|
| |
| |
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
STATIC
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A GAME BY RESERVOIR GODS
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
RELEASE 1.0 (4/1/98)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Static may be loaded from either floppy or Hard Drive, but it is highly
advisable to boot if off the latter since it is slow to load off floppy.
To load the program simply double click on STATIC.PRG and once the
Reservoir Gods logo has come up, it will begin loading.
After the program has loaded you will be presented with the main menu
screen including Static logo, scrolltext, rotating, texture-mapped card
and eight icons arranged in two layers. The icons represent the
following functions and can be found in the
corresponding places:
PLAY THE GAME QUIT THE GAME
(Jagpad icon) (No cards icon)
VIEW HIGHSCORES INFO SCREEN
(Star icon) (Magnifying glass)
XTRA MENU SOUND MENU
(Pair of cards) (Drum icon)
JOKER MENU GAME MENU
(Jester's hat) (Pair of dice)
The top layer of icons (Play, highscores, info and quit) are all 'action
icons', while the bottom layer (Joker, Xtra, Sound and Game) are all menus
which allow you to configure the game to match your requirements.
To access menus or perform actions, use cursor keys or jagpad to move the
white highlighter box until it is around the icon of your choice, then press
either space or Jagpad button A.
When you select a menu it will scroll onto the screen and you will now
be able to change various aspects of the game by moving up or down, to reach the
desired option, and then left and right to choose difficulty levels, for
instance to increase 'Computer Intelligence' from Average to Smart. Also
use fire or space on direct action options inside menus, such as 'Test Sound
FX', and also on the return to Main Menu option, always found at the bottom of
each menu box.
You may also exit menu boxes quickly by pressing escape or button B on the
Jagpad.
================================================================================
THE HYPE
================================================================================
coming to a Falcon030 near you soon...
S ' T ' A ' T ' I ' C
..from the director of 'tautology' comes the controversial new thriller.....
"Outstanding. I was on the edge of my lawn." Daily Mail
..featuring Sharon Stone as the sultry semi clad grocer who has a popular
collection of melons...
"I wept from start to finish." Evening Standard
...and Gerard Doapoo as the enigmatic French mechanic with the part time job
at Kwik-Fit who falls madly in love with exhaust fumes..
"turgid" New Hedgetrimmer Monthly
...they were four different cops who either played by the rules or didn't and
now had to team up to beat the crap out of each other...
"absolute bobbins" The Observer
...you will remember the colour of the sky when the terror begins....
"It doesn't work on my PC with NVDI 2.5" Felice
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"STATIC" a RESERVOIR GODS production programmed by MR PINK
graphics by RIPLEY and SPAREHEAD THREE music performed by MSG
starring GRAHAM KELLY as ODDITY and WILLIAM HAGUE as WILLIE THORNE
introducing CAPTAIN BIRDS EYE as FAMILY FEUD
art direction RIPLEY lettering SH3 realtime stunts MSG bugs MR PINK
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
================================================================================
THE HISTORY OF STATIC
================================================================================
Summer 1997, somewhere in deepest Wales.
Mr. Pink has a temporary job working for the government.
He is working on a top secret government project. The government loans him a top
of the range computer so he can program in the privacy of his home. The computer
is a Pentium 200 with oodles of memory and Windows NT 4.0 as the operating
system. Mr. Pink is very unimpressed with this computer especially as NT ensures
that everything runs exceptionally slowly. The programming is a dull and
laborious task, and his only moments of relaxation come by playing the free
games. In fact, he spends rather longer playing 'Solitaire' than actually
programming. But this is not what he records on his timesheet.
The project is completed and the government takes back the PC. This is actually
the second PC he had borrowed - the first one blew up, leading to him making
lots of smug comments about PC reliability to the beleaguered IT department.
Mr. Pink is relieved to see the back of the dinosaur like hulking grey box and
its sloth like operating system. He is amazed how an ancient operating system
like GEM on a 16mhz computer can completely outperform the latest operating
system on a 200mhz Pentium II. How is it possible for Microsoft to program
things so badly? The only slight tang of regret is that he can no longer play
'Solitaire'. Cogs slowly start turning in his rusty brain.
