STUNT CAR RACER [Note: the instructions refer to the 'f1' key in places; I am not sure whether there is an equivalent key to use on the Spectrum version.] User Defined Keys You may define your own key controls. The option to return to the redefine keys menu once the game has started is only available for 128K versions. Pause - BREAK (while driving) Resume - ENTER Abandon race - SHIFT + Q (While paused) Cycle Panel Colour - SHIFT + P (While Paused) Re-Define Individual Player Keys - SHIFT + K (While Paused) (128K only) Toggle Engine Sound - SHIFT + S (While Paused) Restart Game - Break/Caps+Space (While on main Menu) Abandon Session - Break/Caps+Space (While on fixture page) 1. Joystick Controls Steering - Joystick left/right Accelerate Forwards - Push joystick forward Brake/Reverse - Pull joystick back Boost - 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 car to its central position allows the car to freewheel. 2. Keyboard (default keys) Control via the default keys Steering Left - O Steering Right - P Accelerate Forwards - S Boost - Space Brake/Reverse - X 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 selected 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 that only damage incurred during the practice session is repaired. DASHBOARD ========= 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. Conversely, if the figure is not prefixed, you are behind by x metres. The units indicated are metres and will always show the minimum separation. Lap 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 [sic] + the indicated speed. OTHER FEATURES ============== 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 stress as in hard cornerings 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. Structural damage Severe impacts give rise to 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 random interval, the crane releases you onto the track. If your car falls off the track, a crane will pick you up 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, by 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. RACING ====== SINGLE PLAYER LEAGUE ==================== Objective The aim of the game is to become top of the first division in the Stunt Car Racer league. There are four divisions, each containing three drivers and two trackers. 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 Little Ramp. The only difference being that both you and your opponents are capable of higher speeds and accelerations. The aim of 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 your opponent. If both cars are wrecked then the car that was wrecked first is the loser. MULTI-PLAYER MODE ================= Drivers 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 bonus points being awarded to the players with the fastest lap time and race time (sum of all lap times during a 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 seasons then, before starting the next season, the game position, i.e. the player's names, 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 filename 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' [sic] 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 consist 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 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 car's 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' [sic] 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 optimum 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 Any other filename is taken to be a single player game position. Suggested names 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 single players league positions. 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 for the player. Game Rest If 'f1' [sic] is held down while REPLAY is selected, then the game will totally reset and return to the single player/multi player menu. 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 pressed 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 round 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 through trial and error) and keep this speed constant over every stepping stone. Other tracks, such as the High Jump, require you to have a minimum velocity in order to clear the 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 past yourself and your car against the track supports. TRACKS ====== THE STEPPING STONES THE ROLLER COASTER THE BIG RAMP THE HUMP BACK THE SKI JUMP THE HIGH JUMP THE DRAW BRIDGE THE LITTLE RAMP (C) 1989 Geoff Crammond. (R) 1989 Microprose Software.