WELCOME TO FIREPOWER ! There are three modes of play in FIREPOWER, you have chosen: JOYSTICK VS. COMPUTER In this mode of FIREPOWER your adversary is the computer. One joystick is required (in the second joystick port). In this mode the playing screen is larger than in the two player modes and the STATUS WINDOW is located along the right side. After you read these instructions you will be prompted to pick your tank. There are three tanks to choose from. Each has its own characteristics and specifications. Make your selection by pressing the joystick to the left, right or center. Press the firebutton while holding your selection. GAME PLAY The goal of FIREPOWER is to find the enemy's flag and return it to your base. The game begins with your tank sitting in a garage at your base. Drive forward and your tank will come out of the garage and become visible (refer to JOYSTICK CONTROLS at the end of this document). If you remain stationary at any location for too long, the enemy will locate you and attack with helicopters. It is possible for your tank to get stuck when driving through rubble or other projections from the ground. Moving in the reverse direction will usually solve this problem. THE STATUS WINDOW SCORE: You gain points by destroying your enemy's helicopters, men and fortresses. You also gain points by saving your own men and returning them to a First-Aid Station (marked with a red cross). MEN: The number in this window indicates the number of your men you have on board your tank. You pick up your men by stopping when they run up to your tank. If the tank is moving, the men will be killed. After you have taken on the maximum amount of men, your own men will not attempt to run up to your tank. You unload your men by stopping on the right hand side of the First-Aid Station. Your men will then exit the tank and run into the Station. FUEL: Each tank starts with a full load of fuel. The fuel load is consumed as the tank drives from place to place. Additional fuel can be acquired by finding and destroying your enemy's fuel depots, (A large dome connected diagonally to a smaller dome), also by returning to your garage. If your tank exhausts its fuel, it will explode to prevent the enemy from taking abandoned tanks on the battlefield. LIVES: You start with 5 lives, new lives can be obtained by rescuing 15 of your men. RADAR: In the center you will see a light brown dot representing your tank. All enemy vehicles including helicopters and the enemy's flag are represented by light green dots. JOYSTICK CONTROL The joystick controls in FIREPOWER are absolute, so that if you are facing up and you would like to drive to the left, all you need to do is push the joystick to the left and hold it there. If you are facing left and you would like to back up, press the joystick to the right (the opposite direction). SOME HINTS Keep track of the direction of your home base, as you will have to return there with your enemy's flag in order to win the game. The gun turrets on both fortresses only have eight positions. The turrets can fire at a 45 degree angle, but not at 25 degrees. Thus they are vulnerable to a well-positioned attack. In addition, the turrets are programmed not to shoot in any direction that might damage other portions of its own fortress. Thus, if your tank is well positioned, the enemy turrets will not fire on you when your tank is in close proximity to other vulnerable parts of its fortress. Good luck, and capture the Flag! JOYSTICK VS. MODEM In this mode of FIREPOWER your adversary is an other person using a different computer connected by a modem, either over the telephone line, or in the same room. One joystick is required (in the second joystick port). The mouse is used to make special modem selections. The playing screen is divided into two parts, one side for your viewing screen and the other side for the modem screen and controls. The status window is at the bottom of the screen. In this mode the tank has been selected for you. GAME PLAY The goal of FIREPOWER is to find the enemy's flag and return it to your base. The game begins with your tank sitting in a garage at your base. Drive forward, your tank will come out of the garage and become visible (refer to joystick controls at the end of this document). If you remain stationary at any location for too long, the enemy will locate you and attack with helicopters. It is possible for your tank to get stuck when driving through rubble or other projections from the ground. Moving in the reverse direction will usually solve this problem. THE STATUS WINDOW SCORE: You gain points by destroying your enemy's tanks, helicopters, men and fortresses. You also gain points by saving your own men and returning them to a First-Aid Station (marked with a red cross). MEN: The number in this window indicates the number of your men you have aboard your tank. You pick up your men by stopping when they run up to your tank. If the tank is moving, the men will be killed. After you have taken on the maximum amount of men, your own men will not attempt to run up to your tank. You unload your men by stopping in front of a First-Aid Station, on the right hand side. Your men will then exit the tank and run into the Station. MINES: Mines are symbolized on the STATUS WINDOW by a gray disk with a slash. The number indicates the number of mines remaining in your tank. By bringing the tank to a complete stop, then simultaneously pressing the fire button and pulling down on the joystick mines are dropped. Beware, the mines are proximity mines and will explode when anything gets near them, including your tank. You can acquire 1 extra mine for each 5 of your own men you rescue. FUEL: Each tank starts with a full load of fuel. The fuel load is consumed as the tank drives from place to place. Additional fuel can be acquired by finding and destroying your enemy's fuel depots, (A large dome connected diagonally to a smaller dome), also by returning to your own garage. If your tank exhausts its fuel, it will explode to prevent the enemy from taking abandoned tanks on the battlefield. RADAR: Your radar is large black square in your status window. You are the dot in the center, your enemy will show up as dots relatively around you. JOYSTICK CONTROLS The joystick