Readme File for Hyper Tank ... by PLBM Games ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ File Updated: January 17, 2004 Registration information located at the bottom of this file. You can register at: http://www.plbm.com Cheat Mode is Alt-F3 (registered version only). System Requirements: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This program requires an IBM PC or compatible with at least VGA. This program requires that you have more than approximately 500K of conventional memory available. If you have less memory the program will not function correctly. This program has been tested to run on a 486DX/33 but it is much smoother on a 486DX2/66 or faster, especially when there are a lot of different shapes being drawn on the screen at once. In general, faster systems will run the program more efficiently. If the game is running too slow, press F4 to toggle on and off frame dropping, which will improve performance on slower systems. If you encounter difficulty, email support is available at the following email address: support@plbm.com Sound Blaster Notes: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This program contains routines to play digital sound on a Sound Blaster or compatible card. However, this program does NOT contain autodetection routines. This program relies upon the BLASTER= variable being set appropriately in your environment. If the BLASTER= variable is set incorrectly, the program may crash. If the BLASTER= variable is absent the program will NOT attempt to use Sound Blaster sound. Additionally you will need to have free EMS memory to hear all digital sounds (they're too big to fit in conventional memory). The sounds deemed "most important" to game play will be loaded into conventional memory on a first-come, first- served basis. To hear ALL sounds you will need enough EMS free to fit the file HYTSFX.DBO. Check free EMS with the MEM command under DOS. Primary Controls: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Keyboard Controls: (keyboard controls are active CONTINUOUSLY, even when mouse or joystick play is selected!) Cursor keys: up down left right: maneuver your tank Ctrl/Space: fire weapon (see notes below) Mouse Controls: Cursor Up/Down: accelerate forward back (must use the keyboard) Motion: maneuver your tank left/right Left button: fire weapon (see notes below) Joystick Controls: Motion: maneuver your tank Button 1: fire weapon (see notes below) Notes on firing your weapon: At this release of the game, there are three different fire modes according to how long you hold down the fire button before releasing it. The fire mode selected is shown in the lower corners of the screen by changing "power bars." momentarily: fire primary gun longer: fire primary gun in TRIPLE fire mode hold it down: fire artillery bomb (must remain in one place!) Additional Keys: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [P] - pause the game (press [P] or [Enter] to restart) [Ctrl-J] - calibrate joystick [F1] - Review this file (HELP) [F2] - Display high score chart [Alt-F3] - Cheat mode (registered version only) [F4] - Toggle frame dropping (for slower computers only) [F5] - Toggle sound on/off [F10] - Quit game, go to main menu [ESC] - Quit game, go to DOS Main Menu: ~~~~~~~~~~ From the Main Menu you may press [Enter] or click the mouse to begin a new game. If you have not purchased the complete version of Hyper Tank, there will be a button to allow you to view ordering information. Also, you can press PageDown to the bottom of this file to view ordering information. If you have purchased the complete version of Hyper Tank, then you can also play in "Random" mode, which will give you random stages selected from the complete list of maps, to give more variety of play. Input Selection: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Input Selection screen allows you to select what input source to use. Scoring: ~~~~~~~~ Points are added to your score for destroying various enemies and achieving certain goals. Some score values are listed below for the more-common enemies: Gunbase (basic) 100 Mine (basic) 150 Green Tank (basic) 175 Red Tank 350 Big Gun Emplacement 1500+ Some of the above enemies have "super" variants that make them more difficult to destroy, and hence worth more points. Not all enemies can be destroyed. Some are hidden below the surface and with your weapons cannot be damaged enough. Additional points may be scored at the end of each stage: - for completing the stage without receiving ANY damage - for the amount of fuel remaining at end of stage - for destroying a high percentage of the enemies: 100% - 100 points per enemy unit destroyed 90% - 25 points per enemy unit destroyed 80% - 10 points per enemy unit destroyed 70% - 5 points per enemy unit destroyed less than 70% - only 10 points awarded Game Notes: ~~~~~~~~~~~ Hyper Tank is a high-performance top-down bitmap-rotated tank game. Your goal is to destroy as many enemies as you can to work your way through each stage to the goal. You may also need to retrieve keys to unlock obstacles in your path, or else find an alternate way around them. In order to complete each stage, you need to destroy about 40% of the initial enemy units. In the upper left corner of the screen is a display that shows how many enemy units you have destroyed and how many you still need to destroy, as well as the total number to destroy if you want to achieve a "perfect" hit rating for the stage. For every 20,000 points that you accumulate, you will be awarded an additional "bonus" tank. When all your tanks have been destroyed, it is Game Over! Play Hints: ~~~~~~~~~~~ Never sit still (at least not for long). Enemies aim directly for your tank and if it's within their range they will hit it every single time. Keep moving so they can't draw a bead. Be careful not to trap yourself against the edge of some obstacle. The enemies love it it when you're helpless, and they will take the opportunity to really pound you severely. Trouble Shooting: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you are experiencing game play that is too slow you can press F4 to toggle on and off frame-dropping. If you get an "out of memory" error, you need to free up additional conventional memory before running the program. Please refer to your MS-DOS or Windows operating system manual for details on this procedure. For email support please contact: support@plbm.com Programming Notes: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hyper Tank is written entirely in Borland C++ with a few lines of assembly language, mostly for palette management and digitized sound. Large amounts of diet coke and chicken katsu curry were consumed in order to facilitate speedy development of this game. Due to licensing issues, the source code for Hyper Tank is NOT available for sale or release in any fashion. Sorry! :) Credits: ~~~~~~~~ This program was written by Kurt W. Dekker and is distributed by PLBM Games. You may contact Kurt via email at kwd@plbm.com Moral support and great backrubs came from SLB... thanks!! :) Inspiration and vacations graciously provided by MM at Kuliwai, as well as great views from Point, Pillars and Spitting Caves. Additional ideas were culled from suggestions sent in by various net.folk around the world. You know who you are!!! Additional playtest and some great ideas: ChrisA, GabeV, KirkT, ChrisH, TimC, Mike&JudyC, ChrisJ, JohnR, JohnP, JoshW, DougF, MikeM, and many others. Thanks!!! Hyper Tank is Copyright (c) 2004 PLBM Games and Kurt W. Dekker. Internet Support: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contact support@plbm.com for support via email. You may also check the following site for upgrades: http://www.plbm.com Ordering Information: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To order the full version of this game, send $9.95 registration fee plus your email address to: PLBM Games PO Box 10342 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 USA You may also visit our website and order online with a credit card. Include your name, address, phone number and email to ensure rapid delivery. All orders are fulfilled VIA EMAIL ONLY - NO DISKETTE WILL BE SENT!