IMPACT
BBC/Electron
Master compatible

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Trapped - in a 1970s arcade game!  Every escape route is blocked by a wall of 
brightly coloured bricks.  Powerfully addictive, IMPACT has 80 built-in 
screens, but if you prefer you can design your own - as hard, as simple, as 
much fun as you like.  Hidden on each screen are special tokens - catch them if 
you can.  Use them to buy one of nine powerful weapons, or keep them until the 
end of the screen to score a bonus.  If you though the fun had gone out of 
computer games then IMPACT is the game that'll change your mind!  

"Colourful, fast, noisy and addictive... superb... No question that it deserves 
its Game of the Month status"
- A & B COMPUTING

Audiogenic Software Limited,
Winchester House, Canning Road,
Harrow HA3 7SJ, England

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{Original instructions missing}

IMPACT

A Bat and Ball Game by Gary Partis

Electron, BBC and Master Series version

Object of the Game
To complete the 80 built-in frames by destroying all the bricks in each frame.

Loading Instructions
Prepare the computer as appropriate for the filing system, to use the IMPACT 
file set.  Type CHAIN "IMPACT" and press <Return> to begin loading.

Controls
Z - Left
X - Right
<Return> - Fire
P - Pause
O - Unpause
<Esc> - Quit

Before Launch
<Fire> - Launch ball
] - Adjust launch angle

After Launch
<Fire> -  Fire missiles/laser
] - Buy weapon

Joysticks may also be used for direction and firing.  Wherever <Fire> is called 
for, the <Return> key can also be used.  

Gameplay
To start the first game, press <Fire> when the scoreboard is shown.  Frame 1 
will then appear.  The ball will be lauched automatically after a few seconds 
unless <Fire> is pressed.  

Tokens fall from some bricks when struck; touch them with the bat to collect 
them.  The weapon bought when ] is pressed depends on the number of tokens 
collected, and is indicated by an underscore in the Weapons box at the bottom-
right of the screen.  Collecting more tokens advances the underscore and lets 
you buy a different weapon.  
  
Any tokens left over when you complete a frame (up to a maximum of 9) are added 
to your score as a bonus.  Extra bonuses are obtained by killing the aliens 
which float around the frame (by touching them with the bat or the ball) or by 
destroying the B-O-N-U-S bricks in that order.  

The aliens will deflect the ball if it touches them, as will the invisible, 
indestructible bricks present on later levels.  These can be made visible using 
the Paintbrush weapon.  Some initially visible bricks need several impacts 
before they disintegrate.  

The frame's five-letter code is shown when all bricks are destroyed (pressing P 
will hold the screen.) This code will allow you to begin a game at that frame 
rather than frame 1, and to edit that frame if desired.  Play will then 
continue on the next frame.  

As with all bat-and-ball games a ball is lost if it falls to the bottom of the 
frame.  A game in Impact starts with five balls.  

Weapons
In order of the number of tokens required:
1) Slow Ball 
2) Sticky Bat (holds ball when caught, <Fire> to re-launch) 
3) Triple Balls (ball splits into three) 
4) Wide Bat 
5) Paintbrush (shows up invisible bricks) 
6) Laser Cannon on bat (<Fire> to use) 
7) Bomb (kills aliens and prevents them reappearing) 
8) Three missiles on bat (<Fire> to use)* 
9) Ball Forcefield ** 

* Missiles blast through a line of "soft" bricks and kill aliens in their 
path.  They are stopped by everything else.  
               
** Forcefield causes ball to blast straight through "soft" bricks instead of 
rebounding.  The ball is deflected by everything else.  

Several weapons can be used at once, with some exceptions; the Laser Cannon, 
Sticky Bat and/or Missiles cannot be combined, and the Sticky Bat cannot be 
selected while two or three balls are on screen.  Triple Balls will only be 
effective when one ball is in play.  

Frame Editor
To edit a frame, press E twice from the scoreboard.  Enter the code of the 
frame you wish to edit, and then use these keys (the joystick can also be used 
for direction and <Fire>):
Z - Left
X - Right
: - Up
/ - Down
> and < - Change Block to put
<Fire> - Put block
S - Store frame.  You will get a new code for the frame.
<Esc> - Quit the Editor without saving the frame.

Other Commands
Select these by pressing the following keys from the scoreboard.
J - Jump to screen.  Enter a frame code and play will start on that frame 
instead of at Frame 1.  
E,E - The Editor (see above)
E,S - Save the present set of frames onto a blank cassette.  Useful if editing 
several frames and not wishing to do it all again!  Instructions will be given 
when this command is requested.  
E,L - Load a set of frames saved previously.  
Instructions will be given when this command is requested.  

Note: These last two options use the BBC Micro's cassette hardware directly, 
and so frame sets cannot be accessed on most emulators.  Even so the unique 
storage format can only be written and read using these Impact commands.  


Instructions written by Greg Cook 1997