🚀 go-pugleaf

My Unofficial Tyrian FAQ, v0.1

Send additions and modifications to ma...@antelope.demon.co.uk

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 shareware version?
[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 Shareware version?
[8]  How do I get the registered version?
[9]  What's the best ship configuration to get?
[10] What are these special weapons?
[11] Where are the secrets?
[12] How do I play Super Arcade mode?
[13] What is Destruct, and how do I play that?

[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 wuarchive.wustl.edu.

[3]  How much is in the Shareware version?
  It 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, and all the secrets currently listed are available.

[4]  What's the difference between these play modes?
  Tyrian offers a large number of different, selectable, modes of play:
  - Arcade Mode
  - 2-Player Arcade Mode
  - Super Arcade Mode
  - Network/Serial Mode
  - Full Game Mode
  There's another hidden game in there, but more on that later... ;)
  Arcade Mode is basically your standard progressive shoot-em-up game.
Killing certain enemies will drop off bubbles; collecting these allows
you to change your weapons around and to upgrade the ones you have.
  2-Player Arcade Mode is a cooperative two player game with the arcade
mode rules, but with a new twist.  Both players' ships can function
independantly, but if you wish the two ships can join together.  If this
happens, one player controls the motion, while the other play controls
a fully rotatable gun that is only available while they are connected.
  Super Arcade Mode is a secret mode, discussed later on.  It allows you
to play arcade mode with one of several special types of ship, most of
which are not available in any other mode.  The bubbles are of different
types, and every one of these ships has a unique set of changable weapons.
  Network/Serial Mode ... ?
  Full Game Mode is the campaign game.  In this mode, you collect money
rather than upgrades for killing enemies.  This money can be spent on
upgrading and customising your ship at will.  In addition, data cubes can
be gotten by killing certain enemies; these will later reveal messages
which reveal more of the plot and possible hints as to later stages.
Also, you will have the option to choose your own path through the levels,
unlike Arcade Mode, where the route is fixed.

[5]  Sometimes I find the ship constantly moves in one direction.  What's
     happening?
  This appears to be a bug.  A similar symptom can also happen on the
scrolling data viewer.  Trying to move in the opposite direction will not
work.  To rectify it, when playing on the keyboard, wait for the ship to
reach the extreme point of whichever direction it is moving (the left edge if
it's going left, etc), and then tap the key for that direction.  90% of the
time, this will sort it out.
  Be warned: because your ship starts at the bottom, it is possible for
the ship to have this bug active and you to not notice it until you dodge
upwards to avoid that bullet.. and don't move.

[6]  Are there any other bugs?
  Only one I've found so far: the simoultaneous death bug.  On the Deliani
stage at least (it may happen on others as well), if you die at the exact
same time as the boss, the game will scroll endlessly, and crash when it
reaches the end of the level.  This normally happens if he hits you with a
green bolt at just the moment you launch that last big plasmastorm.  You
cannot prevent the scrolling endlessly, but you can prevent the crash by
calling up the control screen with Escape and quitting the level.
Unfortunately, this means you'll have to do Deliani again...

[7]  What happens when I finish the Shareware version?
  If the game is in Arcade mode, your game is over.
  If, however, you're in full game mode, you will be able to start the
game over, possibly choosing a different route and/or finding more
secrets.  You will keep all the money and weapons you have earnt so far,
meaning you can build your ship up greatly.
  The other thing that (hopefully) happens is that you rush out and
order the registered version!

[8]  How do I get the registered version?
  Check out the ORDER*.DOC files in the archive for more details on this.

[9]  What's the best ship configuration to get?
  Entirely up to you!  Almost all of them are powerful.  The one item that
is truly worth special mention is the Plasma Storm sidekick.  It is the
most powerful in the game.. if you can hold the Plasma Storm on a boss
for about a second, it'll probably die just from that!
  My personal favourite configuration is:
    Front Gun:  Multi Cannon
    Back Gun:   Fireball
    Left Kick:  Plasma Storm
    Right Kick: Phoenix Device

[10] What are these special weapons?
  Special weapons are gained during the arcade mode.  To make them available
in the arcade game, you must have reached power level 8 (in practice this is
equivalent to having 8 lives).  It *IS* possible to gain a special weapon
during full game mode, although lots of weird things happen in full game
mode later on.. (see the secrets)
  Specials can be of two types.  Those marked (RECHARGE) must be left for
a while between firings.  Those marked (CONSTANT) may be fired repeatedly,
and in some cases this is essential.  Specials are fired with the main fire
button, but you must release and press it in order to fire - it will not
fire if you just hold down the button.
  The special weapons are:

Attractor (CONSTANT):  Attract powerups/coins to you. (tap repeatedly)
Repulsor (CONSTANT):  Push shots away from you. (tap repeatedly)
Ice Beam (CONSTANT):  A special shot which will prevent the ship it hits
                      from firing or changing direction.
Super Laser (?):  Not seen it, myself.
Pearl Wind (CONSTANT):  A series of white balls fired at differing angles
                        from your ship.
Flare (RECHARGE):  A large number of ground explosions.
Soul of Zinglon (RECHARGE):  A beam of light that expands and contracts.
                             Any enemy caught in it gets hurt.

