COMBAT LYNX by Mike Richardson THE CONTROLS Words or numbers in angle brackets such as <ENTER> are keys on your Amstrad. The function of these is shown in capitals, for example: FASTER. The joystick plugged into your Amstrad is shown as <J1>, while the second joystick which is plugged into the first is shown as <J2>. Positions of the joysticks are shown by for example: <J1U> = <J1> up, <J2F> = <J2> fire, <J1R> = <J1> right, etc. IN FLIGHT <COPY> <J2U> FASTER <DEL> <J2D> SLOWER <ARROW KEYS> <J1U,D,R,L> UP, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT THE MAP <M> <J2F> MAP (on/off) <ARROW KEYS> <J1U,D,R,L> UP, DOWN, RIGHT, LEFT <SPACE> <J1F> MAP MOVES FASTER ARMING THE LYNX Land at a base START LOADING LYNX <+> <J1U> INCREASE LOAD <-> <J1D> DECREASE LOAD <ENTER> <J1R or L> MOVE TO NEXT TYPE OF WEAPON <SPACE> <J1F> EXIT ARMING SCREENS FIRING WEAPONS SYSTEMS <X> and <Z> <J2R or L> CHOOSE WEAPON TO FIRE <SPACE> <J1F> SIGHTS ON (if sights are required) <SPACE> <J1F> FIRE WEAPON (after sights are on) <ARROW KEYS> <J1U,D,R,L> WEAPON SIGHTS UP, DOWN,RIGHT,LEFT INFORMATION ABOUT BASES <KEYS 1 to 6> BASES 1 to 6 (numeric keypad only) GENERAL CONTROLS <S> SOUND (on/off) <P> PAUSE PLAY (on/off) <K> KEYS ONLY <J> JOYSTICK + KEYS <D> DOUBLE JOYSTICK + KEYS <S> SAVE SCORE TABLE (onto a blank tape) <L> LOAD SCORE TABLE (back from a tape) <KEYS 1 TO 4> SKILL LEVEL (4 is the hardest) YOUR MISSION Depending on the skill level that you have selected you will have from three to six bases which you must support with troops and air cover. Base 1 has an endless supply of fuel and weapons, and the ability to instantly revitalise injured troops brought back by your helicopter. All the bases start with 30 able bodied soldiers, and Bases 2 to 6 also have a limited supply of fuel and weapons. Allied land vehicles move around the battlefield independently of your control. You provide the only allied air support. Enemy land vehicles will slowly converge on your bases unless stopped by the allied land vehicles (these independent battles can occasionally be seen on the intelligence map or flight screen), by mines that you have dropped, or by the other weapons of your COMBAT LYNX helicopter. You may attack any aircraft that you see, and all land vehicles that do not appear with circles around them on the intelligence map (the circles show they are allied). Your bases may get instantly wiped out in direct attacks by enemy vehicles, or just suffer a number of casualties as the result of passing or minor attacks. Base 1 will not be affected by passing attacks, but will be destroyed by a direct attack. If not stopped, eventually all the enemy forces will move to attack Base 1, after which you will almost certainly lose the battle. You are allowed three 'lives' before the game is reset with a complete new battlefield. ARMING THE HELICOPTER Each time you land at a base you will immediately be presented with a set of screens that will allow you to select weapons and troops to be carried on your next sortie. At the start of the game the helicopter is hovering just above Base 1, so to move into the arming screens you must lightly tap the DOWN key to make your first 'landing'. The first arming screen allows you to load up with armed soldiers. Each time you press the <+> key another soldier will be included in your load. You will see the total weight increase with each soldier until you reach the maximum number that you can carry. If you wish to reduce your load press the <-> key. Each press of the <-> key will reduce the load by one soldier. When you are satisfied with your load press the <ENTER> key and you will move onto the next arming screen, which will be for injured soldiers. There won't be any injured soldiers at Base 1 at the start of the game so just press the <ENTER> key again to move onto the next arming screen. Note that as you increase your load of weapons you will automatically be able to carry less fuel, and may be unable to reach the other bases. To get out of the arming screens press the <SPACE> key. Please note that in this game you are allowed to carry more weapons than would be possible in reality. THE MAP At any time you can inspect the map by pressing the <M> key. A second press of the <M> key will return you to the normal flight screen. The map shows the battlefield in relief with vehicles and bases indicated by black symbols. To move around the map use the cursor keys. If you hold down <SPACE> at the same time as a cursor key you will be