Bullfrog's _______ ___________ __ ____ <__ ___>| | | ___> \/ | ___> | | | |_| | |__| | |__ | | | __ | __> |\_/| | __> | | | | | | |__| | | | |__ |_| |_| |_|____>_| |_|____> __ _ ___ ___ ____ ________ ___ __ | | | |/ \ / __)| \| |__ __> \| | | |__| | | | |_ | -- | | | | | | | | | __ | | |__ \| ___/| | | | | __ | | | | | | | | _) ) | | | | | | | | | |___ |_| |_|\___/ (___/|_| |_| |_| |_| |_|_____> Copyright 2001 by JH (Flux Wildly) Contents ========== 1.0 Review of game and Introduction 2.0 Controls 3.0 Staff 4.0 Diseases 5.0 Treatment 6.0 Misc rooms 7.0 Misc objects 8.0 Events 9.0 Tips ================================== 1.0 Introduction and review ================================== I'm JH and I play games. That seems obvious enough. I play almost anything but I'm particularly fond of the RPG, strategy and Sim genre. Which explains why I love this game. I love it enough to write an FAQ about it. This is my second FAQ so far, my first being one on RC Stunt Copter on the PS. If anything looks weird from hereon, it's because it's late at night and I'm half asleep. A quick review of Theme Hospital: The graphics are nothing to brag about but they're sufficient for a Sim/Strategy game. Fancy graphics with lousy gameplay won't last you through the game. Sound and music are the strong points in the game. This is why you should buy the game rather than to download it from one of those abandonware sites. The sound bites add to the atmosphere of the hospital environment. Really. And you can play your own MIDI files with the game. Another reason why you should buy the game. It's available as an EA classic as well as the box form which costs 2,3 times more. Gameplay is great and you'll be stuck on it for years to come until you complete it. It's an addiction. I've been playing this game since 1997 or 98 so you get my point. End of review. See? Told you it's a quick review! Oh yeah, last thing. Do not attempt to place this FAQ on any other site or cut and paste content from this document. I usually solve problems like this using the Monkey Island method: Voodoo. ================== 2.0 Controls ================== The controls in the game are easy to pick up. You'll need the mouse and common sense. Move your mouse cursor over any icon and you'll see a text box appear above the icon. Everything's easy to understand so I'll skip explaining them. The Town Map icon is for the purchase of more land as well as to adjust the heat emission of your radiators. To buy land, click on any of the red pieces you see. The $ icon is the bank manager. If you run out of money, you can loan some from there. On the bank manager screen, click + or - to loan and return money respectively. Of course, there is an interest rate so.... When you attempt to build a room, click on the spot you want the room to be and drag til you reach the size you want. There is a minimum size for each room and you'll know the room can be built when the area turns blue. Right clicking when your cursor is an object rotates the object. When you wish to reposition furniture, move your cursor on the object and right click. The icon on the right with test tubes on it brings up the research screen. You may want to concentrate your research on Cure equipment and Diagnosis first. The rest of the icons seem self explanatory so I'll skip that. ========================= 3.0 Staff listing ========================= 3.1 Doctors ---------------- Doctors in the game come with 3 different ranks, different level of detail, different capability, different salary and most importantly, different qualifications. The ranks are Junior, Doctor and Consultant, Consultant being the highest paid and Junior being the lowest. In the higher levels, it is possible for Juniors and Doctors to attain higher skill levels by training them. That'd be covered in detail under 6.0 Misc rooms The below are the different qualification of doctors in the game: Skilless: Doctors with no particular Qualifications. They can work in any room except those that require a doctor with a particular skill. Researcher: This doctor works in the research department (when it is available) and also, in later levels, the DNA fixer, in addition to the areas open to the Skilless. A researcher is essential to your work force as he discovers the various diseases, equipment and its cure as well as improvising the treatment administered. The improvising of drugs will increase your reputation for that particular disease. Psychiatrist: He works in the Psychiatry room as well as any room open to the Skilless. You'll need a psychiatrist to cure people who are sick in the head...well, in a way. Surgeon: Surgeons work in pairs. A lone surgeon is as useless as a hospital without a receptionist. Surgeons roam areas open to Skilless Docs as well as the Operating theatre. They cure diseases by cutting people up. Doctors in the game will go crazy if they're overworked. I forgot to construct a staff room once and ended up with loads of crazy Docs. You can differentiate crazy Docs from the sane ones by their hair. Their hair looks like they've stuffed their fingers into an electric socket. You should also note what their bio says about the doctor when you're hiring. A lazy doctor moves slower than a hardworking one and consultants move faster than a Junior. This is essential information if you're planning to increase productivity. 