
                                       OIDS
                                       ----


STUFF ADDED/CHANGED IN THIS VERSION:
------------------------------------
- cracked, packed, linked
- HD compatibility
- Falcon030/TT/CT60 compatibility
- Mint/MagiC/Geneva compatibility
- 8/16 MHz switchable on MegaSTE and Falcon030
- removed "Library menu" as it is redundant in this version
- removed "Another floppy" menu option when running from HD
- added 4 trainer options
- added quit option
- added memory snapshot option


SOURCE:
-------
Pasti image from original (but not mint) disk


EXTRA KEYS IN THIS VERSION:
---------------------------
Control D        - quit to desktop
Control 1 - 9    - save memory snapshot #1 - #9
Control F1 - F9  - load memory snapshot #1 - #9

Hidden keys on the Klaz intro text screen:
H - toggle 50/60Hz (on Mega/ST/E)
L - toggle internal speaker on/off (on Falcon/TT)

Please see below for original game controls.


NOTE:
-----
If you want to use your own galaxy files then just copy them to the game
directory before launching the game. Galaxy files (*.OID) have to reside in
the same directory as the program file is in.


TRAINER OPTIONS:
----------------
- Infinite bombs
  Endless supply of Nova Bombs

- Infinite fuel

- Infinite lives

- Perfect shield
  Shield energy won't get exhausted by collisions, etc.


MEMORY SNAPSHOTS:
-----------------
Memory snapshots can be saved/loaded at any time once the program has
loaded to the main menu. There may be a delay until loading/saving actually
starts when the program is busy loading or unpacking data.


VERSION HISTORY:
----------------

2012-01-07: - Initial release

2012-06-11: - better support for multitasking OSes
            - compatible with software screen enhancers on Falcon
            - CTPCI video card aware
            - fixed a bug in my code that would not delete a galaxy file
              from disk after the last planetoid in the galaxy was deleted
            - fixed a bug in my code that would duplicate a galaxy file
              on disk after it had been renamed and a planetoid deleted
              from it



Klaz, June 2012


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------



Here's the original manual, with some editing by me:


OIDS MANUAL
===========


FREE THE OIDS

The evil Biocretes, rulers of the wealthiest parallel universe in
the  cosmos,  have  created a race of android  slaves  they  call
"OIDS."  The Biocretes treat the gentle,peace-loving  OIDS  worse
than space debris; they abuse them in every way imaginable. While
the downtrodden OIDS toil in filthy,  dangerous energy factories,
the  Biocretes live lives of gluttony and  greed,  savouring  the
fruits of the OIDS' labor.

The OIDS are allowed to rust from neglect of their basic need for
oil.  Often  they  are  forced  to work with  one  or  two  limbs
completely rusted off.  When the OIDS are finally fatigued to the
point  of collapse,  the Biocretes tortuously melt them alive  to
build  new  OIDS  "They're  just  stupid  heaps  of  metal",  the
Biocretes rationalize. "They have no hearts". "We built the OIDS,
so we have the right to treat them as we please".

The  OIDS  do not have hearts,  but they do have  souls,  and  no
creature,  whether  biological or mechanical,  should be  treated
like the Biocretes treat the OIDS.

You,  as  a  member of a compassionate race,  were so  moved  and
angered by the mistreatment of the OIDS that you vowed to  devote
your life to freeing the OIDS from the yoke of Biocrete  slavery.
You joined the intergalactic organization "SaveOIDS" and  through
your courage and passion quickly rose through the ranks to V-Wing
Pilot Commander.

As  a  V-Wing  Pilot,  you  have four  V-Wing  fighters  at  your
disposal.  Equipped  with the latest technology,  nuclear  pellet
guns and NovaBombs, you are deployed from an interplanetary range
mother-ship; your small fleet is ready for action.

Using  your almost limitless supply of nuclear pellets,  you  can
destroy all but the most hardened Biocrete ground bases, and your
super-destructive NovaBombs can make quick work of those.  The V-
wing  craft  is  swift  and  maneuverable,   something  you  find
comforting as you scour the twisting and treacherous passages  of
the Biocrete planetoids,  searching for enslaved OIDS. Of course,
caught in the grip of a Biocrete gravity base you often wish your
small ship had a bit more thrust,  but you knew the odds when you
took the mission.

In their long history, the Biocretes have colonized planetoids in
galaxies  throughout the universe.  Central Command  has  decided
that  each  fleet should concentrate its efforts in  a  different
galaxy. As lead commander, you are given first pick from the list
of target galaxies.  If you do well on this mission,  your reward
will  be another more demanding one.  Good  luck  commander,  and
remember the battle cry:

                         Free the OIDS!


GETTING STARTED

When the title animation is complete,  the top of the screen will
read SELECT A GALAXY TO DEFEND!

