Information about the game (How To Play)

Coronovirus - Nano Force is a fast-paced arcade shooter where you pilot a nano-ship in the fight against the Coronavirus. This guide details the game and gameplay elements.

Gameplay Overview

Pilot a nano-ship and use its weapons to eliminate all the viruses in each level. Each level takes place in a petri dish; the arena. Depending on the level, some number of viruses appear at the start, and as they mature, they release new bouncing baby viruses. Each level has a specific starting number of viruses, along with a maximum number of viruses that can be in the petri dish at a time.

You are given three nano-ships for each level, with no way to earn additional ones. The ship starts out with a basic weapon that fires small antibodies. Powerups are available that either increase the weapon firing rate or add a spread-fire capability. There is also a powerup that adds a secondary bomb weapon. The bomb weapon is fired and then explodes in a circle of antibodies. A small amount of drag slows the movement of your nano-ship over time.

The weapon antibodies attach themselves to the viruses. When enough antibodies have attached to a virus, it explodes and no longer poses a risk. The number of antibodies it takes to destroy a viruses depends on the age (size) of the virus. Younger viruses require fewer, older require more.

As viruses age, they eventually reach maturity. At maturity, viruses will begin to spawn new bouncing baby viruses into the arena. The challenge is get enough antibodies attached to all viruses, at about the same time, to then quickly destroy them all.

Viruses, your ship, and any projectiles bounce off the edge of the arena. You can take advantage of this bouncing to send antibodies around the edge of the arena to attach to viruses. It is also a challenge in that you have to anticipate the movement of the viruses as they hit the edges and bounce back.

This is meant to be a simple, fun, but challenging game, used to help relieve your stress over the pandemic by taking out a bunch of the viruses causing us so much trouble.

Gameplay Screen

The action takes place in the center of the screen, in the petri dish. In the corners information about the game status is displayed. The screenshot below shows what to expect.



The upper right shows the number of nano-ships you have left to complete the level.



The upper left shows the time taken on the level. The display might be in a little different format than you expect. The first three numbers are minutes, the second two numbers are seconds, and the last two numbers are fractions of a second. The reason for not showing hours, is that I don't really want anyone to play the game for more than 999 minutes...if you do, that's insane!



The lower left shows how many viruses you have killed. For the patient simulation levels, the display is a bit different than the training levels. In these levels, there is an upper limit to how many viruses you can kill and still be eligible for the Survival leaderboard; if you go over that limit, your time isn't recorded. When starting a patient simulation level, the first number is how many viruses you have killed followed by the maximum number you can kill and still be eligible for the Survival leaderboard. The outline of the field and number are shown in green while still eligible. Once you go over the maximum number allowed, the display changes to just the number of viruses killed and also white field outline and numbers are used.

Weapons & Powerups

The default primary weapon is a gun that fires antibodies; about 5 times per second. There are three weapon powerups you can obtain, two change the behavior of the primary weapon, the third adds a secondary bomb weapon.

The yellow powerup changes the primary weapon to rapid-fire, firing at twice the speed of the default weapon.


The blue powerup changes the primary weapon to a spread-fire, firing three antibodies in a spread out pattern, at the same speed as the default weapon.


The pink powerup adds a secondary fire bomb weapon. The bomb can fire once each second. The bomb shoots out from the ship, travels for about one second and then explodes in a circular shower of antibodies, which can then attach themselves to any viruses they hit. Using the bomb and a rapid-fire or spread-fire primary weapon is a powerful combination that can make quick work on the viruses.

The powerups appear periodically during gameplay, how often and which type depends on the levels.

• The first training level has no powerups.
  
• The second training level has only the bomb powerup.
  
• The third training level has only the rapid-fire powerup.
  
• The fourth training level has only the spread-fire powerup.
  
• The final training level has all three powerups.
  
• All patient simulation levels have all powerups. Each level increases the time for when powerups appear.

Levels & Leaderboards

There are two categories of levels in the game, Training and Patient Simulations. The Training levels are intended to get you comfortable with controlling the ship, capturing and using powerups, and eliminating the viruses. The Patient Simulations have more initial viruses and higher maximum numbers of viruses that can exist in each level, and all powerups will appear.

Leaderboards are maintained for the Patient Simulations. The leaderboards track the fastest time a level is completed, along with the longest time taken to complete the level, or "survival". The Newly Infected and On Ventilator levels are relatively easy to clear quickly and/or survive a long time. The real challenge is the Near Death level. That is the level to be proud of for your scores, either fast or survival!

In order for your time to qualify for the Survival leaderboard, you can't kill more than a maximum number of viruses. The maximum number you can kill is different for each of the Patient Simulation levels. This max is shown during gameplay, like the example to the right. To have your time recorded, you must clear the level of all viruses, without going over the maximum number allowed. This creates a greater and greater challenge for each level due to the number of viruses that can be alive; it challenges your piloting skills!

All levels are available at all times. You don't have to progress through them in any order, you get to choose which ones you want to play and in what order.

Achievements

The game offers 8 achievements. Three for completing each of the Patient Simulation levels and then five others related to the number of patients saved and how long you can survive. The following are each of the achievements...

Newly Infected
Saved a Newly Infected patient



On Ventilator
Saved an On Ventilator patient



Near Death
Saved a Near Death patient



Near Death - 10 Saved
Saved 10 Near Death patients



Near Death - 25 Saved
Saved 25 Near Death patients



Near Death - 100 Saved
Saved 100 Near Death patients



Survival
Survive for 5 minutes and complete the Near Death level



Survival - 15 Minutes
Survive for 15 minutes and complete the Near Death level

Settings

The game allows you to configure graphics settings, playing of background music, and the keyboard controls used to pilot the nano-ship. The settings can be navigated using the up/down arrow keys. When multiple options are possible, use the left/right arrow keys to change the options.

Graphics

By default the game runs full-screen. When running full-screen, the game uses the same resolution as your desktop. The game can be run in a windowed mode. If you select to run in windows mode (Full Screen set to No), you can select the resolution to use.

If the graphics settings are changed, you'll have to restart the game for them to take effect.

Background Music

Background music can be enabled or disabled by selecting Yes or No respectively.

Keyboard Controls

Keyboard controls may be customized to suit your choice. Using the mouse, click on a control to change, then press the key to use for that control. Alternatively, use the keyboard to navigate to the option, press Enter and then press the key to use for the control.