Document DiamondCaves V1.3 documentation Diamond Caves -=============- Version V1.3 (09.04.1995) (C) Copyright 1994/95 by Peter Elzner - Shareware - 1. * Read this if you hate reading docs! * ========================================== Welcome to Diamond Caves V1.3! Here is a quick overview about what to do and what to read to start immediately: - If you have a vague knowledge of what the game is about, you may start right now, playing the 25 "Tutorial"-Levels. They will introduce you into all of the important things and extras of Diamond Caves. The 25 "Game"-Levels are for more advanced players. Newusers should read `Whats it all about?'. If you constantly fail to solve a Tutorial-Level, try watching the record-file by clicking on "Replay-game". The main menu and all of its gadgets are discussed in `Title Screen'. - If you want to reconfigure Diamond Caves read the chapter `Tooltypes'. By the way: The registrated version of Diamond Caves will come with a MUI-based Preferences program so no need to mess around with tooltypes if you register. - If you like the game, want to have more Levels or even like to create some of them yourself, read the part `How to register' because you won't get the Editor or new Levels without paying the shareware (it's worth it!). - If you have comments, ideas or found some kind of bug, feel free to tell me (see `How to contact the author'). But before asking stupid questions :-) read the chapter `Frequently asked questions'! - New version may be released in the future. Read about the planned features in `Plans for the future' and be sure to know `How to get updates'. - Do you think Diamond Caves is a bit slow on your Amiga? Then read `How can I improve game speed?' in the chapter `Frequently asked questions'. - And finally: If you are some kind of PD-distributer and want to sell Diamond Caves on Disk/CD-ROM or whatever, read the chapter `Copyright & Distribution'. That's about it, enjoy the game. 2. Requirements ================= This game is written in a OS-friendly way, so it may not be as fast as a common hardwarehack would be. The game requires: - Kick 2.0 - a 68020 - 1 MB chipmem - Commodore's Installer (can be found on your Workbench-Install-Disk) recommended for ultimate joy: - Kick 3.x - a 68030 - 2 MB chipmem (the maximum possible playfieldsize is 102x102 squares, this will need about 1.3 MB of chipmem !) If you wonder why I decided to base the game on OS-routines or why there is no 68000-version, read the `Frequently asked Questions'. 3. Installation =============== Diamond Caves comes with a ready-to-run installer-script for the Commodore Installer. Just click on the icon and follow the text in the window. Basically, the script will copy all files in a Directory, assign the name "DC:" to it and install some of the tooltypes. 4. Copyright & Distribution ============================= 4.1. COPYRIGHT -------------- Diamond Caves is copyrighted (C) 1994/95 by Peter Elzner. That means that you are NOT ALLOWED to modify the program(s) and documentation in any way. Especially you MUST NOT REMOVE the documentation or this text file. You are NOT allowed to use this software or any part of it for any other purpose than that one mentioned in this documentation, this also includes any images and samples. Diamond Caves is `SHAREWARE'! 4.2. DISTRIBUTION ----------------- This package is freely distributable. That means you are allowed to re-distribute this package as long as you follow these points: - Any re-distribution has to include all files in this archive, without any modifications. You are NOT allowed to add or remove any files to/from the archive. - This package may be freely distributed via BBSs, InterNet/UseNet, software libraries such as Fred Fish's and Aminet CD-ROM, and other similar electronic channels. You MUST NOT include it on any disk that is selled for more than 5 US Dollar (or an equivalent in other currencies). - Disk magazines and services that charge extra for file transfers may NOT distribute it without written permission by Peter Elzner! See `How to contact the author'. 4.3. DISCLAIMER --------------- By using this product, you accept the FULL responsibility for any damage or loss that might occur through its use or the inability to use it. The developer of the software can NOT be held responsible. 4.4. SHAREWARE -------------- This product is SHAREWARE. "Free distributable" only says that you do not have to pay for copying or re-distributing the unregistrated version of the program. You are allowed to test this product for 30 days. If you like it and decide to use the product regularly, please read the chapter `How to register' and pay the shareware fee. 5. Whats it all about? ======================= A short introduction to Diamond Caves. This game is based on the idea of Boulder Dash back on the good old C64. I added some new ideas (and some gfx/sfx) of Emerald Mine by Kingsoft and a bunch of my own ideas (and ideas of my friends, ...). The main goal is to collect enough Emeralds and reach the Exit in time. You may control the player by moving your Joystick in the appropriate direction. Pressing the button and moving the Stick causes the Player to stand still and collect the item in the given direction. P will Pause the game, ESC quits, the F-keys change the view-area: F1: Focus on Player 1 F2: Focus on Player 2 F3: Focus on both Players (note that you can't walk out of the visible area in this mode). If one of the Players is controlled by Keyboard, he may be moved using the cursor-keys, Space is the firebutton-equivalent. How many Emeralds you have to collect and how many seconds are left is visible at the bottom of the screen. All of the extras described below are shown one by one in the 25 Tutorial- Levels. 5.1. solid objects ------------------ There are many things in the game just "lying around", some are described seperately in `Things to collect'. - Rocks Well, a rock is a rock. Be sure not to rest below one of them, they might smash you! - Bombs Highly explosive! - Nuts They reveale an Emerald if smashed by a rock. Rocks, Bombs and Nuts can be moved! - Walls Six types of walls: - steel Walls - can't be destroyed - brick Walls - can be crushed using some kind of explosion (Bomb) - special brick Walls - will expand to the sides! - brick Walls containing Emeralds/Diamonds - use a Bomb or Dynamite to get them - magic Wall - once a Rock/Emerald/Diamond falls onto the magic wall, the wall starts spinning for a few seconds, changing everything that falls through - invisible Wall - looks like empty space but is very solid! Can be bombed away. - Doors There are two types of doors in the game: - Doors you need a key for (red, green, blue and yellow doors) Some doors are grey, so you don't know which kind of key you may need - Doors you can open/close using the blue switch - conveyor belt Can be turned on/off using the green switch. Things lying on the belt will move! - Quicksand Rocks may sink into the quicksand. - Exit a blue gate which starts flashing if you have enough Emeralds to enter. - Wheel if you spin the Wheel, the Robot (see `Enemys') will run towards the Wheel and not towards you. The Wheel only lasts for a few seconds. - Acidpool everything that falls into the Acid is gone forever! - Switches - the green Switch changes the direction of the conveyor belt - the blue switch open-/closes the switch-door - letters you may read or just ignor them :-) 5.2. Things to collect ---------------------- Of course just collecting Emeralds would be very easy (and very boring) so there are lots of other goodies to collect in the game: - two kinds of Emeralds called Emeralds (green) and Diamonds (blue). Diamonds count as three Emeralds. - Dynamite to blow walls and monsters away. Ignit the Dynamite by holding down your firebutton for a few seconds. Then run away! - A forcefield to protect you. Your player-sprite will fade to grey while in protected mode. You will hear a special sound to indicate the forcefield going down because it only lasts for a few seconds - Extratime that will be added to your time (bottom of screen). - Keys. There are four different types of keys (red, green, blue and yellow) which are needed for the four different doors. 5.3. Enemys ----------- You are not alone in the Diamond Caves! Here are the enemys you might encounter: - Bug: crawling on the right wall, the Bug can be changed into Emeralds if crushed by a rock - Spaceship always moves on the left wall - Robot This one follows you until he can kill you! Try spinning the Wheel to divert the Robot (see `solid objects') - Eater This brother of PacMan will eat Diamonds (the blue ones) and can be changed into various things (be surprised!) by shmashing him with a rock - the amoeba expands through air, earth and quicksand. Beware of the drops! Spaceships and Bugs won't survive contact with the amoeba. 6. Title Screen =============== There are several buttons in the title screen which can be accessed using the mouse in Port 1 or (if you already plugged in a Joystick) using either the cursor-keys and Space or the Joystick in Port 2. Quit: Guess what this one does. ~~~~~ Get Levels: Select a Leveldirectory. Each Dir may contain up to 99 Levels (25 ~~~~~~~~~~~ in the unregistrated version). If you opened the window by accident, you can quit without changing anything using the window's closegadget (top-left). One Player/Two Player: Change the number of Players. For even more players ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ read `Plans for the future'. Name: Select a name or enter a new one. The Number is your Handicap (your ~~~~~ highest possible Level). It gets updated every time you solve a Level and will be saved automatically. If you opened the window by accident, you can quit without changing anything using the window's closegadget (top-left). Level/Max: The current Level and your Handicap. ~~~~~~~~~~ Highscores: Display the Highscorelist for the selected Level. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Play game: Play the game. If you enter the Highscorelist, the list will be ~~~~~~~~~~ saved automatically. Record game: You can play the Level and every move will be recorded into a ~~~~~~~~~~~~ file (this is not possible in the unregistrated version). There will be different files for one- and two-player-mode. Replay game: If a record-file exists, you can watch it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ The big DC-Logo: Shows the About window containing some information. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7. Tooltypes ============ In the unregistrated Version you can configure Diamond Caves using tooltypes. Refer to your Workbench-Manual on how to edit tooltypes. The registrated version will include a MUI-based Preferences program. TOOLPRI=x: Change the priority of the DC-task. (Default: 0) GAMEPORTDEVICE=(ON|OFF): You may want to use the gameport.device instead of banging the hardware-registers directly. Using the gameport.device is slow but OS-friendly. (Default: OFF) PLAYER1=(JOY1|JOY2|KEYS): Specify the controlmethod for Player1. The three possibilitys are Joystick in Port 1 (JOY1), Joystick in Port 2 (JOY2) and the Keyboard (KEYS). (Default: JOY2) PLAYER2=(JOY1|JOY2|KEYS): Specify the controlmethod for Player2. The three possibilitys are Joystick in Port 1 (JOY1), Joystick in Port 2 (JOY2) and the Keyboard (KEYS). (Default: KEYS) TITLEMODE=(PAL|PAL-LACE|NTSC|NTSC-LACE): Specify the screenmode for the title screen. Note that the title screen was designed to be used within an interlaced mode so it may not fit entirely on a non-interlaced screen. The non-interlaced option is for users without a deinterlace-card. GAMEMODE=(PAL|PAL-LACE|NTSC|NTSC-LACE): Specify the screenmode for the game. Note that the game was designed to be used with a 1:1 pixel ratio. You should use the interlaced modes only if you have a big monitor (17"). The game automatically adjusts to your overscan-preferences (it uses the file "ENV:sys/Overscan.prefs"). JOYMOUSE2=(ON|OFF): I had one betatester reporting problems using the Joystick to move the mousepointer on a centered screen. If you encounter the same probs, set this tooltype to ON. (Default: OFF) STATUSTOP=(ON|OFF): Set this tooltype to on if you want to place the status-line (where your score etc gets displayed) on top of the game-screen instead of below. Very useful if you are playing in PAL-LACE! (See `The status-line sometimes is garbaged on interlaced-screenmodes. Why?') (Default: OFF) 8. History ========== V1.0 (02.04.1995) - first public release V1.1 (03.04.1995) - fixed small bug in quicksand-routine - optimized player-routine - added tooltype "JOYMOUSE2" - implemented introScreen-timeout (8 sec) - fixed game-level 23 (way too difficult - actually insoluble :-) V1.2 (06.04.1995) - finally fixed gameport.device - fixed small bug in 2-player-mode - more optimizations V1.3 (09.04.1995) - added tooltype "STATUSTOP" - fixed bug in game-level 25 9. Plans for the future ======================= There may be some minor updates in the meantime if some bugs appear, new extras and more players are features of V2.0. - Maybe sometime in the future I will release some tools to make it possible for you to include your own graphics and your own soundsamples. This will be for registrated users only. - Another thing I want to release is a program to join highscore-lists. This means that you and your friends can combine the highscores for each level. Plans for the next major update (V2.0): - serial link-up option featuring - 2 Players each with his own screen - 4 Players on 2 linked Amigas! - maybe even a competition-mode, either one-on-one or two-on-two - an AGA-version (32 colors) - new extras: - a canon (gun) to shoot the enemys - maybe teleporters 10. Frequently asked questions ============================== 10.1. Why do you use OS-routines? They are so slow! --------------------------------------------------- Q:Why do you use OS-routines? They are so slow! A:The reason for this is that about 1987 I bought the original Emerald Mine by Kingsoft (which inspired me to do Diamond Caves 7 years later). The problem with EM is, that it refuses to work under Kick2.0 and that it has some problems with 32bit-fast mem and fast processors. I didn't want to write a game that in a few years no one would be able to play because of crappy coding. OS-routines are not that slow, part of the lack of speed results in the fact that I tried to make everything as configurable as possible. Where most EM-clones use fixed values for screen- and playfield-size, my program adjusts to the Amiga it runs on and supports Level from 10x10 up to 100x100. Be sure to read `How can I improve game speed?'. 10.2. Why is there no 68000-version? ------------------------------------ Q:Why is there no 68000-version? A:I don't think anybody would be satisfied with a 68000-version of Diamond Caves because it is definitly slow. I've thought long and hard about this but I think there are enough 68020+ processors out there. And as time moves on, you can't always support 10-year old processors. If you really *really* want a 68000-version you might contact me. See `How to contact the author'. 10.3. Why can't I play new Levels? ---------------------------------- Q:My friend has the Diamond Caves Leveleditor but my unregistrated copy of Diamond Caves refuses to load the new levels. What am I doing wrong? A:The unregistrated version of Diamond Caves is not capable of loading other levels than the ones that came with the distribution. If you really want to play new Levels I think you are using (or want to use) the game on a regular basis, so please pay the shareware. 10.4. How can I improve game speed? ----------------------------------- Q:How can I improve the speed of the game? A:There are several things to make the game work faster: - use Kickstart 3.0 or 3.1 instead of Kick2.0. Some gfx-routines are up to 10 times faster in Kick3.x and under 3.x interleaved Bitmaps will be used, this improves blitting. * Upgrading to Kickstart3.0 will improve gamespeed the most * - don't use the gameport.device unless you have to, it's slower than directly accessing the hardware. - don't use screenmodes with a high framerate, the game was designed to run under 50/60Hz. Of course you can play DC under 73Hz (Euro36) or even more if you have a gfx-board. The game will become faster but the gfx might start flickering. - playing in Interlace is great if you have a 17" monitor but because I have to update 4 times the screensize than in non-Interlaced modes the game will be slower. - there are several system-patches to replace slow OS-routines by faster ones: - FastBlitPatch (improves blitting of gfx) - IPatch (replaces Interrupt-routines) - CopyMemQuicker (patches OS-MemCopy-routines) all these patches are done by Arthur Hagen (thanks Arthur !) and are available on AmiNet, Fish Disk and the other usual resources. Or ask me (while registrating) and I will copy them on your disk. They are freely distributable. 10.5. Why are some things different from the original Boulder Dash? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Q:I'm a big fan of the C64-game Boulder Dash, but in Diamond Caves some things are different. The amoeba won't change into Emeralds when surrounded by solid objects and Bugs (Butterflys in Boulder Dash) can't be killed by Emeralds. A:Actually, Diamond Caves is a(nother) clone of the first Amiga-clone "Emerald Mine" by Kingsoft from 1987 and not a direct version of Boulder Dash. I don't want to change the handling of things in the game in future version because this might confuse current users. 10.6. Why does it not work to promote Diamond Caves to another screenmode? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q:I want to promote Diamond Caves to another screenmode than PAL/NTSC but this seems to work only for the title-screen. Is there a way to play Diamond Caves e.g. on a 800x600 screen or on a gfx-board? A:Yes, this is possible. The registrated version of Diamond Caves supports a standard asl-ScreenMode-Requester, which allows you to select any screenmode capable of displaying 16 colors. The problem with Screenpromotor-utilities is the fact that the game-screen is not a normal Intuition-Screen but a custom ViewPort. It seems, that no screenpromotor supports patching ViewPorts. 10.7. The status-line sometimes is garbaged on interlaced-screenmodes. Why? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q:I'm playing in PAL-Interlace and sometimes while scrolling, the status gets trashed. What can I do to avoid this? A:This seems to be a bug in graphics' ScrollVPort()-routine (see technical description below). I implemented a workaround because this does not happen if I place the status-line above the game-screen instead of below. So if you have this problem, please set the tooltype "STATUSTOP" to "ON". Technical description: I'm using two ViewPorts (game-screen and status-line) and it seems that in PAL-mode the ScrollVPort()-routine has problems because the second ViewPort is below the magic-Copper-line (where the Copper jumps from line 255/1 to 0/2). Another proof for my theory is that this error does not occur in NTSC-LACE or if I place the status-line above the game-screen. 11. How to register =================== I spent a lot of work and one year of programming in Diamond Caves so I think it's only fair to demand a little reward if you, the user, want to use my program on a regular basis. 11.1. What do I get? ------------------- After paying the fee you will receive a keyfile and the latest version of Diamond Caves. Furthermore the registrated version includes: - the Diamond Caves Leveleditor. Take a look at the Preview-picture! The Editor is based on MUI but you do *not* have to be a registered user of MUI to use the Editor. The Dimamond Caves Editor works 100% even with the unregistrated version of MUI. MUI is (C) Stefan Stuntz and it's available on AmiNet and on several PD-Collections. - you will now be able to use up to 99 Levels per Leveldirectory - you will be able to record your Levels and watch them later or show them to your friends. - you will get a bunch of new Levels. The unregistrated version is not capable of loading Levels other than the included ones. - you will get a Preferences-program (based on MUI) which allows confortable configuration of the Game and the Editor. No need to mess around with tooltypes any more. 11.2. What and how do I have to pay? ----------------------------------- If you want to register, please fill out the `Registration-form'. There are two ways to pay the money and one special offer: Cash: ~~~~~ If you want to pay in cash, the Shareware fee is 30 DM (German-Marks) or 20 $ (US-Dollars) or 15 £ (Britisch-Pounds) other currencies can not be accepted. Cheques: ~~~~~~~~ 1) If you live INSIDE of Germany, you may send me a cheque for the amount given above. 2) If you live OUTSIDE of Germany it will cost a high fee for me to accept cheques, so I have to charge you extra: 50 DM (German-Marks) or 32 $ (Us-Dollars) or 23 £ (Britisch-Pounds) Eurocheques: I have asked at my local bank and they said that a Eurocheque costs up to 25 DM fee (!!) and I'm sure you agree with me that this is way too high! Special Offer: I am collecting Superman Comicbooks (DC-Comics USA), so if ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ you want to give away some of them, you may contact me (see `How to contact the author') to find out which numbers I need. Don't send them right away! 12. How to get updates ====================== Updates and new Levels will be published through AmiNet (international) and FRAS (Germany). Announcments of new versions will be made in "comp.sys.amiga.games", "/Z-NETZ/RECHNER/AMIGA/SPIELE" and "/FRAS/TEXT/BESCHREIBUNGEN". If you don't have access to either of these possibilitys, you can send a letter to me (see `How to contact the author'), including - an empty disk - an international reply-coupon (available from your local post office) or the amount of 3 DM or 2$ (inside Europe) or 3$ (ouside Europe) in cash. You will then get the latest version of Diamond Caves, (if you've already registered, the latest version of the Editor as well) and all the new levels I created so far. Note that you will need the registrated version of Diamond Caves to play other levels than the 25 Game-levels and the 25 Tutorial-levels. ATTENTION: Orders without disk and/or p&p-money can't be fulfilled! ~~~~~~~~~~ 13. How to contact the author ============================= If you have any comments, new ideas or found any bugs, feel free to write. My Address: Peter Elzner Grudene 6a D-58644 Iserlohn Germany E-Mail: Hawk@blanker.ruhr.de If you have the Diamond Caves Editor you may also send new Levels to me (on disk or via E-Mail), I will release them on AmiNet. 14. Registration-form ===================== Please fill this out if you want to register to Diamond Caves. This text is also available as the single file "Registration.txt". -=============================================================================- To: Peter Elzner Grudene 6a D-58644 Iserlohn Germany YES, I want to register to Diamond Caves. I have enclosed the shareware-fee as (please tick) O Cash (30 DM or 20 US$ or 15 £) O Cheque (INSIDE Germany - same as Cash) O Cheque (OUTSIDE Germany - 50 DM or 32 US$ or 23 £) You MUST fill in the following four lines! Please use capital letters. Name: ______________________________________ Street: ______________________________________ PC,City: ______________________________________ Country: ______________________________________ The latest version of Diamond Caves, my keyfile and the Diamond Caves Editor will be send to the above address. This is optional: Phone Number : _______________________________________ E-Mail : _____________________________________________ type of Amiga: _______________________________________ Kickstartversion : ___________________________________ type of Processor : __________________________________ how do you like Diamond Caves (please tick)? average | very good-1 2 3 4 5 6-very poor graphics O O O O O O sound O O O O O O fun O O O O O O total rating O O O O O O would you like to see an AGA-version of Diamond Caves in the future? O Yes, please. O No, don't waste your time. O don't care. Comments, suggestions, new ideas, bugs, ... : ______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ -=============================================================================-