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A GAME CREATED BY ALIENS!
Today we present to your attention an unusual three-dimensional game by FIREBIRD - "THE SENTINEL". The description of the debut of this game will also be unusual. We offer you a kind of blend of a computer novella, a science fiction story, and a game manual. What came of this, you will judge, dear readers.
A few words about the game itself. Three-dimensional filled graphics - it seems that everyone likes this. The solution to puzzling tasks as the game progresses. The presence of an arcade element in the game, interesting sound, and the reality of what is happening - all this puts the game on par with "CASTLE MASTER", "DRILLER", and other games of this type. And yet this game is something else. Firstly, it is multi-level, and secondly, the task at each level does not change, but gradually becomes more complex. And the graphics are not quite "driller-like".
The drawbacks of the game include slow speed, which, however, is quickly forgotten and does not particularly interfere, and even on the contrary - the world of this game is perceived as something that really exists. Well, now our debut.
(C) Yuri Matveev, 1994.
THE GUARDIAN OF THE PARALLEL WORLD
------------------------
(based on the game "THE SENTINEL")
The night was unusually dark. The air smelled of withered leaves, and the dull light of the roadside lamps was reflected in the puddles. I was returning home...
THEY appeared suddenly, as if from the ground. Two figures in black blocked my way.
- Excuse me, - a voice sounded near my ear. - Can I have a moment of your time?
I stopped and tried to carefully look at THEM. Both were dressed in coal-black cloaks. Without headgear, of the same height, and seemingly looking like two drops of water.
- I’m listening, - I said calmly.
- WE need your help, - said the First. - Would you mind coming with US?
I looked at my watch. It was one o'clock in the morning.
- What happened? - I asked.
- A global catastrophe, - replied the Second without any irony.
Noticing my slight confusion, the First added from his height:
- This is a very important matter. Let’s go...
- Maybe some other time, guys, - I replied, and without turning back, I walked toward my home.
The strangers remained in place. Turning towards home, I noted with satisfaction that these two had not taken a single step. After a moment, their dark figures merged with the night darkness and disappeared into the air. Or maybe I just didn’t notice how they left?
When I opened the door to my apartment and turned on the light in the hallway, it seemed to me that someone was already in the house. "What a night this turned out to be!" - I thought, walking into the room.
THEY, like statues, stood by the window. I immediately recognized their silhouettes. Two tall black figures seemed not to have changed their poses since the last time I saw them.
I turned on the light in the room and could now see THEM well. It was SOMETHING! Each, as if molded from cubes, was dressed in a non-reflective cloak made of an unknown material resembling plastic. And THEY had no legs! Square faces were covered with velvet masks.
When one of the visitors turned to me in profile, I noticed that he had no arms. That is, his torso was of perfect cylindrical shape. In bright light, my guests resembled ancient statues of unknown gods.
Now I understood that they were NOT PEOPLE! What the hell is this? I flopped down on the couch, unable to utter a word.
- Understand, you are very much needed, - the First began without any preamble. His voice sounded quiet but clear.
I wondered HOW they spoke? Or was it telekinesis? I nervously pulled out a pack of cigarettes, rummaged through my pockets, and clicked the lighter. The cigarette smoke slightly brought me to my senses. But I remained silent.
- We have no time, - said the Second. - We ask you to listen to us carefully and... agree to our proposal.
- Who are you? - I finally asked, carefully observing my uninvited guests.
- We are sentries. From the watch unit of the Sixteenth Landscape of Our Temporal Parallel.
"All clear," - I thought, and aloud I said: - Why are you not on duty?
- That’s the whole point. A coup has occurred in Our Temporal Parallel. The Black Sentinel has come to power. We are torn from Time and Space and thrown into the abyss of Timelessness. Our civilization is on the brink of extinction. The Black Sentinel brings death to all. Including your Parallel.
- Wait... I don’t understand anything. As I guess, you are from a parallel world?
