Hover Strike ------------ You fear the worst for the planet's missing colonists. Communications have ceased from the distant colony for over six months. Federation scouts have discovered that Terrakian Pirates have taken over the planet, their deadly machines patrolling every section of the surface. The planet's colonists have completely disappeared. The Terrakians have established a horrible factory in the fourth quadrant, where they process human corpses to extract valuable organic compounds. You must lead the rescue mission to save the remaining humans, if any, and regain the planet. There is no contact with the surface. The Terrakians have installed an atmospheric cannon which makes invasion plans and the armada's entry impossible. The Federation has chosen you to launch the preemptive strike. They've provided you with preliminary reconnaissance reports. A military transport will slip through the enemy's shields and take you to your drop zone. Your vehicle is a state-of-the-art armored hovercraft. It's the ultimate war machine, equipped with rapid-fire cannon and powerful missiles. You have full maneuverability over any planetary terrain, including snow drifts, lava floes, desert sands, and turbulent water. Anti-grav units let you float just above the ground, so you need to use your brakes to slow down. Your mission is to knock out key targets in each zone, crippling the Terrakian forces and halting their bloddy work. Let your sensors guide you to destroy enemy radar stations and blow up strategic fuel depots. Once you eliminate the atmospheric cannon you'll make way for the Federation armada. Save the colony before it's too late! GETTING STARTED --------------- 1. Insert your JAGUAR Hover Strike cartridge into the cartridge slot of your JAGUAR 64-bit Interactive Multimedia System. 2. Press the POWER button. 3. Press the A button to start a new game, or to discontinue any title screens or demos. NEW GAME/SAVED GAME ------------------- To start a new game, press the A button when the title screen appears with the "Hover Strike" title (Fig. 1). When the Set Difficulty Box appears (Fig. 2), use the joypad up and down buttons to select a difficulty level, then press the A button to start. To start a saved game, press the B button when the title screen appears with the Hover Strike title (Fig. 1). You will begin on the level that you saved (To save your game, see Saving the Game). SELECT MISSION SCREEN --------------------- Once you've startet a new or saved game, the Select Mission Screen will appear. The title of a mission and a brief summary of the mission will be displayed, as well as your current game statistics (see Fig. 3). The Federation has analyzed the reconnaissance reports and has divided your mission targets into six increasingly difficult levels, the last being the mission to knock out the atmospheric cannons to allow the armada to enter the planet's atmosphere. Each level consists of missions in different terrain and with different strategic targets; a mission can only be completed when the strategic targets are destroyed. You may choose from the selection of missions by using the left and right joypad buttons. Details of each mission's reconnaissance report will be revealed to you once you select the mission by pressing the B button. If you complete a mission, the game will return to the Select Mission Screen, and you can choose from the remaining missions. Clear all missions on a level, and you will proceed to the next level. In a new game, you will begin on level one with a total of three hovercraft, referred to in the game and this manual as "lives". You will be able to choose from a selection of six different introductory missions by using joypad left/right. In a saved game, you will begin on the level where you left off, and you can choose from the remaining missions. The other information on this screen summarizes your game statistics. You can see how many rounds of your weapons are left, the number of lives remaining, the score, and the current difficulty level. SELECT MISSION OPTIONS ---------------------- During the Select Mission Screen, you can hit the option key and the up/down joypad buttons to select the following items to alter: Music Volume: Use the left/right joypad buttons to turn the music volume up/down. Main Volume: Use the left/right joypad buttons to turn the game volume up/down. Buttons: Hit the A button to enter the Buttons Configuration box (Fig. 4a). Use your left/right joypad buttons to switch the configuration of the A, B, and C buttons. Hit the A button to exit when you have chosen the desired configuration. Joypad: Hit the A button to enter the Joypad Configuration box (Fig. 4b). Use the left/right joypad buttons to reverse the gunsight raise/lower settings. Hit the A button to exit when you have chosen the desired configuration. Save Game: Hit the A button to save the game. Use the left/right joypad buttons to select OK. Hit the A button to exit. The current level that you are playing, the number of lives, the number of weapons, the completed missions and the score will be saved. CONTROLS SUMMARY ---------------- A button Accelerate* B button Fire Photons* C button Brake* Joypad Left Rotate craft left Joypad Right Rotate craft right Joypad Up Move crosshairs up* Joypad Down Move crosshairs down* Option Select alternate weapons system Pause Pause the game 1, 3 Fire alternate weapon 2 Guided