Hard Hat Mack(Apple action game) FAQ(version 1.0.0) By Andrew Schultz, schultza@earthlink.net This FAQ is copyright 2000 Andrew Schultz. Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent, but feel free to e-mail me--a nice e-mail will get a nice response. Hard Hat Mack is copyright 1983 Michael Abbott and Electronic Arts. This FAQ is not affiliated with them in any fashion. It is part of my contribution to the effort to preserve the memory of old Apple games that do not deserve to fade from our memory, from "back when video games were VIDEO GAMES, durn it :) !" ******************AD SPACE************** My home page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762 My Apple games page, with stuff about lots of other old games: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Exhibit/2762/games/games.htm ************************ --Outline-- DRAMATIS PERSONAE THE LEVELS HOW POINTS ARE SCORED WHAT DOES WHAT STRATEGIES MISCELLANY VERSIONS/CREDITS ************************ DRAMATIS PERSONAE HARD HAT MACK, our hero. He wears(surprise) a hard hat and is the only one of the cast who seems to move his legs. Although his sole aim in life is to perform rather meaningless duties(drill in the cement, pick up lunch, and drop crates in weird machines) it is certainly a more ambitious and fuzzy-warm activity than that of the villains below. Each of these villains is invincible and will kill Mack on contact. However, like your average villain, they ain't real smaht, eithah. OSHA, one of the villains. The green overalls he wears make him a fashion villain, too, but square-headed Osha(ah, the curse of lower resolutions!) frequently waves his hands in the air(moves 'em more than his feet) as he chases after Mack in a predefined pattern. THE VANDAL, the other of the villains. He's no different from Osha except in appearance. He's fatter and less animated and is a weird combination of purple, orange and white. Like a radioactive tree. Incidentally, on levels where Mack has two enemies, two of Osha or the Vandal may appear. Also, if you die, Osha or the Vandal may be switched. The computer randomly chooses which one appears. THE LEVELS 1. There are five platforms on this level--on the top one you can ring a bell to call the elevator and pick up a tool as well. You need to pick up all the bricks on the bottom four platforms, put them in the holes, and run the drill over them. To put bricks in holes you can just run over the holes. The drill follows a specific pattern. It is: HOW POINTS ARE SCORED Level 1 10 points for picking up a brick(4 total) 25 points for dropping it in a hole 35 points for drilling it 10 points for ringing the bell 200 points for grabbing a tool Level 2 25 points for grabbing a lunchbox(7 total) 200 points for picking up the tool at the bottom Extra life for completing the level(becomes extra life at every other level) Level 3 25 points for picking up a cart(6 total) 25 points for dropping off a cart 200 points for picking up a tool BONUSES start at 5000 when Mack starts a new level/life and maximums are decreased by 1000 after each group of three levels. Bonuses decrease at the rate of 100 every few seconds. When they reach zero, Mack dies. On level 4, two villains appear. They also appear on levels 7, 10, etc. WHAT DOES WHAT In Hard Hat Mack, there are a bunch of things that are very confusing at first glance. Each one has a purpose, though, whether it is to help you or hinder you. Level 1: This level consists of five beams, four of which need to be filled by bricks. You move up and down between the beams via the chains, or by jumpin on the trampoline(Which moves you up a beam, unless you're at the top. Then you get bumped down to the bottom.) The BELL in the upper left will move the elevator up/down when you jump up to ring it. The MACHINE in the upper right will throw little deadly balls at you. The balls are of four varieties and are thrown at random: 1. Slow, ends up on the third beam 2. Slow, ends up on the first beam 3. Slow, ends up on the bottom beam 4. Fast, ends up on the bottom beam You'll want to be alert for when the machine throws something(at regular intervals.) The CHAINS that are on the right and left of each beam allow you to climb up/down. The ELEVATOR on the far right allows you to move from the first to the forth beam and back again. However, you must exit the elevator to re- activate it. The DRILL has a regular pattern. From the left of the bottom beam it heads to the center, goes up a beam, goes to the far right, up, to the far left, up, halfway to the right, up, all the way right, down, all the way left, down, all the way right, down, half of the way left, down, and back to its starting point. The MONSTER(Osha or the Vandal) has a straightforward pattern, starting in the lower left, going to the lower right, and then zigzagging to the right side of the fourth beam. From there he goes left and up the chain to the fifth beam, where he goes back and forth twice until he climbs down and re-traces his steps backwards. Level 2: There are two CONVEYOR RAMPS. The first one, in the lower left, you jump on to start the level in progress. The second one, in the upper right, is where you end the second level. There is an INCINERATOR to the right of the second conveyor ramp. Stepping into it causes Mack to die uniquely--dropping to the bottom of the screen as a ball of flame. There is a PLATFORM you must jump to from the first CONVEYOR RAMP, or you will fall in the COFFEE CUP(?) and die. Also on the first conveyor ramp you must time your jump or the SPIGOT that shoots