MAZO Version 1.53                                [[[NEW!!!!!]]]
By Matt Morris AKA DeathGuise22 [Msmrise]
README


INSTRUCTIONS:

Easy. You reply to the person who sent the email, BE SURE TO INCLUDE
THE MAZE, with underscores or dashes leading your path through the maze.
based on your stats after the level, i'll send you the next level with
the power ups you left off with.

Now, here is the most important part. If a level is complicated and congested, you !MUST! follow the following rule.

Mazo levels are stored [usually] in text files. The way this works is as follows.

1. Keep the original level with no modification, and store your movement in the level in a separate text document. Example: You complete the level lv01.txt. You must select Save As and save it as lv01mod.txt.

2. If the occasion occurs [which it will] and you need to end and start on a clean slate where you were before because the level is too full of lines, you put this at the end of your line:

------EndX

Then you take the unmodified text file and do the following at the spot you were at:

ResX

And continue your path. YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR HEALTH AND AMMO STATS TO WHAT THEY WERE WHEN YOU ENDED. You save the new txt as  lv01mod2.txt.

Note: X is the variable that tells which resume or end you are doing. For example, if you already did an end or resume once before and need to end again you put "End2", and "Res2" on the next .txt file. So, the first end would be "End1" and the first resume would be "Res1". I ask that you keep as many resumes as necessary to make correcting easier. If a level is just too incredibly sloppy, I will ask you to re-do that level with more resumes.
 
3. When a level is fully completed, send all the text files you used to finish the level [it is unnecessary to send the unmodified copy] to the me via e-mail at msmrise@hotmail.com.

If you have any questions or if this is too confusing, don't be afraid to e-mail me. I will be glad to help you in any needed way.

Ammo & Health

The new version[s] of Mazo [V1.52+] have a new system for ammunition and health. 
Here is an example of the new health bar.

_____
HEALTH
Current: 50
Max: 50
_____
Probably the most simple of all the bars. Basically, this bar shows that the player currently has max health. 50/50.


There are several kinds of ammo. Displayed below is the ammo bar.
_____
AMMO
Bullet 10
Shell  R10  E10
Gas C10  G10
Grenade 10
Blade 10
Rocket 10
Nuke 10
_____

In this example, the player has 10 of each kind of ammunition. Under shell and gas, there are 2 different kinds. Shell R means regular shells, and Shell E means explosive shells. If you have explosive shells, you automatically use them. Once they run out, you switch to regular. Under Gas, Gas C means gas cans, and Gas G means gas grenades. Since there is no weapon that can use all types of gas, you just use the types respectively. Nukes have no weapon, you just use them.


Weapon Selection

Weapon selection is also a new feature in version 1.52 and above. This is the weapon bar:
_____
WEAPON
((Pistol))
Shotgun
Chaingun
QShotgun
Flamethrower
GLauncher
D.F.L
Cutter
RocketLauncher
Nukes
_____

For the names, D.F.L. is the double flamegrenade launcher, QShotgun is the quad shotgun and GLauncher is grenade launcher. When you have a weapon selected, you put double parentheses ((  )) around it, as shown with the pistol. If you change twice, just make an endX and resX and in the new level put parentheses around the weapon you switched to.


Battle

When you encounter an enemy, his HP[health points] is shown below him. Below that is his AP [attack points]. after you attack, he attacks and does X amount of damage [x being the enemy AP]. Your weapon's power is your AP. 
Once an enemy is killed, replace its char with an x. For bosses just put an x somewhere on him. To encounter an enemy, you must be within 12 spaces or 5 lines of him. Put BatX [x being the number of the battle the encounter happens to be; going from 1 up] on the spot you encounter him on, and start a battle log [Explained below]. If you encounter two, you fight the one closest to you first. If they are both equally far away, just choose the one you fight first. Once done, make an endX and ResX with a simple period [.] in the enemy's spot.

Battle log

A battle log is a text file named BatXLevXModX.txt. It says the number of the battle on the number of the level with whichever resX you encountered the enemy on. 

Basically, it should look like this at the end:


--
Battle #x  Level X  Modification #x
--

ENEMY x health
PLAYER x health

--
enemy lose x health
player lose x health

--

And it continues on in that fashion. If you can't figure out what all the Xs stand for above, don't worry. Contact me on AIM [My SN is Msmrise2] or by email at msmrise@hotmail.com. A basic template for the battle log is included with Mazo version 1.53 and above.



