THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE ALIEN PUBLISHER Argus Press AUTHOR Paul Clansey YEAR 1984 DESCRIPTION The game is based on the film Alien and includes all the characters from the film. It was a strategy game set over the 3 levels of the comercial towing vehicle Nostromo and includes a maze of airducts through which you and the Alien can reach all the areas of the ship. There is no set way to win or loose the game but the more sucessful you are the better your preformance rating at the end. Each of the crew have thier own personality and traits and may not obey your comands all of the time. As the games progresses the crew will become more frightened and may panic. To make the game harder one of the crew (the identity changes each game) is an android who will disrupt your actions and can kill your crew. CONTROLS User Definable Up,Down and Select. Also Kempston, Protek and Interface 2 Joysticks. INSTRUCTIONS Once you start you are informed that the Alien has hatched from one of the crew. On the main menu screen you can select any character and view the maps of the Nostromo and identify all the rooms. Once you select one of the crew you are shown their position on the ship and a 2nd menu is shown. From this menu you can highlight the rooms the character can move to. If there are any objects in the room you will be given an option to pick it up. If there is a grille you can open this and enter the airducts. When you complete an action you will hear a sound (these can be heard at the instruction screen at start up). The Alien will also make these noises so you can get clues to where it is. You are also given the option to attack the Alien or Android if they are in the same room. If the Alien enters the room then the map screen will change to a picture of the Alien. In Summary the commands are Get Item Leave Item Remove Grill Attack Move To... You are also given special commands depending on the situation. These include: Initiate Auto-Destruct Enter HyperSleep Open/Seal Airlock Launch Narcissus Catch Jones There are a number of objects in the game some of which are used as weapons, these objects are: Lasers - Weapon Incinerator - Weapon Electric Prod - Weapon, minimal damage? Net - to trap Alien/Android Spanner - Weapon? Harpoon Gun - Weapon, causes maximum damage to the ship and kills the user if used against the Alien Fire Extinguisher - Weapon ? Puts out Fire? Trackers - Beeps when someone is in next room Cat Box - to trap Jones in There are a number of ways to complete the game 1) If there are 3 crew members left you can leave in the shuttle Narcissus but you need to catch Jones the Cat and set the autodestruct. 2) Kill the Alien, very tricky. Be careful as the Alien's blood can cause damage to the ship. 3) Heard the Alien to the Airlock and blow it into space. 4) If all else fails set autodestruct to stop the Alien reaching earth. CHEATS INLAY CARD TEXT Alien Inlay Text - Outside *Front* A L I E N [Image of Alien egg] In space no one can hear you scream MIND GAMES Spectrum 48k *Back* There is a picture of each of the crew members with their profile. :NAVIGATOR : MIND GAMES :shy,skillful and : A L I E N :intelligent - : :Panics easily : 'We live as we dream - alone' : : Joseph Conrad :EXECUTIVE OFFICER : :Direct,imaginative. : The Nostromo is coming home. You awake.As :Cautious, Loyal :Commander you must grapple with a : :terrifying life force you cannot comprehend :SCIENCE OFFICER :The ship has become a trap - something evil :Secritive,Unlikable :stalks the corridors ... :Brilliant : :Occasionally :Using the unique Argus PERSONALITY CONTROL :illogical :SYSTEM you must command the crew to execute : :your plans. Beware! They will interpret :CAPTAIN :your orders in their own individual way. :Solid, Dependable :Decisions are real-time and the drama :Courageous - :unfolds across a full graphics map of the :Excellent Leader. :ship. : : :ENGINEERING OFFICER : Every time you dare to try this epic :Physically strong, :battle of survival you will be faced with :Low I.Q. Potentially:the reality of the reaction - and because :Rebellious. :of the unique PCS facility it's different : :every time. :WARRANT OFFICER : :Wilful, Ambitious. : :Authoritative, : INSIDE -- :Resourceful. : ------ : :Free 16 page booklet which sets the scene :ENGINEERING OFFICER :of the story with actual pictures and :Cynical, Rebellious,:dialogue from the film! :Untrustworthy, : :Unflappable. : : :[Image of] Full loading instructions appear : :[cat paw ] on the reverse of this insert : : : : (c) 1984 : : ARGUS PRESS SOFTWARE LTD. : : No.1 Golden Square,London W1R 3AB. : : Telephone:01-437 0626 Booklet *Front Cover* Same as insert cover *Back Cover* A L I E N from MIND GAMES The computer has opened up a whole new world of games. Go beyond the games of zapping and fast reflexes and you reach into that world. The computer takes on a life or its own. Adventure and strategy games start where arcade games finish. Here is the world of imagination and though. MIND GAMES are a range of programs designed to stimulate that imagination and take you into new and strange worlds. Sophisticated graphics, and great presentation are all part of the package. [argus press image] (c) 1984 Argus Press Software,No.1 Golden Square,London W1R 3AB *Page 2* Text overlaid on image of the Nostromo. Photos of crew in top right corner. Sometime in the future... Commercial towing vehicle 'The Nostromo' Crew: seven Cargo: refinery processing 20,000,000 tons of mineral ore Course: returning to earth *Pages 3 to 9 tell the story of the film* *Page 10* A L I E N ----THE GAME---- Game-play The aim of the game is to destroy the Alien or drive it way from the nostromo. For instance, you can evacuate with 3 crew members in the