Uridium

Your Mission

The solar system is under fierce attack. A squadron of formidable
enemy Super-Dreadnought ships, needing mineral fuel to power their
interstellar unit is draining the mineral resources from all 15
planets in your galactic sector. Each Super-Dreadnought, in orbit
around one planet, is mining a special metal. This irreversible
mineral depletion must be stopped immediately, or it will destroy all
planet life.

Your mission is to repel the enemy attack with your special Manta
fighter. Completely. Quickly. Decisively. The odds against you are
enormous because you are the lone remaining defender of this planetary
sector. Your ultimate goal is to annihilate all 15 Super-Dreadnoughts
and accumulate as many points as possible. If you complete all 15
levels-and only the best pilots will even come close-you qualify for a
special offer for a Uridium emblem (see the order form at the end of
this manual).

You begin the game with three lives. If you fail to destroy the
Dreadnought after three chances, the game ends. If you destroy a
Dreadnought, your Man fighter will be transported to the next planet,
and you will receive an additional life. Your mission there will be
the some: destroy the Super-Dreadnough in orbit. But be warned: As you
move from one level to the next, the enemy becomes more deadly.

Uridium can be played with one or two players. In a two-player game,
the players alternate turns. Player 1 pilots his or her Manta fighter
through one life or turn.  Then Player 2 takes a turn, and so on. As
in the one-player game, each player begins the game with three lives.
Each player tries to accumulate a higher score than the other.

Destroying a Super-Dreadnought

As the game begins, your Manta fighter blasts off from the
intergalactic teleporter, An enemy Dreadnought looms nearby. Begin
your strafing run, First, destroy the waves of fighters that defend
the Dreadnought. When most of the Dreadnought defenses have been
eliminated, you will see a "Land now" message in the upper right part
of the screen. While the message flashes, find and land on the
Dreadnought master runway, which is on the right end of the
Dreadnought. Fly flat over the end of the runway from left to right to
land.

Once you land, you will pass into the fuel rod chamber. Here you
complete the destruction of the ship and add to your point total. In
front of you will be a pyramid of flashing lights. Press the button on
your joystick or mouse at the exact moment when the indicator with the
bonus number is lit up, Then move to the next level of lights and try
for more bonus points, but be careful to select "Quit" before the
countdown at the top of the screen reaches zero.

Once you select "Quit" in the fuel rod chamber, your Manta will take
off, and the Dreadnought will vaporize, Strafe any remaining surface
targets as the enemy ship vaporizes. In a moment, you will be
transported to the next planet, where you must attack another enemy
Dreadnought.

Operating Your Manta Fighter

Your Manta is a highly advanced fighter equipped with sophisticated
laser weapons. It can fly up, down, right, or left. It can do
half-loops, 90-degree rolls, and can reverse directions immediately
See the Reference Card for specific flying instructions.

The Manta is faster and more maneuverable than the enemy fighters, but
there are many waves of enemy fighters. The Manta has unlimited fire
power but shoots only in the direction in which you are flying.

Enemy Weapons

Each Super-Dreadnought is equipped with at least two types of
defensive weapons: fighters and homing mines. Waves of fighters patrol
the airspace above each Dreadnought. When you make a strafing run
across the Dreadnought, the fighters will fire at you. The best way to
destroy the fighters is to sneak up behind them and fire. But be
careful when chasing the fighters; you may forget to watch where you
are going and crash into a communications aerial or meteor shield on
the Dreadnoughf. When you fly over flashing generaf or ports, homing
mines may lock onto your flight pattern and blow up the Manta. If you
hear a telltale bleeping sound, you'll know that a mine has been
launched in your direction. These mines have a limited life span,
though, and can be avoided with some deft flying maneuvers.

Some Dreadnoughts also carry an offensive weapon: special ships that
attack the Manta. You will encounter these once you reach the third or
fourth Dreadnought, on the surface of each Dreadnought are meteor
shields and communications aerials. If the Manta hits one of these
surface features, it will crash. To reach the master runway on each
Dreadnought, you will have to maneuver around these obstacles.

Scoring

You accumulate points in several ways: by destroying fighters, surface
features, and fuel rods on each Dreadnought. Special bonus points are
awarded for destroying all fighters in a wave and after each 10,000
points you accumulate. Points are awarded as follows:

Points

10        Small exploitable surface feature
25        Large exploitable surface feature
100       Enemy ship on runway
100-1000  Enemy fighter
100       Wave annihilation bonus (destroying all fighters in the wave)


Hall of Fame

If your score is high enough, your name will be added to the pilots'
Hall of Fame.

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End of the Project 64 etext of the Uridium (American) manual.

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