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Xerix By Brendan Reville Game Documentation Version 1.3 -------------------------------------- Contents Overview System Requirements Files Getting Started Configuration and Hard Disk Installation The Story Playing the Game Credits and Acknowledgments About the Author Free Registration Contacting the Author Programmers' Information Revision History Disclaimer Copyright Notice Trademarks and Registered Trademarks -------------------------------------- Overview Xerix is an arcade-style "shoot 'em up" game set in the future. You must guide a space ship through a strange world of two different levels and destroy or avoid the many enemy obstacles in this place. Xerix features 256 colour VGA/MCGA graphics and sound card support. Other features include multi-level/rate scrolling, Expanded and Extended memory support, the support of various input devices and digitised sound played through the internal PC speaker. The game is public domain, or "FreeWare", and may be freely and legally copied in its original, unmodified form. -------------------------------------- System Requirements Required: IBM AT (80286) or higher: '386/i486; or compatible MS-DOS VGA or MCGA video display Hard disk or floppy disk with 500k bytes free Recommended: 10 Mhz or faster processor speed Hard disk Supported: (optional) Adlib sound card Sound Blaster sound card Microsoft Mouse or compatible mouse Joystick EMS (Expanded) memory XMS (Extended) memory -------------------------------------- Files The following files are part of the Xerix package. All files, apart from XERIX.CFG, last on the list, should be on the disk or in the archive which you acquired the game on: XERIX .DOC This file - the game documentation. XERIXREG.DOC The registration form. XINSTALL.EXE The installation/configuration program. XERIX .EXE The Xerix game program. XERIX_GM.DAT A game data file. XERIX_A0.DAT A game data file. XERIX_A1.DAT A game level data file. XERIX_A2.DAT A game level data file. XERIX .CFG Default game settings file. (Created by XINSTALL - not on original disk/archive) -------------------------------------- Getting Started To run Xerix, make sure you're on the same disk drive and in the same directory as the game. To configure the game for your computer initially, type XINSTALL to run the install program. If you know that the game is already configured for your system, you can simply type XERIX to begin the game. Xerix Install - XINSTALL From the main menu of the install program you can choose to configure the default game settings, install Xerix to a hard disk, or return to DOS. Configuring the default game settings Choosing 1 on the Xerix Install main menu takes you into the default game setting configuration menus, which allow you to configure Xerix for your computer. These settings will be saved in the file XERIX.CFG in the current disk/directory, or on the destination disk/directory if a hard disk installation is performed, unless a problem in the hard disk installation occurs. Firstly, you can choose whether Xerix runs with full 256 colour graphics, or with 64 grey-scale graphics if you prefer. The grey-scale graphics will work with a full-colour monitor. Next, you can choose the sound device Xerix will use. The following options are available: No sound: The game is silent. The sound effects can also be turned off during the game. Adlib sound: Using the original Adlib sound card's FM music and sound effect capabilities. When a text sequence begins to fade off (see below) a ditised audio sample is played briefly through the IBM PC internal speaker, with a "subtitle" appearing at the bottom of the screen, describing the sample being played. Sound Blaster sound: Using the FM music and sound effect capabilities of the Adlib as well as digitised sound samples. If you choose the Sound Blaster as the sound device there will be two additional menus, in which you choose the base memory address and interrupt number for the card. For both menus, Auto Scan should work. If the game locks up while loading or gives a Sound Blaster initialisation error message, XINSTALL should be run again and the Sound Blaster base memory address should be specified. If the game still doesn't work, the interrupt number should be specified as it is set up on your Sound Blaster card. IBM PC internal speaker: Used for music and sound effects. When a text sequence begins to fade off (see below) a ditised audio sample is played briefly through this speaker, with a "subtitle" appearing at the bottom of the screen describing the sample being played. The next menu allows you to choose what memory the game uses. Choosing conventional memory limits the game to using only the basic 640k bytes of RAM, at most, of memory installed in your computer. Choosing either EMS or XMS allows the game to utilise the memory in your computer set up as either Expanded or Extended memory. The use of EMS (Expanded) memory requires an Expanded Memory Manager (EMM) that conforms to the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification (LIM-EMS) version 3.2 or later. The use of XMS (Extended) memory requires an external driver that conforms to the Lotus/Intel/Microsoft/AST eXtended Memory Specification (XMS) version 2.0 or later, such as HIMEM.SYS. The use of Expanded or Extended memory make subsequent loadings of levels faster. Their use still requires adequate free conventional memory. The final menu allows you to choose the input device used to control the game: either keyboard, mouse or joystick. A Microsoft compatible mouse driver must be installed before running the game if it is configured to use the mouse. A joystick must be connected to Game Port 1 and centred when the game is loading if it is to be used. The keyboard may also be used in combination with these other input devices. Hard Disk Installation This option from the Xerix Install program's main menu will copy the game into a subdirectory on your hard disk, as long as it has enough free space for the game. The hard disk install option will ask for the destination drive's letter, from C to F, then check for adequate available space on the destination drive. If there is enough space, the directory \XERIX will be created and the game copied into that directory. To run the game after installing it onto a hard disk, make that drive the current drive by typing its letter followed by a colon. For example "C:" (without the quotes). Then make the current directory \XERIX by typing "CD \XERIX" (again without the quotes). To run the game, type "XERIX". -------------------------------------- The Story Some time in the near future... A massive, alien structure hurtles from deep space towards the earth. Several days after first being discovered by a space- tracking station in the desert of Egypt, two-thirds of the population of Los Angeles and its surrounding area are killed by a strange radiation. The radiation's source is tracked to the alien structure. Panic sets in on the earth in the hours that follow. People don't know what to do or where to go. The governments of the world, combined through the United World Council, try desperately to find a solution to this problem. The World Council sent up one small unmanned space-craft to examine the alien structure at close range. Upon approaching the structure, a large panel in its otherwise impenetrable wall opened. The space-craft entered and reported a strange environment, an open space, but nothing like the world of Earth. A fast-moving object destroyed the space-craft shortly after it had entered, but the object's speed was estimated to be at a rate which a human might be able to respond to - either destroying with weapons or dodging. You have been chosen to pilot a second earth-sent space-craft. The project has been codenamed XERIX: the eXtended Enemy Response and Infiltration eXperiment. Your mission is to destroy the alien structure. How you will do so is not known. Your mission is a difficult one, indeed seemingly impossible, but is of the greatest importance. The earth's fate is in your hands. You must succeed. -------------------------------------- Playing the game In the following instructions, "fire" refers to the space bar and can also refer to either of the buttons on the joystick and mouse. Title Screen To exit the title screen, hit fire. A text sequence (see below) displaying the game's credits will begin when the title screen is exited for the first time. After this, the title screen will only displayed after the game is "won" or after the ESC key is hit during a game (see below). It will be skipped after games in which the player "loses". The title screen will also fade off when the title music has finished playing. Hitting Control (Ctrl) and Q simultaneously will quit the game. The title screen will fade off the and the program will exit to DOS. Text Sequences At various times in the game, namely, the credits, before a level and after a game, a text sequence will begin unless skipped (see below). To skip one of these text sequences, hit fire. The sequence cannot be skipped for the first half second of running, to avoid accidentally skipping a sequence. An audio sample will be played when the text sequence begins to fade off, either when skipped or when finished. This sample will be played through the Sound Blaster if possible, with maximum quality, or through the IBM PC internal speaker if the current sound device is that speaker or the Adlib sound card, with a "subtitle" appearing, to describe the sound. Hit P to pause a text sequence, and P again to unpause it. Hitting Control (Ctrl) and Q simultaneously will quit the game. The screen will fade off and the program will exit to DOS. Difficulty levels At the beginning of a new game, a menu will prompt the user to choose the Difficulty Level: Novice or Expert. The Novice level gives the player infinite chances, or "lives", in which to complete the game, while the Expert level gives the user three lives. In both difficulty levels the player begins a new "life" from the approximate location that they were destroyed at. Controlling the space-craft To control the space-craft with the keyboard, hit the directional key on the numeric or arrow keypad in the direction that you wish the ship to go in. The space-craft can also move diagonally by hitting two directional keys at once, or by using a "diagonal" key on the numeric keypad. With the joystick, simply move the stick in the direction which you want the space-craft to travel in. When using the mouse, an on-screen pointer will appear. The ship will always travel towards this pointer, "chasing" it. The ship will cease "chasing" the mouse pointer once it reaches it, so that you may control the ship with the keyboard as long as you don't move the mouse pointer after the ship has reached it. To shoot, hit fire. Rapidly hitting fire will cause the space-craft to shoot more quickly than simply holding in fire. Shots can not pass through the red remains of an alien. When playing on the Expert Difficulty Level you will have, initially, three "lives." Each "life" is another attempt to continue in the current game, starting on the screen where you got out. You will be given an additional bonus life if you finish a level. When playing on the Novice Difficulty Level you will have infinite lives in which to complete the