The Unofficial A F T E R L I F E Strategy FAQ Version 1.

0 Last Updated: 11 July 1996, 08:30 GMT Written by: Todd M. Lewis (Beowulf92@aol.com) GROTESQUELY BORING LEGAL-SOUNDING STUFF DISCLAIMER The purpose of this FAQ is to aid the public regarding strategies for use in the game Afterlife, by LucasArts Entertainment Company. In no way should this promote your killing yourself, killing others, or killing in any other fashion. Todd Lewis claims NO responsibility regarding any illegal activity concerning this FAQ, or indirectly related to this FAQ. TRADEMARK INFORMATION Afterlife is a trademark and is copyrighted, and is so acknowledged. Any trademarks not mentioned here are still acknowledged. COPYRIGHT NOTICE This article is Copyright 1996 by Todd Lewis. All rights reserved. You are granted the following rights: I. To make copies of this work in original form, so long as (a) the copies are exact and complete; (b) the copies include the copyright notice and these paragraphs in their entirety; (c) the copies give obvious credit to the author, Todd Lewis; (d) the copies are in electronic form. II. To distribute this work, or copies made under the provisions above, so long as (a) this is the original work and not a derivative form; (b) you do not charge a fee for copying or for distribution; (c) you ensure that the distributed form includes the copyright notice, this paragraph, the disclaimer of warranty in their entirety and credit to the author; (d) the distributed form is not in an electronic magazine or within computer software without obtaining prior explicit permission must be obtained from Todd Lewis (e) the distributed form is the NEWEST version of the article to the best of the knowledge of the distributor; (f) the distributed form is electronic. You may not distribute this work by any non-electronic media, including but not limited to books, newsletters, magazines, manuals, catalogs, and speech. You may not distribute this work in electronic magazines or within computer software without prior written explicit

permission. These rights are temporary and revocable upon written, oral, or other notice by Todd Lewis. This copyright notice shall be governed by international copyright law. If you would like additional rights beyond those granted above, write to the author at "Beowulf92@aol.com" on the Internet. Thanks for suffering through all that stuff. You're a swell person, and will make one Hell of a Demiurge. TABLE OF CONTENTS Ring One: Introduction [1-1] Foreword [1-2] About the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ [1-2-1] Is the FAQ related to the Afterlife Official Player's Guide? [1-3] Getting the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ [1-3-1] Via Usenet [1-3-2] Via Internet FTP [1-3-3] Via WWW [1-3-4] Via BBS [1-4] Adding to the FAQ [1-5] Acknowledgments [1-5-1] More Acknowledgments [1-6] Accurate Information Ring Two: Game Fundamentals [2-1] Beliefs [2-2] Zoning [2-2-1] In Heaven [2-2-2] In Hell [2-3] Balance [2-4] Vibes [2-5] Diversity [2-6] Efficiency Ring Three: Making Money [3-1] The Basics [3-2] Train your own Angels and Demons [3-2-1] Riots [3-3] Roads [3-4] "X" Marks the Spot [3-5] Lost SOULs [3-6] Banks [3-6-1] "Heavenly" Loans [3-6-2] "Devilish" Investing Ring Four: The Structures [4-1] Rewards [4-1-1] Contentment [4-1-2] Charity [4-1-3] Temperance [4-1-4] Diligence [4-1-5] Chastity [4-1-6] Peacefulness [4-1-7] Humility [4-1-8] Generic Virture [4-2] Punishments [4-2-1] Envy

[4-2-2] Avarice [4-2-3] Gluttony [4-2-4] Sloth [4-2-5] Lust [4-2-6] Wrath [4-2-7] Pride [4-2-8] Generic Sin [4-3] Everything Else Ring Five: The Planet [5-1] Beliefs [5-2] Sins and Virtues [5-3] Technology Ring Six: Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Me (Yeah, Right) [6-1] Birds of Paradise [6-2] Bats Out of Hell [6-3] Heaven Gets the Blues [6-4] Hell Freezes Over [6-5] Heaven Nose [6-6] Hell in a Handbasket [6-7] Paradise Pair of Dice [6-8] Disco Inferno Ring Seven: Strategies [7-1] The Early Game [7-2] The Mid Game [7-3] The Late Game [7-4] Player tips [7-5] Cheats [7-6] War Stories Ring Eight: Miscellaneous [8-1] Internet resources [8-2] World Wide Web sites [8-3] Other FAQs and texts [8-4] Bugs [8-5] Patches [8-6] Errors in the Afterlife Instruction Brochure--er, Manual [8-7] Conclusion [8-8] Revision History Ring Nine: There is no Ring Nine. ---------------------Ring One: Introduction ---------------------[1-1]: Foreword =============== Afterlife is "the last word in sims," by LucasArts. In this game, you must develop two separate planes simultaneously. Quite some effort has gone into describing the scenario: there is a planet that IS NOT EARTH, full of EMBOs (Ethically Mature Biological Organisms). When they die, their SOULs (Stuff Of Unending Life) have to go somewhere. That's where you come in. The mysterious Powers That Be have made you a Demiurge, responsible

