0
dNb
dNNP
.eNNNNNNNNNNNNNo dNNN
dNN" dNNP _oNNNc oNNNNNNP dNNNNNo dNNP dNNNNb dNNNNNNo
`F dNNP dNN"`NN "; 8NN~ dNP "NND dNNP dNV"NNN dNP dNP
dNNP dNF NNN dNN~ dNP .odN~ dNNP dNV dNN dNP dNP .
ONNbedNF "NNNNP dNP "NNNeeNNNP ,NNNNe8"dNNdNP dNP ,ND
""""" dNN' """ """"""""""""""" """" ,dNP .,eNNP
dNF' """""""""""""""
!NNb Semi-official Frequently Asked Questions
"NNb v0.71
"" (Semi-official because the Tyrian author thinks
I'm odd )
As the version number implies, this FAQ is still developing. Some
information may be wrong, and some may be missing. If you find one of
these, please don't jump around and say "How dare I write a FAQ with an
error in it...".. send me the correction, and make the FAQ better,
as well as getting yourself a place in the list of contributors!
Note: PC GAMER, for some reason, decided to put FAQ v0.41 on their
Dec/Jan '95/'96 coverdisk (without talking to me) even though it was long
obsolete by then. Please drop me a note if you want to distribute the
FAQ in non-network form; this isn't for legal reasons, it's just so I can
send you the most up to date version!
Contributors:
Zach Keene (fnlfanatic@aol.com)
Joseph Ball (darco@aol.com)
Eric Chung (achung@ix.netcom.com)
J.D.Collins (jdcollin@ucsd.edu)
Mike Marcelais (mrmarcel@eos.ncsu.edu)
Neal Miller (millen3@rpi.edu)
Christopher Nice (CN3612@aol.com)
Jared Ong (jong@owl.csusm.edu)
Paul Patricio (ppatrici@mail.vt.edu)
Andy Shawaluk (andys@solaria.mil.wi.us)
Andrew Schultz (schultzaj@centum.utulsa.edu)
Vincent "Dr. Wily" Torre (vtorre@skull.castle.siberia.unk)
Adam Williamson (adam@scss.demon.co.uk)
Daniel ("Venom") (venom@highnrg.sbay.org)
Sammael (sammael@zipnet.com)
Jim Youngblood (jry@pinn.net)
James Johnson (jejohnsn@mail.erols.com)
"Conrad" (CompKid486@aol.com)
Doug "Satan is Cheese
Whiz" (!) Martin (dmartin@pomona.edu)
"Mike"/Baoping He (he@saturn.med.nyu.edu)
Unknown (cdtyaggy@aol.com)
"Panx of Dupa" (panx@mcs.com)
Ron Powell (ronp@online1.magnus1.com)
Unknown (ac907@dial.pipex.com)
INTERESTING FACT: At least 3 of the contributors, several of whom have
been helping since the beginning, are in the aol.com domain. So for all
you people who discriminate by ISP...
Maintained by Mark Green (mark@antelope.demon.co.uk)
* NOTE: The above is my personal address. Updates should be sent to
tyrian@antelope.demon.co.uk. Please do NOT always expect
a reply to updates - I am very busy at the moment, but you
will always be credited if your material is used in the FAQ.
For people who wanted updates - I want to look into making a
mailinglist for FAQ updates, but I need to do some research
on that; I'll get back to y'all.
Ascii Logo by Rex Mendoza (rex.mendoza@789.gigo.com)
Thanks to you all (especially for not flaming me when you corrected the
really blatant mistakes ;) ); without your help I'd never have made this!
And thanks especially to Epic, for making this cool game!
NOTE: This FAQ now applies to Tyrian v2.0. Some secrets listed may
not work in v1.0 or v1.1. If you have Shareware release v1.0 or v1.1, you
can probably find an update wherever you found the game. Epic will
upgrade registered v1.1 copies to v2.0 for a nominal fee.
If your registered CD has the words "Manufactured in USA" on it, it's
v1.1. Otherwise, it's v2.0.
The NEW, IMPROVED Index
(To find a topic quickly with a text search, search for the number in
square brackets.)
[1] What is Tyrian?
[2] Where can I get the Shareware version of Tyrian?
[3] How much is in the game?
[4] What's the difference between these play modes?
[5] Sometimes I find the ship constantly moves in one direction. What's
happening?
[6] Are there any other bugs?
[7] What happens when I finish the game?
[8] How do I get the registered version?
[9] What's the best ship configuration to get?
[10] How much are those purple bubbles in Arcade mode worth?
[11] What are these special weapons?
[12] Where are the secret levels?
[13] What are these secret tips?
[14] Ok, I've won on Hard, now what?
[15] How can I quickly power up my weapons?
[16] Help! My ship just turned into a carrot! What's going on!?
[17] Can I use my arcade mode weapons in full game mode? Or vice versa?
[18] Can I do anything with Super Arcade Mode weapons or ships?
[19] What's a twiddle weapon? How do I use them?
[20] How do I play Super Arcade mode?
[21] How do I play Super Tyrian?
[22] Is there any way I can cheat?
[23] What is Destruct, and how do I play that?
[24] Miscellaneous useful stuff.
[25] The "Why the HELL would you want to do THAT!?" awards.
[26] Completely useless trivia.
[27] Rumours.
[1] What is Tyrian?
Tyrian is the latest game from Epic MegaGames; it is a vertically
scrolling Shoot'em'up game with considerably more features than any
other one on the PC. It features a complex exchangable weapon system
allowing up to 300 different combinations of weapons, and several
different forms of play. And it's a darn good game, too. ;)
[2] Where can I get the shareware version of Tyrian?
