ķķķ   ķķķķ   ķ                \
 ͸  ͸  ķ Ը ͸  ͸                        \    o
           Ĵ                        ____\/_
 ͼ        ͸  ķ ķ   (   (  ( (_______)
ͼ    ͼͼͼͼ  ͼͼͼ version 1.0
Copyright 1995-96 by Anthony P. Hamilton


                                         Ŀ
                                  CONTENTS
                                
 Introduction
 Minimum Requirements
 Recommended Setup
 Command-Line Options
 Distribution
 Legal Disclaimer
 Trouble-Shooting
 Contacting POW Productions
 Development Team


                                            Ŀ
                                 INTRODUCTION
                               
    Powball is based on an old game concept which has been re-created many
times before. You'll find this incarnation to have much better playability,
action, strategy, sound and graphics than any other.
   The basic idea is to hit a ball with your paddle and knock away bricks
until the screen is cleared. But what better introduction can there be other
than to dive right in and start playing. So, whadya waitin' for?


                                               Ŀ
                            MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
                          
 80386.
 DOS 5
 640K RAM (with about 523K free).
 VGA adaptor with 256K RAM.
 3 Megabytes of free disk space.


                                             Ŀ
                             RECOMMENDED SETUP
                           
 486 or better.
 Mouse or trackball.
 Lots of free conventional RAM.
 Disk cache.
 Local-bus video.
 Gravis Ultrasound.


                                               Ŀ
                            COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS
                          
The following options may be used when you run this game from the DOS prompt:

 -setup
Runs the setup menu. Same as running SETUP.BAT.

 -nopause
Doesn't wait for a key at initialization when no errors occur.

 -config FILESPEC
Specifies the path and filename of an alternative configuration file.


                                            Ŀ
                                 DISTRIBUTION
                               
The SHAREWARE version of Powball may only be distributed freely without
charge complete with the all the files unmodified and only them files.
Please make it clear which version it is. You may not distribute the
SHAREWARE version on CD-ROM or in any retail distribution channel without
explicit written permission from POW Productions. See the LICENCE.TXT file
which is bundled with the Shareware version for more detailed information.

Please check the RLICNSE.TXT file bundled with the REGISTERED version.


                                              Ŀ
                               LEGAL DISCLAIMER
                             
Powball is supplied as-is. No warranty is implied or offered by the authors
of this game for any damages incurred by the use, distribution, or anything
else related to this game. All trademarks mentioned are the property of their
respective owners.


                                              Ŀ
                               TROUBLE-SHOOTING
                             
 Some keys don't work when others are pressed:
This is a problem with some keyboards that can only handle a limited number
of keys at the same time. Either re-define the keys (use shift, ctrl and alt
preferably) or use a keyboard that doesn't have this limitation.

 Poor sound quality:
The Gravis Ultrasound is by far the best quality sound card for this game.
If you don't have this hardware and experience poor quality sound, try using
the high quality sound options and reducing the number of sound fx channels
within the setup.

 Not enough memory:
Neither Extended or Expanded memory is used, only conventional RAM. The
more conventional RAM you have free, the better.

 Mouse not found:
Load a mouse driver if you haven't already done so, or try running the
game again.

 Erratic animation and disk access:
If you're not using disk caching software, it is highly recommended that
you DO! Without it, your system is not taking advantage of advanced
software that will improve the performance of your machine and will
improve the life of your hard-drive. 


                                                   Ŀ
                          CONTACTING POW PRODUCTIONS
                        
If you are having trouble running this game or wish to contact us for any
other reason, please use the following methods:

 Post:
POW Productions
43 Holcombe Crescent
Ipswich
IP2 9QL
England

 E-Mail:
conan@enterprise.net


                                              Ŀ
                               DEVELOPMENT TEAM
                             
  
 Anthony Hamilton : Code / Design / Sound FX / Graphics / Levels
 Roger Wong       : Music / Graphics / Sound FX
 Matthew Berry    : Levels / Play Testing
  

 Additional support:
  
 Simon Booth      : Unchained Graphics Toolkit
 Otto Chrons      : Digital Sound and Music Interface
  
