TTTX

A Game by Donsoft Entertainment for the Atari VCS 2600 (v1.2.10)

GAME PLAY

Your life threatening goal is to wipe out waves of enemy thanks, using cunning and reflex to find them when nearby, aim and shoot for the kill. You can roll and hide your tank behind the ruins, but the enemy tanks will get on you as soon they make enough targeting. Fortunately, those ruins can absorb the enemies' projectiles. Unfortunately, the same applies to your own... So, be advised! Find out best spots to reload and activate sensors for incoming foes.

Your tank model TTTx is very sturdy, made of topnotch layered hard steel, but it is not indestructible... Each blast it takes reduces your life expectancy for good. After taking too much damage, the whole thing collapses on itself, cooking everyone inside, you and your hurted pals included.

The game ends when you die. You will see it in bright big letters over your roasted remains. Don't feel bad about it... Bring some enemy columns to this sandy tank cemetery with you!

NOTE: How to avoid self-destructive goofy moves and do a better commander job?

USING THE CONTROLLER

You can move the TTTx left or right, and shoot in the same direction the tank is facing. You have plenty of ammo, but the reload procedure is... how can I say... Cumbersome. You have to pick-up a "fresh" round, place it in the breech, wait for the system to be ready and fire. If you miss, (don't) worry cause you have to do it again. To (re)load, push the controller down, wait for the process to finish and proudly see the 0 counter marker become 1, signaling you can fire. Now, just press this big red button in your hand's reach. Pow! A hit! Pull down the control to reload, wait, roll, hide, fire, reload, again, go, go, stop, check it out for newer foes, and... Wait! I almost forgot! Your tank has state of the art proximity sensors you can use to check on enemy mobility and attack directions. To do so, push the control up: within four hundred meters close, the enemy will flash, revealing itself in the darkness. Use this information to prepare your trap!

CONSOLE CONTROLS

GAME SELECT SWITCH

Pressing the GAME SELECT switch to select a game variation will do nothing. It's not a game! It's a tank battle in the desert!

GAME RESET SWITCH

Press the GAME RESET switch to restart the battle. Each time GAME RESET is pressed, the world starts over (your current score is lost) and a new set of ruins will surround your vehicle. Each scorched landscape has its own aspects. Some are more open and others are more closed. Each new battle will make you think strategically about the differences between them.

DIFFICULTY SWITCHES

The game is already difficult, but you can change the left difficult switch to speed up (or slow down) the rounds (re)loading process. Nice! A challenge!

TV TYPE SWITCH

I do not know anything about it... Black and White Televisions? Nah...

SCORING

Each enemy tank destroyed is another mark you can make on the barrel of your TTTx, to brag about when homecoming. To help you with the accountability, just check the numbers below the (re)loading progress bar info-tech. Up! Up! U-ha!

PENALTY

If enemy slugs make their way to the hull of the TTTx, the tank armor is deprecated. AP or HEAT, whatever, it will make a flaming hole as big as your new TV screen. In the third strike, it is over... The tank model TTTx will blow up so fast that you will not feel a thing... Warning so, always check out the damage control system quads at the lower right of yous screen.

HELPFUL HINTS

This game manual provides the basic information you'll need to know how to roll, aim, hide, fire, (re)load and seek targets. So, keep the tracks clear, fingers ready, and expect heavy incoming traffic of projectiles, both ways!  The following are just a few hints to help you make your day a little longer, in the war sands beyond. As you play TTTx, you'll make more interesting battle plans, over and over.

  • Use the ruins as safe zones. But do not stay there forever, commander. Since tanks can approach both sides, if they come too close they can pull a 75mm High Explosive Anti-Tank in your tank buttocks.
  • Without rolling the enemy will not come easy, but when they come, they will come fast and angry. Repositioning is the best practice against moving hunters. Be the hunter yourself! Graaaawl!
  • Do not, I repeat, do not forget to activate the proximity sensors! It's the best way to set traps on near bandits, before they spot you for game.
  • If you miss, they don't... Be wise where to move after a failed assault.
  • Learn how to roll and (re)load at the same time. It's a fine art, ladies and gentlemen!
  • What is TTTx? The acronym stands for "The 'T' Tank x-restrained". There... Now you know!
    -But silence is golden!-

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