Spider Fighter Atari 2600  FAQ/Strategy Guide
Version: 1.0
Author: Larcen Tyler
Last Revision Date: 11/27/05
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This document is electronically published work Copyrighted ©2005 Larcen Tyler.
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.

Spider Fighter is a registered trademark of Activision.

Atari 2600 and any accessories mentioned within are registered trademarks and
copyrighted materials owned by Atari Games.

GameFAQs is a registered trademark and copyrighted 1995-2005 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

11/27/05: Well, I've taken up the task of writing more Atari 2600 guides,
so here's yet another one I decided to cook up!
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2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Look out, creepy crawly spiders are heading for your beautiful orchard in hopes
of stealing your luscious fruit from your beautiful orchard! They're swarming
in faster and faster, and there's no sign of them letting up.  Quick, grab
your bug blaster and get ready to blast those bugs to bug heaven, but watch
out, as they've got poison stingers that they can shoot at you, which will
render your blaster useless!


SETTING UP:

Set up your Atari 2600 or Atari 7800 according to the user's manual.  Plug a
joystick into the left controller jack, since Spider Fighter is only for
one player at a time.

The left difficulty controls the gameplay speed and overall difficulty.  If it
is in the A position (left side) then the game will be more advanced, but
you will earn more points at later stages.  When it is in the B position (right
side) you will only earn regular points throughout the entire game, but the
gameplay will be generally easier.

The right difficulty switch controls the type of shots you have.  When it is in
the A position, your shots will go straight upward from where you fired them
from.  When it is in the B position, your shots will always remain above your
blaster, meaning that as you move, they will move with you, giving you
steerable shots.

Difficulty and shot type can be changed at any time during gameplay.

When you are happy with your settings, depress the Game Reset switch, and you
will hear a short sound, indicating that the first wave of attack is about
to commence.

Make sure to hold your joystick with the button facing toward the television
screen at all times.  Your bug blaster will be on the bottom of the screen,
and can be moved to the left or right by moving the joystick in the respective
direction.

Pressing the button will fire shots at the spiders.  By holding down the button
you will be able to shoot up to three shots at a time rapidly.  You must press
the button every time you wish to fire again, as there is no automatic fire
in this game.


ENEMIES:

Master Nest: The Master Nest is a blue circular creature that slowly floats
around near the top of the screen.  When each round begins, a Master Pod
will be floating around already, with three waiting in reserve, as indicated
by the number of Master Nests on the upper-left hand part of the screen.
Master Nests are the only enemies that can steal your fruit, so keep an eye on
them.  When they first appear, they cannot be harmed untill they release a Spy
Pod, or a Green Widow, at which point the white band that surrounds them will
vanish, indicating that they are vulnerable to your shots.

Spy Pod: Spy Pods are flashing circles with a small square inside them.  Their
primary goal is to distract you while the Master Nest steals your fruit from
you.  They move very slowly, but fire a lot of shots.  However, if you destroy
all Spy Pods on the screen, the Master Nest will cease releasing enemies,
giving you an advantage over the enemy.

Green Widow: Green Widows are green bugs that attempt to shield the Master Nest
by taking a hit for the nest, and also provide a lot of cover fire.  They are
similar to Spy Pods, except that destroying all Green Widows on screen at one
time will not cease the production of further enemies.

Stinger: Stingers are the most dangerous enemy in the game.  If you destroy
a Master Nest, any enemies remaining on the screen will instantly turn into
Stingers, yellow spiders that move at a very fast rate and fire quickly, with
the sole intention of destroying your blaster.  Dodging their shots and
countering as quickly as possible is imperative to surviving.


WAVE PROGRESSION:

When a wave begins, you will have to deal with a Master Nest, as well as three
nests waiting off screen.  When a nest is destroyed, along with all enemies
onscreen, another Master Nest will appear, with the number of nests decreasing
by one.  When all four nests have been destroyed, the wave will be completed.

You start out protecting your oranges.  Three oranges will appear in the upper
right hand corner of the screen, and you must prevent them from being taken by
the spiders.  There is no penalty for losing your fruit, save for that you will
receive no bonus at the end of the round.  Any lost fruit is replaced at the
beginning of the next wave.

You must protect your oranges for four waves before moving on to grapes.
After surviving four waves protecting your grapes, you must protect your
strawberries for four waves.  All waves after the twelfth wave have you
protecting your bananas.
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3. SCORING INFORMATION

The point values are as follows for Normal Game Difficulty (Left Difficulty
Switch is set to B.):

Shoot Master Nest: 100 Points
Shoot Stinger: 50 Points
Shoot Spy Pod: 50 Points
Shoot Green Widow: 30 Points

When playing on Expert Game Difficulty (Left Difficulty Switch is set to A,)
however, your points will be multiplied depending on the wave you are in:

Grape Wave: Double Value
Strawberry Wave: Four Times Normal Value
Banana Wave: Eight Times Normal Value

When you start a new game, you will have four extra bug blasters in reserve
(making for five blasters total.)  Every time you are hit by an enemy shot,
you will lose one blaster.  If you are shot and have no reserve blasters,
the game is over.

If you manage to complete a wave without losing any fruit, you will be awarded
an extra bug blaster.  You can only have a total of four blasters in reserve
at one time.  If you complete a perfect wave with four blasters in reserve,
a bonus of 500 points will be added to your score.
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4. TIPS

-As tempting as it is, don't go for the Master Nest first, otherwise you'll
be left at the mercy of the merciless stingers.  Instead, go for the Spy
Pods first to keep the Master Nest from spawning any further enemies.  Take
out any Green Widows that may be on screen at one time, and then go for the
nest.

-If you see a Master Nest capture one of your fruits, you can shoot it and
the fruit will be returned, but all remaining enemies on screen will be turned
into Stingers, so be prepared to move quickly.

-On that note, Master Nests will not immediately attempt to go after a fruit,
instead they will wait at least 10-15 seconds before attempting to go after
one.  If you take them out as quickly as possible, you run a lower risk of
having your fruit stolen.

-In the event that you have to deal with Stingers, focus on dodging their
shots and pop them when you get a second.  Since Stingers can't steal your
fruit, you can take your time with them and focus on staying alive.

-If you get hit by a spider (and it will happen, trust me,) don't fret.  When
your next blaster appears on screen, the spiders will move around but won't
shoot at you right away.  You will be able to shoot at them without retaliation
for a few seconds, so take advantage of this as best as you can, especially
when you're dealing with Stingers.

-And of course, you can't forget this rule at all, 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 "Spider Fighter Guide" as your subject line.)

You can reach me at: [email protected]
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6. CREDITS

A game like this seems simple enough, but is actually more challenging than you
think, just like writing this guide was.  I couldn't have done it alone, so
here's who I owe a lot of thanks to:

-My mother, for buying the Atari 2600 and passing her love for it onto me.
-Larry Miller, for designing this unique game.
-Jeff 'CJayC' Veasey, for providing us writers with a place to share our work.
-Atari, for putting out the Atari 2600.
-AtariAge (www.AtariAge.com) for all the information that helped me write this
guide.
-And, of course, you can't deny it, you can't hide it, you can't escape it,
it's the one most important person of all, who makes writing this and other
guides worth my time: YOU, for reading my guide!
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©2005 Larcen Tyler  All rights reserved.

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