============================================================================= Radix: Beyond The Void -- On-Disk Manual Registered Version 1.0 (c) Copyright 1995 Epic MegaGames, Inc. ============================================================================= The Incident -- The Reason Why You're Here! ============================================================================= In the 22nd century, after centuries of global strife and tyranny, the people of Earth united to form a sovereign world government. The United Earth Space Alliance (UESA) launched a dynamic plan to expand the reaches of the human race beyond that of our solar system. In the year 2147, this effort resulted in the launching of the first of two colony ships. These massive vessels were destined to colonize a huge asteroid, designated Theta-2, on the outskirts of our solar system. After five months of space travel, the first ship safely arrived at Theta-2 and initiated the colony. Soon after, the second of the two ships departed from earth with 10,000 colonists to bring the Theta-2 base into full operation. Once the colony was fully established, mankind would finally have the opportunity to leave the confines of the solar system. It happened on October 24, 2148; While the second vessel approached the colony, something unnatural occurred. A dark shape began to form out of nothing, blacking out the starscape and chewing away at the very fabric of reality. The commander of the colony vessel “Salvation” had barely managed to dispatch an emergency message to Earth confirming that there were multitudes of alien ships emerging from this "Void." Just after the transmission, the largest of the alien ships tore the Salvation apart with an immensely powerful particle beam. The gigantic alien craft dragged both portions of the Salvation into a huge hangar bay, sealing the fates of the 10,000 human beings aboard. According to the information received from the destruct beacon (the "black box") there were 45 alien vessels in the vicinity of Theta-2. The largest ship, which captured the Salvation, moved to orbit the asteroid. The remaining ships started converting the Theta-2 base into a base of their own. Immediately after the incident, UESA went on level one alert status and began assembling a fleet to eliminate the alien force. UESA's ships reached the Theta-2 asteroid and began an intense battle with the alien fleet. UESA's 3 battlecruisers, 10 frigates and 15 destroyers fought well, but their weaponry was no match against the massive alien dreadnought. The mission was a devastating failure. The Alliance realized that a large frontal assault was not the way to defeat the invaders. It was decided that a small, heavily armed, fast attack ship might be able to make it past the ships in orbit and reclaim the Theta-2 base. Back on Earth, scientists combined their knowledge and pooled their ideas, and concluded that the black space, dubbed "The Void," was some sort of inter-dimensional portal; a tear in the structure of our universe. Using the current knowledge of multi-dimensional physics, they were able to develop a device that would allow a small spacecraft, preferably a fighter of some sort, to enter The Void and possibly leap into a different universe. Three months after the invasion of Theta-2, the Radix class inter-dimensional starfighter was built. Due to the enormous amount of resources required to build this powerful fighter, only one was built. Although the Radix class had just barely begun the experimental stage of it's development, there was no time left. The Radix-class fighter was loaded onto The Defiance, a battlecruiser, and Operation Vengeance commenced. The Defiance had to leave, and the Radix, the last desperate hope for humanity, was going with it. ============================================================================= Introduction -- What is Radix: Beyond The Void! ============================================================================= Radix: Beyond The Void is an intense 3D flying action game developed for the PC platform. While playing Radix, you'll fly down the alien-infested tunnels of the Theta-2 base, and even deep into the massive alien ship. You will also fly into The Void, where unknown terrors await you. It will take great persistence and skill to navigate the small assault fighter through the winding tunnels and corridors to successfully accomplish your mission. You will undoubtedly encounter heavy alien resistance. Radix: Beyond The Void has 3 large episodes; with each one consisting of 8 regular missions and a 9th secret mission. The action is non-stop, with only short breaks for the mission briefings. In each mission, you will have a unique primary objective to accomplish. These objectives range from destroying key navigation systems to recon missions. Before each mission, you will receive an informative