able to scan the map more quickly. Allied vehicles are represented by symbols in circles so try to avoid blowing them up! The following symbols are used: T Tank H Base H on its side Lorry Y upside down Gun emplacement X Helicopter + Jet Plane FLASHING BLACK SQUARE Mined Area CIRCLES AROUND SYMBOLS Allied vehicle The co-ordinate position of any point on the intelligence map may be taken from the North co-ordinate at the side of the map, and the East co-ordinate above or below the map. As soon as you turn off the map it is reset to your LYNX's current position. You will be able to note your own co-ordinate position and be able to change your direction to make contact with a vehicle that you have seen on the map. Note that you cannot control the LYNX's direction or height while looking at the map. BASE REPORTS and MESSAGES Press keys <1> to <6> (on the numeric pad) to get a report on that s position and manning levels. If no other messages are issued, then after a short time a list of the fuel and weapons at that base will replace the first report. You will occasionally receive other messages which might for example, warn of attacks on your bases. FLIGHT CONTROLS Your helicopter is seen from behind. You can see it fly straight (forwards or backwards) and at an angle of up to 45 degrees to the right or left of the four points of the compass (N,S,E,W). As this angle increases beyond 45 degrees the direction of view will flick from one point of the compass to the next, eg: from the North to West. This may appear confusing at first, especially as the helicopter will be seen from the right when North is the direction of view and then be seen from the left as you flick through to West as the new direction of view. To keep track of your flight path watch the compass and your flight co-ordinates next to the compass. At the bottom left of your normal flight screen you will see three guages marked 'T' for engine temperature, 'S' for speed (NB: forwards and backwards), and 'F' for fuel. When landing you must use the intelligence map to check that you are directly above a base, the speed guage to check that you are hovering or moving very very slowly, and the height guage to check that you are coming down gently. FIRING WEAPONS This is a two or three stage process. First you must select the weapon system that you wish to fire by pressing the <X> or <Z> keys. As you press these keys a small white bar will move right or left across the top of the six weapons guages which are marked as follows: R Rockets, multiple strafing type unguided G Gun-pods, machine-gun type unguided C Cannon, 20mm Oelikeron unguided T Tank attack, H.O.T. missiles wire guided A Air attack, Sidewinder missiles heat-seeking M Mines, underslung for air release unguided You can only fire one weapon system at a time. The active system is the one with the white bar just above it. If you select mines or heat-seeking missiles you can release them simply by pressing the <SPACE> key once. Dropped mines can be seen on the intelligence map, and are effective against all enemy land vehicles. You can have a maximum of sixty mined squares on the intelligence map at any one time. A mined square will be effective against two enemy vehicles, after which you will be sent a message that the minefield has been breached and is no longer effective. The unguided weapons fire in the same direction as the helicopter, and should first be sighted by pressing the <SPACE> key. To aim them you will have to change height and the angle of your flight path. In contrast to these, the HOT wire-guided missiles can be aimed by the cursor keys independently of the LYNX. A second press of the <SPACE> key fires all the weapons that require sights. The sights switch off automatically when you stop pressing any keys. Remember that the enemy will be firing back at you, so don't hang around! SKILL LEVELS The skill level affects the number of bases that you have to support (from three bases at level 1 to six bases at level 4), the total number of enemy vehicles (which are in proportion with the number of bases), and the rate at which your fuel is used up. Missiles from the enemy aircraft become more accurate as you fly higher. Enemy vehicles will only launch missiles when you are in front of them, so attack from behind. Enemy gun emplacements launch missiles in all directions. SCORE You will receive an efficiency rating on the score table which takes account of the number of bases, troops, and allied vehicles lost; the