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                              S e c e s s i o n
  				  Playable Demo Instructions
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                                            Copyright 1996, Spideractive Ltd.

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NB:
This is a ROUGH ALPHA version of the game.
Expect crashes.
Expect changes.
Expect drastic improvement.
The missions provided are just between the two main warring sides (there are
5) and you get to fly for both of them.
In the game, (expect another demo soon) there are many interesting three
way engagements as well as straight two way fights involving each of the
five major powers of the Solar System.

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Quick key lookup:

Ship control:
Up..............................Up arrow        ¦ Or joystick
Down............................Down arrow      ¦
Left............................Left arrow      ¦
Right...........................Right arrow     ¦
Roll Clockwise..................>
Roll Anticlockwise..............<
Accelerate......................Page Up
Decelerate......................Page Down
Fire main weapons...............R CTRL          ¦ Button 1 on joystick
Fire projectile weapons.........Enter           ¦ Button 2 on joystick

Comms: (SHIFT +)
Attack my current target........A
Kill my current target..........K
Defend me.......................D
Mayday..........................M
Break formation.................B
Form on me......................F
Protect my current target.......P
Ignore my current target........I
Ask for permeission to dock.....D

Others:
Gear up.........................G
Enter hyperspace................H
Abort mission / game............CTRL Q

Targeting:
Target ship in front of you.....T
Target nearest enemy............R
Target nearest threat...........E
Target computer off (untarget)..O
Target computer down............END
Target computer up..............HOME
Target turrets on large ships...TAB

SETUP.EXE is a very basic program to set up sound and music.

Intro
_____

It's the year 2358 and Man dominates a strife torn Solar System.
Powerful corporations, despotic governments, rebel installations and
neo-renaissence dissidents struggle for raw materials, survival and
ultimately control of the Solar System in the largest secessionary war
in history.

Plot in a nutshell
__________________

In the twenty second century the small moons and asteroids near the large
gas giants became economically desirable due to their immense mineral
wealth. Early pioneers were Earthborn, but later as the larger asteroids
developed, they became home to many people who started families in
space. As the early astronauts were selected for endurance, intelligence
and reactions, they quickly came to the opinion that they were better
than their Earth (and now Moon) born cousins.

    Great Mining companies were formed, sending large robotic AIs to
collect and gather the raw materials needed for space flight; gasses and
metals as well as carbon (needed to combine with the gasses to form
organic compounds and plastics.) They became more and more efficient at
their operation, regularly sending vast transports back to the inner
system, filled with processed goods and raw materials.

    Although the Outer System was opulant in minerals and metals, it had
poor food sources and had to rely on shipments from an Earth already
swelled by large populations. A famine on Earth and a panic in the senate
saw food exports dropping drastically.

    When the Asteroid Belt's second largest biodome was hit by a meteorite,
causing exenstensive damage, their food and oxygen supplies started to
dwindle, and disaster beconed if the dome was not repaired. People
started dying, and out of desperation a belt controlled ship hijacked a
large food transport in transit between Earth and Venus. A vengeful Earth
hit back, capturing a large shipment of hydrogen isotopes in transportation
from Jupiter. The Government stated that it was a military target, but the
Belt claimed that it was civillian. The Outer System seceeded from Earth
control, forming a hazy conglomerate of independant nations. These were kept
stable by; the continuing changing physical positions of the bodies in the
solar system, their own economics, and mutual technological respect.

    The Earth Government along with the colonies on the Moon, Mars and
Venus amalgamated strategically to form the United Earth Alliance (UEA).
They started expanding their military for the first time in centuries,
and their now heavily Belt plundered trade routes started being protected
by powerful craft. Naturally, the Belt responded by upgrading their
hardware, and lessening the number and increasing the intensity of vital
raids. Also, working on improved biodomes, they had the prospect of complete
self sufficiency- if they could survive long enough. The mutual dislike grew,
and behind the scenes, the Belt started to build a large armada of ships
capable of fighting the deadly UEA Military to a standstill.

    Several families in the Belt along with some of the larger terrestrial
companies saw room for self improvement. They attempted to re-establish a
Feudal Empire in the solar system, basing themselves not on planets or
asteroids, but housing themselves in space craft or moving cities. They
quickly became significantly more than a minor annoyance to both the Belt
and the UEA. And when they started poaching leading scientists with better
'virtual' real estate, a real technological race started, with the small
Royal Families in the lead.

    The UEA sent out several probes to the closer stars at near light
speed. The results took decades to return, and were heavily encoded so
that only the UEA Military could glean the much sought after information
from them. They denied the existance of any discoveries.

    Meanwhile, the Belt governing powers deemed the Outer System self
sufficent, and pledged to remove the Government from Earth and the inner
planets. They started to amass their fleets near Jupiter and Saturn where
most of their population, mining and military centers were located.
Quietly, and out of the public eye, the UEA increased it's production of
craft and formed an armada of it's own.

