Daleks as it used to be in 1984. (Plus color and a little more.)
1. INTRODUCTION
Daleks is a very simple but yet fun game. Similar games may also have names like Escape and Robots. You are hunted by the Daleks (sometimes considered robots, but that's not true in the dr. Who films) and the object is to survive as many levels as possible by fooling the Daleks to collide with each other.
2. OTHER DALEKS GAMES FOR THE MAC.
When I wrote Classic Daleks, there were three other Daleks for the Mac that I know of:
* Daleks 0.3 by Johan Strandberg. 17k. Probably freeware.
It has almost everything I want from a Daleks game: it has animation, keyboard control, funny sounds. It doesn't save its high score list, and it doesn't support the apple menu.
* DAleks 1.0 (Mage's DAleks) by Steve Sheets. 22k. $20 shareware.
The point with this version is that it is a desc accessory (DA) rather than a stand-alone application. It has no sound, no animation, a single high score rather than a high score list and (almost) no keyboard control.
* Color Daleks by John Morgan Jr. 250k. Freeware ($5 donation.)
This game is a good shot at the task of making a better game than the ones above. Color graphics, sampled sounds, big play field with scroll bars. What bothers me is that it takes much disk space and doesn't have smooth animation.
All in all, I still felt that Daleks 0.3 was my favourite. Then, one day, I just had to fix the features lacking in it.
Recently (december 1992), one more has appeared:
* MacDrone 1.1 by Mason L. Bliss. 36k. Freeware.
MacDrone feels more or less like my original intention with Classic Daleks, except that it has no animation. B/W, some sounds (but not much and not on old systems). OK, but nothing that my first Classic Daleks didn't do.
╔and here is one that I didn't know about before:
* NEW Daleks by Bob Arning 1985. 16k. Probably freeware.
The "New" Daleks is almost as old as the old one. Looks very much like the original, but no sounds, no animation. It has a working high score list, and one unique feature: auto play.
3. SO WHY MAKE ANOTHER?
What I wanted was a Daleks with smooth animation, high score list, keyboard control from the keypad, some sounds, but still small size.
To make it small, I avoided sampled sounds except for the "collision" sound. I tried to make the other sounds, as well as the overall feel of the game, similar to Daleks 0.3. That is also why it is named "Classic Daleks".
I also added some options, to make the game fit all tastes:
- Sound can be turned off.
- Animation can be disabled, since it can be very slow on a MacPlus at high levels.
- Smart last stand option. With this enabled, the game will stop *before* you get killed. However, it will give you less points.
- No mistakes option. With this enabled, the game will refuse to make any moves that will kill you. Again, it will give you less points.
- Four different game area sizes. I know I could just set the size to the size of your screen, but that is not the point. This way you can choose the one you like. Each one has its own high score list.
Version 1.1 introduces a bunch of important changes:
- Color. It still works on b/w Macs, of course. (Otherwise it would no longer be "Classic".)
- Graphics revised to get a little bit of 3D perspective.
- The game now allows background tasks to run during "Last stand".
- Unused Sonic Screwdrivers are saved and can be used on higher levels. This is a rather big step from the classic game, but I felt it made the game so much more interesting.
- If the game is unable to write settings and scores in the appliction file, it creates a file in the System folder. Thus, it is now useable from read-only servers, locked disks and CD-ROMs.
- New sound routines. The old ones had problems under System 7.
- Configurable keys.
- Balloon help.
Version 1.2 was supposed to make only one change: It's a lot faster. I have replaced the underlying drawing routines with faster ones. CD 1.1 could be pretty slow in 8-bit color. Well, when I was at it, I changed the background color from brown to gray, and did some other cosmetic changes. I hope you like it.
4. I, AUTHOR
The game is written by Ingemar Ragnemalm. It is one of the simplest game I've made, but I think it was worthwhile anyway. Though writing it (at least the first version) was quick, the testing took some time, and I wouldn't have dared releasing it without the help (testing and ideas) from all the playtesters, Leo Breebaart, Steve Kohler, N.W. Choe, Chris Kidwell and quite a few others. Testers for 1.2: Leo Breebart, Lyman Green, Anders Lundqvist, Carl Hoeger. Thanks!
If you want more where this came from, you can order my games in two "shareware packs:
Pack #1 ($15):
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Bachman, a Pacman-style game.
Slime Invaders, a shoot-em-up game.
HeartQuest, "nice" arcade game.
MacSokoban, the Sokoban game for the Mac.
Bikaka, a hexagonal Tetris.
Hexmines, a "mines" game on hexagonal grid.
Pack #2 ($10):
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Ingemar's Skiing Game, a winter sport game.
Christmas'94, jigsaw puzzle Cristmas card
Bert, a kind of Q-Bert
Both: $20. If you don't live in the US, feel free to replace the dollars with the corresponding sum of whatever currency that is easiest (as long as it is one that I can change or swedish crowns, e.g. Lire, Yen, Pounds, D-Mark╔) If you send cash, wrap it neatly so you can't tell through the envelope.
I have also made a programming library, Sprite Animation Toolkit (SAT). SAT was not used in Classic Daleks, but it was in Bachman, Slime Invaders, HeartQuest, Bert, ISG╔ and a whole bunch of games made by others. The latest version is currently (may -95, version 2.3b4) available from ftp.lysator.liu.se.
E-mail: ingemar@lysator.liu.se
Snail mail:
Ingemar Ragnemalm
PlÜjaregatan 73
S-58330 LinkÜping
SWEDEN
5. LEGAL TERMS
This game is freeware. Give it to all your friends. Bug reports and fan mail can be sent by Internet E-mail to ingemar@lysator.liu.se.
If Classic Daleks is distributed on CD-ROMs, shareware compilations sold for profit, on a floppy sold with a book or magazine, or any other way that is not strictly non-profit, please send me a reference copy.