Most major ftp sites should have a copy by now. It can be found, in
particular, on ftp.uml.edu, or wuarchive.wustl.edu, either in the games
uploads directory, or the Epic MegaGames specific directory.
Users in the UK may prefer to get their copy from ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk or
ftp.demon.co.uk.
[3] How much is in the game?
The shareware version is a 1.3mb zip file. The shareware version of the
game contains 7 standard levels and several more secret levels. All of the
play modes are active.
The registered version is 9mb in total, or 10mb for v2.0, provided either
on multiple disks or on Cd-Rom.
The main differences between v2.0 and v1.1 are as follows:
- SuperTyrian is accessible;
- There are more weapons and ships available;
- Bosses have a visible life bar;
- An indicator is shown to show when special weapons are available;
- "Bubbles" is now the only secret level from Tyrian accessible in the
unregistered version (there's a datacube telling you this; yes, the
cube turns up even in the registered version.. gee, thanks ).
This is because the extra two levels have been added at the end.
- The fourth episode, "The end of Fate" is added; (registered only)
- There is a custom ship editor program included; (registered only)
The map of the levels is as follows:
EPISODE 1 (all secrets found):
----- Link
--S-- Secret link
--A-- Link followed automatically if not in Full Game Mode
--* *-- Overlap - no actual connection
/----S--> Soh Jin /--S-> Asteroid ?--\
| V | ^ V
|----------->+---------> Asteroid 1 ---*|*------> Savara ---\
| ^ | S | ^ |
Tyrian | \A-> Asteroid 2 ---*|*-----/ | V
| |----\ | | | Bonus
|----S--> Bubbles | \--S-> MineMaze----/ |
| /----| V
|----S--> Holes | Mines
| /-----/ |
\----S--> Windy V
Deliani
|
V
Savara V
|
V
Assassin
|
V
** ALE **
^ |
\-/
(15 levels)
Shortest route: Tyrian -> Either asteroid -> Savara -> Bonus -> Mines
-> Deliani (6 levels, 50%)
Longest route: Tyrian -> SohJin, Bubbles, Holes or Windy -> Asteroid 2 ->
MineMaze -> Asteroid ? -> Savara -> Bonus -> Mines -> Deliani
(9 levels, 75%)
EPISODE 2:
/--> Gem War ---> Markers ---/--> Mistakes ----\
S S |
| | V
Torm ----> Gyges ----> Bonus ----> Asteroid City ----> Soh Jin
| |
| A
/--- Botany A (not known yet)
|
/-S--> Sawblades ---------\
| V
Gauntlet --> Ixmucane --> Bonus --> Stargate ------------------------>Camanis
| ^ |
\-S--> Asteroid City -----/ |
|
|
V
New Deli Lava Run --> Core --> Lava Exit --S--> Desertrun --> Harvest
| | |
V------\ \-----------------/ V
Squadron --/ Underdeli
^ (End) |
| V
Nose Drip , Left, Down,
- Your ship is surrounded by a barrier that lessens damage done to you
by collisions. Getting hit will cause parts of the barrier to go
down instead of damaging you. Bullets seem to be unaffected.
Microbomb Shower , Right, Down, Left,
, Up+Fire
[ This may not be the exact motion but it WILL give you the power
fairly often especially if repeated. If it itself is not the
correct motion, it is certainly some permutation or translation
of these movements.]
- The ship will *FLOOD* the screen with MicroBombs.
*Microcorp* Stalker (yes, it's different)
Energy Barrier Up, , Left, Down,
Repulsor Hold fire, alternate left/right
- Just like the special weapon, except for the shield drain.
Prototype Stalker-C
Bomb Spread Right, Left, Right, Down+Fire
(more bombs than the Fang)
Post-it Sweep Up, Left, , Down, Right, Up
- Five post-it bombs are fired, very quickly, from the front. Armor
drain.
Gencore Phoenix
Ice Spread Down, Up+Fire
- Five ice shots; they behave like the special ice weapon.
Armor Boost Hold Down, Fire twice
Gencore Maelstrom
Armor Boost Hold Down, Fire twice
Super Carrot
Ice Spread Down, Up+Fire
Hot dog feast Up, Down+Fire
- Five hotdog shots fired forwards. Armor drain.
Stalker 21.126 (the modified SuperTyrian ship, and the twiddlers dream)
Armor Boost Hold Down, fire twice
Ice Spread Down, Up+Fire
Hot Dog Feast Up, Down+Fire
Missile Spread Right, Left, Down, Up+Fire
Bomb Spread Right, Left, Right, Down+Fire
Energy Barrier Up, , Left, Down,
Electric Shot X, X+Fire
X can be any direction except down for a
shot in that direction
Repulsor Hold fire, alternate Left/Right
Build sidekicks:
Build Companion Gerund Down, Right, Up+Fire
Build FrontBlaster II Up, Right, Down+Fire
Dragonwing (two-player)
Symbiosis Hold Down, Fire twice
- Drain your shield to increase the other player's armour.
Repulsor Hold fire, alternate Left/Right
Ice Spread Down, Up+Fire
A few notes: Be very careful with the repulsor, since you may activate
it accidentally while firing and dodging. The Armor Boost becomes
incredibly useful when you have a high-energy shield like the HXS-B -
use it as soon as you start when things are quiet and you'll boost your
hull fairly majorly.
[20] How do I play Super Arcade mode?
