           ͻ
            *** WELCOME TO TANK BLASTER VERSION 1.5 *** 
                         - DOCUMENT-FILE -              
           ͼ


Contents:

I.   System Requirements
II.  Keyboard Layout
     1. The Intro
     2. The Startup-menu
     3. The Game
     4. The Store
III. Serious Description Of The Game
     1. The Game
     2. The Enemy
     3. The Equipment
IV.  How To Register
V.   Credits
VI.  Trouble Shooting
VII. What's New


I. System Requirements


- 80386sx, 16MHz
- about 525,000 bytes of free base memory
- 2048 KB of free EMS or XMS memory
- SuperVGA with VESA version 1.2 (software driver or hardware)
- 512 KB display memory

recommended hardware (additional):

- 80386, 40MHz or more
- Sound Blaster (Pro)
- 32 bit VL or PCI video card

Use SETUP.EXE to config Tank Blaster.


used files:

TANK.EXE            Tank Blaster program
SETUP.EXE           Tank Blaster configuration utility
EXTRO.MOD           music file for the hall of fame
INTRO.MOD           music file for the intro
TANK.PIF            Windows .PIF-file for Tank Blaster
SETUP.PIF           Windows .PIF-file for Setup
BESTELL.TXT         Registrierungsformular deutsch (ASCII Version)
HANDBUCH.TXT        german edition of this text
ORDER.TXT           order form english (ASCII version)
ORDER.TXT           Registrierungsformular englisch (ASCII Version)
README.TXT          this text
TANK150D.WAD        graphics and sound data
BESTELL.WRI         order form german (Windows Write version)
ORDER.WRI           order form english (Windows Write version)



II. Keyboard Layout


1. The Intro
2. The Startup-menu
3. The Game
4. The Store




         NOTE: Pressing F1 gives you on-line-help at any time!



1. The Intro


press any key to quit the intro


2. The Startup-menu


F1          - help

arrow up    - move cursor up
arrow down  - move cursor down
arrow left  - move cursor left
arrow right - move cursor right
c           - change colour of selected player
+           - increase number of games by one
-           - decrease number of games by one
enter       - Ŀ
               playertype   <- upper level: change playertype
              Ĵ
                            <- lower level:
                               a) playertype none: no effect
                               b) playertype human: enter name  
                                  (esc: cancel, enter: done)
                               c) playertype computer: change
                      computer opponent
esc         - leave menu und start game


3. The Game


F1          - help

arrow up    - increase power by one
arrow down  - decrease power by one
arrow left  - rotate gun ccw 1 (+ shift = 10)
arrow right - rotate gun cw 1 (+ shift = 10)
+           - increase power by ten
-           - decrease power by ten
i           - invert launch-angle direction
tab         - move weapon selector right by one
shift-tab   - move weapon selector left by one
enter       - launch
1 - 9       - get detailed information about player (1 - 9)
space       - view current ranking
s           - turn on/off scroll-o-mat (scrolling with arrows)
ctrl-e      - finish level at once (nuke all)
ctrl-p      - pause
ctrl-q      - quit


4. The Store


F1          - help

arrow up    - move cursor up
arrow down  - move cursor down
enter       - buy selected weapon
esc         - leave store / next player
ctrl-p      - pause
ctrl-q      - quit


III. Serious Description Of The Game


1. The Game
2. The Enemy
3. The Equipment
4. The Hints


1. The Game


Blast 'em all and stay alive (if you can). Wipe all enemy tanks off
the screen to gain as many credits as possible. But be aware: you are
already spotted. On the black market you can get whatever you want to
fullfill your task - if you can afford it. Every busted bastard gives
you the money for better and bigger (oh yeah) guns, shells, armor.
Remember: Saving dollars won't save your life!
For the final ranking you'll get 2 points for every blown up tank and
1 extra point per survived level. The nerds toasting themselves pay 3
points every time they drop a bomb onto their feet.


2. The Enemy


a) Birne


These guys have no brain disturbing them. They just fire their guns.
You may use them to play against your little sister.

b) Frederic


Though not very accurate when it's stormy, he improves his aiming from
shot to shot - just nuke him after you got rid of the more powerful
players.

c) Prof. Nuke


Hard guys like it hot - so does he. If you want some toast, give him a
try. You will be well done.

d) Harald


Imagine your worst evil nightmare, straight out of hell itself,
featuring terror and pain. Wanna see something worse? Ok, ok, just
kidding. Harald's even more deadly.

e) Mr. X


He changes his identity faster than most people their underwear.
You'll never know who pulls the trigger now ...


3. The Equipment


Just try it! Only two hints:

Fire Balls


There are two ways of getting rid of a tree. Fire Balls are one of
these.

Tric. Powerup


An isotonic drink for your tricerator equiped tank. Builds your
muscles up!



IV. How to register


This is a demo-version of Tank Blaster. It allows only ten games. If
you want to play Tank Blaster without any limits, you'll have to
register.


Registered users receive:

(1) ..... the latest version on disk (3.5 inch)

(2) ..... hints for the game (text file)


To become a registered user, just:

    - print the order form (ORDER.TXT or ORDER.WRI) and
    - send it with 20 DM (Deutschmarks/German marks) (cash or check) 
      to:
        


                    

                              Axel Lauer
                            Schwabenstr. 3
                         86836 Klosterlechfeld
                              (Germany)                        

                    



If you are allready registered for an older version of Tank Blaster,
you only have to pay 10 DM to receive the latest version on 3.5"
disk (update). Please use the order form (ORDER.TXT or ODER.WRI), too.



