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Ophiuchus -Read Me-, version 1.0.0 Ophiuchus © 1997 Adam Winiecki. All rights reserved worldwide. _______________________________________________________________ Ophiuchus 1.0.0, released on 2/18/97 by Adam Winiecki. _______________________________________________________________ What is Ophiuchus? Ophiuchus is a side-scrolling action game based in a lunar environment. _______________________________________________________________ Support: If you have any questions and comments, they can be answered by: EMail: adamw@kagi.com WWW: http://www.pacifier.com/~winiecki/JudahSoftware.html Snail-Mail: Judah Software 16810 N.E. 40th Ave. #O Vancouver, WA 98686 _______________________________________________________________ Requirements: To run Ophiuchus, you must have 4200k of free RAM, a 13" or larger monitor, running in 8-bit color. Sound Manager 3.0 recommended. PowerMacs or (040) Macs recommended. _______________________________________________________________ Table of Contents: Chapter 1: Registration Information Chapter 2: Getting Started Chapter 3: Your basic mission Chapter 4: Benefits of various special weapons Chapter 5: Using the Mouse to control the ship Chapter 6: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Chapter 7: Ophiuchus License Chapter 8: Product Disclaimer Chapter 9: More Judah Software products _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 1: Registration Information Registration is $20.00 U.S. If you like Ophiuchus and play it a lot, you should register it. If you register Ophiuchus, I will send you a code which lets you: - Play an additional 30+ levels of Ophiuchus (wow!) - See your name listed as the registered owner of your copy of Ophiuchus - Receive free upgrades to Ophiuchus when they are released - Feel good about yourself for supporting the shareware concept - Encourage me to write more software There are two ways to register Ophiuchus: (1 - Kagi) Use the accompanying Register program. This program produces either email-ready text or printed order forms which you send to the Kagi shareware registration service. Kagi lets you pay by check, cash, credit card or in foreign currency (but not with checks made out in non-U.S. currency). When Kagi receives your payment, they notify me, and I will send you your registration code and information. See the accompanying Register -Read Me- file if you need more information. (2 - Direct) Simply make out an American check for $20 to Judah Software and put it in an envelope (you can send CASH if you prefer), wrapped in opaque paper. Mail it to the below address, and I will send you your registration code immediately. If you would like your registration code sent by email, include your email address. If you are sending cash, be sure to include either your email address or snail-mail address. If you are registering Ophiuchus Direct from Judah Software, use this address: Judah Software 16810 N.E. 40th Ave. # O Vancouver, WA 98686 _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 2: Getting Started To get the best results with Ophiuchus, read this Chapter, as well as Chapters 2-5. After reading these chapters, run the program "Ophiuchus", and wait for the green main menu to come up. Go to the Preferences menu, and learn the keys to control your ship. Click on the "Test Ship" option to try out the controls. Many people have trouble learning how to fly with the mouse, so be sure to spend some good time practicing! Press "esc" to leave the practice mode. After you are familiar with the controls, start a new game. The plot is important, so be sure to read it. Before you start a mission, it would be helpful to you to buy and sell whatever weapons you desire to have, and save the game. Start a mission, and follow the on-line tutorial's directions (a window will pop up occasionally to inform you about your mission). _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 3: Your basic mission The best way to complete your mission is to follow these directions: 1. Locate the Contact Base, clear the area of small enemy bases, and stock up on special missiles (in the way you choose). 2. Locate ALL of the large enemy bases on the current level (usually there is only one) and destroy them, reloading your ship with special missiles as seems appropriate. Too many missiles will weigh your ship down. 3. Locate the hazardous Mine. 4. Establish a safe route from the Mine to a Home Base. 5. Transport the Mine to the Home Base. If at any time the Mine is destroyed, the mission has failed. If you are greeted with a musical fanfare, and have been rewarded with credits, you have completed the mission. Completed missions are indicated by red legs on the missions map. When you complete the first eleven legs (the gray canyon) you will be rewarded with a nicer ship, and so on through the game. _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 4: Benefits of various special weapons The "Decoy" - Your decoy, once deployed, will move to the current position of the gunsight. NOTE: Getting the decoy caught on objects (such as the ceiling) will damage it! To reposition the decoy, move your gunsight to the desired location and press the Special Weapon button. You can only deploy one decoy at a time. The decoy will absorb a certain amount of bullets/missiles/orbs and then explode without warning. It is highly useful for holding off numerous enemies. Your own weapons cannot hurt it. The mysterious "Special Missile" - These can only be obtained at your local Contact Base. Just as they can only be obtained locally, they can only be held locally- when you leave a level, all your precious Special Missiles are gone! These Special Missiles work on almost everything, but be sure to destroy the large Enemy Base first! The Large Enemy Bases can ONLY be destroyed with Special Missiles. The "Cloaker" - This device will render most bases unable to find your location. Unlike the decoy, their weapons will come nowhere close to your ship. This device doesn't last very long, however. "ShieldBoosters" These red items will boost your shields instantly when you use them. "ShieldRechargers" These yellow items work continually to slowly raise your shield's strength. "GunRate" this is one of the best gadgets to invest in. Since bullets can destroy most projectiles, a heavy amount of gunfire can demolish anything the enemy has to offer. "Gun Size" the larger and louder, the better! "Nitros" Once you turn this on, your ship will be moving fast - just momentarily, though- so buy 50 of 'em! No problems with overheating or overloading here. "Engine Size" The bigger the engine, the more missiles you can hold. Good enough reason? Empty ships SOAR with big engines installed! Look out for walls! _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 5: Using the Mouse to control the ship To move the ship