TubesCopyright © 1994 Absolute Magic Original documentation below Notice: This software is provided in its original form. This software was written to run under MS-DOS, an operating system that has not been in mainstream use for over a decade. I am not guaranteeing that it will work on your computer. Do not e-mail me asking for help with getting this game to run, or for help registering it; I will not answer support requests for this game. A Tetris-style game; grab molecules in your test tube and drop them down below, trying to group them by color. Special molecules make wierd things happen.
Description
SHORT DESCRIPTION:
Addictive action packed puzzle game. Match similar coloured atoms
to make them disappear. Requires: VGA,286+ Supports: Adlib, SB, GM
MEDIUM DESCRIPTION:
Addictive action packed puzzle game. Match at least 3 similar
coloured atoms to make them disappear in a display of fantastic
animation. Impressive digital sound on the PC Speaker & Sound
Blaster with an original score for the Adlib & General Midi.
Requires: VGA,286+
LONG DESCRIPTION:
Addictive action packed puzzle game. You're Professor Lanny B.
Brilliant's assistant and your goal is to create new molecule
chains by matching at least 3 similiar coloured atoms. Watch
as the molecule chains disappear in a fantastic display of
animation. Impressive digital sound on the PC Speaker & Sound
Blaster with an original score for the Adlib & General Midi.
Requires: VGA,286+
REQUIREMENTS:
- At least a 286 processor. A 386, 486, or Pentium is fine.
- 420K of free conventional memory is the minimum. Sound will require an
additional 65K and Music will require 25K. Total memory requirements
are 510K.
- A VGA card with at least 256K. Super VGA cards are fine.
OPTIONAL:
Sound
-Sound Blaster
Music
- Adlib
- General Midi
Input Device
- Joystick
- Mouse
Readme
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Software Creations
and
Absolute Magic
present
T U B E S
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Tubes: The Story
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In a lab far far away in the Great White North...
Dr. Lanny B. Brilliant was completing his work on the
creation of 8 new elements not yet included on the periodic
table. After going over his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in
his head...
Suddenly his future didn't seem so bright...
Lanny hadn't researched his new elements enough to have
discovered they were highly unstable. Before he could react,
they were everywhere. He had nothing for the Nobel Prize
committee to assess.
But there is still hope! Lanny knows he can stabilize the
atoms if he bonds 3 or more atoms of the same element together,
forming a molecule chain.
Maybe you can help...
Tubes: The Game
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The object of Tubes is to keep the large beaker as free of
atoms as is possible. This is accomplished by lining up 3 or
more like coloured atoms in a row, vertically, horizontally, or
diagonally. Use the test tube you control to catch the atoms
falling from the dispenser tubes and place them into the beaker
at your discretion. The game is over when you've dropped
enough atoms to exceed the drop limit, or when you've filled
up the beaker with atoms.
Minimum System Requirements
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Tubes will check to ensure your system meets the minimum
requirements, however, here they are:
- At least a 286 processor. A 386, 486, or Pentium is fine.
- 420K of free conventional memory is the minimum. Sound
will require an additional 65K and Music will require 25K.
Total memory requirements are 510K.
- A VGA card with at least 256K. Super VGA cards are also fine.
Tubes also supports the following hardware:
Sound
-PC Speaker
-Sound Blaster
Music
- FM (Adlib)
Input Device
- Joystick
- Mouse
At this point you might as well run Tubes by typing "TUBES"
at the DOS prompt.
C:\TUBES\>TUBES <Press the ENTER Key>
Tubes will run the SetUp program so you may configure Tubes
for your system.
If you have any problems or wish to know more about Tubes,
continue reading.
Setting Up Tubes
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Once you have configured the game, you won't have to run
the setup program again, unless you wish to change any of your
previous device choices.
Sound Effects:
Sound Blaster is the best selection for the sound effects,
and will enable you to hear the outstanding digital sound
effects throughout the game. If you do not have a Sound Blaster
card, the PC Speaker can also play the digital sound effects.
This method is very processor intensive and will require a very
fast computer, at least a 386 running at 25mhz. There are two
quality modes. "Good as it gets" will sound the best. If Tubes
plays very badly, your computer probably can't keep up. Try the
"Okay" setting, if Tubes is still unplayable, then select "No
Sound." This method will sound really bad if your computer does
not use a normal speaker (cone). Notebooks and Laptops are an
example of this.
Music:
Only FM music is available. Those with Adlib compatible
cards such as the Sound Blaster and it's many clones will allow
you to hear the fantastic sound track that accompanies the game.
There is no music available to users with no sound card.
Input:
The recommended input method is the joystick, although
some may prefer the keyboard. The mouse is provided for
completeness, however it is not ideal for this type of game.
The default Keys for the Keyboard are the cursors keys for
movement, CTRL for Button A, and ALT for Button B. Select
Keyboard to redefine your keys if you prefer.
Main Menu
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You can move around the menus with your input device.
Button A selects the highlighted option, and Button B returns
to the previous menu.
Start Game:
Starts the game of Tubes. After selecting this option,
you are then asked to choose between Wave and Endurance mode
which are the two styles of game play in Tubes. After
selecting the mode of play, you must choose the difficulty
level - 101 is the easiest, for beginning players because it
allows 9 drops, 201 allows 6 drops, and 301 is for the expert
player who is only allowed 3 drops. Atom speed and the rate
that they appear is also determined by the difficulty setting.
Continue Saved Game:
Starts a previously saved game from where you left off.
Preview Registered:
Lets you play five waves of the deluxe registered version
featuring the extremely helpful ANTI-MATTER and BONUS atoms..
