GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS DUALITY Mini-Game Guide Version 1.0 - 11/18/2004 by jhaines This guide may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for private personal use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any site other than GameFAQs, or as part of any public display, is strictly prohibited. Version History --------------- 1.0 - Completed the list of machine locations. (11/18/2004) 0.91 - Added the rather important discovery that damage could be repaired by touching large white spheres. Also confirmed that attraction/repulsion and number of on-screen objects increase with score. (11/17/2004) 0.9 - Initial version. (11/16/2004) 1. OVERVIEW =========== DUALITY is one of several video games embedded in GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS. Its basic mechanics are similar to the old Atari arcade game ASTEROIDS, but with a few twists - most notably the ability to go for either a "white score" or a "black score", for which there are separate high score listings. In DUALITY you pilot a ship in open space, controlling your movement with rotation and thrust. Large and small spheres of white and black are spread about you randomly. The large white spheres repel you while the large black spheres attract you. Small spheres have no effect on your course. You can pick up small spheres and shoot large spheres, but touching large black spheres will damage you. (Touching large white spheres will heal you, but that's easier said than done.) The goal is to get the highest score possible before you take enough damage to be destroyed. 2. DISPLAY ========== There are two meters in the lower left part of the screen: Damage Meter (RED): The red meter shows the amount of damage you can take. Damage is caused by contact with large black spheres, and can be repaired by contact with large white spheres. Once the damage meter is empty your game is over. Thrust Meter (GREEN): The green meter shows the amount of thrust fuel you have left. This meter replenishes slowly on its own, and will automatically replenish by 25% each time you pick up a small sphere of either color. If the thrust meter is empty you won't completely lose thrust, but your thrust will become much weaker until you replenish your fuel. Your score is displayed at the top of the screen. This can either be a "white score" or a "black score" depending on your actions in the game. The type of score is reflected in the color of the numbers. 3. GAME MECHANICS ================= When you begin your game, you should decide whether to go for a white score or a black score, because this will define your overall approach. Basically, you want to run over the small spheres that are the same color as your score while shooting the large spheres that are the opposite color of your score. (Small spheres cannot be shot.) To navigate, rotate your ship with the analog stick and thrust with X. To shoot, press O. Shots will keep moving regardless of how many large spheres they hit and destroy, and they'll even continue off-screen for a bit, so be sure to fire with care. If you don't, you'll wind up hurting your score by destroying spheres you didn't mean to hit. Scoring is determined as follows: Large Black Sphere: +10 white or -10 black points if shot Large White Sphere: -10 white or +10 black points if shot Small Black Sphere: -5 white or +5 black points if picked up Small White Sphere: +5 white or -5 black points if picked up Firing your gun will take away 1 white point for each shot, but if your score is black or zero then you can fire your gun without a score penalty. If you have a low score and incur a penalty that would make your score negative, your negative score will become a positive score of the opposite color. For example, if you have a black score of 7 and you shoot a large black sphere, you will then have a white score of 3. This is usually only an issue at the very beginning of the game. As your score increases, the attraction and repulsion of large spheres will also increase, as will the number of spheres appearing on screen. This is a very gradual effect, though, so you may not notice until you've been playing for a while. 4. STRATEGY =========== Since large black spheres are the only objects in the game that can damage you, it's easier to get a high white score than a high black score because you'll need to shoot the large black spheres from time to time in order to stay alive. With that in mind, here are some tips: WHITE SCORE: Pick up small white spheres. Shoot large black spheres. Avoid small black spheres and try not to shoot any large white spheres. If you see yourself drifting off course, a large black sphere is probably tugging at you, so be ready to destroy it - but since you lose one point for each shot, keep your firing to a minimum and make those shots count. BLACK SCORE: Pick up small black spheres. Shoot large white spheres (though not right away, since they don't pose a threat and you may be able to use them to repair damage). Avoid small white spheres and especially large black spheres. Also avoid shooting the large black spheres if possible, but don't be afraid to destroy one if you're in danger of hitting it. You can always make up the 10 points you'll lose if you shoot one, but it's much more difficult to repair the damage you'll take if you hit one. Black scores have no shooting penalty, so fire all you want as long as you're not hitting any large black spheres that aren't threatening you. Regardless of which type of score you're pursuing, you'll need to keep yourself healthy to stay in the game. Since occasional contact with large black spheres is inevitable, you'll need to repair that damage at every opportunity by finding ways to touch large white spheres. These spheres repel you strongly enough that conventional thrust isn't enough - you'll need to use the attraction or repulsion of other large spheres in combination with your thrust in order to get close enough to make contact. The safest and perhaps easiest way to do this is when you come across two large white spheres that are about a screen's width apart. After you've eliminated any large black spheres in the area, position yourself right between the two white spheres and thrust directly at one of them. When its repulsion field slows you to a stop, quickly turn around and thrust directly at the other sphere. The combination of your thrust and the repulsion of the first sphere should get you moving fast enough to defeat the repulsion of the second sphere and make contact. The longer you maintain contact, the more damage you'll repair. Another way to do this is to slingshot around a large black sphere while thrusting toward the large white sphere. This is much more difficult because of the aiming issues involved, as well as the danger of hitting the black sphere in the process. Sometimes a large black sphere will overlap a large white sphere, though, and you can often exploit this. If you approach from the side on which the black sphere is most prominent and thrust directly at the pair of spheres, you can pass over the black sphere and slow to a crawl over the white sphere. The initial contact with the black sphere will cause some damage, but the brief hovering over the white sphere will usually repair more damage than you received. One last tip: Slow down. There's no time limit, so haste isn't required - and the easiest way to get into trouble is to be moving too quickly to react to the sudden appearance of a clump of large black spheres. Also, the more slowly you move, the more likely you are to notice the pull of black spheres that may be lurking just off-screen. 5. GAME LOCATIONS ================= DUALITY machines appear in every dance club and most 24-7 stores in San Andreas. Machines are known to exist in the following locations: Los Santos ---------- Commerce.............24-7 Idlewood.............24-7 Idlewood.............Alhambra (Club) Mulholland...........24-7 (only the eastern one) Vinewood.............Madd Dogg's Crib San Fierro ---------- Queens...............Gaydar Station (Club) Las Venturas ------------ Camel's Toe..........RHBK (Club) Creek................24-7 Emerald Isle.........24-7 Old Venturas Strip...24-7 Redsands East........24-7 Roca Escalante.......24-7 Starfish Casino......24-7 (both of them) NOTE: High scores are shared across all machines in the game, so it doesn't matter where you choose to play. 6. CONTACT ========== Please email any additions or corrections to "atrocious@comcast.net".