1,000 Best Games for Windows/1000BestGamesForWindows.iso/sharewarefin/TVPC32.ZIP/TVPC32.txt

Text File | 1997-08-02 | 16KB | 266 lines

                        TechnoVenture version 2.0
                     Copyright (c)1997 by Ben Marty
                       Instructions & Information

     If you're new to TechnoVenture, it is an arcade-style puzzle
solving side-scrolling adventure game.  This version was written for
32-bit systems supporting DirectX.  If you've seen the DOS version of
TechnoVenture this version should be more stable, more enjoyable and
more flexible.  TechnoVenture now has music and much better sound
effects.  You can also drag the game window and the inventory to
suitable positions fitting your preference, and resize and make other
adjustments to the game window.  The only drawback is that, if you
don't have a suitable system (I believe any 486/66 MHz system or
better with at least 1 MB of video memory that supports DirectX would
be suitable), TechnoVenture 2.0 may run incredibly slow on your
system.  However, if you have a good system, it appears to me that the
DirectX version *could* run faster than the DOS version (which is too
fast anyway if you have a good system).  Currently, this version of
TechnoVenture is also completely compatible with the DOS version and
uses the exact same "maps" or "worlds".  There is one minor
compatibility problem with the DOS version though.  Recording a demo
in one version of TechnoVenture and playing it back in another may not
work as expected if the player interacted with moving objects
(especially platforms).  It is possible, however, that the demo will
play acceptably, and as a matter of fact, the demo that was
distributed with the DOS version does work with the new version.
     There are a few main points of attraction in TechnoVenture.
First of all, TechnoVenture has plot.  Unlike many games where you run
around shooting mindlessly at anything that moves, TechnoVenture
involves the player more in events that are happening and presents
puzzles to solve and can develop a plot through text messages.  The
player can talk to people, read signs and make observations about the
environment.  Second, TechnoVenture supports custom level creation.
When you receive TechnoVenture, you receive a number of "maps" which
are like pieces of the game.  These were created for distribution with
the game.  But that's not the end.  Others can develop their own
pieces to the game and add to it!  If you register TechnoVenture at
the developer level (see "Registration"), you too can develop your own
pieces to the game and make those pieces available to everyone else
who owns TechnoVenture via the TechnoVenture homepage
(http://members.aol.com/BlueMonkMN/TechnoVenture.html).  Finally, for
worried parents out there having trouble finding suitable games that
don't involve "blood and gore", I tried to reduce violence in
TechnoVenture to almost nothing while still keeping the game
enjoyable.  I didn't want to spend the extra effort to draw all that
anyway :).

How to Play
     TechnoVenture doesn't have one single objective to win the game.
Rather, since it is composed of a number of worlds that are created
independently, each world has its own objective.  The main world that
connects them all I have referred to as the "TechnoVenture Realm".
This is where the player starts at the beginning of the game.  The
player is free to enter any other world from the TechnoVenture Realm.
Near the entrance to each world is a sign or person to talk to that
describes the world, possibly a particular objective to accomplish in
that world, and how to enter that world.
     TechnoVenture can be played using either the joystick or
keyboard.  The arrows on the keyboard correspond to the directions on
the joystick.  The Ctrl key corresponds to joystick button 1 and the
spacebar corresponds to button 2.  Pushing left or right will move the
player in that direction.  Pushing up will jump.  Continuing to press
up while jumping will fly if the player has collected a jetpack and
fuel to power it.  Pressing down is usually used to go through open
doorways.  Down, however, may be associated with any function that may
occur in TechnoVenture such as displaying a message, loading a map or
changing some part of the world.  However, pressing button 1 is
usually reserved for such actions.  The most common use of button 1 is
to read signs or talk to people (which both have the same result of
displaying a message).  Button 2 is only used to fire a charge from
the stun ray. If the player has collected the stun ray device and
charges to fill it, one charge will be fired each time button 2 is
pressed.  At any time you may press the ESC key to return to the main
menu.  The F12 key will exit the program immediately.  P will pause
the game, S will save the current game and L will load a saved game.
Use "B" on the keyboard to place a time bomb.  To place a bomb with
the joystick it is also possible to press down and button 1 at the
same time.
     The inventory displays what items the player has accumulated.
Every item that the player can accumulate is displayed in the
inventory as 2 icons side-by-side.  Below the item is displayed a
number (up to 4 digits) corresponding to the quantity of that item
which the player possesses.  For instance, the first item in the
inventory is a coin.  This is depicted by a picture of two coins above
the quantity of coins that the player possesses.  For the pickaxe,
since the player can only have one, "Yes" or "No" is simply displayed
below the pickaxe icons.  For the jetpack and fuel, if the player owns
a jetpack, it will replace the leftmost fuel icon in the inventory.
Likewise, if the player owns a stun ray, it will replace the leftmost
energy cell icon in the inventory.
     It is possible to move the inventory window by clicking on it
anywhere and dragging it to another location.  The game display window
can be moved similarly.  The game display can also be resized and the
scrolling margins can be moved.  To resize the display, click and drag
the white square at the bottom right of the map display.  The display
cannot be resized to a size smaller than the scrolling margins will
allow (less than twice the size of the scrolling margin in either
direction).  The scrolling margin determines how close the robot can
get to the edge of the display before it starts scrolling to display
more in that direction.  To move the vertical scrolling margin, click
and drag the magenta square on the right side of the display window.
To move the horizontal scrolling margin, click and drag the magenta
square at the bottom size of the display window.  By default, the size
and scrolling margins are set to display exactly what the DOS version
of TechnoVenture displays.  Making the display larger can result in
seeing parts of the world which were not meant to be seen.

