13th August 1996
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Z DEMO Key Guide

LEFT MOUSE	Main control button
RIGHT MOUSE	Direct mouse scroll
MIDDLE MOUSE	Toggle selected unit
SPACEBAR	Toggle selected unit

If you are in the process of placing a gun the SPACEBAR will scroll
to the factory which manufactured the it.

F1		Cycle through your available robot units
F2		Cycle through your available vehicles
F3		Cycle through your available buildings
F4		Cycle through your available guns
F5		Cycle through your units which are under attack

RETURN		Scroll to your fort

DELETE		Dissolve currently selected multi group
SHIFT		Add or remove the unit which you click from a multi group.
		(Note : you cannot scroll the screen whilst holding down the
		Shift key.)
A		Select all the units on screen to form a multi group.

M		Bring up the game menu
L		Bring up the load menu
S		Bring up the save menu
P		Pause / Unpause the game
CTRL R		Restart level
CTRL Q		Quit game

ALT X		Quit from the main menu to DOS


Z Demo Instructions

  Your objective in Z is to defeat your opponent by destroying all his forces
or by entering or destroying his fort, while simultaneously defending your
forces and fort from attack.

  Your forces consist of robots. These robots are capable of occupying guns
and vehicles.  Your robot army is divided into units. You give orders to
units by selecting them (click on any member of the unit), then moving the
cursor over the location or object you want the order to apply to. The
intelligent cursor system will automatically change the cursor to show the
type of order that will be applied. The most common order types are "Go To"
(cross) and "Attack" (crosshair). Clicking again will confirm the order.

  The battlefield in Z is divided into several territories. At the start of
a battle the red and blue armies each own a single territory (which also
contains that army's fort), and a few units of robots and vehicles. The rest
of the territories will be neutral. Either side can capture them by simply
having a friendly unit touch the flag that marks that territory. The flag
will then turn the corresponding colour to show that the territory has been
captured.  Beware though, that the other side can take territories just as
easily so you must defend the ones you capture. It is important to capture
and hold as many territories as you can.

  Some territories contain buildings: factories and radar stations. Whichever
side holds the territory they are located in can use these. Factories create
new robots or vehicles to replace or reinforce those you start with.  Radar
stations show you the location of enemy units.  As you conquer more
territories your factories will build units faster and your radar stations
will increase in range. If you lose territories, the efficiency of these
buildings decreases.

  You can change which unit is being built by one of your factories
(including your fort) by clicking on it and selecting a new item to
manufacture from the control box.


(1) The Main Menu

NEW GAME
 Select this to start a new game.

QUIT TO DOS
 Select this to quit the game to the operating system.

The CONTROL window on the right hand side of the screen contains the
following functions:

SVGA:
 This changes the display resolution of the game between super VGA high
 resolution and normal VGA.

Scenes:
 This controls whether the cut scenes will be shown between levels.

Gamma :
 This adjusts the brightness of the screen.  Move the marker to the left
 to darken the screen or to the right to brighten it.

(2) The Play Screen

(A) Status Panel:

  (1) Attack Button: This flashes whenever a unit is under attack. Clicking
      on it will cycle through the units currently under attack.  This
      function is duplicated by the F5 key.

  (2) Time Elapsed: The clock shows the time elapsed since the start of the
      battle. This is important because the longer you take to complete the
      battle, the lower your rank will be.

  (3) Reporting Unit: This shows the name and portrait of the unit that you
      have selected or is reporting back. If the unit is reporting back, but
      is not currently selected, you can select it by simply clicking the
      left mouse button on the portrait.

  (4) Weapons/Vehicle: This shows either the weapon type that the unit is
      carrying or the vehicle or gun that it is occupying.

  (5) Grenades:  If the unit is capable of using grenades, the number of
      grenades it has remaining is also shown.

  (6) Energy Bar: This shows how much energy the unit has remaining.


(B) Mini Map:

  The mini map always shows your own units and a rectangle marking the
  position of the battlefield view. It will also show the scanning range of
  any radar stations you have captured and the position of any enemy units
  within the radar scan. The scanning range will increase as you capture
  territories and decrease as you lose them. You can move the battlefield
  view directly to any spot on the mini map by clicking with the left mouse
  button.  Holding down the left mouse button as you move the pointer over
  the mini map will also move the battlefield view to track the pointer.

  (1) Overlay Buttons: Clicking the left mouse button on these buttons
      toggles the mini map overlays on and off. The overlays are:

      T: Terrain Overlay. This shows roads, rock formations, water and
         other terrain features.

