<****** VIEW IN FULL SCREEN - WITH WORD WRAP ON - VIEW IN FULL SCREEN - WITH WORD WRAP ON ******>

Release 1: 22/6/98.	Original version 
Release 2: 6/7/98.	Updated version.  See Notes Below.

Run setup.exe to setup PEDRO, then pedro.exe to play PEDRO.
   

			     PEDRO THE TANK GAME:  READ ME!!!

			    COPYRIGHT 1998 SAMMYSPACE SOFTWARE,

				      but FREEWARE!

				www.space.net.au/~sammy/



You really should read this file, and at least absorb some of what you read, before playing PEDRO.  It helps to read instructions every now and then you know, even for something as simple as PEDRO.  If the length of this file is too daunting for you (i.e. you have a normal attention span) then try looking at the separate text files that tackle subjects one at a time... or use the contents to figure out where you should look first.

If you prefer, view the HTML documents for an easier learning experience.  I recommend the HTML format 'cause it has pictures and stuff (view them at http://www.space.net.au/~sammy).



!!! PARENTAL GUIDENCE WARNING !!!

The following text contains the needless and somehow offensive words and phrases: "shit", "crap", "shite", "bollocks", "bottom", "poo", "steaming pile of crap", "load of crap", "spouting shit", "shit for brains", "shit head", "bum face", "damn", "darn", "golly gosh" and "Gordon Bennet".  It does NOT feature clever arrangements of the letter "F", the letter "U", the letter "C" and the letter "K".  Don't blame me if your kids (already) know what I'm talking about.

!!! END OF PARENTAL GUIDENCE WARNING !!!



=== contents ===

1.  BEFORE you start!!!

2.  Introduction to the game (if you could call it that) that is PEDRO.

3.  PEDRO:
	3.1  Controls.
	3.2  Game Modes.
	3.3  Options.
	3.4  Getting the most from PEDRO: Tips and Hints.

4.  Technical Stuff, setting up and the like.
	4.1  Initial setup procedures.
	4.2  Troubleshooting

5.  Registration:  FREEWARE! wooohooo!

6.  Other things you might like to know.	

7.  Update Info.



=== 1. BEFORE you start ===

Here is a disclaimer.  YOU PLAY PEDRO AT YOUR OWN RISK!

As yet you probably haven't paid for PEDRO, and since it is technically freeware, you don't HAVE to.  Thus, you can't expect anything if PEDRO doesn't work on your computer.

Furthermore, PEDRO does not alter any system files.  Don't blame PEDRO if for some reason your AUTOEXEC.BAT or SYSTEM.INI files are corrupt, because that would just be stupid.  

You place(d) PEDRO in the directory of your choice, and so I will not take ANY responsibility for ANY files you may overwrite when performing this action.  If this bothers you, create a new directory to put PEDRO in (e.g. C:\Pedro).

PEDRO creates and maintains two text files in the directory of the PEDRO program;  High.txt and Sound.txt, for high scores and sound configuration respectively.  Altering these files manually, i.e. whilst not using PEDRO, is also done so at your own risk.

Other than that, PEDRO comes with few warnings.  You may experience a warm fuzzy feeling when playing PEDRO for extended periods of time, as the continual slaughtering of human opponents / cute critters that comes with PEDRO proficiency subsequent to such extended playing periods is quite satisfying on oh so many levels of the human psyche.

On the other hand, I accept no responsibility for any boredom that may result from lacklustre PEDRO playing.  If you find it all too easy then try WORMS by TEAM 17 - its a far better game and damn well more interesting than all this PEDRO shite...



=== 2. Introduction ===


PEDRO is, for all intents and purposes, a tank game.  Like one of those old crunchy tank games on the old Ataries (?) / ZX Spectrums / BBC Micros / any old computer or console.

Differences include:
	
	+  Option for Simultaneous Combat (like a beat 'em up)
	+  Sheilds
	+  Powered Shots
	+  Special Weapons
	+  Little bug eyed animals with particularly short life spans.
	+  Plenty of scoring based solo games.
	+  A complete lack of AI programming (sigh).
	
