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                             ARCADE PADDLE 4.0                              


(c) 1993-95 Pedro Sander Software
Release date: 03-22-1995


This game may be distributed freely, but please drop me a note by email with 
comments and suggestions. The game is provided "as is" and I am not 
resposible for any damage resulted from the use of this software.

Arcade Paddle was developed in QuickBasic 4.5. The documentation of the
libraries I used allow me to distribute this game as freeware. This program
is not for commercialization.

Special Thanks to Brian Risinger for the infinite number of suggestions.
Many of them were implemented in this version.


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                            ABOUT ARCADE PADDLE                             


The objective of Arcade Paddle is to score goals in the opponent's net.
You can play against the computer, against other human player, or simply
watch two computer players play each other. Move the paddle all around 
the screen and try to direct the ball toward the net. But that is not it,
Arcade Paddle has a number of features, listed bellow, to make your game
much more enjoyable.


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                            PADDLE CONTROL KEYS                             


Commands: (For 2-player mode, make sure NUM LOCK is on)

Left player:  Q W E        
   WHITE      A S D F    Only W, S, X for non-horizontal game
              Z X C      F is to release the ball if grab is on

Right player: 7 8 9        
   GREEN      4 5 6 +    Only 8, 5, 2 for non-horizontal game
              1 2 3      + is to release the ball if grab is on

Pause: P (press P again to resume play)
New ball (if the ball gets stuck somehow): N
Quit game: B


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                        MAIN MENU AND GAME SCREEN                           


When you run paddle.exe and the main menu is displayed, you can:
-Start a game with the current setup
-Set up the game options
-Read the documentation
-Quit Arcade Paddle

The game screen has a field in which the action takes place. At the top of
the screen there is an information line, which contains the score and time
left in seconds. 

To move your paddle, just hit the command keys listed above. Don't hold
the key! Simply press it once, and the paddle will move to the desired
direction until you press another key to change the direction. To quit the
game press B. If the ball gets stuck, press N for a new ball, and to pause,
press P (press P again to resume play).


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                              SETUP FEATURES                                


When you enter the setup menu, you have the following choices:

Number of Players:
0 means two computer players will play each other.
1 means you will play a computer player and 2 is for two human players.
3 is for practice, with no opponent in the rink.

Left and Right Players:
If the players are human, type the name of the player, otherwise input
the number of the computer player from a list.
Version 3's most interesting improvement on my opinion is Computer player
modules. Instead of choosing a difficulty, which changes only the opponent's 
speed, you select your opponent from a list of computer players included with 
the game. Players have a name that usually reflects their ability (ie. you 
wouldn't expect that a player called "Defenseman" would attack too much). 
There is a number of player attributes so that every player has his very own 
game style. To get more modules, email me and make sure you give me some 
feedback on how you like the game.
A computer module maker is being developed and will be available shortly.

Game Time:
In seconds. If the game ties, it goes to sudden death overtime.

Paddles and Nets . . .
Go to the paddles and nets setup menu.

Special Features . . .
Go to the special features setup menu.

Colors . . .
Will take you to the color setup menu. From there you can change the
colors of everything. If you want to make something invisible, just
make its color equal to the background color.

The following options are from the paddles and nets setup menu:

Net type:
Type 0 is a hockey net inside the field.
Type 1 is on the wall.

Left and Right net sizes:
Self explanatory.

Left and Right paddle sizes:
Self explanatory.

Allow horizontal paddle moves:
If this is set to on, the paddle will move all around the screen, as opposed
to only up and down on defense.

Paddle only stays on defensive zone:
Paddle only stays behind the defensive offside line.

Human Player Paddle Speed:
From 1-10. Previously 1-20. That doesn't mean it can't go as fast. The old
20 is equivalent to the new 10.

The following options are from the special features setup menu:

Intruders On and Speed:
If set to on, two paddles will be moving along to disturb the game by hitting
the ball. You can set their speed too.

Mid-field wall opening size:
If you set this to on, it will draw a vertical wall in the middle of the
screen. There will be a opening in the middle which will let the ball 
through. You can set its size.

Shot Power Ratio:
This is the ratio of the paddles shot power. If higher, the more powerful
player one's shot power is in comparison to player two.

Gravity:
There are two types of gravity. Type 1 pulls down, and type 2 pulls to the
center. Use 0 for no gravity.

Beeps On:
Put Yes if you want to hear the clicks of the bouncing beall.
If you have a Sound Blaster card installed, it will automatically detect it.

Offside On:
If on, vertical markers will be displayed to mark an imaginary line. If
you get past the offensive line before the ball does you are offside.
A paddle in offside will be displayed in red and it won't hit the ball.

