REPTON 0.9 BETA by Matthew Shepcar (scabby@warzone.com)           22/10/97
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE!

    This is a BETA version of Repton and still has a few bugs in it.  If
    you find anything wrong with it I'd appreciate it if you could email
    me the details.
    
    Thanks
    Matthew    (scabby@warzone.com)

About Repton

    Repton was a game written for the Acorn BBC Micro in the early '80s.
    The original game was written by Tim Tyler and a sequel soon followed
    due to its popularity.  Repton 2 was soon followed by Repton 3, this
    time written by Matthew Atkinson.   Repton 3 was the first Repton
    game to allow custom screens and characters to be created.   The
    publishers, Superior Software, soon released new screens for the game
    making Repton 3 by far the biggest Repton game yet.   Repton 3 was
    eventually followed by Repton Infinity, written by Dave Acton and
    Dave Lawrence.  Repton Infinity included a mini-programming language
    allowing the characteristics of all the items in the game to be
    reprogrammed - no mean feat on a machine with 32k of RAM and a 2MHz
    processor!

    Now you have Repton for the TI-86.  It is basicly a conversion of the
    Repton 3 game but includes additional features allowing the original
    Repton 1 screens to be played.   All of the screens are direct
    conversions of the originals from the BBC Micro game and the graphics
    have been redrawn at a reduced size for the 2 colour LCD.

    Version 0.9 includes the original Repton screens (REPTON1.86S), and
    the original Repton 3 screens (REPTON3.86G).  Around the World in 40
    screens will soon follow.   The screens exist as strings so that you
    don't have to have them all on your calculator all of the time.   A
    total of 36 screens are included in version 0.9.

Installation Instructions

    Send the file REPTON.86G to your calculator to install Repton.  You
    will also need to install some of the screens to play with Repton.
    Send one or both of the files REPTON1.86S and REPTON3.86G to transfer
    the screens to your TI-86.

Running the Game

    To start the game, enter the following command:

     Asm(Repton

    or start it from a shell such as Aurora or AShell.  The title screen
    will appear and you can press any key to proceed to the menu.

    If you have two or more screen sets on the calculator then a screens
    selection menu will appear.   Select the screens you wish to play
    by using the up and down arrows and press enter to continue to the
    main menu.  If you forgot to send any screens to your calculator
    then the message 'No screens detected' will be displayed and the
    program will end.   I recommend you begin with the Prelude screens
    and then Toccata and Finale.   Of course, it's up to you.. :)

    Once you have chosen the screens the main menu and high score board
    will be displayed.  From here you can start the game, enter a
    password, choose a different set of screens or exit from the game.
    Passwords are provided to allow you to begin from any screen provided
    you have the password.   When you complete a screen you are given the
    password for the next screen.   Once you enter a valid password or
    select "Start" from the main menu then the game will begin.

Objective

    To quote the Repton 3 instruction sheet:

    To complete the game, you must carefully determine your routes
    through each screen in turn, with the aim of defusing the time-bomb
    by passing over it.  However, before the time-bomb can be defused,
    you must first:-

     (a) collect all the diamonds (including those concealed in safes
         or cages),
     (b) collect the golden crown,
     (c) kill all the monsters.

    Each screen has a time-limit and, if you do not complete the screen
    within the time-limit, the time-bomb will explode and you will lose
    a life.  Repton can, however, travel backwards in time because
    whenever a time-capsule is collected the time-bomb's clock is reset.

    Each screen comprises a series of puzzles.  Many of these are
    interlinked and you may have to solve a number of small puzzles to
    enable you to tackle a large one.  The puzzles may, in some cases,
    seem impossible -- but we assure you that Repton 3 can be completed.

    Rocks will fall if unsupported and should one land on you it will
    kill you.  You must also avoid the monsters, spirits, skulls and
    fungus -- contact with these is fatal.

    When an egg falls, it cracks upon landing and a monster hatches out.
    The monsters are killed by pushing or dropping rocks onto them.

    There may be up to 8 spirits on each screen.  They always follow the
    walls to their left until they reach a cage.  When a sprit enters
    a cage, it changes into a diamond.  A spirit may become dazed if
    you drop a rock onto it or collect all the diamonds immediately
    surrounding it.  This is to be avoided as the spirit will then
    move endlessly in a small circle.

    Watch out for the poisonous fungus which grows incessantly
    sealing your fate.  Trap it by surrounding it with rocks if you can,
    or you may never live to collect the golden crown.  [NOT FUNCTIONAL
    IN VERSION 0.9]

    Your route may be blocked by a safe.  If so, you must locate a key
    which will open all of the safes on the screen revealing a diamond
    within.

