CHAIN REACTION v1.1 =================== Introduction ------------ Chain Reaction is a fun strategy game for between 2 and 6 players. Each of these players can be controlled by a human player, or by a computer player. Players take it in turns to add bombs to a grid of squares, taking new squares of their own or adding to squares that already contain their own bombs. When the number of bombs in a square reaches a certain level, the square will explode and shower the bombs in to each of the surrounding squares, changing any bombs in those squares so that they are owned by the player that caused the explosion. These explosions can cause other squares to reach their explosion point, and thus chain reactions of explosions can take place right across the board. The objective of the game is to eliminate all the bombs of the other players, so that yours are the only bombs left on the board. In addition, a large number of different level layouts are supplied with the game, each of which can be used to make the gameplay more varied. A level designer is also supplied so that you can create your own game levels. Full instructions on playing the game and using the level designer are available by pressing the "Help" key once the main Chain Reaction screen has appeared. Installation ------------ Chain Reaction will work with any Psion 3c or 3a, and may be installed on any drive you wish. Installing Chain Reaction is easy. Copy the file REACTION.OPA to the \APP\ directory on your Psion. Inside the \APP\ directory, make a subdirectory called REACTION. Copy all the WVE, PIC and DAT files from within the REACTION directory of the game archive to the REACTION directory on your Psion. Finally, create another subdirectory inside the REACTION directory called LEVELS, and copy all of the LVL files here. The directory structure has been stored within the ZIP archive, so installation should be a matter of simply copying the whole of the APP directory tree to your Psion. To create an icon on your system screen, press Psion-I ("Install Application"). Select the REACTION.OPA file on the window that opens, and the position at which you want to place Chain Reaction's icon. Press "Enter" and Chain Reaction's game icon will appear. To start the game, move the cursor to Chain Reaction's icon and press "Enter". History ------- v1.0. (10/9/1997) - Initial release. v1.1. (17/9/1997) - Chain Reaction will now function properly from a SSD disk. - Added new block type: ice. Any bombs exploding on to an ice square will slide across until they reach another normal space square. - Added new block type: pits. Any bombs exploding into pits will disappear without trace! - Added new block type: mirrors. Bombs that explode into mirrors will bounce back in exactly the direction from which they came. - Added new block type: teleports. Teleports come in pairs, and any bomb that enters a teleport will emerge from the corresponding teleport in the same direction that it entered. Up to 10 pairs of teleports can be used on each level. - Over 40 new levels to use with the game. Distribution ------------ Chain Reaction is freeware! This means you do not have to pay for it. It is completely free, and does not nag you for money at all. I retain the copyright for the game, however, and Psion Chain Reaction may not be sold in any commercial form without prior written permission from me. If you wish to include Psion Chain Reaction on any CD ROM collections, magazine cover disks, etc. please email me first. If you like Chain Reaction, please send me an email! If you really like it, why not send me a registration keyfile for your own shareware program? Chain Reaction is copyright (C) 1997, Adam Dawes. Psion Freeware Movement ----------------------- When I bought my Psion 3c some time ago, I was rather frustrated by the amount of software which was released as shareware. I've nothing against software authors trying to make some money from their hard work but I've always believed in writing software for pleasure, and as such, all my Amiga software is released as freeware. The Psion Freeware Movement is to encourage other programmers to release their software for free, just like Chain Reaction. If you're interested in becoming part of the Psion Freeware Movement, send me an email or simply release your software as freeware! Add the Psion Freeware Movement logo and some explanatory text as well, so others can follow your example. Contacting the Author --------------------- If you like Chain Reaction, have any suggestions for its future or have found a bug, please don't hesitate to let me know! I can be contacted as follows: Snail mail: Adam Dawes 47 Friar Road Brighton BN1 6NH England Internet: Adam@electrolyte.demon.co.uk http://www.electrolyte.demon.co.uk Fidonet: Adam Dawes @ 2:254/524.50 Also, please send your home-made Chain Reaction level files to me at the following address. I will include them in future releases of Chain Reaction and credit you in this document. pcr-levels@electrolyte.demon.co.uk Disclaimer ---------- I will not accept responsibility for any damage done to your system, or data lost, directly or indirectly, as a result from using this program or any of its associated files. You use the program entirely at your own risk. Of course if you *do* experience problems then I'll do what I can to sort them out, and please let me know so that I can try to cure them in a future release. Chain Reaction and its associated files are not public domain. They may be distributed freely as long as no unreasonable charge is imposed. They may not be included within any commercial package without express written permission from the author. Acknowledgements ---------------- My thanks to Jim Boutcher and Simon Thornton-Smith, who spent many a happy hour designing levels for Chain Reaction, and to Chris Phelps, who allowed me to use his flash disk in order to make Chain Reaction SSD-friendly.