****************************************************************************** Triplane Turmoil is Copyright (c) 1996 Dodekaedron Software Creations Inc. ****************************************************************************** All rights reserved. All rights reserved. Dodekaedron Squad Production 1996 Triplane Code by Teemu J. Takanen (Wraith/DKS) (teemut@megabaud.fi) Triplane Graphics by Henrikki Merikallio (Havenlock/DKS) (henrikki.merikallio@mbnet.fi) Markku Rankala (Dragst/ DKS) (dragst@pcuf.fi) Risto Puhakka (Reeper/DKS) Mikko Kinnunen (Morbid/ DKS) Triplane Musics & Sounds by Markku Rankala (Dragst/DKS) Main Design by Markku Rankala (Dragst/DKS) Additional Design & Project management: Teemu Takanen (Wraith/DKS) The Sound Blaster library for DJGPP v.2 version 0.5 Copyright (c) 1995 Joel H. Hunter (jhunter@kedaco.telebyte.net) The DPMI-server CWSDPMI is Copyright (c) 1995 Charles W. Sandmann (sandmann@clio.rice.edu) (Sources can be found from teeri.oulu.fi/pub/msdos/programming/djgpp2) This program is compiled with DJGPP, a dos port of the GNU C/C++ -compiler. For more information about the compiler or to download the compiler and/or it's source contact: http://www.delorie.com No warranty. You use this program at your own risk. We take no responsibility of any damages caused by this program whether used correctly or not. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VERY IMPORTANT USER INFO: If you have a new computer, then you may encounter serious keyboard-errors. This is not our fault, this is due to the cost savings of the keyboard manufacturers. The current keyboards can't handle more than 3-6 keys simultaneously. If you encounter problems with keyboard use the poweronoff-option. Older keyboards work just fine. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Foreword ======== "DakkaDakkaDakka!" The sweet song of my machineguns! A hail of bullets are fired towards that cowardly flying Japanese plane. Left wing of the plane is teared apart by my bullets, leaving only a trail of burned oil into air. As I watch it diving directly to the sea below us, an evil grin appears to my face. About two seconds later, reason takes control again, instinct moving aside. The mission briefing pops up to my mind. I remember it by heart. My mission was to destroy a Japanese command tent, defended only with a few soldiers. "Poor suckers," I thought aloud, "They don't stand a chance before me, they are dead before they even knew what hit them..." A bullet striking my plane behind wakes me up. An instinct takes control again. "Bloody Japanese!" Two planes have appeared at my six, I didn't notice them before. For a while, I avoid their firing with some success. Then I decide not to push my luck anymore, and as I start to dive, I roll my plane and check my fuel level. "Good enough." I think. Suddendly, when I am flying under enemy, a bullet strikes my plane, hitting my leg and tearing away flesh as it penetrates through into the leg. As I scream in agony, I lose totally my concentration! I am overwhelmed by panic, and a wild figure of death appears to my mind. After a few seconds, I realize that I have not lost this fight, at least not yet. Tears in my eyes, caused by my pain, I try to think the beautiful forests of my country, Finland, and I start to turn after the enemy, again. They probably thought I was dead because they were heading home already, but the other one probably noticed me turning, and they both are now flying towards me. I felt my heart pumping with an unnatural rate, the wound was already draining me. A moment of silence, only a steady sound of the engine humming. Then an inferno of bullets breaks the silence, and I insanely start to pull the trigger. "Die, bastards!", I scream as loud as I can, and my guns are spitting death and destruction. First hail of bullets completely surprises the other pilot, completely devastating the plane, followed with an explosion and a rain of debris from the plane. One part hits my plane and a very unpleasant sound echoes through the frame. Fortunately, nothing vital wasn't smashed. It just leaves a nasty dent. There is one more enemy left. The pilot seems to be quite talented. "Maybe even as good as I", I laugh. "Yeah, sure..." I am still giggling when I fire at the enemy. "DakkaDakka", most of the bullets drop to the sea, but some damage was probably caused, because the Japanese plane starts to leave a light trace of smoke. Now it is his turn, he hits the brakes and I barely dodge him, almost colliding with him. "This guy is crazy!", I think when I decide to drop my bombs away. Three bombs more to the bottom of the sea, and I gain more manouverability. The mission has failed, but my life is more important. As I turn, the enemy fires upon me, and this time he gets me. A small explosion was heard, and my plane slowly started to spin. "At least I will die heroically!", was my last thought before I collided with the cold sea. Darkness... The events, ranks, and other similarites with real life are coincidental. The combination