BlaGTron 3.01 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994 Pedro Timoteo Programmed in Borland Pascal 7 WHAT DO I NEED TO PLAY IT?: Should work in *any* PC (even a XT!), but needs a SVGA card with at least 512k to use the 800x600x256 mode. (OK, it only uses 6 colors... but...). Also, for that mode, it requires a VESA driver. CAN I USE MY SOUND CARD?: Blagtron can use a Sound Blaster card (any of them) for very simple sound FX. However, it requires the CT- VOICE.DRV file to be in the game directory. That file is usually in the C:\SB\DRV (or C\SBPRO\DRV, or C\SB16... you get the idea!) directory. Before copying it, just to make sure it's current (it is so seldom used by other programs that it can be badly configured for years without you noticing it!), you should copy the INST-DRV.EXE file (from C:\SB) to C:\SB\DRV and run it there, selecting the appropriate options. Failing to do this has caused problems with some people, who had to turn off the sounds (because they didn't ask me!) WHAT ARE THE INSTRUCTIONS?: The game is very simple to play (but hard to master, as usually...). There are probably many other versions of this game idea around; most of them will be better programmed but less fun to play... The reason for this is that I made this game originally just for me and my friends to play, and it has been under (little) alterations for several years now. So, the main feature, which is the four-player option, has been in this game since the start. WILL YOU GIVE THOSE !$%&/(? INSTRUCTIONS OR NOT??? All, right, all right! The aim of the game is to trap the opponents, so that they will be forced to hit a trail left by any player (including himself), which will cause his death. When all are dead but one, that one is the winner, and gets a point. The game continues then, in a clean screen, with all the players revived. Short, uh? YEAH, SURE! BUT SURELY THAT GAME IDEA WAS NOT YOURS??? No, it wasn't. It appeared in the Walt Disney movie "TRON" and in an old ZX Spectrum game called Blind Alley. Which was MUCH worse than Blagtron. ZX SPECTRUM? WHAT'S THAT??? Off-topic! (Where were you in the early eighties?) WHAT IS THE MEANING OF EXISTENCE? Listening to Black Sabbath. HOW DO I EXIT THE GAME? When in the scoring screen (which is in text mode), press CTRL-BREAK. Yeah, yeah, I know it's a "crap" way of exiting a game, but, really, what's the difference between that and ALT-Q or something? It's just that, this way, I didn't have to program any "fancier" way to exit. And I'm lazy. Aren't you? HOW MANY CAN PLAY? Before you ask, no, you can't play against the computer. Not only was it hard to program (even though it could be done), but that was, and is, against my original point in making this game. The idea is to play against other people! The computer doesn't laugh at you when it wins, doesn't scream in fury when it loses, it simply is much less fun! There *is* a 1-player mode, but that is for practice only, without any scoring. You can play with 2-4 players (the more the merrier), and there's also a team mode, for 2 teams of 2 players each. Really fun to play (I still do), if you ask my humble self. HOW DO I DEFINE THE KEYS? Just run BTCFG121.EXE from the DOS prompt. It's necessary to run it at least before the first time you play. The game has 8 direction keys for each player, but if you find it too much to handle, just play with the four basic directions. Your other, more able friends will have an advantage over you, though. I recommend "round" key configurations; that is, the 8 direction keys positioned around a key. Usually me and my friends use the keys around S, G, L and 5 on the numeric keypad. COME ON, YOU COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS BRILLIANT, FANTASTIC, INCREDIBLE GAME ALL BY YOURSELF! WHO HELPED YOU? Well, uh... I programmed the whole thing, but I got support, testing and suggestions from the following unique (not necessarily a compliment!): -Jorge Timoteo -Vasco Godinho -Hugo Rucha -Luis "Pato" Quaresma -Paulo Cavaca -Pedro Pacheco -Nuno Cardoso In addition, I thank the following bands for being a constant help and inspiration, not only concerning this game, but also through my whole life: -Metallica -Manowar -Iron Maiden -Killers -Testament -Megadeth -Pantera -Sepultura -Ozzy Osbourne -Saxon -Helloween and the best of them all: DIO and BLACK SABBATH (especially with Dio and Ozzy)!!! MUST I REGISTER THIS GAME, OR SOMETHING? No. This game isn't even copyrighted! If someone alters the author's name and starts selling it, I can't do anything. But please don't do that! You aren't required to "register" this, or send me money, or anything. BUT... if you find that this game gives you and your pals HUGE amounts of fun (not to mention wild screaming during play), and you feel that, somehow, I should be "rewarded" for my work... please feel free to send me some small contribution... That won't give you any "registered" version, mainly because there isn't one, but would make me very happy. I'm a college student, and as you probably know, that's a hard life. If my game has in any way contributed to make your life more pleasant (it's great for playing at work when your boss isn't around!), feel free to thank me in any way you wish. Even a card or a letter (I currently don't have e-mail) would be great. I would like your opinions, comments and suggestions, too. My address is: Pedro Timoteo Rua Francisco Pereira de Sousa, 9-3 1500 Lisboa Portugal By the way, if you don't have anything to do at the moment, why don't you go to a map or a globe and try to find my country, Portugal? It's the most western country in Europe. I'm asking you this because many people (both inside and outside Europe) think that Portugal is just a part of Spain. It isn't, it's an independent country. We discovered Brazil and were the first to go to India by sea. Cristopher Columbus (or Cristovao Colombo, in Portuguese), who discovered America, was Portuguese (even though he was working for the king of Spain, which is why people usually say that the Spanish discovered America). I say this here because the distribution (wide, I hope) of this game will help to correct the error with people who read this docs). I also write this because I'm MAD because the Portuguese don't appear in Microprose's Colonization! Enough of the geography lesson for now! ARE YOU FINISHED? Almost! Many game authors usually say "I hope you like to play this as much as I enjoyed making it". If I said it, you would have a reason to hate me forever! Well, I hope you play it. I made it mainly to play it with a group of friends, fans of Blagtron from very long ago (years), and I distribute it because it can be a good way to spend time for many people. At least, me and my friends still have lots of laughs playing it... especially in teams. Now I'm finished. Pedro Timoteo, 1994