Name:Roger Buckley
Address:40 Upper Valley Road
Sheffield S8 9HB

email rogerbu@callnetuk.com

Tel: 0114-2585835

Game:  Interstellar Intrigue 
Language: AmosPro

This is a strategy game for 2 to 5 players written using Amos Pro(AF Coverdisc) & PPaint. 
The game was originally published by C&VG magazine as a type-in game in one of their
Xmas annuals and designed to run on a 16k Spectrum.

I have included a number of Saved Games from various stages of the game. These can only
be loaded at the start but you can Save a game at any time. The winner is the only player
with any planets left under his control.

Each action uses up a movement point and each planet won gives you a point. Using the
cursor keys to navigate, stop on a planet or fleet of your colour and then you can press
either m,f,r,e,c or s. Pressing e will end your turn and play moves to the next player. s will
bring up the requester to save the game, and you will then continue as normal.c will cancel
the m,f or r instructions and enable you to select another fleet/planet. 

m - Moving.
From any planet belonging to you, select the direction using the arrow keys and providing there
is a space there, a new fleet will be created. Fleets move in the same manner.

f - Firing
Firing at another fleet can be done by pressing f. A fleet can only fire the direction you are 
pointing and at the side or back of another fleet but a planet can fire in any direction (use
arrow keys).. Be careful as even if it is your own fleet, it willbe destroyed. 
You cannot fire at or destroy, planets.

r - Rotation.
Revolve either 90 or 180 degrees by pressing r followed by the arrow key for the direction
which you wish to point. 

All white planets & Fleets are neutral but will change to your colours when approached from
the back or the side. If more than one fleet points at the target then then the target changes
to the colour of the player with the greater number of fleets pointing at it, if the numbers
are the same the target will turn white(neutral).
 
Ownership.
If no fleets are attacking, ownership of the fleet or star is unchanged.
If only neutral fleets attcking then, target becomes neutral.
If each attacking player has equal number of fleets attacking, target becomes neutral.
If any player has more fleets attcking than any other player the star/fleet becomes his.

Each move a player makes involves a potential change of ownership of surrounding fleets and stars.
In certain situations, chain reactions can occur.If say five fleets are in line and the one
at the end changes ownership then all the rest will also change immediately..
Before making a move you would to well to try to calculate the effect that your move may have.

The main problem with the conversion was the use of the Over command to replace colours etc.
i got round this by using sets of bobs for each colour. This made the formula to calculate the bob
much simpler. I also put in a blanker routine, gamesave & load and fixed a couple of errors in the
original program. I usually like to use computer controlled players in my games but I fear the
complexity of the algorithms needed for this game are beyond my capabilities unless I utilise a
really dumb robot who just uses the first available move and I think that would spoil the game.

The game will boot from floppy or hard drive and should run on any Amiga capable
of running Amos. Click runisi to play.

Hardware:-
Amiga 1200 with Viper Mk 5 68030/50mhz Accel with 8mb Fastram
Internal 410MB Hard Drive
Midi tower with 800MB Quantum SCSI Hard Drive & 4xCDRom + external FD
Typhoon 56k Modem & Power Port Junior Fast Serial IF
Phillips Colour Monitor & Screenbeat3 Speakers
Citizen Swift 200 Colour Printer

Credits
Mike Singleton, Original Game Design & Steve Willis for BBC conversion.
Malcolm Lavery, 3D Text routine.
Garfield & Scoota for assistance with Load/Save routines.

In respect of all material which forms my reader contribution to Future Publishing's Amiga Format I hereby warrant
that:-

(1) the material is original and does not infringe any other material or rights;
(2) the material does not contain any material which is defamatory, obscene or indecent and is exempt from
classification under the Video Recordings Act 1984;
(3) that there are no legal claims against the material provided;
(4) that I have full power and authority to provide this material to Future Publishing.


Roger Buckley