of countries is also very irrational, because we definately didn't want to abuse anyone. No animals were harmed during the production of this game. (If we don't count Dragst's cat that just jumped out from the window...) Index ===== 1.0 Installation & options 1.1 Files included 1.2 System Requirements 1.3 Running the game 1.4 Options 2.0 Playing the game 2.1 General controls 2.2 General plane descriptions 2.3 Playing the game 2.4 Medals, Ribbons & Ranks 2.4.1 Best pilot in the country - Medals 2.4.2 Special medals 2.4.3 Ranks and their abbreviations 3.0 Problems & errors 3.1 The program ends suddenly with an error message 3.1.1 No mouse driver installed 3.1.2 Error in memory allocation xxxx bytes 3.1.3 General Protection Fault 3.1.4 Load error: No DPMI 3.2 The program halts 3.3 The Sounds and/or Music don't work normally 3.4 Keyboard doesn't respond correctly during gameplay 4.0 Distribution 5.0 About the DKS 6.0 Questions & answers 7.0 Contacting authors 8.0 Authors of this file 9.0 Greetings 10.0 Registering the game ******************************************************************************** 1.0 Installation & options ========================== Shareware version is installed simply by unpacking the distribution package to an empty directory. Registered version installation: Currently the installation is handled with a batch-file, which is used like this: a:install [source] [destination] e.g. a:install a: c:\games\triplane Follow the instructions given by the batch-file. The batch creates a file called regtrip.exe in the directory you specified. Run the executable in that directory and it extract itself to the files mentioned in 1.1. After installation you can delete both inst2.bat and regtrip.exe. Installation process requires about 8 megabytes of free HD space. 1.1 Files included ------------------ Files in the distribution package are the following: The most important file. LICENSE.TXT Read this to know your rights. README.TXT This file. TRIPLANE.EXE The main executable. FOKKER.DKS The main datafile. ORDER.TXT The registeration form. TILAUS.TXT Same file in Finnish CWSDPMI.EXE DPMI server. (Check the Q&A section...) CWSDPMI.DOC Documentation for DPMI server. WHATSNEW.TXT History of the program Make sure you have all these files, since distribution of unregistered version is forbidden without all these files. (Distribution of the registered version is forbidden in any case.) 1.2 System Requirements ----------------------- The minimum system configuration needed to *run* Triplane Turmoil: 486sx-25 processor 256kb of free conventional memory 2500kb of free DMPI or XMS Standard VGA adapter Color VGA monitor Mouse with compatible driver installed Dos 5.0 or later At least 4mb of free space on HD after installation Fully operational central and peripheral nerve system All vital organs At least one hand (or compatible) The recommended system configuration (system needed to *play*) is following: 486sx-33 processor 512kb of free conventional memory 4mb of free DPMI or XMS Standard 16-bit-ISA, VLB or PCI VGA adapter Color VGA monitor Mouse with compatible driver installed Dos 5.0 or later At least 4mb of free space on HD after installation 100% Sound Blaster compatible soundcard Two hands (or compatible) 1.3 Running the game -------------------- To start the Triplane Turmoil just type: triplane at dos prompt. The game will try to automaticly identify whether you have Sound Blaster compatible soundcard. However if this identification fails program may halt. If this happens, start the game next time with -nosound commandline option. Gravis Ultrasound users: You should try to use MAXSBOS, SBOS or IWSBOS Sound Blaster emulator, MEGAEM won't work. However we can't guarantee compability with any non-SB card. 1.4 Options ----------- By typing: triplane -? you get list of command-line options with instructions. You normally don't need any commandline options, but if you have problems with SVGA-mode you can try to use -vesainfo parameter which tells what program thinks about your display adaptor. The places of interest are marked with <--, other numbers don't matter. Following text should appear: Valid VESA signature detected VESAVersion : 1.2 OEMStringPtr : 0xc0001eab OEM: Your videocard brand and model. Capabilities : 0 0 0 0 VideoModePtr : 0xc0001ed2 Sizeof(VGAInfoBlockStruct) : 18 Mode 103 hex (800x600x256) supported Mode 103 hex spesific features: ModeAttributes : 0x1f WinAAttributes : 0x7 WinBAttributes : 0x0 WinGranularity : 0x4 KB <-- (but others should work) WinSize : 0x40 KB <-- WinASegment : 0xa000 <-- !! WinBSegment : 0x0 WinFuncPtr : 0xc000215b BytePerScanLine: 0x320 <-- (but others should work) ******************************************************************************** 2.0 Playing the game ==================== 2.1 GENERAL CONTROLS -------------------- The brakes haven't been mentioned anywhere, so it is mentioned here. Simply press Up+Down simultaneously to brake. This is quite important, because it is very hard to land without brakes, though it is