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Syzygy V2.0 =========== (C) 1992 by Keith P. Johnson ============================ Basic important information =========================== The Archive This archive should contain the following files: Syzygy - the game itself SyzygyHiUtil - utility to erase high score charts Syzygy.MoreMe - brief explanation of game and feature list Versions.txt - history file for Syzygy (Colors, too) Syzygy.Doc - this file you're reading right now! Syzygy.Doc.Prw - a ProWrite version of this doc file SyzygyHiUtil.Doc - doc file for the Syzygy high score utility program SyzygyHi.abk - the high score file Fonts (dir) - contains the KeeferClean font, if you like it All files should also have associated .info files (including the external drawer icon). Background I wrote this game for a number of reasons. The first reason is because I wanted to get to know the Amiga a little bit better. The second reason is because I wanted a game out that I really liked playing (and I hope that I'm picky enough that you really enjoy this game as well). After all, how can anyone expect someone to like their game if it's really a half-baked effort and they don't really like it themselves. The third reason is because at the time I started thinking about working on a project like this, there was a distinct lack of software that was guaranteed to work on an A3000 with OS 2.04. Lastly, and probably most of all, was the quality of shareware and freeware and any other kind of -ware in this genre. The most blazing example of this is the game "Quattro." This game made the AmigaWorld top 10 public domain game list back in '90 I think it was. I found this game to be of pretty poor quality and very, VERY badly programmed. And thinking that if a game like that could make the list, I could write something of good enough quality (certainly better than Quattro) that could also make the list. Distribution This program multitasks fairly well, but due to the fact that I cannot be responsible for the integrity of the compiler (though I've never had any problems with it, especially not with Syzygy), I cannot be responsible for any damage to your software/hardware as a result of using this program. But if you are optimizing your hard drive, a good rule of thumb is not to run ANY other program in the background. If you DO, well, you're just asking for trouble anyway, so don't come after me! This program is distributed as SHAREWARE. The shareware concept is fairly simple, but it depends on you, the user, to support it. Basically, you get this game from your local board, network, or FTP site. You un-lha it, you try it for a few days, and decide if you like it or not. If you do, then you should send me money. If you don't (why WOULDN'T you?!?), then just delete it and forget about it. The registration fee for this program is a MERE $10! A BARGAIN! AND, if you own AMOS, or some other language, and you'd like the source code, I'll send it to you, both as an AMOS program, including all the banks used, and a text file with the AMOS source code, for a total of $20. Please send money and any comments to the addresses at the bottom. A few words about shareware: Shareware is not commercial software for a number of reasons. One is that shareware programs can often rival commercial stuff in quality, and it is almost always a better value for the money. Often authors (like me) don't want to deal with a software house. Since we directly get all the money, we can offer lower prices. And the quality is often better because people aren't going to send you money if the program is no good. This is a BIG advantage over commercial software, where you are forced to shell out the money beforehand, unless you engage in obtaining "evaluation copies" to test them out, which is illegal. Also, WE WANT YOU TO COPY OUR PROGRAMS! Yes, that's right! Spread this program EVERYWHERE. The more people get it, the more potential people to send in contributions. Give it to all your friends, upload it to your BBS, put it on a network, etc. Because we want you to do this, piracy becomes a moot point. Just remember though, the shareware concept is designed for YOU THE CONSUMER. And unless you want to just be stuck with a commercial market (as was the case for many many years until shareware became viable and popular), you'll support the shareware concept. Now, admittedly there are a lot of crappy programs that don't deserve to be paid for (like Quattro), but I really don't feel that this is a crappy program, and I hope you agree with me. The future of shareware depends on you. Chances are very good that this program with only a fraction more effort, would cost $29.95 at your local software store. I'm being quite serious, considering that most games are going for $39.95 - $49.95. So please do your part and we can beat the overpriced commercial system. Starting the program The only requirement for