Sears TELE-GAMES

VIDEO ARCADE

SUBMARINE COMMANDER

GAME INSTRUCTIONS

If you have the Video Arcade II, Model No. 49 7500, see your Owner's Manual for information on control panel switches and All-in-One-Controllers.

NOTE: Always turn the console POWER switch OFF when inserting or removing a Tele-Games Cartridge. This will protect the electronic components and prolong the life of your Sears Video Arcade.

(C) 1982, ATARI, INC.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. OBJECT OF THE GAME
3. USING THE CONTROLLERS
4. CONSOLE CONTROLS
5. GAME VARIATIONS
6. SCORING
7. HELPFUL HINTS
8. GAME SELECT MATRIX

1. INTRODUCTION

Just imagine that you are the captain of a ship, and it's your job to protect your country. Your modern submarine is equipped with many new features to help you. The control panel includes a radar scope, a sonar depth charge detector, status indicators, a fuel readout, an engine temperature gauge, and of course, torpedoes.

Since you're the commander, you are at the helm. It's up to you to guide the submarine. You'll use your periscope to scan the ocean and detect enemy vessels. When you spot the enemy, launch a

torpedo. Destroy their ships before they destroy your submarine. Be on the the lookout for dangerous depth charge attacks. A depth charge hit could mean serious damage to your submarine.

Your submarine is equipped with limited supplies, especially fuel. Keep a constant watch on your fuel and energy levels. Every maneuver costs you fuel. When the fuel runs out, your mission is over.

We know you can handle the job, so good luck Commander!

2. OBJECT OF THE GAME

The object of the game is to sink as many enemy ships as possible. As you sink ships, you score points. Some of the ships can drop depth charges, which might damage your submarine (see GAME VARIATIONS, Section 5).

Depth charges are indicated on the depth charge detector gauge. The gauge alerts you to the closeness and the seriousness of a depth charge. Because your sub is equipped with sonar detection you can identify the location of enemy ships before they are sighted through the periscope. This allows you to shoot a torpedo before the enemy drops a depth charge.

Your sub also carries 3000 units of fuel and two torpedo launchers. The fuel level is proportional to the engine temperature. Watch the engine temperature gauge at the top center of the screen, as shown

in Figure 1. The more maneuvers you make, the hotter the engine gets. Every torpedo launched uses three units of fuel, but every depth charge hit costs 300-377 units of fuel. Some fuel is also used just to run the submarine engines. When all the fuel runs out, the temperature gauge turns black, and the game is over.

GAUGES

Each gauge on the control panel serves a specific function. With time and practice, you'll be able to use all of the gauges to your best advantage. (See HELPFUL HINTS, Section 7.)

FUEL GAUGE

The fuel gauge at the bottom, center of the screen starts with 3000 units of fuel and counts backwards until you run out of fuel.

TORPEDO STATUS GAUGE

Torpedo status gauges are located at the bottom of the screen, directly above the fuel gauge. The gauge is green when a torpedo is ready to launch. Press the fire button and a torpedo launches from the side with the green light. (See Figure I for torpedo status gauge.) If a torpedo tube is damaged by a depth charge, it becomes black and wilt not work for the rest of the game.

ENGINE TEMPERATURE GAUGE

Engine temperature is indicated at the top, center of the screen. As the engine gets hot, the gauge turns red. The hotter the engine, the more fuel it consumes. If the gauge turns yellow, the engine has been damaged and is running at half speed.

DIRECTIONAL GAUGE

This is the broken black line located below the engine temperature gauge. When you move the sub right or left, the lines move right or left, as though you are steering the submarine.

SONAR DETECTOR

The sonar detector, located at the bottom, left side of the screen, identifies the location of an enemy ship before it is visible on the screen. When this device turns red, it is indicating the depth and the location of any enemy ship. (See Figure 2 for sonar detection.)

DEPTH CHARGE DETECTOR

The depth charge detector is an arrow which appears at the lower right corner of the screen. It points to where a depth charge is located in the water (see Figure 2). If the arrow is white, it is not dangerously close and you can move your sub in the opposite direction to avoid a hit. If the arrow is red, look out! You're about to be hit unless you quickly move away in the opposite direction.

