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WORLDS OF ULTIMA II: MARTIAN DREAMS

INTRODUCTION

MARTIAN DREAMS is the second game from Origin that does not take place in the
realm of Britannia, but takes you instead to an alternate reality through a
timegate created by the Orb of the Moons. Where the first game, SAVAGE EMPIRE,
transported you to the hidden valley of Eodon on Earth in what I assumed was
our own time period, MARTIAN DREAMS occurs on Mars in the year 1895. This must
take place in an alternate universe, or every single trace of the events must
have been obliterated and the dozen or so historical figures that participated
must have been sworn to silence. The story line has holes in it that you could
drive a truck through, the time paradox isn't sufficiently explained, but it
is a a lot of fun.

In your present day Earth, a strange woman arranges a meeting between your-
self and Dr. Johann Spector at your place. After giving you some mysterious
reading material, she disappears, leaving you and the redeemed villain from
SAVAGE EMPIRE to make the next move. There are two books, a note, and a
map, all written almost 100 years ago, as well as an old photograph. Both
books were written by Dr. Spector in 1895. The first tells how the adventure
began (will begin?) and contains brief biographies of each of the historical
figures in the game. The second book describes the premature firing of
Lowell's space cannon at the 1893 World's Fair which sent these people to
Mars, most of them unwillingly. It contains information about Mars, gathered
by the first expedition and relayed back to Nikolai Tesla on Earth with a set
of reflectors.

The note was written by Tesla himself, so he would believe your story when
you arrived to join the rescue mission. The map had directions that led you to
Tesla's laboratory, and using the Orb of the Moons as described in Spector's
book it seemed that you and he could travel back to the same spot in 1895. In
addition, you discovered definite proof that you must have participated -- an
old photograph of you and Dr. Spector standing with the members of the rescue
expedition.

This was a mystery, and combined with the woman's cryptic parting message
about saving both worlds, it was clear what you and Spector had to do. You
traveled to Tesla's lab, opened a timegate to 1895, and met the other rescu-
ers. Showing Tesla's note to him left him with no doubt that your story was
true, and you joined the party when they journeyed to Mars.

All this is covered in the lengthy opening sequence. Now, you must find a way
to return the 1893 expedition to Earth. This is not a simple task, for you
must help finish the space cannon being built on Mars, rescue several people
whose minds have been taken over by Martians, and get the entire planet
running again. This adventure is no doubt more complex than SAVAGE EMPIRE, and
you will need help from almost all of the characters in the game.

SURVIVAL ON MARS

As detailed in Spector's book, Mars in 1895 has extreme cold weather, a low
amount of oxygen in the air, and some very strange lifeforms. You will only be
able to travel at night until about 10 P.M. -- even if clothed very warmly --
before you start taking damage from the cold. When it gets close to that time,
you had better find a safe place to pitch your tent, and it is not a good idea
to eat any Martian berries before bedtime as the party will not be able to
rest until the effect wears off.

You can find a lot of equipment in your ship, although I was not able to find
enough clothing for Nellie Bly and that meant an early bedtime of about 7:00
until I found an arctic parka in Calamity Jane's trunk which I took. I played
the entire game the first time fighting only with sabers, machetes, and
occasionally an elephant gun. I didn't figure out how to open the nailed
crates until late in the game, and that's where the best equipment and weapons
were! Weapons safety is important. Never, ever give any gun set to shotgun to
a party member who you don't set to Command action: all the party will suffer
when he fires right through you to hit his target!

There are many places to find tools and weapons, so if you leave a shovel or
pliers somewhere, you can usually find another pair elsewhere, many times near
a location that it is to be used. Weapons range from simple knives, machetes,
and slings to pistols, rifles, and shotguns and a few ray guns which are load-
ed by U)sing radium chips. Armor is pretty simple: the tougher the clothing
the more protection from damage the character receives as well as extra
warmth.

There seems to be no moral code on Mars, you can pick up anything you find.
For those steadfast Avatars, there is an exchange system that will allow you
to buy what you need fairly. Oxium, the chewable oxygen supplement is the main
currency, and things are priced very steeply. I wouldn't spend any oxium on
items until I got into the Motherlode or found another supply of geodes on one
of the northern plains, with the exception of perhaps buying Nellie warmer
clothes. The three berry types with special properties may be traded for
oxium, and there are a few good patches of berry bushes which can be har-
vested. After picking the area clean, just leave for awhile and return to
find them replenished.