- Yes. By chance, we found ourselves near your Parallel. We have no way out. We cannot return to OUR world. The Black Sentinel has captured ten thousand worlds and has taken over Our Parallel. He has a very large army. Our resistance was quickly suppressed. Now he is the lord of the Universe. The breath of his hellish machine has already hung over you...
While the sentry was telling his dramatic story, I thought several times about the phone. Maybe I should call somewhere? And what is this invasion of my home? The story of parallel worlds - at half-past one in the morning - is too much!
But the sentry seemed to read my thoughts:
- Do you need proof? - He turned to the Second, and I heard a quiet hissing sound. The Second sentry vanished without a trace into the air.
- Now I believe, - I said nervously. - But what does this mean? Where did your... uh... partner go?
- Nowhere. He is me.
- I don’t understand?
- He is my replicant. I can REPRODUCE my copy.
- Why?
- That’s how we move in space. It’s very simple. I place my double anywhere I need and then transfer into him. And it’s also a means of protection. If you wanted to destroy me, I would, at the moment of the attack, transfer into my copy.
- Ah, that’s why there were always two of you?
- Yes.
- And now you are not afraid of me? - I barely asked when something crackled in the air, and from the void, the replicant of the sentry appeared.
- I want to believe you, - said the sentry. - And I know that you will help us.
The replicant vanished again.
- Perhaps you do not quite understand our customs, - the sentry explained, - but for us, face-to-face presence without the accompaniment of replicants is considered the highest sign of trust and friendship. "Perhaps if people did not have a pair of hands, they would also learn to reproduce replicants," - I thought.
- Alright, - I said. - What do you need from me? I hope you are not inviting me to lead your militia?
- Not quite, - the sentry said seriously. - We need the help of a high-energy humanoid capable of cleansing our world from the army of the Black Sentinel...
- Can one humanoid really handle an entire army?
- No. But we need to secure a foothold to prepare our forces and deliver a decisive blow. - The air hissed again, and next to the couch appeared the replicant. At the same moment, my interlocutor vanished, and the replicant turned to me.
- I just moved closer to you, - the sentry explained in the voice of the newly born replicant.
- Alright, alright, - I said and added, - go on.
- The Black Sentinel has deployed his sentries and Junior Sentinels to guard the captured territories. In the Lower Level Landscapes, he has only one Junior Sentinel each. They can be dealt with...
- And what about you? - I asked. - Can't you handle it?
- The Black Sentinel possesses immense energy. We cannot seriously oppose him. But you - humans - can. You have colossal energy potential. You just haven’t learned to use it yet. We have been observing your civilization for a long time and realized that you are what we need...
- So, - I said thoughtfully. - As far as I understand, you are going to teach me to use my energy potential in the fight against your Black Sentinel?
- Yes. We will open up a completely different world for you. We will teach you to move in space in a completely different, more advanced way than that used by humans. We will teach you to use energy that is currently inaccessible to you. You will become stronger than ever. We will give you the most powerful weapon of the Universe. Bioenergetic weaponry. Believe me - this is immense power and great opportunities.
- I understand everything. But understand, I have many of my own affairs: work, friends. After all, I am just tired and want to sleep. And I don’t quite understand all your problems... And your world as a whole...
- Sorry, - interrupted me the sentry. - With your colossal energy, you are practically risking nothing. Even in case of failure, you will return to your world and live as usual. No one will notice anything.
- And where are the guarantees?
- You will learn to create your own replicants. You will have the opportunity to live in the body of a replicant, repeating your body down to the atom. From your, human, point of view, you will return to your world whole and unharmed.
"And not from a human one?" - I thought, looking with interest at the unusual interlocutor.
- And for us, there is no concept of physical death, - the sentry again guessed my thoughts. - There is only energy death, when your energy is drained to Absolute Zero. But this does not apply to humans... You are more perfect beings than we are. You just do not understand this.
- But why me? Why didn’t you turn to someone else?
- No, not just you. Now sentries from many Landscapes are turning to representatives of your civilization. There are many of you. And that’s good. You are one of the chosen ones. - The sentry paused for a second and then added: - We can wait no longer. What is your decision?
