P A T R I C K P A D D L E Patrick Paddle is a high-speed action arcade game for the 16K ZX Spectrum by PROSM Software, featuring exciting gameplay, top-speed animation, dazzling sounds and vibrant colour graphics. THE PLOT Patrick Paddle, renowned removal expert, is the talk of the town. For his incredible speed, he has been hired as a contractor by Products-R-Us, the multinational conglomerate which, after the antics of the founder’s son, is facing insolvency and must sell off all the random tat that it has accumulated. You assume control of Patrick as he tries to tackle the monumental task of removing all the radios, go-kart tyres, teddy bears, cameras and so-on. It won’t be easy, what with the unsafe flooring, falling explosives and the leaking acid pipes. Can you prevail? Only time will tell... LOADING THIS PROGRAM Rewind the tape if necessary, and then connect your tape recorder to the computer as described in the Spectrum manual. Turn the computer on and type LOAD”” (using J, and then symbol shift together with P twice). Press ENTER and then start the tape recorder. The program takes around two minutes to load fully. Once the program has finished loading, you will be presented with a menu screen, allowing you to select your preferred control scheme (keyboard, Interface II or Kempston). If you are playing with the keyboard, you may choose between the QWM or the OPZ configuration. These are mapped as follows: Left – Q, O Right – W, P Jump – Z, M You may exit a game at any time by holding Caps Shift and Space simultaneously. THE GAME You control Patrick Paddle, who must safely bounce the falling objects across the screen, from left to right. As each object reaches its destination, the progress meter at the bottom of the screen slowly fills. Once the bar is filled completely, the current round is finished. Objects may either be colour-coded valuables, or flashing bombs. Each bounce on your paddle earns you a penny. The scores for successful transport of each object are listed below: Bomb 10p Red object 10p Magenta object 20p Cyan object 40p You can let all objects (except bombs) drop to the floor without consequence if you are unable to reach them fast enough, but remember, the longer you dilly-dally, the harder the job will get. For every £10 gained, you earn an extra turn. After the third round (and every four rounds after that), you are given a chance to earn some extra cash by honing your paddle skills with fake bombs. If you manage to transport at least twenty bombs safely, you will be rewarded with an extra £2. In later rounds, a hole may open up in the floor. You must take care to avoid falling through it, but it can also be used to your advantage, as bombs won’t explode if they fall down the hole. Acid droplets may also begin to leak from the pipes above. These must be avoided at all costs, lest you damage your paddle. TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR TECHNIQUE - If you jump into a bomb or an item, you can both propel it higher and put some spin on it. This is a great advantage in the later rounds, where bombs and items will emerge thick and fast from the left-hand side. - Patrick can turn on a sixpence, even in mid-air, allowing you to angle your shots with precision. - If an item looks like it won’t reach the right-hand side, don’t bother journeying over to save it – you could end up missing a bomb and losing a turn. - Try to prioritise the cyan items, followed by the magenta ones – they’ll earn you more cash. COPYRIGHT (C) PROSM Software, 2020 Program code written by John Connolly THIS PROGRAM IS FREEWARE, PLEASE DISTRIBUTE