29jun08: final version of this documentation for posting =======================================+======================================== 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 01234567890123456789098765432109876543210 =======================================+======================================== "TOWERING INFERNO" an Atari-format game May 28, 1982 programmed by Paul Allen Newell game design by Jeff Corsiglia created at Western Technologies, Inc. game released by U.S. Games game copyrighted by U.S. Games (c) 1982 this document copyrighted by Paul Allen Newell (c) 2008 ***** Rules and quirks of the final release version ***** (FLOYDBC.HEX) This is not designed to be a set of rules to "cause the player" to want to play the game. It is more a documentation of the elements of the game from which final copy for distribution can be drafted. At this point it should be noted that the "release version" of 26may82 contained a bug that caused the left difficulty switch to work for the right player and the right difficulty switch to work for the left player. This bug was noted and corrected by Paul Allen Newell on 28may82 and conveyed by phone call to U.S. Games on that same day. The correction is that location 0xB0A6 (according to the hex dump printout provided U.S. Games) should be changed from $B0 to $90. The original release version is "FLOYDBB.HEX" with corrections made in "FLOYDBC.HEX" (which this document is based on). This "bcc/bcs" switch apparently also resulted in a change on line 0xBF06 from "bne" to "bpl". It is assumed at this writing that the final release of this game will have the bug corrected; however, I have been told that the EPROMs for the June CES show will probably not have the correction in them. Obviously, these rules are for the corrected version on the assumption (and hope!) that the market version will be the right one. Notes in the game indicate that a timing error was found 15jun82. My original code had #$24 being loaded into $296 and it should have been #$29. It corrected and verified by Dave Hampton of Western Technologies. (I am not certain who discovered the error -- U.S. Games or Western Technologies -- but am pretty certain Dave was the one who determined the correct timing value). This change was made on lines 0xB00E and 0xBFA9 and an additional timing change of #$24 to #$26 was done on line 0xB929. This version of this document is based on a version from 30may82. It is unknown if there are corrections needed based on "bcc/bcs" switch of where player info is displayed. In June of 2008, I did a quick sweep for typos and a minimal clean-up of confusing phraseology. There are some sections which seem wrong (such as two differing sentences on the scoring of saved victims) but since its been 26 years since the game was released, I am leaving all such notes "as is". =======================================+======================================== GAME PLAY FOR "TOWERING INFERNO" The object in this game is to battle through each floor of flames to progress to the next floor, eventually clearing the entire building of flames. There are nine floors per building and nine buildings in each game. Though the maze pattern and the amount and distribution of flames is random, the rate at which victims dies gets harder with each floor in a given building and each building is harder than the previous. Each floor starts with four victims that die off at a different rate per floor. When all four victims have died, you have lost on that floor (depending on which game is being played, different things will then happen). The approximate rate of victim death is as follows: FLOOR # : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st building: 18 16 14 12 11 10 09 07 06 2nd building: 16 14 12 11 10 09 07 06 05 3rd building: 14 12 11 10 09 07 06 05 04 4th building: 12 11 10 09 07 06 05 04 04 5th building: 11 10 09 07 06 05 04 04 03 6th building: 10 09 07 06 05 04 04 03 03 7th building: 09 07 06 05 04 04 03 03 03 8th building: 07 06 05 04 04 03 03 03 03 9th building: 06 05 04 04 03 03 03 03 03 Should a player get through the ninth floor of the ninth building, the game will start off again with the first building (but I seriously doubt this will ever happen). Each victim will flash "white" three times before he dies, the last victim not only flashes but has an audio alarm (obnoxious beep) before he dies. The only way to stop victims from dying is to successfully exit the floor or put out all of the flames (both of these to be described later). The actual play on a given floor is rather simple. At the start, the player will see his fireman at the center on the bottom of the screen. To the left are 3 squares of the same color as the player, these are his three extra firemen. These firemen block the exit on the bottom left, a "gate" of the same color as the floor blocks exit on the bottom right (this is the exit that the player needs to go through to advance to the next floor). In the middle of the screen is a random floor pattern and rapidly moving flames scattered throughout. At the top of the screen is a white square dead in the middle. This is the valve that the player must shoot with his hose to open the gate. At the top right of the screen is the player's score, on the left is the number of victims left (always starts with four) and, in the far left, the floor number that the player is currently on. The player must move his way up to the valve, shooting at flames with his hose by pushing the proverbial red "fire" button (no pun intended) or avoiding the flames. Once he has shot the valve, it will turn the same color as the floor pattern and the "gate" at the bottom right will disappear. By making his way back down to the bottom, the player can exit floor to progress to the next. Unfortunately, life is not this easy, Should a player get touched by a flame, he "dies" (the screen flashes white and briefly freeze-frames). If he has any more extra firemen left, one of the "extra" squares will disappear and a new fireman will appear at the bottom of tile screen. If it is his last extra fireman, when the last square disappears a gate appears on the bottom left to prevent exit in that direction. If it is his last fireman, the player will have lost on that floor. Also, if the player has opened the valve and then gets touched by a flame, the valve will go white again and the gate will appear on the bottom right to block exit (in other words, the player has to battle his way up to the top again). By losing a floor, I mean that the game goes to the exterior of the building and what happens next depends on the game selected. Should a player succeed in putting out all of the flames on a given floor, the maze will disappear with a nice sound, the timer on the victim's dying will stop, and the player gets a bonus of 10 points for each victim remaining (this is scored immediately with the nice sound). By the way, each flame is worth one point when squirted. A special note should be included as to the nature of squirting flames. There are different sorts of flames (lots of little ones, medium sized ones, large ones, one or two little ones, etc.). Given what sort of flame it is will determine what sort of flame, if any, will remain. The maximum number of shots needed to clear a "a flame unit" is four hits. Also, note that flames stay on a constant vertical row, but have great horizontal latitude (it is also possible for a flame to hide outside of the building or inside a wall and never come out). A flame cannot be shot when it is inside a wall, EVER! (depending one which "difficulty" switch is selected will have the flames visible through the walls or hidden by them). The range of the fireman's squirt is enough to hit not only the row above, but, if close enough, the bottom of the row above that. A player can shot thought a wall to flames on the other side. In regards to squirting flames, the fireman can only shoot up or down, never to the sides. He can also face either left or right to position his hose. However, to make the man face left or right, THE PLAYER MUST RELEASE THE FIRE BUTTON TO CHANGE DIRECTION. This does not affect movement, just the direction the man faces (or which side of him he wants his hose to be on). He can switch vertical direction while keeping the fire button pushed. The amount of water is endless, the only reason to let go of the button is to change direction. However, sometimes it is the case that it seems that is player squirts a flame and scores a hit, but no score is given and the flame remains. This has to do with the technical nature of the putting that many flames on the screen at a given moment. A flame is displayed once every other frame and the hit must occur on the frame that the flame is being displayed, else it is not recorded. Other times, a hit will be scored and a point given, but the flame remains and some other one went out, This is due to there being multiple flames on a row and the program removed one and left the rest and, as happens most of the time, took out a different one than the one hit. The program always removes the one to the right, regardless of whether the left or right one was hit. Also, remember that there can be two sets on a given row that can sometimes overlap. These conditions are dictated by the nature of the Atari system and are only mentioned here since people have asked questions about it. It has no effect on game play, the player soon understands the nature of the beast he's battling. Whenever a fireman dies, the screen flashes and then play continues. If it is a player's last fireman, the game cuts to the exterior of the building. If it is a two player game and the first player dies, it will immediately go to the second player. There is no "separating scene" between the two and sometimes the second player is unaware it is his turn! Occasionally, it will seem that a player gets stuck in the wall and is unable to move. This is not the case! First, the player should release the fire button to allow his man to change which direction he is facing. This usually is sufficient to work--sometimes it is necessary to get off the wall by moving your joystick in the opposite direction that you think you should to get the man facing in the right direction, then push the fire button to lock that position before leaving the wall. I suggest that you mention only the first part (releasing the fire button) in the instruction manual, not the second. The structure of the game is that it opens with the exterior of the building with the helicopter on top. The game number appears in the lower right with the "U.S. Games" logo in the lower left. Games 1-3 are one player games and one score of "0000" will appear at the top right of screen. The other games (4-7) are two player games and two sets of "0000"'s will appear at the top. The game select button can be used to select the games, sitting on it will cause it to rapidly cycle after 2-3 seconds. Obviously, the color or black/white switch should be set at the beginning of play. The difficulty switches determine whether the flames are above or under the walls (setting "B" has the flames above, setting "A" has them under). Once the player(s) is/are ready, push the game reset. The building will burst into flames, the helicopter takes off and lands on the ground to the right of the building and the scene cuts to the individual floor. Note that the logo and the game number will disappear at the moment the building bursts into flames. A floor is battled and the player(s) escape(s). The scene returns to the outside of the building. The helicopter is at the top and takes off and lands on the ground. At this point, the "saved victims" run out and 25 points are rewarded for each victim saved. In the case of two players, the