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- Tank Wars
- Release 2.5
- Copyright (C) 1990 by Kenny Morse
- -----------------------------------------------
-
- If you have not done so, read the information in BOMB.TXT.
- Some information in BOMB.TXT may not be repeated in this
- file. Also the on-line help (F1) in BOMBCFG.EXE may be
- extremely useful in understanding all start-up options.
-
-
- QUICK START: The problem with most program instructions is that
- you can't truly envision what they're talking about until
- you've played the game. I occasionally have to play the
- game once or twice before I can understand the
- documentation. So now I suggest that you play this game
- once or twice before reading the rest of this document.
- Simply type BOMB to load the game. After the title screen
- you are brought to the main menu. Press cursor-down until
- the asterisk is beside "Games per Set", press cursor left to
- decrement it to 1. Then go down and press return on "Start
- Set". Then press space and type your name. Press Cursor
- Right to get to the next player, then press "C" for computer
- and then move down to Mr. Stupid and press return to play
- against the easiest opponent. Then press 'S' to start.
- During the game press cursor right/left to raise/lower the
- cannon. Press cursor up/down to increase/decrease power.
- Press space to fire. The object is to kill the computerized
- opponent.
-
- MAIN MENU: Now that you have some idea of the basics, lets get
- into more detail. The main menu has numerous options that
- determine the play of the game. You can use the mouse or
- keyboard to change the options. Pressing up or down moves
- the asterisk from option to option. Pressing cursor right
- or left changes the setting for that option. With the mouse
- just click with the right or left mouse button on the option
- you wish to change.
-
- SOUND OPTIONS:
-
- Sound Effects: (Default Yes) Turns sound on or off. Sound
- adds to the overall effect of the game, but there may
- be a time when you don't want it.
-
- Fly Sound Effects: (Default No) In the very first version
- of this program, each weapon would make a screeching
- sound while flying through the air. After playing two
- or three times however this gets extremely annoying,
- thus the creation of this switch.
-
- GAME OPTIONS:
- Crumbling Hills: (Default 50%) The major flaw in most games
- like this is that you can blow the ground out from
- under somebody and he'll hover there like Road-Runner
- in a cartoon. This variable can be set between 0% and
- 100%. It controls how often loose ground will fall.
- At 100% all loose ground will crumble after every shot.
- At 0%, the ground never falls, as in cartoons.
-
- Rebounding Walls: (Default Random) This allows you to
- change the effect the border around the screen has on
- the current shot. When set to No, the shot will fly
- off and on the screen as gravity dictates. When set to
- Yes, the ball will reflect off of all four walls. This
- allows for some very interesting trick shots. Halfway
- between the two is RND. On this setting whether or not
- the walls rebound is purely random, and redetermined
- before each round. You can tell whether Rebound is on
- at any given time by the presence of a purple R on the
- left side of the screen.
-
- Visible Shot: (Default Yes) When turned off, your shot is
- invisible while in the air. This can speed up the
- game, but not by much. Its main purpose is confusion
- and it works quite well, especially with rebounding
- walls because you never know just how many times it
- bounced before it landed.
-
- Shot Trace: (Default Yes) When on, your shot will leave a
- trail while flying through the air. It can make it
- easier to determine what adjustments are needed to hit
- your enemy. It also helps you determine whether you
- are in danger of being hit by your enemy.
-
- Background: (Default Random) There are now several
- backgrounds the game can take place in front of. These
- are labeled 'A'..'B'.. etc.. There is also a RND
- setting which includes all backgrounds. Backgrounds
- can hide tanks, and make CRI's look extremely neat.
-
- Games Per Set: (Default 10) This determine how many rounds
- will be played before the game ends. In a short game
- your main objective is just to destroy as fast as
- possible. In a long game you want to rack up points so
- that you can buy weapons that help you destroy.
-
- Tanks Fall Down: (Default Yes) This determines whether tanks
- fall when the ground is blown out from under them.
- When set to No, tanks just hover there. When set to
- Yes, they fall and sustain damage.
-
- Number of Players: (Default 2) Here you select how many
- tanks will play. This includes computer intelligences.
- From two to ten tanks can participate, but remember,
- the more tanks present, the closer they are together,
- and the better the chances that you'll get blown away
- before getting a shot off.
-
- Explosions Kill: (Default Yes) This determines whether or
- not those little bits of tank that fly through the air
- when someone dies can directly hurt you. Regardless of
- this setting they can blow the ground out from under
- you and send you careening down a cliff wall.
-
- Computers Can Buy: (Default Yes) This allows the computer
- intelligences to buy weapons to enhance their arsenals.
- It is recommended that beginners set this to NO.
-
- Palette Speed: (Default 0) This controls the speed at which
- the background moves (0 is fastest). If the addition
- of this effect slows down your game too much set this
- number to a higher value.
-
- Start : This starts the game, and brings you to the player
- selection screen.
-
- PLAYER SELECTION: Here is where you select who plays. For each
- player playing you will be asked what will be controlling
- him. Press 'K' for Keyboard, 'M' for Mouse or 'C' for
- computer. Pressing Space or clicking on the name window
- will prompt you for the players name. If you selected 'M'
- or 'K' you will then be asked to enter your name. If you
- selected 'C' you will then be asked which of the computers
- available you wish to play against. Press the return on the
- name of the computer you wish to play. They are described
- in detail later.
- Mr. Stupid (No Threat)
- Lobber (A threat if rebound is off)
- Rifleman (A threat if below you)
- Windless Wit (A threat if there is little
- wind)
- Lob & Shoot (Almost always a threat)
- Twanger (Very dangerous if reflect is
- on, otherwise a moderate
- threat)
-
- PLAYING THE GAME: Now the game begins. First the terrain is
- drawn. Then each of your tanks will fall from the sky and
- land somewhere on the ground. The tanks are placed in
- random order, so that no person gets the same position every
- game. A random player is then selected to go first. Each
- player takes his turn in order from left to right, until
- only one player, the winner, remains. Then the status
- screen is displayed, showing who is currently winning, the
- rankings, and other important information. After that,
- those who have enough points stored up will be given the
- option of buying extra weapons to supplement their arsenal.
-
- CONTROLS: At the top of the screen is information critical in
- planning your attack. Next to POWER, ANGLE, and DIRECTION
- are the current values of how hard you will shoot, at what
- elevation, and in what direction. Next to MEN is the number
- of men you currently have in your tank. Your power is
- limited to 100*MEN. Wind shows the current direction and
- strength of the wind. A number between 0 and 100 is
- typical, occasionally however there will be gusts up to 800
- mph, which can have a enormous impact on your shot. Between
- this panel and the playing field is your equipment list. It
- consists of 20 boxes. If a box is black, fuzzy, and hard to
- see, you don't have that item. If a box is white you have
- that item but it is not loaded. If a box is red it is
- loaded and armed. Mouse and Keyboard commands are listed
- below.
-
- Raising/Lowering Elevation: Pressing cursor left or right
- tilts the gun left or right respectively. Clicking the
- left/right mouse buttons on the yellow number next to
- ANGLE has the same effect. The gun has a full 180
- degree range, and if lowered below 0 will wrap around
- and begin climbing the other side. Remember to look at
- your cannon direction itself, just the ANGLE number can
- be deceptive.
-
- Raising/Lowering Power: Pressing cursor up or down raises
- or lowers the power respectively, by increments of 1.
- Pressing PgUp and PgDn change power by increments of
- 100. Clicking the right or left mouse buttons on the
- number next to POWER has the same effect as cursor up
- or down. Clicking on POWER has the same effect as PgUp
- and PgDn.
-
- Changing Direction: If you simply wish to reverse direction
- without changing ANGLE you can simply press 'I', or
- click on the yellow arrow next to DIRECTION with the
- mouse.
-
- Firing: Pressing SPACE or RETURN will fire the gun. It can
- be fired with the mouse by pressing both buttons at the
- same time.
-
- Status Information: To obtain information on any player
- press the number key corresponding to their number.
- Press '1' for player 1, '0' for player 10, etc.. With
- the mouse simply click the left button on whomever you
- wish to obtain information about. Press any key or
- button to put away the information screen.
-
- Changing Weapon: To change the active weapon, press TAB or
- SHIFT-TAB. These keys will cycle through all the
- weapons you currently have. Clicking right and left
- mouse buttons on the strip of weapons above the playing
- field has the same effect. What each weapon does is
- listed later.
- Guidance Systems: Later in the game you may acquire
- guidance systems. To toggle a system on or off simply
- press 'H' or 'V', or click on the white 'H' or 'V',
- depending on which system you bought. When it asks you
- what target to aim for press cursor right/left to
- rotate through the possible targets, or simply click on
- the target with the mouse.
-
- Keyboard Users: If these commands change angle and power
- too fast for you, you may hold down ALT while pressing
- the required key. This will slow down the rate of
- change to one unit per press of the key.
-
- CONTROL KEYS:
-
- The following keys work at any 'appropriate' time. That is
- basically any time when the keyboard can be constantly
- polled without slowing down the program, while the
- program is on the play screen. These times currently
- include when anyone is selecting his firing parameters,
- while the shot is flying, while the shot is exploding,
- and whenever someone is dying. If you press the key
- when it is not being looked for, nothing will happen.
-
- Sound Toggle: Pressing CTRL-S will toggle sound on or off.
-
- Status: Pressing CTRL-P will pause the game and bring up a
- status screen indicating the current game and other
- helpful information.
-
- Mass Kill: Pressing CTRL-M will kill all the players on the
- screen. Use this when a group of computers are
- involved in a fight that it looks like it will go on
- forever. All players will die after the current
- players turn is over.
-
- Quit: Pressing CTRL-Q will abort the game.
-
-
- BUYING EQUIPMENT: After each round you may be brought to the
- equipment screen. Here you are presented with a list of
- what items you can buy with your current money supply (Money
- is directly related to score). Press + or - on an item to
- increment/decrement the number you wish to buy. With the
- mouse simply click on the item with the right button to
- select, left to deselect. Press 'P' or click on 'Purchase'
- to buy those items selected. Press 'D' or click on 'Done'
- to buy selected items and exit the screen.
-
- COMPUTERS: There are currently 6 computers to challenge you. I
- hope to add more, and if you have any ideas for other
- algorithms please send them to me.
-
- Mr. Stupid: A complete idiot. He just picks a random power
- and angle, and shoots. There's no guarantee that he'll
- even shoot in the right direction. A good opponent for
- your first game.
-
- Lobber: This computer uses fairly decent logic. He shoots
- 2 random powered shots at 75 degrees. The closest
- person to his second shot is then dubbed his target.
- He calculates how much his power needs to be altered to
- hit his target. His third shot usually misses, but his
- fourth is usually pretty accurate. Strong wind (150+)
- can throw his shots off, lessening him as a threat.
- Rebound completely confuses him. He just can't
- comprehend why his shots aren't following nice
- parabolic paths.
-
- Rifleman: This computer uses one of the simplest, and
- possibly most effective strategies. If he's below you
- he simply points his turret at you, sets it at full
- power and fires. Sometime he fires so hard that the
- bomb doesn't detonate correctly, but more often than
- not, he'll kill you. If there are no targets above
- him, he'll just shoot randomly.
-
- Windless Wit: This computer uses physics to hit his target.
- However, he has not yet figured out how to compensate
- for wind. In low wind (0-20), you could be in trouble.
- The higher the wind, the longer you'll live.
-
- Lob & Shoot: If there is no rebound, he fights as lobber.
- If there is rebound he fight as rifleman. This can be
- very effective when rebound is set to RND.
-
- Twanger: If rebound is not on, will fight just like
- Rifleman. However, if reflect is on he will attempt to
- bounce his shot off the ceiling and nail you. This is
- surprisingly effective (Better than I expected).
-
-
- WEAPONS: There are currently 18 weapons, and 2 guidance systems,
- and 2 defenses available for purchase. Many of them are
- similar, and will only be described in general. Remember
- that no weapons are perfect. They sometimes fail to
- detonate correctly, and bore a hole through an opponents
- tank and fly through without detonating. This happens
- rarely, but occasionally.
-
- Lead Ball: Useless, completely useless. It does no damage.
- It just flies. The only time it's ever useful is when
- you want to test if you can get a decent weapon far
- enough away from you so that you won't be caught in the
- blast. You start with 9999 of them.
-
- Hand Grenade: This is a wimpy little bomb. It has a very
- small blast range. It can only kill a tank if it hits
- it directly. You start with 9999 of them.
-
- Standard Incinerator: These are your normal weapons. They
- have a reasonable blast radius, and can kill fairly
- easily. You start with 5 for every round you will
- play.
-
- Mark II Incinerator: Twice the size of Standard
- Incinerators.
-
- Nukes: 20K and 5M Nukes explode the same as Incinerators,
- but with MUCH bigger blast radii. 5 Meg's have been
- known to take out up to 7 tanks in one explosion.
-
- Chain Reaction Inducers (CRI's): These start a chain
- reaction in the ground. Depending on the strength of
- the CRI it can do little damage, or can destroy almost
- all the ground on the screen. CRI's are identified
- with a number followed by a 'D' or 'ND'. The number
- determines how radioactive the reaction is. 'D's are
- much more 'fluent' than 'ND's. It's quite hard to
- explain, but you should be able to figure it out after
- using a few.
-
- Sonic Blaster: These are only helpful in games when Crumble
- is set to a low percentage. When these hit the ground
- they emit a high pitched sonic whine, causing all loose
- ground to collapse. These are especially helpful after
- a CRI has been released and there are tanks hanging in
- mid air on only a few pixels of ground. This will take
- those precious pixels out from under them and send them
- careening to their death.
-
- Balls 'o' Dirt: These are fairly self explanatory. When
- they explode, instead of a big ball of fire, a big ball
- of dirt is created. I'll leave it up to you to
- determine what you'll want to use this for.
-
- Explosive Dirt: When this hits, it spews dirt up into the
- air. It may just stay there, or it may fall back down
- depending on what you set crumble to.
