# Atomic Cannon Help File

### Get the MEGA hit game and more like it at Isotope 244

#### Atomic Cannon is available for Windows, Macintosh, Windows Mobile Pocket PC, and the Smartphone.

# Introduction

Welcome to the best artillery game in the world! Atomic Cannon has won numerous awards including the coveted BEST SHOOTING GAME OF 2005 by the major publication Pocket PC Magazine. I have received hundreds of great comments from users all over the world about the game, I thank you for all the support you have given me in developing Atomic Cannon. Now onto the game...

Website Description: Atomic Cannon is a fun arcade game that is easy to learn but difficult to master. In this strategic tank artillery duel you battle against computers or friends on 25 different landscapes. Players take turns aiming and firing at each other with over 85 weapons of mass destruction including nuclear bombs. You can blast your enemy with a vast array of weapons. Some weapons create landmasses you can use to your tactical advantage to hide behind as cover. Your arsenal is outfitted with numerous types of weapons including guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and nukes. The landscape you battle on is randomly generated each round and can be destroyed in real time for real scorched earth. There are six types of land formations including flat, hill, gulley, plateau, slope, and random. Each formation can be in one of the game's 25 diverse environments.

#

# Index

- Gameplay
- Story
- Controls
- User Interface
- Settings & Options
- Weapons
- Landscapes
- Weather
- Difficulty & Computer AI
- Gameplay Tips
- Demo vs Full Version
- System Requirements
- Troubleshooting
- Credits

# Gameplay

Your objective is to inflict more damage on your opponent than he inflicts on you. There are many settings to change the game play to your preference, including two different game types. One game type is ROUND based and you play through a set number of rounds gaining points. The other game type is DEATH MATCH which is power based, each tank has a life meter and you try to destroy other tanks before they get you. You can play both game types with up to 8 human teams and 8 computer teams, with up to 5 tanks per team!

When the game starts out a random player goes first, when it is your turn you can do several things:

- Buy or sell weapons and utilities
- Adjust your aim and power
- Use utilities such as moving your tank or increasing your armor or shields
- Fire a weapon to end your turn

If your are playing the DEATH MATCH game type, a game consists of playing through a set number of battles called a war. Each battle is over when all of the teams are dead except one. You gain points for each kill you get during the battles, and at the end of the war the final winner is the team with the most kills. Killing your own tank results in a negative kill. If teams are tied the team with the most hitpoints on the final battle wins.

In the ROUND game type, you can't destroy any tanks, you accumulate points for each shot, the more accurate your shot the more points you get. Each round each team takes turns firing, at the end of the rounds the team with the most points wins.

# Story

The United Nations banned all atomic and nuclear devices and ordered their destruction. Most were destroyed systematically over a period of years, the only remaining nuclear capable devices were in museums and scattered in hidden secret bunkers around the world.

After global chaos erupted in a heated debate centered on a rogue dictator, world powers were battling in small inhospitable environments where only machines could go. As the start of the new world order unfolded, powers needed the most destructive machines they could find to use in battle, aircraft and ground soldiers could not be used because of the harsh weather and terrain.

Thus began the resurrection of the Atomic Cannons. They were outfitted with as many kinds of ammunition systems as possible to deter the enemy. It is your mission to command our Atomic Cannon and be victorious...

# Controls

You can control the game in several different ways, the default controls are discussed below. You can customize which keys can control each action by going to the Settings > Controls > Customize Controls menu option.

Hardware Control | Windows | Mac | Pocket PC | Smartphone
Fire cannon | Enter | Enter | Home | Dir pad
Previous weapon | Q | A | Contacts |
Next weapon | A | Z | Mail |
Decrease power | Down Arrow | Down | Dirpad down | Dirpad down
Increase power | Up Arrow | Up | Dirpad up | Dirpad up
Decrease turret angle | Left Arrow | Left | Dirpad left | Dirpad left
Increase turret angle | Right Arrow | Right | Dirpad right | Dirpad right
Exit | Escape | Escape | Record | Menu button 1
Minimize | m | NA |
Screen shot | F9 | F7 |
Show tutorial | F1 | F1 | Calender | Menu button 2
Toggle full screen | F11 | F8 | NA | NA
Chat Taunt | C | C | C | C

Mouse controls: Right mouse = fire, scroll wheel = select weapon/scroll weapons dialog

# User Interface

Settings Menu

Weapons Depot

Windows/Macintosh

Pocket PC

Smartphone

# Settings

All of the games settings can be adjusted through the settings menu. When a menu item is selected a short description of the setting is displayed at the bottom of the screen. A few settings are not available on some platforms.

