Tautology by Reservoir Gods [web]
TAUTOLOGY
---------
A GAME BY RESERVOIR GODS
Tautology is a highly addictive game for the Falcon 030. Well I
would say that wouldn't I, but it happens to be true! Up to two
(count them) players can compete in this battle of wits. The game
itself is based on a coin-op that appeared in the arcades years
ago, but in the best Bally/Midway and Williams style, it hasn't
lost its charm.
The aim of the game is to clear all the tiles from a grid. Tiles can
be removed by matching them with a tilt of the same kind or a tile
from the same set - but its not quite as simple as that. To make tiles
vanish you must be able to draw a line across free space from one
tile edge to another tile edge whilst only turning two corners.
This line can go in any direction, but can only make two 90 degree
turns - for example it could go up, left then down or right, up then
left. It doesn't have to turn two corners - it could just go straight,
two corners is the maximum. If the squares are adjacent (not
diagonally) they can also be made to disappear.
If we imagine some tiles were laid out like this:
-------------------------
| 6 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
-------------------------
First we can match the 1's as line can be drawn up from the top
edge of the first one, right then down onto the top edge of the
second 1. Simply click on the first one, then the second.
-----------
| |
-------------------------
| 6 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
-------------------------
These two tiles will then disappear.
---- ------- ----
| 6 | | 8 | 5 | | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
-------------------------
Now another tile has become free, a five which we can match with the
five on the top row:
--------
| |
---- | ------- ----
| 6 | | | 8 | 5 | | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
These will disappear.
The 8s can also go as they are adjacent to each other.
-------------------------
---- ----
| 6 | | 9 |
|---| -------|---|
| 9 | | 1 | 7 | 3 |
-------------------------
Now the 9 has become free and we can match it with the nine on the top
right.
---- ----
| 6 | |------------| 9 |
|---| | -------|---|
| 9 |--- | 1 | 7 | 3 |
-------------------------
You are now beginning to get the idea.
Apart from the normal tiles there are two sets of associated tiles
which can be matched with each other stopping the clock for a short
time.
For example in the Shanghai set we have four different flowers,
each of these can be matched with any other flower from the four.
The second set is seasons, and you can match any season with any other
season.
It is a good idea to build up strategies and look ahead a few moves
before just matching the first available pair you see!
PLAYERS
-------
The difference between Tautology and its predecessors is that it has a
wealth of options, one of the most striking being the two player
mode. Using the Falcon's overscan mode it is possible to fit two tile
grids on the screen so two people can try for high scores or even
compete against each other.
Player one is controlled by joystick one or joypad 1, whilst
player 2 is controlled by joystick 0 or joypad 2. If you haven't
invested in one of Atari's joypads yet, do so as they're great! (And
you can play Llamazap - when it's released!)
CONFIGURE: TILES
----------------
The tiles are fully configurable, you can choose how many of each
tile you want to appear on the grid. Of course you can't choose where
they appear, but you can make the game easier by selecting a lot
of sixers. To configure the tiles, select CONFIGURE TILES from the
main menu and press fire. Then move the crosshair to the tile
whose amount you want to change. By pressing fire you can toggle
between having 0,2,4 or 6 of that particular tile on the grid. As
the grid is 16 by 6, the total tiles must add up to 96.
If you own a power pad, fire button a will add to the tile amount
when clicking on it, button b will subtract from it and button c will
clear it to zero. Also, whilst on this screen you can try pressing
the function keys for preset tile layouts, F1 being the hardest and
F10 the easiest. Press space or click on exit to return to the main
menu.
CONFIGURE: GAME
---------------
These options are mainly of use for those of you indulging in two
player games.
You can have two different types of two player games:
SEPARATE - Here you are largely oblivious to what the other player is
doing. You are just aiming to complete your grids regardless of
how fast your friend is completing his.
COMPETITIVE - You are racing against a friend to complete a grid.
The first to
complete the grid wins the round. Nailbiting stuff.
Tile layout can also be configured here.
DIFFERENT - Player one and player two have different tile layouts.
SAME - The layout of the tiles is exactly the same for player one
and player two, no-one has an advantage or can claim "it's not fair,
all I could do on my board was get check-mated!".
Time can be turned off if you prefer to pit your wits against the tile
structure not the clock. It is usually a good idea to do this in
two player mode as the clock is largely an irrelevance, it is your
opponent who dictates the pace.
BEST OF - This defines the number of rounds you play in a two player
competitive match. For example, the best of 3 would mean the first to
achieve 2 wins.
TILE SETS
---------
Tautology has two inbuilt tile sets in case you get bored (perish the
thought!). The Shanghai Set was painted by Mr. Blonde and is based on
the mah-jong set. The two sets in this are flowers and seasons
Nice Guy Eddie's set is totally original and very different. The
sets in this are fruit and elements. See rules for further details.
TILE SETS: LOADING
------------------
Tautology has the feature to load extra tile sets - you can even
draw your own sets! It looks for a file on drive A: name
'TFILE.DIR'. This should contain a list of all the file sets on the
disk. You can create this file with a text editor, but it must be
100% ASCII. Each filename should be separated by a return, and
there can be a maximum of ten on each disk. For example:
NICE_SET.TPI
ROUNDSET.TPI
Tautology will read this file and then ask you which set you want to
load. Press the appropriate function key to load it.
To create a tile set, draw it using HiSoft's True Paint using a
screen size of 320 pixels wide. Each tile is 16*16 with a black
line on it top and left borders. The first four tiles should form
the first set, the next four the second set. There should be 43
tiles in all. Save it in True Paint's .TPI format.
If you do create any tile sets, send them along and I'll send you
the latest version of Tautology plus the latest versions of my other
Falcon projects.
INFO: RULES
-----------
Here you get a brief resume of these instructions, it will also
display the two sets from the current series of tiles.
INFO: HISCORES
--------------
The top twenty best scores are saved to disk! Make a name for
yourself!
If you want to get in touch with the RESERVOIR GODS for any reason,
write to:
Leon O'Reilly
Cwm Cottage
Abermule
Montgomery
Welshpool
Powys
SY15 6JL
or email CMSLOREI@UK.AC.LIVJM.VAX
Have fun!
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