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1995-09-11
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╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ TOO MANY GECKOS! ║
║ Copyright 1995 ║
║ ANARCHY ENTERTAINMENT INC. ║
║ All Rights Reserved ║
║ ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
"TOO MANY GECKOS!" SHAREWARE MAY BE FREELY DISTRIBUTED!
That means you should give copies of "TOO MANY GECKOS!" Shareware
to all your friends and every other living human you
encounter while roaming planet earth!
See Section [11] for details
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
╔═══════════════════╗
║ TABLE OF CONTENTS ║
╚═══════════════════╝
[1] Installation & Setup
[2] Introduction
[3] Object of the Game
[4] The Environment
[5] How to Play
[6] Controls
[7] Keyboard Controls
[8] Tips and Strategies
[9] Troubleshooting
[10] Ordering Registered TMG!
[11] Distribution Information
[12] Nutritional Information
╔══════════════════════════╗
║ [1] Installation & Setup ║
╚══════════════════════════╝
TOO MANY GECKOS! Requires the following:
[1] MSDOS - Not Windows, not Windows '95...
Start your machine in DOS!
[2] The DOS prompt - Not DOSSHELL, not Windows DOS box...
Start from the DOS Prompt!
[3] 386 or better - Not 8088, not 8086, not 286...
386 or better! (Get a new machine!)
[4] 4 MB of RAM - Not 640K, not 1MB...
Make sure you have at least 4 MB or RAM!
[5] VGA Card - Not CGA, not EGA...
Your computer must have a VGA card or better!
[6] Mouse - Not a cat, not a dog...
The mouse driver must be installed from DOS!
SETUP.EXE is the program that configures TMG! for the specifics
of your machine. If you wish to change sound card or memory
options, you can run SETUP again and change those options.
TMG.EXE is the program that runs the game. Type "TMG" to play!
╔══════════════════╗
║ [2] Introduction ║
╚══════════════════╝
Along the river Nile rise the pyramids, one of the seven wonders
of the world. Conclusive new evidence suggests that the pyramids
were actually constructed by a highly intelligent tribe of small,
insect eating lizards called "geckos." In recognition of their
great architectural achievement, you must rise to their challenge:
Can you reconstruct the pyramids as they have done, so that all the
geckos match correctly, both inside and outside the structures?
╔════════════════════════╗
║ [3] Object of the Game ║
╚════════════════════════╝
There is a great task needing to be done. It will be a long and
arduous test of the mind if you dare to accept its challenge.
For those of you who are feeble minded and the weak at heart, read
no further, for mental agony surely awaits. Turn back now, like the
dim-witted masses before you who long ago conceded defeat and
quietly sank back into their mundane lives of oblivion.
Before you step out on the path of adventure, think of the brave
souls who were forced to turn away, their minds crushed under the
weight of the riddles that lay before them. Pay your respects to
the few great minds who dared to accept the full strain of the
puzzles that still remain incomplete. Sadly, they are longer counted
among the wise, their faces paled and their eyes forever blank, a
testament to the psychic damage they incurred.
Read on only if your intellect matches your boldness of character,
for dozens of pyramids and temples along the Nile River have been
destroyed. Only one bearing great will power and superior wit can
turn chaos into balance and harmony, and restore order to the land!
╔═════════════════════╗
║ [4] The Environment ║
╚═════════════════════╝
You will be visiting famous locations along the Nile River.
Depending upon where you are, it may be morning, day, evening
or night. Wherever you end up, that's where you'll be!
The puzzle is always at the center of your screen. As the game
starts, the puzzle will explode, and the pieces will be scattered
all around. (That's why this is a puzzle!)
What's left behind is the wire model which shows you the shape
of the puzzle, and where to put the pieces. You can find
individual puzzle pieces by moving around the environment.
