Captain Goodnight FAQ
version 1.0.0
by Andrew Schultz
[email protected]
Please do not reproduce for profit without my permission. A request
referring to me and this FAQ by specific name(please don't refer to me
by my e-mail address!) will probably be accepted.
**AD SPACE**
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/games/games.htm has a bunch
of other random stuff about old Apple games.
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OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
GENERAL STRATEGIES
BRIEFING
JUST PAST THE FOREST
THREE PARTS BEFORE THE FLARE
POTIA INLET
GRASSLANDS
DESERT
DESERT, ON THE GROUND
THEM PESKY AUTHORIZATION CODES!
SUBMARINE
ODOM ISLAND
MODO ISLAND
HELICOPTER TIPS
DOOM ISLAND
VERSIONS/CREDITS
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INTRODUCTION
This FAQ seeks to cover the basic strategies behind Captain Goodnight.
I will also try to specify the amusing quotes that pop up when you get
killed or are making progress.
The game itself features Captain Goodnight, as controlled by you,
against the evil Doctor Maybe. Although it says you have 24 hours to
complete the deal, note that "time left" starts at 100:00:00 and ticks
down. You lose an hour on the clock each time you are hit(game time
counts one second as one minute,) so the emphasis is on surviving rather
than getting through quickly. One minute on the game's timer equals one
second of play, and the seconds that tick down when you're looking at
the time are just for effect.
There's also an amusing strategy the game uses to rush you a bit.
Captain Goodnight may start yoyoing, tap a foot, look around, or look at
his watch. Get going, but don't rush!
GENERAL STRATEGIES
If you are shot while on the ground and start walking groggily, kneel,
and when you get up, you'll walk normally.
BRIEFING
Run left for the briefing, which is not necessary after the first
time.
When you fly the plane, the following messages appear at the bottom:
"Cleared for takeoff on runway 019."
If you try to fly into the minefield, the plane stops, and the
following messages are revealed:
"Emergency engine shutdown!"
"Try taking off, Goodnight!"
For amusement purposes, if you try to run down the runway into the
minefield, the game insults you(and clues you in) a few times before it
decides you're not up to scratch.
"Didn't you read the signs...."
"Having fun yet?"
"We don't appear to be making progress."
"Mission aborted! Maybe 007 is free?"
After this, any mistake you make(besides getting the wrong codes) will
no longer end the game.
JUST PAST THE FOREST
In this part there are two major air-based enemies: fighters and
biplanes. Biplanes seem to be kamikazes. Fighters will fire small
missiles at you.
If you are killed before you get to the water, you start over at the
beginning again.
There are five radars that you are well advised to destroy. Cruise
missiles will fly by if you fail to destroy the radar, in which case
your best bet is to go VERY low. You can also take out the turret that
fires from the ground, but don't worry too much if you can't. It may
cost you a plane in the next scene, but losing one life is no big deal.
Overall, you want to keep as low as possible, but you need to leave a
little space for ducking the planes that go by. Missiles should only be
used for ground gunners, planes you can't avoid, and radar dishes.
In this and "three parts before the flare," getting killed will give
you a "Giving up so soon, Goodnight?" from Dr. Maybe.
THREE PARTS BEFORE THE FLARE
If you get killed in any of these three parts, you are sent back to
the beginning.
POTIA INLET
Don't waste your missiles here. Avoiding enemy planes should be easy
here.
GRASSLANDS
There are three radars here. It is not necessary to kill the middle
one, which is coupled with a building. There are also two ground
gunners.
DESERT
Ground gunners are the major nuisance here. Incidentally, just before
you get to the flare, you can crash into an enemy plane and the
collision detection is off.
DESERT, ON THE GROUND
The robots are not too tough to hit here. Simply hit down and to the
right and keep firing. You will have enough time to take any robot out
of commision. Two hits will usually nail a robot, but you may have to
use three.
There's a jeep you can take to go a bit faster, but it's not really
worth it. The robots can still shoot you. When you get near the
submarine, you hear:
"I'm waiting for you, Goodnight!"
