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Text File | 1996-03-04 | 10.5 KB | 267 lines

----------------- Tetrolis v1.00 Documentation by VectorMan ----------------- Started On : March 10/93 Last Revised On : April 7/93 Introduction -------- The concept behind Tetrolis is quite simple to understand. Although it may not appear to be very complex, you will fall into the game and will play it over and over again. In this documentation I will explain the idea, as well as go into the actual use of the game. Requirements -------- - VGA Card with 256K of DRAM. (All 256K are used) - IBM 80286 or higher (16-Bit instructions) - A lot of time! - Patience - A VGA or Monochrome monitor - About 260K of RAM free Optional -------- - Upto 2 Joysticks can be used with Tetrolis (tested with 1) - Gravis Ultrasound with at least 256K of DRAM - Soundblaster(complete version only) Game Idea & Play -------- The game is played with blocks. There are 7 different types of blocks that you will encounter, and each has a different shape. The idea of the game is to fill a line of the pit, so that there will be no blocks left. Then the line dissapears, and the rest of the blocks fall down by a line. Once the top of the pit is reached, the game is over! This game is VERY addictive, so be prepared to spend long hours playing it! Controls: Keyboard: Move Object: Left & Right arrow keys Rotate object: SpaceBar, Keypad 5 Key, Alt, Ctrl, Insert. When playing in the two player mode, the keys : A,D,S,X,TAB and Shift all control the second player. Joystick: The object is moved by the use of the joystick, and Button #1 rotates the block in one direction and Button #2 rotates it in the other. For 2 Player Keyboard playing, do not use the arrow keys left to the numeric pad. They call up the Shift key, and will rotate player #1's blocks. Monochrome or B/W monitor usage: -------- To Run the game on a B/W monitor, just type TETROLIS /B or TETROLIS /b. This will run the game in a special B/W mode. (The intro, however, will be in full-color) Options Explained: -------- Game Modes A: This is the standard mode, good for beginners B: The Chellange Mode: The pit will be filled with bits of blocks, and it's up to you to clear it! This is a great practice mode, as it greatly builds the player's knowledge of the game and it's situations. C: This is the "Timed" mode. The Timer is counted downwards until it reaches 0. The player with the most lines wins. The time is in Minutes, and can be upto 59 minutes. Also, the timer is EXACT. It should not run any faster on a 586 then on a 286. I'm directly taking over the clock. Configuration Menu Options: Player 1 and Player 2 control is self explanatory. NOTE: You will need a joystick to play the 2 player mode. Delays : These are the Movement delays, Ie, the joystick and keyboard is too fast mostly, so i have to slow it down a bit. It is wise to have the same speeds for both players, as the game will be more fair this way. B Delay is the Button Delay time Down Delay is the Pressing Down delay M Delays are the Movement (Left-Right) delays Special Effects: This is the 2 player special effect, it tells the game whetever you want the Panic Mode option (See section on Panic Mode). Next Block: This shows how many "Next pieces" will be shown. Upto 2 can be enabled. Sound and SoundCard: For now, this Release supports only the Gravis Ultrasound. Check the "Gravis Ultrasound" section for more detail! Same Speed: This option, when used with 2 players, will always keep the highest speed of the 2 players for both of them, so the game will be more even. Joystick Calibration : Calibrates the joystick so that it will work properly with the game. Save & Quit : Exit the menu and save the configuration Quit : Exit the menu without saving configuration. Panic Mode -------- The Panic Mode is a special 2-Player feature. It is avaliable by turning on Special Effects in the Configuration Menu. With Panic Mode enabled, everytime you complete 3 or 4 lines at one time, the lines-1 will be "thrown" to the other player with a block missing. Video Mode --------- As you can see, this game runs in a non-standard video mode. It's a special set video mode at 320*400 in 256 colors. It requires 256K of memory, and it may not function on some non-100% VGA cards. If it doesn't work using the default setup, try running the game with the /2 switch, like this: TETROLIS /2. Why did i chose this video mode? I wanted this game to be different. I had spent many hours creating the High Resolution VGA routines, and as there are no games out currently that supply it, i decided to use it! It's double the vertical resolution of the standard VGA(320*200-256). One screen of memory is 128 Kilobytes, so you can imagine how much processing power is required! Techniques -------- Here are some techniques that my Beta testers and I found out: - It is a good idea to use the 4" long horizontally not vertically - Avoid "building up". - If you want to build up, do it on the sides, and leave no holes - To move an object underneath another one, you must start pressing in the direction to move into BEFORE you actually reach it. The objects can be usually moved in upto 5 Squares!