THE CYCLES ========== Don't say we didn't warn you. * The Cycles: International Grand Prix Racing™ wraps you around the chassis of the fastest bikes ever built as you compete in the International Grand Prix of motorcycle racing. * Lag una Seca. Le Mans. Salzburg. Crisscross the globe to do battle with the world's greatest racers in the sport's premiere events. * Who's got the guts? Who wants the glory? Who'll hoist the trophy of world champion? The only motorcycle game with a first-person perspective. True racing realism. Look over the handlebars and see the road disappear under your wheels. Sense the undeniable rush of full-throttle speed. Race on 15 authentic Grand Prix Courses. Tracks like Suzuka in Japan put a premium on handling and acceleration. From Australia to Brazil, you'll file down the foot pegs on the most grueling layouts in motorsports. Choose from 5 different skill levels: Will the racer in front of you blast into the lead or dump his bike trying? Each skill level alters the racing ability of the competition. (Nothing quite like wiping out at 90 mph. How do you say "ouch" in Italian?) Race in 3 different performance dasses. Ride a bullet or a bumble bee. Choose either 500cc, 250cc or 125cc class races. Take a look at this baby's specs. It's one road rocket with a licence to thrill. Compete against 9 of the circuit's best Grand Prix riders. Don't look behind you now but there's a pack of hungry road warriors right on your tail. These guys chew asphalt for breakfast and burp exhaust. Better eat your corn flakes! The minimal requirements seem startlingly simple: a frame, two wheels, and a suitable engine. And when you watch a motorcycle sweep through a curve it can seem pure magic and art. But there is perhaps nothing more scientific and complex - and courageous - than the line a racer takes through a constant radius bend or a long right-left chicane. Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing. It's the relationship between power, gyro effects, engine torque, G forces, every law of physics and every flaw of human nature. Put them together, call it speed, and hand-pick the 15 best tracks in the world. That's the Circuit. Only fearless, thrill-crazy scientists need apply. Getting Started To boot up the game, use one of the following system instructions. To exit the game to the Main Menu at any time on either system, press X. Spectrum 128 Disk System: 1. Connect your joystick to Port 1 (if you want to use one). 2. Turn on your computer. 3. Insert The Cycles disk into the drive, label side up. 4. When the LOADER option appears on screen, press Enter. Spectrum 48/128 Tape System: 1. Connect your joystick to Port 1 (if you want to use one). 2. Turn on your computer. 3. Insert The Cycles cassette into the cassette recorder, label side up. 4. If you are using a standard 48K Spectrum, type LOAD" and press Enter. If you have a +3, press the cursor down until 48K BASIC is highlighted, then press Return. Type LOAD" and press Enter. If you have a +2, press Enter. If you have a +2, press Enter when the LOADER option appears. 5. Press Play on the cassette recorder. Amstrad Disk System: 1. Connect your joystick if you want to use one. 2. Turn on your computer. 3. At the ready prompt, insert The Cycles disk into the drive, label side up. 4. Type RUN" DISK then press Return. Amstrad Tape System: 1. Connect your joystick if you want to use one. 2. Turn on your computer, and at the ready prompt, insert The Duel cassette into the cassette player. 3. If you are playing both a cassette and disk machine, first type 1TAPE and press Return. 4. Type RUN" and follow the on-screen instructions. How to Set Up a Race Setting up a race is easy as shaking a magnum of victory champagne. Use the joystick (or keyboard equivalents) to move the highlighter around the Choose Game Type screen (fig. 1). After you've made all of the following selections (1-4), press Enter to proceed to the next set-up screen. 1) Choose the Type of Race Highlight either the stopwatch, race track or trophy cup to choose one of the following. Practice Choose this option to shave seconds off your lap times, and to decide which cycles handles the best on the track. The number of practice laps you are given equals the number of laps you choose in the Laps per Race option. Single Race Choose one of the 15 Circuit tracks, and head for the races. First you run a solo qualifying lap (see How to Qualify, page 8), then you go on to the actual race. Your qualifying time determines your starting position against the other nine cyclists. Championship Circuit Eight tracks, 8 different races. Your cumulative record on all 8 determines your place in the World Driving Championship. (See Circuit Results for more information). 