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SNARF 2.60 US June 27, 1992 A Shareware game for EGA Copyright 1988-1992 Everett Kaser All rights reserved. Snarf is an arcade style game of mazes, treasures, First-Aid stations, locks and keys, teleports, and of course those nasty, sneaky, sniveling Snarfs. The game currently contains over 50 different levels, and includes a level editor so the user can create new levels. Program requirements: IBM PC compatible computer with at least 512K of RAM. An EGA/VGA compatible display adapter. It will NOT work on CGA, MDA, or Hercules display adapters. SNARF is being distributed as Shareware. If you use the game for more than one week, you are expected to pay for its use. To register the game send the registration fee of $15.00 (US) to the author. For your convenience, the file REGISTER.DOC may be printed to obtain a registration form. The author may be contacted at: Everett Kaser phone: (503) 928-5259 Snarf Weekdays: 6:00pm - 9:00pm Pacific Time 35405 Spruce St Weekends: 8:30am - 9:00pm Albany, OR 97321 Compuserve: 70673,1547 internet: hplabs!hp-pcd!everett or everett%hpcvra@hplabs.hp.com In the United Kingdom you may register by sending £9.90 to: The Thompson Partnership Phone: +44 (0)889 564601 Church Croft Fax: +44 (0)889 563219 Bramshall, UTTOXETTER Staffordshire ST14 5DE England In Germany, you may register by sending 39 deutschmarks to: CDV Software Phone: 0721-22295 Postfach 2749 0721-22294 W-7500 Karlsruhe 1 Fax: 0721-21314 Germany BTX *CDV# The game package, which MUST include the files listed below, may be freely copied and distributed. Its use is subject to the conditions outlined in this document below. Included files: SNARF .EXE The first 20 levels of the game are built SNARF .DOC into the .EXE file. All other levels are REGISTER.DOC stored in SNARFLEV.xxx files, and are not VENDOR .DOC required to be distributed. ASP OMBUDSMAN AND DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to receiving an updated program with a printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permiss- ion before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's com- mercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. DISCLAIMER, LICENSE AGREEMENT, AND SUPPORT --- DISCLAIMER --- Users of SNARF must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "SNARF is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of SNARF." --- LICENSE --- SNARF is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using SNARF and continue to use SNARF after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment as described on the first page of this document. The applicable registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Commercial users of SNARF must register and pay for their copies of SNARF within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Everett Kaser. Anyone distributing SNARF for any kind of remuneration must first contact Everett Kaser at the address above for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering SNARF immediately (However Everett Kaser must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of SNARF.). You are encouraged to pass a copy of SNARF along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the SNARF system. --- SUPPORT --- Support for products from Everett Kaser Software is available via phone, mail, and Compuserve email for a period not less than one year or the duration of my life, which ever is shorter, and not to exceed your life-time or mine, which ever is shorter. See the first page of this document for phone number, mail address, and Compuserve email address. Updates are available at any time to registered users for a $5 fee to cover costs of labor, materials, shipping, and handling (and to keep me from feeling badly). Bug fixes for major bugs (if any ever occur) will be shipped free to registered users for a period of three months after the date of registration. I. PLAYING THE GAME The general idea of the game is this: you have to run around through various mazes (levels) picking up treasure (rings and crowns) while avoiding the Snarfs. You can shoot the Snarfs, but you only get points for the treasure, not for the Snarfs. Each time you're touched by a Snarf, you're "tagged". You start with a "tag count" of 50. Each time you're tagged the count is decremented. If you get tagged when the count is 0, the game is over. You can get "healed" at a first-aid station (your tag count is pumped back up to 50). First-aid is only available every two to four mazes. The color of the top and bottom bars on the display change with each tag. Across the top of the display are these fields: TAGS this is the number of tags left (max = 50) POINTS value of treasure picked up on this level