VIOLENT UNIVERSE Quest Microsoftware (first published by Fantasy Software) THE SCENE: Unmanned alien offence craft from an anti-universe are wreaking havoc as they fly randomly through space on kamikaze missions. Consisting of anti-matter they cause spectacular explosions on contact with any matter from our own universe. YOUR MISSION: To protect a convoy of vital spacecraft from the aliens by destroying as many as possible before they can render any damage. YOUR WEAPONS: Your only weapon is simple but effective. Rushing through space, gas clouds can be released in the alien's flight path, causing explosive annihilation on contact. How long can you protect your convoy? How many enemy craft can you destroy? INSTRUCTIONS On start-up press 'P' to play, 'J' to select a joystick option. The game is compatible with the Kempston, AGF, Fuller and Mikro-Gen joystick interfaces. The default option is the keyboard. The selected option is in force for the duration of play. By choosing the AGF option you can select an alternative keyboard layout by using the cursor control keys and '0'. You have four degrees of control over your ship: Press 'Z' to move LEFT Press 'SYMBOL SHIFT' to move RIGHT Press 'X' to move UP Press 'M' to move DOWN Combinations of these keys can be used to move diagonally. Wraparound move- ment is provided. Although this may be confusing at first, you will find it very useful as your skills develop. Your only means of destroying alien craft and meteors is be releasing gas clouds in their flight path. Press 'C' or 'N' to release gas clouds ('fire' with joystick). Since alien craft and meteors consist of anti-matter they will be annihilated on contact with any matter from our own universe. Gas clouds are released from behind your own ship up to a maximum of 6 on the screen at any one time. It is not possible to drop clouds at the periphery of the screen. The clouds are quite nebulous, so that you will find that you can seek protection within them as the aliens will be annihilated on contact with the gas before reaching you. Play proceeds from level to level, the duration of play within each level lasting 40 seconds. To continue into the next level you must score 1,000 points or more within the current level of play. Points are scored for destroying alien craft and meteors. Points are lost when you or one of the convoy ships are destroyed. The score values for each type of craft are displayed at the beginning of each level, so you can assess the best tactics to adopt each time. As the game progresses it becomes increasingly difficult to reach the target of 1,000 points as the score for destroying aliens and meteors decreases and the penalties increase. The exceptions to this are the surveillance craft which travel quickly from top to bottom of screen at irregular intervals. The points awarded for these starts off as small but increases every time one is destroyed. You overall strategy will therefore be important to score really well in this game. At the end of any level the game can be terminated by pressing 'T'. If you reach level 4 and have made a New High Score then a 12 letter code will appear. This can be used by us to verify your score should you wish to qualify for our "HALL OF FAME". We hope you enjoy the game and the graphics. Have fun and we look forward to hearing from you. (c) Paxman Promotions A Geoffs Records International Ltd. product