3. USING THE CONTROLLERS

Use your Joystick Controllers with this Tele-Games Cartridge. Be sure the Joystick Controller cables are firmly plugged into the CONTROLLER jacks at the back of your Video Arcade. For one-player games, use the Joystick Controller plugged into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack. Hold the Joystick with the red button to your upper left, toward the television screen. See your owner's manual for further details.

Use the Joystick to view the sea and to move your submarine right and left. What you see on the screen is your view through a periscope. Moving the Joystick up and down (forward and backward) allows you to see close up or far away to the horizon. (See Figure 3 for Joystick directions.) You can also use the Joystick to maneuver the sub right and left. This will help you catch up to an enemy ship or move away from a dangerous depth charge. The direction in which you move your sub is indicated by the broken black line, just below the temperature gauge. When you move the Joystick right,

the black lines move right indicating that the sub is moving right. When you move the Joystick left, the black lines move left and your sub is moving left. When your sub is moving right or left, any torpedoes launched will travel with a slight curve in the opposite direction.

To shoot a torpedo, press the red fire button. The torpedoes launch from the side where the torpedo status indicator (see Figure 1) is green. The torpedo launcher changes sides with every other launch. You will see the green light change sides each time you launch a torpedo.

4. CONSOLE CONTROLS

GAME SELECT SWITCH

Press down the GAME SELECT switch to choose a SUBMARINE COMMANDER game variation. (See the GAME SELECT MATRIX, Section 8 to choose the game you wish to play.) The game number appears at the top center of the screen, as shown in Figure 4.

GAME RESET SWITCH

When you have selected the game number you wish to play, press game RESET to start the action. (Pressing the red fire button on the Joystick also starts the game.) After game RESET is pressed, the game number disappears and the score appears at the top center of the screen, as shown in Figure 5.

PLAYER SKILL SWITCHES

SUBMARINE COMMANDER has two skill levels, A-EXPERT and B-NOVICE. The NOVICE level is for the beginning player. The EXPERT level is more challenging because every time your sub is hit by a depth charge, you incur damage which could cause the loss of one of your gauges.

For one-player games, use the LEFT PLAYER SKILL switch. For two-player games, the player using the left controller uses the LEFT PLAYER SKILL switch; the player using the right controller uses the RIGHT PLAYER SKILL switch. The left player starts the game in two-player games.

TV TYPE SWITCH

Set this switch to COLOR if your television set is color. Set it to B/W if you are playing the game in black and white.

5. GAME VARIATIONS

SUBMARINE COMMANDER includes 8 game variations (see GAME SELECT MATRIX, Section 8). All odd-numbered games are for one player; all even numbers are two-player games.

Games 1 and 2 are the easiest SUBMARINE COMMANDER games. In these two variations, the enemy ships do not shoot depth charges. All you have to do is shoot torpedoes to sink the enemy ships before you run out of fuel.

In Games 3 and 4, only the destroyers attack with depth charges.

In Games 5 and 6, you will have to avoid the depth charges of both destroyers and PT boats.

Games 7 and 8 are the toughest. You will be dodging depth charges from destroyers, PT boats, and tankers.

6. SCORING

You score points when you sink a ship. There are three types of enemy ships in SUBMARINE COMMANDER, and each scores a different point value, as shown below:

If a ship is on the horizon, in which case it appears to be half its normal size, and you can see the blue sky in the background, the scoring is as follows:

The game ends when the fuel level reaches 0 (zero). In one-player games, try to beat your highest score. In two-player games, each player tries to beat the opponent's score. After a two-player game is over, the left player's score appears at the top, center of the screen; the right player's score appears at the bottom center of the screen (where the fuel amount was indicated during game play).

7. HELPFUL HINTS

1. Your submarine is equipped with many gauges, each of which is equally important. To learn to scan all of the gauges during game play, it is best to master one gauge at a time. When you learn one, add another gauge. With lots of practice, you will soon be using all of the gauges.
   
2. Learn to detect the sounds of the PT boats. If you listen, you can hear them coming just before you see them on the screen.
   
3. Try to sink as many PT boats as possible. They are worth the most points, and they only need one hit to go down.
   
4. The easiest position to shoot from is the lowest level on the screen. Pull the Joystick back (toward you). When you have mastered ail of the gauges, use the sonar detector and move up to the horizon (push the Joystick forward). Ships on the horizon are worth the most points, but you are more vulnerable to their depth charges.

8. GAME SELECT MATRIX

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