ULTIMATE DOMINATION - USER GUIDE
                        Alternative Realities

            Installation                Installing and Running
            BackGround                  The Story of UD
            Objectives                  Game Objectives
            Starting Off                Getting started
            In Depth                    In Depth explanation
            Initial Items               What you get to start
            Espionage                   Spying on your neighbours
            Combat                      Fighting to win
            Colonisation                Stretching your hand
            Game Depth                  The level of Gameplay
            Sightings                   Aliens?
            Credits                     Who did what, using what?

            Requirements                What you need to run UD
            Notes On Shareware          What you dont get - Registering



                            INSTALLATION



Floppy Disk Users  Insert disk one into DF0: (internal drive) and reset your
                   computer, the game will run automatically; 
                   Disk two MUST be write enabled. 

 Hard Drive Users  Once workbench has loaded, insert disk one in any drive 
                   and double click the disk icon, locate and run the 
                   INSTALL program. Follow the on screen prompts and the
                   game will install to your hard drive. Once installed
                   simply locate the directory and double click on the game
                   icon to start.

                   The Game requires approximately 3Mb of Hard Drive space.
 




                              BACKGROUND



The Earth was in trouble; not from outside help, but from the endless 
attacks on its life by the inhabitants. By the Earth year 3259, the once
luscious blue-green planet had become a cold looking brown, radiation
had made the atmosphere itself completely unbreathable and with a lack 
of vegetation natural oxygen became but an occasional drift trailing
behind a wind of dense smog. It was time for mankind to leave. Each 
surviving country began constructing the largest interstellar shuttles
ever conceived. The plan was for each ark to transport an entire 
nation to a new planet in a new solar system with similar 
characteristics with that of Sol. Packed on board were enough 
minerals to set up a colony on one of the system's planets and the 
DNA of all vegetation left on Earth in order to create a stable 
eco-system. And so on January 1st 3260 the Earth became free of 
mankind.

The American shuttle 'Independence' housing the last 15,000 of the
American public all in deep sleep units drifted into a new solar system
and, as predicted, a lifeless but fertile planet was found. The sleep units
began to wake the population, and a power station and housing facilities
were started on its surface; oxygen was low, but the eco-system could
support vegetation. This time the planet must be looked after.

            The year is 3260NC, mankind has a new struggle
                   The fight for Ultimate Domination




                               OBJECTIVES



In order to achieve Ultimate Domination each player must fight to 
claim all the planets in the system and over throw all opponents.

The game is designed for one to four players and is turn based, although
it is advisable for players to turn away from the screen when they are
not playing. It does not harm the game play. However if you plan to play
a serious conquest then you do not want your enemies to know where
your home world is.




                              --STARTING  OFF--


                                 QUICK START



   QUICK START  In this brief section you will learn how to start a game
                and control your home world's eco system.

                At the title screen change the number of players from
                2 to 1, this is achieved by clicking on the menu option
                until it reflects ONE PLAYER; and then start the game by
                clicking on START CONQUEST

                The screen will display the information panel which informs
                each player about their colonies and signifies the start
                of that players turn. At the bottom of there are 4 buttons:

         BEGIN  Starts your turn

          SKIP  Misses out your current go and moves to the next player

          LOAD  Allows you to load a saved position

          SAVE  Stores all of the current games information so that it can
                be continued later. There can be a maximum of 10 positions

          QUIT  Quits the current game and returns you to the main menu


                Click BEGIN and you will be taken to a view of your primary 
                planet,its name is displayed in the panel at the bottom of
                the screen, and at the moment the only button available
                is SURFACE, clicking the END button ends you turn.

       SURFACE  Clicking on SURFACE will take you to an isometric map of the
                planet surface which will contain several structures.

                Click the SURFACE Button

          TIME  Clicking on TIME brings up an overhead map which allows you 
                to find out what buildings you have and if there are any 
                under construction how many days until they are complete.
                To test this feature move the mouse over the yellow square
                on the map, the name RESOURCE TRANSPORTER will be displayed
                When you are finished press the right mouse button (RMB) to
                return to the isometric map.

     CONSTRUCT  Click on CONSTRUCT and once again the overhead map will be 
                displayed and also an inventory of the materials available
                to you. To the right of the overhead map a menu is shown
                that displays the various categories that the construction
                plans are under, clicking on MINING AND STORAGE will
                display the buildings:

                MINERAL MINE
                LIQUID MINE
                MATERIAL CONTAINER

                It is necessary to mine for more materials so that you
                can keep building so we will build a mine, click on
                MINERAL MINE, the mouse pointer will change to a pointer 
                that is the same size as the building, simply find a
                suitable location for the mine and click the left mouse
                button (LMB). The square will change to show that there is
                a mine there. We do not require another just yet, so RMB
                will take you back to the sub-menu. Build a LIQUID MINE on
                a coastline, this will give it a chance to collect water
                and oil, and finally RMB back to the main menu and go into
                SCIENCE and build a SCIENCE LAB. Also because

                Then go back to the main menu and click RMB to return to
                the isometric map, which will now display the construction
                grids for the new buildings. Move the mouse to the bottom of 
                the screen and click END. Once the information screen is 
                displayed click SKIP to speed time up, when the information
                screen appears again click on SKIP once more, when the
                display appears the 3rd time begin the round and proceed to
                the planets surface, once there you will notice 2 new 
                options.

      RESEARCH  This is where you can develop new projects to aide in
                your conquest.

     INFOPEDIA  Accesses the Infopedia, which allows you to read about
                all the inventions that can or have been developed

                
                And that's it, the only other thing that you'll need to 
                do is build some trees, but you'll need to do some research
                for that.




                                PATIENCE



                Although Ultimate Domination is essentially a multi-player
                game it is possible to play solo, however a great deal of
                patience is required - there may be times when you can't
                proceed because you're waiting for your scientists to
                finish developing a certain project. However UD is an 
                enormous game and most of it is meant to be discovered over
                time and for this reason many features are not documented
                in this manual, we wanted to make the game as realistic
                as possible that's why most of the features are not
                meantioned, we don't want to spoil it for you.




                                 IN DEPTH



     BEGINNING  This section will take you take you through the various
                aspects of the game and explain how they work.

                The first thing that each player will see is the information
                screen. It is used to signify the start of your turn and
                to warn the player about key events that happened after
                his/her previous go. At the base of the screen are 
                five buttons:

         BEGIN  Used to start the round

          SKIP  Allows the player to miss his/her go

     LOAD/SAVE  Lets you load and save a game position (only available at
                the start of Player One's turn)

          QUIT  Quits the game and returns to the main menu


                In most cases the next display is that of the planetary
                view, at the start of the game there will only be 2
                options here:

       SURFACE  Takes you to the planet's surface

           END  Allows you to end your turn


                The surface view is the main control area, it's where you
                can build new facilities, research new projects and 
                construct your war machines. On the first visit to this
                screen you will be presented with a 3D map of the planet,
                3 options will be immediately visible:

     CONSTRUCT  Gives you the ability to assign construction workers to
                build new facilities

          TIME  Which allows you to check on a construction project to see
                how long it's going to take, and

         POWER  Although mainly used to tell you how much electricity is
                available, but by clicking on this button the program
                displays how much power is being consumed by each 
                installation

                The other buttons at the bottom of the screen allow you to
                go to other sections of the game and END your turn.

                             


                                CONSTRUCTION



                From the surface view it is possible to build a new
                installation by clicking on CONSTRUCT, this displays 2
                new panels:

                At the top of the screen is the materials inventory which
                also displays the number of unemployed people.

                The main panel at the bottom displays an overhead map 
                along with an index for the construction plans, there are
                as follows:

     RESOURCES  Has the building that produce or cleanse raw minerals

      MINING &  Holds the different mines available and the storage 
       STORAGE  facilities

       SCIENCE  Contains the buildings that lead to development of new
                projects

      ATTACK &  Has the espionage and planetary defence structures
       DEFENCE

    ECOLOGICAL  Plant life that can aid survival, for food and polution
                levels


                At the start of the game not all of these menus will be
                displayed, they will appear as you progress.

                Once you have located a building you want to build and
                have clicked on it the main panel will inform you of
                how much material is needed and the mouse pointer will
                reflect the number of plots of land needed for the
                construction, if for some reason it is not possible for
                you to build that item the reason will be displayed.

                The number of men needed for each project is equal to the
                number of plots of land needed.

                If all is ok, to build the facility simply find a suitable
                place on the map and click the left mouse button. Once this
                is done the map will display the new building and the game
                will allow you (if you have the resources) to build another,
                if you do not want another simply press the right mouse 
                button to go back to the menu, right mouse button again will
                go back to the index and from there the RMB will take
                you to the 3D map.




                                  TIMES



                Once you have built a building it is represented on the main
                map with a construction grid, if you wish to know how long
                it will be before it is completed simply click the TIME
                button, which will bring up the overhead map, then simply 
                move the cursor over to the building, the time left will
                be displayed to the right. RMB takes you back to the 3D map.