briefing instructing you about key areas of the upcoming mission that could give you difficulty. While in the mission briefing, you can bring up a record which keeps track of a few useful player statistics. After the briefing is over, the action begins. Within the game, you have complete control of the fighter, including lateral and horizontal movement. You are free to fly around inside the alien world in any direction you wish. There are indicators on the status bar that provide you with important information. This includes a threat indicator that will alert you if an enemy homing missile is locked onto your ship, an LPS system that acts as RADAR to detect enemy fighters, and as ammo and damage meters. On top of the obvious "move" and "fire" keys, you can also use the "leveling" key to keep climbing or diving steadily for those tricky sloped tunnels and shafts, and you can also glance behind to help orient yourself with the aliens ships. The Radix-class starfighter's neutron and plasma cannons can even fire at ships behind directly behind it. You will require the use of all 7 (4 in the shareware version) weapon systems, which you must to find during your missions. Hazards such as enemy ships, mindless zombie alien things, missile launchers, crushing floors and ceilings, steeply sloped tunnels, tractor beams, gravity wells, and more attempt to prevent your fighter from completing its goal. Your job is to destroy them, complete your primary objective and make it out alive. In Radix: Beyond the Void, you will fight for the glory of the United Earth Space Alliance and avenge the deaths of thousands of humans. Requirements ------------ Minimum Requirements Highly Recommended -------------------- ------------------ 486-33MHz computer 486-66MHz or faster CPU 4 MB of RAM 8+ MB of RAM VGA graphics local bus video 14,400 baud modem 14.4 or 28.8 modem for modem play (for modem play) ============================================================================= Getting Started ============================================================================= Before playing Radix: Beyond The Void, you must run the SETUP.EXE program to configure the game. To do so, change to the drive and directory where the game is installed and type SETUP. When you're done, choose "Save & Exit." Then, type RADIX to start the game. Main Menu --------- Upon running Radix, you will be taken to the main menu. The menu options available are described below NEW GAME: Starts a new game. LOAD GAME: Loads a previously saved game. OPTIONS: Lets you adjust the music volume, sound effects volume, and mouse sensitivity. NETWORK/MODEM: Brings up the network/modem play options. ORDERING INFO: Has detailed information on how to order Radix or other cool Epic games. DEMO: Plays a random demo. TOP TEN: Displays the top players and their skill ratings. You must complete an entire episode of Radix to appear on the Top Ten chart. QUIT: Exits the game. ============================================================================= Starting a New Game ============================================================================= Select Skill Level ------------------ After selecting "New Game," you must enter your name and choose a difficulty level. It is recommended that first time players play on the "I can't do this. I just can't do this," skill level, since the game can be difficult for beginners. However, the game designers feel that the hardest level, "Let's kick some xenomorphic butt" is the best way to experience Radix. Select Episode -------------- Next, you must select which episode you would like to play. The three episodes in the full version of Radix: Beyond The Void are "Theta 2," "Vengeance," and "The Void." It is highly recommended that beginners play "Theta-2" on an easy skill level. Mission Briefing ---------------- Before each mission, you'll enter a mission briefing. Certain areas of difficulty will be pointed out, as well as your primary and secondary objectives. There are several options to choose from here: PLAYER STATS: Brings up the stat screen, described belowe. SAVE/LOAD: Brings up the save or load screen respectively. QUIT: Quits the current game and returns you to the main menu. BEGIN: Begins the mission. The <<<, <<, ||, and >> symbols may be used to restart, back-up, pause or advance the mission briefing instructions respectively. The Stat Screen --------------- If you select the "Show Stats" option in the briefing, your info folder pops up showing your statistics. The stats collected are: CURRENT ASSIGNMENT: Represented by "E" for episode number and "M" for mission number. SKILL LEVEL: Your overall skill rating, represented by a percentage. A high percentage equals high skill. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES COMPLETED: Records the number of secondary missions you have completed. A ratio is displayed, showing the number completed versus the number of secondary objectives possible. KILL RATIO: The number of enemies killed versus the total number of enemies in the game so far. TOTAL FLYING: Shows the amount of time you have spent flying. PAR TIME: The amount of time it has taken to complete each level that you have finished. PAR RESET ON: Displays the missions in which you beat the "par" time. For these missions shown, the par will be reset to whatever time you took to fly the mission. ============================================================================= In The Game ============================================================================= Game Controls ------------- Most of the in-game controls can be reconfigured in the SETUP.EXE. The default controls and their functions are listed below. If you have changed the controls, you can press F1 during the game to view your current configuration. NOTE: We HIGHLY recommend using the mouse/keyboard combination for controlling your ship. UP ARROW: Pull up. DOWN ARRROW: Pull down. LEFT ARROW: Bank left. RIGHT ARROW: Bank right. CONTROL: Fire current weapon. SPACEBAR: Plasma Bomb! RIGHT SHIFT: Speed up. Releasing this key will drop back to the default speed. FORESLASH: Afterburners! ALT: Strafe mode. ENTER: Backview. PERIOD: Toggles leveling on/off. COMMA: Switch Weapon. Other Controls (non-configurable) NUMBERS 1-7: Each number corresponds to a weapon. Press one of these number keys to select a weapon (which you must currently posses. F1: Help Screen. F2: Toggle your game play view between chase plane, cockpit, and full screen first-person mode. F3: Save game. F4: Load game. F5: Adjust detail level. F6: Toggle auto-detail adjust. F7: Quick save. F8: Toggle auto leveling. F9: Quick load. F10: Gamma correction adjustment. F11: Review mission objectives. PG/UP Increase view size. PG/DOWN Decrease view size. PAUSE Pauses the game. TAB Toggle automap (-/+ to zoom). ESC Brings up in-game Menu (Chat mode in Multiplayer). The Statbar ----------- If you are not in full-screen mode, a status bar will appear at the bottom of the screen. This bar displays important information including weapon inventory, ammunition levels, energy levels, mission time, and the mission kill ratio. Weapon Picture: A picture of the weapon currently selected is displayed here. Weapon Numbers: Each number displayed here represents a weapon. Red numbers indicate that you have the corresponding weapon system but do not currently have it selected. The yellow number indicates the current/selected weapon. Gray numbers indicate weapons that you have not yet acquired. Ammo Meters: These boxes show the amount of ammo for the four weapons which use ammunition. "SHELL" is for the EPC, "MISL" is for the Seeking Missiles, "TORP" is for the Phase Torpedoes and "NUKE" is for Nuclear Missiles. The other weapons use energy, so no ammo is shown. Mission Timer: This timer tells you how long you've spent on the current level. Kill Ratio: The first number indicates the number of enemies that you have destroyed. The second number is the total number of enemies in the current level. Status Bars: The three red and blue bars on the stat bar indicate the status of the ship's armor, shields, and energy. L.P.S: The Laser Probing System on the Radix fighter is similar to what was know as "RADAR" in the 21st century. The L.P.S. can give you an accurate account of where enemy fighters are in relation to your ship. Threat Indicator: The threat indicator tells you if a seeking missile has locked on to you. You know that a missile has a lock on you when this indicator is lit. ============================================================================= Energy, Weapons, and Power-ups ============================================================================= Energy ------ There are two things which use energy on the Radix fighter - Energy weapons (see below) and Afterburners. Afterburners use energy to achieve a high speed increase. To maximize the use of the extra speed, while minimizing the amount of energy consumed, use your afterburners in spurts. The Weapons ----------- There are two classes of weapons that the Radix ship can use. One class requires ammunition to function, and the other requires the use of the ships energy to function. Your energy always regenerates, so energy-weapons (neutron and plasma) should be used the most. 1. Neutron Cannon: The Neutron Cannon is your basic energy cannon. It can be powered up by running into a neutron weapon power-up. Neutron Cannons can be powered up four times. The Neutron system is configured so that you are able to fire backwards, by using the back view key. 2. Explosive Projectile Cannon (EPC): Rapid fire cannons can cause heavy damage if you can keep them trained on enemies long enough. The EPC is the weapon of choice for clearing rooms full of mines or drones. 