301 lines
9.3 KiB
Text
301 lines
9.3 KiB
Text
README.txt for "GalaXa"
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GalaXa
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version 0.1, April 22, 1998
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by Bill Kendrick
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New Breed Software
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(c) 1998
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kendrick@zippy.sonoma.edu
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http://zippy.sonoma.edu/kendrick/
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CHANGES
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-------
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Changes since v.0.0 (April 10, 1998)
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NEW FEATURES:
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* High score / High level / High hit-ratio tables
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* Pause has been added (press [P])
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* You can only shoot three bullets at a time. (6 if you've got two ships)
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* Cool explosion graphics
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* Planets in the background (starfield)
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* Asteroids (find out where!)
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* Sound effects (use "-sound")
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FIXED BUGS:
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* The left "Master" was in the wrong place. :)
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* Sometimes bugs would already be in place when starting out the first
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level of a new game. This has been fixed.
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ABOUT GALAXA
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------------
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GalaXa is Freeware. If you like it, please send your comments, a donation,
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a postcard, anything! See the "CONTACT" section at the end of this document
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to find out how to reach me.
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GalaXa is a space game based loosely on "Galaga," an arcade classic
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released by NAMCO in the 1981. GalaXa is an X-Window game written in
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C in my spare time.
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STORY
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-----
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You are a lone starfighter pilot battling the evil race of
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GalaXans, giant bug-like creatures who have been meanacing the
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peaceful inhabitants of your solar system.
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REQUIREMENTS
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------------
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GalaXa requires an X-Server with at least 4-bit greyscale depth.
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16-bit or higher color depth is recommended, but hopefully shouldn't
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be required. If you have problems running the game, please e-mail me
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and I'll see if I can help: kendrick@zippy.sonoma.edu
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INSTALLING
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----------
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To install GalaXa, simply type:
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make
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The "makefile" contains defaults which you may need to change.
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(Most likely, you may need to change the "XLIB" and "CFLAGS" to
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conform to your system's setup.)
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RUNNING
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-------
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You can run GalaXa by simply typing
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galaxa
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Some useful command line arguements are, in this order:
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display - for example, "$DISPLAY" or "computer:0.0"
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level - for example, "-l10" or "-L5"
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greyscale - use "-grey" or "-g"
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sound - use "-sound" or "-s"
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Some example calls:
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./galaxa $DISPLAY -l15 -grey
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galaxa home.computer.net:0.0 &
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galaxa my.server:0.0 -l3 &
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galaxa -sound
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etc.
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After a moment, a screen will appear with a count-down from 10 to 1,
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the text "ONE MOMENT", and a percentage bar.
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At this point, the game is loading all of the graphics onto your X-Server.
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Once the counter reaches 0 and the percentage bar reaches "full",
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the title screen will appear.
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THE TITLE SCREEN
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----------------
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The title screen will display the title graphic, credits, and the
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currently-selected level. Use the following keystrokes:
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[L] - Select the next higher level.
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[K] - Select the previous level.
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[Space] - Begin the game at the selected level.
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[Q] - Quit the program.
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[1] - Next title screen
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[2] - Jump to high scores title screen
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If you wait for a few moments, a number of useful help screens will appear,
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explaining things like what each object in the game is. The high score
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will also appear.
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If you wish to page through these manually (rather than wait), you can
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press [1] repeatedly to get to each screen, and eventually back to the
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title display. Press [2] to get to the high score screen.
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If you press [L] or [K] to change the level, and you are viewing a help
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screen, the title display will reappear.
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If you press [Space] to begin a game, and you are viewing a help screen,
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the game will begin.
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THE GAME SCREEN
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---------------
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The game screen looks similar to this text representation:
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_________________________________________
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| Score: 00000 Level: 01 Lives: 03 | <-- Game status
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| X X |
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| % % % % % |
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| | <-- Evil GalaXan aliens
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| & & & & & |
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| A | <-- Your fighter
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|_________________________________________|
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PLAYING THE GAME
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----------------
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Each level begins with you warping forward in space.
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After you've dropped out of hyperspace, the aliens begin coming onto the
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screen and taking their place at the top.
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Note: Some aliens are only escorts, and will abruptly turn towards the
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bottom of the screen and attack! After they've left the screen,
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they will not come back. Try to shoot them for extra points, and
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definitely watch out not to get killed!
