Amiga Format CD 8/amigaformatcd08.iso/screenplay/shareware/lightcyclesv2.00/guideme.guide

Amigaguide Document | 1996-10-27 | 26KB | 574 lines

@DATABASE "LC2.00 instructions"
@NODE "MAIN" "Menu"
@TOC "MAIN"
                        Light Cycles V2.00 - CMU95
                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   This game is PUBLIC DOMAIN. It is freely distributable as long as the
     contents of the disk remain unchanged and no charge greater than

1.50 is made for it.
         Disk opperations
         @{"  " SYSTEM "LightCyclesV2.00:LCV2.00"} Run Game
         Game players guide
         @{"  " LINK "OVERVIEW"} Game Overview
         @{"  " LINK "PUPS"} Power ups
         @{"  " LINK "CONTROLS"} Game controls
         @{"  " LINK "EDITING"} Creating your own levels
         @{"  " LINK "OPTIONS"} Selectable options
         Misc.
         @{"  " LINK "SYSTEM"} System requirements
         @{"  " LINK "ADVERT"} Advert
@ENDNODE
@Node "System"
@Toc "main"
System Requirements.
  To play Light Cycles V2.00 you need an Amiga computer. You should already
have this part to read this with. You also need this disk, which you also
already have. WB2.00 or above is also required.
  Having some friends to play against helps a lot. There is at the moment
no computer player option, since I don't have many ideas on how to make the
computer play like a human. Up to four people can play at once.
  This game was written on a standard A1200 so it might run slow at times
on slower computers such as the A600 or A500+.
  If you decide not to use the built in install routine then your hard
drive must contain the following (in the place indicated):
  Libs:MathsTrans.Library
  Libs:AmigaGuide.Library
  LightCyclesV2.00:Sysdata   (Drawer and its contents)
  and any level data that you want.
  The install routine is perfectly adaquate and should be used. The entire
game only really needs one Assign: 'Assign LightCyclesV2.00: <Path to LC>
@Endnode
@NODE "OVERVIEW" "Game overview"
@TOC "MAIN"
Game Overview:
  Light Cycles V2.00 was written as a Public domain worthy version of one
of my earlier efforts (LC V1.00). It is a head to head battle game for two
to four players.
  The game is based around part of the old arcade classic Tron. Things
happen like this: Up to four players start by viewing an arena. They then
start moving. As they move they leave a trail behind them. This trail and
most of the obsticles in the arena are dammaging to the player's light
cycles and should be avoided. This is as far as most versions of this game
  In this version you have a set number of shields for each round. As you
collide with things these are depleted. When you run out, you die. The last
player alive wins the round and generally collects the most points.
  In most versions of this game you are limited to the four basic
directions to travel in. In this version you can move along the diagonals
too. There are of course, options to turn the various advanced features off
but this is a regression to me. The options are all explaned on a separate
page.
  There are other new features too, such as power ups. These are explaned
on a separate page too.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "PUPS" "Power ups"
@TOC "MAIN"
  Power ups:
  @{"  " LINK "PUPFP"} First principals
  @{"  " LINK "MINES"} Mines
  @{"  " LINK "SPEED"} Speed ups
  @{"  " LINK "WALLS"} Walls
  @{"  " LINK "SIPS"} Side fences
@ENDNODE
@NODE "SIPS" "Side fences"
@TOC "MAIN"
Side fences
  These are generally the most useless of the power ups but are great fun
if you catch someone right. When a side fence is fired it places a small
wall on either side of you. If you fire many at once you create a sort of
slotted fence that follows your line.
  1. Increase dammage.
  If you suddenly cut across another player's path you could drop a few
  of these to double or even tripple their shield loss.
  2. Blocking entrances.
  To make a less than friendly barrier to close an opponant in a maze or
  small box you could dump a load of these across the entrance making it
  more difficult for the opponant to get out with minimal dammage.
  3. Trap and confuse a following opponant.
  If someone is close behind and is following close to your line then drop
  a long line of these to trap him between your own trace and your fences!
  This is very disorienting and he/she will probably die.
  4. Make a stylish kill.
  If an opponant is following just far enough away, dump a load of fences
  on them. They could be hit directly with every fence. They will almost
  certainly be killed before they even realise that they were taking
  dammage!
@ENDNODE
@NODE "WALLS" "Walls"
@TOC "MAIN"
Walls
  When you activate a wall you project your trace out a short distance at
right angles to your headding. This is a very effective way of reducing
enemy shields and is best in long tight corridors. If you hold the fire
control down you will get a series of walls at evenly spaced intervals of
about 1cm. This makes them effecient and just a few walls will lay down
a fearsom trail across the screen.