3.2 Receptionists ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Receptionists are the ugly bunch of people. They have different level of detail and skill. The capable ones with a relatively high level of detail cost slightly above $100. Secretaries are weird creatures and they don't get tired ever. They work at the reception desk and don't bother you with threats of quitting because apparently, they can't feel. They're perpetually stuck to their reception desk and you can't move the reception desk without first moving the receptionist. And being the magnet that she is, she'll move towards the desk the moment you place her. Oh yeah, you can't start a hospital without her. No one will come. 3.4 Nurses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nurses work at the Pharmacy, the Ward as well as the Fracture Clinic. Without them, you cannot administer drugs to cure people. I'm not sure if she'll go crazy if she's overworked but she still gets tired unlike the inhuman receptionists. 3.5 Handymen ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The handymen are the crux of the game. Hire enough and your hospital will be nice and neat with no nasty explosions. Don't hire them and you'll probably lose the game before long. Hire handymen with a high skill level because they move faster, thus working faster. They get angry faster than anyone else in the game and ask for pay rises constantly. You can set their priorities by clicking on them and then clicking on the icon for the task you want them to concentrate on. Handymen wander all over the place so you may wish to buy land only when you really need it. Otherwise, they'll wander there and do nothing. They mop/sweep/clean the floors, water the plants as well as repair machines. They also need to rest regularly...too regularly if you ask me..darn these handymen. =================== 4.0 Diseases =================== Golf Stones ----------- Cause - Exposure to poison gas inside golf-balls Symptoms - Delirium and advanced shame Cure -These must be removed by an operation requiring two Surgeons Unexpected Swelling ------------------- Cause - Anything unexpected Symptom - Swelling Cure - The swelling can only be reduced by lancing during an operation requiring two Surgeons Spare Ribs ---------- Cause - Sitting on cold stone floors Symptoms - Unpleasant feeling of chestiness Cure - These must be taken out by two Surgeons, and given to the patient in a doggy bag Pregnancy (downloadable add-on that is not in the game) --------- Cause - Power cuts in urban areas Symptoms - Faddish eating with consequent beer gut. Cure - Baby is removed in Operating Theatre, washed and presented to patient. Kidney Beans ------------ Cause - Crunching up ice cubes in drinks Symptoms - Pain and frequent trips to the toilet Cure - Two Surgeons must remove the beans without touching the sides of the kidney Broken Heart ------------ Cause - Someone richer, younger and thinner than the patient Symptoms - Weeping and RSI caused by hours of tearing up holiday photos Cure - Two Surgeons open the chest and gently mend the heart whilst holding their breath Ruptured Nodules ---------------- Cause - Bungee jumping in cold weather Symptoms - Inability to sit down in comfort Cure - Two qualified Surgeons must removed the nodules using steady hands Iron Lungs ---------- Cause - Inner-city smog mixed with kebab remains Symptoms - Ability to breathe fire and shout loudly underwater Cure - Two Surgeons operate to remove the cast solid lungs in the Theatre Heaped Piles ------------ Cause - Standing around by water coolers Symptoms - Patient feels like he/she is sitting on a bag of marbles Cure - A pleasant, yet powerfully acidic drink dissolves the piles from the inside Gut Rot ------- Cause - Mrs. O'Malley's Good Time Whisky Cough Mixture Symptoms - No cough but no stomach-wall lining either Cure - A Nurse can administer a selection of dissolved chemicals to coat the tum Gastric Ejections ----------------- Cause - Spicy Mexican or Indian food Symptoms - Half-digested food is emitted from the patient in random clusters Cure - Drinking a special binding solution prevents anything being ejected The Squits ---------- Cause - Eating pizza found under the cooker Symptoms - Ugh. Surely you can guess Cure - A glutinous mix of stringy pharmaceutical chemicals solidify the patients innards Sleeping Illness ---------------- Cause - Overactive sleep gland in the roof of the mouth Symptoms - Overwhelming desire to crash out everywhere Cure - A high dosage of powerful stimulant is administered by a Nurse Transparency ------------ Cause - Licking the yogurt from the foil tops of opened pots Symptoms - Flesh is rendered see-through and horrible Cure - A Pharmacy drink of specially cooled and coloured water cures this disease Invisibility ------------ Cause - Being bitten by a radioactive (and invisible) ant Symptoms - Patients suffer no discomfort. Indeed, many use the condition to play practical