The CIA World Factbook 1992/k3bimage.iso/sel/01/0072/evasion.doc

Text File | 1991-12-02 | 12.1 KB | 316 lines

                       ╔══════════════════════════╗
                       ║       EVASION v1.00      ║
                       ╟──────────────────────────╢
                       ║ (c) Steven James Baldwin ║
                       ╚══════════════════════════╝













                         LICENSING/WARRANTY NOTICE


    You are hereby granted a license to use, share, copy, and distribute
this program, its data files and this documentation, provided that this
notice, and the Copyright information is not removed or altered in any way
from this documentation or the accompanying program. No fee or consideration
is to be charged for distribution of this software.  This program is
provided on an AS-IS basis without warranty of any kind, expressed or
implied.  The entire risk as to quality and performance of this program
rests solely with the user.  In no event will I be liable to you for any
damages, consequential or inconsequential.  By operating this program, you
acknowledge you have read and understand this agreement and agree to be
bound by its terms and conditions.











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                         EVASION -- Documentation
                                  PAGE i

                         (c) Steven James Baldwin


     Now that the formalities are over with, I'll proceed to explain the
game rules, commands and error messages.



                                 MAIN MENU

     Once the program has been booted (by simply typing EVASION at the DOS
prompt) the copyright information will be displayed.  To proceed just press
any key and a MAIN MENU will appear.  This menu is the lead for all other
operations performed by the program.  There are three selections which can
be made from this menu:

     (E)dit - Leads to another menu entitled LEVEL EDITOR.  This menu will
              be explained after the MAIN MENU has been explained.

     (P)lay - Leads to a series of questions pertaining to game parameters.

     After executing the (P)lay command, the program will ask how difficult
to make the game.  The difficulty ranges from one to ten.  The lower the
number, the easier (slower) the game becomes.  Thus, entering a one causes
the game to act its slowest and entering a ten causes it to act its fastest.
Experiment with this until you have found a comfortable game speed.

     The next inquiry determines where the program is to locate it's level
data.  The prompt asks, "From (D)ata or (F)iles?".  Responding with a "D"
will cause it to begin play with a sample level whose data is within the
program itself.  This level will be played continuously or until the player
is captured three times.

     Responding with an "F" will precede the next prompt.  NOTE: At this
point, if the following error occurs - "No maximum level # has previously
been entered", you must refer to the LEVEL EDITOR portion of this
documentation.  Otherwise, you will be prompted to enter the level number
with which you wish to begin the game.  Pressing the carriage return in
response to this prompt will automatically begin the game on level one.
Again, if things are not in order, there may be an error here.  If the
program responds with a "no levels found" error, then there were no data
files found in the default directory with which it could begin game play.
This also relies on the maximum level number.  Therefore, if you have
entered ten as the maximum level number, the program will only look for
levels one thru ten, and no others.  To correct this you will need to either
develop a level that ranges from one to ten with the level editor, or use
the level editor to change the maximum level number to include existing
levels.

     (Q)uit - Return to DOS.
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                         EVASION -- Documentation
                                  PAGE ii

                         (c) Steven James Baldwin



                               LEVEL EDITOR

     The level editor allows for the user to do several things with the File
data used by the program.  The following is a list and explanation of these
features:

     1 - Edit Previously Created Level

     This allows the user to change a level's format in any way he chooses.
After specifying an existing level (they will be listed), it will be
displayed along with a command summary on the right side of the screen.
This summary should make things easy to understand.

     2 - Create New Level

     This permits the user to develop an entirely new level.  Warning: If
the level number selected to create matches an existing level number, the
new level will replace the old upon save.

     Upon initiation, the level will be blank except for three things.
These are:  the player, one enemy, and one treasure.  They will initially be
located in the upper left of the screen along with the cursor, which appears
as a box and is controlled by the arrow keys.  As you may assume, the reason
that there is initially one of each of the aforementioned things, is that
there must never be less than one of each of these.  As for the player, you
cannot create another or delete the original.  When it comes to the enemy
and treasure, just place another one of each elsewhere on the screen in
order to delete the originals.

      Never locate a treasure where it is impossible for the player to reach
it.  If you do, the level will never be completed.  You may make it look as
if the player could not reach it, but instead supply trap doors or enough
room for the player to dig to it.  The actual game rules and controls will
be explained later in the documentation.

     Also don't forget to lead a normal ladder or an escape ladder to the
very top of the screen.  Escape ladders will not appear until all treasure
has been collected by the player.  Trap doors also have a normal wall
appearance when the game is played.