  1. Surprise a following enemy.
  If someone is following you then hold fire and unload some walls on
  them. They will run into three or four of them before they know what is
  happening.
  2. Make a corridor impossible to negotiate.
  If you are in a narrow corridor you could cut it off completly by laying
  walls down its length. If you get enough out you could make it impossible
  to get through again.
  3. Doubling dammage.
  If you are about to swerve in front of someone then drop these as you do
  it. It will confuse and disorient them and may also cause a lot more
  dammage. Zig Zags tend to make a terrifying pattern!
@ENDNODE
@NODE "SPEED" "Speed ups"
@TOC "MAIN"
Speed ups
  These are the most versitile power ups available to date. They have many
uses in both offensive and defensive play. They have the disadvantage of
being difficult and dangerous to control.
  When activated, a speed up will move you two pixels insted of one. This
has the effect of making you move at twice the speed. It also means that
your trace becomes temporarily dotted. Collision detection is also only
calculated for every other pixel.
  1. Catch up an opponant.
  Hold fire when chasing someone to overtake, then swerve to cut them up.
  Zig zagging can cause multiple dammage and death. Be careful that your
  victims do not try the same trick when you are in front. You should also
  avoid a high speed race as you are more likely to loose control and
  crash.
  2. Get somewhere quickly.
  Seems obvious? It is. If you need to be near a maze exit to catch an
  exiting trace then use some speed ups. Be careful not to hit anything on
  the way with the sudden speed boost.
  3. Pass through a speed lock.
  Speed locks are bars that are placed on every other pixel. They can be
  negotiated without dammage if speed is used. There is still a risk that
  you will catch the bars. Your chance of survival with no dammage is 50%.
  4. Hop an obsticle.
  Anything that is only one pixel thick may be jumped using speed ups.
  Simply activate the boost when you are near the obsticle and you have a
  50% chance of clearing it without dammage.
  5. Lessen dammage.
  If you have just been forced to hit a thick wall or another obsticle then
  you might want to lessen the amount of shields lost by using your speed
  ups - if you are only in the wall for half the time you can only take
  half as much dammage.
  6. Reduce chance of a collision in a diagonal jump.
  A trace that has been layed in a diagonal direction can be safly
  traversed by crossing it in the other diagonal direction. Your chances of
  making it unscathed are 50%. You can reduce these odds by going fast as
  well - making your chance of survival 75%
@ENDNODE
@NODE "MINES" "Mines"
@TOC "MAIN"
Mines
  Mines are fun. When you hold fire a load of mines will be released to get
in people's ways! The mines are layed slightly behind you so that you don't
hit them by accident and at a random distance from your trace. Mines are
best in fairly open spaces and tend to spread better from diagonal travel.
When hit, a mine will not explode but take away shields like any other
hittable material. Since mines are made of a 9 pixel cluster they tend to
take three shields away each hit.
  1. Devestate an opponant that is following you.
  Simplicity itself: Lay the mines and watch your opponant squirm. A long
  burst could lead to a kill.
  2. Make a wide corridor difficult to navigate.
  Dump mines in a wide corridor to stop anyone following you - ever!
  3. Mess up an area to make it dangerous to navigate.
  Drop mines from diagonal travel for a maximum spread. It is surprising
  how quickly a large area becomes covered in a very dangerous fasion.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "PUPFP" "First principals"
@TOC "MAIN"
First principals:
  A power up is a special effect joined to your fire button. They are
activated by pressing and/or holding your fire control (see controls). Each
level has a designated amount of one particular power up. All players are
given the same type and amount of firepower to keep things fair. This
information is usually given in the level brief.
  Power ups are an important ingredient that should be utilised at every
oppertunity. The more cunning and devious you are in their use the better.
For each power up you have left at the end of the level, you gain 5 points
as a bonus. Keep this in mind when using them because it could mean the
difference between winning and loosing if a match is close.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "CONTROLS" "Controls"
@TOC "MAIN"
Controls:
In game controls for players are
   Player 1.
      Joystick in the Amiga's joystick port
   Player 2.
      Joystick in the Amiga's Mouse port
   Player 3.
      Cursor key control, with right shift as Fire.
   Player 4.
