

                      ALCHEMIST V2.02 (28 Oct 99)


     (C) Copyright 1999 Warp Power Interactive Entertainment Ltd.

                         All right reserved.


           For news and updates visit www.warppower.com.hk









First of all, thank you very much for buying Alchemist.

This README file contains general information about the game,
as well as tactics and additional troubleshooting
tips.

+---------+
| History |
+---------+
ALCHEMIST was formerly called ANIMOS, a contraction of Anim-Cosmos (Cosmos of
a different life form).

Contents:
1.	Installing Alchemist
  1.1   Windows 95 Users
  1.2	Minimum Basic requirements
  1.3   Preferred requirements
2.	Getting started
3.	Playing Alchemist
  3.1   Main menu
    3.1.1 New Game
    3.1.2 Load Game
    3.1.3 Custom Game
    3.1.4 Replay Introduction
    3.1.5 Show Credits
    3.1.6 Exit
  3.2   Different armies
  3.3   Difficulty
  3.4   Game Screen
  3.5   Option Menu
  3.6   Character Menu
  3.7   Tips
  3.8   Role Playing
  3.9   Keyboard Commands
4.      Background Story
5.      Units
  5.1   Sainthood
  5.2   Bloodsucker
  5.3   Animalizer
  5.4   Scientific Myth
  5.5   MaskEvil
  5.6   Wanderers
  5.7   Mutated Beasts
6.	Bugs report and how to contact Warp Power


+----------------------+
| Section 1            |
| Installing Alchemist |
+----------------------+

1.1 Windows 95 users
  Please run SETUP.EXE from your installation disk.
  If you have not installed DirectX, run \DirectX6\DirectX\DXSetup.exe
  on the CD-ROM

1.2 Minimum Basic requirements
  - IBM compatible Pentium-100Mhz computer with 16Mb of RAM.
  - Color monitor, and 256 color VGA graphics system.
  - Sound Card
  - Microsoft Mouse or compatible
  - 4X CD-ROM drive or faster 
  - Hard drive with at least 45Mb of free space.

1.3 Preferred requirements
  - Intel Pentium-166MHz CPU
  - 32Mb RAM
  - PCI or AGP display card



+-----------------+
| Section 2       |
| Getting Started |
+-----------------+

To start the game under Windows 95, double-click on the Alchemist icon 
in the Alchemist Program Group.

You will see a series of animated sequences, followed by the Main Menu.
You can bypass any animation in the game by pressing <ESC>.



+-------------------+
| Section 3         |
| Playing Alchemist |
+-------------------+

3.1 Main menu

  3.1.1 New Game
        To begin a new game.

  3.1.2 Load Game
        To continue a saved game.

  3.1.3 Custom Game
        To load any missions other than the standard story mode missions.

  3.1.4 Replay Introduction
        To replay the introductory animation.  3.1.5 Show Credits
        To show the game's design and programming team.  3.1.6 Exit
        Press 'ESC' key or this command to exit the ALCHEMIST.

3.2 Different armies
  Alchemist has five different realms or teams. Depending on your selection, you can control the armies of:
    - Bloodsucker
    - Animalizer
    - Scientific Myth
    - Sainthood
    - MaskEvil

3.3 Difficulty
  Depending on which realm or team you select as your own, the game will be easier or more difficult to play.  Moving from easiest to hardest, the teams are:
    Sainthood, Animalizer, Bloodsucker, Scientific Myth and then MaskEvil

3.4 GAME SCREEN

  TOP BAR : Located on the top of the game screen
    - Astro Clock
      Click to turn the Astro clock on/off
    - Option button
      Open a menu for options control
    - Wood Storage
      Shows the current wood storage
    - Mana
      Shows the current mana count
    - Mana Bar
      Graphicaly shows the current mana count and the maximum mana capacity of your
      town.
    - Panel button
      To widen the display screen, you can turn off the Panel by clicking this
      button.

  SIDE PANEL : Located on the right of the game screen
    - Info
      Displays more information about your team
    - Army tab
      Changes the panel to display armies which are ready for training
    - Construction tab
      Changes the panel to display available building/construction options
    - Global map
      * Displays the explored area of the mission.
      * The rectangle on global map represents the game screen where you located.
      * You can simply move the rectangle to locate different areas by right
        clicking your mouse.
      * You can also move your selected armies by left clicking the global map.