for both Heaven and Hell. Your clients will be the incoming SOULs. If they have been bad, they will be punished according to their sins in Hell. Of course, we're talking about the seven biggies: Envy, Avarice (otherwise known as Greed in a recent blockbuster), Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Wrath, and Pride. If those SOULs have been good, they will be rewarded in Heaven for the seven corresponding virtues: Contentment, Charity, Temperance, Diligence, Chastity, Peacefulness, and Humility. This game is a "simulation," like Sim City and its cousins. You must zone for structures, teach a workforce, provide living accomodations, recover from disasters...but we'll get to all of this shorty. [1-2] About the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ ================================================= Welcome to v1.0 of the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ. I hope you find it both amusing and helpful. It became painfully obvious that the documentation provided with the game didn't paint a complete picture. Sure, there's enough to get you started, and there's also plenty of help along the way, but there wasn't a lot of printed reference material. Hopefully this FAQ will fit the bill. There's not much else to say at this point, as this is the first version. Don't rip it apart too badly. "Unofficial" means that this FAQ is not supported by LucasArts. Afterlife is the name of the game. FAQs are (F)requently (A)sked (Q)uestions. Revision classification works something like the following. If a new version of the FAQ has only a small amount of information changed or added, the version number is increased by 0.1, and is called a "minor revision." If a new version of the FAQ has a substantial amount of new information changed or added, the version number is increased by 0.5, and is called a "standard revision." If a new version of the FAQ has a huge amount of added or changed information, major parts of the FAQ are rearranged, or major parts of the FAQ are rewritten, the version number is increased by 1.0, and it is called a "major revision." You may be wondering why chapter numbers are enclosed in either [ ]'s or * *'s. The definition of these is as follows: [ ] Chapters enclosed in square brackets mean that the information contained in the chapter has not been updated since the previous FAQ. Since this is the first version, all chapters will be enclosed in [ ]. ** Chapters enclosed in asterisks mean that the information contained in the chapter is new or has

been updated for the current version of the FAQ you are reading. Pretty simple, eh? [1-2-1] Is the FAQ related to the Afterlife Official Player's Guide? ==================================================================== No, the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ is not related in any way with the Afterlife Official Player's Guide other than in topic. Nor is the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ meant to provide competition to the Afterlife Official Player's Guide. Get it? I'm not making any money here, nor am I trying to. My only reward is seeing my own name at the top of this thing. So stop thinking about making my life Hell with some kind of lawsuit. [1-3] Getting the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ =================================================== [1-3-1] via Usenet -----------------The Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ is posted on the following Usenet groups: (1) comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic The 'Subject:' line of the post will be "[Afterlife] Unofficial Strategy FAQ v?.?" where "?.?" is the version number of the FAQ. [1-3-2] Via Internet FTP -----------------------New releases of the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ can be found at the following Internet FTP sites: (Well, actually nowhere yet. But if someone would care to carry it and let me know I'll note it here. I'll even give you credit for it.) The file name of the upload will be "alifes??.faq" where "??" is the version number of the FAQ. [1-3-3] Via WWW --------------New releases of the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ will be found on the following World-wide Web sites: (Again, nowhere yet. But if someone would like to post it on their page and let me know, I'll make note it here. I'll even give you credit for that, too.) HTML versions of the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ can be found on the following World-wide Web sites: (Seeing any similarities yet?) [1-3-4] Via BBS ---------------

New releases of the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ will be uploaded to other BBSes as the opportunity arises. The file should be "alifes??.faq" where "??" is the version number of the FAQ. ATTENTION: ALL BBSes, CompuServe, America On-line, and all other information services. PLEASE conform to the naming standard of the Unofficial Afterlife Strategy FAQ when placing this file on your system. The file name should be "alifes??.zip" where the "??" is the version number of the FAQ or "alifes??.txt" if the FAQ is a text file instead of PKZIPped. [1-4] Adding to the FAQ ======================= The words [blank] or [incomplete] indicates a section that needs filling in. I depend heavily on contributions from people like yourself to make this FAQ whole. Want some recognition? Help me fill in the blanks. If you have something to add to the FAQ, please send E-mail to Beowulf92@aol.com, with the subject "Afterlife USG," and explain what your addition is. It will be reviewed, and if accepted, added to the next FAQ version. In the E-mail, please supply your name and E-mail address. Please note that all submissions to the FAQ become property of the author (Todd Lewis) and that they may or may not be included. By submitting to the FAQ, you grant the author permission to use your submission in any future publications of the FAQ in any media. The author reserves the right to omit information from a submission or delete the submission entirely. [1-5] Acknowledgments ===================== LucasArts for making this game. My wife Jill, who has no idea her name is in here. And a big thanks to everyone else who sent something my way, or posted answers to questions in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic. I gave credit to all persons whose ideas I included in this FAQ. Forgive me if I miss anyone. If for some reason I HAVE missed you, PLEASE send me E-mail so I can give credit where credit is due. [1-5-1] More Acknowledgments to Some Guys Who Don't Even Know Why ================================================================= A huge "Thank you" and an "I'm sorry" to: Hank Leukart (ap641@cleveland.freenet.edu),

author of the "Official" DOOM FAQ; Edward Kenworthy (ekenworthy@cix.compulink.co.uk), author of the Unofficial Civilization 2 Strategy Guide; Both of whom I have shamelessly copied ideas and formats for organizing this FAQ. [1-6]: Accurate Information =========================== An attempt has been made to make the information in this FAQ as accurate as possible. However, if you discover that some little imp has been successful at having a false tip included in this FAQ, please let me know immediately. --------------------------Ring Two: Game Fundamentals --------------------------This Ring will cover some of the basic topics that you should try to keep in mind while playing. If you don't want to read this incessant rambling, go ahead and skip over it. Go on. Go. You'll be back. [2-1] Beliefs ============= Okay, first you need to understand something about your future "clients." Whether or not the SOULs even come to you for processing depends on their beliefs. In Afterlife, there are two broad categories. NAAA: No Afterlife At All, and AAAA: Absolutely Always An Afterlife. An NAAAist is an EMBO who doesn't believe in an afterlife. So when he croaks, he won't be comin' a knockin' on either one of your gates (Pearly or otherwise). Therefore, all SOULs you will be dealing with are AAAAists. Let's break it down further. Within AAAA, there are two subcategories. HAHA: Heaven and Hell Await, and HOHO: Heaven Or Hell Only. In other words, a HAHAist believes that she will first be punished in Hell for her sins, then will go to Heaven to be rewarded for her virtures. A HOHOist believes that he will only go to one realm or the other. Remember when I said that there were two subcategories of AAAA? Well, I lied. There are two more. OCRA: Only Cloud Realms Await, and OPRA: Only Pit Realms Await. These believe that only one realm exists, period. An OCRAist would only go to Heaven, regardless of her sins or virtues. An OPRAist...well, you get the picture. Hang in there, just a few more of these dull descriptions. Now that we've determined where our SOUL believes it will be going, we would like to know what it will be doing there. Two more categories. SUMA: SOULs Undergo Multiple Afterlifes, and SUSA: SOULs

