural cycles of atmospheric regeneration. Since 2087 work had been in progress to cleanse the air and correct the oxygen deficiency resulting from the imbalance of the biomass. By the application of a new process given the name Genesis II, it was envisaged that the natural proportions of oxygen and C02 breathers would be restored over a 50 years period. Background Story ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Hey, Mike! Look at this!" John shouted to his friend. "There's some sort of liquid running out of the wall!" "This ship really is a pile of rust!" replied his chum in horror. "Looks like machine oil, kids," announced Frank, dipping his finger in the viscous, dark-brown liquid and testing it against his tongue. "Ugh! It's oil from the hyperdrives," he confirmed, spitting out the trial drop disgustedly. "Keep out of the hold unless you want another nasty shock," came a voice from the aft end of the ship. It was Sven, the fourth in the party. To understand why these four are so agitated, we need to look a little further into the past - when they scraped together what little money they had, to buy themselves an impressive but remarkably cheap second-hand spaceship, a freighter to be precise. But as they later realised, their purchase was not quite the bargain they thought. And now the helpless crew are marooned in a ship which is falling apart, at the end of the galaxy in a distant star system far beyond Earth. They are drifting in orbit around the planet Castra, as they can't afford the price of fuel ... THE PLANETS ~~~~~~~~~~~ LAPIS ~~~~~ This planet is extremely inhospitable, as it is closest to the sun and the climate is very hot and dry. The settlers are few and far between, and live in villages of container-like structures which can easily be rebuilt in a different place. This is necessary, as volcano eruptions are frequent and put the settlers in danger. There are violent sandstorms and "rockstorms", which have left the containers looking dusty, dirty and dented. The settlers' main source of income is mining, as Lapis is rich in ores and minerals. These are extracted in extensive mining operations scattered across the entire surface of the planet. As this rocky planet is a relatively long way from the system's centre, it is hardly surprising that a good many criminals and other shady characters have found refuge here. This makes it comparatively dangerous for adventurers to move about on their own outside the protection of the city. According to rumour, more and more adventurers and treasure hunters have amde for the planet recently: it is said that out on one of the boundless, unprotected plains where the rockstorms rage, a prospector came upon a huge vein of platinum. He radioed the find through to his base station, but before he could give its position he fell victim to the storm! Ever since, one courageous "scanner" after another has set out into the endless wilderness in search of the mine, but very few return. ARBORIS ~~~~~~~ As Arboris is favourably placed with respect to the sun, its climate is ideal for a thriving vegetation. The entire surface is covered by a thick jungle. Obviously, wood is available in abundance, so the buildings are made of this. Most of the other planets, however, do not have large resources of this material, and as a result the government has issued a firm ban on exports of wood. No one is permitted to trade in it on Arboris, as it is clear that it is and important material, and that its importance can only grow in the future. Like Lapis, Arboris is rich in mineral resources of all kinds. This makes these raw materials the main export. Although the planet is only at an average technical level, a trade in technically sophisticated articles is also flourishing. As the climate is relatively pleasant and criminal activities have been kept within limits, the planet is a popular holiday destination. CASTRA ~~~~~~ Castra was once the most technically advanced planet in this solar system. Over the years, however, more and more traders settlet here. The result was that the pressure of competition increased to such an extent that many traders could only keep their heads above water by adopting illegal methods for at least part of the time. After a short time the economy on Castra totally collapsed. This period of great confusion was exploited by the criminal world. More and more shady types settled on Castra, and soon the once flourishing metropolis had been transformed into a den of crime and corruption. Only after decades was it possible to restore some order and regain Castra's reputation as a technological trading planet. But it is still plagued by a very high crime rate. SKY BOULEVARD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This planet was formerly known as Decadence IV and was, like Castra, a flourishing centre of trade and the seat of government. The crime rate had always been extremely low as its politicians had set up an extensive policing system for their own protection. This enabled them to control trade and prevent a collapse of the system similar to that which had overtaken Castra. In a very short time, Decadence IV had surpassed Castra in technical advance and trade, and accordingly became the leader in the market. With its rapid rise to prosperity, the population could afford themselves more luxuries. There was also a large influx of immigrants which increased the population several times over. Only a few years after its great trading rise, Decadence IV had achieved a high level of luxury. This, however, went together with an increasing demand for energy. The planet's reserves became consumed at a dangerous rate and the politicians only came to their senses once it was too late. There was no way of saving the devastated planet, whose atmosphere was now poisoned to saturation. A great flood of migrating refugees began, as almost everyone sought a new home on another planet. Those with power on Decadence IV, however, had no intention of giving up the planet on which they had so much influence. Without further ado, they decided to build a giant space station in orbit; and Sky