Christmas Eve Crisis

It's Christmas Eve.

Everyone is sound asleep, while up in the North Pole, Santa Claus is getting ready for his deliveries. Christmas presents destined for children around the world lie safely in his sack, and his sleigh has been equipped with the latest time-saving technology.

But this year, things will not go as smoothly as planned. A sleigh accident will scatter thousands of presents over the landscape, forcing Santa into a race against time to gather and deliver them in time for Christmas morning.

Sunrise is quickly coming... Help Santa make his deliveries and give children everywhere a Christmas they'll never forget!

The game is divided into 10 levels, represented by locations over the world map. In each level, you play the role of Santa. You must locate the required number of presents and deliver them to their corresponding houses. Then you must find your sleigh and hop in it to end the level.

Your score is displayed at the top-left of the screen. Deliver presents, collect christmas items, and discover secrets to gain points. Next to your score is a series of present icons. This is the number of presents required to finish the level. As you deliver presents, the present icons will progressively light up. Once you have delivered all required presents, wait inside your sleigh to complete the level.

At the top-right of the screen is a clock showing the level's elapsed time (this is not enabled by default, but you can turn it on from the options menu).

Press ESC to display the pause menu. Press ENTER (by default) to display the current level statistics. Press M (by default) to display a mini-map of the level. The map is progressively revealed as you explore the level. Icons on the map show your current location, as well as the locations of key game elements (houses, presents, and your sleigh).

Game options can be accessed by clicking on the "Options" button from the main menu. Options are organized in the following categories.

In-game help

Displays tutorial, help messages, and tips while you play.

 

Show clock

Displays a timer showing the level's elapsed time in the top-right corner of the screen.

Allow cheats

Allows the use of in-game cheat keys. Refer to the "cheats" section for more information.

Controls can be re-defined in this menu. The default controls are as follows:

Left arrow key

Move left.

Right arrow key

Move right.

Up arrow key

Jump.

SPACE

Pick up or drop presents. If there aren't any presents nearby, you can use this key to perform various actions: toggle switches, activate buttons, read signs, etc.

ENTER

Show level statistics.

M

Show level mini-map.

ESC or PAUSE key

Brings up the in-game pause menu.

There are two sets of control keys: two different keys can both perform the same action. Normally you'll only need to change the primary set, however in certain cases it might be useful to configure the second set for your joystick/gamepad. This will allow you to switch between using your keyboard and your joystick/gamepad without changing the options each time.

World map controls: While you are viewing the world map, you can click on a level to select it, and then click again on it to play it. If you're using the keyboard, use the left/right keys to select the level, and SPACE to play it.

Detail (fastest setting: Low, best setting: High)

Controls the overall level of graphical detail and special effects in the game. Set this to "low" if the game runs slowly on your computer.

In addition to the detail setting, there are more options that you can tweak to maximize the game's performance (you can also visit the website for an in-depth guide on how to run the game as fast as possible). These can be found in the "Advanced" area:

Video Mode (fastest setting: 640x480, recommended setting: 800x600)

Selects the game resolution. The game's native resolution is 800x600 (all the graphics have been optimized for this resolution) and setting the resolution higher may make the game run a lot slower. However, higher resolutions will allow more details to be clearly seen. If your hardware does not support the requested resolution, it will just be ignored.

Full Screen (fastest: On, recommended setting: On)

Selects whether the game will run in full screen (recommended), or in a window on your desktop. Some graphics cards run much faster when in full-screen, while others run better when windowed. Experiment!

V-Sync (fastest setting: Off, recommended setting: Off)

Selects whether each frame will be synchronized with your monitors vertical refresh signal. Setting this option on will make the frames smoother, but will limit your maximum frame rate (typically to 60 or 75 frames per second). Turn it off to make the game run faster.

Maximum fps (fastest setting: 125, recommended setting: 100)

This puts a limit to the maximum frames per second (fps) of the game. There is generally no need to lower this from the default setting unless you want to free up processor time for other tasks running in the background. In any case, it's not recommended that you set this below 40 fps. Setting it too high will result in an uneven frame rate and may cause your sound output to stutter on some configurations.

Bilinear Filter (fastest setting: Off, recommended setting: On)

This turns bilinear filtering on or off. Bilinear filtering significantly improves the smoothness of graphics, however it does slow things down on older computers. It's only recommended to turn this off if you are running the game on a very slow computer.

Show fps

Enabling this option will show your current frames-per-second (fps) at the top-right of the screen.

Quality (fastest setting: Low, recommended setting: High)

There is normally no need to change this from the default "high" setting. Try setting it to "low" on very slow computers, and only after you have tweaked your graphics settings first. You can also set it to "very high", although the difference in quality will be negligible. This option requires quitting the game and restarting it before it takes effect.

In-game music

Turn this on to have music play while you're playing the game. Note that turning this off will still play music during the introduction and while in the menu.

Sound volume

Controls the sound effects volume.

Music volume

Controls the music volume.

Slippery slopes

Take a running jump to go up slippery slopes. Remember that you can't jump while sliding, so make sure you jump just before you reach the slope. Some slopes are one-way (they're too long for you to climb them), so take a moment to make sure you've taken everything with you before sliding down.

Thorns

Anything with needles this sharp can't be good. Thorns are dangerous both to Santa and any presents coming to a rest near them.

Mud Pits

Mud pits are dangerous for both Santa and presents, so you'll need to find a way to avoid them. Typically there is some way of going around them, or crossing them without entering the pit.

Chasms

There's not much you can do about chasms, except perhaps from timing your jumps carefully so you don't fall down! Anything dropped into chasms will be returned to its original location.

