Full documentation to Hollywood Hustler Typed up by iGGY/HF on 5/10/95 FULL DOCUMENTATION TO HOLLYWOOD HUSTLER! INTRODUCTION Hey, forget all those bleeps and lifeless cartoon characters. Welcome to the real world - the real hard-core gambling world of HOLLYWOOD HUSTLER! HOLLYWOOD HUSTLER is the product of a creative collaboration between two brothers, Robin Keen, screenwriter & experienced Hollywood movie-world hustler, and Bridge international & maths grad Dave Keen, phD - a.k.a "The Doc". The result is the ultimate card game, not only because of the wholly authentic and compelling nature of its play, but also its innovative use of digital graphics and sampled sound, which provide a new and exciting frontier of realism. So, now Friday night... Saturday night...any night.. THE STORY SO FAR I don`t know the time, but it`s late. Seems like I`ve been walking these streets for ever. A sign up ahead reminds me that I`m still on Sunset. Sunset Boulevard, that legendary pathway that runs through the glamour and the sleaze, the dreams and the nightmares of Hollywood. As I stop at a street corner, the spicy aroma of Mexican food hits me from a late-night diner opposite. The depressing drone of Mariachi music mingles with the hum of a neon sign from a poker club next-door. A sudden gust of wind snatches at a letter in my hand. It`s been one of those days, you know the sort i mean. I should`ve known from the moment I woke that today was going to be a bummer.. with a capital B! I switched on the radio to hear a warning that the Santa Anas were due to hit town. What was it that crown prince of L.A novelists Raymond Chandler said about times when those damned desert winds blow? "Anything can happen." And sure enough today it did... in spades! I rolled into work like any normal day. I drive one of those goofy tour buses over at Universal Studios. Candy-striped contraptions, full of starry-eyed families from hometown USA and eager groups of oriental tourists pointing expensive cameras. "Okay folks, now we`re gonna relive that great scene from The Ten Commandments and cross the Red Sea...." Don`t ask me why, but today, instead of waiting as usual for the waters of the mechanized backlot sea to part, I drove straight on. Moments later, amid bizarre scenes of angry baptized passengers and water-spouting cameras, I was being dealt my cards. An instant career-move - farewell the land of Dreams and money, hello Welfare! Armed with a final pay-check, I drove to my local bar and proceeded to get drunk. Still despite my bad luck, at least I knew that waiting for me at home was my faithful ever-loving babe, Barbie. With that uplifting thought, I downed a final beer and headed back to our appartment, a cheap but cheerful pad in one of Hollywood`s less glitzy neighbourhoods. However, on arriving there was no sign of Barbie, only a folded note with my name on the front. Funny, no kisses. I opened it. The first words were something about being confused, the rest you can read between the lines! Like great philosophers throughout the ages, I sat and contemplated my life, the crumby state of my existance. Jobless, and now babeless! I had to start making some decisions, like cosmic and big. So I did, I hit the bottle again! Just as the rye was running dry, there was a knock at the door. My heart skipped a beat. I thought, "it`s all been a mistake, she`s back." But no, it was just a repo man bearing yet more good news. Seems I was behind on my car. He gave me some papers and I gave him the keys. Considering how things were going, fair exchange I guess. Anyway, back to my lonely street corner. With liquor-misted eyes, I look around at the glimmering lights of Hollywood, trapped liek a moth in the even brighter flame of the surrounding metropolis of L.A. Los Angeles. Some folks call it the city of Lost Angels. Now I was one of the lost... THE CAST JOE - A weird prodigy of the sixties. After having spent most of the decade on another planet, and much of the time since in a Zen Buddhist commune, Joe now manages the Pussycat porno-theater across the street. However, don`t be fooled by the shirt and tie, he`s still as way out as ever. Om! mani-pad-me Om! - ya dig? MONTANA SLIM - The somewhat unsavoury chef from the diner next to the club. Slim is a man of many vices, from booze to broads, gambliny to gluttony. He just loves his own cooking, especially his infamous red-hot chilli. So you`ve been warned! CHUCK - Would-be movie star who works as a nightclerk at the motel down the block. So far, his rugged goodlooks haven`t landed him any major parts, though they have attracted a few potshots from jealous husbands. JACKIE - Miss Astrodate - A pretty smalltown girl who came in search of the Hollywood Dream, but found only a walk-on/take `em off role at the exotic caberet lounge nearby. Jackie`s one lovely and disillusioned chick. Have you got what it takes? Could you be the guy that takes her away from it all? LOADING After ensuring that a joystick is connected to your machine, insert the INTRO DISK and switch on. After you have completed the inital protection check (what check??? There ain`t none!), you will be offerd one of three choises: 1. Do nothing and you will see the full intro - a must for all first-time players! 2. Press the fire button for an edited version of the intro. 3. Push right for direct entry to the club. DISK SWAPS In order not to detract from HOLLWOOD HUSTLER`S general cinematic style, all disk message have been eliminated. (That is sad and lame) Once you have completed the standard signing in process and the notice board has appeared, isert the GAME DISK. Then press the fire button, which is the general method of advancing throughout the game. When the game is over and the score-box has displayed the final outcome, "YOU`VE WON..." or "YOU OWE...", insert the END DISK and press the fire button to update the score data and run the appropriate end sequence. The game offers three varied endings dependent upon the level of your success. One a slight tease, one a definate pain, and the third... TOP HIGH SCORES - HUSTLER LEVEL ONLY... too hot for words! After experiencing your fate and the final credits are on screen, insert the GAME DISK once more and press the fire button. This will return you to the DISK MENU and allow you to start a NEW GAME. NOTE - To finish an UNLIMITED GAME press F on the keyboard. This will update the high-score table and roll the relevant end sequence. DISK OPTIONS & MENUS When using the DISK MENU the first step you must normally take is to decide on the manner of the game you wish to play. 1. Press LEVEL SELECT to view the OPTIONS MENU. 2. Move the cursor over the level you wish to play - ROOKIE, AVERAGE, or for the real man`s game, HUSTLER, and press the fire button. 3. Next, using the same method, select the number of hands you want to play - 15, 25, or for a heavy session, UNLIMITED (999 hands). At this point, you can opt to view the HI-SCORE table for the level you have chosen, or move directly to satrt a NEW GAME or LOAD an old. SAVING A GAME At the end of each hand - i.e. when the Score-Box is on screen - you can exit the game by pressing Q on the keyboard, followed by the fire button. This will return you to the DISK MENU, whee you can then select SAVE GAME and store your current attempt. All saves are stored on the GAME DISK, which must always remain with its write-protection removed. One save for each of the nine types of game can be stored on this disk. The GAME DISK can be freely copied, and it is strongly recommended that you make all your saves on a copied version, thus avoiding the risk of damage occurring to your original disk. If you wish to store more than one save of a certain level, simply make another copy of the GAME DISK prior to play and proceed from there. You can now select a new game format or continue with the existing level by pressing NEW GAME. RULES OF THE GAME The basic rules of Five Card Draw Poker - the classic American bar-room and casino game - are reasonably simple, though the tactical aspects of play are a tad more complex as you will discover later. 1. At the start of every hand each player deposits $5 in the pot, your opening stake. 2. You are then dealt five cards, which forms the basis of your hand. The various types of hand are listed below in ascending order of value. HIGH CARD ONLY PAIR TWO PAIR THREE OF A KIND STRAIGHT/RUN FLUSH FULL HOUSE FOUR OF A KIND STRAIGHT FLUSH NOTE - Aces are counted as high. 3. After assessing the potential of your hand, you can either continue or DROP, the latter move costing you only your original stake. 4. If you decide to proceed with your hand, you will encounter a round of betting, after which you can change up to 3 cards. 5. The betting then continues until all but one of the players Drop, or all those remaining CHECK and expose their cards, either way producing a winner. If several hands are closely matched, each players cards will be compared to the last feature to determine the winner. However, should two or more hands be completely ties - i.e. containing cards of identicle value, albeit in different suits - the pot will be split equally among the players involved. CONTROLS To DROP move joystick to select the correct text panel and press the fire button. To CHECK move joystick to highlight the reqiured panel and press the fire button - This will cost you the amount featured in the box, though sometimes the value will be nil if you happen to be the first player or those before you have declined to make a bet. To BET/RAISE move joystick to activate the appropriate panel, then press the fire button. Moving the joystick UP now allows you to increase your bet in stages between $10 and $25. Pulling DOWN will lower the amount if you happen to be a tad too eager. Once you have settled on your Bet/Raise, just press the fire button again to confirm. CHANGING CARDS At the appropriate stage of the hand a cursor will appear round your first card. You can now change up to three cards, though of course if Lady Luck has been really kind you may not wish to change any. Use the joystick to move from card to card. Pull DOWN to remove unwanted cards, or push UP to restore a card in event of an error. When you have finished making your discards, HOLD the fire button Down and push RIGHT. Your new cards, if requested, will then be dealt. THE COMPETITION Most computer card games can be fun for a while, but eventually they become predictable and boring. However, HOLLYWOOD HUSTLER is diferent. Each time you play, your