Anaksha Mini Adventures 2: A New Threat - Manual

Introduction

Welcome to the city of Santa Lina. A dark, rainswept metropolis filled with crime and sleaze. You will play the role of Anaksha - a dangerous female vigilante (known only as the Virgo Killer) who is determined to clean up the city.

The Story So Far

Our heroine is fed up with her cellphone! It breaks easily, rarely picks up a signal and doesn't even switch on half the time. She considered buying the latest touch screen smart phone from a retailer Neon City but Dee had a better idea. She suggested Anaksha get a custom made device from one of Dee's shady contacts in Cipher Town. Something that would be tough, robust and would actually pick up a signal no matter where you are. So at the cost of 25 thousand dollars, Anaksha commissioned Cody to build her, what is considered to be the ultimate cellular phone.

After building the phone Cody agreed to meet her at a low key hotel in Hell's Cats so she could pick up her new toy.

This is where you take over. Anaksha has just arrived at the Tiger Lounge Hotel (after her little detour - if you've played Quick Stop you'll know what I'm talking about). Needless to say she is excited about seeing her new toy. All she has to do pick it up and leave. Nice and simple right?... Good luck! You're gonna need it! :)

What's New?

The driving force behind this game is my own flash-based, graphic adventure game engine called AAGi (Anaksha Adventure Game Interpreter). Version 2 has the following features and improvements:

Random trigger system (RTS) - this is the biggest improvement of all. It allows a slightly different gaming experience each time you play with new items, events, puzzles, etc.
Save game system
Larger screen with large scrolling maps
Improved collision detection
Improved dialogue processing and display
Anaksha's face now displays many different emotions during dialogue according to how she feels
Unlimited inventory size with item descriptions
Certain items can now be combined to create new ones
Scoring system
Multiple shops where items can be bought
Anaksha can change outfits
Gizmos - allows custom written mini-games and usable gadgets to be built into the story.
Achievements system
Hidden virgo symbols (this is basically a treasure hunt similar the to the riddler trophies in Batman Arkham Asylum. Finding them all will reward the player with a secret bonus or event of some kind)

Please do not email me asking for the source code to AAGi! This proprietry software is legally my intellectual property and is currently only for my personal use. I've no plans on releasing the engine to the public just yet (although I may do some day), but until then it's not for sale or distribution. Let's show each other a little respect here.

Controls

Use the WASD or Arrow Cursor keys to move Anaksha around the maps (whichever key set feels most comfortable). SPACEBAR will interact with people and objects.

The keys to access the options screen and inventory have been grouped into three pairs. Feel free to pick the pair you feel most comfortable with. They all work just as well.

Key Pair 1: 'ESCAPE' and 'TAB'

Key Pair 2: 'O' and 'I'

Key Pair 3: 'BACKSPACE' and 'ENTER'

To use an item from your inventory, walk over to the person or object you wish to interact with and make sure you're facing the right direction. Press 'TAB', 'I' or 'ENTER' to bring up the inventory (use the same key or 'ESCAPE' to exit the options screen). Use the UP and DOWN cursor keys (or the W and S keys) to highlight the relvent item and press SPACE.

To combine two items in your inventory, press 'TAB', 'I' or 'ENTER' to bring up the inventory screen. Use the up and down keys to highlight the first item and press 'C'. Use the up and down keys to highlight the second item and press either SPACE or 'C'. Press 'ESCAPE' to cancel.

To access the options screen press 'ESCAPE', 'O' or 'BACKSPACE' (use the same key to exit the options screen). Use the Cursor keys or WASD keys to navigate around the options screen.

Virgo Symbols

Invisible Virgo symbols have been painted all over town (both indoors and outdoors) by Anaksha's crazed fans and citizen's who suppport the Virgo Killer and what she's doing for society. Although they've no idea what her real identity is, they still know how to let her know they love her.

Once you receive the 'Assassin' you can use it to reveal any hidden symbols which have been painted on a certain area. To do so, go right up to a wall or an object you want to check, access your inventory, select 'Assassin' and press 'SPACE' to use it. If you successfully locate a symbol, the game will reward you with 1 point.

There are 60 symbols hidden all over the map. If you manage to find them all you'll unlock a bonus item.

Saving and Loading Your Progress

As with most video games these days you probably don't want to play the whole thing in one sitting (unless you're a hardcore gaming nut like some people I know!) . Thankfully the AAGi engine allows you to save your progress.

