Entering the Pit: A Step-by-Step Analysis of the Intro Level
Brief Descriptions of the Levels
1. Welcome and Registration
1.1 About PitRacer
PitRacer is an invigorating romp through a hellish jungle of monsters, assassins, and natural perils. Your goal is to race your fellow opponents against the clock to the Finish Line.
Included in this archive are the following packages:
ÑPitRacer.prc
This is the software package that you need to install on your PalmPilot.
ÑPitRacer.pdf
This is the users╒ manual for PitRacer.
ÑPitRacer.txt
This is a text only format of the users╒ manual. You are reading it right now. If at all possible, use the pdf version of the manual as it has layout and graphics that cannot be included in the text version. The pdf version of the manual is viewed using Adobe¿ Acrobat Reader¿. This can be obtained free of charge at www.adobe.com.
1.2 System Requirements
PitRacer is designed to work on both the Palm III and Professional units.
Throughout this text manual, PalmPilot is used to refer to either of these units.
1.3 Registering PitRacer
PitRacer is Shareware, and costs $10.00.
The PitRacer Demo will work for a 30 day trial period. At the end of the 30 Days, it will stop working. To avert this tragedy, you will need to get in touch with StandAlone to register your software. You can register with us by several different methods. You will need to include the following information, no matter how you choose to register. Most importantly, you need to include your name EXACTLY as it entered in your PalmPilot, including spaces. We use this to generate your password, so it must be precise. You will need to specify which programs you wish to register, and include payment for each of them. We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. If you are using normal mail, you can send us a check as well.
2. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
PitRacer for Palm OS
PitRacer is an adrenaline-charged race for survival against both your fellow racers and the formidable antagonists that haunt your trek through a nightmarish Jungle inferno.
2.1 Prepare to be Hunted...
You are a fledgling explorer on expedition in a perilous SouthAmerican jungle plagued with ferocious beasts, treacherous paths, and well-placed booby traps. You have your fellow team for support and guidance, so there╒s nothing to fear, right? Wrong. The mischievous but deadly powers of the jungle make you and your party the pawns in their twisted game. Suddenly, you find yourself competing for survival against your comrades, with only a stopwatch and your wits to aid you. You are given one obvious but difficult task: to navigate this dangerous, steaming inferno before the allotted time runs out. If you do not succeed, you are condemned to eternal racing, a fate worse than death. All you can do is keep running, and hope that in time your wisdom will win you a one-way ticket out of this Dante-esque hierarchy of torments...
Ready, Set,...Run For Your Life!
You are allowed to start any levels at any time, though once the clock runs out, you must start anew, attempt to beat your last score, and complete the entire race in the same amount of time. If not, you are condemned to keep starting over until you reach the Finish line.
Note: Your fellow racers serve mainly to confuse and distract you;
passing them enables you to reach obstacles before they do, and thus, play a more challenging game. Also, the closer you are to the finish line when the race starts, the less likely you are to run out of time... One more thing: There are 9 gruelling levels besides the preliminary one. So familiarize yourself with the controls, take a deep breath, start at the Intro course, and keep an eye out for bullet-belching monsters, sneaky snipers, exploding mines, and towering stone blockades. And remember, The Clock is your worst enemy....
Good Luck!
The Moment of Truth
Your goal in PitRacer is to reach the finish line with as few delays as possible, thus beating the clock and winning the race. However, these ╥delays╙ are far from easy to avoid...
Use the control buttons to steer your racer through the chaotic jungle, taking care to dodge the obstacles that litter his path to the Finish Line. You may walk, run, leap, anduse your own discretion to beat the clock without severely damaging your racer. Of course, if you would like to run through the race as quickly as possible, go right ahead, but be warned that each fall loses your racer precious seconds to recovery... So, the surest way to win is to keep one eye on the clock, and the other on both the other racers
(for hints on how to dodge the obstacles) and your antagonists.
Starting a New Race
To start a fresh game, tap the Menu silkscreen button and select Game. From the Game menu, select Start Race. Or, use the Graffiti Command-S.
Choosing a Race
Pit Racer presents you with 10 different races, ranging from Intro to Hell. To select a race, tap on the Menu silkscreen button and select Race. Then, tap whichever race you desire. Or, simply use the Graffiti commands.
Note: The races are in no particular order of difficulty, though Intro begins the demo and has the fewest obstacles. Likewise, Hell is indeed the most complicated. As far as levels 2-9 are concerned, take your pick of obstacles! Remember, once you lose a game and tap the Menu button for Game, Start Race, you will begin a new game at which ever level you were last playing. Unless you go to Race, which automatically starts a new game at the level you select.
Setting the Controls
In PitRacer, being able to maneuver your controls as efficiently as possible is essential. The controls for moving your racer are set to the buttons at the base of your PalmOS device.
You may either set the controls yourself or stick to the default setting already placed on the Pilot. Use whichever method is more comfortable for you; but keep in mind that constant changes to the controls might prove quite confusing. If you would prefer to customize the controls, you may tap the Menu silkscreen button and choose the Controls option. The Controls screen shows which direction your racer will move when specific buttons are pressed. By selecting the picker arrow next to a button, you are able to set the direction you racer will move when it is pressed.
Scoring
When you start the demo, you will notice the word ╥Ghost╙ in the upper right corner of the screen. This name appears until you win the game and are then allowed to enter your own name in its place.
The Clock of Doom
That infamous timeclock is located in the Upper lefthand corner of the screen. The minutes and seconds tick away during the race, the level of which is displayed right next to these numbers. When the race gets down to the last 10 seconds, however, do not be alarmed by the bold numbers that appear on the center of the screen, warning you your time is almost up.
