game_readme.txt

EITRIX by Betafreak
-------------------

Overview
--------
EIT! Mess with your friends and challenge the falling blocks in this Tetris adaption from
Betafreak Games! This game plays like your average joe Tetris, with one important exception:
blocks in your grid will occasionally energize, unleashing powerful effects when you clear
the row that they are in. Some of these blocks help you (getting rid of blocks, slowing
fall speed), but most of them have dastardly effects on your opponents, like jumbling their
blocks, throwing an evil tower with holes into their grid, or making it so that they only
get those aggravatingly useless Z blocks. Can you last longer than your friends?

To Install
----------
- If you don't already have it, install DoorsCS from dcs.cemetech.net
- Send the program EITRIX to your calc.
- Run it through DoorsCS, either through its desktop or its Homerun feature

Controls
--------
    
In Game:

                           Use Antidote
                                 |
Rotate clockwise ---- [(2nd)] [(MODE)] (   )   [(^)] --------- Rotate clockwise
                                             [(<) (>)] ------- Move block left and right
Drop block* --------- [(ALPHA)] (   )  (   )   [(v)] --------- Accelerate drop
 
                      (   ) (   ) (   ) (   ) [(CLEAR)] ------ Quit game immediately
    
    
	Left/Right: Move block
	Down: Accelerate drop speed
	Up/2nd: Rotate the block clockwise/counterclockwise
	Alpha: Drop block*
	Mode: Use Antidote (if you have one)
	Clear: End the game (return to menu, record high score in single player, forfeit in multiplayer)
    
*Dropping works differently in Eitrix - when you press ALPHA, you can still move the block
across the ground. This allows you to more quickly perform shifts and thus get blocks into your field
more quickly.

In Menu:
	Up/Down: Move cursor
	2nd/ENTER: Select menu item
	Clear: Quit the game


Game Modes
----------
Select PLAY to start a Single Player game. In single player, get as many points as you can
while attacks are randomly sent to you. The special blocks you get are always helpful to you.

Select LINK to enter Multiplayer mode. Link to another calculator running Eitrix, and a game will
begin as soon as both of you enter the Link menu. Because linking is powered via CALCnet2.2, any
number of players can enter the same lobby and will be randomly matched for games.

Select STAT to view your Single Player high scores and your Multiplayer win/loss statistics.

Gameplay
--------
Manipulate and rotate the pieces as they fall, one by one, from the top of the game grid.
When you make a complete row of blocks in the grid, the blocks will turn white and disappear.

The drop speed will slowly increase over time, which means that eventually, 
the blocks will become too fast for you to effectively manipulate them.

The next piece you will get shows in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Use this to plan your next move.

If it so happens that a newly placed block collides with a block in the grid, 
you will get a Game Over and the game will end.

You earn points for each row you clear (1 for 1, 3 for 2, 6 for 3, and 10 for 4).
Your high scores will be recorded in a top three list on your calculator. In
addition, you earn 1 Antidote (see "Antidotes", below) for every 16 points you earn.

Specials
--------
Occasionally, one of the blocks in the field will light up, and an icon will appear in the top right
corner of the screen. This means that the inverted block has been energized with Special power! If you clear
the row the special block is in, the block will disappear and the Special will take effect!

Bonus Specials (Specials that help you immediately):
- These always show up regardless of the game mode.
Your opponent is not affected by or notified of these specials.

......## Bonus Antidote:
.....###
....###. Awards one Antidote (see "Antidotes", below)
.#####..
#...#... This special is more likely to appear than any
#...#... other special you might encounter.
#...#...
.###....

........ Clear Screen:
..####..
..#..#.. Clears all blocks on the screen.
..#..#.. No points are awarded for any blocks other than
..#..#.. the rows you cleared to get the Clear Screen.
..#..#..
..####..
........

........ Slow Down:
........
..###... Lowers your drop speed.
.#...#..
#.....#.
########
##...##.
........

Attack Specials (Specials that harm your opponent immediately):
- In single player, the computer will randomly attack you with these Specials. You cannot clear them yourself.
- In multiplayer, these specials will appear. Clear them to send them to your opponent.
- All of the specials you are currently afflicted with will appear in the space below the current Special.

######## The Wall:
#.#....#
######## Fills the bottom 6 rows of your opponent's grid with rows that are
#....#.# complete except for one block.
#....#.#
######## 
#.#....# 
########

#.#..#.. Bullet Holes:
###....#
....#... Pop out up to 10 random blocks from your opponent's grid.
..#...## This can create holes where the opponent doesn't want them.
......##
###.....
#.#..#..
###....#

..#####. Speed Up:
.#...#.#
.#####.# Increases your opponent's drop speed.
##....##
.###..#.
#..####.
..#..#.#
..#...##

..###... Jumble:
........
#.####.. Moves around blocks on your opponent's grid to create holes
#.#.##.# and other issues. Might inadvertently clear rows.
#.#..#.#
..####.#
........
...###..

