Tyrian 2000 tm Online Manual

I) Requirements
II) Installation
III) Setup and Getting Started
IV) Getting Started
V) Story
VI) How to play
VII) Playing Tyrian 2000
- 1 Player Full Game
- 1 Player Arcade Game
- 2 Player Arcade Game
- 2 Player Modem/Network Game
VIII) Datacubes
IX) The Worlds
X) Trouble Shooting
XI) Credits

I) REQUIREMENTS

* 386-33 or faster PC
* 4 megabytes of RAM
* Approximately 10 megabytes of hard disk space
* VGA graphics capability

Optional:
* Sound Blaster compatible sound card, Gravis Ultrasound, or General MIDI MPU-401 compatible sound card (Roland Sound Canvas, RAP-10, MT-32)
* Mouse or joystick recommended but not required.

II) INSTALLATION

Installation from CD-ROM:

If you have the CD-ROM version of Tyrian 2000, you will need to perform either a partial install or a full install to copy the necessary files to your hard drive. To install Tyrian 2000 from CD, place the CD in your CD-ROM drive and do the following:

1. Change to the CD-ROM drive containing the Tyrian 2000 CD (D:\)
2. Type INSTALL to bring up the Installation Menu.
3. Choose "Install Tyrian 2000" from the menu screen.
4. Choose "Full Install" to copy the entire game to your hard drive or choose "Partial Install" to copy the minimal amount of files to your hard drive and play from the CD.

[TODO: The CD Installation Instructions will change once the Installer is written.]

III) TYRIAN 2000 SETUP

Before playing Tyrian 2000, you need to run the SETUP.EXE program to configure Tyrian 2000 to your hardware. To do so:

1. Change to the drive in which Tyrian 2000 is installed (C:)
2. Change to the directory in which Tyrian 2000 is installed (CD\TYRIAN)
3. Type SETUP [ENTER] at the command line.
4. Supply the setup program with the appropriate information to configure the game.

MUSIC

No Music:
Disables music. Choose this if you do not have a sound card, or if your sound card does not work with Tyrian 2000 properly.

FM sound:
If you have a Sound Blaster or compatible card capable of FM synthesis, choose this option.

MIDI Port:
If you have a General MIDI MPU-401 compatible interface, Roland Sound Canvas, SCC-1, or MT-32 sound module, select the MIDI port which your music card uses. The default port is usually set to 330 or 320.

Gravis:
If you have a Gravis Ultrasound or GUS Max, select "Gravis MIDI."
NOTE TO GRAVIS USERS: remember to activate your ULTRAMID driver before entering SETUP. Gravis Ultrasound cards with less than 512K RAM will not play music with Tyrian 2000.

WSS:
If you have the Windows Sound System, select "WSS."

SB16-AWE:
If you have a Sound Blaster AWE32, select "SB16-AWE."

MUSIC VOLUME

Use the left/right arrow keys or click with the mouse to change the music volume.

SOUND

No Effects:
Disables sound effects. Choose this option if you do not have a sound card that supports digital sound.

Sound Blaster:
If you have a Sound Blaster or compatible sound card (including the AWE32), select "Sound Blaster."

Gravis:
For the Gravis Ultrasound or GUS Max, select "Gravis."

WSS:
If you have the Windows Sound System, select "WSS."

SOUND VOLUME

Use the left/right arrow keys or the mouse to change the volume.

GAME DETAIL

Low: for 386's or slower 486's.
High: for 486 local bus processors or faster computers.
Pentium: Maximum detail for Pentium computers.

JUKEBOX

Here, you can listen to all the cool tunes in the game. Just use the left/right or up/down arrow keys to select the tracks you want to listen to.

You can also listen to Tyrian 2000's sound effects here. Press the period and comma keys to change the current sound, and press the semicolon key to play the sound.

IV) GETTING STARTED

To run Tyrian 2000 after you have run the SETUP program, all you need to do is
type TYRIAN.

To run Tyrian 2000 from DOS at a later time, simply do the following:

1. Change to the appropriate drive letter to play Tyrian 2000 (C:).
2. Change to the directory to which Tyrian 2000 installed (CD\TYRIAN)
3. Type TYRIAN at the command prompt.

