<**> Neuromancer Cheats, Hints, and Tips <**> <**> An invaluable player's guide! <**> Compiled by The Anonymous Guru and Chaos. Thanks to Mr. Xerox, Ice Lord, Chaos, and Relix Distributors. Also, special thanks to Steve Luzynski for many of the tips (NOT the cheats!!) included here, and permission to publish them. Without his tips, this article would be mostly cheats. Information on how to use with GS version by Chaos. Note: differences needed to allow the cheats to be used with the GS version are found in brackets ("[]"s). Also, all info for modifying the GS version applys to game 1 only. Use the information on game 1 to modify games 2, 3, and 4 on your own. WARNING: The following article contains several very blatant hints and cheats. Do not just read this file if you want the game to be a challenge. Look only at the sections you are having trouble with! The game Neuromancer can be quite a blast, if you're a weird person who likes demented games that are very out-of-the-ordinary. This is one of those games. It is quite complex, with the number of things you can do, and the way of getting from one place to another in the game gets crazy and hectic after a while. As it says within the game, "It feels like I've been playing this game for 20 years!", and then makes references to being longer than "Wasteland"... True, how true. I think it's quite appropriate that I mention the fact that if you choose to start randomly editing your master disks with the information provided in this article, you're doing at your own risk, and don't expect anything from us except for sympathy when your disks crash. Be smart - back them up first. (Also, none of the cheats are guarenteed to work for you - I haven't completely tested the IIe ones, just the GS ones which work fine for me.) Also, you will notice that I'm spelling 'softwarez' in the way the game spells it. I am not a surf punk nazi pinko kracker k00l rad awes0me d00dz type person who spells words like that. I would advise obtaining a real copy of the game. In our opinion, we think this game is work the money to buy it. Software authors have to eat to, ya know. First off, the listing of items in the game and their hexadecimal equivalents: Softwarez --------- 00 Mimic 01 Jammies 02 Thunderhead 03 Vaccine 04 Blammo (virus - do not use) 05 DoorStop 06 Decoder 07 Sequencer 08 ArmorAll 09 KGB 0A ComLink 0B BlowTorch 0C Probe 0D Drill 0E Hammer 0F Python 10 Acid 11 Injector 12 DepthCharge 13 Concrete 14 EasyRider 15 LogicBomb 16 Cyberspace 17 Slow 18 BattleChess 19 BattleChess (virus - do not use) 1A Scout 1B Hemlock 1C Kuang Eleven CyberDecks ---------- 1D Hiki Gaeru 1E Gaijin 1F Bushido 20 Edokko 21 Katana 22 Tofu 23 Shogun 24 188BJB 25 350SL 28 UXB 2A ZXB 2B Cyberspace II 2C Cyberspace III 2E Cyberspace VII 2F Ninja 2000 30 Ninja 3000 31 Ninja 4000 32 Ninja 5000 33 Blue Light 34 Samurai Seven Skill Chips ----------- 43 Bargaining 44 CopTalk 45 Software Analysis 46 Debug 47 Hardware Repair 48 ICE Breaking 49 Evasion 4A Cryptology 4B Japanese (I don't know what this skill is for...) 4C Logic 4D Psychoanalysis 4E Phenomenology 4F Philosophy 50 Sophistry 51 Zen 52 Musicianship Special Items ------------- 53 CyberEyes 56 Matrix Restaurant Guest Pass 59 Joystick 5E Caviar 5F Pawn Ticket 60 Sense/Net Security Pass 61 Zion Ticket 62 Freeside Ticket 64 Chiba City Ticket 65 Gas Mask 67 Sake Ok... how to use these... Within the file DATA1 on the NEUROMANCER1 disk are the 5 'saved games', all of which are about 2 blocks each. One original 'virgin' game is kept so the game can create saved games from the start. Your 4 saved games begin immediately after that initial one. For our purposes, you will have to, at least, go into the game, and as soon as you get there, save the game to a location. Game 1 starts at Block $002D (45) roughly [or $00FD on the GS version of the soft]. You will know when you are there, because you will see your character's name somewhere around bytes $005AB0 or so (or byte $B0 within the block) [starting at around $1B5 on the GS version]. Just before your characters name you will see a bitmap, of sorts, that looks something like this: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 5F 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 etc... This is an inventory of what your character is carrying. The chunk of bytes above happens to be about 1/2 of a fresh virgin character... you can see (if you check the inventory chart above) that all the character is carrying at the very start of the game is the