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                            S P A C E   N O I S E
                              Version 0.4 eta
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DO NOT modify any of the files.  I encourage you to distribute it but DO NOT
modify this text file or any of the other files.


DISCLAIMER
   
    
    I hold no responsibility whatsoever that this program or anything therein, 
has to you, your computer, your family, your eyes, feet, ears, nose... well 
you get the picture.  It ain't my fault if you go mad.


What the Heck is This?
   

    This is a game much like Star Control II.  As I am only a beginner game 
coder I wanted something to work on in my quest for more knowledge.  I have 
never worked on something huge before and so this was my goal.
    The game was started around January time and was coded in PASCAL and ASM.
Production began just as my Exams started.  Since I am only in grade 9 it
wasn't much of a problem.
    Production went very slow as I am only one (beginner) coder strong but
things were getting under way and so here I am.
          To install it just unzip the SBITE0_4.ZIP.

A note:  The game can be run off disk but it might take a while to load.


What's the Game Like?


    As I have mentioned above, this game is practically a Star Control II
clone.  Since this is a very early version, many of the things are missing.
For example, New Game, Load Game will not work.  The only menus that will
work are Combat, Configuration, and Quit (who would want this one?)
    The only part that is playable is the "Melee" part which is inside the
Combat menu.  The AI is not finished yet but the game may be played with two
human players.


How Do You Play?


    Once you hit BATTLE from the Combat Menu you will see two ships.  When you
press your Thrust button you will start to move forward.  One you hit reverse
thrust you will move backwards.  The Shoot button will shoot your main weapon,
where as your Special button will execute your special thingy.  Each ship
has different weapons and the keys are configurable within the Configuration
Menu.  The object is to destroy the other ship.
    Once your ship is destroyed it will begin to spin out of control.  During
this time you may still shoot as a last ditch effort to destroy your
opponent, but after a short period of time your ship will explode.
    There are six ships all together complete with six weapons and six
specials each.  Each one can be chosen within the Combat Menu.
    Since this game is not optimized at all I've included a little feature 
that may help you if you are running on a slower machine.  Go into the
Configuration Menu and select the Frame Update Speed.  You can set it by 
pressing the '+' and '-' keys.  The higher the number the faster the game.  
This will lower the quality of the game and will make it skip.  This feature 
is kinda screwy so increasing it above 2 is not advisable.  Also, DO NOT set 
it to 0.


When Will the Next Release Be?


    Exams are coming up again and summer vacation is starting which usually    
means I will have more work (as weird as it may seem).  Because of this I will
not be able to work on it until maybe September but then I will be learning 
C++ (and moving to 3D).  I will probably still work on it but just not as 
much.  In case you actually, really want the newest version of the game then 
E-MAIL me with an address I can send it to.  My address is at the very bottom 
of this doc.


Are There any Future Improvements?


    Yes there are many new ideas, here are a few.

-the real game/story line
-Music/Sound FX
-Space drift
-Planets
-A REAL starfield
-Power-ups for Combat?
-fixed explosions
-less files (files spread out for debugging purposes)
-Joystick/Mouse support (already coded... not implemented)
-finished AI


Are There Any Bugs I Should Be Aware of?


    Yes.
    These are the following bugs... if you spot anymore please E-MAIL me.

-Ships sometimes stick
-Ai stinks
-Something wrong with the shots
-crashes sometimes (i have no idea on this one)
-slow
-very slow


Other Useless Info You Might Care To Read 


    In case you're wondering why this game has over 80 files, it's because I
didn't want to pack all the files into one yet.  Because many files maybe
changed or removed I have kept them separate for debugging purposes.  In the
final release the files will be cleaned up.
    This game was made mostly by me, except for pictures in the Config Menu
and one of a Space Shuttle (I wonder if you'll find it?).  I also used a 
keyboard handler from my good friend Pepin Woolcock.  Otherwise, everything 
else was coded by me.  Anyways... if you are still reading this you must be 
as incredibly bored as I am.  Have fun!


sandwich_oil@hotmail.com ('s all I can get so far)...


                                                              6/2/97: Queasy
