CD-ROM Magazin 1996 September/CD_06_96.ISO/exe/rfe.dat

Text File | 1996-01-11 | 26KB | 651 lines

@P                                  @_STARBALL PC@_

@L                   Written by Volume 11 Software Development
@L                       Published by GameTek (UK) Limited.



Summary of contents

          Controls
          Requirements
          Compatibility
IMPORTANT Recommended CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT contents
          @PStarball@O and Windows 95
          Copyright
          Credits


@DREQUIREMENTS SUMMARY

@P        - 4M of system RAM (XMS)
@P        - around 400k free conventional memory.
@P        - 486 or fast 386 system - a 486 DX-33 or higher is recommended
@P        - VLB, PCI or @F** FAST **@P ISA 100% compatible VGA card
@P        - 4M HD space



@DMAIN CONTROLS SUMMARY@O

@E        LEFT SHIFT      @PLeft Flipper
@E        RIGHT SHIFT     @PRight Flipper
@E        CONTROL         @PShake table
@E        ESCAPE          @PControl Panel
@E        F12             @PFull controls list




@FREQUIREMENTS@O

A 100% PC-compatible, with at least DOS 5.0 (or Windows 95) and 4M of
memory. @PStarball@O has few options for reducing required system power,
due to the difficulty of this process in fast arcade games. A suggested
minimum system is a 486 or fast 386 with a fast video card under DOS -
VESA local bus and PCI cards are recommended.

   @_MANY ISA CARDS MAY NOT BE USABLE EVEN ON VERY FAST PROCESSORS.@_

   At least one local bus card tested proved too slow, because some Windows
Accelerated cards still use the ISA bus under DOS. Any PCI card should have
no difficulties.

   Almost all cards could cope without the substantial effort of printing
the side panel that reports score and messages. A special option is provided
to eliminate this panel - this will make the game will run much more
quickly. To use this option, select it from the install program or run
Starball using 'starball -n' on the command line. Being unable to see
messages and score is rather crippling but the game is still fairly
playable. In general, this will be required on almost all ISA cards.

   @PStarball@O requires a certain minimum amount of free XMS memory to run,
and on a 4 Megabyte machine this will be fairly close to all the memory
available. A minimum configuration may possibly be required. @PStarball@O's
conventional memory demands are not great, and since using an extended memory
manager such as EMM386 or QEMM to provide access to upper memory blocks
will reduce the amount of XMS available, it is recommended that on 4M
machines these are not used. @PStarball@O does not use EMS in any way.

   If you have ANY compatibility problems, first check the list in the
FAQ (option available from the install menu) and see if any of these
questions match yours.

   Every effort has been made to make @PStarball@O work on as many PC
systems as possible.

   Please, write to inform us of compatibility difficulties or unusual
problems to aid in future releases. Volume 11 Software can be contacted
directly on:
@J        Volume 11 Software
@J        PO Box 311
@J        Broughton
@J        Preston
@J        PR3 5DZ
Please include an SAE if you would like a reply, and allow plenty of time
for an answer.


   @PStarball PC@O has been designed around a 72Hz framerate. In the unlikely
case that your video card does NOT use 72Hz for 320x200 then @PStarball@O may
play slightly differently, and may have problems with jerkiness, slowdown,
and/or distortion to digitised sound. There may be a utility provided
with your video card to change the frame rates in different video modes. (This
problem has NOT been encountered in testing, but in a locked-framerate game
like this it does need mentioning). The game time will also be wrong.




@FCONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT SUGGESTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

No memory managers are required to run this software, including those
such as EMM386 or QEMM. However, if DOS/4GW reports errors or crashes
inexplicably, one of these managers may provide additional VCPI or DPMI
services, which may assist DOS/4GW in handling protected mode on your
specific hardware configuration. They will however reduce the amount of
available memory to the point where you may be unable to play the game.


