Category : A Collection of Games for DOS and Windows
Archive   : KABOOM10.ZIP
Filename : KABOOM.DOC

/------------\
| TAG | Presents
| SOFTWARE | . . . . KaBoom 1.0
\------------/

KaBoom 1.0 is a game of logic, deduction, and skill. Little
chance is involved. You determine your fate. In the play
field you must find a number of bombs. You have a bomb
defuser and a bomb detector to help you. Your bomb defuser
is used by pressing the right button or key, on a square that
you believe holds a bomb. However, the bomb defuser has a
severe limitation, if you use it on a square without a bomb,
it sets off all bombs in the field. Your bomb detector will
do the reverse. Use the left button or key to use your
detector on a square which you believe does not hold a bomb.
However, if you use it on a square with a bomb, it sets off
the bomb (and all fused bombs). Your goal is to find all of
the bombs without setting any of them off.

KaBoom 1.0 features EGA/VGA graphics, providing a clearer,
more distinct display than is possible with CGA graphics,
while providing compatibility with a wide variety of IBM PC's
and clones.

Second, KaBoom 1.0 plays digital sound effects on your PC
Speaker, Disney Sound Source, AdLib, Sound Blaster, or 100%
compatibles. Additional sound effects are available in the
registered version.

Third, KaBoom 1.0 features replaceable graphics, called tile
sets. Two tile sets have been supplied. You will receive
more when you register KaBoom 1.0.

Fourth, KaBoom 1.0 features a mouse-like interface unique
to TAG SOFTWARE products. Three input devices (mouse,
joystick, and keyboard) are supported, yet each uses the
"point and click" style of a mouse. This simplicity of
operation makes the game enjoyable for everyone aged 3 to
100.

Finally, KaBoom 1.0 requires an IBM PC or compatible, an
EGA/VGA graphics card, and 400K of available RAM. A Sound
Blaster sound card and a mouse are suggested.

KaBoom 1.0 is distributed as Shareware: if you like the
program, please become a registered user. Print or list the
file REGISTER.DOC for registration benefits and more
information. Distribution of this shareware program is
encouraged.

The KaBoom 1.0 source code, object code, executables and
manuals on paper or on disk, are (C) COPYRIGHT 1994 by Carole
& Allen Grider.

DISCLAIMER

This program is provided "AS IS" and it is WITHOUT warranty
of any kind that it will work correctly in any or all
situations. No liability shall be assumed for direct or
consequential damage caused by the use of this software.
The only claim TAG SOFTWARE makes is that there are no
intentional bugs or fatal errors in any original copy of
the program that you receive directly from TAG SOFTWARE.

MANIFEST

KABOOM.DOC . . . . Text, Documentation (This file)
KABOOM.EXE . . . . KaBoom Game
KABOOM.OPT . . . . Options file
BUTTONC.IDB. . . . Graphics tile set #1
FLATC.IDB. . . . . Graphics tile set #2
EFFECTS1.SDB . . . Sounds file
README.DOC . . . . Text, Last minute information
REGISTER.DOC . . . Text, Registration order form
CATALOG.DOC. . . . Text, Catalog of TAG SOFTWARE products
INSTALL.COM . . . Installation from floppy disk

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution of this program is encouraged as long as the
following Shareware principles are observed:

All of the above-mentioned 10 files should be
included in the distributed disk and should not be
altered in any way. TAG SOFTWARE authorizes the
distribution ONLY of the 10 above-mentioned files.

If archiving this program for BBS use or library use,
please include all files and use the name: KABOOM10, (ie:
KABOOM10.ARC or KABOOM10.ZIP). This will provide
consistency for future updates.

Note Disk and Rack Vendors: Please contact TAG SOFTWARE for
the latest version of this and all our programs. Disk and
Rack Vendors are allowed to replace INSTALL.COM with their
own installation package. Also contact us if you require
customization. We will consider non-exclusive registration
handling agreements.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND OPTIONS

COMPUTERS: IBM/PC/XT/AT or compatibles. 400K free memory.
DISPLAY: EGA(128K), EGA(256K), VGA.
A Mouse and a Sound Blaster sound card are
recommended but not required.

OPERATION

The program will detect your display card and if it is
unacceptable, will display an appropriate message and exit.
It will also sense if there is a mouse, joystick or keyboard
attached by checking for and with the mouse driver, polling
the joystick, and defaulting to a keyboard. If you wish to
use a mouse with KaBoom 1.0, you must install your mouse
driver before running KaBoom 1.0.