3. Plasma Spreader: This weapon creates powerful, weaving packets of plasma energy, and is powered by the ship’s energy core. The Plasma Spreader can be especially deadly if powered up to the fourth level. The Plasma Spreader is especially effective in narrow corridors and, like the Neutron Cannon, it can be fired backwards. 4. Seeking Missile System: This launcher fires two enemy-seeking missiles. Although not nearly as powerful as the seeking phase-torpedoes, these missiles lock on faster than the torpedoes and are found more often. 5. Nukes: This weapon fires a powerful nuclear missile that detonates in a huge explosion. The explosion affects all enemies in the immediate area, so a direct hit isn’t always necessary to kill an enemy. 6. Phase Torpedoes: Phase torpedoes fire in a cluster of three torpedoes which travel close together. These torpedoes act as one projectile until they each arm themselves and split out into three powerful enemy-seeking torps. Overall, the phase torpedoes are the most effective weapon in the game. 7. Gravity Wave Device: The Gravity Wave is a very powerful energy weapon that inflicts massive destruction on anything in its path. Use it sparingly, as it will drain your energy dry. Weapon Power-ups and Ammo ------------------------- Weapon power-ups may have different functions, depending on which kind of weapon the icon represents. In all cases, collecting a power-up for a weapon which you do not possess gives you that weapon-capability. Collecting weapons which use ammunition will usually provide you with more ammo as well. The Neutron Cannon and Plasma Spreader can be "powered-up," by collecting several weapon power-ups after the first. Both of these weapons can be powered-up four levels, resulting in a faster firing rate for the weapon and making it much more effective for destroying enemies. Note that collecting power-ups for energy weapons always restores your energy level to its maximum. Other Important Power-ups ------------------------- All power-ups, including weapons and ammo, have green identifier arrows which point inward toward the item. If an object in Radix does not have these arrows, shoot it! Some power-ups only last for a limited period of time; These items are in effect for as long as the corresponding indicator-icon appears on the right side of your screen. Full Armor (gray) - Restores your armor to its maximum amount Full Shields (blue) - Restores your shields to their maximum amount Full Energy (green) - Restores your energy to its maximum amount Rapid Shield Regeneration (blue): Increases the rate at which your shields regenerate for a limited duration. Rapid Energy Regeneration (green): Increases the rate at which your energy regenerates for a limited duration. Super Shields (red): Enclose the fighter in a protective shield that makes the ship completely invulnerable to enemy fire and collisions for a limited time and also gives extra protection against hitting surfaces. Maneuvering Jets: Increase the rate at which your ship moves up, down, left and right - very useful in combat. Limited duration. Plasma Bomb: A plasma bomb flashes in a powerful pulse of plasma energy that can incinerate visible enemies instantaneously. Each power-up icon gives you one plasma bomb. The icon at the top right of the screen shows how many plasma bombs you have left. A.L.D.S: The Automated Laser Defense System is a complex system that hovers around the Radix craft. When it senses an enemy nearby, it shoots a stream of laser bolts, attempting to destroy the target. The A.L.D.S stays with the fighter throughout the current level. BOOM Pack: Provides ammo for all of your weapons. ============================================================================= The Environment ============================================================================= Flying ------ Flying can sometimes be the most difficult part of Radix. Your fighter takes damage from hitting surfaces such as walls, ceilings or floors. It's best to practice flying in the beginning. Watch your stats - if you are consistently getting 90% or higher for proficient flying, then you're a good pilot. Until then, however, you'll find yourself constantly flying into obstacles and dying. Flying is very difficult at first, but it becomes much easier with practice. When you hit a surface, your shields are the the only thing preventing your ship's destruction. Your shields are designed to absorb 100% of the impact from hitting walls, ceilings and floors. Once your shields are depleted, there is nothing left to prevent your death but the limited armor that your ship has. For this reason, it is important that you keep your shields from being "in the red" while navigating cramped tunnels or other small areas. Doors, Moving Surfaces and Holographic Walls -------------------------------------------- There are a number of different moving