Welcome to the Twinz AmigaGuide file. I hope that I have made this guide as simple as possible to follow. It is my first real attempt at creating such a doc. Here are the options that you may be able to choose from, depending on how nice the Amiga is : What is Twinz? Program Requirements Instructions for playing Bonus tiles Registering your version Distribution Programming Credits Other titles available Twinz is copyright Mushroom PD (C) February 1996. All rights reserved by the author of the work. About Extreme AMOS !! --------------------- Extreme AMOS is a disk magazine that me and a friend set up a few months ago. Since then, the friend has left the team due to technical reasons. EA is a disk magazine which I hope to dedicate almost entirely to AMOS and AMOS related matters. EA runs in accordance with Mushroom PD, my PD library, as well as an AMOS section recently started on the internet by Paul Burkey. At the moment, there are 2 Freeware version of EA out in the PD, and these are available from me at the library by either sending me a cheque for £1, or the equivalent in stamps, or you could send an SAE and 2 GOOD formatted disks (I am sick of people sending me floppy disks with more read/write errors than a politician in the conservative party !!) for each shareware issue you wish to receive. I am trying to put together a third, big freeware issue, packed full of extremely usefull AMOS articles, ranging from programming diaries, to hints and tips, as well as source code. Extreme AMOS is designed to be of use to YOU, not us. Without your input, we cannot decide what we should and should not include in future issues. We need to know exactly what kind of things you would like to see in the magazine, plus, if you want to, you can have a go at writing your own articles for inclusion immediately. All articles we receive will be included in the magazine, providing we can fit them into somewhere on the disk. We are always looking for new article types to add, especially on the programming bits, as we are always needing tutorials, as well as someone who is going to program a game, and is going to release it along with it's source code, as FREEWARE or SHAREWARE, as we need a programming diary to help out those gamers who get stuck on things like joystick operations. If you think you can help us out, then why not get in touch with me, telling me about the game, and what kind of tutorial you wish to do. Then, you can begin working on your game, and send me parts of the tutorial each month, with example programs + files required, so the reader can build up the program as the editions pass. Have you written a new game, and would like it reviewed? Send us a copy of your game, along with several IFF screenshots of the gameplay, as for the next issue, I intend to perfect my IFF/Text reader, so screenshots can be made available. Alternatively, why not send an IFF screenshot to advertise the game or utility you have written? Adverts up to certain parameters are FREE, so try and squeeze your piccy into either a 320x256 image, using no more than 64 colours, or a 640x256 using no more than 16 colours. Any other screen modes are a bit unsure, due to the amount of space they could take up. If you want a larger ad included, then send me a few AMOS articles for inclusion, or if you don't have any, then send a stamp or something. Do you really hate someones guts? Do you want to give someone a very special thank-you, or just to say hello? You can now do that using our messages service. Write out your advert as an ASCII file, in the same style as the messages in this edition. Then, send it to me at Mushroom PD for inclusion in the next issue. This service, along with the adverts service, is restricted to people who have sent articles in to me, unless you bribe me with a second class stamp !!! The message can be to anyone else, of course, and can contain any kind of language, providing it is not too vulgar !! All letters recieved will be looked at, and replied to accordingly. All mail will be sent in the form of an ASCII file on a disk, so if you have any problems with this, then please say so in your letter. Thank-you for your time and patience. I hope that you enjoy reading the rest of this AmigaGuide. Cheers to Paul Burkey for Smoothguide. Another great disk magazine ----------------------------- Another great AMOS related disk magazine to look out for is WAC (it stands for Whitby AMOS Club), and is run by a great friend of mine, Paul Gumsley. At the moment, the eighth issue is under construction, but there are several shareware versions available. WAC is also licenceware, with versions available from Saddletramps PD, as well as 5th dimension PD. If you do not have the address, then you can contact the man directly. Include a first class stamp, and he will be delighted to send you a shareware version. Please tell him your computer setup, and tell him that Mushroom sent you !! Here's that address : Paul Gumsley (MPD) 5 Lockton Road Whitby North Yorkshire YO21 3NB ENGLAND WAC is a great read, and a few of my articles appear there as well. I highly reccomend it. Whats is Mushroom PD? ----------------------- Mushroom PD is a PD library dedicted entirely to AMOS. I set it up in February 1995, as I found it difficult to get hold of some good AMOS source code without having to pay lagre prices. The main intention of the library when set up, was to provide people with source code and programs, for as little cash as possible. Disks from the library cost from a pound, including P+P, and you do not have to pay 20-odd pounds a year just to be a member, as membership is FREE. The library also has a disk credit system, which means that for every disk that you send me, then this credit goes up by one. This enables you to 35p off a disk, for the number of credits, when it comes to ordering something from the library. This is helpfull to you if you send a lot of disks in, as you will be saving lots of money when it comes to ordering new stuff (if you want to). Ordering things from the library has never been as simple to do. If you want source code, just state the section, and all contents will be mailed to you. If you want to order a Mushroom disk, you just give the disk number, and if you want to order a registered program, just state it's name and a cheque covering the full asking price. The library is split up into several parts, the main two being the source code section, and the Mushroom Disk section. The source code section is split up into lots of different categorys, so that the user has lots of choice when it comes down to acquiring new code. Some of the code I receive is entered into the Extreme AMOS coverdisks. New sections are being added to the library all the time, so let me know what kind of programming routines you are looking for. The Mushroom disk section is for AMOS and AMOS-Related material, which comes "As-Is" so to speak. This mainly consists of music demos at the moment, providing purchasers with a whole array of music to use in their own games. Each music demo comes with it's own program to play the modules. There are also games and utilities in the library, covering lots of different subjects. All of which have been written in AMOS. A lot of the disks contain several utilities or games, which are listed in the Mushroom disk list. Extreme AMOS has a system which allows you to read a review of the latest Mushroom disks. Full lists are available from me at Mushroom PD. How it works, is if I get sent loose programs, or there is a bit of room on the end of a disk, then I stick the program on it to give the user a bit more value for their money. All mushroom disks are Shareware or Freeware, and can be distributed over any means providing no more than one pound is charged. Amiga Computing said that Mushroom PD claims to be the second largest AMOS-only PD library in the country. This, is not true at the moment, and I do not know where they got that comment from. I have loads of AMOS stuff which is still unsorted, but I daresay that someone has more AMOS stuff than me. It's nice to know they are thinking of me, anyway !! If you have any AMOS programs lying around, or if you are a programmer yourself and want some of your games etc. to be distributed, then why not send them to me. For every disk you send of code that I do not have, you can exchange it for something else in the library, or you can add the no. of disks to your disktotal, enabling 35p off each order. Alternatively, you can exchange your programs for stuff in the library that you don't already have. Just state the Mushroom Disk number when ordering. All letters received will be replied to as soon as I can. I will reply to you as an ASCII file on disk, so if you have any problems with this then let me know in your letter. The address for Mushroom PD is on the Register screen. Thank-you for reading this piece of text. Twinz Bonus Tiles ----------------- Whilst playing, you may select 2 bonus tiles, causing the computer to randomly select a bonus to give to you. These are the choices available in the Shareware version of Twinz : Add 5,000 points Deduct 5,000 points Add up to double your current time Deduct up to half your current time Take you to the end of the level Reset your score Reset your time Not do anything The full version boasts many new bonus options including : Re-Shuffle covered up board Play small bonus game Re-start level Tile virus Pointer virus Computer playing Uncover areas of play Select free tiles Plus many more !!! The computer flashes across the screen the bonus it is going to use. If the computer decides not to choose a bonus, then only the "BONUS PAIR" will move up the screen. If you have any interesting suggestions for new bonus tiles, or any other part of the game, or maybe an idea for a totally new game, then why not write to me at Mushroom PD. Programming credits --------------------- Here