pawn ticket (hex $5F). In order to add items into the inventory, change the dead bytes (hex $FF) to any one of the bytes in the tables listed above. If you wanted a security pass, stick a $60 in one of the slots in the above array. [GS users: Inventory for game 1 is found on block $FD, bytes $125 thru $19D (or so I can tell - it may look like thru $1A1, but I wouldn't risk it)] The same format is used for softwarez that are in your deck. This array is located AFTER your characters name, starting at around $5B00 in block $2D [block $FE, for game 1, bytes _$024_ thru $07D for GS version]. The software arrays are in blocks of three bytes... referring to the above array... FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 etc... [GS note: 'Softwarez' are stored slightly different in the GS version - a deck with no softwarez looks like (on byte $FE, now): These have no use! /\ /\ /\ /\ 020 - FF 01 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 030 - FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 Fill in the FF's (except the byte $020 one) with the software's hex ID, the 00 (after the FF) with the software's version number, and the second 00 with the number of errors in the software. I've got no idea what the third 00's for!!!] The software title (Comlink, Thunderhead, Logicbomb) is the byte that is now a dead byte ($FF). The first byte following that is the version number of the software ($06 for 6.0, $11 for 17.0). The next byte is the amount of errors in that software. People who have been into cyberspace and confronted an AI that kicked the shit out of them know that your software gets destroyed and you need a real high level of Debug to fix it. This byte, when non-zero, means the software is trashed and requires debugging. The higher the value of that byte ($01 - $FF), the more damage there is to it. Suppose you get whipped in cyberspace... reset these bytes to $00 and you're software is good as new. So therefore, an example of a deck full of software: 00 00 00 0A 06 00 01 02 00 08 11 0A 0B 01 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 FF 00 00 etc... If that was your array, you'd have the following in your deck: Comlink 6.0, working ($0A, $06, $00) Jammies 2.0, working ($01, $02, $00) ArmorAll 17.0, non-working ($08, $11, $0A) BlowTorch 1.0, working ($0B, $01, $00) Using these arrays can be helpful if you happen to have a piece-of-crap deck with only 5 or 10 RAM... you can fill the thing up to the brim, regardless of which deck you have. But why not got for the best deck in the first place? In order to upgrade your skills, you'll have to give yourself the skill chips by adding them into your inventory, go into the game and O)perate the chips (install them), save the game (make sure it's the same game that you're editing) and go back into your editor... when you're there, check for the following bytes (they are inbetween the inventory array and the software array)... But before that... FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 54 59 20 52 45 58 00 36 37 38 39 D0 07 00 D0 07 04 0C 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 A8 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 04 40 D0 07 00 40 38 00 00 40 4B 00 00 C0 E8 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 etc.... [GS notes: (all for saved game one, of course!) Skill levels found on block $FD, bytes $1A5 thru $1B4, for each of the 16 possible skill chip 'spots' (or chips in the spots) you can have. Health found on block $FD, bytes $1C3 thru $1C4 in reverse hex (2000 = D0 07 in reverse hex). Sold body part record found on block $FD, and starts at byte $1C8. Don't ask me how far it goes - I've never had to sell any body parts for quick ca$h! Also, this byte is approximate - I'm pretty sure but not 100% sure. Money on hand found on block $FD, bytes $1CF thru $1D1 in reverse hex (e.g. 98 96 7F = 9,999,999 (in regular hex), so in order to have $9,999,999 on hand enter $7F in byte $1CF, $96 in byte $1D0, and $98 in byte $1D1, to have the most money possible on hand at one time!). Money in PAX banking account found on block $FD, bytes $1D2 thru $1D4 in reverse hex (see above for explanation).] The first line of bytes contains your characters name, so if you can see that you're in the right place, as the bytes we're after are the lines immediately after it. Notice the 'D0 07' sequence. This is your characters constitution (health). They are in normal hi-low format, so your characters health would be $07D0, or 2000. As with games with