Snare

Scenario

The Snare: a twenty-level, deadly maze built in a temporal cavity by billionaire Andre Thelman, who ten years ago entered his creation with his most valuable possession - and died. The hunt for the mystery treasure has turned into the hottest vid game show on earth as contender after contender dies trying to crack the maze’s secrets. Will you succeed?

Snare: fiendish, frustrating and deadly - only for the quick-witted!

A DEAD MAN’S KILLING JOKE…

In 2049 Andre Thelma, one of the world’s three richest men, died. During the last ten years of his life he had a maze built into a temporal cavity in the gardens of his home. This maze, called the SNARE, is formed of 20 independent areas floating in a void, linked by concealed teleports and guarded by robots. The surface of these areas are covered with pressure-sensitive tiles of various types, but with different environmental effects.

Only Thelman knew the required route through each maze, and hence all the solutions to the SNARE. Rumour has it that before he died he entered the SNARE one last time, taking with him one of his most valued possessions to leave hidden there. Many have wondered what this item might be, some say a diamond, others think it is gold, even deeds to the Thelman empire. No one knows, as everyone who has entered the SNARE has never returned.

Over the next couple of years the challenge increased in popularity, despite the all too obvious danger. the SNARE was developed into a giant arena, overhead cameras were installed, and every attempt globally televised (carefully edited so as not to give anything away - after all, once the prize was taken, no more shows would be possible).

Each competitor enters the maze in a hover ship armed with a plasma cannon and is teleported into Area One, with only minimal information to go on. Will you be the one to overcome the challenge - or will you be SNARED?

Playing the Game

The game consists of 20 levels or areas. These areas are grouped together into sets of four, each loading separately. Your ship hovers over the scrolling floor, but it is destroyed if it falls down the gaps. All turns are made instantaneously, snapping the screen 90 degrees about the ship. You can leave a solid trail behind, which has its uses. Your objective on each level is to find the final teleport - two linked, flashing circles. On losing a ship, the area you are currently in will reset itself to the start.

If you have no ship remaining your attempt is terminated. However, you are given the chance to replay that set again, starting in the first srea of the set you’re on, with the lives you had initially, and scoring from zero.

To deter unwanted visitors Thelman incorporated puzzles into each area of the SNARE. These consist of various tile types found on the floor, most prominently the teleports and switches, and of course the robot guardians. Each level sports up to four local teleports. These simply relocate you within that area, leaving your velocity and heading unaltered. There are also four possible switches which transform part of the playfield, and have an on and off state. Therefore, passing over a switch will activate it, but the ever lurking robot guardians can and will deactivate them. Periodically tiles transform into energy vents for a short time. Energy can be collected from these by hover-driving over them, and if carried out of an area will create a bonus. As the energy in a vent fluctuates, it sometimes inverts and removes any bonus charge from your ship.

Before each new set of levels you will be informed of any system failures due to the new environment.

Controls

Basic Tile Types

Tile	Description	Tile	Description
	Local Teleport		Inter-level Teleport
	Switch in OFF position		Switch in ON position
	Wall		Inter-level Teleport
	Force Minimum Speed		Force Maximum Speed
	Fix Speed		Magnetic (Stops Jump)
	Prevent Turn		Fix Speed and Precent Turn
	Bonus

Information Panels

SCANNER: Shows player (yellow), guardians (red) and initial position of last switch activated, or shared player/guardian position (grey).

COMPASS: Displays the direction you are facing - North, South, east and West. North is up on the game screen and scanner.

BONUS TYPE: N - None, L - extra life/20,000 points if all lives present, S - extra 10,000 points score, J - Jump level (skips the next level, plus 20,000 points bonus).

EQUIPMENT FUNCTION INDICATORS: Reflects the current state of operation on the on-board equipment.

Hints and Tips

1. Follow the arrows on Area One to complete it. Use Area One as a practice area, get familiar with the tiles in safety.

2. Dabbing the joystick UP/forward or DOWN/backwards increases or decreases your speed by one step. Avoid panic waggling, as you can turn several times very fast

3. Most new pilots expect the craft to swing slightly as it turns - and turn too early. Remember: it turns on the spot the instant you move the joystick! To turn along the very edge of an obstacle, wait until the very back of your craft is level with the edge, then turn

4. Practice turning around the edge of a floor pattern, slowly increasing your speed

5. Pick a land mark before turning, picture where it will be after turning, then carry out the turn: this will help prevent future confusion during turns

6. Use the scanner to note the effect of a switch. Investigate each switch separately and note what each switch does, if possible

7. Avoid head-on confrontations with guardians: be prepared to jump over them, as many take several hits to destroy

8. Use the trail to herd guardians or trap indestructible ones in a corner of the playfield. Enclose switches to prevent them being turned off. Clever use of the trail can even kill guardians. The trail can even be jumped over, unlike walls

9. The point of lift for your ship is directly below the gun turret, as long as this is over land you won’t fall into a hole. This point is also responsible for tile activation

10. A one-tile gap between walls cannot be driven on

11. Remember, bonuses pulse five times before they disappear

12. Black tiles not only prevent jumping, but also pull you back to ground in mid jump

13. Throwing switches results in various tiles types being altered. If the result of a second switch overlaps another, it can alter, add to or hide the result of the first. Therefore throwing switches in different sequences results in different outcomes. experiment to find the correct order

14. If you are on a turn-prevention tile holding the joystick left or right results in you turning in that direction the instant you move off them

15. Finally, it’s worth remembering that when you exit a teleport you will be travelling at the same speed and in the same direction as when you entered

Credits

ROB STEVENS - Coding, graphics, and looking after #1
MARTIN 'Wouldn't it be better if?' WALKER - Music, sound FX and #1's creative conscience
DAVE 'What does JLG mean?' BIRCH - Fast talk, fast cars and fast sell
PAUL 'I'll get back to you' COOPER - For not buying that POS
OLIVER FREY - Neat piccy, ace logo, and fab inlay design
FRANCO FREY - For signing the cheques
CYBERDYNE SYSTEMS - Loader bits
SIME 'Captain' COOKE - Psychological treatment
RICHARD 'Cuddly' EDDY - Hype the Un-Hypable
CAROL 'Miss Thalamus' KINSEY - Mail order hassle
PRODUCED BY DAVID BIRCH & PAUL COOPER FOR THALAMUS