We actually got somebody to open this file! Was it the catchy title? Perhaps the icon was fascinating? Whatever the case, don't go away, we've got a lot to talk about!
FIRST THINGS FIRST
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Thank you for wasting your time and downloading Infotron¬ version 1.0. We at Q Software have wasted over a year of our time trying to make this the best game we possibly could. For those who are curious, Q Software is a group of three high school students who felt like writing a game. This is a first for all of us - first game, first mac program, first time programming with objects (which we eventually took out). We aren't genius programmers, nor do we have the time to make a 100% perfect game. In the future, you can expect to see version upgrades, alternate graphic sets, new sounds, newer levels, a level designer, and other interesting tidbits. We invite others to come up with alternate graphics and sounds sets, provided that they are sent to us first.
Infotron¬ is fully functional shareware. That means we have given you a completely working game. Even if you never pay us anything, the game will work just fine. However, we are asking for $10 if you play this game. If you pay, we will greatly appreciate it, and it might help us write better games. If you don't pay, at least we won't display an insinuating shareware message every ten seconds while you are running the program. So, for information on how to send us money, see "KEEP IN TOUCH", below. And remember: thank you for your support!
INVENTORY AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
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This package includes the following: Infotron¬ version 1.0, this Read Me! file, and a set of Info Datafiles: Infotron Sounds, Infotron Music, Infotron Pictures, Infotron Pieces, Infotron Players, and Infotron Levels. The "Info Datafiles" folder MUST be in the same folder that Infotron is in, otherwise Infotron will not load properly. If you feel that the files inside the "Info Datafiles" folder are taking up too much disk space, it is possible to remove the "Infotron Sounds" and the "Infotron Music" files. The sounds file takes up about 402k, and the music file takes up about 1MB of disk space, so if you don't like our musical or sound effects selection, you may easily delete them. This is also convenient if, for some reason, you want to run Infotron¬ off of a floppy disk. Also note that if you don't have about 3 megs of free memory, music won't always play since Infotron¬ tries to load the music into memory for speed purposes.
Ah yes, the system requirements. You need the following:
* a 640 by 480 (or bigger) color monitor in 256-color mode
* at least 2 MB of free ram. (Adjustable with "Get Info...")
* a 25Mhz '030 or better.
* a good deal of patience, because you will find this game very frustrating...
You might want the following:
* An '040 or PPC
* At least 3 MB of free ram.
* External speakers
* $1,000,000 (although that is not included in this package.)
THE STORY
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Long ago in the heyday of computing, there existed a programmer/hacker type named Alan Henderson. He sat in front of his computer all day, punching away at the keys. Between trips to the coffee pot, vending machines, and cold water dispensers, he worked day and night on creating the ultimate program which would bring him fame and fortune. (Alan politely asked us not to disclose what this program was. Sorry.) Alan also had a gumball machine which sat next to his computer. He neglected the gumballs, and never ate them. The gumballs got bored and eventually fell asleep because they simply had nothing better to do. Unfortunately for the gumballs, the computer was controlled by an evil and devious CPU that wished to cause them great harm. When the gumballs' guard went down, the computer began to send out electrical sparks which melted many of them, causing them to die a slow and agonizing death. This, of course, woke the remaining gumballs up. (Have you ever heard a gumball scream in terror? Well, you will...) The commune of gumballs quickly determined that they must stop the computer at all costs. Murphy, a bright red gumball from the center of the dispenser, agreed to go and stop the computer - despite the deadly risks involved. He forced his way out of the gumball dispenser, and managed to enter the computer through the floppy drive. Once inside, he was confronted with more than he could handle - the computer had prepared for his arrival.
The devious CPU, who will remain nameless (Pentium), had set up mazes, traps, and pitfalls for Murphy. Murphy quickly discovered that in order to escape from a level, he had to collect a certain number of infotrons (the "keys" to the exit) and get out of the level before he got killed. As Murphy, you must destroy the evil CPU and save the gumball population from imminent destruction!
(Don't get mad at us for such a lousy story - we write code, not prose.)
ALL ABOUT PLAYERS
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Infotron is a game based on "levels" and "players". Each user who wants to play must create a new "player". Every new "player" starts on the first level, Warm-Up. There are 50 levels (ranging from difficult to near-impossible), each with new tricks, traps, objects, and obstacles, and each level is harder to solve than the last. To complete a level, you must collect a certain number of infotrons and safely exit the level, without getting killed.
Ñ To create a new player, click "Player Menu" and then click "New". Type in the name of your new player, and hit return, or click "ok". Your player's data is initialized, and he is started at level one: "Warm-Up".
Ñ To select a different player, click "Choose Player" from the main menu. A list of every player that has been created will be presented; double-click on a player name, or single-click and then click "OK", and you will load that player. Players are automatically saved whenever any change to them is made; you do not need to worry about saving your player.
Ñ To delete or rename a player, choose the appropriate option from the "Player Menu". You cannot delete a player that is loaded into memory!
