I. INTRODUCTION
Basically, this file tells you everything I've found out about Damocles in nearly a year of exhaustive playing: coordinates of every interesting building, how to solve all the puzzles, where to find the keys -- everything. So, tread lightly if you don't want to be massively spoiled. And with that, we begin with the biggest spoiler of all...
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II. THE FIVE WAYS TO WIN
1. Find all eight explosives and the timed detonator. Go to Damocles. Drop seven explosives and set the eighth to detonate. Depart posthaste and collect reward: $10,000,000. Note that you can bargain the State President up to $20,000,000 by turning down her first offers, and if you're lucky up to $25,000,000 but there's a risk of being asked to leave with no reward instead.
2. Ditto, but blow up Icarus instead before Damocles passes it. Without Icarus's gravitational pull, Damocles's course is altered so it misses Eris by a good margin. Collect the money from the State President and additional $25,000,000 from Lloyds' for solving the problem without destroying Damocles.
3. Using the Nova Bomb instead of explosives, repeat #1 or #2 above.
4. Use the Magic Wishing Crystal on Midas and wish that Eris (or both Eris and Damocles) would be saved. (the "Wishes Solution")
5. Using the Author's Computer (parameter #4), blow up Damocles (planet #29) or Icarus early enough (planet #01)
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III. A MERCENARY'S GUIDE TO THE GAMMA SYSTEM
SAPPHIRE (moon of Mentor? No air)
Has inspired many popular songs, but is void
Empty
Planets that may remain unmentioned in this travelogue are almost certainly void. But if they aren't, be nice and let me know...
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IV. DOOR KEYS
A: found in building, 04/13, 2nd floor, Chaldea Metropolis on Gaea; unlocks Author's House, 14/13 Birmingham Island, Dion.
B: found Hantzen Labs, 06/05 Bare Island, Eris; unlocks Hantzen's House, 07/01 Ur City, Gaea
C: found in Lawson Bank, 01/03 Metis; unlocks vault in basement, Lawson Bank HQ, 15/12 Capital City, Eris
D: found in bar, 06/00 Dion East, Dion; unlocks Novagen Offices, 02/11
Birmingham Island, Dion
E: found in Dion Verdant Party HQ, 03/14 Birmingham Island, Dion; unlocks Government Hall, 04/06 Vesta
F: found in a Lawson Bank, 15/12 2nd floor, Capital City, Eris -- unlocks ?
G: found somewhere on Midas, unlocks ???
H: found somewhere on Midas (good luck!), unlocks Eris Currency Repository 02/01 Tolosa
I: found in a house, 03/03 Birmingham Island, Dion. Unlocks the basement door in the State President's Office (if not already open by having accepted the mission).
J: is on Midas somewhere, but what does it unlock? Rumour has it that J does not in fact unlock a door, but instead stops the object stacking check. There are rules on which object can be stacked on what, however these rules are bypassed when you have the J key.
Note that you can get through locked doors another way: set an explosive
to 3, drop it next to the door, and back off. The explosive will blast
the lock off the door.
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V. VEHICLES AND KEYS
VIP Limo (car): Capital City Spaceport, 07/08 Capital City, Eris; key inside building
Eagle-9SE (spaceship): Moorby School of Flying, 09/09 Capital City, Eris;
key in basement of State President's Office at 09/08
Bestcupand (spaceship): Trading post, 08/14 Capital City, Eris; key inside trading post
'99 Chevy (car): Hantzen's House, 07/01 Ur City, Gaea; key inside 06/02 office, Bare Island, Eris
Targ Tourer (car): Dion Verdant Party HQ, 03/14 Birmingham Island, Dion; key on 1st floor, Government Hall, 04/06 Vesta
Free Ship: Spaceport, 00/07 Key West, Eris
Concorde III (plane): Spaceport 02/08 Bacchus; key inside spaceport, 09/07 Mentor
'22 CV (car): Office, 08/08 Chaldea Metropolis, Gaea; key inside building
Bullet
(military spaceship): Spaceport 06/03 Thalia;
key in offices, 04/01 Pan
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VI. TRANSPORTER CUBES
0: Hantzen's House, 07/01 Ur City, Gaea
1: G, 06/02 Bare Island, Eris
2: 1, Dion Verdant Party HQ, 03/14 Birmingham Island, Dion
3: 9, Office Building, 00/06 Metis
4: B, Government Hall, 04/06 Vesta
5: B, 11/08 Capital City, Eris
6: Offices 08/08 Chaldea Metropolis, Gaea
7: 4, D.H.S.S. House, 04/02 Logos
8: Outside 02/08 Bacchus
9: Outside 09/07 Mentor
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VII. ITEMS AND MONEY
Hint: if you use a Mercenary endgame file, you get back all your money *and* all your equipment. Not all of the equipment is any use, but you can start the game with a free antigrav and aircraft.
