CLONE INVADER
Copyright (c) 1987,1988,1989 Gary Quiring.
All Rights Reserved
Clone Invader is an arcade style game that requires either a CGA, EGA,
or VGA graphics adapter. One of the more difficult parts of writing
this game was to find a real SPACE INVADERS machine. Almost all of
the arcade rooms in New Jersey don't have one anymore. Luckily, I was
able to find one on the Long Branch boardwalk.
The first thing you should do is configure the game to your hardware.
Press the S key when the first screen is displayed. You will be able
to select the graphics adapter, and the playing speed that you prefer.
If you have a computer with an 8088 running at 4mhz with an EGA
adapter you will find the game too slow in the EGA mode. I would
suggest selecting a CGA setup. 80286 systems should select medium
speed, while 80386 systems should select slow speed. The hardware
configuration as well as the high score are stored in the CLONINV.EXE
file, unless the filename is renamed or executed from a subdirectory
that is not in your path.
During play, the sound can be turned off or on using the S key. The
game can be aborted with the ESC key. The space bar is your fire key
and the arrows on the numeric pad move your base. The mystery invader
is worth 50 - 300 points and the technique of always getting a 300
point mystery invader applies just like the arcade version.
Mouse users should make sure the mouse driver is installed. Either
mouse button will act as the fire key. During the demo, the left
mouse button will select a one player game and the right mouse button
will select a two player game. The mouse is also supported during the
hardware setup menu.
The background color can be changed by using the B key which is only
active during the demo screen. The background color option is not
available for VGA adapters.
If the game should lock up try removing any ram resident programs. The
keyboard driver in Clone Invader disables the normal keyboard
interrupt. I have found that Sidekick and Superkey can occasionally
cause problems.
If you find that the speed of Clone Invader is not quite what you
prefer, you can try experimenting with a command line option when
executing cloninv.exe. Typing a number after cloninv.exe will
override the default values in the game. Example: cloninv 240. The
larger the number the slower the game will play.
I would like to thank Ben Broder, who wrote the keyboard driver for
Clone Invader, and who helped out in debugging and enhancing the game.
Any comments, problems, or questions, please write to:
Gary Quiring
37 Essie Drive
Matawan, NJ 07747
HISTORY:
4.0 - Changed some colors for VGA. Changed opening screen. Added
mouse support to setup menu. Added search in path for
filename.
3.9 - Added VGA support for 256 colors. Added option for speed
adjustment.
3.8 - Added mouse support.
3.7 - Added hardware configuration menu, deleted environment switch
code, fixed some bugs, and recompiled with Quick Basic 4.5
3.6 - Adjusted code for 386 computers and added environment switches.
3.5 - Added feature to save high score in exe file and changed base
color for the EGA mode.