
			    ACK-3D Demonstration
			    --------------------

Introduction:

    Station Escape is a simple demonstration of what can be done with the
ACK-3D (Animation Construction Kit) engine. This demo is not meant to be viewed
as a full-fledged game, just a collection of routines to experiment with the
engine. Read the file STORY.DOC for a short background story about the game.


Disclaimer:

    The ACK-3D demo and associated files are being released to the public
domain "as-is" with no warranty either expressed or implied, concerning the
use of this software. You are free to use and distribute the demo to others
in any form. The artwork supplied with the demo is under individual copyright
and any use for commercial purposes must be granted by the original artist.

    The only request I will make is that if you do use the ACK engine in your
own game or application, that you put my name in the credits somewhere. This
is only a request and only if you feel the ACK engine contributed to your
overall project. Thank You.


System Requirements:

    PC 386 or above
    Minimum of 570k system memory
    Minimum of 2 Meg EXTENDED memory
    Microsoft compatable mouse
    VGA monitor
    Minimum of 3 Meg disk space
    Sound Blaster or Adlib card (optional)


    Make sure you have HIMEM.SYS, or some other XMS memory manager, in your
CONFIG.SYS file to allow the demo to take advantage of Extended Memory.

***** NOTE *****

    It has been observed that on some machines HIMEM.SYS doesn't seem to
allocate enough XMS handles to properly run the demo. If you notice random
patterns on the screen where walls should be then try the following in your
CONFIG.SYS file;


	device=HIMEM.SYS /numhandles=64	    (or higher...maybe 96)


    Hopefully this will solve the problem.


What the ZIP file contains: (Installation)

    Copy DEMO.ZIP to a subdirectory on your hard disk. Use something like
ACKDEMO or DEMO as an example of the directory name. DO NOT unzip into the
root directory!



********* READ THIS! ********** READ THIS! *********** READ THIS! **********

    Use the -d option when unzipping the file ACKDEMO.ZIP to create the
required subdirectories. You should see \BITMAPS and \SOUND created as sub-
directories in the directory you placed DEMO.ZIP.

    The demo will not run properly if the subdirectories are not created and
may require a hard reboot to correct! Also, be sure to look at the batch
file descriptions below for various configurations to run the demo.

********* READ THIS! ********** READ THIS! *********** READ THIS! **********



    The main directory contains the batch files, readme.1st and story.doc files
that you should take a look at before running the demo.

    The BITMAPS directory holds all the screen and wall bitmaps used by the
demo. These are all in Deluxe Paint II format.

    The SOUND directory holds the background music .CMF files as well as the
sound effect files (.VOC and .PWM) used by the demo.



Starting the Demo:

    Several .BAT files have been included to start the demo in a variety of
configurations. These are listed below;

    RUN.BAT	<- Starts the demo with no sound and the mouse in mode 1.

    RUNPC.BAT	<- Starts the demo using the PC speaker and the mouse in mode 1.

    RUNSND.BAT	<- Starts the demo with sound effects but no background music,
		   and the mouse in mode 1.

    RUNMUS.BAT	<- Starts the demo with music and sound effects and the mouse
		   in mode 1.


Mouse Modes:

    The demo allows two different ways of handling the mouse. Mode 0 (the
default mode) displays a mouse cursor that can be positioned in the viewing
window and changes to show which direction the player will move. This mode is
similiar to that used in games like Underworld II. Mouse Mode 1 causes the
mouse cursor to dissappear and allows the motion of the mouse to move the player
around the space station. This mode is similiar to Wolfenstein-3D. Pressing the
F1 key toggles the mouse mode once the game is started.

    In either mode the RIGHT mouse button fires your plasma gun. Be careful!
When your energy bar reaches empty all bets are off! Your life support will
fail and it's all over but the shouting.



Command Line Switches:

    The following options are available when starting the demo and may be used
in place of the batch files if desired;

    -m1 <- Starts the demo up with mouse mode 1 verses mode 0 which is default.

    -st <- Starts the demo and skips the startup screen.

    -ns <- Starts the demo with No Sound at all.

    -sp <- Starts the demo with sound through the PC speaker.

    -nm <- Starts the demo with no background music, just sound effects.



Keys used by the ACK demo:

F1  = Toggles mouse mode from Wolf style to Underworld style (Use -M1 on command
      line to start up in Wolf style).

 D  = Drop an object

 H  = Help Screen

 I  = Shows example inventory HUD display

 M  = Shows overhead map

Esc = Exit game



Known problems:

    The current version of the ACK engine displays a peculiar problem when
dealing with objects. Ghost objects appear when the player is facing certain
angles and at certain distances. This is a bug, pure and simple, and I haven't
found the cause yet. An update to DEMO.EXE will be uploaded once this has been
corrected. The ghost objects cause no harm to the game or machine, they are
just annoying!





Credits:

    I wish to thank the following people for contributing to the ACK3D project
and helping with the demonstration. I wish I could say in words what a great
help they have been through all my frustrating times.


	Jaimi McEntire who helped a great deal with programming and graphics.
	    Jaimi also did the neat space station picture in the title!

	Steve Salter who did ALOT of the wall and object graphics!

	Frank Sachse who provided the sound routine interface and music!

	Ron Sachse who provided some of the wall bitmaps!

	Mark Betz who allowed me to use his fading routines!

	Bart Stewart who built an image editor for this thing!

	Mystic Software for allowing me to use thier WORX light package for
	    this demonstration!


    Thanks guys! Without you the ACK engine and demo would not have been
possible!


Conclusion:

    Thank you for trying the ACK-3D demonstration. Its purpose is to show what
can be done with the ACK-3D library to create a 3D game or application. The demo
is not complete by any means and is only provided "as-is" to give some examples
for using the ACK-3D library. I hope you like it. Please view the file STORY.DOC
to read the short background story behind the game. Thank You!


    I can be reached on CompuServe at 76004,1574 if you have any questions or
comments regarding the ACK-3D demonstration or engine.


    Sincerely,
    Lary Myers


