Ballblazer Atari 7800 FAQ/Strategy Guide Version: 1.0 Author: Rob 'Larcen Tyler' Adair Last Revision Date: 04/14/06 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This document is electronically published work Copyrighted ¸2006 by Rob 'Larcen Tyler' Adair. Permission is granted to make a copy _ONLY_ as a personal reference copy, in which case the document _MUST_ remain in its original, unedited form. Any other reproduction is strictly prohibited. This document may not be used as a promotional item or for profitable means of any kind (even if no profit is intended to be gained.) This document is only allowed to appear on the GameFAQs website and no other website whatsoever, nor may any part of this document appear on any website for any reason whatsoever. Ballblazer, Plasmorb, and Rotofoil are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm Games. Atari 7800 and any accessories mentioned within are either registered trademarks or copyrighted materials owned by Atari Games. GameFAQs is a registered trademark and copyrighted 1995-2006 by Jeff 'CJayC' Veasey. Any other names mentioned within not mentioned within this section are registered trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. Larcen Tyler is in no way affiliated with any of the companies listed above, or their affiliates in any way. No affiliation should be assumed for any reason whatsoever. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. REVISION HISTORY 2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME 3. SCORING INFORMATION 4. TIPS 5. CONTACT INFORMATION 6. CREDITS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 1. REVISION HISTORY Version 1.0: 04/14/06: Thought I'd write a guide for this futuristic sports game that is easy to learn yet challenging to master. 08/11/06: After resubmitting the guide with a new e-mail address (which I had forgotten to note here) I noticed some formatting problems. Those were fixed. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME The year is 3097, and the biggest sport of the time is Ballblazer, a contest where two contestants battle it out on a grid of 1155 squares, with the goal to score more goals than your opponent within the time limit of three minutes. Each player has their own Rotofoil, a hovercraft-like vehicle that goes roughly fifty meters per second, and must get the Plasmorb to be able to score a goal. Once they have the Plasmorb, they must shoot it between the Goalbeams in order to score. Think you can do it? PREPARING FOR THE CONTEST: Set up your Atari 7800 ProSystem and plug a joystick (either ProLine or 2600 joystick) into the left controller jack. If you are playing against another player, plug a second joystick into the right controller jack. Make sure the Ballblazer cartridge is inserted, and then power up the system. After the game has loaded, you can either press the Reset switch to start a standard regulation game, which is two human players and three minutes. Or, you can use the Game Select switch to choose how you wish to play the game. The current option will be flashing on screen. Move the joystick left and right to choose whether you want a certain side to be controlled by a human or the computer, as well as to choose how long you want the game to be played for. By choosing HUMAN, that side will be controlled by a human player. Choosing DROID 1 through DROID 9 will allow that side to be played by the computer. DROID 1 is the easiest computer opponent, and increases in difficulty up to DROID 9, which is the most difficult opponent. You can adjust the game clock so you can play from one to nine minutes. Once you are happy with the way the game is setup, press the button to start the game. If you press the Select button while changing options, you will see a random pair of droids listed. Don't touch anything, and you can watch a one minute demonstration of the game played by the computer. Press the Reset button while at the Droid listing before the demo begins to return to the game setup screen, or press Select during a demonstration to return to the setup. You can pause the game at any time by pressing the Pause key on the 7800. Resume by pressing it again. THE CONTEST BEGINS: When the game starts, you will hear a high-tempo song start to play, designed to get your mind set for the contest and ready to compete. This is called the 'Song of the Grid,' and when you hear it playing, it means that the game has started. The game starts with both Rotofoils at opposite ends of the playing field. Player One's Rotofoil is purple, and their viewpoint is on the top half of the screen. Player Two's Rotofoil is red, and their viewpoint is on the bottom half of the screen. To move your Rotofoil, press the joystick up to move forward, pull down to move backwards, or tilt it to the left or right to move sideways in the respective direction. Your Rotofoil will automatically turn to face the direction of the Plasmorb, meaning that you do not need to worry about turning to face the right direction. The gamefield is the 1155 