KaBoom 1.0 stores your options in KABOOM.OPT. If this
file cannot be found, a set of defaults will be used. It
will be created the first time you change and save your
program and game options. KaBoom's graphics are stored in
the *.IDB files. KaBoom's sounds are stored in the *.SDB
files. KaBoom 1.0 expects to find both the *.IDB and *.SDB
in the current directory.

When the program finds your display card acceptable, it will
begin. You will see a title screen and possibly a menu of
input devices. You will get this menu of input devices on
the first usage of KaBoom 1.0. Select the input device you
want to use to play the game by typing the number of the
device. If KaBoom is unable to initialize the device, an
error message will be displayed and you will be presented
with the menu of input devices again. When the selected input
device (either by menu selection or by Option specification)
initializes, you will be requested to hit a button (for
mouses and joysticks) or a space (for keyboards).

Mouse Joystick Keyboard Function
------ -------- -------- --------
Left Button 1 Enter, 5 Detector
Right Button 2 Space Defuser

Then you will be presented with the play screen. From this
point on (until you exit the game), input will be mostly
from the selected input device. For mouses, either the LEFT
or RIGHT mouse buttons can be used on most clickable areas
with the same results. Only while defusing/scanning and
selecting the number of bombs is there a difference. For
joysticks, either button can be used on most clickable areas.
The joystick button 1 is equivalent to the mouse left button.
Button 2 is equivalent to the mouse right button. Finally,
for keyboard usage, the ENTER and the 5 key are equivalent to
the left mouse button. The SPACE key is equivalent to the
right mouse button.

We standardized on a mouse type-interface for all three
supported input devices. This means that you will be
presented with an arrow on the screen (called a pointer) and
you use the input device to move the pointer around. For a
mouse this type of operation is obvious. For joystick usage,
the operation is very similar to a mouse and if you
calibrate your joystick properly during initialization you
will have a good amount of proportional control of both
speed and direction of the pointer.

Keyboard operation is slightly different. Hitting a
direction key will cause the pointer to move in that
direction. Hitting the same direction key again will cause
the pointer to stop. There are eight direction keys. Keys 8,
4, 6, and 2 are the Up, Left, Right, and Down arrow keys.
Note that the extra arrow keys on Extended-101 keyboards
work properly also. The 7, 9, 1, and 3 keys move you on
diagonals. The 7 key (HOME) moves you up and left. The 9
key (PGUP) moves you up and right. The 1 key (END) moves you
down and left. The 3 key (PGDN) moves you down and right.
As mentioned above, the ENTER and 5 keys are the left button
keys. The SPACE key is the right button key. These are to
be used to select a clickable area. The whole idea of this
setup is that you can place your hand on the numeric keypad
and almost totally control the game.

Whether you use a mouse, joystick, or keyboard, the
operation of the game is similar. There will be areas of
the screen that are clickable. In the following
documentation, we will refer to buttons. Buttons are well
defined clickable areas that somehow affect the operation of
the program. Basic operation requires you to move the
pointer to the button and hit a mouse button, joystick
button, or a button key to invoke its operation.

When the play screen is displayed, you will see five buttons
across the top of the screen. These buttons are labeled
ABOUT, PLAY, OPTIONS, QUIT, and SCAN. The ABOUT button gives
you information about the program and how to register. The
PLAY button allows you to start a game, save a game, restore a
game, or see the high score list. The OPTIONS button allows
you to set the program and game options to your preferences.
Finally, the QUIT button allows you to exit the program. The
SCAN button is only active while playing a game in scan mode.
Its operation will be explained in the PLAY GAME section.

/-------\
| ABOUT |
\-------/

Clicking on the ABOUT button will cause an informative window
to be displayed. Clicking on the OK button within this
window will cause the window to be removed (and play resumed).

/------\
| PLAY |
\------/

Clicking on the PLAY button will bring up a menu. This menu
allows you to start a game (PLAY GAME), save a game (SAVE
GAME), restore a game (RESTORE GAME), display the high score
list (HIGH SCORES), or exit this menu (CANCEL).

/------\ /-----------\
| PLAY | | PLAY GAME |
\------/ \-----------/

Clicking on the PLAY GAME button will start a game of KaBoom
1.0 with your current option settings (see the OPTIONS button
below). Bomb locations will be randomly selected and the
field will be cleared. If you have selected the START ON
ZERO option, your opening move will be shown. Otherwise,
you will have to select a place to start yourself.

Engage your brain now! Using the information provided by your
detector (number of bombs around each square shown), you must
determine which hidden squares contain bombs and which do
not. Note that you can use your bomb defuser and bomb
detector on any square in the field.

