Day of the Viper - Manual

Main * Manual * Know Thine Enemy * Items * Levels

Please note that as you read this manual my input is denoted in red.

What's a GAR?

July 4th, 2307. First, a quick history lesson.

Not too long ago - about 300 years to be exact - someone at the Rore Corporation gave into a coffee-induced delusions and proposed an idea: Let's create a biotechnotic race. Something with the mind of a computer, the body of an assault vehicle, and the intuitive processes of a human being.It would be perfect for belt mining, wouldn't it? Or piloting a starship.

After a few decades of R & D, and billions in government subsidies, Rore finally came up with a prototype unit, GAR-1 (Genetic Android Race).

GAR was incredible. He was a powerhouse. He performed dangerous and\or complex functions with frightening efficiency - and, for the fist time in the history of biotechnology, with a masterful intuitive grace as well. In GAR, researchers had truly reduced the interface between man and machine to about the length of a cellular dendrite.

Unfortunately, GAR had these "headaches."

Neurosynthetic melding, it seems, serves up some unpleasant side effects. For example: Excruciating neural pain.

***

Back to the Future. Well, to make a long story short, GAR went wackoid-who wouldn't?-and has been rampaging maniacally through the defenses of the Sun League Defense Force(SLDF) for three centuries now. It is difficult to overstate the unwholesome
nature of his feelings toward living organisms. Indeed, to call GAR "vengeful" would be like calling Attila the Hun "naughty."

You know, it wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't smarter than everybody on Earth put together, and hadn't spawned an unstoppable robotic army whose sole purpose is to strip the biology from every biosphere in the galaxy.

Take away all that and we'd be in pretty good shape.

***

Let's Get to The Point. Which is this: We're in deep moon sauce. GAR's brilliant mind has come up with innovation after military innovation. His shield and laz gun technology has been a generation ahead of SLDF issue for a hundred years.

Of course, we've had good success lately. SLDF military research has made some remarkable advances-and there are rumours of breakthrough weapon & shield developments unfolding as we speak. Ion cannons. Krellian power spheres. You know, things like that.

However, recent intelligence reports indicate unusual activity in GAR bases out in the Rim Worlds-the icy, lifeless, planets on the edge of the galaxy. His swarming mechanoid minions seem to be mobilizing for a daring Napoleonic thrust into the intimate inner ionosphere of the Sun League cantral systems.(Say that last sentence five times, really fast.)

We have reason to believe that...

Suddenly, from deep space, your attack frigate-the "SLDF Defiance" - recieves a distress signal.

After recovering from the shock of your computer's message, you blast into hyper-drive. You hover cautiously in the outer rim of the Targan system. Immediately, your sensors tell you the entire star sysem is crawling with elite units of GAR's bloodless BioScan Corps.

OK, maybe they look like household appliances. But they have an attitude problem. With cold, efficient fury, BioScanners seek out biological life. Then they toast it into little pices of black oblivion. Rumor has it they will relentlessly hunt down even the tiniest fibrillating bits of unicellular biomass. GAR, you see, sweats the details.

You decide it's kind of cozy, way out here on the rim of this star system.

What's a Viper?

As one of the original members of the Nexus progect, you have been waiting for this moment. A Viper unit is a powerful attack android. But unlike GAR, a Viper is controlled from a remote location by a highly-trained human operator-in this case, you.

In combining the Viper android with the Nexus 2000 Synergy Console - the remote link which directs the unit-The Rore Corporation has come remarkably close to matching GAR's systematic configuration without actually fusing living cells to component technology.

Unfortunately, the cost of each Viper/Nexus unit is so prohibitive that Sun League has only a handful. All of them, except yours, are drydocked. There are indications that the SLDF defense contractors have been overcharging us. I know you may find this shocking.

Here's what we're getting at: No other androids are available. Only you can save the Sun League.

What's the mission?

Simple. Regain control of the SLDF Base Complex. Five buildings, five floors apiece. The only obstacle is a hoard of the most dogged storm troopers this side of the Dog Star.

And, yeah, GAR. The honcho himself.

Look, it's not impossible. Just reactivate the Security Defense Computer. Of course, GAR destroyed the central program. He's not stupid. But he doesn't know that the program was
downloaded onto 25 hidden floppy disks as well.

Direct your Viper to recover all the disks, load them onto Viper's built-in hard-drive, then upload the data back into the Command Post main computer. Once the security system is reactivated, all intruders and ships will be eliminated.

