Asteroids - A game by Michael Davies
------------------------------------

Asteroids is a 3D game by Michael Davies, based on the old arcade classic in
which you must destroy asteroids by breaking them up into smaller pieces.

It was developed in Visual C++ 6.0 with DirectX 8.1 over a period of
approximately one month. It will run under any Windows system with DirectX 8.1
(NOT DirectX 8.0 or 8.0a) installed.

Controls
--------

F1......................Change View
F12.....................Self Destruct
LSHIFT/MOUSE1...........Accelerate
LCTRL/MOUSE2............Fire Laser
NUMPAD0/MOUSE3..........Fine Aim Mode (Hold while aiming)
SPACE...................Brake
Cursor Keys/Mouse.......Pitch/Yaw
Z/X.....................Roll

Objective Summary
-----------------
- Destroy all asteroids to continue to the next wave
- Defend all communication satellites or fail the wave
- For bonus points destroy martian fighters

Story
-----

At 0400 hours, we received confirmation from NASA that an asteroid field
larger than any recorded in the history of civilization is headed for a direct
collision course with Earth. If just one of these asteroids were to hit
Earth’s surface, the impact would measure at approximately 50 megatons - 4,000
times the explosive power of the fission bomb used on Hiroshima.

Our entire military fleet is currently at war with the Martians and, as fate
would have it, the asteroid field is too far away from Mars to reassign a
Commander. You are the only armed ship within reach of the field.

Your mission is simple: Eliminate all asteroids. Gravitational forces have
banded the asteroid field into eight waves. This will provide time between
each wave to repair your ship. Some waves will be passing through so quickly
that you will have a limited amount of time to destroy the asteroids before
the next wave arrives. You may encounter Martian fighters, so keep alert.
Our communication satellites are in the line of fire: protect them at all
costs.

Scientific analysis has shown the asteroids’ outer shells are coated in
almandine carconite, a rare, highly explosive mineral which is normally only
safe at extremely low temperatures. This means a single shot from a laser
turret will suffice to blow the asteroid into pieces, but be warned! The
explosion will be so large that you are advised to stay well back. A severe
explosion could interfere with your guidance systems, or ultimately obliterate
your ship.

The entire fate of the world rests in your hands. Good luck.

Version History
---------------

*** v0.98 ***

  Additions:

- 3D model + code optimizations (yields better, more consistent frame rate)
- Velocity indicator in cockpit
- Better looking GUI
- Resolution settings remembered
- Resolution settings available in-game
- Katie Holmes ON/OFF option

  Known bugs:

- None

*** v0.94a ***

- Fixed bug which caused lasers to explode sometimes before leaving your laser
  turret (only noticable on fast PCs).
- Fixed bug which caused lasers to sometimes not fire at all.

*** v0.94 ***

  Additions:

- Difficulty levels.
- Proper waves (each wave is unique now, rather than just wave X = X
  asteroids).
- Martian fighters + AI.
- Communication satellites (defend them at all costs!).
- Target leading reticle for cockpit view.
- Intro sequence.
- Frustum culling (massive speed increase).
- Fixed a million bugs all over the place.

  Known bugs:

- External camera doesn't reset properly at the beginning of a new wave.
- Dodgy pause button (need to hit it lots to get it to Pause sometimes).
- Intro sequence - spaceship gets too close to camera and clips.

*** v0.91 ***

- Fixed bug which prevented Asteroids from running on 3D cards incapable of
  cubic environment mapping.
- Fixed bug which caused irregular speed fluctuations.

*** v0.90 ***

- First public release

Contact
-------

For the latest version or information on Asteroids, visit:
	http://www.4bitterguys.com/michael/asteroids

Feedback is welcome:
	michael@4bitterguys.com