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********************************************************************* EPSILON GAMES v1.1 MANUAL COPYRIGHT 1997 SYNCHRONOUS SYSTEMS 1 - 21 - 97 ********************************************************************* ===================================================================== --------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ----- CONTENTS - INSTALLATION..................... How to install Epsilon Games. - STORY ........................... What is Epsilon Games about? - GAME DESCRIPTION ................ Game details and information. - INSTRUCTIONS .................... Ok...How do I play? - GAME PLAY TIPS AND POINTERS ..... Here are some tips. - RULES AND THE GAME OBJECTIVE .... This is the way it is. - ITEM DESCRIPTIONS ............... What it is and does. - RELEASE NOTES ................... Special information. - WHAT'S NEW ...................... What is new? What has changed? - COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS ......... Some startup game options. - GAME CONTROL LIST ............... What keys do what? - CONTACTING SYNCHRONOUS SYSTEMS .. How to reach us. ===================================================================== -------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION ----- 1) RUN the install PROGRAM "EPSIG11.EXE" For example, if the install program were in the current directory, simply type "EPSIG11" then press [enter]. 2) Follow the on screen directions. As a default, Epsilon Games will install to the directory "\EG11" if you select "Y" when first prompted by the install program. Note: After installation, type "EG11" and press [enter] to play Epsilon Games. ===================================================================== ---------------------------------------------------- GAME STORY ----- INTRODUCTION ...looking down the corridor you see the warm and inviting glow of the precious ball of Notrealium. Abandoning all caution, you sprint toward it. With a click and whine you are aware that you have triggered a motion sensitive switch. Oh, no! That sinking feeling manifests itself physically as the floor becomes non-existent and you freefall toward a lower room. As you fall uncontrollably a robot presence becomes uncomfortably real and you see it following your descent closely. As you land, and without time to dust yourself off, you run frantically for a ladder. The robot whine surrounds you now as he tags you... A foul! With one ball left you have one more chance. Four robots, one ball, one human playing for his country. Can you solve the structural and mechanical puzzles to ensure your country a place in the coming years? Play Epsilon Games 1.1 and find out if you're up to the challenge!... DISCOVERY One day, a small country called Nonibigea, found that their chief product of rare and delicious apples produced an element in the soil. This element, called Notrealium, could be used to power matter-transporting devices. THE PLAN As word spread, many companies and countries began buying the supply of Notrealium. Soon Nonibigea became aware of an increasing demand for the Notrealium. Nonibigea realized that at the current rate of consumption and growth that there would soon be a shortage. As a counter-measure, Nonibigea used their own funds to host a competition known as Epsilon Games. Here the different countries would compete for Notrealium through contests which required intellect, skill and strategy. IMPLEMENTATION Nonibigea set up places called bases, which were measured off in sectors and levels. Each level contained obstacle courses with a certain number of Notrealium containers. Because some area of the course weren't so readily available, players had to use their intellect to solve some physical problems. To keep the player moving, on their toes, and to add to the puzzle complexity, Nonibigea placed "off-limit" robots and marker blocks in many of the levels. They programmed some robots to try to get as close as possible to the players and the other robots to simply move around. Countries wishing to obtain Notrealium were invited to the games and given a chance to compete. A NICE SUIT Each player is equipped with a necessary suit to help accomplish the goal. The suit has special jumping and matter transporting capacity which allows the players to move around the level and, by using the transport storage device, move the level around. HERE AND THERE Using their matter transporting technology, Nonibigea designed in their suit, an Object Transport System (OTS) and an Active Transport Inertia Control System (AT-ICS). The first system, OTS, allowed the player to take parts of the level, store them in the onboard matter storage area, carry them to a different location and reposition them in new configurations. The second part of the suit's system, AT-ICS, allows the players to jump higher and fall farther than they could normally. This is accomplished by active transporting, which is the technique of continuous and active transport of materials, such as air and the suit itself. This ability is necessary for the player to perform more physically demanding maneuvers, avoiding the ever persistent robots and navigate the levels. CONCLUSION Epsilon Games is a chance for countries to collect Notrealium by using their skill and intellect to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. The players are free to run around discovering and solving while evading robots. There may be several ways to manipulate the levels to accomplish the