Pocket Tanks (Shareware and Deluxe Editions)
-------------------
version 1.00a
November 29th, 2001


Copyright 2001 BlitWise Productions, LLC

written by: Michael P. Welch
e-mail: mike@blitwise.com
website: www.blitwise.com

music by: Eliran Ben-Ishai (DNA-Groove)
e-mail: webmaster@ambrosia.org.il
website: www.dna-groove.com


Requirements:

Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP
DirectX 3 or greater  (DirectX 8 with latest video card drivers recommended)
233Mhz CPU
32 megs of memory
video card that support 16/24/32 bit color depths (32-bit suggested)


Technical Support:

If you run into any trouble, visit my support page first:
http://www.blitwise.com/support.html

If you find any bugs in the game, report them to:
e-mail: support@blitwise.com
Please include what version of Windows you're running on.  Thanks.


Shareware Edition:

I would encourage you to share Pocket Tanks Shareware with everyone you know.
It's a free game, and who doesn't want to play a high quality game that's free?

Pocket Tanks is a shareware game in that you have all the gameplay, options, 
and weapons you need to enjoy a great game of artillery.  However, if you truly
like the game, I hope that you would support our efforts by purchasing
Pocket Tanks Deluxe.  Buying the Deluxe edition not only gets you new weapons, 
but you will also help us keep the ship afloat.  

The shareware version of Pocket Tanks can be freely distributed by end-users
and vendors through web sites, on-line services, shareware disk vendors,
CD-ROM vendors, and bulletin board systems.  However, Pocket Tanks Shareware
is not to be represented as a stand-alone commercial product that is sold 
for profit.  Authorization from BlitWise Productions LLC is not required to
distribute Pocket Tanks Shareware by vendors for legitimate shareware and
freeware uses.  If you have any questions, feel free to email 
mike@blitwise.com.

Pocket Tanks Deluxe is the registered version of the game and 
is NOT freely distributable.  Doing so would be considered piracy, and would 
hurt my ability to write you more games.



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  Pocket Tanks Deluxe

Upgrade today and receive:

- 30 brand new weapons, which brings you up to 60 weapons total
- Many of the Deluxe weapons are very 'big', and much more exciting
- You'll also get the ability to use weapon expansion packs, which will
  be released in the future.  
- Download and use 'freebie' weapons that I'll release at www.blitwise.com.
  I already have plans for a "Nuke" pack, for those that simply must have
  'nuclear' weapons with huge explosions like everyone's favorite, 
  the Mega Nuke!  Only available to owners of Pocket Tanks Deluxe.

All for only $15.99

Purchase it online today!  Visit:
http://www.blitwise.com/ptanks.html

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*********************
* Game Instructions *
*********************



The basics:
-----------

This is a simple artillery game:  two tanks, one hill, and a whole bunch of
neat weapons to fire at each other.  

Select your power and angle, and fire the selected weapon.
It's just that easy!  First try the game in Target Practice mode
to get a feel for the weapons.


Hot Keys
--------

The game is played with a mouse, but there are a few keyboard
shortcuts that you can take advantage of.

ESC      = Escape key exits the scene/game etc...
F7       = toggle windowed/fullscreen
SPACEBAR = Fire
UP       = Increase power
DOWN     = Decrease power
LEFT     = Raise Angle
RIGHT    = Lower Angle
A        = Up one weapon
Z        = Down one weapon
,        = Move left
.        = Move right



1 Player Game:
--------------

The first player is human, the other will be computer controlled.  The 'CPU' player
has a difficulty rating from 1-easy to 10-hard.  10 is pretty darn hard, unless
you are very skilled at picking weapons or know how to trick the AI.  :)


2 Player Game:
--------------

Both players are human.  This is the only mode where high scores are recorded.


Options:
--------

Music - Toggles music on/off
Terrain Type - Hill is default, but Valley, Cliff, Flats, and Random are available
Explosion Size - Turn up the explosion size for extra fun
Explosion Kick - You can really make tanks fly!  :)
Turret Orientation - Absolute is default, and it means the angle of the turret 
                     is relative to the world.  Relative To Tank means
                     as the tank rotates, so does the turret angle.  This is 
                     a lot more fun for advanced players, because if the tank
                     moves, chances are the angle is changed thus throwing off their
                     lock on the target.  
Wind Speed - Turns on wind and changes wind speeds, which effects bullet movement.
             If wind is turned on, you'll see a wind indicator in the upper 
             right-hand side of the panel
Wind Variability - Alters how much the wind speed changes at a time
Wind Change - Alters how often the wind changes speed/direction
Default Options - Restores the default Pocket Tanks options   


The Weapon Shop:
----------------

In 1 and 2 player games, both human and CPU players get to choose their weapons
in a way similar to picking teams in a game of kickball.  Player 1 picks,
player 2 picks, etc... until all 20 weapons are selected.  If at any point you 
get bored with picking weapons, click the 'random' button and the computer
will finish off the weapon selecting for both players.