possible. Generally the plane flies a bit same way as a *real* plane, and we will only discuss about some *Special* moves used by pilots: R stands for roll, and every maneuver is started Not-inverted (plane is not upside-down): ========================================================= /-<-\ / \ Loop: V ^ The plane is not rolled and a full \ / 360 Degree turn is performed (up or \ / downwards). ->->- ->->- ========================================================= Aileron roll: ->->->-R-R->->- The plane is rolled twice. ========================================================= Inverted flight: ->->->-R->->->- The plane is rolled once. ========================================================= ->->-R->->- \ The Split "S": \ The plane is rolled once, and then V turned 180 Degrees UPWARDS. Remember to / have enough altitude, because the / plane's speed is increased dramatically. -<-<-<-<-<- ========================================================= -<-<-R-<-<- \ The Immelman: \ The plane is turned 180 Degrees ^ UPWARDS, and then rolled once. / Usually a little dive is perfomed / before Immelman. ->->->->->- ========================================================= 2.2 GENERAL PLANE DESCRIPTIONS ------------------------------ Everybody has a favorite plane, that's for sure, so it is clear advantage to find yours! Here are the spesific information about the planes and the advantages & disadvantages of the planes. Have fun. * = Poor ** = Intermediate *** = Great! COUNTRY_______: Germany л Finland л England л Japan л COLOR_________: Red л Blue л Green л Yellow л AMMUNITION____: ** л ** л *** л * л MANOVERABILITY: ** л * л * л *** л FUEL__________: ** л ** л *** л * л SPEED_________: ** л *** л ** л * л BOMBS_________: ** л * л ** л *** л ENDURANCE_____: ** л *** л ** л * л German plane is very deadly in dogfight, because it is made for it. It doesn't have any advantages or disadvantages. Finnish plane is the fastest and toughest, but it has a poor bombload and great skill is needed to pilot it because it's low turning rate. English plane never runs out of anything (except bombs...) It's only disadvantage is the low manoverability. Japanese plane has the biggest bombcapacity and it is even more agile than the German plane. Too bad it always runs out of fuel. 2.3 Playing the game ---------------------- Here are the basics of the game, so if you want/can figure it out yourself, then skip this section compeletely. The game is (quite) easy to learn, but it needs some time to master it. At first, we will discuss about menus. If you want to see the On-line help, just press the F1 key. This works also during sologame. MAIN MENU: ---------- Here is the main menu of the Triplane Turmoil. If you haven't played the game before, then enter the ROSTER-menu (the second flier in up right corner). Here you can (must) create a pilot for yourself and your friends. Then return to main menu (the keys). Now you can check the different menus and here are the basic contents of them: TAKE-OFF TIMES: --------------- This is the start-game "button", so you can start the actual game from here, but remember that you must have assigned player(s) in the ASSIGN PLAYERS menu, what is discussed below. ASSIGN PLAYERS: --------------- ллллллллллллллл No player is activated -> л 0 л л ллллл Country л Solo-game --------------> л S л л ллллллллллллллл Computer pilot ---------> л C л 1. л <- This box is Computer skill ллллллллллллллл (Not implemented yet) Human pilot ------------> л H л 2. л <- This box is chosen pilot ллллллллллллллл from the ROSTER 0: The red *denied* figure represents that current country is deactivated in multiplayer game. S: *Solo* figure is for solo missions. Activate this to play solo missions of the current country. Others are then automatically set to *no player*. Remember to set correct pilot in box *2*. C: *Computer* icon represents that computer will fly the chosen country. Computers skill is chosen in box *1*. (Skill can't be changed in version 1.0) H: *Human* icon sets human for multiplayer game. Remember to set correct pilot in box *2*. If you activate the solo-mode, the computer will automatically adjust the other countries to NO-PLAYER mode. (If you want to play the solo missions, now just exit and click the take-off times flier in the main menu.) Note that only German solo missions are available in the shareware version. e.g. You want to be the German player, your friend wants to be the Japanese player and computer wants(?) to be the Finnish player. Choose human to German box, human to Japanese box, no player to English and computer player to Finnish. It is quite simple, isn't it? Note: If you select the last multiplayer level (CAVERN) and you set computer to be Finnish or English plane, these planes will be disabled when game begins. (Computers can't handle takeoffs in caves) PHYSICAL EXAMINATION: --------------------- This is the options menu where you can define different game related parameters. On the right side you see a four diffrent *pages*: VISION: ####### Shots visible? """""""""""""" If