     The difference between normal and solid walls is that the player may
dig through the normal wall, but not the solid.

     3 - Enter Highest Level #

     This little number has a great deal of respect from the program.
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                         EVASION -- Documentation
                                 PAGE iii

                         (c) Steven James Baldwin


Without it, you will not be able to play from data files and with it, you
will only be able to play those files which are within it's range.
Therefore, once you have played the highest level, the levels will begin
again and continue to progress in numeric order.

     When Saving a level to disk, you will be prompted for a new highest
level number.  By pressing return to this prompt, the number will remain the
same, otherwise enter the new number at this prompt.  If you want all of
your levels to be played by the game, this number must be defined as the
equivalent of the highest existing level file.

     4 - Delete Level

     After selection, a prompt requests the number of the level to delete.
By entering the desired level's number and pressing return, the level will
be removed from the catalog and you will no longer be able to play it.

     0 - Return To Main Menu

     Sends you back to the Main Menu, so you may (P)lay the game or (Q)uit
for now.


NOTE:  If you wish to familiarize yourself with all game characters, just
use the Level Editor to edit or create a level.  Then compare the characters
placed on the screen with the description given for each in the command
summary.




















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                         EVASION -- Documentation
                                  PAGE iv

                         (c) Steven James Baldwin



                                 GAME PLAY

     At the start of each wave, the game will wait for one key press.  After
this, play will begin.

     Player movement is controlled with the arrow keys.  The player may only
progress up the screen with the use of ladders.  On ropes, which simple
appear as lines above where they are accessible, the player may only proceed
to the left, right or down.

     Trap doors appear as normal walls (or more likely floors).

     Escape ladders will not appear until the player has collected each of
the treasures on the level.

     Once all of the treasure has been collected,  the player must reach the
top of the screen and attempt to proceed up in order to advance to the next
level.  This is why escape ladders normally lead to the very top of the
screen, although, a normal ladder which already lead to the top could be
used instead.

     By pressing the Home key (7) on the keypad, the player is instructed to
dig through the floor on the left.  He may not do this if there is something
standing in the way, except for trap doors (or should I say walls).  The
same is true for digging to the Right (accomplished by pressing the PgUp key
(9) on the keypad).  Digging these holes as an enemy approaches, is helpful
in that the enemy will fall into the available space and allow you to walk
right over him.  The missing floor will eventually be replaced and if there
is an enemy player trapped there, he too will be replaced elsewhere.  The
digging feature also allows the player to dig to otherwise unaccessible
treasure, but the player may only dig out ten places at a time, after which
he will have to wait for the missing floor to be replaced before he may dig
again.  NOTE: Although the enemy will be trapped if he falls into a hole
which the player has dug, the player will fall completely through the hole.

     The player as well as the enemy, may jump off anything and survive the
fall.  It is a good idea to jump to a safe haven when it comes to speedy
retreats from the enemy.

     By pressing the "A" key, the player may abort the current life.  This
is handy if the player becomes trapped in a location in which he can neither
get out of or be caught in.  (IE. A level which was created with a serious
flaw.)  It's also handy if you don't wish to wait for the enemy to catch you
or you wish to quit the game.

     The "W" key also has an effect.  This key "warps" the player to another
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                         EVASION -- Documentation
                                  PAGE v

                         (c) Steven James Baldwin


location on the screen, but be forewarned, this could be good or bad and you
must quickly relocate the players new position on the screen.  At the start
of the game, the player has three warps.  As he progresses through each
level, he will be awarded one more warp.

     The space bar serves as a pause feature.  To exit the pause, press any
key.

     Finally, when the player is captured, one life will be removed from the
total, and he will immediately be relocated (warped) to a new position on
the playing board.  Plan on this, so you can quickly figure out where his
new location is.

     If you have made a score which qualifies for entry into the top five,
you will be asked for your name.  Only the first eight letters will be used
in the listing along with the score.

--------

     Now that you've read it, go do it.  Just reading these instructions may
not be clear enough for you so just type EVASION at the DOS prompt and
experiment.  The program is simple to use and understand.  It is a game of
skill which will require you to be nimble in your use of the keypad.  NOTE:
If you are playing an "easy" game, when you press a key multiple times, the
key presses will be buffered and executed, so don't jump the gun and have
fun!

     If you find this program of value or enjoyable, send your donations to
the address below.  Donations will be highly appreciated as well as kept.
So send them to:

                             Steven J. Baldwin
                             12095 S.W. 47th St.
                             Miami, Fl.  33175