SPACE 1/SPACE - Library 1 - Volume 1.iso/games/431/miner.doc

Text File | 1990-10-11 | 6KB | 120 lines

MANIAC MINER

    This program is released into the public domain.  Please
feel free to copy and distribute this program to your fellow
Atari ST enthusiasts.  This document must accompany any
distribution of the software and no price may be charged for the
software.
    Deto Soft makes no warranty upon this product.  It comes on
a strictly "as is" basis, and neither the programmer nor Deto
Soft make any claims that the software will perform on your
particular machine or perform as to your particular application.


    Playing Maniac Miner:

    The premise of Maniac Miner is quite simple.  The miner is
to gather all the gold ore that can be obtained.  Upon completion
of a screen, a new screen appears filled with gold ore that can
be mined.  Simple, isn't it?
    Well.....

    The mine is, after all, a bit unstable, being the deserted
mine that it is.  Rotten timbers abound.  Cave-ins are
commonplace.  And don't forget about the dynamite.  It seems the
miner purchases the sticks of TNT from a very unscrupulous
supplier.  The dynamite is probably older than the mine!  For
those unaware of the nature of old dynamite, a bit of warning
might be well advised.
    Old dynamite becomes increasingly unstable with age.  It
seems there is this glistening liquid, nitro-glycerin, that oozes
from the ancient sticks.  Now about nitro-glycerin:  Don't
mistake it for water!  For all its innocent appearance you don't
want to shake it, quake it or otherwise mistake it for anything
but the danger that it is.  I wouldn't even advise looking cross-
eyed at it.
    But enough of that.  You are, after all, a bit of a maniac.
Who else would risk carrying about sticks of old TNT in the
bowells of a mine located on the San Andreas fault.  Oh, had I
forgotten to mention that?  Well, yes.  Earthquakes are not
uncommon. (ghosts of a memory: shake it, quake it or otherwise
mistake it....)
    Fortunately, the chances of being struck by lightning are
almost nil.  Yes, lightning.  There's a bit of a storm brewing in
the foothills.  But who cares?  In your maniacal glee, your eyes
a-twinkle with the gleam of gold, you realize that lightning can
only strike you when you climb to the surface to obtain more
dynamite.....an armload of very old, very unstable dynamite.  And
who really cares what the dynamite decides to do at that moment,
when you have 15,000,000 volts of electricity flowing through
your body?  (It's a fact!  Look it up in your World Book!)
    In summation to this lengthy, nonsensical introduction, keep
these points in mind: 1) When acquiring more gold at the top of
the maze, get the gold and get into the mine.  Lightning cannot
strike underground.  2) Beware of cave-ins when setting off
charges.  Completely evacuate the immediate area.  Unfortunely,
the miner seems uncaring about the lengths of fuses he uses.  The
time to flee varies.  3)  Beware of the repercussions from the
blasts.  A few moments of mining will more than make you aware of
the tendency of repercussive blasts to travel in an opposite
direction from which the blast was set.  4) Hang onto your hat.
A tremor could occur at any moment.  If the dynamite should
decide to explode, you could lose a miner if he is carrying more
than two sticks of TNT.  Lesser amounts will most assuredly get
his attention, but little harm is done.

    TNT Costs Nuggets:

    The purchasing of dynamite should be limited as much as
possible.  Not only does the dynamite cost you some of your
nuggets, but there is a surcharge assigned each time you purchase
it.  Therefore, waiting until you exhaust your supply, then
purchasing ten sticks is more economical than purchasing five
sticks two time.  Each time you surface from the mine shaft,
dynamite is automatically purchased.

    Getting Past the Rubble:

    The piles of rubble, evidence of prior cave-ins and those
your extensive blasting have caused, will block your way.  To
blast your way past, stand next to the rubble, press the fire
button on your joystick, lean in the direction you wish to set
the charge, and RUN!
    Many times, (depending on the current level of the game and
the depth of the mine shaft) additional cave-ins will occur.  You
must continue to blast away at these piles of debris until your
way to the gold is clear.  If you should accidently set a charge
when you are one space away from the debris, only half of the
pile will be blasted away.  To remedy this problem you must set
another charge and expend another stick of dynamite.  Setting
this second charge requires that you place the miner in the
position he should have originally been in when blasting the
rubble.  Placing the miner into the area that the half-pile has
vacated will not permit the miner to light the fuse.

    Getting the Gold:

    Stepping the miner into an area of gold ore will cause him
to obtain that ore.  The assayed value of the ore is determined
by the level of the current screen and the depth of the ore.
Gold ore located in the deepest shafts is much richer in gold
than that found near the surface.  Successfully mining all the
ore in an area of the mine causes the screen to change to a new
area which is laden with the metal of your dreams.

    Drat!  I Give!:

    You may become annoyed with the frequency of cave-ins on a
screen and wish to move on.  You can do this (at the expense of
losing the current miner) by pressing the HELP key.  There may
also be times when you find yourself trapped down a tunnel by a
cave-in with no dynamite with which to blast your way out.
Pressing HELP will move you to a new screen, but the miner will
be lost.


    Well, enough mindless chatter!  Let's get to the mine.  A
fortune awaits!

                Dan Edwards