                                 FORESEE



                When you are considering building it is important to be
                aware of a few things:


               -Have you sufficient power to sustain it
               -Have you enough men for the job
               -If you build it are you going to be left with insufficient
                materials
               -Will it increase the polution levels for the planet




                                    INFOPEDIA



                The infopedia can be accessed from the surface map by 
                clicking the INFO button.

                The infopedia screen is split in to several sections, 
                the main part displays an index for each section, 
                and the panel at the bottom gives immediate access to
                the other functions:

         INDEX  Takes you straight back to the main menu,

             >  Moves to the next project,

          EXIT  Takes you out of the infopedia

        
                By clicking on one of the section names displays the first
                available project under that heading to move to the 
                next project click on the Arrow, once you reached the end 
                it will take you back to the start. If you enter a section
                that has no completed projects 'NO SIGNAL' will flash in
                the middle of the screen.





                                RESEARCH



                The research and development section uses the same computer 
                interface as the infopedia, however there are additional
                buttons on the panel:

         INDEX  Returns you to the index

    Clock Face  Displays the time in days, for the projects

     Info Sign  Takes you to the infopedia

          EXIT  Leaves the research department


                To access the available projects simply click on one
                of the sections.

                A new list will be displayed (if any projects are available)
                this will contain the names of the projects that your 
                science crew can work on, next to each name is a number,
                this number reflects the number of men you have assigned to
                that project:

                The amount of men can be increased by clicking the left
                mouse button whilst over the project name, decreasing
                can be performed in the same way by using the right
                mouse button. Each science lab can hold up to 5 scientists.

                Once a project has been set it is worth noting that on 
                leaving the research section the project stats (that is the
                number of men) can no longer be changed for that project.
                The right mouse button will now cancel the project.




                                SYSTEM VIEW



                Once you can view the surrounding solar system you will
                notice you can only see a certain amount of space around
                the planets you own (depending on the strength of your
                scanners), also as you build up your technology you will
                be able to detect space debre and other objects. Without
                any major scanner all objects detected will be displayed
                as a white blip, however when you develop a more powerful
                detecting system the white blip will be replaced with more
                distinguishable items:

       Missile  Missile or projectile

          Ship  Ship or fleet of ships - man made

    Green blip  Unknown object

    White Blip  Probe

                It is also possible to see neighbouring planets and what
                sort of planet they are:

           SUN  Impossible to land on and/or colonise

       FERTILE  Old Earth type planet with a prosperous eco-system

       GASEOUS  Almost no land, contains unkown gases
        
          ROCK  Unfertile land, excelent for colonisation

    DEVESTATED  Unfertile land with hardly any useable plots

         MARSH  High levels of water, Small amounts of land

                
                However it is impossible to tell if the planet is habited
                or profitable for colonisation without sending a probe
                there first.





                                INITIAL ITEMS



     Vegetable  From the DNA of Earth made vegetable gardens this plots 
        Garden  of land combines the growth of food with release of valuable
                oxygen which helps keep polution down

      Material  A small self-contained facility capable of storing up to
     Container  20 units of each basic material

         Power  Uses state of the art turbines to generate a constant flow 
     Generator  of clean energy which can power most facilities of today's
                standard

       Science  A high quality laboratory that can take on any number 
           lab  projects at a time and can house up to 5 scientists per
                building

       Mineral  Using the finest titanium drill this mine can extract any
          Mine  of the available minerals from within the planet

        Liquid  Draws oil and water from below the surface, ideal for 
          Mine  supplying water for your settlers. For the best possible
                use we suggest that it is built on a shore line.




                                ESPIONAGE

       WARNING  In order to play the game it is not necessary to read this
                section as it may spoil the gameplay. In order to avoid
                spoiling the game some of the information herein is vague.
                If you have any difficulties in understanding any of the
                screens, simply press HELP and a concise guide to the 
                current sect`on will be displayed.

                
                After clicking the SYSTEM MAP button on the planet view
                screen you will be presented with a view of the solar system
                simply click on PROBE and select a probe bay, then click 
                on the source planet and then the planet that you wish to
                have a satellite orbit and it will be launched. The planet's
                control centre can only sustain five satellites at a time,
                however once a satellite has reached the planet another can
                be launched.

                To view a planet's surface when you do not not own it, 
                simply go to the system view, click PLANET and select a 
                planet that that you have a satellite orbiting. All planets
                that you can view have a white rectangle under.



                                COMBAT

      WARNING:  In order to play the game it is not necessary to read this 
                section as it reveals information on latter aspects of the 
                game. If at any point you have difficulties understanding
                the display simply press HELP and a concise guide to the 
                current screen will be displayed.


                From the surface view enter FLEET DESIGN and add some 
                craft to the list, then go to the system view and click
                SEND FLEET, choose your fleet and select a destination or
                target. If it is a target then a battle will commence when
                the fleet intercepts it.

