2400 A.D.

INTRODUCTION

The year is 2400 A.D. The place is Metropolis, a city on the remote planet

XK-120, or Nova Athens as it's known by its human inhabitants. Established

more than a century ago, it flourished as a center for learning, research,

and the arts. The Tzorgs, an alien race friendly to mankind, contributed to

the prosperity of Nova Athens. All seemed to be going well...perhaps too

well.

The Tzorgs suddenly withdrew their ambassador in 2291, followed by attacks

on the outlying planets. The Tzorg Empire and the United Stellar Council go

to war after a failed summit meeting, and Nova Athens soon falls to the

Tzorg attacks. Martial law is imposed, and the Tzorgs continue to wage war

against mankind throughout the galaxy. Soon, they are forced to shift their

forces from Nova Athens to the outlying sectors, and they leave Metropolis

in the iron grip of their robot police force, with long jail sentences

imposed for those who break their strict laws.

A growing underground movement is established to find a way to defeat the

robot force, and they achieve limited success in creating a network of

information, and in supplying high-tech devices. Most of the underground

members are soon captured or forced into hiding, due to increased robot

enforcement, but not before they've completed a tunnel to the Tzorg

Authority Complex, and discovered the means for someone with the proper

skills and daring to deactivate the entire robot police force. This would

free Nova Athens and allow the USC forces access to a strategic base -- a

major advantage in the raging war.

You are a computer specialist who arrives with the latest shipment of

off-world workers imported by the Tzorgs. Having the advantage of no prior

police record, you are free to roam the central city, gathering information

and items with the help of the underground. You must find a way into the

Tzorg Authority Complex, reach the main control console, and end the robot

rule. If you can accomplish your mission, Nova Athens will be free, and the

citizens will walk the streets without fear.

CHARACTER CREATION

When you create your character, you are given 99 points to distribute

among four attributes: Energy, Agility, Intelligence, and Affinity. These

stats can be raised in various ways as the game progresses, but a good

initial mix is important to surviving the first parts of the game. I

suggest allocating 30-35 points each to energy and agility, and dividing

the remainder equally between intelligence and affinity.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

All your stats temporarily decrease when you're hit by robot forces. Your

energy will also dip when running, climbing ladders, pushing objects, or

breaking doors open. The doors marked with a "!" will sap 20 points of

energy, while the ones marked with red tags require 30-50 points. Later,

doors can be opened with the proper Passcard, or just blown open with the

plasma rifle.

If your energy drops below about 5 for whatever reason, you will pass out

and awaken in the Social Rehabilitation Center with all your possessions

confiscated. If you pass out with no contraband and sufficient funds,

you'll be taken to Metropolis hospital, instead, and charged a fee. Being

hit by a subway train costs you 2,000 credits, so be careful down there! If

you end up in the SRC, fear not: Your inventory can be recovered.

You will need to destroy many robots for two reasons: to earn credits by

searching the dead hulks, and to increase your attributes. For almost every

kill, a random attribute will be increased. Energy and intelligence may

also be increased for a stiff price in the booster labs located

underground. Affinity increases after almost every conversation with an

NPC. Booster pills will hike all your stats up to 99 temporarily; the

penalty is your normal stats will drop by a few points after the effect is

over.

The game is action-oriented, and quick responses are needed at times. You

are required to report to the Public Tracking Office every 2,000 ticks.

Failure to do so earns you a Social Demerit. Being caught by a Checker

robot with contraband or in a zone that you don't have the proper ZAC (Zone

Access Card) for also gets you an SD. If you accumulate five SDs, you will

be targeted for capture by the robots, and sent to the SRC if you're

caught. If you fail to surrender to a robot or turn over contraband, you

will have to fight and run. If you lose the fight or surrender voluntarily,

you're off to SRC.

GETTING OUT OF JAIL

There are advantages (especially in the early game) to surrendering at any

time to earn a free trip to the SRC. It clears your SD counter and resets

your check-in timer, and also provides an easy access to the underground.

