                                 Road Raider

Loading Instructions

Note:  You will need Kickstart 1.2 to run the program.  Amiga 2000 users
will not need to use Kickstart 1.2
1. Make sure to plug the joystick into Port 1 of your computer.
2. Turn on your monitor or TV, disk drive and then your computer.
3. Insert the Kickstart 1.2 disk into drive DF0.
4. At the Workbench prompt, eject the Kickstart 1.2 disk and insert
   Road Raider Disk 1 into drive DF0.  If you have two disk drives, insert
   Road Raider Disk 2 into drive DF1.
5. The program will then load automatically.  If you are using one disk
   drive you will be prompted during the game to insert the second disk.


GAME PLAY

Introduction

   Before the Great Biological Holocaust, you led a wild life chasing down
creeps.  It Paid, too.  But that was then; now you've settled down to a
quiet life in the last remaining city on the face of the earth.  Sure,
sometimes it can be a little too quiet.  But one thing's for sure, life
here is better than life on the Outside.  Out there it's just one, big
mutant mess.

   It all started when that menace, Dr. A. Noid thought he could strike it
rich by pawning off that vile food substitute, Slu.  He knew exactly what
Slu would do to anyone who ate it.  After you get hooked on the stuff, you
don't care about anything except finding more of that Slu slime.  Real
food is in short supply; so he thought he'd add new meaning to the phrase
"cornering the market."  That mad little green guy took over life (if
that's what you want to call it) on the Outside and has made it his own
demented playground.

   Now everyone is trapped in their cities, unable to break free from the
mad doctor's grip of slimy Slu addiction.  In his cities, killer cars
cruise the streets, just looking for a guy like you to smash to bits.  In
the abandoned buildings, strung-out zombie mutants roam the halls,
searching for a healthy victim to contaminate.  The only way out of this
freakshow is to smash your way through in a demolition-derby fight to the
death.

   Why should you even care what happens to that schizoid doctor?  Your
city is the last one untouched by that wacko; and life's o.k., even if it
can be a little dull.  Well, word is out that a price has just been put
on Dr. Noid's head, and you could use the dough.  Besides, it's just
your line of work.

   It's come time to break out the tools of your trade; your leather jacket,
cool shades, ammo-packed pistol, and your ATV (Armored Tactical Vehicle).
This ain't no ordinary ATV, either.  It's equipped with a high powered gun,
50 rounds of ammo, and a built in Ram-Car, which is going to come in mighty
in those smash-up demolition derbies.

   Crank that baby up, and shift into high.  You're on a road to destruction,
and there's no turning back.  Are you ready to leave the safety of the last
uncontaminated city in search for a demented mad doctor guarded by an army
of ruthless mutants?  You better believe it!!


Your Mission

   Well, you can't back out now.  You're trapped inside the first city you
come to, and it doesn't look pretty.  Dr. A. Noid has set up an elaborate
ring of protection around himself.  You've got to fight your way through
three cities to reach the head honcho himself.  This isn't going to you
your run-of-the-mill bounty job.

   Survival is the name of the game in this world; and the odds are stacked
against you.  Your charm and wit won't get you through this one, so you
better make sure you find the supplies to get you through this alive.
Money doesn't mean a thing around here, but food does.  Any food you find
can be traded for gas, repairs, ammo, weapons, you name it.  But first,
you've got to find some.

   As you cruise the streets, keep your eyes peeled for entrances to
buildings.  Your search isn't going to be an easy one though; you've got to
fight your way through the streets with kamikaze cars hot on your tail.
Inside the buildings you'll find food, weapons, tools for your car, and
if you lucky, an arena pass that will get you into the arena at the city's
gate.  And that's not all you'll find.  Armies of slimy mutants are
waiting to get their hands on a guy like you.  Sure you've got a gun,
but if you run into one of those goons...  Well, let's just say you won't
exactly be the picture of health.

   Once you've got the arena pass, find the arena where Dr. A. Noid stages
demolition contests between his toughest mutants and anyone who's crazy
enough to try to take them on.  Sounds like your kind of fun.  If you
make it through the arena, you'll be in the next city in your search for
Dr. Noid.  If you make it through to the third city, your not just lucky,
but crazy, too.  You've still got Dr. A. Noid to put away.  He's waiting
in the last arena, ready to give you the challenge of you life.


Your ATV

   With two cars in one, you're set for just about anything.  Use your ATV
to drive around the city and blast your enemies away with your ATV Gun.
Drive you smaller Ram-Car in the arenas where you can zip in and out of
tight places.  Don't let the size fool you, though; this is one tough car.

