Cybersphere PC
--------------
(C)1996 PSYCON SOFTWARE
By Clay Hellman
Thank you for purchasing Cybersphere!
Making a Backup:
----------------
You are allowed, and encouraged to make one backup copy of this disk
and use it for backup purposes only. You may also install it on a
harddrive and use the original as a backup. However, you may not
copy it for any other purposes.
To install Cybersphere on a harddrive, simply create a directory and
copy all of the files on this disk into it.
Starting the Game:
------------------
Simply run CYBER.EXE from DOS. For best results, run the game from
DOS mode rather than from within Windows. When run from within
Windows, the game will not be as smooth.
The SETUP.BAT file is only needed if you wish to change your soundcard
setup after you initially run Cybersphere. It simply deletes the
sound configuration file.
Requirements:
-------------
- 486/66 or better CPU
- VGA Graphics
- Mouse & DOS mouse driver
- (OPTIONAL) SoundBlaster Pro-II/16 compatible soundcard
The Game:
---------
The object of the game is to bounce a ball against bricks, destroying them
and accumulating points. The ball must not make its way past your paddle,
which you control using a mouse. Whenever the ball hits your paddle, it
bounces back up at an angle relative to the place that the ball hits the
paddle at. Knowing this, the ball can be aimed at targets, and with a
little practice this becomes easy.
Each board consists of an arena with walls and bricks. The paddle is at
the bottom of the arena which is open.
Game Details:
- There are five sectors, with each sector containing various numbers
of levels. At the beginning, you have access to the first three
sectors - and in order to gain access to the fourth sector, you need
to complete two of the first three. To gain access to sector five,
you need to complete three of the first four sectors.
NOTE: Sector five is not available on the NOVICE difficulty level.
- You will only lose a life if you let the last ball on the screen
past you. When you let the second last ball past, you will see
a 'fatal ball' warning message, indicating that the remaining ball
must not leave the arena.
NOTE: You cannot lose a life in a bonus stage!
- Many of the bricks will let out gems and items when destroyed. The
gems are worth 50 bonus points each, but these points are only
tallied at the end of a level, or upon entrance/exit of a bonus
stage. You lose all your gems when you lose a life. The various
items will be discussed later in this document.
- There are ten bonus stages, and one will be chosen when a Bonus Item
is collected. Before entrance, all current bonuses will be tallied.
When the bonus stage is exited, whether by ball loss, another bonus
item, or completion, bonuses will once again be tallied and you will
return to where you left off on your level.
Game Control:
-------------
- The function of the mouse is as follows:
-- Moves paddle left and right
- The functions of the left mouse button are as follows:
-- Chooses menu options
-- Launches balls that are being held by the paddle
-- Fires shots when paddle has firing capability
-- Prevents grabbing of ball when paddle has hold capability
(button must be held down during a bounce to avoid grabbing)
NOTE: The Left Mouse Button is referred to as the FIRE BUTTON.
- The keyboard functions are as follows:
- ESC -- Resets the game at all times.
- P -- Pauses game
- Space -- Pauses game
- Space -- Chooses menu options
- Enter -- Chooses menu options
- Up & Down Arrows -- Moves pointers up and down in menus
The Bonus System:
-----------------
Bonuses are tallied in three places: (1) Upon completion of a level,
(2) Upon entrance into a bonus stage, and (3) Upon exiting from a bonus
stage.
Four Basic Bonuses:
(1) Gem Bonus - 50 points awarded for every gem
(2) Wide Bonus - 1000 points if your paddle was wide
(3) Hold/Fire Bonus - 1000 points if you had Hold or Fire
- 2000 points if you had Hold AND Fire
(4) Multiball Bonus - 1000 points for each ball over one
(Ex: If you had 8 balls, you'd get 7000)
Special Bonus Stage Bonus:
(1) Survival Bonus - Appears only upon exiting from a bonus stage
- 5000 points awarded if bonus stage has
been successfully completed
- 2500 points awarded if bonus stage was
exited early with another Bonus Item
- No survival bonus awarded if ball(s)
were all lost in bonus stage
NOTE: Lives are never lost in bonus stages.
Items:
------
Each item appears as a rotating circular object with a letter or symbol
inside. 100 points are awarded for collecting one, regardless of what
it does. (This includes the blank one!)
W - Wide (Increases paddle size)
F - Fire (Gives firing capability)
H - Hold (Gives hold capability)
NOTE: The above three items act as toggles. (Ex. Getting a W when your
paddle is already wide results in it shrinking back to normal).
S - Slow (Slows down all balls)
(blank) - Does nothing other than award you the 100 points
<GEM SHAPE> - 10 Gems
! - Gem Loss (Halves gem count)
B - Ball (Gives you another ball)
G - Guard (Places temporary guard below your paddle)
L - Extra life (Possibility of one per sector only)
? - Random item
+ - Bonus item (3 Cases)
(1) - Enters bonus stage
(2) - If already in bonus stage - exits with half
of the full survival bonus
(3) - Gives 2000 points if level has already been
cleared or bonus item has already been collected
for bonus stage entrance/exit
Scoring Summary:
----------------
Blocks only score points when they disappear completely.
- Small Blocks - 50 pts
- Large Blocks - 80 pts
- Hidden Bonus Blocks - 100 pts
- Powerup Collection - 100 pts
- Bonus Item collected after level complete
or after bonus stage entrance determined - 2000 pts
The following bonuses are tallied upon completion of levels and upon
entrance/exit of bonus stages.
- Gem Bonus - 50 pts per gem
- Wide Bonus - 1000 pts if wide
- Hold/Fire Bonus - 1000 pts for each of hold/fire
- Multiball Bonus - 1000 pts for each ball above one
The following bonus is tallied only upon exiting from a bonus stage.
- Survival Bonus (Clearing Bonus Stage) - 5000 pts
- Survival Bonus (Early exit with Bonus Item) - 2500 pts
Credits:
--------
Game Design and Coding - Clay Hellman
Graphics - Clay Hellman
Music and Sound - Clay Hellman
Playtesting - Chris Bailey
- David Beresford
- James Conrad
- Dave Elliott
- Frank Provo
- David Wolf
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions and comments are welcome, and can be sent via email or to the
ordering address below. The latest news and updates of Cybersphere and
future Psycon games can be found on the world wide web.
Email: hellmanc@spots.ab.ca
Web: http://www.spots.ab.ca/~hellmanc
To order additional copies of Cybersphere PC, send the following info,
along with payment, to the address below. Allow 2-4 weeks for delivery.
INFO: * Your name
* Your mailing address
* Name of the package you are ordering (Cybersphere PC)
PAYMENT: * $16.99 Canadian, $12.49 US, or the equivalent in your
country's currency. Payment can be made by cheque or money
order payable to CLAY HELLMAN. This includes shipping and
handling.
NOTE: PAYMENTS MADE OUT TO PSYCON SOFTWARE CANNOT BE PROCESSED!!!
Send to: Clay Hellman
C/O Psycon Software
Box 73067
206 - 2525 Woodview Dr. S.W.
Calgary, AB T2W 6E4
Canada
(C)1996 PSYCON SOFTWARE - By Clay Hellman