Why not adapt this game to the falcon? Bring the playability of the original but
add hosts of extra features, true colour graphics and stereo DSP music and
sampled sound FX? Why not add a multiplayer mode, artificial intelligence, card
stealing and player interaction? Why not add a gaggle of nasty jokers that
inflict damage on the other players? Why not write a game that completely blows
the Pentium 200 version out of the water?
So just before coding the new Maggie shell, work began on Static.
The basic game engine was completed fairly quickly, but being a Reservoir Gods
game being basic wasn't enough. This had to be the game to end all other
'Solitaire' games. Mr. Pink and Ripley schemed over scores of diabolical jokers.
Some were just too evil and had to be left out of the game. Others had minimal
effect on the game and were also excluded. We were left with a shock force of
battle hardened jokers, weapons to cast terror into the heart of opponents.
Ripley and sh3 painted some unique card sets - these weren't just to be dull,
cliched playing cards. We wanted outrageous colours! We wanted diversity! We
wanted something different, something original.
The 'Scallies' were invented. This idea was inspired by the charming youths of
Liverpool who Mr. Pink has had much time to study over the last five years. He
suspects that their evil ringmaster is a shadowy figure known only by the
pseudonym "Eddie's Cat".
In Static, the scallies enable you to steal cards off opponents, or place your
own cards on opponents boards to block moves. In general, they create havoc and
confusion!
Ripley came up with a brilliant idea for the high score table. Instead of just
typing a name in, why not let the player actually 'sign' their name in the form
of graphics? They could draw their own logos or pictures. The sterile high score
entry form was cast aside and replaced with a pencil and easel - a mini art
package for the successful to inscribe their name for posterity.
Sh3 painted some more excellent logos - he just seems to get better and better.
He and Ripley also created a vast array of colourful background graphics to
bring extra life to the game.
Mr. Pink coded a gouraud shading routine for the high score table and a texture
mapping routine for the main menu. Under the strict eye of Ripley, everything
was carefully designed and put into place.
MSG composed not one but two tunes for the game. The first is a pumping all
action mod designed specifically for the hectic hurly-burly of the multiplayer
game. The second is a soothing ambient piece designed for the more relaxing
single player game.
Parts of the game were done in Wales, Bolton, Liverpool and Harrogate with it
all being finally put together over Christmas and New Year in Abermule.
We hope you enjoy 'Static', the first Falcon game of 1998.
================================================================================
BOARD LAYOUT
================================================================================
During the game, the layout of each player's gaming board is as follows:
|Face| |Face| |Joker-| |Top |Top |Top |Top |
|down| |up | |Effect| |Pile|Pile|Pile|Pile|
|deck| |deck| |Timer | | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|Pile| |Pile| |Card | |One |Two |Thre|Four|
|Column|Column|Column|Column|Column|Column|Column|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
================================================================================
PLAYING STATIC
================================================================================
If you are familiar with Solitaire, you will have a good idea of how to play
Static, but there are a lot of extra features that you should be aware of.
The game works with a standard pack of cards containing 4 suits.
The cards are shuffled and placed face down into seven columns of increasing
length. The remaining cards are placed in the deck.
The aim of the game is to more the cards from into 4 top piles.
Each ace pile can contain cards of one suit only, and they can only be placed on
the pile in order - that is ace at the bottom followed by 2, 3, 4 etc. up to
king at the top.
When all four top piles have been filled the level is completed.
But how can you get the cards up to the top piles?
To begin the game, you can turn over the card at the bottom of all seven
columns. Any aces that are turned over can immediately be placed on the top
piles. Any twos of the same suit can be placed on top of these aces.
If aces have been moved, then the face down cards under it will become revealed.
You can now turn these ever and examine them.
You won't find all the aces straight away, so you'll need to move cards between
columns to reveal more of the face down cards.
