Expunger v1.0   released 12/29/95
Copyright 1995 by David Friedman.

Contact info at bottom.

This is a one level demo (and a short one at that) of the game system
that I wrote more than a year ago.  I never intended for it to a complete
game, so it is unlikely there will be more material.

-- Legal stuff - skip if you have a conscience

This is freeware. You can copy it and distribute it freely, with the
emphasis on 'free'.  In passing this on, you must adhere to these rules:

* You may not charge any money, or any sort of payment when you pass it on to
  someone else. Shareware distributors may only charge a fee for the
  distribution.

* You may not decompile, disassemble, or modify this game

* You may not remove any file from the system (listed below
  under "Files:")

The author is not responsible for any physical damage, loss of
productivity, or emotional strife resulting directly or indirectly from
the use or ownership of this software.

-- Quick start -

  1. Get a 486, VGA, and a mouse
  2. Type 'expunge' to start. Choose 'Help' from the menu to get basic info.
  3. "expunge -r <file>" to record a game; "expunge -p <file>" to play
     it back

-- Playing the game -

To start the game just type

  expunge

Select items from the menu with the mouse.  Read 'Help' to find out
what all the Stuff in the game is.

Game play basically consists of shooting your way to the end of
the level.  There is no limit to the times you can play a level and
your weapon strength is preserved.

To start the game with sounds off by default type:

  expunge -s

-- System requirements -

* High end 486 - I tested this on a 66. I do not know if a 50
    is adequate.  The game will not run on anything less
    that a 386.
* VGA
* Mouse
* About 400K of conventional memory, 64K more for record/playback


-- Files -
  expunge.exe     executable
  expunge.res     graphics, etc.
  win.dem         recording of a game at the high difficulty level
  readme.txt      this file

-- Recording games -

Are you tired of only being able to save one single time slice of your
game? Expunger lets you save the whole thing!

To record a demo, type this:

  expunge -r <file name>

...where <file name> is the name of the file you want to use for recording.

Pick the difficulty level you want and start a new game to begin recording.
Action is recorded until you finish the level or quit.

If you don't like the way things are going, press <K> to dump the current
'life'.  Any previous lives you have played through will be preserved.  If
your ship is destroyed, it is too late to dump. Pressing <ESC> also dumps
the current life as well as ending the current game.

After you are finished, exit Expunger.  You should get
the message, "Demo file written".

If you start another game before exiting, the previous demo will be erased.

To play the demo use:

  expunge -p <file name>

When you select "Start New Game", the demo will be played.

-- Tech stuff -

This game was written before I ever heard of ModeX, so the it uses
double-buffering on a 320x200 screen. The rendering probably isn't too fast,
but the game runs at a 70 fps on a DX/66.

Under Windows, the game will, of course, slow down.  You can minimize this
effect by not have other applications running.

The game was written with Borland Pascal 7.0/Inline assembler.  'Artwork'
was created with Resource Workshop and Paintbrush (you, no doubt, noticed
the 'spray-can' background scenery).

-- Contacting the author -

 Questions, comments, and criticism is always welcome.

 Do not tell me the game is to short or the artwork is unprofessional
 Tell me something I don't know. :)

Email:

dfriedmn@wam.umd.edu      OR
71174.1446@compuserve.com

