Rules of the Game
Entry posted by SpiceWare
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In order to finish writing Draconian, I need to figure out the Rules of the Game. Information gathered from StrategyWiki, Gaming History and by playing in MAME. Sometimes StrategyWiki differs from what I see in MAME, most likely due to how the dip switches are set.
If you spot something that's incorrect, can fill in any blank spots, or answer any questions, please do so in the comments below!
Anything in green has been implemented in Draconian.
Anything in strikeout will not be done in Draconian.
Star Fighter
Information
- At the start of a new game there's an opening tune played. After it concludes the phrase "Blast Off" is heard. When the phrase ends the Star Fighter will gradually ramp up to full speed
- shoots fore and aft simultaneously
- can have 4 shots onscreen at once
Enemy Base
Information
-
The Enemy Base is a green station comprised of
- 6 Cannons around the outside
- Core in the center
- Intact cannons can fire at player.
- Destroying all 6 cannons destroys the station.
- Station core can open/close.
- If player shoots an open core, even if partially open, the station is destroyed.
- In later levels an open core will contain & launch an E-Type missile.
- The E-Type missile will face towards the side of the station the player was on when the core opened. It will not change direction.
- Destroy all stations to advance to next level. When last station is destroyed the player's ship will freeze, all onscreen enemy & shots will disappear, and a tune will play.
- Station shots will destroy asteroids, mines, and even the various missiles - and the player earns points.
- Station shots are always slower than the player's ship at full-speed.
- Station will not shoot through itself, so it will not shoot at the player if all pods have been destroyed on the side facing the player
- Station shots are aimed at the player (as opposed to being randomly directed)
- If player collides with station, both are destroyed
Round(level) Progression
- 1 - cores are always open
- 2 - cores open/close
- 3 - cores open/close
- 4 - cores open, launch an E-Type, then close
- 5+ - ???
Note: Progression is for Difficulty = Normal, others will be different
Missiles
I-Type
(right image as Formation Leader)
- Shows up individually or in formations.
- Appears to be more aggressive than P-Type ship.
- Appears to always go towards player's ship* - can think of them as being an Interceptor.
P-Type
(right image as Formation Leader)
- Shows up individually or in formations
- Appears to fly around without regard to Star Fighter's location* - can think of them as being on Patrol.
E-Type
(right image as Formation Leader)
- Launched from stations or shows up in formations
- When launched, faster than player's ship
Information
- Missiles can pass through stations but are destroyed if they collide with an asteroid, mine, player shot, or station shot.
-
If the player moves in such a way that a missile ends up offscreen, the missile is removed from play (no points are earned). If a station's showing an E-Type missile that gets moved just offscreen, the energy field will be shown instead if the player changes direction and moves the core back onscreen.
Note: The offscreen removal does not occur for missiles in formation with an intact leader. - Missile explosions maintain the trajectory of the destroyed missile
* further testing revealed that the I-Type and P-Type are randomly assigned to both Intercept and Patrol duty. I've decided to keep the division of labor as is as the Interceptor and Patrol names jive so well with I-Type and P-Type.
Questions
- How many can attack at once during normal gameplay?
- How many can attack at once during a red-alert scenario?
Round(level) Progression
- 1 - I-Type slightly slower than player(on normal difficulty level), ??
- 2 - I-Type slightly faster than player(on normal difficulty level), ??
- 3 - I-Type speed increases, ??
- 4 - I-Type speed increases, ??
- 5+ - I-Type speed increases, ??
Formations
Information
- Enemy Formations launch from a randomly selected offscreen station. As such, if there's 1+ stations left and the player flies back & forth with all those stations onscreen then no formations will be launched.
- Formations will fly towards the player's ship.
-
Formations take on 1 of 4 arrangements
- Arrow
- Diamond
- Line
- X
- The position of the Formation Leader does not change based on direction of flight - ie: in the line formation the leader is at the top even if the formation is flying downward.
- If Formation Leader is destroyed, remaining ships of the formation will scatter in different directions.
- If all formation ships are destroyed the player earns bonus points.
Round(level) Progression
- 1 - ??
- 2 - ??
- 3 - ??
- 4 - ??
- 5+ - ??
Questions
- Do the different formation arrangements attack different?
- Do the different formation ships attack differently?
Spy Ship
Information
- Will make a number of passes at player, if it gets away a Red-Alert Scenario will be triggered. For first pass the Spy Ship starts at one side of the screen and exits another. For second pass the Spy Ship enters from side it just exited from, then exits another.
-
Number of passes is determined by the selected difficulty level:
- Kids - 4 passes before Red Alert
- Easy - 3 passes
- Normal - 2 passes
- Hard - 1 pass
- Scoring is random
Round(level) Progression
- 1 - ??
- 2 - ??
- 3 - ??
- 4 - ??
- 5+ - ??
Questions
- Are a Spy Ship & a Formation ever onscreen at same time? - YES
Red-Alert Scenario
Information
- Triggered if Spy Ship gets away.
- During Red-Alert Scenario I-Type and P-Type missiles will come onscreen from side of screen player's ship is pointing at (directly in front of ship with a random +/- offset)
- Up to 4 P/I types will attack at a time
Questions
- 4 of each (so 8 total), or 2 of each?
- Do the P-Type still patrol during a Red-Alert, or do they target the Star Fighter like the I-Type does?
- Formation can attack during Red-Alert
Speech
Information
- Blast Off! - Launch of ship (new round as well as new life)
- Alert! Alert! - Enemy missile in vicinity.
- Battle Stations! - Formation has left a station
- Spy Ship Sighted! - Spy ship in view
- Condition Red! - Red-Alert Scenario
Note: Current samples are just placeholders. We need to finish the rest of the program so we'll know how much space we'll have for them.
Questions
- Unclear on when Alert! Alert should be said.
Inert Objects
(asteroids) 
(cosmo-mine)
Information
- The player's ship, Spy Ships, and Missiles will be destroyed if they collide with an Asteroid or Cosmo-Mine.
- The debris from an Asteroid is safe to pass through.
- The debris from a Cosmo-Mine is deadly to both player and enemy missiles.
Condition
Information
There are 3 conditions:
- Green - No Enemy threats in your vicinity
- Yellow - you are near enemy base and it's firing at you
- Red - Spy Ship got away, or you've been in the sector for too long
Condition is visually indicated by the horizontal line above the score, and the ticks that make up the corners of the radar.
Scoring
Information
-
Points
-
10 Asteroid
-
20 Cosmo-mine
-
50 I-Type
100 formation leader 
-
60 P-Type
120 formation leader 
-
70 E-Type
140 formation leader 
-
200/400/800 Spy Ship
- 200 Destroy Station Cannon
- 1500 Destroy Station
- 500 Destroy all ships in I-Type formation
- 1000 Destroy all ships in P-Type formation
- 1500 Destroy all ships in E-Type formation
-
10 Asteroid
- Player earns points regardless of how object is destroyed
- Formation points and Spy Ship points are briefly displayed after the explosion finishes.
- highest score for taking out station is 2700 points (hitting all 6 pods, 6*200 + 1500)
- Bonus for no-miss clear - if arcade unit is configured for difficulty level of "auto", the player will earn bonus points at the end of each round the player does not lose a life on.
Extra Lives
to be determined
-
5
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