A retro 2D RPG with turn-based elements. The game is set in a grungy, 90s style cyberpunk future. Based on an original board game concept. N E U R O T R O N Alpha Demo 0.1 Readme File July 30th, 2014 CONTENTS: ========= I. General II. Bugs and known errors III. The Story so far IV. Control scheme V. Neurotron in general VI. Player character VII. Demo mission VIII. Credits [ I. GENERAL ] -------------- Neurotron is a 2D RPG, with turn-based elements. It's based on an original board game concept of ours. The camera has a bird's eye perspective, reminiscent of the classic PC role-playing and real-time strategy games. The platform is Windows / PC only at the moment. This alpha demo was mainly compiled by the project leader, Harri Jokinen. It was built for the Gamedev compo of Assembly Summer 2014. The current in-game version is fully software rendered, the menu's 3D objects use Direct3D. Unfortunately, the demo does not support the saving or loading of character progress, as there is only one playable mission. Neurotron officially has no system requirements yet, but it has been tested on Windows Vista, Win7 and Win8 operating systems. The game was created with Clickteam's 'Multimedia Fusion 2 Developer', and it should run on the following requirements: * OS: Windows XP or later * Processor: 1.5 Ghz processor or higher * Memory: 256 MB or more * DirectX 9.0 or later and compatible graphics hardware [ II. BUGS AND KNOWN ERRORS ] ----------------------------- The game is still in its early Alpha stage, so many glitches and errors may occur. Game's not fully tested and optimized yet, which may result in slowing down and low framerate, even on a very high-end machine. If something very unfortunate happens, you can press Q + 0 (zero) to quickly restart the current mission. [ III. THE STORY SO FAR ] ------------------------- Set in Earth during the 22nd century, the story tells about a small resistance group called 'Phoenix Rebellion' which is locked in a mortal conflict against a vicious corporate network known as 'The Family'. Much of the Earth has been ruined by centuries of industrial waste, pollution and smog. From the ashes of the Old Earth rose a new breed of capitalism, ran by powerful AIs, which do business far better than Man ever did. Most of the population on Earth now live inside huge, domed cityspaces. These domed sectors have their own atmosphere processors and weather control units. Our story is set in 'Amerac', the largest of these cityscapes. The highest echelons of The Family are solely controlled by entities of artificial intelligence, which roam the vast digital, non-physical planes of 'Mindweb'. The Mindweb is a three-dimensional neural simulation, a graphical internet, a successor to the World Wide Web. As the player, you take control of a solo or a group of fighters working for the Phoenix Rebellion. You will have devastating weapons, exotic upgrades and various equipment at your disposal. The mysterious leader of Phoenix, 'Cyryx', will be your guide through the missions. [ IV. CONTROL SCHEME ] ---------------------- MOUSE LEFT - Interaction \ Move \ Attack MOUSE RIGHT - Scan area & close open tabs S - Searches the room or corridor C - Opens the 'Character' tab I or F - Opens the 'Inventory' tab P or E - Opens the 'Power' tab D - Opens the 'Infodex' tab H - Instantly uses a Healing Stim J - Instantly uses a Hazmat Suit K - Instantly uses a Speed Serum L - Instantly uses a Battle Stim ESC - Quits immediately Arrows on HUD - Nudge the screen according to their direction [ V. NEUROTRON IN GENERAL ] --------------------------- During one turn, players can perform a number of actions, depending on their amount of 'Action points'. The amount of Action points are determined by character's Dexterity and their maximum of Movements points. The actions range from attacking and moving to using special powers or searching an area. All of the actions take different amount of APs. NOTE: The search function can only only be performed once in a certain room or corridor. Depending on the amount of Dexterity you have, you may be able to attack more than once per turn. The higher the Dexterity, the more times you can attack during one turn. Also, Dexterity level determines the skill which you have to dodge attacks. The Range stat will determine the distance which your projectiles can fly and the Weapons stat determines how many of them you can carry at any time. Attack deals with the damage caused by your attack. After the player has ran out of Action points, the turn will move to the next player. If there is only one player in the game (like in this Alpha Demo version) the turn will stay with Player 1. Unlike in the Board Game version of 'Neurotron', the enemies are controlled by an AI. The computer enemy