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This file is 'readme.doc' Please read this file before calling 708-257-1224 for tech-support! Tech-support is available for REGISTERED customers of Tronic only. ---------------------------------------- Note: If reading this file from the Webfoot readme file viewer, use Cursor up / down to scroll or Page Up / Page Down to scroll fast ESCape, Enter, or Space to exit ---------------------------------------- Copyright 1996 Webfoot Technologies, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This program is shareware, or 'try before you buy'. It is NOT public domain. ---------------------------------------- IMPORTANT! Does the game fail to load? If the screens goes blank after you see the Webfoot logo screen and the game will not load, either YOU NEED TO LOAD THE EMS DRIVER or YOUR SOUNDCARD HAS NOT BEEN CONFIGURED CORRECTLY! The problem is most likely that you do not have enough memory. Place this line in your CONFIG.SYS file (see the MS-DOS manual for more information on EMS memory and CONFIG.SYS): device=c:\dos\emm386.exe RAM For Windows 95 users: the 'emm386.exe' file will most likely be located in the directory 'c:\windows\command\' instead! If you are running Windows 95, you will modify the CONFIG.SYS file by clicking the 'Start' button and then selecting 'Run'. Type 'sysedit' and click the 'Ok' button to modify your CONFIG.SYS file. To setup your soundcard, you must run the SETUP program and either choose 'No Sound', or choose the correct soundcard in your system and choose its correct address, DMA, and IRQ numbers. Please refer to your system's manuals or your soundcard's manuals to determine the address, DMA, and IRQ numbers. Failure to setup your soundcard correctly may cause the game to crash! ---------------------------------------- IMPORTANT! You don't hear any sound? If you tried to choose your soundcard, but still hear no sound, check the following: 1. Have you chosen the correct sound- card and address, DMA, and IRQ numbers in the SETUP program? 2. Is your volume turned up, speakers plugged in and powered up? 3. Do you have a soundcard? 4. Are you inside a vacuum? Chances are, you have a SoundBlaster Soundcard, and your address is 220, your interrupt is 5, and you're using DMA channel 1. So you'd want to place the following actual text in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T1 By adding this line in AUTOEXEC.BAT, it will help the SETUP.EXE program detect your soundcard. Of course, if these settings are wrong, SETUP.EXE may detect the wrong card! ---------------------------------------- What's in this file? I. Tronic Ordering Information II. Tronic Instructions SECTION I Tronic Ordering Information ---------------------------------------- 1. Why Register? 2. USA Orders 3. Germany/Switzerland/Austria 4. Scandinavia (also Finland/Iceland) 5. France 6. Australia and New Zealand 7. All Other Countries Orders 8. Other Webfoot Games 9. More About Webfoot Technologies 10. Legal Stuff ---------------------------------------- 1. Why Register? Even more great graphics, music, and sounds: 50 Levels Level Editor - Make your own games! Complete, easy setup instructions and troubleshooting information Eligibility for Tronic Global High Score Hall of Fame ---------------------------------------- 2. USA Orders Toll Free (ORDERS ONLY!) 1-800-4WEBTEC (1-800-493-2832) Visa MasterCard Discover American Express Price: $19.95 Add Shipping and Handling: $4.00 Or, send a check, cashiers check, or money order to: Webfoot Technologies, Inc. P.O. Box 15 Lemont, IL 60439 FAX Orders to: 708-257-0942 IMPORTANT: After August 3, 1996 our area code changes, so call 630-257-0942 (Your FAX should contain: Card number, card holder's name, and expiration date.) Questions and Tech Support 708-257-1224 630-257-1224 After August 3, 1996! Or, fill out the form in the Tronic directory. It's named: ORDER.DOC Contact Webfoot on the Internet: Webfoot@msn.com Visit our web site: http://www.WebfootGames.com/ ---------------------------------------- 3. Orders in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland Ticsoft c/o Juergen Egeling Waldstr. 