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Text File | 1993-09-05 | 22KB | 524 lines

Robomaze II: The Lobby volume 1 in the Robomaze II trilogy Volume 2 -- Robomaze II: The Tower and volume 3 -- Robomaze II: The Penthouse available separately from your favorite store. Complete the adventure! Acknowledgements Robomaze II was designed and programmed by Keith Laverty. Additional programming by David C. Snyder. Graphics by Jason Pellerin. Music composed by Melody Smith and Jason Pellerin. Levels designed by Daniel Nuttall and Jason Pellerin. Manual written by David C. Snyder. About MVP Software MVP Software was founded in 1985. Initially marketing software via direct mail-order channels only, in 1989 it began offering titles through shareware outlets. The company specializes in entertainment packages, programmer's utilities, and other products designed for the home user. MVP Software is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals and of the Western Michigan Better Business Bureau. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Inc. Tandy is a registered trademark of Tandy Corp. Copyright 1991 MVP Software All rights reserved Getting Started --------------- Installation ------------ Place the distribution disk in either drive A or drive B of your computer. Make sure the logged drive (the drive corresponding to the prompt on the screen) is the same as the drive in which you have placed the disk. If it is not, type the drive letter in which you have inserted the disk, followed by a colon, and press <ENTER>. Now you are ready to install Robomaze II: The Lobby (volume 1). If you are installing the software on a floppy drive, you must use a drive other than the one in which the distribution disk is inserted. If you have a one-drive system, insert the distribution disk in the drive, and designate drive B as the drive on which to install the software. Simply follow the directions on the screen to complete the installation. Installing the software on a hard drive automatically creates a directory (default: RM2), and all program files are copied to that directory. In addition, a batch file called RM2.BAT will be created and placed in your root directory. Whenever you wish to play Robomaze II, from the DOS prompt simply type RM2, and press <ENTER>. Installation will take less than a minute. Important: During installation an additional program data file is created. This file is essential for Robomaze II to operate correctly. If the software detects that this file does not exist on the logged drive and current directory, it will abort. For this reason, you must install Robomaze II before you attempt to play the game for the first time. If you are installing Robomaze II on a hard disk the software will prompt you to select a directory name. Choose the default by pressing <ENTER>. Note: Robomaze II comes in three different volumes. It is best to finish volume 1 before playing volume 2, and volume 2 before playing volume 3. Keyboard Commands ----------------- Robomaze II accepts keyboard and joystick input. However, some commands must be entered from the keyboard, while others can be executed using a joystick. To accomplish your objective in the game you will be commanding the prototype Stalker robot. The Stalker is capable of moving left and right, as well as jumping. The gun that he carries can be fired at enemy robots. The keyboard commands that control the Stalker's movements and other actions, and other game commands, are listed below. You can change the speed of the game at any time. When you do, an S followed by a number will appear for an instant at the bottom right of the screen. This tells you what speed you just selected. There are nine speed settings, 1 being the fastest and 9 the slowest. Choosing the Save Game option allows you to continue the game at another time. However, you will not necessarily continue from the floor that the Stalker currently occupies, but from the last continue point. Continue points are spaced five floors apart. In addition, the Stalker will have only five hearts (explained below) when the game resumes, no matter how many he had when you saved the game. One saved game may be stored at a time. Saving a new one will overwrite the old file. Left arrow Move Left Right arrow Move Right Down arrow Stop Moving Up arrow Jump (Space Bar) Fire Weapon J Joystick Control K Keyboard Control S Sound on/off (Y/N) Q End Game (return to opening screen) ESC Terminate Game (return to DOS) F1 Help (quick reference) F2 Display Game Status F3 Load an Old Game F4 Save Game - Slow Down Game + Speed Up Game Joystick Control ---------------- Robomaze II accepts joystick input. Press J to activate joystick mode. The Stalker robot can be moved by moving the joystick in the corresponding direction. Press the first button to fire the Stalker's weapon, the second button to make him jump. All other commands must be entered from the keyboard. Object of the Game ------------------ You have escaped from the Maze of Death in the basement of the massive Tower, one of two structures controlled by the evil