Games PC IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES User Manual
1102 Part No. X08-71301
Basic Commands
This section provides basic keyboard commands (most of which do not have buttons
onscreen). To view a full list of commands, see the “IC Commands.rtf” document in
the Goodies folder where you installed Impossible Creatures. Hotkeys can be recon gured
at the Gameplay Options screen, accessed from the 0Game Menu during gameplay.
Camera (view)
Focus on lab
................................................. HOME key
Zoom ........................................................... Mouse wheel
Pan
.............................................................. Drag+mouse wheel
Change angle
................................................ ALT+drag mouse
Reset angle and zoom to default
...................... BACKSPACE
Select unit, object, or button ..................................Left-click
Cancel order
........................................................ Right-click
Select all units of same type ..................................Double-click a unit
With unit(s) selected
Move
............................................................. Right-click new location
Attack
........................................................... Right-click enemy unit or structure
Attack-move
(attack everything on the way to destination)
...... Hold A key, left-click destination
Create group
................................................. CTRL+keyboard 0-9
Recall group
........................................................ keyboard 0-9
Queue orders (perform serially)
.............................. SHIFT+issue multiple orders
Skip movie
.......................................................... ESC
Access Army Builder from in-game
.......................... F12
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Safety Warning
Contents
About Photosensitive Seizures
A very small percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images,
including ashing lights or patterns that may appear in video games. Even people who have no history
of seizures or epilepsy may have an undiagnosed condition that can cause these “photosensitive epileptic
seizures” while watching video games.
These seizures may have a variety of symptoms, including lightheadedness, altered vision, eye or face
twitching, jerking or shaking of arms or legs, disorientation, confusion, or momentary loss of awareness.
Seizures may also cause loss of consciousness or convulsions that can lead to injury from falling down or
striking nearby objects.
Immediately stop playing and consult a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms. Parents should
watch for or ask their children about the above symptoms—children and teenagers are more likely than
adults to experience these seizures.
The risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures may be reduced by taking the following precautions:
• Play in a well-lit room.
• Do not play when you are drowsy or fatigued.
If you or any of your relatives have a history of seizures or epilepsy, consult a doctor before playing.
Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change without notice. Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places and events depicted
herein are ctitious, and no association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place
or event is intended or should be inferred. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting
the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express
written permission of Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in
this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not
give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.
© 2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Microsoft Game Studios logo are either
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries/regions.
© 2002 Relic Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.
Impossible Creatures and the Impossible Creatures logo are trademarks of Relic Entertainment Inc.
Developed by Relic for Microsoft Corporation.
Impossible Creatures, the Impossible Creatures logo, Relic, and the Relic logo are trademarks of Relic Entertainment Inc.
Uses Bink Video, © 1997-2002 by RAD Game Tools, Inc.
Uses Miles Sound System, © Copyright 1991-2002 by RAD Game Tools, Inc.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trade-
marks of their respective owners.
Welcome to Impossible Creatures...............................................2
Getting Started........................................................................3
Getting Help ...........................................................................4
Main Menu .............................................................................5
Cast of Characters...................................................................6
Gameplay ...............................................................................8
Technology Sequences........................................................... 10
Creating Creatures.................................................................12
Multiplayer Games................................................................ 26
Credits................................................................................ 28
Technical Support................................................................. 29
Basic Commands.......................................................Back Cover
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W
elcome to
Impossible Creatures
Getting Started
Welcome to Impossible Creatures™, a real-time strategy
game of combat and discovery, where imagination and
experimentation are your biggest allies in a struggle
against evil.
The year is 1937 and you are Rex Chance, renowned
world adventurer and war correspondent. You have spent
your life exploring the wilds of Africa, the ice shelves of
Antarctica, and the sultry jungles of the Amazon. You’ve
seen every beast on earth… or so you thought.
You’ve just received word from your long lost father,
scientist Dr. Eric Chanikov, who disappeared many years
before. Suddenly now he begs to see you. So you y to
the Isla Variatas in the South Pacic where he works
in the employ of wealthy industrialist Upton Julius. But
what begins as an innocent reunion quickly turns sour as
you to come face-to-face with the Sigma Technology.
