To win, claim the landscape from the Sentinel.

The Sentinel removes intruders by scattering their energy. You can only defeat the Sentinel from above, so you must use the energy of the landscape to climb from lower ground.

Look

The Sentinel waits in the distance. You can absorb a nearby tree for energy, and you can create a new synthoid shell on any empty square you can see.

Your synthoid view shows status information. From left to right:

• Your energy reserve displays as a number (11) and also as useful objects (1 synthoid shell, 4 boulders).
• The scanner alarm is orange when you are scanned by the Sentinel, and red when the Sentinel saps your energy.

The map

1. Press M to show or hide the map.
2. Drag the view to rotate it.
3. Use the mouse wheel to zoom the view.

The Sentinel continues to scan while you look at the map.

Conserve energy

At the start of every game, the Sentinel is dormant at the zenith. When you change the landscape, the Sentinel awakens and scans the landscape for objects that contain more than one unit of energy, and scatters that energy around the landscape as trees. A tree is worth one unit of energy.

If the energy in shell you occupy reaches zero, then further scattering of energy will destroy your synthoid shell, and the game ends.

Climb

When you enter a landscape, your synthoid stands on low ground, looking towards the zenith. The Sentinel is dormant, until there is a change of energy on the landscape.

Look around

Drag the view to look around.

Zoom the camera view with the mouse wheel.

Move

To move around the landscape, you need three or more energy units in reserve to create a synthoid shell. You can climb higher using your spare energy to place boulders before you place a synthoid shell.

1. Point to a flat square or boulder.
2. Press B to create a boulder.
3. Press R to create a shell.
4. Press Q to transfer into the new shell.
   Your old shell remains.
5. Press A to absorb your old shell.

Boulders each cost two energy units to create.

You can only absorb an object when you can see the square it stands on, or if you can see the boulder it stands on.

Climb higher

Climb as high as you can, as quickly as you can, to reach the zenith.

Remember, if the square you occupy cannot be seen by the the Sentinel, then it cannot absorb your energy.

Avoid the Sentinel

If the alarm has activated, the Sentinel has seen you! Soon, it will start scattering your energy reserves, so move quickly away from the Sentinel's gaze.

Take control

If you are high enough, you can look down to the top of the Sentinel's pedestal.

Complete the escape sequence to progress to the next landscape:

• Point at the Sentinel or its pedestal.
• Press A to absorb the Sentinel.
• Press R to create a synthoid shell on the Sentinel's pedestal.
• Press Q to transfer to the new synthoid shell.
• Press Q again to exit the landscape.

The Sentinel is the last object that you may absorb from a landscape. Try to absorb everything you can first, because your energy reserve helps you travel further to more difficult landscapes.