jokes on their families Cure - A colourful liquid drunk in the Pharmacy soon restores the patient to full observability Discrete Itching ---------------- Cause - Tiny insects with sharp teeth Symptoms - Scratching, leading to body-part inflammation Cure - Patient drinks a pharmaceutical gluey syrup to prevent the skin from itching Uncommon Cold ------------- Cause - Small particles of snot in the air Symptoms - Runny nose, sneezing and discoloured lungs Cure - A big swig of uncommon cough medicine made from special ingredients in the Pharmacy will cure this Broken Wind ----------- Cause - Using a gymnasium treadmill after a meal Symptoms - Upsetting the people directly behind the patient Cure - A heavy mixture of special watery atoms is drunk rapidly in the Pharmacy Corrugated Ankles ----------------- Cause - Driving over traffic calming measures in road Symptoms - Footwear does not fit snugly Cure - A slightly toxic blend of herbs and spices is drunk to straighten out the ankles Chronic Nosehair ---------------- Cause - Sniffing disdainfully at those worse off than the patient Symptoms - Nosebeard a badger could make a nest in Cure - A disgusting hair-removal potion is taken orally, prepared by a Nurse in the Pharmacy Bloaty Head ----------- Cause - Sniffing cheese and drinking unpurified rainwater Symptoms - Very uncomfortable for the sufferer Cure - The swollen head is popped, then reinflated to the correct PSI using a clever machine Serious Radiation ----------------- Cause - Mistaking plutonium isotopes for chewing gum Symptoms - Patients with this condition feel very, very unwell Cure - The patient must be placed in a Decontamination Shower and cleansed properly Slack Tongue ------------ Cause - Chronic overdiscussion of soap operas Symptoms - Tongue swells to five times its original length Cure - The tongue is placed in the Slicer Machine, and removed quickly, efficiently and painfully Alien DNA --------- Cause - Face huggers equipped with intelligent alien blood Symptoms - Gradual alien metamorphosis and desire to destroy our cities Cure - The DNA is mechanically removed, cleaned of alien elements and replaced quickly Fractured Bones --------------- Cause - Falling off high things onto concrete Symptoms - Loud crack and inability to use afflicted limbs Cure - The cast is set then removed using a laser-driven removing machine Baldness -------- Cause - Telling lies and making up stories to be popular Symptoms - Shiny-headedness and embarrassment Cure - Hair is seamlessly melded onto the patient's head using a painful machine Jellyitis --------- Cause - Gelatin-rich diet and too much exercise Symptoms - Excessive wobbliness and falling down a lot Cure - The patient is immersed in the Jelly Vat in a special room for a bit Hairyitis --------- Cause - Prolonged exposure to the moon Symptoms - Sufferers experience enhanced sense of smell Cure - An electrolysis machine removes the hair and seals up the pores King Complex ------------ Caused by the spirit of the King entering the patient's mind and taking over Symptoms - Donning of colourful suede footwear and eating cheeseburgers Cure - A Psychiatrist tells the patient how ridiculous he or she looks TV Personalities ---------------- Cause - Daytime television Symptoms - Delusions of being able to present a cookery show Cure - A trained Psychiatrist must convince the patient to sell their TV and buy a radio Infectious Laughter ------------------- Cause - Classic situation comedy Symptoms - Helpless chortling and repetition of unfunny catchphrases Cure - A qualified Psychiatrist must remind the patient how serious this condition is 3rd Degree Sideburns -------------------- Cause - Wistful longing for the 1970S Symptoms - Big hair, flares, platforms and glitter make-up Cure - The Psychiatry staff must, using up-to-date techniques, convince the patient that these hairy accoutrements are rubbish Fake Blood ---------- Cause - Patient usually subject of practical joke Symptoms - Red fluid in veins which evaporates on contact with clothing Cure - Psychiatric calming is the only way to deal with this problem Sweaty Palms ------------ Cause - Fear of job interviews Symptoms - Handshakes with patient are like grabbing a recently submerged sponge Cure - A Psychiatrist must talk the patient out of this made-up disease The diseases need to be discovered by the research department first before they can be cured so remember to hire researchers! =================== 5.0 Treatment =================== There are various types of treatment rooms in the game. Patients need to visit them to either get their diseases diagnosed or cured. They are, GP's office You need at least one of this. It's the first step in the diagnosis process. Patients will be referred to this room by the receptionist first before being further directed to other rooms General Diagnosis This is as vital in the diagnosis process as the GP's office. It serves almost the same purpose as the rest of the diagnosis rooms. Cardiogram This room will be available later in the game. The cardiogram is a machine and requires constant attention by the handymen. Like the rest of the machines, it will need to be replaced when its strength falls dangerously low. Otherwise, the machine would explode and kill the patient in it and perhaps the doctor as well. I'm not sure about that but it seems that my staff disappear after an explosion. Scanner This room will be available after your researchers discover it. The scanner requires maintenance like the Cardio. X-Ray This is the coolest machine in the neighbourhood. You get to see your patients skeletal form... at least the ribcage. This requires regular fixing by your friendly (or not so friendly) handymen. Blood machine This machine sucks blood out from your patients to test for their diseases. It's not as gross as it sounds and looks cute too. This too requires maintenance. Ultrascan The holy grail of diagnosis equipment, this baby is capable of seeking out every disease that plagues your patients. Though it costs a bomb, you'd earn much more from your patients. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pharmacy Patients visit this place to get their dosage of medicine from your nurse. Psychiatric Patients with mental disorder head here. They'd lie on the couch while a psychiatrist speaks to them. Then they'd get well. Operating theatre Surgeons remove bits and pieces of the patients here. Pretty self explanatory. The operating table is a piece of equipment and requires regular attention from the handyman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ward I figure this is in a class of its own as it is both a part of the diagnosis process as well as a place to rest before an operation. This place requires a nurse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inflation Big headed patients head (pun unintended) here to get their heads popped. Then the inflator pumps air back into their heads so they regain their original shapes. Cool. Slack Tongue Clinic Long tongued patients get their tongue sliced off here. The machine looks like a giant black iron and needs maintenance. Fracture Clinic You might notice many patients with plaster casts all over their bodies. These people have a disease called Fractured bones and need to visit the fracture clinic to get their casts off. The cast remover requires maintenance and would be made available without the need for research later in the game. A nurse operates the machine. Hair restoration Bald people need this room. Obviously. It also requires maintenance. Electrolysis Patients who look like werewolves are sent here to get their hair removed. These hairytitis patients are electrocuted til all hair growing in the wrong places fall off. The machine requires maintenance. Decontamination Patients with a greenish hue have a disease called radioactivity. They shower in this machine and regain their normal color. The machine requires maintenance. Jelly Vat People infected with Jellyitis (wobbly people) are poured into this machine that solidifies them. The machine requires maintenance. DNA Fixer People with Alien DNA are sent here. They are easily identified because they are the only patients around with only one eye and tentacles. Plus, they're green. Like your average everyday alien. The only good thing about these people is that they don't need benches to sit on. The DNA fixer does not need maintenance for some unknown reason and only researchers can work the machine. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ===================== 6.0 Misc rooms ===================== Staff rooms These are needed to rest your tired staff. All staff (with the exception of the receptionist) tire and need to rest. Otherwise, they either go crazy or demand pay rises. You can purchase various objects, like TVs and pool tables among others, for the enjoyment of the staff. Toilets For obvious reasons, toilets are needed by the patients to er...do their business. This way, they feel happier about the hospital. More cubicles and sinks can be purchased. Strangely enough, your staff need not visit this sacred place.... Research Department Researchers occupy this room. They discover diseases and their cure as well as the equipment needed for this. As the game progresses, your researchers will develop new equipment for use in this room. Do purchase them as they'll help in your researchers' work. Training Doctors with no qualifications or a low skill level are sitted in this room. A consultant with a qualification you wish to impart to these ignorant doctors need to be hired to teach them. They would either inherit the qualification of the consultant or have their skill level increased. I don't think you can decide on that but it does get irritating when your average doctor becomes a consultant and leaves the room without the qualification you desire. And no, consultants can't be trained. ===================== 7.0 Misc Objects ===================== Reception Desk A receptionist works here so you need at least one of these. Bench These are for your patients to sit on. With sufficient benches, patients are less likely to puke and they are happier. You should always buy enough of these. Drinks Machine For some reason, drinks machines have 'KitKat' written on them. Not Mountain Dew or Coca Cola but KitKat. Placing