ATARI
A Warner Communications Company
CX2615

COMPLETE GAME PLAY INSTRUCTIONS
HELPFUL HINTS Section 7
FOR ONE OR TWO PLAYERS
 

NOTE:  Although DEMONS TO DIAMONDS was primarily designed for children in the 6 to 12 age range, we find that people of all ages enjoy this engaging game.

NOTE:  Always turn the console POWER switch OFF when inserting or removing an ATARI Game Program cartridge.  This will protect the electronic components and prolong the life of your ATARI Video Computer System(tm) game.
(C) 1982, ATARI, INC.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. SATURDAY AT THE COSMIC CARNIVAL   1
2. GAME PLAY                         2
3. USING THE CONTROLLERS             4
4. CONSOLE CONTROLS                  4
5. GAME VARIATIONS                   5
6. SCORING                           6
7. HELPFUL HINTS                     7
8. GAME SELECT MATRIX                8
 

1. SATURDAY AT THE COSMIC CARNIVAL

You and your best friend are spending a super Saturday at the Cosmic Carnival.  So far you've done all the usual things.  Now you're restlessly looking around for a new thrill--something exciting and different, some competitive skill sport.  Suddenly you hear a taunting voice coming from the vicinity of Target Skill Gallery.

"Whoa, let's see what that's about!" you say as you make a sharp left and jog off in the direction of the high pitched speech.

The non-stop voice belongs to a squat, two-food tall demon parading back and forth in front of a huge, vertical shooting range.

"Hey you!" squeaks the demon, pointing directly at you.  "Would you like to command a laser base?  Like to hit targets and score points?  Are you looking for fun, excitement--a game in which you must dodge danger?  We are the demons and we dare you to try your laser-sharpshooting skills on us!  We're full of surprises.  We sidestep all over the shooting range.  We yak at you until you shut us up.  We change into new target forms-precious diamonds or deadly skulls.  Hit a diamond and you'll score a small fortune in bonus points.  But beware of skulls!

"So come on, reach for your laser, exercise your trigger finger on us.  Put us through our paces and we'll dazzle you with demonic tricks!"
 

2. GAME PLAY

Your objective in DEMONS TO DIAMONDS is to score as many points as possible while losing as few lives as possible.  You start the game with 5 lives; 4 of your lives are displayed on your side of the screen in the far right corner.  They look like white triangles, as shown in Figure 1.

Use your Paddle Controller to move your laser back and forth across the top or bottom of the playfield.  Press the red button to fire at demons.  The longer you hold in the red button, the farther your laser will extend up or down the screen.  The laser disappears when it hits a demon, a skull, or any object on the screen.

Hit demons the same color as your laser base to score points.  Demons will first appear in the middle two rows (rows 4 and 5).  When you hit a demon of your color, it eventually changes into a pulsating diamond.  If you or your opponent can hit this diamond before it disappears, the one who hits it scores bonus points.  When you hit a demon of your opponent's color, it transforms into a skull that shoots in both directions.  Watch out for these skulls; you lose a life every time you are struck by a skull's bullet.  In some game variations, you also lose a life when your laser base is hit by your opponent.  (See Section 5-GAME VARIATIONS, for details.)

Skulls disappear after a while.  Figure 2 shows you a typical DEMONS TO DIAMONDS game playfield, with demons, skulls, and bonus diamonds.

Demons move back and forth across the screen.  They change color when they bump into either wall.  They can also move up or down the screen into new rows when they hit the side walls.  Each time you shoot all the demons on the screen, you get a new wave of the little devils to shoot at.

The screen flashes briefly to signal the end of one wave and the start of another.  At first, the demons move slowly and the skulls are stationary.  As the game progresses, the demons pick up speed and the skulls move about.  By the fifth wave in all two-player versions and immediately in one-player games, the skulls spontaneously appear.  At first skulls do not move, but by wave 3 in one-player games and wave 7 in two-player games, they move up and down the screen, making it hard to dodge their deadly fire.

When a skull's bullet hits you, you will know.  A deep, reechoing doom bong sounds and everything on the screen momentarily stops.

In two-player games, you score bonus points for lives that remain after your opponent has lost all his lives.  A high, bell-like sound rings off each remaining life as your bonus points are added.  (For more about SCORING, see Section 6.)

Page 4

3. USING THE CONTROLLERS

Use one set of Paddle Controllers with this ATARI Game Program cartridge.  Be sure to plug the controller cables firmly into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack at the back of your Video Computer System game.  Hold the controller with the red button to your upper left toward the television screen.  See your owner's manual for further details.