PEDRO is a happy little game which likes nothing more than to be played with every so often.  PEDRO loves to reside on your hard drive (he doesn't take up much space), yet he is also happy travelling around on a single floppy disk.  PEDRO also likes to breed and see his offspring (clones) inhabit similar storage mediums belonging to other people.



=== 3. PEDRO ===

Read the following before quipping shite like "PEDRO is a steaming pile of crap".  Remember, everyone respects an educated opinion, and no one likes a foul mouthed ignorant shit head, let alone cares what they have to say... ;)  



=== 3.1 Controls ===

General Keys:

+++ ESC:	Bring up options / Move back in options / Quit solo games.
+++ ENTER:	Select Game Type / Adjust option / Fast start / Skip text display.
+++ SPACE:	Bring up Game Select menu / Adjust option.
+++ +/-:	Alter the game delay variable (slow down / speed up).


Player 1 uses the mouse, which is the preferred control device used in the solo games.

Player 2 uses the keyboard, and is perhaps disadvantaged somewhat as they can't aim as readily as Player 1.

Thus it is recommended that for extended two player PEDRO playing sessions players switch control methods, just to be fair.  Mouse jockeys who think they are God's gift to PEDRO can piss off until they can replicate their results using the keyboard controls.  And then they can get a life.

Basic PEDRO controls are simplicity itself.  Funnily enough, complex PEDRO controls are more complex than basic controls.  Note that (F) herein refers to Shot Speed and (S) herein refers to the Sheild button.


Hold (F) to charge a shot up, and then let go to launch it.
Hold (S) to use the sheilds.


+++	PLAYER 1 (MOUSE)

Shot Speed (F):	Left Button
Sheild (S): 	Right Button

Aiming:		Move the Cross Hair:	Move the mouse!


+++	PLAYER 2 (KEYBOARD)

Shot Speed (F):	Right CTRL Key
Sheild (S): 	Right ALT Key

Aiming:		Move the Cross Hair:	Arrow Keys

		Rotate Clockwise:	Right Shift Key + Right Arrow Key
		Rotate CClockwise:	Right Shift Key + Left Arrow Key
		Extend Aim:		Right Shift Key + Up Arrow Key
		Retract Aim:		Right Shift Key + Down Arrow Key
	

With these basics you should be able to play a basic game of PEDRO.  But whooaaa there...!  There's more to PEDRO than that.  Either play the tutorial mode or refer to the following for extended control concepts (extended control concepts... yike!).


+++  Normal Shot:	Hold (F), let go.

Hold (F) until the desired speed of the shot is acheived.  The longer you hold, the faster the shot.

The standard shot doesn't do much damage, but can be the difference between winners and losers.  Cuties don't like the standard shot much either.


+++  Rapid Fire:	Tap (F) + (S), i.e. tap both at the same time.

This launches a standard round at 3/4 pace without having to charge the shot first.  Very useful in solo games.  Hold (F) and (S) to maintain a stream of missiles.


+++  Sheilds:		Hold (S),

     Maintain Sheilds:	Hold (S), and without letting go, Hold (F). 

The bases can transfer some of their energy (provided that they have some to spare) to sheilds to take the brunt of most attacks.  Projectiles are absorbed and cuties bounce off sheilds, although taking the sheild energy with them.  Thus it is often best to maintain a low powered sheild if things are getting hectic around your base, otherwise you'll be wasting valuable energy every time a cutie comes too close.  

The nice thing about these bases is that energy sent to sheilds automatically drains back to the main energy supply when the sheild is no longer required (i.e. (S) is let go).  Alternatively, this sheild energy can be redirected to add a little grunt to the next projectile...


+++  Powered Shots:	Before sheilds have drained, Hold (F), then let go.

Powered shots behave in exactly the same way as standard shots, except that they hurt more when they hit.  Launching one of these shots uses some of a base's energy, but a direct hit depletes 3 times that amount.  Furthermore, these projectiles drain any sheilds they hit, unlike standard shots which are simply absorbed.  