Menu Item Name | Description | Possible Values
Main menu
Play | Jump right in and start blasting away |
Quick Play | Play with your last config |
High Scores | View the top players by score |
Settings | Adjust the game settings |
About | Details about the game |
Exit | Run like a coward |
Settings
Economy Options | Adjust economic settings |
Tank Options | Adjust tank settings |
Gameplay Options | Adjust gameplay settings |
Graphics Options | Adjust graphics settings |
Audio Options | In game razzle dazzle soundfecta |
Game Content | Enable specific weapons and landscapes |
Customize Controls | Define custom buttons for game actions |
Customize Players | Define custom names and colors (quits current game) |
Done | Return to the main menu |
Menu when playing
Resume | Continue playing the game in progress |
Minimize | Pause the game in progress and minimize |
Settings | Adjust the game settings |
Show Help | Show the in game help tutorial |
Quit | Quit and return to the main menu |
Settings > Graphics Options
Resolution | Window size or monitor size (requires restart) | Defaults to desktop resolution
Full Screen | Toggle the game between full screen and windowed modes | On Off
Tracking | Draws a notch for off screen shots | On Off
Draw Smoke | Draws smoking plumes on ground | On Off
Detail | Lower detail for smoother gameplay | Old School, Simple, High, Wargame,
High Contrast | Outlines objects with white | Off, On,
Land Type | Select different landscapes | Flat, Hill, Gulley, Plateau, Slope, Random,
Show AI Stats | Show the computer's stats | On Off
Show Team Color | Display each tanks name and team color | On Off
Small Buy Fonts | Use a smaller font on the buy menu | On Off
Power Save | The game idles to lower power usage | On Off
More Graphics Options | Adjust graphics settings |
Done | Return to the settings menu |
Settings > Gameplay Options
Battles | How many battles per Deathmatch | 0 to 50
Rounds | How many rounds in a Point game | 0 to 50
Difficulty | How badly the computer will dominate you | 1. Easiest, 2. Very Easy, 3. Easy, 4. Moderate, 5. Fun, 6. Challenging, 7. Hard, 8. Very Hard, 9. Mastery, 10. Elite,
Wind | How the wind affects the trajectories | Disabled, Low, Medium, High,
Change Wind | Defines when the wind changes direction | Per game, After round, After shot, Anytime,
Explosion Size | How big the explosions are. | Small, Normal, Large, Massive,
Variance | All weapons have a different random variance when shot | On Off
Utility Turn | If a utility item use counts as turn | On Off
Randomize Turns | Randomly assings the turn order each battle | On Off
Update Scale | The speed at which the game is animated (default 10) | X 1 to X 20
Right Click Fires | If you are accidentally firing disable this | On Off
Done | Return to the settings menu |
Settings > Audio Options
Sound | Toggle sound effects on and off | On Off
Music | Toggle music on and off | On Off
Sound Volume | Sound effects volume | 0% to 100%
Music Volume | Music soundtrack volume | 0% to 100%
Stereo | Enable stereo sound | On Off
Playback Rate | Sound playback sampling frequency rate | 8000 Hz, 11025 Hz, 16000 Hz, 22050 Hz, 32000 Hz, 44100 Hz,
Done | Return to the settings menu |
Play
Start Game | Start the game |
Humans | Number of human players | 0 to 8
Computers | Number of computer AI players | 0 to 8
Tanks | Number of tanks per player's team | 0 to 5
Game Type | What type of battle | Rounds, Deathmatch,
Battles | How many battles per Deathmatch | 0 to 50
Rounds | How many rounds in a Point game | 0 to 50
Land Size | How large the battle landscape is | 1 Screen, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x,
Difficulty | How badly the computer will dominate you | 1. Easiest, 2. Very Easy, 3. Easy, 4. Moderate, 5. Fun, 6. Challenging, 7. Hard, 8. Very Hard, 9. Mastery, 10. Elite,
Wind | How the wind affects the trajectories | Disabled, Low, Medium, High,
Cancel | Return to the main menu |
Settings > Graphics Options > More Graphics Options
Show Turn | Display an arrow when its your turn | On Off
Show Blast Circles | Display bounds of explosions | On Off
Show Power/Points | Display individual points or power bars | On Off
Show Tank Stats | Display stats of each tank | On Off
Auto Scroll | Automatically scrolls during game events | On Off
Show Last Aim | Show last power and angle position | On Off
Explosion Waves | A very cool refractive wave effect for nukes | On Off
Show Framerate | Display frames rendered per second | On Off
Demo Mode | Game automatically plays itself | Off, Normal, Fast Test,
Done | Return to the settings menu |
Settings > Game Content
Weapons | Enable only the weapons you want (quits current game) |
Landscapes | Enable only the landscapes you want (quits current game) |
Done | Return to the settings menu |
Settings > Economy Options
Buy Time | When players are allowed to buy, set to automatic for randomly assigned weapons | Anytime, Round, Start, Automatic,
Credit Start | Credits given to each player at match start (default 3000) | 0 to 10000
Credit Round | Credits given to each player each round (default 1000) | 0 to 10000
Credit Turn | Credits given to each player per turn (default 0) | 0 to 10000
Credit Kill | Credits given to each player per kill (default 500) | 0 to 10000
Credit Damage | Credits given to each player per damage done (default 1) | 0 to 100
Sell Back Rate | Rate at which weapons are sold back to depot (default 50%) | 0% to 100%
Done | Return to the settings menu |
Settings > Tank Options
Kickback | How much explosions move the tanks. | Off, Low, Normal, High,
Player Size | How big the tanks are. | Small, Normal, Large,
Relative Turrets | Aiming it relative to the tank | On Off
Bury Tanks | Tanks can be underground | On Off
Power Scale | This affects how far a shot will go based on power | 0.1 to 5.0
Hitpoints | Number of points tank starts with | 0 to 0
Chatter | Tanks talk to each other | On Off
Colorize Team | Tanks are team color | On Off
Done | Return to the settings menu |

