.GOTCHA GOTCHA Copyright (C) 1993 Don Herring HARDWARE IBM VGA INSTRUCTIONS Object of the game is to move around the screen completing three sides of a box and not being hit by the meanies. Cover over 55% of the screen and move to the next level. If you complete a border the box will fill and you are ready to start again. The cursor keys or keypad control direction. Using the keypad has an advantage since you can stop yourself by pressing the five key. Be careful because stopping yourself on the red can cost you a life if you are hit while sitting there. The HIGHER THE NUMBER you input for GAME SPEED the slower the action. The HIGHER THE NUMBER you input for MEANIES the farther they move. Reversing direction while on the red playing field zapps you. Safe area is anywhere except for the red area. Hitting a mine takes a life. TOGGLE KEYS (While on the playing field); "Alt S" toggles sound on/off **"Alt A" toggles minefields **"Alt F" Change speed settings **"Alt D" Toggle Number of Meanies ** Registered version only; SCORING Standard 1 meanie round completed: 1000 + percent of screen * 100 Double meanie round completed: 2000 + percent of screen * 200 Bonus round: percent of screen * 1000; No lives are lost in the bonus round. Minefield Option: In addition to the above, you get: Number of Mines * 100. Installation is pretty straight forward, just make sure that the program file and high score file are in the same directory, no matter where it is. Any suggestions/comments/help would be greatly appreciated. Just leave some Email on Compuserv, or write to the below address. Enjoy! Don Herring 407 Linden Lane LaPlata, MD 20646 CIS 70640,2336 DISTRIBUTION FILES GO241.EXE **- Program File v2.41 GOTCHA.SCR - High Score Save Data GOTCHA.TXT - How does this thing work anyway ORDER.FRM - Gotcha 3.1 Order Form ** The only file required to run the program. I think the reason for the above list is so you know if someone has stuck in some kind of virus or other file that could cause hassles. I feel anyone smart enough to program a virus is definitely smart enough to hide that fact. GOTCHA Copyright (C) 1993 Don Herring VERSION HISTORY - PUBLIC RELEASES 1.0 May 1993 - Initial release. Immediately after release I noticed a problem with completing a game screen. Nothing dangerous, just didn't display text properly or give an option of re-starting. Made other enhancements in formatting text and game play options. 1.1 May 1993 - Fixed above bugs. Added program enhancements such as multi- colored lines, better screen wipes, choice of sound options, ability to clear high score file. Added a check to determine CPU in use to adjust delays for better graphics and sound compatibility. 2.0 Jun 1993 - Fine tuned CPU speed. Added "Shareware Screen." Version 3.0 completed with higher levels, bonus rounds. Available for $10.00+$3.00 postage & handling (you know cost of the disks, labels, etc). 2.1 Jun 1993 - Changed box fills to random colors. Made the game a little easier, my daughter said it was too hard. Added check to insure that score disk file exists, if not, creates a new file in the default directory. It crashed the program previously. Done alot of little things that weren't to important since I can't remember them. 2.2 Jul 1993 - Fixed reported bug that allowed you to clear the screen real easy. Also added code that restricted the Meanies to the uncleared interior. Thanks Mike. Aloha to you too. 2.3 Aug 1993 - Had to remove code that attempted to restrict Meanies to just the red area(v2.2). (See above) I can't get it work correctly. If v2.2 is out there, get rid of it. The Meanies ended up just staying upper left corner. If any of you programmers know of some tricks that I don't and payed attention in math class, drop me a line or something. Anyhow, made some enhancements in the screen writes and pixel checks that make the game much faster. Wrote a demo mode which I thought was pretty nifty. Did a lot of screen rework to make it look perty. This was worth another release since v2.2 been laying around CompuServ and I don't think it worked correctly unless you liked a real easy game. Until next time..... 2.31 Aug 1993 - Basically, a release to change the format of registering. Upon payment of $10.00 - that's ten buckaroos. You will be provided a registration number which activates the full-version. Saves potential registrants $3.00, and saves me the hassles of mailing disks. Also removed all code that referred to the CRT Video and re-wrote all screens with graphics. Seems to save memory and the screen changes are nicer on the eyes and probably on the computer. Touched up things all around. Added some info for potential distributors. I had a couple of requests. (I couldn't believe it either.) Hasta La Vega... 2.32 Aug 1993 - Fixed a continual bothersome screen problem. There were still times when it would define the wrong area for filling. It seems under control somewhat now. You may still find a little help with completing levels faster than you suspected. Added an option to slow down the meanies independently of the game speed. Game speed just basically controlled the loop for drawing, and didn't slow down the meanies as much as I thought it would. Added some better code for the bonus round that was more accurate in zapping you. Added a NEW option that inserts "minefields" on the screen. These minefields are visible to you. This option is user selectable for those you register the game. Added toggles for sound, number of meanies, minefields, speeds. You can now change these on the fly. Shareware version now samples all modes of GOTCHA in the last rounds. 2.40 Sept 1993 - Added a little guy the chases you if you take too long to complete a level. Worked on some of the coding that places the mines a little better on the screen. FIXED a problem with resetting the score file. Previously when resetting it, it would trash the registration file also. Didn't crash the program, but you had to re-enter your registration number after you reset the scores. Gave more levels to the shareware version. Added a neat little timer bar in the bonus round to warn you when your running low. Touched up tidbits everywhere. 2.41 Oct 1993 - Due to popular requests/complaints/suggestions I have finally got the meanies/Qix to restrict themselves to the uncovered/red area of the screen. Makes the game MUCH harder. Removed that cute little stop watch thingy for speed adjustments, now works in the background. That's all for now. Extra Info ---------- Testing revealed numerous minor bugs, mostly of benefit to the user. 1. Sometimes the player's little square dot will leave a mark on the screen. 2. Sometimes the meanie goes off the screen and disappears, which makes it easy to win. 3. In the 2-meanie screen, one meanie disappeared and the other moved into the border area at the top before it too vanished. 4. Sometimes the fill area is red, especially if from the start you move straight up and cut the red area in half. You will just get two red areas and the meanies can go into them. 5. Sometimes the large area containing the meanie is given to you in error, which of course means you instantly win. 6. Two spelling errors were noticed in the EXE file, one says 'benifit' instead of 'benefit', the other says 'to' instead of 'too' as in 'too small'. 7. Why does the program auto-sense the computer speed, then require you to enter in numbers ???? 8. How do you enter registration mode ?? 9. If you enter a game speed of 0, the game freezes. 10. The shareware screen is sometimes all white except where it asks you to press any key. For my computer, a 10mhz 286, the game speed can be 10-30, and the meanie number 5 or 6.