D~O~W~N F~A~L~L () HOW TO PLAY (The quick guide) ----------- The idea of the game is to make the snow pile up to the top of the other players side of the of the of the of the of the &8yQ !"#$%mڃbЍ ) V&H 'p*  7c__YBxe@㱐P>N%ȵ (c<+̒Gf0[))B*q2 r V@v-1 5P`"vCL(`Z`]P7lq$jD #j)+"Ȑ}H.G .LD`(@x"B`Pr(&.a؇f x!됛0+ @xrD YƊ䐌֙FD|( e(XRTcb8H) $RN$ ) fr"$%(Ƞy/ kSfCv ]Ao$) <a0{*@ (1K :sQ4b–x:2!,0vr @B(A nCC9q 4؂ 9I; r=Ђ*B0 2/p`4>.MxPb/ 2 @. J\  @F 2) Snow Fall - Makes all of the snow fall on the other players side 3) Extra Energy - Makes your energy bar replace faster. Has a cumulative effect. 4) Black Holes - Transports snow to an identical position on the other players side 5) Snow Melt - Makes all falling snow melt blocked snow that is around it 6) Stop Bar - Stops the bar at the bottom of your side from moving up when the other player fills his bottom chute. You can now play the game if you want to get into it quickly. If you want some more explanation, there now follows a set of more detailed instructions. How To Play (Mk II) ----------- What about the snow? OK, this falls at equal rates on either side of the screen. Each players cursor can be moved anywhere on the screen, but only icons from your own side can be used. The cursors cannot be moved beneath the lower line on either side. Right, I had better explain the icons in depth now => Each player has an identical set above his side. They go from the outside of the screen inwards. NB at the beginning of the game, all but 2 of the icons are shaded. This means that you CANNOT select them (hang on, I'll get to that in a minute) For now, the first two icons.... The one on the extreme outer edge of the screen is the one that is selected at the start. This icon depicts a pixel with four arrows pointing away from it. You use this icon to erase barriers from your side of the screen and your opponents side. Just move the cursor over the barrier to be erased and press fire. You will notice that as you do this, a bar in the middle of the screen goes down momentarily. These are the energy bars of you and your opponent and fill up slowly over time. When you erase or place barriers, your bar diminishes. You obviously cannot erase or create when the bar is empty. To place barriers, you must select the next icon in the row. This depicts a pixel with four arrows pointing inwards. Again, move to the place you want to put down the barrier and press fire. To create a line you can hold down fire and move at the same time. The maximum height for both of these operations is about 15 pixels below the top of either of the playing areas. Both of these icons can be selected at any time. You should also notice a gap at the bottom of your screen. When snow falls in this gap, two bars underneath your playing area move towards each other. When these meet in the centre, the bottom of the other players side moves up one pixel. Therefore, it is advantageous to funnel snow into this gap as it increases your chances of winning (you do want to win don't you?) On either side of each playing area there are also two bars that start empty. You must funnel snow into these bars (by building barriers at a roughly 45 degree angle) so that they fill up with snow. When the snow reaches the top, you will see that two of the icons at the top of the screen change to being unshaded. This means that you can select them to create special effects on your opponents side. Now to explain the other icons. These all increase in power as they go towards the centre of the screen, so you must save up to get the higher effects. If we take the left hand player as an example, taking the effects from left to right (IE from least to most powerful), the various options are: 1) Shows four arrows pointing inwards. This icon reverses the other players controls for a period of time. Can be very annoying but does no lasting damage. 2) Shows a snow storm. This makes all of the snow fall on the other players side for a length of time. Therefore, your side does not fill up and your opponent gets blocked up more quickly. NB This icon must be used with care (see later tactical suggestions section) 3) Shows an energy bar with an upward pointing arrow. This icon has a permanent effect for the rest of the game. It makes the rate at which your energy is replaced increase. Therefore it will gain you an advantage over your opponent because you will be able to build and destroy more barriers. The effect of this icon is cumulative, so if you select it again, your energy will go up even faster. 