Captain Blood - Manual
Save to disk:
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In CONTROL PANEL mode, insert an unprotected formatted disk
into your drive. Click on the DISK icon when the onboard clock
has passed 5 minutes. You cannot save a game during the first
five minutes of play. The icon will flash for several moments if
the save has aborted. In that case you should check your disk and
try again. The saved file is called "BLOOD.CPT".
Loading a saved game from disk:
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In CONTROL PANEL mode, insert your disk containing the saved
file "BLOOD.CPT". Click on the DISK icon BEFORE the onboard clock
has reached 5 minutes. You cannot load a saved game after five
minutes of play.
Should you wish to load a save game after the five-minute time
limit, you'll have to reset the computer and reload the program.
Only sneaky types and defective clones save the game after
every action! You're neither of those, are you?
Exterior Vision:
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Simply click on this icon to switch from CONTROL PANEL mode to
EXTERIOR VISION.
To come back from EXTERIOR VISION to CONTROL PANEL mode, click
on any inactive button (eye).
Galactic Map (Choosing a destination):
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In CONTROL PANEL mode, click on the GALACTIC MAP icon to
access a view of the HYDRA galaxy.
How to use the Galactic Map:
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First select your destination's X co-ordinate. You do this by
clicking on the red vertical selection bar which you then drag
onto the desired X co-ordinate. In the left window you can see
the co-ordinates of Blood's finger. The right window displays the
chosen co-ordinates (the co-ordinates for the point of
intersection of the selection bars).
Next, select your destination's Y co-ordinate. You do this by
clicking on the red horizontal selection bar which you then place
on the Y co-ordinate position of your choice. As previously
stated, the chosen destination co-ordinates are at the point where
the two selection bars meet.
When you have chosen your destination co-ordinates, strap
yourself in and click on the HYPERSPACE icon.
To speed up the HYPERSPACE sequence, click the right mouse-
button at the beginning or during the sequence.
OORXX Contact Mission (Landing and piloting the OORXX):
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In EXTERIOR VISION mode, click on the OORXX CONTACT MISSION
icon. The OORXX is teleported and lands immediately. YOu then
have total flight-control of the OORXX with your mouse. You can
climb, dive and turn. You are advised not to fly into mountains.
If the planet has defence systems, you should fly as low as
possible. When the OORXX is detected by the enemy, two red arrows
will start to cross the screen towards each other. When they meet
in Centre-screen, the OORXX blows up. To avoid having your OORXX
destroyed in this way, dive as far as you can, until the arrows
disappear.
Life-forms in the Hydra galaxy have a weird habit of living at
the very end of canyons. You'll have to find the canyons. The
OORXX is equipped with a life-form detector which is a red aim
symbol. It will follow the mouse's movement on the screen. When
the detector flashes, that means you're flying the OORXX in the
right direction. If an arrow shows up beside the detector, that
means you must turn in the direction the arrow is pointing to get
onto the right heading.
When a life-form is found at the end of a canyon, the OORXX is
programmed to land immediately. If the planet is deserted, the
OORXX will land, extremely exhausted. If you are currently
transporting a being in the Ark's fridgitorium, the TELEPORT icon
will activate so that you can teleport the being onto the planet
if you want. To do so, just click on the TELEPORT icon.
At any time during the flight, you can request a photo of the
fractal scenery arount the OORXX. Simply press the SPACE bar on
your keyboard. The OORXX will stop. To restart flying, press the
SPACE bar again.
OORXX Destroy Mission (Destruction of a Planet):
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In EXTERIOR VISION mode, you can teleport an OORXX onto a
planet in order to destroy it. Just click on the OORXX DESTROY
MISSION icon. The planet will be irretrievably zapped.
OORXX Geophoto Mission (Surface Scan):
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In EXTERIOR VISION mode, you can teleport an OORXX into low
orbit to collect aerial pictures of the planet. A special
detector will indicate whether the planet is equipped with a
defence system. To activate this mission, click on the OORXX
GEOPHOTO MISSION icon, once for a medium altitude scan, and once
again for a low altitude scan. To return to normal mode, click on
the EXTERIOR VISION icon.
