TAKATRON: 2098
Release version ARCADE - 8 Dec 2000

(c)1998 by M.Brent
All rights not explicitly licensed to the end user are retained by the
developer.

This program may be freely distributed as long as the doc file is
kept with the executable.

This program requires VGA with 512k. A few cards are supported natively
by the Allegro library, but you really want to have Vesa support. If your
display doesn't work, SciTech's Display Doctor can fix everything up for
you.

The program requires DPMI services. Under Win95 you should be fine. Some
people say NT works, but I've had no luck. Under DOS (forget 3.11), any
DPMI server should work. CWSDPMI is a good free one.

Minimal RAM? Good question... prolly at least 4 mb. :) While a 386 will
run the software, you want a FAST Celeron or P2 to run it,
cause I like using multiple display buffers, and the display routine was
not optimized for the smaller display! ;)

There are a few optional and not recommended switches you can use below.

Run Game:  takatron [switches]
Switches do not use dashes unless indicated, arguments are separated by
a space, as are all switches. Since these are intended for test purposes,
and not for general use, there is no checking for valid numbers in those
that require numbers. Illegal values may cause a crash.

The game requires key '5' for credits, and key '1' or SNES pad 1 START to
start the game. You must use two SNES pads on the parallel port - pad 1 is
move and pad 2 is fire.

That's it, really. It runs in 320x240 and pseudo-interlaces. Because it
brute-force scales to fit the lower resolution screen, it takes a lot more
horsepower than it should.

Current Command Line Switches
cycle           - Ensable color cycling (kinda ugly under Windows)
config          - run configuration screen again
noplasma        - disable plasma effects - much faster.
plasmastep x    - set plasmastep to 'x'. Default is 3. 1-10 recommended,
                  lower numbers are slower and give shorter trails,
                  higher numbers run quicker but give longer trails.
fps             - displays retrace counter. 3 or lower is running 100%.
                  4 is borderline.
[secret]        - a secret switch to play as Scar instead of Simba. Just a
                  hack, mind you, but fun. :) It's revealed at the end
                  of the final credits in the game. ;)
[secret]        - another secret switch to play as another character.
                  If you figure out Scar's, this one is easy to guess.
seeallend       - see all the endings when you beat the game, not just
                  the one you normally would. ;)

HISTORY

2 Feb 98
-Added the rest of the title sequence, hi score table, 'fancy clear' and
 rest of samples.

13 feb 98
-This project is still up in the air as to whether I'll finish it, but..
added the Simba sprites... hit space to start a game, use the arrow keys
to move around, and tap space to toggle between adult and cub Simba.
(Graphics from the Genesis version of Lion King). Hit Control-Alt-End
to exit.

20 feb 98
-And still up in the air. Simba now shoots, and random hyenas appear (but
don't move).

22 Mar 98
-Well, I forget what's new, mostly tweaking and getting the graphics done.
Now it's 'Q' to toggle cub/adult Simba, and space will lock the firing
angle (or joystick).

30 Mar 98
-As of right now, game is playable. Only Hyenas and Obstacles appear, and
there is no ending yet. (Level 50 will be last.) Simba grows up at level
35, and music begins at level 45. Scar speaks after level 10. Most
everything else is ready to be coded in. Some samples missing. Collision
detection is wild, too, hafta tune that. Hyenas chase you. Everything
can be shot. Joystick is the current medium preferred (keyboard may be
slow if you have no joystick connected.) Life count and Game over work,
but lives and score not displayed. Greet page working.

22 Apr 98
-Rewrote collision detect routine to be more flexible. It's almost perfectly
accurate now, but still misses obstacles from time to time.
Added 'debug' command argument to aid my debugging (right now just shows
the bounding boxes used by the collision routine). Tons more graphics
added but not a single pixel of them visible yet. Added to the greet page.
Really, if you have the 30 Mar version, you don't need to download this
update.

