500 Game Surplus/XSurplus.iso/234/MANUAL.DOC

Text File | 1990-11-16 | 19KB | 371 lines

               Tank Wars
               Release 1.2
               Copyright (C) 1990 by Kenny Morse
               -----------------------------------------------

     If you have not done so, read the information in BOMB.TXT.
     Some information in BOMB.TXT may not be repeated in this
     file.


QUICK START:  The problem with most program instructions is that
     you can't truly envision what they're talking about until
     you've played the game.  I occasionally have to play the
     game once or twice before I can understand the
     documentation.  So now I suggest that you play this game
     once or twice before reading the rest of this document.
     Simply type BOMB to load the game.  After the title screen
     you are brought to the main menu.  Press cursor-down until
     the asterisk is beside "Games per Set", press cursor left to
     decrement it to 1.  Then go down and press return on "Start
     Set".  Then press "K" for keyboard and type your name.
     Press "C" for computer and then "S" to play against the
     easiest opponent. During the game press cursor right/left to
     raise/lower the cannon.  Press cursor up/down to
     increase/decrease power.  Press space to fire.  The object
     is to kill the computerized opponent.

MAIN MENU:  Now that you have some idea of the basics, lets get
     into more detail.  The main menu has numerous options that
     determine the play of the game.  You can use the mouse or
     keyboard to change the options.  Pressing up or down moves
     the asterisk from option to option.  Pressing cursor right
     or left changes the setting for that option.  With the mouse
     just click with the right or left mouse button on the option
     you wish to change.

     Sound Effects:  (Default Yes) Turns sound on or off.  Sound
          adds to the overall effect of the game, but there may
          be a time when you don't want it.

     Fly Sound Effects:  (Default No) In the very first version
          of this program, each weapon would make a screeching
          sound while flying through the air.  After playing two
          or three times however this gets extremely annoying,
          thus the creation of this switch.

     Crumbling Hills:  (Default 10%) The major flaw in most games
          like this is that you can blow the ground out from
          under somebody and he'll hover there like Road-Runner
          in a cartoon.  This variable can be set between 0% and
          100%.  It controls how often loose ground will fall.
          At 100% all loose ground will crumble after every shot.
          At 0%, the ground never falls, as in cartoons.

     Rebounding Walls:  (Default No) This allows you to change
          the effect the border around the screen has on the
          current shot.  When set to No, the shot will fly off
          and on the screen as gravity dictates.  When set to
          Yes, the ball will reflect off of all four walls.  This
          allows for some very interesting trick shots.  Halfway
          between the two is RND.  On this setting whether or not
          the walls rebound is purely random, and redetermined
          before each round.  You can tell whether Rebound is on
          at any given time by the presence of a purple R on the
          left side of the screen.

     Invisible Shot:  (Default No) When turned on, your shot is
          invisible while in the air.  This can speed up the
          game, but not by much.  Its main purpose is confusion
          and it works quite well, especially with rebounding
          walls because you never know just how many times it
          bounced before it landed.

     Shot Trace: (Default No) When on, your shot will leave a
          trail while flying through the air.  It can make it
          easier to determine what adjustments are needed to hit
          your enemy.  It also helps you determine whether you
          are in danger of being hit by your enemy.

     Games Per Set: (Default 10) This determine how many rounds
          will be played before the game ends.  In a short game
          your main objective is just to destroy as fast as
          possible.  In a long game you want to rack up points so
          that you can buy weapons that help you destroy.

     Tanks Fall Down: (Default Yes) This determines whether tanks
          fall when the ground is blown out from under them.
          When set to No, tanks just hover there.  When set to
          Yes, they fall and sustain damage.

     Number of Players: (Default 2) Here you select how many
          tanks will play.  This includes computer intelligences.
          From two to ten tanks can participate, but remember,
          the more tanks present, the closer they are together,
          and the better the chances that you'll get blown away
          before getting a shot off.

     Explosions Kill: (Default Yes) This determines whether or
          not those little bits of tank that fly through the air
          when someone dies can directly hurt you.  Regardless of
          this setting they can blow the ground out from under
          you and send you careening down a cliff wall.

     Start Set: () This starts the game, and brings you to the
          player selection screen.

PLAYER SELECTION:  Here is where you select who plays.  For each
     player playing you will be asked what will be controlling
     him.  Press 'K' for Keyboard, 'M' for Mouse or 'C' for
     computer.  If you selected 'M' or 'K' you will then be asked
     to enter your name.  If you selected 'C' you will then be
     asked which of the 5 computers available you wish to play
     against.  Press the letter corresponding to the name of the
     computer you wish to play.  They are described in detail
     later.
               S:   Mr. Stupid   (No Threat)
               L:   Lobber       (A threat if rebound is off)
               R:   Rifleman     (A threat if below you)
               W:   Windless Wit (A threat if there is little
                                   wind)
               B:   Lob & Shoot  (Almost always a threat)
               T:   Twanger      (Very dangerous if reflect is
                                   on, otherwise a moderate
                                   threat)

PLAYING THE GAME:  Now the game begins.  First the terrain is
     drawn.  Then each of your tanks will fall from the sky and
     land somewhere on the ground.  The tanks are placed in
     random order, so that no person gets the same position every
     game.  A random player is then selected to go first.  Each
     player takes his turn in order from left to right, until
     only one player, the winner, remains.  Then the status
     screen is displayed, showing who is currently winning, the
     rankings, and other important information.  After that,
     those who have enough points stored up will be given the
     option of buying extra weapons to supplement their arsenal.

