T-MEK TIP FILE
Version 5.1.0

New in this version:  What's new in program version 5.1: The Warlords!
                      Hidden features of 5.1 and how to get them!
                      How to get more info about Nazrac's Dominion!

Welcome to the latest edition of the T-MEK tip file!  This is emailed to
any T-MEK enthusiasts who want to hone their game and kick serious butt in
Atari's hot new game.


-----------------------------
*****NEW PROGRAM VERSION*****
-----------------------------

The new program version of T-MEK is on the way to the arcades!  This is
program version 5.1: The Warlords.  Read below for how to access the new
features which make T-MEK kick more butt than ever before!

The program upgrade, with ROMs and graphics, has been sent to game
distributors worldwide.  Arcade owners and operators will then be able to
get the upgrade from their distributors.  If your arcade does not have
version 5.1: The Warlords, ask the manager to get it!


------------------------
*****WHAT IS T-MEK?*****
------------------------

T-MEK is a new coin-op title made by Atari Games.  It currently is shipping
and available for purchase by arcade operators.  T-MEK has a deluxe
sit-down configuration, with custom analog controls and Atari's new CAGE
immersive surround sound system.  Each game cabinet can link two players in
head-to-head play, and permit solo play for lone players.  Up to three
cabinets can be linked for 6-way head-to-head play.

T-MEK combines the realism and strategy of the best simulator games with
the competitive thrill of fighting games.  The basics can be learned in a
minute, but mastery comes, if ever, after hundreds of hard-fought matches.
Seasoned players learn to hone their reflexes, make split-second decisions,
use their systems skillfully, and employ subtle strategies and
counter-strategies to defeat their opponents.

The object of T-MEK is to prove one's superiority against all challengers,
rising through Nazrac's tournament ladder until one meets the supreme T-MEK
player-- Nazrac himself.  While you are struggling up the ladder, other
players challenge your rank, resulting in spectacular head-to-head battles
that can rage with up to six players at once.

In a T-MEK match, you and your MEK enter one of many exotic arenas with at
least three other T-MEK pilots.  You score points by hitting and destroying
other MEKs with your array of blasters, plasma cannons, and more
specialized weapons.  When a player's MEK is ravaged and explodes, the
pilot automatically ejects, grabs a backup MEK, and jumps back into battle.
When the match time runs out and the twisted wreckage slides to a stop,
Nazrac declares the player with most points the winner.  The round winner
continues in the tournament for free; the losers must pay a re-entry fee to
continue in the competition.

If you defeat a player, you acquire that player's rank in the tournament,
catapulting you towards your final victory.  When your rank challengers
have all been put at bay, you can eventually fight against the boss of each
arena, special underlings to Nazrac.  Unlike lower-rung battles, these
fights are to the death!  If you defeat the arena boss, you replace him,
her, or IT as the ruler of that arena and the planet it lies on.  A very
few players have been rumored to have been challenged by Nazrac himself, to
remind them of their subordination to him.  Nobody has survived these
conflicts.  Will your ambition tempt Nazrac to call a challenge against
you?  If it comes to that, who will emerge the ruler of the T-MEK
tournament and of all the planets it occupies?


------------------------
*****ABOUT YOUR MEK*****
------------------------

Before each match, you choose which model of MEK to take into battle. Each
MEK has its stronger and weaker points, and each has unique and powerful
weapons and defenses.  All MEKs have a few things in common, however.

The two control sticks move your MEK through the arena.  Your MEK hovers
above the ground, so you may slide left and right as well as forward and
back.  By pushing one stick forward or back, you travel in a curve.  By
pushing one stick forward and one stick back, you will spin in place.
Pushing the stick a small distance causes a small acceleration; a harder
push makes you move faster.  Skillful pilots use the control sticks to
produce a wide variety of maneuvers.

