Venice Deluxe Readme

VENICE DELUXE Version 1.0 Release Date: June 26, 2007 Developed by Retro64, Inc. Published by PopCap Games, Inc. www.popcap.com Thanks for downloading Venice Deluxe. We hope you enjoy the game! TABLE OF CONTENTS System Requirements Troubleshooting / Compatibility DirectX Screen Color Depth Bug Reporting Technical Support Registration Benefits of Registering How to Register Buying the Game Problems? Getting Started Create Your Profile Main Menu Play Now High Scores Options Help Credits Exit Playing the Game Goal The Basics Controls Treasures Plates Tumble Bonuses Obstacles and Complications Power-ups Skill Shots Game Modes Journey Flood Trick Shot Survival Scoring General Level-End Points Trick Shot Mode Gameplay Tips General Tips Journey Mode Tips Flood Mode Tips Version History Credits Software Use Limitations And Limited License Copyright Information SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS [back to top] Venice requires an IBM PC or 100% compatible computer, with a Pentium II 700 MHz or better processor. Your computer must have at least 256 megabytes of RAM. Operating System: you must be utilizing Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP or Vista with DirectX 7 or later to play Venice on your system. You must be logged in as an administrator to install this game. Controls: a keyboard and a 100% Microsoft compatible mouse are required. Sound: you must have a DirectX certified sound card installed. Video: you must have your desktop set to 16-bit or 32-bit color mode (256 Colors may not work). TROUBLESHOOTING / COMPATIBILITY [back to top] For updates to this list go to www.popcap.com/help.php?cat=deluxe. DirectX Venice requires you to have DirectX 7 drivers or later installed. These are sound and video drivers from Microsoft used in many games. Screen Color Depth Venice requires you to be running in 16-bit color or better. It may not function in windowed mode properly in 256 Colors. If you are running in 256 Colors, the game will try to switch to full-screen mode. In addition, the game may run slowly in windowed mode in 32-bit color. If this occurs, switch to full-screen mode, or change your color depth to 16-bits. Bug Reporting Though we've tried our best to squash all the bugs, every once in a while something we didn't expect pops up... If you should come across a bug in Venice, please report it. If for some reason the program crashes, it will try to capture any pertinent data and give you instructions on how to send that data to PopCap. This is very helpful for tracking down problems! TECHNICAL SUPPORT [back to top] If you are experiencing problems with Venice, you can contact us at: http://www.popcap.com/help.php. If you can, including the following information along with a description of your problem will help us to help you! Title Of Game Computer Manufacturer Operating System (Windows 98, Windows XP, etc.) CPU Type And Speed In MHz Amount Of RAM Sound Card Type Video Card REGISTRATION [back to top] If you enjoy playing the trial version of Venice Deluxe, sooner or later you'll need to register! Benefits of Registering When you register, you will receive unlimited gameplay for a simple one-time fee. Plus, you support PopCap and help us to create more games in the future! How to Register Click the Buy Now link that appears when you first launch the game. Your game will be permanently unlocked once you register… there’s no need for a CD-ROM or any further downloads. Buying the Game Once you decide to register, follow the onscreen prompts to complete your purchase. An internet connection will be required to register the game, but will not be necessary to play after you have registered. You will receive an email receipt after purchasing the game. Save this information in case you need to reinstall the game later. Problems? Hopefully this will answer all your questions, but if you're still having difficulties, feel free to contact us at http://www.popcap.com/help.php. Include as much information as you can about the problem you're having, and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can! GETTING STARTED [back to top] Create Your Profile The first time you launch Venice, you will be asked to enter your player name. This allows your progress and high scores to be saved when you quit. If there are several people playing on one computer, you will want to create separate profiles for each. To do this, click on the link in the lower left-hand side of the Main Menu that says "If this is not you, click here." The Gondoliers menu will appear allowing you to create a new player and delete or rename your current player. Main Menu The Main Menu screen appears at the beginning of the game, and can be accessed while playing the game by clicking on the Menu button in the lower left corner of the screen. Play Now Venice has four game modes: Journey, Flood, Trick Shot and Survival. At the beginning of the game only Journey mode is available. Flood mode becomes available once you have completed Building 2 in Journey mode. Trick Shot mode becomes available once you have completed Journey mode, and Survival mode becomes available once you have completed Flood mode. High Scores The High Score screens show high scores for the various game modes. Journey mode high scores appear first; clicking “Next” will cycle through Flood, Trick Shot