enough of these around adds to your revenue and makes your patients unthirsty and happy. But they do add to the amount of litter around as well as the number of times your patients need to visit the loo. Radiator Patients and staff are likely to stay happy and warm if you have enough of these. You can adjust the intensity of the heat by clicking on the Town Map icon. The red dots should cover the whole of the area of your hospital. Plants Plants require watering by your handymen. They add to the environment of the hospital and makes your patients happier. But I'd suggest you skip them as your handymen probably have enough trouble with machinery and rubbish. Fire Extinguisher Fire Extinguishers can be placed in rooms to lower the risk of your machinery going Kaboom. I'm not sure about the effect it has when placed in the corridoor though. =============== 8.0 Events =============== Occasionally, an icon pops out from the left hand corner of the screen just above the $ icon. This is an event. The various events are described below. VIPs When the icon shows a tophat, it signifies a VIP visit. Click on it to bring up the fax machine window. Unless you have a serious litter problem in your hospital, you should allow their visit. They'd take a tour around your hospital and after they leave, fax you with a message telling you how much they love or hate your hospital. Hate faxes are rare and normally, you'd receive a reputation boost as well as a cash reward. Staff Demands This is represented by a red icon with a doctor's face on it. Clicking on it brings up a window that shows the staff concerned's demands. It is normally a demand for a pay rise or, in extreme cases, a threat to quit. For pay rises, increasing the pay of that staff member (the + icon) would prevent him or her from quitting and denying that request (the door icon) may or may not cause that staff member to quit. Sometimes, it is just an empty threat. Discovery An icon with a DNA strand brings up the fax window when clicked on. It informs you of the discovery of a new condition. Pretty much self explanatory. Question Sometimes, a patient with an undiscovered disease or a disease that your hospital cannot cure yet seeks treatment. An icon with a question mark appears and when clicked on, brings up the fax window. The icon also appears when there are patients who are not completely diagnosed. You can make a decision to take the risk and cure them, send them home, send them to the research department or to make them wait in the hospital. The choice is yours. Emergencies This is an icon with a blue light (those fixed on police cars..I forgot what they're called). It informs you of a emergency where a number of patients with a certain disease need to be cured in a time limit. You can choose to take up the challenge or to refuse it. You might wish to refuse it if the number of patients is larger than the number you can handle. There is a cash reward if you successfully complete the challenge and your reputation will take a beating if you don't. Achievements An icon with a certificate appears after a visit by a VIP or after an emergency. It tells you of how you have done. ============== 9.0 Tips ============== The object of the game is to meet the requirements of each level. There are many ways to go about this and the below are my tips and strategies. It is preferable to build 2 or more GP's offices as your hospital's reputation grows. This way, more patients can be cured in a shorter time and also, it shortens the queue at the GP's office. Benches should be placed near the entrance to the rooms so the patients take a shorter time to walk to the room. This saves time. Space should be left near the entrance of the hospital so you can place a reception desk there. Also, rooms should not be too congested as this would increase the tendency of your patients littering (I'm not sure why too). The diagnosis rooms should be placed nearer to the entrance so that the flow of traffic is smoother. You'll need to scatter drink machines around the hospital. You don't have to buy a lot of radiators because you can adjust the heat level from the Town Map. Repair your machines every 3 uses so they don't break down or explode in the occasion of earthquakes. In the later levels you'd need to purchase land to expand your hospital empire. I would save my game before purchasing the land so I can check it out first before wasting my money on a piece of land that can't contain many rooms. Some pieces of land is in such a way that you can only build one space consuming room. If you see tiny black dots scampering from one end of your hospital to the other, those are rats. Position your mouse cursor on one til the arrow turns into a crosshair, then click. This will kill the rat and leave a blood stain on the floor. Kill enough rats and you get a bonus level after your current level. Do make your handyman clean up the blood stains though, because patients tend to vomit upon seeing them. And that makes your hospital dirty. That seems all I have to say here. Good luck and enjoy the game! JH For queries or anything other than junk mail, email me at flixflux@hotmail.com