If you get killed, there are several messages:
"Here's looking at you, Goodnight!"--the overhead balloon
"You've got the wrong stuff!"--shot by robot
"Eat dirt, Goodnight!"--run over by robot
THEM PESKY AUTHORIZATION CODES!
You can find the authorization codes at the following location:
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/action/captain_good
night/goodnight.codes
SUBMARINE
The submarine is rather easy. If you go below 250 on the depth, the
pressure caves you in. The total distance from left to right is 700.
You can shoot the oil rigs above the surface if you want.
There are two mines to avoid. If you see one to the right, you just
need to go in a "U:" down right until the mine doesn't seem to be going
past you, then hard right, then up and right to get close to the
surface. Docking is no problem either. Take your time and make sure
that the part that sticks up from the submarine touches the pier. [I've
never tried to sink the pier. Try later.]
If you want you can pretend the submarine is yellow since the Apple
doesn't have that color. Just be considerate of your neighbors if the
idea makes you feel like singing.
Collision: "You're 'mine,' Goodnight!" [you start over just before
the last robot in the desert] Then "Bandaged and rejuvenated, Captian
Goodnight Returns to the Fray" appears on the screen, before Dr. Maybe
taunts you with "You were lucky that time, Goodnight!"
"Hull ruptured" if you hit the right side of the submarine scene.
ODOM ISLAND
"There's no turning back now!!!"/"Welcome, Goodnight. Prepare to
die!"/"Give it up, Goodnight!"
"Half way to Doom Island!"
These appear as you start running to the right. You will face some
robots, presumably Killer Robots("My killer robots will finish you!")
that launch deadly grenades at you. You can actually run toward them to
walk under the grenades and then the sniping is easy. However, running
away soon after they appear and firing from a distance is even more
safe. Again the time lost is less than if you get killed. Also you may
get double-killed here; a robot may nail you and then the balloon
overhead will zap you.
"Have a pineapple, Goodnight!"
"Nice catch, Goodnight!"
"Try avoiding the grenades..." any one of these three if a robot lobs
a grenade at you
If you're kneeling when hit, "Your ears are ringing! Answer them!"
"You've made my day, Goodnight!" if you run into a robot
"Curse you, Goodnight!" after your first kill
Eventually you'll get to a fence. Use the truck to ram through the
fence("A sturdy fence,") and it will break("You broke the fence...and
the truck!") Take the tram station(button 1--you must be perfectly
aligned, which is a nuisance) to the transporter, where you hear "My
killer robots will finish you!" and "You're doomed, Goodnight!" It's
best to run toward the transporter and hit button one, otherwise the
balloon roving above will get you, but for fun you can run past it to
observe the Broderbund sign and then reverse to enter. It's OK to take
the jeep in this next area, by the way, although it is only a limited
help.
"Here's looking at you, Goodnight!" if the balloon above aligns with
you and shoots you.
ANNOYING BOAT SCENE
This one is depressingly random. You should probably go full speed
ahead unless you can detect a plane that is at about average height;
slow up a bit then. In fact, stopping fully may be your best bet.
Fortunately you only need to pass five planes or so to advance to Modo
Island.
MODO ISLAND
"The boat is drifting away!" This creates problems, because now
you'll have to face the Eliminator Robots. "You're doomed!" "My
eliminator robots never lose!" brags Captain Goodnight. Well, they are
probably the toughest of the robots in the game. In this scene
satellites from above will drop bombs on you. Running full speed ahead
will allow you to avoid them. With eliminator robots, fire on sight.
They take one or two hits, and it is obvious when they will fire as
their turrets rotate, but their range can take you out if they are
visible. The first one you take out elicits a "You're starting to annoy
me, Goodnight!" from Dr. Maybe.