A nice little trick available to the more daring is to commit an almost fully charged sheild to the powered shot.  With sufficient energy commited, the powered shot may be spilt up into up to 3 separate shots by tapping (F) after this button has been let go to initiate the shot.  This technique, coupled with judicious cross hair aiming, may be used to spray shots if wind conditions are prooving tricky.  Alternatively, a weak first shot may be launched as a decoy, with a stronger second shot released after the opponent has already adjusted to the first shot.

Bottom Line:  Powered shots are a gamble in two player mode, but tend to be highly useful in redirecting / incinerating / obliteration cuties heading towards your base.


+++  Special Shots:	Before sheilds have drained, Hold (F), then tap (F)+(S).

There are three types of special weapon available in PEDRO:

		1.  Earth Round.
		2.  Fire Work.
		3.  Cutie.

+++  1.  Earth Round.

This weapon does no damage!  Instead it creates a column of earth when it hits terrain.  This is more a strategic weapon - a column of earth may be used to temporarily block the onslaught of a particularly aggressive player.  Alternatively, when fired downwards into the terrain below a base, the shot creates a column of earth that lifts the base into a potentially less hazardous / more attacking postion.  The arc of earth left by this shot as it travels through the air is useful for blocking opponent's powered shots - without compromising sheilds to do so.  See section 7 for a special new trick with this weapon

+++  2.  Fire Work Shot.

Unlike the Earth Round, the level of the sheilds before this special is released is CRITICAL to its useage.  The more sheilds left when this shot is initiated (when (F) is first pressed), the longer the fuse time on the fire work.  Note that all sheild energy still returns to the base.

This is a two phase weapon.  Prior to detonation, the projectile is harmless and only good for clearing terrain and blasting cuties.  However once the fuse time has elapsed, the projectile explodes, scattering the equivalent of 10 powered shots.

Mastering this weapon helps to becoming a proficient PEDRO player.  Extending the fuse time allows players to lob the fire work over obstacles to cause problems for overly defensive opponents.  A short fuse time allows a more direct approach for line of sight shots, in the hope that the projectile detonates just as it passes over the target area. 

+++  3.  Cuties.

Bound to annoy some rights group somewhere, this special weapon involves flinging little yellow creatures into the fray.  Merely for amusement value?  Not quite, as these "Cuties", to which I have referred to throughout this document, cause MEGA damage when they land on bases.

Uh huh.  Right now I should be babbling about how these marvels of bio-engineering were created in secret labs, out of a mystery material that spontaneously combusts when it comes into contact with metallic substances.  However since you have read this far I won't patronise you with that kind of stereotypical computer game story crap.

Instead just think of the cuties as grenades with charisma.  They chirp, they bounce around and they talk to each other.  They also bleed, explode, break their bones, burn, squeal, squish, splatter and generally end up dead, dead, dead!  And if anyone gets offended by my mis-treatment of pixels on a computer screen then they can alter the graphics file "obj.pcx" so that these cuties aren't so cute.  No one complains when it's aliens getting a blasting...



=== 3.2  Game Modes ===

PEDRO presents you with plenty of game types to enjoy.  Whether or not you'll enjoy any of them is debatable, but the more the merrier huh? 


+++ 3.2.1.  Tutorial Mode.

Practice away in this mode, where you can blow up as often as you like without penalty.  Press ESC to bring up options for a bit of an online tutorial thing too.  This tells you how to use the weapons, and provides an endless supply of the special weapon you want to practice with if you choose to do so.  


+++ 3.2.2.  Solo Games.

I thought I should include these single player modes of play because a.  I wasn't going to do the A.I. for a competitive computer base for standard tank type skirmishes, and b.  The standard two player modes didn't allow for enough "entertainment" (read: cutie culling).  So it is with great satisfaction that I present to you, the solo punter, three single player games:

		a.  Cutie Shoot.
		b.  Survival.
		c.  Buckets o' Fun.

Note that getting highscores in these games unlock bonus games for the whole family to enjoy.


+++ 3.2.2.a.  Cutie Shoot.
	
