D U O

Revisions

2.01
- Fixed bug that could cause crash with 4-button mouse.
- Fixed "Sprite Alpha Out of Range" bug.
- Added ability to submit highscores when user quits game (ESC)

2.00
- Online highscore system added.
- Replaced all bullet and collision code. Game now runs considerably faster.
- Added slightly more motion blur (to celebrate speed increase :) )
- Added Psycho difficulty level as an excuse to throw even more things around on screen
- Almost all graphics replaced (maintained same style)

1.06
- Level bonus times and targets made "fairer".
- Switchable auto-fire added. (see instructions)
- Weapon fire patterns tweaked to smooth progression.
- Survivor mode difficulty curve increased.
- Shield time extended but can now only withstand limited damage.

1.05
- Fixed bug that meant Screen FX was turned on regardless of menu setting.

1.04
- First public release.

For quick-start see "Instructions" in game.

If you have not played before I'd advise playing the first 10 "Training" levels and then returning here if necessary.

Performance

The resolution is fixed at 1024 x 768 and 32 bit mode by default.

The following may help improve performance:
You can adjust the number of FX used in the game.
You can turn off the screen flash and motion blur.
You can also hide the background(!)

All changes can be made from the main menu and in game (see below)

Music

Game music by Aaron Frensley of FK'D Reality Compositions.

Additionally any music in mp3 format can be played in game by placing the files in the "My Music" directory and selecting "Play My Music" from the music menu.

Controls

Mouse (Preferred control method):
Movement - Mouse
Fire - Left mouse button
Rotate - Right mouse button
Auto-Fire on/off - Middle mouse button

Keyboard:
Movement - Cursor keys
Fire - Control key
Rotate - Shift key
Auto-fire On / Off - A

Joystick / Joypad:
Movement - Joypad
Fire - Button 1
Rotate - Button 2
Auto-fire On / Off - Button 3

In Game Options

F1 - No Fx
F2 - Low Fx
F3 - Normal FX
F4 - High FX
F5 - Max FX

F7 - Background On / Off
F8 - Screen FX (flash & blur) On / Off

F9 - Music On / Off / Play My Music
F10- Sound On / Off

J - Joystick Control
K - Keyboard Control
M - Mouse Control

A - Auto-fire On / Off

P - Pause

ESC - Quit

The Game

There are 3 game styles:

Challenge - 100 furious levels of intense action. There should be enough gameplay twists and surprises for even the most battle hardened of players.

Time Attack - Just you versus the clock. Destroy 20 enemy waves in the fastest time possible. Each difficulty level represents a different challenge.

Survivor - CG levels ensure it's never the same game twice. No between level breaks, just one long blast. How long can you survive?

The first 9 Challenge levels are intended as training levels and can only be played by selecting "Training" for the difficulty menu. All subsequent difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, Hard & Psycho) start from level 10.

The aim is simple. Kill all enemy waves to advance to the next level.

When you are hit by an enemy you lose energy, your weapon is downgraded and you incur a time penalty. The larger the enemy the greater the loss. The more powerful the weapon the easier it is to lose.

The Weapons

There are 25 different weapons.

Weapons have a limited number of shots. The more powerful the weapon the shorter it's lifespan.

Weapons are colour coded:
Purple = Max Damage
Red = High Damage
Green = Average
Blue = Low
White = Min. Damage

The Enemies

There are 90 enemy types.

These vary in many ways but you will have to play to find out how.

Enemies split in 2 and half in size when hit (think asteroids)

Colour indicates how they react to the game boundaries:
(it's simpler than it sounds....play and you'll see)
All colours bounce off the green side "walls"
Red will bounce off the red top and bottom "bars"
Blue bounce off the blue "bar" the player is positioned on.
Purple will bounce off both the red and blue bars
White are indestructible for a set period of time

Power-Ups

When finally destroyed, enemies may drop a power-up.

To collect the power-up position yourself under it.

Power-ups are cyan in colour and come in 2 forms:
Energy power-ups (small plus symbol) increase the players energy.
Weapon power-ups (small gun-sight) upgrade the players weapon.

Weapons power-ups are allocated to the ship facing them when collected.

Rotating destroys all uncollected power-ups meaning that only the ship that destroyed the enemy can collect the power-up.

Collecting 5 power-ups in a row will activate the shield (missing any will reset the counter to zero). This will protect you for 10 seconds. Continuing to collect power-ups will recharge the shield. However the shield can only take a certain amount of damage so be careful.

Thanks for playing.