1,000 Game Manuals/1000gamemanuals.iso/Intellivision/Tron Maze a Tron.txt

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MATTEL ELECTRONICS

INTELLIVISION

Intelligent Television

TRON MAZE-A-TRON

CARTRIDGE INSTRUCTIONS

(1 PLAYER VS. COMPUTER)

FOR COLOR TV VIEWING ONLY.

*TRON MAZE-A-TRON is a trademark of and used5392-0920

under license from Walt Disney Productions.

(c)1982 Walt Disney Productions. (c)Mattel, Inc. 1982. Hawthorne,
CA 90250.

PRINTED IN U.S.A. All Rights Reserved.


In the computer fantasy world of TRON, the power-hungry Master Control
Program (the MCP) seeks to control the human race. You are Flynn, the
daring, young programmer, transported into the heart of the computer, to
find and disable the MCP.

[Tron Maze-A-Tron Screen Shot: Flynn in Circuit Maze]

MAZE-A-TRON is played in ROUNDS. Each round consists of two PHASES--the
Circuit Maze (Phase I) and the Master Control Program (Phase II). Each
time you complete both phases of a round, you automatically advance one
GAME LEVEL.

Game Level affects both DIFFICULTY and SCORING. Difficulty increases with
each level up through Level 12. Scoring increases with each level up
through Level 99.

OBJECT OF THE GAME:

Phase I (Circuit Maze). Store up energy and zeroes as you move Flynn
through the Maze. Find the RAM Chips and clear them to zero in the
shortest time. Avoid losing turns.

Phase II (MCP). Find pairs of numbers (BIT PAIRS) in the two center
columns that match the bit pair at the TOP of the two outer columns. Turn
the matching bit pairs in the center column to BLACK, before the move off
the screen. Watch out for laser blasts from the MCP. Three hits--one
turn lost and return to the Maze. If the OUTER columns move off screen,
you return to the Maze and start the next round.

You can lose 2 turns. When you lose your third turn, the game ends.


CHECK YOUR CONTROLS

PRESS RESET BUTTON>
TITLE APPEARS ON TV SCREEN.

Slide the TRON MAZE-A-TRON overlays into the Hand Controller frames, so
they cover the keypads. Insert game in the Computer Console cartridge
slot (see owner's instructions for equipment connection details.)

[OVERVIEW OF OVERLAY:

KEYPAD: Select Maze Speed with 1,2,3, and Disk. 3 is slow, 2 is medium, 1
is medium fast, and touch the disk to start the fastest. 0 is STOP (Phase
I: Stop screen movement for 2 seconds if you have at least 30 energy
units.) ENTER key is practice (practice Phase II).

UPPER BUTTONS: ZERO/FIRE(Phase I: Sets black 1 in RAM chip to black 0.
Phase II: Fires bit gun to turn numbers in bit stream to black.)

BOTTOM BUTTONS: FORCE SHIELD (Both phases: activate Force Shield.)

DISC (Phase I: Move Flynn through Maze. Phase II: move bit gun sight.)

END OF OVERLAY OVERVIEW]

USE OF DISC. Press outside edge of Disc in direction you want Flynn or
the bit gun sight to move. Eight different directions of movement are
possible.

IMPORTANT: You cannot use the ZERO/FIRE and the FORCE SHIELD buttons
simultaneously.

WHEN YOU SEE THE GAME TITLE, SELECT A GAME SPEED.

DISC FAST
KEY 1 MEDIUM FAST
KEY 2 MEDIUM
KEY 3 SLOW

Game speed is not the same as game level. Game speed only affects the
STARTING SPEED AT WHICH THE MAZE MOVES in Phase I. Maze speed increases
from this starting point with each level you achieve. Game speed does not
affect Phase II game play (except in Practice Mode).

AFTER SELECTING GAME SPEED, CHOOSE PRACTICE MODE OR GAME PLAY.

[SS: Flynn in Circuit Maze]
To practice press the PRACTICE KEY.

To go directlt to game play, press any other key or the Disc.

