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Precision Software Appli…tions Silver Collection 1
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Precision Software Applications Silver Collection Volume One (PSM) (1993).iso
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packrat.arj
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PACKRAT.TXT
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1993-02-15
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The Pack Rat
(c) 1992 - by Steve Blanding
Game Documentation
System Requirements:
The Pack Rat is a 256-color four-way scrolling arcade game. The heavy use of
256 color animation in this game taxes the limits of most computers. As a
result, this game requires at least a 386 micro-processor with a VGA
compatible graphics card. The game plays best on at least a 25mhz 386.
If the game appears sluggish or jerky then you may want to use the F8 key to
shrink the game window. Just push F8 while the game is playing. If it still
plays too slow, push it again. You might also try removing the score window
by pressing F10. If you want to enlarge the game window, push F9.
How to Play the Game:
In this game, you become The Pack Rat, a debonair little rodent with a
predilection for shinny little things. Your goal is to collect as many
baubles as you can.
As you move through each level, you will face challenges and obstacles as you
work to collect baubles and find your mouse hole so that you can advance to
the next level. Each level may have more than one mouse hole, each of which
will take you to a different level, so make sure you look everywhere or you
might miss something.
Points are gained by collecting baubles and completing levels. Every time you
complete a level you gain 500 points. The various baubles are scored as
follows:
Buttons.............10 points
Silver Coins........25 points
Gold Coins..........50 points
Cookies............100 points
Cheeses............250 points
You start the game with three lives and you gain a new life for each 10000
points you score. You loose a life by falling off the bottom of the screen,
falling in water, getting electrocuted, getting caught in traps, or being
caught by an enemy rat.
You control The Pack Rat by using the arrow keys and the CTRL and ALT keys.
The left and right arrows move The Pack Rat to the left and right. The CTRL
key causes him to jump. The ALT key can be used to push objects -- just hold
down the ALT key as you run into the object.
You can look up by pressing the up arrow and look down by pressing the down
arrow. But be careful when looking down, the down arrow will occasionally
dislodge a block you are standing on. A block may also be dislodged if you
jump on it too hard or too many times.
As a general rule, if there is nothing on the other side of a block, it might
not be very solid. Only bricks are so solid that they can never be moved.
HINT: Not everything is what it seems. Some things on the screen are
illusionary. You can walk right through illusionary bricks and you will not
be killed by illusionary water. Illusions often conceal hidden rooms or bonus
points.
Keys used during game play:
F1 - HELP!
F2 - toggle sound on/off
F3 - pause the game
F8 - shrink the game window (do this if the game plays too slowly)
F9 - grow the game window (do this if you want to see more at once)
F10 - hide the score box (use to gain a little more speed or to see behind it)
<- - move left
-> - move right
up - look up
down - look down and possibly dislodge the block beneath you
CTRL - jump
ALT - push
K - kill The Pack Rat (do this if you get stuck)
ESC - abort the game
How to Build Your Own Levels:
To build your own levels, you first need to enter the level editor. The level
editor allows you to edit levels one level at a time. Levels are 64 tiles
wide and 64 tiles high. They are identified by number and can have any number
from 0 to 9999. The game always starts play on level 0.
Be warned that if you save a high level, then the editor will create a file
that contains space for that level plus every level with a number less than
that, whether you have created them or not. Therefore, if you save a level as
level number 100 then you will have created a file containing at least 101
levels! That would be an extremely large file.
The default levels for The Pack Rat are compressed to save disk space but any
levels that you create using the level editor will not be compressed. This
can result in some large files so be sure that you have plenty of free disk
space if you set out to design your own levels.
You build a level by selecting a background color, placing tiles, selecting
the Pack Rat's starting position, and saving the level to a file.
Press the B key to edit the background color. The number at the bottom of the
screen will be highlighted. Use the + or - key to increase or decrease the
color value or you can enter the number using the number keys. Press enter
when you are satisfied with your selection.
Press the V key to select the level you wish to edit. Select the level number
the same way as you selected the background color.
Once you have selected a level number you can use the S key to save your level
in that slot or you can use the L key to load the level that is saved in that
slot (if one exists).
The F key allows you to enter the name of the file you want to edit. The
default name is "PACKRAT". (All level files are saved with the .LVL
extension.)
To place a tile, first select the tile you want by pressing the key that
appears beneath the tile on the menu and then use the arrow keys to move the
cursor to the desired location and place the tile with the enter key. To
select from the upper row of tiles use the shift key. Press the space bar to
clear your selection (enabling you to erase tiles with the enter key).
When you place a mouse hole you will see a number in the upper left hand
corner of the mouse hole. This number is the level that will be reached when
the player goes through this mouse hole. Put the cursor over the number and
press the + or - key to change this number.
Press F1 within the level editor for a help menu.
Press Q to leave the level editor and return to the main menu.
About The Pack Rat:
This game was begun in the fall of 1991 as a test-bed for a new graphics
engine that I was developing in my spare time. Now, more than a year later,
the game sports a completely different graphics engine and the game has
steadily evolved in to what you see before you.
Because The Pack Rat was never really intended to be more than a test-bed for
my graphics engine, some details such as sound card support, joystick support,
and mouse support were left out. I debated whether I should even release this
project but I finally decided that in spite of its short comings it turned out
to be a rather entertaining game. I figured that I might as well share it
with the world and let you enjoy it too.
As it turns out, The Pack Rat is not really a very good showcase for the
graphics engine that runs under the hood. The graphics engine is actually
capable of performing much more complex animation without serious degradation
of performance. I intend to move on to much more exciting projects now that
I'm done working on The Pack Rat.
How to Register:
The Pack Rat is being distributed under a concept called shareware. This is a
copyrighted program; however permission is granted to freely copy and
distribute this program so long as the following conditions are met:
1. This program must always be distributed with the following files:
PACKRAT.EXE -- the code for the game
PACKRAT.001 -- the default levels (encrypted)
PACKRAT.TXT -- this documentation
REGISTER.FRM -- the registration form
2. The program and its accompanying files may not be reverse-engineered,
modified, decompiled, altered or tampered with in any way.
If you have enjoyed this game, you are encouraged to register it with the
author by sending $10 along with a completed copy of the registration form to
the following address:
Steve Blanding
8501 Willows Rd. #222
Redmond, WA 98052
In return for your registration, you will receive the most up to date version
of this game (which includes the level editor) in addition to any other
shareware programs the author may have released.
Disclaimer:
This game is an independent work that is not affiliated with any software
publishing organization. The author assumes no responsibility for any damages
that might be caused by the execution of this program.