Destruction Zone Manual
Version 1.3b
Copyright (c) 1992, 1993, 1994 Julian Cochran
ABOUT THE GAME
Destruction Zone is a science fiction tank war game. It requires a VGA card
and will run on any PC/AT machine. Although written for a 486, D-Zone runs at
a similar speed on slower computers by lowering the detail of movement. To play
on faster machines, a program that slows down the computer may be required.
DESTRUCTION ZONE - THE REAL GAME
Somewhere near the centre of our galaxy lies an enormous dark station. From
time to time, a group of challengers travel out to the station to turn on the
lights, transforming the 'Dark Zone' into the 'Destruction Zone'.
The station has three levels of different sizes. Each level is large in area,
but the ceiling lies only a few metres above the floor. It is the battle field
for the most famous war game in the galaxy.
A series of triangular tanks essentially made up of three huge cylinders, are
teleported into the zone and hover in their positions, repelled from the floor
and ceiling by strong electric forces. The liquid fuel of each tank can be seen
splashing around in the inside of each cylinder and by looking closely inside,
a few cables and tubes are also visible. Due to the radioactive fuels used each
tank softly radiates a unique colour.
As the Destruction Zone becomes even brighter, the tanks start to move. The
first round has begun. The tank controllers switch between a range of weapons,
blasting their foes in all directions.
As time passes, the tanks glow dimmer, for they are all low on weapon fuel.
They wait in corners, absorbing the Zone light until they glow brighter, and
then they launch another attack.
When a tank has taken too much damage, it is teleported out of the Zone with
the unharmed controller, so everyone lives to play another game. From all
around the galaxy, the D-Zone enthusiasts are waiting for the next score-board
update.
Every three rounds, competitors are allowed to spend their hard-earned money
in the Destruction Zone Shop, where advanced weaponry and special tools can be
purchased for a suitable price. Membership discounts are available.
Sometimes there are not enough willing to play the game which is why robot
tanks are often required. The robots all have different personalities, and
combat standards, and some are even a challenge for highly ranked D-Zoners.
This game is a simulation of the game described above, with each tank being
represented by a three point vector image, and controlled using a combination
of six different keys: Forwards, backwards, turn left, turn right, change
weapon, and fire. The background is generated randomly at the beginning of each
round and the Destruction Zone is viewed from above.
Most of the game is easy to work out without any instructions, so the rest
of this manual only contains information about what each key does, the scoring
system, and a description of each shop item and robot tank.
KEYS USED IN THE OPTION SCREEN
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CURSOR KEYS | | Change hi-lighted box. |
RETURN or SPACEBAR | | Toggle information in box. |
To select a human player, move the hi-light to player 1 box and press RETURN
until a cursor appears in the box. Now enter name and press RETURN once more.
The 'rounds' can also be changed quickly using the PgUp, PgDn, + and - keys.
It is important to know which box corresponds to which player:
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PLAYERS x | | PLAYER 1 | | PLAYER 4 | |
ROUNDS xx | | PLAYER 2 | | PLAYER 5 | |
HOSTILE MODE | | PLAYER 3 | | PLAYER 6 |
Only the first three players can be controlled from the keyboard. The keys
for each player are shown below, but may be re-defined by running SETUP.EXE
KEYS USED IN SHOPPING SCREEN
|
CURSOR KEYS | | Change hi-lighted box. | |
RETURN or SPACEBAR | | Buy a weapon, end shopping, abort game, save current
game, or load a different game. For loading or saving
if 'enter' is pressed twice without typing the file
name, the file 'UNKNOWN' is used. | |
PAGE UP or HOME | | View information on the current item. If the cursor
does not move for a few seconds, the item information
is requested automatically. |
CONTROLLING THE TANK (default keys)
|
PLYR 1 | PLYR 2 | PLYR 3 | ACTION |
UP | W | P | Move forward | |
DOWN | X | / | Move backwards | |
LEFT | A | L | Rotate towards the left | |
RIGHT | D | ' | Rotate towards the right | |
PAGE UP | E | [ | Change weapon | |
HOME | Q | O | Fire current weapon | |
END | Z | . | Rotate turret towards the left (if installed) | |
PAGE DOWN | C | SHIFT | Rotate turret towards the right | |
CENTRE | S | ; | Centre (de-activate) the turret |
If you want to end the round press ESC. This is used when computer players
become stuck after all human players are out. By pressing ESC, the remaining
players receive a predicted score and money bonus depending on the amount of
weapon energy and shield energy each tank has. Living human players are
assumed to be destroyed when ESC is pressed, so they get no bonus. Only use
this quitting option to quickly get to the shopping menu to save the game or
when the robots are taking too long to finish the round.
