BOOT OR DIE 1. Remove all peripherals and plug the joystick into either port. 2. (C128 owners: Put your computer in C64 mode.) Stick the Skate disk in the disk drive and turn it on. Turn on the computer and monitor. 3. At the READY prompt, type LOAD"EA",8,1 and press RETURN. If you have any troubles loading the game, disconnect any secondary peripherals (i.e., the fast loader, second disk drive, or printer) and try loading again. Commodore Key - Toggle sound on/off RUN/STOP - Abort current event and return to Rodney's Skate Shop. Joystick - Control movement or pointer or player*. Joystick button - Action button. Since this game comes on a bunch of different computers, we refer to the thing that controls movement as the "controller." The joy- stick gives you best control, so use one if you can. When we tell you to "click" on something, move the onscreen pointer onto it and hit the action button. IIgs Users: If you have two players, one has to use the keyboard while the other uses a joystick or mouse. Speed freaks -- set it on the fastest speed on the control panel for best performance; turning off the sound also makes the game run faster. HEEEEEERE'S RODNEY! After the title screen, you start out in the skate shop (where else?), because you need to register before you skate. Just click on the "Sign-In" clipboard, click the number you want, and then type in your name. Remove a name by clicking it, then typing over it or pressing the Spacebar. The Skate Shop is owned by Rodney, the dude behind the counter -- he's also Lester's dad (as if you couldn't tell by looking!). Move the pointer around in the Skate Shop and Rodney gives you hints on how to skate. You can also click specific areas (shown in the picture below) to do different things like see high scores or change your board color (after you sign-in of course). [ picture: trophey to right of Rodney is the list of high scores, in the lower left corner where it says Sign In is the Sign-in/Remove Skaters (Only in complete mode) sheet, The boards (one has an EA logo) in the upper right corner is where you can Change Your Board Color (Only in complete mode, and you must sign-in first) ] LET'S JAM You're in the Townsquare once you leave the Skate Shop (there's a picture of it below). Choose an event by skating down a path that's spray-painted with the event's name. You *do* know how to skate don't you? Just push your controller forward to move in the direction you're facing. Crank it right or left to go in one of those directions. Pull back to slow, or stop completely. You can also re-enter the Skate Shop if you want. Just ride your board right up the ramp and into the shop; Rodney doesn't care. [ picture: map of town, the center building is marked The Skate Shop Skater's Heaven. Additional information is available about the other events starting from the upper-left and working down counter-clockwise: * COMPETE ALL - Down this path to compete in all the events in sequence. (Compete-mode only.) Overall standings are: 1st Place=5 points, 2nd Place=3 points, 3rd Place=1 point. * JOUST - Down this path to compete in the Pool Joust (watch out for Lester!) * RACE - Down this path to run the deadly Downhill Race. * FREESTYLE - Down this path to show your style on the Freestyle ramp. * HIGHJUMP - Down this path to test your guts, endurance and strength on the Highjump ramp. * JAM - Down this path to Skate or Die in the Downhill Jam! EVENT STUFF OK, here's the royal scam for you soon-to-be ex-poseurs on all the events. That's right, events. The time for playing games is over. There are five events that you can skate individually, or in sequence with "Compete All." But you have to have two joysticks to "Compete All" against a buddy. If you don't have a buddy, we'll supply Lester. In tie situations, skaters that were first, second, or third place going into the tie, always win the tie. DOWNHILL JAM: Inner city, back alley blazin'. Pop soda cans, mash trash cans, bust a few bottles, crash flower pots and, hey, why not each other! You fight time and your buddy (if you ain't got one, we supply Lester) to reach the main street first. Careful though, there's a reception party waiting. The controls are like Downhill Race, with REGULAR and GOOFY foot options available. Oh yeah, this time clicking while leaning the controller does the clobberin' stuff. Click and lean *into the direction you're facing* to punch, either high, middle or low depeinding on where you're leaning the controller. Click and lean *away from the direction you're facing* to kick, either high, middle or low depending on where you're leaning the controlller. (The high and low combat moves are on the diagonals. The middle stuff is straight to the sides.) If you have an odd number of skaters in the "Compete All" mode, the odd guy skates against Lester. You won't get any bonus points if you skate longer than two and a half minutes on the C64 or four minutes on the Apple IIgs. (Note: The high score screen on the Apple IIgs will show "Downhill Raking" -- it's the same thing as "Downhill Jam".) DOWNHILL RACE: It's a quiet day in the park. No bratty kids. No construction workers. No park rangers. Prime time for thrashin'! Race against time and collect bonuses along the way. Skate under, through, on top of, over, and along any number of "opportunities." Pick your own style of controls on this one. REGULAR foot means pulling the controller back moves you down-hill, controller forward makes you slow or stop. Click and forward is a jump, click and back is a duck. Click and right/left does a "slide turn" (a fast way to