this game is that the file "SyzygyHi.abk" is in the current directory (generally the same directory that the actual program is in). So if you start it from WorkBench, the SyzygyHi.abk file must be in the same window as Syzygy. From CLI, you must be in the directory of the SyzygyHi.abk file regardless of whether the program is there or not. IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SYZYGYHI.ABK FILE, THE GAME WILL NOT RUN. However, you can create one by running the SyzygyHiUtil program. This is explained in detail in the SyzygyHiUtil.Doc file. After starting the program, you will see a screen that says "Written with AMOS" and then a Logical Alternatives logo screen. Then a quick info page will pop up and wait for you to hit a key. Finally, the title page appears, and the game goes into "demo" mode. This isn't really a demo, but that's just what I call it. Basically, it flips between the title page, the quick info page, the champion score page, and the 6 high score pages (2 for each game - 1 shows the top 20, the 2nd shows the next 80). At any point in demo mode you can start a game or quit the program. Basic game play Even though there are 3 different games to play, there are several universal key elements to the game: PIT - This is the area of play. The pit measures 9 blocks across by 18 blocks down. BLOCK - A block is a single spot in the pit. Each block can either be 1 of the 4 colors or be a "wild" block. The wild block (signified by constant flashing) can be 1, 2, 3, or all 4 colors at once. In all games there is an indicator that shows how many blocks you have cleared that game. PIECE - This is what drops from the top of the screen and is the sole object you have control over at any point in the game. A piece is made up of 3 blocks. It can be moved around, rotated 90 degrees, or dropped. It should be pointed out that any piece has a 1 in 15 chance of having a wild block in it. (There'll never be more than one wild block in a given piece.) LINE - A line is 4 or more blocks of the same color in a row either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The longer the line, the more points are scored. Also, vertical lines score the least, then horizontal lines, and diagonal lines score the most. DROP - When referred to as a noun in this game, it means the number of points you scored (or have to score) as a result of a single drop of a piece (which may then set off a series of like 10 chain reactions). BRICK - In the Arcade Game, there are gray blocks that are stationary. These "bricks" do not move nor can they be cleared except by random chance. ROUND - In the Arcade and Skill Games, this indicates the round number you are on. When you meet the goal, the board is cleared and you go on to the next round. LEVEL - Refers to the current speed at which the piece falls. This is only displayed in the Endurance Game, but is kept track in all of them. In the Endurance Game, every 20 lines increases the speed (unless you started at a higher level in which case the game must "catch up" before it speeds up). In the Arcade and Skill Games, it speeds up with every 15 pieces you go through. The base speed of the start of each round of the Arcade Game is determined by what round you started on and how many rounds you have gone through. In the Skill Game, the starting speed is determined as a characteristic of the round; that is, every you time you start a certain round, it will ALWAYS start at that speed. In all cases, level 0 means you have one second before the piece falls one block, and it speeds up 1/10th of a second for each level afterward. Level 9 is the highest; a piece will drop one line every 1/10th of a second. At the start of each game (or each round for Arcade and Skill Games), you are presented with a clean pit (except some Arcade Game rounds have starting pit configurations) and a piece will start falling from the top. Using the movement keys, you move the piece to the left and right, rotate the piece (there is NO color cycling like in Columns, so a color that's in the middle of a piece will STAY in the middle), and speed down the piece. When you have the piece where you want it, you should speed it down by holding down that key. To get credit for the entire drop, you must hold down the speed down key until you hear the piece fall with a "thud." Otherwise, you'll only get points from where you started pushing it again if you let it go. Speed-down is helpful if you don't want to wait the whole time for a piece to pass a certain point so you can move it under a brick or something (hold it down, let it go, move it over, then speed it down the rest of the way). One strange thing about dropping pieces that is unique to this game: When a piece can't go any further because it hit a brick or because part of it hit other pieces already in the pit, if ANY OTHER PART OF THE PIECE CAN CONTINUE TO FALL, IT WILL! Example: You stack a bunch of