Square Off

                         -= S Q U A R E   O F F =-
                          (c)1995 Dave Munsie

                              Programming:
                              Dave Munsie

                               Graphics:
                       Matt DeJonge, Dave Munsie

                        Music, Voice, Sound Fx:
                              Dave Munsie


Features:
=========

20 levels of play.
Multiple playfields in Arcade Mode. (Changes every 2 levels)
2 levels of difficulty: Novice, Expert
3 modes of play: Classic, Arcade, Battle
Multiple music tracks. (Changes every 4 levels)
Digitized voice effects.


Requirements:
=============

STe/TT/Falcon with 1 megabyte of memory.
Hard Drive reccomended for those with only 1 megabyte of memory.
Color monitor.
Joystick. (1 or 2)

Users who have 2 megabytes or more of memory will have virtually no
disk access since the game recognizes the extra memory and loads in
all data at start up.

NOTE: Floppy disk users with only 1 megabyte of memory will be
      allowed to play SQUAREOFF in it's entirety but will experience
      SERIOUSLY long load times, go to the options menu and turn the
      music OFF for faster disk access.

***********************************************************************

NOTE: SQUARE OFF has been tested and verified to run on the following
      machines from both FLOPPY DISK and HARD DRIVE.

      TT w/2 megabytes of memory.
      Mega STe w/1 megabyte of memory.
      Mega STe w/4 megabytes of memory.
      Falcon 030 with 4 megs of memory.

      And for compatibility testing SQUARE OFF has been tested and
      verified to run on a 1 MEGABYTE 1040 ST TOS 1.0 machine.
      (DMA features were disabled...)

      We can make no guarantee that this game will work with your
      hardware/software configuration. However in the event that you
      cannot get this program to run on your system, please contact
      us right away and let us know your system configuration.


SCREEN SPEED UPS (NVDI, WARP 9, etc...)

Due to the internal method that this program handles resolution changing
and also due to the fact that certain screen handlers virtually seem
to make it impossible to change resolutions from within your own
program without messing everything up, certain screen handlers may need
to be disabled before running this program. SQUARE OFF has been verified
to run OK under WARP 9 but NVDI and possibly other screen handlers may
cause a conflict.

If SQUARE OFF seems to flicker once in a blue moon or you notice some
strange slow-down every-now-and-then, you may want to disable any
ACC's OR TSR's that may be grabbing un-wanted CPU time from SQUARE OFF.

As usual whenever possible we try to latch in to existing system
interrupts rather than take full control of your machine.

***********************************************************************

Introduction:
=============

Several years ago, puzzle games and home computers met face  to  face,
shook hands, and became best friends.  During the early  years, a game
of great  posture  came  forth  from  the  backwood  of  the  U.S.S.R.
Carrying the hammer and sickle over its head, Tetris  emerged  as  the
granddaddy of all electronic puzzle games.

People all over the world  watched  as  combinations  of  four  blocks
dropped from the top to the bottom of their screens.  Some adventurous
types decided  to  make  their  own  versions, adding music, sound and
better graphics.  The next generation of Tetris was born.

In Square Off, all of the classic  feel  of  the  original  Tetris  is
attained, but this time melodic digital  audio  soundtracks  pump  out
exciting gaming music, fitting sound effects thump, ping, and pound to
every  move, and  a  modern  graphic  display   soothes  the  eye  and
compliments your gaming experience.


Installation:
=============


Floppy Drive Users:
-------------------

     Copy the folder "DISK1" and the file "SQUAROFF.PRG" to  the  root
     directory of disk .  Then, copy the folder "DISK2" to the root
     directory of disk .

     On disk 1 you should have a folder called DISK1 with all the files
     located inside of it expect for SQUAROFF.PRG which should be
     on the root directory of the disk.

     On disk 2 you should have a folder called DISK2 with all the files
     located inside of it.

     NOTE: MAKE SURE THE WRITE PROTECT IS OFF BEFORE YOU LOAD THE GAME!


Hard Drive Users:
-----------------

     Copy the folders "DISK1" and "DISK2", and the file "SQUAROFF.PRG"
     into any directory on your hard drive.  Both folders and the main
     program must be in the same directory.

     NOTE: Hard Drive users with less than 2 megabytes of memory may
           need to disable any ACC's in order to make the program
           run on their machine properly.


Main Game Menu:
===============
After the initial welcoming screen, you'll be presented with the  Main
Game Menu:

1 PLAYER - will allow you to immediately begin a one  player  game  in
the default Expert Arcade mode.  To change game mode  and/or  level of
difficulty, you will need to select Options.

2 PLAYERS - will allow you to immediately begin a two player  game  in
the default Expert Arcade mode.  To change game mode  and/or  level of
difficulty, you will need to select Options.

OPTIONS - will allow you to configure the game to your  specifications
(see Options Menu).

EXIT - will exit you back to your operating system or shell.


Options not shown :
-------------------

Pressing "J" from the title screen will activate the PowerPad(tm)
controller. (STe/Falcon)

Pressing "K" will access the key  code  option.
This screen will display your registration code.  Typing in the proper
key will register the game (see Registration).


Options Menu:
=============

The Options Menu allows you  to  configure  Square  Off  to  your  own
personal specifications:

GAME MODE - You can cycle  through  the  three  modes  of  game  play;
Arcade, 2 Player Battle, and Classic.

