========================== RITUAL COMBAT - Alpha 0.31 ==========================


Original engine code: R.E.Lope
Coding: Dean Janjic a.k.a. Lachie Dazdarian & R.E.Lope
Graphics: Lachie Dazdarian     
Fonts used in story: Adigun Polack 


Introducing:
------------
Ritual Combat is a single screen, platform battle game.
Up to 3 warriors will fight in one screen arenas. They will have different
characteristics from speed, jump height, beginning amount of energy and mana.


The Game:
---------
Each warrior has a short range weapon and one special ability which
he uses according to his amount of mana (from 1 to 6 times per
fight, all depends on the character).
Chance to hit the opponent with short range weapon is 50/50 in one
swing so there is a chance that you miss. If i didn't implemented this 
feature, in 90% of cases both warriors would harm each other in the same 
time (kills the gameplay).
To win a round you must win in 3 battles.
During the battle special pickups can appear on the field which bring
extra energy or mana points (read the instructions!).

During the battle you can press SPACE to change the speed, M to toggle sound 
on/off or exit the game with ESC.


Controls:
---------
Player 1

JUMP - ARROW UP or 8 on numeric keypad
LEFT - ARROW LEFT or 4 on numeric keypad
RIGHT - ARROW RIGHT or 6 on numeric keypad
SWING - . or > (second key left from right shift)
SPECIAL ABILITY - / or ? (first key left from right shift)

Player 2

JUMP - E
LEFT - S
RIGHT - F
SWING - 1 or !
SPECIAL ABILITY - 2 or @

You might call this keyboard configuration silly, but I find them the most 
natural. If you think that different configuration would work better, lemme 
know.


This demo includes:
-------------------
One arena
Four warriors
Two player mode (player vs player or player vs computer)
Dummy AI


Warriors:
---------
Hewoo: First warrior made for this game. For short range weapon uses a sword.
       As a special ability uses pouch bombs. Pretty good warrior. Bombs
       can be deadly traps if used wisely.
       Energy:6
       Mana:4
Lachie Dazdarian: Yes. This warrior is my alter ego of my alter ego.
                  Uses a staff as short range weapon. As special ability he
                  uses thunder power. Takes three energy points.
                  You might call him a weak warrior, but in final version he
                  could be strong when I add all the parameters.
                  Energy:5
                  Mana:1
K'Bha: Strong mountain man. Axe is his short range weapon. In final version I
       could code it so that it takes 2 energy points, but then I would make him 
       slower. His special ability is rolling. Pretty dangerous when
       using it. But he's mustnt approach Lachie Dazdarian when he is using
       thunder power even if rolling.
       Energy:7
       Mana:2
The Beast: Strongest warrior. He's short range weapon has a 30% chance to
           inflict 2 points of damage. As a special ability he uses earth-
           quake. Takes two points of damage to every warrior on ground.
           Must be used wisely. When other warrior is falling down from a jump 
           that is the right moment to use earthquake.
           Moves a bit slower than other warriors which makes him quite
           powerless if hunted (like when the other warrior is shielded).
           Energy:5
           Mana:2


The AI Manifesto:
-----------------
First of all to point out one thing. AI is NOT finished. There is much space
for improvement. Second of all, the point of this game is to fight with
other warrior not to make computer controlled warrior stuck. It is very 
difficult to code all kind of possible situations for computer controlled 
warrior. He is stupid, that is obvious. But it's not easy to beat him due
the game's specific concept. So why wish need for super-AI?
AI can use special abilities and avoid bombs, K'Bha rolling, etc.
In this case, AI is not coded perfectly on purpose. For example, AI triggers 
the bomb few pixels before bomb can hurt you so that you have a chance to 
avoid it. Same thing goes when AI is using thunder shock.
Wait until I make Quest mode. As you progress AI will be more perfect and
playing against the computer will become a real adventure.


Full version will include:
==========================
Battle and Quest mode.
In battle mode maximum of 3 warriors will fight in one arena.
Maximum of player controlled warriors will be 2.
Around 4 arenas, each with different tiles.
New special pickups (super speed, super jump, super power, ...)
7 or 6 warriors, each with different look, characteristics and special
abilities.
Quest mode will include fighting all the characters one by one displayed 
as a jounrey throught fantasy world (map). Plus there will be a secret 
warrior and arena on the end.


Things that might be in final version:
Blood splattering (blood that stays on ground when you harm other
warriors). I have the idea how to code this, but I'm not sure do I 
want it and I will probably encounter some problems while coding it. 
I'm just wondering does it worth the trouble?


Update 8.4.2002.: Sorry. I don't like to make this daily updates too.
                  I just missed one thing. Warriors were able to use swing
                  while rolling or using earthquake. So I debugged it.
                  Also, the speed is now possible to change while playing
                  with +/- (numeric keypad) since using speed control menu
                  freezes the game on some PCs.

Update 7.4.2002.: Ok. I played the old version a bit more and noticed several
                  bugs. Like player 2 was able to move before kickback
                  is over. Also player 2 was able to stick to floating tiles 
                  if he hits them with head while jumping.
                  Enough about bugs...coding babbling...I added a new
                  character! The Beast. Sprites are a bit questionable but
                  on the end The Beast looks ok. And I think he's 
                  characteristics are quite interesting.
                  I changed the gravity and max jump height parameters
                  to get a better jump effect. Old jumps were a bit too
                  height and that had a bad effect on the gameplay.
                  Plus I added special pickups appearing in the playfield. 
                  That brings an extra dimension to the battle itself.
                  Hopefully more people will play this game with someone
                  else...but in today's age of internet gaming, it's hard
                  to believe this that will happen. Pity. I wish I could make
                  an online version of Ritual Combat.
                  Oh, yes. I added cheesy PC SPEAKER sound effects.

         
Final words:
------------
Err...with the 4th warrior, fixed bugs and special pickups this demo 
becomes a quite serious project. Errr...I don't think I will release
new versions for the next few months. I must finish The LONG first and 
then get on Ritual Combat. All this will happen during the summer since
I have the most free time then. Hopefully Quest mode will make this game 
more known and popular.

If you have a comment on this game or want to report a 
bug jus' mail me.

Cheers!


--- Lachie Dazdarian (lachie13@yahoo.com)