	+ Score as much as you can before the time runs out.
	+ Shoot everything that moves from your central position.
	+ One hit scores, multiple hits (juggling) provide extra time.
	+ The base is immune to cuties - just keep shooting (use rapid fire).
	+ The time limit increases with the high score.

+++ 3.2.2.b.  Survival.

	+ Survive as long as you can as cuties rain down upon the base.
	+ No bonuses for killing cuties (just more cuties).
	+ Use sheilds, fire works, powered and standard shots to survive.

+++ 3.2.2.c.  Buckets o' Fun.

	+ PEDRO's slant on the fast food industry.
	+ Take control of a cutie (with the green trail) and make a mess.
	+ Use rapid fire.  No specials.  Shoot everything.
	+ Use (S) to fly towards the cross hair (good for ramming cuties)
	
	+ Killing things leaves blood & guts for the meat processor.
	+ Earn money for the quality of product each time the bucket is filled.
	
	$7  - Blood Drink: at least 75% blood content.
	$10 - Burger Meat: at least 40% meat, with less than 40% dirt.
	$2  - Hot Dog Mix: up to 80% dirt.
	$0  - Useless Gunk: more than 80% dirt.

	+ Purity statistics are available at the end of each round.


+++ 3.2.3.  Two Player Games.

There are 2 two player modes available in PEDRO, alternate and simultaneous.  Alternate is the standard tank game play mode, with players taking turns to shoot at each other.  Simultaneous play is akin to a beat 'em up featuring characters glued to the spot.  Yep, it's as thrilling as you make it.  Both styles of play are quite flexible with regards to rules and so forth.  See 3.3 Options for more detail.


+++ 3.2.4.  Bonus Games.

There are 3 bonus games available, which are obtained by getting highscores in all solo games, or by using a cheat, found by enjoying some fireworks...

		a.  Cutie Tennis.
		b.  Fight in Cutiesville.
		c.  Cutie Battle.

+++ 3.2.4.a.  Cutie Tennis.

	+ Features a tennis game scoring system.
	+ The winner is the first to x games (set at the game select screen).
	+ Each point is won by getting 4 cuties on to the opponent's side of the 'net'
	+ Try blowing up your opponent for an easily won game.
	+ Can launch you own cuties, but they start off on your side of the net... (!)

+++ 3.2.4.b.  Fight in Cutiesville.

	+ A fairly standard simultaneous battle mode...
	+ Except that cuties are everywhere - cue dirty tricks aplenty.

+++ 3.2.4.c.  Cutie Battle.

	+ Buckets o' Fun for two players.
	+ Cooperate to get stupidly high scores.	



=== 3.3 Options ===

PEDRO has options aplenty.  These are adjusted before a game starts by pressing ESC to bring up a menu:
		START NEW GAME		:  Funnily enough starts a new game
		OPTIONS >		:  Brings up the options menu
		VIEW HIGH SCORES	:  Funnily enough displays the high scores.
		READ THIS!		:  A message for you.
		QUIT PEDRO		:  hmmm... I wonder...


OPTIONS >	GAMEPLAY >		:  Parameters that affect general gameplay
		BATTLE RULES >		:  The 'rules' of each battle
		TERRAIN >		:  You can alter the some background attributes
		GAMING PRESETS >	:  Presets that save going through all the options


OPTIONS >
GAMEPLAY >	WIND TYPE:	This governs the behaviour of the wind in the game:

				NONE 		No wind.
				CONSTANT	Wind is set at the start of each round.
				VARIABLE	Wind varies during a round.
				BLUSTERY	Wind varies greatly during a round.

		SPECIALS:	How much of a role do specials play in the game:

				NONE		No special weapons at all.
				RANDOM		Specials are chosen randomly.
				NO CUTIES	Only Earth Rounds and Fire Works.
				MORE CUTIES	More chance of getting a cutie special.
				ALL CUTIES	Only Cuties (aaaarrggghhh!)

		GAME DELAY:	Use +/- to alter this whilst playing your game (great for
				slow motion play).
				
