Blast Doors
The Nuclear Family Feud

0 - Introduction
1 - Help Dialog
2 - Getting Started
3 - Entry Screen 
4 - Warehouse
5 - Combat Screen
6 - Armaments Panel
7 - Aim/Targetting Panel
8 - Repair Panels
9 - Scan/Detection Panel
10 - Options Dialog
11 - Campaigns & The Finale
12 - Contact Info + Special Stuff

	Appendices

0.0 Introduction.

Welcome to Ground Zero, yet another in the classic series of 'cannon' games that stretch back to the dawn of computing.  The original cannon programs were of course designed to actually FIRE cannons.  But the first cannon games were spawned in the late fifties.  They would ask for angle and charge, and respond with 'overshot by 10 meters' or 'direct on target'.  By the mid seventies, character graphics had improved the game.  You could see your shot advancing (one character at a time) accross the screen to the target base '<0>'.  Kaboom was a flurry of x's and *'s.
In the early eighties, cannon games joined the colored pixel revolution.  My favorite cannon game was 'Scorched Earth'.  You faced off with five computer opponents armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons.  Explosions demolished the terrain the tanks sat upon, creating and destroying cliffs.  The challenge was varied by altering the intelligence of the opposition.  While quite attractive, noisy, and colorful - 'Scorched Earth' was limited to a two-dimensional side view, and you could only play your friends by swapping seats at the single machine.
Well computers have evolved, and so has the cannon game.  Now you can manipulate the world in 3-dimensions.  Now you select 'bearing' as well as angle and charge.  Now you face off with opponents who reside all over the world.  Ground Zero is your path to mayhem, radiation, alliance, treachery, and good clean explosive fun.
I aplogize for not including POV (point of view).  Maybe on the next cycle.

AND NOW FOR THOSE WHO DEMAND A COMPLETE AND CONSISTANT SCI-FI BACKGROUND FOR THEIR COMPUTER GAMES; WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT -
UNCLE FRED'S STORYTIME:

In the late 21st century, as the global supply of fossil fuels dwindled away to nothing, the industrialized nations of the world panicked.  Vast efforts were made to utilize alternative fuels.  But the industrial monolith had grown far beyond the ability of the planet to support with renewable resources.  Transport faltered.  Food supplies stood still.  The world erupted into chaotic warfare.
The United States split into five indistinct factions during this Second Civil War.  Two of these groups - The Militia Free States and the Holy Christian Republic - expanded the right to bear arms to include all forms of weaponry.  The other three regions - Union Territory, Ecotopia, and The Free Enterprise Zone - were forced to arm their border lands out of pure self-defense.
The big winner in all this arming and re-arming was Militech.  Based out of Swiss Occupied Europe, Militech took the lead in military technology with its premier line of 'Designer Ordinance'.  These tactical nuclear devices were cheap, colorful, and effective.  Soon Militech was delivering supplies all over the world with their atomic powered aircraft.  They sold weapons to Japanese Rebels, Russian Mercenaries, Arabic Nomads, African Ranchers, American Farmers - in fact, to darn near everyone.  
Militechs motto: "Bigger Guns for a Better Future" has transformed the world.  Now you need never get into a futile shoving match with a neighbor over water rights.  Just drop a nuke on him.  No more pussyfooting with rifles and relatives - the battle is over in minutes.  And the really cool thing is that the Aurora Borealis is now visible world-wide, day and night.

So how come missiles leave off one map edge, and come back in the other edge?
Uh...sorry, I gotta go now.

1.0 How to Use Help

1.1 HELP IS AVAILABLE - from every major game screen.  You can access help by looking for the word 'HELP!!!'  or the Question Mark Button.  These brings up the help dialog.  The Help dialog attempts to explain how all the buttons, switchs and dials work.
1.2 CLOSE THE HELP - dialog by clicking in the 'go-away' button in the upper right corner.  The help dialog is a standard windows dialog.  There is a square box with an 'x' in the middle in the upper right corner.  Click there to close the dialog.
1.3 HELP SCREENS - Help is divided into a series of screens.  Most screens have a picture to assist you in locating the feature you need help with.  Many screens also have text, giving you information about these features.  
1.4 HELP BUTTONS -  Most help screens have buttons.  These are white rectangles with a few words inside.  Most buttons have a large red line leading into nearby pictures.  The line shows where you find a feature.  The text is a brief description of the feature.  LEFT CLICK on the button and you will advance to a more detailed help screen.
1.5 BACKING UP - If you want too start again, you can back up to previous help screens by RIGHT CLICKING.