49 76133 Karlsruhe Germany Phone: +49 721 9109 520 Fax.: +49 721 9109 599 Or from Germany Tel.: 0721 9109 520 FAX.: 0721 9109 599 http://www.ticsoft.de/ Preis DM 39.90 Vorauskasse: Plus DM 8.05 f. Porto und Verpackung Nachname Plus DM 14.50 Europ. Ausland: Nur Vorauskasse Euroscheck Plus DM 13.80 ---------------------------------------- 4. Scandinavia (Including Finland and Iceland) Twilight Zone Software P.O. Box 115 1712 GRAALUM NORWAY Price: 119,- NOK Plus handling and shipping: 29,- NOK We accept orders the following ways: 1. Bankgiro for Norwegian and Swedish customers. Norway: Account no. 1090.21.09973 Sweden: Bankgiro no. 5986-6970 2. VISA card by FAX to +47-69-141190. Your fax must contain: card number, card holder's name, expiration date, authorizing signature of the cardholder and the order-form. 3. VISA card by Mail. Send the same as above (2.) to TZS by mail. 4. Money Order or Cashiers check payable to Twilight Zone Software in either Norwegian kroner (NOK), or local currency. The order-form must always be included! ---------------------------------------- 5. France Vous pouvez vous procurer la version finale de Tronic avec ses 50 tableaux et de nouveaux graphismes contre un chèque de 99 Francs à l'adresse suivante: TLK GAMES BP 24 81150 Florentin France Tel: 63-53-26-37 Fax: 63-53-20-11 Payements par carte bancaire acceptes. ---------------------------------------- 6. Australia and New Zealand Spectrum Pacific Publishing Level 1 30 Carrington St. Sydney 2000 Australia Phone: (02) 9980 8900; 24-hour automated ordering service only Pay by check, or money order. Price: $24.95 (AUD) plus postage: $4.95 for Australian orders, $5.95 for New Zealand orders ---------------------------------------- 7. All Other Countries Orders All other foreign orders can be taken by Webfoot Technologies, Inc. US Dollars only, credit card and money orders only ... no checks. Add Shipping and Handling: $10.00 International Phone: 1-708-257-1224 1-630-257-1224 after August 3, 1996! International FAX Orders: 1-708-257-0942 1-630-257-0942 after August 3, 1996! (Your fax should contain: Card number, card holder's name, and expiration date.) ---------------------------------------- 8. Other Webfoot Games TwinBlok Why save the universe? Better worry about saving your butt! The Time Spinners do not look kindly on failure. They'll yank your status, terminate your entity, and zap you into the netherest of the nether regions. Your journey begins when Executive Time Spinner (ol' T.S., you know) drops you ill-prepared and poorly armored into the fray, fighting off everything the Razerrians (antiquated holdouts from the Snarr Sector) can drop, kick or throw at you. Blast through their defenses, traverse the 50 levels of time blocks they will use to impede your travel. They'll tantalize you with pictures from your home planet, hurl you through space, instead of merely time, and dazzle you with nefarious patterns reminiscent of the arcades in the Neo-Draconian Sector in a celebrated age long past. It's no cakewalk. Some of the time blocks are deceptive. So what if you fail? So what, indeed! ---------------------------------------- H2O A mind-teasing original. FORTY levels of graphics and mind jarring music. Guide falling droplets to a drainpipe at the bottom of the screen. You won't BELIEVE the smooth scrolling playfield! It's not as easy as it looks, either. Each level is a new puzzle. H2O runs under DOS and requires a standard VGA graphics card. Sound card is optional, strongly recommended. ---------------------------------------- D.R.O.D.: Deadly Rooms of Death A real 'killer.' More news in the obituary columns. (Evil laugh) In order to complete a level, Beethro must destroy all of the monsters and find the exit. When all nine levels have been cleared, Beethro will collect enough money from King Dugan to retire from the thankless dungeon extermination trade and open a restaurant. 'I'll call it Beethro's Roasted Roach Grill!' D.R.O.D. runs under Windows and features detailed graphics and an awesome MIDI sound track. ---------------------------------------- Interpose Fulfilling the Webfoot promise of incredible graphics and music, Interpose is a stunningly fast scrolling action game. The action - and that DOES mean action! - takes place in space. Shoot 3D enemy ships while conserving energy and fire-power. Over 18 levels packed with great graphics, music, and animation. ---------------------------------------- Farocar A strategy game with 200 mind-bending levels. Includes 3 different choices of difficulty per level and a full level editor. ---------------------------------------- Hopy-ONE In the year 2013, seven of the Planetariums decided to initiate a plan to eradicate the F.L.V. (Fast Line Virus), the deadliest strain of mutating virus in the galaxy. The virus caused total population decimation on 17 Astrocolonies. No survivor of the dreaded virus was reported. A team of researchers assembled to obtain a sample of the F.L.V. and devise a vaccine against it. Professor Jonathan