Speedball
Copyright/Publisher: Mirrorsoft, Produced by: Image Works, Bitmap Brothers & Pantheon Software,
Music By: David Whittaker, Release Year: 1989, Genre: Weird Sports, Number Of Players: 1 or 2

THE PITCH
The game takes place on a steel walled floored pitch,160 feet long by 90 feet wide. The walls are 30 feet high. There is a goal at each end of the pitch and a ball warp tunnel in each side of the wall. Throwing the ball into the tunnel causes it to reappear on the opposite side.

The ball launcher, in the center of the pitch, rises at the start of each game, rotates, then shoots out the ball in a random direction. There are bounce domes, off of which the ball will be deflected, but over which players are free to move. These appear in different formats for each match.

TEAM SELECTION
You have a choice of one of three possible teams to represent.These differ in skill and stamina.In two player mode, each player must choose a team.

DEMO GAME
Computer vs Computer. Press the fire button to exit the demo.

ONE PLAYER KNOCKOUT
Human vs Computer. Your team wears green and is playing up to pitch. You take part in a knockout game based on 10 rounds. The object being to reach the final and win.

The opposing teams will become more difficult as the rounds progress. Each round is the best of 3 matches. You get 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for losing. To qualify for the next round, you need to score 3 points. However, if you gain 3 points in the first and second legs you will be kept informed of your progress and requirements before the start of each match.

TWO PLAYER GAME
Human vs Human. Player one controls the green team playing up the pitch, Player two controls the red team playing down the pitch. You will be asked to select the duration of the league from 10-100 weeks. Before each game you will be kept informed of your current status. You score 100 points for a win, 20 for a draw and 5 for each goal.

LEAGUE GAME
Human vs Computer. This game is played in a league system with scores of 100 points for a win, 20 for a draw and 5 for each goal. There are 11 teams in the league, including yours. After selecting the duration of the league, you play each week of the league as in the knockout game. Your opposing teams are drawn randomly, so you will meet teams of different skills throughout the league.

At the end of each week, the computer will analyse the results of the matches played by the other teams that week and compile the current league. Your team name will be shown flashing in the table. Each week consists of 5 matches, 10 teams play each week, your team will not play in week 11.

SAVING A GAME
Make sure that you have a totally free disk-as any existing data on a disk will be lost. The type of game you have just been playing will automatically be saved, however the disk will save one each of a knockout, league and two player game. Any existing game of this type will be overwritten, so be careful! An un-formatted disk will automatically be formatted. If the save fails, check for write protect or try another disk.

LOADING A SAVED GAME
Simply insert your disk in to the drive and choose the correct loading option.

CONTINUE GAME
This option allows you to continue playing a previously saved game.

CONTROLLING THE TEAM
To throw the ball, press the fire button. A very short press will throw the ball at waist height, but if the fire button is held down it will be thrown high up into the air, passing over the heads of the players. Therefore it is possible to throw the ball too high to enter the tunnels and goal mouths.

If your player doesn`t have possession of the ball, but it is in the air near him,pressing the fire button will make him jump into the air and attempt to catch it. If the fire button is pressed down when your player doesn`t have the ball, then he will attempt to tackle an opposing player. If he is moving and the fire button is pressed, he will slide. This last tactic can be used to tackle an opponent or to move faster to intercept the ball.

THE GOALKEEPER
The goalkeeper is controlled by the joystick when he is visible. With the joystick in a central position, pressing the fire button will cause him to jump up and punch the ball.

As soon as he touches the ball, he will automatically thrown it out towards the centre of the pitch (either straight, or diagonally left/right, depending on his movement when he gains control of the ball).

TACKLING
Your tackle may or may not be successful, this depends on your skill level (shown in your team info before a game starts-see attributes).If you win the tackle, your opponent will lose some stamina, depending on your strength (see attributes).

Also, the losing player will be sent into an uncontrolled roll and will be unable to do anything for a couple of seconds. If the losing player is the goalkeeper, he will not be able to save the ball for a couple of seconds-remember this!

A successful tackle will result in you taking control of the ball. You can tackle any player at any time, there are no fouls and no rules in this game! However, you are vulnerable when in the air and will always lose a tackle, irrespective of your own or your opponent`s skill.

ATTRIBUTES
Strength:
The stronger your team, the more stamina they take from your opponents when tackling.

Stamina:
As your stamina is depleted, your team gets slower and cannot throw the ball as far, or with as much power. Your stamina is replenished to a maximum level at the start of each game. The small meters at the bottom left and right of the screen, depict the current players stamina.

Skill:
The higher your skill level the more successful your team will be in tackling.

TOKENS
During the game, tokens will appear, move your player over them to pick them up. There are two types of tokens:
The [SAVE and COLLECT] type, which are the rotating discs. These are saved and can be used at the end of each match to select various options from the following list:

OPTIONS - [TOKENS] - RESULT
Bribe official [2]
Buy an extra minute game time for previous game. (This can only be done once per game).

Extra stamina [3]
Increase your maximum strength level.

Bribe Timer [3]
Increase the length of time the immediate effect tokens last.(10 stage countdown).

Bribe Trainer [4]
Reduce computers intelligence (not 2 player).

Extra skill [4]
Increase your tackling ability.

Reduce stamina [4]
Reduce opponent`s stamina.

Extra Power [6]
Increase your strength.

Reduce skill [6]
Reduce opponent`s tackling ability.

Bribe Ref [6]
Buy a one goal advantage for the next game, or the previous game if you also buy extra time.

Reduce power [7]
Reduce your opponent`s strength.

The changes to the attributes will be shown before a match. Note the changes to the opponent`s attributes in a two player game are permanant, but in a one player game affect the oppositon for the current round.

The [Immediate Effect] type, which are rotating tiles that will have an immediate effect when picked up, depending on the letter on the tile:
[F] - Freeze the opposing team (except for the goalie) for a 10 stage countdown.

[R] - Reduce the opposing team`s speed for a 10 stage countdown.

[P] - Protect your team,(ie. can`t be tackled) for a 10 stage countdown.

[S] - Increase your team`s stamina.

[D] - Decrease your opponent`s stamina.

[G] - Get the ball if not already in possession of it.

[E] - Electron: Bolt of energy that will tackle any opponent it hits for a 10 stage countdown.

[W] - Turn the ball into a weapon for a period. When thrown it will tackle an opposing player for a 10 stage countdown.

[M] - 8 way electron burst for a 10 stage countdown.

[J] - Reverse opponent`s joystick control for a 10 stage countdown (two player game only). The computer cannot use these weapons.

During a game:
[RUN/STOP]- Pause Game
[F3]- Quit. This will end the league/knockout and will not give you an opportunity to save the game.