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Text File | 1994-11-02 | 31KB | 711 lines

Documentation for PuzzlePits 2 v1.2 By Abe Pralle Using AMOS A Spartan Design production November 2, 1994 ----Copyright Notice------------------------------------------------------ The program PuzzlePits 2, all supporting files, and these instructions are Copyright 1992 Abe Pralle, All Rights Reserved. Version 1.2 is complete and freely distributable, but it is shareware. If you like it, please send the author a small fee ($5) as described in the "Registering" section on line 625. ----Quick Start (for experienced game players)---------------------------- Click on GAME after startup. Click LEFT mouse button to walk single step. Click RIGHT mouse button to walk automatically to the destination. Move barrels and boxes by pushing against them for a few moments. Push barrels over all blue floor tiles to complete the level. You will need to copy the following files to your own directories: Files needed in LIBS: (found in PuzzlePits2/LIBS/) Amos.library Diskfont.library Files needed in FONTS: (found in PuzzlePits2/FONTS/) PPits2.font PPits2 (directory and contents) ----Table of Contents (by line number)------------------------------------ * Hardware Requirements........60 * Startup......................77 * Control Setup...............105 * How to play.................166 * The Level Editor............215 * Command Summary...........380 * List of Registers.........351 * Table of Tile Values......420 * Miscellaneous...............593 * Registering.................625 * Author's Note...............663 ----Hardware Requirements------------------------------------------------- PuzzlePits 2 should run on any Amiga. It has been tested on a 512k A500 (v1.3) and a stock A1200. However, to run on a 512k machine you will need to deactivate any external drives, and there will be no sound and not as much character animation. 1 Meg of ram is recommended. Ensure that the contents of your LIBS: and FONTS: directories contain all the files from the LIBS and FONTS directories of PuzzlePits2. To start the game double-click on the program icon or set the current directory to the PuzzlePits2 directory from the CLI and type PuzzlePits2. ----Startup--------------------------------------------------------------- When the game loads you will see the TITLE SCREEN shorty followed by the MAIN SCREEN. Here you can do five things: * CHANGE THE CURRENT LEVEL by clicking on the current level text shown at the bottom of the screen or typing "n" (for name). You will first be asked to choose the series name. Since version 1.2 only comes with the series "Pit", that will be the only series you can initially use. Next select the level number, which can range from 0 to 99 (though the game comes with only levels 1 to 30). * VIEW THE INTRODUCTION by clicking on "INTRO" or typing "i". This is a background story with pictures. Computer Gaming World thought it was contrived, and it is in a way, but I like it. * PLAY THE GAME by clicking on "GAME" or typing "g". You will begin on the CURRENT LEVEL. * EDIT LEVELS by clicking on "EDIT" or typing "e". You will be presented with the editor screen, and the editor will attempt to load the CURRENT LEVEL. The edited level will be blank if the CURRENT LEVEL does not exist. * QUIT the game by clicking on the STOP SIGN or by typing "q". ----Control Setup--------------------------------------------------------- During the main game you may either use the mouse or the keyboard. Mouse controls are explained first, followed by keyboard controls. WALKING ------- When using the mouse, move the pointer around the guy onscreen until the arrow points in the direction you wish him to move. Then press the left mouse button. PATHFINDING ----------- Right-click over a terrain tile, and the guy will try to walk there automatically avoiding obstacles. WAITING ------- If the pointer is shaped like a dot, and thus directly over the guy, pressing the left mouse button will cause you to wait where you are for a turn. PICKING UP AND USING ITEMS -------------------------- If you move over an item such as a gem or a key you will automatically pick it up, and it will appear on the sidebar on the right side of the screen. Then you may left click on the item to use it. Click on it again to stop using it (if necessary). Each item's correct use is up to you to determine. MISCELLANEOUS COMMANDS ---------------------- The three icons at the top of the game screen do the following: EYE - Lets you scan the play area without physically moving the guy. Click