INTRODUCTION: "Good evening ladies and gentlemen... ...and welcome to a packed Ballistix ballpark here today. The atmosphere is positively electric as these two fine players take the field to begin what is certain to be one of the most entertaining and gripping games of the year. ...and they're away! And Player 1 has immediately gone on the attack, bombarding the ball straight down the field and...oh my goodness! Just as he was about to score the ball's vanished into one of the many pipes on today's pitch. Touch of bad luck that, eh Jimmy? Now the ball's popped out of the pipe right in to Player 2's lap. And he's showing some very silky skills as he cannons the ball round the acid pool, off the bumpers and deep into enemy territory. Yes, it's a magnificent goal! From the kick-off it's Player 2 on the attack again. And there's a struggle here as the ball is swinging about in a trough, it's not clear who's going to win possession. It's out, and that magnet means it's Player 1 on the ball. He's driving it forward now, he's just got himself a bonus shield, protecting his own goal., he's played the ball down a hyperspace tunnel, it's out, he's in position and blasting forwards again, and now the red arrows have taken effect and the ball is being played at unimaginable speed, but it's still Player 1 with the advantage, he's deep inside enemy territory, but the ball's hit a splitter and pow!! There are 16 balls all over the show now, this is amazing stuff, Player 1's still got it though and...and... he's scored, it's in the net, it's incredible, I've never seen a goal like it. Ballistix has just got to be one of the most staggering games I've ever seen, eh Jimmy?......." ...now turn the page and REALLY give Brian something to talk about! LOADING INSTRUCTIONS You need two joysticks for the two player game. For the one player option, insert a joystick into the second joystick port. Once the game has loaded and the title screens will appear. Press [F1] for one player game and [F3] changes to 2 player game. Cycle through the Level Selection screen by pressing space. Change the settings by moving your joystick, fire will start the game. Full instructions on how to configure and play the game appear on the following pages. THE LAWS OF THE GAME Ballistix is a game of skill between two players. Each player attempts to blast balls at the puck and cannon it into his opponent's goal. In addition, there is a one-player option where the pitch is tilted towards your own goal. If you want to get onto the pitch straightaway, simply select a one or two player game on the Level Selection screen by pressing 1 or 2. Press the fire button or the left-hand mouse button at any time to begin play. You can also adjust which game level you start on at this point by moving the joystick left or right. There are 50 levels in the one-player game and 80 in the two-player game. All the levels are different and the pitches in the one-player game are not the same as those in the two player game. Note that you cannot enter all levels from the level selection screen, some can only be played by winning through earlier screens first. If you take no action at this stage, the program will proceed to cycle through the Option Screens and will enter demo mode. To exit from demo mode, wait until a game is in progress and then press F10. Unlike other games, Ballistix allows you to re-program the game-play according to your own particular taste. These options are presented on the two Option Screens. Once you have selected one or two players, you may - instead of pressing the fire-button or left-handed mouse button - move on to the Option Screens by pressing the spacebar. Once you have made your choices from the two option screens, press the fire-button/left-hand mouse button to begin play. Note that pressing the spacebar at this point will return the program to demo mode, showing the effects on gameplay of the selections you have made. Options are selected by moving the joystick forwards and backwards, and the alternative values for each option are entered by moving the joystick left and right. The options available are as follows: OPTION SCREEN ONE FIRE FROM ARROW/AT SIGHT In FIRE FROM ARROW mode, the balls are blasted at the puck from the position currently occupied by the player's arrow-cursor. In FIRE AT SIGHT mode, the balls are blasted from the player's goal mouth to the position occupied by the player's sight-cursor when the fire-button was pressed. NOTE: In FIRE AT SIGHT mode during two-player games, ensure that BALL LIFE SPAN (see below) is set to a high value, otherwise you risk stranding the puck in a central position where neither player can move it, since the balls will 'die' before they can travel the distance from goal-mouth to puck. BALL SPEED 1-8 Determines the speed at which balls travel across the pitch. BALLS 2-18 (even values only) Determines the number of balls available to players during the game. Balls 'die' when they have exceeded their life-span on the pitch (see below) or when they are collected in pockets at each end of the pitch. Note that in a one player game all dead balls are returned to the player immediately in a two player game, they are divided between the players according to their position when they die. If, in a two-player game, all balls accure to one player, the other player may not fire until either (a) his opponent has fired some balls that transfer to him or (b) his opponent delays firing for a few seconds, after which all balls are then instantly transferred to the other player as a penalty. AUTO REPEAT 0-9 Determines the rate at which balls are fired when the fire-button is kept depressed. A value of zero means that the button must be pressed repeatedly to fire each ball individually - useful for precision play. OPTION SCREEN TWO BALL LIFE SPAN 1-9 Determines the length of a ball's 'life' on the pitch. Balls are removed from the pitch and placed in one of the player's ball parks either when they die or when they are collected in pockets at the ends of the pitch. ARROW POWER 0-9 Many pitches feature arrows which accelerate the ball in the indicated direction. The force of acceleration can be adjusted using this feature. GOALS TO WIN 1-5 Each game is played across a single pitch until one player wins the number of goals specified here. GAMES TO WIN 1-9 Each match is played over a set number of games. In a two-player match, the pitch is changed after each game until one player has the required number of wins. In the one-player match, the pitch is changed after each player win, but the game terminates if the computer wins ANY game! Exploring the later screens of the one-player game is a challenge only for the toughest players! If the ball becomes "Stuck" the RETURN Key will "Rock" the pitch to release the ball back into play. TIPS FOR BEGINNERS Ballistix is a game of skill and like any sport requires practice before you can put yourself at the top of the high-score table. Start by selecting different play options to get a feel for their effects on gameplay. A good tactic for novice players is to fire from the arrow, set the ball speed near maximum, the ball life span at around 5, arrow power at 1, auto-repeat at 9, and the number of balls at maximum. Remember to keep an eye on your score as well as your opponent's goal. You can gain score bonuses during the game by various means, including collecting letters to spell the word RICOCHET. Watch out for them!