Since you're a mercenary, you're supposed to be making as much money as possible. Here's what to sell, their value at Eris Capital and where to sell them for best results (You can sell other stuff as well, but this is the most valuable stuff and by the time you've finished, all the good trading posts have been used up.)
Novabomb 3,200,000 (39,680,000 at Mentor 05-03)
Magic Crystal 1,500,000 (3,000,000 at 07-00 Logos)
Authors computer 500,000 (1,000,000 at 08-03 Logos)
Cupboard 250,000 (450,000 at 08-00 Logos)
Sideboard 250,000 (450,000 at 07-03 Logos)
Washbasin 250,000 (375,000 at 06-02 Logos)
Total for above 44,955,000
Antigrav 100,000 (150,000 at 09-14 Dion Birmingham Island)
G'house Effect 80,000 (120,000 at 05-03 Vesta)
Gold 50,000 (75,000 at 06-03 Vesta)
(60,000 at 03-07 & 04-06 Velos City, 03-04 Snow Island, 09-03 Ur City)
You can also go to the IDI Palace Of Fun, 02-02 Cyclopes, with the Lottery Ticket (found at Lloyds Group 4 building on Clotho). Save the game before you enter, and load again until you win the million credits.
When you've done all this, go to Uncle's Casino, 01-03, Bacchus, and save the game. Then go in and accept the double or quits game (if you lose, reload the game and try again until you win). This should make a nice amount of money if you previously finished the game with the 50 millions from the President and Lloyds Group 4.
Then swear a bit because you can't take your saved game into Mercenary 3. :-)
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VIII. FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT
- Once you've figured out how to destroy a planet, try the technique on various planets. Especially Gaea, Dion, and Eris.
- Blast the lock off the door of the Author's House and steal his computer and his chair. They both have actual uses, and do quite interesting
things.
- Blow up the Author's Computer with an explosive. Then get well clear...
that is, well clear of EVERYTHING.
- Each planet and/or moon has some information and history associated with
it. Benson (your computer) doesn't always present it upon your visit to
said world. Keep trying until you do get it.
- Try to land on the sun (Dialis).
- Crash your spaceship in the ocean.
- Land on the roof of a building, get out, then stroll over the edge...
- Get yourself locked into the jail on Metis.
- There are lots of nice vantage points to watch Eris's destruction from. Vesta is quite decent. The best place, of course, is on Eris itself. If you're on the right part of the planet, you'll get to see the comet plunging through the atmosphere directly towards you.
- Watch the control towers at spaceports; they change color to warn you when your ship gets near.
- Lots of the stuff in Damocles is quite closely related to British politics, although the passage of time since its release has obsoleted some of the
jokes. For example, the Lawson Banks are named after Nigel Lawson, the
chancellor of the Exchequer at the time Damocles was being written (although by the time it actually came out, he wasn't any more...) You can
find the Prime Minister's proposal for the poll tax in the basement of the Hall of Government on Vesta; she predicts it will be well-received...
- The Novagen offices are full of inside jokes and hints on the game. You
will find the keys in a pub on Dion East.
- Noticed the road signs near the Novagen building on Dion? Novagen's
real offices are on Alcester Road, Birmingham, England, and the one in the game bears an intentional physical resemblance to the real one.
The same goes for the Author's House.
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IX. HOW WAS IT DONE?
This bit is basically my guesses on the broad outlines of Damocles's
programming. It doesn't contain any spoilers, but read it if you think you
might find it amusing (or you know better and want to chuckle at how far off
I am...)
The really clever thing about Damocles is the way it does more with less. The
basic idea is to keep as much stuff off-stage as possible, so that only the
smallest amount of actual 3-d drawing is done -- but, on the other hand,
through clever tricks the player is convinced that exactly the opposite is
true. For example, you get the impression of large, crowded metropolises and
populated suburbs, but in fact, the cities are carefully designed so that you
never see more than one building or house at once! Of course, you can see the
entire street grid from high altitude, but lines are cheap to draw, and this
gives the impression of a large city for very little expense. Between
buildings in the cities, the roads are lined with easy-to-draw streetlights,
trees, and road signs to make them look less sparse.
