Games Gallery 98/Games Gallery 98 - Disc 2.iso/Content/TVPC/Readme.txt

Text File | 1998-04-29 | 15.6 KB | 462 lines

                        TechnoVenture version 2.0
                     Copyright (c)1997 by Ben Marty
                       Instructions & Information

     If you're new to TechnoVenture, it is an arcade-style
     puzzle
solving side-scrolling adventure game.  This version was
written for
32-bit systems supporting DirectX.  If you've seen the DOS
version of
TechnoVenture this version should be more stable, more
enjoyable and
more flexible.  TechnoVenture now has music and much better
sound
effects.  You can also drag the game window and the
inventory to
suitable positions fitting your preference, and resize and
make other
adjustments to the game window.  The only drawback is that,
if you
don't have a suitable system (I believe any 486/66 MHz
system or
better with at least 1 MB of video memory that supports
DirectX would
be suitable), TechnoVenture 2.0 may run incredibly slow on
your
system.  However, if you have a good system, it appears to
me that the
DirectX version *could* run faster than the DOS version
(which is too
fast anyway if you have a good system).  Currently, this
version of
TechnoVenture is also completely compatible with the DOS
version and
uses the exact same "maps" or "worlds".  There is one minor
compatibility problem with the DOS version though.
Recording a demo
in one version of TechnoVenture and playing it back in
another may not
work as expected if the player interacted with moving
objects
(especially platforms).  It is possible, however, that the
demo will
play acceptably, and as a matter of fact, the demo that was
distributed with the DOS version does work with the new
version.
     There are a few main points of attraction in
     TechnoVenture.
First of all, TechnoVenture has plot.  Unlike many games
where you run
around shooting mindlessly at anything that moves,
TechnoVenture
involves the player more in events that are happening and
presents
puzzles to solve and can develop a plot through text
messages.  The
player can talk to people, read signs and make observations
about the
environment.  Second, TechnoVenture supports custom level
creation.
When you receive TechnoVenture, you receive a number of
"maps" which
are like pieces of the game.  These were created for
distribution with
the game.  But that's not the end.  Others can develop their
own
pieces to the game and add to it!  If you register
TechnoVenture at
the developer level (see "Registration"), you too can
develop your own
pieces to the game and make those pieces available to
everyone else
who owns TechnoVenture via the TechnoVenture homepage
(http://members.aol.com/BlueMonkMN/TechnoVenture.html).
Finally, for
worried parents out there having trouble finding suitable
games that
don't involve "blood and gore", I tried to reduce violence
in
TechnoVenture to almost nothing while still keeping the game
enjoyable.  I didn't want to spend the extra effort to draw
all that
anyway :).

How to Play
     TechnoVenture doesn't have one single objective to win
     the game.
Rather, since it is composed of a number of worlds that are
created
independently, each world has its own objective.  The main
world that
connects them all I have referred to as the "TechnoVenture
Realm".
This is where the player starts at the beginning of the
game.  The
player is free to enter any other world from the
TechnoVenture Realm.
Near the entrance to each world is a sign or person to talk
to that
describes the world, possibly a particular objective to
accomplish in
that world, and how to enter that world.
     TechnoVenture can be played using either the joystick
     or
keyboard.  The arrows on the keyboard correspond to the
directions on
the joystick.  The Ctrl key corresponds to joystick button 1
and the
spacebar corresponds to button 2.  Pushing left or right
will move the
player in that direction.  Pushing up will jump.  Continuing
to press
up while jumping will fly if the player has collected a
jetpack and
fuel to power it.  Pressing down is usually used to go
through open
doorways.  Down, however, may be associated with any
function that may
occur in TechnoVenture such as displaying a message, loading
a map or
changing some part of the world.  However, pressing button 1
is
usually reserved for such actions.  The most common use of
button 1 is
to read signs or talk to people (which both have the same
result of
displaying a message).  Button 2 is only used to fire a
charge from
the stun ray. If the player has collected the stun ray
device and
charges to fill it, one charge will be fired each time
button 2 is
pressed.  At any time you may press the ESC key to return to
the main
menu.  The F12 key will exit the program immediately.  P
will pause
the game, S will save the current game and L will load a
saved game.
Use "B" on the keyboard to place a time bomb.  To place a
bomb with
the joystick it is also possible to press down and button 1
at the
same time.
     The inventory displays what items the player has
     accumulated.
Every item that the player can accumulate is displayed in
the
inventory as 2 icons side-by-side.  Below the item is
displayed a
number (up to 4 digits) corresponding to the quantity of
that item
which the player possesses.  For instance, the first item in
the
inventory is a coin.  This is depicted by a picture of two
coins above
the quantity of coins that the player possesses.  For the
pickaxe,
since the player can only have one, "Yes" or "No" is simply
displayed
below the pickaxe icons.  For the jetpack and fuel, if the
player owns
a jetpack, it will replace the leftmost fuel icon in the
inventory.
Likewise, if the player owns a stun ray, it will replace the
leftmost
energy cell icon in the inventory.
     It is possible to move the inventory window by clicking
     on it
anywhere and dragging it to another location.  The game
display window
can be moved similarly.  The game display can also be
resized and the
scrolling margins can be moved.  To resize the display,
click and drag
the white square at the bottom right of the map display.
The display
cannot be resized to a size smaller than the scrolling
margins will
allow (less than twice the size of the scrolling margin in
either
direction).  The scrolling margin determines how close the
robot can
get to the edge of the display before it starts scrolling to
display
more in that direction.  To move the vertical scrolling
margin, click
and drag the magenta square on the right side of the display
window.
To move the horizontal scrolling margin, click and drag the
magenta
square at the bottom size of the display window.  By
default, the size
and scrolling margins are set to display exactly what the
DOS version
of TechnoVenture displays.  Making the display larger can
result in
seeing parts of the world which were not meant to be seen.