A card can be moved to another column if:
a) The Column Is Empty
b) The column has a faceup card on the bottom of the column with is:
i. A different colour to the card to be placed.
ii. A value 1 higher than the card to placed.
So if you wished to move a red 7, this could either be placed in a free column
or on top of a black 8.
If no moves can be made amongst the columns, you can turn over the deck cards to
see if there any cards which can be placed in the ace piles or any cards which
can be placed in the columns which will facilitate other moves.
If you are confused by this description, start the game on one player mode with
a computer controlled player and which what he does. This is probably the best
way to learn Static!
To move the cards:
a) Click on desired card. It is now picked up.
b) Move to destination.
c) Click again to drop card.
Clicking is dependant on the control type:
Mouse - Press Left Button
Joystick - Press Fire
Jagpad - Press Fire A
Keyboard - Press 'Fire' (default fire key is Space)
To help jagpad and keyboard users finely position their cursor, there is a move
slow key. This slows down the cursor movement.
Jagpad - Press Fire B
Keyboard - Press 'Move Slow' (default move slow key is Left Shift)
If you wish to pause the game, you can press:
F1 - Pause Game
Jagpad Pause - Pause Game
Press fire on the pause screen to return to the game.
If you have become checkmated in a game, you can reshuffle your deck without
affecting the other player by pressing your rewind key:
Control + Numpad ( - Rewind Player 1
Control + Numpad ) - Rewind Player 2
Control + Numpad 7 - Rewind Player 3
Control + Numpad 8 - Rewind Player 4
Jagpad players can rewind themselves by pressing:
Jagpad Option - Rewind Jagpad Player
If every player is stuck and you wish to proceed to the next level, you can do
so by pressing:
F9 - Go To Next Level
Jagpad 0 - Go To Next Level
If you wish to quit the game you can press:
F10 - Quit Game
Jagpad * and # - Quit Game
================================================================================
GAME MENU
================================================================================
The game menu, symbolised by a pair of (possibly fluffy) dices, allows
you to set such fundamental elements as the number of players per game and
their relative control methods. The menu options are as follows:
Number of Players
This options allows you to choose the number of players you wish to compete
against (if any - single player games of Static are perfectly possible), the
maximum number of players per game is 4 and that may include any number of
computer opponents.
Player 1 - 4 Control Method
This option allows you to choose the control method for each player from a
choice of mouse, keyboard, Jagpad port A or B or Joystick port 0 or 1 (note:
players cannot use mouse and joystick in the same game).
It also allows you to set which players you wish to be computer-controlled
('Computer').
If you set all players to 'Computer' then the Falcon will battle out the game
amongst itself (itselves?) and you will be able to watch the demonstration.
Computer Intelligence
This option allows you to set the level of Artificial Intelligence for your
computer opponents. The choices range through: Genius, Smart, Average,
Thicky or P.C. Owner (obviously if you select the latter you will be able to
beat it playing with your two big-toes and a pair of sponges sellotaped over
your eyes..).
Layout
This option allows you to select whether all player will be dealt the same
cards ('Same') or whether each will be given different card layouts
('Different'). Choosing to have the same card layout for each player means that
none of the players has an initial advantage or disadvantage, so it is
perhaps more 'politically correct'. But setting the card layout to
'Different' means that players will not be able to copy moves from each other
as each will have a unique, random layout.
Number of Rounds
This option allows you to set the desired number of rounds in a game of
Static. Any number from 1 to 99 can be set allowing for anything from a quick
game, to several hours (literally) of uninterrupted gaming..
Player 1- 4 Define Keys
Here, if any players have elected to play with keys, they may define which
keys they wish to use for controlling their movements during the game.
Obviously if (for example) Player 3 has selected their control method as Keys
they then must select option 'Player 3 Define Keys', if player 2 is on keys they
must select 'Player 2 Define Keys' and so on.
Keys which CANNOT be defined as control methods are the following Function keys:
'F1', 'F9' and 'F10' and also the following keys on the numeric keypad: either
of the two brackets: '(' and ')' and also the numbers: '7' and '8' (only the
'7' and '8' on the numeric keypad).
