U.S.S. STINGER Attack Class Submarine GAME PLAY Experience the ultimate combat in U.S.S. STINGER, the submarine battle simulation that will leave you breathless! Become captain of an American attack submarine whose mission is to destroy the enemy freighters that carry supplies to their infantry, as well as the destoyers sent to escort them. You will be given a total of 17 hours to complete this mission and return to a safe dock. If you fail, the enemy troops on the island will receive enougn supplies to win the war. There are three game play options to choose from: PRACTICE MODE, CADET SCHOOL and COMBAT MODE. In the PRACTICE MODE, you needn't spend your time sailing towards the enemy - the program places close to them. The destroyers will attack you as in the real game, but with their guns being harmless, the only danger lies in a possible collision with them. The purpose of this option is to help you discover the best way to attack the enemy. Test your skills as a submarine commander in the CADET SCHOOL. This school gives you certain tasks (or "drills") and in the end evaluates your performance according to the time used in solving the task, the damage suffered by the sub (if you damage it "fatally", you have to repeat the task or even the previous task!) and the number of torpedoes and missiles used. You can earn three different ranks: Captain, Commander or Lieutenant. If you remain a cadet, the program suggests that you take another term in the school. Your rank is stored on the disk to be retrieved each time played. COMBAT MODE starts with your respective rank, but you can be promoted (above captain there are two ranks: Vice-Admiral and Admiral) if you succesfully destroy two enemy convoys. Each convoy has five members, there can be three destroyers escorting each convoy. After every game, you will receive an evaluation report and a summary which outlines your history as a submarine commander. Before playing the game, you must choose from four levels of difficulty. You can also increase game difficulty by switching the "FOG" option on. The game begins with your submarine in one of two docks with weaponry loaded and all tanks full. It is important to note: There is no need to switch between screens while playing since every instrument is visible under the periscope. The speed of the enemy freighters is exactly half of your submarine, while enemy destroyers are twice as fast as yourself. GAME INSTRUCTIONS The periscope occupies the top third of the screen. You can see the following objects on it in full 3-D: freighters (4 of them) destroyers (8) islands (10) drilling rigs (4) lighthouses (4) - you will recognize them by their revolving lamp docks (2) - rectangles with an anchor sign at one end There is a zoom (magnification 1-8) built into the periscope to allow the player to see objects even if they are miles away from the submarine. It also helps to guide your missiles (this is described in detail later). Just under the cross-hairs there is a small meter to show the angle (max. +-6 degrees) of the torpedo tubes relative to the direction of the sub, so torpedoes can be fired as long as the indicator can be seen. The missiles are also aimed and guided using the periscope, but you can shoot them in any direction. While the missile is in the air, two indicators appear - the left-hand one showing the amount of missile fuel, and the right-hand one showing its height above water level (0-40 meters). You can turn the periscope by 1/6 degrees in both directions using the keys 1 or 2. Pressing the shift key with one of these keys turns the periscope by 5 degrees. If you press the m key, a map will be shown instead of the periscope. On the left you will see the map of the entire game area with symbols representing the various objects. On the right you will find a detailed map showing the objects around the sub (except the ships - this is a map only!). Between the maps is a table showing the coordinates of the convoys and the docks. If you submerge, the program automatically gives you the map - you can't switch back to the periscope unless you come to the surface. You also have the option to use a larger map by pressing F3. This allows you the time to find your position on the map, since the program will stop while this option is on. As the game area is huge, the game would take a very long time to complete. Therefore a time compressor (referred to as TURBO mode) was incorporated. In TURBO, the time passes 30 times faster than normal. Using this option you can save a great deal of time getting to the next target. This is a very useful feature, but you can not use it during battle. In short, you can't shoot with TURBO mode activated (this is displayed between the throttle and speed indicators), and you can't flee in TURBO while a bullet (missile, torpedo, or cannonball) is on its way. THE DASHBOARD In the middle of the dashboard you will find the RADAR. This functions like a real radar with a range of 10 miles in diameter. If you choose the "FOG" option at the beginning of the game, you will have limited visibility. In the thickest fog, visibility is only 1 mile. Below surface you can see nothing at all. To help navigate under these conditions, you can use the "improved" radar option. This is switched on/off with the "R" (range) key. In this case, the diameter of the radar range is reduced to 5 miles. The state of this option is shown with a sign positioned slightly left of the VSI (Vertical Speed Indicator) inscription. The radar is revolving with a speed of 1 round per 3.6 seconds. The cathod ray tube used in the radar has an afterglow time of nearly 2 seconds. The radar helps you not only in navigation, but also in targeting. Your weapons have a range of 1 to 1.5 miles. With the radar you can estimate the distance of the enemy ships and decide to shoot or move closer. In the rectangle above the radar you see: 1. Periscope angle (PA): tells you the position of the periscope in relation to the beak in degrees, with an arrow showing direction (left or right) 2. Bottom (BTTM): the distance of the ship from the bottom of the sea in feet 3. Magnification (MAGN): the magnification of the periscope (1-8) 4. Rudder (RDDR): the value is shown in degrees (0- 30) with an arrow indicating the direction. To the right