@{b}SIDE@{ub} - A full-color mouse-killing game...
@{"Why Side " LINK "Why_?"} Why I wrote Side
@{"How to play " Link "How_?"} Rules of the game
@{"Tooltypes " Link "Tooltypes"} Parameters & preferences
@{"Libraries " Link "Libraries"} More about 2 useful libraries
@{"Music " Link "Music"} Music used in the game
@{"Graphics " Link "Graphics"} How to include your own pictures
@{"More " Link "More"} More about side
@{"Distribution" Link "Distribution"} Shareware notice
@endnode
@node Why_? "Why Side ?"
@{b}WHY ?@{ub}
This little programme could have been called "yamk" for Yet Another Mouse Killer. It was written when my wife asked for a Tetris game. Believe it or not, I had none of the 12946782 commercial versions, excluding the 7861236254686 PD ones...
This is why I decided to mix three games I knew: Tetris, an old board game called Push-Over, and Atominos.
The shareware version allows to play a restricted (25) number of games before blocking. Please @{"Register" Link "Distribution"} to use the full-game.
@{b}HISTORY@{ub}
V 1.0 12/93 - released 11/95
System 1.3, OCS chipset
Own version.
No music.
32 colors internal gfx, 320x200.
Menu bugs.
V 1.1
05/96
System 3.0, AGA chipset
Test release, spread over Rx
External music through ST modules.
256 colors external gfx externes, 640x240.
Localization.
V 1.11
Added music toggle menu
Fixed a bug in menu handling
V 1.12
Added "About" menu
Added "SFX" menu
Minor gfx changes
V 1.13
Added "Merge" menu
Game over animation
Fixed a bug in menu creation
V 1.2
First public release
Archive cleanup
@endnode
@node How_? "How to play Side"
@{b}HOW TO PLAY@{ub}
You have a rectangular 4x8 squares "well" in the middle and a 6 squares "stack" on the right. The aim of the game is to make lines of 4 or more identical squares, in any direction. When such a line is met, its squares disappear. New squares appear at an increasing rate on the right. When time comes for the sixth square to appear at the top of the stack, the game is over.
To place a square into the well, just place the mouse at the point you want it to enter. The square then enters the well on the side, and falls until there is another square right under itself (1), or it reaches the "ground" (2):
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
YY _\ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
YY / ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! (1) !YY! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! !YY! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
!XX! ! ! ! !XX! ! ! !
!XX! ! ! ! !XX! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
YY _\ ! ! ! ! ! (2) ! ! ! ! !
YY / ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! !YY! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! !YY! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
The square added this way disappears from the stack. If it is empty, another one comes.
If you make a square appear at a point where there is already one, the incoming square "pushes" the other one, which may stay there (3), fall (4), or push its own neighbour (5), etc...
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
YY _\ !ZZ! ! ! ! (3) !YY!ZZ! ! !
YY / !ZZ! ! ! ! !YY!ZZ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
!XX!XX! ! ! !XX!XX! ! !
!XX!XX! ! ! !XX!XX! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
YY _\ !ZZ! ! ! ! (4) !YY! ! ! !
YY / !ZZ! ! ! ! !YY! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
!XX! ! ! ! !XX!ZZ! ! !
!XX! ! ! ! !XX!ZZ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
YY _\ !ZZ!WW! ! ! (5) !YY!ZZ!WW! !
YY / !ZZ!WW! ! ! !YY!ZZ!WW! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
!XX!XX!XX! ! !XX!XX!XX! !
!XX!XX!XX! ! !XX!XX!XX! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
If there are already 4 squares in the row you want to introduce a new square, all of them slide as above, and the fourth one replaces the one you have added, at the bottom of the stack (6).
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
YY _\ !ZZ!WW!AA!BB! (6) !YY!ZZ!WW!AA! _\ BB
YY / !ZZ!WW!AA!BB! !YY!ZZ!WW!AA! / BB
+--+--+--+--+ +--+--+--+--+
Scoring is an important feature of this game, maybe THE main point. Each square move gives 1 point. When you make a line and make n squares disappear, you score 2^n (Basic lovers), 2**n (Fortran fanatics), or better, 1<<n points. For example, the smallest line, 4 squares long, scores 16 points. Now, the nice point: n is the TOTAL number of ALL alligned squares at the same time; if you align twice 4 squares at the same time, you score 256... So to make a nice score, try to combine squares so that a single one, added at the right place, will align as many squares as possible. Have a look at the demo for more.
The known record at this is over 258,000,000 points: it includes a 28-squares move !
The absolute high score would be the longest C unsigned integer: 2^32-1. This would imply a large amount of fairly good moves !
Note that 4 colours is quite simple at start, but large moves are quite hard to perform, 5 is more interesting but still playable, while 6 is very hard.
@{b}RUNNING THE GAME@{ub}
After installing the game, double-click the "Side" icon.
After a few seconds, a high socres list appears. A few inactive seconds later, a demo game starts. Click to resume.
Available menus are:
Game -> Start/Stop: Begin or stop a new game
Game -> Pause (only when playing): The current game pauses. Select this menu again to resume the game.
Game -> Merge (registered users only): this enables you to merge several hi-scores tables. Select the file to merge with yours (.sidescores) and click "Merge".
Game -> About: displays some information concerning the game
Game -> Quit: Leave the game
Colors -> 4, 5 or 6: number of colors available for squares.
Sounds -> Music: intro music is played between games, "game" music during them.
Sounds -> Silent: the game remains silent.
Sounds -> SFX: the game plays samples (see TOOLTYPES) when a new square falls, when a square is pushed or when a line is made.
