Nebulus v1.3 revision 0.45 Copyright 2004 by Geoffrey ANNEHEIM -------------------------------------------------------------- Compatible with all AMS version and PedroM. For TI89/TI89 Titanium/TI92+/V200. TI89 version is different to the version TI92+/V200. Nebulus is using the audio engine PolySnd v2.0 revision 47. History: -------- Nebulus is entirely conceived and realized (on a 8-bits computer in 1987 and on a 16-bits one in 1988) by a young English, aged of 24, John M.Phillips (who also realized Impossaball and Nutcracka on BBC and C64), formed part of the luminous and imperfect diagrams appeared on ST and Amiga (two versions which put its qualities best ahead). WHen it was released, Nebulus was unanimously greeted like the best game of the moment. The "rotative scrolling" programmed by John M.Phillips was very impressive, and computer magazines was keen on this splendid and innovative game. "Tilt", a french magazine, even gave him an award for its quality in 1989, and in United Kingdom the ceremony of the Goldens delicious Joystick Awards had awarded the game for two years, in 1988 (best original play) and 1989 (best programmer). In the same way, the commercial success of the game in England was rather satisfactory so that in U.K., Atari is interested to do the conversion to Atari 800/XE/XL and Atari 7800, under the title "Tower Toppler". The game was related to other several machines like version C64, Spectrum, Amstrad CPC... The game was an enormous success on ATARI ST and AMIGA versions, it made a revolution in the video games world while making discover new techniques of programming which will be included in the current games. A level of Rayman II pays homage to Nebulus with the famous tower. With noted that for the time to program such a game by only one and single person, in assembler language was quite a prowess! I am interested myself with Atari ST and Amiga versions, because of bus level graphics, they appear more impressive to me and more pleasant to do the conversion for Texas Instruments Calculators. More details: ------------- The action is represented as if the camera was permanently centered on the hero. The horizontal level is being never moved, and it is thus the tower which is turning instead. This rotative movement (accompanied by a differential scrolling of the background), represented by false 3d never seen apart out of the arcade rooms when the game was released, is an element of gameplay with a lot of possibilities, so the author of the game perfectly knew how to exploit and diversify the action, but also to make insane the player. At the beginning of each level, the hero lands on board of a submarine at the lowest floor of the tower, and goes up on platforms which is only the beginning of a serie of obstacles to reach the top. Staircases, moving platforms, springs and elevators are in the program, as well as corridors crossing the tower right through, which involve, when they are borrowed, a variation of the angle of sight of 180°, i.e. an apparent rotation of the tower of the same angle, and the following which one finds the hero on other side in an environment who was completely invisible before one carries out, and which generally holds nasty surprises. Because of course, of many enemies the course populates, which is not very dangerous in them same, but rather because owing to the fact that one is often confronted there by surprise. Some platforms are slipping and prohibit that one stops there, and as any movement involves the appearance on a side or other of a new danger, being hurt is a permanent risk. In addition, time is under countdown, so hurry up ! The level finishes when you reach the top of the tower. Then, there is a small "shoot'em-up" aboard the submarine. In the event of contact with an enemy or of failure in the sequence of the various imposed combinations of movement, the hero is not killed. He falls on the lower floor, this fall being able to involve others falls. If it falls into water, it dies (How astonishing for a guy who is living in a watery world and wants to destroy the only dry buildings of its planet...). Obviously, the higher you are, the risk that an error shows a series of falls until in bottom is weak. It results that at the beginning of the levels, and thus at the beginning of the play him even as the player is under pressure. It is an error of design which, coupled with the strong difficulty of the first level, could have been an originality touch but may be the principal cause of the phenomenon of reject that this game involved on many people. General: -------- You must have 80 000 bytes free in your RAM. It is possible to change the folder for the data files and it is possible to archive the neb_hsc file, generated by the game if the file does not exist. Archive data files to have enough RAM. Audio in game: -------------- It is possible to free 20 KB of memory by deleting the file neb_snd on your calculator. Nebulus uses audio numeric sounds and musics, 1-bit quality and simple sounds for MIDIs and introduction music. If you want to hear sounds, you must have an adaptator jack 3.5mm->2.5mm. Difficulty: ----------- Very easy = No time and start game with 7 lives. Flying object speed is very slow. Esay = Normal time and start game with 5 lives. Flying object speed is slow. Normal = Original difficulty, normal time with 3 lives. Normal speed for the flying object. It is possible to play the game with 2 players. Keys: ----- -LEFT = Move left. -RIGHT = Move right. -F1 + Move = Jump. -F1 = Shoot. -UP = Take an elevator or get in a tunnel. -DOWN = Get off an elevator. -PLUS = Contrast + -MINUS = Contrast - -APPS = Calculator off. -ENTER = Enter in menu or pause in game. I am not held reponsible of any crash on your calculator. Bugs: ----- It is possible to destroy a pillar from an elevator. History: -------- -Correct bug with Polysnd on TI89T. -Correct bug with the pause. -Add key ESC in the menu. Thanks: ------- Foxy for its help :o) Ti-Gen for supporting Nebulus. naPO for the splash screen on TI89. Web sites: ---------- Visit my web site: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/tisofts My @mail address: geoffrey.anneheim@wanadoo for suggestions or bug report. The Ti-Gen communauty: http://www.tigen.org Copyright (c) 2004 by Geoffrey ANNEHEIM