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- AntiTron v 0.94b September 26 1999
- ==================================
-
-
- What is AntiTron?
- =================
-
- AntiTron is a freeware space arcade game for the MS-DOS platform, but it's
- also suitable for Windows. It's written in plain C using the DJGPP compiler
- v2.02 and the Allegro library v3.12.
-
- AntiTron was created in the summer of 1999 by Binary Spells.
-
-
- Background Story
- ================
-
- Time: Year 8137 A.D.
- Location: A solar system called "Solaris".
-
- After the human race discovered intergalactic travel people started to leave
- the overcrowded planet Earth to find their luck on another solar system not
- too far away in the Milky Way galaxy. This new solar system which was named
- Solaris had four inhabitable planets and the people who started to settle down
- there called themselves Solarians.
-
- But after a few hundred years of peace and prosperity, the Solarians were
- forced to escape their four new home worlds as a robotic alien civilisation
- from a nearby star cluster has started to invade the Solaris solar system.
- As a last attempt to save the Solarian race, the exciled Solaris Interplanetary
- Congress decided to design an intelligent and sophisticated fighter robot which
- would be sent back to the Solaris solar system with a very simple mission:
-
- To exterminate the invading aliens.
-
- That's the story behind AntiTron, and this is also where you take over.
- Satellite photos have shown that the alien robots have installed 22 nuclear
- devices called "AntiTrons" all over the four planets, and these AntiTrons are
- essential life sources for the the alien robots, who are able to replicate
- themselves genetically so that they can survive even without their bodies and
- machines. So in order to exterminate the alien robots, all the nuclear devices
- must be neutralised or disabled.
-
- Your mission is thus to exterminate the alien robots by locating and
- neutralising all 22 nuclear devices which are located on the four planets.
-
-
- Hardware and software requirements
- ==================================
-
- These are the minimum requirements to play AntiTron. It might work on a
- slower or older PC than this, but to be on the safe side, please use at
- least:
-
- Pentium 166Mhz
- 32MB RAM
- SVGA compatible graphics card
- Sound Blaster compatible sound card
-
- Windows 3.1/95/98/NT or MS-DOS 6.0
- To unpack the game you will need WinZip or similar tool (www.winzip.com)
-
- If you would experience any difficulties, then please let us know all the
- details about your computer setup (if you know them) and we will do our best
- to help you get the game running!
-
-
- Installing
- ==========
-
- -Go to www.binaryspells.com and download the ZIP file which is about 1.7MB.
- -Use WinZip or similar to unpack the contents of the ZIP file into a new folder.
- -Run the setup program "setup.exe". In the setup, you can either select
- "Autodetect" or do the configuration yourself if you know what you're doing.
- If you want to use a joystick, you can calibrate it in the setup program.
- Save the setup changes by clicking "Save changes and exit".
- -Start "antitron.exe".
- -That's it! The game now starts and the main menu will appear.
-
- If you fail to hear any sound when the game starts, it is probably because you
- didn't run the setup program setup.exe, or you forgot to save the changes. Make
- sure there is a file "allegro.cfg" after you have run the setup program.
-
- If anything goes wrong (e.g. ZIP file is corrupt or game crashes as you try
- to start it), then please report this to us and we promise we will do our best
- to help you get started! But please please please try to tell us as much as you
- can about your computer setup, e.g. what CPU, graphics and sound card, how much
- RAM, etc. and also if you can tell us exactly what you did to install the game
- that would be great.
-
-
- Playing AntiTron
- ================
-
- AntiTron is a weird game. It has three parts, where each part is like a separate
- game but all three parts still fit together. The first part we call the "outer
- space" part and that's where you must navigate your spaceship in the Solaris
- solar system and locate and land on each of the four planets. When you're above
- a planet you can land on it, which is where the second part of the game is taking
- over.
-
- Things to keep in mind in the outer space part:
- -You cannot leave the solar system. If you try, you'll reach the "end of the universe".
- -You cannot shoot the asteroids but only avoid them.
- -To land on a planet, you must press "ENTER" key but it only works if your ship is
- located above the planet and the speed is slow enough.
-
- The second part we call the "lander" part as it reminds us of the classic arcade
- "Lunar Lander" (but it isn't the same game, just looks a bit like it). Here you
- must take your spaceship down on the planet you've decided to land on, and the
- tricky bit is (1) to find a station, and (2) to land safely on the station without
- hitting the rocks or getting killed by the aliens. But once you've managed to land
- on a station you can then enter it and this is we enter the third part of the game.
