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- Readme File for Hyper Tank ... by PLBM Games
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Dated: June 29, 1998
-
-
- Registration information located at the bottom of this file.
-
- Cheat Mode is Alt-F3 (registered version only).
-
-
- System Requirements:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- This program requires an IBM PC or compatible with at least VGA.
-
- This program requires that you have more than approximately 500K
- of conventional memory available. If you have less memory the
- program will not function correctly.
-
- This program has been tested to run on a 486DX/33 but it is much
- smoother on a 486DX2/66 or faster, especially when there are a
- lot of different shapes being drawn on the screen at once.
-
- In general, faster systems will run the program more efficiently.
-
- If the game is running too slow, press F4 to toggle on and off
- frame dropping, which will improve performance on slower systems.
-
- If you encounter difficulty, email support is available at the
- following email address:
-
- support@plbm.com
-
-
- Sound Blaster Notes:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- This program contains routines to play digital sound on a Sound
- Blaster or compatible card. However, this program does NOT
- contain autodetection routines. This program relies upon the
- BLASTER= variable being set appropriately in your environment.
- If the BLASTER= variable is set incorrectly, the program may
- crash. If the BLASTER= variable is absent the program will
- NOT attempt to use Sound Blaster sound.
-
- Additionally you will need to have free EMS memory to hear
- all digital sounds (they're too big to fit in conventional
- memory). The sounds deemed "most important" to game play
- will be loaded into conventional memory on a first-come, first-
- served basis. To hear ALL sounds you will need enough EMS
- free to fit the file HYTSFX.DBO. Check free EMS with the
- MEM command under DOS.
-
-
- Primary Controls:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Keyboard Controls: (keyboard controls are active CONTINUOUSLY, even
- when mouse or joystick play is selected!)
- Cursor keys: up down left right: maneuver your tank
- Ctrl/Space: fire weapon (see notes below)
-
- Mouse Controls:
- Cursor Up/Down: accelerate forward back (must use the keyboard)
- Motion: maneuver your tank left/right
- Left button: fire weapon (see notes below)
-
- Joystick Controls:
- Motion: maneuver your tank
- Button 1: fire weapon (see notes below)
-
- Notes on firing your weapon: At this release of the game, there
- are three different fire modes according to how long you hold down
- the fire button before releasing it. The fire mode selected is
- shown in the lower corners of the screen by changing "power bars."
-
- momentarily: fire primary gun
- longer: fire primary gun in TRIPLE fire mode
- hold it down: fire artillery bomb (must remain in one place!)
-
-
- Additional Keys:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- [P] - pause the game (press [P] or [Enter] to restart)
- [Ctrl-J] - calibrate joystick
- [F1] - Review this file (HELP)
- [F2] - Display high score chart
- [Alt-F3] - Cheat mode (registered version only)
- [F4] - Toggle frame dropping (for slower computers only)
- [F5] - Toggle sound on/off
- [F10] - Quit game, go to main menu
- [ESC] - Quit game, go to DOS
-
-
- Main Menu:
- ~~~~~~~~~~
- From the Main Menu you may press [Enter] or click the
- mouse to begin a new game.
-
- If you have not purchased the complete version of Hyper Tank,
- there will be a button to allow you to view ordering information.
- Also, you can press PageDown to the bottom of this file to view
- ordering information.
-
- If you have purchased the complete version of Hyper Tank, then
- you can also play in "Random" mode, which will give you random
- stages selected from the complete list of maps, to give more
- variety of play.
-
-
- Input Selection:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- The Input Selection screen allows you to select what input
- source to use.
-
-
- Scoring:
- ~~~~~~~~
- Points are added to your score for destroying various
- enemies and achieving certain goals. Some score values
- are listed below for the more-common enemies:
-
- Gunbase (basic) 100
- Mine (basic) 150
- Green Tank (basic) 175
- Red Tank 350
- Big Gun Emplacement 1500+
-
- Some of the above enemies have "super" variants that make them
- more difficult to destroy, and hence worth more points.
