********* *Captive* Part 1b **************** *by James Judge* **************** @~Continued from Issue 39 ************************** *Butre: Base 1, Mission 1* ************************** ***************** * S** S** * N * * * ** * * * /|\ * ** * S**** * | ****** *** * * | ** S**** * * * | ** ** * * ** * * ** ** * * **S**** ** **** * * * Main Door Combination: ** * ** ******** 1 3 * **** * * *** 2 4 ** ** * *** * * ** * ***** * Naitan Passwords: * ** * ***** * * ** * ** * * * Computer Password: * * **** * * * CHAESELUME ** *** ** * * * ** * ** * * * Key: * * * * * * Wall ** ******** * * False Wall * *****S * C* * * Roller-wall * ******* ***** * * Door *#* ** * * * Door ***************** * Generator * Cupboard # Start ------------------------------------------------------------------ ************************************** *Mission 1, Base 2 - Pelphi (96E 61S)* ************************************** Well, you survived the first base and I suppose you feel pretty cocky now, donchya? Well, you have a lot to learn yet... This base is the first multi-level base that you'll come across. Travelling between levels is either achieved by ladders or by the use of lifts (which will come in the next base). There's a nice little trick you can use with ladders and this is a really easy way to kill monsters. You can use the ladders to jump up to an area where there are some monsters, fire all your weapons and then hop back down to the previous level, waiting for your weapons to be recycled and the enemy to turn their back. Everyone knows this (and it can be useful). But, you can also use ladders as an offensive weapon. This works best on base 3, but what can happens is you'll be able to lure a monster to a ladder. You then skip down it. The monster then walks on top of the ladder. You run up the ladder and, due to either a programming fault or a piece of intuitive thinking on Tony Crowther's part (after all wouldn't you die after a few tons of droid fell upon your bonce?), the monster dies in a puff of smoke. You suffer no damage and you can kill any kind of monster - from a Goblin to a Federation Guard. This does take a bit of patience, but it can be helped a lot by the usage of cameras, which I'll talk about in a later base... Back to base 2... There are two levels (as I was saying) with the generators and the computer on the second level. There are quite a few roller walls so, if you're not using my maps, look carefully. Also there is a little side-section near the ladder from level one that leads to a few monsters and some money and it can easily be over-looked (I often do). Try to explore EVERYWHERE in a base as this is the best way to rack up easy experience points and money - fighting low-level creatures that are easily defeated with a bit of thought. Just one little warning. When you enter the section of the base which houses the generators you'll walk across two grates in the floor. These can sometimes mean a trap that will block your exit off with a wall. In this case this is exactly what they are and you must remove them by pressing two bricks that are in two cupboards hidden by a false wall (accessed by opening the adjacent cupboard). On this level you get the chance to upgrade your weapons and armour for the next best thing - Swords and Super Tindron bodies. I'll talk about the different types and levels of weapon next base, but for this one I'll tell you all about armour. At the shop that is through a door in the generator room you'll find a shop that will sell you human and Tindron body parts. As you may have guessed, these are two different types of armour. In the whole game there are ten different classes of armour, each more powerful than its predecessor. The types are: Human Tindron Coppator Bronzite Ironide Cromize Silvosh Rosteeld Stenforcer Titaniux Each of the classes is split into eight sections ranging (as do the Optics, Dev-Scapes and weapons) from Basic through to #6, #7 and Super. Of course, Super is the best and Basic is the worst. To be able to use the pieces of armour you must have a sufficiently high Robotics score (which goes up to 64 if you want to wear a suit of Super Titaniux). At the moment you only need it around the three mark to wear a Super Tindron suit. BUT, don't just advance the Robotics skill whenever you need to use a new suit of armour as Robotics also designates how well a robot can throw and use weapons on the whole. But, more importantly, the higher your Robotics score, the more experience you get! So, at the shop make sure that you've got a Robotics score of around 5 and then give your Basic Tindron armour to your back two characters. Sell your human suits as well as the Basic Tindron Chests (except for one to be kept as a back-up) and then buy two full suits of Super Tindron for the front-two characters. Also buy a Super Tindron chest for the back two. Oh, and don't sell your human heads, either. Keep these with the back two so that your leader has a good pair of eyes and you always have a back-up just in case. Now, nip into the generator room and power up your new chests. Also make sure that your Basic Tindron chest is fully repaired and charged. This will be useful for any seriously damaged droids, or droids that have just run out of juice. Remember that any new chests you buy will need to be powered up. In a couple of the later bases in this mission this proves to be a real problem as I can think of two or three examples where I've had to buy a set of chests, lug those to a power point and charge them and then go back to the shop to change my armour. A little pointer for the whole game. Try to keep this regime of giving any new armour suits to your front two characters, and then give everything but the chests of their old suits to the back two. Then give the back two the best chests possible. This (a) maximises your hit points without too great a cost and (b) ensures that your back two have chests that can adequately power their bodies, while keeping an Optic chugging away too. As for the Swords. Try and give the front two droids Super Light-Blades and then the back two all the balls. This may not be possible due to the lack of experience, but you may just manage it. Try and ensure that they do have them before you blow the base (buy them even if you lack the experience - you'll have it next level). A good thing with