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[Show comments] [Show snapshots] [Show videos] [Show content] [Replace file] Blob Wars : Gameplay Manual
Episode I : Metal Blob Solid
License and Disclaimer
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
See the GNU General Public License for more details.
Introduction
Blob Wars : Metal Blob Solid is a platform game, not unlike those found
on the Amiga and SNES. The object of the game is to take on the role of
solider Blob, Bob, and play through the various levels and attempt to
rescue as many MIA (Missing In Action) Blobs as possible. This is not
quite as straight forward as it sounds, since the MIAs will often be not
directly reachable and will require some extra thought. Bob also has to
contend with environmental hazards, alien invaders and assimilated Blobs.
The Story
Bob is a solider in the Blob Army. Many years ago the Blobs' Homeworld was
invaded by a race of symbiotic cybernetic organisms. Since then the Blobs
have faced a lifetime of war. Recently the Blob Army has decided to fall
back, regroup and change their offensive strategy. But some soliders did
not regroup. They were marked as Missing In Action and left. However one
solider was not happy with this arrangement.
Bob made it his mission to go out and "Bring Our Boys Home". There had
been enough loss of life already and Bob wanted to bring back as many
soliders as possible, even if he died trying.
But one thing puzzled him. The aliens could have wiped out their planet in
just a matter of months. But they hadn't. The aliens could have taken all
the resources they wanted and left. But they hadn't. What were they really
after? And why?
Controls
Title / Options
Arrow Up / Arrow Down - Change menu selection
Arrow Left / Arrow Right - Change menu option
Enter / Space / LCtrl - Accept
Escape - Back
Hub
Mouse - Move Cursor
Left Mouse Button - Select Icon Option / Select Destination
Right Mouse Button - Destination Information
In Game (whilst on the ground)
Arrow Left / Right - Move Left / Right
Arrow Up - Jump
LCtrl - Fire
Space - Activate Jetpack (once aquired)
In Game (whilst swimming)
Arrow Up / DownSwim - Up / Down
Arrow Left / Right - Swim Left / Right
LCtrl - Fire
In Game (General)
Tab - Radar Map
P - Pause Game
Escape - In Game Menu
Misc
F10 - Toggle Full Screen
Alt + Return - Toggle Full Screen
Starting a New Game
From the Title screen select "Start New Game" then choose your difficulty
level. Depending on the difficulty you choose the game will play in a
different manner. Below is a table of how the difficulty level affects the
game play,
Practice
Optionally complete various tasks
Unlimited continues
(This is just a training level. It does not count toward the game)
Easy
Rescue MIAs
No further objectives (no Boss missions either)
Few Enemies
Enemies spawn slowly and in few numbers
Enemies attack rarely
Normal
Rescue MIAs
Complete additional required objectives
Normal number of enemies
Enemies spawn normally and in normal numbers
Enemies attack normally
Hard
Rescue MIAs
Complete additional required objectives
Large numbers of enemies
Enemies spawn rapidly and in great numbers
Enemies attack constantly
Extreme
Rescue ALL MIAs
Complete ALL Objectives
Large numbers of enemies
Enemies spawn rapidly and in greater numbers
Enemies attack constantly
You must complete the mission within a set time
(This setting cannot be attempted until you have complete the game
once)
Keyboard Configuration
To change the controls select Keyboard Configuration from the Options
screen.
The currently configured button will be displayed to the right of the
action. To configure an action highlight the action you wish to set (using
the arrow keys on the keyboard) and then press Return. The current button
configuration entry will disappear and allow you to press the new key you
wish to use. After doing so the new button will then be displayed.
Repeat this process until you have configured all the keys you wish to.
Key configuration is saved to a file called keyboard.conf in
~/.parallelrealities/blobwars/. Configuration is saved only once and not
on a save game basis.
If you wish to test out your configuration and tweak the settings to your
liking it is recommended that you start a game in Practice mode where you
can easily tweak and buttons and test the output.
Joystick Configuration
Should you have a joystick / joypad connected then you will be able to
configure the controls in this screen. The controls that can be configured
map to the actions that can be performed in the game. eg - Up, Down, Left,
Right, Fire, etc.
The currently configured button will be displayed to the right of the
action. To configure a joypad action highlight the action you wish to set
(using the arrow keys on the keyboard) and then press Return. The current
button configuration entry will disappear and allow you to press the new
button on your joystick. After doing so the new button will then be
displayed.
Repeat this process until you have configured all the buttons you wish to.
