One Man and His Droid II, the sequel to the
1985 best selling One Man and His Droid, is coming to a computer near
you .............not soon, but right now. This game was designed for
the 128K Spectrum (not 48K), so why not also download the excellent
ZX32 Spectrum emulator to play it. Until 5 August 2001 this almost
complete version of the 1991 game has only been seen by half a dozen
publishers. "For fans of the original, this free unpublished
sequel is an absolute must and nostalgia-fest" (Clive
Brooker 5 August 2001, slightly biased comment)
Click on image to play online from The World
of Spectrum
Click on image to play online from The World
of Spectrum
It was only recently that I
managed to track down a sample tape copy that I sent to publishers
(unsuccessfully) back in April 1991, so it's around 10 years since I
last looked at this game. Considering that my last published game,
War Cars Construction Set, was released in 1987, I am at a bit of a
loss to explain what computer programming I did in 1988 - 1989, as
development of OMAHD II did not begin until 1990. Come to think about
it, I did write a Spectrum version of a cutting optimisation program (see
Autolaunch home for PC version) and wrote some production
software (for louvres) on a borrowed PC.
By 1991, unknown to me, software
for the Sinclair Spectrum was no longer selling, as Commodore Amiga's
and Atari ST's, as well as game consoles, had pretty much completed
their take over. My feedback from what then had become, Virgin
Mastertronic, was that the game would have to be quite exceptional,
then they would convert it to the other formats, but certainly would
not release it on the Spectrum. For mass market, the machine was all
but dead. A sad day for what had been a hugely successful computer in
its time, though of course, the computer lives on today on all those
(and this) retro computer sites.
With a view to staying ahead of
the game, I concluded that the IBM PC would become the dominating
format of the future and invested in my first PC, an Amstrad 286,
though, as it turned out, I would never write another game.
Back now, to 1990 and my decision to write
another game. With ideas coming thin and slow, or to be more precise.
none, I thought it would be good to redo the original OMAHD. This
time around I could address some of the deficiencies with it. Most of
the original mazes had a similar look and it could be difficult to
work out where you or the Ramboids actually were.
Hey presto, add a
small scale scrolling full maze map and lots more graphics. Also
add background graphics, just to brighten things up. For good
measure, all 128K Spectrums had a music chip, so create and add some
in game music + title & demo tracks.
Scenario
You have flown to the planet
Andromadous with your Droid to capture Ramboids, a male form of alien
sheep. They only have an active life of twenty minutes, so to
teleport them back to Earth in a suitable form you will have to move
fast. The top right hand status panel shows a large copy of the the
correct Ramboid to be coerced into the teleport receptor. Four or
more Ramboids teleported in the CORRECT ORDER will allow you to move
to the next cavern, after the sixth sought Ramboid has been
teleported. Beware of the white female mutant Ramboids, you really
want to leave these in their chamber, they only succeed
in sapping your energy should you teleport them.
Being a bit stupid, the Ramboids
only move in a certain pattern, either up right bump, down left bump,
or vice versa. However, whilst they maintain this pattern, they will
naturally drop down any chutes before climbing again in their
predetermined direction preference. In OMAHD II this allows the
Ramboids to climb over the Droid - getting a little too playful these
Ramboids. It's a good thing that the Droid has up to 5 Rocks that can
be placed, to coerce the over playful Ramboids into the teleport
receptor. The hi tech Droid also has another trick up his sleeve, by
changing to follow mode to discover where the current Ramboid to
find, is hiding.
Gameplay
The concept of the game is quite
simple, coerce at least four of the six male Ramboids into the
teleport receptor and go to the next chamber after the sixth is
installed. (Avoid the white Ramboids, they don't count)
With a simple concept, these
Ramboids can be a touch unruly in going where you don't want them to.
Hints and tips explains in more detail how they react and strategies
to adopt to be a successful player and the game even has a Chamber
Designer. (Yes in-built in OMAHD II is a maze creator from scratch,
or the option to edit the existing maze, more of this later.)
PC Keyboard Controls explains
the precise keys to use. The game itself uses only the four direction
keys and a fire button throughout.
The main menu options which
are self explanatory are:-
START GAME
Yes, here we start the game
CHANGE CURRENT CHAMBER
Use password to change the
current Chamber
EDIT CURRENT CHAMBER
Delete objects backwards from
the last installed, then reposition the start positions of the
Ramboids and Droid
REDO CURRENT CHAMBER
Create a new chamber from
scratch. A 10 second countdown first, allowing the option to fire to
abort. Once this option is chosen, the original maze is deleted,
ready for your own new masterpiece.
SAVE ALL CHAMBERS
Sorry, this part was never programmed
LOAD ALL CHAMBERS
Sorry, this part was never programmed
128K MUSIC ON/OFF
Music toggle switch
Use the up and down direction
controls then press fire to select the option that you want.
Options within the game
During the game this is the
status game panel.
