MATTEL ELECTRONICS(R) 2612-0920-G1 INTELLIVISION(TM) Intelligent Television CARTRIDGE INSTRUCTIONS SPACE BATTLE(TM) (For 1 or 2 Players) FOR COLOR TV VIEWING Illustrations (C) Mattel, Inc. 1979, Hawthorne, CA 90250 PRINTED IN HONG KONG. All rights reserved. Attack alert! 5 alien squadrons closing in on Mother ship. You have 3 squadrons with which to defend her. Check enemy positions on Radar Screen, then dispatch your squadrons. When they reach alien squadrons, GO TO BATTLE! Screen switches to Battle Screen. You move the gunsight to aim. You fire converging missiles. Watch out! The aliens shoot back. It's you against computer-controlled invaders. Only you can save the Mother Ship from disaster. HOW TO WIN! Space Battle(TM) is a game of strategy and skill. If you want to win against the computer and save the Mother Ship, read this booklet. --------------------------------- OBJECT OF THE GAME (1 or 2 players vs. computer.) Protect the Mother Ship by shooting down all 5 computer-controlled alien squadrons. You control 3 squadrons of 3 fighters each. Number of fighters in each alien squadron varies from game to game. MAKE SURE: * MASTER COMPONENT is connected to TV set and power cord is plugged in. * ANTENNA SWITCH BOX is set at GAME. * TV set is plugged in and properly adjusted. * SPACE BATTLE cartridge is placed in slot, firmly engaged. * OFF/ON switch is turned ON. ADD OVERLAYS Find two SPACE BATTLE(TM) keypad overlays in the cartridge package with this booklet. Remove hand controllers from the console. Insert an overlay into each hand controller (if two people are playing). Make sure overlay fits tight and is all the way in. The overlay will be your visual guide to the game. THE CONTROLS - YOUR FIRST KEY TO WINNING Take a few minutes to get thoroughly familiar with the controls on your hand controller keypad. An understanding of them is crucial to winning, since they determine game strategy. IF YOU ARE ALREAY FAMILIAR WITH THE GAME, SEE PAGE 25 FOR A BRIEF REVIEW OF GAME PLAY INSTRUCTIONS. You control 3 home squadrons in SPACE BATTLE(TM). They are color-coded BLUE, WHITE, and GOLD. You can do 3 things with any squadron: 1. Dispatch it. That is, send it after an alien squadron. 2. Return it to base (the Mother Ship). 3. Go to battle with it...after it reaches an alien squadron and starts blinking. Use the first 9 keys on the hand controller keypad. 1, 2, 3 = SQUADRON KEYS (to dispatch squadron) 4, 5, 6 = RETURN TO BASE KEYS 7, 8, 9 = GO TO BATTLE KEYS clear = RADAR KEY (return to Radar Screen) enter = ALIEN KEY side buttons = FIRE BUTTONS disc = DIRECTION DISC TO DISPATCH A SQUADRON, use the TOP row of keys, called SQUADRON keys. They are color coded blue, white and gold, to correspond to your 3 squadrons. This lets you pick which squadron you want to dispatch. TO RETURN A SQUADRON TO BASE, use the SECOND row of keys, labeled RETURN TO BASE. These are also color-coded, to correspond to your squadrons. Your remaining con~rols are: RADAR key. This takes you away from Battle Screen and back to Radar Screen. (See page 7.) ALIEN key. Lets you pick which alien squadron you want to go after. Each time you press it, a different alien squadron turns from white to PURPLE. This is the alien you are going after if you hit a Squadron key now. FIRE BUTTONS. All 4 are identical. Press any Fire Button when you are in battle, to fire 2 converging missiles at the point covered by your gunsight. DIRECTION DISC. This is your aiming device, used only when you are in battle. It lets you move your gunsight around the screen, until it covers an alien fighter. To move gunsight UP, press TOP edge of disc. To move it RIGHT, press RIGHT edge of disc. And so forth, in 16 directions around the disc. It's that simple! HOW TO HOLD THE HAND CONTROLLER A good grip on the hand control is important. This works best for us: Cradle the hand controller in the palm of your left hand. Keep left forefinger or middle finger poised over one Fire Button. Use the fingers of your right hand to press keys on the keypad. Use thumb of right hand to manipulate Direction Disc. (Left-handed persons, use opposite hands.) HOW 2 PEOPLE CAN PLAY Two people can play together against the computer. One person controls the Direction Disc to move the gunsight. The other person rides shotgun on the Fire Button. BOTH HAND CONTROLLERS ARE USED, to play the game in this manner. THE 2 FIELDS OF PLAY (STRATEGY AND BATTLE) SPACE BATTLE(TM) is played on 2 different fields. The strategic field is called the RADAR SCREEN. The battle field is called the BATTLE SCREEN. During a game you will switch back and forth between these 2 screens. RADAR SCREEN The