Super Arcade Mode is a special mode where you will play an unusual ship
with unique weapons. You get a fixed 3 lives; and you have a super weapon
that is always active.
To play Super Arcade Mode, you must type a password at the main menu to
select the ship you want to play. Here is a list of the ships available,
their passwords, and their weapons. As mentioned before, their specials
are available all the time.
Instead of the standard way of upgrading weapons, the weapon pods will
be gold with a colour in the middle. Each colour is a different
weapon and the power of the weapon is determined by the number you've
collected of that colour. You start with Level 1 Red. Some of the ships
available here are clones of other ships that you can play during the normal
game mode. If this is the case, and you have v1.1, then you'll usually find
you can use the twiddles of the ship of which the one you are flying is a
clone.
Ship: Experimental PQZ Password: TECHNO
Special: Soul of Zinglon + Minefield (RECHARGE):
A standard Soul, plus a large number of mines cover the screen.
Red: Hyper Pulse - A fairly standard cannon.
Blue: Zica Laser - A large laser beam, which can shoot several enemies
at once.
Green: Scatter Wave - Shoot to the sides. A tad useless... (Andrew
Schultz suggests this power-up was put there by the
enemy to handicap your ship.. ;) )
Purple:Guided bombs - Just like the ones you can get in full game.
Black: Heavy Missile Launcher
Ship: Stormwind the Elemental Password: STORMWIND
Special: Sandstorm (RECHARGE)
Just like the minefield, but the particles are smaller.
Red: Mega Pulse - Another relatively standard cannon.
Blue: Lightning Cannon - A big energy bolt forward, and a smaller ball
backwards. The ball is fired at an angle from
your ship, and inherits your velocity if you move.
Green: Sonic Wave
Purple:Protron Wave - Shoot blue, whirling balls.
Black: Rear Mega Pulse
Ship: Tx SilverCloud Password: UNKNOWN (yes, we know it's this ;) )
Special: Proton Dispersal (RECHARGE)
A series of mines dropped in a spiral around the ship.
Red: Multicannon - Have a guess (all the reds are basic..)
Blue: Zica Laser - As PQZ
Black: Rear Heavy Missile Launcher - Two missiles fired across each other.
Green: Laser - A constantly fired, TRUE laser, that does major
damage if held on target.
Purple:Vulcan Cannon - Just like in full game.
Ship: Captured U-Fighter Password: ENEMY
Special: Dual Vulcan (RECHARGE)
A very fast series of forward shots. Not enough to destroy a wave. This
ship sucks.
Red: Vulcan Cannon - This is what the game calls it but it's not the
same as the normal one. It only fires at an angle to
the sides. Yeuch. This ship REALLY sucks.
Blue: Mega Cannon - Small blue/white ball shots.
Black: Guided Microbombs
Green: Rear Mega Pulse
Purple:Protron
Ship: Foodship Nine Password: WEIRD
Special: Banana Bomb (RECHARGE)
A large number of bananas are fired from the back of the ship.
Red: Banana Blast - A standard gun, except it fires bananas.
Blue: Orange Juicer - A series of oranges in a helix around your ship.
Black: HotDog Front - Similar to the banana blast, but slower and more
damaging. Fires hot dogs. In buns. With mustard.
Purple:Protron Z - White circular bullets.
Green: Wild Balls - As full game.
Ship: Ninja Star Password: STEALTH
Special: Blade field (RECHARGE)
Just like minefield, but with whirling shurikens.
Red: Starburst - Semi-random angled side fire. Not a good start..
Green: Poison bomb - A standard bomb, but when it hits, it splits.
Blue: Guided Bombs - Similar to standard homing bombs but faster.
Black: Shruiken(sp?) field- Two blades, similar to those in the field.
Purple:Protron wave
Ship: Nort-Ship Z Password: NORTSHIPZ
Special: Nortship Dust (CONSTANT)
As you move left or right with this ship, a blue dust will be released
from the sides. It damages anything it touches.
Special: Astral Zone (RECHARGE)
This is a *Weird* one. It turns the background into a starfield and
fills the screen with Zica lasers. It seems that moving, or firing, while
the zone is actually in effect produces more lasers.
Red: Super Pulse - Similar to the normal cannon, but wider range.
Grey: Spreader - Similar to the U-fighter's "vulcan" cannon.
Green: Spreader B - Fires pearl-windish spheres at 45 degrees. When
they hit, they release a number of damaging dust
particles AND bounce off. (Overrated - quite weak.)
Blue: Orange Juicer - As FoodShip Nine.
Purple:Poison Bomb - As Ninja Star.
[21] How do I play Super Tyrian?
If you have v2.0, you can play Super Tyrian by typing:
ENGAGE
On the title screen. When you do this, Susan will say "Data Acquired",
and the title screen will begin to blur and fade. In Super Tyrian, all
cheats are disabled, and you have a unique ship. Difficulty level, by
default, is set to Lord of the Game; however, you can make it easier
for yourself, and only get Suicide difficulty, if you hold down the Scroll
Lock key while the screen is fading.
However, SuperTyrian does introduce a twist regardless - line of
sight. Only the area in front of your ship will be visible; the rest of
the screen will be faded out. This happens on some levels of v2.0 anyway,
but it happens on all levels in SuperTyrian. It does have the disadvantage
that it slows the game down, but it's still a very cool effect.
[22] Is there any way I can cheat?
Yes, there's four ways. The first way is only for people who really don't
believe in earning your priveleges and such.. Instead of typing TYRIAN to
start the game, type FILE0001 LOOT but do *NOT* hit return. Now hold down
the ALT key on the main keyboard, and type 254 on the numeric keypad.
