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│░░░░░░ PLAYING THE GAME ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
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Welcome to the wild-n-crazy world of BBS drag racing and the Motor City
Dragstrip.   The Motor City Dragstrip is located just south of that hot spot
where you used to neck in the back seat as a teenager.  Back then, you could
hear the roar of the engines even over the hot and heavy breathing.  But today,
you're right there, in the cockpit of your very own dragster.  Well... okay,
so it's a computer keyboard and monitor but you feel like you're right there.
Ahem...  On with it then.

The object of the game is obvious.  Players try to win as much money as
possible to obtain the highest score.  Oh sure, there's nothing to it, right?
Wrong!  Obstacles get in the way from time to time.  Like getting started
trying to turn a profit.  Tires and fuel aren't exactly cheap (especially at
this track!) and since you're burning rubber at every start, one set of tires
will only carry you through 3 races.  Fuel is another story.  The bigger your
engine, the more fuel that is consumed.

Yet these aren't even the major obstacles.  They're just a fact of racing.
Other obstacles lay waiting.  A vandal might get into the trailer at night
and slash your dragster's tires.  The track security is on duty 24 hours a
day.  But, since they're paid a measley $4.25 an hour, they tend to sleep or
spend the night drinking and looking at girly magazines.  A crew member may
have found a better job since you last raced (and that's not hard).  These two
obstacles are ones that are run into from time to time when a player enters
this game door.

There are other obstacles too.  Players are only human and as such, tend to
blow their engines once in a while.  The computer opponents are no angels
either and may also blow their engines, which would be to the player's
advantage.  Players may also find themselves swirving into the wall in order
to avoid striking a drunken fan on the track.  Or running into oil slicks and
wiping out.  Or even blowing an axle which also causes a crash.  But, rest
assured, the computer opponent can also crash and even run out of gas allowing
his opponent an easy win.

But watch out!  Be careful not to attempt to race with an empty fuel tank
or shot tires.  This will always ask for trouble (and get it).

False starts are another obstacle to watch out for.  If you 'red light' you
lose the race.  But don't fear, if your opponent 'red lights' you win the
race and the money!  The trick is to press any key as soon as you see that
green light!  Once you have the green light, you must start the race by
pressing a key.  If you press before the green light, you'll 'red light'
and lose.  If you wait too long (more than a couple of seconds) your
engine will rev too high and blow.

Yes, and other little obstacles lay waiting.  But I won't reveal any more
of them here.  I'll let you find them for yourself.  After all, that's
half the fun.

The fans in the stands will more than likely voice their opinions of your
driving from time to time.  But you have to understand how fans get after
a few big-gulp cups of beer.

You'll be stopping by Pit Row quite a bit to change tires, top off the fuel
tank, buy a new engine, and more.  You'll find that it takes a certain number
of pit crew members to perform the different tasks in the pit.  It's typical
to find that a crew member might quit if you work him too hard.  What can I
say?  These American union-shop employees are pretty adamant about how much
abuse they'll take.  But one thing is certain; if you put 5 crew members to
work on a job that should only take two, they will get the job done faster!

Another note about crew members is that they don't come cheaply.  When your
racing team is initialized you'll be given a skeleton crew.  If you care to
hire any additional crew members, you'll find they will cost you some bucks.
The SysOp may define how much it will cost to hire crew memebers.  The SysOp
also defines how much each crew member gets paid each paycheck.  Crew members
receive a paycheck each time you enter the game on a new day.  When you enter
the game on a new day, your crew members will want their paychecks.  But don't
worry, the game will take care of that for you.

The Motor City Dragstrip uses one parts shop and one parts shop only.  That
parts shop is Parts 'R' Us and they don't give a very good price for core
parts.  What's worse is that they don't give any credit for wrecked parts,
although they will be glad to laugh at you, take it off your hands, and sell
it for scrap.  Just the good old American business that we've come to expect.

Your opponents will vary.  There are computer opponents such as Leadfoot
Larry, Harry Scarey, Rick Rachet, along with a host of others.  These guys
drive anything the computer feels like giving them.  From V-6's to Super-
charged Hemi's.  But you can also race against human opponents.  If you
chose to do so, the computer will run through the driver roster searching
for a qualified opponent.  The computer will then run through the list of
qualified opponents, giving you the opportunity to choose one.  Qualified
opponents are players who have the necessary equipment.  You know, like a
dragster, an engine, tires, and fuel.  If your opponent wins a race, your
opponent will be awarded a purse according to his ranking.  Also, your
opponent's tire and fuel status changes accordingly.  So be careful.  You may
be helping the other guy out by challenging him.

If all this wasn't exciting enough, players can also place bets on their
races.  The BBS System Operator may define the maximum number of times players
may gamble each day.  The track's betting limit is defined by the System
Operator (up to $1,000,000 per wager).  So if you place a bet and win the
race, the track will pay you back the amount of money that you bet and match
it for 2 to 1 odds. If you lose the race, the track will glady keep your
wager.  But watch out!  You don't know who is going to be assigned in the
lane next to yours until race time, so it's sort of a blind bet.

At the beginning of each month, all player scores are reduced back to 0 and
the game begins again.  The player with the highest score will have his/her
name and score displayed to players throughout the following month's
competition.

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│░░░░░░ PLAYER RANKINGS ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
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As a player, your ranking progresses throughout the game according to the
amount of money you have.  The higher your ranking, the more money a race is
worth, should you win.

             AMOUNT OF MONEY       RANKING           RACE VALUE
             -------------------   ---------------   ----------
             $0       - $ 99,999   BEGINNER             $ 5,000
             $100,000 - $249,999   NOVICE               $10,000
             $250,000 - $999,999   ADVANCED NOVICE      $25,000
             $1,000,000 or more    DRIVING ACE          $50,000