				If your computer is fast, increase this variable.
				If your computer is slow, decrease this variable.
				(Also try adjusting TERRAIN > BEHAVIOUR if it is really slow)
				
				Reference:  	PEDRO runs well on a Pentium 100
						with GAME DELAY = 2.
		

OPTIONS >
BATTLE RULES >	ROUNDS TO WIN:	The number of rounds required to win a game.

		ENERGY TYPE:	Dictates if energy is replenished after every round.

				REPAIR		Both players start with full energy.
				NO REPAIR	Only the loser gets full energy.

		INITIAL ENERGY:	The starting energy level (1 to 250)
				
		OUTS:		In alternate 2 player mode, this governs who gets first shot.
				
				RANDOM		Random first shooter.
				PLAYER 1	First shot to Player 1.
				PLAYER 2	First shot to Player 2.
				LOSER'S		First shot to the loser of the last round.
				WINNER'S	First shot to the winner of the last round.

		PLACEMENT:	Where the bases are placed at the start of each round.

				RANDOM		Bases are put anywhere (min 50 pixels apart).
				OUT'S CHOICE	As determined by OUTS, the player with the first
						shot gets to choose whether they want a position
						shown, or take a chance on a random placement.
				APART		Bases are placed on opposite sides.
				

		TIME TO SHOOT:	In alternate 2 player mode, the time a player has to shoot.

		TIME LIMIT:	The length of a round in simultaneous 2 player mode.
		
	
OPTIONS >
TERRAIN >	TERRAIN TYPE:	The variation in the ups and down of the terrain.

				SMOOTH		Little variation - flowing hillocks... bah.
				NORMAL		Some peaks and troughs.
				ROUGH		Potential Edmund Hillary fodder.
				RANDOM		Any of the above.

		BUILD:		The type of play area.

				CAVERNOUS	Terrain above and below turrets.
				OPEN		No terrain above the turrets (no ceiling)
				RANDOM		Either of the above.

		BEHAVIOUR:	Whether or not the terrain crumbles.

				CRUMBLING	Terrain collapses, earth covers things...
				STATIC		Explosions leave gaping holes.

				Note - select STATIC if your computer isn't too speedy.

		TERRAIN RENEWAL:  After how many rounds should the scenery be redrawn.


OPTIONS >
GAMING PRESETS >		These are pre-stored option configurations that tailor PEDRO
				to your own tastes.  Once selected, the GAME SELECT menu will
				already have highlighted the appropriate mode of play.
		
		STANDARD:	Simultaneous play, random specials.	

		CLASSIC:	Alternate play, no specials, one hit wins a round.
			
		CUTIE CANNONS:	Simultaneous play, and cutie specials aplenty.

		STRATEGIC:	Alternate play, earth rounds and fire works only, loser's outs,
				placement via out's choice.
	


VIEW HIGH SCORES:  Listed here are high scores for each of the solo games - most cuties shot in CUTIE SHOOT, longest time survived in SURVIVAL, best dollar return and best quality blood shakes and burger meat in BUCKETS O' FUN.  3rd class high scores are shown in grey.  2nd class high scores are shown in white.  1st class high scores are shown in white and jiggle around.  High scores are saved every time you quit PEDRO.  Gee, this paragraph was dull wasn't it?


=== 3.4  Getting the most from PEDRO: Tips and Hints ===

PEDRO has a few little nuances that you might want to exploit if you can be bothered:


+++ CUTIES +++

These guys can be lobbed in the general direction of your opponent, and since they bounce around a bit, accuracy need not be too much of a concern.  Playing around a bit will reveal that different weapons do different things to these cuties.

For example (low) powered shots give them an almighty kick in the arse, and set them on fire too. Thus instead of blocking an incoming cutie with your sheild and having it hang around your base, quickly fire a powered shot at it and send it back towards your opponent - if it hits your sheild you'll lose all the charge you have stored in it anyway.

Another thing to note is that standard shots behave differently when they hit cuties.  If the standard shot is travelling too fast relative to the cutie when it hits the cutie, the shot will pass straight through - good for racking up the kills and juggles in CUTIE SHOOT, but no good for blocking in SURVIVAL.  A slower shot lodges itself in the cutie and sends it backwards a bit.