Undergo Singular Afterlifes. A SUMAist believes that he will be rewarded or punished for every virtue or sin, while a SUSAist believes that she will be rewarded or punished only for her most prominent virture or sin. Almost done. There's the matter of reincarnation to deal with. You guessed it, two more categories. ALF: Afterlife Lasts Forever, and RALF: Reincarnation Always Loops Fate. An ALFist does not believe in reincarnation. This makes him a _PERMANENT_ guest (he's there for eternity). A RALFist believes in reincarnation. This makes her a _TEMPORARY_ guest. These are important distinctions. Lastly, all of these categories can be mixed. A HOHOSUSAALFist would believe that upon his death, he would travel to either Heaven Or Hell Only. Once there, he would be rewarded or punished based upon his one predominant virtue or sin, and that he would be there forever. As you can see, a HOHOSUSAALfist is a pretty easy SOUL to handle. [2-2] Zoning ============ Just as in Sim City, where you had to create "zones" for residential, commercial, and industrial building, you must specify zones in both Heaven and in Hell. The difference is that in Afterlife, your zones are where your Fate Structures are built. Fate Structures are the buildings where the SOULs actually go in Heaven or in Hell. Once a zone has been defined, the Fate Structures will appear automatically as needed, until the zone is filled. [2-2-1] In Heaven ----------------You must create zones for each of the seven virtues. Each virtue is designated by its own color: Green is Contentment Yellow is Charity Orange is Temperance Brown is Diligence Purple is Chastity Red is Peacefulness Blue is Humility Multicolor is Generic Virtue In Heaven, Fate Structures are called Rewards. "Heaven needs to be compact, and easy to walk from point to point. SUMAists expect to go to blue first, then work their way back to green. Put blue closest to the gates, and work from there. Heaven likes small zones of color next to each other." [jarrell@solaris.cc.vt.edu (Ron Jarrell)]

"I just 'spider' roads out from the gate, one leg for each reward, with plenty of space, training centers, and utopias in between blocks and immediately around the main gate. This grows harder to do as the pop. expands, but it's quite doable with a little monkeying." ["Kagetora" <kagetora@pernet.net>] [2-2-2] In Hell --------------You will be punishing bad SOULs according to their sins. There are seven sins, and you must create zones so that your Demons may build the corresponding Fate Structures. Green is Envy (nice touch) Yellow is Avarice Orange is Gluttony Brown is Sloth Purple is Lust Red is Wrath Blue is Pride Multicolor is Generic Sin In Hell, Fate Structures are called Punishments. "Hell is the opposite.. The damned expect to suffer, so long walks are important, both between the gate/karma station and zones, and between zones. It should take a while to walk from point a to point b. SUMAists expect to go to GREEN tiles first, and work down to blue (Hell thinks the sin importance is REVERSE from Heaven.) Which means green should be FARTHEST from the gate. Hell hates zones of color next to each other, and favors large single blocks of color." [jarrell@solaris.cc.vt.edu (Ron Jarrell)] [2-3] Balance ============= Okay, remember reading about Permanent and Temporary SOULs? At any given time, any Fate Structure will have a mix of the two. When a Fate Structure is well-balanced, it has been set so that it is providing the proper mix of activity for its residents. In other words, if you had 100% permanent souls, you would want to set the Fate Structure to "mental activity," which is designed for permanent SOULs. You can adjust the balance for each Fate Structure in the Microview window. X-Sender: cosmos@ianet.net Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 04:06:22 -0400 To: Rai@happypuppy.com, rob@happypuppy.com From: Dwight Taylor <cosmos@ianet.net> Subject: Unofficial Afterlife FAQ part 2 Balancing is another Herculean task. I think LucasArts threw it in there so that we would have to click on individual structures, and while we're at

it, why not appreciate the neat drawings and humorous biographies that go along with them? Otherwise all of that detail would go unnoticed. The easiest way I've found is to use the "Flatten Hell/Heaven" buttons, then use the Microview to click on a square. Keep the Microview window open to the Balance screen. Now just rip through and adjust the sliders until you see white. Also, by turning on the Autoscroll function, you can easily maneuver the Punishment/Reward zones so that you can select individual squares without constantly having to move the Microview Balance window. Pressing the "A" key during game play will reduce the size of all of the structures in the game. Topias, Gift Structures, Gates, etc. included. Makes it much easier to "see around" those really tall buildings. Lastly, you don't have to close that window for your changes to take effect. Just click on the next box and be on your way. When you're finished, deselect the "Flatten" buttons if you want to see all of those Fate Structures packed together. "Balance - If they gripe, I look at the map, click around, and make sure that the most populated buildings are balanced. Fixing those is enough to make things happy withought driving you crazy in micromanagement. " [ooba@red-branch.MIT.EDU()] "Unfortunately, that isn't enough. If each 3x3 zone has a 2x2 and several 1x1 buildings (the common growth pattern), and you only balance the big ones, you will never grow 3x3 buildings...Therefore, I just don't do it by hand (except for maybe the first two or three zones during the first minute or two). I consider the cost of using the macro manager to autobalance all of Heaven or all of Hell (when they get really bad) simply a part of the cost of running the zones. Yes, in the mid stages of a game, I have paid 50M cents to balance a plane. It is worth it. "It actually tends to pay itself back in growth, believe it not. But manual balancing: fooey!" [sjenkins@access.digex.net (Scott A. Jenkins)] [2-4] Vibes =========== "Vibes" are weakly described, at best. The first question is "Where do these things come from?" The answer is from the buildings and structures. All of them. Gates, Karma Stations, Topias, Fate Structures...the works. Basically, vibes come in two flavors: pro-evolutionary, and anti-evolutionary. Well, they're are actually described as being good or bad, but those designations have polar effects in Heaven and Hell. Let me explain. Since Heaven is such a happy place, good vibes are pro-evolutionary, while bad vibes are

