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|_____|_____|_____|_____| Wall Ball |_____|_____|____|____|
|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯| Atari 2600 |¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|
|_____|_____|_____|_____| FAQ |_____|_____|____|____|
|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯| Version 1.00 |¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|
|_____|_____|_____|_____| Mike Truitt |_____|_____|____|____|
|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯| Monday, February 15, 2004 |¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|
|_____|_____|_____|_____|_______________________________|_____|_____|____|____|
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Contents:

I About this FAQ
I I Version History
I I I Game Basics
I V Srategy
V Scoring
V I Notes & Thanks

•============================================================================•
| I ABOUT THIS FAQ |
•============================================================================•

_________________
Mission Statement
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
I was looking through a bunch of my older games and was wondering to myself
why I didn't write any FAQs for these classics. So I decided to write a guide
for one of my favorites. Then I noticed that Atari 2600 was missing guides to
many many games, so I have made it my duty to get as many good FAQs out there
as I can for this classic, yet overlooked system.
____________
Legal Notice
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•============================================================================•
| I I VERSION HISTORY |
•============================================================================•

____________
Version 1.00 I have got just about all of the FAQ completed. There may
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ be some more updates in the future.

_____________
Last Updated: Monday, February 15, 2004
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

•============================================================================•
| I I I GAME BASICS |
•============================================================================•

_________________________
O B J E C T I V E
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The main objective of Wall Ball is to maintain control of the ball for the
longest possible time by moving the paddle to hit the ball towards the back
wall of the room. While doing this, you should also be tring to knock out
as many blocks as possible to get your score as high as possible.
_____________________________________
M O D E S O F P L A Y
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There are nine basic levels of play, all of them give you varying levels of
challenge. With each increasing level you will be given less balls (except
for the change between level one and level two). You will also have to deal
with a faster traveling ball at every other level increase, and on every
opposite other level increase the size of the paddle will change. With each
increasing level you will also be given more points for how many blocks you
hit, and when you hit them.

Here is the basic chart that explains what you should expect for every
level as far as challenges and balls look...

•=================================================•
| Level Number | Balls | Ball Speed | Paddle Size |
•==============·=======·============·=============•
| Level One | 99 | Very Slow | Normal |
| Level Two | 99 | Very Slow | Small |
| Level Three | 50 | Slow | Normal |
| Level Four | 40 | Slow | Small |
| Level Five | 30 | Medium | Normal |
| Level Six | 20 | Medium | Small |
| Level Seven | 15 | Fast | Normal |
| Level Eight | 10 | Fast | Small |
•=================================================•
| Eliminator 1 | 5 | Fast | Normal |
| Eliminator 2 | 4 | Fast | Normal |
| Eliminator 3 | 3 | Fast | Normal |
| Eliminator 4 | 2 | Fast | Normal |
| Eliminator 5 | 1 | Fast | Normal |
•=================================================•

Besides the changing of difficulties between levels there are also things
called Eliminator rounds. If you are able to beat the level you begin on
you will advance to the next level. To beat a level you must knock out 57
of the 72 bricks overall. If you are able to beat three normal rounds of
play, you will be forced to play an "eliminator round" that is meant to
beat you. If you are able to beat the eliminator round then you will go
onto another set of 3 normal games followed by the eliminator round. This
cycle continues for 5 revolutions, then if you are able to beat the final
eliminator round, you will win the game.
______________________
C O N T R O L S
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•==================•====================================================•
| Joystick Control | Type of movement the paddle will have |
•==================·====================================================•
| Joystick - Up | The paddle will move towards the top of the screen |
| Joystick - Right | The paddle will move towards the right edge |
| Joystick - Down | The paddle will move towards the bottom edge |
| Joystick - Left | The paddle will move towards the left edge |
•==================•====================================================•
| Action Button | This button will "smash" the ball (during game) |
| Action Button | Begins the game with the first sever (before game) |
•=======================================================================•

As you can tell the controls are extremely basic, however, that does not
make them easy. You will need a few minutes to get used to them, but not
too long.

•============================================================================•
| I V STRATEGY |
•============================================================================•

____________
Hit the Ball
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Probably the most obvious strategy, and best for the beginner is to just
keep the ball in play without letting it get by you. Simply move the paddle
in the direction of the ball to insure that you will hit it as often as you
can without worrying about where you are hitting it is the best way to do
well for most when they begin.
_______________
Know the Paddle
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After a few minutes of playing and hitting the ball you should notice that
the ball will bounce differently depending on where you are hitting the
ball on the paddle and whether or not you are "smashing the ball. There are
three different types of ways to hit the ball...

