The 640 MEG Shareware Studio 2/The 640 Meg Shareware Studio CD-ROM Volume II (Data Express)(1993).ISO/games/drrudy.zip/DR_RUDY.DOC

Text File | 1992-05-07 | 23KB | 392 lines

                               DR. RUDY
                             version 1.24
                      (C) 1992 By Kevin J. North
                         Released May 7, 1992

                            * Game Manual *


1. Notice
---------

   This program is being distributed primarliy among electronic bulletin
board systems. Please distribute this file in an archive format (ARJ, ZIP,
LZH, etc.) with the following name: "RUDY124.*" where the asterisk represents
the appropriate extension.

   Please verify that the following files are present:

      DR.EXE         - Executable program file
      DR_RUDY.DOC    - This documentation manual
      DR_RUDY1.ICO   - Pills & viruses Windows icon
      DR_RUDY2.ICO   - Dr. Rudy Windows icon
      DR_RUDY3.ICO   - Title & big virus Windows icon
      ORDER.FRM      - Registration form

   The data file that the program creates, called "DR_RUDY.DAT", is created
automatically if not present, and should NOT be included in the archive file.
   This documentation manual seems to get bigger and bigger. I realize that
a lot people don't bother to read any docs, but hopefully this will be of
use to some people. It's pretty extensive for such a simple game, eh?
I've tried to cover just about everything you'd ever want to know, and I've
organized it into sections. If you simply want to read enough to get
started, read sections 2 and 3 below.


2. Introduction
---------------

   DR. RUDY is an arcade/action game for one or two players. It was written
to support 256-color VGA mode, but will also work on color EGA and CGA
systems and even do a mediocre job on old systems with no graphics at all.
   To run the program, type in "DR" at the DOS prompt and press ENTER. The
first time you run the program, you will get a message on the screen asking
you to enter the video card of your choice. Press the '1' key if you have a
VGA system, '2' if you have EGA or CGA or '3' if your computer does not
even support CGA. The choice you made will be saved to a configuration file
in the current directory called "DR_RUDY.DAT", so the next time you run the
program you won't have to choose the video card again: you will instead be
presented with a short title screen instructing you to press the space bar
to begin. At this screen you can use F10 to have the program ask for a new
video card and re-calibrate the game speed (useful if you move the game to
another computer).


3. How to play
--------------

   Dr. Rudy, a research physician for a major company, has just returned from
a one-week vacation with his family. Upon entering his office, he is surprised
to find that a virus experiment he was running has gotten out of control and
there are now viruses contaminating several other experiments. Luckily,
Dr. Rudy has a supply of vitamin capsules which are known to be lethal to the
viruses under certain conditions. It is your job to help Dr. Rudy stop the
virus infestation!
   To start a 1-player game, press the ENTER key. You will first be shown a
small "menu" of three options: "Begin Game," "Change Level" and "Change
Skill." To select an option, use the '2' key to move down and the '8' key to
move up (or use the up & down arrow keys). Press ENTER to choose an option.
Choosing "Change Level" will increase the current level by one. If the level
exceeds 15, it will "wrap around" to 0. Choosing "Change Skill" will change
the skill level of the game. Press ENTER to toggle between "EASY," "ADVANCED"
and "EXPERT." Finally, choosing "Begin Game" will start the game with the
level and skill that you selected. For your first game, you probably will
want to choose "EASY" and level 0.
   You are presented with a bottle with some viruses in it of three different
colors. Immediately Dr. Rudy presents you with a pill and it is your job to
guide the pill as it slowly falls through the bottle and place it such that
it becomes lethal to neighboring viruses.
   To move the pill to the left, press the '4' key. To move the pill to the
right, press the '6' key. It is suggested that you use the numeric keypad for
this with the "Num Lock" light on; however, extended keys are now supported and
you may use the left & right arrow keys if you like. You may also rotate pills
counterclockwise by pressing the '5' key, or speed up a pill's descent by
pressing the '2' key. The extended-key equivilent would be the keypad center
OR up arrow for rotate (some keyboards don't recognize the center), and the
down arrow for descent.
   Pills are made up of two sections, each one of the same colors as the
viruses in the bottle. By placing pills such that you get four of the same
color in a row, vertically or horizontally, the whole line disappears, taking
any viruses that were in that row with it. If you can get more than one virus
at the same time, you will get a much better score.
   Once a pill hits the bottom of the bottle, a virus or another pill,
Dr. Rudy will quickly hand you a new one. You can watch Dr. Rudy in the
upper-right hand corner of the screen to see what color pill he'll hand you
next.
   When all viruses are cleared, you go to the next level: Dr. Rudy hands you
another bottle which has four more viruses in it than last time. But you also
score more points for each virus that you destroy.
   If you can't place the vitamin pills fast enough, and they start stacking
up, you're in trouble. If the bottle fills all the way to the top, the game is
over. If you did good enough, you may get a high score - in which case you'll
be prompted to enter your initials. After entering up to 11 characters, press
ENTER.