controls in FIREPOWER are absolute, so that if you are facing up and you would like to drive to the left, all you need to do is push the joystick to the left and hold it there. If you are facing left and you would like to back up, press the joystick to the right (the opposite direction). MODEM CONTROLS AND USE The modem mode is designed for use with Hayes 1200 and 2400 baud compatible modems only, and is not guaranteed to work with modems other than Hayes compatible. After you have finished reading these instructions, the modem mode game will automatically load in. The left side of your screen will be set up for the tank, the right side is a simple terminal. On the bottom of the right side is the control panel. On it are the following controls; CALL: Press this button after typing in the telephone number you want to call in the box marked with a "#". START: After connection has been made, you will be in a simple terminal, thus, may talk using the keyboard if you like. Pressing the START button will start the game on both sides. The person that presses the start button first takes control of the left Green tank. The modem screen will display the message "* STARTING GAME *", the game will begin. In the case that the other person presses the start button first, your screen will reconfigure, so that the simple terminal is on the left and the game screen in on the right. You may type messages to your friend WHILE playing the game. H-UP: This button will send the ATH0 command to your modem to hangup. It is suggested that you play the one or two player games first, so that you get a feeling for FIREPOWER. Consult your Modems user manual for detailed operations of the modem. SOME HINTS Be careful that you do not explode your own mines while dropping them. Keep track of the direction of your home your enemy's flag in order to win the game. The gun turrets on both fortresses only have eight positions. The turrets can fire at a 45 degree angle, but not at 25 degrees. Thus they are vulnerable to an odd angled attack. In addition, the turrets are programmed not to shoot in any direction that might damage other portions of its own fortress. Thus, if your tank is well positioned, the enemy turrets will not fire on you when your tank is in close proximity to other vulnerable parts of its own fortress. Good luck, and capture the Flag! JOYSTICK VS. JOYSTICK In this mode of FIREPOWER your adversary is another human rather than the computer. Two joysticks are required. The playing screen is divided into two parts, one for each player and the STATUS WINDOW is at the bottom of the screen. After you read these instructions you will be prompted to pick your tank. There are three tanks to chose from. Each has its own characteristics and specifications. Make your selection by pressing the joystick to the left, right or center. Press the firebutton while holding your selection. Both players must make their selection before the game will begin. GAME PLAY The goal of FIREPOWER is to find the enemy's flag and return it to your base. The game begins with your tank sitting in a garage at your base. Drive forward and your tank will come out of the garage and become visible (refer to joystick controls at the end of this document). If you remain stationary at any location for too long, the enemy will locate you and attack with helicopters. It is possible for your tank to get stuck when driving through rubble or other projections from the ground. Moving in the reverse direction will usually solve this problem. THE STATUS WINDOW SCORE: You gain points by destroying your enemy's tanks, helicopters, men and fortresses. You also gain points by saving your own men and returning them to a First-Aid Station (marked with a red cross). MEN: The number in this window indicates the number of your men you have aboard your tank. You pick up your men by comming to a complete stop as they run up to your tank. If the tank is moving, the men will be killed. After you have taken on the maximum amount of men, your own men will not attempt to run up to your tank You unload your men by stopping on the right hand side of the First-Aid station. Your men will then exit the tank and run into the Station. MINES: Mines are symbolized on the STATUS WINDOW by a gray disk with a slash. The number indicates the number of mines remaining in your tank. By bringing the tank to a complete stop, then simultaneously pressing the fire button and pulling down on the joystick mines are dopped. Beware, the mines are proximity mines and will explode when anything gets near them, including your tank. You can acquire 1 extra mine for each 5 of your own men you rescue and return to the First Aid Station. FUEL: Each tank starts with a full load of fuel. The fuel load is consumed as the tank drives from place to place. Additional fuel can be acquired by finding and destroying your enemy's fuel depots. (A large dome connected diagonally to a smaller dome). Also by returning to your own garage. If your tank exhausts its fuel, it will explode to prevent the enemy from taking abandoned tanks on the battle field. RADAR: Your radar is large black square in your status window. You are the dot in the center. Your enemy will show up as dots relatively around you. JOYSTICK CONTROLS The joystick controls in FIREPOWER are absolute, so that if you are facing up and you would like to drive to the left, all you need to do is push the joystick to the left and hold it there. If you are facing left and you would like to back up, press the joystick to the right (the opposite direction). SOME HINTS Be careful that you do not explode your own mines while dropping them. Keep track of the direction of your home base, as you will have to return there with your enemy's flag in order to win the game. The gun turrets on both fortresses only have eight positions. The turrets can fire at a 45 degree angle, but not at 25 degrees. Thus, they are vulnerable to an odd angled attack. In addition, the turrets are programmed not to shoot in any direction that might damage other portions of its own fortress. Thus, if your tank is well positioned, the enemy turrets will not fire on you when your tank is in close proximity to other vulnerable parts of the enemy fortress. Good luck, and capture the Flag!