Viper readme files

README file for VIPER ... by PLGM Games
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
File Updated: June 13, 1996


System Requirements:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This program requires an IBM PC or compatible with at least VGA.
In general, faster systems will run the program more efficiently.


Key Usage:
~~~~~~~~~~
Arrow keys to choose direction of viper motion.
You can NOT turn back on yourself (180-degree turn)
See below for ADVANCED key usage.


Additional Keys:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[P] - Pause game
[J] - toggle joystick on/off
[Ctrl-J] - calibrate joystick
[F1] - Review this file (HELP)
[F2] - Display high score chart
[F5] - Toggle sound on/off
[F6] - Adjust game speed (Fast, Medium, Slow, Snail's Pace)
[F7] - Lengthen your Viper (for advanced players!!)
Shift-[F7] - Lengthen your Viper by 100 links (faster than [F7] alone)
[F10] - Quit game, go to menu
[ESC] - Quit game, go to DOS


Game Notes:
~~~~~~~~~~~
The object of the game is to maneuver your Viper around the
play grid, avoiding the walls, avoiding biting your own body, and
at the same time gobbling up the various treasures that appear
at regular intervals.

Each treasure you eat lengthens your Viper, making it more
difficult to avoid biting yourself.

Treasures score points based on your present length, minus
a factor for how long the treasure has been on screen.


Advanced Keys To Use During Game Play:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is an advanced set of keys that can be used to make
precise adjustments to the movement of the Viper. On the
numeric keypad, if you are using the 2, 4, 6, and 8 keys for
down, left, right, and up movement, the advanced movements are
on keys 1, 3, 7, and 9. These advanced movement keys behave
differently depending upon the current direction of the Viper.

For example, if you are moving up (by pressing the 8 key), you
may jig one space to the left or right by pressing the 7 or
9 keys, respectively. Similarly, if you are moving left (by
pressing the 4 key), you may jig one space up or down by
pressing the 7 or 1 keys, respectively.

At first the advanced key usage may seem overly complicated,
but you will find that as you get better at Viper, they will
be quite useful, especially when trying to perfectly "line-up"
to catch a treasure. It is best to experiment with the
advanced keys at a lower speed setting, just to get the hang of
them. Advanced key usage may be enabled and disabled by pressing
the 'K' key at any time during the game. The default setting
is 'enabled.'


Scoring:
~~~~~~~~
Whenever you pick up a treasure you get points according to how
long you are based on how many other treasures are on screen:

Other Treasures Remaining On Screen Points Awarded (x 10 points)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0 100% of your length
1 80% of your length
2 60% of your length
3 40% of your length
4 20% of your length

Additionally playing at slower modes (using the F6 key) will
award you fewer points as follows:

Speed Setting Points Awarded
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regular speed (Fast) 100% of above
Medium 50% of above
Slow 33% of above
Snail's Pace 25% of above


Internet Support:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact support@plbm.com for support via email. You may also check
the following site(s) for upgrades:

http://www.plbm.com
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/kw/kwd/games


Registration Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To order the full version of this game, send your $14.95 registration
fee (plus $4.95 per order for shipping and handling) to:

PLBM Games
PO Box 10342
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

You may also call 1-800-909-5701 to order using your credit card.

International orders call 1-714-752-8848 to order via credit card.

Include your name, address, phone number and email to ensure rapid
delivery.