Heart of The Alien Redux
2004-2005 (c) Gil Megidish (gil at megidish dot net)

Thank you for downloading Heart of The Alien Redux! 
This rewrite brings the wonderful game to modern computers and consoles. 

For more information, please visit the project homepage at
http://hota.sourceforge.net/

NOTE
        You are required to obtain a copy of Heart of The Alien. In order to 
        play the game, put your Sega CD disc in your drive. As an alternative, 
        you may use ISO and MP3s prefixed "Heart Of The Alien (U)" and put 
        them in the same directory where you unpacked this distribution.

USAGE

        Running HOTA with no custom settings will follow the game flow as
        it plays the introduction, and then pops up the code entry screen.

        Running ``alien -h'' will display a list of acceptable parameters. 
        Here are some interesting settings:

        --iso                  use iso and mp3s, as noted above
        --double               double size window
        --fullscreen           start in fullscreen
        --room n               start from script n
        --record               record your key pressed
        --replay               replay recorded sequence
        --fastest              play game as fast as possible

        --intro-test           play all animations
        --sprite-test          show sprites in the current script
	
KEYS
        To control your character, you may use either set of cursor keys.
        Moreover, here are extra keys available:

        Z/A                    shoot, keep down in order to run
        X/S                    use your whip
        C/D                    jump
        F5                     quicksave (1 slot)
        F7                     quickload
        ESC                    leave game, or skip animation

BUGS

        The final version will be announced when no more bug reports have
        been received, and no request for features posted. You are more 
        than welcome to report a bug on the SourceForge project 
        page (see links below.) When submitting a bug, if possible, please
        record your keys and attach ``recorded-keys'', or attach a
        ``quicksave'' file to help reproduce the problem.

        * BUG: during introduction, there is no horizontal scroll when
          the female passes the screen.

        * BUG: earthquake is missing in introduction

FAQ

        Q: Why can't I play Another World (or Out of This World.)
        A: This project is for Heart of The Alien, Another World was
           attached to HOTA as bonus (or to increase sales.) You may 
           still play it on modern computers using 
           dosbox (http://dosbox.sourceforge.net) or 
           bochs (http://bochs.sourceforge.net)

        Q: I think I found a bug!
        A: Some of the bugs you may find also appear in the original game.
           There are plenty suspected. Only one has been checked and found
           faulty in the Sega CD version as well:
           * First screen, run left, quickly run right (away from the beast,)
             and run left again. Beast is gone.

        Q: I hear sound effects, but no music.
        A: You are probably using --iso. SDL_Mixer must be compiled _after_
           SMPEG was installed. Otherwise, SDL_Mixer will not play any mp3s.

        Q: I want to request a feature.
        A: Sure! Don't hesitate, see Contacts below.

LINKS

        * Homepage: http://hota.sourceforge.net
        * Bugs and Requests: http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/hota/
        * My wiki entry: http://www.megidish.net/wiki/index.php?title=Heart_of_The_Alien
        * MobyGames entry: http://segacd.mobygames.com/game/sheet/gameId,8140/
        * Underdogs entry: http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=3180
        * Walkthrough: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/segacd/game/8569.html

        * SDL: http://www.libsdl.org/
        * SDL_Mixer: http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_mixer/
        * SMPEG: http://www.lokigames.com/development/smpeg.php3

CONTACT

        The entire work was done by a single person. Opinions, praises
        and flames are mostly welcome.

        I can be contacted at gil at megidish net