Sonace
Manual
Story
The year was 2056, 8 years after World War III. Mankind was at peace. Humans finally realized that they could not continue killing each other. A new renaissance had begun and science had advanced beyond anyone's expectation.
Herbert Langley, one of the greatest minds of the era discovered a way to create complex biological circuits the size of microorganisms; micro biotechnology was born. This was the greatest invention since the cold fusion battery. Xenicorp, one of the biggest corporations in the world contacted Dr. Langley in an attempt to get their hands on this new technology before anybody else. Dr Langley knew this technology in the wrong hands could be very dangerous and refused to sell his research. But as it has always been, humans are easily seduced by power and Hank Ryoji, Dr. Langley's best friend and right hand sold all the information and joined Xenicorp. When Dr. Langley found out about his friend's betrayal, he ran away to prevent further damage. After all, only he knew all the intricacies of micro biotechnology.
24 years later…
With the use of Dr. Langley's technology, Xenicorp created an empire and enslaved the planet using biomechanical monstrosities, no weapon and no army was a match for Xenicorp. Only one man posed a threat to Xenicorp, the missing Dr. Langley. Not being able to fully master the micro biotechnology, Xenicorp desperately searched for Dr. Langley, dead or alive. If they could not have his wisdom nobody could.
Dr. Langley, hidden somewhere in Siberia, worked day and night on a way to stop Xenicorp. He used all his genius to create a boy; this boy would be the only hope for human kind against Xenicorp. He named this boy Toji.
Toji grew just like a normal child. Dr. Langley became attached to him and was waiting for the right time to tell him about his origin and his destiny, but Xenicorp found them before he could do this and captured Toji and killed Dr. Langley.
Toji was imprisoned inside the top-secret underground Complex A where Xenicorp has been studying him in order to unlock his secrets.
Getting Started
Minimum System Requirements:
- 700MHz Pentium-compatible processor
- 256MB of System RAM
- 3D Accelerator with 64MB of Video RAM
- Windows 2000 or higher
- DirectX 9.0b installed
- 100MB of free hard-disk space
- CD-ROM Drive, Mouse, Keyboard
Installation:
- Insert the Sonace game CD. The installer will begin automatically.
- Review the license agreement. In order to continue with the installation, you must agree with its terms.
- Determine the directory to install to. You may accept the default or specify a different location.
Running Sonace:
When first installing Sonace, you may choose to run the game after the installation has successfully completed. If the game has already been installed, it can be run from the desktop icon or from the start menu under the folder "Sonace."
Un-installation:
Sonace can be uninstalled from the start menu under the folder "Sonace." Alternately, it can be uninstalled from the "Add/Remove Programs" icon in the control panel. A third way is to insert the Sonace game CD, which will automatically run the uninstaller.
Mechanics
Overview:
Sonace is a free roaming adventure where players take control of Toji as he explores the depths of the underground facility where he is being kept. He will have to escape his imprisonment, but along the way he will experience an onslaught of special effects, including levels that come alive to the bass pumping, and much more.
There are seven distinct levels of evolution Toji may obtain; with berserk (form six and the starting form) being the highest and zero form the lowest. Toji will have to face enemies and bosses in order to escape, and Toji will take damage from them if he fails to dodge their attacks. When his health drops below zero, he will regress to the next lower form and his health will be at 100% again. If Toji's health reaches zero and he is in the zero form, the game will be over. Toji loses some pieces of his armor with the loss of each form.
Getting Started:
When the game first starts, you will arrive at the title screen. Also, if Toji fails in his escape, you are returned to the title screen. In multi-player, each player becomes a ghost upon their defeat and may observe the rest of the match as a passive participant. Once only one player is left undefeated, that player is declared the winner and all players are returned to the title screen. Finally, you may return to the title screen from in-game at any time by pressing the Esc key on the keyboard.
Menu options are selected by left-clicking them with the mouse. To start a single-player game in story mode, select "New Game" from the title screen and then "Solo Game." A new game will then begin. To start a multi-player game, select "New Game" and then "LAN Game." For multi-player, one computer needs to act as the host, while all the rest will act as clients. The host should select "Host." After than, all clients should click the black box to refresh the list of games. Once the hosted game has shown up in the list, all clients should select "Join." After all players are accounted for, the host should select "Start Game." On any of these menus "Back" can be selected to return to the previous menu, until the top level of the title screen is reached.
To exit the game, first return to the top level of the title screen if you are not already there. Then, select "Exit."
Graphical User Interface:
Toji: indicates Toji's current position, form, and action. Lower forms have fewer pieces of equipment.
Life Bar: remaining percent of health on Toji's current form.
Targeting Cursor: indicates the location Toji is aiming his attacks towards.
Lock-On Indicator: when fully charged, attacking will release a powerful alternate weapon attack in place of Toji's regular attack.
Controls
Toji is controlled using a mouse for attacking and a keyboard for movement.
Movement:
Toji can move right and left by using the "A" and "D" keys. The "S" key allows him to duck. Jumping is achieved with the space bar. While jumping, jump again to start hovering. Hovering lasts for up to four second. You can move left and right while hovering, and crouching will drop Toji to the ground again. Jumping while in a hover executes a double jump. While on the ground, the shift key sends Toji into a dash.
Attacking:
Left clicking with the mouse allows Toji to fire a weapon. By default, this is an acid-based bio-weapon attack. The left control key switches between this attack and a flamethrower, and back again. Both of these attacks simply fire in the direction that Toji is facing. Hovering the mouse over an enemy and holding down the right mouse button begins charging a lock-on. Releasing the right mouse button at any time will fire a homing shot with the alternate mode for the currently selected weapon. The more the lock-on is allowed to charge, the more damage the attack will do if it hits. Unlike normal weapons, alternate weapons can attack anywhere in relation to Toji, as long is there are no obstacles in the way.
Weapons:
Flamethrower: a short, horizontal stream of flame, causing moderate damage.
Fire Wave: a massive wave of fire flies at an enemy, causing heavy damage.
Bio Weapon: a ball of acid fires in an arc, causing low damage.
Missiles: a homing missile attempts to kamikaze at an enemy, for very low damage.
There are many combination moves and even some hidden moves left to discover, so have fun exploring and see what you can come up with.
Custom Music Play List
Sonace allows you to use your own music in-game. In order for the game to see the music, the music files must be placed in the "Audio" subdirectory inside the directory Sonace is installed. Once they are there, the options menu in-game will allow you to select which of these songs to use on the play list. While playing, the "Page Up" key moves to the next song in the play list, and the "Page Down" key moves to the previous song in the play list.