Here's how you do it:

1) Recover the floppies. There are 25 floppy disks, one on each of the 25 sub-floors of the SLDF Complex. There are five buildings, each with 5 sub-floors. Each sub-floor can have as many as 50 rooms.

2) Find the Disk Controller Chip. This little silicon etching enables you to load floppy data onto your hard disk.

3) Find the Computer Interface Chip. This lets your Viper unit communicate with the main computer.

4) Get to the Main Computer Room, in building 5, floor 5. Upload the data and find a way to restart the system.

5) Kill lots of the enemy. As you progress, enemy troops get nastier. Destroy as many as possible.

How to control the Viper screen

Viper is completely mouse-controlled: No codes, no keyboard commands.

To identify anything in the game, simply point to the object or area with the mouse pointer and click the right mouse button once. A short description of the object will appear on the
message display.

To activate screen functions, point to the appropriate on-screen buttons or guage and click the left mouse button.

To activate objects, point to them and double-click the left mouse button. The message display will tell you what happened.

To move objects: First, click the left mouse button once on the object(such as an energy crystal) to be moved. A green box will highlight the object. Move the mouse pointer to the desired spot(such as one of the holding boxes), then click the left mouse button again. The object will move to this new location. If that area is already occupied by another object, the two items will be "swapped."

To activate rooms in the SLDF Complex, put the pointer on the back wall of the room and click the left mouse button. This DOESN'T work in "empty" rooms; no matter how much you click, nothing's gonna happen. So give it up before you get arthritis in your index finger.

To fire your weapon click on the weapon button, then move the pointer to the screen opposite the map screen where it will become a cross-hair, ready to be aimed and shot. Click on the weapon button again to return the crosshair to its benign pointer-like state.

How to control your Viper mechanoid

You've got a lot of things to monitor on your Viper module, but a few turns around the SLDF hallways and you'll be moving like a pro. You'd better if you want to survive the earlier levels.

Message display - Watch this. This is how your Viper mechanoid communicates with you.

Right monitor - Your synergestic eyes. Lets you see everything that your Viper unit sees through a special 3-D Camera. However, you cannot see unlit areas without a visual aid.

Holding Boxes - Ten of these; they serve as compartments for storing disks, energy crystals, and other objects you find.

Plotter button - Turns your plotter display on and off.

Plotter Display(Left Monitor) - Maps out each floor as you progress. You cannot detect intruders on your plotter. If your plotter chip becomes disabled, you cannot activate the plotter. Unlike shields and firing weapons, the plotter does not drain your energy while in use.

Plotter legend
Black	Hallways passageways, rooms, unplotted areas.
Blue	Walls
Red	Traps
Green	Objects
Flashing white	Viper (your current position)
Colored bars	Security doors

Floor coordinates - Shows your position (X and Y coordinates) on the current floor in relation to the upper left corner of the display-i.e.,upper left corner:X=0, Y=0. Coordinates will help you find previously-explored locations and previously found objects of importance. Coordinates are automatically recorded when you access your recorder.

Short Range Sensor - The danger guage that indicates enemy presence: GREEN for safe conditions, YELLOW for approaching danger, and RED for immediate danger.

Heading Indicator - Trusty direction finder. Your computor screen is North at the top, South on the bottom, West on the left, and East on the right. The indicator, however, tells you in which direction Viper is headed. So in order to travel up your screen, for example, make sure that the compass reads North, then click on the Move Forward button (up arrow) with the left mouse button.

Scanner button - Gives you one scan cycle - a portion of the entire floor area that surrounds Viper will be scanned, with results being displayed on your plotter screen (if active). It will burn up some energy, too.

Movement buttons - These move your Viper android. For continuous movement, hold down the arrows.

Weapon button - Turns your particle beam weapon system or Laz Gun on and off. (Weapon indicator light = green for on, black for off.) When on, the mouse pointer will become a crosshair when moved onto the right monitor. Aim the crosshair at the target, then press the left mouse button to fire the weapon that is currently installed.

            Always shoot for your opponent's "Hot Spot." What's a hot spot? It's the one spot on an enemy that when hit will do the most damage. Excuse me for butting, but I've got something important to say. The hot spots...where are they? Well, from what I've found (through trial and error) and also what I've read in the game (if you get that far you'll know what I mean) I feel qualified to tell you that most hot spots are located near the eyes, just under the chin, and the leg area (including midsection) of a GARgoyle. Keep in mind, however, that on some robots these spots are impossible to hit unless the robot is shooting at you, in which case a little patience and a lot of energy - or a grenade/bola bomb/neutron detonator -  will do the trick. The farther you are away from this spot, the less damage it will cause and the more energy you will waste. Unfortunately, the only way to find their Hot Spot is trial and error-the closer you come with a shot, the larger the explosion. If you're not close, the shot will do no damage.