As well, the area of land in Damocles that is populated, or even detailed, is
extremely small compared to the empty areas, but you are carefully led from
one city to the next to belie this impression. Other goodies such as the tiny
islands and huge oceans on major worlds and the descriptions of settlements
as "small bases" on the moons help "misdirect" the player as well. And, of
course, once you've actually landed in a settlement, the scale turns out to
be quite big -- try walking from one building to its neighbor to see what I
mean -- and the settlements "feel" satisfactorily large.
Once a way of keeping time-consuming drawing to a minimum is found, the rest
of the game is (relatively) easy to work out: settlements are located on a
world's major (1000x1000) grid, and one building and/or road tile is tied to
each minor grid point in each settlement. Thus, large maps can be stored with
relatively little expense, especially if object definitions of buildings are
re-used as extensively as they are.
The hidden-surface routine I am almost certain was used is the (in)famous Painter's Algorithm. This relies on the fact that when you draw a filled polygon (or an entire object), it covers up whatever was behind. Thus, all
you have to do is order the polygons or objects to be drawn according to how
far they are from the observer, and then put them on the screen in that
order. Glitches are possible with the Painter's Algorithm (try parking a
spaceship between the wings of an L-shaped building, then seeing it "through"
the building) but on the whole this is a speedy and generally accurate
algorithm.
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X. THE MISSION DISKS, AND A LOOK FORWARD AT MERCENARY III
Two "Mission Disks" for Damocles have apparently been released, each
with five "missions" (saved games set up such that you have an additional
task to perform as well as stopping the comet.) Disk 2 includes, as one
of its saves, a guide to executing the "wishes solution," and also a series
of "silly saves" which the producers found amusing.
And, despite the sincere lack of optimism about Mercenary III that abounded
all through Damocles, MIII is in fact in the final stages of production. It
is a straight sequel, still set in the Gamma System, called _Mercenary III:
The Dion Crisis_.
The major difference: you are no longer alone -- there are
other people in the game! They "talk" to you using the one-line display
previously used only by Benson. The control panel and general graphic style
seem no different, but rumor has it that the A-to-Z Computer might be
permanently installed in it. (yay!) The plot concerns the tranquil planet of
Dion in the Gamma system, formerly a verdant green paradise, now being
destroyed by polluting heavy industries. Presumably you have to do something
about this.
When is it coming out? "Mid-1992"...
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BONUS: Mercenary 1 saved games feature
If you use a Mercenary saved game of a winning situation, you get back all your money *and* all your equipment. Not all of the equipment is any use, but you can start the game with a free antigrav and aircraft.
To achieve this, once disembarked and before picking up any item, press F3 to load an Escape From Targ winning endgame, or F4 for The Second City. Sadly Atari ST and Amiga saved games can't be loaded on the other machine.
Here’s the list of the items and what they're worth thanks to Pawel:
Bite The Bullet (it’s your shot: in Escape from Targ you need to pick it up with Kitchen Sink) 500,000
Prestinium 9.90
Key (triangular) 1,000
Gold 50,000
Photon Emiter 33
Novadrive 25
Concord III (speed 448,989 altitude 65,000) 0
Dart (speed 200,000 altitude 15,000) 0
Chair 88.50
Cobweb (in Escape From Targ pick it up with Kitchen Sink) 50,000
Standard Lamp 74
Mobile Pyramid 50,000 (see outskirts of the City: you need Kitchen Sink or Bite The Bullet to pick it up)
Antigrav 100,000 : still in use!
Transmitter Mast 50,000 (see outskirts of the City: you need Kitchen Sink or Bitethe Bullet to pick it up)
Poweramp 75 : no use
Essential 129.40
Settee 779
Antenae 3
Winchester 10,000
Coffin 100
Mechanoid 100
Commucat Console 10,000 (you need Kitchen Sink or Bite The Bullet to pick it up)
Key (trapesoid) 2,000
Databank 0.20
Neutron Fuel 100
Sights 690 : still in use
Key (Targ Orbital) 7,000
Cupand Saucer (speed 40,000 altitude 8,000) 0
Handgun (Useful Armanent) 0.50
Large Box 126
Key (hexagonal) 6,000
Key (strange) 5,000
Fireplace 145
C-H Eagle 8 S E (speed 598,716 altitude 65,000) 0
Anti-Time Bomb 50 : no use
Kitchen Sink 256
Cooker 449
Music Stand 55.50
Key (pentagonal) 3,000
Pass 2
Sprintcar (speed 7,197) 0
2* Pipenet Elevator 50,000 (see outskirts of the City: you need Kitchen Sink or Bitethe Bullet to pick it up)
(Catering) Provisions 42
Metal Detector 15
Key (other pentagonal) 4,000
Energy Crystal 5,000
Targ Tourer (speed 1,573 (Hovercar)) 0
Bed 300
Medical Supplies 15
Danger Notice 0.70
Economy Forecast 0.20
Note: there's another item, "It's Not Possible", it seems like it might be the Colony Craft !
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Printable list of all items and locations without any spoiler.
See it here (text format).
This list was compiled by Adrian Hurt and is designed to help players that don't want any other information than coordinates of places and items. So actually, it's a shortened version of the previous guide.
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Damocles Mission Disk 1.
The Damocles Mission Disks are actually hacked saved games that you have to load in Damocles. Here are details and solutions of the new missions, directly taken from the Mission Disk 1. If you need more information, see the help files section.
------------------------- MISSION 1: SABOTAGE --------------------------
A frantic dash to recover your Damocles game from an evil influence in
under ten minutes!
This short mission will take less than ten
minutes of your time. Once you know how!
Professor Hantzen got extra mad when he learned that you were on the way
to save Eris. So, just before you arrive, he's accepted the President's
offer (after negotiating a very worthwhile reward), and got the ship
intended for you.
Along with one or two other useful items, this has now been blown up.
But not before he set a lump of explosive to destroy the Novabomb on top
of the spaceport tower.
His intention was to sabotage your game. You have a little less than ten
minutes to beat him at his own game!
YOUR MISSION
Starting with the V.I.P. Limo, and no transporter to take you from
Capital City, you've got to get a craft that can fly you up to retrieve
and disarm the explosive before it blows.
BRIEFING
There's a ship for sale for 9000CR at the trading post at 08:14. Pity
you spent 5000CR on Bacchus before arriving. You could sell the car, but
there's not enough time to walk about.
The only way is some frantic motoring around to trade with what you find
until you can afford the Best Cupand.
SOLUTION
Drive to the State Office. Collect the Air Conditioner and Settee and
sell these at the Trading Posts at 12:03 and 13:03. Drive on to the
Power Station at 14:05, to collect the Heat Resistant Suit and sell this
on the way back at 14:03. Drive on up to the Post Office at 12:14 and
collect the A-Z Computer, then sell this at 14:15. Now you can afford
the ship.
It's tight on time. Nigel Mansell could do it. Can you?
------------------------- MISSION 2: BAD LUCK --------------------------
By your own doing, you arrive on Eris even later. That's if you can get
there at all.
A new starting place for your Damocles game
provides a real time challenge to succeed.
Finding the facilities on Bacchus irresistable, you've called in on your
way to Eris. While the State President anxiously awaits your arrival,
you've just lost all your money, and your spacecraft, in a "double or
quits" gamble at Uncle's Casino. But all is not lost. The benevolent
casino manager has loaned you his car on the understanding that you are
not about to use the "quit" option. It is somewhat unfortunate that a
previous visitor from Pan has scrambled most of the regular transporter
system.
YOUR MISSION
Check out the modified transporter arrangements and get yourself a new
spacecraft. Then fly on to Eris and accept the President's assignment,
which you need to complete in the time remaining.
BRIEFING
You'll certainly want a flight craft as soon as possible, even if this
is not fitted for space travel. There's an extra-fast spacecraft, the
Bullet, parked at the military base on Thalia. Remember, you'll be going
into areas where Red Beacons are the indicators.
SOLUTION
Drive to Transporter 8 and collect the Red Beacon Indicator from the
airport building. Go through to Transporter 9 and collect the Concord
key from Mentor Airport. Return and then fly Concorde to Transporter 7,
picking up the Red Beacon as a marker, and fly to the Pan Hades Labour
Camp admin office to collect the Bullet key from the first floor. Fly
back to Transporter 6 and through to Transporter 5 on Thalia to then
collect the Bullet. Off you go to Eris for the new challenge!
----------------------- MISSION 3: GO FOR GOLD -------------------------
You arrive on Eris, only to find that another mercenary has got there
first.
The main commodity is gold in this trading extravaganza.
Once you've got 4,840,000 CR you can readily save Eris,
but then with only the Lloyds reward to go for......
A selfish mercenary has arrived ahead of you. Rejecting the President's
offer, this oppurtunist has plundered three of the Novatriggers and the
Novabomb, and sold these at Eris trading posts.
Having arrived late, you feel obliged to pick up the pieces and save
Eris knowing that Lloyds will at least reward you for saving the comet.
In preparation for this task you've spent your last 9000CR to buy the
Best Cupand and flown over to Key Island to swap this for the more
versatile Dart II. You've collected some useful and some valuable
objects and done a little trading.
YOUR MISSION
Locate the three Novatriggers and the Novabomb to determine how much
more you need to earn to buy this back. Together with what you hold, six
bars of gold will suffice.
BRIEFING
The Lawson Bank Repository on Tolosa holds four bars of gold, with
others to be found on Chaldea City and at Solon.
Provided you can sell all valuables at the most advantageous prices and
then be lucky at Uncle's Casino you will generate sufficient funds for
the mission. You'll find the trading post at Mentor 05:03 more than
generous, and a firm commodity market in trading posts on Logos, Vesta,
and surprisingly, on Eris.
SOLUTION
Use Geiger Counter to locate Novabomb. The three triggers are in Eris
Capital trading posts around 13:04. Fly via the Transporter to Bacchus
then over to Tolosa. Blow repository door and collect 4 Gold. Return to
Bacchus, take Dart then walk through to Transporter 6 at Chaldea. Take
this transporter outside. Collect Gold from 06:06. Transport to Eris and
fly to Penn School on Solon for the final Gold. Transport to 7, Logos.
Sell the Greenhouse Effect at 08:03, Briefcase at 07:00 and Gold at
08:00, 07:03 and 06:02. Back on Eris sell Gold at 15:15 and Beacon
Indicator at 14:15. Fly to Vesta and sell Gold at 05:03 and 06:03.
Transport to Mentor to sell Anti-Grav at 05:03. Transport to Bacchus and
at Uncle's Casino, gamesave, then double your money. On Eris, at trading
posts with triggers, turn each "on". Buy Novabomb. Transport to Chaldea
to buy the fourth trigger, then blow Icarus before 1 hr:40 mins.
------------------------ MISSION 4: NIGHTMARE --------------------------
Just when you thought you had succeeded, magnificently, you receive some
bad news.
You're into explosive action with this
alternative to the Novabomb solution.
Congratulations. You've used the Novabomb to save Eris and the Comet.
You've gained the reward for both, done a little trading and now have
mega-millions in credits. You owe yourself a holiday, and where better
than at the Cyclopes IDI Camp? And then the news comes through. The
Group 4 scientists have miscalculated. The precise moment that you took
out Icarus is not working to the predicted effect. Damocles moves
relentlessly on. Lloyds were covered with cock-up insurance, so they
won't take the rewards back, and Margaret will come across with an
additional 25,000,000 CR for you to now destroy the comet.
YOUR MISSION
With the Novabomb gone, you need to use the explosives equivalent:
eight pieces of explosive placed together at setting 9 will blow
Damocles. There are nine pieces in their usual locations.
BRIEFING
With just 1 hr :30 mins to go, you'll need to get moving. Boarding your
Targ Tourer, take the exit road and go left at the first junction to
regain your Dart II. Chart the optimum course to call at Gaea, Eris and
Theon to get eight explosives and the Timed Detonator. The penalty if
you find just seven at these locations is a trip to Dion.
SOLUTION
Fly to 08-08 Vulcan Island, Gaea, then on to the Industrial Co-ops 1 and
2, at 01-02 and 05-02 Ur City for the first three. Fly over to 08-08 at
Chaldea Metropolis to use the transporter through to No. 1, for the
timed detonator. Then transport to No. 4, to collect the briefcase.
Return to transporter 6, and fly to Eris.
The 4th set of explosives is to be found in the basement (yes!) of
Hathaway's on Snow Island.
At the Hantzen Lab, you increase your holding to seven and then fly to
02-03 on the moon Theon to collect the eighth. You should now have
enough time to make it to Damocles!
------------------- MISSION 5: THE WISHES SOLUTION ---------------------
Significant help with one of the oblique solutions to the challenge of
Damocles.
The Midas puzzle unravelled - at least as far as
finding the pyramid number that you require. But
then, to find the pyramid!!! Not recommended for
players of an impatient disposition.
One of the more oblique solutions to Damocles is hinted at in the
Briefing File with a reference to the Mystical Order of Carpenters.
Their Membership Secretary has decided that, if you can collect the
President's Reward, you might just afford their joining fee. So a few
strings have been pulled to help you on the way. The Novagen Office on
Birmingham Island is a good source of clues. This is where you start and
you are already in possession of a valuable book!
