ThunderStrike dox. Typed by Flux of Mirage UK
Release date : 24/07/90 at 02:00
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
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Welcome to the 2238 MegaCorp Industries annual 'Ground Defense Games'
brought to you exclusively by the Century 23 television network!
I'am sure you're all familiar with the games by now but for those of you
who have been in a different galaxy over the past century i'll briefly
tell you what these games are all about. Pilots from all over the galaxy
are invited here by MegaCorp Industries to survive in lethal combat in a
variety of hostile arenas especially prepared for the games.
Each pilot is allowed to select one ship from the five approved by the
MegaCorp Referees Committee. The pilot must choose carefully because he
will be required to fly this craft throughout the whole of the games. This
year, the five craft approved by the committee are:
Thunderstrike 18 - The original and some would say the best ThunderStrike.
A good all rounder with good speed, acceleration, and handling.
StrikeHornet 22 - The StrikeHornet is a relative new-comer to the arena but
it's already establishing a following. It's top speed is undeniably poor
but excellent acceleration and good handling make Hornets worth a try.
StrikeHornet 24 - This newer model of the StrikeHornet class suffers the
same speed problems of earlier models and is hampered further by poor
acceleration but no other strike craft in history comes close in
manoeuvrability.
ThunderFly 10 - No strike craft can beat a ThunderFly for speed. This model
handles well in tight turns but suffers from poor acceleration.
ThunderFly 25 - This is the latest model in the ThunderFly class it offers
unbeatable speed and acceleration but its handling leaves alot to be
desired as its slow turning speed can be a problem.
The committee also considered allowing the use of vintage craft this year
but this idea was abandoned after engineers failed to recondition a vintage
Retalitor F29 craft. This was a very slow craft that was soon put out of
service once the ThunderStrike class came in. It has very poor
manoeuvrability, velocity and acceleration. It is even rumored that some
people used to play computer simulations based on this old-fashioned
'museum piece' back in the late 20th Century but this is generally regarded
as highly improbable - no-one could be that boring!
Once the pilot has chosen his craft, a standard energy shield will be
fitted to it and the drone generators and ground installations for the
first round will be set up around the arena. The pilot must then enter the
arena in his craft and wait at the center for the games to begin.
The object of the games is for the pilot to defend the ground
installitations and knock out all the enemy drone generators and enemy
drones in each round. The pilot will lose the game and his contract with
MegaCorp will be terminated if he loses all of the ground installations
on any single round.
At set intervals, referees will fire a variety of robotic drones into the
arena from the drone generators. These drones are armed with all the latest
in military hardware and will try to destroy the pilots craft and destroy
his ground installations.
The pilot must destroy the drone generators to win the game. Referees
cannot fire drones from destroyed generators and it is in the pilots
intrest to incapacitate the generators as soon as possible.
The crafts energy sheilds will be depleted every time that it collides with
a drone or is hit by enemy fire.
If the crafts energy sheild is exhausted then any more hits sustained on
the pilots craft will destroy the craft and the pilot with it - just one of
the many hazards that pilots come to expect from the games.
Sometimes, when a pilot destroys a drone, a pick-up pod will appear.
Pick-up pods contain military hardware to aid the pilot and if he picks a
pod up, it will be installed onto his craft to aid him. Many new items of
military hardware will be avaible in the pods this year.
As well as defending the ground installations, the pilot must attain a good
hit rate and play a good exciting game to keep the network TV ratings high.
If a pilot manages to destroy all of the generators then no more drones can
be despatched into the arena and the pilot need only destroy any remaining
drones to win. Pilots call this 'clearing a round' and they will often
preform a victory roll before leaving the arena.
Before starting his next round, the pilot will have his round preformance
assessed by the referees. A good hit rate will be scored for the efficient
use of ammunition and will result in the pilot having his craft upgraded by
the referees. A poor defence rate (thats anything under 100%) will result
in the pilot having his craft down-graded.
Pilots who complete an entire arena will be awarded a trophy before being
promoted to the next arena.
The referees then set up a new set of installations and generators for the
next round and more drones will be loaded into the drone generators. Any
number of installations and generators can be set up on each round and they
can be positioned anywhere in the arena. The pilot must then re-enter the
arena ready for the next round to begin.
If a pilot clears all of the arenas he will win the supreme accolade
'Defender of the Ground'.
Okay, thats enough of the rules! Viewers at home should note that the
Century 23 network has now programmed the correct score table information
into their TV's central control system and if you look at the telefax panel
on the lower part of your TV set, you will see the relevent score
information for the games being displayed there.
