
Oddball
=======

Welcome to Oddball!

The Quick Guide
===============

The Object
----------

Oddball is a bat and ball game, but on a massive scale.  Just move the bat
and hit the ball around until it destroys all of the green blocks.  Then do
the same for the rest of the levels.  One problem.  If the ball falls off the
world into the swirling Abyss, youve lost it for good.  Lose all of the
balls and youve lost a life!  Lose all of your lives, and thats it...

Power-Ups
---------

There are a few handy items to help you on your way.  If you hit the right
sort of green block youll release a spinning star which will fall downwards.If you collect this star with the bat youll be awarded a new feature like a
magnet or an extra ball.  This might take effect straight away or appear on
the Goodies display for you to use later.  Watch the demo to see how this
works.

Controls
--------

Move the bat using the mouse.  Goodies are selected using the mouse buttons -
middle button to choose, left to activate.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thats the end of the quick guide.  Armed with this knowledge you should be
able to play a game.  For a more detailed description, read on...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Game
========

To complete a level you need to hit all of the plain green blocks.  You dont
need to get all of the blocks which release stars.  Youll also come across
teleport pads - pulsating patches of floor which transport your ball to
another area.

Some parts of the play area may be covered in electric arcs.  Youll need to
turn these off before you can enter these areas.  To do this, find a green
block with a spark and the word OFF on it.

If you look carefully youll find a way to enter the bonus levels.  In these
levels you should try to get as many balls as possible to the exit, or just
try to collect as many power ups as you can.  These levels have a time limit,
so hurry!

Displays
========

To the right of the playing area youll see a number of displays:

Scanner
-------

If you collect the right swirling stars your scanner will show you a
comprehensive map of the playing area.  Of course if you dont collect the
right stars itll show you a couple of moving dots.

On the scanner stone walls show up as blue, with ramps in a paler blue.
Blocks that move are shown as purple. The blocks you have to hit are green,
and the Abyss is red.  Youll also see the bat (white), balls (yellow) and
falling stars (greenish yellow).  Which of these youll actually see depends
on how many stars you collect.

Balls
-----

This shows how many balls you have in play.  When it reaches zero, you lose a
life.

Score
-----

Points are awarded for hitting green blocks, collecting stars and completing
levels.

Lives
-----

Three to start with.  Extra lives are available but theyre tricky to get!

Goodies
-------

A display of the power-ups you have saved up.  The goody display is
controller by the left and middle mouse buttons.  To use a goody press the
middle mouse button until the goody you want is highlighted, and then press
the left button to use it.

The Power Ups
=============

When you catch a falling, swirling star you get a power up.  This may be any
of the following.

Free Ball : Symbol - a ball
---------------------------

Produces an extra ball, under your bat.  Very handy.

The Magnet : Symbol - a magnet
------------------------------

Pulls the ball towards the bat by magnetic force.  Very useful if you can get
the hang of it.

Stop : Symbol - a stop sign
---------------------------

Stops all balls dead.  Good in emergencies.

Extra Life : Symbol - a ball with a +1 on it
--------------------------------------------

These are tricky to get!

Line Radar : Symbol - three dots in a row
-----------------------------------------

Produces a line of dots which always points towards the nearest ball.  Used
for locating the ball if you lose it.

Blue balls : Symbol - a single blue ball
----------------------------------------

Produces a myriad of unstable blue balls to carve holes in walls of blocks.

Fireballs  : Symbol - a single fireball
---------------------------------------

Makes your ball spit fire and destroy blocks, even if theyre hiding behind a
low wall.

Extra Scanner Power : Symbol - a small version of the scanner
-------------------------------------------------------------

Allows you to see more on your scanner.

Extra Time : Symbol - an alarm clock
------------------------------------

Useful only on bonus levels, this power-up gives you 60 seconds more time
when activated.

Destroy Blocks : Symbol - a crossed out block
---------------------------------------------

This destroys all of the green blocks for you, completing the level.

Make Floor : Symbol - a patch of floor
--------------------------------------

Produces a patch of floor underneath your bat.  Useful for building bridges.

Switch Off Gravity : Symbol - a crossed out ball with a downward arrow
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Stops gravity, providing it was there in the first place.

Suicide Mode : Symbol - a skull
-------------------------------

You really dont want to pick these up!