The escape tunnel is located right behind your bed: Just climb over it and

walk through the wall. The ladder will take you all the way down to the

first level of the underground. Your cell is on Level 3 of the SRC. In a

rubbish pile on Level 2 are booster pills. Through the east wall on Level 1

Guido is sitting out his sentence. Mention STUFF to him and he'll tell you

where the robots put your possessions.

From Level 1 of the underground, go all the way west past Virgil (he'll

tell you about Guido). At the far west end, a ladder leads up to Level 0 of

the Administration Building. Climb east over the computer there and head

out of the building. Walk east past the sentries (there shouldn't be

trouble; there are usually no Checker robots) into the Central Zone. You

can walk right through the front door of the SRC, past the robots, and turn

right at the end of the entrance hall. To the south is a storage room; on

the south wall is an open box containing your stuff. Walk out the back door

to the north, and you're back in business (until next time).

The ladder goes down one more level where you meet Tony. He and Horace

used to work in the Power Center in the Authority Complex. Horace is in a

room on the same level, amidst a mess of pipes you climb over. He tells you

the code for getting through the Power Center binary maze is DDDUD.

THE PERSONAL TRANSPORTERS

WARNING: In the IBM version, using the transporters occasionally messes

things up! If after a transport, things just don't look right, you should

reboot the system and reload the game. If you don't end up in a small

booth, that's a sure sign something's wrong. Don't yell at me: Talk to the

folks at Origin!

There are five "normal" transporters around the city. They can take you

into each of the zones a safe distance from the border checkpoints, where

the Checker robots are usually stationed. The access code is LETSGO

(obtained from Sid in the underground). The destination codes are 00 to 04,

and here's where they take you:

00 - Right next to the Public Tracking Office (Central Zone)

01 - Just south of Novue Apartments (Eastern Zone)

02 - University Main Building (Southern Zone)

03 - Administration Building (Western Zone)

04 - Megatech Building "B" (Northern Zone)

In addition, there is a booth in the underground that will take you to any

of the five above-ground locations. This is useful for getting back to the

Tracking Office in a hurry.

GETTING STARTED

You begin the game in the Public Tracking Office, with a Gridread (legal)

and a Hand Phaser (illegal) in your inventory. Sitting to the east is

Eddie. Talk to him about SPIDER (Spider is the leader of the underground),

and Eddie will give you directions to Joe's bar where Spider hangs out. On

the way, charge your weapon and Gridread at the power node in the back

alley. In Joe's bar, climb over the counter, go through the door to the

northeast, then through the door to the southeast.

Spider is in the corner. As soon as you talk to him, he'll tell you to get

a password from Reggie who is on the second floor of Johnnie's Corner. You

can risk going there (it's in the Eastern Zone, and you don't have the

proper ZAC yet); the password is MADEIT. Talk to Spider again, and he'll

welcome you to the underground and direct you to Harvey in the Novue

Apartments. If you want to go there (it's also in the Eastern Zone), he's

on Level 2. Talk to him about UNDERGROUND, and he will tell you that there

is an entrance behind the lift tubes on Level 0. Spider will also give you

a Hand Blaster and Passcard FR74, which opens the door to the underground

in the Novue Apartments.

ROBOT-BASHING STRATEGY

Now that you have a better weapon than that dinky Hand Phaser, it's time

to try your hand at some combat. You need to increase your stats and get

some credits. You have no shield whatsoever, so you'll be lucky to take out

one or two robots, maybe more, before you get busted. Get used to the SRC:

You'll probably be going there a lot until you get some cash.

Your first target should be the isolated sentry robot outside the Tracking

Office. Charge your Hand Blaster at an isolated power node, then walk up

right next to the robot (your dexterity is kind of low, but you want to get

close). Blast away and ignore the alarms. If you kill it, immediately

search it, then run into the back alleys to recover. Wander around and look

for other easy prey. Your only realistic targets at this point are sentries

and police robots. If you are caught, read GETTING OUT OF JAIL. If you

manage to get at least 500 (preferably 875) credits, head for the

underground. After buying better armor and perhaps some devices (whatever

you can afford/carry), head back up and take on the tougher robots. You'll

just have to keep at it to build up your stats and credits.

