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Missile Command 3D - Atari - Atari Jaguar     HTML Manual   

Missile Command Manual
Missile Command 3D
------------------

The colonies are in trouble! Unkown aliens and foreign countries are trying to 
destroy your cities and take over the world. Your job is to protect your 
citizens from hostile enemy attacks. Firebreathing dragons, electric eels and 
menacing motherships will try to stop you. But you've got missiles, lasers and 
smart bombs to hold off the enemy and keep your cities from becoming alien 
neighborhoods. Original Missile Command, 3D Missile Command and Virtual Missile 
Command are all waiting for your help to keep their worlds safe.


GETTING STARTED
---------------

1. Insert your Missile Command 3D cartridge into the cartridge slot of your 
   Jaguar 64-Bit Interactive Multimedia System.

2. Press the Power button.

3. To bring up the Missile Command 3D menu, press either the A, B or C button 
   at any time during the demo mode. Use the Joypad up and down to select an 
   option and the A, B or C buttons to choose the option. The Missile Command 
   3D cartridge will hold your high score for all three versions of Missile 
   Command, as well as your controller preferences and volume levels. You can 
   reset this data to the standard settings using the Clear Memory option in 
   the menus.


STARTING A GAME
---------------

From the Main Menu, select either Virtual for Virtual Missile Command, 3D for 
3D Missile Command or Original for Original Missile Command. If you choose 
Virtual you can select the difficulty level. Choose from Easy (one level only), 
Normal or Hard.


GAME OPTIONS
------------

The Options menu lets you test the music, change the controls for Virtual 
Missile Command and clear the cartridge settings.

* Clearing the cartridge settings will reset the high score tables and your 
  control settings to the default.

* Choosing Virtual Controls lets you changes the game controls for Virtual 
  Missile Command. Highlight the option you want to change and press the A, B 
  or C button to select that control method. Change button controls by 
  selecting Button Type #. The list of buttons at the top of the menu will 
  change to show the currently selected button type. To reverse the up/down 
  controls (or reset them), choose Reverse Up/DOwn. Any changes you make to the 
  controls will be saved on the cartridge.


PAUSE MODE
----------

At any time during a game, you can press the Pause button to pause the game. 
This will bring up a window showing PAUSED and the music and sound effects 
volume bars. To alter the volumes, press either the A button to change the 
music volume or the B button to edit the sound effects volume. You'll be able 
to hear the changes you make. While the sound is playing, you can use the 
Joypad to change its volume. Press the A or B button again to stop editing the 
sound volumes. Pressing the Option button at any time during Virtual Missile 
Command will pause the game and bring up the Control Options Menu. Your new 
volumes and controls will be saved on the cartridge.


ORIGINAL MISSILE COMMAND
------------------------

A foreign nation has launched a missile attack on your country! Take control of 
the defenses and protect your cities.


Gameplay
--------

The aim of Original Missile Command is to use your three missile bases to 
protect the six cities from waves of missile attacks. Each base has 10 
missiles. Enemy missiles appear at the top of the screen and fall towards the 
cities at the bottom, leaving a trail as they go. Use the Joypad to position 
the cross hair in the path of a missile, and press the A, B or C button to 
launch a missile from the right, middle or left base, respectively. Your 
missiles take a little time to reach their destination, so aim slightly ahead 
of the attacking missile. Your missile will explode when it reaches its target, 
and anything that hits the resulting explosion (except one of your missiles) 
will explode, causing another explosion. Often a missile will split into 
several other missiles, each aimed at a different target. Other hazards include 
enemy planes and satellites, which will fly across the screen and fire missiles 
at your cities and bases.

If a city is hit during a wave, it is destroyed. If a base is hit it is out of 
action and all its ammo is lost until the next wave. With each new attack wave,
your bases get all their ammo replaced. When all the enemy's missiles in a wave 
are destroyed, bonus points are awarded depending on how much ammo and how many 
cities you have left. At the end of a wave, bonus cities are awarded for every 
10,000 points. The game is over when all your cities have been destroyed and 
you have no bonus cities left.


Controls
--------

To start a game, press the A, B or C button on the Original Missile Command 
title screen. The Joypad moves the cross hair around the screen. Pressing the C 
button will launch a missile from the left base, pressing the A button will 
launch one from the right base, and pressing the B button will fire one from 
the center base. The game can be paused at any time by pressing the Pause 
button. While paused, the volume of music and sound effects can be changed (see 
Pause Mode).

