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Text File | 1991-12-29 | 12.7 KB | 291 lines

M M EEEEE GGG AAA TTTTT RRRR OOO N N V V GGG AAA MM MM E G A A T R R O O NN N V V G A A M M M EEE G GG AAAAA T RRRR O O N N N V V G GG AAAAA M M E G G A A T R R O O N NN VVV G G A A M M EEEEE GGG A A T R R OOO N N V GGG A A Megatron VGA - Evaluation Copy Copyright (c) 1992, Stanley Design Team [All Rights Reserved] Programming, John Stanley Design Assistant, Warren Rice Share Ware Release ------------------ This version of Megatron (2.4.4) is released as Share Ware to the software community. It may be freely distributed to Bulletin Boards and Information Networks around the world. No fee may be charged for this "evaluation copy" except for reasonable download charges. No express time limit is placed on the length of time this copy can be used. All commercial rights to the game are expressly reserved by the author. Evaluation Copy --------------- The Share Ware release of Megatron is a fully functional version of the game with one exception. The AdLib/SoundBlaster sound system has been disabled; the IBM PC sound system is operational. I regret having to take this action. Too many computer hobbyist believe that Share Ware means "IT'S FREE!" That attitude forces me to supply them with something *tangible* as encouragement to register their copies of the game. Disclaimer ---------- This program is provided "AS IS" and it is without warranty of any kind that it will work correctly in any or all situations. No liability shall be assumed for direct or consequential damage caused by the use of this software. The only claim that is made is that there are no intentional bugs or fatal errors in any original copy of the program that you receive directly from the author. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Assignment ---------- The year is 3015 and as the commander of an elite unit of Megatron BattleMechs, you've been chosen to enter the labyrinth combat zone and hunt down the adversary. At your disposal are two standard omni-field mechs (Mad Cat and Vulture) equipped with high-yield Thorn Missiles and Pulse Disrupters. Enter the world of Megatron and experience the highest level of virtual reality combat available in Share Ware to date. Megatron uses a combination of ray traced and hand drawn imagery coupled with AdLib/SoundBlaster synthesized sound effects to bring to life the ultimate modem combat experience. Use your skill at piloting your mech and raw courage to defeat your adversary and bring glory to your unit. Game Descriptions ----------------- This is a 2 player game. It can be played in a single player mode with a synthetic adversary generated by the computer, but for best results two computer are needed. The object of the game is to hunt down and destroy your adversary. This is not an easy task. At the start of each game, both you and your adversary are placed in a randomly selected labyrinth at random positions. You don't know where your adversary is hiding. All you have to work with is a 3-Dimensional view of the corridor you are standing in, a top down view of the labyrinth, and a changing sonar blip that can guide you to your adversary if you interpret it properly. If you are in a hurry, you can use your area radar to search for your adversary. The down side to using radar is that you don't always locate the enemy, but the enemy always locates you. To win the game, you must hunt down your adversary and shoot him with your laser and rockets until he runs out of energy and dies. There is only one problem. This is a real-time game. While you are shooting at your adversary, he gets to shoot back at you. Whoever is fastest with their weapons and has the strongest nerve wins. If you lose your nerve, you can turn and run away. This is not always a bad idea. One of the best strategies of this game is to sneak up on your adversary and shoot him in the back! Computer Power -------------- This game is designed for "High End" computer systems. For best results use a 25Mhz 386 (or faster) computer. For best screen animation use a 1-MB [or larger] software disk-cache while playing the game. Megatron will function on 286 systems, but if you are connected to someone who is using a 386 system you'll lose every time. Sorry 286 users, but the real-time nature of this game requires serious computer power. Required Hardware ----------------- You must have a VGA adapter card and a matching color monitor. You also need a minimum of 640K RAM to run the game. Because of the size of the game (approximately 1.5-MB) you must install it to a hard disk drive. Additional Hardware ------------------- This game is designed to use both the mouse and keyboard as input devices. Depending on the circumstances you will want to switch between the two devices. To play in head-to-head combat you need an open serial port with a modem or null-modem cable connect to your adversaries computer. Fast Start ---------- The game of Megatron uses futuristic 3-Dimensional and top-down views of the labyrinth and your human or computer adversary. Sonar blips tell you how close you are to your adversary: you must figure out how to negotiate the labyrinth to get close enough to fire. If you are in danger of being destroyed, you can run away and recuperate. Taunt your adversary with his cowardice for running away, or entice him into your trap, or send any message through the message box. For a fast start, just type MEGA at the DOS command prompt, then press ENTER twice. The First press will pass you through the Copyright Notice. The second will randomly select a BattleMech for you to use. Once you see a 3D view of the combat zone maze corridor on the screen press F5 to start (single player) Computer Adversary mode. Use the direction arrow keys on the numeric keypad to guide your BattleMech. Use HOME and PGUP to fire your weapons. The