Stunt Car Racer - Instructions


                          OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

Getting started
 Plug the joystick in port 2 (Spectrum users in port 1!)

1. Joystick controls:

   Steering................... Joystick left/right
   Accelerate forwards...... Push joystick forward
   Brake/reverse............... Pull joystick back
   Boost (limited supply)........ Press the button

 NOTE:
 Once acceleration is selected by pushing the joystick forward, you can return
the joystick to its central position as the car will continue to accelerate un-
til you brake or freewhell the car. This avoids the need for constant forward
pressure to be applied to the joystick. Pulling the stick back cancels the acce-
leration, and returning the stick to its central position allows the car to free
wheel.

2. Keyboard (default keys)

 The key controls differ slightly form the joystick in order to avoid the need
to press more than two keys at any one time.
 With the "Boost and Accelerator" key depressed, your car will be accelerating
with boost. Once the key is released, the car will continue to accelerate, but
without the boost. Therefore, the key does not need to be held down continuous-
ly unless boost is required.
 Forward acceleration is turned off by pressing either of the two brake/reverse
keys. The car will then freewheel until another key is pressed. Two brake/reverse
keys provide two braking/reversing rates,i.e. with and without boost.

   Key controls

   Steering left..........................."S" Key
   Right..................................."D" Key
   Boost + accelerator forward........"RETURN" Key
   Boost + brake/reverse..................SPACEBAR
   Brake/Reverse..........................."=" Key

  The car control keys are redefined from the cockpit. First of all,
PAUSE the game (see item 4 of further controls). Then press the F1 key.
The "PAUSED" message on screen will be replaced by a "DEFINE KEYS"
message.
  The computer then asks for the keys that you wish to use for the
relevant controls. It then requets thet you verify the keys that have
been pressed. Enter the same keys again and the computer will not
return to the MAIN game. If the second entry does not match the first,
the computer will ask for another set of keyz to be pressed and
verified. You must then unpause the game to continue.
  In multiplayer mode, each player can redefine the keys at any time
during a race (preferably before the start). These settings are stored
for each individual player and are automatically re-installed in sub-
sequent races involving that player.

 AUTO-ALIGNMENT

  When the car is on a straight section of the track and there is no
(ESCAPE ????) steering input from joystick or keys, the car will steer
itself in the direction of the track (unless,of course, it is arborne.

 OTHER CONTROLS

 1. On the "Name Selection" page, type in your name and press "RETURN"
to continue. Press "SHIFT" for capital letters.

 2. On the "MENU" pages, push the joystick forwards or backwards to
move the highlighted bar and then press the fire button to select and
advance to the next screen. For those of you using key control, press
1, 2, 3, etc. to move the highlighted bar and select by pressing
"RETURN".

 3. Where appropriate, the fire button or the "RETURN" key can be
pressed to advance to the next screen.

 4. There is a PAUSE facility available whilst driving. Pause the game
by pressing:

             Pause on........................"P" key
             Pause off......................."O" key

 5. You can retire from a race or practice using the "Esc" key. Note
that if you are racing, you will automatically lose the race and best
lap time points.

 6. You can drop out of a season's racing by holding down the "F1" key
at the same time as clicking the fire button on the NEXT RACE fixture
page.

 7. You can return to the game start by holding down the "F1" key at
the same time as clicking the firebutton on REPLAY SEASON.


  Practice mode

 A player can practice on any track by selecting "Practice" on the main
menu and choosing the division containing the desired track. The track
are as follows:

     Division 1........................The Drawbridge
     ....................................The Ski Jump
     Division 2.....................The Rollercoaster
     ...................................The High Jump
     Division 3..........................The Big Ramp
     .............................The Stepping Stones
     Division 4.........................The Hump Back
     .................................The Little Ramp

 If 'PRACTICE' mode is selected and the player is in the SUPER LEAGUE,
then extra power and speed will be available to the player on each
track.
 Each practice session lasts evey three laps. After three laps, your
car will automatically be repaired and refuelled. However, more
practice sessions can follow if desired.
NOTE THAT ONLY DAMAGE INCURRED DURING THE PRACTICE SESSION IS REPAIRED.


        DASHBOARD

Lap Indicator
 The lap number that you are currently completing is shown at the
bottom left of the screen with the prefix 'L'. e.g. L2 means you are on
your second lap.

Boost
 This indicates how much boost you have left and is shown with the
prefix 'B', e.g. B30 means you have 30 units of boost left.

Separation
 At the bottom of the left hand side, there is the figure that gives
the separation between you and your opponent in metres. If there is a
'-' in front of the number, you are ahead of your opponent by however
much the readout says. Conversely, if the figure is not prefixed, you
are behind by x metres. The units indicated are metres and will always
show the minimum separation.

Lap Time/Stopwatch
 The flag indicator on the left lights up when you are leading the
race. The top right hand display shows current lap time. Under this is
the best lap time (yours or your opponents). The stopwatch indicator to
the left lights up if the best lap time is yours.