Use the up and down Cursor arrows to select the galaxy you  would
like to defend.  Each galaxy is a complete game. Note: the galaxy
'Novoids' is an introductory game for beginners. We recommend you
try it first before playing the more advanced galaxies.

After you have selected a galaxy,  press the return key to  begin
play.

Joystick Users: you may also select a galaxy by using the forward
and reverse movements on the joystick.  Press the fire button  to
begin play.



SHIP CONTROL

The V-Wing spacecraft controls are similar to a lunar lander,  so
when flying it you must take into consideration the normal forces
of nature - gravity, acceleration and velocity. Gravity is always
pulling at your ship,  so you need to occasionally thrust  upward
to counteract this pull. The ship has only a forward thruster, so
any  speed  attained by thrusting in one direction  can  only  be
decreased by thrusting in the opposite direction. You may find it
helpful to practice thrusting in one direction for a few  seconds
then turning around and thrusting in the opposite direction until
your  ship comes to a stop.  Do this until you  feel  comfortable
with the controls.

If your ship crashes into a mountain or any other obstruction  on
the ground,  it will explode. Therefore, it is important that you
learn to turn your ship around and brake soon enough to prevent a
crash.  If  disaster is inevitable,  it is possible to save  your
ship from destruction by using your force shield. We'll talk more
about this later.

The nect section describes your ship controls. Normally, you will
turn, thrust, and operate other ship controls using the keyboard.
However,  you can also use a joystick to control most of the ship
functions. If you wish to use a joystick, you should plug it into
the joystick port on your ST keyboard.  Note:  the keyboard has a
seperate  socket  for the joystick.  OIDS will not respond  to  a
joystick plugged into the mouse socket.



KEYBOARD CONTROL

There are two groups of ship controls on the keyboard.  The right
side of the keyboard has controls to thust, and fire weapons. The
left  side has controls to turn the ship and engage your  shield.
Note:  the section ADVANCED OPTIONS describes how to  reconfigure
the keyboard.

X              Press X to rotate your ship clockwise
Z              Press Z to rotate your ship counter-clockwise
RIGHT SHIFT    Press the right most SHIFT key to thrust
/              Press / to fire your nuclear pellet gun (hold down
               for machine-gun action)
.              Press  the full stop key to launch a NovaBomb  (if
               key  held down,  NovaBomb will detonate  when  you
               release)
LEFT  SHIFT    Press  the  left  most SHIFT key  to  engage  your
               shield (Note:  shield slowly weakens until it will
               no longer protect you)
SPACEBAR       Press  the  SPACEBAR   to  start  recharging  your
               shield.  You  will  hear a beeping sound  as  they
               recharge.  Note:  if you use your shield you  will
               abort the recharge cycle
ESC            Press the ESC key to pause the game.  Press  again
               to continue
Q              Press Q to quit the game



JOYSTICK CONTROL

                              Thrust
                                 |
                 Rotate left   -- --   Rotate right
                                 |
                              Shield
                              on/off

Fire- push once for Nuclear Pellets. 'Double click' for NovaBombs

Most  of  the  ship controls can be  operated  from  a  joystick.
However,  you must use the keyboard to recharge your shield or to
pause or quit the game.



STATUS DISPLAY

During play, the top of the screen displays you game status.

From left to right these are:

     your current score
     a   bar  indicator  to  show  your  fuel   reserves.   Fully
extended to  the right means you have a full load  of  fuel.  The
display  is also colour coded.  Green means  full,  yellow  means
partly full, and red means almost empty.
     a  circular  display which shows the charge  state  of  your
shields.  Green means you have a fully charged shield,  and white
means your shield is gone.
     the next shows how many ships remain in your mother-ship.
     next shows how many OIDS your rescue ship is carrying. Note:
these  OIDS  are  not rescued until you get  them  back  to  your
mother-ship.  Note:  your mother-ship will not return to pick you
up  until  you have a full load of eight OIDS or until  you  have
picked up the last OID on the planetoid.
     the last shows how many NovaBombs you have left.



GAME DETAILS

YOUR SCORE
You  recieve  points  for  heroic  actions,  such  as  destroying
Biocrete ground-bases and spacecraft, and rescuing OIDS. There is
no  reward during play for high scores;  bonus ships are  awarded
only for rescuing OIDS. However, if you achieve the highest score
for  a particular galaxy,  you can record your name in the  high-
scores list.

FUEL
Fuel  is a precious commodity.  Your life depends on  a  constant
supply.  You  start  the game with a full tank,  which  is  spent
propelling  your  V-Wing spacecraft,  firing nuclear pellets  and
powering your on-board shield regenerator.

