Motherload
From XgenWiki
| Motherload | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Release Date: | September 29, 2004 |
| Creators: | XGenStudios |
| Genre: | Adventure Platformer |
| XGen Rating: | Everyone+ |
| Link to Play: | Motherload |
Motherload is one of the original games created by XGen. It's populated with plays, many from when it was better known, which leaves it remaining fourth on the list of the sites most popular games. The main focus of this game is digging up minerals and "elements" on Mars for profit. Once you begin playing it's easy to lost track of time as you attempt to find resources, earn money, and achieve the highest score. It brought in quite a few people to the forums when it was more consistently played. Although it's no longer one of the main attention grabbers of XGen, it will always be a favorite.
Contents |
Natural Mars Dangers
- Earthquakes - These powerful ground shaking natural disasters will occur ONLY when you are safe on the surface. Although they cannot harm you, they will destroy some tunnels you have created in the soil.
- Lava Pockets - Of all dangers on Mars, these do the least physical damage to you. They are completely visible, but can be quite harmful without an upgraded hull or radiators. Exercise caution when around them.
- Hidden Gas Pockets - These are by far the most dangerous of disasters that can occur on Mars. They are completely undetectable and extremely deadly without one of the top two hulls installed. Exercise extreme caution when you know they are in the area... Note: They usually only occur after about -5,000 feet, but have been known to occur in as early as -4,700 feet. Tip: Be careful after -4,500 just to be safe.
Item Information
Purchasable Items
- Reserve Fuel Tank - These cost 2,000 dollars and add 25 gallons to you fuel tank instantly. They WILL be needed to reach the core of Mars. (Press "F")
- Repair Nanobots - These cost 7,500 dollars and repair your ship 30 HP automatically. These are also recommended for reaching the core and are quite handy for repairing after long falls or gas explosions. ( Press "R")
- Dynamite - These cost 2,000 dollars and destroy a small area around your ship (one block in each direction). (Press "X")
- C4/Plastic Explosives - These cost 5,000 dollars and destroy a large area around your ship (2 blocks in each direction). (Press "C")
- Quantum Transporter - This costs 2,000 dollars and comes in handy if you have a decent hull and want push the limits of your gas tank. It automatically transports you to the surface within seconds, but with a slight setback...it can either put you in the sky where you can slowly float downwards, or it will shoot you towards the ground and damage your ship. Be ready to slow down when you use this! (Push "Q")
- Matter Transmitter - This costs 10,000 dollars and is worth every penny if you plan on making it to the surface without losing the slightest bit of health. It works just like a Quantum Transporter, only better-it places your ship gently and securely right in front of the refueling station! (Press "M")
Mineral Weights/Values
- Ironium - 10 lbs; 30 dollars
- Bronzium - 10 lbs; 60 dollars
- Silverium - 20 lbs; 100 dollars
- Goldium - 20 lbs; 250 dollars
- Platinum - 30 lbs; 750 dollars
- Einsteinium - 40 lbs; 2,000 dollars
- Emerald - 60 lbs; 5,000 dollars
- Ruby - 80 lbs; 20,000 dollars
- Diamond - 100 lbs; 100,000 dollars
- Amazonite - 120 lbs; 500,000 dollars
Special Treasures of Mars
There are four types of treasures in the depths of Mars, and you can become quite rich as a treasure hunter in the early stages of the game. They are usually found at deeper depths: -1,000 ft and below
- Dinosaur Fossil - Looks like a dinosaur skeleton; worth 1,000 dollars
- Treasure Chest - Looks like a treasure chest overflowing with Gold; worth 5,000 dollars
- Martian Skeleton - Looks almost like a Human skeleton, but with an abnormal skull; worth 10,000 dollars
- Religious Artifact-Looks like a cross with a loop in the top (an Egyptian ankh); worth a whopping 50,000 dollars!
Upgrade Information
Drills
- Silvide - 750 dollars; 28 ft per seconds
- Goldium - 2,000 dollars; 40 ft per second
- Emerald - 5,000 dollars; 50 ft per second
- Ruby - 20,000 dollars; 70 ft per second
- Diamond - 100,000 dollars; 95 ft per second
- Amazonite - 500,000 dollars; 120 ft per second
Hulls
- Ironium - 750 dollars; 17 HP points
- Bronzium - 2,000 dollars; 30 HP points
- Steel - 5,000 dollars; 50 HP points
- Platinum - 20,000 dollars; 80 HP points
- Einsteinium - 100,000 dollars; 120 HP points
- Energy Shielded-500,000 dollars; 180 HP points
Engines
- V4 1600 CC - 750 dollars; 160 horsepower
- V4 2.0 ltr Turbo - 2,000 dollars; 170 horsepower
- V6 3.8 ltr - 5,000 dollars; 180 horsepower
- V8 Supercharged 5.0 ltr - 20,000 dollars; 190 horsepower
- V12 6.0 ltr - 100,000 dollars; 200 horsepower
- V16 Jag Engine - 500,000 dollars; 210 horsepower
Fuel Tanks
- Medium - 750 dollars; 15 ltrs
- Huge - 2,000 dollars; 25 ltrs
- Gigantic - 5,000 dollars; 40 ltrs
- Titantic - 20,000 dollars; 60 ltrs
- Leviathian - 100,000 dollars; 100 ltrs
- Liquid Compression - 500,000 dollars; 150 ltrs
Radiators
- Dual Fans - 2,000 dollars; 10 percent effective
- Single Turbine - 5,000 dollars; 25 percent effective
- Dual Turbine - 20,000 dollars; 40 percent effective
- Puron Cooling - 100,000 dollars; 60 percent effective
- Tri-Turbine Freon Array - 500,000 dollars; 80 percent effective
Cargo Bays
- Medium - 750 dollars; 15 cubic feet
- Huge - 2,000 dollars; 25 cubic feet
- Gigantic - 5,000 dollars; 40 cubic feet
- Titantic - 20,000 dollars; 70 cubic feet
- Leviathian - 100,000 dollars; 120 cubic feet
Strategy
Starting off
When you first start off, your ship will be unequipped and poorly put together. Some people suggest that when you start, you branch off searching for more valuable materials first, then return to the top and sell. It might be easier to start right in front of the fuel station and just dig straight down. This provides a quick, simple path straight up and down, so it's easier to refuel and get back where you were. When starting, it is best to start to head towards the surface around one hundred to two hundred feet from where you previously left off. As you get more used to the controls and purchase more upgrades this will become easier.
Be careful, if you are not centered in the middle of your hole, you sometimes hit solid blocks of soil, and are stopped. If this happens with enough force it can damage your ship and lower a decent amount of your HP. Always make sure not to hug one side of the tunnel too much! One real benefit to digging straight down is that at different points (500 ft, 1,000 ft, and 1,500 ft) you will get cash bonuses from your boss, Mr. Natas.
As you descend, collect the more valuable minerals and discard the others. It can be easier to first start off going for only Bronzium, then only Silverium, then only Goldium and so on. You won't find more valuable minerals until you get deeper, and you'll never get deeper without some of the basic upgrades. After around 500 ft or so, you'll start finding small traces of Platinum which sells for 750 dollars a pop, which is quite useful when starting out.
Yet another reason for going straight down is that the hidden treasures don't appear until somewhere around 1,000 ft under the surface. After you get a small amount of wealth established, it is good to continue to dig downwards, only going after treasure and valuable materials. Remember, you can't dig upwards!
Upgrading
Now that you've gotten to know basic controls and concept of the game, you can start upgrading. It is a good idea to first purchase the upgraded gas tank. Wait until you've gotten the first three cash bonuses from Mr. Natas, for at that point you should have more than enough to afford the 5,000 dollar gas tank. The game will instantly become much more easier. Fill the tank and continue to dig deep and collect more valuable materials. Keep saving money until you buy the 5,000 dollar drill. Now you will be able to drill through the soil much faster and efficiently than before, and combined with the upgraded gas tank you can travel to much deeper depths before having to return to the surface.
