Rules for "Maze of ADGAgon" Copyright (c)1990,1991,1992,1993 The AGDA Group Version 1.0, Released 12/27/93 ----------------------------------------------------------- ------------ This program is being offered as SHAREWARE. Please read the "SHAREWARE REGISTRATION" section for details on how to register this copy. This software may be freely distributed to all electronic bulletin boards and pay services, as long as the entire, unmodified program and documentation is included. This program may be included in disk collections of public domain and shareware offerings, as long as it is acknowledged as being shareware, and that no fee, outside of reasonable charge for media and duplication, be charged. ------------------------------------------------------ ----------------- Welcome to "MAZE OF AGDAgon", the first multi-player multi-computer game developed for the 8-bit Atari Computer. With this game, and the GameLink-II connection (described elsewhere), you and up to 7 other Atari 8-bit gamers can engage in mortal combat in a 1st person 3-D viewable maze. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS - 1 to 8 Atari 8-bit computers (400/600/800/XL/XE/XEGS), each with the GTIA chip and at least 48k of RAM. - 1 to 8 joysticks (one per player). - 1 disk drive (yes, only one required no matter how many players you might have). - The GameLink-II device(s). Depending on which one you build/buy, you may also require a serial bus cable per player. Please refer to the documentation on the GameLink-II. GAME STARTUP One Atari 8-bit computer must serve as the "Host", and will be the one that initially loads the game software. This one should have only one disk drive connected to its serial bus. Boot up the Host with your favorite DOS, then load the AGDAgon.COM file. After you can see the title screen, connect the Host to the GameLink-II serial bus (you should disconnect it from the disk drive at this time). Connect another Atari 8-bit computer (powered off, with no other serial peripherals connected, with monitor turned on) to the GameLink-II device. Turn it on, and it should "boot up" directly, using the Host as if it were the disk drive. You will notice the sound is different. The usual "beep-beep-beep" of the disk drive loading is replaced by one constant, long "beeeeep". If the "node" has booted properly, it will 1 Maze of AGDAgon V1.0 display a screen that says "Press START only after all nodes load." If the node doesn't boot the first time, be patient. The boot code will retry several times. If you wish to boot up other computers at this time, plug them into GameLink-II and boot them up as you did the first node. When all are ready, press START on all the nodes (but not the Host), which should then switch to the game screen and say "WAIT FOR MAZE DATABASE". Then press START on the Host to send the random maze and start the game. Before you press START on the Host, the highlighted numbers at the bottom of the screen should indicate which nodes are active. If, by some mistake, the highlighted numbers don't match what you've got set up, you can toggle individual numbers by pressing the appropriate keys (on the Host keyboard). This tells the program which nodes are active, so if you declare some active which are not active, it will waste time trying to poll the inactive nodes. The Host can also declare nodes inactive during game play by holding down START and pressing the appropriate number keys. You could use this to zap players who have decided to quit before the end. Don't forget to re-enable their node numbers at the beginning of the next game, however. AN OVERVIEW OF THE GAME A maze of 15 x 15 cells is the playfield. You see a first-person perspective view of the maze from your current position and direction of travel. The walls are opaque, and a color scheme is used that helps you orient yourself as to your current direction (east-facing walls are a light orange in color, west-facing walls are dark). You are able to see other players and grenades that are in your path. The grenades are white ellipses, and the other players are larger red ellipses with eyes and a crooked smile. You are able to move forward, or turn left or right by pressing the joystick forward, left, or right respectively. Your view will change to indicate your new position. Turns are shown with hardware scrolling, helping you follow the changing direction. You can select an overhead view by pulling back on the joystick. You will hear a "ding" sound. The overhead view indicates your current position, and any opponents in your view. Also, any cells which you have traveled are indicated in green, to allow you to keep track of where you have been. Cells that have been in your field of view are plotted in black. This helps you to figure out what paths remain to be explored. At the beginning of the game, there are ten hand grenades placed randomly throughout the maze. More grenades will appear randomly throughout the game as the supply is reduced. You can carry a maximum of three grenades at one time. You pick up a grenade by passing through the cell that it is located in. A tone will sound to indicate success. Do NOT press the joystick button to pick up a grenade - you will just waste it by setting it off. You'll find out that you can make turns faster the fewer grenades you are carrying. Grenades don't last forever: some 35 to 45 seconds after you've picked one up it "decays." You will hear a "deedle" tone on your speaker, and 2 Maze of AGDAgon V1.0 you'll have one less grenade. This means you'll have to avoid sitting around, and actively track down the other players. To activate a grenade, press your joystick fire button. Three seconds after being activated the grenade will explode (you will hear a "tick-tock" count down the seconds). Any players which are ahead of you (in other words, in your field of view) will lose one life, unless they are able to move out of that hallway before the grenade explodes. When a grenade is activated, a four-tone alarm will sound on the speaker of any players which are in the explosion zone of the grenade. If your grenade "kills" another player, you will hear the explosion sound in your monitor, and your score will increase. Note that you can only see, and your grenade can only fire, up to eight cells directly ahead. Also note that you are frozen in place while a grenade is counting down, so don't fire one if you need to get out of the way of someone else's grenade. When two of you face off, and both fire a grenade, the one who fired first survives. In the rare event that both of you pushed the trigger at exactly the same time, you both will die. When you lose a life, you will hear the explosion sound, and the number of lives left will be decremented. The screen will also flash on and off. The first 2 times you die, you are reincarnated in a random position in the maze. You will be spinning around as you come back to life, and nobody can see you while this is happening. This allows you to