This program and it's associated files are copyright (c) Chris Price 1993. This disk may be freely distributed as long as only a small charge is made to cover time & copying costs. Please do not modify the contents of this disk. The software must not be used for commercial reasons (although quite why anyone would want to do this I don't know) unless written permission is gained from the author. So there. The game runs on (as far as I'm aware) the A500, A500+, A600 and A1200. If the game runs too slowly or quickly on your configuration then let me know and I'll send you another version. Yo....... Many years ago, when dinosaurs walked the earth, I bought myself a Sinclair Spectrum (48k). After a few months of trying to get used to the bloody fiddly multi-key presses required to program the damn thing, I gave up and bought some commercial software. One game in particular held my attention, and I became hooked. Unfortunately my Speccy went the same way as all computers that you turn off by yanking the lead out of the back, and the game was thrown out soon after. Then, some years later, I purchased an Amiga. And then, another few years later, I purchased AMOS. I wrote a few simple little puzzle games, but they didn't amount to much. I couldn't think of an idea for a new game, when suddenly it all came flooding back, and I set my mind to programming that old Speccy game. It's actually taken two years (I'm a bit busy, y'know) to get this far and I'm still not 100% happy with it, but a pal who saw it told me that he reckoned it was good enough for PD, so here it is. Before you start to play, let me warn you : Don't expect brilliant graphics, mind-numbing special effects and stunning sound, cuz they ain't here, mate. The sprites are 8 x 8, so get out yer specs, and the music was taken out of the Public Domain. The bad guys are nowhere near as intelligent as they could be, but I can't figure out how to do this without slowing the program down too much (I'm not a particularly efficient programmer), so I apologise if on some screens they seem to cluster around the bottom left corner. What else can I apologise for? Oh, yeah. The original game had 255 screens and a screen designer. Not this one. As this is only a trial, I'm releasing the game with just 20 screens. It might also be a bit difficult - I don't know many people with Amigas to playtest it properly. If enough people respond (see later in this epistle) then I'll design more screens, and also write a proper designer. And if all that hasn't put you off, then read on...... Bloadrunner =========== The Horrid Army of Really Ghastly Humans, HARGH, have stolen all of the Queens gold. Now we all now how deserving the queen is, and as such a special agent has been selected to fly to the HARGH base and get all of the gold back. The Special Agent is Richard Flexible-Overhang III, and you control him as he runs around the HARGH base collecting the coins they have recklessly left lying about. That's enough 'plot', here's how to play : You can move Dick about the screen with a joystick - I hope you've got one. Move the joystick left and, lo and behold, Dick moves left. Move the stick right and he moves right. Move the stick up and, if he is standing by a ladder, he will go up it. And likewise for down, except that in this case he will go down the ladder. Pressing the fire button whilst standing on a brick will make Dick shoot his pocket-sized industrial-strength banana-shaped demoleculifier at the floor and blow up a brick. This creates a hole. After a few seconds the hole will fill back in (the demoleculifier is only a prototype model). If a HARGHy falls into a hole and there is no way out, then he will be killed when it fills back in - but beware! HARGH has a lot of members and a new one will appear at the top of the screen after about five seconds. You can dig a series of holes, then drop in and dig more holes to get to the more inaccessible coins, but be careful not to get caught when the holes fill back in. Practise will tell you what you can and cannot do. Collect all of the coins on a screen and you can go on to the next one. If you have collected all of the visible coins and you still do not move onto the next screen then one of the HARGHy's has picked up a coin and is carrying it. You must find out which one it is and take it off him. They drop coins if they fall into a hole. Hints: You can run over a HARGHy if it has fallen into one of the holes you have dug. HARGHy's sometimes change direction suddenly so don't get too close. Look out for pits, secret passages and one-way bricks. Some screens have extra lives and bonus points hidden - just dig everywhere to find them. Use the ropes - the HARGHy's aren't very good on them. You can drop off a rope halfway along if you want by pulling down on the stick. If you get stuck somewhere with no escape, then press 'Q' and the screen will start again - but you lose a life. You can't dig holes under coins, ladders or secret doors. When digging a row of holes to get at buried gold, try to position Dick correctly - too close to the brick you want to dig and it won't work. Press 'P' to pause. Press 'P' again to unpause. Frightening, isn't it. Don't Panic! Bumph ===== Thanks go to the following peoples : Kazbo, Chrissy Boy, Jon, Red Dwarf, Francois Lionet, Shadow Software (for TOME), Metallica, PG Tips, Guinness, Boots Soluble Aspirin, Clive 'my old physics teacher' Sinclair, that bloke with the big nose in the Texas ads on telly, Wayne (hello, Wayne), and me. And now..... More Bumph ========== This game is NOT shareware. I will send a version out with more screens to anyone who sends me a small gift (of any description - the more irrelevant the better), or to anyone with useful comments,ideas or criticism (constructive please) about the game. I'll also write a map designer so that anyone can have a go at making their own screens. Details of any more games that I'm writing will also be sent to anyone who contacts me. Remember - the more who get in touch then the more I'll do. Thank you for reading this little note. Oh, yeah - If anyone out there can draw graphics or write tunes, but is crap at programming then get in touch - I can program (in AMOS), but I'm crap at graphics and music. Also any ideas for games would be welcome. Beam me up, down, or whatever, Chris 'SMEG-HEAD' Price, 54, Burland Avenue, Claregate, Wolverhampton, West Midlands. WV6 9JL. P.S. That's in England, just in case you didn't know. P.P.S. I don't know who wrote the tune - it was in the Public Domain, but whoever it was - thanks. P.P.P.S. Hargh!!!