2.0 Getting Started

2.1 From the ENTRY SCREEN click on 'NEW'.  Ignore the man behind the curtain and click on 'BEGIN'.
2.2 You are now in the store, click on 'DEFAULT',  
	then click on 'ORDER DONE'.
2.3 You are now involved in Deadly Combat. Look in the lower left corner for the ARM, AIM, and FIRE buttons.
2.4 First, click on ARM.  This opens a green panel.  Look for a block listing six weapons.  Double-Click on FATMAN.  Click on LOAD to be extra sure you've loaded the correct weapon.
2.5 Second, click on AIM.  This opens a green panel.  Click and drag the BEARING.  This changes the direction your shot will go.  Click and drag in the View Screen to move the terrain.  This will help you to find a good angle.  You are the guy with the green arrow over his head.  Aim for the other base.
2.6 When ready, click on FIRE.  The first click opens the safety lock, revealing the shiny red button.  PRESS IT NOW!  Assuming your shot does not dissapear into the void (a starscape background) you will be rewarded with an impressive explosion.
2.7 Click on your opponents base to see how much damage he has.  Remember that your enemies base will be repairing just before it fires.

3.0 Entry Dialog

3.1 ENTRY OPTIONS - you have six & 1/2 options from the entry screen.  
a> NEW - this lets you select options for a new game.
b> LOAD - load the values from a saved campaign game.
c> NETPLAY - this lets you start a multiplayer online game.
d> OPTIONS - the options dialog lets you change sound volumes.
e> HELP - the help dialog.  Use it often.
f> QUIT - not an operational button.  You should avoid its use.
f.5> FEED ME - a plea for shareware dollars.
3.2 NEW GAME OPTIONS - clicking on NEW opens four panels with 7 selection tools.  Opponents Slider, Money Slider, Background, Campaign Name, Campaign Rounds, AI Brains, and AI Teamwork.
3.3 STARTING A CAMPAIGN - certain weapons are only available for campaign games.  You must play multiple rounds, earn a certain measure of prestige before you can use the 'Little Boy', the 'Blues Bomb', and the 'Penetrator'.  Set CAMPAIGN ROUNDS to any value other than '1' to start a campaign game.
3.4 OPPONENTS SLIDER - Click and drag.  You can have up to seven opponents on screen at once.  This makes the game more difficult and more rewarding.  For CAMPAIGN GAMES, more opponents means more prestige can be earned.
3.5 MONEY SLIDER - MORE MONEY means LONGER GAMES.  With only one thousand, you will find yourself pinched for resources quite rapidly.  With ten thousand you can purchase every extra and luxury in the warehouse.
3.6 BACKGROUND - there are four edge conditions.  VOID means that missiles (and bases) that hit the edge will Vanish.  ROCK will stop all missiles and bases, inflicting damage.  WRAP will send objects accross the board to reappear on the other side.  BOUNCE will send objects back in from the edge.
3.7 CAMPAIGN NAME - use the backspace key and keyboard to alter this name.  This is how you are known throughout the game.  This is how you are reffered to in the Finale.  This is the name used to save your games.
3.8 CAMPAIGN ROUNDS - this determines the maximum number of rounds you wish to play.  Less rounds means you accumulate prestige faster, BUT more rounds means you can accumulate more prestige.  Diabolical is it not.  If you are determined that you must have the ABL50 (Anti-Ballistic Laser 50) then you should play at least 10 rounds, 25 preferably.
3.9 AI BRAINS - this refers to your opponents combat skill.  The higher this rating, the deadlier they become.  Higher ratings make them more accurate when targetting, more intelligent about using their armament, craftier when repairing their bases, and even wiser when purchasing equipment.
3.10 AI TEAMWORK - the question is, how much do AI's hate each other?  The bottom end of the scale, they will ignore the sole human.  At the top end, they cooperate fully to attack the human.  Select the lowest value and you can play a game virtually unmolested by the computers players.