Frozen ground / ice

Ice and patches of frozen ground are very slippery. It's very hard for Santa to change direction while sliding, so you'll have to allow extra time for your acrobatics. A faster way of navigating ice is to continuously jump (you can change direction faster while you are in the air).

Firefly

Fireflies are small yet incredibly annoying. Your presents are safe, but you'll be stung if you get too close. So don't!

Fireflies are creatures of habit, and they'll move in a very predictable manner. Study them for a while to identify the times that are safe for you to cross. Be patient and take your opportunity when it arises!

Owl

Owls are night creatures, and they are always very alert. If you spook them, they will hurt you and ruin any presents you are carrying. Luckily, they are also stationary and won't follow you around, so the best strategy is to simply go around them.

Rodent

Rodents are harmless to Santa, but they'll ruin your presents should they come in contact with them. The good thing is that rodents are stationary, and they periodically return to their hole. Time it so you pass over their hole during this period.

Some rodents never go into their hole. In that case, you'll have to come up with an alternative strategy of making sure that presents don't get near them. Presents that lie directly over a rodent can (and, indeed, must) be picked up in mid-air.

Bear in mind that rodents typically can't reach large presents that you carry over your head.

Hedgehog

Hedgehogs are dangerous both to you and your presents. Single hedgehogs are easy to avoid, but they can become a real headache in large groups. In any case, hedgehogs are quite easy to jump over. Just be careful, because they have the nasty habit of reversing direction as you're jumping over them, so you'll land where you really don't want to. Ouch!

Jumping

You can cover the longest distance by getting a running start and jumping at the last possible moment. For shorter jumps, stand stationary and then press the jump and left/right keys simultaneously. For even shorter jumps, start by jumping straight up, then press left/right at the top of the jump (or even later). In general, the later you press left/right, the shorter horizontally your jump will be.

Don't forget that you can reverse direction mid-air while jumping.

Present dropping

Presents will fall straight down under the influence of gravity if you drop them. Also, presents that come in contact with houses will be magically delivered even if you are not carrying them. You can use this to your advantage in order to shave some valuable seconds from your time. Presents can also be dropped onto moving platforms and the platforms will carry them away (in fact, you will sometimes need to do this to keep them safe).

At the end of each level, you'll be awarded a completion percentage. This percentage can be broken down as follows:

Presents

You get 50% for delivering all necessary presents to finish the level. Note: If the level doesn't have any extra presents, then this rises to 60%.

Extra presents

An additional 10% for collecting all extra presents in the level. If you deliver only some of the extra presents, then you get proportionately less.

Items

An extra 10% for collecting all Christmas items in the level. If you collect only some of the items, then you get proportionately less.

Secrets

An extra 10% for discovering all secrets in the level. If you only discover some of the secrets, then you get proportionately less.

Lost lives

An extra 10% if you don't lose any lives. You don't get anything if you lose more than 3 lives, and you get proportionately less in between.

Time

A final 10% if you finish the level under the par time. This bonus then is gradually reduced, reaching 0% if you finish the level in twice the par time or more.

On the world map screen, the percentage shown for each level represents your best combined efforts from all the times you have played the level. Each statistic is calculated independently. See below for more details.

The important thing to understand is that you don't need to achieve 100% in a level all at once.

You can make multiple runs through the level, with each run aiming to maximize a particular statistic. Your best runs will be combined to determine the level percentage shown on the map. So, even if you don't achieve 100% in any single run, it's still possible to have 100% in combined total.

Theoretically, you can make a separate run for each individual statistic. That is, you can play the level once just for getting the extra presents, then play it again just for collecting all the items, and so on. However, some statistics naturally group together, so you can go after them in the same run. Others are mutually exclusive, so separate runs will be necessary. For example, you typically can't finish the level under the par time and also find all secrets, because secrets typically require you to go out of your way and waste time.

Here's the recommended strategy. It consists of two runs:

1. In the first run, collect all presents, bonus presents, secrets and items. You can take as much time as you need.
2. In the second run, go for beating the par time and also zero deaths.

To beat the par time, you'll need to work out your route in advance. Play the level a few times so you know the level layout and the locations of key gameplay elements by heart. Use cheats if necessary. Look for shortcuts you can take. When you are making the run itself, do not deviate from your planned route.

Perform only the absolute minimum actions to finish the level (typically, just deliver the minimum number of presents). You typically have a choice about which presents you'll bring to the houses. Study the level in advance and decide on which presents you'll go for. The presents that are closer to their houses are good candidates, but not always, especially if their route is dangerous.

There are a few occasions when you can use roses as teleports to save some time. In those cases you naturally won't be able to go for zero deaths in the same run, but the time savings could be worth it.

Important note: We strongly recommend you don't use the cheat keys unless you are absolutely stuck! Cheat keys can make things too easy and ruin the game's enjoyment.

For cheat keys to work, the relevant option must be turned on in the gameplay section of the options menu. If you use cheats during the game, any high scores achieved will not be accepted in the internet high score tables. Consider yourself warned.

To use cheats, press the corresponding keyboard key during normal play:

F5

Reveal entire level map.

F6

Somersault in mid air (press the jump key while airborne).

F7

Invincibility against animals and environmental hazards (it's still possible to die by falling off the bottom of the level).

F8

Automatically add a present to your delivered total.

On some recent keyboards, the F1-F12 keys are replaced by Windows functions like New/Open/Close etc. To enable the use of the F1-F12 keys, first press the "F Lock" key (or similar), which is usually located somewhere along the top of your keyboard. Please consult your keyboard's manual if you have trouble getting this to work.

For help with any problem or difficulty (or if you simply need to contact us) visit the InterAction studios website at www.interactionstudios.com. There you will find a dedicated support section with up-to-date lists of known problems, frequently asked questions & answers, and additional technical information.