Fort Apocalypse Copyright/Publisher: Synapse Software, Release Year: 1982, Categorie: Air Combat Horisontal Scroll, Number Of Players: 1 INTRODUCTION: Deep inside the Earth's mantle is an evil so great that man dares not speak its name. The KRALTHANS, lords of the inner Earth, have built FORT APOCALYPSE - a prison so filled with danger that all who have attempted to penetrate its secrets have vanish- ed without a trace. The SKY DWELLERS have chosen you from their best assault pilots for a daring raid on FORT APOCALYPSE itself. As you lift off in your ROCKET-COPTER and check the NAVATRON for enemy attack units, your nerves turn to ice. You've heard rumors that these vast underground vaults are defended by rock-boring WORMLINGS. whose digestive juice are powerful enough to dissolve MOLYCHROME-III copter hulls. And in the KRALTHAN armories are the latest SERVO-TANK INTERCEPTORS, as well as ultra-fast ROBOCHOPPERS. You think of the hopeless captives, taken as slave-thralls by the KRALTHANS. You must descend through the KRALTHAN DISRUPTOR fields, capture weapons and fuel, and free the enslaved masses. The danger grows in the VAULTS of DRACONIS. Where the very granite is locked in a temporal matrix. Then swiftly, you descend into the ROTATING FIELD ENVELOPE, where time itself is scarred and twisted back on itself. Will you triumph or be destroyed by the iron fist of KRALTHA? Encounter FORT APOCALYPSE! Options: Press F5 to display the option page. You may step through the options by pres- sing the F3 key. You then press the F5 button to step through your choice. Once your gravity, skill level and number of pilots has been selected press F7 to begin game. Special Instructions: Connect your joystick to Port 2. When landing your rocket-copter on landing pads, fuel stops, or to rescue prisoners, LAND GENTLY . . . your life may depend on it! OBJECT OF THE GAME The Kralthans and their dreaded Fort Apocalypse must be destroyed before they destroy you! Your mission begins at your fuel depot. After refueling your Copter you must fly to the portals of the Draconis caves and bomb through the access doors. After blowing an entrance the first level of defense you maneuver through the caves blasting through impact shields, into the Hyper-Chambers and subterranean elevators. You must rescue eight prisoners from the Draconis level. After completing the Draconis level you descend into the Crystalline Caves. You must rescue an additional eight men, various locations in the Crystalline Caves and then proceed into the heart of darkness, Fort Apocalypse itself. After the fortress is destroyed you must fly back through the Kralthan Caves to freedom in order to complete your mission. The Rocket Copter Your rocket copter is controlled by the joystick. Moving the joystick in any direction causes your rocket copter to move in the chosen direction. As you change direction from right to left or vice versa the rocket copter turns to face forward and then con- tinues the turn to the desired direction. To fire your interceptor rockets press the joystick fire button you are facing front you will release plasma-bombs instead of interceptor rockets. Interceptor rockets are used to destroy Kralthan tanks, missile drones, impact shields, etc. Plasma-bombs destroy access doors, SPM's, etc. Fuel Your mission begins at your fuel depot. In order to fuel your rocket copter you must land on thefueling station. Upon landing, the top of the fuel tank will descend and you will drop down after it. Upon reaching the floor of the tank you will be refueled. Your fuel level is constantly displayed at the left side of the command bar, to the left of the navatron. The Navatron The navatron is a long range navigational aid. It will give you information about the terrain you are about to encounter as well as enemy units in the area. Kralthan Tanks Due to the advanced state of defense armor, tanKs can be destroyed only by direct hits to the tank treads, The tanks launch drone missiles which track your rocket copter and quite often destroy it. Impact Shields & Access Doors Impact shields and access doors will be encountered at various points in the Kralthan defense system. They must be destroyed by plasma-bombs or interceptor missiles. SPM'S (Self-Propelled Mines) SPM's contain plasma bombs and are deadly to your rocket copter. They float independently through the atmosphere and the Kralthan Caves. Impact Shields & Access Doors Robo-Choppers The Kralthan robo-choppers are android controlled attack helicopters. They are armed with missiles and hunt you relentlessly. Treat them with great respect. Prisoners Prisoners are rescued by picking them up with your rocket copter. Landing Pads White landing pads are scattered throughout the Kralthan Caves, the last place that you landed will be the spot (in case of destruction of your rocket copter), that your replacement copter will appear. Hyper Chambers Hyper chambers are distinguished from laser chambers by their glowing nudes. If you are zapped in a hyper chamber you will be transported to any one of four identical chambers on your level. CAUTION: If you rematerialize in another hyper chamber that already contains an SPM or robo chopper you will be destroyed. Rotating Field Envelopes There are horizontal and vertical RFE shafts in the defense net- work with energy blocks that move through them. You must enter and keep ahead of the blocks to order to survive. Pressing the fire button changes the direction of the block movement. Fort Apocalypse The fort is destroyed by a well aimed missile from your rocket copter. Options Press (SELECT) to display the option page. You may step through the options by pressing the (OPTION) key. You then press the (SELECT) button to step through your choice. Once your gravity, skill level and number of pilots has been selected press (START) to begin game. Bonus The bonus points for the level is displayed to the right of the navatron. The longer your mission takes, the less bonus points you will be awarded at its completion. Ratings Your rating will be displayed at the end of the game. It is com- puted acccording to the level at which you are playing and the amount of time required to complete your mission. GENERAL NOTES 1. You must rescue all the survivors in order to move to the next level. Information on how many men remaining is displayed under the navatron. 2. Monitor your fuel levels constantly. You may take on up to 2000 units of fuel at one time. 3. Press (SPACE BAR) to pause the action at any point in the game. Pressing (SPACE BAR) again will restart the game where you left off.