Silicon Warrior

Scenario

Travel in time to the year 2084. when the race for Silicon Valley supremacy has been teleported to the outer limits of your imagination.

The SYBORGS. a super-human race of technocrats. have invented the Tenth Generation Computer: a computer which combines more RAM and Artifical Intelligence than any computer ever designed by humans. The SYBORGS have sworn to gi ve the secret of this computer to the Earth House which proves to be the most technologically aggressive.

Members of the Earth’s Hierarchy of the New Technology- the Knights of the House of Peanut, the House of Apple, the House of Adam, and the House of Pong - have sent their most skilled Warrior onto the futuristic battle grid made by the SYBORGS for the ultimate one-to-one combat challenge. It is here, in outer space, that the future of Silicon Valley will be decided. Only one Warrior will survive to claim the secret for his House.

You are one of these chosen Warriors. your mission is to program five of the SYBORG computer chips. You must link five chips diagonally, vertically, or horizontally to discover the Source Code that will unlock the secrets of the mysterious Tenth Generation Computer. When the chips are integrated into the SYBORG Computer, all other computers will become obsolete. This new computer w ill signal the dawning of a new age in human existence, but only if it winds up in the right hands.

Above all else, beware of the enemy Warriors. There are those who seek to control the world. They will also attempt to link the chips together and return with the Source Code. They will stop at nothing to erase your programmed chips, modify them, and claim them as their own. With their cunning tactics. they can trap you in a corner, drain your energy with their lasers, or trick you into a Black Hole “Glitch” which the SYBORGS have programmed into the grid. Repeated enemy laser blasts, or falling into the Black Hole " Glitches “. will force you to retreat to your Power Pyramid to renew your strength. Beware, even a minimal amount of time away from the grid may be all your enemies need to program enough chips to be declared Master of Silicon Valley.

OBJECTIVE

Your mission is to be the first Warrior to link five programmed chips in a diagonal, vertical or horizontal row. To do so. you must teleport from chip to chip, programming them to your language color . You must protect these linked chips until the flashing Source Code is revealed. Use your lasers and shields to protect your chips and yourself. Beware of the Black Hole " Glitches” which randomly appear to trap the unwary Warrior. Your first battle is won when the Source Code flashes in your color. without being crashed by the enemy Warriors. However. you must win five battles before you are proclaimed Master Silicon Warrior!

STARTING PLAY

The PLAY OPTION Screen displays your game choices. You must select the number of manually controlled players (0-4), and the number of computer controlled players (0-4). Use the joystick plugged into Port # 2 for all selections.

• To move cursor to option, move joystick FORWARD/UP or BACKWARD/DOWN .
• To select option, move joystick FORWARD/UP to increase the number of Human players then push the joystick FIRE button when your desired number appears. To select the desired number of computer players, repeat process as stated above.
• To choose a skill level, move cursor to “Select Game” by moving the joystick FORWARD/UP or BACK. Move joystick FORWARD/UP or BACKWARD/DOWN and skill level screen will appear:

LEVEL 1 - Program five chips in a row. LEVEL 2 - Program five chips in a row, black holes. LEVEL 3 - Program five chips in a row, laser fire. LEVEL 4 - Program five chips in a row, laser fire, black holes. LEVEL 5 - Program five chips in a row, laser fire, shields. LEVEL 6 - Program five chips in a row, laser fire, shields, black holes. LEVEL 7 - Progress through all of the above six levels.

• To select skill level, move joystick FORWARD/UP or BACK.
• To begin game, push FIRE button on a skill level.

Get ready. Prepare to teleport yourself to the Silicon Valley battle grid in outer space.

CONTROLS

Welcome to Silicon Valley in the year 2084. You are in your power pyramid, building your energy resources. preparing your Programming Strategy. The only manual controls you need are your joystick and fire button. The rest of the controls are your metaphysical strategy.

GAME PLAY

TELEPORTING AND PROGRAMMING: To teleport yourself from chip to chip, move your joystick vertically or horizontally. All movement on the battle grid will be in either of these directions. To program chips in a diagonal row, you must move vertically and horizontally. You cannot move diagonally. As you teleport from chip to chip, you will disappear. To materialize, release your joystick.

If a chip is blank before you materialize on it, it will change to your programming language color when you land. If the chip is programmed in another Warrior’s language color, you must first materialize on it to clear it of its color, then return and program it to your color. Look for blank chips first. they are the easiest to program.

LASERS AND SHIELDS: (only on certain levels) To aim and fire your laser, first press and hold your fire button, and then move your joystick in the direction you wish to fire. Keep firing at enemy Warriors until you have reduced their energy levels and returned them to their Power Pyramid. It will usually take four direct laser hits in succession to banish them to their Power Pyramid to re-energize.

To shield yourself from enemy fire, first return your joystick to the neutral position, then press your FIRE button.

BLACK HOLE “GLITCHES”: (only on certain levels) The Black Hole “Glitches” have been programmed into the grid by the SYBORGS to test your battle skills. Contact with a Black Hole “Glitch” will instantly return you to your Power Pyramid. Black Holes will appear when you least expect them, but there is a pattern. The secret is “Multiples of Three”, but that is all the SYBORGS will divulge.

RETURNING TO THE GRID: The more laser hits you take, the more energy you lose. When your energy is completely gone, you are banished. When your warrior reforms you are ready to leave. You will always reenter the battle grid on a center chip unless occupied: if so, you will reenter on a corner chip.

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: Each competitor who hopes to earn the title Master Silicon Warrior must develop a Programming Strategy. Here are some strategies which may prove successful:

1st GENERATION PROGRAMMING - This is the strategy favored by most new Warriors on the grid. Attack ferociously, then hide behind your shield. Get the chips programmed at all costs. Remember, only the strong survive!

2nd GENERATION PROGRAMMING - This strategy is one that has been around since the beginning of the New Technology. It is the use of maximum teleporting speed to quickly reprogram your opponent’s chips. Quick! Teleport before you are caught in the act. Victory belongs to the fastest!

3rd GENERATION PROGRAMMING - This is the secretive, mysterious, “wait and see” approach. Vanish, reappear, and watch the patterns of the other Warriors. Slow and steady wins the race!

Choose wisely which strategy best suits your programming skills!

SCORING

The first Warrior to uncover the flashing Source Code will win that particular battle. An announcement will be mad e to the universe. " Player # 1 is victorious!". But this is only the first battle, you must win five. The real challenge is to win five battles at the same level of Warrior Skill. You will then be proclaimed Master Silicon Warrior.

CONTINUING PLAY

• To continue play after each battle, press the joystick FIRE button .
• To continue the game after someone has been proclaimed Master Silicon Warrior, press the FIRE button and you will return to the option screen.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Don’t be predictable. Your opponents may sense your strategy, and will try to cut you off.
• Hold your joystick down after you vanish to teleport yourself past several chips in a row.
• You are the most vulnerable while materializing since you cannot fire or shield while teleporting.
• Try to program the blank chips first. They are the most compatible with your language color.
• Watch out for the Black Hole “Glitches.” When you fall into one, you are immediately sent to your Power Pyramid.
• Get on the board as quickly as you can: your chips are being reprogrammed by enemy WARRIORS!

CREDITS

Programmed by John W.S. Marvin