The energy decreases as the game
progresses and it is wise to change the Droid's mode to FALL, which
gives a little more time. Correctly teleporting Ramboids adds a
little energy, whereas the opposite is unfortunately true for wrong ones.
Up to five blocking rocks the
same size as the Droid can be placed anywhere in the maze. It it wise
to move in the direction you wish to move in after PUT ROCK, as it
also becomes an obstacle for the Droid as well. To the right of the
status panel is a full scale map of the entire maze with red showing
the clear movement areas. Centre of the panel is the chamber number
(1-10) and its password (BEGINS in this example). Pressing fire
whilst playing the game brings up the in game menu options which are
mostly self explanatory. Use the up or down direction keys then press
fire on the selected flashing option.
The in game menu options,
press fire to access menu
PAUSE
Press fire to return to game
FLY
The Droid stays in the air and
uses a little more energy
FALL
The Droid naturally falls unless
the up direction is used. Preferred Mode
PUT ROCK
Press fire here, then move in
desired direction to leave rock behind
RUB ROCK
Press fire here to erase all
rocks and restore the maze
SEE RAMS
Press fire here to see a
snapshot where each of the Ramboids are
FOLLOW
Press fire here and the Droid is
replaced by the current Ramboid to teleport. When in this mode, press
fire again to take control of the Droid. This mode is ideal to
establishing where exactly the current correct Ramboid is and learn
his movement pattern.
RESTART
Press fire here to reset the
current Chamber. This is the option to choose if 3 Male Ramboids are
put in the wrong order, as a least 4 are needed to progress to the
next level.
SCORES
Press fire here for a brief look
at the high scores
QUIT
Press fire here to abort the
game and return to the main menu
Use the up and down direction
controls then press fire to select the option that you want.
The Ramboid Status Panel
The right hand status panel initially shows a
large version of the correct Ramboid to teleport, above a Chamber
statue. As Ramboids are teleported, their images fill in
over the area with the statue (one is shown in this example). Ramboids
teleported in the correct order
flash, so that you always know how many more are needed to progress
to the next level. Remember, At least four of the six male Ramboids
must be correct to progress to the next level. (All six correct gives
a whopping energy boost of over 50% a full tank!) Please also
remember that the white female Ramboids do not count and only serve
to make life a little more difficult and detract energy if they are
teleported. It is much better to leave them behind. (Before being
accused of being sexist, this is all just a little bit of fun that
occurred to me whilst writing these notes.)
Using the in-built maze
designer and editor
One Man and His
Droid II includes an in-built maze and scenery designer. Earlier
games that I developed needed manual graph paper and co-ordinates to
create the different mazes for the screens. This was all rather
tedious and time consuming. It was better to create some programming
that would simplify the task and I ended up leaving it in the game.
Had I found a publisher for the game, there would have been a
restriction on being able to modify the current level, but as it
stands there are no restrictions.
There are two options for the maze designer,
either delete the existing maze and start from scratch or edit the
existing maze. Here is a brief overview of the maze design screen
which explains the various elements.
The maze design screen located in the
teleport area for the first maze
Brief overview of the screen elements
There are 3 operational areas to this screen.
Firstly, top left shows the visual current location plus the boxed
grid areas that have not had any graphics inserted. The lettered grid
helps you find your way around a blank design. The top right hand
column shows the remaining memory bytes that can be used for new
objects The status of the current object, ie. is it solid (Ramboids
cannot pass it) or is scenery, as vertical leaves (Ramboids and Droid
ignore them). Finally, this column shows the current object that will
be inserted, in this example, it is the statue base. The bottom
horizontal third of the screen gives the menu options for the maze design.
Operational menu options
Details
INSERT OBJECT
Pressing Fire when the selected (flashing) menu option
is Insert Object, places the current object centre screen and gives
an additional line of text advising, PRESS FIRE TO INSERT OBJECT.
Before doing this, the movement cursors allow you to scroll
the location of the insert position, to get the item exactly where
you would like it. To demonstrate this point, this example will
cursor down to under the platform, then fire will be pressed.
We are now ready to insert the object, but we
do have a few more choices. Simply pressing fire, will insert the
single object and return you to the main menu for the design module.
However, there are also two further options. Copying right and down
allows the single object to be repeated, all in one easy step. This
mode is most beneficial with objects suitable for creating long
platforms. The final option to abort insert, does just that.
In this example, the cursor right arrow was
tapped three times. By using cursor right and cursor down, a single
object can be repeated as many times as you like, but there is one
caveat. If you cursor down, such that a part of an object would be
inserted within the bottom cyan and green bricks, the insertion is
aborted and you return to the main menu. This is a fail safe to
prevent insertion occurring outside of the permitted memory area.
CHANGE OBJECT
Choosing CHANGE OBJECT from the design menu,
replaces the bottom text menu with a series of graphics that can be inserted.
Using the left and right cursors, moves the
current selection that is displayed. This is shown at the extreme
bottom left and at the bottom of the right hand status panel.