Radar Screen is what you see when you start a game. It is what you come back to when you press the RADAR KEY during battle. You must be on Radar Screen to: 1) Select an alien to attack 2) Dispatch squadrons 3) Return squadrons to base 4) Go to battle with a squadron BATTLE SCREEN The Battle Screen is what you see when you press a GO TO BATTLE KEY for a BLINKING squadron. You must be on Battle Screen to use the Fire Buttons, Direction Disc, and Radar Key. SELECT A GAME SPEED SPACE BATTLE(TM) can be played at 5 different speeds. You must select a game speed before game will start. Selecting a game speed takes you to Radar Screen and starts the game. * BEGINNING SPEED (slow) - Press GOLD SQUADRON KEY (top row) * MEDIUM SPEED - Press WHITE SQUADRON KEY * FAST SPEED - Press BLUE SQUADRON KEY * ADVANCED SPEED - Press Direction Disc * SUPER ADVANCED SPEED - Press BLUE RETURN TO BASE KEY (second row) ADVANCED and SUPER ADVANCED speeds give a much more difficult game. See page 24 for more information. For now, start with beginning speed. PRESS THE GOLD SQUADRON KEY STEP BY STEP THROUGH YOUR FIRST GAME When the game starts, you will see 5 alien squadrons moving slowly toward the Mother Ship, at the center of the screen. You will NOT see your own squadrons. The alien squadrons will be different sizes, ROUGHLY indicated by the number of dots that make up each squadron. The sizes and starting positions of alien squadrons will vary from game to game, but THERE WILL ALWAYS BE 5 SQUADRONS. 1. PRESS THE ALIEN KEY 5 TIMES AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS. Each time you press the Alien Key, a different alien squadron turns from white to PURPLE. Keep pressing this key until the alien squadron closest to the Mother Ship turns purple. This is the alien you will go after if you dispatch one of your squadrons now. Try it. 2. PRESS THE BLUE SQUADRON KEY (top row). Your blue Squadron will appear by the Mother Ship and slowly start after the alien squadron you picked. This alien squadron will have turned white again. A different alien squadron is purple now. 3. PRESS THE WHITE SQUADRON KEY. Your White Squadron will appear and start after the alien that was purple when you pressed this key. That alien squadron will have turned white. 4. FINALLY, PRESS YOUR GOLD SQUADRON KEY. Now all 3 of your squadrons are out and going after different alien squadrons. This is bad strategy, since the Mother Ship is now defenseless. So, recall one squadron to base. 5. PRESS THE GOLD RETURN-TO-BASE KEY (second row). Your Gold Squadron will move slowly back to the Mother Ship and hover there, remaining visible. You can do this with any of your squadrons, any time you are on the Radar Screen. 6. By now your Blue Squadron should have reached the closest alien squadron. When it starts BLINKING, PRESS THE BLUE GO-TO-BATTLE KEY (third row). A BUZZ means you pressed this key BEFORE your squadron was blinking. BATTLE OVER A battle ends in 1 of 3 ways: 1) You destroy all fighters in the alien squadron. 2) You lose all 3 fighters in your squadron. In both cases, you automatically return to the RADAR SCREEN when the battle is over. If you have fighters left in your squadron, you see 1 colored square for each fighter left. If the aliens wiped your squadron out, the alien squadron will show roughly 1 dot for each fighter left. Your squadron will be gone. 3) You return your squadron to base, or re-dispatch it after a different alien squadron. To do this, first press the RADAR KEY, to return to RADAR SCREEN. To return your squadron to base, press that color RETURN TO BASE key. To re-dispatch your squadron, make sure the alien you want to go after now is PURPLE, (use ALIEN key if necessary), then press right color SQUADRON key. IF YOU PRESS THE RADAR KEY TO LEAVE THE BATTLE SCREEN, AND DO NOT RECALL YOUR SQUADRON TO BASE OR RE-DISPATCH IT, the battle will continue, with the computer fighting for you. (See page 16.) IF YOU SUDDENLY FIND YOURSELF BACK AT THE RADAR SCREEN BEFORE THE BATTLE IS OVER, AND YOU DIDN'T PRESS THE RADAR KEY, don't panic. You pressed 2 or more Fire Buttons together. To get back to battle, just press the GO TO BATTLE key again. Make sure you press the right color. WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE RADAR SCREEN WHILE YOU'RE IN BATTLE? At BEGINNING SPEED (slow) -- nothing! All action on the Radar Screen stops when you go into battle. The alien squadrons stop their advance on the Mother Ship. Any of your other squadrons that are out and NOT ENGAGED with an alien squadron (not blinking) when you go into battle, also stop thier forward movement. At ALL OTHER SPEEDS, all action (both yours