MegaBlocks v0.85a
Copyright (c) 1998 Rainbow Entertainment
All rights reserved



   =================
   License agreement
   =================

The MegaBlocks game by Rainbow Entertainment is FREEWARE. This means, it can
freely be used and distributed as long as it is NOT CHANGED in any way. Of
MegaBlocks, one is not allowed to charge any fee without a written permission
of the authors. The authors are not liable of any damage caused by the game.



   ===================
   System requirements
   ===================

-------------
Minimum setup
-------------

 * 386 processor
 * standard VGA card (320x200 resolution 256 color mode)
 * keyboard
 * hard disk with 4 megabytes of free space
 * 2 megabytes of free extended memory (XMS, EMS)

--------------------
Recommended hardware
--------------------

 * 486 processor or better
 * SoundBlaster, Gravis UltraSound or some other sound card



   ==================
   Running MegaBlocks
   ==================

MegaBlocks was originally designed only for DOS but it also runs under
Windows 95/98 and OS/2 Warp. It hasn't been tested under other operating
systems, but it might work under Windows NT also.

-----------------
Running under DOS
-----------------

  In command prompt just simply change to the MegaBlocks directory and
  type: MEGA

-------------------------------
Running under Windows 95/98
-------------------------------

  Find the MegaBlocks folder in Your Computer and just simply click the
  MegaBlocks shortcut.
  Note! If for some reason the game crashes, try running it in MS-DOS mode.

-----------------------
Running under OS/2 Warp
-----------------------

  Open DOS command prompt and change to the MegaBlocks directory. Do not try 
  the same thing as in DOS. Instead type: DOS4GW MEGA.EXE

[ The reason for this is that MegaBlocks is not a pure DOS-program but an
  protected mode program. As the program starts, it has to run a DOS-extender
  (DOS4GW.EXE) to load the protected mode parts of MegaBlocks. Similar thing
  has to be done under OS/2 but for some reason the program can not be run
  directly. Instead, it must be passed as an argument to the DOS-extender. ]



   ===========
   Audio setup
   ===========

------------------
Sound card support
------------------

MegaBlocks uses MIDAS Digital Audio System v1.1.0 for playing background
music and sound effects. Supported sound cards are:

 * Gravis UltraSound
 * Pro Audio Spectrum
 * Pro Audio Spectrum plus
 * Pro Audio Spectrum 16
 * Windows Sound System (Crystal/Analog CODEC)
 * Sound Blaster 1.0 or clone (DSP v1.xx)
 * Sound Blaster 1.5 (DSP v2.00)
 * Sound Blaster 2.0 (DSP v2.01)
 * Sound Blaster Pro (DSP v3.xx)
 * Sound Blaster 16 (DSP v4.00+)

-------------------
Sound configuration
-------------------

When you run MegaBlocks for the first time, a MIDAS Digital Audio System
configuration menu will appear. In the menu you can choose:

 * your sound card
 * sound mixing quality (8-41 kHz)
 * output mode (8/16 bits, Mono/Stereo).

Note that higher output quality requires higher performance. The highest
output quality is recommended only for Pentium processor or better.

----------------
Re-configuration
----------------

For some reason you might want to change the sound quality settings. Also,
you need to re-configure the sound settings if you update your hardware with
a new sound card.

  The sound configuration can be run again in two ways:
  1) by typing: MEGA -S (usually in DOS prompt)
  2) by deleting the file SOUND.CFG



   ============
   How to play?
   ============

-----------------
Starting the game
-----------------

In the main menu choose the option 'Play game'. A sub-menu appears asking you
to choose the game theme. This option sets the game background picture and
music to the chosen theme. You have four options:

 * Old Times
 * Hell's Arena
 * Classical
 * Erotic

After this another sub-menu appears asking you to choose the game difficulty
with three options from easy to hard.
After selecting the theme and difficulty the game starts.

----------------
Playing the game
----------------

The basic idea of the game is to fill horizontal lines with bricks. When you
have filled a line, it will be removed and you get x points according to the
number of lines destroyed (see below). In the game there are 12 different
types of pieces which you can move, rotate and mirror in order to set them
the way you want. Some pieces may not 'fit' if they are not rotated and/or
mirrored (though, some pieces may not fit after that either). Each time you
manage to remove 10 lines of bricks your skill level increases and the pieces
start falling down faster.

-------
Scoring
-------

In the game every piece gives you additional 15 points. When you manage to
drop one or more lines you get points according to the following table:

 lines   points
   1        50
   2       150
   3       250
   4       500
   5       750

This kind of scoring system means of course that you should try to remove as
many lines as possible at time to get better points!

-------------
Game controls
-------------

move piece left        arrow LEFT key
move piece right       arrow RIGHT key
drop piece faster      arrow DOWN key
rotate piece           SPACE
mirror piece           ALT
pause game             P
exit game              ESC



   ============
   Contact info
   ============

-----------------
Technical support
-----------------

Having trouble running MegaBlocks? Did you find a bug in the game? Can't
configure your operating system so that the game would work? Technical
support in reasonable questions will be given, just send e-mail to:

   arho.huttunen@lut.fi

-----------
The authors
-----------

Design:

    Hude - Arho Huttunen, arho.huttunen@lut.fi
    GesTapO - Olli Knuuti, oknuuti@vtoy.fi

Programming:

    Hude - Arho Huttunen, arho.huttunen@lut.fi

Graphics:

    Brax - Pekka Brax, pekbrax@cc.jyu.fi
    RaveMyst - Arto Oksanen, arto.oksanen@pp.inet.fi

Music:

    Roz - Jarkko Rotsten, roz@sci.fi

------------------------------------------
Do you want to join Rainbow Entertainment?
------------------------------------------

Rainbow Entertainment is in need of talented people, especially programmers.
If you have skills with C/C++ language and graphics programming send us an
example and we shall contact you. Windows programming or 3D graphics
programming skills are a definite bonus. Send your examples to:

   arho.huttunen@lut.fi  or
   oknuuti@vtoy.fi







---
Rainbow Entertainment crew wishes you happy gaming hours!
