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DEATH  TRAP
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A single player video game for the
Atari 2600 Video Computer System and Sears Video Arcade

Intended for use with the one joystick controller and a color television.

GAME BY: Jim Jacob
COVER ART: Jim Talbot
Rules Paste-Up and Graphics: Jean Baer
Typesetting: Colonial Composition
Prep Dept. Coordinator: Elaine Adkins 
Printing: Monarch Services

Any cartridge which fails will be replaced when returned to:
The Avalon Hill Video Game Company
4517 Harford Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21214

As with any video game, turn off television and game when not in use.

(c)1983

The Avalon Hill Video Game Company
All Printed Material, Video Game and Audio Visual Display Copyrighted

SHUTTLE ORBITER IS AVALON HILL'S TRADEMARK NAME FOR ITS SPACE SHUTTLE 
MANEUVERING GAME Atari and Atari 2600 Video Computer Systems are trademarks of 
Atari, Inc. Sears and Sears Video Arcade are trademarks of Sears Roebuck Co.



DEATH TRAP                  
INSTRUCTIONS


SCENARIO:
     
     You have just graduated with honors from Cadet training.  Your first  
mission is especially important.  You must deliver a TOP SECRET diplomatic     
message to the Emperor of the Glaxiau Empire - immediately!  You proceed to
cross the galaxy via the latest Black Hole acceleration techniques when your
trips is interrupted by a gigantic space ship which intends on ensuring that
the message you carry never reaches the Emperor.  You heard of rumors in 
school of IT being out there - the reason for so many missing ships.  Your 
only hope for survival and success in your mission is to destroy ITs power
generators before IT kills you with intelligent plasma fireballs or
disintegrates you with high energy defensive shields.

TO START:

     Select either joystick controller by briefly press the fire button.  The 
game level of difficulty will appear in the screen.  Choose your level of
difficulty by pushing the joystick up or down to display the desired difficulty
symbol.

(Square) EASY - Slow firing fireballs, small shield segments, repair crew 
onboard.

(X) NORMAL - Normal firing rate, normal shield segments, repair crew onboard.

(Diamond) HARD - Fast firing rate, normal shield segments, no repair crew.

	    When ready to begin, push your joystick to the right.



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MANEUVERING YOUR SHIP:                         BUTTON     UP
						UP \_      ^
     You can maneuver your ship anytime you          \-----------
are not maneuvering your torpedoes.  To move          | o       |
your ship up, down, left, or right; move              |         |
the joystick in the corresponding direction    SHIP < |    O    | > SHIP
WITH THE FIRE BUTTON UP.  Be careful not to    LEFT   |         |   RIGHT
maneuver into a defense shield as this will           |         |
destroy your ship.                                    -----------
							   								V
															SHIP
														 	DOWN

TORPEDO LAUNCHING AND CONTROL:
						BUTTON  ACCELERATE
     Torpedoes (you have more than enough        DOWN    TORPEDO
onboard) can be launched anytime one is              \_     ^
visible on the launching platform (on the              -----------
top side of your ship) by pressing the fire            | o       |
button.  Only one torpedo may be in flight             |         |
at any time.  To control a torpedo in        TORPEDO < |    O    | > TORPEDO
flight, move the joystick left or right to     LEFT    |         |    RIGHT
steer the torpedo, or move the joystick up to          |         |
accelerate the torpedo, WHILE HOLDING THE FIRE         -----------
BUTTON DOWN.



GAME PLAY - DEFENSIVE:

     The prerequisite to winning is surviving.  IT will fire plasma fireballs     
at you using an evil but archaic computer.  If you keep moving, the computer     
will have trouble locking on to you.  However, if you sit still, IT will be
deadly accurate.  Your ship starts out at full readiness.  This is indicated
by the six ship symbols displayed.  When no ship symbols appear, you cannot 
survive another hit.  If you have a repair crew onboard (determined by level
of difficulty when you start the game), they can effect repairs and improve
your level of readiness one level every 20 seconds PROVIDED YOU DO NOT RECEIVE
ANY ADDITIONAL DAMAGE.  The ship symbols will reflect any improvement in your 
state of readiness due to completed.



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Repairs.  (As an additional aid, your ship color will change as your level
of readiness changes.)  The shields generated by IT are higher in energy than
your ship can withstand.  Only your small, hisen-housel coated torpedoes can
successfully pass through the defense shields, but even they cannot penetrate
the moving shield blocks.  Do not attempt to maneuver your ship through a
shield.  Unfortunately for you, none of the shields protect YOU from ITs 
fireballs.



GAME PLAY - OFFENSIVE:

     Your only method of long term survival is to destroy ITs power 
generators.  The yellow indicator at the top of the screen reflects the status  
of the power stations.  Each power station contains the power generation 
reactor (white swirling section) and an offensive station (red gun).  Damage 
can be inflicted by hitting the red gun with your torpedo.  As damage is 
inflicted it is indicated on the top of the screen by movement of the yellow 
bar on the side that was hit.  The left and right power stations are also the
shield block generators.  Whenever they are hit, they will form a block of
moving shield directly below them.  The right station controls the build up of
SHIELD B and the left station controls the build up of SHIELD A.  Your
torpedoes cannot damage or penetrate these moving blocks.  Your torpedoes
cannot damage ITs hull.



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     Whenever you have not inflicted damage for a period of 15 seconds, IT 
accumulates sufficient energy to lower SHIELD C (directly above you) reducing
your maneuvering room.  When you have destroyed both the left and right power
stations, a central power station will appear.  Once damage is inflicted on 
the central station, defensive SHIELD D (below you) will steadily close in on 
you.  This gives you a limited amount of time to finish off IT before IT
finishes off you.


STARTING OVER:

     The game may be restarted at any time by pressing the RESET button.  At
the end if each game, pressing the fire button once will start a new game.



page 6


SCORING:

     You start the game with zero points.  Points may be added or subtracted
but your score will not be allowed to go negative.  Points are added for your
condition of readiness, damage you inflict on IT, and bonus points for 
destroying each of the 3 power stations.

Readiness - Every few seconds, up to 6 points are added based on your level of
readiness.  Readiness points are determined by the number of small ships 
beneath your score.

Damage - Ten times the total number of hits on ITs power stations are added. 
(First hit = + 10 points, Fifteenth hit = + 150 points).

Bonus points - Totally destroying left or right power stations= + 2000 points.
Center station= + 5000 points.

Penalty - You lose 90 points every time IT is able to lower SHIELD C.


GAME DESIGNER NOTE:

   The moving block in the defensive shields are generated directly below the
left and right red guns.  Careful timing will allow you to create new blocks 
on top of existing blocks.  This will reduced the amount of interference
between you and the guns, and is especially helpful in destroying the central
power station when time is limited.

Typed in by:  Scott Stone - [email protected] - May 25th, 1997