._______________________________________________________________________. | | (C) SmartSOFT | |\ |88888 88888 8888 8888 --------------- 888 || |'888' '888' `888 `888 oo888oo || | 888 888 .oooo. 888 888 .ooooo. .oooo. '888' .oooo. || | 88888888888 d8( '8b 888 888 d88' '88b P )88b 888 d8( '8b || | 888 888 )88888P' 888 888 888 888 .oP8888 888 )88888P' || |.888. .888. 88b .o 888 888 888. .888 d8( 888 888bd 88b .o || |88888 88888 '88888P' o888o o888o '88888888 `Y888""88 "888" '88888P' || | '888 || | --------------------------------- '88. .88P ------------------------ || | - BY DAVID WALTERS -------------- "88888' ------------------------ || \======================================================================\' Copyright SmartSOFT software, 1996/8 by David Walters. ************************************************************************ Email: dswalters@dial.pipex.com URL: http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/close/xom85/ ************************************************************************ 0... PLEASE READ THE FILE "README.TXT" FOR LOADING AND INSTALLTION INFORMATION. 1... The Story so far... 2... The Object of the game 3... Using the HELLGATE menus 4... Controlling the action 5... On Screen status information 6... Power Ups 7... Firepower and ammunition 8... Secret places 9... An eternity of crime fighting 10... Completing an area 11... Episode map 12... Credits ************************************************************************ _____________________ | THE STORY SO FAR... | ===================== It is the year 2196. You are a special operative based on the planet Neptune which was terraformed almost twenty years ago. Your current mission is to investigate the recent increase in crime in Neptune's largest city, Metroville. All clues point to the large warehouse complex on the edge of the city. You set off at once to investigate.... ________________________ | THE OBJECT OF THE GAME | ======================== Welcome to HELLGATE, a fully 3D, first-person perspective, action packed shoot-em 'up where you are the toughest special agent ever to fight crime. Your mission is to blast your way through the first episode of a robot-infested Neptune colony in hopes of saving humanity from evil criminal forces. __________________________ | USING THE HELLGATE MENUS | ========================== When you start HELLGATE, a title screen will appear asking you to enter your name. This is your user name and it will be what HELLGATE uses to distinguish you from the other users. If HELLGATE has no record of your name then it will ask you if you are sure you want to create a new user file (if you are playing from disk, make sure that it is write-enabled) When you have entered your name, you are presented with a view of your special-issue wrist computer with it's menu system. Simply select an option by clicking on it with the mouse pointer. If you're already playing a game then pressing the key will bring you back to this menu. Many of the functions can also be activated in game by pressing a function key, thus by-passing the menu altogether. To return to your game again press the key once more. NEW GAME -------- If you wan't to begin a new game from the beginning, select this option. A sub-menu will then appear asking you to select a difficulty level. Each difficulty level differs in the speed and toughness of the enemies you'll encounter. Dead Easy: This is meant for little children, and your gran. Well 'ard: Most people will find this is the best skill level to choose once they have had some experience with the game. SUICIDE: Beware the SUICIDE level of difficulty, it is definitely not suitable for inexperienced game players. LOADING AND SAVING YOUR GAME (F2 and F3) ---------------------------------------- You can save your game at any time during play. To save the game choose the option from the menu or press F2 in-game. Your game is then saved so that you can return to exactly the same point at another time. NOTE: only ONE save game is available for each user name. To load a game, simply select the option from the menu or press F3 during the game. The game is then restored to the place where you saved last. This option isn't visible if you haven't yet saved a game. MUSIC ----- This option toggles the IN-GAME music on or off. TITLE SCREEN ------------ If this option is chosen, you are asked for conformation, if you answer YES then the current game is aborted and you are taken back to the title screen so a new player can then type in their name. QUITTING HELLGATE ----------------- The QUIT option enables you to quit HELLGATE and return to the desktop. You are asked if you are sure though, just in case. ________________________ | CONTROLLING THE ACTION | ======================== The only way you can move around the levels of HELLGATE is with the mouse, however the keyboard does have it's uses, you can select between your weapons, and use some of the menu options without having to leave the action. MOUSE CONTROLS -------------- WALK FORWARD LEFT MOUSE BUTTON ^ ----------------- | Fire Selected Weapon TURN LEFT <-- --> TURN RIGHT | RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON v ------------------ WALK BACKWARDS Hold to Sidestep Don't worry if, at first, you tend to find yourself shooting walls while the monsters put the hurt on you - soon it will be you causing the pain! KEYBOARD COMMANDS AND SHORTCUTS ------------------------------- ...OPEN / UNLOCK DOOR

