S K Y D I V E R

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S K Y D I V E R
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Sky Diver
for the Atari 2600

Full FAQ
Last Updated 9/28/03
Version 1.0

Written & Compiled by "TestaALT"
Email address [email protected]

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Table of Contents
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1. What's New?
2. Introduction
3. Dedication
4. Controls
5. Map Overview
6. Overview
7. Winning Strategies
8. FAQ
9. Credits
10. Legal Disclaimer
11. Contact Information

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Section Jump
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Here's how you can instantly get to any section you want to in this guide
without scrolling.

1. Hightlight the section name in the table of contents (Look up).
2. Press Control-C.
3. Press Control-F.
4. Press Control-V.
5. Press Enter.

You should now be at the beginning of the appropriate section.

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1. What's New?

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Version 1.0 -- 9/28/03 -- Original version of guide.

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2. Introduction

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Welcome to my twenty third walkthrough on the Atari hit, Sky Diver! This
guide will cover the basics of the game, as well as strategies on how to get
those divers down safetly. This marks my sixth walkthrough in the Atari 2600
gaming system of hopefully many more to come. Sky Diver is know by many as
"Dare Diver," and don't be embarrased that you stumbled across the game while
looking for the "slang" name. Sky Diver is a unique game because of how it
throws you into a weird situation and makes you have to "think fast." The
actually strategies will mostly be common sense, hence this game is fairly
simple to master.

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3. Dedication

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I decided to dedicate this guide to all Atari 2600 gamers out there. They
really keep this system alive, even though it seems "dead." Atari 2600, in a
lot of people's minds, was the first gaming console ever created. This really
isn't true, as there were other obscure systems before it. However, this was
most people's first video game system. This system is what brought them into
gaming. What lead most of them to all those sleeplessly fun nights. And so, I
dedicate this guide to the Atari 2600 gamers that still play this old system
and keep it alive.

This guide is also dedicated to Brian P. Sulpher and AboveAverage. Brian for
showing me that you can write for very old systems. AboveAverage for showing
me which system to write on... the Atari 2600!

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4. Controls

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Joystick: Allows you to move the character up, down, left, or right. Also
opens the parachute when you press down-left/right diagonally.

Fire Key: Jumps diver out of plane.

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5. Map Overview

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Here is the field screen that you will see throughout the game:

Landing Pad #1
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+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+---------------=====----------#----------=====--------------+
^ ^
Landing Pads Flags

Landing Pad #2
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+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+------------=====-------------#-------------=====-----------+
^ ^
Landing Pads Flags

Landing Pad #3
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+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+-------------------------=====#=====------------------------+
/ ^
Landing Pads Flags

Landing Pad #4
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+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+-=====------------------------#-----------------------=====-+
^ ^
Landing Pads Flags

Landing Pad #5
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+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+---------=====----------------#----------------=====--------+
^ ^
Landing Pads Flags

Landing Pad #6
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+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+------=====-------------------#------------------=====------+
^ ^
Landing Pads Flags

Landing Pad #7
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+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+---------------=====----------#--------------------=====----+
^ ^
Landing Pads Flags

Landing Pad #8
--------------

+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+-----=====--------------------#-=====-----------------------+
^ ^
Landing Pads Flags

Landing Pad #9
--------------

+------------------------------------------------------------+
P | Points-> # # |
l | ___ ___ |
a->| |___| |___| |
n | |
e | |
s | |
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+=====-------------------------#=====------------------------+
^ ^
Landing Pads Flags

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6. Overview

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Your main objective in Dare Diver is very simple; have your divers survive.
See, the game starts out by having you, and another plane, fly by. There will
be landing pads on the ground of two colors. One of these colors should be the
color of your plane, and the other's should be the same. You have to get your
diver, your dare diver, if you will, on the pad of your color in one piece.
Your job is basically everything to get the diver to the pad. These are the
things that you have to do:

1. Get out of the plane at the right moment.
2. Move the diver to the landing pad of your plane color.
3. Get the parachute up.
4. Land on the pad correctly.

If you do all of these steps properly, you should be raking in the points
fairly quickly. The landing pads are moved everytime, however, so you can't
just time it out, or anything like that. The trick of this game is once you
leave the plane you can move the diver around fairly easiely, but that's
for the strategy section.

------
Planes
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There will be two different planes in this game, both of different colors. The
objective is to get the plane in the area of where the landing pad is. The
more precise you are, the more easier it will be to land on the appropriate
landing pad.

------
Divers
------

Two divers will be in this game, both are different color. These color are the
same as the planes, and vice versa with the landing pads. Anyways, this dare-
devil diver is the key to the game. You can move him around, position him to
land on the landing pad correct, and rack up the most points.

------------
Landing Pads
------------

These landing pads are of different colors, and are the same color as the
planes and divers. You get more points if you put your parachute up later then
earlier, but your diver might just hit the landing pad. That is not a landing,
sadly.

---------
Parachute
---------

This is another key factor of the game. Once you are aligned with the landing
pad, press diagonally to open the parachute. The lower down you open the para-
chute, the more points you obtain.

----
Wind
----

The little white flag on the bottom tells you which way the wind is going, and
if it is going strong. The stronger it goes, the more you will get blown off
course. You don't get any points if you don't land on the landing pad, so wind
is important thing to know about.

