DRONE - Shareware Version 1.01 Copyright (c) 1997, Pixelsplash Software, All Rights Reserved. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CONTENTS 1. System Requirements for DRONE Shareware 2. DRONE Shareware Version 3. How to Load and Run DRONE Shareware 4. Don't Forget to Run Sound Setup! 5. How to Play DRONE 6. Game Play Suggestions 7. Cheat Keys 8. Any Problems? 9. Customer Service 10. Credits 11. Copyright & Trademark Information ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR DRONE SHAREWARE Here's what you need to run DRONE Shareware: - IBM PC or fully compatible - Pentium required, 100MHz or faster recommended - DOS 4.0 (or Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 98) - 16 MB RAM - Hard drive with 18 MB free space for the shareware version (The registered version requires 30 MB free space as well as a CD-ROM drive.) - 256 color (VGA) graphic capability - Keyboard (default controller) or joystick - Suggestions: Sound Blaster(tm) or compatible sound card; most others are supported. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 2. DRONE SHAREWARE VERSION DRONE Shareware is a smaller version of the registered version of DRONE. The shareware version of DRONE contains two levels; the full, registered version contains seven. While the shareware version of DRONE is full-featured, fun and exciting, you do get loads more in the complete, registered version of DRONE. This includes more boss ships that get bigger, nastier, and more challenging to destroy. Plus, if you can successfully disarm all six of the deadly alien nuclear missiles, you'll meet the alien Mothership! There are more strange and wild stounds, beautifully rendered scenery, and a culminating battle that is sure to provide hours of gaming fun. So call 1-800-242-4775* ext. 15426 and order the registered version now! *Please note that the above 1-800 number is for credit card ORDERS ONLY. Pixelsplash Software cannot be reached at this number. To talk to us about anything other than a new order, contact us directly at: email: drone@pixelsplash.com website: www.pixelsplash.com ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 3. HOW TO LOAD AND RUN DRONE SHAREWARE If you're reading this file, you've already done all of the work! Simply switch to the directory that you unzipped the DRONE_SW.ZIP file in and then type: DRONE_SW and press ENTER. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 4. DON'T FORGET TO RUN SOUND SETUP! DRONE Shareware downloads assuming that no sound card is present. In order to hear the awesome sounds in DRONE, you must first configure the sound information. To configure DRONE's sound information for your computer, you must run the SETUP.EXE program in the directory where DRONE was unzipped. This SETUP program is very self-explanatory. If you know the settings for your particular sound card, you can specify them manually. If you aren't sure about which sound card you have, or what the settings are, then you should run the Auto Detect option: - From the main menu, choose Auto Detect. This is the first option in the main menu. - On the next screen, choose Detect. Once it has reported that it has detected your sound card, choose Test. Make sure your speakers are turned on and at a sufficient volume. If you hear the test announcement, everything is OK. Choose OK to return to the main menu. - From the main menu, choose OK, and then choose OK (again) to save the current settings. This ends the SETUP program. - DRONE is now ready to play! Run the DRONE_SW.EXE file from the directory where you unzipped the game. NOTE: If you do not hear any sounds from the test, or if DRONE's sounds are still not audible after this SETUP program has been run, please contact us at: drone@pixelsplash.com ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 5. HOW TO PLAY DRONE DRONE is a top-view, vertical-scrolling shootout. Your ship is at the bottom of the screen. You can move left and right using the left and right arrow keys (or the joystick). You have two types of weaponry: exploding-tip, rapid-fire missiles, and the larger probe and stinger missiles. The exploding-tip, rapid-fire missiles are fired using either of the CONTROL keys (or the joystick's FIRE button). The blue probes and red stinger missiles must be loaded first by using the down-arrow key. Once you have loaded one of these, you can toggle back and forth between either type by pressing the down-arrow key. You launch the probes and stingers by pressing the up-arrow key. The red stingers will be the ones used most often. These home in on enemy ships and detonate larger