                               Stardock Systems
                                   presents

                         B.U.G.S. for Windows 95/98/NT
                     Bill's Unbelievable Ghastly Spaceships
                     --------------------------------------
                                  Version 1.55

                          (C) Cramon Utilities 1997-99
                       (C) Stardock Systems Inc. 1997-99


Requirements:
-------------
Operating System.: Windows 95/98 or Windows NT
Video............: DirectX 3 (or higher) compatible video card running at 640x480 with 256
                   colors
Sound............: DirectX 3 (or higher) compatible sound card (optional)
Hardware.........: (Minimum)     : 486 DX2 66 MHz with 8 MB RAM
                   (Recommended) : Pentium 100 MHz with 16 MB RAM

Concept:
--------
    You must save the universe from Bill's Unbelievable Ghastly Spaceships! The
    evil Bill wants nothing less than to rule the universe and you are Earth's only
    hope. Take command of the defender and blast the BUGS from the galaxy.

Instructions:
------------
    Keys control

        ARROW KEYS = Directional movement
        SPACE      = Fire
        CTRL       = Fire torpedo
        ALT        = Activate shield


    Quick keys

	ESC         = Options
	F1          = Help
        F2 or Space = Start game
        F3 or R     = Restart current game
        F4 or S     = Stop current game
        F5 or P     = Pause current game
        F6          = Set resolution to 640x480
        F7          = Set resolution to 800x600  (only works if you have enough video memory)
        F8          = Set resolution to 1024x768 (only works if you have enough video memory)
        F9          = Set resolution to 1152x864 (only works if you have enough video memory)
        F10         = Exit B.U.G.S.

    Settings

        Difficulty
            -You can set the difficulty to : Rookie, Veteran or Elite.
             The difference between these are the number of shots fired by
             the Bugs, how often they attack, and the speed of the game.

        General
            - "Sound"
              You can choose to enable or disable sound in B.U.G.S. by
              changing the state of the "Sound" checkbox.
              Notice: If the "Sound" checkbox is disabled - meaning that you
              can not change the state of the checkbox - and you are sure you
              have DirectX installed, please  delete the BUGS.CFG file in the
              game directory and try again. This problem may occur when
              B.U.G.S. fails to initialize DirectSound, because another program
              might be using it.

            - "Confirmations"
              You can choose to have "Confirmations" enabled. This way can
              not accidentally stop a game or exit B.U.G.S. without being
              asked.

            - "Random Levels"
              You can choose to run the game with "Random Levels". If "Random
              Levels" is enabled, the order of the levels will be totally
              random. After playing B.U.G.S. for a while without random levels
              you will find that random levels can be much more difficult, as
              your attack and preparation patterns no longer apply.

            - "Use joystick"
              If you have a joystick installed and your current version of DirectX
              supports joystick you can enable or disabled joystick usage from the
              submenu "Use Joystick" in the "Options" menu.
              To activate the shield when playing with joystick press both buttons
              at the same time.

              Notice: B.U.G.S. only supports 2 button joysticks. If you joystick has
              more than 2 buttons, you will still only be able to use two of the
              buttons.

    	Resolution
    		  In the Resolution groupbox you can specify which resolution you want
    	      B.U.G.S. to be run under.
    		  	The options are:
    	     		640 x 480  (at 256 colors)
    	     		800 x 600  (at 256 colors)
    	    		1024 x 768 (at 256 colors)
    	    		1152 x 864 (at 256 colors)

    		  The higher resolution you use the slower the game will run.

    		- Use Hardware Accelleration
    	      This option allows B.U.G.S. to use the videocards memory for storing
    	      the graphics instead of using the computers memory. This ofcourse
    	      requires that your videocard has sufficient memory available.

	          Enabling this option will make B.U.G.S. run faster.

	    Highscores
	    	- By pressing the Reset Highscores button all highscore will be erased.
	    	  Notice: If "Confirmations" is turned off you wont be asked if you're sure
	    	          that you want to erase the scores. They will be erased immediately!


        Graphics Thread Priority
            - By changing the priority of the "Graphics Thread" you can
              decide how much processor time B.U.G.S. may consume. Idle
              Time is the lowest priority (B.U.G.S. will not consume much
              processor time) and High is the highest priority. High
              will use most of the processor time. On slow computers,
              using High priority graphics thread may make the game unresponsable.
              This especially applies to Windows NT, whereas Windows 95/98 often
              requires High priority graphics thread to make the scrolling
              smooth.


        Processor Class
            - The Processor Class is used to control the speed of the game.
              The first time you run B.U.G.S., it will try to auto-detect your
              Processor Class. If it fails (which may happen because of heavy
              processor load by other applications), just change the class of
              the processor to the correct setting. If you think B.U.G.S. is
              running too slow or too fast, just change the processor class.
              Processor Class 486 on a Pentium 100 will run faster than
              Processor Class Pentium 100 on a Pentium 100.