right player gets his first and then the left player. There is a different sound for each player, aside from that and the score being added to a different player, the sequence is treated as continuous action. The scene holds a moment, and then back into the next floor. It should be pretty obvious that the flames on the outside of the building are put out from the bottom up as the player moves through the floors. If two players are going at it, the building always reflects the player who has made the most progress. When a player has reached the ninth floor and passed though it, the building will have no flames and the helicopter will take off, land, score any saved victims, and then the background will go "color-crazy" for a few seconds before a new, different colored building is shown bursting into flames, the helicopter taking off, etc. As before, with two players, the color of the building always reflects the player who has made the most progress. But, please note, the second player will get his "color-crazy" graphic when he passes his ninth floor, regardless of what shape or color the building is in and where the other player is. It would be nice to document the colors of each of the buildings, but I only have the hex values and it has been mentioned that colors are different depending on the tuning on the TV set. To stop a game at any point, push the game reset button. The logo and game number will reappear and the final score will be held. This score is displayed until the switch is turned off (obviously) or the game select switch is depressed for a different game, in which case the score(s) goes back to "0000". =======================================+======================================== *** THE DIFFERENT GAMES *** There are seven different games available to the player, the basic play is the same in each and here follows the differences: 1) One player: When the player loses on any given floor, the game is over and the system goes back to displaying the building with the logo and game number. Score is held until a new game is selected or game #1 is replayed, in which case the player starts back on the first floor of the first building with a score of "0000". 2) One player: The same as game #1 except that, should the player hit the game reset after losing on a floor, the game will continue from the floor he died on and from the score he had when he died. This game is like the arcade games where putting in another quarter causes continued play. 3) One player: Same as game #2 except, upon losing a floor, the game immediately replays that same floor. This is an endless game that will only end when the player either turns the machine off or depresses the game reset button. 4) Two player: A two player version of game #1. Whenever one player loses a floor, it is all over for him and he does absolutely nothing. The other player is allowed to continue until he loses on some floor. At that point, the game locks up with the building and logo and final scores. 5) Two player: An endless game in which, whenever a player loses a floor, he must start from the beginning again with a score of "0000". Play can only be stopped same as game #3. 6) Two player: An endless game in which, whenever a player loses a floor, he must repeat that floor and does not lose his score. Play can only be stopped same as game #3. 7) Two player: An endless game that allows for cooperation between the two players. Though each maintains individual score, the system is set up so that if EITHER player makes it though a given floor, both player are advanced to the next floor whether the other player made it or not. If both players fail on a given floor, they must both repeat that floor. Once again, play can only be stopped as in game #3. =======================================+======================================== Casual observations about how to deal with this game In terms of describing how to "win" at this game, everyone will have their own secrets and tricks that they swear are the only way to do it. The following are my observations: 1) It seems to be easiest to deal with right side of maze than the left. 2) It is best to attempt to clear a path up to the valve so that there is a sure means of escape when victims are almost all gone. 3) It's worth it to try to clear out all the flames but, if you only have one victim left, set off the floor ASAP. 4) Use the walls to position oneself vertically and then horizontally sweep back and forth to remove flames on the other side of the wall. 5) Try to get as close as possible, but never rush trying to kill the flames. Aggression tempered with respect is the proper course. 6) On the ninth floor, note that there is always one huge obstacle allowing passage only at the far right and left of the screen. Be prepared for this and take the attitude of "run like hell" if you want to through before all the victims die. Shoot as you go, but if you are going to linger to shoot a flame, the only reason to do this should be to get to the valve or clear an escape route. 7) Make use of releasing the fire button to orient the direction of the fireman and the side the hose is on, this will quicken results! 8) I recommend starting with game #3 to figure out what gives and then playing game #1. I consider games #5 and #7 to be the best two player games, depending on whether competition is desired or cooperation to see whether it is possible to get through the ninth floor of the ninth building (something tells me it is, but it can only be done with games #2, #3, #6, or #7 and that only after a LONG time of playing. 9) I find the game to be more fun with the flames under the walls (difficulty switch position "A") and less confusing because, since you can't shoot flames in a wall, seeing them only confuses you when they don't die. =======================================+========================================