                                DATASTORM

                     Visionary Design Technologies Inc.

LOADING THE GAME

To play this game, you will require an Amiga 500, 1000 or 2000 with at
least 512K of memory and a minimum of 1 joystick.

To Load DATASTORM:

1. If your Amiga is on, turn it off and on to ensure that no Viruses are
   present.

2. Plug an Amiga compatible joystick into game port 2. If two joysticks are
   to be used, you must unplug the mouse and plug the second joystick into
   game port 1.

3. If you own an Amiga 1000, insert Kickstart when prompted to do so by the
   Amiga.

4. When prompted for the Workbench disk, insert the DATASTORM disk into
   DF0:.

5. The game will now boot and load automatically.

6. When the game has loaded, press one of F1 through F4 to begin. (refer to
   the STARTING THE GAME section of the manual).

7, DO NOT REMOVE THE DATASTORM DISK FROM DF0: during game play. Failure to
   follow this simple rule may have unpredictable consequences.

STARTING THE GAME

To begin playing DATASTORM you must press one of the following buttons:

F1 - Single player mode.

F2 - Two player mode (1 joystick).

F3 - Two player mode (2 joysticks).

F4 - Teams mode.

Single player mode allows one player to challenge the DATASTORM.

Two player mode allows two players to alternately play DATASTORM and compare
their achievements. With one joystick, the players must use the same
joystick for both men. With two joysticks, the players don't have to keep
passing the joystick around.

Team mode allows two players to play cooperatively sharing resources.

PLAYING THE GAME

OBJECT OF THE GAME

The object of DATASTORM is to protect your pods on their perilous journey.
To do this, you must pick the pods up, one by one, and carry them through
the portal. When the level ends, a special bonus will be awarded according
to the number of pods you have managed to save. At the end of every 4th
level, you will be responsible for 8 new pods.

   Note that LANDERS can also pick up your pods, with much more catastrophic
results. When this happens, you are signalled by an eerie sound, and a red
arrow at the bottom of the screen to indicate the shortest way to the
LANDER. If a LANDER succeeds in reaching the top of the atmosphere with a
pod, it mutates into an even more terrible adversary. As well, the pod
is turned into a TRAITOR pod which must be destroyed.

   If all 8 pods are destroyed, the enemy is no longer distracted, and the
invaders become much faster and more difficult to deal with. In addition,
shields will not be refilled, nor will the smartbomb (see below) have any
effect. Try to avoid this eventuality at any cost by picking up at least one
pod and flying it to safety.

   To end a level, all invaders must be destroyed.

Special Powers:

Keep an eye out for special powers, which can be collected by flying into
them. Note that in protecting you from the world, the shield will protect
you from powers and pods as well.

A - Autofire        Will help you fire lasers very rapidly. Lasts for 500
                    shots.

L - Laser           Arms your ship with additional laser guns (up to three
                    total) that fire simultaneously.

M - Missile         Automatically launches a missile when a LANDER
                    threatens a pod. The missile will track down the LANDER
                    until it destroys it and rescues the pod.

W - Warp            Will warp you to the next level, giving you points for
                    all invaders from the current level.

S- Super Shield     While active will allow you to de-res anything you fly
                    into.

CONTROLLING THE GAME

Joystick Control:

Using a joystick you are able to control your ship in any of 8 directions,
and fly anywhere over the surface of the planet. Pressing the fire button
rapidly will fire a stream of lasers against invading forces. Holding down
the fire button for a moment will launch a SMART BOMB which will destroy
all but the most resilient invaders on the visible screen area.

Shield:

By pressing the SPACEBAR you can activate, and deactivate your shield.
Be sure to keep an eye on your shield energy level found under your score.
Your shield will refill by 50% at the end of each level.

Other Keys:

P = Pause game action until pressed again.
Q = Quits game.

Invaders:

Not all invaders appear at the start of the game! As the enemy forces sense
defeat they will launch new types of attack enemies to thwart even your
most valiant attempts!

   For more information, and an overview of the invaders please refer to the
IN-GAME instructions.

HINTS AND TIPS

At the start of each level, you should immediately grab a pod and transport
it through the warp. If you don't, and all of your pods are destroyed.

When the DATASTORM appears (not until the higher levels), shoot the invaders
at the top of the atmosphere to allow yourself a channel to pass back and
forth to successfully attack.

Beware! The BIPOD drones will head towards the warp and destroy any pods
that have already been transported!

Have fun, and ... Blow 'em to bits!


++++++++++++ Docs provided by The Hellion  &  The Corsair +++++++++++++

                The Next Generation / World of Wonders