Joypad configuration is saved to a file called joystick.conf in
~/.parallelrealities/blobwars/. Configuration is saved only once and not
on a save game basis.
If you wish to test out your configuration and tweak the settings to your
liking it is recommended that you start a game in Practice mode where you
can easily tweak and buttons and test the output.
Options
Various options are available to the player. These options can be set from
the Title screen, the Hub or from In Game. Highlight an option by pressing
the Up or Down arrow keys and then the Left or Right arrow keys in order
to change the option's value.
Fullscreen
Toggles fullscreen mode. Either Off or On.
Sound Volume
Changes sound volume. Slide the bar left or right to
decrease or increase the sound volume.
Music Volume
Changes music volume. Slide the bar left or right to
decrease or increase the music volume.
Output Type
Change the game's audio output type. You may select None,
Mono or Stereo.
The game will have to be restarted in order for a change from Mono
to Stereo to take effect.
Auto Save Slot
Selects the save slot the game will auto save the game
to. Choose from slots 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.
Brightness
Changes the brightness. Slide the bar left or right to
decrease or increase the brightness of the display.
Blood and Gore
Toggles the blood during gameplay. Either Off or On.
Configure Keyboard
Go to the key configuration menu.
Configure Joysticks
Go to the joystick configuration menu.
(disabled if no joysticks are detected)
How to Play
Playing Blob Wars : Metal Blob Solid is very straight forward. If you have
ever played games such as Super Mario Brothers then you will get the hang
of the game very quickly. Blob Wars : Metal Blob Solid has game play
elements more closely related to The New Zealand Story though, since you
have weapons with which to attack and can do other things such as swim.
You can move Bob around the game world by using the arrow keys (see
Controls) and using left CTRL to fire your current weapon. Due to the
nature of the game, there are no ammunition restrictions so you can use
your current weapon as much as you want. Also note that it is not possible
to manually change weapons. To change your weapon you must pick up a
weapon icon.
Remember to keep an eye on your health (the red squares at the top of the
screen). When you take damage you will lose a red square (or more
depending on how you were damaged!). Bob is killed when all his health is
depleted. At this point the game ends and you fail the mission. If you
have reached a checkpoint before this time you will be given the option to
continue (see Checkpoints). You get health back by picking up Cherries (a
Blob's staple diet). One Cherry restores one unit of health so grab them
whenever you see them.
When swimming you have a limited amount of oxygen. Your current oxygen is
represented by a set of blue squares to the right of your health. When you
are underwater these squares are slowly removed. Once they run out your
health will quickly begin to deplete, so don't stay underwater too long!
You get oxygen back when you are out of the water.
Blob Wars : Metal Blob Solid is divided into various missions, each with
their own objectives. Depending on the level of difficulty you play on the
number of objectives will change. For all difficulty levels you will be
required to rescue a certain amount of MIAs. Other difficulty levels will
have other objectives that you will be required to complete. See
"Completing Missions" for more information.
Rescuing MIAs
To rescue an MIA you simply walk into them. They will then be
automatically teleported back home. This however is not always easy. Since
you can only rescue an MIA by walking into them, you must first be able to
do so. Some MIAs will be in high places, others behind doors. You may have
to over come certain obstacles and other factors before you can rescue
them.
Objectives
As well as rescuing MIAs, some missions have other objectives. These can
vary from finding objects, to defeating a certain enemies or number of
enemies. Before a mission can be cleared you must first complete all the
required objectives. Special objectives, such as Exiting a Mission, can
only be achieved once all the other required objectives are completed. If
that sounds complicated, don't worry, you'll get the idea! See "Completing
Missions" for more information.
You can see a list of objectives by pressing "P" to pause the game. This
will also show each objective's completion status, including how much more
is needed to be done.
Completing Missions
In order to complete a mission in Blob Wars : Metal Blob Solid, you will
need to complete all the required objectives. For most missions this will
involve rescuing a certain number of MIAs. The required objectives change
depending on which level of difficulty you are playing on.
The mission "Grasslands" requires you to rescue 5 MIAs. If you have set
the difficulty to Normal or above then you will also be required to find a
Transmitter.
During the course of the mission you will receive checkpoints. These
checkpoints allow you continue if you are killed during the mission. See
below for more information.
Checkpoints
Upon completing objectives you will be awared a checkpoint. A checkpoint
allows you to restart the mission from a certain point if you are killed
during play. When you are presented with the Game Over text, pressing
space will bring up the continue options. You may either restart from the
last checkpoint or return to the title screen. If you did not reach a
checkpoint when you are killed you will simply be taken back to the title
screen without prompting.
Checkpoints are also awarded for rescuing half the number of required
MIAs, all the required MIAs and the total MIAs on a mission. So, if you
are required to rescue 12 MIAs you will receive a checkpoint after
rescuing 6 and another for rescuing all 12.
When restarting you will restart from the location you were at when the
checkpoint was awarded (or the last place where you were on solid ground).
You will restart with half your full health and everything you did before
you were killed will be the way it was (so, if you saved an MIA after a
checkpoint and were killed before receiving another you won't have to
rescue the MIA again). Checkpoints can only be used a maximum of 3 times.
Everytime you receive a checkpoint notice you will be allowed to continue
a further 3 times. The number of continues remaining is noted in brackets
next to the Continue option.
Note that due to the nature of the game it is not possible to continue on
Boss missions.
Game Over
The game ends when Bob is killed during a mission (his health is reduced
to 0). At this point you will be presented with a Game Over message. If
you have managed to receive a check point (from completing objectives) you
will be given the option to return to this check point or quit to the
title screen. Otherwise you will be taken back to the title screen.
Hub
The Hub is the place you will spend time between missions. The Hub allows
you to select which mission you will next undertake and also give you
information relating to the missions you have just done, which MIAs you
have currently rescued and some overall game statistics.
The hub can be effectively divided into three different areas - The Map,
the Destination Bar and the Action Bar
The main screen of the Hub is the map. The map will show various locations
that can be visited (represented by animated red shapes). Placing the
mouse cursor over these locations will show their name just above the
cursor. To select a destination left click on the location. The
Destination Bar will change to reflect the name destination you have
choosen. Right clicking on the location will display statistics about the
location (more on that in a minute!).
The Action Bar has 6 options - Start, Info, MIAs, Stats, Options and Quit.
Clicking on Start will allow you play the mission you have currently
selected (as Selected Destination).
Info will display information about the destination you have selected. You
will be shown how many MIAs you have rescued in that area and which
objectives you have currently completed. This will be useful to you later
in the game when you wish to revisit missions in order to complete them
fully. A briefing is available for missions that have yet to be cleared
and an objective summary is available afterwards.
MIAs displays a list of all the MIAs that you have and haven't currently
rescued. The list is updated once an area is cleared. The list shows the
MIAs names, locations and their status (Found or Missing). Like the Info
screen this is useful for discovering what levels need to still be
rescued. Click in the Left and Right arrows to scroll through the various
pages.
Stats gives you some information on how you are currently doing in the
game. Most of the information here is just for fun. There are three pages,
giving various bits of information. One thing to note - You may notice
that the Percentage Complete statistic fluctuates a lot. This is because
this is a percentage of what is currently known and not an overall
percentage. So you may notice that at one stage it says 60% and then after
finishing a stage it says 55%!
Enemies
The aliens are now littered around the Blobs' homeworld. Most of them have
taken over the bodies of Blob soliders and are using them for their evil
purposes. Some others travel around in their robot housing. Most of the
enemies are easily dealt with - A single shot will take them down. But
what they lack in defence they make up for in weaponary. Here are just a
couple of the enemies you may encounter,
Pistol Blob
Once a cadet in the Blob army this Blob has been
assimilated by the alien's nano technology. Weak and poor shots,
these Blobs can still cause Bob problems in large numbers. Their
green colouring is the result of alien's assimilation process.
Eye Droid
A floating alien sentry. Given the ability to fly by its
Anti Gav unit, it will attack Bob on sight. Easily downed... but
keep a safe distance, these suckers explode!
Other Blobs,
ariel and swimming enemies exist. Keep your eyes peeled...
Bosses
During the course of them game (except Easy) you will encounter Bosses.
These are often Blobs that the aliens have experimented on and
transformed into hidious creatures. They are a lot stronger than normal
enemies, attack differently and are all very dangerous. Bob will have to
confront each other these bosses before he can move on. In some cases
the boss's base area will also contain a item that essential to Bob's
progress within the game.
Galdov
Galdov is the alien leader. He looks strangely like the Blobs, except
for the fact that he is entirely robotic. He has been dubbed Metal Blob
by the Blobs for his appearence seems to harbour a secret to the Blobs'
past, the reason the aliens have attack their world and the myths and
legends of "war".
