I developed this game as a final project for my CS class. At the end, it looked so good I decided to release it to the world as shareware. Soldiers features:
- 3D rendered graphics
- Sprites that break the 64x64 pixel barrier
- Double parallax scrolling
- 4-channel sound including background music
- Very good controls (double keypress handling, etc.)
- Sophisticated enemy intelligence
- Cool explosions
- Accelerated for Power Macintosh!
Plus many added secrets and all around fun stuff.
I will try to keep this game updated on AOL, but remember that the latest version can always be found at ftp.exeter.edu.
If you like this game and think it's fun to play and compares well with other shareware offerings, all I ask it that you send a $10 check to:
Mark Bodnar
Phillips Exeter Academy
Exeter, NH 03833
This is will help our struggling computer science department buy better computers.
Contents:
1) How to play
2) Enemies, friends, etc.
3) Version history
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HOW TO PLAY....
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You start off the game landed at your home base. To take off, press the thrust key (up arrow). Once you've cleared the ground and are in the air, you can turn clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively, with the left and right arrow keys.
(diagram of arrow keys & what they do -- sort of):
^ thrust
<- left -> right
[ ] shoot v bomb
You can fire a photon torpedo laser space destruction shot, also known as a "bullet," by pressing the trusty space bar.
To land again, maneuver your ship so it's facing _straight_ up, and let gravity carry you to the ground.
Try not to hit the ground when you are not facing straight up, because your shields will be damaged and/or you will lose shocks.
New Feature: If you have a fast Powermac, try pressing TAB to put Soldiers in turbo mode, which will attempt to run everything twice as fast as normal. If it works, it'll blow your mind. Or at least be interesting.
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OTHER THINGS
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•Your HOME BASE is where you start. Land there to replenish your shields and fuel, and to drop off hostages.
•HOSTAGE CAMPS are scattered throughout the landscape. Shoot them to blow them up and release the hostages.
•HOSTAGES are valuable. Land to catch them, then return them to the home base.
•The ENEMY FACTORY is very strong and its job is to produce supply trucks to strengthen the enemy base.
•The TRUCKS carry supplies towards the base. You can try to intercept them and blow them up. If you see a sparkly thing flying out of the explosion, grab it -- it's a bonus.
Fun thing to try: Land in front of a truck's path.
•The ENEMY BASE is a nefarious machination indeed. It produces enemy ships. The more supply trucks reach it, the stronger it gets. The goal of the game is to destroy the enemy base. While it's alive, it will produce two more kinds of enemies:
•The ATTACK CRUISER is a lithe and agile opponent in a ship similar to yours. Don't stay in one place, and don't get too close to the ground, because it likes to fire streams of shots that can be devastating if you are in their way.
•The ORBITER is a deadly foe. Both its ship and its shots are magnetically attracted to your ship. Run the shots into the ground if you can; otherwise, just destroy the orbiter as soon as possible.
Well, that's the world. Have fun. There's a cheat to give yourself full shields, but you can probably figure it out yourself. It's not too hard. It does make the game less fun though. Enjoy.
If you have read this far through the readme, you deserve to know that I will be adding lotza new features to this game over the coming month(s), including more levels, more enemies, stores, enemy hostages, and much much more. Coming soon in Soldiers of the Sun II, version 2.0.
BTW, Soldiers of the Sun I was never released, but if I get a lot of requests to upload it, I will. It's a completely different type of game, by the way.
Extra thanks go to Ingemar Ragnemalm, without whose Sprite Animation Toolkit this game would have been a lot more difficult to make.
Well I guess that's all for now -- now go play Soldiers.
Ben Spees
(the programmer)
June 17, 1995
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VERSION HISTORY
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1.1 -- 6/16/95
Added Restart after death; pause; turbo; more random bug fixes; 68k version
1.0.2 -- 6/11/95
Fixed a really weird bug with the background music
1.0.1 -- 6/9/95
Fixed a bug that can cause the screen to disappear on systems with
multiple monitors...
1.0 -- 6/4/95
Original complete version uploaded to AOL.
0.9b11
Added Orbiter enemy
0.9b10
Added Cruiser enemy with annoying AI
0.9b8
Huge explosions! Shrapnel!
0.9b6 -- sometime in early April
First functional version with hostages, bases, and camps & working scrolling