-----------
                                    T H R U S T

                                   (C) 2000/2002

                                  Thomas Jentzsch


THE GAME
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The resistance is about to launch a major offensive against the Intergalactic
Empire. In preparation for this, they have captured several battle-grade starships,
but they lack the essential power sources for these formidable craft; Klystron
Pods.
You have been commissioned by the resistance to steal these pods from the
Empire's storage planets. Each planet is defended by a battery of "Limpet"
guns, powered by a nuclear power plant. By firing shots at the power plant,
the guns can be temporarily disabled; the more shots fired at the nuclear reactor,
the longer the guns will take to recharge. BUT BEWARE!! If you fire too many
shots at the reactor, it will become critical, giving you just ten seconds to clear
the planet before it is destroyed. If you have not already retrieved the pod
stored at that planet, then you will have failed the mission. If you have retrieved
the pod, and you manage to send the reactor into its critical phase, and leave
the planet safely, you will receive a hefty bonus.
Further into the Empire's system, you will encounter planets with REVERSE
GRAVITY and something even more deadly...


PLAYING THE GAME
----------------
You can control your ship with the standard joystick:
LEFT    = ROTATE SHIP ANTICLOCKWISE
RIGHT   = ROTATE SHIP CLOCKWISE
FIRE    = FIRE (THRUST while joystick is DOWN)
UP      = THRUST
DOWN    = ACTIVATE TRACTOR BEAMS/EXTERNAL SHIELDS
SELECT  = SELECT GAME VARIATION
RESET   = ABORT GAME

The Omega Booster Grip buttons are also supported:
Trigger = FIRE
Booster = THRUST

Use the RIGHT DIFFICULTY switch to adjust colors for NTSC- or PAL-TVs.

To collect a Klystron Pod, hover just above the pod, activate the tractor beam,
and thrust away from the pod. When the automatic tow-bar has fixed to the
pod, you can deactivate the tractor beam.
To collect fuel, hover above a fuel cell, and activate the tractor beam.


SCORING
-------
DESTROYING A LIMPET GUN        750 POINTS
DESTROYING A FUEL CELL         150 POINTS
PICKING UP A FUEL CELL         300 POINTS
BONUS FOR MISSION COMPLETION   VARIES ACCORDINGLY
BONUS FOR DESTROYING PLANET    MISSION BONUS + 2000 POINTS
MISSION FAILURE                NO BONUS!!

A spare ship is allocated for every 10.000 points.
The game will end if (a) You die and have no spare ships
                     (b) You run out of fuel

Your fuel is displayed in yellow, your score in blue, and the countdown in red.
Before the digits, your spare ships or the game variation are shown.


GAME SELECT MATRIX
------------------
THRUST includes five game variations. Press the GAME SELECT switch until the
number appears on the very left of the score display.

Number             |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |   5    |
-------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+--------+
Planets            | 1-6 | 3-8 | 1-6 | 3-8 |  1-6   |
Difficulty Level   |  Normal   |  Expert   | Rookie |
Lives              |  4        |  3        | 5      |
Fuel               |  1000     |  500      | 2000   |
Rotate Ship        |  normal   |  normal   | slow   |
Atmosphere Density |  low      |  zero     | high   |
Gun Fire           |  medium   |  high     | low    |

The difficulty level Rookie is limited to the planets 1 to 6 and normal or reverse
gravity. If you want to experience the other planets and the "even more deadly"
factor, you have to master the game at a higher difficulty.

After all missions of difficulty level Rookie (12 missions) or Normal (24 missions)
are completed the difficulty increases to the next level.

You shouldn't try to cheat the game, if you want to reach the end.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
---------------
THRUST is based on the classic C64 game, which was sold by Firebird in 1985. Thanks
to Jeremy C. Smith, who made the original.

This game would not have been possible without valuable support of the members of
Stellalist, the Atari 2600 programmers mailing list:

                        www.biglist.com/lists/stella

Thank you all!


LEGAL STUFF
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THRUST (C) 2000/2002 Thomas Jentzsch.
This game is freeware, but copyrighted; it may be freely distributed, but it must
be always accompanied by this documentation file. This program may be included on
websites and shareware or freeware compilations, but please contact me first. You
can't distribute THRUST on Atari 2600 cartridges without my explicit permission.
Thomas Jentzsch makes no guarantees, written or implied, on this software. I'm not
responsible for any damage due to the use of this software.


MISC
----
THRUST has been developed and tested with z26 by John Saeger. It does not(!) work
with older emulator versions that don't support illegal opcodes, like Stella (1.1),
StellaX (1.1.3) and PCAE (2.4).

You can buy Atari 2600 cartridges at Hozer Video Games:

                        http://webpages.charter.net/hozervideo


Please send any comments, questions, or suggestions to:

                        [email protected]

Enjoy!