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MegaTraveller 1: The Zhodani Conspiracy (Documentation)
MEGATRAVELLER 1
Part 1
PRELAUNCH PREPARATIONS
The manual for MEGATRAVELLER 1 omits instructions on how to perform
many actions in the game. This part of the walkthru will detail some
of these instructions. The instructions assume you are using a
mouse. Clicking on something with a mouse has a keyboard
equivalent. For commands, typing the first letter of the command
usually is the equivalent of clicking with the mouse.
HOW TO USE AN OBJECT
Using an object (e.g., a medical kit to heal someone) is done in
two steps. The first step is to put the object into the primary or
secondary OBJ USED slot. This is done by clicking on the object in
the OBJECTS list and clicking on either of the USED slots in the
Individual Character Screens (ICS). The second step requires exiting
the ICS into the Group Overhead Screen (GOS). Objects can only be
used while in the GOS. The command sequence to use the object is:
Click on the item; click on USE; click on the character who has the
object; click on the Primary or Secondary (as appropriate); then,
click on the character on whom the object is to be used.
The final step is optional. Often the computer knows on whom or
what the object is to be used. For example, using a demolition
charge will blow up the nearest object that can be blown up in the
direction the party is facing, such as a door.
To further confuse matters, certain objects are automatically in
use as soon as they are put in one of the USED slots. For example, a
flashlight is automatically turned on when put in a USED slot. A
passcard is automatically used when you try to go through a locked
door that the passcard unlocks.
HOW TO GIVE AN OBJECT TO AN NPC
In the course of the game, you will have to give objects to various
Non-Player Characters (NPCs). The sequence to do this is:
1. Put the object in the Primary USED slot of the lead character.
This is the character that is in front, based on the Ordering of the
party. This is also the character whose square is on TOP of the
other four character squares in the window to the right of the Order
icon at the top of the screen.
2. Converse with the NPC by moving next to him/her, turn your party
icon until it faces the character, press the letter "C" (for
converse), and, finally, click on Talk. This automatically gives the
object to the character. You will also get back anything you have
coming to you, such as money.
HOW TO GIVE ORDERS IN COMBAT
The real-time combat system now only requires you to control one
character. The other characters can be given orders to follow. To
give orders to your characters during combat, press the letter "O"
(for Orders). Combat will stop until you press "O" again to signal
the end of the orders. To give orders to a character, type the
character's number (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5). If you want the character to
move, use the arrow keys to trace the path. To have the character
attack someone, use the TAB key to move the targeting square to the
target, and press ENTER. If the character's weapon is empty when you
are trying to target someone, the program will beep until you press
"R" to reload.
You can order a character to move and then attack. By pressing the
appropriate function key (F1, F2, F3, F4, or F5), you can get to the
character's inventory screen to switch weapons. The character shown
on the screen (when you exit Orders) is the one you control
directly. You move the character by pressing the arrow keys. You
target someone by pressing the TAB key. You fire the weapon by
holding down the letter "F." You reload by pressing the "R" key. The
computer now locks on whomever you target. The accuracy with which
your characters shoot is dependent on their attributes and skills,
not your reflexes.
HOW TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY STOP IN INTERPLANETARY SPACE
In interplanetary travel, press the F10 function key to bring your
ship to a complete stop.
HOW TO DROP AN ITEM
You can usually sell unwanted items, but if you wish to drop
something, go into the character screen, click on the object, then
press the ESC key. The object will show up on the ground. You can
pick it up if you change your mind. If you leave the area, the
dropped object will not be there when you return. You cannot drop an
item in the actual starport area.
LEAVING YOUR VEHICLE
There is a trick to leaving a vehicle. First, there must be a clear
space in front of the vehicle onto which your party can exit. Then,
press the letter "V" (for Vehicle), and click on Exit.
MEGATRAVELLER 1
Part 2
CHARACTER GENERATION
Unlike other role-playing games where the characters start at Level
0 and work their way up, MEGATRAVELLER 1 partially develops the
characters before deadly serious play begins. This is done by having
the characters do one or more terms of service in either the army,
navy, marines, merchants, or scouts. Character generation is a game
within the game and should be done very carefully.
The recommended minimums for various attributes are: Strength 10,
Dexterity 10, Endurance 10, Intelligence 8, Education 7, and Social
Standing 6.
When your character is in service, you will have an opportunity to
increase their attributes. Dexterity is the most important stat to
increase; Endurance is the next most important. Dexterity determines
how rapidly your character shoots in combat, and Endurance
determines how much damage your character can take.
Interestingly, someone with Trader skill can be handicapped with
too high a social standing. Otherwise, attributes should be as high
as you can get them; however, there seems to be no use for a high
social standing in this game.