Speedometer
 The speedometer reads in 10s of mph. If your speed exceeds 250mph, the
speedometer wraps round and starts from the left hand side again,
whereupon your actual speed is 200mph + the indicated speed.

OTHER FEATURES

Damage
1.Chassis Cracks
 A crack in the chassis travels from left to right along the top bar of
the roll cage when the car is put under severe stress as in hard
cornering or hard landings. When the crack reaches the right hand side,
the car is wrecked and is retired from the race. However, the cracks
are repaired after each race. If your car is wrecked and does not
finish the race then the points got to your opponent.

2.Structural Damage
 Severe impacts give rise to holes in the crossbar. These are permanent
features and stay with you throughout the seasons. However in Division
4, you always start the season with a completely undamaged car. The
damage crack (point 1 above) makes faster progress when it encounters a
hole.

Crane
 At the start of the race, the crane picks you up from the side of the
track and swings you out over the start line. The message 'DROP START'
appears on screen and, after a random interval the crane releases you
onto the track.
 If your car falls off the track, a crane will pick you up the car and
reposition it over the track, at the nearest, most suitable point. The
crane avoids bends or gaps.
 The mesagge 'PRESS FIRE' will appear and, by so doing, you will
release yourself from the crane. However, remember to wait until you
are over the track before pressing the fire button to release you,
otherwise you will fall off the side of the track again.


         THE MAIN EVENT   RACING

   SINGLE PLAYER LEAGUE

  Objective
 The aim of the game is to become top of the first division in the
stunt car racer league. There are four divisions, each containing
three drivers and two tracks. For first rate drivers, there is also
a super league.

  SUPER LEAGUE
 The super league can only be accessed once you have become first
division champion. You are then offered the chance to mix it with
ultimate drivers in other series in other series of races, this time
with much improved engine power and brakes (SURE !!!). You will start
off in division four of the super league on the same tracks as the
normal league, i.e Hump Back and Litle Ramp. The only difference be-
ing that both you and your opponents are capable of higher speeds
and accelerations. The aim of the Super Leage is to work your way
to become Super League Champion.

  A RACING SEASON
 A full racing season involves six races: all permutations with three
drivers and two tracks. Two of the six races do not involve the player
and so are conducted behind the scenes. Therefore, it is possible that
the first race of the season is billed as 'Race 3 of 6'.
 The driver at the top of the division table after six races is
promoted into the next division.

  PRACTICE SESSIONS
 Before entering a racing season, you can practice on the two tracks
which feature in your present division.

  POINTS AWARDED
 WIN......................2 points
 BEST LAP TIME.............1 point
 In the event of a draw at the end of a season, the driver with the
greater number of points gained from wins will be promoted. If this
number is the same, a random selection is made.
 If you retire from a race or are wrecked without finishing a race,
then the best lap and race points go to your opponent. If both cars
are wrecked then the car that was wrecked first is the loser.


   MULTI - PLAYER MODE

  DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
 Up to eight players can take part in the Driver's Championship. The
Championship can consist of up to four racing seasons. Each season
takes place on the two tracks of a league division where the players
can gain points racing against computer drivers, with special track
bonus points being awarded to the players with the fastest lap time
and race time (sum of all lap times during a race).

  ACCESS TO TRACKS
 Since there is no promotion in multi-player mode, access to tracks in
divisions other than Division 4 standard league must be obtained by
loading single-player game positions that have previously been saved.
The greater the number of divisions that you have access to, the
greater the choice of tracks when you come to race. Ultimately, access
to all four divisions allows all 8 tracks to be included in a 4 season
championship. Super League divisions can also be included to get more
power and speed. Whatever the track selection, it must be remembered
that the other drivers will perform to the standard of the league and
division.

  SAVE GAME POSITION
 If there isn't time to play 4 seasons then, before starting the next
season, the game position, i.e. the players' names, points, etc., can
be saved and the championship continued at a later date. In order to
save your game position, select the SAVE option and use a file name
starting with the letters 'MP....'. 'MP' distinguishes a multi-player
game position from a single player game position which is used to gain
race access to tracks.

  RESTART CHAMPIONSHIP
 To restart the championship without having to re-enter the player'
names, select the REPLAY option.
 To restart the whole game and return to the single-player/multi-player
menu then hold down 'F1' whilst selecting the REPLAY option.

  MULTI-PLAYER RACING SEASON
 A racing season consists of two rounds, one on each track of a league
division. A round consists of all the players racing in turn against a
computer driven pace car.
 For each race there are the usual points awarded: 2 points for a win,
1 point for best lap time.
 At the end of the round, track bonus points are awarded to the
player(s) with the best overall lap time (1 point) and best overall
race time (2 points) provided, of course, that a lap time or race time
were attained by completing at least one lap or completing a race. The
computer pace cars' times are ignored.
 When the second round is completed (on the other track), bonus points
are added once again.

  QUIT THE SEASON
 It is possible to skib the remaining races in the current round when
the next race fixture page is on the screen. Hold down 'F1' whilst
pressing RETURN/FIRE and it will take you through to the 'end of round'
track bonus screen.
 An individual race can be skipped by getting into the race and
pressing the 'RETIRE' key.