      D: Description Overlay. This shows brief descriptions of units and
         buildings as you move the pointer over them on the mini map.

      Z: Zone Overlay. This shows a grid marking the territories owned by
         either of the armies.

  (2) Screen Position: This indicates the section of the battlefield shown
      in the battlefield view.

(C) Command Bar:

  (1) Cycle Unit Buttons: Clicking the left mouse button on the R, V, B or G
      buttons will cycle through the available Robots, Vehicles, Buildings
      and Guns respectively, starting with the unit that is closest to the
      one currently selected. This function is also duplicated on the first
      four function keys (F1: Robots, F2: Vehicles; F3: Buildings; F4:Guns).

  (2) Army Strength: The bar graphs show the number of units each side has.

  (3) Menu: Clicking the left mouse button on this button will pause the
      game and bring up the game menu (see below).

(D)

  Battlefield: The main section of the screen shows a bird's-eye view of a
  portion of the battlefield. This is where you view and control your units.

  (3) Viewing the Battlefield
      There are three different ways to move the battlefield:

      (i)   Moving the pointer to the edge of the screen will cause the
            display to scroll slowly in that direction. The longer you keep
            the pointer there, the faster the screen will scroll.

      (ii)  Holding down the right mouse button while moving the mouse will
            cause the display to scroll quickly in the direction the mouse
            is moving.

      (iii) Clicking with the left mouse button directly on the mini map
            will cause the battlefield view to be centred immediately on
            that point.

  (4) Selecting Units
      There are two different ways of selecting units.

      (i)  Click with the left mouse button directly on any member of the
           unit in the battlefield view.
      (ii) Cycle through the available units with the relevant button on
           the command bar, or the relevant function key.

      When selected, a box will be drawn around the unit and its portrait
      will appear in the status panel. While the unit is selected its route
      will be marked as a dotted line. At its destination an animated icon
      will show the order it is intending to carry out when it gets there.
      You can see the route that your unit will take to its target location
      on the mini map, this will be updated as you move the cursor around
      the battlefield.

      A dotted circle shows the range of vision of the selected unit.  Units
      will only attack, return fire or capture hardware and flags which come
      within this circle.

      The SPACEBAR toggles between the last selected unit and no selected
      unit. If you have a three button mouse installed the middle mouse
      button will perform the same action as the SPACEBAR.

   (5) Building Units into Groups
       You can build multiple units into groups. Only units that are on
       screen at the same time can be grouped. To group units drag a box
       around the ones you want to include.  You can also press the A key
       to form a group out of all of the units on the screen.

       You can also build groups by holding down either SHIFT key and
       clicking on each unit you wish to be part of the group. You cannot
       scroll the screen whilst you have a SHIFT key held down.

       You can remove units from groups, or split groups up, by selecting
       them in the same way with the dotted box. A new group will be formed
       from the unit(s) included in the box. You can also split a single
       unit from a group by holding down either SHIFT key and clicking on
       the unit. If you wish to completely disband a group, select any unit
       in it and press the DELETE key.

  (6) Giving Orders to Units
      To give an order to a unit, first select it as detailed above.

      Simply move the cursor over the object or location that you want the
      order to apply to and the cursor will change to show what type of
      order the computer will give the unit. Confirm the order by simply
      clicking the left mouse button.

      (i) Cross:
          The unit will attempt to take the shortest route to the selected
          destination. If the unit is capable of doing so it may destroy
          objects like rocks and vehicle wreckage that are in its way.

      (ii) Crosshair:
           The unit will attack and attempt to destroy the selected target.
           You can target units anywhere in the battlefield.  Your unit
           will find its way to the enemy and attack it when it comes into
           range.  If the unit you attack moves location your unit will
           automatically track it.

      (iii) Grasping Hand:
            Capture a flag or some grenades.

      (iv) Up Arrow:
           This cursor is shown when an occupied gun is selected and the
           cursor is then moved over the selected unit. Clicking to confirm
           will cause the robot(s) occupying the unit to get out.

      (v) Down Arrow:
          Vehicles and guns can be seized by robot units.

      (vi) Wagging Finger:
           No order possible.

  (7) Units reporting
      Whenever a unit has completed an order or is under attack they will
      report it to you. Click on the portrait of the robot on the status
      panel to move to it.  The unit will be selected automatically.

  (8) Attacking Buildings and Bridges
      Buildings can be damaged and destroyed. To target a building simply
      select the unit you want to conduct the attack and then move the
      cursor over any part of the building other than the entrance. If the
      unit is capable of attacking the building, the cursor will change to
      a crosshair.  Now click the left mouse button to send your units to
      attack. To attack bridges you must use the same procedure but move the
      cursor over the edge of the bridge so that cursor changes to a
      crosshair.  Clicking on the centre of the bridge will merely send the
      unit to that location.

