Space Parcels version 0.3 20050902|
(c) 2005 by Mathieu "Zig" Brethes |
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/ README                                                                      |
|                                                                             |
| Table of contents                                                           |
|                                                                             |
| 1. About                                                                    |
| 2. How to play                                                              |
| 3. Todo                                                                     |
| 4. Bugs                                                                     |
| 5. License                                                                  |
| 6. Contact                                                                  /
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/ 1. ABOUT                                                                    |
|                                                                             |
| In "Space Parcels", you are a proud member of the UPS (Universe Packaging   |
| Society). In command of an UFO (Ultimate Forwarding Operator), your task is |
| to send parcels that arrive in the part of the universe you have been       |
| assigned ; to other parts of the universe.                                  |
|                                                                             |
| Space Parcels is a game built around the concept of Power, in our case the  |
| main power source being gravity. In this game, everything gravitates and    |
| revolve around the star(s): your spaceship, the parcels... Space Parcels is |
| an arcade game built around a physics engine designed for the occasion.     |
|                                                                             |
| Space Parcels is an unfinished project, it lack levels, bonuses, maybe      |
| ennemies like space pirates (?), a multiplayer mode... Plenty of things     |
| that would render it times more fun to play. Right now, it is more a        |
| concept than a complete game, but things may evolve.                        |
|                                                                             |
| Machine requirements:                                                       |
|                                                                             |
| PII+(or equivalent) with a display capable of 640*480 in hi-color mode.     |
| A Direct sound/OSS compatible sound card is nice but not compulsory.        |
| Tested on Windows 2000 and Linux (Ubuntu 5.04).                             |
| A keyboard with at least 6 keys + ESCAPE working.                           |
|                                                                             /
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/ 2. HOW TO PLAY                                                              |
|                                                                             |
| Your goal is to capture as many parcels as you can (parcels appear with     |
| random position and speed on the screen), and send as many as you can       |
| through the portal (symbolized by a double arrow on the right hand-side of  |
| the screen) using your cannon. A parcel can be sent only if it has been     |
| captured.                                                                   |
|                                                                             |
| The game screen presents the following information:                         |
|                                                                             |
| - On the left, a bar with on the top the power you put in the cannon, and   |
|   at the bottom the number of captured boxes you have.                      |
| - On the bottom-right, your score (number of parcels sent) and the time     |
|   left.                                                                     |
|                                                                             |
| The mouse is disabled in the game. Using the keyboard, you can control the  |
| way your spaceship moves:                                                   |
| - Forward and reverse thrust (will accelerate your spaceship in one         |
|   direction (Up, Down arrows)                                               |
| - Lateral thrust (will rotate your spaceship) (Left, Right arrows).         |
| - Fire parcel (longer pressure: higher speed) (Right Ctrl).                 |
| - Fire the parcel grabber (Space).                                          |
|                                                                             |
| Do not forget this is a space environment. A rotating ship won't stop       |
| rotating unless you rotate in the other direction. Similarly, all speed     |
| gained will increase your momentum and might throw you out of the map.      |
|                                                                             |
| You can get out of the screen with your spaceship.                          |
|                                                                             |
| Anticipation is your ally. Put yourself in orbit! At the beginning of the   |
| game, if you don't move fast, you'll crash straight into the star.          |
|                                                                             |
| You can call the menu at any time pressing "Escape". You can customize      |
| the keys using this menu, as well as changing sound and music volumes.      |
|                                                                             |
| On the title screen, the main menu also offers you the possibility of       |
| changing level options. You can add more stars (for more difficulty),       |
| change the size of the portal, the probability of box appearance, and       |
| the duration of play.                                                       |
|                                                                             |
| To leave the game, use the "QUIT" option of the main menu.                  |
|                                                                             /
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/ 3. TODO                                                                     |
|                                                                             |
| This is a completely unfinished project. So there are many things left to   |
| do. Here's a small list:                                                    |
|                                                                             |
| Programming:                                                                |
| - A much better hiscore screen, with sorting of scores,                     |
| - Better menus. God I hate the menus as they are now,                       |
| - A refresh of the collision detection code to make it vector-based,        |
|                                                                             |
| Art:                                                                        |
| - Some better decoration for the in-game screen,                            |
| - A real scrolling-text unit for the intro,                                 |
| - Better music. Better sound. Better gfx.                                   |
|                                                                             |
| Gameplay:                                                                   |
| - A 2-player mode on the same machine. I think it would be loads of fun!    |
| - A level editor,                                                           |
| - Bonuses/Maluses (things that would change some useful parameters in the   |
|   game),                                                                    |
| - Ennemies (like space pirates?).                                           |
|                                                                             /
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/ 4. BUGS?                                                                    |
|                                                                             |
| Yes.                                                                        |
|                                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/
/ 5. LICENSE                                                                  |
|                                                                             |
| The source code is licensed under the GNU GPL (see license.txt attached and |
| the header of each source file).                                            |
|                                                                             |
| The sounds are licensed under the conditions precised at                    |
| http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/                                          |
| The music is based on samples ripped from http://www.bassculture.org/       |
|                                                                             |
| Graphics and Music are free to reproduce/copy to be distributed along with  |
| the game, or for private use.                                               |
|                                                                             |
| "afont.ttf" is really in fact the "univers condesed" font from              |
| http://www.goodfonts.org/ and the font license of that website applies on   |
| it.                                                                         |
|                                                                             |
| Contact me for any license-related questions using the information below.   |
|                                                                             /
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/ 6. CONTACT                                                                  |
|                                                                             |
| Please contact me at: Mathieu "Zig" Brethes <just.want.to.be@free.fr> for   |
| any game-related questions, license-related questions, anythingelse-related |
| questions, and for bug reports. Although I'm aware there's a ton of those   |
| nasty creepers around...                                                    |
|                                                                             /
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/ Post-scriptum.                                                              |
|                                                                             |
| I thought my game was an original concept, but a friend of mine told me     |
| yesterday about another game with a concept quite similar to this one.      |
| Well, duh.                                                                  |
|                                                                             |
| See the in-game "thanks" screen for, well, thanks.                          |
|                                                                             /
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