THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE

BACKPACKERS GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE, PART 1

PUBLISHER
Fantasy

AUTHOR
Bob Hamilton with Darren Hamilton

YEAR
1984

DESCRIPTION
A boring maze game with no sound and poor graphics. Fun for
mappers.  It came in two parts - a guide and the game. The guide
gave descriptions of all of the creatures you could find in a
sub-Douglas Adams style; it contained some information useful for
protecting the creatures in your backpack.

CONTROLS
Q - up, A - down, O - left, P - right, bottom row - fire
Symbol Shift - status
Break (Caps Shift and Space) - return to start / repair backpack
Interface II, Kempston and cursor joysticks supported.

INSTRUCTIONS
Fly around the caverns searching out the exit key and collecting
exotic creatures in your backpack. Shoot the ring-wraiths with
your flame-thrower; collect keys to get through doors; use
explosives to get through the maze.

INLAY CARD TEXT
[inlay card]
Not just a game...
...more a way of life

BACKPACKERS GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE PART 1
by Bob Hamilton with Darren Hamilton
 
Ziggy, still tired from his epic adventures in the Pyramid and
Doomsday Castle, has decided to take a vacation. To get away from
it all he has gone to explore the wilderness of one of the
remoter corners of the Universe. Armed with the latest edition
of 'The Backpackers Guide To The Universe' he hopes to do some
sightseeing, visit a few of his latest eccentric friends and
perhaps do a bit of adventuring on the way.

Ziggy is quietly perusing the guide, trying to satisfy his ever
inquisitive mind, when a message suddenly flashes up on his
communication console. Our super-hero finds himself trembling as
he absorbs the deadly content of the text scrolling down the
screen.

The infinitely evil Scarthax who was assumed destroyed in the
cataclysmic destruction of Doomsday Castle is still very much
alive. He is seeking revenge for the ruin of his plans of
absolute Universal domination and has discovered the means to
inflict this revenge in the most devastating way possible.

Scarthax has unfortunately located what countless adventurers had
failed to find through aeons of exploration - the legendary GREAT
PLUG. Scarthax has given the Universe just 24 hours before he
pulls out the Great Plug and lets the whole of space-time, and
every creation and moment in history contained within, swirl down
the plug-hole. Ziggy cannot let the Universe go down the drain
just like that! He has a single day to thwart Scarthax for a
second time - the fate of us all lies in his hands.

Backpackers Guide To The Universe Part 1 is a unique action
packed blend of adventure and strategy. Not just a game ... more
a way of life!

Backpackers Guide To The Universe Part 2 coming soon...

(C) 1984 FANTASY SOFTWARE LIMITED

[reverse of protection table]
THE BACKPACKER'S GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE PART 1

INTRODUCTION
Ziggy realises that this is one adventure where he will need some
help but in this remote area of the universe there is just one
place where he can find assistance, the CAVERNS of EXILE of the
planet Thallis. Here is found a colony of weird and wonderful
creatures, most of them secured for their own protection,
although some for the protection of others. You as Ziggy must
read the references contained in the Backpackers Guide and use
the information to collect as many creatures as possible to help
in your mission. If you are particularly resourceful you may also
be able to retrieve the two halves of the Talisman of Noria which
will be of great use in the second half of the game.

THE BACKPACK
You travel to the cavern entrance in your exploratory capsule but
to negotiate the caverns you have at your disposal the latest in
backpack technology. This remarkable piece of equipment enables
Ziggy to cope with any environmental conditions and acting as a
total life support system. It compacts itself while he is walking
but converts to a full jet-pack for flying, a buggy for rapid
exploration on the flat and to a mini-sub for underwater
exploration. The backpack also has an amazing capacity, using the
latest space-time compaction techniques to allow storage of an
almost limitless number of objects and creatures in its
relatively small volume.