(A small square should appear on the command line.) Release ALT, and press
RETURN. Start a 1 player full game, and you'll have 1 Million credits!
(Make sure the word LOOT is typed in caps.)
The other way is actually just as much a cheat, but it doesn't use a cheat
code; it uses a loophole in the game itself, so you may feel better using
this. Besides, it lets you have technically infinate money. Kit your ship
out so that you can fire forwards well, and can defend against bullets from
the side, but so that your fire range isn't TOO spread out (level 4
multicannon, level 3 sonic wave works well). Get to the secret level
"ASTEROID?" by whatever route. In this level, you'll notice that there are
turrets that fire unusual things at you - grey bubbles, missiles, etc. At one
point in the level, a turret firing those grey bubbles (LOTS of them!) appears
as a mid-stage boss.
When you get there, move your ship into the corner such that you can
kill the bubbles as he fires them, but such that you are not in fact shooting
him. Every time you kill a bubble, 100 points; and you'll be killing lots
of them. As long as you're defended on the sides, he probably won't be
able to hit you with any; neither you, nor he, will ever die. Weigh down
the fire button and go and have a cuppa, do the crossword, whatever.. and
come back to a massive score. Then, kill the turret normally, finish the
level and go and upgrade your ship rather a lot. ;) (Don't leave it TOO
long, though - an overflow will crash the game.)
The other two ways of cheating are not money cheats, but downright cheats.
During play, hit F2, F3 and F6 together to become immortal. (The string
"Cheaters always prosper" should pop up at the bottom of the screen. Your
shield and armor will still be drained - you'll just be able to play on
with zero armor). There is also a cheat to skip a level, which involves
hitting F2, F6 and F7; however I found that most of the time just hitting
these together doesn't work; however, fiddling around with them will
eventually work.
[23] What is Destruct, and how do I play that?
Destruct is a small, hidden subgame. It is a variant of Scorched Earth,
with more variety, and played in real-time.
To play Destruct, simply type the word "destruct" at the main menu. Press
F1 to view the keys. By default, the computer will play the left hand player,
but you can turn this off and play 2 player by pressing F10. A second press
will return you to 1 player mode.
Destruct offers you five types of game:
5-Card War: Each of the players recieves five randomly selected vehicles.
Destroy all the opponent's vehicles to win!
Traditional: One tank each. He who doesn't die, wins.
Heli Assault: Fly your helicopters in against the computer's (or second
player's) guns.
Heli Defence: The same in reverse.. shoot down the computer's helicopters
before they destroy your guns.
Outgunned: One player gets several jumpers and helicopters.. the other
just gets guns.
The types of vehicle that are available as follows:
Gun: Choose angle with left/right and force with up/down.
There are several types of gun, which fire different types
of ammo.
Helicopter: Arrow keys steer the copter around; it always fires at
45 degrees downwards. If you switch away from the copter
while it's in flight, it will fall out of the sky!
Jumper: While on the ground, it shouts upwards. Press up to make
it jump in the air; while in the air, it fires downwards.
Repulsor: Can't move and can't fire. But if you select it, and hold
down fire, all the opponent's bullets will be pushed away
from it, just like the Repulsor special in the game. It's
kinda fun to make them shoot themselves. ;)
Each vehicle has different weapons. Some are more powerful than
others, but after firing a powerful weapon you will have to wait a while
before you can fire again, whereas weak weapons will have a far shorter
reload time!
[24] Miscellaneous useful stuff.
THE HELP SHIP: Whenever you are low on armor and the alert is sounding,
watch for a little red ship that drops from the top of the screen, pauses in
the middle, then heads up top again. Shooting that ship will drop you an
armor bonus. If you are deep into alert (the alert noise gets faster the
nearer you are to death), the bonus won't be enough to get you out of it,
and you may have to wait for a second Help Ship. Note: The Help Ship does
not fire, and crashing into it does not destroy it or you.
BONUS LEVEL: Do not touch your sidekicks on the bonus level. The awards
are FAR greater for shooting down the layouts with a standard weapon than
for gunning the lot down with specials! Note also that sometimes a
large enemy from the layout will swoop downwards. Destroying that will
generally get you a good bonus - generally at least a small gem.
GAMMA CORRECTION: Just like Doom, Tyrian has Gamma Correction. Press F11
during a game to cycle through the different levels.
SHOT LEADING: On levels where the screen scrolls left and right, you can
guide your shots left or right by steering (you are actually scrolling the
screen under the bullet rather than the bullet itself).
[25] The "why the HELL would you want to do THAT" awards.
#1: Start the game with 'FILE0001 death'. As soon as you start any level,
you die immediately.
#2: Start Tyrian with FILE0001 CONSTANT. You can't buy any weapons, and the
ship uncontrollably flies left and right, constantly firing.
[26] Completely useless trivia.
- "Tyrian" means 'red or purple', or 'a native of Tyre'.
- If you scan the web for "Tyrian" with a loose Lycos(tm) search, you'll
find (amongst other things) a poem called "Ode on the death of a favourite
cat by drowning in a pool of goldfish".
- The computer voice in Tyrian is called Susan.
- The Tyrian logo reads the same when turned upside down. (It does not *look*
exactly the same, though - the y and the a change.)
[27] Rumours.
- There are other cheat codes. F2+F3 + (F4, F5, or F6) generates "Cheaters
always prosper."; F2+F3+F4 twice makes the word "Destruction:" appear
in the bottom box.
- There is another difficulty level, "Insanity", that can be reached
by tweaking the save game file.
