An 8-bit Climbing Adventure

Transcript

Solo Joe An 8-bit Climbing Adventure Rock Climbing Game Manual (Version 2.0.11) Contents 2 Background Information 03-16 A Word from the Author Quick Start Storyline Player Characters Non-Player Characters Gear Guide Hardware Rope & Rubber Other Items Items & Clues Booty Specials Player Creation Create & Name Customize Player Selection Deleting a Player 03 04 05 06 07 08 08 09 10 10 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 Sell Gear Donate Ground School Previewer Dashboard Climbing Basics Chalking & Rests Placing Protection Cruxes Soloing Bouldering Deep Water Soloing Skills Menu Dynos No Hands Rests Zen & Chalk-Lock 26 27 28 28 29 30 30 31 32 33-36 37 38 39 40 40 41 42 43 Gameplay 17-41 Extras 44-49 Main Menu Managing Gear Character Profile Guidebooks Destinations Areas The Gear Exchange Store Menu Buy Gear 17 18 19-20 21 22 23 24-27 24 25 Registration The CharacterData File Website Profile Grade Conversions 44-45 46 47 48 49 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com A Word from the Author Note to non-climbers You may want to familiarize yourself with some climbing basics before you attempt to play this game. Though probably not necessary, a general understanding of the sport may aide you in your understanding of certain sections of this manual and the game itself. I GUARANTEE NOTHING! You are using this software at your own risk. I am not liable for any damages, and/or pain and suffering it causes. This includes the inevitable self-loathing that will ensue when you fail to virtually redpoint 5.6. Note to climbers This is a game. It is not rock climbing. Though it is based on the sport, it is still not rock climbing. This game may portray the sport in a way that conflicts with your sense of what is right and true in the world. Get over it! This is not rock climbing. It is a game. 3 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Quick Start For those of you who want to start NOW and don’t want to bother reading the manual, this section will give you the basics. It will probably be necessary to reference other sections later, but this should get you started. Z-key = ENTER, MAIN MENU, & RACK-UP This is the basic ENTER key. Use it to make selections in the character setup and menu screens. When the character is on the ground it will display the main menu. When the character is climbing it will display the rack. X-key = EXIT, PREVIEW, & CHALK-UP This is the basic EXIT key. When in the character setup or menu screens, use it to go back or cancel a selection. When the character is on the ground it will display the route previewer. When the character is climbing it will refresh the climbers grip by chalking. When creating your character take some time to customize your character’s attributes: P = physical, M = mental, and T = technical (three blue bars). Your character starts with 5 quickdraws and a rope. Some climbs will require more gear. Learn to manage your gear. Be careful not to squander your quickdraws by trying climbs you have no chance of finishing. If you can’t finish a climb you have to leave gear to lower. It is pretty easy to find yourself with no draws and no cash. The guidebooks help you to discern which climbs you should be trying. Only buy the guidebook for destinations that are currently open. Most holds offer no rest. Don’t waist time. Climb efficiently. C-key = SKILLS MENU, & DYNO When the character is on the ground it will display the skills menu. When your character is climbing, it is used for dynos. The ability to perform dynos is a skill that you must learn. M-key = Open the Manual You will most likely need to reference the manual at some point while playing. The M-key will open this document. Arrow-keys = MOVE The Up, Down, Left, and Right-keys are used for navigation. The Down-key is also used to talk to other characters in the game. 4 In addition to their normal functions, all of the above keys are used to perform cruxes (see the crux section of this manual). Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Storyline Backstory Quest Details Joe’s children: Tyler, Roy, and Hayley abandon their lives to immerse themselves in rock climbing, knowing that the only way they will be able to find their father is to learn to climb, and become good enough to explore the destinations and routes that would have inspired Joe when he went missing. Learn new skills. There are a variety of skills that you will have to learn, including: how to place trad gear and how to dyno. New climbing techniques will help you to become a more efficient climber. In addition, there are some climbs that will be impossible if you do not possess the necessary skills. Learn to climb… Travel to new destinations…Challenge yourself on increasingly difficult routes... Glean information from the local climbers... Find your father... Find Solo Joe! Earn the cash necessary to support your quest. Your climbing sponsors will pay you every time you successfully complete a route. How much you earn will depend on the style of your ascent. Sponsors pay more for onsites and solos, and you can expect a big payoff or onsite solos. To earn extra cash find booty and selling it at the Gear Exchange. Free solo artist and living legend, Joseph O’Sullivan has gone missing. Joe was perpetually exploring new remote areas, looking for inspiring lines. Normally, he would return from his adventures with amazing descriptions of mind-bowing landscapes and unimaginable routes. This time he did not come back. 5 As you climb, you will earn experience points. These points will in turn accumulate into attribute points. Use these to add to your character’s physical, mental, and technical abilities. This will make the character a better climber. As your character levels-up you will be able to tackle harder climbs and begin to climb free solo. Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Player Characters Joe Hero of Solo Joe I, this legendary free solo artist, made historic first ascents of the game’s most difficult established lines. Tyler This deep sea diver and yoga instructor has found a new adventure in rock climbing. His unshakable focus will some day make him a natural soloist. Roy Fresh from the rodeo circuit, Roy brings his bullriding skills to the sport of climbing. As tough as nails, he has traded in his saddle and spurs for a harness and sticky rubber. 6 Hayley Base jumper, river guide, and martial artist, Hayley naturally assimilates the skills and techniques of any new endeavor. She has found her newest test in rock climbing. Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Non-Player Characters There are several non-player characters in the game, who may be able to help you in your quest. It will be important to talk to them to gain information and more. To talk to other characters, approach them and press the Down-key. The Guru - Transcendent climbing master Bob - Long-time friend of Joe, Bob, is your guide and belayer Trad Chica - Traditional climbing expert Danger Dan - Master rock technician Mickey Biner - Collector of climbing memorabilia and gear Levi Betamax - Mathematician and climbing genius Crazy Emily - Lover of all things furry and cuddly Lexi Leather - Chemist and sticky rubber expert Radman - Beach bum, surfer, climber Miss Priss -Climbing tourist Lumpy -Climbing hopeful press the Down-key to talk TALK INDICATOR Bob The TALK INDICATOR (shown above) will display purple if there is someone on the board to talk to. Note: although you can, and should talk to your belayer, Bob, the TALK INDICATOR will not acknowledge him. 7 Trad Chica Danger Dan Miss Priss & Lumpy Crazy Emily Mickey Biner Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual Lexi Leather Radman Guru Levi Betamax www.solojoeclimbing.com Gear Guide - Hardware It may be useful to become familiar with the basic types of gear in the game and their uses. This section will be most useful to nonclimbers. SUPER SHUTS Quickdraws This type of pro is used on sport climbs where there are pre-placed bolts available for protection. Simply clip the quickdraw into the bolt, and clip your rope into the quickdraw. Bolts Stoppers The stopper, or nut, is a very basic piece of gear and the foundation of a good rack. It consists of a hunk of aluminum on a swaged cable. Stoppers are useful for protecting constricting cracks. Cams The spring-loaded camming device is trickier to place than a stopper. However, this innovation makes it possible to protect parallel cracks, thus opening up routes that are otherwise difficult to protect. Big Bros QUICKDRAW The big bro is an expanding tube that protects wide cracks. If the crack is too big for stoppers and cams, make sure to bring a few big bros. Super Shuts In this game, climbs will end in a pair of super shuts. Simply clip in to safely lower to the ground. 8 You can view and manage your gear by selecting “Manage Gear” from the main menu. Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Gear Guide - Rope & Rubber Climbing Rope (cord) There are two ways to make your climber lighter. First, carry less gear. Second, buy a lighter ROPE. There are several factors that make one ROPE better than another. In this game, the defining factor is weight. There are several ROPES available for purchase at the gear exchange. The larger the price, the lighter the ROPE. In this game, climbing ROPE weight is determined by diameter. The smaller diameter, the lighter the cord. ROPE (diameter followed by name) Shoe Rubber Traction − where the rubber meet the rock. Climbing SHOE RUBBER is a big factor in determining whether or not you will be able to stand on tiny footholds, or take advantage of the rock texture and “smear” where there are no holds. Some of the routes in the game are not footwork intensive, and SHOE RUBBER will not be a factor. However, others will. There are different types of sticky rubber in the game. The major difference is durability (i.e. better rubber will last longer). As you climb, you will wear down your shoes. If your SHOE RUBBER is not in good enough shape, your footwork will fail and you will be unable to progress past the technical footwork. SHOE RUBBER (type followed by amount remaining) You can view your character’s rope and shoe rubber from the Character Profile screen. To view your character’s profile simply choose “Character” from the main menu. 9 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Items & Clues Items Throughout the game you will come across a variety of items. Some of them will appear on the screen, others will be passed to you by other characters when you talk to them. You can view your current ITEM from the Character Profile screen. CLUE Clues In order to find Joe you will need to gather CLUES. Sometime they will be visible objects that you have to retrieve. In other cases, it may not be quite as obvious. Your siblings will help you keep track of your CLUES, and they will let you know when you have found them all. ITEM CLUE INDICATOR The CLUE INDICATOR (shown above) will display WHITE if there is a clue on the wall. 10 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Booty BOOTY is gear that has been left behind by a climber who failed to complete a route (this includes you). If you attempt a climb, and do not complete it, you will be forced to leave a piece of gear behind in order to lower safely to the ground. As you move from destination to destination you may come across BOOTY that other climbers have left behind. Go get it! It may be a good addition to your rack, or you can sell it at the Gear Exchange for cash. Collect enough and you might just be able to afford that new rope. Be mindful, though. When you exit a climbing area any gear you leave behind may not be there when you return. Other climbers are likely to snatch up anything you are careless enough to leave behind. BOOTY BOOTY INDICATOR The BOOTY INDICATOR (shown right) will display BLUE if there is any booty on the wall. 11 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Specials Bonuses These little extras have the potential to help you tremendously. However, there is no guarantee. They can be unexpectedly amazing, but also disappointingly