Plague II Demo - Readme File
By Adam Szmigin		Smidge-TECH(C)
http://www.szmigin.swinternet.co.uk
smidge@szmigin.swinternet.co.uk

	This is Plague II, a platformer where you will be able to
control one of 4 characters, fighting your way through the walls of
enemies in a variety of different levels and landscapes.

System Requirements:

    + 386 or better processor. (of course you have one)
    + An expanded memory manager. (EMS)
    + A lot of base memory.
    + About 500Kb of free disk space.

	Recommended:

        + P166 MMX or above.
        + 16Mb RAM
        + Windows 95/98 or better

Installation Instructions:

    + You will need either PKUNZIP, WINZIP, or something else that
        does that job, to unzip the file PLAGUE2.ZIP...
    + Extract the files to a new directory (i.e. C:\PLAGUE2)
    + Play the game!

Troubleshooting:

	Most of these things aren't actually problems, but things which
	are necessary to run the game:

	P: Game will not start up...
	A: Check to see if enough EMS has been installed.
	    - to do this...
	    DOS / Win 3.X : Add the following lines to CONFIG.SYS:

		DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS

	    Win95/98 : Right click on PLAGUE2.EXE, select properties,
	    memory, and change EMS to a suitable value (4096 is fine)

	N.B. Win95/98 users... if you cannot change the EMS amount,
	    repeat the steps for DOS/Win 3.X and THEN do the steps for
	    Win95/98...

	P: Game crashes unexpectedly...
	A: I want to hear about this bug... email me with the details.

Controls:

	Move:		Cursor Keys
	Punch:		CTRL
	Kick:		\
	Jump:		SPACE
	ScreenShot:	S

	When you pick up a powerup other than health (ie Dragon Punch),
it will appear with your "NEXT ATTACK".  When you next attack someone,
instead of it being a normal punch or kick, the powerup will be used.

	Screenshots will saved as "P2-SCRXX.PCX", where XX is a number.
Every time you start the game, the counter will reset to 0, so if you
already have files named that, look out because they will be
overwritten!

Powerups:

    + Solid Granite Fist - What would you do if your fist was made
		out of granite?  Well probably go for the biggest thing
		around and knock its lights out.
    + Dragon Punch - Slightly more powerful punch than normal, but
		this one knocks your victim 5ft in the air on contact.
    + Smidge Mode - Your feet have now grown to the size of a tree,
		so put them to good use by finding a cliff, an enemy,
		and then watch as your unfortunate subject craters.
    + Turbo Nutter Vindaloo Punch - Just the name of it sounds
		quite interesting.  Imagine now, you are filled with
		the power of a vindaloo that could melt your fillings,
		and the urge to charge foward at 50mph into whatever is
		ahead, instantly dismembering any unlucky enemy.  For
		when your fist absolutely, must be in an opponent's
		teeth on time.  Be careful though, smashing head-first
		into a razor sharp axe might damage you more than them.
    + Hyper Atomic Wedgie - Speaks for itself... you now have the
		ability to shove your foot into somebody with such a
		force that they have no option but to fly 60ft into the
		air...
    + Big Jubba Mode - Not really a weapon, but it expands all the
		the enemies for about 15 seconds... fun...

Enemies:

	Enemies are not supremely intelligent, but they're not thick
either; they will charge you, attack, and run away.  In the demo, there
are 4 different types of enemy:

    + Cyborg - These are genetically modified humans, with their
		hands replaced with sharp metal blades, capable of
		reducing you to a pile of organs within seconds.  They
		will swipe at you, and even uppercut you in the face!
    + Lanky Ninja - These are slightly more annoying than Cyborgs,
		since they run faster and can inflict more damage. They
		will either knock you out with a fast right hook, or
		uppercut you into the stratosphere.  If they do the
		latter, expect to be hurt.
    + Mini Tank - If you see one of these, either cry, or die. They
        travel reasonably slowly, and will knock you backwards a
		few days if they hit you.  Try looking for powerups if
		you have to take one of these on.
    + Axeman - The woodcutters have gone psycho as well, and they
		have their axes!  They don't move exceedingly fast, but
		if they get near you, all you can do is hope to live.
		They will either swipe at you from the side, which will
		take about half your energy off, or smash it into your
		head... nice.
    + Big Tank - You will only find these as an end of episode boss,
		and they're worth waiting for... with exactly the same
		moves as the mini tanks, but with more power, speed,
		and energy, these tanks are the worst nightmare you'll
		ever face in the demo version.

The Levels:

	There are 5 levels, and a tutorial level in this release of
    the game.  The episodes included are the Forest Episode, and
    the Castle.  They are also the simplest, so expect much harder
	chalenges in later levels...

	If you are new to the game, or just rubbish at it, use the
	tutorial section to practice your skills in all the aspects
    used in the game.  Also, watch the demos to see how players
    should do it.

	N.B. When you complete a level, it will be automatically saved
	to disk.  If you then die on that level, you can choose to
	continue the game from the main menu, restarting at the
	beginning of that level, rather than having to work your way
	there from the beginning of the game.

Recording Demos:

    To record a demo, simply select "RECORD DEMO" from the menu. They
    are saved as follows: "P2-DEMXX.DEM" where XX is a number. It works
    exactly as the screenshots do, so demos may also get overwritten!!!
    You cannot record over "P2-DEM0.DEM" because it is the standard demo,
    but the first thing you record will be "P2-DEM1.DEM"...

    When recording, you will get approximately one minute to record; this
    is for memory lack reasons... To view your progress after the recording
    has finished, select "VIEW DEMO" from the main menu. N.B. It will play
    the first demo in the series, and then the next until yours...

This Demo Features:
    + Super-smooth 256 colour graphics!
    + Fully operational menus!
    + One fully animated character to control!
    + 9 different enemies to fight against!
    + 10 levels (2 episodes), plus an extra tutorial level!
    + 8 different powerups!
    + Blood and gore effects!
    + Auto-Save game feature!
In The Final Version You Should See:
    + Improved everything (physics, enemies, animation...)
    + Loads more levels!
    + Loads more enemies!
    + Loads more powerups!
    + More options!
    + Music and Sound Effects!

History of Versions:

    + Demo version 0.1 - You can move around a level, and jump.
    + Never released version 0.2 - Ability to load level from BMP.
    + Never released version 0.3 - Level textures added.
    + Demo version 0.4 - Primitive enemies added, no sprites.
    + Demo version 0.4b- Enemy sprites loaded from BMP.
    + Never released version 0.5 - New engine didn't work.
    + Never released version 0.6 - Player control re-written.
    + Demo version 0.7 - Physics engine re-written... works great!
    + First proper demo release, 4 levels, 4 enemies, 6 powerups!
    + Second Release 1.1 - Physics engine improved, ONLY 1 BUG!
    + Final Demo Release 1.5 - Entire forest episode complete. Now,
		enemies move sensibly. Improved physics. All better.
    + Extended Demo 1.6 - Two episodes! New filing technique, and
		faster gameplay. More enemies added.
    + ACTUAL Final Demo 1.7 - Ability to record and save demos!!!

Copyright 1999 (C) By Adam Szmigin (Smidge TECH)