All other keys may be defined as control methods.
================================================================================
JOKER MENU
================================================================================
Jokers are cards which when dropped on a player's gaming-area [each
player's gaming-area is highlighted by a coloured vector-box as a Joker is
moved across it] cause one of many different affects to afflict the
Joker's victim, all of which are designed to be disadvantageous. Joker
effects range from the mildly irritating to the wholly catastrophic.
The Joker cards themselves are individual to each cardset but can be
dropped universally by any player using any cardset on any player using any
cardset, unless a player already has a Joker affecting them (this can be
quickly ascertained by seeing if they have a Joker-Effect Timer card at the top
of their gaming-area).
The different Jokers in the different cardsets can be recognised as
follows:
The 'Stencil' cardset Joker has a Smiley symbol on it
The 'Portrait' cardset Joker has a large, black 'J' with cob-web
The 'Metallic' cardset Joker has a black exclamation mark on it
The 'Band' cardset Joker has a brown cross with a blue diamond shape
in its centre.
The JOKER MENU allows you to select which Joker effects you wish to be in
play during the game as well as their relative frequency.
Joker Frequency
This option allows you to set the frequency with which Joker cards will turn
up in your deck. You may also turn Jokers off by setting the frequency to
'None'.
The positive levels of Joker Frequency are: 'Rare', 'Low',
'Average', 'Often', 'Frequent' and 'Epidemic'. Those who wish to have a quiet,
restful, stress-free game of Static will NOT put Joker frequency on
'Epidemic'..
If you elect to play with Jokers (i.e. if you set 'Joker
Frequency' to anything other than 'None') you may then want to configure
individual Joker effect's frequency, or turn off certain Joker effects which
you deem too nasty.
To configure individual Joker effects simply scroll through the complete
list of Joker effects and change their individual settings from 'None' (where
the Joker effect is disable and will never turn up in the game) to either:
'Rare', 'Normal' or 'High'.
During the game when a Joker effect is dropped onto a player's gaming-
area a sample will be played announcing which particular effect they have
fallen victim to. And if the sample is a little too obscure/muffled/surreal
for you to recognise which effect it is representing, you can look at the
'Joker-Effect Timer card' which will appear at the top of the player's
board. These JETcards have a different picture for each Joker effect and
for those effects which are timer-based (affecting a player for a certain amount
of time) they will also have a horizontal timer-bar running along the
bottom of them, which gradually drains down until the effect has finished.
The JETcard will disappear when the Joker effect has finished, indicating that
the player is now vulnerable to a new Joker attack once again..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOKER EFFECTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The comprehensive list of Joker effects for the unregistered version of
Static, the sample which is played for each Joker as it comes into effect, a
description of their corresponding JETcard and an explanation of what
each effect actually does, here follows:
Effect: 'CAGE'
Timer-based
Sample: "Cage"
Voice: 'angry grandpa'
JETcard: picture of a brown fence
'Cage' causes a player to be imprisoned inside their gaming-area, so while
they can continue playing on their own board, they are unable to drop Jokers on
other players since they cannot move out across other gaming areas.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Disorientation'
Timer-based
Sample: "Disorientation"
Voice: 'desperate, panic-stricken'
JETcard: wibbly face with 'egg-white' eyes and wobbly, curly mouth
'Disorientation' causes a player's controls to be reversed.
