A CCC EEEEE SSSS W W IIIII L DDDD IIIII IIIII A A C C E S W W I L D DD I I AAAAA C EEE SSS W W W I L D D I I A A C C E S W W W I L D DD I I A A CCC EEEEE SSSS WWWWW IIIII LLLLL DDDD IIIII IIIII Aces Wild II Version 1.0 by Mbeanis N. Alzin mbeanis@mindless.com Aces Wild II is the second of a series of high quality levels for Sqrxz for the TI-85 Calculator. Aces Wild I consists of four levels. It was created on July 6, 1998, and is entirely copyrighted, including this text file. BRIEF OVERVIEW -------------- These are four levels for the experienced player. Although they are hard, ample extra lives have been added so that the player should not very often encounter a Game Over message. The longest and hardest of these levels is level four. Aces Wild II contains no hidden spikes, no necessary enclosed jumps, no necessary rainbow jumps, and no game traps (this means that Sqrxz is never stuck in a place where the game must be restarted). I find these tricks to be evidence of a lack of creativity in level design. LEVEL ONE --------- The Exposition. Sqrxz recieves one extra life upon descent into this new world, with the chance of getting another by a difficult jumping manoeuver. Sqrxz may die repeatedly on the spikes in an attempt to bolster his extra life count at this point. Then be sure that both of the hedgehogs have gone off to the right before directing Sqrxz down to the floor. After this, jump over the three green men, then jump on them as they run to the right. Quickly run back out of the spike tunnel and the let the last two grren men run under Sqrxz, and finally run past the three green men before they rise. The rest of this level is easy enough. Two notes: When the first lever is in sight, Sqrxz must jump out and back onto the tile so that the bat will appear, enabling Sqrxz to reach the lever safely. Similarly, when the exit door is in sight, Sqrxz must jump very far toward the spikes and back so that the blob will appear and fall down to infinity before Sqrxz lands just in front of him. LEVEL TWO --------- Compartments. Upon starting, Sqrxz must bounce off the first green man he lands on, then jump off the back of the second green man under foot, followed by a jump off of the blob. If sqrxz doesn't bounce first, then he lands on the hedgehog, if he bouces twice, then the hedgehog lands on him. Then Sqrxz can take two extra lives, or continue. The upper lever is mandatory, the lower lever is optional, but the level can be completed beginning at either point, and to the best of my knowledge, neither seems easier. Sqrxz then avoids a bat, three green men, a few spikes and he comes to a third lever. This marks one of the hardest parts of Aces Wild II. I won't discuss how to complete this part from a far approach, but once the player has died and restarted atop the wall. Sqrxz must wait for the bats to approach a little bit. Then he must walk off and land squarely on the last bat, then he jumps off of the third green man, then the first in line, then the last in line, and finally out in front of and onto the first bat. This should put Sqrxz atop the wall of bridge tiles. Sqrxz must cause all these tiles to disappear, so that the green men may follow him to the wall on the next screen. Be sure that Sqrxz jumps across all these bridge tiles that line the bottom, because a gap in the bridge of more than one tile will prevent the green men from following Sqrxz, and he requires the green men in order that he may jump up high to reach the gap in the far wall. Then run through the wasted space, and the last two screens of the level are easy enough. LEVEL THREE ----------- Par Two. This is an easy level. Anyone who has struggled with the level "Hard Metal Edge" will have no difficulty in getting past the first set of spikes. Then the blob must be used to reach the upper level, and a jump off of a bat will bring Sqrxz to a simple pit. Two green men are visible running back and forth. Sqrxz must jump off one of them in the first compartment, the other in the second compartment, and jump twice before the green men return to third compartment. This is acheived by jumping at the farthest bridge tile and the bridge tile just after the last spikes, thereby leaving no gap of two spaces for the green men to fall through. A lever is found. traverse the treacherous bridge sequence, passing another switch along the way, dying a few times, and ultimately reaching the exit. LEVEL FOUR ---------- I can't believe how long it is! The first screen is a strategy and timing exercise. Be careful with the jump over the spikes off the bats- it will be very frustrating the first few times. But somehow there is a swith there with an extra life (sort of). Advanced players will have no trouble with the diagonal brick patterns, the spikes under the four extra lives, or round bat pit. once the third lever is reached, Sqrxz may die a few times trying to cross the broken bridge, but have faith, it is possible. Then manoeuver past the enemies and up to the fourth switch. Stand as far to the right on the precipice as possible, and take a leap of faith to the platform below. Then climb the portculises, but be sure to leave a path for return, release the green man above, and return to the lower ground, where Sqrxz uses the green man for a high jump up the far wall. Hit the switch, grab the extra man, and brace yourself for another difficult part. jump to the bridge, past the bats at first, and onto the first solid tile. Allow as many bats to pass you going right as possible, then jump across them and onto safety. Work thorugh both portculises and down to the next switch. One death at least is probably necessary. This part may be completed by first closing the portculis, then when the bats approach, jump three times against the wall on the left, landing on the first, third, and fifth bats sequentially. Then jump on the fourth bat he passes to the right, jump hitting the tile above, and off the last remaining bat. Then take the lower passage. Sqrxz must die once here in flipping the switch. A couple simple tricks later, Sqrxz will find himself at the first sign of earth terrain in the whole world. Those who know the secret can get the extra lives and bypass an encounter with the hedgehog. Finally comes a somewhat tricky part with two green men and lots of spikes, followed by a thank you message amidst a few spikes. That's all. NOTES ----- The reason I chose the name Aces Wild is on an alphabetical basis, no other reason, so don't ask. The program takes up about 1300 bytes, so it's pretty small. Thank you for playing, and feel free to distribute the zip file, un- modified, and with this text file. Thanks to Jimmy Mardell for adapting this wonderful game for the TI-85. Also feel free to adapt this world and Aces Wild (the first one) to TI-86 format, and rezip it with this text file. Sorry the text file is so long. UPCOMING RELEASES ----------------- Aces Wild III is already in the works, and anybody who gives me any kind of feedback by email (mbeanis@mindless.com) will recieve by email the early version of Aces Wild III, before it is posted anywhere else. I use Jimmy Mardell's level editor for DOS which was included with the Sqrxz zip file. (C) 1998 Mbeanis N. Alzin