    The game opens with a massive task force suprising the Belt ships in
poor strategical locations and forcing the Belt to abandon their postition
as controllers of Saturn space.


The Basic Cockpit:

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: _ _ _ _______________I                           I_________________ _ _ _ :
:I I I I               I (    )                    I                 I I I I:
:I ICI I    D          I(      )     E             I   F             I IGI I:
:I I I I               I(      )                   I                 I I I I:
:I_I_I_I_______________I (    )                    I_________________I_I_I_I:
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A: Front scanner
        Each object that can be detected and is in front of you is displayed
        here. Only dots in the middle of the scanner are in view; when they
        are near the sides then that means the object is near your left or
        right flank. When they are on the top or bottom then they are above
        or below you.
        Use of the scanner is vital if you are to win dogfights. Ignoring
        the scanners will only lose you missions.
        Fighters currently targetting you flash on and off.

B: Rear scanner
        Objects that are behind you are displayed here. It behaves in the
        same manner as the front scanner.

C:Battle strength
        This readout gives information on the number of friendly, neutral
        and enemy ships present in the battle. The bars represent the total
        combined strength of the forces. This means that even though there
        may be more light ships taking on a heavy ship, (ie 10 fighters
        attacking a destroyer) the destroyers bar will be longer because it
        packs more of a punch, being a more powerful ship than all ten
        fighters put together. However, if the fighters are winning, and the
        destroyer has it's shields down and is close to death, it's bar will
        become shorter. Basically, each ships total strength is taken into
        consideration, so the bar will change with respect to the battle.
          Knowing this, you can see how your side is doing in the battle
        currently at hand; winning or loosing.

D: Computer
        This machine gives vital information on the mission profile. It
        gives off routine information on ships being destroyed, being
        launched, as well as other useful titbits. It has a sexy voice too.

E: Target information
        When a ship is targetted, it's vital information is displayed here.
        The two bars on the left represent shields (green) and armour (red.)
        The crafts name, distance and current strategy are also displayed.
        To Target a new ship, press T. To switch off the targetter, press O.
          The targetter will not be in view until you target an enemy. When
        you do this, it will move up. Press HOME and END to move the target
        window up and down whilst still retaining your target.
          You must target an enemy vessle to be able to launch a missile,
        torpedo or bomb. You don't need to target him to launch non homing
        weapons like lasers or ionchunks.

F: Weaponry status
        Your weapons status is displayed here. Active, but not firing weapons
        have boxes shown in green. When firing they are yellow, and when
        deactivated, they are red. With missiles, torpedos and bombs,
        little icons showing the number of projectiles left are placed
        next to the box. With guns, the power rating and recharging status
        is shown.

G: Your status
        These bars display your shields (green), armour (red) and velocity
        (in blue.) When your shields are down, the green bar is small. The
        same goes for armour and velocity.

Basic instructions:

Keyboard controls in depth:

Ship attitude:
        Use the arrow keys, mouse or joystick to control your direction.
        Use the greater than or less than keys to roll your ship.

Weaponry:
        Use CTRL to fire your selected main weapon
        Use RETURN to fire your selected auxilliary weapon
                (You must have an enemy targetted for this to work)
        Selecting weapons:
                Press 1, 2, 3, etc. to toggle selection of the gun mount.
                The gun mounts status will glow green if active, red if
                unselected or yellow if recharging or firing.

Velocity:
        Use PgUp and PgDn to change your ships velocity.

Communication:
        Press SHIFT and the following to give the following commands
        A: Attack my target;
                One of your wingmen will attack your selected target
                (if you have a wingman, and the target is hostile.)
                You will then be free to select another target and
                concentrate your fire on him.
        K: Kill my target;
                Completely hunt down and kill the selected target.
                This command affects all subordinates, not just wingmen.
                With many ships under your command, the result is usually
                cruel, as everybody on your side turns their fire towards
                your target.
        D: Defend me;
                One of your wingmen will defend you from attack, if an
                attacker is forthcoming.
        M: Mayday! Mayday!;
                This only works if you are in dire straights; and have no
                shields. Any ships capable will answer your mayday and help
                you out by engaing your attackers.
                Superior officers will not help unless you have been very
                nice to them.
        B: Break formation;
                Your wingmen are given orders to break formation. They will
                still be your wingman, and be under your direct control, but
                they will be free to attack who they like and fly where they
                like. In an escort mission, or a tight precise raid, it is
                not usually a good idea to give this order. In a furball,
                it may be necessary to do so.
        F: Form on me;
                If the targetted ship is friendly, and lower in rank than
                yourself, they become your wingman and form on you.
        P: Protect target;
                If you have a wingman, you transfer his command to the
                current target (if friendly.) Using the last 3 commands, you
                can, if you have the rank, restructure the command protocols
                in a battle to your whim. This command could be useful if
                for example, you are protecting a freighter from attack, and
                there are some enemy bogies far off, basically begging for it.
                Even though you are itching to go at them, you know that it
                could be a trap. Giving the protect target instructions to your
                wingman will make them guard the freighter, allowing you to
                kill off the enemies that are far away. If it is a trap then
                you know that your charge will be protected.
        I: Ignore target;
                You inform your wingmen that this one is yours. If they are
                in a good mood, they won't attack it.
        D: Permission to dock;
                If your target is a carrier on your side and the mission is
                over, then it will let you land. The hanger that you are
                meant to land in aquires a blue flashing cross hair.