4) Shows snow falling into a 'Black Hole' This icon can be very useful if used with care (again see tactics section) It allows you to create 10 pixels of special blocks on any side of the display. To place the blocks, simply select the icon and it will become highlighted. Then move the cursor to where you want the blocks to be placed and press fire. They do not all need to be placed together. When all have been placed, the icon will become de-selected and you will revert to your last mode of action. You can also select another icon when you have not placed all of the blocks, but you will LOSE all of the remaining blocks to be placed. When any snow hits one of these blocks, it gets transported to the corresponding place on the other side of the screen. Note that there are certain restrictions on where you can place the black holes. They must be below the level of the lowest side chutes on either side. They can also not be placed if they are lower than the bottom of the other players side. Also, if any of the sides moves above the level of the black holes, they will automatically disappear. If it would be impossible to place any black holes for any reason (IE either side has moved up too far) then you will not be able to select the icon. 5) Shows large red droplets falling instead of snow. This useful effect makes all the snow falling on your side become 'hot' and melt any snow that it touches. Thus, large blockages of snow can be quickly cleared. After a certain amount of snow has been melted, the icon will become de-selected and the snow will revert to normal. While this effect is taking place, it is also possible to carry on with other functions as normal. 6) Shows one players side with an arrow pointing downwards. This icon stops the bottom of your bin moving upwards when the other player fills his bottom chute with snow. For eight consecutive fill ups, nothing will happen and the other players snow will be wasted. After this time the icon will automatically revert to normal. Again, you can continue building etc. while this icon is selected. When an icon is selected, you will lose as many available icons as the relevant number in the above list. For instance if 4 icons are highlighted and a control reversal is selected, only the highest icon will become unavailable. Note that the control reversal will also become shaded to remind you that it cannot be selected until that effect runs out. Notes On Tactics (To be read by BOTH players!) ---------------- When selecting special icon 2 (all snow falls on opponents side), make sure that you are ready to erase, not build. This is because this effect can benefit the other player by making more snow fall in his side chutes. If you dig away any funnels that he has built, this will not happen. (obviously they will be trying to build platforms here at the same time to gain the advantage) You must also note that any snow that falls off the bottom of that players side will not count towards his total. (the bars under their side will not move up) Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to build a bridge stopping the snow from falling through, and then releasing it after the effect has finished. Again, you must be ready to dig any barriers away so they benefit the least from the extra snow. When selecting special icon 4 (black holes) think where you are going to put the pixels down. It is usually best to put them on your opponents side in the middle of their playing area, so any snow falling into the black hole actually benefits you. But, they can also be placed on your side if the snow is building up too fast. Also, think how long they will last in the position that you place them. Do not put them directly above the other players bottom line as they will be destroyed when the line moves up. It is best to put them a short distance above so that they will last for longer, but also catch more of the snow. To deal with black holes on your side, it is possible to place barriers above them to stop the snow falling into them. Remember that the other player will try to move across and erase the barriers. The best thing to do is try to direct the snow around the black holes. (of course if you place the black holes, you will try to direct the other players snow INTO them, to stop it from moving your bottom line up) WINNING ------- When one players side is filled right to the top, you will be informed of who has won (player one is using joystick one etc.) You have to win enough consecutive sets to gain a two game lead over your opponent. When this happens, the scores are reset and play can be restarted. If you do not want to play again, press SPACE when the scores are being displayed. DON'T PANIC !! The game is actually far easier than you might think when you get playing. Just remember, direct the snow into your two side chutes, direct it into the hole at the bottom of your bin and also stop the other player doing exactly this!  ************ ************ ************ * * * * * * * SHAREWARE! * * SHAREWARE! * * SHAREWARE! * * * * * * * ************ ************ ************  Oh no! Not another shareware game ! WAIT !!! If you decide that you like playing this game please support this concept and send a small donation (anything from 2.00 upwards would be very appreciated) to the address below. If you would like a copy of the source code for GENST II, please send 5.00 and your address and I will post you a disk containing it. Andrew Sage, Triplands, Luppitt, Honiton, Devon. EX14 0UF. - The End - 1992 |\ < |\ ndrew >age \ | / - -  / | \