----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Armored Encounter & Sub Chase! FAQ and Strategy guide for the Magnavox Odyssey ^2 by Sam Skinner Copyright Sam McRae-Skinner, 2008-2018. See the final section of this guide for more information on the copyright. *NOTE TO NEW READERS* Please read the copyright section before any other section of this guide the very first time you access this file. Guide started on 05-13-08 Version 1.00 completed 5-13-08 Version 1.01 completed 9-25-2018 My E-mail = Arguro AT hotmail.com Please direct any questions, comments or corrections to my e-mail. Thanks. Also, let me know what you think! I need some feed back! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To jump to any section, press crtl and F and enter the code that is in parenthesis ( ) in the box that pops up. Introduction (ASINT) Armored Encounter -Controls (AECON) -Game Basics (AEBAS) -Battle Maps (AEMAP) -Strategy (AESTR) Sub Chase! -Controls (SCCON) -Game Basics (SCBAS) -Strategy (SCSTR) Frequently Asked Questions (ASFAQ) Version History (ASHIS) Copyright Information (ASCPY) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction (ASINT) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greetings and welcome to my strategy guide for Armored Encounter and Sub Chase! While I cannot imagine there being such a high demand for Odyssey ^2 guides, I still find it an enjoyable system to play and I am sure someone out there does too. In the following paragraphs and sections you should find everything you need to know about this game. If for some reason something is missing, please send an e-mail to me (my address can be found at the top of the page) and let me know. I appreciate all feedback. Armored Encounter and Sub Chase! is two games on a single cartridge. Armored Encounter is a tank battle game that is similar to Combat on the Atari 2600, except that there are multiple screens to play on. Sub Chase! features one player flying around in an airplane and one player moving around in a submarine. Both are shooting at each other. The goal in both games is to gain more points than your opponent within a three minute time period. Both games require two people to play. There are no computer controlled opponents. ############################################################################# Armored Encounter ############################################################################# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Controls (AECON) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Left player controls the blue tank Right player controls the red tank Action button fires weapon Joystick up moves tank in the direction it is facing Joystick down moves the tank in the opposite direction it is facing Joystick left rotates the tank to the left Joystick right rotates the tank to the right Joystick left or right also causes guided missiles to move if playing on a map with guided missiles. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battle Maps (AEMAP) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you turn on the game, it will say "SELECT GAME" on the screen. Armored Encounter is selected by pressing one of twelve letters on the keyboard. Each letter (A-L) represent a different map with different variables. You can have guided missiles, which can be controlled after firing them by moving the joystick. If you don't want guided missiles, choose a map with cannons. Mine fields will always be represented by an X on the screen. Here is a list of each map and the corresponding letter that, upon pressing, will cause you to play on the map: A: No Barriers with cannons B: Light Barriers with cannons C: Heavy Barriers with cannons D: No Barriers with guided missiles E: Light barriers with guided missiles F: Heavy Barriers with guided missiles G: No Barriers with mine fields and cannons H: Light barriers with mine fields and cannons I: Heavy barriers with mine fields and cannons J: No barriers with mine fields and guided missiles K: Light barriers with mine fields and guided missiles L: Heavy barriers with mine fields and guided missiles ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Basics (AEBAS) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- No matter the map you choose, the premise is the same. You will have three minutes of total game time. The goal is to shoot your opponent more times than he or she shoots you. This is a basic game of cat and mouse. You need to run around and avoid being shot. Each player has 20 rounds of ammunition. When a player is down to three or fewer pieces of ammo, the color of the bullets changes to that of the player's tank. Once both players are out of ammo, the game ends. The player with the highest score at the end of the three minutes or when all ammo is used wins. That's about all there is to it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy (AESTR) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before I get started, I just want to say that this is my strategy. When I play the game, this is what I find to be effective. You may not find this to be a good way of playing the game. You may have a different strategy and that is ok. There is no one single strategy to any video game ever. If you have a strategy that is different from mine, I would love to hear it. E-mail it to me. You can find my e-mail at the top of the guide or in the FAQ section. It doesn't matter too much on the map you choose, the basic strategy is the same. Remember that you only have twenty rounds of ammunition and once you use yours, you cannot attack any more. Don't go shooting blindly or else you will be left to running and hiding really quickly. In the heavy barrier