Abyss© 1991 Free Spirit Software

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

THE ABYSMAL ABYSM (or, How I Learned to Love Rubber)

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

The platforms are the twisty-turning planetary highways through theAbyss. The Scientific People, living among the rubber bunnies, havecreated a special material for mixing the rubber from the planet with aspecial 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 leftbehind.

Working quickly, the Scientific People produced twelve Anadomes for your use. You boldly take the controls, and quickly begin to loseyour courage. As the Abyss claims each Anadome as a victim, you hearHarry's evil laugh. His glee is elevated by even his own nasties falling prey to the darkness of the Abyss. Meticulously, you openthe 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 yourAnadome intact. All the while, Harry Bow watches on. His short-lived nasty-hoppers come in fast pursuit. Luckily they are assusceptible to the consequences of the Abyss as your Anadome. Youaren'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 aformidable challenge. Pushing each of them to a Swirl-Away GarbageDisposal a near impossibility. And then there's still the hardeningreagent 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 chipblipped. The result was a transposition of three digits in Loge,causing you to "crash" land on a rubber plant. Now, you are fightinga struggle for safe passage between three groups of people whose futureare no concern of yours. Your motivation is a promise: If you manageto clear the four planetary highways of Quake-O-Mates, the rubberbunnies, with the help of the Scientific People, promise to build you alaunch 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 afew tricks. They have built special tools and other devices directlyinto certain panels of the platform. These tools provide the onlybrief 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 arefound inside hangers scattered throughout the level. All eight QOMscan be collected from any one of the hangers, however you get greaterrewards 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 youto 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 tothe next level.

You

You control the Anadome. It's method of locomotion is bouncing. TheAnadome 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 itremains on the platform (or one of the special areas). The screenwill scroll as you move off any edge.

The platform is made from panels of re-enforced, hardened rubber. TheAnadome was built to have a bounce distance exactly equal to the widthof these panels. Small gaps in the platform are not a problem becauseof the size of the Anadome. However, any gaps approaching the widthof 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 reinforcinggrid-work laid down. As you bounce on these panels, you will hear andsee them weakening. Depending on how complete each panel is, you canbounce it from one to five times before it will give way.

The Screen

The game screen is displayed into two areas. The upper two-thirdsof the screen is the actual play area. The landscape you are bouncingover 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 stillleft. 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 gameF2 - View High ScoresF3 - Select a beginning levelF4 - 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 gameDEL - Turns on and off the Anadome bouncing musicHELP - 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 onyour 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.

---Typed by SKID ROW

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