a 'current/maximum' type thing, as does this game. The first two ($D0 and $07) are followed by a zero, and then repeated... this is the current/maximum deal. Immediately after is a three-byte sequence ($04 $0C $28) which holds your current location. Just past those three (which are all $00 in the example) is an array of the body parts you have sold. If any of those 3 or 4 bytes are non-zero, change them to $00 and your body parts will be returned to you. If you didn't know that you can sell body parts to raise cash, you should keep playing the game some more... Now here's a good one for you... On the following line are the bytes $A8 and $07. These are your cash on-hand in hi-low format. Right after that are a hi-low sequence of the cash you have in the PAX bank account. Anyway, back to the skill upgrades. The line immediately before your characters name contains your skill levels, per chip. So.... FF 00 00 00 2E 19 00 00 FF 00 00 00 FF 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 54 59 20 52 45 58 00 36 37 38 39 D0 07 00 D0 07 04 0C 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 A8 07 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 01 04 40 D0 07 00 40 38 00 00 40 4B 00 00 C0 E8 03 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 etc.... The first line in this example is the last line of your inventory array. The next line contains $11 bytes, each of which is a skill level of a certain chip. So therefore, starting at the first $11, you can move along and give yourself whatever skill level you want. After messing with these values a bit, we've come to the conclusion that the 'highest' value the game will recognize is $0C, or 12. This is because everytime you break an AI, certain skill chip levels will increase. If you have 65 for a skill level, the game will try and upgrade it and crash just for you. Hints and Tips on playing Neuromancer... Part 1: Starting out. When you start out, you are in a seedy little bar, having just woke up from a hard night's sleep in a plate of spaghetti. You'll need to pay the bartender for your food, and question him as much as you want. You cannot get back into the bar once you leave so make sure you finish all your business. Read all the articles on the PAX news system and the Bulliten board. Your next priority is to get back your deck. Go to the pawn shop and ask for your deck back, but say you don't have the money. He'll give you the deck for free. Now, save your game and walk around. Enter every building you can and ask the people there about anything you can think of. Now you should go to the Gentleman Loser. Talk to the woman. (If you read the PAX messages like you were supposed to, you'll know what to ask about.) You should try to get some passwords and link codes from her. Now, play with your deck. Use the link codes and passwords to get into various databases.(From here out, databases will be referred to as DB's.) Make sure to explore everything very heavily. Whenever you find out something you might consider useful, write it down! Also save your game before and after every major decision. You should be finding out some very useful info as to what exactly you should be doing. From here on out, it's up to you. Part 2: ROM Constructs, ca$h, and a few questions... Ok... having gone ape on this game, I can offer some interesting tips and clues and things like that. One of the best things you should get is a RomConstruct. These are little suckers that basically emulate yourself, and is kind of an alter-ego. There are three different ones, and all do the same thing, but they act a little differently. Dixie Flatline is the most reliable. The other two are Toshiro Mifune and Rombo. Rombo acts like a Stallone rip-off, and Toshiro is Japanese. No big deal. They're all the same, and they do the same things, they only express themselves differently. To get these, follow these steps: Get into the Hosaka link (ComLink 5.0 minimum is required for this) with a second level password (FUNGEKI). List out the employees and edit one of them to contain your name and BAMA ID (which is always 056306118). This will allow you to get past the security guard in the hi-tech sector. (Tell him you work for Hosaka and you're in.) Next, get into the Tactical Police link with the second level password (SUPERTAC). Edit one of the arrest warrants to include the Microsofts owner's name, Larry Moe. His BAMA id can be found in the Fuji link under the employee listings (hint: 062788138). (Note: before you get rid of him, buy