Auto Racing on Intellivision

 AUTO RACING

Cartridge Instructions

(For 1 or 2 Players)

You're in the driver's seat of a Grand Prix-type course. The road snakes and

twists before you. As your car starts rolling, trees and buildings rush by on

either side. Your tires scream as you hurtle past them and around tight turns.

You're in a race to the finish, balancing speed against control. Look out for

that curve! You'll need fast reflexes and split-second timing to see what it's

like to participate in one of the world's most exciting sports. Are you ready?

Ladies and gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES!

OBJECT OF THE GAME

2 players: Score 50 points before your opponent does. You get 2 points every

time your opponent crashes, 1 point if you lead far enough to reach the edge of

the picture. Maximum 2 cars on the course at any time.

1 player: Complete 5 laps in the shortest possible time. A crash makes you lose

distance and time. Only 1 car on the course, racing against the clock.

PRESS RESET BUTTON

Title will appear on TV screen.

CONTROLS

Select Course: [1] - [5]

Select Cars: [1] - [5]

Braking: Any Side Button (press one only)

Restart at Last Checkpoint: Any Side Button

Confirm Car/Course: [ENTER]

Steering Control: Disc

GET READY!

When you see the AUTO RACING title, press the Disc or any key on either Hand

Controller. The screen shows:

SELECT COURSE:

Pick one of 5 courses. The courses are numbered in order of difficulty, with #1

the easiest and #5 the hardest. Punch in that number on one of the keys and then

press [ENTER].

If you press ENTER without first pressing a number key, the computer will

randomly select a course for you, from #1 through #4.

Now pick one or two of the 5 cars (see their specifications below).

If you're going to drive just one car in a race against the clock,

press its number key then press ENTER on the Hand Controller you want to use.

Then press ENTER on the other Hand Controller. After a moment you'll see that

car at the starting line, and it will begin to move. The clock's running!

To race two cars, the first player presses the key for one car, then ENTER. The

other player presses a key on the second Hand Controller for the competing car,

then ENTER. The positioning of the cars (inside/outside) is randomly decided by

the computer.

CHECKPOINTS

There are 5 different courses. Each has checkpoints where races will be re-

started after a crash or after one car in a two-car race has a big lead. Re-

starts occur at the last checkpoint that has been passed.

THE CARS

When you select a car to drive, consider these factors:

1 (white): top speed 55, acceleration POOR, cornering EXCELLENT

2 (green): top speed 65, acceleration EXCELLENT, cornering GOOD

3 (red): top speed 75, acceleration GOOD, cornering GOOD

4 (tan): top speed 90, acceleration POOR, cornering FAIR

5 (blue): top speed 90, acceleration POOR, cornering FAIR

NOTE: The TAN and BLUE cars are identical in every respect, so they should be

used for two-car races when the players have equal skill.

When the course and car(s) are selected, the race begins. You "drive" your car

with your Hand Controller, and there are three factors which determine where,

and how fast, your car will go -- Steering, Braking, and Accelerating:

STEERING [ORIGINAL CARTRIDGE RELEASE]

Steer your car with the Direction Disc. When you first start playing AUTO

RACING, your impulse will probably be to use the Disc as if it were a steering

wheel, where you would always press the left side to turn left, etc. However,

THE DISC ORIENTS THE CAR TO THE FOUR SIDES OF THE TV PICTURE: to point the car

toward the top of the screen, press the top of the Disc. To point it toward the

left edge, press the left side, and so on.

STEERING [REVISED CARTRIDGE RELEASE]

Use the Directional Disc to steer your car. The car will go straight ahead when

the Disc is not touched. To turn left, press the left side of the disc; to turn

right, press the right side.

Until you get accustomed to this steering system, it is easy to make the mistake

of "over-steering" your car by trying to change its direction too much. The

farther away from the direction of movement you press the rim of the Disc, the

less actual control you will have.

REMEMBER, FINESSE COUNTS, NOT FORCE! Keep a light, sensitive touch on the Disc

and just make steering adjustments that are necessary to keep your car in the

center of the road as much as possible.

BRAKING

When you're learning to "drive" these cars, it will probably help to do some

braking, especially as you approach sharp curves. Use ONLY ONE of the side

buttons on your Hand Controller. You'll hear the squeal of the brakes as they're

applied. When you race two cars side-by-side, you can use the brake to cut in

behind your competitor when you go into a curve. As soon as you release the

BRAKE button, your speed increases.

ACCELERATING

Acceleration is automatic -- when you're not braking your car, its speed

gradually builds up to its maximum (shown in "The Cars"), and will slow down

only by skidding around turns or by running on the grass or through water. As

you get better at driving, you'll be able to take full advantage of this

constant acceleration to make "power drifts" through turns. The acceleration

will give you some forward momentum that reduces the effects of sideslipping and

skids.

Occasionally, your car will get out of control and careen across the grass and

completely off course (the five courses are laid out side-by-side). If this

happens, the best thing is to deliberately crash so you can get re-started at

the last checkpoint and not lose any more precious time.

SCORING AND STRATEGY

Two-car races: The cars start off side-by-side. If you use the TAN and BLUE cars

(#4 and #5), they are matched in every respect, making skill

all-important. There are two ways to score: when your opponent crashes (you get

2 points) or when you take a commanding lead (you get 1 point). The first player

to accumulate 50 points wins the race. When there's a crash a message flashes on

the screen: CRASH.

The "CRASH" message is in the color of the car that hit an obstacle. During the

race, there may be collisions between the racers. No points are won or lost, but

the impact will usually make you lose control.

The best strategy in a two-car race is to outdrive your opponent on the curves

and get out in front. When one car is leading by about 12 lengths (or the cars

are getting too far apart to appear in the picture), the race is stopped and you

see "AHEAD" in the color of the leading car. The updated score appears,

including 1 point awarded to the car that is ahead.

After a CRASH or AHEAD interruption, press any side button on either Hand

Controller. The cars reappear at the last checkpoint passed.

One-car races: When just one car is running, the race is against the clock. The

length of the race is 5 laps around whichever course you select. Whenever you

CRASH, press a side button and the car will be restarted at the last checkpoint

it passed. A message will show elapsed time and full laps completed. There are

no penalty points for crashes but you do, of course, lose some time. When the

car crosses the finish line at the end of the 5th lap, the picture freezes and

you see: FINISH

WINNING TIPS

* Pay close attention to the course you're running. As you become familiar with

the road, you'll be able to anticipate the turns and steer more gradually.

Radical direction stages will result in lots of crashes.

* Practice steering so you can make smooth direction changes. The less skidding

and sliding your car does the faster it can go.

* Stay off the grass as much as possible, to keep from slowing down.

* If you are going out of control, do whatever you can to stay away from

the blue patches of water, especially when you're running one car against the

clock.

* Steer by pressing the Disc on the edge that approximates the car's direction.

If you press the "east" side of the Disc when the car is going "west," you'll

lose all control of the vehicle.

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(c)1980, 1998 Intellivision Productions Inc.