Especially nasty for computer opponents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Slowmove'
Timer-based
Sample: "Intel-inside"
Voice: 'syllabic sing-song'
JETcard: 286 processor chip
'Slowmove' causes a player's cursor to move excruciatingly slowly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Fastmove'
Timer-based
Sample: "Afterburner"
Voice: 'crackly growl'
JETcard: 040 processor chip
'Fastmove' causes a player's cursor to move at a ridiculous speed and results
in mass, comic, uncontrolled blunderings across the screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Colourlock'
Timer-based
Sample: "Colourclash"
Voice: 'ancient, shaolin-buddha wizard'
JETcard: padlock with two patches of colour in the top corners
'Colourlock' causes one of the cardset's two colours to be locked and the
player thus cannot pick up any cards of that colour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Suitlock'
Timer-based
Sample: "Straitjacket"
Voice: 'robotic'
JETcard: black suit of clothes with legend 'NO'
'Suitlock' causes one of the cardset's four suits to be locked and the player
thus cannot pick up any cards of that suit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Oddlock'
Timer-based
Sample: "Oddity"
Voice: 'inquiring crone'
JETcard: padlock bearing number 13
'Oddlock' causes players to be unable to pick up cards of odd numbers, or to
pick up cards off a column whose root card (the card at the base of a face-up
stack) is also odd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Evenlock'
Timer-based
Sample: "Even-up"
Voice: 'considered weighing up by self-important retired colonel'
JETcard: padlock bearing number 8
'Evenlock' causes players to be unable to pick up cards of even numbers,
or to pick up cards off a column whose root card (the card at the base of a
face-up stack) is also even.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Family Feud'
Timer-based
Sample: "FAMILY FEUD"
Voice: 'blood-curdling howl'
JETcard: confronting profiles
'Family Feud' causes players to be unable to pick up family cards, e.g.
Kings, Queens or Jacks, or to pick up cards off a column whose root card (the
card at the base of a face-up stack) is also one of these family cards.
[Note: for the 'Metallic' cardset family cards are cards bearing letters:
'0D' is equivalent to a King, '0C' to a queen and '0B' to a Jack. The card
bearing the letter '0A' in this set is therefore equivalent to a
traditional 10.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Stop'
Timer-based
Sample: "step!"
Voice: 'affronted public-school gent'
JETcard: red and white traffic signal
'Stop' causes a player's cursor to be frozen so that they are unable to do
anything but watch helplessly as they lose valuable playing time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Hot Potato'
Timer-based
Sample: "Hot Potato"
Voice: 'unrelenting judge'
JETcard: vertical red lettering spelling the legend: 'HOT'
'Hot Potato' causes a player's cards to become 'hot' so he can only hold onto
cards for very short amounts of time before they are automatically
dropped and return to where they were picked up from.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Slowturn'
Timer and click-based
Sample: "Stiffy"
Voice: 'dirty old man'
JETcard: traffic sign with exclamation mark and legend 'slow'
'Slowturn' causes a player's facedown deck to become difficult to turn over.
Each card must be clicked on many times before it can be turned over. Very
irritating!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Nuke Pile'
One-off
Sample: "Atom Bomb"
Voice: 'menacing drawl'
JETcard: yellow and black nuclear symbol
'Nuke Pile' causes one of the player's card piles to be returned to the deck.
It can effect any of the seven card columns or any of the four top piles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Metamorphosis'
Timer-based
Sample: "Metamorphosis!"
Voice: 'pointing, awe-struck American kid'
JETcard: caterpillar and butterfly
'Metamorphosis' causes a player to metamorphose into one of the other players
(while that player then takes over their board!). It's a good chance to wreak
havoc on an opponent's board because you can be sure that that is exactly what
they are doing to your's!
If every other player on the board already has a Joker affecting them when
you are given 'Metamorphosis', a computer player will then be generated to
take over your board while you have to wait out the time until you are
changed back into your old self.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Rewind'
One-off
Sample: "Rewind"
Voice: 'recriminating growl'
JETcard: tape-deck rewind symbol
'Rewind' causes a player's entire deck to be re-shuffled and returned face-down
to its initial seven columns effectively meaning that the player must begin
again from scratch! Very nasty!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Freeze Pile'
Timer-based
Sample: "Ffff-freeze pile"
Voice: 'nudist caught in freak snow-storm'
JETcard: pause symbol coupled with the legend 'Pile'
'Freeze Pile' causes one of the seven columns or top four piles on a player's
gaming-area, to be frozen so that that player cannot place any cards onto or
pick up any cards from that frozen pile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Effect: 'Blindboard'
Timer-based
Sample: "Doubleback"
Voice: 'scouser'
JETcard: partial view of skinhead in shades
'Blindboard' causes any cards a player touches, either by picking them up or
indirectly by placing a card onto a column of others, to have a double back,
that is to always appear facedown. The player must therefore have a good
memory or a lot of patience!