To install a new weapon, double click on it.

Remember: Firing weapons consume power.

Shield button - Turns your shield recharges on and off. (Shield Indicator light-green for on, black for off.) To install a new shield, double click on it. Activated shields consume power
because they are constantly recharging. When turned off, they retain their energy level until hit.

Energy level guage - Tells you how much energy is left in your storage tanks. If it hits 0%, Viper will shut down. You lose energy by fighting, operating weapons and shields, and running into things you shouldn't. You even lose power be just standing around, so it's a good idea to pause the game when you're not actively hunting GAR. To replenish energy, gobble up all the energy crystals you can find.

Damage level gauge - Shows how much damage your Viper has sustained. If damage level reaches 100%, Viper is destroyed. For repairs, hunt for repair pods.

Battered Unit Damage (B.U.D.) Light - Registers how much damage an enemy under attack is taking on. The more hits you make, the faster the indicator will change from green(good as new) to yellow (50% damage: hurting cowboy) to red (75% damage: dead
meat).

Weapon temperature guage - Your Laz Gun temperature guage. The gun will malfunction if it gets too hot.

Shield strength guage - If this hits 0%, your mechanoid can be damaged by laser hits.

Pause button (duh!) - Freezes the game at any moment. When the game is paused, the screen will turn red.

Circuit Board - The main control panel of your Viper. It contains 13 precious microchips - each can be damaged and must be replaced as needed. To access the circuit, click on the Cicuit Button with the left mouse button. To install chips and components, point to the desired object and double click the left mouse button. The object will appear on the circuit board in the correct socket. (You do not need the board displayed in order to install circuits.)

Disk menu button - Click on this with the left mouse button and four options appear in the left monitor area:

Load - Click with the left mouse button to load a previously - saved game.

Save - Click with the left mouse button to save the battle you are currently waging. Only one game can be saved at a time; a second save will override the first.

Quit - Click with the left mouse button to quit the game. If asked if you want to quit without saving the current game, click on yes or no.

Recorder Icon - Click with the left mouse button to open and close your Recorder or electronic notepad. The recorder is a nifty tool for tracking locations of rooms and valuable objects so you can return for them when needed. With the recorder opened, just click on the object or room with the RIGHT mouse button, and the critical information is automatically listed. It can hold up to 50 messages.

Hard drive guage - Each of these five bars corresponds to one of the 5 sectors of your hard disk, each holding five floppy disks worth of information.

Floppy disk drive - Lets you load foppy disks onto your Viper's hard disk. To load a disk, double-click the left mouse button on the desired disk. The light on the drive will go on to indicate loading.

Know thine enemy

Know him. He is deadly and ubiquitous. Many different types of GAR-goyles roam the halls of the SLDF Complex looking for your Viper. When their sensors detect your guy, the ones that move, move fast.

In his quest for the ultimate warrior, GAR has made many different models. Each with different speed, attack logic, armor, strength, and weaponry. Some are designed for recon work, others for communication. Then there are the warrior units-the elite of GAR's forces.

It is extremely important to gain weapon and shield upgrades. The more, the better.

Traps to avoid

Many traps were placed by the enemy after their successful assault in order to prevent a counter attack by SLDF forces. All will cause either disorientation, power loss, damage to the Viper unit(including circuit board), or all of the above. If you're fast and lucky, you might be able to avoid detonation. Grenades will also disarm the trap, but DON'T WASTE THEM ON NOTHING!!! You should only need to do this in building 8 and up: on the de-plotter and proton mines, since they are the most deadly. The others are peanuts compared to these two. Be on the lookout for the following:

Teleport traps - Slow your progress by teleporting you to a different place on your current floor.

Gyroscope traps - Disorient you by rotating your Viper mechanoid in a dizzying manner, then throwing you in a random direcion. Where it stops, nobody knows. Some are nasty enough to inflict damage.

Proximity Mines - Emit an even more destructive force than Force Fields. They want to bring your man down.

Energy Disruptor Mines - Emit a powerful energy disruption beam that will cause a diminution of power.

De-Plotter Traps - Discharge static energy bursts that scramble your plotter module (map view), disabling your plotter display until you replace the module.