squares that make up the Grid, and gameplay may not go outside of it at any time. The red area surrounding the Grid is surrounded by an invisible forcefield which will cause anything that touches it to bounce off of it. When you get close enough to the Plasmorb, simply move into it to gain posession of it. Once you are in posession, you must look for the Goalbeams that are at the end of the grid. Again, your Rotofoil will automatically face the right direction. The Goalbeams move sideways from one edge of the grid to the other, so you must actively move your Rotofoil to find them. When you see the Goalbeams, you can press the button on the joystick to shoot the Plasmorb. If it goes between the Goalbeams, you will have earned a score for yourself. The game will then restart with both Rotofoils at opposite ends of the grid. If you see an opponent in posession of the Plasmorb, get close to them and press the button to attempt to strip them of the Plasmorb. This doesn't always work, and may take a few tries. Make sure you aren't too close, otherwise you may end up getting knocked backwards. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 3. SCORING INFORMATION Unlike most sports game, a goal doesn't always equal one point. Instead, points are awarded as follows: CLOSE RANGE SHOT: 1 Point MEDIUM-LONG RANGE SHOT: 2 Points OVER THE HORIZON SHOT (scoring after the Goalbeams have disappeared): 3 Points There are ten circles in the middle of the screen, five on the left and five on the right. When someone scores, one circle for each point earned will light up in their color. If a player scores ten points, they automatically win by shut- out. If not, the winner is declared by the player who has earned the most points at the end of the match. If all the score circles are filled, a player can steal points from their opponent by scoring more points. For example, Droid4 has 8 points, and the player has two points. If the player scores a medium-long range goal, then two of Droid4's points will be taken away and replaced with two points for the Human. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 4. TIPS -Take the time to practice with the controls by playing a game against a low- level droid, or against a human player who is left idle while setting the clock to a high setting. Learn how to shoot and steal the Plasmorb. -Over The Horizon (OTH) shots are difficult to pull off at first, but they can be done. One suggestion is to aim at them and then pull backwards untill they disappear offscreen, then shoot. -If you've got an opponent on your tail trying to steal the Plasmorb, shoot the Plasmorb away from you. The force will knock you backwards into your opponent, while sending the Plasmorb away from you, all while giving you the opportunity to recover it while giving you some breathing room against your opponent. -And the golden rule of all Ballblazer champions in every universe, HAVE FUN! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 5. CONTACT INFORMATION READ THIS BEFORE YOU SEND ME ANY E-MAIL! The following types of E-Mail I will _NOT_ accept under any circumstances: -Mail that contains flaming (insults) or offensive content within. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything! -Spam/Advertisements of any kind. This is against the law, and will not be taken lightly. -Asking if you can use this on your website/in your FAQ/Magazine/anything like that will not be tolerated. In case you missed it, I specifically stated that I won't allow it in the disclaimer section at the beginning. -Asking where to find this game in a ROM format, or any other illegal software requests will be ignored. -Asking me where to find this cartridge. (Honestly, I wish I knew where to find Atari games, but I have as much of a hard time finding them as you probably do! Your best bet is to check online.) The following types of E-Mail I will accept: -Suggestions and/or constructive criticism. -Strategies of your own. -Any information I may have left out in this version. -Generally, anything that will help me improve this guide in future revisions! (Make sure you put "Ballblazer Guide" as your subject line.) You can reach me at: larcentyler7650 (AT) yahoo (dot) com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 6. CREDITS This guide for being a Ballblazer champion is made possible because of those who made it possible to begin with: -My mother, for passing her love for Atari onto me, which inspired me to get an Atari 7800. -The programmers at Lucasfilm Games, who did a great job on the Atari 7800 version of this game. -Atari, for putting out the Atari 7800 and for publishing the game. -Jeff 'CJayC' Veasey, for providing us FAQ authors for a place to publish our work. -AtariAge (www.atariage.com), which provided me with the information I needed to finish this guide. -And, of course, the person who provides the final and most important part, YOU, for reading my guide! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= ¸2006 Rob 'Larcen Tyler' Adair All rights reserved.