The choice of service determines what skills your character will
acquire while serving. Scouts and the navy are good for acquiring
Space skills. The army and marines are good for acquiring Combat and
Vehicle Handling skills. The merchants will give your character a
chance to acquire Trading skill.
You should enlist for three terms to get the maximum benefits. With
the fourth term, your character may lose attribute points due to
age.
The skills that are most useful in this game are:
1. Any Weapons skill, except for contact weapons such as swords.
Handgun skills are not of much use because you'll want to upgrade
your weapons beyond handguns as soon as you can. Weapons skills
determine the probability the character will score a hit when using
a particular weapon. This is important since a missed shot could hit
one of your own characters!
2. Battle dress and vacc suit.
3. Grav vehicle, ATV, and Watercraft.
4. Medical; at least two characters should have this skill, and you
should try to have at least one of them at Level 2 or above.
Skills related to ship functions (e.g., pilot, navigation, etc.) do
not appear to be of much use, although the manual indicates they are
useful. They are, however, basic skills in a science fiction game.
So, you might as well have some characters with these skills.
Gambling and Bribery are of some use, but they're only really
effective at high levels (greater than 2).
Demolition is very useful at several points -- especially in the
end game; however, only one character needs this skill.
"GOTCHAS"
This list of problems is for the IBM version 3.0.
1. You can accidentally drop or sell important items, such as the
Imperial Half Seal you need to complete the game. This is a
"feature," so be careful.
2. While the save-file naming system implies you can have an
unlimited number of save files, the program only allows 30;
however, you can create more than 30 save files. You just cannot
restore from any of the ones after the first 30. You have to delete
the early ones to bring the number of save games back down below
30.
3. Also, while the save files are presented in alphabetical order,
what you will see is the first 30 save files based on the
chronological order in which the files were created.
4. The rebels in the rebel headquarters on Louzy regenerate every
time you leave the building.
5. If you restore an old game, some items your characters carry may
mutate. Most of the time you'll get garbage items; sometimes you get
a valid random item. You will have to exit the program and restart
it to get around this bug.
6. Sometimes the game locks up the computer. Fortunately, this is
very rare.
7. There is no way to see what you are carrying on your ship except
by trying to sell it. You also have to remember what price you paid
for the cargo.
TACTICAL TIPS FOR GROUND COMBAT
The way to win is to fight your opponents one at a time so you can
overwhelm them by sheer numbers. One way to do this is take
advantage of the fact the overhead window display is shifted only
when you try to move outside the window. By limiting the window to
show only a small portion of a building, you limit the room for the
hostile NPCs to move into firing range. When done properly, only one
NPC can move into range at a time.
Give the character with the best Dexterity the best weapon that
matches his skills. Control that character and hold down the "F"
key. That character will now fire much faster than anyone else. You
can get from two to three shots off for each one of your
opponent's.
MEGATRAVELLER 1
Part 3
LIFTOFF
You begin the game on Efate with a battle. Your party will be
unprepared for the battle. While it is possible to win the battle,
the cost will be high. It is best to run away _fast_. (You'll get
your chance to get even later.)
The first order of business is to locate the general store,
armorer, vehicle rental store, and starport. In the general store,
buy at least one medical kit (preferably a TL12, as it has more
"charges"). There are many ways to heal your characters, but using
medical kits is the best method. While anyone can use a medical
kit, it is best to give it to someone with Medical skills. Also buy
one electric torch (flashlight). There will be many places where the
torch provides the only light by which you can see.
At the armorer, equip everyone with at least TL9 vacc suits. TL12
is even better. You will find (or can buy) better armor later, but
for now, these are the best you can afford. In any case, try on your
armor and check the armor rating. Not all armor of the same type
provides the same level of protection. Some armor is better than
others. Armor can wear out.
The starport is the only place to save your game. This restriction
makes locating the starport on Efate important in the beginning.
It's a good idea to make trips back to the starports to save the
game if you have done something significant.
Rent a grav vehicle at the vehicle rental place and head northeast
to Grav City. Entering a vehicle is easy. Just stop on the square it
is on and you automatically enter the vehicle. Grav City is an
enclosed city. There is a landing pad by the entrance.
Find the weapons shop in Grav City. Buy the best weapons you can
afford. You are now ready to take on all those people who have been
trying to kill you since the beginning of the game. There is a
limited number of baddies on Efate, and it is a good idea to clean
them out. You will NOT be able to enter the warehouse in the
southeast corner of starport city until the end game. So, don't
worry about that; otherwise, you can go everywhere on Efate, and you
should!