Proton Mines - Damage your Viper, might damage a chip on your circuit board, and cause power loss. By far the most destructive of all traps. Avoid religiously.

How to search the SLDF base complex

You know the layout: Five underground security buildings, five floors per building, up to 50 rooms per floor. To move from floor to floor, seek out a turbolifter. To move from building to building, find a shuttle. Each building has a progressively higher-level security locks. To enter locked areas, you need special, color-coded access cards. Different colored access cards unlock certain colored doors. As you can see from the chart
below, higher-level cards will unlock all lower-level doors.

Card Color	Color of Rooms Accessed
Blue	Blue
Green	Blue, Green
Yellow	Blue, Green, Yellow
Red	Blue, Green, Yellow, Red
White	Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, White

Here's the type of rooms you'll encounter:

Communication rooms - Feature video displays that will scroll important messages for you-provided that you have the communication module installed in your circuit board. Click the left mouse button on the room to activate the communicator. There's a different message on each floor. Read them as many times as you like.

Power rooms - Here you can restore full power to your mechanoid - if you have an energy syphon. No limit to the number of times you can suck energy from the main reactors. Click the left mouse button to activate generators.

Repair rooms - Just the place to repair Viper hull damage. You need a repair room activator, however. Click the left mouse button to activate the repair generator. No limit to the number of repairs-bu you can't fix a circuit board here.

Security rooms - Great spots if you happen to have a security room activator. Click the room with the left mouse button and reactivate the Anti-Intruder system on the current floor. Then watch your worries (and any remaining intruders) melt away.

Shuttle rooms - The place to catch the shuttle to another of the five adjacent buildings. To use the shuttle, click the left mouse button on the room and select "yes".

Storage rooms - like a candy store - are great places to find all sorts of goodies to help you complete your mission. One small problem, though: all the storage rooms are equipped with force fields. You need to locate the combination to each storage room and enter it onto a security lock, which is a keypad beside the field. A close-up of the keypad will appear when you click on it with the left mouse button. But no combination, no entry.
The rooms also allow you to free up space on-board your Viper. Unload items into any of the six storage cubicles by clicking on the source object - a green box will highlight it - then clicking on the destination cubicle.

Terminal Rooms - Provide refuge for the hidden floppy disks, and also the means by which to load them back into the system. Once you bring the Main Computer back on-line, return to a terminal room and transfer the data back into the system.

Turbolift rooms - Fancy elevators that take you to any floor, up or down. Once inside, click the left mouse button on the number of the desired floor.

Vacant rooms - Perform no function. However, valuable objects can often be found inside.

Computer room - Your ultimate destination. If you make it there...if you have all 25 floppy disks loaded into your hard drive...if you have the computer interface chip installed in your
circuit board...then click the left mouse button on the back wall of the room to activate the computer.

Vital Objects

The SLDF Base was a research and development centre for weapon and shield technology. Therefore, you shouldn't be suprised if you discover prototypes of the universe's useful, and destructive tools. Here is a partial list of objects that can be found in the SLDF Base complex. The rest you have to find on your own.

Combination - Needed to deactivate supply room forcefields. The combinations are 5-digit strings of characters. The first two characters are useful...they tell you the building/floor number where its corresponding storage room is located. The other three? Useless as a Krellian Power Sphere without its other half. Double click the left mouse button the enter it into your recorder.(One time use.)

Communication module - Circuit needed to activate communication rooms.(Must be installed. Damageable.)

Computer Interface Circuit - Lets Viper communicate with the main computer.(Must be installed. Damageable.)

Circuit Etcher and Circuit Etcher Fuel - When given etcher fuel(One time use.), this etching device(Also one time use.) creates a valuable component that can be installed in your
circuit board.

Circuit Repair Device - Repairs all damaged modules on your circuit board.(One time use.)

Damage Repair Pod- Repairs damage done to Viper mechanoid. Will not repair circuits.(One time use.)

Color	Damage Repaired
Blue	A little
Green	A little more
Yellow	Quite a bit
Red	Now you're talking
White	Wow!

Data disk - One of 25 floppy disks that contain parts of the Security Defense Program. One disk on every floor of the Complex. Located in Terminal Rooms. When found, load each disk into the Viper unit's hard drive. All 25 needed to reactivate the 7000's defense programming.

De-Plotter Neutralizer Circuit - Lets Viper pass over a De-Plotter Trap without damage.(Damageable. Must be installed.)