For enhanced game playing, Original Missile Command can be played over 
different backgrounds. There are three objects to choose from - a Lynx(R) 
console, and arcade cabinet and a TV, as well as just a plain screen. Using the 
keypad you can move the object that the game is mapped onto. To do this, use the 
following buttons:

	1 / 7 	Zoom in/out
	2 / 8	Tilt object forwards/backwards
	4 / 6	Tilt object right/left
	5	Re-center the object
	9	Change object


Scoring
-------

Event					Score

For each shot left after a wave            5
Destroying a missile			  25
Destroying a plane			 100
Destroying a satellite			 100
For each city left after a wave          100
Destroying a smart bomb                  125

The points awarded depend on the score multiplier that multiplies your points 
as follows:

Wave Nos.	Multiplier

1 & 2		    1x
3 & 4		    2x
5 & 6		    3x
7 & 8		    4x
9 & 10		    5x
11 onwards	    6x


Hints and Tips
--------------

* Conserve ammo by getting multiple missiles with one shot.

* When things get hectic, try a "spread." Simply move the cross hair across the 
  screen, and fire all the missiles from one base. You'll have an impassable 
  curtain of explosions (and a base with little ammo left)!

* The missiles from the middle base are twice as fast as those from the left 
  and right bases, so keep them handy for emergencies.

* Destroy smart bombs by holding them off with an explosion and then targeting 
  them while the explosion keeps them at bay.

* The longer you leave a smart bomb, the lower it gets and the faster your 
  missiles will reach it, making it easier to judge when to fire!

* Look out for the smart bombs on Wave 6 onwards. These will actively avoid 
  explosions, so you need to have a direct hit to destroy them.


3D MISSILE COMMAND
------------------

You have led your ship of colonists to a distant solar system to begin life on 
a new planet. Unfortunately, just as your people completed construction and 
have begun settling into a daily routine, this new system is invaded by aliens. 
These aliens, also looking for a place to inhabit, decide that this system is 
theirs and you and your people need to be exterminated.

With the aliens intent on your destruction, you must lead your colonists in the 
defense of your new home. Fortunately, your technology is almost as advanced as 
theirs, and your scientists continue to develop breakthroughs. But even with 
new weapons becoming available, the alien onslaught continues. Their numbers 
seem endless, and they are driven to destroy your colony to the last human 
being.


Gameplay
--------

In 3D Missile Command you must defend your cities and defense bases against 
aerial bombardment by the alien fleet. To destroy an alien ship or missile, you 
must position the cross hair in the path of the target and press the A, B or C 
button to launch a missile from the right, middle or left base. When the 
missile reaches the targeted space, it, and anything within range, will 
explode. You can set up chain reactions of explosions and destroy several 
targets with one defense missile.

Alien attacks happen in waves. At the end of each wave your efforts and damage 
are evaluated. The bad news is that any city that was hit is destroyed, and any 
base that has been hit is out of commission. The good news is that for every 
10,000 points you get a bonus city to replace cities that have been destroyed. 
And destroyed bases are regenerated and fully-loaded with ammo at the beginning 
of each wave. The game is over when all cities have been destroyed and no bonus 
cities are awarded.


Controls
--------

The Joypad controls the way you are looking. The A, B and C buttons launch a 
missile from the right, middle and left bases, respectively. Special weapons 
are selected using the left side of the keypad (buttons 1, 4 or 7) or the 
Option button, and fired using the right side of the keypad (buttons 3, 6 or 
9). If you are using the ProController, the Z or L buttons will change special 
weapons, and the X or R buttons will use the special weapon.


Screen Display
--------------

In the top two-thirds of the screen is your 3D view from the control center. 
This contains your targeting sight (center), your score (top right), and the 
current wave you are on (top left). In the bottom of the screen is your control 
panel. This contains (from left to right): an icon representing the current 
special weapon, the number of this weapon remaining, your radar (with the 
visible region of the screen marked in blue) and the ammo levels for your 
defense bases.


Technology and production units
-------------------------------

Each city has a technology level that increases as it survives the waves of 
attack. As the technology level of the city increases, the city begins to look 
more futuristic, and it also has more production units at its disposal. At the 
end of a wave, the production units for all the surviving cities are totaled, 
then applied to repair or upgrade the cities and to manufacture special 
weapons. Also, the total production units at the end of a wave determine which 
type of defense missile is produced. Any production units that remain are 
carried through to the end of the next wave.