Others:
        G: Landing gear up if you decide that you no longer want to land
        H: Prepare to engage the hyperdrive engines.

Options:
        Press ALT-D to load up the options screen. Here you can change detail
        levels and control options. An explanation of each is given below,
        with a rating from 1 star to 5 stars giving an impression on how much
        the setting affects the overall game speed; 5 means it affects the
        speed quite a lot, whereas 1 doesn't affect it at all.

*****   Resolution:
                The screen resolution that the game is displayed in. A higher
                resolution looks better, but also is slower.
*****   Main Rendering: (5 options)
                None;
                  The ships are just drawn, not rendered.
                Light sourced, flat shaded;
                  Basic light sourcing is applied. Not much change.
                Light sourced, gourad,  phong shaded;
                  Gourad and Phong shading is applied to the shapes.
                  This makes them look more realistic.
                Light sourced, gourad, phong and texture;
                  Very realistic textures are mapped onto the surfaces of the
                  shapes as well as being light sourced and shaded.
***     Details Rendering:
                Very similar to Main Rendering, but only applies to finer
                details like gun turrets and hangers.
****    Cockpit Rendering:
                As above, but affects the inside of the cockpit. Looks great
                when everything is turned on.
*       Render Distance:
                The distance objects are drawn until. Only change this if
                your running on a 486; otherwise it will have nearly no
                effect.
**      Effects Distance:
                As above, but relates to the distance things like explosions
                and lasers are seen till. More of an affect on speed.
***     Multiple Sourcing:
                Multiple light sources are applied to the game; things like
                missiles, explosions, torpedoes and flames will emit light,
                providing a higher sense of reality.
****    Pyrotechnics:
                Explosions and flames are drawn in full.
****    Explosion Effects:
                The sparks flying off an explosion are drawn.
*****   Effects Complexity:
                The compexity affects the number of sparks flying away from
                an explosion.
**      Stars:
                The number of stars that the game will display in the sky.
                More looks better, but slows down the machine somewhat.
****    Planets:
                The large semistatic astral bodies can be turned on and off.
                These mainly are just used to enhance atmosphere, but they
                do slow down the engine.
***     Long plasma beams:
                Some of you like longer lasers. This option is included so
                that you can make up your own mind.
***     Debris Removal:
                Removal of obsolete fragments saps game realism at the cost
                of increased game speed. They will only be removed if the
                game is having trouble running.
***     Debris Field Size:
                There is a lot of debris in space from previous battles.
                The more debris there is the greater the feeling of speed.
*****   Draw Cockpit:
                You can turn the cockpit off completely, this will increase
                the game speed and give you a wider field of vision but its
                just not the same now is it.
****    Attached objects:
                Things like Comms towers, and flames and the like are not
                drawn.


        Pressing ALT-O brings up an options screen. Here you can configure
        your soundcard, control methods, and set the difficulty level:

	  Control Method:
		    Keyboard or joystick.
	  Joystick sensitivity:
		    A matter of personal taste, the more sensitive the less you
		    have to move the joystick to control the ship.
	  Calibrate joystick:
		    If the ship if veering one way when you are in joystick
		    control recalibrating will probably help.
	  Mouse sensitivity:
		    Like the joystick but for the mouse controled bits of the
		    game.
	  Sound effects, Musical score, and sampling speed:
		    are displayed here but have to be altered using the Setup program.
	  Volume:
	    	    How loud the sound FX and music are. Tricky stuff.
	  Difficulty level:
		    We recomend playing the game in Normal, but if you find that a
		    bit tricky then select one of the options:
		    Better weapons:- means that your weapons are much more powerfull.
		    Inept enemies:- means that enemy ships cant shoot straight at all.
		    Childsplay:- is both of the above.
	  Computer voice:
                Turn the inflight computer voice on or off.

Secession Features:
-------------------

Quick Overview

Wasteland is a space combat simulator taking place near the major planets
and stellar bodies of our solar system.
The plot dovetails according to mission success and failure. It has
continuity of ships; craft that are not destroyed in one mission will return
in later missions to make life harder, or easier depending on whose
side you are on.

