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- Documentation Manual For:
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- ■ ──────────────────────────────────────────────── ■
- Press F1 for help
-
-
-
- Copyright (1994)
- William D. Rinehart
- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
-
- E-Mail: WDaveR2@aol.com
-
- ■ ──────────────────────────────────────────────── ■
- This is the first version of G-stones to have a
- document file to describe the game.
- I hope you find it useful.
-
- P.S. - Probe uses the <SCROLL LOCK> key!
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- ■ ───────────────────────────── ■
-
- C O N T E N T S
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- ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
-
-
- 1 - Notes from the Programmer
-
- PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
- SHAREWARE
- HOW TO ORDER G-STONES III - DELUXE EDITION
- DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
- A NOTE TO DISTRIBUTORS
- G-STONES HISTORY
- RANDOM LEVELS?
-
- 2 - How to play
-
- THE COMMAND LINE
- THE MOUSE
- THE MAIN MENU
- SETUP
- THE GAME
-
- 3 - The Gems (Details)
-
-
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-
- N O T E S F R O M T H E P R O G R A M M E R
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-
-
- PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
-
- G-stones III requires a VGA monitor and at least 554 Kb of
- free memory to run. See your DOS documentation for assistance
- on optimizing memory usage.
-
- SHAREWARE
-
- G-stones III is distributed through the Shareware concept.
- The author is willing to give this program to you, free of
- charge, in the hopes that you will like it enough to purchase
- the "Deluxe Edition". The essence of this distribution method
- is to provide personal computer users with quality software
- without high prices. Shareware provides an outstanding service
- to computer users, but will only continue as long as the people
- who write these programs are supported. Even if you don't order
- the "Deluxe Edition", you can help the author by sharing this
- program with anyone you think will enjoy it.
-
- HOW TO ORDER G-STONES III - DELUXE EDITION
-
- If you enjoy playing G-stones III, you should consider
- purchasing G-stones III - Deluxe Edition. The price is just
- $19.95 and will license one Deluxe Edition copy for use on any
- one computer at any one time.
-
- Several options are available for placing your order:
-
- - WWW Online URL:
-
- http://www.axxis.com/software/rinehart
-
- - E-Mail:
-
- rinehart@axxis.com
-
- - Phone orders:
-
- (801) 523-8221
-
- - FAX orders:
-
- (801) 576-5663
-
- - Mail orders:
-
- Send registration payment of $19.95 (US) to:
-
- William D. Rinehart
- P.O. Box 7532
- Chandler, AZ 85246
-
- E-Mail, FAX & mail orders should use the file "ORDER.FRM", which
- should have been included with this game. Phone orders should
- provide all information on the form.
-
- DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
-
- Users of G-stones III must accept this disclaimer of warranty:
- "G-stones III 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 G-stones III."
-
- A NOTE TO DISTRIBUTORS
-
- Shareware distributors can receive a "certified authentic" copy
- of the G-stones III by sending the author a self addressed,
- stamped envelope and $1.00 (to cover handling & the price of the
- disk). Thanks for your support!
-
- G-STONES HISTORY
-
- This game was originally released with the name "Gemstones".
- The name has been changed to G-stones to avoid confusion with
- the game "GemStone", which is a trademark of Simutronics
- Corporation, Inc. The similarity of the two names was not
- intentional and Simutronics patience in clearing up this matter
- has been appreciated.
-
- RANDOM LEVELS?
-
- G-stones III introduces the random level concept. This
- multiplies the challenge of the game since you never know what
- level will be next. You will find yourself asking, "Should I
- use my last excavator on this level, or will I need one for the
- next". This is also the answer to not providing a save game
- option. Several registered users did request this. With
- everything else in the game, I just did not have room to put a
- save option into the program! Therefore, I reduced the game
- levels to 20 in the registered version, and select the levels
- randomly from 100 possible levels. This keeps the game playing
- time down and the interest level high. I do have a plan to
- include saving games in my next release. Thanks for your
- patience.
-
-
- ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
- ■ ───────────────────────────── ■
-
- H O W T O P L A Y
-
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- ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
-
-
- THE COMMAND LINE
-
- For best results, do not run G-stones III from within Windows.