Items and Objects
     Every item and object which can appear is shortly documented in
the instructions screen in TechnoVenture.  Below is a more detailed
description of a few of the more complicated features of
TechnoVenture.
     A "Panto-Key" will open one door of any color, and then, like any
other key, be "used up" and disappear from the inventory.
     One jet fuel is used for every time the player gets an upward
boost while not touching the ground.  This occurs when up is pressed.
One energy cell is used up every time a charge is discharged from the
stun ray.  Fuel can only be used when the player possesses a jetpack
and energy cells can only be discharged with a stun ray.
     The pickaxe is not used up, but will continue to break through
boulders as long as the robot owns it (until the end of the
level/world/map).
     Time bombs, once placed with "B" (or down & button1) delay for
approximately 5 seconds and then explode.  Any barrels neighboring
this explosion will also explode, possibly causing a chain reaction.
If the robot touches an explosion it will be badly damaged.  However,
explosions do not extend beyond the squares in which they occur.
     Power-up items (blue beams crossing with a green circle center)
increase the player's durability.  The higher the durability, the more
damage the player can take before the robot is destroyed.  If the
durability exceeds the previous maximum for durability, the maximum
value is increased.  When the player's robot is destroyed, the player
returns to the last save position.  The save position is set at the
beginning of a level and whenever the robot touches a save/disk icon
(with a red plus).  When the player returns to the save position with
a new robot, the number of robots in the inventory is reduced by one,
and the durability/power is restored to its maximum value.  If there
are no robots left, the TechnoVenture Realm is loaded and all values
are reset (including maximum power).  Since each map/world has its own
inventory and player statistics, all inventory and statistics are
reset whenever the player enters or exits a map/world.  Saving the
position of the robot by touching a disk icon is different from saving
the game by pressing S.  S will save exactly the current state of the
game including inventory statistics and all moving object positions
(platforms, enemies, etc).  Touching a disk icon merely stores the
location of the robot and indicates where the player should return to
if the robot is destroyed.
     When travelling through magnetic fields, if the player owns
magnets, one magnet will be used up for each field element (magnet w/
arrow) that the robot touches.  Overlapping qualifies as touching as
does being directly next to a square with no pixels between the robot
and the square.
     To use a wrench, the robot should stand touching an energy orb
and press button 1.  If the orb was on, it will be turned off and any
adjacent beam will also be turned off.  If the orb was off, the orb
will be turned on and a beam will emanate from the orb in the
direction that the orb is aimed.  The beam will continue until it
reaches another opposing orb.  If there are mirrors in its path, the
beam will be reflected.  Beams do not damage the robot.  They are
simply solid blocks that the robot can walk on and cannot pass
through.
     Blue blobs, explosions, eyeballs, plasma and speed demons damage
the robot for as long as they are touching the robot.  Each has their
own way of moving.  Observe them to learn their pattern or rule.
     Platforms carry the robot along a particular predetermined route.
Ground makers do the same, but create solid blocks along the path of
their route.