During the Game:
----------------

Each game has 10 volleys.  A volley is when player 1 gets a chance to shoot, and
player 2 has the opportunity to return a shot.  Each player starts out with 
10 weapons, and they are used up as the game continues.  To exit the game at any 
point, hit the ESC 'Escape' key.  

Buttons:
Move - Move the tank a small distance, only 4 moves per game, you still get to
       shoot after moving
Angle - Click on the dome and a crosshair will appear over the tank.  Moving the
        mouse left and right will change the angle to fire in.  Clicking the
        mouse again will select that angle.
Power - Click the red power bar and move the mouse left and right to change the
        amount of power that will be used to launch the bullet.
Weapon - Click on the weapon name for a weapon selection pop-up.  Moving the 
         mouse up and down with change the selected weapon, which will be flashing
         yellow.
Fire - Fires the weapon based on the angle and power that were selected.  Some 
       specialty weapons like the Dirt Mover, Well Digger, Laser, etc... only use
       angle, power, or neither, so be aware that there are exceptions to the 
       rule.


Winning the Game:
-----------------

The game is over when all the weapons have been fired (10 volleys).  The player
with the most points wins.  Points are awarded based on accuracy of the 
shot and the damage potential of the weapon.  Most weapons use explosions to
cause damage... the closer the tank is to the center of an explosion, the more
points you get.  If you shoot the other tank, you receive points.  If you shoot 
yourself with a weapon, you lose points from your score.


Strategy:
---------

Strategy is key to winning.  It's one thing to hit you opponent on a turn-by-turn
basis, but it pays to think ahead.  You can get an 'incredible' amount of points
if you first hit them with a Pile Driver to put them is a hole, shoot the sides of
the hole with Bouncy Dirt, then hitting them with a Fission Bomb.  :)

Dirt weapons are another handy strategy.  If you bury a tank and they have no
'dirt removal' weapons, they will have no choice but to blast themselves out, 
and take a lot of points off their own score in the process.

Finally, knowing which weapons do the most damage is very handy.  Often the weapons
that give you the most points have the smallest explosions, and getting close
doesn't count.  For instance, you can only get 30 points max from a Big Shot which 
has a nice sized explosion radius.  But, you get 100 points for hitting a tank
dead-on with a Sniper Rifle.  If you don't hit the tank exactly, you get no points.
Other useful strategies is making sure the tank is 'downhill' or in a hole.  When 
it comes to weapons like Napalm, Hail Storm, Color Bomb, and even the cruiser and 
roller weapons, having the opponents tank downhill is the difference between 
100+ points and nothing.

Special note for owners of Pocket Tanks Deluxe... Bouncy Dirt can be a lot of fun
to work with.  You can protect yourself by lining the dirt around you
with rubber which reflects the bullets instead of letting them explode.  Offensively,
you can make 'normal' non-bouncing weapons flow downhill.  Surrounding the
opponents tank with Bouncy Dirt when they are in a hole can really increase your
chances of hitting them.  Bouncy Dirt can be neutralized with a Glue Bomb, which 
also has the added feature of exploding cruiser-based weapons on contact with
the effected dirt. 



Weapon List:
------------

Single Shot - The default weapon, medium sized explosion and good points
Big Shot - Large explosion radius, but points are low
3 Shot - 3 bullet spread, medium explosion size, low points per explosion
5 Shot - 5 bullet spread, medium explosion size, very low points per explosion
Jackhammer - Bullet bounces straight up 5 times... lots of fun to use 
Heatseeker - If the bullet gets close to the opponents tank, is flies toward it
Tracer - Fires a spread of 5 bullets that tell you how much to change your angle 
         for the next turn
Pile Driver - Small amount of damage, but explosions are directed down creating
             a hole
Dirt Mover - Directional dirt removal based on the angle when fired
Crazy Ivan - Proximity-based multi-warhead with unusual yet fun results
Spider - Spider web effect that sprays the closest tank when it goes off
Sniper Rifle - No explosion radius, large points, throws the tank nicely, deadly 
Magic Wall - Vertical wall will grow where the bullet lands
Dirt Slinger - V-shape dirt effect based on location where bullet lands
Zapper - Laser beam emits from bullet if it gets close to tank
Napalm - Exploding liquid that covers and burns everything caught in its wake
Hail Storm - Hundreds of bouncing ice pellets that flow along the ground
Ground Hog - Ground weapon that tunnels through the dirt and explodes on other side
Worm - Ground weapon that tunnels through dirt, but tries to dig upward
Homing Worm - Same as worm, but stops when it passes under tank and rises upward
Skipper - Skips a number of times before exploding
Chain Reaction - Random explosions in the general area where the bullet landed
Pineapple - Shell explodes when close to a tank, emitting a large number of
            tiny but highly damaging explosions
Firecracker - Horizontal spread of explosions based on where the bullet lands
Homing Missile - Stops horizontal speed when it passes over a tank
Dirtball - Dirt forms where bullet lands
Tommy Gun - A very satisfying automatic machine gun-style weapon 
Mountain Mover - Explosion removes dirt, but takes no points from tank
Scatter Shot - 5 bullets spread upward where bullet lands
Cruiser - Bullet 'cruises' along terrain for a few seconds before exploding