I didn’t think for a second. Well, since such a serious matter has come up and the world needs saving - I agree. And I told the sentry about it.
- Just tell me more about your world, - I added. - Who are the sentries, Junior Sentinels...
- Our Parallel is divided into Landscapes - these are our lands where we live. Each Landscape has its own Guardian - Junior Sentinel. He guards the peace of the inhabitants.
The Junior Sentinel is located at the highest point of the Landscape and surveys all the space from his height.
On some strategic Landscapes, in addition to the Junior Sentinel, there are his assistants - sentries, in your terms, guards. They assist the Junior Sentinel.
The Junior Sentinel destroys intruders, enemies of our world, using the full power of his bioenergetic field. He simply drains energy from the enemy. If, of course, the intruder is within the direct line of sight of the Junior Sentinel. And the sentries, who possess less energy, can teleport the enemy to various points of the Landscape, thus also draining energy from the intruder.
- I see, - I said. - And what do you feed on? How do you replenish your energy?
- We feed on the energy of trees. We call them - "bioenergetic clumps". This is the only legal way to replenish energy...
- And the illegal one?
It seemed to me that my guest hesitated for a second.
- You can eat someone else's replicant, - for the first time during our conversation, irony sounded in the sentry's voice. But he immediately added: - However, this is the most terrible crime in our world and is punished very harshly. Up to the death energy penalty.
He paused for a moment and then continued:
- The Black Sentinel was only engaged in this before he came to power. By draining energy from peaceful inhabitants, he created a powerful army of loyal sentries and Junior Sentinels. And the time has come when he conquered our world. All Junior Sentinels were overthrown, and in their place, he installed his henchmen. Some sentries switched to his side, while many - like us - fled. Now he is also thinking about other Parallels. It is possible that you - humans - will be next.
The Black Sentinel is a vampire. He needs a lot of energy. He grows trees to increase the number of his army to conquer the Universe...
- Alright. What do I need to do? And how will I get to your world?
- We will send you there ourselves. You will become like us. You need to cleanse, as much as possible, as many Landscapes from the Junior Sentinels of the Vampire. They will rise on pedestals above each Landscape... Just remember: getting into the line of sight of the Sentinel, you risk losing energy. Make your way to the Summit through safe paths. Or behind the back of the Junior Sentinel...
- I don’t quite understand what "make your way" means? How will I move THERE?
- Like us: You place a replicant on any plane within your line of sight, and then move into him. Then you remove your replicant and look for a suitable place to move again. If you accidentally get into the line of sight of the Sentinel, he will begin to drain your energy. Then you will have to seek shelter or Unconsciously hide.
- What does Unconsciously mean?
- Your replicant will find a way out of a difficult situation by itself. Thought-form will scan the entire Landscape and find a safe place hidden from the enemy's eyes.
However, in this case, there is a danger of losing the energy of the replicant. But that’s not so scary: you can replenish energy by "eating" the trees that the Junior Sentinels grow.
- I see. And how much energy is needed to create a replicant?
- The energy capacity of your replicant is three trees. By gathering the energy of three trees, you will replenish your reserve for one more replicant... And you can get out of abysses and lowlands using stone blocks. They are placed and removed just like replicants. The energy capacity of a block is two trees. And also about the trees. You can also place them to hide from the scorching gaze of the Sentinel...
The alien from another world painted a picture that was hard to fit in my mind. I didn’t quite understand all the nuances, but the main thing was clear to me: I was being offered a war in a parallel world, in another dimension. And this war was fought by rules and laws completely incomprehensible to an ordinary person. But nevertheless, I agreed...
- Remember, on some Landscapes there is very powerful security. Vampire sentries can use Watch Dogs. These creatures will find you in any hiding place. Destroy them as soon as you notice them...
The prospect of being bitten by Watch Dogs did not suit me at all. Even if these dogs were from another world.
