Astroman Basic Guide ver. 1.0 ------------------- By Helldray, 12/28/10 0.1 Introduction 0.2 Item List 1.0 Your Guide to Outer Space 1.1 First Planet 1.2 Second Planet 1.3 Third Planet 1.35 Asteroid Belt 1.4 Fourth Planet 1.5 Fifth Planet 1.6 Sixth Planet 1.65 Gravity Barrier 1.7 Seventh Planet 1.8 Eighth Planet 1.9 Ninth Planet 1.95 Final Barrier 0.1 - Intro ########### Astroman is a pretty cool little platformer for Xbox 360! You can find it in the Indie Marketplace. It's your typical run, jump, and shoot, but it also has some exploring elements and you'll need to find items hidden in the stages to help proceed. This FAQ will cover the locations of these items and what they do, so you can get through the game a bit easier. It is not a hand-holding walk through, it's just meant to give you a better idea where to look for each item and a little bit of extra advisement. If, on the other hand, you want a good challenge, then get out of here and do it on your own, and don't come back til you're good and stuck! 0.2 Item List ############# Heart Tanks - You'll find these scattered around every level. If you collect four, you'll get an extra heart added to your life meter, Zelda-style. Hover - Hold "Jump" in the air with this item and you'll hover for a short time. Found in the Sixth Planet. Spring Jump - Jump as soon as you hit the ground after a jump to activate the spring jump, and double or even triple your jump height if you have more than one. You have to jump a certain minimum height to start it (so watch your head), but once it starts, you can just keep doing it. One is found on the Fourth Planet, the other on the Eighth. Rocket Column - Found in the First Planet. Allows you to visit other planets. Sub Booster - You'll need two of these to pass the Gravity Barrier. You'll find them on the Second and Sixth Planets. Turret - Asteroids and pesky UFOs won't be a problem with these babies! You need the one that you'll find on the Third Planet, but the one on the Eighth Planet is optional. Scanner - This is on the Fifth Planet, and it will tell you if a planet has items on it. Very handy if you don't have a FAQ. :) 1.0 Your Guide to Outer Space ############################# 1.1 - 1st Planet - Moon Type 1 ------------------------ Ship Upgrade - Main Rocket Column Suit Items - None This is the first planet. It's pretty easy, but in order to explore the solar system, you'll need your main Booster Column. You shouldn't have any trouble finding it, it's right at the end of the level. 1.2 - 2nd Planet - Night Type 1 ------------------------ Ship Upgrade - Sub Booster Suit Items - None It's a really good idea to visit this planet right away, because there are a lot of heart upgrades here. But you won't be able to find the ship upgrade at first. When you have the first Spring Jump and Hover, you'll be able to clear the long gap at the end, and you can find the item. This level introduces you to some dark sections of the game, and these can be quite challenging depending on what difficulty you select. Glowing rocks will give you an idea of where to go, but you'll have to explore carefully and observe the movements of the wall-crawling enemies to get a good idea of what the terrain looks like. Towards the end, there are platforms that aren't lit on their edges at all--you need to look at the crawling bug enemies to tell where the platform outline is. 1.3 - Third Planet - Moon Type 2 ------------------------ Ship Upgrade - Gun Turret Suit Items - None The Gun Turret can be found near the end of this level, in one of the rooms where you need to shoot the generators to power the platform conveyor. You'll encounter a set of moving platforms that will carry you up a good ways, vertically. Keep an eye to the upper left side of the screen, and you'll see it, hovering and sparkling. After you've activated the platforms, you can back track and find platforms that will bring you right to it. 1.35 - Inner Barrier - Asteroid Belt ------------------------ ##Hazard Warning You'll need a turret mounted on your space ship to get by this obstacle. (You can find it on the Third Planet) Be careful as you pass through! After passing into the outer rings, you'll be attacked by UFOs on the map, but you can destroy them with your new turret. 1.4 - Fourth Planet - Fire Type 1 ------------------------- Ship Upgrade - None Suit Items - Spring Jump 1 You can't get through this level without picking up the Spring Jump, you'll find it at the bottom of the big chasm in the middle of the level. 1.5 - Fifth Planet - Moon Type 3 ------------------------ Ship Upgrade - Scanner Suit Items - None If you had the scanner, maybe you wouldn't be reading this FAQ, but since you are, you don't even really need it, so unless you want the extra health items, this level is optional! Once you have it, hovering near a planet will reveal if any items are on it, or if it still has heart containers you haven't picked up yet. Near the middle of this stage, you'll be facing to the right, and you'll pass over three long conveyor belts, and the path turns upward after the third. Instead of going up, drop down to the right, where you'll find a hidden room with the Scanner inside. 1.6 - Sixth Planet - Night Type 2 ------------------------- Ship Upgrade - Sub Booster Suit Items - Hover You can't get through this level without picking up the Hover. After falling into the underground area, you'll encounter a row of spikes too wide to jump across. There's a path above you, and that's where you'll find it. If you have the Spring Jump found on the Fourth Planet, after you emerge from the underground, head back to the left, and fall down the hole that you had to fall down to get the Hover, only this time, use the hover to slow your descent and get into the second passage on the left. You'll encounter a barrier you need the spring jump to get over. Then you'll be in the dark, and you'll need to avoid some big worm-like creatures. The Sub Booster can be found at the very end of the level. There are two worms emerging from the ceiling as you head left, and you'll need to find a passage in the ceiling right next to the second one. A wall-crawling bug will show you where it is (if you didn't zap him, anyway!) 1.65 - Outer Barrier - Gravity Barrier --------------------------- ##hazard Warning This space distortion keeps pushing you back in, and you'll need both Sub Boosters to pass it. One can be found on the Second Planet, the other can be found on the Sixth. 1.7 - Seventh Planet - Fire 2 ----------------------- Ship Upgrade - Warp Drive Part Suit Items - None Midway through this stage you'll run into several horizontal passages. Stick near the bottom towards the end (Tip: get the checkpoint at the end of the section BEFORE you explore the area thoroughly) and you'll come to a pool of lava. Jump and hover across to find the Warp Drive piece. 1.8 - Eighth Planet - Night 3 ---------------------- Ship Upgrade - Gun Turret 2nd Suit Items - Spring Jump 2nd In this level, you're in the dark again, and you'll encounter tight, mazey passages. There's only one way out of each one, so don't worry about missing anything in them, you just need to get through. Trial and error, and carefully watching the paths of the enemies, will help get you through. After the first of these "mazes" you'll come to another set of horizontal passages like the ones in the Seventh Planet, with long-tongued aliens that don't glow in the dark like the others. They're a bit creepy but not especially dangerous, just don't get too close to them. Follow along the topmost paths and you'll find the second Gun Turret hidden in the ceiling. There's also a boss if you play on Normal or Hard--it's one of those worms again, but you can actually hurt this one. It dashes back and forth across the screen, firing projectiles out of its tail, and then attacking from holes at the top and bottom of the screen. If you run out of ammo, don't worry, extra ammo will appear from the horizontal passages the worm emerges from. You'll need to use the Spring Jump to evade its dashes, so plan ahead! After the boss, you'll be in the dark again, and in a room with the second Spring Jump. You can't get out of the room without it. 1.9 - Ninth Planet - Fire 3 --------------------- Ship Upgrade - Warp Drive Part Suit Items - None This level has a lot of fast-moving conveyor belts. Be careful, but if you take damage, be sure to take advantage of your temporary invincibility and recover as quickly as you can. If you have enough health, you may find it's easier to muscle your way through some sections taking hits rather than doing it "correctly." After the first long, long conveyer belt ride, the path splits. If you have the Second Spring Jump, you can get to the higher section. You'll need to bounce your way back and forth up a vertical shaft on platforms that are moving down. This is made even harder by a worm that is hanging out way up high in the ceiling. Watch out for him, and try to time your jumps so you're moving up when he's moving up, and don't ever stop jumping! Once you get to the top, you'll find the room with the last Warp Drive piece. 1.95 - Final Barrier - Deep Space --------------------- ## Boss Warning It seems you can't leave the system without your Warp Drive! You'll find the pieces on the Seventh and Ninth Planets. Press Y to activate the Warp Drive if you have it. If you are playing on Normal or Hard, a boss will attack at this point. He'll be easier to defeat if you have picked up the second turret, found in the Eighth Planet.