From: tsrken@voicenet.com visit tsr's nes archive! http://www.voicenet.com/~tsrken/nes Color Dreams Crystal Mines Instruction Manual --- Crystal Mines control summary Control Pad: Controls robot's up, down, left, and right movement. Robot can push boulders left or right. Button A: Fires Energy Blast. Also selects starting level when screen shows PLAYER 1 or 2 and LEVEL 1. Button B: Drops Bomb (Requires Bomb Stockpile). Start & Select: Robot self destruct. Use this when robot is hopelessly trapped or cannot meet crystal quota for current level. Start: Pauses or Continues. Special objects Crystal: Achieve quota shown to get to next level. Dirt, Boulder and Rock: Some can be destroyed or pushed. Mud and Lava: Grows and transforms to other objects. Creatures: Destroyed by energy blasts, bombs or falling objects. Rapid Fire: Increases firing speed. Bomb Stockpile (1, 3, 10): Adds bombs to robot's supply. Robot Protection: Protects robot from creatures, explosions, radiation, growing mud and lava. Freeze Timer: Stops countdown for 14 seconds. Freeze Robot: Paralyzes robot for 4 seconds Extra Robot: Adds one robot to inventory Exit Square: Materializes after reaching crystal quota. Allows exit to next level. --- Crystal Mines I. Introduction The year is 2265 AD. You have invested your life savings in a mining operation on a newly discovered planet found to be rich with very valuable crystals. From a base camp on the surface of the planet, you must tele-operate a mining robot deep within the planet's crust. The robot that you control uses energy balls to dig through dirt and rock in search of the crystals. Some of the many types of rock you will encounter are resistant to the energy balls, and may require you to set explosive charges to destroy them. You must be careful, however, since there are also rocks that are explosive, and explosions can destroy your robot! As you penetrate deep into the planet you will encounter deadly alien lifeforms that will attempt to destroy your robot - some of them are actually mineral lifeforms made out of rock! Other obstacles include mud and lava as you work your way through 100 different levels in search of the elusive mother lode of crystals which will make you a multi-quadrillionaire Many perils await you, and only your boldness and skill can decide the outcome in this thrilling sci-fi adventure! Copyright (c) 1989 Color Dreams, Inc. and Ken Beckett. --- II. Game control Control Pad (up, down, left and right) - used to move the remote controlled robot through the mine. Robot can push boulders left and right. Button A - causes the robot to fire an energy blast. The number of shots and distance that they travel increase as the robot acquires certain special prizes during the game. Button B - causes the robot to drop a bomb. The robot must first acquire bombs by picking up bomb stockpile prizes. The A and B buttons are also used to select the starting level at the beginning of the game when screen shows PLAYER 1 or 2 and LEVEL 1. Start & Select - causes the robot to self destruct. This feature should be used when the robot becomes trapped and unable to complete the current level. Start - pauses the game. Useful to allow studying a level wihtout losing valuable time from the game clock. Press again to restart game play. At the end of each game, players may use the SELECT button to choose the following options: (The CONTINUE mode will only be allowed for 3 consecutive times.) -> CONTINUE: Start a new game from the current level. -> END: Game ends and you may start a new game from the beginning. --- III. Game mechanics You begin each game with an inventory of five mining robots. You may acquire additional robots throughout the game by picking up extra robot prizes. The number of simultaneous energy blasts that a robot may fire, and the distance that they travel may be increased by picking up Rapid Fire and Range increase prizes. When a robot is destroyed, these acquired abilities are lost. You must accumulate enough crystals to meet the quota within the time limit given for each level. When the quota is reached, the screen will flash, and an exit square will appear somewhere on the level. The exit square may be hidden - try looking under objects if it's not visible. Move the robot into the exit square to teleport it to the next level. There are prizes and special objects hidden under dirt, rock, etc. on almost every level. These prizes include bombs, gold, time bonuses, and