********* Welcome to Project 64! The goal of Project 64 is to preserve Commodore 64 related documents in electronic text format that might otherwise cease to exist with the rapid advancement of computer technology and declining interest in 8- bit computers on the part of the general population. Extensive efforts were made to preserve the contents of the original document. However, certain portions, such as diagrams, program listings, and indexes may have been either altered or sacrificed due to the limitations of plain vanilla text. Diagrams may have been eliminated where ASCII-art was not feasible. Program listings may be missing display codes where substitutions were not possible. Tables of contents and indexes may have been changed from page number references to section number references. Please accept our apologies for these limitations, alterations, and possible omissions. Document names are limited to the 8.3 file convention of DOS. The first characters of the file name are an abbreviation of the original document name. The version number of the etext follows next. After that a letter may appear to indicate the particular source of the document. Finally, the document is given a .TXT extension. The author(s) of the original document and members of Project 64 make no representations about the accuracy or suitability of this material for any purpose. This etext is provided "as-is". Please refer to the warantee of the original document, if any, that may included in this etext. No other warantees, express or implied, are made to you as to the etext or any medium it may be on. Neither the author(s) nor the members of Project 64 will assume liability for damages either from the direct or indirect use of this etext or from the distribution of or modification to this etext. Therefore if you read this document or use the information herein you do so at your own risk. ********* The Project 64 etext of the ~Shamus manual (Atari Version)~, keyed in by Michael E. Brown 10-Mar-1997, Retrieved from Morbid Guy's Atari 8-bit Manual Archive http://www.best.com/~morbid/manuals/shamus.txt Etexter's note: On my Atari 800XL I needed to run the Translator disk before I could run Shamus. Morbid's ed note: Regarding POD rooms, you must shoot the object in the center of the room (through the time-hole) in order to gain further access. SHAMUS10.TXT, September 1997, etext #288# ********* SHAMUS by William Mataga Shamus (c) 1983 by Synapse Software Atari is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc. LOADING SHAMUS For Cassette: Make sure you have a least 16K of memory, and have removedd the basic cartridge from the left hand slot. Insert the game cassette with SIDE A facing up. (This is the side with the label on it). Press the play button down on the cassette recorder. Press the (START) key on your computer as you turn on the power switch. After you hear the "beep" press (RETURN). SHAMUS will take approximately 4-5 minutes to load. If you should have any difficulty loading the program from SIDE a, simply flip over the cassette, making sure to rewind it and load the program from SIDE B. For Disks: Make sure that you have at least 16K of memory and that the BASIC cartridge has been removed. Insert the SHAMUS disk and simply boot it up. For Cartridges: Make sure you have 16K of memory. Plug the cartridge into the left hand slot, close the cover and turn on the computer. Starting the Game: To start playing press (START) at any time after the music begins. OBJECT OF THE GAME The object of the game is to reach the very core of SHADOW's lair and destroy him. This is accomplished by progressively exploring the various colored levels of the lair and accumulating the greatest number of points, bonuses and extra lives. In order to overcome all of the obstacles and dangers that infest the lair and triumph in the final battle with SHADOW you must familiarize yourself with all 32 room of each of the colored levels and retrieve the coreect colored keys for all of the passages. This is the only way to gain entry from one level to another. Unlike trxt adventure games, SHAMUS can only be mastered by a long and arduous training perios, in which your reflexes are sharpened to a point where you can deal with the incredible speed and viciousness of the attacks of the SHADOW and his henchmen. Shamus You are the SHAMUS. You may move in any of eight directions by using the joystick connected to JOYSTICK PORT 1. You may shoot your ION-SHIVS in any of eith directions by pressing the TRIGGER button on your JOYSTICK and then moving the stick in the desired direction. ION-SHIVS (Ionic-Short High Intensity Vaporizers) These weapons are banned in every part of the galaxy. They totally disintegrate any life form upon contact, unless shielded by Tri-Gamma body armor. CAUTION: You can only have TWO ION-SHIVS on the screen at any one time. Whirling Drones Never underestimate the