unfair. GEAR BONUS They come in two types: MONEY BONUS and GEAR BONUS. To collect a bonus you simply have to touch it (even if you are falling out of control.) They will give you cash and gear respectively. The catch is that they are completely random. There is no guarantee that a cash bonus will give you enough green to buy new cams, a rope, or even a single stopper. It could be worth $5, or $500. There is no way to know. The same is true of the gear bonus. Attribute Points & The Death Minus Collecting either of these is a bit harder. You can only grab one if your climber is climbing under control, or safely walking on the ground or top of a rock. Grab an Attribute Points special and you will instantly earn ATTRIBUTE POINTS. How many? Who know? The Death Minus may come in very handy if you are unfortunate enough to have caused your character to fall and die. The worst of the pains of decking is that your experience points get set back to zero. There is another downfall to falling and dying. By decking you earn a death point, which negatively affects your score. If you are fortunate enough to obtain a DEATH MINUS, it will have a positive effect on your death points, and your overall score. It is important to note, a death minus does you no good if you do not have any death points. 12 MONEY GEAR DEATH MINUS ATTRIBUTE POINTS There are four INDICATORS on your Dashboard that will light up if there are specials on the wall (MONEY (green), GEAR (light blue), ATTRIBUTE (yellow), and DEATH MINUS (red). Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Player Creation - Create & Name Create Character To create a new player, use the Up & Down-keys to select an empty slot from the Player Selection screen and press the Z-key. This will take you to a screen where you can enter a player name. DONE NAME Name Character Use the Up, Down, Left, & Right-keys to navigate the selection box. The Z-key will select a letter. The X-key will delete the last letter selected. When you are finished, move the selection box to “Done” and press the Z-Key to finish. SELECTION BOX EMPTY SLOT 13 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Player Creation - Customize Customize Your Character Use the Left & Right-keys to navigate the SELECTOR ARROW between the CHARACTER SELECTOR and ATTRIBUTE BARS. Character Selection Under the bars you will see the number of POINTS you have left to distribute. Initially, this is zero, because all of the points have been defaulted. To make adjustments, you must first remove points from one of the bars by pressing the down arrow. When the SELECTOR ARROW is under the CHARACTER SELECTOR, you can press the Up & Down-keys to navigate through the characters. Attribute Adjustments ATTRIBUTE BARS Your attributes allow you to boost your characters physical, technical, and mental abilities. You can accept the defaults, or customize them. Move the SELECTOR ARROW so that it is under the Physical (P), Technical (T), or Mental (M) Attribute-Bar, then use the Up & Down-keys to adjust the selected bar. Finish Character Creation Once you have customized your character, press the Z-key to finish, and return to the Player Selection screen. You can now select your new player by moving the selector arrow and pressing the Z-key. Your character’s natural strengths, and how you choose to distribute your ATTRIBUTE POINTS, will have a significant impact on your character’s performance. See below guidelines: Roy - physical cruxes and dynos Hayley - crux sequences and balance cruxes Tyler - leading and soloing 14 SELECTOR ARROW CHARACTER SELECTOR Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual POINTS www.solojoeclimbing.com Player Selection To play as your new character (or an existing character) use the Up & Down-keys to select the character from the Player Selection screen and press the Z-key. If you are playing your new character, you will be taken to the Sport Crag where you will meet the Guru, and Bob. If you are playing an existing character you will go directly to the last climbing destination where that character was active. SELECTOR ARROW The Player Selection screen displays the GRADE, SCORE, and PERCENT COMPLETED for up to three saved characters. 15 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Deleting a Player You can save up to three players. If you wish to delete one of your saved characters simply move the SELECTOR ARROW to choose the character, then press the X-key. A prompt will display asking “Are you sure you want to delete?”. Use the Up & Down-keys to select “Yes” and press the Z-key. SELECTOR ARROW DELETE MENU To close the DELETE MENU without deleting the player you can either select “No” and press the Z-key, or simply press the X-key at any time. 16 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Main Menu Once you have selected a character to play, you will be taken to a climbing screen (or WALL). From here you can access the MAIN MENU, climb, or view your skills menu. Before attempting to climb, you should familiarize yourself with the MAIN MENU, which is essential for managing your gear and character. It also gives you access to the content of your guidebooks, and is the porthole from which you can access the different climbing destinations and the Gear Exchange. When the character is on the ground, you can access the MAIN MENU by pressing the Z-key. The menu consists of 5 selections: • • • • • Manage Gear (page 18) Character Profile (pages 19-20) Guidebooks (page 21) Destinations (page 22) Save/Quit (page 23) Navigate the selector arrow to an item and press the Z-Key. MAIN MENU Press the Z-key when your character is on the ground to access the MAIN MENU. 17 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Main Menu - Manage Gear Gear you purchase at the Gear Exchange is automatically placed in your PACK. If it is in your PACK is NOT accessible to you when you are climbing. In order to be able to use gear while you are climbing, it must be on your RACK. SELECTOR ARROW − blue arrow that indicates the piece of gear that will be move when you press the Z-key. To move gear