SKID ROW presents AMNIOS Page 3 \/ CONTENTS ENGLISH 4 Page 4 \/ AMIGA LOADING INSTRUCTIONS IMPORTANT: Always switch your machine off for at least 30 seconds before loading the game. Failure to do so may result in virus contamination of the AMNIOS master disk. See the Virus Warning and the Warranty Notice in this manual for further information. Switch your computer on. Insert a Kickstart disk if so prompted. When the display prompts for a Workbench disk insert Disk 1 of AMNIOS in your computer's internal drive. Insert Disk 2 when prompted. AMNIOS is played with a joystick plugged into the second joystick port and/or a mouse plugged into the first joystick port. LOADING TIPS Should the title screen not appear within 45 seconds of turning on your machine there may be a problem with your computer system. Check your computer connections and that the above instructions have been correctly carried out. If you are sure your computer is functioning properly (i.e. other software loads successfully) and are still unable to load AMNIOS then you may have a faulty disk, in which case you may obtain a free replacement from Psygnosis Ltd. All Psygnosis products are fully guaranteed. VIRUS WARNING! This product is guaranteed by Psygnosis to be virus free. Psygnosis Ltd accept no responsibility for damage caused to this product through virus infection. To avoid virus infection always ensure that your machine is switched off for at least 30 seconds before loading this game. Page 5 \/ AMNIOS It lurked at Galactic Centre like some obscene worm gnawing at the heart of a rose. A cancerous lifeform of planetary dimensions that fed on the very stuff of Space-time, subverting it to its own needs, shaping it into versions of itself in a parody of procreation. It was called Life Gone Mad. It was Oncabloc. The Sapiens of the planet Terra were the dominant sentient species in a whole quadrant of Homegalaxy, their remorseless diaspora absorbing the few other spacefaring species peacefully in to the Culture. Eventually they reached the Heart, Galactic Centre, so long obscured by immense dust clouds, only to discover the pulsating chaos there, waiting. The power and wealth of the Culture was glimpsed by Oncabloc - enough, if absorbed into its heterogeneous bodies, to render it the most powerful entity in creation. The horror of its passage as it lunged at the peaceful and intricate domicile worlds, absorbing their Lifeforce and Energy, will never be forgotten. Amnios was created as the Elder Minds struggled to come to terms with this unknowable Evil. Amnios was a Symbiotic Construct of Machine- Mind and Biology. Each element a disparate cell in an organism sharing one consciousness and purpose: to eradicate the malignancy that threatens all of Life. The best and bravest of all the species of the Culture volunteered to be represented within Page 6 \/ this artificial organism, each a separate entity and yet united into a benign variation of that which they sought so desperately to destroy. Like highly mobile bacteria they spread throughout the Oncabloc's heaving bulk, attacking its sensory and reproductive organs, knowing that if enough damage could be inflicted to each World-Growth in a short enough period of time then that growth would be irretrievably terminated. To this end their weaponry became variations of the Oncabloc's own Immune Defence System. Turning the creature's own means of protection upon itself. Each element had to be acquired from the surface, each piece of genetic information frantically sought to furnish the Fathership with the ability to manufacture weaponry. The tiny ships flew to wrest literally vital elements from the Growth to inflict enough damage to bring about Necrosis; thence to flee to yet another more powerful World-growth and continue this fight for survival. Each ship was controlled by a semi-independent Intelligence. Page 7 \/ The Game Use your joystick, mouse or keys to experience the joy of victory or the bitter sense of failure as you simulate an engagement in combat against the most deadly of enemies. Navigate your craft over planets, strategically using whatever fate places at your disposal in your efforts to rid the Culture finally of this ultimate horror of Death incarnate. AMNIOS features ten living planets, each made up of Foliage, Squama or Epidermis. Your mission on each of these deadly worlds is to either destroy a given percentage of the planet's vital organs or to rescue a given number of encapsulated humanoids. Any weapon will destroy a planet's vitals but an organ-specific weapon