You can download the game from this link (100 mb):
If the above link doesn't work it can also be downloaded from this link:
Getting the game working is a little tricky. This is mainly due to some retrospectively bad design decisions that occured during the development process.
First of all the game requires a full installation of visual C# 2005 with the sp1 upgrade, XNA 2.0 and the .net 2.0 framework.
We ended up using an XNA service at one point in the development that only exists in the full installation, unfortunately it won't work with the XNA redistributeable.
The annoying thing is that the final version of the game doesn't even use the the service but it still won't run without the full installation.
To get the game to run correctly and at a full screen resolution, you have to manually change the resolution of your monitor to 1024 * 768 The game will then run at the full resolution of the screen. The reasoning for having to do this is that we used windows forms for the pop up interface in the game. it seemed like a good idea at the time and would save us effort with images. It turned out though that when the application was full screened the forms couldn't be brought to the foreground. We had to cheat a bit to make it work.
When you have all that done just run the .exe file in the The Manhattan Strain folder and it should work.
If you are having any issues with it please contact me and I will attempt to sort them out for you.
Visual C# express 2005 iso:
There are some instruction images included in the zip that show the basic controls but there some areas that aren't explained in enough detail and there are some tricks to actually using some of the features in the game. I'm going to attempt to give a more precise set of instructions and steps needed to play the game.
Adding and Removing Roadblocks:
Placing a roadblock can't be done by simply clicking on a position and having the roadblock just appear at that location. This is because you the position clicked might be over a building and obviously a roadblock can't be placed in a building. To use them properly you must first click on the place roadblock icon, when the cursor changes to have a little roadblock symbol on it you can then place the roadblock. To actually place the roadblock you must hold down the left button on your mouse and drag the cursor across the map. As you are draging the cursor you will see a preview of the roadblock appearing in the level. This will let you see see where the roadblock will appear when you let go of the left button If you try to drag it into the middle of a building or park you will notice that the roadblock does not appear. When you are satisfied with the position of the roadblock let go of the left button and the roadblock will be added to the level at that position.
You are only able to place a limited number of roadblocks so if you have reached the limit and want to add a new one, you must first remove a roadblock that is currently active. To do this you simply have to click on the roadblock you want to remove and in the pop up window click on remove button. This will remove the roadblock from play and free up all cops and biologists assigned to it.
Selecting Units
There are 4 ways to select units in the game.
First, You can simply click on any single unit to select it. Selecting a unit in this way will create a pop up that will give you information on that person. This is the only way to select civilians in the game.
Second, You can hold down the left mouse button and drag across the screen to create a selection box which will select all cops and biologists within it's borders.
Third, You can use the HUD interface to select unassigned units. By clicking on the green boxes seen in the image below you can select the relevant unit. The number inside the box states how many unassigned units are available for selection. Each click selects one unit and you can select both cops and biologists at the same time to give them orders.
The final method of unit selection is a context based one. If you have units assigned to a roadblock or building and you wish to give them a different assignment this is how to do it. You must first click on the building or roadblock that contains some officers or biologists. By clicking on the cop or biologist tabs in the pop up you can get access to the units stored in that building. Then by using the arrow icons you can select a number of units which can then be given new orders.
To unselect any selected units simply click the left mouse button.
To give any unit an assignment you simply have to have a unit selected and right click on the object you want to assign them to. Ordering units does not unselect them however so you should unselect them before giving orders to other units.
To make a unit patrol the city you must first give it a path to patrol. To do this you must have a unit selected. First, Click on the patrol button in either the HUD or the character pop up. Your cursor should change to show that the patrol mode has been selected. To set way points you must left click at different positions on the streets to set markers. As you do this a small symbol will appear showing your selection. When you have set all the way points you want to be patrolled click the right mouse button to initialise the patrol for the selected units. They will now patrol that route forever until you assign them new orders.
Setting Quarantines, Lockdowns and Airstrikes
There are two ways to assign these actions to buildings.