to your RACK you will need to choose a slot to move gear to. If the blue SELECTOR ARROW is not in your RACK press the Down-key. Once the SELECTOR ARROW is in your RACK use the Left & Right-keys to select the slot on your RACK where you wish to add gear. Next, press the Up-key. Notice the SELECTOR ARROW is in your PACK and a SLOT ARROW now indicates where gear should be moved to. Use the Left & Right-keys to navigate the SELECTOR ARROW to the piece of gear you wish to place on your RACK. Press the Z-key to add the piece to the indicated slot on your RACK. To move gear from your RACK to your PACK, press the Down-key so that the SELECTOR ARROW is in the RACK. Use the Left & Right-keys to select the gear you wish to place back in your PACK. Then press the Z-key. If you haven’t purchased any gear at the Gear Exchange, you will not have any gear to manage. You may add more than one piece to each slot as long as they are of the same type. Each climb will have its own unique gear requirements, so it is important to have the proper gear on your RACK. However, the gear on your RACK will add weight to your climber, making it more difficult to climb. Therefore, managing your gear to optimize what is on your RACK for each climb is very important. 18 SLOT ARROW − yellow arrow that indicates the slot in your rack that has been selected to move gear to. Press the C-key to take ALL of the gear off your rack and put it in your pack. Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Character Profile - View You can view several aspects of your character from the Character Profile screen, including: grade, score, cord, rubber, item, deaths, cash, experience points, and your attribute bars. In addition, you can see whether your character is tied-in, or climbing solo. GRADE Keep an eye on your characters climbing grade. This will give you an idea of the level of difficulty your character is apt to be able to climb. SCORE This number rates your overall performance in the game. HARNESS CORD (see page 9) RUBBER (see page 9) ITEM (see page 10) DEATHS The number of times your player has fallen to his/her death. CASH The amount of money you have. EXPERIENCE How soon before you earn another attribute point? At the bottom of the left-hand side you will see the label EXPERIENCE which is accompanied by a ratio. The first number of the ratio is the number of experience points you have currently earned. The second number is the amount you will need to earn your next attribute point. EXPERIENCE ATTRIBUTE BARS These represent your physical, technical, and mental attributes. Any experience points you earn are lost if you fall and die. 19 TIED-IN or FREE SOLO If tied-in the character icon will appear with a HARNESS. If climbing solo, it will not have a HARNESS. Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Character Profile - Manage From the Character Profile screen you can use earned points to increase your character’s attributes. In addition, you can control whether you are roped in or climbing solo. Level Up Your Attributes Beneath the Attribute-Bars you will see a number labeled POINTS. This is number of attribute points you are able to add to your character. If you have unused points, you will see the NEW POINTS INDICATOR flashing to the left of the points label. To apply points to your character’s attributes, move the SELECTOR ARROW to the desired bar. Then press the Up-Key. Keep an eye on your EXPERIENCE to see how close you are to earning more POINTS. Tie-In & Untie When you are ready to do some free-soloing this is where you can untie the rope (or tie back in). To switch back and forth, press and hold the Z-Key, then press the X-Key. EXPERIENCE TIE-IN & UNTIE POINTS NEW POINTS INDICATOR Once you use a POINT towards your attributes it is final. You can not empty and refill the bars. 20 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Guidebooks Guidebooks have a number of benefits. First, they give you a way of identifying each climb. They also give you a basic description of what to expect, including a climbing grade, which helps you to judge which climbs your character is ready to attempt. In addition, they track your progress, noting each try up to your first successful attempt (for each climb). Finally, when you complete a climb, they will display your score and the style of the ascent, which is displayed as a colored circle to the left of the climb’s name. DESTINATION BOOK ONSITE AREA NAME GREEN = ONSITE RED = RED-POINT YELLOW = ONSITE SOLO “S” = SOLO To navigate this section, use the Up & Down-Keys to choose a book. Use the Left & Right-Keys to flip through the pages. Press the X-Key to exit the Guidebook menu. TRIES SCORE ONSITE SOLO If you don’t purchase the guidebook for a destination you will not have access to it in this section. Guidebooks can be purchased at the Gear Exchange. 21 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Destinations How do I get my climber to a specific destination and area? By selecting DESTINATIONS from the main menu, you will be taken to the Destination Selection screen. From here you can choose a new climbing destination, or go to the Gear Exchange. DESTINATION IMAGE Destination Selection From the Destination Selection screen you can choose between the different climbing destinations, or the Gear Exchange. Some of these areas will be open to climbing, and others will not. Closed areas will be grayed out, and can be opened as you progress through the game. This screen also displays the GUIDEBOOK ICON which shows you what the book looks like for each area. The icon will be grayed out if you do not have the book and colored if you do. Simply use the Up & Down-keys to navigate the SELECTOR ARROW to the desired location and press the Z-key. The X-key will take you back to the Player Selection screen. GUIDEBOOK ICON SELECTOR ARROW 22 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Destination Areas Area Selection After you choose a climbing destination, you will be taken to the Area Selection screen. The navigation is the same as the Destination Selection. Choose a