DOC TO NITRO -------------- BY : MR.THOMPSON / DEFJAM -------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOADING INSTRUCTIONS -------------------- First: Always switch off your machine for at least 30 seconds before loading. Then.... ATARI ST owners: Insert the Nitro Disk A into Drive A. Switch on the monitor/television followed by your computer. AMIGA owners : Switch on. If the display prompts for Kickstart disk, insert one into the internal drive. When the display prompts for a Workbench disk, insert the Nitro disk into the internal drive. After loading the introduction sequence (Press fire button to exit sequence) the game will then cycle through a demo of the game until any of the fire keys have been pressed. The player/players will then enter the player selection screen. Full instruction on how to enter new players and play the game appear on the following pages. CONTROLS FOR NITRO ------------------ Player 1 Joystick0 left/right to steer + Fire to accelerate. Player 2 Joystick1 left/right to steer + Fire to accelerate. Player 3 Z key/X key to steer + SHIFT to accelerate. Pressing the fire on the startup page will allow the player to enter their name inform the computer that they wish to play in this round of the game. THE STORY --------- The huge crowd around the finish line has gone strangely silent. For it will only be seconds now before the Champion of Champions screams into view to claim the winner's garland and the 1 million pound prize. Here we are in the panoramic press centre to witness the end of the race they wanted to ban and that has spanned four continents over the last three months. All the ceteran race journalists present agree they've never been called upon to cover anything like it before. A sometimes vicious, allways no holds barred contest, where drivers have been able to change their vehicles negotiate the most dangerous conditions in the world. The latest report is that there are only two contestants left - Ave One and The Robot, with the last of the human challengers opting for a Formula One in his last bid for glory while his adversary is behind the wheel of a turbo buggy. Reports have been comming in that Ace One is maintaining a lead of a quarter of a mile but his vehicle has suffered cosiderable damage in this the final terrifying holocaust sector. His speed is dropping and this suggest he may be running out of fuel. This is going to be a desperately close finish. It's difficult to believe that this event has taken 12 incredible weeks and a total of over 20 individual races, making up the ultimate in driving challenges. The spectators have started to crane their necks to get a better view of the last bend as the on track speakers pick up the roar of the lead vehicle's engine. But hold onto your hats folks. A huge fissure has opened up in the last 100 metres, providing a potential death pit for the drivers. Surely, after all they've been through, they won't be found lacking now. Crouched behind the wheel, Ace One fought for control as yet another building collapsed at the edge of the track, spewing debris in front of his vehicle. A swing of the wheel and he was around. Foot down hard to the floor, the Formula One leapt forward once again, as he anxiously checked the rear view mirror to get a bearing on his pursuer - The Robot. Try as he had to throw off the last remaining challenger, he was still there, the turbo buggie constantly hurling itself along to eat away at the slim lead. If only he had not spun on that last oil slick, he'd be home and dry now. But there again The Robot had almost bought it on the black ice to even up the situation. Just one more lapse of concentration and that would be it, Ace One told himself. But that was the name of the game as it had been from day one. Yet he still found his mind wandering back to the thrills and spills of the early race sequences. The City level - where it had all started - with its hairpin bends and huge potholes had been testing enough. Then came the torturous forest roads with the ever present danger of boulders and fallen trees strewn across the track. In a split second, he relived the harrowing experiences of the treacherous desert circuit with its endless miles of fly blown sands, brain baking heat and oil oozing from burst refinery pipes. But even this had been as nothing compared to the Holocaust. Only superb reactions had kept him on course for victory as he plowed his way through this end-of-the-world hell. Ace One's travel mind suddenly conjured up a mental picture of the first time he had deliberately rammed a spectator who had wandered onto the track. He had splattered his victim as easily as if he'd stomped on a cockroach. Since then he had erased a dozen more, more than half of them impaled on his turbo buggy. But there was no time for conscience now. After all, people meant points. And winning was all that counted. To become Champion of Champions was the only goal no matter how many lives it cost. This must be the last bend, he told himself. Yes there's the winning post. But the ground has started to open up, threatening to swallow me up. Is victory to be snatched from me even now? Well it's all over folks. Ace One has uncorked the victory champagne and shaken its contents over his legion of admiring fans. But right to the end it was the closet of calls. It was only the superb acceleration of the Formula One that allowed him to leap the ever widening fissure that threatened in the last few yards to snatch a five second victory. This always promised to be the race to end all races - one where only those with the ultimate in driving skills and nerves of steel would survive. And that's just what it turned out to be. Ace One. We salute you. OBJECT OF THE GAME ------------------ Nitro is a no holds bared, first past the post racing game, with one simple goal in mind, to win the championship. There will be over 30 races to complete in, over 4 different types of terrain, in day-time and night-time sections. Nitro can handle up to three human challengers in the championship, with the computer making up the numbers. STARTING THE GAME ----------------- Pressing any of the fire keys during the demo section of the game will move into the 'Enter New Player Option Screen'. The player will then be invited to enter 3 characters to represent the players name. Pressing the left or right will