--
--
dNNP
.eNNNNNNNNNNNNNo dNNN
dNN" dNNP _oNNNc oNNNNNNP dNNNNNo dNNP dNNNNb dNNNNNNo
`F dNNP dNN"`NN "; 8NN~ dNP "NND dNNP dNV"NNN dNP dNP
dNNP dNF NNN dNN~ dNP .odN~ dNNP dNV dNN dNP dNP .
ONNbedNF "NNNNP dNP "NNNeeNNNP ,NNNNe8"dNNdNP dNP ,ND
""""" dNN' """ """"""""""""""" """" ,dNP .,eNNP
dNF' """""""""""""""
!NNb Semi-official Frequently Asked Questions
"NNb v0.71
"" (Semi-official because the Tyrian author thinks
I'm odd )
As the version number implies, this FAQ is still developing. Some
information may be wrong, and some may be missing. If you find one of
these, please don't jump around and say "How dare I write a FAQ with an
error in it...".. send me the correction, and make the FAQ better,
as well as getting yourself a place in the list of contributors!
Note: PC GAMER, for some reason, decided to put FAQ v0.41 on their
Dec/Jan '95/'96 coverdisk (without talking to me) even though it was long
obsolete by then. Please drop me a note if you want to distribute the
FAQ in non-network form; this isn't for legal reasons, it's just so I can
send you the most up to date version!
Contributors:
Zach Keene (fnlfanatic@aol.com)
Joseph Ball (darco@aol.com)
Eric Chung (achung@ix.netcom.com)
J.D.Collins (jdcollin@ucsd.edu)
Mike Marcelais (mrmarcel@eos.ncsu.edu)
Neal Miller (millen3@rpi.edu)
Christopher Nice (CN3612@aol.com)
Jared Ong (jong@owl.csusm.edu)
Paul Patricio (ppatrici@mail.vt.edu)
Andy Shawaluk (andys@solaria.mil.wi.us)
Andrew Schultz (schultzaj@centum.utulsa.edu)
Vincent "Dr. Wily" Torre (vtorre@skull.castle.siberia.unk)
Adam Williamson (adam@scss.demon.co.uk)
Daniel ("Venom") (venom@highnrg.sbay.org)
Sammael (sammael@zipnet.com)
Jim Youngblood (jry@pinn.net)
James Johnson (jejohnsn@mail.erols.com)
"Conrad" (CompKid486@aol.com)
Doug "Satan is Cheese
Whiz" (!) Martin (dmartin@pomona.edu)
"Mike"/Baoping He (he@saturn.med.nyu.edu)
Unknown (cdtyaggy@aol.com)
"Panx of Dupa" (panx@mcs.com)
Ron Powell (ronp@online1.magnus1.com)
Unknown (ac907@dial.pipex.com)
INTERESTING FACT: At least 3 of the contributors, several of whom have
been helping since the beginning, are in the aol.com domain. So for all
you people who discriminate by ISP...
Maintained by Mark Green (mark@antelope.demon.co.uk)
* NOTE: The above is my personal address. Updates should be sent to
tyrian@antelope.demon.co.uk. Please do NOT always expect
a reply to updates - I am very busy at the moment, but you
will always be credited if your material is used in the FAQ.
For people who wanted updates - I want to look into making a
mailinglist for FAQ updates, but I need to do some research
on that; I'll get back to y'all.
Ascii Logo by Rex Mendoza (rex.mendoza@789.gigo.com)
Thanks to you all (especially for not flaming me when you corrected the
really blatant mistakes ;) ); without your help I'd never have made this!
And thanks especially to Epic, for making this cool game!
NOTE: This FAQ now applies to Tyrian v2.0. Some secrets listed may
not work in v1.0 or v1.1. If you have Shareware release v1.0 or v1.1, you
can probably find an update wherever you found the game. Epic will
upgrade registered v1.1 copies to v2.0 for a nominal fee.
If your registered CD has the words "Manufactured in USA" on it, it's
v1.1. Otherwise, it's v2.0.
The NEW, IMPROVED Index
(To find a topic quickly with a text search, search for the number in
square brackets.)
[1] What is Tyrian?
[2] Where can I get the Shareware version of Tyrian?
[3] How much is in the game?
[4] What's the difference between these play modes?
[5] Sometimes I find the ship constantly moves in one direction. What's
happening?
[6] Are there any other bugs?
[7] What happens when I finish the game?
[8] How do I get the registered version?
[9] What's the best ship configuration to get?
[10] How much are those purple bubbles in Arcade mode worth?
[11] What are these special weapons?
[12] Where are the secret levels?
[13] What are these secret tips?
[14] Ok, I've won on Hard, now what?
[15] How can I quickly power up my weapons?
[16] Help! My ship just turned into a carrot! What's going on!?
[17] Can I use my arcade mode weapons in full game mode? Or vice versa?
[18] Can I do anything with Super Arcade Mode weapons or ships?
[19] What's a twiddle weapon? How do I use them?
[20] How do I play Super Arcade mode?
[21] How do I play Super Tyrian?
[22] Is there any way I can cheat?
[23] What is Destruct, and how do I play that?
[24] Miscellaneous useful stuff.
[25] The "Why the HELL would you want to do THAT!?" awards.
[26] Completely useless trivia.
[27] Rumours.
[1] What is Tyrian?
Tyrian is the latest game from Epic MegaGames; it is a vertically
scrolling Shoot'em'up game with considerably more features than any
other one on the PC. It features a complex exchangable weapon system
allowing up to 300 different combinations of weapons, and several
different forms of play. And it's a darn good game, too. ;)
[2] Where can I get the shareware version of Tyrian?