3.5 OPTION MENU

  The Option menu allows you to restart, save, load, exit and control your game.
  You can review your objective by clicking the objective button.
  Game Speed, Scroll Speed, Sound Effect Volume, and BGM Volume can all be adjusted as
  you wish.


3.6 CHARACTER MENU:
  Some characters may have special abilities that you can find on the character menu. To
  open the character menu, right click when you have selected a character.
  


3.7 TIPS

  MANA
    Mana is a resource for all.
    It is provided by your citizen population or by hunting beasts.
    You can build more citizen houses to increase your population.

  WOOD STORE
    Wood is a resource for constructing any buildings.

  MASTER:
    Masters can build towers anywhere. Right clicking a master when selected 
    will pop up a character menu with the build tower
    command.

  WORKER:
    Workers harvest trees to increase your wood storage. You can double
    click any citizen house to call one worker.

  TOWER:
    Buildings must be placed within the range of a tower's protective power.

  CITIZEN HOUSE:
    Citizen Houses produce mana, and create workers.

  ARMY BUILDING:
    Creates and train armies.

3.8 ROLE PLAYING
  Use a master to build your first tower, build citizen houses to call up your
  worker(s), build other citizen houses to increase your population.

  To have armies for defending your town, begin army construction as soon as
  possible.

  Building another tower will let you enlarge your town.

3.9   KEYBOARD COMMANDS
  ESCAPE		: Main Menu
  UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT	: Scroll Screen
  F1			: Mission Objective
  F2			: Load Menu
  F3			: Save Menu
  F4			: Option Menu
  F5			: Side Bar
  F6			: Toggle Train/Construction Tab
  F7			: Cancel Selection
  F8			: Select All Units
  SHIFT-F9, CTRL-F9	: Assign group 1
  F9			: Recall group 1
  SHIFT-F10, CTRL-F10	: Assign group 2
  F10			: Recall group 2
  SHIFT-F11, CTRL-F11	: Assign group 3
  F11			: Recall group 3
  SHIFT-F12, CTRL-F12	: Assign group 4
  F12			: Recall group 4


+------------------+
| Section 4        |
| Background Story |
+------------------+
After the nuclear holocaust and mass biological mutation caused by the 1st OVER-WAR, the world's natural and artificial resources were completely wasted and destroyed. The human survivors on Earth faced an ecological shutdown.

Tens of thousands of years passed after the disaster. Fortunately, just as human beings were getting close to the brink of extinction, the Mother Planet started to regenerate MANA, the vital energy supporting all life forms on the surface of Earth. The ecological cycle started all over again: forests and rivers were formed; new breeds of creatures and plants were born each morning; the division of day, night and the four seasons gradually recovered.É

So did humanity. Population grew in rapid paces. Tribes reappeared, evolving both in size and organization, and finally became REALMS, the new human civilization equivalent to the nations and empires of the old world.

In order to survive in this new-born world, REALMS sent out exploration teams to recover the records of ancient wisdom. Based on these discoveries, brilliant humans managed to "reverse-engineer" the long forgotten knowledge of their ancestors. These rare elites of mankind called themselves ALCHEMISTS, the masters of the five spiritual elements -- FAITH, LOVE, WISDOM, LUST and IMAGINATION. ALCHEMISTS were able to absorb, manipulate and utilize MANA, and soon reigned in their home REALMS.

As each ALCHEMIST possessed conflicting powers, it was inevitable that furious wars between REALMS would break out, as they struggled for the sole mastery of MANA. With TOWERS as their centers and the sources of MANA energy, REALMS evolved into enormous war machines, building up their unique types of fortifications and troops to defend and conquer.

Battles were short but fierce. As the 2nd OVER-WAR now reaches its final stage, only five REALMS have managed to survive the numerous combats. These surviving REALMS are SAINTHOOD, ANIMALIZER, SCIENTIFIC MYTH, BLOODSUCKER and MASKEVIL; each has mastered one of the five spiritual elements.

The power struggles between the five REALMS are so close that any single one of them can hardly hope for victory without assistance of others. But in a war of winner-takes-all, there can never be a true ally.

