@
THE SENTINEL INSTRUCTIONS

========================

BROUGHT TO YOU BY SEWER SOFTWARE.
EDITED AND CORRECTED BY SEWER RAT.
@
@
In a strange universe of 10,000
worlds, where the only force is pure
energy, a lone Synthoid does battle
against the Sentinel and her agents,
the Sentries.

@
You control the Synthoid in his
attempt to dethrone the Sentinel as
the ruler of each of the 10,000
worlds.
@
As you move about the individual
landscapes, avoiding the withering
stare of the Sentinel and the
Sentries, you must gain a position
from where you can destroy the 
Sentinel ; her energy becomes yours
and the landscape is complete.

@
Drawing on your remaining energy, you
must now Hyperspace to a new world
where a fresh challenge awaits and
only 9,999 words to go and victory
will be yours.

@
@
GETTING STARTED
 

@
Upon loading being complete, the
title screen will be displayed.
Pressing either the mouse buttons or
any key will access the Landscape
Selection Screen.

@
Each landscape, except the first, is
reached via an 8-digit code. We will
deal with how these codes work later
in the manual. For now, just press the
RETURN key and a representation of the
first landscape will appear before
you. This representation gives you
your first information about the
landscape that awaits. You will be
able to get an idea of the terrain
involved in the landscape, hills,
valleys, plains, chasms and so on. It
will also show you how many Sentinels
and Sentries there are. Have a good
look, as this is all the information
that you will get.
@
The screen will be prompting you to
press any key so, press any key.
@
You are now in the landscape.

@
MOUSE CONTROLS

==============

@
Taking hold of the mouse, press the
left-hand button and a cursor will
appear on the screen. This cursor is
your means of control and movement. We
will now get used to its functions and
their implementation.
@
Move the mouse to the right and the
cursor will cross the screen in that
direction. When the cursor approaches
the edge of the screen your Synthoid
will turn in that direction. Now move
the cursor to the left of the screen
and the Synthoid will turn left and
you will be returned to the view that
you began with.

@
Now move the cursor to the right of
the screen and leave it there. The
view will now pan round and will keep
doing so until the cursor is centred.
If you let the view move 21 times then
you will have returned to the starting
point.

@
Now start moving the cursor to the
top and bottom of the screen, so that
your view pans upwards and downwards.
If you leave the view panning, either
upwards or downwards, you will
eventually reach a point beyond which
you can look no further, the point
which is almost vertical, either
upwards or downwards. You will know if
panning has stopped by looking at the
cursor. Whilst panning is taking
place, the cursor will flash. If it is
not flashing, then the view is stable.

@
By moving the cursor to one of the
corners of the screen, you will be
able to achieve a diagonal pan. The
screen does not scroll in a diagonal
fashion, rather it moves the view
first on the horizontal plane and
then on the vertical, to achieve a
diagonal effect.
@
So, now that you have discovered the
principles of viewing the landscape,
spend some time getting used to the
mouse and changing the viewpoint of
your Synthoid, as speed will become
an integral part of the game-play.
@
THE FUN STARTS HERE

===================

@
Now that you have become used to
looking around you, we will start to
discover how to move within the
landscape, how to create and absorb.
@
The Sentinel is a game of energy, and
the units of energy that exist in the
landscape have a variety of forms.

@
One unit is represented by a tree and
this is the building block upon which
the rest of the game takes place.
While you were looking around, you
will have seen that there are many
trees within the landscape. These are
for you to take to build up your
energy. We shall start by absorbing a
tree.

@
You may have noticed that below and
to the right of the starting view (the
view that you get on first arriving in
the landscape) there is a tree. You
should move three times diagonally and
twice down, from the starting view, to
look at the square on which the tree
is standing. Ensure that the cursor is
over the square on which the tree
stands and press the left-hand button.
You will see the tree disappear before
your eyes.
@
The tree, or at least the energy,
still exists. If you look to the small
figures above the screen, you will
notice that there are currently three
small Synthoids and a boulder (an
inverted U). If you noticed this
section before, you will remember that
there was a small tree where the
boulder now is. This is because every
object within the landscape has an
energy value. These values are as
follows:
@
1 Unit:  a Tree and a Meanie

2 Units: a Boulder

3 Units: a Synthoid and a Sentry

4 Units: a Sentinel
 
@
(By now you will have heard a
clunking sound, and possibly seen
the box at the top right corner of
the screen fill with static. This
means that the Sentinel is scanning
you and absorbing your energy. This
is because the action of absorbing
or creating anything will start the
Sentinel turning. If this has
happened, then you will probably have
died. (don't worry about this at
present, we'll get on to keeping you
alive a little later).