alter character selected. Fire will then enter that character. After entering the third character the player will then move on to the car select phase whilst simultaneously waiting for the other contestants to enter their intials. If the other two possible players do not enter their initials within a short period of time then the game will gegin assuming that the cars have been selected. Pressing any of the other fire keys will allow the other players to enter their names and then enter the race. FORMAT OF THE GAME ------------------ The game consists of 32 or more tracks over 4 different stages. The players will choose which cars to use, and have the opportunity to buy new options for the car at the end of each race provided that the have enough cash to do so. Nitro has been designed to allow the players to enter the shop stage or select new car stage independently of the other contestants. This will enable one player to be in the shop stage and the other players to be, in the select car stage, for example. At the end of each race the players will be presented with the results of the last race together with the overall championship position. This will continue until all the races have been completed and the overall championship winner has been decided. The following provides a list of the various screens found between the racing sections of Nitro. CAR SELECTION SCREEN -------------------- The car select screen will be used to choose the most appropriate car for the next race. Each car will have its own characteristic and will be more suited for certain courses. Each car will have a limited number of uses per level, it may only be used 3 times. Once the car has been used 3 times it will then not be available to the driver. The statistics and characteristics for each car will be displayed under the graphics box at the bottom of the screen. THE SHOP -------- The shop provides the player with the opportunity to buy extras for his or her car, in order to enhance its handling. The player will have a certain amount of cash at his disposal. If the player does not possess sufficient cash deposits, then he will not be able to purchase all of the items below. The shop has the following in stock: Better Engine = Increased Top Speed Turbo Charger = Acceleration High Grip Tyres = Better Grip Special Offers = Differs from level to level Nitro Booster = Explosive Acceleration More Gas = Extra Gas for Cars Repair Damage = Repair Damage to Bodywork The option is selected by moving the pointer using the left or right keys/joystick, which in turn will highlight one of the surrounding icons, further details of each item in the shop will be displayed in the text area of that player's screen, i.e. under the shop icons. A player simply has to press the fire button in order to purchase an item. The computer will only allow you to purchase an item if you have collected sufficient money during the previous races. If the player wishes to leave the shop screen he simply selects the exit icon box and press fire. THE RACE -------- The cars will line up on the grid at the start of the race and wait for the lights to change from red to green. Once the lights change the race begins, pressing the fire key will accelerate the speed of the cars, and pressing left and right will change the direction that the car s are moving in. If the player possesses a Nitro Booster then pressing the joystick forward or in the case of the keyboard player using the '?' key, will cause the car to accelerate fiercely. The fastest line through the game is generally on the tarmac road surface, as the other surfaces will tend to limit the speedof the cars. It is also advantageous to avoid collision with the other cars as this slows both cars down and also alters the direction of cars. A careful eye will also have to be kept on the amount of gas for each car, this is displayed at the foot of the screen. If the gas should reach zero then that driver will be out of the race. If human player starts to drift behind in the race and falls off the edge of the screen then the computer will automatically place the computer at the bottom of the screen on the ATARI ST version of the game, and penalise the driver by taking some gas of his total. In the AMIGA version of Nitro, the screen will stop scrolling when the car reaches the edge. If the player is leading the race, then he will be penalised by depleting his gas reserves. If however, the car is stopping the scroll, because he is at the back of the race, then that player will be penalised until he moves away from the edge of the screen. The winner of the race will be the first car to pass the finishing line at the end of the race. The winner will then receive maximum points and a cash bonus. NIGHT TIME SELECTIONS --------------------- Nitro also features night time sections where the scenery is completely black, apart from the section of the screen that are highlighted by the lights from the cars. In order to give the players some indication of layout of the road, cats eyes are found in certain sections. (TIP until you are familiar with each circuit it is advisable to follow the computers until they reach the finishing line, and then attempt to sprint past them). PEDESTRIANS ----------- Normally cash will be deducted from drivers who drive over pedestrians during the course of the game. However on certain tracks points will be awarded to drivers that injure pedestrians. The drivers will be warned at the beginning of the stage if points are to be awarded. IN GAME BONUSES --------------- There will also be a series of bonuses throughout each race, these can be collected by simply driving over them. The following is a list of icons found in the game: Gas = 100 units of gas Bulb = Double headlights Dark Bulb = Other cars headlights off Money = Extra cash Red N = Nitro Booster White P = Extra points TYPE OF CARS USED IN RACE ------------------------- There are three different types of cars in the game, each with its own characteristics. |Fuel Consumption| Road |Cross Country --------------|----------------|---------|------------- Formula 1 | HIGH | GOOD | BAD --------------|----------------|---------|------------- Sports Cars | LOW | AVERAGE | AVERAGE --------------|----------------|---------|------------- Turbo Buggies | AVERAGE | BAD | GOOD --------------|----------------|---------|-------------