Deflector Shield - Deflects some or all of the destructive power of any particle beam weapon or trap.(Must be installed. Uses energy.) Shields with higher power levels deflect more damage and use less energy. There is a super shield, which is almost impossible to penetrate. It is located Building 5 on Floor 5 (I will say no more! Find it yourself...)

Shield Color	Damage Deflection
Blue	1
Green	2
Yellow	3
Red	4
White	5
* Super *	*10*

Disk Controller Unit - You need this to load Data Disks onto your hard drive.(Damageable. Must be installed.)

Disrupter Pistol - You begin with the standard Sun League disrupter pistol. Various prototypes exist. Emits destructive particle beam that will damage or destroy intruder. Different color pistols correspond to varying levels of destruction, one being the weakest.(Must be installed. Uses energy with each shot.) There is a super gun, as well (To go along with the Super Shield, I'm guessing...do you want fries with that? Let's make it a combo!!!). It's on Floor Three in Building Five. I won't go into details.

Gun Color	Destructive Power
Blue	1
Green	2
Yellow	3
Red	4
White	5
* Super *	*10*

Energy Crystal - Replenishes energy to your Viper.(One time use.)

Color	Power Released
Blue	A little
Green	A little more
Yellow	Quite a bit
Red	Now you're talking
White	Wow!

Disruptor Neutralizer - Neutralizes disruptor beam emitted by Disruptor Mines(Damageable. Must be installed.)

Energy Syphon - When in a power room, this device lets you replenish your Viper's energy supply from the Main Reactor.(Reusable.)

Energy Storage Device - Stores enough energy to replenish 50% of your Viper's total capacity. While filling, it drains power from your reserves. When used, it empties contents back into Viper energy tank with slight energy loss. Must have at least 51% power
on-board in order to fill this device.(Reusable.)

Proximity Mine Neutralizer - Deflects destructive energy emitted by Proximity Mines.(Damageable. Must be installed.)

Gyroscopic Stabilizer - Lets you pass over a Gyroscope Trap without damage or disorientation. (Damageable. Must be installed.)

Locked Box - Storage device that contains useful objects. Must have a special key to open.(One time use.)

Map - Maps out entire floor on Plotter Screen, revealing all its objects, traps, and passages.(One time use.)

Storage Box - No visible locking mechanism, but easily opened if you're smart enough!
Umm...try double-clicking!!!(One time use.)

Photon Emitter - Light source that uses Viper power to let you "see" in darkened areas.(Reusable. Uses energy.)

Plotter Module - Circuit that lets you update your plotter map. (Damageable. Must be installed.)

Proton Mine Deflector Circuit - Lets your Viper pass through a proton mine without damage.(Must be installed.)

Repair Room Activator - Activates equipment when Viper is in Repair Room to fix mechanoid hull damage. Won't repair damaged circuits.(Reusable.)

Universal Repair Kit - A very useful object. Repairs all damage to
Viper, repairs damaged circuits and replaces missing circuits, replenishes power level to maximum, and produces a blue energy crystal.(One time use and it requires a White energy crystal to activate.)

Scanner Module - This circuit allows your Scanner to function.(Damageable. Must be installed.)

Security Room Activator - Reactivates Security System on current floor, eliminating all intruders from that floor. Must be in security room to use. (One time use.)

Shield Element - Circuit that lets Viper channel power to the Deflector Shield.(Damageable. Must be installed.)

Teleport Neutralizer circuit - Lets you pass through a Teleport Trap without being teleported.(Damageable. Must be installed.)

Toxic Waste - A by-product of enemy robots. Useful? Harmful? We don't know. (A bit of both...) It's everywhere, though.

Teleport Device - When activated, leaves a transport beacon at your location. Lets you return to this place any time by using the activator. Beacon remains active for life of game, but because beacons interfere with each other, only one can be on a floor at any one time.(One time use, and due to powerful interference, teleportation cannot occur into or out of rooms. Well, out of rooms is no problem, but you can't plant a beacon inside a room.

Teleport Device Activator - Created when a Transport Beacon is placed. This object transports Viper to a active Beacon location on the current floor.

Weapon Element - Lets Viper mechanoid channel energy to weapon systems. (Damageable. Must be installed.)


How to save a game:

Click the left mouse button on the Disk Menu button, and when the four options appear, click on SAVE. To load a saved game, click the left mouse button on the Disk Menu Button, and when the four options appear, click on LOAD.

Only one game can be saved at a time; a second save will overwrite the first. By the way, every new game-including the position of rooms, enemy robots, objects, etc-will be completely different from the previous one.