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Therefore if you read this document or use the information herein you do so at your own risk. ********* The Project 64 etext of the ~Boulder Dash Construction Kit manual (Atari Version)~, transcribed by Jeff Lodoen , Retrieved from Morbid Guy's Atari 8-bit Manual Archive http://www.best.com/~morbid/manuals/bdck.txt BDASHK10.TXT, September 1997, etext #290# ********* BOULDER DASH (TM) CONSTRUCTION KIT (TM) BY EPYX MAXX OUT! SERIES (TM) Instruction Manual for use with Commodore 64 (R)/128 (TM), Apple (R) II, IBM (R) PC and Compatibles, Atari (R) ST (TM) and Atari 800 Computers (TM) Game Designed by First Star Software, Inc. OBJECTIVE You have two objectives in BOULDER DASH (TM) CONSTRUCTION KIT (TM), You can either play the pre-saved game provided on the program disk, or construct your own games with the construction kit. If you play the pre-saved game, your objective in BOULDER DASH (TM) CONSTRUCTION KIT is to search through different caves to find as many diamonds as possible. You must rely on strategy and planning to guide you through each cave. With quick reflexes and careful moves you can avoid different obstacles and enemy creatures. You have a limited amount of time to mine each cave, and each cave has a limit to the number of diamonds you can mine. GETTING STARTED For the Atari (R) 800 (TM) Set up your Atari 800 as shown in the owner's manual. Plug in your joystick as shown in the owner's manual. If you are using the keyboard, refer to the KEYBOARD COMMAND CARD for key controls. Turn ON your disk drive and wait for the busy light to go off. Insert your BOULDER DASH CONSTRUCTION KIT disk into the disk drive and turn ON the computer. Make your Selections After the game is loaded, you will have a set of choices to make. First you must choose between using the BOULDER DASH Construction Kit (to create/edit your own mazes), or the BOULDER DASH Game Module (to play the pre-saved game.) Follow the directions on screen to make your selection. Note: If you are unfamiliar with BOULDER DASH games, it is a good idea to start out in the Game Module mode. You will become familiar with the different objects and moving creatures and how they work. You can then create your own caves exactly as you like! You must next select the number of players (1 or 2) you will play with, and the number of joysticks (1 or 2) you will use. Choose the number of players/joysticks by pressing Option. The Game Module comes with one complete pre-saved game for you to start with. The Game, GAME1, consists of 12 caves and 3 intermissions. Caves scroll to be 4 screens large. Intermissions are single screens, and allow you to earn bonus points. (Intermissions rewards you for getting through caves alive. If you lose an intermission, you still go on to the next cave.) To play the pre-saved game, load it by pressing RETURN when asked for the game file. GAME1 will shift colors when it's loaded, and you can select a cave or intermission number (01-15) to play by moving the joystick up or down. Press the FIRE BUTTON when the number of your choice appears (and the game will begin). Mining a Cave In each cave you will find different obstacles and enemy creatures you will need to avoid or trap while mining for or creating diamonds. See Appendix A for a list and description of each obstacle and creature. Start the Game To start the game after you've made all your selections, press the FIRE BUTTON. Pause at any point in the game by pressing the SPACE FIRE. Restart the game by pressing the SPACE BAR again. You will start with 3 lives, but will earn an extra life with every 500 points you earn. Scoring Information At the top of the screen is a bar with numbers. The numbers stand for the following information (left to right): The number of diamonds you are required to mine in the current cave in order to exit. The value of each single diamond. The number of diamonds you have collected so far. The time you have remaining to complete the cave. The total points you have accumulated. Earn points for: Each diamond you collect. Every second you have left on the timer when you exit the cave. Every diamond you collect above the minimum number of diamonds required to exit (bonus points). CONSTRUCT A GAME >From the first menu screen, select the BOULDER DASH CONSTRUCTION KIT mode (#1). You will be given the following choices: Edit An Existing Screen: Edit a game that is already created and saved to disk. Create a New Cave: Construct your own cave from scratch. Create a New Intermission: Create a single-screen cave that can later be inserted between regular caves. You will then have a palette available to you from which you can select items to create a cave or intermission. The objects along the side of the palette contain the elements and obstacles that appear in BOULDER DASH Game Module. You will use the items in the palette to construct your own caves and intermissions. With the CONSTRUCTION KIT, you can create games as wild as your imagination. A game can be as long or as short as you like. Remember, when you are constructing your games that caves scroll to be 4 screens large. You can see all 4 screens at the same time by using the Full Screen function (press F). Intermissions are single screens used for bonus points. Construct your games, cave by cave, saving each cave as you create it. Use boulders, growling