SPRINGSTER ---------- Introduction ------------ SPRINGSTER is the master of the magnificent maze! This maze, composed of 32 different planes, is filled with fabulous treasures, but is fraught with hidden dangers and deadly bad guys. The immensley valiable Maze Melon has been taken by the Maze Marauder and placed in the lowest plane of the maze. Springster must recover the melon and return it to the highest level. Required Equipment ------------------ - COCO 3 with 128K RAM - Televison or monitor - Joystick(s) Loading Instructions -------------------- 1. Power up system as usual. 2. LOADM then EXEC. Before the Game Begins ---------------------- 1. When you execute the game the screen displays the name of the game. To indicate that you are using an RGB monitor, push the right joystick to the left until the R starts to flash . If you are using a television set or a composite monitor, push the right joystick to the right until the C starts to flash; then press the fire button. If you are using a PAL type televison, you should select the RBG monitor option. 2. You will then be asked how many players will be participating in the game. Push the right joystick to the left or right until the 1 or 2 starts to flash and push the fire button. 3. Next the high score screen will appear. You will be asked what skill level you wish to play. Use the right joystick to make your choice, then press the fire button. NOTE: If the demonstration mode starts before you are able to make all your choices press the fire button. Playing the Game ---------------- You move Springster by moving the joystick in four directions on the plane, back and forth and left and right. Each plane is composed of 256 squares. Each square top may be at a height of 1 to 8. Springster can move from square top to sqaure top, but can only go down one height level at a time. The maze is a series of planes on which Springster travels. Springster moves from one plane to another by discovering the interplanar doorway (colored purple) and landing on it. Starting at plane one, Springster travels to successively higher numbered planes (deeper into the maze) until the coveted Maze Melon is located. Once the melon is taken (on planes 8, 16 0r 24 depending on the skill level selected), Springster moves back up through the planes until the Maze Melon is returned to the first plane. As you move around the plane, collect as many treasures as possible. To pick up treasues, simply land on the square where they are located. Bonus points may be accumulated by completing the plane before the hourglass in the upper left corner of the screen runs out. Square Tops ----------- The color of the tops of some of the squares will be different then the normal square top color. Given below are the characteristics of the different color squares : PURPLE - Purple squares are the doorways to the next plane. Landing on a purple square will automatically transfer you to the next plane, providing you have met all of the conditions required for the transfer. RED - Causes the passageways (purple squares) to the next plane to open. You must have the pot of gold in your possession when you touch the red square in order to cause the interplanar doorway to open. If the doorway has been closed by the assassin, you do not need to have the pot of gold in order to re-open the door. Hitting the fire button when you are holding the emerald ring and moving onto a red square will kill (ZAP) one blorc and force all of the other bad guys to move randomly until the ZAP timer runs out. GREEN - All bad guys on other green squares will be killed when Springster lands on a green square. You only land on green squares a certain number of times before they turn black. If you land on a permenant black square, you will die unless you have a flask. The green squares will blink when they are one hit away from turning black. When the hourglass has run out, the black squares will permanently revert to thier non-dangerous green color. DARK BLUE - Springster may reveal a hidden prize by landing on these squares. The new prize will appear randomly at a new square on the plane. Hitting the fire button when you are holding an enerald and just moving onto a dark blue square will cause the stomper to lose your trail and make all of the dark blue squares blink. The blinking will continue for several seconds during which time the stomper will not be able to follow you. LIGHT BLUE - Bad guys will enter the plane on these squares. Hitting the fire button when you are holding a candle and just moving onto a light blue square will make you invisable to all the bad guys except the hoodmaster. Inter-Planar Transition ----------------------- In order to move from plane to plane you must accomplish several feats. The doors which allow you to move to another plane are the purple colored squares. The purple squares are invisable (closed) until you get the pot of gold and take it to a red square which will cause the purple squares to become visable (doors open). In addition, you must collect all of the key treasures (sceptors, crowns, and diamonds) before you may pass through the door. The number of key treasures remaining to be collected is displayed immediatly to the right of the hourglass. This number may not always be the same as the number of visible key treasures since some of the treasures may be hidden. After you have activated the purple squares, you may notice that they occasionally close (are no longer purple ). This is caused by the assassin touching a dark blue square. You may not leave the lowest plane until you have gotten the Maze Melon. Treasures ---------- Several treasures may be found through the maze. Some of the treasures are initially hidden and can be revealed by having Springster on the correct dark blue square. Prize Points Effect ----- ------ ------ Jeweled crown 100 key treasure Emerald ring 200 makes stomper lose Springster's scent allows a Blorc to be Zapped. Scepter 300 key treasure Bag of gold 500 opens passageways Candle 800 allows Sprigster to become invisable Diamond 1000 key treasure* Flask 2000 protects Springster from death Maze Melon 5000 allows you to return from the bottom plane and leave plane 1. The diamond may only be collected when the purple square is activated. Found on plane 8 in skill level one, on plane 16 in skill level two and on plane 24 in skill level three. THE CANDLE: The Candle will allow you to become invisable