In the beginning when the universe was new, the Seven Ruling Lords did create their own races, and so Wodan created Man and Chronos created the Mystical Dimension Weavers, a powerful race of high intellect and integrity - or so it was thought.....

No one could have forseen how ambitious and treacherous the weavers would become and how they would scheme and plot against Chronos until they day came when they made their move and entrapped the helpless Chronos beyond the realms of existence as we know it, in another time dimesion. In desperation the remaining Lords sent forth their champions to defeat the Weavers and release the incarcerated Chronos.

This however has nothing to do with you, as the game is about firing groups of 8 consecutive pixels at much higher conglomerate groups of pixels in the hope of amassing a memorable score.

Original Game:
by John Tatlock, Steven Tatlock & Tim Follin for Mastertronic, 1987

Remake:
Coding & SFX - Kryten
Graphics - Oddbob
Music - Infamous

Remake produced with the kind (and bemused) permission of John Tatlock

Special Thanks to:
Del, Mith, Finbar, Shoogs, Varny & everyone else in All About Beer
(ShadowSong EU World of Warcraft Guild)
Scottige, Infamous, NonLinear & Darkside
For all the beta testing and feedback - thanks folks.

Homepage: www.kryten2x4b.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
Email: lprosho@hotmail.com

This game is Freeware - use at your own risk. No permissions have been granted for use on any compilation disc / cover disc. If you paid money for this - demand it back.

Every effort has been made to ensure that this software is free from virus or malicious software when published to my Homepage and the Retro Remakes Competition.

Created on: Athlon 3200+, Nvidia6600GT 128MB, 1GB RAM, DX9.0c
Tested on: HP Vectra VL400 733mhz with 32MB gfx card, DX7 (suspected lowest spec)

Using the Zip utility of your choice, simply unzip the Chronos zip file to the destination of choice. Ensure that when you extract the files that the file paths are included or the game may not work correctly.

To start the game, navigate to the directory you unpacked the files to, locate the Chronos.exe file (which should be in the same location as this document) and double click on it.

The game has a number of available options on the main menu:

There are a number of options available on the main menu, allowing the player to alter various aspects of the game. Briefly these are:

Controls: Select from keyboard, joystick, mouse/headtracker & redefine keys
Game Settings: Change difficulty, autofire & play area width
Graphics: Change debris & trails particle effects
Audio: Change sound volume, music volume & toggle music.

Chronos has 6 difficulty levels available, ranging from really easy to hard, which allows for players of all ability levels. Each difficulty level has a range of options used or disabled, as explained below.

Difficulty Level 1:
This is a very simple version of the game. Steer your ship to the end of the levels collecting the bonus items and free Chronos at the end. You will gain points for travelling along and avoiding the terrain. Collision with the terrain will not cause immediate death as you are shielded, however it will mount up until eventually your shield is overwhelmed and your ship is destroyed. When colliding with the terrain you will not increase your score. Ship health is indicated by the red bar above the Chronos logo. Widescreen is automatically enabled, a simpler version of the game map is used and autofire is disabled as you you wont be shooting stuff as you go. Dont worry, your laser will automatically activate when you reach the end boss. A single direct hit will kill him.
Recommended for younger players or players who have specified mouse / headtracker control.

Difficulty Level 2:
This is almost the same as Difficulty 1. The key difference is that collision with the terrain will destroy your ship immediately.
Recommended for players that have mastered Difficulty 1, younger players or players who have specified mouse / headtracker control.

Difficulty Level 3:
This is the first difficulty level where enemies appear, although at a slow rate. Some terrain must be destroyed to progress, and you must also avoid or destroy enemy turrets and pulse shields. It uses the same game map as Difficulty 1 and 2, has widescreen and autofire enabled. Enemies also randomly drop bonus items which will boost an ability for a short time. The end boss takes a few shots to kill.
Recommended for players who have mastered the previous Difficulty Levels, younger players and players who have specified mouse / headtracker control who want more of a challenge.

Difficulty Level 4:
This is the "normal" game of Chronos, using settings that closely emulate the original game and a slightly modified version of the original map. Waves of enemies appear, terrain must be avoided and enemy terrain objects destroyed. The screen defaults to the original small window, however you can select widescreen and autofire from the game settings menu.
Recommended for players who have mastered the previous Difficulty Levels, or who think themselves up to the task.

Difficulty Level 5:
Slightly harder than Difficulty 4. Your ship moves much faster and responds quicker, more enemies spawn and turrets fire more often and the end boss takes more shots to kill.
Recommended for players looking for even more of a challenge.

Difficulty Level 6:
The hardest level. This uses a heavily modified map that has a few twists, turns and narrow passages, with lots of enemies and turrets that fire a lot. Not for the faint hearted.
Rrecommended for only those brave enough or foolhardy enough to attempt it.

During the game, enemies may drop bonus items which boost an ability for a short time. Which bonus items drop is dependent on the difficulty level selected.

The available bonus items from enemies are:

Score Bonus : adds a small amount to your score
Shield Bonus: Activiates your ship's shield for 10 seconds
Booster Bonus : Increases ship maneuverabilty for 10 seconds
Multiplier Bonus : Doubles score values for 10 seconds
Triple Laser Bonus : enables your ship to fire 3 laser bolts at once for 10 seconds

There are also level bonuses available on your journey - collect all of these for an additional bonus score

Extra Lives can be gained by accumulating a certain amount of points depending on difficulty level, yp to a maximum of 5 lives. If you have 5 lives already then an additional bonus score will be applied instead.
Your progress until the next extra life is displayed on screen by the green bar above the Chronos logo.

In your task to free Chronos you will come across a number of enemies. Enemies can each move differently, and some are even out of phase with time, which allows them to move through terrain objects - so beware!

The recommended tactic to employ is :