                                 ABYSS!

                       For the Amiga 500/1000/2000
                          1 MB of RAM required

   There is order and chaos, good and evil, and then there's rubber
world populated with intelligent rubber bunnies.  And with a population
comprised of ten children for every adult, kids are running everywhere!
Only now Harry Bow (or should I say Karlchen Grossmaul) has destroyed
all the rubber baby bunny bumpers from the platform.  No one dares to
allow children onto the platform, and the adults are too timid to clear
the platforms of all the nasties that Harry Bow has unleashed.

   The platforms are the twisty-turning planetary highways through the
Abyss.  The Scientific People, living among the rubber bunnies, have
created a special material for mixing the rubber from the planet with a
special hardening reagent.  The rubber bunnies were excellent engineers,
and used this hardened rubber to construct the platforms, and much more.
Unfortunately, when Harry claimed the platforms, the reagent was left
behind.

   Working quickly, the Scientific People produced twelve Anadomes 
for your use.  You boldly take the controls, and quickly begin to lose
your courage.  As the Abyss claims each Anadome as a victim, you hear
Harry's evil laugh.  His glee is elevated by even his own nasties 
falling prey to the darkness of the Abyss.  Meticulously, you open
the hanger doors and extract a Quake-O-Mate.  Capable of platform-
shaking quakes, these toys of Harry's are not to be taken lightly.

   Fine control and careful navigation are the rule to keep your
Anadome intact.  All the while, Harry Bow watches on.  His short-
lived nasty-hoppers come in fast pursuit.  Luckily they are as
susceptible to the consequences of the Abyss as your Anadome.  You
aren't so lucky with his nasty-flyers.  While just as short lived,
and a little more spastic, they cross the Abyss with little concern,
as you frantically try to outrun them.

   Staying alive long enough to find all eight Quake-O-Mates is a
formidable challenge.  Pushing each of them to a Swirl-Away Garbage
Disposal a near impossibility.  And then there's still the hardening
reagent to locate.  But of course, those are exactly the odds you 
expected when you joined the Tri-Galactic Mercenaries (TGM).
However, this is NOT the mission you were prepared for.  

   During your long flight from Earth, a small navigation bio chip
blipped.  The result was a transposition of three digits in Loge,
causing you to "crash" land on a rubber plant.  Now, you are fighting
a struggle for safe passage between three groups of people whose future
are no concern of yours.  Your motivation is a promise: If you manage
to clear the four planetary highways of Quake-O-Mates, the rubber
bunnies, with the help of the Scientific People, promise to build you a
launch pad so you can continue your mission.

   While too timid to actually attempt the clearing of the platform,
the rubber bunnies and Scientific People have managed to develop a
few tricks.  They have built special tools and other devices directly
into certain panels of the platform.  These tools provide the only
brief relief you can expect in the relentless struggle.  

                          Abyss - The Game
    
The Concept

There are eight Quake-O-Mates (QOMs) on each level.  The object is to 
get each of the QOMs into a Swirl-Away Garbage Disposal.  The QOMs are
found inside hangers scattered throughout the level.  All eight QOMs
can be collected from any one of the hangers, however you get greater
rewards for collecting one QOM from each hanger.

Once you get a QOM out of a hanger, you must push it into a Swirl-Away.
The QOM is pushed in front of you.  The Magnet object will allow you
to pull the QOM up a ramp, or across a dangerous area.

As soon as you push the eighth QOM into a Swirl-Away you are flown to
the next level.

You

You control the Anadome.  It's method of locomotion is bouncing.  The
Anadome can not survive a fall into the Abyss or a dip in water.  
Otherwise, the Anadome can bounce all over the screen, as long as it
remains on the platform (or one of the special areas).  The screen
will scroll as you move off any edge.

The platform is made from panels of re-enforced, hardened rubber.  The
Anadome was built to have a bounce distance exactly equal to the width
of these panels.  Small gaps in the platform are not a problem because
of the size of the Anadome.  However, any gaps approaching the width
of a panel cannot be crossed.

In some areas you will notice that the platform is still under 
construction.  In these areas, the panels have only the reinforcing
grid-work laid down.  As you bounce on these panels, you will hear and
see them weakening.  Depending on how complete each panel is, you can
bounce it from one to five times before it will give way.

The Screen

The game screen is displayed into two areas.  The upper two-thirds
of the screen is the actual play area.  The landscape you are bouncing
over will scroll in all directions.

The bottom third of the screen shows your level status.  The left 
portion of the screen shows how many of your twelve Anadomes are still
left.  On the right side of the screen is your completion percentage.