pieces vertically in the middle of the screen, then put a horizontal piece on top of the column. If the center of the piece hits the column, the 2 ends will split off and fall toward the bottom of the screen. If you put on of the ends on the column, the center and other end of the piece will continue to fall. This will take a few games to get used to! But after playing around with it a little bit, you will get the idea. This makes the game much more interesting (and a LOT easier to program). The number of points you get for the fall, however, is determined by where the piece originally couldn't move anymore, not by how far the breakaway pieces fell. At each piece drop, the game checks to see if any lines were formed. If so, those lines are shown (by flashing white and the color) and then removed. After the pieces are removed, the rest of the pieces will fall if the can, and the game will check for lines again. Currently, the best I have seen is 6 chain reactions after the original drop. You get a bonus for each chain reaction, and values for lines formed after chain reactions are increased. It is a good idea to try to form chain reactions because scores can really go up. This process will continue until you finish a round or the game ends. The game can end by one of 2 ways: A) You totally finish every Arcade round or Skill round that there is (yeah, right!), or B) There is a block in the middle of the top of the pit where the new pieces come on screen. When this happens, hit a key and see if you made the high score chart. Sounds simple, right? Well, this game will certainly take you awhile to get really good at it. And hopefully, with 3 different games to play, when you get really good at one you can go on and work on the next one. The ultimate goal of Syzygy is to get through all of the Skill Game rounds that there are. The Arcade Game is designed more for Arcade-Type play, therefore not as much emphasis is placed on that game as the Skill Game to get to the end. In fact, I doubt anyone (including me) will ever get to the end of the Arcade Game. But I have gotten through every Skill Game level I've made so far, so you can rest assured that it's technically POSSIBLE to win the Skill Game! Game descriptions ================= Endurance Game The object of this game is simply to make as many lines as you can. Although well-played games that have 9-long diagonals and some other lines will do fairly well, in general if you only try for lines you'll do a lot better. At the start of the Endurance Game, you'll be prompted to select the starting level for play. This has 2 major impacts on game play: A) The speed at which the game starts (the higher the level, the faster, as explained above) and B) The bonus at the end of the game. The end-of-game bonus is described in the scoring section below, but the higher level you start out on, the more bonus points you score. As stated above, every 20 lines you clear increases your level unless you started at a higher one. In this case, you must get the right number of lines as it would take starting from level 0. So if you started at level 4, you'd still need to clear 100 lines before the game went to level 5. Arcade Game This game is loosely based on the arcade version of T*tris. It provides the basic idea of Syzygy but throws in "arcade-y" elements such as starting board configurations, and in later rounds random events, such as blocks just suddenly popping up, bricks appearing, or blocks disappearing causing the entire board to shift. This game can be played either to get as many points as possible by clearing exotic types of lines or by meeting the goals of the rounds early enough to get huge bonus points. The rounds have three different types of goals that must be completed: x LINES - Clear x number of lines to go on to the next round. x POINTS - Earn x many points (any way you can) to finish the round. x DIAGONALS - Get x diagonal lines to clear the round. You still get points for other lines, but only diagonal lines (of any length) count toward moving on. When you select Arcade Game, you will be presented with a menu of possible starting points. Each of these is a line round. Rounds always come in the order presented above, then starting over in the same order. Here are the obstacles presented in the game: Round Obstacles ----- --------------------- 1 Nothing! 