@database Skimmers @master Skimmers.Guide @$VER: Skimmers 0.87ß (01.05.97) @author "Alvaro" @(c) "©1997" @index MAIN @remark Created with Heddley v1.1 (c) Edd Dumbill 1994 @node "MAIN" "Skimmers 0.87ß" @{b}@{fg highlight}__________________________________________@{ub}@{fg text} Skimmers 0.87ß @{b}@{fg highlight}__________________________________________@{ub}@{fg text} ©1997 Team Mango - @{"  Disclaimer  " link "disclaimer" 0} Copyright etc. - @{" Requirements " link "req" 0} What you need - @{" Installation " link "install" 0} How to install - @{"  Setting Up  " link "setup" 0} Keys etc. - @{" Introduction " link "intro" 0} A little intro - @{"   Game Aim   " link "aim" 0} What you need to do - @{"  Playing it  " link "playing" 0} How to play Skimmers - @{"   History    " link "history" 0} A long time ago... - @{" Thanks to... " link "thanks" 0} Him, him, her - @{" Author's Bit " link "author" 0} About us - @{"  Publishers  " link "publishers" 0} We need one! - @{"    Future    " link "future" 0} What we'll do! @endnode @node "disclaimer" "Disclaimer" @{i}- Disclaimer -@{ui} Skimmers has been designed and developed by Team Mango, therefore Skimmers is Copyright ©1997 Team Mango. All Rights Reserved. You may spread this demo around, but this is the last one. No more demos will be released, and any later than this are declared pirate copies. Please buy the full game. Skimmer is due for release release between August and September 1997 AmigaGuide® is Copyright Someone or another. @endnode @node "req" "System Requirements" @{i}- Requirements -@{ui} Skimmers has been designed to work on AGA Amigas. This means that OCS/ECS machines will be unable to run Skimmers. In Short, this is what Skimmers needs: - AGA Chipset - Hard Drive - 2MB Chip Ram - 2MB Fast Ram (Well, maybe 1MB) - Setpatch running Read the 'ReadMeNow.txt' for more info on bugs and other requirements. @endnode @node "install" "Installation" @{i}- Installation -@{ui} No need to! All you have to do is extract all the files from the Skimmers.lha and copy the Skimmers drawer over to your desired destination. NOTE: Click on the 'Setup' option once you have extracted all the files. This determines the path of Skimmers, and can then be used in the reboot option. @endnode @node "setup" "Setting Up" You may change your key configuration and your control method. This is done through the 'Options' menu. You can set up most keys. Press return when the key you want to show is displayed. Then press the new key you want defined. Two player options have no effect on the game, as two player is not included! Only two music modules are included in this demo version. Sound effects are not yet available, either. You really should buy the full game. @endnode @node "intro" "Intrduction" @{i}- Storyline -@{ui} The year - 2630 AD. Civilisation as we know it has been downtrodden by wars and violent outbursts of cosmic storms. The Earth has been destroyed as a result of man's neglegance. The few hundred that have escaped have formed small colonies on whatever they could find floating around in the infinite void that is space. On a small red planet - Kinesus IV, dwell four violent gangs of boy racers that want to fight for territory on their small planet. You must step into the shoes of the leader of one of these four gangs, and become the ruler of the planet by conquering the other gangs. The planet is represented by a map of 7 by 7 squares. These squares are the territories which you need to take to become ther ruler of the planet. The racers have decided to keep their passtime alive and thus to take a territory, the gangs must race against any other gangs that wish to try to stop them. All gangs get the chance to decide whether or not to join a battle. If one of the challenging gangs win, the territory is not taken. If the attacking gang wins, they get the territory. But in these days of all-out war, the racers are no longer satisfied by winning a race. A race is won by the gang with the most Blood Points in their blood bank. Blood Points are awarded for each lap completed and also for damaging opponent's Skimmers. If you strike the final blow on an oppenent's Skimmer, many points are awarded. NOTE: In this demo version, you may only use on of the gangs. This is the Green gang, which start in the top left of the map, in the desert zone. NOTE: Gangs will have names in the full game. NOTE: Storyline is prone to changes. @endnode @node "aim" "Aim of the game" @{i}- Aim -@{ui} The objective of the game is to become ruler of Kinesus IV by conquering all the other gangs. The whole objective of a battle is to race around the course and kill the opponents. depending on the amount of laps and kills you do, you will receive blood points which will determine the outcome of the combat. NOTE: Because this is only a demo version, you are only able to play one race track in each zone. NOTE: Only one (or two if the GFX are done before the release) of the Skimmers are available in this demo. Your gang's skimmer is different from the others. @endnode @node "playing" "Playing" @{i}- Playing The Game -@{ui} O N E P L A Y E R ------------------ MAP MODE On first starting a game, you will be presented with a top-down map of Kinesus IV. This is where