LSD Docs/LSD Docs.iso/FILEZ/lsd25.dms/lsd25.adf/thromuls.doc.pp/thromuls.doc

Text File | 1990-09-07 | 20KB | 419 lines

                                  SKID ROW

                                  presents

                         THROMULUS: THE ENEMY WITHIN

The History of Thromulus

In a secret laboratory in Madison WI., an eccentric geneticist named
Professor Throm developed a strange new organism derived from ordinary
red blood cells treated with a top secret formula.  This unusual new
breed of creature had the ability to replicate itself, it could also
infect normal blood cells with its own genetic code, causing them to
duplicate it.  It would quickly try to take over the bloodstream of
any creature it encountered, replicating itself and capturing other
bloodcells until it alone was left.  The Professor called this new
creation - Thromulus Disgustus!

As the Thromulus cells bred, the Professor found that they also had
the ability to invade the human bloodstream.  Unfortunately, by the
time he discovered this, they had already infected his assistant,
Stanley.  Professor Throm quickly developed a new strain of Thromulus,
using the oxygen-poor blood cells, stained blue with yet another
secret formula.  He then injected his luckless assistant in hopes
that the new strain of Thromulus would overwhelm the old.  All he can
do now is monitor Stanleys bloodstream and hope for the best as these
microscopic creatures battle for total dominance.

Now you can join in this war for control of the bloodstream.  Guide
the Thromulus cells, causing them to divide and infect their enemies.
Utilize platelets to block their enemies movement or defend your cells.
Drive the enemy cells away using viruses, or just destroy them with
white blood cells.  You can challenge another human in this fight, take
on one of six different computer opponents, or just sit back and have
the computer fight itself.

Getting Started

Thromulus can be run from disk or installed on your hard drive.
Just follow the simple directions below to install or run the game.
Thromulus requires at least 1 megabyte of memory to run.

Installing Thromulus

Open a CLI window from workbench.  At the prompt, type
"execute thromulus:install dh0:thromulus".  You may change dh0:thromulus
to the name of the partition and directory you wish Thromulus to be
placed in.  The install program will create its own directory if the
specified directory does not exist.  After executing the install
procedure you should add "assign thromulus: dh0:thromulus" just before
the "loadwb" command in the startup sequence on your hard drive.  As
with the install procedure, dh0:thromulus may be replaced by the name
of the partition and directory you wish Thromulus to be placed in.

Loading Thromulus

Thromulus will self boot if the disk is in df0:, otherwise it can be
loaded from workbench by double clicking the Thromulus disk icon and
then double clicking the Thromulus game icon.  To load from the hard
drive, just open the proper drawer and double click the Thromulus
game icon.  When the protection screen appears, find the specified
page and look at the object pictured at the bottom of the screen with
the Thromulus critters.  Click on the icon on the screen that matches
the one at the bottom of the page to start.

Don't waste your time, this fucker has been cracked by SKID ROW!

Game Options

After the title screen, if you click the mouse button, the Game Options
Menu will appear.  Using this menu you will be able to alter the
parameters of the game.  You can change the size and layout of the
game board, the skill level of the computer player(s), the available
microorganisms, and even the volume of the music and sound effects.
Listed below are the various user-configurable options for Thromulus.

Board Size

In the top row of the Game Options menu, just to the right of the box
listing the colors of the opponents are three boxes, labeled (from left)
"7", "9" and "11".  These are the 3 legal board sizes that may be
chosen, 7*7, 9*9, or 11*11.  The numbers dictate how many boxes will
be used to compose the playfield.  Clicking on an any of these will
cause that button to depress and the others to rise.  The selected size
will be used to generate all boards, random or edited.  Loaded boards
will have their own size stored with all other board data.

Background on/off

Just to the right of the Board Size buttons is a button that, when
depressed, will eliminate the background graphics from the game.
Clicking it once will depress it, clicking again will raise it.  When
raised, the background will be filled with a colorful graphic swirl.

Random Boards

By clicking on the Random Board button, the rightmost button in the
second row of the Game Options Menu, a board will be generated by the
computer using the selected board size and selected options (such
as Movable Platelets, Viruses and White Blood Cells).  Once a board
has been generated, the game will begin automatically.