amount of ammunition used, and the number of targets hit. In addition to this you will score points for destroying enemy vehicles. Jet Plane 300 Helicopter 250 Tank 500 Lorry 400 Gun emplacement 1000 TURBO ESPRIT by Nick Wilson & Mike Richardson MISSION BRIEF An armoured supply car is carrying drugs to the centre of the city. One after the other, four delivery cars will drive in to meet it, and then drive off to their hide-aways. After the fourth pick-up the armoured supply car will leave the city. Your mission is to stop the delivery cars after they have made their pick-ups and before they disappear in their hide-aways, and to stop the armoured supply car after it has passed its drugs to the last car and before it leaves the city. You will score extra points for catching the drug smugglers alive, rather than shooting them. Your vehicle will be a Lotus Turbo Esprit capable of driving at 150 mph. You will lose points for injuring the general public. There are traffic lights at junctions which should be obeyed (though the smugglers will probably ignore them), there are pedestrian crossings where people will have the right to cross, and there are road-works that you should avoid. STARTING After loading, you will be asked to choose a city (choice of four) in which the game will be played. Once selected, you will only be able to change to a different city by completely re-loading the tape. Next, an OPTIONS MENU will be displayed, and you should select "PLAY" or "PRACTICE" to start the game. STANDARD CONTROLS S Joystick up Increase speed A Joystick down Decrease speed J Joystick left Move to left-hand lane J+K Joystick left + Fire Turn left (90 degrees) L Joystick right Move to right-hand lane L+K Joystick right + Fire Turn right (90 degrees) K Fire Fire gun M Map on / Map off T Terminate game and re-start NB: The Up, Down, Left & Right keys also move the map STEERING The "J" and "L" or "left/right" keys will just steer your Lotus from one lane to another (providing you are moving). To turn around a corner you must press the "K" or "fire" key at the same time. You can do a three-point-turn by using the "A" or "decrease speed" key to put you into reverse, and by using the "turn 90 degrees" keys to swing around. Your car will not turn until it is moving. RECOMMENDED TACTICS Check out the city with the map. Drive carefully straight to the city centre (ie: mid-point North/South and East/West). Park. Turn on the map and watch and wait for the smuggler's cars. The one circling the block will be the supply car. After the message "Drugs exchanged", check the direction the delivery car is using to get away. Go get it. Don't stop at junctions. Bump it into submission. Next please. THE SCREEN Your car (red) is displayed on the screen in front of you. At the beginning of the game it is in the centre left lane. At the bottom left of the screen you will see "Penalty Points" which you get if you crash into innocent cars or kill pedestrians. Next to this is your "Score" which you get for catching drug-smuggling cars; and beneath this you will see the occasional message from HQ control. PRACTICE OPTION Select this from the OPTIONS MENU for driving practice. You won't get any smugglers or "hit" cars while you are practicing. Your gun will still work though, so be careful. THE CARS All cars in the game are blue or yellow, except those used by the drug smugglers. These are: RED Delivery cars (4 cars) BLACK Armoured supply car (1 car) WHITE "Hit" cars that will try to shoot you THE MAP You can use the map (press "M") to find your position (little flashing circles indicate your own car, and those of the smugglers. When you first turn on the map your car will be shown near the centre). Small petrol-pumps indicate the positions of garages. Four dots at cross-roads indicate traffic lights. Arrows along-side roads indicate that these are one-way streets. Use the Up, Down, Right, and Left controls to scan the map across the city. STREET NAMES Streets are named as for example, "E:9" where this street is the ninth street going east/west; or for example, "N:7" where this would be the seventh street going north/south. You will be given messages from HQ such as for example, "Armoured car seen on E:9". In this example you would then be able to turn on your map, see where you were, then scan over to E:9 to spot where the armoured car was, and then proceed to intercept it. MESSAGES At the start of the game you will be told by HQ that a single armoured supply car has