Super Tetris

From

Spectrum Holobyte

PRIVYET!
First there was tetris. Then there was the fall of communism.
Coincidence - or incredibly crafty plan?

Consider: when Alexey Pajitnov created tetris, there were very few
computers in the whole of the Soviet Union and authorities were mightily
concerned with controlling the flow of information those computers could
provide. But the savvy young Russian went ahead and made his game
in spite of that, and then found a way to market it around the world. It
became one of the most successful games the world has ever seen and
threw a spotlight on the creativity waiting to be unleashed in the
world's eastern hemisphere. Who's to say if that one example showed the
Soviet bureaucrats that there was more to be gained from plunging ahead
into modern times than holding back? All we know is, the world started
humming balalaika music and the commissars collapses...

...leaving Alexey even freer to take tetris to new levels of

entertainment and excitement, so that now:

* The pit is deeper, and it scrolls as your pieces fall.

* The bottom of the pit is filled with rubble, which conceals
seven types of buried treasures.
* Removing a line wins you a bomb cluster, which you can use to
blow up extra pieces or activate treasures.
* The rubble makes up a hidden picture, which is revealed in the
thermometer next to the pit as you remove each line of rubble.
* The game advances to a higher level when you've completely
revealed the picture in the rubble.
* The number of pieces you can use to clear the pit is limited.
* Pieces fall faster and the rubble is more difficult to clear
at higher levels.
* You can make pieces fall faster by pressing a key, but releasing
the key returns them to their normal rate of descent.
* The game ends when the pieces reach the top of the pit, you run
out of pieces, or you run out of time (in a timed game).
* There are single player timed games, cooperative games and
competitive games.

So get ready to dig into super tetris. Who knows? You just may be
changing the course of history - again!

AMIGA
~~~~~
Loading the Program
Turn on the computer (Amiga 1000 owners must use Kickstart.) When prompted
for the Workbench disk, place the Super Tetris disk into the drive. The
game will "auto-boot."

If you have 1 megabyte RAM or more, Super Tetris can be multi-tasked.

Making a Backup Copy

Super Tetris for the Amiga contains off-disk copy protection, which means
that you can make a backup copy.

Installation
~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can install Super Tetris to any location on your hard drive, as long
as you assign tetris: to that location.
I.E:

ASSIGN TETRIS: DH3:GAMES/TETRIS

Copy it with

COPY DF0: TO DH3:GAMES/TETRIS ALL

IBM
~~~

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Super tetris operates on any IBM PC compatible computer running Windows
3.0 or later. In addition, the program requires:

* 2MB RAM
* One 1.2 MB 5 1/4 or 1.44 MB 1/2 disk drive
* Hard drive
* VGA graphics
* Microsoft-compatible mouse