Load Boards/Game

Clicking the Load button, the lowest button on the left column,  will
allow you to load either a saved game or a saved board.  Just insert
the disk that the saved data is on and select the appropriate file,
then click the "load" button on the file requestor.  The saved game
will start immediately, a saved board will start with whatever options
were selected when it was saved, and whatever players were chosen on
the Game Options Menu.  There are a variety of sample boards that you
may load in and play or edit on the Thromulus disk.

Players

The buttons to the right of the Start button dictate whether the game is
played Human vs. Human, Human vs. Computer or Computer vs. Computer.
Clicking the player buttons will toggle them between Human and Computer.
The player plays the color listed directly above the player button.
When a computer player is selected, it will play according to the skill
level selected for it, listed under the appropriate player box.

The skill level of the computer players may be modified by clicking
the up and down buttons on either side of the "Level" box.  These skills
apply to the computer player directly above them.

Clear Screen Option

If you do not want the "roll down" effect to appear when you go to the
main menu, then depress the "CLR" button located to the right of the
computer skill level settings.  To activate it again, click on it once
more and it will become raised again.

Platelets, Viruses and White Blood Cells

To the right of the "CLR" button, you will find 3 buttons that will allow
you to activate White Blood Cells, Movable Platelets and Viruses.  Just
click on the appropriate button, and it will depress and activate that
option.  To de-activate it, just click it again and the button will
raise.  The options, from the leftmost, are White Blood Cells on/off,
Movable Platelets on/off and Viruses on/off.  These additional
microorganisms are described in more detail in the chapters on Moving
and Attacking.

Sound and Music

The Sound Effects and Music can be turned up or down or even turned off
by clicking the buttons on the lowest row of the Game Options Menu.  The
first set of buttons, to the right of the "Load" button are Sound Effects
on/off and Sound Effects volume up/down.  To the right of those buttons
are the Music on/off and Music volume up/down.  The adjustments you
make on these buttons are in effect until you change them again or reboot
the game.

Exit

Clicking the lowest right button on the Game Options Menu will allow
you to exit the Thromulus Program.  You will be asked if you really
want to leave, clicking "Yes" will return you to DOS, clicking "No"
will allow you to keep playing Thromulus.

Board Editor

The third button down on the left side of the Game Options Menu is the
Board Editor.  By clicking this, you will be able to design and save your
own board layouts.  The editor will use whatever board size you chose
on the Game Options Menu, either 7*7, 9*9, or 11*11.  Above the board
are four buttons, Save, Load, Cells and Accept.  The board will be empty
except for the four starting Thromulus cells, these will be located
in the four corners of the grid.  Now you may move these cells, add
Platelets or even remove squares from the board.  All of your choices
will be symmetrically duplicated in each of the four quadrants of the
board.  If you wish to move the starting location of the four Thromulus
cells, click on the "Cells" button.  You may now choose where the cells
begin by clicking on one empty square on the grid.  The other cells will
be symmetrically positioned in each of the quadrants.  You may also
exchange the color between the blue and red Thromulus cells by clicking
on them.  When you do this, all the cells will change to the opposite
color.

To add Platelets, simply click on an empty square.  A grey square will
appear, this is a Platelet, three others will be placed in matching
positions in each quadrant of the grid.  Clicking again on an
existing Platelet will turn it into a hollow square, this designates
a missing section of board.  When you play, this square will be a
Gap.  If you are not playing with the Movable Platelets option, any
platelets on the Grid will simply be obstacles that the players may not
reposition.

You may load any board you have designed and saved to disk by clicking
the "Load" button.  A file requestor will appear, just insert your disk
and click on the appropriate file, then click the "Load" button on the
requestor to load in the saved board.  There are an assortment of
example boards on the Thromulus disk, you may select and modify any
of these, or just play them.

Once you have finished designing or modifying your board, you may save it
to disk by clicking the "Save" button.  This will bring up a file
requestor, have a blank AmigaDOS Formatted disk with at least 10k free
to place in the drive.  When you have the disk ready, just enter the name
you wish your board to be saved under and click the "Save" button on
the file requestor.