Rings On:
Rings appear as small circles on the screen during the game. The first player 
to reach it with the paddle will have an advantage over the other player, 
which varies according to the type of ring. A ring looses effect after the 
time expired or the team with the advantage scores a "power play goal".
Rings included on this version:
-Speed ring: Speeds up your paddle two times as fast - lasts 10 seconds
-Freeze ring: Freezes the opponent's paddle - 5 seconds
-Double ring: Adds a paddle that moves vertically close to the net - 20 secs
-Shot Ring: After you get it, the next shot is 2.5 times faster than usual
Note that rings only work if horizontal moves are allowed.
More rings to come on future versions! Email me with suggestions.

Extra Paddle On:
Adds an extra paddle moving vertically on defense. Same as the double ring,
except that it is there for the whole game, and goals scored don't count
as double ring goals.

Tunnels On:
The four tunnels are red lines located on the top and bottom limits of the
field. If a ball hits a tunnel, it will disapear and go out through another 
tunnel. Interesting, specially if you get good at it is easier to score.
Computer players are ignorant when dealing with rings. They might catch the
ring but don't know how to take advange of it.

Grab On:
If set to on, when the paddle touches the ball, the ball sticks to it until
you press the release key, or more than five seconds go by and you are
behind your opponen't offside markers. If the ball hits the very edge of 
the paddle, it won't grab. Note: Computer players don't use grab.
Grab is not available with hockey nets.


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                               GAME SUMMARY                                 


At the end of the game a summary is displayed, with the time of each goal and 
if it was during a "power play" ring advantage. Then it displays all the ring 
opportunities and ring goals scored, so that you can figure out your "power 
play percentage". You can save the game summary to a file. If the file already 
exists, it appends to the end, so that you can keep a record of games in the 
same file. Don't change the numbers that appear in the file below the game 
stats!!! They will be of use by the utility that is being developed to show 
player's statistics from a summary file.


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                         AUTHOR AND GAME HISTORY                            


Information, comments, suggestions and contributions send email to:
Pedro Sander
psander@ic.sunysb.edu

The history of the game follows.

Until version 2.1 the game was distributed with the name PADDLE GAME.

Version 1.0
    Not very interesting!

Version 1.3
    No more need of CAPS LOCK
    Ball striking horizontal direction correction
    Two "intruders" added in version C
    Game type changed from numbers to letters
    No more Reset Vertical Velocity feature
    Other small bugs corrected

Version 2.0
    Version D with 4 player mode
    Better "Game Over" screen
    Continued motion after striking ball
    Ball strike corrections on V direction
    Randomized ball direction after goal
    Less blinking when gets in OT
    Set game time in version A
    More CAPS LOCK corrections

Version 2.1 (12-12-1993)
    Computer players on Game D
    SmartHit
    Games instead of Version letters for different types of games

Version 3.0 (Mid-1994)
    Instead of difficulty level, computer player modules are used
    Cool menu interface
    Only game mode C with option of disable horizontal scroll keys
    Sound Blaster sound when: Game starting, goals, game over
    Clicks when ball hits something
    Put press any key to start game
    Press B to quit during play
    Attack cant go as close to the net as defense can

Version 3.1 (10-08-1994)
    Small bugs from the big number of 3.0 new features fixed
    In smarthit, vertical velocity increases as well
    Minimum ball speed decreased (it can almost stop)
    Shot Power Ratio!
    Option remove intruders
    Training section fixed
    Paddles and background colors changed

Version 3.2 (10-13-1994)
  Improvements:
    Sizeable Net
    Hockey like net added
    Ball comes from better angle on Practice
    Players go all around the field if it is hockey net
    Intruders are stronger (harder for balls to pass through)
    Adjusted computer players to hockey like net
    Configuration screen much improved
    Speed on human players!
    No beeps option

Version 4.0 (03-22-1995)
    800x600 SVGA resolution!!
    Power play rings!!!
    Offsides!!!
    Tunnels!!
    Grab Ball!!
    Gravity!
    Nets and paddles sizes independently configured for each player
    Ball is filled with its color
    Reset paddle coordinates after goal
    Complete Game Summary with ring goals/advantages and goal times
    Pause Game (took a while!)
    0 players: Computer vs. Computer
    Computer player small bugs fixed
    Paddle speed range changed to 0-10 (10 still equivalent to what 20 was)
    Timer doesn't freeze in a certain second anymore
    Ball speed after goal is random
    Redraws the walls every second, no scratches
    Computer player names changed
    "Ball rolls out of screen" bug fixed
    Much Improved setup, including colors
    Configurable wall in the middle of the screen
    Fades in and out in some menus
    Small bugs corrected
    Slows down the game if CPU is too fast (DX4, Pentium ...)
    VOCS after goals removed
    Sound Blaster automatically detected and used during game
    No more SmartHit ON/OFF setup. SmartHit is always on.