-
- Things to keep in mind in the lander part:
- -When you first enter from the outer space part, you will land on the main platform
- with is NOT a station. The stations are located elsewhere.
- -You cannot leave the planet by going straight up away from the ground. Instead you
- must land on the main platform and press "ENTER" key.
- -Keep an eye on fuel and velocity! You can't land too fast.
- -Somewhere on each planet there's at least one, sometimes more, petrol stations.
-
- In the third and last part of the game, the "stations" part, you have left the
- spaceship and you're inside a tank-line vehicle which can move around inside the
- stations. Here you must find your way around pathways and corridors, and locate
- keys to unlock doors etc. The main goal is of course to locate and neutralise the
- AntiTron. There's one AntiTron somewhere on each of the 22 stations.
-
- Things to keep in mind in the stations part:
- -You must enter and leave the station through the exit point.
- -Sometimes the keys get stolen by nasty aliens who then hide from you.
- -Neutralise the AntiTron by simply touching it.
- -Don't take too long time - keep an eye on the remaining time.
-
-
- Controls
- ========
-
- The tricky part is probably to get used to controlling the spacecraft and the
- robot, but be patient - you'll learn how to do it!
-
- UP ARROW - Move forward or up
- DOWN ARROW - Move backward or down
- LEFT ARROW - Rotate counter clockwise or move right
- RIGHT ARROW - Rotate clockwise or move left
-
- SPACE or
- LEFT CONTROL - Fire
-
- ENTER - Enter/leave planet or station
-
- SHIFT - Move faster (only outer space and station parts)
-
- The above controls can all be done using the joystick. If the joystick feels
- weird, try calibrating the joystick using the setup program "setup.exe".
-
- TAB - Map/NavaTron (Use this!!!)
- ESC - Quit game and go back to main menu
-
-
- Status screen
- =============
-
- At the bottom of the screen you see a status screen which tells you
- everything you need to know. Notice that not all parts of the status screen
- are interesting at all times! From left you find the following:
-
- -Power: this tells you how much power (health) your spaceship and robot have.
- 100% is maximum. Notice that these two are totally independent, but if any one
- goes below 0%, you will die!
-
- -Speed: this shows you how fast you are currently going. This information is
- most interesting in the lander and outer space parts where you must keep below
- a certain speed limit in order to land.
-
- -Time Left: This is only for the stations, where you have a certain amount of
- time to finish each station. It will count down until it reaches 0 mins 0 secs,
- then your robot dies. Countdown stops once you've got the AntiTron.
-
- -Infotron: tells you in plain text some useful bits of info that you might
- want to know, e.g. if you're craft is going too fast to be able to land, or if
- a door requires a key. Keep an eye on this one!!
-
- -Keys: Only used in the stations part, where you need keys to open doors.
- This section shows you which keys you have, and which you don't have. The color
- of the key must match the color of the door you're trying to open.
-
- -Stations: This is the rightmost part of the status screen, where you can see
- which stations you have neutralised, and on which station you are currently
- located. It might look confusing when you first see it, but we think (and
- hope!) it will be useful for you! Each line represents a planet, and the
- planet's name is in the same color (roughly) as the planet itself. Following
- the planet's name is the symbol for each of it's stations. All 22 stations have
- their own names and symbols associated with them.
-
-
- Version history
- ===============
-
- For details on the different versions and the bug fixes, see separate file
- "history.txt" included with the game.
-
-
- Credits
- =======
-
- DJ Delorie - For the DJGPP port of gcc
- Shawn Hargreaves - For the Allegro library
- AndrĪ LaMothe - For cool books, advice and attitude
- Brian Kernighan & Dennis Ritchie - For C
- Jane X - For being the cheerleader
- Trent Reznor - For nine inch nails
-
- Special thanks to Brian Kissinger for the main menu background artwork.
- (Copyright Brian Kissinger) Check out his work at www.visualparadox.com!
-
- Special thanks also goe to all the people who has helped us with the
- testing! Thanks a lot :-) :-) :-) Please keep on sending us bug reports!
-
-
- Contact details
- ===============
-
- Email:
- Binary.Spells@Pmail.Net
-
- Web:
- www.binaryspells.com
-
- Forum:
- There's a forum on our website where you can leave us comments and read
- other peoples comments and ideas. Check it out!!!
-
- Newsletter:
- Join our newsletter if you want the latest news and updates emailed to you.
- More information is available on our website.
-
-