Zaptastic

INSTRUCTIONS

                        ------------------------
				ZAPTASTIC
			-------------------------
				shareware
			-------------------------



System requirements:	joystick, colour TV?
-------------------



Background:		Remember ANCIPITAL on the 64? Thats where the
----------		idea came from. Basically a shoot-em-up but with
			a new style in the player movement that added a
			twist to the standard format.

			The player ran around the four edges of a single
			screen game area. To get to another side jump into
			the middle of the screen and then to the border you
			require. Not radical but nice.

			Using this movement as a base i started work on my
			first game. This is it. I cant hope to emulate the
			greatness of the original - not that i havent got
			bundles of talent - but because it was written by
			the high priest and chief overlord of llamas himself.



Instructions:		I dont think these are necessary but one has to be
------------		professional about these things. And name one person
			who reads the instructions before putting their new
			stereo together? Apart from Robson & Jerome.
			Here it is anyway if thats your cup of tea...



			Object:

			Kill everything within the time limit.
			64 rooms to complete.

			If you manage to complete all rooms before fluffing
			up then youll get a time bonus to boost your score.



			Title screen:

			Press fire to start. This will start the game.
			Press esc to return to desktop.

			After a delay the high score table will appear.
			Press fire to return to title screen.



			Map:

			This allows you to select the next room to try. Use
			joystick l/r/u/d to move. Fire to select. This will
			start a room.

			After each room has been completed you can select which
			room to enter but selections are limited to neighbours
			of already completed rooms. This is rather restricting
			at first but the early rooms are your warm up.

			The rooms that flash are bonus rooms. Laters.

			Before each game some of the rooms will switch around
			so dont bother remembering the tough ones.



			Control:

			Play takes place on a single screen area. You can run
			along all four sides and jump between them.

			I will describe movement along the bottom border. For
			left,right and top rotate any references to joystick
			directions. Eh?

			To move left or right...(you guessed it). Down has no
			affect. Up (without l or r) is a jump. You will spin
			towards the top border. To reach it just watch (it
			wont take long). To go to the l or r borders push...
			(any ideas?) and then steer with up and down. Easy.

			Firing is continuous in the direction the joystick is
			or was pointing. To keep a specific direction hold fire.
			A la LLAMATRON (yes i admit i shamelessly stole that).



			Rooms:

			Kill everything as quickly as possible. Get hit as
			little as possible.

			The map retreats. The baddies appear. Off you go.
			Not all baddies can be destroyed directly and some
			are invunerable in certain states. Youll have to
			work out their styles for yourself. When the room
			has been cleared the map will reappear.

			At the bottom of the screen are your time remaining,
			shield and score.

			time ticks away so dont hang around. Some of the
			baddies are pretty harmless but can be a real pain
			to chase around the room after. A stomach ulcer is
			not just for christmas.

			When you get shot or collide your shield goes down.
			When it reaches zero you lose 10 minutes (tough if
			youve got 9:58 left and one bullet to avoid). When
			this happens you bounce around the screen until you
			press fire. You also get a short period of
			invunerability (dont waste it but dont be too greedy).
			Reach 00:00 and guess what!
			You can recoup time in bonus rooms. Read on.



			Bonus objects:

			These appear from the bottom of the screen and are
			hailed with a sample/dodgy chip sound. There are 4 types.
			Smart Bomb. Maximum shield. Remote Gun. And Invincible.
			Simply jump into the icon before the counter reaches 0.
			I think the names describe the different types quite
			adequately so we wont dally.
			However. Invincibility and Remote Gun are on timers.
			These will appear over your shield to keep you
			informed (green and blue respectively).
			Invincibility will affect your appearance too.



			Bonus rooms:

			Stop any heads hitting the ground for as long as
			possible.
			Movement is a little different. Youre in a constant
			spin. Youll get the hang of it.



			Bits:

			Press P to pause.
			Read message to quit or continue.



			High scores:

			Custom and ego require the worthy to display their
			virtue. Do it here if you cut the mustard.
			L and r to rotate and fire to select. OK to engrave.

			If you know the routine then the table will be saved
			to disk. And subsequently loaded.



Message:		This program is shareware so you know what i want.
-------			Send œ5.00. Cheques/Postal orders made payable
			to 'Lee Burrows'. Cash if you trust the Post Office.
			My address is:
				32a St.Augustines Street,
				Norwich,
				Norfolk,
				NR3 3BZ.

			If you send a blank disk, and a note of machine type
			and size, then you get version 2 which has more graphics
			and sound plus extra features (such as extra levels,
			difficulty options, using your own samples etc. etc.)

			Thanks for your donation.



			I apologise about the grammar, punctuation, spelling
			and sharpness of my writing. Write to your MP.
			Its late and the au-pairs are beckoning.

			I make no claims to originality. But hopefully some
			playability. And definitely no cute console characters.

			I hope at least that you never reformat this disk, as
			to lose this work of art could send the world into
			moral turmoil, and eventually, chaos and anarchy.

			Is it just me or are mario games a load of cac written
			in BBC basic?



			  LB	1.2.95
			----------------


Note:			Hey Mr 520! Hold up.
----			Remove those accessories and ramdisks first!



Technical gumpf:	Written using:	Devpac 2 (top!).
---------------				Neochrome (hmm?).
					StereoMaster (top!).
					STE 2mb (more power! Ugh ugh ugh).
					Red mountain.
					B&H.

			If youve got an STE then sound is sampled. Otherwise
			tough titty. I didnt invent that awful Yamaha chip.
			I could get better sounds on a VIC20.

			Im no artist as the graphics prove. But you should have
			seen my originals. Gulp.
			STE owners get animated sprites thanks to the BLiTTER.
			A blessing indeed.

			The high score table is saved as an 80 byte file
			called HEROS.ZAP in the same directory as the .TOS
			file.

TRIVIA (1)