Rodge Rock in Retro Active. --------------------------- How to install Retro Active. ---------------------------- 1. Place Retro Active game disk in to your floppy disk drive. 2. Type "INSTALL" and Rodge will be installed on to drive C: in a directory called RODGE. 3. You are now ready to start playing. Type "Rodge" and you're away. What do I need to run Rodge Rock in Retro Active ? ------------------------------------------------- Rodge Rock in Retro Active is designed to run on 486-50Mz or faster PC with around 550K free RAM and a VGA display card. If you have a slower PC the game may run too slow. If you find that Rodge runs too slow, try changing the GAME SPEED options in the OPTIONS menu. 1. Screen size. You can change the size of the screen. The smaller the screen the faster the game will run. You can change the screen size while playing; "T" will increase the screen size and "Y" will reduce the screen size. 2. Low detail. Change the HIGH DETAIL option to LOW DETAIL. This will increase the speed of the game by reducing the amount of work the CPU has to do. While you're playing, "O" will toggle the detail level. Things like smoke, fire, and explosions will not be displayed. 3. 2D display This should be your last attempt to speed up the game. If you can't get the required speed change to 2D display. This will save you some CPU cycles. The game will play the same but the background will be displayed in two dimensions only. Looks horrible. If you are lucky and have a very fast PC, the game may run too fast. To slow the game down, change the GAME SPEED option FIXED SPEED OFF to FIXED SPEED. This will match the game speed to the screen refresh rate. While you're playing, "I" will toggle between Fixed speed off and Fixed speed. Problems. --------- Rodge Rock in Retro Active won't run ? Retro Active requires around 550K RAM to run. TSR's such as DOSKEY may also interfere with the running of Retro Active. Try rebooting and holding down the left shift button to stop the execution of the AUTOEXEC.BAT. Retro Active should run now. Playing. -------- Help Rodge Rock blast the stuffing out of the alien scum infecting the underground worlds of Earth. Rodge is fitted with state of the art Retro boots giving him the power to fly. The arrow keys on the keyboard controls Rodge,s flight. He can fly up, left, and right, and he can look down by pressing the down arrow. Rogde can also run and slide left and right. To slide, hit the down arrow while running. At some point you will encounter spikes blocking your path, you can use a slide to get under them without getting hit. When things start to get hairy, Rodge can crouch down on the ground by pressing the down key twice. Rodge is totally safe while crouching. In some levels you may get stuck, and not get out of the level. If you fail to open a gate or get trapped under some blocks, Rodge has the option to self destruct. Hit "K" and then press "Enter" to restart the level. When Rodge is killed your score is compared to the hi score list. If you make it to the top twenty you will been asked to enter your ID. You can view the top scores from the main menu. Rodge has many levels to conquer. To start at any level press "F1-F10" for levels 1-10. To restart a level hit "Enter". If you require help, hit the "?" key to get onscreen help. Rodge will die when his life level reaches zero (Top left level display.). Rodge's appearance will also change. In top health Rodge will be smilling. As his life level goes down, he will stop smilling. Then his face will be covered in blood, and when he's on his last legs he will start to bleed profusely. Red hearts will increase his life level. Difficulty levels. There are four difficulty levels: WIMP MODE, EASY MODE, HARD MODE, and HERO MODE. The difficulty level can be changed in the OPTIONS menu. Rodge is trained in the use of many weapons: 1. Death Fire Blaster, Death Fire Blaster Pro, Mega Blaster SHG-100. To fire the blaster press the left "Shift" key. The blaster can also focus fire foward using the "A" key. The blasters need energy stones to fire, as energy is used the repeat rate slows. Picking up blue stones will increase the blasters energy level. The energy level is displayed in the level slider on the bottom left of the display. 