3D-CyberPuck
3D-CyberPuck v3.0 Game Instructions
The game starts in a shop. You have a choice of 8 weapons and 8 power-ups.
You can use the cursor keys to select the item you want to buy. Pressing the SPACE key will buy the selected item, provided you have enough money. Your ship has a limited carrying capacity, therefore there is a limit on the number of each type of item that you can carry, eg. You can only carry 5 land mines.
Pressing the S key will switch the shop into selling mode and you can sell any item you have. Pressing the SPACE key will sell the currently selected item. To return to buying mode press the B key.
You can also use the TAB key to switch between Buying, Selling and Exit mode.
Press ESC or D to exit the shop, or use the TAB key to select the Exit button and press ENTER.
When you exit the shop you find yourself in your 'SpeedStar'.
At the bottom of the screen you can see the weapons you have bought and a general map of the current level.
The ship has fairly elementary controls:
The Arrow keys (numeric keypad) move the ship in the following ways:
4 - Turn Left
6 - Turn Right
8 - Forward
2 - Backwards
1 - Slow Left Movement
3 - Slow Right Movement
7 - Turn Left Slowly
9 - Turn Right Slowly
Space - Shoot ball/Punch Opponent
Weapons are activated by pressing the number and letter keys on the keyboard.
1 - Drop a land mine
2 - Drop a wall
3 - Drop a gravity well
4 - Use the speed booster
Q - Retro-Booster
W - Drone
E - Dematerializer
R - Super-Nuke
M - Turns the music on/off
S - Turns the sound on/off
You start off in a predetermined position in the arena. Your opponent is similarly positioned, while the ball is shot into the arena at some random position.
You have to catch the ball by moving your SpeedStar to an intercept position. Once the ball comes within your catch radius you will automatically catch it.
Once the ball is caught you can see it hovering in front of you. Now the aim is to shoot the ball into the RED goal. An indicator at the top of you screen will show you who has the ball. If it is black the ball is still free. If it is blue your opponent has the ball. If it is red you have the ball.
This all sounds easy, and it is, but the opponent will try to get the ball away from you. He will hunt you down and shoot magnetic pulses at the ball until you lose your hold on it and it is shot away from you.
The opponent will also try to pickup the ball and shoot a goal. When the opponent catches the ball you will see a colour bar on the right hand side of the screen. This colour bar shows the force with which the opponent is holding onto the ball. When you punch the opponent you will see this force decreasing. Once his energy runs out, the ball will be shot away from him.
Using a weapon adds a strategic element to the game. If you drop a land mine in the world and the ball moves over it, the land mine will explode and the ball will be shot in a random direction.
Walls are very useful to hinder your opponent. If you opponent is following you, drop a wall behind yourself, and thus in his way. Walls can also be placed in front of you goals as an added obstacle to your opponent. However, walls have a limited strength, if the ball hits a wall then the wall will be destroyed.
Gravity wells attract the ball. If a ball gets into the active area of a gravity well it will be attracted towards the centre of the gravity well.
The rocket booster gives you a massive speed increase for 3 seconds.
The retro-booster reverses your movement and gives you a massive speed increase for 3 seconds.
The drone is the best weapon in an open field. You can shoot the drone away from you and after a specific time the drone will shoot the ball back at you.
If your opponent is trying to corner you, just dematerialize him/her and walk through him/her.
In desperate situations you may want to use the Super Nuke. All magnetic field are disrupted and everybody looses control.
There are also 8 power-ups that increase the performance of your SpeedStar.
You can increase your ball catch radius, this makes it easier to catch the ball.
The force with which you hold onto the ball can also be increased. This makes it more difficult for the opponent to knock the ball away from you.
An increase in your punch strength makes it easier to knock the ball away from your opponent.
Every time you catch the ball, the additional weight of the ball slows your ship down. However, you can buy an anti-gravity ball carrier that decreases the effective weight of the ball, and thus allows you to move faster while carrying the ball.
The anit-recoil power-up will prevent that nasty slow down when you shoot the ball away.
Improve your agility by obtaining the speed increase power-up. You will be able to move faster in any direction.
The ball direction indicator is very useful on those cluttered levels. The two bars at the top of your display show how much you have to turn to get the ball into your sights. The longer the colour bar the further you have to turn.
The general aim of the game is to
-- Have Fun --
So stop reading and play the game.
