TORCH 2081

GAME DESCRIPTION

As a young pilot in the World Military Service your main concern was once the defence of your planet against the warriors of Craylon. Your new mission has become one of even greater challenge and difficulty.

Remnants of planets that were destroyed during the third interplanetary nuclear war, now only blazing fireballs, are bombarding the planet's surface and destroying its inhabitants. Being both young and bold you must try to the best of your ability to protect the surface of Torch.

The only available instrument for this task is an old 2042 SDG (Surface Defence Glider). It was designed for defence of the planet against the fire-power of the Craylon race, but you must use it to construct metallic panels ten miles above the planet surface increasing the structure of the Candor Shield.

Preservation of the species is up to you and may only be ensured by defending the surface against as many waves as possible until either the fireball fades or you perish. Wave after wave you must attempt to limit the flight area of the huge fireball by flying from panel to panel and edge to edge of your territory constructing new panels.

This task is not easy and the main fireball is not the only enemy you must face. Aside from the fireball and its deadly spitfires are the ever so fierce perimeter patrollers who trace the edge of new and old panels alike, in a berserk rage, seeking to destroy even you.

STARTING THE GAME

1. Plug a joystick into port 2 and turn on your Amiga.

2. Insert Kickstart 1.2 or newer into the internal drive.

3. When prompted for Workbench eject the Kickstart disk and insert the TORCH 2081 disk.

4. After the program loads, use the joystick to change the level of play (increasing or decreasing your rank). Select your choice by pressing the joystick button.

5. The game will now start.

HOW TO START

The object of the game is to shield a required percentage of your territory in order to advance to the next level. This is done by creating panels while avoiding the fireball, the spitfires, and the perimeter patrollers.

The player is capable of moving around the perimeter of the playfield and all the created panels at will, but must press the joystick button to construct a protective panel. The player cannot travel along the edges shared by panels.

Another constraint on the player is the limit on flight time, which of course is graphically displayed by a fuel gauge. One final note regards the construction line of the player. This construction line contains much energy and is very unstable.

If the player stands in any one place while constructing a panel the energy may become unstable and result in fusion of the player's glider.

ENEMIES

FIREBALL - The player's main opponent in the game. It is capable of travelling at many speeds and in many directions in an unpredictable fashion. It is known to purposely change direction or speed to elude the player.

The player is safe from this enemy while on the border, but is fair game during construction of the panels. Any contact between the fireball and the player or the player's construction line results in the loss of a glider.

SPITFIRE - An additional hazard created by the fireball. During the flight of the fireball, occasionally a spitfire is released from the core of the fireball. Seemingly with a mind of its own the spitfire follows a straight path toward the player. In the early levels death only results from direct contact with the player, but the spitfires later become more destructive.

PERIMETER PATROLLERS - Once protectors of the Candor Shield. These seemingly innocent crystals patrol all of the perimeters of the shield seeking to destroy any, and all, life.

SCORING

The player receives points for shielding areas of the playfield. A required percentage of the playfield must be covered before advancing to the next level.

Bonus points are awarded to the player for covering more than the required area of the playfield.

Points are also awarded for each unit of fuel remaining at the completion of a level.

A bonus glider is awarded every 10000 points.

BONUS LEVEL

Every fifth level is a bonus level in which two identical fireballs appear. The player must either separate the fireballs and increase the bonus multiplier, or capture both the fireballs and be awarded a new glider as well as receive bonus points. However, no multiplier will be awarded in this instance.

Additional bonus points are awarded here for each percent of the screen covered while attempting to complete the level. Rather than being awarded bonus points for the amount over threshold, points are awarded for all covered territories if the fireballs are separated.