deactivated, then no flying ammunition will be seen (planes & infantry). AAA shots visible? """""""""""""""""" If deactivated, then no ammunition of flakbattery will be seen. AA-Mg shots visible? """""""""""""""""""" If deactivated, then no ammunition of ground-machinegun will be seen. Flags? """""" If deactivated, then all flags will disappear. Structure flames? """"""""""""""""" If deactivated, then the bombed structures will not burn. Use 800*600 VESA mode (in MULTIPLAYER)? """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" If you have a VESA-compatible videocard, then activate this option to play multiplayer games in 800*600 SVGA mode. HEARING: ######## Sounds on (sb)? """"""""""""""" Activate this to use ANY SOUNDS. Musics on (menus)? """""""""""""""""" You will hear the Music in the menus, as far as the Sounds on (sb)?-option is activated. SFX on? """"""" You will hear the chosen Sound effects, as far as the Sounds on (sb)?-option is activated. Explosion sounds? """"""""""""""""" If deactivated, a sound will be not heard when a bomb collides with ground. Gunfire sounds? """"""""""""""" If deactivated, a sound will be not heard when a plane fires its guns. AAA-fire sounds? """""""""""""""" If deactivated, a sound will be not heard when ground-defenses fire (machineguns & flaks). Water splash sound? """"""""""""""""""" If deactivated, a sound will be not heard when a bomb collides with water. Infantry death sounds? """""""""""""""""""""" If deactivated, infantry soldiers won't scream when they die. PSYCH. 1: ######### Do you want on/off power? """"""""""""""""""""""""" When activated, the behaviour of the enginepower button will be dramatically changed. You press button ONLY ONCE, DO NOT HOLD it down. And when you press it again, it is counted like you let the power button go. We seriouly suggest to use this option IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY KIND OF KEYBOARD RESPONDING PROBLEMS, because this decreases the number of keys pressed down simultaneously. Do you want a reversed powerswitch? """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Turns the behavior of the enginepower button upside-down, so when you are NOT holding the power key down, the plane accelerates. And when held down, the planes enginepower will be deactivated (So it is not counted as a brake, brake is up+down-keys or left with joystick). PSYCH. 2: ######### The following options are for multiplayer only. Are all the planes the same? """""""""""""""""""""""""""" Sets all planes' attributes to a specific country, for example: Choose the German plane on the left, and every plane has 4 bombs etc. This affects all abilities except plane color. Collisions on? """""""""""""" If active, then a collision of two planes results in an immediate destruction of BOTH planes. Both players lose one point in collision. Flying parts? """"""""""""" If enabled the parts, which appear when plane crashes, cause damage to other planes. Battle ends after n points """""""""""""""""""""""""" End game after the leader of the game has this number of points. The number can be increased by pressing it with left mouse button and decreased with right mouse button. UnLtd means unlimited and the multiplayer- game won't end before you press ESC. Alliances enabled? """""""""""""""""" Enables alliances. The sides are selected at the box in lowleft corner of the screen. AA-MGs? """"""" If deactivated, then all ground-machinegun-batteries will disappear. AAAs? """"" If deactivated, then all flakbatteries will disappear. Infantry? """"""""" If deactivated, then all infantry troops will disappear. Unlimited ammo? """"""""""""""" If activated, you can shoot even when your gunrounds are empty, but you cannot adjust your ammo load. Unlimited Fuel? """"""""""""""" If activated, the plane will still fly even when you have run out of fuel, but you always have to take full load of fuel when leaving the hangar. REQUEST TRANSFER: ----------------- Here you choose the level for a multiplayer game. This won't affect the solo game in any way. Note that only first level, Forest, is available in the shareware version. PLANE MECHANICS: ---------------- This is the control-configuration menu FOR MULTIPLAYER (Every pilot in the roster has a personal keyboard configuration for Sologame). So, first choose the country (box in the upper-left corner) and you see current controlling option selected for active country. Keyboard configuration: If you want to change the keyboard layout for active player, click the keyboard and you will be prompted to press buttons for all 6 functions needed to fly. The order is Up, Down, Roll, Engine power, Bombs and Guns. Remember that brake is always Up+Down simultaneously. Joystick configuration: The joystick(s) is selected for active country by pressing the joystick icon 1 or 2. If you have the Y-Cable available, game supports 2 joysticks. There are some special controls with joystick. Firstly, there is no roll option. (Exeption follows) The plane will be automatically rolled if you turn it