Ñ Murphy is controlled entirely by the keyboard. Each "player" can have his own set of keys, for convenience. When you first create a player the direction keys are:
KP 8
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KP 4 --+-- KP 6
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KP 2
Special Action Key: SPACE BAR.
See "MORE ABOUT KEYBOARD CONTROL" (below) for more information about how to control Murphy.
ALL ABOUT LEVELS
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Ñ If you want to play all of the levels in order, that is fine, but you may find it quite difficult to do so. It is possible to change the level you are on by:
1) winning a previous level (which automatically takes you to the next level)
2) choosing a different level in the "Choose Level..." dialog.
Ñ The "Choose Level..." dialog is very important to Infotron, since it adds strategy to the game by allowing you to choose when you want to play a certain level. You MUST complete levels in order, but you are allowed to "skip" up to three levels at a time. Skipping is accomplished by selecting a level name (single-click on the name) and then clicking on the "Skip" button. All levels in the "Choose Level..." dialog are color-coded to help you understand the status of your player:
* GREEN LEVEL - you have passed this level, and no longer need to play it again. (Although you can if you'd like.)
* RED LEVEL - you are not allowed to play this level yet. You must either pass other levels to advance far enough into the game to be able to play this level, or you must "skip" other levels to play this level.
* YELLOW LEVEL - this is the highest level you are allowed to play, but you have not yet passed it.
* BLUE LEVEL - any level colored blue is one which you have "skipped". You may go back and try these levels again at any time. You can only have three "skipped" levels at a time. (I.E.: If you have three "skipped" levels, and you want to skip another level, you must first beat one of the three levels you have already "skipped", before you can "skip" the newer level.)
Ñ Don't get annoyed if you can't get by a level. This game is one which will take quite a while to beat, because of the number of levels that you will have to pass. There _is_ a way to win them. Put your brain and fast reflexes into gear, and go for it! If you still think we made a mistake, and that there is no way to beat a level (which might happen considering the late nights we spent designing the levels), please contact us.
MORE ABOUT KEYBOARD CONTROL
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The standard movement keys can be held down to force Murphy to move in one direction for a long time. In addition, there is the "special" key, which is used in two cases:
Ñ To prepare a red disk for detonation (see below).
Ñ To "zap" (or chew) a space that Murphy is next to. To do this, simply hold down the special key while pressing in the direction that you want to "zap". This has the effect of walking onto the square you are zapping, except that you never actually move there. Zapping is a VERY IMPORTANT MOVE in the game, because it allows Murphy to collect items that he could not otherwise safely reach. You can only "zap" circuits, infotrons, and red disks. Be careful not to "zap" a bug or a falling infotron, because you will be killed.
Other keys are defined, but may not be changed:
Pause: CAPS LOCK
Kill Murphy: ESC
Fast Restart: "r", "p", or "s".
Use the ESC key when you are hopelessly stuck. This will allow you to kill Murphy and try the level again. Once you have died, but before the level has faded out on the screen, you can hit one of the Fast Restart keys. If you do this, you will not receive the summary screen, and you will immediately play the level again.
THE STATUS BAR
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Now that we've told you everything you might ever want to know about players and levels, it is time to talk about the game itself. Once you are playing, the top of your screen will have the actual level in it. At the bottom of the screen, you will see the status bar. The following information is displayed in the status bar:
On the top row, from left to right:
* The name of the current player
* The number of hours, minutes, and seconds that you've been playing this round
* The number of infotrons that you must still collect in order to pass the current level.
On the bottom row, from left to right:
* The name of the level you are playing
* The number of the level you are playing
* The number of red disks you have available to use.
If you have already tried to play, you might have noticed that the game is very complicated. That is because the board consists of a number of pieces, each having its own unique properties. Since this is a text-only document, we recommend that you choose "HELP" from the main menu to get a full-color tutorial on how to play. However, read this information too, since it is possibly more complete than the on-line tutorial is. After reading the information, start playing the game. You'll get used to it, we promise!
PIECES OF THE GAME
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Ñ You are Murphy, the bright red gumball. You must collect a certain number of infotrons (those weird three-circled objects that abound in the game) by eating them, and reach the exit (the big letter "E") without dying.
Ñ All around you will see circuits. Murphy can eat these circuits, but must be careful not to eat a bug (a circuit which has been sabotaged by the evil CPU) if the bug's electricity is crackling. Note that circuits can be used to trap scissors and quarks, and to keep boulders, green disks, and infotrons from falling.
Ñ Zonks are those strange round things that also show up quite often. They are very much like boulders. They are affected by gravity and other laws of physics, and will fall if there is an open space below them. Zonks will also roll off of other round objects (other zonks, infotrons, and chips) if they are piled high and have a place to go. Be careful, it is possible to create an avalanche that could crush Murphy...
Ñ Chips look like integrated circuit chips - the kind you would find in any of today's computers. They act like walls, blocking Murphy if he tries to walk into them. They have two unique properties. First, if there is an explosion nearby them, they will be destroyed. This allows Murphy to walk onto where they once were. Second, boulders and infotrons can roll off of chips, despite their rectangular nature, so be careful around them!
