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- Readme.txt
- ********************************************************************************************
- GLADIATRON 3D v1.1 (⌐2001)
- a Binary Brotherz« game
- ********************************************************************************************
-
-
- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
-
- - Windows Me/98 (possibly 95, only if the OpenGL dll's listed below are
- installed) I don't think Windows NT and Windows 2000 will run this game,
- but please correct me by email if I'm wrong.
-
- - 3D Graphics Accelerator Card with **OpenGL** support
- (sorry, NO Voodoo 1 or Voodoo2) - if you try this game on a Voodoo 1 or 2
- the textures might look all messed up and the game will run at probably
- 2 or 3 frames a second, which is just not playable - this is because
- early Voodoo cards do not support Windowed acceleration, which is what
- my games use. Voodoo5, however has fixed this problem, has FULL OpenGL support,
- and is an excellent card. The games will look great AND they will run very fast!
- So, upgrade today! :)
-
- - Opengl32.dll and Glu32.dll inside your WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder
- (If you don't find these in that folder, you can download them off
- the internet for free at www.isdn-net.de/ado/treiber/dll/o/opengl32.zip
- (for opengl32.dll) and www.isdn-net.de/ado/treiber/dll/g/glu32.zip (for Glu32.dll).
- If this page goes out of existence, try finding it by searching www.altavista.com -
- Type "download opengl32.dll" or "download glu32.dll" in the blank search field).
-
- - Microsoft DirectX 7.0(or later) installed on your system
- (if you don't have DirectX, you can download the latest version off
- the internet for free at: www.microsoft.com (go to DOWNLOADS section).
- - 233Mhz processor or above
- - 32Mb RAM or above
- - any type of sound card
-
-
-
- INSTALLATION:
-
- - Double-click the tron.zip file to unpack(decompress) the file.
-
- - Inside WinZip⌐ click on the EXTRACT button and type in a folder name and path
- of your choice in the field. This is where all the game files will be sent and stored.
-
- - MAKE SURE that the GladiaTron.exe, .bmp files, and .wav files are in the
- SAME folder that you named when you previously extracted them under
- WinZip⌐. DO NOT create subfolders for pictures, sounds, etc. - the game
- will not work. Just dump everything into the same folder and everything
- should be fine.
-
- - Double-click on blue window executable ( .exe) and it should start the game.
-
-
-
- *******************************************************************************************
- KNOWN ISSUES (BUGS):
- *******************************************************************************************
-
- DARKNESS/FOG PROBLEM:
- - On some cards, such as NVidia TNT2, the darkness special effect in the game's menu
- (or black fog) will not work properly. As you move your camera around, it will
- alternatively get dark/light/dark/light, and so on. I know this for fact on the TNT2,
- because one of the computers in my house has this same card. I really don't know why
- it doesn't work as of yet, because it seems to work perfectly on a Savage4 and ATI. If
- any of you out there know OpenGL, the fog I used is EXP2 and the density parameter is
- set to 0.005 . If you OpenGL programmers know what the problem could be, please email
- me and I'll try to fix it in the next version.
-
- *******************************************************************************************
-
-
-
-
- PERFORMANCE HINTS:
-
- - Make sure that your destop settings are 640x480 or higher and your color settings
- are in 16 BIT MODE. This color info is important! You will see a 10 fps increase
- on older graphics cards with less memory if you use 16 bit color instead of 32 bit. I can't
- tell the difference in 32 bit mode anyway and it just slows down the game.
-
- - For your convenience, the frame rate will be displayed at the top of the game's window
- (i.e. "fps: 60.4" or so). The bigger the window is, the slower your frame rate will be.
- The game always starts up in 640x480 mode. On my 400 Mhz computer, the framerate
- hovers around 50 to 60 fps. When the game is paused, you can change the window's
- size. Maximizing it to full screen on slower cards will generate maybe 40 fps. So, if
- your frame rate drops below 30 and is too chunky, make the window smaller so the game will
- have less area to update each split second and you will have liquid smooth animation.
-
-
- GAME INFO:
- - In this version 1.1, a computer-controlled player (AI) has been added. Now you can play
- against the computer if you don't have a buddy to play with. But if you DO have a friend
- to play with, then GladiaTron 3D becomes even more fun! Also in this version, I have corrected
- the cycle turning - now the cycles turn very sharply (around their own axis), so that you can
- get into tighter spaces. ;-)
-
- - I made the Arena resizable (5 choices), and made the camera Zoom feature respond much faster.
- This particular zoom feature works best when you are in 1st person camera mode (riding the cycle).
- You will be able to Zoom in and see where your opponent is, even if he is on the other side of the arena.
-
- - Press Esc to pause the game. While the game is paused, your mouse pointer will return and
- you can select different options from the menu. To get back into the game, press Esc again.
-
- - to Exit the game, go under File->Exit, and the game will exit. If you have an emergency
- situation (like your Boss is coming around the corner) hit F1 anytime and the program will
- perform its lightning-fast emergency exit.
-
- - Multiple camera views are possible. Go under Cameras-> Player1 or Player2 Camera...
-
- - The SNAP CAMERA feature is always enabled at startup. I found it easier to play
- when the camera quickly rotates (or "snaps) in the new direction that the cycle is facing
- when you turn. No matter what angle your camera is at, the camera will snap to 90,180,270,
- or 360 degrees, depending on which way you are facing. But if you would like a static camera
- when you turn, uncheck this item in the game's menu and then you (and you alone) dynamically
- control which way the camera moves with your mouse/analog joystick.
-
- - speaking of Joysticks, I added support for an analog joystick in this game and found it
- to be quite fun. For example, Player1 is using the mouse and Numpad, and Player2 is
- sitting in another chair to the left, using just an analog gamepad. This keeps everybody
- seperate and in their own comfort zone. You will need a Gravis-type 4 button gamepad with
- an analog stick (a stick that moves slow to fast in 360 degrees, like Nintento 64's controller).
-
- - If you don't have a joystick, Player2 uses the left side of the keyboard (again, to keep
- both players out of eachother's way ). The keys are WASD for camera and < > (or comma period)
- for turning, and finally SPACE bar for zooming in. Player 1's zoom key is NumPad + , by the
- way. I tried to make Player2's keyboard camera (WASD keys) respond as fast and fluently as
- possible without being TOO sensitive. See what you think.
-
- - The cycle design is loosely based on the movie Tron. When I first saw this movie in the movie
- theaters (in 1982), I thought this cycle part of the movie was the most cool thing I had
- ever seen. Who ever first designed these cycles and tanks in the movie should be commended!
- In case you artists out there are wondering, I used all OpenGL drawing calls to render the
- cycles. No 3D modelling tools were used (like 3D Studio Max). I used nothing but GL Quadrics
- (which are spheres, cones, cylinders, and disks) to put the frame, wheels, hubs, and roofs together.
-
- - If you would like to see a Multiplayer version of GladiaTron, please visit our website at
- www.binarybrotherZ.com and go to the "Help Us" section. With your help, we will be able to
- add LAN/Internet capabilities to this cool game. Thank you for your support.
-
-
- Comments, suggestions, or problem reports are welcome. Email us at brianlof@swbell.net
- If you want to download more Binary Brotherz« true 3D games, or just want to check out the
- latest news about our upcoming projects/games, please visit our NEW website at
- www.binarybrotherZ.com - Thank you for playing our games!
-
-