MADBALLS (Ocean) FREEKY FUN FOR EVERYONE Become top MADBALL on the planet ORB (and in so doing score as many points as possible). The key to domination is to become the leader of the notorious gang of MADBALLS who collectively control what passes for a parliament, on this most unfortunate of planets. You are "Dust Brain" and have decided that none but your good self should rule from now on. To this end you must "convince" the others that your own policies are ultimately the best. This is accomplished by smashing them into the goals, and onto your team or "cabinet". Once captured, their individual talents and idio- syncrasies can be used to help "convince" remaining doubters. The MADBALLS on your team can swap places by diving into the nearest open DUSTBIN and when you have collected all the rogue MADBALLS you have become the Boss and have thus won! The fact that the other MADBALLS have had the same idea, or are just plain mean 'n' evil, complicates matters; and you'll soon notice, for instance, that all the other MADBALLS are out to kill you ... There are other balls, undistinguished BUREACRATS whom everybody hates; if you kill one of these, you score even more points. Candidacy for Boss MADBALL is not for the squeemish ... Gross is Great! LOADING 1. Place the cassette in your recorder ensuring that it is fully rewound. 2. Ensure that the MIC socket is disconnected and that the volume and tone controls are set to the appropriate levels. 3. If the computer is a Spectrum 48K or Spectrum+ then load as follows: Type LOAD"" (ENTER). (Note there is no space between the two quotes.) The " is obtained by pressing the SYMBOL SHIFT and P keys simultaneously. 4. Press PLAY on your recorder and the game will load automatically. If you have any problems try adjusting the volume and tone controls and consulting Chapter 6 of the Spectrum manual. 5. If the computer is a Spectrum 128K then follow the loading instructions on-screen or in the accompanying manual. CONTROLS The game is controlled by Joystick or Keyboard. Pressing 1-4 on the title page selects different Keyboard/Joystick options. The keys for option 1 are:- Q - UP A - DOWN O - LEFT P - RIGHT N - FIRE UP | LEFT <---+---> RIGHT | DOWN Pressing ENTER pauses the game; pressing H whilst in pause mode quits the game. Press FIRE to start a new game. To swap with a captured MADBALL bounce over an OPEN DUSTBIN and press FIRE when you land. If you need to BRAKE your directional bounce CENTRE the JOYSTICK and hit FIRE as you land. GAME PLAY Each MADBALL moves at a different relative speed according to type, and has a particular momentum. So that if you are in control of a "slow" MADBALL the other ones will move faster in relation to the background than you do, and vice versa of course. The particular strength factor determines how easily or otherwise the MADBALLS are deflected from their paths, by interaction with both scenery and other MADBALLS. Each MADBALL also has its energy level, indicated when in play by the rate of rotation of the "barber shop poles" which lead into the MADBALLS cabinet. Each MADBALL has its own food and consumption requirements, see on. MADBALL SPEED STRENGTH HUNGER FOOD ------------------------------------------------------------------ FREEKY FULLBACK 1 8 6 Coke and melons SWINE SUCKER 2 7 8 Anything SLOBULUS 3 6 7 Fish heads DUST BRAIN 4 5 5 Blood FIST FACE 5 4 2 Bones HORN HEAD 6 6 7 Cabbages and fruit SKULL FACE 7 1 1 Cabbages SCREAMIN' MEEMIE 8 2 3 Coke MADBALLS use the scenery to bounce on whilst trying to kill each other. The scenery consists of various objects and planes to be bounced on, hazardous or helpful depending on the condition and type of MADBALL in play DOWNHOLES, UPHOLES, OUTHOLES and GOALS take you on through, or out of, the game. TRAMPOLINES - Help a flagging MADBALL to regain a little bounce. SPRINGBOARDS - Boost your velocity to get you over those chasms. RUBBER TYRES - Very bouncy in all directions. CATAPULTS - For those longer bounces. DUSTBINS - Barriers and deflectors. OPEN DUSTBINS - To swap MADBALLS. RAMPS and PYRAMIDS - For various uses. OIL SLICK - To send you sliding. FRIED EGGS - You can squash these and collect extra points. STATUS AND SCORING At the start of the game the status display is an empty tube, into and out of which goes a spinning "barber pole". The rate at which this spins indicates the current energy level of the ball in play. As you score points, numbers appear on the status line giving current tally. If you knock a MADBALL through a goal he falls into the empty tube and onto your team. If you go into OPEN DUSTBIN at this point you will leave the screen and reappear in the tube. As you bounce along the tube you will knock into the captive MADBALLS, causing the nearest one to the other end of the tube to fall into play. The energy indicators reflect the new MADBALL's current condition. Points are scored when you knock other MADBALLS into the goals to get them onto your team. Use captured MADBALLS to get around and to score, collect refuse to feed your MADBALLS and increase energy. Points are also awarded for:- Squashing FRIED EGGS. Bashing BUREACRATS out of the game. Using any of the background apparatus. If you fail to win before getting killed you will see the HIGH SCORE table on which only the BADDEST appear. HINTS AND TIPS * Lure prospective victims to the proximity of a goal. * Make a map of each level. CREDITS Programmed by Steve Lamb Produced by D.C. Ward Designed and created by Denton Designs (c) 1987 (c) 1987 Ocean Software Limited TM designates trademark of (c) 1986 Those Characters From Cleveland, Inc.