ALIEN BLOCKADE
==============
Written by David Scantlebury , 1989/90
Alien Blockade will be familiar to fans of the arcade game
QIX. The object is to close off a large percentage of the screen by
drawing lines to enclose portions of the playing area. When a portion is
enclosed it will be filled in with part of a picture. When not drawing ,
the cursor may be moved around the border of the unfilled area.
Unfortunately , as always , there's a catch! In this case it comes in
the form of the alien energy field that moves about inside the enclosed
area. Should it touch the cursor while in the border area or a line while
it's being drawn then a life is lost! On later levels the player has to
contend with 'tracers' which move along the border area. Should they touch
your cursor then yep , you die! The observant will also notice the timer
ticking away at the bottom of the screen and guess what happens when that
runs out ............... Yep , again , you die!
The joystick is used to control the cursor. Press fire and push
the 'stick' in the required direction to start drawing a line. Points are
awarded for filling in areas of the screen and bonuses are awarded for
filling in the energy field or tracers by enclosing them. A bonus based
on the time taken is awarded at the end of each completed level. More
points may be earned by filling in large areas than by many small ones.
An extra life is awarded for every 10,000 points.
BACKGROUND PICTURES
===================
The background pictures are stored as files on the disc and may be
changed. Degas low res. uncompressed (.PI1) and Neochrome (.NEO) picture
files may be used. Brightly coloured pictures tend work better than dark
ones.
The first picture is called PIC01.PI1 or PIC01.NEO , the second is
PIC02.PI1 or PIC02.NEO and so on. The number of pictures is limited only
by the memory of your ST and by the space on your disk.
AND FINALLY..........
If you have any comments or suggestions for future versions then
you can write to me at :-
12 Mansell Avenue ,
Michaelston-Super-Ely ,
Cardiff ,
Wales ,
CF5 4TB
Likewise , if you want a copy of the (undocumented!) 68000 source code
then just include a disk and a stamped addressed envelope. Alien Blockade
was my first attempt at programming on the ST and my first attempt at
programming in 68000 so it aint too amazing , but it's there , in DEVPAC format
, if you want it.............
David Scantlebury , Feb. 1991