****************CODENAME MAT by DEREK BREWSTER****************
Codename MAT - MISSION: ALIEN TERMINATION - the desperate plan to place in
the mind of a teenager the combined tactical skills of all the planetary
leaders in the solar system. MAT is mankind's last hope.
For decades the Myons have sought to dominate the Solar System, whose fleets
are now ragged and depleted. They have launched an all-or-nothing attack,
knowing that Earth is developing revolutionary space-craft. Only the
prototype- USS Centurion - has been built, and it must be pressed into
immediate service as both battle-cruiser and tactical command centre.
Piloting the craft in battle and controlling the Planetary Defence Fleets is
beyond any normal human...MAT is created.
Now your mind is MAT's mind. Take control of the Centurion and blast off on
the greatest adventure of them all...
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To load, press 'J' key and holding down red symbol shift, press 'P' key
twice. Screen should show LOAD"". Press ENTER key and start tape - let tape
run to end.
DIRECTION AND FIRE IMPULSE ENGINES:
6. Left 1. Decelerate.
7. Right 2. Accelerate.
8. Down or JOYSTICK SELECTED 3. Decelerate to a halt.
9. Up 4. Go to cruising speed (30%)
0. Fire 5. Go to full speed (NOT
AVAILABLE WITH
AGF/PROTEK JOYSTICK).
OTHER CONTROLS:
W Warp DISPLAY CONTROLS
D Defensive Shields (on/off) F Front View
K Tracking Computer (on/off) R Rear View
A Switch Tracker to alternative enemy, if any. L Long Range scan
T Transmit subspace commands to your own forces S Sector Scan
H Hold/restart program C Solar chart and ship status.
GETTING STARTED
Select control option as requested on loading (1-6).
Select game level (1-3)
1. Short practice game
2. Full game, medium sized Myon invasion fleet.
3. Full game, large fast-moving Myon invasion fleet.
Select game type (1-2)
1. Commander: you control deployment of Planetary Defence Fleets.
2. Pilot: deployment of fleets under computer control.
The forward cockpit view will appear. You are stationary in the outermost
planet's system. Press D to activate shields. Press 4 to come to cruising
speed of 30%. Pressing R will give the rear view. Pressing K activates the
visual tracking computer which selects forward/rear views to face any object
being tracked. Pressing S puts up the sector scan, showing your location in
the planets system, and that of all the other fleets, satellites, etc.
Pressing C puts up the solar chart, showing all planet sectors in less
detail, allied fleets' strengths and Centurion's system status. The
bottom-screen Battle information about planets under attack, damage reports
are made, and alerts are given of Myons in your area. Pressing L puts up the
long-range scan, giving a scale display of all objects in your area in
relation to you. To move to another area in the planet's sector you must use
the Warp Drive. To move to another planet's sector you must warp into an
area containing a Stargate, find it and fly through it (red one for system
outbound, cyan inbound). If 'Commander' was selected you can transmit
commands to your conventional fleets by pressing 'T'.
All displays and functions are described in detail further on.
Each area may contain any combination of three types of Myon ship.
Fighter - will attack Centurion the moment the two are in the same area.
Top speed - 70%. No shields.
Cruiser - Will only attack when within range 3000, otherwise follows a
steady course.
Top speed 60%. No shields.
Base Star - Will attack immediately. Top speed 80%. When it's shields are
gone it turns red and runs until they have regenerated (about 2
mins.)
A planet or satellite is under attack when four of the adjacent eight areas
are occupied by Myon craft. You have about 3 minutes to clear one of these
areas before the Myons have destroyed their target. They construct two
fighters and a base star from a planet, or two fighters and a cruiser from a
satellite. It is sometimes best to destroy a planet yourself to prevent
this. Myons delay to attack planets, rather than carry on through Stargates
to get towards Earth, except when they are losing really heavily.
Damage suffered by Centurion in battle can be repaired, and energy restored,
by reaching a planet or satellite. Orbit is achieved by stopping between
ranges 400 and 500 with vertical and horizontal less than 5 degs. Centurion
will be drawn down and destroyed if you get too close. Do not forget to
reactivate shields, etc., and turn away before getting underway again!
Damaged impulse engines will operate raggedly if you hold the relevant
control key down. All other systems cease to function when destroyed. Loss
of several systems can seriously affect your ability to navigate. Warp drive
is not vulnerable to damage.
If Centurion runs out of energy, or it or Earth is destroyed then the war is
lost. The destruction of the last Myon craft signals victory. You will be
scored according to the time, planets or satellites saved, level of play and
efficiency of tactics.
DISPLAY TYPES:
Permanently on-screen
Angle from straight
Energy ahead of tracked object Object Range Shield Status
E=08721 0 = +46 R = 15721 SH - ON
V=030 0 = -17 N = 2 TR - OFF
Speed Angle up/down to Object Number Tracking Computer
tracked object Status
Long-range scan
3-Dimensional global representation of your area of space. Each area behaves
as a circular universe. A craft disappearing behind will reappear ahead, for
instance. You look down from above. Centurion is represented by the fixed
central blot, it's nose towards the top of the screen. Thus, if you turn to
the left the entire display will appear to revolve to the right around your
position. If you loop the loop the display will rotate vertically as if you
were looking down a revolving cylinder. It is worth playing with this until
interpreting it is second nature - it will need to be!