4. Game features
----------------

   If you don't quite understand how to play, then you can watch the sample
game. Just wait about ten seconds at the title screen, and suddenly the game
will start to play by itself. Pressing the space bar will activate a brief,
built-in instructions screen.
   During game play, pressing the SPACE BAR will pause the game. (This
feature was added after several requests, because not everyone has an
extended keyboard with a PAUSE key on it, especially those running the
game on a PC or XT simulator on another type of machine.) Pressing the
SPACE BAR again will resume. Pressing ESC will bring up a message at the
top of the screen asking you if you want to abort your game. Pressing 'Y'
will abort the game immedeately; pressing 'N' will cause your current
game to resume. Pressing ESC at the title screen or sample game will
return you to DOS.
   Dr. Rudy features three different skill levels: "EASY," "ADVANCED" and
"EXPERT." In EASY mode, there are three colors of viruses and three colors
of pills: red, blue and yellow. I received many requests from people to make
the game more difficult, so I added two more skill levels. In ADVANCED mode,
a fourth color is introduced: green! Half of the blue viruses have mutated
into green, so you must eliminate them as well. Dr. Rudy will now hand you
some green pills. In EXPERT mode, there are no green viruses, but Dr. Rudy
has a whole bunch of green pills and no time to sort through them. You are
given green pills that you don't even need! You can still eliminate them by
getting four greens in a row, but they obviously can't be used to eliminate
viruses. Note: In CGA mode, a fourth color is not available, so pills and
viruses with a "drilled-out" center are used.
   Dr. Rudy features an "options menu" in which you can customize the game.
Press F10 to enter this menu. Use the 8 & 2 keys (or the up & down arrow
keys) to select an option, and press ENTER to choose it. To exit this menu,
press either ESC or F10.
   The first few options are "toggle" options, meaning that when you choose
the option the current status of that option will be reversed; i.e. from on to
off or from off to on. "Frequent save," on by default, will have the program
save your configuration file to disk every time a change is made in the options
menu or you get a new high score. If this is turned off, the options are only
saved when you exit the program. You will probably want frequent save left on
if you have a habit of turning off the computer before fully exiting programs.
   You can toggle "Game sound" and "Demo sound" to turn sound on or off during
game play and during the sample game. Sound is generated on the standard PC
internal speaker. It might be wise to turn off the sound if your roommate is
taking a nap.
   If you are in VGA mode, the option "Toggle virus animation" appears. It's
on by default, but if you find that the viruses are too distracting then you
can toggle this option to "OFF". Viruses are not animated in CGA mode.
   "Adjust game speed" allows you to change the speed of the game. The
Dr. Rudy game automatically configures its speed to your computer the first
time you run the program. It should configure itself so that pills fall
at approximately 2 lines per second. If for some reason this is not the case
on your computer, or you find the game to be too easy or too difficult, you
may want to manually change the speed. This can be done quite easily using
this option. A sample game screen will appear, after which you can press '+'
to increase the speed, or '-' to decrease the speed. When the sample game is
running at the same speed as you'd like the game to play, press any other key
and you will return to the options menu. Immedeately to the right of this
option is a number; you can use it as a relative guideline as to what speed
the game is currently set to (but remember you can't change this number
directly). Higher numbers represent faster speeds. One last note: It is
possible that the sample game will act strangely when you are adjusting the
game speed, in that it makes different moves than what it usually does. This
is normal and will not cause any problems. If the sample game ends before
you are done adjusting the speed, simply choose this option again.
   "Register your copy" allows you to enter registration information if
you decided to register your copy of the game (described in the next
section). You are prompted for your name, serial number and registration
code. Enter each item exactly as it appears on the sheet that was sent to
you, pressing ENTER after each one. If you typed in the information
correctly, you will see "CORRECT" at the bottom of the screen, and the
two-player mode will be activated. To de-register a copy of the game, you
can simply press ENTER without typing anything for all three fields.
   The last option is "See shareware screen," which displays the Dr. Rudy
shareware notice. Game policies are described in section 7 of this manual.