Upcom Module (Universal Protocol of Communication):
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The dictionary window: at the bottom of the screen. This
icon dictionary uses two sideways scrollings, one rapid (activated
by clicking on a red elevator bar situated under the dictionary
icon), the other slow (activated by placing Blood's finger over
two red-striped boxes situated on either side of the dictionary
icon).
By moving Blood's finger over the dictionary icon, you can
read a simultaneous translation of the icon into human language.
The translation window is just above the UPCOM.
The conversation windows: Situated above the dictionary icon
and separated by a central mouth.
a) the left hand window: reserved for the life-form you're
communicating with. To translate his (ofits) messages, move
Blood's finger over them. As long as the central mouth is moving,
the being hasn't finished saying what he wants to say. Click on
the central outh to read the next sentence. When the mouth stops
moving, you can start sending your message.
It is possible to understand the sentences spoken by the
being, if you learn his language. Each icon represents a specific
speech-sound.
b) The right-hand window: reserved for your use. You can
enteryour messages by clicking on the icons of your choice in the
icon dictionary. A small cursor under that window may be moved in
order to insert an icon. Simply click on it. A delete option is
available - click on the arrow situated to the right under the
window. To transmit your sentences, click on the central mouth.
You can teleport a being into the fridgitorium, if the being
agrees. At hat moment, the TELEPORT icon will be enabled. To
teleport the life-form, click on the TELEPORT icon.
Your conversational partner can, for reasons best known to
himself, break off the discussion at any time.
If you want to leave the UPCOM during a conversation, click on
the triangle at the right of the screen, under the DELETE arrow.
Teleport:
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This icon is used to teleport a being from the planet into the
Ark's fridgitorium. The icon will not be enabled until a being
with whom you are in conversation consents to be teleported. If
the icon is enabled and if you want to teleport the life-form,
just click on the icon.
Disintegrate the Teleported Being:
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When a life-form is teleported to the fridgitorium, you can
decide to destroy the life-form by disintegrating it. If it's one
of the NUMBERS, Blood will recover some of his vital fluid and
survive a little longer.
Fridgitorium:
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It's a cryonization container where teleported beings are
conserved. The beings in question must give their consent because
the teleport system uses psychic energy generated by the being's
will, a little like hypnosis. For security reasons, living beings
cannot be teleported into the Ark, so they must by cryonized and
stocked in the fridgitorium. The fridgitorium has a disintegrate
crematorium feature which you can use if you feel like it. This
feature recovers vital fluid, and so Blood can use it on the
Numbers. All other forms of vital fluid are unfortunately
incompatible with Blood's organism. NOTE: Pacemakers are
automatically extracted before cremation, so there is no risk of
explosion during the disintegration phase.
The OORXX Birth Ramp:
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The layer is incorporated into the Ark's structure, in the
pram zone. This area is completely sterile, of course. The
newly-laid baby OORXX are propelled onto the birth ramp
immediately after a stress-free birth. The layer is able to lay
endless numbers of babies.
Time:
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Onboard time is displayed on the clock, in Earthling minutes
and seconds. The upcom takes account of the minutes only. 60.45
means 60 minutes and 45 seconds, which comes to HOUR 60 for the
UPCOM. THE GAME IS LIMITED TO 45 REALTIME HOURS.
The Ark's Position (X, Y):
--------------------------
This window indicates the X, Y co-ordinates of the Ark in the
Hydra galaxy.
The ? Command
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When the OORXX has already been placed on a planet, it may be
reactivated, which saves you from having to pilot another through
all those dangerous mountains.
When the Ark stops after a hyperspace jump, near a planet
you've already visited, simply switch to CONTROL PANEL mode by
clicking on the closed (disenabled) button. The ? command is then
available and enabled. Click on it to reactivate the OORXX. You
will inevitably catch up with the character you talked to the last
time.
