X E N O M O R P H (Playing Guide) NOTE:For the purpose of this guide, the whole ship is classed as Level 1. You begin in the cockpit of the 'MOMBASSA OAK'. Behind you is a maintenance panel. OPEN THE PANEL and (making a note of where you got them from) REMOVE the SIX CIRCUIT BOARDS. As you remove them, EXAMINE them and you will see that one or more CPU's are burnt out on each one. Making notes again, WITHDRAW all the defunct CPU's and DROP them. Juggle the remaining three CPU's until you have three full boards, one board with one CPU and two empty boards. Put the three full boards back in the maintenance unit and, as long as you have made notes, then it doesn't matter if you mix them. During your explorations you can get the replacement CPU's from the maintenance units on levels 3, 5, 6 (Hospital Level), 7 (Laboratory Level) and 9. Put them on the empty boards and leave them - when full - near a ladder to pick up on the way back. You can then install them in the correct manner back in the maintenance unit on the 'MOMBASSA OAK'. The ANTI-MATTER FUEL for the three DRIVE UNITS on the ship can be found on Levels 3, 5 and 9 - you need the POD to carrying them, though, as they are highly radioactive! Your INVENTORY at the start consists of 1 CREDIT CARD and 1 PAIR OF RED SPOTTED BOXER SHORTS (worn!). You have no food or liquid. The CARD is good for FIFTY CREDITS only and you will not find another until Level 9, so use it to BUY COFFEE ONLY and use the FREE ISSUE FOOD on board the ship. Credit Cards are used in KOPEK COFFEE MACINES, SNACK-O-MATS and DRINK-O-MATS. ID CARDS are used in FIRST AID machines and in MAGAZINE/POWER MODULE RECHARGE UNITS. Do not throw away discharged POWER MODULES or empty MAGAZINE CLIPS as there are RECHARGE UNITS on Levels 3, 5, 7 & 9. FIRST AID UNITS are operated by ID CARDS and offer HYPODERMICS or BOTTLES of PILLS, COLOUR-CODED to match your STATS WINDOW. HYPODERMICS increase the relevant STAT by about 25%, PILLS by 12.5%. Each FIRST AID KIT will supply any combination of items, but your ID CARD will cover ONLY TEN PURCHASES. It will, however, still give you UNLIMITED RECHARGE FACILITIES. Like the CREDIT CARD, the next one will not be until Level 9 so use it WISELY! CODE FOR KEYPAD ON FIRST MACHINE 0......YELLOW HYPODERMIC 5......YELLOW PILLS 1......WHITE HYPODERMIC 6......WHITE PILLS 2......RED HYPODERMIC 7......RED PILLS 3......BLUE HYPODERMIC 8......BLUE PILLS 4......GREEN PILLS 9......GREEN HYPODERMIC Where possible, leave surplus equipment near ladders and remember or note it's position as you may need it later. A system of progressive SECURITY PASSES operates on the earlier levels and each one must be found to open SECURITY DOORS on the next level. They can be found on Levels 3, 4 (The ventilation system), 6 (the Hospital Level) and 9. FOOD/BEVERAGE, IT'S EFFECT ON YOUR STATS AND COST SOURCE TYPE APPROX INCREASE IN STAT COST Found Tin of Tuna 90% - Found Tin of Spam 66% - Found Tin of Sardines 50% - Found Tin of Beans 20% - Kopek Coffee Machine Coffee 40% 2 Drink-O-Mat Beer 40% 5 Drink-O-Mat Cola 33% 4 Drink-O-Mat Mineral Water 20% 1 Snack-O-Mat Pizza 20% 5 Snack-O-Mat Burger 30% 4 Snack-O-Mat Banana 15% 1 Snack-O-Mat Ham Sandwich 40% 3 Snack-O-Mat Cheese Sandwich 30% 2 Snack-O-Mat Choc Bar 20% 2 The Armoury is on Level 9, together with the Snack-O-Mat, Drink-O-Mat, Kopek and First Aid machines, along with a Recharge Unit. After here, there is nothing much but creatures and no food or liquid sources (at least none that we've found yet!), so you will need to return a few times to top up your stats and recharge your equipment. Starting on Level 2, you will find some small grenade-like objects of various designs which don't appear to do anything. Take a few with you and note the locations of others - they may come in useful. They are in fact, missiles for the Rocket Launcher to be found on Level 11 (Lower Vent Level). Other items which will be of use later are large black Magazine Clips which fit into the Assault Rifle from Level 12 (second Cavern Level). The various Data Disks will tell the story of what happened to the inhabitants and give some information about the Xenomorphs. There is an Armoured Suit, Helmet, Gloves and Boots on Level 5 which offer the best protection. Only wear it when necessary as it's use will accelerate the lowering of your liquid stat. CREATURES You can simply run past the smaller denziens of the levels and trap others in rooms by enticing them in and then running out and shutting the door. The Vent System is the most dangerous, as you can be trapped in it by two or more creatures. Use the Motion Tracker here. On Level 3, destroy any Eggs you see before they hatch, and do the same to any chrysalis' on Level 5. Remember that any creature left on the way down, will still be there on the way back. The 'Blobs' are indestructable but after being shot several times they will form a chrysalis and you can pass them. However, after a while they will become mobile blobs once more and now they are immune to the weapon you used to chrystalize them! .The deeper you go down, the tougher they get, but you do find better weapons. The best all-round weapon on the earlier Levels is a Magnum Pistol, on the lower Levels, a Rocket Launcher and Assault Rifle. Mines are alright, but creatures don't always oblige by stepping on them! When shooting Aliens, ensure that you do so via the Inventory Window as they take far less shots to kill and are virtually impossable to miss. The Air Analyser and Personal Communicator are of no use to you. Kill all the Sand-Spiders withn the Magnum and/or Hand Laser. An example of dealing with a Tank Monster is: |-----------------------------| THE TANK WILL NORMALLY |:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::| PATROL BETWEEN POINTS |:::::|-----------------------| 'B' & 'C'. HOWEVER IT |:::::| 'B' * 'A' 'D' WILL OCCASIONALLY COME |:::::| |----------------| TO POINT 'A'. ENTER THE |:::::| |:::::::::::::::: TUNNEL AND DROP A MINE |:::::| |:::::::::::::::: AT *. RETURN TO 'A'. WHEN |:::::| |:::::::::::::::: THE TANK APPEARS AT 'B', |:::::| |:::::::::::::::: FIRE A ROCKET AND RETREAT |:::::| 'C' |:::::::::::::::: TO 'D'. THE TANK WILL |:::::| |:::::::::::::::: FOLLOW YOU TO POINT 'A', |-----| |:::::::::::::::: CROSSING THE MINE AS IT |DISCS |:::::::::::::::: DOES SO. WAIT UNTIL THE |------------|:::::::::::;:::: TANK RETREATS BACK INTO :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: THE TUNNEL, THEN REPEAT THE PROCESS UNTIL THE TANK IS DESTROYED. NOW GO AND GET THE DISCS! Thee are no really hard puzzles in this game. Once you have collected the 3 Anti-Matter Rods to power your ship, enough Microchips to replace the faulty ones and two Master Discs to re-programme the ship's computer, you should make your way back out. Don't forget to collect the White Pills from the First Aid machines to combat the radioactive effect of the Anti-Matter Rods! When you return safely to the ship, put one Anti-Matter Rod in EACH of the Drives, replace ALL the Faulty Chips and insert the TWO DISCS into the Computer............then BLAST OFF!!!!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *