bofh.txt

           -------------------------
                   B O F H :
           Servers Under Siege V1.61
           -------------------------
                An action game


LICENSE/DISCLAIMER:

See LICENSE.TXT. If you come across earlier versions
of BOFH consider them now being under the same
license too.


HOW TO RUN:

Simply run BOFH.EXE. It is a 32-bit Windows program
that will run on Windows 95/98/NT4/2000/ME. In theory
it runs on a 386 but at least a fast 486 or Pentium
is required for reasonably smooth gameplay. DirectX
version 2 or better is required.

BOFH requires about 5MB of memory to run.

To save high scores & screenmode configuration,
BOFH.EXE needs to be able to create files called
BOFH.HSC & BOFH.CFG in the directory from where
it was run.


THE STORY:

A group of insane activists called the "Internet
Salvation Force" has invaded a school, taking
all servers and workstations as hostages. They
don't care of human hostages so all the personnel
have been told to leave. As the BOFH, you arrive
late at work, and find the building unusually
quiet...


THE MISSION:

Enraged that the computers have been taken away
from your command, you decide to fight the
activists alone. Your goal is to reclaim the
server room at the sixth floor, but first you
must defuse the bombs the activists have placed
at network closets around the building. Search
the activists you have killed for extra weapons,
first aid kits and bomb defusing instructions.
Also seek useful tools from the building.


HOW TO PLAY:

You see your BOFH, and the surroundings from an
overhead view. Use cursor keys or mouse movement
to move forwards/backwards and to turn left/right.

Press ALT + CURSOR LEFT/RIGHT or END/PAGEDOWN to
move sideways (strafe).
Press SHIFT +  CURSOR UP/DOWN to move slowly.
Press SPACE or LEFT MOUSE BUTTON to attack.
Press ENTER or RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON to change weapon.

Other keys:
P         - Pause game
ESC       - Quit game
S         - Sight line on/off
M         - Music on/off
V         - View bomb defusing instructions
R,G,B,Y   - Cut Red, Green, Blue, Yellow wire
            (when at a closet that contains a bomb)
0-5       - Select floor to go to (when at a lift)
F1-F10    - Select weapon directly:
            F1 = Fists
            F2 = CAT-5 Whip
            F3 = Drill
            F4 = Pistol
            F5 = Shotgun
            F6 = Uzi
            F7 = Grenade
            F8 = Bazooka
            F9 = Crossbow
            F10 = Scanner
F11       - Toggle between Waveout & DirectSound
F12       - Toggle screenmode between 320x200,
            640x400 scanlines and 640x400 doublesize
ALT-ENTER - Toggle between fullscreen and windowed mode


STATUS:

The status line at the bottom of screen shows your
score, health, time until the bombs explode, number
of bombs/activists/computers remaining, and your
current weapon and ammunition left.


DEFEAT/VICTORY:

The game is lost if your BOFH dies, or if the bombs
explode. You have won if all bombs have been defused,
the leaders hiding in the server room have been
defeated and you're still alive.


HINTS:

* Technicians (with a distinctive uniform) carry the
  bomb defusing instructions. As they see you they
  try to run away - it might be hard to find them
  again if you let them go!

* Try to sneak up on an enemy from behind.

* Conserve ammunition by punching or whipping unarmed
  activists. Silent methods of attack will not attract
  enemies as much as gunfire & explosions.

* The crossbow is at its best when enemies haven't
  noticed you yet.

* Use grenades & bazooka with caution: they can cause
  much damage, also to you!

* The scanner (if you find it) will show nearby
  activists (RED color), computers (GREEN color)
  and collectable items (YELLOW colors). You can
  not use any weapons while using it, and its battery
  will deplete quickly when used.

* If an enemy drops a first aid kit and you're already
  at full health, try to remember the place - you'll
  need it later... Same goes for ammunition (there's
  a certain maximum of bullets you can carry.)