INS key toggles your area radar on/off. To return to normal "Off-line" mode press F5 again. The ESC key brings up the EXIT menu. Game Icons and Function Keys ---------------------------- There are 6 icons used to control the game. They are arranged in two set of vertical columns located on the left and right side of the screen. To activate an icon place the mouse cursor over the picture and press either mouse button. The icons are arranged as follows. F1 F4 F2 F5 F3 F6 Here is a description of each of the icons along with the function key use to activate it. F1 - Copyright Notice & User Registration. The copyright and share ware release versions are displayed. User registration information is also displayed on the screen. F2 - Sound System On/Off. There are two sound systems built into the game. They are AdLib/SoundBlaster and IBM PC sounds. Unregistered players use the IBM PC (beep, beep, beep) sound system. Register your copy and hear the total range of combat effects. F3 - Make New Maze. If you don't like the maze you are using, you can press this key and you will receive a new maze. F4 - Modem Control. Choose the modem port to use. Choose from Dial Modem or Answer Modem. You can use a Null-Modem cable by selecting the appropriate COM port and then press Done. F5 - Computer Adversary (Single Player Mode) On/Off. Practice fighting against the computer. This is great for homing your combat skills. The computer is defiantly NOT a wimp! F6 - Exit Game. Obvious. Instant Messaging ------------------ You are always in total communication with your adversary. Once a connection is established between the two computers, anything you type (except for game commands) is instantly transmitted to the other player as you type it. Energy Meters ------------- On the left side of the playing screen is located the BattleMech energy meter. The meter provides useful information about both your and the adversaries power status. The meter is divided into two set of there bar. The top GREEN bars are yours and the bottom RED bars are the adversaries. The first bar on the meter shows your power shield strength. The second bar shows your current weapon energy supply. And the third is the overall health of your BattleMech. Bars 4-6 shows the same information as do bars 1-3 except it is for the adversary BattleMech. Modem Control Menu - (F4) ------------------------- Megatron gets the information it needs to communicate with another computer from the Modem Control Menu (F4). Once in the menu, use the mouse or function keys (F1 - F8) to select COM port, baud rate, and modem option. Use F1 - F2 to select the COM port to communicate through: F1 - Cycle COM Port Up F2 - Cycle COM Port Down Use F3 - F4 to select the baud rate (speed) the computer should use. F4 - Cycle Baud Rate Up F6 - Cycle Baud Rate Down Use F5 - F6 to Dial or Answer the Modem. F5 - Dial Modem. You will be prompted to enter the phone number to dial. F6 - Answer Mode. Sit back and wait for the other player to call you. For direct connection through a null-modem cable, choose the proper COM Port and Baud Rate settings. Then select DONE at the bottom of the Modem Menu. There External File MODEMS.INI contains the Hayes initialization string used to program your modem for the game. Here is a transcript of that file. AT E1 L3 M1 Q0 V1 X1 &C1 &D2 S0=1 S7=60 S11=155 AT DT /* this line must be present */ A simplified version of the init file is supplied with the game (SIMPLE.INI) that works well with every modem I've tried to date. Use it needed. At DOS prompt, type: COPY SIMPLE.INI MODEMS.INI If your experience problem using your modem you may need to modify this file. For another type of modem, or to use different dialing or answering parameters, refer to your modem handbook. RS232 Hardware Signals ---------------------- The number of hardware signals required to run Megatron depends on the type of connection used between computers. A direct connect uses three pins, (2) TRANSMIT, (3) RECEIVE, and (7) SIGNAL GROUND. Pins (2) and (3) must me swapped once between the two machines. An auto-dial modem uses five pins, (2) TRANSMIT, (3) RECEIVE, (7) SIGNAL GROUND, (8) DATA CARRIER DETECT, and (20) DATA TERMINAL READY. There is not a swap between pins (2) and (3) with a modem. There is one (1) additional pin signal provided by Megatron that some serial cards and/or modems require. The signal is pin (4) REQUEST TO SEND. Most machines will function properly without this extra signal; it is included for completeness. SPECIAL NOTE: Megatron uses pin (20) DATA TERMINAL READY to signal the modem when to hang-up the phone line and reset to command state. This DTR monitoring option is switch select able on some modems. You should check your modem for this option before making long distance phone calls through Megatron. If this option is improperly set, the phone will not hang-up when Megatron exits and you will accumulate excess long distance charges. The proper modem DTR setting is: DTR high - process dial command and connect normally DTR low - Hang-up phone line and reset to command state. Video Adapter and Monitor ------------------------- You must have an Video Graphics Array (VGA) installed in your computer as the primary graphics device along with a matching color monitor. Megatron does not support EGA or CGA graphic at this time. If Megatron is run on a computer that does not have a VGA installed, it will detect the absents of the VGA and refuse to run. NOTE: If Megatron fails to properly detect your VGA hardware, you can override the video hardware check by using the command line option NOTEST. (Example): MEGA NOTEST This option is especially useful when playing Megatron on computers equipped with off-brand video cards that sometimes lack video BIOS signature. PS/2 PLAYERS: Megatron uses full VGA graphics and will not operate on PS/2's equipped with MCGA graphics.