4 Starting color configuration 7 Starting brick configuration 10 Randomly appearing colors 13 Randomly appearing bricks 16 Starting color configuration & randomly appearing colors 19 Starting brick configuration & randomly appearing bricks 22 Randomly appearing colors and bricks 25 Starting color configuration & randomly appearing colors and bricks 28 Starting brick configuration & randomly appearing colors and bricks 31-42 Randomly appearing colors and bricks & alternating configurations The highest round you can start at is round 22. The way the speed for a round is determined is based on two things: The round you started and how many rounds you've completed. No matter what round you start on, you'll start off at level 0 (the slowest). Every 2 rounds you complete, the base speed goes up by one level. So if you started at round 1, round 10 would be going at level 4 speed. You'd be going at level 9 speed at round 19. The best I've done starting at round 1 is getting to round 20. The highest I've ever gotten is round 28. There are 3 different color and brick configurations each. Also, the higher you go, the more likely that random colors and bricks are going to appear. There are certain conditions when bricks and colors will NOT appear: Any time you've completed one line or more, nothing random will show up. Also, if the column a color is supposed to appear is too close to the top (within 3 lines) of the pit, it won't come up. Things work a little differently with bricks: They may appear ANYWHERE on the screen (not just on top of one of the columns). However, if a brick is supposed to show up, there is a 50-50 chance that INSTEAD of a brick appearing, that block will be cleared. If this is in "mid-air," then obviously nothing will happen. If it happens to be where you already have a block, it disappears and the entire column falls. Sometimes this can lead to a series of chain reactions (especially in those last desparation moments near the end of a round). Skill Game This game is similar to the Arcade Game in many aspects, except there are no arcade elements and the emphasis is on getting past all of the rounds. Also, each round is the same speed and same goal no matter how many times you play it or where you start. The only differnce is in the pieces that come out which is always random in any game. A good idea would be to start with one of the other 2 games first, since they provide a better learning area than the skill game. The skill game is so specific in some of its goals that it would probably bog down the first-time player until he/she gets used to the game. There are 4 different types of goals that must be met, and although many of them are similar to the arcade version, some have unusual twists. x LINES OF y BLOCKS - x lines must be cleared, but each line that counts toward the goal must be at least y blocks long. x POINTS - Same as the arcade. Get x points to go on. x BLOCKS - Clear x blocks. Notice that blocks that are cleared in more than one line (such as a cross of horizontal and vertical lines) only count once! x DROPS OF y POINTS - As stated above, a DROP is the result of one single piece drop. Here, you must set up the board so that you get x drops that are worth at least y points. These can get really hard! After starting to design the rounds, I came up with the idea of using the drop round type as a "survival" type of round. So every now and again, you'll see a massive number of drops with a super-low point value. In these cases, the objective is simply to survive that number of pieces, as every single drop will meet the point requirement (no matter how short of a fall distance there is). This game features the use of a password system for playing at higher levels. This is so that once you get to certain points you can get to them fairly easily and not have to play the lesser boards over and over. You are given a password after clearing 10 levels. So passwords will start you at rounds 11, 21, 31, etc. If you type a bad password at the start, you'll start at round 1. The reason passwords are used is because I want people to have to go through all of the levels, unlike the Arcade Game, where it really doesn't matter. The first 10 rounds are fairly easy; they are intended to get your feet wet in the skill game. The hardest ones will probably wind up being the drop rounds. Starting at round 11, the goals will start to get progressively harder. I have tried to make each group of 10 somewhat equal in difficulty, but that is not always possible. There will always be the real easy rounds and the really hard ones. Starting at round 31, more and more "speed" rounds are introduced where you really have to start thinking quickly. Round 41 features the first round that you are required to get a 9-long line. At round 51, most of the goals are either speed rounds or fairly difficult types of goals (notably surviving 200 pieces in round 56). At the point of this writing, there are 60 rounds to complete. I hope to have at least 100 for full distribution. Scoring ======= Introduction There are a billion ways to score points in this game (at least it seems that way). There is one important concept used in my scoring system: The progressive bonus. By this, I mean that the more times you score a certain bonus, the more it is worth. Every time progressive scoring or bonuses are discussed, there'll be mention of a BASE SCORE. In all cases, the base score is the number of points earned the first