walls, butterflies, amoebas and other items to add risk and adventure to your caves. But remember always to add an entrance, an exit, and some diamonds (or means for creating diamonds) in your caves. Appendix A gives you a list of obstacles and creatures, and a list of commands for constructing your caves. After constructing and testing each cave and intermission, you should Save it. You may change the sequence in which caves and intermissions are played at any time. Saving A Cave Select the M (menu) icon or press the M key. Use the joystick to select SAVE; Type in a NEW file name for your cave and press RETURN. (The name you use must be unique and the computer will give it an extension automatically. If you want to use a file name that already exists on the disk, you must first delete the existing cave or intermission.) Game Sequence Options When you are finished constructing and saving your caves and intermissions, select the word GAME from the menu. You will get the following options: New: Clears the game sequence. Files: Reads the catalog of caves and intermissions from the current disk. Load: Loads a previously created game sequence. You must provide the name of the desired game sequence. Save: Saves the current game sequence on your disk. You must provide a unique name for it. Edit: This option allows you to put all the caves you have constructed and saved into the sequence of your choice. Three columns will appear on the screen. Take the following steps to put your caves and intermissions into a game sequence. Highlight the ARROW in the Right column, and use the joystick to place it in front of the file you want to move. Then press the FIRE BUTTON. Highlight the ARROW in the Left column and place it in the location you want the file from the Right column to appear (move the joystick up or down), and press the FIRE BUTTON. Highlight the ARROW in the Middle column and toggle between Y (Yes) and N (No) by moving the joystick up or down. This will determine which of the caves and intermissions the player can select in the final game sequence you've created. When you press the FIRE BUTTON, the file from the right column should appear in the column on the left at the position you selected. If a cave cannot be selected (No), then the player must earn the right to play it by winning the previous cave. Disk Options: Provided for your convenience are the following items (not necessary to play or construct a BOULDER DASH game): Catalog Format Delete Rename Copy These items are the usual disk commands. Please consult your disk manual for further instructions. Appendix A The following palette items and commands are accessed on the construction screen in the following way: Position the highlighting box, with the joystick, over an item, creature or letter and press the FIRE BUTTON. Position the highlighting box on the construction screen in the place you want the selected item to appear and press the FIRE BUTTON. The Palette Boulders: Will fall (when not supported by dirt areas or walls) and crush items beneath them. A single boulder can be pushed left or right into empty spaces by Rockford Ö. Diamonds: Every cave must have a certain number of diamonds. They can be created from other elements in the palette (see Butterflies). Enchanted Walls: This wall turns boulders into diamonds and diamonds into boulders. This milling process can be set to last a specified length of time when constructing or editing a cave. Walls: Use these to build paths, strongholds, and obstacles for creatures and diamonds. They can be destroyed by explosions. Titanium Walls: These are indestructible walls and nothing may be played on the walls i.e., you can't place an exit door on a titanium wall. Growing Walls: These walls grow to fill any holes that Rockford digs at the end of the wall_ which can put him in a tight spot! Extra Rockford: He doesn't move, so be sure to protect him from fireflies, butterflies, and falling boulders. Dirt: Used as a filler and to support rocks and diamonds. Rockford digs a path as he walks, but butterflies and fireflies can't go through dirt. Fireflies: They can destroy Rockford by landing on him and exploding. You can destroy them by dropping boulders on them. They always fly in a predictable direction. Butterflies: Drop a boulder on them and they explode into diamonds. Amoebas: This gooey stuff can grow through dirt, but can be contained by walls or boulders. If suffocated within walls, it will turn into diamonds. But if not contained, it will grow uncontrollably. Slime: This slimy gunk is permeable so boulders and diamonds can fall through it. (When you are constructing a cave, you can set the time it takes for boulders and diamonds to fall through the slime.) Hidden Exit Door: This door looks like a Titanium Wall, so remember where you put it when you're constructing your cave! Exit Door: This door will be revealed as soon as the required number of diamonds are collected. Entrance: This is the door that Rockford uses to enter the cave. You must remember that a cave is not complete without both an entrance and an exit! The Commands (used in construction) Lines: Select L icon from the construction screen (or press the L key). Then select an item or creature you would like to place in your cave. Press the FIRE BUTTON at the first place you want the item to appear, and move the joystick to the last place (on the same