A.C.E. 2/ACE CD 2.iso/FILES/DOCS/RUFFNTUD.LHA/Ruff'N'Tumble.doc

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 14KB | 384 lines

                      - DOC FILE For RUFF'N'TUMBLE -
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Doc typed by MINDWALKER
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                              RUFF'N'TUMBLE
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday, Ruff Rodgers was a normal, happy-go-lucky eight year old, with a
spring in his step and a penchant for shiny marbles.

Today, he's transformed into a ruthless, sadisistic killing machine.

It was the Summer holidays, and Ruff scampered out of his house, and up the
road  to  the  park.  He enjoyed it there because it had loads of different
places  to  play,  not like his Mum's garden with its clipped lawn and tidy
flower  beds.  And anyway, he could show of his brilliant marble collection
to the other kids there.

This  particular evening, though, there was nobody else in the park.  As he
walked through the gates sunlight dimmed, as though a storm was coming; and
suddenly the sky was filled with black clouds.  A strong wind picked up and
whistled  through  the trees, creating...  well, an interesting atmosphere,
let's  put  it  that  way.   For added effect, it also rustled up some dead
leaves  from  the  ground  and showered them in all directions.  This would
have  unnerved most people, but not Ruff.  He'd seen all this kind of stuff
before,  mostly  when he was daydreaming in a boring History lesson, and he
was  ready  for  any  nasty  things that might come for him from out of the
woods.  It was then he saw it; just a glimpse out of the corner of his eye.
A  bright  light, shining into the trees from just across the other side of
the path.

He padded carefully towards it, holding his heavy bag of marbles tightly in
both  hands, ready to swing it into action should anything horrible appear.
As  he drew closer, he noticed that the source of the light, a tiny hole in
the  ground,  was  marked  with  an equally tiny sign, which read:  WANT TO
PLAY?

An arrow pointed towards the hole.

Ruff  looked  around, just to make sure that nobody was playing tricks with
him  (and  so  he didn't look stupid to any of his friends, of course), and
then  knelt  down  before  the  light.   Reaching his hand into his bag, he
pulled  out a marble:  a big, red shiny one; his favourite kind.  Carefully
he  aimed  towards the hole, and fired.  Plop!  The marble rolled down, out
of sight.

Almost  immediately there was an unearthly roar from under Ruff's feet, and
the  ground  began  to shake violently.  Still kneeling, he started to sink
into  the  earth, and he tried - too late - to get to his feet.  The ground
collapsed, and he fell into a brilliant white light.  Ruff landed, heavily,
in  a  tree-lined  cave.  He rubbed his grazed knees and elbows, and looked
up.   Curiously, the hole he had just fallen through had disappeared.  Even
more  strangely,  his  bag  of marbles had gone; and a large gun lay nearby
with a note attached to it.  The note read:

`Master  Rodgers,  I'm  afraid  i've  had  to confiscate your marbles, dear
fellow.   I'm incredibly evil, you see, and I need them to power my supreme
machine which will help me take over the world!  Ha ha ha!'

A sudden clap of thunder made Ruff jump.  Bloody theatrics, he thought, and
then read on.

`But  because  I'm  a  sporting  kind  of chap, i've decided to allow you a
chance  to get your marbles back.  Grab the gun, climb into the teleporter,
and  you'll  be  taken  to my secret netherworld.  Of course, you've got no
real hope:  even if you get all the marbles, i'll just have to kill you.

Yours  evil-ly Doctor Destiny' "Oh yeah, you and whose army?" shouted Ruff,
to nobody in particular.  As though in answer the note continued:

`PS.   Er,  my  army,  actually.   I  built  them  myself.  I call them the
Tinheads, and they're programmed to blow the pants off anybody who tries to
come  and  take  the marbles away.  Especially you, of course, my dear boy.
To rise to my evil challenge and face them, climb into my clever teleporter
and prepare to meet your Destiny!  Ta-ta.'

Almost  immediately  he read the words there was a blinding flash, and when
the  smoke  cleared,  before him stood a bright metal box - a sort of steel
phone booth.  A door in the side opened, revealing another sign:  IN HERE.

He'd  never  heard  of theso-called `Doctor Destiny' before, but already he
was  building up an intense dislike for the man.  Anybody who calls himself
such  a jumped-up name must be a bit of a megalomaniac, he thought.  And in
all  the  movies,  it's always the megalomaniacs who eat their words in the
end.

