Assassins - Ultimate CD Games Collection 4/Assassins 4 (1999)(Weird Science).iso/docs/misc/rhythm_king.doc

Text File | 1992-09-02 | 17KB | 463 lines

 Rhythm King - The Game of Music Management

 (C) 1997-98 Will Morton

 Rhythm King gives you the job of managing a brand new pop band, who, with
 your help, might just be able to do a "Spice Girls" and conquer the world of
 music in a mega short time.  You can get hit singles, number 1 singles, play
 at Wembley, write a film soundtrack in Hollywood, win the annual Music
 Awards, and make a million quid!

 The idea from this game came from a very old C64 PD game (which I can't
 remember the name of) which I used to play all the time.  After playing the
 game on MagiC64 Emulator, and being appalled at how slow the game played (it
 was very slow on the C64, but on the emulator it was terrible!) I decided I
 should program my own version.

 I picked up Amos Professional (which I had been dabbling in for a couple of
 months) and started.  After programming part of the game (the gig section) I
 decided that I shouldn't do a straight conversion and that it would be
 better for me to discard the bits of the original game that I didn't like,
 and add new bits that I thought would improve the game.  The final result is
 quite a different game to what I was originally trying to do!

 Enjoy it!

 Distribution

 This game is NOT shareware!  You do not HAVE to pay a penny for it! However,
 if you could help me with a couple of things, I would be most grateful!

 This game may be copied freely to who ever you want, on the condition that
 no files belonging to this game are distributed seperately, or that any file
 is altered in any way.

 This game may be distributed by PD libraries, providing that no more than
 £1.50 is charged (including copying charges, disk, labels, postage and
 packing).

 This game may be distributed on Magazine Cover CD's, CD Roms, Aminet,
 Internet etc...

 Magazines note: Please ask my permission if you want to put this game on
 cover floppy-disks!

 This game was released on 19th January 1998, and was enetered in Amiga
 Format's "Readers Game" monthly competition.

 Requirements

 Rhythm King (Normal Version)

 Any Amiga (I think) 1 meg

 amos.library in LIBS dir (included in archive) and powerpacker.library in
 LIBS dir (included in archive).

 The normal version has been tested successfully on the following
 configurations:

 *Amiga 500+, 1 meg

 *Amiga 1200, 10 meg, CD Rom Drive, Hard Drive

 *CD32, SX1, 6 meg, Hard Drive

 Rhythm King (General MIDI version)" link "General MIDI Instructions" 0}
 version)

 Any Amiga (I think) 1 meg MIDI Interface in Serial Port -OR- Project XG (or
 similar) in Serial Port

 amos.library in LIBS dir (included in archive), powerpacker.library in LIBS
 dir (included in archive) and medplayer.library in LIBS dir (included in
 archive).

 The GM version has been tested successfully on the following
 configurations:

 *Amiga 1200, 10meg, 030/50 accelerator, CD Rom Drive, Hard Drive, Datel MIDI
 Interface, Korg X5 synthesiser

 Usage

 Load Workbench and just double-click on the "RhythmKing.exe" icon to load
 the normal version, or double-click on the "RhythmKing(GM).exe" icon to load
 the General MIDI version.

 Make sure the Rhythm King game is in the same directory that the "SFX"
 directory is.

 Ctrl-C at any time will quit.

 There is a cheat mode in this game!

 NOTE:  This game MIGHT self boot, but don't take my word for it, as it
 probably doesn't!

 Rhythm King - The Game of Music Management

 HD Installation

 This should be self explanatory for most of those who own hard drives, but
 here is a step-by-step guide for those who don't know what to do.

 1.  Copy "medplayer.library" to your LIBS dir.
     Copy "powerpacker.library" to your LIBS dir.
     Copy "amos.library" to your LIBS dir.