V) THE STORY

The year is 20,031. You are Trent Hawkins, a terraformation pilot. For three years, it has been your job to fly over tough-to-navigate planetary formations and check for habitable locations on newly terraformed planets. You execute more hair raising maneuvers in a day than most League trained pilots do during the course of their whole career. After many years of war, however, you prefer blasting rock formations to vaporizing enemy starships.

Your latest assignment from the Interplanetary Council is Tyrian, a proposed trading world on the edge of the sector, near Hazudra territory. The Hazudra are a lizard-like race recently discovered in a nearby asteroid field. One of your fellow workers and close friends, Buce Quesillac, was a Huzudra. Yesterday Buce was shot in the back by a waiting hoverdrone that disappeared into the sky before you could blink, let alone stop it.

Someone killed your best friend, and if it's the last thing you do, you're going to find out why.

The only lead you have is what Buce told you before he died....

"My friend...you must leave Tyrian now, or you will be killed. Even after death, I could not bear to lose you. Still, what I am about to tell you will mark you, so listen well...

You are familiar with the corporation that controls the terraformation of Tyrian, called Microsol. They are responsible for my death. And, do you remember that glowing rock we discovered in the mines west of here? It was more than just a pretty mineral. It is a new source of power called Gravitium. Harness it, and engines will soon be obsolete. It can... control gravity. Microsol wants it, and will eliminate anyone who knows of its existence. They captured me two days ago and tried to erase my memory as a warning. They did not know my memory is holographic in nature, and cannot be wiped out. Today I would reason that they discovered this, and found
me to finish the job.

Now you must go, before they hunt you down. Hurry! Head towards Savara, the freeworld. It will be difficult for them to follow you there. GO!"

You ran to your quarters and found them torn apart. Luckily you managed to obtain three weeks leave and a Gencore Hawk fighter. You set out for Savara tomorrow, and grieve at the thought of telling your parents that your best friend has been murdered. You grieve even further wondering how you're to stay alive with the whole of Microsol dogging your heels.

Preparing for a troubled day, you close your eyes at last, vowing to avenge Buce's death, not knowing that what will take place in the next three weeks will become the legend of Tyrian.

Ready yourself....

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VI) HOW TO PLAY

TITLE MENU

When you run Tyrian 2000, you will be taken to the title screen. The selections you can choose at this menu are:

Start New Game: Begins a new game of Tyrian 2000. Tyrian 2000 has several modes of play:

1-Player Full Game
Play by yourself from level to level, purchasing items to upgrade your ship and often selecting the path you take through the game.

1-Player Arcade
Play by yourself with a full arcade-styled powerup system, grabbing weapons left and right.

1-Player Timed Battle
Play by yourself in the level of your choice for a limited time, grabbing arcade-mode powerups and trying to get the highest score you can.

2-Player Arcade
Play with a friend in a hectic cooperative game, featuring the arcade powerup system and loads of other weird secret and non-secret effects and abilities.

Modem/Network game
Play the cooperative game, only over a modem or network connection.

After you select the type of game you want to play, you will need to select the difficulty of gameplay. You can choose from Easy, Medium, or Hard difficulties.

*SECRET*
From the "Difficulty Select" screen type a capital "G" to switch to the IMPOSSIBLE difficulty setting.

High Scores: Allows you to view the high scores achieved during the game. Episode scores are based on the starting episode to make things more fair. Also be sure to try the timed modes to beat out everyone else's score!

Load Game: Load a game that you previously saved. The last level you completed will be saved automatically in the bottom save-game slot called Last Level.

Instructions: Choose this option to view the in-game manual with information on how to play.

Ordering Info: Check out other XSIV games and information about Stealth Productions.

Demo: Plays one of the many included game demos. Demos otherwise will start automatically if you wait at the main menu.

Quit: Leaves the game.

GAME MENU

Once you've selected an episode and difficulty settings, you will be taken to the Game Menu. From the Game Menu, you can modify your ship, change the game options, read the your datacubes, and enter the game.

Data: (Only appears in Full Game). This selection allows you to read any datacubes you've collected in the previous level. Datacubes contain all the secret lowdown on the plot and extra tips and hints that may help you
pass the next level.