		All settings are saved each time you close B.U.G.S.

    	Notice: Should you under any circumstances experience problems with a setting
    	        and B.U.G.S. refuse to run next time you start it (because of this View
    	        setting) you can also clear the settings by deleting the BUGS.CFG file
    	        in your B.U.G.S. directory.


Special weapons and items (dropped by the Bugs):
------------------------------------------------
    Occasionally a Bug, when shot, will drop a PowerUp. These rotating gizmos
    provide extra features on the Defender when picked up. Each PowerUp will
    rotate 10 times on the game field before vanishing.

    Green PowerUps
        The Green PowerUp provides you with shields. One PowerUp gives one
        more shield.

    Blue PowerUps
        The Blue PowerUp mounts the Defender with torpedos. One PowerUp
        mounts one more torpedo.

    Orange PowerUps
        The Orange PowerUp makes the Defender shoot faster (the delay between
        the shots is shorter, but the actual shot will not move faster). One
    	PowerUp charges the lasers with 10 more fast shots.
        Notice that you can shoot even though the counter for the Orange
        PowerUp says 00. This just means that the rate of firing has returned
    	to normal.

    Shields
    	When activated the shield will absorb enemy fire. The duration of the
    	shield has a limit. It will last for a total amount of 6 seconds or
    	until a level dependant amount of fire has been absorbed.

        It can absorb:
               4 shots from Bugs on level 1-30
               2 shots from Bugs on level 31-50
               2 meteor hits on level 10-30
               1 meteor hit on level 40-50

        It will render the Defender immune and destroy one
        Bug in case of collision, given that the shield has
        not been harmed at all before the collision.

        The shield will not harm a MasterBug upon collision.
        You will die.

    Torpedos
        Fired torpedos will track the nearest Bug until impact or until the
        Bug is out of range.
        On the MasterBug levels the torpedos will track the mouth of the
        master, hitting him where it hurts.
        Torpedos have no effect on shots from Bugs or on meteors!

Masterbug:
----------
    The MasterBugs are an especially nasty breed of bugs. Far superior to the
    other Bugs and very tough and aggressive!
    A Master has only one weak spot: The area around the mouth. This is the
    place you have to hit him, but beware of his lasers and his arms whirling
    meteors at you.
    A Master will die after absorbing 11 shots, but you have to hurry as he
    will regain one hit every third second.

Points:
-------
    Shooting down the Bugs gives you:

         5 points when they are moving normally (not attacking)
        10 points when they are attacking
         1 point when shooting down their shots

    Shooting down a MasterBug gives you:

        10 points when moving normally (not attacking)
        20 points when attacking
         2 points for shooting down its shots
         4 points for shooting down its meteors

Support:
--------
    Vendor Info..........: Cramon Utilities
       Homepage..........: http://www.cramon.dk
       B.U.G.S Homepage..: http://www.stardock.com/products/bugs

    Publisher Info.......: Stardock Systems, Inc.
       Homepage..........: http://www.stardock.com

    Support, E-mail......: bugs@stardock.com

    ** NOTE: Stardock itself is not handling technical support **

Known Problems:
---------------
    Video related problems:
    	Non known.
    Sound related problems:
    	Non known.
    Other:
	In rare cases B.U.G.S. will suddenly gets unresponsive to keyboard and mouse
	events under Windows 95/98. This is due to Windows 95/98's poor multithreading
	capabilities. We have provided a workaround for this situation where you
	automatically assign both keyboard/mouse and graphics threads with a higher
	priority therefore not allowing Windows 95/98 to interfere. In order to use
	this workaround you need to start B.U.G.S. with the -f option.
	Example from the commandline: bugsw -f
	You can also add this to the "Target" editfield on the B.U.G.S. Shortcut
	property page.
	Notice: This option only works under Windows 95/98!


What's new/updated in version 1.55:
-----------------------------------
	- Fixed that annoying keyboard lock problem.
	- Other minor fixes

Disclaimer:
-----------
    B.U.G.S. is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any
    kind, either expressed or implied, including but not limited
    to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness
    for a particular purpose. In no event shall Cramon Utilites or Stardock
    be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect,
    incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or
    special damages, even if Cramon Utilities or Stardock has been advised
    of the possibility of such damages.


B.U.G.S. is
    (C) Cramon Utilities 1997-99. All rights reserved.
    (C) Stardock Systems Inc. 1997-99


Game Over Dead sound (from Aliens) is (C) Copyright Twentieth Century Fox
Film Corporation 1986.

Enter Highscore list sound (from Ace Ventura) is (C) Copyright Warner Bros.
Pictures 1994.

