Readme.txt
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 		         	GLADIATRON 3D (2000)
                       	      a Binary Brotherz game
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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

- Windows Me/98 (possibly 95, only if the OpenGL dll's listed below are
   installed) I don't think Windows NT and Windows 2000 will run this game,
   but please correct me by email if I'm wrong.

- 3D Graphics Accelerator Card with **OpenGL** support
   (sorry, NO Voodoo 1 or Voodoo2) - if you try this game on a Voodoo 1 or 2
    the textures might look all messed up and the game will run at probably
    2 or 3 frames a second, which is just not playable - this is because
    early Voodoo cards do not support Windowed acceleration, which is what
    my games use. Voodoo5, however has fixed this problem, has FULL OpenGL support,
    and is an excellent card.  The games will look great AND they will run very fast!
    So, upgrade today!  :)

- Opengl32.dll and Glu32.dll inside your WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder
   (If you don't find these in that folder, you can download them off
    the internet for free at www.isdn-net.de/ado/treiber/dll/o/opengl32.zip
    (for opengl32.dll) and www.isdn-net.de/ado/treiber/dll/g/glu32.zip (for Glu32.dll).
    If this page goes out of existence, try finding it by searching www.altavista.com - 
     Type "download opengl32.dll" or "download glu32.dll" in the blank search field).

- Microsoft DirectX 7.0(or later) installed on your system
  (if you don't have DirectX, you can download the latest version off
   the internet for free at:  www.microsoft.com (go to DOWNLOADS section). 
- 233Mhz processor or above
- 32Mb RAM or above
- any type of sound card



INSTALLATION:

- Double-click the tron.zip file to unpack(decompress) the file.
  
- Inside WinZip click on the EXTRACT button and type in a folder name and path
   of your choice in the field.  This is where all the game files will be sent and stored.

- MAKE SURE that the GladiaTron.exe, .bmp files, and .wav files are in the
   SAME folder that you named when you previously extracted them under
   WinZip.  DO NOT create subfolders for pictures, sounds, etc. - the game
   will not work.  Just dump everything into the same folder and everything
   should be fine.

- Double-click on blue window executable ( .exe)  and it should start the game.



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KNOWN ISSUES (BUGS):
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DARKNESS/FOG PROBLEM:
- On some cards, such as NVidia TNT2, the darkness special effect in the game's menu
  (or black fog) will not work properly.  As you move your camera around, it will 
  alternatively get dark/light/dark/light, and so on.  I know this for fact on the TNT2,
  because one of the computers in my house has this same card.  I really don't know why
  it doesn't work as of yet, because it seems to work perfectly on a Savage4 and ATI.  If
  any of you out there know OpenGL, the fog I used is EXP2 and the density parameter is 
  set to 0.005 .  If you OpenGL programmers know what the problem could be, please email
  me and I'll try to fix it in the next version.

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PERFORMANCE HINTS:

- Make sure that your destop settings are 640x480 or higher and your color settings
  are in 16 BIT MODE.  This color info is important!  You will see a 10 fps increase 
 on older graphics cards with less memory if you use 16 bit color instead of 32.  I can't
  tell the difference in 32 bit mode anyway and it just slows down the game.  

- For your convenience, the frame rate will be displayed at the top of the game's window
   (i.e. "fps: 60.4" or so).  The bigger the window is, the slower your frame rate will be.
   The game always starts up in 640x480 mode.  On my 400 Mhz computer, the framerate
   hovers around 50 to 60 fps.  When the game is paused, you can change the window's
   size.  Maximizing it to full screen on slower cards will generate maybe 40 fps.  So, if 
   your frame rate drops below 30 and is too chunky, make the window smaller so the game will
   have less area to update each split second and you will have liquid smooth animation.


GAME INFO:

- Press Esc to pause the game.  While the game is paused, your mouse pointer will return and
  you can select different options from the menu.  To get back into the game, press Esc again.

- to Exit the game, go under File->Exit, and the game will exit.  If you have an emergency
   situation (like your Boss is coming around the corner) hit F1 anytime and the program will
  perform its lightning-fast emergency exit.

- Multiple camera views are possible.  Go under Players-> Player1 or Player2 Camera...

- The SNAP CAMERA feature is always enabled at startup.  I found it easier to play
  when the camera quickly rotates (or "snaps) in the new direction that the cycle is facing
  when you turn.  No matter what angle your camera is at, the camera will snap to 90,180,270,
  or 360 degrees, depending on which way you are facing.  But if you would like a static camera
  when you turn, uncheck this item in the game's menu and then you (and you alone) dynamically
  control which way the camera moves with your mouse/analog joystick.

- speaking of Joysticks, I added support for an analog joystick in this game and found it
  to be quite fun.  For example, Player1 is using the mouse and Numpad, and Player2 is
  sitting in another chair to the left, using just an analog gamepad.  This keeps everybody
  seperate and in their own comfort zone.  You will need a Gravis-type 4 button gamepad with
  an analog stick (a stick that moves slow to fast in 360 degrees, like Nintento 64's controller).

- If you don't have a joystick, Player2 uses the left side of the keyboard (again, to keep 
  both players out of eachother's way ).  The keys are WASD for camera and < > (or comma period)
  for turning, and finally SPACE bar for zooming in.  Player 1's zoom key is NumPad + , by the
  way.  I tried to make Player2's keyboard camera (WASD keys) respond as fast and fluently as 
  possible without being TOO sensitive.  See what you think. 

- The cycle design is loosely based on the movie Tron.  When I first saw this movie in the movie
  theaters (in 1982), I thought this cycle part of the movie was the most bad-ass thing I had
  ever seen.  Who ever first designed these cycles and the tanks in the movie should be commended!
  In case you artists out there are wondering, I used all OpenGL drawing calls to render the
  cycles.  No 3D modelling tools were used (like 3D Studio Max).  I used nothing but GL Quadrics
  (which are spheres, cones, cylinders, and disks) to put the frame, wheels, hubs, and roofs together.  

- a friend in Canada is working on Network code for this game as we speak.  Networking is something
  I know nothing about right now, but with this guy's help, someday we will have a LAN/TCP/IP
  GladiaTron game with up to 4 remote players - cool!



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Comments, suggestions, or problem reports are welcome.  Email us at brianlof@swbell.net
If you want to download more Binary Brotherz true 3D games, or just want to check out the
latest news about our upcoming projects/games, please visit our website at
http://home.swbell.net/brianlof/game.html  -  Thank you for playing our games!
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