   Your ATV comes equipped with a wide array of features.  As you make your
way through each of the cities, you'll find a variety of add-on car
equipment that'll transform your ATV into a monster on wheels.  You can
find some equipment inside buildings, and purchase others at gas stations
throughout the city.


ATV Standard Equipment

   ATV Gun
   To operate, simply move the joystick to aim your ATV at your enemy, and
   then press the fire button.  The gun has a relatively short range, so
   you'll have to be sure you've got a good aim.
   
   Dashboard Indicators
   Located at the bottom of the screen, from left to right, the controls are:

      Fuel Gauge
      Fill up your tank at gas stations throughout the city.  Keep a close
      eye on the gauge, your ATV isn't exactly an economy car.
      
      Speedometer
      Speed is displayed in kilometers per hour.
      
      Damage Indicator
      Located below the fuel gauge and speedometer, this displays how much
      damage your ATV has sustained.  You can get your ATV repaired at any
      gas stations in the city.
      
      Radar Screen
      Active after you have installed the radar, this feature will let you
      see the enemy, as well as the hazards around you.
      
      Ammunition Indicators
      The top one is the ATV shell supply.  The lower one is the smoke screen
      supply, active after you have installed the Smoke Generator.
      
      Turbo-Charger, Airbrake, Battle-Armor Indicators
      These light up when the features are active.


ATV Add-On Equipment

   As you roam the buildings, you'll find equipment to add on to your ATV.
You can also purchase equipment at any of the gas stations throughout
the city.

   Turbo-Charger
   This handy piece of equipment boosts you power and fuel-burning
   efficiency to the max.  Once you've got this installed, you'll blast
   past any car on the road.
   
   Radar
   Now you'll be able to see what's around you in a one-block radius.
   Entrances to buildings are marked by yellow rectangles.  You are the
   center dot; the other moving dots are the enemy.  In the Arena, the
   hazards are marked on the radar, as well as the enemy's location.
   
   Airbrakes
   These babies let you stop on a dime, giving you all the control of the
   best high-precision vehicles available.  You'll never have to skid to
   a stop again.
   
   Multi-Gun
   This isn't any ordinary gun; this is the gun that'll put them all away.
   It shoots bullets in four directions; but still uses the same amount of
   ammo as a regular gun.
   
   Smoke Generator
   Lose your enemy in a cloud of smoke.  Now you can stop those charging
   cars dead in their tracks; once they get a whiff of this stuff, they
   won't be able to see you until the smoke clears, and by then you'll
   be long gone.  To fire smoke at an enemy, press Spacebar.


ATV Handling

   Well, now that you're strapped into you ATV, you're going to have to
learn how to handle a machine like this.  There are two modes for steering
your ATV.

                Mode #1                               Mode #2
           Forward, accelerate                         North
                  /|\                                   /|\
                   |                                     |
      Turn    <-- Fire -->    Turn             West <-- Fire --> East
    Left West      |        Right East                   |
                  \|/                                   \|/
           Reverse, decelerate                         South


THE STREETS

   Here you are in a world completely destroyed,  Your objective is to find
the arena pass in one of the buildings and then high-tail it to the arena.
The only problem is that you've got to find your way around a strange city,
with a bunch of crazy rebel cars after you.  Then there's always your ATV;
it doesn't run on air, you know.  You've got to find the things you need to
keep your ATV running.

   The streets of the cities are filled with hazards such as oil slicks,
land mines, gun turrets and dead ends.  If you run over an oil slick, you'll
lose control and spin out.  When you run over a land mine, you'll damage
your ATV.  Gun turrets guard parts of the city.  If you're lucky, you can
time the shots, and try to get past them without getting hit.  If you're
not so lucky, you'll end up in the crossfire.  Some streets are blocked by
debris.  You can fire your ATV gun to clear the way.  Although, some debris
cannot be cleared.

   While you're cruising the streets, enemy cars ram into you trying to
smash you to bits.  Fire your ATV gun by aiming your ATV in the direction
of the enemy and pressing the fire button.  In the first city, one shot'll
do it.  In the second and third cities, it isn't going to be so easy; you
might have to shoot them two or three times to stop them.  If you've found
a smoke generator, press the spacebar to let loose a cloud of smoke that'll
blind the enemy and let you get away fast.

   The entrances to buildings are marked with red arrows on the street.  You
can also see the entrances on the radar, they're marked by yellow
rectangles.  The arena is marked by the word "Arena" on the road in front
of the building.

   You can save your game only while you are in the streets.  To do this
follow the instructions in the section entitled "Saving Your Game."


