GEMini Atari/GEMini_Atari_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1993.iso/files/games/arcade/maz/maz.doc

Text File | 1990-10-14 | 12.7 KB | 245 lines

MAZ v2.1
Documentation
(updated 4 October 1990)



INTRODUCTION
------------

MAZ is a one or two-player graphic maze game. Besides allowing two players to
compete against each other, MAZ also introduces another element - a ravenous
cat, who starts at the end of the maze. A variety of options (including
keyboard, mouse and/or joystick control, and complete speed control) make MAZ a
game for all ages and all skill levels.

MAZ v2.1 will work on any Atari ST computer with a color monitor. While
joysticks are not necessary to play the game, they are recommended as the
easiest controller option available.



STARTING MAZ
------------

To start MAZ, insert the MAZ disk into your disk drive, open a window to that
drive by double-clicking on the drive icon on the Desktop, and then double-
click on the MAZ.PRG icon or name. From the DOS Shell (or from another command
line interpreter), just type MAZ, and press Return. Once the game loads and the
title screen appears, you can remove the disk from the drive.

If you wish, you can use the JUMPSTART program (JUMP.ACC) included in your MAZ
archive to automatically start the MAZ program from a floppy disk. To use
JUMPSTART, copy the files JUMP.ACC, DESKTOP.INF, and MAZ.PRG from the archive
to a blank floppy disk, and then simply insert the disk into drive A, and
reboot your computer.

MAZ is not copy-protected, and can be copied to and run from any normal ST
disk, including a hard drive. It can be started from either a low or medium
resolution screen.



MAZ OPTIONS
-----------

The MAZ title screen (with the word MAZ at the top) allows you to select the
different game options, using the function keys. The keys and options are:

     F1 - TYPE OF MAZE. This option selects one of the four basic maze types:

          REGULAR - the standard maze. Walls appear in light gray; corridors
               appear in white.

          GRID - the first type of "hidden" maze. Again, walls appear in light
               gray, and corridors appear in white. However, there are many
               "fake" walls scattered throughout the maze, in a grid-like
               pattern. When you hit a "fake" wall, you will just pass right
               through it, as if it wasn't there (which, of course, it isn't).
               Listen carefully to the audio cues for your mouse to guide you
               through the maze. The cat (if selected) will uncover the true
               path to the finish as it progresses through the maze.

          INVISIBLE - the hardest type of maze - both the walls and the path
               are solid white. Even the cat is no help here - his trail is
               invisible, too, and he will ever erase trails left by the
               players. Again, listen for audio cues, and use your trail-
               marking button to mark the path behind you.

          HIDDEN - the opposite of INVISIBLE - everything is light gray here.
               However, both you and the cat leave white trails, making things
               a bit easier. Trail-marking is most effective here at covering
               your path to avoid being followed by your opponent.

     F2 - TYPE OF GAME. This option selects one of the three basic game types:

          NO CAT - as it says, no cat: just player vs. player. Probably the
               best game selection for getting used to the controllers.

          CAT - the standard MAZ game. The cat starts at the exit to the maze,
               and play continues until one player exits the maze, or until the
               cat devours all the players in the maze.

          PARANOIA - a cutthroat game for two players. Like the standard CAT
               game, except: neither player can exit the maze until the other
               player has been eaten. If only one player is selected, this game
               plays exactly like the standard CAT game. (NOTE: the informal
               rule here says it's bad form to hide in the same cul-de-sac as
               your opponent - if both players make it to the exit, each should
               pick a dead-end nearby, and be ready to lunge for the exit if
               the cat goes the other way.)

     F3 - CAT SPEED. This option selects the speed of the cat, from 1 (SLOW) to
          5 (FAST).

     F4 - PLAYER SPEED. This option select the speed of the player(s), from 1
          (SLOW) to 5 (FAST).

     F5 - PL 1 CONTROL. This option selects the controller to be used by player
          1 (RED in the maze). The available options are:

          JOYSTICK 0 or JOYSTICK 1 - a joystick, plugged into the port
               indicated. Move the joystick UP, DOWN, LEFT, or RIGHT to move,
               and hold down the BUTTON as you move to mark your trail behind
               you.

          MOUSE 0 or MOUSE 1 - a mouse, plugged into the port indicated. Move
               the MOUSE UP, DOWN, LEFT or RIGHT to move, and hold down the
               LEFT BUTTON as you move to mark your trail behind you.

          KEYBOARD - press the four arrow keys to start movement, press any
               other key (or run into a solid wall) to stop, and hold down
               either Shift key as you move to mark your trail behind you.

          (UNUSED) - this player will not appear in the maze.

          MAZ can be played with two joysticks, two mice, or any combination of
          joystick, mice and keyboard control. MAZ will not allow you to select
          the same port for both players.

     F6 - PL 2 CONTROL. This option selects the controller to be used by player
          2 (BLUE in the maze). The choices are the same as for PL 1 CONTROL.

     F7 - SOUND TOGGLE. This option turns the game sound ON and OFF.

     F8 - RESET SCORES. This option resets the running scores which appear on
          the title screen and the maze screen. Each score (PLAYER 1, PLAYER 2,
          and CAT) indicates the number of times the game has been won by each
          contestant, up to 10 wins ("10" is indicated by an asterisk).

To start the game with the options selected, press the space bar. To exit MAZ,
press Esc.



