
                         MAZEBALL 2.1                       
            Copyright 1991-2002 by Eric G. Henson           
             All rights under copyright reserved.         

     The shareware version of this program may be freely
distributed provided: all original files are included unchanged,
and no files are added to the collection.

     The registered version of this program may not be
distributed. However, maze files created with the maze editor
may be distributed seperately. 

     The MAZEBALL program simulates the well known game
labyrinth with a difference. There are no arrows to direct
your course through the board. Instead you path is confined
by a maze.

     The game is played by 'tilting' the board with a mouse.
This causes the ball to roll 'down hill'. By tilting the
board in various ways you can make the ball roll in any
direction. The object of the game is to roll the ball all
the way through the maze. To do this you must avoid the
holes along the way. Falling in a hole will send the ball
back to the start. Falling in the final hole completes the
board. The final hole is denoted as a black circle with a
red W in the middle. Ordinary holes are a solid black disk.
Your trip through the maze is timed. The ten fastest times
are recorded in a high score file.



     The  program  starts at the main menu selection screen.
This  screen shows the program name and copyright notice. At
the bottom of the screen are several boxes of menu     
selections. The options listed bellow may be selected by  
pointing and clicking on a box with the left mouse button.



               --- MAIN MENU SELECTIONS ---
          
SETUP - This screen allows the player alter various settings.

PLAY - Select this menu option to play the game. The game
     begins as soon as the screen is drawn.

REGISTER - Displays information on registering the program.
     
INSTRUCTION - Displays this file MAZEHELP.TXT on the screen.
     
EDIT - The edit menu selection only works in the registered
     version of the game. This allows you to design your own
     boards.
     
QUIT - Clicking on this selection to exit the program.
 




               ---The Game Play Screen---
                               
     There are several things displayed in the box beside
the playfield. The top one is the time in seconds since the
game began. This is used to determine the best score. Scores 
are only recorded for completed games. The game is only
completed when the ball reaches the final hole (a red W in a 
black circle).
     The next box indicates the number of times the ball has
fallen into a hole. Holes are the solid black disks. Each
time the ball falls into a hole it is returned to the
starting position. 
     The next box down shows the current level. This shows the
level you are on. Mazes may contain from 1 to 10 levels. 
     The box at the bottom of this display is the tilt
indicator. This shows how much the board is 'tilted' (the
board does not actually tilt, the ball however acts as if
the board is tilted). The center of the box (denoted by the
markings) indicates the board is level. In this position the 
ball will not begin rolling, if it is already in motion
though it will continue rolling. This display may be
deactivated from the setup menu.







           ---   The Setup Screen   ---


     This screen allows you to change settings of the game.
The main one of these is the board selection. By clicking
on one of the listed boards, that board is loaded.
Its name will then appear in the active board box. The
active board is the board that will be used in the play
selection and in the editor.
     Clicking on the SOUND SELECT box toggles the sound
effects on and off.
     Clicking on the TILT INDICATOR box toggles the tilt
indicator on and off. This only affects the moving square in 
the indicator box and not the box itself. This may be
necessary for some slower XT computers, in order for the
display to be smooth. It does not affect the speed of the
game. 












            ---   The Board Editor   ---

     Once the edit option is selected the screen will be
redrawn. The board will be displayed and there will be menu
of choices that can be selected. The board is edited by
clicking on it with the mouse. Clicking on the location of a 
wall will cause that wall section to be toggled on or off.
To change a hole location, click on the area in between wall 
sections. Each click will cause the hole location to rotate
clockwise to the four corners and then be turned off.
Continue clicking to repeat this process.


















            ---   Editor Menu Selections   ---
     
     Board Name - This dispays the current board name. Clicking
on this option allows you to type in a new board name. The board
is not loaded or saved. The setup screen can be used to select
the name of an existing board. Names MUST end with .BRD 
     
     Load - This loads the board named in Board Name. Loading a
board will replace the board in memory. Be sure to save it first
if necessary.
     
     Save - This will save the board in memory to a file with
the name displayed in Save Board. Any previous file with the
same name will be overwritten.
     
     Insert level - Inserts a new level above or below current level
according to the mode selected in the setup screen.

     Delete level - Deletes the current level.

     Clear/Fill - This option alternately turns on or off all wall
sections, and turns off all holes. This replaces the board in memory.
Be sure to save it first if necessary.
     
     




            ---   More Editor Menu Selections   ---


     Ball start - Clicking on this will replace the mouse cursor
with the image of the ball. You can then place the ball at any
location on the board. When the game is played the ball will
begin at this location.

     Hole Type - Clicking on this menu item will change the type
of hole that will appear the next time you click on a hole
location on the board. At the right of this menu selection is a
graphical indication of which type of hole is currently active.
Types of holes are described elsewhere
     
     Level Up/Down - Selects the current level being edited, by moving
up or down by one level.

     Main Menu - This will return you to the main menu. You can now
play the board you have designed. Remember to save any work, on
boards that you want to keep, before exiting the game.







     HIGH SCORE SCREEN
     This screen appears after playing a game. If you have
successfully completed the game, and your time is one of the 
ten lowest for that board, you may enter your name on the
high score list. You may type up to 19 characters of any
sort including spaces. The backspace and delete keys work as 
in any text editor. When you are satisfied with the way your 
entry looks then press the return key. Your name will then
be entered and can not be edited any more. These score will
then be saved to the disk so that future players can compete 
against your time.
     
     ERROR MESSAGES
     You should never see an error message in this game. In
the event you get an error message on the screen don't
panic. Most errors that can occur in this game are harmless
and the program will continue to run after you press a key
(such as the space bar). Most of the error messages
displayed by this program involve loading or saving a file.
If for some reason a board file name you try to load does
not exist you will get a message telling you this. In this
event the board will simply not be loaded. The error message 
may remain on the screen. It can be cleared by returning to
the main menu. See the file README.TXT that came with this
program for a list of files that should have been included
with this game.
     
     I hope you enjoy the game.