5. Registering your copy of the game
------------------------------------

   Dr. Rudy is currently being distributed as freeware, which means that
you are not required to send any money to the author. My goal in writing
this game is to provide entertainment for computer users of all ages, not
to make people feel guilty with yet another Shareware notice requesting
mandatory contribution. However, this program now represents approximately
100 hours of programming & development time, and I would appreciate any
contributions sent to me.
   In order to encourage users of this program to contribute, for version
1.20 I finally completed the simultaneous two-player mode, and it is
only be available to those users who have "registered." I am only asking
for $10, which should be a bargain compared to some of the other games out
there.
   To register your copy, simply make a printout of the registration form
in the file ORDER.FRM included with this program (or copy the information
from it onto a sheet of paper if you don't have a printer), fill out the
form, enclose a check or money order redeemable in the U.S. for $10 and
mail it to this address:
              Dr. Rudy Registration
              c/o Kevin J. North
              2623 S. MarVista St.
              Stillwater, OK  74074-2227
   You will receive from me (among other things) a sheet of paper which
has your name, unique serial number and registration code on it. These
can be typed in from the option "Register your copy" from the Options Menu,
as described earlier, and two-player mode will then be activated!
   Here's another bonus: Your registration will be good for all future
versions of the program! You could potentially obtain the latest version off
of your favorite BBS, enter the same codes, and have a fully registered copy
of the newest version in a few moments.


6. How to play in 2-player mode
-------------------------------

   To start a 2-player game, assuming you have registered your copy,
press ENTER from the title screen. Move the arrow to "Change Skill" and
press ENTER until "2-PLAYER" appears. You can then either select the
level you would like and start the game as described in section 3 of this
manual.
   Game play is essentially the same, but strategy is completely different.
You are playing not for points, but to beat your opponent by winning 3
games before he does. You win by either getting rid of all of your viruses
first, or by your opponent loosing by filling up his bottle to the top.
   Each player should take one side of the keyboard. The right player
obviously uses the keys on the number pad to play; the left player uses
'Q' to move left, 'E' to move right, 'W' to rotate and 'S' to drop fast.
   To make the tournament even more fun, there is a slight addition to the
game: if you manage to clear more than one row or column (not virus) using
a single pill, your opponent will not get his next pill, but instead will
get random garbage falling from the top of the bottle, and he can not play
until it is done falling. This can be used as a strategy for winning,
especially in high levels when garbage is likely to cause your opponent to
get messed up so badly that he will fill his bottle to the top and loose!


7. Other notes
--------------

   When running Dr. Rudy under Microsoft Windows on a 386 or 486 system,
it is important to turn OFF the "Detect idle time" checkbox under the
"Advanced Options" window when creating the PIF. The game will not run
correctly if idle detect is on. Also, the sound effects may be slightly
affected, due to the fact that the game is only getting a portion of the
total processor time. Finally, you may have to adjust the game speed
manually from the options menu more frequently.
   Now included with this distribution are three Microsoft Windows icons
that you can use (DR_RUDY*.ICO). They are provided for your convenience.
If you don't have Windows, you can delete them, but PLEASE, if you want
to distribute the game to others, include the icons.
   This version of Dr. Rudy (1.24) includes a new speed calibration
algorithm which will hopefully be more accurate than the previous one.
Note that if you are not satisfied with the game speed, you can always
go to the options menu and adjust it to your liking.
   This version also features text mode support -- enough so that you can
just barely play the game on a monochrome PC with no graphics. The pill
and virus graphics and colors were carefully selected so that you can
match pills with viruses in a reasonable amount of time. Adjust the
contrast on your monochrome monitor to get two distinct shades of amber.
   If you are upgrading from a version before 1.20, your old DR_RUDY.DAT
file will no longer be compatible. The game will recognize this and
create a new one for you.
   Ian Kabell played the right player in the 2-player demonstration
which, by the way, can be viewed even if you have not registered as sort
of a "sneak preview." It occurs on every other game demo. Try watching
it with demo sound turned on to hear some new sound effects.
   In the high scores display, a '+' is shown if the player achieved the
score in ADVANCED mode, and a '*' is shown if the player achieved the score
in EXPERT mode.
   This program was written using Turbo C++ 1.01, distributed by Borland
International. Graphics routines were written completely from scratch.
In upcoming versions, you can expect to see one or more of the following:
     * AdLib/Sound Blaster music support (WILL be available for
       unregistered users). This is tricky, so it may be a while, but I
       have made progress in programming the card.
     * Two-player mode in which you and your opponent can play different
       levels (a way to make the game more even).
     * Network support (the current version is NOT network-compatible).
   Finally, I wish to thank the following people who have given me ideas
or otherwise have helped me in the development of the game: Jeff Bastian,
Matt Haag, Ian D. Kabell, Robert K. Kistler, Ken Mason, Kenneth L. Love,
Louis Schmidt Jr., Eric J. Vette, Ryan P. Zerby. And a special thanks to
all those who have or plan to register the game!


