Millipede Atari 2600  FAQ/Strategy Guide
Version: 1.0
Author: Rob 'Larcen Tyler' Adair
Last Revision Date: 08/11/06
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This document is electronically published work Copyrighted ¸2006 by Rob 'Larcen
Tyler' Adair.  Permission is granted to make a copy _ONLY_ as a personal
reference copy, in which case the document _MUST_ remain in its original,
unedited form.  Any other reproduction is strictly prohibited.  This document
may not be used as a promotional item or for profitable means of any kind
(even if no profit is intended to be gained.)

This document is only allowed to appear on the GameFAQs website and no other
website whatsoever, nor may any part of this document appear on any website
for any reason whatsoever.

Millipede, Atari 2600 Video Computer System, and any accessories mentioned
within are registered trademarks and/or copyrighted materials owned by Atari
Games.

GameFAQs is a registered trademark and copyrighted 1995-2006 by Jeff 'CJayC'
Veasey.

Any other names mentioned within not mentioned within this section are
registered trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners.

Larcen Tyler is in no way affiliated with any of the companies listed above,
or their affiliates in any way.  No affiliation should be assumed for any
reason whatsoever.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. REVISION HISTORY
2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
3. SCORING INFORMATION
4. TIPS
5. CONTACT INFORMATION
6. CREDITS
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1. REVISION HISTORY

Version 1.0

01/17/06: Already authored a guide for the 'prequel' so why not create one for
this game as well?

02/13/06: Due to personal matters, had to put this guide on hiatus, but
finished up with it.

08/11/06: Due to some problems when I resubmitted the guide for e-mail changes,
some formatting was incorrect.  I've (hopefully) fixed that here.
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2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

You managed to outwit the centipedes that were bugging you, along with those
sinister spiders, those frantic fleas, and sly scorpions, and you thought it
was over.  Well, guess again.  The Millipedes, cousins of the centipedes, have
now attacked you.

Hear the skittering feet approaching? That's the millipede approaching you
rapidly, and it's not alone either.  Spiders, bees, mosquitoes, dragonflies,
inchworms, and earwigs are all accompanying the millipedes in its effort to
eliminate you.

Fortunately, you've still got your mobile blaster on hand, and you also have
another secret weapon: DDT! It may not be environmentally correct, but when
you're dealing with these creeps, you're gonna need every form of defense you
can get! So get to your blaster and get blasting!


GETTING READY TO BLAST BUGS:

Set up your Atari 2600 or Atari 7800, and plug a joystick into the left
controller jack, since this is a one player game only.  When you've powered up,
you'll see the title screen.  Press reset or the joystick button to start the
game.  When you first start, you can choose a starting score of 0, 15,000, or
30,000 points.  After you complete a game, you can start at a score of up to
15,000 points below your previous high score, rounded to the nearest multiple
of 15, with a maximum of 300,000 points.  When you are happy with the
selection, press the button to begin the game.

(Example: Say you scored 152,000 points on your last game.  If you started a
new game after that, you could start the game with 135,000 points.  The game
subtracts 15,000 from your score, and then rounds it down to the nearest
multiple of 15.)


BASIC GAMEPLAY:

When the game starts, your blaster, a square, is at the bottom of the screen.
The playing area you can move around in is a gray color, while the rest of the
area is black.  You will see numerous mushrooms, which are rectangle shaped,
scattered around the playing field.  These are harmless, but can block your
movement unless shot.  Each mushroom takes three shots to destroy.

You will notice several DDT bombs scattered across the playing field, which
appear as rectangles with 'DT' inside them.  These are useful in your battle
against the millipede and the other insects you'll encounter, as their
explosion can take out quite a bit if timed properly.


YOUR ENEMIES:


THE MILLIPEDE:

As you might have guessed, the millipede, which starts at the top of the screen
and marches from one side of the screen to the other, dropping to the next row
below when it does so, is your primary enemy.  If it touches a mushroom, it
will also drop to the next row.

Shooting the head will cause it to turn into a mushroom, causing the body
segment behind it to turn into the head.  However, if you shoot a body segment,
the millipede will split into two separate, smaller ones, with the body segment
behind the one you shot turning into a head.


SPIDERS:

The spiders from Centipede are back, and their pattern is still the same:
Entering from one side of the screen and jumping up and down while moving
across the play area to the other side, pausing occasionally to fake you out.
They remove any mushrooms they touch, and if you touch one, you're a goner.


BEETLES:

Beetles will sometimes enter from the side of the screen and slowly crawl
across your playing area untill they reach the other side.  Like any other bugs
that come at you, touching one of these is lethal.

The beetles will usally start at the top boundary of your movement field and
then drop to the bottom and crawl across the screen untill they reach a certain
point (usually random) and then will crawl upwards and out of the playing area.
Any mushrooms it touches will become flowers, which cannot be destroyed.


MOSQUITOES:

Mosquitoes will come from the top of the screen and move in a diagonal pattern,
untill they touch the side of the screen, at which point they will move in the
opposite direction they were originally going in.  Their pattern is not too
hard to match, but they are known to swarm at times (see below for more
information on swarming insects.)


BEES:

Bees come from the top of the screen and move toward the bottom in a straight
pattern.  They leave mushrooms behind them, and while they are easy to avoid,
when they swarm they are more dangerous.


