Ultra Vortek Frequently Asked Questions
ULTRA VORTEX FAQ

Beyond Games, Inc. is a software developer out of Salt Lake City, who
has been on the video-game scene for over two years.  Our first title
release was the award winning game 'BattleWheels' for the Lynx:  A six
player Lynkable auto-combat game in full 3-D.  Ultra Vortex will be our
first Jaguar title, and will be available by the end of next month.

#####The Story...
        The history of mankind has been fraught with warrior
races such as the Aztecs, Mongols, and ancient Romans (just to name a
few).  Since the dawn of time, societies have evolved warrior classes
that were supposed to build and maintain the empire for 1000's of
years.  For reasons not known until now, all were found wanting and
faded into obscurity. It is now the year 2152. The Time of the Testing
has once again come upon the societies of Earth, through the will of an
entity known only as the Guardian of the Vortex. This Guardian has been
lording its Vortex-given powers over the human races, Testing the
planets finest warriors since the dawn of mankind.  Now the Guardian has
issued its final verdict:  "This time, should any of Earth's finest
warriors fail to defeat me, not only will I crush your society, but
your  planet as well!"

#####The Characters...  The Warriors of the Underground have evolved into
three major gangs.  The MeatHackers:  Those of human decent with unaltered
DNA. The PowerShifters: Eugeneticly designed 'mutants' who can alter
their cellular structures in some form, and The Society of Machines,
Androids, and Cyborgs (S.M.A.C.): A collection of 'robots' who have
gained the abilities of AI and 'self-determination'.  The Guardian gave
each warrior a piece of the 'Vortex Tablet', a shattered and ancient
text that told of the return of the Guardian. By defeating every
opponent, one warrior must collect all of the pieces to the tablet,
fitting them together to summon the Guardian for the Final Test.

--The MeatHackers:
*Lucius:
        Lucius is one of the moving forces behind the underground. The
highest ranking member of the Mod/Primitive split of the MeatHackers, he
is acknowledged as the true master over the powers of the Ultra Vortex.
Originally schooled in Hap-Ke-Do, his Vortex given energies have made
him an even more dangerous opponent:  From blue plasma bolts of force to
shapeshifting into a bird of prey, Lucius has earned a place in the Final
Testing.

*Dreadloc
     Although a relative newcomer to the Underground and
its power structure, DreadLoc's prose with his Glaive-Staff has placed
him second in the ranks of the MeatHackers. His street-smart style of
weapons fighting has made him the leading opposition member calling for
a division in the Gang.  His size and skill allowed him to gather much
support for the split.  He knows that, if victorious in the Testing, he
will become the unquestioned leader of the MeatHackers and the
Underground.

--SMAC
*BuzzSaw:
        Originally designed for the now defunct and illegal logging
industry, BuzzSaw was the latest and last upgrade of Logging Bot.  His
humanoid body, festooned with sawblades of varying sizes, was designed
to top and cut down the largest trees in the Pacific Northwest.  His
brain, one of the most advanced bio-chips available on the market, has
given him great reasoning abilities and an overall intelligence that has
allowed him to become a guiding force for the members of S.M.A.C. in
their struggles for equality.

*SkullCrusher-1:
        The Skl-Krushr series of Bot was developed for use
in medium and heave guage construction.  SkullCrusher-1 was a singular
design concept made to do the tasks of several lesser bots.  A superior
grade motor system has given him great strength in his grappling claws.
His raw crushing power, coupled with a new Gigi-watt cutting torch eye
laser, has made him the "Minister of Discipline" within the ranks of
S.M.A.C.  All must work for the collective or suffer being junked by
SkulKrushr-1.

--PowerShifters:

*Volcana:
        Volcana's genetic line was introduced after the last World
Conflict.  Bureaucratic corruption was to the point that certain
government agencies felt the need to create a Squeeb that could be
infiltrated into rival agencies. Engineered as an Internal Affairs spy
and confidence gather, she and her sisters were given heightened powers
of intellect and hand to hand combat that could be hidden from her
"targets".  She now uses her control over fire and ability to teleport
to further the goals of the PowerShifters.

*Grok:
        Grok was designed to work with the Los Angeles Mega-city
Combat Engineer Corps in "Urban Pacification and Reeducation" missions.
His tough exterior, hiding a normal human skeletal frame, made him
uniquely suited to the dangerous and "high-impact" work of cleaning out
small bands of urban guerrillas and snipers.  Once a safe path through a
strife-ridden neighborhood was clear the "normal" troops would then take
control.  The process used to create his granite-like skin was so
complex and expensive that he was the only one of his genetic line
produced.

*Mercury:
        One of the stranger Squeebs to be designed, the Mercury
series was developed by the military in conjunction with the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission as an "internal" mechanic.  His ability to melt
into a liquid form was vital to his job.  He would be injected into the
pipes of a fusion reactor to perform maintenance on the reactor core and
internal operating systems. The process used to create the Mercury
series was successful on the physical end, but many test subjects
couldn't handle their new form and went insane.  Mercury was the most
stable result of this process, and has taken it upon himself to master
several new forms that are well suited to the Final Testing.