After a while of treasure hunting and mineral collecting, buy a larger cargo bay. This will allow you to collect more materials underground without having to return to the surface to sell your minerals. Remember that if you have to don't be afraid to drop less valuable minerals to make room for better ones. Use this technique as much as possible.
Continue to mine and save up your cash, and avoid upgrades such as the radiators, engines, and hulls for now. Also, remember to save often, almost every time you make over a thousand dollars!
Continuing on the Downward Spiral
As you explore deeper and deeper you begin to get strange transmissions from fellow miners, most of which can be ignored. By this time you should have collected enough minerals and treasure to have a decent stockpile of cash (at least $50,000). Now, it is good to buy about 5 reserve fuel tanks, some hull repair nanobots, and a Matter Transmitter. While you may be wondering why you're spending all of your hard earned cash, just be patient, and always remember to save your game! Keep drilling, but now you can ignore the straight down strategy. Simply look for the pre-made tunnels that look like they go deep, and drill into them, then fall to the bottom, then drill into the next one, and so on. Do this to get as deep as possible.
Ignore all minerals that are named Platinum. As you get down to about -3,000 ft, you'll find more and more valuable items. Go for the mineral Einsteinium, and collect as many as possible. You may notice that as you fill up your ship, you may not be able to fly upwards anymore, but don't head to the surface just yet. Keep dumping your cheaper minerals for the more expensive ones, and continue collecting.
When your fuel gauge alerts you of low fuel, continue filling it up with your reserve tanks. When you run out of reserve fuel tanks, it is finally time to hit that long awaited "M" button. Press it and BOOM, instantly you're back home right in front of the fuel station. Head to the Mineral Depot and be prepared to drop off least $50,000 (on a bad run) and maybe as much as $1,000,000 (on a good run) worth of minerals! Continue this deep diving technique, buying the best of your first three upgrades, then the best of hull, engine, and radiator.
CAUTION!: Heading past -5,000 feet can be extremely dangerous. At this point, your depth meter that displays how deep you are stops working, and begins going through all the numbers very quickly, making it impossible to know what depth you are at. Also, gas pockets are VERY common after this depth, so be prepared with nanobots and C4.
After you have all of your upgrades, it's time to head after the fabled boss of Motherload. Sticking to the very right side, dumping all minerals as you go down, and be sure to bring along at LEAST 50 nanobots and 50 packages of C4. Keep drilling down using nanobots and C4 to get through those tricky gas pockets. Remember that after a certain point, every single piece of dirt will contain a gas pocket. Beware and be careful, and continue on past when your depth meter busts. Eventually, you hit a point where the boulders are so numerous that you absolutely cannot continue. Use your C4 to blast through straight to the bottom, where there will be a path to your right. Follow it and be prepared for a surprise!
Fighting the Boss
The best way to defeat the boss is to "stay low and hit 'em hard with C4." Try your best and be prepared for another surprise once you defeat him!
Official Cheat List:
To use a cheat, open the options menu and just type the cheat. If done correctly, you'll hear a noise. The cheats are as follows:
- blingbling-adds $100000 to cash
- penetrable-hull strength + 1
- digdug-drill strength + 1
- warp9-engine strength + 1
- guzzle-fuel tank size + 1
- toocool-radiator strength + 1
- supersize-bay size + 1
- fillerup-refill fuel
- ntouchable-maximize all parts, and give access to core transporter by pressing zero.
Levels:
After defeating Satan the start the game begins again but this time there is a "Satan's Head" in your inventory. This keep track of how many times you've defeated Satan. Every level you complete makes the game a little harder. On the second level the point value of everything doubles but the money you get from minerals is cut in half. On the third point value triples, but money value is one third, etc. There are 99 levels however after 15 the values of everything is so low you won't be able to pay for fuel let alone upgrades.
