Welcome to Tank Blaster II

- document-file -

 

Table of contents:

I.
 System Requirements
II.
 Tank Blaster interface
a)
 The intro
b)
 The startup-menu
c)
 The game
d)
 The store
e)
 The extro
III.
 Serious description of the game
a)
 The game
b)
 The enemy
c)
 The equipment
IV.
 Registering Tank Blaster
V.
 Credits
VI.
 Trouble Shooting
VII.
 History, what's new
VIII.
 Tank Blaster on the internet
IX.
 Disclaimer

I. System Requirements

The minimum system requirements: recommended hardware (additional): Used files:
 
file name description
Readme.html html start page of the documentation
Tank Blaster.exe Tank Blaster program (the executable)
tank.cfg file to store the preferences (created by the executable)
Uninstall.exe uninstall program
\doc folder, containing the documentation (html version)

II. Tank Blaster interface

a) The intro

Press any key or click left mouse button to abort the intro.

b) The Startup-menu

Keyboard commands:
 
key command
F1 help
+ increase number of games
- decrease number of games
o display options dialog
esc leave menu and start game

Mouse commands:

Options:
 
bullet reentry:
If this option is active, every bullet leaving the battle field to one of the sides reenters the playing field after "orbiting" the Earth. Possible settings are: (always) off, always on and random. If bullet reentry is active, the small icon shown on the left is visible in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.
number of trees: Determines how many trees will already be existant at the beginning of each level. Available settings: 0 (none), 1, 2 or random (i.e., 0, 1 or 2).
aggressiveness of the cloud: Selects the behavior of the cloud to hitting the cloud with a bullet. Available settings are: 0 (relaxed) - 100 (very aggressive).
quick startup: With this option selected, the presentation of the players and their names at the beginning of each level will be skipped and the battle will start at once.
language: This enables you to change the language of Tank Blaster II. This language menu is also shown at the very first startup of Tank Blaster II.

c) The game

Keyboard commands

The following commands are available via keyboard only:
 
key command
F1 help
1, 2, 3, ..., 9, 0 display detailed information about player 1, 2, 3, ..., 9, 10
space display current ranking
ctrl + e finish level at once (nuke all)
ctrl + n show/hide player names
ctrl + p pause
ctrl + q quit

These keyboard commands are available via mouse support, too:
 
key command
arrow up increase power by one (+ shift = by ten)
arrow down decrease power by one (+ shift = by ten)
arrow right rotate gun ccw 1° (+ shift = by 10°)
arrow left rotate gun cw 1° (+ shift = by 10°)
+ increase power by ten
- decrease power by ten
i invert launch-angle direction
tab select next weapon
shift + tab select previous weapon
return fire gun
s turn on/off scroll-o-mat (scrolling with arrow keys)
e start engine

Mouse commands:

The status bar is located at the bottom of the screen. It contains the following mouse controls:

d) The store

Keyboard commands:
 
key command
F1 help
esc leave store/next player
ctrl + p pause
ctrl + q quit

Mouse commands:

Keyboard commands:
 
key command
arrow up scroll up
arrow down scroll down
return buy selected item
esc return to the main menu
ctrl + p pause
ctrl + q quit

Mouse commands:

e) The extro

After viewing the final ranking, press any key or click left mouse button to quit Tank Blaster and return to Windows.

III. Serious Description Of The Game

a) The game

Blast 'em all and stay alive (if you can). Wipe all enemy tanks off the screen to gain as many credits as possible. But be aware: you are already spotted. On the black market you can get whatever you want to fulfill your task - if you can afford it. Every busted bastard gives you the money for better and bigger (oh yeah) guns, shells, armor. Remember: Saving dollars won't save your life! For the final ranking you'll get 2 points for every blown up tank and 1 extra point per survived level. The nerds toasting themselves pay 3 points every time they drop a bomb onto their feet.

b) The enemy

name icon description
D. Dödel These guys have no brain disturbing them. They just fire their guns. You may use them to play against your little sister. The only threat is a situation D. Dödel's position is below that of another player and nothing blocks a straight shot.
Frederic Though not very accurate when it's stormy, he improves his aiming from shot to shot - just nuke him after you got rid of the more powerful
players. Frederic is also capable of doing straight shots.
Prof. Nuke Tough guys like it hot - so does he. If you want some toast, give him a try. You will be well done.
Harald Imagine your worst evil nightmare, straight out of hell itself, featuring terror and pain. Wanna see something worse? Ok, ok, just kidding. Harald's even more deadly.
Mr. X He changes his identity faster than most people their underwear. You'll never know who pulls the trigger now...
You Very hard to say. Maybe very dangerous and mean. Likes big weapons.