the CopTalk skill if you want, cause he sells it! Or, of course, you could just edit the skill into your inventory!) This allows you to get into the back room of his shop. In the back room of Microsofts, you will meet Lupus, the leader of the Panther Moderns. Ask him about Sense/Net and he'll sell you a security pass to get into Sense/Net so you can pick up your RomConstruct. (Or, you could edit the pass in.) Go to the Sense/Net building, give the computer your pass, and pick up the construct! The RomConstruct ID's that the Sense/Net computer will ask you for are as follows: Dixie Flatline is 0467839, Toshiro Mifune is 6905984, and Rombo is 5521426. I think these can all be found in the Sense/Net Library DB. Other problem encountered is getting credits for cyberspace. Of the many ways to get money, here are a few: Upload Comlink 6.0 to the Hosaka Software library. 7500 credits. Check the PAX for the Ad from Armitage. Answer it. You will be credited with a goodly sum of money. You will also get arrested if you go near a Lawbot. It's a $500 fine, but after that you're free. Illegal bank transfers. First, go to your account on the PAX. Download about $5,000 to your chip. Enter the Bank of Zurich DB (either through Cyberspace or the conventional way.) Create an account, and write down the number! Then, you have a lot of different ways to go. You can ask Lupus about Banking, or just keep reading. OK, your first number is for Bank Gemeinschaft. Enter it's DB and go to Account operations. (You need the highest level of access for this sort of thing. Use cyberspace, or the second level password.) The number you want to transfer from is 646328356481. The link code for the destination bank is BOZOBANK. The next number is for the Bank of Zurich. Yep, that's the bank you're keeping your own money in. It's ok, you CAN'T get caught. That number is 712345450134. Your last number is for the Bank of Berne. The Authorization number is LYMA1211MARZ. The Account number is 121519831200. In all these transfers, pick up ALL the money! It's yours to take! All in all, you'll end up with around $550,000!! Keep all but a couple thousand in your PAX account.(It's the most convenient.) Carry around $1200 with you at all times, and keep a little bit in the Bank of Zurich, for a rainy day! Walk over to the Hi-Tech Zone after 'signing' up with Hosaka. When the computer asks what company you're employed by, tell Hosaka. It will let you past. Go into the building. You will recieve a message that you have gotten your paycheck. It will be around $15,000. You can get your check twice. (You have to wait a week in between.) You can always sell your body parts at Mod Bods... but this is not a good idea at all. Get ahold of the BattleChess softwarez and beat the WORLDCHESS link at its own game. You'll get a bunch of credits the first time and a whole lot more the second time. Warning: you'll lose the third time until you find a higher version of BattleChess. Then again, you can always load up Prosel's Block Warden (or Copy II+) ... hint hint. Question: What should I ask people about? Answer: Ask about skills, upgrades, Matrix, Cyberspace, Neuromancer, hardware, banks, softs, and anything else you can think of. Try the words off of the PAX wheel. Question: What is there to do in Maas Biolabs? Answer : First, you need to break into the Maas Biolabs DB in zone 6. Read all the messages, and shut off all security systems and unlock the door. Go to Julius Deane's office. Ask about Hardware. Buy a gas mask. Use it. Go across the street to the labs. Answer in an encouraging manner to the computer. Get the CyberEyes system implanted in your own skull. You don't really need to do this, but it's kinda neat. You can really load up on viruses and other softs! Part 3: more assorted tidbits that you'd probably find out anyway after playing for a while... BattleChess 4.0 and Blammo 1.0 are virus programs. Don't use them. AI's are present in a lot of bases in cyberspace. You need to get your skills up since skills are the only thing that kill AI's. This, of course, is open to exceptions... The Musabori base contains the AI Greystoke which can only be killed by the 'Hemlock' software. The last AI to kill, the Neuromancer, which guards Allard Tech, must be killed with the Kuang Eleven software AND certain skills. The end-game sequence is amusing. When you think you've won, you really haven't. When Ice Lord and I were on the phone (I was calling to brag about finishing this game) I realized I hadn't, and