==============================
The Great Space Race by Legend
==============================
Document created by rstuart@ukonline.co.uk on 22nd Oct 1999 for
World of Spectrum: http://www.void.demon.nl/spectrum.html

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A Legend production (C) 1984

Production Team
---------------
David Ashe, Graham Asher, Martin Carty, Karl Curtis, Richard Edwards, Trevor
Inns, Declan Kirk, James Learmont, Adrian Marler, Bruce Menzie, Peter Moxham,
Andrew Owen, Jan Peel, John Peel.

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Contents
--------
THE GREAT SPACE RACE
Getting Started                 6
If you are new to the Spectrum  
Playing the game                7
The Galaxy                      9
Space Travel                    10
Hiring Racers                   11
Buying Weapons                  17
Space Stations
Teleports                       18
The Racers                      19
The Non-Racers
Breakdowns
Drunkenness                     20
Pirates
PKB's                           21
Genghis                         31
Space Battles                   47
Space Wrecks                    48
System Commands                 49

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LEGEND tells that there was once a small unvisited planet at the centre of a
small unvisited galaxy.
  To the first colonists the planet was known simply as G-CATXV610/02.
Despite the catchy name, they took a chance and landed.
  And stepped on to a lust green landscape dotted with strange purple plants
- plants that looked suspiciously like... vines.
  Those first pioneers gathered in the purple fruit - jumped up and down on
it for hours before someone remembered the pulping machine in their stores -
and left it to ferment.
  The first tasting was an historic event, which regrettably nobody present
could recall, but at the end of the day - or week - or whatever - the least
incapable businessmen rushed samples of this fantastic liquid to every planet
in the galaxy. Their message was simple: "Sample new product. Price to
follow. Delivery to follow. Name to follow."
  The product was duly sampled, and that was, pretty much that. People wanted
to know the price. They wanted to know about delivery. They wanted to get
their hands on it, and naming the brew was the least of their concerns.
  'Name to follow' didn't exactly roll of the toung however. And so, in the
absence of any better ideas, it was simply abbreviated - and Natof was born.
  There are drinks and tipples, poisons and potions, aperitifs, liquers and
whalloping headbangers. And then there is -

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Natof
-----
Three simple qualities set Natof apart from all other drinks:-

1  Natof gets you totally, leglessly, helplessly happy.
2  Natof never ever gives you a hangover.
3  Natof contains all the nutrition and vitamins you need for a healthy, if
   hopelessly inebriated, life.

Needless to say, Natof is very, very popular. It has been the cause of
countless bloody battles - the inspiration behind far too many poems of
praise - and the basis of at least one spectacularly successful computer
movie...

The Great Space Race
--------------------
In which all you have to do is deliver Natof to people who want it.
  While keeping out of the way of pirates of loveable deadly Zanik and
deadly, deadly Krone.
  Keeping on the right side of the none-too-friendly, and distinctly
corruptible, Peace Keeping Body.
  Trying to stop the increadible Genghis from destroying you accidentally...
  Resisting the temptation of space wrecks, with their enormous Natof
cargoes, and their equally enormous boobytraps.
  And to actually make your deliveries for you, you can hire just four
seasoned mercenaries. The people you hire will race to make deliveries.
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  They will keep you informed and ask you for instructions - but they're
only human - they may disobey you, they may get drunk, their ships may break
down, they may even be attacked by the mercenaries you didn't hire...

Getting Started
---------------
THE GREAT SPACE RACE is recorded twice, once on each side of the cassette.
The two recordings are identical.
  To load THE GREAT SPACE RACE, follow the normal Spectrum loading procedure
- type load "" and press ENTER. If you are not familiar with this procedure
refer to Chapter 6, page 21 of your Spectrum Introduction manual.
  Note - always start with a 'clean' machine, i.e. unplug the power lead from
your Spectrum and then plug it in again.
  Loading takes about four minutes. Do not press the BREAK key during
loading.
  Because THE GREAT SPACE RACE uses many of the Z80's more advanced
facilities in its machine code routines, you should not attempt to load THE
GREAT SPACE RACE with special peripherals such as Spectrum Interface 1,
Microdrives or full-size printer adaptors. You will need to experiment to
find out if other peripherals will function with THE GREAT SPACE RACE. In
general, any device that uses RAM or Z80 interrupts will not function with
THE GREAT SPACE RACE.