Silt was one of the team members sent to the dying colonies. He spent 13 years on an intergalactic base, and was infected, while learning about the infection of F.L.V. The bio-droid, HOPY-ONE, was created in a laboratory Silt had set up to research the virus. Silt was cryogenically frozen in 2026. HOPY- ONE's mission was to collect samples of the virus to aid in the production of a vaccine. The fate of Silt, who waits in cryosleep, and the fate of the entire universe, rests with HOPY-ONE. ---------------------------------------- Keep an eye out for other Webfoot games available through usual shareware channels. ---------------------------------------- 9. About Webfoot Technologies, Inc. If you have a great game you'd like published, or if you're an aspiring programmer, 3D renderer, artist, or musician who would like to work on some games, please contact us! Webfoot Technologies, Inc. P.O. Box 15 Lemont, IL 60439 1-708-257-1224 VOICE 1-708-257-0942 FAX IMPORTANT! After August 3, 1996 call 1-630-257-1224 VOICE 1-630-257-0942 FAX http://www.WebfootGames.com/ e-mail: Webfoot@msn.com ---------------------------------------- 10. Legal Stuff Copyright 1996 Webfoot Technologies, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ---------------------------------------- SECTION II Tronic Instructions --------------------- Within this file: Cursor up / down to scroll or Page Up / Page Down to scroll fast ESCape, Enter, or Space returns to DOS. ---------------------------------------- System Requirements - 80486 or higher recommended - 1 Meg of memory - 2 Megs free hard drive space - VGA graphics card - MS-DOS (or DOS shell in Windows) Optional - Joystick or mouse - SoundBlaster, SB 16, SB Pro, PAS 16, Gravis Ultrasound, Ensoniq Soundscape, Windows Sound System, GUSMAX CODEC, or Aria sound cards ---------------------------------------- Before you start First, run SETUP in the Tronic directory! Remember, Tronic is a DOS program, although the game will run from Windows... simply click on the TRONIC.EXE icon in the Tronic directory/folder. To get going, run the Tronic SETUP.EXE program. This program assesses your system as you have it configured, and establishes your preferences for the game. Be sure you configure Tronic and your computer for maximum enjoyment. If your computer is an older one, you can still enjoy the game, but you might have to experiment a little with changing some of the options to lower the load on the system. Tronic will take whatever computer system you feed it, as far as is possible, and configure itself accordingly. If you don't get sound, or the mouse doesn't work, however, there's probably something about your computer's memory or other configuration that you need to deal with before running the game. For example, many people have multiple I/O cards such as serial ports, parallel ports, network boards, joystick ports, sound cards, CD-rom controllers, etc. All such devices appropriate one or more of the computer's 'interrupts' for themselves, and read from or write to specific locations in memory. If any of these conflict, your system will give trouble, plain and simple. You might not know anything is wrong, however, until you try to play music, accept input from the joystick and mouse, and perform awesome (ahem!) feats of graphics at the same time! Memory ------ To allow the game to use more memory, you can enable 'EMS' memory in your computer. This is accomplished by editing your 'CONFIG.SYS' file - which is loaded by the computer on startup. There are many ways to add EMS to your computer's bootup configuration, but you can't add it after the computer is booted - it must be done during the CONFIG.SYS startup procedure, which is the first thing that happens when you turn on the computer. So, if you have to add EMS to your computer, you must reboot before you'll get EMS memory. Your CONFIG.SYS file should contain a line that looks like this: device=c:\dos\emm386.exe RAM The last word 'RAM' is the important one. You can add this line by yourself on most computers, but some computers will hang if there other parameters aren't also included. If you have trouble adding this command, you can use a program named MEMMAKER, which will automatically add this line, along with a bunch of other parameters, relocating TSR and device drivers that can live in high memory. This way you have the required EMS, plus more free conventional memory. In short, this is the easy way for most computers. If you are using Qualitas Software or Quaterdeck memory managers, the EMM386 stuff doesn't apply to you. The equivalents are 