Burgertime FAQ(version 0.4.0) An old Apple game(originally on the arcade but this FAQ is for the Apple version.) By Andrew Schultz(schultza@earthlink.net) This is part of my contribution to the efforts to preserve the memory of great old apple games. Note that this is NOT a FAQ for the ARCADE version of Burgertime but a FAQ for the Apple version distributed as a *.dsk file on Asimov.net. ***************AD SPACE************ My home page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762 My Apple games page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/games ************************************************ Brief outline: GENERAL STUFF DRAMATIS PERSONAE GAME CONTROLS OBJECT HOW POINTS ARE SCORED LEVEL ATTRIBUTES MAPS STRATEGIES STRATEGIES BY LEVEL MISCELLANEOUS VERSIONS/CREDITS ************************************************ GENERAL STUFF DRAMATIS PERSONAE Peter Pepper-the protagonist of this game. Hot dogs-monsters. Fried eggs-more monsters. Pickles-yet more monsters. They begin to appear on level 3. French fries/coffee/popcorn: allow Peter Pepper to shake pepper at the baddies(no, I'm not sure how, either!) GAME CONTROLS I=up, J=left, L=right, K=down. S=shake pepper(in the direction Peter Pepper is headed) [space] = stay still ctrl-R = reset game ctrl-C(before the game) is a cheat on the cracked Burgertime at asimov.net which gives unlimited pepper and chefs. Q toggles sound Esc pauses the game H pulls up a help menu. OBJECT The object is pretty simple. You as Peter Pepper must make sandwiches fall to receptacles on the bottom. This is done by running over the length of them--it needn't be done all at once. Fast foods like hot dogs, eggs, and pickles will try to hinder Peter(he will die if they touch him) but he has a weapon in his ability to throw pepper. He can also make the bun fall on them(they disappear and reappear on the bottom) or get them to fall with the bun(they are stunned for a bit but then climb back up.) A level is complete when there are no more sandwich parts for Peter Pepper to run over. He does a little dance and then the next level pops up. HOW POINTS ARE SCORED You get 50 points each time a bun falls from one platform down to the next. There is no bonus for chain reactions, but dropping, say, a bun three levels(with a monster on it) gets you 150 points for the bun. You gain points as buns fall below it, too. The pepper is worth 500(ice cream/popcorn?), 1000(coffee), or 1500(french fries) points depending on if the current level mod 3 is 1, 2, or 0. You get 500 points for each monster you get to fall down on the bun with you. You get 100 points for squashing a monster as a bun falls down. The monsters appear below. LEVEL ATTRIBUTES "Drops" refers to the total number of platforms the top buns need to drop to get to the next level. 1:18 drops to level 2. You're as fast as the monsters. Popcorn(worth 500) 2:20 drops to level 3. You're again as fast as the monsters. There are some "dead ends" here. 3:Pickles are introduced along with two more sandwich components. 4:The monsters are a little faster than you. 5:The first long platforms without ladders are introduced. 6:The first extended "dead end" platforms are introduced. 7:The first compartment away from the rest of the board(lower right) pops into place. MAPS Each map is drawn as near to the game as text will allow. When you hit level 13 the maps recycle to level 1, but the monsters don't slow down. Key to maps: 1 = top of bun 2 = lettuce 3 = meat 4 = bottom of bun 5 = spam(?) Might really be tomato. The apple doesn't have the color for cheese. 6 = frozen meat(?) Might have freezer-burn. Is this a Social Statement on the Fast Food industry? _ = free space H = ladder P = where pepper is found(as a general rule, three platforms below the top middle.) ^ = where the burgers wind up NOTE: Sometimes a ladder will bisect a part of a hamburger. In that case, I put the ladder in there and it is assumed that the bun and ladder coincide. Level 1 _______________111111111___111111111___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH111111111HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH___HHH___PPP HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333HHH333333333HHH_________HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH444444444HHH444444444HHH___HHH___HHH \ / \ / \ / \ / ------- ------- ------- ------- Level 2 ___111111111___111111111___111111111___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH___HHH___HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333PPP HHH HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH___HHH___HHH___HHH___HHH444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH222222222___ HHH HHH HHH ______HHH___HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333___ HHH HHH HHH ___444444444HHH444444444___ \ / HHH \ / ------- HHH ------- HHH HHH \ / \ / ------- ------- Level 3 ___111111111___111111111___111111111___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH_________HHH555555555___555555555_______________ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH666666666HHH_________HHH HHH666666666HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444___444444444PPP444444444HHH444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH___HHH______ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH___HHH___HHH_________HHH \ /HHH HHH\ / ------- HHH HHH ------- HHH HHH ___111111111HHH HHH111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH\ / \ /HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH ------- ------- HHH444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH_____________________HHH \ /HHH HHH HHH HHH\ / ------- HHH___HHH_________HHH___HHH ------- Level 4 ___111111111___111111111___111111111___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH555555555HHH222222222HHH222222222HHH555555555HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___222222222___555555555HHH555555555___222222222___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH666666666HHH666666666PPP666666666HHH666666666HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___333333333___333333333___333333333___333333333___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH666666666HHH666666666HHH666666666HHH666666666HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333___333333333___333333333___333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH444444444HHH444444444HHH444444444HHH \ / \ / \ / \ / ------- ------- ------- ------- Level 5 _______________111111111___111111111_______________ HHH HHH HHH HHH____________555555555___555555555______HHH___HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH _______________222222222HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH____________666666666PPP666666666___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH____________333333333___333333333HHH___HHH___HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH_________HHH666666666___666666666___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH____________333333333___333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH____________444444444___444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ______HHH___HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH \ / \ /HHH HHH HHH ------- ------- HHH_________HHH Level 6 ___111111111___ ___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH ___111111111HHH HHH ___111111111HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH555555555___ HHH ___222222222___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___222222222HHH HHH PPP555555555HHH HHH HHH HHH ___222222222HHH HHH333333333___ HHH HHH HHH ___333333333HHH HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333___ HHH ___444444444___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___444444444HHH HHH HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH ___444444444___ HHH HHH____________ HHH HHH hhh HHH ____________HHH HHH444hhh444HHH \ / \ / \ / \ / ------- ------- ------- ------- Level 7 ___111111111___ ___111111111___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH111111111HHH222222222HHH222222222___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___222222222HHH___HHH______444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333PPP444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH555555555___ HHH HHH HHH HHH \ / HHH333333333HHH HHH ------- HHH HHH HHH ___444444444HHH ___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH\ /HHH HHH HHH666666666HHH HHH ------- HHH555555555HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH HHH_________HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH \ / ------- \ / \ / ------- ------- Level 8 ___111111111___111111111___ HHH HHH ______HHH______555555555___ HHH HHH ___111111111___333333333HHH_________HHH111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH ___222222222___444444444PPP444444444___222222222___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333HHH HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH666666666HHH HHH_________HHH HHH HHH\ / \ /HHH HHH HHH_________HHH ------- ------- HHH666666666HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333HHH111111111___111111111HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___444444444___555555555___666666666___444444444___ HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH444444444HHH \ / \ / \ / \ / ------- ------- ------- ------- Level 9 ___111111111___ ___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH_________HHH111111111___ HHH_________HHH HHH HHH ___555555555___222222222___111111111___555555555___ HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333PPP_________HHH HHH ______HHH______222222222___ HHH HHH HHH ____________HHH444444444HHH333333333HHH____________ HHH HHH ___333333333___ ___444444444___333333333___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH HHH444444444HHH \ / \ / \ / \ / ------- ------- ------- ------- Level 10 ___111111111___ ___111111111___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH HHH_________HHH222222222___ HHH HHH ___333333333HHH111111111PPP HHH333333333___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___555555555HHH666666666HHH HHH555555555HHH HHH HHH ___333333333HHH ___666666666HHH333333333___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH666666666HHH HHH444444444HHH666666666___ HHH HHH ___222222222HHH444444444___ HHH222222222___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___444444444HHH_________HHH HHH444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH\ / \ /HHH HHH ------- ------- HHH \ /HHH HHH\ / ------- HHH_____________________HHH ------- Level 11 ___111111111___________________________111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ______HHH______ HHH ___111111111___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___111111111PPP HHH ______HHH___HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH222222222HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ______HHH______ HHH ___333333333___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH444444444HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___333333333___ HHH ______HHH______ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH_________HHH HHH HHH333333333HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH444444444___444444444______HHH______444444444___ \ / \ / \ / \ / ------- ------- ------- ------- Level 12 _______________111111111___111111111_______________ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___222222222___222222222____________HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH___HHH______555555555___555555555___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___666666666PPP666666666______HHH___HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH____________333333333___333333333___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___222222222___222222222______HHH___HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH___HHH______555555555___555555555___ HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH ___444444444___444444444____________HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH___HHH___HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH HHH\ / \ /HHH HHH HHH HHH___HHH___HHH ------- ------- HHH___HHH___HHH STRATEGIES Time is never on your side, and after level 2 it isn't even neutral. The monsters can turn and run faster than you on the later levels. It's best to get them out of the way by running over a bun with them close by. Also with regard to monster speed you will want to negate it a bit by moving in advance. In other words, if you are moving left and know you want to climb up, push I to go up before you hit the stairs. This may backfire in cases where you are climbing up stairs and there are two platforms to the left in a row--you just need to work on your timing in this case to make sure Peter does not try to go back down the ladder, which would be a disaster with Mr. Egg in hot pursuit. Although knocking off the top buns quickly would seem to get you through the levels, it is better to go for the lower buns first on the earlier stages and try to get monsters to fall with them. The reason for this is that pepper appears based on how many monsters you've taken out of commission. It appears after the third, sixth, and twelfth monsters trashed(squashed or dropped on a bun) respectively. If a bun falls while a monster is on it(pepper or no) it will fall further(three levels, as opposed to one) as a result. In some cases you can knock monsters and levels out pretty quickly. Don't use pepper unless you would lose a life otherwise, and stock up on pepper in the early levels while you can. Sell your life dearly when you have pepper and are on your last man, but try to be efficient. One good strategy is, with several monsters following you, to turn quickly and shake the pepper. If they're too close it won't work. Wait up for a monster and drop him down with a bun if you can. Every time a bun drops off with a monster on it, it drops three levels instead of the usual one. In some cases you can drop the monster again if you are quick enough, but if the monster starts shaking back and forth to consciousness, don't press your luck. Monsters seem to turn off some times randomly when they are on a ladder. Use this fact to your advantage. And more importantly, say you are above and to the left of a monster. If it is going left and has a choice between going up or left, it will go up. Another fact to use to your advantage--you can force monsters to commit and then deke them out, as they cannot backtrack. To go as quickly as you can, you can often anticipate your next move. For instance, if you are going left and want to climb up the stairs, hit I and you will go up at the stairs with no time lost. The downside of this is that if you are going up/down and hit a horizontal direction, you will go left/right if you have just passed a stair. Be aware that if there is not much left when you lose a life, it will be very tough to get through the level, since walking over buns is a great defensive tactic. If there is one bun left, you will have to go directly for it, since the monsters are faster than you. You'll risk losing some pepper. Burgers that are split by ladders are probably the toughest. However, if you have enough time, or you want to use a pepper, you can turn the tables on a monster chasing you up/down the stairs and send him down. You can also, with perfect timing, run at a monster and drop him with the bun. This should be a last-gasp tactic, though, unless you can get VERY good at it. He needs to be just barely touching the bun. STRATEGIES BY LEVEL 1. You probably won't want to go through this level quickly, and in fact, it may be a good way to learn more subtle techniques. In this level monsters are not as fast as you, and they frequently switch from left/right to up/down even if they are coming right at you. 2. Lots of strategies will work here. The monsters haven't gotten much cleverer, but I recommend leaving the bottom part for last since you might get trapped there if you do it too soon. 3. Although the sandwiches in the lower left/right are only three high, they may be the toughest to complete. Go directly for one, then switch sides and try for the other. Timing can be critical. Wait by the bottom bun until a hot dog follows you. Then go to the top of the three-high bun and run across and down. Once the other hot dog has committed, run to the left and down and take out the other side--the monsters will be close together and you can buy a lot of time by sinking them at once. You should be able to pick up the fries that will appear. 