YOUR MISSION
Check the file in your Inventory display and then read the contents of
the Novagen Safe for a spectacular clue. Set off on the trail indicated.
Two Red Beacons have been strategically placed to assist. Find the
hidden number that identifies the pyramid on Midas that holds the Magic
Crystal.
BRIEFING
Now where did you see those twelve star-sign markings? Look an' you
should find the means to translate that alien script hidden on Acheron.
Given the pyramid number, you should remember that not all scripts read
from left to right.
SOLUTION
As well as the LEO clue in the Novagen Cabinet, you'll find helpful
information under the titles YOU WISH and MILLIONS in the Novagen Safe.
Board the Dart, and fly to 03-14 to use the transporter on the 1st
floor. Carrying the Dart, transport to No. 5 (Eris 11-08). Fly to Lucan
to find a pair of reading glasses. Return to Capital City 11-08 and go
back through to transporter No. 2, once again carrying the ship. Fly
from Dion to Acheron, and at the Sphinx at 03-06, a concealed door is
indicated by a red beacon. By holding the glasses alien characters are
translated for you to give you the number of the Midas pyramid.
On Midas, a knowledge of hexadecimal is useful, an appreciation of which
number pairings are most significant is almost essential, and a lot of
patience is invaluable.
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Damocles Mission Disk 2.
The Damocles Mission Disks are actually hacked saved games that you have to load in Damocles. Here are details and solutions of the new missions, directly taken from the Mission Disk 2. This mission disk also had additionnal "silly saves", which you can load to usually watch a funny situation. If you need more information, see the help files section.
------------------------- MISSION 1 : JUNO MOON --------------------------
You divert on to Perseus to combat the Professor's devious plot to defeat
you.
There's some unfamiliar territory to cover to undo the
Professor's attempt to defeat you. He really does seem
to take his game of chess too seriously!
During the final stages of your journey to Eris, you learn that Professor
Hantzen has 'flown' to conceal the Novabomb on one of the moons of Juno.
Knowing that Hantzen Industries have a laboratory at Alkane Base, that's
where you arrive.
He appears to have brought the Eris transporter system along with him but
this could provide both some clues and the means to move around.
YOUR MISSION
You'll need to find both the Novabomb and a craft to travel back to Eris
in sufficient time to take up the Presidents' offer.
BRIEFING
Taking the Geiger Counter on a quick tour of the modified Transporter
system should reveal the new position of the Novabomb - approximately!
There can be some very sticky moments in these harsh environments, so
make the most of the ten second survival interval to get on board a
craft.
Check on what has been moved and what might then, as a consequence, be
useful to locate.
Although it can be possible for those with acute hearing to use the
Geiger Counter to find the Novabomb, you are unlikely to have either
enough time, or patience. - Not recommended!
SOLUTION
Transporting up from 0 to 1, you find the Geiger Counter indicates that
the Novabomb is somewhere on the moon Jason. Transport through to 9 and
run to the spaceport building to collect the Concord Key before going
through to 8 to board the craft.
Collect the Black Beacon on Bacchus for use as a marker at Transporter 1
on Jason. Flying through to Transporter 5, now on Thalia, reveals that
the Bullet and Red Beacon have been moved.
Leaving your Concord at Thalia, transport through to 2 to collect Key E
from the ninth floor. Back at 4, Vesta, collect the Targ Tourer key from
the first floor, and take the car conveniently parked outside to 04:04 to
get the Red Beacon Indicator.
Transport back to 5 and fly through to 1 where the Red Beacon, now
showing, yields the Novabomb and Bullet. Fly the Bullet through to 5
before flying back to Eris to complete your mission in the one hour or
so that remains.
---------------------- MISSION 2 : CLOSE ENNCOUNTER ----------------------
Damocles looms large on the horizon as you endeavour to 'save the
universe' !
A dramatic new perspective on time as extended 'seconds'
count down to the destruction of the Author's Computer
and the catastrophic consequence.
After hours of messing, a hacker has accessed the Author's Computer and
has slowed down time. The hacker then sold the computer at a Trading Post
in Eris Capital southern commercial centre and made off with the spoils.
Damocles looms on the horizon. Eris looks doomed. But, unless you can
save it, so too is the entire solar system.
If Damocles hits Eris and destroys the Author's Computer the fabric of
the universe is destroyed!
YOUR MISSION
With some very fast and remunerative trading, you can purchase the
Author's Computer and carry it clear of Eris. You may even have time to
use your valuable purchase to destroy Damocles and earn the President's
reward.
