---Red Comet--- --INFO Name: Red Comet Created and programmed by: William Levasseur Tested by: Jean-Christophe Lamy Year: 1999 - 2000 E-mail: william_qc@hotmail.com Homepage: http://members.xoom.com/Le_Willy/main.html Device: TI-83 Plus calculator Game files: REDCOMET (~17K) ZRCDRAW (1603 octets) ZRCSHIP (279 octets) ZRCSTR (591 octets) Picture file: Pic6 (767 octets) Lists: LZSTX (249 octets), LZSTY (249 octets), LZSCX (321 octets), LZSCY (321 octets) Temporary list: LRCX (446 octets) Save list: LRCSAV (448 octets) Total game size with save game: ~22K --WORD FROM PROGRAMMER This game as been created for TI-83 Plus calculators and as tested on one. However, it is possible that the game will also run on a TI-83 (although I doubt it since the TI-83 doesn't have an ARC) or some other calculator, but it as not been tried so far. If you have a different calculator and have tested it on it, please send me your results, good or bad. Also, if you find any bugs, please report them. When I started out to create this game, I had in mind something way bigger (Anybody ever heard about Sundog?). However, I discovered early on that memory would be an issue and that I had to cut back. The final product fits on the TI-83 Plus calculator with only about 4K of RAM to spare, and that is only because most of the brut data is stored in lists, which can be archived by the program. I believe I can state, without bragging too much, that this is the most complex Basic program ever created for this particular device. At least, considering what I've seen so far. The whole display is created using Draw commands and is, therefor, very elegant and detailed (considering that the screen is 94X62). After completing my first game: Cat and Mouse, I understood that if I wanted to keep creating Basic games, I had to give up the idea of creating movement or action, unless it was kept very simple. But I wanted to create a really complex game. I had seen a lot of buy&trade kind of games and I figured that mine would have to be a little like that. Thing was, I found that once you played one of those buy&trade games, they were all pretty much the same. Still, the main idea was good. Create a game that requires a lot of commands but does not have any movement or action in real time. That's when I remembered an old game that I used to play on an old Apple II computer: Sundog. Now, my game looks nothing like Sundog, but it was the basis for Red Comet, and if you look closely, you'll see that both games are about a guy in is ship, transporting and selling cargo, and buying new parts for his vessel. Anyway, you don't really have to believe me... By the way, don't ask me where the name Red Comet came from. I just started calling it that way and it stuck. Willy --GETTING STARTED First thing you need to do is copy Red Comet to your calculators RAM. If you downloaded the game from the net, you'll need to use a link cable and the proper software to make the transfer. If you obtained the game from somebody else's calculator, then make sure you have all the Game Files and Lists stated in the Info section of this document. Next, you need to make sure that all the files are Unarchived, that is, that they're not in the ARC memory, except for the Pic6 and the Lists which have to be Archived. Now, simply run REDCOMET and the game will begin. --THE MENU The first screen that you'll see is the menu. From here you can start a new game, continue your game, read the instructions, who will tell you to go to my homepage to get this document, or quit. Starting a new game is the first thing you should do. Starting a new game does NOT delete your previous game, but if you save, any previous data will be lost. You cannot load a game if you have never saved one before. If you, nevertheless, try, the game will crash. --THE COCKPIT The first screen that you will see once you load or start a new game is the inside of the cockpit of the Red Comet, your ship. From here you can land the ship (see On Land), go to the map to select a destination (see Travel), launch for that destination, save the game or quit. I recommend saving often since the game has been known to crash or run out of memory. After all, I'm not perfect therefor I cannot create a perfect program... You can see all these commands from the display screen at the bottom of your screen. Scroll with the arrows. If you take a look at the display, you'll see different info about your ship's condition. At the top of the screen are the Shield (S), Engines (E) and Weapons (W) status. The lower your shields, the more hull damage you'll take in a fight, if your weapons drop to 0%, you won't be able to fire anymore, and if you engines fall to 0%, you'll be a sitting duck. At the bottom right corner is the HULL damage displays, if it drops to 0%, your dead. Quite simple! At each corner will be displayed, next to a little symbol representing a missile, the ammo for your non-energy weapons (see Weapons). On the right side of the screen is the amount of fuel that you are carrying and on the left side is the distance to travel before you reach your destination. Finally, the horizontal and vertical graduations will be used during battle. --TRAVEL To set a destination, you'll need to go to the map. Form the Cockpit, push MODE. The dots are planets and the big dot is where you are. The line is the frontier between civilised systems and the wastelands (the Wastelands being at the bottom). You will be able to buy and sell mechanises that are illegal when travelling in the Wastelands (see Trading). Anyway, use the arrows to move the cursor, press ENTER to select a destination, or DEL to cancel. At the bottom right part of the screen are two letter with numbers next to them: "D:" is the distance to the currently hi-lighted destination and "F:" is the amount of fuel you are carrying. If "OUT OF RANGE" appears at the bottom left corner of the screen, it's either because your engine doesn't have the required range or because you don't have enough fuel. Also at the bottom left corner of the screen is the number of the planet currently hi-lighted. Once you have selected the planet that you want to go to, press ENTER and you'll return to the cockpit. Simply press ALPHA to launch. --ON LAND I will not explain everything in detail concerning this part, it would just take to much time. I'll only give you some general information, but it's very simple to use so I'm confident you can figure it out. To land, push 2nd when you're in the Cockpit. The menu that will appear presents five places were you can go: the spaceport, the interstellar mart, the pawnshop, the trade centre and back to the Red Comet. The spaceport is where you can repair, refuel and