# Loco

| Introduction |

Save Christmas! A crisis is brewing in the North Pole! Santa's workshop is running at full capacity. Elves are working overtime, but alas, production is not enough for Christmas Eve! Thousands could be left without presents, and YOU might be one of them!

Trains will be passing through every town, headed for North Pole Central. Help Santa stock enough Christmas presents by loading each train to the brim.

Do your best, Christmas depends on it!

| Controls |

Mouse
  Move your mouse pointer to aim.

Left mouse button
  Throws item currently loaded on your launcher (crossbow).

Right mouse button
  Launches your claw.

Middle mouse button or SPACE
  Cycles through available launcher spots (this only has an effect on levels with multiple launcher spots).

ENTER or PAUSE key
  Brings up the in-game pause menu.

ESC
  Returns to previous menu or bypasses cutscenes.

| Menu Options |

Game options can be accessed by clicking on the "Options" button from the main menu. Gameplay

Allow cheats
  Enables the in-game cheat keys. This option is only available in the registered version.

In-game help
  Displays tutorial, help messages, and tips while you play.

Colorize mouse
  Changes the color of the mouse pointer depending on the currently loaded item. This option only has an effect while a game is in progress.

Color blind
  Enables color-blind mode, whereby carriage slots are marked with icons depending on their type. If you have difficulty telling colors apart, enabling this option will it make easier to find suitable slots for items.

Swap mouse buttons
  Swaps the function of the mouse buttons. Use this option if you are used to a left-handed mouse setup.

Graphics

Detail (fastest setting: Low, best setting: High)
  Controls the overall level of graphical detail and special effects in the game. Set this to "low" if the game runs slowly on your computer.

In addition to the detail setting, there are more options that you can tweak to maximize the game's performance (you can also visit the website for an in-depth guide on how to run the game as fast as possible). These can be found by clicking on the "Advanced" button:

Video Mode (fastest setting: 640x480, recommended setting: 800x600)
  Selects the game resolution. The game's native resolution is 800x600 (all the graphics have been optimized for this resolution) and setting the resolution higher may make the game run a lot slower. However, higher resolutions will allow more details to be clearly seen. If your hardware does not support the requested resolution, it will just be ignored.
Full Screen (fastest: On, recommended setting: On)
  Selects whether the game will run in full screen (recommended), or in a window on your desktop. Some graphics cards run much faster when in full-screen, while others run better when windowed. Experiment!
V-Sync (fastest setting: Off, recommended setting: Off)
  Selects whether each frame will be synchronized with your monitors vertical refresh signal. Setting this option on will make the frames smoother, but will limit your maximum frame rate (typically to 60 or 75 frames per second). Turn it off to make the game run faster.
Maximum fps (fastest setting: 400, recommended setting: 100)
  This puts a limit to the maximum frames per second (fps) of the game. There is generally no need to lower this from the default setting unless you want to free up processor time for other tasks running in the background. In any case, it's not recommended that you set this below 40 fps. Setting it too high may cause your sound output to stutter on some configurations.
Bilinear Filter (fastest setting: Off, recommended setting: On)
  This turns bilinear filtering on or off. Bilinear filtering significantly improves the smoothness of graphics, however it does slow things down on older computers. It's only recommended to turn this off if you are running the game on a very slow computer.
Show fps
  Enabling this option will show your current frames-per-second (fps) at the top-right of the screen.

Sound

Quality (fastest setting: Low, recommended setting: High)
  There is normally no need to change this from the default "high" setting. Try setting it to "low" on very slow computers, and only after you have tweaked your graphics settings first. You can also set it to "very high", although the difference in quality will be negligible. This option requires quitting the game and restarting it before it takes effect.
In-game music
  Turn this on to have music play while you're playing the game. Note that turning this off will still play music during the introduction and while in the menu.
Sound volume
  Controls the sound effects volume.
Music volume
  Controls the music volume.

| Awards Guide |

At the end of each level, awards are given based on your performance on that level. Generally, you need to score at least 70% for a bronze award, 80% for a silver award, and 90% for a gold award. Awards are given in three categories:

Speed
  The speed award depends completely on the time you take to finish a level. To get 100% in this category, you must (on average) fill in a slot at least every second.
Accuracy
  The accuracy award is defined as the number of correct item placements as a percentage of the total (both correct & incorrect) number of placements. To get 100%, you must not place any items in the wrong slots.
Efficiency
  There are two factors that affect efficiency equally. To get the first 50%, you must collect every bonus before it disappears. The remaining 50% depends on how many items you have discarded (that is, thrown outside the screen without landing on the train), expressed as a percentage of the total number of train slots.