In show mode, your left button invokes your bomb detector and
will show you the bombs around the selected square. If the
selected square contains a bomb, uh oh, KaBoom!, you lose.
Your right button invokes the bomb defuser. If the selected
square contains a bomb, it will be defused. If not, uh oh,
KaBoom!, you lose.

In scan mode, your left button invokes your bomb detector as
in show mode. Your right button, however, flags the square
for the bomb defuser. You may flag as many squares as you
wish before you scan. You scan by clicking on the SCAN
button on the top row of the screen. When you scan, the
defuser will defuse any bombs that you marked with a flag.
But, if a flag marks a square without a bomb, uh oh, KaBoom!,
you lose.

You can keep track of your progress by looking at the upper
right-hand corner of the screen. The number of bombs left,
your current score, the score for the next bomb found, and
the number of rounds used are all displayed here.

/------\ /-----------\
| PLAY | | SAVE GAME |
\------/ \-----------/

Clicking on the SAVE GAME button will save your current game.
You will be prompted for a file name to save the game in.
You can only save a game if you are playing a game.

/------\ /--------------\
| PLAY | | RESTORE GAME |
\------/ \--------------/

Clicking on the RESTORE GAME button will allow you to restore
a game previously saved. You will be presented with a menu
of saved games from which to choose. Click on the one you
want to restore, and then click on the OK button in this
window. Clicking on the CANCEL button in this window cancels
the restore. You can only restore a game if you are not
currently playing a game. When restoring a game, the program
options will not be restored for the duration of the game.
See the OPTIONS section for more information about program
and game options.

/------\ /-------------\
| PLAY | | HIGH SCORES |
\------/ \-------------/

Click on the HIGH SCORES button to display a window with the
current high scores. Click on the ERASE button in this window
to erase all the high scores. Click on the OK button in this
window to remove the window.

/---------\
| OPTIONS |
\---------/

Clicking on the OPTIONS button will cause the options menu
to be displayed. Clicking on an option will cause its value
to change. Keep clicking until you get the value you want.

There are two buttons at the bottom of this menu, OK and
CANCEL. Clicking on the CANCEL button will cancel the
options menu with no changes to any of your options.
Clicking on the OK button will cause the options currently
displayed to be updated to disk and affect the operation of
the game. These options will carry over from one invocation
to another, until changed.

There are currently five program options and five game
options. The program options are SOUND, DIGITAL DEVICE,
INPUT DEVICE, IMAGE FILE, and SOUND FILE. The game options
are BOMBS, MODE, START ON ZERO, DECREMENT and FAST SCAN.

PROGRAM OPTIONS

The SOUND option has two values, ON or OFF. When set to ON,
there will be interesting sound effects. When set to OFF,
the game will be silent. The default is ON. Changing the
SOUND option will take effect immediately.

The DIGITAL DEVICE option allows the user to select the
preferred digital device used to play the digital sound
effects. The settings are NONE, DETECT, PC SPEAKER, ADLIB,
SOUND BLASTER, SOUND BLASTER PRO, DISNEY SOUND SOURCE. A
setting of NONE will cause no digital sound effects to be
used. Instead the game will use the PC Speaker in a
non-digital mode to give sound effects. A setting of DETECT
(the default) will cause KaBoom to attempt to detect a sound
device at startup. KaBoom can detect AdLib, Sound Blaster
and compatible sound cards. A setting of PC Speaker, ADLIB,
SOUND BLASTER, or SOUND BLASTER PRO, will cause that device,
if one exists to be used. If DETECT has trouble detecting
your AdLib, Sound Blaster, or compatible sound card, use one
of these settings. A setting of DISNEY SOUND SOURCE will
cause the program to send digital sounds to a Disney Sound
Source plugged into LPT1. See the section NOTES ON SOUND
CARDS below for more information on Sound Cards/Devices and
what KaBoom supports. Note, if you have trouble running
KaBoom in your available free memory, you can set this option
to NONE and KaBoom will not attempt to load the digital
sounds, thus reducing its demand for free memory. A change
of the DIGITAL DEVICE option will only take effect at the
next invocation of the game.

The INPUT DEVICE option allows the user to select the preferred
input device. The settings are MOUSE, JOYSTICK, KEYBOARD, or
SELECT. A setting of MOUSE, JOYSTICK, or KEYBOARD will cause
that device to be used to play the game if one can be
initialized. If the device cannot be initialized or if this
option is set to SELECT, a menu of input devices will be
presented upon startup of the game. Changes to this option
will only take effect when the program is restarted. The
default value is SELECT.

Clicking on the IMAGE FILE option will cause a menu of image
files to be displayed. Click on the image file you want to
use, and then click on the OK button in this window.
Clicking on the CANCEL button in this window cancels any
changes to the image file to be used. This option may be
changed at any time and will take effect immediately.

