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- HOLYWOOD
- A fLAtDiSk(TM) FreeWare Virtual Reality Dream
- (9th in the series - see BDREAM.ZIP, FURTHER.ZIP, PURPLE.ZIP,
- NOUPDOWN.ZIP, EARTHNAP.ZIP, MOANBIRD.ZIP, NITEMALL.ZIP, CITYLIFE.ZIP,
- in no particular order.)
-
- System requirements: AT or better, with minimum VGA/MCGA 256-color
- card/monitor. Rodent, and/or joystick required. AdLib or Sound Blaster
- compatible sound card is optional (if you want sound, you need one).
-
- Tools Used This Time Department:
-
- Programmed by Rich La Bonte,
- (a.k.a.. FLAtRich on America OnLine, the user-friendly network),
- with Domark's Virtual Reality Studio 1.3.
- (Beware VR Studio 2.0, which is basically a bad upgrade.)
-
- The NEW, IMPROVED fLAtDiSk(TM) User Interface was originally created
- in PCPaintbrush V+ and John Wagner's IMPROCES 4.1. I used NeoPaint 2
- to make some improvements this time (larger screen area*).
- Converted to LBM format with Bob Montgomery's VPIC.
-
- IMPROCES, GeoDraw 2.0, PCPaintbrushV+, and NeoPaint were used together
- to create all non-essential, GIF docs. (New ones this time, though..)
-
- Disclaimer Department:
-
- HOLYWOOD is FreeWare by fLAtDiSk SoftWorks, circa 1994. Abuse at will.
- We will always make no reparations to dumbfounded VR addicts who morph
- into Flintstones jelly jars. You get it free, just like the jelly jars.
- We, in turn, claim to be totally irreproachable for any sudden demise,
- human or cyber-mechanical.
-
- Distribution Department:
-
- If you have a BBS or are on a network other than America OnLine, you
- may distribute HOLYWOOD.ZIP as long as it remains in its original form.
- Like that means include all files if you want to distribute. Oh, by the
- way, we know how Hollywood is spelled. We live here. The somewhat ironic
- spelling of the title was imposed by the cursed 8-character limit
- of MS-DOS. (Soon to be a thing of the past, eh Bill?)
-
- Clean Living Department:
-
- ALL fLAtDiSk files are scanned for viruses with MS Anti-Virus before
- distribution. (With that Stealth scan option thing on, just to be sure.)
- Practice safe data, kids, use virus protection!
-
- List Of What Should Be Included For This ZIP To Be Legit Department:
-
- holywood.bat (32 bytes) a batch file which will start the program.
- holywood.run (97,640 bytes) the program file.
- runvga.exe (38,566 bytes) the Domark runner file.
- flatface.gif (11,365 bytes) a 640X480 16-color GIF file which explains
- the fLAtDiSk mouse user interface.
- flatkeys.gif (20,435 bytes) a 640X480 16-color GIF file which explains
- Domark's non-intuitive keyboard equivalents.
- flatdocs.txt (8,595 bytes) usual rambling. This file, of course.
-
- FLATFACE.GIF, FLATKEYS.GIF, and this file have nothing to do with making
- this program work. You can delete them if you need to recover space.
-
- Installation Department:
-
- It's probably a good idea to make a HOLYWOOD directory,
- then put the files unZIPped from HOLYWOOD.ZIP into that HOLYWOOD directory.
- You know the drill.
-
- To run it from DOS, be in the directory where you put the files, type HOLYWOOD,
- and press ENTER.
-
- TO QUIT back to whatever shell or OS you use, press SHIFT and ESC together.
-
- Use Of Department:
-
- The first thing you will see is a DOS menu that asks if you want to use a
- keyboard, joystick, or serial mouse. This is not a test. If you don't have
- one of these, you are probably messing with something you don't understand.
- We don't know if the joy option really works. The rodent is best. The Domark
- keyboard alternatives appear in FLATKEYS.GIF, but they are non-intuitive.
-
- If you don't have a mouse, you should look at that file with a GIF file viewer
- like VPIC before you run HOLYWOOD. If you can't view that file on your system,
- don't feel bad! You probably don't have the VGA/MCGA minimum and you can't run
- HOLYWOOD. Actually, you should feel bad. You're WAY behind in the tek race, pal!
-
- When HOLYWOOD starts, you've got control buttons to play with. The FLATFACE.GIF
- file illustrates what does what, but you can probably figure it out without it.
- If you can't, well, hey! What's wrong with you, anyway?