To take you through each display one-by-one, in the lower left you will see
two score panels. The panel marked 'Installations' shows you how many
ground installations the pilot has left to defend in the arena for this
round. If this ever reaches zero, the pilot is in real trouble! The panel
marked 'Generators' shows you how many drone generators are still in play
in the arena for this round. Only once a pilot has destroyed all of these,
will he have stopped any more drones from being fired into the arena.
Also displayed on your telefax panel, you will see a red and a yellow bar.
The yellow bar indicates the pilots shield energy protecting his craft from
the deadly firepower being thrown at him by the drones. If this bar reaches
zero, the pilots a goner for sure! Finally, and i'am sure this needs no
explaining, the red bar indicates how many of you, the viewers at home, are
tuned into Century 23 network. Last year a record 59.6 billion viewers
scattered across the galaxy watched this program LIVE as 76 pilots died
trying to gain the coverted title 'Defender of the Ground'. Only 3 pilots
claimed that title last year - how many will claim it this year?
Also, last year, as i'am sure you'll all remember, the contestants only had
to survive for eight rounds in three arenas. Well, this year we thought
we'd make things intresting by making the contestants survive for ten
rounds in five wholly different arenas.
Our cameraman, Bob, has indicated to me that he is now positioned and ready
in his fully shielded, all terrain vidi-unit inside the arena! Bob's unit
is also equiped to recieve information from the pilots on board computer
and he'll be sending us back Heads Up Display data so that we can really
get an idea of whats going on inside that arena. Well, over to Bob in the
arena now, where i belive our first contestant is from Earth.
GETTING STARTED
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When you first load the game, the title credits will appear and the title
tune will play. Press SPACE to continue. You will now be presented with the
game options. If you do not touch a key for a short while, Thunderstrike
will go into quadravisual testflight. Press any key to return to the game
options.
Press the relevant key on the keyboard to select the option that you
require. If you have a mouse connected then you can also use the mouse
buttons to click on the option that you require.
Options (control and video)
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This option is also available from Time-Out mode during the game.
When selected, further options will appear. These options are Menu (returns
to main menu or time-out menu), Keyboard or Mouse (depending on which item
you selected on boot-up - see below), Miscellaneous Control and
Presentation Options.
Keyboard (PC only) - if you are operating from keyboard control, this
option will enable you to redefine the keys.
Mouse (Amiga and PC) - if you are operating from mouse control, this option
will enable you to do one of four things:
i) Alter the mouse left/right sensitivity.
ii) Alter the mouse up/down sensitivity.
iii) Switch between up/down and dive/climb control. A cross in this box
represents dive/climb control and will be more suitable to pilots used to
aircraft controls.
iv) Switch between left or right handed mouse button control. A cross in
this box represents left handed control.
Selecting Your Strike Craft
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You start the game with the ThunderStrike 18 craft but if you wish you can
change this for one of the craft from the StrikeHornet of ThunderFly
ranges. Using this option enables you to see the five craft in the MeagCorp
hangars. Using the keyboard press SPACE to change the highlighted craft and
press RETURN to select it. Alternatively, if you are using a mouse, click
on one of the craft in the background to highlight it and then click on it
again when it is highlighted to select it.
IN THE ARENA
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You start each arena from the centre. The games will start as soon as the
camera view of your ship appears and the referees will immediately start to
launch drones from the generators. if you have just entered the arena it is
always wise to take a look at the terrain map [press F4] to determine your
situation. Your position is shown on the map by an encircled 'T'. The
position of the active installations appear as small, red, pulsing squares
and active generators appear as larger, chequered blue/red squares. Note
that the game is now paused. Press any key to return to camera view.
Inside the arena, ground installations are the red pyramids, pulsing to
show that they are active. They will turn grey and flatten out if they are
successfully attacked and destroyed by a saboteur drone. When saboteur
drones attack installations, they mount the installation and turn red. It
then takes about ten seconds to destroy the installation.
Drone Generators
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Drone Generators are the blue/red mounds, pulsing to show that they are
active too! They will turn blue/gray and flatten out if you manage to
destroy one. If you repeatedly press fire, a number of yellow shots will
spray forward from your craft. These are low powered shots (indicated by
yellow) and it takes about five direct hits with this weapon to destroy a
generator. For information on high powered ammunation, please read the
section on Power Pods. Do not fly over a generator or your ships energy
shield will rapidly deplete. Note that when your ships shield is being
damaged, your ship will flash red.
Drones
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There are five different drone types can be launched from the drone
generators. As you progress from round to round, the action will really
heat up as referees fire more and more of these at an even faster rate. The
drones also become tougher from arena to arena and will take even more
shots to destroy in the later arenas.
