S.D.I. (Strategic Defence Initiative) Typed by THE TWINS of DEFCON INTRODUCTION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A revolution in the Soviet Union. With the U.S. close to completing SDI and rendering nuclear weapons obsolete, hard-liners in the Soviet military establishment stage a revolt. They are afraid, obsessed with the paranoid idea that the U.S. will use SDI to bring Russia to her knees. Before the military uprising, the KGB had joined the generals in pressuring Soviet leaders to launch a missile strike. Unless the Soviet Union attacked the U.S. first, they argued--before America finished deploying its protec- tive umbrella of satellites--the capitalists would use nuclear blackmail to force Soviet compliance with any "American whim." Responsible government leaders refused to listen. The rebellion is now under way. First, the KGB-led fanatics took control of Russian spaceports and offensive missile sites. Revolutionary troops are also advancing on Moscow. The government has appealed to the U.S. for help, at the same time warning our leaders of possible missile strikes and space actions launched by the revolutionaries. The Soviet leaders pledge full cooperation, ordering their space station commander, Natalya Kazarian, to work closely with Sloan McCormick, commanding officer of the U.S. orbital forces. The two have worked together before. PLAYER ROLE: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ SDI is a science-fiction adventure that takes you into orbit some 30 years in the future. You're Sloan McCormick, commander of the American SDI force, about to confront KGB-led revolutionaries bent on starting--and winning-- World War III. How can you prevent global destruction? To defeat the Soviet renegades, you'll fly a spaceship, operate a space station, shoot missiles out of the sky, combat revolutionaries and work with an old friend. An old Russian friend. The commander of the Soviet space station, Natalya Kazarian, is holding out against the militant fanatics on orders from her government, which is still in power--barely--at the Kremlin. As the U.S. space commander, you have a five-part objective: 1. Detroy all KGB attack fighters. 2. Defend America from missile strikes. 3. Repair all damaged S.D.I. satellites. 4. When the Russian station is overthrown (Natalya will call for help) you must at least attempt a rescue. 5. After leaving the Russian station, repair the remaining damaged satellites and finish off the enemy fighters. Your first goal should be mastering the controls of your starfighter. Fly the ship anywhere in Earth orbit, circling the globe with full thrusters just for the fun of it, blasting Russian attack ships into space dust. Docking with the U.S. space station, you can go to the bridge through the airlock and ac- cess SDI control screens to defend America against Russian missile attacks. You can also use the ship to repair or deploy new SDI satellites. SHIP CONTROLS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fly the starfighter anywhere in Earth orbit, docking with either of the two space stations. Use the ship to track down and destroy KGB ships as they enter orbit. Fly out to replace SDI satellites as they are destroyed by the Russian ships. * In the ship, your joystick allows you to guide your craft and fire her weapons. * To change course, push LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN. * To increase speed, type "+" (for lamers: plus sign). * To decrease speed, type "-" (minus sign). * To fire weapons, press the joystick button. IN THE SHIP: ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The lower left corner on the screen : Speed Indicator. The lower right corner on the screen : Shield Status. The lower middle on the screen : Fuel Gauge. The upper left corner on the screen : Incoming Message Indicator. The upper middle on the screen : Short Range Scanner (Radar)/Com Screen. The upper right corner on the screen : Computer Activated Countdown Timer. INSTRUMENT PANEL: accessed from your keyboard. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * M When the white message light is blinking, press "m" to view the incoming message. * D Press "d" to engage/disengage docking mode. With docking mode engaged, a red square will appear in the main view screen. Maneuver your ship with the joystick to center one of the two stations inside the "dock- ing target." (The U.S. and Soviet stations will show up as dark black dots on your radar.) Press the joystick button to initiate the compu- ter aided docking sequence. Press the "d" key again to return to fir- ing mode. * S The long range scanner constantly updates relative positions on a world map,and can be accessed from your starfighter or the U.S. station. Your fighter will be displayed as a small white triangle. Enemy fighter squadrons are in yellow. Rotate your fighter clockwise or counter-clockwise by tapping the joy- stick to the right or left. Your ship will move in the direction it's pointing. Accessing the scanner will return your fighter to the proper altitude for docking and satellite repair. Exit the scanner by pushing your button. * R Damaged satellites will show up as small blinking dots on your ships radar, and will blink on your main view screen as well. Press "r" to call up the