4.0 The Warehouse

4.1 THE WAREHOUSE allows you to choose weapons, sensors and supplies.  You have a limited amount of money to spend.  There are six buttons on this screen, and four pages of information.  You can Select Items directly on the page by left and right clicking.  The buttons are Next Page, Last Page, Default, Random, Help, and Order Done.  The pages are Basic Weapons, Fancy Weapons, Supplies, and Specialty Items.
4.2 NEXT PAGE - takes you to the next page in the list of four pages.
4.3 LAST PAGE - takes you to the previous page in the list of four pages.
4.4 DEFAULT - this will select a set of equipment for you.  Approximately 10% of your money will be spent on Specialty Items, approximately 30% of your money will be spent on Supplies.  The rest will buy you an even distribution of Weapons;
4.5 RANDOM - this will select a set of equipment for you.  The computer will keep picking items until you run out of money.  Your Weapons, Supplies and Specialty Items will be a complete surprise to you.
4.6 ORDER DONE - when you have selected your equipment, this will take you to the combat screen to begin game play.  You will be questioned here if you haven't purchased Weapons or Supplies, or if you have a lot of Money left over.
4.7 SELECTING ITEMS - to purchase a piece of equipment, Left Click on the item in the page.  This will add one to the amount you have purchased, and it will remove the required money from your total cash.  Right Click will return an item and regain you that money.
4.8 BASIC WEAPONS - these weapons simply explode and damage the opponent.  Some of these weapons have multiple warheads.  There are two types of damage: Physical and EMP.  See APENDIX A.
4.8 FANCY WEAPONS - these weapons have diverse purposes.  The Mud bomb can be used to create small hills.  Napalm will flood low points, annihilating bases in pits.  The Jumpers will move the base around the map.  Holojumpers move the base AND create illusory copies of the base.  The Truce Sparkler is used to call for a cease fire.  See APPENDIX B.
4.9 SUPPLIES - when you are hit by a weapon you will take damage to four support systems: Structure, Shields, Computer, and Coolant.  Supplies will repair and replenish these systems.  These systems have a maximum value that cannot be exceeded.  Supplies will repair a certain amount of damage up to this limit.  See APPENDIX C.
4.10 SPECIALITY ITEMS - ABL's are anti-ballistic lasers.  They take a pot-shot at the first missile to come into range.  The other items improve or evade detection.  You can see their effecton the Aim/Targetting panel.  There will be a solid cross in the Bearing display when you have perfect detection.  See APPENDIX D.

5.0 Combat Screen

5.1 COMBAT CONTROLS - there are five sets of important controls.  Fire Control (bottom left corner), Repair Buttons (left side), View Screen Control, View Screen Buttons, and the Control Panels.
5.2 FIRE CONTROL - consists of three tools.  The ARM button, the AIM button, and the FIRE button.  ARM will open the Weapons Panel, allowing you to select a weapon.  AIM will open the Targeting Panel, allowing you to direct your weapon.  FIRE will fire your weapon.
5.3 REPAIR BUTTONS - let your repair your four major systems: Structure, Shields, Computer, and Coolant.  Beneath each button is a damage bar which indicates the damage state of the system.  Each Repair Button will open a related Repair Panel.  The Repair Panel gives you the controls for fixing damage.
5.4 VIEW SCREEN CONTROL - you can perform two tasks by clicking in the View Screen.  First, you can click and drag the terrain.  This lets you change the angle and rotation of the terrain.  Second, you can click directly on a base to open the Scan Panel.  This will tell you how much damage your enemy has sufferred.
5.5 VIEW SCREEN BUTTONS - there are four buttons around the periphery of the view screen.  The Big 'X' opens the Quit/Options dialog - this is how you escape Blast Doors or adjust the sound volume.  The Binoculars open the Scan Panel.  The Arrow will close the currently displayed panel. The Question Mark opens the Help Dialog.
5.6 CONTROL PANELS - appear when summoned by other Combat Screen Controls.  The Control Panels are transparent green overlays that show up in the View Screen.  The Control Panels are the Weapons Panel, the Targetting Panel, the Repair Panels, and the Scan Panel.  Each panel has it's own display and set of controls.  See Sections 6-9.