In general, upgrade your weapons all the time. It's a good idea,
however, to have secondary mid- to high-law level weapons for
planets that restrict weapons. The 4 mm. Gauss Rifle is legal every
place you will need a weapon. The Light Assault Gun is legal in
_most_ places where you will need it. Carbines, submachine guns, and
pistols are useful in that you have a good chance of smuggling them
past customs. Smuggling a weapon is done by putting it in your
Secondary Used slot. There seems to be no penalty if the weapon is
found; it's confiscated, but returned when you leave the planet.
MAKING 2,000,000 CREDITS
In addition to money to train and upgrade your armor and weapons,
you will need 2,000,000 credits to buy a Jump-2 Drive to complete
the game. The following are among the best ways to make money. There
are others that have been left for you to discover.
1. Haul water from Efate to Louzy. You can clear about 60,000
credits a trip. Tools are a good cargo to haul back to Efate to
avoid deadheading. Normally, trading is _not_ a good way to make
money. Trading is, in fact, a good way to _lose_ money.
2. Bounty hunting: You can make about 775,000 credit in the local
systems. This is unavoidable. The villain, Keifer, has put a bounty
on your characters' heads, and the assassins are all after your
party as a result. Turn in the dog-tags you find on the corpse to
the appropriate official at the Imperial base on Alell to get the
reward.
3. Kill the rebel leader on Louzy. His rebel symbol is worth
100,000 credits when turned into the authorities on Louzy. There
seems to be a bug that causes the rebel forces to regenerate every
time you leave their headquarters in the northwest corner of the
interior city. This means you will have to clear the place in a
single assault. You will need at least two spare oxygen bottles per
character when you go into the rebel HQ. You can dump the passcards
once you kill the rebel leader and get the rebel symbol, but leave
the building first.
4. The museum in Efate's starport city will pay large rewards for
starrghrite and diamonds. (Diamonds can be found in the shipwreck in
the southwest portion of Iroth. The rebels on Louzy have
starrghrite.)
5. The museum on Stur will pay large rewards for coynes. (There are
coynes in the swamp south of the starport, as well as lots of really
nifty weapons and armor, but bring a good supply of medical kits
along.)
6. A woman on Alell will pay large rewards for gold pendants. (Try
the northwest area of Iroth.)
7. The museum on Iroth will pay large rewards for gold statues.
(Try the shipwreck in the southwest portion of the planet.)
In general, you will find many people who are willing to buy
merchandise from you, or pay rewards for services. The only way to
find these people is to talk to everyone you meet, everywhere you
go. Some transactions are one-shot deals. There is either just one
of the item, or the NPC only wants one. Other NPCs will pay for as
many of the items as you can find. Most items can be found by just
wandering around. It is rare to find clues to the locations of the
various items in demand.
MEGATRAVELLER 1
Part 4
SPECIAL ITEMS
The following items are special, in that you can get them cheaply
if you do the right thing.
1. Solon (a grenade launcher): The owner will not part with it very
easily.
2. Menorb: A man will exchange a battle dress for coynes. There is
more than one cache of coynes in the game.
3. There is a cave entrance to the northwest of the lake that is
north of starport city. It's hard to find, but the cave has lots of
loot, and you can expect some hard fighting. This cave is also
important later in the game. Save the passcards you find here.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The Traveler's Aid Society provides free general information about
the various planets.
The libraries and bribeable NPCs will sell game hints, but the cost
can be high at times.
WINNING THE GAME
You have to locate Arik Toryan on Boughene, as indicated in the
beginning. You will find that he has been captured. To find out
where Arik is, you need to confront Keifer's henchman, Viktor, on
Boughene at the bridge to the east of the starport city. You get
three chances to rescue Arik. The first is on the planet name given
to you by Viktor. (There is only one place there.) If you fail
there, try looking around Chiros (to the west of starport city), and
Streech (you did find the cave on Streech, didn't you?). Pick up any
passcards you find; you will need them to rescue Arik.
Give Arik your half of the Imperial Seal, and he gives you back the
whole Imperial seal. Give the seal to the woman on Yres at the
Starfarer's Hotel. She will give you the second decoder so you can
finally return everything to Lenara, who got your party into this
adventure in the beginning. (Actually you do not get to return
everything, only the second decoder key. It's a bug in the game.)
She is on Akarates. Lenara will give you a passcard into the
warehouse on Efate which you previously could not enter. You can now
enter the warehouse for the Final Battle with Keifer.
ENDGAME
Keifer's inner sanctum can only be entered by blowing down the
door. Keifer has a message for you before he tries to kill you, and
you can miss it in the race to shoot him first. The game ends when
you kill Keifer, so if there are places you want to go, delay
killing Keifer. You also have no opportunity to save the game at the
end.
To transfer your characters to the sequel, save the file
UCHARS.DAT.
MEGATRAVELLER 1 is published by Paragon Software and distributed by
MicroProse, Inc.
