Dr. Max is an exciting Macintosh game written by Steve Chamberlin, a part-time shareware author. If you need to contact me regarding the game, use the addresses below. As shareware is only a hobby for me and not my "real job", I can't promise that I'll have time to reply to every email or letter I receive, but I will read and consider every one of them.
Internet:
opinicus@kagi.com or granola@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/granola
Postal Mail:
Opinicus Microtech
PO Box 578
Belmont, CA 94002-0578
U.S.A.
1.1 Gameplay
Monday morning has gotten off to a bad start. Dr. Max, a scientist at a leading pharmaceutical company, enters his lab to find that things have gone haywire over the weekend. A virus experiment he was running has gotten out of control, and there are now viruses contaminating several nearby experiments. Fortunately, Dr. Max has a supply of vitamin capsules that can kill the viruses when they're administered in the correct manner and dosage. It's your job to help Dr. Max stop the virus infestation before it takes over the entire lab!
When you begin a new game, you're presented with a test tube containing viruses of three different colors. After you've had a moment to study the virus layout, Dr. Max presents you with a vitamin capsule, and it's your job to guide the capsule as it falls, placing it such that it becomes lethal to the neighboring viruses.
The vitamin capsules are composed of two segments, each one marked with one of the same colors as the viruses in the tube. By placing the capsules to make four or more of the same color in a row, horizontally or vertically, the whole line disappears, taking any viruses that were in that row with it. When a line disappears, any pieces of vitamins that were resting on it immediately start falling again until they hit something new. Viruses, however, remain fixed in place and do not fall.
As time passes, the environment in the test tube grows increasingly unhealthy due to prolonged exposure to the viruses. Each time you eliminate a virus, the health risk subsides temporarily, but in the time between eliminations of viruses, the health risk grows more and more acute. If 30 seconds pass without killing a virus, a layer of viral residue will appear at the bottom of the tube, forcing everything above it upwards. Once formed, the residue cannot be eliminated. The only remedy is to destroy the remaining viruses and move on to a new tube.
If you can eliminate all the viruses from the test tube, you'll be presented with a new tube containing more viruses than last time, and the vitamin capsules will fall more quickly than before. When you can't place the capsules quickly enough anymore, they'll start piling up, making your job even more difficult. When the tube fills all the way to the top, the game ends.
1.2 Controls
You can use your computer's keyboard to guide the vitamin capsules as they fall. By default, the controls are configured to use the keys J, K, L, M, and the space bar, but they can be changed to anything else by selecting "Set Controls" from the Options menu. J and L move the capsule left and right, K rotates it counter-clockwise, and the space bar drops it. Most people find it sufficient to use only these keys, laying three fingers across J-K-L and resting their thumb on the space bar. For slightly more advanced play, you can nudge the capsule downward without dropping it using the M key. This key layout works well for most people, but you can easily change it and experiment with new layouts if you wish.
1.3 Levels
The game begins at level 1, where there are just five viruses, and the vitamins fall relatively slowly. When you eliminate all the viruses in the test tube, you advance to the next level, where you'll encounter more viruses and faster-falling vitamins. By level 7 or 8 you'll have to be very nimble to keep up. After level 10 the speed and number of viruses won't increase any further, but staying alive for long at those levels will still prove to be quite a challenge.
1.4 Scoring
You score points by placing vitamin capsules and viruses in a line to make them disappear. For each vitamin segment that disappears, you score 5 points, and for each virus you eliminate, you score 100 points. It's also possible to create chain-reactions of disappearing blocks, by arranging the vitamins so that when one line disappears, a vitamin that was supported by it falls down, forming another line that then also disappears. Any vitamins or viruses that you eliminate in a secondary chain-reaction are worth 5 times their normal score, so look for opportunities to create chain-reactions whenever you can. If you can create a tertiary chain reaction, your points are multiplied by 5 yet again, for 25 times the original score!
If you eliminate all the viruses in a test tube, you receive bonus points for your success. You receive 1000 bonus points for getting rid of all the viruses in the first test tube, and the bonus increases by 1000 for each new tube thereafter.
2.1 What's Shareware?
Please note that Dr. Max is not free! It's a shareware program written by Steve Chamberlin, a part-time shareware author. Shareware is software that's distributed on a "try before you buy" basis. If you like Dr. Max and decide to keep it, please be honest and send in the $15 registration fee to pay for the program.
