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READ.ME
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1998-04-05
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11KB
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259 lines
Macross
Version 0.33 Alpha
Source Copyright (C) 1998 Patrick & Dan Witmer.
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Contents
Disclaimer.................................................................2
Overview...................................................................3
Installation...............................................................4
Running The Software.......................................................5
System Requirements........................................................6
Troubleshooting............................................................7
Version Info...............................................................8
Where To Get The Latest Versions...........................................9
Credits....................................................................10
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Disclaimer
THIS SOFTWARE IS DISTRIBUTED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS
TO PERFORMANCE OR MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. BECAUSE OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND
SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE PUT, NO
WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. GOOD
DATA PROCESSING PROCEDURE DICTATES THAT ANY PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY
TESTED WITH NON-CRITICAL DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT. THE USER MUST
ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM AND NO LIABILITIES
ARE INCURRED UPON THE DISTRIBUTOR.
THE AUTHOR MAKES NO CLAIM TO THE SOFTWARE OR MEDIA UTILIZED THAT WAS NOT
PREVIOUSLY OWNED OR IS OWNED BY THE AUTHOR. SUCH ITEMS ARE NOTED AS
COPYRIGHTED TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS OR HOLDERS.
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Overview
This program is basically an arcade style game in a 2D horizontal
fashion. You control a Valkyrie Fighter and must battle some Zentraedi Battle
Pods.
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Installation
To install, create a directory for the program (i.e. C:\MACROSS) and
unzip the archive into that directory. The archive should be in the format
of MAC*.ZIP where * represents the version number and/or type. All the files
should be kept in the same directory. Of course, you probably already did
this but I'm telling you nonetheless.
If any of the files seem to be missing, please contact the author or
distributor, and mention that you have received an incomplete copy.
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Running The Software
To run the program, enter the directory in which you have unzipped
the game (i.e. C:\MACROSS) and type macross.exe or just macross.
CONTROLS KEY(S)
-------- -----------------
Enter Pause/Unpause the game
F1 Cheat (destroys all enemies onscreen)
(Player 1)
Move Cursor/Arrow Keys
Fire Control
Exit Escape
(Player 2 - If no Joystick detected)
Move Right - s
Left - f
Up - e
Down - c
Fire Tab
Exit Escape
If you have a problem running the game, please refer to the
troubleshooting section or email the author.
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System Requirements
OS: DOS or DOS-Compatible
CPU: Pentium/486SX/33MHz or better
Memory requirements: 4MB or more
Free hard disk space: 745.33K or more
Display: 640 x 480 resolution and 256 color capable (SVGA Compatible Video
Card)(Supports most common cards)
Sound: MIDI/Digital Compatible Sound Card(s) (Supports most common cards)
DPMI Host: A DPMI Host for DOS Protected Mode Environment. If you do not
already have a DPMI host on your computer's path (i.e. QDPMI,
386Max, Windows, etc) OR the program will not run and asks for a
DPMI host, then download a free DPMI host at
http://www.p-c-net.net/~witmer1/game/game.htm
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Troubleshooting
Speed
The program has proven to have an increased performance if run in
complete MS-DOS mode instead of a DOS Box or DOS Shell under Windows. In
addition, running SMARTDRV might possibly improve speed.
WIN95
The program will run on WIN95 systems as well as in WIN95 DOS Boxes.
However, it runs much faster in complete MS-DOS mode. Note however that some
video and sound problems might be due to running WIN95 while using the
program. Run the program at full screen whenever possible.
Win 3.1X
This program has not been tested in any DOS Boxes or windows in
windows 3.1 or 3.11. If you have any information on this, please let me know.
DPMI ??
This program requires a DPMI host. If an error message similar to
this one appears, then please read the DPMI Host section of
System Requirements.
Known Bugs:
-Display flicker on extreme upper portions of some video cards.
-Reverse Stereo sound on some cards.
-Player 2 bug in which he engages in an "autothrust" mode for some apparent
reason, if both players are alive.
Please send us any bugs you can find. Especially if the program will
not run on your computer and it meets the requirements. Note however that
the program is not yet finished, so missing items may not necessarily be
bugs:)
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Version History
0.33 Alpha
-Fixed various bugs.
-Adjusted volumes of various media playing.
-Added power bar to indicate when 1st player's reflex weapon is fully charged
by holding down control.
-Added PAUSE feature by pressing the enter key.
0.32 Alpha
-Fixed a lot of bugs, including the 2 player memory-addressing problems.