* Every time you go up/down stairs reduces time by
  10 seconds. So try to plan your route with minimal
  floor changes, or use lifts.

* Be prepared when you enter the server room - the
  leaders might have powerful weaponry.

* If you win, bonus is awarded for survived computers.
  Servers are considered valuable, so try to persuade
  the leaders to exit the server room and combat them
  outside.

* If you defuse a bomb without instructions (by
  guessing) you receive a large bonus. However, this
  is not recommended...


CREDITS:

Main Design & Programming:
Lasse Öörni (Cadaver)

Additional Design & Programming
Kalle Niemitalo
Olli Niemitalo (Yehar)

Graphics
Lasse Öörni
Olli Niemitalo

Voices, Gun, Fist, Whip & Explosion Sounds
Lasse Öörni

Drill, Shell, Shotgun Loading & Ricochet Sounds
Olli Niemitalo

Music
Olli Niemitalo
Tuomas Mäkelä (Kuunvarjo)


VERSION HISTORY:

V1.0

* Original, not released

V1.01

* Walls with floor number block vision like
 normal walls
* Computers made weaker
* Computers spawn more chunks when exploding
* When bombs explode, distant explosions don't
  cloud the nearby explosions
* Some messages added
* Game over text removed
* Small bug in background graphics removed

V1.02

* Group name changed to more religious :-)

V1.1

* More underground locations
* More possible enemy locations
* Difficulty levels adjusted: more activists now
  but shotgun-men are weaker, medikits more probable
  (and equally probable on all difficulty levels)
* Direct selection of weapons with function keys
* Lifts added
* Activists use stairs too
* Both lift & stair-movement reduce time in a
  "fast-forward" mode
* End-text changed a bit
* Bonus for remaining servers (when you have won)
  is greater now
* Bullet movement debugged
* Shell movement improved
* Grenades added
* Bazookas added
* Interpolated fire-effect in the title screen :-)
* Added a splash screen to the beginning

V1.2

* Only the necessary number of actors are gone
  thru in the routines
* All datafiles are now separate, in their own
  subdirectory
* Closet & bomb defusing instructions use now
  fonts instead of text strings inside sprites
* Drill is more powerful
* Whip is a bit weaker
* Changed the door closing sound
* Enemies getting alerted rewritten: now different
  sounds (gunfire, grunts, speech) alert enemies
  from different distances
* The threshold distance where enemies' move routines
  are still processed is increased
* Enemies will give up and go back patrolling if they
  haven't seen the BOFH for a while
* Fist-man bug of standing with arm extended fixed
  (attack animation got stuck)
* Added a new weapon: crossbow
* Added a new enemy: the crossbow-wielding sadist
* Added a scanner, which shows nearby terrorists,
  computers and collectable items.
* Also other random weapons (besides the bazookas)
  and medikits can now be found from storage rooms
  (however, all of them aren't in use in the
  original mission)
* Very slight background graphics changes
* Mission files from which almost every parameter
  can be adjusted.
* A level editor to create mission files and
  edit the map

V1.2W

* Ported the game to Windows
* C64-music at the end replaced by hiscore music

V1.3W

* Corrected a bug in the JUDAS library graphics
  functions which caused memory corruption
* Loading & saving more user-friendly in the editor

V1.4W

* Ported to BME (Blasphemous Multimedia Engine,
  replaces JUDAS library)
* Fullscreen & windowed output
* Scanline & doublesize mode available
* Configuration file saves screen mode & sight-line
  on/off preference
* Hiscore music continues playing until new game is
  started
* Editor instructions back after being forgotten for
  for some time...

V1.5

* Now with BSD license
* Ported to the SDL-using version of BME
* Weapon damage like in C64 version

V1.6

* Improvements from Kalle Niemitalo integrated
  (including bugfixes and improved sadist AI)

V1.61

* arctan lookup table fixed


OFFICIAL "HOMEPAGE":

http://covertbitops.c64.org/misc