About THE CATACOMB APOCALYPSE 3-D THE CATACOMB APOCALYPSE 3-D is the third and final episode in a three-part series of 3-D fantasy adventure games developed by Softdisk Publishing. The first episode, THE CATACOMB ABYSS 3-D, and the second episode, THE CATACOMB ARMAGEDDON 3-D, complete this extraordinary trilogy. Important note: Previous experience with the other Catacomb Adventures IS NOT REQUIRED. This game is designed to be played entirely by itself without need for the other episodes. What's -NEW- in APOCALYPSE New features in APOCALYPSE which are not present in the ABYSS or ARMAGEDDON episodes include: All new monsters, scenarios, and puzzles await you in the APOCALYPSE! Special messages which appear in the Location Description Box at the top of the status panel will be accompanied by a brief WHITE FLASH of the screen's border area. When you see a white flash, be sure to read the message in the Location Description Box! You will discover some MAGIC WALLS which you can walk through. Usually these walls will have location descriptions that indicate that you can feel a slight breeze coming from behind the wall. Walk right on through to the other side of the wall! There are many, many new monster types which you will immediately begin to encounter during play. Among them is a new type of INVISIBLE MONSTER that you will discover in later areas that are visible on the radar display of the Crystal Sphere, and that will become visible when hit by your Magick Missiles. There is also a monster type that will serve as your guide through difficult mazes. You will learn to recognize this creature when he appears. Nemesis has discovered how to use TIME GATES which will teleport you back and forth through time and space to many new and bizzare locations. GETTING STARTED For most players, starting this game is as simple as typing the following at the DOS prompt: START followed by the [ENTER] key. However, if you encounter a problem with your SVGA graphics display (if you have one), then type the following at the DOS prompt: START /COMP followed by the [ENTER] key. If you need further help, call our Technical Support group at 1-318-221-8311. KEYBOARD CONTROLS Keys to press... Result... ---------------- --------- Up/Down arrows Move Forward/Backward Left/Right arrows Turn to the Left/Right ALT + L/R arrows Move sideways TAB or V + L/R arrows Turn quickly (Quick Turn) CTRL Shoot a single Magick Missile Z Zappers: shoot a stream of missiles X or ENTER Xterminators: shoot in a circular pattern C or SPACE Cure yourself MOUSE AND JOYSTICK CONTROLS Mouse action taken... Result... --------------------- --------- Move mouse/joystick Forward/Backward Move Forward/Backward Move mouse/joystick Left/Right Turn to the Left/Right Press Left button Shoot a single Magick Missile Press & hold Right button Move sideways Note that you will still need to use all other keyboard controls to fully operate the game. SYSTEM FUNCTION CONTROLS Key to press... Result... --------------- --------- F1 Help (this file) F2 Select No Sound, PC Speaker, or AdLib/Sound Blaster F3 Save current game position F4 Restore a saved game position F5 Calibrate joystick ESC System options Note: Sound Blaster and Ad Lib sound cards are interchangeably supported. THE STORY SO FAR... You faced the challenge of your arch rival known as "Nemesis" in THE CATACOMB ABYSS 3-D and THE CATACOMB ARMAGEDDON 3-D. From deep below the foundations of the earth he hurled his powerful dark forces against you. But you continued to prevail! The beasts and creatures which were arrayed against you fell to the power of your intelligence and the force of your mighty magic. This time, Nemesis has conjured up a particularly insidious scheme to thwart you. Nemesis has harnessed the power of the Time Gates to allow him to travel to the distant future and ancient past to bring forth a final and ultimate army of viscious creatures bent on your destruction your destruction. Nemesis has transformed himself into his future form as he summons bizzare high-tech creatures from an age yet-to-come and horrific monsters from the most archaic eras of darkness. This is your ultimate challenge... follow Nemesis' trail of terror through the Time Gates and stop his evil ways forever! AS YOU PREPARE TO EMBARK ON YOUR ADVENTURE... You begin your quest at the gate of The Sanctuary of the Dead, a remote and ancient place now populated by the smelly Time Wizards and other assorted frightful spectres. Rumor has it that some of Nemesis' new monsters from the future have made their way through the Time Gates into the present time. Don't be daunted! Pursue and prevail at all costs! One can only imagine what new sights, experiences, and threats await you as you venture forth across the Planes of Time in search of your ultimate victory over Nemesis. TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS Though it is actually very easy to get started playing The Catacomb Apocalypse 3-D, your adventuring pleasure can be enhanced if you gain an understanding of some of the many subtle features that are woven into the game's fabric. It is advisable to re-read the following information as you gain more experience in playing The Catacomb Apocalypse 3-D... TIPS ABOUT THE UNDERSTANDING THE GAME STATUS DISPLAY The lower portion of the screen contains the STATUS INFORMATION area. It features... - Location description box (top center) --- watch for hidden clues here, especially when the screen border flashes WHITE! - Your player character's face and percent health - Your current inventory of Zappers, Xterminators, Cure Potions, Keys - The Crystal Sphere, which displays your enemies and your direction of view - The Crown of Gems which will hold the Gems you find - A system status message box (bottom