*************************** * B U G G L E S v 1.0 * *************************** About Buggles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buggles is a type of platform game. It requires dexterity, timing and a fair amount of lateral thinking. It was inspired by an old ZX Spectrum game called Bugaboo. (Known as Boogaboo on CBM 64 and Roland in the Caves on Amstrad). With extras to collect, puzzles to solve and 100 levels to escape from it should prove a challenge for anyone. The Story So Far... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buggles is a space flea. Unfortunately, space fleas are not very clever, in fact they're really stupid. So when Buggles decides to go exploring his home planet he is just bound to land himself (quite literally !) in some kind of trouble before too long. Sure enough the hapless flea has not gone far before he finds himself above a gaping hole in the ground, and obeying the all too universal law of gravity, he falls straight down into the deepest cavern he has ever seen. Now he has to find his way back out again and to make matters worse he has a terrible feeling that someone, or something, is in here with him... Loading Buggles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buggles will run on any Amiga system with at least 1 Mb of chip memory and a PAL display. If you have a hard disk and only 1 Mb of memory, you will need to disable your hard disk, to free up enough memory for the game to run properly. To load, simply double click on the Buggles icon. The game disk should be left in the drive at all times, so that levels can be loaded as required. If the disk is removed, a load error will occur. In this case, re-inserting the disk will enable the program to continue. Once the program has loaded, there will be short intro before the title screen appears. The intro can be exited at any time by pressing the fire button on the joystick. Title Screen Options ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The title screen has the following options, all of which can be accessed by moving the ghost up and down with the joystick and pressing fire to select. PLAY - Starts the game at the level currently displayed (See Playing Buggles) PASSWORD - Allows the entry of a level password (See Using Passwords) DATA DISK - Searches for a data disk (See Loading Data Disks) MUSIC - Toggles music on/off CREDITS - Displays credits and program details QUIT - Exits the game Using Passwords ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Displayed at the bottom of the title screen is a level number. This will be 001 if the game has just been loaded. Next to this is the current level password. Whenever a level is completed, the next level will be loaded and a new password will be displayed. Taking note of each new password will enable you to start the game at that point in the future. To use the password feature, simply select PASSWORD from the title screen menu and type in the desired password. When you have finished typing, press return. If all is well the level number displayed will alter accordingly. Loading Data Disks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buggles has 100 screens to get through. But it is just possible that a really avid player may actually complete all 100. Having, no doubt, been driven completely boggled-eyed in the process, they may then actually crave further challenges. Well, this option will enable such a person to access a data disk with another 100 devious levels, and a new set of background graphics. Of course, such a data disk is not included with the game. Indeed at the time of release, it is not even available. But in the future who knows ? It all really depends on the response to the game. So if you like it, and you want more levels, then write in to some of the Amiga magazines and request that data disks are made available. Selecting this option will scan any external disk drives for a data disk, if none is found, the internal drive will also be checked. If you only have the one disk drive, you should remove the game disk before selecting the data disk option. You will then be prompted to insert the data disk which should then be left in the internal drive. The original game disk will also be recognised as a data disk if it is inserted, and the original levels and graphics will be re-loaded. Playing Buggles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buggles must escape each level from a hole at the top of the screen. To do this he is capable of performing jumps of variable height and distance. The power of each jump is determined by how long the joystick fire button is held down. When the power has been set, left or right on the joystick will execute the jump in that direction. If Buggles collides with anything when jumping he falls straight down. If he is hit on the head he is also stunned for a short time (depending on how hard he hits) and a small amount of energy is lost. Buggles can fall any distance without losing energy. There is a ghost who pursues Buggles through all of the levels. His speed varies from level to level. When he touches Buggles, he quickly drains away his energy. When all Buggles' energy has gone he will die. A number of extras can be collected, some are helpful, others are not. They have the following effects. (E+) - Increase energy (E-) - Decrease energy (G+) - Increase Ghost speed (G-) - Decrease Ghost speed (F) - Freeze Ghost (T) - Teleport (?) - Alter screen in some way Nb. The values of (E+),(E-),(G+),(G-) & (F) can all vary eg. One (E-) may only reduce energy slightly, but another may mean instant death ! When the ghost is already frozen, picking up another (F) will extend the length of time for which he is frozen. Even when the ghost is frozen he can drain away Buggles' energy. So be careful where you freeze him. Sometimes Buggles will be unable to jump in a particular direction because part of him is colliding with the scenery. A small jump in the opposite direction will usually enable the obstruction to be cleared. From time to time you will find yourself trapped, or in a position which makes the current level impossible to escape from. You must then quit and restart the level again. Game Controls ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buggles is controlled with a joystick in port 2 (joystick port) Fire button - (Held down) Set power level for next jump Joystick Left/Right - Jump in desired direction (When power has been set) Space - Pause/Resume Esc - Quit level Hints and Tips ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ghost always heads straight for Buggles. This makes it possible to evade him in certain circumstances. Some (?) extras can alter several things at the same time. When Buggles appears from a teleport he retains the momentum he had when he collected the (T) !? Remember that the size of the power bar indicates how far Buggles will jump. Taking careful note of the bar will allow you to repeat a jump exactly. The name of a level may provide a clue as to how it should be tackled. Don't give in ! Every level is possible ! Acknowledgments ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks to Nigel Bates of The Motel BBS for testing everything out on the A1200. Copyright notice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Buggles is © Copyright 1995 by Rob Massey All Rights are Reserved Worldwide Also available by the same author ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ASTRONUTTY - A brain-teasing platform/puzzler set in outer-space. Guide Astronutty through all 200 levels and get him home in time for tea ! A must for fans of Pushover/Lemmings. WINNING POST - Horse racing betting simulation for 1-6 players. Consisting of 2 disks (hard disk installable) and featuring sampled speech commentary. Study the form, place your bets and cross your fingers. Will you win a fortune ? ...Or lose your shirt ?