6.0 Weapons Panel

6.1 WEAPONS PANEL - has three controls and two displays.  The first display is a Weapons List.  The second display is a detailed Weapon Description on the right hand side.  The three tools are the SCROLLING CONTROLS (to scroll thorugh the list of weapons), the LOAD BUTTON, and the WEAPONS LIST.
6.2 WEAPONS LIST - this will show six of your available weapons.  You can have up to 20 different weapons, so you must scroll through the list to see them all.  Above the list is the name of your currently selected weapon.  Clicking in the list will HIGHLIGHT a weapon.  Clicking a second time will select the weapon.
6.3 SCROLLING -  there are four scroll buttons.  From top to bottom, these buttons will scroll: up one page, up one weapon, down one weapon, down one page.  
6.3 LOAD BUTTON - once a weapon is HIGHLIGHTED, you can click on the Load Button to select that weapon.
6.4 DESCRIPTION - this is a brief description of the history and use of the HIGHLIGHTED weapon.  Part of the description is a list of values: Cost, Blast Radius, Normal Damage, EMP Damage.  The description will also mention any special properties of the weapon.
6.5 EXPENDITURE - You have a limited supply of weapons.  It is possible that you can use them all.  This will leave you with nothing but 'Peace Sparklers'.  These are used to indicate that you want a ceasefire.  NOTE: If all the players fire sparklers, then the game ends!  The surviving players will split a 1500 point survivor bonus.

7.0 Targeting Panel

7.1 TARGETTING PANEL - has three major control systems: Bearing, Elevation, and Charge.  Bearing is the direction you aim the cannon.  Elevation divides the charge into upwards and forwards momentum.  Charge defines how much powder to stick in the cannon.
7.2 BEARING - is set by clicking and dragging in the oval.  You can make small adjustments by using the +/- buttons.  A fat line represents the selected direction, the skinny line is the backfire direction.  If you have sensor systems then crosses may appear in the bearing display.  Fat crosses are fixed locations.  Thin crosses are approximations.
7.3 ELEVATION - is set by clicking and dragging in the arc.  You can make small adjustments by using the +/- buttons.  You can also click and drag in the bar to the left.  Missiles fly on a curved arc.  Higher elevations make the weapon fly higher before descending.  The maximum distance you can reach is found at 45 degrees.  High elevation can clear a ridge.  Low elevation can be used to fire into cliff.
7.4 CHARGE - is set by clicking and dragging in three areas.  The Bags are units of 10 for Charge.  The Packets are units of  1 for Charge.  The easiest way to set charge is to click and drag in the bar to the left.  You can make fine adjustments by using the +/- buttons.  IMPORTANT:  When your structure is damaged, your maximum charge is reduced.  You will not be able to use a charge that is larger than your current strcutural rating (see the Structure Repair Panel 8.0).

8.0 Repair Panels

8.1 REPAIR PANELS - allow you repair DAMAGE to your four major systems, STRUCTURE, SHIELDS, COMPUTER, and COOLANT.  The Repair Panel DISPLAY has three SUPPLY BUTTONS.
8.2 DAMAGE - is caused by bombs, napalm, and collision.  There are two types of damage - Power and Emp.  Power damage goes first to your shields then blows through to your structure.  EMP damage goest first to your coolant, then your computer, then to your structure.  When your structure is destroyed - your base is DEAD.
8.3 STRUCTURE - is the measure of how strong your base is.  The amount of CHARGE you can use for firing is limited by your structure. Too much charge would cause your base to collapse.  Your structure can take 75 points of damage before collapsing around your ears.  When the structure goes to zero - your base is DEAD.
8.4 SHIELDS - suffer the brunt of Power damage.  Nuclear war would not be win-able without Shields.  Shields can take 150 points of damage before collapsing.  Any excess damage goes to the structure.
8.5 COMPUTERS - allow for accurate targetting.  Just because you set the shot to a Bearing of 315 degrees does not mean it will go in exactly that direction.  Try to keep your computers accuracy above 99%.  Computers only suffer form EMP damage that has blown past the Coolant.  When the Computers accuracy drops to 0%, excess damage goes to the Structure.
8.6 COOLANT - protects your computer from EMP damage.  Your Coolant will absorb 80 points of damage before any damage goes to the Computer.
8.7 REPAIR PANEL DISPLAY - has five pieces of information.  First is the name of the selected Major System: Structure, Shields, Computer, Cooleant.  Second is a System Value.  This shows how strong the system is.  Third is a damage bar giving an analog description of the damage state.  Fourth is a damage percentile - 100% is complete destcrction.  Fifth is a text description of the current system.
8.8 SUPPLY BUTTONS - there are three supply buttons for each system.  Each button shows how much is available, the name of the item, how much damage is repaired, and what percentage is repaired.  Clicking on a button will expend the item, repairing damage and reducing your supply.