to all creatures except hoodmaster. If you are holding a candle, moving onto a light blue square with the joystick button pressed will make you invisable. Be careful, though -- hoodmaster quickly calls one of his friends to life to help to catch Springster! The invisability cloak will last for several minutes or until you leave the screen. Springster's colors will change in order to indicate that he is invisable. THE EMERALD RING: When you are holding an emerald ring, moving onto a dark blue square while holding the joystick button down will confuse the Spring Stomper, and he will loose Springster's trail and move in circles until the dark blue squares stop blinking. Also, if you are holding an emerald ring and you move onto a red square while holding down the joystick button, you will immediatly ZAP (kill) one blorc, if any are alive, and you will start the timer. While the ZAP timer is active, all of the bad guys will move in a random manner and none of then will seek you. THE FLASK: The flask can save Springster when he would otherwise die. If you are holding a flask, and a bad guy attempts to kill Springster, the bad guy will be killed instead. THE POT OF GOLD: This is the key to moving from one place to another. By collecting this, then moving to a red square, the doorway(s) (purple squares) to the next plane will appear. BAD GUYS: The bad guys will attempt to prevent Springster from getting the Maze Melon and returning to the top of the maze. Initially, only the blorcs will seek out Springster. When the purple square is activated, however, the spring stomper will also actively seek out Springster. At the beginning of each new plane, some of the bad guys are chodsen at random and hidden. Spudman will cause these hidden bad guys to appear. When the hourglass timer runs out, any hidden bad guys will automatically begin appearing at the rate of about one per minute. Bad guys killed during the game will become hidden and may be resurrected by spudman and/or the hourglass effect. BLORC: Blocks Springster's path by moving into a square adjacent to him. If Springster is holding the pot of gold and a blorc attempts to move into Springster's square, the blorc will steal the pot of gold and randomly relocate it somewhere else in the plane. SRING STOMPER: Actively searches for Springster and will kill Springster if he collides with him. Normally, stomper will move randomly until he gets Springster's scent at which time he will follow the scent until he finds Springster. Springster may cause stomper to lose the scent if he uses the emerald ring or becomes invisable. ASSASSIN: Causes up/down doorways to close by landing on a dark blue square. The assassin will normally seek dark blue squares and will kill Springster if the two collide. HOODMASTER: When invisability is in use, hoodmaster will seek out Springster. Otherwise, he will move randomly. The hood will kill Springster if the two collide. SPUDMAN: Causes new bad guys to appear when he lands on a light blue square (the new bad guys will appear on other light blue squares). Springster may destroy spudman by colliding with him. WINNING THE GAME: When you collect the Maze Melon, return it to plane one and leave plane one, you will have won the game. By pressing the joystick button, you will be given the opportunity to prove yourself by venturing down into the maze to retrieve the Maze Melon again. Once you have mastered one particular skill level, it is suggested that you proceed to the next skill level which you may do once you have lost all of your lives. When the high score screen is displayed and you are being prompted to select a skill level, you may re-select the number of players desired by pressing the F2 key. The number of players selected will always be one if a demo game has started. SKILL LEVELS: There are three skill levels available in Springster. The first skill level is designed to introduce the player to the game and only eight planes will be accessable. Skill level two should be used to sharpen your skills and will give you access to 16 planes. Skill level three is for the master player and will allow you to travel through 24 planes. As you ascend from the bottom of the maze in skill level 3, the last 16 planes through which you travel will be completly new planes. As the skill level increases, several things will change : 1. The bad guys will move more rapidly 2. The hourglass will run out faster. 3. You will get more bonus points if you finish the plane before the hourglass runs out. 4. You will go deeper in the maze to find the Maze Melon. 5. The green square will take fewer touches before it blinks. PAUSE FEATURE: The game may be paused at any time while play is going on by pressing the F1 key. Play may be restarted by pressing F1 again. THE HOURGLASS: The hourglass is the master time keeper of the maze. When the hourglass runs out, the sands will turn black an you will recieve an audible alert. At that time, the bad guys will move more rapidly and any hidden or killed bad guys will start coming back to life at a rate of about one per minute. Should you complete the plane before the hourglass runs out, you will recieve 10 bonus points/skill level for each remaining grain of sand. The bonus will increase by 10 pionts for each increase in skill level. HIGH SCORES: The five highest scores will be displayed on the high scores screen. Immediately to the right of the high scores is either one,two or three asterisks which correspond to the skill level played when the high score was obtained. Hints ----- 1. What to do if the key treasure counter is not zero and I don't see any key treasures on the screen? This will only happen if some of the key treasures are hidden. You must go to all of the dark blue squares to find the hidden treasures. 2. I can't find the Maze Melon or the pot of gold! The melon and the pot of gold may also be hidden. Check out all of the dark blue squares to find them. 3. I have used the pot of gold and the purple squares are gone (the doors are closed). How do I reopen the closed doors? Once you have opened the doors, you may reopen them at any time (on the same plane) simply by going to a red square. You do not need another pot of gold to reopen the doors. 4. I have collected all of the key treasures and nothing happens when Springster touches a purple square. You are on the bottom plane and have not gotten the Maze Melon. If you cannot see it, it is hidden.