goal of collecting the element. The solution is up to you! ===================================================================== ----------------------------------------- GAME PLAY DESCRIPTION ----- Epsilon Games v1.1 is an arcade-style, side view action/puzzle game where you must run, jump, dodge, and manipulate your surroundings by grabbing pieces of the screen size levels and creatively repositioning them. Your goal is to collect all the Notrealium in the 30 levels included in this game. To accomplish this goal, you can grab pieces of the level, carry the pieces elsewhere, then reposition the pieces in configurations which suit your fancy. This game has both action and puzzle aspects set head-to-head and toe-to-toe. You must avoid robots while jumping around from place to place. However, in many levels "everywhere" is not always readily available. To get to some places in levels, you must determine ways of manipulating your environment to facilitate access to previously inaccessible areas. There is more than one way to accomplish this. The player is generally free to resourcefully use pieces of the level as tools to get places without touching a robot. The levels included in this game come in two sets or "bases" of 15 levels each. One base, base "Praxis," is a basic base intended as a warm up introductory base which helps to accustom the player to game play and control. Don't think that just because it is a basic base that it is completely easy. The "Praxis" levels, though basic, hold plenty of puzzles and challenges. We recommend that you play base "Praxis" until you feel very confident of your Epsilon Gaming skills. Once you feel confident of your Epsilon Gaming skills move on to the extra challenging base "Prival" where your new-found skills will be tried. (To change to a different base choose "load a new base" from the options menu.) This game requires VGA graphics and runs under DOS. It can take advantage of Sound Blaster compatible sound cards and supports joystick play. Each one of the levels fits on one screen. The player, robots, and blocks are fairly small. However, this does allow for plenty of play area for each level. Epsilon Games v1.1 is a completely playable and free game. There is a fancier, fuller version of Epsilon Games called "Epsilon Games (v2.1) Commercial Version," which you may purchase later if you find you would like a richer set of pieces, more robot types, and the ability to create your own levels. The free version of Epsilon Games INCLUDES a demo version of the commercial game. This demo version includes five playable demo levels and a one level editor. Be sure to check out the editor. With the editor you can create, save, load, and play your own levels. Personally, I find making levels extremely fun. (To try out the demo, run program EG21D.EXE.) Epsilon Games is a game of physical dexterity, mental challenge, and resourcefulness where you are free to use your creativity and pieces of the levels as tools to solve problems. You get all of this rolled up in one on-the-fly action/puzzle package. ===================================================================== -------------------------------------------------- INSTRUCTIONS ----- === INSTRUCTION CONTENTS === - STARTING THE GAME PROGRAM - GAME OPTIONS - STARTING A NEW GAME - PICKING A LEVEL - PICKING A STARTING POINT - GAME CONTROL (navigational) - GOALS - ROBOTS AND FOULS - CREDITS - TOOLS - GAME OPTIONS - IN GAME HELP * STARTING THE GAME PROGRAM To start playing Epsilon Games run the program EG11.EXE. * GAME OPTIONS Before starting the game you may wish to go to the main menu and change some game settings under "options." To enter the options menu use the arrow keys to move the selection cursor down to the line labeled "options" and push enter. Your first option is sound. Using the cursor keys, move down to the sound setting. Once at the sound setting option, (the cursor will be in front of " SOUND : ") press the space bar once. This will change the sound to Sound Blaster mode. Your second option is using a joystick. If you would like to use the joystick, it needs to be reset. Move the cursor to the "reset joystick" option and press the spacebar. Follow the on-screen instructions for initializing the joystick. Once the joystick is selected, you may use the joystick in place of the cursor keys and joystick buttons in place of [enter]. If you would like to switch between joystick and keyboard mode use the CONTROL option. Your third option is choosing a base. This version of Epsilon Games comes with two bases, PRAXIS and PRIVAL. Base PRAXIS is the recommended base for first time players as it eases you into game control and concepts. Once you're comfortable with base PRAXIS, switch to base PRIVAL. You will find base PRIVAL more complex, puzzling and challenging than base PRAXIS. To switch bases, use the "LOAD A NEW BASE" option. * STARTING A NEW GAME From the MAIN MENU pick "PLAY GAME" with the enter key. * PICKING A LEVEL The next thing you will need to do after starting a game is select a level. There are a total of 15 levels from which to choose. The base is divided into three sectors, each containing five levels. There are two boxes on the "select a level to play" screen. The box on the left, numbered 1 - 5, represents the five levels of that sector from which you may choose. The box on the right shows what the currently highlighted levels looks like. The current sector is displayed at the top of the screen. To choose the level on which you wish to start, move