Bilestoad Help File :		by Moose
----------------------

Bilestoad for the Apple ][ / + / e.

I have tested this game on Apple Win and it works fine, except 
for the sound.

Unfortunately, the sound is not as good as the original Apple ]['s.  
This is the case (at least) on my "El cheapo" 8 bit mono Orchid Sound 
Producer sound card.  The PC Speaker is far worse, and it sounds 
like a "duck farting under water" !!

This is the only game that Apple Win has not done justice to, IMHO.


The game is a top down view of a huge arena where 2 gladiators fight.

The game involves you controlling :
  - a human controlled gladiator against a computer controlled gladiator, or,
  - a human controlled gladiator against another human controlled gladiator.


The controls are :
------------------

  Player 1	Player 2	Description :

  Q  W  E	I  O  P		Swing axe outwards / stop / inwards
  Z  X  C	,  .  /		Bring shield outwards / stop / inwards
  A  S  D	K  L  ;		Turn  whole body anti-clockwise / stop / clockwise
  Left ALT	Right ALT	Walk forwards

If you chop the arm regions of the other gladiator enough, you can cut their 
sword arm off or shield arm off completely, effectively rendering them 
defenceless / attackless.

Hitting your opponents body with an axe will quickly kill them.

So, go for the arms first, so you score more points, and have more 
fun !!  ;-)


Starting the game :
-------------------

Enter a name for a robot (such as your own name) to get a "human" 
controlled robot.  Otherwise press enter for a Computer Controlled
gladiator.

As you play the game, keep note of your "class" codes.  I think that
these are in effect the level.  If you are a good / successful fighter
then the matches will get harder to keep up the chalenge.


In Game Objects :
-----------------

Scattered around the "arena" are various round objects with pictures inside 
them.
  Stars		Teleport to another disk in the same arena
  Yin / Yang	Is a special hovering disk.  When you stand on it, it
		lets you move much faster and gain a big advantage
		over your opponent.
  Faces		These are "next level" teleports.
		If you step on one of these you are effectively
		"throwing in the towel" for this level, and your opponent
		gains a big points score (5,000 points) as a result.
		Computer players don't seem to get a penalty for quitting !
		

Screen Maps, etc :
-------------------

The Maps on the right hand side of the screen show the current playing 
arena in high, medium, and low ZOOM magnifications.

At the end of say 10 rounds or so, the winner is the gladiator with 
the highest score.


Bilestoad for the MAC / PC :
----------------------------

The man who wrote the original Bilestoad is now developing a new 
version for the Macintosh and hopefully the PC.  It features 
incredible graphics and looks fantastic so far !

Check out the Bilestoad Home Page for full information, screen shots,
details, etc :
   http://www.continuumsi.com/~marc/bilestoad.html

Bilestoad is a classic Apple ][ game !

It looks set to become a classic PC / MAC game in the future.

Moose
October 23, 1995.