If a drone collides with your craft, your energy shield will take massive
damage. The five drones in this years arenas are:
Saboteurs - these drones appear as blue/cyan spinners that move slowly
along the ground and are incapable of firepower. The Saboteur drone will
try to attack your ground installations. They are the only drones capable
of this and as such they represent a great threat. As soon as a Saboteur
drone is launched, it will target on one of your installations and head for
it. If the drone manages to reach the installation, it will mount it and
try to destroy it. If you destroy a Saboteur whilst it is mounted on an
installation, the installation will be saved. If the Saboteur succeeds in
destroying the installation, it will either turn into a mutated Saboteur or
re-target on another installation. Mutated Saboteurs are highly dangerous
and should be avoided at all costs. They appear as red spinners and will
home in on your craft, trying to colide with it and damage it.
Fighters - these drones appear as fighters in the air at high speed with
cyan nose-cones and red afterburners. The Fighter drone will try to attack
your craft by firing shots at it. Once launched, the Fighter drone will
head straight for your craft. As soon as it is within range of you it will
fire at you. If you manage to tail a Fighter, it will take evasive action
to try to shake you off. As you progress from round to round, the referees
will increase the firepower of the Fighters.
Gliders - these drones appear as dark blue, wide-winged gliders flying in
the air at slow speed and turning in large arcs. The Glider drone will try
to attack your craft by firing shots at it. Once launched, the Glider drone
will roam around in large arcs. If the Glider sees your craft in its
sights, then it will fire at you though it is only capable of small amounts
of firepower. If the Glider drone senses that all of the generators have
been destroyed, then it will slowly home in on your craft in an attempt to
impact with it.
Lungers - these drones appear as cyan/blue rocks that float along slowly
through the air and require a number of shots to destroy. They are
incapable of firepower but when they are destroyed, they will emit shrapnel
in all directions in an attempt to damage your craft. When the Lunger drone
is launched, it will determine a random direction and float in that
direction, If the Lunger drone senses that all of the generators have been
destroyed, then it will directly home on your craft in an attempt to impact
with it.
Bombers - these drones appear as yellow/blue craft flying in the air at
slow speed. The Bomber drone will try to attack your craft by leaving
trails of 'floating mines' for your craft to collide with. Once launched,
the Bomber drone will head straight for your craft. As soon as it is in
range it will start to drop large numbers of 'air mines' close to you and
then slowly take evasive action leaving a trail of mines. Tailing a Bomber
is extremely difficult.
THE HEADS UP DISPLAY (HUD)
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The HUD is an intelligent, sophisticated piece of equipment that is
essential to the pilot. It will actually anticipate the data that the pilot
requires and throw it up on the screen. This saves the HUD from being
constantly cluttered with unneeded data. The system is split into two
halves, image data being displayed on the right and textual data being
displayed on the left.
The image system includes:
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Turning Angle Indicator (TAI) - this appears as a straight line within a
square box. The angle of the line indicates the turning angle of the craft
to the left or right.
Tracklock Direction Indicator (TDI) - this only appears when in a TrackLock
and it replaces the TAI system. The TDI appears as a box with two triangles
either side of it pointing left and right. If the box is highlighted, the
craft will pass straight on at a TrackLock intersection. Otherwise, the
craft will turn left or right according to which triangle is highlighted,
so long as the craft is able to turn in that direction.
Compass - this appears as a triangle that rotates. The triangle shows the
direction in which your craft is facing. The compass is extremely useful if
used in conjuction with your position on the MCR.
Main Overview Radar (MOR) - this is probably the most vital part of the
HUD. The MOR shows the positon of all drones and installations on the map
and should be used in conjunction with the relief map. Saboteur drones are
shown as cyan/blue 'blips'. All other drones are shown as yellow 'blips'.
Your position is shown as a white 'blip'. Finally, active installations are
also shown on this radar as red 'blips'. A warning sound followed by a red
'blip' flashing indicates that a saboteur is attempting to deactivate that
installation.
Attack Radar (AR) - this radar will only switch on when at least one drone
comes within close vicinity of your craft. Unlike the MOR, this radar will
rotate around you, with your craft always being positioned at the centre of
the radar. Saboteur drones are shown as cyan 'blips'. All other drones are
shown as yellow 'blips'. Drone fire is shown as purple 'blips'. Note that
installations are not shown on this radar.
The textual data systems include:
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Pod Tracking Indicators (PTI) - any pick-up pod that appears on the screen
will have a PTI attatched to it indicating what pod type it is.
TrackLock Indicator (TLI) - the message 'TrackLock' will appear if the
player enters a track and the TDI will switch on.
Turbo Indicator (TI) - if the craft has a turbo pod installed, this
indicator will display the number of Turbos left whenever the pilot presses
the thrust button. It also indicates when Turbo is engaged.
Defence Pod Indicator (DPI) - if the craft has at least one defense pod
installed, the message 'Defense Pod Active' will be displayed.