Clicking on the SOUND FILE option will cause a menu of sound
files to be displayed. Click on the sound file you want to
use, and then click on the OK button in this window.
Clicking on the CANCEL button in this window cancels any
changes to the sound file to be used. This option may be
changed at any time and will take effect immediately.

GAME OPTIONS

The BOMBS option allows the user to set the level of
difficulty. The left button increases the number of bombs
(by ten) and the right button decreases the number (again, by
ten). The minimum number of bombs on the playing field is
50. The maximum is 400. Changes to this option will only
take effect in the next game.

The MODE option has two values, SHOW or SCAN. A SHOW mode
game gives you the results of a bomb defusing immediately.
SCAN mode allows you to flag bombs for defusing and get the
results (click on SCAN) all at once. Changes to this option
will only take effect at the beginning of the next game.

At the higher levels of the game (100 or more bombs), it can
be very difficult to locate a good place to start. Turning
the START ON ZERO option on will cause the computer to
randomly select a square with no bombs around it as your
starting move. Changes to this option will only take effect
on the next game.

With the DECREMENT option turned on, a defused bomb is
effectively removed from the playing field. All the empty
squares around the defused bomb square have their bomb counts
decremented. This simplifies the possible combinations.
Changes to this option will only take effect in the next
game.

Finally, when using SCAN mode, a scan of a very large number
of bombs can be tedious and slow (especially when the defuse
congratulatory sound effect is long). Turning the FAST SCAN
option on will cause all processing to occur, then the
congratulatory sound effect will be played once. Changes to
this option will take effect immediately.

Please note that any and all of these options can be changed
as often as you like. Use the OK button to save the options
and the CANCEL button to back out with no changes.

/------\
| QUIT |
\------/

Clicking on the QUIT button allows you to exit the game.
There are two buttons in this window. The CANCEL button
allows you to resume the game. The OK button will exit the
program and return you to DOS.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Sorry, you will have to register to get our tips and tricks
guide.

SCORING

To understand the scoring system you have to understand the
notion of a round. In SCAN mode a round is obvious, each
scan is a round. In SHOW mode, a sequence of bomb defusings
followed by one or more bomb count scans constitutes a round.

At the beginning of a round, the score for the next bomb
found is set to the total number of bombs in the game divided
by 10. It is incremented for each bomb found. So if you are
playing a 200 bomb game in show mode, your first bomb found
would score 20, the next 21, the next 22, ... as long as you
only used your defuser. So the maximum you could score for a
200 bomb game is (200 * 20) + ((199 * 200) / 2) or 23900
points assuming all bombs are found in one round. The
general formula is as follows:

(N * (N/10)) + (((N - 1) * N) / 2)

Where N is the number of bombs in the game. This scoring
method rewards those who try harder games (with more bombs)
and get the most bombs in a round.

NOTES ON SOUND CARDS

Creative Labs Sound Blaster

Creative Labs has issued several different sound cards - all
under the name Sound Blaster. There is also the Sound Blaster
Pro and the Sound Blaster 16. The cards and their differences
are listed below:

Sound Blaster 1.0 - The original. Mono FM. Comes with CMS
chips. 100% AdLib, GameBlaster compatible plus
mono 8 bit DAC 4kHz-23kHz / ADC 4kHz-12Khz.

Sound Blaster 1.5 - Same as above but they made the CMS
chips optional (CMS chips are required for
GameBlaster compatibility).

Sound Blaster 2.0 - Same as above but the CMS support was
dropped completely (Seems they weren't selling).

Sound Blaster Pro - Same as Sound Blaster 2.0 but adds
stereo support.

Sound Blaster 16 - Same as Sound Blaster 2.0 buts adds
both stereo and 16-bit support.

KaBoom 1.0 should work properly with all five types, but
currently only supports Mono 8-bit sound files. If you have
any problems, please let us know.

Various Sound Blaster clones have been produced with
different levels of compatibility. KaBoom 1.0 should work
with any Sound Blaster clone with 100% register level
compatibility. If you have any problems, please let us know.

Sound Blaster CONFIGURATION

An environment variable can be used to inform KaBoom 1.0 of
the information it requires to play sounds on the Sound
Blaster. This environment variable is set up by newer
versions of the Sound Blaster's installation program, but
older Sound Blaster's (and clone's) installation programs do
not set up this environment variable.

KaBoom 1.0 can obtain its configuration from the environment
variable BLASTER. The format of the information in this
variable is as follows:

SET BLASTER=Annn In Dn Tn

Where:

Annn nnn specifies the I/O Address of your sound card.

