@node main KI KI V1.3 @{" © Arnold Schommer " link legal 15} @{" " link intro} Introduction @{" " link objective} Objective of the Game @{" " link parameters} CLI- and Workbench-parameters @{" " link menu} customizing the values during the program @{" " link usage2} Keyboard- and joystick-controls of the game @{" " link getting_started} System requirements / Installing @{" " link files} Overview of files @{" " link known_bugs} Known Bugs (check this before registering) @{" " link registration} Registration @{" " link legal} Copyright etc. @{" " link misc} Miscellaneous @endnode @node intro Introduction KI is a thinking game on one hand related to "Klax"/"KlakTris" (or as whatever you know this gametype): You drop tiles and as soon as three equal squares build a row, they vanish. On the other hand, it is related to "Ishido" because the single squares are not only different by colour but have a second property. So the name is derived from these two "parents". Furthermore, KI is in wide ranges configurable. @endnode @node getting_started "System requirements / Installing" KI should work on any Amiga from Kickstart 1.3 on. (But it was mainly tested on a 2000B with Kickstart 2.1, A2630 and 4/0.5MB of memory) 512KB graphics memory should be enough; if you have problems, try to play without music (see @{"NOMUSIC-parameter" link parameters}). Installing: @{"For Kickstart 1.3" link install_13} @{"For Kickstart 2.0" link install_20} @{"For Kickstart 2.1" link install_21} and above (correctly: Workbench 2.1) @{"Notes for registering users" link caution_install} @endnode @node install_13 "Installing KI for Kickstart 1.3" First, extract the archive to the drawer you want to have it installed in. Delete the subdirectory "Catalogs" with its contents. Move the files "tracker.library" and "medplayer.library" into your "libs:"-drawer. For those lazy people who prefer things to GET installed: Copying the libraries to "libs:" may be done by the script-file "InstallLibs", but this does not check if you already have more recent versions of them. @endnode @node install_20 "Installing KI for Kickstart 2.0" Extract the archive to wherever you want it. Delete the subdirectory "Catalogs" with its contents. @endnode @node install_21 "Installing KI for Kickstart 2.1 and above" Extract the archive to wherever you want it. @endnode @node caution_install "Notes for registering users" * You get a disk containing all files unpacked, so instead of extracting an archive, you have to move some data (e.g. via the Workbench). * If you do not want to look which files really have changed and copy them blindly, don't forget to save your highscores (from the demo-version) ! They are recorded in the file "KI-Scores". @endnode @node files "Overview of files" The archive (unregistered version, of course) should contain the following files (icons omitted): KI the main program KI-Music.MED the default music for the game KI-Scores an initial Highscore-file KI-Tiles.iff the default square-graphics for the game tracker.library a shared library required by KI medplayer.library a shared library required by KI Catalogs/*/* program-texts (currently only german) KI.guide this description (HyperText-format) KI.doc this description (plain text, generated automatically from the HyperText-file) KI.cd a description of the programs text to enable you to create @{"translations" link misc} InstallLibs see @{"Installing KI for Kickstart 1.3" link install_13} BugReport a BugReport form Registration a Registration form @endnode @node terms Terms The things that fall down, are called "tiles". They consist of one or more "squares" (which may look very different from squares anyway). Each square has two properties, a "colour" and a "kind". The kind should define the the geometry of the squares. @endnode @node objective "Objective of the Game" You get slowly dropping @{"tiles" link terms} consisting of one or more @{"squares" link terms} and have to place them in the rectangular playfield. The aim is to place as many tiles as possible until the playfield is that full, that there is no space left for new tiles. With what i told you up to know, you knew that the game had to end after a more or less obvious number of tiles. But if a certain number of swuares in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row have the same colour or type, they vanish and the squares above slide down into the gaps. @endnode @node music "using own music files" The bad news: KI can't use SoundTracker-files. (I'm sorry, but