#.#..#.# Tower of EIT:
########
##.##### Creates a castle tower of blocks in the bottom 8 rows.
.#.##.#. The tower resembles its harbinger sprite.
.####.#.
.##.###.
.##.###.
.######.

..####.. Flip:
.#...##.
#..#.### Flips the grid so that the top is exposed.
#...#### The grid's height is not affected.
#.######
#.##.###
.######.
..####..

Disease Specials (harm the opponent, last until an Antidote has been used):

........ No More Hints:
...##...
..#..#.. Hides your opponent's piece preview.
.#..#.#.
.#...##.
.#....#.
.#....#.
..####..

.#..#.#. Static Background:
#..#..#.
..#.#..# Fills the background with static.
#...#... The static shows through the blocks.
.#.##..#
..#...#.
#..#.#..
..#....#

........ Zee Virus:
#####...
#.#.#... Your opponent will only get Z blocks.
#######.
..#.#.#.
..#####.
........
........

..#####. Blindness:
..#.#.#.
..#####. The piece that is currently falling
....#.#. will suddenly become much harder
....##.. to see.
.#..#.#.
.......#
..#.#...

Antidotes
---------
Antidotes are your defensive weapon in Eitrix. You start the game
with one Antidote, and you earn another one every 16 points you get
and when you clear the Antidote special.

To use an Antidote, press MODE. If any Attacks or Diseases are active
when you use the Antidote, all of them will be neutralized.

Otherwise, a timer begins. If an Attack or Disease is sent to you while
the timer is going, the attack is immediately neutralized as the Antidote 
shatters.

If the timer goes all the way down to the end before any attack arrives,
the Antidote will clear the row that the special block is in, immediately
activating the Special. If no special block is active when the Antidote
ends, it does nothing - you just wasted your Antidote!

Future Changes
--------------
- No functional changes planned, but I do want to have more notifications
during CALCnet play.

Testimonials
------------
"This game is great! It's different every time you play it." - Collin Hudson
"Sure, I play it. Like every day." - Dillon Johnson
"This looks great!" - eVarmint

Source Code
-----------
The source code is in the EITSRC and EITSCDAT files.
In order to compile the source, you must have the latest version of Axe Parser (available 
at axe.omnimaga.org) and the latest version of the CalcNet Axiom (included for your
convenience). You must also send both of the images ("GAME SCREEN.8xi" and 
"TITLE SCREEN.8xi") to your calculator.

Feel free to use any of the code in the source files. There is a lot to learn from it, including:
	- Loading and distributing in-game data
	- Efficient storage of 1-byte entities
	- Use of subroutines to encapsulate code
	- Subroutines with arguments and return values
	- A key timer system to support controlled key repeats
	- Event timers
	- And much more

Please give me due credit for it, since I wrote it all from scratch.

Appreciation
------------
eVarmint - for writing the original Eittris and inspiring me to program
ticalc.org - for hosting my game and inspiring me to write for calculator
Omnimaga - for being so supportive and awesome
Quigibo - for writing Axe Parser, pretty much the best calc programming language ever
Collin Hudson - for being my friend and link buddy and playtester, even when it crashed his calc
Alex Douglas - for being my other link buddy
Cemetech - for also being supportive and helping me integrate Cn2.2
You - for downloading this game

Changelog
---------
Version 1.2.2:
- Fixed bugs involving specials taking too long to appear appreciably

Version 1.1:
- CALCnet2.2 is working fully now! Connect to EitHub on the gcn server!
- Speed Up and Flip appear longer before they hit you.
- The Wall and the Tower of Eit now provide warning, much like Speed Up
and Flip do. You will see the icon for a little less than a second before
the attack starts editing your blocks. Bullet Holes and Jumble, however,
both act immediately.
- Antidote system radically changed:
	- When an Antidote is used to block an already existing attack,
or an attack is sent to you while you have the Antidote, the Antidote dies.
	- While an Antidote is waiting, it will lock on to the current
special block (if one exists on the field). If the Antidote lasts for its
entire duration, the row with the special block will clear, activating the special.
- Specials now appear in game at timed intervals, not using the previous system
of attempting to place one after every block drop.
- Various other optimizations

Version 1.1 Beta:
- Attempting to set up CalcNet 2.2 linkplay (still not working yet)
	- The game is compiled for DoorsCS only because of this
- True scoring system (both single and multiplayer):
	- You earn 1 point for a single, 3 for a double, 6 for a triple, and 10 for a Tetris
	- Every 16 points, you gain an Antidote
	- In Single Player, points are recorded in the top three high scores
		- You can no longer beat the computer, since you want a high score instead
- Bug that prevented you from sending Blindness was fixed

Version 1.0:
- Bug with Speed Up (the rabbit) has been fixed, where the rabbit would continue to work long
  after it expired. It now works much like the Flip attack, in that the icon appears to warn you,
  then the effect hits.
- When a block is on the ground, press ALPHA to set it. (Before, it would reset the drop timer,
  letting it sit there perpetually as long as you held the button down...)
- Flipped the rotation keys. Now UP is actually clockwise and 2ND is actually counterclockwise
- Stats screen added! Your total wins and losses in both modes are recorded, both for all time
  and for that program execution.
	- Stats are kept in the 31-byte appvar Eitrix.
	- The Appvar is kept in archive when the program is not running. You will only lose your
	  stats to a RAM clear if Eitrix happens to be running at the time.
- Because no new features are planned (other than patches and bug fixes) the Upcoming Features
  section has been replaced with a Testimonials section.

Version 1.0 Beta:
- Cleaned up some bugs, including the one where a special block cleared by an attack doesn't dissappear
- Grid height gauge flashes when it is close to the top (both single and multiplayer)
- Some code optimized
- A "today's wins and losses" counter appears at the bottom of the title screen (for tournaments)
- Data is in a seperate source

Version 0.7:
- Random crash bug in DCS now fixed! Found to be due to a stupid For loop construction bug
- You can now see your opponent's grid height in the right of your screen!
- Random link bugs in 0.6.1 fixed
- You can now beat the computer! The grid height gauge changes to a timer gauge.
	- In single player mode, The Wall is repurposed to shorten the timer gauge

Version 0.6.1:
- More Attacks: The Tower of EIT and Flip
- Several bugs, which I will deal with in next version

Version 0.6:
- Antidotes!
	- 25% of all Special Blocks (more in single player) will be empowered with Antidotes.
	- Clear the block to add 1 Antidote to your total.
	- Antidotes are kept in a stockpile of up to 65535 antidotes.
	- Use an Antidote by pressing MODE
	- When you use an Antidote, all attacks you are currently recieving will be deactivated,
	  and any future attacks you recieve over the next few seconds will be negated.
- Diseases!
	- These attacks last perpetually and do not affect the grid directly
	- Clear them away with Antidotes.
	- Specials Added: No More Hints, Static Background, Zee Virus, and Blindness
- Removed Interrupts once and for all! Now it works in both MOS and DCS!
- Changed the Slow Down symbol to a turtle (courtesy of stiny.net)
- Hit CLEAR from the main menu to quickly quit the game
- Several other bug fixes

Version 0.5.1:
- Fixed a small, but crucial bug, where the opponent would win if you sent the Jumble powerup.

Version 0.5:
- Working Linkplay!
	- Actually sends the correct specials. Guaranteed to afflict your opponent within 2 to 3 seconds of clearing the block
	- When your opponent dies, you recieve a "WIN" message and the game will end
- Attack Display: The empty grid spaces were replaced with a range of indicators to show what attacks were hitting you at what time.
- Fixed row clear bug - now all of the rows you clear should clear at once
- Have had some problems with DoorsCS compatibility (interrupt related). Run with MirageOS.

Version 0.4.999:
- Title Menu!
	- Select from Play, Link, or Quit on the title screen
	- Return to the menu after you die
- A preliminary version of Linkplay!
	- When you select Link, the calculator will wait for an opponent to do the same
	- Once that happens, a link game will begin
	- The attack items that you used to get randomly in single player are now the form of Special Blocks. When you clear them, your opponent feels the pain...
	- Currently buggy (which is why this isn't Version 0.5 yet): Regardless of what attack special you clear, your opponent only gets The Wall. Also, the game doesn't end when your opponent dies
- Two new attacks: Speed Up and Jumble
- Escalator has been changed to Bullet Holes
- Attacks will not be active while a row is clearing

Version 0.4:
- Attack Items!
	- Two specials - The Wall and Escalator - are sent randomly to your screen
- A whole lot faster!
	- Goes off of interrupts, so that the game will go the same speed regardless of frame rate
	- Uses an 800 byte Appvar called EITWORK as a sacrifice for speed
	- A little line on the top right indicates how fast the frame is going (the shorter, the faster)
- Reassimilated the content of EITGMSRC into EITSRC
- Numerous bug fixes
- Bugs associated with the Title Screen forced its temporary removal
- Changed compilation type to MirageOS in order to add an icon!

Version 0.3:
- Special blocks!
	- Occasionally, one block in your grid will be inverted
	- The type of special you could get will appear in the top right corner
	- If you clear the row with that special block on it, you will recieve the benefits of the special
	- Two new specials: Clear Screen (a blank rectangle) and Slow Down (a stop sign with an X)
- Completely revamped the game screen to show the information you will eventually care about, including
  antidotes and enemy grids. Killed the empty score field.
- Title Screen with Dimitri Shastakovich (a Russian composer)
 
Version 0.2:
- First public release
- Piece Preview
- Drop Pieces (you can still move left and right to slide them)
- Game Over
- Increasing Drop Speed

Version 0.1:
- First release