Maelstromª 1.4.3 Notes
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Change history:

Version 1.4.3 -- Released 2/15/96

     -- Included the new registration system

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Version 1.4.2 -- Released 7/25/95

     -- Updated the contact information

     -- Included the "Maelstrom FAQ" and "Ambrosia FAQ" with Maelstrom

     -- Added a "Paused" graphic when the game is paused with the Caps Lock key

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Version 1.4.1 -- Released 8/10/94

     -- Changed a number of the sounds used in Maelstrom

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Version 1.4.0 -- Released 12/93

     -- Added the oft-requested personalization capability for registered users.

     -- Maelstrom 1.4.0 now uses our new 4 channel sound system, Ambrosia Sound Tool (AST).  This allows for high-speed sound playing with four simultaneous sounds playing at any one time, adding to the game's sonic appeal.  We'll be using this sound system in all future games (nudge nudge, grin grin, wink wink, say no more...).

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Version 1.3.2 -- Released 10/93

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause Maelstrom to display colors incorrectly if you had a multiple monitor system, and were playing Maelstrom on a monitor that is not the main monitor AND changed the sound volume right before you started playing the game.

     -- With many thanks to Radius Developer Services, Maelstrom now *really* does work with the Radius Pivot monitor, and other configurations with non-standard video.

     -- Spiffed up the registration process, and added support for sending credit card orders in via electronic mail.

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause Maelstrom to crash if you tried to play it on a non-color Macintosh.

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Version 1.3.1 -- Released 9/93

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause Maelstrom to display colors incorrectly if you had a multiple monitor system, and were playing Maelstrom on a monitor that is not the main monitor.

     -- Maelstrom now works on PowerBook 180c's, 165c's, the Radius Pivot monitor, and other configurations with non-standard video.

     -- Fixed a bug that caused Maelstrom to crash or freeze the machine upon quitting in rare cases on certain machines.

     -- Fixed a bug with the TurboFunk mode

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Version 1.3 -- Released 9/93

     -- Added code for the Maelstrom High Score Contest!  See the accompanying text file "Maelstrom High Score Contest" for details!

     -- Maelstrom will now switch your monitor into 256 color mode (if it isn't already in that mode) when you start it up, so you don't need to go to the Monitors control panel every time you want to play.

     -- Vastly improved the registration process.

     -- Fixed a few minor bugs.

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Version 1.2 -- Released 6/93

     -- OOOPS.  The method AST used to generate 4 channel sounds in version 1.1 caused a distinctive hissing sound for certain people.  The interesting thing about this is that it had nothing to do with the machine, the "problem" was on the human end.  Some people are apparently more sensitive to certain sounds than others.  This problem has been fixed, but I had to drop down to a two-channel sound system to do it.  Maelstrom now uses the two channel version of my Ambrosia Sound Tool (AST).

     -- Maelstrom now allows you to switch it into the background when you are on the main title screen, or while the game is paused.  This often-requested feature has finally made the cut.  When Maelstrom is in the background, it reduces itself to a small icon-sized window.  To go back to playing Maelstrom, either switch it in or click on this icon-sized window and you're in business.

     -- The Space Bar hides/shows the menu bar when you are on the main title screen.  This will mainly be of interest to those of you who have small (12") monitors, because the menu bar obscures part of the screen when it is shown on these monitors.

     -- The shield key is now much more forgiving.  Some people felt that in previous versions, the shield response was a little slow; this actually was not the case--Maelstrom checks to see what keys are down before it does hit detection--but I decided to make the change anyway.  Maelstrom now checks the shield key right before you'd normally be hit, and your butt is saved if it is down.

     -- Fixed a bug in the registration printing that would cause your comments to be abbreviated if they were longer than 255 letters.

     -- Maelstrom is now better at restoring the color environment when it quits.  Some people experienced psychedelic color effects after quitting previous versions of Maelstrom.

     -- In previous versions, when you got the long shots prize, the enemy did too.  This little bit of unfairness has been fixed.

     -- Nova and Vortexes will now never appear right under your ship.  Sometimes that used to happen, which of course killed you immediately.  Not nice.

     -- The keyboard controls configuration dialog box has been revamped a bit to make it easier to use.

     -- I've added a few aesthetic touches here and there to spruce the interface up a bit.  Nothing major.

     -- I've added to ability to choose the number of lives you start out with in the "cheat mode".

     -- Fixed a bug with the thrust sound effect that was introduced in version 1.1.

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Version 1.1 -- Released 5/93

     -- Fixed a problem with the Maelstrom title picture that would cause the picture to not appear on certain monitor/video card combinations.

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause Maelstrom to crash during loading if you have more than one monitor, _and_ a monitor other than the main monitor set to a color depth greater than 256 colors.

