Aberration Analyst Software User Guide

Aberration Analyst Software

Specifications

• Game: Aberration Analyst
• Developer: Michael Schmidt
• Engine: Acknex engine (made with 3D Game Studio)
• Compatibility: May have issues with newer operating systems

Product Information

Welcome to Aberration Analyst! You will play as an analyst for a monster hunting organization, using resources like newspaper tabloids, police reports, and your wits to track down and deal with various aberrations (monsters).

Gameplay Basics
Aberration Analyst is a unique game where you are stationed at a desk and not involved in actions like jumping or shooting.

Using the Main Menu

• Starting a New Game: Press Start to begin a new game. Note that this will overwrite any existing game.
• Loading a Saved Game: Press Load to resume a previously saved game. Games save automatically.
• Options: Adjust game volume, music volume, and screen resolution. Press Okay to save settings.
• Exiting the Game: Hit Exit to leave the session. Progress is saved for future continuation.
• Read Reports: Access reports from previous play-throughs.

The Desk
The desk is where all gameplay in Aberration Analyst originates. It features a map of the region with clickable cities for information.

Map Legend

• Mouse Cursor: Player control
• Selected City: Information displayed in the City Folder
• No Evidence: City investigated but no evidence found
• Evidence: City investigated with evidence covered
• Aberration: City where aberration was successfully mitigated
• Aberration Escaped: City where aberration escaped

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Q: Is Aberration Analyst compatible with all operating systems
  A: Aberration Analyst may have compatibility issues with newer operating systems. Troubleshooting can often resolve these issues.

• Q: How do I save my game progress?
  A: Games in Aberration Analyst save automatically. Use the Load feature to resume a previous session.

Introduction

Welcome to Aberration Analyst! In this game you will take on the role of an analyst for a top secret, monster hunting organization. You will have to use the resources available, like newspaper tab-loids, police and coroner reports, and your wits, in order to track down and either capture or contain a variety of different “aberrations” which is code for monsters.

Warnings and Suggestions
Aberration Analyst is the project of solo developer Michael Schmidt. It runs on the Acknex engine, made with 3D Game Studio. As such, there may be some compatibility issues with newer operating systems. Normally these are things that can be resolved with a bit of trouble shooting, so feel free to reach out to me on the forum where you bought the game, or via the Schmidt Worskshops Discord server.

Gameplay Basics
Aberration Analyst may not be similar to other games your have played. There is no jumping, or shooting or running around involved. Instead, you are stuck at a desk, with access to several key resources, a limited budget, and a team of monster hunters at your service. Once you have identified a potential aberration, you can prepare and send a team to hunt them down.
But with great power comes responsibility! Sending a team unprepared can get team members killed. If you end up losing all your team members, or running out of money, your game will end. If, on the other hand, you are able to mitigate all the aberrations on the map, you will win. In either case, you will receive a final report of your accomplishments (or lack thereof). Your ten best reports will be saved and can be viewed from the main menu whenever you choose to do so.

The Main Menu

Before playing Aberration Analyst, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with its menu system. Most options are self explanatory, but here is a basic summary of issues which you should be aware of.

Starting a New Game : Press the Start button to begin a new game.

Note! This will overwrite an existing game if you have already started one.

Loading a Saved Game: Press Load to load your previously saved game. Games will save automatically so there is no need to save them while playing. Aberration Analyst is a game you play in rele-tively short sessions, much like a rogue-like game in which you get one life, and must start from scratch after each session. The load feature simply allows you to come back to an unfinished session, in case it went longer than expected.
Options: Adjust the game volume, music volume and screen resolution here. Press “Okay” to save your settings.
Exiting the Game: Hit “Exit” to leave the current session. Don’t worry, whatever progress you made will be saved, and you can return when you re- launch the game by clicking “Load” as described above.
Read Reports: This button gives you access to reports from previous play- throughs. The game saves your top ten games in terms of overall score.

The Desk

All the gameplay in Aberration Analyst starts at the desk. The desk has a number of important features.
Map: In the middle of the desk is your map of the region. The only features visible are the locations of cities, which can be clicked with the mouse to access information about them. Information appears in the city folder, which is described below.

You can zoom in and out of the map by using the mouse scroll wheel. It will automatically zoom into the currently selected city.

City Folder: The city folder appears near the bottom right corner of the desk. It displays information about the city you have currently selected. The information includes the city name, class (i.e. village, town, city etc…) the population, year founded, latitude and longi-tude. This information will be useful when trying to track down aberrations.

