


 S
 H
 A
 R
 E
 W                             FINTRIS V1.26
 A                              -----------
 R                           25th February 1994
 E
                      (c) Tommi Tarkiainen 1993,1994
 V                          All rights reserved
 E
 R
 S
 I
 O
 N




 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
 ---------------------
 This game requires PC compatible machine with a VGA-card ( MCGA should work
 just fine ). You must have at least 460,000 bytes of free conventional
 memory ( 430,000 bytes if you have at least 250kB EMS memory ). Fintris was
 created using a 486/33, but it has been tested on several 386 and 286
 machines and it worked just fine. Mouse is supported. In the registered
 version there is also Soundblaster support included.


 BACKGROUND
 ----------
 When I started designing Fintris I had two primary goals in mind. First
 I wanted to create a tetris with great graphics and second I wanted to add
 more variety to the ordinary tetris concept.

 This is my first game and I would like here what you have got to say about it.
 ALL COMMENTS ARE WELCOME WHETHER THEY ARE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE.

 So what's so special about Fintris? Well, first of all there are THREE
 DIFFERENT GAME MODES: single, simultaneous and duel. There are THREE DIFFERENT
 BLOCK SETS: simple, normal and complex. Then there's GOOD LOOKING GRAPHICS and
 last but not the least MANA!


 BUGS
 ----
 Fintris has been thoroughly tested. At the moment there are no known bugs in it.
 This, however, doesn't guarantee that there would be no bugs and there probably
 are a few. If you find one (or more) you can send me a letter and I will try to
 remove it ASAP.


 LICENSE
 -------
 The FINTRIS software may not be circulated in any incomplete or modified form,
 nor sold for profit, without written permission of the author. If you
 distribute this software to others, you are required to distribute the ENTIRE
 package consisting of the files mentioned the distribution list ( see section
 FILES INCLUDED ).


 DISCLAIMER
 ----------
 The Shareware version for evaluation is provided AS IS.
 Tommi Tarkiainen MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR
 IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF
 MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
 THE AUTHOR WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL,
 CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR SIMILAR DAMAGES DUE TO LOSS OF
 DATA OR ANY OTHER REASON, EVEN IF THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED
 OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
 AUTHOR'S LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID
 FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM
 OF THE CLAIM.


 REGISTRATION
 ------------
 FINTRIS IS A SHAREWARE GAME. This means that IT ISN'T PUBLIC DOMAIN NOR IS IT
 FREE. The shareware version of the game is intended for evalution purposes
 only. If you like the game you should register it. Fintris is not crippleware.
 The shareware version doesn't lack any features. There is, however, a
 configuration utility included in the registered version of the game. Another
 difference between the shareware version and registered one are the usual
 shareware messages that urge you to register this great software and in that
 way support the further development of quality software.

 The registration fee is $11 ( this includes $4 for shipping, handling and media
 costs ) outside Finland or 50 mk ( this includes 15 mk for shipping etc. ) in
 Finland. By registering you are supporting further software development under
 shareware concept. When you register you will get the registered version
 of Fintris. You can get updates to Fintris for free after you have registered.
 The registered version of Fintris includes custom configurations and doesn't
 have the shareware messages. Custom configurations include keyboard
 definition ( You can choose what keys to use in the game. ) and menu setup (
 You can set the default menu settings. For example if you wan't to play with
 mana on and on level 4 you can set these values as defaults from the
 configuration utility. When you start the game next time all you have to do is
 to press P/ENTER/SPACE ( Play ) and that's it. ). In the future you can
 register Software Illusions software for a lower price as a registered user.
 At the moment there aren't any other Software Illusions software available
 except VELORIS, which is a tetris clone for Amiga. There is at least one
 game project under development. Though we haven't decided yet what it is
 going to be.


 HOW TO REGISTER ( THIS IS FOR THE NON-REGISTERED USERS ONLY )
 -------------------------------------------------------------
 All you have to do is to send me a letter with the registration fee, your
 name, address and to specify the type of diskette ( eg. 3" HD ) you want your
 registered version of Fintris to be delivered. My address can be found at end
 of this document.