The right trigger fires your long-range plasma cannon.  The glowing hot
plasma does heavy damage to MEKs and arena structures.  Your plasma shot
automatically curves to track the player registered in your lockon cursor.
You may fire your plasma cannon with no limitation.

The left trigger fires your two short-range blasters.  Your blasters fire
rapidly, but do not travel far before gouging into the ground. An
individual blaster hit does light damage, but their cumulative effect is
deadly.  You may fire your blasters with no limitation.

The right thumb fires your MEK's special weapon.  To fire a special weapon,
you must have at least one offense powerup (shown on the right side of the
control panel).  To get more offense powerups, go through the blue light
beaming down from underneath the floating reload platforms.  Each MEK has a
different special weapon.

Holding down the left thumb activates your MEK's defensive system. The
defense varies from MEK to MEK, but all have the same basic effect: your
MEK is impervious to weapons.  Your defensive charge is measured on the
left side of the control panel.  When this charge runs out, your defense
will no longer work.  When your defense is not active, the charge slowly
builds up.  Use this sparingly when in crossfire or when being attacked
from behind.  As an added benefit, while your defense is active you can
turn faster than usual.  However, as long as your defense is active, your
conventional weapons will not work-- your MEK's power is being diverted
towards saving your butt.

Your MEK has several systems to help you track your opponents.  When
another MEK is near your sights, your weapon systems automatically lock on
to that player-- a secondary target bracket follows that MEK. When locked
on, information about that MEK appears near your central target sight: the
player's name (written in that player's color), and the point value of that
player (see scoring tips below).  The darker the color of your opponent's
name, the less shield power that MEK has. Your plasma cannon and some
special weapons will automatically home in on whoever you have locked onto.

Your radar, in the center of your control panel, is a topdown view with
yourself in the center.  The large colored dots represent your opponents of
the matching color.  Dots at the top of the circle  represent MEKs in front
of you; dots in the right part of the circle are MEKs to your right, and so
on.  These dots are not fully accurate and may jump around as your
opponents' MEKs resist your detection. MEKs with high defense ratings are
more difficult to track on your radar.  The LurkerMEK is nearly impossible
to pin down!

The bar at the top of the screen represents your remaining shield power.
If your shields are gone and your MEK suffers additional damage, your MEK
explodes impressively.  You lose precious seconds and points before you
re-enter the battle in a new MEK-- and in fights to the death against arena
bosses, you may lose your last hope of survival!

The small screen in the right part of the control panel shows the current
rankings of all players in the match, sorted by the points they have
earned.

The small screen in the left part of the control panel shows your current
score and the time remaining in the match.


----------------------------------
*****SPECIAL WEAPONS REVEALED*****
----------------------------------

Shockbolt:
  Composition: A powerful, contained charge of electricity.
  Damage: Light.
  Speed: Fast.
  Tracking: Good.
  Special features: The shockbolt goes through most obstacles and
    disorients your opponents by mixing up their controls.

Acid drone:
  Composition: A heavy dose of molecular acid suspended in a
    magnetically-protected alloy shell.
  Damage: Medium.
  Speed: Slow.
  Tracking: Excellent.
  Special features: If someone is locked in your sights when you fire
    off an acid drone, it will keep seeking that opponent for quite a
    while.  Bounces off many obstacles and keeps going.

POV missile:
  Composition: A lethal charge of fusion explosives delivered in a
    pilot-guided high-speed missile.
  Damage: Very severe.
  Speed: Fast.
  Tracking: Depends on the pilot.
  Special features: The pilot can guide this baby to any target,
    including oneself.  The speed can be controlled by pushing the
    sticks forward or backward.  Hit the right thumb again to abort.

Plasmathrower:
  Composition: Three white-hot balls of charged plasma.
  Damage: Heavy when accumulated.
  Speed: Fast.
  Tracking: Decent.
  Special features: To line up and whallop an opponent with all three
    hits delivers serious damage.  Nearly impossible to outrun.

