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                      COMET BUSTERS! v1.3 README
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*********************** I M P O R T A N T ! *****************************

TO INSTALL COMET BUSTERS!:

1.  Unzip the archive into a temporary directory.

2.  Run the INSTALL.EXE program.

3.  Follow the instructions.  After installation is complete, click
    on the Comet Busters! icon to begin play.

Last-minute thoughts
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* Comet Busters! requires a WINSOCK.DLL file in order to execute.
  If you already have one, you should delete the one installed in the
  COMET directory.

* If you're using the PC speaker sounds, you may notice that they tend
  to die from time to time, and you have to restart Windows to get
  them to come back. The PC speaker functions, alas, are buggy, and
  have not been officially supported since Win 3.0. Petition Microsoft
  if you want it fixed.

* You can easily translate Comet Busters! to other languages by
  adding additional COMETxxx.DLL files. The default is COMETENU.DLL,
  for American English. Just copy this file to another COMETxxx.DLL
  file where "xxx" is the Windows Language Code for your country.
  For example, German would be COMETDEU.DLL, French would be
  COMETFRN.DLL, and so on. Then translate the strings in the
  alternate file with a resource editor.

NEW IN VERSION 1.3
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* NETWORK/MODEM SUPPORT!!! Finally got around to figuring it out.
  You know, you just can't write a network game without a network...

* Your ship is invulnerable for a short period after it
  materializes.

* New rock-busting sounds!

* Upped the frame rate to 24 FPS, which can also be changed via the .INI.

* Added context-sensitive help.

* Made an optimization to the collision code so that everything
  will be faster.

* An option for random music selection! See the help file under the
  "INI file" section for details.

NEW IN VERSION 1.2
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* Now works with Windows 95!

* Used the WAVEMIX version 2 library. Hopefully, this'll fix problems
  with the SB16. Sounds really good in Win 95 too.

* Fixed a bug which made the window very teeny when you restore from
  an icon.

* Squeezed the button bar a little more to fit on 640x480.

* Added About box.

* Secret stuff!


NEW IN VERSION 1.1
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* This version uses the WAVEMIX.DLL library, which allows multiple
  sounds to be played simultaneously -- sort of. If you have a slow
  computer (even 486-33's are prone to this) you may hear skipping
  during some of the sounds. This is because Windows is STILL not
  a true multitasking environment. But hey, it's all worth it, right?

* SUPER-COOL new sounds! Shield-crackling and popping, thruster sounds,
  and all sortsa goodies waiting for you.

* Circumvented the Windows bug which caused small explosions to draw
  with the wrong palette in 256-color mode.

* Finally, the joystick bug has been fixed! It seems to have affected
  fast computers with slow joysticks. How amazing is the difference
  between signed and unsigned integers!

* The disruptor now exerts an equal and opposite force on your ship
  when you use it. This makes it a lot more useful as a defensive
  weapon. The higher the Special Ability, the more force.

* I took out the "feature" where when you hyperspaced you would come
  back giant-size. Windows didn't map the colors correctly, so the
  ship looked all funky when you returned. But I HAVE improved the
  hyperspace so that it pops you back in a safe place MOST of the
  time (determined by the Special Ability attribute).

* New "Tournament Mode" where the object is not to blast rocks,
  but to waste the other players. Pretty fun...

* "Deadly Bullets" option, which makes your bullets, well ...
  deadly to other players.

* New CLOAK ability which is pretty much useless without remote play!
  (Sorry again...)

* Awesome looking flames out of the back of your ship!

* More realistic collisions.

* Other misc. bug fixes which I don't remember because OS/2 ate
  my "to-do" list.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven Hugg
hugg@pobox.com
1/15/96