NOTE:  If unsure about which controller to use, turn the knob on either controller.  The paddle will move horizontally across the top or bottom of the screen.  Turn the knob clockwise to move the paddle right; turn it counterclockwise to move it left.  Press the red button to fire your laser.  The longer you hold in the button, the farther your laser will go up or down the screen.
 

4. CONSOLE CONTROLS

GAME SELECT SWITCH

Use the GAME SELECT switch to choose the game you wish to play.  If you press and hold down this switch, the game number automatically changes at the top center of the screen, while the number of players for that game appears at the top right, as shown in figure 3.

There are 6 game numbers in total.  For a breakdown of GAME VARIATIONS, see Section 6.

GAME RESET SWITCH

Once you have selected the game number you wish to play, press down the GAME RESET switch to start the game.  In two-player versions, scores then appear at the top and bottom center of the screen; lives remaining will appear at the top and bottom right side of the screen.  (See Figure 1.)  In one-player games, your score is displayed at the bottom center, your lives at bottom right.

DIFFICULTY SWITCHES

DIFFICULTY switches control the speed of the skull's bullets in all games.  In the A position, the bullets fire almost twice as fast as in the B position.

Use the LEFT DIFFICULTY switch for one-player games.  For two-player games, the bottom player uses the LEFT DIFFICULTY switch and the top player uses the RIGHT DIFFICULTY switch.

TV TYPE SWITCH

On a color television, the game will appear in color.  On a black and white set, the demons are black and white, the top player's laser base is white, and the bottom player's base is black.  The TV TYPE switch is not used in this game.
 

5. GAME VARIATIONS

DEMONS TO DIAMONDS contains 6 game variations.  Games 1 through 3 are standard versions, while Games 4 through 6 are easier versions suitable for beginners.  Here is a breakdown of your game choices:

GAME 1:  A one-player DEMONS TO DIAMONDS game in which the skulls fire bullets at normal speed, shoot often, and move quickly up and down the screen.

GAME 2:  A two-player version of Game 1.

GAME 3:  A two-player version of Game 1, except that you or your opponent lose a life each time you hit the other's laser base.

GAME 4:  An easy one-player game in which the skulls fire more slowly than in standard games, don't fire as often, and take longer to move up and down the screen.

GAME 5:  A two-player game exactly like Game 4.

GAME 6:  A two-player easy game like Game 4, except you and your opponent can lose lives by hitting each other's laser base.
 

6. SCORING

DEMONS

Every time you hit a demon of your own color, you receive 1 to 8 points, depending upon which row the demon occupies.  For example, a demon in the row nearest your laser base is worth 1 point, while a demon in the third row from your laser is worth 3 points.  For a breakdown of point value per row, see Figure 4.

DIAMONDS

Each pulsating diamond is worth 10 to 80 points, or 10 times the value of the row it occupies (see Figure 4).

BONUS LIVES

Lives that you have remaining after an opponent has lost all 5 lives are credited to your score.  The value of a bonus life increases with each wave, as shown in Figure 5-Bonus Life Scoring Table.

Figure 5-Bonus Life Scoring Table
Wave Number              1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8
Points Per Life Left    10   20   30   50  100  150  200  250

Wave Number              9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16
Points Per Life Left   300  350  400  500  750 1000 1500 2000
 

7.  HELPFUL HINTS

Create skulls as far as possible from your laser base; these are more likely to hit your opponent than you.

Aim at demons of your own color that are as far away as possible; they are worth more points than the close ones.  But beware of your opponent hitting your bonus diamond.  He gets those points, too.

Try to hit the diamonds whenever you can.  They are worth a lot of points and, if you can hit them consistently, your score will rise quickly.

Spontaneous skulls usually appear at the edge of the rows.  Don't spend too much time in this vicinity.  The safest position is just to the right or left of the center, as shown in Figure 6.

Take care when firing into the center of the screen.  This is where demons first appear, and you can inadvertently hit an opponent while aiming at your own color.  The same thing can happen when you try to hit your own color at the edge of the screen.  Since demons change color when they bump into the right and left sides, you can usually end up hitting an opponent and making a skull there.

8.  GAME SELECT MATRIX

Game Number            1  2  3  4  5  6
Number of Players      1  2  2  1  2  2
Slow Skull Bullets              X  X  X
Fast Skull Bullets     X  X  X
Can Shoot Opponent           X        X
Cannon Shoot Opponent  X  X     X  X
 

ATARI, INC., Consumer Division
P.O. Box 427, Sunnyvale, CA 94086

CO16943-15 REV.1 (C)1982  ATARI, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED  Printed in USA