     -- Maelstrom now uses a four channel sound mixer (Ambrosia Sound Tool or AST), this enables Maelstrom to play up to four sounds simultaneously for more realistic game play.

     -- Because of the changes needed to implement a four channel sound system (AST), some of the alternate Maelstrom Sounds files created by people other than myself will no longer work with Maelstrom.  All of Maelstrom's sounds must now be sampled at 11kHz to work properly.  Hopefully the creators of these alternate Maelstrom Sounds files will change their sounds so that they will work with Maelstrom 1.1.

     -- The thrusters now play continuous sound effects when you hold the thrust key down.

     -- Maelstrom now supports a wider array of sound levels (eight versus the seven that were formerly offered).

     -- For a truly hi-fi experience, try plugging a pair of headphones into your Mac's headphone jack, and put 'em on while playing Maelstrom.

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause Maelstrom's event timing (such as when a multiplier appears, etc) to become skewed if you paused the game

     -- Maelstrom's registration form is now filled in on the computer screen.

     -- Maelstrom's registration form had problems printing on certain non-standard printers; fonts would be clipped incorrectly.  This has been fixed.

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Version 1.03 -- Released 12/92

     -- Fixed a typo in Maelstrom's error messages

     -- Fixed a cosmetic problem with the cheat mode on 12" monitors

     -- Fixed a problem that would cause the sound to stop playing on certain machines.  I believe that this is an Apple bug in the Sound Manager, but I've come up with a work-around.

     -- Added a sound volume control

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause Maelstrom to hang on the bonus/game over screens on certain machines with accelerator boards.  Again, I believe that this is an Apple bug in the Sound Manager, but I've come up with a work-around.

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause Maelstrom to not center Dialog Boxes properly if you were playing the game on a second monitor (ie not the main one).

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Version 1.02 -- Released 12/92

     -- We now make sure you are running System 6.07 or later before the game even tries to load.

     -- The "phantom typist" has been exorcised.

     -- Screen Savers such as After Dark(TM) or Pyro!(TM) will no longer invoke while the game is paused, nor after you've finished playing.

     -- Enemy shots are now completely absorbed by your shield.

     -- The "Lives" and "Wave" indicators are updated at a more proper time now.

     -- The shield and other controls are a bit more responsive now.  I check for key presses before the sprites are moved now, so you have a split second more to avoid being wasted by that nasty steel asteroid.

     -- Fixed a bug that caused the between wave bonus information to not be vertically centered.  This only affects people with monitors bigger than 19".

     -- We now allocate a chunk of emergency memory so there is enough spare memory around in case there is a dire problem.  Apparently some INITs allocate a good deal of memory in the Application heap; this used to cause Maelstrom to crash (actually it was trying to tell you it ran out of memory, but there was so little memory available it couldn't even do that).  Now you'll be told that Maelstrom ran out of memory.  If this happens to you, choose Get Info on Maelstrom in the Finder, and up the memory allocation.

     -- Fixed a bug that caused the game to play the "Idiot" sound when you caught an explosion present.

     -- Fixed a bug that could cause you do die inexplicably when the enemy ship appears.

     -- Fixed a timing problem that could cause some sounds to get cut off before they have a chance to finish playing in the between wave bonus tally.

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Version 1.01 -- Released 12/92

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause the game to crash at unpredictable times on certain machines (not mine of course).  Boy was that a tough one to track down!  Praise Zeus that I have great beta testers!

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause the second About... screen to freeze on machines with large monitors.  A silly mistake that I didn't catch because I don't have one of those big, luxurious monitors to bask in front of.

     -- Added cinematic fades for screen transitions.  I'm not Francis Ford Coppola, but I do like these transitions.

     -- The game screen is now centered on monitors larger than 13", with a nice border around it.  This should please people who have large screens.

     -- The sound code was overhauled to fix a minor problem, and to make the game play smoother.  Now using _SndDoCommand with bufferCmd's instead of _SndPlay.

     -- The memory management code was overhauled to make game play smoother, and avoid heap fragmentation.  Enough memory for all the sprites is allocated when the game is loading, and is reused as sprites are created and destroyed.  Previously the game was allocating memory for the sprites on the fly, which slowed the animation down slightly.

     -- Added a version number to the registration form.  Got to be able to keep track of all the versions!

     -- Fixed a bug that would cause crashes on startup with oddball video cards/monitors by getting rid of unneeded calls to _ProtectEntry & _ReserveEntry.

     -- The ACME supply canisters now have equal ranges for the horizontal and vertical velocities.  Previously the ACME canisters traveled much quicker in the vertical direction than in the horizontal.

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Version 1.0 -- Initial release 11/92

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