specific area within the destination and press the Z-Key. This will take you to the area where you can climb. DESTINATION NAME SELECTOR ARROW AREA NAME 23 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com The Gear Exchange - Store Menu Select Gear Exchange from the Destination Selection if you wish to buy gear, sell gear, or make donations to the Access Fund. Use the Up & Down-Keys to opt between buying gear, selling gear, and donating to the Access Fund. Press the Z-Key to continue. SELECTION MENU 24 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Gear Exchange - Buy Gear Buy Gear If you choose to buy gear, you will be taken to a screen which displays a variety of gear, ropes, and guidebooks. At the bottom of the screen you will see a number labeled CASH. This is how much money you have to spend. Use the Up, Down, Left, & Right-Keys to move the SELECTOR ARROW under the ITEM you wish to purchase. Press the Z-Key to buy it. NEW ROPE RUBBER RESOLE Press the X-Key to exit, and go back to the Store Menu. CLIMBING HARDWARE SELECTOR ARROW GUIDEBOOKS CASH If your shoe rubber is getting low, buying a RUBBER RESOLE will take you back to 100%. This will not affect the type of rubber you are using. It will simply give you a fresh resole of the type of rubber you currently have. 25 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Gear Exchange - Sell Gear Sell Gear This menu functions similarly to the Manage Gear screen (page 18). Press the Up & Down-keys to move the SELECTOR ARROW from your PACK and the SELL rack. Press the Z-key to move a piece of gear. If the SELECTOR ARROW is in the PACK the gear will be moved to the SELL rack. If the SELECTOR ARROW has selected a piece in the SELL rack the Z-key will move it back to the PACK. VALUE As you move the SELECTOR ARROW through your PACK the item’s sell-back VALUE is displayed on the left-hand side. The label TOTAL in the SELL rack displays the amount of money you will receive if you choose to sell all the gear in the SELL rack. To sell the gear, press the X-key to exit. You will be prompted with a dialogue box asking “Are You Sure You Want To Sell?”. Use the Up & Down-keys to highlight “Yes” and press the Z-key. If you highlight “No” you will cancel the sale. TOTAL To exit this section without selling anything, the SELL rack must be empty when you press the X-key. 26 SELECTOR ARROW − blue arrow that indicates the piece of gear that will be move when you press the Z-key. Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com The Gear Exchange - Donate Donate Donations to the Access Fun may help open new destinations in the game. If you choose to donate to the Access Fund, you will be taken to a screen which displays three donation amounts, and the amount of money you have available to donate, labeled CASH. SELECTOR ARROW Move the SELECTOR ARROW with the Up & Down-keys to the amount you wish to donate. Press the Z-key to make the donation. Press the X-Key to exit, and go back to the Store Menu. CASH It is easy to get carried away with donations. Don’t blindly give all your cash away. Be patient, other characters will notify you when crag access is likely and prompt you to donate. Random donations are not likely to do you much good. 27 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Ground School - Previewer Now that you have mastered the fine art of managing your character you are ready to climb. Before leaving the ground, take some time to preview the climb. Using your guidebooks, and the PREVIEWER, you will be able to locate appropriate climbs to attempt. PREVIEWER Previewer To preview a climb (while on the ground), press and hold the X-key to display the PREVIEWER. If you character is standing beneath a route, and have purchased the appropriate guidebook, the ROUTE NAME & GRADE will display. Use the Arrow-keys to navigate the PREVIEWER. This will allow you to peruse the climb without leaving the ground. You can also reference the ROUTE NAME & GRADE against the guidebook (to make sure you’ve got the right climb). After previewing the climb, it may be necessary to go the Manage Gear section of the main menu to rack up. ROUTE NAME & GRADE The Previewer also comes in handy for locating other characters, items, booty, and specials. 28 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Ground School - The Dashboard When climbing, you must not only keep track of where you are going, but also be mindful of your energy, grip, rope, shoes, etc. These stats are available to you on your dashboard. Before you leave the ground you should have a basic understanding of your dashboard, which contains 6 components that pertain to climbing: energy meter, zen, sei (sharp-end indicator), rubber meter, chalk block, and chalk meter. Your character will perform best when the SEI is green and worst when it is red. As your character’s mental attributes increase your ability to be more efficient in the yellow and red will improve. Energy Meter Rubber Meter This represents your climber’s energy. If it runs out, you will fall. When your ENERGY METER is in the red, the climber will be more dependent on their mental attributes not to fail. Zen If you possess the skill and your ZEN (red and yellow Yin Yang) is full, hold the X-key and press the Z-key. This will boost your climber’s ENERGY METER. SEI (Sharp-end Indicator) While on the ground, the SEI will display empty. While climbing, however, it will be green, yellow, or red. The SEI gauges your fall potential and helps you to keep track of how often to protect the climb: green = virtually no risk, yellow = moderate to long fall potential, red = you may hit the ground. The SEI is very important ENERGY METER 29 ZEN SEI when protecting Trad routes. Sport routes require very little consideration for where, or when to place protection. Still, if you keep an eye on the SEI you may see where it is possible to skip bolts. This is a rough display of the condition of your shoe rubber (more accurate information can be found in your Character Profile). If the RUBBER METER is blinking, your shoe rubber is inadequate for the type of