THE SPECTRUM GAME DATABASE THEY STOLE A MILLION (TSAM) PUBLISHER Ariolasoft AUTHOR Tigress Designs YEAR 1986 CATEGORIES Strategy-Management game with action elements CONTROLS Keys : 6=left, 7=right, 8=down, 9=up, 0=fire Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston, Protek TIPS/CHEATS Author: Aleksandar Lukic, alexlux@eunet.yu , August 1999. (prepared for and published in Michael Bruhn's DID Fanzine, No.5, see details on- http://home.worldonline.dk/~frankie/ ) TSAM looks like an management game but, on account of numerous logic/strategic elements, it overcomes that genre. Also it can't be classified as clear strategy. Considering the action elements which can be interwovened in this type of game, like controling the crew in pitstop in CRL's Formula One, TSAM is far beyond any other. The game is consisted of two parts, first one we can call "preparation stage" while second is a place where you plan and commit robbery. Players interface is realized as four directional moving through nested menus that pop out when we request them with the fire key as validation. Via keyboard we can use keys from 6 to 0, if Sinclair joystick is selected. In the game you take a role of gang boss, perspective new-commer in the world of criminal, who builts his career by successive entering in more and more risky deals. ("He, who dares wins!"- sound familiar?) The first robbery is introduction to the TSAM world, alarm, locked safe and unpredictible police-time-limit for action are the first learned obstacles. Police response time after alarm triggering is shortened after every level. Art Gallery except variety of alarm systems doesn't bring anything new, only sets very high "financial condition", i.e. first two raids must be done excellent in order to collect enough money for realisation of the third robbery. Diamond Merchant will bring financial independence for all further achievements, but besides alarm and armoured door, here you deals with patol guard and system of cameras placed in few rooms, monitored by another guard. Oh yes, Merchant is two-floor place! Yummy! High Street Bank introduces alarms with delay time, because reaching to the alarm disabling place, requires crossing over protected zones. It's excused therefore guards can't trigger alarm on their patrol route, also partialy placed throgh alarmed areas. And at the end, the crown of everybody's career is waithing for you, Narburak Museum with Pharaon's Death Mask. Wide area plus two floors, full of alarms, some on pressure with instant response, some infra-red based with small delay and new one, alarm activated by human breath! Schemes of camera's activity or guard route can't be bought because nobody dares to get out this info. You are entering almost in the "black box". The worst of all is that the guards are bullet-proof, they always check door state (close&lock/ open&unlock), and if any of your buddies is spotted, alarm centre will be contacted immediately by radio link. Police alarm response here is the fastest, 35sec (checked!). Impossible mission? In the first part, on the screen you can see the main menu and the status display. "A must" options in main menu are: Buy Plans, Hire Team and Get Fence. The use of other options are obvious to all readers (New Game, Save/Load Team, Joystick). After selecting "Buy Plans" you choose a target of your action, first read History about that place and if you want to proceed to the planing stage you have to buy building blueprint. Information folder shows up, facts about Value of Swag, Security and Alarm System are in front of you. Further information folder is avaible but, it means that boss's cash fund becomes thiner. "Hire Team" brings Personnel folder from which you'll found the ideal gang members for actual robbery. Important informations are 1st & 2nd skill, fee amount, cut of take. Wise combination of skills can reduce number of members i.e. minimize "personnel" costs. For proceeding to the second part you must have a driver in your team. In "Get Fence" you'll find the ideal pusher for swag. The wrong choice decrease gang's income. Status Display is recapitulation of all your choices (target, team, fence) and shows how much cash is left. All personnel choices can be redone until you click on the last main menu option- Plan Raid, which is proceeding to the second stage. Two phases can be recognized in the second part: first you plan the raid and then finally commit it. During planing phase, upper half of screen is building blueprint whose wealth of information depends on what you bought in Buy Plans section (marked rooms under alarm, locations of cash/ silver/..., security cameras...). In the bottom half, on left is task palette i.e. icons for giving orders to the gang members, the middle belongs to portrait of the fellow to whom you currently "talk". On the right you have small icons of all selected companions, timer for team synchronisation and the message box. In the commit phase building blueprint is swopped with action display, colourful place where objects are authenticaly drawn, not as boxes anymore. Few more words about two the most interesting on-screen elements. Task palette is "position sensitive", if you for example approach to an alarm- screwdriver (enable al.) and spanner (disable al.) are shown up, beside safe- bag (rob safe) etc. Basic commands (move, wait, delete step,...) are always present. Choosing an icon means execution of associated action, so if you click on move-icon you're ready to move controled fellow on blueprint (i.e. space). Pressing fire is way back to palette. Every action takes logical amount of time, 1step- 1second, pick lock- 12sec. if it's 1st skill, 16sec. if 2nd, 24sec. for inteligent inexpert, while square-heads usually can't perform this task. Function of message box depends are you in: moving mode, setting task mode or commit phase. Therefore in box you can read: description of immediate vicinty for controled caracter (clear space, locked door, blown case...), icon function (move, wait,...) or messages such as "Detonator D'Arcy in 1:37 found *somewhere* closed door" (oh, this means: you fail to see it in planing phase, solution- boss i.e. you can assist him via walkie-talkie or go back to planing and correct action). During planing, man can go through closed door or you can send two comrades through same door at the same time, but when the raid starts... Commit phase is specialy interesting, the boss can take two roles, as supervisor and/or to actively take part in action. By radio connection he can stop an member of team and set a new task for him. In action case, take into consideration that boss's movement control is good but not perfect, so left in plan timings a certain time for "boss's" unpreciseness. After completion of all tasks go back to your getaway car, switch to driver and drive into glory. After all this "frightening" facts, here are few, but only few tips: - Buy/read all possible information about site, make a map, analize which info materials can be dropped, it would save cash. For example, don't buy safe mechanism pattern if you have an explosive expert! Restart game and with minimal expenses proceede to planing phase. - Minimize your team, the boss can fix alarms very nice, pick lock here and there, good combination of skills is esential, blockheads can't do smart job. - Some treasures are not avaible unless you bought info about them. - Notice when smashing/ blowing up instead "gently" force opening can destroy swag. - Make camera's time schedule on 3rd raid, for example in the entrance room camera is active from 1:20 (min:sec) to 1:29, then 2:40-2:49 which means period is 1:20. - To ensure safe gang's movement also make guard's time table, in Merchant he climbs on the 1st floor at 0:21, enters ground-floor in 0:43, and in 1:27 he's up again, so period is 1:06. - Final raid looks hard at the first glance, impossible on second but it isn't. - For the end here is one of "higher technics" (pssst it's secret)! In the Art Gallery as I already mention, after raid completion amount of money left for the next raid is critical. So instead of elegant disabling of all alarms, fix only pressure one, do "everything" but pictures and then synchronize gang to consciously activate alarm for pictures (by takeing them) more-less in the same time. Run away along with siren sound but police will be late. Result? Savings on alarm circuits and more adrenaline during finish.