CONTROLS:  At the top of the screen is information critical in
     planning your attack.  Next to POWER, ANGLE, and DIRECTION
     are the current values of how hard you will shoot, at what
     elevation, and in what direction.  Next to MEN is the number
     of men you currently have in your tank.  Your power is
     limited to 100*MEN.  Wind shows the current direction and
     strength of the wind.  A number between 0 and 100 is
     typical, occasionally however there will be gusts up to 800
     mph, which can have a enormous impact on your shot.  Between
     this panel and the playing field is your equipment list.  It
     consists of 20 boxes.  If a box is black, fuzzy, and hard to
     see, you don't have that item.  If a box is white you have
     that item but it is not loaded.  If a box is red it is
     loaded and armed.  Mouse and Keyboard commands are listed
     below.

     Raising/Lowering Elevation:  Pressing cursor left or right
          tilts the gun left or right respectively.  Clicking the
          left/right mouse buttons on the yellow number next to
          ANGLE has the same effect.  The gun has a full 180
          degree range, and if lowered below 0 will wrap around
          and begin climbing the other side.  Remember to look at
          your cannon direction itself, just the ANGLE number can
          be deceptive.

     Raising/Lowering Power:  Pressing cursor up or down raises
          or lowers the power respectively, by increments of 1.
          Pressing PgUp and PgDn change power by increments of
          100.  Clicking the right or left mouse buttons on the
          number next to POWER has the same effect as cursor up
          or down.  Clicking on POWER has the same effect as PgUp
          and PgDn.

     Changing Direction:  If you simply wish to reverse direction
          without changing ANGLE you can simply press 'I', or
          click on the yellow arrow next to DIRECTION with the
          mouse.

     Firing:  Pressing SPACE or RETURN will fire the gun.  It can
          be fired with the mouse by pressing both buttons at the
          same time.

     Status Information:  To obtain information on any player
          press the number key corresponding to their number.
          Press '1' for player 1, '0' for player 10, etc..  With
          the mouse simply click the left button on whomever you
          wish to obtain information about.  Press any key or
          button to put away the information screen.

     Changing Weapon:  To change the active weapon, press TAB or
          SHIFT-TAB.  These keys will cycle through all the
          weapons you currently have.  Clicking right and left
          mouse buttons on the strip of weapons above the playing
          field has the same effect.  What each weapon does is
          listed later.

     Guidance Systems:  Later in the game you may acquire
          guidance systems.  To toggle a system on or off simply
          press 'H' or 'V', or click on the white 'H' or 'V',
          depending on which system you bought.  When it asks you
          what target to aim for press cursor right/left to
          rotate through the possible targets, or simply click on
          the target with the mouse.

BUYING EQUIPMENT:  After each round you may be brought to the
     equipment screen.  Here you are presented with a list of
     what items you can buy with your current money supply (Money
     is directly related to score).  To purchase a item simply
     click on it with the mouse, or press cursor up/down to
     select it and press Return to buy it.

COMPUTERS:  There are currently 6 computers to challenge you.  I
     hope to add more, and if you have any ideas for other
     algorithms please send them to me.

     Mr. Stupid:  A complete idiot.  He just picks a random power
          and angle, and shoots.  There's no guarantee that he'll
          even shoot in the right direction.  A good opponent for
          your first game.

     Lobber:  This computer uses fairly decent logic.  He shoots
          2 random powered shots at 75 degrees.  The closest
          person to his second shot is then dubbed his target.
          He calculates how much his power needs to be altered to
          hit his target.  His third shot usually misses, but his
          fourth is usually pretty accurate.  Strong wind (150+)
          can throw his shots off, lessening him as a threat.
          Rebound completely confuses him.  He just can't
          comprehend why his shots aren't following nice
          parabolic paths.

     Rifleman:  This computer uses one of the simplest, and
          possibly most effective strategies.  If he's below you
          he simply points his turret at you, sets it at full
          power and fires.  Sometime he fires so hard that the
          bomb doesn't detonate correctly, but more often than
          not, he'll kill you.  If there are no targets above
          him, he'll just shoot randomly.

     Windless Wit:  This computer uses physics to hit his target.
          However, he has not yet figured out how to compensate
          for wind.  In low wind (0-20), you could be in trouble.
          The higher the wind, the longer you'll live.

     Lob & Shoot:  If there is no rebound, he fights as lobber.
          If there is rebound he fight as rifleman.  This can be
          very effective when rebound is set to RND.