footwork your climber has encountered, and the climber will fail to make progress. Chalk Block If you possess the skill and the CHALK BLOCK is full, hold the X-key and press the C-key. This will lock the GRIP METER so that it cannot run out. Grip Meter This represents your climber’s grip. If the GRIP METER runs out, you will fall. RUBBER METER CHALK BLOCK Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual GRIP METER www.solojoeclimbing.com Climbing - Basics Now, you are ready to climb! Locate a climb (using your guidebook and the Previewer) then press the Up-key to begin climbing. Once you leave the ground, you will have several keys to be aware of. First, the Arrow-keys will move your character as you navigate the climb. The Z-key, X-key, and C-key are also important for selecting gear from your rack, chalking up, and performing cruxes and special skills. ARROW-KEYS will navigate the climber Z-KEY, X-KEY, and C-KEY will allow you to select gear, chalk-up, and perform cruxes and special skills. If the Up-key does not work it may be because you are not “ON ROUTE”. You will not be able to leave the ground unless you are on the proper start, and there are holds available to climb. Simply move your character along the base of the rock and try again. 30 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Climbing - Chalking & Resting Chalking As you climb, your GRIP METER will begin to empty. You can replenish your grip by using your climbing chalk. Press and hold the X-key until you are satisfied, then release the X-key to continue climbing. REST HOLD (Note: they don’t always look like this) Resting From time to time you may find REST HOLDS that will afford the character an opportunity to replenish energy. Simply navigate to the REST HOLD and stop (you can not rest if your character is moving). While stopped on a REST HOLD a portion of your energy meter will be replenished, but your grip will not. Therefore, you may have to alternate between resting and chalking. Press the X-key to ‘chalk-up’ and replenish your grip The amount of energy replenished by a REST HOLD will vary depending on the rest hold. Some rests are better than others. 31 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Placing Protection Hold down the Z-Key to display your RACK. With the RACK displayed, use the Right & Left-keys to sort through the gear until you have the desired piece of gear displayed. Then, simply release the Z-key. It is ready to place. Now move the character to where you wish to place the piece. (In the case of a quickdraw, you would simply move the character so that it touches a bolt.) If the piece of gear is appropriate, it will be slotted/clipped automatically. It if does not, you are choosing poorly. RACK When Trad climbing you will not have the benefit of obvious bolts to clip. This is where using the Previewer will come in handy. In addition, as you are climbing, likely gear placements will randomly be accompanied by a BLUE FLASH. (Note: this happens only while climbing.) Some gear placements are invisible to the inexperienced climber. The BLUE FLASH will only appear if your character is good enough to know how to place the gear. As your character’s skills improve, more gear placements will be available to you, and appear as a BLUE FLASH. The goal is to complete the climb either by clipping the shuts, or by topping out (which is only applicable when you free solo). Placing gear will protect you in the event of a fall. Be mindful to improve your character, it is very important not to fall and die. If you deck (i.e. fall and die) you will loose all your experience points. So, it is wise to adequately protect your climbs. 32 BLUE FLASH Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Cruxes - Power Cruxes are challenging sections of climbing that often define the nature of the route’s difficulty. They appear in four basic types: 1. 2. 3. 4. Power Crux Balance Crux Technical Sequence Dead-point Crux When performing a crux, your character will temporarily go into a sort of “autopilot”. This will keep the character on route while you perform the necessary key-presses to complete the crux. Power Cruxes When you begin a power crux the POWER METER will appear below the character. This meter represents your characters ability to perform the powerful climbing associated with a power crux. As the character climbs through the power crux the POWER METER will drain. If it empties, you will fall. You can use energy to refill the POWER METER by pressing the Arrow-key which is the opposite the direction the POWER METER is draining. For example, if it is emptying to the right you would need to press the Left-key. Each keypress will use energy. The amount of energy required to fill the POWER METER will depend on the character’s physical attributes and the difficulty of the power crux. Don’t worry about completely filling the meter; just make sure it doesn’t empty before the character makes it through the power crux. 33 POWER METER Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Cruxes - Balance Crux When you begin a balance crux a BALL and HOOP will appear around the character. As the character climbs through the balance crux the BALL will move around the HOOP. The ball’s speed and direction change randomly, so be ready for a shift in balance. To keep the character balanced use the Left & Right-keys to guide the BALL around the HOOP—keeping it above the character and away from the red section of the HOOP, which is under the character. If the BALL speeds up too fast, or moves under the character (into the red) the climber will become unbalanced and fall. HOOP BALL The balance crux requires a little finesse. Each press has a small effect, so holding the key down does virtually no good. Sometimes several quick key-presses are required to slow down, or redirect the BALL. 34 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Cruxes - Technical Sequence Technical Sequences consist of a series of timed key-presses. If you press the wrong key, or press the correct key at the wrong time, the character will fall. The correct key-presses are displayed (in their proper timing) in the CRUX KEY above the character. CRUX KEY In the case that you are performing a crux beyond your character’s ability to cipher the moves, the CRUX KEY will display a question mark “?”