For the second example shown, the left cursor
arrow was tapped three times making, the large multi colour plant the
current object.
Notice how the status of the object is referred
to as a scene object (scenery, Ramboids and Droid can pass through it).
When the correct graphic is shown in both
locations, press fire to return to the main design menu.
MOVE AND VIEW
Choosing this option allows you to scroll the
maze to another viewpoint. Press fire to return to the main design menu.
MOVE AND TEST
This option is similar to move and view, but
the Droid is now centre screen.
In this example, the Droid is buried in a solid
object which will prevent movement left, right, or down. Thankfully,
we can move up, then out.
This mode is very useful to test running the
Droid around the maze to make sure that there are no unintended restrictions.
Press fire to return to the design menu.
DELETE OBJECT
This option removes the last object (or
multiple repeated object) that was inserted. It will progressively
step backwards through all the objects that have been inserted.
FINISH & EXIT
Finish and exit does just that, but first you will notice that one
of the Ramboids is centre screen and the cursor arrows move the maze.
It is now the time to choose the game start positions of the Ramboids
and the Droid.
Simply move the Ramboids then press fire. The six Male Ramboids
are installed first, followed by the five female Ramboids and lastly,
the Droid itself.
DESIGN TIPS
E (erase character),
statue base & Ramboid Chute
From the main game menu, EDIT CURRENT CHAMBER,
allows you to amend the current maze and set the start locations for
the Ramboids and Droid.
From the main game menu, REDO CURRENT Chamber,
erases the current maze ready for your new masterpiece.
If you need to remove an object placed many
insertions ago, one option is to delete backwards all the way.
However, it is simpler to lay a new graphic over the top of the
problem area. Choose the tiny E (erase) character to remove unwanted
bits. The E character will not be displayed during the game.
The statue base is handy as
a Ramboid
blocker. On their own, they cannot
climb over it, unless they interact with themselves or the Droid.
Only Ramboids can travel down Ramboid chutes.
Indeed they will always drop down a Ramboid chute,
regardless of their direction mode.
PC
Keyboard Controls
By default, One Man and His
Droid II tests to see if a Kempston joystick is attached. If it is
then whatever keys your emulator uses for a Kempston
joystick are the ones to use. For example, within the Emulator ZX32,
the PC INSERT key represents fire, with the cursor arrows for
movement. JX-Speccy, the on-line Java emulator is similar, though
uses the Tab key to represent fire.
However, if the emulator does
not recognise a Kempston joystick, then both of the two following
strategies are adopted.
Sinclair joystick emulation:-
using the keys 6 - 0
Keyboard controls if a
Kempston joystick is not detected
LEFT
X,V,N
RIGHT
C,B,M
UP
Q,W,E,R,T,Y,U,I,O,P
DOWN
A,S,D,F,G,H,J,K,L
FIRE
1,2,3,4,5
Important Note. If your emulator
recognises a Kempston joystick, both the Sinclair option and the
standard keyboard controls are disabled. Using these programming
strategies avoided the need to offer a choice of control method.
Hints Tips
& Cheats
Understanding the movement logic and strategy
of the Ramboids is the key to mastering One man and His Droid II.
However, just before we approach this subject, here is a way to make
up for the missing programming code that would have dealt with
loading and saving the mazes and it is so easy. All you need is an
emulator that can save the entire 128K memory and
ZX-32. linked from this sitecan
do just that, with the file extension .Z80 Simply redesign your
mazes, go back to the main menu and from ZX32, save as filename.Z80.
When you reload the Z80 snapshot, the program will start from the
point where it was originally saved. Please remember that this
publishers almost complete version of the 1991 game, only has the
first 3 mazes designed, so, for levels 4-10 its up to you! Also
remember to run your emulator as a 128K (or higher) Spectrum. The
program will crash if run in a 48K emulation.
Ramboids movement strategy
Each Ramboid will move in one of two set
patterns, either:-
Left and Down - Stop - Right and Up
or:-
Left and Up - Stop - Right and Down
However, there are loads of caveats to this,
please note below!
A Ramboid with a down bias,
will nonetheless
climb up, if his horizontal direction would create a Stop AND there
is a platform above that he can climb to. This platform could also be
another Ramboid or the Droid
itself. Sometimes, the Ramboids will congregate at a Statue Base
(Ramboids usually Stop and reverse
here) interact with each other and one jumps over. Because of this
additional rule, A DOWN Ramboid can still climb an upward step or
even over the Droid. To use the Droid to force a Stop (and hence,
reverse), you must dance up with him until you both reach a ceiling,
then he is out of options and a Stop - Reverse is forced. (Under
these conditions the Down element is not allowed, or you would both
be dancing up and down all day!)
A Ramboid with an up bias,
will travel horizontally but always
seeking a platform above. This platform also includes other Ramboids
and the Droid itself. A reverse will be forced when horizontal travel
is not possible and there is no platform or Ramboid above. IE the
condition is a STOP so reverse to a down bias and opposite horizontal direction.