2) Choose a Difficulty Level Highlight the Difficulty Level Bar which runs from trike to superbike, then move the joystick left or right (or use the keypad equivalents) to shift the helmet to one of the following difficulty levels. Difficulty - how much skill is needed to corner and shift, how tough your opponents are, and how susceptible your bike is to damage - increases from a Beginner level on the left side of the bar to the Pro level on the right. Level 1: Beginner Very forgiving: automatic shifting, you can't blow your engine, you can't damage the cycle if it goes off the road, and you can't spin out. Opponents treat you with kid driving gloves - you can even bump them sometimes without crashing - and you can't do wheelies. Level 2 A little tougher: still has automatic shifting and you can't blow an engine, and you can't damage your cycle if you go cross country. Spinouts are possible from this point on. Opponents are a little less forgiving. And from now on, you can pop wheelies. Level 3 Real driving: from now on you shift yourself. (To shift see How to Drive Your Cycle.) Starting now, you can damage your handling ability if you veer off the road too often, and your engine can blow. Watch for spin-outs. Level 4 Your opponents take off their gloves. Engine destruction is quite possible. Watch your gauges, don't go over the red line, and stay on the road. Level 5: Pro Race against the best - and everything goes. Good luck. 3) Enter Your Name Move the highlighter to the Enter Your Name slot, then type your name. Spelling counts. 4) Choose the Number of Laps Per Race Move the highlighter to the Laps Per Race box and type a number from 1 to 99. That will be the number of laps in each race or practice run. Race qualification, however, is always one lap. How to Choose a Class of Cycle After you press Enter on the Choose Game Type screen, a cycle specification screen appears. 1. To scroll through the other two classes of cycles, move the joystick left or right (or press the keyboard equivalents). 2. When the cycle of your choice appears on the screen, press Enter to select it. You will automatically proceed to the next set-up screen. There are three classes of bikes in Grand Prix racing - 500cc, 250cc, and 125cc. Only machines within each class race each other. You will race against nine different competitors in each class - 27 in all. 125cc A one-cylinder, two-stroke flyer that hits speeds of 130 mph in sixth gear. 250cc A two-cylinder, two-stroke, watercooled, 6-speed bullet. On a nice flat straight stretch it can top 145 mph. 500cc Four cylinders. Six Gears. Top speed 165 mph. Pure muscle in the chicanes. Wimps beware. How to Choose a Track If You Selected Practice or Single Race: You are presented with a list of the 8 international tracks in the Grand Prix Circuit. These include Japan, Australia, the United States, Spain, Italy, France, England and Sweden. 1. To find out more about each track, move the joystick up or down (or use the keyboard equivalents) to highlight one of the 8 track illustrations, then move the joystick right (or press the keyboard equivalent) to select Info and press Enter (or the fire button). • A Track Spec screen appears. After ogling the curves, press Enter (or the fire button) to return to the track list. 2. To choose a track, move the joystick up or down the list to highlight a track, then move the joystick left (or press the left arrow key) to select Select and press Enter (or the fire button). • The track of your choice loads; get ready to qualify. Note: One of the tracks - the United States - does not hold 125cc races. Therefore, the number of tracks in the 125cc Circuit is two less than the other classes. If you choose an individual race, however, you can race a 125cc bike on all 8 tracks. If You Selected the Circuit: You are presented with the Circuit Standings screen, which lists the names of all the tracks, the name of the winner at each stop on the Circuit, and the Circuit's cumulative point standings. In addition, the next track in the Circuit is highlighted. Nothing for you to do here except press Enter. You'll see the specs of the next track on the Circuit. Press Enter again and prepare to qualify. This screen is also the place where you can save Circuits after a race. How to Qualify After you've selected a track (or the Circuit), you need to qualify. They don't let just anybody race. It's one lap: you against the clock. So make it good. Your time on this lap determines your position in the 10-bike starting grid. Your performance and position in the starting grid is automatically displayed after the lap. If you don't finish (or if it takes you too long to complete the lap), a DNQ (Did Not Qualify) is posted beside your name. Try again, or seek other employment. How to Drive Your Bike You can use either the joystick or keyboard (plus the numeric keypad on the Amstrad) to steer your bike in The Cycles. (To keep things simple, however, this manual refers to only the joystick. Check out the keyboard diagrams on page 9 for equivalent controls). To choose your control from the Game Selection screen: Joystick ACCELERATE ACCELE ACCELERATE /LEFT RATE /RIGHT \ | / \ | / \|/ TURN ---*--- TURN LEFT /|\ RIGHT / | \ / | \ BRAKE BREAK BRAKE /LEFT /RIGHT • To accelerate or brake, move the joystick forward or back. • To steer the cycle to the left and right, move the joystick to the left or right. • To upshift, press the fire button while accelerating; to downshift, press the fire button while braking. Alternate Keyboard Controls Q = Left W = Right K = Brake L = Accelerate P = Panic <= = Turn left => = Turn right ^ = Accelerate v = Brake • To upshift, press Space Bar while accelerating; to downshift, press