Imagic ATLANTIS Cartridge Instructions (For 1 or 2 Players) GAME PROGRAM INSTRUCTIONS General Tarrick looks out over the jewelled expanse of Atlantis, ancient city beneath the sea, a civilization greater than any the world has ever known. The General sighs and paces. Intelligence reports indicate activity in the capital of the Gorgons, age-old enemies of Atlantis. Could the frail peace between these cities be crumbling? "If so," the General muses, "we will fight." He hears a low drone. Gorgon vessels fill the sky. Day becomes dusk, then night. The Gorgon Fleet keeps coming. Days pass. The assault continues. Every citizen responds to the cry: "Defend Atlantis - before it becomes a watery grave!" Atlantis, the fabled city of antiquity, lies in peaceful waters. The major districts of the city - the Domed Palace and the Imperial Quarter - murmur with activity while vital generators whirl. All seems well. Three defense installations guard the skies over the metropolis. Acropolis Command Posts maintain close watch. Red Alert! The Gorgon Fleet, fierce warriors intent on demolishing Atlantis, attacks in force. General Tarrick, Imperial Commander of all Atlantean forces, mobilizes every citizen on emergency military stand-by. He issues Tactical Defense Instructions. "Review these quickly but carefully," he tells the assembled citizenry. "The very existence of Atlantis - and of us all - is in jeopardy. We must fight for our survival. How long Atlantis survives is up to you. That'll be all. "To your stations!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Objectives Blast Gorgon vessels before they can demolish sectors of Atlantis with their deathrays. Deploy your weaponry wisely. Use the cross-hair sights to aim shots fired from the two sentry posts stationed on the outskirts of Atlantis. Launch the Sentinel Saucer and destroy Gorgon vessels. Battle through day, dusk, and night. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONSOLE CONTROLS Insert cartridge in right side of unit, label up. Turn power switch to on. To begin Atlantis again at the end of a game: press Reset button on either controller keypad. To begin Atlantis again at any point during a game: press Reset button on console. To pause action during game: press keypad numbers 1 and 9 or 3 and 7 simultaneously. Screen goes blank. To resume action: press any keypad number, side button or the disk. Action resumes exactly where you left off. NOTE: Turn console unit off while TV is still on. Do not remove cartridge while the console is still on. Remove left and right controllers from console. Slip one keypad cover securely into place over both the left and right keypads. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GETTING UNDERWAY Press start on the top left corner of either keypad. Screen will display Atlantis screen with Imagic logo. Select the number of players: Press 1 for 1-player version. Press 2 for 2-player version. Select level of difficulty by pressing Easy, Medium or Hard. The more advanced the difficulty, the faster the Gorgon ships fly. Press disk on either controller to begin the game. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ATLANTIS ARSENAL 2 types of weapons make up the arsenal which defends Atlantis. ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS One anti-aircraft gun is positioned at each sentry post on either side of Atlantis. Aim anti-aircraft shots with the floating cross-hair sight. To move sight up: press top edge of disk. To move sight down: press bottom edge of disk. To move sight left: press left edge of disk. To move sight right: press right edge of disk. To move sight at an angle: press disk at desired angle. Sight stops moving when disk is released. To fire left anti-aircraft gun: press either top side button on either controller. To fire right anti-aircraft gun: press either bottom side button on either controller. Anti-aircraft guns destroy any vessel in their line of fire. Anti-aircraft guns have unlimited firing power. Shots will fire from the anti-aircraft guns to the cross-hair sight. SENTINEL SAUCER Launch the Sentinel Saucer to do battle with the Gorgon Fleet in the skies over Atlantis. To launch Sentinel Saucer: press Saucer on either controller keypad. Sentinel Saucer will take off from its launch pad. Position the Sentinel Saucer with controller disk. To move Sentinel Saucer up: press top edge of disk. To move Sentinel Saucer down: press bottom edge of disk. To move Sentinel Saucer left: press left edge of disk. To move Sentinel Saucer right: press right edge of disk. To move Sentinel Saucer at an angle: press disk at desired angle. The Sentinel Saucer fires to the left and right. To fire left: press any top side button. To fire right: press any bottom side button. FUEL The Sentinel Saucer fuel level appears at the bottom center of the screen. When a Sentinel Saucer is launched: The cross-hair sight disappears. The fuel supply decreases by 1 fuel unit at regular intervals. A warning buzzer sounds when only 5 fuel units remain in the Sentinel Saucer to its launch pad. It refuels once inside. To restore Sentinel Saucer fuel supplies: return Sentinel Saucer to its launch pad. It refuels once inside. Fuel level gradually increases at regular intervals to a maximum of 90 fuel units. Be Careful! The Sentinel Saucer explodes whenever:* Its fuel reaches zero. It crashes into any part of Atlantis. Sentinel Saucer explodes or returns to its launch pad: cross-hair sight automatically reappears on screen. NOTE: Avoid colliding with Gorgon vessels: Sentinel Saucer loses 10 fuel units per collision. * If Sentinel Saucer explodes, a new Sentinel Saucer appears in the launch pad at dawn of the next day. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GORGON FLEET General Tarrick's agents have cracked tight Gorgon security. They've discovered the following: Types of Gorgon vessels: 9 Squid Bomber Bi-winged Bullet Rocket Rally Spider Fighter Spar Module Recon Rocket Bandit Bomber Astro Orbiter Cosmic Crawler Flight patterns: Variable. Some fly in a straight line. Others move in a wave-like pattern. Still others take evasive action, shifting up and down. Enemy Arsenal: Gorgon deathray. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GORGON PLAN OF ATTACK The Gorgon Fleet follows a rigid plan of attack: 4 identical ships form a squadron.* 3 different squadrons form a wave. Duration of attack: 1 wave at dawn; 1 wave at dusk; 1 wave at night - for as many days as Atlantis can survive. Enemy ships fly faster every day. *Exception: By Day 10, heavy casualties cause the Gorgon Fleet to mix ship types in each squadron. A squadron begins its approach high above Atlantis. Each enemy ship tries to make 4 passes, from the left or right. Each pass brings the ship one level closer to Atlantis. In its fourth and final pass, the enemy aircraft fires its sole weapon: the deathray. The deathray can demolish an entire sector of the city upon contact. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANALYSIS Destroy Gorgon ships before they reach the fourth lane of approach. For the duration of the attack, searchlights will automatically scan the skies over Atlantis at night. Point of Vulnerability: Searchlights incompletely scan the sky. Defenders must anticipate the flight pattern of a squadron. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GAME VARIATIONS 1-Player Version You confront the Gorgon Fleet alone! Brace yourself. Use either left or right controller. 2-Player Version You battle on alone, but your game alternates with that of another player. The higher score wins! Each player takes on 3 squadrons (1 wave) before switching to the other player's turn. When turn shifts: A musical bleeping signals the shift in turns. The cross-hair sight will appear at middle center of screen. The view of Atlantis will change if one player has sustained more deathray strikes than the other. Each player registers an independent score: Left controller: top left of screen. Right controller: top right of screen. The score of the player whose turn it is appears in blue. The other score will be black until the turn changes. Player holding the left controller starts the game. Each player controls a separate Sentinel Saucer and fuel supply. 2-player game ends when both players' cities have been completely destroyed. When one player's city has been completely destroyed, the other player continues as long as his city survives. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SCORING Day One 10 points for every hit scored by an anti-aircraft gun. 40 points for every enemy casualty caused by a Sentinel Saucer. Day Two and After Each day Atlantis survives, your point award increases by 10 points for each anti-aircraft gun hit and 40 points for each Sentinel Saucer strike. Example: On Day Three: Earn 30 points (10x3) for each anti-aircraft gun hit. Earn 120 points (40x3) for each enemy ship blasted by a Sentinel Saucer shot. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TACTICAL TIPS Study the pre-game screen of Atlantis before beginning to play. You'll see different Gorgon ships and get a couple of clues on how to position the cross- hair sight for an effective defense. When learning to use the cross-hair sight, try keeping the sight at the top center of the screen. You can pick off Gorgon vessels as they cross your path of fire. Destroy every Gorgon vessel you can while it is making its first pass at the top of the screen. Once destroyed, it cannot fly lower. Practice anticipating the location, speed and movement of each sqadron. This will help you when night falls and you must rely more heavily on your ability to anticipate the pattern of enemy action. Try using the Sentinel Saucer during night assaults. Let your fuel supplies build up during dusk assaults by the Gorgon Fleet, then launch your Sentinel Saucer and blast away. Be careful! Land before your fuel runs out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Program designed by Pat Ransill ©1982 IMAGIC INC. 700006-1B All Rights Reserved