Short: Based on Archer Maclean's classic Uploader: scramblesuit arctorb freeserve co uk Type: game/shoot Architecture: m68k-amigaos Amiga DropZone -------------- DropZone is based on Archer Maclean's classic C64 Defender-style shoot-em-up 'n' save-the-men. I found that it was the one thing I really pined for when my C64 died, and when I couldn't find any versions for the Amiga I was driven to learn a language and write my own. It took around two years (sometime in the mid-nineties) to complete, including distractions and hardware breakdowns (and nervous breakdowns and snack breaks). And now it seems to be the only thing I use the Amiga for, when I want a good, sweeping, hyperactive nostalgia-fest. Which is pretty much the reason I wrote it. Comparing it with the original recently, I was surprised to see how different it actually turned out. You see; I based it solely on my memories because I didn't have a working C64 to check with. Yes; the basic concept's there, and there're the superficial differences of the different coloured level backgrounds and different level-types and so on, thanks largely to the computer's increased capacity (and Archer's original was almost certainly built with better programming skills) but I think my version was infused with a spirit of nostalgic fun, coloured by all my other memories from the times I used to play it. And looking back, it's certainly much more controllable, much easier to dip into for a splash of retro-action; I wanted to give the player as much fluid, free control as possible to enhance the gameplay, spending a lot of time tweaking the various thrusts, gravity and elasticity factors, and then building up the characters of the supporting cast... I think it turned out a little closer to my dreams than I expected. And I'm happy with that. Note ---- It works well enough on my A1200HD, so you might want to consider that a base system for playing (I think it doesn't run on basic original A500s...) If I remember right, the program looks for a DropZone volume, so you'll probably need to create an assign to find it, i.e. 'assign dropzone: [path of your dropzone directory]' Let me know [if]/[how badly] it works at the email address above (Uploader:). P.S. This readme was written when uploading to aminet. Any other readmes or docs in the archive were written years ago so might contain out of date information. Any questions; just email me. Hidden ------ The cheat mode is switched on by pausing the game ('p'), then pressing right-amiga and help. You'll here a sound if it works. Various keys have different effects when you're paused and the cheat mode is on. For example, 'r' puts you in random level mode, and 'right square bracket' skips a level. Remember that you need to be paused when you press a key in cheat mode to get its effect (many make a sound). Pressing 'c' on the main title screen brings up the control screen. Use the cursor keys to make changes. 'Nouns and Adjectives' loosely refers to the dictionary which is used to create random level names. When loading, hold down 'space bar' for Scarecrow Mode! Or hold down 'o' for Original Mode which keeps a dark sky for each level. More Info --------- Read the AmigaGuide instructions in the docs/ directory...