386MAX and QEMM386 respectively. Both products come with an install program, with which you just select EMS, or set EMS to 'YES'. Windows 95(TM) and EMS Memory ----------------------------- If you are running Windows 95, you will add EMS in a different way. First, you modify CONFIG.SYS by first choosing the 'Run' option from the Start Menu, and typing 'sysedit'. Note that on systems running Windows 95, EMS will most probably be located in a different directory than 'C:\DOS\'. Most likely, you will find the new EMM386.EXE in 'C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND'. However, this may vary depending on your specific computer's setup. Refer to Microsoft's Window 95 documentation for additional instructions on loading the EMS driver. Sounds and music ---------------- The following sound cards are supported: SoundBlaster (TM) SoundBlaster Pro (TM) SoundBlaster 16 (TM) Aria sound card (TM) Ensoniq Soundscape (TM) Gravis Ultrasound (TM) GUSMAX CODEC (TM) ProAudio Spectrum 16 (TM) Windows Sound System (TM) Tronic's incredible music requires, of course, a sound card. Here are some additional pointers for getting the most out of some specific sound cards. If you're using a Pro Audio Spectrum family sound card, be sure you have the card's driver specified in the CONFIG.SYS file. It's best if you can set the card's DMA channel to a 16-bit DMA (5, 6, 7). The sound will work with an 8-bit DMA channel, but it won't sound as good. Okay, okay, it'll sound really awful. Sixteen-bit sound requires a 16-bit DMA channel, so there. With all sound cards, including Sound Blasters, it's better to have environment strings defined in the AUTOEXEC.BAT. The reason is that on some systems, the hardware detection process can fail or hang, and when it does, you're stuck. The string definition should look something like: BLASTER=AHHH IX DX TX That one's for the Sound Blaster family. Gravis UltraSound would look something like: ULTRASND=XXX,X,X,X,X (Where the 'X' represents some number that belongs in this position.) Any sound card not mentioned in the SETUP program might still work, but the users must set it up to emulate Sound Blaster or some other card mentioned in the SETUP program. Defaults -------- All this is dreadfully confusing, isn't it? Okay, the best thing to try first is to take all the defaults. If your system is fairly vanilla, then the game will detect everything and present its opinions for your approval during the setup process. Simple. If it doesn't work, then dig into the manuals, using this information as a guide for where to look. The most common problem is multiple cards overlapping use of DMA channels and interrupts. Mouse and Keyboard ------------------------- If the mouse does not work, the problem is probably that you should load your mouse driver before starting the game. Many computers depend on Windows to implement the mouse driver, and the driver isn't available to DOS applications when run that way. Most computers have a directory named 'MOUSE' or something similar which contains the driver - usually available by typing the command: MOUSE or something similar ('MMOUSE' on some systems). You'll have to refer to your system's documentation if you do not know where your mouse driver lives. Windows(TM) ----------- Tronic will run under Windows(TM) 3.x and Windows 95(TM). Simply double click on the TRONIC.EXE file located in the Tronic directory/folder. ---------------------------------------- Everything set up? Now for... Tronic GAME PLAY (Finally!) Goal ---- Use the racket, controlled by the arrow keys or mouse, to hit the balls. The balls will destroy the bricks. When all the bricks for a level have been cleared, the player will advance to the next level. Special Keyboard Controls ------------------------- ESCape key: Go back to the main menu m: Toggles music on/off p: Pause the game in progress Racket ------ Use the left and right arrow keys or the mouse to move the racket. When the vertical racket is in play, the up and down arrow keys may also be used. There are 6 different kinds of rackets, all with different properties. The rackets will change when the appropriate 'gadget' is caught. In addition, the racket will grow longer or shorter, depending on the gadgets caught. Some of the racket types are: Normal Racket: Use left and right arrow keys or the mouse to control Vertical Racket: Move up and down with the arrow up/down keys or the mouse Glue Racket: Ball will stick to racket until space or mouse button is pressed Fire Racket: Will allow player to 'shoot' bricks with the spacebar or mouse button Robot