                             Medway Boys & Ikari

                                 - Present -

                               STUNT CAR RACER     

                      520 Lines (24047 Bytes Decrunched)

                    Docs by **  P H A N T O M   L O R D **


                                INTRODUCTION
				------------

You weren's no racing rookie. You'd served your time on the old formula 1
tracks, before the cars got too quick for 'em and they all got shut down
after the 2006 season...
   What was it they said again? Oh yeah... SAFETY. You'd never managed to
work that one out. Hell, everybody knew the only reason people went to
those old F1 races in the '90s was on the off chance of seeing some
Hash-Ecsted sucker silch himslef against a kevoprene guard rail. The geeks
up in CenCom who'd banned Formula 1 were just riled because they weren's
getting their nice little rake-off from the race promoters. JEEZ...WHAT A
JOKE.
   Now, here you were: your number had come up, all the bribes has paid
off, and you were on the Stunt Car circuit at last. You'd come through the
last days of Formula 1 more or less in one piece. The left leg was still
rated at 76 percent efficiency the last time you'd been able to afford to
have it checked out. Sure, that Australian shunt in '02 had re-rated your
right leg down to 35, but you could manage that... Anyway, if the cramps
came back, the accelerator pedal was as good a place as any to rest it
against, heh heh. One thing was for certain: the synthplast foot on the end
of that gnarly ol' right leg would'nt be going anywhere near the brake
pedal in a div four stunt race.
   Division four... shoot! Things were really getting bad... Div four was
for wimps, computer programmers, and mummy's boys. The cheesy old track
you'd picked from the McFax listings was hardly worth the Transcorp fare...
But rules are rules, as the man said. to get up to where you belong, back
up there with the big boys in Division One, you've got to mix it with the
herbies again. That's what he'd said.
   If - no, WHEN - you get through the penny-ante tracks in Four, that
would be one step closer to the big one, where all the creds are, where the
livin' is good and the beer still has alcohol in it: Division One. It'd be
so GOOD to upstage some of those silk-scarfed jerkwasters up there in the
Green Zone. Hell, some of those guys in Div One, they haven't even earned
the right to race in a div four night reserve match.
   That creep Dare Devil, for example. oh sure, he knows hot to throw his
car around all right, but under the beauty parlor complexion the guy's just
a blown-up hot shot with a few friends in the right places. Hey, I'm not
saying anything, y'understand, at least, nothing I'd like to repeat within
range of a Cit-Scan. But if he's so good, why does he have to come out and
strut his stuff at these backwoods div four meets?
   And that other guy, Road Hog, he's here as well, slumming it with the
rest of us low-lifes. I guess both these characters are expecting to tan
our hides here, you know, just to show who's boss. Well, maybe they might
be in for a little shock... I may not have the hottest motor in town, but
it ain't far off. And I've got one thing over on both of these prima donnas
- EXPERIENCE.
   Yeah... I was pretty good driver in the old days. Set a few lap records,
grabbed a handful of pole positions, surprised a few people... It wasn't my
fault I hot hitched up to the wrong team, with the wrong cars and the wrong
engines... Don't get me wrong, I know this stunt car stuff is different.
I'm not stupid. Maybe the old F1 cars DID only touch two-eighty-five when
the wind was in the direction, but these stunters don't scare me. I can
handle the speed.
   Okay, SO WHAT if the stunt tracks make the worst rollercoasters look
tame? The only place to go is up, right?
   Yeah, well sure, you can go down too - but only id you don't know what
you're doing (IF YOU CAN MAKE SENSE OF THAT LAST SENTENCE - YOU A GENIUS -
THE PHANTOM LORD.) How many other racers can say that? Maybe I HAVE taken a
couple of hard landings too many, but I'll be able to get my back fixed
with the creds I'm gonna win in Div One, right? right!
   Okay. I've inflated the seat-suit, the engine's running, the turbo's
whistling, and the nitrous oxide tank is primed. Probably won't even need
the nitrous... Like I say, it's just like a rollercoaster. Sure, I know
there's one big difference. You can't fall off a rollercoaster... But I'm
not scared.

	AM I ?

                            HISTORY OF CAR RACING
			    ---------------------

FOR THIS SECTION (COVERING PAGES 6 TO 30 !!!) GO TO A LOCAL LIBRARY AND GET
OUT A GOOD BOOK !!!!!!!!!!

                           OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
			   ----------------------

                               GETTING STARTED

                              DRIVING CONTROLS

Plug the joystick into the relevant joystick port:

   ST:......................................................Port 2
   AMIGA:...................................................Port 2

1.JOYSTICK CONTROLS:

   Steering....................................Joystick left/right
   Accelerate forwards.......................Push joystick forward
   Brake / reverse..............................Pull joystick back
   Boost (Limited supply of special fuel)........Press fire 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 until you brake or freewheel the car. This avoids the need for
constant forward pressure to be applied to the joystick. Pulling the stick
back cancels the acceleration, and returning the stick to its central
position allows the car to freewheel.

2.KEYBOARD (DEFAULT KEYS)

The key controls differ slightly from 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 release, the car will continue to
accelerate, but without the boost. Therefore, the key does not need to be
held down continuosly 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

REDEFINING KEYS

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 requests that you verify the keys that have been
pressed. Enter the same keys again and the computer will then return to the
main game. If the second entry does not match the first, the computer will
ask for another set of keys to be pressed and verified. You must then
unpause the game to continue.
   In multi-player 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 subsequent
races involving that player.

AUTO ALIGNMENT

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

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 controls, 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 'COMMODORE' key (C64),
or the 'Esc' key (ST, Amiga, PC, Spectrum). 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 fire button 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 tracks 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 selcted 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 three laps. After three laps, your car will
automatically be repaired and refuelled. However, more practice sessions
can follow if desired.
   NOTE THT ONLY DAMAGE INCURRED DURING THE PRACTICE SESSION IS REPAIRED.

                              D A S H B O A R D

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. Conversly, if the figure is not prefixed, you are behind by x
metres. the units indicated are metres and will always show the minimum
separation.

LAR 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.

                         O T H E R   F E A T U R E S

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 stree 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 go to your opponent.

2.STRUCTUAL DAMAGE

Severe impact give rise 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 radom interval, the crane releases you onto the track.
   If your car falls off the track, a crane will pick up the car and
reposition it over the track at the nearest, most suitable point. The crane
avoids bends or gaps.
   The message 'PRESS FIRE' will appear and, 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.

                                 R A C I N G

                   S I N G L E   P L A Y E R   L E A G U E

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the game is to become top of the first division in the Stunt Car
Racer leagues. 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 Division One
Champion. You are then offered the chance to mix it with the ultimate
drivers in another series of races, this time with much improved engine
power and brakes. You will start off in Division Four of the Super League
on the same tracks as the normal league, i.e. Hump Back and the Little
Ramp. The only difference being that both you and your opponents are
capable of higher speeds and accelerations. the aim of the Super League is
to work your way through the four divisions 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 the opponent. If both cars are wrecked
then the car that was wrecked first is the loser.

                     M U L T I  -  P L A Y E R   M O D E

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 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 season then, before starting the next season,
the game position, i.e. players' name, 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 players' 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 the 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 skip 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 file 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 Hall of Fame.

LOAD/SAVE/REPLAY

Selecting this option gives another menu with 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 (Commodore only)

Any other filename is taken to be a single player game position. Suggested
name 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 and Multi-Player Game positions. Do not attempt
to use your Stunt Car Racer game disk. Refer to your specific machine's
operating manual to see how to format a blank disk. Label this disk, say,
Stunt Car Racer Game Positions and keep it with your game disk in the Stunt
Car Racer packaging.

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 of 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.

COMPUTERLINK

It is possible on some versions of Stunt Car Racer 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, each on a different
track. Also, if there are more than two players, there are track bonus
points for overall lap and race times. the fixtures are designed to give
each driver two races per track, whilst maximising the variety of pairings.
the exception is where there are only two players, as 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 independantly control
menus, etc., without involving each other machine. Pressing  'F5'
unnecessarily could cause the games in each machine to lose 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 presed 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 require you to have a minimum
velocity in order to clear 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
manoeuver, 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.


                               T H E   E N D .