BRIEFING
Your options are varied. But since the hacker has moved the Novabomb, you
are unlikely to find this (or at least, not in one piece). The
Novatriggers have high values, and the Cupboard, Washbasin and Sideboard
should put you in funds. Of course you make a start by accepting the
Presidents offer.
SOLUTION
The Author's Computer is on sale at Eris Capital 12:03. Once in your
ship, a quick flight to Metis yields the Washbasin. Return to Snow Island
for the Cupboard and then from Transporter 5 through to the Hantzen House
at 0 for the Sideboard. Sell these at Eris 15:03 (buy the Pressure Suit)
14:03 and 13:03 to afford the computer. Fly it clear.
But if you have about 25 'seconds' left try this:
Pick up the Antigrav from 09:02 to enable you to carry your ship through
from Transporter 5 to 2 on Birmingham Island. Fly over to the Author's
House and stand against the window through which you can see the Author's
Chair. You can reach it from here. Drop and board it to have control of
the Author's Computer. Set parameter No. 4 to 29, the 'number' for
Damocles and press *. Rewarding!
--------------------- MISSION 3 : ESCAPE FRROM ERIS ----------------------
A feeling of 'deja-vu' for players of Mercenary I. You are trapped on
Eris.
You arrive on Eris somewhat late. This is the occasion of
Damocles' second visit. Fortunately a keen mercenary did
the business last time. But this time, there is no
benevolent President to provide you with a spacecraft.
You land at Eris Capital Spaceport long after all of the action is over.
Damocles is just a passing visitor and holds no threat. You are broke and
your spacecraft is not fitted for further flight. No President's welcome
this time and no comfortable VIP Limo to greet you. Life on Eris has
moved on. Whilst there have been no major upheavals, President Margaret
has become increasingly insular and Eris is now in virtual isolation. The
economy is in a mess, and even her favourite entrepreneur has his Gum
Store Chain in Receivership. Eris is no place for you!
YOUR MISSION
Escape!
BRIEFING
Fortunately, there is an old car available at the Spaceport, but you'll
want to ditch this as soon as possible. The Transporter system has become
localised with 'foreign' travel no longer encouraged, although, for
those that can afford it, a spacecraft can of course be purchased - at a
price.
Alternatively, for those keen 'City' observers that are prepared to bend
the rules, there is, as ever, the opportunity to succeed!
SOLUTION 1
Drive to the State Office and collect the Air Conditioner and Bench and
on to Transporter 5 at 11:08. Transport to 1 at Hantzen Sales and from
there collect the Timed Detonator and 99 Chevvy Key. Drive the Chevvy to
the Hantzen Lab. 06:05 and collect three Explosives and then over to
Transporter 3 at 02:04 and drive through to 4 at 02:03 Snow Island.
Collect the Storage Boxes and Table from 03:00. Sell Timed Detonator at
03:04, then locate the Concord Key in the basement of Hathaways at 06:04
before using the Concord from Scott Airport 07:04.
Fly to Eris Capital and sell the Targ Tourer Key, 3 Explosives,
Storage Boxes, Air Conditioner and Bench and the A-Z Computer from 12:14.
Fly on to Key Island to sell the Table. Fly over to Velos and sell the
99 Chevvy Key at 03:07 and then the Concord Key at 04:06. Walk south to
04:05 to transport from 9 to 7 for a short walk east to buy the
Eagle 9 SE at 04:10.
SOLUTION 2
More by way of a hint than a solution, we can confirm that The Bullet is
there to be found and needs only an Antigrav to move it and a Key to fly
it. Check out references to the 'economy'. If you've found the Antigrav,
you can redeem the Bullet from its resting place and, provided you have
liberated its Key, away you go! And if your motivation is money,
privatise the Transporter system with the local traders.
------------------------- MISSION 4 : BRIEFFCASE -------------------------
Reviewing the contents of the Briefcase shows this to be essential for
the game.
A unique insight into the contents of the Briefcase
shows you things that you need, but tantalisingly,
you're not able to touch.
The Author's final job in setting up the game of Damocles was to place
the objects in position. As we join this game, he had almost finished and
was carrying nineteen objects, including some key items for the defeat of
Damocles. He had travelled to the inside of the Briefcase to check out
some of these.
But then he took a break and went over to the Novagen office. Finding
nobody there, he went off for some lunch. Unfortunately, he left the
game running and there are just two hours to go!
YOUR MISSION
Return to the world of Eris and accept the State Presidents offer. Then,
resisting the temptation to invoke the 'wishes solution', you'll need to
retrace the Author's path to find the Briefcase and take posession of the
required objects.
