Games PC SYNDICATE User Manual
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SYNDICATE
CONTENTS
Introduction.................................................................................3
Game Overview...........................................................................4
Object Of The Game...................................................................5
Quickstart.....................................................................................6
Main Menu Options................................................................14
F1. Configure Company.......................................................14
F2. Begin Mission.................................................................14
F3. Load And Save Game......................................................14
F4. Restart Game..................................................................14
F5. Quit To DOS.................................................................14
CHAPTER 1: CONFIGURING YOUR COMPANY............................................15
Select Detail To Change.............................................................15
Choosing Syndicate Color ....................................................15
Choosing Syndicate Logo .....................................................15
Choosing Syndicate Name....................................................16
Choosing Player Name.........................................................16
CHAPTER 2: SELECTING A MISSION......................................................16
World Map.................................................................................17
New Calendar.......................................................................17
Territory Box .......................................................................18
Brief .....................................................................................18
Mission Brief..............................................................................19
Mission Outline....................................................................19
Budget .................................................................................19
Buying Info ..........................................................................20
Mission Map.........................................................................20
Enhance................................................................................20
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Chapter 3: Preparing THE TEAM..................................................................................21
Agent Boxes..................................................................................................21
Group...........................................................................................................22
Equip..................................................................................................................22
Weapon Details.............................................................................................23
Purchase........................................................................................................23
Mods...................................................................................................................24
Versions ........................................................................................................24
Research Screen..................................................................................................25
Equipment Development ..............................................................................26
Modification Development............................................................................26
Adjusting Development Time .......................................................................27
Funding +.....................................................................................................27
Funding -......................................................................................................27
Development Graph......................................................................................28
Team.............................................................................................................28
Choosing Team Members.............................................................................29
Replacing Dead Agents.................................................................................29
CHAPTER 4: PLAYING A MISSION .................................................................................30
Status Boxes........................................................................................................30
Health Bar.....................................................................................................30
Changing Active Agent.................................................................................31
IPA Levels...........................................................................................................31
Adjusting IPA Levels.....................................................................................32
Scanner...............................................................................................................33
Moving The Scanner Display ........................................................................34
Moving Your Agents ..........................................................................................34
Group Mode.................................................................................................35
In The Mission Zone..........................................................................................36
Enemy Agents...............................................................................................36
Police............................................................................................................36
The Target....................................................................................................36
Vehicles.........................................................................................................37
Buildings.......................................................................................................37
Sounds ..........................................................................................................37
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Using Weapons...................................................................................................38
Grabbing Weapons........................................................................................39
Discarding Weapons......................................................................................39
Panic Mode...................................................................................................39
Self-Destruct .................................................................................................40
Dead Agents..................................................................................................40
Mission Debriefing........................................................................................41
CHAPTER 5: AFTER THE MISSION..................................................................................42
Raising Taxes................................................................................................42
Choosing A New Mission.............................................................................43
Reloading Weapons......................................................................................43
Selling Equipment.........................................................................................44
Transferring Equipment.................................................................................44
Mission Failure....................................................................................................45
Game Over...................................................................................................46
CHAPTER 6: LOADING AND SAVING A GAME.....................................................................46
To Save A Game...........................................................................................46
To Load A Game..........................................................................................47
CHAPTER 7: EQUIPMENT & TERRITORIES........................................................................47
Equipment ....................................................................................................47
Territories.....................................................................................................50
CHAPTER 8: RIVAL SYNDICATES....................................................................................51
Credits ...............................................................................................................54
Technical Support...............................................................................................57
Warranty Information .........................................................................................59
INTRODUCTION
As the world’s multinational corporations grew, their profits began to rival those of
small countries. Soon they
the highest level of world government. Smaller corporations were swallowed up like
plankton in the wake of three behemoth mega-corporations, one U.S.-based, one
Europe-based and one based in the Far East. These became the only effective world
government, unelected, undemocratic, but controlling the lives of the people through
commerce.
owned small countries and corporate influence was felt at
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Then the European corporation perfected the CHIP. Inserted in the neck, the CHIP
stimulated the brain stem to alter your every perception of the outside world. Better
than any drug, the CHIP gave hope to millions by numbing their senses to the misery
and squalor around them. One CHIP would convince users that the sun shone and
the birds sang even as they walked through the constant acid rain drizzle. Another that
they were glamorous or handsome – they’d look in the mirror and see a different face
– while the rest of the world would see them as they really were.