Options:
~~~~~~~~
* Super VGA graphics
* Sound blaster card

INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Make backup copies of your super tetris program disks before you do
anything else and put your original program disks in a safe place.

Because the super tetris program must be run from a hard drive, you
cannot run super tetris from floppy disks.

To install the program:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Start Windows as you normally do.
2. Insert super tetris disk 1 into your floppy drive.
3. From the program manager's file menu, choose "RUN"
4. In the command line box, type "A:SETUP"
5. Press the ENTER key
6. Follow the onscreen instructions. The setup program will install
super tetris to c:\supertet unless you want to change it. If you
wish to install the game to a different directory, type the new
directory name in the space below. Press OK to continue with the
installation.
7. Next the setup program will determine if your windows system is
running in a 256 color or 16 color mode. If your system is in
256 color mode, setup will ask if you want to install 256 color
images, 16 color images or both. Choose one of the options and
press OK

8. Next, the setup program will ask you if you have a sound blaster
or sound blaster pro card. If so, the setup program will install
the necessary sound files.
9. The setup program will then check your win.ini file to see if it
has been modified for the sound blaster. If not, setup will ask
if you want to add the following lines to your win.in file:

[SoundBlaster]
Port=220
Int=7
DMA=1

Note: The lines above assume that your sound blaster is set to
220 hex for the address and 7 for the interrupt. If your
settings are not the same as these, change the values
accordingly in your win.in file. The testsbc program from
creative labs will help you check your card's address and
interrupt setting.

You will need to restart windows in order for the changes in

your win.in file to take effect for the sound blaster.

LOADING SUPER TETRIS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To run super tetris, open the games program group in the program
manager. Double-click the super tetris icon. You will soon see the
introductory sequence and the super tetris title screen.

Please note that super tetris will only run under the standard or 386
enhanced mode of windows. You can check to see which windows mode you
are running in by selecting "about program manager" from the help menu
while in the program manager. If you are running in real mode, super
tetris will not load.

If you are running in standard mode, super tetris does not support music
through the sound blaster or sound blaster pro. The music button on the
game configuration screen will be dimmed out if you are either running
in standard mode or do not have a sound blaster card. If you are running
in enhanced mode, super tetris supports both music and sound effects on
your sound blaster.

TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Level Level of difficulty in the game
Square Basic unit of a super tetris piece
Piece Made up of four squares. There are seven unique pieces
Next Piece Next piece to fall. This is shown so you can anticipate
where to place it in your well.
Pieces Left Number of pieces you have to finish the level
Line Horizontal row of squares, formed by fitting pieces
together
Pit Where the game is played, 28 squares deep
Water Line The line which is 14 lines from the top of the pit with
the rubbles below
Rubble Squares beneath the water line that have been already
placed in the pit
Thermometer Small replica of the entire pit which allows you to
better see the design formed as you remove lines of
rubble
Bomb Special piece which destroys squares and itself when it
touches squares or other bombs
Treasure Special square embedded in rubble which provides rewards
when bombed

GAME CONFIGURATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The game configuration screen allows you to choose the type of game you
want to play. Make your choices by moving the onscreen arrow with the
mouse. When the arrow is positioned over the choice you want, click the
left mouse button to open dialog boxes or to toggle (if an On/Off choice
is available).

SELECT A GAME MODE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are six game modes in super tetris:
SINGLE PLAYER, SINGLE PLAYER 5 MINUTE, SINGLE PLAYER 10 MINUTE, SINGLE
PLAYER 15 MINUTE, CO-OPERATIVE AND COMPETITIVE. When you select the
first button on your screen, a dialog box appears listing these modes.
Select one by clicking on it with the left mouse button. We suggest you
start with a single player game to get a feel for super tetris before
you try the other game modes. Playing and scoring in a single player
game is explained in the playing super tetris section later in this
manual. The other game modes are explained in their own chapters.

SELECT A DIFFICULTY LEVEL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you select difficulty level, a dialog box appears listing the
levels by number. The higher the number, the faster the pieces fall;
also, rubble becomes more difficult to clear, the pit becomes deeper and
more treasure types appear. Select your level by clicking on it with the
left mouse button. We suggest you start with level 1 to get a feel for
super tetris before you try the other difficulty levels.

SELECT A CONTROL METHOD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now move the arrow over the player 1 button and select your method of
controlling super tetris. You can use either the keyboard or the mouse.
If you've selected a cooperative or competitive game, the same choices
appear for player 2 just below player 1's button. Only one player can
have mouse selected in a cooperative or competitive game.

SELECT OPTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following buttons allow you to change the way the game is played.

You can decide whether you want advance notice of what piece will fall
after the current piece by toggling next piece on or off. The game is
more challenging if you don't know what is coming next and you will
score more points for successful play. We suggest, though, that you lean
super tetris with this option turned on.

You can also decide whether you want to play with sound effects by
toggling sound effects on or off, and whether you want music (if you
have a sound blaster running in enhanced mode) by toggling music on or
off.

AND...GO!
~~~~~~~~~
Select new game to begin a brand-new game. This activates all your
choices on the game. Configuration screen and starts the game.

Load game brings up a dialog box which allows you to restart a saved
game.
Selecting quit at the game configuration screen returns you to the
desktop. You can also press ALT F4.

PLAYING SUPER ns allow you to change the way the game is played.

You can decide whether you want advance notice of what piece will fall
after the current piece by toggling next piece on or off. The game is
more challenging if you don't know what is coming next and you will
score more points for successful play. We suggest, though, that you lean
super tetris with this option turned on.

You can also deRIS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Super tetris starts on whichever level you last selected on the game
configuration screen, but the initial default is level 1. Each level
shows the pit on the left and a screen from the world famous moscow
circus on the right.

In single player and cooperative games, the box above the pit shows the
current point score. In a competitive game, player 1's point score
appears in a box at the upper left of the screen and player 2's score
appears in a box at the upper right.

In single player and cooperative games, the box at the upper left of the
screen shows the level. In a competitive game, the level is shown above
the pit.

If you choose next piece on from the game configuration screen, a

picture of the next piece to fall is shown in the box below your score.
In a competitive game, each player has a separate box for the next
piece.

Below the picture of the next piece is the number of pieces left at this
level.

To the lower left of the pit is a miniature version of the pit, called
the thermometer, which shows a miniature picture of the rubble as you
destroy it. The rubble forms a picture, which you can best see in the
thermometer's reduced format. The rubble picture is usually related to
that level's background artwork.