BRIEFING
Travel through to Transporter 5 where your V I P Limo awaits. Deal with
the President and collect your craft to travel over to Dion. As the
Detonator for the explosives is in the Briefcase there can be no blowing
of door locks. Keys will be required but the previously elusive Key A can
be found where the Author left it.
SOLUTION
Walk into the Transporter - Floor G in Briefcase and after it activates,
use the Author's 'cheat':
Remain stationary and then press key 5 to travel directly to Transporter
5. ( Now you know how to travel IN to your own Inventory or Briefcase.)
The Author left the Briefcase inside his house at 14:13 on Birmingham
Island when he took his break. He lunched at Annie's Bar on Dion East
where he left the key to the Novagen Office at 02:11 Birmingham Island -
which is where he left his house key.
Once you have the Briefcase, you can complete either of the methods to
blow up Damocles or use the Author's Computer!
-------------------------- MISSION 5 : S/M PLAY -------------------------
A sadistic playtester plots against you!
Novagen's star playtester, who did much of the planning
for 'Mercenary Second City', assures us that there are
players that enjoy this sort of thing. If you have a
high degree of tolerance to practical jokes, please
read on . . . . .
As Damocles author, Paul Woakes, builds his own solar system and lays
down plots and projects, hopefully for the enjoyment of all, he
inevitably creates a burden for a small, but significant, group. Spare a
thought for his playtester team. As each new feature is added, they have
to check on its interaction with all that has gone before. In the 'free'
Damocles environment, where almost anything is possible, that adds up to
thousands of hours. There are many moments of enjoyment but it has to be
said, on occasions, it can prove a tad b o r i n g. Little wonder then
that, given the opportunity to set up this mission and the Silly
Situation Saves that follow on 6 7 & 8 there is a common theme of
d e s t r u c t i o n !
YOUR MISSION
Play the game and avoid the pitfalls set by this sadistic playtester.
BRIEFING
A check on the Data Files shows that amongst the significant items moved
are the Novabomb, 9 units of Explosive, the Author's Computer, the Book
of Wishes and several Beacons. There has been a little interference with
the Transporter system and with a few other objects.
We can only suggest that you accept the offer of the President and
proceed with caution!
SOLUTION
Fly to Snow Island Post Office for Novatrigger 2. Collect the Novabomb
from Eris Capital 01:14 and the Antigrav from 09:02, and sell this
locally. Fly up through Transporter 5 to Mentor and at 02:01, buy the
Blue Beacon Indicator. Then fly on to Damocles where the Author's
Computer is marked by a Blue Beacon.
Fly to the centre of the beacon array and drop the Blue Beacon Indicator.
Fly back up to compare the array and having gone back for the Indicator
and viewed the array again, check out the two re-lit Beacons to locate
the Author's Computer. Pick this up, drop the Novabomb and fly well clear
to detonate with the Novatrigger.
If you'd rather use the Explosives, these are in the Briefcase and/or the
Wishes Book is for sale at Mentor 05:03. The Playtester's house is also
for sale and can be purchased from C. Rook & Sons Estate Agents at 06:08
Chaldea Metropolis.
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Maps and other help files
| Source |
Files |
| Simon | my own old maps, incomplete and messy (in French)...
System information;
Eris: Capital City, Bare Island, Velos City and Key West;
Eris: Snow Island + Novatriggers and Novabomb information;
Dion: Birmingham Island, Dion North, Dion East;
Gaea: Chaldea Metropolis;
Gaea: Ur City (dirty), and various information;
various information.
|
| Pawel Garycki | These maps seem to be designed so you can print and use them to play - no hints:
Eris: Capital City and Key West
Eris system
Gaea system
Icarus, Acheron, Dion system
Remote moons
A Guide for the Mission Disks, in Word format.
|
Other detailed maps (legend).
Acheron, Atropos, Bacchus, Clotho, Cronus, Cyclopes, Dion Birmigham Island, Dion North, Dion East, Eris Bare Island, Eris Capital City, Eris Key West, Eris Snow Island, Eris Velos City, Gaea Chaldea City, Gaea Ur City, Icarus, Lachesis, Logos, Mentor, Metis, Pan, Perseus, Solon, Thalia, Theon, Tolosa, Vesta.
|
| Jeremy Smith | Detailed hand-drawn maps. Maybe more to come later !
Clotho New Town
Eris: Snow Island
Pan Hades labour camp
|
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