Controls
| Control | Action |
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Move cursor up |
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Move cursor down |
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Move cursor left |
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Move cursor right |
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Select |
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Menu |
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Select |
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Menu |
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Secondary controls |
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Menu |
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Virtual keyboard |
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
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Crouch |
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Move left |
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Move right |
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Attack |
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Attack |
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Attack |
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Attack |
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Secondary controls |
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Attack |
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Virtual keyboard |
| Mouse | Action |
|---|---|
|
Move cursor up |
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Move cursor down |
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Move cursor left |
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Move cursor right |
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Select |
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Menu |
The Lost Patrol
This strategic action role-playing game puts you in charge of the survivors of a US military helicopter crash during the war in Vietnam. Learn the characteristics of your team. Maintain morale. Prevent fatigue. Manage rations and munitions. Fend off enemy attacks. Avoid traps. Interact with civilians. Don’t have a mutiny.
Menus
Game menu
| RAM LOAD | Restores the game from a previous save. |
| RAM SAVE | Saves the game. On THEA500 you should use the Save game feature to create permanent saves. |
| RESTART | Restarts the entire game. |
| QUIT | Quits the game. |
Action menu
| SEARCH AREA | Order the squad to search the immediate area for useful items. |
| REST | Order the squad to rest for a short period, restoring some strength and morale. |
| DIG-IN | Order the squad to dig-in for an overnight rest, restoring some strength and morale. |
Food menu
| NORMAL RATIONS | Issue normal amounts of rations to be eaten when resting or digging-in. |
| HALF RATIONS | Issue half the normal amount of rations to be eaten when resting or digging-in. |
| STARVATION RATIONS | Issue essentially no rations to be eaten when resting or digging-in. |
Traps menu
| CLAYMORE | Deploy a claymore landmine behind your squad. |
| GRENADE | Deploy a grenade tripwire trap behind your squad. |
| DISPLAY INFO | Show some information about the booby traps. |
Extras menu
| PICTURES | Toggles the apperance of full-frame pictures during certain events. |
| ANIMS | Toggles the apperance of animated sequences during certain events. |
| MUSIC | Toggles the music. |
| CREDITS | Displays the game credits. |
Game interface
- Current day/time
- Scroll map
- Order recon of a grid square – available once you have selected one or two squad members as scouts
- Show squad members – shows each member’s strength, morale, and injuries. Click ‘LEAD’ to set a squad member as the head of the team file (who will be resposible for, for example, spotting booby traps), and ‘SCOUT’ to set them as a scout. One lead and two scouts can be selected.
- Move squad – click the centre of the compass to change movement speed and a compass point to move
Events
Minefield
Pick a squad member to scout out a path through the minefield. Move through the field, using the select button to temporarily reveal mines.
Battle sequence
Hold select to rise up from behind the wall and press menu to fire. Click the grenade icon to switch to throwing grenades. Adjust firing rate by using the heavy and normal icons. More rapid shooting will typically be less accurate than normal fire.
Battle readout
Smaller battles will be automatically fought, and the results of the battle displayed.
Grenade section
Press select to pull the pin on a grenade, then hold and then release select to throw. Grenades have a 5 second fuse.
Hand-to-hand
Scouts may sometimes encounter lone Viet Cong soldiers and engage them
in hand-to-hand combat. Note that you will need to hold
to control in this
section. (This is to switch from simulating the Amiga mouse to
simulating a joystick.)
| + |
Crouch |
+ |
Move |
| + /
+ /
+ /
+
| Attack |
Sniper section
Click the team icon to cycle through your squad members. Each has a different level of skill as a sharpshooter. Click on the scope icon to view through the rifle scope. Click to fire.
Civilian encounter
At some points you will encounter Vietnamese civilians. You can choose from a number of actions:
- Question
- Ask the civilian(s) about various topics. Type a topic and press return. Some examples of topics to try are FOOD to ask for food supplies, or VC to ask if they know of any Viet Cong in the area. Civilians may not always answer honestly. Enter a blank topic to return to the action menu.
- Kill one
- Kill a civilian
- Kill all
- Kill all the civilians in the area
- Search area
- Conduct a search of the immediate area for supplies or hidden Viet Cong troops
Squad dossiers
SGT Charlie Weaver
U.S. Residence: Springfield, Illinois.
Status: 5'9"; 153 Pounds
29 years old, single. 2 years army service - 10 months in Vietnam on W.H.A.M. mission, intelligence. Decorated for valour during action in the An Loc Province during October 1964.
PTE William Blom
U.S. Residence: Pitsburg, Pennsylvania.
Status: 6'1"; 168 Pounds
24 years old, married, one child. Six months active service in Vietnam. Aikido 2nd dan.
PTE Robert Case
U.S. Residence: Columbus, Ohio.
Status: 5'11"; 147 Pounds
31 years old, married, 2 children. Nine months active service in Vietnam.
PTE Harvey Moore
U.S. Residence: Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Status: 5'8"; 162 Pounds
22 years old, single. Six months active service in Vietnam.
PTE Richard Backman
U.S. Residence: Bangor, Maine.
Status: 5'10"; 161 Pounds
28 years old, single. Fourteen months army service, six months active in Vietnam. Highly proficient marksman.
PTE David Cain
U.S. Residence: West Liberty, Kentucky.
Status: 6'0"; 163 Pounds
27 years old, single. Seven months active service in Vietnam.
PTE Juan Gomez
U.S. Residence: Montgomery, Texas.
Status: 5'6"; 132 Pounds
24 years old, married, two children. Nine months active service in Vietnam.
Story
June 7th, 1966: A U.S. helicopter returning troops from a period of R ’n’ R in Saigon crashes in the remote central highlands of Vietnam. Now the seven survivors of that crash face a nightmare trek across 57 miles of harsh terrain that is infested with booby traps and enemy soldiers. The journey to Do Hoc, the nearest U.S. base, would test the most able of teams—but with little food or ammunition their chances of making it home are less than slim, their mission is now your mission—are you a survivor?
You take the part of Sgt. Weaver, the only officer left to take charge of the remaining crew. It is important that you learn the individual characters of your team, as completing the mission may hinge upon their reactions to your decisions. Also, during your encounters with the Vietnamese people (Montagnards in the mountain areas) show restraint and caution—all may not be as it seems.
Finally, the only known rule of Jungle Warfare during those early years was “The Night Belongs to the V.C….”, the rest is for you to discover.