The Clone Masters Guide to the Planet

Introduction

Greetings CloneMaster! As the President of the Intergalactic CloneMaster Organization (ICO) it is my duty and pleasure to offer counsel to new members. This guide will serve as your reference as you progress towards mastery in the many adventures and challenges that lie ahead. The path you have chosen will be difficult at times and you must learn to cultivate your mental powers and persevere when facing seemingly unbeatable situations, for the long road of delayed success is one which is available to all! In this guide you will learn about the history of Clones, CloneMasters, the Elders, the League, as well as basic match rules.

History

The art of the CloneMasters has been practiced since the earliest recorded history on the Clones planet. Clones are made of a quantum goo and can morph their bodies in astonishing ways. However, this skill evolved at the expense of cranial capacity and thus the Clones themselves are simple-minded and unable to survive alone. CloneMasters on the other hand have poor physical dexterity either due to body size or shape but posses a great intellect. Due to this symbiotic nature of the Clones and CloneMasters it is thought that both life forms co-evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago. There is evidence that the ancient CloneMasters had skill far beyond what is commonly capable today, and what is left of that knowledge is maintained by the Elder CloneMasters. Today many CloneMasters originate from distant worlds and migrate to the Clones planet in order to enhance their mental aptitudes. At some point in the past the CloneMasters sought to challenge each other, possibly as a means to sharpen their skills or just pure recreation. Soon afterwards the ICO was founded with the motto "Strategy, Ingenuity, Levity" to assist new CloneMasters in learning the basics as well as organize small tournaments. Over time this competitive play became what is now know as the CloneMasters League in which players from all over the galaxy can compete for fun and fame! Most of the Elders do not take part in competition and only wish to pass on their venerable skills to a new generation to ensure the ancient traditions are remembered. All CloneMasters must be registered with the ICO in order to either train with the Elders or compete in the League. Visit the ICO website (www.ClonesGame.com) for more information on registration!

Elders

The following is a list of the Elders known to be seeking new trainees. It is recommended that you visit them prior to entering into League play as they will help to show you how to use your powers in a variety of situations.

RoboBrain
	Origin: Unknown Info: A dashing digital denizen! RoboBrain is rumoured to be created by a number of other Elders to teach beginning CloneMasters all of the basics they need before moving onto more interesting lessons. Location: Cloneopolis

DrillDude
	Origin: Clones planet Info: Spending his weekends burrowing through the many underground caves near his home the DrillDude is a tiny workhorse! Don't let his size fool you, he knows all there is to know about using the Clones to build and destroy terrain. Location: Lava caves

Gorafosaurus
	Origin: Clones planet Info: Go-Fo loves to slide down the snowy mountains near his igloo and takes great pride in helping new CloneMasters advance their skills. His tests will not be trivial, but the gorgeous ice hills surrounding his training center will be worth the visit. Location: Polar region

Trillip
	Origin: Black Hole Info: One of the most bizarre creatures found in 3 spatial dimensions. Trillip is a master of gravity puzzles and always seems to have a plan B and C ready! Be careful not to get too close as one of his heads has sharp teeth and poor vision. Location: Moon

Several other Elders offer their tutelage only to those who possess fragments of the CloneMaster Medallion. The Medallion was forged when the ICO first came into being and was divided amongst the most respected CloneMasters of the era. Over the years the fragments have been passed down to students who show great promise. The following is a list of the known remaining fragment holders.

Octopal
	Origin: Earth Pacific Ocean Info: After growing tired of checkmating dolphins in 8 moves this astute abundantly-armed aquatic animal relocated to the warm seas of the Clones Planet. Location: Beaches

Snoog
	Origin: Clones Planet Info: Being an excellent vocalist, Snoog loves to harmonize with her echo deep in the underground caves in which she was raised. Her tests will be full of surprises and false endings. Location: Caves

Beatall
	Origin: Nanosphere 7, Orbiting Gliese-D Info: An artificial life form running the Lineual Net OS. Very unforgiving to new players, and requires tunneling action to hack into its shell. Location: Clonopolis

Hubble Buoy
	Origin: Clones Planet Info: Cousin to the DrillDude, this CloneMaster used to be a Clone until one match in which a Spin command went haywire and resulted in a permanently inflated head. A keen intellect soon grew to fill the space. He likes to spend his free time gazing at the stars. Location: Moon

Dragsicle
	Origin: Europa Info: One of the oldest CloneMasters, she is also one of the most respected. Her puzzles are known for their complexity, beauty, and sheer size. Location: Ice Caves

Roast Ed
	Origin: Giant Bean Fields, Mars Biosphere Info: The first intelligent legume. Ed gets a lot done (for a fruit) and likes to think outside the sand box. Location: Beaches

Wattson R. Ice
	Origin: Astral Plane Info: Mr. Ice is one cool Elder. Little is known about this mysterious CloneMaster other than his predilection for Bach, chocolate covered soy beans, and rainbow wallpaper. His compositions may blow your mind. Location: Unknown

Once you feel that you have learned the basics of CloneMastering from the Elders you are welcome to join the League and match your wits against other CloneMasters from around the Universe!

League Rules

Playing in the League is an exhilarating experience! After registering, the first thing you need to do to get started is find (or create) a tournament in which to compete. You can either contact the ICO which will provide you a list of all active tournaments being played in the universe or you can create your own tournament. There are a number of different kinds of tournaments available as well:

Corral the Clone
	Each group of players tries to collect as many Clones as possible with the winning group being the one that corrals the most. Stealing Clones from another group is allowed and is very often an excellent tactic. Typically played between 2-8 players, but a 16 player match is not unheard of.

Procure the Particle
	All player groups will be trying to locate and retrieve one or more quantum dots. The group which captures any one of the special particles will be declared the winner!

Capture the Clone
	One or more Clones will be caged and all player groups must try to free the caged Clone and lead it into their capture point. The caged Clones cannot be controlled by the players thus requiring a safe path to be created before victory is obtainable. If all of the capture-able Clones perish, then the match is a draw.

Multiverse Match
	Each group of players will be given their own identical playing field and the the group that corrals the most Clones in the shortest time will be victorious. There is also the option to place a single sabotage Clone into opponents play zone to add some extra excitement!

Quantum Quarrel

In this style of play each Clone is given a power level indicator and the winning group must reduce all other groups Clones power levels to zero. Reducing a Clone's power level to zero will cause the Clone to lose it's quantum coherence and thus Atomize. Quantum de-coherence can be induced by either detonating nova Clones, or lopping Clone goo, or by use of special pick-up items which can be used by a single Clone at a time.

Quantum Loop
	You must co-ordinate the morphs of past and future trials to avoid being flummoxed by this puzzle-fugue.

An explanation of the different options for each type of Tournament will be described in the Match Rules section.

All matches played in the League are recorded and submitted to the ICO for statistical analysis and also for the purpose of sharing highlights with other members! CloneMasters are encouraged to create their own playing fields and invite others to play. For more information on this please refer to this technical document.

Match Rules

Whether playing a League match or an Elder training session there are certain rules which must be followed. First is how to interface to the Clones themselves to tell them what to do. Up until very recently the link between Clone and CloneMaster was always telepathic, however with more and more CloneMasters arriving from other planets a digital HUD was created to allow anyone with the will to become a CloneMaster. Using the HUD you can select a single Clone from a bunch and request that they morph their bodies to perform one of the following actions:

Clob

By spinning it's arms, legs, and antlers this trailblazing Clone can clobber any obstacle in it's path leaving behind a horizontal tunnel. The only material which is un-clobbable is Clonium, a rare and extremely hard metal used primarily to create the buildings in Cloneopolis. Clobbers must have something to clob or they will revert to walking. You can stop a Clobber using the Cancel Morph command.

Mold
	Those are not eggs that Clone is laying, they are quantum cubes and very useful to get clones over a hole or up to a ledge. A Molder will create 13 cubes diagonally upwards before forgetting what they are doing and reverting to walking. You can stop a Molder using the Cancel Morph command.

Nova
	Go out with a big-bang! Used primarily for offense, the Nova Clone will count down and then initiate an internal chain reaction causing explosive decoherence and expansion taking a chunk of the landscape with it. If you can blow one up on an opponents bridge you may cause their Clones to fall and go splat!

Drill
	A Driller will transform the lower part of its body into a spiral and carve out a vertical tunnel straight down. A good offensive tactic is to use a Driller to capture many of the opponents clones in a small space. Drillers cannot cut through Clonium. You can stop a Driller using the Cancel Morph command.

Gulp
	With an insatiable appetite for destruction the Gulper will suck up the terrain in front of it and eject Pauli-Optimized Object chunks out of it's back via transmutation. This results in a diagonal tunnel (either up or down) which just happens to be at the same angle of a Molder's bridge. Gulpers cannot eat Clonium. You can stop a Gulper using the Cancel Morph command.

Doppel
	If 2 heads are better than 1, then 1.618 heads are golden! When a Clone is Doppled it will partially divide and increase it's surface area contacting the ground thus barring any Clones from passing it. In this state the Clone can no longer make sense of any new morph request except for Nova and Atomize, however if it begins to fall then safety overrides will revert it to normal.

Puff
	Since the Clones body is composed of a quantum goo they will atomize upon landing from a large fall. However, if you tell a Clone to Puff up then they can safely fall from any height by increasing their thermal energy resulting in decreased body density. After they land they will forget how to Puff and must be told again if needed. You can stop a Puffer using the Cancel Morph command.

Spin
	The Spinner will propel itself upwards until their head makes contact with something solid. Because of the rotating antlers a Clone in this state can only receive either the Nova or Atomize command. Be warned that if there is no land above then the Clone will fly away into the infinite abyss.. oh, the clonanity!

Atomize
	When things get tough some Clones just fall to pieces. Atomizing causes a Clone to lose superposition thus returning it back into the quantum randomness from which it came! By Atomizing a Clone it's inert particles can be used to fill up Driller holes or help others get over a bump in the landscape.

Lop
	Sometimes losing your head can be advantageous! By utilizing spontaneous self-assembly the Clone can regrow it's head after Lopping it off. The tossed head will burst when it hits a solid surface.

In addition to the above morphs, the Clones can activate interactive objects during a match which may give them other abilities such as change their gravity orientation, magnify their size, increase their speed, teleport, launch snowballs, and more! Please refer to the Interactive Objects section for more details.

The Clones are also capable of manipulating Quantum Time which produces a small space-time warp which allows you to see their future position. This is a limited ability and there is a meter in the HUD to indicate how much QT you can use.

Typically Clones are perfect copies of each other based on a simple genetic code, but sometimes there are mutations. The known mutations are as follows:

Light Clone - The Light Clone seems to have a small centralized brain consisting of 5-10 neurons which is just enough to stop them from walking around aimlessly. You can directly control this Clone's movement and direction as well as command them to jump.
Dark Clone - Being the most common of all mutations, the Dark Clone has superior motor control allowing them to Mold twice as fast, fall safely from any height, and triple the size of their Nova event horizon! Most impressive is that the Dark Clone can disintegrate Clonium when going Nova!

Prior to each match commencing, each player much select which color (group) of Clones they will be working with. At this point the host of the match can alter the number of morph actions available to any group as well as change the number of Clones available. In this way experienced players can be handicapped when playing against new players to level the playing field.

Tournament-Specific Options

Procure the Particle

Allow control of particle possessors: Normally if a Clone has picked up a particle they cannot be commanded due to the EM field the particle emits. Enabling this option boosts the HUD transmission power.
Allow particle tunneling: If enabled, this will increase amplitude of the particle's wave function so that once it is picked up by a Clone it will jump to another Clone if close enough.
Allow particle dropping: Normally when a Clone that is holding the particle goes nova or atomizes the particle is regenerated at it's original position. With this option enabled the particle will remain on the landscape where the Clone was.
Allow inter-group tunneling: If particle tunneling is enabled and this is enabled then Clones from other groups can steal the particle when they walk by a particle carrying Clone.
Allow lost particle: When enabled this will prevent a particle from regenerating when it falls off of the playing field.

Multiverse Match
	Sabotage Clone If enabled then a single Clone of your group will be placed into each other group's universe. Use it wisely! Big Clone Enable this if you want the sabotage Clone to be twice the normal size.

Quantum Quarrel
	Allow group damage Normally the Clones attacks are 90 degrees out of phase with their own atomic spin and so they are incapable of hurting members of the same group. Enable this option to force phase sync. Self damage Clones are protected from attacks they generate. If you enable this option, then Clones can damage themselves. Be careful!

Interactive Objects

There are a number of ICO approved contraptions which can be added to the playing area in order to enhance the complexity and excitement of a match. The following are some of the most commonly used devices.

Entanglement Chamber
	This device modifies two Clones so that they are on the same receive channel from the CloneMaster so that if you give an action to one Clone then both will perform it.

Anti-Grav Portal
	By imparting a nearly infinite radial velocity on the molecular level a Clone can simulate a gravity shift allowing it to walk on walls and ceilings.

Black Hole
	A hazard to be avoided. Clones that fall into it's center are lost forever.

Resize Tunnel
	The Clones can be scaled up to 200% or down to 50% their normal size by enabling different levels of electron sharing.

Speed Boost
	Normally all the Clones move at a uniform velocity. This is because their speed is quantized. This object will allow a Clone to move up to 8x faster for a time.

Freeze Blast
	A Clone can use this to fire chunks of frozen nitrogen which will freeze up any Clones which are hit.

Swapper
	During league play this device will phase shift the molecules of any Clone that comes near to it so that command of the Clone will be swapped to a different CloneMaster. The colour of the Clone will change as well.