above 180 Degrees, or below 270 Degrees. Note that this will NOT happen before you center the y-axis of the joystick, so it is possible to perform a loop. Split-S is not possible with joystick, you have to do it with plane upsidedown. With joystick the power is used by turning joystick to right and brakes are activated by turning it to left. If you have only one joystick, and it has four buttons you can use -noautoroll commandline option to disable the autoroll-feature mentioned above. After that button #3 will perform the roll. TODAY NEWS: ----------- The news about the Triplane Turmoil heroes are here. So actually this is the highscore menu. Overall Score: """""""""""""" The first page is the overall score of the pilots. So if you are the first on this page, you are (probably) the best player on your computer! Multiplayer TOP10: """""""""""""""""" This indicates gathered multiplayer scores. Sologame TOP10: """"""""""""""" Here all of your solomission-scores are added together. Solo missions: """""""""""""" If you want to see Ace of the spesific mission, you will find it here! The most triggerhappy pilots: """"""""""""""""""""""""""""" How many bullets have you fired since you created your pilot. Bombusers TOP10: """""""""""""""" Indicates number of bombs dropped. The most accurate shooters: """"""""""""""""""""""""""" Hitting bullets percentage. Notice that you must fire 1000 bullets before you will get your name here. The most accurate bombers: """""""""""""""""""""""""" You probably never guess...look above! 100 bombs required to get here. Drops TOP10: """""""""""" How many enemy planes have you dropped/destoryed. The most active decoys: """"""""""""""""""""""" This indicates how many times you have been shot down. Most missions flown: """""""""""""""""""" You probably have an IQ above zero, so I won't bother to explain this. HANGAR MENU: ------------ This is a special menu. This appears WHEN THE ACTUAL GAME IS IN PROGRESS. There are three columns: Bombs, ammo and fuel. On keyboard, to adjust bombs, first press bomb-button, and then up&down to adjust. The guns and fuel works exactly same way: guns-button switches to ammo-adjustment, and enginepower button switches to fuel-adjustments. Press roll to exit, and a mechanic will push your plane to runway. If you want to return to hangar, just press roll (or bomb) and the mechanic will push your plane into hangar. THE ACTUAL PLAYING: ------------------- First the general info. Your objective is to lose minimum amount of planes and shoot down as many enemy planes as possible. There are usually ground targets which you can/must destroy with bombs. Thats it. In the solo-mode there is always a mission to complete, and you enter the briefing by pressing the left mouse-button in the solo-mission selection screen (right mouse-button to skip straight to flight...). Let's assume that we are playing the first German solomission. Okay? (So this is only an example). Firstly, you must enter the ASSIGN PLAYER menu for choosing the gamemode (For details, see ASSIGN PLAYERS above). Then return to main menu, and choose TAKE-OFF TIMES. Now you enter the mission-selection screen. If you haven't completed any missions with German country, you are able to choose only the first level, Coast Islands. If you want to see the mission briefing, press left mousebutton. To skip directly to action, press right mousebutton. Now you have entered the HANGAR MENU (details above, again..). When you have exited from hangar, just press enginepower-button (hold) and you are flying. When you must/want land, just let enginepower-button go (or, if you are using poweronoff-option, press it again to deactivate enginepower.) and when you are above your runway just brake (up+down), and your plane should land. Landing needs some practise but it's not very hard after all, you just have to avoid stalling. (Losing too much speed) 2.4 Medals, Ribbons & Ranks --------------------------- Like in real AF, you will be awarded with higher ranks and medals when you have served your country well. The medals are shown top of your pilot in roster menu. Every rank has it's own ribbon, which is located beside of your pilot also in roster menu (When you start a new pilot, you have no medals, and you have only one ribbon, 2nd Lieutenant). When you advance ranks you don't lose your previous ribbons like you would in real life. 2.4.1 Best pilot in the country - Medals ---------------------------------------- When you complete a sequence of solo missions (six of them), you will be awarded with "Best pilot in the country" medal, and it will be granted you with a diploma. Every country has it's unique medal, but the main color of the medal depends on a country, so it will be very easy to see which country has awarded you with it. 2.4.2 Special medals -------------------- There are two special medals. The first is the veteran medal, Golden Star. It will be awarded to you WHEN YOU HAVE FLYED 1000 MISSIONS. The second is the hero medal, Silver Eagle. It will be awarded to pilot WHO HAS BEST