ENDURANCE - CRL GROUP PLC ENDURANCE In front of a packed grandstand twenty bikes and riders are lined up waiting for the last few minutes before the start to tick away. There lays before them a solid twenty four hours of racing through the afternoon and evening on into the darkness of the night and the chill of dawn. Even then the race will barely be half run, continuing until the afternoon of the following day. Your own team of two bikes is out there with the rest. For the next day your only concern will be the welfare of your riders and the maintenance of your machines. Endurance motorcycle racing is a real team effort where success depends as much on the maintenance of the bikes during the many pit stops as on the racing ability of the riders. Re-fuelling is necessary about every hour, sometimes more frequently, and tyres and brakes will need replacing. Even a crash may not be terminal. If your rider can ride or push the bike back to the pits repairs can be carried out and lost time made up. Endurance gives you the chance to compete in the hard world of long distance bike racing, either on an individual race basis or for a full championship season which includes four shorter races and two full twenty four hour events and where points are allocated to each team and to the riders individually. One to six players can compete in the races which are run at twenty five times real time. All control keys are re-definable or a Kempston joystick can be used. Games can be saved to cassette at any stage of the race for re-loading later. INSTRUCTIONS Selection of race and level of play is made by moving the arrow to the correct line using the up and down movement keys or joystick and pressing Enter or fire. A new game can only be selected by moving up so it is not chosen by mistake. During Race Preparation the engine or chassis characteristics must be set. Move the arrow to the required line and press "M" or use the joystick. The bar-graph will increase showing an increase of power, m.p.g. etc. However at a certain level an increase in one element will decrease the others. It's up to you to find a race winning formula. There is a selection of three different tyre types with different speed and wear characteristics and finally the first rider is selected. Pressing the up or down keys or using the joystick will enable you to alternate between the two riders so that you can decide which one to use first. Throughout the race the first six bikes are displayed on the score-board and the order of the first sixteen bikes are shown from left to right in front of the grandstand. The team name of the leader and the distance he has covered are also displayed. If your bike number turns red it shows that something is amiss. It may be that just a fuel stop is needed but it could be tyre or brake wear. More serious problems are reported by scrolling messages. If a number goes white it means that the bike is still in the pits and red ink on white paper shows retired bikes. If you are not in the first sixteen places you will have to rely on your memory or screen messages to decide when a stop is due. During the race, instructions can be given to your riders by pressing "I" and entering the bike number. All riders start off riding normally but they can be instructed to take things easy (if protecting a good lead) or ride as fast as possible. The last option is useful for making up lost ground but there is a price to pay in increased wear and tear and higher fuel consumption. If riding flat out, pit stops will have to be anticipated otherwise the fuel is likely to run out on the circuit and valuable time lost. Fresh instructions must be given after each stop. Major problems force a pit stop but normal wear or shortage of fuel will not necessarily cause an immediate pit stop and one should be requested as soon as possible. On entering the pits you have the choice to change the rider. As before pressing the selected up or down key or using the joystick will alternate the two riders showing their strengths or weaknesses. Enter or fire makes the selection. Crashes or a headlamp failure must be dealt with before any other work. To replace a headlamp move the crew member to face the front of the bike, pick up the new unit from the second member who appears and replace it. To repair crash damage first move to the front wheel which will be removed, then the rear wheel and finally remove the fairing. Work can then be carried out on the engine or frame as required. When finished the fairing will be replaced. Move towards the right of the screen select front tyre type then move left and replace the rear wheel. The stop then continues as usual. In a normal pit stop once the rider has been selected the pit crew is free to move backwards or forwards across the bike. When he is in certain positions messages will appear below the bike. If Enter or fire is pressed while the message is up that option can be carried out. With tyres and brakes the first display is on their status. If no change is required Enter or fire enables the crew to move on. If a change of tyres is required the type must be selected and the tyre will change. To replace front or rear pads you must collect the new pads from the second crew member and return to the wheel causing the new pads to be fitted. Engine tuning takes time and it is wise to get the correct balance before the race. If however adjustments are essential such as when you have an oil leak, ignition, gearbox or engine problems move the crew until the message appears and press Enter or fire. The fairing will be removed and tuning can take place in the same way as the bike was prepared for the race, only against the clock. Chassis adjustment is only possible following a crash. Refuelling is something that you will do more often than anything else. When the message appears press Enter or fire and use the right movement key or joystick to fill as required. Enter or fire ends refuelling. When in the pits the distance behind the leader is displayed alongside the Team name. To return the bike to the race the crew must be moved behind the bike, facing right. When the message "Return rider to bike" appears press Enter or fire and the pit stop will end. A final option when in the pits is the ability to retire one of your bikes. To do this the pit crew must be moved well behind the bike on the line below it and the message to retire appears. Press Enter or fire and follow screen instructions to remove that bike from the race. One thing to note is that the clock runs at different speeds when in the pits and that delays in carrying out your work when in the wrong place can cost you dearly. Control Keys (all redefinable) Move pit crew or arrow up A or joystick Move pit crew or arrow down Z or joystick Move pit crew left N or joystick Move pit crew right, improve engine or chassis element or refuel M or joystick Select options, commence or finish pit work Enter or fire p Request pit stop P Request rider instructions I Other functions available on redefinable keys are as follows:- 1. Halt game. (key H) While halted the current status of the race is displayed. 2. Quit race or season. (key 0) Enables you to return to the race selection menu. 3. Save Game. (key S) All instructions are screen prompted and you have the ability to name the data saved for future reference. The authors would like to thank Team Bike and especially Howard Lees for the background information supplied which was invaluable in writing this program. Also Picturesque for producing such an excellent assembler/monitor. G. B. MUNDAY & B. P. WHEELHOUSE