@
Now that you have absorbed an object,
it is time to create an object. From
the starting position, look around the
landscape until you find a square that
doesn't have anything on it. Then,
with the cursor on the target square,
press the 'T' on the keyboard of your
computer and a tree will appear. You
will notice that your energy indicator
has dropped by 1 unit (ie. a tree).
Now absorb the tree by pressing the
left-hand button of the mouse. Having
done that, press the 'B' key on the
keyboard. This time a boulder will
appear. Absorb the boulder as you
would a tree, and press the key 'R'.
You will see a synthoid appear. You
are almost there.
@
By now you will have died, so start
again and use the techniques that you
have learnt to start moving about the
landscape.
@
From the starting view, turn to a
position from which you can see a
square, as before, and, with the
cursor on the chosen square, press
the key 'R'. As before a Synthoid will
appear. Now press the right-hand
button of the mouse. For a moment the
screen will turn blue and you will
hear a five note tune. When the screen
comes back, you will notice that
things look a bit different - the
reason is that you have transferred
into the second Synthoid!

@
When the transfer is complete you
will be looking back at your old
Synthoid. Absorb it as you would a
tree and your energy level should be
the same as before you moved into a
new Synthoid.
@
Now to put the technique to real use.

@
From the starting position, find a
square as before and create a
boulder. Then, with the cursor still
on the square, press the key 'R'. You
will see that a Synthoid has now been
created at the top of the boulder.
Press the right-hand button of the
mouse and you will have transferred
into the second Synthoid, but because
you are also standing on a boulder,
your position in the landscape will be
higher. Beacuse of this higher
position you will now be able to see
much more in the landscape; more trees
to absorb, more squares to move to.
You have now embarked on a unique
gaming experience.

@
MAKING IT WORK

==============

@
The Sentinel is a complex, yet simple
game. By now you should be able to
absorb and create objects, although
you will probably have died many
times. Now to deal with staying alive.

@
As was mentioned earlier, when you
make any kind of move other than
panning, the Sentinel and the Sentries
if they are there, will start turning
to look at you. Their movement is akin
to that of a lighthouse beam, turning
steadily in one direction (either
clockwise or anticlockwise). Should
their view look upon ANYTHING that has
an energy value that is greater than
one, then, through the same process of
absorbtion that you used, they will
break down the object into single
energy units (a Sentinel can't store
energy as you can).

@
So, to stay alive, your first aim is
to avoid the Sentinel's gaze. There is
no substitute for experience but
follow these guidelines and you should
get to grips with things pretty
quickly:
@
@
i) Always make sure you know in which
direction the Sentinel is turning, so
that without looking at it you can
anticipate when the withering stare
will reach you, and react accordingly.

@
ii) Keep on the move, as it doesn't
take the Sentinel long to turn a full
circle.

@
iii) When you move, always try to
create a boulder and a Synthoid, so
that every time you move you will
gain height and therefore your options
will increase.
 
@
iv) To absorb a Sentinel, as with any
other object, you MUST be able to
place your cursor on the square on
which she stands, so gaining height is
of prime importance to completion of a
landscape.
@
v) If you find yourself being scanned
by the Sentinel, DON'T PANIC! Energy
will be taken from you a unit at a
time, and you may find that you have
just enough time to create another
Synthoid and  move to a position of
safety. If you feel that you don't
have enough time to move, then there
is the last way - HYPERSPACE. By
pressing the key 'H' you will be
transported to another, almost random
point in the landscape to try again,
at an energy loss of three units (this
is because of the loss of your
previous Synthoid). If you have less
than 3 units left, then Hyperspacing
means suicide. The 'almost' random
nature of the move is because the new
position that you are moved to will
only be on the same level of terrain
or below. Beware: you may end up in a
position from which you cannot move
any further. If this is the case then
suicide is probably the only option.
@
vi) Absorb as many trees as you can,
and always reabsorb your old boulders
and Synthoids. Gain as much energy as
possible.
@
vii) Rather than panning all the time,
you can turn through 180 degrees by
pressing the key 'U' (a U-turn).