When you have finished designing and saving your board, you can play
it with all the options you last selected from the Game Options Menu
by clicking the "Accept" button on the top of the Edit screen.  The
game will start immediately after you click the button.  If you start a
game, and forget to save the design to disk, just save the game from
the Play Menu and you can load in the board design from that file
at a later date.

Game Objectives

You will control one of two Thromulus cultures as they fight for control
of Stanley's bloodstream.  The game is played on a grid layout, and then
you try to take as many of the squares as possible while preventing the
other side from doing the same.  To do so, you must increase your number
of cells, either by division or by capturing your opponents cells.  You
will also have to make strategic use of whatever other microorganisms
are available.  The game will end and declare a winner if one side is
completely eliminated, or there are no more legal moves.  If one side
is destroyed, the other side wins automatically.  If one side can no
longer make any legal moves, the other side is awarded all the empty
squares and then the computer determines a winner.  In this case,
the side with the most territory wins.  It is not possible to end a
game in a stalemate.

Movement

During your turn, you are allowed to move one microorganism, or take
back a move.  Microorganisms include your Thromulus cells (whichever
color you are playing), Platelets, Viruses and White Blood Cells.  When
you have made a move, the opposing player (whether human or computer)
may take their turn.  If either you or your opponent cannot make any
legal moves, the game ends.

Cell Movement

There are two ways to move Thromulus cells, they may either divide or
jump.  To move a cell, just click on it with the left mouse button and
you will see it start to pulsate.  If you change your mind, just click
on a different microorganism before you complete your move.  The new
cell may now be moved.  Once you have selected a cell, you may divide
it into two Thromulus cells by clicking on an empty adjacent square
(horizontally, vertically or diagonally).  The cell will then split
itself into two equal portions, one in the original square and one in
the new square.  Each cell thus created may be moved or divided again
in a later turn.  If you wish a selected cell to jump, you must find
a nonadjacent empty square up to two spaces away and click.  The
selected cell will jump from its old square to its new square.  As
long as you are jumping over one square of space, the cell will not
divide.

Platelet and Virus Movement

Platelets and Viruses may be moved either one or two squares by whichever
side is taking their turn.  Just click on the Platelet or Virus that you
wish to move and then click on an empty space up to two squares away.
If you change your mind, just click on any other microorganism before you
complete the move.  Platelets and Viruses may be moved as often as you
like during the game.  Once you have moved either a Platelet or a Virus,
your turn ends and your opponent takes his.

White Blood Cell Movement

White Blood Cells may only be moved one time during the game, after that,
they become immobile obstacles in the game.  During their turn, either
player may click on a White blood cell and move it to ANY empty square
on the board by simply clicking the target square.  If you decide you
do not wish to move, just click on any other microorganism before
choosing the target square.  If a player moves a White Blood Cell, their
turn ends and their opponent takes his turn.

Attacking

There are three ways to affect your opponent's Thromulus cells during
the game.  You may either Infect them with one of your cells, reposition
them with a Virus or you can simply eliminate them with a well-positioned
White Blood Cell.

Infecting

When a Thromulus cell is moved next to a Thromulus cell of the opposing
color (whether by dividing or jumping), it infects that cell with its
own genetic material.  By doing this, the immobile cell becomes part of
the moving cell's culture (example - if a red cell is moved next to a
blue cell, the blue cell becomes a red cell).  The moving cell will
infect ALL adjacent opposing Thromulus cells, horizontally, vertically
and diagonally.  Once all the adjacent cells have been infected, they
become property of the player whose color they now possess.

Viruses

When a Virus is moved, it will reposition the contents of the squares
adjacent to it.  Whatever was in the square above it is moved to the
square below it and vice versa.  The game goes for whatever was to the
right or left of it.  Viruses only swap squares when they are moved,
not when things are moved next to them.  If one or more of the squares
adjacent to the Virus are gaps (missing squares), then the corresponding
swap will not be done (in other words, if there is a gap to the right
or left of the Virus, it will not do a horizontal swap.  If there is a
gap above or below it, it will not do a vertical swap and if the Virus
is put into a corner, it will not do ANY swaps).  All microorganisms
are affected by a Virus, with the exception of the immovable Platelets
and immovable White Blood Cells (if the Movable Platelets option is in
effect, they will be moved by a Virus, and if the White Blood Cell has
not been moved yet, it will be affected although it will not kill the
surrounding cells).  Any cells that wind up adjacent to opposing cells
will not be affected in any way by them.

