ON DEVASTATING DREADNAUGHTS: A GUIDE OVERVIEW: Dreadnaughts dwarf stars. They are huge. They are rude, intruding where they are least wanted. Dreadnaughts can destroy fleets, planets, solar systems and entire galaxies. OBJECTIVE: DISABLE AND DESTROY ALL DREADNAUGHTS. Failure will result in the negation of this galaxy. Your mission ends when you destroy the entire Dreadnaught convoy, when any Dreadnaught reaches the Stargate with at least one missile silo intact, or when all Novara Hyperfighters have been destroyed. HYPERFIGHTER BASICS PILOTING: * To accelerate: Push Joystick forward * To decelerate: Pull back on Joystick. WEAPONRY: Atari(R) Home Computers: Press Joystick button to fire laser bolts. To drop strontium bombs, press Joystick button three times. 5200(TM): Press either top side Joystick button to drop strontium bombs. Press either bottom side Joystick button to fire laser bolts. HYPERFIGHTER RESERVES STATUS: You will begin each mission with 10 Novaray Hyperfighters. While flying missions 1-4, 2 additional Hyperfighters will be added to your squadron for each Dreadnaught you destroy. Receive 4 additional Hyperfighters for each Dreadnaught destroyed on missions 5-7. CLASSIFIED PRIORITY ONE What follows represents all existing intelligence on the Dreadnaught. Read it carefully. STATUS SCREEN. Consult your status screen before takeoff. Your Novaray Hyperfighter appears at the Stargate. Behind you are reserve Hyperfighters, lined up in attack sequence in front of the Galactic Unstable Energy Field. At the top of the status screen you will see the total number of Dreadnaughts destroyed on this mission, the outline of the Dreadnaught you will attack, and that Dreadnaught's distance from the Stargate, as measured in parsecs. PLAN OF ASSAULT Launch your Novaray Hyperfighter from the Ground Zero Stargate. Proceed on course for the Dreadnaught. Bomb or strafe Dreadnaught targets. Once beyond the Dreadnaught, you will return to the Stargate and prepare for another attack pass. The Dreadnaught advances on the Stargate when an attack pass is completed. SCORING DIRECT HITS. You earn points for destroying each Dreadnaught target and prematurely detonating in-flight tracking missiles launched from the Dreadnaught. Score bonus points for each Dreadnaught you destroy. STRONTIUM BOMBS destroy the following targets for these point values: Energy Vent 20 Engine 25 Silo 50 [A picture appears which details what the different items are. I will attempt a description of each here: Launcher: The smallest of the three green objects, it looks a little like the Trekkie Enterprise. Small Cannon: Midsize green object, has 2 legs and a top that looks like the top of a mushroom. Large Cannon: Same shape as Small Cannon, but much bigger, with 2 blue stripes at the bottom of the mushroom part. Engine: Checkerboard grey pattern with red flame coming out of it. Bridge: Larger yellow rectangular object, flanked by two Towers. Tower: Smaller yellow oval object, flanks Bridges. Missile Silo: Dark Grey, mostly filled, almost circular, about the same size as the Small Cannon. Energy Vent: Dark Grey, oval, with lines across it like a street grate.] LASER BOLTS destroy the following Dreadnaught weapons for these point awards: WEAPON POINTS Small Cannon 1 Large Cannon 5 Drone Launcher 5 Tower 5 Queen Launcher 10 Bridge 10 BOMBING PRIORITIES * Destroy all BRIDGES to reduce Dreadnaught firing rate by 50 percent. * Destroy each ENGINE to slow the Dreadnaught's approach velocity. * SILOS house anit-matter missiles which can detonate the Unstable Energy Field. Destroy them. * In order to destroy a Dreadnaught, bomb all ENERGY VENTS. MISSION VARIATIONS Game Level Difficulty Number of Dreadnaughts 1 Basic 1 2 Novice 1 3 Intermediate 2 4 Challenge 5 5 Advanced 10 6 Expert 15 7 YGTBK+ 100 + You've Got To Be Kidding * Rate of fire increases as level of mission advances. JOIN THE ACTIVISION(R) "DREADNAUGHT DESTROYER" CLUB Defeat the entire fleet of Dreadnaughts on mission level 4 or higher, and you will earn galactic acclaim, a place in stellar history, and a membership in the prestigious "Dreadnaught Destroyer" Club. Send us a picture of your TV screen and we'll mail you the Dreadnaught Destroyer emblem, along with our heartfelt thanks. Be sure to write "The Dreadnaught Factor" on the bottom left corner of the envelope. TACTICAL TIPS FROM THE TOP Tips from Tom Loughry, designer of The Dreadnaught Factor(TM), and Eric Nickell, adaptor of this version. "Keep track of the Dreadnaught's distance from the Stargate. As it gets closer, it's a good idea to slow down its velocity by bombing the engines. If it gets really close, destroy all the missile silos. That way, the Unstable Energy Field is safe even if the Dreadnaught reaches the Stargate. Unless you lose all your Hyperfighters, that is. "Destroy those Dreadnaught weapons which give you the most difficulty. But keep in mind that the only way to destroy a Dreadnaught is by bombing all its energy vents. Don't waste time or attack passes trying to destroy every target. "Let us hear from you between missions. We'd like that. May the grace of God be with you." [Aackkk!] [Pictures of Eric Nickell and Tom Loughry appear, with their signatures. From the looks of it, is Eric who is the religious one.]