THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE



SKOOLDAZE



PUBLISHER

Microsphere



AUTHOR

Unknown, but a husband and wife team of ex-teachers.



YEAR

1984



CATEGORY

Odd. Kind of an arcade adventure.



DESCRIPTION

Run around the school, attending lessons and fighting with your

mates whilst trying to prise the combination for the school safe

out of the teachers in order to steal you report card!



CONTROLS

Best played from keyboard as there are loads of keys, but it also

supports Kempston, Sinclair and Cursor joysticks for movement

only.



Q - Up

A - Down

O - Left

P - Right

(Holding CAPS SHIFT with any of these makes Eric run,

alternatively you can use the cursor keys for the same effect).



M or 0 - Fire catapult

H - Hit

S - Sit/Stand

J - Jump





INSTRUCTIONS

You are Eric, a troublesome schoolboy, and your task is to steal

your report card out of the school safe in the staff room so that

you don't get into trouble! To do this, you must collect the

combination letters for the safe and write them on a blackboard

- not such an easy task seeing as one letter of the four letter

combination is held by each of the teachers in the school. In

order to get them to tell you their letter, you must make all of

the shield scattered around the school flash by hitting them or

firing your catapult at them. Once all the shields are flashing,

knocking the teachers over with your catapult will cause them to

tell you their letter of the combination. All except old Mr

Creak, that is, who is so old he cannot be trusted to remember

his letter. It has been hypnotically implanted in his mind and

he will only remember it when he sees the number of the year that

he was born!



To make things even harder, the school is teaming with kids and

teachers and you are expected to attend lessons! Einstein is a

swot and will tell on you if you do anything naughty, Angelface

is a bully and will try and get you into trouble, and Boy Wander

is a harmless rogue who loves to write on blackboards! Do

anything wrong or be in the wrong place at the wrong time and you

will be given lines! Collect over 10000 lines and you will be

expelled from school!



Some shields are easy to reach, but others will require you to

invent more ingenious methods of making them flash. Once you have

your report, the chase isn't over as the flashing shields attract

the attention of the teacher's to your crime! This means that you

must then turn them all off again in order to complete the year!

And then there's next year....!





INLAY CARD TEXT

In the role of our hero, Eric (or any other name you decide to

call him and the rest of the cast), you know that inside the

staffroom safe are kept the school reports.  And, being Eric, you

realise that you must at all costs remove your report before it

comes to the attention of the Headmaster.



The combination to the safe consists of four letters, each master

knowing one letter and the Headmaster's letter always coming

first.  To get hold of the combination, you first have to hit all

the shields hanging on the school walls.  Trouble is, this isn't

as easy as it looks.  Some of them can be hit by jumping up.

Others are more difficult.  You could try and hit a shield by

bouncing a pellet off a master's head whilst he is sitting on the

ground.  Or, being Eric, you may decide to knock over one of t

he boys and, whilst he's flattened, clamber up on him so that you

can jump higher.



OK.  So all the shields are flashing wildly, disorientating the

poor masters.  Knock them over now and, before they can stop

themselves, they'll reveal their letter of the code.  All except

for the history master, of course, who because of his great age

and poor eyesight can't be trusted to remember.  His letter has

been implanted into his mind hypnotically.  To make him reveal

it, you must find out the year he was born (which, in case you

were wondering, changes each game).  Then, creep into a room

before he gets there and, if the board is clean, write it on the

blackboard.  When he goes into that room and sees his birthdate

he will, as if by post-hypnotic suggestion, give away his letter.



Now that you know all the letters of the combination, all you

have to do is work out which order they go in.  You know that the

Headmaster's letter is always first, but as for the other three

.... you'll just have to try the various possibilities.  Find a

clean blackboard and write out a combination.



Rush back to the staffroom and jump up to reach the safe with

your hand.  If nothing happens, then the combination must be

wrong, so you'd better find another clean blackboard and try a

different one.



