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Cyclotron By Dbug/Defence Force
http://www.defence-force.org

CycloTron is a 4k version of the game inspired to one of the early modern science fiction movie. The player controls a virtual light cycle through many levels of increasing difficulty, trying to find out how to find the exit. The objective is to survive as long as possible.

This game was my entry for the 2004 Minigames compo where it ranked 6th position (on a total of 42 games).

This play session was recorded using Oricutron.

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/ How to load /
----------------

You can play this game on a real Oric Atmos, or use an emulator.
To play the game on a real Oric Atmos, put the tape in the tape player and type:

CLOAD""

then press RETURN/ENTER. The message "SEARCHING" should appear in the status
bar at the top of the screen. You can then press play on the tape player.
After a while you should see "LOADING". Once loaded, the game will start
automatically.

(For emulator users, check your emulator manual.)



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/ How to play /
----------------

After the animation showing the TRON logo, the highscore table appears, the
colours start to animate, and the message "PRESS SPACE TO PLAY" appears
blinking at the bottom of the screen. Just press the space bar when you are
bored :-)

You are then required to enter your name. This is a secure computer system,
so you have to log in. Just type your name using normal keys. You can also use
LEFT and RIGHT arrows to move around, DEL will erase the current character, and
the ESCAPE key will erase the whole text field which by default contains the
"SIMPLE USER" name. This name will appear later in the highscore table, so be
sure to enter a name that will let you show everybody how good you are.

Please note that you can also use the UP key on this screen to switch between
the two available control modes.

Two control modes? Yes: 2 key (relative) mode, and 4 key (absolute) mode.

ENCOM early simulations showed that the human population is roughly split in
two categories when things have to be moved on a screen. In the case of this
simulation, some people will be able to think as if they were actually driving
the bike, and thus they only need two keys. One to turn 90 degrees to their
LEFT and the other to turn to the other side.

Other people will feel very uneasy with the 2 key control method because they
are outside, watching on a computer screen something that moves in a particular
direction. For them the best control mode is the 4 key one, where pressing
UP, DOWN, LEFT or RIGHT will make the light cycle move in the chosen direction.
Just do a dummy game session in both modes and decide which one feels better to
you.

When the selection is done, simply press RETURN/ENTER to validate the name and
enter the game.

From this moment you will be playing through a number of different levels,
using the keys you chose to move your bike, and trying to survive and finish
each level.

You can press the P key to pause the game, and you can also press the ESCAPE
key to exit the game and get back to the introduction.



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/ The levels /
---------------

The objective of each level is clearly explained during the generation of each
level. Each level is a combination of colour schemes, obstacles, and game rules.
Some levels have obstacles, some have none, some levels have a surrounding wall,
some don't and wrap around in one or two directions. In some levels you
are alone, in some there is a RED light cycle controlled by the computer.

You start the game with a total of 3 lives, you lose one after any collision,
after three collisions you are disconnected from the system and disappear from
the world forever. That's a sad way to disappear, so stay awake !

Please note that after each level the speed increases slightly.

After the 8th level the game wraps around to level 0 with additional speed.

After each successfully finished level you get some bonus points.




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/ Tips & Tricks /
-----------------

When you are playing versus a computer controlled bike, you can try to do a
"bike shot". If you collide with the bike of the opponent, you are granted
the victory. This gives you a chance, because the computer AI is not
that bad, and with the scrolling and obstacles, the odds are against you...

Try to anticipate your trajectories, and take advantage of the fact that you
have three lives, and that there is NO RANDOM event in this game.
Try to experiment, and after a while you should manage to go through all levels
with no difficulty.