is the bit where I get the opportunity to thank all the people who have helped me out in the making of this game. Firstly, I want to say a great big thanx to Paul Burkey, of Daisy software, for all his support in encouraging me to finish this second demo. After I lost the source for the first version of Twinz, I didn't think I could improve it much !! Thanks also for the use of the E-Mail number at Mushroom PD, along with letting me use some of the tiles from "Piles'O'Tiles". Read the second issue of Extreme AMOS for more information on acquiring this amazing game. A shareware version is available from Mushroom PD. Thanks also go out to my cat, Millie, who kept me alert, knicking my beef paste butties every 2 minutes. Music in this demo was written by Mahoney - Title music Paul Burkey - Ingame music Sorry for the lack of lots of samples. I tried to make this demonstration version as small as possible. I would like to give a great big thank-you to all the people whos artwork I have shredded up in order to produce some of the tiles. The full version's list is in the demo, but the known graphic artists for the demo version are : Andrew "Mushroom" Kellett Paul Burkey Asa Margetts Gary Hoyles E.W. Clay Andy Cashmore BSM As with any game or utility, there are always playtesters. I have to hand it out to these guys and gals, as they have played this game for hours, especially Sarah and Michelle. Here is the complete list: Paul Burkey Asa Margetts Paul Gumsley Gary Hoyles Michelle Maddocks Sarah Binns Rachel Gordon "Flash" Tudor Grolly (Sad, dude) Sean This demo was written using AMOSPro. It takes 1485 lines of source, entailing 74.5K, with no banks. No extra extensions are used other than those supplied with the package. Twinz Distribution ------------------ Because this game is Shareware, it may be distributed amongst all possible means of media transfer, providing no more than £1.50 is charged for duplication costs. It is freely distributable across the internet, and on CD compilation. It MUST be accompanied by ALL the needed files, including this doc file. If the program is used on a CD compilation, I would be gratefull if the compiler notified me of this, plus, I wouldn't mind a free copy if you have some knocking around !! If this program finds it's way abroad, then I hope you can use it, as it was programmed in PAL mode. Is there a program available which allows PAL stuff to work on NTSC ? If a PD library wishes to distribute this product via their librarys, then I would be gratefull if you notified me of the disk number etc. This is for my future reference, and you need not send me anything else. Playing Twinz ------------- The instructions for playing Twinz are extremely simple. Providing you have the right set-up, you should have no problems. On the title screens and menus, simply click the mouse on the option that you wish to select. If the bar is selectable, then the option will be chosen. Note that Hard Drive users can install Twinz on their hard disks with extreme simplicity. Selecting VIEW CREDITS will display all the program credits on the screen. These include who helped me write it etc. Pressing the mouse button at any time will return you back to the title screen, as will letting the credits run to the end. The same goes for the hiscores. The top 50 players are listed, starting with the highest scorer first. The best level scores etc. are then listed, and you can leave at any time by pressing the mouse button. When you click on the OPTIONS bar, you are presented with several screens which allow you to control various aspects of the game you are playing. In the shareware version, these are : * You are able to the difficulty level of your game * You can choose one of four boards (on the demo version) * You can have either sound FX or music * You can have tile turbo activated/de-activated Tile turbo is a small feature I decided to keep in the program as I was developing it. In source mode, the tiles were very slow at drawing on the screen, so I cut most of the loops out, and in the compiled version, decided to leave it in, so gameplay can be more frantic !!! The challenge mode for Twinz is only aavilable in the registered version. See the appropriate section for more information. When playing the game, you are presented with a screen of boxes. To select a tile, simplay click the left mouse button in the box you wish to "Turn over". Select a second box in the same manner. If the two tiles are the same, then they will stay on the screen, and your Score and Time will be increased. If the 2 tiles don't match up, then they will be turned back over, ready for the next pair to be selected. The tile underneath do not change unless you have selected a Bonus tile. See the appropriate section for more information. If the 2 tiles are both question marks, then you have selected a Bonus Pair of tiles. These range from zipping to the end of the level, to re-arranging the