Confused,  but  annoyed  that  the rotten git had taken his prized marbles,
Ruff  scooped  up  the  gun  and  ammo,  swung  them over his shoulder, and
clambered  into  the  teleporter.   How  tough  can these Tinhead things be
anyway?


GETTING STARTED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Hardware Requirements
---------------------

To  play  Ruff  `n'  Tumble,  you'll need an Amiga with at least 1Mb of RAM
(memory).   It  will  load and run quite happily on the majority of Amigas,
except  the  unexpanded  A500s  and  A1000s, for which you'll need a memory
expansion.  If you have other peripherals plugged into the machine, such as
a  printer or a hard disk drive, it's best to unplug or disable them before
loading Ruff `n' Tumble.

Loading
-------

To  load  Ruff  `n' Tumble, insert disk one into the internal drive of your
Amiga,  and  switch  on  the  power.   The  game  will  now  load  and  run
automatically.  If you have a second disk drive, insert disk two into it to
avoid  any  disk  swapping.   Otherwise,  when prompted remove disk one and
replace  it  with  disk  two.

PLEASE NOTE:  Ruff `n' Tumble cannot be installed onto hard disk.

Loading Problems
----------------

In  the  unlikely event that Ruff `n' Tumble fails to load, switch off your
Amiga  and  unplug any external devices (printers, hard disk drives) except
the  monitor  or  TV set.  Leave the power off for at least 30 seconds, and
then repeat the loading procedure.


PLAYING RUFF `N' TUMBLE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Controls
--------

Ruff  `n'  Tumble  must be contolled with a joystick plugged into port 2 on
your  Amiga.   When the game has finished loading, you can either push fire
on  your  joystick  to  start, or press O to enter the Options screen.  The
Options  are to enter your Practice code (see the next section), or press M
to  toggle  the  in-game music on or off.  However, we advise you not to do
this  -  indeed,  Ruff  `n' Tumble is best played with the volume turned up
LOUD!

The  joystick controls are simple:  Push up to make Ruff jump, pull down to
duck;  while  left  and right moves him, er, left and right.  Push the fire
button  to  shoot  your  current  weapon.   You can hold down fire to shoot
rapidly, but remember your gun will overheat if you fire to quickly.

Also,  while  you are playing Ruff `n' Tumble, you can press P to pause the
game  (and  P again to un-pause), and Q to quit back to the main menu.  But
you wouldn't really want to do that, would you?

The Screen
----------

From  top  left to top right as follows:  Number of lives, coins collected,
weapon status, energy bar, marbles left to collect and finally the score.

What's going on?
----------------

The  main  aim  in each level is to collect enough coloured marbles to open
the  Exit  Door,  which  you'll  find  at  the  far  right-hand side.  Kill
everything that moves, and collect everything else by running into it.  The
Tinheads  might look cute, but they're all out to see you dead - so take no
prisoners!

Note:   As  you  progress  in  the  game, you'll face progressively tougher
Tinheads.   They  get  more intelligent, and they take more shots to kill -
but no Tinhead is indestructable.  We're not going to show you pics of them
all,  because  we think they should be a suprise.  But here's a run-down of
all  the  power-ups,  collectables  and,  ah, other things you're likely to
find:

Marbles
-------

The  three  counter  at the top of the screen tell you how many marbles you
must  collect  to  open  the  Exit Door.  Each marble collected reduces the
relevent coloured counter by one.

Magic Marbles
-------------

Difficult  to  find,  but  reduces  the relevent coloured marble counter to
zero.

Gold Coin
---------

A  single  coin  appears  briefly  as  you  kill each Tinhead.  Collect the
required  number  of  marbles  on a level, and the ones remaining will turn
into gold coins.  Collect 100 for an extra Ruff.

Tinhead Generator
-----------------

Generates  Tinheads,  surprisingly.   Beware  when the coils are pulsating,
because a Tinhead is being born.  When the light goes out, the generator is
empty.

Specials
--------

Some  of  the  extra  weapons available to Ruff as he progresses.  Use them
quickly, because they run out with time.

Weapon Power-up
---------------

Loads  the machine-gun with a full magazine of bullets, and adds extra time
to Special weapons.

Heart
-----

Replenishes one unit of energy.  If your energy bank is full, don't collect
the Heart - leave it until you need it.

Esther
------

Gives  Ruff  a  full  bank  of  energy, and an extra Heart (to a maximum of
five).