Most major ftp sites should have a copy by now. It can be found, in
particular, on ftp.uml.edu, or wuarchive.wustl.edu, either in the games
uploads directory, or the Epic MegaGames specific directory.
Users in the UK may prefer to get their copy from ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk or
ftp.demon.co.uk.
[3] How much is in the game?
The shareware version is a 1.3mb zip file. The shareware version of the
game contains 7 standard levels and several more secret levels. All of the
play modes are active.
The registered version is 9mb in total, or 10mb for v2.0, provided either
on multiple disks or on Cd-Rom.
The main differences between v2.0 and v1.1 are as follows:
- SuperTyrian is accessible;
- There are more weapons and ships available;
- Bosses have a visible life bar;
- An indicator is shown to show when special weapons are available;
- "Bubbles" is now the only secret level from Tyrian accessible in the
unregistered version (there's a datacube telling you this; yes, the
cube turns up even in the registered version.. gee, thanks ).
This is because the extra two levels have been added at the end.
- The fourth episode, "The end of Fate" is added; (registered only)
- There is a custom ship editor program included; (registered only)
The map of the levels is as follows:
EPISODE 1 (all secrets found):
----- Link
--S-- Secret link
--A-- Link followed automatically if not in Full Game Mode
--* *-- Overlap - no actual connection
/----S--> Soh Jin /--S-> Asteroid ?--\
| V | ^ V
|----------->+---------> Asteroid 1 ---*|*------> Savara ---\
| ^ | S | ^ |
Tyrian | \A-> Asteroid 2 ---*|*-----/ | V
| |----\ | | | Bonus
|----S--> Bubbles | \--S-> MineMaze----/ |
| /----| V
|----S--> Holes | Mines
| /-----/ |
\----S--> Windy V
Deliani
|
V
Savara V
|
V
Assassin
|
V
** ALE **
^ |
\-/
(15 levels)
Shortest route: Tyrian -> Either asteroid -> Savara -> Bonus -> Mines
-> Deliani (6 levels, 50%)
Longest route: Tyrian -> SohJin, Bubbles, Holes or Windy -> Asteroid 2 ->
MineMaze -> Asteroid ? -> Savara -> Bonus -> Mines -> Deliani
(9 levels, 75%)
EPISODE 2:
/--> Gem War ---> Markers ---/--> Mistakes ----\
S S |
| | V
Torm ----> Gyges ----> Bonus ----> Asteroid City ----> Soh Jin
| |
| A
/--- Botany A (not known yet)
|
/-S--> Sawblades ---------\
| V
Gauntlet --> Ixmucane --> Bonus --> Stargate ------------------------>Camanis
| ^ |
\-S--> Asteroid City -----/ |
|
|
V
New Deli Lava Run --> Core --> Lava Exit --S--> Desertrun --> Harvest
| | |
V------\ \-----------------/ V
Squadron --/ Underdeli
^ (End) |
| V
Nose Drip , Left, Down,
- Your ship is surrounded by a barrier that lessens damage done to you
by collisions. Getting hit will cause parts of the barrier to go
down instead of damaging you. Bullets seem to be unaffected.
Microbomb Shower , Right, Down, Left,
, Up+Fire
[ This may not be the exact motion but it WILL give you the power
fairly often especially if repeated. If it itself is not the
correct motion, it is certainly some permutation or translation
of these movements.]
- The ship will *FLOOD* the screen with MicroBombs.
*Microcorp* Stalker (yes, it's different)
Energy Barrier Up, , Left, Down,
Repulsor Hold fire, alternate left/right
- Just like the special weapon, except for the shield drain.
Prototype Stalker-C
Bomb Spread Right, Left, Right, Down+Fire
(more bombs than the Fang)
Post-it Sweep Up, Left, , Down, Right, Up
- Five post-it bombs are fired, very quickly, from the front. Armor
drain.
Gencore Phoenix
Ice Spread Down, Up+Fire
- Five ice shots; they behave like the special ice weapon.
Armor Boost Hold Down, Fire twice
Gencore Maelstrom
Armor Boost Hold Down, Fire twice
Super Carrot
Ice Spread Down, Up+Fire
Hot dog feast Up, Down+Fire
- Five hotdog shots fired forwards. Armor drain.
Stalker 21.126 (the modified SuperTyrian ship, and the twiddlers dream)
Armor Boost Hold Down, fire twice
Ice Spread Down, Up+Fire
Hot Dog Feast Up, Down+Fire
Missile Spread Right, Left, Down, Up+Fire
Bomb Spread Right, Left, Right, Down+Fire
Energy Barrier Up, , Left, Down,
Electric Shot X, X+Fire
X can be any direction except down for a
shot in that direction
Repulsor Hold fire, alternate Left/Right
Build sidekicks:
Build Companion Gerund Down, Right, Up+Fire
Build FrontBlaster II Up, Right, Down+Fire
Dragonwing (two-player)
Symbiosis Hold Down, Fire twice
- Drain your shield to increase the other player's armour.
Repulsor Hold fire, alternate Left/Right
Ice Spread Down, Up+Fire
A few notes: Be very careful with the repulsor, since you may activate
it accidentally while firing and dodging. The Armor Boost becomes
incredibly useful when you have a high-energy shield like the HXS-B -
use it as soon as you start when things are quiet and you'll boost your
hull fairly majorly.
[20] How do I play Super Arcade mode?