If anything breaks, try several times to fix it yourself. If you succeed,

it will raise your IQ. If you can't do it, take it to Hugo's Fix-It Shop.

You will need 3,500 credits for Les to build the field disperser armor,

1,000 credits for a jet pack, plus credits to buy the parts to fix the

plasma rifle, and pay Hugo to fix it. More on this later; for this part of

the game, blast robots! Talk to everyone, because it raises your affinity;

in some cases, it also raises your IQ.

THE UNDERGROUND

There are several entrances to the underground. The first one you are

likely to find is in the Social Rehabilitation Center (See GETTING OUT OF

JAIL). Head west from the ladder and turn south where the corridor

branches. Following this corridor, you will meet Fritz, who can tell you

how to get through the maze to the boost labs. Also, there's Jimmy, who

knows the access code for the terminals under the Administration Building.

These terminals give you the deactivation codes for the main control

console in the Tzorg Authority Complex.

Continue to follow the corridor, and just before it narrows, you'll find

Verne. Verne sells Plastiform, Booster Pills, Time Bombs, Detonators, Video

Scramblers, Disrupters, Scanners, and Heavy Shields. The door (nearby in

the red brick wall) leads to the maze of rooms where the boost labs are.

Another entrance to the underground is located in the Novue Apartments

(behind the door by the lift tubes). Either break the door or use the

passcard FR74 you got from Spider. On the first level down you'll find

Carlos, who tells you (in general terms) where Wes (weapons dealer), Verne,

and Nguyen (another gadget seller) hang out. Also on this level, in the

southern room, is Jeff. Jeff forges Passcards for 50 credits and ZACs for

150 credits.

Take the ladder down to the next level and head west to find a red brick

structure. The corridor on the east side leads through this structure. The

second door on the north is where Sid stays. He has the access code for the

transporters, LETSGO. At the end of the corridor there's a lab where Sybil

and Elroy are working. Sybil works with Hugo, and Elroy will tell you about

the Transporter Guidance Device he's working on. You need one in the

Authority Complex, but you'll need to get it elsewhere.

If you follow the north side of the structure, then head south, you should

find the other gadget seller, Nguyen. He sells Plastiform, Booster Pills,

Disrupters, Video Scramblers, Direct Overrides, Holo Projectors, Scanners,

and Light Shields (buy this if you only have 500 credits instead of 875 for

the heavy shield sold by Verne).

Proceed past the building to the north and you should meet Pinkie, the

resistance organizer. He'll direct you to four other people stationed

around the city who provide information: Mark at Administration, Robert at

Megatech, Sasha at Novue Apartments, and Richard at the University.

Continue west along the corridor to meet Alfonso, who will tell you where

some energy cells are. Further along the corridor, a pipe enters the wall

to the north. Climb along this pipe to find the room he told you about.

Search the cabinet for energy cells for recharging devices (although I

never used one). They can be sold to a dealer in the underground, but only

for 5 or 6 credits -- not worth the time or trouble.

Still further along the corridor, there's a ladder down to where Tony and

Horace are (mentioned in GETTING OUT OF JAIL), and still further along

you'll meet Harvey who will talk about the plasma rifle. He should be

standing very near the room where Wes sets up shop. Wes sells Hand Phasers,

Hand Blasters, Mini Cutters, Laser Cutters, Blaster Rifles, Pulse Lasers,

and Stun Guns. It is important to be a loyal customer, because after a few

purchases, Wes will give you the broken Plasma Rifle!

Yet another entrance is located in the Administration Building in the room

north of the entrance. There's a row of cabinets against the west wall.

Climb over the center one to reach the ladder down. Heading east, you'll

come to the junction that leads south to Fritz, Jimmy, Verne, and the boost

labs.

The last entrance to the underground (that I'm aware of) is reached from

the back room of Larry's Electronics shop. There are two 20-strength doors

that you can either break down or open with Passcards coded 9C59 and 9D63.