Shield
------

Protects  Ruff  from  the  Tinheads  with  a temporary shield.  The weapons
counter displays the amount of Shield remaining.

Speed Up
--------

Endows  Ruff  with  a smart pair of speed shoes, but only temporarily.  The
weapons counter displays the amount of Speed Up remaining.

Keys
----

Available in either red or blue, which opens the corresponding coloured Key
Switch.

Switch
------

Each  one  has  a  purpose, but you'll have to find out exactly what it is.
Jump on to activate.

Key Switch
----------

Just  like  a  normal  switch, but you'll need the relevent coloured key to
throw it.

Extra Ruff
----------

Erm...  an extra life.  Useful, obviously.

Smart Bomb
----------

Nukes all the Tinheads on-screen in one fell swoop.

Party Power
-----------

Gives  Ruff  full  Weapon  Power-up,  full  shield, and increases the bonus
potential.  Temporarily of course.

Jump Pads
---------

Step  on  these  to give Ruff a boost to his normal jump.  Available in two
sizes and strengths.

Turbo Lifter
-------------

Escalates young Ruff to previously only-dreamed-of heights.

Beam Gates
----------

Blocks Ruff's way, so you'll need a relevent coloured key to pass.

Rocket Ladder
-------------

Jump on this to activate a useful rope ladder.

Restart Point
-------------

If you don't want to return to the start of the level when you lose a life,
land on this as soon as you see it.

Exit Door
---------

The  door  to  the  next  level.  Opens as you approach, but only if you've
collected the required number of coloured marbles.


WHERE AM I?
~~~~~~~~~~~


World 1: The Fantasy Forest
---------------------------

Don't  be  fooled by the name:  the fantasy stops as the first Tinhead puts
his  head  down and charges for you.  Bobby isn't to bright, but he's solid
tin  from  the  neck  up - and perfectly capable of breaking you.  His best
buddy,  Tommy,  is  more intelligent and - worse - armed, but even he is no
match for the Gunwasps...  Tip:  avoid the spikes.

World 2: The Underground Mine
-----------------------------

The  second  world  takes  you  underground, where you'll need to cope with
slippery crystal surfaces and pools of hot molten lava.  Take in the beauty
of  it  all,  but don't miss the manic Miner with his deadly drill, and the
pin-wheeling  Drill Bot who will get your head, along with the rest of your
body, in a blood-splattering spin.

World 3: Tinhead Factory
------------------------

This  is  where the good Doctor manufactures his metal army, so you can bet
that  he's made the place pretty impenetrable.  The masked Doctor character
is particularly bitter and twisted, so he just might turn his oxy-acetylene
attentions  to  you.   Take  care  when you're wandering past the Rocket's:
they're on a proximity trip, so they'll fire if you get to close...

World 4: Doctor Destiny's Castle
--------------------------------

A-ha!   Finally you meet your nemesis, the evil Doctor himself.  Be careful
as  you tread the cold stone floors of his castle, because they're littered
with hidden traps and loads of nasty metallic beasties.  Keep a special eye
out  for  the  wicked  Whizard, who can teleport around the screen to avoid
your  fire;  and the Knight in shining armour with a glint in his eye and a
smile as sharp as his sword.


PRACTICE CODES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Ruff  `n'  Tumble contains four different worlds, with four levels in each.
To  complete  them  all will take you...  ooh, ages, so a Practice mode has
been included to help you tackle the most difficult bits.

At the end of each of the four worlds, you'll see a special four-digit code
on  the  screen.   Make  a note of this code, because it will enable you to
return to the following world when you play again.

How to Use the Practice Codes
-----------------------------

When  the  game  has  loaded,  press O on the keyboard to enter the Options
screen.   You  will  see  the message:  PASSCODE:  **** (Enter values 0-9).
Now  simply  type  in the four-digit code you noted down earlier, press the
Return key, and Ruff will skip forward to the desired world.

NOTE:   The  practice  codes  allow you to play the next world only.  It is
designed  so  you can practice the world as you reach them, without needing
to  play through the previous levels again.  So, when you finish a world in
Practice mode, you will be returned to the title screen.

Remember:   The only way to complete Ruff `n' Tumble is to play all the way
through from the beginning.  So get that joystick pumping!



That's all mates, have fun with this game and remember...



             · A GAME WORTH PLAYING IS A GAME WORTH BUYING! ·