levels, playing with guided missiles is a pain in the butt. The controls you have over the guided missiles are sluggish and slow to respond. It is difficult to maneuver the missiles between the barriers without losing it. Only choose guided missiles and extra heavy barriers if you are familiar with the controls. If you are being shot at, do not counter attack. Since all bullets move at the same speed, you cannot hit your opponent before he or she hits you. When a hit is successful, all other bullets disappear from the map, meaning that any bullet you fire just before being hit will do nothing. Instead, focus all your efforts on avoiding the missile. Maps with more barriers will mean a lower scoring game. This means that every shot counts. Try and situate your self right on the edge of a boarder so that you can move to one side of the other quickly and attack your opponent. Avoid the X's on screen as they are land mines. If you can, try to lead your opponent across one. Bullets will be allowed to travel over the land mines without hindrance. Try to always keep a barrier in between you and your opponent when playing on barrier levels. Even if no one scores a single hit, at least you won't lose the battle. Always remain in motion. It is harder to be hit when you are constantly moving around. Keep your eyes out for renegade ammunition though. It can come at you from any side. Try to anticipate your opponents move and shoot where he or she is going to be, not where he or she currently is. ############################################################################# Sub Chase! ############################################################################# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Controls (SCCON) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Left player controls the air plane Right player controls the submarine Action shoots a missile Joystick down moves the vehicle down Joystick up moves the vehicle up Joystick Left speeds up the air plane, slows down the submarine Joystick right slows down the air plane, speeds up the submarine Joystick left and right also controls the missiles in games 1 and 3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Game Basics (SCBAS) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The screen will show four vessels at any given time. Three will be in the water and one will be in the air. The lowest one in the water (yellowish- orange) is the one that is controlled by the right player. The airplane is controlled by the left player. The other two cannot be controlled by any player. The air plane and the submarine move in opposite directions of one another and will wrap back around to the other side when the reach the end of the screen. Every successful hit gains one point for you. After the end of three minutes, the player with the most points wins. Should you accidentally hit one of the other two subs, you will lose a point. You can control the missile to an extent with you play with guided missiles. After shooting it, use left and right to move it around. It will still move in the direction you were traveling, but it can be controlled slightly. Game 1 shoots guided missiles out of the rear of the vessel. Game 2 shoots unguided missiles out of the rear of the vessel. Game 3 shoots guided missiles out of the front of the vessel. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strategy (SCSTR) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is simply easiest to play the game with rear launching guided missiles. Forward launching missiles make it a lot harder to score a hit and should only be used when rear launching missiles are too easy for you and your friend. Try and shoot when you are close to being aligned up with your opponent, assuming the neutral subs are not in the way. You can then use the guided missile action to slow or speed up the missile and cause a direct hit. You yourself should speed up or slow down if you are about to be hit. If you cannot get a clear shot at your opponent, just speed up to the edge of the screen and you will wrap around to the other side. Move towards the surface of the water when your opponent is far away from it and move far away from it when he or she is close to it. You want a shorter distance to shoot, but if you are too close, your reaction time will be too short to avoid being hit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FAQS (ASFAQ) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: When was this game made? A: The copyright date on the cartridge and in the manual says 1978. Q: Who made this game? A: Magnavox is credited within the manual, on the cartridge and on the box. Q: Where can I buy this game? A: You will be hard pressed to find it within any store some forty years after it was released. I suggest eBay. That is where I found my complete copy for 65 cents. ***Update!!!