      Ctrl         Up
      Left shift   Down
      Right Amiga  Left
      Right Alt    Right
      Left Alt     Fire
   P - Pause
   Escape - Quit
Whilst the game is paused
   F10 - Resume game
   Space - New system
   +/-  - Zoom in/out
Whilst on selection screen
   Mouse control - move pointer
   Left Mouse Key - Make selections
   Joystick - Move pointer
   Joystick fire - Make selections
On information screens
   All active players must press their fire control to continue
In file selectors
   Mouse control - Move pointer
   Left mouse key - Make selections
   Right mouse key - Display device list
   Keyboard - type selections
In Level/Directory editors
   Mouse/Keyboard control only.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "EDITING" "Level editing"
@TOC "MAIN"
   Level editing
   @{"  " LINK "PROCESS"}The level creation process
   @{"  " LINK "CONVERT"}Converting a picture
   @{"  " LINK "DIR"}Creating a level directory
   @{"  " LINK "PKT"}Editing a level's packet data
@ENDNODE
@NODE "PROCESS" "Genessis process"
@TOC "MAIN"
  The level creation process
  To create your own set of levels for Light Cycles the following procedure
must be followed. It is not a difficult procedure to use and it is the same
procedure and software that I used to create almost all of the levels on
this disk.
  1. Generate a picture - This must be a 16 colour lowres picture. In the
     picture, the first eight colours are to be things that can be hit. The
     second eight colours are for background graphics and cannot be hit in
     the game. This is the most important part of creating new levels. If
     you are using a version of DPaint, you MUST turn off any stencils that
     you have used or the picture will be corrupted. Save all pictures with
     the extension '.Iff' to keep things simple in the next stage.
       If you want to have a colour cycling background (like most of the
     Plasma levels), then all eight background colours are to be cycled.
  2. Convert the pictures - The conversion machine is built into the
     selection screen of LC2.00 (top right). Instructions for this are in
     another page. Conversion is necessary and compacts your pictures too!
  3. Generate level directory. This is also done through the selection
     screen (button is located under conversion button). This is a file
     that tels the game exactly how many levels to play and where to get
     the data from. Details of this stage are on another page.
  4. Edit packet data. A packet (Pkt) file is a file that holds information
     about things personal to each individual level - things like the
     position of player starts and displays. Details on another page.
  5. Play your new levels! Select them in the normal way and play on!
  6. Clean up your storage medium. You will have a number of useless Iff
     files lying around. You don't need them so you can delete them if you
     like. There is a file deleter, drawer maker and directory lister built
     in.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "CONVERT" "Picture conversion"
@TOC "MAIN"
   Picture conversion
   1. Press the CONVERT button
   2. Select the file to convert (16 colour lowres Iff pictures only)
   3. Wait for the two minuites or so it takes to convert the picture.
   4. Wait for the picture to save. It is saved with the extension '.Lev'
@ENDNODE
@NODE "DIR" "Level Directory creation"
@TOC "MAIN"
  Level directory creation
  1. Select CREATE DIR button
  2. Select ADD LEV to add a new level
  3. Select REMOVE LEV to remove a level (click on the level to be removed)
  4. Repeat until all levels are included
  5. Select SAVE .DIR FILE to save your level directory. Use the extension
     '.Dir' to avoid confusion later.
  6. Exit editor.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "PKT" "Packet data editing"
@TOC "MAIN"
  Packet editing/creating
  1. Select EDIT .PKT DATA button
  2. Use buttons to create and save appropriate data
  3. Select EXIT EDITOR to return to the main selection screen.
Buttons in this editor:
  Drag panel
Click and hold this button to move the control panel out of your way.
  Load .Pkt Data
Press this button to load the data for the current level from the disk. No
file selection is necessary.
  Save .Pkt Data
Press this button to save the data. You will not need to give a filename.
  New picture
Opens a requestor for a different picture (and a new packet file too).
  Cycling button
This is a cyclic gadget that defines the speed and direction of colour
cycling. It also restores the palette when it gets to 'No cycling'.
  Join display
This toggle gadget will allow you to move all four displays around at once.
It is useful in the positioning of all of the displays quickly and neetly.
  Change Player N
This cyclic gadget indicates that the positions for player N are being
changed currently.
  Position start
Allows you to position the players start co-ordinates and headings. Click
this button then on the main screen. You can drag the start position around
with the left mouse button, and rotate it with both mouse buttons together.
  Position Display
Similar to the position start button but acts on the individual player's
status display. It does not rotate either.
  Simplify map
This fixes the palette such that any threats are drawn in dark yellow, and
non threats are black. It also removes the distraction of colour cycling
but does not change the cycling or colours in the final game.
  Shields: N
Sets the level's shields. Left mouse to increase, right mouse to decrease.
  Power ups: N
Sets the amount of power ups for the level. Left mouse to increase, right
to decrease. Hold buttons for a rapid change.
  Power up type
Cyclic gadget that indicates the current power up type - click to change.