A particular times in the game you will be required to battle Galdov. He
is more powerful than regular enemies and has more weapons available at
his disposal. Don't linger.
Weapons
There are five different weapons that Bob can get in Blob Wars : Metal
Blob Solid,
Pistol
This is your standard weapon and the weapon that
Bob always begins a mission with. Compared to the other weapons it
seems rather wimpy due to its slow during rate. However it is the
only weapon that can be fired underwater!
Machine Gun
Somewhat the same as the pistol except for the high
firing rate. This is a useful mission for clearing large numbers of
enemies quickly.
Grenades
Grenades bounce around and explode on contact. The explosion
is enough to take out a few enemies within a small radius. Although
grenades cannot be thrown underwater, it is possible to jump out of
the water and throw a grenade. Careful timing can help to take out
enemies in the water. The explosion from your own grenades cannot
harm you, so don't worry. Grenades also have other uses, since they
can be thrown into places Bob may not be able to normally access...
Laser Cannon
Slow to fire but has the devestating effect of passing
through the enemy it strikes. A single laser bolt can take out a
great deal of enemies. It also bounces if it hits something solid,
which means that it can strike enemies both in front and behind you!
Spread
A three way spread weapon. It is good for taking out enemies
above and below. Has a decent firing rate too!
Items
Besides the weapon pick ups there are also a couple of others you should
be aware of,
Cherry
A cherry will restore one unit of valuable health to you. Make
sure you pick them up as soon as you see them. Cherries can also be
found in pairs or in a large bunch, restoring 2 and 5 units of
health respectively.
Keycards
Keycards and keys are used to access doors and other places
in the game. Search the levels carefully to find them.
Points
These are points pods. They increase your score and come in
various different flavours.
Aqua Lung and Jetpack
Two special unique items appear in the game - An Aqua Lung and a Jetpack.
These two items are both essential for progressing further in missions and
also for rescuing all the MIAs. Some missions will require you to have one
of these two items so you can play them properly.
The Aqua Lung provides the player with an unlimited supply of oxygen, so
you can stay underwater forever. You will then be able to reach MIAs and
areas that you were previously unable to. There is no need to activate
this item, it is used automatically when you enter water. You will also
notice that there is no longer an oxygen meter at the top of the screen.
Note that the Aqua Lung does not protect you from slime and lava.
The Jetpack allows the player to fly for a short time when it is
activated. Press Space and then use the directional buttons to fly in the
direction you desire. There are two things to note about the Jetpack -
Unlike enemies, when flying Bob will suffer inertia... that is to say, if
you are flying left and then push right you will have to slow down before
you can begin flying right. You can however fly one way and shoot another
using this technique. The second thing to note is that the Jetpack has an
energy limit. Whilst it is activated it will lose power. The remaining
power is shown at the top of the screen (in place of oxygen). When the
power runs out, the Jetpack will automatically disengage. The Jetpack
recharges whilst it is not in use. Note that the Jetpack cannot be
reactivated if it has less than 3 units of power.
These items will become available as your progress through the game. They
are unique so only need to be found once (so don't panic if you haven't
found them, you can't miss them!).
Misc Gameplay Information
As you progress through the game you may notice that some levels have
objectives marked as "???????????". These objectives (at the time) are
optional but all will be revealed much later into the game's story.
There is no need to worry about completing these objectives until you are
prompted to by the game.
About
Parallel Realities started off writing games on the Amiga using AMOS and
then, later, Blitz Basic 2. Games written included the BOTSS Trilogy and
most notably TANX Squadron. TANX Squadron was awarded Amiga Format's
contributor prize of the month in the summer of 1999. Project: Starfighter
was Parallel Realities' first contribution to the Linux gaming scene and
was well recieved when it was released in 2003.
Blob Wars : Metal Blob Solid is our second contribution to Linux and we
hope you enjoy it as much as Project: Starfighter. Like Starfighter the
game went through several incarnation before the platform game was decided
on. The original game involved a Capture the Flag type affair whilst the
second was centered on a Blob agent called Solid Blob and his (rather
dopey) companion, Bob.
The game direction changed when we wanted something a little faster paced
and with more replay value. The game changed from its top down view point
to a platform game and the Evil Blobs became assimilated Blobs. Bob later
became the hero of the game now known as Metal Blob Solid.
Blob Wars : Metal Blob Solid
Copyright © 2004 Parallel Realities
Licensed under the GNU General Public License
www.parallelrealities.co.uk
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