================================================================================
XTRA MENU
================================================================================
The Xtra Menu has two main areas: it deals with graphical
configurations and with 'Scallies'. It also has a few other options which
didn't fit into any of the previous menus, hence the 'xtra'.
The graphical options available for configuration are as follows:
Cardset Player 1 - 4
This allows you to choose which cardset each player plays the game with.
There are four cardsets: 'Stencil' and 'Metallic' were created by SH3, and
'Portrait' and 'Band' by Ripley. Any combination of cardsets may be played
with in each game, for instance all players can use the same cardset or each
choose different ones - there are no restrictions.
The cardsets are identical only in that they all have two primary 'colours'
(for instance the 'Metallic' cardset's two main colours are gold and silver)
and four discernable 'suits' (for instance the 'Stencil' cardset has the
traditional suits: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades). Exactly how difficult
it is to play Static with each cardset must be measured by the individual
players, there are no authoritative 'hard' and 'easy' sets.
Backtile
This option allows you to choose the background graphic which your game will
be played upon. Each tile is a 32x32 graphical block which is tiled over
the screen to create different atmospheres and resonances. There are 12
different tiles to choose from in the unregistered version of Static,
they are: 'Posh', 'Baby', 'Scary', 'Ginger', 'Sporty', 'Gary', 'Robbie',
'Mark', 'Howard', 'Jason', 'Sash!' and 'Giger'. You may also elect to
have no backtile ('None') or to let the Falcon choose: 'Random'. This option
will give you a different backtile for every round you play, providing constant
variety as well as uninterrupted gaming.
Turn Cards
This option allows you to configure how many cards are turned over when you
click on the deck pile. The default setting is one card, so that you are
immediately able to see and utilise all cards in the deck. Setting 'Turn
Cards' to any higher setting (anything from 2-5) will invariably make the game
harder since you will be restricted to only certain cards of the deck until
you are able to place one of them on your board.
Free Space
The easiest way of playing Static is where you are able to place any card in
an empty column (free space) and this option will default to just such a
setting: 'Any'. However if you want to increase the difficulty and make
the game more challenging you can set this option to 'Kings' which means you
are only able to place Kings in free space.
Top Piles
The top piles (see gaming-board diagram previous) are usually only
accessible to the four aces of the cardset, and then subsequent cards from 2,
up to the last cards of each suit: kings. The 'Top Pile' option defaults
to this state of affairs, with the setting: 'Aces'.
However you may wish to change it so that any card can be temporarily stored in
a top pile without having to be placed in order from Aces upwards. If you
wish to do this simply change the setting from 'Aces' to 'Any'.
================================================================================
SCALLIES
================================================================================
At this point in the Xtra Menu there are options for whether you wish to play
with Scallies and if so, for configuring their frequency and so on.
If you play with Scallies it means that at various points in the game each
player will have the ability to steal cards from other players! You will
know when you are able to do this because your cursor (usually a coloured
arrow) will change into a circle. Once your have become a scally you may
then steal a card from another player by simply moving into their gaming-
area, moving over the desired card and picking it up in the normal way. You
are then able to place it on your board or even on another player's board!
When a stolen card is placed on any other player's board (apart from the
board it was taken from) the corresponding card in that player's deck or board
will be transported to the deck of the player who you stole from. This
ensures that the game remains possible to complete since all player's cardsets
maintain the necessary 52 cards.
SCALLY FREQUENCY
This options allows you to play without Scallies (by setting 'Scally
Frequency' to 'None') or to play with Scallies (setting the frequency to
anything except 'None') and to configure how often players are able to steal
cards during a game.