It all becomes clear: only the strongest strategic mind can achieve a breakthrough in this last deadlock of human destiny.É

¡@

+-----------+
| Section 5 |
| Units     |
+-----------+

5.1 Sainthood
  Jeanne
  Jeanne, the young leader of SAINTHOOD, saw divine visions of Heavenly Angel Garpio since the age of four. She dedicates her young, beautiful life to defend the Sanctuary and restore the broken world. As revealed by Garpio in her dream, Jeanne has to collect the Seven Holy Treasures in order to open "The Gate of the New Universe." 
  With her Holy Prayer, Jeanne can easily heal the wounds and agony of Sainthood warriors after every fierce battle. It is this great power of Faith that has summoned numerous heroes from every corner of the Realm to join this last crusade.

  Gladiator
  Gladiators are brave fighters who volunteered to defend the Sanctuary with their own lives. They are the basic infantry of Sainthood, and they carry a Long Sword as their sole weapon.

  Dwarf
  The Dwarves, a race of mutants created by the post-war radiation, had no religious belief at first. For security, the Dwarves allied with the Sainthood centuries ago, and the two tribes finally merged into one. An army of skilled Axe-throwers, Dwarves are ideal warriors for both offense and defense.

  Cleric
  Clerics are brothers in the Order of Sainthood. Although they're able to attack enemies with Magic Missiles, the major role for Clerics is not at the battle front, but instead to cure wounded fellow warriors with holy prayers.

  Knight
  Knights are the elite cavalry in the Sainthood army, forming all-around combat units, with both melee attack (Sword) and missile weapon (Flaming Arrow) capabilities. Their rides, which add to their high mobility, are their only weakness: when a Knight's hit points are lowered to less than 50%, his horse dies and the Knight becomes a common Gladiator.

  Errant
  The regiment of experienced mercenaries is led by Errant the Swordmaster, hired by the Sainthood for a very high price. These mercenaries are so powerful that they can hurt other friendly units when fighting together, so it is best to use them to carry out solo assault missions. Errant has two attacking styles: in distant range, he can generate Blade Wind towards enemies by slashing the air with his Giant Sword; in melee combat, once he has chosen his target, he can hover above the ground at high-speed to hunt it down. 

  Archbishop
  Archbishops are the Elders of the Order of Sainthood. For thousands of years they have researched and mastered the ancient, secret spells from the Holy Scrolls. Considered as the most powerful magic users on earth, Archbishops can summon Ares, the mighty Warrior Angels to join the crusade. Archbishops can also cast the Shield of the Illuminated to protect themselves or friendly units, and they can heal others with their prayers (as Clerics can).

  Ares
  Ares are the Guardian Angels of the Gate of Heaven, who come to the Earth as requested by Jeanne to join Sainthood's Crusade against all evils. These winged messengers from the sky, with their unstoppable attacks of Divine Lightning Spheres, let their enemies experience what the "Punishment of God" really is.
  Ares can only be summoned by Archbishops. Since they are divine beings who do not belong to this world, they cannot be directly commanded by the Sainthood. And these Warrior Angels can only be summoned to appear for a short period of time, due to the limited spiritual energy of Archbishops.

  Woodman
  Woodmen are the citizens of Sainthood, true believers and skilled harvesters who collect wood to help expand the Sanctuary.

5.2 Bloodsucker

  Dracula
  Vlad Dracula the 34th was once the noblest noble of all lands. But he betrayed the Path of Light and gained eternal life from the evil ancient rite of Vampirism, to wait for the reincarnation of his lost love, Carmillar. This ruthless Prince organized his army of BLOODSUCKER from the condemned souls of his victims, bringing unspeakable horror to Earth for thousands of years.
Dracula can regenerate his life energy by attacking and draining blood from his prey, or he can morph into the form of a bat to increase his mobility. The Prince of Darkness can also recover his magic power rapidly by sleeping in his own Coffin. Hunting down this Undead Prince is considered the hardest task on Earth.

  Zombie
  Merely dead bodies carrying evil spirits, Zombies are the puppet soldiers created by Vampiric Black Magic. Zombies use claws and broken ribs to assault their prey, and possess the ability of tunneling to help them hunt.

  Humpback
  The faithful servants of the Dracula Family, Humpbacks were granted eternal lives by their master. As a strong defense force, Humpbacks attack with Crossbows disguised as candlesticks, which shoot black magic arrows that can track down moving enemies.

