Season's Greetings & Games Unlimited/UGOLD_cd2.iso/mega/mega.doc

Text File | 1992-05-24 | 13KB | 296 lines

M   M  EEEEE   GGG    AAA   TTTTT  RRRR    OOO   N   N     V   V   GGG    AAA
MM MM  E      G      A   A    T    R   R  O   O  NN  N     V   V  G      A   A
M M M  EEE    G  GG  AAAAA    T    RRRR   O   O  N N N     V   V  G  GG  AAAAA
M   M  E      G   G  A   A    T    R  R   O   O  N  NN      VVV   G   G  A   A
M   M  EEEEE   GGG   A   A    T    R   R   OOO   N   N       V     GGG   A   A


                        Megatron VGA - Evaluation Copy
                    Copyright (c) 1992, Stanley Design Team
                            [All Rights Reserved]

                          Programming, John Stanley
                        Design Assistant, Warren Rice


Disclaimer
==========
This program is provided "AS IS" and it is without warranty.  No liability
shall be assumed for direct or consequential damage caused by the use of
this software.  The only claim that is made is that there are no intentional
bugs or fatal errors in any original copy of the program that you receive
directly from the author.


Assignment
==========
The year is 3015 and as the commander of an elite unit of Megatron
BattleMechs, you've been chosen to enter the labyrinth combat zone and
hunt down the adversary.  At your disposal are two standard omni-field
mechs (Mad Cat and Vulture) equipped with high yield Thorn Missiles and
Pulse Disrupters.

Enter the world of Megatron and experience the highest level of virtual
reality combat available in shareware to date.  Megatron uses a combination
of ray traced and hand drawn imagery coupled with AdLib/SoundBlaster
synthesized sound effects to bring to life the ultimate modem combat
experience.  Use your skill at piloting your mech and your raw courage to
defeat your adversary and bring glory to your unit.


Game Descriptions
=================
This is a 2 player game, but it can be played in a single player mode with
a synthetic adversary generated by the computer.  For the best results I
recommend using two computers.

The object of the game is to hunt down and destroy your  adversary.  This is
not an easy task, as  at the start of each game, both you and your adversary
are placed in the labyrinth at random positions.

You don't know where your adversary is hiding.  All you have to work with
is a 3-D view of the corridor you are standing in, a top down view of the
labyrinth, and a changing sonar blip that can guide you to your adversary
if you interpret it properly.  If you are in a hurry, you can use your area
radar to search for your adversary. The down side to using radar is that you
don't always locate the enemy, but the enemy always locates you.

To win the game, you must hunt down your adversary and attack him with your
lasers and rockets until he runs out of energy and is destroyed.  There is
only one problem, this is a real-time game, and while you are shooting at
your adversary, he gets to shoot back at you.  Whoever is fastest with their
weapons and has the strongest nerve wins.  If you lose your nerve, you can
turn and run away.  Sometimes this is not a bad idea.

One of the best strategies of this game is to shoot your adversary in the
back!


Computer Power
==============
This game is designed for "High End" computer systems.  For best results
use a 25Mhz 386 (or faster) computer.  For best screen animation use a
1-MB [or larger] software disk-cache while playing the game.

Megatron will function on 286 systems, but if you are connected to someone
who is using a 386 system, you won't have a chance.  Sorry 286 users, but
the real-time nature of this game requires serious computer power.


Required Hardware
=================
You must have a VGA adapter card and a matching color monitor.  You also
need a minimum of 640K RAM to run the game.  Because of the size of the
game (approximately 1.5-MB) you must install it to a hard disk drive.

Additional Hardware
===================
This game is designed to use both the mouse and keyboard as input devices.
Depending on the circumstances you will want to switch between the two
devices.

To play in head-to-head combat you need an open serial port with a modem
or null-modem cable connect to your adversaries computer.


Fast Start
==========
The game of Megatron uses futuristic 3-Dimensional and top-down views of
the labyrinth and your human or computer adversary.  Sonar blips tell you
how close you are to your adversary: you must use strategy to negotiate
the labyrinth and get close enough destroy your opponent.  If you are in
danger of being destroyed, you can run away and recuperate.  Taunt your
adversary with his cowardice for running away, or entice him into your
trap, or send any message through the message area.

For a fast start, just type MEGA at the DOS command prompt, then press
ENTER twice.  The First press will pass you through the Copyright Notice.
The second will randomly select a BattleMech for you to use.  Once you
see a 3D view of the combat zone maze corridor on the screen press F5 to
start (single player) Computer Adversary mode.

Use the direction arrow keys on the numeric keypad to guide your BattleMech.
Use HOME and PGUP to fire your weapons.  The INS key toggles your area radar
on/off.  Use END and PGDN to transfer energy between your shield and weapons
systems. To return to normal "Off-Line" mode press F5 again.  The ESC key
brings up the EXIT menu.


Game Icons and Function Keys
============================
There are 6 icons used to control the game.  They are arranged in two set
of vertical columns located on the left and right side of the screen.  To
activate an icon place the mouse cursor over the picture and press either
mouse button.  The icons are arranged as follows.

              F1                             F4
              F2                             F5
              F3                             F6

Here is a description of each of the icons along with the function key use
to activate it.

F1 -    Copyright Notice & User Registration.  The copyright and share
        ware release versions are displayed.  User registration information
        is also displayed on the screen.

F2 -    Sound System On/Off.  There are two sound systems built into the
        game.  They are AdLib/SoundBlaster and IBM PC sounds.  Unregistered
        players use the IBM PC (beep, beep, beep) sound system.  Register
        your copy and hear the total range of combat effects.

F3 -    Make New Maze.  If you don't like the maze you are using, you can
        press this key and you will receive a new maze.