To "smash" the ball hit the Action button right as your paddle hits the
ball. The largest advantage that the smash has over everything else is
that the ball will come off perfectly strait every time that you hit the
ball.

There is also a hit called the "sweet spot" hit. Directly in the center,
and in a small area around the center is what is known as the "sweet
spot". The sweet spot is a good spot to hit it. For those who know the
basic concept of how light reflects off of a mirror, the ball will react
in the same manner. If the ball is comming strait at the paddle it will
bounce strait off. If it hits the sweet spot at a 30 degree angle it
will bounce off in a 30 degree angle in the opposite direction. Pretty
simple really.

The final type of shot is the "frame" shot. Around the sweet spot of the
paddle is what is known as the frame (think of a picture frame with the
sweet spot being the picture and the frame being, well the frame). These
shots are much less predictable than the other two types. Every time
that a ball hits the frame it will bounce off at an extreme angle in the
opposite direction in which it came.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Here is a basic diagram of what
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx the paddle looks like and where
xxx ·------------------------· xxx the sweet part is and where the
xxx | Frame Frame | xxx frame is. The area that is
xxx | ·--------------· | xxx marked by "x" is everything in
xxx | | | | xxx the game that is not a paddle.
xxx | | Sweet | | xxx
xxx | | Spot | | xxx
xxx | | | | xxx Below the diagram of the paddle
xxx | ·--------------· | xxx are diagrams of how the ball
xxx | Frame Frame | xxx will react when it hits the
xxx ·------------------------· xxx paddle in a certain way.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
__________
Smash Hits
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In \ ^ Out In V^ Out
\ ^ V^
\^ V^
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
_______________
Sweet Spot Hits
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
In \ / Out In V^ Out
\ / V^
\/ V^
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
__________
Frame Hits
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
In \ _/ Out In V / Out
\ _/¯ V /
\ /¯ V /
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
_____________
Take Out Rows
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Once you begin to be able to do smash shots, you can exploit them for all
they are worth by moving your paddle slightly when it comes back at you.
When you go to hit it again, simply hit another smash shot and you will be
able to take out the block next to it (hopefully). Once you get this method
down you will be able to beat levels in no time.
________________
Take Out Corners
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Due to the nature of the block setup on the wall that you have to hit, you
will come across certain spots that will knock out more than one block.
This happens if you hit an edge or a corner. It is next to impossible to
line up your shot in the beginning of the game to hit a corner, but once
you knock a few out, you can line yourself up and take a whole chunk out of
play.

•============================================================================•
| V SCORING |
•============================================================================•

On top of having to beat levels by knocking out bricks, you will also have
your score kept for you. Naturally, the higher the score that you will
score, the better you are. And the better you are the higher points you will
score. Here is a chart showing you how many points you will get for each block
that you can knock out, and how on which ball you knock it out on.

•====================================================• You should note
| Level | Ball 1 | Ball 2 | Ball 3 | Ball 4 | 5 - 99 | that the spaces
•=======·========·========·========·========·========• that are left blank
| Lev 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | in the bottom
| Lev 2 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | right portion of
| Lev 3 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 | the chart are there
| Lev 4 | 50 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 2 | because those
| Lev 5 | 100 | 50 | 25 | 10 | 5 | levels have less
| Lev 6 | 250 | 100 | 50 | 25 | 10 | than that many
| Lev 7 | 500 | 250 | 100 | 50 | 25 | balls.
| Lev 8 | 650 | 500 | 250 | 100 | 50 |
| E. 1 | 1300 | 1000 | 650 | 500 | 250 |
| E. 2 | 1300 | 1000 | 650 | 500 |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| E. 3 | 1300 | 1000 | 650 |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| E. 4 | 1300 | 1000 |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| E. 5 | 1300 |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
•====================================================•

•============================================================================•
| V I NOTES AND THANKS |
•============================================================================•

A great deal of gratitude is expressed towards all webmasters on the Internet
that spend their priceless time and hard earned money for the sole purpose of
allowing people from all different walks of life, come together and discuss
and help each other with video games. Without that time and that money, the
video game industry would be nowhere near what it is today. Thank You All.

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••••• This FAQ is copyrighted information of Mike Truitt. Any •••••
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••••• author, Mike Truitt, is strictly prohibited. To obtain •••••
••••• usage of this FAQ, simply send an e-mail to this address •••••
••••• [email protected] . Please include your name, what •••••
••••• website / publication you are representing, and I will •••••
••••• surely grant you permission. •••••
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