only requires one shot - to obtain weapons you need to collect DNA from the planet's surface and take it to your Fathership where arms are created for you. The four different types of DNA to be found appertain to the different types of weapons your Fathership can create. DNA & Weapons: Red DNA = 3 Smart Bombs Green DNA = 20 seconds of Shield. Invulnerability or Repulsion Blue DNA = Imperishable Laser Enhancements Yellow DNA = 4 V-Bombs; Heart Attack, BrainBomb, Eyesocker or Veingeance. V-Bombs are capable of inflicting damage on Page 8 \/ all living parts of a planet but organ-specific bombs require just one shot to destroy that organ: The right V-Bomb for the right job is easily recognizable by its name - HeartAttack, BrainBomb, EyeSocker and Veingeance Weapons carried are indicated by icons at the base of the screen. The ENTER key (on the keypad) scrolls through your weapons and Spacebar activates the highlighted weapon. It takes Fatherships some time to make weapons. The ironic twist to your weapon-building capabilities is that the healthier the planet is the quicker your Fathership is able to create weapons. In the top right of the screen are icons which represent the percentage of living parts remaining on the current planet: Heart; Overall Living Parts; Brain and Eyes. They disappear as the percentage lessens. Fathership: One Fathership is present on the first planet, two on the second, three on the third and so on. All Fatherships are capable of creating all types of weapon and of carrying humanoids. Each Fathership can only support one DNA strain or weapon and one Humanoid at a time. Hovering inside a Fathership restores your energy. Humanoids: To rescue Humanoids, use your BioScanner to find them on the planet's surface (they show up as pink dots) and fly over them to pick them up in your Levicradle. Take them to your Fathership to complete the rescue. Please note that only one Humanoid may be carried by each Fathership. Page 9 \/ Bioscanner: Your Bioscanner is positioned at the bottom right of the screen. It details almost all of the planet's surface and indicates the position of other inhabitants (indigenous and otherwise) in relation to you. Pink Dots indicate Encapsulated Humanoids White Dots indicate Snatchers Light Orange Dots indicate Fatherships Dark Green Dots indicate DNA Light Green Dots indicate Wasps Orange Dots indicate Biobeings The Enemy: Each planet has several Brains, Eyes and Hearts as well as a number of Arteries. Planets also give birth to hordes of alien Biobeings produced specifically to bring your existence to an end. Destroying a Brain results in less intelligent Bios being produced by the planet. Destroying a Heart results in a reduction of the production of Bios. Destroying Eyes lessens the Bios' ability to track you. Destroying Arteries will add to your percentage of destroyed organs and also slow down Bio attack. Indigenous Lifeforms: Snatcher: Guards Humanoids and will pick one up to prevent you rescuing it but will drop it again after a short time. If you rescue a humanoid, its guarding Snatcher then hunts you. Snatchers are invulnerable. Wasps: Where there's death and decay you'll always find wasps. Page 10 \/ Worms: Avoid their deadly jaws at all costs. Bonded Bios: Attack in formation; hard to kill and difficult to avoid. The Planets: Squama Planets: Dragor, Lizzon, Serpon, Repttos. Foliage Planets: Foress, Bracton, Plantoss. Epidermis Planets: Hider, Tegumor, Membron. Guardians: Once you have rescued the required number of Humanoids, or destroyed the required percentage of a planet's organs, and are ready to progress to the next living hell, the malicious celestial body, in a last ditch attempt to wipe you off its face, creates - out of any and all its remaining resources - a Guardian. You are warned of their approach by a change of hue in the planet's surface. These Guardians increase in power as you progress through the planets and have only one aim in life: your demise... attack with care! IMPORTANT: Through all this mayhem your ship can only carry one Humanoid or DNA strain at a time. But it can carry up to eight weapons. Page 11 \/ Controls: Joystick Joystick Up: Thrust Joystick Left: Turn Left Joystick Right: Turn Right Joystick Button: Fire Weapon Mouse Mouse Left: Turn Left Mouse Right: Turn Right Left Mouse Button: Fire Weapon Right Mouse Button: Thrust Keys R/H Alt Key: Turn Right R/H Amiga Key: Turn Left L/H Alt Key: Fire L/H Amiga Key: Thrust Enter (on keypad): Weapon Select Spacebar: Weapon Also X: Turn Right Z: Turn Left ?: Fire Shift: Thrust