ÛßÜ ßÛß ÛßÛ ÛÜ ÜÛ ÛßÛ ÛÜ Û ÛßÜ Û Û + Û + ÛßÛ + Û ß Û + Û Û + Û ßÛ + Û Û ßß ßßß ß ß ß ß ßßß ß ß ßß A Game by Matthew Bush Player Documentation First Release: Friday, April 14, 1995 INTRODUCTION The long searched for diamond mines of the Andes mountains have been found. It did not take long for the entrepreneurs to realize that the only way to make a profit would be to automate the mines. Soon, there were machines that dug tunnels, crushed boulders to release the diamonds inside, and conveyor belts and lifts to move everything around. But not long after the mines had been automated and were set to run independent, something went drasticaly wrong, as it always does. The spirit of Xathe was awoken. The demon set forth his minons to wreak havok on all of the machines that had intruded in upon Xathe's lair. The diggers, or blades as they were called in mine jargon, were sent to aim mindlessly through the corridores of the mine. The conveyor belts were set to run at top speed as the bolts flew from their joints. The corporations lost hope after the first attempts to regain control were a complete loss. It did not take long for the news of this event to reach the entire globe. Young and old souls alike seeking fame, glory, and adventure foolishly set out to make their fourtune with the thousands and thousands of diamonds to be found in the mines. You, being the foolish one that you are, decide that you too can outfox the spirit of Xathe. So here you are. CONTROLS The controls of this game are drastically simple. Beating the levels is not. Here goes nothing: [Arrow Keys] - Move ... this is a tough one. Note that you can't move diagonals.. (awww) [Button 1] [Space] - Very useful key. Lets you dig dirt, push bolders, grab diamonds, and other things without moving. Hold down the space bar and press the direction the diamond, etc.. is in. Tip: Doing this and pressing up is generally a BAD idea. [Button 2] [Tab] - Automap. Your on here as a flashing red dot. [Q] or [Esc] - Quit game ... .. . :( [S] - Save game. This brings up another menu. There are ten "tiles" that you can save your game under. Use the arrow keys to move to which one you want to save it on. Press [Space] or [Enter] to select one, and [Q] or [Esc] to abort it. [L] - Load game. Same as save game only it loads your game instead of saving it. Not rocket science here ... [R] - Restart level.. Basically your stuck and have no way to die. Press this button. [E] - Run level editor, which is explained below. Be careful, your game will be lost. [ and ] keys - Adjust the speed of the game. The [ makes it go faster, the ] makes it go slower. Make it go faster for more of an arcade style game, or make it slower for more of a strategy/puzzle game. THINGS THAT MOVE Keep in mind that everything in this game can both hurt or help you. You - You. Beats game(Good). Dies(Bad). Blades - Move around aimlessly... Pretty dumb. Hurt(Bad). Cause explosions to break things(Good). Spirits of Xathe - Purple. Flashy. Explode into Diamonds(Good). Hurt(Bad). THINGS THAT DON'T MOVE Small Brick Walls - Can't move through these, but they can be blown up. Thick Brick Walls - Same as normal walls, only they can't be blown up. Diamonds - Collecting these is the object of the game. The uncool thing they do is fall on your head and cause you to die. When you get the ammount of diamonds that you need, the screen will flash and you will hear a snap. The exit door will then open up. Boulders - Uncool when they fall on your head, cool when they fall on the bad guy's head. You can push one of these guys in a few seconds if there is nothing in the way. Pay attention to the way Diamonds and Boulders fall off the "edge" of some things. Exit - Go here when you get all the "needed" diamonds. Color Keys & - You need the keys to open the doors. The keys look Doors like small colored gems and the doors look like thick walls with their corresponding gems in the middle. Heart - Lets you be hurt more than once before you die. Don't get to cockey. If the first boulder that falls on you doesn't kill you, the one coming down after it will. Converter - Changes boulders to diamonds and diamonds to boulders as they pass through. Blue Walls & - Switch the lever to remove all the blue walls on the Levers level. Spores - These guys are always fun. They grow ... and grow ... and grow. If you suffocate them by enclosing them then they will all transform into diamonds, but if you let them grow too large, they transform into boulders. Conveyor Belts & - Move around boulders and diamonds. You may have to Lifts experiment with lifts to figure out exactly how they work and how to use them to your advantage. Crushers - Reduce diamonds and boulders to ... well ... nothing. EDITOR Keep in mind the editor has nothing built in to check and make sure you know what your doing. Each level needs an entrance, and exit, and all that cool stuff. Also, the joystick does not work in the editor. [Arrow Keys] - Move cursor [+] and [-] - Select a tile [Space] - Place a tile [Tab] - Overhead display [F] - Fill [S] - Save map [L] - Load map [N] - Name your map [D] - Set the needed diamonds [G] - Fill in a horizontal line [P] - Play your masterpiece CREDITS Programming, Graphics, Level Design, Matthew Bush Sound F/X Level Crash Testing Jay Mayo CONTACTING THE AUTHOR You can contact me at the following locations: Internet: mandan@dynasty.doi.com Prodigy: WUEV27B Online: Dynasty Online International - (407)894-5972 A Major BBS System, My Account Handle is Mandan *! Note: The Internet email may not be online ... hopefully they will have it up and running soon ... Note: Guess what? This game is basically freeware. Its shareware that you don't have to register. What a concept. A FREE game. Wow. Know any good graphic artists? I'm looking to make an Arcade/Fantasy game ... Send me your levels! Maybe I'll make a group of the best and distribute it later. Remember, a hard level doesn't neccesarily make a good level. HINTS AND SUCH (Don't read this *UNTIL* your ready to smash in your monitor) ********************************************************************************** - Told you you'd be here. - NEVER hold down the space bar and press up if you can help it. You're almost sure to get clobbered by something. - Use the space bar all the time except for above. - Watch out for diamonds and boulders as they slip off the edge of other diamonds, boulders, and weak walls. - Pay attention to where the exit is. The worst feeling is having enough diamonds and dying while trying to find the way out. - Blades are the bombs, boulders are your detonators. - As aimless as the baddies may seem, they have a pattern. You can get them confused, get them to go in circles, and they may even dance for ya! - Keep an eye out for cracked walls ... - Don't get greedy. Its tempting ... don't do it! - A wise man once said: "Patience is a virtue. Blue cows who live on farms make blue milk." What he meant by the second one, I'll never know, but the first may come in handy some time ... - Last, but not least, don't die. (Words to live by) (pun intended) When you are about to give up hope, and think the level is impossible, remember I have beaten all the levels! :> Need cheering up? Watch someone else play. -= END `n' STUFF =- (C) Copyright 1995, Matthew Bush Not bad for two weeks work, eh?