repair mode. Center the damaged satellite inside your green repair target and press the joystick button. Disengage repair mode by pressing "r". COMPUTER AIDED DOCKING SEQUENCE: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Once you've successfully completed the docking mode sequence, a green screen representation of the station's docking port will be displayed. Use your dock- ing computer to guide the fighter into your docking bay. * To steer, push the joystick LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN. * The ship will accelerate toward the station automatically. To slow down, press the joystick button to fire braking rockets. * If you're not centered or are moving too quickly the docking will be aborted. * If you miss the docking bay the first time, steer your ship back around for another attempt. * When docking is completed successfully you have the opportunity to re- fuel, recharge your shields and make repairs. Move the cursor to the words highlighted in red and push your button. * To enter the station select ENTER AIRLOCK. * To return to combat choose DISENGAGE. SPACE STATION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. space station is your base. Here you may access the orbital scanner to view the strategic situation, check on the status of the satellite arrray, and use SDI to defend the U.S. against missile attacks. After docking with the station, you pass through the airlock and take your po- sition at the command console. To access a screen display move the arrow cur- sor over the screen of your choice and press the joystick button. To return your ship, move the cursor over your character (standing in the center of the screen) and press your button. An elevator will take you to the airlock. MISSILE DEFENSE: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The SDI control screen is accessed from the space station bridge. (See SPACE STATION.) The computer countdown timers located in your fighter and the U.S. station will begin counting down from two minutes. If you're engaged in combat a warning message will be relayed to you from your second-in-command, First Lieutenant Andrew Bowman. You have TWO MINUTES before the enemy missiles reach U.S. airspace. Novice pilots should head back to the station immediately! (Allowing time for several attempts at docking, etc.) Experienced pilots will repair any damaged satellites and remain in combat until the last possible se- cond, once inside the station there's no way to interrupt attacking KGB figh- ters, leaving your satellite system vulnerable to attack! (Be sure to leave enough time for refueling and repairs as these functions take a little time.) When missiles no longer appear over the world map, move the cursor to the word EXIT (you'll find it in the lower left corner of the screen) and press your joystick button to continue. * Target the inbounds by moving your cursor to the end of the missiles arc and pressing the joystick button. The following information will be displayed: PRIMARY SATELLITE STATUS (functional or damaged) MISSILE DESTINATION (an American city) SATELLITE NUMBER MISSILE COORDINATES Quickly press the button to continue. * Now the screen prompts you for PRIMARY or SECONDARY satellite sequen- cing. Move the joystick right for PRIMARY or left to select SECONDARY. * Next, choose FULL BEAM or PULSE by tapping the joystick right or left. * When the missile appears in your view screen, target it with the cursor and fire! S.D.I. SPECS: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PRIMARY - Selects the primary satellite for sequencing. SECONDARY - If the primary satellite is damaged you MUST choose secondary at the prompt. If you fail to do so your advanced particle beam weapon will misfire! (Secondary sequencing makes the missiles much more difficult to target and destroy. So be sure to keep your satellites repaired!) FULL BEAM - Discharges a single, powerful beam. This makes targeting the missle easier, and increases your chances of detroying it. If you miss, you can IMMEDIATELY move the cursor up to the world map and target another inbound. PULSE - Recommended with secondary sequencing. Pulse mode allows multi- ple shots, but makes targeting more difficult. LENIN DEFENSE STATION: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the Soviet V.I. Lenin Defense Station is under attack, its commander may request help. Set your course for the station (see SCANNER) and dock with it as described under COMPUTER AIDED DOCKING SEQUENCE. Once inside, you'll have to fight your way through the enemy guards that have stormed the station. * In each room, shoot as many guards as you can by aiming the crosshairs and pressing the fire button. Timing is critical! You must hit the guards before they have a chance to fire. (There is a 50% chance they will hit you. If they get a shot off, the screen will change to a side view, allowing you to see the results.) * When you are ready to risk their fire and run to the next room, move the crosshairs over the word "RUN" in the lower left corner of the screen and push your button. Every guard remaining has a 50% chance of hitting you with laser fire. (It's possible to shoot ALL the guards before you run... if you have time. The timer at the top of the screen shows you the time remaining.)