If you have identified a tabloid headline, it will also appear in the city folder. And if you have sent a team, the results of their investi-gation will also appear under “Found.”
Budget Folder: The budget folder shows your current progress and financial resources. Keep an eye on the budget folder, as running out of money can end your career abruptly!

Tabloids: This is your best starting point in your investigation. Each day 10 new newspaper tabloids will appear. By perusing these articles, you may discover a clue to start an investigation.

Take note! Tabloids may be helpful to get things started, but they are not reliable at all. Be ready to give up on an investigation if it does not generate any additional evidence.

Computer: The computer gives you access to both Police and Coroner reports for the currently selected city.
You will need to pay to gain access to these reports, so keep an eye on your budget (as always) before agreeing to anything.
Police and coroner reports will provide much more factual information about the city you are investigating

Lore: Pay close attention to these books. They contain all the lore that you gather in your investigations. Lore is the one thing that will be saved between play sessions. Lore will help you see the patterns and clues that will help you identify the type of aberration you are looking for. Some monsters may behave in similar ways, but with the right lore, you will be more likely to be able to distinguish one from another.
Calendar: The calendar is not to be trifled with. Use it only after you feel you have exhausted that day’s tabloids. When you click the calendar, you will move the game one day forward. This has multiple important effects.

Firstly, it will cause you to spend $5000 from your budget, you need to pay all the overhead costs of running your investigation unit after all. Secondly, it will remove all current tabloids and give you access to 10 new tabloids to investigate.
Rolodex: This organizer contains contact in-formation for all your team members. This is where you will assemble a team when you are ready to send them on a mission.
Use the mouse scroll wheel to view each mem-ber’s information, but the primary things you will need to consider are just two.

The first is the mission cost, and the second, more important aspect is whether they have a specialization or not.

This is a very important aspect of the game. Sending a team without the right kind of specialist can dramatically effect the results of your mis-sion. Knowing what kind of aberration you are looking for makes all the difference.

Training: You will start the game with five spe-cialists, one for each type of aberration. How-ever, as you progress, it may become necessary to train another investigator in a specialization.
Choose from specialization in witches, ghosts, werewolves, vampires or wendigo. Their mission cost will go up accordingly. You can retrain an investigator, but they will lose their current specialization in the process, so don’t do this unless abso-lutely necessary. Training is not instantaneous, and may take up to three days to complete. 

Telephone: Use the phone when you have gathered enough data, and have assembled a team. When you make the call, you will send your team to the currently selected city.

Sending a team will produce an investigation report. If the team discovered any evidence, it will also show up in that city’s folder. If your team has the wrong kind of specialist, you will be opening then up for an ambush. This may result in lost team members.

Successful investigations will also generate some lore, which will appear in your lore books for later reference.

Gameplay Example
A typical game will consist of a brief viewing of the day’s tabloids, in which you will mark any interesting ones on the map.

Then you can view the police reports in order to determine whether there is anything to the headlines. Sometimes the police reports may seem to be inconclusive. You may find a lot of reports that have nothing to do with an aberration.

In this case, you may want to check the coroner reports. The dead always tell the truth, so see if the manner of death matches up with the type of monster you suspect to be active, that that will be a strong indicator or aberration activity!

Aberrations: This is what you are after. A monster (or aberration as we call them here) will tend to do its dirty work in certain cities, and then retreat to its lair. So when you find evidence of aberration activity, it will always be in places outside of its actual home.
Aberrations are smart enough not to carry out their nefarious business near their lairs, so be careful about this. If you send an unprepared team to the lair of an aberration, they are likely to be killed in great numbers.
The way to manage this is to look for evidence of aberration activity. Once you have found enough, you should see a kind of pattern, and that pattern will point you to the lair. Recognizing these patterns is the job of an aberration analyst, so pay attention and read the lore when it becomes available.
Also, if you send the wrong team to an aberration lair, that aberration will know it’s been found, and will escape. You only get one chance to catch an aberration!

Final Reports:

Upon mitigation or escape of all aberration, loss of all team members, or running out of money, your run will end, and you will get a final report on the outcome of your investigations along with a comprehensive score.

Here you can see the result of a failed investigation. Running out of money is definitely a way to end your game.

That’s really all there is to it! Hopefully you now know enough to get started hunting down aberrations.
Good luck out there!

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