center) Learn quickly to monitor your character's health status... when it drops close to 0%, you should use a Cure Potion to return to 100%. The screen border will flash RED whenever your character has suffered damage. The screen border will flash YELLOW whenever one of your stray Magick Missiles has destroyed a valuable bonus item, such as a Chest, Cure Potion, Zapper, Xterminator, or Crystal Hour Glass. The screen border will flash WHITE whenever there is an important Location Message for you to read in the Location Description box at the top of the Status Panel. TIPS ABOUT OBJECTS IN THE WORLD Collect and use the many Zappers, Xterminators and Curing Potions hidden in the world. There exist a few rare Crystal Hour Glasses, which when activated by you will cause Time to stop for a short while, allowing you to explore your environs safely, as well as allowing you to lay traps for your opponents. (More later) TIPS ABOUT WEAPONS You can shoot a single Magick Missile at any time by pressing the CTRL key. Zappers will shoot a stream of Magick Missiles in the direction you are facing... machine gun-like. This is the most effective way to deliver a steady barrage of damaging Magick Missiles to a charging opponent. Xterminators will shoot a pattern of Magick Missiles in a circular pattern around you. This is a most formidable weapon, and is useful in crowded conditions. Be careful not to unleash its overwhelming destructive force in an area where there are valuable objects exposed to the shot pattern, lest they be destroyed in the process. To best understand how these weapons work, observe their effects as seen in the Crystal Sphere. TIPS ABOUT COMBAT When an attacking opponent appears, it is often desirable to back up or run away to gain as much distance between you and him as possible, so that you can hurl Magick Missiles at him from a safe range. Attacking opponents will often try to encircle and crowd around you as they maneuver to strike. Turn with your opponent so you can maintain a direct line of attack. Be aware of attacks from behind. Learn to master the Quick Turn (press TAB or V while turning). When desperately surrounded by attackers, use an Xterminator weapon, if you have one, to clear the immediate area around you in a 360-degree pattern. Watch the Crystal Sphere for signs of unwelcome guests in your vicinity. TIPS ON USING THE CRYSTAL SPHERE Learn to interpret the Crystal Sphere. The Sphere is capable of displaying the relative positions of some of your opponents, if you possess the appropriate Magick Gem. You must find the Five Magick Gems which fit into the base of the Sphere. Once a Gem is in its place in the base, it will reveal the locations of certain creatures in the catacomb. You will learn to recognize the type of opponent hiding nearby by the color of its dot on the Sphere display. The top of the Crystal Sphere always displays those opponents which are in front of you, in the direction which you are facing. Conversely, the bottom of the Sphere points to the direction directly behind you, and so on for left and right. Observe the North-direction indicator in the Crystal Sphere so you can more easily gain a sense of general orientation within the world which you are exploring. TIPS ABOUT STOPPING TIME WITH THE CRYSTAL HOUR GLASS The Crystal Hour Glass hovers above the ground in certain rare and exotic places within the catacomb, vibrating in synchronicity with the pulse of time. Touching a Crystal Hour Glass disrupts the pulse of time, effectively freezing in-place all objects and events in the world around you for a limited duration. When time is arrested in such a manner, you will be able to explore the world around you in the midst of your frozen enemies without concern. You can actually plant Xterminators and Zappers in the path of an advancing opponent, ready to activate when time resumes its normal pace. The time disruption will revert to normal when 100 grains of the Sands of Time have fallen. When you find one of the rare Hour Glasses, save the current position of the game before proceeding to experiment with a time-frozen world. TIPS ABOUT SAVING GAMES Save your play status as often as you wish. Selecting "Restore" after pressing ESC will let you return to any saved position which you had saved. This can be one of the most useful techniques you can employ during play, allowing you to "experiment" with different play strategies. The Save and Restore screens display your most recently saved game names. Saved games older than the most recent ones are still available for Restoring by entering the appropriate name. If your disk becomes too full due to many saved games, you can delete the older ones to make room for more. The files end with ".SAV". If you are playing on floppy disk instead of on a hard drive, you may wish to create a special empty "save game disk" for allowing a maximum number of saved games on disk. GENERAL TIPS Some weakened walls in the world can be exploded by a direct hit from a Magick Missile. Be alert for the hidden passages that these walls conceal. Observe the direction some opponents approach from... they may be protecting something of value in the direction from which they came. When discovering a new area containing menacing opponents, be careful not to impulsively open fire on your quarry. If possible, assess the situation for valuable treasure that might be present, so that you can choose a strategy to eliminate the opponents and preserve as much treasure as possible. You can press ESC at any time to pause the action in order for you to consider your options. Keep cool and you'll discover the wealth of possibilities within The Catacomb Apocalypse 3-D. Save your game frequently, so you can return to earlier points of play if you wish.