From: Wyvern@cup.portal.com (Jeanne Wyvern Harlan-Marriott)
Newsgroups: rec.games.misc
Subject: HARD NOVA WALKTHRU
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 92 11:36:09 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Distribution: world

HARD NOVA by Karl Buiter, distributed by Electronic Arts
This walkthru is copyrighted by Wyvern 1992. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wyvern@cup.portal.com
THIS IS NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. DO NOT POST WITHOUT PERMISSION.
try
     HardNova is the Karl Buiter's sequel to Senteniel Worlds I and a nice 
sequel it is too! The biggest improvements have been made to the the character 
graphics while on land. In the previous game characters were represented by 
colored circles. This time through, the characters are represented by an 
overhead view that looks more like a being than a blob. 

     You a given a choice between playing Nova<female> or Stark<male> (for 
their stats see the section headed Mastassini), and have a Bremen navigator 
already as part of your crew. As you explore the game world you will find 
others that you can recruit to add to your crew. Some of these additional 
characters have overlapping skills <such as TECH abilities>. Others are added 
to your party only to be able to complete some mini goal within the total 
game. 

RECRUITS:
     Specifics on recruits will be found under the sections where the recruits 
are to be found. Note, though, that you begin the game with a Bremar Navigator 
whose navigational song is already above 20 and needs no development. He is 
not a good fighter and should be taken to the ship and removed from your 
landing party as quickly as possible. This is done from the Planet menu option 
C "reconfigure crew".
     You will be able to recruit far more characters than you need. Read 
appendix A: Crew Member abilities carefully so you understand the distribution 
of skills and know which you need to develop to optimize your game. 

CHARACTER REPRESENTATION:
     GREEN       YOU
     YELLOW      YOUR CREW
     BLUE        FRIENDLY/NOT IMMEDIATELY HOSTILE CHARACTERS
     RED         ENEMIES
     FLASHING    current target <hit space bar to change targets>

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND EXPERIENCE POINTS:     
     Experience points are gained either by land combat or by fighting in 
space. In land combat each character gains experience individually based upon 
the damage they inflict on the enemy. Space combat experience is shared among 
the crew. This is important since gaining experience is the only way you can 
gain points to improve the skills needed to successfully win the game. 
     LAND PARTY:
     You may only take *3* members of your crew anytime you land on a planet 
or board a ship. There is a fourth character slot on the screen which is 
reserved for recruiting a new character who will remain with your party until 
you exit the planet and return to your ship. You can change who is in your 
landing party when you are over a planet by entering the configure your land 
crew menu. The limitation of 3 characters per landing party is important to 
remember in terms of character skill development. Many of the recruits you 
pick up in the game will have specialized skills that you will want to 
improve. You may need to alternate your landing parties to see that characters 
with skills you think important to improve get the experience points to do so.

SKILLS:
     The maximum for skills is 20 with the exception of navigation song for 
Bremars. <The navigator you have in your crew at the beginning of the game has 
a nav song skill above 20 from the start. You really needn't waste time 
developing it further>
     Skills are divided into two groups: Land-based and Ship-based abilities.
The brief explanations for these abilities are pretty clear cut, but there are 
some strategies you should take advantage of to maximize character development.
The most important skills to increase quickly are: APTITUDE, AGILITY, 
FIREARMS, and FITNESS. Aptitude increases the number of development points you 
gain with each increase. The number of these points seems to increase when 
Aptitude is increased 3 points. While you may be tempted to spend your few 
increase points on many different skills, concentrate on those mentioned above 
first. The dividend for doing so is that they will gain more increases more 
quickly allowing you then to develop their other skills. Increase APTITUDE 
quickly and raise the others mentioned above to above 10 <15 is even better> 
before you really concern yourself with developing the other skills.
     OTHER LAND-BASED SKILLS: 
     Close Combat is not all that useful. As long as you monitor your inventory 
well to see that your party does not run out of ammo, you may never need this 
skill at all.
     Special Weapons will not be easily available in the beginning of the 
game. Save raising this skill until you start running across these weapons and 
know where to get ammo. Don't equip these weapons until your character has 
a 50% or better "to hit" with them.
     Demolition may be useful but you can limit developing this skill to only 
Nova or Stark. Don't waste points on this for the other characters. You can 
successfully play the whole game without using this skill at all.
     SHIP-BASED SKILLS:
     You are allowed 1 pilot, 1 tech, 1 engineer, 1 navigator and 1 gunner. 
Most of the skills related to these positions function well when they have 
been developed to 10 or better with two exceptions. 
     Communications works best if it has been increased to 14 or better.
     Programming <the ability to improve the programs that effect the running 
of your ship> pretty much useless until you have increased it to 12. At 12 you 
can begin to hack the programs to increase efficiency. As you continue to 
increase programming skill you can rehack these programs. Your ship starts 
with these programs at level B. With proper development, you can eventually 
increase them to level H, the maximum. This is greatly helpful and you should, 
at the earliest possibility, improve the computer programs.
     Do take the time to develop the Ship-based skills but give them less 
emphasis than the Land-based skills.

