CRTetris III

Copyright 1999 by Pavlos Touboulidis, Cold Reflection


0. Quick Start
1. Description
2. System Requirements
3. Installation
4. Setup
5. Troubleshooting
6. Legal Agreement
7. Changes Log
8. Credits
9. Themes
10. Contact Information



0. Quick Start
==============

This section is for all of you who don't want to read all this.

   Installation:
      Unzip the file into a new folder preserving the directory structure
   Setup:
      Run CRTRIS -setup and select sound/music drivers
   Keys:
      Left               Move left
      Right              Move right
      Down               Move down
      Up                 Rotate
      Z                  Drop

      ESCape             Pause game and Show menu
      Enter              Change block set
      F12                Save screenshot (BMP file)
      Pause              Pause/Continue game



1. Description
==============

CRTetris is a Tetris like game. It takes the old classic game and makes it
a completely new game. It has hi-quality graphics, music and sound effects.
Works under MS-DOS(*) and Windows and it is freeware. It allows the users
to create and use their own themes, or themes created by other users.

(*) To play the game under MS-DOS, CWSDPMI.EXE by Charles W. Sandmann is
required. CWSDPMI package is a DOS extender that enables MS-DOS programs
to run in 32-bit protected mode. A copy of CWSDPMI.EXE is included in the
distribution. The sources are also available and you can download them for
free from your local simtelnet mirror.



2. System Requirements
======================

Minimum Configuration:
----------------------
* Pentium
* 8MB of memory under MS-DOS, 16 under Windows 9x
* Graphics card capable of hi/true color

Recommended Configuration:
--------------------------
* Pentium 200
* 16MB of memory under MS-DOS, 24 under Windows 9x
* Graphics card supporting 24/32bit color (16.7M)
* Sound Card (100% SoundBlaster compatible under MS-DOS)
* Joystick/Mouse also supported



3. Installation
===============

CRTetris will not mess with your system and registry.
Only 3 steps are required to install and run the game.

   a) Create a new directory (folder) on your hard drive.
      For example, C:\GAMES\CRTETRIS
   b) Unzip the ZIP file into that directory, preserving
      the directory structure of the ZIP file. This is done
      automatically if you use WinZip. If you use PKUNZIP or
      a similar utility, remember to use the '-d' option.
   c) Now you're ready to run the game. If you use Windows
      and you want to create a shortcut on your desktop,
      follow these simple steps:
      1) Open the folder where you installed the game
      2) Click once on the "CRTRIS.EXE" file.
      3) 'Copy' that file
      4) Right click on your desktop and select 'Paste Shortcut'

   Now you can run the game by double-clicking the shortcut.
   If you want, you can:
   1) Rename the shortcut on your desktop from "CRTris.exe" to "CR Tetris"
   2) Change the icon of the shortcut. To do this, right click
   the shortcut, select properties, click on program, then on
   Change Icon. Then click on the 'Browse' button and find
   the folder where you installed the game. Select the CRTRIS.ICO
   and click on OK.

If you want to uninstall the game later, you just need to delete
the folder where you installed the game. All the files the game uses
are in there. Simply delete that folder.

*NOTE: It is highly recommended that you run the setup program once
before playing the game. If you notice any problems, look at sections
[4](setup) and [5](troubleshooting).



4. Setup
========

CRTetris has a setup program built-in. You can use it to change sound
driver, MIDI driver, input device (keyboard, joystick, mouse), themes
and configure the keyboard or the joystick.
To enter the setup program, run the SETUP.BAT file or run the game
with the '-setup' option. For example:
C:\GAMES\CRTETRIS\CRTRIS -setup



5. Troubleshooting
==================

The game has been tested on many machines. In most cases, it runs with
no problems at all. If you notice problems with the game, read this
section.

   A) Sound
   The most common problem is sound. In most cases, you can solve such
   problems with the setup program. Run the setup program (section 4)
   and select the sound and music driver that matches your soundcard.