9.0 Scan Panel

9.1 SCAN PANEL - has one set of BUTTONS and a five Information Displays.  The buttons let you switch Scanning to another base.  The five displays are NAME, SCORE, DAMAGE, SPECIAL GEAR and SUPPLY LEVELS.  You can open the Scan Panel by: clicking on a base in the View Screen, clicking on a Name in the Turn Order Bar, or by clicking on the Binocular Button. 
9.2 BUTTONS - accross the top of the scan panel is a series of colored boxes with numbers.  The color matches the color of the Base in the View Screen and the color of the box in the Turn Order Bar.  The number matches the number in the Turn Order Bar.  Click on a box to select a base for scanning.
9.3 NAME - to the right of the Buttons you will see the name of the current player.  
9.4 SCORE - in the upper right corner of the you will see the current players score.
9.5 DAMAGE - below the select buttons are four bars.  These show the analog damage state of the current players major systems: Structure, Shield, Computer, and Coolant.  When the system has no damage, the bar is solid white.  When the system is destroyed, the bar is empty.
9.6 SPECIAL GEAR - to the right of the damage bars is a list of what special systems the target has.  This is a good place to look for those 'little surprises'.
9.7 SUPPLY LEVELS - are on the right side of the panel.  These values indicate how much supply the base has in a given category.  These levels are measured in terms of how much those supplies cost.

10.0 Options Dialog
10.1 OPTIONS DIALOG - lets you alter the volume of SOUND, MUSIC, and VOICES by using the three SLIDER BARS.  From the Combat Screen it also allows you to QUIT A GAME.  There are three
10.2 SLIDER BARS - these bars let you select a volume from minimum to maximum.  Click and drag in the bar region to change the values.  You can also click on the 'OFF' and 'MAX' buttons to speed things up.
10.3 SOUND - the Sound Effects throughout the game.  Bombs, Buttons, Panels.
10.4 VOICE - the Voice Quips that are heard during game play.
10.5 MUSIC - the Midi Music that starts from the title screen.
10.6 QUIT A GAME - when called from the Combat Screen, the Options Screen lets you quit the game.  You leave immediately and your game goes unsaved.

11.0 Campaigns & The Finale

11.1 CAMPAIGN GAMES - during the FINALE, your cumulative SCORE is compared to the other players allowing you to earn PRESTIGE for better weapons.  You also earn MONEY for more weapons.  During the Finale you can also SAVE YOUR GAME.
11.2 FINALE - shows how well you are doing.  You immediate ranking is based on the Score of the just completed round.  The highest Scoring player earns the most Prestige.  Your Overall Ranking is based on the total Prestige you have earned over the entire campaign.
11.3 SCORE - is acquired from three values.  There is a 1500 points survivor bonus that is split by all surviving players.  There is 500 points for each Kill scored during the round.  You get points for all damage inflicted (minus self-inflicted damage).  Highest score earns the most prestige.
11.4 PRESTIGE - is acquired by scoring well during campaign rounds.  High prestige allows you to purchase better weapon systems.  The Highest Prestige during the final round is the Overall Grand Champion.
11.5 MONEY - you acquire extra money at the end of each round.  You will earn a minimum of 100 nuyen (assuming you have scored horribly).  If you have a score above zero, then you will earn more money.  The amount you earn is directly related to both your Score and your Prestige.  NOTE: All bombs used during the previous round are gone.  You have to buy new weapons with your cash on hand.
11.6 SAVE YOUR GAME - this is the only place to save a campaign game.  It uses a standard windows Save Dialog.  When you reload your game you will start in the Warehouse purchasing weapons for a new round.