Three types of Martian berries will give you mental powers for a limited
time. Purple berries give you telekinesis, the ability to U)se, G)et, and
M)ove objects from a distance. Green berries are able to let you T)alk to in-
animate objects, and if the object has any thoughts it will glow. There's only
two uses for them that I know of in the game, talking to the Hellas Dream
Machine and gaining mental power in the Argyre endgame. The brown berries pro-
vide spatial awareness, and when U)sed they will turn night into day whether
outside or in a cave, allowing you to see objects through some obstructions.
Blue berries will make you dizzy for awhile, but will cure radiation sickness
should you touch radium directly without tongs.

Unfortunately, due to the way the lifeforms reproduce, they reappear in the
same locations almost as quickly as the berries. I found the Creeping Cacti
to be probably the hardest opponents, due to their large numbers. It may take
you several tries to reach Cooter's place at the beginning of the game as a
large force of Cacti stand between you and Noctis Labyrinthus.

No one actually dies in battle, they "fall" instead. When you are overcome,
the entire party is found by Dr. Yellin and carried back to your landing sight
where Dr. Blood revives you. Fallen or injured party members can be treated on
the field by using the oxygen canisters Dr. Blood prepares, restoring them to
full health. Each canister weighs 15 pounds, so it may not be feasible to
carry more than one. Dr. Blood seems to be the only person that can render
medical treatment.

Experience accumulates quickly during the game, and when you pitch your tent
for any period the party members due a level increase get to increase one stat
by choosing between a Sword (strength), a Heart (dexterity), or a Book (in-
telligence). I saw no advantage to Intelligence, concentrate on the other two.
Before camping, always see who may be due a level increase, and decide then
what statistic to raise as you can't view their abilities when the question is
asked.

TIPS, TRICKS, AND SPECIAL LOCATIONS

Note: This section covers some tricks you can use during the game, as well as
locations of some places not covered in the walkthru. This also tells you the
location of the "ruby slippers," an extreme "spoiler" that will allow you to
see the endgame sequence early!

There is a good supply of oxium geodes located on the Acidalia Planitia at
about 38N, 58W. Most are located one level above you and you can only reach
them by U)sing a purple berry to gain telekinetic power. Another source of
geodes is found in the canyons that wind through the northern part of Syrtis
Major Planum at 30N, 54E. However, both these locations may have oxy-leechs in
the area. They won't take your geodes, but they will snatch loose oxium then
run away. It has also been said by other players that there is a way to buy
things from the traders without spending any oxium. If your Avatar puts at
least 500 blobs of oxium into a small pouch, they say that the traders won't
take any from you. I didn't test this idea, but it is mentioned here for those
who want to try it.

If an overwhelming force of hostile plantforms are nearby, the screen scroll
will slow down to a crawl. If you don't feel up to the fight, U)se the spy-
glass in their direction a few times and they'll vanish for a while. You'll
only be able to use this technique outdoors in the daytime, but it is useful
to escape the occasional large group of creeping cacti.

Devil pods, if you can find them, can be useful when confronted by a large
group of jumping beans, for example. If you D)rop one in the midst of the
pack, it splits open and the pod devil will attack anything around it. How-
ever, if it is still alive when the chosen enemy is gone it will turn on you.

There is a good patch of berry bushes located between Ascraeus Mons and
Xanthe Terra at approximately 12N, 70W. Another fair source is near the power
station at 13N, 26W. After you pick an area clean, just walk away from the
area for a while and it will be replenished when you return. Unfortunately,
the creatures that were there will also be regenerated.

Across the bridge at 4S, 121W and south to Aonia Terra you will find a "box
house" at about 29S, 106W. You should find some radium chips in a lead box
here as well as a heat ray gun. Ray guns are powered by U)sing radium chips,
giving them 30 charges, but they are used up very quickly if you set the gun
to either shotgun or combination. Freeze ray guns can temporarily freeze
attacking plants as well as humans, so be cautious when using them.

There is a small house near 69S, 135E that contains a heat ray gun. You will
also find another heat ray gun in Elysium, a freeze ray gun in Kaxishek's
polar laboratory, and another freeze ray gun when you finally get into Argyre.
Argyre also contains a bag with 15 chips of radium and large stores of ammuni-
tion for your firearms, but by the time you get inside there really isn't much
fighting left to do.

