-----------------------------
|Dumbbell - SDL Conversion 1.3|
 -----------------------------

Installation
------------

Windows:
    You will need the SDL runtime library, SDL.dll. If you don't have it, go
to the web site www.libsdl.org, download the SDL 1.2 runtime library for
Win32, and copy it to the same directory as DUMBBELL.EXE and DIGITS.BMP.

Other platforms (Linux, MacOS, FreeBSD, etc.):
    Binary executables are not available for these platforms (at least not
yet). Thus, you will need a C compiler to compile this yourself, as well as
the SDL 1.2 development libraries for your platform. Once you are equipped
with these things, you need only compile DUMBBELL.C.

Game Concept
------------

You control a constantly moving dot. You can change the dot's direction,
making it move up, down, left, or right, although you cannot turn around 180
degrees. As the dot moves, it leaves behind a trail of slime, forming lines
or, if you make enough turns, more complex designs. Any contact with the
slime trail will be fatal, so you must be careful to avoid it.

Avoiding the slime trail is possible thanks to dumbbells. At any particular
time, there is one dumbbell in a random location on the screen. When the dot
comes in contact with the dumbbell, the dumbbell will be erased and a new one
will appear in another random location. Meanwhile, the dumbbell will have
cleaned up all slime within a small square around it. In this way, dumbbells
can make gaps in the slime trail, allowing you to move around more freely.

It is allowable to go off the screen on any side; you will come back on the
opposite side. Games of Dumbbell are scored by how long you survive and how
many dumbbells you manage to get. You receive 1 point every time the dot
moves in any direction, and 1,000 points for each dumbbell collected.

Controls
--------

The arrow keys cause the dot to move in their respective directions. The
Spacebar key pauses the game; another press of Space will unpause it. You may
end a game at any time by pressing Escape.

When you die, the display will freeze, with nothing happening. Press Space to
see your score, then Space again to exit.

Command-Line Options
--------------------

These are new to version 1.3 and are in fact the only differences from
version 1.2, except for a little bug fix. On Windows, the way to use these
is to find dumbbell.exe in the Run dialog, then add the options after it,
something like 'C:\Games\Fun\Dumbbell\dumbbell.exe -window', for example,
would run Dumbbell in windowed mode. The command-line options allow you to
control:

Windowed or full-screen mode
    The -fullscreen option makes Dumbbell take up the full screen (if it can);
this is the default. If you prefer Dumbbell to run in a window, use the
-window option.

Movement speed
    From slowest to fastest, the speed settings are -boring, -slow, -midspeed,
-fast, and -insane. Note that the speeds do not correspond exactly with those
in the DOS version; -midspeed is close to the normal speed in DOS, but
'boring' and 'insane' speeds are way off. This will be improved in the future.

Screen size
    -tiny        320x200    (small size in DOS version)
    -small       320x240
    -square      360x360    (in case you want a square-shaped playing field
                            for some reason)
    -midsize     640x480    (default in DOS and SDL versions)
    -large       800x600
    -huge       1024x768    (may not work if you have a particularly old
                            monitor or video card)

A future version of the SDL port will probably add the one remaining feature
missing from the DOS version: the ability to turn off wrap-around (i.e., you
die if you go off the play area). Sound effects are a possibility for the
future but not definite, and if they are added, an option to disable them
will be left in. An option to change the colours of the dot, the slime trail,
the background, and the dumbbells will also be considered.

License
-------

Copyright 2002-2003 Thunder Palace Entertainment. Redistribution is permitted
provided that unmodified copies of the files dumbbell.exe, dumbbell.c,
dumbbell.txt, and digits.bmp are included. (Redistribution in other forms may
be permitted, but only with the advance permission of the copyright owner.)

This software is provided 'as is,' with no warranties of any kind. Thunder
Palace Entertainment will not be held responsible for any damages resulting
from the use of this software.

Contact
-------

If you find Dumbbell fun, have a suggestion for a future version, would like
to distribute it in a form that is not specifically permitted by the license,
can share experiences running Dumbbell on a non-Windows platform, or have
anything else to say about Dumbbell, please contact the game's creator and
programmer, Catatonic Porpoise, by sending e-mail to graue@fojar.com.

Thunder Palace Software's web site is located at:
http://thunderpalace.com/software/