Star Ferret Deluxe

==============================

by: Jason Charrier and Andre LaMothe

REQUIREMENTS

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Operating System: Windows 95/98/2000 and DirectX 7.0 or higher. It may run on ME or XP, but I haven’t tested it on those. Because it needs DirectX 7.0, it will NOT run on NT!

CPU: I’m not sure, but any decent Pentium or equivalent or better should do.

Memory: about 7 MB.

Hard Drive Space: about 7 MB.

Video Card: at least 1 MB of video memory and DirectX compatible. It must support a resolution of 640x480 with a color depth 8 bits (256 colors).

Sound Card: any DirectX compatible should do (optional)

RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED

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-Any standard joypad or joystick.

-Stereo speakers

COPYRIGHT

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This program is freeware, but it would be really nice if you would let me know if you plan on using it in whole or in part. YOU MAY NOT SELL THIS PROGRAM OR ANY OF ITS COMPONENTS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WITHOUT EXPRESSED, WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR(S)! You are encouraged redistribute it, but please include all the original files that came with the distribution. In other words, you may steal it, but please let me know if you do.

THE MUSIC MAY NOT BE USED IN ANY FORM EXCEPT FOR REDISTRIBUTION OF THE GAME WITHOUT THE ARTIST’S (that would be me!) PERMISSION! Unlike the rest of the game, all of the music is completely original.

SUPPORT

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Seeing as that this program is freeware and still in beta, support is limited. You may contact me by email for questions about getting the game to work, but I can’t make any promises. Though he was responsible for the original game design and programming, Mr. Andre LaMothe is not responsible or (to my knowledge) aware of this distribution of Star Ferret Deluxe. DO NOT contact him for support! However, if you would like to visit his website, here is the address:

<http://www.xgames3d.com/>

My email address is at the bottom of this readme and in the manual.

General Info

============

This is my first Windows game. It is kind of a cross between Galaga and Asteroids. The core game is based on the code in Chapter 16 of Andre LaMothe's "Windows Game Programming for Dummies" book (which is really cool, by the way). Please see the included manual for more details about the story, controls, etc. This beta release features only 10 levels and a weakened last boss so that all you testers out there don’t have to play through all 20 levels that will (tentatively) be in the final release. If you’d like a version with all 20 levels and the last boss at full power, just let me know by email.

Installation

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If you got this on a CD, installation should automatically start when you insert the CD if you have autostart enabled. If it doesn’t start automatically, simply open your CD-ROM drive from My Computer or Windows Explorer and double-click the Setup.exe file. Shortcuts to the program and its documentation will be placed in Start\Programs\JKC Software\Star Ferret Deluxe. The installation program requires Windows Installer. If you didn’t get this on CD, you may need to download it from Microsoft.

Repairing

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The installer this program uses allows you to fix the program if some of its files are damaged or deleted. To repair the program, run Setup again and choose to the repair option.

Uninstalling

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To uninstall, either run the Setup file again, or you can uninstall it from the Control Panel\Add/Remove Programs applet.

UPDATING

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Any available updates will be posted on my website here:

http://www.jkcsoft.com or http://www.oocities.org/sfdeluxe2001

Note that I probably won’t post many updates unless I’m at school (and the T1 connection is working) or when I finally get DSL at home (which I’m hoping will be pretty soon.

OPEN SOURCE???

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This game is not currently open source (I’m thinking about it), but you may request the source code from me by email. If I get enough requests, I may make it open source. The code is kind of messy and parts of it are uncommented right now.

Release History

===============

V 0.2.1 (1/7/2001): This is the first public beta release.

V 0.2.2 (1/9/2001): Made some graphical changes (bigger stars, a few new graphic effects).

-Improved Zyvxes’ AI a little. They become a bit more aggressive as you progress through the levels.

-The Dark Master now will randomly turn around and run in the opposite direction instead of just going back and forth across the screen.

V 0.2.3 (1/11/2001): Added a dialog box at startup so you can choose whether you have a sound card or not. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SOUND CARD AND CHOOSE YES, STAR FERRET DELUXE WILL NOT RUN. /*(REMOVED AS OF VERSION 0.4)*/

-Changed the stars a little bit.

