Mission Maze
Program designed by William Soleau Version 1.0 May 1991
Requires Color Monitor
* * * Objective * * *
The objective of Mission Maze is to locate all objects
or items that Mission Control directs you to find. You
begin on level #1. The Mission Control message board
will pop up and send you a telecommunication. In this
message, they will direct you to find certain objects that
are hidden somewhere on the present level.
When the maze appears, it will only show you a small
portion of it in the center of the screen. There will be
a white "X" in the center which will represent your present
location. To move through the maze, you will use the arrow
keys. There will be many other objects which are within the
maze that you will encounter. First of all there are solid
blocks which are walls that cannot be breached. There are
also lighter color blocks which are walls that can be
removed, if you have TNT to blow them up. The objects that
you are trying to find, will appear one at a time on that
level. If for example, Mission Control says you must find
out where the Solar Lamp is hidden, the other objects which
you are given to find will not be put onto that level until
the Solar Lamp has been recovered. Mission Control will
instruct you on every aspect or your mission as the objects
are found.
When all objects have been located as directed by Mission
Control, a special teleport will be placed somewhere on the
present level to take to the next stage of your mission.
There are a total of 6 levels and 12 items which must be
located to complete the entire game. Very! rarely will you
even get beyond level 2 or 3. However if you do, many
surprises await you, as you search each new floor.
As I said before there are many elements you will have
to use to complete your objectives.
Oxygen:
First of all, since this is a top security operation, you
will be considered a special agent working for Mission
Control. Unfortunately, the location of your mission takes
place in the enemy's foreign space station (you have
infiltrated). They have been warned of your presence, and
have flooded all six levels with a highly toxic poison gas.
Therefore you will constantly need oxygen to sustain your
search for the missing objects.
At various places within the floor you're on, you will
see tanks of oxygen. Maneuver your man over these tanks to
replenish your supplies.
TNT (bombs)
Each level of the space station is a complicated series
of halls and passageways. There are two types of walls.
One is solid and cannot be blown up, the other is lightly
colored and can be removed with a stick of dynamite.
To remove these walls, get next to the wall you want to
eliminate and press the <SPACEBAR>. This will activate the
bomb. Then use the arrow keys to direct the
TNT to the proper wall you want to remove. If you decide
not to blow up the wall after you have already activated
the bomb, simply move away from the wall to an open space
and the bomb will de-activate itself.
Like the oxygen, TNT is placed throughout the maze.
Replenish your supplies by moving over the dynamite. Be
very aware of your supplies of TNT, because sometimes you
will become trapped within the maze and will not be able
to reach either the objects or more oxygen to continue
your search. You might as well abort the mission if this
happens. Each TNT block you move over will give you either
4 or 6 sticks, depending on the level your on. The Oxygen
blocks you passover will give you 2 extra tanks of oxygen,
which is about 40 moves of the man.
Teleports:
Teleports are located at various points on all levels.
If you move over a teleport, it will randomly place you
somewhere else on the present floor. Sometimes this will be
your only way out of a trapped situation. However sometimes
the teleporter will place you in the middle of walls, which
unless you have any teleports left in your inventory, or TNT
to make yourself a passage out, the mission will have to be
aborted. These teleports, are the quickest way to move from
one side of the floor to the other. When you use one
of the teleports in your inventory (by pressing <T>) or one
of the teleports located on the floor, a small representation
of the entire floor will be shown, giving you a representation
of your new location on that level. This is really helpful
when you lose your sense of direction and find you've been
wandering the same sections over and over in search of your
objective.
Roving Sensors:
As if all this wasn't enough... you now have to avoid
the roving sensors which are searching for your presence on
the floor. They are represented by 'o' and 'x''s. The 'x''s
are much faster then the 'o''s, so be careful. If they catch
you, they cannot kill you, but they will send you back to your
starting point within the maze (or at the site of the last
object found). This can be a real pain if you've spent a lot
of oxygen and TNT to reach the other side of the maze, only
to be captured and sent back to square one to start all over.
Also, they can surround the object your looking for, and if
they catch you before you reach the object, you will probably
have a hard time trying to locate the object once again.
With every bad, there is a good. First of all, you are
given a supply of Rayguns which will destroy all sensors that
are visible in the maze. To use on of your Rayguns, you will
press the <R> key. There are also Rayguns within the maze
which you can replenish your supplies with.
