Help Index
 Tiles and Tribulations ® v1.5 Help Index

 1992-96 Technological Computer Innovations Corporation

Note: This version works exclusively in Windows95.

Introduction

Game Overview

About Technological Computer Innovations

System Requirements

Sound & Music Support

Definitions

How to Play

Screen Layout

Keyboard

Scoring

Goals

Options

Level Warps

Potential Problems


  Game Overview

Tiles and Tribulations is an action arcade game for the Microsoft Windows 95 operating system environment.  The game is composed of 50 challenging levels, smooth animation, digitized sound effects, a customizable MIDI sound track, and an endless supply of rotating, falling tiles.

The goal of Tiles and Tribulations is to catch falling tiles with a keyboard-controlled paddle, and then drop the tiles into the tile bin at the bottom of the screen.  The paddle can hold up to five tiles, and the tile bin is a 5x5 matrix that will hold 25 tiles.  The player is given a total of three lives at the start of the game, and whenever a falling tile is not caught, one life is deducted from this total (additional lives can be earned every 100,000 points).  Points are awarded based on the player's ability to create vertical, horizontal, and diagonal patterns of same-colored tiles in the tile bin.  When a pattern is built, the tiles in the pattern disappear to free up room for more patterns.  If tiles are dropped into the tile bin in a random fashion, the tile bin will fill up and the game will end.  Each level has a unique goal that must be solved before the player can advance to higher levels.  Typical goals include requiring the player to accumulate points, catch 50 tiles, or build vertical lines of same-colored tiles.


  Keyboard

The following keys are defined to play Tiles and Tribulations with the keyboard:

Left Arrow	Moves the player paddle one column to the left.

Right Arrow	Moves the player paddle one column to the right.

Down Arrow	Drops the topmost tile on the player's paddle into the tile bin.

Up Arrow	Rotates the tiles on the player's paddle.

Control Key	Increases the speed of the falling tiles to accelerate game play.

Esc	Pauses game play and minimizes the game screen to an icon.

P	Pauses game play, but does not minimize the application.

O	Activates the Option button which displays the options screen.

S	Activates the Scores button which displays the hi score screen.

H	Activates the Help button which displays the game help screens.

W	Activates the Warp button which displays the warp screen.

Q	Activates the Quit button which quits the current game.

The game is over when the player fails to catch too many falling tiles or when the tile bin has been completely filled.


 Screen Layout


 Scoring

Points are awarded when tiles are dropped into the tile bin to form vertical, horizontal, and diagonal patterns made from same-colored tiles.  Bonus points are also scored at the end of each level: 25 points for each tile caught and 200 points for each empty slot remaining in the tile bin.  The following list details each of the tile patterns that earn points:

3-Tile-Vertical	4-Tile-Vertical

125 Points	5,000 Points

3-Tile-Horizontal	4-Tile-Horizontal	5-Tile-Horizontal

1,500 Points	2,500 Points	5,000 Points

3-Tile-Diagonal	4-Tile-Diagonal	5-Tile-Diagonal

2,500 Points	5,000 Points	20,000 Points

5-Tile-V	5-Tile-V

15,000 Points	15,000 Points

5-Tile-X	9-Tile-X

15,000 Points	75,000 Points


  Goals

Each level in Tiles and Tribulations has a goal that must be accomplished before play can advance to higher levels.  Some level goals are based on accumulating points or catching tiles; however, most goals deal with building a number of specific patterns, such as 3-tile-diagonals.  Building complex patterns is recommended because these complex patterns are equal to multiple simple patterns.  The following list shows equivalent values for each of the tile patterns:

1 3-Tile-Vertical	1 4-Tile-Vertical

2 3-Tile-Verticals

1 3-Tile-Horizontal	1 4-Tile-Horizontal	1 5-Tile-Horizontal

2 3-Tile-Horizontals	2 4-Tile-Horizontals

3 3-Tile-Horizontals

1 3-Tile-Diagonal	1 4-Tile-Diagonal	1 5-Tile-Diagonal

2 3-Tile-Diagonals	2 4-Tile-Diagonals

3 3-Tile-Diagonals

1 5-Tile-V	1 5-Tile-V

2 3-Tile-Diagonals	2 3-Tile-Diagonals

1 5-Tile-X	1 9-Tile-X

2 3-Tile-Diagonals	2 5-Tile-Diagonals

4 4-Tile-Diagonals

6 3-Tile-Diagonals

4 5-Tile-Vs

1 5-Tile-X


  Options

The Options dialog box can be used to set user preferences for music, sound, and game speed.  The following list outlines each of the options settings:

Speed

Slow	Tiles fall half as fast as Normal mode.

Normal	Tiles fall at a more-or-less reasonable speed.

Fast	Tiles fall twice as fast as Normal mode.

Insane	Tiles fall three times as fast as Normal mode.

