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Kung Fu Gecko’s Unofficial FAQ and Strategy Guide for
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by Kung Fu Gecko
(Garett Choy)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction
a Preface
b Spoiler warning
c Background
d Disclaimer
e Copyright
f Where to get this FAQ
z Version history
2 Your Submarine
a Weapons
b Equipment
c Upgrades and Repairs
3 Economics
a Prospecting
b Trading
4 Political Factions
5 Missions
6 Tips, Tricks, and Cheats
a Cool things to do
b Cool things to see
c Cheats

1 INTRODUCTION

1a PREFACE

I wrote this FAQ because I enjoyed playing Sub Culture very much. I hope
you find this information useful. I’m not affiliated in any way with
either Criterion Studios or Ubisoft. Sub Culture is a very fun, well done
game. Although it may be too absent of tough combat gameplay to appeal to
the macho masses, it can appeal to those looking for action/simulations
with a variety of missions. The tasks of each mission varies greatly and
you will use your sub and its equipment in ways you wouldn’t immediately
think of. Graphics are incredible, especially with a 3dfx card, and the
sound and music add to the environment nicely. You will probably find
yourself just exploring around enjoying the ocean and its aquatic sea life.

Note: To experience the most enjoyment (and as many missions as possible),
take missions from both Procha and Bohine factions. Don’t worry about
allegiances, because even if they say they hate you, they’ll still hire you
to do work they need to get done. There really isn’t much consequence from
the factions hating you for working with the other side. The game will
seem rather short if you stick to one side.

1b SPOILER WARNING

This FAQ contains information and tips which may spoil your experience and
enjoyment of the game Sub Culture since it reveals information before you
experience it for yourself. I recommend that you only use this if you’ve
played it to completion by yourself, or you are stuck and need some hints
to move forward.

1c BACKGROUND

The world of Sub Culture is in the ocean of the planet Earth, where tiny
human-like beings live in underwater cities and travel by submarine. You
are Bubba Kosh, one of those centimeter tall humans. The opening video
reveals that Bubba Kosh was forced out of his home by the unfortunate
incident of a tin can (from the big people above) crushing his home on the
ocean floor. Bubba survived because he was out in his sub prospecting for
thorium. With his home crushed and only his sub, Bubba becomes a
prospector and freelance mercenary.

1d DISCLAIMER

This document is meant for unofficial informational purposes only, and is
not for profit. It is not endorsed by Criterion Studios or Ubisoft.
Company names, logos and product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders.

1e COPYRIGHT

This document is copyright Jan 1998, Garett Choy. Permission is granted to
reproduce, provided it remains whole and intact. No modifications,
deletions, or additions may be made without the expressed written
permission of the author.

1f WHERE TO GET THIS FAQ

This FAQ is available and is most up to date at my Sub Culture home page
located at:

http://www.autobahn.org/~gbchoy/subculture

It is also available at the Spoiler’s Center:

http://www.the-spoiler.com

If you would like to comment or make suggestions about this FAQ, you can
email me at: gbchoy@autobahn.org

1z VERSION HISTORY

v1.0 First published draft of this FAQ.
v1.0b Removed quotation from Ubisoft’s website to make this FAQ completely
original.
v1.1 Added section 1f, "Where to get this FAQ".
Included location information of Pearls and Oysters (Thanks to Scott
Hagie)
General editing

2 YOUR SUBMARINE - the mighty yellow submarine

Your submarine is a little yellow vehicle, and it’s the only one you can
drive in the entire game. It looks almost as if the designer was thinking
about a cartoonish, round blowfish. But as cute as it may be, you find
that it can do a lot. It will do everything from rescue disabled subs,
haul debris of various types, and hold its own when fighting hostile subs.
It has a semitransparent bubble shaped view glass which you can barely make
out the lit control panels inside the sub. It has three propeller jets; 2
on the side, and one in the back. The one in the back isn’t nearly as
powerful as you would think and it can only be used for forward or
backwards propulsion. The two side jets are surprisingly strong and are
used to ascend and descend, or to aid in forward propulsion. There is a
tendency for the sub to move forwards slightly when you ascend or descend
since the side jets must rotate from their forward orientation to the up or
down orientation.

Top Speed - This refers to the fastest speed your unhindered sub can go.
This is pretty much useless information because it’s always 100. The
whoosh drive will temporarily increase your speed to 166.

Hull Strength - You start at 100, and with Hull Strength applications
(bought at cities) you can increase this by 20 for each applied hull
strengthener. Although expensive, this is entirely worth the money. It
effectively stretches the life of your shields by the value ratio of your
hull strength over 100. Try it, you’ll see how much more pounding you can
take with it.

Shield Level - This shows your current shield level. You max out at 100.
You should seriously consider applying a shield repair when your shield
level drops below 30 or you are about to take on a dangerous mission.