THE GAME
The creatures are locked up in their cages which act as their
life support system. Once you remove a creature from its cage it
is up to you to feed it and look after it. The Caverns of Exile
consist of open chambers where you can fly around in jet-pack
mode and narrow passages where the jet-pack cannot operate. These
passages are always short so walking through these sections is
 adequate. Although the backpack is capable of converting to a
buggy or a mini-sub these two facilities won't in fact be of use
to you in Part 1 (you'll have to buy Part 2 to see them).
 
Your sole means of defence is your flamethrower. Ziggy chose this
weapon to combat the ring-wraiths that fly aimlessly around the
caverns. It is not possible to destroy these phenomenon but with
the flamethrower you can deflect them away. If they make contact
with you and your backpack they will draw precious energy away.

If your backpack energy drops below a certain level you will be
automatically beamed back to your capsule. Backpack repair time
will be added in to your real playing time. You can choose this
option at any stage during the game by pressing the CAPS SHIFT
and SPACE key together. There is a drawback to this facility
however, for the hyperspace jump involved in beaming back causes
a terrific shock to the body and even super-hero, Ziggy, can't
immediately bounce back into action. A recovery time will be
added in to your real playing time. You have just 12 hours to
complete this first half of your mission so you can't afford to
beam back too often.

When you are walking the flamethrower cannot be used (it is
dangerous to use it near surfaces because of flare-back!). The
fire-button or key is used to pick-up creatures and objects from
cages or cells in this mode. The backpack will easily consume
anything that is put in it but to retrieve anything from the
space-time compaction system it is necessary to input a great
deal of gravitational energy. Ziggy has only enough to retrieve
the backpack contents 5 times so it is certainly not possible to
bring out the creatures one at a time.

In the short passages you will come across brick cells, many of
which contain useful objects. These can be picked up and put in
your pocket but you can only carry 4 objects at a time. You will
find a whole variety of keys which can be used to open stalactite
gates. You should note that the colour of the keys is significant
and that there are secret chambers which can only be entered by
placing 4 keys in sequence in the cell, one after the other
(perhaps 4 keys of one type, perhaps 4 of one colour). It should
also be noted that in many cases it is a good idea to take the
key with you after using it to open a gate since it can lock
behind you and trap you in. You will also find special
transformation crystals which enable you to beam around the maze
but take care again of getting yourself trapped. Explosive can
be useful to get at objects that appear inaccessible (just make
sure you use the right amount!). Finally, you will find indicator
discs which will help you to find the location of the exit key.
You will need the exit key to leave the maze (without beaming
back) and you will find that once used to open the exit gate it
will deviously disappear to be hidden in the maze once more.

There are two means of scoring. Firstly by a percentage related
to the number of creatures you have brought out alive and the
finding of the talisman. The game is so complex that it is not
even known if 100% is possible. In the author's opinion it will
require a tremendous amount of dedication to get near it.
Secondly, the game can be played at a less esoteric level by
trying to visit as many different screens as possible in one
'life'. This may be fun while you spend time familiarising
yourself with the layout of the caverns.
On return to your capsule your backpack is unloaded and the score
is updated.  At this point it is possible to save the state of
the game to tape. When you have a creature in the backpack you
will be able to find out how it is getting on by pressing SYMBOL
SHIFT. Next time you leave the current screen the status will be
displayed. To return to the game press SYMBOL SHIFT again.
Although it was very tempting to keep the clock running we're
kind enough to stop the real time clock while you're looking at
the status. The game can also be paused at any time by pressing
ENTER and then restarted the same way.

Finally, your game will finish after 12 hours or after the
backpack contents have been retrieved 5 times.

CHEATS

SEQUELS/PREQUELS
This is the sequel to The Pyramid and Doomsday Castle.  There
were plans for Part 2 - it was advertised in the inlay card.

SCORES RECEIVED

URLs

GENERAL FACTS
The game was protected against piracy by the inclusion of a table
of 1152 two-digit hex codes, one of which had to be entered
before the game could be played.

NOTES