LOOPZ ===== It couldn't be simpler. You get pieces of different sizes and shapes. One by one you put them down on on the playing board - soon you've made your first loop. Yeaaaah! Now it's not so easy. This time you didn't get the pieces you wanted. Never mind - just start another loop. All of a sudden the board's getting just a little too crowded. Now you're struggling to find a place to drop the pieces (who cares where they go, you can't afford to let the timer run down because you'll lose a life). Now it's getting really hectic. Did you honestly think this game was simple (and this is just the first level of Game A). Pretty soon you'll be dreaming about LOOPZ. Wondering if next time you'll be able to make a longer loop than ever before - or more loops than your record. Will LOOPZ drive you crazy? You bet! - Easy to learn,dangerously addictive - and incredible fun to play - Game A offers ten skill levels - you'll never beat level 9 - Game B takes you through the levels - with special bonus games if you do really do well - Game C is a real puzzle - well 50 of them to be exact! - One or two can play - so why not go loopy with a friend! Play cooperatively or competitively, the choice is yours - Incredible four-channel sampled in game music and sound effects by David Whittaker (Atari ST, Amiga and Macintosh only - IBM version supports Roland and Ad Lib cards) It couldn't be simpler. You get pieces of different shapes and sizes which you can rotate and move about. One by one you put them down on the playing board to create loopz. Completed loopz score points, then disappear. Bigger loopz score lots more points, but if you're too ambitious you may run out of space - incomplete loopz just get in the way! LOADING Atari ST/Amiga Insert the disk in the internal drive and reset the computer. IBM PC and compatibles Type LOOPZ and press Enter (leave the disk in the drive, as the program needs to access the disk). The program supports CGA, EGA, VGA (MCGA), Hercules, Tandy, Amstrad, and Plantronics graphics modes. It should detect which graphics adaptor you have, but in the event of any difficulty you can specify the version you require by using the first letter on the command line when you load the program, e.g. LOOPZ -H to play in Hercules mode, or LOOPZ -V to select VGA or MCGA graphics. When you exit from the program by pressing Esc the high scores and configuration data are saved to the disk from which the program was loaded (unless it is write-protected). Should you wish to play LOOPZ on a different PC you may need to delete the file LOOPZ.HIS. LOOPZ supports the AdLib and Roland LAPC-1 sound cards. Add -SA on the command line for AdLib, or -SR for Roland, e.g. LOOPZ -E -SA for EGA graphics and Adlib sound. Use -SI to revert to the internal speaker. Other command line options are -D to cancel all settings and -NJ to disable joystick support (this may be necessary on certain portable PCs). To install LOOPZ on a hard disk type COPYLOOP followed by the graphics mode, and the drive path, e.g. COPYLOOP AMSTRAD C: to install the Amstrad version on drive C. Commodore 64 To load from tape hold down the shift key and tap Run/Stop. Disk users should type LOAD":*",8,1 and press Return. Spectrum To load from tape type LOAD"" - if you have a Plus 3 use the loader. Amstrad CPC Type RUN"XOOPZ". CONTROLS The best way to enjoy LOOPZ is to play using a mouse. Use the right button to rotate the piece and the left button to drop it. However, if you don't have a mouse, or if the version for your computer does not support the mouse that you have you can also play using joystick or keyboard. Read the section below which relates to your computer to discover the various control options. Amiga/Atari ST You can play a one-player game using mouse, joystick or keyboard. Two-player games on the ST require two joysticks; on the Amiga you can also play with two mice, or mouse and either keyboard or joystick. If you use a joystick hold down the fire button and move the joystick right to rotate a piece, or left to drop it. If you play using the keyboard there are various options to choose from: either I-J-K-L or the cursor keys to move, with R to rotate and Space to drop; alternatively 2-4-6-8 on the numeric keypad to move with the 5 key to rotate and the 0 key to drop. Other controls are P to pause or restart a game and Esc to abort. IBM and compatibles In a one-player game you can play using a mouse, joystick, or the keyboard (note that the Amstrad joystick is non-standard and must be specifically selected). In a two-player game you can play mouse vs. keyboard, mouse vs. joystick, joystick vs. joystick or keyboard vs. keyboard. If you are using a standard joystick you must calibrate it before you can play LOOPZ - press F2 while the game option menu is displayed and follow the on-screen instructions. In the game use fire button 1 to rotate a piece and button 2 to drop it. If you are using an Amstrad PC with a joystick connected to the keyboard press the fire button and move the joystick right to rotate a piece, or left to drop it. If you play using the keyboard, then in a one-player game, or as Player 2 in a two-player game you use the cursor keys to move the piece, Ins to rotate it, or Del to drop it. In a two-player game Player 1 uses the Z-X-"-/ to move the piece, space to rotate it and Enter to place it. You can also define your own keyboard controls - press F1 while the option screen is displayed. Press F1 again