KILL/DEATH-RATIO, which is calculated so that pilots kills are subracted from shot down-number. There is only 1 Silver Eagle medal in the world, so be careful, it will change its owner very fast.. 2.4.3 Ranks and their abbreviations ----------------------------------- Here is a list of ranks appearing in TT. In roster, an abbreviation of the rank will be automatically added to you name (for exmpl.: 2nd Lt. Dragst). We won't reveal how the "score needed" is calculated (it is not the totals added together, it is quite complicated formula..so don't even try to figure it out :), because that way there is a little excitement in rank gaining. Both solo- and multiplayergames will affect it, so you probably won't gain much promotions by just playing the other. The ranks are: -Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt.) score needed: N/A (This is your rank when you start a new game/pilot) Ribbon......: A simple blue ribbon with one golden column -First Lieutenant (1nd Lt.) score needed: 1000 Ribbon......: A blue ribbon with 1 golden columns and 2 stars -Captain (Capt.) score needed: 5000 Ribbon......: A blue ribbon with 2 golden columns and 2 stars -Major (Major) score needed: 10000 Ribbon......: A blue ribbon with 2 golden columns and 4 stars -Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col.) score needed: 20000 Ribbon......: A blue ribbon with a Golden Shield of the Airforces -Colonel (Colonel) score needed: 50000 Ribbon......: A blue ribbon with a Golden Eagle of the Airforces If you ever are promoted to Colonel, you have probably played for some time. But remember, it is not impossible to gain it, you just need play for little longer time. ******************************************************************************** 3.0 Problems & errors ===================== Most of the problems you will encounter will be memory or game speed problems. 3.1 The program ends at wrong time with an error message -------------------------------------------------------- Check below to find the message seen: 3.1.1 No mouse driver installed =============================== The game didn't find your mouse driver. Are you sure it's installed? Other possibility is that your mouse driver is not compatible with the game. At least following drivers are compatible: Microsoft's mousedriver Logitech's mousedriver Internal mousedriver of OS/2 Internal mousedrivers of Windows 3.1 & Windows 95 The gmouse (Genius mouse) driver is not compatible. 3.1.2 Error in memory allocation xxxx bytes ------------------------------------------- If xxxx is less than 65536 you have run out of memory. The game needs about 4mb DPMI or XMS, but if so much is not available, the cwsdpmi server or your own DPMI-server will swap to provide 4mb of memory for the game. If you're using EMM386.EXE (which is NOT recommended) be sure that you have at least 4096 kilobytes of EMS reserved with it (if any). If you don't have that much memory, raise the value as high as you can. If the value xxxx is greater that 65536 you have encountered a bug in the game. 3.1.3 General Protection Fault ------------------------------ You should NOT see this error in any kind of situation, but if seen anyway, something went wrong and badly. Write e-mail to Wraith and tell him as much as you can about your system configuration, contents of your autoexec.bat and config.sys, and ofcourse about the situation when this happen (For example: This message came when I pressed the options-word on the main menu) Also write all info shown after this message by the program. 3.1.4 Load error: No DPMI. -------------------------- This error shouldn't appear, but if you encounter this error, just boot and it doesn't appear. We are not sure why this error occures, because it has only appeared on Dragst's computer when he has used his several own programs. Remember not to type MEM after this, because the machine will probably hang. 3.2 The program halts --------------------- Problem л Diagnose л Solution ллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл Program halts even л Some memory manager л Remove all memory managers before any text appears л is active (EMM386, л from config.sys/autoexec.bat on screen. л QEMM, etc.) л ллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл Program halts after the л 1.Some memory manager л Remove all memory managers first texts. л is active (EMM386, л from config.sys/autoexec.bat л QEMM, etc.) л л л л 2. Conflict with a л 1. Try diffrent emulator л SB-Emulator л (SBOS/MAXSBOS with GUS?) л л л л 2. Deactivate sounds with л л a -nosound parameter л л л 3. No SB-Emulator л Use a protected mode л used and card is л compatible SB-emulator л not original л that works with your л Sound Blaster л card ллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл Program halts. л 1.Some memory manager л Remove all memory managers л is active (EMM386, л from config.sys/autoexec.bat л QEMM, etc.) л л л л 2. Conflict with л DOS 5.0+ is recommended л operating system. л (Windows causes problems л л with timings, and OS/2 л л