Miner 2049'er

surface painting platform game for Commodore 64, 1983

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The Story of Bounty Bob

The cleaning woman was diligently dus-
ting the Hall of Fame wall in the office
of Headmaster Mounty Monty. Monty was
quietly doing the boring paperwork that
all mounties must attend do. "Excuse me,
Sir, but why is there a big black wreath
around this one picture?" inquired the
cleaning woman. Slowly removing his
glasses, Headmaster Monty looked up and
studied the picture she was referring
to. "That is the famous Bounty Bob," an-
swered Monty. "Bounty Bob was considered
by all to be the most loyal, heroic, and
charismatic mounty our province has ever
known".

The cleaning woman entranced. "Well, if
he was so wonderful, then what is that
bloomin' black wreath doin' up there?"

Monty reclined back in his chair as he
said, "We sent ol' Bounty out one wintry
day to find Yukon Yohan, a ruthless and
conniving fur trapper from Sweden."

The cleaning woman gulped. Nervously,
she asked "What was this evil slime of a
man wanted for?"

A blank stare appeared on Mounty Monty's
face. In a whisper he muttered,
"Murder."

The cleaning woman was horrified. "Did
Bounty Bob ever find this Yohan fellow?"
she wondered.

"Apparently he did," replied the head-
master. "We found Bob's dogsled stopped
outside an abandoned uranium mine once
owned by Nuclear Ned. Two sets of tracks
led into the mine. We followed them into
the dark passages of the mine when sud-
denly there was a massive explosion. A
huge cavein occurred. We were barely
able to escape with our lives."

"Whatever happened to Mr. Bob? Was he
ever found?" asked the mystified
cleaning woman.

"No," answered Monty. "He's still in
there looking for Yukon Yohan. Old
Nuclear Ned was a survivalist and sto-
cked up on supplies so Bounty Bob won't
have to worry about food... if he sur-
vives the radiation."

You control Bounty Bob in his travels
throughout the mine as he attempts to
capture Yukon Yohan. You must "claim"
all of the various mine stations. Cute
but deadly mutant organisms prance ca-
sually throughout the mine. Any contact
with them is fatal. To avoid contact,
simply stay away from them, or hop over
them if you're fast.

Scattered throughout the mine are va-
rious articles that have been lost by
previous miners. Capture them by tou-
ching them and you will be awarded
points. Additionally, the mutants will
turn into happy creatures that are now
edible. Quickly run into them before
they return to their deadly forms and
you will eliminate them and score
points.

Whenever you walk along sections of
framework in the mine the sections imme-
diatly under your feet will turn solid.
To advance to the next station you must
"claim" all sections of the framework.
Missing even one section will prevent
you from advancing to the next station.

At the top center of your display is the
Miner Timer. This timer indicates how
much time you have remaining to finish
the station. When it counts down below
a safe level, it will warn you by fla-
shing and beeping. If it reaches zero,
your miner dies instantly. If you finish
the station before it reaches zero, you
recieve 100* points.

Display Modes

Title Screen Display

This screen is initially displayed when
the game is started, showing the game
designer's name, the programmer's name,
and the publisher's name.

The game then performs for you.

Game Play Mode

Push the joystick button to start the
game. The joystick button is used in the
Title mode and the Demo mode. This is
where you are in control of Bounty Bob
in his attempt to "claim" the mine. At
the top of the display you will find the
current scores of both players. The
small circles next to each score indi-
cate the number of extra miners you have
in reserve. Centered at the top is your
"Miner Timer," which reminds you of how
much time you have left to complete this
station.

Demo Mode

This mode self-activates when the game
is left alone for a while. It rotates
through the title display and a sample
game of Station One.

Controlling the Special Equipment

The Transporters (Station 3 & 7)

These unique devices allow you to "beam
up" to whatever level of framework you
choose. First you must enter one of the
transporter doors and stop moving. Make
sure that you are all the way in or they
will not function. Watch the transpor-
ter's numbers light in sequence when the
desired level is lit, and push the joy-
stick button to begin transporting.
After a successful operation, the trans-
porters will turn red while the energy
level recharges. You may not transport
again until they turn green, indicating
a full charge. Note: You may not trans-
port to the same level you are at!
Caution: The mutants can kill you during
transportation.

The Lift (Station 8)

This device is essential to completion
of the station. To activate the lift you
must first jump onto it. Now press the
Jump Button. The base will turn red now
under lift control. Push the joystick in
any direction and the lift will move
accordingly. Press either the red joy-
stick button or the spacebar to cancel
lift control. Note: The lift will move
slowly upward because Bounty Bob is such
a fatso! The next activation of the jump
button will let Bob jump but the third
push activates the lift again. Hint: You
must put the lift all the way up before
you can climb the ladder in the center.

The Cannon (Station 10)

In this station the only way to get to
the top is by blasting yourself out of a
cannon. (Geeez! Is this safe?) Firing
the cannon is a simple matter. First you
must load the cannon with enough TNT to
get you to the level you want. Do this
by going into the TNT hut and touching
the TNT cannisters that you want loaded
into the cannon. Each cannister is equal
to ten tons of TNT. You need ten tons
for each level you wish to be shot up.
(Example: To reach level 3, load the
cannon with 30 tons or 3 cannisters.)
The digital TNT indicator at the top
will tell you how much TNT has already
been loaded. Once the cannon is loaded,
climb the ladder and walk off the frame-
work to fall into the cannon. Now push
the joystick right or left to aim the
cannon. Press the red button and POW!
You're on your way up! WARNING: Don't
overload the cannon or the explosion
could be fatal!

Station Descriptions

Station 1: The Mine Shaft

Sharpen your Miner's skill in this easy
beginner's station. Four mutant organis-
ms will challenge you in this station.
There are six possessions left by pre-
vious explorers in this station, with
the possibility of adding 1100 points to
your score!

Station 2: The Slides

Another easy station, but this time is
an added challenge: the slides! Walking
along the framework where a slide starts
going down begins the fun as you start
sliding! Five mutant organisms guard
this station. There are seven possessi-
ons totaling 1500 points that can be
added to you score!

Station 3: The Transporters

You can almost hear Bounty Bob say "Beam
me up!" as the futuristic transporters
start to function. Wait for the number
to light and use the Jump Button to
select the level you wish to "beam" to.
Six deadly mutant organisms guard this
station. Six possessions in this station
can add 1200 points to your score!

Station 4: The Lillipads

There's plenty of jumping in this stati-
on! Precise hopping is required to keep
Bounty Bob from falling. Seven mutant
organisms guard this station, so watch
your step!! A total of eight possessions
in this station can add 2400 points to
your score!

Station 5: Advanced Lillipads

Another fun round with loads of jumping
for Bounty Bob! Watch out for the slides
at the top: they can be a nuisance!! A
new challenge has been added to this
station: the moving pieces! Jump onto
one and give Bounty Bob a rest! Five
mutant organisms have made this station
their home. A total of seven possessions
will add 2400 points if you get them
all. Note: Bounty Bob has been known to
have allergic reaction to some mixes of
martinis.

Station 6: The Radioactive Waste

Looks deadly, and it is!! Should Bounty
Bob slip into the tank of waste, death
is certain! Only four mutant organisms
have inhabited this station, but they
are as mean as ever! Seven possessions
will help you finish this round, and
give you 1200 points too!

Station 7: Advanced Transporters

This round has it all!! Transporters,
Slides, and Moving Pieces make this sta-
tion one to remember! Seven possessions
worth 2300 points will help you munch up
the four deadly mutants. Get the "RR" at
the top to rack up BIG points!

Station 8: The Lift

Jump onto the lift to "hoist" Bounty Bob
anywhere in the station you want! Five
mutant aliens guard this station, but
getting the six possessions totaling
1500 points can help you extinguish
them!

Station 9: The Pulverizers

Another tough station for Bounty Bob to
finish! Step onto one of the "parked"
moving pieces to start it moving to the
other side. But watch out for the slide
that stands between you and the plat-
forms that you have to make it to! Go
down the slide to the bottom and prepare
to walk through the deadly pulverizers!
A total of seven aliens loom around this
station, but there are also seven pos-
sessions adding up to 1400 points for
you to use against them!

Station 10: The Cannon

Go into the TNT hut and load the cannon
with as much TNT as you need to shoot
yourself to any level of the station you
want! Six aliens await you on this sta-
tion. With no possessions but the TNT to
get, munching the aliens is impossible!
One last warning: Do not overload the
cannon!!

Special Hints

1. If you think you have claimed all the
sections of framwork, yet you did not
advance to the next station, then check
the framework under the slides, this is
the most commonly missed area.

2. Bounty Bob can only survive short
falls. The distance he can survive is
always the same. Memorize which falls
will kill him and do not attempt them
again!

3. When using the Transporters, time
your transporting to avoid materializing
on top of one of the mutants!

4. If you really are having trouble and
can't even get past station one, then
leave the computer alone and let it go
into the demo mode. This will show you a
sample play of station one and you can
pick up some pointers from it.

5. Some rounds have areas that you can
get into, but you can't get out of. Go
everywhere else first and then finish
the station.

Scoring

Each framework piece: 5 points
Aliens when edible: 90
Possessions: 100-1100

At the end of each station you will re-
ceive the "Miner Timer" bonus.

Using the Joystick Controller

The joystick controller is used to move
Bounty Bob throughout the mines. Moving
the joystick right or left makes him
walk right or left. Pushing up or down
makes him climb and descend ladders.

Pressing the red button makes him jump
in the direction the joystick is being
pushed or selects the special transpor-
ters.

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Some useful keyboard shortcuts
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       [PAUSE] - stop/continue game
          [F9] - quick load game state
         [F12] - quick save game state (still stored after leaving the site)
         [F11] - toggle fullscreen mode
  [ScrollLock] - quick switch control ports
    [PageDown] - make a screenshot (320x200)