Introduction

Canyon is for the BBC Model B with Operating System 0.1 or 0.1 onward. It can also be played using joysticks.

You are the pilot of a small biplane, and the sole remaining active defender of the little mountain kingdom of Asdel against the invading robot tyranny of the Empire of Xar...

This colourful mind- and eye-riveting game puts you at the controls of an agile little biplane. You sweep down over river canyons thick with the powerfully armed fighters of is Electronic Highness, the Robot Emperor of Xar. You manoeuvre between the twisting walls of the canyons, trying to avoid crashing into them or the islands in your path and also avoid the Beamers, Bombers, Missile Boats and Proximity Mines. Just then you think it is safe to relax... you have to pass through the Gates of Fire; and then, battle-scarred and thinking yourself victorious, you encounter the Imperial Flagship.

If you crash, your Asdelian reincarnation allows you to pilot a second or third biplane; and, as night and day follow each other during your epic battle, the reward for your heroism is another life and another biplane.

Canyon is full of surprises, not the least of which is the one awaiting you if you win through and make your ultimate decision.

Canyon needs skill, cool judgement and quick reactions. With its many exciting skill levels and options, it is suitable for every member of the family, young and old.

Skill Levels

You are first asked to select the speed at which you wish to play. Press 1, 2, 3 or 4. You may then select the initial canyon width and number of enemies. Width level 1 is wide, level 4 is narrow. Enemies level 1 gives few enemies, 4 gives many. Note that if you select an easy option, the difficulty level will increase during play.

If you make a mistake entering skill levels, press ESCAPE to begin again.

How To Play

The three small red and yellow planes above teh title represent your three Asdelian lives. The game begins when the middle plane appears to start moving through the canyons. Use the game controls to steer it.

After a while, the Xarian attack craft start to appear. To shoot one, you must be exactly lined up with it. You may fire continuously, but if you keep missing the enemies, you will run out of ammunition temporarily and only reload after some time.

Crashed?

When you have crashed or been shot down three times, the screen clears and your score is given. If your score is in the top ten, you are invited to enter your name.

Beamers

From the second canyon, many of the Xarians carry uvaser beamers which fire sideways at you as you pass if you do not shoot them down first. When hit by a beamer, your biplane will go into a short spin from which you may recover provided you do not crash while you are in the spin. You cannot control the biplane or fire while you are spinning.

Firing Backwards

The biplane fires forwards normally, but backwards when it is flying backwards. To fire backwards, press E, R and F at the same time (or just E and R together).

Fighter Bombers

From the fourth canyon, Xarian fighter bombers appear. They are aircraft with yellow wings (or white at night) which fire back at you if you fly in line in front of them but do not shoot them first.

Missile Boats

These appear from the sixth canyon onwards. They are white (or yellow at night) and launch guided missiles which leave a red trail. The missiles always try to move towards you, but can be misled and avoided, or stopped by sinking the missile boats guiding them.

Mines

From the tenth canyon, the Xarians have left small square mines floating in the river. These are red and yellow, or blue and white at night. They have proximity fuses and explode if you fly too close to them.

Gates of Fire

From the fourteenth canyon, you will encounter the Xarians' defences, the gates of fire. These are enormous flame-throwers mounted on the sides of the canyons. The flames pulse on and off regularly, and you must pass through the centre of the gates while they are off or your plane will catch fire.

The Imperial Flagship

The flagship of its Electronic Highness, the Robot Emperor of Xar, carries a missile launcher, a forward-facing gun like a fighter bomber, and two uvaser beamers. The flagship will not be encountered before canyon 22.

Balloons

There are several groups of Asdelian partisans floating in the canyons in hot air balloons, shooting down Xarians with hand weapons. The balloons are large and circular, and come in many colours. Do not shoot at Asdelian balloons; they are friendly.

Lives

You start the game with three Asdelian lives. The number of small biplanes which appear when you start or restart play indicates the number of lives you have left. When you lose a life, you enter your next Asdelian incarnation and start again from the beginning of the canyon in which you crash, and your score is reset to the value it had then, until you run out of lives. (If you are within sight of the end of a canyon when you crash, you start again from the lake following it, and your score is not reset.)

Because of Asdelian evolution you are given one extra life, the reward for your heroism, each time night falls or day breaks. Night falls (the background turns black) as you enter canyons 4, 12 and 20; and day breaks (the background turns back to blue) as you enter canyons 8, 16 and 24.

The Canyons

There are twenty-four canyons between Asdel and Xar. Each is slightly longer and narrower than the one before, and the islands become wider. In addition, the number of enemies tends to increase the closer you get to Xar, and the fighter bombers become quicker in firing back and the missiles faster. If you start at a low speed, your speed level will automatically be increased to a minimum speed 2 as you enter canyon 10, to speed 3 as you enter canyon 14, and to speed 4 as you enter canyon 18. Between each canyon and the next is a wide lake.

Scores

You may look at the scores at any time by pressing SHIFT. You will be told which canyon you are in, how many lives you have left (including your current one), your score, how many Xarians you have shot down, and how many you have let through. You should press RETURN to restart play. This facility is not available just after starting or restarting play, or for a short period in the middle of each lake.

The scoring is as follows:

Note that mines and gates of fire do not count towards the number of enemies shot down or the number let through.

Winning

To win the game, you must pass successfully through all twenty-four canyons, and shoot down more than two out of every three Xarians you encounter. Your score, as such, does not count towards winning. If you do not shoot down enough Xarians, you will lose. When you arrive in Xar, the secret message will be revealed, and you must make your final decision!

Game Controls

Arrow Left - Left, Arrow Right - Right, E - Fire
R - Move in reverse (backwards), F - Move fast
SHIFT/RETURN - Pause On/Off (Will Display Scores until restarted)
CTRL/TAB - Sound Off/On
ESCAPE - Restart

Special Options

Speed. Entering 0 for the skill level 'speed' gives a special fast game with crudely drawn canyons, extra enemies, and no islands. The game is played in the usual way; it is possible to win it, and the score counts in the high score table. Speed level zero overrides all selections for 'width' and 'enemies'.

Width. Entering 0 for the skill level 'width' gives a game without canyons or islands. This game is also fast, and provides even more enemies of all types. There is no scoring in this game; no scores may be displayed or entered into the high score table; nor may the game be won, since it lasts indefinitely. Width level zero overrides all selections for 'speed' or 'enemies' except speed level zero.

Enemies. Entering 0 for the skill level "enemies" gives a game without enemies. This option is useful for beginners and young children. The game is played in the normal way (the score counts) but cannot be won since there are no Xarians to shoot down.

Joysticks. If joysticks are connected to the computer, pressing one of the fire buttons during a game will transfer control to joystick 1. Keyboard control may be re-established at any time by pressing the E key firmly. The game is more difficult usingj joystick control.

Autoplay

If no key is pressed for half a minute when one of the information pages is displayed, the computer will start to play by itself. (It cheats, of course!) Press any key to restart the game.

Display

Canyon is displayed for display on a colour TV or monitor. If using a TV, the best appearance is obtained by adjusting the TV controls to make the blue background quite dark. The game may be played on a black and white TV, but the difference between day and night may not be apparent.

Hints For Advanced Players

Also known as How To Win Without Cheating. You will find that you not always crash when your wings clip the edges of the canyon or an island, particularly if you are moving away from the canyon wall towards open space. But if you get into the habit of island-hopping - flying over the edges of the islands - you will crash eventually.

The Xarian beamers should be shot from in front if possible. The key combinations R and F with one arrow key are useful for flying sideways; this can be the only way to shoot beamers hiding behind islands or lurking in long diagonal canyons. If you cannot avoid being hit by the beam, at least make sure you have open space ahead for the spin. Advanced players "jump the beam" by pressing F just before reaching the beamer, which does not then detect the biplane or fire. It may then be shot from behind. If you do get beamed and there is canyon, island, or Xarian just ahead at the end of the spin, try to come out of the spin with your finger on the R key.

It is also possible to "jump" small islands, promontories of the canyon wall, the gates of fire and even awkwardly placed Xarians if necessary, by the same method. Press F just before reaching the obstruction to jump over it.

The debris left after shooting a Xarian is harmless. You can fly through it, but only every second shot will pass through it. If you wish to shoot through debris, keep your finger on the E key for two successive shots.

It is frequently possible to shoot over islands or parts of the canyon, particularly at speed 4. Again, keep your finger on the key for two successive shots; if this does not work, you will not be able to shoot over the canyon or island.

Fighter bombers can shoot over islands, canyon, or other Xarians to reach you even when you cannot reach them. If in doubt, allow a fighter bomber to go through, or shoot it from behind. Watch out for bombers that come on to the screen already lined up with you.

When avoiding missiles, move away from the missile sideways just before it would otherwise reach you, and then use fast forward (F) to get past it. The boat can always be shot from behind. Putting part of the canyon or an island between you and the missile can be counterproductive, since the boat immediately launches a second missile if the first hits the canyon.

If attempting to sink the missile boat, it can be very useful to fly backwards; this gives more time to get lined up with the boat.

Mines can be disabled by shooting at them, but disabling them is difficult. Again, keep your finger on the E key for two successive shots to be sure of hitting the mine. If in doubt, skirt round the mine, keeping always to one side; you can pass very close to them provided you do not cross in front of them or behind them. If you wish to shoot a mine from behind, use the R and F keys for two successive shots.

Since the gates of fire pulse regularly, there are positions on the screen that are 'safe' and others that are 'unsafe', for passing through them. Once you have discovered the best of the safe positions, the gates of fire will never be a problem to you again. If you are caught in the wrong position, it is possible to "jump" the flames.

The Imperial Flagship is best shot down. But if you do lose a life to it, it does not reappear in that game.

The Final Question

Every game of Canyon is different. You cannot predict which way a canyon will turn next, nor where the next enemy will appear. And when you do finally get to Xar and win the game, you just want to start all over again to find out what would have happened if you had answered 'no' instead of 'yes' or 'yes' instead of 'no' to the final question.

To create a permanent record of your own best high scores, press BREAK and then type *SAVE canyon2 900 +2500 E00. Use a fresh tape. The recorded program will contain the high score table at the time you pressed BREAK. This option is not available for machines with the disc operating systmem.

Loading

CHAIN"" (RETURN)