Blinder Bomb:
  Composition: An explosive-filled shell that deploys shrapnel and a
    blinding flash via highly photoemissive magnesium powder.
  Damage: Pretty nasty.
  Speed: Medium.
  Tracking: Excellent.
  Special features: A hit with a blinder bomb will make your opponent
    (or, if you are not careful, YOU) temporarily unable to see
    outside the cockpit due to scanner overload.

Speed Missile:
  Composition: Identical to the POV missile but composed of a lighter
    alloy that increases speed and sacrifices stability.
  Damage: Severe.
  Speed: TOO fast.
  Tracking: Depends on the pilot.
  Special features: See POV missile.


------------------------------
*****TIPS FOR HIGH SCORES*****
------------------------------

At the end of the match, Nazrac declares the player with the most points
the winner.  The winner gets to continue in the tournament free of charge
while others must pay a re-entry fee to continue.  Here are some tips to
help you outscore your opponents.

When you lock onto a MEK, you see, under the name of the MEK's pilot, a
"kill bonus"--how many points you would get for destroying that MEK. A
"confirmed kill" report appears when you get this bonus.  In addition, when
you damage a MEK you get a fraction of that kill bonus, proportional to the
amount of damage you did.  If an opponent's kill bonus is 40,000, for
example, you get ten percent  of that, or 4,000 points, for hitting that
MEK with your plasma cannon.

The observant player will notice that a MEK's kill bonus is not always the
same.  In fact, the kill bonus for a player depends on that player's
current ranking.  A player who at the moment is in first place has a kill
bonus of 80,000 points.  A player who is currently in fourth place has a
kill bonus of merely 20,000 points.  Therefore, to maximize your points, go
after the higher-ranked players!  The right-hand screen in the control
panel shows who is in the lead.  The color of that player's name matches
the color of the radar dot showing the position of that lead player's MEK,
which also matches the color of the glow of that player's engines.

Also, the darker a player's name appears, the lower the shields are on that
player's MEK.  Pick up an easy kill bonus by preying on the weak!

Just say no to death!  In the wreckage of destroyed MEKs are glowing energy
cores.  Run over these to boost your shield power and defense.

When your MEK is destroyed, Nazrac deducts a fraction of your points.
Therefore, reckless "kamikaze" fighting holds little benefit-- not only do
you repeatedly lose points each time you bite it, but other players are
gaining many points by wasting you so often!  Those who die in a manner
Nazrac deems dishonorable-- hitting themselves with their own weapon, or
foolishly running into an arena hazard-- have an additional penalty
deducted from their scores.

Beware of other MEKs stealing your kills!  You can blast an opponent down
to almost no shields, only to have someone else sweep in, make the killing
blow with a special weapon, and speed off with the kill bonus.  Some pilots
try to avoid this by putting themselves between their prospective kill and
the would-be point thief.  Another favorite tactic is not to fire upon
someone who is already being attacked, but instead go after the attacker,
who might be too distracted to notice an assault from behind.


----------------------------------
*****TIPS FOR FIGHTING BOSSES*****
----------------------------------

On your climb up the tournament ladder, Nazrac will notice your skill.
Since Nazrac is always on the lookout for a savage warrior to help uphold
his mighty empire, he will call on you to challenge the boss of one of his
planets.  If you win, you become the new ruler of that planet and
everything on it.  If you lose, your charred remains will be tossed into
Nazrac's Pit of the Unworthies.

Fights against arena bosses are fights to the death.  Unlike arena battles,
contestants are not ejected from their MEKs in the moment before they
explode.  The defeated pilot is scorched to ashes by the fusion implosion.
You get one MEK to prove your superiority.

In boss battles, all contestants have extra shield power added to their
MEKs.  Consequently, the energy cores left in the wrecks of exploded MEKs
in boss battles are bright orange, and add a great deal of shield energy to
whoever runs over them first.  These energy cores are THE KEY to winning
your challenges to Nazrac's warlords.

