(C) 1998 by James Bunting, All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer
This game is distributed as FREEWARE. This means that it does cost anything at all. In return for this great deal there is no support or garantee. This game has been tested under Windows 95 on an Intel Pentium II based PC based machine, this does not mean that it will work on your machine. You use this software entirely at your own risk. I will not be held in any way responsable for any damage caused or time lost (or gained) as a direct or indirect result of using or abusing this software.
You may distribute this software in any way that you feel fit using the internet, compact discs, floppy discs or any other electronic or magnetic media provided that all of the orginal files are included and have not been altered and their source is acknowledged.
Escape 3: ROD (or ROD) is a the sequal to the JbS classic Escape ][.
ROD's features include:
Estimated minimum requirements in order to play ROD:
Please note that the above requirements are only approximate guidelines.
The
Story
Well done you made it, you got out alive. But they are back!
This time there are more of them spread over a larger area, they have gone for the same target as before. We are not taking any chances we are sending you in, there is already some fighting going on between our forces and the invaders.
Our forces on the ground will assist where possible but this is largely a solo mission. Find their source and stop them!
General Game Inforamation
Game Objective
The objective of this game is to keep your health above zero and get to the end of t he game.
In order to hamper your efforts monsters and other nasties are out to get you. Monsters generally fire projectiles at you which tend to drop your health when they hit you. Many areas have key doors which require you to find the keys before been able to pass through them. There are also other various objects and devices which can be operated by switches or triggers.
In order to help you, some other factors exist. These come in the form of movement, weapons and health packs.
Movement
You control the movement of your character using the keyboard. Here is a list of the keyboard controls.
Common Game Controls
tab = map
f1 = help
F2 = save game
f12 = screen shot
escape = main menu
Single Player Controls
cursors = move
control = fire current weapon
1 and 2 = change current weapon
two player - player 1 keys
q, a, o and p = move
space = fire current weapon
1 and 2 = change current weapon
Two Player - Player 2 Controls
cursors = move
control = fire
insert and home = change current weapon
To help you beat the baddies there are a number of weapons at your disposal. When you start a new game you will have no weapons. You pick up weapons during the game. Weapons also require ammo, like the weapons, ammo is scattered around the game terrain in the form of items. See "Keys and Items" below for more details.
To help you to keep your health up there are a number of health packs around the game's terrain. These are items which are picked up when required when your character moves over them. See "Keys and Items" below for more details.
Changing Areas (levels)
ROD uses a system which allows you to move freely back and fourth among areas.
When a new area is started you leave all of your keys behind. When you return to an old area you get them back, nothing else changes. It all starts from where you left off.
Your game is automatically saved whenever you exit an area. You can save your game at any time during the game by pressing F2.
What Happens When a Player gets Wasted?
In single player games you start at the begining of you area with no weapons or keys but your health is restored. All of the monsters come back.
In two player cooperative games the player in question will start from their initial starting point with full health and no weapons or keys. This is punishment for ganging up on the enemy!
In two player head to head games the player in question starts from their initaial starting with full health, a chainsaw and all keys.
Keys and Items
Some doors require keys. These keys are generally placed at locations in the current area (or map). You pick up keys and items by moving across them. When you pick up a key or an item it will disapear and a message will appear at the top of the screen notifing you of what you have picked up. If an item does not get picked up when you move over it then you either already habe ot or don't need it.
Items can easily be recognosed by the way that they float around above the ground.
Starting, Saving and Loading Games
When a new game is started you will be asked to enter your name. This game is also the name of the game. A directory (with this name) which will contain all of the saved data for the new game.
Saving games is done within the actual game by pressing F2. When a game is saved it will update the saved data files in that games directory. Note that your game is saved automatically whenever you exit an area (or level).
You can load a game which you have created from the main menu by selecting "Load Game". If there are any saved games availabvle then you will then see a picture (screen shot) from a game on the screen, some game infomation is also displayed in the centre of the screen. You can use the left and right cursor keys to move through any other saved games on your system. When the game that you wish to load appears hit the ENTER key. Note that you can cancel by pressing ESCAPE.
Known Problems (Bugs)
Control Problems
On many machines the speed of the tank (the character that you control) is either too fast or too slow. If you find that this is the case you can try changing the value of the "DEF_PlayerSpeed" variable. This can be found on the first line of the file "rod32.def" which is required to run ROD.
The fist line of the file should read...
#define DEF_PlayerSpeed 50 // set to -1 for full speed
The value 50 has been assigned to "DEF_PlayerSpeed" by default. Changing this value will change the speed of the tank. If you set the value to -1 then the tank will move at full speed, this can be useful to very slow systems. I suggest that you start by changing the value by only a small amount (say about 5 or 10) at first to see how much difference it makes. I must stress that you change this file entirely at your own risk, you should back it up first!
"Kills" Count
When playing a two player head to head game the "Kills" count is not always correct. If a player is "wasted" in an explosion then the opponent players "Kills" count is not credited. This will be address in due course.
Running under true DOS and NT
ROD does not run under true DOS or under NT. It "should" run under Windows 9x. I have no idea why the game does not work in true DOS. If anybody has any ideas why this is the case then please email me.
If you would like to report a bug then please feel free to email me.
ROD
Credits
Dreamed up and coded by James
Level building by James and Cel
Tiles / graphics by James and Cel
Testing by James, Sandy and Cel
Additional artwork by Stoo
ROD was written using DJGPP by D.J. Delorie, it also uses the Allegro (version 3) game programming library by Shawn Hargreaves.
"Windows" and "Windows 95" are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. "Pentium" and "Pentium II" are trademarks of Intel Corporation. All copyrights are the property of their respective owners.