                      BLOCKBUSTER       by Mindscape 
 
GETTING STARTED 
 
1.  You must use the mouse only in port 0. 
2.  Insert the Blockbuster disk, label side up, into the disk drive. 
3.  Turn on the monitor or TV, and the computer. 
4.  Press the left mouse button to start the game. 
 
PLAYING THE GAME 
 
Trapped  by a myriad of walls,  you must destroy them one brick at a  time.   
Meddling aliens fall from the sky to deflect your shots and get in the way.   
Collect  the tokens released from special bricks to purchase  weapons  that  
can help you break down the wall.   Once you have broken through the  first  
wall, you only have 79 more to go! 
 
Memorize  the  passwords that appear after every 10  screens.   Before  you  
start  the  game,  type  in a password to jump to  more  advanced  screens.   
Design up to 48 of your own screens with the built-in Screen Designer.  Add  
bonuses,  indestructible bricks,  lots of aliens, or a crazy design to make  
them as challenging or as simple as you want. 
 
GAME CONTROL 
 
Use  the mouse to control the bat.   Press the left mouse button to  launch  
the  ball  and use weapons.   Press the right mouse button  to  select  and  
implement weapons. 
 
BREAKING DOWN THE WALL 
 
Press  the  left mouse button to start the game,  then press  it  again  to  
launch  the  first  ball  (after  2  seconds  the  ball  will  be  launched  
automatically).  Move your bat to the left or right to hit the ball against  
the bricks at the top of the screen.   Most bricks can be destroyed with  a  
single  hit from the ball.   There are also multi-hit bricks which must  be  
hit  several  times to be destroyed.   Other bricks are  indestructible  or  
invisible  and  must be destroyed using one of the weapons  purchased  with  
collected tokens. 
 
Once you have destroyed all the bricks,  you can proceed to the next screen  
and another wall of bricks. 
 
You  start the game with 5 balls;  if you miss a ball,  you lose  it.   The  
direction the ball bounces after it is hit depends on where it lands on the  
bat.  If the ball lands on the left end of the bat, it will go to the left.   
Before  you  launch the ball,  or while using the Magnet  weapon,  you  can  
adjust  its position on the bat by pressing the right mouse button  or  the  
weapon selector key. 
 
ALIENS 
 
Aliens roam around the screen as you try to break down the wall.   Although  
they  are generally harmless,  they can interfere by deflecting  the  ball.   
Some aliens drop small stun bombs.   If one of these hits the bat,  you are  
paralysed for about a second.   Aliens are destroyed on contact with either  
the ball or the bat.  Each alien you destroy is worth 100 points. 
 
TOKENS AND WEAPONS 
 
Some bricks release U-shaped tokens that fall to the ground.   Collect  the  
tokens by catching them with the bat.   The tokens can be used to  purchase  
weapons.   Any unspent tokens at the end of a successfully completed screen  
are worth 1000 points each (maximum 9000 points). 
 
The 9 weapons are represented by icons at the lower right of the screen.  A  
white square around the icon indicates which weapon is currently  available  
for purchase.  Select a weapon by pressing the right mouse button or weapon  
selector key.  All weapons, except the Torch, are lost when you lose a ball  
or when you finish a screen. 
 
You  can use more than one weapon at a time.   For instance,  you  can  use  
Magnet  and  Wide together.   However,  certain weapons will  not  work  in  
conjunction with other weapons.   You cannot use the Magnet and the  Divide  
weapons at the same time, and the Laser and Missile will not work together,  
either.   For instance,  if you are using the Magnet weapon and select  the  
Divide  weapon,  you will lose the Magnet weapon and switch to  the  Divide  
weapon. 
 
     -> Slowdown - 1 token 
     Reduces  the speed of the ball to 75% of its current  speed.   Can  be  
     selected several times after collecting more tokens. 
      
     -> Magnet - 2 tokens 
     Allows you to catch and hold the ball.  Press the left mouse button to  
     launch the ball. 
      
     -> Divide - 3 tokens 
     Splits the ball into 3 balls. 
      
     -> Wide - 4 tokens 
     Enlarges the bat (the extension is not vulnerable to alien stun bombs) 
      
     -> Torch - 5 tokens 
     Lights up invisible bricks. 
      
     -> Laser - 6 tokens 
     Press  the left mouse button to fire a laser bolt.   Laser bolts  will  
     pass through rows of bricks.   Be careful though,  some bricks reflect  
     laser bolts back to the bat. 
      
     -> Smart bomb - 7 tokens 
     All aliens are removed from the screen and do not reappear.   Activate  
     the  bomb  by pressing the right mouse button or the  weapon  selector  
     key. 
      
