             The Unusual Case of Doctor Strange
             ----------------------------------

This game was developed for the Amiga Format Blitz Basic 2
competition.

                           ---**---

            Sometime near the end of the last century . . .

Brilliant but misguided Doctor Victor Strange and his well-meaning but
dimwitted hunchback assistant Igor have just perfected their most
ambitious creation yet... a machine which unlocks the secret of evolution!

But Igor's curiosity gets the better of him, and he foolishly activates
the machine, unleashing a flood of terrible, ever-evolving terrors into
the Doctor's Castle.

The Doctor destroys the machine as quickly as he can, but the threat
of the creatures roaming his castle is one only he can deal with...

                           ---**---

                       Getting Started

From Floppy Disk:  1. Turn off your Amiga.
                   2. Insert the game disk in the internal drive.
                   3. Turn on the computer.
                   4. The game will load and run automatically.

To Install on Hard Disk:
                   1. Boot your Amiga from Hard Disk.
                   2. Insert game disk in any drive.
                   3. Double-click "DoctorStrange" disk icon
                   4. Drag "DoctorStrange" drawer to where you want
                      the game on the Hard Disk.
                   5. To play, double-click the Doctor icon in
                      the DoctorStrange drawer on the Hard Disk.


                           ---**---

                       Troubleshooting

If the game fails to run properly then try switching off all attached
devices - e.g. external drives.

Users with Hard Disks should try running the game from floppy and
switching off any active partitions.


                           ---**---

Once Loaded, the game will cycle through its cartoon opening screens.

Press fire to start.

The Doc, armed only with a pickaxe, must destroy the creatures he finds in
each and every section of his castle. He travels between sections in
his lift - you will see him arrive at the beginning of each screen.

To kill the creatures, you must control the Doc with the joystick.
Pushing the stick left and right will move him in the corresponding
direction along the castle's platforms.

If the Doc is near or on a ladder, pushing the stick up and down moves
him up and down (obviously).

Pressing the joystick button will cause the Doc to swing his axe in
the direction he is facing, providing he's not climbing a ladder. Hitting
certain platform blocks with the axe causes them to crumble after a
few blows - you will have to experiment to find which blocks are
affected in this way.

If a marauding creature should happen to fall into one of Doc's
holes, quickly run to it and bash it over the head with the axe.

Depending on the strength of the creature, after a few blows it
will fall through the hole.

If you are too slow, the creature will lift itself from the hole
and metamorphose to the next stage in its evolution. The more
advanced a creature is, the more intelligent and dangerous it becomes.

However, if you bash it through the hole, it will fall to the platform
below. If it falls far enough - depending on its evolutionary stage -
it will be completely destroyed. But if it falls a distance which it
can survive, it will de-evolve a number of stages corresponding to
how far it fell.

                         ---**---

                       THE CREATURES

Whatever happens, the Doc must avoid physical contact with the
creatures. By their nature, they are dangerously charged with
electricity, such that touching them would prove fatal.


  Evolution Stage One: The Rolling Egg.
                       This is the most primitive stage and the least
                       intelligent. It lacks any sensory equipment,
                       and therefore moves in a very erratic way. It
                       should be quite easy to kill.

  Evolution Stage Two: The Hopper.
                       By this stage, antenna have appeared on the
                       creature's head, and it can sense where the
                       Doctor is.

  Evolution Stage Three: The Chomper.
                       Now the creature has eyes and a mouth and
                       the beginnings of intelligence. The Doctor
                       believes it will attempt to chase him, but
                       it may have the brains to avoid his holes.

  Evolution Stage Four: The Spider.
                       The Doc has little knowledge of this final
                       stage; he theorises it may even have the
                       intelligence to help other creatures...


The Doc has three lives with which to dispel these creatures, although
extra lives are awarded every 100,000 points. When he loses a life, he
returns to his lift, and carries on.

There is also a time-limit on each section- if the Doc exceeds this, he
will also lose a life. The panel at the bottom of the screen will begin
to flash should you start to run out of time...


                       ---**---

                       OBJECTS

When killed, the creatures will occasionally drop objects which can be
collected by the Doc - if he gets to them quick enough!

  Mechanical Parts: These award bonus points.
  Picture of Doc:   Extra Life.
  Shield:           Temporary invincibility.
  Green Formula:    When collected, this will affect any creature not
                    trapped in a hole, de-evolving them by one stage.
                    Any creature at Stage One when the potion goes off
                    will be destroyed.
  Spinning Coin:    At the end of each section ( every three screens )
                    a bonus is awarded for the Doc's performance. The
                    coins multiply this bonus when collected.
  Clock:            Extra time for level.


                       ---**---

                     HINTS for PLAY

When the Doc arrives on a level, he has a few seconds of invincibilty.
This is shown by the Doc flickering.

Lining up several holes, then bashing a monster through the highest one,
will cause the creature to fall through every hole until it hits a solid
surface. Bigger creatures can be quickly killed this way.

The further a creature is dropped, the better the reward for the Doc.

Chain reactions can be set up by dropping one monster on one
or more others. The creatures hit by the falling monster will be killed
or de-evolved depending on the size of the falling one.

Finally, try dropping a creature on another trapped in a hole below...