LEVEL SCORE score for level at end-of-level (POINTS x TAGS) SCORE total score LEVEL current level (or maze) number HIGH SCORE current high score As you start the game, TAGS=50, POINTS=0, LEVEL SCORE=0, SCORE=0, and LEVEL=1. As you get tagged, TAGS get decremented. As you pick up treasure, POINTS gets incremented, based on the value of the treasure. When you exit a level, the TAGS you have left are multiplied by the POINTS you picked up on that level to generate the LEVEL SCORE. This is then added to SCORE. Then, as you start the next level, POINTS are set back to 0, LEVEL is incremented, and off you go. LEVEL SCORE will retain the score for the previous level until you complete the current level. When you run out of TAGS and lose the game, whatever POINTS you've earned on that level will get added to your score. You end a level by exiting out the right-hand side. This usually involves removing one or more locks through the use of keys. You pick up keys by moving over them. When you are carrying a key, the image of the hero has a key across it. You can only carry one key at a time. The goal of the game is to maximize your score. The best way to do this is to maintain a high tag count, since the score is based upon both the amount of treasure you pick up on a level AND the number of tags that you have left at the end of the level. This is especially critical on those levels that have LOTS of treasure. The first screen shows the high scores (white for 2-shot scores, yellow for 1-shot scores) and a continuously running demo of the game. It also includes a brief set of instructions which can be scrolled up/down using the UP and DOWN cursor keys, as well as the PageUp and PageDn keys. Pressing the ESC key while at the welcome/demo screen will exit the game. (The un-registered version of the game will display a shareware notice at exit from the game, which will stay until another key is pressed.) While at the welcome/demo screen, you can press: ESC to quit K to change the default 'game' control keys. N to toggle the noise on/off (default is on). + to increase the starting level number. - to decrease the starting level number. 1 to select only 1 shot off at time (scoring doubled). 2 to select 2 shots off at a time (normal scoring). Up/Down and PgUp/PgDn to read the abbreviated help. < to decrease the game speed > to increase the game speed Using the + and - keys you can select levels that don't exist. The program doesn't check until you actually try to play the level. If you select a level that doesn't exist, the game will refuse to start. The level number you select using the + and - keys will be stored in the SNARF.SCO file. Thereafter, that is the level at which the game will start until you modify it again. For some people, on some computers, the game runs too fast. It may be slowed down to a painful crawl by repeatedly pressing the '<' key. If the game is going too slowly, you can press the '>' key. However, the game defaults to the fastest speed, so if '>' doesn't speed it up, you need to buy a faster computer. This speed setting is stored in the file SNARF.SCO along with other configuration information, so the setting will be retained from day to day. There are 28 possible positions for the speed. Trying to increase or decrease the speed beyond the maximum or minimum value will cause a brief "onnnk" beep. From the welcome/demo screen, pressing the space bar (or ANY other key besides the ones listed above) will move you on to the main playing screen. Then, pressing any key will start the game. The default keys for playing the game are: cursor keys control your movement A fires a shot to the left D fires a shot to the right W fires a shot upwards S fires a shot downwards N toggles noise on/off esc exits the game back to the demo screen space pauses the game F1 enters EDIT LEVEL mode (see below) < decreases the game speed > increases the game speed Any other key will stop the motion of your player, if it's in motion. And yes, this IS one of those two handed games that requires a small level of ambidexterousnousnosity. You move with your right hand and shoot with your left (unless you redefine those function keys). By the way, you can only have two shots off at a time (to make the game half-way challenging). The original game only allowed one shot at a time, but this was probably too restrictive. Occasionally, you'll find yourself in the midst of a cloud of Snarfs, and your TAGS will plummet like a falling star. You will also find yourself in dire peril when a Snarf is running along on your heels in the same direction as you, taging you with every move. The best thing to do in this situation is to reverse direction for a moment to get a little space between you, then shoot it. You will