# Landscapes

There are 25 beautiful landscapes in the game. A random landscape is chosen for each battle. Each landscape is generated using five different formations including Flat, Hill, Gulley, Plateau, and Slope. If you really like playing one particular type of formation you can set the game to always use it by changing the menu option in Settings > Graphics Options > Land Type. You can also disable each landscape background in Settings > Game Content > Landscapes.

# Weather

Several landscapes feature weather effects such as rain, snow, hail, and sand storms. You can disable the weather by setting the graphics detail lower Settings > Graphics Options > Detail (set this to Simple).

# Weapons

Weapons are bought and sold through the Weapons Depot, a box listing all of the weapons in the game. In the game you can see a description of each weapon by hovering your mouse over or clicking on the weapon icon in the weapons dialog.

Each column and its meaning is explained below. Dividers are at each new letter alphabetically.

Name | Type | Power | Damage | Radius | Variance | Fodder | Dmg/area | Earth | Spawn | Cluster | Succession | Battery | Radiation
A Bomb | NUKE | 550 | 350 | 70 | 0 | 30 | 179 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 210
Acid Rocket | DOT | 300 | 100 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 158 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Anthrax | DOT | 350 | 25 | 20 | 0.5 | 0 | 232 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Artillery | Shell | 200 | 200 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2212 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Ashes | Death | 500 | 500 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 1990 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Avenger | Rocket | 200 | 50 | 60 | 0.5 | 10 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Barrage | Shell | 200 | 25 | 30 | 1 | 10 | 44 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Big Wheel | Roller | 200 | 200 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Black Brat | Rocket | 170 | 170 | 70 | 0 | 10 | 55 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Black Rain | Bomb | 90 | 20 | 40 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0
Blow Fish | Bomb | 160 | 10 | 30 | 0 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Blue Beam | Beam | 70 | 70 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 435 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Bomb | Bomb | 150 | 150 | 50 | 0 | 10 | 96 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Breakout | Escape | 100 | 100 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Burial Mound | Death | 200 | 200 | 100 | 0 | 10 | 32 | 100 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Cannon | Shell | 300 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 531 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0
Cannon Ball | Shell | 150 | 150 | 50 | 0 | 10 | 96 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Cleaner | Cleaner | 25 | 25 | 80 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Cluster Bomb | Bomb | 160 | 20 | 30 | 0 | 10 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Contra | Shell | 225 | 25 | 20 | 3 | 10 | 100 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0
Cowinator | Organic | 400 | 400 | 50 | 0 | 50 | 255 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Cremation | Death | 200 | 200 | 150 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Defiled Pig | Organic | 700 | 500 | 50 | 0 | 50 | 446 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 250
Digger | Digger | 100 | 100 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Dirt Cloud | Dirt | 150 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 796 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0
Dirt Destroy | Cleaner | 25 | 25 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Dirtox | Dirt | 200 | 200 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3185 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Dirty Boy | Dirt | 150 | 150 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1062 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Dirty Duo | Dirt | 100 | 50 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 199 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Earth Destroy | Cleaner | 25 | 25 | 130 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Escaper | Escape | 100 | 100 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Excavator | Digger | 200 | 200 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Gas Rocket | DOT | 250 | 50 | 95 | 0.5 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Gatlun Gun | Shell | 240 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 249 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0
Grate Beam | Beam | 170 | 170 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 301 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Grave Digger | Bomb | 200 | 50 | 25 | 0 | 10 | 127 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Ground Hog | Dirt | 120 | 120 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 212 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Heavy Armor | Utility | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Heavy Shield | Utility | 1000 | 1000 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3981 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Hellfire | Missile | 250 | 25 | 20 | 3 | 10 | 100 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0
