@DATABASE BallMaster.guide
@AUTHOR "Damir Arh"
@(C) "Copyright (C) 1998 Damir Arh"
@$VER: BallMaster.guide 1.0 (05.05.98)

@NODE main "Contents"


                               @{b}AUTUMN DESIGN@{ub}


                                  presents


                                 @{b}BALLMASTER@{ub}

                               @{u}Demo Release 1@{uu}



            1. @{"Introduction" LINK intro}
            2. @{"Instructions" LINK instructions}
            3. @{"Information panel" LINK info}
            4. @{"Game elements" LINK elements}
            5. @{"Full game" LINK full}
            6. @{"Feedback" LINK feedback}




(C) 1998 Damir Arh

@ENDNODE


@NODE intro "Introduction"

This is a puzzle game with a simple basic idea and (hopefully) addictive
gameplay. You can easily learn how to play it without long manuals and
instructions.

Unfortunately the game isn't yet finished and this is just a short demo
version which shows how the @{"full game" LINK full} will look like when it's finished.

@ENDNODE


@NODE instructions "Instructions"

The gameplay is really simple. On the top of the screen there is a tube with
a small ball running left and right. This ball leaves the tube as soon as
there is an "empty" wheel right bellow it. You can rotate the wheel using
the right mouse button. With the left mouse button you can send the ball out
of the whell into a tube. (you can't send it beck to the top tube.)

The aim of the game is to fill every single whell with four balls of the
same colour. Once you fill a wheel, these balls will disappear and the red
light in the middle of the wheel will turn green. As soon as you turn all
the lights green, you will proceed to the next level.

There is one more important thing: there are two different time limits:

- the first one is the time limit for all the level (diplayed in the
  @{"information panel" LINK info})
- the second one is the time limit for the ball to leave the top tube (it's
  displayed as a ber above this tube)

You can get additional information about the gameplay in the @{"game elements" LINK elements}
section.

@ENDNODE


@NODE info "Information panel"

The information panel is situated at the bottom of the screen. From left to
right it contains following information:

@{b}TIME@{ub} - time available to finish the level

@{b}ORDER@{ub} - the order of colours you have to fill the wheels with (read it from
        left to right)

   Explanation: If the five black holes are filled with balls of
   different colours, it means that only the wheel filled with balls of the
   same colour as the leftmost ball in the order panel will be regarded as
   full (ie. will be emptied).

@{b}CODE@{ub} - the combination of colours that is required to fill a wheel (bonus
       time award is shown as a bar under it)

   Explanation: If this display is active the wheels with four balls of the
   same colour will not be regarded as full. First you have to make the
   combination shown (It means that you have to  fill a wheel with the
   balls in the same colour manner as it's shown here.) and first when you
   do that, you can proceed with regular game. If you make the combination
   required fast enough you get additional time to complete the level.

@{b}NEXT@{ub} - the next ball to appear in the top tube

@ENDNODE


@NODE elements "Game elements"

In this section you can read about all the elements that are present in the
game:

@{b}BALLS@{ub} - There are balls of four basic colours in the game: red, yellow,
        green and blue. Everything else regarding the balls has already been
        explained in previous sections.

@{b}TUBES@{ub} - The place, where the balls are moving.

@{b}WHEEL@{ub} - A place for storing the balls. It was already axplained in previous
        sections.

@{b}ARROWS@{ub} - They are placed on tubes and specify the way in which the balls can
         move through the tube.

@{b}COLOUR FILTERS@{ub} - They specify balls of which colour can move through the
                 tube.

More elements to come in the full game.

@ENDNODE


@NODE full "Full game"

As you will soon notice (or probably already have), this version of the game
contains only five levels. That's because the game isn't yet finished.

The @{i}full game@{ui} will include:
- 100 levels
- password access to every level
- new elements:
  * joker ball
  * colouring crystals
  * reversed wheels
- some music
- more graphics
- etc.

This demo is distributed as @{b}FreeWare@{ub}. These won't be the case with the full
game. Probably it will be released as ShareWare, but I don't exclude a
commercial release (interested distributers may @{"contact me" LINK feedback}).

Infact everyone should @{"contact me" LINK feedback} telling me one or more of the following
things:
- your opinion about the game
- bugs found in the game
- new ideas for the game
- positive and negative critics
- how much you would be ready to pay for the full game (I need this info to
  set the price for the full game - you're not obliged to buy the game if
  you send me this info)
- anything else regarding the game

Everybody who will @{"contact me" LINK feedback}, will be informed about all the future
releases and important news regarding the game.

You can get some info on the game from my home homepage, too, but don't
expect very regular updates:

@{b}http://www2.arnes.si/~gkrjes12/autumn,html@{ub}

@ENDNODE


@NODE feedback "Feedback"


You can contact me:

@{u}E-mail:@{uu} @{b}damir.arh@guest.arnes.si@{ub}

@{u}S-mail:@{uu} @{b}Damir Arh
        Titova 89
        4270 Jesenice
        Slovenija@{ub}


My personal homepage: @{b}http://www2.arnes.si/~gkrjes12/@{ub}

@ENDNODE