INCHWORMS:

Inchworms appear on one side of the screen and slowly move towards the other
side of the screen.  They don't appear in your movement field, so they can't
harm you, but it's worth shooting them, since shooting one of them slows down
all enemies on screen for four seconds.


DRAGONFLIES:

Dragonflies are like bees, except they move in a zig-zag pattern, and can also
swarm at times.


EARWIGS:

Earwigs also move from side to side, but they have the ability to poison any
mushrooms they touch.  If you don't shoot an earwig before it leaves the
screen, any mushrooms it touched will change color.  Beware, as if a millipede
touches a poison mushroom, it will go crazy and charge towards the bottom of
the screen!


SWARMING INSECTS:

Sometimes, after defeating a millipede, instead of moving to the next wave,
you'll encounter a swarm of bugs, in which either a group of bees, dragonflies,
or mosquitoes, will come at you in large numbers from the top of the screen.
In addition, the spider can also attack during this time, making things more
dangerous.

Try to stay calm and shoot as many insects as possible, as each swarming insect
you shoot increases in value with every one shot.  (See scoring information
below for more information.)
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3. SCORING INFORMATION

Points are awarded as follows:

SHOOT MILLIPEDE BODY SEGMENT: 10 Points
SHOOT MILLIPEDE HEAD: 100 Points
SHOOT SPIDER AT LONG RANGE: 300 Points
SHOOT SPIDER AT MODERATE RANGE: 600 Points
SHOOT SPIDER AT CLOSE RANGE: 900 Points
SHOOT SPIDER AT VERY CLOSE RANGE: 1200 Points
SHOOT BEETLE: 300 Points
SHOOT MOSQUITO: 400 Points
SHOOT BEE: 200 Points
SHOOT INCHWORM: 100 Points and Slow Down Enemies for 4 Seconds
SHOOT DRAGONFLY: 500 Points
SHOOT EARWIG: 1000 Points
SHOOT DDT: 800 Points and Triple Point Value for each enemy destroyed with DDT
SHOOT SWARMING INSECT: 100 Extra Points Above Normal Value for second bug
destroyed, and increasing in value with consecutive bugs destroyed (up to 1000
points for each bug)
DESTROY MUSHROOM: 1 Point

When you lose a life, you receive 5 points for every flower onscreen as well as
for every three mushrooms left on the screen.

You begin with three lives, and earn a bonus for every 15,000 points earned.
You lose a life if you come into contact with a spider, beetle, mosquito, bee,
dragonfly, or the millipede.  The game is over when all lives are used up.
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4. TIPS

-Let the spider get as close as possible to you before shooting it to earn
maximum points.

-If a swarm of insects appears, don't panic.  Try to shoot them as they come,
or just dodge them if necessary.  Remember, if your timing is right, you can
earn a lot of extra points by shooting swarming insects.

-If the millipede hits a poison mushroom, it'll rush towards the ground without
stopping for anything.  You can utilize this as a chance to earn big points by
getting underneath it and rapidly shooting.  But be careful, when it's touched
a poison mushroom, it will rush at a fast rate of speed, so be ready to move if
it gets too close to you.

-Shooting an inchworm slows your opposition down for four seconds, so make sure
to shoot them if you see one for a quick breather.

-If the millipede reaches the bottom of the screen, once it starts crawling
back upwards, watch out for additional head segments appearing near the bottom.

-Wait for the millipede to get close to a DDT bomb before detonating it.  It's
possible to take it out with a well-timed explosion while earning a lot of
points in the process.

-And the rule all video game players live by and die by, HAVE FUN!
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5. CONTACT INFORMATION

READ THIS BEFORE YOU SEND ME ANY E-MAIL!

The following types of E-Mail I will _NOT_ accept under any circumstances:

-Mail that contains flaming (insults) or offensive content within.  If you
don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything!

-Spam/Advertisements of any kind.  This is against the law, and will not be
taken lightly.

-Asking if you can use this on your website/in your FAQ/Magazine/anything
like that will not be tolerated.  In case you missed it, I specifically
stated that I won't allow it in the disclaimer section at the beginning.

-Asking where to find this game in a ROM format, or any other illegal
software requests will be ignored.

-Asking me where to find this cartridge.
(Honestly, I wish I knew where to find Atari games, but I have as much of
a hard time finding them as you probably do! Your best bet is to check
online.)


The following types of E-Mail I will accept:

-Suggestions and/or constructive criticism.
-Strategies of your own.
-Any information I may have left out in this version.
-Generally, anything that will help me improve this guide in future revisions!
(Make sure you put "Millipede Guide" as your subject line.)

You can reach me at: LarcenTyler7650 (AT) Yahoo (DOT) com
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6. CREDITS

On with the credits:

-My mother, for buying the Atari 2600 and passing her love for it onto me.
-Dave Staugas, for programming this game.
-Jerome Domurat, for providing excellent graphics for the game.
-Andrew Fuchs and Robert Viera, for excellent sound design for the game.
-Jeff 'CJayC' Veasey, for providing us writers with a place to share our work.
-Atari, for providing us with the Atari 2600 as well as this excellent game in
both the arcades and on the Atari 2600.
-And, of course, YOU, for reading my guide!
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¸2006 Rob 'Larcen Tyler' Adair  All rights reserved.

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