TUMBLEBUGS 1.08 Copyright 2005 Wildfire Studios Pty. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 28th April 2005 README System requirements =================== Minimum: Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP Pentium II 400 Mhz 64Mb RAM 3D accelerated video DirectX 7 Recommended: Pentium III 128Mb RAM 32Mb AGP 3D accelerator How to play =========== The Evil Black Bug Empire is spreading from one backyard to the next, enslaving the friendly Tumblebugs, and threatening to take over the entire neighbourhood! As the heroic Tumble, you must free your friends from captivity before they're taken underground, never to be heard from again... Tumblebugs can be played in Story Mode, or in Time Trial mode. Click on "Start Game" to launch the Story Mode, and once you are experienced with the game, you can move on to Time Trial Mode to really test your skills. Creating a Profile ------------------ You will need to enter your name on the first time you play Tumblebugs, so that your progress and high scores can be automatically saved in your profile. You can create extra profiles if there is more than one person playing Tumblebugs on the same computer, so that your scores and progress are kept separate. Simply click on the words "Not you? Click here" in the main menu and then add a new name, or select an existing one. Starting a Game --------------- Tumblebugs has a choice of Story Mode or Time Trial Mode. Story Mode is the best choice to start with. There are four backyards where the Black Bugs have taken control, and a total of 12 levels. The level selection screen shows all of the levels you have unlocked so far. Each round is numbered to show where you are up to, for example, if you're on 3-2, this is the second round on level 3. Time Trial mode is a test to see how long you can last on your favourite map, while the difficulty is gradually increased. You can choose from all of the maps you have unlocked in Story Mode - as you get further through the game in Story Mode, new maps will unlock in Time Trial Mode. Options ------- The Options are accessible from the main menu, or by clicking on the Menu button when you are playing the game. * Music Volume * Sound Effects Volume Drag these slider bars to set the volume to suit your own. * Renderer This selects which display driver is used for the game. You should only change this setting if you recognise the options. * Size Tumblebugs offers a range of screen resolutions. You can choose a higher screen size, which will make the game graphics look sharper (though too high may cause the game to slow down). You can also try reducing this option if the game is running too slowly for you. * Fullscreen When this is checked, Tumblebugs will display using the entire screen. When it's not checked, the game plays in a window, on your normal Windows desktop. * Vertical Sync This is an advanced feature; only change this from the default setting if you recognise the option. * 32-bit color When checked, this option will improve the quality of the graphics noticeably, though not all computers can use it. You can test this setting on your computer, and select the option which gives the best result for you. Controls -------- Point your mouse cursor anywhere on the map and left click to have Tumble launch a bug toward the cursor. Right click your mouse to rotate through the three bugs which are shown on Tumble's back. The menu and options can be accessed by clicking the Menu button in the top right corner of the screen when playing. On some rounds, you can switch between two spots on the map to launch from. Although you can switch positions using the mouse, by shooting the blue switch-spheres, many people find it faster and easier to use the Space bar to change. You can hit P at any time during play to Pause the game. Objective --------- You must free all of the captured Tumblebugs before they are pushed into the underground lairs of the Black Bugs. If any of the captured bugs reach the lair, you lose a life. You can free bugs simply by launching a helper bug at the captives, to create a group of three or more of the same color. Beware, if you launch a bug and don't create a group of three, the bug becomes stuck itself and must then be freed as well. Completion Bar -------------- At the top of the screen, there is a percentage indicator, and bar which gradually fills up green as you play the round. When the bar reaches 100% complete, no new bugs will be captured on that round, and the Black Bug pusher comes out to herd his captives into the lair. At the same time, the Superbug will come out and zoom along the queue, freeing a number of bugs to help you reach your goal. Once the Black Bug pusher is on the screen, he can be stunned briefly if you free the bug he is pushing on directly. This is very helpful in slowing down his progress toward the lair. Powerups -------- From time to time, Powerup indicators will appear on some bugs in the queue. Completing the group while the Powerup is active will collect that Powerup. If you don't collect it, the Powerup will eventually begin to flash more quickly, and then disappear. The available types of Powerups are: * Rewind: the Tumblebugs are briefly able to push back against their captors and move away from the lair. * Fast Forward: bugs move more quickly toward the lair, but 500 points is scored which can help a great deal with reaching 100% complete. * Stop: the bugs stop moving forward briefly, making shots easier. * Ballistic Bugs: for a limited time, you can launch bugs right over the top of queue, to reach the bugs at the rear which were previously impossible to get to. * Wild Bugs: these multi-colored bugs match with any color they touch, even two at once! * Star Bug: can bust through several lines of bugs, freeing each one it touches. Very useful for collecting other powerups! * Blossom Bug: bugs are freed all at once in a circle around the powerup. * Color Burst: in a circle surrounding the powerup, bugs are all changed to the same color. * E-X-T-R-A Letters: collect all of the letters to spell out EXTRA to be awarded an extra life Scoring ------- The first extra life is awarded at 25,000 points, and with each extra life you are awarded based on your your score, the amount you must achieve for the next extra life increases by 25,000. For example: Extra lives awarded at: 25,000 (+50,000) 75,000 (+75,000) 150,000 (+100,000) 250,000 (+125,000) 375,000 (+150,000) etc. Extra lives can also be gained by spelling out the word EXTRA with letters collected from Powerups. Each Tumblebug freed from captivity scores 10 points. When you free groups of bugs in a row, with each shot freeing at least one group, this scores a chain bonus. The bonus is awarded from the third shot in a row onwards, and is scored according to how many shots you get - the longer the in-a-row sequence, the higher the score. The chain bonus goes up by 20 points each time. If you have a bug color at the launcher that is no use to you at that moment, you can discard it without ruining the in-a-row count, as long as it is not added to the queue of captive bugs - discard it off the edge of the map or by striking a solid object. If more than one group of bugs are freed as the result of a single shot, this scores a combo. The first combo is awarded 150 points, and each subsequent combo increases the score by 150 points. If you manage to create a temporary gap in the queue of bugs, and then launch through the gap to create a group, a gap bonus is awarded. The score depends on the size of the gap - the smaller the gap, the better the score. Scores range from 30 to 300. Powerups also score a small number of extra points, but the Fast Forward powerup can be very handy, scoring 500 points each time. At the end of the round, a bonus score is given based on how far from the underground lair you completed freeing all the bugs. From the point where the Black Bug was splatted, 75 points are awarded for each bug-length, until the position of the final captive Tumblebug is reached. From that point to the lair 30 points per bug-length are awarded. You can maximise your bonus points by separating the Black Bug pusher from the head front of the bug queue when completing the round - the further out in front of the Black Bug the first bug is, the bigger the bonus. There is also a bonus score given for beating the goal time on the round, of 200 points per second. Troubleshooting =============== Tumblebugs has undergone extensive testing on a wide range of computer systems; however due to the vast number of hardware and software combinations in existence it is almost inevitable that the game will not work as expected with some. In many cases problems can be fixed by: 1) Installing the latest version of DirectX, from: http://www.microsoft.com/directx 2) Installing the latest drivers from your video card manufacturer's web site (eg www.ati.com or www.nvidia.com) To find out your card manufacturer: (In Windows 98, ME, 2000) Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Display -> Settings (In Windows XP) Click Start -> Control Panel -> Display -> Settings Look for "Display: XXX on YYY" where YYY is the make and model of your video card. Using this information, locate your video card manufacturer on the web and download their latest drivers. Contacting Technical Support ============================ If you are still having technical difficulties with the game, please contact the technical support via the website where you made your purchase. Credits ======= Engine programming: Darren Baker Game progra...
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