BLOCKBUSTER by Mindscape

GETTING STARTED

1. You must use the mouse only in port 0.
2. Insert the Blockbuster disk, label side up, into the disk drive.
3. Turn on the monitor or TV, and the computer.
4. Press the left mouse button to start the game.

PLAYING THE GAME

Trapped by a myriad of walls, you must destroy them one brick at a time.
Meddling aliens fall from the sky to deflect your shots and get in the way.
Collect the tokens released from special bricks to purchase weapons that
can help you break down the wall. Once you have broken through the first
wall, you only have 79 more to go!

Memorize the passwords that appear after every 10 screens. Before you
start the game, type in a password to jump to more advanced screens.
Design up to 48 of your own screens with the built-in Screen Designer. Add
bonuses, indestructible bricks, lots of aliens, or a crazy design to make
them as challenging or as simple as you want.

GAME CONTROL

Use the mouse to control the bat. Press the left mouse button to launch
the ball and use weapons. Press the right mouse button to select and
implement weapons.

BREAKING DOWN THE WALL

Press the left mouse button to start the game, then press it again to
launch the first ball (after 2 seconds the ball will be launched
automatically). Move your bat to the left or right to hit the ball against
the bricks at the top of the screen. Most bricks can be destroyed with a
single hit from the ball. There are also multi-hit bricks which must be
hit several times to be destroyed. Other bricks are indestructible or
invisible and must be destroyed using one of the weapons purchased with
collected tokens.

Once you have destroyed all the bricks, you can proceed to the next screen
and another wall of bricks.

You start the game with 5 balls; if you miss a ball, you lose it. The
direction the ball bounces after it is hit depends on where it lands on the
bat. If the ball lands on the left end of the bat, it will go to the left.
Before you launch the ball, or while using the Magnet weapon, you can
adjust its position on the bat by pressing the right mouse button or the
weapon selector key.

ALIENS

Aliens roam around the screen as you try to break down the wall. Although
they are generally harmless, they can interfere by deflecting the ball.
Some aliens drop small stun bombs. If one of these hits the bat, you are
paralysed for about a second. Aliens are destroyed on contact with either
the ball or the bat. Each alien you destroy is worth 100 points.

TOKENS AND WEAPONS

Some bricks release U-shaped tokens that fall to the ground. Collect the
tokens by catching them with the bat. The tokens can be used to purchase
weapons. Any unspent tokens at the end of a successfully completed screen
are worth 1000 points each (maximum 9000 points).

The 9 weapons are represented by icons at the lower right of the screen. A
white square around the icon indicates which weapon is currently available
for purchase. Select a weapon by pressing the right mouse button or weapon
selector key. All weapons, except the Torch, are lost when you lose a ball
or when you finish a screen.

You can use more than one weapon at a time. For instance, you can use
Magnet and Wide together. However, certain weapons will not work in
conjunction with other weapons. You cannot use the Magnet and the Divide
weapons at the same time, and the Laser and Missile will not work together,
either. For instance, if you are using the Magnet weapon and select the
Divide weapon, you will lose the Magnet weapon and switch to the Divide
weapon.

-> Slowdown - 1 token
Reduces the speed of the ball to 75% of its current speed. Can be
selected several times after collecting more tokens.

-> Magnet - 2 tokens
Allows you to catch and hold the ball. Press the left mouse button to
launch the ball.

-> Divide - 3 tokens
Splits the ball into 3 balls.

-> Wide - 4 tokens
Enlarges the bat (the extension is not vulnerable to alien stun bombs)

-> Torch - 5 tokens
Lights up invisible bricks.

-> Laser - 6 tokens
Press the left mouse button to fire a laser bolt. Laser bolts will
pass through rows of bricks. Be careful though, some bricks reflect
laser bolts back to the bat.

-> Smart bomb - 7 tokens
All aliens are removed from the screen and do not reappear. Activate
the bomb by pressing the right mouse button or the weapon selector
key.

-> Missile - 8 tokens
You are given 3 missiles which can be launched, one at a time, by
pressing the left mouse button. Missiles are able to destroy multi-
hit bricks with a single hit.

-> Force Field - 9 tokens
A force field encircles the ball, allowing it to smash through aliens
and rows of bricks without being deflected. When surrounded by the
force field the ball can pass through, but not destroy, indestructible
bricks.

SCORING AND BONUSES

The color of a brick determines the number of points scored (from 5 to 75)
when it is destroyed. Aliens are worth 100 points. At the end of a
successfully completed screen, unspent tokens are worth 1000 points each,
up to a maximum of 9000 points.

Extra balls are awarded for each 50,000 points scored.

On some screens you can earn bonus points by destroying, IN ORDER, bricks
marked with the letters B-O-N-U-S.

PASSWORDS

Passwords will allow you to skip sets of screens you have mastered, and
proceed to the advanced screens. After completing a set of 10 screens, a
password will be displayed. Memorize the password so that in future games
you can skip that set of screens. Then the next time you start a game,
type in the password on the title screen. The program will check the
password and the game will start with the next level of screens.

PAUSING AND QUITTING

Press any key to pause and resume the game. Quit the game at any time by
pressing ESC. The high score table will appear at the end of the game.
Enter your name by typing your name.

DESIGNING YOUR OWN SCREENS

There are 48 user-definable screens (81-128).

1. Access the Screen Designer by holding down the RETURN key while the
game is loading.

2. To access the built-in help screen, press the HELP key.

3. Use the 4 arrow keys to move the cursor around the screen, and press
the space bar to place a brick on the screen.

4. Use the - or + keys to cycle through the available colors. To change a
color of an existing brick, position the cursor over the brick and select a
different color.

5. To erase a brick, position the cursor over the brick and change the
color to black.

6. After placing a brick, add special features (such as Laser Reflection
or Bonus Points) to the bricks by pressing the corresponding key (listed
below).

7. To set the difficulty level of the screen, press RETURN to go to the
Parameter Screen. Type in the value of the parameter when prompted. Use
the up and down arrow keys to cycle through the parameters. Press RETURN
when you are done setting the parameters.

8. Press CLR/HOME to design the next screen. Press INSERT to return to
the previous screen.

9. Press F1 to save the screens you have designed to the program disk.

10. After you have saved your screens, reboot the computer and load the
game. To load your screens, type the password USER on the title screen.
Play then starts with screen 81.

SPECIAL BRICK FEATURES

After you have placed a brick, press any of the following keys to add the
features you want. A brick can have more than one feature, but cannot be
both Multi-hit and indestructible.

M Multi-hit bricks
I Indestructible bricks
R Reflect lasers
B,O,N,U,S Bonus bricks (you can use all letters for bonus points)

To create invisible bricks you do not need to place a brick first. Simply
position the cursor where you would like to have an invisible brick and
press M, I or R.

SETTING DIFFICULTY LEVELS

Make each screen as easy or as difficult as you want by setting the
parameters listed below.

initspd The initial speed of the ball, in the range of 4 to 16.

maxspd The maximum speed of the ball, in the range of 4 to 16.

aliens There are 8 alien types. Up to 6 aliens are allowed on any
screen at any one time.

bombs The rate at which aliens drop stun bombs, in the range of 0
to 8.

to kill The number of times a multi-hit brick must be hit before
being destroyed.

accel The acceleration of the ball, in the range of 0 to 8. The
ball speeds up when it hits a brick.

tokens The number of tokens hidden randomly in bricks, up to 99
per screen. There can be only one token per brick, so the
number of tokens cannot be greater than the number of
bricks.

speedup When the number of bricks on the screen falls to this
figure the ball speeds up whenever it hits anything on the
screen.

End...........