Space Bar while braking. On the Amstrad the Cursor up/down can be used to accelerate/decelerate and cursor left/right can be used to steer. About Your Competition Each cycle class features nine different opponents who want to keep you in the back of the pack. They differ in ability and temperament: some are aggressive, some more conservative; some race a highly strategic race, others are more spontaneous; some are masters of their bikes, others still need a little work. This driver roster ranks your opponents from the best in ability to the novice for each class: 125cc Circuit Bike No. Name Nationality 88 Scooter Fox English 27 BradGourdo Italian 01 Eddy Hatter American 12 KevPickazio Italian 04 Kirk Patrick Irish 02 A. J. Wong Chinese 66 Russ Thomas American 05 Otto Bahn German 09 DonMatrini Italian 250cc Circuit Bike No. Name Nationality 88 Max Gray English 27 Frank Delrio Spanish 01 Greg Neumann American 12 Kjell Anders Swedish 04 Claude Leduc French 02 Jeremy Steele American 66 Pierre Roi French 05 Tony Castle Scottish 09 Nigel Crym English 500cc Circuit Bike No. Name Nationality 88 Don Lee Canadian 27 Tom Matthews American 01 Ian Smythe English 12 Norman Green Australian 04 Jose Brio Spanish 02 Alex Gold Canadian 66 Joe Campbell American 05 Koji Nagata Japanese 09 Andy Buck Welsh About the Race Screen Tachometer The large gauge at the top. A device that registers in thousands the revolutions per minute (RPMs) of your crank shaft. The bigger the number, the harder your engine is working. If it works too hard - the tach bar climbs into the danger zone, or red lines - you can blow it up. So keep an eye peeled when you're shifting around 11,000 RPMs. Handle Bars To steer your bike, move the joystick to the left or right, or press the keyboard equivalents. Speed Gauge A digital readout in miles per hour is located in the top central position of your screen. If you want to increase speed - accelerate - move the joystick forward or press the appropriate key on the keyboard. To put on the brakes, move the joystick back or press the appropriate key on the keyboard. (For a full explanation of accelerating and braking, see How To Drive Your Bike.) Gear Readout This is located just below the speed gauge. You have six gears. Map Box This is located in the top left section of your screen. Watch this. It lets you anticipate what type of road looms ahead - curves, straightaways, chicanes. Race Information Everything you need to know how badly you're getting beaten is located in the top right hand section of your screen. P Your current race position L Your current lap Top Clock Your cumulative time for this race Lower Clock Your time for the current lap How to Take the Turns Hard-core driving is done in the turns, or on the approaches to the turns. That's where you're most likely to run off the road -and win or lose the race. The basic tactic is to study each track well and pick your line through the curves well in advance. Without giving too much away, it's safe to say that the best way to corner in a real motorcycle race is also the best way to corner in The Cycles. We leave it up to you to find that skill. (But one hint: brake into a corner, accelerate out.) All turns have striped borders. Yardage markers of 150, 100 and 50 yards are often placed on the outside approach to every turn to help you anticipate them. Race Results After Every Race A screen appears that shows you how well you performed against the competition. It gives you some individual stats for that race - your overall time, highest speed and average speed - as well as Best Lap stats: which lap was your best, how fast you ran it, and how long it took you. If your best average lap time is the best ever for that track, it is automatically recorded on that track's information screen under Lap Record. Every track has its own info screen. If you're running the Circuit, press the fire button or Enter to see your cumulative point earnings on the Circuit Standings screen. Circuit Results The Circuit Standings screen appears after every Circuit race. It posts the cumulative point totals for each racer, tells you the winner at each race track, and highlights the destination for the next race. Your name appears in the standings column. All finishers receive points (see below). If you don't finish at all, a DNF (Did Not Finish) appears beside your name. Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 Race points are accumulated for each race throughout the Circuit. The racer with the highest cumulative score after the 8 races wins the title of World Driving Champion. To create a new race, press Enter and you return to the first setup screen. If you're racing the Circuit, press Enter and you move to the next track. Created by: Distinctive Software Conversion: Random Access Producer: Chris Bankston Testers: Chris Bankston, Don Marchant, Jeff Wagner European Project Managers: Simon Pick, Dan Marchant Manual: Jeff Hoff Licenced from Distinctive Software, Inc. © Accolade, Inc. All rights reserved. All product and corporate names are registered trademarks of their respective companies. ACCOLADE The best in entertainment software™ 550S. Winchester Blvd., Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95128/USA