Lords of Cyberspace ------------------- Lords of Cyberspace is a multi-user cyberpunk computer terrorism game. In LoC, your goal is to use the hardware and software you acquire to cause as much trouble in cyberspace as is humanly possible. What is Cyberspace? ------------------- In the near future, people will use computer "cyberdecks" to "jack" into cyberspace- the global computer network. What makes cyberspace different from today's internet is that the advanced technology of the cyberdeck creates a virtual reality out of the network. Your central nervous system is connected directly to your cyberdeck (via electrode plugs in the base of your neck), so when you're in the net, you're really IN the net. You experience it as if you were really there. OK, so it's still the 20th century and virtual reality technology for BBS's is still a pipe dream. So, in LoC you experience cyberspace through an ANSI display. ANSI & IBM Characters --------------------- You must have ANSI enabled in order to play Lords of Cyberspace. LoC is a "full screen" game, with the screen divided into a number of distinct regions. These regions are updated using a variety of special ANSI screen codes. If you are having problems with your screen getting messed up, make sure that you are using either ANSI or VT100 as your terminal emulation. If the five line scrolling text region at the bottom of your screen does not display properly, try changing the number of screen lines your BBS account is set for. If it's set to 24, try 25. If it's set for 25, try 24. LoC should work with most communications programs, provided you have the correct settings for screen size and terminal emulation. You can choose to view the net either using regular ASCII text characters or the IBM extended character set. The game looks nicer if you use IBM characters, but if you have problems displaying them, you can turn them off and switch to ASCII by entering the command "option 1". Playing the Game ---------------- Your main goal in the game is to score enough points and become powerful enough to enter "end-game" and try to win (become a Lord of Cyberspace). We'll talk about end-game later (it'll be a while before you're ready for that monumental task). For now, let's talk about the nuts and bolts of scoring points and becoming more powerful. LoC does not make use of very many phony "stats". For the most part, YOU are your character in the game. YOUR intelligence is your character's intelligence, YOUR dexterity is your character's dexterity, etc. So what determines your power in the game? Essentially it boils down to your hardware, your software, your bank account, your score rank, and your health. Hardware -------- Your cyberdeck consists of a number of seperate pieces of hardware. You start out with a simple cyberdeck with enough hardware to get you going. It's up to you to raise the cash necessary to upgrade your cyberdeck's hardware (or replace hardware that gets wrecked while you're jacked into cyberspace). To purchase hardware upgrades, go to the offline services menu (using the "services" command). Interface --------- Your deck's interface is the electrodes and wires that connect you to your deck. You either have an interface or you don't. If you don't have an interface you won't be able to jack into cyberspace until you get one. CPUs ---- Your CPUs (Central Processor Units) are what allow you to run programs. It takes one CPU to run one program. So, if you have four CPUs you can run four programs simultaneously. CPU Speed --------- The faster your CPUs, the faster your programs will run. This is an important consideration, since in cyberspace slow usually means dead. How fast a program "runs" has two different meanings. First, there is program execution speed - how long it takes to do whatever it does. For example, a Bulldozer program might take 20 seconds to break through a wall when run on a speed 1 CPU, but only 10 seconds to run on a speed 11 CPU. Secondly, programs that are mobile (that move around in the net) can move faster, depending on CPU speed. Starting at CPU speed 6, programs that move get to move twice as fast. CPU speeds 1-5 allow mobile programs to move one space per second. At speed 6 and up, they can move two spaces per second. Note: you cannot mix CPUs of different speeds. If you elect to purchase a new CPU (or CPUs) that have a different speed from your current ones, then you trade in the current ones (for 1/2 their original price) and replace them with the new CPUs. Memory ------ Memory is where you store your programs and stolen documents. Each memory unit has a storage capacity of 8. Programs and documents vary in size, so you could, for example, store two size four programs in a single memory unit, or three size two's and two size one's, etc. Wall Strength ------------- Each system (and cyberdeck) has, as part of it's layout, a wall that encloses it's CPUs and memory (to keep the criminals out). The stronger the wall, the harder it is for would-be hackers to