The first way is to click on the building and in the building info pop-up click the button for the action you wish to apply to that building. If the action is the quarantine or lockdown, these actions can also be cancelled by clicking the button again.
The second way to first select the action you want to apply and then select the building to apply it to. To do this select the action on the HUD actions menu, your cursor will change to reflect the action. Then left click on the building you want to apply it to.
The actions are context sensitive. If you already have a building selected and then click on one of the HUD action buttons the effect will be instantly applied to the building selected as though you clicked it in the pop up box.
The Overmap
Sometimes a new perspective can help you understand a situation. By pressing the "m" key on your keyboard or clicking on the icon above the minimap you can switch the camera to a top down view that will let you easily see the situation in the city. Pressing the button or clicking again will return the camera to normal.
Effective use of Roadblocks, lockdowns and Quarantines
The roadblock is one of the most useful tools at your disposal. Thoughtful and timely placement will allow you to have a great deal of control over the flow of civilian traffic in the city. One very useful feature of the roadblock is that you can set the direction of travel that civilians can pass through. It can be changed on the roadblocks pop up menu. By using this feature you can potentially evacuate a great number of civilians from a section of the city and not allow anyone back in. The direction of travel can be changed at any time so it is a good idea to block off an area that has infected people, allow people to leave the area until the infected civilians start moving and at that point stop people from passing through the roadblock.
The roadblock is a useful tool but don't forget to reinforce it if you want it to be effective.
Lockdowns are another useful tool, primarily when used in conjunction with a roadblock. A lockdown will evacuate every person from a building and lock the doors so no one can get in anymore. Lockdowns are a little different from the others because they don't need reinforcements to make them effective. If you know that an infected person is on their way to a particular building you can evacuate that building and reduce the chance of them getting infected.
Combining lockdowns and direction of travel means you can evacuate an area of the city and reduce the impact infected person will have on the area.
A quarantine is like a roadblock for a building and they're the most effective means available to stop the spread of the virus. If you know a building has an infected person, quarantining the building should be the first action you take. Sending biologists in quickly means you can contain the spread of the virus and save the infected. You must remember to reinforce them with cops as well so that no one can get in or out.
Quarantines are great but if you can't stop the infected people from leaving them they quickly become useless.
Panic is your enemy
Every civilian has a panic rating that reflects how worried they are about the current situation. Panic is something that is usually overlooked when playing the game but it does have a notable impact on the game. Civilians that are very paniced are much more likely to break quarantine and break through roadblock. They will move quicker through the city be much harder to contain. Having cops patroling will reduce the panic of every civilian near them. Destroying a building though will severy panic anyone near it. If you make an effort to keep panic at a manageable level you will find that the situation becomes easier to handle.
Cops are your friends
Cops are your most abundant resource but even with that said number of cops available for deployment is very limited.
While you do have control over all the law enforcement in Manhattan
there is only a single precinct within the area the player must
contain. It takes time for cops from other precincts to get to your
location so you have to do your best with your limited resources until
they get there.
The primary role of the cops is to reinforce your
barricades. Whenever you set up a roadblock or quarantine it's created
instantly but is unmanned. Unmanned roadblocks and quarantines can be
broken through very easily. To prevent this from happening and maximise
the effectiveness of the barricade, cops can be assigned to guard them.
The more cops that are assigned to a roadblock the stronger it becomes
until no one can pass through.
You must remember though that New York is a city
and in a city there is always more than one way to get to a
destination. An single impenetrateable roadblock is useful but multiple
moderately strong roadblocks can be even more useful. The resources
available are very limited and correctly deciding where to use them and
(more importantly) when to use them is the key to doing well.
Cops can also be sent on patrol around the city.
You can make any number of cops walk on a set path around the city and
this is also a useful function for your cops to perform. Having cops
walk through the city will re-assure the public and reduce their panic
levels. As said before the less paniced a person is the less likely it is that they
will do something unexpected like break through a roadblock.
Biologists are vital