     -> Missile - 8 tokens 
     You  are given 3 missiles which can be launched,  one at  a  time,  by  
     pressing the left mouse button.   Missiles are able to destroy  multi- 
     hit bricks with a single hit. 
      
     -> Force Field - 9 tokens 
     A force field encircles the ball,  allowing it to smash through aliens  
     and  rows of bricks without being deflected.   When surrounded by  the  
     force field the ball can pass through, but not destroy, indestructible  
     bricks. 
 
SCORING AND BONUSES 
 
The color of a brick determines the number of points scored (from 5 to  75)  
when  it  is destroyed.   Aliens are worth 100 points.   At the  end  of  a  
successfully completed screen,  unspent tokens are worth 1000 points  each,  
up to a maximum of 9000 points. 
 
Extra balls are awarded for each 50,000 points scored. 
 
On some screens you can earn bonus points by destroying,  IN ORDER,  bricks  
marked with the letters B-O-N-U-S. 
 
PASSWORDS 
 
Passwords  will allow you to skip sets of screens you  have  mastered,  and  
proceed to the advanced screens.   After completing a set of 10 screens,  a  
password will be displayed.   Memorize the password so that in future games  
you  can skip that set of screens.   Then the next time you start  a  game,  
type  in  the password on the title screen.   The program  will  check  the  
password and the game will start with the next level of screens. 
 
PAUSING AND QUITTING 
 
Press any key to pause and resume the game.   Quit the game at any time  by  
pressing  ESC.   The high score table will appear at the end of  the  game.   
Enter your name by typing your name. 
 
DESIGNING YOUR OWN SCREENS 
 
There are 48 user-definable screens (81-128).   
 
1.   Access  the Screen Designer by holding down the RETURN key  while  the  
game is loading. 
 
2.  To access the built-in help screen, press the HELP key. 
 
3.   Use the 4 arrow keys to move the cursor around the screen,  and  press  
the space bar to place a brick on the screen. 
 
4.  Use the - or + keys to cycle through the available colors.  To change a  
color of an existing brick, position the cursor over the brick and select a  
different color. 
 
5.   To  erase a brick,  position the cursor over the brick and change  the  
color to black. 
 
6.   After placing a brick,  add special features (such as Laser Reflection  
or  Bonus Points) to the bricks by pressing the corresponding  key  (listed  
below). 
 
7.   To set the difficulty level of the screen,  press RETURN to go to  the  
Parameter Screen.   Type in the value of the parameter when prompted.   Use  
the up and down arrow keys to cycle through the parameters.   Press  RETURN  
when you are done setting the parameters. 
 
8.   Press CLR/HOME to design the next screen.   Press INSERT to return  to  
the previous screen. 
 
9.  Press F1 to save the screens you have designed to the program disk. 
 
10.  After  you have saved your screens,  reboot the computer and load  the  
game.   To load your screens,  type the password USER on the title  screen.   
Play then starts with screen 81. 
 
SPECIAL BRICK FEATURES 
 
After you have placed a brick,  press any of the following keys to add  the  
features you want.   A brick can have more than one feature,  but cannot be  
both Multi-hit and indestructible. 
 
     M          Multi-hit bricks 
     I          Indestructible bricks 
     R          Reflect lasers 
     B,O,N,U,S  Bonus bricks (you can use all letters for bonus points) 
 
To create invisible bricks you do not need to place a brick first.   Simply  
position  the  cursor where you would like to have an invisible  brick  and  
press M, I or R. 
 
SETTING DIFFICULTY LEVELS 
 
Make  each  screen  as  easy or as difficult as you  want  by  setting  the  
parameters listed below. 
 
     initspd    The initial speed of the ball, in the range of 4 to 16. 
      
     maxspd     The maximum speed of the ball, in the range of 4 to 16. 
      
     aliens     There are 8 alien types.  Up to 6 aliens are allowed on any  
                screen at any one time. 
      
     bombs      The rate at which aliens drop stun bombs, in the range of 0  
                to 8. 
      
     to  kill    The number of times a multi-hit brick must be  hit  before  
                 being destroyed. 
      
     accel       The acceleration of the ball, in the range of 0 to 8.  The  
                 ball speeds up when it hits a brick. 
      
     tokens      The number of tokens hidden randomly in bricks,  up to  99  
                 per screen.  There can be only one token per brick, so the  
                 number  of tokens  cannot be greater than  the  number  of  
                 bricks. 
 
     speedup     When  the number of  bricks on the screen  falls  to  this  
                 figure the ball speeds up whenever it hits anything on the  
                 screen. 
 
End...........
 
