                           BATTLE OF THE ERAS DEMO 
                           =======================

Introduction
------------

	Battle of the Eras is Procryon's first public attempt at making
a full scale good quality videogame. It is of the fighting genre like
*Mortal Kombat II, *Street Fighter II, and *OMF 2097 are. It is video captured
and each character contains an average of 400 frames of animation.We've worked
on it since August 1994 and have overcome many challenges like doing it
with an extremely low budget($50 or so) and without a blue screen or writing
it in real mode(no *DOS4GW or other DPMI extenders) like we see other games
doing. It has a great combo system which includes juggling and two-in-ones;
there are other methods of executing combos but we won't spoil it for you. It
has a plot!!! And a complicated one!! The characters are very large yet the
game is still quite fast. It was written 95% in C++ the rest in assembly. We
used *Borland C++ 4.0 and *TASM 3.1 and found that they are great for all
sorts of jobs ranging from conversion utils to... video games. Enough talking..
We hope you enjoy our great attempt at making a fighting game.


	The minimum setup you can have to run Battle of the Eras:
1018k of XMS memory
500k of BASE ram
386 SX processor (It runs very slow on anything under a 486)
VGA Moniter & Card
6 mb of HD space
DOS 5.0 or OS/2 2.11
       The recommended setup:
4MB of XMS
590k of BASE ram
486DX/33 to 486 DX2/66
Soundblaster or GUS
Fast (S)VGA video card
DOS 6 or OS/2 WARP
       The best possible setup:
8MB of XMS
621k of BASE ram
486 DX4/100 or Pentium 90
Soundblaster 16 or GUS
Fast (S)VGA video card
A defragmented hard disk
DOS 6 or OS/2 WARP

The music becomes disabled if you have below 550k of base RAM free unless
you have a GUS.

If you use *Doublespace ,*Stacker or a similar compression program, the 
loading times will be somewhat slower, and if you have below 4 megs of RAM
the game itself will run quite slower.

Do not use SMARTDRV or similar disk-cache programs if you are short on RAM.
You could load it into UMB with the LH command. But SMARTDRV uses quite
a bit of XMS so game performance might be poor, but loading time would be
reduced... It's your call.

RECOMMENDED CONFIG.SYS SETTINGS:

Config.Sys:

DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=128
DOS=HIGH
FILES=50

This will give you about 621k of base RAM free.




RECOMMENDED CONFIG.SYS SETTINGS FOR THOSE WHICH NEED DEVICE DRIVERS:
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS /NUMHANDLES=128
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS (or EMM386.EXE EMS if you need EMS memory for your programs)
DOS=UMB
DOS=HIGH
FILES=50
DEVICEHIGH xxxxx.sys xxx xxx xx xx
DEVICEHIGH xxxxx.sys xxx xxx xx xx
This will give you about 618k of base RAM free.



** NOTE TO AVOID PROBLEMS "/NUMHANDLES=128" IS A MUST!!!



Command Line Options
--------------------
-t Text Scrolling Fast(also can be set in the options menu)





*** NOTE FOR OS/2 USERS ***

Battle of the Eras was developed under OS/2 Warp and it works perfectly under
it. The recommended settings are: INTDURINGIO=YES XMSHANDLES=128 XMSLIMIT=6144
HWTIMER=ON DOSHIGH=YES. It does not work in a window because OS/2 doesn't 
support Mode X in a window. It works under OS/2 2.11 if you turn off the
sound.

*** NOTE FOR WINDOWS USERS ***
Battle of the Eras doesn't work properly under any version of 16 bit Windows
and never will.

It has been tested a bit on Win 95 and the results are not good. If you
have Win 95, running it in a dos boot is a must!


Demo Version Limitations
========================
Only Sho-Jin and ShadowSnake are playable.
Only Ferekin's and Gatekeeper's backgrounds are included.
The death moves are not included in the demo version.
You cannot start a Tournament.


INSTRUCTIONS
============

Each character in addition contains 5 special moves and 1 or 2 death moves.

Run SETUP.EXE to configure the game. Then run BERAS.EXE to play.