Super Arcade Mode is a special mode where you will play an unusual ship
with unique weapons. You get a fixed 3 lives; and you have a super weapon
that is always active.
To play Super Arcade Mode, you must type a password at the main menu to
select the ship you want to play. Here is a list of the ships available,
their passwords, and their weapons. As mentioned before, their specials
are available all the time.
Instead of the standard way of upgrading weapons, the weapon pods will
be gold with a colour in the middle. Each colour is a different
weapon and the power of the weapon is determined by the number you've
collected of that colour. You start with Level 1 Red. Some of the ships
available here are clones of other ships that you can play during the normal
game mode. If this is the case, and you have v1.1, then you'll usually find
you can use the twiddles of the ship of which the one you are flying is a
clone.
Ship: Experimental PQZ Password: TECHNO
Special: Soul of Zinglon + Minefield (RECHARGE):
A standard Soul, plus a large number of mines cover the screen.
Red: Hyper Pulse - A fairly standard cannon.
Blue: Zica Laser - A large laser beam, which can shoot several enemies
at once.
Green: Scatter Wave - Shoot to the sides. A tad useless... (Andrew
Schultz suggests this power-up was put there by the
enemy to handicap your ship.. ;) )
Purple:Guided bombs - Just like the ones you can get in full game.
Black: Heavy Missile Launcher
Ship: Stormwind the Elemental Password: STORMWIND
Special: Sandstorm (RECHARGE)
Just like the minefield, but the particles are smaller.
Red: Mega Pulse - Another relatively standard cannon.
Blue: Lightning Cannon - A big energy bolt forward, and a smaller ball
backwards. The ball is fired at an angle from
your ship, and inherits your velocity if you move.
Green: Sonic Wave
Purple:Protron Wave - Shoot blue, whirling balls.
Black: Rear Mega Pulse
Ship: Tx SilverCloud Password: UNKNOWN (yes, we know it's this ;) )
Special: Proton Dispersal (RECHARGE)
A series of mines dropped in a spiral around the ship.
Red: Multicannon - Have a guess (all the reds are basic..)
Blue: Zica Laser - As PQZ
Black: Rear Heavy Missile Launcher - Two missiles fired across each other.
Green: Laser - A constantly fired, TRUE laser, that does major
damage if held on target.
Purple:Vulcan Cannon - Just like in full game.
Ship: Captured U-Fighter Password: ENEMY
Special: Dual Vulcan (RECHARGE)
A very fast series of forward shots. Not enough to destroy a wave. This
ship sucks.
Red: Vulcan Cannon - This is what the game calls it but it's not the
same as the normal one. It only fires at an angle to
the sides. Yeuch. This ship REALLY sucks.
Blue: Mega Cannon - Small blue/white ball shots.
Black: Guided Microbombs
Green: Rear Mega Pulse
Purple:Protron
Ship: Foodship Nine Password: WEIRD
Special: Banana Bomb (RECHARGE)
A large number of bananas are fired from the back of the ship.
Red: Banana Blast - A standard gun, except it fires bananas.
Blue: Orange Juicer - A series of oranges in a helix around your ship.
Black: HotDog Front - Similar to the banana blast, but slower and more
damaging. Fires hot dogs. In buns. With mustard.
Purple:Protron Z - White circular bullets.
Green: Wild Balls - As full game.
Ship: Ninja Star Password: STEALTH
Special: Blade field (RECHARGE)
Just like minefield, but with whirling shurikens.
Red: Starburst - Semi-random angled side fire. Not a good start..
Green: Poison bomb - A standard bomb, but when it hits, it splits.
Blue: Guided Bombs - Similar to standard homing bombs but faster.
Black: Shruiken(sp?) field- Two blades, similar to those in the field.
Purple:Protron wave
Ship: Nort-Ship Z Password: NORTSHIPZ
Special: Nortship Dust (CONSTANT)
As you move left or right with this ship, a blue dust will be released
from the sides. It damages anything it touches.
Special: Astral Zone (RECHARGE)
This is a *Weird* one. It turns the background into a starfield and
fills the screen with Zica lasers. It seems that moving, or firing, while
the zone is actually in effect produces more lasers.
Red: Super Pulse - Similar to the normal cannon, but wider range.
Grey: Spreader - Similar to the U-fighter's "vulcan" cannon.
Green: Spreader B - Fires pearl-windish spheres at 45 degrees. When
they hit, they release a number of damaging dust
particles AND bounce off. (Overrated - quite weak.)
Blue: Orange Juicer - As FoodShip Nine.
Purple:Poison Bomb - As Ninja Star.
[21] How do I play Super Tyrian?
If you have v2.0, you can play Super Tyrian by typing:
ENGAGE
On the title screen. When you do this, Susan will say "Data Acquired",
and the title screen will begin to blur and fade. In Super Tyrian, all
cheats are disabled, and you have a unique ship. Difficulty level, by
default, is set to Lord of the Game; however, you can make it easier
for yourself, and only get Suicide difficulty, if you hold down the Scroll
Lock key while the screen is fading.
However, SuperTyrian does introduce a twist regardless - line of
sight. Only the area in front of your ship will be visible; the rest of
the screen will be faded out. This happens on some levels of v2.0 anyway,
but it happens on all levels in SuperTyrian. It does have the disadvantage
that it slows the game down, but it's still a very cool effect.
[22] Is there any way I can cheat?
Yes, there's four ways. The first way is only for people who really don't
believe in earning your priveleges and such.. Instead of typing TYRIAN to
start the game, type FILE0001 LOOT but do *NOT* hit return. Now hold down
the ALT key on the main keyboard, and type 254 on the numeric keypad.
