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-------------------------- By Travis Fischer /Fisch\ --------------------------
---------------------------------- phishfud@elknet.net ----------------------------------
----------------------------------- February 29, 2004 -----------------------------------
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OVERVIEW:
1) Introduction
2) Requirements
3) Instructions
4) Hints and Help
5) Features
6) Credits
7) Disclaimer
8) Pictures
=============
INTRODUCTION
=============
This game is a clone of the well-known NES Excitebike dirtbike racing game. Gameplay in
Excitebike 68k is exactly the same as the original, as well as the Five built-in tracks.
This program was designed with the Ti-89, Ti-89 Titanium, Ti-92+, and v200 in mind, and the
same program should run on all three calculators. If needed, key information is provided
in the game itself from the main menu's Info option. Have fun with this game :)
==============
REQUIREMENTS
==============
Send the two Excitebike files to your calculator and type excitebk() in the Home entry line
to start. It does not matter if you send the 89 files to your 92+ or the V2Z (v200) Files
to an 89 (Unless you have a Ti-89 Titanium!). The program is designed to detect which type
of calculator it is being run on and the same program should run on all three calculators.
Just make sure that one of the files has a .z extension (ASM extension on calc) and the
other has a .y (ppg extension on calc). If you have a Ti-89 Titanium, you MUST send the
appropriate Titanium launcher (instead of the .z file). The Ti-89 Titanium launcher is
incompatable with the Ti-89, Ti-92+, and v200 launcher. Please note, that this program
has yet to be tested on an actual Ti-89 Titanium, but in theory, it should work.
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INSTRUCTIONS
=============
General:
--------
Race against one to three Computer AI Bikes, a Friend, or alone in one of Five Built-In Tracks
or a Custom, external track. Avoid hazardous terrain and hit huge air on over twenty types of
Terrain. Each track has a Record best time and also a qualifying time necessary for you to
take in the top 3 and qualify to advance on to harder races.
Default Keys (Same on all calculators):
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Up - Moves the bike up on the track
Down -Moves the bike down on the track
Left -Tilts the bike backwards
Right -Tilts the bike forwards (only relevant when in the air)
APPS -Pauses the game
ESC -Quits the game
Left and Down -When held in the air, it will perform a Backflip for a Time bonus!
Right and Up -When held in the air, it will perform a Frontflip for a Time bonus!
Calculator Specific Keys:
Ti-89 / Ti-92+ / Ti-v200
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2nd / F1 / Hand - Uses the slower gear for your bike, but it will not overheat you (Gas key)
Shift / F5 / F1 - Uses the faster gear for your bike, but it can overheat you (Turbo key)
F5 / F4 / F3 - Teacher Key, Quits the game Fast
Modes:
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1) Race - Choose to race in any of Five built-in tracks. If you finish in the top 3, you
will advance on to the next Round/Track until you do not qualify. You may also choose the
option of Loading and Racing on an external Track, which you may not advance from.
2) Multiplayer - Race against a Human opponent via the Link in a fast-paced one-on-one showdown!
a) Fastest Time - The person with the fastest time at the end of the race wins. Note, that
this may not be the first person to finish the race since you can do backflips to lower
your time. (default)
b) First to Finish - The first person to cross the finish line wins, regardless of the
other player's time.
See the Linkplay section of this Readme for more information on the Multiplayer mode.
3) Track Editor - Build and customize your own Externally stored tracks and then race on them
in either of the other two modes. Editor options include Creating, Editing, and Deleting
External Tracks. In the Track Editor, the currently selected piece of Terrain will Blink.
Pressing Left or Right will move your cursor in the corresponding direction at the top of the
screen. Press the Gas key to place a Terrain and overwrite the currently selected blinking
terrain. Press the Turbo key to accept a terrain choice and scroll on to the next piece of
Track. You can scroll backwards along a Track by pressing the Backspace key (this will Not
erase the track, it will just scroll the screen in the opposite direction). Be creative by
making your tracks challenging and adding twists to them.
NOTE - In Multiplayer Mode, only the Host Calc (the one to join the game first) has to have
the external level if you wish to race on it.
Two Player Info
----------------
Make sure that both Calcs have the Excitebike Files and that the Link cable is connected
firmly into both Calcs and then choose the 'Multiplayer' option in the Main Menu. The
Calculator which Joins the game first will become the Host, which, unless you are
interested in the source, really doesn't matter. Multiplayer games have been extensively
tested, but there is no way to ensure a 100% connection rate. There is a noticeable
speed difference in the multiplayer games because of the large amounts of data that need
to be transferred through the link each frame. If there is a Link Error, just try again;
most of the time it will work. If one calc gets stuck waiting for the other calc to join
when the other calc has already joined, there has been an error so ESC back and try it
again. If the problem persists, there may be a defect in your cable/connection. Check
again that the link cable is firmly connected to both calcs, and if the problem still
hasn't gone away, you may need to archive everything on your calc and reset it. Also,
don't think that you have to both enter the Multiplayer option at the same time because it
really doesn't matter as long as both calcs are running the Excitebike program. Remember
that when racing against computer or human opponents, you will crash if your front wheel
collides with an opponent's rear wheel. It is Very fun to play Excitebike with a friend
so go try it! It is especially fun to challenge friends with your own custom-made tracks.
