********* 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. If you would like to help by converting C64 related hardcopy documents to electronic texts please contact the manager of Project 64, Cris Berneburg, at pcgeek@compuserve.com. 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 Uridium manual, American edition, converted to etext by Sir Rufus The Hack Rat , obtained from Rufus' Doc Library, http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/8870/emu_lib.html URIDAM10.TXT, April 1997, etext #183. ********* Uridium Your Mission The solar system is under fierce attack. A squadron of formidable enemy Super-Dreadnought ships, needing mineral fuel to power their interstellar unit is draining the mineral resources from all 15 planets in your galactic sector. Each Super-Dreadnought, in orbit around one planet, is mining a special metal. This irreversible mineral depletion must be stopped immediately, or it will destroy all planet life. Your mission is to repel the enemy attack with your special Manta fighter. Completely. Quickly. Decisively. The odds against you are enormous because you are the lone remaining defender of this planetary sector. Your ultimate goal is to annihilate all 15 Super-Dreadnoughts and accumulate as many points as possible. If you complete all 15 levels-and only the best pilots will even come close-you qualify for a special offer for a Uridium emblem (see the order form at the end of this manual). You begin the game with three lives. If you fail to destroy the Dreadnought after three chances, the game ends. If you destroy a Dreadnought, your Man fighter will be transported to the next planet, and you will receive an additional life. Your mission there will be the some: destroy the Super-Dreadnough in orbit. But be warned: As you move from one level to the next, the enemy becomes more deadly. Uridium can be played with one or two players. In a two-player game, the players alternate turns. Player 1 pilots his or her Manta fighter through one life or turn. Then Player 2 takes a turn, and so on. As in the one-player game, each player begins the game with three lives. Each player tries to accumulate a higher score than the other. Destroying a Super-Dreadnought As the game begins, your Manta fighter blasts off from the intergalactic teleporter, An enemy Dreadnought looms nearby. Begin your strafing run, First, destroy the waves of fighters that defend the Dreadnought. When most of the Dreadnought defenses have been eliminated, you will see a "Land now" message in the upper right part of the screen. While the message flashes, find and land on the Dreadnought master runway, which is on the right end of the Dreadnought. Fly flat over the end of the runway from left to right to land. Once you land, you will pass into the fuel rod chamber. Here you complete the destruction of the ship and add to your point total. In front of you will be a pyramid of flashing lights. Press the button on your joystick or mouse at the exact moment when the indicator with the bonus number is lit up, Then move to the next level of lights and try for more bonus points, but be careful to select "Quit" before the countdown at the top of the screen reaches zero. Once you select "Quit" in the fuel rod chamber, your Manta will take off, and the Dreadnought will vaporize, Strafe any remaining surface targets as the enemy ship vaporizes. In a moment, you will be transported to the next planet, where you must attack another enemy Dreadnought. Operating Your Manta Fighter Your Manta is a highly advanced fighter equipped with sophisticated laser weapons. It can fly up, down, right, or left. It can do half-loops, 90-degree rolls, and can reverse directions immediately See the Reference Card for specific flying instructions. The Manta is faster and more maneuverable than the enemy fighters, but there are many waves of enemy fighters. The Manta has unlimited fire power but shoots only in the direction in which you are flying. Enemy Weapons Each Super-Dreadnought is equipped with at least two types of defensive weapons: fighters and homing mines. Waves of fighters patrol the airspace above each Dreadnought. When you make a strafing run across the Dreadnought, the fighters will fire at you. The best way to destroy the fighters is to sneak up behind them and fire. But be careful when chasing the fighters; you may forget to watch where you are going and crash into a communications aerial or meteor shield on the Dreadnoughf. When you fly over flashing generaf or ports, homing mines may lock onto your flight pattern and blow up the Manta. If you hear a telltale bleeping sound, you'll know that a mine has been launched in your direction. These mines have a limited life span, though, and can be avoided with some deft flying maneuvers. Some Dreadnoughts also carry an offensive weapon: special ships that attack the Manta. You will encounter these once you reach the third or fourth Dreadnought, on the surface of each Dreadnought are meteor shields and communications aerials. If the Manta hits one of these surface features, it will crash. To reach the master runway on each Dreadnought, you will have to maneuver around these obstacles. Scoring You accumulate points in several ways: by destroying fighters, surface features, and fuel rods on each Dreadnought. Special bonus points are awarded for destroying all fighters in a wave and after each 10,000 points you accumulate. Points are awarded as follows: Points 10 Small exploitable surface feature 25 Large exploitable surface feature 100 Enemy ship on runway 100-1000 Enemy fighter 100 Wave annihilation bonus (destroying all fighters in the wave) Hall of Fame If your score is high enough, your name will be added to the pilots' Hall of Fame. ********* End of the Project 64 etext of the Uridium (American) manual. *********