| 1 | Elite - The New Kind Release 1.0\r |
| 2 | -------------------- -----------\r |
| 3 | \r |
| 4 | Revision date: 22 July 2001\r |
| 5 | \r |
| 6 | This is release 1.0 of Elite - The New Kind.\r |
| 7 | For changes since previous releases see below.\r |
| 8 | \r |
| 9 | newkindb.zip contains a compiled version of the code designed to run under MS Windows 95/98/NT using the Allegro graphics library and DirectX.\r |
| 10 | \r |
| 11 | newkind.zip contains source code for Elite - The New Kind.\r |
| 12 | If you want to recompile the game then please note the following...\r |
| 13 | a. The .wav and .dat files are not included in the source distribution to keep the size down, they can be found in newkindb.zip.\r |
| 14 | b. You need the WIP version of Allegro to compile the code.\r |
| 15 | \r |
| 16 | The latest versions of the source and executable can always be found on the New Kind website...\r |
| 17 | http://www.newkind.co.uk\r |
| 18 | \r |
| 19 | To run the supplied executable you will need DirectX installed. Windows 98/ME/2000 and NT 4 (with latest service pack) come with this.\r |
| 20 | If you are using Windows 95 and you haven't already installed DirectX you will need to do so.\r |
| 21 | The DirectX runtime can be downloaded from the Microsoft website. (www.microsoft.com/directx).\r |
| 22 | \r |
| 23 | Two pieces of music are included in Elite - The New Kind. The Elite Theme and The Blue Danube.\r |
| 24 | The Elite Theme was composed by Aidan Bell and the Blue Danube was composed by Strauss.\r |
| 25 | I spent a long time hunting for the best MIDI versions of these pieces I could find.\r |
| 26 | To appreciate them properly you will need a decent Soft Synth Midi driver installed and set as you prefered Midi and Sound device.\r |
| 27 | \r |
| 28 | Keys you can use...\r |
| 29 | Press Y or N on the intro screen.\r |
| 30 | Press Space on the ship parade screen.\r |
| 31 | \r |
| 32 | F1 - Launch when docked, Front View when in flight.\r |
| 33 | F2 - Rear View\r |
| 34 | F3 - Left View\r |
| 35 | F4 - Right View when in flight.\r |
| 36 | When docked, Buy Equipment for ship.\r |
| 37 | Use up and down arrow keys to select item, return/enter key to buy.\r |
| 38 | F5 - Display Galactic Chart.\r |
| 39 | F6 - Short Range Chart.\r |
| 40 | F7 - Show information on selected planet.\r |
| 41 | F8 - Buy and sell items on the stock market.\r |
| 42 | Use up and down arrow keys to select item, right arrow key to buy, left arrow key to sell.\r |
| 43 | F9 - Commander information.\r |
| 44 | F10 - Inventory.\r |
| 45 | F11 - Options screen (Save Game, Load Game, Game Settings, Quit).\r |
| 46 | Use up and down arrows keys to select option, return/enter to select.\r |
| 47 | \r |
| 48 | A - Fire.\r |
| 49 | S - Dive.\r |
| 50 | X - Climb.\r |
| 51 | < - Roll Left\r |
| 52 | > - Roll Right\r |
| 53 | / - Slow Down\r |
| 54 | Space - Speed up.\r |
| 55 | \r |
| 56 | C - Activate docking computer, if fitted.\r |
| 57 | D - De-activate docking computer if switched on.\r |
| 58 | E - Active ECM, if fitted.\r |
| 59 | H - Hyperspace.\r |
| 60 | J - Warp Jump.\r |
| 61 | M - Fire missile.\r |
| 62 | T - Target a missile.\r |
| 63 | U - Un-target missile.\r |
| 64 | TAB - Detonate energy bomb, if fitted.\r |
| 65 | CTRL+H - Galactic Hyperspace, if fitted.\r |
| 66 | ESC - Launch escape capsule, if fitted.\r |
| 67 | P - Pause game.\r |
| 68 | R - Resume game when paused.\r |
| 69 | \r |
| 70 | On The Chart Screens\r |
| 71 | --------------------\r |
| 72 | D - Select a planet and show distance to it.\r |
| 73 | F - Find planet by name.\r |
| 74 | O - Return cursor to current planet.\r |
| 75 | Cursor Keys - Move cross hairs around.\r |
| 76 | \r |
| 77 | \r |
| 78 | On The Game Settings Screen\r |
| 79 | ---------------------------\r |
| 80 | From the Options Screen (F11) you can enter the Game Settings Screen. From here you can change\r |
| 81 | a number of settings that control how the game looks and plays. Use the cursor keys to select an option\r |
| 82 | and the Enter/Return key to change it. The options can be saved as default for future games by pressing Enter\r |
| 83 | while on the Save Settings option (NB this is not necessary if you want to change the settings just for\r |