surfaces in Radix. Doors are the most common variety. Most doors are activated by "triggers" that you must fly over. Most triggers will have a special graphic that will tell you that a trigger is there, but sometimes triggers may be hidden. Some doors may also be opened by shooting at them. Many of these "shooting" type doors are there to hide a secret area. If you suspect a wall to be concealing a secret door, shoot at it. Note that some secret doors can be quite resilient to damage, so make sure you really pound the possible door with lots of firepower before moving on. Holographic walls are also commonly used to hide secret areas. They look like regular walls, but they don’t really exist! Simply fly through them. Holographic walls can be easily discovered by firing a weapon through them. Environmental Dangers ===================== There are a number of deadly things in the Radix environment besides enemies and their ships... Gravity Wells: Gravity Wells are alien traps that attempt to push or pull your ship up or down. Unless you take evasive action, you will inevitably be forced into a wall and crash. It is best to avoid flying over Gravity Wells. Some wells are so strong that you have to pull up very fast to escape them. In such cases, afterburners can be very useful; If you aim your plane up and punch your afterburners you should be able to escape even the strongest of gravity wells. Forced Ship Movement: Some areas exhibit strange gravitational disturbances that can "pull" the Radix fighter in any direction and at any speed. These disturbances are practically undetectable, so if you hit one, you'll be at its mercy. Teleporters: These are energy areas that transport your ship into a different area of the current level. Teleporters are very alien in nature, and are usually undetectable. Some of these may be marked with a specific alien symbol, but some might pop out of nowhere. Fly with caution! Missile Walls: Missile Walls are a special type of wall that shoots missiles at you. These walls can always be destroyed, but the amount of damage that they can sustain varies. Therefore, it's best to simply keep shooting at these walls until they explode. Any weapon that causes an explosion will be the extra effective against missile walls, as it may destroy multiple missile walls at once. There is a deadly variety of the missile wall that shoots missiles which lock onto your ship. Watch out for these seeking missiles...they are VERY deadly. Barrels: Barrels explode after taking a few shots. Use them to your advantage. Stationary Vehicles Ground-based vehicles can sometimes be found scattered throughout levels. These vehicles were probably left by the colonists of Theta-2 and serve no real purpose. Enemies ------- As if the environmental hazards aren't enough to hinder your goal, you'll face heavy opposition by alien craft in Radix. Some of the enemies you'll encounter are described below. Mines: These floating mines usually move in a straight line, if they're found moving at all. They are easy to destroy, but if you run into a couple of them you're dead. Bio-Mines: Bio-mines are intelligent mines which follow you around, trying to detonate on your ship. There are two types of these mines, strong and weak. Bio-Mechs: Bio-Mechs are moving cannons which fire energy bolts at anything in front of them. Some of these turrets move across floors, walls and even ceilings. Bio-Mechs are easily destroyed, but several of them together can barrage you with energy bolts. Alien Fodder: These guys are large, zombie-like aliens. They walk around operating computer consoles, among other tasks. These aliens will attempt to shoot you with their guns. However, they are very weak and can be killed by simply flying through them. Defense Drone: Defense drones are the weakest ships you’ll encounter in Radix. Defense drones fire two weak bolts of energy, and are only a real threat when encountered in large numbers. Battle Drone: Battle drones are more powerful than the Defense drones, but still not a real threat. These drones fire a single energy bolt and are fairly resilient to damage. Skyfire Assault Fighter: This fighter is the most powerful ship encountered in the first episode. The Skyfire fires small red bolts rapidly, making it a tough ship to fight head-on. Missile Boat: This ship looks similar to the Skyfire (especially from the front), but is much more powerful. Given the chance, a Missile boat will launch streams of powerful missiles at your ship. Stormbird Heavy Bomber: The Stormbird is the most deadly ship you’ll ever face in Radix (not including the bosses, of course). This ship fires regular missiles as well as laser guided missiles, which lock onto your ship and follow you. Exo-Droids: These massive metal monstrosities are very tough to destroy and shoot missiles at you. You won't encounter one until the end of the