--------[Page 7]---------

If you are new to the Spectrum
------------------------------
Take some time to read the Instruction Manual that comes with your Spectrum
computer. This will tell you how to get your computer connected up and
working and how to use your cassette recorder with your Spectrum computer.

Playing the Game
----------------
You will soon discover that THE GREAT SPACE RACE is a true computer movie.
You can just watch events unfold, joining in as much or as little as you
wish. However, by joining in, you will actually be "playing" THE GREAT SPACE
RACE.
  Playing THE GREAT SPACE RACE is easy - playing it well requires skill,
experience and judgement. This section is intended to provide a general
introduction, to help you to start to discover and enjoy the world of THE
GREAT SPACE RACE.
  In the same way as the stories will increase your understanding of the
characters involved, the more detailed sections of this manual will help you
understand and plan effective strategies.
  The objectives of the game is simply to deliver, to the space stations as
much Natof as you can, as fast as you can. Your score is the number of space
stations that you have delivered to and the time taken for those deliveries.
  There is, therefore, no clear winner in THE GREAT SPACE RACE but rather
degrees of winning - you choose your priorities. You may deliver to more
space stations than ever before, or you may deliver to the same number of
space stations in an even faster time.
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  Throughout the race, you will be offered options by the characters. The
events that lead to the options being offered are reported in the lower
screen window. The top window displays the actual choices you are being
offered.
  Each choice has a number and having made your decision, you simply press
the appropriate number keys. To avoid accidental "key-stabs" being
misinterpreted as commands, be sure to hold your chosen key down for a
fraction of a second, until you hear a high-pitched beep. This confirms that
your selection has been accepted.
  Each option is only offered for a few seconds, as the characters will not
wait indefinitely for you to make your decision. In the right of the top
window, you will see a small stylised clock face, which will graphically
indicate the time remaining for you to make your choice. If you do not make
a choice, one of two things will happen, depending on the situation. In the
case of you being offered something, like sobering up a member of your crew,
your failure to choose will be taken as a refusal. When it is an option that
affects the action of a racer, if you do not repond, the character concerned
will make his or her own decision.
  The longer you spend making a choice, the less time the racer has to
deliver Natof, and whilst you are making a decision your other racers are
unable to communicate with you. It therefore makes sense, if you are going to
make a choice, to make it as quickly as possible.
  Even if you do make a choice, your racer may not necessarily obey your
instructions. This could be because of their feelings toward another
character involved in the situation, or simply because they are very
independent.
  When no specific option is being offered, the top window shows the name of
the space station currently in view, and allows you to switch your attention
from one character to another.
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  This also gives you access to a group of "system" commands, including print
and sound controls, and the option to "quit" the current race.
  Everything that happens in THE GREAT SPACE RACE is time related, especially
the main objective of delivering Natof. Therefore all reports, which are
displayed in the lower screen window, start by showing the current time.
During the pre-race cycle, the time counts down from T-50 to 0, and once the
race has started, counts up from 0.
  The race ends either when you have delivered Natof to all 96 space
stations, or when all four racer's ships have beed destroyed. At the end of
each race, your performance is scored as follows:

1 The number of space stations you have delivered Natof to.
2 The total time taken.
3 The average time that each delivery took.