The CHIP was a technological revolution and sold countless units with the slogan
‘Why change your world when you can change your mind’. It also left the user open
to auto-suggestion and gave the corporations the perfect tool for manipulating the
populace.
Like any new and potent drug, control of the CHIP meant control of the people.
Soon the corporations were at war among themselves, desperate to monopolize CHIP
manufacture. But the corporations’ thirst for power left them open to infiltration.
With money earned through pirating CHIP technology, crime Syndicates bribed and
murdered their way into corporation boardrooms. It wasn’t long before the Syndicates
became the controlling force all over the globe, with a finger in the pie of every
transaction, criminal or otherwise, worldwide.
And in the crime Syndicates of tomorrow those in control don’t need uzis for back
up. Teams of custom-built cyborg agents hunt down rivals and traitors, and spread the
influence of the Syndicates across the globe.
GAME OVERVIEW
For you, the future is now.
As a young executive in a small European Syndicate you’re looking to make your
mark. You observe from a control platform in an airship high above the teeming city
streets as your agents, controlled by CHIP technology, spread the shadow of your
terror. Equipped with the latest in hi-tech weaponry, their cyborg bodies souped up
with extra powerful limbs – the best that Syndicate money can buy – your finger rests
on the pulse of their every reaction.
The CHIPs inserted in their necks control IPA (Intelligence, Perception and
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Adrenaline) levels. With these, you set the degree of an agent’s operational
independence during missions. (For information on the strategic uses of IPA Levels,
see Playing A Mission – IPA Levels.)
Each mission takes place among the canyons of concrete and steel, the mazes of streets
and sewers, that our cities have become. The population goes about its business –
moving among the traffic, commuting on trains, rushing to and from work – unaware
of the violence about to explode around them. Casualties among the good citizens in
most cases bring a swift response from local law enforcement agencies. Equip your
cyborgs with a special pass and the police believe they’re working with the authorities;
they’re free to continue the slaughter unhindered.
There are over 50 named missions for you to choose between, but before you choose
one, you need to develop an overall strategy for world domination. Tactical
considerations vital to the ascendancy of your Syndicate include the maintenance of an
adequate mission Budget, the skills and experience built up in the Cryo Chamber of
potential agents, and developing your own maneuvering skills.
A Syndicate executive must be a master of strategy, assessing a mission environment
and planning agent moves. An executive must also have the reflexes of a steroidaddicted sprinter and a remorseless lust for power to commit acts of gross violence but
sleep soundly at night.
Still think you’ve got what it takes to make it in the Syndicate?
OBJECT OF THE GAME
The aim of the game is to spread the dark stain of your Syndicate’s color across the
surface of the entire globe.
The world map is divided into various territories. From your home base in Europe
you invade adjacent territories and, through the violent subterfuge of your agents,
wrestle them from rival Syndicates. Having done so, raise taxes on the locals to
increase your profits and punish them for serving the wrong Syndicate.
But raising taxes can make you very unpopular. And furious natives leading popular
rebellions can eat into Syndicate profits. So keep an eye on foreign interests and pick
off troublemakers with your teams of agents.
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And while you’re busy expanding your Syndicate’s empire abroad, rival agents are
working in your own back yard to de-stabilize your Syndicate. Ensure agents are
briefed to weed out traitors whose actions might bring about your downfall.
By meeting all the challenges, destroying all targets and gaining control of all the
territories, your Syndicate triumphs.
QUICKSTART
Key Commands
Esc Quit to Main Menu
P Toggle Pause on/off
F1 Toggle on/off sound effects
F2 Toggle on/off music
Control D Self-destruct (if equipped with Version 2 or 3 chest)
Space Bar Go to Mission Debriefing after mission
Cursor Keys Move mission view
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Main Menu
To play Syndicate immediately, highlight Begin Mission from the Main Menu with
the cursor and left-click or press F2. Your Syndicate retains the Bullfrog name and
logo throughout the Quickstart mission.
available territory
brief
window
current tax rate
territory box
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The World Map displays the Bullfrog logo over Western Europe. At the start of a
game this is the only territory with a mission currently available. The Territory Box
with population level and tax rate information is displayed at the bottom of the screen.