also has a number of functions it can perform during its turn, but usually it will just hunt you down and try to attack you. When you're running low on Vitality points, you can either find a Healing Stim and use it, or use the Biometal patch to heal yourself. In the full version the player characters have many skills and items for healing themselves and others. The Programmer can apply a Biometal patch once a mission for the cybernetically-enhanced Mercenary character or herself. The Adept also has a 'Recovery' update, which can be used for healing. The Stims can also be either applied directly or given to other player characters. If you run out of Vitality points, you are dead. If you're the only player or there are no player characters standing, the mission has failed. The main currency and most valuable substance in Neurotron (next to the Vitality) are the Credits, a form of purely digital money. Credits can be obtained throughout missions from storage cubes and secret stashes. Players receive a bounty for every enemy they have eliminated. NOTE: Beware of trap tiles, security sensors and hazardous environments! The areas which the rebel players have to explore are often filled with dangerous elements. [ VI. PLAYER CHARACTERS ] ------------------------- This Alpha demo only features one playable character, but the full retail version will have a total of 4 players for you to choose: * Programmer, the one seen in this demo. She has the special power of Bypassing and applying Biometal patches for healing effect. Later purchasable upgrades deal with robotics tampering and enhanced security systems hacking. * Operative, an ex-agent of The Family. His body has been nanotechnically enhanced to withstand dangerous environments. One of his special powers is a subdermal active camouflage, which changes his skin to a mercury-like appearance, resulting in a chameleon effect. * Mercenary, a gun for hire. Before joining the Phoenix he had no real affiliation to anyone or anything. He is a gun freak, cybernetically-enhanced and very lethal. He is best used in the frontline at the beginning of attack, but soon withdrawn, since he does not have the best dexterity. He has lost almost all of his natural body in combat, and his organs are encased in armor, coated with a pulse-resistant fake skin. It is said that only his head, lungs and spine remain from his original human body. * Adept, a scholar of psionic powers. After quitting in the service of GSC as a PSI officer, she joined the sacred order of Ranamant Church. Trained in the isolation tanks of the Chruch, she has learned the power of psychic projections. The skills of clairvoyance and telepathy were long denied by the scientific community, until The Family developed the first psionic charger somewhere in the late 2090s. Adept is a supporting character in the rebel fighter squad. [ VII. DEMO MISSION ] --------------------- This version only includes the first mission of the full 12 mission story campaign: 'Communications tower'. It is supposed to give you a glimpse of what the retail game might look and feel like. The mission is set in a Family installation, built high above ground. The overall look has a red hue coming from the smog of Xion City, and you can also see clouds rolling over the installation. Objectives: - Find the Communications Uplink and use it to transmit a rebel signal. - Return to the ship in one piece. First you need to clear the enemy right in front of you (or below you, depending on the perspective). Once you have destroyed the first Overwatcher, move inside the first room and eliminate the second one. Now you might want to search and loot the rooms and corridors for hidden credits and helpful items. Once you've found the Comlink, you will need to bring up your 'Power' menu and use your Bypassing skill. Once successful, you may return to the ship. [ VIII. CREDITS ] ----------------- The 'Neurotron' team is: Team leader / gfx / design / story Harri Jokinen Design / illustration / testing Vesa-Pekka Koivisto Sound FX / music Eetu Suoranta Music / technical direction / tech support Miika Puurunen Testing lead / QA Joni Aaltonen Additional game design / story / QA Juha Peltomäki Story / spellchecking / testing Tuukka Kuusisto Sound FX / cinematics writer Jyri Juhola Live action intro / testing / voice acting Petri Markkanen SPECIAL THANKS Clickteam Erik Gustafsson Anders riggelsen Andos / www.andosmedia.com xinok / www.xinok.tk Aleks wilk Greyhill Developers of Irrlicht engine _____________________________________________________________________________ N E U R O T R O N © Rayhouse Productions Contact : harri.jokinen@rayhouseproductions.com www.rayhouseproductions.com _____________________________________________________________________________