- And one last thing, - said the sentry. - The more energy you accumulate, the better. In this case, after freeing the Landscape, you will be able to move to distant, high-energy Landscapes. Your power will grow, and you will move toward the lair of the Black Sentinel by leaps and bounds. The Landscapes that you miss will be mastered by other people. - He paused and added: - There are many of you... There are very many of you.
I silently stood up and approached him. He already knew that I was ready to go to his world. The room became dark. But I suddenly realized that I could see in the dark. We were connected by a white energy beam. The sentry stood still. Slowly, his mask slid off his face.
I was surprised to note that he had no face: behind the mask was a light and smooth, almost featureless surface. The air smelled of electricity. I felt the floor quickly vanish from under my feet, and millions of yellow stars burst into light and then faded around me.
- If you meet the Black Sentinel THERE - send him my curse! - I heard the voice of the sentry. The echo of his words resounded across the Universe. "Curse!... Curse!" - millions of stars, galaxies, and nebulae sang.
- And say hello to MY loved ones - the sixteenth Landscape, transition frequency - 89581208... Good luck - and...
I opened my eyes and saw ANOTHER world. Mountains, gorges, chasms - almost like ours, but everything looked different. A soft green light flowed evenly from above. There was no sun here. In the distance, on a high mountain on a pedestal stood the Junior Sentinel. I immediately recognized him. He resembled my nocturnal guest. Although he was taller and a bit broader in the shoulders. From such a great distance, the Sentinel looked like a tin soldier.
I didn’t want to waste time. A tree was growing nearby.
"An energy clump? Well, let’s give it a try..." - I thought and, with an effort of will, drained its energy.
The tree vanished. And I felt my body fill with strength. Determining the optimal route to the Sentinel's pedestal, I placed a stone block nearby and, transferring my replicant onto it, moved into the double.
I saw myself from the side for the first time. Or rather, not myself, but the image in which I had come to this world: a powerful athletic figure, broad shoulders... My prototype did not evoke negative emotions in me. It was just a pity that I, like the sentries, was molded from cubes and rectangles. And there were no smooth lines.
I removed the replicant and turned one hundred and eighty degrees. Oh yes, there was an entire grove of trees there!
I transferred the replicant into the grove, took the block and the double, and, with a sense of dignity, "devoured" the trees. But the Junior Sentinel saw me... The feeling of the guard's gaze was unpleasant. I felt the pain intensifying with each passing second, and with it, my body weakened. I needed to escape. Spotting a flat area on the opposite side of the chasm, I "threw" my replicant there and quickly jumped into him. My previous double was melting away before my eyes. In a second, there was just an ordinary stone block there, and another second later - a tree grew... Then it vanished too. But instead, another one grew. The guard drained all the energy from my replicant and was now turning it into trees...
"Yes, what a nice gift I made to this monster," - I thought, gathering the newly planted trees. Having thus restored my energy, I moved on.
I reached the summit quite quickly. Behind me lay the gorges, valleys, and "gardens" I had "cut down". I stood on a plateau, where the pedestal of the Junior Sentinel of the Zero Landscape rose. He stood with his back to me and did not see me. Two stone blocks, a replicant - and I was at the top. But I did not rush. I needed to gather as many trees as possible to increase my energy reserve...
The Junior Sentinel clearly did not expect me to be so close to my goal. His powerful energy strike was slightly delayed. I already saw the PLANE on which HE stood. Taking down my enemy was a matter of two seconds. I felt all the energy of the Sentinel transfer to me. The pedestal was empty. I carefully placed the replicant on the plane and transferred into him.
The view from the top was magnificent! I stood in the place of the defeated Junior Sentinel. Now the inhabitants of this Landscape could return to their native places. I freed the Zero Landscape from the Vampire's appointee! And new worlds awaited me. Using all the accumulated energy, I launched into the unknown...
* * *
I woke up late. The day was in full swing. Outside the window, sparrows chirped cheerfully, rejoicing in the rays of the still warm autumn sun.
What a dream! Parallel worlds, sentries, the Black Sentinel... Fantastic!