break in. Gate Strength ------------- Each system (and cyberdeck) has as part of it's layout one or more gates. These allow authorized personnel to come and go as they please. They also are places where hackers can attempt to gain entry to the system. The stronger the gate, the more difficult it is to break in. Chip Reader ----------- A chip reader allows you to access backup chips (more on those in a moment). You either have one or you don't. If you don't have one, you cannot access backup chips. Backup Chips ------------ Backup chips are where you can safely store programs and documents. You can only access your backup chips while offline (i.e. not jacked in), so this is where you would store programs and documents you won't be needing on your next cyberspace run. Although your memory is vulnerable to attack while in cyberspace, your backup chips are not. The only way to lose them is to have your deck physically confiscated by the cops (more on that later). L/D Phone Link -------------- You can purchase a private L/D phone link for your Cyberdeck from Internet. Although there is an initial purchase cost for the hardware and a subsequent daily rental fee, there are no additional charges for making L/D hops using your private link. Owning your own private L/D phone link can be quite handy, since you can jack into Cyberspace and hop to a different city without first having to venture out of your Cyberdeck to find a public L/D phone link. Software -------- You use your programs to perform actions in cyberspace. They protect you, they attack other systems, programs and players, they let you break into systems, etc. There are many different programs in the game, many of which you won't need (or even find) until you've played for a while. For a complete list of all the programs in the game, type "? proglist". For an explaination of what an individual program does, type "? name" where name is the name of the program in question. To see what programs you have, type "programs". You can also run a program using the programs command, or you can just type the name of the program you want to run (at the main prompt) to run it. A program's strength determines how well it performs it's designed function. I.E. a strength 2 program is better than a strength 1 program (obviously). Generally speaking, when two programs go at it with each other, the one with the higher strength is going to win. Random chance is also figured in, so that is not ALWAYS true, but generally stronger is better. There are two ways to get programs. You can either purchase them from a software vendor system or steal them (from any kind of system). You start out with a few simple programs. Here's what they are and what they do: Cloak ----- Cloak hides your cyberspace signal from programs and other players, making it harder for them to track and attack you. If you are hacking a system it's a good idea to run some kind of cloak. Note: Cloak interferes with your Cyberspace signal and causes you to slowly de-rez. If you leave Cloak running indefinitely, you will eventually lose signal and drop out of Cyberspace. So, it's a good idea to only run Cloak when you need it. Probe ----- Probe gives you additional information about something you encounter in cyberspace. It is handy for testing the strength of walls and gates. Naturally, when you're just starting out you'll want to find the easiest systems to invade (systems with low gate and/or wall strength). Knight ------ Knight is used to attack programs. It will attempt to hunt down the specified target program and destroy it. If successful, it will cause the targetted program to stop running (drop out of cyberspace) and reduce it's strength. If the target's strength is zero or less, the program is destroyed (removed from memory). You would use Knight to attack programs that are either attacking you or preventing you from invading a system. Unlocker -------- Unlocker is used to unlock programs and documents. Most programs and documents you will come across when invading systems will (for security purposes) be locked. You can't do anything to a locked file, so if you want to steal or destroy it, you need to unlock it first. Bulldozer --------- Bulldozer is used to crash through a system's wall (so you can get inside). Shield ----- Shield protects you from programs that attack you (it repels the attack). Armor ----- Like Shield, Armor also protects you from programs that attack you. Additionally, it protects you from damage-dealing programs if it fails to totally repel the attack. Bank Account ------------ Money is pretty important in LoC and serves a variety of purposes: Hardware and Software --------------------- As previously mentioned, you use money to purchase hardware and software. Doctor Bills ------------ Certain programs in the game can cause you actual physical damage (remember those electrodes in your neck?) A visit to the doctor can fix you up, but it ain't free. Net Access ---------- There are a variety of ways to enter the