PIECES AND BOMBS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Super tetris pieces come in seven shapes. Each level has a finite number
of pieces to begin with. In the single player and competitive game modes
you have 50 pieces, but in cooperative it is 100. Each time a super
tetris piece drops, the number of pieces left goes down by one. If the
number of pieces decreases to zero, then the game is over. You can get
more pieces by completing lines or exploding certain treasures. Each
time you finish a level, the number of pieces is reset to 50 (or 100)
and you now have that number of pieces to complete the new level.

The lower portion of the pit is filled with water and rubble. Pieces
drop randomly from the top of the pit and fall until they land on
another piece or the rubble. You must position the pieces as they fall,
trying to fit them together at the bottom like a jigsaw puzzle. When a
horizontal line completely crossing the pit is formed, the line
disappears and the piece that falls next is, in fact, a cluster of
bombs. This cluster can also be positioned as it falls and whatever
squares the bomb touches as it moves are destroyed. Bombs do not
subtract from the piece count.

Bomb clusters are awarded as follows:

Completing 1 line 2 bombs

Completing 2 lines 4 bombs
Completing 3 lines 8 bombs
Completing 4 lines or more 12 bombs

MOVING PIECES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As pieces or bombs fall into the pit, you can move them left or right,
rotate them or make them fall more quickly, using the control method you
choose on the game configuration screen. You can also move pieces using
a mouse.
Rotate Left button
Drop Right button
Left Move mouse left
Right Move mouse right

The following table lists the keys that control the movement of the
pieces and bombs:

Control 1: Single Player

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Move piece left 4 A left arrow
Move piece right 6 D right arrow
Rotate piece 5 S up arrow
Drop piece 2 X Space down arrow
Left and down 1 Z
Right and down 3 C

Control 1: Competitive and Cooperative

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Move piece left A
Move piece right D
Rotate piece S
Drop piece X Space
Left and down Z
 Right and down C

Control 2:Competitive and Cooperative

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Move piece left 4 left arrow
Move piece right 6 right arrow
Rotate piece 5 up arrow
Drop piece 2 down arrow
Left and down 1
Right and down 3

TREASURES
~~~~~~~~~
Buried in the rubble are treasures. When a bomb blows up treasure, good
things happen, as described below:

5 adds 5 pieces

10 adds 10 pieces

15 adds 15 pieces

(Square in a circle turns into a bubble which moves upward, filling

in a square) all empty spaces with pieces, until it reaches
the water line.

(Circle in a square) turns into a bubble which moves upward,

destroying all rubble and treasures it touches,
until it reaches the water line

(Squiggle line) removes the line it's in

(Detonator box) destroys all squares, treasures and your other

bombs in a 3x3 area around itself

(Bomb) turns the next piece into a bomb shaped like

the next piece

(Line in a box) turns the next piece into a straight, blue,

4-square piece

The first three treasures give you more pieces with which to form lines,
thus giving you a better chance of finished the level. The fourth
treasure is valuable for filling holes to make more lines. The next
treasure eliminates any pieces overhanging holes, making it easier to
fill in the holes. Since the sixth treasure takes out a line, you should
always detonate this treasure. The seventh treasure destroys a large
section of rubble. The next treasure gives you an extra shot at blowing
things up with bombs, and the last treasure is the long straight piece
you always want.
COMPLETING THE LEVEL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a horizontal line disappears, one of two things happens in the pit.
If the line is above the water line, all squares above the line drop
down into the open space. If the line is below the water line, the rubble
rises all the way to the water line (i.e., if you complete the last line
of rubble), the level is won. Each time you complete a level, you will
be awarded a point bonus before going to the next level, where you will
be given more pieces to finish the new level.

You lose the level if one of three things happens before you complete
the level:

1. You let pieces reach the top of the pit

2. You run out of pieces
3. During a timed game, you run out of time

HIGHER LEVELS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As each higher level begins, the background art changes to another
scene from the Moscow circus, the depth of the rubble increases, and
(though level 10) the pieces fall move quickly. In addition, new
treasure types are introduced at higher difficulty levels.

MENU BAR
~~~~~~~~
The game screen also has a menu bar which you can use to change your
options and perform other activities while the game is in progress. When
you activate the menu bar, the game will pause. You can then click with
the left mouse button to select a menu option or you can press the
equivalent hot key combination.

