Bombaman

BOMBAMAN v1.0 [STe 1Mb Version]

        by KEVIN CALLAHAN

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 THE FASTEST, MOST FUN MULTIPLAYER
 BATTLE GAME AVAILABLE FOR THE STE

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Please distribute this file with the
              executable.

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[CONFIGURATION]:

Requires 1Mb STe minimum..


[OVERVIEW]:

Blittered sprites
DMA (Pre-Emptive-Prioritised) Sound
Palette Switching
Lower Border removed for extra playarea
50 Frames Per Sec
Original chip music(!)


[SUPPORTS]:

Normal joysticks.
STe Joystick Ports.
Printer Port Joysticks...?
Keyboard...?


[SOFTWARE]:

100% written in heavily optimised
68000 assembler.
FULLY commented source-code available..


[HISTORY]:

Bomberman (again?).  Well I decided that
the ones available  did not show the STe
capabilities very well; so I thought I'd
write one that did!


----------------------------------------


[HISTORY]:

There was a preview version of this game
(called BOMBARD) released in 1997.  I've
added MANY different  things since then,
despite the  abysmal response I got from
the  preview!  ( Only  2  (TWO!)  people
bothered to contact me ).

As such this version is  pretty  heavily
crippled  (some code  is missing),  also
you  can  only  play  3  games  in total
without restarting the game.  Enough  to
get you  hooked hopefully  and  an added
incentive for you to register!

Sorry  I've had  to  do  this!  I  don't
expect to  make  my  fortune,  but  some
registered   interest would be incentive
enough  to  continue  developing for the
Atari platform. Otherwise I won't bother
any more.. Your choice.



[PLAYING THE GAME]:

A simple game; little explanation req'd.
Your  little guy  runs around  an  arena
trying to kill the other little guys.
This is accomplished  by laying bombs to
destroy blocks until  you find  yourself
facing your enemy  (who's doing the same
thing).
In the meantime  bonuses  and  powerups,
hidden by some explodable blocks  can be
picked up to aid you.

Bombs always explode in four directions:
up/down/left/right.
Certain blocks cannot be destroyed.
Explosions trigger other bombs,resulting
in chain-reactions.

The last player left wins the round.  An
ongoing score is kept (until  you  clear
it within the OPTIONS screen).
This   UNREGISTERED   shareware  version
allows only 3 battles before exiting.

To kick  a bomb, hit  fire  to  lay  it,
then  hit fire  a second time  whilst on
it to  kick it in the  direction you are
facing.
To throw a bomb, hit  fire  to  lay  it;
face a wall and then  hit fire  to throw
it over any blocks.  They bounce off the
arena walls so be warned.


If you require  more  than  two  players
(normal joysticks)  to  play,  go to the
OPTIONS  screen,  choose  SELECT PLAYERS
and hit fire to enable your guy.
This  unregistered   shareware   version
allows the full four  players,  but  the
extra two players must use the STe extra
joystick ports. Could put in support for
the printer port joystick extension if I
get enough interest..



Okay, now a list of possible effects!
(*=temporary)

Extra bomb (GreyBomb)
	Increase layable bombs.

Explosion range (YellowSun)
	Explosion spread increase.

Kickability (Hand)
	Ability to kick/throw bombs.

Molotov* (Bottle)
	All thrown bombs are molotov
        cocktails.. Try it, but don't
        be nearby when it hits a wall
        or the ground (1 square spread)!

Speedup* (RollerSkate)
	Double your Bombaman's speed.

Flakjacket* (Jacket)
	Immunity from explosions.

Extend Coin (XCoin)
	Extend the time you have a
	temporary powerup.

Timeout Clock (Clock)
	End your current powerup.

Wild Star* (Asterisk)
	Global effect on all players.

Detonator (Plunger)
	Detonate all bombs on-screen.

Ghost Bombs* (SmallBlackBomb)
	Lay a bomb, it vanishes and
        reappears just before exploding.
	"Surprise!"
        Try kicking and throwing these!

Yinyang Effects* (YinYang)
	Random selection including:
		Short/Long fuses
		Mega/Mini Explosions
		Speedup/Slowdown/Reverse
		Immunity
		Invisibility
		Autolay
		Nobombs


[STRATEGY/TIPS]:

If you pick up a  molotov  bottle before
you can throw/kick, it's wasted. Well it
stops others having it anyway.

Thrown bombs bounce off the arena edges.

Use global effects  to confuse the other
players who've just laid a  bomb  or  to
strip  them  of a  good powerup  they've
picked up (like the molotov!)!

Watch other guys aren't  stood next to a
detonator when you plant a bomb!

Use kick/throw to bomb the other side of
the screen quickly.

Use throwing to block others in confined
areas then throw more bombs in any gaps!
"Trapping them in the bathroom".

Throw  or  kick  bombs at ones  that are
about to explode, but  remember  to  get
out of the way!

Watch out for the chasing zombies if the
game takes too long.  They set off bombs
for you.....


[INGAME KEYS]:

Q - quits current battle
P - Pause on/off
M - Music on/off (whilst paused)



[OPTIONS SCREEN KEYS]:

arrows      - move selection
enter/space - pick/choose
Also reads joystick in port 1.



[FUTURE WORK]:

I would like to  develop more  games for
the STe. Does  anyone  else  still  want
to play games on it though?

I am starting work on other titles.  But
won't bother  if there's  no response to
this one.  I  don't  see  much  point in
writing stuff  if  there's  no  interest
in it.

I intend  my  subsequent  releases to be
much better - and  am  considering  some
titles  at  the  moment  (if no-one else
writes them before me!).

Since I have the basic routines now, any
future  productions  will be  quicker to
develop!

I've actually just got  hold of a PC and
this will  be used  to help  develop STe
games (and play the odd game I suppose).


[SHAREWARE]:

This is an  EVALUATION COPY  of the full
game.  If you don't like it,  you  don't
pay a thing!

Shareware   programs    are   commercial
programs,   in   which  the   programmer
retains copyright.  The user  is allowed
to run the program for a specific amount
of time, and when this period is up, the
user is obliged  to  pay  the  shareware
fee.  Otherwise,  the  program  must  be
deleted  as it  becomes an  unauthorised
copy.  If software authors  receive  few
registrations  they  are   unlikely   to
continue supporting  your  machine  (why
should they?). If  you're  not  sure  an
author's address is still valid,  send a
letter or card first, he'll  be  pleased
to  hear  from  you.  It's  up  to  you.
Support  cheap, good quality software or
buy  a  PC, and  expect  to spend  money
upgrading it every year  in order to run
anything new.

It's always nice to get some response to
the hours of  work that  programmers put
into their creations!

Due to  past  experience  and  an  added
incentive to  register,  this version is
slightly crippled (Sorry!).