The ladder takes you down to a spot just west of where Tim has a shop. Tim

is the only person who will buy your used weapons and devices (say SELL).

East of Tim's shop and down a level you can go east to Wes's shop.

Heading west from Tim's you will come to a junction and some more NPCs.

Leroy will talk about the plasma rifle, and Melvin tells you about Tim. If

you take the south branch, you will meet Vince, who talks about energy

boost treatments. The south corridor eventually leads to Verne and the

boost labs. Taking the west branch leads to a dealer in energy cells, and

finally to a one-way transport booth -- handy for a quick return to the

Tracking Office.

Whew! That completes our tour of the underground. It's confusing, but you

need to know where to find the dealers -- especially Wes -- to equip

yourself for the assault on the Tzorg Authority Complex.

THE BOOST LABS

By the time you collect enough credits for the field disperser and to fix

the plasma rifle (as well as buy other goodies), your stats should be high

enough for the battle in the Tzorg Authority Complex. However, if you

really want to increase your energy or IQ and you have enough credits

(1,000 for IQ, 1,500 for energy), the scientists in the boost labs can do

the job. They will increase the stat by 15, and you automatically earn 1

Social Demerit. In addition, it takes 1,000 ticks for an IQ boost; 2,000

for an energy boost. This almost assures you another SD when you check in

at the Tracking Office. Not really worth it, but this is a walkthru.

The route is pretty simple, especially if you follow Fritz's instructions.

Enter the underground by either the Administration Building or the SRC (see

THE UNDERGROUND). Head either east or west (depending on which entrance you

took) and head south at the branch, past Fritz and Jimmy. Enter the door in

the red wall to the south and climb the ladder. Go through any door UNLESS

there is a door in a corner: Choose it over any other in that room. You

will come to a room with two corner doors. Take the one in the west wall

and keep taking corner doors to reach the IQ boost lab; the south door

leads to the energy boost lab. If you only open the doors along the way and

don't close them, the route back (after the treatment) is easy.

THE PLASMA RIFLE

The plasma rifle is the most powerful weapon in the game. I think it can

blast open any door with ease, and in my experience it never needed fixing

after the initial repair. You will need almost 2,000 credits to buy the

parts and to pay Hugo to fix it. Wes, the underground arms dealer, will

give you the broken rifle after you deal with him two or three times.

Go to Larry's Electronics and buy the Micro Stat and HV Oscillator. Then,

go to Gilbert's Electronic's and trade the Micro Stat for a Regulator.

Climb over the counter, break the door, and head out the south door to the

trash pile. Search there and take the Multitube. If you have to drop

something, don't worry: It usually stays put. Now, just head for Hugo's

with 550 credits and have him fix the plasma rifle. After charging it, you

can walk the streets of the city virtually without fear!

THE FIELD DISPERSER

The field disperser is the best armor available. It allows you to walk

through force fields with ease, and shrug off all but the toughest robots'

attacks. It must be charged, but the charge is only depleted when you walk

through force fields, or when hit by the most powerful robots. I believe it

can break, although it never happened to me.

First, you need the blueprints, located on the second level of Megatech

Building "B." Enter the building, climb over the counter where Mickey is,

and go up the transport tube. Either blast the 40-strength door open with

the plasma rifle (if you have it), break it, or open it with Passcard code

6534. Search the cabinets on the east wall to get the blueprints.

Now, go to Les (the fabricator) at Megatech Building "F." He will build

the field disperser (say PLANS) for a measly 3,500 credits. With the

disperser charged and the plasma rifle repaired, you have free reign of

Metropolis!

TRANSPORTER GUIDANCE DEVICE

I'm told that the guidance device isn't really necessary if you assault

the Tzorg Authority Complex through the front doors. However, if you follow

the story line faithfully, you are going to take the tunnel entrance hidden

in the city dump. There is a set of four transporters there (not the maze

of transporters in the rooms that you explore first). The "funny"

transporters will just shuffle you around among themselves unless you have

the Guidance Device in your possession.

