The Best of Select: Games Special 6/SPSP6.bin/tips/cheats/cheat245.dat

Text File | 1995-02-22 | 10.8 KB | 186 lines

                1. Tips
                2. Cheat

1. Tips:
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In the beginning ...
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The first 10 levels of Magic Carpet have a solid learning curve that a smart
player will take immediate advantage of. The first five levels should be used
as a contrived training ground for would-be-wizards. These levels are perfect
for honing your skills as a master carpet flyer and you should remember that
being skilled on the carpet is the most important attribute you can have - above
even skilled spell casting. Use these easy introductory levels to train yourself
in flying. Play them again and again if need be so that you can despatch any
nasties in levels 1-10 with ease. You should also concentrate on learning to
switch spells as fast as possible.

Flying Tips:
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Learn to use the left and right strafing keys properly and they can become
invaluable assets. They can be used in conjunction with the backward and forward
keys to pull off some amazing moves.

When attacking a castle - always use the left and right arrow keys to fly
sideways around the castle while shooting offensive spells at it. This prevents
the castle's archers from targeting you with any accuracy.

If you are in a tight spot and don't have enough mana to cast the Accelerate
spell quickly turn yourself left to a 45 degree angle from your destination.
Then hold down the forward and right strafe key and you can fly there quicker
than if you flew in a straight line. (This also works vice versa.)

To turn left quickly use the right and backwards arrow keys. For turning right
press the left and backwards arrow keys. This gives you a big advantage.

If you have someone on your tail shooting you in the back don't turn around and
face them directly. A better idea is to reverse as quickly as possible so you
are behind them. If you have the Accelerate Backwards spell - all the better.

Learn to use the landscape to your advantage and you can gain quite a lead over
other players. For instance if a rival's castle is positioned at the foot of a
mountain - hide behind the mountain and take pot-shots at it. The Archers won't
be able to hit you with their arrows and the only way the rivals can get rid of
you is to leave their castle and fight you out in the open - on equal terms.

If ever you find a spell or some mana down a crater too steep to fly down - use
the carpet like a skateboard. Fly in a downward spiral around the walls of the
crater and you should get to the bottom with no problems.

Sometimes you come across deep pits in the land that just aren't wide enough to
fly down. If you wish to get to the bottom of these pits for a spell (or
whatever) come to a complete stop over the pit. When you are totally motionless
you begin to sink downwards. Use the arrow keys to position yourself properly
and you eventually reach the bottom of the pit and find whatever is in it.
NOTE: If you are sinking down the pit be extremely careful when using the
forward and back arrow keys because if you hit any of the pit walls while moving
forward or backwards you shoot up and back out of the pit - wasting all your
work.

Playing the Game:
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If you find yourself short of mana fly around the level taking possession of as
many buildings as possible. This can sometimes yield huge amounts of mana to
play with because most wizards tend to ignore buildings.

Never build your castle close to a wall or another player's castle. Ideally your
castle should always be build with expansion in mind - so always have enough
space around your first-stage castle for the next six stages. Walls are
permanent fixtures and cannot be moved unless you have enough mana for (and have
collected) the Crater spell.

You should learn to use the potential of your Castle spell. This can be used in
ways you might not have realised and can become a powerful spell in its own
right. For instance if you find yourself in the midst of a full scale Giant Bee
attack a well-placed Castle spell in the middle of the group can be devestating
and can gain you huge groups of mana. Your castle may well be destroyed in the
process - but build it again and again until all the bees are destroyed then
take the mana at your leisure. Because the mana is centred around your castle
your balloons can collect it quickly to give you instant power. This tactic
works with almost all creatures but especially well with swarming nasties such
as Skeleton Armies, Archers, Vultures, Griffins and Giant Bees.

Always assign your spells to their key spaces - numbers 0-9 on the keyboard.
Learning the process can be time-consuming but if you always assign the same
spells to the same keys it will become second nature and a definite advantage
during fast paced play.

Sometimes you find yourself in a click-fest - fighting over a pool of mana with
a multitude of other wizards. These click-fests only really happen if there is
just one pool of mana on the level but there's a sly tactic that can sometimes
work well. As the other wizards fight over the mana pool use your Accelerate
spell to get the nearest creature and destroy it. Then make its mana and
accelerate back to the original mana pool. If the tactic has worked some or even
all of the other wizards move away to the other newly-formed smaller pool
leaving you to lap up all the mana for yourself.

