
  Light Cycle
  
  A multi-player tron game


* Intro

  Light Cycle is a very simple game, but do not be fooled, playing it
  together is a lot of fun (at least 3 players!). Only 2 keys are used
  to guide your light cycle to victory. Each cycle leaves a trail of
  light and hitting a trail or the wall will crash your cycle. The first
  player to crash receives 1 point, the second 2, etc.

  Light Cycle is not a network game (yet), so you will have to play it
  on one keyboard with a maximum of 6 players. This makes Light Cycle a
  social event too. Just make sure that everyone can see the monitor...

  The 2 control keys turn your cycle clockwise and counter-clockwise and
  might take a while to get used to... Because the control is so simple
  very young kids can play it and develop their co-ordination.

  The games is as simple as it was to program and I would not dream to
  ask you any money to play it. I would like to know if you play it
  though. Please send me your comments/ideas.


* Future features:

  to do list

- better user interface
- joystick en mouse support (buttons)
- soundkart support
- network play (not as cosy anymore)

  Updates can be found at my web-site (huizen.dds.nl/~ernie/cycle.html) and
  you can mail me at ernie@dds.nl.


* Tips

  Most people play with 1 hand and 2 neighbouring keys. The right one for
  clockwise and the left for counter-clockwise.

  Try to confine your opponents to a small space and cut them off. You
  could stay out of the heat or hunt a single player. If you give a
  opponent half a change to lock you in, he might just try to hard ;-)

  If you press both keys shortly after each other, you can make a small
  step in your path. This step can be as small as 1 pixel is you use
  both fingers simultaneously, but lift one a bit higher than the other.
  You can use this to press your opponent to a wall or to escape through
  a 1 pixel hole.

  Choose your keys with care. My neighbour has got a good keyboard
  (BTC), but most (95%?) have problems with certain key combinations.
  Try holding the N and M key simultaneously and pressing a key from the
  same row... Most likely it will not work. If you hold A+Q+W, no key
  will work (not even ctrl-alt-del). This is why your special moves in
  mortal combat are harder in 2 player mode... I do not know the
  principle of this keyboard bug, but if I do I will check for illegal
  combinations at key definition.

  Try the wrap around option...

  You can play Light Cycle on a very slow PC, but a 286 might be to slow
  for a 6 player game. You will get a warning if this happens.


* History

  Tron is not new and their are many versions around. I made it years
  ago in Turbo Pascal 3 (yep, many years) to learn programming and
  because I could not find a multi-player version. It had cga, Hercules
  etc. support and I added soundblaster when I got one. The source code
  got rather messy and when Light Cycle became a hit on my student flat,
  I decided to rewrite it.

  I have not got a lot of time, but when I find a proper way to play
  samples (not MOD) and fm/midi music, I will add some cool effects.
  Most sound tools are to big or not good enough.

  Network game play might be a problem because of the speed of the game.
  I will probably have to use one PC as a server (which does collision
  detect). Does someone know how this is done?


  Remember: more players=more fun!

  Ernie(@dds.nl)
  
  The official cycle homepage: http://huizen.dds.nl/~ernie/cycle.htm	