  HALL OF FAME
 The Hall of Fame contains the track records and the names of the
people who set them. It can be viewed from the main menu by selecting
"Hall of Fame".
 The track records are for fastest lap and fastest race time (sum of
all lap times during race). They can be set during any race but not in
practice mode. If a record is broken then the new record is announced
on the scoreboard at the end of the race. The computer drivers do not
contribute to these records.

  SAVE HALL OF FAME
 The current Hall of Fame can be preserved by selecting the SAVE menu
option and using a filename beginning with the letters 'HALL....'.

  LOAD HALL OF FAME
 Previously saved Hall of Fame files can be loaded by selecting the
LOAD menu option and using the appropriate fiel name. It does not
matter if some new records have already been created before loading the
Hall of Fame as only records better than those times in the current
Hall of Fame are accepted when loading.
 This means  that several Hall of Fame files can be combined simply by
loading them all in. Saving then preserves the optimum Hall of Fame.

  LOAD/SAVE/REPLAY
 Selecting this option gives another menu with the options LOAD, SAVE
and REPLAY.

  LOAD/SAVE
 Whether loading or saving, a filename has to be entered. Some special
significance is attached to filenames that start with certain letters:

......  ...........SINGLE PLAYER GAME POSITION
HALL..  ..........................HALL OF FAME
MP....  ............MULTI-PLAYER GAME POSITION
DIR...  ........................DISK DIRECTORY
 Any other filenames is taken to be a single player game position.
Suggested names might be DIV4, DIV3, DIV2, DIV1 for the standard league
and SDIV4, SDIV3, SDIV2, SDIV1 for the super league.
 Pressing the 'ESCAPE' key while entering the filename will cause an
exit back to the main menu.
 A message saying 'file name inappropriate' will appear if, for
example, a file name starting with 'MP' is used when saving a single
players league position.

  DATA STORAGE
 A blank formatted disk must be used to store all recorded information,
such as, Hall of Fame, Save Game positions and Multi-Player Game
positions. Do not attempt to use your Stunt Car Racer game disk.

  REPLAY
 In the single player mode this can be used to replay the last season.
This has the effect of restoring everything to how it was at the start
of the last season. This saves having to reload a game position if the
racing season ends with demotion for the player.

  GAME RESET
 If 'F1' is held down while REPLAY is selected, then the game will
totally reset and return to the single player/multi-player menu.

  COMPUTER LINK
 It is possible to link two machines together and for two players to
race against each other. This is done via a lead interfacing the serial
ports on both machines. See the technical insert for details on how to
make up the lead.
 To enter the Computerlink, first connect up the two computers and boot
up both machines. Select the 'Computerlink' option on the main menu of
each computer. Whichever is selected first will be the 'master'
machine, whilst the other will be the 'slave' machine. From there on,
all decisions are made by the 'master' machine, i.e. menu control.
 Computerlink mode is similar to multi-player mode in that you can
enter up to eight drivers, load and save game positions using files
that start with 'MP...' and there are two rounds per season, there are
track bonus points for best overall lap and race times. The fixtures
are designed to give each driver two races per track, whilst maximising
the variety of pairings, ad they compete only once on each track.
 The 'F1' key can be used in the normal way to skip to the end of the
round, except where there are only two players, when this operation is
not operative.
 If, for any reason, the machines lock up, e.g. the other machine is
turned off whilst linked, the link can be temporarily suspended by
holding down the 'F5' key. This allows each computer to independently
control menus, etc., without involving the other machine. Pressing 'F5'
unnecessarily could cause the games in each machine to loos track of
each other, thus necessitating a reboot of the system.

  RACING TIPS
 You will need to find the best places for overtaking on each track and
then use your boost to get in front as soon as possible. It is always
more difficult to come from behind to win than it is to hold the lead
from the start of the race. Remember, boost is limited, so do not waste
it.
 When you exit from a bend, don't watch the side of the track, but look
for the road ahead and concentrate on bringing that into the centre of
your view.
 Remember that with a joystick you do not need to keep it pressed
forward. This also makes it easier for you to make use of the auto
alignment.
 Whilst it is generally important that you go as fast as possible
around the tracks, there are places on certain tracks that you must
travel at a fairly crucial speed, otherwise it could lead to disaster.
The Stepping Stones is one such track. You must hit the actual stepping
stones at a constant speed (found out by trial and error) and keep this
speed constant over every stepping stone. Other tracks, such as the
High Jump, require you to have a minimum velocity in order to clear the
obstacles. On the High Jump, for instance, you must attain a certain
speed in order to clear the jump - a fraction too slow and you paste
yourself and your car against the track supports.
 In Computerlink mode, it is possible to force the other player off the
track by ramming into the side of his car. Your car can be damaged by
this manoeuvre, so be careful you do not overstress your car. Likewise,
if you have crashed and are being lifted out over the track by the
crane, it is possible to drop your car onto your opponent's car as he
drives through underneath, thus causing him severe damage and possibly
forcing him off the track.

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Typed by TAU of TRILOGY

