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KABOOM!
2015 by Ninjaforce Entertainment

Preface

KABOOM! is a fast paced arcade game, and the first game ever for the Apple IIGS where up to four players can play simultaneously. It is based on a popular arcade classic which is considered one of the best multiplayer games of all time by many serious gamers around the world.

Because we have always been fans of the game, we had the idea of making an adaption for the Apple IIGS that would feature the same addictive gameplay along with some new ideas.

We hope you enjoy our first game for the Apple IIGS.

-- Ninjaforce

 

Installing KABOOM!

KABOOM! requires an Apple IIGS with at least 2MB of memory and a hard drive. You can’t play the game from floppy disks. An accelerator card such as the ZipGS or TransWarp GS is also highly recommended for optimum game performance. A stereo sound card, a joystick and a color display are optional, but recommended.

If you received KABOOM! as a single large archive file, use GS-ShrinkIt 1.1 to unpack the entire archive to your hard drive.

Once installed, you should have the following items in one folder, which we’ll call “Kaboom”.

  KABOOM The game application itself.
  KABOOM.Docs This documentation.
  KABOOM.DATA A file containing all the game music
and sound effects.

 

Starting KABOOM!

To start the game from the Finder, double-click on the “KABOOM” application icon. After a short intro sequence, which can be skipped by pressing a key any time, you’ll be presented with the title screen and the game’s main menu with the following options:

  BATTLE Starts the game using the settings
made in the GAME SETUP.
  GAME SETUP Lets you configure the game’s settings
as well as set up all players.
  CREDITS All the folks involved with KABOOM!

Use the joystick or arrow keys and <return> to make a selection.

If you leave the computer alone for several seconds, the game will display the game’s single player list of best times.


How To Play

Welcome to the world of explosion! Your ultimate goal is to win the big bombing battle being fought over a number of rounds. At the beginning of each round, you and the other players, equipped with bombs, are placed in the corners of a huge battlefield, consisting of two types of blocks: Soft blocks, which can be destroyed by placing bombs beside them, and solid blocks, which are indestructible. Your task: Bomb your way through the soft blocks and blow up all of the other players!


Single Player Battle

By default, KABOOM! is in single player mode. This can be changed in GAME SETUP. When you select BATTLE from the main menu, you can choose from these options:

  BLOCKBUSTER There are two difficulty levels here.
Finishing these in time will earn you a place
in the high score list.
 

BEGINNER

5 levels to get you started with the game.
 

MASTERMIND

10 tougher levels. You must finish BEGINNER
mode first before you may play MASTERMIND.
     
  CAMPAIGN Campaigns are user created games that
typically consist of several levels. Use
the DESIGNER to create campaigns and share
them with your friends!
 

PLAY

Choose a campaign to play through.
 

DESIGNER

Use this to create a campaign. Press ␑–? for
the help screen. As the creator of a
campaign, you will be asked for a password
when saving the campaign file. This way, you
can make sure that other players cannot
take advantage by studying or editing your
campaign.

 

Multiplayer Battle

Up to four players, starting each round with only one bomb and an explosion range of two fields, try to blow up each other, and the one who’s first to win a certain number of rounds (adjustable in the GAME SETUP) wins the game!

 

iTeam Battle
Similar to Multiplayer Battle, except that two teams try to defeat each other. Player 1 and 2 team up against Player 3 and 4.


Joystick & Keyboard Control

Move the joystick up, down, left or right to move in the appropriate direction. Press button one to set a bomb.

The default keyboard controls are:

    Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4
           
  Move up W T I 8
  Move left A F J 4
  Move down S G K 5
  Move right D H L 6
  Set bomb Q R U 7

Please note: Press a key _once_ to move in the direction of your choice, press it again to stop.

You can configure the controls of each player in the GAME SETUP. If more than two players have to use keyboard controls, we highly recommend attaching additional keyboards to the ADB chain.


Power-Ups

These orange colored items can be found under soft blocks. Once picked up, they have different effects on a player.

