Loadstar 210/210.d81/t.super mole

Text File | 2001-01-01 | 7.5 KB | 274 lines

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          S U P E R   M O L E

        Program by Steve Emsley
         Text by Fender Tucker


    Is there anything in the world of
computers that inspires more terror
than the simple word, "bug"? Ever
since the first "bug" was discovered
back in the days when RAM was measured
in dozens of bytes -- it turned out
that it was a real bug (a moth) that
caused the problem -- we've come to
know bugs as those programming
gremlins that make a computer go
crazy, right before we were going to
save what we'd been working on for
five hours.

    So what do we do to combat these
horrific bugs? We do what the CIA
would do; we get ourselves a mole. And
it just so happens we have a SUPER
MOLE who loves nothing more than to
exterminate bugs.

    Here's how it works: There are
twenty computer configurations on this
disk (called "levels"). To simplify
things we show the configurations as
grids of squares. Squares that are
forbidden to enter look like brick
walls. The bugs are hiding in brown
barrel-like objects. The way to kill a
bug is to push it with the SUPER MOLE
to one of the cyan "bug exterminators"
on the screen. There is always one
exterminator square for each bug
barrel, and only one bug can fit in an
exterminator. Once you have all of the
bugs moved to the exterminators, that
"level" is solved and you move up to
the next level.


 [THE MAIN MENU]
 [-------------]

    Use a joystick in Port #2 or the
keyboard CRSR keys to move the mole,
which is used as a pointer on the Main
Menu. By pressing the firebutton or
RETURN you can select how many moles
you have (3, 5 or 7) and which Level
you want to start on. There are twenty
levels on the disk, but you may add
more if you want. See the SUPER MOLE
MAKER program on this side of the disk
for details.

    When you have the moles and level
selected, you can Start the program.
You can also quit to LOADSTAR if you
have a LS disk in the drive. Selecting
Help from the menu will show you your
goal and what the bugs and
exterminators look like.


 [DEBUGGING A LEVEL]
 [-----------------]

    You move the SUPER MOLE with the
CRSR keys or the joystick. You can
push one (and only one) bug at a time
with the mole, but you CANNOT pull a
bug. If you push a bug into a corner,
or against an edge, you probably can't
get that bug free again. The level is
no longer solvable and your only
recourse is to Quit the Level, which
destroys your current mole. It sounds
cruel, but there's no way to kill a
bug that can't be moved to a cyan
exterminator, so your mole must be
forfeited. You do this by pressing Q
or the firebutton.

    If you are able to move all of the
bugs to the exterminators, the level
is "solved" and you move to the next
level.

    Note that you cannot push two or
more bugs at a time, and you can't
push a bug (or even move your mole)
through a wall.


 [TIMING AND SCORING]
 [------------------]

    Did I mention that time is of the
essence when debugging programs? You
are given ten minutes per level and if
you don't solve it before time runs
out you get 0 points and you lose a
mole. If you forfeit your mole before
time runs out you get 100 points for
each bug you have killed, but you stay
on that level until you solve it or
run out of moles.


 [CONCLUSION]
 [----------]

    Maybe this program will give you
more of an appreciation for the danger
and pressures that programmers face
every day of their lives. But then
again, maybe you'll just lean back in
your easy chair and enjoy the puzzles,
which are based upon the Japanese
puzzle game, Soko Ban. In fact, if you
like these types of puzzles, check out
Barbara Schulak's NIGHT MISSION on LS
#54 or Richard Hansen's WIZARD'S DOOM
on LS #76. They are both versions of
Soko Ban, but are quite a bit tougher
than SUPER MOLE.


 [LEVEL MAKER]
 [-----------]

    Steve wrote a little Q&D level
maker so you can add your own levels
to SUPER MOLE. It's REALLY Q&D (quick
and dirty) but it does the job. It
doesn't return to LOADSTAR so I don't
have it accessible from the LS menu.
Just load it directly from the disk.

 load"mole lvlmaker",dv

 Then list it and notice that the
level you're editing is listed in line
5.

 NOTE: You can't edit the 20 levels on
the LOADSTAR disk. They are in files
called "lev01" through "lev20".
However, you can replace them if you
want to. To do that, just change the
number in line 5 to the level you want
to replace. Use two digits for levels
1 through 9; in other words, call them
01, 02, etc. If you want to keep those
levels and add some new ones, just
start with #21. Then you have to
change the value of "ml" in line 115
of "super mole" to reflect the number
of levels you added. As with
practically all LOADSTAR programs, you
can then scratch and re-save "super
mole" with "goto10000".

    The level maker is an unusual
program because you do all of the work
OUTSIDE the program. Set the level
number (say, lv$="21") in line 5, then
run the program. You'll see a grid of
zeros in white with some colored lines
underneath. You'll also see a "ready"
prompt and a blinking cursor at the
top of the screen.

    That's right. You're out of the
program and in the immediate mode. But
that's how Steve's level maker works.

    Right below the grid is the legend
showing what numbers to change the
grid to.

 1 - will place a brick wall

 2 - places an "exterminator" where
     a bug must be pushed to

 3 - places a bug

 Two things to watch for. You MUST:

 (1) leave the bottom left number as
zero.  This is where your mole starts.

 (2) have the same number of 2s as
there are 3s.

    Move the cursor onto the grid and
start laying down a pattern. After you
play a few levels of SUPER MOLE you'll
get a better idea of how to design a
level. A level MUST be solvable, or at
least it should be. I'm afraid you
can't test a level except by saving it
as a level, running SUPER MOLE and
going to that level.

    After you have the grid looking as
you think you want it, you should save
it in TWO ways:

 (1) Put the cursor on the green line
that says, "goto100" and press RETURN.
This saves the "levXX" file that SUPER
MOLE uses.

 (2) Put the cursor on the red line
that says, "goto300" and press RETURN.
This saves the screen so you can come
back later and edit it if you find you
want (or have) to.

 [CAUTION:] In order for this little
program to work you must be careful
not to scroll the screen. When you
press RETURN on any of the "goto"
lines the "ready" prompt will appear
below, but you must not move the
cursor down so that the screen
scrolls.  If it does, you must reload
the screen by putting the cursor on
the light blue "goto200" line and
pressing RETURN. Or you can clear the
screen and type "goto200" followed by
RETURN. If you haven't saved the level
yet, you will probably have to re-run
the program and re-do the grid.

    So after doing both saves, run
SUPER MOLE and try out your new level.
If it has problems, run the Level
Maker program, set the level number in
line 5, then put the cursor on the
light blue "goto200" line and the grid
will load for you to edit some more.

    You can scratch and save the Level
Maker program with "goto10000" if you
want. This will preserve the level
number in line 5 so you will
automatically be working on the last
level you created.

    This is a crazy way of doing
things but I got a kick out of it. I
doubt if I would have ever thought of
it. Steve's method is very clever and
shows how powerful the C-64's screen
editor is. I probably could have spent
a couple of days making a full-
featured editor, but when deadlines
are looming over the Tower like a
swarm of acid-spewing locusts, it pays
to be a little crazy.

 FT