been spotted moving towards the centre of the city [message: Armoured car seen on E:9]. One after the other, four drug delivery cars will enter the city [message: Drug car seen on E:9] and park near the centre. The armoured supply car will then drive to meet the parked delivery car, hand-over some drugs [message: Drugs exchanged], and then carry on driving around the centre. Each delivery car will then drive to its own particular hide-out, after which it will be undetectable [message: Drug car in hiding]. After the fourth drug car has made its pick-up [message: Armoured car running], the armoured car will leave the city [message: Armoured car escaped]. STOPPING THE SMUGGLER'S CARS You can stop all the smugglers except the armoured car by shooting at them (simply drive up behind them and press "fire"). However you will score far more points if you don't kill the smugglers, but instead stop them by "bumping" into them from behind when you are chasing them at speed ("bumping" has no effect when the smuggler's car is stuck in a queue - that would be too easy!). When you have successfully "bumped" a smuggler's car enough times (more than four) it will stop and surrender [message: Drug car surrenders]. You will then be able to leave it to the police and carry on with your mission. The smugglers will not bother to stop at traffic lights, so watch out. You can stop the armoured car at any time, but if you do this too soon then no more drug delivery cars will enter the city, and you will be unable to score as many points. Because it is armoured, you will only be able to stop the supply car by "bumping" it. You may stop the drug delivery cars before they make their pick-up, but again you will score less points for doing this early. The smugglers will also surrender if you chase them into a cul-de-sac (or "dead end"). The smugglers are aware of your position. If you drive past a drug delivery car which is waiting to make a pick-up, it will drive off. You must therefore wait some distance away (watching the map) until the exchange has taken place, when you can make your move. HIT CARS The smugglers have a number of "hit" cars which will be out to get you. They travel very fast, and if they pass you on the right their passenger will be able to shoot at you [message: Bang!]. If they hit you [message: Lotus incapacitated], your car will swerve and you may crash. You may shoot at, or "bump" the "hit" cars if you wish to score extra points. FUEL, GARAGES, and NEW CARS Keep an eye on your fuel gauge. If it looks low then drive to a garage and park ON THE PAVEMENT along side. Your gauge will then slowly re-fill. If you run out of fuel before reaching a garage your car will have to be "abandonned". You get a total of four Lotus cars per game, so if one is destroyed by the smugglers, or you crash, or run out of fuel, then you will automatically be given a replacement. After the fourth car the game ends. Sometimes a stray bullet may get lodged in your radiator [message: "Engine fault"], in which case you will have to get to a garage quickly (just park on the pavement along side, like for fuel) [message: Engine repaired]. Watch out that your engine doesn't over-heat [message: Engine over-heating] before you get there [message: Engine seized], and don't be surprised if your engine starts mis-firing. SKILL LEVELS There are four skill levels which you may select from the OPTIONS MENU. The easiest is level 1. The skill level affects the speed of the cars, and the number of times they have to be "bumped" before they submit. CRITICAL MASS by Simon Francis STANDARD CONTROLS O Joystick LEFT Rotate left P Joystick RIGHT Rotate right I Joystick UP Accelerate SPACE Joystick FIRE Fire SCREEN DISPLAYS Four counters and gauges are displayed at the bottom left of the playing screen, along with a pointer that indicates either the direction of the nearest enemy or the direction of the nearest replacement vehicle. The counters and gauges are: Top Left Score Bottom Left Energy Top Right Time till Critical Mass Bottom Right Distance till end of zone QUICK START INSTRUCTIONS Keep flying towards the right of your screen. Avoid all rocks and mines. Watch the pointer to find the direction of incoming aliens and shoot to kill, but don't waste energy. If your craft gets destroyed follow the pointer till you find a new ship in a replacement pod. When you come to the wall shoot the turret in between the two force gates and then move through quickly. When you get to the anti-matter converter shoot the top of the pyramid shaped energy concentrator before you get sucked-in and vapourised. YOUR MISSION You will be deposited on the asteroid at a considerable distance west of the power plant. You must proceed east at maximum speed to enter and disable the anti-matter converter before it reaches critical mass. Your craft is of the rocket-propelled hover type, allowing high speed strike capability, without fear of either radar or seismic detection through contact with the surface. However the very fact that it does not have contact with the surface restricts its manoeuvrability, and only a skilled pilot will be able to guide it at speed through the rocky terrain without blowing its force field. This force field protection system will cushion its impact when in collision with rocks, and will then slowly regenerate itself to full power. However it will collapse if over-used and implode on your strike craft. The force field is also effective against attacks by the aliens and local life-forms within the same limitations. A further protection system is built into your craft that will detect such implosion just before it occurs and automatically eject you. You should then use your emergency jetpack to fly to a new ship in one of the dome-shaped replacement pods that will be sending out a homing signal indicated by your screen pointer. You will be unprotected while using the jet-pack so keep away from the worm-like local life forms, and avoid all rocks and mines. Your craft is armed with a high-density light phasor that can penetrate all know energy protection shields, though this too is linked to your craft's energy banks and will cause implosion if heavily over-used. The alien forces are dispersed around the power plant, and in the early zones you will only encounter their long distance raiders and unfused mines. As you proceed through the zones you will face increasingly hostile opposition, plus fused and guided mines. As you pass through the zones you will receive updated intelligence reports on your CMC screen. The power plant is heavily guarded by a protective wall, fused mines and amorphous clouds of molecular disorientation. To enter the power plant zone you will have to fly towards the force gates, which you will be able to briefly disable and pass through by shooting at the front turret in the middle of two gates. This would take considerable skill even without the clouds which are likely to send you spinning against the mines. Once inside the power plant zone you will be drawn in towards the energy transfer beam which you must destroy by shooting the top centre of the pyramid-shaped energy concentrator in the middle of the device. If you fail to hit your target quickly you will be drawn into the beam and vapourised. SKILL LEVELS The easiest is skill level 3. These levels affect the following:- Number of replacement pods Rate at which energy is used SCORE Your score will increase according to a formula which allows for the type of alien hit, and the number of aliens already destroyed. Bonus points will be awarded on your CMC screen for the total number of aliens destroyed on completion of a zone. SABOTEUR by Clive Townsend STANDARD CONTROLS A Joystick UP CLIMB UP if on ladder, or KICK if still Z Joystick DOWN CLIMB DOWN if on ladder, or DUCK if still M Joystick RIGHT MOVE RIGHT N Joystick LEFT MOVE LEFT SPACE Joystick FIRE THROW/USE/TAKE object, or PUNCH if none NB: If you press the UP control at the same time as the MOVE RIGHT or LEFT control you will perform a SIDEWAYS JUMP. The distance you jump will depend on whether you were running or standing when you pressed the UP control. You CANNOT kick or jump in rooms with a low ceiling. NB: The THROW control used on its own will throw objects horizontally. If you wish to aim an object you should press either the UP or DOWN control at the same time as the THROW control. This will direct the object up or down (at an angle of 22 degrees). NB: If you press the THROW/USE control when there is an object in your NEAR DISPLAY, then the NEAR object will become HELD (and if you had a HELD object at the time it gets swapped to become the new NEAR object). This swapping process will continue until you move away from the NEAR object. NB: The UP control also starts the helicopter. QUICK START INSTRUCTIONS Enter warehouse. Avoid dogs, guards, and ceiling-mounted anti-personnel weapons which are guided by video cameras. Go to other side of the warehouse. Next go down to sewers. On