From: tsrken@voicenet.com ('tsr') Death Race Instruction Manual --- Introduction In Death Race, you are driving a heavily armed, futuristic vehicle on a cross-country race of destruction. Centered at the top of the screen is a timer. Before it reaches zero, you must collect all of the flags in each city in order to open the exit. Escape with your vehicle intact and you have defeated the city and can continue the race. You score points and earn money by terminating those pesky gremlins. Shoot them, launch missiles at them or just run them down. But be forewarned: they too can bombard you with missiles from helicopters and silos. In between each city, you can use the bounty awarded from all this mayhem to repair any damage, upgrade your car or increase your firepower. If you are ready to begin, select a level for game play. As the levels increase, you start with less money and your opponents are much better equipped, as well as more aggressive. One or two people can simultaneously enter the Death Race, either as a team or play head to head against each other. --- Operating instructions Start button: Begins the game Acts as pause during game play Returns you to the pit stop screen while buying or modifying a piece of equipment. Select button: Allows you to purchase or modify a piece of equipment in the pit stop. Pauses the game and takes you to the missile selection screen. After selecting your missiles, it returns you to the game. A button: Fires your machine gun B button: Launches your missiles. Multiple missiles can be launched by repeatedly pushing the B button, with the exception of Nuclear missiles (see Missile section). Control pad: The up arrow accelerates your vehicle. The down arrow applies the brakes. The left and right arrows turn your car left or right. --- Selection screen Number of Players - Use the Select button to choose between ONE or TWO players. The up and down arrows on the Control Pad will move you between selection lines. Select a level for game play - Use the arrows on the control pad to select the level of difficulty. Start - When you are ready to play the game, press the Start button and begin your first pit stop. --- Your First Pit Stop Shown is your car's current body style and equipment list. Your money total is displayed at the bottom of the screen. You may wish to buy or modify a piece of equipment. Remember, the better your equipment, the better your chances of survival. To buy a piece of equipment - Place the left arrow next to the category you wish to purchase and the application arrow on BUY. Then press Select. The screen will now show you your various options for purchase. As you move through them with the arrow, their purchase price will be revealed. Press Select to buy a piece of equipment, or press Start to escape back to the pit stop screen. To modify a piece of equipment - Use the right and left arrows to move the cursor to the MODIFY selection. Then position the up and down arrows on the item you wish to modify. Now press Select. You will now see a modification screen where their costs will be displayed. Each time you press the A button, the attribute will be increased by one. Some items have an upper limit and you will not be able to modify beyond it. If you wish to return to the pit stop screen, press Start. --- Guns When it comes to Gremlin hunting, everyone has their favorite gun! Acme 9mm Machine Gun - A standard in the arsenal of many famous drivers, the Acme is a fast-shooting weapon with a respectable amount of punch. Spandau Dual 7mm Machine Gun - These synchronized guns offer good speed and a respectable range. The dual barrel system supplies excellent heat dissipation, which increases the gun's life-span in the field. Gatlin 20mm Auto Cannon - This weapon has tremendous fire power combined with an excellent range. Due to its excessive reload time, modifications are recommended. Hood Mounted Uzi - This weapon has extremely fast shooting capabilities combined with a moderate range. A skilled driver equipped with a good turning radius can use this weapon to its full potential. --- Tires Underestimated by many.. except those who survive the Death Race. When you need to avoid those fast approaching missiles, you'll appreciate the best tires money can buy. Cutters - named for the tracks it leaves in its victims, the cutter tire uses a razor sharp tread to give a driver that winning edge. Slicers - Serrated steel blades are the trademark of this tire. Highly recommended for the experienced driver who can take advantage of their superior traction. Bashers - This tire not only grabs the road, it pummels it into submission. Developed early in the Death Race games, it quickly became a favorite for its handling on rough terrain. Dicers - As a prototype, dicers are yet to be fully field-tested. Preliminary reports, however, show great promise in both road handling and enemy kills. --- Engines If you're planning on outrunning those missiles instead of dodging them, then you're going to need some real power under the hood. Turbo - This workhorse, originally designed in the 1960's, provides limited power and poor acceleration. This model however is reasonably priced and inexpensive to repair. Nuclear - The first of the modern power-plant designs, this engine boasts good power and acceleration. A favorite on the circuit. Nitrous - This engine was immensely popular in the 1970's due to its burst of power. While not as efficient as the newer designs, it is sufficient for competition. Fusion - The ultimate in engines. This model has excellent speed and power. Its rapid acceleration can save a driver from certain doom. --- Chassis Maneuverability and armor plating are what you need on the front lines. But if you pick the correct chassis, you can out-run everything. At least for now. Kilroy - An inexpensive chassis, this is the standard car for starting out. Even with its low turning radius and light armor, it's one your opponent will not underestimate a second time, if he lives that