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Text File | 1996-09-08 | 19KB | 399 lines

----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ON-DISK MANUAL for ==== DEATHBALL INCARNATE ==== Copyright (c) 1996 Nathan Fouts Nef Productions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- RUNNING THE GAME ================ Type 'DBI' in the game directory. That's it. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS =================== * 33 Mhz, 80386 processor, or higher * 4 megs RAM (approx. 2,500,0000 bytes are needed) * Mouse * DOS vr 6.0 or higher. (It has not been tested on anything below 6.0) * This program does NOT have any sound support * This program does NOT have joystick support ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- STORY ===== This involves a world of two classes. All beings on this world are simply balls, but all have several innate powers. The first class is referred to as the "Commoners." They are like the proletariat and comprise around 99.9% of the population. Each has the powers called the Soul Torch, and some other, unique power, like levitation or warp speed. The remaining 0.1% of the population is the other class which is referred to as the "DeathBalls." All of these beings were once Commoners but have since been transformed into these supremely powerful entities. They form the "Council of the DeathBalls" which rules over the Commoners. A DeathBall has many violently strong powers which all Commoners envy. The DeathBall also rules over the other Commoners. It is most favorable to be a DeathBall. To be transformed a Commoner must enter and pass the "Trials of the Soul." These are five different Trials which test all sorts of abilities of the Commoner. To pass a Trial, a certain number of souls must be obtained. In each Trial, several males of species Homo sapiens are caged up like monkeys, and are scared out of their simple, little minds, thinking only of freedom. The Commoner must enter each of the different rooms and keep these men from fleeing the room. The Commoner must run the men down, then use his Soul Torch to capture that man's soul. At the end of the rooms in that Trial, the Commoner is judged by the Council of the DeathBalls. If the Commoner has enough souls to please the Council, then he may pass to the next Trial. If he passes all five Trials, he will be transformed by the Council into a DeathBall. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAYER ONE: BALL CONTROLS ========================= Player one controls the Commoner ball. His objective is to kill the men and take their souls. Here are the keyboard controls for Player One: CHARACTER: ACTION: ? Rolls Ball RIGHT > Rolls Ball LEFT < Uses your Soul Torch M Uses that Ball's Special Power ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAYER TWO: MAN CONTROLS ======================== Player two has a unique opportunity. Instead of offering a trite two-player mode with two Commoner balls in it, this game offers the ability for the second player to directly control a man. His objective is whatever he desires, whether it is to treasonously help the Commoner kill the men, or to run all the men off the screen alive, or to wander around the room while the Commoner runs every one else down. Here are the keyboard controls for Player Two: CHARACTER: ACTION: 1 Runs LEFT 2 Runs RIGHT 3 Jump up 4 Uses special ability 5 Switch man ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER DURING-GAME CONTROLS ========================== CHARACTER ACTION: <Esc> During-game menu F1 Help Q Quit game + Speed up game - Slow down game ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- GAME PLAYING SYNOPSIS ===================== The challenges of the Trials of the Soul are presented in the form of still-screen rooms. Each of these rooms will contain: men and a way to the next room. You must kill as many of these men as possible, take their souls, and then exit to the next room. There are perils in the room which can cause you to lose souls or not get the souls in the first place. You must avoid these. --------------- --------------- Read on for extended game playing information. --------------- --------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- GAME PLAY MENU ============== This the grayish rectangle in the lower-left hand of the game screen. The top number is the number of souls you currently have captured. The bottom number represents your soul meter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOUL METER ========== Your soul meter is the bottom number in the game play menu. It supplies your Soul Torch and that ball's special power with energy. As you hold down for the Soul Torch, your meter quickly decreases. If you use a special power, it will also decrease. If you do not use anything, then the meter will increase to be used again. Fifty is the max for your soul meter. Also, if you pick up the soul power-up, then it will automatically return your meter to read the max. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOSING SOULS (BAD!) =================== How could you lose if you just have to gather up souls before the end of the Trial? Well, souls can also be released from your ball. If cyan-colored, ellipses are shooting out of your ball, then that means that a soul has just been released from your ball. Check your game menu and you'll see. Souls can be released from your ball by either hitting some sort of harmful thing like: spikes, live wires, live circuitry, worm guts . . . or by getting smashed by a chomping block (Trial 2). Also, the life button can cause souls to be released from your ball. (The life button is explained in full below.