- On some computers, the balls may appear to jump across the
- screen.
-
- To start G-stones III from the DOS command line:
-
- 1. Change directories to the directory which has the file
- GEMS3.EXE in it.
-
- 2. Type "GEMS3" and press enter.
-
- THE MOUSE
-
- Within G-stones III, the mouse buttons and movement have
- the following keyboard equivalents:
-
- Left mouse button = <ENTER> or <Y> (YES)
- Right mouse button = <ESC> or <N> (NO )
- Roll left = Left arrow key
- Roll right = Right arrow key
- Roll forward = Up arrow key
- Roll back = Down arrow key
-
- THE MAIN MENU
-
- The main menu offers eight options:
-
- Start a game
-
- This option will initiate a new game. The player will
- be prompted for the number of players in the game.
- After the number of players has been entered, the game
- will prompt for each player's name, and individual
- difficulty level.
-
- Resume a game
-
- This option will allow a game in progress to be
- resumed. While a game is in progress, press <ESC> to
- exit to the main menu. Adjustments to game/mouse
- speed can be made, and the game can be resumed from
- where it was left.
-
- Restart a game
-
- This option will start a new game, using the player
- information that has already been entered.
-
- Information
-
- Select this option to see registration information,
- gem quick reference screens, etc...
-
- Setup
-
- This option will present a screen which can be used to
- configure g-stones III options (see "SETUP" below).
-
- Demo
-
- The computer will play a game when this option is
- selected. This option is not available while a game
- is in progress.
-
- Quit
-
- Select this option to exit the G-stones III program.
-
- SETUP
-
- The first time G-stones III is run, it will configure itself
- for optimum use. The setup menu allows the user to override
- the default configuration. Select an option to change by
- highlighting the option and press <ENTER>. Then, set the option
- to the desired state and press <ESC>.
-
- The setup menu offers four options:
-
- Computer speed
-
- This adjustment will change the speed of the ball(s).
- A scale is presented showing a range from 0 to 100.
- The game speed should be adjusted so that the ball
- can be comfortably blocked, at the start of the game,
- on the "Experienced" difficulty level. The balls will
- move at increasing speeds as the game progresses.
- Ball speeds are automatically reduced for the lower
- experience levels.
-
- Mouse speed
-
- Select this option to change the speed that the paddle
- moves. A scale is presented showing a range from 0 to
- 100.
-
- Sound
-
- Use this option to select the type of sound:
-
- Background
-
- Background music will play. A Soundblaster
- compatible sound card is required to select
- this option. The <B> key can be pressed to
- toggle background music, while a game is
- being played.
-
- Sound Card (Foreground only)
-
- Only the sounds of the ball will be heard.
- A Soundblaster compatible sound card is
- required to select this option. The <B> key
- can be pressed to toggle background music,
- while a game is being played.
-
- PC Speaker
-
- The PC speaker will be used for the sounds
- of the ball.
-
- No sound
-
- This option will disable all sound.
-
- Main menu
-
- Select this option to leave setup.
-
- THE GAME
-
- The object of G-stones III is to clear all the gems on the
- screen and advance thru all the levels. The raw and processed
- gems are the only gems required to be removed before the player
- is advanced. With some clever paddle control, the other gems
- can be used to greatly increase a player's score. Use the
- paddle to change the ball trajectory by pressing the left mouse
- button, before the ball hits the paddle, and hold the button
- down until after the ball bounces off the paddle. The ball angle
- will vary depending on where the ball hits the paddle and the
- direction of ball movement (see diagram below). GOOD LUCK!
-
- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
-
- Destinations
- The ball 1
- ┌─┐ 2
- └─┘ 3
- \
- \
- \ Cause the ball to hit the paddle at
- \ location 1, with the left mouse button
- The paddle pressed, and it will travel to
- ┌─────────┐ destination 1. Location 2 will take
- └─────────┘ the ball to destination 2, etc...
