Type Attack(Atari 800) FAQ/Walkthrough version 1.0.0 by schultw.andrez@sbcglobal.net ================================ OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. CONTROLS 3. STRATEGIES 4. WALKTHROUGH 5. MAKING YOUR OWN LEVELS 5-1. IN-GAME 5-2. HEX EDITING 6. VERSIONS 7. CREDITS ================================ 1. INTRODUCTION Type Attack is a very creative game that helped me learn to type quickly. It was also fun to cheat at, but more importantly, it combined Space Invaders with typing. I played it a lot. It gave you 39 waves of combinations of letters, and you could fire away at the letters by pushing them. You had 3 sub-waves where the letters were in reasonable order, then scrambled. Then you had a word wave and a possible bonus wave where you had to type in words. Looking back I see it was a decent vocabulary builder, too, as many of the words you had to type in the bonus waves were unusual. They had to be. How much can ASDF JKL; spell? TA also had a good learning curve. You started with the ASDF keys and moved to the JKL; before using the next rows up and down, and eventually you got to shift-number keys, which were a pain. But you could slow the game down and get less potential points, too. There was also a level editor. You could make sixty! They could contain lower-case letters if you wanted, or all A's if you wanted to run the score up. The calibration here wasn't seen much in early games except maybe for Lode Runner, which was even more awesome. Sadly the Apple emulator version had its data files chopped off in the Asimov version, so it does not work. But the Atari 800 version works okay, with a hole in one level. You can fix that with hex editing if you want. Also, the Atari 800 does not have all the dancing characters the Apple does, nor does it have quite as good sounds effects. 2. CONTROLS [F4] on your emulator brings up the screen for starting a game. (1) select speed determines your speed, which is your score multiplier. Speed correlates roughly linearly to words per minute you can handle. (2) select level determines your first lesson. Choosing 1-39 gives you a computer generated level. Choosing 40-99 gives you one you made yourself. (3) Make Lesson lets you make a lesson from 40-99. (4) Start New Game (5) Restart Old Game are self-explanatory. I'm not sure how to save a game, but you can, which is nice. Other than that you can use the keys to shoot whatever is on the board. The enemies come down in a 8x8 block in the character wave, and you can shoot any letter on the bottom of each column. The computer looks from left to right. You get 5 points for shooting a letter but -5 for missing one. In the word wave, you get 15 words you need to type, and (speed)*(# of letters) for each word shot. If a word makes it to the other side, you lose (# of letters) energy but if you shoot it, you gain that energy. You can hit backspace, and to shoot a word, push space or return. If you won all 3 letter waves and the word wave without mistakes, you get a bonus wave where you can recharge further. End of level bonus = (speed) * (words per minute). I'm not sure how WPM is calculated but the Atari seems a bit more stringent than the Apple. You shouldn't worry if you are an accomplished typist and don't do so well. You'll go quicker when you are typing words you actually want