THE ABSOLUTE ZERO GAMEPLAY GUIDE (version 1)
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THE STORY
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In each mission, you are playing one of the seven main characters in the story.  The person you are playing is almost always the one giving the mission briefing (in the Overlink section of the VR Tunnel).  For instance, in the first mission (What's Out There?) you are playing Greg Foss.  You know this not only because he gives the mission briefing, but also because while the game is loading there is a message on the screen that says "Login for Greg Foss in progress."  While you're flying the mission, when you hear Greg Foss speak, that is YOU speaking.

Absolute Zero is mainly an action game, but it also has a complex storyline that unfolds through the news reports and the diaries and email of the seven main characters.  While your mission briefing gives you most or all of what you need to know to complete a mission, you may find yourself wondering what's going on, especially on the higher levels.  There are even one or two missions where it is somewhat critical for you to understand what people are talking about.  You should at least skim through the news and the diaries and emails for each mission, so that you don't get lost later on in the game.

It is important to know about the targeting recticles and the virtual targeting arrow if you want to be able to hit what you're shooting at.  When you have an object targeted, there will be an orange box around it.  There will also be a yellow box somewhere near it, but probably not on top of it.  The orange box tells you where the object is, and the yellow box tells you where you should aim your selected weapon when you fire at the object.  These boxes are the targeting recticles.  The virtual arrow appears in the bottom center of your screen whenever you have an object targeted, and points toward the object.  The red ball at the point of the arrow is there to help you discern whether the arrow is pointing toward or away from you.

Your targeting computer will automatically acquire targets for you when an object comes into range, but it doesn't necessarily pick the best target.  To switch targets, point your weapon toward the object you want to target, and press the acquire target key (the default key is the tab key).

Michael A. Kelly
Lead Programmer for The Domain
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WANT A FASTER FRAME RATE?   
Turn off: Music and Sky in the options screen
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CONTROLS
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On the second mission, your default weapons configuration in RepDep is two laserlances. I think you still have that configuration selected. This, unfortunately, results in it looking like there is no change when you hit the "W" key to change weapons.

My suggestion: Change weapons configurations in RepDep.

If you DO have a mini-MAAC in your config, then check you key settings in "Visor Controls". Make sure the "Change weapons" option is indeed set to "W".

If none of these things helps, then let me know and I'll try to figure something else out.
Most of the key commands in the manual are correct. However, a few keys were changed to make joystick sets possible.

Many Mac joysticks will not accept such keys as "shift", or "Ctrl", or "Caps Lock" as a keystroke. Therefore, these keys were changed to make life easier for those installing the joystick sets.

"w" = change weapons
"d" = activate special defenses (blackout device or theta generator)
"s" = erect force shell (*not* force field -- that's automatic)
"m" = Visor ON/OFF
"n" = CrossHairs ON/OFF
"c" = radar screens ON/OFF

All the rest are the same. If you use any of the key sets besides the "Default" set, then you'll need to look in the "settings" area of the "Visor Controls" to see what your new key set is.

Also, if you use any key set besides "Default", or if you customize your keyset, you'll need to change your joystick set accordingly to get the same functionality.

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CHEAT CODES:
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You can skip ahead to the next level by using a cheat code. These cheat codes are used at the "New Game" screen (the one with the maglock in the background where you select which of your saved games to play).

When you are in that screen, single-click the level you are on so it is highlighted. Then type in the cheat code and the new scenario name will appear on your list. To move to the next level after that, the latest available level must be highlighted. (Hey, they're cheat codes...they're not *supposed* to be easy.)

PLEASE NOTE: These cheat codes allow you to access plot details completely out of sequence! Used unjudiciously, THEY WILL RUIN MOST SURPRISES IN THE GAME!!!! However, those of you who want to look ahead will be greatly gratified by them.

Example: To move from Scenario 3 (To The Rescue 2) to Scenario 4 (Capture 1), type in "It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks".