Hercules | Rocket | 250 | 250 | 30 | 0.5 | 10 | 442 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Hex Bomb | Bomb | 180 | 10 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Hydrogen Nuke | NUKE | 600 | 400 | 120 | 1 | 30 | 66 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 360
Isotope 244 | NUKE | 1200 | 1000 | 180 | 0 | 20 | 59 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1800
Land Fill | Dirt | 100 | 25 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 177 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Light Armor | Utility | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Light Shield | Utility | 500 | 500 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1990 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Machine Gun | Shell | 180 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 373 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0
Magma Beam | Beam | 130 | 130 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3234 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Medical Supply | Utility | 1000 | 1000 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3981 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Medkit | Utility | 500 | 500 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1990 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Mountain | Dirt | 110 | 110 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Move Far | Utility | 50 | 50 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 199 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Move Mid | Utility | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Move Near | Utility | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Penetrator | Shell | 200 | 200 | 40 | 0 | 10 | 199 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Pig Blaster | Organic | 400 | 400 | 50 | 0 | 50 | 255 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Plasma | DOT | 280 | 80 | 60 | 0.5 | 0 | 124 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Plasma Bomb | DOT | 270 | 70 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Plower | Cleaner | 50 | 25 | 70 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Plutonium Nuke | NUKE | 650 | 450 | 130 | 0 | 30 | 61 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 390
Porcupine | Bomb | 256 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Rail Gun | Shell | 250 | 250 | 32 | 0 | 10 | 389 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Rail Slice | Shell | 300 | 150 | 32 | 0 | 10 | 233 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0
Rebounder | Rebound | 100 | 100 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Retro Rocket | Rocket | 300 | 300 | 80 | 0.5 | 10 | 75 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Rocket | Rocket | 100 | 100 | 50 | 1 | 10 | 64 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Roller | Roller | 100 | 100 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Runway Bomb | Bomb | 210 | 35 | 30 | 0 | 10 | 62 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0
RX2 | Rocket | 225 | 225 | 60 | 0.5 | 10 | 100 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Sabot | Rocket | 400 | 50 | 25 | 0 | 10 | 127 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Seeker | Rebound | 200 | 200 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Shell | Shell | 50 | 50 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 199 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Shotgun | Shell | 160 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 995 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0
Six Under | Death | 250 | 50 | 50 | 0 | 10 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Spreader | Bomb | 240 | 60 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 663 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Stingers | Missile | 450 | 75 | 30 | 1 | 10 | 133 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Strikers | Rocket | 240 | 40 | 40 | 1 | 10 | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0
Tallboy | Rocket | 220 | 220 | 60 | 0 | 10 | 97 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Tomcat | Rocket | 300 | 50 | 30 | 0.5 | 10 | 88 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0
Toxic Cow | Organic | 700 | 500 | 50 | 0 | 50 | 446 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 250
Toxic Grave | Death | 320 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 10 | 142 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30
Tracer 3 | Tracer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Tracer 5 | Tracer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Trojan | Shell | 200 | 25 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
Uranium Nuke | NUKE | 700 | 500 | 140 | 0 | 30 | 57 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 420
Wave Beam | Beam | 250 | 250 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 442 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0

