03/18/95

READ_ME file for L7KILL.ZIP/L7BOSS.DEM, Descent registered version 1.0

This is a demo of one method that I have used twice to destroy the Boss
of level 7 -- the large brown and yellow hulk behind the red door.
It was recorded at hotshot skill level without using any cheats, and
unzips to about 3.2 megs.  The end of the demo starts level 8, which is
much easier to play if you have the extra weapons from level 7 instead
of starting from scratch.

The Boss fires smart missiles, which take an enormous amount of shields
to defend.  I spent more time than I care to admit figuring out what hurts
him and what tactics work.  I used the sit-in-the-doorway tactic for three
reasons:  1) I have joystick sensitivity set high to make turning faster,
but my skill at quick aiming and firing still needs improvement, so flying
around the room didn't work as well;  2) after the red door closes behind
you, you're outmanned and outgunned with nowhere to go but forward.  Why
crash the party and get your head handed to you?  Pick them off one by one
until the odds are more in your favor;  3) I figured I would die and would
want to pick up as many weapons as I could when I came back.  That is much
easier to do when you die in the tunnel than out in the open air, surrounded
by robots.

The general sequence I used was this (your mileage may vary):

 - play level 7 until all that is left is to go into the red room and take
   care of business, leaving the invulnerability sphere, and the cloaking
   device and homing missiles above the robot generator, alone until then
   (the robot generator gives up after about three trips through the tunnel,
   so keep blasting and picking up the dropped shields until it quits);
 - fly to the invulnerability sphere, then save the game (I can hear the
   purists moaning now...)
 - grab the invulnerability sphere and fly into the red room with the intent
   of destroying the flying beer kegs with the vulcan cannons.  They move
   fast and can do a lot of damage, so waste them quickly;
 - LISTEN FOR THE POUNDING, DRONING SOUND OF THE BOSS!  This is easier to do
   when you're wearing headphones.  The sound is from the left channel when
   he's on your left, the right channel when on your right, and centered when
   beneath, above or in front of you.  If he is close to you, he almost
   always makes noise before appearing, and you'll notice in the demo that
   I am sometimes firing into space.  The demo does not play the Boss's
   sound, but he was in the area and I didn't want him getting too close.
   If you look closely, a couple times you'll see sparks come from the
   "empty air" -- the Boss was being hit while he was materializing;
 - use quad lasers as your primary weapons.  Fire missiles at him only when
   he is fully materialized.  Otherwise, they pass right through him with
   no apparent damage;
 - do as much damage as you can, but you'll probably die, so when you do...
 - go above the robot generator, grab the cloaking device and homing
   missiles, head back to the red room and destroy as many of the red hulks
   as you can.  You won't have much time, so watch your shields and get back
   to the tunnel if you're running low, or fly through the lower tunnel and
   grab the four shield powerups down there.  The intent is destroy robots
   without dying in the open (sometimes it helps to reverse directions when
   coming out of a tunnel -- go out the same way you came in -- it seems
   to keep the robots from forming a welcoming committee when you exit the
   tunnel);
 - fire at the Boss whenever you hear or see him, and just hold the trigger
   down on him.  Watch for him to quickly fade and reappear just above or
   below where he was.  Good aim is mandatory if you're going to destroy him;
 - if you need energy, fly to the tunnel around the upper left rear of the
   pillar, in relation to the tunnel.  As a bonus, you'll see some homing
   missiles -- grab them and head back to the tunnel;
 - keep watching for and firing at the Boss.  The 5000-point score will
   register when he is about to go the big scrapheap in the sky, then you'll
   hear an agonizng wail as he self-destructs, which is sometimes a delayed
   reaction.  At this point, if you haven't grabbed the homing missiles from
   the energy tunnel, grab them, then exit.  Watch for any remaining hulks --
   don't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

It is important that you choose a tunnel firing position that puts the nose
of your ship just far enough to see the whole pillar and the room on either
side of it.  If you go beyond that, you're a sitting duck for the Boss to
come up beneath you and give you a rousing welcome to his home.

You may have noticed that I didn't mention the cloaking device and shields
on the lower right side of the pillar -- I didn't have much use for them
with this method, but you may find them valuable.  It's your choice.

Good luck.


Bob Clarke