net, and they all cost money. Rent ---- Sometimes you have to live on the street to avoid the cops. But most of the time you'll want to rent a flat (an apartment) because it's cheaper to pay for a dedicated connection to the net than it is to pay by the minute on a street link-up. Fines ----- As a hacker, you're bound to run afoul of the law on occasion. Better hope you have the money to pay the fine! Relocating ---------- If you want to physically relocate to a new city, airplane tickets in LoC cost money like everything else. So, how do you get money? There are several ways: Buying and Selling Programs --------------------------- To sell a program, go to a software vendor system and use the "memory" command to move the program from your memory into the vendor's memory. The Cashier will credit your bank account with 1/2 the program's re-sale value. To buy a program, just do the opposite; move the program from the vendor's memory into your deck's memory. The Cashier will debit the program's sale price from your bank account. NOTE: Be VERY careful that you have enough money in your bank account to cover the cost of the sale! If you do not have enough money to pay for the purchase, the previously benign Cashiers will attack you! To help prevent your accidentally purchasing a program that you cannot afford to buy, the Cashiers will LOCK all programs that cost more than you have in your bank account. So, do not mess with locked programs in a vendor system's memory (unless you intend to steal them and deal with the consequences). Selling Documents ----------------- When invading systems, you will come across a variety of different documents. Depending on the document and the system from which it came, it may be of value to the various criminal information organizations scattered throughout cyberspace. To sell stolen documents, simply move the document from the system's memory into your deck's memory (again, using the "memory" command) and go to a Criminal system. In the Criminal system you will encounter a program called "Fence" (if the Criminal system has not itself been invaded and attacked). The Fence will sit in one of the criminal system's gates and wait for hackers such as yourself to bring it documents. Simply move to a space adjacent to the Fence and if you have any documents of interest to the Fence, it will tell you how much it is willing to pay for each valuable document. There are 6 different types of documents, listed in order of increasing value: 1. Useless Memos (basically valueless nattering, and of no value to a criminal system) 2. Insider Information 3. Secret Information 4. Top Secret Information The more sensative the information, the more valuable the document. Also, the more powerful the system from which it came, the more valuable the document. Additionally, there are two special document types that can only be found when invading Internet Hub and Worldbank systems. These documents contain bank and internet access codes which you can use to steal money or internet access from other players (these are quite naturally, extremely rare and difficult to acquire). To see what kind of document you have, just read it (using the "memory" command). Stolen Bank Codes ----------------- You can steal other players' money by hacking their bank access codes. You can either try your intuition and just guess at what someone else might be using for their bank access code. Or, you can break into a Worldbank system and look around for documents that might contain another player's access code. Completing Criminal Missions ---------------------------- You can undertake a criminal mission by going to a Criminal system and meeting with the Fence. More on that later. Pawning Hardware ---------------- If you're really desperate for cash, you can sell off some of your hardware (at half what you paid for it). The pawn shop is accessable from the Offline Services menu. Scoring Points -------------- You score points for your various nefarious accomplishments in cyberspace. At various scoring threasholds, your character gains "rank" (each rank with it's own unique title). For example, when you first start out, you have a score of 0 and a rank of 1. The rank 1 title is "newbie". As you score points, you will eventually reach rank 2 (ruggie), and so on. There are a number of ways to score points: Attacking Programs ------------------ When using Knights to attack other programs in Cyberspace, you score a number of points points equal to the amount of damage done by the Knight. Erasing Programs ---------------- You score points for simply erasing a program (though much less than if you had destroyed it in tactical combat). Selling Documents ----------------- You score points by selling documents to Criminal systems. The more valuable the document, the more points you score. Erasing Documents ----------------- If you don't feel like selling documents, you can also score points by simply destroying them (face it, erased or stolen, it's still irritating