Bottom Line:  Experiment a bit in the TUTORIAL mode, and come battle time you won't be as reliant on your sheilds to fend off cuties.  Furthermore you'll probably make the most of situations that arise.


+++ FIRE WORKS +++

It takes practice or luck to lob a fire work, with just the right fuse time, at your opponent and have it explode right on them.  Use short fuse lengths and fast velocities to get the firework exploding roughly where you want it to.  Lobbing fire works over man made peaks is a good strategy for minimising the risk of damage to one's own base.  Oh and lobbing fire works at a group of cuties, when the fuse time is just right, can be most amusing.

Counter Note:  Warning when using fire works!  The fuse length depends on the level of the sheilds just before its launch... which means if a cutie touches your sheild as you are in the final stages of deciding upon the launch velocity, your sheild gets reduced to zero, and hence the fuse length becomes zero, and hence the weapon blows up in your face!  You have been warned! To escape this situation you simply don't complete the final tap of (S) - but this is easier said than done, so be weary.


+++ Simultaneous 2 Player Battle Tactics +++

+ Bump and Spike Technique:

Lob a cutie up into the air so that it comes down beside your base (not on top of it).  Whilst it is airborne, prepare to launch a low, low, low powered shot at it for when it falls beside your base.  By low, low, low powered I mean just tap (S) and then as quick as you can hold (F) to begin determining velocity.  If you get this right you'll probably confuse you opponent a bit, and send over a very potent flaming cutie, which if it doesn't hit its target should bounce around it erratically, causing a considerable worry to your foe.


+ Bouncing Bullets:

Simple.  Purple terrain doesn't blow up.  So try bouncing your shots off it.  


+ What to do if some meanie opponent constantly launches volleys of rapid fire at you:

This can be a real problem for beginners - visit the web site (http://www.space.net.au/~sammy) for info on whether or not I've decided to limit rapid fire to solo games only.  You can get out of this quite easily, simply by using your sheilds...  if these attacks are intermittent (as a good player's would be) then you have to be weary and always prepared to use your sheild.

On the other hand, a novice player will find the rapid fire option too tempting and as soon as they have a line of sight they'll get carried away with it, even if you have your sheilds well and truly up.  In this situation, take aim (as you too have line of sight in most cases), get your sheilds up to maximum, and unleash a full powered, maximum velocity shot right back at them. Your sheilds stay up until the moment the shot leaves your base, at which time you should already have (S) held to begin a new sheild.  Chances are you might cop a single standard shot hit, whereas they get very hurt indeed.

Let me know what you think about this - some people think the rapid fire sucks...  as of this release I'm considering making rapid fire drain energy in the 2 player modes, either that or leaving it alone, or including an option to handle it.  The trouble with such options is that different players favour one way or another and so arguements occur when folks with differing opinions play.  PEDRO loves rapid fire though.  


=== 4. Technical Stuff, setting up and the like ===

PEDRO is a simple program, and a simple game.


=== 4.1  Initial setup procedures ===

The only configurations you can make with PEDRO's setup are those concerning the sound card.  Run setup.bat to configure PEDRO to your Sound Blaster compatible card.  If you don't have such a card you can't get sound, but to avoid the message at the start of PEDRO suggesting for you to run setup, run setup anyway and save any old configuration.  It works for me...

Trouble finding your settings?? Try reading soundhlp.txt for a couple of tips :)


=== 4.2  Troubleshooting ===

One major problem I've noted is that as soon as a key is pressed when PEDRO is running in some environments, the computer begins to emit that horrible 'too many key presses' beep - and it won't shut up until PEDRO is exited.  

This suggests that the selected PEDRO sound configuration is conflicting with your hardware (well it does on my computer).  How to fix it:  You can try other sound configurations using setup.exe, and while this may remove the beep, you probably won't get sound effects (especially if you were getting them before hand).  Or you can alter your hardware configuration (BUT DO SO ONLY IF YOU KNOW HOW and you have tried the method below)

Another remedy for this is to designate PEDRO as a program that should be run in MS-DOS mode (if it isn't already).  