About Credits screen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Game ALT G
New ALT N Aborts game and starts a new one
Abort ALT A Aborts game and returns to the game config
End ALT E Ends game with a score awarded and
continues to the high scores screen
Load ALT L Loads a previously saved game
Save ALT S Saves current game
Pause ALT P Pauses the game
Exit ALT F4 Exits to desktop
Options ALT O
Next Piece
Sound Effects
Music
High Scores ALT H
Single player
Single player timed Submenu chooses 5, 10 or 15 minute
Cooperative
Competitive

SCORING
~~~~~~~
Points are awarded for each piece that falls, for the speed at which the
pieces fall, for each line completed, and for completing the level with
pieces left over and for all the white space above the water line. Note
that points are awarded for lines completed, not lines removed with
bombs or treasures. The move lines completed with a single piece, the
move the lines are worth. In addition, more points are awarded if Next
piece is off.

For each line completed, you each:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 line 7 points
2 lines 14 points
3 lines 28 points
4 lines 56 points
more lines (number of lines x 15) points

Then the speed that each piece falls is calculated and multiplied by the
level. If you choose next piece off, the total is multiplied by 25%.

At the end of each level, you earn a big bonus, which is calculated by:
(pieces left x 4 x level) + (amount of white space above the water line
x level)

HIGH SCORES
~~~~~~~~~~~
When you reach the end of the current game, the game continues to the
high scores screen for the game mode you chose. Whether or not your
score is among the top ten scores, it appears below the high scores
list. If your score does rank among the high scores, a dialog box
appears. Type in your name, then hit ENTER or click OK to record your
score, which will then appear in the list.

Click OK to return to the game configuration screen

Click ERASE to erase the current high scores.

GAME VARIATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TIMED GAMES
~~~~~~~~~~~
In these forms of super tetris, you play with a predetermined time
limit, trying for the highest score in the time allotted. During the last
five seconds of the game, you will hear warning beeps or (if you have a
sound blaster) a countdown of 5-4-3-2-1!

COOPERATIVE MODE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this form of super tetris, two players share the same game, the same
score, and the same pool of pieces to be used. In cooperative the two of
you have 100 pieces to finish each level, instead of the normal 50. The
pit is wider than in single player mode - 16 squares instead of 10 - so
that two pieces have enough room to fall at the same time. Each player
controls his own piece, with both working together to win the game.

COMPETITIVE MODE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In this form of super tetris, two players compete on the same computer,
each with his own pool of 50 pieces, each for his own score. The pit is
wider than in single player mode - 16 squares instead of 10 - so that
two pieces can fall at the same time.

Each player controls his won piece, working to score points for himself
by completing a line before his opponent can. Each player can also keep
his opponent from scoring, by creating an arrangement his opponent's
falling piece won't fit or by using bombs to erase his opponent's piece.

STRATEGY
~~~~~~~~
Super tetris, like tetris, is both so simple and so addictive that
you're bound to develop your own strategies, but here are a few
different ideas to start you off:

PIT AND PIECES

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Since you only have seven shapes to work with, try to avoid
forming empty areas where no piece can possibly fit.

* If you get a run of pieces that won't complete lines for you,
try to stack them together on one side of the pit, leaving as
much open space as possible for later pieces to fill in.

* Be sure not to create holes on both sides of the pit or else

you'll have to fill in both holes to complete lines

* Use the diagonal keys to move a piece into an oddly shaped hole
that you couldn't ordinarily fill with just a straight drop

* Try not to stack pieces over holes in the rubble because you
 will eventually have to get a piece into those holes

* If you're getting near the end of a level and you have enough
pieces and time left, clear away as much of the pieces remaining
in the pit before you complete the level - because any leftover
pieces are carried to the next level and because you also get a
bonus for the white spaces above the water line

BOMBS
~~~~~
* Don't forget that you can move a bomb cluster after the first
bomb explodes

* Similarly, don't forget that you can rotate a bomb cluster

around its original center point after the first bomb explodes

* Try to set up your holes so you'll be able to complete more than

one line when you get the right piece. It means many more bombs!

* Use your bombs to clear your mistakes. If you had to leave an

empty space which then got covered over, blast the covering
squares away to regain the chance to fill the hole

* Don't use bombs to blow out squares below the top of the rubble
under the water line. If you have squares overhanging each
other, it makes it more difficult to fit pieces into complete
line

* In a cooperative game, if one player gets a bomb, it can be used

to blow up squares in the other player's piece so that the piece
will fit in the pit better

* One way to use a bomb wisely is in anticipation of the next

piece. You can blast away the correctly shaped space that the
next piece will fit in.

TREASURES
~~~~~~~~~
* Use your treasures to clear away any mistakes. Super tetris is
much more forgiving than tetris, so take advantage of that.

* Since treasures must be detonated by a bomb, don't forget that

you can also move a bomb sideways into a treasure as well as
from directly above.

* Going after a remove line treasure is almost always a good

thing. The only drawback is that you don't get any points for
completing the line

* At the higher levels, you definitely need to go after the add

 pieces treasure. Otherwise you'll probably run out of pieces
before completing the level

THE FINAL GOAL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* But the bottom line, so to speak, is to complete lines below
the water line. Of course, you want the pieces to fit together
well, but don't get too caught up in the jigsaw aspects of super
tetris. Or else you will run out of pieces because you spent all
of them making lines above the water line

end.