PRACTICE MODE

Practice Mode takes you directly to Phase II--the Master Control
Program. Phase II game play is described on pages 19-23. The only
difference between Practice Mode and Phase II game play is in scoring.
Practice Mode is played at level 0, but you still get 100 points for each
matching bit pair turned black. If you pop the stack or get hit 3 times
by the lasers, you return to the Maze, with the Question "PRACTICE?"

If you go to Practice Mode immediately after selecting game speed, the
speed of the Bit Stream will vary, depending on the speed you selected.
In actual game play, game speed does not affect the speed of the Bit Stream.

[SS: the Master Control Program]

MAZE COMPONENTS

As you move through the Maze, you will encounter different computer
chips. Some will help you. Some should be avoided.


CHIP            PURPOSE                METHOD OF USE

:=====:            Jump from circuit board to    Enter from top or
:=====:            circuit board.            bottom.
:|---|:
:|| ||:
:|---|:
:=====:
:=====:

I/O(INPUT/
OUTPUT)
TRANSISTOR


     |||        Circuit "wiring" that forms    Cannot be crossed.
     |||_____        the maze.            Move around them.
_____________
_____________
   |||
   |||

BUS

  _--_            Electric impulses in the     Avoid at all times.
 - () -            circuit "wiring," that drain
  -__-            energy if you touch them.

ZAPS

||||||||||||        Collect zeroes to use in the    Enter from either
[][]    [][]        RAM Chips.            side.
[][] __ [][]
[][]|  |[][]
[][]|  |[][]
[][]\))/[][]
[][]    [][]
||||||||||||

LATCH

    oooo        The guards of the MCP, that    TOUCH ONLY WITH FORCE
   oooo o        seek to destroy you. If they    SHIELD ON!
  oooooooo        touch you with your shield off,
  oo    oo        you lose a turn and return to
  oo    oo        starting point. Contact with
  oo    oo        your Shield or a ROM Force Field
  ooo  ooo        disables them. (They are harmless
            when blue.)

RECOGNIZERS

||||||||||||        Use them to change direction     Enter from either
[][] \  [][]        of screen movement.        side.
[][]--- [][]
[][] /  [][]
[][]  / [][]
[][] ---[][]
[][]  \ [][]
||||||||||||

FLIP-FLOP

|| /|||\ ||        Absorb energy for Force     Enter from either
[][|||||][]        Shield. The longer you stay,     side.
[][|||||][]        the more energy you gain,
[][|||||][]        until Force Shield is fully
|| \|||/ ||        charged.

TRANSFORMER

||||||||        The deadly read-only memory    Pass through Force
[]    []        chips. If you touch the Force    Fields with Force
[] [] []        Field without your shield ON,    Shield ON. Lead
[]    []        you lose a turn and return to    Recognizers through
||||||||        starting point.            Force Fields to
                            disable them.

||||||||
[]    []
[] [] []
[]    []
||||||||

FORCE FIELD
& ROM CHIPS

|| || || ||        No use or danger. Just part
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~        of the Maze.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
OO OO OO OO
OO OO OO OO
OO OO OO OO
|| || || ||

RESISTORS

=[][][][][][]=        The object of your search.    Enter from top to turn
=[][][][][][]=        Turn all numbers in the        left number black.
=[]000[][00[]=        chips to black zeroes.        Enter from bottom to
=[]0 0[][]0[]=                        turn right number
=[]0 0[][]0[]=                        black. If you turn
=[]000[]0000]=                        a number 1 black,
=[][][][][][]=                        remain in chip and
=[][][][][][]=                        press ZERO button
                            (if you have zeroes
RAM CHIPS                        stored from Latches).

GAME PLAY--PHASE I
(CIRCUIT MAZE)

[SS: Flynn in Maze]

When the game starts, you see a readout along the bottom of the screen.
This tells you:

Energy units if force shield (starts at 25).
Number of zeroes stored (starts at 0).
Number of turns remaining before game ends (starts at 3).

The readout remains on screen for a couple of seconds, then disappears .
A current readout appears any time you are sent back to the starting point.

THE MAZE STARTS TO MOVE when the figure of Flynn appears. This is the
figure you control. This is you! Use the Disc to move through the Maze.
Do not move off the screen or you return to the starting point, where
you, Flynn, first entered the Maze.

MOVING IN THE MAZE

Move around the green BUS lines. You cannot move through them.