To do this, right click on the Pedro.exe file in your PEDRO directory, and click on Properties.  A window titled 'Pedro.exe Properties' appears, and you should click on the 'Program' tab (the second one from the left).  Then click on the 'Advanced...' button to bring up another window called 'Advanced Program Settings'.  Click the check box next to 'MS-DOS mode' and then click 'Okay'.  You can then click 'Okay' on the 'Pedro.exe Properties' window.

[Note that in the 6/7/98 release of Pedro, this problem has been fixed, on my computer anyway... if you get a beep using this new version, then please let me know through sammy@space.net.au ]


Another problem that has occured, especially when in MS-DOS mode, is a complete failure for PEDRO to start.  Instead a faint 'couldn't allocate screen buffer' message appears.  This problem is remedied by either a. Running in Windows (use Windows Help to help you configure an optimal setting for PEDRO under Windows - it should be played in full screen though and NOT a window), or b. Altering your AUTOEXEC.BAT.  PEDRO doesn't seem to like MSDEX or something or other, and so disabling this by sticking a 'rem' infront of the line it appears on can make PEDRO work.  

IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHAT YOU ARE DOING THEN DON'T DO ANYTHING AND GIVE UP ON PEDRO!!!  I DO NOT RECOMMEND ALTERING YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE SIMPLY TO PLAY PEDRO.  DO NOT DO IT.  GO AND BUY A MORE USER FRIENDLY GAME.  PEDRO JUST ISN'T WORTH MESSING AROUND WITH YOUR COMPUTER FOR.  IF YOU REALLY MUST PLAY PEDRO, MAKE A STARTUP DISK (START > CONTROL PANEL > ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS > STARTUP DISK) AND BACKUP YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE FIRST!!!  PEDRO CAN'T HARM YOUR COMPUTER, BUT YOU CAN IF YOU DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING.



=== 5. Registration:  FREEWARE! wooohooo! ===

Yayayayayayayyayayaayayayayyay!!!  PEDRO is freeware!!!  Keep it forever!  But if you can find it in your pockets to make a $$ contribution to me if you like PEDRO, I'd be most appreciative.  As of yet I'm not sure of the best way to receive any monies...  It will probably be a PO Box or something.  Visit the website http://www.space.net.au/~sammy for details. 



=== 6. Other things you might like to know === 

Just who is to blame for PEDRO???

Me, Rory Morrison of Perth, Western Australia.  Damn maths student.

Hmmm.  PEDRO was my first attempt at a game in C++, and since I learnt the language as I wrote the game there are some bugs / major inefficiencies lurking in the game.

I have to give some credit to Andre LaMothe and his book 'Teach Yourself Game Programming in 21 Days' for some of the functions used in PEDRO.  The book is available from SAMS Publishing and worth a read if you're into this kind of thing (and are an ameteur like me).  Best of all, the functions in the book may be used in your own games - even if you go on to sell those games.  Yay for Andre!

Perhaps I should learn Object Oriented Programming or something clever like assembly language for the next outing, and maybe actually use more than 640kb of RAM for the game.  To be honest PEDRO looks quite ancient (about 1992ish) and so you have my apologies, for the graphics at least.  PEDRO 3D perhaps?  PSX PEDRO maybe?  Who knows. 


Coming to a computer to you in the future - PEDRO II: Lost in Space!!!

Thankyou, goodnight.



=== 7. Update Information === 

Updates to this version include:

	+ Highscore bug fix
	+ Cutie Tennis bug fix
	+ That bloody annoying beeping sound that sometimes happens - fixed! (on my computer
	anyway)
	+ Modified Earth Weapon (secret - use a full sheild when using this weapon, and instead
	of a column of earth you get a column of almost impenetrable rock!!!!!  Uses up 5 bits
	of energy though...



PEDRO is Copyright 1998 Rory Morrsion...  You are simply allowed to play PEDRO,  Not steal it by calling it your own or any of that kind of stuff.  Make as many copies as you want.