Eventually you'll get to a tank. "Think it over, Goodnight!" But
don't think twice about getting in the tank. It'll protect you, and if
you go full speed ahead, you won't get nailed by the overhead bombs(but
you'll miss the message "You've bombed out, Goodnight!") You can even
nail the eliminator robots if you feel sadistic. If you're lucky you
can avoid bombs and "Threads all jammed, Goodnight?" by going forward(it
seems to depend on where the overhead bomber is) but once you get out
there is one more eliminator before the helicopter. Now, if you crash
the helicopter, you are up the creek without a paddle. It's the single
most costly thing you can do in the game. You'll have to fight all the
eliminators from the beginning of Modo Island, and the tank will be
where you left it. So I put in a separate section to help ensure you
stay on track. It's not too tricky, but it's worth it.
HELICOPTER TIPS
Obviously you can't "Go back!!!" as Dr. Maybe says, so you need to
push button one to enter the helicopter. At first you'll need to keep
high, then go right, as there is a laser cannon("A laser cannon!") on
the hill. Once you see it, keep going right but drop down as far as you
can. You can take out the satellite station("A satellite antenna
station!") this way("Killer satellites disabled!") and don't be afraid
to maneuver and slow your helicopter down. Be careful passing the
satellite, and although you cannot shoot the laser cannon facing away
from you, you can go above it, off the screen, and down. Just avoid
that drum-looking thing, which will explode your copter on
contact("Looks like Goodnight is finished!") After "Leave while you
can" and then "You're starting to annoy me, Goodnight" after killing an
eliminator(there are two more here,) you'll be told "Think it over,
'Captain!'" as well as "Go back!!!"
From here, there are a couple more eliminators before you find the
second plane is unlocked. Take it to cross the water(there's no way you
can crash it) and when it runs out of gas, you're ready to start Doom
Island. Remember the color sequence when you launch. It is used at the
end of the game.
DOOM ISLAND
"You'll never make it in time! Ha ha!" Oh yes you will. You need to
avoid the overhead bombs by a full run forward or stepping back. You'll
be stepping back a lot on Doom, but it will lead to eventual progress.
One good thing to remember is, if there's a blinking orange/blue light
held up by white legs, there's something beyond.
"Meet my Night Stalker robots!" says Dr. Maybe. On the contrary!
When one appears, fire and go left. The bomb it drops will almost get
you. Two or three shots should be enough, as there are two waves of two
of these guys on Doom Island.
"Say hello to the Tremho berserkers!" Be very cautious as you scroll
right. Once you see them, duck and fire. Each takes two hits. If you
are hit, you'll get walked over as well("You make a good doormat!")
After a second wave, you should find an elevator. Run into it and press
button one. "You'll never find me in time!" Hit button one and
indicate the direction you'd like the elevator to move to operate it.
There are four floors, and you're only really concerned with the third
one. You'll want to watch out for Tremho Berserkers there. There
should be one horde of five. Still you should be able to make it to the
right side, go up, get past more Thremos, run right and find the final
elevator. Go to the third floor, get past the thremo berserkers by the
doomsday machine, and now I recommend a gambit. Just before you push
the button to start the sequence, wait for a bunch of berserkers to come
by and walk over you. More won't come for some time, and you'll have a
clear route to the escape shuttle. Although it's possible to blast your
way there past five berserkers in time(but barely,) it is not the
easiest way.
The Doomsday machine is best handled by pushing button one and nudging
the joystick up or down based on whether a handle should be on or off.
Now there are 16 possible letters for the detonation sequence, and again
the link below should prove useful.
ftp://ftp.apple.asimov.net/pub/apple_II/images/games/action/captain_good
night/goodnight.codes
Note that any letter, as the Xth number of the alphabet has (X in
binary, with 1=off and 0=on) as its code. There are sixteen letters,
and O is 4 ons.
Using a save state for an emulator will help your sanity immensely in
solving this, especially considering the potential randomness of the
final scene.
(end of FAQ proper)
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VERSIONS/CREDITS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 8/9/2001
Wade Clarke(bloomer on GameFAQs) for reminding me of this game.
