                                SKID ROW

                                presents

                                 AMNIOS
                               
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CONTENTS

ENGLISH               4

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AMIGA LOADING INSTRUCTIONS

IMPORTANT:  Always switch your machine off for at least 30 seconds
before loading the game.  Failure to do so may result in virus 
contamination of the AMNIOS master disk.  See the Virus Warning and
the Warranty Notice in this manual for further information.

Switch your computer on.  Insert a Kickstart disk if so prompted.  
When the display prompts for a Workbench disk insert Disk 1 of AMNIOS
in your computer's internal drive.  Insert Disk 2 when prompted.
AMNIOS is played with a joystick plugged into the second joystick
port and/or a mouse plugged into the first joystick port.

LOADING TIPS

Should the title screen not appear within 45 seconds of turning on
your machine there may be a problem with your computer system.  Check
your computer connections and that the above instructions have been
correctly carried out.  If you are sure your computer is functioning 
properly (i.e. other software loads successfully) and are still unable
to load AMNIOS then you may have a faulty disk, in which case you may
obtain a free replacement from Psygnosis Ltd.  All Psygnosis products
are fully guaranteed.

VIRUS WARNING!  

This product is guaranteed by Psygnosis to be virus free.  Psygnosis
Ltd accept no responsibility for damage caused to this product 
through virus infection. 

To avoid virus infection always ensure that your machine is switched
off for at least 30 seconds before loading this game. 

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AMNIOS

It lurked at Galactic Centre like some obscene worm gnawing at the
heart of a rose.  A cancerous lifeform of planetary dimensions that
fed on the very stuff of Space-time, subverting it to its own needs,
shaping it into versions of itself in a parody of procreation.  It
was called Life Gone Mad.  It was Oncabloc.

The Sapiens of the planet Terra were the dominant sentient species 
in a whole quadrant of Homegalaxy, their remorseless diaspora 
absorbing the few other spacefaring species peacefully in to the 
Culture.  Eventually they reached the Heart, Galactic Centre,
so long obscured by immense dust clouds, only to discover the pulsating
chaos there, waiting.

The power and wealth of the Culture was glimpsed by Oncabloc - enough,
if absorbed into its heterogeneous bodies, to render it the most
powerful entity in creation.  The horror of its passage as it lunged
at the peaceful and intricate domicile worlds, absorbing their
Lifeforce and Energy, will never be forgotten.

Amnios was created as the Elder Minds struggled to come to terms with
this unknowable Evil.  Amnios was a Symbiotic Construct of Machine-
Mind and Biology.  Each element a disparate cell in an organism
sharing one consciousness and purpose: to eradicate the malignancy
that threatens all of Life.  The best and bravest of all the species
of the Culture volunteered to be represented within

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this artificial organism, each a separate entity and yet united into
a benign variation of that which they sought so desperately to destroy.

Like highly mobile bacteria they spread throughout the Oncabloc's heaving
bulk, attacking its sensory and reproductive organs, knowing that if
enough damage could be inflicted to each World-Growth in a short enough
period of time then that growth would be irretrievably terminated.  
To this end their weaponry became variations of the Oncabloc's own
Immune Defence System.  Turning the creature's own means of protection
upon itself.  Each element had to be acquired from the surface, each
piece of genetic information frantically sought to furnish the Fathership
with the ability to manufacture weaponry.

The tiny ships flew to wrest literally vital elements from the Growth
to inflict enough damage to bring about Necrosis; thence to flee to yet
another more powerful World-growth and continue this fight for survival.
Each ship was controlled by a semi-independent Intelligence.

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The Game

Use your joystick, mouse or keys to experience the joy of victory or
the bitter sense of failure as you simulate an engagement in combat 
against the most deadly of enemies.  Navigate your craft over planets,
strategically using whatever fate places at your disposal in your
efforts to rid the Culture finally of this ultimate horror of Death
incarnate.
  
AMNIOS features ten living planets, each made up of Foliage, Squama or
Epidermis.  

Your mission on each of these deadly worlds is to either destroy a 
given percentage of the planet's vital organs or to rescue a given
number of encapsulated humanoids.

Any weapon will destroy a planet's vitals but an organ-specific 
weapon only requires one shot - to obtain weapons you need to collect
DNA from the planet's surface and take it to your Fathership where arms
are created for you.  The four different types of DNA to be found
appertain to the different types of weapons your Fathership can create.

