Platypus Readme

PLATYPUS README
Version 1.0

Developed by Retro64
Published by Idigicon
Distributed by PopCap Games, Inc.
http://www.popcap.com

The Story:

The vast, continent-spanning city of Collosatropolis has finally reached the limits of its expansion. Tall buildings cover every available space. The air is thick with smoke and poisonous chemicals. Parking is a nightmare.

The Collosotropolan leaders have decided the simplest solution is to invade the neighboring country of Mungola. They don't anticipate much of a struggle - Mungolans are simple, earthy types without much love for industry. In fact, Mungola's entire defense force consists of a single squadron of fighter planes - the venerable F-27 "Platypus."

But how much of a threat can a few antique aircraft be?

Brief Synopsis:

Help the antique Platypus craft defeat the hordes of invaders from Collosatropolis in the beautiful clay animated shooter!

Your Goal:

Your goal is to guide your ship, “Platypus”, through 4 areas and 20 levels, eventually making your way into the heart of Collosatropolis- destroying everything in your path along the way.

Controls:

When Platypus starts, you will be able to select which controller to use for each people. There are three choices:

Mouse – Move the mouse to move your ship, press the left mouse button to shoot.

Joystick/Gamepad – Move the controller to control the ship, any button will fire.

Keyboard – Move with your arrow keys, shoot with the ctrl key or space bar.

Enemies:

There are two basic kinds of enemies in Platypus, primary and secondary. Primary enemies are large, and take many shots to destroy. Secondary enemies are small ships that take only one or two shots to kill. At the end of each level, you will receive bonus points based on how many of each are destroyed.

Powerups:

When you destroy certain formations of secondary enemies, you will have the chance to acquire powerups for your ship. You collect these powerups by maneuvering your ship over a star that has spawned when the formation was destroyed. There are five different kinds of powerups:

Wide Shot (yellow star): This will shot a spread pattern of bullets.

Autofire (blue star): You shoot bullets at a very fast rate.

Sonic Pulse (green star): You shoot a wide and destructive energy burst.

Rockets (red star): You will launch very powerful missiles.

Lightning (cyan star): Shoot devastating lightning bolts at your enemies.

On occasion, you can also shoot the stars before collecting them, which can change their color and give you different powerups. When you have a powerup, there will be a small counter in the upper-left corner of the screen. When this counter reaches zero, your powerup will be gone- so make sure you get the most from it!

Balloons and Crates:

At certain stages of the game, balloons will be floating up from the bottom of screen. Shoot the crates and collect the special bonuses that fall from them. These bonuses include:

Weapon Pods – These will attach to your ship, giving you extra firepower!

X2 – This will double the points for each enemy you destroy.

Coins – Coins are worth extra points.

Fruit:

When you destroy primary enemies, fruit will often fly into the air. After all, the Collosotropolans have to eat too! Collect this fruit for extra points. For even more points, shoot the fruit into smaller pieces- then collect.

Credits:

At the bottom of the screen, there will be an indicator telling you how many “credits” you have left. Think of a credit as a “continue”. Each time you lose all your lives, you can use a credit to continue your game. When you’re out of credits, you won’t be able to continue anymore.

Free Lives:

You will be awarded free lives when your score surpasses each of the following totals:

5000, 10000, 20000, 30000, 50000, 70000, 90000, 110000, 125000, 150000, 1750000, 200000, 225000, 250000 ,275000, 300000, 350000, 400000, 450000, 500000.

Pausing The Game:

You may press the ESC key to pause the game.

Passive Resistance:

You may notice a blimp in the background of the first level with a banner that reads, “Special Bonus For Passive Resistance”. Well, we’re not going to tell you what it means- it’s a secret! It’s worth figuring out though, good luck!

PC System Requirements:

Windows 95,98,ME, 2000, XP

Intel Pentium 2, 3, 4 running at 300 MHz or faster- or any AMD K6, Athlon or Duron.

Any DirectX capable video card with 8 MB or more memory. DirectX (any version)

Credits:

Design, code, graphics, and sound: Anthony Flack

Additional code: Mike Boeh

Producer: George Bray

Music: See music.txt

HAVE FUN!

Support

If you have any questions about the purchase or registering of your game, please visit PopCap Games at www.popcap.com/help

All technical and game-play support questions should be directed to Idigicon at: support@idigicon.com.

Copyright Information

All other copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.