With the safe open, your troubles still aren't over, as the

flashing shields are rather a giveaway.  To stop them flashing,

you now have to hit all of them again.



Done it?  Congratulations!  You are now allowed, along with all

your friends, to move on to the next class at school.  But

remember, there will be reports at the end of this term .....





School Rules

-----------

Boys shall attend lessons as shown in the timetable at the bottom

of the screen.  (Remember that because you cheated in the exams

last year, you always go to the same lessons as the swot.)



Boys do not score points by attending lessons, but may be given

lines if caught in the wrong place.



Boys who acquire over 10,000 lines shall be expelled immediately

from the school.



Boys are not allowed to enter the staffroom or the Headmaster's

study.  Take care.



At playtime, boys are supposed to be playing and not in any of

the classrooms.



Boys shall not hit their schoolmates.



Boys shall not fire catapults.



Boys are expected to walk quietly in the corridors - they are not

for running or sitting in.



School dinners are compulsory.



Boys will be neat and polite at all times.





The Keys

--------

O or 5 - left

P or 8 - right

Q or 7- upstairs in the direction you are moving

A or 6- downstairs in the direction you are moving



(If CAPS SHIFT (SHIFT on most modern keyboards) is pressed at the

same time as O, P, Q or A, this will result in fast movement in

that direction.)



Other keys to perform specific actions are:

S - sit/stand

H - hit

W - write (on blackboard)

J or L - jump or leap

0 or  F - fire catapult





Joysticks

---------

Joysticks can also be used.  With a joystick, the directions and

firing of the catapult are selected from the joystick, but the

keyboard must still be used for the other actions.



You select the type of joystick at the same time as giving names

to the cast.  So, when you see the prompt "Do you want to change

names?" reply Y, and when the list of options appears, reply:



N - to use the keyboard

K - for Kempston

I - for Sinclair Interface 2

C - for cursor keys type joystick





Scoring

-------

Hitting the shields - score depends on difficulty

Hitting all 15 shields - scores a bonus

Opening the safe after getting the combination - scores a bonus

Hitting the shields after opening the safe - score depends on

difficulty

Lines given to the swot or bully - their lines add to your score

Hitting the bully by punching him or with a catapult - if you

dare!





CHEATS

To get maximum fun out of this you shouldn't really cheat, but

here are some tips that I've worked out after many (MANY) years

of playing! 



Battles - you need these to find the last combination letter.

They are -



1066    Hastings

1265    Evesham

1314    Bannockburn

1346    Crecy

1356    Poitiers

1403    Shrewsbury

1415    Agincourt

1485    Bosworth

1513    Flodden

1571    Lepanto

1014    Clontarf 

1685    Sedgemoor

1746    Culloden

1775    Lexington

1781    York town

1805    Trafalgar

1815    Waterloo

1812    Borodino

1836    San Jacinto

1863    Gettysburg

1854    Balaclava



General Tips - 

When told to go to REVISION, you should be in the area where the

bookcases are - next to the reading room.



At DINNER, you should be in front of the benches on the ground

floor, where you start the game.



At PLAYTIME, you can be anywhere apart from inside a classroom

or office.



When you have a lesson in the map room, sit in a chair near the

door. As the teacher comes past you, stand up and walk slowly

forwards with him towards the map. Make sure you never walk past

him. When he turns around to face the class, keep walking until

you are behind him. You can now turn around and fire catapults

at the class without being seen and given lines!



The shields in the exam room can be reached by bashing kinds and

jumping on top of them. The two nearest the blackboard are easier

to get by bouncing catapult pellets off the teacher's head. The

shields on the lower level can only be hit by bouncing pellets

off the heads of the teachers, apart from the far left and far

right shields which can be shot from half way up the stairs.



If you get a special (a little kid comes up to you and tells you

something which you must press U to understand), follow this

guide.



ANGELFACE HAS MUMPS:

Hide in the exam room, near the blackboard until break is over.