(A small square should appear on the command line.) Release ALT, and press
RETURN. Start a 1 player full game, and you'll have 1 Million credits!
(Make sure the word LOOT is typed in caps.)
The other way is actually just as much a cheat, but it doesn't use a cheat
code; it uses a loophole in the game itself, so you may feel better using
this. Besides, it lets you have technically infinate money. Kit your ship
out so that you can fire forwards well, and can defend against bullets from
the side, but so that your fire range isn't TOO spread out (level 4
multicannon, level 3 sonic wave works well). Get to the secret level
"ASTEROID?" by whatever route. In this level, you'll notice that there are
turrets that fire unusual things at you - grey bubbles, missiles, etc. At one
point in the level, a turret firing those grey bubbles (LOTS of them!) appears
as a mid-stage boss.
When you get there, move your ship into the corner such that you can
kill the bubbles as he fires them, but such that you are not in fact shooting
him. Every time you kill a bubble, 100 points; and you'll be killing lots
of them. As long as you're defended on the sides, he probably won't be
able to hit you with any; neither you, nor he, will ever die. Weigh down
the fire button and go and have a cuppa, do the crossword, whatever.. and
come back to a massive score. Then, kill the turret normally, finish the
level and go and upgrade your ship rather a lot. ;) (Don't leave it TOO
long, though - an overflow will crash the game.)
The other two ways of cheating are not money cheats, but downright cheats.
During play, hit F2, F3 and F6 together to become immortal. (The string
"Cheaters always prosper" should pop up at the bottom of the screen. Your
shield and armor will still be drained - you'll just be able to play on
with zero armor). There is also a cheat to skip a level, which involves
hitting F2, F6 and F7; however I found that most of the time just hitting
these together doesn't work; however, fiddling around with them will
eventually work.
[23] What is Destruct, and how do I play that?
Destruct is a small, hidden subgame. It is a variant of Scorched Earth,
with more variety, and played in real-time.
To play Destruct, simply type the word "destruct" at the main menu. Press
F1 to view the keys. By default, the computer will play the left hand player,
but you can turn this off and play 2 player by pressing F10. A second press
will return you to 1 player mode.
Destruct offers you five types of game:
5-Card War: Each of the players recieves five randomly selected vehicles.
Destroy all the opponent's vehicles to win!
Traditional: One tank each. He who doesn't die, wins.
Heli Assault: Fly your helicopters in against the computer's (or second
player's) guns.
Heli Defence: The same in reverse.. shoot down the computer's helicopters
before they destroy your guns.
Outgunned: One player gets several jumpers and helicopters.. the other
just gets guns.
The types of vehicle that are available as follows:
Gun: Choose angle with left/right and force with up/down.
There are several types of gun, which fire different types
of ammo.
Helicopter: Arrow keys steer the copter around; it always fires at
45 degrees downwards. If you switch away from the copter
while it's in flight, it will fall out of the sky!
Jumper: While on the ground, it shouts upwards. Press up to make
it jump in the air; while in the air, it fires downwards.
Repulsor: Can't move and can't fire. But if you select it, and hold
down fire, all the opponent's bullets will be pushed away
from it, just like the Repulsor special in the game. It's
kinda fun to make them shoot themselves. ;)
Each vehicle has different weapons. Some are more powerful than
others, but after firing a powerful weapon you will have to wait a while
before you can fire again, whereas weak weapons will have a far shorter
reload time!
[24] Miscellaneous useful stuff.
THE HELP SHIP: Whenever you are low on armor and the alert is sounding,
watch for a little red ship that drops from the top of the screen, pauses in
the middle, then heads up top again. Shooting that ship will drop you an
armor bonus. If you are deep into alert (the alert noise gets faster the
nearer you are to death), the bonus won't be enough to get you out of it,
and you may have to wait for a second Help Ship. Note: The Help Ship does
not fire, and crashing into it does not destroy it or you.
BONUS LEVEL: Do not touch your sidekicks on the bonus level. The awards
are FAR greater for shooting down the layouts with a standard weapon than
for gunning the lot down with specials! Note also that sometimes a
large enemy from the layout will swoop downwards. Destroying that will
generally get you a good bonus - generally at least a small gem.
GAMMA CORRECTION: Just like Doom, Tyrian has Gamma Correction. Press F11
during a game to cycle through the different levels.
SHOT LEADING: On levels where the screen scrolls left and right, you can
guide your shots left or right by steering (you are actually scrolling the
screen under the bullet rather than the bullet itself).
[25] The "why the HELL would you want to do THAT" awards.
#1: Start the game with 'FILE0001 death'. As soon as you start any level,
you die immediately.
#2: Start Tyrian with FILE0001 CONSTANT. You can't buy any weapons, and the
ship uncontrollably flies left and right, constantly firing.
[26] Completely useless trivia.
- "Tyrian" means 'red or purple', or 'a native of Tyre'.
- If you scan the web for "Tyrian" with a loose Lycos(tm) search, you'll
find (amongst other things) a poem called "Ode on the death of a favourite
cat by drowning in a pool of goldfish".
- The computer voice in Tyrian is called Susan.
- The Tyrian logo reads the same when turned upside down. (It does not *look*
exactly the same, though - the y and the a change.)
[27] Rumours.
- There are other cheat codes. F2+F3 + (F4, F5, or F6) generates "Cheaters
always prosper."; F2+F3+F4 twice makes the word "Destruction:" appear
in the bottom box.
- There is another difficulty level, "Insanity", that can be reached
by tweaking the save game file.
--
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