1,000 Game Levels 2

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Text File | 1994-12-04 | 23KB | 501 lines

Documentation Manual For: ■ ───────────────────────────────────────────────── ■ ██████ █████ ████████ █████ ██████ █████ ███ ██ █████ ██████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ███ ███ ██ ██ ██ █████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ████ ███ ██████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ███ ██ ██ ██████ █████ ██ ██ ██ █████ ██ █████ ██ ██ █████ ██████ ██████████████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██████████████ ■ ──────────────────────────────────────────────── ■ Press F1 for help Copyright (1994) William D. Rinehart ALL RIGHTS RESERVED E-Mail: WDaveR2@aol.com ■ ──────────────────────────────────────────────── ■ This is the first version of Gemstones to have a document file to describe the game. I hope you find it useful. P.S. - Probe uses the <SCROLL LOCK> key! ■ ──────────────────────────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────── ■ C O N T E N T S ■ ───────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■ 1 - Notes from the Programmer PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS SHAREWARE HOW TO ORDER GEMSTONES III - DELUXE EDITION DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT A NOTE TO DISTRIBUTORS GEMSTONES HISTORY RANDOM LEVELS? 2 - How to play THE COMMAND LINE THE MOUSE THE MAIN MENU SETUP THE GAME 3 - The Gems (Details) ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────── ■ N O T E S F R O M T H E P R O G R A M M E R ■ ───────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■ PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Gemstones III requires a VGA monitor and at least 554 Kb of free memory to run. See your DOS documentation for assistance on optimizing memory usage. SHAREWARE Gemstones III is distributed through the Shareware concept. The author is willing to give this program to you, free of charge, in the hopes that you will like it enough to purchase the "Deluxe Edition". The essence of this distribution method is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices. Shareware provides an outstanding service to computer users, but will only continue as long as the people who write these programs are supported. Even if you don't order the "Deluxe Edition", you can help the author by sharing this program with anyone you think will enjoy it. HOW TO ORDER GEMSTONES III - DELUXE EDITION If you enjoy playing Gemstones III, you should consider purchasing Gemstones III - Deluxe Edition. To order, send a registration payment of $19.95 (US) to: William D. Rinehart 811 Reseda Dr. Houston, TX 77062 The $19.95 registration fee will license one Deluxe Edition copy for use on any one computer at any one time. The file ORDER.FRM can be printed and used in ordering. DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT Users of Gemstones III must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "Gemstones III is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Gemstones III." A NOTE TO DISTRIBUTORS Shareware distributors can receive a "certified authentic" copy of the Gemstones III by sending the author a self addressed, stamped envelope and $1.00 (to cover handling & the price of the disk). Thanks for your support! GEMSTONES HISTORY Gemstones - The original Gemstones was written as a marketing test, to measure the interest in breakout style games. The program was released in September 1993. There is no registered version. From the beginning, Gemstones has allowed as many as six players in a game and individual player difficulty levels. Twenty levels are included in the game and there are 6 types of gems. This program has also been released in a "Fun Pack for DOS" game pack, by WizardWorks Group Inc. Gemstones II - Written in response to registrations, this version added many features to the game, including sound-card support and multiple moving balls. This program was released in March 1994. A Deluxe Edition is available for $9.95. The shareware version has ten levels and 15 types of gems, while the Deluxe Edition has 55 levels and 16 types of gems. Gemstones III - Also written in response to registrations, this program has all the features originally envisioned by the programmer. The game released in December 1994, has background music and 43 types of bitmapped gems. Three difficulty levels control game speed and gem variety. The shareware version has five levels per game selected randomly from a database of ten levels. A Deluxe Edition is available for $19.95. The Deluxe Edition has twenty levels per game selected randomly from a database of 100 levels. Gemstones IV - This one is up to you! RANDOM LEVELS? Gemstones III introduces the random level concept. This multiplies the challenge of the game since you never know what level will be next. You will find yourself asking, "Should I use my last excavator on this level, or will I need one for the next". This is also the answer to not providing a save game option. Several registered users did request this. With everything else in the game, I just did not have room to put a save option into the program! Therefore, I reduced the game levels to 20 in the registered version, and select the levels randomly from 100 possible levels. This keeps the game playing time down and the interest level high. I do have a plan to include saving games in my next release. Thanks for your patience. ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────── ■ H O W T O P L A Y ■ ───────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■ THE COMMAND LINE For best results, do not run Gemstones III from within Windows. On some computers, the balls may appear to jump across the screen. To start Gemstones III from the DOS command line: 1. Change directories to the directory which has the file GEMS3.EXE in it. 2. Type "GEMS3" and press enter. THE MOUSE Within Gemstones III, the mouse buttons and movement have the following keyboard equivalents: Left mouse button = <ENTER> or <Y> (YES) Right mouse button = <ESC> or <N> (NO ) Roll left = Left arrow key Roll right = Right arrow key Roll forward = Up arrow key Roll back = Down arrow key THE MAIN MENU The main menu offers eight options: Start a game This option will initiate a new game. The player will be prompted for the number of players in the game. After the number of players has been entered, the game will prompt for each player's name, and individual difficulty level. Resume a game This option will allow a game in progress to be resumed. While a game is in progress, press <ESC> to exit to the main menu. Adjustments to game/mouse speed can be made, and the game can be resumed from where it was left. Restart a game This option will start a new game, using the player information that has already been entered. Information Select this option to see registration information, gem quick reference screens, etc... Setup This option will present a screen which can be used to configure