When you challenge an arena boss, the boss has two guards that will also
fight against you.  Having three MEKs shooting at you will wear you down
quickly!  Therefore, ELIMINATE THE GUARDS FIRST.  You can tell which MEK is
the boss and which are the guards by the name, the color, and the
appearance of the MEK.  When fighting Shocka, for example, hers is the
bright blue HyperMEK.  Her guards are named Voltage and Wired, and they are
in normal-looking HyperMEKs.

As soon as you eliminate a guard, RUN OVER THE ORANGE ENERGY CORE sitting
in the wreckage.  This will boost your shields and defenses enormously.
Run over that core quickly, or else one of your opponents will, and you
will have a real uphill battle!  It is wise not to blow up an enemy MEK if
another one is hovering nearby.

Whenever possible, position yourself wisely.  Don't keep driving through
fire hazards or into wide spaces where your enemies can get you from all
sides.

If you find yourself dying too quickly, try a MEK with more armor.  If you
run out of time, consider a MEK with more firepower.  If you are not
picking up enough energy cores and special weapon reloads, a speedier MEK
will help.

Above all, be persistent.  Boss battles have a unique strategy and higher
tension level than what you might be used to.  Keep trying, and soon you
will be winning worlds.


---------------------
*****TOURNAMENTS*****
---------------------

Keep an eye out for T-MEK tournaments!  We make it easy for arcade
operators to conduct double elimination tournaments that will prove who is
the supreme T-MEK master.  Prizes will include T-shirts, hats, posters, and
CASH!  All participants will receive a full-color mini-poster/tech spec
sheet.  Ask for a tournament at your favorite arcade!  Arcade operators can
contact their distributor or Atari's customer service for a tournament
starter kit.


-----------------------------------------------
*****HOW TO SPOT VERSION 5.1: THE WARLORDS*****
-----------------------------------------------

The operator of your favorite arcade should be able to get the full program
update from Atari or from the distributor that sold T-MEK to that arcade.
The update includes new ROMs and also some decals and signs.  These signs
and decals are the easiest way to spot a T-MEK station that has been
updated with version 5.1: The Warlords.

Another way to tell is what happens when you start the game.  Unless the
arcade has turned it off, the first thing you see when you start a new game
is a screen telling you that you are playing the Warlords version.  The
next giveaway is the new screen where you are asked to peg yourself as a
BEGINNER or ADVANCED.  If you see that screen, you know you are playing
with The Warlords.

If you see an arena full of fog, or the radar is blanked out, or the
players are in a completely new arena you've never seen before, it's
version 5.1: The Warlords.

Also, screens in the attract mode of the game (what it shows when it is not
being played) announce that it has a new program version.  But you won't
see the attract mode, right?  Because everyone will be too busy playing it!


--------------------------------
*****HIDDEN FEATURES IN 5.1*****
--------------------------------

The secrets with the * before them only appear in program version 5.1: The
Warlords.  How to recognize this version is explained above.

*WARLORD NAMES:
Now you can feel what it's like to be one of Nazrac's warlords!  Identify
yourself as an awesome boss by entering the proper name at the start of the
game.  If you play a warlord, you will be given a specialized MEK with a
new look and unique abilities.  BAKED has an big AssaultMEK with more
firepower-- but it's a bit slower.  SHOCKA flies an extreme HyperMEK that
goes even *faster* and has even *less* armor-- only speed freaks need
apply.  Shocka's MEK also hops over those pesky boulders in her native
Storm Rift.  VENUSIVA's glowing hot StealthMEK is not harmed by the fire
nor stopped by the spikes in her abode, Inferno.  PHANTOM's ghostly
SuicideMEK doesn't show up on the radar, and in his Stone Web he can pass
through the inner walls!  Watch your back, though, because he has less
armor and no defense.  BRK'OTH takes the form of a slimy green LurkerMEK
that in its birthplace, the Alien Nest, is hard to see and can ooze right
through most obstacles.  And NAZRAC's redesigned SpeedMEK?  Its looks alone
strike terror, and the fire of the Killing Floor and his Attic does no harm
to it.