cut a corner). GOOFY foot means you control the skater as if you're on the board. Moving the controller forward moves you down-hill, pulling back makes you slow or stop. The duck, jump and slide turn moves also work when you skate goofy. Try both styles to see which you like best. You won't get any bonus points if you skate longer than one and a half minutes on the C64 or four minutes on the Apple IIgs. FREESTYLE RAMP: There's a hundred feet of wood and steel, curved into a wide and smooth U-shape (see next illustration), just waiting for someone like you to pop some incredible moves. You start on the left platform, aching to boogie. Move the controller forward or back to choose your entry position. Sorry, no chanel drops. The channel is slam territory in this event. After you drop in, you'll have ten passes through the ramp, executing tricks at the left, right, or both ends. As you make a pass, click the button in the pump zones to increase your speed and to select a particular trick. You'll also need to lean the controller either *into* the direction you're going or *away from* the direction you're going. TRICK - # of Pumps Needed - Lean Controller Kickturn - None - Away from current direction Rock-n-Roll - None - Into the current direction (a click or lean drops you back into the ramp. Don't get too greedy with the timing) Footplant - One - Away from current direction Rail Slide - One - Into current direction (move controller forward or back when on the platform to rail slide. A click or lean drops you back into the ramp.) Handplant - Two - Away from currect direction (you get a bonus for holding this move...up to a certain point!) Ollie Air - Two - Into current direction (rotate in the air by leaning the controller left or right -- opposite direction to stop spin. 180,360,or 540!) Aerial - None, One or Two - No lean (rotate in the air by leaning the controller left or right -- opposite direction to stop spin. 180,360,540 or 720!!) Remember, one click in a pump zone counts as one pump. To get two pumps in a pass, pump once in *each* pump zone. Over-the-channel aerials score big, as does executing a wide range of tricks end to end. Gettin' stoked? Try tweeking your aerials by clicking in mid- air! Sound complicated? Ain't no better way to learn than to pull up your pads and GO SKATE! [ picture: skate ramp showing the two checkerboard-shaded zones on the ramp to be Pump Zones, the edge to the left where you first stand to be the Platform, and the dip in the middle of the left ridge to be the Channel (also the Canyon). HIGH JUMP: Sheer guts event. No two ways about it. Go fast to get high. While you're in the ramp, move the controller rapidly in any direction to build speed -- but you can take a breather while you're in the air if you want. You get a maximum of five passes on the *right* side where the height marker is. Of course, you don't have to wait all five passes. To actually go for it and record the attempt, click the button *at the highest point* of your jump. If you time the click just right, your tweek will add a few inches. If not, it's time to bail. ** POOL JOUST: An empty pool, a sunny day, and a boffing stick. Skate heaven! Rules are simple. Two go in, one comes out. It's a rad new twist on the game of tag. You get five passes to get your opponent, then he takes the boffing stick and the tables are turned -- you're *it*. First one to get three slams on the other guy wins, *but* you gotta win buy two. There can only be one winner. If you have more than one skater in "Compete All" mode, then a round-robin determines the lone winner. The controls are a simplified version of Ramp Freestyle, with Rock-n-Rolls, Rail Slides, Kickturns, and Ollies. No pumping needed cause this time a click readies the boffing weapon for action. You can only hit the other guy when your stick is flashing, so think and act quick. Now we'd like you to meet a few of our local pals (if you can't find your own to joust with.): Poseur Pete Just wants to look for the betties. Don't let him worry you. He's a good one to go against if you're still learning your moves. Aggro Eddie Knows how to blaze in a pinch. Eddie is good competition for most rakers. Lester Deadly. Nothing sketchy about this guy, his old man, Rodney, taught him how to thrash. SKATELINGO AERIAL: Any move which causes all the wheels of the board to be off the ground at the same time. BACKSIDE-AIR: An arcing aerial in which the skater faces the ground with his back to the sky. BAIL: When you abort your trick and prepare to fale. BETTIES: Women. BIO: To skate good or radical. COPING: The rounded top edge of a ramp or pool. DROP IN: To roll into the pool or ramp from a standing start. FOOTPLANT: A move in which the skater launches into the air with one foot while keeping the other foot on the ground. FRONTSIDE-AIR: The opposite of "Backside-air." HANDPLANT: A one-handed handstand performed while the skater holds the board with his hands. KICKTURN: A very simple, very basic move in which the skater forces the tail of the board down, lifting the nose, in order to turn or spin. OLLIE: An aerial performed without the skater grabbing the board with his hands. RAIL SLIDE: A Rock-n-Roll done while sliding the board along the edge of the ramp. ROCK-N-ROLL: This is any move performed which balances the board so that each pair of wheels is on a different side of the object the skater is balanced upon, doing a kickturn and rides back. Usually the object is the coping of the ramp or pool. SKETCHY: Skating with uncertainty, or generally, poor skating. SLAM: You figure it out.