##

Heading | Column Heading Description
Name | The name of the weapon.
Type | What class of weapon, the types are described below.
Power | How much total damage the weapon is cabable of. For some weapons this is not an exact number, but an estimate. For example, any of the nukes can cause radiation over time, the longer your enemy is in this radiation the more damage is done.
Damage | The damage of each round of a weapon, for example some weapons fire 10 rounds each (the machine gun), each bullet would do this damage.
Radius | The distance of each weapons blasts hole. Usually higher radius weapons do less damage, but require a less accurate aim.
Variance | The variance is how innacurate the weapon is, if a weapon has a varaince of 2 and when firing your angle is set to 150, the weapon when fired is launched at 148-152 degrees. (You can turn this off in the settings.)
Fodder | (%) The amount of land in the blast radius that is charred dirt and remains on the landscape.
Damage | per area Power divided by the area of the weapons blast radius.
Earth | A measure of how much earth is created when the weapon explodes.
Spawn | The number of weapon rounds fired at the same time from the tank.
Cluster | The number of rounds fired when the weapon hits a target.
Succession | The number of rounds fired after a delay from the tank.
Battery | The number of seconds between rounds dropped from the weapon as it is flying through the air.
Radiation | A measure of the radioactive fallout generated by the weapon, this is based on the weapons damage, blast radius, and fodder.

##

## Weapon Type Descriptions

Type | Description
Utility | A utility weapon does no damage. There are several kinds, some add shields or armor to your tank, some add health, others allow your tank to move.
Beam | Beam weapons travel straight through land and damage all tanks in the beams path.
Bomb | Bombs explode on contact with the land or a tank.
Cleaner | Cleaner weapons are used to dig yourself out from underground. They can also be used offensively but they do very little damage.
Death | Death weapons are used automatically when you die. They cannot be fired like a normal shot and you can only have one.
Digger | Diggers travel through ground on their descent.
Dirt | Dirt weapons create land, you can use these to bury your opponent.
DOT | Damage over time (DOT) weapons create radioactive fallout which causes damage over time.
Escape | Escape weapons travel through land on ascent. They are very useful when you are burried.
Missile | Missiles explode on contact and typically fire more than one round.
NUKE | Nuclear bombs are the most deadly weapons, causing DOT over a large area.
Organic | Organic weapons were added for fun.
Rebound | Rebound weapons travel through land on ascent and descent, and seek the surface of the land when under it.
Rocket | Rockets are typically a single round.
Roller | Rollers travel along the land surface on contact until a hill or tank is met.
Shell | Shell weapons have a concentrated area of high damage.
Tracer | Tracers are useful when you don't know what angle you want to fire your cannon. After they are fired they leave a trail of smoke you can use to line up your next shot.