long. Panther - This chassis sacrifices turning radius for more armor. While it can't dodge missiles as effectively, it's tough enough to withstand more hits. A perennial favorite of many veteran drivers, this car has seen more than its share of winner's circles. Catspaw - Using higher technology, this car's turning radius is enough to avoid missiles. Its heavier armor can withstand a few direct missile hits. This is definitely a car designed with hit-and-run tactics in mind. Pitbull - This top of the line chassis makes use of the latest technology. It can turn on a dime and make change. Combined with its heavy armor, this new car can be expected to become the king of the road in the near future. --- Missiles Whether or not to develop your arsenal early depends on your strategy. Shell - This missile, based on the old 155 mm Howitzer round, has a small warhead and slow propulsion system. This inexpensive missile will detonate on contact. Armored - Developed from the armor piercing weapons of the mid-20th century, this missile has a larger warhead and faster propulsion system than the shell. It is most useful against unprotected and lightly armored targets. Nuclear - A spin-off of the cruise missile technology, this weapon flies at a high altitude until it receives a signal to detonate its warhead, obliterat- ing everything on the ground. This missile can be manually detonated during its flight by pressing the B button on your controller. It will also explode on contact with enemy vehicles. Fusion - The most devastating of missiles, it uses the latest in technology to track and destroy enemy helicopters and cars. Note: Last missile type selected will be active upon entering the game. Once in the city, see "Launching your missiles". --- Entering the Death Race You're now ready for the first arena. Move the left-right cursor to EXIT and press Start. This will show you the starting point for your cross-country mission. Press Start to begin. To maneuver your car - Use the arrow pad. The up arrow will accelerate your vehicle, while the down arrow applies the brakes. The left and right arrows turn your car left and right. Enemy attacks - As you race through the cities, gremlins will attempt to stop you with missiles and machine gun fire of their own. Their successful counter- attacks will cause damage to your vehicle. Your car's armor will be hit first. When it is destroyed, your car will begin to blink. This tells you that your car's system can now be damaged by hits. As you receive more damage, you will have less control. Seek out all the flags - And score as many points as you dare before exiting the city. Search carefully because if you miss a flag, the exit won't open. Once you gather them and exit, your current score for that city will be shown. Bonuses and money for your kills will be awarded here. Pressing Start will take you to the pit stop screen. You may use your newly acquired gains to repair of modify existing items, as well as purchase new equipment. Remember, you must repair your vehicle before you can modify it. Launching your missiles - In order to choose the type of missile to be launched, press the Select button. This will pause the game and take you to the missile selection screen. Position the cursor on the desired missile. You may also choose to target your fusion missiles. The fusion missiles are the only heat seekers, so target them wisely. "Enemy" targets the helicopter only. "All" will target enemy vehicles and the other players' car, whichever is closer. Pressing the Select button will return you to the game. Multiple missiles - A series of missiles can be launched by repeatedly pressing the B button. The Shell, Armored, and Fusion missiles can be launched in this manner. This pattern of fire can be used for strafing runs on silos or to keep the enemy helicopter occupied. Their impact makes a most satisfying fire-storm. --- Scoring Points Money Gremlins 1 100 Silos 10 2500 Vehicles 200 5000 Flags 100 2500 Scoring is divided into money and points. For each target destroyed, you will be awarded the above amounts. Once you successfully exit the city, you are given the number of kills in each category, the bounty money you get from each city, and your running score. When the game is over, you get your total score in each category. Time bonus - This bonus is calculated from the time you enter the city until you capture the last flag. Damage - Each car body is equipped with a specific number of damage points. These points represent how much damage your vehicle can take before it is destroyed. Damage points are restored to your car each time you make it back to a pit stop. So even if you don't have enough money to repair your car, you will still benefit from the stop between the cities. Each item you purchase can be severely damaged or "trashed". When this occurs, the item on the pit stop screen will be colored grey. Depending on the current level of modification, it may be cheaper to replace the item, rather than repair it. --- Death Race survivor's tips 1. Don't get hit! Repairing damage is expensive. It's usually more cost- effective to dodge the missiles. 2. Enemy missile explosions can cause your missiles to detonate. Watch for incoming missiles before launching your own. 3. Some missiles will explode on contact. If you are within the blast radius, your vehicle will take damage. Many a rookie has wasted himself by launching his missiles too close to the Death Copter. 4. During the course of the game, you may find that you do not have enough money to repair all of your damages. If this happens, you may have to down- grade a piece of equipment in order to repair a more essential unit. 5. Rocks and trees on the course become death traps. Be careful not to get caught in them. It makes you a very easy target. 6. Just as there's an endless number of variations for customizing your car, there's an equally endless number of strategies to be tried to complete the race. It's up to you now, to survive!