your journey you should try to find a hidden time-bomb and carry it to the underground computer centre. Use two mini-trains which connect sewers to computer centre. Take (or swap time-bomb with) the disk, then escape by helicopter which is in the roof of the warehouse, (you'll have to climb the stanchions and jump across the gantries on the top floor). SCREEN DISPLAYS The HELD DISPLAY shows the object that you are carrying and ready to throw. Certain objects (ie: the disk and the bomb) cannot be thrown (though any object can be put down and then HELD again later). If you press the THROW/USE control when this display is empty (or contains the disk or the bomb) you will only throw a PUNCH. The NEAR DISPLAY shows nearby objects that you can pick-up or use. If you press the THROW/USE control when an object is shown in the NEAR DISPLAY it gets swapped with your HELD DISPLAY. The only exception to this is the computer terminals, which you may USE to lock/unlock doors while a terminal appears in your NEAR DISPLAY. Note that only a few terminals actually control doors, and the rest have other functions which will not affect you. If you have changed the lock status of a door when you USE a terminal the NEAR DISPLAY will show the terminal change colour, (ie: if you leave a terminal when it is purple you have changed a lock). Note that you CANNOT throw or use your HELD object when there is an object in your NEAR DISPLAY. To fuse the time-bomb you must swap it for the disk (in the disk's original location). At the start of the game your TIME DISPLAY will show how long you have to get to the disk (before its information gets down-loaded to all the outlying security stations, and your mission gets aborted). If you manage to place the time-bomb in the disk's original location the TIME DISPLAY will then show how long you have to get to the helicopter to make your escape. You don't have to get the disk or set the time-bomb before you escape, but you'll be well rewarded if you do. The PAY DISPLAY shows your earnings in US dollars. You don't get paid for hurting the dogs, and you don't get much for killing guards. You do get some big bonuses for escaping with the disk after setting the time-bomb. The RED BAR below the PAY DISPLAY shows your energy level. This will go down when you get shot, when you fight, when you fall, or get bitten; but it will go up if you stand still. If you run out of energy you die. FIGHTING DOGS will snap at your heels and cause your energy to run down. You may jump over them, or if you are mean and nasty you can kill them by throwing a weapon (in which case you will have to aim it with the DOWN control). GUARDS may sometimes be standing still and looking the wrong way, in which case if you move very very slowly you may be able to creep up on them (or just exit the room) without them noticing you. All GUARDS have throwing knives, a gun (loaded with rubber bullets, as they prefer to capture intruders rather than kill them out-right), and may resort to unarmed combat (punching and kicking) though they won't have your Ninja skills and therefore won't be able to kill with a single blow like you. If a guard throws a knife at you or shoots at you, you can DUCK down out of the way, though eventually you will either have to kill him or run away. Note that you can't kick a guard in a room with a low ceiling. The WEAPONS that you can throw include knives, shurikens (pointed stars that you throw), grenades, bricks, rocks, and pieces of pipe. You can throw these when they are in your HELD DISPLAY, and aim your shot by pressing the UP or DOWN control at the same time as the THROW control. You can KICK by pressing the KICK control when you are standing still, or PUNCH by pressing the THROW control when your HELD DISPLAY is empty. SKILL LEVELS These affect the length of time in between shots from the guards and the anti-personnel weapons (ie: your response time). They also affect the guard dogs which become more vicious at higher skill levels. They also control the position of the time-bomb which you will have to carry further on higher skill levels (NB: so long as you stay at the same skill level you will always find the bomb in the same place). SCORE Dog killed 0 (so why do it?) Guard killed by weapon 100 Guard killed by punch or kick 500 (real Ninja stuff!) Get disk in time limit 5000 Swap time-bomb with disk 5000 Escape (by helicopter) 1000 (and fight another day) Escape with disk (bonus) 5000 Escape with disk and bomb set 10000