To get the device, you need the field disperser, and you will need the

plasma rifle (unless you have a time bomb or two). There are force fields

and four tough robots that can cause you some damage, even with the

disperser.

Take the south transport tube down to the subway at the South Station.

Walk west along the south rail. Watch out for trains! If you see one

coming, climb onto the pipe in the center. Continue until you find the

40-strength door in the south wall, get through however you can, and go

through the door to the south. Head east, down the ladder, and stride

through the force fields to the south. After disposing of the robots, go to

the last door to the east and break it. The device is on the counter on the

south wall.

THE TERMINAL MAZES

To deactivate the Tzorg robots, you must reach the main control console on

the fifth floor of the Authority Complex and input the three deactivation

codes. If you don't feel like negotiating the mazes located beneath the

Administration Building to reach the terminals and get the codes, skip

ahead to THE AUTHORITY COMPLEX AND ENDGAME: I'll give you all the codes.

The first terminal is located on the second level under the Administration

Building. Turn south at the entrance, enter the office, then follow the

hall at the south side of the room to the 20-strength door. Go through it

to the transport tube and take it down. On this level, the tube up takes

you back to a booth just inside the entrance to the Administration

Building. Don't take it: Break the 40-strength door to the east and

continue east to the tube down.

In the southeast corner of the room on this level, climb east along the

pipe, and the terminal is in that room. Talk to it and enter ACCTRM0 (Jimmy

in the underground tells you the code is "ACCTRM plus the number of levels

below ground minus 2"). Then, enter CODE, and it will respond with the

primary deactivation code.

Take the transport tube located next to the terminal down. Wow, a maze of

slidewalks! Here's where a jetpack and quick reflexes come in handy since,

generally, the slidewalks won't take you where you want to go. This maze

can be navigated without a jetpack, although the slidewalk maze in the

Tzorg Authority Complex cannot. The terminal is located in the far

northwest corner of this level.

Start by taking the east slidewalk. Switch to running mode, and ride until

the slidewalk branches north and west: Take the north branch. You usually

have to make your move slightly before the intersection, and try to stay in

running mode.

Ride west, around the little loop, then south. Take the first west branch,

then the first north branch after that. Now, just ride west and you should

be dumped off right by the terminal. Talk to it and enter ACCTRM1, then

CODE, to get the secondary deactivation code. To get back afterwards, just

step on the slidewalk in the southwest corner, and you can coast all the

way back to the transport tube, except for one loop that you need to run

south to get past to reach the exit.

Next, climb south over the terminal and cabinet, then head all the way

south and east to the personal transporter. The access code is LETSGO, and

the destination code to the next level is 06 (to return, 05). This maze is

navigated by pushing the large cabinets around. The route to follow is:

West twice, south three times, push west twice, north six, west twice,

south nine times, and push west five times. Then, north five times, east

once, push east once, north four times, and west eight times. Go south

twice, west four times, push west once, and go south twice. Now, go east

four times, push east once, go south three times, west once, south once,

west once, and, finally, push north once.

This should put you right at the door to the third terminal. If you made a

mistake just retrace your steps back to the transporter, transport back to

level B3 (slidewalk maze), transport down again, and the maze will be

reset. At the terminal, enter ACCTRM2, then CODE, to receive the tertiary

deactivation code.

Now that you've got all three codes the honest way, head back out to the

surface. The only tricky part is the slidewalk maze (see above).

THE AUTHORITY COMPLEX AND ENDGAME

So you're ready to fight your way to Level 4 of the Tzorg Authority

Complex, reach the main control console to input the deactivation codes,

end the robot menace, and free Metropolis? Let's review your equipment:

Plasma Rifle, Field Disperser, Transporter Guidance Device, Jetpack? These

items are required (except the Guidance Device, if you choose a frontal

assault). Maybe a Scanner and a Time Bomb? Direct Override or other fun

goodies? Are your stats (especially Energy and Agility) at least 80? Then,

let's go: The robots are waiting!