@{b}PROBLEMES@{ub}
* An alert saying "Error strating Side" appears, then the game ends: check that everything Side needs is present (cf @{"More" Link "More"}).
* The game starts, but remains silent: turn the volume up (!) and check that the Tooltypes "SONG_START" and/or "SONG_GAME" link to soundtracker modules.
@endnode
@node Tooltypes
@{b}TOOLTYPES@{ub}
The 'Side' icon has the following tooltypes:
@{b}COVER@{ub} is the path to the IFF/ILBM file containing the cover picture.
@{b}PICTURE@{ub} is the path to the IFF/ILBM file containing all the graphics you want to play with.
@{b}SCREEN_MODE@{ub} is the hex value of the kind of screen you want. By default, this is set to 8000, a standard PAL screen. Set to 39020 to use 31 kHz multiscan (i.e. VGA). Set to A9000 to use 29 kHz DBLPAL (i.e.... idiomatic Amiga mode).
@{b}SONG_START@{ub} is the path to the tune played why displaying the hi-scores table. You may leave this tooltype empty or commented; in this case there will be no music between the games.
@{b}SONG_GAME@{ub} is the path to the tune played why you play the game. You may leave this tooltype empty or commented; in this case there will be no music during the game.
@{b}SOUND_LINE@{ub} is the path to the sample played when a line is made.
@{b}SOUND_LOST@{ub} is the path to the sample played when a game is over.
@{b}SOUND_NEW@{ub} is the path to the sample played when a new square appears.
@{b}SOUND_PUSH@{ub} is the path to the sample played when a square is pushed.
@endnode
@node Libraries
@{b}LIBRARIES@{ub}
Since I am quite lazy, I had two people I never met do a large part of the boring job for me:
C.A. Weber wrote easy iff library
T. Kinnunen wrote medplayer library
This OctaMED V2 - V6 material is Copyright RBF Software
(
Teijo Kinnunen and Ray Burt-Frost)
This is why I only had to write the game itself. Thanks, guys!
@endnode
@node Music
@{b}MUSIC@{ub}
Music tunes included here were written by Arnaud G. Gibert. They use the Med soundtracker format, 4 tracks, samples included in the file.
@endnode
@node Graphics
@{b}GRAPHICS@{ub}
This game needs the AGA chipset, and uses 256 colours. This is why the included graphics are so beautiful (!). If you want to use your own background, follow these steps:
- design a nice 640x240 , 256-colours picture (the background). The palette should respect these conditions:
* Color 0 is black
* Color 1 is white, but @{b}DO NOT USE IT, KEEP IT RESERVED !!!@{ub}
* Color 9 is blue
* Color 15 is yellow
* Color 255 is "very different" from black
* Color 254 is "very different" from color 255
- design six 32x16 blocks using the same picture, horizontally following each other, starting at coordinates (32, 240).
- design eight 32x16 "explosion" images to form an animation, using the same picture, horizontally following each other, starting at coordinates (256, 240).
- Put all this stuff on the same picture.
- Place the picture in the 'gfx' drawer (this is not an obligation)
- Set the PICTURE tooltype in the Side icon to the path of your work.
- Enjoy !
@endnode
@node More "More about Side"
@{b}USING Side@{ub}
Side is all written in C, and fully respects intuition, which is not the case of all these AMOS-shits that think they are the only interesting programme in the world. I HATE THEM, for I can't play while ray-tracing. This kind of things make an amiga look like a PC, and should be forbidden.
To use Side, you need:
* Any 680x0
* Kickstart 3.x
* A fair amount of free Chip Ram (1 Mb is a minimum when using music)
* Some space on a hard or floppy disk drive (about 750 kb)
* Commodore's @{i}Installer@{ui} program
* Courier 13 and CGTriumvirate fonts. The latter will be loaded faster if you create a size 30 bitmap version with IntelliFont.
This distribution includes localisation for French-speaking people. Please contact me if you have translated the tiny catalog into your own language.
This game has been tested with the following machines:
Wozzeck: A4000/030 + 68882, 16+2Mb
Dwarf: A1200, 2+2Mb PCMCIA
Zargon: A4000/030 + 68882, 16+16+2Mb, GVP SCSI
Topaz: A4000/040, 16+2Mb
Ruby: A1200
Gizeh: A1200
Flicka: A4000/040
Details above might be unaccurate, but anyway, thanks to all Rx
people above.
@endnode
@node Distribution
@{b}DISTRIBUTION@{ub}
Shareware is a way of getting good software in a cheap way. You get hold of the software for almost nothing, and can test it for a while before deciding if you want to pay the programmer for his/her hard work. But remember that if you don't pay and nobody else pays, then it's pretty sure that the programmer will NOT make any more shareware software.
And that will in the end lead to no software for your machine!!!! So, please pay the author of the software.
If you use @{b}Side@{ub} and like it, then I would be eternally grateful to you if you would send me the shareware fee (or any amount you like), as payment for the game. You will then become a registered user of the game!
Registered users may use the game fully, i.e. they can play more than 25 games per color.
If you have too much money, I will accept a part of it: 50 FRF would be very kind, but I will also accept Cyberstorm 060 boards, 64-bits gfx enhancers, Minolta AF 300mm f/2.8 lenses...
If you have a valid e-mail address, I will send you the keyfile (42 bytes) through this way. Otherwise please enclose a disk with your fee. In both cases, please send me your @{"registration form" link Reg_Form}.
Of course, Side is restricted to a personnal use, and should only be distributed for a low fee.
Anyway, if you think you have found a bug (??), please do not hesitate to contact me, precising with the highest accuracy what the bug is, and everything special about your configuration.
(.txt)