8. Policies
-----------

   DR. RUDY may be copied and distributed freely as long as the executable
program file and its accompanying manual and registration form are
distributed together, and no file is modified in any way. The file
DR_RUDY.DAT that the program creates should NOT be distributed, and
CANNOT be distributed if you have registered your game (registration is
good for one person only).
   If for some reason you have not registered, and your copy of Dr. Rudy
already has 2-player mode activated, delete the file DR_RUDY.DAT and run the
program again. If it still is activated, I would appreciate your writing to
inform me that an illegal "pirated" version may be in distribution.
   This program contains no warranties, either explicit or implicit, and in
no case shall I be held responsible for any damages caused by the use or
misuse of the DR. RUDY program or its accompanying documentation. Also, the
references to "viruses" in this program have nothing to do with the
much-talked-about malicious "computer viruses" that are wandering in computer
systems. (Indeed, I, the author, am very strongly opposed to computer viruses
of any kind and their uncaring, and often naive, creators. The executable
Dr. Rudy file was compressed with LZEXE and will probably crash, warning you
immedeately, if a virus ever manages to get into the file and you try to run
it. Be sure to keep backup copies of all of your programs!)


9. Revision history
-------------------

   1.24 - Released 7 May 1992. Fixed major bug in my assembly code for
          drawing the checkerboard background in VGA that since version
          0.97 has been causing causing occasional random problems.

   1.23 - Released 6 May 1992. Speed calibration algorithm changed to
          one that will hopefully be more accurate. "Pause" key added, as
          well as a confirm prompt when a user presses ESC from the game.
          Pill lookahead at the beginning of the game and at the start of
          each 2-player round finally fixed. This resulted in a changed
          random pill algorithm, so the sample games had to be redone.
          Text mode support added as a last resort for old PC's with no
          graphics. Microsoft Windows icons added to distribution archive.

   1.21 - Released 21 March 1992. High score initials expanded from 3 to
          11 characters. Title screen rearranged to look sharper in the
          registered version. Notice added to setup mode screen to get
          people to start distributing the game correctly.

   1.20 - Released 23 February 1992. The simultaneous two-player mode is
          finally finished (and not easy either)! Two-player mode is to
          be available only to registered users, and I have added the
          file ORDER.FRM to the distribution archive and an option in the
          options menu to allow users to self-register their copy.
          Two-player demo mode also added. Format of the data file
          changed. Input routine at high score entry screen changed.

   1.12 - Released 14 December 1991. I finally figured out how to do VGA
          palette rotation - it's tricky code! The viruses in the game are
          now finally animated. I also completely restructured the options
          menu so that it's easier for me to build on it in the future.

   1.10 - Released 7 December 1991. New assembler CGA routines added which
          make the game run extremely fast under that mode; also a VGA
          assembler routine was added to slightly increase text-drawing.
          Selecting a level is now done under a sub-menu screen after ENTER
          is pressed. Two new skill levels added, which include the use of
          green pills (or drilled-out green pills in CGA). Sample game
          changed (due to change in random pill algorithm).

   1.02 - Released 12 October 1991. Minor bug which kept the PC speaker on
          after aborting a game during a sound effect is now fixed. Lower-case
          character set added. Bitmap graphics slightly modified to look even
          sharper on the screen.

   1.00 - Released 8 September 1991. The 1.00 version is finally finished!
          I added the built-in instructions screen, and new mini title
          screen - the latter allowing you to change the options for a
          different computer quite easily.

   0.97 - Released 25 August 1991. Planned as small-scale release to get the
          game released with more features as soon as possible, because with
          approaching deadlines the 1.00 version will not be ready for a
          while. This version features: Top 17 high scores which save to disk.
          Sound effects added. Options menu with sound/save toggles and easier
          speed adjustment. New assembler VGA routines which really speed up
          graphics-drawing. Extended key support.

   0.90 - Released 10 August 1991. First full release. CGA now supported.

   0.10 - Released 22 July 1991. Test version released in Stillwater, OK.
          Very few features except for the game play itself. VGA only.


10. About the author
--------------------

   I am a student Computer Science Major currently attending Michigan
Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. During the summer I have
been working as a computer programmer back home at Oklahoma State
University. I have been familiar with computers for about 8 1/2 years,
ever since my dad first brought home a Commodore 64. I love programming,
especially in C, and I have written programs in all sorts of areas from
utilites to games to graphics programs.
   Other interests include chess, amateur radio (my callsign is N5UHR),
science fiction (especially Doctor Who), music and writing.