       ATTACK:  When a battle situation has arrived the attacking player
                gets to select a ship within the fleet to break off and
                attack. Then the defending player selects a ship to block
                the attacker. After the combat has been resolved, the 
                attacking player may choose to fight again or retreat.
                This continues until one of the fleets has been destroyed or
                the attacker has retreated.




                                   COLONISATION

                Before colonisation of neighbouring worlds can be performed
                there are a few constructions and advancements required.
                To ensure the gameplay these constructions are not 
                meantioned below.

                Once you have located a possible planet for colonisation you
                will need to have built a colonisation shuttle and have 
                ampel resources for a new colony. When you are certain that
                you want to colonise a new planet then simply send a shuttle
                towards the desired planet, when it arrives there are two
                situations that can occur once one of your colonisation
                shuttles has arrived at a new planet. The target planet
                can either be uninhabited or inhabited.

                Uninhabited Planet: On arriving at an uninhabited planet
                a new button will appear on the system map screen
                CLAIM PLANET. On clicking this button a list of resources
                needed will be displayed, if you meet the necessary
                requirements you can click on CLAIM to take control of the
                planet. A colonisation plant will be transported to the
                surface. You can now build on this new planet.

                Inhabited Planet: If you send a shuttle to an inhabited 
                planet you will first need to send fighter craft in order
                to take out any defences that the planet might have. Once 
                your shuttle can get passed all the defences a new button
                will appear on the system map view ATTACK PLANET. You will 
                then be asked to nominate a certain number of your men that 
                you want to beam down to the surface to attack.

                If they are successful you will gain control of the planet
                and all the remaining facilities.

                However, if your men fail then you will lose them and 
                probably the shuttle as well.




                                GAME DEPTH

                Ultimate Domination is huge. Even though by reading this
                manual it may not seem so, most of the game involves
                technological advancements that are not available at the
                start of the game and because we do not want to spoil the
                game none of the advancements are discussed in this manual,
                for all of these aspects the game has been made as 
                user-friendly as possible.




                                SIGHTINGS


                Alien Threat:

                During a recent struggle in the Barnard Star
                region between the UK colony and the Russion
                colony an unknown craft made a devestating
                blow to both sides settlements, this report
                has neither been confirmed, nor disproved.

                It is suggested that all parties keep an
                eye out.




                                CREDITS

                Initial Work                    Paul Huckstepp

                Game Design and Background
                Work                            Paul Huckstepp

                Coding                          Paul Huckstepp

                Graphics                        Paul Huckstepp

                Video - 3D raytracing           Paul Huckstepp 

                Playtesting                     Paul Huckstepp
                                                Stuart Gentry
                                                David Baldwin

                Ultimate Domination is produced by Alternative
                Realities 1997

                All events and people meantioned are fictitious
                and any simularities to events and/or people
                living or dead are truly coincidental.




                This product was created using:

                Amos Pro, Imagine 4 (PC), Text Engine 5,
                Personal Paint 6, Rend 24, Image Studio

                On:

                A1200, 6Mb Ram, CD ROM drive






                                REQUIREMENTS

                Minimum system requirements are:

                Any Amiga, WB2.0+, 2Mb Ram


                Recommended system requirements are:
        
                Any 68020 Amiga, WB2.0+, 4Mb RAM, Hard Drive





                              NOTES ON SHAREWARE

                Naturally it would be suicidal to release a game as freeware
                if it took you over a year to produce, and so UD is
                Shareware. This version is unregistered and is on 2 disks
                is limited to 1 or 2 players and has only a few animations
                out of the 18 in the full product, there is no intro
                storyline either, and you have only 50 cycles of play time
                although a lot can happen in 50 turns. The load and Save
                facilities have also been disabled, this way you cannot
                hack into the code and change the variables.

                The full product is available directly from me for a mere
                5 pounds. For this you get the three disk upgradeble version
                of Ultimate Domination, which features:

               �1 to 4 players
               �Intro animation with speech
               �Load and Save up to 10 games
               �18 raytraced cut scenes
               �Unlimited game time
               �Piece of mind that you are influencing me to continue
                programming

                Please make any cheques payable to: P. Huckstepp

                and send them to:

                Alternative Realities
                19 Lilac Rd
                Strood
                Kent
                ME2 2LE





                                    VERSIONS

                Checking the version number of UD couldn't be easier
                simply load the game from WORKBENCH and when the title
                screen appears press LEFT-AMIGA+CTRL+A this will return
                you to the workbench.

                A small text file will have been created in RAM called
                version, simply load this into a text viewer.