The choices of frequency are: 'Low', 'Medium', 'High' and
'Liverpool'. Any Liverpudlians out there will understand that setting Scally
frequency to 'Liverpool' means that Scallies will be almost omnipresent and
the chances of having a quiet, trouble-free game, zero!
If you wish to play with Scallies on but to limit which game-areas they
are able to steal from you can choose to have certain areas locked (Scally-
proof) or open (Scally's ahoy!). The following game-areas can be configured:
Draw Pile
The Draw Pile is the facedown deck pile (situated in the very top left of your
gaming-area). Locking this means Scallies will be unable to steal from your
facedown deck.
Faceup Pile
The Faceup Pile is the visible deck pile. Locking this means Scallies will be
unable to steal from your visible deck pile.
Top Piles
The four Top Piles are where you place cards to complete the game
(beginning with Aces and finishing with Kings). Locking the Top Piles means
Scallies cannot steal from any of the four Top Piles.
Columns
The seven Columns are where the main game action occurs. Locking these
render them Scally-proof.
================================================================================
SOUND MENU
================================================================================
The sound menu enables you to have the aural configuration most soothing
to your ears both during the game and while negotiating the menu system.
Music Volume
To decrease the volume that the module is being played at press left and the
slider on the bar will move down. To increase the music volume simply do
the opposite: press right.
Sound FX Volume
Sound effects are the samples accompanying the Jokers and do not apply to the
module. Here you may decrease or increase their volume independent of
the module's volume (although you must have a module on, even if it's volume
is turned right down to zero, to be able to hear the SFX).
Speaker
Here you may toggle the internal speaker on. And off as well - hooray!
Music
This allows you to select which module you wish to have playing during the game
(the music is also played on the main menu). There is a choice of either
'Ambient' or 'Pumping'. If you wish to turn the music off, select :
'None'. The 'Default' setting plays the ambient module with one-player games
and the more up-beat mod. With multi-player games, however you are free to
decide!
Test Sound FX
This allows you to test the volume level of the sound effects before beginning
your game so you can achieve the perfect balance of SFX to mod music with the
minimum of fuss. Note: you will be unable to test the SFX if you have selected
to have no module.
================================================================================
PLAYING THE GAME
================================================================================
Once you have configured the game to your satisfaction and wish to start
playing, simply move onto the Top left icon (Jagpad icon) on the Main menu
screen and press space or button A. The gaming screen will now scroll on and
you can begin playing Static!
During the game you can press F1 (or Jagpad 'Pause' button) to pause the
game (then space or fire to resume), F9 (or '0' on the Jagpad) to restart
the level for all players, F10 (or '*' and '#' simultaneously on the
Jagpad) to quit back to the Main Menu screen. You can also press 'Control'
and the left bracket '(' on the numeric keypad to restart player 1; 'Control'
and the right bracket ')' on the numeric keypad to restart player 2; 'Control
and '7' on the numeric keypad to restart player 3 and 'Control' and '8' on the
numeric keypad to restart player 4. Players using Jagpad can restart
themselves by pressing the 'Option' button on their Jagpad.
Once you have completed each round a screen will be displayed showing
which player has won that particular round, how many moves they made, how
many cards they placed, what percentage of the level they each completed and
how many wins they have to date.
Once you have completed the whole game (which depends on how many rounds
you have set) there will be a final table of results showing who has won.
The triumphant player may then have achieved a highscore.
================================================================================
HIGHSCORES
================================================================================
There are two Highscore tables in Static, one for the Top Times and one
for the Top Moves. The quicker you complete games the more chance you have
of achieving a Top Times, and likewise, the fewer moves you make to
complete each game, the more chance you have of achieving a highscore.
If you achieve either a top time, a top number of moves or both you will
be asked to sign your name on a white strip, using whatever control method you
were playing with. If you prefer to draw your name with the mouse then click
on the icon at the bottom of the screen (with a mouse symbol on it) and you
will now be able to use the mouse to sign your name with.
Left mouse button, or Button A on Jagpad, allows you to paint pixels,
while right mouse button, or Button B, allows you to delete pixels you have
already painted.