spent the next hour fighting with the Neuromancer (the jerk). Part 4: Database link codes and passwords. Note: The password is for the level of access shown by the Level number. If the Level one password is not given, it is on the title screen for that DB. However, you should always use the highest access password you have access to. Also, some higher level passwords for some bases are not given. That is because by the time you need that level of access, you can get in through Cyberspace. An $$ indicates there is a fee for access. -no password means to use Sequencer 1.0 to access this base. DATABASE NAME | Link Code | Password(s) | Level --------------------|----------------------|----------------------|-------- Panther Moderns | CHAOS | Mainline | 1 Cheap Hotel | CHEAPO | Cockroach | 2 Gentleman Loser | LOSER | Loser | 2 Regular Fellows | REGFELLOW | Visitor | 1 Consumer Review | CONSUMEREV | (see note) $$ | 1 Asano Computing | ASANOCOMP | Vendors | 2 World Chess Fed. | WORLDCHESS | Member | 2 Psychologist | PSYCHO | Bablyon | 2 FreeMatrix | FREEMATRIX | Cfm | 1 InternalRevService | IRS | Audit | 2 Hosaka | HOSAKACORP | Fungeki | 2 Fuji Electric | FUJI | Uchikatsu | 2 Musabori | MUSABORIND | Subaru | 2 Hitachi Biotech | HITACHIBIO | Biotech | 2 Software Enf.Agency | SOFTEN | Permafrost | 2 Chiba Police | KEISATSU | Supertac | 2 Bank of Zurich | BOZOBANK | -no password | 1 Tozoku | YAKUZA | Yak | 1 NASA | VOYAGER | Apollo | 1 East.Sea.Fission | EASTSEABOD | Longisland | 1 Bank Gemeinschaft | BANKGEMEIN | Verboten | 2 Copenhagen U. | BRAINSTORM | Perilous | 1 Justice Dept. | JUSTICE | -no password | 1 Part 5: Cyberspace In Cyberspace, you should be very sure to finish all the DB's in a zone (Execpt for the one's with AI's in them in Zones 0 & 2.) before moving on to the next one. Check the Cyberspace table below to make sure. Save your game before entering each DB and save again after if you make it. Go back to the real world to recover if the EEG ever turned yellow or red while you were trying to break the ICE. Make sure you use your ICE Breaking skill before you do anything or you'll get creamed. Look at the ICE Breaking Section for the best way to go about ICE Breaking. Note: In the following section, the Zone(ZN) is the leftmost number on your cyberspace deck's co-ordinate display, then comes X, and Y is the next one over. If there is an AI, you should not attempt to enter these bases until you have the necessary skills. DATABASE NAME | Z | X | Y | AI Name | AI STR | ICE STR | --------------------|---|-----|-----|--------------|--------|---------| Asano Computing | 0 | 16 | 112 | None | -- | | Consumer Review | 0 | 32 | 64 | None | -- | | Psychologist | 0 | 96 | 32 | (unknown) | | 96 | Cheap Hotel | 0 | 112 | 112 | None | -- | | Regular Fellows | 0 | 208 | 32 | None | -- | | Panther Moderns | 0 | 224 | 112 | None | -- | | World Chess Fed. | 0 | 160 | 80 | (unknown) | | 84 | FreeMatrix | 1 | 352 | 112 | (unknown) | | 150 | IRS | 1 | 272 | 64 | None | -- | | Software Enf.Agency | 1 | 352 | 64 | None | -- | | Chiba Police | 1 | 288 | 112 | None | -- | | Tozuku | 1 | 480 | 80 | None | -- | | NASA | 1 | 448 | 32 | (unknown) | | 132 | Gentleman Loser | 1 | 416 | 64 | None | -- | | Copenhagen U. | 1 | 320 | 32 | None | -- | | Justice Dept. | 1 | 416 | 112 | None | -- | | Hosaka | 2 | 114 | 160 | None | -- | 260 | Fuji Electric | 2 | 112 | 240 | None | -- | 260 | Musabori | 2 | 208 | 208 | Greystoke | 25000+ | 260 | Hitachi Biotech | 2 | 32 | 192 | None | -- | 260 | Bank of Berne | 3 | 336 | 160 | (unknown) | | 400 | Free Sex Union | 3 | 288 | 208 | (unknown) | | 400 | Turing Registry | 3 | 432 | 240 | None | -- | 400 | Screaming Fist | 3 | 464 | 160 | None | -- | 400 | DARPA | 3 | 336 | 240 | None | -- | 400 | Gridpoint | 4 | 160 | 320 | None | -- | 800 | SENSE/NET Library | 4 | 48 | 320 | None | -- | 800 | Bell Europa | 5 | 384 | 288 | None | -- | 320 | Bank Gemeinschaft | 5 | 304 | 320 | None | -- | | Bank of Zurich | 5 | 336 | 368 | None | -- | | Nihilist | 5 | 416 | 368 | None | -- | | INSA | 5 | 448 | 320 | None | -- | | Maas Biolabs | 6 | 112 | 480 | Sangfroid | 20000+ | 1100 | KGB | 6 | 112 | 416 | Lucifer | 20000+ | 1100 | Phantom | 7 | 320 | 464 | Phantom | 24500+ | 2000 | Tessier-Ashpool | 7 | 384 | 416 | Wintermute | 23000+ | 2000 | Alllard Technology | 7 | 432 | 464 | Neuromancer | 26000+ | 2000 | Part 6: Notes on DB's. DATABASE NAME | Comments --------------------|-------------------------------------------------------- Panther Moderns | This is a good place to get information and software | (but you can only get warez for the better decks. Cheap Hotel | Here, you can erase your bill so you can get in the | building. You can also order room service. Regular Fellows | Info and software. Definately access this early on. Consumer Review | Reviews all the available decks. Will charge you $300, | so: Save game, access it, write down the info, restore | the game. You get the info for free that way. Asano Computing | Lists the link codes for some companies that are | already in the above table. Read the messages anyway. World Chess Fed. | A good way to earn some easy cash. Access the Regular | Fellows DB first to get a chess program. Psychologist | Has some interesting messages. DO NOT post anything! FreeMatrix | Has a very dangerous program. Do not download anything | from it. InternalRevService | Good messages and some other functions.. Hosaka | Very good place to get software.Also read the messages. Fuji Electric | Read the messages. Musabori | Read the messages. Hitachi Biotech | Read the messages. Software Enf.Agency | Good source of ICEBreakers and messages. Chiba Police | Get people out of your way by having them arrested. Bank of Zurich | It's a Bank. Read the messages and see the Money | section below. Tozuku | Read all the messages. NASA | Read the messages. East.Sea.Fission | Read the messages. Good software. Bank Gemeinschaft | It's a Bank. Read the mesasges and see the Money | section below. Copenhagen U. | Read the messages. Justice Dept. | Read the messages. Gentleman Loser | Good info and great softs to get you started off. Bank of Berne | It's a Bank. Read the mesasges and see the Money | section below. Free Sex Union | Read the messages Turing Registry | Read the messages. Also has skill chip upgrades you | MUST have to be able to kill AI's. Screaming Fist | Info and great software. DARPA | Info and great software. Gridpoint | Info and great software. SENSE/NET Library | Part numbers for ROM constructs. It's still up to you | to get one, though. Bell Europa | Info and Software. The easiest one to get into in Zone | 5,so do it first. Nihilist | Great software. Ignore the messages. INSA | Info and awesome software. Maas Biolabs | Access the security system for the building in South | Chiba. KGB | Lots of great software and good info. Phantom | Valuable experience in ICE Breaking and AI killing. | Otherwise, a dull one. Tessier-Ashpool | See above. Same situation. Allard Technology | This should be the last thing you do. If you kill | Neuromancer, you win. Part 7: ICE Breaking: How to do it. Softs. SOFT NAME | LOCATION | FUNCTION | --------------------|---------------|--------------------------------------| Comlink 1.0 | your deck | Basic communications package. | Comlink 2.0 | Edo's | Upgrade to above. | Comlink 3.0 | you'l find it | With each upgrade, you can access | Comlink 4.0 | you'l find it | more of the DB's. They are easy to | Comlink 5.0 | EASTSEABOD | find if you look around. | Comlink 6.0 | TOZUKU | This is the last version. | Decoder X.0 | Various | This is a first level ICE Breaker. | Blowtorch X.0 | Various | This is a first level ICE Breaker. | Hammer 1.0 | Various | This is a first level ICE Breaker. | Hammer 5.0 | Gridpoint | This is a first level ICE Breaker. | Hammer 6.0 | INSA | The best version of this program. | Drill X.0 | Various | A capable, but weak 2nd level soft. | Doorstop 1.0 | Various | A good 2nd level soft. | Doorstop 4.0 | INSA | The best version of this program. | Concrete X.0 | Various | A very good 3rd level program. | Concrete 5.0 | KGB | The best version of Concrete there is| DepthCharge X.0 | Various | The 2nd best 3rd level soft. | DepthCharge 8.0 | KGB | The top version of this soft. Great! | LogicBomb 3.0 | Nihilist | The best 3rd level there is. | LogicBomb 6.0 | KGB | The very best ICE Breaker there is! | Slow 4.0,5.0 | Nihilist,KGB | They slow down the ICE so it can only| | | shoot a few times before you kill it | Jammies X.0 | Various | See above. Not as good as Slow. | Probe X.0 | Various | Tells you the charecteristics of a | | | DB. How good it is depends on the #. | Acid X.0 | Various | A virus. Helps you attack a DB. | Acid 5.0 | Bell Europa | The best version of Acid there is. | Thunderhead 2.0 | SEA | Another virus. | Thunderhead 4.0 | Bell Europa | The best version of Thunderhead. | Python 5.0 | Nihilist | A virus.Lower versions are junk, but | | | this one is great. | Injector 5.0 | INSA,KGB | Another good virus. | ArmorAll