The Menu System
Use Cursor keys UP and DOWN with ENTER to navigate the menus. Alternatively you
can use any controls that you configure yourself. The ESCAPE key will exit the
current menu.
Main Menu
Play The Game
This will present you with a new menu in which you can start a NEW GAME from
scratch or load a previusly saved OLD GAME and continue where you left off.
Change Controls
This will allow you to change all controls in the game. Any key can be used
for any control. You can also use any DirectX compliant Joypads or Joysticks
that are connected to your system.
Adjust The Sound
Allows you to choose the sound mode and sound/music volume in the game.
Game Options
Will present a new menu with additional game options.
Play The Game
With NEW GAME option you will start from scratch. However if you have
previously saved your game then you can choose it from the second menu accessed
by the OLD GAME option. Just select the game you want to continue playing and
press Action button.
Change Controls
It is important to utilise this function properly.
Move cursor to highlight the required control on which the keys are to be changed.
Press ENTER or Action Button (clears the current key).
Press the key/pad button/joystick direction required for control (it will be printed on the current line as it is pressed).
When all keys are selected go to BACK selection to go to Main Menu.
Default Keys (all keys are redefinable) :
| Up/Down/Left/Right: | Move through the room |
| Space: | Jump/Teleport |
| Enter: | Pickup/Drop Objects |
| M: | Jump & Pickup/Drop simultaneously |
| LEFT CTRL: | Fire Doughnut |
| RGHT CTRL: | Swap Head/Heels or Join Them Together |
| ESC: | Quit |
Adjust The Sound
There are 3 distinct sound levels within the game. These are different sound
tracks as opposed to volumes. One may select from:
NASTY - All jingles and game sounds
SO-SO - Useful game sounds
LATE - Very few sounds (almost none)
Also you can set the separate volume levels for Background Music and Sound
effects in the game!
Game Options
There are several things you can change here. Mainly it depends on how good
you already are at playing the game, how good your computer is and if you
want to play the game with keyboard or joypad.
Shadows
The game engine features shadow casting onto floor and objects (this
is the first engine to do so). With this option you can select how accurate
you want Shadow casting to be :
COMPLEX - Shadows on objects and realistic shadows on Floors
MEDIUM - Shadows on objects and additive shadows on Floors
SIMPLE - Only additive shadows on Floors
If your computer is fast enough (over 233Mhz) then we recommend you use the
COMPLEX mode, since it looks the best !
Game Speed
The overall speed of the game. ORIGINAL is the same speed as it
was all those years ago on Spectrum. If you are just starting to play the game
you could select SLOW, if you are already very experienced in it then FAST
mode is recommended.
Graphics Mode
Here you can select if you want to play the game in FULL SCREEN or
WINDOWED mode. Normally FULL SCREEN is faster, but on modern systems it
doesn't really matter.
Triple Buffering
If your graphics card is able to use this option (normally
in WINDOWED mode this option is not available on any card) then you should
select it - it will enable very smooth scrolling for the big rooms. If this
is not enabled then a tearing effect might be present when scrolling.
Control Sensitivity
This selects how diagonal controls are interpreted. It
is imperative for full enjoyment that you set this option correctly. If you
select HIGH sensitivity then you can walk in one direction and quickly change
it by 90 degress while holding the same key. It is recommended that you
select HIGH sensitivity if you are playing with Keyboard! If you are playing
with a Joypad/Joystick it is recomended to select the LOW sensitivity mode
so that you don't accidentaly go into the wrong direction!
In-Game Menu
While playing the game you can press the QUIT key and you will be
presented with another menu.
Resume Game
Will exit the menu and cancel the QUIT request
Quit Game
Will go back to the main menu and abort the current game.
Save Game
If you have any Save Games left (ie, you picked up a Reincarnation Fish)
then you will also be presented with this menu.