until the pointer indicates the controls that you wish to change, then press Enter. Now press F1 to move the pointer to the key you want to change, then simply press the new key. When you have made all the changes you want, press Esc twice to return to the option screen. Other useful keys are Shift to pause or restart the game and Esc to exit from the game to the options screen, or from the options screen back to DOS. Commodore 64/Spectrum/Amstrad CPC You can play using joystick or keyboard. If you use a joystick then you should hold down the fire button and move the joystick right to rotate the piece, or left to drop the piece. If you play using keys you can choose which keys to use - press space then follow the on-screen instructions. HOW TO PLAY The game option screen allows you to choose one of three types of game (A, B, or C) and whether there are one or two players (Game C is one player only). Make your selection using the cursor keys, joystick or mouse (IBM only) - move up and down through the options, or left and right to make your selection. Whichever game you choose, you start with three lives. A life is lost if you fail to place a piece before the timer runs out. If you choose Game A, then you can play at one of ten different levels, 0 to 9. Level 0 is the easiest, and as the level number increases the time allowed reduces. However, at higher levels your loopz score more points. When two-player Game A is selected both players play simultaneously, and have separate scores (they can even play at different skill levels). Game B begins at the lowest level, Level 0, but the level increases by one for every ten loopz that you complete. In two-player Game B the two players share a single score, and take turns to place pieces. Game C is a puzzle game with 50 screens. Each screen contains a completed loop from which a number of pieces are removed - all you need to do is put the pieces back in the right place to recreate the original loop, but if you fail you lose a life. After every five screens a password is displayed - by entering the passwords you can start the game at different screens. BONUSES AND BONUS GAMES For every 25 loopz that you complete in Game A or B you receive an extra life (up to a maximum of 10). In Game C an extra life is awarded for every ten screens that you successfully complete. In either Game A or Game B you can score from 10,000 points (Level 0), rising to 100,000 points (Level 9) by completing a loop that covers all 126 tiles in the playing area. At the same time the number of lives remaining, if less than three is restored to three. The number of lives remaining (excluding the current life) is shown above the diamond at the bottom left of the screen. In Game A you can earn a bonus by completely clearing the playing area. The bonus ranges from 100 points to 10,000 points depending upon the level number, and the bonus multiplier (shown above the diamond at the bottom right - except in two-player Game A). The bonus multiplier increases as the number of tiles covered increases, and ranges from xl to xlO. Game B has two bonus games which allow you to increase your score. To reach the first bonus game you must completely clear the playing area. Although the graphics of Bonus Game 1 are different, the game at first appears to play the same as the main game. However, you'll soon discover that completed loopz are not erased from the playing area - so you must be place you pieces very carefully indeed! If you fail to place a piece then the bonus game ends. The scores for completed loopz in Bonus Game 1 are multiplied by the bonus multiplier. When the bonus game is over the bonus score is added to the score from the main game, and the game continues as normal. The second bonus game can be reached only by completing a single loop which scores more than the target score displayed above the game timer. To score enough points to qualify for Bonus Game 2 the loop must fill well over half the screen - quite a challenge! Bonus Game 2 comprises a screen chosen at random from the puzzles in Game C. If you successfully complete the puzzle then the level number is reduced by one when you return to the main game, and the score awarded for the puzzle is added to your overall score. GOPHERS In Games A and B, every now and then you will be given a special piece called a 'gopher'. If you drop the gopher on an incomplete loop it will be erased - so gophers are very useful for correcting mistakes. There is no penalty for failing to use a gopher. HINTS AND TIPS Big loopz score a lot more than small loopz. Large complicated loopz score the most. At the start of each game the pieces are simpler. Take the opportunity to make a large loop if you can. Straight pieces come in two sizes - one tile or three tiles long. Try not to leave gaps which are two tiles long. You can play LOOPZ in many different ways. Some people aim to create as many loopz as possible - others go for enormous, high-scoring loopz. Set yourself a realistic target, then when you reach it, set yourself another target, and so on. Don't miss out on the two-player games. Game A is especially exciting when two people play. LOOPZ was devised by Ian Upton. The IBM version was programmed by Brian Cotton. Nick Felling programmed the ST and Amiga versions and with Gary Liddon wrote the C64 version. Stewart Green wrote LOOPZ for the Spectrum and Amstrad. LOOPZ is a trademark of Mindscape Inc. (c) Audiogenic Software Limited 1990