lifeboat, Narcissus, as long as you don't leave and living crew behind you and if you set the ship onto auto-destruct it will kill the Alien. The action begins as the first crew member has been killed by the embryonic Alien hatching. This random start to the game is complicated by your not knowing which member is an android. You will be presented with a menu driven system of character control, once the Personality Control System has been set in motion. On completion of the game you will receive a rating for your performance, this is compiled from the final state of the Alien, the crew and the ship. Your crew will find throughout the three decks of the ship a number of tools and weapons which you can tell a crew member to use. They won't necessarily obey you, it depends on whether they are capable of using them. Be extremely careful using the weapons, on being hit the Alien secretes an acid which eats through the hull of the ship, and anything else in its way. The perfect defence mechanism! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Personality Control System (PCS): PCS is a unique programming technique. It is a form of multi- character control which allows you to instruct one character whilst the others are attempting to complete their tasks. The world of the Starship Nostromo is a world apart. It has become a trap, the opposite of its original design as a long range interstellar vehicle. Before you can enter this world you must first set the Personality Control System into action. Your role as Commander is a complicated and complex one. Each member of the crew has their own unique personality which you must learn to understand in order to predict their behaviour under stress. You will be asked in your role as Commander to make life and death decisions. You must minimise the risk of the characters not obeying your orders. This depends on your being able to understand the person concerned. You will be asked to help and advise one person at a time. The type on instruction you can give maybe... GET ITEM LEAVE ITEM REMOVE GRILL ATTACK MOVE TO... *Page 11* [Photo of cast] Bret (Harry Dean Stanton) Ash (Ian Holm) Kane (John Hurt) Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) Dallas (Tom Skerritt) Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) Parker (Yaphet Kotto) If you give a generalised instruction this will be interpreted by the person in the light of their personality and their experience during the game. You orders aren't necessarily obeyed, its up to you to put yourself into the persons situation. Once set in motion the character will try to complete his/her task. You may immediately begin to examine another crew-member's behaviour . You must plan the movement of you crew well ahead. Its real-time action interacting with all the other members of the crew. The performance of a crew member will be effected by the turn of events. For instance, confidence will increase by the possession of a useful piece of equipment, or knowing that others of the crew are on their way to help. The reverse can happen. In fact, if you ask the person to try and achieve too much too soon, and its out of character you will cause a trauma and a nervous breakdown. You will have to shelter and allow shocked crew recover. Bear in mind some of the crew are nervous, some of them are terrified, and that if you put more than three crew members in a room or more then one in an air conditioning duct at a time you will give them claustrophobia and create havoc. Your problem is to define the characters along a number of personality traits. Remember these, your plan to defeat the Alien will depend on your skill. *Page 12* Screen Displays: Provided all your sensors are working, as Commander of the Nostromo you are presented with three types of information: 1) A Map of the ship where you can watch your crew members moving about. Each deck of the ship can be selected from the menu. You can also find your way around the ducting in the vicinity of one of the crew by removing the grilles and climbing in. Likewise, you can call up any named area in the ship. Encounters with the Alien, the android, and with Jones are shown on the main map. 2) The Command Monitor gives you the options at any one time. By following these you can explore the ship with your crew and attempt to destroy the Alien. The menu is examined using a joystick, that is, pushing a joystick backwards and forwards will move the cursor up and down. Pushing the joystick sidewards will select the 'quit' option on each page of information. Pressing the 'fire' button will select the option each time. On the CBM64 the buttons F5, F7, F3 move the cursor and the spacebar selects the option. CONTROL and Q together will put the game into pause to allow you to gather your wits. Pressing CONTROL and 'the back arrow' will resume the game. If you would rather restart the game from the beginning just press the CBM key. On the Spectrum 48k you can use, Kempston, Protek joysticks and Interface Two. The Keyboard control is user definable. 3)The Report Monitor will show you the status of the crew and an area of the ship. Messages between crew members and from Mother, the ship's computer, will also come though this port, it's real time information window, and, as such, is vital. --------------------------------------- I 1) Mapping of I2) I I Nostromo ICommand I I IMonitor I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I --------------------------------------- I 3)Report Monitor I --------------------------------------- [Image of Mother's Keyboard] *Page 13* The Command Monitor Your staring point is the list of the crew, you can find the location of any one of them using the cursor control, as mentioned in the previous section. You will find three separate lists of different locations. There are some 35 rooms and 40 ducting areas in the Nostromo. 