Zig Zag
shoot'em up game for Commodore 64, 1987
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Zip at hyperspeed in your starfighter
down the narrow passage ways of the
MATRIX OF ZOG somewhere in the
12th dimension...
The Supreme star pilot is the one who
can survive to locate the EIGHT CRYSTALS
OF ZOG. This is the ultimate test of
your mental and physical agility, as the
enemy will send its best against you.
Ramps, traps and dissapearing barriers
are a few of the obstacles awaiting
you in ZIG-ZAG.
Shop Zones are available at various
spots and the smart pilot knows to
purchase items necessary to survival and
success. You might want to buy maps,
shields to make you invincible, an extra
life or two or infared and x-ray vision.
F1 - Allows you to enter a Save Code.
(Explained later)
F3 - Toggles between music and sound
effects during the gameplay.
F5 - Toggles between normal and reverse
controls on the joystick.
In normal mode pushing up on the
joystick moves the fighter up and
pushing down moves the fighter down
Left and right are unaffected by
this toggle.
F7 - Toggles between BRAIN TEASER and
ZAPPER modes. In ZAPPER mode, all
the prisms are in place and all the
passage ways are open. Use this
mode to get familiar with the maze.
Shoot aliens while you're at it.
The BRAIN TEASER mode is the normal
mode of the game.
Fire - Fires your weapon.
Press fire twice to start the game.
CBM - Pause. When paused hit F1 to quit.
To change the forward direction of your
ship, you must run into the prisms on
the floor (or the walls). The prisms
allow 90 and 180 degree turns, depending
on how they are oriented. Hitting a wall
always reverses your direction.
At the top is...
Your Score.
The High Score.
The amount of cash you have collected
(by killing aliens).
The number of the zone you are currently
in. You start at 000.
The number of crystals you've collected.
All 8 are shown on screen, they are
highlighted as you collect them.
The number of lives you have left (not
counting your current one).
You begin the game with 5 lives.
The elapsed game time.
The state (on or off) of the next target
you will encounter.
The number of minutes left until the
time locks close. The game begins with
144 minutes on the time locks.
The extra powers you have purchased that
are still available to you.
To use one of the extra powers, press
the space bar until that power is in
the highlighted area. Then press fire
to engage it. (note: using HOME JAMES
will return you to the last save zone
you visited)
The game.
TARGETS. There are targets on both the
floor and walls. To hit a floor target
you must pass directly over it on the
floor. Shoot wall targets. Hitting the
targets will add or remove a wall or
prism. You may or may not know the
effect of hitting a target immediately.
ALIENS. There are 7 types of aliens that
will be out to get you:
zigzags, homers, drifters, attracters,
bouncers, corkscrews and cubse. BEWARE!
SPECIAL ZONES. You can enter three
special zones while you traverse the
maze:
SAVE ZONE. When you enter a Save Zone,
you will be shown the opening screen.
Here you will be shown a special
SAVE CODE (in the box on the right side
of the screen). Jot these codes down if
you wish to remember them, because they
are NOT saved to disk.
When you are at the opening screen, you
may enter a save code (after you press
F1) and your ship will begin the game
at the Save Zone that corresponds to
that code.
DEATH ZONE. Enter here, and you DIE!
SHOP ZONE. When you enter into a Shop
Zone, you can purchase various items to
help you with your quest. They include:
U-TURNS. These allow you to turn around
without striking a wall or prism.
ZAPPS. These "smart bombs" destroy all
the aliens currently on the screen.
MAPS. Of the parts of the maze you have
already visited.
EXTRA LIVES
MISSILES. This one increases the rate at
which your weapons fire.
SHIELDS. The shield protects you from
enemy fire for 5 minutes.
RAISERS. Engage one of these and the
enemy is forced up into the air where
they can't bother you, unless of course
you're up in the air with them.
INFARED VISION. For seeing in the dark.
X-RAY VISION. For seeing through walls.
TIME LOCKS. There are time locks in the
maze that are initially set with just
144 minutes to remain open. After that
time, certain passages are closed off.
It is still possible to win, but
MUCH harder.
GOOD LUCK!!
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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)