        The characters themselves are all digitized.  Most are human actors,
but Grok and Mercury are 3-D rendered and SkullCrusher and the Guardian
are stop-animation models.  Some  people cannot believe that
BuzzSaw was a human in costume, but indeed he is.  Trust me Stimpy, I
know what I'm talking about...  ;)

#####The Game
    The game itself falls under the 'two player fighting' genera, but has
both unique and 'previously used' features never before combined into
one package.  Imagine the unique styles and character moves/animation's
of SF II, merged with the look and speed of MK and you begin to describe
what UV looks and plays like.  The multi-scrolling action of the
backgrounds is very fluid, and the smoothness of the player animation's
(i.e. their moves) rivals that of the arcade version of Mortal Kombat
II.  UV will also support the Voice Modem play,  for those with friends
in far away places.

#####GamePlay
   All of the characters in UV have a variety of standard moves:  High &
low punches, crouched attacks,  kicks, jumping attacks, sweeps, etc.
There are a variety of fatalities.  They range from knocking characters
into 'pit'type drops, to taking off their head; watching the blood pump
from the body as the head smacks the screen!  They also have several
techniques that pump up the play factor.  You can 'short hop' up in the
air (1/3rd the distance of a normal jump) to avoid sweeps and other low
attacks.  You can also jump 'back', quickly putting some distance
between you and your opponent.  Using the Jag controler is not a
problem.  When standing you can punch, kick, or do 'up close' moves
automaticly in addition to special attacks.  When crouched you can jab,
sweep, kick, uppercut, or do special moves.  To block simply pull back on
the joypad (we don't like using a block button).
     In the one player game you have to collect pieces of the Vortex Tablet,
gaining one piece for every warrior you defeat in battle.  When you
collect all of the pieces to the tablet you must then summon the
Guardian for the Final Test.  There are also several endurance matches.
These consist of battling through the Shades of the Defeated. You must also
defeat your own Shade.  The Final Test is a one-shot battle royal against
the Guardian himself.  Here is where you either destroy the Guardian for
good OR get your guts stomped out.  (And you thought Goro from MK hit
hard...)

Here's a list of *some* of the moves each character will have:

Lucius:
        --2 different types of Projectiles.  --Ground electricity wave.
        --Hawk morph attack.  --Hawk Teleport.

DreadLoc:
        --Long Stab +Overhead throw.  --Flying Dive Attack.  --Smoke
                Blow (Dazed & Confused;)

BuzzSaw:
        --Overhead bolo/chain spin.  --High SawBlade Throw. --Grinding
        Headdive. --Gut Grinder hold 'n punch.  --Low Bolo sweep projectile.

SkullCrusher-1:
        --Ground blade Roll (multiple hits). --Flying KlawHammer. --Microwave
        Blast. --CuttingTorch Lazer. --Death Spin multipul attack.

Volcana:
        --FireRoll.  --Flaming Embrace.  --Teleporting Uppercut.
        --Controllable Teleport. --Ground FireWave.

Grok:
        --Head Grab + Overhead throw.  --GroundPounder Earthquake. --Flying
        morph Boulder Bounce.

Mercury:
        --Melting Bear hug with Multipul HeadHits.  --Spiked defense Sphere.
        --Multiple hit Blade Sweep.  --Flytrapped Uppercut.

    Each of the 7 characters and bosses are unique in style and concept.
Each has their own look, characteristics, and method of playability.
All have an array of special moves, attacks/defenses, and several
pit-dropping, body-exploding, head-chopping fatalities.

*NOTE:  HeadChopper annihilations come complete with screams and the dead
guy's (or gal's) head scaling up and "bouncing" off of the TV screen.

#####Backgrounds
        The backgrounds must really be seen to be described.  All of the
images in Ultra Vortex are photo-realistic objects, textures, ect,
'warped' to fit the visions of our artists.  All of the backgrounds are
animated, some with objects that are close to the full size of the
screen.  Interactive....65,000 colors....you'll just have to see them to
believe them.  It's been said (by some who saw the game at the CES or
the new Atari Promo video), that UV has the most mind-bending realistic
backgrounds of any fighting game out there.

#####Music/Voices
        The music comes from several local composer/performers and
can loosely be described as Industrial-Grunge-Rap-GrindCore. There's a
song for each screen/character and each uses 6 tracks at a time with
real sampled instruments that rival any CD-base recording, pushing the
DSP chip to the max!  The sampled voice of the Guardian is unlike
anything you've ever heard before (Imagine Tim Curry in the film
'Legend',  make his voice twice as evil, and you have an idea of what it
sounds like). From his comments, to his laugh when you screw-up a move,
the Guardian will have your hair standing on end.

        All in all Ultra Vortex is shaping up to be one of the best fighting
games on the market.   Look for screen-shots and preview information in the
new DHGF and EGM.

Feel free to send me E-Mail with your comments, suggestions, opinions,
or whatevers.  It may take me a week to get back to you, but I eventually
will.

Oh yea...one more thing....If the only question you can think to ask me
is "Can I PLEASE be a playtester!!!!!" don't bother asking.

+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   Tim @ Beyond Games, Inc.       E-mail:  tim.huntsman@m.cc.utah.edu    |
|                                                                         |
|   Beyond Games, Inc.             Phone#:  (801)531-8500  *order/info*   |
|   PO Box 2754                    Fax  #:  (801)531-1620  *yep..a fax*   |
|   Salt Lake City, UT  84110      <>   |
|                                                                         |
| **Gentlemen! There will be no fighting in here! This is the War Room!** |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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