Crackpots - Commodore 64 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Coded by Antonio Savona Gfx by Steven Day Music and sfx by Saul Cross Based on the original game by Dan Kitchen Special thanks to David Motowylak and Ralle Möritz for additional testing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PEST CONTROL HANDBOOK Approved By Brooklyn Block Association We're infested! A bug barrage is swarming out of the sewer, chomping away at every building in town. Entire neighborhoods are now crumb piles! Over in Brooklyn, Potsy, the rooftop gardener, is defeating his beloved building with his only weapon - potted petunias. Be a good neighbor. Help him take potshots at the insect invaders... Quick! When too many bugs crawl into the windows, they'll start eating you out of house and home! >> BASIC BUG BASHING 1. Hook up your Commodore 64. Follow manufacturer's instructions. 2. With power OFF, plug in game cartridge. 3. Turn power ON. If no picture appears, check connection of your Commodore 64 system to TV, then repeat steps 1-3. 4. Plug in the Joystick Controller in Port 2 (Port 1 is not used). To move Potsy left or right, push the joystick left or right. To push a pot over the ledge, press the red button when Potsy is standing behind it. 5. To begin a new game, press the red button. You'll hear the pitter-patter of tiny bug feet rising up through the sewer. Take a breath and get ready... here they come!! 6. Bugs come in waves. The first wave is black, then colors progress to blue, red and green. There are twelve bugs in each wave. When you make it through the green wave, the cycle will repeat. However, you'll then be at the next level and all the bugs will move faster. 7. Six Bonus Bugs are displayed below the sewer at the beginning of each wave. Whenever a bug slithers into a window, a Bonus Bug will disappear from this display. When six bugs have crawled into the windows, all six Bonus Bugs will be gone and your Joystick's red button won't release any more flowerpots. Then, one of the crawlers will chew up a layer of your building, and you'll repeat the wave at a slower level. 8. The game ends when the creepy crawlers have gobbled up six layers of the building. 9. At any time during a game, press <- button to toggle music on/off. Press space to pause game, then press space again to un-pause. >> SCORING -------------------------------------------- | | COLOR OF BUGS | | | | | LEVEL | BLACK | BLUE | RED | GREEN | -------------------------------------------- | 1 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | -------------------------------------------- | 2 | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | -------------------------------------------- | 3 | 30 | 60 | 90 | 120 | -------------------------------------------- | 4 | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | -------------------------------------------- | 5 | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | -------------------------------------------- | 6 | 60 | 120 | 180 | 240 | -------------------------------------------- | 7 | 70 | 140 | 210 | 280 | -------------------------------------------- | 8 | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | -------------------------------------------- Bonus Bugs. 200 points are awarded for each bug print remaining at the end of every wave. >> BUGS OF MANY COLORS The bugs crawl up the wall in four different directions, depending one their color. o Black bugs crawl straight up. o Blue bugs wiggle side to side. o Red bugs crawl diagonally. o Green bugs zig-zag between two windows. _____ _____ _____ |_____| |_____| |_____| Black X X Blue bug . . bug path . . path . . . . . . _____ _____ _____ |_____| |_____| |_____| X Red . bug . path . . . _____ _____ _____ |_____| |_____| |_____| X Green . bug . path . . . >> GETTING THE FEEL OF CRACKPOTS Becoming a seasoned Crackpot doesn't just happen after one day in the big city. You need to stick around for a while and practice. For starters, hang out with Potsy. Check out his speed and style. Develop a sense of timing based on the speed and direction of the bugs and the time it takes for a petunia to fall. This will vastly improve your accuracy at pitching a plant at just the right time. >> JOIN THE ACTIVISION "CRACKPOTS" If you help Potsy pitch pots at pests for points totaling 75,000 or more, you've been more than a good neighbor. Consider yourself an official Activision Crackpot. Send us a photo of the TV screen showing your qualifying score, along with your name and address, and we'll send you the official Crackpot emblem. Be sure to write the name 'Crackpots' and your score on the bottom corner of the envelope. >> THERE'S A BUG IN THE HOUSE!!! Most people aren't too disturbed by insects crawling in the woods and wilds. Let one appear in the parlor, however, and a frenzy sets in. Yet, like us, these tiny creatures are nature's handiwork and, as co-inhabitants of planet Earth, perhaps we should all get to know each other. Roaches are old-timers. Human existence began one million years ago, while roaches have been around for 300 million years! If you're wondering what to serve a roach for dinner, they'll eat most foods, in the pantry or in the garbage. But did you know they also like glue, watercolor paints and stale beer? Fleas are the high jumpers of the planet. They can leap up to 50 times their height. We'd have to jump up to 300 feet to compete with that! Clothes moths love wool. But did you know that they eat your sweaters before they become moths? The mother moth, leaves her eggs on your clothes and rugs and, when they hatch baby caterpillars emerge. That's who does the eating! In their winged state, they are unable to eat. Spiders are not insects, they're Arachnids. Insects have six legs, spiders have eight. A spider in the house is a friend indeed! If you can tolerate their presence, and don't run them the wrong way, they will do you no harm. Allow them to spin their gentle webs and rid your house of many insect pests. >> HOW TO BECOME THE NEIGHBORHOOD CRACKPOT Tips from Dan Kitchen, designer of Crackpots Dan Kitchen grew up in a family of game designers and computer pros (Garry and Steve are his brother designers). It's no wonder that he was designing games right out of high school - in 1979! In his spare time, he plays folk guitar, tinkers with electronics and jogs. "Crackpots is a game that requires balance, advanced planning, good aim and the ability to remain calm when things appear hopeless. Follow these tips and you'll soon be a smashing success. "Play the sidewalk - that is, try to hit the bugs while they're crawling along the sidewalk or when they're just coming out of the sewer. The closer they get to the windows, the less time you'll have to react. "When you're up in the higher levels, the bugs will crawl too fast for you to get them all. You're better off playing, say, three selected windows in the middle. It's OK if a few crawlers get in on the extreme right or left. You only have to get seven out of twelve bugs to go to the next level. "Notice that the red bugs end up 2 windows away from where they began their diagonal climb. And, while the building is still pretty high, the green bugs will end up at the window over the spot they started from below. Keep this in mind and you'll soon be dropping the right pot at the right time. "Then, if you still can't stamp out bugs, you can always buy the original, inner-city bug killer - a pair of shoes with pointed toes. Know what I mean? Drop me a line if you do. God bless!" -*- -*- -*- Let us get to know you! If you have questions or comments about our games or clubs, or want to be added to our mailing list, drop us a note or call the "Game Hotline" toll-free at (800)633-GAME. In California, please call (415)940-6044/5. Activision, Inc., Drawer No, 7287 Mountain View, CA 94039 Atari 2600 and Video Computer System are trademarks of ATARI, Inc. (c) 1983 Activision AX-029-03 Printed in U.S.A.