You will experience the game by revolving around the puzzle like
the earth revolves around the sun. You can adjust your view so that
you are up high, like a bird, looking down at the puzzle, or you can
move your view way down low, where you'll see the puzzle like a worm
sees the world. You can zoom back, far away from the puzzle, or you
zoom in super close so the pieces are right in your face. You can
also tilt your head up or down. (The closer you are to the ground,
and the tighter you zoom in towards the puzzle, the more profound
the effect will be when you tilt your head.)
While moving around the environment, you will also encounter
such things as palm trees, statues, animals, etc. These "sprites"
are just part of the scenery. After you get good at the game,
take some time to examine the sprites. In the Registered Version
of Too Many Geckos, look for secret clues hidden in the sprites!
╔═════════════════╗
║ [5] How to Play ║
╚═════════════════╝
You will begin your journey in Nubia, and travel up the Nile River
through Upper, Middle, and Lower Egypt, rebuilding the destroyed
pyramids and temples you encounter in each location.
Your task, should your mind withstand its magnitude, will be to
rebuild each different pyramid. You will do this by placing the
different pieces into the wire model that indicates the final
shape of the structure you are rebuilding. Then you must rotate
each piece until the geckos' colors match with every other piece
in the puzzle!
But it is not enough just to match the colors of the geckos!
For every gecko that matches color, you must also match heads
and tails - on every piece in the puzzle!
After you have completed your task you must find a quiet place along
the Nile River to relax and let the knots in your brain unravel!
╔══════════════╗
║ [6] Controls ║
╚══════════════╝
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ There are three main things for you to know about │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
[1] Pieces - There are two different kinds.
4-sided piece - Tetrahedron
5-sided piece - Pyramid
[2] Wire Model - This shows you the shape of the structure
you are building. The glowing section indicates where
the piece you have selected will snap into.
[3] Control Panel - Here's where most of the action takes place.
It's divided up into three sections:
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ Piece Manipulation │
└──────────────────────────┘
[SNAP IN] Snaps the selected piece into the highlighted
section of the wire model.
[SWAP] Swaps the selected piece with another of your choice.
[POP OUT] Pops the selected piece out of the wire model.
[ROTATIONS] Twists and turns the selected piece.
┌────────────────────┐
│ View Control │
└────────────────────┘
[ZOOM OUT] Zooms your view out.
[ZOOM IN] Zooms your view in.
[MOVE UP] Moves your view up.
[MOVE DOWN] Moves your view down.
[MOVE LEFT] Moves your view left.
[MOVE RIGHT] Moves your view right
[TILT] Tilts your head up and down. The effect will be
more profound when your view is close to the ground
and you are zoomed up close to the puzzle.
┌───────────────────────┐
│ Piece Selection │
└───────────────────────┘
[PIECE] Cycles through the available pieces. This will
re-adjust your view so that you are behind the newly
selected piece, looking towards the puzzle.
[WIRE] Cycles through all the wire model sections.
[MENU] Brings you to the Game Menu
┌─────────────────┐
│ Game Menu │
└─────────────────┘
[ESC - RETURN TO GAME] This returns you to the game you are
currently playing.
[OPTIONS] Brings you to the options screen.
[NEW GAME] Brings you to the "Pick Your Quest Screen"
so you can start a new quest in either
Nubia, Upper Egypt, Middle Egypt or Lower Egypt.
[LOAD GAME] Lets you load a game that you saved in progress.
[SAVE GAME] Lets you save a game in progress.
[HELP] Lets you read the help screens.
[QUIT] Lets you quit the game.
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Options Screen │
└──────────────────────┘
[MUSIC] This slider lets you adjust
the volume of the Music.
[SFX] This slider lets you adjust
the volume of the Sound Effects.
[SPEED] These buttons (1-4) let you pick the speed at which
the game will run. 1 is smoothest, 4 is fastest.
[SPRITES] Lets you turn sprites (palm trees, etc.) on or off.
[LIGHTS] Lets you turn the light that shades the different
sides of the pieces on or off. No real useful
purpose - just lets us show how cool the shading
of the different sides is!