all the tactical parts of Skimmers are played On your first go, you will be displayed a requester telling you your gang's name, colour and starting position. The starting position is the coloured square of the map corresponding to your gang's colour. The idea is to take new territories on the map. You may move to a new territory by clicking on a square of the map. You may only move to a new territory if it is adjoining one of your already acquired territories. The pointer will cange into an arrow if you can move to a new territory. Click the left mouse button to confirm your move. After moving to a new territory, the three computer-controlled gangs will each have the choice in challenging you in taking the new territory. If you are challenged, you are told by means of a requester. If you are not challenged, you get the territory and play passes to the next player in a clockwise direction. If you are challenged to a territory, you will be taken straight to an arena for battle. The challenging gangs will be on the track with you. Depending on who challenged, you may only be up against one other Skimmer. But then again, you may be put up against all of the other three gangs. Not nice. After the race, the winner will be shown on screen. If you won, the new territory is yours, otherwise play continues. NOTE: If a challenger wins a battle, they DO NOT obtain the new territory. Challenging is merely a way of stopping other gangs from ruining your plans. If a gang challenges, there is less of a chance that the challenged gang will win. When a computer-controlled gang makes a move, you will be given the same chance to challenge them, if you see the taking of the flashing territory a threat to your own plans. If you challenge, you will be whisked away to the game mode, where a battle will be played. If you or another challenging gang wins, they will take the territory. If the challenged gang wins, they will get their new territory. The game will end when either: a) All of your territories have been captured - i.e. you can't move. b) You take all the other gang's territories. You have won. GAME MODE After the three lights have come on and the countdown is finished, the game is all to play for. The timer is set to two minutes, a perfect length for a battle, and the battle is started. The panel at the bottom of your screen shows (from left to right): * Your energy (green-red bar). * Number of rockets on your Skimmer. * The timer. * Amount of machine-gun ammo left on your Skimmer. * The four blood banks. These are indications of points held by the individual gangs, with their points shown as an ascending red bar. To win a game, you need to amass blood points. Points are awarded as follows: * A point for every 10 hits on an enemy Skimmer. * 5 points on completion of a lap. * 10 points for taking the last shot on a Skimmer, bringing it down. * A point for every 5 points of energy left at the end of the battle. You lose energy in the following ways: * -3 points for hitting a wall. * -2 points for collision with another Skimmer. * -1 points for every 10 hits from a machine gun sustained. Use the defined contol keys to move your skimmer and fire. The default settings are as follows, but we recommend you find a comfortable setting which you are happy with: Forward: Cursor up. Reverse: Cursor down. Rotate anti-clockwise: Left cursor. Rotate clockwise: Right cursor. Fire machine gun: Right Shift. Fire rocket: Right Amiga. Fire guided missile: Right Alt. Other controls are: Camera follows next Skimmer: + Camera follows last Skimmer: - Pause game: Help Continue game: Del Quit battle: Esc NB: you atomatically lose the battle Each battle is played for 2 minutes. You should aim to shoot down the enemy skimmers, whilst avoiding the walls. It is important that you should complete laps, as this will keep you up with the other gangs' blood points. At the end of these two minutes, bonus points will be added based upon the amount of energy that each gang has left. Play will then return to the map, and you will be informed whether the challenger managed to take the territory. It may take a while to get used to the control system, and handling the collisions and speed used by the game. It is extremely rewarding to keep practicing at the driving side of things, as if you start to crash into walls, there'll be less to add on at the end of the battle. If you concentrate on the driving, and take shots only when they are easily available (like you're right behind the enemy) it will make it easier for you to score points. Later on, you'll become better at driving the crafts, and you'll be able to pull off all sorts of crafty shots on other Skimmers. Practice will reward you with constant wins. T W O P L A Y E R ------------------ NOT IMPLEMENTED YET @endnode @node "history" "History" @{i}- History -@{ui} v0.7 - Original Public release. Don't ever play this again. Ow! v0.75 to v0.8 - Major improvements. Playability sorted out, firing implementend, Bugs fixed, title screen added, one intro anim added Bar introduced. v0.8ß - First Beta release v0.85 - Fixed quite a load of things, and updated the game itself. v0.87 - This release. The crashing bug has now been fixed!!! YES!! Missiles partly implemented (more