Boulevard was born. The project was completed with feverish haste, and the remaining population escaped from the planet at the last moment, before the biosphere collapsed. In their new life in space, however, they were confronted with a new problem: their energy reserves were in danger of running out. As there was little time left, a snap decision was taken and a nuclear fusion reaction was initiated on the surface of the planet beneath Sky Boulevard, to supply the station with light and energy. As a result of this drastic intervention in the natural order, all remaining life on the former Decadence IV was destroyed. From this time on, the surface was wreathed in clouds of thick smoke and soot. This brought temperatures down to freezing point and made the planet an inhospitable place. The new Sky Boulevard, on the other hand, was provided with ample energy, and the once prosperous centre of trade and government woke from its sleep and once again became the heart of the system. NEDAX ~~~~~ Nedax is the only planet in the entire system with a surface almost completely covered in water. Life is impossible on the few small islands as these are repeatedly submerged and swept clean by the strong tides. The only way of colonising this planet was to build cities on the sea floor. For technical reasons, this was not possible on a large scale. As a result, great numbers of people live together in a small space. Despite this, the crime rate is low. Trade is also carried on in raw materials extracted from the sea floor. INOID ~~~~~ Inoid, at 2810 million miles is the furthest planet from the sun and is almost totally covered in a thick ice sheet. The population live in cities insulated from the bitter cold. Trade is carried out in most available goods. APPENDIX A ~~~~~~~~~~ JIM NIPPLE greets you: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Welcome to my little hideaway! I'm glad you found your way here so quickly. I chose this hiding place for a very good reason. My work here is rather dangerous. You see this box of tricks? It's a bugging system which lets me listen to nearly every call made anywhere on Lapis. It's a real marvel of science! As it's a very mobile unit, I can dismantle is quickly and take it with me to a new hide-out. This flexibility protects me against unexpected visits by secret agents. You're not safe for very long if you stay in the same place. Thank you for bringing me the implant so quickly. It is for an important man who has been very active in support of our organisation. Unfortunately the Secret Service has been on our trail for quite some time, and they are trying to prevent us from getting this man fitted with it. As you've probably noticed, the situation in this star system is relatively relaxed on the surface. We live in a democracy, but in reality it's more like a dictatorship. After all, where else would you find a complete abscence of political parties? Opinions which differ from those of our government are simply not allowed. They are not suppressed by using the army, but - however paradoxical it sounds - by a massive bureaucracy. This mountain of officials blocks any and every plan by senseless activity. The worst of it is that even they themselves don't know who they are working for - or against. And we can only get through to the odd one or two of them. Our organisation is keen to have more people, so that we can overthrow this system. You have given us excellent support, and we would like to show our gratitude. We would be delighted if you would continue to work with us. Notes ~~~~~ WHALE'S VOYAGE HINTS AND TIPS Typed by Rygar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Please look at the map below the hints, which i made in ascii, it shows the positions described in the hints ... For those of you who are not accustomed to playing strategy trading adventure games here are a few hints and tips to help you get started. Problem: No money to trade. Your crew is poor, very poor. To get your first credits fly down to the city of Penthe on Planet Castra and walk to position 1. Talk to Greg Morgan and ask him what he is doing here. You cannot help him now, but just walk around and try to pass position 2. Two rowdies are beating an old man, called George Mc Mil. Beat them up and help George. Then talk to him. He offers you 1500 credits and his telephone number (write it down!). Now you can start to make money travelling with the Whale, but it's easier to continue in Penthe. Walk to position 3, take the little girl Winnie with you and see Walter Wim, her father, in his shop at position 4. After you return Winnie to him he offers you some weapons for your trouble. Take the guns and load them. When you leave the shop, a thief tries to get your reward. Fight and kill him and the police will give you 3000 credits. Go to Max Flesh at position 5 and ask him for a job (be careful!). Accept the mission by taking the heart he puts on the counter. Beam up to escape from the killers who also want the heart. Call George Mc Mil. He helps you shrink Greg Morgan. Beam down again and go to Greg at position 1, shrink him and don't forget to take the CD. Now fly to Lapis and search for Jack Nock. He will give you 100000 credits for bringing the heart. Now it should be easy to start trading. When you have got enough money and extras for the Whale go to Jack Nock and try to solve the other 97% of the game. _________________________________________ | _|_| __________ ___| ___| | | _| |__________| |_______| | |_|______ _______ ________ _ _________| | _ _ _ |_ |_| | | | | | | | |_| |_| |_| |_ | | | |____| | |__________________| | |_|___|____|_______| | __________ _|_| | | | | | | _ _ | |_| |_________ |______ | | | |_|__|_| |_ |_ _ ______ | | _|__|1 |_|_ | | | __| _ | | 3| |_| |_| | | | | |__ 0|_| | | |__________ ___| |_| |__ ___| | | __| __ ____ _ _ __| | | | _| |_____ | |______| | | | | | | |_| | | | | | | |5 _| |_____| | | | | | | |_|_|____| |__________| |___| | | 2 _ ___ _ _ ___ | |___|_____ _______ | | | | |_| | | | |_| | |_|4______| | |_________|_|_______|_|_____|_____________| 0 = STARTING POSITION (WARPLINK) The End. Typed by Rygar!