notice that Snarfs can see the shot coming towards them and will try to avoid it. With practice, you can use this to your advantage. The high scores, default movement/fire keys and the starting level number are stored in a file called SNARF.SCO. By deleting this file you can erase the high scores and place the keys and start level back to their default values. II. CREATING NEW LEVELS You may modify old levels or create entirely new ones. At any time during normal game play, pressing softkey F1 will take you into EDIT mode. At this point, you can modify the current level and store it to disk, and the modified version will over-ride the built-in version in the future (the game always looks for a disk file before using the internal levels.) Levels are stored individually in files with filenames of the form: SNARFLEV.xxx where 'xxx' is a right justified level number (filled with 0's on the left). As an example, the first level would be called SNARFLEV.001 and level 15 would be called SNARFLEV.015. The game ONLY looks in the current directory for these files, so if you plan to create very many levels, or if you're installing the distribution disk with many levels, you probably will want to use the MKDIR command to create a special sub-directory for SNARF to keep your other directories from getting overly cluttered. The level number is NOT stored inside the file, it is ONLY in the filename. This means that you can re-arrange the levels as you wish simply by copying and/or renaming the files. Upon entering the EDIT mode, the screen is re-drawn and a blinking box will appear. This is the edit cursor. It can be moved around using the cursor keys. To place (or erase) objects, you must first move the cursor to the desired location. Once there, you can use these keys to add/delete objects: W toggles a WALL on/off P places a snarf PIT K places a KEY L places a LOCK T places a TELEPORT C places a CROWN worth 100 points 1 places a RING worth 10 points 2 places a RING worth 5 points 3 places a RING worth 1 point F places a FIRST-aid station H moves the HERO to the new location space erases the object the cursor is on (except for HERO) N allows you to NAME the level and enter you name as the creator of the level. Additionally, while in EDIT mode, these keys are also available: ESC aborts the edit, without saving the changes. F1 ends the edit, saving the changes in a specified level. F2 allows you to specify the colors for the "WALL". F3 allows you to edit the "WALL" image (bitmap). F8 clears entire level (except for outer wall and HERO). When pressing ESC to abort, you're first prompted to verify if you wish to throw away the changes. When pressing F1 to end the edit, the program scans the disk to find the next unused level number and presents that as the default choice. Accepting this choice ensures that you won't accidentally overwrite another level. However, you may use backspace to modify the level number to whatever you wish before pressing ENTER. You would do this if you're modifying a previously existing level rather than creating an entirely new one. The ESC key can also be used at this point to abort the END-EDIT action and remain in EDIT mode without writing anything to disk. F2 brings up another "menu" that allows you to choose the PRIMARY and SECONDARY colors that are used to draw the WALLS for this level. There are 15 colors available, giving a possible 225 different color combin- ations for the WALLS. Use the cursor keys to select PRIMARY or SECOND- ARY and to select a color for each. A sample wall with those colors is kept updated. Any key other than the four cursor keys will cause you to exit back to the normal EDIT mode, and the walls will be redrawn with the new colors. F3 brings up the "Edit WALL Image" display, which allows you to create your own image for the WALL blocks. A sample wall is displayed at the top, with an enlarged imaged of a single WALL displayed below. At the bottom is the palette of 16 colors. There is a small square that acts as the cursor, initially located in the top/left corner of the zoom area. This cursor can be moved about with the cursor keys to select individual pixels. A selected pixel can be changed to the current color by pressing the <SPACE> bar. The entire WALL image may be changed to the current color by pressing the 'F' key (for Fill). The PGUP and PGDN keys move the cursor between the zoom image and the palette. When on the palette, the cursor may be used to select a new color. White is the starting color. The color above white (with the asterisk on it) is the color used for the bars at the top and bottom of the game display, which change color with the Tag Count. If this color is used in the WALL image, the WALL image will change with Tags. You