special powers. The special powers include protection from creatures, explosions, radiation, and the ability to move through mud and lava. The powers are indicated on the status line at the top of the screen, and are only temporary, so be careful! Watch the game's demo mode for helpful hints! --- IV. Scoring Points are earned by picking up crystals and destroying creatures, and also for time and bombs remaining at the end of each level. Creatures are worth more points if they are destroyed by falling objects instead of by explosions or energy blasts. --- V. Objects To get a better idea of how these objects look, press START after power up, then press SELECT several times to see each screen. Crystal - the valuable substance you are mining, worth 100 points each. May be destroyed by a falling impervious Boulder. Soft Dirt - destroyed by one energy blast or an explosion. Hard Dirt - destroyed by two energy blasts or an explosion. Soft Boulder - destroyed by three energy blasts or one explosion. May be pushed by the robot. Hard Boulder - destroyed by two explosions. May be pushed by the robot. Impervious Boulder - cannot be destroyed. May be pushed by the robot. Explosive Boulder - explodes if hit by an energy blast, explosion, or lava. May be pushed by the robot. Impervious Rock - cannot be destroyed or moved. Radioactive Rock - destroyed by three explosions. Reflects energy blasts. Causes robot and creatures to become radioactive. A radioactive robot soon dies unless radiation protection is found. Mud - grows slowly. May grow into dirt, hard mud, or empty space. Turns into hard rock if it grow into lava. Turns into hard mud if hit by an energy blast. Hard Mud - turns into a crystal if hit by an explosion. Lava - grows into dirt, hard mud, empty space, soft boulders, or crystals. Turns into hard rock of it grows into mud. Will cause an explosion if it grows into an explosive boulder or an active bomb. --- VI. Creatures To get a better idea of how these creatures look, press START after power up, then press SELECT several times to see each screen. Soft Rock Creature - destroyed by three energy blasts (100 points), an explosion (200 points), or a falling object (400 points). Will increase speed after first energy blast. Hard Rock Creature - destroyed by two explosions (500 points), or a falling object (1000 points). Impervious Creature - destroyed only be falling objects (2000 points). Radioactive Creature - destroyed by three explosions (1500 points) or a falling object (3000 points). Reflects energy blasts. Moves very fast. Other rock creatures may become radioactive upon contact with radioactive rock. Mud Creature - destroyed by an explosion (400 points), or a falling object (800 points). Stunned by energy blasts. Can move freely through mud. Lava Creature - destroyed by an explosion (500 points), or a falling object (1000 points). Angered if hit by an energy blast. Can move freely through lava. Gas Creature - destroyed only by an explosion (1000 points). Can move freely through everything. Seeks out the robot. --- VII. Prizes and special objects Rapid Fire - increases the number of simultaneous energy blasts that robot can fire. The maximum is 5. Range Increase - increases the distance that energy blasts can trave. The maximum distance is 30 game squares. 1 Bomb Stockpile - adds one bomb to the robot's supply. 3 Bomb Stockpile - adds three bombs to the robot's supply. 10 Bomb Stockpile - adds ten bombs to the robot's supply. Creature Protection - makes the robot invisible to the creatures for about 14 seconds. Displayed on the status line. Explosion Protection - shields the robot from explosions for about 14 seconds. Displayed on the status line. Mud/Lava Protection - super treads allow the robot to move freely through mud and lava for about 14 seconds. Displayed on the status line. Radiation Protection - protects the robot from radiation for about 14 seconds. Heals the robot if it is already radioactive. Displayed on the status line. Bag of Gold - worth 1000 points. Active Bomb - a bomb with an active fuse. Will explode in 3 seconds, or if hit by an energy blast, explosion, or lava. Freeze Timer - stops the game countdown timer for 14 seconds. Freeze Robot - invisible, paralyzes the robot for about 4 seconds. Extra Robot - adds another mining robot to the player's inventory. Exit Square - appears after the crystal quota has been reached. Teleports the robot to the next level of the game. ===