| 84 | the current game). Game settings are held in the newkind.cfg file which should be in the same directory\r |
| 85 | as the newkind.exe file.\r |
| 86 | \r |
| 87 | \r |
| 88 | \r |
| 89 | Release 1.0 - Changes since Beta 3.0\r |
| 90 | ====================================\r |
| 91 | \r |
| 92 | - Rocks, alloys and boulders no longer stop you from engaging the jump drive.\r |
| 93 | \r |
| 94 | - Stopped tactics routine from being called while on the intro screens.\r |
| 95 | \r |
| 96 | - Ramming ships was causing little damage to player's ship. Now fixed.\r |
| 97 | \r |
| 98 | - Switching views while in space now switches stars around.\r |
| 99 | \r |
| 100 | - Moved all Allegro specific graphic functions into alg_gfx.c\r |
| 101 | \r |
| 102 | - Moved keyboard handling routines into keyboard.c\r |
| 103 | \r |
| 104 | - Moved file handling routines out of alg_main.c into file.c\r |
| 105 | \r |
| 106 | - Added screen to allow player to set the game options from within the game.\r |
| 107 | This means the player no longer has to hack newkind.cfg directly.\r |
| 108 | \r |
| 109 | - Tidied graphics routines and removed all references to HDC.\r |
| 110 | \r |
| 111 | - Fixed movement of crosshairs on chart screens so that they are clipped properly.\r |
| 112 | \r |
| 113 | - Added explosion, cargo cannisters and alloys to the game over screen.\r |
| 114 | \r |
| 115 | - Added escape capsule sequence.\r |
| 116 | \r |
| 117 | - Added option for instant dock vs. auto-pilot docking.\r |
| 118 | \r |
| 119 | - Fixed bug that allowed an enemy craft to launch multiple escape capsules.\r |
| 120 | \r |
| 121 | - Fixed asteroids so that they move slower and don't try to evade attack.\r |
| 122 | \r |
| 123 | - Added rock hermits.\r |
| 124 | \r |
| 125 | - Tweaked the tactics routine again.\r |
| 126 | \r |
| 127 | - Added limited joystick support (digital only at the moment).\r |
| 128 | \r |
| 129 | - Added beep sound when missile target is locked.\r |
| 130 | \r |
| 131 | - Added low pitch beep sound when missile is unarmed.\r |
| 132 | \r |
| 133 | - Added Energy Low message when enegry levels reach critical.\r |
| 134 | \r |
| 135 | \r |
| 136 | \r |
| 137 | Beta 3.0 - Changes since Beta 2.1\r |
| 138 | =================================\r |
| 139 | \r |
| 140 | - Fixed bug that allowed lasers to fire too rapidly.\r |
| 141 | \r |
| 142 | - The console was not being updated (i.e no of missiles) after a saved commander was loaded. Now fixed.\r |
| 143 | \r |
| 144 | - Added planet auto-select on chart screens ala NES.\r |
| 145 | \r |
| 146 | - Asteroid mining implemented.\r |
| 147 | \r |
| 148 | - Exploding ships now release alloys.\r |
| 149 | \r |
| 150 | - Fixed bug that caused enemy ships to only fire when at close range.\r |
| 151 | \r |
| 152 | - Thargoids can now appear.\r |
| 153 | \r |
| 154 | - Witchspace ambush added.\r |
| 155 | \r |
| 156 | - Anacondas now release worms and sidewinders when attacked.\r |
| 157 | \r |
| 158 | - Attacked ships can now release escape capsules.\r |
| 159 | \r |
| 160 | - Objects other than cargo cannisters can now be scooped.\r |
| 161 | \r |
| 162 | - Corrected condition indicator code. Was previously showing yellow even after danger had passed.\r |
| 163 | \r |
| 164 | - Added ability to pause game (P key pauses, R resumes).\r |
| 165 | \r |
| 166 | - The Cougar (a cloaked ship) can now appear.\r |
| 167 | \r |
| 168 | - The second mission is now playable.\r |
| 169 | \r |
| 170 | - Fixed bug that allowed enemy ships to fire from bizare angles.\r |
| 171 | \r |
| 172 | - Rewrote tactics routines. New code now based on NES Elite.\r |
| 173 | \r |
| 174 | - Docking computers now use full auto-pilot rather than just instant dock.\r |
| 175 | \r |
| 176 | - Space station now launches shuttles and transporters bound for the planet.\r |
| 177 | \r |
| 178 | \r |
| 179 | \r |
| 180 | Beta 2.1 - Changes since Beta 2.0\r |
| 181 | =================================\r |
| 182 | \r |
| 183 | - Added code to set legal status to clean and fuel to maximum after using an escape capsule.\r |
| 184 | \r |
| 185 | - Fixed enemy missile targeting so that other ships don't blow themselves up.\r |
| 186 | \r |
| 187 | - Fixed speed of enemy ships which were moving too slowly in previous versions.\r |
| 188 | \r |