    Each screen may have a maximum of 4 transporters.  They cause you to
    be rematerialised at some other location on the screen, but each
    transporter can be used once only.

    Scoring:        5 points -- for collecting a diamond,
                   20 points -- for killing a monster,
                   50 points -- for collecting a crown.


    The rules differ slightly for the original Repton screens.  These
    do not include a time-bomb or a crown and it is not necessary to
    kill all the monsters to proceed to the next screen.  The original
    screens do not include spirits or cages either.  A few minor changes
    have been made to the screens in converting them to the TI-86 version
    including the replacement one of the rounded blocks with a skull.

Controls

    To move Repton use the four arrow keys.  Press 2ND or MORE to pause
    the game and EXIT to commit suicide.  Pausing the game brings up a
    menu from which you can adjust the contrast, display a map of the
    current screen, commit suicide, end the game or turn your calculator
    off.   The keys listed in pause mode will also work during play with
    the exception of the contrast control which is instead available from
    the + and - keys.   An emergency exit button, DEL, is also provided
    during play.  This will abort the current game and exit the program.
    The game will _not_ restart where you left it when you reload the
    program in this version (although that is planned for a later version).

The Map

    Pressing F1 displays a map of the current screen.  It uses smaller
    sprites and the sprites are the same regardless of the current
    character set (since the Around the World screens and others use
    different graphics).  You can pan about the map with the arrow keys.
    The game is effectively paused while you view the map.  Monsters and
    spirits are not shown making your task a little more challening...
    To return to the game press EXIT.

Status Bar

    The bar at the right of the screen shows Repton's status.  The meter
    at the left shows the time left to complete the sceren before the
    time-bomb will explode.  The number of diamonds is shown beneath
    your score.  When you have collected all the diamonds then the
    picture will change to a crown, monster or time-bomb indicating your
    next goal.   The number of lives you have left is also shown in the
    status bar.

Hints/Tips

    Some screens require use of the 'Repton Shuffle'.   When you are
    stood beneath a rock and there is a space to the side of you it is
    possible to maneouver the rock into the space thereby stopping it
    from falling beneath you.   This is necessary on Screen C of
    Prelude for example...

    You may find the sprites flicker, especially during scrolling.  To
    reduce the effect of this increase the contrast (press the + key in
    game).

    Use the map!!!  (Press F1 to view it).

    The game runs more quickly on new batteries and you may find you
    need faster reactions in some areas.  However, everything slows by
    the same amount and gameplay won't be affected a great deal.

BUGS

    This is a beta version and there _are_ bugs.  The fungus does
    not yet work at all. :(

THE EDITOR

    You will be able to create your own screens and graphics in the
    near future when I release the Repton Editor.   I am currently
    working on a version for Windows but I would also like to write
    one which runs on the calculator.

OTHER PLANS

    More screens!!!  Superior Software released three extra sets of
    screens for Repton 3:  Around the World in 40 screens, The Life
    of Repton and Repton Thru Time.   Each set contained 40 screens
    with 5 different sets of graphics.  So you can expect to see
    another 120 screens coming soon... (when I finish drawing all
    the sprites).

    A teacher (or boss??? :) key which saves your current position.

    The program is a tad large at the moment and I hope to reduce its
    size in the near future.   I also hope to implement some form of
    compression for the screens as they can be quite big too.

    There are many variations on the Repton theme that could easily be
    coded and I may release other games along the same lines as Repton.
    Perhaps the games included as part of Repton Infinity.. ie Robbo,
    Tracker and Repton 4.  I have no plans to implement the Reptol
    programming language, however, but I may allow custom code to be
    included in screen sets as Z80 ASM.

SOURCE CODE

    I have included the source code for the game for those of you who
    are interested.   There is much to be learned from it! :)

THANK YOU

    Jimmy Mrdell - Without some of Jimmy's ideas which he posted on
                    the A86 mailing list I would have been stuck with
                    several nasty problems.  Thanks to him also for
                    releasing the Sqrxz source code which helped me
                    greatly while I was learning Z80 ASM.
    Alan Bailey   - For the ASM86 package.
    Vikash Goel   - Repton wouldn't have been possible without Vikash's
                    excellent link software, CAL, which allowed me to
                    use a homemade parallel link cable to transfer Repton
                    to my TI-86.

THE AUTHOR

    I am a 17 year old studying for my A-Levels in Yorkshire, England.
    You can contact me by email at:

        scabby@warzone.com

    I am also putting together a TI-86 site where news of my progress
    on my games/utils will be posted.

    IRC: #ti-files and #ticalc on EFNET as SCaBBy.
    ICQ: UIN 1553355

    Matthew Shepcar

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