on the icon again to stop scanning. Note: You cannot move the eye symbol over empty space. "RESTART" - Lets you reset the level whenever you screw up. "STOP" - Quits the level completely and returns you to the main screen. KEYBOARD EQUIVALENTS -------------------- The keyboard equivalents are as follows: ARROW KEYS - Move the guy around. RETURN - Wait a turn, exit from a text message. NUMERIC KEYPAD - Activates items (keys are arranged as follows) ( = Look ) = Restart / = Quit 9 = Use Yellow Gem 4 = Use Red Gem 5 = Green Gem 6 = Blue Gem 1 = Use Red Key 2 = Green Key 3 = Blue Key In addition, the 's' key may be used to turn the sound off and on, and the 'm' key may be used to turn the music on and off. When the game first starts the 'i' key takes you to the intro, g = game, e = edit, n = name change (level path + name), and q = quit program. ----How to Play----------------------------------------------------------- First of all, a basic description of the different things in the game is in order. FLOOR - Grey octagons. You stand on them. FLOOR PLATES - Octagons outlined in blue. If these exist on a level, you must push a barrel over each one to finish the level. SWITCHES - These are square plates on the floor activated by pressure. Among other things, they can cause items and walls to appear and disappear. LOCKED SWITCHES - Switches that are outlined in the color of the key needed to unlock them. WATER - Impassable. ARROWS - These are drawn on the floor, and they move any inanimate object that is resting on them in the direction that they point. GEMS - Red, green, blue, and yellow - you automatically pick these up, and you can use them to do different things. KEYS - After picking them up, you can unlock LOCKED SWITCHES with them. BARRELS - Normally brown, they turn blue when they're over a FLOOR PLATE. BOXES - Square and pushable, they do not count towards solving the level if they are pushed over a FLOOR PLATE. But they have other uses... WALLS - Thick and impenetrable. SIGNS - Walls with writing on them. Bump into them to see what they say. PILLARS - Just a fancy wall. GOAL OF EACH LEVEL AND PLAY MECHANICS ------------------------------------- For the first twenty levels, your main concern will be pushing a barrel over every floor plate. You can only push; you cannot pull except by using gems that you may find. You can only push a barrel or a box, and only then if the space where you are pushing it to is empty. To unlock a LOCKED SWITCH, obtain a key of the appropriate color, stand over the switch, and use the key by clicking on it. The key will then be removed from your possession. The four colors of magic gems do different things. It is up to you to discover exactly when and how to use them! COMPLETING A LEVEL ------------------ When you complete a level you will be given the time it took you. Occasionally you will receive a password that will allow you to edit the level. Most levels do not require a password to edit. ----The Level Editor------------------------------------------------------ THE SETUP --------- Each level can be up to 21 by 21 squares wide. Each square can have something on the bottom (floor) and something on the top (like walls or barrels). You can only see part of the level you are editing at any one time. The green rectangle at the top left of the sidebar shows your viewing window relative to the whole level. You can change the area you are viewing by dragging the green rectangle around. In the upper right of the sidebar are six buttons. The arrows move or translate the level from side to side and up and down, with wraparound. Your actual view is not changing - the level itself is. CLEAR ALL and CLEAR TOP are two different ways of clearing the level. There are four buttons marked LOAD, SAVE, DELete, and QUIT. The first three use the current path and name of the level (shown at the bottom of the screen). Don't load "levels/Pit12", change the name to "levels/Pit14", and expect Pit12 to be deleted from disk when you click on DEL. QUIT exits from the level editor to the main menu. It does not automatically save the level upon exiting. If you click on SAVE a requestor will appear, asking you to create the password for your level. A person who does not know the password will not be able to edit the level. The password for a level is given to you when you complete the level. You do not have to create a password; if you do not wish to, just press return at the requestor. This feature is only to preserve the challenge of a level. At the bottom of the screen are two lines of text. The first is the name of the level, as it appears on disk. The default level name is "levels/Pit", but you can start your own series of levels using whatever name you wish. To change the level that you are editing, click on the current level name. First you will be given a chance to change the series and then you can change the level number. The lower line of text is the title of the level. This usually has no significance in the game. It can be used to give a general idea of what the level is about (i.e. Starting Out, Warehouse) or give a hint on how to solve it. Click on the title to edit it. EDITING ------- On the lower right hand side of the screen is a group of tiles that you will use to make your levels. Left click on a tile to select it for drawing. With the ARROWS, GEMS, KEYS, and PLATES you can get different directions or colors by multiple clicks. Left-clicking on the main editor screen will set your selected tile in that position. Right-clicking will erase whatever tile is below the pointer. There are a few limitations dictated by the rules of the game. For instance, you cannot place a barrel over thin air. There are two levels of objects in PuzzlePits 2. The lower level includes everything you stand on, including gems. The upper level includes walls, pillars, barrels, boxes, and the guy. Placing an upper level piece over a lower level piece will not erase the lower level piece. For example, draw a row of gems. Now draw a wall piece over each one. If you then right-click to delete a wall, the gem will be revealed underneath it. Without going into programmable switches, there is only one way to solve each level. That is to push a barrel over each pressure plate. You don't need to do anything special in the editor to allow the level to be solved in this fashion; just create as many barrels as there are blue pressure plates. SWITCHES -------- There are plenty of design options given by just the basic stuff, as shown in the first twenty levels. But sometimes you may wish for something more. This is where the programmable SWITCHES come in. A special programming language is part of PuzzlePits 2. The best way to learn how to program your own switches is to look at at the code for the switches in the premade levels. To get into the switch editing mode, right-click on the drawing tiles. Then left click on the editing screen to edit or create a switch, or right click to delete an existing switch. When editing a switch program, put all program statements one after another, separated by a colon (:). Press return when finished. Pressing F10 will restore the code for the last switch that was edited. Say you enter the following line: TEXT{Hello.} When you left click on the switch location again, you will see a blank screen because you forgot to put a pound sign in. Simply press F10 to get "TEXT{Hello.}" back and insert the pound sign. Every command in this language ends with a pound sign (#). Different commands are separated with colons. There are thirty six different registers, RA to RZ and R0 to R9, that are available to be used during programming. An overview/summary of commands is below, followed by more detailed explanations. COMMAND SUMMARY --------------- I, X1, X2, Y1 and Y2 can be any number from 0 to 200 or a register. Rx can be any register. ON# - Commands following this are only performed when the switch is activated (weight applied). OFF# - Commands following this are only performed when the switch is deactivated (weight removed). MAP#X1,Y1,I - Changes the level at position (X1,Y1) to tile I. Multiple changes can be separated with semicolons. APPEAR#X1,Y1,I - Same as MAP#, except changes "dissolve" in. TPORT#X1,Y1=X2,Y2 - (Teleport) Swaps anything above ground (barrels, guy) at (X1,Y1) and (X2,Y2) LET#Rx=X1 - Assigns a value to a register. ADD#Rx,X1 - Adds a number or register to register Rx. SUB#Rx,X1 - Subtracts a number or register from register Rx. Since only positive numbers from 0 to 200 can be entered, this is necessary for subtraction. TEXT#{message} - Displays the message inside curly brackets. INPUT#{message} - Displays message then gets player input. IF#X1[<,>,=,!]X2 - Proceeds with program only if comparison is true. IF$#{answer} - Compares the text from INPUT# to text inside curly brackets, and proceeds with program only if they are equal. ELSE# - When an IF comparison is not true then the program will jump to the code after the ELSE#, if there IS an ELSE#. ENDIF# - There must be one of these for each IF# and IF$# - if the IF is not true and there is no ELSE, the program jumps to the command after the ENDIF#. SHAVE#X1 - This reduces the last input text to a maximum length of X1. SILENT# - Prevents the switch from making the usual sound when it is activated. END# - Ends the level. POP# - Prevents the rest of the switch program from being evaluated and exits the switch program. PIC#{picture} - Displays a 32 color IFF picture. Some of the registers have special uses. These are: R0 - Holds X position of guy (1 - 21). R1 - Holds Y position of guy (1 - 21). R2 - Amount of Red Gems you have. R3 - # of Green Gems. R4 - # of Blue Gems. R5 - # of Yellow Gems. R6 - # of Red Keys. R7 - # of Green Keys. R8 - # of Blue Keys. R9 - Numeric value of last INPUT#{}. RO - The number of the tile that is above ground (over) at (RX,RY). RU - The tile that is at ground level (under) at (RX,RY). RX - The X (horizontal) position of the switch each time the program is run. RX may be changed within the program to give a different RO & RU for the duration of the program. RY - Same as RX, but in the vertical. Now for the detailed descriptions: NOTE: Only the SWITCH and SIGN tiles will cause the program to check for and run a switch program. If you program a switch over a regular floor tile, nothing will happen when you walk over it. However, the switch program still exists at that location. If another switch changes the floor at that location to become a switch, the program will become active. ON# If you want a switch to do a certain thing only when it is activated, put ON# in front of that part of the program. The program will run until it finds another ON# or OFF#. If there is no ON#, then the program will start at the beginning when the switch is activated. You do not need an ON# or an OFF# in the program for a sign (the wall with writing on it). Only the first ON# in a program will be evaluated. Example: ON#:ADD#R2,1 - When the switch is activated it gives you one more red gem. It does nothing when deactivated. ADD#R7,1:OFF#:SUB#R8,1 - When the switch is activated you get another green key (because there is no on#, the program is executed from the beginning). When it is deactivated, you lose a blue key. OFF# The opposite of ON#. Example: ON#:MAP#5,5,199:OFF#:MAP#5,5,100 - When activated, the floor at location 5,5 is erased. When deactivated, a regular FLOOR tile is put at location 5,5. MAP#X1,Y1,I MAP#X1,Y1,I1;X2,Y2,I2;X3,Y3,I3 APPEAR#X1,Y1,I These two commands both have the same effect, though APPEAR# is more visually interesting. The end result for both is to change the level at location X1,Y1 to tile I. The table of tiles is listed below. The UNDER tiles only replace the ground level things, and the OVER tiles only replace the above ground things. You can separate multiple change locations/values with semicolons. There is a shortcut you can use rather than messing with all of the numbers. When you are editing a switch program, type MAP#* or APPEAR#* and continue with editing. When you press return you will be able to draw in all of the changes for that command. This is also handy for finding out the number of a tile without having to resort to the following table. TABLE OF TILES -------------- *misc* 0...............Clears everything at X1,Y1 99..............Clears the OVER portion of X1,Y1 (walls, barrels) 199.............Clears only the ground at X1,Y1 (floor,keys,gems) *UNDER* 100.............Regular floor 102 - 105.......Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow gems 106 - 108.......Red, Green, and Blue keys 109 - 112.......Up, Right, Down, and Left conveyer arrows 113.............Box in water 114.............Blue pressure plate 115.............Regular switch 116 - 118.......Red, Green, and Blue locked switches 119.............Water *OVER* 1...............Regular wall 2...............Sign wall 10..............Pillar 50..............Box 51..............Blue barrel 52..............Regular barrel 53..............Barrel in water 150.............The Guy (Kevin). Use this value only for comparison; you cannot change a location to this value. Examples: MAP#5,3,50 - Puts a box at location (5,3) ON#:APPEAR#*:OFF#:APPEAR#* - Allows you to edit what changes will be made when you step on the switch and when you step off it. NOTE: If you are using the * command (MAP#*), only the unique changes will be remembered. Thus if you want a barrel to be placed at (5,5) then you should make sure that there is not one there before you edit the switch program. TPORT#X1,Y1=X2,Y2 (Teleport) This swaps the above-ground objects at locations X1,Y1 and X2,Y2. Examples: TPORT#R0,R1=5,5 - Teleports the guy to (5,5). If there was anything at (5,5), it