
	
Cannon Fodder 	1993, Virgin Interactive	
Cannon Fodder - Manual

Epilepsy Warning  -  Read this before playing Cannon Fodder
A very small percentage of individuals experience epileptic seizures when
exposed to certain light patterns or flashing lights. Exposure to certain
light patterns of backgrounds on a television screen or while playing
computer games may induce undetected epileptic symptoms in persons who have
no history of prior seizures of epilepsy. If you, or anyone in your family,
has an epileptic condition, consult your doctor prior to playing. If you
experience any of the following symptoms while playing a computer game:
dizziness, altered vision, eye or muscle twitches, loss of awareness,
disorientation, any involuntary movement, or convulsions, IMMEDIATELY
discontinue use and consult your doctor before resuming play.

WELCOME!
~~~~~~~~
Welcome to Cannon Fodder. This manual has been produced to ensure that you
get the very best out of this premium product. If you should find either
the program or the documentation unsatisfactory in any way, drop us a line
detailing in full the reasons for your dissatisfaction. This will help us
to avoid repeating any similar hiccups in the future. Queries, opinions and
complaints should be sent to CUSTOMER SERVICES, Virgin Interactive
Entertainment, 338A Ladbroke Grove, London W10 5AH.

CAUTION!
~~~~~~~~
Diskettes are magnetic media, just like cassette tapes. Do not expose to
x-rays or intense magnetic fields as the data they hold will be erased. Do
not attempt to `back-up' this data as it may be destroyed in the process.

BOX CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Accompanying this manual inside the box you should find three Cannon Fodder
program diskettes. We advise that these disks are `write-protected' at all
times by ensurinf the black plastic tab in the corner of each disk is moved
`up' so a `hole' is created!

                                 CONTENTS
                                 ~~~~~~~~

1)  Box Contents				13) Share and share alike
2)  Loading Cannon Fodder			14) Regrouping Troops
3)  Trouble Shooting				15) A Mission Reminder	
4)  What you can expect to see during play	16) Phase Complete
5)  From Conscripts to Troopers			17) Saving Games
6)  Controlling Troopers			18) Loading Saved Games
7)  The Status Panel				19) The Train Spotters guide
8)  The Pointer					    to the enemy
9)  Moving Troops				20) To the Terrain
10) Using Weapons				21) To Vehicles
11) Boarding and Leaving Vehicles               22) To Ranks
12) Form a new Troop (or 2)



2) LOADING CANNON FODDER

Note that Cannon Fodder is for One player only (but friends are allowed to
cheer you on).

- Set up your computer as described in its instruction manual. Ensure that
  a mouse is plugged into the port `1 JOYSTICK'.

- If your computer is turned on, turn it off. Wait for at least thirty
  seconds before turning on your computer again. This will remove any virus
  which may be present and so minimise the risk of infecting and possibly
  destroying your Cannon Fodder disks.

- Insert the Cannon Fodder disk 1 into the computers internal disk drive.
  The program will load and run automatically. When you are prompted to
  insert Cannon Fodder disk 2, do so.

- You will know that Cannon Fodder has loaded when you see the title
  screen. Further loading from disk 2 may be required, so do not remove it
  from the drive unless you are prompted to insert disk 3 or until you no
  longer wish to play.


3) TROUBLE SHOOTING

In the unlikely event that Cannon Fodder fails to load, turn off your
computer and remove any extraneous external peripherals such as printers
(leave the monitor or television connected) before repeating the loading
procedure.

If Cannon Fodder still refuses to load then pop the faulty disk(s) - not
the packaging - into a suitably-sized jiffy bag or padded envelope along
with your name and address. To aid our trouble shooting department, please
provide in as much detail as possible your equipment configuration (not
forgetting any RAM expansion devices).

Send the package to: THE RETURNS DEPARTMENT, Virgin Interactive
Entertainment, 338A Ladbroke Grove, London W10 5AH. Virign Interactive will
endeavour to replace the faulty disk within 28 days of its receipt.


4) WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE DURING PLAY

All the action takes place in the playfield which takes up the best part of
the screen. Here are some of the things you will see.....

