 THE SENTINEL
 Firebird 1987

 CONTROLS : Keyboard, Cursor, Kempston

 NOTE : It is strongly recommended that you play this game at a speed
        setting of at least 150% of the Spectrum.
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 AIM : The object of the game is to absorb the Sentinel and replace
him as ruler of the landscape. Once achieved, you may hyperspace into
a new world to begin the struggle afresh.

 GAMEPLAY : Once you have loaded the game, the title screen will be
displayed. Press any key and you will be asked to input a landscape
number from 0000 to 9999. After you have entered the landscape number
and hit return, you will be prompted for an 8-digit secret entry code,
unless you choose landscape 0000, which does not require an entry
code.

 After a short delay you will be shown an aerial view of the selected
landscape which shows the relative positions of the Sentinel (standing
on the tower - he may be a little difficult to spot, owing to the
monochrome graphics!) and the Sentries, if any. Pressing any key will
take you onto the landscape's surface. The Sentinel and sentries will
be inactive until you expend or absorb energy. This allows you to have
a look around and plan your assault on the Sentinel.

 ABSORPTION : Once activated, the Sentinel and Sentries slowly rotate,
scanning the landscape for squares which contain more than 1 unit of
energy. This means you! The various objects contain different amounts
of energy:

 TREE     - 1 unit	- Will not be absorbed by Sentinel/Sentry
 BOULDER  - 2 units
 ROBOT    - 3 units     (you!)
 SENTINEL - 4 units     }  Will not be
 SENTRY   - 4 units     }  absorbed by
 MEANIE   - 1 unit      }  Sentinel/Sentry

 If they can see a square with more than 1 unit of energy, the
Sentinel or Sentry will reduce the energy to 1 unit by absorbing 1
unit at a time and creating a Tree at some random point on the
landscape. Therefore a Robot will be reduced to a Boulder, and a
Boulder to a Tree.

 The total amount of energy in a landscape remains constant, so if a
unit of your energy is absorbed, a Tree will be randomly place on the
landscape.

 CREATION : You can also absorb and create objects. You do this by
turning on your sights and centering them on the square surface below
the object to be absorbed or created. Boulders, however, act as an
extension of the square surface and the sights should thus be aimed at
the side of the Boulder. Boulders can be stacked and have things
placed on top of them. This means that you can gain height by creating
a stack of Boulders with a Robot on top, and then transferring
yourself to that Robot. (See moving, below). From those high vantage
points, you can absorb the Sentries and maybe even the Sentinel
himself.

 The amount of energy you have is shown at the top left of the screen
in the form of Robot, Boulder and Tree icons. A coloured (non-blue)
Robot icon is worth 15 energy units.

 MOVING : To move around the landscape, you must create a Robot and
then, with the sights still on, press the transfer key. You will now
be in the new Robot, facing your old Robot, which you can now absorb.

 WARNING : The indicator on the top right of the screen is the scan
warning. If a Sentinel or Sentry spots you, this indicator will be
filled with specks and you will hear a warning buzz. You have about 5
seconds to move out of view before your energy is drained 1 point at a
time. Once all of your energy has been drained, then you have been
absorbed and the game ends.

 If the warning indicator is only half-filled with specks, this means
that the Sentinel or Sentry can see you but cannot see the square that
you are stading on, which means that it cannot absorb your energy. In
this situation, it looks for a Tree near you and turns it into a
Meanie.

 The Meanies' job is to flush you out, which it does by forcing you to
Hyperspace. The Meanie rotates quickly, making a low clicking sound,
until it can see you. You will then Hyperspace to a new location.

 HYPERSPACING : Hyperspacing effectively wastes 3 units of energy, so
try to avoid using it. It creates a new Robot in a random position and
automatically transfers you to it, leaving your old Robot behind. You
will end up at the same height or lower but never on your original
square. If you Hyperspace will less than 3 units of energy, you are
destroyed.

 Once the Sentinel has been absorbed, you can no longer absorb energy,
although you can still create objects and transfer to other Robots.
When you Hyperspace while standing on the Sentinel's tower, you will
be given the 8-digit entry code for a new landscape. Which one it is
depends on the equation:
 Landscape given = present landscape number + energy left

 COMMENTS : "Highly playable and addictive, The Sentinel is one of
those rare games that makes owning a computer a delight."
 RATING : 97% (CRASH #40, May 1987)

 NOW : Still a brilliant game, THE SENTINEL did appear briefly in a
rather garish 16-bit incarnation on the ST and Amiga. An updated
version with ULTIMA UNDERWORLD-like texture mapping would be an
awesome game!

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 KEYS : Pan left        - S
        Pan right       - D
        Pan up          - K
        Pan down        - M

        Create Tree     - T
        Create Boulder  - B
        Create Robot    - R
        Sights on/off   - SPACE

        Hyperspace      - H
        U-turn          - U
        Absorb          - A
        Transfer        - Q

        Quit            - BREAK
        Pause           - P
        Unpause         - ENTER
        Music on/off    - Z