Additionally, you gain an extra point bonus if you get gold awards in all three categories, and an extra special bonus for scoring 100% in all categories.

| Advanced Claw Techniques |

As you progress through the game, filling trains will become increasingly challenging. To aid you in your quest, you can (and indeed, must) use your trusty claw. At the most basic level, the claw can retrieve a bonus or an incorrectly placed item from the train. As you gain familiarity with its use, however, it can also be used to perform more advanced techniques:

The "switcheroo"
  Start with a slot that's been incorrectly filled, and the correct item to fill that slot on your launcher. Launch the claw and the item at the same time. Since the claw travels faster, it will grab the incorrect item from the slot, which will promptly be filled by the correct item.
The "illegal overtake"
  This technique is a variation on the switcheroo. It can be used to swap the order of the items on your launcher. Start with an empty slot which you want to fill, but for which the correct item is sitting second in line, behind some other (incorrect) item. Launch the first item at the slot, then quickly the second item simultaneously with the claw. The claw will overtake the correct and grab the incorrect item just in time, freeing up space for the second (correct) item to fill the slot!
The "slap-on-the-forehead"
  Sometimes you will launch an item, only to immediately realize that it will land at the wrong place. No need to waste any time, just launch the claw immediately afterwards, even before the item lands in the slot. The claw will catch up to the item as it's landing, and immediately pick it up, saving valuable time.
The "over-reach"
  For this technique, you first need to understand what affects how far your claw can reach. When you initially launch the claw, it is launched with just enough speed to reach the edge of your screen. This means that it travels faster when launched left/right, than when launched up/down (as your screen is wider than it is high). If you initially launch the claw downwards, but then turn and try to grab an item to the far left, the claw won't reach it. However, in the opposite case you can easily reach items that are even just outside your screen! Use this technique on levels where the train temporarily leaves the playing area for that little bit of extra reach.

| Cheats |

Important note: We strongly recommend you don't use the cheat keys unless you are absolutely stuck! Cheat keys can make things too easy and ruin the game's enjoyment. For cheat keys to work, the relevant option must be turned on in the gameplay section of the menu. However, if you use cheats during the game, any high scores achieved will not be accepted in the internet high score tables. You have been warned.

The cheat keys are:

F5
  Extra life!
F6
  Wildcard wildness! Will add 5 wildcards to your launcher (they will appear as soon as you throw your current items).
F7
  Fireball frenzy! Will add 5 fireballs to your launcher (they will appear as soon as you throw your current items).
F8
  Autofill! The first carriage of the train will be automatically filled.

Cheat keys will only work while you're playing a level.

On some recent keyboards, the F1-F12 keys are replaced by Windows functions like New/Open/Close etc. To enable the use of the F1-F12 keys, first press the "F Lock" key (or similar) near the top-right of your keyboard. Please consult your keyboard's manual if you have trouble getting this to work.

| Hints & Tips |

The following hints & tips will help you optimize your score and hopefully earn you a place high in the internet high score tables!

1. Collect 100 stars to earn an extra life. Stars are generated by chain reaction bonuses.
2. Your claw can collect items while it's both extending or retracting. If you miss an item on the extending phase, keep your mouse pointer on it and you'll grab it on the way back!
3. You can shoot items over the train's engine.
4. Your claw will follow the mouse pointer even after it has been launched. Use this feature to make last minute adjustments, or to save time by launching the claw even before you have moved your mouse over the item you want to grab!
5. Your mouse pointer shows the color of the currently loaded item. Practice playing the game without ever looking at your launcher, you'll be able to play much faster this way!
6. You can still turn and shoot while your claw is extended. Don't wait for it to return with a bonus, you can save valuable seconds by targetting the next carriage while the bonus returns home!
7. You can discard unwanted items by throwing them away from the train. This skill will come in very handy in advanced levels, where you'll need to quickly discard several items before a suitable item for the front carriage of the train is found.
8. You can use also train slots as temporary storage for unwanted items (just remember to grab them again when you need them). This is often a better alternative than the tip above on levels with large inaccessible sections of the track.
9. You can shoot items over train slots when they're full. Don't forget this, it will allow you to reach carriages which would normally be hidden behind other carriages.
10. You cannot place or retrieve items when carriages are under a bridge! Just wait until the carriage emerges at the other end.
11. Items you grab with your claw are placed at the front of your launch queue. You'll need to keep this in mind when retrieving items with the claw, so you don't shoot out the wrong item.
12. You need at least 70% for a bronze award, 80% for a silver award, and 90% for a gold award. Check the Awards Guide section for further information on awards.
13. At the map screen, you can start the game from any station you have already reached by clicking on it. Your score, stars and lives will be reset, however.
14. You can collect bonuses either by grabbing them with your claw, or by filling in their slot with the correct item. Both ways have their uses and will come in handy in the right circumstances. However, filling in a slot with the wrong item will destroy any bonus already there.
15. There is no need to fill the front of the train first. You can push the train backwards by filling any of its carriages (except the last one). Furthermore, filling the middle sections will allow you to take advantage of chain reaction bonuses, which won't be available when shooting at the front carriage. This becomes especially important when the train is about to enter the tunnel.
16. As much as possible, fire fireballs along the track (and not across it), or to places where the track doubles up and multiple carriages are in the line-of-sight. Since fireballs fill any slot they touch, you can fill more slots this way. For the same reason, fire fireballs in between carriages (and not directly at them).
17. When a lot of consecutive carriages are of the same color, fire at the center one first to take advantage of the ensuing chain reaction bonus.
18. Did you know? At the end of the game, each of your remaining lives is converted into bonus points!

| Support & Contact Information |

For help with any problem or difficulty (or if you simply need to contact us) visit the InterAction studios website at www.interactionstudios.com. There you will find a dedicated support section with up-to-date lists of known problems, frequently asked questions & answers, and additional technical information.

©2005 Konstantinos Prouskas | InterAction studios