P R O J E C T F I R E S T A R T By Dynamix 1988 ---------------------------------------------------- Programming: Darek Lukaszuk Paul Bowman Rich Rayl Sound and Music: Alan McKean Game graphics: John Burton Spaceship design: Damon Slye Package design: Lance Anderson/Triad Package illustr: Barry Jackson Associate producer: Roland Kippenhan PROJECT FIRESTART... began on February 13, 2066, aboard the research ship Prometheus. Financed by the System Science Foundation (SSF), an agency of the United System States (USS), the project's goal was to produce a strong, durable laborers capable of helping Belters mine titanium and iridium on selected moons and asteroids. Althought first generation genetic reshaping is extremely hazardous, it was allowed because the genetics involved were required to follow strict safe- guards guaranteeing tight control over the experiment's end product. But the Prometheus no longer responds. The safeguards must have been breached. If they have, Firestart is out of control. The SSF has assigned you to clean up the mess. GETTING STARTED 1. Place the boot disk (disk 0) face up in the disk drive. 2. Turn on your computer and type LOAD"EA",8,1. 3. After the game loads, you'll see background information about the game be briefed on your mission. If you have trouble loading the game, dis- connect any peripherals from the back of the disk drive (i.e., the fast loader, second disk drive, or printer) and try loading again. 4. Follow the onscreen instructions to either review the introduction or begin play. 5. Switch disk whenever the computer prompts you to. (Note for C128 users: Be sure your computer is in C64 mode.) JOYSTICK INSTRUCTIONS Plug in your joystick in port 2. The joystick controls which direction you move and aim your laser; just move the joystick in the direction you want to travel or shoot. Press the joystick button to fire your laser. When you see text questions at the bottom of the screen (such as "Open Door?", "Use Elevator?", etc.) use the joystick to highlight your choice and then press the joystick button to take the action. KEYBOARD COMMANDS You can give four commands through the keyboard. Press the first letter of a command to gain access to it. C Change Weapons. This command lets you change weapons (if you are carrying more than one) when the weapon you have been carrying is low on power, has no power left, or when you want to switch to a more powerful weapon. D Disk Commands. Use this command to call up the Disk Command screen and gain access to the FORMAT, SAVE, LOAD or RESTART Disk commands. FORMAT Lets you FORMAT a disk in preparation for using the SAVE command (see below). Note: You can use the SAVE command only if you have a formatted disk. To FORMAT a disk, remove all disks from the diskdrive. Use the joystick to move the onscreen arrow over the FORMAT command and then click your joystick button. SAVE Lets you SAVE the game at any point. To SAVE a game, use your joystick to move the onscreen arrow over the SAVE command and press your joy- stick button. A message will appear asking you to "Please Choose Game Number". Below this message there will be five boxes numbered 1-5. Use your joystick to move the onscreen arrow over the number you wish to save the game under and click your joystick button. For example, if you SAVE a game and click on box 1, that game will be saved as game 1. Only one game can be saved in a box. LOAD Lets you access SAVED games. When you use the LOAD command, a message will appear asking you to "Please Choose Game Number". Below the message there will be five boxes numbered 1-5. Use your joystick to move the onscreen arrow over the number of the saved game you wish to play and then click your joystick button. Follow the onscreen prompts to load disks. RESTART Returns you to the point when you first entered the Prometheus and RESTARTS the game. NOTES * You can't carry more than two lasers. * Lasers are effective against only one target at a time. * You can't simultaneously move and fire a laser. * You can't drop or replace a laser until it's drained of all energy. * You have to find a medical attention if you want to regain lost health points. If you ignore a wound, it won't get any worse, but it won't get any better, either. TIPS * Check out all dead bodies, even the bloody, torn up, mangled, discusting gross ones. Some of the dear departed may have useful items on them. Investigate all rooms thoroughly, too. To examine a body or a section of a room, walk up next to it as close as you can. Your computer will tell you if there are any interesting objects present. You have to look for weapons and security passes, they aren't going to jump out at you. * Monsters, on the other hand, are going to jump out at you, so carry as many weapons as you can and try to keep a fully charged weapon near at hand. A Hero's best friend is his particle beam. * Find the radio and stay in touch with homebase. They miss you. And if you don't maintain communication, they may miss you entirely. * Find the ship's computer access points. You can get useful information through the computer that you can't get anywhere else. THE END AND AFTERWARDS When the game has reached it's finale, the "THE END" screen appears, and you feel the game has come to an unsatisfactory conclusion (such as you suffocated in the airless vacuum of space or met some other fate just as hideous), there are two things you can do. Either turn off your computer and reboot, or press D and follow the onscreen prompts to restart the game.