     Twanger:  If rebound is not on, will fight just like
          Rifleman.  However, if reflect is on he will attempt to
          bounce his shot off the ceiling and nail you.  This is
          surprisingly effective (Better than I expected).


WEAPONS:  There are currently 18 weapons, and 2 guidance systems
     available for purchase.  Many of them are similar, and will
     only be described in general.  Remember that no weapons are
     perfect.  They sometimes fail to detonate correctly, and
     bore a hole through an opponents tank and fly through
     without detonating.  This happens rarely, but occasionally.

     Lead Ball:  Useless, completely useless.  It does no damage.
          It just flies.  The only time it's ever useful is when
          you want to test if you can get a decent weapon far
          enough away from you so that you won't be caught in the
          blast.  You start with 9999 of them.

     Hand Grenade:  This is a wimpy little bomb.  It has a very
          small blast range.  It can only kill a tank if it hits
          it directly.  You start with 9999 of them.

     Standard Incinerator:  These are your normal weapons.  They
          have a reasonable blast radius, and can kill fairly
          easily.  You start with 5 for every round you will
          play.

     Mark II Incinerator:  Twice the size of Standard
          Incinerators.

     Nukes:  20K and 5M Nukes explode the same as Incinerators,
          but with MUCH bigger blast radii.  5 Meg's have been
          known to take out up to 7 tanks in one explosion.

     Chain Reaction Inducers (CRI's):  These start a chain
          reaction in the ground.  Depending on the strength of
          the CRI it can do little damage, or can destroy almost
          all the ground on the screen.  CRI's are identified
          with a number followed by a 'D' or 'ND'.  The number
          determines how radioactive the reaction is. 'D's are
          much more 'fluent' than 'ND's.  It's quite hard to
          explain, but you should be able to figure it out after
          using a few.

     Sonic Blaster:  These are only helpful in games when Crumble
          is set to a low percentage.  When these hit the ground
          they emit a high pitched sonic whine, causing all loose
          ground to collapse.  These are especially helpful after
          a CRI has been released and there are tanks hanging in
          mid air on only a few pixels of ground.  This will take
          those precious pixels out from under them and send them
          careening to their death.

     Balls 'o' Dirt:  These are fairly self explanatory.  When
          they explode, instead of a big ball of fire, a big ball
          of dirt is created.  I'll leave it up to you to
          determine what you'll want to use this for.

     Explosive Dirt:  When this hits, it spews dirt up into the
          air.  It may just stay there, or it may fall back down
          depending on what you set crumble to.

     Guidance Systems:  I'll leave it up to you to figure out how
          to use these.  They're very powerful, effective, and
          easy to misuse.

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:  You can override all of the defaults on
     the command line.  The format is:
          BOMB command1 command2 command3 ....etc.
     The commands are as follows:

     SOUND EFFECTS   - S+ (ON) S- (OFF).
     FLY SOUND       - F+ (ON) F- (OFF).
     CRUMBLE         - C+ (100%) C- (0%) Cnnn (nnn%).
     REFLECT         - R+ (ON) R- (OFF) RR (RND).
     INVISIBILITY    - I+ (ON) I- (OFF).
     SHOT TRAIL      - T+ (ON) T- (OFF).
     GAMES PER SET   - Gnn (nn games).
     TANKS FALL      - D+ (ON) D- (OFF).
     EXPLOSIONS KILL - K+ (ON) K- (OFF).

     SHOW MEMORY USAGE - MEM.
     SKIP TITLE SCREEN - SKIP.

     For example, to play a 30 game set, with crumble set at 75%,
          random rebound, and shot trails you would enter the
          following.

     BOMB G30 C75 RR S+

     There is no required order.  If contradictory commands are
          issued, all but the last one will be ignored.

INTENDED ADDITIONS:  I've been building this program for the last
     6 months, and I finally got around to releasing it.  It is
     by no means complete.  I intend to add more weapons,
     shields, and parachutes.  I also intend to develop more
     computer intelligences.  I also want to change my menu,
     status, player select, and purchasing screens to full
     graphics.  I want to add some sort of a backdrop, maybe a
     starry landscape, or something like that.  Also, I hope to
     find even more ways to speed up the program without
     sacrificing any graphical effects.

REGISTRATION:  This program is distributed as Shareware.  You are
     free to try the game and make copies for others.  If you
     continue to use the game, however, you are required to pay
     the author a registration fee of $10.  In return you will be
     notified of all major releases, and will be using the
     program legally.  Send Registrations to:

          KENNY MORSE
          11800 SILENT VALLEY LANE
          GAITHERSBURG, MD 20878

     Please include your registration fee of $10, and if you have
     one, a Compuserve or Prodigy ID at which I can contact you.
     I will currently answer questions from all users via CIS or
     Prodigy.  I can be reached at TGTM35B on Prodigy, or
     76427,3305 on Compuserve.  I will answer mailed questions to
     the above address only if the asker is a registered user,
     and includes a method of reply, such as a self addressed
     stamped envelope, or Prodigy or Compuserve ID.