c) The equipment

Weapons

The store has weapons of two different levels of quality. The "class A" weapons are expensive, but guaranteed to function properly. But everyone, who is short on cash and wants to use big weapons nevertheless, might give the "bargains" a try. In most cases, the bargains are quite cheap, but the store keeper cannot give any guarantee for proper functionality. Besides, bargains are not available all the time...
 
icon description icon description
Tracer. Causes no damage. Just for testing shots without any risk of getting damaged.
Tricerator. Fires three bullets of the type "Incinerator II", each launch angle is varied by some degrees.
Incinerator I. Standard shell, explodes on impact.
Crumbler pI. After getting in contact with the surface, the ground is getting dissolved.
Incinerator II. Heavier explosion than the standard shell.
Crumbler pII. Same as the light version, but much more powerful.
Atomic nuke. Big explosion on impact.
Surprise Egg. They can contain everything, a simple Incinerator I or even a airstrike. The player does not know, what type of bullet he just launched. Rumor has it not being the truth, every 7th egg contains a plasmamelter.
Hydrogen nuke. Huge explosion.
Mosquitos. Once they are released, the mosquitos search for the nearest victim and suck out all his energy. Deadly in most cases.
Plasmamelter. Capable of destroying large areas of the playing field with one detonation.
Shock wave. Has a big scope of action. Unfolds its deadly effect without destroying the surface. Useful if no explosives can be used to avoid water running out.
Security Tree. These trees absorb nearly all bullets. Clever placed, they act as a very effective security barrier.
Airstrike. After placing a signal buoy, the marked area will be blanket-bombed from the air.
Fire ball. Start burning on impact. Main purpose is to burn down nasty trees.
Cluster bomb. After reaching the vertex of the flight path, this bullet bursts into several small bombs.
Water fluctor. Floods the valley next to the point of impact. Water runs out if its borders are destroyed by explosions. This can flood almost the whole battle field.
Laser. Fires a laser beam, strong enough to light even trees.
Moles. Dig themselves in and explode star-shaped below the surface.

Add-ons

icon description
Scroll-o-mat. The scroll-o-mat enables you to have a view at the whole battle field before doing your shot.
Energy shield. Protects your tank from damage of direct or nearby hits or damage from falling down. The shield loses energy every time you are hit.
Tricerator powerup. Powerup for your tricerator. Explosion size level 1: atomic nuke, level 2: hydrogen nuke.
XM-V12 tank. With this mobile tank, you have the opportunity to drive around to a better place instead of doing a shot.
Tank Fuel (F54). The XM-V12 tank requires fuel for driving around.

IV. Registering Tank Blaster

This is a demo-version of Tank Blaster. It allows only about five minutes of playing. If you want to play Tank Blaster without any limits, you'll have to register.

Registered users receive...

... a personal key code to remove the time limit of the demo version via postal mail or via e-mail.

To become a registered user, just:
Axel Lauer
Postal address removed for privacy.

If you are already registered for an older version of Tank Blaster, you only have to pay 5 Euro for the update to Tank Blaster II. (Please print and fill in the order form, too.)

Besides this conventional way of registration via postal mail, you can choose to register Tank Blaster II online via the shareware-service ShareIt. Simply visit the web page of ShareIt http://www.shareit.com and search for Tank Blaster II or enter the number 143303. You'll receive your personal key-code via e-mail. The fee for online registration is 10 Euro.

V. Credits

Install-program

The install-program of Tank Blaster has been done with "Install Maker" version 1.2 by Clickteam.

Clickteam's web site:

http://www.clickteam.com

MOD-Player

Tank Blaster uses the DirectSound Mod Player Class "CModPlayer", Copyright (c) 1997 by Mark Feldman. This is used for playing music files (.MOD) in the intro and the extro.

Mark Feldman's home page:

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2151

Music (MOD-files)

The intro music is the MOD-file "technomania" by trashcan/s8.
For the extro, the MOD-file "riff-raff" by zapper is used.

VI. Trouble Shooting

Possible error messages:

Please make sure, you have installed DirectX version 7.0 or later and that your DirectX is fully functional. This can be verified using the program "DxDiag" (default directory: C:\Program Files\DirectX\Setup) easily.

VII. History, what's new

Tank Blaster II

VIII. Tank Blaster on the internet

Tank Blaster II has its own home page. There you can find The URL is: http://www.tankblaster.de

IX. Disclaimer

REDISTRIBUTION. Tank Blaster II is shareware. You can freely distribute Tank Blaster II, provided that:
  1. You only distribute the original install program of Tank Blaster II (you can download the original install program of Tank Blaster II from the web site, http://www.tankblaster.de).
  2. You do not charge, or ask for donations, for this.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY. The author makes no warranty, either express or implied, with respect to this software, its performance or suitability for a particular purpose. The software, mannuals and and associated items are supplied to the user "as is". The author can accept no responsibility for any problems or damages arising directly, indirectly or consequentially from the use or misuse of the software and/or associated items.