Playing
The full version of SUAVE has three different play modes, chosen in the blue box on the main
menu. Standard Map mode lets you play on the built-in map, which is the same as the Shareware
version. Map File mode allows you to pick a .SUV map file to play. Endurance mode lets you
play in a boundless world of progressively difficult computer-generated rooms.
Playing SUAVE should come naturally to people who've played shooter games before. The general
idea is to destroy the enemies before they destroy you. From the main menu, can you select a
diffictulty level before you start playing. This difficulty level affects not only how tough
enemies are, but also the overall speed of the game.
For people expecting a tank game, SUAVE may seem to going way too fast. But this isn't some rusty
old tank, it's a sleek new Sport-Utility Assault Vehicle (and an extreme one at that). Once you
meet some of the tougher enemies, you'll be glad it has the high speed. If you're overwhelmed by
the speed of the game on Normal mode, there's no shame in starting out on Easy mode.
Movement
Typically, you'll be controlling motion of your SUAVE with your left hand, and controlling its
weapons with the right. This can easily be reversed on the Configuration
screen for left-handed players, and you can experiment with many different control methods to find the
one right for you.
The important thing to remember is that in the chase view, all motion is relative to
the direction the body of the vehicle is facing. Using the Camera Target Toggle button (Tab by
default), you can adjust weather the camera faces the turret's direction or the tank body's direction.
Facing the body's direction is much easier for driving, but it's worth learning how to drive while
facing the turret's direction. This way you can fire sideways and use forward and reverse to dodge
oncoming shots, like this:
From the top view, however, both motion and turret control is always absolute.
Your tank does more than just move and shoot, however. It has a few interesting features that add
to the strategy and gameplay.
Time Device
Your SUAVE's Time Device (activated by holding down the space bar, by default) can control the
flow of time to a certain degree. When activated, the world will seem to slow
down. This can give you a huge advantage, since it gives you an expanded reaction time, but
it also gives your SUAVE tank a tiny edge in speed and maneuverability. It's perfect for
getting out of tight squeezes. The drawback is that there's a rather short limit to the
length of time that you can slow down.
Weapons
Your SUAVE has the ability to pick up enemy weapon pods and use them. If you see something
that looks like a weapon on the ground, drive over so your SUAVE is sitting on top of it, and
hit your Weapon Swap control (right mouse button by default). Your blaster will fold away, and
the SUAVE will attach the weapon pod and let you control it.
You can only carry one weapon pod at a time, but there are many things you can do with them.
All weapon pods have limited ammunition, so you can use the Weapon Swap button to toggle between
a weapon pod and your standard blaster to conserve ammunition. You can also use the same button
to swap one weapon pod for another, or to add one pod's ammunition to the one you carry, if it's
the same type.
End Game
The game is over when you run out of lives, or when you find the level exit, which looks like a
large silver disc on the ground. When the game is over, your score will be compared to those
on the high score list, and added to the list if it's high enough. You will get extra points
for any remaining lives you have, if you've used a level exit.
The high score list, which may also be viewed from the Main menu, displays information about
each game played. The color of the bar that underlines each entry indicates what difficulty
level that game was played at; Blue for Easy, Green for Normal, Yellow for Hard, and Red
for Extreme. A "V" will be displayed to the right of a score if the player achieved victory
by reaching the exit.