******************************************** * * * BOUNCE BALL (SHAREWARE VERSION) * * V0.85 * * * ******************************************** By Ben Darling, Matt Gorle/Madhouse Software Temporary text file, an AmigaGuide file will follow shortly! Legal Information (you know the drill by now) ----------------- Disclaimer: We make no warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the software described in this document, its quality, performance, or fitness for any particular purpose. Any risk concerning it's quality or performance is solely the user's. Should the program prove defective, the user assumes the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair, or correction and any incidental or consequential damages. In no event will we be liable for direct, indirect or consequential damages resulting from any defect in the software. You may freely distribute this archive as long as all files contained in the original archive(s) are included and remain unaltered. Although this is the shareware version, no one shall make a profit through its distribution. You should pay no more than the cost of the media upon which it is transferred. If included in a public domain library it is the responsibility of the PD library to always carry and redistribute the most recent version available. If this game is to feature on any magazine cover disk then please contact either Ben Darling (bombus@geocities.com) or Matthew Gorle, because we may have made unreleased improvements since the last release. Bounce Ball and all associated files are ©Copyright 1997 Madhouse Software. Requirements ------------ Nothing much.... Just a base A1200 will do very nicely thank you, although the game WILL make use of extra memory/speed! If you have a small (ie 1/2Mb) memory expansion, and the game keeps freezing, you'll probably have to say "n" to the question asked about the memory expansion at the beginning of the game. That's life.... And for you non-AGA owners, I really don't have much to say. I'm sorry, but it's people like you who are stopping the Amiga from moving on. Certainly, all our future releases will be AGA-only. Bounce Ball Installation ------------------------ First things first: Bounce Ball is hard-drive only, and unless there is a great demand for a floppy version, it won't happen. Go on, get a hard drive - you'll like it. Many A1200 owners don't seem to realise how easy it is. You don't need a 2.5" hard drive - I'm currently using a nice 2.5Gb 3.5" hard drive sticking out the side of my computer, and all you need is an adapter costing a measly fifteen quid. Anyway, enough lecturing. Just copy the contents of the "fonts" directory to "fonts:", and "bounce_ball_shareware.exe" will run from anywhere providing that the "data" directory is still there. Registration ------------ You cannot fail but to have noticed the annoying message which comes up all the time in the game, imploring you to register. Before you say "Well I'm not paying good money just to get rid of a stupid screen", read this list of benefits which you will reap upon receipt of your registration fee: - 3 additional bonuses: TRACTOR: Control your opponent's movements for the duration of the point SUPER SPEED II: First there was Super Speed. Now there's Super Speed II! Nuff said. SUPER BALL SPEED II: Make your opponent tremble. - 10 ships (11 with the cheat), as opposed to the 6 which you've got at your disposal at the moment. Here's the lowdown: MIRALIS II: A medium-sized ship with the Tractor bonus. DARTEX: A small ship with Super Speed II and Super Ball Speed II. BLACK LIGHT: A small ship with Super Speed II and Stun Gun. RADIUM V: Quite a large ship with Super Speed II. ????: A cheat ship not available in the shareware version! - 10 pilots (and the Challenge boss), as opposed to the 6 in the shareware version. And these people are all better than their shareware counter- parts, so good games-players who are getting bored know what to do! The pilots are Graeme, Jonathon, Matt, Ben and a mysterious end-of-Challenge boss.... - MUCH longer games. Wouldn't you just love it if games could be longer than 60 seconds or first to 10 points? And what about massive friendly matches - maybe first to 15 games? You've got it all in the registered version: as long as 9999 seconds, first to 9999 points and first to 9999 friendly games. Enough, basically. - Two subsequent updates. When you decide you want more, just send us a couple of disks (the game will expand, and you're better safe than sorry) and we'll put the latest version on. - It's only five pounds! If you have made the one and only wise decision, and opted to cough up, then here's how: I'm afraid that, at the moment, there is only one method of payment - the postal order (although I suppose you could send cash as well). Also, payments must be in pounds sterling - sorry, but we can't afford commission. We'll also have to snail mail the game to you on floppy - the online costs of e-mailing are too high. And could users outside the EC inlude something in the region of what they think that the postage will cost? Here are the two addresses to which you may send the payment: Ben Darling 81 Wallingford Road Goring Reading Berks RG8 0HL United Kingdom Matthew Gorle The Firs St Marks Road Binfield Bracknell Berks RG42 4BA United Kingdom Gameplay -------- As you will have gathered if you have yet braved the depths of the game, Bounce Ball is a much-enhanced Pong game. Just try and stop the ball from getting past your bat, which can move up or down within the range of the screen. The square things which randomly come from the middle of the screen are bonuses, which, if you manage to pick them up, give you an advantage over your opponent. The 3 shareware bonuses are as follows: SUPER SPEED: Makes your bat move faster for the remainder of the point. SUPER BALL SPEED: You hit the ball faster for the remainder of the point. STUN GUN: Gives you the ability to shoot your opponent (by pressing fire) for the remainder of the point. If you hit your opponent, he or she is immobilised for the rest of the point. The Future ---------- Make no mistake, we intend to continue the development of this game - we feel that longevity (or lack of it) is a problem in the Amiga world. Some ideas that we've got lined up are as follows: - Blocks and destructible bricks off which the ball will reflect - Leagues and cups (registered version only!) - More ships/pilots/bonuses (eg ball invisibility) Any ideas? See the Credits section! Thanks! ------- First of all, a BIG thank you to Acid Software for their excellent Blitz Basic v2.1. I've heard that development of it has ceased - this is a pity, as it's the sort of thing which we need at the moment. Other software used was Personal Paint v6.4 (for most of the graphics), Imagine v4.0 (for the Madhouse logo) and Octamed Soundstudio v1.03 (for the title tune). Er.... That's about it for the "Thanks!" section. If you'd like your name added to this, then by all means send a few ideas about what needs to be done with the game. Put it this way: you'll get your name here if your idea is implemented, and, assuming that you've registered already, the update in which any of your ideas is included will be yours, and you'll still have two updates (or whatever) left! What better value could there be? About us -------- Madhouse software is Ben Darling and Matthew Gorle. At the moment, we're both 16, and are doing our 'A'-Levels. Of course, we both do maths and physics. This is not the only game we're making - in the pipeline as well is a rolling ball type game and a scrolling shoot-em-up. Any other people like us out there who are thinking about programming, get off your arse and do it. It's not really that difficult to produce a reasonable game, it just takes a bit of work. And boy does the Amiga need you. History ------- Ahem.... v0.85 First Aminet release. That's about it at the moment. Long live Bounce Ball!