DNA & Weapons:  

Red DNA = 3 Smart Bombs
Green DNA = 20 seconds of Shield.
Invulnerability or Repulsion
Blue DNA = Imperishable Laser Enhancements
Yellow DNA = 4 V-Bombs; Heart Attack, BrainBomb, Eyesocker or Veingeance.
V-Bombs are capable of inflicting damage on

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all living parts of a planet but organ-specific bombs require just
one shot to destroy that organ: The right V-Bomb for the right job
is easily recognizable by its name - HeartAttack, BrainBomb, EyeSocker
and Veingeance Weapons carried are indicated by icons at the base of 
the screen.

The ENTER key (on the keypad) scrolls through your weapons and Spacebar
activates the highlighted weapon.

It takes Fatherships some time to make weapons.  The ironic twist 
to your weapon-building capabilities is that the healthier the planet
is the quicker your Fathership is able to create weapons.

In the top right of the screen are icons which represent the percentage
of living parts remaining on the current planet: Heart; Overall Living
Parts; Brain and Eyes.  They disappear as the percentage lessens.

Fathership:

One Fathership is present on the first planet, two on the second,
three on the third and so on.  All Fatherships are capable of creating
all types of weapon and of carrying humanoids.  Each Fathership can
only support one DNA strain or weapon and one Humanoid at a time.
Hovering inside a Fathership restores your energy.

Humanoids:

To rescue Humanoids, use your BioScanner to find them on the planet's
surface (they show up as pink dots) and fly over them to pick them up
in your Levicradle.  Take them to your Fathership to complete the 
rescue.  Please note that only one Humanoid may be carried by each
Fathership.

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Bioscanner:

Your Bioscanner is positioned at the bottom right of the screen.  It
details almost all of the planet's surface and indicates the position
of other inhabitants (indigenous and otherwise) in relation to you.
Pink Dots indicate Encapsulated Humanoids
White Dots indicate Snatchers
Light Orange Dots indicate Fatherships
Dark Green Dots indicate DNA
Light Green Dots indicate Wasps
Orange Dots indicate Biobeings

The Enemy:

Each planet has several Brains, Eyes and Hearts as well as a number of
Arteries.  Planets also give birth to hordes of alien Biobeings produced
specifically to bring your existence to an end.
Destroying a Brain results in less intelligent Bios being produced by
the planet.
Destroying a Heart results in a reduction of the production of Bios.
Destroying Eyes lessens the Bios' ability to track you.
Destroying Arteries will add to your percentage of destroyed organs
and also slow down Bio attack.

Indigenous Lifeforms:

Snatcher: Guards Humanoids and will pick one up to prevent you rescuing
it but will drop it again after a short time.  If you rescue a 
humanoid, its guarding Snatcher then hunts you.  Snatchers are
invulnerable.

Wasps: Where there's death and decay you'll always find wasps.

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Worms: Avoid their deadly jaws at all costs.

Bonded Bios: Attack in formation; hard to kill and difficult to avoid.

The Planets:

Squama Planets: Dragor, Lizzon, Serpon, Repttos.

Foliage Planets: Foress, Bracton, Plantoss.
 
Epidermis Planets: Hider, Tegumor, Membron.

Guardians:

Once you have rescued the required number of Humanoids, or destroyed 
the required percentage of a planet's organs, and are ready to progress
to the next living hell, the malicious celestial body, in a last ditch  
attempt to wipe you off its face, creates - out of any and all its
remaining resources - a Guardian.  You are warned of their approach
by a change of hue in the planet's surface.  These Guardians increase
in power as you progress through the planets and have only one aim in
life: your demise... attack with care!

IMPORTANT: Through all this mayhem your ship can only carry one
Humanoid or DNA strain at a time.  But it can carry up to eight
weapons.

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Controls:   Joystick

            Joystick Up: Thrust
            Joystick Left: Turn Left 
            Joystick Right: Turn Right
            Joystick Button: Fire Weapon

            
            Mouse

            Mouse Left: Turn Left
            Mouse Right: Turn Right
            Left Mouse Button: Fire Weapon
            Right Mouse Button: Thrust
               
            Keys

            R/H Alt Key:        Turn Right
            R/H Amiga Key:      Turn Left
            L/H Alt Key:        Fire
            L/H Amiga Key:      Thrust
            Enter (on keypad):  Weapon Select
            Spacebar:           Weapon

            Also

            X:                  Turn Right
            Z:                  Turn Left
            ?:                  Fire
            Shift:              Thrust