V. Credits


Tank Blaster uses the Protracker Playing Source (PPS) v1.0 by Joshua
C. Jensen, 1992 (modified). It is used for playing music files (.MOD)
and to provide sound output on PC-Speaker and Digital to Analog Con-
verters (DAC) on LPT. 
Registered Tank Blaster Players will also receive the PPS, that in-
cludes all original PPS-assembler-sources.



VI. Trouble Shooting


Possible error messages:

 (1)    no VESA BIOS Extension found
 

Your video card has no VESA BIOS Extension. It is required, that
you load a VESA driver. E.g. UniVBE 5.1 by SciTech Software is
recommended.


 (2)    VESA version 1.2 required
 

Your VESA BIOS is too old. Load a new VESA driver. E.g. UniVBE 5.1
by SciTech Software is recommended.
 

 (3)    video mode 101h (640x480x256) not supported
 

Your VESA BIOS says, that the required video mode (i.e. 640x480,
256 colors) is not supported by your video hardware. If this is
true, you cant't run Tank Blaster, otherwise try loading another
VESA driver.


 (4)    512 KB video memory required
 

Your VESA BIOS says, that your video card is not equipped with
at least 512 KB video memory. If this is true, you cant't run
Tank Blaster, otherwise try loading another VESA driver.


 (5)    xxx not found. Please run SETUP.EXE to select another sound
 
        device.
        
 
The specified sound card could not be detected. There may be a 
DMA-, IRQ- or I/O-conflict with another card or device in your
computer. Please check wether you selected the correct sound
device (SETUP.EXE, 'SETUP', 'sound device ...'). If so, check the
settings of your sound card software and the SETUP settings
('autodetect' / 'user defined parameters').


 (6)    Additional base memory needed: xxx KB
 
 
You have intalled too many device drivers and/or other TSR pro-
grams. Remove as many device drivers and TSR programs as
possible (see CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT). Install HIMEM.SYS
(included with DOS (5.0 or higher)) and place the following
line in your CONFIG.SYS: DOS=HIGH
 
 
 (7)    no EMS / XMS installed
 

Your machine is not equipped with EMS or XMS memory. Install
HIMEM.SYS (included with DOS (5.0 or higher)) (XMS memory) or
an Expanded Memory Manager (for EMS memory).


 (8)    not enough free EMS / XMS
 

You do have not have enough free EMS or XMS left. Reduce the amount
of EMS/XMS that e.g. diskcaches, ramdrives, ... use or remove this
programs from your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT (changes require a re-
boot).
If your computer is not equipped with at least 2 MB EMS or XMS memory
at all, you can't run Tank Blaster.
NOTE: If you started Tank Blaster from Windows, you need to in-
      crease the amount of extended memory, that Windows provides
      for DOS-based applications:
      Start Tank Blaster by using the 'TANK.PIF' file!
      This file allready contains all necessary information for run- 
      ning Tank Blaster.
      
      
 (9)    The MOD-files are busted.
 

The music (.MOD) files are damaged. Try reinstalling Tank Blaster.


(10)    TANK.CNF not found. Please run SETUP to create this file.


The file TANK.CNF doesn't exist. Run the configuration utility
SETUP.EXE. A new TANK.CNF will be created automatically.


(11)    File(s) not found: xxx


Not all Tank Blaster files are located in the current path.
Start Tank Blaster only after changing directory to the Tank Blaster
path. If this doens't help, reinstall Tank Blaster.


other problems:


- very low sound quality on PC-speaker:
  
  Remove all memory manager on 80386/486 systems (e.g. emm386). Run
  SETUP.EXE and select sampling-rate '10kHz'. Now start Tank Blaster
  and listen to the sounds. If everything is ok, try to increase the
  sampling-rate step by step until it gets worse.
  On slow machines, the sound quality is low if the sampling-rate is
  too high because the CPU-power is not high enough.

- microsoft windows:
 
  Windows doesn't allow the timer interrupt to be changed. Because of
  this, Tank Blaster cannot use the sound device 'PC internal speaker'
  or 'DAC on LPT' while running under Windows.

- no sound or no music on Sound Blaster (Pro):

  Run SETUP.EXE and select 'autodetect' of the IRQ- and DMA-channel of
  your Sound Blaster. If still no sound or music is heard, try the
  'user defined parameters'. But be careful: wrong IRQ- and DMA-set-
  tings may cause your computer to lock up!


VII. What's New


version 1.0    [ first Tank Blaster release ]
version 1.01   - better and smaller (less memory required) Sound
                 Blaster routines
version 1.1    - Pro Audio Spectrum 16 support (stereo music, high
                 IRQs) 
               - Windows support for Sound Blaster and Pro Audio
                 Spectrum 16
version 1.2    - smaller exe-file
               - enhanced VGA-graphics
               - high DMA support (Pro Audio Spectrum 16)
version 1.3    - fixed problem with some VL-video-cards
               - bug fix in the MOD-player (DMA-mode)
               - added colour table for selecting the players' in-
                 dividual colour
               - much faster text output (graphic modes)
version 1.31   - Sound Blaster Pro support (stereo music)
               - optional autodetect or user defined IRQ- and DMA-
                 channel parameters for Sound Blaster (Pro)
version 1.4    - optional bullet reentry
               - optional fast level startup 
               - better info about current ranking (press space)
               - added new sound for rotating turret
               - added key left-/right-arrow + shift (rotate 10)
version 1.41   - EMS/XMS-memory support (autodetect)
               - less free base-memory required
               - bug fix in animation sequence "bullet flies round the
                 world"
               - language select for configuration utlity SETUP.EXE
version 1.5    - intro, startup menu and store in SuperVGA, 640x480,
                 256 colors
               - added more information to statusbar of the store
               - burnt down trees remain in the game
               - added new cloud feature
               - several bug fixes (?) :-)
               - install-program INSTALL.EXE for harddisk installation