Technology Level of City     Production Units Awarded

            1                           1
            2-3                         2
            4-5                         3
            6-7                         4
            8+                          5


Event                        Production Cost

Upgrade a city               2x technology level
Repair a city                3
Cascade                      3
Smart Bomb                   10


Total Production Units       Missile Type

0-8                          Standard missiles
9-16                         Turbo missiles
17-23                        Fireball missiles
24+                          Super missiles


Scoring
-------

Event                        Score

Each shot left after a wave      5
Destroying a missile            25
Destroying a bomber            100
Destroying an asteroid         100
Each city left after a wave    100
Destroying a kamikaze          125
Destroying a robot             125
Splitting an asteroid          200

The points awarded depend on the score multiplier that multiplies your points 
as follows:

Wave Nos.                    Multiplier

1 & 2                           1x
3 & 4                           2x
5 & 6                           3x
7 & 8                           4x
9 & 10                          5x
11 onwards                      6x


Hints & Tips
------------

* Since you have a limited field of view, be sure to check your radar often.

* Save up your special weapons and use them to help you get out of sticky 
  situations.

* The cascade special is excellent for taking out a group of enemies. The smart 
  bomb will eliminate all enemies on the playfield.

* Learn the strength and weaknesses of each type of defense missile.

* Watch out for the big asteroids - they do twice as much damage as small ones.

* Enemy bombers like to launch missiles just as they get in to range of your 
  cities.



VIRTUAL MISSILE COMMAND
-----------------------

The year is 2157. With the invention of the superluminal drive in 2034, the 
door was opened to interstellar travel, and humankind reached across space to 
colonize other worlds. One such colony, formed just two years ago, is now under 
attack from an unknown alien force. These aliens are capable of controlling the 
gigantic natural creatures of this world and turning them against the colonies. 
It is your job to protect the three main colonies on this planet - the undersea
base, the cloud cities and the orbiting space station - and, hopefully, repel 
the aliens.


Gameplay
--------

The aim of Virtual Missile Command is to protect your six cities from enemy 
attacks with the three missile bases surrounding the play area. Each of the 
player's three bases has two forms of attack: a laser (which is weak but will 
automatically hit anything in the player's sights), and missiles (which take 
time to reach the target, but can be exploded early to make enemy attacks hit 
the explosion). The bases and the cities can each take three hits by enemy 
missile. The game is over when either the player has no cities or bases left. 
However, you can repair and replace cities and guns using powerups.


Controls
--------

Pressing the B button fires your base's laser. To fire a missile, press the A 
button. To explode it, press the A button again while it's in mid-air. The C 
button fires a smart bomb (if you have collected one). Use 1 and 3 or 4 and 6 
to move between your bases. If you have a ProController you can use the L and R 
buttons to change bases, too. The button controls are definable from either the
Main Menu or by pausing the game and pressing the Option button (see Pause 
Mode).


Enemy Attacks
-------------

The enemy attacks come in four basic forms: Missile attacks, attacks by enemy 
craft (which can fire missiles), Mini Bosses and Main Bosses.

* Missiles come from above (except when fired by enemy craft), take just one 
  hit to kill, and can be destroyed by collisions with explosions.

* Enemy crafts can come from all sides (depending on the level), and are 
  destroyed by three to five laser hits or by colliding with an explosion (or a
  city!).

* Mini Bosses usually have just one form of attack and can take several missile 
  hits to destroy. A missile hit in a vulnerable spot will stop them from 
  firing temporarily. Mini Bosses cannot run into explosions, so you have to 
  hit them with the missiles.

* Main Bosses have a variety of attacks and take multiple missile hits to 
  destroy.

Enemy missile come in six different varieties.

* Normal missiles are the most common. They are white and just move in a 
  straight line towards a single target. Normal missiles can also be fired by 
  enemy craft.

* MIRVs also move in a straight line, but can split into several normal 
  missiles, each aimed at a different target.

* SWIRVs move in a straight line until they come near an explosion or into your 
  sight, when it moves out of harm's way before resuming its course.

* Bombs just fall straight down from where they were dropped, and can only come 
  from enemy craft.

* Rovers are like normal missiles, but they are only fired by Bosses.

* The final type of missile has unknown behavior, but can be presumed to be 
  similar to the MIRV.