Sound Blaster 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0:
Possible values: 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260
Factory Default: 220 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Sound Blaster Pro:
Possible values: 220, 240
Factory Default: 220 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Sound Blaster 16:
Possible values: 220, 240, 260, 280
Factory Default: 220 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

In n specifies the IRQ of your sound card.

Sound Blaster 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0:
Possible values: 2, 3, 5, 7
Factory Default: 7 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Sound Blaster Pro
Possible values: 2, 5, 7, 10
Factory Default: 7 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Sound Blaster 16
Possible values: 2, 5, 7, 10
Factory Default: 5 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Dn n specifies the 8-bit DMA Channel used by your sound card.

Sound Blaster 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0:
Possible values: 1
Factory Default: 1 (not changable)

Sound Blaster Pro
Possible values: 0, 1, 3
Factory Default: 1

Sound Blaster 16
Possible values: 0, 1, 3
Factory Default: 1 (not changable)

Note that KaBoom 1.0 only supports DMA channel 1.

Tn n specifies the Type of your sound card.
See above for more information.
Possible values:
1 Sound Blaster 1.0 or 1.5
2 Sound Blaster Pro
3 Sound Blaster 2.0
6 Sound Blaster 16
Currently KaBoom 1.0 does nothing with this value.

For a Sound Blaster just out of the box (before you muck with
the jumpers) use:

SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 T1

or:

SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 T3

For a Sound Blaster 1.5 (what we have) on IRQ 5 (like us, most
people have a printer on IRQ 7):

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T1

The Sound Blaster Pro and Sound Blaster 16 supports
additional DMA Channels. However, KaBoom 1.0 does
not support the additional DMA Channels. If your card's
configuration fits the ranges given above, then KaBoom 1.0
should work. If you have problems, please contact us.

KaBoom has the ability to auto-detect the Sound Blaster and
its I/O Address and IRQ without the BLASTER environment
variable. But, if it has trouble (please let us know) you
can set the BLASTER environment variable to get around the
problem.

AdLib Personal Computer Music System

AdLib produced the first sound card with 9 FM voices. But,
it has no direct digital audio support. We have come up with
an algorithm that allows playing of digital audio sound files
on the AdLib with surprisingly good results.

Disney Sound Source

The Disney Sound Source is a parallel port Digital to Analog
Converter (DAC). Currently KaBoom 1.0 only supports this
device when it is connected to LPT1 (the first parallel
port). The sounds that came with ours were really grotty and
are not representive of the really good digital sound this
device can produce.

PC Speaker

The PC's speaker is a truly amazing beast. Originally
designed to only produce beeps and simple tones, it can
actually perform an amazing range of sounds. However, one
has to have a speaker with sufficient volume to be heard. On
our 16Mhz machine, the speaker is buried behind a solid front
and is not loud enough. On our 25Mhz, on the other hand, the
speaker's sound is quite acceptable.

DOCUMENTATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

If you have a printer, please print out and read the
documentation file KABOOM.DOC.

There are many people who have helped us in one way or
another. First, to our children, Douglas and Christopher,
thank you for acting as testers and for being willing to
let Daddy use the computer when they wanted to play games.

Second, thanks to our friends for their many suggestions and
comments. In particular, we would like to thank Paul
Barbieri for his time and patience. Thanks also to Alan Dowd
for acting as a tester and for his many suggestions.

FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

We have been working on AdLib/SoundBlaster music support but
it is not ready for this release. Expect it in future
versions.

Expect many more graphics tile sets to become available. We
are currently searching for Klingon, Romulan, Faringi,
Bajorin, Tolkien Elven, Tolkien Dwarvish, Japanese, Chinese,
Greek, ... actually any number expression set that is non
Arabic.

Expect many more sound sets to become available. We
constantly comb BBS's and the Internet for sounds (mainly for
our catalog of sounds). Is anyone interested in putting their
own sound set together? We could offer a registration option
that would include the tools and documentation required to
put together your own sound sets.

REGISTRATION BENEFITS

KaBoom 1.0 is distributed as Shareware: if you like the
program, please become a registered user by sending $20 to
TAG SOFTWARE. List or print the file REGISTER.DOC for more
information.

- You will receive the latest registered version of this
program.

- More graphic tile sets and more digital sound sets.

- A printed tips and tricks guide.

- Technical Support. Please write TAG SOFTWARE. Or you
can contact us through the Programmer's Corner BBS at
301-596-7692 or 410-995-6873, send messages to ALLEN GRIDER.
Or email on the Internet to [email protected].

- Registered users receive special deals on new shareware
from TAG SOFTWARE.