(What's Out There?)
Scenario 1 => 2      EXAAACTLY
(To The Rescue)
Scenario 2 => 3      It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
Scenario 3 => 4      It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
(Capture)
Scenario 4 => 5      EXAAACTLY
(Canyon Ambush)
Scenario 5 => 6      It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
Scenario 6 => 7      It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
(Foothold Ridge)
Scenario 7 => 8      EXAAACTLY
Scenario 8 => 9      EXAAACTLY
Scenario 9 => 10     EXAAACTLY
(Boiling Point)
Scenario 10 => 11    EXAAACTLY
Scenario 11 => 12    EXAAACTLY
Scenario 12 => 13    EXAAACTLY
(Attack on Aegis)
Scenario 13 => 14    It's crap son
Scenario 14 => 15    It's crap son
Scenario 15 => 16    It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
(Inside the Mountain)
Scenario 16 => 17    EXAACTLY
(Counterattack)
Scenario 17 => 18    It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
Scenario 18 => 19    It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
Scenario 19 => 20    It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
(Evacuation)
Scenario 20 => 21    EXAACTLY
Scenario 21 => 22    EXAACTLY
(Behind Enemy Lines)
Scenario 22 => 23    It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
Scenario 23 => 24    It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
Scenario 24 => 25    It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
(Encounter)
Scenario 25 => 26    It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks
(Hammer & Anvil)
These levels are the climax of the game and cannot be reached via cheat codes. You must complete all previous levels before these can be played.

Hope these help the current situation. Don't worry! We ARE fixing the problems you've been talking about.

"It absolutely has to be done in 2-3 weeks" == "We absolutely have to be done in 2-3 weeks."

"It's crap son" == "That's crap, son."

The codes are the quotes shown in the About Absolute Zero movie for the person who designed the scenario you wish to skip.  For instance, since Matt Miller designed "What's Out There 1", you would type in his quote to skip from "What's Out There 1" to "To The Rescue 1".  His quote is "Exaaactly!", so you would type in "Exaaactly!".
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>>How about the damn second mission!?? I am getting nowhere fast.  My main question is. . . Can you move the battletank thingy, or just the turret? I want to get closer to a MUD to protect it better.  This game is damn hard!<<

In the second scenario, first part, you are playing the gunner for one of the ground car drivers (go to the outside view, that's you sticking out on top of the car in the turret).  The driver has his own agenda and controls the movement of the vehicle, so your only job is to help keep the ground transports (MUTs) safe as they attempt to evacuate miners from Mine Upsilon.

>>The manual has been rather useless!
How do you cycle through available targets?  Backspace/Delete is NOT the one.
When will Domark post an accurate manual, or at least a list of accurate command keys?<<

Unfortunately the manual was printed well before the game was completed, so many of the key commands were changed.  The second manual included with AZ contains most of the revisions.  However, you can set the command keys to whatever you like.  Simply move the mouse to the top of the screen while in the interface tunnel to access the pull-down menu.  From there you can access options which will allow you to set up the keyboard commands to your liking, and then save them.  You can have multiple configurations, so you may find it useful to load certain setting while playing the part of a gunner in turret missions, while using a second setup for piloting missions.

>>Also, this is the level<< (Boiling Point) >> that's bringing my 9500 to it's knees. The frame rate is to the point where it's hard to aim and fly.<<

Something is very wrong here.  We recently got 9500's in at the office, and even the most congested scenarios in the game scream with no loss in frame rate.

Anyone else frustrated with the speed of the "VR Tunnel Interface" even <WITH> the "Large VR Tunnel Speedup" option installed?
Here is a fix that has worked wonders for me.  It makes sure all of the VR Tunnel interface animations are on your HD, making them tremendously faster.  Really eliminates the frustration when you lose a mission and have to go through all of that VR Tunnel garbage again.  Make sure these files are in your "AZ Animations" folder, which is within your "AZ Data" folder.

Place these in "Absolute Zero /AZ Data/AZ Animations:"
AZ Animations 1- (file) 3212k
AZ Progress Anim- (file) 209k
AZ Sprites- (file) 1199k
Domark- (folder) 2.2MB
Tunnel- (folder) 6.6MB

I'm not sure which of these besides the "Tunnel" folder is essential to make this work, but you can experiment if your HD space is at a premium.

Yeah, sorry about that, the big VR Tunnel speedup should have included the Tunnel folder.  You don't need the Domark folder though, unless you leave the Show Intro option on.  (The Domark folder contains the Domark movie that plays immediately when you launch the program.)

Michael A. Kelly
Lead Programmer for The Domain