-Improved title screen menu (sounds and START/OPTIONS, though options
doesn't work yet).
-If no joystick is detected, 2nd player control will then be taken over by
the keyboard keys specified.
-The pods will shoot at you!!! Enemy firing code is non-intelligent though
and causes 2nd player to autothrust if 2 players are active on the screen.
-Reflex weapon now available for Player 1 by holding the control key down for
a few seconds (a blipping noise will repeat when you are fully powered up).
Sorry, no power and energy bars yet.
0.31 Alpha
-1 or 2 Player Selection Menu.
-Player death includes a different explosion made up of a series of annoying
random explosions of energy. Gotta find a different sound for that one.
Sometimes death can be excessive (long and drawn out). You'll see.
0.30 Alpha
-A 2nd player, yay! He (now Max) only runs by the joystick, any normal
2-button one will do.
-Also, increased number and frequency of battle pods appearing. Pilot 1 is
now Rick. Who cares.
-You can die! Mwaa a aaaah. Patrick coded generic collision code for
ship-to-ship collisions. Unfortunately, any ship that crashes (you or a pod)
instantly blows up. That is, you have only one life and no energy.
0.20 Alpha
-Added Max Pilot picture to screen. It was supposed to be Rick, but
Patrick wanted to put Max.
-Fixed bug in which ships or stars crossed into upper portion of screen.
-Added explosion animation and sound to pod destruction.
-Ai Oboetiemasuka plays as the background music in the game while the
Macross theme plays at the title screen.
0.10 Alpha
-After a hiatus of many months, Patrick returned to the project bringing his
brother Dan into the fray. Major rehaul performed on the game. Pods are
larger and look much cooler. So does the Valkyrie. Added a title screen
that zoops towards you. Removed status bar/pic from earlier versions as it
was majorly ugly. Added Macross theme as background music throughout.
0.04 Alpha
-Added energy meter/bar...
0.03 Alpha
-Added firing using CTRL key along with WAV sound effect.
-Added useless stereo panning effect for firing sound effect. Why? I dunno...
fun:)
-Enemy Pods & Bullets disappear when they collide, i.e. Pods die.
-Fixed 'spontaneous disappearing pod' bug.
-Increased speed slightly by cleaning enemy object list.
-Fixed SIGSEGV General Protection Fault error due to unknown outside
memory addressing.
-Added a rather large, sorta status bar for pic, energy, and beam?.
-Lowered pod screen range in that they sometimes appeared too high to hit.
-Added explosion sound effect for Pod death.
-Fixed Display problem with pods that somehow overlapped the status bar.
0.02 Alpha
-Currently only an Alpha Release with little done so far:)
-Optimized speed using 'dirty rectangles' and sorting the objects to cut
down on SVGA bank switching.
-Added in a generic 3 layer starfield for possible first level.
-Added small enemy 'Pods', but fly in one direction when they appear, i.e.
no intellegence;)
-One level, 30K? pixels long, self-ending.
-Added MIDI background music to level 1?.
0.01 Alpha
-Test version yielding a simple craft that one can manipulate on a black
screen. It was just an introduction into the possibilities:) Mainly to
see if I was up to the challenge.
Next 5 Things To Do?
1) Spruce up title screen some more.
2) Add player energy (bar) deduction from hits.
3) Add intelligence to enemies.
4) Add enemy "smart" fire.
5) Add reflex weaponry for second player.
6) Use RLE sprite structures to improve performance.
7) Make "kill counter" work.
8) Fix 2nd player autothrust bug.
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Where To Get The Latest Versions
Currently, you may find the latest version of Macross at
http://www.p-c-net.net/~witmer1/game/game.htm
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Credits
You may contact the authors at JongJungBu@aol.com or
Macross002@aol.com.
Credit also due to Shawn Hargreaves for his Allegro library and
routines which help speed this project along. (shawn@talula.demon.co.uk)
Credit is also due to the respective copyright owners of all media,
theme, and names used throughout these files.
Would you like to help? Contact the above authors and ask how you can help.
If you already have suggestions, comments, artwork, code, etc, then by all
means feel free to donate. Since this game is freeware, no monetary payment
can or will be made; but credit is given where credit is due. Testers are
also needed as we do not have the time nor the resources to test this game
on multiple platforms or systems. It would be most helpful if anyone could
send their system information (as shown in the system requirements section
of this read.me file), whether the game works or not,to allow us to better
support new, working releases. Thanks.