dictator, your sworn enemy. Now you must continue your journey by fighting your way through the one hundred floors of the Tower. Your mission is to take the Tower by defeating the enemy robots now controlling it. Fortunately, you have at your disposal the fabulous Stalker robot, as well as various weapons and other surprises left by the Mad Scientist. Volume 1 of Robomaze II contains the first 40 floors of the Tower. The other floors appear in volumes 2 and 3. Conflict Background ------------------- You are a freedom fighter -- a member of the Resistance -- fighting against your country's tyrannical dictator. Your tiny country is dominated by two massive structures, the Tower and the Dome. Although the dictator's robots control both structures, the Resistance is now poised to begin its assault and free your country from its evil ruler and his henchman the Mad Scientist. For months the Resistance has been tunneling from its secret headquarters towards the Tower. The tunnel is now complete, and you have been chosen to lead the assault. In Robomaze (the original), your first adventure, you fought through the Maze of Death using the Mk. 39 Fighter robot. (The original Robomaze game was never released to the public. It is now available from MVP Software free with purchase of the commercial version of Robomaze III: The Final Journey. See the last page of this manual for details.) The Mk. 39 is unsuited to your current needs, however, so you have acquired the prototype Stalker robot from the Mad Scientist's basement storage area. Among the Stalker's many advantages is the capability to pick up and use various weapons that you discover in the Tower. It also has the ability to absorb great punishment and can deploy various attacks that you may purchase. Additional power comes from hearts and vials scattered around the Tower. You must discover and acquire these items. Many enemy robots will attempt to prevent you from taking the Tower, which is divided into five levels of 20 floors each. A unique _Boss_ robot occupies the last floor on each level. These special robots are especially difficult to defeat. In addition, the Mad Scientist has hidden booby traps and other surprises for you. In volume 1 (The Lobby) you attempt to take the first 40 floors of the Tower. To complete your mission, you must also take the remaining 60 floors found in volumes 2 and 3. It is rumored that the Mad Scientist himself occupies the last of the 100 floors of the Tower. If this is correct, you will encounter him on the last floor in volume 3. No member of the Resistance has ever seen the Mad Scientist. We hope you will be the first. The Resistance is counting on you to take and secure the Tower. The future of the movement depends on your success. Tower Terrain ------------- The Tower has been designed as a defensive stronghold, with many pitfalls and traps for enemies of the evil dictator. The intelligence arm of the Resistance has learned that it is made up of five levels, with each level containing twenty floors. Some floors have false floors or walls, so that if you fall or push through these, you will plunge to your death on the sidewalk below. Some floors also contain invisible keys and invisible land mines. Other special features are as follows. Doors and Chests. Your success will require you to acquire keys to open doors and chests that you discover along the way. Both white and red doors will disappear before you if you are carrying the proper key. Chests disappear upon being unlocked as well, but they leave behind a valuable treasure. Once a key opens a door or a chest, however, it is useless. Land Mines and Spikes. These are dangerous objects and must be avoided. Land mines come in various colors and may be hidden on objects of the same color. They can be deactivated either by shooting them or by using a Repel attack. Falling on a spike is always fatal unless you are using a Repel attack. Plants and Water Coolers. These objects are normally for decorative purposes only and are not dangerous. However, sometimes they can be used to your advantage. When you or an enemy robot runs into them, they disintegrate. Moving Platforms. Platforms are a critical means of transportation in the Tower. Some move horizontally while others move vertically. But be careful when you are around them, because if you aren't using a Phase attack the platforms are capable of grinding you into dust. Teleporters. Another means of transportation, these paired devices instantly deliver you to the other teleporter on the floor. Enemy Teleporters. These devices are used by the Mad Scientist to drop his reserve robots into the floor you occupy. Treasures --------- Before the Mad Scientist replaced the Tower's human employees with robots, these employees had stored treasures in the building. Gathering these treasures will help you succeed in your mission. Money Bags. These contain anywhere from $50 to $250. Money can be used to buy special attacks. Dollar Signs ($). These give you $1,000. Hearts. At the bottom of your screen is a bar read-out showing the health of the Stalker. Picking