Angelface never comes in here.



EINSTEIN IS GOING TO TELL ON YOU:

Einstein hangs around on the fire escape at the upper far right

of the map until the little kid finishes speaking. As soon as the

kid says "press U if you understand", press U and leg it to the

fire escape. Stop Einstein from getting to the head's office

before the end of break by hitting him or getting him with the

catapult repeatedly so that he falls down. It's better to get a

few lines this way than the 5000 you get if he makes it!



PEASHOOTER ON THE FIRE ESCAPE:

Mr Wacker starts at his office (the upper far left room) and

works his way to the fire escape. Do the same as above, press U

and quickly run to the office. As Wacker starts off, keep a

little behind him and repeatedly shoot him with the catapult,

knocking him down. You should be able to delay him until the end

of break. 



ANY OF THESE:

If you CAN'T stop any of these happening, try to put as much

distance between yourself and Mr Wacker as possible. Shooting him

to the ground makes him unable to catch you and you can then run

past him. Always run, as Wacker moves much more quickly when he's

chasing you! If you manage to survive until the end of break

without being given lines, Mr Wacker will magically forget all

about it!



To find out the last digit of the combination lock, you must find

out what year Mr Creak was born. Do this by attending his history

lessons and listening to the questions and answers that he and

Einstein give.  Once you know what happened in the year he was

born, you can use the table above to work out the year. Write

this on a CLEAN blackboard and when he next enters the room and

sees it he will reveal his combination letter. Note that you MUST

be there to see it, if you aren't he'll just clean the board.



Once you have all four letters of the combination, you must write

them on a CLEAN(!!!) blackboard. The headmaster's letter always

comes first, but the other three could be in any combination.

Once written, go and jump at the safe in the staffroom. If

nothing happens, you'll have to find another clean board and try

again with a different combination.



If after all this you really feel like you MUST cheat, use the

multiface to enter POKE 30464,201 to stop you being expelled once

you have over 10000 lines. But it'll spoil the game. :)



SEQUELS/PREQUELS

Back to Skool, also by Microsphere. Just as good, if not better

than Skooldaze.  Contact Sam Cruise was in a similar style,

although not strictly a sequel.



SCORES RECEIVED

Don't know offhand, but very high! Both Skooldaze and Back to

Skool are regarded as all-time classic Spectrum games.



URL

Skooldaze can be found at

ftp://ftp.dcc.uchile.cl:/pub/OS/sinclair/snapshots/s/skooldaz.zip

and Back to Skool can be found at

ftp://ftp.dcc.uchile.cl:/pub/OS/sinclair/snapshots/s/skool2.zip

ftp://akira.uc3m.es/pub/sinclair/games/s/skooldaze.zip

ftp://ftp.gui.uva.es/pub/sinclair/games/s/skooldaze.zip





GENERAL FACTS

Both Skool games were written by teachers, and it shows!



Both games also feature a novel idea - you can change the names

of all the characters. Ideal for using the names of your own

school friends and teachers.



NOTES

Even today, there are no other games quite like Skooldaze and

Back to Skool. Skooldaze is fast and addictive, and has stood up

well against the test of time. Playing it today in 1996, it seems

just as original and fun as it did in 1984. Even the graphics are

still great! A truly classic piece of Speccy game history!



                      SKOOL DAZE - ALTERNATIVE SOFTWARE

                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                           TYPED BY VAXALON 1993

                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 SKOOL DAZE

 

  In the role of our hero Eric (or any other name you decide to call him and

 the rest of the cast), you know that inside the staffroom safe are kept the

 school reports. And, being Eric, you realize that you must at all costs 

 remove your report before it comes to the attension of the Headmaster.