Ñ There are a number of types of hardware in the game. These act like walls, but they have no special properties. They will NOT be destroyed in an explosion, and boulders and infotrons will NOT roll off of them.
Ñ Look out, those aren't disks at all - they are dangerous explosives! There are three kinds of disks: ones with red labels, ones with green labels, and ones with yellow labels. Each disk has its own unique way of being detonated.
* Green disks are the easiest to detonate and therefore caution must be taken when you are nearby one. Green disks are affected by gravity - if there is an open space below them, they will fall. They can also be pushed to the right or left if Murphy tries to walk into them AND there is a blank space next to the disk in the direction Murphy is pushing. Green disks explode in three cases: (1) there is another explosion next to them, (2) they fall and hit the ground, and (3) something falls on top of them. Be very careful around these disks, since Murphy doesn't want to die!
* Red disks can be eaten by Murphy and detonated later. (Don't ask where they go after Murphy eats them - just accept the fact that gumballs have very peculiar digestive systems.) Red disks are not affected by gravity. To eat a red disk, simply walk on top of it. To explode it later on, simply hold down the special key for a few seconds, until you hear a "pop". Now release the special key, and you will hear another "pop". The disk is armed and will explode in a very short amount of time, so RUN!
* Yellow disks are the most technologically complicated. They are not affected by gravity, and can be pushed in any direction - up, down, left, or right. To explode a yellow disk, you must find the terminal on the level (a mini computer-screen with scrolling text), and touch it. Once you have done this, EVERY YELLOW DISK ON THE LEVEL will explode. This means that you had better be sure that you know where every yellow disk is, otherwise exploding the disks may have undesirable side effects, like loss of infotrons or loss of Murphy...
Ñ Using his magical gumball powers, Murphy can fit through the portals. (The strange red pipes that appear occasionally.) Many times, these portals are one-way pipes, so once Murphy is through, he'll have to find a different way back. On two-ended portals, Murphy can walk through the BIG end of the pipe, or if both ends are the same size, Murphy can walk through either end of the portal. In addition, there is a four-way portal which takes Murphy to the opposite side automatically. There must be a blank space where Murphy intends to exit the portal, otherwise he won't be able to squeeze through.
Ñ Scissors are the evil underlings of the CPU. They seem to give chase to Murphy, but there is a method to their madness. If they touch you, you will die - sliced in half by their razor-sharp blades. They can be trapped, or killed if something is dropped on top of them. When killed, they explode.
Ñ Quarks are also controlled by the devious CPU, and behave very much like scissors. However, they are more important to Murphy than scissors are. When a quark is destroyed, instead of exploding, nine infotrons emerge - Infotrons which Murphy most likely has to collect in order to escape the level. Be careful when destroying quarks near hardware, since you may not get the entire nine infotrons that you expected.
Ñ Mystery pieces: as you advance in the game, various other pieces will appear that have not been documented. It is up to you (and Murphy) to determine what these pieces do, and how to use them to your advantage...
BUT HOW?
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You might wonder where we got the idea for this game. Parts of the _idea_ were ours, but parts of the _idea_ were not ours. Those parts came from an older IBM game called "Supaplex". We tried to find the authors and more information about "Supaplex", but right now we only have names. If you were responsible in any way for the development of Supaplex, please contact us! Here are the original credits: "Supaplex" by Digital Integration Ltd. Phillip Jespersen (Program), Michael Stopp (Graphics), Robin Heydon (PC Code), Matt Smith (PC Graphics), David Whittaker (Music/FX).
Infotron¬ is a completely different game. We wrote it from scratch in Think Pascal 4.0.2, with mostly standard Pascal, but also with some Object Pascal. It also runs on a Mac, which is clearly the superior medium.
Please send the shareware fee of $10 to the snail-mail address above. Please send either U.S. cash, or a U.S. check made out to David Peck. If you cannot send any of these, then send us a cool postcard, or something little that we might find interesting.
Thanks!
CREDITS
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Infotron¬ by: David Peck, Nathan Cook, and Brooke Nelson
Some graphics and lots of help from: David Heinbuch, Daniel Sandler, and Patrick Toole
Special thanks to our beta-testers: Ian Anthony, Justin Bell, Evan Benoit, Jeff Chirikjian, Danny Gould, Blair Lee, Christopher Marts, James Nicholson and Mike Seckler.
And to our deviously wicked Computer Science teacher: Mary Ellen Verona!
LEGAL STUFF
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Infotron¬ is ⌐1994 Q Software, all rights reserved.
The music within Infotron¬ is ⌐1994 Q Software, all rights reserved.
You may distribute this software free of charge, but a shareware fee is requested (see above). If you wish to distribute this software for profit (I.E.: on a CD-ROM or floppy disk) you must have our express written permission to do so. You are allowed to distribute alternate graphics and sounds sets, but you must send them to us before you do so, and cannot request any shareware or other form of payment for them.
Q Software is not responsible for any damage caused by the use or misuse of the software contained herein. The software is provided "as-is" and no warranty, either express or implied, is made. Should a number of aardvarks (which will one day rule the universe) suddenly appear on your computer screen, Q Software is not to blame.