TOP LEFT - STATUS PANEL
MID LEFT - AN ENEMY INSTALLATION
LOW LEFT - THE MAP ICON
ON SCREEN- BIRDS, GRASS, TROOPERS, POINTER + VEHICLES!


5) FROM CONSCRIPTS TO TROOPERS

Before you get to see the above screen, you need to call up some fit young
men to become troopers. As luck would have it, over at Boot Hill there is a
queue of some 360 eager conscripts waiting to go to war - but only 15 of
them are allowed to volunteer for each mission. Fortunately for all
concerned, the innocent are aided to the experienced troop of survivors
from previous missions.

There are 24 missions to complete, each one with a different terrain and
objective and split into a maximum of six phases. For more intimate details
see know your mission profiles and know your terrain!


6) CONTROLLING TROOPERS

You do not exactly control troopers but instead determine their behaviour
thanks to a remarkable interfacing technique involving a mouse, a pointer,
and a troop leader. Troopers will only follow their leader but can be
encouraged to run around in circles, shoot anything that moves, throw
grenades, shoot bazookas, drive Tanx, fly choppas, split up and do their
own thing, and die.

At the start of the game all troopers are conscripted as lowly Privates.
Their ranks increase for every phase they somehow survive, but their
promotion only happens when the mission is complete. After every three
missions the raw recruits recieve extra training and so have already risen
in rank when called upon to do their duty. The rank of the troop leader is
shown above his head, just so you know who`s in charge.

Note that the bullets fired by your troopers are clever. They will not kill
a fellow trooper - unless he is wounded and squirming around on the ground
in agony. However, it must also be noted that all other weaponary kills
everyone, regardless of what side they are on.



7) THE STATUS PANEL

It does more than inform....

THE TROOPS LOGO 	- Shows the logo of the troop.

GRENADES		- Shows whether or not the troop has any grenades
		          and, if so, how many. At first the troop has no 
			  grenades. Extra grenades are found in boxes of
			  four. Pick them up - and be careful not to blow
   			  them up. Note that, in the interests of public
                          safety, from the phase entitled  `Pier Pressure'
			  onwards, each trooper is given two grenades -
			  free of charge.

BAZOOKAS		- Not to be confused with the crude trombone-like
		 	  musical instruments of the same name - or indeed,
			  bazoomas, which are something else entirely -
			  these bazookas are weapons of war. This symbol
			  shows whether or not the troop has any bazookas
			  and, if so, how many. At first the troop has no
			  bazookas but a keen eye will soon spot the
			  barrels in which four bazookas are stored. Pick
			  them up - and be careful not to blow them up.
			  Note that, in the interests of Public Safety,
			  from the phase entitled `My Beautiful Skidoo'
			  onwards, each trooper is given a free bazooka.

TROOP STATUS		- Shows whether the troop is on foot or in a
			  vehicle. This box is highlighted when the troop
			  is active.

TROOP TROOPERS		- The names of the troopers in the troop are shown
			  along with their ranks, in order of importance,
			  with the leader at the top.



8) THE POINTER

This is the aforementioned mouse-controlled pointer used to determine the
behaviour of your troopers (and troops). As you will see, the pointer
changes to reflect one of three types of trooper conduct:

A) TROOPER (OR TROOP) DESTINATION POINTER
B) WEAPON DESTINATION CROSSHAIR
C) VEHICLE IN, OUT POINTERS



9) MOVING TROOPS

Use the mouse to move the pointer around the screen until it`s tip touches
the desired destination. Not that the way you can view the immediate area
surrounding the active troop.

Press the left hand mouse button to make the troop leader move towards the
pointer`s tip. The rest of the troop will follow in rank and file.



10) USING WEAPONS

It couldn`t be simpler ...

Press the right-hand mouse button to turn the pointer into a crosshair and
make the trooper or troop shoot at the centre of the crosshair.

Press and hold the right-hand mouse button then press the left-hand mouse
button to make the troop leader throw a grenade or fire his bazooka at the
centre of the crosshair.



11) USING VEHICLES

Five types of vehicle become available in Cannon Fodder. Each vehicle holds
up to eight troopers. For details of the vehicles and their special
functions, see know your vehicles!

