Outer Lines v1.14 help_eng.txt
------------------------------

The objective of the game is to collect scores. The scores are earned
by removing objects from the playboard. You remove the objects by
surrounding them with the borderpieces. Both, the objects and the pieces
are theme-specific. Each added piece costs 10 points off the scores.
If scores drop to 0, the game is over.
The pieces appears one at a time and may - in random order - represent
either a vertical border, a horizontal, or any of four corners.
At the first level, where you begin each game, there is one object you
have to remove by surrounding it, on the next two, and so on.

The playboard is the area in the middle of the screen where after star-
ting the program a TopTen-list is located. The list disappears when
you start the game. Downside the playboard you may scroll through
and choose one of the five themes and difficulty of the game.
As you scroll, the playboard changes to the appropriate for the
current theme. And as the TopTen list is theme- and levelspecific,
it too.

You have three difficulty levels to choose:

•	Easy	- startup scores 2500
•	Medium	- startup scores 1000
•	Hard	- startup scores 500

During the game the playboard forms an invisible grid, 15 x 15 squa-
es. Each square may hold either one object (placed by the game) or
one borderpiece (placed by you).

The yellow/green frame jerking around on the playboard when you
move the current borderpiece is an indicator, it jumps from square to
square telling you in which one the piece will be placed when you click
your mouse. The next borderpiece, the one which will become the cur-
rent piece after that click is shown in a small window upside the play-
board.

There are some logical restrictions. For example, the game will not al-
low you to place a bottomleft corner in the upperright corner of the
playboard.

Surrounded objects and the pieces used in the border are immediately
removed, and scores are increased:

•	Pieces used in the border, no objects surrounded: 5 points/each.
•	One object surrounded: 10 points from each pieces used in the border.
•	Two objects surrounded (inside the same border):
        2 x 10 points from each pieces used in the border.
•	Three objects surrounded: 3 x 10 points, and so on.

Pieces located inside a completed border but without any borderfunc-
tion are removed together with the objects, but do not generate scores.

Misplaced borderpieces may be removed by surrounding them with
other pieces in the same manner as objects.

When no objects left, you will be moved up to the next level. If the
playboard is empty (no unused borderpieces) you get bonus scores,
100 x the levelnumber. If not, no scores and the unused pieces remain
in their squares, following you to the next level.

To get your name to the topten-list, you must have at least same amount
of the scores with the startup scores or better result.

Five themes, I stated. In fact, three of them, Marble, Pool and Space,
are quite similar, only the aestethics differ. Surround objects with
the pieces, no frills.

In the fourth, Mouseball, the objects, the balls, will not be removed
immediately when surrounded. Instead you are given the opportunity
to earn 50 bonus scores by »kicking« them into a goal. First, point at
the goal with the red line (moves with the mouse). Next, press the
mouse button. A kickmeter will appear. The longer you keep the
mouse button down, the more powerful »kick« when you release it.
The »kicked« ball, the object, will be removed, did you hit the goal or
not when reachs edge of the board.

And in the fifth and last, Trafficjam, cars instead of being removed
start moving, each in it's own direction. If a single car reaches the edge
of the playboard, it is removed. But if there is another car in it's way,
it stops and you'll have to surround that car. And so on and so on.
You may place a borderpiece needed to surround the stopping car in
the square already occupied by the stopped car (which will continue
it's journey to nowhere as soon as possible, no explicit need to sur-
round it).

I'm not gonna have you yawn through an explanation of every single
button on the screen; They are quite self-explained.
The buttons come and go as you move the pointer; you'll notice
how.

If you move the pointer to the upperright of the screen a CD-player
appears (if you have a CD-drive installed). Beethoven's ninth sympho-
ny doubles your scores, Ricky Martin ...*lol* No. It's included only for
fun. The Finnish way of thinking: choose your very own background
music ...

Pressing Esc during the game returns you to the former stage, ultima-
tely to the operating system.

F9 takes screenshots, saves whatever on screen to files: screen1.bmp,
screen2.bmp, screen3 ...


The shareware-version of the game is limited to five levels. To get the
full version you'll have to register: send me a fee of FIM 60 (or the
equivalent in any commonly changeable currency, for example
EUR 10 or $ 10) in bank notes, bills if you prefer that word. No coins, no
cheques / checks, no card payment. Paper money. I'll immediately send
you a registration code (in fact, five separate alphanumeric codes) to
your email address (or by letter to your mailing address).
Please, see order.txt for details.

The registration codes are entered in five fields (code #1 in field #1
a.s.o) you get by clicking the Register-button. Move from field to field
by clicking the mouse, Tab or Enter doesn't work. And capital letters
do mean capital letters, keep CapsLock on. When entered, click the
word Register! in top of the screen.

Store the codes somewhere outside your PC, if it crashes and you, af-
ter fixing the problem or in worst case buying a new PC, want to rein-
stall the game, you'll have to re-enter them, And if they crashed with
the PC, there is no way to get them back.

Wise people say the most common language of the world is bad eng-
lish. Somehow, it's easy for me to believe. But, if you have any ques-
tion, please send me an email at

aquarius@mbnet.fi
vmosterman@hotmail.com


website:

http://koti.mbnet.fi/~aquarius/

-------------------------------------


Brixor: Paddle the ball o get points!

From the Zdnet's review:
"Brixor is an attractive and challenging
breakout-style game. You have to use a paddle and
ball to destroy bricks and other obstacles."

Zdnet:            ***
Sharewarejunkies: *****


Download the game and read rest of the articles
from my website:

http://koti.mbnet.fi/~aquarius/
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Copyright (C) 2001 V-M Osterman