with sounds..) ллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл Any other problem л 1.Some memory manager л Remove all memory managers (Not neccessary halt..) л is active (EMM386, л from config.sys/autoexec.bat л QEMM, etc.) л л л л л л 2. Conflict with л DOS 5.0+ is recommended л operating system. л (Windows causes problems л л with timings, and OS/2 л л with sounds..) л л л 3. We don't know (yet)л Write some e-mail or normal л л mail to us and describe л л the problem and your л л system configuration л л (in details!) ллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллллл 3.3 The Sounds and/or Musics doesn't work normally -------------------------------------------------- The problem is likely to be caused by a memory manager, operating system or sound card incompatibility (See above). ******************************************************************************** 4.0 Distribution ================ You should have no problems finding the newest versions and patches from bbs's, particulary from Finnish bbs's and major FTP-sites. The Shareware version must be distributed as wildly as possible, but it must remain unmodified and distribution is ONLY allowed with original package(s). The distribution of the registered version of Triplane Turmoil is not allowed in any conditions. See LICENSE.TXT for full details. ******************************************************************************** 5.0 About the DKS ================= What is DKS? DKS, the Dodekaedron Squad, is a game- and demo(?)group that has been founded in 1993 (Or I think it was...). There were lots of members in the beginning (about 8), but almost everybody thought that DKS was a "serious" joke...so, soon our graphic-artist laughed to DKS, and then we didn't have a WHQ anymore. Well..then it reduced to 5 people. The situtation was very hard, everything was going to explode! Then we got one member from far away, in the central Finland (Kuopio). He was a graphical talent, and he made some graphics to our on-going-project: Dragon Blaster. But he had a problem...He did not like drawing!!! Well, bye-bye artist. So, there we were without a graphical artist. But then, the great, great MB-Net came and I met our current artist in the group-chat! Praise the MB-Net! Today we have a firm grip of facts about doing games. And there's nothing wrong with our ego. But there is a problem with our grammar. And you shouldn't take this last paragraph so seriosly. The Mystery of the Projects As all groups in the beginning we started to create a fast full-screen 3D action mech-battlegame with all details. Then we figured out that perhaps we should do something simpler at first because the routines required in 3D modelling are not so simple and if simple then not so fast. (And Dragst wondered why people thought DKS was a joke...) The next project was/is/will be The Dragon Blaster. The project is not advancing fast, but it has helped to contruct the graphical system and to find out the other possibities hidden in our team. Dragon Blaster is still under construction and it will be released "in two weeks". This means that when Havenlock has finished about 50Mbs more hand drawn graphics we are ready to release the game. Prepare for ultimate challenge! (Prepare to wait a Loooong time...:) -Dragst ******************************************************************************** 6.0 Questions & answers ======================= Q: The game is quite hard, why? A: 'Cause Dragst likes the games that will NOT be completed in a few days, thats why! (And I mainly designed this). But, anyway, it is possible to complete all of the missions, we have completed them atleast 5-6 times. -Dragst Q: Why can't the sologames be played in SVGA mode? A: We decided to use VGA fullscreen, because with SVGA most mission could be completed too easily. (You could see the whole level) -Dragst Q: Well why isn't the whole game in SVGA? It would make graphics much nicer. A: Yeah, and it would double the system requirements. The good gameplay is more important than some neat rendered-mega-giga-graphics, isn't it? -Dragst A: And making two different sets of graphics would require too much work -Wraith Q: What does actually mean DPMI memory, and can i delete cwsdpmi.exe file? A: If you run the game under an operating system that provides DPMI memory (well, dos doesn't, every other does) you don't need cwsdpmi.exe. DPMI stands for Dos Protected Memory Interface and it's a specification that defines how dos programs can use protected mode memory. Q: Why is the SVGA-mode sometimes faster than normal VGA? It doesn't make sense... A: Because I have optimized the code so that it will minimize the data transfers to the display adaptor via slow bus. It can be only done when the whole screen doesn't have to be updated (VGA modes have scrolling) and that makes 103H mode faster that mode 13H. -Wraith (So he tries to say that the scrolling uses LOTS of processoring time, thats why.) -Dragst Q: How long did it took to create Triplane Turmoil? A: Well I said that "Lets do