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOUL POWER-UP ============= The soul power-up is the small, glowing, cyan orb with sparkles coming off it and a glowing 'S' in the middle. If you pick this up, it will return your soul meter to the max. The power-up will appear if your meter goes down to 10 or below. It will disappear if you pick it up or if your meter returns automatically to above 30. If the power-up is onscreen for a while and you haven't grabbed it, then it will relocate to another position onscreen. If the power-up is not currently near you, then wait a moment, and it will reappear somewhere different. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUTTONS, DOORS, AND CAGES ========================= In nearly every room, there are buttons, cages, and doors. Each of these are represented differently in each Trial, but their functions stay the same. There are three different types of buttons: CAGE, DOOR, and LIFE. CAGE AND DOOR BUTTONS ===================== If you press a door or cage button down and then release it, the corresponding door or cage will open. Later, as the rooms grow more difficult, often times a door button may open a door, a cage, or both. The same with a cage button. In other words it may not always do what it looks like it will. LIFE BUTTON =========== This is NOT life for you, as you might suspect. It is really a reanimation button. When activated, this will: 1. Count up the number of dead men on screen. 2. This number of souls is then removed from your ball. a. In the event that there are MORE dead men on screen than you you have souls, it will take all but one of your souls. Then, for the men who didn't get souls, they are turned into soul-less zombies. 3. The taken souls are then given back to the men. The button is activated by pressing and releasing it when it is RED. If your press and release it while it is GREEN, this is okay. It is simply reset then. The life button is BAD for you (as if you couldn't gather that). If there are no dead men on screen, then the life button will have none of the above ill effects, HOWEVER, the life button may also open cages, and doors, just like a door or cage button. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE THREE COMMONER BALLS ======================== The user has the ability to control three different balls. Each has a different radius, mass, and special power. 'MASH': THE BIG RED BALL ========================= Mash is the biggest and heaviest of the balls, but has the most control over its movement. Its special power is the Position Hold. This is similar to the ability to levitate, but you can also move Mash along through the air. So if you are holding your position, and press left or right, he will keep the same height, but can roll right out into thin air. This is extremely powerful, because it lets you make great bounds across big holes. Keep in mind, that you can also use this as your brakes. If you are rolling one way, and then want to stop and turn around quickly, instead of holding in the opposite direction which must slow you down first (because of inertia) you can tap for the Position Hold, then press in the opposite direction. 'KABOOM': THE BORING BLUE BALL =============================== He could be considered boring because he is in the middle of the other two in terms of weight and size, but he can be very formidable when his special power is used effectively. When the special power button is hit, the Jump Blast creates an explosion directly below Kaboom, which sends him flying into the air. The Jump Blast can only be activated when Kaboom is FALLING. He must be travelling downward first, then you can use the explosion. (This effectively prevents him from having a jumping capability.) But don't dispair, you only have to be barely moving downward to make it work. For instance, simply rolling down a slope will make him ready to use it. Also, you can use it for as many times as you have enough soul meter, so if you are flying up, but didn't get high enough, just as you are falling back down again, use it. You will then be sent even higher. 'THE BULLET': THE LITTLE OLE GREEN BALL ======================================== While the other two generally smash the men, the Bullet can actually kill the men in two other different ways! Play around and a little and you'll see. He is also has the fastest acceleration, so his controls might seem a little quick. Generally he is used only by an experienced player. One downfall for the Bullet might be that his mass is so small, but that's where his special power comes in! By using the Density Gain, the Bullet keeps the same radius, but his mass increases from 60kg up to 2000kg! Now you can mow the men down rather than be pushed around by them. Special gameplay notes: Remember, your special powers take require certain amounts of your soul meter to work. In addition to your general movement, Soul Torch, and individual special power, there is also a Trial-dependent special power. This may be activated when pressing a certain (secret) key combination. While this power may seem useless in the first Trial, it may mean the difference between passing and restarting some of the later Trials. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAN CONTROL EXPLICATIONS ======================== The second player may only control one man at a time. The one currently being controlled is identified by the white, shaded arrow above his head, pointing to him. The switch key, <5>, cycles through all alive men, even if they are in their cages. If there are no live men, then none of the functions may be used. The special power key, <4>, provides the man with different capabilities depending on the trial. Here are there descriptions of the special power given, when the key is held down: Trial 1: If the man is over a fan that is blowing him into the air, he can now quickly force his way down to the bottom. Trial 2: Similar to Trial 1's power, if the man is being blown upward by a whirlwind, then he can force his way down through it. Trial 3: The man can call a hookworm, if there is one directly under the ground in that spot, ready to be raised. Trial 4: If the man is riding a cloud upwards, then he can break through the cloud and fall downward. Trial 5: If the man is on the ground, then he may plant a stick of dynamite in the ground. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE TRIALS OF THE SOUL ====================== TRIAL 1: CONCRETE JUNGLE ======= Vines and moss twist around wires and cables. The great concrete statues rise above the mechanical mess. Here fans blow men and ball upward, while the red, spinning magnets only have an effect on the ball. The sharp white spikes will release a soul from the Commoner, as will any frayed electrical wires. TRIAL 2: LAIR OF THE GHûL SCARAB ======= Burrowing through the sandstone, the ancient, blood-thirsty scavenger waits for the Commoner to make another corpse ready. Small sandy whirlwinds draw the ball up into the air. The men are locked up in golden sepulchers, only to be released when the jeweled buttons are hit. The chambers hold many traps including chameleon chomping blocks ready to smash the ball, hidden passageways, and live circuitry. TRIAL 3: De VERMIS MYSTERIIS ======= Deep underground, a library older than any above ground slowly rots away as ghost-like moths flutter around. All through the soil giant worms twist and writhe. Perhaps these old books and even older worms will be of use. Then again, perhaps the men living here have already formed a union with the low-life inhabitants. TRIAL 4: HER EMERALD GARRISON ======= From deep below the earth, the Commoner is now taken to high in the sky. Here he will do battle with the foolish simian guardians . . . or perhaps not directly. The huge emerald statues cast wicked glances at the rolling adventurer. Let the clouds lift you up to greet the luscious hanging fruit. TRIAL 5: TALLOW QUARRIES ======= The final challenge takes place deep within some monstrous organism. But you'd never notice, for you'll be too busy chasing down the men as they scurry through the tunnels and shoot up through pumping blood vessels. Long abandoned, the mine still has a few movable mine carts lying around. I'm sure the feeble men could stand up against a 500kg mine cart slamming into them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE BALL EDITOR =============== This feature is provided to help customize your adventure. After selecting this option from the main menu screen, you must next select the ball which you want to edit. After selecting your ball and choosing 'Edit Ball' from the menu, you are now ready to edit your ball. You can choose colors from the bottom of the screen and then apply them to the zoomed-in picture of the ball. Only the most intense values of the colors are shown because the editor does all the of spherical shading for you (yea!). The 'clear' and black colors are not shaded. After you have finished designing the picture for your ball, quit and then select from the menu to save it. Now, the new ball design which you created will always show up on the screen of balls from which you may choose to play, until you decide to delete it. Special Note: None of these comestic changes that you make to your ball have any effect on the gameplay. Example 1: if you make your ball completely clear, the men can still see it. Example 2: if you make your ball oblong, it will still roll as though it were circular. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- REGISTRATION ============ Wanna play all the other neat-o Trials described above? Wanna get the new versions when all the bugs are fixed? Well check out the ORDER.DOC file to see how to register and get the full version. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TECHNICAL PROBLEMS ================== I probably can't help you with much but you can try to contact me at: foutsn@wabash.edu Depending on the question, I might respond. This may not be valid after June 1997. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS ======= ) * * * * * * * * * * ( PROGRAMMING, artwork, game concept, and reason there are no sound effects (boo) --- NATHAN FOUTS ) * * * * * * * * * * ( ROOM DESIGN, and main consultant for game ideas --- MATT GLADDEN ) * * * * * * * * * * ( GAME CONSULTANTS, and beta testers --- ANDREW JOHNSON RYAN MORRIS MATT GRIFFIN SCOTT RIGHTHOUSE DAVE FOUTS SAM FOUTS LIZ FOUTS CHRIS JACKSON MIKE JACKSON ) * * * * * * * * * * ( * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *