QUADRANT Revision 0.02 02/29/00

QUADRANT was inspired by a C64 game of long ago - Galactic Empire.
Galactic Empire was text only (although it did use color), turn based,
very simple, but EXTREMELY fun (at least at the time).

When the game design has been nailed down enough, I'll start posting the
source code with the binaries. QUADRANT is going to be public domain.

Object Of Game
==============
Take over all the planets in the quadrant (hence the name).

Each planet has it's own Resource Points (RP), which increase over time.
Each planet "grows" resources at a different rate, and in different
"increments". RP are used in attacking and defending.

Revision History
================
0.02 - Tweaked prototype. Reduced the maximum number of "squadrons in flight".
Reduced the "auto repeat" delays. Both of these changes were attempts at
making cursor control less of a pain. The "cursor swap" now works slightly
different. (I think I'm back to the original scheme. Every time I change it,
it still "feels" backwards to me).
0.01 - Second prototype. One human player v/s one alien race playing three
       colors. A few more sound effects.
0.00 - First prototype. Two human players, no computer AI (yellow and green
       planets are sitting ducks).

Controls
========
A - Launch squadrons of 5 ships (RP) each
B - Like A, but only 1 per squadron
C - "C"hange active cursor
S - "S"witch cursor positions
L/R/U/D - Move the active cursor (with auto repeat)

(Revision 0.00)
Player 1 = Red, 2 = Blue
Yellow and Green will become AI players
(at some point these may become selectable)

(Revision 0.01, 0.02)
Player 1 = Red. Blue, Yellow, and Green are controlled by the first of
several planned "alien ai", the Taurus.

How To Play
===========
The = cursor is the players SOURCE cursor.
The || cursor is the player's DESTINATION cursor.
Only one cursor can be moved at a time. The ACTIVE cursor is BRIGHTER than
the INACTIVE one. ("C" to change, "S" to swap positions AND CHANGE).

The top two lines show rudimentary "stats" on the planets under the SOURCE
(top line) and DESTINATION (second line) cursors. (Player 1 is on left,
player 2 is on the right).

NOTE! Currently all that's shown is planet number (who cares), and current
RP.

Squadrons are launched by positioning the SOURCE cursor on a planet you own,
and putting the DESTINATION cursor on the planet you want them to fly to.
How "big of an attack" to make is determined by how long you hold the A or
B buttons down.

If enough fighters arrive at a planet, it will be taken over.

NOTE! Planets take some damage from this. If the players fight over the same
planet enough, it will become so damaged it becomes worthless.


Designer's Notes
================
In porting the concept of G.E. over to the SEGA, I had to make some changes.
1) Real time, not turn-based.
2) In the original game, players used a keyboard to input source planet,
   destination planet, and number of ships to send. This has been replaced
   with a "cursor based" input system.
3) In the original game, you couldn't SEE the fleets. Because QUADRANT is not
   turn-based, I felt the other player would already know where you were
   sending your ships, so there was no advantage to hiding them.


Known Bugs
==========
There's a bug in the "stats" display when you hit "S" with only one cursor on
a planet. (Harmless, but I haven't found it's cause yet).

"Battles" are completely deterministic at present. I may or may not add some
randomness to them.

In the original G.E., each player only started out with one planet, the rest
were neutral.


Feedback Request
================
I REALLY would like some feedback on this game design.

Should the planets be bigger, allowing more graphics detail, but at the
expense of a smaller playfield?

Would it add to playability to show "ship icons" instead of pixels?

What can be done to improve the User Interface?

What would make the game more fun?

What currently makes the game NOT fun? What should be removed?

Should the battles be random?


Acknowledgements
================
Thanks are due to all who have given me feedback:
Kyle Banks, David Turner, Bart Trzynadlowski and William Turner

Kevin Banks / kbanks@ro.com