to the system you're attacking, and hence worthy of points). The more valuable the document, the more points you score. Improving Programs ------------------ You can score points by attempting to hack a program. What you're trying to do is increase the strength of the program by applying your programming skills to the task. The higher your rank, the greater your odds of success. However, the higher the strength of the program, the greater your odds of failure. If you succeed, the program's strength and value will increase and you will score some points. If you fail, the program's strength and value will decrease and you will lose some points. If you REALLY screw up, you will destroy the program. Destroying Systems ------------------ You can score points by destroying all of the CPUs in a system, thus causing it to crash out of the net for an extended period of time. Note; Destroyed means just that- destroyed by the Torpedo program. Crashing a system simply by crashing all of it's CPUs (using a Crash program) does not score you any points. Completing Criminal Missions ---------------------------- You can undertake a criminal mission by going to a Criminal system and meeting with the Fence. More on that later. So, why worry about your score and rank? First of all, you need to reach a very high rank before you can attempt to win in end-game. Also, your rank is used to determine a few other things: Employment ---------- Life is not all glory-hacking in the net. You still have your day job to keep body and soul together (and give you a little extra ching to help pay for that new memory unit you've been lusting after). Your salary is determined by your rank (the higher your rank, the higher your salary). One note about employment; when you relocate cities you have to look for a new job. You have one chance each day to find a job. The higher your rank, the easier it will be for you to find a job. (There is no "command" to hunt for a job, it just happens when you sign on for the first time on any given day). As a new player, you automatically start out employed. You can't get fired, so the only way to lose your job is to relocate to a new city. Improving Programs ------------------ As previously mentioned, your rank is used to determine whether or not you can successfully improve a program. Long-Distance Jumping --------------------- During the course of your Cyberspace explorations, you will be making what are called "long-distance jumps" (more on these later). The higher your rank, the farther you can jump. Health ------ Health points represent how much damage you can physically sustain from ICE (Intrusion Counter Electronics) attacks. Most ICE is designed to either simply knock you out of the net, attack your programs, or attempt to damage or destroy your hardware. However, certain ICE programs (commonly referred to as "Black ICE") attempt to cause you physical damage. They accomplish this by sending pulsed frequency signals through the wiring and directly into your body (remember, to experience the virtual reality of cyberspace, you are physically connected to your cyberdeck). Depending on the program in question, the physical attack can either damage your brain (causing you to lose score points), or damage your body. You can sustain 20 points of physical damage before you are "dead". Now LoC is, after all, a game. And getting permanantly dead in a game that you spend weeks or months playing isn't a whole lot of fun. So, we wink at "reality" here and let you live. Still, getting dead has to have some kind of penalty, so here it is: When you get reduced to 0 health points, you lose a rank. If you die when you're rank 1, then you're done playing for the day. You either have to commit suicide and start over, pay to heal yourself back up to at least 1 health point, or wait until you regenerate enough health points to get back to having at least 1. You heal (for free) 1 health point per day. Jacking-In ---------- OK, so you're ready to tackle cyberspace. The first thing you do is jack-in. You have your choice here. You can either jack-in using a street connection or a direct net connection. Here's the difference; a street connection means you're out on the street someplace connecting via a public net link (much like a pay phone). You pay by the minute and you pay IN ADVANCE. It costs $1 per minute, and whatever time you don't actually use, you lose. No refunds. Not a very desireable option. The only time you'd ever want to use a street link is if you're living on the streets and don't have any other option or if you've stolen someone else's bank access code and you're not spending your own money anyway. Why would you ever be out on the streets? Well, you could get kicked out of your flat for failing to pay the rent. Or maybe you just relocated cities and haven't rented a place to live yet. Or maybe you used to have a flat, but the cops traced your signal and were about to break the door down before you fled into the streets... Anyway, normally