If you make a big mess and want to delete it all click on the 'Clear'
icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
Once you are satisfied with your artistic effort then click on the
'Done' icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. You will now be
shown first the Top Times Highscore table then, by pressing fire or
space, the Top Moves, with your newly created mini-logo displayed for all to
admire.
In the registered version of Static the Highscores tables will save your
highscore graphics as well.. nice!
To view both Highscore tables when you are on the main menu screen
simply click on the Star Icon (2nd from the left on the top layer).
================================================================================
INFORMATION
================================================================================
Once you have loaded Static there is a brief series of
information screens accessible from the main menu which contain basic
instructions about the menu system and how to play the game. They also
contain contact snailmail and email addresses, as well as registration
details.
To access these info screens simply click on the Magnifying glass icon (3rd
from left, top layer) on the main menu screen.
Once you have read each page press space to move onto the next one. To
exit the info screens quickly simply press 'Escape' and you will be returned
to the main menu.
To quit static simply move onto the Quit icon (situated at the far right
of the top layer of icons) on the main menu screen and press fire.
================================================================================
REGISTERING
================================================================================
Registration costs just 5 UK Pounds!
We have put a lot of time and energy into 'Static' and we hope you enjoy it.
The Registered version has a whole host of extras:
* New Joker Effects ( Including 'Assassin' and 'Doppleganger' )
* New Sound Effects ( More sampled sound for your ears! )
* New Graphics ( More Fantastic graphics painted by Ripley & sh3 )
* New Card Sets ( More sets to play with )
* Loading / Saving High Scores ( Save your hi score graphics! )
* Loading / Saving Configuration ( Have your favourite set-up by default! )
It really is a whole lot of extra fun!
The Reservoir Gods have been supporting the Falcon since the very beginning. We
have released more games and productions than anyone else on the scene and we
continue to believe in the machine and support it long after others have faded
away. As long as there are still people out there who play and enjoy our games
we will continue producing them. So please, even if you have never registered
before, think about registering and supporting the scene.
We are interested in your views about 'Static' and ideas for future projects so
don't be afraid to write long chatty letters! We love receiving correspondence
from other atari users.
If you are from abroad and are sending a cheque please make it a EuroCheque or
an International Money Order as standard cheques cost so much to clear that they
become worthless.
Make all cheques payable to: Leon O'Reilly
Write to:
Leon O'Reilly [ Mr. Pink ]
Cwm Isaf
Abermule
Welshpool
Powys
SY15 6JL
Wales
UK
Look out for more Reservoir Gods productions in 1998!
Happy New Year Atari People!
================================================================================
PACKAGES USED
================================================================================
o God-Paint
o Devpac
o Pure-C
o Graoumf Tracker
o Pro Tracker
o Pack-Ice
o Lattice-C
o Decibel
o MakeLink
o MonoLizer
o PackCheck
o Protext
================================================================================
RESERVOIR GODS CD
================================================================================
We are currently putting together a CD of Reservoir Gods goodies.
This will contain every single production we have every made!
It will feature all our games in registered and non-registered versions.
It will have all the Double Bobble 2000 expansions including lots of previously
unreleased extra levels.
It will feature lots of unreleased graphics by sh3 and Ripley.
There will be an exclusive music demo featuring lots of multichannel music by
sh3 and MSG.
There will be every single issue of Maggie, completely Falcon fixed.
There will also be an exclusive God-Boy game ONLY AVAILABLE ON CD!
The CD should be ready by Easter 1998.
To find out more, write to:
Kevin Dempsey [sh3]
20 Cambridge Drive
Little Lever
Bolton
BL3 1XG
UK
================================================================================
CREDITS
================================================================================
Game Concept, Programming, Samples.......................................Mr Pink
Graphics, Design, Documentation, High Score Concept.......................Ripley
Logos, Font, Additional Graphics.............................................sh3
Music........................................................................MSG
DSP Replay Routine...................................................Tat / Avena
================================================================================
( C ) 1998 RESERVOIR GODS
================================================================================
|
| | | | |