The ruby slippers are buried under a rock at 57S, 50E. If you put them on and
U)se them three times, you will be given the option to see the endgame graphic
sequence now and return to DOS. You will be able to restore the game from the
last point you saved it.

GETTING STARTED

You can equip your beginning party pretty well from just the equipment in
your ship, located at 26S, 146E. It's interesting to talk to your fellow
passengers, but the important thing is to get the prybar from Dallas Garrett
with the word NEED. Mention GEAR to him and he will suggest you get the sex-
tant in the back of the ship. Prybar in hand, enter the back of the ship and
open all the crates, trunks, chests, and barrels. You should find a pistol,
rifle, and a Belgian Combine in the northwest crate, and the crate next to it
contains 100 pistol rounds, 40 shotgun shells and 100 rifle rounds. The
Belgian Combine may be U)sed to set it to Rifle, Shotgun, or Combination,
therefore it can use rifle bullets, shotgun shells or fire one of each per
round.

NOTE: When you see a capitalized word in this walkthru, it usually refers
to a key word that will get more information from the person you're talking
to. These words appear in red letters if you have the help on.

The carpet bag contains most of the tools you'll need to play the game, a
pair of pliers, a pair of tongs, a wrench and a sledge hammer. The backpack
comes with a lantern and 5 cans of oil, the all-important tent, and a tinder
box. There should also be several machetes, an axe and a saber as well as
various items of clothing which you should try to distribute evenly among
yourself, Spector and Nellie Bly. Initially, you may want to equip everyone
with machetes and your Avatar with the saber, although I'm not certain which
weapons are the best. If a character is equipped with two weapons he is given
two attacks per round. In one crate you'll find the sextant and telescope, and
several other containers contain ornamental items that I doubt have any use in
the game. After raiding the hold, you might talk to Tesla and mention
COORDINATES to find that the previous expedition landed at 28S, 153W.

A note about coordinates and the game map - the latitude and longitude aren't
marked, but each line of latitude covers 10 degrees and each line of longitude
is equal to 20 degrees. The center of the map is at 180, 0 and runs almost
directly through the Amazonis Planitia. The longitude numbers from this spot
proceed from 180W to 0 as you head east, and from 180E to 0 as you head west,
wrapping around at the left and right edges of the map. The latitude progress-
es from 0 to 70 from the equator both north and south. The longitude seemed
confusing at first, I wish they would have centered the map on 0, 0.

Attempt to U)se the prybar on the hatch, and Dr. Blood will stop you to ask
a question whose answer can be found in one of the two books that came with
the game. This is the only copy-protection I found, and when you answer cor-
rectly Blood will allow you to continue. After opening the hatch, Blood will
speak up again, warning you of the risk to your health and telling you about
the oxygen canisters he'll begin preparing. Immediately, and whenever without
oxium in your inventory, your strength and dexterity will drop by 4 points
each while your intelligence will drop by 3. There are no great battles to
fight if you journey almost directly east to the 1893 site, and there you'll
recruit another party member who has a small amount of oxium.

1893 LANDING SITE

Heading almost directly east from your ship and edging around the southern
edge of the forest, you'll soon reach the previous landing site at 28S, 153W.
You'll know when you're close when you spot the long east-west trench that the
space bullet left as it landed. In the crate just to the left of the hatch,
you find 50 pistol rounds, and in the cockpit you'll find an elephant gun with
50 shells. Inside the crate under a book you'll find a weed sprayer, which can
hold 30 charges of weed killer. The weed sprayer may be your best weapon
against the creeping cacti that you'll probably encounter as you head towards
Noctis Labyrinthus, and there is one can of weed killer (10 charges) in the
rear hold. The phlogonistite can't be removed - by you.

Leftenant Dibbs is here, left by Percival Lowell to await a second expedi-
tion, namely you. He has much useful information about what happened since
messages stopped being sent to Earth. Mention EXPLORATION and he tells you
that when Mr. Carnegie ran out of iron ore to make steel for a space cannon,
the expedition split up into four main groups to explore the planet. Three of
the groups set up residence in the abandoned Martian cities that they named
for nearby landmarks, while Calamity Jane and Buffalo Bill set up an OUTPOST
at 12S, 129W and became TRADERS.