you'll connect via a direct net connection. When you are renting, you have a dedicated net connection that you pay for by the day. It costs a flat rate and you can connect as often as you like, for as long as you like. OK, so you're jacked-in; your cyberdeck is now connected to the net. What you're looking at after you jack-in is your cyberdeck in virtual reality, complete with walls, gates, CPUs and memory. To find out what all the little icons are, just type "? icons" for a list. Designing Your Deck ------------------- If you want to change how your deck is configured in the net, use the "design" command. Using the design command, you can move your CPUs and memory units around, as well as add and/or remove gates and walls. When you're jacked into the net, your cyberdeck is as vulnerable to attack as any other system, so if you're worried about other players trying to break in and attack your deck, you'd better redesign the layout to make that as difficult as possible. You can also give your cyberdeck a new name using the design command (all decks start out named simply "Cyberdeck"). Viewing the Net --------------- There are three views available to you while jacked-in: Global, City and System. Global View ----------- The global view will show you what city you are in and where you are in relation to all of the other cities on the world net map. City View --------- The city view is your local region of Cyberspace. In this view you see all the different systems that are connected to the net in this city. System View ------------ In the system view you see the details of the system you are in (if any), i.e. it's walls, gates, CPUs and memory. To see what all the different icons in the various views mean, type "? icons". To change your view, use the look command: "look g" for global, "look c" for city, or "look s" for system. In addition to the icons for systems, you will occasionally see letters in the net display. These are programs. The letter corresponds to the first letter of the program name (example, G for Guardian). If you've lost track of what programs are around, just type "look" and it will tell you what programs and players are in the immediate area. Navigating the Net ------------------ You move around in the net using the movement commands north, south, east, and west. North=Up, South=Down, East=Right, West=Left. You can abbreviate these commands to a single letter (n,s,e,w). When moving around in a system you can only move onto a blank space, an open gate, or a dead wall (a wall that was destroyed by some program). The only exception to those rules is that you can always walk through the gates of your own cyberdeck, regardless of whether or not they are open. You cannot move on top of a memory unit, but running into one is a quick way to get a memory display for that particular memory unit. Running into a program is generally considered to be an attack (more on that later). When you move "off the edge" of a system, you exit that system and move into the corresponding city space next to the system. If that space is empty (i.e. there isn't another system there), you will be presented with the city view of your current city (showing you all of the systems in the city). If you move onto a system space in the city view, you will once again enter the system view (of that particular) system. When you move "off the edge" of a city, you are now moving on the world map level. You will see a city view display for the new net space you've entered. If it's a city, you'll see systems. If it's just Frontierspace (the space that lies between cities) you won't see much of anything. You can walk pretty far passing through Frontierspace from city to city, but eventually you'll get stuck. You can only move so far on the global level before you stretch your signal too far and can't go any further. Long-Distance Hopping --------------------- OK, so what are you telling me? That I can only make three world view net moves in any direction from my home city? What about all those cities and systems on the other side of the world?? OK, calm down, Ace. That's not the end of the story. All cities have handy little internet long-distance links. To make a long distance jump, simply move onto the L/D link space, and then type the direction (n,s,e,w) you want to move. You can then make a long-distance jump. How far you can jump depends on your rank. Anyone can jump one, two or three spaces. Players rank 11 and up can jump up to four spaces, and players rank 21 and up can jump up to five world net spaces. Aha, but there's a catch. Internet ain't no charity, my friend. Long distance hops cost cold cash, and the longer the jump, the higher the cost. So, isn't that going to add up to an awful lot of $? You bet it would... if you were honest. But you're not, are you? Of course not! There are two ways to make those jumps for free. First, you can use someone else's bank access code to pay for it. You haven't stolen any bank codes yet? OK, then crash through