INVENTORY:
     Each character can carry 8 items. Additional items can be carried in the 
landing party "pool". Careful management of inventory is important to avoid 
running out of ammo at a critical moment. DON'T CARRY ITEMS YOU DO NOT NEED!
     WEAPONS:
     When possible have all characters in your landing party carry the same 
weapon. Doing so allows you to share ammunition. Upgrade weapons as quickly as 
you locate where to get them and ammo for them. Choose weapons, such as the 
SMG-70X, which have large ammunitions rounds. Ammo rounds of less than 50 have 
to be restocked more quickly and "eat up" your limited inventory space. 
     ARMOR:
     Early in the game it will be difficult to find good armor. Better armor 
has advantages and disadvantages. While it offers better protection, it also 
can slow the character down. The lead character is generally the target of 
enemy fire and should have the best armor you can find/buy. For my own game, I 
only equipped Nova in Battle Armor leaving the rest in Kevlar Suits.
     AUTOMATED MEDICAL LINING:
     These affect the character's speed of healing. Upgrade to Extended AML 
and to Rush AML as soon as possible.
     MISCELLANEOUS:
     Within the game there are a few other items which you will come across 
that have various uses. Magnetic Cards are used to gain access to particular 
places. Once you use these cards you can drop them. Cases of Mud and Rare Gems 
can be sold, the price you are offered for these items varies from place to 
place.  See USING ITEMS below.
     TRADING INVENTORY AMONG LANDING CREW:
     To move an item from one character's inventory call up the inventory 
screen of the character who has the item <F1, F2, F3, or F4 and then 3>. Put 
the item in the crew pool by pressing the letter corresponding to the item <a-
h>. Call up the inventory screen for the character you want to have the item 
and press "P" to add it to their inventory <if they have room>. If they do not 
have room, choose an item to remove from their inventory and add it to the 
pool and then use AltP to cycle back to the item you want them to have.
     STORING INVENTORY:
     Any item you drop <done by pressing "C"> will stay where you dropped it. 
This is useful since it allows you to "store" items for later use. It is best 
to choose one location to use as your "cache" and avoid searching around later 
to find out where you put that Comp Blaster. 
     USING AN ITEM:
     Only the lead character can USE and item. To use it, they need only have 
it in their inventory. That an item needs to be used will be apparent on the 
midscreen menu. For example you may see "A: Insert Card M444". If this card is 
already in the lead character's inventory this menu choice will be highlighted 
and activate when you press "A". If the item is not in their inventory, this 
menu choice will not be highlighted. Cards will be used only once, once used 
drop them from your inventory.
     GIVING ITEMS TO OTHERS:  See also TALKING TO OTHERS
     Occasionally you will need to give a particular item <such as a 
gravblocker> to a particular character. To give the item, put it in your 
inventory "pool". If it is not the top item in your pool <read right hand side 
of midscreen> use ALT P to cycle through your pool until it is the top item. 
From a character's inventory screen <press F1 and then 3 to see Nova or 
Stark's inventory screen> press "I" to give the item to the TARGETED*
character. 
GIVE ITEMS WITH CAUTION!! IF YOU ACCIDENTLY GIVE AN IMPORTANT ITEM TO THE 
WRONG PERSON IT IS GONE GONE GONE <restore>. 

* The game will automatically target the first character on the game screen. 
If there are more than one character on the screen, press SPACEBAR to cycle 
through available targets.

TALKING TO OTHERS:
     To talk to other characters <blue figures> press F7 when you are near the 
targeted <flashing blue> character. If you need to give a character an item 
follow the directions as described above and then repress F7 to learn what 
effect giving them the item had. There are specific times when you will need 
to do this in the game and they will be very apparent.
     Take time to talk to the <blue> characters. Some will have important 
hints for you! Talk to them more than once! NPCs don't always tell all they 
know in one conversation.

