*---------------------------------------------------------*
|                        DIAMONDS 82                      |
|              by Jonathan Ellis - JonjeGames             |
|    Date: 12/26/97                      Version: 1.1     |
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DIAMONDS 82 Manual
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DIAMONDS 82 features awesome block-busting action on the TI-82!
But unlike other block games, DIAMONDS has a twist.
There are no paddles, but instead, the ball always bounces vertically,
and you control its horizontal movement.

First, let's give credit where credit is due.  DIAMONDS 82 is based on the Macintosh game DIAMONDS by WizardWorks Group, Inc., and Varcon Systems, Inc.  It was designed by Dub Myers and Oliver Dreer.  It was a finalist for MacUser's "Game of the Year" and was called "The most addictive game since Crystal Quest."

Files Included
----------------
DIAMONDS - run this to start the game.
ZDIA82 - the actual game, don't run it yourself.

The Game
--------
To start the game, run prgmDIAMONDS.  You will see the opening screen.  To start the game on the first level, press [ENTER].  You may also start on any level of your choice.  To do this, press [MODE] instead of [ENTER].  Then enter the starting level.
The object of Diamonds is to clear all the patterned blocks, then clear all the diamonds.  The ball always bounces vertically, and you control the ball's horizontal direction with the left and right arrow keys.  You get six lives to start and can obtain more if you score 10000 points.
To clear the patterned blocks, you must be of the same pattern.  To change your pattern, hit a rounded block, also called a paintbrush.  Your current pattern is displayed in the upper right corner.
There are six different patterns.
You start out colored white.  You should get the white blocks first, because there is no paintbrush to change your color back to white!  Therefore, if you were to change your color before clearing all the white blocks, you would have to commit suicide to start the lever over as white!
After that, you can usually get the other patterns in any order.  Just touch a paintbrush to "become" that pattern, then collect those blocks.  Every level has its challenges.
When you've finished clearing all the blocks, you can clear the diamonds.  These are pretty easy to recognize.  When you're finished clearing the diamonds, you move on to the next level.  Finish the level quickly and you'll get a time bonus.
There are also paintbrushes and blocks marked "K" in some levels.  Touching the paintbrush allows you to pick up the K block(s), which are keys.  A "K" will appear at the side of the screen to indicate that you have a key.  You can only have one key at a time.  You can then clear a lock with a key, but you must still be of the "K" pattern to clear the lock.
Be careful of the reversers!  These things look like arrows, and if you touch one, the left and right arrow keys will be reversed!  Pressing left will make you go right, and vice versa.  Clearing another reverser will set you back to normal.
The blocks that are solid black are simply walls.  You do not need to clear these bricks to complete the level.
The blocks that are black with a white X through them are death spaces!  Touch one of these and you'll lose a life.  Losing a life is the only way to get back to being white-colored!
Press [ENTER] to pause the game.  Press [CLEAR] to quickly quit the game.  You'll be able to see your score.  But hey, why would you ever want to quit? (just kidding)

More levels
-----------
Once you've beaten the ten levels included with this game, you can get more!  You can visit http://members.aol.com/JonjeGames/ and we might have some levels there, or check elsewhere on the internet and you never know what you might come across!
The new levels will come in a new program.  To play these levels, run that program instead of DIAMONDS to start the game.  The program DIAMONDS itself is simply levels, so you may delete that when you have other level packs if you wish.  But the program ZDIA82 is needed to run any levels.

Q & A
-----
Q: Is there any pit to fall into at the bottom of the screen?
A: NO!  Remember, this ain't any ordinary block busting game.  There's no paddles and no pit.  You bounce off the bottom, top, and sides of the screen.
Q: Can I make my own levels?
A: Not yet.  Well, of course you could go into the code, figure out how the program works, and then make your own levels.  If you have a good idea for a level, drop me a note (address below) and somehow tell me what it should look like (.bmp, etc.) and I'll code it up.  I might make a level editor, but only if this program gets popular enough.  It probably won't.  But if you think this program is great, email me and I'll consider it.
Q: Where can I get more levels?
A: http://members.aol.com/JonjeGames/, when they become available.  There probably won't be any new levels until Feb. 1998 or so.  You can also check other TI-sites and maybe, just by chance, they'll have some.
Q: Is there anything I need to know about?
A: In certain situations, it is possible that the ball could go kitty-corner (diagonally) through a gap, like this:

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 - _
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Where the ball would go from the lower-left to the upper-right.  This could help you or hurt you, so watch out!
Q: Why don't new levels work with my Diamonds program?
A: It could be that since this version of Diamonds has been released, a newer version has been released that the new levels require.  This is very unlikely at this point, however.  Check out http://members.aol.com/JonjeGames/ for the latest updates to the program.
Q: Now that I've installed this new version of Diamonds, some of my old Diamonds levels don't work.
A: Again, this is a compatibility problem.  It's unlikely that you have any of the really early levels, but they'll cause major problems.  Levels designed for v1.02 will cause slight problems.  It's best to simply re-download your levels, since they'll all be updated at: http://members.aol.com/JonjeGames/
Q: Can I distribute this game?
A: Yes, please do!  If you're distributing it on the web, be sure to use the dia82.zip file so this instruction manual gets included.  Also please tell me if you will, I'd love to hear about it.

Need more help?
Need more levels?
Comments/questions/suggestions?
Found a bug (I hope not!)?
Want to tell me that you like this game (I hope!)?
Email JonjeGames@aol.com
or visit http://members.aol.com/JonjeGames/

DIAMONDS 82 History:
--------------------
Version 0.0
	-under development
Version 1.0
	-ten levels
	-fixed all known bugs (at the time)
Version 1.01
	-fixed a small bug
Version 1.02
	-locked up programs
Version 1.1
	-created the "starting level" feature
	-deleted unnecessary lines of code
	-updated the DIAMONDS program to be compatible with v1.1
	-this version

Coming Soon:
	-More levels