Playing Hints:
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Captain Blood's Ark stops near an inhabited planet at the
start of the game. The HYDRA galaxy is biggish, boasting 32,768
inhabitable planets noted on the map. Not all of them actually
have thinking life-forms living on them, so it's easy to get very
lost and see nobody for millions of years. That's why it's a
damned good idea to note down the precise co-ordinates of
inhabited planets before plunging into the immensity of unknown
space. That way, you can always get back to a familiar place.
Ask any space jock: trusting your luck is a non-viable survival
option.
The program recreates the galaxy each time you begin a game.
That means that co-ordinates of inhabited planets are not valid
from one game to the next.
Bear in mind that Blood is degenerating. Don't be surprised
if his hand gets the shakes from time to time: it's normal. It's
also a bad sign! HE JUST GET HIS VITAL FLUID BACK. That's the
only way he can regenerate. To recover the vital fluid, Blood has
to find the NUMBERS and disintegrate them in the Ark's
fridgitorium.
This software explores a new concept, the BIO-GAME. The
characters can evolve, be born, die, trade information and
generally get on with their own independent lives. Strange things
can happen: planets can appear or disappear overnight, the
behaviour of matter is out of our control!
You can transport beings from one planet to another but you'll
have to win their trust first. Study their behaviour closely,
because knowing who you're dealing with can mean the difference
between life and death.
A Brief Glossary of Fauna in Hydra
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Tricephals: Very interesting genetically. These guys have three
android heads, each of which is equipped with an
amazing tongue.
Sinox: Hardworking and intelligent, the Sinox ar the
technology whizzkids of the galaxy.
Antenna: Simple creatures, the Antennas are really very friendly
Maybe too friendly.
Tubularbrainers: The only race so far known to have tubular brains.
Their intelligence is quite peculiar and difficult to
grasp.
Tromps: Inoffensive creatures, if somewhat stubborn. Their
hair is highly prized as snuff by the Sinox.
Robheads: In a far off age, Hydra was invaded by bionic armies
of android combat-robots with orders to take charge
for a few thousand years. When the Hydrans got fed up
with them, things went hideously sour for the robots.
A few decapitated units managed to keep some systems
functioning. They ar the Robheads. They're just robot
heads with a few memory zones still working. Completely
harmless, they just lie there. They can't even
reproduce, unless some passing geneticist....
Kingpaks: Ridiculous creatures who smoke tromp tails (supposedly
aphrodisiac) and eat pills. Not very smart. Rumor has
it that they inspired the early Pac Man games.
Izwal: Peaceful and generous beings. Look almost human.
Very cultured. Masters of Science.
Buggol: Beings with a particular social behaviour, being
obsessively democratic. All belong to YATANGA, which
is the only political party around and whose one aim
is to defend democrace as obsessively as possible. The
President's term of office is not fixed. As soon as a
Buggol attains a majority, he is elected. Since all
are eligible for high office, Presidents tend to change
very frequently, sometimes every 5 minutes. At the time
this story begins the Buggol remains on ROSKO. He can't
be elected, owing to the shortage of electors. He would
need two more votes to become President to planet ROSKO.
An imposter (a YUKAS), who doesn't even live on ROSKO
has got himself elected in a fixed election. ROSKO is
now in political upheaval.
Yukas: Belligerent and underhand characters. No class at all.
Little is known of their customs.
Croolis: Separated into two distinct evolutionary branches:
Vareux and Ulves. Each has always hated the other.
Migrax: As their name suggests, they are great travellers.
Highly intelligent, they carry the news around the
galaxy. Excellent negotiators. Their slyness is
legendary.
Ondoyantes: Originally from planet Ondoya, these are dream creatures.
They appear beautiful to those whom they like, and
ghastly to those they detest. This way, everyone knows
where he stands.
Numbers: Blood's clones. There are 5 of them; Number 1, number 2,
number 3, number 4, and that son of a bitch, number 5...
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Typed by Weedo Vark |
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