Radiation level - This shows how much radiation resistance your ship has
when exposed to radiation. The higher the value, the slower your ship
takes damage when in the presence of radiation. A Geiger counter is
included with your sub, and when it blinks with the yellow radiation
symbol, you are being exposed to dangerous (and damaging) levels of
radiation.

Mounts - There are ten mounting positions on your submarine where you can
mount your equipment and weapons. Each mounting position can only contain
one item at a time, and items are restricted their appropriate mounting
point. The following list describes the position of the mount on your sub
and what items can be mounted there.

Mount 1 : front [mini zapper, zapper upgrade]
Mount 2 : forward center, above glass dome [deep sea light]
Mount 3 : center, underside [suck-o-matic, magnet, grappling hook, escape
pod]
Mount 4 : right side [missile launcher, ripper]
Mount 5 : top, sides of mast [repellertron, attractatron, whoosh drive,
electro bolt]
Mount 6 : left side [big ears]
Mount 7 : rear center, underside [ROV, depth charge launcher]
Mount 8 : top, front of mast [FLR-1000, FLR-1500, strobe]
Mount 9 : rear top center [bubble gun]
Mount 10: none

2a WEAPONS - keeping the peace

There are hostile people in this underwater world and you’ll need weapons
to defend yourself from them, or to terrorize innocents yourself. Each
weapon will only attach to one mount location. Because of this, during a
mission you will only be able to switch to one weapon of each mounting
type. (I.E. You can not have both missiles and the ripper weapon available
during a mission because they both use the same mount location.) Weapons
cost money to buy, and several cost money to use (to pay for the
ammunition). You will need to consider this economic factor when choosing
which weapons to use. If you want to be economical, use your zapper most
of the time. Or, you can splurge with fun weapons like homing missiles and
the ripper gun, so long as your income can support your habit.

Not all weapons will be available at the beginning of the game, but as the
game progresses they will be made available. Prices will vary from city to
city so if you want the best deal, check around for pricing. As the story
progresses prices seem to increase. So if you see a weapon you want (or
anticipate needed) and you have the money, buy it.

Mini Zapper - This is your starting weapon and it’s quite weak. It has
terribly short range, but at least it has unlimited use; you don’t have to
ever buy ammo for it. The minizapper will have a tendency to "lock on" to
the victim provided you can keep the victim in front of you. This is an
excellent weapon for when you are tailing a hostile sub. A word of caution
though: because of its short range, do not use this weapon to destroy
mines; you will be caught in the blast radius when the mine is destroyed
and you will take some damage.

Zapper Upgrade - The zapper upgrade is exactly that: an improved version of
the minizapper. If you have the money, you should get this weapon as soon
as it’s available. If you don’t have the money, then get the money and buy
this weapon. It’s the most useful weapon in the game. Like the
minizapper, it requires no money be spent on ammo. Unlike the minizapper,
it has twice the range (now you can safely blow up mines) and does twice
the damage.

Torpedo - Sold in packs of 16, this weapon requires that you have a torpedo
launcher mounted on your ship. They are unguided, but fast. About three
direct torpedo hits is what it takes to destroy a Procha/Bohine sub.
Because they are unguided, you’ll have to learn to lead your target in
order to score a hit.

Homers - This is the guided version of the torpedo. They will
indiscriminately lock onto the nearest target in range. Homers are sold in
packs of 4, and require a missile launcher. Because they use the same
torpedo launcher, homers and standard torpedoes can both be available
during missions.

Ripper - This is the mini-gatling gun of Sub Culture. It fires 12 rounds
per second and hits instantly. The range is very good, and it makes a cool
mini-gun sound as you tear into your victim. Explosive clouds bleed out of
your victim as your score hits with this mean weapon. The only down side
is it’s cost of operation; it guzzles ammo, and ripper ammo isn’t cheap.

Electro Bolt - I call this the "ball of electric death". This weapon takes
a couple seconds to create the energy projectile when you fire it. It
shoots a ball of electricity which causes a devastating amount of damage to
any victim it hits. It also damages the unfortunate victims caught in the
vicinity of its impact by emitting incident streams of electricity. This
weapon is excellent for demolishing slow targets like walkers and tight
packs of hostile subs. It has unlimited use, but after firing the ammo
counter display goes to zero and charges up to 99. You have to wait till
it’s fully charged before firing it again.

Depth Charge - The manual must have been printed before the game was
finished. These aren’t the "barrel charges" the picture in the manual
suggests, these are stream-lined drop bomb weapons. Regardless, these are
for killing things below you. Relative to your zapper, missiles, and
ripper gun, the depth charges are not very effective in dogfighting.
However, these weapons are necessary for completing certain missions where
you must drop an explosive device into some type of hole. You will need a
charge launcher to use this weapon.

2b EQUIPMENT - tools of the trade

Deep-Sea Lights - Your sub comes standard with these headlights. These
lights, aimed at a 45 degree angle down in front of you are used to
illuminate your path when it gets too dark to see (at night or in a cave).