SETUP.EXE - CHANGING TANK CONTROLS
You may find the default tank controls to be rather awkward, in which case
you should re-define them (for any of the players) using SETUP.
Do not be afraid to change the settings in SETUP, after all, hitting RETURN
through any of the questions results in a return to the default settings.
Game options that can be changed in SETUP.EXE are:
1) Re-defining tank control keys.
2) Specifying which D-Zone to use - there are three sizes.
3) Choosing the kind of sound to be used.
4) Registering the game, to remove message at start.
5) Altering game speed.
6) Allowing game to double in speed when only robot tanks remain.
7) Choosing type of robot that can take over your controls.
8) Rotating tank colours from tank to tank.
SCORING
TANK POINTS - TEAMS MODE AND HOSTILE MODE
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KILLING A TANK: | | 3 points |
DAMAGING A TANK: | | 1 point for every unit of damage done
(up to 40 points) |
A tank takes 40 units of damage to be destroyed, so 43 points can be
earned for a complete kill. Hitting a tank with good armour means that
each hit does less damage, so each hit must also earn a lower score. For
this reason it is best to pick on the tanks with poor armour first, to
get the most out of your weapon energy.
In team mode, additional tank points are earned for firing at the enemy
jewel. This means that it is a good idea to fire at the jewel while it is
slowing down, after all the enemy tanks have been destroyed.
TEAM POINTS - TEAMS MODE ONLY
A team receives 1 point for every unit of damage done to the enemy's
jewel - up to 50 points. A jewel continually receives damage after all
members of the team are out. No team points are earned for destroying or
damaging tanks, although tank points are still obtained this way. The
team leader is the player who has the highest tank score. Tank points are
lost for firing at members of the same team.
GETTING MONEY
Ten credits are received for every unit of damage done, either to tanks
or jewels, so a maximum of 400 credits can be earned for destroying a
tank and 500 credits for completely destroying a jewel.
THE STATISTICS BOARD
The statistics board is shown every 15 rounds, at the end of the game, or
when 's' is pressed from the score-board. The information is mostly self
explanatory. The 'hit-fire ratio' represents the firing efficiency, hence
a low value is given to the players who use low-damage weapons or often
miss the target. The 'current weapon' shows a number beside the weapon
name which is the amount of times that weapon can be fired before it runs
out. Note that you can still select the 'current weapon' after your tank
has been destroyed in order to find out how many charges it has left.
The rest of the statistical information should not need explaining.
INFORMATION ON ITEMS
There are three different types of items: TANKS, WEAPONS, and TOOLS. The
prices move up and down with the player's ranking, in an attempt to keep the
game more even. All the prices given below assume that the buyer has the
average score of all the tanks.
Sometimes some of the special weapons do not seem to be worth the money, but
they were all put into the game for a reason - it may simply require a bit
of imagination to use some of them effectively. The descriptions given may
contain some useful ideas.
TANKS
Each tank has four attributes: Speed (forwards and backwards), rotational
speed, armour and size. Upgrades for rotation, speed, and armour can be
bought for the same price as the tank. If you have bought upgrades for
a tank and then buy a new tank, the upgrades are NOT carried across to
the new tank. When buying a tank, consider its potential attributes (with
everything upgraded) aswell as the set attributes.
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STANDARD TANK | | This is the tank that all players begin with. It has
a slow turning rate and is the largest tank of all.
This tank is unlisted for wealthy players.
The number in brackets is the value after an upgrade
has been bought. SH-shield, ROT-rotation, SP-speed.
SH 3(4) ROT 4(6) SP 2(3) Price: 1000
| |
ROTRA I | | This 'Rotation Tank' was the first non-standard tank
used for D-Zone combat. It has a much better rate of
rotation and has improved armour.
SH 4(6) ROT 6(9) SP 2(3) Price: 1850
| |
ROTRA II | | The compact version of the ROTRA I was designed for
even better manoeuvrability. This tank is a good
alternative to the larger tanks. It has very poor
armour and relies on a skillful controller to dodge
all the missiles.
SH 2(3) ROT 8(12) SP 3(4) Price: 2450
| |
OPEC I | | The expensive OPEC series were designed for faster
velocity while maintaining good rotations speeds. It
has fairly good armour, and very good attribues when
fully upgraded.