  Headless
  Headless is the poor victim of Dracula. He tried to rescue his lover (Vampirella) from the Dark Prince, and ended up being decapitated. This lance-wielding rider is highly mobile, and when any Vampirella is killed, he will immediately go berserk, charging toward enemies in a temporarily invisible form. His damaging power and hit points will both increase during this berserk state.

  Vampirella
  Vampirella is the concubine of Dracula the Vampire, and can turn into invisible form when going out for an attack. If an enemy unit is killed and the final, fatal blow is made by Vampirella, the dead body will become her slave. This animated dead body is very weak when raised, but after a while it can fully recover its hit points (for one time only), and serves as the slave soldier of Bloodsucker.
 
  Vampire
  Henchmen of Dracula and Lieutenants of the Dark Army, Vampires bear the same blood of their master. Thus they possess the same super-natural abilities: drawing life energy from their prey; morphing into the form of a bat; and self-recovering in their coffins.

  Deadsoul
  Deadsouls are the new Black Magic invented by Dracula. The restless souls of Bloodsucker's victims, controlled by the Evil Force, they wander around every night searching for targets. Once an enemy is met, a Deadsoul will hide inside his/her shadow. The attached Deadsoul won't do any harm, until that enemy makes an attack on someone else; the Deadsoul will suddenly jump out from the shadow and punish that attacker correspondingly with its Dark Sickle. An attached Deadsoul will never leave until its poor prey is dead.

  Giant Bat
  The ultimate monster summoned by Vampires, a Giant Bat is simply fearful. It has high aerial mobility, powerful teeth and great endurance. The sole weakness is that it can only exist for a short period of time, due to the limited magical power of Vampires.

  Slaver
  Slavers are the poor slaves of Bloodsucker, who come out from dark jails to harvest wood for the Army of Darkness.

5.3 Animalizer

  Yahoo
  Yahoo, the adopted human child of the forest, has never seen his parents' faces. He grew up as the strongest and most intelligent "creature" of the wilderness and became the young leader of all wilderness beings. The ANIMALIZER, his raging troops from the wilderness, swear to take revenge on Mankind whose civilization is seriously endangering the Ecology. 
  With Throwing Torches as weapons, Yahoo's attacking power is superior to all other Alchemists.

  Werewolf
  The reproduction rate of Werewolves is so rapid that the supply of this basic infantry for the Animalizer is almost unlimited. Werewolves, with their high dexterity, have various styles of claws to attack. It's a pleasure to watch them fight.

  Centaur
  Centaurs are legendary half human, half horse monsters, all born musicians. Centaurs use poisoned darts blown from their flutes to attack enemies.

  Okypete
  Okypete, plainly the fastest flying thing in the world, is the perfect scout for the Animalizer. Apart from this ability, Okypete is just ordinary warrior, but a key element for breeding more powerful units. 

  Minotaur
  The Minotaur, the King of Endurance in the forest, will madly rage when its hit point bar is lowered to the danger (red) level. Its attacking power, speed and hit points will all be doubled at this stage.

  Unicorn
  Their high movement and attacking speed makes Unicorns a well balanced unit for the Animalizer troops. A Unicorn's long, sharp horn is especially effective at damaging buildings.

  Gryphon
  A perfect combination of the King of Forest -- the fierce Lion, and the Ruler of Sky -- the feral Hawk, Gryphons form the heavy cavalry of Animalizer in the air. In fast assaults on enemy base or close-range skirmishes, Gryphons just deliver.

  Chimaera
  Chimaera was once the ancient King of Mountain and Forest and the leader of the Animalizer forces. Stone-cursed by a powerful sorcerer, the Dragon of Inferno slept for thousands of years, only to be awakened by Yahoo to join the war. With his destructive Flaming Breath and ultra-protective scales, Chimaera is a living disaster. Due to his giant size, Chimaera can only fly at low altitude - he's able to cross rivers and seas, but will be blocked by buildings.

  Anima
 Animas are non-aggressive, one-eyed little animals which can hardly protect themselves. The cute Animas are merely the products of breeding failures.