Current features available now:
  * Massive mission design; up to 50 fully computer controlled friendly and
    enemy craft (not incluiding reinforcements, which bump the total up to
    100 ships)
  * 7 Independant sides; the user can play in any of them, although in the
    first version of the game we will limit the user to the first two.
    The sides are:  Humans living in and around the asteroid belt
                    Humans living on the Earth, Moon and inner planets.
                    Extra terrestrials; (Henceforth known as Extra Solaris)
                    Beserker craft.
                    Royal House Airforce.
                    Neutrals.
                    Pirates.
    It is possible to boost the number of sides if necessary.
  * Fully integrated command protocols into mission design, meaning:
                    Wingmen
                    Wingleaders
                    Mission charges (to protect)
                    Communications from you to a target
                    Communications from a target to you
                    Communications not involving you at all
  * Communications. If you have a large enough rank, or are in command of
    enough ships you may restructure the command levels of people below
    you. You may ask a wingman to protect a ship, and if his personality
    is loyal then he will do so, even if there are enemies about, but
    far away. His charge will then be defended if there are any nasty
    suprises. If he is exitable then he will engage them, leaving his
    charge in the lurch and vulnerable to reinforcements.
  * Realistically clever ships.
                    Varying personalities of the AIs
                    Varying wingman moods and subconsiousness
                    Differing degrees of stubborness
                    In-mission events can change all of the above and
                    change for example a stable pilot into a gibbering
                    wreck of a wingman.
    Fighting one on one, you vs the computer can be a real challenge. It
    adds an air of realism when all the other ships are as good as you.
    The main AI major routines involve:
                    Attack procedures for fighters
                    Attack procedures for capital ships
                    Withdrawing
                    Regrouping
                    Evading fire
                    Panicing
                    Landing
                    Waypoint patrolling
                    Convoy running
                    Ambushing
                    Dereliction
                    Raiding and capturing capital ships
                    Entering and exiting the battlefield (by hyperspace)
    Each AI personality has its own version of the above routines.
  * Guns. You can see the main firing weapons actually recoil and move.
    The main weapons in the game are:
                    Plasma blasters
                    Accelerated plasma blasters
                    Rapid firing Ion Chunks
                    Beam weaponry
                    Rapid firing flechette chain cannon
                    Missiles
                    Torpedos
                    Bombs
                    Fission bombs
                    Alien beam weaponry
                    Alien projectile weaponry
 * As the game takes place in one solar system, some of the missions take
   place very near to planets, in the atmospheres of gas giants and near
   the surfaces of the terrestrial planets and moons.
 * You can fly anything. Even capital ships. Each ship has it's own
   handling and feel.
 * Original cutscenes. The cutscene generator allows complicated, but
   graphically true to the game cutscenes to be played.
 * Full light sourcing from the sun.
 * Moving omni directional light sources; you can see the effects of
   explosions near capital ships as they light up, as well as even in your
   own cockpit. Watching a torpedo flare and light up the space near the
   explosion looks very good. Every explosion is a light source.
 * Texture mapping for every ship. These are light sourced too.
 * Moving turrets. You can actually see the turrets move and point at you.
   Worrying. You can blow them up too, which is nice.
 * Many graphics modes. With fast enough computers you can go upto 640 by
   480. Or, hopefully 1024 x 768.
 * Raiding missions. These are great fun and involve capturing things.
 * Dovetailing plot's final twists.
 * Ground. Textured, Phong'd and Gourad shaded. Missions can take place
   in deep space, near a planet, or actually in it's atmosphere. Looks
   real good.
 * Moving comms towers, radar dishes, turrets and other misc items on each
   capital ship.
 * You can damage individual parts of a capital ship, and watch them burn.


System Requirements:
	  486 or above
        Mouse driver loaded.

Recomended system:
	  Pentium 70
	  8MB+
        If you have a soundcard, you will have to have SET BLASTER line
        in your AUTOEXEC.BAT.
        eg;
        SET BLASTER=a220 i5 d1
        for address 220 irq 5 and dma 1
        All good soundcard installation programs add this to the
        AUTOEXEC.BAT automatically.


Full on system (max detail):
	  Pentium 120
	  16MB+
	  A good video card
	  No sleep

Compatability Issues; Secession is okay for:
        MS-DOS
        WINDOWS 95 (Run in DOS if you only have 8MB RAM)
        OS/2
        NT 4
        All perfect Soundblaster clones

To contact us:
On the Web at http://www.spideractive.com/
E-mail  contacts@spideractive.com
Snail mail  Spideractive Ltd,
   26 Ashwood Rd,
   Singlefield Green,
   Egham,
   Surrey,
   TW20 0EX.