  Power-Up Effect
 

Bomb

Increases your amount of bombs by one.
  Flame Increases your range of explosion by one.
  Power Bomb Increases your amount of bombs to the
maximum (six bombs).
  Mega Flame Increases your range of explosion to the
maximum (eight fields).
  Accelerator Slightly increases your speed.
  Iron Glove Allows you to pick up set bombs.
  Heart Makes you invincible for 10 seconds.
  Skull (See Sicknesses below.)

To pick up a Power-Up, walk over it.

There’s only a limited number of Power-Ups available in each round, so be careful when setting bombs - Power-Ups can be destroyed!


Sicknesses

The Skull is a very special Power-Up. Pick it up to make one of the other players (or enemy team members) suffer from a severe sickness. The sickness will be healed when you pick up a new Power-Up. Also, you can pass on your sickness by touching another player.

  Sickness Effect
 

Sprint Sickness

Radically increases a player’s speed.
  Sluggish Sickness Radically decreases a player’s speed.
  Diarrhoea Sets bombs uncontrollably.
  Impotency Disallows the setting of bombs for 10 seconds.
  Minimal Sickness Decreases the range of explosion to the minimum.
  Can’t Stop Sickness The player won’t be able to stop moving until he runs into
an obstacle.
  Long Fuse Causes the time it takes for a set bomb to explode to increase.
  Short Fuse Causes the time it takes for a set bomb to explode to decrease.
  Upsidedown Reverses a player’s control.
  Exodus Causes a player to explode after 10 seconds.

Sicknesses can be turned on or off in the GAME SETUP.


Sprites

Don’t get too close to these evil creatures, because contact with them is fatal. You can blow them up, so get them before they get you!

  Killer Clouds Very dangerous, because they can fly over
soft blocks. They are also difficult to
overcome, since they try to avoid
explosions and set bombs.
  Bad Bobs Rather harmless, because they can’t move
over soft blocks. But be careful, they steal
Power-Ups!

Sprites can be turned on or off in the GAME SETUP.


Bonus Rounds

A bonus round happens every third round in a multiplayer game. The players have a very short time to bomb away the soft blocks and find Power-Ups. They can use these Power-Ups in the upcoming rounds for a head start. For instance, you may start off with a longer explosion range than your enemies.

Bonus rounds can be turned on or off in the GAME SETUP.


Fun Rounds

Every now and then, a multiplayer game includes a fun round. All softblocks are removed and each player starts fully powered up. Or all power-ups are openly available on the battlefield.

Fun rounds can be turned on or off in the GAME SETUP.


Other Things To Know

  OA–Q Quit the game.
  OA–R Return to menu during a game.
  <esc> or joystick button 2 Pause game.
  Keypad * or OA –M Turn off music.
  Keypad + Increase music volume.
  Keypad - Decrease music volume.

Pressing <return> or button 1 in the GAME SETUP quits and accepts all changes made to the settings. Pressing <esc> or button 2 will quit without keeping any changes.

 

Hints & Tips

Here are three rules of thumb for successful bombing:

1. Place your bombs carefully.

2. Watch out for chain reactions of explosions.

3. Keep an eye on the range of explosion of your bombs.

 

Changelist

v1.00 Initial release.
v1.01

Bug fixes:
+ Fixed a bug where the game crashes during play.
+ The game now stores settings and scores (oops).
+ Typos in credits fixed (plus some names we forgot).

v1.02

New Features:
+ Added support for Alex Lucaz'
4-play joystick card
+ Added support for Jon Christopher Co and John Valdezco's 4soniq sound card, and stereo sound for everybody

Bug fixes:

+ Fixed a bug in the computer player where the game crashed.
+ Fixed bugs in the bad bob/ghost logic that caused the game to freeze.

v1.03 New Features:
+ Added support for Alex Lucaz' 4-play joystick card Rev. B
Bug fixes:
+ fixed a bug in game setup where the user was unable to press esc when choosing a 4-play joyport

 

KABOOM! Credits

Developed by Ninjaforce Entertainment

  Programming Alexander “Jesse Blue” Siegfried
  Graphics & Docs Christopher “Clue” Heck
  Music & Sound FX Michael “Dreamer” Schubert



Contacting Ninjaforce

If you have any problems with this software, or just want to chat with us, please feel free to drop us a line.

You can reach us via our web page at: http://www.ninjaforce.com