i have no playing routines for these). The supported filetype is the module-format of MED. Registered users get MED if they wish to convert their own SoundTracker-modules - see @{"MED.doc" link MED.doc/main}. @endnode @node tile_gfx "using own squares" The file containing the graphics for the squares has to be an IFF-ILBM-Picture. The squares have to be arranged side by side in the following manner: different kinds are in a row, if necessary with gaps so that the left edge of each square has a coordinate divisible by 8; different colours are in a column without gap. If the square-size differs from 16*16 pixels, you have either to use the parameters TILEWIDTH/TILEHEIGHT or to add a TILE-Chunk to the file. The number of available colours and kinds will then be computed. Registered users get a Program @{"AddTileChunk" link atc} to apend a TILE-Chunk to an existing graphics-file. @endnode @node parameters "CLI- and Workbench-parameters" KI may be run from the workbench or in a CLI. At starting via CLI, the following parameters are supported: NOMUSIC: No music is loaded and played. MUSIC : The program tries to play the music . If neither this nor the previous parameter is used, this is handled like "MUSIC KI-Music.MED". See also @{"using own music files" link music}. TILES : The square-graphics are taken from the file . If this parameter is not used, the file "KI-Tiles.iff" is used. See also @{"using own squares" link tile_gfx}. TILEWIDTH : The width of the squares is instead of 16 pixels. TILEHEIGHT : The height of the squares is instead of 16 pixels. HIRES / INTERLACE / HAM / EHB: The given ViewMode shall be used. At starting KI via Workbench, the same parameters are allowed but they have be used as ToolTypes of the program itself or an icon which has to be in the same drawer. The parameters are specified in the for ToolTypes usual way: The keyword is followed by an equal and the parameter itself. E.g. a ToolType-entry "MUSIC=test.MED" means the same as the part "MUSIC test.MED" of an CLI-call. @endnode @node atc "AddTileChunk © Arnold Schommer" Apart from a square-size differing from 16*16 pixels, with a TILE- Chunk certain ViewModes as HAM, EHB may be forced. AddTileChunk can append such a TILE-Chunk to an existing IFF-file. Graphics-programs should not bother about this Chunk, but if editing the graphics, one has to remember that no graphics-editor will write it during saving the graphics. AddTileChunk can only be started in a CLI. It knows the following parameters: [FILE] (this parameter must be given) Tells the name of the graphics to be extended. No backup will be created. In general, this should be unneccessary since the file does not get faulty for other programs according to the IFF-specifications. WIDTH (this parameter must be given) Tells the width of the squares. Up to now, this has to be divisible by 8. HEIGHT (this parameter must be given) Tells the height of the squares. VFLAGS Defines required ViewModes. Better use HIRES, LACE, HAM and EHB. HIRES The squares have to be displayed in high resolution. In this case only 16, not 32 or - with EHB - 64 colours are available. This may be sensible if the squares are very wide and would only allow a tiny playfield in low resolution. LACE The squares have to be displayed in interlace, with high vertical resolution. This may be sensible if the squares are very tall and would only allow a tiny playfield in low resolution. HAM The squares have to be displayed in the so-called hold-and- modify-mode. (KI does NOT recognize this from a plain IFF-file) EHB The squares have to be displayed in the so-called extra- halfbrite-mode. (KI does NOT recognize this from a plain IFF-file) There are some further parameters AddTileChunk already knows, but KI does not yet support them. A word on the ViewModes: * I have an old Amiga, not even with ECS. That means, i think many of the things being normal with AGA may seem forbidden to me. * KI ignores all informations concerning the ViewMode it might find in the graphics-file - apart from the TILE-Chunk, which i designed only for this purpose. About HIRES and LACE i simply think that the original resolution, used during painting the squares, is irrelevant for playing, and in case of HAM and EHB the IFF-definitions do not tell in every case how to decide which of the two is wanted. By the way (did you forget ?): KI is no graphics-program - so why to mess around with these details. @endnode @node menu "customizing the values after starting" With the