  Gons
  After swallowing the glowing heart of Chimaera, Yahoo will evolve into Gons for a short period. Gons is the Ultimate Creature with uncontested power over all Nature.
  (Gons only appears in the Animalizer: Episode 6) 

  Ape
  This strong species takes the job of collecting materials from the forest to build caves for other creatures of the Animalizer.

5.4 Scientific Myth

  Dr. Gate
  The brilliant scientist Dr. Gate took his research subjects to the extreme, finally creating the Ecology Re-design Project (ERP). This plan was designed to mend the imperfect world with his inventions, including Cybotic Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Engineering. Deep in the desert he commands a vast Cyborg Force, the SCIENTIFIC MYTH, packing a wide range of hi-tech weapons. 
  Though born with his legs disabled, Dr. Gate designed for himself a highly mobile Caterpillar Track Seat and thus can move more swiftly on land than any other Alchemist.

  Victor
  Victor was the No.1 prototype of Dr. Gate's cybotic experiment, and forms the fundamental infantry of Scientific Myth. It has not been improved since its creation, in order to keep the production cost low.

  Rocket
  The light-weight Robot Walker armed with double 20mm Machine-guns serves as the basic anti-human weapon of Scientific Myth. Their computerized aiming system is not quite accurate enough, and firing at friendly units is a common thing for the Rocket. However, comparing its damaging power and manufacturing cost, it's not a bad choice for assault missions.

  Bomber
  This high-speed hover car has no direct attacking power. Instead it places nuclear timed bombs to trap enemy units or demolish targeted structures. Thanks to the destructive power and wide damaging range of the explosion, the Bomber is a double-edged dagger which must be used with extreme care - it can easily hurt friendly units or even itself in chaotic situations. 

  Roller
  Nicknamed "The Wheel of Death", this is arguably the most terrible weapon on land, with the power to crush any enemy into pieces in split seconds. Its only weakness is its lack of mobility, especially the rotating movement. This problem easily exposes its weak tail part, the engine louvers.

  Tanktop
  The Tanktop is a purely defensive weapon that has zero mobility but decisive firepower. The chains of long-range, high-velocity guided-missiles fired from a Tanktop are just like poison stings of killer bees, chasing the targets till they turn into ashes.

  Helieer
  Helieers are the key member of the 3-dimensional tactics of the Scientific Myth. Helieers mainly serve as air transport: either fast drop of ground combat units deep into vital areas of enemy bases, or bringing back damaged units for repairing.

  Matter
  With the precious liquid metal M11, Dr. Gate designed the next generation of cybotic soldier, Matter, which is able to morph its appearance into anything of roughly equal size - including enemy units - and gives Scientific Myth an extreme advantage on spying and assassination missions. There is a sole weakness of Matter - it will lose its camouflage and recover its original form (a silver sexy gel) as soon as it attacks.

  Worker
  With a design of few mechanical functions, this kind of robot only serves as harvester of necessary materials for the Scientific Myth.

5.5 MaskEvil

  Medusa
  The little girl Medusa lost her parents when her hometown was assaulted and burnt down by ruthless bandits. Hatred and fear took control of her young mind, and the only escape was her own imagination. She transformed into the seductive but lethal queen of MASKEVIL, a band of strange characters generated from her imaginary dimension. She decided to bring total destruction to the real world she hated so much.
  Medusa's Spinning Strike, as elegant as ballet, has the effect of knocking back most opponents and makes her safe from their attacks.

  Scarecrow (M)
  One of the worst villains, Scarecrows actually come from famous ancient comics. They're not a powerful kind of soldier, but their special regenerating ability makes them very annoying to enemies: when being defeated, a Scarecrow will turn into a pile of wheat, and soon be regenerated to attack again for several times before being finally destroyed. The only enemy that is not affected by this power is the Animalizer: the beasts will just eat those remains of Scarecrows and make it impossible for them to regenerate.

  Pumpkin (M)
  It's Halloween Time! The cute-looking Pumpkins are as wicked as their smile: at closer range, they love to throw their Sickles at enemies. When enemies are further away, Pumpkins will decapitate themselves, and throw their heads instead, which are even more powerful.

  Joker
  Joker's "Bubble-gum Strike", which can knock enemies back, is best for disrupting the formation of opponents. The Joker can also produce Dummies of himself to distract and cheat on enemies.

