==========================RITUAL COMBAT - Alpha 0.31.==========================


Original engine code:R.E.Lope
Coding:Dean Janjic a.k.a. Lachie Dazdarian & R.E.Lope
Graphic:Lachie Dazdarian     
Fonts used in story:Adigun Polack 

Introducing:
------------
Ritual Combat is one screen,platform battle game.
Up to 3 warriors will fight in one screen areans.They will have different
characteristics from speed,jump height,begining amount of energy and mana.

The Game:
---------
Each warrior has a short range weapon and one speacial ability which
he uses according to his amount of mana(from 1 to 6 times per
fight,all depends on the character).
Chance to hit the opponent with short range weapon is 50/50 in one
swing so there is a chance that you miss.If i didn't implemented this 
feature in 90% of cases both warriors would harm each other in the same 
time(kills the gameplay).
To win a round you must win in 3 battles.
During the battle special pickups can appear on the field which bring
extra energy or mana points(read instructions!).

During the battle you can press SPACE to access speed control menu or use
+/- while playing(speed control menu on some PC freezes the game),
M to toggle sound on/off or exit the game with ESC.

Controls:
---------
You use keyboard.I use RelLib multikey handler.Let me know how it works in
two player mode.

Player 1

JUMP - ARROW UP or 8 on numeric keypad
LEFT - ARROW LEFT or 4 on numeric keypad
RIGHT - ARROW RIGHT or 6 on numeric keypad
SWING - . or > (second key left from right shift)
SPECIAL ABILITY - / or ? (first key left from right shift)

Player 2

JUMP - E
LEFT - S
RIGHT - F
SWING - 1 or !
SPECIAL ABILITY - 2 or @

You might call this keyboard configuration silly but i find them the most 
natural.If you think that different configuration would work better lemme 
know.

This demo includes:
-------------------
One arena
Four warriors
Two player mode(player vs player or player vs computer)
Dummy AI


Warriors:
---------
Hewoo - First warrior made for this game.For short range weapon uses a sword.
        As a special ability uses pouch bombs.Pretty good warrior.Bombs
        can be deadly traps if used wisely.
        Energy:6
        Mana:4
Lachie Dazdarian:Yes.This warrior is my alter ego of my alter ego.
                 Uses a staff as short range weapon.As special ability he
                 uses thunder power.Takes three energy points.
                 You might call him a weak warrior but in final version he
                 could be strong when i add all the parameters.
                 Energy:5
                 Mana:1
K'Bha:Strong mountain man.Axe is his short range weapon.In final version i
      could code it so that it takes 2 energy points but then i'll make him 
      more slower.His special ability is rolling.Pretty dangerous when
      using it.But he's musn't apporach Lachie Dazdarian when he is using
      thunder power even if rolling.
      Energy:7
      Mana:2
The Beast:Strongest warrior.He's short range weapon has a 30% chance to
          inflict 2 points of damage.As a special ability he uses earth-
          quake.Takes two points of damage to every warrior on ground.
          Must be used wisely.When other warrior is faling down from a jump 
          that is the right moment to use earthquake.
          Moves a bit slower than other warriors which makes him quite
          powerless if hunted(eg.other warrior is shielded).
          Energy:5
          Mana:2

The AI Manifesto:
-----------------
First of all to point out one thing.AI is NOT finished.There is much space
for improvement.Second of all,the point of this game is to fight with
other warrior not to make computer controled warrior stuck.It is very 
difficult to code all kind of possible situations for computer controled 
warrior.He is stupid,that is obvius.But it's not easy to beat him since
the game specific concept.So why this need for super-AI?
AI can use special abilities and avoid bombs,K'Bha rolling,ect.
In this case,AI is not coded perfectly on purpose.For example,AI triggers 
bomb few pixels before bomb can hurt you so that you have a chance to avoid 
it.Same thing goes when AI is using thunder shock.
Wait until i make Quest mode.As you progress AI will be more perfect and
playing agains computer will become a real adventure.


Full version will include:
==========================
Battle and Quest mode.
In battle mode maximum of 3 warriors will fight in one arena.
Maximum of player controlled warriors will be 2.
Around 4 arenas,each with different tiles.
New special pickups(super speed,super jump,super power,..)
7 or six warriors each with different look,characteristics and special
abilities.
Quest mode will include fighting all the characters one by one displayed as
a jounrey throught fantasy world(map).Plus there will be a secret warrior 
and arena on the end.


Things that might be in final version:
Blood splattering(blood that stays on ground when you harm other
warriors).I have the idea how to code this 
but i'm not sure do i want it and i will probably encounter some problems 
while coding it.I'm just wondering does it worth the trouble?

Update 8.4.2002.:Sorry.I don't like to make this daily updates too.
                 I just missed one thing.Warriors were able to use swing
                 while rolling or using earthquake.So i debuged it.
                 Also,speed is not possible to change while playing
                 with +/-(numeric keypad) since using speed control menu
                 freezed the game on some PCs.

Update 7.4.2002.:Ok.I played the old version a bit more and noticed several
                 bugs.Like Player 2 was able to move before kickback
                 is over.Also Player 2 was able to stick to floating tiles 
                 if he hits them with head while jumping.
                 Enough but bugs...coding babbiling...I added a new
                 character!The Beast.Sprites are a bit questionable but
                 on the end The Beast looks ok.And i think he's 
                 characteristics are quite interesting.
                 I changed the gravity and max jump height parameters
                 to get a better jump effect.Old jumps were a bit too
                 heigh and that had a bad effect on the gameplay.
                 Plus i added special pickps appearing on the field.That
                 brings an extra dimension to the battle itself.
                 Hopefully more people will play this game with someone
                 else...but in today's age of internet gaming,it's hard
                 to belive this that will happen.Pitty.I wish i could make
                 online version of Ritual Combat.
                 Oh,yes.I added cheesy PC SPEAKER sound effects.

                 
Final words:
------------
Err...with the 4th warrior,fixed bugs and special pickups this demo 
becomes a quite serious project.Errr...i don't think i will release
new versions for next few months.I must finish The LONG first and then
get on Ritual Combat.All this will happend during the summer since
i have the most free time then.Hopefully Quest mode will make this game 
more known and popular.

If you have a comment on this game or want to report a 
bug jus' mail be.

Cheers!


---Lachie Dazdarian(lachie13@yahoo.com,http://lachie.no.sapo.pt)