[PARALLAX] Lets you turn the parallaxing layer of the background
art on or off.
[MESSAGES] Lets you turn the help messages on or off.
╔═══════════════════════╗
║ [7] Keyboard Controls ║
╚═══════════════════════╝
TOO MANY GECKOS! is designed to be used entirely with the mouse.
However, for those die hard keyboard fans, we have also enabled
game play control from the keyboard.
Speed Control is of interest to both mouse and keyboard players.
The first four function keys control the speed at which the camera
revolves around the puzzle arena.
┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐
Function Key │F1 │ │F2 │ │F3 │ │F4 │
└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘
Visual Effect Smooth Normal Quick Lightning
CPU Pentium 486/66 486/33 386/33
The following keys are for those individuals who would rather
use the keyboard than touch a mouse.
Numeric Keypad:
┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐
│Num│ │ / │ │ * │ │ - │ wire
└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘
┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ 7 │ camera │ 8 │ camera │ 9 │ camera │ + │ wire
└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ │ │
│ │
┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ │ │
│ 4 │ camera │ 5 │ snap │ 6 │ camera │ │
└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘
┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ 1 │ piece │ 2 │ camera │ 3 │ piece │ E │
└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ │ N │
│ T │
┌─────────────────┐ ┌───┐ │ E │
│ 0 │ pop │ . │ │ R │
└─────────────────┘ └───┘ └───┘
Wire frame positions can be selected by hitting the plus [+] and
minus [-] keys on the keypad.
The pieces can be selected by hitting one [1] and three [3] on the
keypad. Your view will change so you are looking directly at the
selected piece.
To snap the pieces into place hit the five [5] key on the
numeric keypad.
You can pop the selected piece out of the wire model by hitting
the zero [0] key on the keypad.
Keys seven [7] and nine [9] zoom the camera in and out.
Keys eight [8] and two [2] move the camera up and down.
Keys four [4] and six [6] move camera left and right around the puzzle.
Keyboard:
┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ Q │ rotate │ W │ rotate │ E │ rotate │ R │ tilt up
└───┘ Y └───┘ X └───┘ Y └───┘
┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ A │ rotate │ S │ rotate │ D │ rotate │ F │ tilt down
└───┘ Z └───┘ X └───┘ Z └───┘
[W] and [S] rotate the selected piece about the X-Axis
[Q] and [E] rotate the selected piece about the Y-Axis
[A] and [D] rotate the selected piece about the Z-Axis
[R] and [F] tilt your head up and down.
╔═════════════════════════╗
║ [8] Tips and Strategies ║
╚═════════════════════════╝
At first glance TOO MANY GECKOS! can look a bit overwhelming.
That's because you're a wimp! Power down some raw eggs and
give it another go. If you apply some simple strategies to
the game, you can solve the puzzles like a pro!
[1] Use the hints! If you look at the puzzle from the top
down, you will see half-geckos on the floor! What a
way to start the day!
[2] Match the Base pieces first.
Nothin's worse than putting together the entire puzzle
from a side-view only to find that the geckos that have
to match on the floor are still messed up. Get your
view way up high, and begin matching up the base pieces
to the floor. Now you're cookin'!
[3] Match as many of the 5-sided pieces (pyramids) as
you can before you mess with the 4-sided pieces
(tetrahedrons). You can think of the 5-sided pieces
as your friends! Sometimes the 4-Sided pieces can
rotate in ways that make them pure evil.
[4] Get good with the WIRE buttons.
Pushing the WIRE buttons will let you surf through the
available positions in the wire model, and you can quickly
try the same piece in a number of different positions.
[5] Examine the colors. Here's a little mental
gymnastic you can do that will make you a much better
TMG player, as well as sharpen up your mind for your
next trip to the grocery store. Say you've snapped in
a couple of pieces that match just fine. Trouble is,
you've got to put another piece next to or between
them, and you don't know where to start. Here's what
you do. Remember the colors of the geckos on the edges
of the pieces that are set in place - let's say it's
Purple, Purple, Yellow. Now, look for other pieces out
there somewhere with Purple, Purple, and Yellow on them.