it quickly in two weeks and countinue our other project" but I was probably interfering the laws of the nature, so it took about 5 months. -Dragst Q: Why did you want me to send my questions to Wraith? A: Because that way you can't understand the answer and you won't bother us anymore :) -Dragst Q: Do you like Monty Python Films? A: Yes we do! -Dragst A: No we don't! -Wraith A: Yes we do, and so do you! -Dragst A: No we won't just because you like them! -Wraith A: Yes we DO! -Havenlock Q: Where do you live? A: Second star on the right and straight till the dawn. Q: I can't free enough memory for the game, any solutions? A1: "640K should be enough for anyone" -BG A2: Sure, just warp back in time and assasinate the right person... -Dragst Q: Did you know that NASA have found signs of life on Mars? A: DRAGST!!!! I told you to cover our tracks!!! GRRR!! -Wraith Q: Why are these Q&A's so stoopid? A: 'Cause I wrote them :) -Anonymous Q: Why did you do it? A: Did I? ******************************************************************************** 7.0 Contacting authors ====================== Please feel free to send any comments you have about the game to us. If you don't have anything special to say, write anyway, we just love to receive e-mail. E-mail addresses in alphabetical order: Dragst: dragst@pcuf.fi Havenlock: henrikki.merikallio@mbnet.fi Wraith: teemut@megabaud.fi The last one is the fastest since it's read almost daily. If you send e-mail to Wraith he sends it also to the other team-members if the question is not code-spesific. IF you want that your mail will be read in few days, send it to Wraith. IF you want that your mail will be read in a week, send it to Dragst. IF you want to complain try sending it to Havenlock. :) ******************************************************************************** 8.0 Authors of this file ======================== Dragst: Dragst has written almost everything in this file. He has been playing computer- and video games since he was 6, so he probably knows something about it. He has a serious problem writing "I" like this: "i". He finds it very frustrating. His favorite boardgame is Warhammer Fantasy Battle, and he owns an Undead army worth of 3000-4000pts. He likes almost every kind of game (and remember, 1200Megs of digitized Full-motion-mega-video is NOT a game in our grammar!). He has also studied French in school for 7 years, and he doesn't know a word about it. He has studied English in school only for 5 years and I think you have noticed that while reading this file. (Ps. Actually it is only half-meters to ground from Dragst's window..) Wraith: Wraith has programmed computers since he was 9 years old. He started with Commodore 64 basic programs, continued with 286 and basic, advanced to Turbo Pascal, updated to 486 and uses C/C++ / Assembler now. His favorite books, if programming books are not counted, are Douglas Adams' and Isaac Asimov's sci-fi novels. He has studied English in school about 10 years, corrects Dragst's writing and creates own typos in the text. ******************************************************************************** 9.0 Greetings ============= At first we like to thank following people: Mikko Kinnunen for drawing the panels Niko Salminen for infantry dying screams Antti Lehtoranta for spell-checking and advices, what would we do without him and his Webter's Juha Rytk”nen and Joonas Joensuu for letting people test Triplane Turmoil with their computers at Assembly'96 Pekka Pulli for advertising the game The actual greetings: --------------------- Passy, Spay & Flap / Capacala The most active players ever award. Liquid Virus Some day we will call your BBS Oliver / Stream Hope you got that 486 Stavros / Housemarque It took more than 5 minutes. Invidual greetings: ------------------- Havenlock's: Jiber / TDC, Alessio Zibellini (Ale100%), Lauri Laakso, Mr. Mutanen, 2Antti, Petri Liekovuo / L„nnen Tietohallinto, Ari Yrttiaho, Saku Leinonen, Posti / OTS, Mikko Funke, Teemu Kotikangas, Jonne Virtanen, Anssi Syrj„l„ and My damn Family! Dragst's: Tuomas Suominen, Marko Katajisto, Risto Puhakka, Eero Af Heurlin, Saku Schildt, Antti Piltonen and my cat "Pikkis"! Wraith's: Marko Oivo, The White Tiger, Zookkis and Everybody / Dycom ******************************************************************************** 10.0 Registering the game ======================== If you enjoy playing the shareware-version you are strongly suggested to register the game. By registering you get new features and you support our work. When you register you get: 1. 5 new Multiplayer levels 2. 3 x 6 new Sologame levels Registeration price is 80 FIM in Finland (Including VAT 22%), 100 FIM in European Union (Including VAT 22%) and 100 FIM outside EU (VAT 0%). To register fill the registeration form (order.txt or tilaus.txt), select your paying method and post printed and filled form to: Dodekaedron Software Creations, Inc. PL 143 FIN-01511 Vantaa Finland / Europe ********************************************************************************