. This does not mean your character lacks the ability to be successful… just the ability to read the sequence. In this case the correct keypress may still result in success, so choose wisely. Sometimes the correct keypress isn’t enough. Be mindful of the CRUX KEY color. Blue is a single keypress, Green is a double keypress, and Yellow is a triple keypress. 35 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Cruxes - Dead-point Crux When the player encounters a Dead-point crux, the CRUX SLIDER will appear below the character. The CRUX SLIDER consists of a green bar with a white vertical space, and a black bar that slides back and forth. To successfully perform the Dead-point you must press the Z-key when the black bar is directly over the white space. If you miss, don’t worry. You usually get more than one pass; however, each time you press the Z-key it uses energy. CRUX SLIDER Dead-pointing can take some real finesse. If you are having problems getting the timing, try leading the black bar a bit. 36 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Soloing When your character is good enough, you can start soloing. There are several benefits to climbing routes free solo: • Gain more experience soloing a route • Sponsors will pay you more money for completing routes free solo • There are a variety of necessary items on the tops of many routes However, the big drawback is that soloing is much more dangerous. If you are soloing you run the risk of falling to your death. Untie To begin soloing, go to your Character Profile (from the Main Menu). From this screen, you can untie and tie in to your rope by holding down the Z-key and pressing the X-key (see pages 19-20). Topout To topout a route, simply navigate the character past the SHUTS to the top of the rock. If you are on-routes and climbing free solo the character will topout. Note: you cannot topout routes if you are roped in. Explore Once on the top, you can explore by using the Left and Right-keys. You can also choose to down climb from the top of the rock. To downclimb, press the Down-key. If the character can find good hold it will climb down onto the rock face. SHUTS Return to the Ground When you are ready to return to the ground simply hold down the X-key and press the Down-key. This will return the character to the ground. 37 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Bouldering Bouldering is much like free soloing − no harness... no rope. The big difference is that when you are bouldering you generally don’t go very high. Bouldering in the game, much like real life, is a quick way to gain experience. In the game, when you are bouldering, or just starting a longer route, you can climb unprotected for a short distance before your SEI (Sharp-end Indicator) changes from green (safe) to red (not safe). This height, BOULDER HEIGHT, increases as your climber gains experience and skill. Therefore, early in the game you cannot climb very high before it becomes unsafe without your harness, rope, and some protection. Later in the game this BOULDER HEIGHT gets higher. SEI When bouldering, you will be able to note your character’s BOULDER HEIGHT, as the height where the SEI changes from green to red. 38 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Deep Water Soloing Deep water soloing is much like soloing in the rest of the game. The big difference; however, is that you don’t run the risk of falling to your death. When deep water soloing, moving from one climb to another is a bit different than the other areas. Sometimes the climbs are separated by a span of water. Wherever there is a route, there will be a PLATFORM from which the climber can start climbing. If you wish move from one PLATFORM to another, simply navigate your character to the end of the PLATFORM. When the player reaches the end it will jump into the water and ‘swim’ to the nearest PLATFORM in that direction. If there are no PLATFORMS in that direction, your character will simply return to the original PLATFORM. PLATFORM Jump from platform 39 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Skills - Menu Your skills are displayed in the SKILLS MENU. To view this menu, press the C-key while the character is on the ground. While viewing the SKILLS MENU, you can press the Up and Down-keys to scroll through your skills. The left-hand column displays the skills, and the right-hand column displays a brief description. To progress through the game it will be very important to learn skills. For example, you will not know how to place trad gear until you have learned this skill. The ability to dyno (explained in the next section) is also something you will have to learn. SKILLS MENU 40 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Skills - Dynos You will NOT be able to perform dynos until your character has learned this skill. Dynos come in handy when you are unable to climb through certain sections of rock, or there is a gap in the rock which may only be crossed if your character leaps from one hold to another. Once your character has learned this skill, you can initiate a dyno anywhere you like. This secret weapon may be just what you need to unlock previously unsolvable riddles. Hold down the C-key, then choose a direction and hold down the Arrow-key(s)... then release the C-key! To initiate a dyno, hold down the C-key. You will see the DYNOMETER appear below the character. Next, you must aim the character by selecting a direction and holding down the appropriate Arrow-key(s). When the DYNOMETER reaches the desired level of power, release the C-key and the character will jump for the next hold. The distance your character leaps will depend on the physical attributes of the character and the level of the DYNOMETER when the C-Key was released. If no direction is selected when the C-key is released the dyno is cancelled. DYNOMETER Also... note the level of the DYNOMETER after you release the C-key—more green the further you will go. 41 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Skills - No Hands Rest You will NOT be able to perform no hands rests until your character has learned this skill. No Hands Rests are a good way to refresh both your energy and grip. parallel feature Once your character has learned this skill, you have to find an appropriate feature before you can initiate a No Hands Rest. This skill will only work in some parallel features. Navigate your character in to the feature, hold down the X-key, then press & hold the Down-key. Hold down the X-key, then press & hold the Down-key. You cannot perform a NO HANDS REST anywhere you like. You must find an appropriate feature. 