THE SPECTRUM GAME DATABASE

THEY STOLE A MILLION (TSAM)

PUBLISHER
Ariolasoft

AUTHOR
Tigress Designs

YEAR
1986

CATEGORIES
Strategy-Management game with action elements

CONTROLS
 Keys : 6=left, 7=right, 8=down, 9=up, 0=fire
 Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston, Protek

TIPS/CHEATS
 Author: Aleksandar Lukic, alexlux@eunet.yu , August 1999.
 (prepared for and published in Michael Bruhn's DID Fanzine, No.5, 
  see details on-  http://home.worldonline.dk/~frankie/  )

    TSAM looks like an management game but, on account of numerous
 logic/strategic elements, it overcomes that genre. Also it can't 
 be classified as clear strategy. Considering the action elements
 which can be interwovened in this type of game, like controling 
 the crew in pitstop in CRL's Formula One, TSAM is far beyond any
 other. The game is consisted of two parts, first one we can call
 "preparation stage" while second is a place where you plan and
 commit robbery. Players interface is realized as four directional
 moving through nested menus that pop out when we request them with
 the fire key as validation. Via keyboard we can use keys from 6 to
 0, if Sinclair joystick is selected. In the game you take a role of
 gang boss, perspective new-commer in the world of criminal, who
 builts his career by successive entering in more and more risky
 deals. ("He, who dares wins!"- sound familiar?)

    The first robbery is introduction to the TSAM world, alarm,
 locked safe and unpredictible police-time-limit for action are the
 first learned obstacles. Police response time after alarm
 triggering is shortened after every level. Art Gallery except
 variety of alarm systems doesn't bring anything new, only sets very
 high "financial condition", i.e. first two raids must be done
 excellent in order to collect enough money for realisation of the
 third robbery. Diamond Merchant will bring financial independence
 for all further achievements, but besides alarm and armoured door,
 here you deals with patol guard and system of cameras placed in few
 rooms, monitored by another guard. Oh yes, Merchant is two-floor 
 place! Yummy! High Street Bank introduces alarms with delay time, 
 because reaching to the alarm disabling place, requires crossing 
 over protected zones. It's excused therefore guards can't trigger 
 alarm on their patrol route, also partialy placed throgh alarmed 
 areas. And at the end, the crown of everybody's career is waithing 
 for you, Narburak Museum with Pharaon's Death Mask. Wide area plus
 two floors, full of alarms, some on pressure with instant response,
 some infra-red based with small delay and new one, alarm activated
 by human breath! Schemes of camera's activity or guard route can't
 be bought because nobody dares to get out this info. You are
 entering almost in the "black box". The worst of all is that the
 guards are bullet-proof, they always check door state (close&lock/
 open&unlock), and if any of your buddies is spotted, alarm centre
 will be contacted immediately by radio link. Police alarm response
 here is the fastest, 35sec (checked!). Impossible mission?

    In the first part, on the screen you can see the main menu and
 the status display. "A must" options in main menu are: Buy Plans,
 Hire Team and Get Fence. The use of other options are obvious to
 all readers (New Game, Save/Load Team, Joystick).

    After selecting "Buy Plans" you choose a target of your action,
 first read History about that place and if you want to proceed to
 the planing stage you have to buy building blueprint. Information
 folder shows up, facts about Value of Swag, Security and Alarm
 System are in front of you. Further information folder is avaible
 but, it means that boss's cash fund becomes thiner.

    "Hire Team" brings Personnel folder from which you'll found the
 ideal gang members for actual robbery. Important informations are
 1st & 2nd skill, fee amount, cut of take. Wise combination of
 skills can reduce number of members i.e. minimize "personnel"
 costs. For proceeding to the second part you must have a driver in
 your team.

    In "Get Fence" you'll find the ideal pusher for swag. The wrong
 choice decrease gang's income.