Twin Fire Indicator (TFI) - if the craft has a twin fire pod installed, the
message 'Twin Fire Exhausted' will appear when the pod runs out.
Power Fire Indicator (PFI) - if the craft has a power fire pod installed,
the message 'Power Fire Exhausted' will appear when the pod runs out.
Pod Installation Indicator (PII) - whenever the craft picks up a pod, an
indication sound will be heard and a message will appear indicating the pod
type collected.
Shield Critical/Exhausted Indictaor (SCEI) - when the shield energy of your
craft runs dangerously low, a warning sound will be emitted and a 'Shield
Critical' message will flash. If your shield runs out, the message 'Shield
Exhausted' will appear. If your craft sustains anothe rhit it will explode!
Impact Indictaor (II) - if your craft collides with a drone, you will take
massive damage and a message will appear indicating which type of drone you
collided with.
Round Cleared Indicator (RCI) - when a round is cleared, this indicator
appears in large red letters across the HUD showing which round has been
cleared while your craft does a victory roll.
Shutdown Imminent Indictaor (SII) - if all of the installations are
deactivated then the 'Shutdown Imminent' message will appear in large red
letters across the HUD giving the pilot ten seconds to clear the round -
otherwise the pilots contract will be terminated!
MILITARY HARDWARE PODS
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Sometimes when you destroy a drone, a purple/blue pod will appear -
bouncing up and down in the air. Pods contain the very latest in military
hardware and may be collected by the pilot to aid him. The pod will remain
in the arena until it stops bouncing, so the higher above the ground it
appears the longer it will be available for. The HUD will let you know what
type of pod it is via the PTI. You can pick it up by simply flying into it
at which point it will be instantly installed in your craft. The pods
available in the games this year are:
Defence Pod - The very latest in craft defence - another breakthrough
invention from Professor Cardomans Laboratories. When installed a blue
energy capsule will spin around your craft, protecting it until it collides
with and destroys an enemy drone. Upto three pods can be collected for your
defense.
Twin Pod - Double your firepower with this ingenius invention from
MegaCorps very own research laboratories. When installed, this pod will
give you twin fire capibility for a set amount of shots.
Power Pod - Really turn up the heat on your firepower with MegaCorps Power
Fire Pod. When installed your shots will turn red and equal the strength of
five standard yellow shots. This is very useful for destroying generators
faster and for later arenas when some enemy drones will require a higher
number of shots to be destroyed.
Shield Pod - Top up your shield. When collected, your shield energy will be
replenished by one-fifth of full capacity.
Turbo Pod - MegaCorp's creation will give you that extra burst of speed.
When collected, the TI will be activated on the HUD. Each pod contains four
Turbo's and you can never have more then four Turbo's installed at one
time. To activate the Turbo, quickly double-click/press the thrust button -
the turbo will be active for around five seconds. Beware when turboing
because the trailing camera unit can be thrown high up into the air behind
you and you won't be able to see your craft for a few vital seconds. In
this instance use the AR or MOR to guide you 'blind'.
Various HUD messages will appear as you collect pods to show that they have
been installed in your craft.
THE ARENA
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You must survive through ten rounds in each of five arenas. The five
different arenas are:
Deinon rounds 0-9
Xerxes rounds 10-19
Polloi rounds 20-29
Canton rounds 30-39
Synaps rounds 40-49
If you clear all fifty rounds you will be awarded the supreme accolade
'Defender of the Ground'.
TRACKLOCKING
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Black tracks run around each arena and a skillful pilot should be able to
use these to his advantage. To enter a track you should line yourself up
with the track and pull your craft down onto it. You will now be
TrackLocked and the track will drag you along at high speed. This is quite
difficult for novice pilots to do first time but you will soon pick it up.
Examination of the terrain will show you the position of your craft on the
tracks. You should use the TDI on your HUD to guide you around the tracks.
Note that TrackLocking should only be attempted by skilled pilots and
should only become necessary from round nine onwards if you do not have any
Turbo's fitted.
FLIGHT CONTROLS
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The game can be played using a keyboard or mouse. (keyboard option not
available on Amiga).
Using a mouse; left, right, up and down will move you left, right, up and
down. Use the left mouse button to thrust you forwards and the right mouse
button to fire. You must repeatedly press this button to maintain your
fire.
During the game (Keyboard players - PC only)
Z Left
X Right
L Up
< Down
P Thrust
SPACE Fire
During the game (Keyboard and Mouse players)
F4 Show detailed terrain map. Game is paused.
F10 Pause/Unpause game.
ESC Enter Time-Out mode.
Turbos - Pushing the thrust button twice quickly when you have a Turbo
installed will initiate the turbo.
From Time-Out mode you can acess the Options. (control and video), Abort
the games or return back to the games.
Typed by Flux of Mirage UK