4. Rather easy if you go immediately to the top, but playing around on the bottom for a while will net you extra points and more pepper. You can squash a lot of monsters with all those buns. Note this is the first level where the monsters are actually faster than you are. This is the first level where having just one bun left becomes a real nuisance. 5. Go straight up. The pickle should turn away from you but you should probably juke down a bit to make sure. Use the pepper early to avoid losing chefs, and try to get a monster to fall with each bun. Again, if you lose just before the end, it will be hard to finish the task unless you use a lot more pepper than you really want to. 6. Go immediately right, all the way up the ladder, left and up and left. Catch a monster on the way down and you'll be off to a good start. Note that if you stay on the top center, monsters will not be able to find you but will continually go in circles. They will circle around below. Use this to your advantage. The burgers on the wings are the most annoying. Note that the top bun will need to drop five levels. You'll want to drop the bun without monsters the first two times since the left is very hard to access. And what you'll probably want to do on the ends is to squash as many monsters as you can--it's easy to get stranded, but if your timing is right you may get through the level unscathed. The right side is not so bad. You can drop a monster with the burger more easily on the right-hand side, since if you are killed you can just pick that burger off last. 7. This may automatically take two men. I prefer to go immediately up and to the top left of the small platform. After you catch a monster with the lettuce, go back around. The last burger to take care of should be the one in the lower right. You can often get monsters stuck if you are able to make it to the far right, and you can juke them out. It's often a matter of starting things, but once you get rolling, you can get a huge part of the level cleared with little trouble(they may circle between the two platforms on the center right!) 8. Climb up, right, and up. When the pickle comes down at you go off to the right. He will be faked off to the right and you can continue your climb. At some point you want to buy time to knock off the top burgers, as they are the toughest to navigate. Eventually you will want to get a bunch of monsters to follow you and go down below the two middle burger trays--you'll knock off a lot of monsters, buy time, and get rid of the two burgers at the center bottom. 9. There are lots of cul-de-sacs here which will force you to use pepper or lose a life. Try to navigate them so you fake the monsters into thinking you're going one way, and then go the other. For instance, for the buns at the top right, you can go left from the stair below it. Go up the left stair and wait just before you get halfway. The monsters will come around to the left. You will probably not want to bring a monster down with the bun until you run over the bun again-- otherwise you will have to go to the bottom right in order to finish the deal off, which will cost you a life. You really need to plan on this level. 10. You may need to sacrifice a life here; either side can be cleared individually with relative ease, but clearing both sides at once is a much tougher trick. Also, to complete the left side off the bat(which might be a good idea--you cannot pick up pepper from the right side) you will need to go left and up IMMEDIATELY and then go right before you get to the top of the stairs. From there, you can probably fake the monsters out until you have dropped all the buns you can. 11. Unfortunately, you cannot wait for infinite peppers. You can strand yourself on the stairs just left of center, and then time monsters' arrivals(they will circle about until you get to the bottom/top of your flight of stairs) so that you can drop a bunch at once. I've always had trouble with this level, so I can't really give detailed advice. 12. Pray, or cheat, or have lots of peppers stored. But seriously, this level seems close to impossible. The problem is that every time a bun drops, it will drop one or three levels. That means you'll have to move to the other side(and you're probably best off bringing a monster down with the bun, or you'll be switching sides a lot!) MISCELLANEOUS Extra men are awarded after 10000, 20000, 40000, 60000, and 80000. They are not awarded after that, which seems a bit unfair given the game's complexity. If you drop the final burger and run into a monster, you will not lose a life. ------------------------------------------- VERSIONS/CREDITS 0.1.0 created 9/14/2000--contains maps of levels 1-10 and a general outline. 0.2.0 Made bigger maps and included levels 11 and 12. Included some strategies. 0.4.0 A bit more on strategies and touched up maps, miscellaneous and pepper information. In future versions I plan to flesh out strategies even more. Credits: asimov.net for the disk image of Burgertime. Didn't even know this was an apple game until I saw it there! My contact info: schultza@earthlink.net