NOTE - In Multiplayer Mode, only the Host Calc (the one to join the game first) has to have
the external level if you wish to race on it. Also, you may want to check to make sure
both calcs have the latest version of Excitebike. Linkplay in Excitebike is backwards-
compatible, but there is a rare chance that you may encounter connection problems if both
calcs do not have the same version of Excitebike.
Cheats
-------
After every race on Track 5 that your time is less than 50 seconds (with no cheats enabled),
a message will be shown, notifying you of a new cheat. You can enter cheats in the Options
menu. Each time you enter or reenter a cheat, you will either enable or disable it. If
you entered a cheat successfully, a message will be shown indicating which cheat you have
enabled/disabled. Cheats can be used in any game mode, but you will be unable to unlock
new cheats if you have any turned on.
==============
HINTS and HELP
==============
If you find Anything wrong with the game, you know a way to improve Excitebike, or you are
just lonely, your e-mail is very welcome. Please, no Spam or Junk e-mails. If you would
like to reuse a major portion of the source, please contact me first.
Hints:
-----
1) By either pressing Left or Right going INTO a jump, you can greatly change the type of
jump you will have. Pressing Back (Left) will give a shorter, higher Jump. Pressing
Forwards (Right) will give a longer, lower Jump.
2) Pull off Backflips Only on jumps that have steeper slopes. Even though you have more
airtime on some of the longer jumps, you will have less backwards momentum/pull to finish
your flip. I have found that Tall Bumps, both Monster Jumps, and the Large Bump Terrains
are the best to perform flips on. Backflips look sweet and are also the *key* to qualifying
on some of the harder courses. With each Backflip you perform, Three precious seconds are
taken off the clock, so get flipping.
3) If in doubt when taking a jump, just let the bike fly as it wants to. Often this will
be a slower method of travel, but it will be an easier time landing.
4) Lining your bikes angle up with the slope of the landing area. This will make your
transition from obstacle to obstacle easier and faster.
5) Try to avoid getting stuck in a group of same speed opponents as they can pen you in.
This could be the difference between qualifying, and being eliminated.
6) When designing a course, try to mix some harder challenges with easier ones to create
a fun course for all.
7) Run over Cool spots often so your bike will not overheat (Arrow marks on the Track).
8) It helps to learn the track's contents! Knowing where a cool spot is or whether or not
to take a jump a certain way will really pay off.
9) As in original Excitebike, Tapping Gas and/or Turbo while running back to your Bike after
Crashing will greatly speed up the process and get you racing much sooner.
10) If you are playing for a challenge, then multiple AI bikes are the best, but they will
slow you down. Every frame, the CPU has to update several bikes instead of just your one,
so you will Not possibly be able to finish a race as fast as you would without having any
Computer bikes.
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FEATURES
==========
Fast Gameplay *exactly* like the original NES version
Two-Player Link Races
Pseudo-3D look and feel
Five built-in tracks are the same as on the original
Grayscale double buffered graphics
Excellent, user-friendly Track Editor
Bikes have the ability to do Back and Front flips
Ti-89/92+/v200 Compatible (including Ti-89 Titanium)
Hidden, unlockable cheats
Game information/explanation included in-game
Runs Fast and Smooth on HW1 and HW2 68k Calcs
Customize your number of Computer opponents (Zero to Three)
Well Commented C Source Code included
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CREDITS
========
This program was written by me, Travis Fischer. The graphics and tracks are all ripped
from the original NES Excitebike. There are in-game scrolling Credits in the Info option
off of the Main menu. I really have to give the biggest thanks to the Programming Message
Board at http://pub26.ezboard.com/btichessteamhq. I visit it often and always find quick,
correct answers to my many questions. If you are considering learning to program in C with
TIGCC, then you should definitely visit that forum quite frequently.
I would like to thank:
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Thomas Nussbaumer
Everyone at TICT
The Tigcc Team
Nintendo (NES)
Open Source
Malcolm Smith
Zeljko Juric
Kevin Kofler
Sebastian Reichelt
Lionel Debroux
TechnoPlaza
Clawsonia
240-185 for the French translation
Mathiniste and Kevin Kofler for the German translation
and Cisco, my Cat
*And anyone else that I forgot
Beta Testers:
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Clawsonia
Angelboy
Jordan Krage
Kevin Kofler
Geoffrey Anneheim
AS
240-185
and Me, of course
(Cisco has not tested the game, due to his lack of apposable thumbs)
===========
DISCLAIMER
===========
This program may be distributed by any other organization for non-commercial use only. You
are free to re-use any part of the sourcecode in any of your FREE projects. I hope that this
game may help someone to learn C. Just remember to give credit where credit is due. This
game has been extensively tested, but in case it causes something harmful, I am in no way
Liable for what happens. The author expresses NO guarantees or warranties of the software
and/or the data files, either expressed or implied. If you find any other bugs, please feel
free to e-mail me at phishfud@elknet.net.
If you like this game, then you may also like to try Ice Hockey 68k, another 68k Calculator
game programmed by me. It can be downloaded in the archives at www.ticalc.org.
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PICTURES
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