THE BUILDINGS

   You're running low on fuel, and your car's starting to look a little beat
up.  What are you going to do?  You've got to get a gas station fast.
But they don't take cash and forget about credit cards.  The only thing
that'll get you anywhere is food, and your emergency pack of gum won't
cut it.  You've got to find a building where food is being stored.  Then
you can get the food you need to trade for gas, repairs, ammo and weapons.
If your lucky, you'll find other goodies, like guns, ammo, ATV equipment
and maybe a gallon of gas or two.  You've also got to keep your eyes open
for an arena pass; you can't get into an arena without one.

   Watch out for slimy mutants roaming around the buildings.  They're kind
of slow, so you can probably out run them.  But blasting them away is a
whole lot more fun.  If you run into one of them, your health level will
go down.  The mutants come out of holes in the ground.  So you want to
steer clear of those; if you fall into one, you're dead.


The Control Panel

   The control panel is located at the bottom of the screen.  From left to
right, the indicators are:

   Health
   This displays your health status.  As you run into mutants, toilets, or
   hang around the buildings too long, your health will deteriorate.  To
   get your health back up, pick up one of the First-Aid Kits located
   somewhere in the building.  If your health level goes down to zero,
   you're dead.
   
   Weapon
   The current weapon is displayed.  You can find other guns in the
   buildings, or purchase them at gas stations.  You start off the game
   with a pistol.  The other weapons available are:  a magnum, shotgun,
   assault rifle, small uzi, and machine gun.  The bigger the gun, the more
   powerful your fire is.  That means you can blow the mutants away and
   break through debris without much effort.
   
   Inventory
   This shows the last thing you picked up, such as:  food, add-on ATV
   equipment, water, etc.
   
   Ammunition
   The amount of ammunition remaining is displayed.  You start off the game
   with 99 rounds of ammunition for your pistol.  When you find or purchase
   any ammunition this is added to the total amount, not to exceed 99
   rounds.  The same ammunition is used for all the guns inside, you can't
   use this ammo in your ATV.
   
   Keys
   The number of keys you have picked up in the buildings is displayed.
   Keys are used to open locked doors throughout the buildings.
   
   Food
   The number of food units is shown.  Some food items are worth more than
   others.  If you're lucky enough to find a big crate of food, you'll get
   more food units.  But if you just find some cans of Slu, well, it isn't
   much, but it adds up.


Finding Your Way Around

   As if crazy mutants weren't enough, you've also got to contend with a
maze of walls and debris.  Some areas might be blocked by "shoot-able"
debris.  To get rid of that stuff, just aim your gun at it and shoot.
Depending on the gun you're using, it might take one or more shots to get
through.  Other times you'll just have to find another route.  Most of the
rooms in buildings are locked, so you'll just have to find a key to unlock
the door.  Be careful though, not all doors lead to rooms with useful
things inside.

                                    North
                                     /|\
                                      |
Joystick Control            West <-- Fire --> East
                                      |
                                     \|/
                                    South


What You Can Find

   If you keep your eyes open, you can find more than just food around the
buildings.  Here are some of the things that might help you in your mission
to find Dr. A. Noid:

   Add-On ATV Equipment
   You can find a Radar, Smoke Generator and Multi-Directional Gun.
   
   First-Aid Kits
   Sometimes there are more than one in a building; other times, there
   aren't any in a building.  If you find one of these, it'll boost you
   health level up 25%.  But if your health is up to 100%, it can't be
   improved.  You cannot store extra first-aid kits; so if you don't need
   one, don't pick one up; it won't do you any good.
   
   Ammunition
   Ammunition is in closed crates.  Each crate contains 10-25 rounds of
   ammunition.  You total amount of ammunition cannot exceed 99 rounds.
   So if you don't need it, don't pick it up.  The ammunition you pick up
   is only usable inside buildings; a different type of ammunition is
   used in your ATV.
   
   Keys
   Keys are used to open locked doors.  You can store as many keys as you
   can find.  So if you find keys in one building, you can use them in
   another building.
   
   Fuel Cans
   In some buildings you can find fuel for your ATV.  Each can you find
   will give you a quarter of a tank.
   
   Arena Pass
   That's the ticket!  This ill get you into the arena and on to the next
   city if you can manage to beat the enemy cars.


GAS STATIONS

   Don't bother asking to have your oil checked; these gas station
attendants only have one motive - profit.  If they can trade food for
services, gas, ammo or weapons, they can then sell the food and make a
bundle.

   Gas stations are smaller that the other buildings in the city, and their
entrances are not marked.  That makes them a little hard to find.  There
are several gas stations in each city, though.  So, if you drive around,
you'll be able to find one.

