Daleks is a simple yet addicting game of strategy and luck, in which you attempt to outmaneuver hordes of pesky little robots (called daleks) as they pursue their one goal in life, namely, your early demise. Fortunately for you, the daleks are not very bright, and in their eagerness to get you will collide with each other, destroying themselves and giving you points. The longer you can survive, the more daleks will collide, and the higher your score. The top ten scores are saved to disk. The name "Daleks" comes from the BBC television program "Dr. Who" which was (is) broadcast in the U.S. by the Public Broadcasting System. This version of Daleks is based on the public domain program Daleks, written for the Apple Macintosh. KEYBOARD COMMANDS you -----> 1-9: movement keys (10-key pad) dalek ---> (C)olor: toggle alternate color scheme rubble --> (I)nstructions: display instructions while playing (L)ast Stand: automatic advance of robots (S)onics: use a sonic screwdriver (T)eleport: teleport to a random location e(X)it: exit game, you may restart or quit DESCRIPTION OF COMMANDS movement keys: pressing 1-9 on the numeric 10-key pad will move you in one of eight possible directions. Pressing the '5' key will allow you to remain stationary. The remainder of the number keys will move you one space in relation to the central '5' key...for example, pressing the '7' key will move you up and to the left (northwest). After you move, the robots will move toward you. Color: press 'C' to switch to the other color scheme, this works for both color and mono monitors. Instructions: press 'I' to view the instructions while playing...your current game will be restored when you exit the instructions. Last Stand: pressing 'L' will automatically advance the daleks toward you at a very rapid rate, until either all the robots are dead, or one of them gets you. This key saves time when you are securely tucked behind a pile of rubble and you are sure that all the daleks will hit the rubble before they reach you. Sonics: pressing 'S' will activate one of your remaining sonic screw- drivers, which will kill any daleks in the 8 spaces immediately next to you. Activating a sonic uses it up; you get 1 new sonic at the beginning of each round. Any sonics not used may be carried over to the next round. Daleks killed by sonics do not leave piles, and the daleks will move after a sonic is used. The status line at the top of the screen shows how many sonics you have left. Teleport: pressing 'T' will teleport you to a random location. Teleporting on top of a robot will kill you, as will teleporting right next to one, since the robots will move after you teleport. You will never be teleported on top of a rubble pile. You may teleport as often as you dare, but its best to use it only when you must. Exit: press 'X' to exit the game; you will be asked if you wish to play again or quit. PLAYING THE GAME 1. The game is played in rounds; you start off in round 1 with one trusty sonic screwdriver in hand. It is your move first, after which the robots each get to move. The daleks will always move directly toward you, and you can use this to your advantage by moving cleverly so as to make them smash into each other (yes, daleks are THAT stupid). When two or more daleks collide, they leave a radioactive pile of rubble which is deadly to any- thing that lands on it, be it robot or player. You get 10 points for each robot destroyed, either by collision or sonics. 2. You can be killed in three ways--allowing a dalek to catch you, moving into a pile of rubble, or teleporting on top of or next to a dalek. 3. You can rid yourself of the pesky daleks in three ways-the first (and best) way is to cause them to collide with each other, leaving a pile of rubble that you can hide behind; the second way is to cause a dalek to run into one of the piles of rubble, and the last way is to use a sonic screwdriver. The sonic will kill all daleks immediately next to you, without leaving any piles of rubble. 4. When all the daleks have been eliminated, you will advance to the next round, gaining 1 sonic screwdriver, and (of course!) several angry daleks. The number of daleks will increase by 5 each round, as they attempt to overwhelm you. 5. Scoring is simple--you get 10 points for each dalek killed. The game is over when you are killed; if your score is over 100 the game will check to see if you beat any of the top ten scores saved on disk--if so, you will be asked to enter your name (make sure the disk is not write protected). If you want to clear the top ten scores, just delete the 'hiscore.dlk' file. GAME STRATEGY The key to the game is to create a lot of piles of rubble that you can hide behind, then press the '5' key to remain stationary while the advancing daleks perish in the rubble. Try to save your sonics for the later rounds (6th and above), and then use them only if you feel there are too many daleks for a safe teleport. When you see two daleks about to collide, try to get close to them so you can move around the pile of rubble--this will allow you to shield yourself from daleks coming from different directions. ---------------------------------------- NOTES Daleks was written using the Mark Williams C development system. It is in the public domain and may be freely copied and distributed. These instructions are in the 'info.dlk' file and may be printed out from the desktop if desired. Questions or comments are welcome, my Compuserve number is 76515, 3621. I hope you enjoy the game as much as I enjoyed programming it! Randy L. Eichman