Astraware Biplane Ace

Biplane Ace Release Notes

Current released version: 1.15 ( 5th February 2001)
Current release expires: never
Feedback to: Howard Tomlinson (ace@astraware.com)
Game Info: http://www.astraware.com/palm/ace/
Recent update headlines: Two Player head-to-head over IR! (see instructions), GamePad support.

Copyright (c) 1999,2000,2001 Astraware Ltd.
All rights reserved.

Warning: be careful with your handheld! Some people have reported that they have broken the buttons on their Palm by pressing them awkwardly or too hard!

Note to colour users:
Displaying Biplane Ace in colour puts great demands on your Palm IIIc or other colour organizer. If you find that the game runs too slowly, try one of the following:

Turn off the background or clouds, using the 'Preferences' form
Use a performance booster: we recommend Afterburner. These make a big difference to the game speed, but will drain your handheld's batteries quickly and may cause other incompatibilities. Astraware isn't responsible for any problems caused by using this type of software!

Introduction

Europe, 1917 - The Western Front; Brave young pilots battle it out for mastery of the skies! Armed with machine guns and protected only by canvas and wood, they pull death-defying aerial acrobatics to gain the crucial advantage. Bank, roll, loop, then Dakadakadaka! Belching thick black smoke, the shattered biplane spirals towards the ground and another pilot bales out and parachutes to the ground, shaking his fist and vowing to wreak revenge on his adversary!

Astraware Biplane Ace gives you a top-down view of all the action. You take the part of one of the prospective 'flying aces' trying to earn fame and renown by battling against pilots from around the world. Twist and turn, duck and weave and when you're on your opponent's tail let the machine gun rip!

Features:
* Full colour or greyscale graphics
* Intelligent computer opponents getting increasingly hard to shake off
* Aircraft wrap over the edges of the screen making a challenging and absorbing game
* Control of roll and speed: bank your 'kite' to turn and gain the advantage
* Sound effects as you shoot, damage and destroy your opponent
* Two player head-to-head dogfighting over IR.
* High score board
* Registered users will be able to submit their tally to our Internet Aces chart (coming soon, as of January 2001)
* Smoke, fire, clouds, parachutes, a picturesque backdrop and all the eye candy you'd expect from an Astraware game.

If you enjoy Biplane Ace, please take the time to enter a review at PalmGear HQ, Handango or EuroCool.

How to install

Use an extractor program such as WinZip on the PC or Suffit Expander on the Mac to get at the Biplane Ace files. If you have a colour Palm device such as the Palm IIIc or Visor Prism, double-click the file that starts 'Ace-colour' to get it ready to HotSync onto your Palm. If you have a grey-scale Palm or compatible, use the file that starts 'Ace-grey' instead.

Use the HotSync button as usual to install the game onto your handheld.

Now run Ace and tap the screen to play the game!

For players who have the Worldwide Widget Works GamePad, we have built in support for this. Unfortunately, it is not possible for the palm to handle Infra Red, and the GamePad at the same time, so you can only keep one version installed. We have made these available for your from our Biplane Ace web page

If you've got any queries about Biplane Ace or the registration process, first check out our frequently asked questions page on our website (you must be connected to the internet to access this). If this doesn't help, get in touch with us at support@astraware.com. If you've got any questions (or suggestions, we love those) about the game itself, please get in touch with us at the email address at the top of this page.

Known Problems with Hacks

Biplane Ace graphics and gameplay push the capabilities of your palm to its limits! To do this, we've had to make direct use of much of the hardware of your machine. While this causes no problem for most users, we've had reports from a few users running lots of hacks that the game reports memory problems - even when there is plenty to spare.
Since many hacks also try to use the same hardware calls, sometimes they might be incompatible. If you get the memory error, and you know that you've got enough space, then try de-activating your hacks one by one until you can narrow down which are causing the problems. So far, we have had confirmed reports that Padlockhack and Switchlock, Teal Echo and ScreenWriteHack seem to be incompatible with Biplane Ace.

Speed Up Hacks
There are quite a few hacks available ( Afterburner, Tornado, etc) which allow you to change the speed your main processor runs at. At the expense of some battery life (about 20% less) your palm can run faster by overclocking. This does not cause any problems with Biplane Ace, and many users use these hacks to make the game run faster (or slower) than normally allowed by the standard speed settings.

Playing Biplane Ace!

Install and run the game on your Palm.
Tap the screen to start a game.

(Datebook) Left	(Phonebook) Right	(Up) Faster	(To Do List) Fire	(Memo pad) Fire
		(Down) Slower

The control buttons can be fully customised if you wish, by selecting the 'Controls...' menu option!

Once you start the game, you will see two aircraft climbing from the ground. The one one the left is yours! (Colour users will see their plane depicted in red, greyscale users will see that their craft is unmarked. The opponent's plane has a bar on each wing to help you identify!)