MONEY:
     The easiest way to gain money is to smuggle. In the planet menu for 
MASTASSINI option E will give you the current smuggling needs in the Four 
Systems. Smuggling to Tikorr is the easiest early in the game. Later you will 
be able to smuggle to more lucrative locations. 
     You will also earn money for completing missions given to you by General 
Kendall on Holbrook. Smuggling is better. ;)
     Smuggle to easy locations such as Tikorr at first. The payoff is lower 
but so is the danger. As you gain ship based skills try some of the more 
dangerous smuggling locations, but save your game beforehand. For locations 
such as Ariel and Ciberan, try to avoid fighting other ships. Get in and get 
out! Even later in the game when your skills and ship are both improved these 
can be tough areas.

MISSIONS:
     Individual Missions will be described in full detail later. Don't feel 
you have to go rushing off whenever Gen. Kendall sends you a message or gives 
you a mission. If you want/need to take some time to practice in the Maze on 
Mastassini, do so!! If you need to raise some cash by smuggling, do so!! 
DON'T RUSH, ALL THE MISSIONS WILL WAIT FOR YOU!

THE FOUR SYSTEMS:
     The game takes place in a limited area of space consisting of four solar 
systems. Each of these systems has two planets. There are stargates connecting 
these systems allowing you to pass from one to another. 
     When you approach a planet you will be given the choice to A Orbit the 
planet, B Dock with the SpaceDock or C Reconfigure you Crew. Orbiting the 
planet will allow you to choose a landing sight for your hover craft. Some of 
these sights are obvious on the graphic screen because they are decidedly 
different in color than the surrounding area. Others you will learn of through 
conversations with characters, or reading grafitti. At SpaceDock you will be 
able to refuel and may also be able to have your ship repaired, buy new 
missiles or take a smuggling contract <only on Mastassini>. Reconfiguring 
your crew allows you to assign crew members to ship positions <such as TECH> 
and to choose who will be part of the landing crew and what order they will be 
in.
     Anytime you fly near to Ariel, they will demand a percentage of your 
money for safe passage. For most of the game, you can avoid this by simply 
staying out of their immediate area. Later in the game you will need to visit 
Ariel and you must decide for yourself if you wish to pay or fight. Do note 
that there are a LOT of Ariel ships that will attack you. Unless your ship 
programs are at max <H> and you have great evasion, gunner, and engineering 
skills you may pay heavily in damage by choosing to fight. Money is not really 
that difficult to raise so if you prefer, pay the price.
     STORES:
     On most of the planets you will find a store. Inventory and prices vary 
from store to store as do what they are willing to pay for an item from your 
inventory. More detailed information on the available stores will be found 
under the particular Planet headings below.

ENEMY REGENERATION:
     In a few places within the game enemies regenerate. Any action, such as 
using F9 or F10, will cause all monsters for that area to reappear. In most 
cases this does not happen. Those few areas where it does happen will be 
identified in the hints below.

THE GAME BEGINS:
     The first thing you must do is decide which character you want to play, 
Nova or Stark.

     NOVA        - 25 hit points and 4 points for skills.
     Agility     2           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     5           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     5           Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    5           Star Comm     6
     Tactics     2           Programming   6
     Close Com   2           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    2           Electronics   0

     STARK       - 25 hit points and 4 points for skills.
     Agility     4           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  2
     Stealth     2           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  2
     Fitness     5           Ship Evasion  6
     Aptitude    5           Star Comm     0
     Tactics     3           Programming   0
     Close Com   3           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    3           Electronics   0

     I played the game through with both characters and found no great 
advantage for one or the other.
     In addition to your main character, you also have a Bremer navigator 
A'kri Janr from the beginning.

     A'KRI JANR  - 29 hit points and 1 point for skills.
     Agility     3           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     3           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     5           Ship Evasion  0         Nav. Song    21
     Aptitude    5           Star Comm     0
     Tactics     1           Programming   0
     Close Com   1           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    0           Electronics   0
     ***** A'kri Janr is a good navigator but not much use for ground combat. 
It's a good idea to enter your ship and orbit Mastassini so you can access the 
Configure Crew option. Leave A'kri Janr on the ship. 

MASTASSINI:
     You start the game on the planet of MASTASSINI which features a store, a 
maze for fighting robots and a bar. Docked space side of Mastassini you will 
have the only "E" smuggling option in the game. Smuggling is a great way to 
raise cash early!

Mayhem UnLtd.
     Power Fist        120
     AutoMagnum        300
     Amag Clip          36
     Slug Pack         180
     Energy Cell       240
     Issue AML         480

Malibu Bar:
     Besides some information, the chance to increase your cash by gambling 
and a great aquarium display, you can pick up Ace here.