   Once you enter a gas station, an attendant will ask you what you want.
you can select from weapons, ammunition, repairs and gas.  To select a
category, move the joystick left or right, until the finger on the screen
is positioned over the desired category, and then press the fire button.
You will then be able to select from three different items.  Move the
joystick left or right again, and press the fire button.  After you have
made your selections, press the Exit button.


THE ARENA

   You've managed to get past an army of killer cars, slimy mutants, as
well as through an obstacle course of gun turrets, oil slicks and land
mines.  You've found the arena pass, and found your way into the arena.
It's been a hard fight, but it's far from over.  Do you still have the
energy to face a battalion of demolition derby cars all by yourself?  You
better, or you're finished.

   Hop into you smaller Ram-Car and prepare for a smash-up fight to the
death.  The enemy has larger, heavier and slower cars than yours; if your
quick, you might be able to survive.  This is strictly a fight of muscle
against muscle - no guns or missile launchers allowed.  You've got to ram
into the enemy, hitting him often enough to smash him to bits; and you've
got to do this before he does it to you.


The Dashboard

   From left to right, your dashboard indicators are:

   Fuel Gauge
   You start off in the arena with a full tank of gas.  And you better make
   the most of the time you have available in the arena.
   
   Speedometer
   Marked in kilometers per hour, this gauge is important to watch when
   you're heading for a collision.  If you're trying to smash an enemy, the
   faster you're going, the more likely you are to cause greater damage.
   If you're about to hit an obstacle of the arena wall, the faster you're
   going, the more damage you're likely to sustain.
   
   Radar
   With you radar you'll be able to see the hazards and enemies around
   you.  You are the center dot, and the moving dots are the enemy.
   
   Damage Indicator
   This displays the amount of damage you have sustained.  Keep in mind that
   if you are hit head on, you will sustain more damage than if you are hit
   on the side.


Arena Survival

   Not only do you have to defeat the enemy cars, you've got to watch out
for land mines, flipping floor tiles, and the bottomless pit that
surrounds the arena.  Keep on the areas marked by square tiles or dirt
areas.  You have to work your way through an obstacle course of bombs,
gaping holes and craggy cliffs, all while trying to fend off crashing cars.
If you fall into the black abyss, or get smashed up, that's the end.

   Things you can find:
   
   Gas Cans
   If you see that you're running out of gas, pick up one of the gas cans
   located in the arena.  This will add a quarter of a tank to your fuel
   supply.  But if you don't need it, don't pick it up yet; if won't
   help you.
   
   Wrenches
   Pick up one of these to repair your car and reduce the damage level
   by 25%.


SAVING YOUR GAME

   So you can't complete your mission in one try, huh?  Well, no worries.
Just save the game in progress.  Keep in mind that you can only save the
game during the street sequences; you can't save the game when you're in a
building, arena or gas station.

   Press the  *  key (asterisk) to save your game.  After saving you will
be able to resume the game where you left off, or quit the game by
pressing 'Q.'  To load a saved game, press 'R' at the "Press the Fire
Button" prompt when the screen showing the ATV appears.


WINNING THE GAME

   So you've managed to make it to the second city in your hunt for
Dr. A. Noid.  Congratulations.  Don't go patting yourself on the back just
yet.  Now things really get tough.  The enemy is a lot harder to defeat;
now you have to shoot the cars a couple of times to destroy them.  The
mutants in the buildings are harder to shoot, and the arena is going to
be a tough scene.  And just wait until you get to the third city, you're
in for a real treat.  Dr. A. Noid will be waiting for you in the arena.
He may be little, but he'll be the toughest opponent you'll ever face.

   Are you sure you have the strength to continue?  Just think of all that
money you'll get if you do manage to haul that little green guy in.  Now
there's some green stuff you don't mind having around.  And you'll never
have to look another mutant in the eye again.  That should be incentive
enough.  So get psyched to meet your challenge in the last arena.


QUICK REFERENCE

   Here are the keyboard commands:

   Q   Quit.  If you are in the buildings or arenas you will quit to the
       streets.  If you are in the streets, you will quit the game and
       return to the opening title screen.

   S   Sound on/off.
   
   P   Pause on/off.  The fire button will also resume play.
   
   D   Toggle between joystick mode #1 & #2 (see ATV control above).
   
   *   Saves game in progress.  Must be in the streets to save a game.
   
   R   Loads saved game.  Type 'R' at the "Press the Fire Button" prompt
       when the ATV screen appears.

   Spacebar   Drops a smoke bomb, if one is available.



Docs provided by TNG & The Corsair.