During the game you sometimes find a large pool of the mana belonging to a rival
wizard with the enemy wizard hovering above it. On possessing the mana you find
that he immediately repossesses it as his own with the result that your balloons
are never attracted to the mana. The best way to work around this is is to
concentrate on one mana ball and if he possesses it again fire your Possess
spell indiscriminately around the pool. While he moves around repossessing you
can once again concentrate on the same mana pool. Repeat the process until your
balloon eventually arrives and then go mad and possess everything in the pool as
quickly as possible until your balloon is full or there is no mana left. With
experience you can also try to fend off any enemy balloons that arrive.

If you are up against a particularly tough opponent whose castle is much more
advanced that your own it is imperative that you reduce his castle as much as
possible. An efficient method is to lure other creatures into the castle and
have them destroy it. First of all wait until a particularly dangerous creature
or even better a group of dangerous creatures such as Griffins are near his
castle. Hover in and around the enemy fortress and open fire on one of the
Griffins then retreat to the centre of the enemy castle. The Griffins should
follow you and attack both you and the enemy's castle believing it to be yours.
If you have the Shield spell use it and then accelerate home at top speed. If
this is done correctly the enemy castle is levelled in seconds. Wait until the
Griffins disperse then mop up the mana.

If you are ever attacked by creatures hiding in a forest just let loose at the
trees. This starts a forest fire which can wipe them out without you firing
another shot. This is very useful with Skeleton Armies and Archer groups.
Effectively once you start the fire you could fly off to deal with more pressing
matters and return to find nothing but mana.

Whenever your castle is under attack by creatures who seem relentless press
[Shift]+[L] together to level your castle. It may seem stupid but this leaves
you to create another directly beneath the creatures which does some serious
damage. Assuming you've built more than two castle stages a more efficient ploy
is to rebuild your castle just after the creatures have destroyed a stage which
has the same effect but leaves your castle intact. But make sure other wizards
don't take advantage by possessing your mana while you're trying to rebuild your
castle.

Multi-player tips:
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The most important thing to remember is that you should never build your castle
next to another player's. This leads to a fight to the death at the start of the
game and the loser is blown out of the game permanently. This may not sound like
a bad thing but the more players that are around at the end of the game the more
fun is to be had during its climax.

When you are attacking a castle approach it as stealthily as possible (casting
the Invisible spell if you have it) and try to land your carpet in front of the
outside wall. This will shield you from the archers on the castle stockades and
hide you from the rival player for a time. Also if you are close enough to the
wall your shots don't show up on the other player's All-Seeing-Eye.

If you have the Teleport to Castle spell at the start fly over a rival's castle
then use it. Whenever you want to attack his castle simply use Teleport while in
your castle and you'll be instantly transported to his. Blast away at the castle
and when you've run out of mana or are in poor shape use Teleport to return home
Recharge your health and mana bar - use Teleport again and continue blasting
until the castle's destroyed. Then polish him off.

Whenever you feel like having a go at thrashing an enemy fortress you should use
any spell you can to ensure you're not detected on the trip across. The best is
the Invisible spell because it's much more flexible that the Teleport if used
correctly. When you are at your own castle wait until your health and mana bars
are at full strength then use Invisible. Fly to the other player's castle re-
using Invisible if it begins to run out. Blast away as quickly as possible with
your most powerful offensive spells until almost all your mana has gone leaving
just enough to use Invisible gain. Then fly home recharge and repeat for one
dead enemy castle.

When a rival's castle has crumbled take advantage by stealing as much mana as
you can. Most players think that because the mana is right outside the castle
the enemy balloon will collect it before you. Many don't try any strategies and
either shoot indiscriminately at the mana or fly off. What a waste. Instead as
soon as you've beaten away a stage of the enemy castle cast Accelerate and fly
around the castle at full speed possessing furiously. You may well have
possessed most of the mana by the time your balloons get there. The best thing
about this tactic is that the other player knows that if he begins to repossess
mana his castle is open to attack; plus he'll need to rebuild his castle to its
original state so that it's large enough to hold all his mana.

2. Cheat:
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Type I at the prompt, and a little red thing will appear. Now, on screen type:
RATTY. Now press one of the following key combinations:

To recieve all spells, press [ALT] and [F1].
To restore your mana, press [ALT] and [F2].
To move on a level, press [ALT] and [F3].
*EOF*