     ACE         - 31 hit points and 1 point for skills.
     Agility     3           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  6
     Stealth     3           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  6
     Fitness     6           Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    5           Star Comm     0
     Tactics     4           Programming   0
     Close Com   0           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    6           Electronics   0

Maze:
     This is a good area in which to gain experience. For a fee you are 
allowed to fight robots on 4 levels of the maze, each level progressively more 
difficult. There are flags on each level which can be redeemed for cash at any 
store <but you get the best price from Mayhem UnLtd.>. The robots REGENERATE 
should you use any command that "clears" the screen such as F9 or F10. The 
flags will regenerate ONLY as long as you stay on the same level and do not 
exit the maze. I recommend that you load up on a lot of ammo and stick to 
level one, clearing the screen with F9 or F10 thus causing the robots to 
regenerate, collecting flags to replace ammo rounds in your characters' and 
the pool inventory until you are low on ammo rather than progressing to level 
2. When you think you are ready, repeat this process on level 2 and again on 
the remaining two levels. You will get much more out of the maze in terms of 
experience and redeemable flags in this manner. When you really get good at 
this, you can do level 4 and get about 40,000 credits worth of gold flags!
     The maze may be boring but it is a great way to improve crew skills 
quickly. 

HOLBROOK:
     1660,0847
     This is the main base where you will talk to Kendall and get your 
mission briefings. 

Company Store:
     Edgespinner       100
     SL20 Sniper       200
     Spikesack          37
     M23 Clip           75
     Energy Cell       100
     Energy Pack       125
     Thermo Pack       200
     Issue AML         200

     There are some other interesting locations on Holbrook which you will 
discover only through talking with various NPCs as you explore the game. Given 
the difficulty in locating some of the better weapons and armor early in the 
game, you may want to visit them now. IF, however, you would rather wait until 
you have learned of their location yourself, skip now to "TIKORR".  
     On Holbrook there are three Zero-L bases which were abandoned. WIthin them 
are some excellent weapons, armor and some other items which you can sell. 
These bases are located at 0790,0408, 1126,0190, and 1309,0409. 
     Before you head off for the second mission, return to the above locations 
and pick up whatever rare gems you can find. The best place to sell them is in 
the trading center on Varon where you will get 12,000 credits for each.

TIKORR:
     This is the next logical and easiest planet to visit. While making a few 
smuggling runs here, stop and explore the two cities. You can recruit Cerallon 
in the Tikorr Lounge (1520,0460). You can also talk to a space merchant in 
this lounge who will tell you of a shipment stolen from him and taken to the 
Tikorr Club. He will give you the password to tell the bartender that will 
allow you access to the upper level of the bar there.

     CERALLON    - 27 hit points and 1 point for skills.
     Agility     5           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     5           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     5           Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    6           Star Comm     2
     Tactics     2           Programming   10
     Close Com   1           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    1           Electronics   0

Weapon World:
     Stiletto           80
     SL20 Sniper       640
     SL20 Clip          80
     M23 Clip          240
     Body Armor        320
     Flak Vest         560
     Gravg Clip        320

     In the other city (1460,0520> you will locate GaleJay in the Tikorr Club. 
To be able to recruit GaleJay you will need to locate a Grav Blocker <a 
special form of armor>. Though you will not find a Grav Blocker until later in 
the game, I will give Gale's stats now. 

     GALEJAY     - 46 hit points and 1 point for skills.
     Agility     7           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     25          Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     8           Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    11          Star Comm     0
     Tactics     2           Programming   0
     Close Com   6           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    6           Electronics   0

     As mentioned earlier there is an upper level to the Tikorr Club where you 
will find the cache of weapons the merchant mentioned. This is not an easy 
battle for inexperienced characters so proceed with some caution.

Used Weapons
     Spike Sack        135
     Eblade Cell       180
     XL10 Clip          36
     AMag Clip          54
     SMG70X Belt       450
     M23 Clip          270
     Body Armor        360
     GravBooster       450

FIRST MISSION:  The CIBERAN TANKER:

     Commander Kendal on Holbrook will tell you about a Ciberan Tanker that 
has been hijacked. The tanker is located between the stargate and the star for 
this system and slightly up. Look for a ship <a blue dot> in this general area 
and target it. If it's the correct tanker you will be able to activate the 
boarding command. This system is rather hostile so stay away from Ciberan and 
Varon for the time being. 
     Try to isolate and kill one hijacker at a time. The hijackers are 
sufficiently difficult that taking on more than one can end rather badly.
The leader of the hijackers is in a small room <2 squares>. Rather than have 
just your lead character enter the room and attempt to do him in, immediately 
on entering hit the F9 key and the escape key. This will place all your 
characters on the same square within the room and you'll polish the hijacker 
off nicely. This is a good strategy to remember elsewhere too. 