Boarding Vehicles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use the mouse to move the pointer around the screen until the tip touches
the desired vehicle. The pointer will change to show that the empty vehicle
may be boarded.

Press the left-hand mouse button to make the trooper (or troop) board the
vehicle.

Press and hold the left-hand mouse button to make the trooper (or troop)
shoot the vehicle`s weapon (if it has one). Note that grenades and bazookas
cannot be used while inside a vehicle.

Leaving Vehicles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use the mouse to move the pointer around the screen until it`s tip touches
the occupied vehicle. The pointer will change to show that that occupied
vehicle may be abandoned.

Press the left-hand mouse button to make the trooper (or troop) leave the
vehicle.

A Little White LIE!
Actually, the pointer has a fourth state. When a trooper (or troop) is in a
Choppa flying above the terrain, touching the choppa with the pointer will
change it into a `the choppa can land symbol' - This obivously means that
the choppa can land!

Press the left-hand mouse button when the `The choppa can land symbol' is
shown to make the choppa land. Once the choppa has landed, select it to
make the troop disembark.



12) FORM A NEW TROOP (OR TWO)

There are times when the strategy dictates that the troopers split up -
perhaps to execute a pincer movement. So long as you have enough troopers
you can make a maximum of two new troops from the original Snake Troop, and
those are: Eagle Troop and Panther Troop.

Select the names of the troopers you`d like to form a new troop (the names
will be highlighted). Notice that the troops logo has been split in two.

Select the troop`s logo to form a new troop with the troopers whose names
were highlighted.

Note that new troops may be formed inside a vehicle, but only the
highlighted troop will exit the vehicle.



13) SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

Hold on - who takes all the grenades and bazookas when a troop splits? It`s
up to you to decide. Notice that when you split a troop, any grenades and
bazookas are outlined. By selecting the grenades or bazookas, the outline
changes to reflect the quantity of weapons - all, half or none - that the
new troop will take.

The solid outline represents all the weapons.

The dotted outline represents half of the weapons.

No outline represents none of the weaopons.



14) REGROUPING TROOPS

To bring seperate troops together simply walk into each other whereupon the
troopers will automatically regroup as a single troop.



15) A MISSION REMINDER

Select the map icon for an overview of the surrounding area.



16) PHASE COMPLETE

You did it - you saved the day. And you can save your state of play, too -
but only if you manage to complete the whole mission.

Saving Games - See that little picture in the top right hand corner of Boot
Hill? That`s a save icon, that is, Use the mouse to select it and call up a
special Save Screen with three new options: save, format and continue game.

SAVE -You can only save `situations' to a specially formatted disk (see the
format option for more details). Having selected the save option you will
be prompted to insert your save disk, do so and select ok (you will be
prompted if you have inserted the wrong type of disk). Use the keyboard to
type a name for your save (a maximum of eight letters and numbers are
allowed, but spaces are not). Press the enter key to save the state of play
to the disk. Select exit and return to Boot Hill.

FORMAT - Having selected this option, insert a blank disk into the disk
drive then select ok. The Cannon Fodder program will check the disk and
you will be prompted to decide whether or not you wish to destroy its
contents. Select either yes (in which case, wait until the disk is
formatted) or no.

LOADING SAVED GAMES - See that litte picture in the top left hand corner of
Boot Hill? That`s a load icon, that is. Use the mouse to select it and call
up a special load screen. You will be prompted to insert a save game disk.
If the Cannon Fodder program detects a suitable disk, its contents will be
shown on screen (if more than five filenames are stored on the disk, select
up or down to view them). Select the filename you wish to load. You will
then be returned to Boot Hill.

HOLD IT!
~~~~~~~~
If you need to halt your assault ....

Press the P key to freeze the action.

Press the P key when the action is frozen to resume play.


TRY AGAIN!
~~~~~~~~~~
So you screwed up? Never mind, surrender and try again. but wait! What if
you have some remaining troopers but, say, not enough grenades or
inclination to continue and you want to try anything?

Press the ESC key to surrender. Your surviving troopers will be available
to replay the phase.