explosions than your rapid-fire missiles. The blue probes are used to disarm the alien nuclear missiles (Drones). When a Drone appears, toggle to the blue probe and keep launching them until a probe attaches to the Drone. This begins the decoding process, and then the actual disarming process. This can take a while, depending on which skill level you selected. During that time, the alien ships will attempt to shoot the probe off of the Drone. When this happens, launch another one. Note that the target-tracking system can only communicate with one probe or stinger at a time... which means that while a blue probe is on a Drone, you cannot launch red stinger missiles! The boss ships that appear right before the Drones are more difficult to destroy. If you're at your wit's end, visit the Pixelsplash website (www.pixelsplash.com) for tips on destroying the boss ships. *** THE BAD NEWS An evil alien race has penetrated earth's security system. They have launched six deadly nuclear missiles - called DRONES - now on their way towards major population centers. All previous attempts to stop DRONES have been thwarted by the myriad of alien ships escorting these nuclear hell-raisers! THE GOOD NEWS Earth's brilliant scientists cracked the encrypted codes that guide these DRONES and have constructed devices which will decode them. Implanted into homing missiles - called probes - these devices can home in on and attach themselves safely to the DRONES. From there they interact with the DRONES on-board circuitry to trick it into thinking it received a "disarm" signal from the alien mothership. You have a number of high-performance ships loaded with exploding-tip missiles found to be quite effective in piercing the armor of the various alien ships. Your ship is also equiped with proximity-detecting "stinger" missiles that automatically chase enemy ships. When these go off, they burst into larger explosions and can wipe out several alien ships at a time. YOUR MISSION Disarm all of the DRONES, destroying as many alien ships as possible along the way. CONTROLS LEFT & RIGHT Arrows - Moves Left & Right CTRL - Fires DOWN Arrow - Toggles Stingers & Probes UP Arrow - Launches Stingers & Probes ESC - Ends Current Game P / R - Pauses / Resumes Current Game SPACE BAR - Activates Shield L Key - Grants Nine Lives! SO HOW DO I PLAY? Your mission is to disarm the DRONES, not to destroy them. Do not hit the DRONES with your ships weaponry. When launched, blue probes home in on and attach themselves to the DRONES. Once attached, they decode and disarm the DRONES. Also be watchful - the enemy ships will try to shoot the probe off the DRONE. If this happens, just launch another! When launched, red stinger missiles attempt to home in on the nearest enemy ship. Upon impact, they detonate a powerful explosion. The probe's status is displayed in the lower left corner of the Heads-Up-Display. THE TARGETING SYSTEM When red stingers are loaded, the targeting system will attempt to lock onto the nearest, most threatenting enemy. When red stingers are then launched, they will home in on the locked target. When blue probes are loaded, the targeting system will attempt to lock onto the DRONE, even if it's not yet visible on the screen. When blue probes are then launched, they will home in towards the DRONE. HEADS-UP DISPLAY (HUD) The HUD shows six DRONE icons. The "current" DRONE is outlined by a box. Blue DRONE icons represent disarmed DRONES; red ones represent detonated ones. When a DRONE is approaching, you will hear a warning beep. This is a good time to ease up on firing - otherwise you may detonate the approaching DRONE. SCORING Your score appears in the lower right corner of the screen, right under your remaining lives. For every ship you destroy, for every blue probe you attach to a DRONE, and for every DRONE you disarm, you'll get some points. BUT, for all the ships you let slip by you, you lose points. Destroy Small Enemy 1 Destroy Medium Enemy 25 Destroy Boss 100 Attach Probe 10 Disarm DRONE 500 If Small Enemy Escapes -1 If Medium Enemy Escapes -25 If DRONE Is Detonated -1000 For every 500 points you earn, you'll get another life. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 6. GAME PLAY SUGGESTIONS Performance: DRONE will run in either pure DOS or a DOS shell under any 32-bit version of Windows (Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 98). However, unless you are running a rather fast processor (200 mhz or higher, as of this writing 10/97), you will get noticeably better performance running DRONE under pure DOS. If you are noticing performance problems such as slow graphics, "hiccups" or skipping in the sounds, it generally means you are suffering from the limitations of Windows' DMA bandwidth. Try running it under pure DOS and things should improve. Joysticks: DRONE supports any standard joystick that plugs into your sound card. If your joystick does NOT plug into your sound card, but instead plugs into a game card, you can try it, but there is no guarantee DRONE will recognize it. DRONE does not begin recognizing the joystick until you configure it. To do this, simply make sure the joystick is plugged in and then select "Configure Joystick" from DRONE's main menu (using the arrow keys on your keyboard). First, DRONE will ask you to press the button for FIRING. This will be the button that shoots your rapid, normal fire. Next DRONE will ask you to press the button for LOADING the probes and stinger missiles. This will be the button which loads the two types of missiles, and then toggles back and forth between them. Next you will be asked to press the button for LAUNCHING the probes and stinger missiles. This will be the button that fires off the probe or stinger missile once you have loaded it. Next DRONE will ask you to press the button for activating your ship's shields. Finally, DRONE will ask you to center the joystick and press the FIRE button. This is where DRONE will calibrate your particular joystick for your particular computer. Suggestion: Loading and launching probes and stinger missiles is an integral part of playing DRONE. Since standard joysticks do not support the registering of more than one button at a time, it is recommended that you use the "top-hat" for loading and launching probes and stingers. The top-hat (if your joystick has one) is the little knob which can be pushed (with your thumb) in any of the cardinal directions. Since the top-hat has a higher priority than all the other buttons, this will enable you to hold the FIRE button down while simultaneously loading and launching probes and stingers at the enemy squadrons. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 7. CHEAT KEYS You can pause the game at any time using the P key. The R key will resume the game. Pressing the L key will automatically grant nine lives, however, you will then be disqualified from the high-scores list. Pressing the TAB key will toggle the "vertical retrace sync." Turning this off will cause the game to run much faster. This is amusing but serves no real purpose. See how far you can get with the vertical retrace sync off without using the L key! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 8. ANY PROBLEMS? If you have any problems installing and/or running DRONE Shareware, make sure that you carefully read this entire file. Double-check to make sure your computer meets the system requirements listed in the "System Requirements" section of this file. If everything seems to be in order, contact Pixelsplash by emailing us at: drone@pixelsplash.com. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 9. CUSTOMER SERVICE If you have questions or problems with this product, please e-mail us at drone@pixelsplash.com. We will respond! Visit the Pixelsplash website (www.pixelsplash.com) for tips, hints, and up-to-date information. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 10. CREDITS Concept & Programming: John Amato 3D Modeling & Sound Mixing: John Amato & Cindy Vogan Graphics Design: Cindy Vogan Business: Cindy Vogan & John Amato Technical Consultant: Matt Archer Keyboard Handler: Lee Hamel: hamell@cs.pdx.edu Special thanks to: Jamie Amato Todd Barlow Gary Engle Kevin Price Pamela Ram Todd Walderman and his sons, Jake and Ryan Rob Warner Danny Weiss ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 11. COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARK INFORMATION DRONE Shareware Version 1.01 Copyright (c) 1997, Pixelsplash Software. All Rights Reserved. DRONE is a trademark of Pixelsplash Software. Pixelsplash Software encourages you to distribute the shareware version of DRONE to all of your family, friends, acquaintances, enemies, and even those you're not sure about! To ensure the integrity of this software, please distribute only the DRONE_SW.ZIP file. The complete shareware version of DRONE will unzip from the DRONE_SW.ZIP file. Re-distributing this software, in whole or in part, with altered or tampered files (including but not limited to graphic, sound, or executable files) is a violation of Federal copyright law. Pixelsplash website: www.pixelsplash.com E-mail: drone@pixelsplash.com ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^