SECOND MISSION: ARIEL ATTACKS ON CIBERAN and the LANTA DISPUTE

     Kendall has called you back to his office to tell you your needed on 
Ciberan and that you should see a Max Sebastian there at 588,387 <this city 
appears as a yellow dot on the screen>. Ariel pilots have been attacking 
Ciberan and Max will give you the details. You will also be given another 
mission in the same system but on Varon involving a dispute among the Lanta. 
Kendall recommends that you recruit Janai <who is across the hall from 
Kendall's office> and will also tell you about Roger Amaro who may also be a 
good addition to your team.

     JANAI       -     30 hit points and 1 point for skills
     Agility     4           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     3           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     5           Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    5           Star Comm     10
     Tactics     2           Programming   2
     Close Com   2           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    4           Electronics   0
     ***** You may not decide to use Janai on your ground crew or as your tech 
if you have already developed Cerallon in the maze but you will need to get 
the CIB card she has in her inventory. You will need this card to gain access 
to speak with Max Sebastian on Ciberan.

     ROGER AMARO       - 56 hit points and 1 point for skills.
     Agility     6           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     3           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     10          Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    11          Star Comm     0
     Tactics     4           Programming   0
     Close Com   2           Mechanics     8
     Firearms    9           Electronics   8
     ***** Roger is not only a good fighter but a potentially good engineer. 
To recruit him you must visit his home at 0429,0270 on Holbrook and look 
around his aquarium collection. Among it you will find a fish tank you can 
pick up. Roger will not be willing to accompany you until his collection is 
complete. Fortunately the missing fish is in the Malibu Bar on Mastassini. 
Return to the Malibu Bar and having your lead character carry the fish tank in 
their inventory, walk by the aquariums until you see a prompt allowing you to 
take the rare fish. Return to Holbrook and give the fish to Roger. He will 
join you now and you will find that he has some nice weapons in his inventory. 
Most of these are specialized weapons which are probably a bit advanced for 
your characters at this point. Store them for the time being. 
     I recommend that you spend some time with Roger in the maze. His 
development will progress a little faster if you <for the time being> replace 
his Kevlar suit with a Flak vest. Concentrate on getting his agility, Aptitude 
and firearm skills up before finally increasing his engineering skills.
 
THE LANTA DISPUTE:
     While the Ciberan mission is more important, the Lanta Dispute is easier 
to handle so tackle it first. Fighting your way past the space ships over 
Varon, land on the planet <or if you are really good, destroy all these ships 
now>. 
     Your first touch down will be to the city at 0570,0286. This particular 
location was unique from any of the others that I found in the game in that on 
docking your hovercraft you enter one area <with a trade store <sell rare gems 
here for 12,000 credits>>. Enter your hovercraft but do NOT take off, but use 
the dock <d> command again and you will be in another location!
     Watching for clues in the area descriptions, you will learn the next 
location you need to visit: 1726,0634. Once there, you will be in the midst of 
some heavy fighting. You need to explore this whole area in order <again in 
the area descriptions> to learn the last location you need visit, 0670,0629. 
In the northwest corner of this area you will find the two rival Lanta 
leaders <they will be the only two figures appearing as blue>. You will need 
to kill them, but talk to them before doing so to learn what this little 
submission has been about. You'll get some more rare gems as a reward and then 
it's off to Ciberan. Stock up at the trading center while you have the chance.

CIBERAN: Ariel Attacks and Max Sebastian

     Unlike the other planets you have visited where cities have either been 
red or light blue dots on the map, the main base here is a yellow dot near 
0580,0380.  Once in the building enter the room just north and west of the 
hover pad and use the CIB card to open access to the area in which you will 
find Max Sebastian. 

Meridian Store:
     Gyro Pike          285
     SMG 70X           1140
     Spike Sack         142
     SMG Belt           475
     Energy Cell        380
     Extended AML      1900