line or an exact diagonal) you want the item to appear. Press the FIRE BUTTON again and the item will appear in a solid line within the start and end points you set. Random: Select an item you'd like to place randomly on the cave screen. Choose the Dice icon (or the D key) and 20 of your selected items will appear in the cave in random locations. To see the full cave with items, press the F key. Erase: Select the Eraser icon (or the E key) to erase items you've placed on your screen and to create paths. Test: Select the T icon (or the T key) to test a cave or intermission you've created. Menu: Press the M icon (or the M key) to see the file menu. To choose one of the menu items, move the joystick to highlight your choice and press the FIRE BUTTON. From the Menu you can Save and Load your caves, or make a Games sequence. You can also access the Disk Options. New Screen: Select the N icon (or the N key) to clear the screen. Palette: Use the P icon to hide the Palette. Press the P key to bring it back. Timers: Select the Clock icon (or the V key) to set values. For example, the speed at which Rockford moves through the cave, the time you have to finish the cave, and the time it takes boulders and diamonds to fall through the slime. When an item is highlighted, change the number by pressing the joystick up, down, left, or right. [Up increases the numbers by 10s, Down decreases by 10s; Left or Right increases or decreases by 1s.] Make your selection and move to the next item by pressing the FIRE BUTTON. Full Screen: Press the F key to all four screens in a cave at the same time. Move the large cursor on the screen with the joystick, and press F again (or the FIRE BUTTON) to return to a single working screen in a new location. Additional Keys C: Gives you a color menu so you can change colors on the screen. SPACEBAR: Pauses and Resumes the game (in the Game Module). HELPFUL HINTS: If Rockford gets in a tight spot and wants to grab a diamond or push a boulder without moving, press and hold the FIRE BUTTON, then move the joystick in the direction of the diamond or boulder. Rockford will remain in the same place, but the diamond will be pulled toward him, or the boulder will be pushed away from him into an empty space. CREDITS Game design by First Star Software, Inc. Published under agreement with First Star Software, Inc. Licensing arranged by International Computer Group. Commodore and Atari 800 versions programmed by Jeff Schneider. Apple conversion by Pat Montello. MS-DOS conversion by Ibid, Inc. Atari ST conversion by Data Byte and Paul Carr. Screens designed by Fernando Herrera. Based on the original Boulder Dash by Peter Liepa with Chris Grey. BOULDER DASH, BOULDER DASH CONSTRUCTION KIT, and ROCKFORD are trademarks of FIRST STAR SOFTWARE, Inc. Audio visual material copyrighted 1984, 1987 FIRST STAR SOFTWARE, INC. All rights reserved. Commodore 128 is a trademark and Commodore 64 is a registered trademark of Commodore Electronics Limited. Apple II is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM PC is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Atari ST is a trademark and Atari 800 is a registered trademark of Atari Corporation. EPYX P.O. Box 8020, 600 Galveston Drive, Redwood City CA 94063 (C) Epyx, Inc. Part No. 3020A-60 BOULDER DASH (TM) CONSTRUCTION KIT (TM) For the Atari (R) 800 (TM) KEYBOARD COMMANDS After loading Boulder Dash Construction Kit, start the game from the title screen by pressing RETURN. You will then have the following set of options: Choose the number of players (1 or 2) and the number of joysticks (1 or 2) by pressing the Option key. Load the pre-saved game by typing GAME1 and pressing RETURN. When GAME1 is loaded, choose which cave or intermission you want to play by moving the joystick up or down. When the number of your choice is highlighted, press the FIRE BUTTON and the game will begin. When playing the game, you can pause it at any point by pressing the SPACEBAR. Restart the game by pressing the SPACEBAR again. Move Rockford up, down, left, and right by moving the joystick up, down, left, and right. If your Rockford (TM) gets stuck in a position, with no way out, press ESC to go to the next Rockford in the same screen. Construct a Game: KEY FUNCTION --------------------------------- Joystick up, down, Move the cursor around the screen or palette left, or right. FIRE BUTTON Select a highlighted icon or place a selected icon P key Display the Palette On/Off L key Select the Line mode On/Off D key Place a selected icon randomly on the screen T key Play test a cave or intermission (ESC to abort the test) E key Select the Eraser icon N key Start a New Screen (Y or N to confirm) C key Select the Color mode V key Select the Value mode F key Toggles Full screen mode On/Off --------------------------------- M key Select the Menu mode Joystick up, down, Highlight an option left, or right FIRE BUTTON Select and execute an option ESC key Exit a Menu or Sub-menu To save a cave or intermission once you've finished constructing it: Select the Menu mode Highlight Save with the joystick, and press the FIRE BUTTON. Type in a NEW name for your cave and press RETURN. (The file name must be unique.) Make a Game Sequence: Select the Menu mode Follow the instructions in the manual for making a Game Sequence 30204D-62 ********* End Project 64 etext Boulder Dash Construction Kit manual. *********