2. Energy Ray Gun. This self-powered weapon shoots a blast of high energy radiation. It can shoot through walls, and will smash enemy ranks. (Registered version only.) 3. Rocket Gun. Self-powered rocket gun. These homing rockets will seek and destroy the enemy. (Registered version only.) 4. Bombs. Rodge has a limited supply of bombs. To fire a bomb, hit the "Z" key. In levels 1-5 bombs can be picked up after you fire them, black stones will give you bonus bombs. In levels 6-10 bombs cannot be recovered after being shot. Bombs can also be shot 20 at a time by hitting the "X" key, usefull when surrounded. Rodge's bomb supply is displayed in the top right level display. Sheild. In levels 6-10 Rodge is equiped with a shield, the shield energy is displayed in the bottom right level display. The red/blue bonus will increase the shield energy level. The shield will protect you from blaster fire, rockets and fire. Lightning strikes can't be blocked by the shield. (Registered version only.) Air tanks. In some levels you will encounter water. Rodge can swim but can't hold his breath forever. The air tank will allow Rodge to swim indefinately. Blocks and Gates. Some levels have moving blocks. These blocks can be moved by firing at them. You can use blocks to crush the enemy, but be careful not to get crushed yourself. Blocks will also open gates. By passing a block over the flashing key in the wall, the nearby wall will be removed. Red blocks open red walls with red keys, and the same for the blue blocks. (Registered version only.) End of level. At the end of every level you will find a glowing platform. Stand on it to enter the next level. Bonuses ------- Blue Stones. Increase blaster energy level. Black Stones. Give Rodge bonus bombs. The number of bonus bombs depends on the difficulty level. Red Hearts. Increases Rodge's life level. Shield Bonus. Increases Rodge's shield level.(Registered version only.) Bomb Bonus. Gives Rodge bonus bombs. (Registered version only.) The bad guys. ------------- Magot, Grule, and Poo. These bad guys can give you a real headache. They can shoot energy balls, and will try to hold you down. They can be easily killed. Bee Bumbler. How'd these things get in here; they don't shoot at you, they can't hold you, and they're hard to kill. Fly. Flys are harmless but can plant the spike plant, creating a jungle in no time. Spike Plants. These plants grow from the roof and ground. To destroy them you must cut them down to size before you can kill them. Spikes. Spikes are hidden in the gound and roof, and are triggered by flying past them. Don't let your blood stain their deadly points. Fly Traps. The fly traps have become bored with the taste of fly meat prefering fresh human blood and will gladly chomp you to tiny bits. Fish. Easy to kill, but they will try to take a bite out of you if given half the chance. Jellyfish. Dont get stung by its deadly stingers. Bomb Buoys. There are two types. Bomb storage buoys and Death blossoms. They release there load when you pass close by. The Joker and The Yellow Devil. Both these guys are bad, hard to kill and have plenty of fire power. Gun Men. Easy to kill. These bad guys are quick and carry a heavy duty blaster. Your gunfire will not stop theirs. (Registered version only.) Wall Guns. These guns hang from the roof and will fire at you as soon as you get in range. (Registered version only.) Energy Mine. An energy mine will zap you with a charge of energy. They are safe while they are recharging. A charged and active mine will display a blue cross. If you destroy a mine, it will explode into a shower of sparks starting fires everywhere. (Registered version only.) Fire. While Rodge has an active shield, fire will not harm you. If not, Rodge will quickly become toast. (Registered version only.) Storage Boxes. Throughout the levels you will find boxes blocking your path. Shoot at them and you will destroy them. (Registered version only.) Wall Fans. They will not harm you but will blow you off course. (Registered version only.) Rocket Gremlin. This guy will fire rockets at you and not just one at a time, he may fire ten or more in one go. Blast them quick or you will be in big trouble. By the way, these guys go up in a big bang so don't get too close. (Registered version only.) Rockets. The enemy rockets are heat seeking and will home in and blast you. You can blast them with your weapons or if your really good, you can get them to fly into walls thus destroying them. (Registered version only.) Mr Tentacle. The badest of the lot. These guys are hard to kill, and throw everything at you; rockets, start fires, and fire energy streams. Be careful when dealing with these guys. (Registered version only.) This software was created by Mark Spronck. Special thanks goes to Remi Spronck Justine Kilderry Andrew Harris Greg Colley for their help and support. RODGE ROCK SOFTWARE. P.O. BOX 682, SCARBOROUGH 6019, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. -------END-------