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You control your ship by moving it left and right and firing bullets
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up towards the aliens.
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The aliens move side to side (or in other directions) at the top of the
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screen and occasionally fly down to attack you. They fire bullets down
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towards you when they're attacking.
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LIVES AND GAME OVER
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-------------------
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You start the game with 3 ships (lives).
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If you are hit by an alien's bullet or by an actual alien, you loose
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a ship.
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When the number of lives reaches 0, the game is over.
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Note: During game over, you can see your "Hit-Ratio." This is the
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percentage of hits to shots. (For example, if you fired 1000 bullets
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during the game, but only 500 of them hit, your hit-ratio would be 50.00%.)
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Press [Q] to quit from the "Game Over" screen. If you beat one of the
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10 high scores and/or high levels, or you beat the high hit-ratio, you
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will be prompted for your initials (for each).
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When the game returns to the title-screen mode, the high score screen
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will appear first, with your high scores highlighted.
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KEYBOARD CONTROLS
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-----------------
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THe keyboard controls in the game are simple:
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[Left Arrow] - Slide ship left. (Release to stop sliding.)
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[Right Arrow] - Slide ship right. (Release to stop sliding.)
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[Space] - Fire a bullet.
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[P] - Pause/unpause.
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[Q] - Quit. Return to the title screen.
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MEET THE ALIENS
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---------------
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There are three categories of aliens. (See the game's help screens to
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see what they look like.)
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MASTERS
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* There are always two, at the very top of the screen.
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* They look like flies.
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* When they attack, they are often escorted by the alien just below
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them.
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* When they reach the bottom, they sometimes fire a "tractor beam."
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If you hit this beam, your ship will begin spinning up towards
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the alien, and will be captured by it! See below for more info.
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* Masters require TWO shots to be killed! (They change color
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when shot the first time.)
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* Masters are worth 250 points.
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GUARDS
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* There are always five, making a row just below the Masters.
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* They look like beetles. (There are two styles of Guards.)
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* They often escort Masters down during attacks.
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* Guards are worth 100 points.
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DRONES
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* There are five or ten, making up one or two rows just below the
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Guards.
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* Sometimes they are bee-like, sometimes they are ant-like.
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* Drones are worth 50 points.
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SUPER-MASTERS
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* These are gigantic Masters which appear on every 10th level.
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* They require many many hits to be destroyed! Watch out!
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* Like regular Masters, they can capture your ship. (See below.)
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* Super-Masters are worth lots of points!
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GETTING CAPTURED
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If you allow your ship to be captured by a Master or Super-Master,
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your ship will be in their control! (It will appear red.)
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Note: You loose a life when this happens, so definitely avoid getting
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captured if you only have one life left!
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When the Master attacks, the captured ship will follow. If you can,
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try shooting the Master (but NOT the ship) while it's attacking.
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If you do so, the captured ship will be freed (it will change from
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red to white) and will fly down towards your current ship.
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When both ships touch, they will dock and you will control both ships
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at once. This provides both double firepower (you shoot two shots at
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once) AND extra protection (if one ship is destroyed, the other remains
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in action)!
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Note: If you destroy the Master while it is NOT attacking (sitting in it's
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"home" postion at the top of the screen), the captured ship will NOT
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be freed. It will instead take the place of the Master and fly down to
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attack you itself! It can even capture your ship, like a Master can.
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Be careful!
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FUTURE RELEASES
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---------------
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This is the first beta release of GalaXa. It's been released simply
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to find out what people think of the game.
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A future release will have:
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Challenge Stages
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More sound effects
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...anything else you'd like! E-mail me!
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CREDITS
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-------
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Original Concept - NAMCO, 1981
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X-Window Game Code - Bill Kendrick, New Breed Software, 1998
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Graphics - Bill Kendrick, with some graphics stolen off of
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numerous websites
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Sounds - Bill Kendrick, and many sounds from the original
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"Galaga" arcade game by NAMCO, 1981
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MAKE CONTACT
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------------
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Please send your questions, comments, suggestions and dontations to:
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Go Postal: Bill Kendrick
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7673 Melody Drive
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Rohnert Park
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California 94928, USA
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Phone: 1-707-795-1234 ext. 2 voicemail
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1-707-795-5678 fax
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E-mail: kendrick@zippy.sonoma.edu
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