The Galaxy
----------
At the centre of the galaxy is the planet Natof. It is a spiral galaxy and
there are four "arms" radiating from the centre. There are twenty-four
inhabited planets in each arm, each having its own orbiting space station.
It is to these stations that your racers must make their deliveries of Natof.
  The four arms of the galaxy are called Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. The
planets are numbered 1-24 starting at the centre and working out, so that
Beta 4 is the fourth planet from the centre on the Beta "arm". Some planets,
however, have their own names and there whereabouts will become apparent as
you play the game.
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  Alpha is the most civilised arm of the galaxy, with PKB's making a show
of strength and pirates seldom daring to venture along it.
  Beta and Delta are both fairly prone to pirate raids and PKB visits.
  Gamma is definitely uncivilised, an area where anything that moves is fair
game for the ready-to-pounce. The PKB's keep a low profile in Gamma.

Space Travel
------------
Your racers' space ships are equipped with two kinds of power. The main form
is a Hyperdrive that transports the ship instantly from one space station to
another. Its range is however limited, so that a racer can only move along
a galactic arm one station at a time. Your racers cannot use their
Hyperdrives to jump from one arm of the galaxy to another - Hyperdrive only
allows them to move inward or outward along their present galactic arm.
  For short-range travel, ships are equipped with rockets, and it is these
that are used in space battles.
  See also TELEPORTS.

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Hiring Racers
-------------
You have the option of hiring up to four racers, from a group of eight.
  During the pre-race countdown, characters will offer you their services for
a fee that is paid out of your initial 50,000 cases stock of Natof.
  Their fee will depend on the following factors:

1 How well they performed the last time they were hired.
2 How high an opinion they have of themselves - this can be found out by
  playing the game and by referring to the stories in the manual.
3 How much time is left to the start of the race. They are all keen to be
  hired and therefore their fees will tend to drop as the race approaches.

Due to the lowering of their fees, it is tempting to resist hiring racers
until the very last moment. However, this will leave you with little or no
time to but the weapons they will need.
  If you have not chosen four racers by the end of the pre-race countdown,
they will be allocated to you at random, but you will have to pay a very
high price for their services. Also, the allocated racers will have only
minimal weapons which will probably turn the race into something more like
a massacre.
  The first racer you hire, or are allocated, will start their Natof
deliveries on the Alpha arm, the second Beta and so on. This could also
influence what weapons you buy, depending on the likelihood of pirate
attacks, etc.

--------[Pages 12-16]---------

The Story of Noxin, Vindaloo
----------------------------
[See comic strip in Gspr13.JPG to Gspr16.JPG]

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Buying Weapons
--------------
Once you have hired a racer, you will immediately be offered the chance to
arm his or her ship with weapons. These weapons are paid for with Natof from
your stock.
  The only defensive weapon is a shield. You can only have one shield for
each ship and that shield has a set strength. During the fight its
effectiveness is reduced as it absorbs attacks, but providing the ship is
not destroyed, the shield returns to full strength after the fight. You can
see when a ship's shield has been hit by a shimmering effect.
  There are three attacking weapons: Lasers, Missiles and Smart Bombs, their
strenght and price being in the same order. Since lasers have an indefinate
life, and missiles and smart bombs are "self-replacing" these weapons
effectively last forever, although their strengths will reduce during the
course of any particular fight.
  You are only able to buy weapons for the racer you have just hired - i.e.
you cannot go back and buy more weapons for previously hired racer.
Therefore, as you hire racers and buy weapons, is is important to be aware of
which arm of the galaxy they will be dealing with.
  Racers that have been allocated to you will be supplied with minimal
weapons, which will nevertheless be paid for out of your Natof stock.

Space Stations
--------------
Each space station has a quota of 400 cases of Natof. Whenever one of your
racers reaches a space station, he or she will automatically deliver this
quota - unless:
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1 The racer has less than 400 cases on board.
2 The space station has already recieved its Natof quota - this would
  normally have been delivered by one of your racers, but occasionally one
  of the characters not on your team may find themselves with surplus Natof,
  and will make their own deliveries. These, of course, do not count toward
  your score.
3 The space station may be malfunctioning.

Occasionally, a space station may temporarily break down and therefore be
unable to take delivery of Natof. It is possible, but not certain, that if
you return to that station later, it will have been repaired, and your racer
will then be able to deliver its consignment of Natof.