-
- Not all enemies can be destroyed. Some are hidden below the
- surface and with your weapons cannot be damaged enough.
-
- Additional points may be scored at the end of each stage:
-
- - for completing the stage without receiving ANY damage
- - for the amount of fuel remaining at end of stage
- - for destroying a high percentage of the enemies:
- 100% - 100 points per enemy unit destroyed
- 90% - 25 points per enemy unit destroyed
- 80% - 10 points per enemy unit destroyed
- 70% - 5 points per enemy unit destroyed
- less than 70% - only 10 points awarded
-
-
- Game Notes:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~
- Hyper Tank is a high-performance top-down bitmap-rotated tank
- game. Your goal is to destroy as many enemies as you can to
- work your way through each stage to the goal. You may also
- need to retrieve keys to unlock obstacles in your path, or
- else find an alternate way around them.
-
- In order to complete each stage, you need to destroy about 40%
- of the initial enemy units. In the upper left corner of the
- screen is a display that shows how many enemy units you have
- destroyed and how many you still need to destroy, as well as
- the total number to destroy if you want to achieve a "perfect"
- hit rating for the stage.
-
- For every 20,000 points that you accumulate, you will be
- awarded an additional "bonus" tank. When all your tanks
- have been destroyed, it is Game Over!
-
-
- Play Hints:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~
- Never sit still (at least not for long). Enemies aim directly
- for your tank and if it's within their range they will hit
- it every single time. Keep moving so they can't draw a bead.
-
- Be careful not to trap yourself against the edge of some obstacle.
- The enemies love it it when you're helpless, and they will take
- the opportunity to really pound you severely.
-
-
- Trouble Shooting:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- If you are experiencing game play that is too slow you can press
- F4 to toggle on and off frame-dropping.
-
- If you get an "out of memory" error, you need to free up additional
- conventional memory before running the program. Please refer to
- your MS-DOS or Windows operating system manual for details on this
- procedure.
-
- For email support please contact:
-
- support@plbm.com
-
-
- Programming Notes:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Hyper Tank is written entirely in Borland C++ with a few lines
- of assembly language, mostly for palette management and digitized
- sound. Large amounts of diet coke and chicken katsu curry were
- consumed in order to facilitate speedy development of this game.
-
- Due to licensing issues, the source code for Hyper Tank is NOT
- available for sale or release in any fashion. Sorry! :)
-
-
- Credits:
- ~~~~~~~~
- This program was written by Kurt W. Dekker and is distributed
- by PLBM Games. You may contact Kurt via email at kwd@plbm.com
-
- Moral support and great backrubs came from SLB... thanks!! :)
-
- Inspiration and vacations graciously provided by MM at Kuliwai,
- as well as great views from Point, Pillars and Spitting Caves.
-
- Additional ideas were culled from suggestions sent in by various
- net.folk. You know who you are!!!
-
- Additional playtest and some great ideas: CA, GV, KT, CH, TC,
- M&JC, CJ, JR, JP, JW, DF, MM, and many others.
-
-
- Internet Support:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Contact support@plbm.com for support via email. You may also check
- the following site(s) for upgrades:
-
- http://www.plbm.com
- ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/kw/kwd/games
-
-
- Ordering Information:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- To order the full version of this game, send $14.95 registration fee
- plus shipping and handling ($4.95 in USA, $9.95 International) to:
-
- PLBM Games <sales@plbm.com>
- PO Box 10342 <http://www.plbm.com>
- Costa Mesa, CA 92627
-
- You may also visit our website and order online with a credit card.
-
- You may also call 1-800-909-5701 to order using your credit card.
-
- International orders call 1-612-924-3235 to order via credit card.
-
- Include your name, address, phone number and email to ensure rapid
- delivery.
-
- All orders are shipped on 3.5" 1.44mb floppy diskette.
- <EOF>