the level cursor up and down. Once you decide on a level, move the cursor to that level number and press a selection button ([space], [enter] or a joystick button). * PICKING A START POINT After starting a level, and before game play can begin, you are prompted to pick a starting position. You may move your player to any non-solid area of the playing field. Use the cursor keys or the joystick to move your player to the place you would like to start. Once you have found your starting position, press a selection button ([space], [enter] or a joystick button) to start game play. * GAME CONTROL (navigational) If you are using the keyboard to move the player around, then you may use either the number pad or the arrow keys to move your player up, down, left and right. To jump, you may use the [spacebar] or the [Ins] key. If you are using a joystick, then the joystick will move the player up, down, left and right. Joystick button #2 will make the player jump. (Note: you may switch the functionality of button #1 and #2 with a command line parameter, see "command line parameters" for more on the topic of switching buttons.) There are different ways to jump. A normal press of the jump button does a normal full jump. A quick tap of the jump button does only a small jump. If you push a down direction when you jump, the jump will be a longer flatter jump. * GOALS The main goal of the game is to finish all the levels in a base before running out of credits. (More on the topic of credits later.) To finish a level, you must collect (by touching or grabbing) all the blue Notrealium balls. A secondary, non-required, goal is to collect all the red bonus Giblits on a level. If you get all the bonus Giblits on a level, your bonus Giblit count for that level will be doubled. It is good to get as many bonus Giblits as possible as the more total accumulative bonus Giblits you have collected, the better your chances at getting an extra credit at the completion of a level. * ROBOTS AND FOULS Many levels have robots and "off limit" blocks in them. You are not allowed to touch a robot or an "off limit" block. If you touch a robot or an "off limit" block, you will receive a foul. Each level allows for two fouls. On the third foul you will receive a "level fault," lose one credit, and the level will need to be restarted before you can finish it. The number of fouls you have left is represented by blue and white blocks in the bottom display directly to the right of the level time. When you receive a foul, the game play will stop and allow you to pick a restart position. These restart positions are the last few positions you were in recently and one choice to totally restart the level. To select a restart position, push a left or right direction with your controller. The left direction selects older positions and the right direction selects newer positions. Once you have found the position at which you wish to start, press a selection button (such as [space bar], [enter] or a joystick button). * CREDITS At the beginning of the game, you are given one credit. After you complete a level you automatically get a chance of being awarded a bonus credit. Your chances of getting a bonus credit at the end of a level increase with the total number of bonus Giblits you have collected over the course of the levels. Every time you "level fault," a credit is used. The game is over when you do not have any credits left and you receive a "level fault." It is a very good idea to try and keep your credit storehouse full as credits are very important to keep playing continuously. The number of credits you currently have is shown on the main "pick a level screen" in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. * TOOLS Many blocks and pieces on a level can be moved. Examples of some things that can moved are ladders, blocks, switches, Notrealium and Warp Poles. You want to move things around because moving items around can help you get to places that are currently inaccessible, or you may wish to adjust the level so the robots have a tougher time getting where you are. To move a piece, you pick it up, carry it to the spot you want and then place the piece into position. To pick up a piece, move to a position that is one space away from the piece you would like to pick up (you can even pick up pieces diagonally). Once you are one space away from the piece you wish to pick up, press the direction of the piece you wish to pick up and tap the grab button ([Alt], [Ctrl], [Ins] or joystick button #1) with a QUICK tap. A yellow-lined cursor should briefly appear over the piece you are grabbing and that piece should disappear from the main screen and reappear in the display box at the bottom of the screen. If the piece does not disappear, then either the piece is not grabbable or you're holding space is full (you may carry up to five pieces at a time). To place a piece after grabbing it, move your player to a space that is near where you would like to put the piece. (You may put a piece up to three spaces away from you in any direction.) Then press and HOLD the grab button ([Alt], [Ctrl], [Ins] or joystick button #1). While HOLDING the grab button, a yellow cursor will appear. While still HOLDING the grab button, use the direction controls to move the cursor to a blank position on the screen where you would like to put this piece. Once the cursor is over the spot, release the grab button. The piece will then disappear from your bottom piece display and reappear on the screen in place of the cursor. The