Rival Ball version 2.0, Copyright 2000-2002 by Longbow Digital Arts.
Longbow Digital Arts Web Site:
http://www.LongbowDigitalArts.com/
Rival Ball Web Page:
http://www.LongbowDigitalArts.com/RivalBall.html
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Installation Instructions (PC):
After downloading, double-click on the self-extracting .EXE to begin the installer.
Click Next to proceed. The default directory where it installs is C:\Program Files\RivalBall.
Once installed, you can run the game from the Start menu > Programs > Rival Ball.
Multiple board packs should be installed in the same location. This will merge them together and allow you to see all of your boards from a single installation.
Installation Instructions (Mac OS-X):
After downloading, double-click on the Rival Ball .SIT file to extract the contents into a folder.
The default folder is Rival Ball for Macintosh. Inside, double-click on the Rival Ball icon to run the game.
If you purchased multiple board packs, you will need to copy the "boards" folder from each installation into the one "master" installation. For example, if you've been playing the free version and then purchase Series 1 you can play both the free boards and Series 1 boards from the same installation by copying the "Series 1 Boards" folder into the demo folder.
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Game Play:
Playing Rival Ball is very simple. Just use the mouse to move your paddle back and forth along the bottom of the screen, bouncing the balls back up into the field of bricks to break them. Once they're all broken you'll proceed to the next level. Along the way you can pick up random Power-Ups, some of which are good, others are bad, and some may have good aspects and bad aspects.
If you're having trouble hitting the last couple of bricks, a bolt of lightning will strike them down. An audio cue will alert you that it's coming.
If the ball gets "stuck" bouncing in between some invincible bricks, after a short period of time all bricks on the board will become breakable.
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Multi-player:
The game can be played with 2, 3, or 4 players with hot-seat multi-player. A player's turn is over when they win the board, or if they lose the ball. The highest scoring player wins. On the game setup screen, you may check and enter a name for the other players to play in hot-seat.
Multiplayer:
To play 2-player split-screen, select Network Game from the title screen. To connect, both computers must be on the Network Game screen at the same time. If the two computers are connected on a local area network (LAN), select Find Local Opponent. To connect over the Internet, you need to know the IP address of the opponentÆs computer.
PC Networking Info:
To find your own IP address, go to the START menu in Windows, and select Settings / Network and Dial-Up connections. Double-click on Local Area Connection, and select Properties. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), make sure it is enabled with a checkbox, and click on Properties. In a box next to IP address, you should see the number (example: 10 . 20 . 30 . 40).
MacOS X Networking Info:
To find your own IP address, go to the System Properties and Choose Network. The IP Address will be available under your modem, or built-in ethernet connection.
MacOS 8/9 Networking Info:
Your IP address can be found in the TCP/IP control panel.
NOTE: A Lobby Server to help automate the process and find opponents will be out soon for both PC & Mac.
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Keyboard Commands:
P = Pause Game.
Esc = quit / go back.
(PC only)
F1 = cycle background brightness.
F5 = music on / off.
F7 = toggle full-screen or window mode.
(MAC only)
Command-B = cycle background brightness.
Command-M = music on / off.
Command-F = toggle full-screen or window mode.
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PC Troubleshooting:
If you're having trouble running the game, first make sure your graphics card is capable of a 640x480x16-bit display by changing your Windows desktop resolution to at least 16-bit or High Color or 65536 color (please note, NOT "16 color"). Most other problems are related to old or buggy display drivers. Go to your video card manufacturer's web site and download and install the latest drivers for your graphics card, and then download and install the latest version of Microsoft's DirectX. One way to find it is to search for "DirectX" on www.download.com.
Mac Troubleshooting:
Do not install the game directly onto a network volume if you're using MacOS X. The default file permissions will prevent the game from accessing files that it needs, and you'll get a "Shared Library Error" when you try to run the game.
Also see:
http://www.LongbowDigitalArts.com/support.html
for a FAQ and more technical support info.
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Additional:
Synthetic Audio Library (SEAL) Copyright 1995, 1996 Carlos Hasan.
Longbow(r) is a registered trademark of Longbow International
Corp. in the U.S.A. Longbow International Corp. is not