Here you can select any of the free slots (or you can overwrite
an already filled slot), name your game and save it. You can also go
back to the previous menu. You have 6 slots available to fill.
History Of The Blacktooth Empire
Far, far away from our star Sol lies the Blacktooth empire, an evil empire,
four worlds enslaved by the planet Blacktooth. All of the slave worlds bubble
with unrest, but due to the oppressive nature of their rulers they never
reach boiling point, they all lack a leader to draw the masses of population
together.
Blacktooth itself is not any better, a world rigidly controlled by its
dynastic leaders for so long that the populace do not even think about
revolution. The peoples of the neighbouring stars are getting very worried
about signs of military expansion from Blacktooth and have sent a spy from
the planet Freedom to see if he can push the slave planets into full
rebellion by finding the crowns lost when Blacktooth took over.
The creatures of Freedom are very strange in that they are formed from a pair
of symbolic animals that have adapted to operate either independantly or,
to their mutual advantage, join together as one - Head saddled on Heels, and
indeed these ARE their names and both are highly trained spies.
The Game
Head and Heels have been captured, separated and imprisoned in the castle
headquaters of Blacktooth. Their cells contain 'keep fit' equipment,
including a wall ladder that Head really must learn to climb. Your job is
to get them both out of the castle and into the market place so they can
join up again. From there, the journey leads to Moonbase Headquaters, where
you will have to decide either to try to escape back to Freedom or to be a
true hero and teleport to one of the slave planets to search for its lost
crown! To overthrow the dictatorship on any of the slave planets would be a
major blow to Blacktooth and you could return to Freedom in glory. Of course
Blacktooth would probably enslave them again eventually but it would slow
down any expansion plans for now. The populace of Blacktooth are so heavily
oppressed that they would have to see all four of the slave planets revolt
before the Blacktooth crown could cause an uprising. This of course would be
the ultimate accolade, and unfortunately, almost certain suicide.
Egyptus
Once, a long time ago, a craft from Blacktooth got a bit lost while doing
a hyperspace jump and landed on an unknown planet. Here the crew found a
primative animal forming a sort of civilisation that appeared to revolve
around wrapping corpses in lots of bandages and putting them into huge stone
pyramids. When they returned to Blacktooth their emperor liked the sound of
it so much that he rebuilt the capital city of one of the slave planets to
resemble the story.
Penitentiary - The empire's prison planet
Millions are imprisoned here. A harsh planet, very mountainous, much
climbing, skill required. The worst place is The Pit, try not to fall into
it!
Safari
A densely vegitated planet, mainly used for hunting. The natives live in
wooden forts in the junge, beware traps!
Book World
The emperor is very keen on cowboy books, and has devoted an entire world to
a western library. Only the emperor's minions are permitted to read them.
Information is rigotously suppressed in the empire.
Blacktooth
This planet has a large moon with three lunar space stations on it, the
larger of these, Moon station HQ, is the main teleport centre for the empire,
with a direction teleport to all the slave planets. Sometime after the
Egyptus episode, the latest Emperor sent out a craft to find that same
strange planet, and after much exploration it was finally located and the
craft landed. However the crew found the people had changed: instead of
pyramids they used castles and houses, instead of wrapping corpses up in
cloth, they wrapped living men in metal and then tried to turn them into
corpses with sharp metal sticks. The Emperor, not to be outdone by his
ancestor, built a huge resplendant stately home on Blacktooth and used
it as his headquaters. This home is surrounded by a small market, and then
a range of impassable mountains. The only way to leave is via teleport to
one of the three lunar space stations.
This creature is a symbiotic partner to Heels and will normally be found
sitting on top of one. Head is descended from a breed of flying reptile
and still has rudimentary wings that allow Head up to twice his own height
and to guide himself though the air.
During Heels's evolution the arms have totally disappeared while the legs
have become very powerful. Heels can jump his own height and can also run
very fast.
The strangest animal in the known universe! This fish likes to be eaten!