        @KIMPORTANT: @LDISABLE ANY WRITE-CACHE

   If any form of disk cache is used, disable write caching under this
software. If write caching is not disabled, there is the possibility of
lost data if correct switch-off procedures are not followed. @_Never@_ switch
the game off without correctly exiting if running under any disk cache or
Windows 95.


        @KIMPORTANT: @LVESA POWER MANAGEMENT

Some power-management drivers may cause the monitor to turn off during
play. If this happens, moving the mouse may restore the picture (but
using the keyboard probably will not). To prevent this occurring,
disable the power-management driver before starting @PStarball@O.


        @KGENERALLY IMPORTANT

Volume 11 Software cannot be responsible for any failure of this program
when non-supported devices, device drivers or TSR's are present.
No device, driver or TSR can be defined as officially supported unless
explicitly defined as so by Volume 11 Software. All 100% VGA compatible
video cards (ModeX valid) are supported.


        @LCOMPRESSION SOFTWARE

@PStarball@O may be installed on a compressed drive, and this will result
in a dramatic saving in occupied disk space. Although no problems have
been experienced in testing, Volume 11 Software cannot be held responsible
in the unlikely event of a failure. Starball has only been tested using
the MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 95 Drivespace.


   If any compatibility problem is encountered, the first step is to
take a tactical chainsaw to your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. DOS help
will instruct you on how to construct good configuration. Some DOS
versions include the option for multiple configurations. However, in most
circumstances this will be unnecessary.





@FSOUND AND SOUND COMPATIBILITY NOTES

   Music is computationally quite expensive. Some sound cards are slow to
accept data, while others require a large amount of data to be sent. Worse,
although the drain placed on the processor is very low on average, it peaks
when notes change all at once. On most non-locked framerate games this is
not a problem, but here the result is that the game may occasionally drop
frames under certain music drivers. The processor type often has little
effect on many of these: a fast processor takes about the same time as
a slow one. However, since the processor also has a lot of other things
to do, a fast processor will make frame drop less likely. If a frame-drop
occurs and is annoying, disabling of music will probably stop this happening.

   There is an inconsistency in some Soundblaster Pro 2 and 16 cards with
the timing required for their OPL3 FM chip. The timing windows for these
cards have been expanded and no problems have been experienced in testing,
but there is a possiblity of distorted FM sound on these cards. If this
occurs, select ADVANCED setup, and OPL2 FM, Pro or 16 digital, and mixer.

   Some IBM Blue Lightning machines have an internal fault (probably in
the DMA controller) that often prevents sound cards from working properly.
We have heard there is a fix for this but have been unable to obtain it.
If you have this problem, you may experience trouble getting clean digital
sound. Changing the sound card type may help (our test machine worked more
or less OK on Soundblaster 16 with the AWE32, and fairly well on Soundblaster
Pro 2 with a Pro 2 in, but wouldn't work at all on plain Soundblaster mode
with either card). Most other games tested on the same machine experienced
similar or worse problems.

   If your sound card uses an IRQ greater than 7, there is a chance that
Starball's digital sound will not work properly. If this happens, change
the IRQ to one below 8. However, carefully checking that all the system
software for your card is being correctly installed may fix the problem.

   If using a card without an on-board mixer, the best sound quality will be
achieved by setting DIGITAL SOUND VOLUME and MASTER VOLUME to maximum - this
is because scaling the volume levels in software rather than in the mixer
inevitably reduces dynamic range. The effect is significantly less noticable
on music than on digital sound, so if you set the digital/master volumes
to maximum, set your speakers/amplifier to the desired level, then adjust
the music volume to be right, you will have the best quality sound possible.
These are the default volume levels.


@FTHE GRAVIS ULTRASOUND

   The Gravis Ultrasound support as used here in @PStarball@O provides
excellent music quality approaching that of the AWE32. Unfortunately,
due to several problems (often caused by the absolute necessity of a
locked frame-rate under @PStarball@O) the digital sound is not of the
highest quality, and there are a lot of potential compatibility problems...