out concrete blobs will kill Mack. There is a STEAM ENGINE above the platform that pumps it up and down once you jump on it. Off the PLATFORM there are six LEDGES, from which you must grab six lunches all told. Beware of falling too far after you jump on/off the platform Upper left: no problems. However, you'll have to wait a bit after you jump on the ledge to get back on the platform. Upper right: go here when you've gotten all six lunches. The CEILING MAGNET will be roving, and you need to time your jump on the conveyor belt so the magnet gets you before the incinerator does. There is a lot of room for error here, but just remember that the conveyor and the magnet are equally fast. Middle left: there is a weird BOX that will kill Mack if he gets too close to it. Get a few steps behind it and jump over it to get the lunch. Middle right: no problems. Lower left: jump onto the platform and stand one jump away from the center of the pincers. When they are totally closed, jump twice quickly. Then turn around(quick forward, back and stop) and jump back to the center. Lower right: jump onto the platform and run past the SQUASHER-DEVICE just after it goes back up(it'll kill you if you touch it.) To get the lunch you must time your run so you are following the MONSTER. Don't follow him too closely on the way down the chain or your foot will touch his head(and you'll die.) If you don't turn left quick enough just go back up and wait for your next chance, but if things work out, follow the monster, jump over the DYNAMITE CRACKER, and get the lunch box. It's possible to get the tool, too, if your timing is perfect, but it's probably not worth the risk. The MONSTER has a predictable pattern. From the bottom, he goes right, up the chain, down the chain, and left until he has to bounce back right. Level 3: For the first time you don't have to make any immediate decisions, and you can pick up the tool and some crate-looking thing fairly easily. There are several crates that you must pick up and drop in one of the holes, but transport is a bit confusing here. The PSEUDO-FERRIS WHEEL is the centerpiece of this level. It transports you counterclockwise, unless you stay on to the bottom, in which case you jump off the left SPRINGBOARD and into the POOL below the wheel(with a splash too!) The SPRINGBOARDS are also useful to transport you from one side of the level to the bottom tier of the other side of the level. The WEIRD MACHINES AT THE BOTTOM are where you drop the crates. Stand on the edge to drop the crates in, but don't fall into them yourself! The CONVEYOR BELT in the upper left is a treadmill if you run against it but can suck you quickly into the SHORT-CIRCUITED PANEL to its left if you are not prudent. There's also a SQUASHER-DEVICE you must beware of. The MONSTERS roam the bottom two tiers and make it difficult to get the crates on the second tier. They move back and forth twice on the second tier, climb down to the first, go back and forth once, and climb back up. Timing their runs will allow Mack to pick up all the crates. STRATEGIES Level 1--you shouldn't have to worry about the villain too much. He is easy to avoid if you are able to jump off the right side, on the trampoline, and up a level. You probably want to collect *ALL* the bricks and then use the drill, which will save time. Level 2--there's no order, really, to get all the lunch pails in. There is inevitable tedium in getting the top one, but if you are quick you can pick up the middle ones easy. Any lunches you pick up on level 2 are not replaced on your death--a change from level 1, where bricks were replaced unless drilled in. Level 3--this requires some specific thought. Picking up the crates on the two top tiers is not much of a problem--especially since when you are on the conveyor belt you need only make Mack go up *before* he reaches the chain. Similarly to level 2, dropping the crates in the holes assures they will not appear again when you die. But if you die with a crate, it is replaced. The four crates around the monsters are the hardest. The safe spots from which to snipe the crates are the very edges of the tiers where the monsters roam. The crates on the very bottom are easy to pick off just after the monsters have returned to the second tiers. The crates on the second tier need to be approached differently. They can be in two positions:close to the central ferris wheel, or far. If a crate is near, then wait in the usual place, and just after the monster goes up the rope, follow him. You'll get the crate, and you can sneak right back down. If the crate is far, you will have to hide out on the second tier and fetch the crate after the monster descends. You will have enough time if you do it right. As for getting to the bottom right, you need to walk off the bottom left tier, which will make you bounce off two springboards and on to the bottom right. That's pretty much it! For level 4 a little extra timing is required to avoid the two monsters, but they are predictable enough that you should be able to avoid them. MISCELLANY The tools are random and as follows: wrench, hammer, screwdriver, radar dish(?) Hard Hat Mack cost a bit of a political furor when it came out. Seems the government didn't respond well to the idea of a villain named "Osha" (an acronym for Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration,) especially with a teammate like "the vandal." VERSIONS/CREDITS Version 1.0.0 created 9/14/2000. It includes the basic outline. Credits to Asimov.net for having an old copy of this and EA for making this game.