reload weapons for your ship. The interstellar mart is where you can buy new engines (Note that the engine you have let the game know how though your ship his and serves has an adjusting factor to the power of enemy ships), weapons (up to four, see Weapons) or modifs (items that modify your ship, up to three, see Modifs). The more powerful you engine, the farther you will be able to go and with less fuel. The better your weapons, the better your chances of surviving a fight. The pawnshop is the place where you can sell your old weapons or modifs. You can't sell you engine, how would your ship fly? However, when you buy a new engine, the mart gives you a discount on your old engine. Next, there is the trade centre (see Trading), where you can buy or sell cargo. This is where you make your money. Finally, when you're all done, you can head back to your ship. --TRADING Trading is very simple. You buy a product when it's cheap, go to an other planet and sell it with a profit. The farther you travel, the more the values will fluctuate. The currency used throughout the game is simply called credits (Cr). Your ship can carry up to 200 units of cargo. Note that the two last products are considered illegal. They are also the ones that allow for the most profit. If you are inspected by a Fed. Patrol while carrying such cargo, it will be confiscated and you will have to pay a 200 Cr fine. The illegal merchandises can only be traded in the Wastelands (see Travel). --WEAPONS Here is the list of the different weapons, their pseudonyms and maximum ammo. They are listed (more or less) in the order of there power, depending on there type. You ship can carry up to four weapons at a time. Energy Weapons: Small Laser (SLAS) Medium Laser (MLAS) Gatling Laser (GLAS) Particle Canon (PCAN) Electro-Magnetic Pulse Canon (EMPC) * Ammo Weapons: Machine-Gun - 20 (MGUN) Rockets - 15 (RCKT) Auto Gun - 10 (AUTO) ** Missiles - 10 (MISL) Devastator - 2 (DVST) * The EMPC doesn't do any hull damage (it does damage enemy shields, though), but rather, it lowers the power of the enemy ship's weapons. When you do a successful hit, you will be shown an extra report saying: "ENEMY SYSTEMS DOWN BY"... and a number. This number is the % by which the enemy ships weapons power dropped. If you reduce the enemy ships power low enough, you will disable it and win the battle. ** When you fire an AUTO, you will not be required to target (see Battle). The weapon will target by itself. You will always get a medium hit. If using GROUPED FIRE (see Modifs), you will not be required to target if ALL your weapons are AUTOs. When you fire an energy weapon, you automatically fire all energy weapons. That is there advantage. Ammo weapons of a level are more powerful than energy weapons of the same level (ex: SLAS is less powerful than MCAN). However, they cost more, you have to buy ammo for them (they are full when you buy them) and you can only fire one at the time. The Devastator, however, is not comparable to the Particle Canon, and is, in fact, the ultimate weapon of the game. --MODIFS Here is the list of the different modifs, there pseudonyms and what they do. You ship can carry up to three modifs at a time. Targeting CPU (TARGET) - Augments your chances of hitting the enemy and the damage you'll inflict. Focussed Shields (FSHILD) - You cannot be damaged until your shields are down to 0%. Auto Repair (AUTORS) - Your Hull and systems will be repaired 15% after every battle. Disrupter (DISRUP) - Penalty in a fight due to a tractor beam is cancelled. Afterburner (AFTERB) - Better chances of fleeing a fight and dodging enemy attacks. T. Armour (TARMOR) - Stronger hull. Hidden Power-up (HIDPUP) - Always attack first. Fast Weapons (FASTWP) - Attack twice. Ammo Pack (AMPACK) - Doubles your ammo capacity. (You won't get twice the ammo when you buy the weapon) Grouped Fire (GRFIRE) - Fires all weapons at once. Has you can see, the names explain pretty clearly what the modif does. Well... most of the time. --BATTLE Once in a while, when travelling across the infinite void of space, you encounter other ships. Sometimes they're friendly, most of the time they're not. Raiders will usually ask you to surrender your cargo. If you don't, they'll try to blow you to pieces. Fed. Patrols are usually friendly, unless you're carrying illegal cargo, in which case you can pay the fine or try running. Be warned, however, it is not always wise to attack the forces of order (although it can always be fun to try...). When you do have to fight, battle work out in three steps: you fire, the other one fires, then repeat until one blows up. When it's your turn to fire, you have two steps to go trough. First select your weapon (unless you have Grouped Fire, see Modifs). If you select an energy weapon (see Weapons), you'll fire all your energy weapons at the same time. Next (this is the action part of the game), you have to target the other ship (unless you are using an Auto Gun, see Weapons). Notice the little pointer at the top of the screen, moving right and left along the scaled line. Push 2nd to stop it. You want to be aligned has close has possible with the centre of the enemy ship. Then repeat the same process for the vertical line on the left of the screen. When this is done, you will fire. You'll then get a report of your hit or miss. If you miss the ship you will do no damage, the wings count for minimal damage, the upper part of the hull if normal damage and the lower part of the hull in a critical hit. Then it's your foes turn. Very easy... Once you have won the fight, hopefully, you will get to gather salvage from the scraped enemy ship. This salvage is translated into credits. It's not much, but it will help repare damage. --WINNING This game doesn't have a precise objective to it (Oups!). The only goal is to get your ship all pumped up with all the best goodies. Still, if you do get to the point of having four weapons, three modifs, the best engine and 5000 Cr of spare cash, you'll get a short text telling you what you became now that you're this rich, big shot, trade guy. I won't tell you what it says, you'll have to get there to see... --FINAL TIPS - Don't worry if the calculator often asks to do a Garbage Collect. Simply answer "Yes" and you can keep playing once the device is done. The Garbage Collects are a side effect to the continuous archiving and unarchiving of the Lists. 4K of spare RAM gets scrambled pretty fast, you see. - Don't by engines too fast or you'll get rosted. - Always save enough money to refuel. - Don't forget, when you're carrying illegal cargo, not to let the pigs on the ship. - Don't pick fights early in the game. - Don't play during math. class. - Enjoy!