is moved to the guy's old location. MAP#3,3,99:TPORT#RX,RY=3,3 - This is a one way teleport. First anything above ground at (3,3) is cleared, and then whatever was on the switch that activated the program is teleported to (3,3). LET#Rx=X1 This assigns a register a value. When you start or restart a level, the registers are cleared except R0-R9 and RO-RZ, so you don't need to initialize any of the RA-RN registers to zero. Don't assign any values to RO or RU, since these registers may change from moment to moment. Examples: LET#R2=3 - Gives you 3 red gems, regardless of how many you had before. LET#RA=5:LET#RB=6:TPORT#R0,R1=RA,RB - Teleports the guy to location (5,6) LET#RX=1:LET#RY=1 - RO and RU now hold values of the tiles at location (1,1) ADD#Rx,X1 This adds a number or a register to a register. NOTE: No numbers greater than 200 or less than 0 can be used by the program. Examples: LET#RA=2:ADD#R3,RA - This gives you two more green gems. However, a simpler method would be to ADD#R3,2. SUB#Rx,X1 The reverse of ADD#, this subtracts the number or register X1 from register Rx. TEXT#{MESSAGE} This prints out the text between the two curly brackets. NOTE: You can embed "&Rx" to print out the contents of any register. You can also cause a carriage return to be printed by placing an "at" sign (@) within the message. Examples: TEXT#{The ghost said "Boo!"} TEXT#{The location of the guy is&R0,&R1.} TEXT#{first line@second line} INPUT#{MESSAGE} This prints a message and waits for user input. The input is stored both as a string for use with the IF$ command and as a number in R9. Examples: INPUT#{Teleport where horizontally(1-21)?}:LET#RA=R9: INPUT#{Teleport where vertically(1-21)?}:TPORT#R0,R1=RA,R9 INPUT#{What is the answer?} IF#X1{<,>,=,!}X2 Compares X1 with X2. If the result is true then the program proceeds. If it is false the program skips to an ELSE# or and ENDIF#, whichever comes first. Only one comparison sign is allowed. If you wish to check if X1 is not equal to X2, use a exclamation point (!) for the comparison operator. You do not have to have an ELSE#, but you do need an ENDIF#. Examples: INPUT#{What is 3+4?}:IF#R9=7:TEXT#{Right!}:ELSE#: TEXT#{Wrong!}:ENDIF# INPUT#{What ISN'T 3+4?}:IF#R9!7:TEXT#{Right!}:ELSE#: TEXT#{Wrong!}:ENDIF# IF$#{ANSWER} Behaves just like the regular IF#, except that the comparison is done between the last string to be input and ANSWER. It uses regular ELSE# and ENDIF# statements. Use upper case letters for the comparison, since all player input is converted into upper case. Examples: INPUT#{What sat down beside Little Miss Muffet?}: IF$#{SPIDER}:TEXT#{Right!}:ELSE#:TEXT#{Wrong!}:ENDIF# SHAVE#X1 This reduces the last text string input to a length of X1. This is useful for getting rid of suffixes. Examples: INPUT#{What comes after daytime?}:SHAVE#5:IF$#{NIGHT}: TEXT#{Right!}:ENDIF# - the player will get the answer right whether he enters NIGHT or NIGHTTIME SILENT# This prevents a switch from making the usual sound. It comes in handy when you don't want the player to know that a switch is being activated offscreen. END# Ends the level, even if barrels aren't covering all of the pressure plates. Examples: INPUT#{Quit the level?}:SHAVE#1:IF$#{Y}:END#:ENDIF# POP# This exits from the switch program without evaluating the rest of it. Examples: INPUT#{Quit the level?}:SHAVE#1:IF$#{N}:POP#:ENDIF#:END# - This is an alternate way to do the example listed for END# PIC#{NAME} This displays a 32 color IFF picture. Its name and path should be included in the curly brackets. Examples: PIC#{iff/win.iff} PIC#{PuzzlePits2:PuzzlePits2/iff/win.iff} ----Miscellaneous--------------------------------------------------------- By default, the current level is set to "levels/Pit" when you load the game. You can change this by changing the current level (by clicking on it) and then hitting the "w" key (write) to save the new default level. For example, you could have the default levels directory be "games:mylevels/MyPits". In this version you are limited to 100 switch programs and about 10k of storage space. This should be enough for all but the largest projects. If you're editing a switch and the program suddenly quits on you, it has probably run out of memory. I doubt this will ever happen. Any gems or keys that you have left when a level ends will be carried with you to the next level. When you reset a level, the number of gems and keys that you started the level with will be restored, so do not be afraid to experiment. If you STOP the game, and then restart, the number of keys and gems will be reset to zero. I