- Location: 1 2 3
-
- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
-
- Destinations
- The ball
- 3 ┌─┐
- 2 └─┘
- 1 /
- /
- /
- /
- The paddle
- ┌─────────┐
- └─────────┘
- Location: 1 2 3
-
- +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
-
- ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
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-
- T H E G E M S ( D e t a i l s )
-
- ■ ───────────────────────────── ■
- ■ ───────────────────────────────────── ■
-
-
- This section gives a description of the different types of Gems.
- G-stones III is a "Traditional" breakout style game and the
- gems provide unique obstacles which must be couquered on each
- level.
-
-
- Gem │ Description
- ■ ─────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────── ■
- Raw & Processed gems These are the only gems that are required
- to be hit to complete a level. These
- gems have different point values, based
- on color.
-
- Blockers These gems cannot be destroyed, but at
- times they can be moved or made to
- disappear/reappear with switcher gems.
-
- Switchers Switchers can cause some blockers to
- disappear, reappear or move. Gold
- switchers work on gold blockers, silver
- switchers work on silver blockers and
- stone switchers work on stone blockers.
- Switchers also activate releasers,
- causing them to release any balls caught.
-
- Multi-Hit These gems must be hit four times to
- completely break them up.
-
- Add Ball This gem will give the player an
- additional ball. If the player has the
- maximum number of balls, a 10,000 point
- bonus is awarded. This bonus is
- multiplied by the players score
- multiplier.
-
- Slow Down This gem causes the ball that hits it to
- slow down one speed value. Each ball has
- it's own independent speed.
-
- Speed up This gem causes the ball that hits it to
- speed up one speed value.
-
- Goop on Paddle This gem puts sticky goop onto the
- player's paddle. When the ball hits a
- sticky paddle, it will stick to the
- paddle until the player presses <ENTER>
- or the left mouse button. The goop will
- wear off after five uses.
-
- Paddle Shorter The player's paddle will be reduced in
- width when this gem is hit. There are
- three sizes of paddles.
-
- Paddle Wider The player's paddle will become wider
- after this gem is hit. If the paddle
- is already as wide as it can be, a 10,000
- point bonus is awarded. This bonus is
- multiplied by the player's score
- multiplier.
-
- Multiplier Down This gem causes the current player's
- score multiplier to be reduced by one.
-
- Multiplier Up This gem causes the current player's
- score multiplier to be increased by one.
- If the score multiplier has already
- reached the maximum value of five, a
- 10,000 point bonus is awarded. This
- bonus is multiplied by the player's score
- multiplier (50,000 points!).
-
- Make Power Ball This gem causes the ball that hits it to
- become a "Power Ball". Power balls
- travel straight through many gems and cause
- double damage to Multi-Hit gems.
-
- Get Excavator Hitting this gem will earn the player an
- excavator, which can be used any time the
- system power is on. System power is on
- when excavators are orange in color (see
- system power gems below). Activate
- excavators by pressing the space bar. If
- the player has already stored up the
- maximum number of five excavators, a
- 10,000 point bonus is awarded. This
- bonus is multiplied by the player's score
- multiplier.
-
- Bonus Points These gems are worth 5000 points.
-
- Moving Ball This gem causes another moving ball to be
- put into play.
-
- Moving Power Ball This gem causes a moving power ball to
- be put into play.
-
- Who Knows? Any type of gem can be hidden by this
- type of gem. Hit the gem with the ball
- to find out its true identity.
-
- Teleporter This gem will transport the ball to one
- of the other Teleporters. The movement
- is very quick, so watch out!.
-
- Releaser This gem will catch a ball that hits it.
- A new ball will be put into play, just
- like at the beginning of a new level.
- The caught ball will be released when a
- switcher is hit.
-
- Group Hit Hit all of these types of gems on a level
- to gain a 10,000 point bonus. This bonus
- is multiplied by the player's score
- multiplier.
-
- Down a Level This gem will take the current player to
- the beginning of the previous level.
-
- Up a Level This gem terminates the current level,
- and advances the player to the beginning
- of the next level.
-
- Wall Gems 1 & 2 These gems create a barrier which will
- disappear when all of these gems have
- been hit.
-
- System Power Hitting this gem will toggle system
- power. The system power state is
- retained from level to level. Excavators
- will not work when system power is off,
- so plan carefully!
-