Welcome student to Holopoint. Here you will receive your training in the art of Kyudo, the ancient Japanese practice of archery. Your training is about to begin.

The objective of your training is to develop your skills as a master archer. This you will do by successfully completing a series of challenges presented to you in successively more difficult waves. The rules are simple: destroy your enemies before they destroy you.

Your equipment consists of a hankyu (a Japanese short bow) and a quiver with arrows. Your training begins in the dojo. The dojo is equipped with holographic projectors that generate targets, enemies, and their projectiles. Your movement is constrained to the mat in the center of the dojo as defined by your play space. Do not stray from your mat; doing so may cause an unexpected encounter with an all-too-real alternate reality.

Your quiver is worn upon your back and arrows may be pulled from the quiver by reaching your free (i.e. non-bow) hand up to your shoulder. Bringing the free hand forward will produce an arrow.
Position the arrow such that the nock (the notched tail end) is near the center of the bow string. Once there, pull and hold the trigger on the arrow-hand controller. This will nock the arrow on the bow string. Draw the arrow back and release the trigger to loose the arrow. Note well: Drawing the arrow back to your cheek will put you in position to quickly pull the next arrow from the quiver with little-to-no extra movement.

Shoot the Start Square to begin.
Wave 1 begins with holographic targets consisting of Kyubu (cubes). Each target contains a single round of energy aimed directly at you. Shoot each target with an arrow. A perfect hit destroys the target and its round. A less-than-perfect hit destroys the cube and fires its round back at you.

Avoid incoming rounds by dodging, ducking, or, if you are very skilled, shooting the rounds before they strike you. Only a direct hit to the head by an incoming round counts as a strike against you. You are permitted only one strike per wave. A second strike ends the wave and you must start again. On the floor next to one wall, two candles are lit at the start of each wave. When you are struck once, one candle is extinguished. When you are struck a second time, the second candle is extinguished and the wave is ended.

Beginning with Wave 2, the targets absorb energy and begin to glow red. Eventually, if not destroyed, the target will explode, firing its round at you.
Successive waves are more challenging, introducing you to new targets and enemy types (including samurai, ninjas, and bosses) that must be defeated for you to progress to advanced rounds of training.

Your progress is saved at checkpoints after successfully surviving Wave 4 and every 5th wave thereafter. Your score is recorded at each checkpoint. You may begin training at any checkpoint previously reached by shooting an arrow through the square for that checkpoint and then shooting the Start square. Your score begins with your best score recorded for that checkpoint. You may replay any set of waves previously completed. Only your best score will be recorded. Improving your score for any set of waves also improves your overall score.

In addition to the holograms, Holopoint generates 3D sounds as aural cues to your surroundings. Sounds include the spawning of targets and enemies, the charging up and firing of energy rounds, the sounds of approaching enemies, and much more. Listen and you will see.

Scoring is used to evaluate you relative to your peers.
Each target (such as the cubes) is worth 100 points. As a target ages, its point value declines until it reaches zero and self-destructs. Therefore, the faster you destroy targets, the higher your score.
Enemies such as samurai and ninjas are worth 50 points. Enemies do not lose points over time, but they must be destroyed before they destroy you. Shooting the round produced by a destroyed target is worth 5 points.

With practice you will gain a fluidity and speed of movement that exemplifies your superior skill and cunning as a master archer. In these rare moments you will be bestowed the flaming arrow of truth, so named because the truth is, they just look cool.
Your score is posted on the wall relative to your peers. The top 200 leaderboard is posted on Steam (Click here to view).

Shoot the Gear Icon opposite the Start Box to open the Options menu. Available options include:

• Aiming: Choose Free Form (one-handed bow) or Conventional (two-handed bow and arrow) aiming
  
• Nock Side: Choose to nock the arrow on the left or right side of the bow
  
• Arrow Grip: Pick between Fingered (arrows held perpendicular to your controller) or Pointed (arrows held parallel to your controller) arrow grips
  
• Tracers: Enabling this option will generate a holographic effect tracing the path of each arrow to enhance visibility
  
• Music Volume: Turn music off or up to your liking

See the Guide “Holopoint Modding 101” posted on Steam for instructions on how to create a custom playlist from your own music collection.