I washed, got dressed, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. And then the doorbell rang. I went to open it. My friend Tolya was standing on the doorstep.
- Hi! It’s impossible to reach you...
- Come in... Is it something urgent? - I asked, letting the guest in.
- Well, what could be more urgent than new computer games?
- I see. Well, go ahead and turn on the computer. I’ll be there in a minute.
With a cup of tea and sandwiches, I came into the room and sat on the couch. Tolya was already loading some game. When the splash screen appeared on the screen, I almost fell off the couch. The game was called: "THE SENTINEL".
- Sentinel?!! - I yelled.
- What’s wrong? - Tolya looked at me in confusion.
- I was there... - I barely managed to say.
- I don’t get it?
- Parallel world. Another dimension.
In my friend's eyes, I probably looked crazy, but I couldn’t help it. Gathering myself, I vividly described the nocturnal dream. My friend just smirked:
- Coincidence. - He cut me off. - When was the last time you went to bed on time?
- It’s not a coincidence. How could I know you would bring this game today?
- Come on, calm down. You’d better go sleep, and I’ll play for a while.
- You don’t believe me? - I said indignantly. - But it’s true!
We exchanged remarks for several minutes. I tried to prove something, but my friend didn’t want to listen at all. Eventually, we had a quarrel.
Tolya called me crazy and, gathering his things, headed for the hallway. I followed him, stubbornly repeating my point.
- Alright, that’s it, bye, - my friend said gloomily on the way and flung the door open.
At the door stood a two-meter tall sentry:
- He’s right, Tolya. We need your help.
The echo of his words, like a thunderclap, reverberated through the empty stairwell of my house...
CONTROL KEYS:
R - place a replicant.
T - place a tree.
B - place a stone block.
A - remove an object.
Q - move into the replicant.
H - hide/move to the next Landscape (after completing the task).
U - turn 180 degrees.
P - pause.
ENTER - continue the game.
Z - toggle music on/off.
C, V - choose colors.
X - return to the original color.
BREAK - interrupt the game.
Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair.
FIRE - activate the targeting for selecting a plane. Used when it is necessary to place/remove a replicant or another object.
Indication:
In the upper left corner, your energy level is displayed. In the upper right corner - the danger indicator. A black, unfilled state of the indicator means there is no danger.
A fully filled indicator means you are under attack by the GUARDIAN (SENTINEL), a half-filled indicator indicates that you are in the line of sight of the WATCHER (SENTRY).
GOOD LUCK, LIBERATORS OF PARALLEL WORLDS!
* * *
Contents of the publication: Spectrofon #07
- Экспертиза
In-depth analysis of the game "BATTLE COMMAND" (128K) for ZX Spectrum, focusing on its unique gameplay and mission objectives. The article discusses the advantages of playing on a 128K machine and offers strategies for weapon selection and mission success. Includes detailed mission descriptions and practical gameplay advice.
- Дебют - Matthias
Description of the debut for the game 'The Sentinel' by FIREBIRD, blending a novella, a sci-fi story, and game instructions.
- Экзамен
The article presents a challenge related to 'THE SENTINEL' game, asking readers for the eight-digit password of the sixtieth landscape. The successful participant will receive a fresh issue of the magazine. Readers are encouraged to send their answers to the provided address.
- Обзор
Call to programmers to submit their software for publication in Spectrofon. Offers guidelines on submission, publication, and payment details. Focus on original programs, modifications, translations, and disk versions.
- С миру по биту
Discussion of is-DOS system issues, user experiences, and developer policies.
- Тайник - Эльдар Агаев
Guide on hidden cheats in ZX Spectrum games, sharing immortality and level skipping codes.
- Горячий привет - Сергей Симонович
Humorous story explores the impact of virtual reality on society, contrasting real and virtual worlds through whimsical scenarios. Characters grapple with the concept and implications of virtual realism, leading to comedic misunderstandings. A fictional committee humorously debates the societal effects of virtual environments.
- Реклама
Advertisement section listing places to buy 'Spectrofon' magazine and collaboration invitations for developers and artists.