board, or adding Time or Points to your current totals. In order to complete each level, you must pair off all the tiles. Note that the Bonus Tiles need not be paired off in order for you to complete each level. All points are added up, depending on the amount of Time that you have left, and the skill of difficulty that you have selected. You then get the opportunity to take part in a bonus level, which ranges from a complex layout of tiles on a grid, to an on-screen puzzle, such as a picture sort. If you are in challenge mode, you can gain more time for playing with, and in any other difficulty, you just get the points. You play the bonus, until you either complete it, or you run out of time. You will then return back to normal play. This gameplay carries on until you run out of time, or the computer ends the number of games chosen. Pressing the QUIT button will reset your score, eliminating you from getting your name in the High Score Table, so don't think that you can play and quit out !! In-Game keys ------------ P - Will pause the game, and bring up a small scroller giving a bit more information to the player on the Registered Version of Twinz. Pressing either the mouse button, or any key will return you back to playing mode without affecting your game. Q - Will quit the current game and return you to the title screen, resetting your score. All hiscores and level best scores are automatically saved to the disk when they are changed, so make sure that the disk is write-enabled. Note that on the demo version of Twinz, the saving of any hiscores is disabled, so hurry and register while you can !! Registering YOUR version of Twinz --------------------------------- So, have you been enticed into supporting this shareware programmer? Great !! First, let me tell you a bit on what you get when you register: * You will get a cash amount knocked off the price of any other games of mine you register to. All registered users of my games are logged down, so there can be no cheating !!! * You will receive the latest shareware version of Extreme AMOS, a disk magazine that I run, dedicated mainly to AMOS programmers, both begginer and expert, with a few articles that are non-AMOS. * Plus, any demos of current games and utilities that I am working on. These will differ depending on when you register. If you do not wish to receive any of the above extras (apart from the price off) then please say so in your letter. If you don't have a printer, then you can send your letter in ASCII format on a floppy disk, or alternatively, you can E-Mail me, with any messages, letters, stuff, and bugs that you have found in Twinz. If you just want a general chat about AMOS, then get in touch with me, and I would be happy to help you out with any problems, or join onto your AMOS contacts list. If you are interested in writing articles for Extreme AMOS, then also get in touch with me at the Mushroom PD address. Write a cheque for 5 pounds (or 3 if you are already a registered user of my games), and pop it in an envelope with your name and address, and a letter telling me a bit about yourself, and post it to this address : Andrew "Mushroom" Kellett 32 Castleton Crescent Gamesley Glossop Derbyshire SK13 9TH ENGLAND E-Mail: mush@sneech.demon.co.uk This is not my E-Mail address, but a good friend of mine collects messages for me. Thanks paul !! Make cheques and postal orders payable to Andrew Kellett in British value, or the equivalent of your own currency. Please allow up to a fortnight for delivery, as I often have a lot of work to do on Mushroom PD, so it could take a few days. Program requirements -------------------- In order to play the game correctly, you will need the following equipment : An Amiga (Der?) A copy of Twinz 1Mb minimum of memory A mouse A Hard Drive (Optional) In your LIBS: drawer, you will need the MATHTRANS.LIBRARY file. If you wish to install Twinz to your hard drive, just copy the executable and the DATA drawer to your games directory, or wherever you wish to place it, and make sure the libraries needed are in the LIBS: drawer. The game should then run when you double click on the executable. If you have any problems with this, then don't hesitate to contact me at Mushroom PD. Just what is Shareware ? ------------------------ Let me tell you a little story : 'Bill and Ben are 2 friends, who both own an A600. Bill has lots of cash and is always buying games from the top shelves, where as Ben is not so rich. One day, Bill came round to Bens house for a good gaming session. "Cor, this shoot-em-up is amazing!! Which shop did you get it from? I shall have to go out and buy this!" said Bill. "The game is free" said Ben. "It's a shareware game, so all you need to pay for is a blank disk". "Are you serious?" asked Bill. Ben then explained the principles of PD and shareware, and how Bill could save hundreds of pounds when it came to buying games' Shareware is a whole new concept of programmers work