42 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Skills - Zen & Chalk-Lock Zen If you possess the skill and your ZEN (red and yellow Yin Yang) is full, hold down the X-key and press the Z-key. This will boost your climber’s ENERGY METER. Chalk-Lock If you possess the skill and the CHALK BLOCK is full, hold down the X-key and press the C-key. This will lock the GRIP METER so that it cannot run out. Once used, these skills will take time to replenish. Keep an eye on your ZEN and the CHALK BLOCK when they are full you can execute their respective skill. ZEN ENERGY METER 43 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual CHALK BLOCK GRIP METER www.solojoeclimbing.com Registration - Getting a Key In order to play the FULL VERSION you need a User Name and Registration Key. Getting a Registration Key Go to www.solojoeclimbing.com/Joe/Register.aspx to create a User Name and Key. Simply choose a User Name and click the “Registration” button. You will then be redirected to PayPal to fill out your payment information and complete the transaction. When payment is confirmed, you will receive an email with your User Name and Registration Key. Unfortunately, this rock climbing game does not work on all computers. In addition, there is no service or support association with registration. Do not purchase a Registration Key if you are unhappy with the demo. If the demo is not working properly, unlocking the FULL GAME will not fix anything. 44 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Registration - Opening the Game Now that you have a Registration Key, you can unlock your game. Simply start the game. Once it has loaded, press the X-key. You will see a prompt asking for your User Name. Enter the User Name you chose when you obtained your Registration Key. You will then be prompted to enter your Registration Key. Enter your Key and that’s it. Your game is registered. 45 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com The Character Data File There are a several files associated with the game that are essential to proper functionality. If these files are tampered with, or erased, it will cause errors and the game will not work properly or crash. The smartest thing you can is leave them alone. There is one file that you may choose to manage. The CHARACTERDATA file can be used to upload your character stats to the website (page 48). Saving your CHARACTERDATA is simple. When in the Character Selection screen, move the SELECTOR ARROW to the character you wish to save and press the S-Key. This will create a separate text file labeled, “characterdata.txt”, on your desktop. SELECTOR ARROW The S-key SAVES the CHARACTERDATE file. If a file named “characterdata.txt” already exists on your desktop it will be replaced with the new character data. 46 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Website - www.solojoeclimbing.com In parallel to game, I also created a web-application. This dynamic website will provide game players with an environment to share information. It has a bunch of cool stuff including, tutorials, character profiles, route stats, rankings, and competitions. It will also provide a venue for updates and new releases. You can sign in to the site with your User Name and Registration Key. Simply click on the SIGN IN LINK, enter your User Name and Registration Key, and click the “Sign In” button. This will take you to your profile. SIGN IN LINK 47 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Website - Profile Your profile consists of two pages: the Character Stats page and the Update Profile page. The Character Stats page displays basic character information and is linked directly to your characterdata file. Therefore, it will not contain any information until you upload your CHARACTERDATA file. To do so, click on the UPDATE PROFILE BUTTON. This will take you to the Update Profile page. Before you can update your character stats you will have to save a “characterdata.txt” file from the game (see page 46). Under the “Character Updates” section you can then browse to your desktop for the “characterdata.txt” file and update your web profile. From this page you can also change your profile information, including: email address, password, and region. To return to the Character Stats page click on the CHARACTER STATS BUTTON. Character Stats page Update Profile page UPDATE PROFILE BUTTON 48 CHARACTER STATS BUTTON Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual www.solojoeclimbing.com Climbing Grade Conversions In my search for a way to convert climbing grades, I found that there are several different systems. Generally speaking they are very similar; however, there is no universally accepted system. To the right, is a seemingly reasonable conversion chart. I’m sure that it is imperfect. Nonetheless, it will convey the general idea. YDS French V-scale UAII 5.15a 9a+ V15 XI+ 5.14d 9a V14 XI 5.14c 8c+ V13 XI- 5.14b 8c V12 X+ 5.14a 8b+ V11 5.13d 8b V10 5.13c 8a+ V9 X- 5.13b 8a V8 IX+ 5.13a 7c+ V7 5.12d 7c V6 5.12c 7b+ V5 5.12b 7b V4 5.12a 7a+ V3 7a V2 VIII V1 VIII- 5.11d 5.11c 5.11b 6c+ 5.11a 6c 5.10d 6b+ 5.10c 6b 5.10b 6a+ 5.10a 6a V0 IXVIII+ VII+ VII VIIVI+ 5.9 5b 5a V 5.7 4+ V- 5.6 4 IV 5.5 3 5.3 5.2 5.1 2 1 Solo Joe Climbing Game Manual V0- IX 5.8 5.4 49 Vo+ X VB V+ III II I www.solojoeclimbing.com