     Max Sebastian will tell you how Ariel fighters have been attacking the 
bases on Ciberan and wants you to put an end to the attacks and take out 
Damien <ruler on Ariel> and his general Camede Rodgen. This is a long mission 
and one that you will not complete in one phase.
     The locations you will need to visit are in shielded <no drop> zones. You 
will need to find the closest area in which you can drop your hovercraft and 
then head overland to the bases. You may wish to save your game before trying 
since it takes a bit of practice to successfully pilot the hovercraft to these 
locations without running out of fuel or sustaining too much damage to the 
craft. The closer to the ground you travel, the less fuel you use, but these 
are not flat areas.
     Check your ammo before heading to the next location. Though you will 
often find weapon and ammo in these locations, you are better off coming 
prepared.
     Max will tell you to visit the base at 0588,0387 where you will find 
Ciberans under attack. Clear out the badguys and talk to one of the blue 
figures to learn the next base you need visit: 0610,0608. Similar to the first 
base, you will learn the next location you need visit 0912,0473. Here you 
will learn the next location 0747, 0348. This is a much larger base which 
includes some underground passages which will allow you to move around the 
base with greater ease. In the far east area you will find one blue figure to 
whom you should talk. He will claim to be General Camede Rodgen, but by this 
time you will have learned that the general is a woman. Talk to him to learn 
the location of the Ariel base <0907,0650> and also pick up the access cards 
174J and 391A. 
     The Ariel landing base <0907,0650> is the largest of the locations you 
have visited in this mission and includes four levels and various ways to get 
to them. Watch the center screen descriptions carefully when entering 
elevators in this base. Some of these elevators exit two floors apart and if 
you are not careful you may choose the menu option that exits you back to 
where you started.
     You will need to use access card 391A to activate an elevator leading to 
General Camede Rodgen. She will be the only blue figure you will find in this 
location and will also be guarded by 3 heavily armed and armored guards. You 
should talk to her before you eventually kill her. Once she is dead you will 
be able to pick up the 942Z access card which will give you access 
<eventually> to Damien's secret base on Ariel.
     This will "end" the first phase of this mission. Though you still have to 
take Damien out, Kendall should send you a message soon requesting that you 
return to Holbrook for some new orders. These orders may not come exactly at 
this time and you might decide to begin exploring Ariel in which case, check 
the Ariel area below.

THIRD MISSION: Rouyn Miners

     By this time you may be seeing yellow probes in the Ariel system. There 
should be many more of them in the Rouyn system and they are the cause of the 
Rouyn Miner problems. Kendall will send you off to a Rouyn Miner Base 
<1524,0608> to check out the problem. Kendall will also suggest that you take 
Leod <who is in the room to the north of Kendall on Holbrook>. 

     LEOD        - 50 hit points and 1 point for skills
     Agility     5           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     25          Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     8           Ship Evasion  6
     Aptitude    11          Star Comm     2
     Tactics     6           Programming   10
     Close Com   6           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    6           Electronics   0
     ***** Leod is a Darcater which gives him excellent stealth skill. You can 
make use of this skill in having him scout for you while on the ground. I 
personally never made much use of this feature and never included Leod or 
GaleJay <the Darcater on Tikorr> in my landing crew. Leod does have a 
gravblocker which you can use to pick up GaleJay should you wish to check him 
out.

     Once in the Rouyn mining base you will need to talk to the Miner Foreman. 
He will tell you that you need to get a copy of Viewer disk P from the 
library. Look for an access card near the foreman and begin to explore the 
rest of the base. You will need to use the access card on a lower level to 
activate the lift to the library. In the library you can make a copy of viewer 
disk P <use F9 to view it> which will tell you of the DSRE research groups on 
Tikorr. There are a lot of items lying around which you may want to pick up so 
check it out. With the clue to the DSRE base, you can head back to Tikorr but 
before you do, visit the Bremer Ship located in this sector.

BREMER SHIP:
     Located in the Rouyn System are a cluster of asteroids. There appears to 
be one asteroid separate from the others <bottom midscreen> which is really a 
Bremer Ship. Target it and land on it. Though you cannot do much here at this 
time, you can pick up Viewer Disk P and the information thereon will come in 
handy later. 

TIKORR - DSRE BASE

     To learn the location of the base you need to visit the Tikorr Lounge 
(1520,0460) and look for a drunk scientist. You may need to talk to her a 
couple of times before learning that the DSRE base is located at 0667,0367.
     At the DSRE base you will find Delta Coro forces. To get further, you 
will need to kill them off. Be sure to explore all of the first level before 
proceeding. You will need to locate a blue button which you need to push and 
will also find a droid named Alice that you can repair and recruit.

     ALICE       - 75 hit points and 1 point for skills.
     Agility     10          Sp. Weapons   8         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     0           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     0           Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    8           Star Comm     0
     Tactics     6           Programming   0
     Close Com   0           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    0           Electronics   0
     ***** Alice is not really worth recruiting. 