and Survival mode high scores. Options The Options are accessible from the Main Menu screen. The options are: Music Volume: This slider allows you to set the music volume to your taste. Sound Volume: This slider allows you to set the volume of the sound effects to your taste. HW Acceleration: This box can be checked to improve performance on computers with supported video cards. It can also be unchecked to improve performance on computers without supported video cards. If you experience performance problems, try checking or unchecking this box. Fullscreen: If this box is checked, Venice will use your entire computer screen. If it is not checked, Venice will be played in a window. Help The Help Screen shows the basic elements of Venice gameplay. Credits The Credits Screen displays the names and various duties of the people who made the game. Exit To shut down Venice click "Exit" on the Main Menu. In windowed mode you can also exit by clicking the "X" box in the upper right corner of the window. In fullscreen mode you can also exit by clicking the red “X” in the top right of the Main Menu screen. PLAYING THE GAME [back to top] Goal Venice is sinking! The buildings have lost their treasures and are slowly subsiding beneath angry waves. Your job is to launch the various treasures up into their proper places on the plates attached to the walls and towers of the city. It's up to you to restore the treasures and the city to glorious life! The Basics The majority of the Venice game screen shows a Venetian building. Attached to the walls of the building are plates that contain silhouetted slots of the different kinds of treasures. At the bottom of the screen is a golden gondola that holds treasures. Your task is to launch the treasures from the gondola up into the corresponding slots in the plates. When all the slots in a plate are filled, the plate disappears. When all the plates on a screen are filled, the building sinks and the screen scrolls upward to reveal more plates. Fill all the slots on all the plates on a building to restore it and raise it from the waves. This will complete the level (in Journey mode; see below for more details on other game modes). Controls In Venice, you control a cursor that you can move around the screen. At the bottom of the screen is a gondola that moves to stay under the cursor. The gondola holds two treasures; one large main treasure on the deck of the gondola and a smaller secondary treasure contained in a circle underneath the main one. Click the left mouse button to launch the main treasure. The treasure will fly directly up towards the place the cursor was when you clicked, and the secondary treasure will move up to the main position on the gondola. Click the right mouse button to switch the main and secondary treasures. Treasures There are seven kinds of treasures in Venice: Keys, Hearts, Coins, Rings, Vases, Stars and Lyres (Lyres only appear after Building 30). All treasures launch and score identically. However, there are small differences in the way they bounce off obstacles due to their varying shapes. A treasure flies upward upon launch from the gondola. If it strikes or comes close to a matching slot in a plate, it will attach to and fill that slot. Unattached treasures in flight will be deflected or redirected by already-attached treasures, bumpers, blocks, bricks, chutes, teleports, baskets or the sides or top of the screen. A treasure bouncing around the screen will shatter after around 20 bounces. If a treasure falls in the water, it is gone (in Journey Mode this costs the player one try). Plates Plates, and the treasure-shaped slots they contain, are the targets in Venice. Plates come in a variety of different shapes such as bars, circles, half-circles, T-shapes, X-shapes and more. They may hold as few as one and as many as eight treasure slots. Most plates have a hinge point around which they can rotate; placing a treasure on one side will cause the plate to swing or see-saw. Plates may be stationary or they may move along a predetermined path. When all the treasure slots in a plate have been filled, the plate disappears. If a plate with unfilled slots sinks beneath the water line, the player loses. Tumble Bonuses Matches tumble down for bonuses. That is, if you place a treasure in a high slot and there are lower empty slots of the same type nearby, then the treasure may tumble down to the lower slots and fill them as well. Tumble bonus points are scored with each tumble. Super tumble bonus points are awarded if a treasure tumbles more than twice. First slot – 10 points 1st tumble – 100 points 2nd tumble – 200 points 3rd tumble (super tumble) – 300 points (spawns a power-up) 4th tumble (super tumble) – 400 points 5th tumble (super tumble) – 500 points 6th tumble (super tumble) – 600 points 7th tumble (super tumble) – 700 points 8th tumble (super tumble) – 800 points 9th tumble (super tumble) – 900 points ... and so on. Creating tumbles is the primary challenge of the game. Not only do tumbles generate lots of points, but particularly elaborate tumbles spawn power-ups that you can catch and use. Obstacles and Complications Besides plates, there are several other kinds of objects on the game screen that can assist or complicate your progress. Bumpers: Bumpers are stone walls or ledges off of which treasures will bounce. Some bumpers