This Disk - If in original state contains: Example of what the compiler can do. Level Designer Level Tester Example levels Use a different disk to save your levels under! --> Goto bottom to find out how to obtain the full version... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Escape 2 The complete documentation Copyright notices ----------------- I (Mark Page) hold the copyright of this program. You are allowed to spread this documentation, the level designer, the level tester, and the program which runs the compiled game, in the public domain YOU MUST NOT SPREAD THE COMPILER PROGRAM. But you are allowed to backup the program for your OWN USE ONLY. You must not sell any of the programs attached to Escape 2, without my written permission. I am not in any way held responsible for lost data etc from using these programs, but do feel free to ask for advice. Files and what they do ---------------------- (Filenames may of been changed) Design - The level designer. Gameleveltester - The level designer level tester. Compiler - The compiler, which fits all the levels together etc (COPYRIGHTED) Escape 2 - Runs the compiled game, this should be held in the C directory Details of: Design ------------------ Load this program up as usual, you will see a black screen with a notice to the left hamd side saying "Place tile". This is the "EDITOR SCREEN". Press the right mouse button and a new screen will appear. This is the "OPTION SCREEN". Have a good look at the option screen. You should see the choice of tiles allowed and some options. At the bottom of the option screen is a horizontal bar with raster time written above it. When you place any tiles onto the editor screen with animation, this bar will fill up. This tells you how much the computer is working (Every vertical blank interupt - 50 Hertz). If it gets totally full up, a warning box will light, this tells you that the game will jerk. To solve this kill some animations. I can not describe what the tiles do, you will have to test them yourself - sorry. I just can say that if you place a falling tile, exits's and doors you can activate them using the switch tile. To use the switch tile, place it on the editor screen and a notice on the left hand side of the screen will say "Change which square?", now move the mouse and click on the square you want to change. One last thing about tiles, there is a teleport tile, where you can jump to a differant part of the screen. To use this place it on the editor screen and on the left hand side of the screen, a notice witth appear saying "teleport to?", now click where you want to teleport to. Animation tiles that can be activated with switch: Horizontal Door V1 and V2 Vertical Door V1 and V2 Falling Tile (Cracked floor) V1 and V2 Exit up, down, left and right (Top left of option screen) Other Animation tiles: Extralife (3 Types) Teleport (Tile with a square inside) Bonus Tile (2 Types) Disk (Does not do anything) The rest should be obvious - try them! Other options on the option screen: Save level - Easy enough to use Load level - Easy enough to use Set man - Sets the mans starting position, when you click on this, you will be asked to place the mans position using your mouse. Set time - The time limit for the game - if not sure set to 100 Set bad - Sets the enemy position. You are required to set how easily the enemy is to kill you (Just fill in the options) Set Ball - You are asked to type in the left/right,up/down start and finish of the ball. Then you are asked the direction you want the ball to go in and the colour of the ball. For example Start Left/Right pos : 100 Start Up/Down pos: 50 End Left/Right pos: 200 End Up/Down pos: 50 Now you are asked for the direction (Right). THE END POSITION MUST BE POSSIBLE. For example: Start Left/Right pos : 100 Start Up/Down pos: 70 End Left/Right pos: 200 End Up/Down pos: 80 Is impossible!!! Set Music - This is only used for the rastor time test Set Mouse - Gives you a "autofire" option for the Editor screen! Clear screen - Watch out, the computer does NOT ask if you are sure. To Exit press the firebutton with your joystick in port 2 Advice - When saving files save as level1,level2,...,level344 etc this will let you use the wildcard system on the compiler. If you try to switch an animation eg. extralife, and squashing wall you will stop the animation - useful , you can use it to get past it. Try it Details - Gameleveltester This is the gametester made by the level designer program. Just type in the level filename. Play with joystick in port 2, left mouse button to exit. Details - Compiler This is such a user friendly program, instructions are not really required. Except for the scrolly - use notepad word processor or similar to type it in. The music can be made on startracker or compatible (Noisetracker, MED with save as st-module option). It can also be made by startrekker.NT chip music files. Quick summary: The compiler lets you: 1. Load the files in individually or Load the files in automatically using a "wildcard" system (easy to use!) 2. Load in your ASCII text scrolly. 