HIGH SCORING HEROES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a trooper dispatches an enemy, one point is added to his personal
score. Note that all grenades, bazookas and vehicle weapons are activated
by the troop leader, so he gets all the credit (and points, of course).
When a trooper dies, his performance is not forgotten - unless he didn`t
score enough points to register with the High Scoring Heroes Burea (who
manage the High Scoring Heroes Table).


KNOW YOUR MISSION PROFILES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Those seven primary objectives are revealed in full ...

KILL ALL ENEMY	- Including troopers, enemy BigGunz, vehicles and the rest.

DESTROY ENEMY   - All those buildings with doors from which the enemy
BUILDINGS         emerge.

DESTROY ENEMY   - Or Computer even.
FACTORY

RESCUE ALL	- Return up to four hostages to safety. Free a hostage by
HOSTAGES          shooting his (or her) captor, then take the trooper (or
		  troop) up to the hostage to `tag' him (or her). The
		  hostage will follow the trooper (or troop) to the nearest
                  friendly MASH outpost - so take him (or her) there as
                  quickly as possible.

KIDNAP ENEMY	- This cunning fellow is dressed to look like a hostage,
LEADER		  but he`s not. Don`t be angry and kill him - take him to
		  the nearest allied outpost.

PROTECT ALL	- Whatever happens, don`t let any civilians die.
CIVILIANS

GET CIVILIANS	- Innocent civilians are caged like wild animals. Destroy
HOME		  their barricade to free them then ensure that they make
		  it home alive.




KNOW YOUR TERRAIN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are five different climes to conquer in Cannon Fodder - and here`s a
low-down on all of them ...


THE JUNGLE
~~~~~~~~~~
Look out for the following

Trees 	 - And plants for that matter. They aren`t just here for decoration
	   they also provide much needed cover for exposed troopers. Note
	   that you can blow up some trees (and plants).

Quicksand- Or `sucky sucky' as it`s known. every time we put up warning
	   signs they disappeared, so beware.

Water	 - It`s either shallow or deep. Troopers cannot use their weapons
	   when they are in deep water - because they need to swim across
	   it.

Birds    - You can`t shoot them down - or can you? If not, why not? 
           Otherwise, why are they here? Or are they simply red herrings?


ARTIC WASTES
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Igloos	 - Packed with eskimos - or are they the enemy?

Snowmen  - They often hold a surprise.

Ice      - Perfect training ground for the Torvilles and Deans of this
	   world, but not for the troopers in Cannon Fodder.


THE DESERT
~~~~~~~~~~

Chasms	 - They make the Cheddar Gorge look like a small crack - so there`s
	   no good reason for your troopers to fall into one.

Hangars  - Not for the troopers` clothes you understand, but for cover
	   from enemy fire.

Cacti	 - Very scarce thanks to the even scarcer giant cactus-eating
	   rodents.