have attempted to avoid puzzles which have a solution that is only obvious to me. Every level included is solvable, with a little patience and ingenuity. Don't discount the level names as sources of clues, either. You shouldn't have to worry about the game crashing if you edit a switch program incorrectly. If there is an error, the worst that will happen is that the program for that switch will be blank. I recommend that you make a habit of clicking on a switch again after you just edited it. If the program that appears isn't complete, just press F10 and find your error. ----Registering------------------------------------------------------------ I wrote this game on my own time. It involved a lot of work. I would like to continue to support the shareware concept by programming more cool games. I can only do that with your support. If you like this game, please register with me by sending me $5 U.S. equivalent, your name, and your address (including your email address if you have one). And if you don't pay, please don't play. There's a whole lot of levels that can be made with the editor, and I'd like to see people making them. I hereby give my permission for any level created with the PuzzlePits 2 level editor to be distributed however the creator of the level sees fit. To aid in this process you can send your levels to me via USPS or uuencoded mail and I will periodically post a new archive file (containing nothing but levels) to the Aminet. The below address should be good for several years to come, except for the email address which will probably expire at the beginning of May, 1995 (hopefully I'll make a new one known). I will be happy to answer any questions or take a look at any problems - provided you've registered, of course. Thanks for reading this, and enjoy the game! SEND ALL REGISTRATION FEES ($5 US) OR OTHER CORRESPONDENCE TO: Abe Pralle PO Box 2059 Chinle, AZ 86503 USA CONTACT VIA EMAIL (until 5/95): apr@pine.cse.nau.edu ----Author's Note (unessential reading, contains some rambling)------------ Some of you may be wondering about the "2" part of PuzzlePits 2. It sounds a lot like a sequel; perhaps to PuzzlePits? But you say you never heard of plain PuzzlePits? It is a slightly odd situation, but allow me to explain. In the fall of '91 and the spring of '92 I wrote the game called PuzzlePits. It was similar to this game, but it wasn't as nice looking and it didn't have the switches or the programming language. Then, in the summer of '92, I sent off a demo of it to a couple of public domain distributors. While I was waiting to hear something about it, my master program disk went bad - the program along with it. I was dismayed and really really pi- well, I was dismayed to discover that my backup on the same disk was unreadable, and the only other backup I had was ancient. Suddenly my fantasies of lots of people sending me money was twisted into a hideous nightmare. What followed then has to be one of the most intense, most stressful programming sessions anyone has ever undertaken. In under 7 days I created and completed this program, PuzzlePits 2, almost from scratch (I salvaged some of the old graphics). While I was at it, I added many different features and rethought the layout of the screen. As it turns out, I needn't have hurried. I still haven't heard anything about the original PuzzlePits demo I sent out, and I truly believe that for some reason it was never distributed to anyone. But just in case there is a demo floating around out there, I named this game "2" so that people would know that it's better than the game shown in the demo. Well, almost exactly 1 year ago the November, 1993 issue of Computer Gaming World came out, along with a mostly favorable review of PuzzlePits 2. Shortly thereafter I uploaded a one level demo of the game to Aminet. "Well great," I thought with naieve idealism, "Payback time!" In one year I have made exactly $0.00 from sales. Why the low figure? I attribute it mainly to lack of publicity. Looking back, I should have sent the demo to every major PD distributer around. I could still do that, of course, but I am rapidly approaching a major turning point in my life (college graduation), and I won't have the time to actively support (ie copy disks) and promote this game. That is why I am releasing this freely distributed, uncrippled version. Still, if there's enough favorable response I will certainly consider creating "PuzzlePits 3" or something similar. Well, I hope this go-round will show that the Amiga shareware market is worthwhile. Pleasant gaming. END OF TEXT