X.0 | Various | Restores your deck's shielding. | ArmorAll 3.0 | INSA | Allows 3 uses. | ArmorAll 4.0 | KGB | Allows 4 uses. | EasyRider 1.0 | Various | Lets you skip over Zone boundaries. | | | A must have! | CyberSpace 1.0 | Various | A replacement for Comlink 6.0 when | | | you want to enter cyberspace. | Hemlock | | Use this to 'kill' Greystroke AI | Any other softs you come across should be regarded as dangerous and should not be used unless you are very careful. KGB, for example, will take you right to the KGB DB in level 6. Unless you are ready for it, you'll get creamed. The process. First, before you even enter a base, save the game! You should use one save spot for all your saves in Cyberspace. (I used number 4.) That way, if you're getting creamed, you can restore the game to Cyberspace and not have to re-log on. As soon as you enter, use your ICE Breaking skill. Then, shoot the ICE with either Slow or Jammies. This will make the ICE respond very slowly. With a high version of Slow or Jammies, you can hit the ICE 5 times before it hits you even once. Next, shoot it with the highest numbered virus you have. This will make things go much quicker. With a really good virus from zone 6 or 7, you can break into Zone 0 DB's without ever firing a shot! Then, start hitting it with all the ICE Breakers you have. Don't use each one more than twice in a row, though. They lose their effectiveness. Use the very highest, best versions of each breaker. Watch the ICE bar over on the very right side to see which ones hurt it and which ones don't. When the bar is all white, the next shot or hit from the virus will kill it. When it dies, watch to see which disk gets accessed. If it goes to side 3 or 4, you did it! If not, you have broken into a base with an AI in it. Then, you will have to a) use your Evasion skill to get away, or b) Kill the AI. Part 8: AI's If you are having MAJOR problems getting past a certain AI, fear not. You can get rid of him with little difficulty and some help from your friendly sector editor (but of course!). The following is a listing of bases found in cyberspace that have AI's associated with them, and what is required to kill them off. These weaknesses could also have been found out by you, using Psychoanalysis skill on each individual AI. Database AI Name Main Weakness --------------------- ------- --------------------------- World Chess Morphy $09 - Logic Psychologist Chrome $0C - Philosophy Free Matrix Sapphire $0D - Sophistry Musabori Greystoke $1B - Hemlock Software N.A.S.A. Hal $09 - Logic Free Sex Union Xaviera $0B - Phenomenology Bank of Berne Gold $0C - Philosophy Maas Biolabs Sangfroid $0B - Phenomenology KGB Lucifer $09 - Logic Phantom Phantom $09 - Logic Tessier-Ashpool Wintermute $0D - Sophistry Allard Tech Neuromancer $1C - Kuang Eleven / $09 - Logic Regular Fellows none Consumer Review none Asano Computing none Cheap Hotel none Panther Moderns none I.R.S. none Fuji Electric none Tactical Police none Hitachi Biotech none Copenhagen University none S.E.A. none Eastern Seaboard none Gentleman Loser none Tozoku none Hosaka none Bank Gemeinschaft none Bank of Zurich none Central Justice none Bell Europa none Nihilist none I.N.S.A. none Sense/Net none Gridpoint none D.A.R.P.O. none Turing Registry none Screaming Fist none [GS note: I have not actually tested 'editing' out AIs, (haven't gotten that desparate, yet) but if you are interested, the AI 'none's or records begin on block $11E on the GS version] Ok... now say that you're bound for destruction in front of one of these AI's... no problem. Put your cheating cap on and grab your sector editor... read in block $49... the tables of the AIs and databases start at around byte $92BB, and are in this format: 00 48 00 01 FF FF FF 00 00 6E 6F 6E 65 20 20 20 .H.......none 20 20 20 20 00 43 6F 6E 73 75 6D 65 72 20 52 65 .Consumer Re 76 69 65 77 20 00 00 00 00 C8 00 00 00 48 00 01 view ....H...H.. FF FF FF ... The above just happens to be Consumer Review, and there is no AI present (see the 'none' in there?)... Now, a database guarded by an AI looks like: 00 B8 0B 03 07 .+..8... D0 07 FF 00 C0 0B 00 00 4E 65 75 72 6F 6D 61 6E P...@...Neuroman 63 65 72 00 41 6C 6C 61 72 64 20 54 65 63 68 2E cer.Allard Tech. 20 20 20 20 00 AB 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .+.......... As you can see here, the base is Allard Tech, which is protected by the Neuromancer. Before the 'Neuromancer' bytes ($4E 65 75 72...) you can see all sorts of interesting goodies. Start changing the bytes from where you see the $C0 and $0B. Change it to look like the following: 00 B0 04 02 07 ....0... 