bottom right portion of the screen displays what pieces you are currently carrying. You can carry up to five pieces at a time. The piece on the farthest right of the display is the piece that will be placed next. When grabbing multiple pieces, the first piece you grab will be the first piece that will be placed down, the second piece you grab will be the second piece put down and so on. The moveable pieces in the level are available tools which may be used to accomplish your goals. Resourcefully use these pieces in ways that you find helpful. Not all piece types can be moved so watch for pieces that are moveable. * IN GAME HELP Within the game you may press F1 at most any menu screen to go to the help menu. This is a good resource for information such as the game piece description list, keyboard control key listing, and general instructions. ===================================================================== ----------------------------------- GAME PLAY TIPS AND POINTERS ----- -MANY, MANY OBJECTS CAN BE PICKED UP, CARRIED AND REPOSITIONED ELSEWHERE, SUCH AS LADDERS, BLOCKS, WARPS, AND SWITCHES. -BASICALLY, WHEN USING WARP POLES, YOU WILL COME OUT OF A WARP POLE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE YOU WENT IN ON. -TO GRAB SOMETHING, PUSH THE CONTROLLER IN THE DIRECTION OF THE ITEM YOU WISH TO GRAB THEN QUICKLY TAP THE GRAB BUTTON. (REMEMBER, THE TAP MUST BE A QUICK ONE.) -YOU CAN GRAB ITEMS IN MANY DIRECTIONS (EVEN AN ANGLE). -TO PLACE A PIECE, YOU MUST PUSH AND HOLD THE GRAB BUTTON UNTIL A CURSOR APPEARS. ONCE THE CURSOR APPEARS, YOU MAY MOVE THE CURSOR TO A BLANK SPOT ON THE SCREEN AND THEN RELEASE THE GRAB BUTTON TO PLACE THE PIECE AT THIS NEW SPOT. ===================================================================== ---------------------------------- RULES AND THE GAME OBJECTIVE ----- *GAME OBJECTIVE Complete three sectors by collecting all the blue Notrealium Balls before running out of credits. *RULES -A player is given one credit at the start of the game. -A credit is used for each "level fault." -If no credits are left at a "level fault," the game is over. -Extra credits may be collected after completing a level. -The more bonus Giblit points you collect, the better your chances of getting an extra credit. -It is a foul to touch a robot or "off limit" blocks (uses a foul). -You are allowed two fouls per level. -If you foul and do not have any fouls left, the level is faulted. -You may voluntarily use a foul without touching a robot by pressing the [F10] button. -After a foul you must select, as a restart point, one of three previous places you've been or you may opt to totally start the level over. -Have fun! ===================================================================== --------------------------------------------- ITEM DESCRIPTIONS ----- * SPACE : empty area. This item is nothing. It is where you can walk or potentially put pieces. It is basically empty space. * MOVEABLE BLOCK : a metallic, purple block. This solid block may be picked up and carried multiple times. * ONE MOVE BLOCK : a metallic, green block. This solid block may be picked up and carried once. * NON-MOVEABLE BLOCK : a metallic, silver block. This is a solid block that cannot be moved. * SWITCH : a metallic pole with a small square on top. If you or a robot pass by this, it will switch the force fields on and off. (MAY BE CARRIED) * FORCE FIELD ON : a white bracket with a red filling. This is a force field in its "on" state. When the force field is on, it is solid. To toggle the force field off, walk by a switch. * FORCE FIELD OFF : a white bracket with an empty filling. This is a force field in its "off" state. When the force field is off, it is not solid and may be carried. To toggle the force field on, walk by a switch. * LADDER : a bright yellow set of vertical, parallel lines. You may use a ladder to move up and down. Stand between the two lines and press an up or down direction. This ladder may be picked up and carried multiple times. * ONE MOVE LADDER : a dim, yellow set of vert., parallel lines. This ladder may be picked up and carried once. * NON-MOVEABLE LADDER : a red set of vertical, parallel lines. This ladder may not be moved. * WARP POLE : a glowing green cylinder. This item allows you to jump from one part of the level to another (need at least two poles per level). If you enter a warp pole moving to the right, you will come out of a different warp pole still moving to the right and vice versa. However, if there are no warp poles with an open area on the side you are to exit, it is ineffective. Robots may also use warp poles. (MAY BE CARRIED) * NOTREALIUM : a blue and pink sphere. You must collect all of these, by touching or grabbing them, in order to complete a level. * LOCKED NOTREALIUM : ball of Notrealium surrounded by metal. This Notrealium is within a solid metal shell until a robot passes over it. You cannot get to the Notrealium while it has its metal shell. However, you still need to collect the Notrealium before the level may be completed. You may need to manipulate your surroundings to redirect a robot to this item. * BONUS GIBLIT : a red, round object. These items give you bonus points when you touch or grab them. If you collect all the Giblits on a level, then your bonus point score for that level will be doubled. The more accumulative bonus points you have collected during a game, the better your chance will be of getting an extra credit at the end of a level. * LOCKED GIBLIT : a Giblit surrounded by a round