 2.  Make a directory on your HD called "RhythmKing"

 3.  Copy the "SFX" directory to your RhythmKing directory

 4.  Copy "RhythmKing.exe" to your RhythmKing directory
     Copy "RhythmKing(GM).exe" to your RhythmKing directory

 5.  Copy "RhythmKing.guide" to your RhythmKing directory

 The entire HD Installation of this game should require no more than 850k

 General MIDI

 Rhythm King has enhanced sound effects and music for those of you who own a
 MIDI interface and a piece of GM compatible equipment, or those of you who
 built the Project XG synth.

 I believe that this is the first game on the Amiga which supports the
 General MIDI standard; please correct me if I'm wrong!

 If you do not have a General MIDI synth, then this section of the guide will
 be of no use to you.

 General MIDI instructions

 You should have a MIDI interface connected to the serial port of the Amiga,
 with the Amiga MIDI OUT connected to the Synth MIDI IN.  Unless you have a
 larger MIDI set-up, you should ignore the MIDI THRU connections and the
 Amiga MIDI IN.

 Depending on your MIDI set-up, you may also need to have an audio mixer of
 some description, with the Amiga audio outputs in two of the mixer channels,
 with the Synth audio outputs in another two mixer channels.

 I have tested this General MIDI version on my own MIDI equipment, and it
 works perfectly.  I have not had the opportunity to test it on any other
 set-ups, but as long as your equipment is GM compatible you should have no
 problems.

 Project XG owners:

 I have not built the Projext XG synth, but by reading its instructions I
 cannot see any problems arising.  If you do have problems then please
 contact me with as much detail as possible and I will do what I can to help.

 Playing the Game

 Once the game has loaded and decrunched, you should be presented with the
 title-screen.  Press any key to start the game.

 You will now be asked to enter your name, the amount of people in your band,
 the band name, and the difficulty level (1=easy, 2=Medium, 3=hard). The
 difficulty setting does not make it any harder to play the game, it only
 alters the amount of time you will be managing the band.  The easy level
 will allow you to play for 1500 "days", the medium level will allow you to
 play for 1000 "days", and the hard level will allow you to play for 500
 "days".

 As soon as these details have been completed, you will be presented with the
 main game screen.

 Pressing Ctrl-C at any time will quit.

 The Main Game Screen

 1.  Statistics

 2.  Rest

 3.  Rehearse

 4.  Gig

 5.  Tour

 6.  Record

 7.  Equipment

 8.  Publicity

 9.  Gifts

 10. Loan

 11. Restart

 Statistics

 The statistics page shows you how well you are doing in many aspects of the
 game.  It shows you how much cash you have, how popular you are, how much
 energy you have, how happy the band is, how many days have passed, how many
 gigs you have done, how many tours you have been on, how may hit singles you
 have had, and an overall score.

 The overall score is generated by taking many factors into consideration,
 and can go down as well as up!

 You start the game with £500, which should be enough to get you started if
 you use it wisely!

 The band's popularity is 10 at the start of the game, but will increase as
 the band gets more well known.  You can increase the bands popularity by
 gigging, going on tours, publicity, and so on.

 As the band rehearses, play gigs, go on tour or whatever, their energy will
 go down.  You can gain more energy by resting.  In certain circumstances,
 the more energy the band uses, the better their performance will be, but you
 should also take into consideration that the more energy they use, the more
 time they will need to recouperate!

 The bands happiness is very important.  If they have a low happiness rating
 for a long while then they will sack you and find a new manager!  A lot of
 factors can affect the bands happiness, including overworking them.

 Rest

 As the bands energy gets low, they will need to rest in order to
 recouperate.  Each day they rest, they will gain 100 energy points.  You
 need not worry about they band dying from exhaustion, as the doctor will
 remind you if their energy level gets particularly low.

 Rehearse

 If you wish, you can tell the band to rehearse their songs which will
 increase their skill.  It costs £20 per day to hire a rehearsal room.