I'll deal with the sneak attack via the secret tunnel first because it is

the intended way to proceed. Enter the City Dump and follow the wide center

path east all the way to the end. Blast the two robots along the way (don't

pat yourself on the back; that's just a warm-up). Follow the garbage trail,

going due west whenever possible, until you come to a branch south that

meets a long east-west path. Now, follow either the east or west path (they

both lead to the same ladder down). Go down the ladder and all the way west

to a door that leads to the maze of transporters. Blast the door open and

enter the transporter in the first room to the south.

Inside the first transporter, enter LETSGO and destination code 18. That

takes you to another transporter completely enclosed. Then, enter LETSGO

and codes 09, 12, and 15 (respectively) at the other transporters. The last

transport should put you right next to a ladder that goes down to the

slidewalk maze -- also known as the "binary maze," for which Horace gave

you the code (DDDUD). I didn't recognize it as a binary maze at first,

until I realized that there were two slidewalks exiting each room: one in

the upper part of the room, one in the lower! So, step onto the southern

slidewalk (D), follow it to the next room, and step onto the south

slidewalk again (D). Ride it to the next room and again choose the

southmost path (D), switching to the one on the north side after entering

the next room (U). Finally, step on the south slidewalk (D) and just coast

into the next room. D-D-D-U-D!

Now, you're in a room with the four "funny" transporters. Without the

Transporter Guidance Device, you'll just flick around the four corners of

the room, never reaching the other side of the south wall. However, since

you do have the device (right?), just step into any transporter and enter

LETSGO to get to the other side of the wall. Go east, south between the

power plants to the wall, then west all the way to the 40-strength door.

Along the way you'll encounter three robots (more target practice). Catch

your breath and make sure your stats are at full strength: You're in for a

tough fight.

Blast the door and take out the two robots: They're not too tough, but the

worst is yet to come! The next room to the west is probably empty. Blast

the door and head west to the next door. Now's the time for strategy: No

more easy kills. In the areas behind this door are six of the toughest

robots the Tzorgs make. If you have any gadgets, turn them on, and blast

the door. Stay behind the doorway. That way, only one robot can get a shot

at you, and once he's dead his hulk makes a screen for you to fall back

behind and rest. The hall beyond runs north-south and is only one square

wide. If you climb over the hulk into the hall, it's very defensible.

It's important to get into the hall directly west from the door (you can

climb east behind your shield to rest). If you can't get in, retreat and

wait: The robots constantly move around and head back to the power nodes to

charge. Only two robots can attack in the hall, and once you take out one,

that side is defended. If you're lucky, some of the robots will run out of

juice before they reach the nodes. After you finish all the robots,

recharge your stuff and rest before going on.

Blast the west door and head west, follow the hall to the south, around

the corner to the west, then north along the west wall to an unsecured

door. Take another rest because there's eight of those same robots behind

this door. Walk up and down the hall a few times while the robots run

around. With luck, several will expire. After you clear this room, follow

the wall north, then go east to the 40-strength door.

Compared to your previous battles, this last one is a breeze: just two

cyborgs and a medium robot. Blast the door, dispose of the guards, head

east into the next room, then climb over the middle cabinet against the

north wall to the ladder. Just keep climbing up to Level 4 and go north

through the force fields to the Master Robot Recall Console. Talk to it and

enter the three deactivation codes. Don't make a mistake or you'll go

straight to SRC!

Primary code: CHLOBU

Secondary code: PERABR

Tertiary code: EDDONE

Now, just sit back and watch the action, read the epilogue, and receive

your congratulations. The fireworks will continue until you reboot.

Briefly, the frontal assault proceeds as follows:

Slaughter robots. Take the up transport tube on each level until you get

to Level 2 (third floor). Use the Jetpack to go against the conveyor belt

flow, then west to the up ladder, and all the way up to Level 4. Go north

to the terminal and input the codes. Explore Level 3 and Level 4 via the

transport tubes if you wish; there are down tubes. You cannot reach the

terminal from the room on Level 4. The door is blocked by trash and that

room has an ARMY of robots!

2400 A.D. is published and distributed by Origin Systems.

This walkthru is copyright (c) 1991 by Venger