Gravity & Jumping

Gravity rules are perhaps the most complicating and sometimes bothersome part of Mazo. Some levels will say GRAVITY after the name of the level. This means that you cannot go higher than 1 line above you, unless you have jumped off a trampoline. If the word OVERHEAD comes after the name, you are viewing overhead, and have freedom of movement. If The words NO GRAVITY come after the name, you can jump 2 lines up in the air, and trampolines send you 4 lines up. Remember, when you have jumped you can only stay up in the air for 3 moves [4 moves trampoline], and then you have to come back down. With no gravity, you can [key word: can] stay up for 4 moves when jumping, and 7 when off a trampoline. You can stop your jump whenever you want to.
                                           

Items & Stuff

S: start point
E: end point
T: Trampoline [See 'gravity & jumping']
! @ # $ % ^ & * : Some examples of enemies
AMx: Ammo unit [x being the number of health to restore]
AM+x: Increase ammo CAPACITY by x spaces [x being the number next to the item]
L: Extra life
HEx: Health unit [x being the number of health to restore]
HE+x: Increase Health CAPACITY by x amount of spaces. [x being the number next to the item]

  -/: An example of stairs
 -/ 

|- -| An example of a ladder
|- -|

= : Electric ceiling panel
][:Turret [has 3 health, AP 3]
]|[:Big turret [5 health, AP 5]
]||[: Super Turret [7 health, AP 7] 
]|||[:Mega turret [10 health, AP 10]
]||||[:Omega turret [15 health, AP 15]
<v>: Warp / receptacle down 
<^>: Warp / receptacle up
V ^ : Hatches [lets you go through floors or ceilings]
> <: Doors [lets you go through walls]
) ( : Ricochet walls [ricochets bullets, shells, BBs, and grenades]. Can be destroyed if shot on concave side.
>> Side warp / receptacle right
<< Side warp/ receptacle left

O: Mines [they take away 5 HP if you get within 1 line or 4 spaces of them]. Can be destroyed by a shot power 3 or greater.

Q: Super mines [they take away 7 HP if you get within 2 lines or 7 spaces of them]
U: Pit trap [kills you]
Px: Button [opens special door of same number, x being number]
|x>  <x|  _x^  _xv : Special Doors

<->x : DAT [Diff. Area Transport] takes you to the DAT with the matching number. X is the number.

|X| : Keycard [opens keycard doors. X is the number keycard it is, and the keycard can only open the door with the same number as the keycard]

,>x          x<, : Keycard doors [x being the number keycard required]

I highly recommend you delete boards you've beaten, because this game takes a heck of a lot of Inbox slots [65, to be precise].

If the board is screwed up, it is probably because it must be viewed in arial size 8.

If there is an enemy with no stats, I did not mess up. He probably has an x on him somewhere signifying it is already dead. If there is no x anywhere on or near it, tell me and I'll fix it up.

Skill, Status & Level

Every Mazo player has a profile somewhere on my hard drive. Some of the fields in this profile include skill, status and level. Below are explanations.

LEVEL-- Basically the highest level you have beaten.
SKILL-- This rates your resourcefulness and ability while playing Mazo. This all depends on how much ammo you use, how many moves you make, etc. Goes from 1 to 10.
STATUS-- This rates your prominence and skill as a Mazo player in general. If you stand out exceptionally by beating the whole game with a skill level of 10 and all weapons, etc. your status will probably be master. Below are the status levels and what you should attain in general to get the rank. Note that by gaining the requirements below does not necessarily mean you will get the rank.

Newbie- No levels beaten. Brand new.
Beginner- 1-4 levels beaten.
Novice- 5-9 levels beaten, skill 1.
Average- 10-19 levels beaten, skill 3.
Player- 20-29 levels beaten, skill 5.
Expert- 30-59 levels beaten, skill 7.
Master- 60-Max levels beaten, skill 9.


Member Level

Member levels state what privileges you have in the Mazo world. They are listed below.

Player- Join clubs/groups that aren't Alumni/Expert restricted, Chat.

Alumni- [Requires beaten game] Join Alumni or player groups/clubs. Player restricted clubs cannot be joined. Chat, Alumni chat.

Expert- [Requires beaten game and Expert status] Ability to join any club/group except player restricted ones. Chat, Alumni chat & Expert Chat.

Moderator- [Requires signup] Oversee any chat, can ban emails for excessive vulgarity or harassment in chat. 

Server- [Requires signup, age of 14 and up, and decent intelligence] Can block email addresses for vulgarity or harassment in incoming emails. Job is to correct incoming levels, volunteer work only [No pay]. In exchange you get access to everything and a free copy of our coming RPG, which isn't bad at all. 

Creator- [Requires signup, age of 14 and up] Basic job is to help make new levels and make the game more fun. Access to everything, all levels, any games coming out under Omnitech Software inc, all Mazo stuff.
-----

Group and division


To sum things up, when you sign up for Mazo you're put in a group. Your group is like your private people. Each group has their own chat room, sometimes a website, etc. It all depends on what the group wants to do. The group encourages other players and helps them with their progress. Cheating isn't cool, people... please don't do it.

Divisions are a little different. There are two divisions in Mazo, each with 10 groups. Divisions are like large groups that have different levels. Some levels are different in division one than in division two. The rules can vary as well, and the cheats, and the weapons, etc. Each division comes out with different levels once in a while to be spread only in their division.


---END---