# Difficulty & Computer AI

Definitions: Targeting is choosing which tank to fire at. Aiming is setting the power and angle correctly to hit the target.
Tanks have a 10% better chance of targeting an enemy at each difficulty level. AI levels 1-9 have a 50% chance of aiming incorrectly (with a slightly bad angle).
Difficulty Level
3 - will buy and use shield and life
4 - DEFAULT SETTING - will buy and use armor and death weapons
5 - will fire underground weapons first if underground to dig out or go through land
6 - will buy and use move utilities
7 - will buy weapons with most damage 50% of the time
8 - will target the enemy with lowest hp 40% of the time else has a 40% chance of targeting the closest enemy
9 - fires weapon with highest damage in its arsenal 70% of the time
10 - targets and aims correctly 90% of the time

# Gameplay Tips

If you are just starting out and dont' have any idea where to aim buy a few Tracer rounds and use them. Tracers are also very useful when the games wind is enabled.

You can hover over or click on the icon for the weapon in the weapons depot dialog and it will pop up a tooltip tell you what the weapon does. You can also hover over each category to see what each weapon stat means. Press the 'Stats' button to see some additional columns of weapon information.

If you want an enhanced soundtrack you can copy the full MP3 soundtrack into the games music directory and the game will use it. The full soundtrack has more tracks and sounds much better.

Find two enemy tanks which are nearest each other on the horizontal plane. When you hit one tank, the splash damage will also score some points on its neighbor. This is especially advantageous in the Rounds mode. Once I scored almost 12,000 points in ten rounds because three tanks were all right on top of each other! - Brad W.

One of my favorite movies is Wargames, I added a special rendering mode which looks just like the graphics when the WHOPPER computer Joshua is playing itself in the end battle sequence at Norad. You can set this graphics mode by changing the detail settting to Wargame.

When you are close to your enemy aim low as possible and use weapons which spread out first, such as the shotgun and cannon. These weapons cause low damage if shot from far away, but can do a lot of damage if fired from close range.

This tip is most useful in Deathmatch mode with up to 5 tanks on each team. Get close (one tank length) from an enemy tank, then aim directly at the enemy tank, now you can them zap 'em to eternity with a Stinger or Trojan, with zero to minimal damage to yourself. The most effective weapon for this zapper move is the Stinger, followed by the Trojan, with the Hex Bomb trailing. For best results, use this to annihilate two enemy tanks parked side by side. The downside to this super ability is that the game gets to be too easy after a while, hence not as interesting as it should often be. Submitted by Emmanuel A.

If your enemy hits you with an irradiating weapon which causes damage over time, such as the Plutonium Nuke, move to a non-irradiated location as soon as possible to suffer less damage. Using a lower power for weapons which blossom, such as the Hex Bomb, Porcupine, Trojan, and Blow Fish deals more damage on your target since the weapons spread or blossom distance is based on the shots initial power when launched.

In a death match, two weapons will kill enemy tanks with just one shot, but only if employed very precisely. They are the Trojan and the Stinger. To use them, move to within one or two tank lengths of your enemy and very gently lob the payload their way. If you manage to land the entire volley directly on the opposing tank’s turret, it will be eliminated. Just be careful with the Trojan, as too short of a shot will both bury you and leave you seriously damaged, at which point your now very upset opponent can essentially put you away with a small shovel full of dirt. Of course remember violence never solved anything, so consider the vigorous pursuit of diplomatic solutions to your differences before resorting to the use of thermonuclear weapons. Thanks to Judd B. for submitting this tip. (note after this tip was submitted these weapons power have been reduced, but they are still very potent if deployed as described in this tip.)

Did you know you can see how many total battles you've played and shots you've fired on the second page of the About screen?

If you are buried underground you cannot move, but you can use some special weapons, the escaper, and any of the cleaners are good weapons to use.

If you are playing more than one tank per team and are next to one of your opponents be sure to buy a death weapon, that way if you tank blows up it will take the opponent next to it with him.

If an enemy has scored a few direct hits on your buy a move weapon and move to a new location to throw off his aim.

Death weapons are automatically used when your tank explodes (in deathmatch mode only). If you are close to an enemy when you die they can kill or bury your enemy. They are most useful when playing more than 2 teams or more than 1 tank per team. You can click on the weapon's icon in the weapons depot dialog to see descriptions of each weapon. You can also disable the death weapons in the options.

Atomic Cannon Fact The game's main menu background is an actual photograph from military archives of the real Atomic Cannon. The image shows Operation Upshot Knothole, it was the only shot ever fired from an atomic cannon. The shot was on May 25th, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site, USA. The image here shows the atomic cannon being loaded with a shell. You can read more facts about the Atomic Cannon in the game's about pages.