 WHAT IS MANA ?
 --------------
 Mana is a sort of energy that you can use to activate cannons and manipulate
 the block queue. You will get more mana when you collapse two or more rows
 simultaneously. Mana increases by itself over time but very slowly so you
 gain mana mainly by collapsing rows. In the beginning you won't have very
 large amount of mana so you should use it sparingly.

 The following operations can be accomplished with mana. REMOVING A ROW can be
 done by firing the cannon. This is the most mana consuming operation use it
 wisely. DUPLICATING A BLOCK is the second most expensive mana operation. When
 you press block duplication button the next block will be the same as the one
 before it. Note that the block that was in the block queue next before
 duplication will come after the duplicate. And last but not the least is
 BLOCK REMOVAL. This operation is the least expensive of all. When you press
 block removal button the current block will be removed.

 When mana is in use you don't get as points from collapsing rows and dropping
 blocks as when mana is off. This is due to the fact that it is a lot easier
 to play when mana is on. So you get points a bit more slowly than without mana,
 but you can continue playing longer than usually. It's possible to get a lot
 of points very quickly by manipulating the block queue. Block duplication can
 prove especially useful in this.

 To get the most out of mana you will have to adopt a new playing style.
 Here are a couple of tips for you to get started with. Use cannons only
 when it's absolutely necessary. Use block duplication to get blocks with which
 you can collapse as many rows as possible. Use block removal to remove the
 blocks that don't fit your pile.

 Here are some statistics to help you with your mana usage.

 Number of rows collapsed simultaneously        Mana gained
 ---------------------------------------        -----------
 4 rows                                                  11
 3 rows                                                   4
 2 rows                                                   1

 Action                                    Mana consumption
 ------                                     ----------------
 Fire cannon                                              6
 Duplicate current block                                  5
 Remove current block                                     3

 A WORD OR TWO FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE TITLE MUSIC ( written by Kalle Salminen )
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 The title music of Fintris was composed, arranged and performed by Kalle
 Salminen.

 I composed the piece using Amiga's Pro Tracker. Samples originate from
 various sources. I digitized some of the samples from Korg 01/W FD
 synthetisizer. The samples were digitized using Sound Blaster V1.0 ( it's
 sampling rate is 13kHz ). That's why the resulting sound quality is so far
 from quality of the original one.

 Even though the title music is techno I mainly compose different kind of music.
 I strive for a similar style as Jean-Michel Jarre's, Vangelis' and Kitaro's.
 If you want to have music composed for your game ( preferably a commercial
 one ) you can contact me for more information ( my address is at the end of
 this passage ). Movie style music will cost much more than techno which I can
 compose for small fee. You can also send me note sheets and I will try to make
 a Sound Tracker module out of them for a nominal fee. I'll use as good samples
 as possible, naturally. You should also remember to tell the maximum size
 of the module you want.

 One more thing. Please, try to be patient and listen the title music at least
 through, because there's something like melody in it too.

 You can send mail to this address:

                Kalle Salminen
                Toritunkatu 4
                33580 Tampere
                FINLAND


 KEYS
 ----
 MAIN MENU:
        Key     Comment
        ---     -------
        P       Play game
        <ENTER> Same as above
        <SPACE> Same as above
        M       Switch mana ON/OFF      ( See paragraph "WHAT IS MANA" for more
                                          information on subject )
        H       Highscore table
        S       Switch simple blockset ON/OFF
        C       Switch complex blockset ON/OFF
        r       Change the direction of block rotation (applies to both players)
        R       Change the direction of block rotation (applies to player 2 only)
        f       Change the falling speed of the block (applies to both players)
        F       Change the falling speed of the block (applies to player 2 only)
        V       Version number
        A       About Fintris
        U       The name of the registered user
        <F1>    One player mode
        <F2>    Two player mode
        <F3>    Duel mode ( two players against each other )
        1-9     Choose level
        <ESC>   Quit