V 0.2.3.1 (1/13/2001): Added a confirmation dialog when you press ESC to exit. However this has produced an odd bug (please see below).

V 0.2.3.2 (2/24/2001): Fixed a Win2k bug with the stars in the Dark Master’s stage.

V 0.3 (3/9/2001): Minor text changes.

-New powerup: the speed up! You’ll get one for every 15,000 points you score. They look like bombs but they’re blue and have an S in the center. Be careful! You loose all of them when you die!

-New cheats for the speed up powerup!

V 0.3.1 (7/15/2001): Minor text and timing changes

-Tried to make the Zyvxes a little more aggressive in later levels. So far I've failed miserably. :(

-I think I’ve fixed the disappearing intro background bug, but I’m not sure

V 0.4 (7/21/2001): MAJOR interface change. The game no longer starts immediately. Now it pops up a window to allow the player to choose various options. To start the game now, select Start Game from the File menu.

-Some internal changes that you don't need to worry about. :)

-New song when the first window opens!

V 0.4.1 (7/25/2001): Some minor visual changes. Added a life meter, bar thingy for the bosses.

-Changed a couple of the sounds to bring the file size of the executable down some.

-FINALLLY fixed the Zyvxes AI! WHOO-HOO! :) They now become extremely aggressive in the last 5 levels.

-Added some keyboard volume controls:

PAGEUP: volume up

PAGEDOWN: volume down

HOME: volume max

END: volume min

NOTE: the volume controls do not appear and are not available if you disable sounds.

-finally fixed some mistakes in this here readme.

-I changed some more stuff, but I can’t remember what. Nothing major.

V 0.4.2 (1/05/2002): The first new release of the New Year! Yay!

-added a progress bar and % display as the game is loading

-re-synced the intro so it’s now the music and intro are synced in Windows 2k/XP (however this probably causes it to be unsynced in Win9x. I’ll fix this later).

V 0.4.3 (3/1/2002): -added speed options (Normal, Turbo, and INSANE!!!

-bug fixes to various things including collision detection, plasma movement, etc…

-other things I can’t remember right now but they were good/cool

V 0.5.0 (6/4/2002): -bug fixes to the game and engine

-you can now switch back and forth to other apps while SFD is running and it won’t crash! However occasionally this will corrupt the palette, so the colors may get kinda funky if you do this too much.

-removed the exit confirmation because it was causing more headache than it was worth. I’ll try to rework this later

-fixed some key repeat issues (invincibility cheat, infinite bombs cheat, and show/hide FPS). Press F to toggle the FPS counter.

V 0.5.1 (somewhere between 0.5.0 and 0.5.1.1): -palette bug from 0.5 fixed!

V 0.5.1.1 (1/28/2003): -change the name of my “company” :)

KNOWN Bugs

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-It seems to have a problem with some things running in the background when you exit the game. It may freeze when closing. I’ve only had this happen to me when I was running McAfee First Aid, but you should close any other running programs first if you have problems with it hanging.

-Occasionally for some reason the background will disappear in the intro. I have no idea why it does this and it’s really annoying.

-If you minimize the game window with Alt+Tab or Ctrl+Esc or whatever key combo you use, the game will crash. /* Fixed as of v 0.5 */

-Sometimes the window that asks if you’re sure you want to quit doesn’t appear. If it doesn’t, just type n to answer no or y for yes. /*Removed*/

-When running in Windows 9x, the intro and the music are synced. Because the Windows 2000 implementation of DirectX is a bit slower than Win9x's, the intro kind of lags behind the music in Win2k. /* Fixed in some version I can’t remember */

-And probably a whole lot more that I haven't found yet

BUG REPORTS

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If you send a bug report, please include your system specs (CPU type and speed, amount of memory, hard drive info, sound and video card info, etc.). Please be very descriptive of the bug and what was happening when it occurred. Please also include the version of Windows and DirectX you’re using.

Feedback

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PLEASE send feedback, suggestions, bug reports, hate mail, etc., to <mailto:jcharr1@bellsouth.net>