-
- Lasers: These work a little differently than the other
- weapons. Purchasing one of these gives you 1000 units
- of laser energy. The power value you select is how
- much of this energy you wish to use. If you have less
- than 100 units the laser cannot fire.
-
- Guidance Systems: I'll leave it up to you to figure out how
- to use these. They're very powerful, effective, and
- easy to misuse.
-
- Defense Systems: The two defense systems are fairly self
- explanatory. Buy them and they will save you life.
- COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS: You can override all of the defaults on
- the command line. The format is:
- BOMB command1 command2 command3 ....etc.
- The commands are as follows:
-
- SOUND EFFECTS - S+ (ON) S- (OFF).
- FLY SOUND - F+ (ON) F- (OFF).
- CRUMBLE - C+ (100%) C- (0%) Cnnn (nnn%).
- REFLECT - R+ (ON) R- (OFF) RR (RND).
- INVISIBILITY - I+ (ON) I- (OFF).
- SHOT TRAIL - T+ (ON) T- (OFF).
- GAMES PER SET - Gnn (nn games).
- TANKS FALL - D+ (ON) D- (OFF).
- EXPLOSIONS KILL - K+ (ON) K- (OFF).
- COMPUTER BUYS - B+ (ON) B- (OFF).
- BACKGROUND - BK+ (RANDOM) BK- (NONE) BKa (Set to a)
- XTENDED KEYBOARD - X+ (ON) X- (OFF).
- DIRECT VIDEO - H+ (ON) H- (OFF).
- OVERRIDE MOUSE - M+ (Mouse Present) M- (No Mouse)
- PALETTE ROTATION - P+ (Rotate Palette) P- (No Rotation)
- PALETTE SPEED - Pxxx (Palette delay set to xxx)
- SHOW MEMORY USAGE - MEM.
- SKIP TITLE SCREEN - SKIP.
- SET INTERFACE SPEED - SPEEDxxxx (Set speed delay to xxxxms)
- SET FALLDOWN SPEED - FALLDELAYxxxxx (Set fall delay)
- CRUDE PALETTE - CRUDE (Use fastest palette routines)
-
- For example, to play a 30 game set, with crumble set at 75%,
- random rebound, and shot trails you would enter the
- following.
-
- BOMB G30 C75 RR S+
-
- There is no required order. If contradictory commands are
- issued, all but the last one will be ignored.
-
- By default BOMB will attempt to communicate with video
- hardware directly, bypassing BIOS. This may not work
- on all machines. Adding a H- will disable the new
- code. The effects of the direct communication depend
- on the machine, ranging from no change to faster,
- cleaner palette changing.
-
- My keyboard interface has been accelerated to the level of
- the mouse. On many computers they both are now too
- fast. That is the reason for SPEEDxxxx. The default
- setting is 0, no delay. On a 16Mhz machine I find that
- a setting of 25 is convenient for me. You may need to
- experiment to find what is most comfortable for you.
- Zero is the fastest setting. The slowest value is 9999,
- but any value above 150 is too slow and should not be
- used. If the keyboard locks up when attempting to aim
- the gun, use the X- parameter. This will force Tank
- Wars to go through BIOS. This may slow down execution,
- but will prevent the lockup.
-
- If tanks are falling too fast for you to see, and you want
- to see them use the FALLDELAYxxxxx parameter. It works
- just like SPEEDxxxxx, but controls the rate at which
- tanks fall.
-
- If the program is detecting a mouse, when there is one or is
- not detecting your mouse, use the M parameter. M+ will
- force a mouse to be detected. M- will prohibit use of
- the mouse.
-
- INTENDED ADDITIONS: I've been building this program for the last
- 8 months, and it is by no means complete. I intend to add
- more weapons, and to develop more computer intelligences.
- Also, I hope to find even more ways to speed up the program
- without sacrificing any graphical effects.
-
- REGISTRATION: This program is distributed as Shareware. You are
- free to try the game and make copies for others. If you
- continue to use the game, however, you are required to pay
- the author a registration fee of $10. In return you will be
- notified of all major releases, and will be using the
- program legally. Send Registrations to:
-
- KENNY MORSE
- 11800 SILENT VALLEY LANE
- GAITHERSBURG, MD 20878
-
- Please include your registration fee of $10, and if you have
- one, a Compuserve or Prodigy ID at which I can contact you.
- I would also like to know from where you obtained a copy of
- my program, and what version you are using. I don't require
- it, but I would also like to know your age, and what kind of
- system you are running on. I will currently answer questions
- from all users via CIS or Prodigy. I can be reached at
- TGTM35B on Prodigy, or 76427,3305 on Compuserve. I will
- answer mailed questions to the above address only if the
- asker is a registered user, and includes a method of reply,
- such as a self addressed stamped envelope, or Prodigy or
- Compuserve ID.
-