DOC THE DESTROYER


SHORT INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING
1 - LOAD TAPE.
Commodore - Insert cassette, hit SHIFT & RUN/STOP together, and
then the PLAY control on the cassette player.
Spectrum - Insert cassette, type LOAD "" (then hit "enter"). Set the
cassette player onto PLAY.
2 - SELECT CONTROLS. Select either keyboard control or joystick.
3 - SELECT ATTRIBUTES. Use controls to set the character's attributes
before play.
4 - COMMENCE PLAY. Select responses to the multiple choice text by
using joystick or keyboard to indicate your choice of action. Use the
joystick or keyboard to control the character's actions in the arcade
combat segments (see joystick diagram at the end of instructions).


INTRODUCTION

In the "Doc the Destroyer" series of games, you take on the role of "Doc" as he
adventures his way through fantasy worlds present, past and future.
"Doc" is a time traveller whose adventures have somehow led him to the
exciting world of the Domed City. Doc does not have access to his time
traveller's equipment, since he has lost his time machine; yet he still retains
the Power to cloud the minds of other men and effectively change his
appearance.
You must somehow navigate Doc through the dangerous world of the
Domed City and safely win through to your time machine once more. Once
you have finished this game, you will be able to save your character and go on
to play other games in the "Doc the Destroyer" series.
As the character "Doc", you are a very flexible fellow. Doc has a set of
characteristics which are used to represent his various skills and abilities
which might affect the game. You will be able to shape Doc's characteristics
to suit the style of game play that you prefer. Thus strong dumb characters or
smart dexterous characters are all possibilities open for you to play.


BACKGROUND TO THE CURRENT STORY

In the beginning the world was green and bright; Citizens and Rubble
Runners were one, and lived in peace and harmony within the CITY. Then the
Gods turned their faces from the world, and the Earth was scorched by fire
and withered by poisoned rains. Dust rose to cloud the sky, and the great cold
began.
The High Priest now talked to the people, and told them that he had
foreseen the means of their salvation. The Tower of Knowledge at the City's
heart became home to a host of Priests who strived to save the people from
the terrors of those dark days.
One day the Priests declared that all was ready. A wall was thrown around
the temple precincts dividing it from the City, and a great dome of energy was
raised to seal the City off from the dying planet outside. The key to the Tower
of Knowledge was hung about the High Priest's neck as a symbol of his holy
office, and the knowledge of the shield's construction was sealed inside the
tower for evermore.
The Priests removed themselves to the temple precincts, coming forth
only to minister to the people. Many strange children were born to the people
of the City, and the Priests cast them forth from the City walls, declaring
them to be human.
Thus came the great rift between the people, who are now divided into the
Citizens who live within the City, and the Rubble Runners, who live in the
ruins and sewers outside. All remain under the shimmering energy dome,
and thus have things stood for two hundred years.
Into this strange situation steps our hero, "Doc". Found dazed and naked
outside the City in the Rubble, the Rubble Runners have taken you into the
tribe and nurtured you back to health.
As the character "Doc", you find yourself somewhat confused. Your last
memory is of drinking with some of the fellows back at the Time Guardians'
academy, and after that everything tends to go a little fuzzy in your memory.
The fact that you seem to have been naked when you were found indicates
that you at least must have been to one mother of a party. The only problem
remaining is to locate your time machine, which must be lying around the
area somewhere.
While looking for your time machine one day, you reach the lower levels of
the sewers and discover that icy cold water has risen over the past day to cover
several feet in depth. Rushing back to the Rubble Runner tribe in alarm, you
try to warn them that the tribe is in imminent danger of being drowned, only
to find that the tribal Shaman has accused you, in your absence, of being a spy
for the City temple, and is arranging for your execution.
Bowling over the Shaman and his guards, you rush out into the ruins,
bereft of your time machine, your companions and any equipment other than
the clothes you are standing in, a few coins and a wooden club. Your one
saving grace is your psionic ability to cloud the minds of others around you to
change your appearance, an ability which relies upon your intelligence.
Good luck to you ...


DOC'S CHARACTERISTICS

Doc has a number of characteristics which are set at the start of the game and
which will affect the way you progress through the adventure.
The characteristics are:
strength
endurance
intelligence
luck
charisma
The amount which is given to each characteristic is taken from a total
number of 60 points, and the total is thus not large enough to set all
characteristics to their maximum value of 20. If more points are given to a
certain characteristic than are available, then the balance is subtracted from
the other characteristics.
To select the settings for Doc's characteristics, use the joystick to move the
indicating arrow up and down between the displayed characteristics. Push
the joystick to the left or right to add or subtract from the indicated
characteristic.
It will be necessary for you to juggle the point settings of Doc's
characteristics several times during play to find his "ideal" characteristic
mix.
As the game progresses, the opportunity will arise to rest and regain
lost endurance.


PLAYING THE GAME
At each new location or situation in which you find yourself, you will be
presented with a set of choices as to your next action. Some choices of action
will involve the character in an arcade combat, where you must fight to the
death against Doc's opponents before returning to the next set of choices
before him. "Doc the Destroyer" combines the strategic element of a multiple
choice adventure game with the excitement of an arcade game.
How well you do in the multi-choice strategy game will depend very much
on how you have set Doc's characteristics. This is because the choices
available to the player are dependent on the attributes you have chosen. For
example, if you have set Doc's luck to a high value, you may be given the
option of sneaking past a guard. However, if Doc has his luck at a low value
then he will not be able to sneak past and this choice wail not be available.
(Consequently you will probably have to fight past the guard at that section.)
However, setting luck to a high value may require other characteristics to be
set to a low value. You have to take the good with the bad!
At certain points in the multi-choice strategy game, you will have to fight,
either by choice or simply by being at a certain location. A fight will drop Doc
straight into an arcade combat sequence.


THE SCREEN DISPLAY

During the strategy sections of the game, the screen will display
two windows.
At the top of the screen, you will notice the text window. Within this
window is displayed the description of the area in which Doc currently
stands, as well as descriptions of interesting people or events occurring
around him. When a piece of text is too long to fit into the window, the
message "more" will appear. Simply hit FIRE, and the next portion of the text
will scroll through into the text window.
The bottom right-hand corner of the screen is occupied by the games menu
window. This window displays the options which now face the character,
from which the player must now choose Doc's next action. By using the
joystick, the player will be able to manoeuvre an arrow from one of the listed
actions to another. When the player wishes to commit Doc to an action, press
the firing button, and the action currently indicated by the arrow will
be executed.
If the player feels the need to examine Doc's characteristics, hitting the
"F7" key (for the Commodore), or the "A" key (for the Spectrum) will replace
the normal windows with the characteristic display.
To the left of the display areas you will find the face of Doc peering out of
the screen at you. Doc's face will express a variety of expressions as the game
progresses, giving you some indication of just how well you are doing.
Doc will laugh or smile, wince or scowl, depending on how he currently feels
about your efforts.


THE ARCADE GAME

When a fight results from your choice of actions in the multi-choice strategy
game, you will instantly be deposited into an arcade battle. Here you will be
forced to fight to the death against any one of a number of opponents, using
the joystick or keyboard to control Doc's moves during the fight.
Below the battle field is the combat control panel, which is used to display
the strength and endurance of both combatants. The top panel shows the
strength of each person involved in the combat (the left-hand display is for
Doc, the right-hand display is for his enemy). Immediately below each of
these strength displays is the combatant's endurance, which will go down
whenever the character is hit. When a character's endurance reaches zero, he
or it dies.


THE CONTROLS

KEYBOARD

Commodore - Q = up Spectrum - Q = up
Z = down Z = down
I = left I =left
P = right P = right
Space = fire Space = fire
Commodore key = pause
Run/Stop = restart

JOYSTICK

COMMODORE C/64 SPECTRUM

Normal joystick
up
\ | / high hit
\ | /
move --- . --- move right left --- . --- right
left / | \
/ | \ low hit
crouch

Firing button depressed
overhead hit high hit
\ | / high kick |
\ | / |
--- . --- punch --- . --- swing
/ | \ |
/ | \ low hit |
roundhouse low kick
swing

The above moves are all based upon a character who is facing right. If the
player wishes to turn the character about, push the joystick in the desired
direction and press the fire button. The joystick moves above will then
be reversed.


CREDITS

Character copyright (c) 1987 Beam Software
Storyline copyright (c) 1987 Paul Kidd and Geoff Evans
Program copyright (c) 1987 Beam Software

Commodore Spectrum

Game design Paul Kidd Paul Kidd
Geoff Evans Geoff Evans
Programming Richard Woolcock Anthony Burkitt
Anthony Burkitt Richard Woolcock
Graphics David O'Callaghan David O'Callaghan
Russel Comte Jennifer Rendle
Frank Oldham