Teleports
---------
Teleports can be found at several space stations. They allow your racer to
travel instantly to a different space station, which may be elsewhere in the
racer's current galactic "arm", or the destination may be on an entirely
different arm of the galaxy.
  Normally, the Teleport system functions reliably. You do not know
beforehand where the teleport leads, but having once used it, it will always
lead to the same place - providing the system is not malfunctioning. This
only happens occasionally and your racer will then be teleported to any space
station in the entire galaxy.

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The Racers
----------
Every character in THE GREAT SPACE RACE has their own personality, and
understanding these is tremendously important in playing the game
effectively.
  The personalities will affect how aggressive they are and how good they are
at what they do. Who they like and dislike will also affect the actions they
take. If they have an independent nature they will also be more inclined to
disobey your instructions.
  The stories illustrate many of the character's personality traits, but you
will discover many more as you play THE GREAT SPACE RACE.

The Non-Racers
--------------
Racers that you have not hired for your team will go about their own
business, but like everyone involved in THE GREAT SPACE RACE, they want
Natof! Depending on who they like and dislike, these characters will feel
perfectly justified in attacking your team members and stealing their Natof.

Breakdowns
----------
>From time to time, your racers' ships may break down. Urg - your friendly Mr
Fixit - will offer to repair any faults - for a fee, of course.
  If you do not wish to pay for repairs, the racer concerned will be stranded
for the rest of the race and therefore, effectively out of the race.
  The fees are paid out of Natof stock, so that as with drunkenness, if there
is no stock, the racer is again effectively out of the race.

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Drunkenness
-----------
There is a tendency among the racers to drink rather more Natof than is good
for them. Some suffer from this affliction more than others; experience and
the stories will guide you in discovering who is likely to give you the most
trouble in this area.
  As the racers are paid with Natof, each has their own supply, which is kept
out of the reach of pirates, PKB's etc.
  If one of your racers becomes drunk, you will be offered the chance to pay
medical fees for sobering him up. If you do not pay for medical treatment,
your racer will remain drunk for the rest of the race.
  As their competence is then affected, they are unlikely to survive any
fights they get involved in. Medical treatment is paid for out of Natof stock
on their ship, so that if that ship has insufficient Natof, the racer will
remain drunk until the end of the race.

Pirates
-------
The two pirates, Krone and Zanik, have their own individual personalities.
Being pirates, however, they do behave in the same general way.
  They are most likely to be found in the Gamma "arm" of the galaxy, which
being the least civilised section, provides a natural hunting ground, and
does not usually attract visits from the PKB's.
  They wait until one of your racers arrives at a space station and then
swing into action. Occasionally they will attack without warning.
--------[Page 21]---------
  More usually, however, they will offer you the chance to buy them off with
a bribe. Pirates being pirates though, there is still a small possibility
that even though you pay the bribe, they will go ahead and attack anyway.
  In general, the bribes they demand are higher than the PKB's infamous
"taxes", but since the pirates are better armed, they also have a better
chance of collecting...
  The stories will reveal Krone's and Zanik's surprising likes and dislikes
among the other characters. These will, of course, affect their actions
toward your racers, and could well be a factor in choosing the racer who
will tackle the Gamma "arm".