SH 4(6) ROT 6(9) SP 3(4) Price: 3400
| |
OPEC II | | A high price is required for the OPEC II - slightly
smaller than the original OPEC, with better armour
and a faster turning rate.
SH 5(7) ROT 7(10) SP 3(4) Price: 4750
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WEAPONS:
Each tank has seven weapon ports, used for different purposes, and each
weapon occupies a particular port. The first port is always used for the
front fire weapons, the second port for Blasters, and so on.
When a new weapon is purchased, a '10' appears in the right of the window
This means that the weapon can be fired 10*10 times. The same weapon can
be bought up to 9 times, giving a maximum of 900 fires.
Be careful when buying new weapons. New weapons replace any number of old
weapons of the same port without warning. Use the PAGE UP key before you
buy any new weapon, or you may be replacing an even better weapon.
DESCRIPTIONS:
PORT 1 (Front Fire)
WEAPON
| | DAMAGE | | ENERGY | | PRICE | | DESCRIPTION | |
MISSILE (MISIL) | | 4 | | 4 | | 2 | |
This is the weapon that all tanks start with. It is
sometimes bought as a low priced backup weapon, and
its ability is often underestimated, considering the
negligable price. [Unlisted for wealthy players].
| |
DOUBLE MISSILE (DOUBL) | | 6 | | 4 | | 100 | |
Improve the power of the standard missile without
using any more energy. The low price makes this a
good weapon for saving money.
| |
TRIPLE MISSILE (TRIPL) | | 9 | | 5 | | 600 | |
The Triple Missile is the next step after the Double
Missile. Due to its slow speed and high damage, this
weapon is best used for close range combat.
| |
BEAM LASER (LASER) | | 6 | | 6 | | 150 | |
Like all the low priced weapons, it is a good idea
to get used to using the Beam Laser. Although the
expensive weapons may do more damage, you are not
necessarily making more money for every unit of
damage done -> Master the low priced weapons.
| |
POWER LASER (POWER) | | 12 | | 6 | | 1650 | |
Power Lasers fire two Beam Lasers while using up the
energy of only one. It should be used for aiming at
a specific enemy rather than whomever is closest.
| |
TRI-STRIKER (STRIK) | | 18 | | 6 | | 3350 | |
The Tri Striker is extremely efficient, but requires
great aiming skills when used in long range firing -
the primary purpose for this weapon. |
PORT 2 (Blasters)
BLASTER 90/23 The blasters use the 'double fire' system, where the
(BLAST) 650 first fire sends out the warhead and the second fire
breaks the warhead up into a group of missiles. The
warheads break up automatically when they hit a wall
or the tank. The best way to use blasters is to fire
at the side of the tank rather. Even then, only half
the maximum damage is done on average.
GUIDE BLASTER 90/28 A blaster with a guided warhead, suitable for the
(G.BST) 1200 desperate situation when there's no time for careful
aiming, or for those who are simply bad at aiming.
BLAST GUIDER 70/34 The opposite effect to the GUIDE BLASTER. The BLAST
(B.GUI) 2500 GUIDER is a normal warhead that breaks into a group
of very effective guided missiles. In open spaces,
maximum damage can easily be obtained, making this a
a very good value for money weapon.
NUKE BLASTER 168/40 This is the big version of the standard Blaster. It
(N.BST) 3400 only takes two or three, and sometimes only one good
hit to completely destroy a fully shielded tank.
Since the weapon is not fired many times, it ends up
being very good value, but must be aimed carefully.
Also, aim at the side of the tank, not at the head.
SWIRL BLASTER 48/20 On second firing, the warhead will split into six
(S.BST) 3800 swirlers, each doing eight units of damage.
PORT 3 (Surprise Attack)
REAR DOUBLE 8/5 Two missiles are fired parallel out from the rear of
(REAR2) 130 the tank. The weapon makes a good surprise attack,
and has a strangely low price considering the damage
damage it does. Because of this, many like to fire
ir from the front of the tank using a TURRET.
REAR GUIDED 8/5 The REAR GUIDED releases two guided missiles from
(GREAR) 650 the rear, each doing four units of damage. Very good
for attacking while being chased.
REAR CHAOS 14/5 Miniature guiders are released from the rear of the
(CHAOS) 1000 tank to destroy pursuing enemies. The missiles will
die after a short period, so this weapon is only for
short range attacks. It can be used in a variety of
interesting ways.
TELEPORT FOE 0/4 This forces the nearest tank to be teleported to a
1600 random location. It is useful for escaping a closing
tank, or for separating two tanks in close combat
which are wasting your 'potential points'.
