THE SPECTRUM GAMES DATABASE SOPHISTRY PUBLISHER CRL, distributed by Electronic Arts AUTHORS TFMG and TEBS YEAR Original Release, May 1988 Re-released on Crash magazine tape - Issue 63, April 89 DESCRIPTION A unique arcade/puzzle game. CONTROLS Keys/Kempston/Sinclair/Cursor On menu screen: Left/Right = highlight main option Up/Down = highlight sub-option Fire = select option/sub-option Fire held down = return to main menu In game: Up/Down/Left/Right = move pod Fire = Use upper Fire held down = Pause (fire again to unpause) Game defaults to Cursor when originally loaded. INSTRUCTIONS The map of Sophistry comprises 21 levels. Each of these levels is made up of many interlocking 'boards', which are the 3D screens which have to be solved one at a time. At the start of the game, only 20% of the entire map is 'open' - the rest is inaccessable because of locks present between the levels. Your objective is to obtain all 64 keys needed to unlock them, and they can be obtained either by setting out to find them (they are all scattered throughout the complex) or by amassing enough points to buy them. To do this, you control a little pod who makes his way through the complex by 'solving' each screen. He is only able to jump in four directions, and release 'uppers' (more on that later), but special tiles and screens can alter his actions. The main game screen (or 'board') Select the little picture of the joystick on the menu and press fire to get a look at this. Each 3D screen is made up of lots of little blocks. The most common are the simple Scoring blocks, which have a Specrum UDG shapes on them, and jumping onto them will give you a score relative to whichever shape is on the particular tile. (Full information on this can be accessed from in the game) There is also a 'Joker' tile, which has an empty rectangle upon it. This is worth no points, and cannot be 'altered' by DEC, TRACK or Uppers (see later). Scoring blocks can be jumped on in various sequences to gain bonus points. Experimentation is best here, but one such is the jumping on of identical-valued blocks in sequence. These multiple-block actions will also award the player with Bonuses (denoted by the first two-digit number on the status line, underneath the picture of the joystick), which will be traded for Uppers upon the completion of a board. Uppers are denoted on the game screen by the number next to the upwards-pointing arrow. Tapping the fire button on a board will cause all the Scoring blocks to increment by one, up to a maximum of the block which scores 9. The joker is not affected. These Uppers come in very useful depending on the type of board being played. Remember that score is a very important aspect to this game. Points can be used to buy keys, as well as lives and uppers, so it is advisable to obtain as many points as possible on screens where it is easy to do so. Another important block is the TARGET block, which has a thick circle on it. This plays a part in the puzzles on many screens, and its function is specific to the type of screen - see the instructions for each screen type for details. Once you have landed on it, it will move to another position on the board. The filled in blocks with the split rectangles upon them are the exits to other boards. The edge of the board upon which the exit lies determines which direction it is an exit to, and to use it, simply jump off in that direction. So, to go 'east', jump onto the exit on the right-hand edge of the board and jump right. If there are two or more exits on one edge of a board, they will all take the player to the same screen, but remember that not all blocks on any one screen are accesible from any one exit. The blocks looking like holes are 'vertical' exits to other levels. There is one type which will take the player up a level, and another which allows travel down a level. They are subtley different - see the main program to have a look at them. Remember that some of these exits will be permanently locked until you have found or bought the keys needed to open them. Wormholes look like vertical exits, but act like 'transporters', taking the player to another board, maybe on a different vertical level, and almost certainly not at the same horizontal position. They are not random, however. The top-left of the screen shows a 3D representation of the exits available, with stalks showing the exits which can be used. This may change depending on the type of screen being played, for example if a certain amount of time must elapse before an exit opens. Trying to use an exit without it being open will result in loss of life, as will attempting to jump off a board at an unmarked exit, or jumping to where there isn't a block. The block to the right of the 'exit-map' simply shows the block which the pod is currently sitting on. You will also encounter blocks with question marks on, which will perform a random action, such as giving score or stripping the player of all current Bonuses. The action performed will be scrolled across the bottom of the screen when the block is jumped on. Lastly, Key blocks hold one of the 64 keys needed to complete the game. They are always in the same place throughout the complex, but may not always be easily accessible. Remember that keys can be bought as well as found. If you find a key, jumping on it will collect it and tell you what lock it is relevant to. As well as the specific actions of each type of board, there are also three variables to each board, shown by the text beneath the game screen. DEC shows the Decrement Status. If this is ON, each time the pod jumps off a block, that block will decrease in point value by one, and it's UDG shape will change correspondingly. If the pod jumps off a block with a points value of 0 (i.e. a blank block), that block will disappear. However, it can be retrieved by using an upper, which will force it back to a value of 0. Jokers are not affected by DEC. If the Decrement Status is off, point values are unaffected by the pod. TRACK shows the Tracking Status. If this is ON, when the pod jumps off a block, that block will sink, meaning that if the pod tries to jump on it again, a life will be lost. Jokers, exits and Bonus blocks are not affected. In fact, jumping on the Bonus block will cause all sunken blocks to revert back to their original position, making them accesible again. The LOCKED status details when and if the exits on the board will be unlocked, as shown by the 3D symbol in the top-left corner. UNLOCKED - all exits are unlocked for as long as the pod remains on the board. SCORELOCKED - a certain number of points need to be amassed before