and aliens') continues on the Radar Screen at 1/2 the normal rate of approach for that game speed. COMPUTER FIGHTS FOR YOU ANY TIME one of your squadrons engages an alien squadron (starts blinking) and you DO NOT go to battle, the computer automatically fights for you. The computer loses an average of 1 of your fighters for every 3 alien fighters lost. This also happens if you dispatch more than 1 squadron and the 2nd squadron reaches its alien target while you are in battle with the 1st. EXAMPLE: You dispatch BLUE and WHITE Squadrons. BLUE reaches its alien first and you go to battle with Blue. While yo uare in battle, WHITE reaches its alien target. White automatically goes into battle, with the computer fighting for you. If you decide to control the White battle instead of Blue, press the RADAR KEY. You will see the Radar Screen with both Blue and White squadrons blinking. Both battles are now being fought by the computer. Press WHITE GO TO BATTLE KEY. You are now controlling the White battle and the computer is fighting the Blue battle. AT BEGINNING SPEED, the only way in which the computer can fight a battle for you is if you do not go to battle when your squadron starts blinking. Of course, if you don't want the computer to fight for you, you can take any squadron OUT of battle, as long as you are on Radar Screen. To do this, press the RETURN TO BASE key in the color of the squadron you want to recall. MOTHER SHIP IN DANGER (WHAT THE SIREN MEANS) Any time yo uhear a SIREN, it means 1 or more alien squadrons have reached the Danger Zone Boundary and are firing on the Mother Ship. 1. IF YOU ARE ON RADAR SCREEN, see which alien is threatening the Mother Ship. Press ALIEN key until this alien turns PURPLE. 2. Choose a squadron to send after this alien. A. If you have a squadron left at Mother Ship, press that color SQUADRON key. B. If all your squadrons are out, RE-dispatch one to the threatening alien squadron. Choose which squadron to re-dispatch. Make sure threatening alien is purple. (Use ALIEN key if necessary.) Then press chosen color SQUADRON key. Your squadron will change course or leave battle and start back toward threatening alien. 3. IF YOU ARE ON BATTLE SCREEN, first press RADAR key to return to the Radar Screen. See which alien is threatening the Mother Ship. Then follow Step 2. THE SIREN WILL CONTINUE UNTIL YOU DESTROY THE THREATENING ALIEN SQUADRON(S). THE SIREN WILL GET FASTER AS THE ALIEN SQUADRON(S) SCORES MORE HITS ON THE MOTHER SHIP. IF YOU DO NOT DESTROY THE THREATENING ALIEN SQUADRON(S) IN A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, IT WILL DESTROY THE MOTHER SHIP. THE ENTIRE SCREEN WILL TURN RED, A DISASTER SIGNAL WILL SOUND, AND ALL ACTION WILL STOP. THE GAME IS OVER. The time it takes an alien squadron to destroy the Mother Ship varies depending on: 1. The size of the alien squadron. A small squadron takes longer than a large squadron. 2. The number of alien squadrons firing on the Mother Ship. If 3 alien squadrons are at the Danger Zone Boundary, it won't take them long to destroy the Mother Ship. 3. The game speed at which you are playing. On ADVANCED and SUPER ADVANCED, yo uwon't have much time at all. 4. Whether you are in battle or not. If you are in battle with the threatening alien squadron, its rate of attack on the Mother Ship will be slower. MOTHER SHIP SAVED When you destroy all 5 alien squadrons, you will hear a RISING VICTORY HORN. ALL CLEAR will print out across the bottom of the screen. FIVE POINTS & OTHER RULES RADAR SCREEN 1. You can only send 1 of your squadrons after any particular alien squadron. If you have already dispatched 1 squadron after an alien, that alien will not turn purple again, even if you use the ALIEN key, unless you first recall your dispatched squadron to base. 2. You can RE-DISPATCH a squadron any time you are on the Radar Screen, just by pressing that SQUADRON key again. Always make sure the alien squadron you want to go after is PURPLE. 