   Some soundcard are not SoundBlaster compatible, although they say
   they are. Even the SoundBlaster PCI 64/128 models aren't soundblaster
   compatible. They can only 'emulate' compatibility, which causes
   problems under 'clean' DOS. If you run into this problem, try to
   load the DOS drivers for your soundcard. If you still can't play
   the game with sound, run it under Windows. You should have no problem
   playing the game under Windows because Windows provide a SoundBlaster
   driver for DOS games.

   The only problem reported under Windows is the MIDI music. Some
   songs sound really strange (i.e. you can hear only the drums).
   This can be fixed easily. Run the setup program and select the
   MPU driver.

   B) Graphics
   Some people reported that they can't start the game. They get an
   error message saying that the game can't set the graphics mode
   required to run.
   This happens because CRTetris uses high color graphics modes, which
   are not supported by old graphics cards. As stated in section 2
   (System Requirements) you must have a graphics card capable of
   high color modes. The game uses 640x480 resolution and can run
   on 15, 16, 24 and 32 bits color depth.



6. Legal Agreement
==================

This game has been tested on a variety of PCs and is safe to run.
It contains no code that could possibly damage your PC (even if something
goes wrong), but if for any reason this program causes any trouble to you
or anyone(or something) else the creator and Cold Reflection accept no
responsibility.

This game is FREEWARE. This means that you may download and play the game
for free, with no obligation to the author or anyone else. However, the
game is still copyrighted and you may NOT sell it or distribute it in any
way without the author's permission to do so.



7. Changes Log
==============

   Version 3
   =========
   * Completely new design
   * Setup program
   * Support for joystick and mouse
   * Better block graphics
   * Support for MOD (MOD, XM, S3M etc.) music

   Version 2
   =========
   * Added Themes
   * New scoring system
   * New font
   * Optimized input system (keyboard response)
   * Reduced size (JPEG images)
   * Rotating shapes works better
   * Flash full lines before removal
   * Highscore table locked
   * Many other fixes/changes I don't remember



8. Credits
==========

   This game is a one-man project. Everything in this game was made
   by Pavlos Touboulidis. The music, which is NOT copyrighted, is not
   considered to be part of the game. It is part of the DEFAULT theme,
   which comes with the game so it can be played without the need for
   another theme.
   
   This game was made thanks to the following people:

   *  D.J. Delorie                                          for DJGPP.
      DJGPP is a 32bit protected mode programming environment
      in C/C++ under DOS and it is free. Can be found on:
      http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/
   *  Shawn Hargreaves                                    for Allegro.
      Allegro is a cross-platform game programming library.
      It is free, open-source and can be found on:
      http://www.talula.demon.co.uk/allegro/
   *  Robert Hoehne                                         for RHIDE.
      RHIDE is a free IDE for DJGPP.
      http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~sho/rho
   *  Salvador Eduardo Tropea                             for SetEdit.
      SetEdit is a text editor especially designed for
      programmers. It is free, open-source and works under
      MS-DOS or Linux. Can be found on:
      http://welcome.to/SetSoft
   *  Guan Foo Wah                                          for JGMOD.
      JGMOD is a MOD player for Allegro. Supports many file
      formats and it's free. Can be found on:
      http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/vista/8890/
   *  Eric Vanier                                         for LIBJPEG.
      LIBJPEG is a free add-on library for Allegro to
      load and save JPEG images.


   *  Thanks to Cold Reflection members for their support and
      suggestions.
   *  Thanks to all of you who liked my game and suggested many
      things.



9. Themes
=========

CRTetris supports themes (from version 2). Using themes you can change
the background graphics, the music and the graphics of the blocks.
Only one theme (DEFAULT) is included in this distribution to reduce
the size of the download.
You can download more themes from the game's web page. To install a
theme, you just have to unzip it in it's own directory into the
THEMES directory. Then, run the SETUP program (section 4) to select
it.
Everyone can make his/her own theme. Instructions can be found in
the default theme, which is in the THEMES\DEFAULT folder.



10. Contact Information
======================

   Pavlos Touboulidis
   ------------------
   Web:
      http://users.otenet.gr/~gtoub/
      http://crtetris.jumpgames.com/
   Email:
      gtoub@otenet.gr
      trash24379@usa.net
      
   Cold Reflection
   ---------------
   Web:
      http://www.coldreflection.com
      