     After pressing the blue button you can use the elevator to head to the 
next level. Here you will have some more enemies to fight. You need to work 
your way to the far east side where you will find another elevator. 
     On the lowest level of this base you will be able to find the head 
scientist who will tell you that they are not behind the probes plaguing the 
Rouyn system. She will also indicate that eventually the source of the probes 
will reveal themselves. Later when you have obtained Viewer Disks R and S from 
a Typhon warship, you will need to return here.
     Also on this level you will find another droid Waldro who you will need 
to shoot once to get him functioning again. Though not necessary to the whole 
story, you may wish to recruit Waldro and follow his clues which lead you to a 
Darcator Base on Tikorr and to a man named Denner.

     WALDRO      -     51 hit points and 1 point for skills
     Agility     6           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     2           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     10          Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    11          Star Comm     4
     Tactics     2           Programming   6
     Close Com   2           Mechanics     0
     Firearms    6           Electronics   0
     ***** Waldro will tell you that his "brother" Denner is being held 
captive in a Darcator Base at 0326,0547. 

DARCATOR BASE:
     Darcators, as already noted, have exceptional stealth and you will see 
this in action as only one target will be visable at a time. This is not as 
great a problem as it may seem since though only one target will be visable 
<as well as being a target your lead character can shoot> the rest of your 
ground crew is capable of shooting other "non visable" targets>. Still it is 
wise to use caution and to watch your hit points. 
     You need to clear out the base and head for the northeast area where you 
will find Denner in a cell. 

     DENNER      - 61 hit points and 1 point for skills.
     Agility     4           Sp. Weapons   0         Star Gunner  0
     Stealth     4           Demolitions   0         Hovr Gunner  0
     Fitness     10          Ship Evasion  0
     Aptitude    11          Star Comm     0
     Tactics     6           Programming   0
     Close Com   6           Mechanics     10
     Firearms    6           Electronics   10
     ***** Denner can be a potentially good engineer, but by this time you may 
have maxed out Rodger Amaro in those skills. I found no need to develop 
Denner. 

     There are some useful items to be picked up in this area including Rush 
AML, Rad grenades and the only Thermocaster in the game. While the Thermo 
caster does the greatest amount of damage I kept to the strategy of having all 
the landing crew use the same weapon so they could share ammo.

     Having cleared out the DSRE base of it's Delta Coro attackers, you can 
take another interesting side trip to a Delta Coro Base located on Holbrook.

DELTA CORO BASE  - Holbrook
     As you probably have noticed by now, places of significance on the world 
maps tend to be highlighted in some different color from the surrounding area. 
If you look over the map for Holbrook, you will spot a white dot in a shielded 
area. The coordinates for this base are 0386,0673. Since it is a shielded area 
you will need to find the closest land drop and move overland. There is 
nothing of significance to the plot here, but there is an interesting sideline 
to the story. 

ARIEL      - Damien
     Having completed the small side plots, it's time to get back to tracking 
down Damien. The first place to visit is the city on Ariel located at 
1305,0480. You will find two stores, a lounge and a "test" in this area.

Arms Emporium:   1st level
           ElctrnBlade       375
           Eblade Cell       150
           Grav Gun          750
           GravG Clip        300
           Body Armor        300

Century Lounge:  2nd level
     Talk to all the people here. Though you will not be able to recruit any 
of them at this time, you will need to recruit two of them before too long.

Imported Arms:   3rd level
           Grav Blade        300
           Sonic Mace        150
           Yohza Gun         750
           Slug Thrower      600
           Grav Booster      375
           Plasmagner       1500

     On the third level you will need to use your 174J card to obtain access 
to level 4. On this level you will need to wipe out Damien's guards and locate 
the one blue figure who is a rebel spy. He will give you the location of the 
rebel base <1571,0546>. Should you be interested, you will be able to find a 
Grav Blocker here that you can use to recruit GaleJay back on Tikorr.
     Head to the Rebel base and speak with the leader who will give you the 
location of Damien's secret base <1411,0426>. You will find some useful items 
that you may wish to pick up. Before you head off to Damien's secret base, 
check your inventory, especially your ammo. You want to go in well supplied!
     When you enter Damien's secret base <1411,0426> you will need to use the 
942Z access card to activate the elevator to the next level. On the second 
level you will be in a large area. Though you may see many enemies when you 
enter, they are separated at this point so you can explore the southwestern 
section, picking up whatever items are of use to you without worry. You need 
to head west and north where you will find a east-west hall. This is the 
section on this level where the safe and the "unsafe" join. There is halfway 
down this hall an exit to the north leading to an elevator. Take it!
     Once up another level, you will meet the hologram of Damien. he will 
offer you money to join him and take out Max Sebastian. I did not explore this 
possibility. You cannot do anything to Damien at this point but you should 
know who can <if you talked to all the people in the Century Lounge> so return 
to the 2nd level where all the enemies are located. 
     To return to your hovership, you will not be able to go back the same way 
you came up. Instead you must fight your way past all of Damien's guards. THIS 
IS ONE OF THE OTHER AREAS WHERE ENEMIES REGENERATE so do not hit F9 or F10. 
You will need to fight your way east and south to another elevator which will 
take you back to the first level and your hovercraft.
     You should know that you need to return to Ariel City and recruit the 
Lanta in the Century Lounge but don't rush off to do this just yet. Head for 
space again since there will be some more developments on the Rouyn situation.

