OOOOO OOO OO o BD3 - Boulder Dash in 256 bytes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by o OO James David Chapman. OOO oOOOO Hello there, BD3 is my version of the classic game "Boulder Dash" for the 256k gaming compo. When I first completed a version of the program I was slightly shocked to find that it was twice the required size... I really should be getting used to cutting features out by now, but it still hurts! The code is not too badly optimised for size, though I am sure there are some still bits of waffle lying around. (Hmmm, that reminds me, I seem to have forgotten to eat anything tonight). Playing BD3.COM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you first press a key to begin the level all boulders which are not supported by earth will drop to the floor, this is your cue to move around the level trying to find your way to the flashing X home square. If a boulder falls on your head then you must restart the level by pressing the space bar, but if you make it to the home square the next level is displayed. There are 4 levels in the game.  Run in DOS, or a full screen DOS box in windows, on a 286 with colour graphics card or better PC system.  Use the cursor arrows to move your little yellow smiley face about.  Avoid boulders dropping on your head. Aim for the X home square.  Press the space bar to restart the level if you get yourself stuck in the maze, or squished.  Press Control-Break to finish the program. (Yerrk!) The Files ~~~~~~~~~ The program "BD3" comes with 3 files in its ZIP file. BD3.COM is the machine code. BD3.ASM is a complete and highly commented assembly listing, and this file is BD3.TXT. BD3.COM ~~~~~~~ I have tried to produce a game which was as similar to my memory of Boulder Dash as I could within the limits set. During the development, I have tried 3 versions of the program. The first displayed a screen map which was compressed into 100 bytes of data at the end of the program. This allowed for a designed map, which recreated the puzzels in the original game, but did not really have much long term appeal. The second version made version its maps randomly. This allowed much more space for features in the program, but the maps generated were either far too easy, or impossible, only 1 in 10 levels was interesting to play. This, the final version of the program combines the features of both the first and second versions of the game. The program uses its own code as the data from which to build the screen map. Initially, this produced a pseudo random level, however by subtly altering the order and encoding of the machine code, the level map could be altered to make the game more interesting. This method also allows for multiple levels, and ensures that the levels are the same every time the game is run. I am most pleased with the way the boulders move, my original version could only make them fall directly downwards, whereas now, they slip off other boulders to the sides. This adds a great deal to the gameplay. It would have been nice to have been able to add in the diamonds too. I was most irritated by the fact that there was no room left for me to tidy the screen up on exit, and that the only way to end the program is with the DOS break function, which is a bit smelly. BD3.COM Features ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Coloured sprites.  Cursor key input.  Boulders fall downwards  Boulders fall off boulders to the sides!  Boulders change colour when fallen.  You turn red, if a boulder squashes your head.  Key controlled Man.  Spacebar to reset if stuck function.  4 (completeable) levels! Program Licence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  I place this program into the public domain. Anyone is free to use, modify, rework, or re-release it, providing you credit me as the original author, and make no financial profit from it.  In return, you must accept that I will accept no liability for damage caused to you or your equipment by this program.  As FREEWARE, this program comes with NO WARRANY and NO SUPPORT. You use this program at your own risk. I still think a TETRIS compo is a good idea, maybe sometime in the future... James. [James David Chapman jchap@globalnet.co.uk http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jchap/]