Upgrade Ship: (Only appears in Full Game). Takes you to the Ship Configuration Menu.

Player 1 Input/Player 2 Input: (Two Player Arcade game only.) Lets you choose the controller for the first and second player.

Options: All control aspects of the game can be configured from this menu:
Controls (joystick and keyboard), loading and saving games (Full Game only), and music and sound volume.

Play Next Level: In the full game mode this takes you to the Navigation screen where you choose your next destination. Choose wisely! The datacubes you collect contain valuable info on planets you may want to steer clear of early on in the game. In other game modes such as the arcade mode you are automatically sent to the next level.

Quit Game: Returns you to the title screen.

UPGRADE SHIP MENU (1-Player Full Game only)

The "Full Game" of Tyrian 2000 allows you to customize your ship's weapons and defenses by buying and upgrading items. Not only can you configure a ship of your own, but you can upgrade to nine different ships during the game.
Each ship has strengths and weaknesses. The actual number of different ship configurations has quite a lot of zeroes after it.

Remember that you need credits to purchase goods. Your current credit is listed below the Armor and Shield bars under the ship display.

Ship Type

In a "Full Game," you begin with the standardized USP Talon ship which is a stripped down fighter craft with less armor than the usual Gencore League ships, but it's quite fast.

At certain spaceports, you will have the opportunity to buy better ships. Each ship has different Armor and Speed ratings. These ratings are displayed below the overhead view of your ship.

To purchase items, select the upgrade menu you want (e.g. Front Gun, Shields, etc.) and click on an item. Exiting the menu purchases the item you have selected. It costs nothing to buy or sell your items, so feel free to
experiment.

Front Gun

To select a weapon for your front weapon port, just click on "Front Gun" from the Upgrade Ship Menu and take your pick.

Each weapon has 11 levels of power, so if you have the cash (and the greed), use the left/right arrow keys to raise or lower the power of the weapon you have selected. Or use the mouse and click on the arrows below the weapon
simulator.

Rear Gun

Each ship also has a rear weapon port. Choose "Rear Gun" to select a rear weapon. Some rear weapons have two configurations for even more fun! The default key for changing your rear weapon mode during the game is the ENTER key.

Like the front weapons, the rear weapons also have 11 levels of power. Just use the mouse and click on the arrows below the weapon simulator to increase or decrease the weapon's power.

Shields

Shields are the only things other than your armor keeping huge ionized beams from ripping into your ship and turning you into space bacon. Be sure to upgrade them whenever possible.

Generators

Generators power your ship. They determine how fast you can fire and how fast your shields recharge. A good generator is the key to your offense and defense.

Sidekicks

Sidekicks are weapons that fly alongside your ship and provide you with additional firepower. Each ship can have a left and a right Sidekick. These weapons range from single shot cannons to plasma storms that can
devastate entire sectors of a planet.

For weapons that have unlimited ammunition simply firing your normal weapon also fires your Sidekick. Sidekicks that "charge-up" or have limited ammunition can be fired separately by using the CTRL and ALT keys (unless
you redefined the keys).

Done

Returns to the Game Menu.

OPTIONS MENU

From here you can configure various aspects of Tyrian 2000 for maximum enjoyment. Here are the selections:

Load

Loads a game previously saved game.

Save

Saves a game in progress. The last level you completed is automatically saved as a backup game called "Last Game," saved in the last savegame slot. If you forget to save, just load the backup game and the last level you
played will be loaded.

Music/Sound

You can change the music or sound volume with the left/right arrow keys or by clicking on the volume level desired with the mouse.

Joystick

With this selection you can recalibrate your joystick and assign different functions to each button.

Keyboard

Allows you to change key functions to customize the keyboard configuration to your liking.

Mouse

Allows you to change mouse button functions to customize the button configuration.

Done

Returns you to the Game Menu.

PLAY NEXT LEVEL

Choosing "Play Next Level" takes you to the Nav screen, where you may select your next destination. GET READY! GET PSYCHED! And get a holo-snack from your ship's bar. Can't fight a whole fleet on an empty stomach, now can we?