MOOR LANDS
~~~~~~~~~~

Country  - Are they inhabited? Are they indestrucible?
Cottages

Stone  	 - Are they merely here for the crossing?
Bridges

B Roads	 - There`s a network of them.


THE UNDERGROUND BASE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Doors	 - Destroy them to make progress.

Barriers - Destroy them to make progress.

Enemy    
Lockers, - They lead to ....
Changing
Rooms

Sewers   - Fancy a dip?



KNOW YOUR VEHICLES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note that the enemy versions bear red flashing lights.

Choppas		- Join the birds in the sky and flit above the treetops.
		  There are two types of choppa: one is unarmed 
		  Transporta, the other is a Killa brimming to the teeth
		  with bombs, rockets or heat-seeking missles. Choppas are
		  more vulnerable on the ground

Tanx		- They shoot shells (and not of the seaside variety - ha he
		  ho). Tanx are slow but hardy, being impervious to all
		  weapons except rockets, heat-seeking missles and shells.

Jeeps		- There are two types: one is an unarmed transport vehicle,
		  the other has a front-mounted machine gun.

Skidooz		- Just like Jeeps really, except Skidooz are suitable for
		  travelling across snow and ice.

Biggunz		- Fixed turrets that fire either rockets or shells and vary
		  in defensive strength depending on the terrain. And, yes,
		  it`s not a vehicle. So what?



KNOW YOUR ENEMY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pay careful attention to the following information - it may help save the
lives of innocent troopers.

Grunts		- Your basic enemy trooper. Most of them are armed with
		  machine guns, but some of them carry grenades.

Snipers		- Tricky blighter, Johnny Sniper - he hides in the
		  undergrowth and takes pot shots with his bazooka
		  at the player`s troopers.

Artillery	- They handle Biggunz and Tanx which are best destroyed.

Engineers	- They command Jeeps and Skidooz. Watch out! Some of them
		  are armed!

Air Force	- They handle Choppas which you should blow up as soon as
		  possible. Beware! When an enemy Choppa parks itself in
		  your area, it will let out Grunts.


KNOW YOUR SUPA DUPA BOOSTAS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you see any of the following gold-coloured Supa Dupa Boostas (which
won`t be often because they are in such demand), pick it up for a Speacial
Feature!

Supa Dupa	- A complement of 50 heat-seeking missles are yours, with
Missle Boosta	  our compliments.

Supa Dupa	- Makes a trooper invincible from bullets and bombs for the
Bullet-Proofa     duration of the phase.
Vest

Supa Dupa	- The trooper becomes an instant General - and will probably
Rank Boosta	  take control of the troop, too.

Supa Dupa	- Gives the trooper a Missle Boosta, Bullet-Proofa Vest AND
Trooper Boosta    Rank Boosta.

Supa Dupa	- Gives the whole troop the complete Supa Dupa Boosta Range!
Troop Boosta



KNOW YOUR RANKS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just the thing to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas at apres battle
parties. Note that the higher a trooper`s rank, the better the gravestone
he receives on Boot Hill.

PRIVATE - CORPORAL - SERGEANT - STAFF SERGEANT - SERGEANT FIRST CLASS 

MASTER SERGEANT - SERGEANT MAJOR - SPECIALIST 4 - SPECIALIST 6 

WARRANT OFFICER - CHIEF WARRANT OFFICEER - CAPTAIN - MAJOR - COLONEL 

BRIGADIER GENERAL - GENERAL .	(In order of authority)



BE THE FITTEST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And survive with the following Handy Hints:

Don`t wait until you see the whites of their eyes - shoot them before they
shoot you.

Look out for secret hidden zones where special equipment may be found.

Please don`t leave the screaming wounded to die. Bite the bullet, so to
speak, and do the decent thing: finish them off.

Wise men say that fools rush in where angels fear to tread, so look before
you leap, so to speak, because the grass is not always greener on the other
side of the hill.

Watch out for mines and mantraps - they make a terrible mess.

This one`ll kill ya ... When you have shot a man and he`s lying there,
dead, shoot him some more to make him jump around like a bunny.

And on a more serious note: don`t try playing this at home, kids, because
war is not a game - war, as Cannon Fodder demonstrates in it`s own quirky
little way, is a sensless waste of human resources and lives. We hope that
you never have to find out the hard way.

---

Cannon Fodder - Hints


1.  In Choppas, land on the enemy to kill them - safer than landing and
getting out.

2.  In missions in which you have control of a lot of troppers separate the
lowest ranking trooper from the rest and give him all the weapons, make
sure the rest are safe, then attempt the mission with one trooper.  If the
trooper dies just press Esc.  This saves a lot of troopers later, such as
in Mission 18 Phase 5 of 5 - The Doors.

3.  Troopers are able to throw grenades quite a long way and over walls,
trees and buildings.  Use this to your advantage to protect against Biggunz
and Jeeps.  To throw a grenade a long way, simply position the pointer
further than needed.

4.  Buildings can be destroyed even if you can`t see them.  For instance, if
a trooper is in a Biggun and there is a building slightly off the edge of
the screen, roughly aim at the building making sure the pointer is at the
very edge of the screen and Fire.

5.  Learn to control Jeeps and Skidooz early on (how to skid them).  In
later levels you may need good control to hit ramps at correct angles
otherwise you can blow up if you hit walls.  This is also useful to get
away from shells, rockets and grenades.

6.  An effective way of destroying snipers is to just run straight towards
them and shoot your guns.  Don`t waste grenades on them unless it is
necessary.