to type. Holding down a key doesn't cause rapid fire, so that does not work so well. 3. STRATEGIES For most early levels you can work up to a whopping word bonus just typing in a pattern of letters on the first wave. If you are using an emulator, you can slow things down to get a big bonus, but that is cheating. Also you can look at certain patterns in the first wave that can make it a breeze to get through. I like to try to pick off letters on the right on the early levels. Just keep pushing that letter until it disappears on the right. That way you can get a row done easily. Then you can pick off the column on the left after, if you want, and things can go quickly. Don't worry about making a mistake or two. If you want to play for safety, just let the curtain come down on #3 in later levels and then get things back on the word round. You can wait for an easy level to really refill, or you can just clunk along. Use this FAQ to see what all the words are, too. Regular Space Invaders tactics apply. Pick off whatever is on the bottom or sides so that the letters do not bounce back and forth so quickly. Short term, it may be good to cheat heinously by placing your fingers on the only letters found in this round, but you need to get better. F9 pauses so you can figure what to type, which is kind of cheating. Oh well. Unbalanced columns are less of a big deal than unbalanced rows, as you have plenty of room to move back and forth. It's easier to chop a column than a row because keys may repeat and you may chop to the side of a letter in the bottom row first. 4. WALKTHROUGH Level 1 data: First Wave: FASDFASD DFASDFAS SDFASDFA ASDFASDF FASDFASD DFASDFAS SDFASDFA ASDFASDF Words: AS|FA|AS|AAA|DAD FAD|ADA|SAD|ADD|SASS ADS|DADA|DAFF|FADS|DADS For this and the next you can type A, 2S, 3D, 4F, etc., or you can ASDFASDF then SDFASDFA etc. Level 2 data: First Wave: ;JKL;JKL L;JKL;JK KL;JKL;J JKL;JKL; ;JKL;JKL L;JKL;JK KL;JKL;J JKL;JKL; Words: JK|KL|JL|LLL|K;K KLK|LKL|J;K;|JLJ|K;J K;LL|J;L;|L;J;|JKL;|J;K;L Level 3 data: First Wave: FASD;JKL DFASL;JK SDFAKL;J ASDFJKL; FASD;JKL DFASL;JK SDFAKL;J ASDFJKL; This is still easy, but you need to use the left hand, then the right hand. Words: JAL|AS;|JFK|AFL;|KAKA LAKS|ALKA|KLAD|KAFKA|A LAD JA JA|SKALD|SF; LA|JAL AD|ALASKA Level 4 data: First Wave: EUJDEUJD DJUEDJUE EUEUEUEU DJDJDJDJ EUJDEUJD DJUEDJUE EUEUEUEU DJDJDJDJ Use middle and index fingers for E-D and J-U if you like. Let yourself take a few errors to get through quickly. Words: DE|AU|USE|USA|LAKE JUJU|KEEL|JUDE|FUEL|JUKE A DUEL|FUSED|KULAK|DUE US|JED; ED Level 5 data: First Wave: RIKFRIKF FKIRFKIR RIRIRIRI FKFKFKFK RIKFRIKF FKIRFKIR RIRIRIRI FKFKFKFK Words: IF|LI|IRE|SIR|IRK JAIL|RISK|JILL|SIRED|RIDER IF ILL|SIRIUS|DIRE AS|JR; SR|USER IS FR and IK, then when near the end, RF and KI. Level 6 data: First Wave: EURIEURI DJFKDJFK EURIEURI DJFKDJFK EURIEURI DJFKDJFK EURIEURI DJFKDJFK DE, UJ get 2 columns. Then FR and IK. Then repeat. Words: URALS|KEFIR|FUSIL|FLUKE|DRIED UKASE|JESUS|JERKED|JAILER|SERIAL SIERRA|JILL IS|US; FED|EUREKA|JELLIED Level 7 data: First Wave: QP;AQP;A A;PQA;PQ QPQPQPQP A;A;A;A; QP;AQP;A A;PQA;PQ QPQPQPQP A;A;A;A; AQ and ;P. One combo will be there. At the end you will need to go with QA and P;. Words: PI|PAP|JAPE|QUIP|QUAD QUID|JALAP|PIQUE|QUILL|P; Q; QUIRK|QUEUE|I QUAKE|PULL