time, and it is also the number of points the bonus is increased. Example: A bonus has a base score of 10. The first time you earn that bonus, you get 10 points. The second time you get it, you get 20 points. The third time, 30. By that time, you have gotten 60 points total (10 + 20 + 30). When something is called a progressive score or bonus, you'll be given a base score, how it's earned, and when it's reset back to the base score. When discussing the scores, unless otherwise indicated, all scores apply to all of the games. When a score is applicable to 1 or 2 games only, it is indicated next to the name of the score. Fall score The points earned for dropping the piece. This score varies from game to game, but it is roughly determined by the round you are on (for Skill and Arcade), how fast the piece is moving, and how far it falls. In all cases, the further it falls, the more points you get. Remember you must HOLD DOWN the speed-down key to get credit for the full distance. Lines Obviously, this is the entire point of the game. Here is a table of line scoring base values: Length Vertical Horizontal Diagonal ------ -------- ---------- -------- 4 100 500 1000 5 1000 1500 2500 6 2500 3000 5000 7 5000 6000 10000 8 10000 12000 25000 9 15000 25000 50000 10 30000 - - 11 40000 - - 12 50000 - - 13 100000 - - 14 150000 - - Any line that has a wild block in it will score 1/2 its usual base value. It is absolutely impossible to get more than 9 horizontally or diagonally at a time, since the pit is only 9 blocks wide. I am next-to-almost sure that 14 is the greatest length possible vertically. Anyone who wants to prove otherwise is welcome to try to do so, and if you can, well, you get international recognition by having me print your name in this file and the satisfaction that you proved me wrong! Chain reaction multiplier The chain reaction multiplier is given becuase of the difficulty of setting up lines right after the immediate drop. Basically, for each chain reaction, the multiplier for the base value of the line (as given above) is increased by .5x. Let's say you clear a 4-long diagonal line. That's 1000 points. Then say after the pieces drop, a horizontal line (4-long) is formed. This would normally be worth 500, but because of the chain reaction multiplier, it is worth 750 points. If it was cleared on the 3rd chain reaction, it would've been worth 1000 (500 x (1 + .5 + .5 [=2])). Colors multiplier This bonus is given based on the number of colors cleared on one drop. The total points earned for clearing lines (including the chain reaction multiplier) is multiplied by this bonus. Colors Bonus ------ ----- 1 1x 2 2x 3 3x 4 5x So clearing all 4 colors at once can greatly increase your score (especially if one of those lines was a 9-long diagonal!). The purpose of this bonus is to reward the incredible foresight of good players. Also, it's a lot harder to set up different colored lines on 1 drop than to get several lines of the same color on one drop. Line bonus This is a progressive bonus with a base value of 500. For every line cleared after the first one on a single drop, this bonus is scored. So if you cleared 3 lines, you get a total bonus of 1500 (500 + 1000). Chain reaction bonus This is a progressive bonus given for each chain reaction that happens on a single drop. The base score, which is 1500, is reset after each drop. Round bonus (Arcade) The Arcade Game round bonus is 2500 points x the round number, cumulative. This is not cumulative just on that game, but instead the round bonus is always the same for that round. Round 1 bonus would be 2500; round 2, 7500 (2500 + 5000); round 3, 15,000 (2500 + 5000 + 7500); round 15, 300,000; etc. Round bonus (Skill) This is a lot easier. 10,000 points x the round number. Empty bonus (Arcade, Skill) This is a progressive bonus given at the end of a round. The base score is based on the round number (it's higher for the Arcade Game), and it is given for each and every empty square at the end of the round. Over bonus (Arcade) This is given for going OVER the goal of the round (that is, clearing more lines that required, etc.). For line rounds, you get 5000 points for each extra line you cleared. For diagonal rounds, 10,000 points for each extra diagonal line. For points rounds, the number of points you went over the goal rounded DOWN to the closest 100 points, with a cap of 50,000 points. There is no cap on any of the other rounds. Brick bonus (Arcade) This bonus is for putting up with the hassle of bricks. For rounds with starting brick configurations, each brick that was there is worth 200 points. Any extra bricks that are added randomly are worth 5000 points. (If during the game some bricks are "eaten," then you won't get credit for them. All that matters is what's there at the end of the round.) Password bonus (Skill) This is a bonus given every time you get a password in the skill game. It is a progressive