Game Controls

The Joystick
------------
> The joystick fire button starts the game.
> Your Anadome moves in eight directions, controlled by your joystick.
  The diagonals are very important, so use a joystick that handles 
  them well.
> The fire button is used to pick up items (Wrenches, Magnets, etc.) and
  to activate objects (Switches, Memory, etc.)
> The fire button pressed while pushing a QOM will allow you to bounce
  over it.

Command Keys
------------
F1 - Load a previously saved game
F2 - View High Scores
F3 - Select a beginning level
F4 - Toggle between a demo of the first level, training mode (no
     nasties and no high scores), and a "real game." 
Space - Pause game (fire button restarts)
ESC   - Abort level and restart game
DEL   - Turns on and off the Anadome bouncing music
HELP  - Sometimes it do, sometimes it don't

Objects

Anadome Home - Represented by a dome with protector spheres inside.
  This is the `home base' for an Anadome.  The nasties won't get you
  here.
Switch - Represented by a two-position switch.  Each time you press the
  fire button the switch flips.  Will open or close platform doors
  associated with it.
Anadome Shop - Represented by a large plus sign (+).  Will allow you to
  buy a new Anadome for 0.4%.
Light Source - Represented by the electrical symbol for light, along
  with the words light source.  Will turn lights back up so that you
  can see.
Magnet - Represented by a horseshoe magnet ("U").  The Magnet is used
  to pull a QOM.  Can only be used once.  You can only keep one at any
  time.
Memory - Represented by a large letter "M".  This is the point you will
  return to the next time your Anadome is destroyed.
Mystery - Represented by a question mark (?).  Press the fire button
  to find out what object it really is.
Rotor - Represented by an X-shaped fan blade.  Will send you the next
  level with a double press of the fire button if you have a score of
  1.1% - 1.9% and a rotor next to your percentage.
Transmutator - Represented by the inter-galactic symbol for 
  transmutation, which, to humans, looks surprisingly like a soccer
  ball.  Will create a new panel in a pre-determined location.
Wrench - The Wrench is used to move hatches.  Remove a hatch by pressing
  the fire button while you are on top of it.  Install a hatch by
  pressing the fire button on an open-hatch panel.  Both the Wrench
  and hatch are one-time use only.

Special Surface Areas

Flickers - Represented by small generator-like machines with pulsating
  tops.  Originally designed as playground toys for the rubber bunny
  children, they are now real hazard with the rubber baby bunny bumpers
  missing.  Be aware that they usually occur in groups.
Hangers - The hangers have both a set of barn-doors and a pressure pad.
  To open the hanger, bounce on the pressure pad and press the fire
  button.
Happy Holes - Represented by smiling faces.  While Harry was perfecting
  his nasties, he created these Happy Holes to taunt the rubber bunnies.
  They are weight sensitive and simply open to create a deadly hole in
  the platform.
Ice Mounds - Represented by small pyramid-like platform panels.  This
  very slick substance (referred to a "ice") is actually a residue of
  the rubber hardening process.  Will cause your Anadome to continue
  sliding the direction you were moving.
Resistor Bombs - Represented by a resistor-like object.  Will blow
  up your Anadome.  May or may not blow a hole through the platform.
Runoff Slope - Slanted or inclined area of the platform.  Used to allow
  rubber rain to runoff especially wet areas.  Caution should be used
  because your Anadome can go down them, but can't bounce back up.
  If you stay in the same spot too long you will roll down the ramp
  into the Abyss.
Swirl-Away Garbage Disposal - Represented by a round, black, swirling 
  vortex.  These are the receptacles used to recycle all the rubber
  waste on the planet.  Unfortunately, they will also recycle your
  Anadome.  QOM's may be safely deposited here.

There are a few other rare platform types that you can discover on
your own.

Scoring

> First QOM into a Swirl-Away is worth 0.3%
> Each additional QOM into the same Swirl-Away 0.1%
> Each flask of Hardening Reagent 0.1%
> Level advancement bonus of 0.1% for each Anadome remaining

Hints

> The net on Level 4 is strong enough to hold your Anadome.  Just be
  careful of the rips!
> Don't use Memory in an area until you are sure there is something
  worthwhile near-by.  Otherwise, you can wind up returning to some
  remote part of the platform each time your anadome is destroyed.
> You can intentionally destroy a QOM by double-firing on the pressure
  pad of the hanger where you got it.  This can become necessary under
  certain circumstances.
> There are no percentages awarded for destroying a nasty, so the best
  policy is to just avoid them.

End........ 