Items and Objects
     Every item and object which can appear is shortly
     documented in
the instructions screen in TechnoVenture.  Below is a more
detailed
description of a few of the more complicated features of
TechnoVenture.
     A "Panto-Key" will open one door of any color, and
     then, like any
other key, be "used up" and disappear from the inventory.
     One jet fuel is used for every time the player gets an
     upward
boost while not touching the ground.  This occurs when up is
pressed.
One energy cell is used up every time a charge is discharged
from the
stun ray.  Fuel can only be used when the player possesses a
jetpack
and energy cells can only be discharged with a stun ray.
     The pickaxe is not used up, but will continue to break
     through
boulders as long as the robot owns it (until the end of the
level/world/map).
     Time bombs, once placed with "B" (or down & button1)
     delay for
approximately 5 seconds and then explode.  Any barrels
neighboring
this explosion will also explode, possibly causing a chain
reaction.
If the robot touches an explosion it will be badly damaged.
However,
explosions do not extend beyond the squares in which they
occur.
     Power-up items (blue beams crossing with a green circle
     center)
increase the player's durability.  The higher the
durability, the more
damage the player can take before the robot is destroyed.
If the
durability exceeds the previous maximum for durability, the
maximum
value is increased.  When the player's robot is destroyed,
the player
returns to the last save position.  The save position is set
at the
beginning of a level and whenever the robot touches a
save/disk icon
(with a red plus).  When the player returns to the save
position with
a new robot, the number of robots in the inventory is
reduced by one,
and the durability/power is restored to its maximum value.
If there
are no robots left, the TechnoVenture Realm is loaded and
all values
are reset (including maximum power).  Since each map/world
has its own
inventory and player statistics, all inventory and
statistics are
reset whenever the player enters or exits a map/world.
Saving the
position of the robot by touching a disk icon is different
from saving
the game by pressing S.  S will save exactly the current
state of the
game including inventory statistics and all moving object
positions
(platforms, enemies, etc).  Touching a disk icon merely
stores the
location of the robot and indicates where the player should
return to
if the robot is destroyed.
     When travelling through magnetic fields, if the player
     owns
magnets, one magnet will be used up for each field element
(magnet w/
arrow) that the robot touches.  Overlapping qualifies as
touching as
does being directly next to a square with no pixels between
the robot
and the square.
     To use a wrench, the robot should stand touching an
     energy orb
and press button 1.  If the orb was on, it will be turned
off and any
adjacent beam will also be turned off.  If the orb was off,
the orb
will be turned on and a beam will emanate from the orb in
the
direction that the orb is aimed.  The beam will continue
until it
reaches another opposing orb.  If there are mirrors in its
path, the
beam will be reflected.  Beams do not damage the robot.
They are
simply solid blocks that the robot can walk on and cannot
pass
through.
     Blue blobs, explosions, eyeballs, plasma and speed
     demons damage
the robot for as long as they are touching the robot.  Each
has their
own way of moving.  Observe them to learn their pattern or
rule.
     Platforms carry the robot along a particular
     predetermined route.
Ground makers do the same, but create solid blocks along the
path of
their route.

