++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ HARBINGER Copyright (c) 2003 SILVERBACK ENTERTAINMENT, All rights reserved. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Welcome to the Harbinger universe. We've had a blast making this game, and it is our sincere hope that you have as much fun playing it. System Requirements: OS: Windows 98/2000/ME/XP with DirectX 8 or 9 installed. CPU: 500 Mhz Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon processor RAM: 128 MB Input: Keyboard, Mouse Sound: DirectX 8.0a compatible sound card Video: 16MB Direct3D compatible video card Supported 3D Cards: All NVIDIA GeForce cards, NVIDIA TNT2, ATI Radeon, ATI Radeon 7500 ATI Radeon 8500, Matrox MGA-G450, Matrox MGA-G550 Hard Drive Space: 300MB available ***IMPORTANT!!!*** For this Demo version of Harbinger, we've started the Human player character out at 6th level to give you a fighting chance, but YOU WILL NEED TO DISTRIBUTE THE SKILL POINTS BETWEEN THE 4 STATS. To do this, click on the CHAR button in the lower right. This opens up your inventory screen where there is a STATS button which will open your character's stat screen. Since you are starting at 6th level, you have 18 points (3 per level) to distribute between your four stats. FAILING TO DISTRIBUTE THESE SKILL POINTS WILL MAKE PLAYING THIS DEMO VERY DIFFICULT, so don't forget! The four Stats you can attribute Skill points to are: Melee: This stat influences how proficient you are using the bladed portion of your weapon. To increase your melee speed, try using an adrenaline injector. Ranged: This stat reflects your ranged accuracy. For the Human character, this Stat is one of the most important to develop. Rigging: This skill, unique to the human, allows for the successful deployment of Mines. The higher the stat, the less likely enemies are to detect your mines. Life: Adding points to this stat increases the amount of damage your character can take. Default Controls: Left-click: move / activate / shoot. Right-click: alternate attack. Shift-click: perform attack in place. Middle mouse button click: use health pack. Ctrl - combat rigging menu. Alt - show grounded items. Enter - deploy mines 1, 2, 3, 4 - ranged mods (when enabled) F1 - quest log. F6 - quick save. F7 - quick load. Space - health pack when alive / restart when dead. Esc - in-game menu. End - exit application. Graphics: Harbinger supports both 800x600 and 1024x768 resolutions. These can be toggled in the options menu before you enter a game. The resolution in the startup menu screens is fixed at 800x600, but the resolution will switch when the game loads. These can also be set from the HarbingerCfg.exe that is installed with the game. Harbinger is a Direct3D application and assumes you have the current drivers for your hardware. Sound: Upon startup, Harbinger does its best to pick a sound provider for you. If you are not happy with this, you can choose your own sound provider manually from HarbingerCfg.exe. This application will enumerate all supported sound providers, but it does not test whether each is supported by your hardware. You can choose your desired speaker setup from here as well. Tips: 1: Umbilicals. The primary method of transportation in Harbinger is by umbilical. Umbilicals require codes to unlock various areas, and once you have a code, simply move your character onto the umbilical's activation pad to launch. Umbilicals codes are frequently wiped, so don't leave desired items littering the floors because there is no guarantee that you will be able to return. As a final note on umbilicals, certain area names are marked in gold as a hint to guide you to desired areas. 2: EZ-Stash. There are EZ-stashes scattered around Harbinger. These are convenient locations where you can store items that you don't immediatley need. Once an item has been placed in an EZ-stash, it can be recovered from any other EZ-stash. 3: Upgrade chips. Various items in the game can be upgraded through the use of upgrade chips. Every character's upgrades are unique to their type. As a rule, the light on the chip is indicative of which character class can use the chip. Red lights are for humans, blue lights are for gladiators, and green lights are for the Culibine. 4: Interactions: Almost everything you can interact with in Harbinger highlights. The only exceptions are portals, charging stations and umbilicals. These you simply have your character step on to activate. 5: Environmental feedback. There are feedback icons that appear on the upper-right hand side of the screen when the environment around your character changes beyond normal levels. The first is temperature. Dangerously high heat levels can harm both human and Culibine characters. The second is radiation. Radiation will increase both the Culibine's healing rate and the re-charge rate energy-based weapons. Conversely, there are radiation sinks which both drain weapon energy and harm the Culibine. Finally, there is poison which harms both the human and Culibine characters. Once your character is poisoned, it will take damage until the toxin wears off. Health pack use will immediately cure poisoning. 6: Items. You will acquire a wide variety of items in Harbinger. When an item spawns, it appears on the ground with a swirl around it. If you have a hard time spotting items, you can hold down the Alt key and all grounded items will highlight. One last note: there are certain items that you cannot un-equip and these have to be swapped with a replacement item. These are: The gladiator's torso and weapons. The human's armor and rifle. The Culibine's gauntlets. 7: Trade. You can right-click items to buy and sell quickly. This also works when you are unloading items into an EZ-stash. Finally, if you wish to sell equipped health packs while trading, simply click the health button on your interface. 8: NPCs. Talk to the non-player characters because often they can provide valuable guidance and new quests. There is a lot of dialog in this game. Some of it you need, a lot of it just informs you on the details of the game world. If you are one of those people who does not like to read a lot while playing, the non-essential dialog always has an early out (goodbye responses) at nearly every dialog node. 9: Combat. Harbinger is a combat intensive game. The one rule to Harbinger's combat is that smart play is always rewarded. Every enemy type has it's own strengths and weaknesses. If you use these to your advantage, you will have little trouble defeating most foes. If you don't... well, don't say I didn't warn you. Generally, plasma weapons are effective to some degree on most enemies. EMP only really affects mechanized enemies. Vantir are not mechanized enemies, they are ooze in a protective suit, so you will have a really, really hard time fighting them with EMP. The Scintilla are especially vulnerable to Disruption weapons, and Electricity is most effective against the bugs. I'll leave the poison tolerances for you to discover. 10: Firing modes. When you have weapons that support multiple firing modes, either by stat or upgrade chip, you can toggle between modes using the ctrl key. This will bring out the rigging menu with a button for each supported firing mode. Simply click on the desired button to change modes. 11: Gadgets and injectors: Use your entire arsenal. There are plenty of toys in Harbinger, and their proper use can turn the tide of difficult battles. The Gladiator has a variety of cameras, the human has a wide selection of mines, and the Culibine has her amps. Remember, smart play is always rewarded. Finally, good luck and have fun, The crew of Silverback Entertainment

Harbinger Demo (65.85MB)