Micron Machines demo 10/11/05
--------------------

Micron Machines is a simple racing game, devised as a simple test of the rotated sprite plotter in WOUM. Use the cursor keys to make menu selections and control your car. Escape quits.


Track file format:

This is a text file giving the layout and appearance for a race track. The first line of the file gives the name of the sprite file containing the block sprites. The next two lines are the width and the height of the track, in blocks. Then follows the block definitions, several lines of the format:

<char> <sprite name>[ <flags>]...

Where <char> is the single character used to identify the block in the track map, <sprite name> is the sprite name in the block sprite file, and [ <flags>]... is an optional list of flags. The flags are:

wall		A solid wall
hole		A hole in the ground to fall through
background	This is the background sprite to draw at the bottom of the holes
grid		Starting grid. Must have a direction.
check		Checkpoint. Must have a number.
jump		Jump ramp. Must have a direction.
hint		This is an AI hint. Must have a number.
default		This the block type to use for when a car drives off the edge
		of the map

For flags which require a direction or number, this direction/number must come before all other flags in the list. Valid directions are: up down left right
Checkpoint numbers must be from 1 upwards. Hints are also numbered from 1 upwards, and are used as waypoints by the AI code. Any gaps in the hint numbering will be filled in with the start grid & checkpoints, in the appropriate order. Thus hints 1, 3, 6 will correspond to a waypoint route of the starting grid, hint 1, checkpoint 1, hint 3, checkpoint 2, checkpoint 3, hint 6, and then the remaining checkpoints

At the end of the block definitions must be the single line 'map', following which is a character grid defining the track. Each character in the grid will be matched to the appropriate block definition.

There must be one background and one default block defined. There must also be one grid in the track, and at least one checkpoint.


The block sprites:

This should be a regular sprite file, with sprites named as they are referenced in the block definitons. The sprites can be in different modes, but they must all be the same size. Rectangular sizes are allowed. Masked sprites will have the parallax background sprite drawn behind them.


Car file format:

This is a text file describing the handling and appearance of a set of cars. The first line is the name of the sprite file containing the car sprites. The second is the acceleration speed, in pixels per second. This must be an integer. The third is the breaking speed, in pixels per second (which can be a float). Then is the friction value (percentage speed maintained per second, float), and the turning speed (degrees per second, integer).


The car sprites:

This is a set of 8 identical size sprites numbered 0-7. Each sprite should be the same car, facing to the right, but in a different colour (Or with a different number painted on it etc.)


The source code:

With a copy of GCC for RISC OS and WOUM installed (see http://www.coderscauldron.com), running 'mkrace' from the !Micon.source directory should compile a new copy of the game.


Jeffrey Lee, 10/11/05
me@phlamethrower.co.uk
http://www.quote-egnufeb-quote-greaterthan-colon-hash-comma-underscore-at.info/