[SS: BUS LINES]

In danger of moving off screen? CHANGE DIRECTION OF SCREEN MOTION by
stepping into either side of a FLIP-FLOP. You must exit the same side
entered.

[SS: Flynn entering FLIP-FLOP]

Or STOP SCREEN MOTION FOR 2 SECONDS, by pressing the STOP key on your
hand controller. The cost--30 energy untis, if you have them.

MOVE FROM CIRCUIT BOARD TO CIRCUIT BOARD by stepping into an I/O
TRANSPORT (see page 6.). Your "de-materialized" form is transported
across the circuit boards, then "re-materialized" at some point on the
same board or on a different board. You have no control over your point
of reentry. It is possible to end up back where you began.

[SS: "De-materialized" Flynn moving across a circuit board]

It is also possble to be transported directly into a RAM Chip section. A
RAM Chip section looks like this:

[SS: RAM Chip section]

RETURN TO GAME STARTING POINT

Cause            Result
Move off screen        Return with all energy and stored zeroes intact.
            No loss of turns.

Touched by Recog-    Return with all energy and stored zeroes intact.
nizer or ROM Force    One turn lost.
Field without Force
Shield up.


SUCCEEDING IN THE MAZE

1. YOUR FORCE SHIELD protects you against Recognizers and ROM Force
Fields. You start with 25 energy units in your Shield. This is not much
energy. Energize your Shield by finding and moving into a TRANSFORMER.

You can enter either side of a transformer, but must exit from the same
side. The longer you stay in the transformer, the more energy is
absorbed. When maximum charge is reached, the Shield stops charging.

[SS: Flynn entering a transformer]

(Details of energy gain and use on pages 14 and 15.)

[SS: Flynn entering latch]

2. GATHER ZEROES for later use in clearing the RAM Chips, by moving into
a LATCH.

You can enter from either side of a latch, but must exit from the same
side. The longer you stay in a latch, the more zeroes you gather. You
hear a series of RISING NOTES each time 1 ZERO is gathered and stored.
Maximum number of zeroes = 255.

3. AVOID RECOGNIZERS. If they touch you without your Force Shield on, you
will lose one turn and return to game starting point.

[SS: Flynn and Recognizer]

Activate your Force Shield WHEN THE RECOGNIZER IS ABOUT TO TOUCH YOU, by
pressing the FORCE SHIELD BUTTON.

Keep your Shield on until the Recognizer turns blue (harmless)

[SS: Flynn with Shield and deactivated Recognizer]

Avoid wasting energy. Do not keep your Shield on while waiting for the
Recognizer to reach you. Take the offensive! Activate your Shield and go
after the Recognizer.

Stay away from the sides of the screen. A Recognizer may be waiting just
off-screen and touch you before you have time to move or get your Shield up.

4. STAY AWAY FROM THE ZAPS. They drain energy at an alarming rate (200
units/second).

[SS: Flynn and ZAPS]

Whenever you touch a ZAP, you her a BELL-LIKE-TONE. If you continue to
touch it, ou continue to lose energy, until all of you energy is lost.

[SS: Force Fields, ROM Section, RAM section]

5. LOOK FOR RAM CHIP SECTIONS NEAR THE ROM CHIPS. ROM chips have Force
Fields between them that cause you to lose a turn if you pss throght them
without your Shield on. ROM Fields can also help you. Lead a Recognizer
through a ROM Field and the Recognizer will be disabled, just as if it
touched your shield.

6. BE CAREFUL OF GREEN BUS LINES AND RAM CHIPS. It is possible to get
stuck in them if you move too far. The result is that you will be moved
off the screen.

KEEPING ENERGIZED

Your Shield appears whenever you absorb energy from a Transformer or use
your Shield. The COLOR of your Shield indicates its approximate strength.

PURPLE         WEAK
YELLOW        FAIRLY STRONG
RED        VERY STRONG

You automatically gain 15 energy units when you disable a Recognizer. (Of
course, you also use energy, so it tends to even out.) You absorb energy
from a Transformer in bursts of 10 units. You hear and see each burst
absorbed. Maximum energy for your Shield is 255 units. When you reach
this point, you stop absorbing energy.