 Gig

 There are 10 different places for your band to play a gig: They can busk in
 the street, play at a pub, play at a club, play at a local festival, play at
 the Town Hall, play at a local Concert Hall, play at a local Stadium, play
 at the McAlpine Stadium in Sheffield, play at the Birmingham NEC, and play
 at Wembley Stadium.

 Obviously, your band will not be able to play at all of these venues
 straight away, as they will need to build up popularity before venue
 managers will take any notice of them.  It may take some time to become
 popular enough to play at some of the bigger venues, but you will be
 rewarded by being able to charge more per ticket and have larger crowds.

 You will be able to play at a local festival while you are still relatively
 unknown, and this is an excellent way of getting exposure for your band. The
 problem is, is that festivals are not being constantly staged, so you will
 be lucky to find one!

 Tour

 There are 5 tours available; England, Germany, France, Japan and America.
 They all cost different amounts to go on, and last for varying amounts of
 time.

 You must be careful about touring, as sometimes it will cost more money to
 go on than what you will earn!

 When you embark on a tour, you will get a status report showing you how much
 you earned on each gig of the tour.  Each date will be accompanied by the
 notes of a chord.  If the notes are ascending, that gig went well.  If the
 notes are descending, the gig didn't go very well.

 At first impressions, you may think that the amount of money you earn from a
 successful tour is not much compared to what you earn from playing a gig.
 This is true looking at it from a financial viewpoint, but tours are
 generally better for exposing your band, and use less energy than good gigs.

 Record

 This option will only become available when you have a record deal.
 Depending on your popularity, certain record companies may approach you with
 record deals.  As you are the band's manager, it will be up to you to sort
 out the best deal with the best company!

 If you have a record deal, you can record your album.  You can choose how
 much to spend on recording the album (the more you spend, the better the
 result, generally), and what to call your songs.  After the album has been
 recorded, the record company will take the reigns from now on, and release
 it (and any singles) without you having to worry about anything. Promotion,
 however, will still be left up to you!

 Equipment

 This section allows you to buy new equipment.  At first, this may seem like
 a pointless option as you already have some equipment, but your equipment
 might get stolen, thus rendering it impossible for you to earn any more
 money until you buy some more.

 If you are lucky, the police may find your stolen equipment, but don't hold
 your breath!

 Publicity

 As you are the band's manager, it's up to you to make sure they get good
 publicity.  There are several ways of going about this:

 1.  Fan Club.  You can set one up (if you can afford it), or if you already
 have one, you can send gifts to the existing members, just to make sure they
 stay fans!

 2.  Advertise on billboards, radio, music papers and magazines, and TV.

 3.  Bribe a music journalist.  It's up to you how much to bribe the
 journalist, and even if you do bribe him, he still may not give your band a
 good review..... but if he does, fame is yours!

 4.  Go on a promotional tour of record shops, signing posters and CD's. You
 will of course need a record deal before you can sign your records!

 5. Cause a scandal.  You can do this by trashing a hotel room, swearing at a
 music awards show, attacking a reporter, or even "anonymously" tipping off
 the press that you are doing drugs.

 Gifts

 If your band is very unhappy, you can cheers them up by buying them gifts!

 DON'T FORGET: If you have 4 band members, and you give them a magazine
 subscription, it will cost 4x£50!  The price for each gift is not the total,
 it is per band member!

 Loan

 If you are skint and need some money quick for a good investment, you can
 borrow money off your bank.  The bank will lend you £5000, and you will pay
 them £5500 back in 28 days.  Paying off the loan is automatic; the money
 comes straight out of your account after 28 days.

 Restart

 This menu gives you the choice of either restarting the game, quitting the
 game, or reading a small "about" section.

 Disclaimer & Copyrights

 You use this software at your own risk.  The author (Will Morton) accepts no
 responsibility to any damage caused to anything you own.  Having said that,
 I really don't see what damage it COULD possibly do.... but I'd better say
 it anyway!