(To find out more about this see Raising Taxes.) Left-click the Brief window to enter
the Mission Brief screen.
budget
mission
brief
Mission Brief Screen
additional
info price
additional
map
enhancement price
The mission name and a written mission description are revealed. To expand on the
Mission Brief left-click Info. If the Mission Description is more than one page, left-
click the arrow at the bottom of the screen to see the next page. Likewise to enhance
the Mission Map, left-click the Enhance box. Extra info and enhancements cost
money, which is deducted from the Budget figure.
At this stage you have no choice but to Accept this mission, which you do with a
left-click.
agent
boxes
group
icon
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equipment/
modification
list
equipment
inventory
agent icon
Team Selection Screen
The Team Selection screen opens. Here you Equip and Modify your agents in
preparation for the mission. All four Agent Boxes are highlighted in green, but four
agents is overkill on this first mission. Two are adequate, so de-select the other two by
right-clicking their boxes. Left-click in either of the remaining agents’ boxes and
you can start mission preparations (note the broken flashing highlight line).
Left-click Equip to reveal the equipment currently available and Purchase whatever
seems appropriate based on your judgment, budget and the mission outline. From the
equipment list, left-click a particular weapon to open the weapon description
window. The Purchase option becomes available – left-click to confirm purchase, or
left-click on the weapon window to return to the equipment display.
To Equip and Modify your agents simultaneously, left-click the group icon in the
center of the Agent Boxes.
For information on researching more equipment options and higher modification
versions, see Research.
Similarly, left-click Mods and a list of Version 1 modifications is displayed. These can
be purchased as were the weapons.
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Left-click Agent Box 2 and the agent display shifts accordingly. Equip and Modify
this agent as before. Remember, you’ve a long way to go to world domination, so be
frugal or suffer later!
Now left-click Accept and the Mission Begins.
health bar
highlighted
status box
IPA levels
weapons
display
scanner
Mission Status Screen
mission
zone
The Mission Status screen displays all the information necessary to the success of a
mission. On the left are the agent Status Boxes with agent icons. Beneath each Status
Box are the IPA Level bars.These let you adjust the cyborgs’ levels of Intelligence,
Perception and Adrenaline. For fine adjustment of these levels position the cursor and
left-click to the right of the center line. Alternatively, press both mouse buttons
together to boost all three IPA Levels to maximum. Be careful, as boosts soon wear
off and the agent’s responses suffer accordingly.
Details of this can be found in IPA Levels.
The Health Bar next to each Status Box indicates how much life is left in the cyborg.
When the white hits the floor so does the agent, who falls over in a pool of blood.
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Left-click one Status Box and it is highlighted in orange. This is the active agent.
His/her inventory of weapons is listed below. To arm an agent during the mission,
left-click the desired weapon icon from the inventory.
your agent
target locator
enemy agent (red)
Close-Up of Scanner
The Scanner shows a display of the Mission Zone with buildings displayed in blue,
road and rail routes in gray. Your agents are the yellow circles, enemy agents red and
the target a white flashing dot. The target emits a beep and corresponding radar signal
that leads your agents to him. The civilian population are a swarm of white specks,
while police are displayed as blue flashing circles. You can move around the Scanner
with the cursor and the Mission Zone display changes accordingly to reveal the new
area.
More information is available in Scanner.
In the Mission Zone your agents are numbered 1-4. To move the active agent(s),
place the cursor ahead of him/her and left-click; the agent walks toward this
location. To increase walking speed, increase the level of adrenaline at the IPA Level
bars. To move all the agents at once, first left-click the group icon in the center of
the Status Box display. While the agents are grouped, they respond to commands
as a unit.
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targeting icon
To fire, left-click a weapon icon from the inventory. Aim with the cursor and the
targeting icon appears. Now right-click with the mouse to fire. When the targeting
icon turns red your foe is within range for the chosen weapon. If you’re pressed for
time, enter Panic Mode by pressing both mouse buttons together. Agent Levels shoot
up to maximum and a weapon is drawn and fired automatically. If you now pay the
target a visit, you can teach him/her never to tangle with the Syndicate.
For details of this see Panic Mode.
After a mission you are taken to the Mission Debriefing screen.
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Mission Debriefing
If the mission has been successful, left-click Accept and you visit the World Map to
choose another territory and another mission. First, raise taxes on the citizens to boost
your remaining budget. One or two of the territories adjacent to the one in which
you have been victorious are flashing; choose between them by left-clicking, and
then left-click Brief.
If the mission is unsuccessful, any agents killed and money spent are gone for good.
After the first mission you have no choice but to bite the bullet and try again. Left-
click Brief for the same territory and you’re back at the Mission Brief screen.
For information on replacing dead agents see Team.
Note: If you have a choice of missions, you might want to come back to
any you fail later on, when you’ve gained experience of how to control and
appropriately equip your cyborg agents.
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MAIN MENU OPTIONS
Use the cursor to highlight the chosen menu option and left-click to open. You can
also do this using function keys F1 - F5 on your keyboard.
F1. Configure Company
Customize your Syndicate by choosing logo, color and name. For more information
see Configuring Your Company.
F2. Begin Mission
Pick a mission territory, equip your agents and pit your Syndicate against your global
rivals. For details see Preparing To Play Syndicate.
F3. Load And Save Game
Preserve current game status or reload previous games of Syndicate. See Loading And
Saving A Game.
F4. Restart Game
Things not progressing too well? Kinda get the feeling a particular game of Syndicate
is cursed? Simply return to Main Menu and left-click Restart Game to go back to the
beginning and start again.
F5. Quit To DOS
Logging Out message appears. You Quit Syndicate and return to DOS.
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CHAPTER 1 – CONFIGURING YOUR COMPANY
Left-click Configure Company to reveal the Select Detail To Change box.
Select Detail To Change
customize
logo and
Select Detail
Personalize your Syndicate color and logo, Syndicate name and player name here.
name
Choosing Syndicate Color
Left-click the Color And Logo option. Scroll through the color list with left-clicks
to the arrow icons, and then left-click OK when the desired color appears. There are
eight colors to choose from.
Choosing Syndicate Logo
Left-click the Color And Logo option. Scroll through the logo list by left-clicking
the arrow icons, then left-click OK when the desired logo appears. The logo list
contains 40 logos.
The chosen color/logo combination appears in the top right hand corner of the
screen.
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Choosing Syndicate Name
Left-click Company Name, type in your chosen name and confirm with a left-click
to OK.
Choosing Player Name
Left-click Your Name, type in the name of your choice and then left-click OK.
Note: If you make a mistake while typing, use the Backspace key to erase
the name one character at a time and then re-write it.
The chosen Company Name and Your Name should now appear beneath the logo
on the left hand side of the screen. Click Accept to complete the company
configuration.
Return To Main Menu
If at any time during this process you wish to return to the Main Menu, simply leftclick Menu.
CHAPTER 2: SELECTING A MISSION
Highlight Begin Mission with the cursor and left-click or press F2 to enter the
Syndicate global arena. The World Map screen is revealed.
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World Map
current tax rate
This is divided into 50 different sized territories. Color coded according to the
controlling Syndicate, the slices bear no relation to current conceptions of national
boundaries but are solely the result of decades of inter-Syndicate rivalry (see Equipment
& Territories).
After a successful mission, the World Map has changed. The territory in which you
have been successful is now your Syndicate’s color, and the Territory Box reveals
population Status and Tax Rate. These two factors go together like ham and eggs.
Raise the taxes too high and the populace gets annoyed – just check the Status! That’s
when they can become rebellious and need some discipline, Syndicate style!
territory
calendar
date
territory box
New Calendar
The day, date and year display in the top right of the screen throughout the Syndicate
challenge is reckoned according to the New Calendar (N.C.). This was introduced as
the globally accepted calendar, regardless of race and religion, when the information
revolution had progressed to such a degree that calendar differences threw up
unnecessary barriers to communication.
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Territory Box
The Territory Box gives details of:
Territory Name: Based on the traditionally most dominant nation in the territory.
Population: The higher the population, the more difficult the mission to conquer it.
But the greater the reward as you’ve more people to tax!
Current Tax Rate: As you start the game the Tax Rate for each is unknown. Only
after successfully completing a mission is the territory’s Tax Rate revealed. For details
of how and when you can increase this figure see Raising Taxes.
Own: The Syndicate currently in control of this territory. There are seven Syndicates
in all; for a description of them see Rival Syndicates.
Move the cursor around the different territories and left-click to reveal details in the
Territory Box.
Brief
Only when the word Brief appears in the Brief window is a mission available to
capture a territory. A left-click here takes you to the Mission Brief screen.
Return To Main Menu
Left-click Menu at any time to return to the Main Menu options.
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