NOTE: Your Shield is visible BUT NOT ACTUATED when it is being charged.
You must still press a FORCE SHIELD button if you need to defend yourself
against a Recognizer.

DO NOT RIDE A TRANSFORMER OFF SCREEN OR YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO THE GAME
STARTING POINT.

ENERGY COST

Activate Shield.            20  units/second
Touch ZAP.                200 units/second
Stop screen movement for 2 seconds.    30  units

FINDING AND CLEARING THE RM CHIPS
There are 4 different circuit boards in the computer maze. Each is made
up of 38 sections. There are only 5 DIFFERENT KINDS of sections, which
are repeated and strung together in different orders for each different
circuit board. The structure of each circuit board is permanent. It does
not change from game to game.

Learn the structure of each circuit board and you will find the RAM chips
more quickly. RAM CHIPS ARE LOCATED ON 2 OF THE CIRCUIT BOARDS. YOU ONLY
NEED TO FIND AND CLEAR 1 SET OF RAM CHIPS. Remember: Use the I/O
Transports often to increase your chances of quickly finding the RAM Chips.

When you find the RAM Chips, they may look like this:

[SS: Ram Chips, White Ones]

Turn all numbers within the RAM Chips to BLACK ZEROES, so that the RAM
Chips look [like] this:

[SS: Ram Chips, Black Zeroes]

To turn a number black, enter the RAM Chip from the top or bottom.

Enter from the TOP to turn the LEFT number black.

[SS: Flynn entering RAM Chip from the top]

Enter from the BOTTOM to turn the RIGHT number black.

[SS: Flynn entering RAM Chip from the bottom]

Do not move your man more than half-way into a RAM Chip (about waist-deep
is right) or you could get stuck and be moved off screen. If you enter a
RAM Chip and turn a NUMBER 1 black, remain in the Chip and press either
ZERO BUTTON on your hand controller. If you have zeroes stored up from
Latches, the black 1 will change to a black 0. If you are out of zeroes,
nothing will happen. You will have to go get some zeroes from a Lartch
and return.

Be extra careful now not to move off screen or be touched by a Recognizer
without your Force Shield on. Once you have found the RAM Chips, you do
not want to be sent back to your starting point.

Your chances of clearing all RAM Chips on your first sweep through are
very small. There are Flip-Flops on either side of both RAM sections (at
varying distances), however, so you can reverse screen direction and make
a second or third pass through the RAM Chips.

ONCE YOU HAVE SET ALL THE RAM CHIPS TO BLACK ZEROES, YOU WILL
AUTOMATICALLY GO TO PHASE II OF THE GAME--THE MASTER CONTROL PROGRAM!

SCORING--PHASE 1

BONUS POINTS You receive bonus points, based on the amount of time you
take to complete Phase I of the game.

2 minutes or less        --         5000 points x game level
2 to 5 minutes            --        4000 points x game level
5 to 10 minutes            --        3000 points x game level
10 to 20 minutes        --        2000 points x game level
over 20 minutes            --        1000 points x game level

Maximum Bonus Points = 95,000

GAME PLAY--PHASE II
(Master Control Program)

You are now face-to-face with the Master Control Program, which is
working furiously to restore the system which you disabled by clearing
the RAM Chips.

[SS: Master Control Program]

When the MCP first appears, you see a readout along the bottom of the
screen. This tells you:

Present game level.
Total points scored so far. This includes points scored in previous round
and bonus points.
Number of laser hits that will return you to the maze.

In a couple of seconds, numbers (called BITS) will begin to appear.

[SS: MCP. From left to right: Left bit stack, bit stream, laser "eyes",
bit gun sight, bit stream, right bit stack. Also: bit pairs; single bit]

Look at the 2 BITS at the TOP of the BIT STACK. Now look at the BITS
moving up both sides of the BIT STREAM. Is there a PAIR in the Stream
that matches the PAIR at the top of the Stack?

[SS: MCP. Top bit pair, and a matching bit pair]

If so, you must turn the MATCHING bit pair BLACK, before it disappears
off the top of the Stream.

1.) Use the DISC to move your "bit-gun" sight over the first bit in the
matching pair.

2.) Press either FIRE BUTTON.

