THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE



FIREFLY





PUBLISHER

Ocean



AUTHOR

Special F/X



YEAR

1988



CATEGORY

Arcade



CONTROLS

Keyboard, Kempston, Cursor



 KEYS : Redefinable

        Pause            - SPACE

        Quit             - BREAK



INSTRUCTIONS

Your task as commander of the Firefly is to destroy the mechanoid

system framework, developed by the enemy, by removing the vital

energy source used to sustain its existance.



The framework is represented on the screen by a system of grids,

each one being one of the following:



 1. A robot-occupied zone.

 2. An unconstructed region.

 3. A robot-free "Dead Zone".

 4. A planetary sector.

 5. The system power source.



The system grid is arranged randomly each turn. You always start

in the Dead Zone on the far left, ready to battle your way

through the occupied area to the power source.



Your movement is restricted to the Dead Zone areas and you can

therefore only enter a system which is adjacent to a Dead Zone.

You do so by positioning the Firefly on the appropriate square

and pressing fire. You cannot enter a system with a planet at its

core. These are the main mechanoid colonies and are too well

protected against attack.



The unconstructed regions are the least protected by the robots.

In order to take over one of these you must first override its

"intrusion detection" alarm system. This can only be done

manually. If you fail to do it correctly in the given time, a

chain reaction will occur, causing the robotic system to jumble

itself up, forcing you to retreat to the far left of the grid.



ENTERING AN OCCUPIED AREA : The solar system chart will be

replaced by a close-up view of the area with one of the Firefly's

battleships in the centre. The scanner at the bottom of the

display will show the entire area and your battleship, observed

from a distance.



Your ship is equipped with an ion-thrust drive and plasma

disruptor balls which, if used correctly, can get you out of

impossible situations!



Each area has four main energy points (fast-flashing dots on the

scanner) and two teleports (slow-flashing dots). These are

protected by a selected number of robots which, because of their

size, will not show up on your radar. Once destroyed these robots

may deposit some useful items.



To take over the area you must destroy all four energy points.

You accomplish this by entering each point and trying to

overpower them.  You can only do this, however, by collecting

four excess energy units (yokas) which are constantly being

expelled into the playfield by each of the energy points.



The teleports can be used to move your ships into inaccessible

places or for more economical travel around the playfield.

However, these are robotic devices and may be difficult for

humans to operate.



  Your ship can be damaged by:

 1. Robotic collisions.

 2. Mechanoid missile attacks.

 3. Incorrect teleport operation.

 4. Failure to overpower energy points.

 5. Entering energy points with insufficient energy units.



A ship is lost when it can no longer sustain any more damage...

thus the occupied area will remain under robotic control but, if

you have any ships left, you may re-enter the same system or

choose another route through the framework.



SCORES RECEIVED

"Firefly virtually overflows with quality, style and sheer

excellence." 92% (CRASH #50, March 1988)



GENERAL FACTS



NOTES

