ljdickey@watmath.waterloo.edu (L.J.Dickey) (03/26/91)
This translation is brought to you courtesy of KWEST,
(Kitchener-Waterloo Eight Sixteen Thirty-two)
the Atari users' group of
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
All the hard work was done by Pat FitzGerald. She deserves all the
kudos for the effort.
I have attempted to verify the accuracy of the typing as much as
possible. I will gladly accept comments and/or corrections.
Someone on USENET mentioned that ALTERNATE-S could put you into
solo mode and allow one to play against the computer. There is no
mention of this in the German txt file. In our experiments, we
have found that a single player can do some "target practice", but
that is about all. We'll try some more!
Please do not delete these notes when you pass along the file.
Brian Bentley, KWEST ST Librarian.
email: econadm5@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca
snail: 102 Glen Park Cr., Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2N 1G2.
________________________________
WELCOME TO MIDI-MAZE II!
MIDI-MAZE II is a game for up to 16 players who connect their
computers with one another through the MIDI port. More than one
computer is definitely necessary! MIDI-MAZE II can only be played
with more than one player. Each player directs a spherical Smiley
through a maze; whoever sees a friend, helps him and if he sees an
enemy, he shoots him down (or the other way around). A new player
starting out can be killed by 3 hits. So far, the play is identical
with MIDI-MAZE. But in MIDI-MAZE II there are also extras, which can
be purchased in exchange for points. Details are given later on,
below. The main point is then very simple; we have noticed that a lot
of the fun of a game comes from playing with others - this has been
true through the ages.
WHAT MUST I BRING WITH ME TO A MIDI-MAZE II TOURNAMENT?
MIDI-MAZE II runs on all Atari STs (naturally also TTs) in low and
high resolution. Each player naturally neeeds a computer -- that is
not such a big deal as it sounds at first -- each person simply brings
his own. For each computer a MIDI cable is needed (a normal 5 pin DIN
cable, not an RCA cable). In addition we recommend a joystick, but it
is possible to play with a mouse. Moreover, make sure there are enough
power outlets. For clothing, one should obviously wear a MIDI-MAZE
T-shirt [but we'll overlook this in the winter... ].
THE SET-UP
First, one should connect all the computers with MIDI cables. For
this, it has proven useful to label the 2 ends "IN" and "OUT" - this
helps prevent confusion. Then you stick one connector into the
midi-out port of the first computer and the other end into the midi-in
port of the second computer. From the second computer, run a cable to
the third, and so forth. The last computer is connected back to the
first.
Now, all players load MIDI-MAZE II. First of all, you'll hear the
Digi-sound music by Jurgen Piscol. If you touch a key right after
loading, the sound can be suppressed. MIDI transmission does not
occur while the music is playing, because the transmission requires
all the CPU time.
After a key is pressed, a ring test is carried out. The last player
will automatically be put into Master-Mode -- if the ring is closed,
that is, if no cables are missing or mixed up.
If no player comes into the Master-Mode, the ring is incomplete.
Press ALTERNATE-R to repeat the ring test once more. If the ring is
complete, this player will become Master, if not, he will remain a
slave. If this doesn't help, then one player should force Master-Mode
activation by pressing ALTERNATE-~.
The Master should then send a message through the ring by pressing F1.
If the ring is working, each slave and master should get a copyright
message. If a cable is missing or incorrectly plugged in, from this
computer on, no message will be displayed and the Master will receive
a "boo-boo". Then one should check the cable between the last
computer with the message and the next one. If the connection seems
OK, try exchanging it for another cable.
SELECTIONS BEFORE THE GAME
SELECTIONS FOR ALL COMPUTERS
As long as you are on the title screen, each player (Master or Slave)
can press the following keys:
To play with the mouse, press ALTERNATE-M. To return to joystick,
press ALTERNATE-J. The default is joystick.
Last but not least, it is possible to quit the game. If the
others in the ring still want to play, you would make yourself
unpopular, since the MIDI-DATA wouldn't get past your computer.
THE SCREEN LAYOUT
After loading, a screen appears which looks a little different in
colour than in monochrome. The fields displayed, however, are in the
same place in both. [The illustration shows high resolution.]:
(INSERT MIDIPIC.IMG HERE)
In the middle, one sees the window to the maze. During play, here you
see a 3-D view. Upper left is the status display (HOW AM I). Here at
the beginning of the game, you see a beaming Smiley, who looks more
and more unhappy each time he is hit. To the right of this is the
score display. Here each player has a 3-digit counter, which shows
the present point-standing. Here is the most important difference
between colour and monochrome:
- In colour, the first 8 players are shown in 8 different colours.