there is a sign which shows whether the rudder is locked. If this function is off, the rudder will center automatically after a few seconds 5. Vertical speed indicator (VSI) 6. Bearing (BRG): the direction of the sub The dashboard was designed to separate the fighting and navigating instruments. Therefore, there are two computer displays on each side of the radar. On the left, there are the weapons and the state of your ship. On the top of the weapon display there are indicators of the four torpedo tubes and the launcher of the guided anti- ship missile. After releasing them, they scroll out of the display and pop up on the screen in the appropriate position. Under the weapons, there is the outline of U.S.S. Stinger. This is white when everything is in order and hits are indicated with colored spots. Red spots mean that you lost. Under the dashboard, you see the score board. Here you will find outlines of a destroyer and a freighter with a number indicating how many have been destroyed. The torpedoes go twice as fast as the enemy destroyers and eight times as fast as the enemy freighters. Ships the size of the freighters will only be sunk by full hits, so try to hit the engine compartment or the cargo area. The guided anti-ship missile (GASM) is a more effective weapon than the torpedo. After launching a GASM, you can control its movements by following the target with the periscope. The missile attempts to mantain its position in the center, so if you turn the periscope the missile will adjust it's course. The missile will go upwards, not only because of the position of the launching pad, but because of weight reduction due to fuel consumption. Using a magnification of 2X or 3X will help you aim more accurately. When you feel the GASM might miss the target, let it fall into the water by tilting it's nose down. This enables you to fire another missile immediately after this one has hit the water. On the right of the RADAR, there is the navigating computer display. In the top row you will find the indicators for the battery, the fuel, the hydroplane, the ballast water and the depth meter (the ballast tanks and the dive planes are used to submerge USS Stinger. To learn the process, try every key while watching the depth meter and the VSI indicator). Below these you will find the throttle and speed meters and the compressed air indicator. The air is used to empty the ballast tanks of the submarine, but if there is no more air, you can't come to the surface again. Between the air meter and the speed indicator, are the indicator lamps showing the amount of fuel remaining in the tank, the condition of the batteries, which engine is being used, and whether the air compressor is on. Between the throttle and speed indicators, a small sign shows the status of TURBO. The following abbreviations are found on this display: BATTERY - BTT THROTTLE - THR DEPTH - DPTH SPEED - SP BALLAST - BLST Your mission is completed only if you cruise to the nearest dock when there are no more surviving enemies. In the course of the game you can go to the dock to refuel, repair your sub, and reload weapons. (Important: never fire any of your weapons if it might hit your dock. The dock may get so seriously damaged that you would be unable to use it again.) The final approach of the docking process is helped by a radio signal sent from the center of the dock. The corresponding instrument in the sub is shown under the score board if your distance from the dock is less than 1 mile. Docking is absolutely perfect if BRG of the ship is 90 degrees and the values E0-N0 (east0-north0)are seen. The program tolerates the following limits: E0-W10, N2-S2, BRG 89-91. To begin the docking process you have to first stop the USS Stinger. In the dock the TURBO mode will be activated automatically and the program will start repairing, refueling, etc. If necessary, you can stop this process by coming out of the dock (throttle back). On each of the difficulty levels, you have an advantage on the enemy ships. But be careful; as you step higher in rank, the enemy crew become more and more skilled. The higher the rank, the greater the distance from where they can track you or your weapons. Once they are alerted, the ships will separate. The freighter will try to flee, but the destroyers will attack you - they can fire with their guns. They will even try to collide with you to break the hull of the USS Stinger. You may think that under the surface you will be safe. However, the enemy can use hydrophones to detect you when you are below the surface and the destroyer can throw depth- charges into the water. The ships cannot see you as easily when you are under the surface, so you can get closer to a convoy when submerged. It is worth knowing that the enemy destroyers can aim their guns in limited angles, so you have time to shoot them when they are turning after you. Though one hit from the cannon of a destroyer is usually not fatal, the second or the third hit may cause problems (e.g. the radar or the air compressor may break down). It is advisable to submerge after the enemy ships turn on you and go deeper to avoid the depth-charges of the destroyer. Watch the radar and the bottom indicator to avoid running into underwater rocks. Switching off the engines may be a good trick to get the enemy destroyer to lose your trace. CONTROL KEYS KEYBOARD: Q/A throttle up/down W ballast water in (switches off automatically if the tank has been filled) S ballast water out (needs compressed air) R swap between the two radar ranges O/P change magnification of the periscope H hold N switches on/off the sound of the engines (if inconvenient for th player) E swaps between the Diesel engine and the accumulator V turns the air compressor on (if compressed air is needed. Note: the Diesel engine has to be used to recharge the batteries and to operate the air compressor) TAB TURBO mode on/off ESC self-destruction SPACE fire a torpedo ENTER launch a GASM missile M map on/off F3 larger map on/off F9/F10 dive planes up/down Numeric Keypad: "-" controls the 'lock' of the rudder 7/9 turns the periscope by 1/6 degrees (with shift: by 5 degrees - useful for a quick look around) 4 rudder/missile left # 6 rudder/missile right # # pressing enter key will turn missile faster 2/8 missile up/down