There have been cases of it jumping onto plates! But there is more: when you
eat one, its prodigious memory remembers everything about you. Its memory is
so good that if you die at some later date, you will be reincarnated at the
very place you ate the fish, and you will even have the taste still in your
mouth! How a fish can remember anything when its been eaten has never been
successfully explained. You must be very careful to check that the fish is
alive and wriggling as dead fish decompose very quickly and it rapidly
turns so poisonous that a single lick can kill.
WARNING: Even living reincarnation fish taste horrible!
Head and Heels can share the fish they pick up. They can store them for
indefinite periods of time for them to be used when you are in a real jam!
Check the SAVE GAME menu to see how many Fish you have left to be used.
The cute toy bunnies magically enhance your powers. The status display at the
bottom of the screen will keep you informed as to which powers are
temporarily enhanced. If Head and Heels are connected when they pick up a
Life or Iron pill they will both get the enhanced power. There are four
types:
If Heels pick up a go faster bunny or Head picks up a jump bunny the bunnies
power is wasted!
The bunnies are coloured differently... you must learn which bunny gives which
extra attributes !
The hooter may be used by Head to fire doughnuts at attacking mosters. This
will freeze them in place as they lick the doughnuts off their faces. The
hooter may only be used by Head and requires a tray of doughnuts to be of
any use.
Tray of six doughnuts are few and far between so don't waste shots. Only
Head may pick up doughnuts. The number of remaining doughnuts will be
displayed above the doughnut icon at the bottom left of the screen.
The bag may be used to carry small objects around a room. It is essential
for Heels to find and get the bag as it is impossible to get far without it.
The object in the bag will be displayed immediately above the bag's icon at
the bottom right of the screen. To pick up an object just stand on top of
it and press the CARRY key. It is not possible to drop an object in a
doorway.
Find a crown and start a revolution. At the beginning of each game a screen
showing all five crowns will be displayed. As each crown is collected this
screen will be shown again with the appropriate crowns in bright colour.
Standing on a teleport will activate its machanism, this will sound a warning
siren. Pressing the jump key will cause you to teleport. Not all teleports
are two way, some are linked in a chain.
Simply push the switch to switch things off and on! WARNING: Switching a
deadly monster off will stop him moving but he will still be deadly to
touch.
The rollers on the conveyor simply push you along it. If you wish to go the
opposite direction you have to jump along (if you are Head). They will just
make Heels go slower!
These are a very strange type of beast, they are increadibly sleepy, in fact
they never wake up and it is quite normal for them to sleep for their
entire lives. They are often used as tables and even used as building bricks.
They are a native of Freedom and for many thousands of years Head and his
ancestors have been mistaking them for Heels and causing so much trouble to
the poor old hush puppies they they evolved a defence mechanism, they
somehow learned to teleport themselves away. Nobody knows where they go but
the instant they see any of Head's race they disappear and won't return until
thay are sure the coast is clear.
The guardian blocks the door to the throne room in Blacktooth castle, he is
very dangerous and he doesn't like doughnuts. Only a true hero may pass the
guardian.
Swop Key
If Head is sitting on Heels the swop key will, on each push, give you control
of:
If Head is not on Heels the swop key will, on each push, give you control of:
At all times the character(s) whose icon is lit is under player control.
When Head and Heels are joined together all their abilities are combined.
Credits
Original game written by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond.
This game is produced by RETROSPEC group. Check out our homepage at :
The remake was done by mainly these two people in their spare time :
Additional work for this remake was done by :
The game would not be so good without a plethora of beta testers :
Metka Jostl
James R Curry
Kakarot
Milos Babovic
Russell Hoy
Sir Dave-O
Also big thanks go out to all members of RETROSPEC. Check the messages in the
game for other important notes and additional thanx.
For more information and updates, etc. visit our official homepage at :
http://retrospec.sgn.net/games/hoh/about.html