UP|PURPLE Level 8 data: First Wave: WOLSWOLS SLOWSLOW WOWOWOWO SLSLSLSL WOLSWOLS SLOWSLOW WOWOWOWO SLSLSLSL Just type "Slow" 16 times. Words: OW|POW|OWL|WOK|WOOF SLOW|JOKER|JAWS;|I OWE|FLOWS WORLD|WOULD|I WILL|WORKER|POWWOW Level 10 data: First Wave: GTOTGTOT FFLFFFLF GTOGGTOG FFLFFFLF GTOTGTOT FFLFFFLF GTOGGTOG FFLFFFLF FGFT etc. Alternate FGLO and FTLO. Words: GO|TO|IT|GET|GOT TAG|RAG|GOTO|GLUT|TRAIL GET AT|GOUT|GARTER|GIGGLE|GO WEST Level 11 data: First Wave: ZMJAZMJA AJMZAJMZ ZMZMZMZM AJAJAJAJ ZMJAZMJA AJMZAJMZ ZMZMZMZM AJAJAJAJ AZ's, JM's, then switch MJ and ZA for the rest. Words: OZ|ME|ZOT|ZIP|ZIG ZEAL|MAZE|ZOOM|MIZAR|MEZZO ZIRAM|MAIZE|MUZZLE|TO ZAP|IF ZERO Level 12 data: First Wave: GTMTZMJA FFJFAJMZ GTMGZMZM FFJFAJAJ GTMTZMJA FFJFAJMZ GTMGZMZM FFJFAJAJ Repeat FGFT, JMFG, AZJM, JMZA. Words: ZIT|ZAG|MOOG|TIME|MAGS GUAZE|GIZMO|TIGER|GOLEM|FAZED TOTEM|GAMETE|ZIGZAG|TO ZORK|IT GAMES Level 13 data: First Wave: HYEYHYEY JJDJJJDJ HYEHHYEH JJDJJJDJ HYEYHYEY JJDJJJDJ HYEHHYEH JJDJJJDJ JHJY a bunch. DEDE when the structure seems imbalanced. Words: MY|HE|HAM|YOU|THY THEY|HYDRO|THEIR|THE Y|TIGHT HE HID|HYADES|A MYTH|ZITHER|WHY YES Level 14 data: First Wave: V,KFV,KF FK,VFK,V V,V,V,V, FKFKFKFK V,KFV,KF FK,VFK,V V,V,V,V, FKFKFKFK Words: V,|EV|TV,|VIA|V, W GIVE|V, Z|HIVE|I, IF|V DAY VIDEO|EVE, I|HE, US|I, THY|MY JIVE Bottom 2 rows are easy, then go up the side. ,VFK 3 times, then repeat the first 4 rows. Level 15 data: First Wave: HYVYV,KF JJFJFK,V HYVHV,V, JJFJFKFK HYVYV,KF JJFJFK,V HYVHV,V, JJFJFKFK J pairs with H,Y for the first two columns, then FV *2, JHJY, k, FVk, in some order works next. Words: Y,H|H,V|V,Y|HYPO|HYDE HYLA|VARY|HYPER|THIS,|THAT, HEAVY|HOMELY|VALLEY|VAT DYE|YES, HE Level 16 data: First Wave: CNJDCNJD DJNCDJNC CNCNCNCN DJDJDJDJ CNJDCNJD DJNCDJNC CNCNCNCN DJDJDJDJ DC JN clears two rows, then several DJs, then a bunch of CNs. One or the other of these pairs will work, until you zap a pair on the right. Then use the other. Words: CN|NO|CON|NICE|NECK NICK|CYAN|CHIN|ACNE|NACHO CHANT|NIACIN|HE CAN|NICHE|SHE CAN Level 17 data: First Wave: B.LFB.LF FL.BFL.B B.B.B.B. FLFLFLFL B.LFB.LF FL.BFL.B B.B.B.B. FLFLFLFL A continual FL B. solves this level. Words: B.|B,|BIN|CAB|E.B. B.C.|BACK|N.Y.|NBC,|BYTE I BUY.|U.S.A.|B.B.C.|OH BOY|A BABY Level 18 data: First Wave: XMJSXYYS SJMXSJJX XMXMXYXJ SJSJSJSY XMJSXYYS SJMXSJJX XMXMXYXJ SJSJSJSY Words: EX|XI|HEX|COX|POX VEX|XMAS|TEXT|XYLEM|WAXY TOXIC|X RAY|MOXIE|EXTRACT|TO EXIT SX, JM, JY are the pairs here. Be prepared to go through with JM to start, then SX. Clear the left columns(JM) then the right(JY). Level 19 data: First Wave: CNB.CNBX DJFLDJFS CNB.CNBX DJFLDJFS CNB.CNBX DJFLDJFS CNB.CNBX DJFLDJFS Words: EX.|BOX|NIX|JINX|BING P.X.|BONG|MING|NOBLE|XEBEC BANZAI|N.B.A.|XENON|NIXON|BIG BANG DC, JN, FB, L., SX Emphasis on the lower row here. There are a fwe more pairs to hanle than usual, but cut off the SX and DC first. Level 20 data: First Wave: 1S3F1S3F A2D4A2D4 1S3F1S3F A2D4A2D4 1S3F1S3F A2D4A2D4 1S3F1S3F A2D4A2D4 Words: A1|S2|D3|F43|R4S2 E3A1|Q1 F4|HGR2|1 END|2 POP GOTO 4|12 STOP|LIST 14|CALL 214|1ST BASE A1 2S D3 4F. You can cheat here and use one hand for the top number row. Level 21 data: First Wave: 7K9;7K9; J8L0J8L0 7K9;7K9; J8L0J8L0 7K9;7K9; J8L0J8L0 7K9;7K9; J8L0J8L0 Words: J7|I8|L9|K87|U7P0 J7O9|I8 P0|ON 9|7 UP|RUN 8 HTAB 7|VTAB 8|7 CONT|8 