F4 -    Modem Control.  Choose the modem port to use.  Choose from Dial
        Modem or Answer Modem.  You can use a Null-Modem cable by selecting
        the appropriate COM port and then press Done.

F5 -    Computer Adversary (Single Player Mode) On/Off.  Practice fighting
        against the computer.  This is great for homing your combat skills.
    The computer is definitely NOT a wimp!

F6 -    Exit Game.  Obvious.


Instant Messaging
=================
You are always in total communication with your adversary.  Once a
connection is established between the two computers, anything you
type (except for game commands) is instantly transmitted to the other
player as you type it.  Hitting enter clears the message.


Energy Meters
=============
On the left side of the playing screen is located the BattleMech energy
meter.  The meter provides useful information about both you and the
adversaries power status.  The meter  is divided into two set of three bar.
The top GREEN bars are yours and the bottom RED bars are the adversaries.

The first bar on the meter shows your power shield strength.  The second
bar shows your current weapon energy supply.  And the third is the overall
health of your BattleMech.  Bars 4-6 shows the same information as do bars
1-3 except it is for the adversary BattleMech.


Modem Control Menu - (F4)
=========================
Megatron gets the information it needs to communicate with another
computer from the Modem Control Menu (F4).  Once in the menu, use the
mouse or function keys (F1 - F8) to select COM port, baud rate, and
modem option.

Use F1 - F2 to select the COM port to communicate through:

F1 -    Cycle COM Port Up
F2 -    Cycle COM Port Down

Use F3 - F4 to select the baud rate (speed) the computer should use.

F4 -    Cycle Baud Rate Up
F6 -    Cycle Baud Rate Down

Use F5 - F6 to Dial or Answer the Modem.

F5 -    Dial Modem.  You will be prompted to enter the phone number to dial.
F6 -    Answer Mode.  Sit back and wait for the other player to call you.

For direct connection through a null-modem cable, choose the proper COM Port
and Baud Rate settings.  Then select DONE at the bottom of the Modem Menu.

There External File MODEMS.INI contains the Hayes initialization string used
to program your modem for the game.  Here is a transcript of that file.

    AT E1 L3 M1 Q0 V1 X1 &C1 &D2 S0=1 S7=60 S11=155
    AT DT
    /* this line must be present */

A simplified version of the init file is supplied with the game (SIMPLE.INI)
that works well with every modem I've tried to date.  Use as needed.  At DOS
prompt, type:

    COPY   SIMPLE.INI    MODEMS.INI

If your experience problems using your modem you may need to modify this
file.  For another type of modem, or to use different dialing or answering
parameters, refer to your modem handbook.


RS232 Hardware Signals
======================
The number of hardware signals required to run Megatron depends on the
type of connection used between computers.  A direct connect uses three
pins, (2) TRANSMIT, (3) RECEIVE, and (7) SIGNAL GROUND.  Pins (2) and
(3) must be swapped once between the two machines.

An auto-dial modem uses five pins, (2) TRANSMIT, (3) RECEIVE, (7) SIGNAL
GROUND, (8) DATA CARRIER DETECT, and (20) DATA TERMINAL READY.  There is
not a swap between pins (2) and (3) with a modem.

There is one (1) additional pin signal provided by Megatron that some
serial cards and/or modems require.  The signal is pin (4) REQUEST TO
SEND.  Most machines will function properly without this extra signal;
it is included for completeness.

SPECIAL NOTE:    Megatron uses pin (20) DATA TERMINAL READY to signal the
                modem when to hang-up the phone line and reset to command
                state. This DTR monitoring option is switch selectable on
                some modems. You should check your modem for this option
                before making long distance phone calls through Megatron.
                If this option is improperly set, the phone will not hang-up
                when Megatron exits and you will accumulate excess long
                distance charges.

The proper modem DTR setting is:

DTR high - Process dial command and connect normally

DTR low  - Hang-up phone line and reset to command state.


Video Adapter and Monitor
=========================
You must have a Video Graphics Array (VGA) installed in your computer as
the primary graphics device along with a matching color monitor.  Megatron
does not support EGA or CGA graphic at this time.  If Megatron is run on a
computer that does not have a VGA installed, it will detect the absence of
the VGA and refuse to run.

NOTE:    If Megatron fails to properly detect your VGA hardware, you can
        override the video hardware check by using the command line option
    NOVIDEO.

(Example)        MEGA  NOVIDEO

This option is especially useful when playing Megatron on computers equipped
with off-brand video cards that sometimes lack video BIOS signature.

PS/2 PLAYERS:    Megatron uses full VGA graphics and will not operate on
                PS/2's equipped with MCGA graphics.


Command Line Switches
=====================
Depending on just how compatible your computer is to the IBM PC standard,
your computer may fail some (or all) of the built in software safety checks.
Here is a list of command line switches you can use to override these tests
and allow access to the game.

COM1     - Allows use of COM1 in Modem Control Menu - (F4)
COM2     - Allows use of COM2 in Modem Control Menu - (F4)
COM3     - Allows use of COM3 in Modem Control Menu - (F4)
COM4     - Allows use of COM4 in Modem Control Menu - (F4)
NODOS    - Do not test the DOS version level.
NOCPU    - Do not test the micro-processor type.
NOVIDEO  - Do not test for VGA present before starting game.
NOMOUSE     - Do not allow use of the mouse during game play.
NOSOUND     - Do not detect AdLib/SoundBlaster sound card.

SPECIAL NOTE:    If you choose to override the build-in hardware tests, you
                do so at your own risk.  If you force the game override a
        test and you are wrong, you could SERIOUSLY DAMAGE your
        computer!