When you pay the registration fee, you'll be sent a special registration code that lets you disable the shareware reminder screen and personalize your copy of the game by adding your name to the game window. Registration also entitles you to any future updates of Dr. Max. Yes, this all relies on the honor system, and some people will play Dr. Max without ever paying for it, but hopefully you won't be one of those people.
2.2 Pricing
Personal License $15.00
Single-Location Site License $200.00
World-Wide Site License $800.00
It's assumed that you already have Dr. Max when you register it, so registered users won't be sent a disk with a copy of the program. If you need a new copy of Dr. Max, you can download it from the internet, either from my web site (http://members.aol.com/granola) or from the Macintosh file archives at http://www.shareware.com.
2.3 Register with Kagi
Registrations for Dr. Max are handled by Kagi Software, an independent payment processing company. You can register in one of two ways: on-line registration using a web browser, or off-line registration using the included "Register" program.
2.4 On-Line Registration
If you have a credit card, you can register Dr. Max on-line in just a few minutes, using Kagi's secure payment processing server. Point your web browser to:
http://order.kagi.com/?1VX&S
or, if you have an older web browser that doesn't support secure connections, go to:
http://order.kagi.com/?1VX
The advantage of using the secure server is that it creates a special encrypted connection between it and your web browser, providing extra protection for your credit card number and other personal information.
2.5 Registration by Postal Mail or Email
If you'd rather register via postal mail, you can use the "Register" program to process your registration payment. This program should have been included with the files that came with Dr. Max. If you're missing the Register program, you can download it from my web site at:
http://members.aol.com/granola
The Register program will ask for your name, address, the names of the program(s) you wish to pay for, and the method of payment. You can use many different payment methods such as credit cards, US checks, money orders, US or foreign cash, First Virtual, or invoice. The data generated by the program can then be emailed to Kagi, or printed and sent to Kagi via postal mail or fax. The mailing address and fax number for Kagi are included in the data generated by the Register program.
Payments sent via email are processed within 3 to 4 days. You'll receive an email acknowledgement when it is processed. Payments sent via fax can take up to 10 days, and if you provide a correct internet email address you'll receive an email acknowledgement.
2.6 How Else Can I Register?
If you don't have a printer, don't have a FAX modem, and can't register on-line or via email, you can send a hand-written letter to Kagi. This should only be used as a last resort, because a hand-written letter won't contain the bar-codes and other information needed to automate the regsitration processing. The information has to be entered by hand, which increases the processing time and costs more money as well.
If this is your only option, a hand-written registration letter is still much better than no registration at all! In the letter, include your name, address, email address (if any), and the name of the program you're registering (Dr. Max). Write a check for the total amount (see "pricing" above) payable to "Kagi Shareware" and include it with the letter. Send the letter to
Kagi Shareware
1442-A Walnut Street #392-1VX
Berkeley, California, 94709-1405
USA
2.7 When Registering by Postal Mail:
A few additional issues are relevant for people who register by postal mail, either with or without the "Register" program.
1. When you register, Kagi will send you your registration code by email. If you don't have an email address, Kagi charges an additional $1 to send your registration code on a postcard instead. The "Register" program includes the additional charge automatically when appropriate. If you send in a hand-written registration letter, you'll have to remember to include the extra $1 yourself.
2. Kagi cannot accept checks in currencies other than US dollars. The conversion rate for non-USD checks is around $15 per check, making it impractical for small transactions like these.
3. If you're registering for an organization and you have a purchasing department, you can enter all the data into the Register program and then select "invoice" as your payment method. Print three copies of the form and send it to your accounts payable people. You might want to highlight the line that mentions that they must include a copy of the form with their payment. Kagi can not invoice your company, so you need to act on my behalf and generate the invoice and handle all the paperwork on your end.
4. Payments sent via postal mail take time to reach Kagi and then up to 10 days for processing. Again, if you include a correct email address, you will hear from Kagi when the form is processed.
3. Help!
Confused? If you have questions about the registration process or about Dr. Max itself, drop me an email and I'll be happy to help. Send your inquiries to me (Steve Chamberlin) at:
