CRAWLER! Version 3.0 Copyright (c) 1994, Moonlight Entertainment All rights reserved COPYRIGHT COPYRIGHT 1994, Moonlight Entertainment. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form, by any means, without the written permission of Moonlight Entertainment. ObjectWindows routines used in Crawler! are copyrighted by Borland International. TRADEMARK IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. Sound Blaster is a registered trademark of Creative Technology Ltd. Crawler! is a trademark of Moonlight Entertainment. LIMITED WARRANTY Crawler is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Moonlight Entertainment warrants to the original purchaser of Crawler! that the diskette will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for ninety days from the date of purchase. LICENSE This is an unregistered version of Crawler! and may therefore be used for evaluation purposes only. You are free to distribute (at no cost) this unregistered version in its entirety to other users and BBS's. Keep in mind that this is an unregistered version. You are welcome to try the game out at your own leisure. If you like Crawler!, you should complete the registration form (REGISTER.DOC) and send it along with payment to Moonlight Entertainment. Crawler! User Manual Page 1 CRAWLER! Protect your children, round up your pets, lock your doors, and for goodness sake... hide your plants! Crawler! is here! Never has the world been in such danger! Screams can be heard from around the neighborhood: "Arrghh! My plants have been destroyed!" "What the hell is THAT?" "Those no-good Crawlers!" "They're so cute!" Not until the arrival of Crawler! has yard-keeping been so tough... so frustrating... so... humiliating! Yard work will never be the same! Overview You are one of the many no-good, plant-eating, insect-like creatures that have recently invaded neighborhoods around the world. You thrive on plants and drive humans crazy by destroying their yards. Conquer one yard at a time by eating all of the owners' valuable plants. If you're one of the most agile crawlers around, you'll be able to take over the entire neighborhood. TAKING A LOOK AROUND Before we get into any game details, there are three portions of the screen that you must become familiar with. The large brown window at the top of the game screen is known as the yard. This is easy to identify as it is the largest window on the screen. Just below the yard, you will notice a long rectangular window. This is the time bar. Below the time bar you will notice six small rectangular windows. These windows collectively make up the status area. The Yard The yard is the large brown portion of the screen where the actual game takes place. Crawlers remain in this area throughout game play and must be careful to avoid hitting the boundaries. It is here where crawlers roam, various plants grow, and where many life-threatening obstacles are encountered. Time Bar Located just below the yard is a long rectangular window known as the time bar. The time bar displays the amount of time a crawler has to eat a Red Gernatium (see section on game objects). Should a crawler fail to eat a Red Gernatium before the time bar expires, three additional gernatiums will grow in the play area, thus adding to the total amount of plants that a crawler must eat in order to clear the current yard. For every Red Gernatium that a crawler eats, the time bar is reset. Crawler! User Manual Page 2 Status Area The status area is comprised of six small rectangular windows at the bottom of the screen. Each of these six windows provides some information about the current player and current game. Information in the status area includes the number of plants left, number of plants eaten, player's name, player's score, the current yard, and the amount of crawlers left. Plants Left The number shown here indicates the amount of Red Gernatiums that must be eaten before a crawler can move onto the next yard. Once a crawler has eaten all Red Gernatiums, a hole will appear in the yard through which a crawler can escape. If a crawler fails to eat a Red Gernatium before the time bar expires, three additional gernatiums will be displayed, thus adding to the number of plants that must be eaten in order to conquer the yard. Plants Eaten This figure shows the number of Red Gernatiums that a crawler has eaten since the start of the current yard, or the start of its current life. Crawlers Left This figure indicates the amount of crawlers a player has left before the game ends. Extra crawlers can be obtained by freeing genies that are trapped in bottles. Player Name This is the name of the person currently playing the game. Player Score This is the score of the person currently playing the game. Yard This figure indicates the yard a crawler is currently destroying. Game Objects In order to be a true competitor, you need to understand what objects a crawler can eat, and what objects a crawler must avoid. There are many different objects in the game of Crawler!. Among these objects are crawlers, Red Gernatiums, Blue Caramacas, bottles, poison, scissors, blocks, rocks, and escape holes. Crawler! User Manual Page 3 Crawler The green segmented insect that you will be controlling throughout the game is known as a crawler. This creature is made up of two types of body parts: a head and body segments. The crawler's head is its only weak spot. It is very sensitive, and any hit to the head could prove to be fatal. The rest of a crawler's body consists of a number of segments. These segments are virtually indestructible as they have a very thick coating. A crawler is seldom harmed by any attack made on its body segments. Red Gernatium The red flowers, or Red Gernatiums, are crawlers' staple food. To conquer a yard, a crawler must eat a certain amount of Red Gernatiums. The actual number of gernatiums that a crawler must eat depends on the experience level selected. Nevertheless, the number of Red Gernatiums that must be eaten is shown in the "Plants Left" display window. At least one of these red flowers should be eaten before the time bar expires. If the time bar expires, three additional Red Gernatiums will be displayed on the screen, adding to the amount of flowers a crawler has to eat before conquering the yard. When a Red Gernatium is eaten, a new one appears and the time bar is reset. When all Red Gernatiums have been eaten, an escape hole will appear somewhere in the yard. Locate this hole and maneuver crawler to the hole in order to go on to the next yard. Blue Caramaca A favorite food item of a crawler is the "Blue Caramaca", a flower whose origin is traced back to Northern Africa. According to researchers, it is by far the most tastiest of plants (and yields the greatest amount of bonus points!). Blue Caramacas grow randomly in yards, but do not have to be eaten in order to clear a yard. They are simply plants that allow crawlers to earn bonus points while satisfying their healthy eating habits. Bottle Once in a while, you will notice a small bottle in the yard. If a crawler mistakens a bottle for a plant and accidentally eats it, a genie is released. Happy to be free after years of imprisonment, the genie shows its gratitude by granting Crawler an extra life! (Hey, don't be greedy... it's better than nothing!) Poison Watch what you eat! Humans are not very fond of what they consider to be "pesty plant-eating insects." They'll do almost anything to keep their plants from being destroyed. Since the arrival of Crawler!, people have reported major damage to gardens all over the country. Now they are desperately trying to fight back by spreading Crawler-killing poison in their yards. This chemical is known to be very effective, and crawlers seldom survive. Crawler! User Manual Page 4 Scissors Ouch! Scissors is one of the few objects that can injure a crawler. If a crawler runs into a pair of scissors, the tail portion of its body is dismembered, thus shortening a crawler's body length. Although this can be very painful for a crawler, it can be used effectively as a survival measure. Block Blocks will be found throughout the yard in various locations and must be avoided at all costs. Should a crawler happen to run into a block, it will die of severe head injuries! Rock Look out! When rocks exist, they pose a great threat! Bouncing off any object in its path, a rock makes a crawler's life miserable. A crawler can be killed by a rock if the rock hits the crawler's head. This is the only point of vulnerability for the crawler, as any hit to a body segment will do no harm. If a crawler can keep rocks from hitting its head, it should have no problems crawling through the yard. Escape Hole Finally! An exit to the next yard! When a crawler has eaten all of the Red Gernatiums, an escape hole will appear somewhere in the yard. If a crawler can locate this hole, it can tunnel through to the next yard. If a crawler exits the current yard without dying, it will receive survival bonus points as well as a bonus for conquering the yard. Otherwise, a crawler will only receive a bonus for conquering the yard. Point System Certain game objects have point values associated with them. The following table lists these objects along with their point values and side effects. Item Points Side Effects Red Gernatium 100 Growth Scissors 100 Severed body segments Bottle 200 Frees genie who grants an extra life. Blue Caramaca 300 Growth Yard Bonus 1000 No effect Survival Bonus 2000 No effect Crawler! User Manual Page 5 PLAYING THE GAME Object of the Game Your job, as a fellow crawler, is to take over the entire neighborhood. In order to do so, you must destroy each and every yard in the vicinity. Do not underestimate the challenge however, as destroying a single yard is a difficult task in itself. To destroy a single yard, you must eat all of the Red Gernatiums that grow there. You must rely on skill, quick thinking, and of course, luck. Crawlers are known to be a great big pain in the... yard, so don't disappoint the rest of us crawler-maniacs. As a crawler, you have a job to do and a reputation to protect, so get out there and do some damage! Controls In Crawler!, you don't have to worry about having to memorize a whole book of commands or controls. There are only two commands in the game: turn clockwise, and turn counter-clockwise. These commands can be executed using either the mouse or the keyboard. Mouse Controls If you are using a mouse, pressing the left button will turn Crawler in the counter-clockwise direction. Pressing the right mouse button will cause Crawler to turn clockwise. After pressing either of these buttons, Crawler will turn in the specified direction and begin to move in the new direction until commanded to do otherwise. Please note that moving the mouse cursor (the arrow) over the menu bar during game play activates the pull-down menus which in turn hides portions of the screen. To prevent this from happening, try to keep the mouse cursor away from the top portion of the screen. If you are having problems holding the mouse steady, we suggest you use the keyboard controls instead. Keyboard Controls If you are using the keyboard, pressing the key will turn Crawler in the counter-clockwise direction. Pressing the <;> key will turn Crawler clockwise. After pressing either of these keys, Crawler will turn in the specified direction and begin to move in the new direction until commanded to do otherwise. Please note that we use the terms clockwise and counter-clockwise instead of left and right. The reason for this is that pressing the left button does not necessarily mean that it will turn a crawler to your left. For example, if a crawler is moving downward, pressing the left button will actually turn the crawler to your right (counter-clockwise, or in other words, the crawler's left). At first these controls will seem to be awkward (just as it was when you first used a mouse), but with practice, you'll realize how easy and convenient these controls can be. Crawler! User Manual Page 6 Exiting the Game To exit Crawler! click the "File" menu item and select "Exit" from the list. A dialog box will be displayed on the screen asking if you are sure you want to quit. Click the "OK" button to exit, or click the "Cancel" button to return to the game. MENU ITEMS There are three items displayed on the menu bar: File, Options, and Help. File Menu The File menu has three items to choose from: New Game, Hall of Fame, and Exit. New Game As you probably guessed, the "New Game" menu item initiates a new game. When this menu item is selected, a dialog box is displayed on the screen with one or more text boxes. Each player must type his or her name in these text boxes. If the amount of text boxes does not match the actual amount of players, click the "Cancel" button and select the correct number of players from the Options menu (see section on Options menu). After you have selected the appropriate number of players, select "New Game" once again from the File menu. When all player names have been successfully entered, click the "OK" button to start the game. If "New Game" is selected while a game is already in progress, a dialog box will appear asking you if you would like to quit the current game. If you want to quit the current game, click the "OK" button. Otherwise, click "Cancel" and the current game will be resumed. Hall of Fame This menu item displays the crawlers with the best records. The Hall of Fame is divided into three groups: Beginner, Average, and Over-Confident. Within each of these groups, crawlers are ranked by the number of rocks that were in existence during their games. The top-ranked crawler in each group is the crawler who managed to conquer the most yards while two rocks were in existence. The second-ranked crawler of each group is the crawler who conquered the most yards while only one rock was in existence. Likewise, the third-ranked crawler conquered the most yards with no rocks in existence. Crawler! User Manual Page 7 Exit To exit Crawler! click the "File" menu and select "Exit" from the list of menu items. A dialog box will be displayed on the screen asking if you are sure you want to quit. Click the "OK" button to exit, or click the "Cancel" button to return to the game. Options Menu Crawler! was designed so that everyone, no matter what experience level, can compete and enjoy the game. There are four sets of options for Crawler!: Number of Rocks, Number of Players, Experience Level, and Sound. There is also an item labeled "Save Configuration..." which allows a user to save the current settings. These options are explained below in further detail. Number of Rocks This option sets the number of rocks that will exist during a game*. There are three options here: No rocks, one rock, or two rocks. Because rocks continually move and bounce off objects during game play, a crawler's chance of survival is lessened with each additional rock. If you're a beginner, we suggest that you start off with one rock or no rocks at all. To select the number of rocks most appropriate to your skill level, simply click the diamond-shaped button to the left of the option you wish to select. Click "OK" to accept the number of rocks or click "Cancel" to discard the change. Number of Players This option sets the number of players that will be playing the game*. Crawler! supports anywhere from one to four players. To select the desired number of players, simply click the diamond-shaped button to the left of the number of players you wish to select. Click "OK" to accept the number of players or click "Cancel" to discard the change. Experience Level This option sets the game difficulty*. There are three different experience levels: Beginner, Average, and Over-Confident. Each option defines game parameters in an attempt to match a player's skill level with game complexity. To select the experience level most appropriate for you, click the diamond-shaped button to the left of the experience level you wish to select. Click "OK" to accept the experience level or click "Cancel" to discard the change. Sound This menu option toggles the game sounds on and off. If there is a check mark to the left of this menu item, then sound is enabled. Otherwise sound is dis- abled. To toggle between the two states, simply click the Sound menu item in the Options menu. Crawler! User Manual Page 8 Save Configuration This menu item saves the settings that are currently selected in the Options menu. This will relieve the user of re-configuring game options each time Crawler! is run (see note below). * Please note that changes to the first three options in the "Options" menu (Number of Rocks, Number of Players, and Experience Level) do not take effect until the "New Game" option (in the File menu) is selected. This prevents new options from taking effect during a game that is already in progress. In other words, changes to these three options do not affect a game that is already in progress. Help Menu Crawler! has an online-help feature which is basically a copy of this user manual. To use this feature simply click the "Help" menu option and search through its contents as you would a normal Windows application. TROUBLE SHOOTING Problem : File Write Error. Cannot Write to file FAME.CRA Solution : Check available disk space. Drive may not have enough disk space. Problem : File Open Error. Yard Data File Missing. Solution : Re-install Crawler!. Program cannot locate data file. Problem : Please fill in each player name or press the Cancel Button. Solution : Each text box in the player name entry dialog box must be filled. Enter in a name for each player. If this is too many players, click the Cancel button and select the appropriate number of players from the Options menu. See Options Menu topic in this document for details. Problem : Unable to enter player name. Solution : Focus may be on the OK button or Cancel button. Click the mouse cursor on the text box, or hit the key until you see a blinking cursor in the text box. Problem : Cannot find BWCC.DLL. Solution : BWCC.DLL must be placed in the Windows directory. If Windows is not in the \WINDOWS directory, copy BWCC.DLL from \WINDOWS directory to the directory in which Windows is installed. If Windows is in- stalled in the \WINDOWS directory, make sure that \WINDOWS is in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file's PATH statement. If you encounter any problems that you are unable to solve, please contact Moonlight Entertainment at the number listed at the bottom of this document. Crawler! User Manual Page 8 CREDITS Programmer : Derrick Ribilla Artwork : Marlo Mukai, Derrick Ribilla Yard Designs : Davy Miura Beta Testers : Horatio Chan, Charles Kitsuki, Daniel Lee, Davy Miura, Tomoo Okagawa, Jordon Wong, Randall Wong Moonlight Entertainment would like to thank the following people: Randy Arnold, B.N.T.H., Horatio Chan, Romeo Eleno, Kevin Kitabayashi, Charles Kitsuki, Rita Littlejohn, Davy Miura, Elsonne Miyashiro, Cheryl Morita, Marlo Mukai, Kristen Ribilla, Radford Sam Fong, Kia'aina Schubert, Steven Souder, Lori Takamoto, Rhude Thompson, UH Hilo Professors, Nadine Vilarima, Richard Weis, Bruce White, Jordon Wong, Randall Wong Additional Acknowledgments: University of Hawaii at Hilo Long Distance/USA - Sprint Moonlight Entertainment P.O. Box 29254 Honolulu HI 96820 (808)284-3950