[11] Where are the secrets?
  There's such a lot of secret stuff in this game it needs to be split up,
so Super Arcade Mode and Destruct have been given seperate sections.  Here's
the list of secret stuff I've discovered or heard of so far in the actual
game.  Contributions welcome!  (These are for full game mode unless they
state otherwise.  Some may work in both.)
  Note about secret levels:  Once you collect the orb that gives you access
to one, you must complete the current level as per normal before you get
to the secret level.  If you fail a secret level you can NOT make a
second attempt!  Some secret levels have secret levels within them, but
I haven't found a way of reaching them (although I've seen an orb).

FOR THE TOUGH:  When the game asks you to select your difficulty level,
type a capital G (shift-G).  A new level, "Impossible", will appear at the
bottom of the list!

A GOOD START:  At the very beginning of the game, a batch of U-fighters
zoom down dead vertical to the bottom of the screen and then track
back up again on a diagonal.  Without destroying any of them, let them
reach the bottom and move back in the diagonal and then fry the leader
with a sidekick.  He will drop a Rear Weapon PowerUp pod!  (Note: you
will not get the pod if your sidekick weapon kills any other ship in
the wave at the same time as the leader.)

SECRET LEVEL "HOLES":  Erm, there is one. ;)  All I know is:  Immediately
after the computer voice on the first level says "Danger", and the screen
displays "Approaching enemy platforms", a wave of circular ships enters on
the left.  Getting to the level seems to have something to do with that
wave, and/or the platform they are guarding.

SECRET LEVEL "SOH JIN":  After you fly through the spikes on the first
level, you are attacked by several waves of small ships, followed by a
wave of five ships heading across the screen travelling at different speeds.
Sometimes there will be a second ship behind the one in the centre.  If
there is, shoot it to reveal a glowing sphere, and pick it up for the
secret level.  I'm not absolutely positive as to what makes the second ship
appear, though.  My current guess is:  Earlier in the wave, near the very
beginning, an identical wave of ships appears.  If you do NOT shoot any of
them, the second ship will show up (makes sense).

SECRET LEVEL "ASTEROID?":  On Asteroid 1, there is a small platform with a
face on it.  Destroy this face with a sidekick to reveal the orb.

SECRET LEVEL "MINEMAZE":  On Asteroid 2, there is a place where there are
three faces on a platform arranged like this:  ,',  .  Shooting the one on
the maximum right with a sidekick will reveal the orb.

HELP ON ARCADE:  These faces take on a new meaning in the arcade mode.
Destroy any one WITHOUT using a sidekick to get four power-up orbs.

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!

CARROT FROM NOWHERE:  Sometimes, (it may be something to do with your
difficult level selection), immediately after you complete the
game in Full Game mode, you will be returned to the start as usual but the
layout of your ship will have changed!  If you examine the upgrade
ship display, you'll discover your ship has been changed to type "Super
Carrot", and your front and rear weapons have become "Banana Blasters".
The Super Carrot actually has a higher armor level than any other ship
available in this mode!
  Note:  Do not sell the Super Carrot.  If you sell the Banana Blasters, you
can get them back, but if you sell the Super Carrot, it's gone for good!

[12] 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 3 lives, but 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.

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:  Flare Laser    - A large laser beam, which can shoot several enemies
                        at once.
Green: Side fire      - Shoot to the sides.  A tad useless...
Purple:Homing bombs   - Just like the ones you can get in full game.
Black: Double missile

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 Fire - 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: 4 way Angle    - Four angular bullets in a spread fire.
Purple:Whirl Fire     - Shoot blue, whirling balls.
Black: Side Fire

Ship:  Tx SilverCloud          Password: UNKNOWN
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:  Flare Laser    - As PQZ
Black: Missile Cross  - Two missiles fired across each other.
Green: Tight Beam     - 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.
Blue:  Spark Balls    - Small blue/white ball shots.
Black: Homing Bombs   - As full game.
Green: Side Fire
Purple:Side Whirl Fire

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 Whirl   - A series of oranges in a helix around your ship.
Black: Hot dog shot   - Similar to the banana blast, but slower and more
                        damaging.  Fires hot dogs.  In buns.  With mustard.
Purple:Egg bullet     - White circular bullets.  They must be eggs.
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: Gas bomb       - A standard bomb, but when it hits, it splits.
Blue:  Fast bombs     - Similar to standard homing bombs but faster.
Black: Blade fire     - Two blades, similar to those in the field.
Purple:Whirl fire

[13] 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.

  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!

--