# Demo vs Full Version

- Enjoy over 85 weapons
- Battle on 25 beautiful landscapes
- No more nag messages
- Free email support
- Unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free updates to all future versions
- Play up to 20 rounds
- No more startup and closing ad screens

  # System Requirements

  Pocket PC System Requirements

  - Color Pocket PC (XScale, ARM)
  - Windows CE 2000+
  - 5 MB storage space, 5 MB free memory
  - Supports VGA Pocket PCs with high resolution graphics
  - Supports square screens

  Windows System Requirements

  - Windows XP, 98, ME, 2000, or NT
  - 10 MB storage space

  SmartPhone System Requirements

  - 3 MB storage space, 5 MB free memory
  - QVGA and standard resolutions supported
  - ARM compatible processor

  Macintosh System Requirements

  - OS X 10.2.8 or later
  - 10 MB of disk space

  Windows and Mac Features - Unique features to the windows version are the ability to select resolutions, an effect called refractive waves which is used when nukes go off, and using a joypad.

  Pocket PC Features - Unique features are the ability to rotate the screen orientation, full support for QVGA and VGA device with enhanced super high resolution graphics.

  Smartphone Features - Control the game and edit settings with the dialpad numbers 0-9.

  # Troubleshooting

  Performance Problems (Windows and Mac versions)

  - Lowering the resolution the game uses to 640x480x32 (Settings > Graphics Options > Resolution) and then restart the game.
  - Close all other games and applications running.
  - Disable the landscape smoke. (Settings > Graphics > Draw Smoke)
  - Disable the explosion waves. (Settings > Graphics > More > Explosion Waves)
  - Decrease the detail setting to Simple or Medium. (Settings > Graphics > Detail)

  Performance Problems (Pocket PC and Smartphone versions)

  - If you have a slow device (slower than 300mhz) you may need to decrease the sound sampling rate of the game to 22kHz or lower.
  - Decrease the detail setting to simple. (Settings > Graphic Options > Detail)
  - Smartphone QVGA (240x320) devices: If you have a 200mhz OMAP processor, you will should lower the Detail setting (Settings > Graphic Options > Detail) to Simple. Because of the higher resolution and slower processor the framerate will drop a lot unless this setting is changed.

  Pocket PC Known Issues:

  When the game is installed on some add on storage cards (such as CF or SD) it may load more slowly, this is due to the storage card and memory bus being slower than the internal memory of the device. If the game generates file or resource loading errors, try installing it to Main Memory. On some older devices such as the Compaq iPaq 3600 series, turning the device off then back on while the game is running will cause the game to not draw properly. You can fix this by tapping the screen or exiting to the menu. You can eliminate this problem by turning off 'Optimized Drawing' in the 'Graphics Settings' menu of the game, but turning this option off may cause slightly lower performance of the game.

  How to register Atomic Cannon

  1) Download and install the full version which is a different file than the demo. The URL to the full version is included in your registration email. If the link is no longer working then it has been changed, you can request the new link by going to the request code page at any time.
  2) At the end of the installation or when the game is first run it will ask you to enter your registration code. You can enter it manually or copy and paste it to ensure it is exact. Now hit the register button. (Please note your PC must be connected to the internet when you press the Register button, the registration utility contacts our server to verify your registration code is valid. After the game is registered you will never have to be online again to play the game.) If you are registering the Pocket PC version your PDA must be connected via ActiveSync.
  You now have the full version for life! Thanks for purchasing and supporting Isotope244 Graphics. If you ever have any questions, comments, or feature requests, simply contact us through the contact page, thanks again!

  How to move Atomic Cannon settings and high scores to another computer or PDA.

  Install the game on your new machine or device (you can get the latest download link and your registration codes at the registration code request page).
  2) Register it as normal.
  3) Copy the following files from your old computer or PDA to the new one
  settings.dat
  By default on the PC these files are in
  C:\Program Files\Isotope244 Graphics\Atomic Cannon

  #### Copyright 2006 Isotope244 Graphics LLC. All rights reserved.