Tips to increase performance:

If running under WARP, some systems may experience slowdowns(not sure why)
Set the lifebar to transparent in the options menu. (15% faster)
Turn off the soundscope(5% faster)
Defragment your hard disk.
UN-STACK your drive!
Set DETAIL to LOW (2 times faster)
Lower the mixing rate.
If gameplay is very slow, turn off music(20-25% faster)


Tips to decrease performance(for all you DX4s and Pentiums)
Set the lifebar to opaque in the options menu. (15% slower)
Turn on the soundscope(5% slower)
Turn Slo-Mo Mode on (50% slower)
Set DETAIL to HIGH 
Raise the mixing rate.

Getting started:

If you are a beginner, then XLX-2250 would be the ideal fighter
because he is strong and easy to use.

Here are some quick details of the fighters:

Ferekin: Extremely slow but useful special moves.
Gatekeeper: Medium speed and strength, but has good special moves.
XLX-2250; Very strong but quite slow.
ShadowSnake: Very weak but extremely fast.
Sho-Jin: Fast, medium strength.

	  T= towards   HP=head punch BK=block
	  A= away      MP=mid punch  CH=charge
	  U= up        MK=mid kick   AP=any punch
	  D= down      HK=head kick  AK=any kick


	   Head Jab              : T+HP
	   Torso Jab             : T+MP
	   Head Punch            : HP
	   Torso Punch           : MP
	   Power Punch/Uppercut  : A+HP
	   Throw                 : A+MP
	   Crouch Punch          : D+MP
	   Crouch Kick           : D+AK
	   Jab Kick              : T+HK
	   Head Kick             : HK
	   Torso Kick            : MK
	   Roundhouse/Power Kick : A+HK                            
	   Sweep                 : T+MK
	   Jump Kick             : Jump + AK
	   Jump Punch            : Jump + AP
	   Charge                : CH

*With Ferekin the controls are reversed because he(I) is(am) left handed.

SPECIAL MOVE LIST
=================

This game unlike many others uses only one way of entering special moves.
It actually is easier to enter L-D-R regardless of direction than it is to
enter R-D-L or L-D-R. It takes less memory work and is less complex. It may
seem awkward at the beginning but eventually it will be easier.

Sho-Jin:
    Special Moves:
         "Fury": L-D-L-R-D-HK-HP
         Crotch Cut: R-D-L-MP-HP
        3 hit combo: HP-MP-HK
        Ushiro-Geri: D-L-MK
        Axe Hammer: U-D-R-HP
Ferekin:
      Accelerating energy torpedo. L-D-R-HP
      Super powerful Lightning attack. L-D-L-U-D-R-BL-CH
      Bouncing Staff.     R-L-R-MK
      Dizzy Spell.   D-U-D-U-HK
      Choke spell. D-L-D-R-MP
XLX-2250:
      Laser blast    - R-D-U-HK
      Plasma flames   - L-D-L-U
      Belly flop     - R-L-R-L-R-L-R-D
      Bop on head    - D-L-MK
      Axe hit:       - D-L-R-L-D-L-R-BK

Gatekeeper:
	     L-D-R-L-R-D-R-CH
 10 Hit Combo: Left-Right for 4 hits. Up - Down to last 2.
	     L-R-L-HK
 Super Baseball swing: The victim's head is a baseball...
	     L-R-D-MK
 Drive to face: it hurts. Nuff said.
	     R-D-R-MK
 Spinning Sweep: Gatekeeper ducks holds out his staff and spins around 
		 quickly, towards victim.
	     L-D-R-HP
 Javelin: Gatekeeper throws bow. 

ShadowSnake:
         Behind the Knees slash - R-L-D-HP-R-BK
	 Facestab - L-D-R-U
	 Teleport - U-D
	 Blowgun  - L-D-BK
	 Jugular Slash - D-L-HP


Special Keys
------------

Quick exit:
   When picking a fighter: Q
   When loading: ESC

While playing the game:
ESC- return to main menu

Any key may be used to skip an animation sequence.

If no keys are pressed while the Battle of the Eras logo animation is running,
the game goes into show mode which consists of the story, the credits and
demos.


Explanation of the menus: (the self-explanitory ones have been left out)


MAINMENU:
New Game - start the tournament.
Melee - Play one match against a friend or the computer.
End Game - end an active game.
Modem Game - Fight one match over the modem.( see section below )
Options - go into the options menu.
Story - show the plot of the game.
Demo - watch the computer fight itself.
        (when the match is over, as it fades out hold the space bar until
         the mainmenu appears if you don't want to see another demo match)

Options:
Blood - toggle blood in the game.
Players - change whether you want to fight the computer or a human in a melee.
Lifebar - Draw the life bar opaque or transparent.
Detail - toggle whether you want more detailed animation or faster animation.
SoundScope - turn off the bars dancing to the music.
Save Settings - Store the settings as default.