90 01 FF FF FF FF 00 00 6E 6F 6E 65 20 20 20 20 ........none 20 20 20 00 41 6C 6C 61 72 64 20 54 65 63 68 2E .Allard Tech. 20 20 20 20 00 AB 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .+.......... Do this, and your all set. What we did is simple: we swapped out the initial record bytes which lowered the ICE strength and trashed the AI before you even got to it. Even though we used the Neuromancer AI as an example, it is the only AI that CAN'T be edited out of the game, simply because the code around it is all part of the end-game sequence, and altering the Neuromancer causes the end-game to be destroyed (not in terms of the game, but physically in the memory of your computer). So, simply, count back 12 bytes from the beginning of the AI name and poke in: B0 04 02 07 90 01 FF FF FF FF 00 and replace the AI name with 'none' (lower case is important!) and fill the end of field with $20 (spaces). Go in, melt away the ice, and no more AI. This is helpful with high-level AIs... not that cheating is the best way to do it, but if you're looking to get through the game, its the easiest. For those of us who don't want to cheat on AI's: Before you even try to kill an AI, you must have: Zen, Sophistry, Psychoanalysis, Phemonology, Logic, and Evasion. Use Evasion if you're getting beat to death. Zen: Calms your mind down. If the EEG turns yellow or red, use this skill to get back to blue. Psychoanalysis: Tells you the AI's weakness. It's weakness, when you use it, will make it say something the first time, and after that, hurt it badly. Use the weakness skill until the computer beeps at you when you try to use it. Then, use each skill twice on it and then cycle through them again. If you get beeps on every skill and the AI still isn't dead, split fast! As soon as you can, go to the Turing Registry DB and get all your skills upgraded as high as you can. Further upgrades come whenever you successfully use a skill. Part 9: Skills: What they are. SKILL NAME | Where to get | USE | --------------------|---------------|--------------------------------------| Coptalk | The Matrix | Use on the cop in Donut World. | Bargaining | Various | Never needed it myself. | Cryptology | Shiba | MUST HAVE! For decoding passwords. | Musicianship | Julius Deane | Only use is on Zion Cluster. | Software Analysis | The Matrix | Tells you what your softs do. | Debug | The Matrix | MUST HAVE! Lets you fix bugs. | Hardware Repair | Shiba | Lets you fix your UXB at the start | | | of the game. | ICE Breaking | Various | MUST HAVE! You can't win without it. | Evasion | Various | MUST HAVE! See AI Section above. | Zen | House of Pong | MUST HAVE! See AI Section above. | Sophistry | House of Pong | MUST HAVE! See AI Section above. | Logic | Julius Deane | MUST HAVE! See AI Section above. | Psychoanalysis | Julius Deane | MUST HAVE! See AI Section above. | Phenomonology | Various | MUST HAVE! See AI Section above. | You may run across other skills in the course of the game. Try them and see what they do. The above is all I ever needed so you can win without any others you may find. COMMENTS?: Steve Luzynski can be reached at: GEnie - SLUZYNSKI Compuserve - 76277,2140 AppleLink - SteveL39 Jim Maricondo can be reached at: GEnie - J.Maricondo1 AppleLink - The Mouse2 Have fun!!! Portions of this file are copyrighted 1989 by Steve Luzynski and 1989 by Jim Maricondo. Permission is granted for Computist to reproduce this article in any way within Computist magazine. original file date stamp: 9/22/1989 From The Baron Attention cheaters. Here's a cheat for $$$ CASH $$$ in Neuromancer GS. You can save 4 games on the disg. Run Block Wardon and (F)ollow the file DATA1. Here's a chart of what's where: Game # Relative Block Byte -------- --------------- -------------- 1 167 $1CF ($014DCF) 2 171 $135 ($015535) 3 175 $9B ($015C9B) 4 179 $01 ($016401) Money is stored in backwards hex (i.e. 1,000,000 = $0F 42 40, so it woulf be stored as $40 42 0F). The maximum amount of money possible that you can hold is 9,999,999 which is $98 96 7F. So to get the most money start at the byte in the chart above and edit in $7F9698. If you install the enter monitor CDA (# from the monitor) you can edit your money instantly while playing the game. When run from a 3.5" disg drive, your money starts at $46B5 in bank zero. Edit it in the same manner for instant Lotto. original file date stamp: 6/15/1989