DIFFICULTY - Toggle between Expert and Novice modes of difficulty.

CONTROL - There are three control set-ups for Square Off:

              | Config 1 | Config 2 | Config 3 |
              +----------+----------+----------+  *=Joystick or
     Player 1 | Stick*   | Keyboard | Stick*   |    PowerPad(tm)
     Player 2 | Keyboard | Stick*   | Stick*   |


JOYSTICK CONTROL:

Move your piece left or right with the stick. Rotate your piece by
pressing the FIRE button. (button A on Powerpad) Press DOWN to move
your piece down. You can hold the direction DOWN for rapid vertical
movement.

KEYBOARD CONTROL:

Move your piece left or right by using the LEFT & RIGHT arrows on the
keyboard. Rotate your piece by pressing either HELP or UNDO. Press
the SPACE bar for continuous vertical movement until the piece hits
the bottom or another object. You can also press the DOWN arrow to
move your piece one section down at a time.


ESC: This will reset to the title screen.


MUSIC - Toggles gaming music On or Off. (Does not  take  effect  until
game has begun.)

EXIT - Quits the Options Menu and returns you to the Main Game Menu.


Modes of Game Play:
===================

Classic mode :
--------------

As with the original game of Tetris(tm) the goal is to stack the blocks
in a fitting way so that they fill a complete horizontal line. When a
line of blocks is full, they will be cleared and the blocks above them
will fall down. The object is to clear as many lines as possible. When
the blocks reach the top of the play area the game is over. Unlike other
versions of Tetris(tm), in classic mode each time you play the game you
will face off against the same sequence of blocks. This allows you to
fairly judge your gaming skills against yourself or other players.


Arcade Mode :
-------------

This mode features 20 levels of increasing challenge. While the overall
goal of the game remains the same as challenge mode, in arcade mode
you will have to clear a pre-determined amount of lines to proceed to the
next level. Every two levels the background playfield will change. In
later rounds you will have to contend with blocks that are already
placed on the playfield, increasing the overall challange. To make
things easier (or harder!) arcade mode features a fire bomb that when
dropped onto the blocks causes the surrounding blocks to dissapear.
You will get 3 continues per game in Arcade mode. Only the true
Square Off masters will be able to complete all 20 levels!


2 Player Battle Mode :
----------------------

Grab a friend and truly test your Square Off skills in head to head
competition mode. The goal is simple, the player who SURVIVES the
longest wins that round. At the end of 10 rounds the player with the
most wins will WIN! After each round ends, one of the players will
have to press the fire button in order to continue, this way you
don't have to play all 10 rounds unless you want to. What makes battle
mode so much fun is that when you clear 2 or more lines at a time you
send those rows (-1) to the other player to make his side stack up
even quicker! Here's how it works....

Clear 2 lines and send 1 line(s) to the other player.
      3 lines and send 2 line(s) to the other player.
      4 lines and send 3 line(s) to the other player.

Since the lines won't be sent until his current block lands, if you are
quick you can build up several lines to send to the other player!!


In any of the game  modes, there  are  a  few  consistantcies.  First,
every time you complete four lines consecutively, and do that twice in
one level, you will be awarded  1,000  bonus  points.  In  one  player
Classic and one player Arcade mode there is a cumulative record of the
pieces dropped in the right playfield.  In between the playfields  are
two sets of numbers:

Upper Left (Player 1):
                     ðððððððð
Current Score -----> ð017250ð
                     ðððððððð
Number of Lines ---> ð05ð026ð <--- Total Number of Lines Completed
Left Till Next       ðððððððð
Level                ð03ð <--- Current Level
                     ðððð

Lower Right (Player 2):
                         ðððð
      Current Level ---> ð03ð
                     ðððððððð
                     ð017250ð <--- Current Score
 Number of Lines     ðððððððð
 Left Till Next ---> ð05ð026ð <--- Total Number of Lines Completed
 Level               ðððððððð


EXITING THE PROGRAM:

Upon exiting SQUAREOFF will generate an ASCII score file that you
can print or view from the desktop. This file is called SCORES.ASC and
will be located in the DISK2 directory.


SHAREWARE:
==========

This program is being marketed as shareware which means you can test
out the COMPLETE game (with a few features disabled) without having to
spend more than a few dollars in order to download it or receive it from
a pd/shareware supplier, and then if you like it enough to purchase it
(and if you're a Tetris(tm) player we think you'll like it...) you can
simply call one of our dealers and obtain the registration code right
over the phone without having to be sent anything else in the mail or
transferred to your computer by modem.


Features disabled while the program is un-registered:
=====================================================

Almost everything is intact expect that while the program is
un-registered you can only play up to level 7 and in battle mode you can
only play one game at a time.


SHAREWARE REGISTRATION:
=======================

No speeches this time out, you know the real story anyway, if you
enjoy this program you should register it, if you would like to see
continued support for this platform by the developer(s) you should
register, if you don't care about future development on this platform
by this developer simply ignore this message, we'll get the point.
                                  Munsie
                               5601 Ammons
                          Haltom City  TX 76117
                               817-485-9293
                            DELPHI: DMUNSIE
                  Internet Address: DMUNSIE@DELPHI.COM