| 189 | - Added game speed control option to newkind.cfg.\r |
| 190 | \r |
| 191 | \r |
| 192 | Beta 2.0 - Changes since Beta 1.1\r |
| 193 | =================================\r |
| 194 | \r |
| 195 | - Fixed bug in enemy tactics which caused ships to run away.\r |
| 196 | \r |
| 197 | - Set the max speed of player's ship to 0.30LM.\r |
| 198 | \r |
| 199 | - Added code to display version number on options screen.\r |
| 200 | \r |
| 201 | - Corrected spelling of "Feudal".\r |
| 202 | \r |
| 203 | - Enabled docking computers (instant dock for the moment).\r |
| 204 | \r |
| 205 | - Added hyperspace sound.\r |
| 206 | \r |
| 207 | - Changed code to display number of credits instead of bounty.\r |
| 208 | \r |
| 209 | - Set hyperspace count down to 15.\r |
| 210 | \r |
| 211 | - Added Suns, cabin temperature and fuel scooping.\r |
| 212 | \r |
| 213 | - Added left and right views when in flight.\r |
| 214 | \r |
| 215 | - Enabled use of Energy Bomb, activated with TAB key.\r |
| 216 | \r |
| 217 | - Changed scanner slightly, added code to display objects in different colours.\r |
| 218 | \r |
| 219 | - Fixed warping of stars in rear view.\r |
| 220 | \r |
| 221 | - Enabled Escape Capsule, use ESC key to abandon ship.\r |
| 222 | \r |
| 223 | - Enabled Galactic Hyperspace.\r |
| 224 | \r |
| 225 | - Added use of 'O' key on chart screens.\r |
| 226 | \r |
| 227 | - Added ability to find planets by name.\r |
| 228 | \r |
| 229 | - Added Windows icon created by Marcus Buchanan.\r |
| 230 | \r |
| 231 | - Added code by Thomas Harte to anti-alias lines and improve hidden surface removal.\r |
| 232 | \r |
| 233 | - Added option to newkind.cfg to enable anti-alias code.\r |
| 234 | \r |
| 235 | - Added the first secret mission, hunt the Constrictor!\r |
| 236 | \r |
| 237 | - Fixed equipment buying so that refund is given on existing lasers.\r |
| 238 | \r |
| 239 | - Changed colour of fuel limit circle from white to green.\r |
| 240 | \r |
| 241 | - Put some colour on the Local Chart screen.\r |
| 242 | \r |
| 243 | - Changed look of ship lollipops on the scanner to look more like the original.\r |
| 244 | \r |
| 245 | - Changed incoming laser sounds, one for hitting shields and one for hitting the hull.\r |
| 246 | \r |
| 247 | - Fixed asteroids so that they travel in straight lines.\r |
| 248 | \r |
| 249 | - Changed creation of ships so that the appear at more random locations.\r |
| 250 | \r |
| 251 | - Removed the Constrictor and the Cougar from the ship parade intro.\r |
| 252 | \r |
| 253 | \r |
| 254 | \r |
| 255 | Beta 1.1 - Changes since Beta 1.0\r |
| 256 | =================================\r |
| 257 | \r |
| 258 | - Fixed bug in load and save routine which caused the player to aways return to Lave.\r |
| 259 | \r |
| 260 | - Fixed bug in equipment buying screen. Buying military lasers for the side or rear view\r |
| 261 | would cause mining lasers to be fitted instead.\r |
| 262 | \r |
| 263 | - Renamed files to be all lowercase. This should ease ports to other OSes.\r |
| 264 | \r |
| 265 | - Removed #include of windows only allegro files from alg_main.c\r |
| 266 | \r |
| 267 | - Added #ifdef around use of GFX_DIRECTX in alg_main.c to allow compilation on non Windows OSes.\r |
| 268 | \r |
| 269 | \r |
| 270 | \r |
| 271 | Work in progress\r |
| 272 | ================\r |
| 273 | \r |
| 274 | The following features have not yet been implemented but are being currently worked on.\r |
| 275 | \r |
| 276 | - C64 Elite style scoring.\r |
| 277 | \r |
| 278 | - Trumbles (from C64/NES Elite).\r |
| 279 | \r |
| 280 | - View of docking bay after docking.\r |
| 281 | \r |
| 282 | - Loading of different consoles not yet fully implemented.\r |
| 283 | \r |
| 284 | - Enhance joystick support, i.e. use of more buttons and analogue control.\r |
| 285 | \r |
| 286 | \r |
| 287 | Known Problems\r |
| 288 | ==============\r |
| 289 | \r |
| 290 | - Bits of hidden surfaces on ships sometimes show through.\r |
| 291 | \r |
| 292 | - Buying more than 255gs of Gold/Platinum doesn't work.\r |
| 293 | It didn't in the original Elite either. Broken as designed.\r |
| 294 | \r |
| 295 | \r |
| 296 | Have fun!\r |
| 297 | \r |
| 298 | Christian Pinder.\r |
| 299 | <christian@newkind.co.uk>\r |
| 300 | http://www.newkind.co.uk\r |