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1993-12-28
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R O T A K T I X
AN ARCADE PUZZLE GAME
FOR IBM AND COMPATIBLE COMPUTERS
(version 1.1)
by
Loyd L Towe
And
Data Wave Software
Copyright 1993 Data Wave Software
All Rights Reserved
******* NOTE: IN THIS SHAREWARE VERSION OF ROTAKTIX, ONLY THE ********
FIRST 3 LEVELS CAN BE PLAYED, AND NO HIGH SCORES WILL
BE SAVED TO DISK. YOU MAY PURCHASE THE ADDITIONAL
LEVELS AND FEATURES AT A VERY REASONABLE COST. PLEASE
SEE THE ORDER.FRM FILE FOR ORDERING AND PRICE INFO.
INTRODUCTION
ROTAKTIX is a game of luck, strategy and concentration. Played on a
game board that has nine vertical columns, or 'wells'. Each well is
deep enough to hold 7 game play pieces, or "tokens", hence the game
board will contain a maximum of 63 tokens. During play, tokens appear
at the top of the game board in a row of 9. The tokens are rotated
left or right using the arrow keys until they are in position for
maximum scoring, and then dropped into play by pressing the spacebar.
The amount of time you have to decide the best position, and then drop
the tokens into play is determined by the level you are playing and
shown as a "count down" timer on the info section of the game board.
If this timer reaches zero before you have dropped the tokens, it will
drop the tokens automatically, at their current position. One of the
most dynamic and challenging aspects of ROTAKTIX is that all 9 tokens
are dropped at the same time, sometimes blocking or covering up good
scoring possibilities.
Scoring is based on matching the tokens, by color, in groups of 3,
either horizontal, vertical or diagonal. These groupings are referred
to as "runs". When a run is scored, those tokens are removed from the
game board, and any remaining tokens, fall down to fill in where scored
tokens have been removed. This falling and filling in can have the
effect of creating even further runs to be scored, sort of a chain
reaction.
Each level in ROTAKTIX is played as a series of 3 goal rounds plus a
bonus round. In the first round, you are required to make a certain
number of horizontal runs in order to pass that round. Other runs
still score, but are not counted towards the round's goal. The second
goal round is vertical runs and the third diagonal. The last round of
a level is the bonus round, this round has no goal other than to make
the most runs possible within a time limit set by the level you are
playing. The time limit gets larger in proportion to the level so you
have more time to make a larger score. In addition, scoring is based
on a multiple of the level you are playing, so going to higher rounds
means a larger score. In the bonus round, the score for the round is
not added directly in, but is held and accumulated throughout the
round. At the end of the round, the accumulated score is multiplied by
the number of runs for that round. Thus, it is most desirable to
advance to bonus rounds to accumulate truly massive scores.
While going to higher levels is desirable scoring wise, it can be
undesirable as well, because at each new level an additional token
color is added to the mix, making gameplay much more difficult. At the
end of the 10th level of play the number of colors and the goals will
be reset back to their first level settings and you will have the
opportunity to play through another series of 10 level/round
combinations. The score will continue to build and the level count
will continue to rise all the while.
The game continues in this manner until the entire game board is filled
with tokens and no more can be dropped into play, or if you manually
quit the game. Your score will then be compared to the high scores
saved from previous games and you might be given an opportunity to add
your name to the list of all time high scores.
SCORING
Scoring in ROTAKTIX is calculated using the following formula:
SCORE = # OF TOKENS x 50 POINTS(PER TOKEN) x LEVEL
so for an example, you get 3 runs on a drop, 1 horizontal, 1 vertical
and 1 diagonal, on level 1:
horizontal = 3 x 50 x 1 = 150
vertical = 3 x 50 x 1 = 150
diagonal = 3 x 50 x 1 = 150
-----------------------------------------------------------------
for a total of 450
A token can be part of more than one run. It might appear as though
runs of 4 or 5 like tokens are being scored, but in reality what is
happening is that 2, 3, 4 or more runs (of 3) that share common tokens
are being scored.
Wild tokens will appear now and then, and they can match any other
token to make runs, though they score the same as regular tokens. An
example of a nice use of wild tokens would be to have 2 reds and 2
greens separated by an open slot, you drop a wild one in to the open
slot to make 2 runs, one red and one green.
GAME CONTROLS
LEFT ARROW KEY = ROTATE TOKENS LEFT
RIGHT ARROW KEY = ROTATE TOKENS RIGHT
SPACEBAR = DROP TOKENS INTO PLAY
T = TOGGLE SOUND FX ON/OFF
S = SWAP TOKEN SETS
G = TOGGLE GOAL DISPLAYS ON/OFF
ESC = QUIT THE GAME
F1 = ON-LINE HELP SCREENS
HINTS & TIPS
In the goal rounds, take your time and look for the best scoring
possibilities. In the bonus rounds, try to go as fast as you can.
Scoring in the bonus round is based on the number of runs. Be sure not
to fill up the game board though as doing this at any time during the
game, will end the game. For maximum score, avoid making the goal for
as long as possible to score higher at lower levels, again be sure not
to fill up the game board. Look for multiple runs on a drop. Look for
chain reaction scoring, i.e.: runs that will be made as a result of
tokens falling and filling in where scored tokens have been removed.
INSTALLING ROTAKTIX
While ROTAKTIX does not require hard drive installation, it is highly
recommended as it will pause for extended periods during gameplay if
played from floppy. Always use a backup copy of the ROTAKTIX master
disk if playing from floppy.
To install ROTAKTIX, place the master disk in the appropriate drive,
connect to that drive and type 'INSTALL' and press return. The
installation program will ask you the appropriate information.
REGISTERING ROTAKTIX
When you purchase the full, deluxe version of ROTAKTIX, it adds the
unlimited levels and the save high scores to disk feature. You also
get the handy quick reference manual, demo's of upcomming products,
technical support, a money saving coupon good for future Data Wave
products and a free subscription to RIPPLES the Data Wave newsletter
detailing new and exciting products.
If you have a Compuserve account, you can register ROTAKTIX online.
Just GO SWREG and search ROTAKTIX in the database. Nothing could be
easier, and you'll get the deluxe version extra fast!
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
You can get technical support for all Data Wave products via the
following methods:
E-mail to;
Internet: towel@elcsci.com
Compuserve: 70614,1721
or US Mail to;
Data Wave Software
13500 SW Pacific Hwy. #457
Portland, Oregon 97223
Unregistered software will only get limited technical support.