menu you are able to set the most important parameters of the game: How many of the (grafically defined) square-colours and -kinds shall occur in the game, how large the playfield and the tiles shall be, how large rows have be to vanish and how fast or slow the tiles shall be dropped. The Gadgets can also be used via keyboard. To do this, you have to type the letter display lighter: small to increase the value, large to decrease it (no matter, how the letter is displayed). All these values but the falldelay lead to independent Highscore- recordings ! You can quit the program with Escape (after a security-request), too. The game can also be started by pressing Space, Return, numkey-5 or the fire button of the joystick. @endnode @node usage2 "Keyboard- and joystick-controls during the game" The horizontal cursor-keys and 4 and 6 on the numeric keypad move the tile aside. With Space, numkey-5 the squares of the tile get exchanged: each square is moved one position down, and the one at the bottom gets atop. With Return Enter, cursor-down or numkey-2 the tile gets dropped faster - without a chance to move it aside after this. With the letter shown in the gadget, Help, cursor-up or numkey-8 you get a break which is ended with any keypress. The gadgets at the right bottom should be clear. "Falldelay" controls the speed of the tile sliding down. You can quit the game with Escape (after a security-request), too. The four basic directions of the joystick correspond to the cursor-keys and the fire-button corresponds to numkey-5. I.e., you can start the game with fire; right/left moves the tile in this direction; up makes a break which may be left by any joystick-move; down drops the tile faster. @endnode @node known_bugs "Known Bugs" * KI is quite processor-time-wasting. That means, on an Amiga with 68000 the graphics somtimes flickers ! * If squares slide into gaps, the marking-dots in the background slide with them. * If the music can not be played, the user is not told why. Possible reasons: - A missing "medplayer.library" (see @{"installing" link install_13}) - The playing-routine can't get control over the soundchip, e.g. if there is an active music-program. - Lack of memory (as far as i know, music-files are loaded into ChipRAM) - Wrong type of music-file (see @{"using own music files" link music}) @endnode @node registration Registration The Shareware-fee if 10,- DM (about 6.50 US$) (including postage). Details see the file @{"Registration" link Registration/main}, which may also be used as a form; please read carefully ! The registered version of KI contains in the Highscore-display instead of "Demo for ..." the text "registered for ..." and the name of the registered user and the somtimes upcoming "Don't forget to register !"-requesters are omitted. Furthermore, registered users get: - additional square-graphics - additional music-files - or - MED3.00 from Fish-Disk #476 to be able to convert SoundTracker- modules. - The utility @{"AddTileChunk" link atc} to be able to use non-16*16-squares without separate parameters. @endnode @node legal "Copyright etc." I, the author, do not guarantee full functionality of KI. I do not take liability for any harm caused by the game to the user, its computer or its data. KI is Shareware. It may be copied freely as far as the files are unchanged and complete. I keep my right to cancel this general license for any person / company at any time. No profit may be made by distributing KI. Please inform me, if you think that KI is sold for a too high price. I agree with using the demo-version but not registering (!), but i'd like to get at least a postcard to learn about someone liking the game. I approve portations to other computer-systems as far as they will be Shareware, FreeWare or Public Domain. To potentional distributors: If you would like your own version (with according "Demo for"- text), please write to me and tell me what to insert (20 characters, Amiga-charset only) AND for which price you want to distribute KI. My (the authors) address is: Arnold Schommer Erikaweg 16 40670 Meerbusch FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (Sorry: i have no email-address) @endnode @node misc Miscellaneous (Apart from registrations) I'd like to get * your opinion about KI * Bug-Reports (please use the file @{"BugReport" link BugReport/main} as form) * Translations of the program's text to other languages. The file @{"KI.cd" link KI.cd/main} contains a standard (CatComp-) description of them. @endnode