 Rhythm King, Rhythm King GM are copyright Will Morton 1997-98.  All game
 code, graphics, sound effects and music are copyright Will Morton 1997-98.

 Amos.library is copyright Europress Software

 Powerpacker.library is copyright Nico Francois

 Medplayer.library is copyright Teijo Kinnunen

 Rhythm King - The Game of Music Management

 Help!

 I am trying to locate the following things, and if anybody could help me (or
 even point me in the right direction) I would be extremely grateful.

 I am looking for:

 1. TIMES OF LORE by Origin Software.  I would like it on Amiga or C64.

 2. ORIGIN SOUNDTRACK CD Vol 1, 2 or 3.

 3. Anything associated with MARTIN GALWAY

 4. Anything to do with THE A-TEAM (Yes, the 80's TV show.  It's my fav!)

 5. Instructions of how to build a synth from a SID 6581 chip from a C64.

 6. Things to do with BETTY BOO

 If you can help, then please contact me!

 Credits

 Design, Programming, Music, Sounds and Graphics by: Will Morton

 Additional Ideas: Adam Capone

 Playtesting: Chris Morton, Adam Capone, Nick Rolls and Will Morton

 Original idea from an old C64 game.

 Programmed with Amos Professional.

 Music written using OcatMED Pro V4.

 Graphics drawn with DPaint4.

 Guide created with Blacks Editor and Heddley.

 Greetings to: Mam, Dad, Uncle Gnash, Nick, Capone, Chris (Ginner), Lizzie,
 Oondy, The Menzies in York, any Amiga musicians, and anyone who thinks they
 should be on here.

 About the Author

 My name is Will Morton, I am 19 years old and am currently living in
 Newcastle, as I am studying a two-year HND course in Music Technology at
 Newcastle College.

 I have had an Amiga since 1988, and currently own an A1200, 10 meg,
 030/50mhz accellerator, 850meg HD, CD Rom Drive, Sampler, MIDI Interface, 16
 channel mixer, 2 synths and a Zoom effects unit.  I also have an old A500
 for playing on those ancient incompatible games!

 I am a C64 freak (particularly the music side of the C64) and am a total
 addict to Martin Galway's music.

 I like watching films and TV, and am currently enjoying watching the A-Team
 repeats on Bravo on Sky TV.

 I am also writing the music for a new commercial game, FUBAR.  Check out the
 web-page at:    http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~oondy

 If anyone wants music written for their commercial game/film/whatever, then
 please write to me.  I can supply music in almost any format.

 If you want to contact me for any reason, then please feel free! (Especially
 if you can help me with a couple of things!)

 My Newcastle Address (valid until Summer 1998):

 Will Morton, 41 The Pines, Park Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE4 7ET.

 email: [e-mail] (valid until Summer 1998)

 After June 1998, please write to my Parents Address, who will then forward
 your mail.  The address is:

 Will Morton, 89 Fordlands Road, Fulford, York, YO1 4QR.

 Cheers!

 Also by The Author

 Here's a list of some other stuff I've done:

 * Q's Lottery Generator.  A simple lottery number generator

 * TKGLoader.  A script that will make it easier to load The Killing Grounds
 from Team 17.  (That's if you had to boot without startup-sequence like I
 had to)

 * Q's New Icons.  Hmmmmm.... some terrible icons I "drew"

 * QGalway.lha.  A set of conversions of some Martin Galway tunes.

 * Semi-Paqman.  A "sort of" Pacman game...

 * Father Jack Joystick Tester.  A utility I programmed to test your
 joystick, featuring Father Jack from Channel 4's "Father Ted"!

 If you want this stuff, send me a DSDD disk and an SAE (or IRC) and I'll
 copy it for you.  I will upload it to the Aminet as soon as I figure out how
 to do it!  (I'm still wet behind the ears when it comes to the internet!)