To save your game, bring up the options screen by pressing 'ESCAPE', 'O' or 'BACKSPACE' and select 'Save Game'. Here you will see 3 possible slots in which you can record your progress. To do this, pick a slot and press SPACE. If the save was successful, your current game details will appear inside the main slot itself (you can over-write save slots too). That's it. Your progress has been saved to your browser's cookie and so long you don't clear your browser cache your save data will be safe. This method will work just fine for most people.

If there was a problem with saving the game, then your save details will not show up in the slot and nothing will happen. This could be due to one of several issues. Either you have disabled flash cookies or your flash player settings are not allowing the game enough space to save. Check the 'Known Issues' section later on for more details.

Saving Your Progress Manually

Now for those of you who want something a little more permanent that you can file away, you'll be happy to know you can copy your save data to your system's clipboard by pressing 'C' on the save game screen. You can then paste it into your favorite text editor, save it and file it away. This will allow you to continue your game on any machine without having to worry about your browser cache.

WARNING: Do NOT attempt to edit the save data! Doing so will corrupt your save progress and may possibly crash the game or in rare instances may even crash your machine!

Loading Your Progress Manually

To load a saved game that you've filed away, simply highlight the block of text you want and press "Ctrl"+"c" (or "Command"+"c" on the Mac). Then in your load game screen, use the mouse to click inside the little input box at the bottom of the load screen. You can then paste your save data into it by pressing "Ctrl"+"v" ("Command"+"v" on the Mac) or by right-clicking in the box and selecting "Paste". Upon recognising and validating the save text, the game will restore itself automatically. However if there was a problem, then the input box will tell you the save data was invalid.

NOTE: Each save game block will contain two tags - "###ANEWTHREAT###" and "@@@ANEWTHREAT@@@". Make sure you include these when you select the individual block of text.

Load/Save Technical Issues

There is one known technical issue for Windows users which occurs when you try and copy a save game from MS Notepad. For some reason, when you load a text file in notepad it decides to add temporary line breaks in the text depending on the size of the application window. To fix this, switch off 'Word Wrap' before selecting and copying your save game.

Regardless of which text editor you're using, if you're having trouble loading a game manually, it might be wise to disable word wrap and see if that's causing the issue.

Hints and Tips

There's nothing I can tell which you besides the obvious.

Check and recheck all areas and speak to everyone again. Sometimes certain events can trigger new items, conversations or people to appear.
Two items can sometimes be combined to make new items
When checking out certain places, the description may tell you there's nothing of interest at this current moment in time. That's a hint that something random could appear in that place after a certain event. Make a list of these places and check them all when you're stuck. One example is each segment of the fence in the alley.

Those three key hints are enough to see you through the entire game. But if you're really stuck on a particular segment, then it might be best for you to check the forum for hints. Chances are someone else has already experienced the same problem and posted a solution to it. If not, then feel free to post a new thread. Please don't email me asking for hints. I believe it's better to openly discuss these puzzles in a public place so others can benefit from it too.

The official 'A New Threat' forum topic can be found here

I haven't written any walkthroughs or guides for this game (the only walkthrough I have is the game design document which is a hard copy written in ink). Currently the only hints available are the ones which have been posted on the forum, however if you feel you want to write your own game guide or FAQ then be my guest

Known Issues

If you're using Mac OSX, you'll be pleased to know it ships with an early version of Flash Player which may cause trouble when it comes to saving your game. Always be sure you are using the latest Flash Player which you can download for free from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

If you are planning on saving your progress via browser cookies then please make sure your browser's cookies are enabled. You can do this via the privacy settings on your browser.

Another problem which could be causing save issues is your Flash Player's storage settings. Make sure your Flash Player's global storage is set to at least 30k (I recommend leaving it at 100k which is the default. At least that way you can also play other games on anaksha.com). You can access your storage settings here

Known Bugs

None at the moment and hopefully it'll stay this way. :) But regardless of that, I still need your help in tracking down any bugs (or game issues) which have slipped by me. If you find anything the please email me. My details are on the contact page of this site.

Final Notes

If you've completed the game, then why not try again? Some of the games events and puzzles change a little each time you play, so chances are you'll get a slightly different experience on your second or third try.

Also be sure to check out Anaksha: Dark Angel for the action-packed, dramatic conclusion to this story. (Note: Anaksha Dark Angel is an arcade-style sniper simulation NOT an adventure game).