Miner 2049er FAQ/Walkthrough (old Apple game) Version 1.0.0 by Andrew Schultz(schultza@earthlink.net) This FAQ is copyright Andrew Schultz 2000. Please do not reproduce without my consent. This FAQ was produced as part of my effort to provide documentation on solving Apple games, and it seems this game sorely needed it--everyone who remembers this remembers first how impossible it seemed. If you ask permission(please refer to me by name) I will probably allow you to use it. Miner 2049er is copyright Micro Fun[puns on this are kinda easy], Mike Livesay, and Bill Hogue, 1982. This FAQ is not associated with these entities in any way. **AD SPACE** My home page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762 My Apple games page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/games/games.htm My prospective (bad pun here, I know) Miner 2049er HTML walkthrough page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/2049er/miner.htm which may not be as updated as this. It's largely a cut-and-paste onto Netscape Composer from this document, but it has graphics. ********************************** INTRODUCTION CONTROLS HURRAH FOR EMULATORS! HOW YOU GET POINTS WALKTHROUGH BY LEVEL GENERAL TIPS ODDITIES/CHEATS ********************************** INTRODUCTION I decided to write this game because it was virtually impossible to solve with three guys and although it was probably too challenging for casual fun, it got a hold of me, and I'd read/heard that other people found it interesting too. As I couldn't find any Miner 2049er FAQs I decided to give it a whirl. The basic plot is as follows: You control Bounty Bob, who must cover all the horizontally striped platforms in an area(they become solid when you do) and avoid monsters unless you have just eaten an apple(sort of like a power up pill in PacMan)...he can jump up or to the left/right but if he falls too far or jumps down too far he will die. He can fall as far down in a chute as it goes without getting hurt. CONTROLS You can use the joystick to move around although the game somewhat bizarrely has you set it beforehand(some strange feature of old Apple joysticks where you thought the joystick was centered but it wasn't) and says "Move joystick left and hit button," etc. Oh yes--the mystifying level 8 requires the space bar to start the hydraulic lift and the joystick button to stop it. HURRAH FOR EMULATORS! If you run the ApplePC emulator and use the default setting of the keyboard(quantized) for the joystick, that means the following[for keys on the number pad]: Holding down "4" will make Bob go west. Holding down "7" will make Bob go west/north until he can no longer go that way. Then he'll try to go north/west. In other words, you can actually simulate a joystick even if you only have a mouse. This makes the game a LOT easier and with some practice you can do some quick turn-and-jumps which become critical at later levels. Similar results for other keys on the number pad. Hit "0" to jump. This is a nice control when you get used to it and eliminates the need for futzing with a joystick port. To "align" the game, hold down 4 and click 0 when it asks you to go left, 6 for right, 2 for down 8 for up, and just hit 0 for centering. So much of this game requires an immediate stop or great timing that a mouse CAN'T work and a joystick is tricky to move back into place. HOW YOU GET POINTS 10 points for each unit you walk across. 100 points for each monster you "eat" when you are under the influence of the apple. 200 points for each apple you eat. Bonus points(factor of 100) for winning a level. For level [x] you start out with [2500 + 500x] bonus points. 1000 points for each ton of TNT you have when you put yourself in the cannon and shoot on level 10. If you have 18 tons of TNT then you will score 18000 with that shot, but you'll die, too. Total points for walking over each level(you usually get all monsters in the course of going through the level): Level 1--1580 for walking over + 5*200 for each apple + 4*100 for each monster = 2980 total Level 2--1240 for walking over + 7*200 for each apple + 5*100 for each monster = 3120 total Level 3--1060 for walking over + 5*200 for each apple + 5*100 for each monster = 2560 total Level 4--1510 for walking over + 5*200 for each apple + 5*100 for each monster = 3010 total Level 5--1270 for walking over + 4*200 for each apple + 4*100 for each monster = 2470 total Level 6--760 for walking over + 4*200 for each apple + 4*100 for each monster = 1960 total Level 7--950 for walking over(no monsters) = 950 total Level 8--1090 for walking over + 3*200 for each apple + 3*100 for each monster = 1990 total Level 9--900 for walking over + 5*200 for each apple + 5*100 for each monster = 2400 total Level 10--820 for walking over + 12000 minimum for TNT used(2 to each of levels 3, 2, 1) = 12820 total. Note: You can leave the right bottom part of the level untouched until the end, allowing you to get 6 tons of TNT AFTER using the 12 tons to take out the monsters, making your total 18820. But the safest and most efficient way results in 12820 points. WALKTHROUGH BY LEVEL Generally, since getting through a level can be so frustrating, I recommend doing the hardest part first. That way, if you lose out there, you don't feel like you've wasted so much time getting close. It's comparatively rarer to mess up on something easy--although it might feel worse at the same time. GENERAL TIPS You can cover the area over a chute without falling through. If you are to its left walk right until you have covered its left half. Then jump to the other side and go left, but stop before you're halfway over the chute(that's when you fall)...there you go! Remember that, if you jump, you can often touch the monster on a platform above you. Much of the walkthroughs do not cover the details, i.e. how to touch ALL the squares, mostly because although it may be physically tricky it is not much trouble to conceptualize. It's worth it to learn how to get to the edge of a small platform without falling off, but there's no good way to describe it. So my walkthrough assumes you will be able to touch all the squares as you go along. 1. This is not too bad. After eating the apple make sure you have covered the bottom. Then run right, get the apple, and nail the monster. after completing the bottom row jump onto the next one. Take the up stairs on the left and jump left three units from the edge. You'll land on the two-unit platform. Drop down from there to wipe out the other monster. Then go right at the second-top platform, then left and when you grab the apple go up and to the right. You'll just need to be careful you don't do something silly and fall before you finish this level. 2. This level is not too bad either. I'd start off by immediately going left. Then I'd go back right to knock out the second monster. Climb up the ladder, jump left, and climb to the top. Time the run across so you nail the monsters and drop down the right-hand shaft. The rest is easier without those pesky monsters. From the bottom ladder, go up and right, then go up that ladder. Jump left and then walk until you are almost at the middle of the chute. Turn back and give yourself space to jump left twice. Do so. Then go up and sweep the second-top level. This is a good place to practice not falling down the chute and covering the squares above it anyway. This level isn't impossible, but there are a lot more jumps to deal with, and the monsters are less innocuous. 3. Another level that is eminently doable. In fact, there are two ways to get to the walkways by the elevator shaft. You can jump or use the elevator. To use the elevator type the numbers 1-4 when you are in it. ELEVATOR: enter it and push 4. Wait for it to get up there, go left, take out the monster, then run right. Don't worry about hitting all the squares since you can always go back. Drop down to the right after you get the apple and after taking out the monster fill everything else in. At the bottom, jump left, then jump left and up, jump left over the elevator gap, and drop down left. Time your jump to get the apple before you touch the monster, and then turn around and jump right and climb up. With the final monster out of commission you are free to tie up loose ends. Once you have, go back to the elevator, push 3, and walk over the final platforms. NO ELEVATOR: Climb up the stairs, jump UL, jump L, drop L, jump L to get the apple(time it right, again) and jump right and climb up the stairs. Avoid the monster at the top until you get the apple, then wipe him out and jump across the gap. Wipe the other monster out and then fall down right. Clear that area out and go back to the left side, one platform down. You can jump right onto the left elevator ledge, but just don't do it right from the edge. Jump to the other side of the gap and you're done. ********************* For the next three levels I will indicate which way you should jump from a platform with U being up, D being down, and L/R being left/right. I can't think of any other way to do it. These aren't well-checked but they are what I remember and look reasonable from the game printout I have. ********************* 4. First go left and up and complete the platform there, knocking out the monster. Now all jump sequences will start from the lowest platform. a. UR, UR, L(drop down), L(drop down) b. UL, UL, UR, UR, UL, U(jump in place), L, UR(turn quickly and jump), UR(knock out monster), DL(jump off the edge to get the upper left platform), R, drop down to the left twice, drop to the right, UR, UR, UL, U, U, U, UR, UR, drop right, up, jump right, jump right to get apple, clear out the top(do it immediately. Get everything else after you wipe the two monsters out), from the left, jump to the apple, UR, LR(jump from the left edge), d, jump right, jump right, drop, drop right(nail the monster), drop left, jump up, UL, and you should be done with the level. 