The Eyes, mouth and the outline are black. If there are more than 8
players wandering in the maze, the colours are repeated, but the eyes,
mouth and outline are in dark red. Your own colour is shown in the
status display on the left. Under the score display, look for the
coloured border which corresponds to your colour. If you have a black
border, yours is the upper number, otherwise it is the lower one.
- In monochrome unfortunately there are technical problems
displaying colours. Therefore, each player has a different pattern;
beside each score number the pattern of the player to whom it belongs
is displayed. Again, you see your own pattern in the status display.
To the right of the window is a compass and a shot-warning (to be
explained later). On the right, beside the window, you can see four
numbers:
- The first three are statistical only -- they are not important
for the game-play. The HITS number shows the number of your shots
which hit their target.
- The KILLS number - the Smileys you have killed.
- SCORE gives all the points, which you have already managed to
add up in this game. It should be = HITS + 2 times KILLS, since a
kill counts 3 points and a hit counts one.
- MONEY is more important. It corresponds to the SCORE figure
minus any points given up. It shows then, how many points one can
still invest in extras as well as how many points you have towards
victory. You win when your money count reaches the WIN-score. MONEY
is the number which is displayed on the large scoreboard at the top if
you are playing singles.
If you are playing in teams, the large scoreboard shows the sum of
all the MONEY scores for all of the players on a team. The team
whose total is equal to the WIN-Score has won. For buying extras, you
can only use your own money; you can't buy things with other people's
money.
Below the window is the Pop-Chart. The faces of the players you
have killed are displayed here.
Below that is the message line. This line handles all text input
and output. During the game the names of those you have hit appear
here as well as the names of enemy players who have shot you. If
nothing else is going on, it will give information about extras you
have available (when you press the appropriate key).
STARTING THE GAME, THE KEYS
With F1 you can, as already mentioned, send a copyright notice around
the ring.
The Master must load a maze in which the game will take place.
MIDI-MAZE II automatically loads "MIDIMAZE.MZE"; if you want to have
a different one, press F2. Then a File-Selector appears (this is why
the Master should not load from an auto-folder); after loading the
Master sees the maze in an overview map.
The scores of all players can be deleted with F3 (all key-commands
work only for the Master, slaves naturally cannot input anything).
F4 starts the entering of names. Each player enters his own name.
All symbols are ignored, RETURN ends the input, ESC erases the input
field and the cursor keys, backspace and delete work normally. The
master can only proceed when all the players are finished. A message
"Names completed" appears for each player.
The Master presses RETURN to start the actual play. Then he
receives the Masterpage for the first time (if the ring is in order).
THE MASTERPAGE
(INSERT MASTERP.IMG HERE)
Admittedly, this screen appears very chaotic at first glance; that
cannot be avoided when there are so many options. At the top is the
number of computers in the ring.
Below that is a line for each player. On the left is identifying
letter for each player, followed by the name. After that a line with
installation details for the current players. At the top is a key
for the present meaning. (Note: pay attention to upper/lower case!)
- Win: is the score that is required to win. A hit is worth one point
and a kill is worth three. If a person shoots an enemy three times in
a row (to kill, without any transmission in between) that gives a
total of five points. 10 kills would make you the winner, as long as
Win is set as 50 and you have not changed the score by buying extras.
- T: shows the team to which that player belongs. Possibilities are
the letters A-H. If all players are on the same team, "singles" are
being played, that is, each player is playing for himself.
- L: Reload time -- the time which a player needs after a shot before
the next shot can be fired. The fact that you can shoot is shown by a
very small crosshair in the middle of the screen which disappears
after a shot until the gun is reloaded. "A" stands for 0, the larger
the letter, the longer it will be until you can shoot again. "A" is
then a kind of machine gun, with only one shot, which is absolutely
fatal. In spite of that, as in all of MIDI Maze II, it is only
possible to have one shot on the screen at a time. If you fire a
second shot, the first one disappears.
- F: Refresh time -- the time one takes to recover when one has been
hit. The letter works like the Reload time: the bigger the letter,
the longer the time.
- G: Regenerate time -- the time after which one returns to life after
being killed. It is not a good idea to select this time as too long,
otherwise a player who is not active will get bored before he can join
in again.
- V: Revive lives -- the number of lives you get at the beginning of
the game or after you have lost all your lives. Normally, you get
three lives; after you are killed this is refreshed to three. You can
however get more lives (0-9). The status display however shows a
maximum of three lives, that is, three beaming Smileys. This is the
way a player can arrange a break: set this value to 0 and the player
is always dead and does not disturb the game.
- Z: Zig-Zag -- if one has a greater value than "A" (don't overdo it!)
the shot begins to wander. Its best to try this out!