that link! Your odds of successfully crashing though an L/D link depend on the security level of the link (which varies from city to city) and how far you're trying to jump. The longer the jump, the greater the odds of getting caught. Still, if you're not greedy you should (most of the time) be able to crash through and not spend a dime. Uh, was that "most of the time"? Yep, sometimes you get caught, and then bad stuff happens- you get to deal with THE EYE. The Eye is the law-enforcement branch of the net. They don't take kindly to people stealing their services, and depending on how much they decide to dislike you, they will do one of the following: Fines ----- If you're "lucky", they'll just hit you with a fine. This could be as little as fining you the amount you would have had to pay had you just paid for the hop in the first place, all the way up to several hundred dollars. If they fine you, that's it. They bill your internet account and let you go. Consider yourself fortunate. RoboCops -------- If you're unlucky, they'll decide to make an example of you and dispatch some of their roving RoboCop units. If they're able to trace your signal, they'll send it after you specifically. RoboCops don't sleep, and they don't give up very easily... better watch your back for a while! If they can't get a good trace on you, they'll simply send a RoboCop to the "scene of the crime" and have it hang around for a while. Any known net criminals that show up will immediately activate the RoboCop, and the hunt is on. Time to jack-out? Yeah! MeatCops -------- Oh man, you have REALLY screwed up. They traced you, they know where you live and you already hear sirens off in the distance. You've got just a few seconds to abandon your flat and hit the streets. You don't want to stick around and deal with the meat (real-world) cops. If you're lucky, they'll just confiscate all of your hardware. If your luck is bad... hmm, which do you prefer? Frontal lobotomy or being beaten to a lifeless pulp? One other note about crashing an L/D link. This built-in ability of your cyberdeck creates quite a strain on the hardware, and even if you succeed in successfully crashing through the link, you will find that your Cyberspace signal will be weakened in the attempt, thus partially "de-rezzing" you. Eventually, if you continue to make illegal jump after illegal jump, you'll simply de-rez totally (lose signal) and drop out of the net. Backing Up ---------- You can quickly retrace your steps using the "back" command. It moves you back one net move. So, say you walked three net moves, made two long distance jumps and then walked three more net spaces. Typing "back" would back you up through all of that, one net move/jump at a time. Keep typing back and eventually you'll be back in your Cyberdeck. Rez --- All players and programs in the net have a "rez" factor. The rez factor is a player or program's cyberspace signal; i.e. how strongly they are connected to the net. Rez is measured in a simple percentage- 100% rez means a full, perfectly clear signal. 0% rez means disconnected. When a player reaches 0% rez, they drop out of the net. When a program reaches 0% rez, it stops and must be re-run. Under normal circumstances, rez factors are always 100%. However, there are a number of programs that attack rez in an attempt to stop a program or knock a player out of the net. Your rez is always 100% while you're inside your home system (your Cyberdeck). So, if your rez is getting low and you don't want to jack-out, just go back to your deck and it will jump back up to 100% CyberCrime ---------- OK, so you're in the net, you're moving around, and now you're ready for some action. So, you just waltz into the nearest system and start pounding, right? WRONG! All that's going to get you is a lesson in the suicide watusi. The first thing you do is START SMALL. The easiest systems in the world to hack are Bulletin Board Systems (BBS's). They're open to the public, and they have NO security. They also don't have a whole lot of worthwhile stuff, but sometimes they do. Some crazy sysop or desperate hacker might just have stowed a fancy little program in that BBS, and it's just sitting there for the taking. So, take it! If it looks like a program you can use, keep it. If not, take it to a vendor and sell it. Now that you've got a little money, take a look around at what the vendor has to sell. Maybe there's something there you could use? A better Cloak? A nice GateCrash? Become familiar with all the programs. If you see one you've never heard of, type "? name" (where "name" is the name of the program) to find out what it does. Once you've nailed all the BBS's for miles around, it's time to move up to a "level 1" system. Level 1 systems are generally small business, public schools, minor municipal government offices, etc. Level 1 systems have a little bit of security, but usually nothing deadly or super-strong. Also, their walls and gates tend to be weaker than other more powerful