    Status Display is recapitulation of all your choices (target,
 team, fence) and shows how much cash is left. All personnel choices
 can be redone until you click on the last main menu option- Plan
 Raid, which is proceeding to the second stage.

    Two phases can be recognized in the second part: first you plan
 the raid and then finally commit it. During planing phase, upper
 half of screen is building blueprint whose wealth of information
 depends on what you bought in Buy Plans section (marked rooms under
 alarm, locations of cash/ silver/..., security cameras...). In the
 bottom half, on left is task palette i.e. icons for giving orders
 to the gang members, the middle belongs to portrait of the fellow
 to whom you currently "talk". On the right you have small icons of
 all selected companions, timer for team synchronisation and the
 message box. In the commit phase building blueprint is swopped with
 action display, colourful place where objects are authenticaly
 drawn, not as boxes anymore.

    Few more words about two the most interesting on-screen
 elements. Task palette is "position sensitive", if you for example
 approach to an alarm- screwdriver (enable al.) and spanner (disable
 al.) are shown up, beside safe- bag (rob safe) etc. Basic commands
 (move, wait, delete step,...) are always present. Choosing an icon
 means execution of associated action, so if you click on move-icon
 you're ready to move controled fellow on blueprint (i.e. space).
 Pressing fire is way back to palette. Every action takes logical
 amount of time, 1step- 1second, pick lock- 12sec. if it's 1st
 skill, 16sec. if 2nd, 24sec. for inteligent inexpert, while
 square-heads usually can't perform this task. Function of message
 box depends are you in: moving mode, setting task mode or commit
 phase. Therefore in box you can read: description of immediate
 vicinty for controled caracter (clear space, locked door, blown
 case...), icon function (move, wait,...) or messages such as
 "Detonator D'Arcy in 1:37 found *somewhere* closed door" (oh, this
 means: you fail to see it in planing phase, solution- boss i.e. you
 can assist him via walkie-talkie or go back to planing and correct
 action). During planing, man can go through closed door or you can
 send two comrades through same door at the same time, but when the
 raid starts...

    Commit phase is specialy interesting, the boss can take two
 roles, as supervisor and/or to actively take part in action. By
 radio connection he can stop an member of team and set a new task
 for him. In action case, take into consideration that boss's
 movement control is good but not perfect, so left in plan timings a
 certain time for "boss's" unpreciseness. After completion of all
 tasks go back to your getaway car, switch to driver and drive into
 glory.

    After all this "frightening" facts, here are few, but only few
 tips:
- Buy/read all possible information about site, make a map, analize
 which info materials can be dropped, it would save cash. For
 example, don't buy safe mechanism pattern if you have an explosive
 expert! Restart game and with minimal expenses proceede to planing
 phase.
- Minimize your team, the boss can fix alarms very nice, pick lock
 here and there, good combination of skills is esential, blockheads
 can't do smart job.
- Some treasures are not avaible unless you bought info about them.
- Notice when smashing/ blowing up instead "gently" force opening
 can destroy swag.
- Make camera's time schedule on 3rd raid, for example in the
 entrance room camera is active from 1:20 (min:sec) to 1:29, then
 2:40-2:49 which means period is 1:20.
- To ensure safe gang's movement also make guard's time table, in
 Merchant he climbs on the 1st floor at 0:21, enters ground-floor in
 0:43, and in 1:27 he's up again, so period is 1:06.
- Final raid looks hard at the first glance, impossible on second
 but it isn't.
- For the end here is one of "higher technics" (pssst it's secret)!
 In the Art Gallery as I already mention, after raid completion
 amount of money left for the next raid is critical. So instead of
 elegant disabling of all alarms, fix only pressure one, do 
 "everything" but pictures and then synchronize gang to consciously
 activate alarm for pictures (by takeing them) more-less in the same
 time. Run away along with siren sound but police will be late.
 Result? Savings on alarm circuits and more adrenaline during
 finish.