metal shell. This Giblit is within a solid metal shell until a robot passes over it. You cannot collect it until it is unlocked. * OFF LIMITS : a yellow and black striped square. It is a foul to touch this block. * FUZZBOT : a small, round, yellow fuzzy-looking robot. This robot slowly follows along solid objects. It is a foul to touch this robot. * HENRY THE ROBOT : a silver, floating robot. This clever, persistent and fairly speedy robot chases you by first trying to get on the same horizontal level as you, and then trying to go straight toward you. But watch out for Henry because it's a foul if you touch him. ===================================================================== ------------------------------------------------- RELEASE NOTES ----- CAN'T HEAR SOUND ------------------------- If you're having trouble getting the Sound Blaster sound setting to work and your sound card has software controlled volume levels, all you may need to do to fix the problem is use your sound card's volume adjusting program (the DOS version) to turn up the main and/or FM volume, before running the game. CAN'T GRAB AT AN ANGLE WHEN USING THE KEYBOARD ------------------------- To grab at an angle by using the keyboard, combine two keyboard direction buttons together. For example to grab something to the upper-left press up and left TOGETHER. Note that some keyboard combinations may not work. If a certain grab combination is not working, try using alternate keys. For instance, you may use the arrow keys OR the number key pad as direction keys. ===================================================================== ---------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S NEW ----- Version 1.1 ------------------------- * Improved joystick routines. * In the game, selection of keyboard or joystick play. * A different way of handling fouls and restarts. * A tile description listing. * Extended story text. * Improved documentation. * An included playable demo version of the commercial package. ===================================================================== --------------------------------------- COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS ----- EPSILON GAMES COMMAND LINE OPTIONS (PARAMETERS): --------------------------------------------------------------------- A command line parameter is text typed after the name of the executable program file. Command line parameters often affect how the program runs. For example, the Epsilon Game Executable file is "EG11.EXE". To start the program you type "EG11" then hit enter. If you want to use a command line parameter called "BUTTONS.SWAP" then you type "EG11 BUTTONS.SWAP" and hit enter. You may enter more than one command line parameter at once. However, be sure to leave a space between each parameter. Here is a list of command line parameters you can use: JOYSTICK.OFF ----- Start game with the joystick being deactivated. BUTTONS.SWAP ----- Swap the jump/grab button functions. DEFAULT_PATH.(new path here) ----- New working (default_path.\lev\old (for example)) directory. ===================================================================== --------------------------------------------- GAME CONTROL LIST ----- JOYSTICK: LEFT/RIGHT/UP/DOWN...............................MOVE PLAYER BUTTON 2................................................JUMP BUTTON 1 (TAP).....................................GRAB ITEM BUTTON 1 (HOLD)...................................PLACE ITEM KEYBOARD: (P)....................................................PAUSE (F7)..........................................RESET JOYSTICK (F10).............................................USE A FOUL (ESC)...........................................CANCEL LEVEL (CURSOR KEYS*)...................................MOVE PLAYER (SPACE BAR OR INS*).....................................JUMP (ALT OR CTRL*) (TAP)...............................GRAB ITEM (ALT OR CTRL*) (HOLD).............................PLACE ITEM (ALT+Q)...........................................QUICK EXIT * USING THESE KEYS WILL AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVE KEYBOARD MODE. - (in demo) EDITOR (in demo) - JOYSTICK: LEFT/RIGHT/UP/DOWN...............................MOVE CURSOR BUTTON 2..........................................PLACE ITEM BUTTON 1+(JOYSTICK L or R).......................SELECT ITEM BUTTON 1+(JOYSTICK U or D)..................CHANGE ITEM PAGE BUTTON 1+BUTTON 2................................DELETE ITEM KEYBOARD: (F1).......................................BLOCK DESCRIPTION (ESC)...................................................EXIT (F10).............................................TEST LEVEL (CTRL+RIGHT ARROW).........................COPY TO CLIPBOARD (CTRL+LEFT ARROW)........................COPY FROM CLIPBOARD (PAGE UP).............................................PEN UP (PAGE DOWN).........................................PEN DOWN (DEL)............................................DELETE ITEM (Z)/(X)..........................................SELECT ITEM (TAB)/(SHIFT TAB)...........................CHANGE ITEM PAGE (SPACE BAR).......................................PLACE ITEM (+)/(-).........................................CHANGE LEVEL (P)/(CTRL+P)(FROM EDIT MENU)..............SET/CLEAR PASSWORD ===================================================================== -------------------------------- CONTACTING SYNCHRONOUS SYSTEMS ----- Synchronous Systems (syncsys@sierra.net) P.O. Box 2192 Paradise, CA 95967 ---------------------------------------------------------------------