systems. Start out by getting your defenses up- if you have a cloak, armor, shield or any other defense program, run them. Next, go find a level 1 system in your city and enter it. You'll probably see a Guardian program appear. This is the first (and usually only) line of defense for a level 1 system. Don't worry about it. It won't bother you until you do something evil (like try to break through a wall or gate). Use a probe to check out the walls and gates, note their strength. Go take a look at any other nearby level 1 systems, and probe the strength of their walls and gates. When you find the weak spot, it's time to hack. Choose the system with the weakest wall (if you're going to use Bulldozer to get in) or the weakest gate (if you're going to be using GateCrash), and then run your invasion program. If you're lucky, the program will succeed and you'll get in. If you're unlucky, Guardian (or something else) will punt you out of the net. Oh well, no big deal, jack in and try again. It's not until you start attacking the really nasty systems that you'll need to worry about being seriously harmed by ICE programs (and by then, you should have learned how to deal with them). Don't forget to use Knight to protect yourself against ICE attacks. Target your Knight at the program that's chasing you and hope to the cybergods that it defeats your enemy. Once inside, you can either concentrate on eliminating the ICE (using knight or other program destroyers), or you can try to "hit-and-run" the memory. I.E. try to keep away from the ICE and steal whatever you can before it catches up to you again. Again, the rewards are sparse when raiding level 1 systems (rewards just always seem to be commensurate with the risks, don't they?). Still, you will come across the occasional useful (or at least, sellable) program as well as documents that might be worth something to a fence. Basically you're using your time getting familiar with how the game works, building up a little reserve of cash, and maybe even finding some useful programs. Once you feel like you've started to get the hang of things, try invading some more powerful systems. But, be careful. You should never even enter a level 4, level 5, bank or hub system until you're damn sure about what you're doing. These are high security systems with loads of Black ICE, and you can get awfully dead awfully fast in there. Saving Your Ass --------------- Sometimes things just don't go right. You screw up, your programs screw up, things were a lot tougher than you thought they'd be, whatever. Stuff happens. And when it does, remember to JACK OUT. You must've played an adventure game at least once in your life? What do the weasels do when the big bad monsters are about to slice them open from stem to stern? Why, they hang up their modem, right? Well, same principal here. And we all know that computer terrorists are the biggest weasels to ever walk the earth. The evilest program in the world can't hurt you if you're not in the net, Ace. So, if things go bad, JACK OUT. The command to jack out of cyberspace is again, "jack". It almost always works (grin). OK, so I'm evil, so sue me. Yes, there is a small chance that your jack-out attempt will fail. If that happens, just wait a couple of seconds and try again. The only exception to that is jacking-out from your home system (your cyberdeck). If you're in the safe confines of your deck, you will almost always be able to jack-out on the first attempt. God, did he just say "almost always" again? Yeah, sorry, I'm REALLY EVIL. So, sue me twice. There are programs in the net specifically designed to keep you from jacking out. If you get nailed by one of these mean little buggers, you will be prevented from jacking out for a good long time (like up to a minute or so). So, if you get locked into the net, cross your fingers and hope you can ride it out :> Program Classes --------------- Programs come in a variety of classes, with each class having a different general sort of behavior. These behaviors can be categorized thusly: Statics ------- Static programs affect a non-moving target and are themselves immobile. Most of the "utility" class programs (Locker, Unlocker, etc) are statics, as well as programs such as Crash, Bulldozer, GateCrash, etc. Hunters ------- Hunters are mobile programs that don't do a whole lot until they detect the specific kind of target that they are designed to hunt. Hunters include such programs as Mason, Snout, AntiVirus, etc. Chasers ------- Chasers are mobile programs that are specifically targetted at one enemy. They will pursue the enemy until they are next to them, and then attack. Some seekers are restricted to their home system, others will chase their target beyond the immediate confines of their home system. Chasers stop running if their target vanishes. Chasers include such programs as Knight, Guardian, Icebolt, Firebolt, Banshee, etc. Intrinsics ---------- Intrinsics are programs used by players that become an instrinsic part of their cyberspace signal. Intrinsics can be both defensive (Cloak, Shield, Armor, etc) and offensive (Phaser, Tentacle, Cobra, etc). Hydras ------ Hydras are extremely advanced forms of ICE that include many of the properties of a player. They are designed to attack players (as chasers) but derive their offense and defense from intrinsics. Much like the multi-headed monster of mythology that is it's namesake, Hydra class programs have multiple methods of offense and defense. If you get ahold of a Hydra, you can "configure" it (using the "programs" command) with any intrinsics you have available. Basically, the Hydra uploads the intrinsic and it becomes part of the Hydra program itself. The more powerful the Hydra, the greater the number of intrinsics that it can upload. The most powerful Hydra can have four intrinsics. Note: configuring a Hydra is a one-way street. Once it uploads a program, that program becomes part of the Hydra and cannot be retrieved. The strength of the individual instrinsic is irrelevent- a Hydra's original strength is always it's strength, regardless of the strength of it's uploaded intrinsics. Common Hydras are Fiend, Devil and Satan. The Eye's RoboCops are also Hydras. Aliens ------ You will occasionally come across programs in your travels that don't seem to originate from any known system. These rogue Hydras are pretty much of a mystery to everyone. No one knows where they came from, why they are here or what they might do at any given moment. Several theories claim that they are either programs that have somehow achieved independent sentience, or perhaps alien programs that have somehow gained access to the net. In any case, they are very dangerous and should be avoided by all but the bravest cyberspacers. Close Combat ------------ As previously mentioned, there are a number of offensive intrinsics. These are used to attack both programs and other players. To attack using an offensive intrinsic, you basically "run into" your enemy (i.e. attempt to move on top of them). Each attack by an intrinsic causes it to re-run (i.e. it's loading time is reset). So, you can "bonk" into your target as often as you like, but the intrinsic will only attack every few seconds (depending on the loading time of the program and the speed of your CPUs). Hydras also use this method for their attack, so if a Hydra is attacking you and you don't want to fight back, move away from it (or JACK OUT!) Internet Accounting ------------------- Everyone has an account with internet (accessed using your individual access code). Most internet costs (daily connection, fines, etc) are billing deferred, i.e. you don't have to pay immediately. As you accrue expenses, your account is debited. Once per day (during system cleanup), internet attempts to collect from your bank account whatever amount you owe them. If your bank account can't cover what you owe, your internet credit rating goes down by one. If your credit rating ever reaches zero, you will be refused further access to the net (other than paying cash for a street connection) until such time as you settle your debt. Once you bring your account out of the red, your credit rating will start increasing. It increases by one each day that you pay off your bill. Ten is a perfect credit rating. Criminal Missions ----------------- You can undertake a criminal mission by going to a Criminal system and meeting with the Fence program. Move to a space next to the Fence, and it will ask you if you want to be assigned a criminal mission. If you say yes, you will be assigned a mission. Your mission will be to either go crash some specific system, or go to a specific system and destroy one of it's documents. If you succeed in completing your mission, you will be rewarded with cash and score some points. You can take as long as you like to complete your mission. If you don't like your current mission, just wait a while and you'll be able to go request a new one. Use the "mission" command to display your current mission (if any). End-Game -------- To "win" the game and become a Lord of Cyberspace, you must enter Valhalla and destroy the Divine Document. Sounds simple? Well, not quite.... 1. You have to become a /\/\aster (rank 29) before you can even get into the Valhalla Cyberplex (a nasty conglomeration of mega-vicious systems). 2. You have to actually find Valhalla. Valhalla is someplace in Frontier, the specific location of which changes every day. 3. You have to acquire the three different keys to Valhalla. These keys are programs that you can find throughout the game in different systems. They are WhiteKey, GreyKey and BlackKey. To enter the Valhalla Cyberplex, you need to be running all three of the key programs. 4. You have to find the Divine Document, of which there is one copy secreted someplace in amongst the dozens of systems that make up the Valhalla Cyberplex. Once you find it, all you have to do is unlock it and erase it, and BOOM, you're a Lord of Cyberspace! Good luck, Ace. You're gonna need it!