'Quit' will get you back to the control menu each time. Using this section of the Command Monitor you can select his/her position on the ship's mapping system. The next level of command gives you the responsibility of instructing that crew-member in the overall strategy you have devised. Once you have selected the crew member and have found his/her position then more details can be found out about the available sites to move too. Again, using the cursor control you can move through the options and select you instructions. 1)Damage Reports: Before committing a member of your crew to a course of action you can examine the area for damage. Likewise any useful weapons or tools can be reviewed. If you need to get into the ducting the available grilles are displayed at this junction; now is the time to plan your next move. 2)Weapons and Tools: You can find out wether your crew have any possessions to hand using the cursor selection on the item option. The most you can carry is two; the first in the list is ready to use, the second can be selected by using the cursor. If an item is found in a room the option to pick up will appear automatically. You can always drop an item, the second one in the character list is always the one left behind. The tools and weapons are distributed throughout the ship. You have available: three lasers three incinerators three electric prods one net two large spanners one harpoon gun four fire extinguishers two trackers a cat box 3)Special Options: A number of special options are open to you. They will be displayed if the circumstances allow their use. For example 'remove grill' will only appear if the grill is in place: open airlock launch Narcissus remove grill enter hypersleep seal airlock initiate auto-destruct catch Jones 4)Time out of Hypersleep (TOOH) The ships reserve of oxygen did not allow for unscheduled stops. You only have 7,500 units of oxygen available. Any crew not in Hypersleep when oxygen runs out will, of course, die! *Page 14* Hints For Survival In order to begin to understand the complexes of you role as Commander of the Nostromo it is suggested you play the initial set scenario as offered on the title page. As the scene unfolds move the cursor control to you crew list and begin to move them through the top deck of the ship. You must use the corridors to move to the other decks. Note the positions of the grilles, if one has already been removed the Alien has probably been there. The swooshing noise you will hear is a door opening and closing somewhere. The crew move independently so don't wait for any one crew to move after you've told it to, get on to the next task quickly. Pick up any tools and weapons you find on the way and you think might be useful. The starting game aim is to gather the three crew and the cat and get them into the shuttle, Narcissus, start the auto-destruct and escape from the ship: without letting the Alien onto the shuttle! Watch the reports of Mother, they will tell you the state of mind of the crew, and thus the likelihood of their obeying your orders. After you have begun moving, the Alien will have sensed your presence, so be careful. Jones is a great sensor. You may want to track it through the ducting, some brave crew member might be willing, you will have to see what happens. Herding the Alien towards an airlock might help if you can blow it into space. The pulsing sound you can hear is the heart beat of the crew member you have selected, it will get noticeably faster as the situation worsens. You may find Mother might not respond on occasions, this might be because of damage to your sensors, likewise the cat might not like a particular crew member. The android will do its worse when you least expect to, as well. It adds to the reality of the situation. This guide, is just that, a guide. Each time you play the game the crew and the Alien will behave differently, so take your time exploring all the options, then when the going gets rough you'll know what's at hand and what's not. Your early moves are vital. Once you are in the game all sorts of events might happen, think about them and outwit the brute force of the Alien. The best of luck ! *Page 15* A L I E N --THE FILM-- THE FILM Twentieth Century-Fox started shooting the movie on July 15th 1978 at Shepperton Studios. The initial idea was conceived by DAN O'Bannon, a writer and special effects man, who had worked on 'Star Wars'. The story was put together with the aid of Ronald Shusett. The Brandywine Productions bought the rights to 20th Century-Fox. The 3 directors of Brandywine acted as co-producers (Gordon Carroll, David Giler and Walter Hill) and direction was by Ridley Scott. The musical score was by Jerry Goldsmith. Acknowledgements The program was written and devised by Paul Clansey, aided and abetted by Roy Gibson and Concept Software. The produst has been put together by the Alien fans at Argus. (Dallas Harris, Robyn Ripley, Farah Lambert, Martin Ash, Mike Kane, Helen Bret, Carole Jones and Alien Holme) Design by HGM from the planet Luton. Our thanks to 20th Century-Fox personnel for their help and enthusiasm. SCORES RECEIVED It was unrated in Crash, issue 15, but recieved 8/10 in YS. PREQUELS/SEQUELS Was released as a budget game. URL'S GENERAL FACTS One of the first Movie tie-ins, and notable in the fact that it was not a platform game. The personality of the crew was crude but did work well and there have not been many games since that have given characters personality. Another feature was that this game was scary. Don't play this game in the dark as you don't know when the Alien will attack when your tracker starts bleeping. NOTES