*VENUSIVA EXPRESS:
When you see Nazrac's tournament ladder, you can jump right up to a
challenge versus the wicked Venusiva if you hold both sticks outward (the
right one to the right, the left one to the left) and then hold down both
thumb buttons.  Do it fast-- Venusiva won't wait for you to get up your
nerve!

*HIDDEN ARENAS:
If you get to choose the next arena in a rank challenge, you can open up a
new world.  If you choose the Stone Web while holding the left stick to the
right, prepare to enter the mind-bending Abyss.  If you choose the Killing
Floor while holding the left stick to the left, you will find the key to
the red-hot maze of Nazrac's Attic.  Prepare for some extreme MEK battles.

*STICK COMBO EFFECTS:
In those sweaty few moments while you are waiting for the Big Metal Doors
to open, you can mess with your opponents' world.  During the "Waiting for
Others" countdown (while you are sitting in front of the doors that are
about to open and let you into the arena), hold your control sticks in the
proper position to achieve some cool effects.
  *To kill off everyone's radar, keep the left stick
   pushed right and the right stick pushed left.  You don't
   appreciate something until it's gone...
  *To roll the fog into the arena, keep the left stick pushed
   left and the right stick pushed right.  This stuff is thicker
   than Brk'oth's slimy blood!
  *To tweak the color phase of any arena except for the Killing
   Floor, the Abyss, and Nazrac's Attic, keep both sticks pulled
   back.  Enter the Moon's Bed, Iceferno, and Psychedelic Rift!

SAURONS/HIDDEN FINALE:
In the Storm Rift, Alien Nest, and Stone Web is lurking the star of another
one of TWI/Atari's hot new games:  SAURON of PRIMAL RAGE!  In the Storm
Rift, he hides in a secret canyon behind a false wall in the left side of
the squared-off nook.  In Stone Web, he lurks behind a false wall in one of
the outer wall's gentle bends.  In the Alien Nest, you must blow away a
bunch of the thin tubes to find a passage between the Watchers (those eye
stalks that encircle the arena).  If you blast all three Saurons and then
kill Nazrac, you will (after the credits) enter a new arena that fans of
Atari classics will be sure to recognize.  In any case, it is the way to
stay on *top* of the high score screen!

BOOST YOUR PICKUPS:
When going through the blue light of the reload platforms, try pushing both
sticks outward at the last moment.  It's tricky!  If you succeed, you will
get five special weapon charges instead of three. Likewise, hold the sticks
in as you pick up an energy core in the wreck of a MEK.  You will get a
much larger boost of energy and defense charge.


------------------------------------------------------
*****HOW TO GET MORE INFO ABOUT NAZRAC'S DOMINION*****
------------------------------------------------------

Who is Venusiva?  How did Nazrac get so tough?  Why is Baked such a
pathetic excuse for a planetary boss?  Your burning questions about
Nazrac's Dominion and the T-MEK universe may be answered.  Email
tmek@agames.com with "get story" on a line by itself in the message body
and you will be emailed the story of Nazrac's rise and Venusiva's
domination.  This process is not automated yet, so it might take a few days
to be sent back the info.


--------------------
*****STAY WIRED*****
--------------------

Updates of this tipfile will keep coming, so every once in a while email us
again to get the newest version, or get the most recent tipfile by
anonymous ftp to ftp.netcom.com, in the directory /pub/vi/vidgames/faqs.  
Also keep your eye on the game magazines for more tips and strategy!

Keep on blasting,
Team T-MEK * Atari Games * Time-Warner Interactive
tmek@agames.com

"T-MEK" and "Nazrac" are copyrighted (c) 1994 by Atari Games.


