Double Take =========== The Game -------- The year 2008, the time mid-day, the place a rather large, computer-controlled "Physical Particle Investigation Unit" out in the middle of a bleak and lonely landscape, where the only sounds are the howling winds and the distant hum of the particle accelerator beneath the ground. A young research assistant is sitting at his terminal drinking his umpteenth coffee and totally oblivious to the momentous chain reaction that his experiment is creating; His investigation into the inherent instability factors of particles of "antimatter" when held for periods of greater then a few seconds should not have raised many eyebrows; unfortunately for him, a great interest was being shown by a being of a different state; this being is SUMINK! In life there are always mirrors, doubles. Nothing is totally unique. Few however would have believed that their whole universe was "doubled", that for every object in our universe there was a similar object in an opposite universe. This opposite universe was Sumink's. Fate however was as twisted as usual and Sumink was bored! He was a warrior without a battle, a life without meaning but not without hope. His hope? That a channel could be found between his universe and ours. Suddenly the stability alarms sounded! The assistant found the room slipping away from him, his movements were becoming frozen, his reality, no longer real. Sumink had, through a particle of an "anti-matter" found his channel and was not going to wait for a second chance. The assistant was thrown into the sixth dimension where stability is a dream and reality a myth but where the battles are just as deadly. The two universes collide briefly both are made unstable, objects pass between them and a state of flux is set up between our positive universe and Sumink's negative one. This collision results in several different events. 1. Objects from our universe swap places with their opposites in Sumink's universe. 2. A "sparkling cloud" is created. This is a tunnel between the two sides; contact with this cloud will transport you to the other side! 3. The universe constantly changes and you may suddenly be transported to the other side. Game Objective -------------- 1. To place all objects into their correct universe. 2. Defeat Summik (once objective 1 is complete). Playing The Game ---------------- The game is set inside the complex itself and using the cyclotron as a passage to certain parts, which cannot be reached otherwise, you must ensure the whole complex is stable, (including the com plex in the negative universe). You play the part of the assistant, whose task is to stablise the two Universes by finding the correct location for any object which has been transported to its opposite universe. When this task has been accomplished you must then do battle with Sumink; this takes place inside the negative Universe. You must hunt him using your knowledge of the map and your radar system. Defeat him to win the game! Game Objects ------------ Every object in our universe has a "Double" in Sumink's universe. If one of our objects has travelled to his universe then its opposite has travelled to ours. Only in rooms which are unstable has there been a swapping of objects. Transportation of an object without that object having been "stabilised" will change the object carried into its double! To transport an object back to its correct universe the object must have been stablised by either a) Activating the "sparkling cloud" when carrying an object (shown by the object carried flashing white). b) Shooting enough aliens to render the object stable (also shown by the object carried flashing white). The stability of the object is shown by its brightness the closer to flash white the more stable the object carried. On dropping the object it will revert to instability (go magenta again). Sparkling Cloud --------------- This has the ability to allow you to cross between the two universes whilst keeping your object in the same state. To activate the "sparkling cloud" place the hero over it and press "FIRE". If the "sparkling cloud" has been activated your object carried will begin to flash white and will remain the same, as the universe about you changes. The "sparkling cloud" only travels along the central part of the complex and will not enter the cyclotron (there is a "sparkling cloud" in both universes). Display Panel ------------- (Bottom of screen). --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- ---------------- | | | | | | | | ------------------------------- | E | | C | | | | B | | | | | | | | - ___________^___________ + | | | | | | | ------------------------------- ----------- ---------------- | | -------------------------------------------- D ---------- D | | | A | @ | | @ | | -------------------------------------------- ---------- | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------- KEY A Your strength is shown by the yellow/red bar. Energy can only be lost and must be conserved. All contact with aliens decreases your energy, also the particles inside the Cyclotron (particle acceleration) will on collision with you decrease your energy! These particles can be fired at. B The Universe Indicator; the sliding pointer on the top left shows you:- (a) Which universe you are presently in (points to the positive sign if in ours). (b) When the universe is going to change (see stability of universe). C Electron Display: each double room i.e. a "Room" plus its mirror in the negative universe is represented by a single Electron. There are sixteen rooms in each universe therefore there are sixteen electrons. These rooms can either be stable (see lights) or unstable. If the room is stable then its respective electron on the display panel is given a path to follow, when all electrons are on the correct path, i.e. (the universe is stable) a sine wave is produced. D The lights below the electron display are used in three ways (a) On entering a room if the lights are "red" the room is unstable if the lights are "green" the room is stable (b) On carrying an object If the lights are red it means the object carried does not belong in this room. If the lights are green it means the object is in the correct room and should be dropped in the correct place for the room to accept it. (If green lights turn red dropping the object then the object has been placed incorrectly). Note: When the universe is stable and the battle with Sumink has begun then these lights act as a warning system, indicating the position of Sumink in relation to you. The battle with Sumink takes place in the negative universe. Escape can be found by using the cloud but Sumink will not leave his own domain. E Shows the object you are carrying. Game Controls ------------- The program is controlled by either joystick or keyboard which is re-definable and most interfaces are compatable. See menu for details. Standard joystick/keyboard controls apply. You may move diagonally. Use Down + Fire to: 1. Pick up/drop an object 2. Move through whirlwinds (doors) (Place Hero above the door first - control of the Hero will be removed from the player if correct) Use Fire to: 1. Use the "sparkling cloud" (when positioned over it) 2. Move through Cyclotron (blue tunnel; stand on its edge) 3. Move through Port Holes (Place Hero on top of hole first) Space - Pause/Resume Note: If using a Sinclair Plus 2 computer, select the joystick option "Sinclair" when using an Amstrad or Cheetah + joystick. Loading ------- LOAD"" (ENTER)