game in. Other keys during the action sequence ESC Escape The escape key will end the current game. The screen will fade off and the game will return to the title sequence. ENTER/ RETURN Skip By hitting the ENTER/RETURN key while the screen fades off slowly, either after hitting ESC, dying (by losing all your lives) or winning the game, the losing sequence, if it was to be played, will be skipped and a new game begun immediately. Ctrl-Q Quit By hitting the Control (Ctrl) and Q keys down simultaneously, the screen will fade off and the program will exit to DOS. T Toggle By hitting the T key the outer scrolling regions will be Toggled (switched) on or off. Users of slower computers may wish to turn off these additional scrolling regions at the top and bottom edges of the screen to speed the game up. S Sound By hitting the S key the game Sound effects will be toggled (switched) on or off. The aim of the game is simple: make it through the game while dodging or destroying the alien space-craft and "bombs" which spray from certain objects on the screen. Then destroy the end of level alien, a type of guardian of the alien ship, to advance to the next level. It isn't easy, but sharp skills and fast reflexes will serve you well. -------------------------------------- Credits Design, Programming, Artwork, and Music by Brendan Reville Design contributions: Marc Armansin and Michael Reville Additional game testing: Justin Reville, Michael Reville and Peter Howie Documentation: Brendan Reville Further Acknowledgments The following helped, to various degrees, with the development of the game, and deserve a word of thanks. John Creasey Paul Meiners Tony Cook Eric Poulsen - for assisting in the development of the keyboard reading routines (MultiKey). Rhys Weekley - for helping with the Adlib testing. David Evans - for the public domain program VGA Paint, used to create the game artwork. John M. Coon - for the shareware Sound Blaster composer program Compoz, used to create the game's FM music. Mum, Dad, Justin and Michael - my family, for all their interest, patience and support. And to all my friends at school and on the Bulletin Boards, for their encouragement and interest: thank you. -------------------------------------- About the Author Brendan Reville is a 15 year old student living in Sydney, Australia. He enjoys ice-skating, basketball, tennis and swimming, and plays the clarinet. Favourite writers include Philip K. Dick, William Gibson and Barbara Hambly. He began programming while around the age of 10, in BASIC, before moving onto C at the age of 13, and is now teaching himself Assembler. Xerix is his first major production, and was contributed to the public domain in appreciation of the medium. -------------------------------------- Free Registration This game is free, however, it is requested that the registration form contained in the file XERIXREG.DOC is filled out and returned to the author at the address given or sent by electronic mail as described below. Registration is free, except for the necessary postage, and is not required, but appreciated. Consult your DOS manual for information on printing a file. -------------------------------------- Contacting the Author The author can be contacted at the following postal address: Brendan Reville PO Box 304 Milsons Point NSW 2061 Australia Users with a modem may contact the author through electronic mail as follows: The author can be contacted via GTNet electronic mail available through any GTPower Bulletin Board System worldwide. Send a Private netmail message to Brendan Reville at The Poet's Dilemna, netmail address 302/000. The author can also be contacted via FidoNet electronic mail available through any FidoNet-carrying Bulletin Board System worldwide. Send a Private netmail message to Brendan Reville at The Runway BBS, netmail address 3:712/506.0. -------------------------------------- Programmers' Information Xerix was programmed in Microsoft C 6.0. Also used in the development of the product were Creative Labs' Sound Blaster Developer Kit and Ted Gruber Software's Fastgraph routines. The author is happy to discuss areas of the game's programming with other programmers, and can be contacted by the methods given above. -------------------------------------- Revision History September 1992 - version 1.0 Original release September 1992 - version 1.1 "Lives" added Title screen not displayed after every game Documentation improved and updated December 1992 - version 1.2 Digitised sound also played on IBM PC internal speaker Documentation updated Registration form updated December 1992 - version 1.3 Two Difficulty Levels added: Novice and Expert Documentation updated -------------------------------------- Disclaimer The author, Brendan Reville, and any other persons referred to in this documentation or in the computer program "Xerix" accept no responsibility for any loss of time, money or productivity, or damage to any person(s) or computer hardware or software, as a result of using the program "Xerix", even if the above mentioned had knowledge or had been notified of the possibilities of such events. -------------------------------------- Xerix - Program, Data and Documentation (C) Copyright Brendan Reville 1992 All Rights Reserved. MCMXCII -------------------------------------- Trademarks and Registered Trademarks Adlib is a registered trademark of Adlib Inc. Fastgraph is a trademark of Ted Gruber Software. IBM, IBM PC/AT, are registered trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc. Microsoft, Microsoft Mouse and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand and product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.