PKB's
-----
The Peace Keeping Body was born in the turmoil of the dark ages. The
galaxies were in chaos with violent crime the order of the day.
  The origional force was formed by two brothers, the K twins, both ruthless
criminals in their own right, who decided enough was enough, especially since
too many of their own plans were being ruined by other criminals trying to
hit the same targets.
  Something had to be done to stop the needless, profitless violence, and the
Perfect K Brothers, as they soon became known, took it upon themselves to put
the world to rights - even though this involved quite a few wrongs along the
way.
  They supplied each of their hired thugs with a uniform and a natty pair of
shades, and before long had their own private army, anxious to deal out K
style justice.
--------[Page 22]---------
Today's PKB is a direct descendent of those early "law" enforcers. Since
handing out space speeding tickets is hardly their style - not to mention
difficult in practice - they "invite" contributions to their Retirement
Benevolent Fund in the form of a Natof "tax" on the ships they encounter.
  Alpha, being the most civilised "arm" of the galaxy, is where the PKB's are
most likely to be found in strength. Gamma, on the other hand, being the
hunting ground of pirates, is a section of the galaxy they try to avoid.
  The PKB's are likely to approach your racer on arrival at a space station,
when they will politely invite you to pay your tax. This tax will vary
according to how much Natof your racer happens to have on his or her ship at
the time.
  Payment of the tax will ensure thair peaceful departure, enabling your
racer, if he or she has sufficient stock left, to go ahead and make their
delivery of Natof to the space station.
  If you do not pay the tax, they will attack you, and if you are unlucky
enough to be defeated by them, the tax will be extracted forcibly, and your
entire team of racers will be placed on their wanted list. This, of course,
means that your racers can expect frequent visits from the PKB's, and
consequently more tax demands.
  Their ships, however, are not heavily armed and should your racer succeed
in destroying the PKB ship completely, it will not have had time to transmit
your details, and you will escape scot-free.

--------[Pages 23-30]---------

The Story of Uno, Krone, Haberdaber
-----------------------------------
[See comic strip in Gspr24.JPG to Gspr30.JPG]

--------[Pages 31-32]---------

The Story of Genghis
--------------------
Genghis never knew his real parents. He was found wrapped in an old sock at
two days old, having been abandoned in the bottom of a dustbin.
  The infant was unaware that the ex-boxer who found him that cold winter's
morning had been praying for a child all his life. His wife was an abusive
alcoholic, caring little for the child's needs, so the self-appointed father
took it upon himself to look after the boy.
  Genghis grew up fast in the ghetto, learning to survive only be looking
after Number One. His father taught him how to use his fists, and by the age
of fiveteen he was the most respected kid on the block. He ate like a horse,
and trained continuously, running for miles on end, stretching himself to the
limit.
  His exhaustive work-outs started promptly at four each morning, when he
would drag his inebriated mother out of bed, throw her over his shoulder and
run non-stop for fiveteen to twenty miles. This way he could strengthen his
legs and improve his stamina whilst enabling his mum to get out of the house
for a while.
  He would throw bricks up into the air, and punch them as they fell to
improve his reflexes and toughen his skin. He would run out suddenly in front
of passing cars, then stop dead in front of them to tone up his stomach
muscles as they hit him.
  His favourite form of exercise was to run repeatedly full pelt against
walls, lowering his head at the last minute to strengthen his neck muscles.
Phisical fitness was all that mattered to him, and he soon became as strong
as an ox. Unfortunately, the very exercise designed to strengthen his neck
muscles had the unfortunate side effect of extensively damaging his brain.
--------[Page 33]---------
  Despite this, his new father decided to attempt to give him an education,
teaching him what little he himself knew about life.
  Having neither pen nor paper, they resorted to using the tattoo gun that
had been in the family for generations. Every day the two of them discussed
different topics, and then Genghis' father would carefully tattoo the
relevant points all over his sons's extensive body. That way he could always
refer to them when he needed. By the age of twenty-one Genghis was a walking
encyclopaedia.
  At six foot four, and weighing in at 16 stone of solid muscle, genghis was
a mountain of a man. His parents having both been killed by a car swerving
to avoid them, Genghis packed his bags and left home, on the road to fame
and fortune.
  After a year of petty crimes, he joined forces with a run-down old space
pirate, who needed someone to fall back on when the going got tough. He was
very good to Genghis, and spent every day trying to teach him the intricacies
of space villainy.
  Genghis longed to be a pirate, and though he instinctively knew a potential
victim when he saw one, try as he might he just couldn't bring himself to
attack another ship.
  He soon earned himself a reputation of being an incompetent bumbling idiot.
Having never learnt how to pilot a ship, he found the only way to stop it
was to crash into something. Other people called it attacking...
  It was on the planet Oren that he first heard of Meena, and liking the
sound of what he heard, vowed to chase her through the galaxies with the
hope of bumping (or more likely crashing) into her.
--------[Page 34]---------
  When he heard that Meena was entering THE GREAT SPACE RACE he was too
excited for words. The prospect of meeting Meena and assaulting unsuspecting
trader ships was irresistible.
  This would be his first taste of real action, the first opportunity for
people to feel the Might of Genghis.
  Genghis is a menace. Unlike the Pirates and the PKB's, he will attack
without warning.
  You could well take it as an insult to your management affairs if he
defeats or destroys one of your racers' ships since he is a one-man flying
disaster area...
[See image Gspr34.JPG]

--------[Pages 35-46]---------

The Story of Dos, Valcon, Zanik (Urg)
-------------------------------------
[See comic strip in Gspr36.JPG to Gspr46.JPG]

--------[Page 47]---------

Space Battles
-------------
You will be pleased (and possibly surprised) to learn that every space ship
is equipped with a COSMO QX9 Advanced Battle Computer, gererally known
simply as the ABC. Your racer in the battle, controls his ABC system, which
actually conducts the battles in true, three dimensional space.
  Although you will see the battle in the video window, the top screen window
also shows the ABC display as the racer would see it. This contains the
current positions of the fighting ships and, as a white square or two
rectangles, the angle from which the ships are being shown in the video
window.
  Factors which are taken into account during a battle include the defensive
and offensive capabilities of the ships, and the aggressiveness and
competence of their commanders.
  The outcome of a battle may be defeat or destruction of one of the ships.
if your racer is defeated, the ship is still fully functional, but how much
Natof you loose depends on who the battle was against.
  Since Natof is, very sensibly, shipped in battle-proof containers, a ship
can be destroyed and the victor will take posession of the loser's Natof. If
one of your racer's ships is destroyed, they are effectively out of the race.

--------[Page 48]---------

Space Wrecks
------------
At the start of each race, a number of space wreks drop out of Hyperspace at
random space stations. Each wreck contains a large cargo of Natof, typically
sufficient for example, to replenish a defeated racer's stock. There is a
catch however...
  Each wreck has a boobytrap whcih is capable of destroying your racer's
ship. These boobytraps can only be defused by the correct six digit number
code.
  The number codes may be discovered by your racers as they visit other space
stations. They will always report the number codes to you - unfortunately
though, depending on their intelligence and how much Natof has been drunk,
they may not always get the number quite right.
  As an extra touch, if you are using the PRINT command, these number codes
will NOT be printed, which means that you will need to make a note of them
as they occur.
  When one of your racers arrives at a space station where thee is a space
wreck, you will be asked whether or not you want to explore it. If you choose
to do so, you will have just a few seconds to select the correct code
sequence, from a list.
  If you make the correct choice, your racer gets the Natof - if your choice
is wrong, your racer's ship is destroyed and he or she is effectively out of
the race.
  Unless you are confident you know the right code - or you are desperate for
more Natof - space wrecks are best avoided.

--------[Page 49]---------

System Commands
---------------
These commands are accessed by pressing the 0 key while the view selection
options are displayed in the top screen window.
  Sound effects may be turned on and off by pressing the appropriate number
key.
  If you have a ZX printer you can use two commands: PRINT will print
everything that is reported at the bottom screen window (except boobytrap
codes), while COPY prints the entire current screen.
  You can also quit the current game, for exmaple if your position is
hopeless, and a new game will start automatically.
  Do not attempt to connect your printer when the Spectrum is running. LEGEND
is unable to provide information on using THE GREAT SPACE RACE with non-ZX
printers.

--------[Pages 50-56]---------

The Story of Meena, Zanik, Gurm
-------------------------------
[See comic strip in Gspr51.JPG to Gspr56.JPG]