3.) Repeat for the second bit in the matching pair. You must turn BOTH
bits in the matching bit pair black.

[SS: MCP, bit gun sight aimed at bit in matching bit pair]

Keep watching for matching bit pairs. Turn ALL matching bit pairs black.
YOU HAVE UNLIMITED "AMMO" IN YOUR BIT-GUN, SO KEEP FIRING!

LOOK OUT FOR LASER BLASTS!

While you're firing at the bits in the Bit Stream, watch out for the
"eyes" of the MCP. These deadly orbs fire "laser blasts" back at you. If
the blasts reach the blue columns near the stack, they will hit you!
Three hits and you return to the Circuit Maze, WITH ONE MORE TURN LOST,
to start the next round.

TO AVOID BEING HIT, ACTIVATE YOUR FORCE SHIELD when you see the laser
blasts coming. (Press either FORCE SHIELD BUTTON.) The MCP warns you
when it is ready to fire--Its glowing orange eyes turn red with rage.

You have unlimited energy in your Force Shield in Phase II, so you can
use it as often as you like. HOWEVER, YOU CANNOT FIRE YOUR BIT GUN
WHILE YOUR FORCE SHIELD IS UP.

A laser hit by the MCP is not the same as the loss of a turn.

3 laser hits = 1 turn lost and return to the Maze (or the end of the
game if you already lost 2 turns).

3 turns lost = the end of the game.

POPPING THE STACK

[SS: MCP with matching bit pair at the top of the stack]

If a matching bit pair in the bit stream makes it all the way to the top
of the Stream and moves off screen, WITHOUT BEING TURNED BLACK, the TOP
PAIR IN THE STACK WILL ALSO MOVE OFF SCREEN. This is called "POPPING THE
STACK".

[SS: MCP with new top bit pair, new matching bit pair]

The result of popping the stack is that you now have a NEW BIT PAIR AT
THE TOP OF THE STACK. You must look through the moving Bit Stream to find
matching pairs for the new top bit pair. Then turn the new matching pairs
black before they, too, move off screen (popping the stack again). This
can be tricky, especially at higher levels.

WHEN THE ENTIRE STACK POPS, YOU WILL BE RETURNED TO THE CIRCUIT MAZE, TO
BEGIN THE NEXT ROUND OF THE GAME. You do not lose a turn when you return
to the maze by popping the stack. The first and last bit pairs in the
stack are RED, so you know when you are nearing the end of the stack.

[SS: MCP with last bit pair in stack]

SCORING--PHASE II

While in Phase II, you receive 100 points times your present game level
for each MATCHING bit pair that you turn black (You must turn BOTH bits
in the pair black in order to receive any points.)

Example: If you have made it to the MCP for the 3rd time, you are playing
at Level 3. You therefore receive 300 points for each MATCHING bit pair
that you turn black.

Your points for turning a matching bit pair black are added to your score
AFTER THAT PAIR MOVES OFF SCREEN. If you are returned to the Maze or the
game ends before a black bit pair moves off screen, you will not receive
the points for that bit pair.

Your total score accumulates from round to round, until the game ends. To
display your final score at the end of the game, press the DISC. Your
score will be displayed for a few seconds; then the screen will start
moving again. Display your score as often as you like. TO RESTART THE
GAME, press any KEY.

GAME LEVELS

During Round 1 of the game (both phases), you play at Level 1. When you
return to the Maze after Round 1, you begin Round 2 at Level 2. The Maze
will move faster and when you advance to the MCP, the Bit Stream will
move faster.

With each new round that you start, you advance 1 level. The Maze and Bit
Stream  both move faster, until you pass Level 12. LEVEL 12 IS THE LAST
LEVEL AT WHICH GAME DIFFICULTY INCREASE.

Game level also affects scoring (see pages 18 and 24). For scoring
purposes, there are 99 game levels. The levels from 12 to 99 do not
increase in difficulty. They are used only as the multiplier for your scores.

Example: If you reach Level 20, you will be playing at Level 12
difficulty, but your score for EACH matching bit pair will be 100 points
x 20, or 2000 points.

GOOD LUCK, FLYNN!
KEEP THE STACK INTACT!


MATTEL ELECTRONICS

INTELLIVISION

Intelligent Television

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