Screen Display
--------------

The view is from any of the three missile bases. This changes as you look 
around. In the middle of the screen is the base's sight. Anything in the sight
will be hit by the base's laser when it is fired. At the top of the screen, you 
will see your score (on the left) and the number of smart bombs you have (on 
the right). At the bottom of the screen there is a box with three bars. This is 
the ammo for the current base. The top bar represents damage to the base - the 
shorter this bar is, the nearer your base is to being destroyed. The middle bar 
is the laser ammo in the current base. This goes down with use, but if you 
don't fire for a while in a base, it will slowly start to recharge. The final 
bar is the amount of missiles left in the base. The only way to replenish this 
is with a missile ammo powerup.


Powerups
--------

When enemy crafts are destroyed, they will usually leave behind one of six 
powerups.

These are:

- Laser ammo

- Missile ammo

- Smart bomb

- Repair a city

- Repair a gun

- Laser upgrade

You start each level with three basic lasers that have four levels of power. 
The first powerup you get in a base will double your laser fire power. The 
second will make your lasers fire through other objects. The final powerup will 
double your laser fire power again (that's 4x fire power). Remember that each 
base must be powered up separately.


Stages of Play
--------------

Stage 1 - Undersea Colony

Defend your underwater colony from mainly surface-based attacks. Missiles are 
the main enemy on this level. Watch out for enemy submarines which will try to 
dive into your colony domes to destroy them and for the submarines equipped 
with torpedo launchers.

Stage 1-1 Boss: Super Submarine

This huge submarine glides through the water and drops bombs when over your 
cities or bases. Three or four missile hits should easily destroy him.

Stage 1-2 Boss: Giant Mutated Electric Eel

This gigantic eel is vulnerable only to hits on the head. When this happens, he 
will turn momentarily red and will be unable to use his electric bolt attack on 
your bases and cities.

Stage 1-3 Boss: UFO

Unidentified Floating Object that has to be eliminated to go to the next level.


Stage 2 - Cloud City

The action moves to a city among the clouds, defended by bases perched on 
mountains. On this level all enemy spaceships are gunning for your cities. This 
level also included MIRVs (multi-warhead missiles) for the first time. These 
missiles look different from the others, and split into several normal 
missiles. Attacks on this level can come from the side as well as above.

Stage 2 Bosses

You'll run into a double-piloted assault ship, a fire-breathing dragon and a 
secret Super Boss to be destroyed.


Stage 3 - Space Station

The final level takes place around a huge space station, which is defended by 
orbiting gun turrets. The enemy ships will all fire very aggressively. As well 
as MIRVs, you will encounter SWIRVs (intelligent missiles that will avoid your 
sights and explosions) and possibly some missiles with unknown characteristics. 
Attacks come from all sides on this level - even from underneath you!

Stage 3 Bosses

You'll have to discover the bosses and the figure out the best ways to 
eliminate them and keep your station functioning!


Hints and Tips
--------------

* Save your missiles for use against the Bosses; they do more than 10 times the 
  damage of the basic laser. Remember that Bosses can fly through explosions, 
  so you must actually hit the Boss with the missile to damage it.

* Change bases to get better shots at enemies and conserve ammo.

* Before shooting a powerup, make sure that you are in the base that will get 
  the most benefit from it.

* Don't follow an enemy craft around and forget everything else - remember that 
  the missiles are always falling, and that the craft will usually find its way 
  in front of you again!

* Try to save your smart bombs for the stage Bosses, but don't be afraid to use 
  them if things get really hectic (especially on Stage 3!).

* If you shoot a MIRV soon after it splits, the resulting explosion usually 
  takes out all the missiles that came from it (scoring more points).

* Try to get two laser powerups on one base as soon as possible on Stage 3; it 
  makes the SWIRVs much easier to destroy.


CREDITS
-------

VIRTUALITY

Producer				Jim Tripp
Programmer				Martin Brownlow
Artists					Scot Jones
					Mark Brown
Musician				Dale Robins
Game Design (Virtual Missile Command)	Martin Brownlow
					Scot Jones
					Mark Brown
					Jim Tripp
Additional Software			Terry Rowley
					Matthew Wilkinson


ATARI

Producer				John Skruch
Associate Producer			Robert Powers
Game Design (3D Missile Command)	Robert Powers
Game Testers				Jennifer Vernon
					Nick Katakis
					Jason Lane
					Lance Lewis
					Nicole Tatem
Marketing Project Manager		Kristine Chambers
Creative Services			Greg LaBrec
					Trish Ward
					Beeline Group, Inc.