You can replenish your supply of fuel in two ways.  One way is to
pick  up a full load of OIDS (eight is a full load  unless  there
are  no more OIDS remaining on the planetoid) and return them  to
your  mother-ship.  You  can  also refuel by landing  next  to  a
Biocrete fuel base.

SHIELD
Your V-Wing spacecraft is equiped with an energy shield which can
protect  you from enemy fire,  collisions with enemy  ships,  and
from crashing into the ground. However, the shields energy drains
quickly  and  recharging  it  requires  fuel.  Also,  the  shield
depletes faster if hit by enemy fire.  The worst strain is placed
on  your shield when it comes into contact with  another  shield.
The two shields rapidly drain each other and complete failure can
happen in seconds!

Your shield can be replenished by your shield regenerator, but it
costs fuel to do this.  The weaker your shield is,  the more fuel
will be needed to fully recharge it.  Charging is automatic, once
started,  and  is  indicated  by an  audible  recharge  tone  and
flashing indicator.  Normally,  using your shield will  disengage
the recharger. A special quick-charge is available in emergencies
by  pressing recharge while the shield is on,  but this  is  very
costly in fuel.

BONUS SHIPS
Bonus  ships  in OIDS are not based on  score,  but  instead  are
rewarded for the successful rescue of OIDS.  One reserve ship  is
gained  by rescuing eight OIDS, which is a full load.  A  running
total is always kept.

WEAPONS
Your ship is equiped with two types of weapons;  nuclear  pellets
and NovaBombs.  Nuclear pellets are your primary means of attack.
To fire,  push the nuclear pellet fire button on the keyboard  or
joystick. Hold down the fire button for machine-gun action.

Your  V-Wing spacecraft can also hold four NovaBombs.  There  are
two  ways to fire a NovaBomb.  On the keyboard push the  NovaBomb
key;  on the joystick,  double-click the fire button. Normally, a
NovaBomb  will  explode  only when it contacts the  ground  or  a
shield.  However, it's possible to launch a NovaBomb under manual
control.  On  the  keyboard push and hold the  NovaBomb  key  and
release  when you want it to explode;  on the  joystick,  double-
click, hold the second click then release to explode.

When  a  NovaBomb detonates it creates a huge  nuclear  fireball.
Anything  that  comes  in  contact  with  the  fireball  will  be
destroyed or severely damaged.

RESCUING OIDS
Your main objective on each of your missions is to rescue all the
OIDS  on each planetoid in the galaxy.  To rescue the  OIDS,  you
must first destroy the Biocrete factories in which they are  held
captive.  Be careful,  because it's possible to kill the OIDS  if
you blast open a factory with more than a sngle nuclear pellet.

Once you have blasted a factory open,  OIDS will run out and wave
to you. Find a flat surface nearby and land your ship. Be careful
not to catch the OIDS with your ships exhaust or your shield,  or
they will be killed.

Once eight OIDS have climbed aboard,  or you have rescued all the
OIDS on the planetoid, you have a full load and it's time to dock
with  your  mother-ship to unload them.  The OIDS  shown  on  the
status display at the top of the screen will wave when it's  time
to go.

Your mother-ship will aoppear near the drop-off point.  When  you
approach her,  she will drop a docking probe.  To dock,  approach
her  from  the underside and try to place the nose of  your  ship
into the probe.



THE GAME EDITOR

With the built-in editor,  you can create your own planetoids and
galaxies.  A  galaxy  is  simply  a  collection of  one  or  more
planetoids.  The  names  of existing galaxies are listed  on  the
SELECT A GALAXY TO DEFEND! menu.

A  planetoid  is an individual section of terrain  which  can  be
populated with Biocrete ground-bases,  trees,  and OIDS. With the
OIDS  editor you can modify any planetoid in any galaxy,  or  you
can create new planetoids and galaxies.

To enter the editor,  select the EDITOR MENU line on the SELECT A
GALAXY  TO DEFEND!  menu and press return.  To exit  the  editor,
select QUIT EDITOR on the editor menu.  You may edit an  existing
planetoid  by selecting  LOAD A PLANETOID FROM DISK,  or start  a
new planetoid by selecting BEGIN A NEW PLANETOID.

From  the editor menu,  you may flip back and forth  between  the
editor menu and the edit screen by pressing the ESC key. The edit
screen  is  where  you  will  actually  create  and  modify  your
planetoids.  The  edit screen looks similar to the  game  screen,
except  it  has  additional  controls that  let  you  sculpt  new
mountain ranges and place Biocrete bases on them.

In the centre of the edit screen is a "cursor" which is displayed
as a chunk of mountain range or a Biocrete base.  Using the arrow
keys  and the SHIFT and CONTROL keys,  you can  select  different
mountain shapes and bases and precisely place them on the screen.
Press and hold the SHIFT key to move the cursor faster.