or less) @endnode @node "thanks" "Hi and Thanks to..." Team Mango would like to say Hi and thanks to: - Coloured Pixels - Unlimited Design - Scorpius Software - Bodhi Politic - Steve Moore - Our families - All our Beta testers - Everyone who have sent us comments And the personal ones: @{"Gareth" link "gareth" 0} @{"Alvaro" link "alvaro" 0} @{" Adam " link "adam" 0} @{" Pete " link "mrhardy" 0} @endnode @node "gareth" "Gareth's Bit" It's me. EVERBODY LOOK AT ME!!! Fist of all, special thanks from me go to everybody who supported me whilst I was programming Skimmers. I couldn't have finished the project without all the encouragement I received from the following: Garfield Benjamin David Howe My parents, My Nans & Grandads, Aunties and Uncles and the rest of my family. And now the hellos: =================== First the guyz: --------------- Hi to: Stephen Harvey - When you come around. Andrew George - Yo, man! James Stewart - Nice PC! Chris Cook - 'Till ya disappear again. Paul Jenkins - Wish u were here? James George - U ate all d pies! And: Lee Bennett, Ben Bignell, Jamie Parr, (From Beaper: James, Oxford Bloke, Ben and co.), Michael Blake (rUde B0y or whatever.) Richard Mould, Mike Humber, Dan Bignell, Wayne Ettritch. And all those I've forgotten. Now the babes: -------------- Hi to Carley Payne - Wherya gone, babe? And: Emma Adams, Emma Payne, Victoria McCartney, Janine Nuttall, Hayley and Janine Watson, Helen Seaward, Anna Hambley. I wish I could remember all the others from Beaper. Hmmmmm. On the IRC: worms (Andy Davidson: get that patch done!) ----------- tecno platon42 Walrus fingers manatee jpw turtle lettuce - sorry gal. #amiga's too serious - join #worms for Amigas AND fun! WHATEVER channel you use, don't use #amigaze on liberator.del.net 6667 because it's Alvaro's channel. No fun, no joins and a load of crap. And now, thanks to all these artists who's music and lyrics kept me going: Offspring, Green Day, Alanis Morissette and Oasis Without you I couldn't drain out Biro's voice. You kept me from drowning... @endnode @node "alvaro" "Alvaro's Bit" I'd like to thank: - My mum - All my friends at Ryde High School, which include: Leige L, John R, John A, Jon H, Matt B, Greg H, Terry W, Sam F, Louisa B, Gemma F, Jemma B, Richard C, Ricky W, Andrew S, Michael W, Michelle A, Martin L, and all the ther people I've forgotten about! - Everyone on #amiga, which include: RCom, Bevin, tecno, alze, Walrus, SimD, RMerlin, Z3, Quatro, Slicky, Darwin, CStar, homerman, and the rest of the gang! Try joining #amigaze on liberator.dal.net 6667 - It's my channel! @endnode @node "adam" "adam" Hi to Kirsty Fletcher (She`s a babe!) Hello to Dan, Don, Fatboy, Chris, Pete, alBiro, Paul, Adam C., Stuart, Mark, Jason, Holly, Little Michael Blake, Julie, Andrew Squibby (Acorn User) Claire, Tim, Wil, Mark F., Mark O., Penny, Sarah, Ben, Jamie Parr (Not!), Fat Bri, Michael H., Thats about all I can think of........ Hi to my family... @endnode @node "mrhardy" "mrhardy" Well it's my turn to say something so I'd better...thanks to everyone whom I know particularly those in the following catagories :- - Single male Gareth, Adam, Albiro, Michael J, Sam B ( got a cool car) Matt B, Jabba 'The Hut' (James) Dom M, All others that I can't remember... - Single Female Kerry.W /6/, Holly.S /7/, Beth.C /8/, Gemma.H /9/, Kirsty.F /7/ (Bartlett's Bird), Katey.L /7/, Sammy.B /4/, Claire.C /8/, * /10/ being very shaggable - Pairs ( AH! how sweet) >>>> Stuart + Julia -(GINGA), <<<< >>>> Tom + Julie >>>> Dom + Anyone coz he can pull anything <<< in a skirt or tight trousers >>>> Sam + your latest shag <<<< All of the above are related to me by friendship, the one below is love and Kisses...soppy aren't I ? >> And finally the beast of them all ** Claire W ** mine all mine! << If you have any GFX correspondance then send it to me at Team Mango. Lots of £££££ gratefully recieved- please send to Peter Hardy at >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Team <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mango. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ------- @endnode @node "author" "Author's Bit" @{i}- Author's Bit -@{ui} Skimmers has been developed by Team Mango. Team Mango are mainly a group of teenagers with an attitude. Here is the development team behind Skimmers: - Main Programming: Gareth Williams - Co-Programming: Adam Bartlett - Graphics: Andy Kinsella Mark Sheeky - Misc GFX: Gareth Williams Peter Hardy - Music: Adam Bartlett Steve Moore - Design: David Howe John Aridi Team Mango - Based on an idea by David Howe - Public Relations: Alvaro Thompson If you have any comments or ideas about Skimmers, please don't hesitate to write/E-Mail us: Address: Team Mango 17 Bank Gardens Ryde, I.O.W. PO33 2SY England Tel: +44 (0)9183 615514 E-Mail: alvaro@enterprise.net Web Site: http://homepages.enterprise.net/alvaro/tm/ @endnode @node "publishers" "Publishers" We are not looking for publishers anymore. We have signed a contract with APC&TCP, so it will be released through them @endnode @node "future" "Future" Well, tehere will only be one more version uploaded to Aminet, which will be the final demo version. After that, we will just work towards the final commercial release. @endnode