Game Options:
Opens another menu which includes the options of Toggle
Sound and/or Music, and Define Input Device.
Instructions:
Lanny the scientist takes you through a detailed
instructional course on the playing of Tubes. Information
packed - a must read.
High Score:
Displays the high score list for both Wave Mode and
Endurance Mode.
Ordering Info:
Gives the registration information required to register
Tubes. Consult ORDER.TXT for more information.
Credits:
Displays information about the two fine young men who made
Tubes a reality.
Exit:
Exits the game, and returns you to your operating system.
Tubes & Windows
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Tubes should always be played from DOS. Tubes will detect
a multitasking environment when it starts up and will recommend
you run from DOS but it won't stop you. The game will give up
time slices but it's recommended if you must run Tubes from
Windows that you don't run anything else at the same time.
Windows and the digital PC SoundFX option should not be
used together. Tubes should work, but will be unplayable during
a sound effect.
Hints 'n' Tips
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Playing Endurance mode is a great way to learn how to play
Tubes for the first time.
Hoard Flashium atoms in the test tube until they can be
used most effectively, these are valuable atoms and shouldn't
be wasted.
Use Anti-Matter atoms to destroy troublesome Xenon atoms
that accumulate in the beaker.
Try to create a 4 or 5 atom chain when possible, since
they count as 2 and 3 chains respectively, and double the
points.
Scoring
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Task Points
3 Atom Vertical/Horizontal/Diagonal Chain - 250/500/1000
4 Atom Vertical/Horizontal/Diagonal Chain - 500/1000/2000
5 Atom Vertical/Horizontal/Diagonal Chain - 1000/2000/4000
Catching Bonus Atom - 2500 x number caught
Multiple Chain - Chain Values x Number
of chains
Problems
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Tubes generates three error messages:
"Run SETUP.EXE to configure Tubes for your System"
Tubes hasn't been setup for your system. Normally,
Tubes will run the SetUp program for you, if it can't do
that it displays this message. The solution is to run
SETUP.EXE yourself then run TUBES.EXE again.
"Tubes requires <some number> bytes of free memory with
this SetUp!"
Tubes checks how much free conventional memory you have
when it first runs. If you don't have enough Tubes aborts
with this message. The solution is to free up more memory
or lower Tubes' memory requirements, for example, turn sound
and/or music off.
"<Where ever it occurs> Resource Error!"
It could mean many things, but 99% of the time it means
there wasn't enough memory to load something Tubes requires.
Although rare, it is still possible to get this error even
though Tubes checks to ensure you have enough memory when
it first runs. The solution is to free up more memory or lower
Tubes' memory requirements, for example, turn sound and/or
music off.
Shareware
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Tubes is copyrighted software, however you are encouraged
to copy and freely distribute the Shareware version as long as
all files are included. Shareware allows you to "try it before
you buy it".
Why register? Besides getting an incredible registered
version of Tubes, registration will ensure future games will be
released and with the same high quality. You are also
supporting the entire Shareware concept, without which, many
excellent programs would not be available. Neither Software
Creations nor Absolute Magic receive a penny when you purchase
a disk with Tubes from a Shareware Library, or download it from
a commercial information service, such as CompuServe, or from a
BBS.
Read the info in the game for price and other registration
information.
Copyright Notice
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Tubes is Copyright 1994 by Absolute Magic. Tubes is the
sole property of Absolute Magic. All rights reserved. Nice
and short.
Disclaimer
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No warranty of any kind. (Sorry, I ain't a lawyer.)
Brand names and product names listed are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
About Tubes
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Tubes was written in Borland Pascal v7. It consists of
approximately 15,000 lines of Pascal code and compiles
completely in under 20 seconds.
Tubes uses a planar Mode 13h commonly referred to as Mode X,
all graphic routines were written with the built in assembler
present in Borland Pascal. I experienced great difficulty
debugging the VGA graphics with planar modes being undocumented
so I created a utility called UNCHAIN that fixed the problem
along with other VGA related problems such as losing the
palette. It's free so if you also have problems, it's out there
somewhere.
All of the drivers (Music, Sound FX, Input) were created
in Turbo Assembler's IDEAL mode and are loaded at run-time
as need.
About the Authors
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Absolute Magic is the figment of our imagination. The
name was lifted from an ancient Egyptian war chant. Absolute
Magic has been entirely subsidized by the Canadian Government
due to its commitment to the environment. This innovative
company is currently working on a snow shovelling simulator
that is so real, you'll swear your back hurts!
C O L I N B U C K L E Y:
Birthplace: Hospital
Place of Residence: N/A (Witness Relocation Program)
Favourite Movies: Howard the Duck, The Sound of Music
Favourite Books: Anything by Kierkegaard
Favourite Foods: Brussel sprouts
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Superhighway, using buzz-words
Turn-Ons: Trekkies
Turn-Offs: People who don't rewind videotapes, Correct spelling
Previous Occupation: Moonie
Future Game Ideas: Revenge of the Big-Ass Ants
C H R I S B L A C K W E L L:
Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Place of Residence: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Favourite Movies: Reservoir Dogs, Carlito's Way, Star Wars Trilogy,
Evil Dead 2
Favourite Books: Cabal, Books of Blood, 2001, Anything by Harlan
Ellison
Favourite Foods: Tuna Sandwiches
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Gush Underdrive
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Hobbies: Watching TV, Pinball, Complaining, Cursing, Being
annoying
Turn-Ons: Body Shaping, Star Trek conventions
Turn-Offs: America's Funniest People, Rewinding videotapes
Previous Occupation: Totally Unemployable
Future Game Ideas: Space Invaders clone
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Registration information (note that contact or address information may no longer be accurate)
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