REAR TRIPLE 15/6 The REAR TRIPLE is the improved version of the REAR
(REAR3) 2200 DOUBLE, doing nearly twice the damage for a similar
use of energy. A good alternative to the TRI STRIKER
when used on the front with a TURRET.
PORT 4 (Special Front Fire)
TRI BREAKER 21/12 A great starting weapon due to a very high damage
(T.BRK) 250 per unit cost. On second firing the missile splits
up into three, each able to do 7 units of damage. An
effective way to use BREAKER weapons is to make a
direct hit, at which point the warhead breaks up.
GUIDED 6/6 This is the basic guided missile. It only requires
(GUIDE) 400 approximate aiming to hit the target. Since it has a
poor damage/energy ratio, guided missiles are only
valuable to the unskilled players.
QUINT BREAKER 30/12 These work the same way as the Tri Breakers, except
(Q.BRK) 1350 releasing five missiles instead of three, each doing
six units of damage - good value for money.
QUINT GUIDER 30/20 The Quint Guider is identical to the Quint Breaker
(Q.GUI) 2250 except that it produces guided missiles, and uses up
more weapon power.
OCTO BREAKER 48/16 The OCTO BREAKER is the next level up from the QUINT
(O.BRK) 4000 BREAKER. It will only take two or three good hits to
destroy any tank. Because of the high price, the
players must be careful not to miss their target.
SPARK FIENDS 16/9 Although the damage does not seem as high as other
(SPARK) 5400 weapons, the fact that the SPARK FIENDS never miss
their target makes this weapon one of the best. It
has been put in the game, not for making money, but
for quickly killing off rivals before they can score
any points.
PORT 5 (Aggressive Defence)
SWIRLER 8/3 A missile is released which swirls around the tank.
(SWIRL) 225 Swirlers are usually fired in large numbers to get
rid of touching or chasing tanks. The SWIRLER has a
particularly high damage/price ratio. A useful skill
for destroying a single robot is to circle it while
firing many swirlers, especially with a fast tank.
ELECTRO BUDS 15/4 Three slow moving missiles are released, each with a
(ELECT) 800 guiding system. When fired in large numbers they can
act as a 'deadly mist'.
NORMAL BOMB 100/25 The bombs are usually used against robot tanks since
(NBOMB) 500 they have poor skills for avoiding them. The idea is
to have the tank move right over the bomb when it is
detonated, where two or three hits will usually
kill. Sometimes they can be dropped in a place where
the enemy is forced to move over.
DEATH BOMB 350/40 These bombs will usually destroy anything that moves
(DBOMB) 3250 them during detonation. "Pop". This is actually the
cheapest weapon available by the time all its damage
has been done (near-maximum damage can be obtained).
PORT 6 (Special Defence)
DEATH TOUCH 15/7 The tank becomes highly charged so that any touching
(TOUCH) 350 tanks will be badly damaged. The price is strangely
low, to discourage tanks from trapping one another.
DEFLECTOR 0/0 The Deflector will force all in-coming missiles to
(DEFLE) 2200 suddenly reverse direction, changing from an enemy
missile to one of your own. Although the device does
not use weapon energy, remember that excessive use
will costs money. Like many weapons, it can be used
with innovation, such converting enemy SWIRLERS or
GUIDERS to work for your own tank or detonate bombs.
ECM WIPER 0/4 The Wiper destroys every missile in the zone. It is
(WIPE) 800 usually used to aid a friend in teams mode.
CONFUSOR 0/0 Without using up any energy, this device causes all
(ECM) 480 guided missiles to ignore the tank. It is good value
but only really useful for players who are fast at
selecting different weapons.
PORT 7 (Harmless Defense)
HEALER 10/10 The Healers convert weapon energy to shield energy.
(HEAL) 350 This Healer is only used when the player has excess
weapon energy but is critically down on shields.
GLOW SHIELD 0/15 Glow shields give complete protection for just a few
(GLOW) 800 seconds. They are used for getting away from a bunch
of close fighting tanks or for attacking in safety.
The best use is to turn the shield on, move up very
close to a tank, and fire a highly damaging short
range weapon, such as the QUINT BREAKER.
FADE SHIELD 0/20 The FADE SHIELD is a cloaking device. It works by
(FADE) 1200 bending light around the tank, and then letting it
resume its original direction, effectively letting
light pass through the tank. The FADE shield lasts
twice as long as the GLOW shield.
TELEPORT SELF 0/4 This device is useful for escaping from desperate
(TELEP) 2000 situations or for freeing yourself when stuck. It
uses very little energy when its fantastic power is
considered. It can also be useful in Team mode.
