THE HALLEY PROJECT

After  completing  Starbird  level,  you will receive a special code number.
You  must send this code number to Mindscape, in Northbrook, Illinois.  They
will send you a recommendation (for completing Starbird), and a "Halleygram"
from  P.L.A.N.E.T.   Headquarters,  which  suggests  that you practice a lot
because eleventh-mission instructions will arrive soon.

On  reaching  home  base  in  Halley's  Comet,  you  will be treated to more
bonuses:   congratulations  and  a  welcome  to  THE HALLEY PROJECT team; an
animated  feature  of a pilot plopping down in exhaustion; a Final Challenge
Identification Number; and your total elapsed time.

You  will  need the registration card for the elapsed time and the ID Number
to be of any use; they are your entry into THE HALLEY PROJECT contest.`4XM$e
dline is (or was) April 1, 1986.


Other  than  finding the exact destination, orbiting is the most trying part
of  THE HALLEY PROJECT.  There are two ways to do it, each of which requires
a certain amount of concentration.

The  first  way is the most obvious.  Once you have reached the destination,
keep   heading   straight  for  it.   When  your  distance  reaches  100,000
kilometers,  a  funky  soundtrack  begins  to play.  When you have found the
landing  site,  press  "A"  on  the  keyboard  and  the  rest  is automatic.
Occasionally (that is, most of the time) you will have to orbit.

Stop.   Switch  to  Low  Power by pressing "L" on the keyboard.  Line up the
*inner* corners of the grid (this will depend on which side of the planet or
moon  you're  on),  and  give  the  throttle a jolt.  Stay under 100 hundred
kilometers/second,  because  if you get too close, you might not have enough
time  to  stop  before crashing.  (A crash adds five minutes to your elapsed
time.)

Follow  the  planet  as it moves through its own orbit.  Some of the landing
sites are on the dark side of the body.  Simply watch the grid, which lights
up when it is on the planet.  You can also watch the backdrop of stars blink
into view as the planet moves past.

The  second  way  is  much  simpler  but  a bit more dangerous.  And I can't
guarantee  it'll  work  every  time, although it *seemed* to work regularly.
When you hear the funky rhythm at 100,000 kilometers, just keep on truckin'!
When  you're  within,  say, 20,000 kilometers, line up the grid so that it's
half-on/half-off  the  body.   Slow  down  to anywhere between 1000 and 2000
kilometers/second.

At  some  point  (I  hope!) the grid will start blinking and you will hear a
beeping,  which  indicates  you have located the landing site.  Press "A" on
the keyboard and you're home.

Caution!   Sometimes  this does not work!  You will have to watch your speed
and  your  distance  from the planet/moon, and get out of the way before you
crash.

Part  of  the  goal  of  the game is to reach each destination and return to
Halley's Comet as fast as possible.  Of course, Mindscape didn't make it any
easier.  Nevertheless, it is possible to turn in some decent times.

The radar screen, reached by pressing "R" on the keyboard, gives an accurate
representation of distances.  Halley's Comet is always blinking, and you are
always  in  the  center  of  the  screen.   Once  you  have  determined your
destination,  move  the joystick so that the planet to which you must travel
touches  the  edge  of  the  circle.  Read the distance in kilometers at the
bottom-right  of the screen, and note in which constellation the destination
lies.  Press "R" again, and jam the pedal to the floor!

Hyperspeed   starts   at  300,000  kilometers/second.   The  screen  flashes
frantically and the distance you've traveled moves quickly.  Press the space
bar  when you've gone the distance.  Use the radar screen again to see where
you stopped, and then scan the constellations to locate the planet or moon.

On  certain  missions,  there will be more than one answer.  For example, in
"The  Final Challenge," there is this:  "Your next destination is any planet
or  moon  with  active  volcanoes."  You  can choose Earth or Io.  Since the
previous  destination  was  Nereid  (which I'll get to in a moment), you are
much closer to Io than Earth.  Also, since the *next* destination is Saturn,
your elapsed time will be better if you choose Io.

The  toughest  destination to reach, by far, is Nereid, Neptune's moon.  The
first  moon,  Triton,  is  approximately  350,000  kilometers  from Neptune;
Nereid,  however,  is over *six times* smaller and *ten times* farther away!
It  also moves in an elongated orbit.  (One good point:  Nereid takes nearly
one  year  to  make  it around Neptune, so it won't go anywhere while you're
searching for it.)

The  previous  destination, fortunately, was Triton.  After you've landed on
Triton  and  received the Nereid message, press "B" on the keyboard to blast
off.   As  soon  as  you've gone offworld, stop, move away from Triton, then
head  straight  out.  The key is to get about 5,500,000 kilometers away from
Neptune.   You might have to stop and scan for Neptune for a distance check.
After  you've  done this, *return to the direction you were going*.  Keep on
in this way until you're the proper distance from Neptune.

The  next step is to stop, then scan until you find the sun, which should be
in  Gemini.   Scan  to  the right and you should find Nereid in Taurus.  You
will  be  facing  Nereid's  dark side; this destination can be reached using
orbiting method two.