White Blood Cells

When a player moves a White Blood Cell, it will kill ALL enemy Thromulus
cells adjacent to its final location.  Thromulus Cells of the controlling
player will not be affected.  White Blood Cells only kill when they are
selected and moved by a player.  At no other time will they be deadly.
Once a player has selected and moved a White Blood Cell, that cell may
not be moved again during that game.

Play Menu

The small menu that appears on the right side of the board during the game
is called the Play Menu.  The options present on it may be selected by
the player currently taking their turn.  It provides options for taking
back moves, gaining help for your next move, and saving or ending the
game.  It also shows how many turns have been taken since the start
of the current game.

Counter

The counter, the top box on the Play Menu, tells you how many moves have
been made by both sides during the current game.  Once the counter
reaches 1000, it will reset itself to 0 and start again.  This will not
affect your game in any way.

Help

If a player does not know what pieces he has that may make legal moves,
clicking on the Help button directly below the counter will activate
one of his Thromulus cells that may make a legal move.  The activated
cell may be moved as normal, or you may select a different microorganism,
or you may click Help again to see the next of your Thromulus cells that
may make a legal move.  Repeated clicking will cycle through all your
Thromulus cells that may make legal moves.  using Help does not take
up your turn.

Back

This button, positioned below the Help button, does different things
depending  on who the players are.  When two computer opponents are
playing, this button will not be available.  If a human is playing
against a computer opponent, this button will allow the human to take
back the last two moves that were made (the computer's and the human's).
Repeated clicking will take back earlier and earlier moves until you
reach the beginning of the game.  When two humans are playing, this
button will allow the controlling player to take back whatever move he
just made and move again.

Save

You may save a game at any point by clicking the Save button directly
below the Back button.  You may save a game on any AmigaDOS volume
with at least 10k free.  When you click the Save button, a file
requester will appear.  Just insert your save game disk (any blank,
AmigaDOS disk will do), enter the name you wish the game to be saved
under and click the "save" button on the file requester.  Once saved,
a game may be loaded in from the main menu.  All game elements are
saved, board layout, current positions, score and counter.

Exit

Clicking the "Exit" button, the last box on the Play Menu, will end
the current game and take you back to the Game Option Menu.

Strategy Tips

The first thing to remember is never leave yourself vulnerable.  If you
leave a hole in your mass of Thromulus cells, your opponent can place
one of his cells in there and infect a lot of your cells.  Try to divide
rather than jump, this will ensure you have few gaps in your defense
and it will give you a larger mass of cells to work with.  Never let
your opponent surround you, he will be able to prevent you from moving
and that will give him all the remaining empty squares.  Play
defensively, if you start stretching your forces out to get him, you
allow him to hit you where you are weakest.  Don't always attack to
infect your opponent, very often you will get one or two of his cells
and he will then move and take 3 or four of yours due to an opening you
leave behind.  Try to lure him into making attacks that will leave
him vulnerable to a well placed cell.

Computer Strategy

Each level of computer skill has its own unique strategy.  The lowest
level, 0, is more or less random.  It places a slightly higher priority
on dividing than jumping, but its actual movement is random.

Level 1 puts more emphasis on capturing its opponents pieces, but it
still moves in a random manner.

Level 2 is a more cautious version of level 1.  It plays more defensively,
trying somewhat to protect itself.

Level 3 will try to surround you.  It tries to position its cells on the
outside edge of the grid.

Level 4 and 5 utilize an artificial intelligence system that will look
ahead several moves to calculate the possible responses you could
make to each of its movements.  The only real difference between the
two is that level 4 will play very aggressively, and level 5 will place
its emphasis on defense.

Choose a level that you feel would provide you with the most challenge,
or see what the various matchups of skill would do when two computers
play each other.  Try using different sizes and layouts of boards to
see how well each of these strategies would work, but most of all,
experiment and have fun!

SKID ROW  SKID ROW  SKID ROW  SKID ROW  SKID ROW  SKID ROW  SKID ROW