So, you are actually reading the whole manual…

This section is devoted to telling you a little more about myself, about the forces behind Dome Wars, etc. Hopefully by reading this you will understand more what lays in the future for Dome Wars.

When I first got to college my roommate, Geoff Hibbert, complained that there was no good tank game (like Scorched Earth for the PC) for the Mac. I reasoned about how you could get emulation programs and actually run the game on the Mac. But, finally, I decided I might as well write the game myself.

How do you write a game like this? Basically one step at a time. First you have to make mountians, and then explosions, and then the explosions have to blow up parts of the mountains. Do this one step at a time, and eventually you have Dome Wars.

As I got more and more into the game, it began to take more of my time. Both in spending time developing and also handling registrations. At first I thought, "Let me just finish version 1.0, and then I'll stop working on it for a while." Part of this line of thought was derived from my Christian faith. As Dome Wars was taking up a bigger and bigger chunk of my life I wondered how working on this game had anything to do with my faith.

So, now almost two years since the first line of code was written on the game, I have decided that I am going to submit the future of this game into God's hands. This may not seem like it makes any sense. I don't know now what will happen in the future for this game. I have many ideas that I would like to work on, but feel like in the long run this will be better. So, somehow, when the time comes, God will make it obvious to my how to resume developing the game. This could happen next week or next year. Part of submitting it to God is not knowing the answer & trusting that things will work out.

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Well, much time has passed, and where am I now? I have realized several things.
I am not writing this game to make myself look good, or to make myself rich. I
write this game because I enjoy doing it, and ultimately to testify about God. Each
time I have been stuck with a bug or another insurpassible problem I have had to
sit back & pray about my frustration with whatever problem. The point at which
I have done this, has been the point at which I have found mistakes and overcome
other obstacles. I don't expect that everyone who reads this will believe that, but I
will share other stories if you are willing to listen. (Feel free to send me e-mail.)

Thus, I hope that people who play this game will enjoy it. I have enjoyed working
on it, and learned a lot in the process. It may not be the perfect game, but hopefully
it is getting better & better.

Oh, yes. I will be attending UCLA studying for a PhD in Computer Science over the
next few years. I may move some of the Dome Wars resources down there after I
get established, but all the old addresses should continue to work for a while.

Nathan Sturtevant
3/27/97

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Time flies - I can't believe it has been a year since I last released a version. I have had this version waiting in the wings for a while, but NetSprocket problems have slowed me down. I acquired a LC II as a testing machine, but I have had trouble getting networking to run consistently on it. I will probably be getting a IIci later this year, and perhaps I will be able to get it working on that. Until then, enjoy the features in this version.

So, why I am giving this version away for free? (Well, at least really cheap.) First, I have gotten more than I expected from making this game, and one of things I don't expect, or really desire, is to make tons of money off the game. Second, as a Christian, I would like to give it as a gift to everyone out there using a Macintosh. I know that many people may have negative experiences or impressions of Christianity, and I wanted to offer a positive one.

Some of you who registered may feel bad that I have taken your money. In addition, other people will probably send me money before they find out about this version. But, I remind you that you are getting what you expected when you sent me the money, and it is my business if I want to be generous to others. (See Matthew 20:1-16)

I hope people enjoy the new version of the game, and as always, I am open to comments and suggestions.

Nathan Sturtevant
3/30/98