Sound

Sound	Toggle sound effects on/off.

Music	Toggle background music on/off.

Misc

Use Menu	Attached a menu to the main game window.

Patterns	Allow background patterns to change as levels increase.


 Level Warps

At the end of every fifth level, a warp password will be revealed to the player.  These passwords can be used by  players to bypass lower levels and start play at later stages of the game.  For example, when level 5 is completed, a password will appear at the bottom of the "Level Complete" window.  Once this password is obtained, the player then has the option in future games of selecting the Warp function, typing in the password, and immediately starting play at the beginning of Level 6.  The Warp function can be used any time during the game to warp to a level higher than the current level.


  About Technological Computer Innovations

Technological Computer Innovations Corporation (TCI) specializes in custom software development for Windows 95(TM) and the Macintosh environments.

Please contact us with suggestions for enhancements to Tiles and Tribulations or with ideas for other programs you would like to see.

Technological Computer Innovations Corporation

255 N. Cherrywood Drive

Lafayette, CO 80026-2726

USA

 (303) 673-9046	FAX: (303) 673-9085

 Don't forget to mail in your registration card for Tiles and Tribulations.  Sending in this card will ensure that you keep up to date with all of the latest software produced by Technological Computer Innovations.  Registering your copy will also give you a registration code which you may enter to unlock all the features of the game.


 System Requirements

A 386-based DOS-compatible computer

2 MB of RAM

2 MB of available hard disk space

Microsoft Windows 95 (or higher / compatible)

Mouse or other pointing input device (optional)

VGA display resolution or higher

MPC sound card (optional)

Recommended:

A 386-based 25-MHz (or higher) DOS-compatible computer, 2 MB of RAM, a 1 GB hard disk, a VGA display, a mouse or other pointer device, and an MPC sound board with Windows 95 (using an 800x600 or greater display driver).


Sound Support

 Sound & Music Support

The background music in Tiles and Tribulations requires an MPC-compatible sound card with installed Windows 3.1 drivers.  The digitized sound effects also require a sound card for full effect, but the internal PC speaker can also be used to play these sounds if the Microsoft PC speaker driver has been installed.

The background music in Tiles and Tribulations is played from MIDI files that are located in the directory where Tiles and Tribulations is installed.  When the game program is first loaded, the game directory is scanned for MIDI files (files with the MID extension), and up to five of the MIDI files found in the scan will be played as background music.  By simply substituting the MIDI files in this directory with user selected MIDI files, the Tiles and Tribulations soundtrack can easily be customized.

To turn sound on or off, bring up the Options dialog box and change the settings.


The Index contains a list of all Help topics available for Tiles & Tribulations.  You can obtain detailed information about each topic by clicking the underlined items (also shown in highlighted text).


Glossary

 Definitions

MIDI Mapper

Control panel applet in Windows 3.1 (or 3.0 with multimedia extensions) that directs MIDI output from programs to installed MIDI devices.  See the Windows 3.1 user's reference manual for more information.

Paddle

The horizontal bar controlled by the player that is located between the tile field and the tile bin.  The paddle is used to catch tiles before the player drops the tiles into the tile bin.  The paddle can hold up to five tiles.

Tile Bin

Area located at the bottom of the playfield that can hold tiles dropped from the player's paddle.  The tile bin is a five-by-five matrix that is completely filled when each of the 25 positions contains a tile.

Tile Field

Area located above the player where tiles first appear.  When a falling tile reaches the bottom of the tile field, the player must position the paddle under the tile or a player life will be lost.


Tiles and Tribulations

Copyright [image] 1992-96

Technological Computer Innovations Corporation

Game Programmer:	Mark Lansdown

Graphics / Artwork:	Ayako Mochizuki

Music / Help System:	Don Metzler

QC / Marketing:	Doug Walgren

Win95 updates:	Don Metzler

Creative Consulting / Play Testing:

Mark Lansdown, Ayako Mochizuki, Don Metzler, Doug Walgren, Kevin Reinsch, Shane Lansdown, David Kopp, Karin Claus


Potential Problems

Distorted dialog layout: Use of graphics drivers that enlarge fonts may cause distortion of some windows in Tiles and Tribulations.  If this problem is encountered, switch to the Microsoft drivers supplied with Windows or use graphics drivers that do not manipulate font size. Ensure that small fonts are selected for your choice of display driver.

No sound track music: Verify that the MIDI mapper is correctly configured to work with your sound card.  Also ensure that there are MIDI (.MID) files located in the same subdirectory as TILES95.EXE.  Refer to the Windows 95 documentation for more information about the MIDI mapper.

Delay or loss of sound effects: It is recommended that the BUFFERS statement in the CONFIG.SYS file is set to at least 30.  If problems persist, please consult the sound card manufacturer for help in configuring the sound card to properly work in the Windows environment.