=======================================================================
Welcome to the

Diamond Caves II sneak preview v0.8
===================================

This is a preview of the upcoming Diamond Caves II which will be
available in October 1997. This version contains 5 Levels playable
with one or two Players.

You need an Amiga with OS2.0 (or higher)
and 1MB chipmem/ 2MB fastmem (absolute minimum).
a fast processor (68030) is recommended

This program has been tested with Enforcer, Mungwall and Codewatcher
but since it is a betaversion (v0.8), it may still contain some minor
bugs.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The title menu
--------------

starting the game will pop up the title menu with these options:

Name: in the final version you can enter a name to record your
  progress throughout the game. This feature is not available
  in the preview.

Levelgroup: in the final version you will be able to choose between
  several Levelgroups each group containing up to 99 Levels.
  Since the preview only contains one Group with 5 Levels, this
  feature is not available.

Level: Select the Level you want to play. You can only play the
  Levels equal or less than your handicap.

Handicap: Shows the maximum Level you can play and the maximum Level
  available in this Levelgroup. In the final version, every Name has
  its own Handicap for every Levelgroup so you can keep multiple
  player profiles on your Amiga.

Start game: play the current Level

Game options: see "game options" below

Info about DC: display some information about the final version of
  Diamond Caves II.

Exit: Quit the game.


The status line at the bottom of the title menu displays your total
score and all the games you have played so far (and all the games you
have won). In the final version each Name has its own statistic.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
game options
------------

in this menu you can change the setup of the game:

Number of players: choose between single player and teamwork mode.

Player1,Player2: choose between Joystick1 (Mouse port), Joystick2
  and Keyboard to control the Player

Screenmode: choose a screenmode. This needs asl.library v38 which
  is included in Kickstart2.1 (or higher). If you select a screenmode
  with a size of 640x400 or more, a better charset will be used for
  the title menu. Read below for information about CyberGfx support.

Audio: Select 'on' if you want sound effects during the game

Animation: This option can be used to speed up gameplay on slow
  Amigas. It tells the game how many frames per second you want
  to have:
    full anim: 48 fps (smooth animation)
  medium anim: 24 fps
     low anim: 12 fps
     anim off:  6 fps (Boulder Dash like)

DBL Fix: Turn this on if you are playing on a DBL-screenmode (AGA only)
  because the AGA chipset can't scroll large overscan screens propperly
  in DBL-mode.

Use: return to the title menu


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CyberGfx support
----------------

Diamond Caves II supports CyberGfx better than the old Diamond Caves 1.
There are two ways the game works on CyberGfx screens:
a) if the playfield is smaller than the visible screen, everything is
   fast and fine
b) if the playfield is bigger than the visible screen, you need a fast
   processor to use screenmodes larger than 320x240.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
How to get the final version
----------------------------

The final version will be available in October 1997 through AmiNet and
the diamond productions website at http://www.diamond-pro.com

The unregistered version will contain 50 Levels, the Leveleditor will
be limited (save and test disabled). A screenshot of the Editor is
available at http://www.diamond-pro.com

You can register for the price of 30DM (less than 20$) until 1st of
November'97 and for 40DM (less than 25$) after that date.
Registered users of Diamond Caves 1 will get the new version for half
the price (15DM until November, 20DM after).

Diamond Caves II is full DC1 compatible, you can use all your old
Levels and there will be hundreds of new Levels available in October
and November (aproximately 800 Levels until the end of the year).

If you want to support the author of Diamond Caves II, write to
peter.elzner@diamond-pro.com or order the game *now* for the reduced
price of 30DM (less than 20$) or 15DM if you already have DC1.

If you have Internet access and a EuroCard/MasterCard, you can order
now at http://www.diamond-pro.com. The final version will include
information on how to order without internet access and a credit card.


Icons by Mark Sorensen & Trevor Morris

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
peter.elzner@diamond-pro.com                 http://www.diamond-pro.com