You are an entrepreneur, and you've been trying for years to make some money, only to be thwarted at every turn by short-sighted, small-minded, blood-sucking banks who refuse, despite publicity to the contrary, to actually part with any money. So your only recourse is to branch out into the new sphere of Interplanetary Merchant Pilot, but despite your obvious capability you cannot get any capital to buy a space craft. So, in your inimitable style... you decide to steal it. You are now facing a lengthy prison sentence back home, and your only hope is to earn enough money to retire to the Paradise Planet. You must do this by collecting minerals and selling them to the traders on any of over 5,000,000,000,000 planets which are logged into your ship's computer. As well as selling to them, you may also buy food, fuel and insurance from the traders and get your ship repaired. However, you must be careful who you deal with. Some people are more friendly and more honest than others. The price you receive for your wares will depend not only upon the state of the economy, but also the rarity of the minerals on that particular planet. Be sure to keep an eye for bargains. Most traders offer discount on bulk items and be careful not to lose your no-claims bonus on the insurance. Despite receiving interest on your money from the Ron Nice Guy credit agency, the amount of money required to retire rises continuously with the inflation that curses the planet. The Interplanetary Police are unaware of the insignificant particle of dust in a dingy corner of the galaxy called Earth and are thus oblivious to your crime. But be warned, they do not suffer lightly criminal activity in their area. So the question of whether or not crime pays in space is for you to decide. Good luck! SHIP COMPUTER SYSTEM: Inventory: Provides you with all the information about your current status. Bank balance, retirement target, Insurance cover, Insurance premium, Food supplies and amount and type of minerals carried in the cargo bay. Damage Report: Gives the status of all the ship's primary equipment. Engines, Boosters, Fuselage, Landing gear, Photon shield, Cargo bay door, Food storage system and Braking system. Damage may be done to the ship either by collision with minerals/Police ship or during entry into the atmosphere. Damage to the engines or boosters will cause them to run less efficiently, using more fuel until their eventual failure. Damage to the fuselage should be avoided as it is costly to repair and if penetrated the ship will be destroyed. There is no detrimental effect from intermediary damage to the Photon shield, Landing gear or Braking system until their failure. As the Food storage system becomes damaged radiation leakage causes the deterioration of food supplies which may leave you only a short time in which to land and replenish them before you starve. When the Cargo bay door mechanism becomes damaged the sensitive servo motors controlling the door become unreliable causing the door to often remain closed. These motors are difficult for the more primitive aliens to repair. All aliens offer discount on multiple items being repaired but not all are honest and the quality of the repair job will depend upon the alien's honesty. Any system left on during entry to or exit from atmosphere (except engines) will be disabled due to the enormously high levels of static present in the stratosphere. Insurance claim: To claim on your Insurance policy you must first take out a policy from one of the aliens. The price is based upon the status of the items being insured and the economy of the planet you buy it from. If you issue a subsequent claim on your policy then the item claimed upon (Ship, Food or Fuel) will be returned to the condition it was in when the policy was formed (unless of course it was in a worse condition then). There are seven different types of insurance policy available with discount for multiple cover. Map: Move the cursor with the joystick onto any of the planets shown on the screen that are within your hyperjump range. Press fire twice on planet to see the characteristics of that planet and set the hyperjump coordinates, fire to return to map. Trading with alien: You may say anything you wish to the alien. They usually enjoy idle chat and the less helpful of them often try to disgress, but by chatting to them it is possible to ascertain more about their general character and lifestyle which will be useful to you in future dealings. If he offers you a choice of wares you may decline the offer by entering "O". Use the function keys to recall common useful phrases. For example, if you wished to sell some class G minerals it may be done as follows:- Player:HOW MUCH WILL YOU GIVE FOR CLASS G MINERALS? Alien: £23 PER TONNE. HOW MANY ARE YOU SELLING? Player:143 Alien: THERE'S £3289. A PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU. Police: In general the Police will leave you alone if you stay out of trouble, but once you have a criminal record they can be most irksome. Note that your booster engines damage any nearby vessels and it is therefore illegal to use them in proximity of the police. Use of the hyperjump rockets will destroy any adjacent craft so it is most important to check your scanners before entering hyperjump. If you are caught by the Police and found to be guilty of any crime you will be fined, the fine being based upon the type and magnitude of the crime as well as the number of previous convictions. After being apprehended, press fire to continue. CONTROLS: In space: Fire + Left/Right - Roll Left/Right Fire + Up/Down - Accelerate/Decelerate. H - Hold game S - Switch on/off shield B - Switch on/off boosters D - Open/close cargo bay door R - Damage report I - Inventory C - Claim on insurance policy M - Map Press fire over planet to see information about planet and set hyperjump coordinates. H - (From map) enter hyperjump Left/Right arrow keys - Change coordinate scale A - Turn on/off onboard radio From planet: As above except: L - Engage/disengage landing gear B - Engage/disengage brakes E - Switch on/off engines When you have landed, switch off engines to interface with alien computer. Press 'CONTROL' to return to control of the ship. LOADING INSTRUCTIONS Amstrad 464: Press CNTRL and small ENTER. Amstrad 664/6128 Type | TAPE and press RETURN. Press CNTRL and small ENTER. ____________________________________________________________________ / \ | ENJOY THESE | | OTHER GREAT | | AMSTRAD TITLES | | FROM | | MELBOURNE | | HOUSE | | | | The Hobbit - Lord of the Rings | | Asterix - Shadows of Mordor | | Marble Madness | | Mystery of Arkham Manor | | Throne of Fire - Enterprise | | Music Box - Melbourne Draw | | Rock & Wrestle | | Way of the Exploding Fist | | | | Copyright © 1987 Melbourne House | | | | Published by:- MELBOURNE HOUSE, 8-10 Paul Street, London EC2A 4JH. | \____________________________________________________________________/ WARNING:- Infringement of copyright is a criminal offence. Copying, lending, hiring, public broadcasting, transmission or distribution other than in the original packaging are prohibited without express written permission from Melbourne House (Publishers) Ltd. All Melbourne House products are sold subject to our terms and conditions of sale, copies of which are available on request.