12.0 Contact Info & Special Stuff

12.1 CONTACT INFORMATION - we want to improve Blast Doors.  Add weapons, campaign options, and multiplayer capacity.  We want to hear what you think.  Is this a cool game?  What else should we add?  Here is a list of EMail addresses to try:	
Blast@FFIends.com
Support@FFIends.com
FFI@teleport.com
12.2 EMAIL DISCLAIMER - Honest, I'm working my ass off trying to get this mail thing online.  I've crashed the server once, now I'm working on tippy-toes to avoid it again.  Please do not give up on us, try mailing us stuff from time to time.  If you don't hear back it's only because I'm still a miserable failure as a server manager. -Fred- :),
12.3 WEBSITES - check out the following locations for new games and and Blast Doors information:
www.FFIends.com
www.StickSoft.com
12.5 SPECIAL STUFF - you can edit the quips used by the enemy bases.  
The first method is to edit the file 'BDtext/quip.txt'.
The second method is to add Wave Files to the directory 'BDquips'.  
Record anything you like.  The name of the file will become the text displayed.  You can't use the question mark as part of a file name, 
BUT if you use a tilda then  it will show up as a question mark.  
EXAMPLE: 'Who are you~.wav'  ---> quip =  "Who are you?".
12.6 MORE SPECIAL STUFF - Blast Doors has Cheat Codes (big surprise).  Wanna get them?  <snicker>  Then send in $10 and your registration using 'Register.txt'.  I know that cheat codes are not worth that much - but a little monetary encouragement can go a long way towards building a Blast Doors Online Demolition League.  Just add the comment 'I support B.D.O.M.L.'  This will drive the guys at StickSoft nuts since they haven't read this document.

Appendix A - Basic Weapons
NAME		COST	SIZE		POWER	EMP	HEADS
Tracer		1		5		20		25	1
20" Shell		10		20		30		5	1
40" Shell		20		40		45		10	1	
Cluster Bomb	50		25		30		15	7
    
Tac Nuke		25		35		35		25	1
Neutron Bomb	40		50		60		80	1
Little Boy		60		70		90		30	1
Fatman		70		110		50		25	1
	
Zig Zag		60		30		30		20	5
Penetrator		50		20		40		20	4
Crowd Pleaser	75		40		40		20	9
Blues Bomb		85		30		10		150	1

Appendix B - Fancy Weapons
NAME		COST	SIZE		POWER	EMP	HEADS
Mud Bomb		30		60		-		-	1
Napalm		40		80		5		20	1
Mega Napalm	80		160		6		24	1
	NOTE: each layer of napalm that covers a base does the listed damage.
	
Rocket Jumper	100		-		-		-	0
HoloJumper I	150		-		-		-	1
HoloJumper II	200		-		-		-	2
HoloJumper III	250		-		-		-	3

Truce Sparkler	-		-		-		-	1

Appendix C - Supplies
NAME		COST	REPAIR		MAXIMUM
Steel			8		15 structure		75
Titanium		16		40 structure		75
Durralloy		20		60 structure		75
    
Holding Coil		8		25 shield		150
Battle Coil		19		75 shield		150
Tesla Coil		25		125 shield		150
    
Silicon		1		10 computer		120
Synaptic		7		55 computer		120
HyperNeural		11		100 computer	120
    
Freon			2		10 coolant		80
Nitrogen		6		30 coolant		80
SuperFluid		9		50 coolant		80

Appendix D - Speciality Items
Subterra Radar	Cost 500	improves detection based on distance to the enemy base.
Neutrino Scan	Cost 800	improves detection based on strength of the enemies shields.
EMC Upgrade	Cost 500	this item counters the Subterra Radar.
Neutrino Armor	Cost 200	this item counters the Neutrino Scan.
ABLaser 20	Cost 1500	Short Range Anti-Ballistic Laser
ABLaser 50	Coast 4000	Medium Range Anti-Ballistic Laser