CRAWLER

Welcome to Crawler! Help

Overview

Looking Around

Game Objects

Game Controls

Menu Items

Trouble Shooting


Bottle

Once in a while, you will notice a small bottle in the yard.  If a crawler mistakens a bottle for a plant and accidentally eats it, a genie is released.  Happy to be free after years of imprisonment, the genie shows its gratitude by granting Crawler an extra life!  (Hey, don't be greedy... it's better than nothing!)


Blue Caramaca

A favorite food item of a crawler is the Blue Caramaca, a flower whose origin is traced back to Northern Africa.  According to researchers, it is by far the most tastiest of plants (and yields the greatest amount of bonus points!).  Blue Caramacas grow randomly in yards, but do not have to be eaten in order to clear a yard.  They are simply plants that allow crawlers to earn bonus points while satisfying their healthy eating habits.


Red Gernatium

The red flowers, or Red Gernatiums, are crawlers' staple food.  To conquer a yard, a crawler must eat a certain amount of Red Gernatiums.  The actual number of gernatiums that a crawler must eat depends on the experience level selected.  Nevertheless, the number of Red Gernatiums that must be eaten is shown in the Plants Left display window.

Each of these red flowers should be eaten before the time bar expires.  If the time bar expires, three additional Red Gernatiums will be displayed on the screen, adding to the amount of flowers a crawler has to eat before conquering the yard.  When a Red Gernatium is eaten, a new one appears and the time bar is reset.  When all Red Gernatiums have been eaten, an escape hole will appear somewhere in the yard.  Locate this hole and maneuver crawler to the hole in order to go on to the next yard.


Crawler

The green segmented insect that you will be controlling throughout the game is known as a Crawler.  This creature is made up of two types of body parts:  a head and body segments.

The crawler's head is its only weak spot.  It is very sensitive, and any hit to the head could prove to be fatal.

The rest of a crawler's body consists of a number of segments.  These segments are virtually indestructible as they have a very thick coating.  A crawler is seldom harmed by any attack made on its body segments.


Escape Hole

Finally!  An exit to the next yard!  When a crawler has eaten all of the Red Gernatiums,  an escape hole will appear somewhere in the yard.

If a crawler can locate this hole, it can tunnel through to the next yard.  If a crawler exits the current yard without dying, it will receive survival bonus points as well as a bonus for conquering the yard.  Otherwise, a crawler will only receive a bonus for conquering the yard.


The Yard

The yard is the large brown portion of the screen where the actual game takes place.  Crawlers remain in this area throughout game play and must be careful to avoid hitting the boundaries.  It is here where crawlers roam, various plants grow, and where many life-threatening obstacles are encountered.


Time Bar

Located just below the yard is a long rectangular window known as the time bar.  The time bar displays the amount of time a crawler has to eat a Red Gernatium.  Should a crawler fail to eat a Red Gernatium before the time bar expires, three additional gernatiums will grow in the yard, thus adding to the total amount of plants that a crawler must eat in order to clear the current yard.  For every Red Gernatium that a crawler eats, the time bar is reset.


Status Area

The status area is comprised of six small rectangular windows at the bottom of the screen.  Each of these six windows provides some information about the current player and current game.  Information in the status area includes the number of plants left, number of plants eaten, player's name, player's score, the current yard, and the amount of crawlers left.

Plants Left

The number shown here indicates the amount of Red Gernatiums that must be eaten before a crawler can move onto the next yard.  Once a crawler has eaten all Red Gernatiums, a hole will appear in the yard through which a crawler can escape.  If a crawler fails to eat a Red Gernatium before the time bar expires, three additional gernatiums will be displayed, thus adding to the number of plants that must be eaten in order to conquer the yard.

Plants Eaten

This figure shows the number of Red Gernatiums that a crawler has eaten since the start of the current yard, or the start of its current life.

Crawlers Left

This figure indicates the amount of crawlers a player has left before the game ends.  Extra crawlers can be obtained by freeing genies that are trapped in bottles.

Player Name

This is the name of the person currently playing the game.

Player Score

This is the score of the person currently playing the game.

Yard

This figure indicates the yard a crawler is currently destroying.


Rocks

Look out!  When rocks exist, they pose a great threat to crawlers!  Bouncing off any object in its path, a rock makes a crawler's life miserable.

A crawler can be killed by a rock if the rock hits the crawler's head.  This is the only point of vulnerability for the crawler, as any hit to a body segment will do no harm.  If a crawler can keep rocks from hitting its head, it should have no problems crawling through the yard.