Rule out all the pieces that don't fit this scheme, and
try to fit all the ones that are possibilities.
[6] Now REALLY Examine the colors! There are a couple
of different ways to look at the pieces and imagine the
colors schemes on the pieces that have to match them. If
you can master these techniques, you'll be able to snap the
pyramids and temples together faster than they blow apart!
You might also improve your SAT scores! One of the most
powerful techniques is to imagine the match from the inside
out. Huh? what's he talking about? - Listen up!
It's very common to look for colors that match along
the EDGES of two touching pieces - but it's twice as deadly
to look for the colors that match from FACE to FACE.
When you look for matches along an EDGE, you become like a
robot executing an efficient searching process - but when
you look for matching FACES, you're cookin' with style.
Think of it this way - two pieces are joined FACE to FACE.
You can plainly see all the geckos matching along the EDGES
from piece to piece. But, unseen... lurking in the dark
where the two FACES of those pyramids are pushed together,
are matches going on where nobody can see them. When you
peel them apart, the two FACES are like perfect
mirror images of each other!
So, when you can see the FACE of one piece, and you know
another piece will have to fit next to it and cover up that
FACE until the end of time, take a little picture of that
FACE in your mind's eye, and then find the piece that's out
there somewhere that has no choice but to match perfectly!
REMEMBER: This is a puzzle, which means thinking will be involved!
╔═════════════════════╗
║ [9] Troubleshooting ║
╚═════════════════════╝
There is a file which contains the answers to common questions.
The file is called TROUBLE.TXT If this file doesn't answer
your question, it will tell you how to contact technical
support from Anarchy Entertainment.
╔═══════════════════════════════╗
║ [10] Ordering Registered TMG! ║
╚═══════════════════════════════╝
Look for the file called ORDER.TXT That's the file that
has all the information you'll need to get your copy
of the Registered TOO MANY GECKOS!
╔═══════════════════════════════╗
║ [11] Distribution Information ║
╚═══════════════════════════════╝
TOO MANY GECKOS! Shareware is freely distributable to any and
every animal, mineral, vegetable, living human, or cosmic
entity, so long as it is distributed in UNMODIFIED FORM and
no fees are charged.
╔═══════════════════════════════╗
║ [12] Nutritional Information ║
╚═══════════════════════════════╝
Nutritional Information is provided for individuals who, on the advice
of their doctor, are monitoring their caloric intake.
ANARCHY ENTERTAINMENT IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT
"TOO MANY GECKOS!" IS 100% FAT FREE!
Serving Size ................ A couple Megs
Servings per Shareware ...... 6 Levels
Servings per Registered ..... 36 Levels - plus a Secret Level
Oops! now it's not a Secret anymore!
Calories .................... 0 g Vitamin A .......... 0%
Total Fat ................... 0 g Vitamin C .......... 0%
Saturated Fat ............ 0 g Calcium ............ 0%
Polyunsaturated Fat ...... 0 g Iron ............... 0%
Monounsaturated Fat ...... 0 g Plastic............. 0%
Cholesterol ................. 0 mg Neoprene ........... 0%
Sodium ...................... 0 mg
Total Carbohydrate .......... 0 g WARNING: Studies in some
Dietary Fiber ............ 0 g Beta testers have shown that
Sugars ................... 0 g playing TOO MANY GECKOS!
Protein ..................... 0 g can become addictive.
Ingredients: C, ASM, PCX, MID, WAV, PAL, Pyramids, Tetrahedrons,
Sprites, Texture Mapping, Light Sourcing, BRDS, ROT,
MX, MISC, RAW, SCRS, Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days,
Weeks, Years, Blood, Sweat, Tears.