================================== Colloidal v0.5 (c) 2011 Joe Kim ================================== Contents -------- Introduction Installation Controls Other Info License Contact FAQ Thank Yous! (and Rants) Introduction ------------------ Colloidal is a simple game where you dodge flying blocks. There are four colors of blocks: black, dark gray, medium, and light gray. You control a box. You can change the color of the box. If you hit a block with a different color from you, the game is over. However, if you hit a block with the same color as you, the game continues, although your score will be penalized. Think of the color changing scheme as a lifeline. You will notice that the blocks do not always bounce around predictably. That is intended. Blocks of the same color pass through each other, much like how they can pass through your box. Blocks with different colors tend to bounce around, although sometimes they will aggregate. This can be good and bad for you. On one hand, the aggregates lock up blocks so you have fewer to worry about. On the other hand, the aggregates create "danger zones" where no amount of color changing will save you. Blocks will be added randomly to the screen, so be on the look out for sudden appearances! Good reflexes help! Regardless, this is just a simple game for Lulz. Controls ------------ Arrow Keys - Move (Your character is a box with a white center) Tab and Ctrl - Cycle through the 4 different colors 0 - Change color to light gray 1 - Change color to medium gray 4 - Change color to dark gray 7 - Change color to black Esc - Exit at any time Other Info ---------- This program will create a file called "Colloidal.HighScore.tns" in the same folder that Colloidal-Ndless2.tns was run from. This file simple saves the high score. License ------- The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/ Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the License. The Original Code is Colloidal.c, Colloidal.h, main.c. The Initial Developer of the Original Code is Joe Kim (SolusIpse). Portions created by Joe Kim are Copyright (C) August 14, 2011. All Rights Reserved. Contributor(s): ANNEHEIM Geoffrey and ARMAND Olivier (Ndless, libndls, utils.c, utils.h) Contact ------- Questions, comments, bug reports, etc. are welcome. At the time of this writing, I can be contacted using the following email address. Please note that my email address changes occasionally, and the above address may no longer work. FAQ --- Q: Why do blocks sometimes pass through each other? A: It's supposed to do that. Originally, I wanted to iron that out but then I decided after playing a bit that it actually makes the game harder by adding some unpredictability. If you don't like hard games, then I suggest you stay away from Ninja Gaiden games and the hardest difficulty on The Witcher 2. Q: Why is there no fancy title screen? Why is there just one high score? A: Give me a break. A week before the contest deadline I decided I'd give C another shot and a day or two before the deadline I decided to actually commit myself to writing this. Suddenly deciding to pick up C again after not doing much low-level (Assembly) programming for years is like suddenly waking up one morning and running a marathon without any training. You can run, but it sure hurts, and you might not even make it. But likewise, you never forget how to run or ride a bike once you know how. You never really forget your first programming language (not C in my case). You might forget the ones after. Q: So does this mean you're coming back to finish unfinished projects? A: Probably not. Really, I only started lurking again because I saw a news article on Kotaku that briefly mentioned hacking TI calculators and I started wondering how people were doing. Well, I came back, and almost everyone I knew when I was active has left. Only the big names like KermMartian and DJ_O are still active. I'm a busy person so it's unrealistic for me to start a project, especially since I no longer own any of the "popular" calculators (Nspire, Prizm, Ti-84+). Also, most people are no longer aware of said projects anyways, which will probably make it easier for me to depart unnoticed again. Thank Yous! (and Rants) ----------------------- KermMartian - For convincing me to try programming something again. Also for reminding me that during my long stay in the community, I never once uploaded to TiCalc. Well, I finally wrote something I wouldn't mind putting on TiCalc, albeit it's not a z80 program, and it's a mediocre addition to the sparse selection of Ndless-based games. Olivier Armand - For helping me get Ndless set up a week before the contest deadline. I always felt that getting a development setup was the most annoying thing to do. But I guess you get used to it after awhile. Also, thank you for keeping hackspire's wiki relatively up to date. For once, I was able to jump onto a TI platform without having to ask for info. But I also have to thank you (or rather blame you lol) for reminding me why I chose to leaving programming for good during the past couple years. My very first programming language was z80 Assembly (I kid you not, I just threw myself into the deep end). As a result, I could never get used to C for some reason. I guess maybe it's because I had an idea of what I wanted to do in ASM but couldn't get the syntax right in C so that it would compile the way I wanted. And C wasn't like Java (2nd language) where everything was very high level and just worked. It'd also tell you rather clearly why you broke it. Ah well, after writing this, I wouldn't mind learning ARM ASM, especially since the architecture is on the rise now. Goplat - If you didn't write nspire_emu, it wouldn't even be possible for more to write and test this. 'Nuff said. Members of the TI community whom I've known well - Keep up the good work. It's good to be able to just come back and see that things are still chugging along reasonably well. But, where's Zelda? Where's Robot Wars? Where are my epic RPGs? This is going to sound like a rant because it is, but despite that fact that we now have multiple emulators for almost all the calcs, why is it that we still don't have many original games? I've seen so many good projects just left on the wayside. I know people tend to move on, but for once, could someone just finish a game instead of leaving behind a dead forum thread that random people will necropost in every so often?! But in all seriousness, GOOD JOB and keep up the good work. Remember that the health of the community depends on the momentum generated by good work and good ideas. The health also depends on passing the torch (established knowledge) on to others in the community. Keep that in mind if you feel it's time to move on. If you do leave, know that programming and coding aren't limited to just computer science and similar fields. There's not a single scientific community that isn't impacted by progress made in software. The things you learn in the community will probably help you whereever you go. THE END