2 May 98
-New command - 'always x' will make all enemies into enemy number 'x',
which should be from 1-8.
-All enemies in place
-Picking up lionesses works
-All enemy features work
-Most scoring in place
-Most powerups in place
-Hi-Score table works
-Game is too damn hard for me to beat. ;)

2 May 98 - second update (ooh!)
-New command - 'cheat' (finally) makes you invincible. Not much use except
for testing until the bosses are in, since it goes forever. I fully expect
it would crash eventually... definately after level 100 if not before ;)
No way to turn it off or die, so if it's on use control-alt-end to exit.
(note: in my test - it crashed at level 75. But was well unplayable
anyway ;) )
-Added the missing samples, but the WOW sample for last lioness has to
go, as soon as I decide what to replace it with
-Picking up the last lioness now gives you 'hot bullets'... these bullets
don't stop when they hit enemies! Lasts till end of round.
-Adjusted the position of the love hearts so you can see them ;)

5 May 98
-Forgot to mention it, it went into the last release, but 'P' will
pause the game (almost any time, actually ;) ) 'R' to resume.
-New switch 'start x' selects the level to start at.
-Jaguar boss for level 49 in place, but not finished yet
-Made game a bit easier.. half the enemies. Level 48 was just murder. :)

2 Jun 98
-new switch 'nocycle' to disable color cycling (faster on slow PCs?)
-added continue and 1up power ups
-assorted bugfixes

3 Jun 98
-Kitus now time out after 10 buzzards each and chase you.. no more continuous
 levels ;)
-Powerups now time out, and they vanish if you die
-Score for powerups, incrementing score for lionesses
-If you don't have a takatron.cfg, it runs a simple setup program to create
 it. You can also use the setup switch 'config' to change the setup.
-Updated doc file to be more useful ;)
-Added basic options menu for startup
-Added config file

4 Jun 98
-Finished config menu
-Corrected bugs in config file loader
-Implemented 5 control methods (arrow keys/space, joystick/fire button,
 joypad/4 buttons, arrows move/joystick fire, joystick move/arrows fire)
 Firing is only continuous in keyboard or 1 button joystick mode.

13 Jun 98
-Finished Jaguar Boss
-Few little bugfixes here and there
-Still wondering about the life counter bug
-Added display for picking up icons
-Cameo appearance after destroying Jaguar boss
-Boss reappears each level after 49 (that's cause the final boss isn't in)

17 Jun 98
-Added plasma-fade effect.
-New switch 'noplasma' disables it. But it may   actually be a little
faster than the old screen clear. Depending on your system. ;)
-Fixed bug in Jaguar boss start - no more obstacles and enemies left over
-Fixed bug where Scar's appearance could kill you
-Fixed bug where you still die if you get a warp powerup before being hit

18 Jun 98
-Retrace counter for speed added - lower is better. 4 is maxxed out. Use
switch 'fps' to activate
-Added 'plasmastep' switch to control spacing of plasma effect

4 July 98
-added final boss - floating Scar head. Waiting for artist's permission to
use it, though.
-fixed a few minor bugs. Still one occasionally turning the screen blue?
-Workaround for graphic glitches when boss appears
-added support for wavetable digital simulated midi... it's not
automatic like I thought it was anymore... well, now it is for
Takatron, anyway. Just copy a compatible patches.dat. Note that if you
have a patches.dat in the directory and it's not valid, you won't get any
MIDI and maybe no Digital audio either. Be warned. :) But it sounds
SOOOOO much better. :)

5 July 98
-Lots more bug fixes
-Added some samples for final boss
-Removed shadow sprites from Jaguar boss... if you run noplasma there will
 be no trail now
-Reversed drawing order so shots don't draw on top of bosses
-If you use NOCYCLE, it waits for a VSYNC before setting colours used for
 boss flashing, so try that if you get snow
-If you press F5 in cheat mode, it will set all life counters to '1'. This
 affects the Kitu for number of buzzards left to release, and of course the
 life of the bosses. It must be 1, not zero, because boss deaths are detected
 in the collision detect routine.
-Added end routine and scroll credits with 4 cheesy endings. ;)
-Added secret way to play as Scar, just a hack, the game is still the same,
 but with his own two endings 
-Added another secret character with a single ending... that's it, total 7
 endings and 3 playable characters. It's not hard to guess. ;)
-Added voices to Scar boss.. 'run' and 'run away!'
-Added seeallend switch to see all endings in final scrolltext

7 Dec 00
-Changes all over to make it run on my Arcade cabinet.