clockwise and counterclockwise, move the mouse left and right. To aim the ship's gunsight clockwise and counterclockwise, move the mouse up and down. The gunsight is a multi-colored animated crosshair which follows the ship. Due to the difficulty in aiming and steering at the same time, using the mouse is highly recommended. The keyboard gives a nice option to people who don't like using their mouse, however, I can't guarantee that keyboard users will be able to beat the higher levels (or the lower ones). _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 6: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) [Q] Why won't my registration code work? [A] The registration code you were sent is based on your name as you included it with registration. Re-enter your name and registration code, making sure that you enter it exactly as it appears on your registration confirmation. If you still can't register correctly, send email to <adamw@kagi.com> and we will take care of the situation for you. [Q] What did you use to make Ophiuchus? [A] Ophiuchus was prototyped (programmed) in Think Pascal, then finished in CodeWarrior Pascal. Resource editing was done with ResEdit. Graphics were created with Infini-D and edited with Photoshop. Background mountains were rendered with KPT Bryce. Sounds were created and edited with SoundEffects. [Q] How long did it take to make Ophiuchus? [A] The prototype version was started in April '96 and finished in May. Work was resumed in August. Ophiuchus reached the beta stages in September, and was finally finished in February '97. [Q] Does Ophiuchus run native on PowerPC's? [A] Yes, Ophiuchus has both native PowerPC code, and normal Macintosh (68k) code. It is a FAT binary. In addition, it has been optimized to run very fast on all kinds of Macintoshes. [Q] How do I make my own games? [A] Be sure to focus on making a game which is within your ability. Start by taking a programming class, and work from there. Try a book on game programming. I would recommend Tricks of the Mac game programming gurus, by McCormack, Celestin, Ragnemalm, et al. If you have internet access, I highly recommend that you search for source code and web sites, and post your problems/questions to the correct programming newsgroups. There are many people out there whom can give you excellent help with any game you are trying to program. [Q] Are there old games which Judah Software has released? [A] There are two games predating 1996 which are still in distribution: Snail Race and Alpha Battle II. [Q] What games does Judah Software plan to make in the future? [A] Check out our web pages for the latest information on future Judah Software games. The Judah Software web pages are listed at the beginning of this read-me file. [Q] Why is there a screen where you type Scripture to get special missiles? [A] The plot of Ophiuchus is about using Scripture to lay siege of strongholds. Ophiuchus is symbolic for real life struggles that people face every day in their minds. Just like the special missiles can bring victory in the game, Scripture can bring victory in real life by removing thoughts which harm us and cause us to stumble. If you would like more information on the subject, you can send email to adamw@kagi.com. I also would recommend that you get a copy of the New King James Version Bible (NKJV) and find out for yourself what I'm talking about. _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 7: Ophiuchus License Unless explicitly stated in writing, Judah Software. does not grant permission to distribute the software for profit in any form, including but not limited to, electronic information service distribution, bulletin board distribution, and magnetic or optical medium distribution. Non-profit distribution of the software is acceptable without prior written notice, providing that the software is not modified in any way, and the original files are included: "Ophiuchus", "Ophiuchus -Read Me-", "Graphics", "Sounds", "Levels", "Register", and "Register -Read Me-". If your organization would like to distribute unregistered copies of Ophiuchus for a profit, please send email to adamw@kagi.com . _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 8: Product Disclaimer Judah Software is not responsible for any damage to the purchaser's computer system or data and in no event will Judah Software or its owners, employees, agents, or representatives be responsible to the purchaser for any consequential, incidental, or indirect damages (including damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information and the like) arising out of the use or inability to use the Judah Software product, even if Judah Software has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitations may not apply to you. _______________________________________________________________ Chapter 9: More Judah Software Products ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Grizzly 1.3.1 Price: $15.00 Requires: Any 030 Mac or greater, a 13" or larger Monitor, System 7. Created by Adam Winiecki. Choose from four characters to slug it out in this wild action game! Rated five mice by MacUser 1996, this game is a must-see! Grizzly features 3d-rendered backgrounds and characters, animations and special-moves galore! ____________________________________________________________________________________WebPatterns Price: $20.00 Requires: Any Color Macintosh, Gif viewing software or ResEdit 2.1. Are you looking for some fancy background patterns for your web pages, but worried about file size? Then WebPatterns is for you! WebPatterns is a collection of 250 royalty-free patterns which can do the job, each in Gif format. View the patterns with the included program, WPViewer, which can quickly show how each pattern would look on a large screen, with text and the works. Each pattern has been crafted with care, and takes up only 2.5k (2500 bytes)! The WebPattern style was used to create the backgrounds for Ophiuchus and Pizazz. More examples are available at: http://www.pacifier.com/~winiecki/WebPatterns.html ____________________________________________ Pizazz Price: $15.00 Requires: Any Color Macintosh with a 13" or larger Monitor. Created by Adam Winiecki. Pizazz is a game in a category of its own, in any game market. As scrambled quotes from the New King James Bible move up the screen, you switch letters around to unscramble words. When you form a correct sentence, the line is deactivated and you proceed to the next line. Pizazz moves quickly and effortlessly, in a style similar to a tetris game. You will be challenged in your skills of quick thinking and coordination, as well as grammar and spelling, while improving your knowledge of the bible at the same time. So, you've improved your grammar and spelling? How about your typing ability? Pizazz also includes a typing game, built on the Pizazz framework. 