3. Lets you choose your module pieces The program needs the ARP library in the Libs dir (is supplied) Details - Escape2 This runs the compiled program. To operate: Place this file in the main c: directory of the disk. (Should be already there). From Workbench Click into the icon made by the compiler, this will automatically load the escape files + the escape2 file. To change where the computer searches for the escape2 file, use the workbench's info command. (See manual for more details) From Cli - Version 1 1> Escape2 df1:subdirectory/ ; this will run the data in this directory 1> Escape2 df0: ; this will run the data in df0: From Cli - Version 2 1> df1:game/Escape2 ;this will run the data in the directory it was ;called from (df1:game/) In actual game: Left mouse button looses a life. Bonuses and extra lifes only come into effect after you have completed a level. Advice - etc ------------ Use a backup version of this disk Use a new blank formatted disk to save the levels under You need standard knowledge of the amiga (can use the workbench), I think you can do this, or how did you read this file! Also CLI I tried to make the program very user friendly, but there may be some bugs left, If you find some please tell me. Technical info -------------- The Source code size is 190K long. There are around 200 include files for tiles. The tiles are in 16 colours The man is NOT a sprite (also the enemy man + ball is not) Details of the game file: (Escape2 + gameleveltester) roughly: Chip memory needed: 214K Public memory needed: 39K Total needed: 253K History ------- On July the 1st 1991 Dan decided to make a game, I agreed with him, so Escape was born. I was working on Escape for 2 weeks when I clicked on save instead of load on the assembler, so I lost everything. I started again, I now always have a backup of escape (I have now around 6 backups). I learnt my leason - always make backups of your code! At the end of July I had the basic code written, but I took literally 2 Hours to make one level by hand, so I made a level designer. In the middle of August dan changed the entire graphics for escape so I spent 30 hours refixing all the graphics into a special format. On September 10th 1991 I released Escape V1.0. In two weeks Legend (A group of people) made a cheat mode for it, therefore spoiling the game. So I quickly sent Escape to public domain libraries before they got the cheated version. I had a rest for a few weeks, then I went really depressed because I did not hear anything of Escape, so I decided to give a computer magazine the complete source code. I started working on it, debugging it. A week later I decided not to, but instead write a sequal. So I got Leonardo to do some tiles for it. I was lazy until the christmas hols, when I started again, working 16 Hours a day at Escape, fixing the level designer so I was spreadable, making a compiler, inserting new blocks, adding an enemy man option and fixing a LOT of bugs. Then after christmas, my A level exams started, I had no time at EscapeV2, until now when I fixed the last bug in EscapeV2, and writing this documentation. Later on I am expecting more tiles from Leonardo... It is now the 15th Febrary 1992, I have put in a lot more tiles and made it workbench compatible. Last week I found a very serious bug (which also was in escape version 1), in some parts of my source code I had move.w d0,a0 instead of move.l d0,a0 which means that if a 30K program is already in memory before escape is run, the tiles are not displayed properly. Well mistakes do happen. It is now late february. I have finally made an intro. Ready to release. Almost - bug with the startup-sequence with the amiga 500 plus, I fixed this by killing the startup-sequence except loadwb, endcli. So to see the intro type in the filename "intro loader" when you are in Shell. So the release date is now March 10th 1992. At last!!!! It is now Thursday 28th May 1992. I have just spend 2 days getting this version of Escape finished. This gameleveltester has been shortened, there is no title screen any more, I did not think it was necessary to have one. I have changed the Font displaying Lives/Level/Time and the numbers, before it looked very scruffy and lame! The gameover, oh no!! is now a copperbar red. I have made also some minor improvements. I found what caused the incompatability in the old Escape V2, it was the Killsys virus killer. I don't know why it does not work properely, it just seems to chew on a bit of memory it shouldn't. It is going to be released tomorrow... It is now 25th June 1992. Today I have finally updated Escape V2 to V2.2. I have added 12 tiles and 1 wall anim. The 'paradox' 8*8 has been changed to leonardos font. I deleted the main scrolly font to 1 bit plane (2 colours). This save a lot of chip memory - therefore more tiles allowed. I bug in the design has been fixed (the same bug as in the old escape - since the designer was made in August 1991). Escape III was completed yesterday - therefore (If in original condition), on this disk. Game finally was optimised slightly, but this will not be noticable. Also the soundtracker V2.4 replay routine has been changed to the protracker replay routine which is a lot better and a lot faster and can cope with most formats of modules (Replay routine includes fune tuning). Credits ------- Dan - For Designing the game and making the man animation and a 1/3 of the blocks and the 32*32 font on Escape V1. And making the levels for Escape V1. And the loader picture to Escape V1 Leonardo - For helping with testing Escape and making the rest of the tiles, the 32*32 font on Escape V2. + 8*8 font Mark (ME!) - For coding the program and debugging, documenting etc. Mad Phantom - For making the music for Escape V1 and V2. how to obtain the compiler: --------------------------- Send 5 Pounds to me (or more if you live abroad as appropiate) Mark Page, 50 Victoria Avenue, Sleaford, Lincolnshire. NG34 7LN ENGLAND. If sending cheque, make it payable to Mark Page Postal order is preferable. If cheques are send, I will have to wait for them to be cleared before I send the full version. You will recieve 2 disks. The first disk will contain the latest programs connected with Escape 2 + Compiler The Second disk will contain all the levels to Escape (45 of them!) lots of music modules for use with the compiler etc. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------