anti-evolutionary. I doubt that any Reward in Heaven produces "bad vibes" that we would associate with hatred. Rather, I prefer to think of it as "In this structure, the SOULs are only incredibly blissful, as opposed to unfathomably ecstatic over there." Now, in Hell, vibes work in exactly the opposite manner: bad vibes are pro-evolutionary, while good vibes are anti-evolutionary. Once again, I doubt that any Punishment in Hell that produces good vibes promotes happiness. Rather, the SOULs there are only awfully miserable, as opposed to the demonically tortured. You get my drift. Back to the topic at hand. A structure that is operating under pro-evolutionary vibes is more likely to be spontaneously upgraded (assuming there's enough zone space around it, if needed) into a more fancy version. Want some of those ultimate 3x3 Fate Structures shown in the Technical Manual? Then you should have your zone subjected to pro-evolutionary Vibes. The Vibes that a particular Fate Structure emits will always be constant. "The Perfect Spot Cosmic Backrub," a Reward for Chastity, will always emit Very Bad Vibes. Vibes from Fate Structures appear to have a range of one square. So if you're waiting for your "Perfect Evening" Reward (which just happens to be immediately adjacent) to get upgraded to "Cherubopolis," you may have to wait a while due to the Bad Vibes from "Spot." Once a zone has evolved to its highest form, I usually ignore Vibes. "The Big Tease Shower Towers," a 3x3 Punishment for Lust, emits Very Good Vibes. Who cares? The next XX0,000 lustful SOULs just found a home, and I'm paying very few Demons to watch over them. Of course, anti-evolutionary Vibes can be countered by placing Topias or Gift Structures. "Use the vibe map - it helped me a lot. And those gift structures can really make an area explode with growth if they're placed right. This is a game about PLANNING, as far as I can tell." [dleary@umabnet.ab.umd.edu (David Leary)] "Gates and karma stations ALWAYS put out anti-vibes, i.e. vibes that are WRONG for their plane. Keep them away from zones. Bigger structures spread their vibes farther. A level one gate affects 3 squares, level 2 hits four squares... Training centers and Topias always put out pro-vibes. I like to put a training center between the gate and the first fate zone. Provides the buffer I need, plus they tend to cancel out. Gift structures put out major pro-vibes, and each counteracts 1 disaster with its area of effect. (Typically 10-15 squares or so). Siphons put out toxic waste and bad vibes. Which is what you want in Hell, so putting it in the middle of things helps; and is

bad for growth in Heaven." [jarrell@solaris.cc.vt.edu (Ron Jarrell)] [2-5] Diversity =============== Diversity is a measure of the amount of variety to be found in Heaven and in Hell. Not surprisingly, these two planes have opposite needs. In Heaven, SOULs like to intermingle with each other, from all the different colors. So diversity in Heaven contributes some amount of positive influence that may contribute to efficiency. Hell is exactly the opposite. You want those SOULs to be bored out of their minds, so being undiverse is desirable. Here's the key to diversity: intelligent zoning. In Heaven, you want blocks of the various colored Virtues mixed together. In Hell, you want to have blocks of the same color, separated from all the other colors by a good, long walk. "When computing for your adjaceny bounus (part of your efficiency score) a tile will look at all the surrounding tiles to see what color they are. It gets a bonus point for each that's the same color, and three for each that's the same color, and same type/species (Hell). Heaven it's +3 for different color, +1 same color, different species. This then gets averaged out and folded into the efficiency score. "So Hell does give you bonus for large monolithic blocks of the same color vs. lots of seperate areas of a single color." [jarrell@solaris.cc.vt.edu (Ron Jarrell)] [2-6] Efficiency ================ Here is another one of those vague concepts. In Afterlife, "efficiency" seems to be dependent upon balance, and your Angel or Demon Quotients (in Heaven or Hell, respectively), over a period of time. A new Fate Structure may not be that efficient. But higher Quotients, along with extremely well balanced Fate Structures will lead to better efficiency grades. "So what?" I hear you ask. Well, the better your overall efficiency, the faster your SOUL rate will climb. In other words, higher efficiency equals better profits. Allow me a small aside, and let's talk about _real_ efficiency. Not some distorted concept that is described above. The real choice you have to make is what type of efficiency is most important to you? The capacities of Fate Structures increases over time. The highest population density available on a "per square" basis is found in the highest 2x2 structure. However, the highest demon (or angel) to SOUL efficiency is achieved by using a 3x3 structure.

