  * FoX Beta *
     * By *
* Terminator_Z *
* White Shadow *
 * March 2001 *


Introduction
------------

It's been a long, long time since TZ and I started making FoX. Most of that time was spent doing absolutely nothing to the game, being lazy as we are. Other times have been spent working furiously. However, now we have progressed to the stage where the coding is virtually done...but the game is still far from completion. Why? The problem we have now is that we have 40 levels to design, and only 12 have been done. The plan never was to release the level editor publicly, but now I feel pressured to do so, since if external levels are not made for us then the game will take far too long to complete. Anyway, I decided to combine the release of the level editor with the release of a new demo of FoX, with four levels, one for each of the Jungle, Alps, City and Reactor worlds, so hopefully people can just briefly experience what the game FoX will be like. I hope you enjoy.


How To Play
-----------

Before you start playing, please run SNDSETUP.EXE to set up your sound card. (Please note, the NOSOUND option will work but it has caused LevTest.exe to perform an illegal operation as I exit it, but it may not for you. Also note that the sound is quiet, so turn your volume up loud!)

To play the game, run LevTest.exe. You will then be asked if you want to use a joystick/gamepad. Press 'N' or 'Y'. Next a slightly more complex question will be asked - whether you want the vertical retrace to be used. Basically, if you have a slow computer, such as a P120, then press 'N'. If you have a fast computer, such as a P2 450, then press 'Y'.

The next two question you will be asked are what world the level is, and the level file name. A table below will tell you what to type depending on what level you want to play.

Level			World			File Name
Jungle Level		Jungle (press 'J')	levels\jungle.lev
Alps Level		Alps (press 'A')	levels\alps.lev
City Level		City (press 'C')	levels\city.lev
Reactor Level		Reactor (press 'R')	levels\reactor.lev

Now you're into the game!

The controls are designated below:

LEFT ARROW	-	move left
RIGHT ARROW	-	move right
DOWN ARROW	-	crouch
CTRL		-	jump
ESCAPE		-	exit

Basically, the aim of each of the levels is to reach the transporter (a flat, grey thing) that will transport you out of the level! (Take note, some transporters will take you to other places inside the level).

However, there is more to FoX than that. Obviously, you can die, either by falling off the bottom of the screen or losing or your health points - you lose one every time an enemy hits you. However, you can kill the enemies by jumping on them. Also, in each level there are many collectibles. Look at the table below to see what you are looking for!

Drumsticks	-	only have relevance in real game
Money Bags	-	only have relevance in real game
Potions		-	three extra health points
Hearts		-	extra life (only have relevance in real game)
Green shoe	-	makes you jump higher: to use, crouch and then
			press CTRL (you gain this extra power until the
			end of the level)
Red			one of each of these coloured gems is hidden in
Green gem	-	every level. Try and find them all! (only have
White			relevance in real game)

However, there are other things you may encounter, namely laser barriers of red, blue or white that hurt you when you touch them! These may likely hinder your progress (as may a high wall that you need a green shoe to jump over). To make these "vanish" find the correspondingly coloured remote control...which look more like batteries. So, to remote the red barrier, find the red remote! Please take note that there will not necessarily be all three types of barrier in a level.

As a final note, some levels may have two exits instead of just one!


Level Editor
------------

The level editor is contained in LevEdit.exe. If you wish to use this, and play your levels using LevTest.exe, please consult the detailed guide that is levedit.txt.

You could simply make small levels for your own enjoyment, yet I am begging you to make levels for me, for the real game. Essentially, I am looking for jungle, alps and city levels (no reactor levels please) with two exits. The favoured size is 20*4 screens (for details please see levedit.txt). And also, if you submit a level, please do not expect it to be accepted in the real game. I have high standards, and want FoX to be cool!


Competition
-----------

Yes, it's competition time! The competition is simply this: find all three gems in each of the four levels, e-mail me and tell me where they all are (in detail, for instance, if you need a white remote to get to the gem, tell me where the white remote is), and I will send you ANOTHER level to play! I'll tell you this, it's a challenge...and I'm interested to see whether anyone will meet it.


Contact
-------

White Shadow	-	spmcaul@aol.com (competition entries here)
Terminator_Z	-	shadow@georgeg.force9.co.uk

And please visit our web site, http://fox.quickbasic.net/


SonicXTreme
-----------

At FoX we love platform games, so we hope you're giving similar support to JB as he makes SonicXTreme. If you're bored of making levels for FoX, why not make some for SonicX?

Visit his site at:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Haven/1631/qbasic.html


Final Words
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Thanks for reading this file, and downloading FoX. Your support is much appreciated.

White Shadow
March 3rd 2001
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