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- │░░░░░░ PLAYING THE GAME ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
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- Welcome to the wild-n-crazy world of BBS drag racing and the Motor City
- Dragstrip. The Motor City Dragstrip is located just south of that hot spot
- where you used to neck in the back seat as a teenager. Back then, you could
- hear the roar of the engines even over the hot and heavy breathing. But today,
- you're right there, in the cockpit of your very own dragster. Well... okay,
- so it's a computer keyboard and monitor but you feel like you're right there.
- Ahem... On with it then.
-
- The object of the game is obvious. Players try to win as much money as
- possible to obtain the highest score. Oh sure, there's nothing to it, right?
- Wrong! Obstacles get in the way from time to time. Like getting started
- trying to turn a profit. Tires and fuel aren't exactly cheap (especially at
- this track!) and since you're burning rubber at every start, one set of tires
- will only carry you through 3 races. Fuel is another story. The bigger your
- engine, the more fuel that is consumed.
-
- Yet these aren't even the major obstacles. They're just a fact of racing.
- Other obstacles lay waiting. A vandal might get into the trailer at night
- and slash your dragster's tires. The track security is on duty 24 hours a
- day. But, since they're paid a measley $4.25 an hour, they tend to sleep or
- spend the night drinking and looking at girly magazines. A crew member may
- have found a better job since you last raced (and that's not hard). These two
- obstacles are ones that are run into from time to time when a player enters
- this game door.
-
- There are other obstacles too. Players are only human and as such, tend to
- blow their engines once in a while. The computer opponents are no angels
- either and may also blow their engines, which would be to the player's
- advantage. Players may also find themselves swirving into the wall in order
- to avoid striking a drunken fan on the track. Or running into oil slicks and
- wiping out. Or even blowing an axle which also causes a crash. But, rest
- assured, the computer opponent can also crash and even run out of gas allowing
- his opponent an easy win.
-
- But watch out! Be careful not to attempt to race with an empty fuel tank
- or shot tires. This will always ask for trouble (and get it).
-
- False starts are another obstacle to watch out for. If you 'red light' you
- lose the race. But don't fear, if your opponent 'red lights' you win the
- race and the money! The trick is to press any key as soon as you see that
- green light! Once you have the green light, you must start the race by
- pressing a key. If you press before the green light, you'll 'red light'
- and lose. If you wait too long (more than a couple of seconds) your
- engine will rev too high and blow.
-
- Yes, and other little obstacles lay waiting. But I won't reveal any more
- of them here. I'll let you find them for yourself. After all, that's
- half the fun.
-
- The fans in the stands will more than likely voice their opinions of your
- driving from time to time. But you have to understand how fans get after
- a few big-gulp cups of beer.
-
- You'll be stopping by Pit Row quite a bit to change tires, top off the fuel
- tank, buy a new engine, and more. You'll find that it takes a certain number
- of pit crew members to perform the different tasks in the pit. It's typical
- to find that a crew member might quit if you work him too hard. What can I
- say? These American union-shop employees are pretty adamant about how much
- abuse they'll take. But one thing is certain; if you put 5 crew members to
- work on a job that should only take two, they will get the job done faster!
-
- Another note about crew members is that they don't come cheaply. When your
- racing team is initialized you'll be given a skeleton crew. If you care to
- hire any additional crew members, you'll find they will cost you some bucks.
- The SysOp may define how much it will cost to hire crew memebers. The SysOp
- also defines how much each crew member gets paid each paycheck. Crew members
- receive a paycheck each time you enter the game on a new day. When you enter
- the game on a new day, your crew members will want their paychecks. But don't
- worry, the game will take care of that for you.
-
- The Motor City Dragstrip uses one parts shop and one parts shop only. That
- parts shop is Parts 'R' Us and they don't give a very good price for core
- parts. What's worse is that they don't give any credit for wrecked parts,
- although they will be glad to laugh at you, take it off your hands, and sell
- it for scrap. Just the good old American business that we've come to expect.
-
- Your opponents will vary. There are computer opponents such as Leadfoot
- Larry, Harry Scarey, Rick Rachet, along with a host of others. These guys
- drive anything the computer feels like giving them. From V-6's to Super-
- charged Hemi's. But you can also race against human opponents. If you
- chose to do so, the computer will run through the driver roster searching
- for a qualified opponent. The computer will then run through the list of
- qualified opponents, giving you the opportunity to choose one. Qualified
- opponents are players who have the necessary equipment. You know, like a
- dragster, an engine, tires, and fuel. If your opponent wins a race, your
- opponent will be awarded a purse according to his ranking. Also, your
- opponent's tire and fuel status changes accordingly. So be careful. You may
- be helping the other guy out by challenging him.
-
- If all this wasn't exciting enough, players can also place bets on their
- races. The BBS System Operator may define the maximum number of times players
- may gamble each day. The track's betting limit is defined by the System
- Operator (up to $1,000,000 per wager). So if you place a bet and win the
- race, the track will pay you back the amount of money that you bet and match
- it for 2 to 1 odds. If you lose the race, the track will glady keep your
- wager. But watch out! You don't know who is going to be assigned in the
- lane next to yours until race time, so it's sort of a blind bet.
-
- At the beginning of each month, all player scores are reduced back to 0 and
- the game begins again. The player with the highest score will have his/her
- name and score displayed to players throughout the following month's
- competition.
-
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- │░░░░░░ PLAYER RANKINGS ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
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- As a player, your ranking progresses throughout the game according to the
- amount of money you have. The higher your ranking, the more money a race is
- worth, should you win.
-
- AMOUNT OF MONEY RANKING RACE VALUE
- ------------------- --------------- ----------
- $0 - $ 99,999 BEGINNER $ 5,000
- $100,000 - $249,999 NOVICE $10,000
- $250,000 - $999,999 ADVANCED NOVICE $25,000
- $1,000,000 or more DRIVING ACE $50,000
-