get some orientation to your new position. When you die the third time, the game is over for you. You will be able to monitor the remaining portion of the game from your screen as a "ghost" that nobody else can see (as long as there are other players left in the game). While in the overhead view, if you have two or three grenades, you can trade two grenades for a peek at where all the other players are located. Pull your stick back, and press the joystick button. A strange "bleep" sound will occur, and a snapshot of all players' locations will register on your overhead view. You can view this as long as you wish by continuing to pull back on the joystick, but players' locations will not update to show any movement they might have made. The player locations are erased from the overhead view when you let go of the joystick. The last player surviving in the maze is the winner. The message "GAME OVER, WINNER:X" will be displayed, flashing on and off, indicating which node has won. To allow for contests, there will be a score displayed on your screen at all times, which is calculated in the following manner: 1) 10 points for every grenade you collect. 2) 100 points for each player you kill. To play another game, have all players press RESET. The Host will be returned to the title screen (like he had at the very beginning), and the node(s) will see the message "WAIT FOR MAZE DATABASE". Press START on the Host to begin another game. 3 Maze of AGDAgon V1.0 ADDITIONAL NOTES ON PLAY Note that new nodes can be added after the end of a game. Press RESET on only the Host (and not any of the other nodes). Plug the new node into the network like the others, and power it up. It should boot up like the others, and will be assigned the next highest node number. If someone mistakenly pressed RESET on a node at the end of a game, and you want to boot up another node, simply pull his serial cable out while the new node boots up. The speed of updates is around 6 to 10 per second, and is linked to the drawing speed of the nodes. The one taking the longest to draw the picture determines how fast all of them can move. A minimum update speed is used to avoid wide swings in update rate. You'll also notice that when moving forward, your first step takes longer than all others. This was intentionally programmed in to allow you to "nudge" forward one cell when necessary. Without this feature, even seasoned players found they would consistently overshoot their destination. You'll also find that jamming the stick right or left to make a turn, and moving it directly to the forward position (without coming to rest in the center position) will enable you to zip around corners (and defeat the "first step" delay). SHAREWARE REGISTRATION This version is the first fully operational shareware release. Shareware is a marketing method, whereby you are able to use the product before you purchase it. If you decide you do not like the product, please pass it on to another Atari 8-bit user. If you use and enjoy this product, please mail in the requested registration fee. By doing so, you will be telling the authors you respect the time and effort they have spent programming, and encourage them to continue supporting this platform. We are sure you have noticed the lack of new software for the Atari 8-bit computer. Major software publishers can no longer justify spending the money necessary to market and support software to such a small user base. Shareware is the most effective method by which a small group of programmers such as ourselves can most efficiently distribute a work like this. But we rely heavily on the honesty of the user community out there. The version of the game you have is a full, working program, with no crippling features and no usage limits. We intend to enhance the game in the near future and only offer the enhanced version to registered users. To register, please send $5 (check/money order, which is drawn on a US Bank, made out to DataQue Products) and a letter to: DataQue Products Post Office Box 134 Ontario, OH 44862 USA 4 Maze of AGDAgon V1.0 In your letter, please provide us feedback as far as what you like and dislike about the game, and what new features you would like upgraded versions to include (use the Easy Response letter at the end of these docs). In return, you will receive the following by mail: - A personalized autographed copy of the most recent version of "Maze of AGDAgon". - A hardcopy of all documentation, including advanced documentation with strategy tips and technical information on the GameLink-II protocol. - Advance e-mail (on GEnie, CompuServe, or Internet) notice of availability of the next version of "Maze of AGDAgon". In addition, technical support for registered users will be given priority over that of non-registered users. The AGDA Group will maintain a presence on the GEnie online service, and can be reached via e- mail in the following ways: GEnie: DATAQUE.1 JDPOTTER CompuServe: 71777,3223 74030,2020 Internet: potter@sunny.dab.ge.com and of course from the Internet gateways to GEnie and CompuServe. There were several people who contributed to the game concept, development, and testing. These include: J. Casbeer, R. Detlefsen, J. Sliker, and J. Williams. Many others, too numerous to mention, which were outside the AGDA group also helped out by commenting on the beta versions of the game. We appreciate the help you all provided. ------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- 5 Maze of AGDAgon V1.0 Easy-response letter: mail to: DataQue Products Post Office Box 134 Ontario, OH 44862 USA Chuck, Jeff: I have used the "Maze of AGDAgon" program on my Atari ________ computer. I own a ____________ disk drive, which operates in SSSD( ), SSED( ), SSDD( ), DSDD( ). I did ( ) did not ( ) build a GameLink-II cable for this game which ( ) worked ( ) did not work ( ) worked with bugs. I rate this program in the following ways: Excellent Good Fair Poor Game Play ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Graphics ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Clarity of Documentation ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Ease of Use ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Originality ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) I found this program on the following bulletin board/pay service: ______________________________________________________________________ Phone Number (if BBS): ____________________ I would be interested in receiving upgrades to this program( ). Please contact me in the following way: ______________________________________________________________________ I am interested in ordering one of the following GameLink-II devices when they become available (not a commitment at this time): ( ) OCTO-LINK 8-player board ( ) DUO-LINK 2-player cable 6 Maze of AGDAgon V1.0 Comments: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ My name and address are: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 7