ASO: Armored Scrum Object/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: Use the joystick to direct the Syd fighter ship anywhere around the visible screen in eight different directions. You also use the left and right directions of the joystick to cycle through your available selection of armor.
 * Lasers: Press the laser button to shoot the Syd's lasers in an upward direction. Lasers are used to hit aerial targets. You can hold the laser button down for continuous fire, but at a slower rate than you can manual fire.
 * Missiles: Press the missile button to fire the Syd's missile launchers. Missiles travel forward and are used to hit ground targets. You can hold the missile button down for continuous missile launches.
 * Armor: When the Syd has accumulated enough energy, press the armor button to activate whichever armor is currently flashing in your armor selection at the bottom of the screen.

Player
You are the pilot of a fighter ship known as the Syd. It is armed with two weapons systems, an air-to-air laser and an air-to-ground missile launcher. The Syd also has the ability to collect, store, and activate up to 8 different armor enhancements that drastically increase the offensive or defensive capabilities of the Syd. In order to activate these armors, they must first be found and collected (with the exception of the two that you begin each game with).

Once the armor is stored, the Syd must collect enough energy to activate the armor. Once the Syd's energy meter is beyond the blue and into the yellow, one of the stored armors will begin to flash. You may select between each of the stored armors by pressing left or right on the joystick. Once the desired armor is flashing, press the Armor button to activate that armor. Different armors have different energy consumption methods. Once all of the energy is consumed, the armor disappears, and the Syd must collect more energy to activate a new armor.

The Syd can automatically fire it's lasers and missiles if you hold the fire buttons down. The laser will not fire as rapidly as it's capable of firing if you were to tap the button manually. For this reason, it is advised that you only hold the laser button down when the conflict above the ground is not to intense, and tap the missile button when you are positioned in front of tile providing ground targets, or offensive ground targets to ensure their collision, and switch to rapidly tapping the laser button when the action becomes more intense.

Armor
Armor is distributed throughout each stage, and broken up into three pieces. All three pieces of the same armor must be collected before the armor is available for selection. If you collect piece of armor that is different from the set you are already in the process of collecting, the collected pieces will be lost.

All armors are capable of prolonging the Syd's existence by absorbing damage taking from enemy shots or collisions. All armors except for the Shield armor absorb damage at a rate of four energy bars per hit, while the Shield armor absorbs damage at a rate of only two energy bars per hit. While an armor is active, all revealed energy tiles will appear blue (1 unit of energy), never yellow (4 units) or red (8 units).