may or may not want to use that color, but you should be aware of the effect. When the desired WALL image has been created, either ESC or F3 may be used to terminate the WALL image edit, at which point the regular walls will be re-drawn with the new image. Once you've created your own WALL image, you should avoid the use of F2 (selection of color of WALL as described in the paragraph above), because it will reset the WALL image to the default, losing your WALL image. (F2 could be used in this situation in order to go back to the default WALL). When placing snarf-pits, you must additionally specify the direction the snarf-pit should be facing. You use one of the four cursor keys to do this. Move the cursor to the location where you wish to place the snarf-pit. Press the 'P' key. There will be a prompt at the bottom of the display to "Select direction...". At this point you should press the arrow key for the direction in which you wish the snarf-pit opening to point. When placing teleports, you not only have to specify a direction (only up or down is allowed for teleports), but also a destination location for the teleport. First, move the cursor to the location at which you wish to place the teleport and press the 'T' key. There will be a prompt at the bottom of the display to "Select direction...". At this point you should press the up or down arrow key for the direction in which you wish the teleport opening to face. (The hero will move into the teleport opening in the opposite direction.) After selecting the direction, you will be prompted to "Select destination...". At this point, move the cursor to the location to which you wish the Hero to be teleported upon entering the teleport. This location should normally be at the place where a matching opposite teleport will be (or has been) placed, and usually directly above or below the one that you're currently placing. However, the destination of a teleport CAN be anywhere on the level. The destination should NOT be on top of a wall, although the program does not prohibit this. (It is unsupported, however, and any bugs caused by this are considered to be a bug in the level design). Pressing any key besides the cursor keys signifies that the cursor is at the desired destination. When creating a new level, the amount of treasure on a level is limited to 9903 points worth, since the "POINTS" display only allows four digits. Also, if the player finishes a level with 9803 points and has 50 tags while playing 1-shot, that gives him almost 1,000,000 points for the level. That's probably sufficient (and all that will fit in the "Level Score" field). Here's some suggestions to help you create challenging, interesting levels: 1) Avoid long, single-width passageways. These are easy to defend, since the snarfs have nowhere to go, and they're boring to run through. Passageways and areas that are three or more wall-blocks wide are more challenging because the snarfs have room to manuever to avoid your shots. 2) Don't create a lot of levels with LOTS of treasure. Most levels shouldn't have more than about 2500 points at the most. The big-point levels should only come along once out of every ten or so levels, as a big bonus for getting that far. 3) Also, first-aid stations shouldn't exist more often than every three or four levels, unless the levels are extremely difficult. 4) Don't just draw random walls. Try to think of a unique design, or problem, to center your level around. Then, build from there. 5) Don't just sprinkle a bunch of snarf-pits and teleports around the level. They should be an integral part of the basic design of the level, and carefully placed to aid or hinder in the completion of the level. 6) Make sure there's a reasonable balance between the number of locks on the level and the number of keys (and make sure it can be completed!). 7) The Hero should usually start on the left and MUST always exit on the right. A level is considered "over" when the hero reaches the far right column. There MUST be at least one snarf-pit per level, or the game will refuse to play the level. To create an entirely new level, don't select it's level number at the welcome screen, since the game will refuse to start if the level doesn't exist. Rather, with any valid level number selected at the welcome screen, start the game (as if you were going to play that level). Then, press F1 to enter EDIT mode. Now, press F8 to clear the screen (this is only being done in memory at this point, so you're not affecting the real level). Now, create your new level. When done, press F1 to end the EDIT mode. At this point the game will prompt you with the next NEW level number. Simply pressing return at this point will store your new level as that level number, leaving