  Psycho
  Psycho is exactly that notorious guy from a B-grade horror movie! A mere sight of this murderer will be terrifying enough: the ice-hockey mask; knives stabbed in his back; and don't forget the roaring chainsaw in his hand. Psycho's attack is as crazy as he looks, and both the damaging power and hit points of Psycho are top-class.

  Hex
  This broom-riding naughty witch is nightmare for enemies of the MaskEvil. In addition to the powerful Magical Lightning-balls, Hex can also cast Thunderstorms above enemies' heads. These storms will follow the victims for quite a period of time and drains their hit points.

  Magician
  Don't let his obesity or the comical clothing fools you. Magician is truly the Ultimate Weapon of the Maskevil, whose Fireworks Spell can wipe out one whole enemy base in an instant. Magician can also cast the powerful giant Rabbit to help defending. 

  Rabbit
  Cast by the Magician, Rabbit is a giant lump of marshmallow in the shape of the cute little animal. Due to the nature of its body, Rabbit can easily 'bounce' its enemies away while attacking, makes it an excellent kind of defending unit.

  Butcher
  Butchers are the only members of MaskEvil who really work everyday: they harvest the materials for expansion.

5.6 Wanderers

  Ninja
  Ranzu Mizuka, the 466th generation successor of the secret Mizuka-ryu Ninjutsu (The ancient Japanese art of assassination and spying), is an expert of Shuriken (Throwing Stars) and Katana (Japanese Long Sword). The only Ninja left on the Earth, Ranzu can teleport himself to attack opponents at the least expected location. 

  Tatlion
  Tatlion, the High Master of Tibetan Buddhist Sorcery, has only one hobby: searching for rare, precious treasures from the post-war ancient era. Tatlion attacks by throwing his beads, which use attached spells to absorb life energy from enemies while replenishing his own. Tatlion can also teleport himself, just as Ninja can. (Tatlion only appears in the Sainthood: Episode 7)

  Strugella
  As the last disciple of the art of Black Magic, Strugella can summon Evil Ravens from Hell, and use them as throwing weapons against enemies. At close range, Strugella masters the deadly move called "Iron Feather." Its high speed spinning slashes are so rapid that enemies never have a chance to counter. (Strugella only appears in the Bloodsucker: Episode 7.)

  Elf
  A Wanderer of unknown origin, the Elf carries a mysterious big bag which contains lots of post-war treasures. Every time the Elf is being attacked, he will drop some of his treasures down in order to escape. Hunting him down and picking up the treasures along the way can drastically increase your Mana value.

  Saturn
  Saturn was the No.1 prototype of Dr. Gate's Liquid Metal Cyborg Project, which was declared a failure due to instability. Saturn uses Throwing Hats as a weapon, and can also morph into the shape of a panther to increase mobility. (Saturn only appears in the Animalizer: Episode 7)

5.7 Mutated Beasts

  Snowman
  The semi-intelligent creature from the Winterland was originally a peaceful species, but became aggressive after being irritated by the greedy human.

  Rockman
  Affected by the Black Magical Power of the Bloodsucker, rocks in the Highland become alive and bring havoc in the mountains.

  Treeman
  The Black Magical Power of the Bloodsucker brings life to the trees in the Highland and turns them into aggressive creatures.
 
  Big Worm
  Worms underneath Earth absorbed radiation from the nuclear disaster and grew into these giant, fierce creatures.

  Dragon Plant
  These tropical plants, affected by the radiation, mutated into predatory flora, becoming a major hazard in the forest.

  Scorpio
  Grown into giant size thanks to the radioactive pollution, these insects are 100 times more dangerous than their poisonous ancestors.

  Beholder
  The origin of this strange single-eyed monster is totally unknown. It appears frequently in the volcanic area because of its weak resistance to cold temperatures.

  Eight-head
  The radioactive pollution caused rearrangement of a snake's genes and generated this kind of fearful monster - a giant snake with 8 heads. It's hard to kill since it can still be perfectly alive even though 7 of its heads are lost. 

¡@


+-------------------------------------------+
| Section 6                                 |
| Bugs report and how to contact Warp Power |
+-------------------------------------------+

E-mail (preferred) to: warppow@warppower.com.hk
or FAX to: 852 2542 2812