To  select a different mountain shape or a different  base,  hold
down  the control key and press the arrow keys.  The up and  down
arrow  keys select a different group of mountains or  bases.  The
left  and  right arrow keys select a different shape or  type  of
base within a group.  Then, you can press the INSERT key to place
the  mountain shapes or bases onto the planetoid.  The  UNDO  key
removes the last placed item.

The  editor has additional controls that help you properly  align
the mountain ranges or correct mistakes.  We'll describe these in
the  summary that follows.  First,  you need to know about a  few
limitations on how mountain ranges may be placed.

Mountain ranges are composed of two types of pieces;  top  pieces
and  bottom  pieces.  Bottom pieces are lighter coloured  on  the
bottom  outside  and top pieces are lighter on the  top  outside.
Mountain  pieces  can only be placed in vertical columns  on  the
screen,  and in any column you can have only one bottom piece and
up  to two top pieces.  If you try to place more than one  bottom
piece or more than two top pieces,  one of your previously placed
pieces will be destroyed.

After you have designed your planetoid, return to the editor menu
by pressing the ESC key. Then, save your planetoid to a galaxy on
your game  disk by selecting  SAVE PLANETOID TO  DISK.  Important
note:  if  you save a planetoid over an existing  planetoid,  you
will lose the original planetoid forever.

The editor menu also has additional controls that let you  select
the  difficulty  level  for  the  loaded  planetoid,   delete   a
planetoid,  or rename a galaxy or a planetoid.  Note:  Renaming a
galaxy will reset the current high score for that galaxy.


EDIT SCREEN KEYS

Here  is  a  complete summary of all the commands  for  the  edit
screen.

Q	 Will  leave the editor screen and jump  back to the main
         menu.

ESC      Pressing the ESC key switches between the  editor screen
         and the editor menu.

ARROWS   When  editing a planetoid, the screen shows  a  "cursor"
         which resembles either mountain terrain or a  base.  The
         arrow keys move this cursor about the screen.

SHIFT    Holding  down  a SHIFT key while pressing an  arrow  key
         will make the cursor move faster.

CONTROL  Press  and  hold the CONTROL key to select  a  different
         base  or  mountain shape.  The up and  down  arrow  keys
         select  a  different group of objects and the  left  and
         right arrows select a particular base or mountain  shape
         within a group.

INSERT   Press INSERT to "draw" with the current cursor  picture.
         For example,  when the cursor shows a base,  the  insert
         key will place this base onto the planetoid.  Press UNDO
         to remove a placed base or mountain.

DELETE   Press  DELETE to remove the mountain or base the  cursor
         is closest to. Note: when placing mountains, DELETE will
         only  remove mountains,  and when placing  bases  DELETE
         will only remove bases.

UNDO     Press  UNDO to remove the last placed base or  mountain,
         or to undelete the last deleted mountain or base.

P        Press P to start up the game for playtest with a ship at
         your   current  cursor  position.   Press  Q   to   quit
         playtesting and resume editing.

M        Press  M  to start  up the game for  playtest  from  the
         point where your mother-ship drops you off.  Press Q  to
         quit playtesting and resume editing.

R        Press  R  to  restore all the  ground-bases  which  were
         destroyed during playtesting.

A        Press  A  to  examine and adjust  alien  difficulty  and
         general  difficulty settings for the planetoid  you  are
         editing.

HELP     The  HELP key will "align" your mountain to the  closest
         mountain to the left or right of your cursor, or if your
         cursor  is  a base it will align the base  with  closest
         mountain beneath the cursor.

F        The F key shows you  a full-view 1/8th scale map of  the
         entire "planetoid" in the editor.  Yellow dots are home-
         bases,  blue  dots are refuelling-bases,  the  rest  are
         represented by white dots.



ADVANCED OPTIONS

This   section  describes  several  expert-level   features.   We
recommend  that  you first become familiar with OIDS  before  you
attempt to use any of these features.

Reconfiguring the keyboard:
The SELECT GALAXY TO DEFEND!  menu has a special menu option that
lets  you redefine the keys that control your V-Wing  ship.  When
selected,  the  CHANGE  KEYS option will prompt you  to  indicate
which key you would like to control each function.  Press ESC  at
any key prompt to restore the original key setting supplied  with
the game.

Edit screen options:
Advanced  OIDS  users  can take advantage  of  several  short-cut
features when editing planetoids. Here is a list of them:

CONTROL L will load a planetoid while in the edit screen. This is
faster than first returning to the editor menu.

Likewise, CONTROL S will save a planetoid from the edit screen.

CONTROL B erases the  current planetoid,  removing all bases  and
mountain shapes.

CONTROL G lets you rename a galaxy on the game disk.



-------------------------
Doc typed out by RAISTLIN