Using Modem Game:


To play Battle of the Eras over the modem, you first need a Hayes-compatible
modem(able to use ATx commands)
First arrange between yourself and your opponent who is calling who.
If you are calling, press F1 and type in the phone number.
If you are answering, press F2 when you hear your phone ring.

If you are having problems getting info from your modem after
connecting but you know that your modem can send/receive data properly
press F3(if answering) or F4(if dialing).

If at any time the synchronization gets lost(it just get stuck saying
SYNCHRONIZING or the game just freezes), press and hold F1 or 1(or ESC if it's
before the loading screen)

To avoid some differences, run the modem game in the same detail mode.

To abort a dialing/answering attempt press ENTER or SPACE.

If you don't like our terminal, or cannot use it properly with your modem,
you can use another terminal to connect and then you can go into the game
already connected, though you still must go to modem game and use F3(if
answering) or F4 (if dialing).





PROBLEM SOLVING
---------------

Q: It runs too slow yet my computer is a 486 and I did all you said before.
A: If it is an SX, it lacks a math co-processor so the many calculations
taking place in the game would be slower. Are you running *QEMM? Removing it
*might* speed things up. *EMM386 user you say? Well that does slow it down.

Q: Sometimes in the game, one of the characters frizzes out into a
multicolored box like a TV going out. Why?
A: Did you include the /NUMHANDLES=128 argument in device=HIMEM.SYS?
It is of the utmost importance that you include that line in the CONFIG.SYS
Do you have less than 4 megs of RAM and run a disk-cache? If so, the
cache uses the XMS to cache the disk writes and reads and that leaves little
memory for Battle of the Eras to work with. It has to do many disk-reads and
the cache messes it up. Are you using *Win95? That happens quite often in
*Win95. I'm not sure why since I don't run it myself.

Q: The sound is really screwed up, it is lengthened and tinny. Why?
A: Your mixing rate is too high, lower it to a better value(12000-16000 is ok)
If that doesn't work, it might be a conflict some where between the soundcard
and something else. Or you might have chosen mistaken settings. 



Contacting us for more details or to order the full game
========================================================

By mail:
Joseph Mocanu - Procryon
162 Church Street
Belleville, Ontario
K8N 3B9
CANADA

By E-MAIL:
mocanu@blvl.igs.net

By BBS:
The FRiGHT SECTOR BBS-+1 613 395 4410 Procryon WHQ - SysOp Michael Richardson
**** Possibly will go down soon ****

The Lion's Den +1 613 394 8294 Good BBS with lots of msgs and files
                               - SysOp Joe Delahaye


SPECIAL OFFER!!!!!!
-------------------

If we receive your order form before December 25, you get a special
discount! You only need to pay only $22US, or $30US(overseas).

Methods of Payment: Cheque or Money Order only. We do not accept cash or
		    credit cards.
                    Please address cheques to Joseph Mocanu


Order form (duplicated in ORDER.FRM)
==========

* Battle of the Eras is only distributed on 1.44mb disks

First Name:_______________________  Last Name:___________________________
Address: _____________________________ City:__________________________
Province/State:____________________ Postal/Zip Code:____________________
Home Phone Number:_________________ Company:____________________________ 
Country:_______________________ Other postal information:_________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Just out of curiosity
---------------------
Type of processor: __ 386 __ 486 __ 486DX2 __ 486DX4 __ Pentium __ PowerPC
Amount of RAM: __ <=2 megs __ 4 megs __ 8 megs __ 12 megs __ >12 megs
Size of HD: __ <=200 megs __ 300 megs __ 500 megs __ 1 gig __  >1 gig
Which OS do you use: __ DOS 5 __ DOS 6 __ WIN'95 __ OS/2 2.11 __ OS/2 WARP
Do you use a "*Stacker" type program? ___________________________________

What do you wish to purchase?
-----------------------------

	Item             Qty. Price for 1: Canadians   Americans   Overseas
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Battle of the Eras  |     |        $28US         |   $30US   |    $40US   |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

							________________
							      TOTAL


							================


* Any names mentioned here are registered trademarks of their respective
  companies.

The name Procryon and its products are Copyright (C) 1995.