  Add text...
Enters a primitave text editor. Click on the line to be changed. Type text,
then press enter/return. Click the top bar to fix the text. If some text
already exists then it will be printed for you (but is not editable). Text
must not contain any commas. The second line is impossible to write on. The
first line is for a title.
  Exit editor
Exits the editor.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "ADVERT" "Advert"
@TOC "MAIN"
  Advertisment and contact page
  @{"  " LINK "CONT"} Contact address
  @{"  " LINK "SWAP"} Swapping PD
  PD software (Written by me, Chris Underwood)
  @{"  " LINK "DGRAPH"} DGraph 4D
  @{"  " LINK "LEMS"} Lemming animations
  @{"  " LINK "QAPD"} Quality Amos PD
@ENDNODE
@NODE "CONT" "Contact address"
@toc main
  Contact me, Chris Underwood at:
  Chris Underwood
  29 Sandpiper Drive
  Worle
  Weston super Mare
  BS22 8UH
  (England)
  email: [e-mail]
    www: http://www.csv.warwick.ac.uk/~csuwz
  Note:
  1. If you do not send a stamped addressed envelope, you are very unlikely
to get a reply. I cannot afford tonnes of postage.
  2. If you want disks from me, make your envelope big enough to get that
number of disks into - common sense.
  3. After September 95 I may well be at university. You can still send
stuff to the address above and it will be sent on. This may take some time
to reach me though.
  4. If you send me disks to put software onto, put something interesting
on the disks for my troubles - this will speed up my reply (see 'Swapping'
for the type of software I am likely to be interested in)
  5. If you want disks from me (but haven't sent any) then send
1.00 for
each requested disk to cover costs. Make sure the SAE is big enough for
the return of disks.
  6. I promise to reply to all letters that include an SAE.
  7. I would appreciate a short note saying where this code has got to, if
it has been liked and if you have seen any other examples of my code. I
would also like to hear any suggestions for improvement of any of my work.
  8. Do not forget to put your address on letters. You wont get a reply if
I don't know where you live.
  These are all fair conditions to keep my costs down to nothing. I do not
expect to make any profiet and will not allow myself to make a loss.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "SWAP" "Swapping PD"
@toc main
Swapping PD software
  If you want to swap any PD, be it my work or not, I will read any offers
or lists. If you offer something in one of the areas of interest below I am
more likely to give a quick response.
  I like the following stuff, roughly in order of preferance:
  Amos code - Something you have written yourself, or a good routine
              that could be intresting or useful. I am on the lookout for
              some proper 3D material such as algorythms and a Z Buffer
              routine. I would like a 4 player joystick adaptor and routine
              too.
  Good games - However simple, I tend to like any game that is a good
               example of its genre. PD puzzlers are usually the best,
               though driving games and old classics are also fun.
  Research stuff - Like graph plotters, computer science related stuff etc.
  Catalogue disks - From any reasonably large established PD library.
  Real 3D stuff - Materials, objects, textures, rendered pictures and
                  anims. I am on the lookout for some kind of converter
                  program to make use of all the Imagine objects about.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "DGRAPH" "DGraph 4D"
@toc main
DGraph 4D
  This is a serious piece of software for creating light sourced 3D graph
anims. It comes on a three disk set that contains the Amos code, extensive
help files and loads of examples including seven 20 frame 16 colour full
screen animations ready to play.
  This is not the easiest program to use due to Amos lacking an Eval$
command but there is plenty of cool examples to look at. This 3 disk set is
worth looking at if you like your computer to show what it can do. This set
may require two megs of memory to work fully.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "LEMS" "Lemming animations"
@toc main
Lemming Animations
  Lem Anims is a collection of short animations that loop in a cyclic
fasion to give the impression of a massive anim. There is plenty to look at
and one animation is done as an Amos program (they said that couldn't be
done too!). The advantage of this is that Amos can add sound effects! Move
the mouse near part of the animation to hear the sounds at that point!
  This all comes on one disk and requires WB2.0 or above to boot.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "QAPD" "Quality Amos PD"
@toc main
Quality Amos PD
  Have you ever bought what sounds like a good collection of Amos routines
just to find that they are all crap? Me too. No instructions or it doesn't
work or you cant figure out what it actually does... Its annoying.