 DURING GAME:
        Key     Comment
        ---     -------
        P       Pause game ( Press <ENTER> to continue game )
        1       Player 1: Fire cannon                           (default)
        2       Player 1: Drop block                            (default)
        3       Player 1: Move cannon downwards                 (default)
        4       Player 1: Move block leftwards                  (default)
        5       Player 1: Rotate block                          (default)
        6       Player 1: Move block rightwards                 (default)
        7       Player 1: Move cannon upwards                   (default)
        8       Player 1: Remove current block                  (default)
        9       Player 1: Duplicate current block               (default)
        0       Player 1: Show next block                       (default)
        N       Player 2: Fire cannon                           (default)
        <SPACE> Player 2: Drop block                            (default)
        .       Player 2: Move cannon downwards                 (default)
        J       Player 2: Move block leftwards                  (default)
        K       Player 2: Rotate block                          (default)
        L       Player 2: Move block rightwards                 (default)
        U       Player 2: Move cannon upwards                   (default)
        I       Player 2: Remove current block                  (default)
        O       Player 2: Duplicate current block               (default)
        <ENTER> Player 2: Show next block                       (default)
        <ESC>   Abort game

  All keys except "P" (Pause) and "ESC" (abort) can be defined with the
  configuration utility ( CONFIG.EXE ) that comes with the registered
  version of the game.


 FILES INCLUDED
 --------------
 Filename         Description
 --------         -----------
 FINTRIS.EXE      The main program
 CONFIG.FIN       The configuration file ( This file can be deleted. It is
                                           automatically created when the game
                                           begins. )
 SCORE.DAT        Highscore table ( Same as above. When deleted the highscore
                                    table is reset. )
 DEFAULT1.KEY     Default player 1 keyboard layout
 DEFAULT2.KEY     Default player 2 keyboard layout
 FINBACK.DAT      Graphics file
 FINBEG.DAT       Graphics file
 FINEND.DAT       Graphics file
 FINMENU.DAT      Graphics file
 FINSTAT.DAT      Graphics file
 FINTEXT.DAT      Graphics file
 FINTRIS.DAT      Graphics file
 SILOGO.DAT       Graphics file
 TOPTEN.DAT       Graphics file
 TOPTEXT.DAT      Graphics file
 EFINTRIS.TXT     Document file in English
 SFINTRIS.TXT     Same in Finnish
 FILE_ID.DIZ      Short description of the game


 The following files can only be found in the REGISTERED version:

 Filename         Description
 --------         -----------
 CONFIG.EXE       The configuration program
                  ( NOT INCLUDED IN SHAREWARE VERSION )
 ECONFIG.TXT      Documentation for the configuration program
                  ( NOT INCLUDED IN SHAREWARE VERSION )
 SCONFIG.TXT      Same as above, but in Finnish
                  ( NOT INCLUDED IN SHAREWARE VERSION )
 FINMUZ.DAT       Title music played through Soundblaster
                  ( NOT INCLUDED IN SHAREWARE VERSION )
 SOUNDFX.DAT      Sound effects played during the game
                  ( NOT INCLUDED IN SHAREWARE VERSION )


 CREDITS
 -------
 Design and programming:
                Tommi Tarkiainen
 Software Illusions logo:
                Miikka Vilermo
                Tommi Tarkiainen
 Title music ( included only in the registered version ):
                Kalle Salminen
 Technical advice:
                Antti Leinonen
                Kalle Salminen
 Additional ideas:
                Kalle Salminen
                Timo Haanp
                Miikka Vilermo
                Pasi Perttil
 Beta testing:
                Erkko Lehtonen  ( Special thanks to Erkko for exhaustive game
                                  testing )
                Teppo Lehtonen
                Timo Haanp
                Kalle Salminen
                Miikka Vilermo
                Pasi Perttil
                Juha Tarkiainen
                Hannu Tarkiainen
                Matti Koskinen
                and many others


 SOURCE CODE AVAILABILITY
 ------------------------
 YES, you can get source code for Fintris. Fintris was programmed using
 assembly language and C. The low level graphics routines are completely
 assembly language, the game itself is done using C-language.
 But because of the hard work involved in graphics routines and others, I
 am forced to ask a fairly large amount of money for them. If you are
 interested you can contact me at the address below.


 HOW TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR
 -------------------------
 You can contact me through mail at the following address. All ideas, bug
 reports and other comments are welcome.

 Tommi Tarkiainen
 Pienkodinkatu 10
 33560 Tampere
 FINLAND

 I can be contacted also through e-mail at:

 t150430@cc.tut.fi