(The weapons below are only available in Pocket Tanks Deluxe)

Jump Jets - Tank will fly into the air based on angle and power (power divided by 4)
Mud Pie - Huge amount of dirtball bullets thrown into the air
Pin Cushion - Similar to Pineapple, but each resulting mini-bullet is a Zapper
Laser Battery - Lasers target the area where bullet lands, and fire in a circle
                surrounding it
Cannon Ball - Metal sphere bounces and rolls along ground, no explosion but
              lots of points awarded
Wacky Tank - Randomly changes the angle and power of the tank that's hit
Digger - Narrow tunnel is dug into ground based on the angle fired
Glue Bomb - Covers ground with glue.  It counteracts Bouncy Dirt, and protects 
            against cruiser-based weapons
Fission Bomb - Multiple upwardly splitting warheads, huge area of effect, 
               huge damage, the biggest weapon of them all
Late Bloomer - Similar to Ground Hog in that it tunnels through ground, but
               launches 5 bullets when it emerges from the ground
Fire Bolt - Flying fireball, if it lands on a tank it will burn it.  The faster
            you get the fireball on the tank, the longer it will burn.  Best
            used for short and up close shots
Color Bomb - Emits a huge rainbow of bouncy bullets when it gets close to a
             tank.  Very cool looking, and it causes a lot of damage without
             taking away a lot of dirt
Potholes - Great for ripping the terrain apart and trapping tanks in holes.  
           Very large area of effect
Boomerang - Cruiser weapon that comes back when it lands... travels a long 
            distance so hitting yourself is very easy.
Popcorn - Many little bullets that sputter across terrain causing damage, but
          no explosions
Sprinkler - It's as easy to hit yourself with this weapon as it is to hit someone 
            else.  It easily effects the whole screen.  If you can't afford to 
            miss the other tank, this is your weapon
Well Digger - Digs you out of 'any' amount of dirt that may be covering your tank
Bouncy Dirt - Tiny pink balls of liquid rubber cover the ground, making the dirt
              reflect bullets
Super Tracer - Spread of 10 tracer bullets that tell you how much to change your
               angle
Minigun - Machine gun bullets with small explosions and decent damage.  The 
          points add up if properly used
Laser - A bullet that will go straight as an arrow out of the turret
Supper Skipper - Bullet that skips a large number of times before exploding
Crater Maker - Biggest explosion in the game, pretty good points, too 
Big Dirtball - The Dirtball's big brother
Super Zapper - A super-charged version of the Zapper with more point and 
               a much further reach
Cruball - A cruising Dirtball
Mega Cruiser - A Cruiser with a big explosion and lots of points
Roller - Cruiser-based weapon that only rolls downhill
Heavy Roller - A Roller with big explosion and big points
Flash Blast - Explosion that will scorch the ground and extract points, but won't
              take away dirt.  Great for keeping the opponents tank locked on



Note from the Author:
---------------------

Pocket Tanks is made in the tradition of the Amiga-style shareware 
game:  lots of gameplay, nice graphics, and a cool sound track.  

There are 30 weapons (with 30 more available in the 'deluxe' edition).

I advise playing the game for a while in Target Practice mode, just
to get a feel for the types of weapons available.  Then when you're ready,
grab a friend and play one-on-one.  Your biggest battles and most recent
conquests will be stored in a highscore table, so that everyone knows
who's the best.  ;)

The game is made to be very easy to play.  My 3 year old daughter and 4 year old 
nephew love playing Pocket Tanks.  They can't hit the broad side of a barn
yet, but they love the explosions and the cool weapon effects, not to 
mention destroying ALL the dirt on the screen. 

Now that I have a family, I try to write games that I can enjoy with my children 
when they get older.  I hope that this game brings families together in 
a light game of strategy.  

I've spent over a year's worth of free-time designing and programming 
Pocket Tanks.  I hope that everyone enjoys it.

Visit www.blitwise.com for more info about this, and other games I've written.


-Michael P. Welch
Author of DX-Ball & Scorched Tanks






Versions Changes
----------------

v1.00 
--------------
(initial release)


v1.00a
--------------
bug fixes