5. All directions start fromn the lowest block. a. UL, UL, drop down. b. UR, UL, L, UL, UL, U, U, UR, jump to knock out monster if you didn't already. Drop right, drop left, drop right, jump up, juml UL, jump up, UL, L. U, U, U, U, U(time this so the monster is running away from you when you get to the top) and jump over the chutes to get the apple. Remember you can cover all the chutes without falling in but it requires some footwork. However, for now I'd recommend just getting the apples and killing the monsters and dropping down later. Whether or not you do mistakenly drop down, get on the moving platform, jump DR to get the monster, R, U, drop left, drop right, drop left, drop right. c. UR, jump on moving platform, jump up to platform on the right side, UL, UL, U, U, L and back to the top. Go all the way left, drop right, drop left, drop right, and jump up. This last part may be finishable on your second trip, which would make things a lot easier. 6. UR, UR, UR and beware of the trap door(wait 'til last), U, UR, R, L, U, get on platform, go to the far left, up the ladder, etc, get on the platform, U at the low platform to the left, UL, R, UR, drop right, UL, drop right, drop onto moving platform, go right. Clear the lower part out(avoid the monster above) and jump up again, uver the monster, and jump to get the apple. Jump back across to get rid of the monster, then jump back, L, L, and now I forget if you jump DR from the left edge or drop. But go back to the chute when the moving platform's under it, R, R. You're done. 7. This is relatively pedantic, and what's even better is that there are few easy ways to die off the bat. I'd go for the bottom left first and the bottom right last, making sure to avoid the trap door. Other than that, the main task is to avoid falling off the down escalator(if you go to the top of the up escalator, you just fall to the next step with no damage!) You will probably miss a ledge a couple of times because you wind up on the one above it, but it is not fatal. Finally, a situation where imperfect timing isn't. 8. The part it took me the longest to figure out in this level was the platform in the middle. I actually gave up for a while until I noticed the Colecovision manual for the game. The way to operate the hydraulic lift(which is apparently what it is) is as follows: Jump onto it. Push the space bar. Move it up or down--you can't go left or right. When you're done hit the joystick button you used for jumping. Now the most subtle menaces are the two slides that may catch you off-guard and put you in a hole where you can't solve the level since the hydraulic lift will be far above you as a result. You'll need to tread over them with care. You have a lot of ways(i.e. order of positions to move the hydraulic lift) to solve this level, but below is a straightforward one. You might as well clean out the right side first. Jump over the slide. Don't worry too much about covering it all because that can be done in the end. Then jump on the lift and go all the way up. Climb the stairs and then wait for the monster above the second stairs to go to the right. Get the apple and take out that monster and his pal to the right. Go back down to the second level of the structure and get the apple--be sure to cover *at least* everything except the slide. Then go to the upper left, down, and before you get the apple beware that the next section requires timing. Jump onto the lift. Go down until you are parallel with the platform containing the monster. Run after him, and you should get him as he is about to change back. Jump over the slide and cover all the ground. Jump back on the lift, go down, and clear out the left. Jump back on, go all the way up, and fall down the slide(of course, if you've covered the top two parts of the slide, you don't have to. But the slide is fun!) before clearing out the small last platform. 9. This may be one of the easiest. There are five platform levels--I would start at the bottom and work my way up so as to avoid monsters as I go down the slides. You can simply walk off the platform to the right and the small platform you are on will begin moving. It will stop when you jump so be sure to be close to the edge when you do. On or at the leftmost "squasher" at the bottom should be sufficient. Go left(being sure not to fall off) and jump. You'll get the apple and can knock out the monster pretty easily. You might even try to jump to take out the monster above, but one thing you will NEED to do is to cover all the territory to the right of the slide, jump, and touch the square to the left of the slide. Then your mission is accomplished, except for getting past the squashers. For the squashers, the rule is this: 1)the leftmost one goes down first and 2)the other three go down before it goes down again. So if the leftmost goes down, sneak under it. If the next-leftmost goes down again, sneak under it. Regardless of how the next two go down you can get through--you may have to wait. If the next-rightmost goes down it may be a bit awkward, but if you wait your turn you shouldn't have a problem making it. You'll die if the squashers touch you. Repeat this five times and be sure to cover all of the platforms on the right, and you are done! Note: As a bit of a safety net if you fall off the bottom small moving platform you can still make it to the right. Just don't try it when you're higher up. 10. This level is a nuisance and can require intricate planning. I believe the monsters move at different paces so **WHEN** you complete something can be important. First of all, you don't have any apples, so you'll have to jump over a lot of them. This is done by falling into the cannon, moving it left or right, and pressing jump to shoot yourself upwards. You can pick up TNT in denominations of 1, 2, and 3, but you can never unload it--how many levels up you go depends on the TNT you have, which is displayed on the left. More than three tons of TNT will cause you to hit the top of the screen and die. You can also miss a platform(which is bad, and not just because of the sound effects you may be stuck hearing) or touch a monster(as bad as usual,) so patience is a virtue here. In fact, you may even touch a monster on the level above where you wish to land. Caveat Cannonfodder. The trickiest monster to get by is in the lower left. You'll need to fire yourself to the very right-hand side of it(always try to land as "inside" as possible) and inch over to the left so you have covered three units. Then inch back right to the edge, turn left, and jump. The timing here is very tough and you'll lose a few guys in the meantime. But once you get this, the others are a lot easier. The second one I like to get is the monster in the middle left. I load up with a 2-bagger of TNT(you can jump from the ground) and up goes Bob in the cannon(which kindly resets its position) and be sure to time jumps so you don't touch the guy above. You also want to get to the left of the chute without stepping on it so you may have to jump a couple of times. And when you go down the slide, PLEASE be careful that you don't a)hit the monster on your level with your hat and b)hit the monster below. An ounce of patience....now you can clean up the 3rd level on the left pretty easily(just watch out on the slides down) and you are off to the right-hand side. Again, you'll need to time your jumps and blast-offs a bit, but each part is the same--jump over monster, jump to other side of the slide, go down the slide. The right is a bit easier since it is straight down and the monsters have more room to roam. On completion of this, you are rewarded with----THE RELATIVE EASE OF REPLAYING LEVEL 1! How unfair it is that they pulled this. You should get something cool for winning such a hard game, and while the journey is interesting, this is a low blow. (11.) The Colecovision manual seems to indicate that you get to pick up uranium for fun on level 11. I've never gotten there, don't have a ColecoVision, etc. so I wouldn't know for sure, but it's a much nicer way to end things. ODDITIES/CHEATS If, on level 1, you touch each square except the one on the far left, then fall down from the top so as to hit it, you COMPLETE THE LEVEL and don't die. This does not happen in a similar situation for Miner 2049er II--the square doesn't become solid, and you just die. On level 10, if you jump into the cannon from the bottom, instead of falling, you'll get stuck. You can gobble an apple and touch the monster at the same time--you'll get 200+100 points but die. On the Apple, to start at any one level, push # when the computer asks "one or two players" and the level number(type 0 for 10). The disk file image on ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net has things fixed so you get infinite lives, which come in extremely handy. Not only that, but if you have an emulator, it's very easy to use the Save State and Load State options for saving your progress midway through a level. *****************END OF FAQ PROPER******************** Credits: ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net for the original copy. classicgaming.com for the backup when asimov.net went down for repairs. Al Amaloo at vgstrategies.about.com and gamewinners.com for the advice about starting at a certain level. Versions: 1.0.0 Got through level 8(12/17/2000) and re-sent the FAQ(12/21/2000) 0.5.0 Sent to gamefaqs.com 10/10/2000 with all but level 8 done