computer opponents Joe, Chuck and the legendary Montana Slim provide you with a fresh challenge. So, just when you think you`ve got ol` Slim sussed as gutless, a breeze... he`ll blow you away! Wow! You`ve finally made it on to the Hi-Score table, huh? Ah, but watch out next time, because any of these guys can rob you of your proud position and knock you straight back into the cruel depths of obscurity. To be a winner at HOLLYWOOD HUSTLER, you will need to be one mean card player - a genuine Hustler worth of taking on the best Vegas has to offer. Unlike most computer card games, your opponents don`t have the power to cheat - i.e. possess knowledge of your hand. They don`t need to! Once you`ve played against these guys you`ll know that artificial intelligence is here, and with a vengeance! They watch, they listen, they analyze... and in your darkest moments you could be forgiven for thinking they`re actually... no, thats crazy! CARD SCHOOL If from your initial deal you are sat with what looks like a winning hand try to keep the other players in as long as possible - don`t scare them off with wild betting - give them the chance to change cards and acquire at least some semblance of a decent hand - before giving the whole hog and letting rip with $25s. It is not enough just to win, the art of the game is to win enough, certainly if you want to make the Hi-Score tables. If your hand is only average, you could try to improve the odds of victory by upping the stakes a little, hopefully encouraging some of the others to drop and thereby narrowing the opposition. If your hand is useless, basically the proverbial crock of ****!, you can either Drop and minimize your losses, or if you`re feeling adventurous, you could try to pull a bluff with some heavy betting! No, I said betting not petting - that comes later! With three players still in the game, such tactics would be unadvisable. However, with only one player confronting you, it could well be worth a try. In fact, a certain degree of bluffing and erratic play is essential if you wish to avoid becoming too predictable to your opponents. They`ll use these same cunning techniques and many more against you, you can bet on it! The next step in your card-school education is to start watching and listening. For instance, how many cardsdid your opponent change? If three, then the most he could have had was a pair. If one, possible two pair, four cards of a flush or perhaps the makings of a straight - Now he`s sat there with a good hand, a real humdinger or perhaps absolutely zilch. In order to further solve the mystery, consider how eager he was during the first stage of betting, and how the level of his enthusiasm has changed. Apply these techniques to all three players and you will begin to understand the name of the game. SNEAK PREVIEW Imagine the scene.... it is the last hand of the session and you are desperately close to beating the top score on Hustler Level, a mere stone`s throw away from achieving that final mysterious ending. You have three Aces and the pot is heaving with eight hundred bucks in it. All that stands between you and victory is the Big Man himself... Slim has been quiet all night barring his usual enlightened outbursts, but now he chucking those chips about like bar-nuts. "Raise ya twenty-five!" resounds round the hushed club. Although Slim`s had a lean time around the table, it`s certainly done nothing to dampen his thirst, as the weary Waitress will vouch. "Is he just smashed," you think to yourself, "or is that really a good hand he`s got there?" For a brief moment the pressure plays tricks on your senses - a breath of exotic perfume wafts toward you from out of nowhere, and the image of a beautiful sunrise flashes before your eyes. Now the pot reaches a thousand, a cool grand! Funny how hot you`re feeling, your throat dry and your palms clammy. Suddenly the floor beneath you shakes and the light briefly fails. A slight earth tremor. Well, this is L.A. However, you decide it`s an omen and dump your cards. Slim takes the pot. Your mind instantly fills with a flood of second thoughts and silent curses. Was there a better hand lurking there, or nothing more than Jack high? A real twenty-four carat bluff? Perhaps you should`ve checked and seen his cards. But you didn`t, so you`ll never know. You struggle to console yourself with the fact that you`ve at least improved your standing on the Hi-Score table. Meanwhile, ol` Slim fixes you with his usual inscrutable stare and hollers out, "More juice, babe!" QUICK GUIDE BUTTON PRESS - General command to advance the game. Confirms all selections, as well as acknowledging change of Disk, depositing opening stake, clearing Score-Box etc. JOYSTICK UP - Increases value of your bet/raise, or corrects errors in your change of card. JOYSTICK DOWN - Allows you to remove unwanted cards during change, or decrease value of your bet/raise. JOYSTICK LEFT/RIGHT - Moves cursor back and forth along your cards when changing. Also, a RIGHT PUSH, combined with HOLDING DOWN the fire button, confirms your choice of discards. KEYBOARD PRESS Q - Enables you to exit the game and return to the Disk Menu. KEYBOARD PRESS F - Requests the finish of an UNLIMITED game. Documents Typed up by iGGY/HF on the 5/10/95