ALIEN INVASION:
     After leaving Ariel, you should soon pick up a message indicating that 
there has been an alien invasion in the Rouyn system and that help is needed 
at 0947,0306 on Rouyn. Head to this location and talk to the foreman. He will 
send you back to the main base to wipe out the aliens now there.
     Return to the main base <1524,0608>, killing the aliens, and revisit the 
library where you will be able to get view disk X. This disk will give you a 
hint that you need to board one of the Typhon Warships.

TYPHON WARSHIP:
     Target and board one of the Typhon warships. These ships consist of 3 
levels and the aliens REGENERATE so do not hit F9 or F10 while on board. Fight 
your way to level 3 on the ship and locate Viewer Disks R and S in a room to 
the north. <DO NOT VIEW THESE NOW> Return to your ship. 
     As a side note, you will find nerve gas on the Typhon warships and there 
is a place in the Rouyn Main Mining Base where you can use it. I didn't bother 
with it and really have no idea what it does.

FINISHING OFF DAMIEN:
     Head back to Ariel City and the Century Lounge. Recruit the Lanta found 
in the southeast of the lounge. You may need to bet him 1,000 credits to get 
him to go with you, but get him! He is not well armed, so before heading off 
to the secret base you may want to improve his weapon/armor. <I have not 
included his stats since he is only needed for this one small mission and he 
will not stay with you afterwards> Now head to Damien's secret base <be sure 
you have lots of ammo>. This time to reach Damien, you will have to go up on 
the hostile side of level 2 and fight your way past the guards to the 
elevator. Approach Damien and hit F7 to begin a conversation with him. The 
Lanta will take over and after a short while, you will had discombobbolated 
Damien for good! 
     Behind the Damien hologram you will find a computer terminal <looks like 
a person> where you can have the alien disks R and S translated. This will get 
you disks T and U. With these disks you are ready to return to the DSRE base 
on Tikorr for analysis of this information.

DSRE BASE revisited:
     Return to Tikorr and the DSRE base at 0667,0367 and talk to the head 
scientist. She will review the information on the disks from the Typhoon 
Warship and send you off to the DSRE base on Mastassini at 1186,0173. 
     Heading for the DSRE base on Mastassini, you will have to work your way 
past droids and a maze to reach the second level where you can speak to 
another scientist. She will give you disks V and W and an item you will need 
to give to the Bremers. You will also be given two options which decide the 
nature of the ending for the game. You may choose to help the aliens by having 
the Bremer create a new star for them or you may choose to destroy the aliens. 
The choice is your's. 

BREMER SHIP      - END GAME:
     With all the information from the DSRE bases, return to the Bremer ship 
and speak with the Songmaster. Talk to the Songmaster, give him the item from 
the Mastassini DSRE base. He will still refuse to help you at this point 
because the Bremer prophesy has not been fulfilled <viewer disk P>, but if you 
have been paying attention, you'll know how to do that!
     You will need to return to Ariel City and the Century Lounge and recruit 
Orai Volamar. Orai's stats are not great, but that does't matter. You will not 
need her for any fighting. Do remember to reconfigure your crew so that she 
become one of your landing party before heading off to the Bremer Ship.
     Land again on the Bremer ship an once again go see the Songmaster. After 
some conversation involving Orai, he will agree to help. All you need do now 
is return to your ship and watch the show.

AFTER THE END:
     After saving or destroying the aliens, life <and the game> does not end. 
You can return to Holbrook and Kendall to pick up your pay and kudos for your 
recent exploits and you can continue to wander around, smuggling, fighting 
other ships and maxing your characters out completely. Enjoy the R & R! :D

HARD NOVA by Karl Buiter, distributed by Electronic Arts
This walkthru is copyrighted by Wyvern 1992. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wyvern@cup.portal.com
THIS IS NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN. DO NOT POST WITHOUT PERMISSION.