Recording an Playing Back Games
     It is possible to record a game and play back previously recorded
games.  Such recordings are generally stored in files with the
extension .DEM (demo).  One demo is available by default with
TechnoVenture (TVPC000.DEM) and can easily be played back by selecting
the D option from the title screen.  To record your own demo, you must
understand how to run TechnoVenture from the command line.  From the
start menu, choose run, enter the path and file name of TVPC32.EXE
followed by a space followed by on of these options:
To record a demo, add "-r <filename>" where <filename> is the name
(without the path) of the file where the demo should be stored.
To playback a demo, add "-p <filename>" where <filename> is the name
(without the path) of the demo file.
Demo files must exist in the same directory as TVPC32.EXE.  Filenames
must not contain spaces.  When recording a demo, the S key will not
save the game.  Instead pressing S while recording a demo saves the
demo in the specified file and ends the recording (pressing S again
will save the game).
     Demo files recorded in the DOS version of TechnoVenture may not
play back correctly if replayed in this new version.  Likewise, demos
recorded with this version may not play correctly under the DOS
version.  Due to a slight difference between collision detection in
the new version and the DOS version (which I could not pinpoint
farther) the robot may react slightly differently to landing on a
platform or ground maker in the DOS version than in this new version.
And, as chaos theory would have it, one small discrepancy in the
beginning can lead to drastically different results.

Registration & Support
     Consider the following process for registering TechnoVenture:
* Download TechnoVenture and enjoy it.
-------- DOS VERSION --------
* If you like it, please send $5 to me.  You will be added to a list
 of people for whom I will provide privileged information and
 support.  I may also use this list to e-mail people with new
 information concerning TechnoVenture, updates, etc. unless requested
 otherwise.  (I've put years of my life into this game and, while the
 Amiga version of the game itself was completely free, I feel this
 version has some intrinsic value!  More than $5 in fact!).  If you
 have internet e-mail access, I can also send you a new map for
 TechnoVenture as a thank you for registering.  (specify e-mail
 address when registering)
--- 32-bit version (2.0) ---
* Send $10 to me, request TechnoVenture version 2.0 registration, and
 in return you will recieve a single 3.5" disk containing the fully
 functional version of TechnoVenture version 2.0 (32-bit) and a new
 level that was not included in the free TechnoVenture distribution.
 If you prefer (I *would* prefer), these files may be sent to you in
 the form of a compressed file attached to an e-mail message.
--------All versions--------
* If you take a particular interest in this game, You can become a
 TechnoVenture developer!  For $25 you will receive (On 2 3.5" 1.44
 Mb floppy disks):
 Latest version of TechnoVenture and all maps in the TechnoVenture
     Realm.
 TechnoVenture Map Editor to create your own maps.  (Also useful for
     "cheating" by editing saved games)
 Inclusion of your own selected works into the TechnoVenture realm.
 Publicity on the TechnoVenture homepage as a developer.
 Plus any publicity gained by incorporating your name, etc. into your
     map's messages.

Send registrations to:
Ben Marty
1530 Bellows St. Apt. 218
West St. Paul, MN  55118

[Phone: [phone]]
Specify whether you'd like "Basic" or "Developer" registration, basic
is $5 (DOS) or $10 (32-bit) and developer is $25.  Please include an
e-mail address if you have one.
Any system that can run Windows 3.11 or higher (possibly 3.1) should
be able to install and run the TechnoVenture map editor -- it is a 16-
bit compatible Visual Basic 4.0 program with online help.  Know ahead
of time that the system is intended to work as follows for
TechnoVenture developers:
     Register as a developer
     Create maps
     Send maps to me and I incorporate them into TechnoVenture
     Your name is posted on the TechnoVenture homepage with the names
          and/or descriptions of maps that you have created.
     If you wish to freely distribute your map, your map will also be
          posted on the web page.

It is possible to *play* your own maps without sending them to me, but
it is not practical to try and *distribute* your map yourself because
each map requires a slot in the main map and trying to incorporate
your map into a slot in the main map yourself may result in losing
others' maps.

I can be reached at the following e-mail addresses:
[e-mail] (old)
[e-mail] (new)
[e-mail] (newest)

Also visit the TechnoVenture Homepage if you haven't:
http://members.aol.com/BlueMonkMN/TechnoVenture.html