3. When you press a SQUADRON or a RETURN TO BASE key, the alien squadron that was purple turns white and another alien turns purple. This is important if you want to return 1 squadron to base and dispatch another. EXAMPLE: You've just come out of battle with Blue squadron. You decide to return Blue to base and send White after another alien. This alien is already purple. Say you press BLUE RETURN TO BASE key first. The alien that WAS purple turns white. If you press WHITE SQUADRON key now, you will send White after a different alien than the one you wanted to go after. Instead, press WHITE SQUADRON KEY FIRST, then BLUE RETURN TO BASE KEY. (If you press BLUE RETURN TO BASE KEY FIRST, use the ALIEN key to turn your chosen alien purple again. THEN press WHITE SQUADRON KEY.) 4. If you don't go to battle IMMEDIATELY with a blinking squadron, the computer will start fighting that battle for you. It can lose 1 of your fighters right away, before you get to the battle. As soon as a squadron starts blinking, press that color GO TO BATTLE key. 5. When you return to RADAR SCREEN after a battle has ended, your squadron will remain where it is, unless you recall it to base or re-dispatch it. FINE POINTS & OTHER RULES BATTLE SCREEN 1. The alien lasers will home in on your gunsight if you leave it in one place too long. Corners are particularly easy to get trapped in. 2. When you hit an alien ship, fragments from the explosion may hit other alien ships, especially if the one you hit was part of a cluster. With careful aim, and some luck, you can take out 2, 3, 4, as many as 5 fighters with one shot. ADVANCED AND SUPER ADVANCED SPEEDS 1. Alien squadrons DO NOT SLOW DOWN when you go to battle. 2. On SUPER ADVANCED SPEED ONLY, the alien lasers move faster and appear with much greater frequency, when you are in battle. ----------------------------------- IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE, TO WIN A GAME ON SUPER ADVANCED SPEED. ----------------------------------- SPACE BATTLE IN BRIEF (A quick refresher for those who are already familiar with the game.) You control 3 squadrons -- blue, white & gold. Each squadron has 3 fighters. Alien squadrons vary in size. Always 5 alien squadrons per game. Press 1 of these keys to select speed & start game: Gold Squadron - slow; White Squadron - medium; Blue Squadron - fast; Direction Disc - advanced; Blue Return to Base - super advanced. RADAR SCREEN (ILLUSTRATION PAGE 7) 1. Game starts on Radar Screen. Press ALIEN key until alien squadron closest to Mother Ship turns PURPLE. 2. Send 1 of your squadrons after purple alien squadron. Press any SQUADRON key (top row). That color squadron appears at Mother Ship and starts after alien. Alien turns white again, another alien turns purple. Send 1, 2, or 3 squadrons out. 3. When your squadron reaches alien and STARTS BLINKING, press GO TO BATTLE key (3rd row) in color of your blinking squadron. Screen switches to Battle Screen. 4. If you send a squadron out and want to bring it back, or want to take a squadron out of battle, press RETURN TO BASE key (2nd row) in color of squadron you are recalling. BATTLE SCREEN 1. Use DIRECTION DISC to move GUNSIGHT slightly ahead of alien fighter you want to fire on. 2. Press any ONE side FIRE BUTTON. 2 missiles shoot from bottom of screen and converge at the point where gunsight was when you fired. If you hit alien fighter, you hear and see EXPLOSION. 3. Avoid alien lasers. If RED lasers hit gunsight, you lose 1 fighter in your squadron. Hear LOUD, DEEP BOOM and screen flashes RED. 4. Lower left corner of screen shows number of fighters left in alien squadron. Lower right corner shows number of fighters left in your squadron. BATTLE OVER 1. Battle ends automatically when alien squadron or your squadron is destroyed. You return to Radar Screen. 2. Battle ends temporarily if you press RADAR key, then take your squadron out of battle by pressing right color RETURN TO BASE key. 3. Computer fights any battle in progress that you do not actively control. Computer loses average of 1 of your lost fighters for every 3 alien fighters lost. MOTHER SHIP LOST OR SAVED 1. SIREN tells you 1 or more alien squadrons have reached Danger Zone Boundary and are firing on Mother Ship. 2. Siren ends when you destroy threatening alien squadrons. 3. If you don't destroy threatening aliens in time, Mother Ship is destroyed. You hear DISASTER SIGNAL and entire screen turns RED. Game over. 4. When you destroy all 5 alien squadrons, you hear VICTORY HORN and see ALL CLEAR on screen. Game over. Mattel Electronics warrants to the original consumer purchaser of any cartridge or cassette it manufactures that the product will be free of defects in material or workmanship for 90 days from the date of purchase. If defective, return the product along with proof of the date of purchase to either your local dealer or, postage prepaid, to: Mattel Electronics Repair Center 5000 West 147th Street Hawthorne, California 90250 for repair or replacement. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. This warranty does not cover damage resulting from accident, misuse or abuse. MATTEL ELECTRONICS(R) INTELLIVISION(TM) Intelligent Television MATTEL ELECTRONICS(TM) Other electronic games available from Mattel Electronics. 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