- i: Invisibility (250 points) -- to be sure, the hardest feature to
earn in MIDI-Maze II. The player simply cannot be seen, and therefore
he cannot be wounded. Other Smileys can simply run through him,
without noticing him (but not vice versa)
- w: Walls (40 points) -- the player can shoot through walls. The shot
is only stopped when it hits the outer walls of the maze. "Walls" is
not compatible with "Reflective Shot" -- the last chosen is ignored.
- h: Hide on Map (15 points) -- the player cannot be seen by other
players on the overview map -- not even if they have pressed F7.
- f: Fast shot (20 points) -- the shot of the player in question is
twice as fast as normal. One shouldn't undervalue this. A duel is
almost always won, since one's own 3 shots reach the opponent faster
than his reach you.
- a: Auto answer (25 points) -- if the player, who has the benefit of
this extra is shot from behind, he is avenged with a shot which flies
exactly in the opposite direction and therefore has a better
probability of hitting the rascal. It only takes a little getting
used to, that one's own previous shot suddenly disappears when one is
shot. Then normal MIDI-Maze rule applies here, that each player can
only fire one shot at a time. It you start a second shot, the first
one automatically disappears.
- s: Shot radius (25 points) -- When this is active, the shot is twice
as big. It looks normal, but it hits the target in situations where it
would normally have flown past.
- q: Quick (20 points) -- The player goes twice as fast. This requires
some practice. As first you'll have some difficulty making it around
the corners.
- r: Reflective Shot (25 points) -- the shot is not absorbed by the
walls -- rather, it is reflected! This does not always function
exactly mathematically (the calculation would have been too tedious).
However, it is good enough the purposes of the game. Note here too,
that only one shot at a time is possible. It is neat to be able to
shoot someone when you are not on a line of fire with them, but the
shot was already on its way.
- d: Deadly Fire (35 points) -- this shot is absolutely lethal; one hit
kills a player, regardless of how many lives he has left. However,
you get a few points less compared to normal play, because you only
get the 3 points for the kill.
- n: No Deadly Fire (10 points) -- counteracts Deadly Fire. If you have
this extra and are hit by someone who has deadly fire, the shot counts
as a normal shot.
- g: Got You (25 points) -- someone who shoots the possessor commits
suicide. He immediately loses a life. Anyone who hits the possessor
of "got you" 3 times is dead. The person shot at receives the points
for it.
- b: No Got You (10 points) -- the anti-feature for the above. Only
possessors of "No Got You" can harm people with "Got You". Since the
anti-feature is relatively cheap, a person should perhaps buy this one
first. If everyone has "Got You" and you don't have "No Got You"
yourself, then the game becomes very frustrating.
- k: Key (1 point) -- The key allows a person to run through doors.
Tip: Go through a door and press F10 -- your pursuers will be totally
confused.
- <: (Cursor left) (0 points) -- allows the player to turn slowly. The
key for this is cursor left. With this, you can nicely navigate an
opponent between two corners.
- >: (Cursor right) (0 points) -- allows faster turns -- for the
situation where you have to get around the corner fast.
- SPACE: Map (0 points) -- Turns the map on and off. Should normally be
available to every player. For space to function, F2 must also be
turned on.
- ~: Walk Through Walls (250 points) -- the player can tranquilly run
through any wall, as long as he doesn't leave the maze. When he comes
to the edge, he can lodge himself IN the wall and half look out (can
only see wall though).
- #: No Shot -- prevents the player from shooting. That is naturally not
very fair; it is mainly intended for a MIDICAM (?) This extra cannot
be bought, even if it appears to be "k" (buyable) or "m" (possible --
see below).
- c: Colourlessness (75 points) -- whoever buys this feature, becomes
a little pale in the face. He becomes transparent, with only the
outline and the features visible. A player at some distance will
barely be able to see him. In opposition to invisibility, one remains
woundable. This extra is particularly effective with F8. It also
goes well with Reflective Shot, since the shot can also only be seen
as an outline. It does make it hard to recognize team members (one
is inclined then to shoot just in case).
- SPACE -- all the way to the right is another Space, which cannot be
normally be accessed. It designates a MIDICAM (see below).
- 1: (0 points) With F1, you can turn around 180 degrees. That is
especially significant if you are suddenly shot from behind. In order
to call up this function faster, during play it can be activated by
the zero on the numeric keypad.
- 2: (2 points) With F2 selects the overhead map. That is not to be
confused with the Space. F2 allows the display of the map (a one-time
purchase). Without F2 being activated, the space bar doesn't do
anything. Space turns the map on and off once F2 has been used.