Light-Blades is they do quite a good amount of damage, but can be recycled quickly (ie you can hit an opponent often). Also, as a little boon, they (and Fire Axes) can hit opponents from two steps away, which gives you just that extra little piece of an advantage when fighting opponents. The next level you'll be upgrading to guns, and that'll be when the real fun starts... The Ability Table for Swords looks like this: ************************** *Amount*Weapon *Ammo* ************************** *00 *Unskilled *----* *01-08 *War-Blades *----* *09-16 *Light-Swords*----* *17-24 *Fire-Axes *----* ************************** You meet two new types of monster this level too. First up is a Gouwl (a green thing that seems to walk like Frankenstein). They move at an average speed, but have no long-ranged weapons. Instead they pummel you with War Blades. They pose no real threat if you keep you distance and use the old Dungeon Master Square Dance. Most RPGers will know that if you can entice a lone enemy into a two by two square they are dead meat. This method makes you nearly invulnerable to all but the quickest lone monster. What you need is a 2x2 space. Face the monster and then fire all your weapons and immediately side step and turn to the direction you just came from. The enemy will (after a variable amount of time) enter the square you were in, but not facing you. When they are turning around is the time you have to give 'em all you've got and then side-step, just like you did before. keep on repeating and this will keep you and the enemy in a small area and they'll barely be able to get a look in. This is best performed with the keyboard so, again, I stress the need to try and get used to it. You can also attempt to meter the amount of enemies you face if you are presented with a large room full and a door. You can use the door to let on critter through, close it while they are in the doorway (scoring a couple of free hits) and then step away, into your little square. Anyway, the next type of monster you'll meet is the old Troops. These are robots on caterpillar tracks and they pack a long range weapon in the form of an electrical spark. They are pretty slow, don't do much damage and are easily killed (especially by long range sparking). They can surprise your droids, though, as they will be the first long-ranged monsters you've come across. A little warning too. They can fire over the head of smaller monsters (such as Goblins and Plant Poppers) so try not to get some trapped behind a couple of smaller monsters as you'll be getting hit by two people and only be able to attack one. Anyway, on to the map... A few little additional notes before we get started. First off doors. There are plenty of different types of door which you will come across in Captive. But, so I don't run out of symbols to use and so that you can read the map slightly more easily I've categorized all the doors into three camps. These are Iris doors (ie the doors like the one at the base entrance, but that can be cracked using a die), Naitan doors (ie the doors which look like a beam of light and take a passwords to open) and doors which aren't Iris or Naitan doors. The latter category is by far the largest, but they can all be opened in a similar way; either by pressing a button, hitting the door itself with a weapon, throwing a lever and, in later levels, completing the three, eight and sixteen way switches. This category also contains the blue force doors which slide into the ceiling when they are opened (and remember that these reflect shots back to you, so watch out...). Secondly a note about the cupboards marked on the map. Even though there may be only one '*' on the map there may be more than one cupboard in the game, just take a little look around. False walls look as if they are ordinary walls but are removed when you open a near-by cupboard. So, to get to the sections beyond the false walls marked on the maps open all adjacent or near-by cupboards. Be careful, though, as some monsters come out fighting, especially later on. Finally, all the following bases are multi-level and, sometimes, multi-computered. Beside each individual level I'll make listings of any computer passwords that can be found on that level, but the Naitan passwords (as well as switch solutions) will be listed under the entrance level. *************************** *Pelphi: Base 2, Mission 1* *************************** *LEVEL 1* ********* ***************** N * * ************ /-\ * ** ************ | * ************** | ***************** | ***************** ***S * ***** Main Door Combination: * **** ** ***** * *** ***** 3 4 * **** ***** 2 1 *** * ** *** * *** * * *** Naitan Passwords: * * * * * ***************** Computer Password: ********* *LEVEL 2* ********* ***************** ******* ** * / * * *** * N |----- * * * * * \ ** * * * * * **** * *** * * ** * * ** *************** * Computer Passwords: * * * * * * * * RUPPESICBERY * * * **** * **** * *** *** ** * Key: ** * ** **** ****** *** * **** * Wall * * ** ** * * False Wall * * * * * * * * Generators * * ****C*** * * Roller Wall * *** * * *S * * Door * **** ***** * Door * * * * * * * Raiser Wall * * ****** * * Iris Door *** ** *** * * * Ladder Up ***** * ********* * Ladder Down *S **** * * Grate ******* * * * S Shop * * * C Computer * ** * * * * Cupboard * *** * * ** * ** * * * ***** * ***** * * * *************** * * * * ** ********* ** ********* * * ** ********* ** ********* * ** ** ********* ** ********* ** ********** ****** ********** ****** ********* * ***** *********** * ********* ***** * ********** * * ********* **** * ********* ****S* ********* *** ** ************** ** *********S *** S* ***************** -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Right, I think that will be it for the first guide. Next issue bases three and four... PS - You can contact me for specific help on this game at my usual address (33 Chidley Cross Road, East Peckham, Nr. Tonbridge, Kent, TN12 5BX). I've now got lists of all passwords, eight way and sixteen way switches up to and including the Space Station of Mission 3 as well as passwords for Missions 4, 5 and 6. Also you can distribute this file and subsequent Captive guide files to all your friends and enemies. I plan to put everything on a disk when I've completed it all and put it into the Public Domain. - o -