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1 files changed, 24 insertions, 20 deletions
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--- a/NOTES.txt
+++ b/NOTES.txt
@@ -23,45 +23,49 @@ arcade game).
Deliberate differences between the Apple II and Atari ports:
-0. Turbo mode, in combat. See MANUAL.txt.
+1. Turbo mode, in combat. See GAMEPLAY.txt.
-1. The Atari version is noticeably faster than the Apple version on II+ or
+2. The Atari version is noticeably faster than the Apple version on II+ or
IIe. This is because it's written in C and assembly, not interpreted
BASIC. A IIgs on the other hand...
-2. "Press ESC for help" rather than ESC to start. Starting the game is
+3. "Press ESC for help" rather than ESC to start. Starting the game is
done with the space bar or return key.
-3. I made it possible to disable the sound, since it's kinda repetitive
+4. I made it possible to disable the sound, since it's kinda repetitive
and annoying, plus the game "freezes" while sounds are playing (no
threading on Atari!) which slows down gameplay.
-4. Added a way to change the background color and text brightness. Only
+5. Added a way to change the background color and text brightness. Only
4 brightness levels, but all 16 Atari hues are available.
-5. Prompts that only accept one character no longer require pressing Enter.
+6. Prompts that only accept one character no longer require pressing Enter.
Gameplay is more streamlined this way. Apple and Linux are inconsistent:
some prompts need Enter, some don't. In the Atari port, the only prompts
that require Enter are:
- naming your firm
- entering an amount of cash or items (but not if you hit A for "all")
-6. "We have 5 guns" is in an inverse video box. I think it looks nicer, and
+7. "We have 5 guns" is in an inverse video box. I think it looks nicer, and
it matches the "You can afford 5" inverse video box on the trading
screen.
-7. The + that indicates more ships offscreen is inverse video. I find
+8. The + that indicates more ships offscreen is inverse video. I find
that I don't notice it's there, if it's normal video.
-8. "You're ship is overloaded" => "Your ship is overloaded". Sorry,
- grammar nazi.
+9. Current seaworthiness is always displayed during combat, rather than
+ being overwritten with status messages. This is really important for
+ Turbo combat mode, but a nice enhancement for regular combat too.
-9. Updating the port status screen, and text printing in general, happens
- faster and cleaner-looking, due to using C and asm rather than BASIC,
- and also because the static parts of the screen aren't redrawn unless
- they need to be. (Grammar nazi? That's a run-on sentence...)
+10. "You're ship is overloaded" => "Your ship is overloaded". Sorry,
+ grammar nazi.
-10. Apple uses floating point, no practical limit on cash/bank/debt.
+11. Updating the port status screen, and text printing in general, happens
+ faster and cleaner-looking, due to using C and asm rather than BASIC,
+ and also because the static parts of the screen aren't redrawn unless
+ they need to be. (Grammar nazi? That's a run-on sentence...)
+
+12. Apple uses floating point, no practical limit on cash/bank/debt.
Atari currently uses 32-bit unsigned longs for cash and debt,
though the bank is now floating point. This leads to these gameplay
changes:
@@ -79,19 +83,19 @@ Deliberate differences between the Apple II and Atari ports:
someone plays the game long enough to earn billions in cash, he'll know
to leave most of it in the bank, not carry it around.
-11. On Apple, price of General Cargo isn't always an integer (e.g. 6.5).
+13. On Apple, price of General Cargo isn't always an integer (e.g. 6.5).
-12. On Apple, dead enemy ships sink one scanline at a time, and there are
+14. On Apple, dead enemy ships sink one scanline at a time, and there are
at least 2 sinking speeds. On Atari, it's one character (8 scanlines)
at a time, and the speed is always the same.
-13. When entering numeric amounts, the Atari Shift-Delete key works as
+15. When entering numeric amounts, the Atari Shift-Delete key works as
expected.
-14. When entering numeric amounts, pressing K or M inserts 3 or 6 zeroes.
+16. When entering numeric amounts, pressing K or M inserts 3 or 6 zeroes.
This means you can type e.g. 100,000 as 100K, and 10,000,000 as 10M.
-15. When playing on an 800, the standard Atari keyclicks will be heard.
+17. When playing on an 800, the standard Atari keyclicks will be heard.
Disabling these on an 800 is non-trivial. On XL/XE machines, they are
disabled to mimic the Apple version.