Fastman

Fastman version 1.0
by Joni Pääskynpää

What is this game?
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Fastman is a fast-paced, arcade-style action maze game that tests your reflexes and quick decision-making skills. Inspired by the classic Pac-Man, this game brings its own unique twist to the genre. With 15 unique levels for you to clear, can you claim the ultimate victory as Fastman? The game was made with Qb64.

How to Play?
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This game shares similar mechanics with the classic Pac-Man game but introduces several unique features. You play as a race car driver navigating a maze, aiming to clear each level by collecting all the dots.

Move car with with arrows, or with a, s, d, and w.

Each maze contains four "M" symbols scattered throughout. When you collect one, you transform into a monster truck for a short period. While in monster truck form, you can run over other cars, causing them to explode. Some levels include ambulances, which are invulnerable to the monster truck. Ambulance routes are marked as red lines on the map.

You start with 3 lives, and when you hit an enemy (without being a monster truck), you lose a life. When you lose all your lives, it's game over. Occasionally, a letter F, A, S, or T will appear in the maze. If you collect all of them and complete the level, you’ll earn an extra life. Additionally, every 25,000 points grants you an extra life.

Points
You earn points as follows:
Dot = 10 points
Collect "M" (Monster truck) symbol = 100 points
Collect F, A, S, or T = 100 points
Run over an enemy = 200 points
Clear the level = 2,000 points
Enemy Types and Mazes

There are five different types of enemies in the game:
Random Enemy – Moves randomly throughout the maze.
Police Enemy – Moves randomly but starts chasing you if it comes close. If you manage to gain enough distance, it will resume random movement.
Inner-Path Enemy – Follows a pre-set path, usually around the inner part of the maze.
Outer-Path Enemy – Follows a pre-set path, usually along the outer edge of the maze, moving in the opposite direction of the Inner-Path Enemy.
Ambulance – Moves twice as fast as the player. If it collides with you, you lose a life, even if you are a monster truck.

Over time, additional enemies will start spawning in the maze one at a time, so you need to manage your time wisely. After you lose a life, only the base enemies respawn initially, with new ones starting to spawn gradually.

Levels 1 - 5: Small maze with 2 base enemies.
Levels 6 - 10: Medium-sized maze with 3 base enemies plus an ambulance.
Levels 11 - 15: Large maze with 4 base enemies plus an ambulance.

If you want to reset settings (including highscore):
- Close the game.
- Delete the config.dat file. DO NOT DELETE config.bak.
- Restart the game.

Credits
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Graphic design, art, animation and code
Joni Pääskynpää

Sound fx´s
Dustyroomgames, Dustyroom.com
drtwelele, https://drtwelele.itch.io/8bitsfxoneshot
jalastran, https://opengameart.org/content/button-clicks-beeps-99-sounds
Little Robot Sound Factory, https://opengameart.org/content/8-bit-sound-effects-library
Rubert Spore, https://yourpalrob.itch.io/classic-arcade-sound-effects
Pixabay, https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/misc-police-siren-wailer-static-001-76706/
guitarguy1985, https://freesound.org/people/guitarguy1985/sounds/58018/?
jalastram, https://freesound.org/people/jalastram/packs/19798/
Snabisch, https://opengameart.org/content/pack-8-bit-car-game-sound-effects

Music
Juhani Junkala, https://opengameart.org/content/5-chiptunes-action

Font
https://lettercore.itch.io/arbata-compact/devlog/324820/arbata-compact-v09

(c) 2024, Reload Soft, Joni Pääskynpää