(complete version only) - Be quick when playing in the Panic Mode, the other player can really finish you off! Gravis Ultrasound -------- For those of you who don't know, the GUS is developed by Gravis(TM), a local Canadian company. It is a next-generation sound card, supporting: - 16 Bit Playback at 44.1Khz - 32 Simulatenous voices! (Incredible) - Stereo - 256k of onboard RAM(Standard config), expandable to 1 Meg. - Tons of awesome programs - SoundBlaster compatibility I finally understood enough of the GUS to make some half-decent code for it. This Shareware release supports the soundcard, but the support is not 100%. Some things are still missing, for example: The card may not fully detect each base port, bad initialization, and other details. If it does not work now, you can be sure that it will work properly in the complete version. The game supports MOD files, but in this Shareware version it only supports ONE MOD(MUSIC1.DAT), and it doesn't play using all the commands. This is not GUSMOD, it's a mod player i took about 3 days to create! It's very messy, but it works! I am currently working on it, so it should be 100% compatible in a few days. Also, you can tell it's not GUSMOD by the low sound quality:) In this shareware release you can change the volume of the MUSIC by using the + and - keys. The sound effects are set at a constant sound, but will be changable in the final version. The MOD Music is only going to play for ONE(1) minute, then it turns off! The sound effects & music is mixed at 22050 khz, so it's not bad! The final version will come with more mods, and you will be able to play your favorite one for every level!:) Speakers -------- On the Gravis Ultrasound, the sound effects for player #1 will come out of the left speaker, and for player 2 from the right one. Any sound effect to be heard by both players will be balanced in the center. If you are getting the sound effects from the wrong speaker, switch them around:) If the game doesn't work: -------- - Try running the game without EMM drivers such as QEMM. - Create a boot disk (check your DOS manual) - Run the game using the TETROLIS /2 command (alternate video mode) - Clear up some memory - Disable the joysticks(I found this helps in some games) Errors -------- As far as i know, there are no bugs in this game. If any are found, please note the incident and let me know. It is a good idea to note : - The number of lines - The time - The Amount of memory if possible - The controls and other things. Credits -------- This game was created entirely by me, Vectorman. A lot of the ideas were contributed by my dad, John. (Intro, Same Speed, etc...) Disclaimer -------- I hate to include this, but it's a must: In using this product, you are fully and completely responsible for any problems/errors that might occur. I take no responsiblity, and to the best of my knowledge there are no errors at all(both critical and non-critical). Contributions & Registration -------- If you send $10 or more, i will send you the newest versions as well as information on my future games and programs. Adam Kolodziejczak #3269 Portview Place Port Moody, BC V3H 2L4 Canada The new version will contain many new options, for example : Bombs,18-Ton, Fire, etc.. Also, i will include a special "Cheat Key" where you can get out of very difficult situations! (this is disabled currently). Check out the "Registration" menu after quitting the game. It explains a lot of the options. The Gravis Ultrasound support will be 100%, and the MOD will play for more then the current 1 minute. It will also enable you to customize the game much more, by setting which mods to play when, etc... When sending your registration, remember to include the following: - Your Name - Address - Ideas & Reports of any bugs - Comments - Check - Anything else you want to include! Future Releases --------- In the next few weeks i will be starting on my next game, this will be a Super Mario style game. Features: - Many levels (around 35 or so) - Complete Gravis Ultrasound support(Music and sound effects) - 4 layer scrolling (INCREDIBLE look & speed, never before done on the IBM) - 386 Auto-Detection - EMS Usage - Possible 2 player option - Scaling and rotation like you've never seen before on the IBM! - Traps & Hidden bonus levels - 256 Colors I have already designed the actual "Grapx Engine", and it runs at a very healthy speed. I might be able to get it upto around 30 screens per second (full-screen animation), which is faster then the TV broadcast rate! If you are interested in helping out with the drawing/ideas then contact me! I'm in need of artists/musicians/sound effects/ideas and helpers.