up hearts adds to your health quotient. If you are already at full health, you receive a bonus of $1,000. Maximum health is marked by an x on the read-out. In the early stages of your mission your health quotient will be limited. Health Vials. These bring you to full health and extend your health meter. If you are already at full health, you receive $10,000. Keys. Picking up white or red keys adds to your respective totals. They can be used to open doors or treasure chests. Ammo Boxes. These fill your ammo, which is indicated on the second bar read-out on the bottom of the screen. If the weapon you have is a semi-automatic rifle, which has unlimited ammo but limited firepower, then it becomes a machine gun. Shotgun. Picking up a shotgun changes your weapon into a shotgun and fills your ammo charge. Rocket Launcher. This changes your weapon into a Rocket Launcher and fills the ammo. Laser Blaster. This changes your weapon into a Laser Blaster and fills the ammo. Stalker Weapons --------------- Initially the Stalker comes equipped with a semi-automatic rifle. As you progress through the various floors you may acquire different weapons. The chart below describes these weapons. Weapon Ammo Power Range -------------------------------------------------------------------- Semi-automatic Rifle unlimited medium good Machine Gun limited heavy excellent Shotgun limited heavy (at short range) poor Rocket Launcher limited extra heavy fair Laser Blaster limited excessive excellent Although a shotgun blast does heavy damage at short range, at medium range it does light damage, and the pellets do not travel very far. The Rocket Launcher does very heavy damage, and upon impact it scatters fragments that do additional light damage. Special Attacks --------------- Resistance intelligence gathering has discovered that the Mad Scientist has placed magic powers called Special Attacks in the Tower. Originally designed for forces loyal to the evil dictator, these attacks can be purchased if you have enough money. While you may not purchase more than one attack at a time, they will help you overcome obstacles and defeat enemy robots. Once purchased, however, they last for only a short time. To purchase an attack press the number key associated with it. 1 Shield ($250) Repels half of enemy damage directed towards you so that your life force is diminished more slowly. 2 Super Jump ($350) Allows you to jump 50% higher than usual. 3 Down Attack ($750) Causes heavy damage to any robot that you jump on. 4 Freeze ($2,000) Causes all robots and enemy shots to freeze in place, as well as enemy teleporters temporarily to shut down. But even when frozen enemy robots and shots can still cause damage. 5 Mayhem ($1,500) Causes all shots fired to be yours. This means that you cannot be shot and enemy robots will shoot each other. 6 Power Up ($500) Makes your shots twice as powerful as normal. 7 Phase ($3,000) Allows you to move through robots and shots without being hit. 8 Repel ($4,000) Causes enemy shots to bounce off you and become your shots. It also allows you to walk on land mines without tripping them and cross over spikes without being impaled. 9 Defoliant ($5,000) This unique attack causes all plants destroyed while this attack is operating to turn into hearts. In addition, all water coolers destroyed will turn into dollar signs. 0 Zap ($10,000) Causes horrendous damage to all robots on the screen and disables enemy teleporters for a protracted amount of time. Enemy Robots ------------ Although Resistance intelligence is sketchy here, we do know that fifteen different enemy robots control the floors of the Tower. Some of these are poorly armed with only a knife, while others are armed with weapons that exceed even the Stalker's in firepower. Some enemies are poorly armored, while others are heavily armored. Nearly all of the enemy robots will cause damage if they run into the Stalker. Level-Ending Enemy Robots ------------------------- The Tower contains five levels, each with twenty floors. We have determined that on the last floor in each level there is a particularly fearsome enemy robot. These are in addition to the other robots you will encounter. It is rumored that the Mad Scientist himself occupies the final floor of the Tower, but we have not been able to confirm this. No one has ever actually seen the Mad Scientist. We hope that you will be the first. Tips From the Mad Scientist --------------------------- Recently, during a daring raid by brave members of the Resistance, a secret document written by the Mad Scientist was discovered. Originally drafted for the evil dictator as a description of the strengths and weaknesses of the Tower's defenses and robot inhabitants, this document has given us some additional intelligence that may help you in your mission. Here are some tips constructed from our analysis of the document. In the initial stages of your mission, the robots you encounter will be armed only with a knife. Since you will encounter little opposition on these first several floors, be sure to investigate and pick up everything