Ball Blaster Game Play Instructions

The game starts in a shop.  In the
shareware version you have 8 items
which you can buy, 4 weapons/extras
and 4 power ups.  The registered
version has 8 weapons and 8
power-ups.

You can use the cursor keys to
select the item you want to buy.
Pressing the ENTER or 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 ENTER or SPACE key will sell
the currently selected item.  To
return to buying mode press the
B key.

Press ESC or D to exit the shop.

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   - Left
  3   - Right
Space - Shoot ball/Punch Opponent

Weapons are activated by pressing
the number keys 1 to 4.
  1 - Drop a land mine
  2 - Drop a wall
  3 - Drop a gravity well
  4 - Use the speed booster

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.

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.

There are also 4 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 general aim of the game is to
       -- Have Fun --
So stop reading and play the game.