FOUR-F
(c) Fruitware
By Greg George
greg@ataritimes.com
Visit The Atari Times at www.ataritimes.com
LICENSE:
This game is emailware. If you like it (or even if you don't) I ask
that you send me an email (greg@ataritimes.com) letting me know. This
game is also free. Absolutely, positively, free! It is not to be sold,
alone, or in any type of compilation. However, if some generous person
wants to send a few bucks my way, I won't turn it down!
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Atari ST with at least 1 meg of RAM
Color Monitor
Hard Drive recommended.
EMULATORS
This game can also be run on a PC running an Atari ST emulator. It has
been tested with the following:
* PacifiST - Seems to run absolutely perfect, however the loading times
are attrocious. I don't know enough about PacifiST to play with the
settings, perhaps you can max out the total speed through the
emulator somehow. Can't load new levels, making the editor useless.
* GEMulator - Works great and is very fast. No loading time problems.
However, trying to load a level into the Level Editor (hidden)
causes problems. The same goes for loading a pre-made level. Another
problem is how it zips through the high score and credits screens.
* WinSTon - Seems to run perfectly. Loading times are great! One
problem I experienced had to do with disk access. If you see the line
"Error 52 at line 8210" (like I did) I'm guessing WinSTon isn't set
up to read the PC hard disk. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test the
LOAD/SAVE capability of the editor due to this.
* STew - Exactly like WinSTon, except I can't figure out how to get it
to read the PC hard disk. Therefore, I cannot test Four-F with it.
* STeem Engine - Same as WinSTon. Runs great, but won't allow you to
load external levels.
* SainT - Doesn't seem to be able to run the desktop. So, there isn't
a way (that I know) to run the game. I wonder if it would work if
it was turned into a disk image?
Recommendation:
WinSTon for normal play. Hopefully, an emulator update, or a bug in
Four-F will be found to allow editing with a PC. At this point, it
only wants to work on a real ST.
STARTING THE GAME:
When first runs, you will be taken to the title screen. There, you will
see four buttons: Info, Options, Start, and Quit.
* INFO: Gives you the storyline for Four-F and how to play!
* OPTIONS: Allows you to change settings in the game. See below.
* START: Starts a game with the OPTIONS you have selected.
* QUIT: Exits the game.
Also on the title screen you can press "V" to display the version
number at the bottom of the screen.
OPTIONS:
The options screen allows you to configure the game towards your
liking.
* MODE: There are two modes of games in Four-F. CONTEST and RANDOM.
CONTEST is where you must play your way through the 100 predesigned
levels. The goal is to collect all the fruit or find an EXIT. Upon
completion of CONTEST, you are given the games TRUE title, how to
access the Level Editor, and a secret website where you can download
new levels, files, and information about the game.
RANDOM will generate a random maze for you to wander in. The goal is
to earn a certain number of points. Afterwards, you will move on to
the next random level. In RANDOM, there are 5 rooms per level.
* TYPE: If you change your game type from NORMAL to FILL-IN, you will
be able to "draw" a picture on the screen as you walk around. Simply
copy your favorite .NEO or .PI1 files into the Four-F directory to
make the game more graphichally interesting.
* AUDIO: Choose between MUSIC, SFX, or OFF. I prefer OFF myself. Also,
I don't think I even spent any time creating any SFX, so that option
is just for fluff.
* CONTROL: You can control the game with a joystick, a mouse, or the
keyboard.
IN-GAME KEYS:
To make the game-playing experience that much better, I've included the
ability to change certian options during the game itself.
Press the following keys to achieve the desired results:
Q - Quits the game. Immediately. No confirmation.
C - Toggles the control between Joystick, Mouse, or Keyboard.
S - Starts the screen saver. (See the R-GON section below.)
M - Change the music being play. There are, if I remember correctly,
five different tunes to choose from. Each of them an annoying chip
tune. One of the tunes is OFF!
ENTER - Changes the color of the wall you leave behind. I like using
black, because it make it look like the floor is disappearing
behind me!
SCORING:
Move 1 step - 1 point
Collect Fruit - 10 points
Collect -1 - -10 points or -1 in RANDOM game
Collect -5 - -50 points or -5 in RANDOM game
Extra life every 1,000 points.
R-GON SCREENSAVER:
This was a program I was working on seprately and decided to
incorporate into FOUR-F. Press S during a game to start it.
NOTE: Emulator users might as well forget about using this unless you
are running at the ST's true speed.
Press the following keys to achieve the desired results:
1, 2, or 3: Tells the computer to turn ON or OFF R-Gon 1, 2 or 3.
Q - Increases the frequency of the random colors.
A - Decreases the frequency of the random colors.
Z - Freezes the colors where they are.
X - Un-freezes the colors. Q or A will also do this.
F - Freezes the R-Gons where they are.
W - Speeds up the R-Gons.
S - Slows down the R-Gons.
B - Keeps from erasing the R-Gons on the screen at each redraw. It
blurrs the screen to create a cool effect.
N - Returns the blurring screens to normal.
C - Clears the screen.
SPACE - Exits R-GON and returns to the game.
BLOCK TYPES ETC:
Please use the INFO screen for more on what you will experience when
playing Four-F. (Text files, by nature, cannot show the different
block graphics, which is why I created the INFO button in the first
place!)
LEVEL EDITOR:
The game does have a secret, built-in Level Editor. You will have to
complete the game to access it.
Once you have reached the end of the game, you will also be givin the
url of a secret website where you can download the Editor help file.
THANKS!
Eternal thanks for making this game possible go to:
Myself: For coding, graphics, and playtesting.
Fruitman: For the same.
Mona Pomeroy: For loaning (giving) me her Bach book.
Bach: (Of course) for writing musical masterpieces. Sorry the ST
couldn't make them sound better.
Lr Pierce: For some interesting gameplay ideas.
Tony Greenwood: For sending me his patched copy of STOS, allowing the
mouse to work in PC Emulators.
Remember, if you have any questions or comments, please contact me.
Greg George
greg@ataritimes.com
Visit The Atari Times at www.ataritimes.com