TOOL DESCRIPTIONS
TOOL
| | PRICE | | DESCRIPTION | |
RED DOT | | 150 | | A red dot appears inside the tank whenever the
current weapon is not fireable. Its low price makes
it a standard add-on for most.
| |
TANK UPGRADES | | | | You can buy tank upgrades involving speed, rate of
rotation, and armour. Each upgrade costs the same
price as the tank, and it is only possible to buy
one of each upgrade per tank.
| |
SHOPPING CARD | | 2200 | | The common shoppers can buy a D-Zone discount
membership and receive all items for only 75% the
original price - a definite requirement for the long
round games.
| |
SCORE BRIBE | | 2500 | | This is normally used to convert your residual money
into points just before the end of the game.
| |
FAST RECHARGE | | 5300 | | Increases the weapon recharge rate by fifty percent.
If you have many rounds left, save up for this.
| |
FUEL UPGRADE | | 8400 | | This, the most powerful item available, will cause
any damage done by you to increase by 66%. The FUEL
UPGRADE is expensive, but when your score and money
is effectively going up by an extra 66% I'm sure you
will agree that it's worth saving for.
| |
RAPID FIRE | | 450 | | This item enables the player to fire rapidly by just
holding down the fire button. This item only affects
port 1 weapons. Ports 2 to 7 are not affected.
| |
AUTO HEAL | | 4800 | | Auto Heal allows the shields to slowly recharge, but
it is only effective for about the first half minute
of each round.
| |
LARGER DEATH | | 800 | | This allows the tank's explosion to do twenty times
more damage than usual. Enormous damage can be done
by positioning the tank side to side with the enemy,
forming a rectangle, before being destroyed.
| |
TANK TURRET | | 1400 | | Each tank may have a turret installed, which holds
all the weapon ports. It must be re-installed every
time a new tank is bought. The turrets serve many
purposes, depending on the weapon being used. Read
'Controlling Tank' to learn how to steer the turret. |
DESCRIPTION OF ROBOT TANKS
|
R1_PROTOTYPE | | These tanks are very slow thinkers and also rather
nervous, so they only dare attack the tank with the
lowest score. Don't be too hard on them.
| |
R2_AIMER | | The Aimers don't like to move around very much, but
they are good at using turrets. Aimers generally aim
for the closest tank.
| |
R3_SEEKER | | This type of robot avoids the long range fighting
style and saves all of its weapon energy for quick
kills at short range. They have a faster firing rate
than the AIMERS which makes them a dangerous enemy
when they are close. They always aim for the closest
tank.
| |
R4_HUNTER | | Only the leaders of the game should be concerned
with the Hunters. They will not even try to attack
those which it thinks are inferior. It is not very
difficult to take advantage of the Hunter's pride.
| |
R5_DESTROYER | | The Destroyers will viciously attack the closest
tank in range at all times, particularly by the use
of turrets. Because these tanks, like the Hunters,
are fairly efficient with their firing, they tend to
have a lot of credits left over at the end of a long
game, which they spend on SCORE BRIBES - so remember
to compare your credits aswell as your score with
the DESTROYER towards the end of the game.
|
SPECIAL MISSIONS
The missions are described from the SHOW MISSIONS option at the main menu. It
is up to you to set the game up (types of tanks, number of players, etc .. ) to
fit the mission description. Sometimes there is only one way to set the game up
but other missions allow more freedom and so the setup process becomes part of
the challenge, and requires your imagination.
If you succeed in any of the missions, a message such as 'mission 1 completed'
will appear on the final score-board in the colour of the corresponding tank.
Missions are not listed in any particular order. Read the descriptions very
carefully or you may miss out on a vital piece of information.
REGISTRATION
If you enjoy this game, you should get a registered version which only costs
$25. For this you will receive a password corresponding to your name that will
remove the annoying message at the start, and prevents the game from quitting
suddenly in the middle. Remember that further development to this game depends
only on how much support I get from you. So far, each letter has given me the
enthusiasm to add one or two new things to the game. Without any letters, I
wouldn't make any changes to the game, after spending about six hundred hours
planning, programming and testing.
Payers can send an extra $5 to have the latest version of D-Zone posted to
them on a 3.5" disk or emailed. I only release a few versions below the latest
publicly so the latest versions can only be obtained through myself.
If you like, include a note explaining any improvements you would wish to
see in the game, and remember to mention which version you currently have. Your
ideas may be found in the next version.
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