Copyright: ® 1995 Malachite


Contents

•	Introduction

•	How To Play

•	Scoring

•	Keyboard Controls

•	Saving and Loading

•	Menus

•	About Malachite

•	Ordering Info


Introduction

Welcome to Gemstorm!

The storm has come, and with it come falling Gems.  Your job is to keep the Gems from filling up the land.

Click here to find out how.


How To Play

The idea of the game is to line up enough Gems of the same color in a row to earn a Drop.

Use the  keyboard to rotate the Gems, and move them over so that the colors line up.  They can line up horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.  When they line up, they clear and the Gems above them fall in their place.  Now those may clear too.  You will see some incredible chain reactions if you place the Gems just right.

Each level has a different Threshold, which you can see at the top right of the screen.  Each level also has a Not Threshold, which lets you know how many Gems to line up to earn a Not.

Nots let you use special effects.  These help clear Gems that are on the board.

When you've earned enough Drops, you can advance to the next level.  There are 100 levels in all.  (Don't forget to look for the secret password.)

Keyboard Controls


Saving and Loading

We certainly don't expect you to sit down and play 100 levels start to finish.  So any time during the game, you can save by simply going up to the Game menu and selecting Save.

Loading is similar, select Load from the Game menu and continue where you left off.

There is also a feature called "Quick-Save."

If you exit Gemstorm during play, you will be asked if you would like to Quick-Save your game.  The next time Gemstorm loads, you will be asked if you want to continue the Quick-Saved game.  Selecting "no" will still let you continue the Quick-Saved game next time.


Scoring

•	Scoring

You earn 10 points for every Gem you clear.

In a chain reaction you earn 10 points for every Gem times the level of the chain reaction.

You lose 1 point for every Gem left on the board when you finish the level.


Information

WWW: http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~alexz/

Developers:

Alex Zvenigorodsky (e-mail: alexz@csua.berkeley.edu)

John Stephens (e-mail: johns@ccnet.com)

Beta Tester:

Sonya Natanzon (e-mail: sonya@csua.berkeley.edu)


DROP (def.)
  You earn a "Drop" when you line up enough Gems of the same color in a row.


THRESHOLD (def.)
  "Threshold" is the number of Gems you must place in a row for them to clear.  (i.e. a Drop.)


Not Threshold (def.)
  "Not Threshold" is the number of Gems you must place in a row for you to earn a Not.


Not (def.)
  A "Not" allows you to use Special Effects.  The better the special effect, the more Nots are required.  You can see the Nots you earn stack up at both sides of the board.


Level (def.)
  Each "level" has a specific goal:  To earn a certain number of Drops.  And on each level you must also earn a certain type of Drop. There are 100 levels in all.


Special Effects (def.)
There are six "Special Effects" that help you during play.  As you earn Nots, you can see the effects appear at the right side of the board.


Secret Password (def.)
Hidden in Gemstorm is a secret password that will let you do something special.  Numerous hints are also hidden to help you find it.  You can enter the password on the Title Screen, and then watch what happens.


Menus

•	Game

New             Start a new game

Load            Load a saved game

Save            Save your game

End             Quit to the Title Screen

Exit            Exit Gemstorm

•	View

Best Players    The Best Gemstorm players

•	Sound

Sound           Toggle sound effects

Music           Toggle music

•	Gem Set

Blocks          Blocks

Spheres         Spheres

Pinwheels       Pinwheels

Rocks           Rocks

Ice             Ice

Cycle           Each level selects the next Gem Set

Random          Each level selects a random Gem Set

•	Help

Help            Help Contents

About           About Gemstorm


Keyboard Controls

Keyboard Controls

[Left]                          Move the Gems left

[Right]                         Move the Gems right

[Down]                          Speed up the falling Gems

[Up] or NumPad [5]              Rotate the Gems

[Space]                         Drop the Gems to the bottom

Special Effects

[1] or [Insert] or [Enter]      Clear Row

[2] or [Home]                   Rain

[3] or [Page Up]                Flip

[4] or [Delete]                 Eliminate

Other Keys

[R]                             Select a Random Gem set

[C]                             Select Cycle mode

[Esc]                           Quits to the Title Page


Cycle (def.)
Cycle mode selects a new Gem set for every level.


Ordering Info (def.)
Gemstorm

Only $19.95 + S/H

To order call Great Bear at (800) 795-4325.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express.

To order by check or money order send $19.95 + $6.00 s/h

and applicable sales tax to:

Great Bear

1100 MoragaWay

Moraga, CA 94556

CA residents add 8.25% sales tax.

AZ residents add 6.75% sales tax.

Visit the Malachite web page: http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~alexz/