File Menu

The File Menu has three options to choose from:  New Game, Hall of Fame, and Exit.


Game Controls

In Crawler!, you don't have to worry about having to memorize a whole book of commands or controls.  There are only two commands in the game:  turn clockwise, and turn counter-clockwise.  These commands can be executed using either mouse controls or keyboard controls.


Scissors

Ouch!  Scissors is one of the few objects that can injure a crawler.  If a crawler runs into a pair of scissors, the tail portion of its body is dismembered, thus shortening a crawler's length.  Although this can be very painful for a crawler, it can be used effectively as a survival measure.


Poison

Watch what you eat!  Humans are not very fond of what they consider to be "pesty plant-eating insects."  They'll do almost anything to keep their plants from being destroyed.

Since the arrival of Crawler!, people have reported major damage to gardens all over the country.  Now they are desperately trying to fight back by spreading Crawler-killing poison in their yards.  This chemical is known to be very effective, and crawlers seldom survive.


Game Objects

In order to be a true competitor, you need to understand what objects a crawler can eat, and what objects a crawler must avoid.  There are many different game objects in the game of Crawler!.  Among these objects are crawlers, Red Gernatiums, Blue Caramacas, bottles, poison, scissors, rocks and escape holes.

Point System

Certain game objects have point values associated with them.  The following table lists these objects along with their point values and side effects.

Item	Points	Side Effects

Red Gernatium	100	Growth

Scissors	100	Severed body segments

Bottle	200	Frees genie who grants an

extra life.

Blue Caramaca	300	Growth

Yard Bonus	1000	No effect

Survival Bonus	2000	No effect


Looking Around

There are three portions of the screen that you must become familiar with.  The large brown window at the top of the game screen is known as the yard.  This is easy to identify as it is the largest window on the screen.  Just below the yard, you will notice a long rectangular window.  This is the time bar.  Below the time bar you will notice six small rectangular windows.  These windows collectively make up the status area.


Overview

You are one of the many no-good, plant-eating, insect-like creatures, that have recently invaded neighborhoods around the world.  You thrive on plants and drive humans crazy by destroying their yards.

Your job, as a fellow crawler, is to take over the entire neighborhood.  In order to do so, you must destroy each and every yard in the vicinity.  Don't underestimate the challenge however, as destroying a single yard is a difficult task in itself.

To destroy a single yard, you must eat all of the Red Gernatiums that grow there.  You must rely on skill, quick thinking, and of course, luck.  Crawlers are known to be a great big pain in the... yard, so don't disappoint the rest of us crawler-maniacs.  As a crawler, you have a job to do and a reputation to protect, so get out there and do some damage!


Mouse Controls

If you are using a mouse, pressing the left button will turn Crawler in the counter-clockwise direction.  Pressing the right mouse button will cause Crawler to turn clockwise.  After pressing either of these buttons, Crawler will turn in the specified direction and begin to move in the new direction until commanded to do otherwise.

Please note that we use the terms clockwise and counter-clockwise instead of left and right.  The reason for this is that pressing the left button does not necessarily mean that it will turn a crawler to your left.  For example, if a crawler is moving downward, pressing the left button will actually turn it to your right (counter-clockwise, or in other words, the crawler's left).

At first these controls will seem to be awkward (just as it was when you first used a mouse), but with practice, you'll realize how easy and convenient these controls can be.

Be aware that moving the mouse cursor (the arrow) over the menu bar during game play activates the pull-down menus which in turn will hide portions of the screen.  To prevent this from happening, try to keep the mouse cursor away from the top portion of the screen.  If you are having problems holding the mouse steady, we suggest you use the keyboard controls instead.


Keyboard Controls

If you are using the keyboard, pressing the <L> key will turn Crawler in the counter-clockwise direction.  Pressing the <;> key will turn Crawler clockwise.  After pressing either of these keys, Crawler will turn in the specified direction and begin to move in the new direction until commanded to do otherwise.

Please note that we use the terms clockwise and counter-clockwise instead of left and right.  The reason for this is that pressing the left button does not necessarily mean that it will turn a crawler to your left.  For example, if a crawler is moving downward, pressing the left button will actually turn it to your right (counter-clockwise, or in other words, the crawler's left).

At first these controls will seem to be awkward, but with practice, you'll realize how easy and convenient these controls can be.


New Game

As you probably guessed, the New Game menu item initiates a new game.  When this menu item is selected, a dialog box is displayed on the screen with one or more text boxes.  Each player must type his or her name in these text boxes.  If the amount of text boxes does not match the actual amount of players, click the Cancel button and select the correct number of players from the Options Menu.  After selecting the appropriate number of players, select New Game once again from the File Menu.  When all player names have been successfully entered, click the OK button to start the game.

