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).

The Octo Armor provides the Syd with 8-way simultaneous laser fire. It's energy consumption is strictly by time. Whether you fire the lasers or not, the Octo Armor will drain energy at a slow pace.	The Shield Armor is the most defensive armor available to the Syd. It protects the Syd with a circular barrier that will absorb damage at the cost of it's energy (two bars of energy per hit, half the rate of all other armors.) You can recharge the Shield by collecting more energy tiles.
The Cannon Armor gives the Syd access to six simultaneous laser shots all in a row, providing ultimate forward destructive power which travels very quickly. Energy consumption for the Cannon is time based, slowly draining energy whether the cannon is fired or not.	The Homing Armor upgrades the power of the Syd's missile launchers. They will fire two glowing orbs which, over a short period of time, divide into six orbs and follow a prescribed path until they get close enough to a ground target to be attracted to it and destroy it. Energy consumption for the Homing Armor is per homing missiles fired. Do not blindly hold the missile button down or you will expend the armor quickly.
The Paralyzer Armor send a column of energy immediately in front of the Syd. Any enemy hit by this column becomes frozen in place, and shatters a few seconds later. The column of energy can also be used to cancel the bullets of enemy fire. The Paralyzer drains energy twice as fast as most weapon armors, as it is constantly active and cannot be turned off. This armor is great for stages with heavy enemy activity, but terrible against most boss fights.	The Nuclear Armor is another armor that upgrades the Syd's missile launchers. They will fire a single bomb which travels a certain distance forward and explodes whenever it hits a ground target, or reaches it's maximum travel distance. The explosion is immense, attacking even aerial targets, but the energy cost is high: 3 units of energy per missile. This makes it less practical for typical stage scenarios, but excellent for many boss fights.
The Fire Armor sends out a column of energy much like the Paralyzer armor, only in this case, it is a column of fire. While the Fire armor is active, you will be unable to shoot your regular lasers of missiles, but the column of fire will destroy every object it touches, whether on the ground or in the air, and it will even destroy enemy bullets. Fire Armor drains energy twice as fast as other typical weapon armors.	The Thunder Armor is the most powerful offensive armor. When the missile button is pressed, the Syd travels to the center of the screen, and unleashes a web of lightning that destroys every enemy present on the screen at that time. The cost is very high for this armor, 8 units of energy per use (although you may still fire one last thunder if you have less than 8 units). Since you can't fire missiles with this armor, it is also the only method that you have of revealing and collecting tiles. This armor is best saved for boss fights.