VII) PLAYING TYRIAN 2000

ONE PLAYER FULL GAME

Once you've selected your preferred equipment of destruction, it's time to use it. Just having a big gun doesn't mean you're a hotshot. Your enemies know how you think. The only way to beat them is for you to know them just
as well. And above all: violence is not the only route to victory. Study your datacubes well. They contain valuable information that could give you the edge you need to conquer the level that you just can't seem to beat. Know when you're walking into a death zone and prepare adequately, and you'll be one more step ahead... Good luck.

While playing, the screen will show your score on the bottom left. Destroying enemies and collecting coins will increase your score. On the right side of the screen your shield and armor levels are displayed along with your power level, which will change when you fire. Your options are also listed here, and if they have a limited number of shots the remaining ammunition will be displayed.

Collecting Coins
During the game, enemies that you kill will occasionally drop coins. Years ago, an ingenious starship designer developed a metal that, when heated to a certain temperature, forms huge metal coins that can be collected by other
ships. Council officials scoffed and called the project "something out of an ancient electronic game." Nonetheless, the metal is still used in nearly every ship built.

Collect the coins and gems that fall for more credits.

Datacubes
Datacubes provide valuable information about enemies and levels! Grab 'em if you can!

Power ups
If you see a flashing metal pod emerge from a destroyed ship, grab it. It will power up your front or rear weapon from 2 to 5 levels! If your ship is low on armor, a special armor supply ship will appear. Destroy it and grab
the armor powerup to repair your ship.

Well, you're on your own from here. Be sure to destroy everything that moves (and in some cases, things that don't) or you're dust. The enemies here don't hand out extra lives, either. Once you're dead, you have the opportunity to reconfigure your ship and continue the game.

Enjoy Tyrian 2000, and may your lasers fire true!

ONE PLAYER ARCADE GAME

If you would like to play Tyrian 2000 as a fast and furious arcade shoot 'em up, we've included one- and two-player arcade modes for you. Simply select "One Player Arcade" or "Two Player Arcade" from the game select menu after hitting "Start New Game" in the Main Menu.

In a one player game, you are not able to upgrade your ship in between levels. Instead, you must grab powerups throughout the game. The arcade game has roughly the same number of weapons to choose from as in the normal game. (Hint: Even more firepower is obtainable from a "Special Weapon" option.)

Power-ups
Front weapon power-ups are characterized by a blue ball with the weapon superimposed over the ball. Power-up the front weapons by getting numerous purple power up balls.

Rear weapon power-ups look like red balls with a weapon icon superimposed over the ball. Power-up the rear weapon by grabbing the metal power-ups that flash green and red!

Special Weapons
A Special Weapon can be acquired when either one of your weapons is charged near FULL capacity. The small ship indicating your level of power at the top left hand corner of the screen reads the number "8" when a weapon is near full capacity. Beware, when you are hit you lose power.

While some of the Special Weapons can be fired continuously, others can only be used after they have had enough time to recharge.

There are numerous special weapons...

Attractor: Attracts power ups and coins when you continually press the fire button.

Repulsor: Repulses shots when you continually press the fire button.

Ice Beam: when you press the fire button you will fire an ice shot, which freezes enemies. Because of their inertia they can still move, but will be unable to fire shots. This is especially helpful with bosses, but only lasts for a limited amount of time on more powerful enemies.

Super Laser: continually pressing the fire button will release a coherent light blast powerful enough to devastate EVERYTHING in its path!

Pearl Wind: ?

Power of Zinglon: ?

Flare: ?

(Hint) There are actually a huge number of additional special weapons which you can receive either during the game or through special codes. The above is a small listing of all the weapons that are in the game somewhere.

TWO PLAYER ARCADE GAME

Tyrian 2000 has TWO PLAYER capability! As incredulous as it may sound, we've been able to double the amount of wreckage spilled across the screen, doubled the huge landscape ripping explosions, and of course, we've doubled the firepower.