  (9) Using Buildings
      There are three different types of building in this demo. These are
      described individually below:

      (i) Fort
          This is your most important building, and must therefore be your
          greatest concern.  Your fort is capable of building a variety of
          units. Your fort has four locations (one on each corner) on which
          gun emplacements can be built. You can scroll to your fort from
          anywhere on the battlefield by pressing the RETURN key.

      (ii) Factories
           There are two types of factory: those that manufacture robots,
           and those that manufacture vehicles. The more stars a factory
           has, the more unit types it can manufacture. Both types of
           factory are capable of manufacturing guns. A factory will not
           begin to manufacture anything until the flag controlling it
           has been captured by one side or the other. Once a factory has
           been captured it will begin to manufacture its default item.

           Different units take different times to manufacture. The more
           powerful a unit is, the longer it takes to manufacture.
           Manufacturing times will also be influenced by the number of
           territories you hold. The time to manufacture the selected unit
           will be displayed on the front of the building and in the
           control box.

           If a factory has been damaged it will be operating at a reduced
           efficiency. You can check a factory's operating efficiency by
           calling up the control box where it is displayed as a percentage
           in the top right hand corner.

           (a) Selecting units for manufacture
               You may change the type of unit being manufactured:
               While no unit is selected, click on the factory or fort with
               the left mouse button.  This calls up a control box showing a
               portrait of the unit currently being built, and, in the case
               of robots, the number of robots that will be in the unit.
               Beside the portrait is a bar graph showing how far the
               building operation has progressed. The time left until
               completion is also shown. To build a different type of unit
               click on the CANCEL button with the left mouse button. You
               will now be able to select a new unit type to build by
               clicking on the arrows to the side of the portrait. As you
               cycle through the available units the time required to build
               them will be shown. To proceed with construction of a new
               unit type click the OK button or the unit's portrait with
               the left mouse button. If you change your mind and wish to
               continue building the unit that was previously being
               constructed you may do so without losing the current amount
               manufactured by simply re-selecting it or clicking on CANCEL.

               You can exit the control box by simply clicking anywhere on
               the screen off the box or by clicking the CANCEL button
               when no unit is selected for manufacture.  If you exit with
               no unit selected the factory will continue to manufacture
               the previously selected unit.

               When a factory has completed construction of a unit, a
               message will appear for a short time at the top of the
               screen informing you that a new unit has been manufactured.
               Clicking on the message box will scroll the screen to the
               newly constructed unit and select it.

           (b) Placing Guns
               When a gun is manufactured, a message will appear at the
               top of the screen to inform you that the gun has been
               constructed and a G will appear in the top left hand corner
               of the screen.  When you are ready to place a gun, click on
               the G or the Gun Manufactured message with the left mouse
               button. The screen will scroll to the relevant factory and
               its control box will appear. Click on PLACE and the
               manufactured gun will become your cursor, move it until it
               is over the site that you wish to place it and then click
               with the left mouse button.

               Guns must be placed within the territory in which they were
               manufactured and they may not be placed on roads or
               buildings (except for the fort). A cross will appear over
               the gun if you move it over a location in which it can't be
               placed. If you try to place the gun more than twice in an
               illegal position an orange crosshatch will appear around the
               gun to show you the areas where it can be placed.  If you
               move the gun away from the territory that made it by mistake
               you can press the SPACEBAR to return to it.

               There is no time limit in which you must place a gun once it
               has been manufactured, but any guns still not placed when
               the territory is captured by the enemy will be lost.

               You can place a maximum of four guns in a territory. Once
               four guns have been placed, no more guns can be
               manufactured and a cross will appear over the portrait of
               the guns in the control box.

      (iii) Radar Stations
            When you capture a radar station, it will begin to scan a
            circular area around it. Within this area you will be able to
            see the exact location of enemy units on the mini map. If you
            move your cursor over an enemy unit that is within range of
            one of your radar stations, the unit will be identified.

  (10) Game Menu
       The game menu can be accessed at any time during play by clicking
       the MENU button at the right of the command bar with the left mouse
       button or by pressing the M key. This menu provides the following
       functions:

       QUIT GAME

       GAME CONTROL
         This gives control over Scroll Rate, Screen Resolution, Detail
         Level and Gamma Correction

       SOUND CONTROL
         This gives control over Music and Sound Effects.