Menus
=====

A menu appears when the game loads and whenever you press the right arrow
during the game.  Move through the menus using the arrow keys to choose and
make selections. You may also choose a menu entry by pressing a number key.

Start Game / New Game
---------------------

You can choose the difficulty level when you start a new game.

1.  Beginner.  This is good for beginners as its fairly slow and easier to
keep track of the ball, although it does starts to feel a bit tame after a
while.  Try to move up to expert mode as soon as you can.

2.  Expert.  A good choice for the more experienced player.  Things moves a
bit faster so you need to keep your eye on the ball.

3.  Psychic.  If youre psychic and can keep track of the ball using mystical
powers then this is the level for you - a real challenge.

4.  Save at Any Time/One Save per Level.  You may choose to be able to save
the game at any time and as many times as you like.  If you choose One Save
per Level you will be offered a chance to save the game only at the end of
each level.  This tends to add a bit more pressure to the game.

Save Game
---------

To save during a game press the right arrow and select Save Game from the
menu.  You will be offered a list of six slots to save into.  You may alter
the names of these slots by deleting the name (with the delete or backspace
key) and typing in your own.  Move up and down the slots with the arrow keys.When youre ready to save press return.  To cancel the save press escape or
left arrow.

Load Game
---------

This work in the same way as the save option.  Choose a slot with the up and
down arrow keys and press right arrow to load.  You can reload a saved game
as many times as you like.

Options
-------

This is an explanation of the Options menu.

1.  Normal TV Screen/High Resolution monitor.  If you have a RISC PC, you may
run the game in mode 49.  This gives a better display on a VGA type monitor.

2.  Music On/Off.  If you have a slow machine you might get a faster game
with the music turned off.  You might also get sick of the music!

3.  Sound On/Off.  This turns off all of the sound.  Again the game should
run a bit faster.

4.  Speaker On/Off.  For older machines, where plugging in headphones didnt
disconnect the internal loudspeaker.

5.  Low-Fi/Normal/Hi-fi Sound.  This changes the sound quality.  The lower
the sound quality, the faster the game will run.  This options actually
changes the sample rate.  For low-fi, the sample period is 64 s, normal
sound is 48 s, and hi-fi sound is 24 s.  If you have modified your computer
to include an unfiltered sound output you may prefer hi-fi sound.

6.  Slow/Medium/Fast Mouse.  This option controls the sensitivity of the
mouse.  When 'Slow Mouse' is selected the bat will move a little when then
mouse is moved a certain distance.  If 'Fast Mouse" is selected the bat will
move a lot further for the same mouse movement.  Choose whichever you prefer.

Instructions
------------

This menu entry gives a brief set of instructions.

Exit to Desktop
---------------

This menu entry returns you to the normal RISC OS desktop.

If Oddball showed the message There is not enough memory to run Oddball...
when you started the game, and you clicked the OK icon, the desktop will have
been closed down.  To return to it its best to select 'Exit to Desktop' from
Oddball and then reset your machine by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing
Break.  The machine will then restart and will behave as usual.

Icon Bar Menu
-------------

For those of you who, like me, play games in the office at work you can start
the game silently by ticking the Silent Start option from the menu.  Note
that F12 is the Boss Key.  When pressed it saves the current game into
slot 6 and returns quickly to the desktop, so you can pretend you were
working if your boss walks in.

The Load Music option should normally be left ticked.  Its for people with
unusual machine setups, like a 1MB A3010 with an expansion card.  If the
expansion card uses some memory there wont be enough to run the game.  If
you dont load the music youll save about 80K.

Key Shortcuts
-------------

When playing, you can do a quick save by pressing 2 and then return.  All of
the other menu options work like this too.  If you want to alter the game
options during a game press 4, and so on.  If you want to set up hot keys
(like the boss key above) youll need to read the Keys file in the Oddball
directory.

Hints
=====

Heres a few hints:

    Keep the ball moving slowly.  Use the Ball Squash to stop it, and then
     be gentle!

    Although the scanner is useful, try not to look at it too much.
     Instead, keep the ball close to the bat, and use the line radar to find
     it if you lose it.

Youll also need to learn a couple of techniques if youre going to get
anywhere in Oddball.

    The Ball Squash.  By squashing the ball against a wall with the flat
     side of the bat you can stop it dead.

    Using the Magnet.  This is a top notch power up but takes a lot of
     practise to get right.

Good luck!