have arrows on them; hitting these bumpers with a treasure will cause the bumper to move in the direction indicated. If bumpers sink below the top of the gondola, they become transparent and the player can shoot through them. Locks: A lock is a special padlock-shaped plate with a single treasure slot. Filling this slot will cause the lock and its corresponding block or blocks to disappear (see Blocks). Blocks: Blocks are special bumpers that disappear when a lock is filled. If blocks sink below the top of the gondola, they become transparent and the player can shoot through them. Bricks: Bricks are bumpers made of a special brittle material that crumbles when hit by a treasure. Chutes: Chutes are cylindrical objects that are fixed to or rotate around a base. Any treasure shot into the base of a chute will be redirected in whatever direction the chute is pointing at the time. Shelves: A shelf is a single-slot plate on which a number of treasures, wild shots or powerups can rest. If the slot is filled, the shelf disappears and the treasures fall to the bottom of the screen, filling any matching slots they encounter on the way. Teleports: Teleports are swirling objects that cause treasures to warp from point to point. Treasures exit the exit teleport in the same direction and speed as they enter the entry teleport. So, for example, a treasure fired upward into the bottom of one teleport will exit going upward out of the top of the other, and a treasure traveling rightward into the left side of one teleport will emerge traveling rightward from the right side of the other teleport. Faint arrow lines show which teleport is connected to which. Baskets: Baskets catch treasures, then turn over and drop them down. Power-ups Power-ups are coins of various kinds that pop up and confer different powers if you catch them with the gondola. Power-ups can appear in several different ways. They appear on the third tumble of a tumble combo. In addition, sometimes they rest on top of plates or shelves and are released when their perches are disturbed. Power Shot: The power shot allows you to shoot a treasure up through various barriers including bumpers, blocks, bricks and already-placed treasures. When a power shot is active, a shimmering "laser guide" projects up from the gondola towards the top of the screen. Power shots last for 6 shots, and they can be stacked if you catch multiple power shot coins. Combo Shot: The combo shot allows you to fill all visible empty slots of a particular treasure shape by hitting any slot of that treasure shape. Put another way, the combo shot acts like an all-directional tumble combo. When the combo shot is active, sparkles and tiny versions of the main treasure spray off of the gondola, and once the launched treasure fills a slot then all the visible empty slots of that treasure type glow as the combo shot fills them. The combo shot lasts for one shot. Wild Shot: The wild shot is a rolling rainbow-colored orb that passes through empty slots and fills them as it goes. Slots that have been filled with a wild shot do not set off tumble combos. Wild shots last for two shots, and they can be stacked if you catch multiple wild shot coins. Some shelves hold wild shot orbs. If the shelf is made to disappear, the wild shot orbs fall and fill any blank slot they hit. You can catch those falling wild shot orbs, but you do not receive the wild shot power-up for doing so. Wings: The wings power-up allows you to fly the gondola around anywhere on the screen and place treasures wherever you please. It lasts for about eight seconds, after which the gondola returns to the bottom of the screen. Cupid: The Cupid power-up summons Cupid the angel to assist you. He assumes a position on the left side of the screen, and if you shoot him a treasure, he will fly up and place it as high as he can. Treasures placed by Cupid set off tumble combos. Cupid sticks around and helps for three shots. If not given any pieces for 8 seconds, Cupid flies away. Cupid can also show up on his own in Flood and Survival modes to help you out if you are close to death or inactive. X2 Score Multiplier: The score multiplier power-up doubles the score for shots. It lasts for the rest of the level, or until you die. Multiple X2 score multipliers stack their effects, so catching two will quadruple your score for shots, catching three will octuple your score for shots, and so on. This power-up does not exist in Survival mode. 1-Up (Journey mode only): In Journey mode, the 1-Up power-up gives you another try, and thus another chance to survive in case a treasure falls into the sea. Rewind (Flood and Survival modes only): In Flood or Survival modes, the spiral-shaped rewind power-up moves the building up out of the water and gives you more time to fill the remaining empty slots before the plates sink into the sea. Skill Shots Some shots of greater difficulty give you bonus points. Bank Shot: Bounce a treasure off a bumper and into a slot. 500 points. Lucky Bounce: Bounce a treasure off of 4 or more bumpers and into a slot. 1000 points. GAME MODES [back to top] Venice has four game modes: a sequential story mode (Journey), a more challenging time pressure mode (Flood), an endless endurance mode (Survival) and a special trick shot mode (Trick Shot). Journey Journey mode is the primary mode, and it is available