As soon as they reach their maximum height, the fight is on! You must twist and turn by using the left and right buttons, and try to get behind your opponent! As soon as you do, shoot, and your machine gun should cause damage to the enemy! If you need to make a tighter turn, try slowing down, and you'll turn just a bit quicker to get an edge! When you need to make up ground, press the 'faster' button and push your engine to higher revs.

As more and more damage gets done to either plane, smoke will pour out. If you take either two or three hits, the smoke will be grey and white. If you take another hit, your engine is damaged and you will get thick, oily black smoke pouring out! One more hit, and you're done for - only option left is to bale out before your plane explodes.

Any pilot who is downed, parachutes safely to the ground and quickly procures another plane - and then its back up into the skies to do battle once more!

If you take out an enemy three times, he is replaced by another pilot, who knows a few more tricks. You'll find that the later pilots are quite adept at out-flying you - even though you both have the same type of aircraft! You'll have to learn to use the 'faster' and 'slower' button to keep up with them.

Two Player IR Dogfighting

Instructions for Playing a Two Player Game
1) Make sure the IR ports on the two machines are in line.
2) Select 'Host IR Game' on one machine then select 'Join IR Game' on the other machine. If the connection fails try leaving an re-entering the game on both Palms.
3) Play the game as normal (making sure the IR ports stay lined up), the first player to be shot down three times is the loser.
4) If the connection is lost an icon will be shown in the top left of the screen and it if is not restored the game will be abandoned.

Tips for a good connection

Use the slowest machine for the the HOST machine.
If the CLIENT lags behind the HOST try turning off the clouds or background on the CLIENT OR turn on the clouds and background on the HOST.
If the plane on the CLIENT jumps backwards or seems to slow down then rush ahead occasionally try turning on the background or clouds on the CLIENT OR turn the clouds or background off on the HOST.
Try using different game speed to find the one that works best, if the CLIENT rushes ahead then using a faster game speed can help. If the CLIENT constantly lags behind then try using a slower gamespeed. You must change the game speed on both machines since they will both run at the speed of the lowest setting.
By finding a suitable combination of speed, clouds and background on both machines you can maximise the game performance.

Registering

When you register for Biplane Ace, you'll get a key which will unlock the full version of the game remain valid for the grey-scale and colour versions and future 0.x upgrades. Go to the Biplane Ace web page at http://www.astraware.com/palm/ace/ for more details.

You'll need to know your HotSync ID which you can find by running Biplane Ace, and going into the menu, and selection the 'register' option. Your HotSync ID will be filled in for you below.

When you register, we will generate a key based on your ID, which will normally be sent out by email within 48 hours of you registering. When you receive your key, go to the same register option, and enter the key into the space provided.

Astraware Products

Palm Games Pack - get Zap!2000, Biplane Ace, Bzzz! and Fire! for your Palm at 20% off the price if you bought them separately.

Zap!2000 - A smooth colour and greyscale shoot-em-up in the best traditional style! Let out some stress on the invading aliens!

Zap!2016 - Specially designed for the Handspring Visor Prism, a smooth 16-bit colour shoot-em-up in the best traditional style!

Fire! - a fast paced remake of the old 80s handheld classic, Fire!

Bzzz! A cute screen-tapping game of catching flies - suitable for kids and adults!

Timetable for Palm - An organiser for teachers and students.

Mahjongg for Palm - A relaxing and absorbing solitaire tile-matching version of the Chinese board game.
Bang! Bang! A fast screen tapping game of backyard shooting - shoot cans, bottles, ducks and more!

Astraware PC Products

Bzzz! A cute game of catching flies - suitable for kids and adults!
Fire! The PC version of the 80s Handheld classic, Fire!

Release Revision History

Release 1.15 : 5th February 2001

GamePad support added
Improved the 'flow control' routines to make two player games much smoother.
Improved AI at later levels - enemies continue to shoot and fly harder!

Release 1.1 : 1st January 2001

Two Player IR dogfighting enabled.
Minor bug fix (two pilots crashing at the same time would swap planes!)

Release 1.0 : 7th December 2000

First Public Release
Beta Timeout removed

Items still to do...

We'd like to add some 'music' to the game

The ability to have different ships, and different looking characters

An improved AI for the computer players

Feedback

If you've got suggestions about how to improve Biplane Ace - or with reports of any problems you've had, then please contact us!

Biplane Ace enquiries/feedback: ace@astraware.com
Registration problems: registrations@astraware.com
General Astraware enquiries: feedback@astraware.com

Legal

Astraware Ltd takes no responsibility for any adverse effect that this software could cause to your machine or the data on it: backup important data before using Biplane Ace. Biplane Ace is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. Biplane Ace is licensed, not sold.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble this software.

AstrawareÆs and its suppliersÆ entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be, at AstrawareÆs option, either (a) return of the price paid, if any, or (b) replacement of the product that does not meet the warranty and which is returned to Astraware with a copy of your receipt. This warranty is void if failure of the product has resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication. Any replacement software product will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer. These remedies are not available without proof of purchase from an authorised source.