What is the Sigma Technology? Imagine possessing the
ability to combine any two animals into a single creature.
Flying elephants, giant ants, amphibious sharks…
anything you can conceive. The possibilities boggle the
mind! What benets might it bring? What evil might
be wrought?
To install Impossible Creatures
Insert the Impossible Creatures CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. On the Setup screen, click
Express Install for a default installation without further prompting, or if you want to install the
game to a location other than the default, click Install and follow the instructions on the screen.
If Setup does not begin automatically, or for other pertinent information, refer to the Readme
le on your Impossible Creatures CD-ROM.
To play Impossible Creatures
Double-click the Impossible Creatures icon on your desktop.
If no icon was created, click Start, point the cursor to Programs/Microsoft Games/Impossible
Creatures, and then click Impossible Creatures.
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Getting Help
ROLLOVER TEXT
Impossible Creatures uses extensive rollover help. As you pass the cursor over any object,
command button, etc., Help text displays.
Main
Menu
Campaign
Player vs. Computer
TUTORIAL
Learn how to play Impossible Creatures. From the Main Menu, click Tutorial. You can also
access the tutorial when you start a new single player game.
COMMANDS
See “Commands” on the back cover for a list of basic keyboard commands. To view a full list
of commands, refer to the “IC Commands.rtf” document in the Goodies folder located in the
directory where you installed Impossible Creatures.
HELP ON THE WEB
To learn more about Impossible Creatures, visit www.microsoft.com/games/
impossiblecreatures or www.impossiblecreatures.com
Multiplayer
Army Builder
Tutorial
Options
CAMPAIGN
This option gives you a series of related scenarios that tell the Rex Chance story. They are
single-player stories played in sequence using predetermined victory conditions.
PLAYER VS. COMPUTER
This option gives you single skirmishes where you pick your army, the armies of your opponents,
the game type, and the map where the action occurs.
MULTIPLAYER
Join other players for real-time combat. See “Multiplayer Games” on page 26 to learn more.
ARMY BUILDER
Choose the creatures for your armies. Select from a list of readymade creatures or design
hybrids of your own. See “Creating Creatures” on page 12 to learn more.
TUTORIAL
Learn the basics for playing Impossible Creatures.
OPTIONS
Edit player prole or audio and graphics settings.
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Cast of
Characters
Rex Chance is a world adventurer, war reporter, and renowned
explorer. His innate abilities as scout and storyteller have earned
him much acclaim. Thousands of readers hang on his every
word as he spins tales of adventure in his weekly newspaper
column. But Rex carries a secret. He remembers little of
his youth. He’d trade all his adventures for his one true
quest, to search for his father, Dr. Eric Chanikov who
disappeared when Rex was just a babe. Only by nding his
father, Rex is convinced, can he hope to learn who he is and
where he came from.
Lucy Willing is a brilliant young scientist and co-developer
of the Sigma Technology. For years she has worked closely
with Dr. Chanikov helping to re ne the complexities of
the science. She believes that Sigma can be used for the
betterment of humankind. She is unaware of Upton Julius’s
true nature or of his evil intentions.
Upton Julius is a wealthy industrialist who nanced the development of Sigma and plans to use
it to guard his life of opulence. The pending war in Europe fuels his
paranoia and he plans to launch his own initiative to halt any
encroachment, letting nothing—and no one—stand in his way.
Velika LaPette is a crafty aviator with a keen tactical mind.
She has a love of ight and likes to ght dirty with poisons
and plagues. A cunning woman, perhaps she was the true
“power behind the throne.”
Whitey Hooten is an
ex-whaler who feels at home
only in the sub-zero temperatures of the Arctic. He is a
hulking and powerful man who sees compromise as a weakness. He enjoys chastising and berating his henchmen. He
is not very smart, but his brute strength and quick temper
make quite an impression on others.
Dr. Otis Ganglion is a veterinarian, but not out of any love
for animals. He developed quite a reputation creating all
kinds of strange animal hoaxes that he peddled to freak
shows across America. A diminutive man, what he lacks
in height, he makes up for with evil. He is the classic
mad scientist.
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