missile lock-on, closest target 5 Guided missile lock-on, cycle targets 4, 6 Change central viewscreen (Radar, Compass) 7, 9 Switch between internal and external view 0 Toggle music on and off 8 + Joypad Up/Down Zoom remote camera in/out (external view only) 8 + Joypad Left/Right Pan remote camera (external view only) Joypad Down + A + C Engage reverse mode Joypad Up + A + C Engage forward mode * - Configurable, see Select Mission Options. > OVERLAY You have been provided with a joypad overlay to assist you in playing Hover Strike. To use, just insert the tabs into the slots to the left and right of the numeric keypad. The overlay will serve as a handy reminder of some of the game controls. If you should misplace or lose the overlay, you can cut out the actual-size overlay template (Fig. 5a). CONTROLLING YOUR CRAFT: ----------------------- Your Hover Strike vehicle is a heavily armored hovercraft, and can be thought of as a floating tank. It has powerful anti-grav units that enable it to glide over any surface. Impulse engines can propel the vehicle to high speeds, and can be engaged in both forward and reverse modes. This hovertank also features anti-inertial gyrospheres that allow rapid rotation of the craft. Controls are simple; use your left and right controls (joypad left/right) to point the vehicle in the right direction and use the impulse engines (A button) to propel forward. Remember, you are flying a hovercraft, so you slide smoothly over terrain and will need your hydraulic brake system to slow down or stop (C button). Press and hold down the C button if you find yourself being tossed uncontrollably in a tight canyon, or by enemy fire. Also, avoid flying into steep walls or careening down slopes too quickly or you may damage the craft. Your hovercraft floats just above the ground - there is no friction from terrain to slow you down. Holding down the A button will increase your forward momentum until maximum velocity is reached; releasing the A Button disengages the impulse engines and you will eventually slow to a stop. To come to a quick stop, hold the C button down to engage your brakes. Reverse - For more advanced pilots, the craft has the ability to go backwards. Just hit the A and C buttons at the same time, and the joypad down button. This will engage the reverse gear. From then on, the A button will send you backwards. To put your hovercraft back into forward gear, hit the A and C buttons at the same time and hit the joypad up button. USING YOUR WEAPONRY ------------------- Your Hover Strike vehicle is equipped with a complete arsenal of fire power. First is your main photon cannon; this rapid-fire blaster can produce nearly unlimited plasma photons at the touch of a button (B button). You will be using this weapon the most often. You can spray the enemy with a hail of photons by moving the target crosshairs up and down (joypad up and down), and rotating your craft left and right. Note: this is a fixed-gun vehicle, so rotating your gun also rotates the craft itself. The target crosshairs will remain in the horizontal center of the screen, enabling you to steer and target enemies at the same time using the up and down buttons. You can also switch the function of the up/down buttons in the option screen, if you prefer the controls reversed. Use your option button to access your alternate set of weapons, and the alternate weapon firing buttons (keypad 1 and 3) to launch the currently selected weapon. Missiles: When you select missiles with the option button, you can target the weapon with the same crosshairs as the main photon cannon. These missiles fly straight and are considerably more powerful than a single photon. Guided Missiles: After selecting guided missiles, you need to lock on to your target using one of your two tracking systems. The first (key 2) locks onto the closest target in front of you, so that you can take care of immediate danger. The second (key 5) will switch from target-to-target, so that you may lock-on to anything currently on your radar screen. Note that the switchable lock-on can also be handy for quickly identifying targets, by referring to the selected target on your cockpit screen (see fig 6). Although their tracking mechanism is highly accurate, you may need to point the guided missile in the general vicinity of your target, or away from obstacles by using the crosshairs or rotating the craft. Guided missiles and normal missiles have equal destructive power. NOTE: If guided missiles are armed, the lock-on target flashes red on the location of the target, and if the regular missiles are selected, the lock-on target remains green. Mortars: Engaging the mortar launcher allows you to lob powerful explosives at all targets. Move the crosshairs up and the mortars will go farther; move them down and you can hit closer targets. Remember mortars can cause much damage, with a large kill radius to match, but they are useless unless triggered by ground impact (i.e. they will not destroy airborne targets). Flares: Not really a weapon, but an aid, to assist on missions on the dark sections of the planet. Use just like mortars. COCKPIT ------- Your armored hovercraft has a cockpit displayed at the bottom of your screen. The cockpit contains gauges and displays crucial to gameplay and your survival. > TRACKING SYSTEMS The most important display is at the center of the cockpit: the radar/compass. The radar/compass