The Steel Dragon
Just having double the fun isn't enough, is it? To complement this awesome mode, the first and second player can combine their ships into 150 tons of deadly space fighter technology. Called "The Steel Dragon", this ship consists of two parts, the "Dragonwing" and the "Dragonhead". They are combined when the ships are close enough together to dock. This concept was developed recently by a new firm, based on the jungle planet of Torm, and
its name comes from the dragons which thrive there. Three times as fast and hundreds of times more powerful than other fighters, this starship lives up to its namesake easily.

Once combined, the first player has control of all ship movements, and the second player controls a special weapon turret that revolves around the ship, making up for its lack of speed and larger size. The ships can be
separated by one of two means: Player 1 - holding down one of the Sidekick fire buttons and moving away from Player 2, or Player 2 stops firing and moves away from player 1.

Power-Ups
During the game, each player grabs power-ups which are dropped from enemies that you destroy. Between the two ships, there are 18 kinds of weapons that can be picked up. The Dragonhead's power-ups are superimposed over a blue ball. The Dragonwing's power ups are shown over a dark red ball. But, the upgrade capabilities of your ship don't stop there...

Your current weapon can be increased in power by grabbing the purple ball power-ups. Also look for the mechanized power ups, which increase the other player's weapon by one level of power.

Many strategies are possible to beat tough-to-destroy enemies. Try maneuvering in such a way that you can combine when you need extra firepower to destroy a particularly annoying boss. You may also separate to create
two targets for enemies to shoot at, making dodging easier.

Weapons
The first player ship, the Dragonhead can power up with the following weapons (blue power ups):

Pulse Cannon
Multi Cannon
Mega Cannon
Laser
Zica Super Laser
Proton Blaster
Vulcan Cannon
Lightning Gun
Missile launcher
Heavy Missile launcher

The Dragonhead has no charge capabilities for its weapon, but has a greater selection. It is also faster than the Dragonwing.

The second player ship, the Dragonwing, can power up with these weapons (dark red power ups):

Starburst
Multi Cannon
Sonic Cannon
Proton Blaster
Wild Cannon
Vulcan Cannon
Heavy Missile Launcher
Mega Pulse Beam

The second player ship's weapon has a special characteristic. If you do not fire, the weapon charges for a much more damaging "super shot" that is released when your weapon is fully charged (two small blue balls orbiting a large one). The more powered-up your ship is, the faster it charges.

There are 11 levels of weapon power, giving you a selection of nearly 200 different weapons!

VIII) DATACUBES

Datacubes can be read and received in the one player full game only.

When you receive a transmission from someone else it is stored within a datacube on your ship. In addition, you can occasionally find datacubes floating out of destroyed enemies.

Friends and enemies alike will often contact you to talk to you about your progress or taunt you futher. In addition, you may receive information on more unusual weapons or records on planets in the sector. Media sources in
the year 20,013 contain a lot of advertisements or other flak, so it's best to take received transmissions with a grain of sodium chloride.

To read these datacubes, select 'Data' from the Game Menu. You'll usually see a picture of the person transmitting and the text of the message on the right.

Scrolling through the message is accomplished with either pressing up or down. In addition, if you are using the mouse you can move it to the top of bottom of the text window (where it will turn into an up or down arrow) and press the mouse button to move the text. Pressing ESC or clicking on the Exit graphic leaves the data screen.

IX) THE WORLDS

The following information is all you could gather from your ships databanks. Although incomplete, it should give you enough information to begin your quest. Information about the remaining planets can be acquired from datacubes that you collect during the game.

TYRIAN:
Tyrian is the most recent acquisition of Microsol; the sector's largest corporation. Since no single company can own a planet due to Article 17 of the Interplanetary Council Law, Microsol is responsible for the terraformation and trading agreements. Still, Microsol plans to bend Article 17. It's up to you to stop them.

Tyrian is a world under terraformation, which means Microsol hires work teams in the hundreds of thousands to monitor gravity control, land sculpturing, and atmospheric maintenance. Your job has always been to make
laser measurements of surface features by flying over them at high speeds in a land skimmer at altitudes as low as ten feet. Other team members handle atmosphere processors, robotic construction crews, even huge horticultural
seed ships to plant entire forests in a fraction of the time. Flying over Tyrian, one will notice some rather odd regions. Floating rock formations due to gravity testing, large forests and rocky crags with occasional
research facilities dot the landscape.