   The Gravis Ultrasound support requires that your environment variables
and Ultrasound directory are set up properly as by the original install
program. The Ultrasound default patches must be present in \MIDI in the
Ultrasound directory. If you do not have correct setup and the game fails
with 'environment variable not found' or 'patch file open failed', re-run
your Ultrasound install and/or SETGUS, which should set everything up
correctly.

   Due to the way in which the Gravis Ultrasound signals interrupts to
the main processor, game response when using a Gravis is likely to be
somewhat jerky. @_WINDOWS 95 MUST NOT BE USED WITH AN ULTRASOUND EXCEPT@_
@_IN MS-DOS MODE@_ - see below. The Ultrasound patch map is in the text
file 'gpatch.dat' - you can modify this file if you want. To aid this
process, the game reports (briefly) the amount of memory used by the
patches to let you know how much extra memory you can try to use.

   If mixing sound cards, note that if Ultrasound digital sound is selected
then Ultrasound music is automatically selected as well. However, Ultrasound
music can be selected if a different type of card is used for digital sound
(and the digital sound, music, and game speed should all be of excellent
quality). Volume settings may not function correctly if two sound cards
are installed, as this will depend on the type of sound and your chosen
method of mixing the output from both cards. Using a Soundblaster digital
device instead of the Ultrasound will clearly improve playback quality and
game speed (because Soundblaster digital sound is simpler than the
Ultrasound).

   Given the choice, we recommend the AWE32 as the easiest and highest
quality support provided in Starball, although a Gravis/Soundblaster mix
will also provide excellent results.


@FMUSIC CARD SPEED TABLE

    Soundblaster AWE32 (FM Mode)
    Soundblaster 16
    Soundblaster Pro II             @PVERY FAST (processor dependent)

    Gravis Ultrasound               @POK (processor dependent)

    Soundblaster AWE32              @PSLOW (slightly processor dependent)

    Soundblaster
    Soundblaster Pro I              @PVERY SLOW (not processor dependent)





@FSTARBALL AND WINDOWS

@PStarball@O will not run under Windows 3.1 or 3.11. It should run fine under
Windows 95. However, there are a few important points that should be noted
if you are using Windows 95.

   @PStarball@O does not normally require 'MS-DOS Mode'. However, on a
few systems either @PStarball@O or the install program may not run correctly
unless run in MS-DOS Mode. In order to do this, click the right button on the
program icon, select Properties - Program - Advanced and click on 'Set
MS-DOS Mode', or press F8 when the 'Starting Windows 95' message appears
on reboot and select Command Prompt, then run @PStarball@O or the install
from the command line.

   MS-DOS mode @_WILL@_ be required if you are using a Gravis Ultrasound. The
(old) Windows driver for the Gravis prevents @PStarball@O from loading
patch data into the Ultrasound if it is active. There is also an interrupt
(DPMI) problem which we have been unable to fix (Windows' VMM/VPIC modules
keep reporting errors under 95 that don't exist under DOS) that will cause
occasional crashes if running under 95.

   Windows 95 also does steal a varying amount of processor time from the
main application to support multitasking and other things. This may result
(depending on your system speed) in jerkiness, slowdown and sound distortion.
If you have a network installed and are running under Windows 95 then
the game may pause for about a second four times in a row about once every
five minutes on a regular basis. To avoid all these problems use the
'MS-DOS Mode' option which will completely unload Windows 95 resulting
in the entire resources of your PC being presented to @PStarball@O. This
may also be required if your PC has only 4 Megabytes of memory. In general,
it is likely this option will be recommended on any machine without a
Pentium or comparable processor.

   Some problems have been reported when using @PStarball@O on some PC's with
more than 8M of memory and Windows 95, which is probably an internal feature
of the Windows 95 beta memory manager, and probably does not exist in the
final release. If you are running under 95 and Starball insists there is not
enough memory avaiable, change 'DPMI memory usage' in Properties-Memory from
AUTO to 8192k. It should also be solved by switching to MS-DOS Mode.