Here's an example from one of my games: "Ignorance Ain't Bliss" is the top 2x2 punishment for Lust. It can currently hold 627,200 SOULs, and requires 1,500 Demons. "Big Tease Shower Towers," the 3x3 punishment for Lust, currently holds 800,000 SOULs, and requires 1,625 Demons. Here's the math: 627,200 / 4 = 156,800 SOULs per square. 800,000 / 9 = 88,889 SOULs per square. That makes "Ignorance" 76% more efficient than "Towers," on a SOUL per square basis. 627,200 / 1500 = 418 SOULs per demon. 800,000 / 1625 = 492 SOULs per demon. That makes "Towers" 18% more efficient than "Ignorance," on a SOUL per demon basis. Now, since paying my Demons (and my Angels) is a major contributor to my overhead, I'll stick with the 3x3 structures. Especially since I don't seem to be running out of real estate in Heaven or Hell. If however, you want to keep a Fate Structure at its current level of evolution, be sure to "lock" it, and pay the per year cost in pennies. This would be a particularly desirable option if you wanted to improve the pro-evolutionary vibes for a particular zone. Using an advanced 2x2 structure that gives off the appropriate vibes may be more important to you than either type of efficiency described above. -----------------------Ring Three: Making Money -----------------------Now, this _is_ the $64,000 question. Let's see here, that would be 6,400,00 pennies. Do I have your attention yet? [3-1] The Basics ================ Earn more than you spend. It's that easy, right? The number of SOULs you have accomodated in both realms times your SOUL rate is your only source of income. It should be pretty intuitive that the way to earn a higher income is by raising the SOUL rate, or increasing the total number of SOULs. Conversely, you can increase your total profits by reducing your "overhead," or the amount of money you must spend on upkeep. [3-2] Train your own Angels and Demons ====================================== In the early game, this one item can turn your budget around more quickly than any other. If done properly, training your own Angels and Demons can increase the efficiency of your Fate Structures (which in turn raises the SOUL rate), as well as reduces your overhead.

Lets assume for the moment that your zones in Heaven are all set, and that SOULs are flowing in. There will be a finite amount of jobs for your Angels. Initially, all of your Angels are imported. Through the use of a Training Center, you can train "homegrown" Angels to replace the imported ones. You are, in effect, "firing" the imported Angels. Since the number of working position remains fixed, you are replacing the expensive imported Angels with homegrown ones. Reducing the amount of imported workers is important, and is one of the earliest ways in which you can reduce a portion of your overhead. I recommend starting with the Seraphim State College and/or the Hellward Bound Retreats. You should place these Training Centers near your Gates, or any other highly trafficked areas. This placement will make them more effective in recruiting. Note that lowering the admission percentage does not mean that these TCenters produce workers at a lower rate. A Community College of the Clouds can train up to 100 Angels per year, while a Seraphim State College can train up to 250 Angels per year. The number of SOULs currently being trained depends on how many PERMANENT SOULs walk by that TCenter. If you have 1,250 or more of these SOULs passing by, then an acceptance rate of 20% will still produce the maximum number of Angels each year (250). By lowering your acceptance percentage, you will raise your Angel Quotient (AQ) or your Demon Quotient (DQ) over time. Higher quotients will lead to higher Fate Structure Efficiency, which in turn results in higher SOUL Rates (see, there was a point to all of this after all). [3-2-1] Riots ------------Be careful with those TCenters, though. When Jasper and/or Aria remind yu that less than 10% of your Demons/Angels are imported, TURN THOSE CENTERS OFF! Have you ever seen rioting Angels or Demons? Not pretty. Especially if they start a chain reaction. In my first game, I kept the percentage of imported workers between 0 and 2%. Big mistake. When the 3x3 Fate Structures finally appeared, many of those Angels became unemployed. Idle Angels ran amok, and started destroying Fate Structures in Hell, which put several Demons out of jobs. Now idle Demons rioted in Heaven, which created more idle Angels. You get the picture. Before too long, I was staring at a bunch of empty roads! Kowabunga time. [3-3] Roads =========== After glancing at the Afterlife Official Player's Guide, I notice

that the formula used to calculate how much you are charged for the upkeep of a road is some nasty logarithmic beastie. The bottom line is, the more SOULs that walk on a road, the higher the upkeep. Early in the game, you'll want to stick to fairly short roads. The upkeep you spend on really long roads--especially in Hell--can quickly bury you. In Hell, I try to use a long series of "S-curves," which is basically one long road that keeps twisting back and forth. If I need to create more room for zoning, I just "nuke" a corner, extend the road, and lay down a new corner. [3-4] "X" Marks the Spot ======================== Another way to reduce the number of imported workers is to "Nuke" low-populated Fate Structures. Doing so will free up some of your homegrown Demons or Angels to go displace imported ones elsewhere. It will also cause your SOULs to really pack it in to the remaining Rewards or Punishments. Keeping your Fate Structures populated at high percentages encourages their growth into higher capacity versions. Notice that by redistributing your homegrown workers, you are in essence "firing" the imported ones. [3-5] Lost SOULs ================ Losing SOULs is the quickest way to early bankruptcy. You will be charged one full penny for every SOUL lost, even if your SOUL rate is a fraction of one cent. You will want to pay close attention to Jasper and Aria, as well as your Graphview to see which zones may need a little extra space. Also keep in mind that your Gates can (and will) reach their own limits, as well as your Karma Stations and Ports. [3-6] Banks =========== When you start becoming a little desperate, you'll want to think about building a bank (or two, or three). The banks on each plane work a little differently. X-Sender: cosmos@ianet.net Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 04:06:44 -0400 To: rob@happypuppy.com, Rai@happypuppy.com From: Dwight Taylor <cosmos@ianet.net> Subject: Unofficial Afterlife FAQ part 3 [3-6-1] "Heavenly" Loans -----------------------When you take out a loan from a Heavenly bank, you must make yearly payments for 100 years, with interest. The interest rate for Heaven is:

Int(Heaven) = 1% * (the total number of loans you have outstanding from Heavenly banks) So if you've built three banks, your interest rate for the first loan will only be 1%. If you take out a second loan before you've finished paying off the first, your interest rate will be 2%. This gradual rise in interest rates may eventually bankrupt you if you don't start turning a profit soon. [3-6-2] "Devilish" Investing ---------------------------If you take out a loan from a bank in Hell, you won't have to make yearly payments. You won't even be charged interest. The penalty is that you put a whole bunch of SOULs at risk if you don't pay off the loan in the next 100 years. This fact can be exploited: "You need money, and it doesn't seem there's a way to get it without always increasing your debt ? We have the perfect solution for you in Hell, let me explain... "Build a bank (a small one or a big one, it depends on your needs), and then build another one just like it. Let's call them bank A and bank B. Now, since banks in Hell will NOT charge you interest, but just bet that you can't pay them back (they will take souls after 100 years if you don't pay them back), we'll use that fact at our advantage. "Borrow from bank A (let's say 10M$). After 95 years (there's a 5 year buffer zone to avoid problems) borrow the same amount from bank B. Pay back bank A with the $$$ you just borrow from bank B. After 95 years, borrow 10M$ from bank A again. Pay bank B what you owe them with that freshly borrowed money. Repeat this procedure until your cash flow is high enough to pay the bank without having to get another loan. There you go, 0% interest loan in Hell..." [asthur@gmgate.gamemaster.qc.ca (Daniel Blanchard)] ------------------------Ring Four: The Structures ------------------------The following is a list of many of the Fate Structures. I don't have them all yet, so if you notice a few missing, drop me a line and let me know. They are arranged in order from the lowest capacity to the highest. [4-1] Rewards ============= Remember here that Good Vibes are pro-evolutionary in Heaven, and are therefore desirable. You may wish to "lock in" an advanced 2x2 Fate Structure before it gets promoted to a 3x3 building, if the vibes are better. The last Reward listed in each category is the

highest possible (this I know from the Technical Manual). [4-1-1] Contentment ------------------Vacation Slides Of The Gods - Very Bad Vibes The Good Neighbor - Moderately Bad Vibes Coffee Shops Of The Word - Moderately Bad Vibes Karaoke Korners - Slightly Bad Vibes The Choir Invincible - Slightly Good Vibes Envy Aid - Moderately Good Vibes Brahmatic Bovine Bliss Ranch - Very Good Vibes [4-1-2] Charity --------------You Are Already A Winner - Slightly Good Vibes Lost And Found - Moderately Good Vibes The Good Space - Very Good Vibes The Incredibly Lost Episodes - Moderately Good Vibes The Final Piece Convention - Moderately Bad Vibes Ascetic Mountains - No Vibes [4-1-3] Temperance -----------------The Perfect Party - Moderately Bad Vibes Lands Of Milk And Honey - Slightly Bad Vibes Deux Ex Diner - No Vibes Hog Heaven - Slightly Good Vibes Sickeningly Sweet Sugar Savannas - No Vibes Party Town - Very Bad Vibes [4-1-4] Diligence ----------------Your Home is Your Castle - Very Good Vibes The Eternal Afternoon - Moderately Good Vibes It's a Cat's Life - Moderately Good Vibes Mom and Pop Shops - Slightly Good Vibes Paradise University - Slightly Bad Vibes Cloud Nine Labs - Moderately Bad Vibes Towers-A-Go-Go - Moderately Bad Vibes Divine Engines - Very Bad Vibes The Final Frontier - Very Bad Vibes [4-1-5] Chastity ---------------Valentine Town - Slightly Bad Vibes The Only Non-Sleazy Singles Bar In Creation - Moderately Bad Vibes The Perfect Spot Cosmic Backrub - Very Bad Vibes Palaces Of True Love - Moderately Bad Vibes Wedding Day Redux - No Vibes Castaways - Slightly Good Vibes The Perfect Evening - Very Good Vibes Cherubopolis - No Vibes [4-1-6] Peacefulness -------------------Perfect Playgrounds - Moderately Good Vibes Fishing Holes - Slightly Good Vibes Heaven's Complaint Department - No Vibes USDA Local #777 - Slightly Bad Vibes

Board Games - No Vibes Fight The Power! - Slightly Good Vibes The 19th Tee Links - Very Good Vibes [4-1-7] Humility ---------------Humble Pie - Slightly Good Vibes Press Conference - Slightly Bad Vibes You Oughta Be In Pictures - Moderately Good Vibes Humble-mentary - Moderately Bad Vibes Monuments To Humility - Very Good Vibes DNA Park - Moderately Bad Vibes Keys To The City - Moderately Good Vibes Look To The Stars - No Vibes [4-1-8] Generic Virtue ---------------------Good Heavens Theme Park - Very Good Vibes [4-2] Punishments ================= Likewise, Bad Vibes are pro-evolutionary in Hell. Etcetera, etcetera. [4-2-1] Envy -----------Out Of The Frying Pan - Moderately Bad Vibes Another Man's Shoes - Moderately Bad Vibes Survey Of The Damned - Slightly Bad Vibes Hell Octoplex 666 - Slightly Good Vibes NoBody Burgs - Moderately Good Vibes Escher Pits - Very Good Vibes [4-2-2] Avarice --------------Jerky City - Slightly Good Vibes The Collective - Moderately Good Vibes Bingoslypertukaw! - Very Good Vibes Booty Island - Moderately Good Vibes Carousels Of Greed - Very Bad Vibes DisCorp - No Vibes [4-2-3] Gluttony ---------------Taco Inferno - Moderately Bad Vibes Sticky's - Slightly Bad Vibes Pinhead Pizza - No Vibes Bahb's All-U-Must-Eat - No Vibes The Bowels Of Hell - Very Bad Vibes [4-2-4] Sloth ------------The Itch - Very Good Vibes Sweat Shops - Moderately Good Vibes Bitter Harvest Fields - Moderately Good Vibes Convention Of The Damned - Slightly Bad Vibes The Enchanted Forest Of Cable - Moderately Bad Vibes 666 Pennants Over Perdition Theme Parks - Very Bad Vibes [4-2-5] Lust

-----------Lust Freezers - Slightly Bad Vibes Punishing Peep Show Pavillions - Moderately Bad Vibes The Laundromat - Very Bad Vibes Purple Passion Pulsing Plasma Pods - Moderately Bad Vibes Screaming Subspace Voids - Moderately Good Vibes Dates From Hell - Very Good Vibes Roboto - Very Good Vibes Ignorance Ain't Bliss The Big Tease Shower Towers - Very Good Vibes [4-2-6] Wrath ------------Immortal Backalley Battle Warriors - Moderately Good Vibes The Real Underworld - Slightly Good Vibes The Post Office Game - No Vibes Hellrose Place - Very Bad Vibes Terrorville - Slightly Good Vibes Illuminatiland - No Vibes War! (What Is It Good For?) - Very Good Vibes [4-2-7] Pride ------------The Age Of Aquarium - Slightly Good Vibes Doll House - Slightly Bad Vibes SOUL Farm - Moderately Good Vibes The Zoo - Moderately Bad Vibes [4-2-8] Generic Sin ------------------A World Of Pain - Very Bad Vibes [4-3] Everything Else ===================== Well, this section would include stuff like Gates, Topias, Training Centers, Siphons, Limbo Structures, Omnibogles & Love Domes, Karma Stations, and Gift Structures. Since most of these buildings are explained thoroughly in the manual and the game itself, I'm leaving them out. For now. If some of you purists out there _really, really_ have to have that info in here, let me know. I'll get around to it. Sure I will. --------------------Ring Five: The Planet --------------------No, this isn't a singular movement by Holst. This Ring deals with that annoying little ball floating in the middle of your screen. The one with all the EMBOs on it. You know, your clients living in a non-deceased mode. [5-1] Beliefs ============= So far I've encountered two reasons to mess with the EMBOs' beliefs, besides the obvious "because I

can:" 1. To encourage expansion/growth on either of the planes. Remember waaay back at the beginning of this FAQ I was talking about a HOHOSUSAALFist? No? Then go back and read section [2-1]: "Beliefs." See, I told you that you'd go back. Anyway, if you want to influence the incoming SOULs towards any particular belief system, now's your chance to do it. Want more permanent SOULs (i.e., more permanent, revenue generating ones)? Then pick a heavily populated square and influence someone to believe in ALFism. Want to run a Heaven-only game? Then OPRAists are the ones for you. 2. Because those pesky helpers told me to. Yes, just like everything else in this game, the planet can become "unbalanced," if you will. I got a little message from both Jasper and Aria saying that "The people on the planet believe in an afterlife, they just don't believe in Hell (or Heaven, respectively)." I had to open the Planetview, select Tenets, and influence some Joe (or Joan) to go spread the word. "I find the planet thing very useful. Pouring enough money into the planet in one game resulted in a lot less traffic through my reincarnation stations - a BIG savings in money in the long run, since I didn't have to upgrade to the top-of-the-line, ever. Not sure if I came out ahead (tinkering with the planet's tenents was expensive) but it was interesting..." [dleary@umabnet.ab.umd.edu (David Leary)] [5-2] Sins and Virtues ====================== Want to make things a little more interesting on the planet? Then give the EMBOs a healthy nudge of some naughty vice. Maybe those EMBOs are killing each other a little _too_ efficiently. Or perhaps you just don't have enough Cow Corkscrews (Brahmatic Bovine Bliss Ranches) for your liking. Now it's time to add a dash of Virtue. "Before starting time, go down the planet, select the highest population area (or the most central; or you may only have one) and use the virtue controls to inspire demonic lust with the maximum power you have. It's relatively cheap now, and it'll turbo charge your population for millenia. Check occaisonally to see if a booster innoculation is needed. Note this will cause Hell to get a LOT more people than Heaven. You can balance this, if you like, by inspiring Heavenly peace, which is good at precenting wars in later eras that have nuclear war (rampant nuclear war triggers armageddon and ends the game). Or pick two virtues, and lean the balance back towards Heaven." [jarrell@solaris.cc.vt.edu (Ron Jarrell)]

"One thing I noticed also is that if your "HATE" factor is pumped up pretty high (demonic or so), you keep getting the "Conquering Empire kills 40K worth of your population" disaster. It gives you a quick boost in the afterlife realm, but doesn't do much for your planet pop. Hiring a few poets to do a little love promotion worked wonders." [sragan@hsf.uab.edu (Stan Ragan)] [5-3] Technology ================ Lastly, you can sHell out some sense--I mean, cents--to help the EMBOs aquire technological advancements. Doing so can be beneficial, because these discoveries will allow higher population densities (especially the first two, Pottery and Irrigation), or make more of the planet habitable (Boating, Navigation, Aviation). Just be sure that your world is pretty peaceful when those cute little EMBOs discover Nuclear technology. -----------------------------------------------------Ring Six: Nothing Bad Ever Happens To Me (Yeah, Right) -----------------------------------------------------First of all, let me say that I'm not going to describe each and every one of these "disasters." All that info is contained in the Instruction Brochure--er, Manual. This Ring is devoted to the strategies you should use to protect yourself against these undesirable events. Besides saving and reloading the game, which would be cheating, now, wouldn't it. So if any of you have some suggestions, e-mail them to me and I'll insert them here. [6-1] Birds of Paradise [6-2] Bats Out of Hell [6-3] Heaven Gets the Blues [6-4] Hell Freezes Over [6-5] Heaven Nose [6-6] Hell in a Handbasket [6-7] Paradise Pair of Dice [6-8] Disco Inferno ---------------------Ring Seven: Strategies ---------------------[7-1] The Early Game ====================