ferocity of whirling drones. They are sneaky, and intensely sensitive to movement within the passages of the LAIR. They are armed with molecular disruptors. Robo-Droids Relatively slow moving semi-mechanical androids. These droids are methodical and never give up. They are also armed with distruptors. Snap-Jumpers These self-propelled annihilators, cannot "think". This feature however makes them all the more dangerous. They are a strange mutation who exist simultaneously, in two dimensions. They "snap" in and out of your time-space continuum and are therefore unpredictable and because of this quality extremely quick. Their speed makes them VERY DANGEROUS. The Lair The LAIR consists of four levels of thirty two rooms each. The colors in order of progressive difficulty are BLACK, BLUE, GREEN and RED. As you progress from one level to the next the action increases in speed to the insanely fast LEVEL RED. You gain extra points for completely clearing each room of intruders. Keys and Keyholes Each of the colored levels of the LAIR contains various colored keys which are paired with matching colored keyholes. These keys are picked up by SHAMUS by touching them. As they are touched they are displayed in the right hand bottom of the screen. When encountering a KEYHOLE of the matching color, SHAMUS merely makes contact with the keyhole and the wall retracts permitting you to proceed through the LAIR. If the wall does not drop you have not obtained the correct color coded key. You must retrace your way through the LAIR to find the key, otherwise you will not be permitted past the KEYHOLE. Extra Lives The current number of lives are displayed in the upper right hand corner of the screen. If you encounter a bubbling bottle in a room you need merely to touch it to obtain an extra life. You may accumulate as many extra lives as your skill allows. Question Marks By passing over these pulsating questions makrs you will invite either bonuses or disaster! The Shadow The arch-villian himself is constantly monitoring your activities in his LAIR (He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, etc.) Be extremely careful when you hear a low pitched pulsing being. This is a signal that SHADOW is about to enter the room. You cannot kill SHADOW since he wears TRI-GAMMA armor. You can however, stun him. He remains stunned only for a short time, after which you had better move quickly. Only in the deepest recesses of LEVEL RED will you find the answer to this puzzle! Pod Rooms These rooms exist in another dimension and there is only a small time window through which to gain entrance. Skill Levels There are four levels of play. These are selected by pressing the (SELECT) button. Each level is SUBSTANTIALLY more difficult than the last, so choose wisely. Playing Tips 1. Observe the various characteristics of your opponents, and take advantage of their weaknesses. 2. Practice, practice, practice. 3. Play with a friend who can keep track of where you are in the LAIR, while you fight for your life. 4. Retain your sense of humor! If anyone can overcome the SHADOW, only the SHAMUS can. Good luck!!!! SHAMUS Four levels on intense arcade action Requires Atari 800 or 400 with 16K and joysticks. You've finally made it. Your nerves and your guts tell you he's here... and the smell. The sickeningly sweet ordor of decomposing fruit; the SHADOW's trademark. Now all that's left... to find and destroy him before he returns the compliment. You didn't know it was going to be this hard. After all, it is the 21st century and your ION-SHIVS are probably the most dangerous weapons in this part of the galaxy. They can drop a fully screened sniffer-droid at 300 meters! Out of the corner of your eye, a small black shape darts up to the door and noiselessly enters the builing across the rocket pad. The memory of your last encounter with the Shadow jolts you, like a neuro-stunner set on max. Images of ROBO-DROIDS, that just don't know when to quit... dark, sneaky WHIRLING DRONES from a timeslip star system... and the lightening quick SNAP-JUMPERS, that fry you for looking at them cross-eyed, flicker through your mind. Still you've handled them before... The big boy himself, SHADOW, is the one you're after! As you silently enter the door coordinates into your teleporter, the scanner indicates that there are four colored levels of 32 rooms each, and every room is bristling with danger. You know it won't be a high school prom when you transport into the Shadow's lair, but there is no turning back. So with a grim chuckle, you reach for the bottle of Nervo-Stim and energize the transporter. You're ready as the Stim slides down warmly and your biosensors click into high gear! Tell the Shadow that SHAMUS is here! synapse (415) 527-7751 Shamus (c) 1983 by Synapse Software Atari is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc. ********* End Project 64 etext Shamus manual. *********