the exits will be opened. Usually this is cumulative - exits are opened one at a time, and the 'most useful' exits are normally the last to open. TIMELOCKED - a certain amount of time needs to pass before each exit is opened. On certain boards, if the pod remains for too long without exiting, a Seeker will be released, which will attempt to collide with the pod and destroy it, resulting in the loss of a life. However, points can be used to restrict the activities of the Seekers. However, the main obstacles to the pods progression are the different types of board it will come across. These are all described fully in the game, but here is a brief description of each one: FREEWAY - No restrictions. COUNTDOWN - Limited amount of time to exit board. REPULSION - After a certain amount of time, movement in each of the four directions will be prevented. STOPWATCH - Stopwatch counts down, when it reaches zero, you must have either exited, be on the Target block, or not have moved. JUMPY - The blocks around you will alternately sink. You can only jump onto a block that is currently sunk. REACTION - Jumping off a block will cause it to move as far as it can in the opposite direction. The distance it moves will be the distance you jump. CHAIN - A chain of low blocks follows you around. Contact results in loss of a life. HI-LO - A minimum or maximum points total is shown, which you must keep within before jumping on the Target block. Failure means loss of life. NO RETURN - Jumping off a block means it will disappear forever. INERTIA - You cannot stop moving unless you land on the Target block. RATIONS - You are limited to landing on the Target block a certain number of times. Usually, all these types of board are combined with the DEC, TRACK and LOCK status, to make the board as difficult as possible to complete. THE MENU SCREEN At the start of the game, and upon losing a life or exiting a board, you will be returned to the menu screen. This is to allow you to access information about the next board and/or the map as a whole, exchange points for uppers or extra lives, or quit the game. It should be pointed out here that losing all lives will not result in the game automatically restarting, instead this has to be done from the Menu Screen. This is to allow you to buy a life even if your current quota of lives is nil. The bottom of the screen tells you how much of the structure is open at the moment, and a 100% open structure means you can proceed to Level 21 to complete the game. The five main menu options are shown at the top-left of the screen, and can be selected by moving the joystick left and right to highlight the relevant option, and then tapping fire. PLAY BOARD (Joystick symbol) Selecting this will take you to the current board. HALT This is the Pause option, and can only be selected from within the actual game, by holding down fire. INSTRUCTION MANUAL Selecting this will present you with a list of things to call up information about (do this by moving up/down to select it, and press fire. Pressing fire again will return you to the main list). The NEXT BOARD option will tell you what type of board to expect next, the BOARD SYMBOLS tells you general information about all the different types of block, and the rest of the options are information about all the different type of board. Hold down fire at any time to return to the main Menu Screen. MAP Selecting this will give you a simple representation of the structure of the level you are on, as well as a cursor which can be moved about on the map. Depending on how well you are doing, you will be shown information about each board on the map, as determined by your Information Access Level. At the start of the game however, you will only be able to see the general structure of the level. Hold down fire to return to the main Menu Screen. MAIN CONTROL Selecting this will give you control over just about everything. The letter and number on this icon (the small monitor and 'TEC' written below it) tells you your Information Access Level (starting at D8, which correlates to level 1, and ranging up to A1). Many options within this option will be disabled depending on your Access Level. The sub-options here are:- (hold down fire at any time to return to the Main Menu) - CONTROLS, allows you to select a control method, selecting keys will let you define the keys. - TAPE, allows you to save/load the current game. - SOUND, lets you turn the sound on or off. - DATA, gives you information about the various aspects of the board and map, the most important being the current status of the locks, and which keys you have collected. Much of this may be restricted depending on your Information Access Level. - XCHANGE, allows you to exchange points for various things. To do this, simply select it and you will be told if you have insufficent score or if your Access Level is too low to do so. The DATA option will tell you how many points each key needs to be exchanged for. - RESTART, restarts the whole game from scratch. HINTS/CHEATS Most of the CHAIN boards are time-locked with DEC and/or TRACK on, and it gets a bit dull avoiding the chain for several minutes. So, decide which exit you want to use, and jump between it and all the blocks which surround it, thus DECing them out and preventing the chain from reaching you. Then, wait around for the exit to open! RELATED GAMES None. INLAY CARD TEXT SCORES Crash, Issue 52 (May 88), p85, 90% (CRASH SMASH) - 'Complex, compelling and original' SU, May 88, p43, 8/10 - 'Well crucial strategy bouncy thingy, shame about the funny name' [SU with more typically intelligent comment] Your Sinclair, Issue 30 (Jun 88), p47, 9/10 (MEGAGAME) - 'A cracker' URL ftp://ftp.nvg.unit.no/pub/sinclair/snaps/games/by-letter/s/ sophistr.zip FACTS It's impossible to travel to Level 1, as for some reason it's corrupted. Any screen you go to has the wrong information about LOCK status, and any exits which do open do not exist. You can also often start the board on a non-existent block, and each board has a very 'random' feel to it, especially as there are many blocks you can't get to. This is obviously not a problem, as any Keys which are supposed to be there can be bought with points, but it's an annoying defect in what is otherwise an excellent game. NOTES It is interesting that most of the magazines expressed surprise that such an original and entertaining game could come from the CRL stable, and presumably the public couldn't stem it's disbelief either, as the game was sold barely a year later to Crash to put on their covertape, suggesting that full-price sales were less than awe-inspiring.