you see. When you have to make a tricky jump on a floor with a false bottom, look to make the jump when a moving platform is beneath you. If you miss the jump, you will fall onto the platform instead of on the sidewalk below. Exiting a floor from the top is the only way to get to the next floor. Any other type of exit will result in a fatal fall. Press the F2 key to display game status. This will tell you which level and floor you currently occupy, as well as your score. When you first enter a floor, press F2 to pause the game. That will give you time to survey the floor and decide on a strategy. Save the game to disk whenever you reach a continue point, so that if you meet with an untimely demise, you can pick up right where you left off. At the end of a game, you will be given a short time to resume the game from the last continue point. We have discovered that you will encounter one robot known as a Tank. This fearsome creature is a heavily armored, treaded robot who carries both a machine gun and a Rocket Launcher. Another robot of whom to be especially wary is the Kal Mk. VII. All we know about this enemy is that it carries a Laser Blaster weapon. No one has ever seen this robot and lived to tell the story. Normally the continue points are spaced five floors apart. The last continue point is on floor 91. Floor 96 does not contain a continue point. When you reach a continue point, it is best to save the game immediately. When you encounter a stationary robot, try to jump on top of him, and then choose the _down attack_ special attack. You will defeat him more quickly by jumping up and down on top of him this way than by shooting him. You will encounter a pesky flying robot in several rooms. This robot carries no weapon and so cannot harm you when he bumps into you. However, he will push you around and into places where you don't want to go. He is heavily armored and is difficult to shoot. Sometimes you must jump on top of him to ride up to the next floor. Finally, things will not always be as they seem. It is rumored that the Mad Scientist retains some of his magical powers. When magic is in the air, anything can happen. For example, on some floors of The Penthouse some keys and other objects are invisible. So be careful. Power Mode ---------- If you wish to progress faster through the various floors, you may use the unique Power Mode. Invoking this mode will give you double hearts, double money and double firepower. To use the power mode, when you begin a game and enter a floor, enter the following keystrokes. <#H [for double hearts] <#M [for double money] <#D [for double firepower (damage)] Note that the H, M and D must be entered as capital letters, and each sequence must be entered individually. Limited Warranty ---------------- This software package is sold on an AS IS basis. MVP Software makes no warranties with respect to this software program, with the exception that the original disk is warrantied to be free from material defects. If the disk is defective, return it for replacement. The foregoing warranty is in lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose and merchantability. Accordingly, the entire risk as to the use, results and performance of the software, diskettes and documentation is assumed by you. In no event will MVP Software be liable for consequential damages even if MVP Software has been advised of such damages. The user shall not make available or provide any copies of materials or portions thereof associated with Robomaze II, its associated program files, data files, and documentation files, to any person without prior written consent from MVP Software. If any of the provisions, or portions thereof, of this disclaimer are invalid under any applicable statute or rule of law, they are to that extent deemed to be omitted. All other provisions, however, remain in effect. Special Offer If you need some additional help in finishing Robomaze II, a detailed printed hint book is available direct from MVP Software. This hint book takes you step by step through each component of the game, although of course you still must play it yourself. But the hint book tells you what to do next to get through all those tough rooms. Normally the hint book sells for $6.95. But as a MVP customer you are entitled to a special offer. For a limited time only you may purchase the the map and hint book for just $4.95, a 29% savings! To receive your hint book, simply fill in this page and mail it to the address below. We'll rush you the hint book by first class mail. Please RUSH me the hint book for Robomaze II. I understand that for a limited time I may purchase both for just $4.95, a savings of 29%. I am enclosing a check or money order for the total amount due, shown below. Name _________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________ City _______________________ State ____ Zip ________ hint book $4.95 shipping and handling 1.00 tax (if you are a Michigan resident) .24 TOTAL (please fill in) $_____ Please send your order to: MVP Software RM2 Special Offer 1035 Dallas SE Grand Rapids, MI 49507-1407