   Also, some of Windows 95's accessibility options have keyboard shortcuts
that can be activated by pressing or holding shift keys. If the game halts,
and a message appears to this effect, select the check box marked 'Disable
keyboard shortcut for this feature', and it will not bother you again, or
uninstall accessibility options (which few users will require).

   Under Windows 95, the game time is likely to be out by quite a lot,
up to about 10%.

   Should @PStarball@O fail with Windows 95 unable to recover (a very rare
occurrence due to the excellent Virtual Machine manager under Windows 95)
there is the possiblity of data loss in other running applications. We
recommend saving all important work before playing @_any@_ MS-DOS game
while still running Windows 95. Just as importantly, every background
application running will steal a larger chunk of processor time from
the game when Windows pre-empts the process. As a result, with one other
application running the game will freeze for one frame (on a DX2-66) about
every eight frames, and with more applications running there may be even
longer freezes. We recommend closing all background applications.


@LSUMMARY:@P Select MS-DOS Mode:

@L            ALWAYS                  IF PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
   Gravis Ultrasound used                Only 4M Memory
  Network support installed           non-Pentium processor
                                Any Windows 95 crash occurs in play
                                        'Jerky' graphics





@ICOPYRIGHT NOTICES@O

@PStarball PC@O is Copyright 1992-1995 Volume 11 Software.

Algorithmic design copyright Volume 11 Software.

All program code, in 68000 assembly, C, 80x86 assembly, Table Definition
Language (VNPL) or their compiled or assembled code is the copyright of
David R. Oldcorn and Volume 11 Software.

All graphics are copyright Volume 11 Software.

All music is copyright David R. Oldcorn, Robert F. Oldcorn and Volume 11
Software. This music may not be separated from the game by any means,
without the prior permission of Volume 11 Software. Permission is granted
to make a single copy of the audio output only of the music to another
medium for personal use only.

@PStarball PC@O is distributed under license by GameTek (UK) Ltd. All
enquiries about sales, marketing and purchasing should be directed to
GameTek (UK).

All sound effects are used under license. They may not be separated from
the game or used for any other reason.

No attempt may be made to modify, disassemble or reverse engineer this
software without express permission of Volume 11 Software.

Permission is granted to use the supplied install program to make one
install onto the hard disk drive of a single PC. The user may also make
one backup copy of the disk or disks on which @PStarball PC@O is supplied.
The user is responsible for the security of these items. Should any copy,
known or unknown, be made from that user's @PStarball PC@O then the user will
be held responsible. At no point may one user's copy be running on more
than one PC at once.

If this game is to be erased, please remember it is possible to undelete
files from a hard disk. Leaving a copy in a state where it can be undeleted
is also a violation of copyright. All deletion must be made final.

Distribution of this game by any means and on any medium including but not
limited to floppy disk, CD, BBS, and network (LAN or WAN including the
Internet) without the prior written permission of GameTek UK is not
permitted. Making this software available as part of a shared drive on
a network is expressly forbidden. All shares of this software must be
disabled. This game may not be distributed on a 'try-before-you-buy' basis
under ANY circumstances unless written approval has been obtained from
GameTek (UK).




@FCONTROL AND GAMEPLAY NOTES

   The 'table shaker' is provided because there are a few reasonably
forseeable circumstances where the ball becomes stuck.

   Relative gamma correction is available. If the picture appears dark on
your monitor, or you have to lift the brightness until the background
no longer appears black, use the gamma correction option. This maintains
black and white at their current brightness, and slides the scale of
colours in between. The best picture can then be attained by setting
your monitor with black as dark as possible using brightness, white
at your desired maximum brightness for white using contrast, and then
use the gamma correction until you see the dark colours clearly. Testing
is best done on a darkish screen - e.g. the middle section of the main
table.