If New Game is selected while a game is already in progress, a dialog box will appear asking you if you would like to quit the current game.  If you want to quit the current game, click the OK button.  Otherwise, click Cancel and the current game will be resumed.


Hall of Fame

This menu item displays the crawlers with the best records.  The Hall of Fame is divided into three

groups:  Beginner, Average, and Over-Confident.  Within each of these groups, crawlers are ranked by the number of rocks that were in existence during their games.

The top-ranked crawler in each group is the crawler who managed to conquer the most yards while two rocks were in existence.  The second-ranked crawler of each group is the crawler who conquered the most yards while only one rock was in existence.  Likewise, the third-ranked crawler conquered the most yards with no rocks in existence.


Exiting the Game

To exit Crawler!  click the File Menu and select Exit from the list of menu items.  A dialog box will be displayed on the screen asking if you are sure you want to quit.  Click the OK button to exit, or click the Cancel button to return to the game.


Options Menu

Crawler! was designed so that everyone, no matter what experience level, can compete and enjoy the game.  There are four sets of options for Crawler!:  Number of Rocks, Number of Players, Experience Level, and Sound.  There is also an item labeled Save Configuration which allows a user to save the current settings.


Number of Rocks

This option sets the number of rocks that will exist during a game.  There are three options here:

No rocks, one rock, or two rocks.  Because rocks continually move and bounce off objects during game play, a crawler's chance of survival is lessened with each additional rock.  If you're a beginner, we suggest that you start off with one rock or no rocks at all.

To select the number of rocks most appropriate to your skill level, simply click the diamond-shaped button to the left of the option you wish to select.  Click

OK to accept the number of rocks or click Cancel to discard the change.

Please note that changes to the first three options in the Options menu (Number of Rocks, Number of Players, and Experience Level) do not take effect until the New Game option (in the File menu) is selected.  This prevents new options from taking effect during a game that is already in progress.  In other words, changes to these three options do not affect a game that is already in progress.


Number of Players

This option sets the number of players that will be playing the game.  Crawler! supports anywhere from one to four players.  To select the desired number of players, simply click the diamond-shaped button to the left of the number of players you wish to select.  Click OK to accept the number of players or click Cancel to discard the change.

Please note that changes to the first three options in the Options menu (Number of Rocks, Number of Players, and Experience Level) do not take effect until the New Game option (in the File menu) is selected.  This prevents new options from taking effect during a game that is already in progress.  In other words, changes to these three options do not affect a game that is already in progress.


Experience Level

This option sets the game difficulty.  There are three different experience levels:  Beginner, Average, and Over-Confident.  Each option defines game parameters in an attempt to match a player's skill level with game complexity.

To select the experience level most appropriate for you, click the diamond-shaped button to the left of the experience level you wish to select.  Click OK to accept the experience level or click Cancel to discard the change.

Please note that changes to the first three options in the Options menu (Number of Rocks, Number of Players, and Experience Level) do not take effect until the New Game option (in the File Menu) is selected.  This prevents new options from taking effect during a game that is already in progress.  In other words, changes to these three options do not affect a game that is already in progress.


Sound

This menu option toggles the game sounds on and off.  If there is a check mark to the left of this menu item, then sound is enabled.  Otherwise, sound is disabled.  To toggle between the two states, simply click the Sound menu item in the Options Menu.


Save Configuration

This menu item saves the settings that are currently selected in the Options menu.  This will relieve the user of re-configuring game options each time Crawler! is run.


Trouble Shooting

Problem:  File Write Error.  Cannot Write to file FAME.CRA.

Solution:  Check available disk space.  Drive may not have enough space.

Problem:  File Open Error.  Yard Data File Missing.

Solution:  Re-install Crawler!.  Program cannot locate data file.

Problem:  Please fill in each player name or press the Cancel Button.

Solution:  Each text box in the player name entry dialog box must be filled.  Enter in a name for each player.  If this is too many players, click the Cancel button and select the appropriate number of players from the Options menu.

Problem:  Unable to enter player name.

Solution:  Focus may be on the OK button or Cancel button.  Click the mouse cursor on the text box, or hit the <Tab> key until you see a blinking cursor in the text box.

If you encounter any problems that you are unable to solve, please contact Moonlight Entertainment at the number printed at the end of the Crawler! User Manual.


Menu Items

There are three items displayed on the menu bar:  File, Options, and Help.  The help facility is basically an online copy of the Crawler! User Manual.