*** You may have luck in some specialty game shops. I have found a few dust covered games in forgotten corners of game shops that have been in buisness for many years. They are out there, you just need to look high and low. Q: Was this game released in Europe or any where else? A: I am unaware of any foreign release. If you know, please let me know. Q: My friend and I played a game of Sub Chase! and after the time expired, the game froze and nothing happened. Is my game broke? A: No. The game is designed like that. In order to play again, you must press reset on the keyboard and start over. Q: My friend and I were playing Armored Encounter and the game froze with time left on the clock. What happened? A: If the game stops while time remains on the clock, it is because both you and your friend ran out of ammunition and there is therefore no reason to continue the game. You now must hit reset on the keyboard and start the game over. Q: How does this game stack up to others from the same time period? A: I find it to be rather enjoyable. I think it is better than Atari games of the same premise, mostly because the graphics are more detailed and seem more colorful, plus there are many variations of the tank game. It is a personal preference more than anything. Q: Can I play either of these games without a friend? A: No. You need two players to get the full extent of the game. You can try it with just yourself, but you will have to control both joysticks. There are no computer controlled opponents anywhere within the cartridge. Q: Can I host this guide on my site? A: No. I do not allow anyone to use my guides without expressed, hand written permission. I do not give permission unless I am asked, specifically, about this guide. I do not like automated e-mails. I will most likely only allow my site to be hosted on a small website, usually one centered around the game or system my guide is for. For more information, see the Copyright section of this guide, at the bottom. Use of this guide without my permission is considered theft and will be reported to the proper authorities. ***Update!!!*** My attatude has changed in recent years, and I will probably allow it so long as you ask first. Q: How do I contact you about this guide? A: E-mail is the best way to do so. My e-mail can be found at the beginning or the end of this guide. Q: What other guides have you done? A: Just simply click on the name Arguro at the very top or the very bottom (orange text in a black box) of this guide and it will take you to my contributor page. From there you can see all the different things I have contributed to Gamefaqs. Q: I really like your guides. Can I donate money to you in support? A: If you really want to, you can send a Pay Pal payment to my e-mail address which is at the top or bottom of this guide. Please understand that any donated money does not mean I will name you in my guide. It also does not mean I will do any special work for you and it certainly does not give you any rights to host this guide or publish it anywhere. I do not want the user to feel obligated to pay me in any means. This is a free guide for personal, private home use. I will not reject your offer to pay me, but I do not want you to feel it is necessary. If you do decide to donate to me, please only donate what amount you are comfortable with, even if it is a single penny. Once a donation is made, it is final and there will be no refunds. This is an odd question and I debated about adding it for a long time, but when I saw other FAQ authors had a similar question, I felt it would be a valid addition. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version History ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.00 completed May 13th, 2008 Version included the addition of the entire guide, including all sections. Guide is completed and will no longer be updated unless a severe error is pointed out or unless I get a request to add/correct information. Seven total pages when printed (18 KB) Version 1.01 completed September 25th, 2018 at 2:09 PM Mountain Time Version included the resubmittal of the guide with a few small updates in the FAQ section as well as e-mail, name, and copyright updates. One gramatical error was fixed along with several typos. Seven pages when printed (19 KB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright information (ASCPY) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This guide is the copyright of Sam Skinner 2018. This guide may not be reproduced on any website or in print form without my expressed, handwritten consent. The user is hereby granted permission to store this guide on his or her hard drive under the following conditions: 1. The hard drive may only be accessed by the user and his or her immediate family; 2. The guide is kept fully intact, i.e. no section, paragraph, word, letter or punctuation mark is missing from the guide; 3. This section is kept stored with the guide and is read before any other section is read when the individual accesses the guide for the first time. The user is also hereby allowed to print this guide in any fashion as he or she sees fit, provided that this section in its entirety is included with the printed version. The printed version must not be sold or given away under any circumstance. This guide may only be hosted on one (1) website, that site being www.gamefaqs.com. If you want to use this guide on your website, you must send me an e-mail to Arguro AT Hotmail.com and please specify which guide you want to host. I ask that you specify so that I know you actually are interested in my work and that I am not reading an automated e-mail that scans FAQS for email addresses. If you do not specify the guide and include specific reasons why you would like to host it, I will NOT allow to host it at any time now or in the future. I reserve the right to determine what sites may and may not host this guide as well as the right to as for monetary compensation for the hosting of this guide as I see fit. Failure to abide by these rules set forth is a violation of US copyright law and is subject to prosecution. Further use of this guide is considered acceptance of these rules set forth. If you do not agree with these rules, do not use this guide. Armored Encounter, Sub Chase and the Odyssey ^2 are registered trademarks of the Magnavox Consumer Electronics Corporation, 1978. I am not affiliated with this company in any way and any implication, assumption or aforementioned association is purely accidental and unintended.