Racket: Works by itself to automatically hit balls Balls ----- The racket is used to hit the balls. The balls will become larger if the appropriate 'good' gadgets are collected with the racket. There are 3 types of balls: Yellow: The normal ball Purple: Use the spacebar to control direction of these balls Green: Will destroy everything in their path Bricks ------ The bricks are destroyed when hit by a ball. All bricks must be cleared before advancing to the next level. Bricks can also be destroyed by using the fire racket or using Gigablitz. There are 3 different types of bricks Destructible: Will disappear immediately when hit by a ball Semi-Destructible: Must be hit several times before they are destroyed, depending on the size or 'strength' of the ball Indestructible: Can not be destroyed by a yellow or purple ball. However, can be destroyed with the 'Gigablitz' weapon (see below). Gigablitz --------- The racket can fire rockets at any time by using the special Gigablitz weapon. To activate Gigablitz, hold down the 'ALT' key and wait for the red Gigablitz indicator to reach the top. The trick is, in order to use Gigablitz, NO balls must hit the racket, or the Gigablitz sequence will be aborted! Scorebar -------- The scorebar will display the number of gems collected so far, the current player's name and current score, the current level and remaining lives, as well as the high scorer's name and high-score on the right-hand side of the Tronic screen. The Gigablitz indicator is located on the very bottom of the scorebar. Aliens ------ Aliens will appear and fly around the playfield. The aliens can be destroyed with the balls, rockets, or Gigablitz. Sometimes when an alien is destroyed, it will release a special 'gadget' piece (see below). Gadgets ------- Gadgets fall when a brick or alien is destroyed and may be caught with the racket to activate that gadget. BEWARE! There are good and bad gadgets. If an indestructible brick is hit, sometimes it will release a bad gadget, so try to minimize the number of hits to this type of brick. Good Gadgets: B: More balls R: Activate robot racket T: Enlarge racket (tall racket) A: Anti-brick gun (fires rockets) P: Power balls (enlarge balls) V: Vertical racket (use up/down arrows) G: Glue on racket (spacebar to release) S: Slow down racket M: Mega racket (actived for 30 seconds) Bad Gadgets: S: Subtract points I: Invert racket movement F: Fast racket T: Shrink racket Special Gadgets: N: Next level L: Last level X: Surprise! Level Editor ------------ To make your own Tronic levels, use the level editor. The level editor only works with the mouse, not the arrow keys! Hit the spacebar to toggle between the level and the brick selection screen. Use the left mouse button on the brick selection screen to select a brick color and style. On the level screen, use the left mouse button to stamp down the piece selected and use the right mouse button to erase a piece. When you are satisfied with your level, hit the 's' key to save it to disk. Hit the ESCape key to try the level out! Then hit ESCape again to return to the main menu. ---------------------------------------- The Credits Programming Jean-Michel Martin Graphics Dana Dominiak Music and Sound Effects Ariel Gross Additional Coding Pascal Pochol Original Art David Igreja Original Music Christian Druel Music System DSMI by Otto Chrons (C) Virtual Visions Game Design Jean-Michel Martin Publications Editor Jay A. Gross ANSI Artist Jon Shiring Produced by Dana Dominiak Germany/Switzerland/Austria Distribution Juergen Egeling Computer Scandinavian Distribution Morten Eriksen, Twilight Zone Software French Distribution Jean-Michel Martin, TLK Games Australia/New Zealand Benjamin Slabak, Spectrum Pacific Publishing Marketing Brian Smolik Mike Speyer Martha Hauck Special Thanks To: Roy Manz David Gilardi Debra Osborn Pierre Maloka Bonnie Smolik Brendan Larson Susan Dominiak Jim Renz Erin and Doug Dominiak Peep the Bird All people who are not politicians The Toxic Zombies ---------------------------------------- Try this popular demosite: ftp.cdrom.com /demos Look for the Toxic Zombie's demo 'UNDEAD' as well as some Twilight Zone demos ---------------------------------------- This program is shareware, or 'try before you buy'. It is NOT public domain. Tronic(TM) is a trademark of Webfoot Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their owners. Copyright 1996 Webfoot Technologies, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ---------------------------------------- If using the Webfoot readme viewer, Hit ESCape to return to DOS.