PLAYING MAZ
-----------

When the space bar is pressed from the title screen, the screen will go black
for a few seconds, while the selected maze is randomly generated (you'll see
the messages ON YOUR MARK... and GET SET...). When the maze fades in, the game
begins. The current scores (if any) for all contestants involved in the current
maze are displayed at the bottom of the screen.

The player(s) selected for the game start at the left edge of the maze, and are
indicated by RED (player 1) and BLUE (player 2) squares. The exit is always on
the right edge of the maze, and is marked by a small notch in the right-hand
wall of the maze. The cat (if selected) is indicated by a GREEN square, and
starts at the maze's exit point.

When player 1 (RED) hits a solid wall in the maze, you will hear a low-pitched
"beep". When player 2 (BLUE) hits a solid wall, you will hear a higher-pitched
"beep". The highest "beep" (the same sound as the standard Atari keyclick) is
made by the cat, when it runs into a dead end in the maze. Use these sounds as
a indicator for solid walls in the "hidden"-type mazes. In general, the less
noise your mouse makes, the less time you're wasting trying to walk through
solid walls.

Play continues until one player exits the maze, or until all players in the
maze have been devoured by the cat. You may press Esc twice in a row any time
during the play to abort the current maze and return to the title screen.

When the maze is completed, the solid walls in the maze will change to the
color of the victorious contestant, and a moving yellow path will indicate the
shortest route from the start to the finish of the maze. At this point, you can
press Esc to return to the title screen, or you can generate another maze
(using the same options) by pressing the trail-marking key or button for all
selected player(s) at the same time.



HINTS AND TIPS
--------------

HARDWARE NOTE: some older models of the Atari ST contain a version of the
intelligent keyboard controller (which also controls the MIDI and
mouse/joystick ports) which can cause problems with many different programs,
including MAZ. Among the errors in this chip is one rather insidious one:
whenever a joystick connected to port 1 is held in any of the eight possible
directions, or during most of the time when a mouse is connected to that port,
the keyboard is effectively frozen in its current state. In practical terms,
this means that all controller combinations using the keyboard for one player
and port 1 for the other player should be avoided on computers containing this
faulty chip. There are three simple ways to determine whether or not you've got
this problem chip: first, if you've noticed problems with other games in the
past, where the game would suddenly abort or change modes (as if a key had been
pressed), you've probably got the problem chip. Second: from the Desktop
screen, connect a joystick to port 1 and wiggle it around for a while; if you
hear the keyclick sound now and then, you've got the bad chip. Finally: again
from the Desktop, connect a joystick to port 1, hold it in one direction or
another, and press a couple of keys - if there's no keyclick, you've got the
bad controller chip. We would suggest that you call Atari or your Atari dealer
as soon as possible to order a replacement chip - it'll make your life a lot
easier. By the way, this is the reason that MAZ requires you to press Esc twice
in a row to abort a game in progress - a single Esc press can be easily
generated by the faulty chip from port 1 joystick or mouse movement, but the
odds against two in a row are much higher (although it's not impossible).

ANOTHER HARDWARE NOTE: due to the design of the ST's mouse/joystick ports, the
right (or second) button of a mouse or joystick connected to port 0 is actually
read as the left (or first) button of the device connected to port 1. In other
words, a player with a mouse or two-button joystick connected to port 0 can
drive a player connected to port 1 crazy at will. Unfortunately, short of
cutting a trace on the motherboard, there's not much you can do about it;
therefore, it is considered extremely bad form (and, quite possibly, a capital
offense) for a player connected to port 0 to even touch that second button.

A word or two here about the strategy used by the cat - if you don't want to
know, don't read the next paragraph...

     The cat in MAZ uses a complex strategy, combined with a certain degree of
     randomness, to determine each move it makes. First, of course, the cat
     will instantly take any move which will allow it to devour a player. Next,
     the cat searches for corridor squares containing player scents (that is,
     those parts of the corridor which have been visited by a player since the
     last time the cat was there). Naturally, a double scent (both players) is
     preferred. Finding no scents in its immediate vicinity, the cat next looks
     for a area it has never explored, or the area explored the least number of
     times among the available choices. As a last resort, the cat will simply
     reverse its previous move, letting out a high-pitched "meow" in complaint.
     Whenever two or more moves with the same level of priority are available
     (for example, the chance to devour either player), a random choice is made
     between them.

A quick playing hint: for diagonal ("stairstep") passages in the maze, try
moving your mouse or joystick diagonally for maximum efficiency (sorry,
keyboard users - you've got to change directions manually through these
sections).

Our favorite MAZ game here at the Factory is HIDDEN PARANOIA, at CAT SPEED 4
and PLAYER SPEED 4, using two joysticks. We usually play until one player
reaches 10 (the asterisk); if the cat gets to 10 first, we lower the speed (and
call it a bad day). By informal rule (as noted earlier), two players waiting
for the cat near the finish must hide in different dead-ends, giving one player
the chance for a last-ditch dash to the finish when the other player is eaten.
The HIDDEN maze allows the best devious use of trail-marking; usually, a player
who has made it "past" the cat (i.e., has gotten between the cat and the exit
while the cat was exploring a dead end) will "bury" his trail to hinder the
other player's attempts to outrace the cat to the exit. Of course, this
strategy will sometimes backfire, if the "passed" cat follows the trail of the
leading player back to the exit.



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