Andromeda Apocalypse - Extended Edition — 3 of 97
Marco Innocenti
Release 2
Section 2 - Help menu
Table of Basic Help Options (continued)
| title | subtable | description | toggle |
| "Special commands" | -- | "A sensible command is EXITS. It lists the currently available exits. As soon as new routes are opened, they are listed, also. You can see a recap of available exits on the top (status) bar. The capitalized directions lead to yet-to-be-seen locations." | -- |
| "Included in the game's package" | -- | "[italic type]Andromeda Apocalypse[roman type] comes packed with some collateral material: a postcard, pictures and some referenced material. If you find something during play that mentions one of such objects, just check for the reference number (Ref.xxx) to find the appropriate article. The included feelies are not needed to solve the game." | -- |
| "Credits" | -- | "Release 1 of [italic type]Andromeda Apocalypse[roman type] was betatested and proofread by Neil Butters, Wade Clarke, Francesco Cordella, D. J. Hastings, Kevin Jackson-Mead, Andy Joel, Joey Jones, Paul Lee, and Andrew Schultz. Release 2 (The Extended Edition) was tested by Paul Lee and Andrew Schultz. All of them earned my most enduring gratitude. The whole text has been de-[italic type]inglisc[roman type]ized by Sam Kabo Ashwell, with help from almost everyone of the aforementioned testers.[paragraph break]If you have suggestions, corrections or flames, feel free to contact me at [bold type]minnocenti@kidstudio.it[roman type]. Of course, it would not be lethal to write me some (eventual) pleasantries, also." | -- |
| "More Credits" | -- | "This story has been written using Inform 7 by Graham Nelson (and friends -- I really need to read that list, sooner or later). It uses the following extensions: Plurality, Basic Screen Effects, and Basic Help Menu by Emily Short; Glulx Boxed Quotation by Eliuk Blau; Adaptive Hints and Exit Lister by Eric Eve; Multiple Sounds by Massimo Stella; Real-Time Delays by Erik Temple. Thanks to the respective authors for easing the author's job so much. Also, thanks to Wade Clarke, Dannii Willis, Andrew Schultz, and Andrew Plotkin for their help in coding the hardest parts." | -- |
| "Mea Culpas" | -- | "The original game, to which [italic type]Apocalypse[roman type] tries to be a reasonable sequel, was filled with a cartload of bulls**t. The main example is the picture on the laser disc contained in the 'Beacon', which I erroneously described as a 'couple of human beings'. As many understand, the actual copper-and-gold-plated object inside the real 'Beacon' is not a laser disc and depicts no human being. Actually, the censorious governments of the era forbade the depiction of nudity on the disc, and so some far less explicit scientific drawings were used. What I'm saying here is NOT that I'm trying to make amends in this game for the last one's sins. Just: close an eye... and, sometimes, close them both." | -- |
| "What are the Hyerotropes?" | -- | "The sad truth is that… we don't know.[paragraph break]The history of the Hyerotropes, as narrated in [italic type]Andromeda Awakening[roman type], is shrouded in a veil of mist. All we know is that they have been found, hidden in the deep underground of the planet Monarch, about 3,000 years prior to the events depicted in [italic type]Awakening[roman type]. The first colonists, known as the Ancestors, have come to the galaxy of Andromeda in a trip through time and space following an ancient probe (the [']Beacon[']) that has been abducted by the Hyerotropes from the outer layers of the Solar System. Following the breadcrumbs left by the Beacon, the Ancestors found a planet worth colonizing: the New Heaven. Hidden by millennia-old layers of rock, the Hyerotropes lay dormant there until the devastating effects of world-shattering tides somehow switched them on.[paragraph break]The Hyerotropes are perfect black spheres of nature unknown. They have proven to be somewhat intelligent and [']living['], with some unique mechanics involved in their functioning. First, the Hyerotropes [']breathe[']: their surface grows and shrinks while their radiation level increases. Second, they seem to be able to disrupt the laws of physics by challenging the mass, the energy and the shape of matter. Using this power, they have formed a wormhole to catch the [']Beacon['] (actually, the Voyager II probe) and pull it to Andromeda thousands of times faster than the speed of light. Finally, the Hyerotropes seem to corrupt their surroundings by laying a set of luminous, living tentacles which convert even stone to a sort of cold, azure light.[paragraph break]The main character, Ektor Mastiff, has escaped the exploding planet of Monarch aboard a Hyerotrope, and is now trying to find a way to save himself, along with his knowledge.[paragraph break]Up to now, the motives behind the Hyerotropes['] behavior are unknown." | -- |
| "Who is Ektor Mastiff?" | -- | "The main character of the Andromeda series is a scientist and a researcher, as well as a teacher in the University of Monarch. He found himself involved in a trial of gargantuan scope when his best friend and colleague, Dr. Andy Re's, was found dead in an alley, shot in the back by some unknown assailant (you can discover more about it playing the excellent game [italic type]Andromeda Dreaming[roman type] by Joey Jones). The story behind it is that both Ektor and Andy were responsible for a groundbreaking discovery: under the soil of planet Monarch, a new form of energy, named Alpha radiation, started growing to detectable levels just two weeks before the coming of the tides that would have destroyed Monarch itself. Someone (details withheld to avoid spoiler) killed Andy to prevent the news being made public. With the discovery in hand, Ektor departed towards the University to show the Scientific Committee. During his trip, however, a fierce quake devoured his train, and he survived the crash by mere luck.[paragraph break]As far as we know, no one else has survived the tides and Ektor is the only living being in the galaxy, floating in space with the sole support of his knowledge… and of a unused, expired railway ticket." | -- |
| "Achievements" | -- | "[Achievements_list]" | -- |
| "Walkthrough" | -- | "The game has a built-in adaptive hint system. Type HINTS." | -- |
| " " | -- | "Space intentionally left blank." | -- |
| "Extended Edition" | -- | "The Extended Edition includes:[paragraph break]• 9 new achievements[line break]• The achievements are now stored to a file[line break]• Better hints for the endgame sequence[line break]• A rehauled Reports to the Council feelie (in your game's package!)[line break]• The game's map (in your game's package!)[line break]• A new section of the ship is now reachable and...[line break]• Finally, by popular demand, an alternate ending with the solution to a previously impossibile quest." | -- |