As I said before, there is also something good about
these sensors. Since they immediately send you back to your
starting point, sometimes it's to your advantage to be caught.
Let's say for example that you have searched a the whole
bottom right side of the floor and didn't find the objective,
rather then re-tracing your steps back wasting valuable
oxygen, you could allow yourself you be caught by a sensor
and immediately be transported back to your last starting
point. The other advantage is that if you find yourself in
a trapped situation with no teleports left or TNT to use on
the walls, being caught by a sensor may mean your only way
out.
Developing strategies using these elements will become
essential to your success for completing your mission.
An example of the many strategies you can use...
When you first start out, don't immediately grab the
oxygen blocks or TNT around you. Therefore, when you go
searching for the object, and you find you about to run out
of oxygen or TNT, you can always get caught by a sensor and it
will return you to this spot. Now this oxygen and TNT that
you did not immediately take, will be a life saver for you.
Remember though, once you find one of your objects, that is
the new starting point for the sensors to send you back to,
so the oxygen and TNT you did not take back at the original
starting point will not be available to you now. This is
just an example of the strategies you can employ to complete
your mission. I am by no means telling you that the
above strategy should be used!... it is simply an example.
Hints: At the start of you mission you are given 3 hints
in your inventory. These are very valuable. If you
press <H>, a small map representing the entire level
will appear. It will show you approximately where both
you and the object! are in the maze. Remember, this
is just an approximation of your location. These hints
will give you clues as to what direction the objective
is to be found. Use them carefully! You only are
given 3 to begin the game with and 1 every time you
move to another level.
There is a letter 'H' that is always located on the
level your on. If you pass over it, it will show
both your location and the object's location. No
Hints will be added to your inventory, yet no hints
will be deducted either.
Maps: Maps are placed at various points within the maze. They
are represented by green 'M's. When you move next to
a map, the visible portion of the level will be increased
so you can see alot more of what is around you. It will
not reveal objects, other maps, rayguns, etc... It is will
reveal things like oxygen, TNT, and Teleports. These are
useful when you're low on oxygen and need to locate some
more before it's too late! The map enlarger only works
for about 2 or 3 seconds so look fast!
Inventory:
At all times, your present inventory of Teleports,
Oxygen, Rayguns, Hints and TNT, are shown on the top
right side of the screen.
Score: Points will be given for all items captured during the
game. Points can also be deducted from you score if
a sensor captures you. The score total is always shown
with your inventory.
Note: The score is what determines rankings in the
Mission Maze Score Board. However, if you
reach level 3 but scored less points then
a person at level 2, you will still be considered
a higher rank in scoring. Each separate level
has it's own scoreboard. As you reach the
upper levels, Mission Control will promote
your Agent Class status. On level #1 it is
Class F... level #6 is Class A.
Other Objects and Key Definitions
* Objects in the Maze *
x & o = Roving Sensors
G = Rayguns
T = Teleports (for inventory)
� = Teleport on maze level
H = Hints
� = Oxygen (2 tanks)
� = TNT (4 or 6 sticks)
M = Map (this enlarges the view of the level
for about 3 seconds)
* Key Definitions *
Arrow Keys = Move your man
SpaceBar = Activates Bomb
(once activated use arrow keys to show
which wall is to be removed)
<R>aygun = Eliminates all sensors presently in your
view.
<H>ints = Shows location within the present level
of both you and the object.
<T>eleport = Teleports you to another area of the
present level.
<S>cores = Shows you the Mission Maze Scoreboard
s<O>ound = Toggles sound on / off
<C>oncede = Concede a lost position. Use this
if you're trapped with no way out. Your
score WILL be recorded if it's in the
top 5 for that level
<Q>uit = Quit Mission Maze (score will not be
recorded). Use <C> option if you want
score recorded.
*********** Conclusion ************
The best way to learn is to just begin playing the game. You
will quickly learn the best strategies and your scores will improve
steadily. Most importantly Enjoy...... This is a non-registered
version of Mission Maze. All aspects of the game are made available
in this program for you to evaluate. If you find this game a worthy
addition to your game collection, then a $12.00 registration fee is
requested. This registration will speed up the opening and closing
screens etc... Also any registered user of one of my games (I have
over 40) can register for my other games at a fraction of the
regular registration cost. The registration information is located
at the closing screen... Enjoy.....
William Soleau
163 Amsterdam Ave
Suite #213
New York, NY. 10023
