home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Best of Select: Games 9
/
CD_1.iso
/
dosgames
/
gems3
/
gems3.doc
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-12-04
|
23KB
|
501 lines
Documentation Manual For:
■ ───────────────────────────────────────────────── ■
██████ █████ ████████ █████ ██████ █████ ███ ██ █████ ██████
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ████ ██ ██ ██
██ ███ ███ ██ ██ ██ █████ ██ ██ ██ ██ ████ ███ ██████
██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ███ ██ ██
██████ █████ ██ ██ ██ █████ ██ █████ ██ ██ █████ ██████
██████████████
██ ██ ██
██ ██ ██
██████████████
■ ──────────────────────────────────────────────── ■
Press F1 for help
Copyright (1994)
William D. Rinehart
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
E-Mail: WDaveR2@aol.com
■ ──────────────────────────────────────────────── ■
This is the first version of Gemstones to have a
document file to describe the game.
I hope you find it useful.
P.S. - Probe uses the <SCROLL LOCK> key!
■ ──────────────────────────────────────────────── ■
■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
■ ───────────────────────────── ■
C O N T E N T S
■ ───────────────────────────── ■
■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
1 - Notes from the Programmer
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
SHAREWARE
HOW TO ORDER GEMSTONES III - DELUXE EDITION
DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
A NOTE TO DISTRIBUTORS
GEMSTONES HISTORY
RANDOM LEVELS?
2 - How to play
THE COMMAND LINE
THE MOUSE
THE MAIN MENU
SETUP
THE GAME
3 - The Gems (Details)
■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
■ ───────────────────────────── ■
N O T E S F R O M T H E P R O G R A M M E R
■ ───────────────────────────── ■
■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Gemstones III requires a VGA monitor and at least 554 Kb of
free memory to run. See your DOS documentation for assistance
on optimizing memory usage.
SHAREWARE
Gemstones III is distributed through the Shareware concept.
The author is willing to give this program to you, free of
charge, in the hopes that you will like it enough to purchase
the "Deluxe Edition". The essence of this distribution method
is to provide personal computer users with quality software
without high prices. Shareware provides an outstanding service
to computer users, but will only continue as long as the people
who write these programs are supported. Even if you don't order
the "Deluxe Edition", you can help the author by sharing this
program with anyone you think will enjoy it.
HOW TO ORDER GEMSTONES III - DELUXE EDITION
If you enjoy playing Gemstones III, you should consider
purchasing Gemstones III - Deluxe Edition. To order, send a
registration payment of $19.95 (US) to:
William D. Rinehart
811 Reseda Dr.
Houston, TX 77062
The $19.95 registration fee will license one Deluxe Edition copy
for use on any one computer at any one time. The file ORDER.FRM
can be printed and used in ordering.
DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
Users of Gemstones III must accept this disclaimer of warranty:
"Gemstones III is supplied as is. The author disclaims all
warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation,
the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any
purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or
consequential, which may result from the use of Gemstones III."
A NOTE TO DISTRIBUTORS
Shareware distributors can receive a "certified authentic" copy
of the Gemstones III by sending the author a self addressed,
stamped envelope and $1.00 (to cover handling & the price of the
disk). Thanks for your support!
GEMSTONES HISTORY
Gemstones - The original Gemstones was written as a
marketing test, to measure the interest in
breakout style games. The program was released
in September 1993. There is no registered
version. From the beginning, Gemstones has
allowed as many as six players in a game and
individual player difficulty levels. Twenty
levels are included in the game and there are 6
types of gems. This program has also been
released in a "Fun Pack for DOS" game pack, by
WizardWorks Group Inc.
Gemstones II - Written in response to registrations, this
version added many features to the game,
including sound-card support and multiple moving
balls. This program was released in March 1994.
A Deluxe Edition is available for $9.95. The
shareware version has ten levels and 15 types of
gems, while the Deluxe Edition has 55 levels and
16 types of gems.
Gemstones III - Also written in response to registrations,
this program has all the features originally
envisioned by the programmer. The game released
in December 1994, has background music and 43 types
of bitmapped gems. Three difficulty levels control
game speed and gem variety. The shareware version
has five levels per game selected randomly from a
database of ten levels. A Deluxe Edition is
available for $19.95. The Deluxe Edition has
twenty levels per game selected randomly from a
database of 100 levels.
Gemstones IV - This one is up to you!
RANDOM LEVELS?
Gemstones III introduces the random level concept. This
multiplies the challenge of the game since you never know what
level will be next. You will find yourself asking, "Should I
use my last excavator on this level, or will I need one for the
next". This is also the answer to not providing a save game
option. Several registered users did request this. With
everything else in the game, I just did not have room to put a
save option into the program! Therefore, I reduced the game
levels to 20 in the registered version, and select the levels
randomly from 100 possible levels. This keeps the game playing
time down and the interest level high. I do have a plan to
include saving games in my next release. Thanks for your
patience.
■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
■ ───────────────────────────── ■
H O W T O P L A Y
■ ───────────────────────────── ■
■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
THE COMMAND LINE
For best results, do not run Gemstones III fro