"Oh Maggie I wish I'd never seen your face." - "Maggie May" - Rod Stewart +-------------------------------------+ | | | Dishaster | | For the Atari 2600 | | FAQ/Walkthrough | | By T. Jackson (see section 4.03) | | Started: 6/6/04 | | Finished: 6/6/04 | | Last Updated: 6/6/04 | | Version 1.0 | | | +-------------------------------------+ This guide is best viewed in 800x600 or 1024x768 resolution with the Courier New font on your browser's "small" text setting (CTRL + -). It was composed in Notepad+. Table of Contents: I. Introduction 1.01: Table of Contents 1.02: Introduction 1.03: Dedication II. Basics 2.01: Story 2.02: Controls 2.03: The Screen III. Walkthrough IV. Last Words 4.01: Copyright Information 4.02: Revision History 4.03: Contact Information 4.04: Credits 4.05: Don't Let 'em Fall! If you need to find anything in this guide, press CTRL + F and type in the numerical code of the section you want to find (i.e. 4.01 for copyright information). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I. Introduction -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 1.01: Table of Contents | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 Up there. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 1.02: Introduction | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 I'm getting a creative burst. So for the fourth game in my Atari FAQing adventure, I decided to do Dishaster. If you're familiar with Dancing Plates, you should have an idea of what this game is like. It's the same premise. You just have to stop some plates from falling! How hard could that be? You're about to find out. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 1.03: Dedication | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 This guide is dedicated to BoredGamer. He's one of the few people who, in this day of super duper 3d polygonal graphics, still appriciates older games. I have no idea about his personality, but he likes older games. He's fine in my book... ...for now. And to Chris "Kao Megura" MacDonald. May he rest in peace. http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/85.html -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- II. Basics -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 2.01: Story | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 This story was made up by me. Yay. In the year 198X... It's circus time! You are Meg, a clown girl who is in charge of the plate balancing act. Can you impress the audience? How long can you hold out in this fast-paced game of fast pacingness? And pacing is just what you'll do as you run around trying to keep the plates on top of their sticks. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 2.02: Controls | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 These controls are really tough to master. Pay close attention, class. --------------------- | Button | Function | |--------|------------| | Button | Nothing | | Up | Nothing | | Down | Nothing | | Left | Move left | | Right | Move right | --------------------- Geez. They shouldn't throw such complex controls at us. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 2.03: The Screen | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diagram 2.03a | -------------- | | | | | | 0 (3) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | (1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | \o |- / \ (2) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . . . . (5) 0769 (4) ------------------------- 1 - Pole | 2 - Meg | 3 - Plate...dish...thing | 4 - Score | 5 - Lives | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simple as that. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- III. Walkthrough -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- As I said, Dishaster is a game where you have to keep plates balanced on top of large sticks. Just like in the circus. In order to keep the plates spinning, you have to run under them. You don't even have to press the fire button. Just run under them. Your score is based on the amount of time you can keep the plates up. You don't have to keep them all up. You have four lives. Everytime a plate falls, you lose a life. There's only one level to this game, but there are four difficulties. The difficulties correspond with their games (game 1 = difficulty 1, game 2 = difficulty 2, game 3 = difficulty 3, and game 4 = difficulty 4). I'll outline them here: Difficulty One - Six plates Difficulty Two - Eight plates Difficulty Three - Ten plates Difficulty Four - Ten plates and the game is more fast-paced. The funny part of this game is how Meg keeps the plates up. She does a weird dance and they stay up. Teehee. The only trick to winning is to realize which plates to dance under. The best thing to do is to run under the plates that have gone the longest without support. Speaking of which, there are a few different levels for the plates. The plates can be flat, which means you shouldn't go out of your way to balance them (although, if you have nothing else to do, go ahead and balance them). Then there is the tipping plate. Try and get the dish balanced now. The next level is the really tipping plate. The plate is flashing now. Balance it now! The final level is the falling plate. You don't actually lose a life if you can catch the plate before it hits the ground. Whether or not a fallen plate hits the ground, it is replaced by a new plate atop the old stick. So don't think you have a reprieve if you let one go! Keep at the plates for as long as you can. As I said, the longer that you can keep the plates up, the higher of a score you'll receive. Start with difficulty one. If you do well enough on that difficulty, move up the ranks. If you can keep the plates on difficulty four going for upwards of five minutes, you're doing well! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- IV. Last Words -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 4.01: Copyright Information | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 Dishaster and all other characters, stages, items, and related things are copyright 1983 to ZiMAG, Inc. This guide/FAQ/walkthrough is copyrighted (c) 2001-2004 to Trace Jackson, and is the intellectual property of Trace Jackson. This guide/FAQ/walkthrough is protected under International Copyright Laws. Please feel free to put this anywhere you like, as long as I get credit for it. After all, this is to help the readers! It should be spread around! I WOULD like it if you emailed me asking for permission, but it's not necesary. Just realize that the latest updates to this guide can and will always be found at IGN FAQs (faqs.ign.com), GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com), and Meowthnum1.com (www.meowthnum1.com). Just please credit me for it and don't make any profit off it. The following are sites that can not use my work. If you see these sites using any of my FAQs, please e-mail me ASAP. Each of these websites are sites that have plagiarized myself or others in the past, or simply taken our works without our prior permission. Since they do not have enough respect for the authors (or an ignorance of the law), I am expressly forbidding them from using my work. I will not condone such sites that partake in these actions. 911 Codes http://911codes.com 9 Lives http://www.9lives.ru/eng/ Bean's PSX Dimension http://www.bean.dk/psx/index.htm Cheat Code Central http://www.cheatcc.com Cheat Index http://cheatindex.com Cheat Matrix http://cheatmatrix.com Cheat Search http://cheatsearch.com Cheatstop http://www.panstudio.com/cheatstop/ CNET Gamecenter http://games.netscape.com/Faqs/ Console Domain http://www.consoledomain.co.uk Dirty Little Helper http://dlh.net Dark Station http://www.darkstation.com/ Dreamland http://kirby.pokep.net Games Domain http://www.gamesdomain.com Game Express http://www.gameexpress.com Games Over http://www.gamesover.com/ Mega Games http://www.megagames.com Square Haven http://www.square-haven.net Ultimate System http://www.flatbedexpress.com VideoGaming.net http://www.videogaming.net/ 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 4.02: Revision History | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 Version 1.0 (6/6/04) - The guide was completed. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 4.03: Contact Information | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 Before emailing me, please make sure that whatever question you have wasn't addressed here in the guide. If it's not a question (i.e. input, suggestion, correction, etc.), please go ahead and email me. I'm not too picky about grammar, but if I have no idea what you're saying, I might ask for some clarification. I'll take emails in Spanish or English. Doesn't matter to me. No me importa. I'd appreciate whatever you've got. Questions (again, as long as it's not answered here), inputs about ideas that I've raised, suggestions or corrections for the guide, requests for using parts of the guide, problems in life, jokes (as bad as some of these are in the guide), praise emails (ha!), or whatever else is on your mind. Email: meowthnum1 [at] meowthnum1 [dot] com I wasn't too bad about doing the spam thing at first. Now half of my emails are virus emails. Just replace the [at] with @ and the [dot] with .. You could also use AIM. I'd prefer these be quick questions, but I really can't stop you from long, involved ones. To be honest, I prefer emails. AIM is still here. That's TracesWritingAIM. 0==~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 | 4.04: Credits | 0==~=~=~=~=~=~=~0 -NickBush24 - Encouragement. 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 | 4.05: Don't Let 'em Fall! | 0=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=0 I've enjoyed writing this guide. I hope you enjoy the game. --Trace Jackson