-------
Landing
-------

Landing is the hardest part, once you have all of the other coordinates lined
up you still need to end your landing correctly.

-------
Scoring
-------

I believe RetroFreak put it the most clearly in his review. This paragraph is
straight from his review, and is copyright of it. I have not had time to ask
him if I could use it, but it will sure be usefull in this guide. So, here is
the tidbit from RetroFreak's review:

"Another thing that's pretty neat is how the points are determined. After
jumping out of the plane, you get to choose how long you wait before opening
the parachute. The further down you let yourself fall before opening the
parachute, the more points you'll get upon landing with both feet firmly on
the landing pad. For instance, open the parachute the very second you jump out
and you're liable not to get a single point, but if you wait and open it when
you're not much higher than the ground itself, you just might get the maximum
number of points (11) for the jump. Don't be too daring though. Once Mr. Stick
Figure falls down to a certain point, you won't be able to open your parachute
at all. As a result of this, your character will fall about 3/4 into the
ground, leaving only the tips of his hands and his head above the ground.
CLASSIC MEMORY ALERT: For some reason, he looks like a pig with eyes when this
happens. With nine jumps in a game, you can rack up a possible 99 points for
any entire game."

So, the two things that make up scoring are landing and where you open your
parachute at.

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7. Winning Strategies

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These are some of the best strategies that I have thought of throughout this
game. Most of them are pretty common sense strategies, which means that there
isn't any button command, or timing to save you. You just have to play it by
eye, and see how it plays out. I am happy to put any strategy you might have
into this document, so if you have something, send it over to me.

a) Drop out of the plane where the landing pad is at *always.*

b) Wind is a big part in the game, but you can pan it out using a "left right"
strategy where you tap left and right fast. This usually keeps the diver
in the same position even with the highest winds.

c) Wind can through you completely off course. If it does, try to salvage the
landing by coming back to the landing pad.

d) Always look to see what is "up" with the wind.

e) To rack up the most points, try to jump out at the exact location of the
landing pad.

f) To rack up the most points, put your parachute up right before you hit the
landing pad. This might seem risky, so play repeatedly until you get a
good timing down.

g) To rack up the most points, try to land exactly on the landing pad, and not
on it's side.

h) This pretty much goes without saying, but always remember to put your para-
chute up.

i) You have nine turns to get the most points, so always try to be on your
"game" on every turn. There is a total of 99 points to be gotten.

j) The landing pad changed a lot, so look at the maps to find out where the
"next one" is.

k) If the wind is going in one direction completey, jump out on the opposite
side to enable it easier for you to hit the landing pad.

l) Look for other strategies in other players.

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8. FAQ

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Question: My game doesn't work, how do I get it to work!?
Answer: You might have a corrupted version of the game, or perhaps the old
2 K version, which doesn't work very well.

Question: Can more then one person play at once?
Answer: Yes, this game is designed for more then one player.

Question: How many levels are there?
Answer: No "levels," but landing pads in different locations.

Question: Can I play this game against the computer?
Answer: Sadly, no. You have to play this game with more then one player,
the computer won't play against you.

Question: What is a landing pad?
Answer: The little colored squares on the ground are the landing pads. If
your land on the appropriately colored square, you will get points.

Question: I can never land on the landing pads!
Answer: Just look at the different strategies and mold them into do-able
strategies.

Question: Why did they name this game Sky Diver?
Answer: Isn't it obvious? That is what you do in the game! Most people act-
ually know this game as "Dare Diver," but Sky Diver is the name that
the producer's gave.

Question: Where can I get this game?
Answer: The Atari 2600 hasn't had any new games made for years, so you can't
buy it from them. You can get the game at a garage sale or ebay, if
you like. ROMs also work, if you have the game and it is broken,
that is.

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9. Credits

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CJayC - For making a wonderful site.
RetroFreak - I put the little tidbit about the score into this guide with-
out his consent. However, it is still his tidbit, and is Copy-
Right of him.
[ ? ] - Your name could be here! In lights!

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10. Legal Disclaimer

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This document is Copyright © 2003 Andrew "TestaALT" Testa. All Rights
Reserved. This document may not be reproduced or retransmitted in any form and
under any circumstances without the complete consent of the author. It may not
be sold, altered, or published in any way without the advance permission of
the author. All sources, which have contributed to this document, are cited
and/or credited in some form. The only sites I allow this document to be
viewed at are:

GameFAQs <http://www.gamefaqs.com>
IGN <http://www.ign.com>

If you see this document at any other sources email me telling so as I do
not allow this document to be published at any other sources. Please do not
ask me if you want this document on your website, as the answer will most
likely be no. These terms have become binding once the recipient (or reader)
opened this document. Violation of these terms is strictly prohibited and will
result in a lawsuit. Please do not take these terms as threats and/or not read
them as they are all very much true. I can sue you for an act of plagiarism
and will not hesitate to do so. Thank you for reading this legal disclaimer
and have a nice day!

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11. Contact Information

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This section will tell you how to contact the author regarding work that he
has done. Questions you have can be sent to [email protected]. I have only
two rules when it comes to sending me an email. They our: The question should
not be answered in this document and put the game name in the subject line. If
you do not follow these rules your email will be ignored. The question might
be added in the next update as I see fit. I will try my best to respond to
your question. Thank you for reading this information.

Did you like this guide? Rate my guide then see some of my other work at:

-> http://gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/23249.html <-

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