@
viii) You can hide from the gaze of
the Sentinel, either behind parts of
the landscape or behind trees. If
the Sentinel can't see you, she will
just keep turning.

@
@
This raises another aspect of the
game - the Meanies.
@
Meanies are created by the Sentinel
or Sentries when they have spotted a
Synthoid but cannot see the square
on which he is standing to absorb
him. The Sentinel or Sentry will look
for a nearby tree and will transform
the tree into a Meanie. The Meanie
will then swiftly rotate until he can
see the Synthoid and, hopefully, the
square on which he is standing. If
this is the case then you will be
Hyperspaced. There is nothing you can
do, other then absorb the Meanie
before he looks at you, or move out
of the way. If you don't have enough
energy to Hyperspace, then the Meanie
will destroy you.

@
You will know if the Sentinel or a
Sentry can see you in this way when
the scanning box (top right) is only
half-full of static, consequently this
is known as half scan.

@
ix) Energy in the landscape is static,
and though it can be absorbed and
distributed, it cannot be either
created or destroyed. If a Sentinel
breaks down a boulder and a Synthoid
for example, the energy will not
disappear, rather it will be
redistributed as five trees elsewhere
in the landscape.

@
x) As long as you have enough energy,
you can place as many boulders as you
like on top of each other, with a
Synthoid on top. You can use this
technique to dominate the landscape
more quickly, but beware; if you are
scanned whilst on a top of such a
stack you will almost certainly lose
a lot of energy.

@
xi) There is a 'help' feature that can
be used at any stage of the game that
serves to give you an idea of where
you are in the landscape. First,
ensure that your Synthoid is looking
into the sky, then press the HELP key.
This has the effect of giving you a
view of the landscape from the
position of the sky which you looked
towards. This also acts as a pause
facility and can be very useful in
providing you with valuable
information about the landscape.

@
@
These are the basic techniques to
playing Sentinel ; you'll probably
discover your own as your experience
of the game develops.
@
@
ONE POINT IS LEFT - HOW TO WIN
 
@
Your object is to absorb the Sentinel
and any Sentries that may exist.
@
Having done this, you must place
yourself on top of the Sentinel's
tower and then, satisfied with your
achievement, press the Hyperspace
key. After a few short seconds you
will be given an eight digit code to
a further landscape. WRITE IT DOWN
and make sure you don't make a
mistake!

@
This is your only means of getting to
any other landscape than #0000, and
as such acts as a game save. When you
load the game you can get to any
landscape you wish, as long as you
have the correct code.
@
The way it works is as follows: when
you are on the top of the Sentinel's
tower and you Hyperspace the program
calculates how much energy you have
left (three units are taken away for
the hyperspace) and gives you the
code for the landscape that
corresponds to your remaining energy.
So, if you have just finished
landscape #25 with 15 units
remaining, you will be given the code
to landscape #37 (25+15-3 = 37). Keep
going like this, recording all your
codes, all the way to #10,000!
@
It is worth mentioning that once the
final Sentinel has been absorbed, then
nothing else within the landscape can
be absorbed. However, you can still
distribute energy, so you can chose
the next landscape that you go to. Say
you have just finished landscape #25
with 15 units remaining, rater than
hyperspacing immediately, creating
one tree will leave you with 14 units,
giving you the code to landscape #36.
You can use this technique if you have
problems with a specific landscape.

@
Supposing that landscape #37 is very
difficult (no landscape is
impossible), you could return to #25,
complete it again and try to end up
with the code to another landscape,
possibly higher than #37.
@
@
This DOC was written by an anonymous 
person on the Amiga,ported to the ST 
by SEWER POSSUM,edited and corrected 
by SEWER RAT and finally presented for 
your perusal by SEWER SOFTWARE as 
part of the first ST DOC DISK.