.......PAUSE .....MENU ......TOGGLE MUSIC ......SAVE GAME ......LOAD GAME .....QUICK EXIT WEAPON SELECTION (Main keyboard only) ------------------------------------- <1>.....PISTOL <2>.....SHOTGUN <3>.....CHAINGUN <4>.....RIFLE <5>.....ROCKET LAUNCHER ....... (Full Game only) ______________________________ | ON SCREEN STATUS INFORMATION | ============================== During the game, HELLGATE will display a bar at the bottom of the screen, showing information about your current status. Ignore it at your own risk! From left to right it reads: AMMO: In nice big numbers, this shows you the number of shots you've got left in your current weapon. HEALTH: You start out at 100%, but it won't stay there for long. At 0% it's time to start over. Try a bit harder next time. FACE: This is your mug. If you are injured, then you will begin to look like a raw steak. Use it to quickly gauge how you are doing. KEY: If you have collected a keycard, then it will be shown on the status bar to the bottom right of your face. If you open a locked door, then your key will be removed and you will need to find another one. NOTE: you can only carry one key at a time. ARMOUR: Your armour helps you out for as long as it lasts by reducing the strength of incoming shots. Keep an eye on it though, because when it's gone, you might be too. ___________ | POWER UPS | =========== There are many power-ups lying around the levels of HELLGATE, they are all pretty handy, and will often help to save your skin. To pick up an object, just walk into it, It's as simple as that. You're a smart agent, and you won't pick it up unless you need it. MEDI-PACKS ---------- These boxes of bandages, antitoxins and booster enzymes all help to make you feel much better. [ +15% Health ] ARMOUR ------ Once you have collected this light-weight kevlar body armour, the force of all incoming attacks are reduced - until it runs out!. [ +50% Armour ] INVULNERABILITY -* -* -* REGISTERED VERSION ONLY --------------- While it lasts, this artefact of unknown origin will render you immune to all damage. Pretty useful, except that your screen will turn white as a punishment for being so tough! [ Duration 15 Seconds ] WEAPONS ------- You are blessed with five means of carnage in HELLGATE and each one has it's place in your arsenal of destruction. See below for their descriptions. _________________________ | FIREPOWER AND AMMUNTION | ========================= PISTOL ------ This is the standard issue sidearm given to all agents. As you would expect from anything as basic as this, it isn't very powerful. The pistol comes equipped with fifty rounds of ammunition and it should buy you some time to find a better weapon. SHOTGUN ------- This is more like it, a decent gun! This smooth-bore combat shotgun fires a massive low-velocity shell which fragments in flight into a hail of sharp metal. The shotgun comes loaded with sixteen caseless shells. CHAINGUN -------- This is a self-loading chain fed machine-gun. It has six separate barrels which are rotated by a motor, allowing the weapon to spit out a hail of bullets which can easily tear a man-sized target apart and throw it several metres. The chaingun comes with thirty rounds of ammo. RIFLE ----- This high-velocity rifle was designed for long-distance sniping, But that doesn't mean it isn't any good at point-blank though! The rifle comes loaded with ten armour piercing rounds. ROCKET LAUNCHER -* -* -* REGISTERED VERSION ONLY --------------- This is a small hand-held rocket launcher that fires individual self- propelled missles with devastating effect. Although you can only carry a few, each one is deadly. The rocket launcher comes equipped with two missles. AMMUNITION ---------- Ammunition is gained by collecting a weapon that you already have, so don't ignore them. Unfortunatly though, each of the different weapons uses different types of ammunition. When you try to fire an empty gun, HELLGATE will automatically switch to the next best one for you. _______________ | SECRET PLACES | =============== Through-out the levels of HELLGATE, there are many secret areas. Most of them are indicated by clues, so don't waste your time pressing space on every wall -- the best players know where to look. Finding the secret areas is not essential to complete a level, but it helps! _______________________________ | AN ETERNITY OF CRIME FIGHTING | =============================== If you are killed, then you can choose to load your last saved game or to restart the current level at the beginning again with only your pistol and some bullets. You have no "lives" limit so you can keep restarting the level as many times as you are killed. The entire level is restarted from scratch though, and any enemies that you had killed previously all return again in the same place, just like you do. So SAVE REGULARLY! ____________________ | COMPLETING AN AREA | ==================== At the end of each level in HELLGATE there is an exit. When you reach it, press and you will be wisked away to an achievments screen which tallies your ratio of kills and rooms visited, along with your completion time. _____________ | EPISODE MAP | ============= Between levels you are shown a map of the episode you are currently playing in. Your position is marked on it by a big arrow. The current skill level is also displayed at the bottom of the screen. The last level of each episode contains a boss. Be warned, it will take all of your skill and courage to defeat it..... _____________________________ | CREDITS - THE HELLGATE TEAM | ============================= Programming DAVID WALTERS Graphics DAVID WALTERS and IAN WALTERS Music MAD MAX Design DAVID WALTERS, MATTHEW KVASNIK and IAN WALTERS Levels DAVID WALTERS and IAN WALTERS Testing DAVID WALTERS, MATTHEW KVASNIK, IAN WALTERS, BRENDAN McQUILLAN, NEIL KVASNIK, and TERRY KVASNIK.