first episode, and you may see one or two later in the game. Luckily, you'll probably hear them before you see them! ============================================================================= Running Radix in Multiplayer Mode ============================================================================= NOTE: Before playing a modem, network, or null modem game, you'll have to configure your hardware in the SETUP.EXE. For details on configuring your modem, network, or null modem, refer to the HELPME.DOC file in the Radix directory. To start a multiplayer game, select "Network/Modem" from the main menu. Then choose your "Connection type," "Play type," and select any other options you wish to use. To start the network game, click on the "Go" button at the bottom of the screen. Modem Options: In the Modem window, there are 3 options to choose from: "Wait For Call," "Dial," and "Already Connected." Usually one person dials and the other waits to answer. If you are dialing, you must click on the number window to enter a number to dial. Number Of Players: Modem and serial connections support two players. Network games allow up to four players to play Radix at once. Select Skill: The skill levels in a multiplayer game of Radix correspond to the difficulty levels in the regular game; Skill level 1 is the easiest and skill level 4 is the hardest. Multiplayer Options: There are 3 optional settings for modem/network games: "No Enemies," "Respawning Powerups," and "Warp." "No Enemies" eliminates all enemies from the maps, pitting you head to head against the other players. "Respawning power-ups" causes power-ups to reappear after two minutes. We recommend that these options remain selected unless you are playing a cooperative game. "Warp" allows you to start the game on the specified episode and level. Game Type: Radix supports three different modes of play for multiplayer games: "Dogfight," "Cooperative," and "Capture the Flag." In Dogfight mode, your goal is to destroy the other human opponents as often as possible. In Cooperative mode, play is the same as in a normal game, but your seeking missiles will not seek the other players, and powerups must be shared between players. "Capture the Flag" mode presents a new challenge as you must capture all of the flags from the other players to complete the level, while destroying the other players to reach this objective (All flags are dropped when a player is killed, and each player begins with a flag). ============================================================================= Gameplay Strategies ============================================================================= Greg's 3 Laws of Radix: Here are a few hints and tips to help you play Radix: 1. Save your game all of the time. Radix has a fast and furious gameplay environment, and novice players will die often. If you save your game all the time, you can prevent yourself from having to start at the beginning of the level with no weapons. 2. Avoid hitting walls. If your ship hits walls, your shields take damage. If your shields lose all their energy and you hit a wall, your armor will instantly be crushed and you’ll be destroyed. 3. Conserve your energy. Energy is a valuable commodity in Radix. It's wise to keep your energy level at least above 50% at all times, especially if you are low on E.P.C shells and missiles. A good way to do so is to conserve the energy power-ups and energy weapon power-ups (Neutron Cannon, Plasma Spreader, or Gravity Wave). Only pick up these powerups if you need them. ============================================================================= Troubleshooting ============================================================================= If you encounter any problems running Radix: Beyond the Void, please consult the HELPME.DOC file for tips and solutions. You can view this file with a standard text editor, or by typing HELPME from the directory in which the game installed. If, after reading this file, you still can not get Radix working, you can contact Epic’s technical support at the following places: In the USA: tech: +1 (301) 983-9771 fax: +1 (301) 299-3841 In the U.K.: tech: +44 (0) 1767-260903 fax: +44 (0) 1767-262043 In Germany: tech: 0130-822-887 fax: 0130 822-887 ============================================================================= Radix: Into The Void Credits - In Alphabetical Order. ============================================================================= Programming: Dan Dufeu, Shahzad Malik, Jonathan Mavor Additional Programming: Mark Lewis Graphics and Artwork: Cygnus Multimedia, Greg MacMartin, Jason Struck Additional Artwork: James Schmalz Music: Marc Gravelle Sound Effects: Mark Totti ============================================================================= Enjoy playing Radix! =============================================================================