TEXT|9TH ONE J7 K8 L9 ;0. You can cheat here and use one hand for the top number row. Level 22 data: First Wave: R56UR56U 4FJ74FJ7 R56UR56U 4FJ74FJ7 R56UR56U 4FJ74FJ7 R56UR56U 4FJ74FJ7 4R F5 J6 7U make this easy to start. Words: R4|F5|J6|Y6|T5J6 Y6R4|R4 T5|IF 6|TO 5|6 HGR DEL 5|A 6TH|5 HOME|6 STOP|ONE 5TH Level 23 data: First Wave: 73175195 J3A7F1L5 5D9J3A7F F1L5D9J3 3A7F1L5D D9J3A7F1 1L5D9J3A A7F1L5D9 A1D3F5J7 or some rotation gets you the first column. Then you need to tinker a bit. Push 7 and proceed with the same finger as before for the next row. Repeat as needed. Note 5 follows F almost always, and same for L-9 etc. Words: Q1|E3|F5|U79|J7A1 D3J7|L9 T5|5 DEF|9 GET|7 FOR 3 READ|9 WAIT|5 NEXT|7 DATA|5TH ONE Level 24 data: First Wave: 84286206 K4S8J2;6 6F0K4S8J J2;6F0K4 4S8J2;6F F0K4S8J2 2;6F0K4S S8J2;6F0 Similar to 23. SJF; and 8260 are on pretty much any row, or you can go with S2 etc(same finger) for the top column. Half the columns are like that, and the other half reqire you to move around a bit. I'd advise going by column at first for the four columns, then by column left to right. Words: W2|R4|Y6|K89|R4J6 W2I8|P0 S2|4 DIM|8 LET|ON 62 24 REM|THEN 80|GOTO 20|STEP 40|60 TRACE Level 25 data: First Wave: ,.Q.,.Q. KLALKLAL ,.Q,,.Q, KLAKKLAK ,.Q.,.Q. KLALKLAL ,.Q,,.Q, KLAKKLAK AQAQ then put your fingers in a square for KL,. Words: R.|,X|CA.|A,B|2.3 I, A|S.F.|8,9|1,000|F.B.I. I GO.|2, OR|AND...|2,499|THE END. Level 26 data: First Wave: !??!!??! A;;AA;;A !?!?!?!? A;A;A;A; !??!!??! A;;AA;;A !?!?!?!? A;A;A;A; Hold shift down for the !? and take it off for the rows. Words: A!|I?|ME!|EH?|NO! ?SI|!??|NOW!|WHY?|BAM! HUH?|ZAP!|I AM!|IT IS?|OH NO! You have to use shifties a lot here, but it's kind of amusing. Level 27 data: First Wave: '*V*'*V* J;F;J;F; '*V''*V' J;FJJ;FJ '*V*'*V* J;F;J;F; '*V''*V' J;FJJ;FJ Words: *W|'S|4*1|A'S|S*T '82|V*B|I'M|W*F|IT'S **X**|WE'LL|G * H|BOB'S|B*E*F Level 28 data: First Wave: "++""++" S;;SS;;S "+"+"+"+ S;S;S;S; "++""++" S;;SS;;S "+"+"+"+ S;S;S;S; Shifts characters on alternate rows, so chop it up like that. Words: "|A+|1+2|"L"|+41 "GO"|K+J|"80"|P+Q|+3.1 J+1|"OH"|12+3|"NO"|+3000 Level 29 data: First Wave: ()V)()V) KLFLKLFL ()V(()V( KLFKKLFK ()V)()V) KLFLKLFL ()V(()V( KLFKKLFK FVFV then KLKL and use the shift keys, 3 each way. Words: 1)|A)|()|(F)|(Z) (2)|1))|(34)|S(A)|(AT) B(S)|( )NO|((S))|PDL(0)|( )YES Some Apple calls in here. Level 30 data: First Wave: #::##::# D;;DD;;D #:#:#:#: D;D;D;D; #::##::# D;;DD;;D #:#:#:#: D;D;D;D; Note every other row requires a shift, so take care of this by row. Words: #3|GR:|LO:|#9|#44 #AJ|J:S|PO#|2:3|PR#1 3:45|IN#2|THUS:|HI:LO|A:B:C Level 31 data: First Wave: &-C-&-C- J;D;J;D; &-C&&-C& J+DJJ;DJ &-C-&-C- J;D;J;D; &-C&&-C& J+DJJ;DJ Very messy but you can pick off the DC easily then the J's and &'s to get relief for two more rows. Words: &|C-|E&H|X-Y|C&H -45|A&W|-2.3|M&M|-4.3 HI-FI|AND &|GO-GO|3 & 4|HI-RES Level 32 data: First Wave: $==$$==$ F;;FF;;F $=$=$=$= F;F;F;F; $==$$==$ F;;FF;;F $=$=$=$= F;F;F;F; $'s are the wrench in the works here. Push F$ at the start, then F;. Words: $|A$|2=|I=J|$90 W=4|CHR$|=33|2=2|A=B $1.11|J = 2|$FFAD|C=$59|GET W$ Level 33 data: First Wave: []E][]E] KLDLKLDL []E[[]E[ KLDKKLDK []E][]E] KLDLKLDL []E[[]E[ KLDKKLDK k[k[ and l]l] get a great start, then eded. Words: A]|2]|T[S|[I]|X[[Y AB[C|J[14|F[]S|[OUT]|J [ 3 IF A[B|W ] 11|OR P[Z|Q ]] T|AND I[J Level 34 data: First Wave: %//%%//% F;;FF;;F %/$/$/$/ F;F;F;F; %//%%//% F;;FF;;F %/$/$/$/ F;F;F;F; Wait to pick off the $ and % if possible. Though to start you can gun down the 1st column and row rather easily--keep the shift on for the 1st. Words: 5%|1/2|F%|///|%101 I/O|99%|L/R|45%|X/Y 3/19|F/22|2.3%|HE/SHE|8% TOPS Level 35 data: First Wave: ^@T@^@T@ ;KFK;KFK ^@T^^@T^ ;KF;;KF; ^@T@^@T@ ;KFK;KFK ^@T^^@T^ ;KF;;KF; Pick off the non-shifties as you can, then the shifties. (shift-2 and 6) Words: ^I|@7|J^2|^G|9^4 1@2|W^8|Y@8|X^Y|44^5 8@9|@ $4|FG^4|S @ T|1 @ $3 Well, at least the words aren't long. Level 36 data: First Wave: OVISOVIS BILGBILG YFNUYFNU MHEJMHEJ KTZRKTZR CIOOCIOO AWDUAWDU PXEQPXEQ Words: PACK MY|BOX WITH|LIQUOR|5 DOZEN|JUGS. QUICK|BROWN|FOX|JUMPED|OVER THE LAZY DOG|QUICK|WAFTING|ZEPHERS|VEX BOLD They're making you use all the letters of the alphabet here, pretty much. Wave 1 = words on first line, repeated twice. Level 37 data: First Wave: REGHGONN OVATUHOA CESAOTCT SSRFRRSN RDARBOIE UNEUSFHN OAYORTTI FENOEHNT Words: 4 SCORE|& SEVEN|YEARS|AGO, OUR|FATHERS BROUGTH|ON THIS|LAND|A NEW|NATION, MADE IN|LIBERTY|& BELIEF|THAT ALL|MEN ARE The Gettysburg Address, in the words ad also in wave 1. Level 38 data: First Wave: 3J4M3N4I P6L5F2A2 6Y1E5O9G X7U7S4U3 5T2H0B8V R1W4E0C6 4K3T7C1J Z0A9Q9D2 Work from left to right here. Words: 96 TEARS|40WHACKS|23SKIDOO|77SUNSET|99BOTTLE 6 OF ONE|UNION 76|TEA 4 2|31FLAVOR|3D GLASS 5TH COL.|ON 1ST|IN 1942|ROUTE 66|3RD WAVE Lots of catch phrases here--a song, Lizzie Borden, slang, a TV show, another song, a cliche("half dozen of another,") a gas station(remember those ads with Murph?), Lawrence Welk, Baskin Robbins, a 50s fad, journalism, Abbot and Costello, history I guess(why not 1492?) and another tv show then a social psychological experiment. Level 39 data: First Wave: I(KTRMG? ?P-Y'2]T %Z1@XBN8 Q/SH*$E! =+VDJ8:U L.3!A,)5 ["U9;7C# F40W6O&/ Words: CURTAINS|ID#45-91|A 130%|YOU & ME|M=$34.95 F=(A+B2)|4@$12.95|"A QUOTE|A*(X+Y)2|I AM10.2 PRINT"$"|COST:$33|1O'CLOCK|[A[B,C]]|2..1..00 5. MAKING YOUR OWN LEVELS 5-1. IN-GAME Choose option 3 from the menu and now (RETURN) sends you up a row in the 8x8 and pretty much any other key sends you 1R, or up and back left, after typing it in. [delete] sends you back a square in the 8x8, or deletes something in the word wave. You can use caps lock or shift to edit things. 5-2. HEX EDITING 0x10090 + 0x100*(level #) is where the level starts. The first 64 bytes are what you see in the first wave, bottom row 1st and up. Then you have up to 15 words. Spaces need to be at the end of a word. The scrambling is done differently for different levels, so you can't really control that. End of FAQ Proper ================================ 6. VERSIONS 1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 12/4/2007, complete but without all level maps. Later. 7. CREDITS Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang, current and emeritus. They know who they are, and you should, too, because they get/got some SERIOUS writing done. Good people too--bloomer, falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog and others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-yet-banned message board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want him to be part of mine.