-
- Scenario Department:
-
- The Hollywood Ghost
- by Rich La Bonte
-
- I love my town, but it's really just a big set full of ghosts. When I first
- arrived here, I could sense them on every corner. Like the Ray Davies song,
- Celluloid Heroes, you could see all the stars when you walked down Hollywood
- Boulevard. Not just Monroe and Gable, hey, there's Wallace Beery!
-
- Since then, they've faded. Like that old nitrate-based film stock, they've just
- sort of crumbled to dust. Oh, sure, you can still see the stars. But take the
- tour at Universal and it's a tram ride through a film with Michael J. Fox.
-
- This Dream takes you through a back lot that exists only in cyberspace. It's a
- short trip designed for the modern attention span, but it may jar loose some
- future programmer's imagination enough to inspire something more memorable
- than Mario. You'll have to be a Dreamer to see what I mean..
-
- I wish I could have gone further inside. Deeper into AMC obscurities. I didn't
- want to lose you the first time we were in there. Maybe I'll do a sequel..
-
- SPECIFIC HINTS FOR THIS DREAM:
-
- 1. You MUST enter the studio through the front gate. This is an old tradition
- in Hollywood, and tradition is what we're trying to revive here.
-
- 2. Shoot the monkey. (That's not a drug reference or a cue to break into an old
- rock dance thing in front of yer monitor. I just don't wanna give it all away..)
-
- 3. Follow the YB road.. oh, my!
-
- GENERAL HINTS:
-
- When you move around in there, the left mouse button is normal speed and the
- right is double speed.
-
- (*) The NEW IMPROVED interface may make this Dream slow for 286ers. The bigger
- screen area taxes the redraw functions of yer graphics chips, yuh see? (That was
- Technical Explanation #1). It may be necessary for 286 users to depend solely on
- the right button to move around if you want to finish the Dream in this decade.
- I gave my old Acer 286 to Dad, so I don't have a way to test on a 286 now. On the
- other hand, the slight slowdown may be a good thing for 386 - Pentium users,
- 'cause the other Dreams ran a little too fast on high-end CPUs.
-
- fLAtDiSk (TM) Dreams are not games, only alternate realities. You're just a
- Dreamer. You can't do anything to get killed or penalized. Take your time and
- look around. If the controls seem to go nuts or the view becomes unpleasantly
- distorted, use the centering button to righten yerself: you are probably upside
- down or something.
-
- Collide to pass through obvious portals. Use the left rodent button to shoot at
- anything that you are curious about. Sometimes this will transport you too. Oooh!
-
- There are no dead ends in fLAtDiSk(TM) VR Dreams. Look for portals. Explore!
-
- You can fly sometimes. Still better than Dean Cain in red jockey shorts.
-
- To restart to the beginning of the Dream, click on the GUI button marked R.
-
- There are no save/load functions. Can't save a real-world dream either, right?
-
- You will probably have to hold down the SHIFT and ESC keys for a while when
- you QUIT back to DOS (or whichever shell). You should NOT have to press your
- computer's reset button to get out.
-
- Technical Disaster Department:
-
- fLAtDiSk(TM) VR Dreams MIGHT crash yer PC when launched from Windows 3.x with
- sound drivers installed because of inexplicable sound driver conflicts. This
- will not damage Win or yer PC, but you'll have to reset the PC. (They run very
- slowly under Win anyway, even on a 486.) The crash thing depends on the card
- and the drivers. This is da facts, Jack. No crashes from DOS. Only from Win.
- fLAtDiSk(TM) VR Dreams do not run in DOS windows at this time. (Maybe Chicago?)
- fLAtDiSk(TM) VR Dreams may or may not launch from OS/2 or WinNT. (Who knows?)
-
- Technical Good News Department:
-
- fLAtDiSk(TM) VR Dreams are 100% MS-DOS5.x and MS-DOS6.x compatible.
- fLAtDiSk(TM) VR Dreams launch from any version of PC/GEOS, including Ensemble 2.0,
- unless you already have launch problems (I do, with DoubleSpace installed).
- fLAtDiSk(TM) VR Dreams WILL launch from Windows WITHOUT Win sound drivers
- installed, but, of course, you won't hear nothin'..
-
- Say What You Will About Tinseltown Department:
-
- "Reality is something you rise above." - Lisa Minnelli
-
- "The length of the film should be directly related to
- the endurance of the human bladder." - Alfred Hitchcock
-
- The Bottom Lines Department:
-
- I'll be back. If you get impatient, look for my .MOD files, (PLUG), and play me,
-
- :o)FLAtRich flatrich@aol.com
-