Sector Scan
Shows a 10 x 7 grid, each part of which represents one area as above.
(Large Black Circle) - Main Planet in system
(Smaller Black Circle) - Satellite
F 1(with dots underneath) - Planetary defence fleet (dots show ships left in
fleet)
(Four dots in diamond shape) - Stargate (RED - outer-system/CYAN -
inner-system directions)
-= - Fleet of 3 Myons
_- - Fleet of 2 Myons
- - 1 Myon
[ ] - USS Centurion
+ - Warp Cursor
Solar Chart
The solar chart is made up of all seven sector displays miniaturised and
rotated anticlockwise 90-degrees.
- Myon Fleet
+ USS Centurion
x Planetary Defence Fleet
(Square) - Planet
(Small Black Square) - Satellite
Fleet's strengths are shown below thus:
Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto
F1 3 3 3 3 0 0 0
F2 3 3 3 2 1 0 0
Centurion's systems status is shown below thus:
PH1 PH2 SHE IME BCO SRE STR LRS
Photon Shields Impulse Battle Subspace Subspace Long Range
Tubes Engines Computer Receiver Transmitter Scanner
(Flashing = DAMAGED; Red = DESTROYED)
WARP DRIVE
To warp into another area select Sector Scan with S. Use the direction
controls to position the warp cursor at your destination. Press W to engage
Warp Drive. The display will return to forward view, with the diamond of the
Warp Channel Marker in your sights. As you race through the warp channel you
must follow it by keeping the marker in your sights, as if chasing another
craft. Otherwise you will go off course. You can set and leave the warp
cursor position and use Warp Drive later.
STARGATES
To reach another planet's sector you must pass through a Stargate. A cyan
one will take you inwards in the system and a red one outwards. You first
warp into the Stargate area, then track it down with your displays or battle
computer. It is visible at about range 2500. You must fly through the centre
to achieve transfer. The faster you are travelling, the more accurate you
must be. You will arrive in the next planet's system in the area of the
other end of the Stargate. If both you and a Myon are present at a Stargate
you cannot use it until the Myon is destroyed.
SUBSPACE TRANSMITTER
In 'Commander' mode you need to issue instructions to the Planetary Defence
Fleets to use them in your strategy. To do this press T. You will be
prompted for the name of the fleet you wish to transmit to. Respond with the
letter of the planet to which it belongs, followed by the fleet's number,
and press RETURN. S2 would be Saturn fleet no. 2; U1 would be Uranus fleet
no. 1 etc. Then enter message and press RETURN. A message comprises the
first letter of the direction to move and the distance, repeated as needed
followed by any suffix desired. Suffix R will cause it to remain at its new
position. Suffix D will cause it to Defend the perimeter of the destination
area. A message E2N5R means 'Go East 2, North 5, and Remain there'.
W5D means 'Go and Defend the perimeter of the area 5 to the West'. Each
fleet remembers its previous R or D command and will apply it to any new
instructions if neither suffix is present. A fleet cannot travel through a
planet or satellite area. It can be useful to just transmit R first to make
a fleet stay still while you are composing its message. If a fleet runs into
Myons on it's journey it will normally enter combat en route - if used, this
suffix should be the very last item in the message. The Sector Scan is
correctly oriented North-upwards for the directions used in issuing
commands.
TRACKING COMPUTER
K switches this on or off. It will automatically switch between forward and
rear views to face any object being tracked. You always fire in the
direction of view. The object being tracked is indicated by the 'N=
'readout. 'P' indicates a planet or satellite, 'S' a Stargate, '0' no
objects present, '1','2' or '3' which number Myon of those present is being
tracked. You may switch between attackers by pressing A. The Battle
Computer's readouts of range and angle are for the item being tracked. When
first entering a Myon-occupied area it is wise to switch between attackers
to determine which is the closest or you may be taken by surprise.
GENERAL INFORMATION
In battle knock out fighters first, trying to stick with the one you are
tracking, otherwise you may get one in your sights just as the tracker
switches view to follow another. Chasing cruisers can be time-consuming. It
is sometimes best to leave them for later unless they are a threat to a
planet. Space always has lumps of rock floating through it. You cannot track
these, but they can cause damage, so keep your eyes peeled! It is unwise to
continue battle when either the Battle Computer or Long Range Scanner is
damaged. Either can be used effectively for finding planets or Myons, but
loss of both will leave only the fore-aft switching of the tracking Computer
to indicate an object's location.
Keep an eye on energy. Shields, Warp Drive, Impulse Engines and Photon Tubes
use varying amounts. Hits by Myon photon bolts cause the most serious drain.
The display will flash below 1000 units.
This program is protected by copyright. Unauthorised
copying, lending or hiring is prohibited.
Micromega, 230-236 Lavender Hill, London SW11 1LE