Recording an Playing Back Games
     It is possible to record a game and play back
     previously recorded
games.  Such recordings are generally stored in files with
the
extension .DEM (demo).  One demo is available by default
with
TechnoVenture (TVPC000.DEM) and can easily be played back by
selecting
the D option from the title screen.  To record your own
demo, you must
understand how to run TechnoVenture from the command line.
From the
start menu, choose run, enter the path and file name of
TVPC32.EXE
followed by a space followed by on of these options:
To record a demo, add "-r <filename>" where <filename> is
the name
(without the path) of the file where the demo should be
stored.
To playback a demo, add "-p <filename>" where <filename> is
the name
(without the path) of the demo file.
Demo files must exist in the same directory as TVPC32.EXE.
Filenames
must not contain spaces.  When recording a demo, the S key
will not
save the game.  Instead pressing S while recording a demo
saves the
demo in the specified file and ends the recording (pressing
S again
will save the game).
     Demo files recorded in the DOS version of TechnoVenture
     may not
play back correctly if replayed in this new version.
Likewise, demos
recorded with this version may not play correctly under the
DOS
version.  Due to a slight difference between collision
detection in
the new version and the DOS version (which I could not
pinpoint
farther) the robot may react slightly differently to landing
on a
platform or ground maker in the DOS version than in this new
version.
And, as chaos theory would have it, one small discrepancy in
the
beginning can lead to drastically different results.

Registration & Support
     Consider the following process for registering
     TechnoVenture:
* Download TechnoVenture and enjoy it.
-------- DOS VERSION --------
* If you like it, please send $5 to me.  You will be added
to a list
 of people for whom I will provide privileged information
 and
 support.  I may also use this list to e-mail people with
 new
 information concerning TechnoVenture, updates, etc. unless
 requested
 otherwise.  (I've put years of my life into this game and,
 while the
 Amiga version of the game itself was completely free, I
 feel this
 version has some intrinsic value!  More than $5 in fact!).
 If you
 have internet e-mail access, I can also send you a new map
 for
 TechnoVenture as a thank you for registering.  (specify
 e-mail
 address when registering)
--- 32-bit version (2.0) ---
* Send $10 to me, request TechnoVenture version 2.0
registration, and
 in return you will recieve a single 3.5" disk containing
 the fully
 functional version of TechnoVenture version 2.0 (32-bit)
 and a new
 level that was not included in the free TechnoVenture
 distribution.
 If you prefer (I *would* prefer), these files may be sent
 to you in
 the form of a compressed file attached to an e-mail
 message.
--------All versions--------
* If you take a particular interest in this game, You can
become a
 TechnoVenture developer!  For $25 you will receive (On 2
 3.5" 1.44
 Mb floppy disks):
 Latest version of TechnoVenture and all maps in the
 TechnoVenture
     Realm.
 TechnoVenture Map Editor to create your own maps.  (Also
 useful for
     "cheating" by editing saved games)
 Inclusion of your own selected works into the TechnoVenture
 realm.
 Publicity on the TechnoVenture homepage as a developer.
 Plus any publicity gained by incorporating your name, etc.
 into your
     map's messages.

Send registrations to:
Ben Marty
1530 Bellows St. Apt. 218
West St. Paul, MN  55118

[Phone: [phone]]
Specify whether you'd like "Basic" or "Developer"
registration, basic
is $5 (DOS) or $10 (32-bit) and developer is $25.  Please
include an
e-mail address if you have one.
Any system that can run Windows 3.11 or higher (possibly
3.1) should
be able to install and run the TechnoVenture map editor --
it is a 16-
bit compatible Visual Basic 4.0 program with online help.
Know ahead
of time that the system is intended to work as follows for
TechnoVenture developers:
     Register as a developer
     Create maps
     Send maps to me and I incorporate them into
     TechnoVenture
     Your name is posted on the TechnoVenture homepage with
     the names
          and/or descriptions of maps that you have created.
     If you wish to freely distribute your map, your map
     will also be
          posted on the web page.

It is possible to *play* your own maps without sending them
to me, but
it is not practical to try and *distribute* your map
yourself because
each map requires a slot in the main map and trying to
incorporate
your map into a slot in the main map yourself may result in
losing
others' maps.

I can be reached at the following e-mail addresses:
[e-mail] (old)
[e-mail] (new)
[e-mail] (newest)

Also visit the TechnoVenture Homepage if you haven't:
http://members.aol.com/BlueMonkMN/TechnoVenture.html