being flooded into the computer market, by new and un-heard of programmers, plus it is available for no more than the price of a blank disk. Shareware now allows programmers to create their own work, and have someone from the public pay them for an upgrade of their program. Unlike the Sega and Nintendo machines, not to mention the newer consoles, you have to pay as much as 50 pounds for the one game, only to get bored of it within one hour, or complete it, therefore wasting 50 pounds. Shareware allows you to get hold of a whole variety of this software, ranging from extremely simple games, to mega shoot-em-up space games, as well as some really powerfull utilities for the Amiga, and because they are shareware, you just have to pay for the disk. With a shareware game, the programmer may cut all the good bits out of it in order to entice you, or he/she may have a message that keeps popping up with the address to register to. All these different annoying messages will be removed, and all possible options will be activated ready for your usage. Then, after playing the games for a while, the programmer will have an offer where you send him/her a small amount of cash, and in return he/she will send you a much improved version of the game, as well as other programs that he/she has released onto the shareware market. The cash asked for ranges between about 2 and 10 pounds, and is much cheaper than buying a brand new game, and more of a range is always available. Now with the internet and CD coming into light, the number of Shareware programs has rocketed. Not all programs are shareware. There are other kinds of ware, including Freeware, where you receive the whole program, and need not send any money off, Giftware, Where you send the author and PD and shareware titles you have written, or have lying around, instead of sending any cash off. All of these forms are distributable, and no charge can be made for the programs, unless for the cost of the media it is transferred onto. Remember, that if you buy a disk full of shareware products, you don't own the actual programs on the disk, and you must keep to the shareware rules. So when you see a shareware offer, think of the programmer. If he/she gets lots of registered users, then they will release better games and utilities into PD, so, before you go and buy a new game from the arndale, check out some of the shareware software first !! What is Twinz? -------------- Twinz is a game I wrote a while ago on the trusty old Speccy 128, and upgraded to the Amiga using AMOS. It is a simple pairs game in which you must clear the board of tiles by pairing them off. At the end of each round, you get the opportunity to gain score or points in a bonus round, which consists of anything from another tile layout, to an on-screen puzzle. Depending on the difficulty level you select, the greater points you will score the harder the level. There are 4 levels, Easy, Medium, Hard, and challenge mode. The first three play for points, where as in the challenge mode, you play for time, increasing your overall limit which is constantly ticking away. You start the next level with the time you had from the end of the last level. Other titles available ---------------------- Here are some of the other titles I have available to buy. If there is a shareware version of the program available, it is highlighted with a symbol (*). Card filer V1.8 * --------------- This little utility store all personal details of any person you wish to enter in to it. It takes name/address/phone/fax as well as the other usual entries, and a large notepad section for creating notes on the individual. If you have a photograph, you can even load it into the record and save it along with the entry. This program costs £5, but is available for £3 to any registered user of my programs. Telephone directory V3.0 * ------------------------ A small program which stores the name and numbers of any person or company. The whole thing is done via a CLI window to make the most use out of it. The program searches for either a name or number, so if you can only remember one of them, you will still be able to view the record. To register this version will cost you 2 pounds. Extreme AMOS Issues 1 + 2 (both Freeware) ------------------------- Extreme AMOS is an AMOS disk magazine I write. So far, there have been 2 freeware releases, and providing I can gather enough articles together, I will release a third big issue. Each issue comes on 2 disks, crammed with source code, tutorials etc. and is available from me at Mushroom PD. See the EA section for details on acquiring versions, as well as getting involved. In the library, there are loads of disks available. At the moment, I have 16 different music demos available, each packed with music. I also have games and utilities from a whole array of programmers, including Paul Burkey, Gary Hoyles, Asa Margetts, Andrew Campbell, Andy Cashmore, and loads of others.