bonus, with the first password you get being worth 1,000,000. This is not for the level of password you get, it is for the number of passwords you get. If you start at round 11 and get to round 21 (earning a password) the bonus is only 1,000,000. If you had started at round 1 and gotten to round 21, THEN the password bonus would be worth 2,000,000. End-of-game line bonus (Endurance) Since the main purpose of the Endurance Game is to form lines, I needed to put in a substantial bonus for getting a lot of lines in a game. The is a progressive bonus given for every line made at the end of the game. The base score is 100 points + 10 x the starting level. If you start at a fairly high level (say 6 or 7) and get in the neighborhood of 150-160 lines, you'll get at least a couple million bonus points. Game display ============ Demo mode Demo mode was described above in "Starting the program." However, not everything was discussed about it. The main menu is on the title page, telling you how to start the game. Anytime you play a game and score more than 0 points, the result of the last game is shown at the top of the title page. It tells you what game was last played, how many points you got, and how many lines were formed. On the high score pages, your rank is listed in blue at the bottom of the 2 pages of the game you played. Also, if you made the top 100, your score is highlighted by color flashing. The first place score is highlighted by a flashing gray color. Game mode The huge area on the left of the screen outlined in purple is the pit. On the right, you'll see 2 or 3 status areas. The topmost area shows your total game stats: Your score, the total number of lines and blocks you've cleared, and the round (Arcade and Skill) or level (Endurance) you're currently on. Right below that, the results of the last piece drop are shown. You see the fall points, the number of colors cleared (it flashes if you cleared all 4 colors), the total value of the lines you cleared (including the color and chain reaction multiplier), and any bonuses you might have received (the line and chain reaction bonuses). Under the last drop status, in the Arcade and Skill Games, you'll see the goal for the current round. It will flash when you get within 10% of your original goal or if there's just one of your goal left (and that's over 10%). Finally, on the bottom of the right side, you'll see the next piece you'll get. Note that if you clear a round, there are no guarantees that the next piece will be the one that was last shown. To the right of the "Next," you'll see a number in parentheses. This number indicates what number piece the next one is. (E.g. if the number is ( 120 ), then the next piece is the 120th piece you'll play.) This is reset at the start of each round but is cumulative for the Endurance Game. After a round is cleared, the goal display will change to a bonus breakdown. The total bonus you've received is shown in the "Bonus" readout in the last drop section. End-of-game screen Here you see your total score, lines, and blocks cleared. The game will determine your rank and display that as well. (If you didn't rank, it'll let you know!) Any ties in score go to the person (people) who first got that score. So if you tie 1st place, you'll get 2nd. If you made the top 20 for the game you played, you'll get the chance to put in your name (or anything else you want to say). The limit is 25 characters, and this is shown by the underline placed on the screen right before the cursor. If you made one of the grand champion scores, you'll also get a chance to put a quote or saying or whatever up to 40 characters long that'll be seen by everyone who plays your copy of the game. Keys and commands ================= Demo mode During demo mode, there are several keys that will do something: <space> - advance to the next page of the demo a - start the Arcade Game e - start the Endurance Game s - start the Skill Game q - quit Syzygy CTRL-C - KILL THE PROGRAM (CAUTION!) l-/|-A - send program to background (or bring it back up) * These last 2 keys work ANYWHERE in the program. Any other key returns the game to the title screen. Notice that you must use left-amiga-a to toggle between WorkBench and Syzygy. The left-amiga-m or left-amiga-n combination WILL NOT WORK, unless you are currently in WorkBench or another WorkBench-launched program. No matter where you are, left-amiga-a will bring Syzygy back to front (unless you start another AMOS-made program). Notice that due to my foresight and because I'm such a nice guy, if you send the program to the background in the middle of a game, it will AUTOMATICALLY GO INTO PAUSE MODE! Neat, huh? This is in case some super-emergency comes up elsewhere and you don't want to bother hitting <ESC> before hitting left- amiga-a, such as your terminal program just got through to your favorite board after wardialing for 45 minutes. A word about us