gemstones III options (see "SETUP" below). Demo The computer will play a game when this option is selected. This option is not available while a game is in progress. Quit Select this option to exit the Gemstones III program. SETUP The first time Gemstones III is run, it will configure itself for optimum use. The setup menu allows the user to override the default configuration. Select an option to change by highlighting the option and press <ENTER>. Then, set the option to the desired state and press <ESC>. The setup menu offers four options: Computer speed This adjustment will change the speed of the ball(s). A scale is presented showing a range from 0 to 100. The game speed should be adjusted so that the ball can be comfortably blocked, at the start of the game, on the "Experienced" difficulty level. The balls will move at increasing speeds as the game progresses. Ball speeds are automatically reduced for the lower experience levels. Mouse speed Select this option to change the speed that the paddle moves. A scale is presented showing a range from 0 to 100. Sound Use this option to select the type of sound: Background Background music will play. A Soundblaster compatible sound card is required to select this option. The <B> key can be pressed to toggle background music, while a game is being played. Sound Card (Foreground only) Only the sounds of the ball will be heard. A Soundblaster compatible sound card is required to select this option. The <B> key can be pressed to toggle background music, while a game is being played. PC Speaker The PC speaker will be used for the sounds of the ball. No sound This option will disable all sound. Main menu Select this option to leave setup. THE GAME The object of Gemstones III is to clear all the gems on the screen and advance thru all the levels. The raw and processed gems are the only gems required to be removed before the player is advanced. With some clever paddle control, the other gems can be used to greatly increase a player's score. Use the paddle to change the ball trajectory by pressing the left mouse button, before the ball hits the paddle, and hold the button down until after the ball bounces off the paddle. The ball angle will vary depending on where the ball hits the paddle and the direction of ball movement (see diagram below). GOOD LUCK! +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Destinations The ball 1 ┌─┐ 2 └─┘ 3 \ \ \ Cause the ball to hit the paddle at \ location 1, with the left mouse button The paddle pressed, and it will travel to ┌─────────┐ destination 1. Location 2 will take └─────────┘ the ball to destination 2, etc... Location: 1 2 3 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Destinations The ball 3 ┌─┐ 2 └─┘ 1 / / / / The paddle ┌─────────┐ └─────────┘ Location: 1 2 3 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────── ■ T H E G E M S ( D e t a i l s ) ■ ───────────────────────────── ■ ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■ This section gives a description of the different types of Gems. Gemstones III is a "Traditional" breakout style game and the gems provide unique obstacles which must be couquered on each level. Gem │ Description ■ ─────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────── ■ Raw & Processed gems These are the only gems that are required to be hit to complete a level. These gems have different point values, based on color. Blockers These gems cannot be destroyed, but at times they can be moved or made to disappear/reappear with switcher gems. Switchers Switchers can cause some blockers to disappear, reappear or move. Gold switchers work on gold blockers, silver switchers work on silver blockers and stone switchers work on stone blockers. Switchers also activate releasers, causing them to release any balls caught. Multi-Hit These gems must be hit four times to completely break them up. Add Ball This gem will give the player an additional ball. If the player has the maximum number of balls, a 10,000 point bonus is awarded. This bonus is multiplied by the players score multiplier. Slow Down This gem causes the ball that hits it to slow down one speed value. Each ball has it's own independent speed. Speed up This gem causes the ball that hits it to speed up one speed value. Goop on Paddle This gem puts sticky goop onto the player's paddle. When the ball hits a sticky paddle, it will stick to the paddle until the player presses <ENTER> or the left mouse button. The goop will wear off after five uses. Paddle Shorter The player's paddle will be reduced in width when this gem is hit. There are three sizes of paddles. Paddle Wider The player's paddle will become wider after this gem is hit. If the paddle is already as wide as it can be, a 10,000 point bonus is awarded. This bonus is multiplied by the player's score multiplier. Multiplier Down This gem causes the current player's score multiplier to be reduced by one. Multiplier Up This gem causes the current player's score multiplier to be increased by one. If the score multiplier has already reached the maximum value of five, a 10,000 point bonus is awarded. This bonus is multiplied by the player's score multiplier (50,000 points!). Make Power Ball This gem causes the ball that hits it to become a "Power Ball". Power balls travel straight through many gems and cause double damage to Multi-Hit gems. Get Excavator Hitting this gem will earn the player an excavator, which can be used any time the system power is on. System power is on when excavators are orange in color (see system power gems below). Activate excavators by pressing the space bar. If the player has already stored up the maximum number of five excavators, a 10,000 point bonus is awarded. This bonus is multiplied by the player's score multiplier. Bonus Points These gems are worth 5000 points. Moving Ball This gem causes another moving ball to be put into play. Moving Power Ball This gem causes a moving power ball to be put into play. Who Knows? Any type of gem can be hidden by this type of gem. Hit the gem with the ball to find out its true identity. Teleporter This gem will transport the ball to one of the other Teleporters. The movement is very quick, so watch out!. Releaser This gem will catch a ball that hits it. A new ball will be put into play, just like at the beginning of a new level. The caught ball will be released when a switcher is hit. Group Hit Hit all of these types of gems on a level to gain a 10,000 point bonus. This bonus is multiplied by the player's score multiplier. Down a Level This gem will take the current player to the beginning of the previous level. Up a Level This gem terminates the current level, and advances the player to the beginning of the next level. Wall Gems 1 & 2 These gems create a barrier which will disappear when all of these gems have been hit. System Power Hitting this gem will toggle system power. The system power state is retained from level to level. Excavators will not work when system power is off, so plan carefully!