Microcosm
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Machine: BBC Micro B
Authors: S. Reece & D. Pearce

Introduction
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The interstellar freightliner, Nimbus, is crippled, deep in unchartered space. Insect mutations roam freely about the ship, threatening to devour the priceless cargo of Terran plant life. There is one last hope. With your help, the maintenance engineer may just be able to repair the maintenance ladders and keep the plants alive until help arrives...



The Game
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Each repair section of maintenance ladder can be collected - one at a time - from the roof despatch point, and carried to one of the ladder 'stumps' in the plant house. When all the ladders have been repaired you will move on to a new plant house.

The health of the plants in each planthouse is indicated by a PHLOEM level indicator. A warning bell will sound if the plants start to wilt, and you must then supply them with nutrient to prevent them dying.

First drop the laser pack (blue) on one of the vacant ledges and collect the nutrient can (green), manouevre near some plants and fire nutrients at them. Your nutrient can will not operate if there are too many Aphids on screen, you must shoot as many as possible before collecting the nutrient can.

In later sections, venomous indestructuble Spiders and Beetles appear and must be avoidied - as must the acid that leaks from broken pipes.



Game Controls
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Z - Left, X - Right, SHIFT - Actvate Gravi-pac (Up), RETURN - Fire Laser/Nutrients
ESCAPE - Pause/Resume



Loading
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CHAIN"" (RETURN)

Music will play while Microcosm is loading. If you want to switch it off, press ESCAPE when the music starts.