target_acquired-mos 0.1

Short:        Old style SDL vertical shooter
Author:       Michael C. Martin, Morphos port by Fabrizio "Lanch" Bartoloni
Uploader:     lanch tiscali it (Fabrizio Bartoloni)
Type:         game/shoot
Version:      0.1
Requires:     powersdl.library
Architecture: ppc-morphos

Target Acquired

        Peace has reigned in the Galactic Federation for almost a century.
        However, the idyllic lives of two species were completely disrupted
        when the human ambassador was assassinated by the Entomorphs.  The
        only possible solution is a one-on-one trial by combat between one
        human and one Entomorph.

        Congratulations.  You've been selected to represent humanity.  Your
        superiors have provided you with the latest in starfighter 
        technology: the X-1723E StarBlazer.  It is the most maneuverable and
        best armed one-man craft in the Ten Thousand Worlds.

        You'll need all the help you can get, because the Entomorphs are hive
        minds, and they've sent an entire hive mind out after you...

        The enemy fleet awaits.  The honor of humanity flies with you!

Controls:

        Arrow keys:             Move
        Space:                  Blast
        Enter:                  Blast
        Right bracket (]):      Blast
        ESC:                    Quit

Targets:
        Sweepers:               150 pts.
        Kamikazes:              250 pts.
        Battleships:            1,500 pts.  
        Hive-core ships:        5,000 pts.
        Local nerve nodes:      Destroy everything on the screen and yield
                                double point values.

Extra life every 10,000 pts.

Main Menu:   
   1. Engage the Entomorphs / Commence Grand Tour
        Plays a game of TARGET ACQUIRED.  If the `Grand Tour' setting is on,
        then you will be invincible throughout the game, but you have no
        chance of getting on the high score table either.

   2. Momentum: On/Off
        If you choose to have momentum on, the arrow keys will accelerate 
        your ship instead of moving it.  You will have a slightly higher top 
        speed with momentum on.  Also, all shots from all craft will move
        left and right as the ship was when the shot was fired.  When
        momentum is off, all shots shoot straight and the ship always moves
        at just under the maximum possible speed.

   3. Display Credits
        Gives the credits.

   4. See Best Acquirers
        This displays the high-score table.

   5. Read briefing
        Gives you the background for the game.

   6. Quit
        Ends the game.

Command line options:
   The Windows version of TARGET ACQUIRED defaults to full-screen mode.  All
   other versions will default to windowed unless FULLSCREEN_DEFAULT has been
   defined.  To override this at runtime, use the --fullscreen (or -f) option
   to force fullscreen, or the --window (or -w) option to force windowed mode.

Background on the TARGET ACQUIRED project:

   The original TARGET ACQUIRED project was done in 1995 by a bunch of high
   schoolers who wanted to build a space shooter from the ground up.  We
   actually managed to do it, and it ran blazingly fast on a 386/40, in a
   reasonably portable VGA mode.  It also only required about 256 kB of memory
   to run.

   These days are long gone.

   I stumbled across the old code I wrote, five years later.  It didn't
   compile anymore, to say nothing of running on any modern machine.  So it
   just stayed there, taking up space.

   The version of TARGET ACQUIRED you now have is the result of me learning
   to use the SDL libraries (http://www.libsdl.org).  The graphics and
   input interfaces have been changed to use these libraries instead, so
   now it runs on all machines.  It also requires about 16MB of RAM to run
   comfortably, but that's a small enough price to pay.

SO GO BLAST THINGS ALREADY.
                               -- Michael C. Martin
                                  31 August 2002