Posted by Everett Staley on July 13, 1999 at 08:41:28:
This is a cheat (bug?) in the Parsec program that my big brother and I stumbled upon many years ago on the original TI, and it works on v9t9 as well! This cheat allows you to shoot your lasers constantly, without overheating. First, (from the TI start-up screen will work) press ALT-F6 and set up joystick #1 for the mouse, and joystick #2 for the numeric keypad (or the joystick, if you have one and want to use it). Now, on the mouse, use a rubber band lengthwise around the mouse so as to hold the left button down, so "joystick" #1 will always be firing. Then for firebutton #2, you can either hold down the num-lock key yourself, or press it down and wedge something in there (like a folded-up piece of paper) to hold it down. (If you're using a joystick you can use a rubber band to keep the firebutton pressed.) Now start the game, and use the keypad (or joystick) to maneuver. You'll see lots of horizontal lines remain on the screen from the laser shots, but that's just part of the cheat/bug. With both buttons firing at once, you'll be firing constantly, and you won't overheat, but you may not be able to change lift speed (1-3), but you can go on forever on lift three anyway. (Because you're able to shoot constantly, with practice you can easily gain more ships than you lose them.) As far as refueling, rather than try to stop shooting so I can change lift to 1, I just go ahead and kill myself and get a new ship, and go on. Oh, a little hint on killing the Dramite ships. Start at the bottom of the screen, then they will always come from the top. Wait for it to come down to you, then start heading up, but at a stop-go-stop-go pace. (Move up a bit, stop for a brief moment, move up some more, stop for a brief moment, move up some, etc.) And because you'll be firing, you'll shoot it when you're stopped, but move up before its missile hits you (if it's ever able to shoot at you). Happy hunting!