 

  The combination to the safe consists of four letters, each master knowing

 one letter and the Headmaster's letter always coming first. To get hold of

 the combination, you first have to hit all the shields hanging on the

 schools walls. Trouble is, this isn't as easy as it looks. Some of them

 can be hit by jumping up. Others are more difficult. You could try to hit

 a shield by bouncing a pellet off a masters head whilst he is sitting on the 

 ground. Or, being Eric, you may decide to knock over one of the boys and, 

 whilst he's flattened, clamber up on him so that you can jump higher.

 

  O.K so all the shields are flashing wildly, disorientating the poor 

 masters. Knock them over now and, before they can stop themselves, they'll

 reveal their letter of the code. All except for the history master, 

 of course, who because of his great age and poor eyesight can't be trusted

 to remember. His letter has been implanted into his mind hypnotically.

 To make him reveal it, you must first find out the year he was born (which,

 in case you are wondering, changes each game). Then, creep into a room 

 before he gets there and, if the board is clean, write it on the blackboard.

 When he goes into that room and sees his birthdate he will, as if by 

 post-hypnotic suggestion, give away his letter.

 

  Now that you know all the letters of the combination, all you have to do is

 work out which order they go in. You know that the Headmaster's letter is

 always first, but as for the other three... you'll just have to try the

 various possibilities. Find a clean blackboard and write out a combination.

 

  Rush back to the staffroom and jump up to reach the safe with your hand.

 If nothing happens, then the combination must be wrong, so you'd better find

 another clean blackboard and try a different one.

 

  With the safe open, your troubles still aren't over, as the flashing 

 shields are rather a giveaway. To stop them flashing, you now have to hit

 all of them again.

 

  Done it? Congratulations! You are now allowed, along with all your friends, 

 to move on to the next class at school. But remember, there will be reports

 at the end of this term....

 

 

 SCHOOL RULES

 

  Boys shall attend lessons as shown in the timetable at the bottom of the

 screen. (Remember that because you cheated in the exams last year, you 

 always go to the same lessons as the swot.)

 

  Boys do not score points by attending lessons, but may be given lines if

 caught in the wrong place.

 

  Boys who acquire over 10,000 lines shall be expelled immediately from the

 school.

 

  Boys are not allowed to enter the staffroom or the Headmaster's study.

 Take care.

 

  At playtime, boys are supposed to be playing and not in any of the 

 classrooms.

 

  Boys shall not hit their schoolmates.

  

  Boys shall not fire catapults.

  

  Boys are expecting to walk quietly in the corridors - they are not for

 running or sitting in.

 

  School dinners are compulsory.

  

  Boys will be neat and polite at all times.

  

 THE KEYS

  

  Cursor keys - right

              - left

              - upstairs in the direction you are moving.

              - downstairs in the direction you are moving.

     also - O - left

            P - right

            Q - upstairs in the direction you are moving.

            A - downstairs in the direction you are moving.

            

  (IF CAPS SHIFT is pressed at the same time as O, P, Q or A this will

 result in fast movement in that direction.)

 

  Other keys to perform specific actions are:

  

      S - sit/stand

      H - hit

      W - write

 J or L - jump or leap

 0 or F - fire

 

 JOYSTICKS

 

  Joysticks can also be used. With a joystick, the directions and firing

 of the catapult are selected from the joystick, but the keyboard must still

 be used for the other actions.

 

  You select the type of joystick at the same time as giving names to the

 cast. SO, when you see the prompt "Do you want to change names?" reply Y,

 and when the list of options appears, reply:

 

  N - to use the keyboard

  K - for kempston

  I - for sinclair interface 2

  C - for cursor keys type joystick

  

 SCORING

 

  Hitting the shields - score depends on difficulty.

  

  Hitting all 15 shields - scores a bonus.

  

  Opening the safe after getting the combination - scores a bonus.

  

  Hitting the shields after opening the safe - score depends on difficulty.

  

  Lines given to the swot or bully - their lines add to your score.

  

  Hitting the bully by punching him or with a catapult - if you dare!

  

  Alternative Software 1988

  