A thesaurus may be required to understand some parts of this game.



@FNOTES ABOUT THE POP QUIZ

1. This is not meant to be serious.

2. If you aren't from Britain, don't be surprised if you can't get half the
   answers.

3. Most of the questions have more than one correct answer.




@FTHE STARBALL BONUS SCREENS

Invaderball
Eggball
Breakball
Doomedball
and ... the Secret Bonus Screen?






@FResources used to create @PStarball PC@F:

   @PStarball PC@O was developed based on @PStarball Special Edition@O (SE)
for the Atari ST. The development of SE was a long (over two year) process.
@PStarball PC@O is internally completely redesigned.

Throughout this list (and the rest of this document) several names used
are trademarks of various companies or individuals.

@DDJGPP, @Cthe PC version of the GCC compiler
        This (free) compiler was used for some early development and testing.

@DWatcom C/C++ 10.0a
        The superb compiler used to produce later versions.

@DDOS/4GW, @CRational Systems
        DOS extender and DPMI.

@DThe C Programming Language, @CKernighan & Ritchie
        Essential C reference manual.

@Di486 Microprocessor Programmer's Reference Manual, @CIntel
        General reference manual for 486 code and timing.

@DThe PC Game Programmers Encyclopaedia
        This reference guide was produced by a large number of persons on
        the Internet, and was very useful for some basic PC training and
        descriptions of file formats.

@DSoundblaster Programming Information v0.9, @CAndre Baresel & Craig Jackson
        Textbook-detail reference manual for SB FM and DMA, obtained from
        the Internet.

@DDX2-66/8M, 420M HD with AWE32 & CD, @CScan Computers
        Main development workstation.

@DFalcon 030 4M/65, @CAtari Computers
        Main graphics workstation. Also used to generate some sound effects.

@DAldus Photostyler
        Image-processing for colour depth reduction and editing.

@DCakeWalk Apprentice, @CTwelve Tone Systems
        MIDI sequencer software.

@DRoland D-10 LA Synthesiser
        MIDI controller keyboard and synth.

@DCreative Wavestudio, @CCreative Labs
        Sampler editor software.

@DYamaha SPX-90 Multieffects processor, @CUMIST Events
@DAlesis Quadraverb
@DShure SM58 Vocal microphone
        Mic, FX and reverb units used in voice production and mixing.
        Thanks to UMIST Events for the use of these items.

@DThe AWE32 Developers Kit, @CCreative Labs
        Developers guide and libraries for the AWE 32 in protected mode.

@DThe Gravis Ultrasound SDK, @CForte Technologies
        Comprehensive if flawed Ultrasound information and libraries.
        Thanks to Mike Guy for use of his Ultrasound for two weeks.

@DLHA Version 2.13, @CHaruyasu Yoshizaki (YOSHI)
        Compression software. This software is a copyright-reserved
        free program, and is copyright Haruyasu Yoshizaki.




@FTECHNICAL WAFFLEY BIT

@PStarball@O's table interpreter is written mostly in ANSI-ish C using
protected mode with a flat memory model, handled by DOS/4GW. Assembly
language is used for the inner loops of time-critical graphics routines
and interrupts.
   The sound system is a separate set of custom libraries using the
AWE32 and Gravis developer kits - the AWE32 support uses their high-level
library, while the FM and Ultrasound midi players use only low-level
hardware abstraction libraries - in the Ultrasound's case, a heavily
patched-up version of the libraries in their SDK.
   The install program was written originally in protected mode and then
converted to real mode to save space on the installation disk.
   The tables are written in a custom procedural language called VNPL
created and optimised for the operation of a graphics system in a
realtime environment, with specific extensions for pinball.
   Graphics were drawn in 16-bit colour on an Atari Falcon (using a custom
art package written in four hours in 68000 assembly) and transferred as
24-bit colour RAW files to the PC where they were reduced to 256 colours
and proof-edited using Aldus Photostyler. These were then supplied as BMP
files to the VNPL compiler.
   The music was sequenced into Cakewalk either manually or with the D-10.
All music is optimised and perfected on the AWE32, and the music drivers
for other cards were extensively worked to approximate the AWE32 sound
as closely as possible. The main table tune was written by Robert Oldcorn
and produced by David Oldcorn. All other tunes by David Oldcorn.
   Sound effects came from FX CD's, an Atari Falcon, and vocal recordings
through digital effects processors, and were edited in 16-bit format before
conversion into 8-bit format, to allow uniform volume levels without any
degradation in sample quality.



@FABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dave Oldcorn is 23 years old and hasn't collected enough interesting past
jobs for them to be worth listing here. He enjoys sound engineering in his
spare time and has carried guitars, said '1, 2' into microphones and mixed
FOH and monitors for all sorts of famous (but mostly not) people, and only
been complained about on an irregular basis (which in the music industry is
a pretty good recommendation). He has a very rusty and unreliable car and
a comfy chair.

Andy is an enigma. I don't know who he is myself - these graphics just turn
up all by themselves...



@FTHANKS TO:


@EHelp, assistance and ideas for @PStarball ST
Rob Oldcorn             Paul Webster
Jon Argall              Richard Davies
Kev Thomas              Alan Murray
Ken McLauchlan          Seth Sowerby
Matt Halsall            Dave Radcliffe


@ESales, Marketing, Management, Equipment, and Stress Control
Mike Guy


@EHead Playtester, Music, some vocals
Robert Oldcorn


@EHelp, assistance and ideas for @PStarball PC
Alan Murray     (ideas, memory manager bugs, regular pints, life)
Paul Webster    (lot of ideas, ethernet cards, bits, beer)
Ken McLauchlan  (all sorts of PC questions, odd pint now and then)
Pervez Shamsuddin (ideas, Internet, cans)
Dave Radcliffe  (having a PC in his office it didn't work on, more beer)
Andy Richardson (loan of sheep-noise-maker)


@ELead Playtesters
Robin Snowden
Mark 'Joe 90' Healey    @HThanks to UMIST Events for the use of these items
Will Varley + friends


@EAdditional playtesting / ideas
Pete Stewart            Stuart Shaw
Jon Argall              Richard Davies
Ben McCarthy            Daz Moore
Matt Baker


@ELegal Advice
M' Learned Friends Phillip Oldcorn and Richard Davies


@EGameTek Liaison
Simon Little


@EGeneral thanks to:
Mike Zeller, Ben Burrows, Steve Williams, Stu Innes, Steven Bryson,
Matt R, Geoff P, Cath & Marie (Don't Start!), Nick A, Bruce, Dave P,
& the rest of Events
Doug Flude, Richard 'Hippy' Hutton, J.B. Shaw, John O'Donnell, Sue Martin,
Mark Syms, Eleanor Kelsey, Allan 'Scoop' Jordan, Stef Tinsley, Steve Jukes &
the rest of the 'old Events'
Tim, Andy, Steve and the rest on NewDawn,
Brian Frost, Tony "Beard" Blews, Alan Murta, Mat Brooks, Dave Gilbert,
Catherine, Glenda & Tiffany, Jennifer Tinsley, Martin, Sallie,


@EMore thanks for help to:
Scan International      Grey Matter
Creative Labs           A1 Music Preston
Time & Space


@ESpecial thanks to:
Harry & Carole Oldcorn for letting Dave live off them for several months


@ENo thanks to:
Junk Mail                               Daytime TV
Carburettors and more carburettors      Michael Schumacher
A1 Music Manchester                     DOS/4GW
The Gravis Ultrasound and its SDK















@P        This game is dedicated to the memory of Pervez Shamsuddin
@P                     and all of those who miss him.