is a dual mode display that can be switched from radar to compass mode by hitting key 4 or 6 during gameplay. Radar: The radar tracks enemy craft, powerups, certain weapon fire, and mission targets. Your craft has been preprogrammed with locations of the mission targets, and the yellow diamond on the perimeter of the radar represents the direction you must head to engage a mission target. If it is blue, then the mission target is within range and it will move within the radar screen. The number in the lower right hand corner of the radar is the number of remaining mission targets. The light blue dots represent enemy in your current area, and the orange dots represent powerups. All weapons except yours and the enemy's photons are represented by green dots. Compass: Switching from radar to compass, this display shows the direction that you are headed as well as a blue or yellow diamond to represent a mission target and its direction. The red arrow line points in the direction that you are headed. To head towards your mission target, steer your hovercraft so that the diamond is aligned with the red arrow. > POWER SYSTEMS During gameplay, the two most important elements that you need to keep track of are energy and shields. Should either of these supplies run out, your vehicle will be destroyed. The gauges on the cockpit are as follows: Energy: To the lower right of the radar/compass display is the energy gauge, with a bar representing the remaining energy. When the energy level is above the half way mark, the gauge bar is blue. When it drops below half, the bar becomes yellow. When the energy is dangerously low, the bar will flash red, and an alarm will sound. Energy is drained by driving, and by firing photons. If you run out of energy, your hovercraft will be destroyed. Shields: To the lower left of the radar/compass display is the shields gauge, with a bar representing the remaining shield level. When the shield level is above the half way mark, the gauge bar is blue. When it drops below half, the bar becomes yellow. When the shields are dangerously low, the bar will flash red, and an alarm will sound. Shields are drained by enemy fire, by dropping too quickly, and by running into impassable slopes. > ALTERNATE WEAPONS SYSTEMS A crucial part of your hovercraft's destructive power is the alternate weapons systems. To keep track of your weaponry during the game, the following displays are available on the cockpit: Current Weapon: To the upper right of the radar/compass display is the currently engaged weapon. When toggling weapons with the option button, you will see a picture of the weapon you have selected as the alternate weapons system. Weapon Status: To the upper left of the radar/compass display is the weapons status. The number displayed is the number of currently engaged weapons left (see Current Weapon above). To the left of the number is a bar graph with three bars. Each bar is a graphic that represents the number of weapons left for all alternate weapons. The top bar signifies the number of regular missiles in your stocks, the middle is the number of guided missiles, and the bottom is the number of mortars. The one marked with the red dot is the currently selected weapon. Note that the bar graph indicates how much of a weapon is left relative to sixteen. The graph is a handy way of seeing whether or not you are about to run out of any type of weapon. If you have more than sixteen of any weapon, the bar graph will indicate a full stock. The actual number of a weapon is only displayed when it is selected as the current alternate weapon. > LIVES AND SCORE Above the cockpit, you are looking out of the cockpit window. On the upper left of the window, the number of remaining lives are displayed, and on the upper right is the current score. POWERUPS -------- Scattered about the planet's surface, you will find powerups that will help you on your missions. There are separate powerups for energy, shield recharge, missiles, guided missiles, and mortars. To retrieve a powerup, just drive over one. You may also see enemy carrying powerups; shoot them to see if they will drop the powerup. Remember, any weapons that you collect during a mission, you get to keep for future missions, up to a maximum capacity of 64 for each type of weapon. If you abort or your craft is destroyed during a mission, you lose any powerups that you collected, and your supplies will be restored to the levels before you started the mission. OPTIONS MENU ------------ During gameplay, press the pause key and hit the A, B, or C button to bring up the options menu. Use the joypad up and down button to select the following options: Music Volume : Use the left/right joypad to turn the music volume up/down. Main Volume : Use the left/right joypad to turn the game volume up/down. Abort Mission : Use the left/right joypad to abort the mission or cancel to return the previous option menu. EXTERNAL MONITOR ---------------- Your hovercraft is equipped with a remote observation robot, that constantly follows your craft. By pressing key 7 or 9, you may engage the external view monitor which represents the view from the observation robot. The remote camera robot is adjustable. Hold down key 8 while using the joypad. The joypad up/down buttons will bring the camera closer/further from your ship. The left/right buttons rotate the camera around the hovercraft, enabling you to see all around your vehicle. You still have the same control over your craft, but you will be able to survey the terrain around you. In addition, the radar, compass, and the current weapon count will be displayed. To return to your cockpit view, press the 7 or 9 keys again. FINISHING A MISSION ------------------- To finish a mission, you must destroy the mission targets, as specified in the mission description. When you finish a mission, your transport will retrieve you and your hovercraft, and your shields and energy will be recharged for the next strike. To cancel the transport pickup sequence and go directly to the Select Mission Screen, hit any key. ENEMY DESCRIPTIONS ------------------ HEAVY ARMORED TANK: This is a powerful offensive weapon, but it is not very mobile. Equipped with a rapid-firing missile-launcher, it can withstand several hits before going down. LAND CRAWLER TANK: This tank is much bigger than your own craft, and the armament includes twin missile-launchers, giving it devastating firepower. It is extremely tough, with armor almost four times as strong as that of a heavy tank. "MAD DOG" M.T. WALKER: Able to walk over the ground, this robot is one if the most fearsome weapons the Terrakian's have to offer. The walker's attack begins with blasts from a laser cannon. This unit is well armored and can take many hits; but once the body has been destroyed, you must stay alert for the walker's head! It will separate from the body and attack you with photons. The computer-controlled head will "buzz" your tank while firing, and it will eventually try to ram you! GUN TURRET: The remote-controlled gun emplacement comes standard with laser cannons, and it's firing is extremely accurate, even against a moving target. Although not heavily armored, it is still very dangerous. TRAP-DOOR GUN TURRET: Similar to the regular gun turret in appearance only. This tough machine will be found placed in the ground, and can hide effectively under any surface. It comes armed with rapid-firing missile launchers and can be very damaging if not dispatched quickly. It can often be taken out with mortar shells. LAND MINE: Very small and difficult to see, this trap laid by the Terrakian troops can cause a great deal of damage to sensitive components on the underside of your Hovertank. Pay close attention when these are nearby. MAGNETIC MINE: Attracted to the metallic alloys of your Hovertank, these floating bombs will pursue your craft relentlessly, and then explode on impact. Use your radar to assist in clearing out these hazards. DURIAN T-5 JET: The Terrakian air raider fires lasers, and is extremely accurate from quite a distance. Shielded with little armor, it can be tracked down easily. That is, if you are an accurate shot also. Be aware that the pilot will sometimes attempt to ram your Hovertank, effectively sacrificing their plane just to damage your craft. > FLOATERS The Terrakians have mastered the technology of nullifying gravity, and have built a large fleet which possess this ability. These crafts are called Floaters, and there are several types that you will encounter. Most are lightly armored and carry only a single photon cannon. But they do move quickly, and can pursue you over any terrain. DREDGING FLOATER: These enemy crafts sometimes carry powerups, transporting them for the Terrakian troops. When destroyed, they will drop their payload and you can use it for yourself! These floaters will also be found without powerups, emerging from their underground factories. Although not heavily armored, they can be dangerous in groups. CLOAKING FLOATER: Identical to the Dredger in appearance and weaponry, the Cloaking Floater has the ability to disappear from your radar screen while under its cloak of invisibility. Targeting one is difficult, and they only become visible when attacking. PATROL FLOATER: The Patrol Floater is equipped with twin photon cannons and guided by vicious seek-and-destroy robotics. Their small attack profile can make them difficult for even a guided missile to hit. SURVEILLANCE FLOATER: The fastest moving craft you will face, this seeing-eye robotic device will report your presence to Terrakian forces. They are equipped with a single photon cannon. DREADNOUGHT FLOATER: Dark, tough, and ominous. These enemy vehicles will stop at nothing to destroy you. The most heavily armored Floater, it will strike quickly and repeatedly. > VARIOUS ENEMY TARGETS AND INSTALLATIONS Throughout your many missions, you will often be given Terrakian installations and industrial buildings as targets. These are a few of the targets you will be asked to disable: NUCLEAR GENERATOR: Important source of power to enemy bases. FUEL TANK: Vital to keeping the Terrakian troops mobile. PROCESSING STATION: The heart of the Processing system. These must be destroyed to put an end to the Terrakian's bloody work and save the planet's colonists. RADAR DISH: For the Federation's rescue armada to arrive safely, the majority of these planet-wide monitoring devices must be destroyed. SAVING A GAME ------------- You may only save a game in the Select Mission screen. To save during gameplay, you must either complete or abort the mission (see Options Menu) to return to the Select Mission Screen. Once there, hit the option key and use the joypad up and down buttons to select the "Save Game" option. Hit the A button to save the game. Use the left/right joypad buttons to select OK. Hit the A button to exit. The current level that you are playing, the number of lives, the number of weapons, the completed missions, and the score will be saved. Select "Exit Options Screen" to continue. 2-PLAYER COOPERATIVE MODE ------------------------- Hover Strike will allow 2 players to play simultaneously during gameplay. This 2 player cooperative game can be started at any point by simply plugging a second controller into Controller Port 2 on your JAGUAR console. The player who has controller 2 can now take on the role of the Hovertank's "gunner", taking over responsibility of all weapon actions, while player 1 controls all flight and maneuvering of the Hovertank. One advantage of cooperative play is that player 2 is able to move the crosshairs over the entire play screen, independently of player 1. Also, this gives player 1 the ability to concentrate on finding targets quickly. Note that the button assignments on controller 2 are slightly different from controller 1. Player 2 can control only weapon actions; he cannot affect movement of the Hovertank. > CONTROLLER 2 SUMMARY Button A Fire alternate weapon * Button B Fire Photons * Button C Select alternate weapons system * Joypad Left Move crosshairs left Joypad Right Move crosshairs right Joypad Up Move crosshairs up * Joypad Down Move crosshairs down * * configurable, see Select Mission Options All other joypad functions remain the same as those on controller 1. During cooperative play, player 1 still has control over all of the tank's functions, and his joypad commands can interfere with those of player 2. So remember, during cooperative play, both players must work as a team to succeed. Talk to each other and plan your strategies accordingly! ADJUSTING VOLUME ---------------- Press pause during play and press the A, B or C button to access the option menu. Then use the joypad up/down button to select the music volume slider or the main volume slider. To adjust volume, press the joypad to the left to decrease volume, to the right to increase volume. To adjust volume during the Select Mission Screen, see Select Mission Options. Note: If you have muted the music (using key 0) any time prior to trying to adjust volume, the music volume will not be adjustable, and the word "MUTED" will be displayed instead of the volume slider. You must unmute the music before attempting to change the music volume. GAME STRATEGY TIPS ------------------ 1. To make sharp turns 'on the fly', press and hold the joypad toward the direction you want to turn. Release the A button to slow down, and then press it again to guide you through the turn as you go into it. Using this technique of tapping the A button while turning requires precision timing, but it is extremely useful. Remember; you are flying a HOVERCRAFT. Acceleration and braking, along with speed and momentum, are more important to good piloting than traction and terrain. 2. Use the 5 key often while navigating through heavily occupied areas. This targeting system is helpful with identifying enemies that are not in visual range. By determining where the most dangerous enemies are, you can plot strategies. For example, you will probably want to attack a floater factory entrance and attempt to seal it off as soon as you suspect one is present. Or, if you are low on shields, you might rather stay clear of enemies and search for powerups. 3. Avoid slamming into steep mountains or falling off high ledges. These events can cause great amounts of damage to your shields. Be especially aware of your surroundings in the night missions, and lay down several flares at a time for better visual navigation. 4. Remember that the quickest way (or maybe even the only way) to reach your mission targets, may not take you along a straight path. You will often have to circle around mountains, ridges, or other impassable structures to find them. 5. Search the Urban missions for hidden passages within some structures. These might be the only way to find a target. 6. Know your enemy! If you can kill one with only a couple of photon blasts, don't unleash a flurry of missiles, these are too valuable to waste! 7. Pay attention to the distant planets in the sky. They can be used for navigating the planet, as their locations are relative to a compass, and those locations will remain fixed. MEMORY SAVE ----------- Volume, key configuration, high scores, and mission information are retained in the cartridge even if you have turned off your Jaguar 64-bit Interactive Multimedia System. The cartridge will store up to 100,000 changes. After 100,000 changes have been recorded, no more changes will be retained. To clear the currently saved changes, press *, Option, and # while on the Hover Strike Select Mission Screen. CREDITS ------- Programming and Game Design : Denis L. Fung, Cary Gee, Craig Suko Additional Programming Support : Eric Smith, Rob Zdybel, Hand Martin Krober, Dave Staugas Producer : Leonard Tramiel Music and Sound Design : Brad Wait Computer Voice : Erin Carson Lead Artist : Chris Thompsom Lead Test and World Design Coordination : Lance J. Lewis Artists : Ed Pearson, Donald Wang, Ken Saunders, Keoni Los Banos, Jennie Birch Additional Test and World Design : Hank Cappa, Tal Funke-Bilu, Scott Hunter, Harry Kinney, Joe Sousa Manual Text : Denis L. Fung, Lance J. Lewis, Elizabeth Shook Image of M100 galaxy courtesy of the Space Telescope Science Institute/NASA.