Destruction Imminent

Destruction Imminent Demo
Atari ST/STE. 1 Meg and Colour Monitor Required
Written by Andrew Gower. Copyright (c) 1996.

Credits

Programming, Music and SFX: Andrew Gower
Graphics: Paul Gower, Andrew Gower
Level design: Paul Gower
Additional Graphics: Ian Gower
Testing: Peter Oliver

Installation

The demo consists of the following files:
DI_DEMO1.DAT to DI_DEMO6.DAT which must be placed in the root 
directory of the disk.
DI_DEMO.PRG : Which must be placed in an auto folder.
DI_DEMO.TXT :  These instructions which should always remain with 
the demo

Introduction

Destruction Imminent is a 3D texture mapped blast'em down game for any
Atari ST with at least 1024K of memory. Features are:

- Completely interactive in full 3D vision.
- High speed 3D texture mapped graphics engine.
- A variety of music, played back in 16 Khz digitised sound.
- Multiple digitised sound effects, and digital speech.
- A large variety of weapons to collect. (Not all in demo)
- Animated monsters to fight, each with their own characteristics.
- Over 250K of between level sequences. (Not in demo)
- Light sourced sprites and multiple dot explosions.
- Secret rooms, and additional equipment to find.
- Easy to use interface. See your exact status at a glance.
- Ultra fast loading routine. (Not in demo)
- STE enhanced. Better graphics, stereo sound, faster action.
- 25 levels with increasing difficulty curve. (Not in demo)
- Keyboard controls, with sidestep and run options.
- Password options so you don't have to keep starting again. (Not 
  in demo)
- Mapper and radar tools to help you on your mission. (Only 
  mapper in demo)

The Plot

After 3 months of intense fighting between the terran defence fleet, and
evil robots under the control of an unknown entity, the planet has
finally been defeated, and a reign of fear and destruction begun. Most
of the survivors have been captured, and forced to fight for the entity,
or used in experiments to create an army of deadly mutants. I am being
held prisoner in one of the recently constructed underground bases. Soon
I too will be deprived of my humanity. In my desperation I have
formulated a plan of escape. After assaulting one of the guards, and
grabbing a gun, I made a break for freedom. My plan to make my way to the
centre of the base, overpower my captors, and blow up the complex with
the enemy inside, setting earth free once more.

The game takes place in the complex, it is filled with all manner of
objects and monsters. Armed with your gun you must make your way to the
centre and destroy the complex. The complex is divided into sections. At
the end of each section is a lift which you must get to before you can
move to the next.

Loading Instructions

1: Turn off the computer and disconnect all unnecessary peripherals. I
recommend that you leave your computer switched off for thirty seconds
in case a virus has installed itself into your computer's memory. This
will kill a virus if one is present.

2: Insert the disk into the drive and switch the computer on. The game
will begin to load. Do not remove the disk from the drive whilst the game
is playing.

3: The logo should appear shortly. Now wait for the game to load. If the
screen turns black at any point do not be concerned as this just happens
whilst the program is loading.

Title Screen

Once the title screen appears you have two options:

1: Listen to the music and read the plot which appears shortly.
2: Press fire to start the game. There is 1 complete level in
   the demo.

Playing Destruction Imminent

Once the level has loaded you will be presented with a screen
divided into sections. The large box at the top shows your current view.
You can move around by pushing the joystick in the desired direction.
Around the edge is information about your status.

Doors and Objects

Collecting objects is simply a matter of walking over them. The control
panel around the edge will automatically update to show any changes.
Doors will open when you walk into them provided you are lined up
straight. Some doors are locked, in which case you will be informed by
a flashing box.

Keyboard controls

It is also possible to play the game using the keyboard. The keys are
arranged as follows:

Cursor keys: Turn left, Turn right, Walk Forward, Walk backward
Control: Fire weapon,  Insert: Side step left.
Clr Home: Side step right,  L Shift: Run/Fast turn.

Other Controls

You should be able to see 10 small boxes to the left and right of the
main screen. Each of these corresponds to a different key (F1-F10). The
keys are arranged as follows
F1-F6 select different weapons. Some weapons will be shown darker than
others. These have not yet been collected. To the bottom right of each
weapon there is a number. This is the amount of ammunition remaining for
that weapon. To fire a weapon simply press the fire button on the
joystick. Your ammunition will be reduced accordingly. The weapons are:

F1: Fist - Very basic method of attack, not recommended unless all your
other weapons are out of ammunition.

F2: Knife - Similar to fist, but more powerful. The disadvantage is that,
like fist, it can only be used at close range, making you an easy target
for the monsters. (not in demo)

F3: Pistol - A small gun, which although not very powerful has the
advantage it can be used at a distance. Several shots will probably be
needed to kill most monsters though.

F4: Machine gun - Similar to the pistol except it fires much more rapidly
meaning the monsters will have less time to get to you.

F5: Rocket launcher - The most powerful weapon. Launches a rocket
straight ahead. A rocket will kill any monster it hits instantly and
keeps travelling until it hits a wall! The only disadvantage is that you
can only launch 1 at a time, and ammunition is limited.  (not  in 
demo)

F6: Plasma gun - Not very powerful, but the only weapon which can damage
energy lifeforms encountered on later levels. (not in demo)

The keys F7-F10 select other functions as follows:

F7: Grenade - Throws a grenade straight ahead. (Assuming you have one).
Grenades kill any monsters nearby.

F8: Keys - If you hit a locked door and have a key, then pressing F8 will
use the key, and unlock the door.

F9: Medikit - Using up a medikit restores 50% of your health. You cannot
have more than 100% health though, so using a medikit when you health is
above 50% means some restoration is wasted.

F10: Pause/Help - Pauses the game, and displays a list of the keyboard
controls. Pressing Q whilst the game is paused quits the current level. 
(not in demo)

Enemies and Time Limit

There are two ways in which you can die. If your health drops to 0% you
are dead, and must start again. If you run out of time it is also
gameover. Both your health, and the remaining time are shown in the
middle bottom of the screen.

There are various enemies in the maze. Some can only hurt you if they get
close, but others can fire on you from a distance. Each enemy has
different characteristics which you must learn to defeat them.
Information about each enemy is shown after the plot on the title screen.

Mapper and Radar

As well as weapons, some levels may contain a mapper or radar. The mapper
automatically maps where you go, and displays the surrounding area of map
on a display to the bottom left of the screen. This helps to prevent you
getting lost or exploring the same area twice. The radar shows nearby
monsters or objects on a display to the bottom right of the screen.
Monsters are shown in red, and objects in green. The radar adjusts it's
display so that forwards is always to the top of the radar.

Winning and Losing

When you complete or lose the level you will be shown a short animation
or picture, the game will then return to the title screen at which point
you can start again if you wish.

Hints and Tips

- Collect all objects, remember you don't have to use medikits or
grenades straight away, save them until they are most useful, but
remember to use them as they cannot be carried between levels.

- Try to shoot monsters around corners. If you move up to a wall, and
move out slowly using the sidestep option you can often shoot the enemy
without them seeing you.

- Don't be afraid to retreat if you become overwhelmed, run back to a
safe area and shoot the monsters through a narrow opening.

- If you run at a robot it won't shoot you when you become to close, if
you can't escape a robot try to pin it against a wall or door.