           T           E         TETRIX  by Darryl Yong           R           I           X    Copyright 1989 by Darryl Yong   Documentation by Mark McCracken  NOTICE:  This program and  documentation is not in the  Public Domain!  It may be,  however, freely distributed to  all so long as the program and  documentation are not changed in  any way.  This program and  documentation may not be sold in  any way without the author's  expressed written consent.  This  does not exclude normal connect  charges for online data services  such as GEnie and CompuServe, nor  does it prevent User Groups from  making a nominal charge for club  diskettes.            INTRODUCTION            ------------  Tetrix is a remake of a popular  Russian game with a similar name.  The object is simple:  shapes,  or blocks fall into a pit.  Your  job is to rotate the shapes, and  fit them at the bottom of the  pit.  Whenever a row of blocks is  completely filled up, it  disintegrates with a boom.  The  game ends when there is no more  room for the shapes to enter the   pit.  Nine levels are provided in  the game, to successfully pass  one level, you must complete 10  lines.  A surprise is in store  for the most adept player at the  completion of all 1-9 levels.               CONTROLS               --------  At the main menu, select the  starting level using either the  SELECT key or the joystick.   Starting at level one gives you  normal play, whereas starting at  any level other than one will  give you a "practice" mode; you  cannot advance levels.  During play, simply use the  joystick to move the piece left  and right, or use the 'J' and 'L'  keys.  To rotate a piece, push  the trigger or press 'K'.   To  speed up game play and recieve  bonus points, you may drop a  piece from any height by pulling  down on the joystick, or by  pressing the space bar.  Also, a  Next feature is implemented to  show you which piece will come  next, but the point value for  that piece will be reduced.  To  toggle this feature, pull up on  the joystick, or press 'N'.  If you need to pause sometime in  the game, press 'P'.  To resume  play, press any key.  You may quit the game at any time  by pressing 'Q' during gameplay.  The game will be ended instantly  and high score checked.               SCORING               -------  Each piece that is successfully  placed earns a score of the  number of rows it has traversed.   For example, a piece that falls  10 rows before coming to a rest  earns 10 points.  When the Next  feature is on, all score that you  would normally receive is halved.  Dropping a pieve yields 2 points  for evert row the piece has  fallen.  Completing a level gives  you 100 points, and if you manage  to complete four levels with one  piece (the long skinny one) you  will receive a 1000 point bonus.  Tetrix also keeps track of high  score.  When the game is loaded,  it looks for a TETRIX.HSC on D1:.  If, at the end of your game, you  have tied or beaten the high  score, Tetrix will prompt you for  your initials.  Only letters,  numbers, and a few symbols will  be accepted, any other key will  restart the entering process.   After entering your initials, you  have the choice of saving your  score or not.  If any errors  occur during the save, Tetrix  will abort, without attempting a  retry.           HINTS AND TIPS           --------------  Each Tetrix player will gain his  or her own style with practice,  but here are a few tips.  Don't  leave pieces where they obstruct  others, and don't put pieces in  places which limit your  possibilities.  Finally,  practice, practice, practice, is  the only thing that will give you  success!             FINAL WORDS             -----------  Please remember that for any  shareware program, contributions  will encourage the author to  create more products.  Your  generous donations will also pay  for the costs incurred, and time  the author has devoted.  Again,  please do not hesitate to support  shareware authors; by doing this,  you support the Atari community  as well.  I truly hope you enjoy Tetrix.  ---Darryl Yong--Proverbs 16:3  ---1970 Benita Drive, #1  ---Rancho Cordova, CA 95670  Complaints, comments?  Don't  fret!!  I can be reached on  Compuserve, 72717,1450.  I can also be found wandering  (aimlessly?) around the  Sacramento Quadrature:  ACCESS BBS:         (916)423-2544  BREAKFAST CLUB BBS: (916)331-4722  CITY OF GREY:       (916)487-8729  SELECT BBS:         (916)392-7279  Thanks to Marty A., and Mark M.  and all others who helped me test  Tetrix.            Enjoy TETRIX