THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE

FIREFLY


PUBLISHER
Ocean

AUTHOR
Special F/X

YEAR
1988

CATEGORY
Arcade

CONTROLS
Keyboard, Kempston, Cursor

KEYS : Redefinable
Pause - SPACE
Quit - BREAK

INSTRUCTIONS
Your task as commander of the Firefly is to destroy the mechanoid
system framework, developed by the enemy, by removing the vital
energy source used to sustain its existance.

The framework is represented on the screen by a system of grids,
each one being one of the following:

1. A robot-occupied zone.
2. An unconstructed region.
3. A robot-free "Dead Zone".
4. A planetary sector.
5. The system power source.

The system grid is arranged randomly each turn. You always start
in the Dead Zone on the far left, ready to battle your way
through the occupied area to the power source.

Your movement is restricted to the Dead Zone areas and you can
therefore only enter a system which is adjacent to a Dead Zone.
You do so by positioning the Firefly on the appropriate square
and pressing fire. You cannot enter a system with a planet at its
core. These are the main mechanoid colonies and are too well
protected against attack.

The unconstructed regions are the least protected by the robots.
In order to take over one of these you must first override its
"intrusion detection" alarm system. This can only be done
manually. If you fail to do it correctly in the given time, a
chain reaction will occur, causing the robotic system to jumble
itself up, forcing you to retreat to the far left of the grid.

ENTERING AN OCCUPIED AREA : The solar system chart will be
replaced by a close-up view of the area with one of the Firefly's
battleships in the centre. The scanner at the bottom of the
display will show the entire area and your battleship, observed
from a distance.

Your ship is equipped with an ion-thrust drive and plasma
disruptor balls which, if used correctly, can get you out of
impossible situations!

Each area has four main energy points (fast-flashing dots on the
scanner) and two teleports (slow-flashing dots). These are
protected by a selected number of robots which, because of their
size, will not show up on your radar. Once destroyed these robots
may deposit some useful items.

To take over the area you must destroy all four energy points.
You accomplish this by entering each point and trying to
overpower them. You can only do this, however, by collecting
four excess energy units (yokas) which are constantly being
expelled into the playfield by each of the energy points.

The teleports can be used to move your ships into inaccessible
places or for more economical travel around the playfield.
However, these are robotic devices and may be difficult for
humans to operate.

Your ship can be damaged by:
1. Robotic collisions.
2. Mechanoid missile attacks.
3. Incorrect teleport operation.
4. Failure to overpower energy points.
5. Entering energy points with insufficient energy units.

A ship is lost when it can no longer sustain any more damage...
thus the occupied area will remain under robotic control but, if
you have any ships left, you may re-enter the same system or
choose another route through the framework.

SCORES RECEIVED
"Firefly virtually overflows with quality, style and sheer
excellence." 92% (CRASH #50, March 1988)

GENERAL FACTS

NOTES