  Quality Amos PD is different. I personally wrote all of the code and it
is examples of projects that are interesting. There is a varied mix so I
have listed the programs below:
  3D examples:
3D naughts and crosses game
Stardodge game
IsoTanx game
  Demos:
Jesus On Cheese
Multibounce
StarVU
StereoVU
Silly rainbow
  Utilities
IFF finder/shower
SimLottery        (not a cheep predictor, but a decent simulation)
Slideshow creator
Database
  Games
Brickout
Picture puzzle 1 and 2
SuperDodge
  All programs have instructions/notes built in and wherever a program
needs some support data, there is some in the Data drawer. The programs
should work on any workbench but require Amos to run. Some may need 1 meg.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "OPTIONS" "Options"
@TOC "MAIN"
  Options (Top to bottom, left to right, from selection screen)
  @{"  " link "OPSPEED"} Speed control
  @{"  " link "DIAGS"} Diagonals button
  @{"  " link "SHIELD"} Shield button
  @{"  " link "OPPUP"} Power up button
  @{"  " link "TRACE"} Trace control
  @{"  " link "BAKC"} Backgrounds button
  @{"  " link "PRESETS"} Preset buttons
  @{"  " link "PLSETUP"} Player setup
  @{"  " link "GMECTRL"} Game control
@ENDNODE
@NODE "OPSPEED" "Speed button"
@Toc "Main"
Speed button.
  This button cycles through the speed settings available. Options are:
  Dead slow - Dull and laborious play for old people.
  Sluggish  - Slow play for 'parents mode'
  Normal    - Standard play. This is the best setting.
  Swiftish  - Quick play for experianced players.
  Zippy     - Fastest standard speed.
  Overdrive - Fastest possible speed - this speed changes from computer to
               computer.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "DIAGS" "Diagonal control"
@TOC "MAIN"
Diagonal control
  This toggle button specifies if diagonal travel is allowed or not:
  On - Diagonal travel is allowed. This is normal for Light Cycles V2.00
 Off - Only straight up,down, left and right travel is possible. This is to
       be consistant with old style games.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "Shield" "Shield button"
@toc "MAIN"
Shield button
  This defines how much of the alotted shield for a level is actually to be
used:
  Full - The full compliment of shields are to be used in every round.
  Half - Only half the alotted shields are used - a more challenging style.
  None - Consistant with old Light Cycles games, this gives you no second
          chances. Some purists may prefer this.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "oppup" "Power up button"
@TOC "MAIN"
Power up button
  This defines the preportion of the alotted power ups are to be used in a
level (similar to the shield button)
  Full - All alotted power ups are available.
  Half - Only half of the power ups are given to players.
  None - No power ups - back to ordinary Tron games again.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "Trace" "Trace control"
@toc main
Trace button
  This defines what happens to a dead player's trace on screen. This only
makes a real difference in three or four player games.
  Traces vanish on death - When a player dies his trace turns a dull grey
                           colour and cannot be hit by other players.
  Traces do not vanish   - A players trace is permanant and will remain in
                           the other players ways for the rest of the
                           round.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "bakc" "Background button"
@toc main
Background button
  This indicates if a level's background colours (the second eight) are to
be displayed or not.
  Backgrounds on  - Displays packgrounds in all their colour glory. Colours
                    may cycle and there is a chance that some people will
                    be able to see their traces better than others.
  Backgrounds off - Turns all backgrounds to black so that no traces are
                    difficult to see. This is fairer but less fun and less
                    impressive.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "presets" "Preset buttons"
@toc main
Preset buttons
  These are buttons that set the options to a default setting. They do not
alter the player setups (see another page).
  Traditional - Sets the options as if for a game of original Tron. No
                diagonals, no backgrounds, no shields or power ups.
  Default     - Resets options to their defaults on loading.
  Easiest     - Prepares options for a slow, easy game with full shield and
                power ups, and no backgrounds.
  Hardest     - Sets everything into overdrive with no shields and half
                power ups. Backgrounds are set to 'ON'
@ENDNODE
@NODE "PLSETUP" "Player setup controls"
@TOC main
Player setup controls
  These are a small cluster of buttons that allow you to customise the
player setups.
Change Player N
  Cyclic button that indicates which player is being edited.
Trace colour
  Set your trace colour here - ten colours are available but no two players
                               are allowed to have use similar colours.
Player Active/Inactive
  Toggle button indicating if a player is to be in the game or not. You
must have at least two active players to start a game.
@ENDNODE
@NODE "GMECTRL" "Game control"
@toc main
Game control
  Under this heading is a small cluster of buttons that do various
functions. They are:
  Start game - Starts the game, unsurprisingly. If no level set has been
               selected then this will bring up a file requestor for you to
               pick one.
  Pick level set - Allows you to choose a level set.
  Load/Save Presets - Load and save preset options AND player setups using
                      these two buttons. Use the extension '.Pre' to
                      distinguish them from others.
@ENDNODE