Catch'Em

                    a VGA+Mouse Only Game
  
                             by 

                         Dave Edson
                         March, 1991

                           revised

                        February, 1993



Help programmers like me pump out more games in the future!
-----------------------------------------------------------

  If you like this game, please send $15 or more, or less,
  or just your comments to:
  
      Dave Edson
      P.O. Box 831
      Mercer Island, WA  98040
  
  Donations > $100 get source code.
  
  Written in Microsoft C 7.0.
  
  Please distribute this game, but do not modify
  it in any way, shape, or form. All of the code is
  Copyright (c) 1989-1993 Edson Software.

Hardware Requirements:
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  1. VGA  (256K on board).
  2. Mouse and Driver installed.
  3. UnSlow Machine (80286's and up).

If you have a PS/1 (or when the mouse does not work)
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  The PS/1 machines do not install mouse.com.  This file
  is neccessary for Catchem to work.  From the dos prompt,
  type:
  
    MOUSE
  
  and press enter.  You should see a message similar to:
  
    Microsoft (R) Mouse Driver Version x.xx
    Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1983-1992.  All rights reserved.
  
  Once this message is displayed, Catchem will run on your PS/1.
  
  
The object of the game:
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  1. Catch all falling pieces, except stoppers. Stoppers
     will be identified if they are included in the screen.
     Unless you pass Wave 10, stoppers only occur in
     the "Challenge Waves".
  
  2. To avoid having your eyeballs dry up because you are
     afraid to blink while playing the game.

Things you should know:
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  1. The default speed setting for this game is FAST.
     If you have a machine faster than a 16Mhz 386, you
     will probably want to slow things down a bit.
     Catch'Em takes a command line parameter, which is
     a number from 0-32767. The higher the number, the
     slower the game runs. I tried dinking around with
     some numbers, and found that if you have a 486-33,
     the number "486" works really well. So, when you
     start Catch'Em, try this:

          C:\> CATCHEM 486

     and see if it acts reasonable. Use a bigger number
     to slow things down even more, and a smaller number
     to speed things up.

  2. The mouse sensitivity is adjustable, when you can
     see the paddle on the screen, press the plus or
     minus keys to adjust the mouse to your liking.
  
  3. The 's' key toggles sound, the ESC key exits the game.
  
  4. The "Challenge Wave" happens after 4 different shapes
     have fallen. You may miss as many peices as you like,
     but don't catch stoppers. If you catch a stopper, the
     Challenge Wave will end (but you will not be penalized).
     The Challenge Wave is for freebie points only.

  5. You can have up to three paddles on the screen at a time,
     and three more spare paddles. Spare paddles are used
     before on-screen paddles are used. The game ends when
     all of your paddles are gone. Bonus paddles at 3000
     points, 7500 points, 12500 points, etc.


Other Edson Software Products
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  Edson Software also has another game, "Mirror Maze".  An
  unlicensed version of this game is available for all
  of you great people who license Catch'Em.

 
Our Cats
----------------------------------------------------------

  We have three cool cats, Roxy, Pogo, and Hannah (the growler).
  Special thanks to Pogo for keeping Hannah in line (and
  keeping Dave's code cool).



  Thanks for your support!
  Dave Edson