Cosmic Bugs
Version 1.05

Developed by Retro64, Inc.
Published by PopCap Games, Inc.
www.popcap.com

Brief Synopsis:

Creepy little bugs have infested your space station!  It’s time to get out your drill and fix the damage- and maybe take a few bugs out along the way!

Your Goal:

Complete each level by filling in the empty space, but don’t let the pesky little bugs touch your lines!

Controls:

The controls of Cosmic Bugs are very simple.  Just move your mouse to position your shooter, then press the mouse button to release your shot.  The direction of the shooter is automatically chosen for you; but if you’re a big-shot expert, try clicking the right mouse button to override and pick your own direction.

Quota:

Every level in Cosmic Bugs has what we call “Quota”. Quota is the amount of the level that you have to fill before being allowed to advance to the next.  Except for the very first level, quota is always 85%.  That means you have to fill 85% of the level before going to the next one.

Enemies:

There are many different enemies in Cosmic Bugs- each with its own special characteristics.

Regular Roller: This is the most basic enemy.  It just floats around the screen aimlessly. If it touches a line you’re making, it will unleash an electrical charge that travels to your shooter, destroying it.

Regular Walker: This is also a very basic enemy.  It simply walks around the perimeter of the level. If it touches a line you’re making, it will unleash an electrical charge that travels to your shooter, destroying it.

Burst Roller: Similar to the regular roller, this enemy “swims” in small bursts, which makes it more difficult to judge.  As with all enemies, don’t let it touch your line!

Scurry Walker: This walking bug will run very fast when you fire a shot, so be careful, it’s a squirmy little bugger!

Spin Roller: This floating enemy travels very slow at first, but it starts spinning at an alarming rate!  Once it spins to full speed, it travels at warp speed around the level.

Smart Walker: This little caterpillar walks very slowly around the level. But it makes up for its lack-of-speed with brains. It will continuously follow your shooter around the level and is quite a nuisance!

Bump Roller: This slow roller seems harmless enough.  It isn’t smart, it doesn’t go fast, and it doesn’t trick you. But it does have a nasty little habit of pushing walls back that it bumps into, freeing areas that you had previously filled.

Cannon Walker: This slow walker has a devious trick up its sleeve too!  It fires cannonballs into the air.  When these cannonballs land, they take out a small portion of areas that you filled in.

Smart Roller: This is a particularly nasty floating enemy.  It will chase you all over the level, trying to touch the lines you make.  You have to be very smart when dealing with this enemy.  Try luring him to one area, then quickly move across the level and make a fill before he can get to you!

Laser Walker: This walking bug likes to shoot a small laser burst at your lines. If that laser hits, your line is destroyed, and you have to start making a new line.

Snake Shooter: The biggest, baddest enemy in Cosmic Bugs!  This massive floating enemy actually shoots tiny projectiles that blow up portions of the board.  It can cause mass damage, so look out!

Destroying Enemies:

If you manage to fill an area of the board that contains an enemy, it will explode, helping make the rest of the level easier for you to fill.

Power-ups:

When you destroy enemies, a power-up will occasionally spawn.  You simply move your shooter on to a power-up to collect it.  Each power-up will give your shooter special abilities:

• Fast Shot: This allows your shooter to shoot its lines much faster, making it a lot easier to fill in the level.
• Slow Motion: Collecting this causes all the enemies to move very slowly, making it easier for you to fill the level.  It only lasts for one shot, so make it count!
• Score Multiplier: Grabbing this will cause all subsequent scoring to be double.  If you grab another, scoring will be triple, and so on.
• Time Bomb: This power-up attaches a bomb to your shooter. Just click the mouse button to let the bomb go.  Its wick will burn for 2 seconds, then it will explode, destroying any enemy within close proximity to it- very useful!
• Missile: Getting this one attaches a missile to your shooter. Clicking the mouse button will shoot the missile across the level.  Aim for any baddie you want to take out, but don’t get too close, because it won’t let you shoot!
• Freeze: Collecting the freeze power-up gives you a big block of ice to shoot at the enemies.  If it hits, it will freeze them for a few seconds, giving you precious time to clear the level.  Enemies are harmless when frozen.
• Land Mine: Get this one to get a deadly mine-bomb attached to your shooter.  When you click to let it go, it will hang around until a bug hits it. Then it will explode and demolish the bug, hooray!
• Sweepers: Grabbing the sweeper will extend 2 beams of light from the shooter.  Enemies cannot cross this beam, and are pushed away from it.  You can use it to “herd” the baddies to wherever you see fit!
• Extra Life: Get this to earn a free life, everyone’s favorite!

Scoring:

In Cosmic Bugs, you are awarded 1 point for “Cell” in the level that is filled.  A cell is represented by a tiny white dot.  When you make a fill and destroy an enemy, you will receive 100 points.  If you destroy 2 enemies during a fill, you will receive 100 points for the first one, and 200 for the second.  Destroy 3 and get 100, 200, 300.  And so on.  You will hear a higher pitched tone for each additional enemy destroyed during a fill.  Destroying a baddie with a bomb, missile, or mine will get you 500 points!  And of course, don’t forget the multiplier power-up, which will increase your scoring even more!

Pausing The Game:

You may press the ESC key to pause the game.

PC System Requirements:

Windows 95,98,ME,2000,XP

Intel Pentium 2, 3, 4 running at 333 MHz or faster- or any AMD K6, Athlon or Duron.

Any DirectX capable video card should work just fine.
DirectX 3.0 or later.

Support:

If you are experiencing problems with Water Bugs, you can contact us at: http://www.popcap.com/help.php.

If you can, including the following information along with a description of your problem will help us to help you!

• Title Of Game
• Computer Manufacturer
• Operating System (Windows 2000/ME, Windows XP, etc.)
• CPU Type And Speed In MHz
• Amount Of RAM
• Sound Card Type
• Video Card

Credits:

Game Design and Programming: Mike Boeh

Art: James Abraham

Engine Code: Michael P. Welch

Music: Staffan Melin

HAVE FUN!

Version Changes:

Version 1.0
- Initial release

Version 1.01a
- Added an option to disable shooter auto-aiming
- Fixed various minor bugs

Version 1.02
- Fixed random crashes in rare cases
- Improved game performance

Version 1.05
- Bug fixes

Copyright Information:

©2007 PopCap Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Cosmic Bugs was developed by Retro64, Inc. The PopCap Games logo is a registered trademark of PopCap Games, Inc.