"I build one 3x3 block of each color, one training center (lowest grade, set immediately to the most selective recruiting rate), one topia, one karma station, and one gate. I interpose the topia and the training center between the gate/karma station and the fate zones, to mitigate the bad vibes they emit. I also start off tapping a couple of ad infinitum rocks near the gate/karma station, since these emit bad vibes." [sjenkins@access.digex.net (Scott A. Jenkins)] "When building cheaper gates in the beginning of the game, be aware that the best gate needs a 4x4 square!" [Assasins@interramp.com (STaSiS FieLDeR)] [7-2] The Mid Game ================== [7-3] The Late Game =================== "Do you think you're hot??!! Then aim for 1 Billion SOULs per plane. At this point, you can build Love Domes/Omnibolges. Once you build these structures, you can nuke most of your fate structures and catch up on your sleep since you bought this game <yawn!>." [Assasins@interramp.com (STaSiS FieLDeR)] [7-4] Player tips ================= Pressing the "A" key during game play will reduce the size of all of the structures in the game. Topias, Gift Structures, Gates, etc. included. Makes it much easier to "see around" those really tall buildings. "What works for me, on medium, is to initially build only on one plane. I usually start with Heaven, because it is less expensive (shorter roads). The idea is that you are financing only one zone, until it is profitable. At this point, there will be enough SOULs to make the other zone profitable almost immediately." [ sjenkins@access.digex.net (Scott A. Jenkins)] "The key for me was getting the number of Imported Angels/Demons at 10%. If you have more than 10% you're paying way too much in pennies. If you have less than 10% you run the risk of riots. So, I built 2 traning centers (the top-of-the-line and the one below it) in both Heaven and Hell at the very start. I make them recruit at maximum until the number of Angels/Demons is about 50% imported, then I reduce the training center acceptance rate a little in order to keep the AQ/DQ up. My AQ is currently at 116 (with 10% imported) but my DQ is 96 (with 26% imported). Those Q's make for efficient buildings!" [scotts@bangate.compaq.com (Scott Shaffer)] A word about road upkeep: I think that the cost of roads is

calculated by how heavily trafficked they are. I found a cluster of Rocks in hell far away from my Punishments. I dropped Ad Infinitum Siphons on them, connected the siphons with a road, and then ran the road down to the river. Voila! Rivers conduct Ad Infinitum. By making sure at least one road from my Fate Structures touched the river, I prohibited SOULs from travelling on those roads used for Ad Infinitum--thus shaving a few pennies. "SOULs that are visiting more than one fate zone (SUMAists) will visit them in the reverse order of importance. So in Heaven, blue needs to be closest to the gate, but in Hell it has to be farthest away. "If you want to reduce the reincarnation stats cheaply, make the karma track long; SOULs forget their past lives during the trip [thus making them doubt reincarnation--Beowulf92], and that reduces the percentage." [jarrell@solaris.cc.vt.edu (Ron Jarrell)] [7-5] Cheats ============ First of all, let me state that I don't condone hex-editing games. Perhaps I'm too much of a purist, but if you have to cheat _that_ badly to win, then perhaps you shouldn't play. Just return the game, get your money back, and claim you beat it anyway. Soapbox off. "Money cheat: Gives you 10 million pennies. Type $@! "Use it up to 5 times. The 6th time the deathstar will appear and start blasting away at your afterlife. I'm not kidding...the dialog box that warns you is labeled "I have a bad feeling about this..." with the text "Look at the size of that thing!" and the button "Use the Force"... "The Hidden monster is a Max the bunny. Type, in caps, three times (ignore the fact that windows will start popping up because you're triggering commands): SAMNMAX "The diversity bonus is as such... (It's the real easter egg). Go to hell. Switch the view to north (up). Go off into some corner you aren't using. Build a circular road that surrounds an empty 7x7 area. You don't *need* the road, but it'll light up the tiles and make it easier to see their colors; otherwise they'll all be gray. Go into Divine Intervention. "Starting in the north most corner, and working your way down to the right, lay out one each of 1x1 zones of all colors, starting with green and down to blue. Then starting with the northern green do the same thing down to the left. Now fill in the rest of the rows across, starting with the color that's there, and cylcing back around when you run out. So the first couple of rows would be G Y O BR P R B

Y O BR P R B G "etc. You'll get the entire multicolored glob. Start time. If you did everything right, get a surprise building (that does nothing for you, but is cute). Read the text, it's the easter egg from the designer." [jarrell@solaris.cc.vt.edu (Ron Jarrell)] [7-6] War Stories ================= Love to hear 'em! ------------------------Ring Eight: Miscellaneous ------------------------Okay, everything that didn't fit neatly into one of the earlier, neater Rings is being dumped here. [8-1] Internet resources ======================== (This line intentionally left blank) [8-2] World Wide Web sites ========================== http://www.lucasarts.com http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/3805 "I know the page ain't much...I'm just learning this HTML stuff." [briar@worldnet.att.net (linda hubbard)] [8-3] Other FAQs and texts ========================== Thou shalt have no other FAQs before mine. Well, at least let me believe that this is the first one for Afterlife, okay? [8-4] Bugs ========== To the best of my knowledge, at the time of the writing of this FAQ, there have been no reported bugs on the Net (aside from some folks who just can't for the life of themselves get this game to work on their old 286's). [8-5] Patches ============= I just told you that there weren't any bugs discovered so far. So why would this game need a patch? If it ain't broke, don't break it. [8-6] Errors in the Afterlife Instruction Brochure--er, Manual ==============================================================

None that I'm aware of, besides being a little thin (and yup, I did just waste about seven lines telling you so). [8-7] Conclusion ================ "Abandon every hope, who set out to write a FAQ." - Dante (sort of) That's it!!! This thing is finally finished. Unfortunately, I've been thinking SO much about Afterlife while writing this beast, that I don't even want to look at it for a while. <g> My best game so far earns about 400,000 pennies every year, at the Medium difficulty level--without cheating, and still subjecting myself to Bad Things. Using the Macromanager to Autobalance all of my structures is S.O.P. Now it's time to fiddle more with the planet. Hope this FAQ helped. Drop me a line, and let me know how your games are going. [8-8] Revision History ====================== Version 1.0 Initial Strategy Guide (You've been reading it).