- 3: (2 points) F3 prevents you from being KILLED by a team-mate. You
can still be shot the first or second time by a partner. All further
shots (which would be fatal) have no effect. The immunity is only
for the player who possesses this feature. He could still kill
someone from his own team. If you are playing "singles" not teams, F3
has no use.
- 4: (5 points) F4 additionally prevents you from being shot by a
team-mate. F3 is then unnecessary.
- 5: (6 points) F5 gives you a compass. It is shown to the left of the
window. It is useful for example, if you are surrounded in a corner
by three walls, in order to turn in the direction of the exit.
- 7: (10 points) F7 makes all the other players appear on the map. This
is the same effect as if you look at the map when you are dead. In
either case, players who have turned on "Hide on Map" are not visible
on the map.
- 8: (15 points) F8 switches your face off. Your opponents are at a
disadvantage because they can't tell if you are looking at them.
- 9: (5 points) F9 enables a shot warning. If an opponent's shot is
coming at you, an "s" lights up in the "Alert" field. That is useful
if one is being chased without being aware of it.
- 0: (5 points) F10 "beams" you to another part of the maze. As a last
way out, after you have been shot twice, this is useful. Also during
play to get to ENTER.
HOW DO YOU INSTALL THINGS?
On the left edge is an identifying letter for each player. A player
can edit his letter, which will then appear inverted. The most common
extra combinations can be accessed through the function-keys:
- F1: for MIDI Maze I installation. That is, you have no extras and can
only see the map.
- F2: for normal installation. That is, the function and cursor keys are
engaged; with k you can buy a key and with R a reflective shot.
Deadly and Gotcha are provided with anti-features.
- F3: for "Superman" installation. You can simply activate everything --
the extras are free.
- F4: for the large Extra Set. All features can be bought, except
invisibility, walls, ~ and #.
- F5: for a MIDICAM. Such a player is invisible, cannot shoot, and
cannot be hit. For all practical purposes, he is not taking part in
the game, but he can observe everything.
These keys serve for a rough installation. One can then turn the
individual extras on and off. For that you press the letters of the
desired extra so that it appears at the top of the screen.
Warning: here you must press 1-9 (not the function keys), the < and >
keys (not the cursor keys) and so forth.
For each feature there is a separate status:
- _: this feature is turned off. During play it can't be activated.
- m: this feature is possible. During play one can get it by pressing
the corresponding key (function, cursor or other keys). Pressing the
same key again turns it on and off. Turning on and off is free.
- M: this feature is possible and available. Pressing on the
corresponding key turns it on and off. Similar to the above, but
already active at the start of the game.
- k: this feature may be bought. You can turn it on and off the same way
as the features marked with "m" but it costs points each time you turn
it on
- K: this extra may be bought but it is already available at the start of
the game. If you sell it and buy it again, it will cost money.
After installation for the active player is finished, press cursor up
or down. Then you can activate the next player. Shift-A copies the
installation of the active player to all the other players. With
Shift-C and the following player's identifier, you can copy it to just
one player. For example, install everything for player A and then
press SHIFT-C B. This will give player B the same installation. If
you wish to copy onto another player, you must press SHIFT-C again.
End the copying by pressing any key other than an identifier letter.
Press return again to start the game. Use UNDO after a game to
restore the installations to the state they had before the game. For
example, the master has enabled Reflective Shot (with "k"); a player
has eagerly bought it for himself. After the game, this installation
is retained and the large "K" is displayed beside that player. If the
Master simply starts the game again, this player would start out with
reflective shot. Therefore he would use UNDO to set it back.
At the beginning of play, the ring functionality is tested again. The
maze is handed over to the slaves by the Master. This is not repeated
for additional games. If the maze is too small to place all the
Smileys, play is stopped with a corresponding error message.
Overview of Features
Map switch SPACE 0
Turn 180% F1 0 points
Enable map F2 2
Deadly Fire F3 2
Friendly Fire F4 5
Compass F5 6
Opponent on map F7 10
No face F8 15
Shot Warning F9 5
Hyperjump F10 5
Reflective shot r 25
Quick q 20
Invisibility i 250
Shoot thru walls w 40
Hide player h 15
Fast Shot f 20
Auto Answer a 25
Big Shot s 25
Deadly d 35
No deadly n 10
Got you g 25
No Got You b 10
Go through walls ~ 250
Turn slowly < 0
Turn fast > 0
Colourlessness c 75
Key k 1
________________________________
--
Prof L.J. Dickey, Faculty of Mathematics, U of Waterloo, Canada N2L 3G1
Internet: ljdickey@watmath.waterloo.edu
UUCP: ljdickey@watmath.UUCP ..!uunet!watmath!ljdickey
X.400: ljdickey@watmath.UWaterloo.ca