the old level (that you started out with) unchanged. Good luck, and have fun playing the game and creating new, challenging levels! III. REVISION HISTORY Rev 2.00 October 21, 1990 Initial release of the completed Snarf game. Rev 2.01 November 10, 1990 Minor fix to BEEP code that caused keyboard lock-up on some computers. Rev 2.02 November 22, 1990 Still trying to fix BEEP on some computers. Rev 2.03 February 23, 1991 Fixed: if MOVE_RIGHT key (usually right-cursor) was pressed repeatedly as the Hero exited the level on the right side, then the next level was immediately terminated and skipped. Fixed: on the registered version of Snarf, when editing a new level, the prompt for the level-number was always 6. Added: WALL image bitmap editor (crude, but functional). Added: ability to SLOW the game, using the '<' key. Rev 2.50 October 19, 1991 Revised game to a single version, no difference between "shareware" and "registered" versions. Added: A new creature that shows up on levels 10 and above. This creature, The Gambler, is created in a Snarf Pit, and moves by walking along the walls. As it moves, it constantly cycles through four stages, FirstAid, Ring, Jewels, and Death. If you come in contact with The Gambler, you will reap the reward associated with its current state: FirstAid: you're healed, tags restored to 50. Ring: 100 points is added to your level score. Jewels: 1000 points added to your level score. Death: you get "tagged" 20 times. Bad news. It only sticks around for a limited time, then it disappears. Rev 2.51 February 23, 1992 Added: 10 new levels. Thanks go to John Buckwalter. Modified documentation to reflect membership in the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). Rev 2.60 June 7, 1992 Added: UK registration information. IV. PRODUCTS AVAILABLE FROM EVERETT KASER SOFTWARE Solitile --- A game of solitaire, played with tiles. The object of the game is to remove all of the tiles from the pile, following a small number of rules. Includes layout and tileset editors. Requires EGA or VGA and 380K free memory. Sherlock --- The computer scrambles the locations of 36 items, then provides you with sufficient clues to determine their exact locations. Challenging game of logic with rich graphics disp- lay. Image editor and two extra sets of images included. Requires EGA or VGA and a Microsoft compatible mouse. Snarf --- Snarf is an arcade style game of mazes, treasures, First-Aid stations, locks and keys, teleports, and of course those nasty, sneaky, sniveling Snarfs. The game currently contains over 50 different levels, and includes a level editor so the user can create new levels. Requires EGA or VGA. Solitile Accessory Disks: Disk #1 --- Contains: 3 tilesets: MAHJONG, BATH, and TOOLS 5 layouts: MAYAMASK, ZIGZAG, PLANE, BIDIR, and PI 9 music files: ENTERTAINER, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING, MUSIC BOX DANCER, ROSES, BLUE DANUBE, LOVE STORY, GODFATHER, A VERY GOOD YEAR 13 GIF files: space walking astronaut, Marylin Monroe, Bulldog, Star Trek Enterprise, cartoon characters, etc. Disk #2 --- Contains: 5 tilesets: STAMPS, BASEBALL, CANDY, WINTILE1, BODY 5 layouts: JAILBRAK,10HIDING,FLATCAT,SPRAYER,SQUARFAC 9 music files: SOUND OF SILENCE, THOSE WERE THE DAYS, BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER, CABARET, GEORGY GIRL, KING OF THE ROAD, MOON RIVER, RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD, WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE 21 GIF files: space shuttle take-off, King Tut, a cheetah's face, cartoon characters, etc. Disk #3 --- Contains: 10 tilesets: ALPHA, FLOWER, CARS1, COMICS, CARDS, CARDS2, TRAFFIC, TOONS, FLAGS, and COLLAGE. 4 layouts: STARSKY, GRNDCNYN, ENGINE, and CHECK. 5 music files: I'VE GOT A NAME, TIME IN A BOTTLE, FROM A DISTANCE, AMERICAN PIE, NOBODY DOES IT BETTER. 10 .GIF files: RogRABBIT, SHUTTLE, SHIRLEY, POOHBEAR, HOVER- CRAFT, CAPTAIN-OPUS, ROBOT, DONDUCK, INDIAN, PAGODA. MUSIC.COM, a utility that plays .MUS files outside of SOLITILE. Makes development/testing of .MUS files easier. MUSIC.DOC, documents the format of .MUS files, allowing you to create your new ones or modify others. ST2TO3.EXE, a utility for converting layouts created with previous versions of Solitile, and converts WIN direct- ories from previous versions of Solitile into "solved boards" in your Solitile 3 .PLY file. On previous vers- ions of Solitile, the layouts were stored in the SOLITILE.DAT file. With Solitile 3, they're stored in their individual .LYT files. If you've created layouts with a previous version of Solitile and would like to use them with Solitile 3, this utility will convert them from the SOLITILE.DAT file into .LYT files. ST2TO3.DOC, documents the usuage of ST2TO3. End of SNARF.DOC