2.2 Survival of the Fittest
Playing Instructions
Important rules of thumb for PitRacer are to become familiar with the controls, to properly move your racer, and above all to watch your time. As far as the controls are concerned, you will notice that pressing the Up button moves your racer from a kneeling or fallen to a standing position, with his hands on his hips...
Pressing either the left or right buttons cause him to begin walking, and pressing either button a 2nd time makes him run. If you are about to run into a weight or some other such obstacle, pressing the opposite direction button than the one you are already headed in causes your racer to pause in his tracks.
To dodge boulders or mines, you must press the Up button to jump, but pinpointing the right time is often tricky. There is often a delay from the execution of the command and its manifestation. Jumping either too soon or too late turns you into a pancake... Of course, you will still be able to get up, but this takes a substantial amount of time and manipulation of the controls, which will slow you down considerably. You should not need to keep your hands on the buttons throughout the entire race, but at times you may notice your racer╒s steps slowing down. This is simply a result of the graphics conflicting with your command. At these times, you will need to press the buttons just to ensure that the command is getting through.
To prevent confusion about which stick figure is yours, remember that the screen follows your racer only. If you are in doubt, make him jump or change his direction to identify him in the throng of racers. If you choose incorrectly, you will end up waiting a very long time until you realize your player is still down or kneeling.
You may also notice that a running leap often speeds your progress, or that burnt-out mines will not harm you. Part of the challenge of PitRacer is discovering such tricks...
The Antagonists
Not Your Run-of-the-Mill Lions, Tigers, and Bears
BEASTS
These belching monsters continually blow bullets that slow your racer down.
SNIPERS
Assassins who hide at various stages of the race to shoot at you. Their bullets will knock you down, unless you leap over or roll under them.
EXECUTIONERS
These cruel tormentors greet you as you start the level DeadFall. They chase you and
do considerable damage with their huge battle axes, unless you are deft enough to roll under them.
ARCHERS
Fairly weak opponents who do not fire at you nearly as often as the beasts. But, do not run blindly into their arrows either. Jumping or ducking is your best bet.
WEIGHTS
These unfair opponents cannot be passed, and if you are not particularly adept at moving out of the way when they choose to fall, your racer becomes road pizza for a considerable amount of time. Then, you must figure out how to revive him and pass under these bone-crushing bullies safely, without losing even more time
WALLS AND BOULDERS
Non-living objects that prove to be as frustrating as the live antagonists! You cannot run through them, nor can you leap over or around the walls. And, as in real life, when you strike either (or they strike you!), you fall down. You may, however, leap over the boulders.
MINES
Flashing boxes that explode viciously and severely hinder your racer if he fails to leap over them. However, once triggered, they are harmless,
Dead mines are represented by small black flames
PORTALS
These are your life-savers...Who knows why your captors put them there-mercy? Portals enable you to escape your current dilemna, especially walls that cannot be passed. There are 2 types of Portals, either the little flashing dots in the air, or the flashing flame pits on the ground (not to be confused with burnt-out mines)
To reach the first kind, you must jump up and hit one. To utilize the second kind,you need only walk right into them. But be cautious; a portal does not always transport you to a better place!
Entering the Pit
A Step-by-Step Analysis of the Intro Level
Even though the purpose of Pit Racer is to discover how to defeat challenges yourself,for those of you relatively new to the art of electronic jungle survival, I have provided a detailed description of the Intro/ Demo course. After this, you╒re on your own...
Note: You have 6 minutes to complete this level.
1. Move your racer from his kneeling position at the Start flag.
Hint: the Up arrow will accomplish this feat.
Note: Getting your racer up and moving as soon as possible makes for a more interesting game for you, and also makes things less confusing than ending up jumbled with the other identical racers...
2. Remember that pressing the L or R buttons only move your racer to the walking position. To save time, you want to press the buttons a second time to switch to running mode.
3. Bypass the 1-ton weights, taking care not to be too eager and run into them before they have been safely raised or lowered from your path.
4. Leap off the cliffs (proving that in Pit Racer, the earth is indeed flat!) and move as quickly as possible out of the time-sucking free fall mode transports you down to the next section.
5. Try your luck at dodging or leaping over the mines and flying bullets. Do not be frustrated if you do not succeed at first...
No one ever said survival was easy!
Brief Descriptions of the Levels
Deadfall
The trick here is leaping over the deadly chasms to avoid the sly executioners that await you below.
Horde
This level presents you with a bevy of beasts, determined to belch their deadly fire-bullets and slow you down.
Hillfall
A maze of hills to either climb or forego for the path underneath-your choice. Here, the screen is divided into two halves, and who knows what awaits you on either one? There are armies of monsters and rows of mines wherever you go...
ShaftFall
This course is a battleground of flaming teleports that are either your friends or foes, depending on where they teleport you.
Avoid the excessive mines, and you should fare well.
Boulder Run
Masses of rolling boulders head your way, cruising down every hill as you try to reach its summit
Target Zone
Now more than ever, you are a human target. Archers and Snipers galore are ready to obliterate you, along with their partners-in-crime, the Weights (who come 3 in a row!)
Teleport Zap
Multiple Weights reign here, but there are also handy flaming portals to transport you elsewhere...
Wall
When you reach the first wall, you will need to return to the teleport at the start if you want to get anywhere. But beware: the path back is loaded with monsters and gunmen intent on trapping you between themselves and the walls...
Hell
True to its name, this perilous level presents you with mines at the Starting Line! Basically, you are prey to every antagonist at once, which seems extremely unfair, but then it isn╒t called Hell for nothing...
