Game Manual

Table of Contents

Game Requirements……………………………………………………………..3

The Story………………………………………………………………………….4

Getting Started……………………………………………………………………5

Playing Crystalline………………………………………………………………..6

Strategy…………………………………………………………………..………14

Credits……………………………………………………………………………16

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Game RequirementsCrystalline requires a machine with Windows XP/Vista. For XP computers, service pack 2 is required. You must have a graphics card which supports shader model 1.1 or later, and is compatible with DirectX 9.0c or later.

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The Story

The remote valley forests of Heavenfell were home to Harek the White and Furyk the Black, two brilliant, ambitious wizards, for many years. Normally peaceful and quiet, the valley was occasionally disturbed by the effects of Harek and Furyk’s magical research. Each was driven by a burning desire to outdo the other, and the two wizards would constantly dream up new arcane spells to flaunt their skill. One day, while they were simultaneously perfecting a new type of teleportation using prismatic crystals, Harek and Furyk’s experiments began to produce magical interference. Before either wizard could react, the resonance of the two spells tore reality asunder in the valley, dividing it into three parallel dimensions, or planes. In one plane the valley was transformed into a shallow sea bordered by pristine, sandy beaches. Another plane held a hellish valley covered in craters and lava flows. The third plane was lost to a vast swamp, with only a few dead, rotten trees remaining from its former forested slopes. The wizards realized that the only way to reverse this dangerous transformation was to deactivate one of their experiments. Both too proud to sacrifice their work while the other continued his experiments, Harek and Furyk took up arms and prepared to attack each others’ laboratories on ever plane. Calling on the powerful spirits and magical creatures that roamed the newly-created planes, the wizards are now locked in a battle to save the world… and their research.

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Getting Started

Installing Crystalline

To install Crystalline, simply download and run the Crystalline installer, available at the Stratosphere Games website ( http://dev1.coursetopia.com/Crystalline/ ).

The Main Menu

This should be the first screen you see after you launch Crystalline:

New Game: Left-click here to start playing Crystalline.

More Options: Left click here to adjust various graphical and sound settings such as screen size and music volume.

Quit: Closes Crystalline.

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Playing Crystalline

Game Overview

In Crystalline, you take on the role of the wizard Harek the White in a battle against his rival, Furyk the Black. Harek and Furyk’s magical one-upmanship has caused the world of Heavenfell to branch off into three parallel dimensions, or planes: the endless swamps of the Green World, the blistering wastes of the Red World, and the salt rivers of the Blue World. To restore Heavenfell to its idyllic former state, one of the wizards must deactivate his magical equipment. Each wizard is able to summon magical creatures to help him fight. Harek’s research is far more important than the mere potential destruction of the universe, so you must create an army and capture Furyk or destroy his castles before he can do the same to you.

Controls and Keyboard Shortcuts: Quick Version

The mouse and keyboard shortcuts for Crystalline’s interface are as follows. All other game functions are performed by left-clicking on the associated button in the toolbar or menu.

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Understanding the Interface

Crystalline is a “click-heavy” game - it is possible to play through a whole session of Crystalline only using the left and right mouse buttons, although there are also convenient keyboard shortcuts for many actions. In this section, we will explain Crystalline’s in-game toolbar using the numbered diagram below.

1. The world. The upper part of the screen shows what’s going on in one plane at a time, in this case the Green World. Here you can see and select your characters and give them directions for where to move or attack.

2. Your units. Characters (also known as “units”) under your control have white crystal icons floating above their head.

3. Your currently selected unit. Characters that you have selected, in this case a Jötunn, are shown with a small yellow box surrounding them.

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4. Your wizard. Like his creations, Harek has a white crystal icon above his head.

5. Your enemy’s units. Furyk and his units are shown with black crystal icons above their heads.

6. Units on other planes. Units on other planes are represented by semitransparent circles in the color of the plane they inhabit. In this case, there are two units in Red World and one unit in Blue World. There is no way to tell friendly units from enemy units just based on their overlay, so you will have to switch to another world view if you want to know who’s who. If a unit you have selected is on another plane, its overlay will blink.

7. The wizard finder. Left-clicking on this icon will instantly select your wizard, no matter where he is. This is useful for situations where you are attacked by surprise, or when many units on screen are moving around and it is difficult to find or click your wizard, or even just when you want to summon units in one area while managing a fight elsewhere.

8. The toolbar. The lower portion of the screen contains buttons and displays that show what actions are available to you at the moment, as well as various other information about the state of the game.

9. The minimap. The minimap shows scaled-down versions of all three planes, with white and black dots representing friendly and enemy forces, respectively. It is useful for monitoring the movements of your enemy without switching views.

10. View change buttons. You can use these buttons to switch the main part of the screen to another plane. In this case, the green view button is crossed out because we are already looking at the Green World.

11. The selected character list. You may select up to six units at a time; their portraits, as well as their health bars, will appear here.

12. Teleportation buttons. These three colored, door-shaped icons crossed out in this screenshot allow you to send certain character types from dimension to dimension. When a teleporting character is among your selected units, these buttons will become available for use.

13. Action buttons. The contents of this section of the screen will vary from moment to moment depending on the units you have selected. Below is a screenshot of the full action button area.

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The Action Buttons

From left to right, top to bottom:

Go: Click this and then any point on the world and your selected units will try to make their way there. Right-clicking the world has the same effect.

Attack: Click this and then a point on the world or an enemy unit and your selected units will move toward and attack the specified area or unit. Right-clicking an enemy unit also constitutes an attack command.

Stop: Click this to immediately stop your characters from moving, attacking, or casting spells, including teleportation.

Three Summoning Options: If you have selected your wizard, you will be able to summon three types of unit, depending on which world the wizard is currently in. The doppelganger (the leftmost button in the second row) is always available, but the other two will vary. A small panel of information about each unit will appear when you hold the cursor over a summoning button.

Three Enenra Teleportation Buttons: An Enenra is a kind of unit which can teleport itself instantaneously from world to world. This is unlike regular teleportation, which takes time to perform, so there are special buttons that cater to the Enenra’s abilities.

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Teleportation

The world of Crystalline is divided into three planes. Each plane has different terrain, and maneuvering through and between these planes is an important part of Crystalline. However, not all units can move between the planes at will. The wizard is able to travel freely between the different versions of his castle, but to move his minions, he must summon a special unit called a Doppelganger. This spirit is able to mimic its master’s teleporting power, and is even able to take other spirits with it. Doppelgangers are a very important unit for this reason. Another spirit that can teleport is the Enenra, but it can only teleport alone.

In his image, we see a Doppelganger casting a spell to teleport himself and the other characters near him from the Green World to the Red World. The spell’s color reflects the destination plane.

The Anatomy of a Unit

Each of the nine unit types in Crystalline has its own unique strengths and abilities. In describing each unit in subsequent sections of the manual, the following terms will be used:

HP: Hit points. The more HP a unit has, the harder it is to defeat. When a unit’s HP reaches zero, its bonds to the wizard are broken and it vanishes back into the æther. Damage: This is, abstractly, how good in a fight the unit is. Units with high damage have sharp claws, deadly magic abilities, or sheer brute strength at their disposal. When a unit attacks, its target loses HP equal to the attacker’s damage.Range: How far away the unit can attack from. Some units are able to hurl their spells from afar, while others rely on physically touching their targets; the latter type are said to have “melee range.”Area of Effect: Certain units have abilities that affect others nearby. The Area of Effect is the radius of a unit’s special ability field.Summon Time: How long it takes the wizard to summon the unit.

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Bestiary

The magical spirits found in the worlds of Crystalline are a diverse group. Below are portraits of each character, as well as a short description of their characteristics and role in a wizard’s army. Specific statistics for each characters can be found in the Strategy section.

Spirits from Green World

Dryad

Dryads are benevolent nature spirits that hail from the green world's rich, thriving environment. They are able to spread the vital energy of their homeworld across the dimensions, restoring the health of nearby allies on other worlds. This ability makes them invaluable support units, but their inability to heal allies on the same plane makes them inherently vulnerable to flanking.

Jötunn

The jötunn is a fierce, heroic giant from the green world. Although he is not as physically resilient as the golems of the blue world, his great charisma and fearsome battle cries inspire nearby allies on all worlds, making them more effective in combat. Unlike Dryads, Jötunns’ beneficial aura affects allies on the same plane, allowing them to fight alongside the Golems, Marids, or Ghosts that they empower.

Spirits from Red World

Enenra

These trickster spirits from the red plane take the form of humanoid wisps of smoke. Although their bodies are frail and easily destroyed, they are able to teleport themselves from plane to plane and deal a terriffic amount of damage with their fiery touch. The combination of teleportation and high damage makes them useful as guerilla forces - they approach an enemy force from another plane and teleport down in their midst. After killing the enemy's support units, the Enenra can then teleport away to safety.

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Lich

Able to pull spirits of the recently dead from the space between planes using her fearsome, infernal power, the Lich takes the souls of enemies who die on other planes and drags them into her own plane as ghosts. Because Liches depend on being on a separate plane from the action, they make excellent guardians for Dryads.

Ghost

Ghosts are the temporary servants summoned by Liches, formed from the spirits of recently slain enemies. Ghosts free themselves from the Lich's control and vanish from the battlefield shortly after they are created.

Spirits from Blue World

Golem

Imposing, durable human figures molded from the blue world's enchanted sands, golems are the backbone of a balanced army. What they lack in magical power they make up for with sheer durability and ease of production. They make cheap, effective shock troops, especially when supported by Jötunns and Dryads.

Marid

The marids are powerful elemental spirits tied to the blue world’s vast oceans. Drawing their power from the fierce storms that rock their home world, marids are able to hurl magical lightning bolts which bounce from plane to plane, striking up to three nearby enemies. This ability makes them particularly effective against forces supported by Dryads or Jötunns on other planes.

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Characters with No Home Plane

Doppelganger

Doppelgangers are clever spirits which have learned to mimic some of their masters’ magical abilities. They can teleport themselves and nearby allies to another plane, which makes them the second most important unit. Effective use of a Doppelganger can turn the tide of almost any battle.

Wizard

The main characters of the game, the wizards have learned to harness the power of mystical crystals to create potent magic. If either team manages to capture their opponent’s wizard, they automatically win the game. Wizards are able to summon other units while they are on that unit’s home plane. Wizards can teleport from plane to plane as long as they are standing in one of their castles (or the ruins of one). While it is tempting to bring your wizard out of the castle to conjure new units closer to the action, be prepared to retreat at the first sign of approaching enemies – remember, they can teleport in from other planes, instantly surrounding him.

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Strategy Crystalline is very much a strategy-oriented game. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each character type will allow you to organize and deploy your forces much more effectively, and knowing how to move and build around your opponent’s forces is the key to victory.

Unit Details

There are nine unit types in Crystalline, counting the Wizard. In this section we will provide descriptions of each character, listing their combat statistics and recommended roles in battle.

Doppelganger• 30 HP• no attack• Teleportation radius of 3 squares• 5 second cooldown on teleportation

Dryad• 25 HP• cannot attack; heals• healing aura: +5 HP per second for allies in a 3-square radius on other planes• 10 second summoning period

Ghost• 50 HP• 2-3 damage, melee range• Vanishes 60 seconds after creation

Golem

• 100 HP• 6-10 damage, melee range• 5 second summoning period• Golems have no special abilities.

Enenra• 30 HP• 15-20 damage, melee range• 15 second summoning period• 10 second cooldown on teleportation ability

Jötunn• 75 HP

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• 6-10 damage, melee range• inspiring aura: +3 damage for allies in a 2-square radius on all planes• 20 second summoning period

Lich• 50 HP• 2-3 damage, range of 2 squares• 20 second summoning period• Liches summon Ghosts. If an enemy unit dies within a 3-square radius of a lich

on a different plane, she creates a Ghost. The Ghost appears on the Lich’s plane in the same coordinates as the dead unit.

Marid• 50 HP• Initial attack: 3-5 damage, range of 3 squares• First bounce: 2-3 damage, range of 3 squares from first target• Second bounce: 1-2 damage, range of 3 squares from second target• 10 second summoning period• Attacks using “chain lightning”: if there is a unit on another plane within 1 space

of the unit he is targeting, his attacks will “chain” and strike that unit. His attack can chain up to three times, striking one unit on each dimension. If there are multiple units that meet the criteria, his attack will chain to the one with the most hit points remaining, or one randomly selected from those with the most HP if there is a tie.

Wizard• 200 HP• 3-5 damage, range of 4 squares• Able to teleport himself to either of the other planes so long as he is standing in

one of his castles (or the ruins of one).

Group Composition

Usually, you’ll want to have at least two groups, because many units are more effective if they’re not on the same plane as the fighting. Liches, Dryads, and sometimes Jotunns fall into this category. Also, some units complement each other better than others. For example, Eneras gain only a little benefit from Jotunns, because Enenras already have very high damage, and so the Jotunn doesn’t make a big difference. On the other hand, Marids have very low damage, but their attacks hit multiple times, meaning they benefit immensely from the Jotunn’s damage increase.

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CreditsJared Cantwell - Lead Programmer

Clyde Chung - Character and Promotional Art

Frank Emerson - Programmer

Greg Thomas - Programmer

Velthur Pendell - Music and Design

Ben Spector - Terrain and Interface Art

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