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README
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1991-11-23
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README file for SCORCH v1.1
Updated 23 NOVEMBER 91.
This file contains trivia, last minute instructions, and changes to SCORCH,
in no particular order.
What's New in Version 1.1?
==========================
A. Bug fixes.
The following bugs (and quite a few other minor ones) were fixed:
- XT incompatibility
- "Save Changes" failed on many systems
- Talking tanks didn't talk on some systems
- "Simultaneous Mode" missing from menu
- FireDelay=0 created a very strong wind
- Various crashes of all kinds fixed. If you still
experience these or other bugs, please report them to the
author.
B. New features.
The following new features have been added. They are all
fully documented in the full manual, but described here briefly
for users of 1.0 who want to get up to speed quickly. In
addition, there are a few other minor additions not mentioned here.
Note that the new manual is almost twice as large as the previous
manual.
- Enhanced graphics interface, including push-buttons and
faster drawing.
- Easier initialization of players. Note that the TAB key
is used to switch between Computer and Human players. The
grayed picture of the phone is for Modem support, which
is NOT YET IMPLEMENTED, but will be in a future version.
- Index added to manual.
- Two new ways to die.
- Twice as many messages in the talk file (thanks to players!).
Also more talk options: you can make all tanks talk, or just
the computers talk. You can also control how often they talk.
- Play order option. You can choose from random (as in Scorch 1.0),
losers-first, winners-first, and round-robin.
- Joystick support. Currently, I use the BIOS to access the
joystick... according to my manuals, this may not be
supported on older machines, particularly XTs. If you
fall into this category, please let me know.
- Save/Restore Game from System Menu.
- Optionally, when computers are playing themselves, the action
will speed up until human players become involved again.
(This is the "Fast Computers" option).
- From the buying menu, you can now get an update which includes
the total interest you have earned since Round 0.
- Free Market option under Economics menu. This creates a
supply-and-demand economy where the prices of items vary
according to how often they are bought. This helps to regulate
the prices according to the strategies of those playing. By
default, it is OFF.
- Useless Options toggle under Weapons menu. By default, items
which have no effect (e.g. contact triggers if tunneling is OFF)
will not appear on the Buying Menus. If you want to buy them
anyway, turn this option ON.
- Simultaneous Mode has been enhanced. The top bar now displays
a bar graph of each tank's power, and also show each player's
current weapon. In addition, you may now use batteries in
Simultaneous Mode. Batteries in simultaneous mode will
automatically fire whenever your total energy falls blow 91 and
is above 0. This means that if you take damage slowly, your
batteries will essentially keep you from taking any damage at all.
Batteries will only "Autofire" in Simultaneous Mode.
- A Restart Game option has been added to the System Menu and at
the end of the game. This puts you back to the main menu, so
you can start again. Some menu options can only be set the first
time (such as graphics mode), so they will be grayed.
- 4 New Weapons:
Napalm - Splashes fiery liquid where it hits.
Hot Napalm - Scaled up napalm. VERY VERY HOT!!!!!!
Liquid Dirt - Pours out dirt where it lands, smoothing the
terrain.
Smoke Tracers - Just like tracers, but they leave a smoke trail,
even if TRACES aren't enabled.
- Enhanced "Starry Sky". The stars now generate many times faster.
Also, meteors will often shoot across the sky. Watch out if they
hit you!
- MEDIUM scale setting.
- Harmful Environment switch added to Weather menu, by default ON.
If you turn this OFF, no tanks will take damage from lightning or
other special effects which are caused by the weather/sky type.
- Ability to change icons from the "Reassign Players" menu.
- Keyboard interface to "Reassign Players" menu added.
- Some of the panels can now be "dragged" by holding on the top bar
and moving the mouse.
- Status Bar option added to Play Options menu. With this enabled,
the top bar of the screen is twice as thick, and the second
bar displays most of the information of the Tank Control Panel in
abbreviated form. Also, you can use new keyboard and mouse
shortcuts to change these options IF the Status Bar is active.
- Ability to sell back unwanted items. From the Buying Menu, select
"Inventory." Click on the item you want to sell, and the Selling
Panel will appear. Decide how many you want to sell, and the
computer will make an offer. You can either Accept or Reject
the offer.
- While playing the game, the Inventory panel can also be used as
a "short-cut." Clicking on an item causes the "most likely" thing
to happen. For weapons, this means selecting that weapon as the
current one. Shield will be activated, guidance systems will be
activated, etc. For more info, consult the manual.
- Right-clicking the mouse when selecting a target chooses center
of tank nearest where you clicked. Left-clicking still chooses
exactly where the mouse points.
- Fast Computers option, so when only computers are playing
(presumably because the humans managed to kill each other off),
the game speeds up until the next round.
C. Miscellaneous changes.
- "Impact Damage" was removed from the menus. By default,
this is ON. If you want it off, you can edit scorch.cfg using
any plain text editor. This option may vanish in future versions
of Scorch unless somebody lets me know they use it.
- The "Invisible Shots" menu item has been removed. You can use
this option by setting "Bomb Icon" to be invisible.
- The "Scoring Mode" option "EXPERT" has been renamed "STANDARD".
- The "Tank Options" menu has been rename "Play Options".
- To access the System Menu, use Alt-S. Pressing just the 'S'
key will no longer pop up this menu.
- Other options have moved around somewhat, hopefully to make things
more intuitive.
- IF YOU PLAYED 320x200 MODE FOR THE LARGE EXPLOSIONS... you will
need to set the "Scale" option to large to get the same size
used in Scorch 1.0.
Distribution List:
==================
The full distribution of Scorched Earth consists of the following files:
Filename Size Description
------------- ------- --------------------------------------
FIX .BAT 83 Utility to remove bad .cfg files
ORDER .FRM 1782 Order form for Scorched Earth Password
README . 12035 This file
SCORCH .CFG 5135 Scorched Earth Configuration File
SCORCH .DOC 127460 Scorched Earth Documentation
SCORCH .EXE 274466 Scorched Earth, The Game
SCORCH .ICO 766 Scorched Earth Icon for Windows 3.0
TALK1 .CFG 1021 Comment File used for Talking Tanks
TALK2 .CFG 1115 Another Comment File used for Talking
Tanks
Printing the Documentation:
===========================
Make sure your printer is on, online, and has paper. SCORCH.DOC takes
about 60 pages. Then type COPY SCORCH.DOC PRN. Then hit Enter, of course.
Or use any program that will print files, such as your favorite word
processor.
VGA note:
=========
Scorched Earth (SCORCH) is a VGA only game. It will not run on any other
type of system.
Fixing Problems:
================
If you have a problem with SCORCH when changing settings, you can just
delete the SCORCH.CFG file and run SCORCH. It will return to the default
settings. Or, just run FIX.BAT, and it will get rid of the bad SCORCH.CFG
file.
Floating Point Coprocessors:
============================
This is in the manual, but is mentioned here for emphasis. If Scorch
is running VERY FAST, it may be because you have a floating point
coprocessor (8087/80287/80387/80486). By default, Scorch will use a
coprocessor if present, as some systems are greatly benefited by this.
If it is making things run too fast, though, you can type
set 87=N
from the DOS prompt before running Scorch, to disable to coprocessor.
(To those familiar with Turbo C, you might recognize this as the Borland
convention for disabling coprocesser support. I mention this, because
it means that any other programs you run which were compiled with Turbo C
will also ignore the coprocessor if this switch set!)
Useless Statistics:
===================
For those who are interested, Scorched Earth was written using Borland C++
2.0 and Turbo Assembler 2.5. There are approximately 89 C files and 6
assembly files, totalling over 631K of source code.
Sticky Keys:
============
Many people have noticed the SHIFT, ALT, and CONTROL keys sticking
occasionally. If you exit Scorch and see garbage when you type,
just press the SHIFT/ALT/CONTROL keys a few time and things should
straighten themselves out. This seems to be a BIOS problem.
Acknowledgments:
================
There are far too many people who have contributed to the success of
Scorch to mention here. Thanks to all who have sent letters pointing
out bugs and offering suggestions. Keep 'em coming!
I would especially like to thank those who playtested version 1.1,
in an effort to reduce the number of bugs BEFORE it was released.
Richard Kaszeta and his group were particularly helpful. Also,
thanks to Matt Tyler for designing the new Free Market economic model;
Dave Krider for optimizing the assembly drivers; Scott Dolim and Steve
Palm for helping out on the falling dirt; Jason Medesto for helping
with 'J' guidance (since renamed Ballistic Guidance); Art Hicken for
helping out with GEnie support and formatting the original manual; and,
of course, many thanks to all those who play and enjoy Scorch. My
apologies to all those I didn't mention.
Deluxe Registration!!
=====================
As a special bonus, I am making a "Deluxe Registration" option available
until January 1st, 1992. Deluxe Registration includes the most recent
copy of Scorch on disk and a 70 page looseleaf copy of the enhanced manual.
The enhanced manual contains the same text as the file "scorch.doc", but
is illustrated with tables, icons from the game, and keys for all the
options. Deluxe Registration costs $20 instead of $10. Deluxe
Registration is available in the U.S. only.
Scorch Fans Outside the U.S.:
=============================
To register Scorch, all you need to do is figure out some way to get
$10 to me. Try going to your local bank and asking for a "U.S. Dollar
World Money Order". Versions of Scorch in Polish and German should
be available soon... other languages will follow if their is interest,
and someone willing to translate.
Other problems/suggestions:
===========================
If you have any ideas or bug reports, please contact the author.
All comments are welcome, whether or not you are a registered user.
Wendell Hicken
59 Esperanza Apt. M
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
HCBN64A on Prodigy
70671,606 on CompuServe
W.Hicken on GEnie
whicken@parasoft.com on internet
============================================================================
Most of all, Don't forget that Scorched Earth is Shareware. The game is
good, if somewhat addictive. The price is cheap. So why not support the
game, its further development, and the whole shareware concept by sending
in your $10.
As they say on T.V. "Thank you for your support."