SAVARA:
Savara, the only free world in the sector, is the only planet totally free of the Interstellar Government's policies. The founders of the planet insisted that it be preserved as an agricultural world, and that, with huge amounts of new plant and animal species, it's natural beauty was too important to disturb. It thrives as a vacation spot as well as an
excellent trading world, though Tyrian is expected to overshadow it once it begins operation. It is also one of the only planets to support an underwater colony. Huge towers can be seen rising out of the vast oceans at certain points. Savara is an ideal place for trade and repair, however Microsol is suspected to have a secret base there despite the mandates that outlaw any company craft.

DELIANI:
A triumph of mankind, Deliani's nickname is "TechWorld," due to it's sprawling cities and gleaming skyscrapers populating the surface. Deliani is the equivalent of ancient Earth's "New York City,": if one wants something, legal or illegal, one usually finds it here. The economic prosperity enjoyed by Deliani is only the sliver lining of the dark cloud of crime that exists there. Even though the planet is the home of Microsol's chief competitor, Gencore Tech Alliance, many acts of greed and corruption still run rampant. Gencore was formed not only to restore order to Deliani, but to deliberately oppose Microsol in it's sinister dealings. Those who have crossed Microsol usually flee to Deliani to seek refuge with Gencore. Beware, flight in Deliani is nerve wracking, due to the tight spaces and
clusters of towers.

GYGES:
The original headquarters of Microsol. This planet has a very dry and desert-like surface with the occasional mountain range. Microsol's interest in this world lies in its weak inner crust, which allows for construction of underground research facilities. Immense domed cities can be seen in major research and production locations. The tragedy of Gyges is that it was originally the home of the Zica, an unknown race of alien that originally carved immeasurable labyrinthine tunnel systems under the surface. Microsol drove them out, disregarding the rights of an entire race, vaporizing entire colonies at a time. The Zica are feared by xenoscientists. Xeno-scientists believe the Zica have fled to the outer reaches of the sector where they plan to launch a massive attack on Gyges and Microsol, using outer-dimensional technology. But is it true...?

TORM:
Sector capital and regional chapter of the Interplanetary Council, Torm is one of the largest worlds in the sector. Torm is surpassed in size only by the ice world of Camanis. Its surface is similar to Savara's, though consisting of grasslands and heavily forested mountain regions. The city capital, Portoch, is a metropolis of corruption and dark, rainy days. The buildings are so neglected they are streaked with dirt, providing a depressing atmosphere. It is said that the chapter lords are so decadent that they seldom emerge from the local simulation clubs. The city itself is
an example of why Microsol holds so much sway in council policies: bribery.

X) TROUBLESHOOTING

The most up-to-date troubleshooting information can be found in the HELPME.DOC file included in this game. To view this file, change to the directory that Tyrian 2000 is installed to, and type HELPME.

Running with WINDOWS

Tyrian 2000 may not always work reliably under Windows with sound on. Please run SETUP from DOS and select "No Sound Card" under setup if you need to run Tyrian 2000 from Windows and it goes all batty on you.

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CONTACTING XSIV GAME'S TECHNICAL SUPPORT
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If you need further assistance, please visit the support section of our web site:
www.xsivgames.com

If the problems cannot be solved using the web site then please call toll free at 1-877-4STEALTH and ask for Customer Support.

XI) CREDITS

Jason Emery: programming, level design, additional artwork, weapon design, additional sound FX
Alexander Brandon: story, music, coordinator, design, online help
Daniel Cook: level artwork & design
Robert Allen: our eminent producer, additional sound FX, additional design
Arturo Sinclair: 3d artwork, title design
Bruce Hsu: character portrait design
John Calcagno: 3d animation
Andrew Paquette: character portrait artwork, additional 3d artwork
Andreas Molnar: LOUDNESS Sound System programming & music conversion
Susan Aldworth: Voices
Nando Eweg: sound FX

Many thanks to Tim Sweeney (basically, master of all), Mark Rein (manual design & marketing), Arjan Brussee, Cliff Bleszinski, and Rob Elam (entertainment).

Additional thanks go to our families and the Beta Testers!