at the beginning of the game. In Journey, the buildings do not sink, allowing you time to carefully pick your shots. You begin each building with three tries and you lose a try each time you launch a treasure, fail to place it in a slot and allow it to fall into the water. If you lose all your tries you lose your score for that building and must go back to its beginning. Buildings are organized into eight neighborhoods: Welcome to Venice, Lunar Lanes, Cupid's Cove, Venetian Villa, Grotto Ghetto, San Marco Square, Vesta's Vista and Lavender Lair. Flood Flood is the secondary mode, and it is available once you have completed Building 2 in Journey mode. Flood is similar to Journey mode in that it is also organized into eight neighborhoods that comprise 9 levels each. Unlike in Journey mode, however, the buildings are constantly sinking, which in turn places time pressure on your efforts to place the treasures. In addition to the buildings’ natural sink rate, each shot you make causes them to sink a bit more. Catching a treasure reverses a bit of that sinking. There are no tries in Flood mode, so there is no penalty other than a drop in your shot percentage for losing a treasure in the water. However, if a plate with unfilled slots sinks below the water line, you will lose and must go back to the beginning of the level. Trick Shot Trick Shot is a secondary bonus mode, and it is unlocked when you complete Journey mode. Trick Shots levels are puzzle levels in which you get one shot to fill all open slots. In Trick Shot mode the levels are organized according to neighborhood; you must complete all of the levels in each neighborhood before proceeding to the next. Survival Survival is a secondary bonus mode, and it is unlocked when you complete Flood mode. Survival is a pure time-pressure challenge. In Survival mode there are no neighborhoods; rather, there is only one building which constantly sinks as in Flood mode. Your task is to fill plates on this infinite building for as long as you can before allowing a plate to slip beneath the waves. SCORING [back to top] General Placing a treasure – 10 points 1st tumble – 100 points 2nd tumble – 200 points 3rd tumble (super tumble) – 300 points (spawns a power-up) 4th tumble (super tumble) – 400 points 5th tumble (super tumble) – 500 points 6th tumble (super tumble) – 600 points 7th tumble (super tumble) – 700 points 8th tumble (super tumble) – 800 points 9th tumble (super tumble) – 900 points and so on... 100 points is added to the tumble score for each successive tumble. Clearing a plate – 500 points Double combo (clearing two plates in one tumble) – 2000 points Triple combo (clearing three plates in one tumble) – 3000 points Quadruple combo (clearing four plates in one tumble) – 4000 points and so on... (clearing x plates in one tumble) – x times 1000 points X2 Score Multiplier – doubles score on each shot, lasts for the remainder of the level Combo Shot – (# of slots filled beyond initial slot times 100 points) times (# of slots filled beyond initial slot) Bank Shot – 500 points Lucky Bounce – 1000 points Catching a power-up coin near the end of a level – 500 points Catching a treasure from an interrupted tumble – 1000 points Level-End Points (Journey, Flood & Survival modes) Accuracy – (# of shots placed / # of shots fired) x 10,000 points, rounded down to nearest 100 points (Cupid-placed shots do not count towards Accuracy) Time Taken – 100,000 / # of seconds, rounded down to nearest 100 points Tumble Combos – # of tumble combos x 100 points Try Bonus (Journey mode only) 1 try remaining – 0 points 2 tries remaining – 1000 points 3 tries remaining – 5000 points tries remaining over 3 add an additional 5000 points (eg. 4 tries is 10,000 points, 5 tries is 15,000 points, and so on) Survival Bonus (Survival mode only) – (# of full minutes survived x 1000 points) Completing Trick Shot Level (in Journey & Flood mode) – 10,000 points Trick Shot Mode Complete a level – 1000 points 2 in a row – 2000 points 3 in a row – 3000 points 4 in a row – 4000 points etc... GAMEPLAY TIPS [back to top] General Tips - Place treasures in higher slots to set off tumble combos. - You can shoot pieces against a flat block to cycle and catch treasures. - Try to fire toward the outside of plates to initiate more effective tumbles. - Time your shot so that the plate spins when hit. This can result in your shot getting combos that it might not otherwise get because you can base the combo off the top of the spin. - There are some levels where you can get into trouble by filling treasures into slots while you still need to shoot through that slot to hit something else. Try not to make the mistake of blocking yourself. While it won't be impossible to win after that, it can be much more difficult. - Don't forget you can right-click to swap your ready treasure with one held in reserve. This is a good way to hang on to a wild shot if you would otherwise be forced to waste it when the screen is mostly clear. - Try to disable locked blocks early on, as doing this will make an area much easier. - When bricks appear, clear them away first before placing treasures. - Use wild shots and power shots to take out hard-to-reach slots. - As your skill increases, try making more bank shots--the bonus points really add up. - Don't spend too much time reading the introductory quotes or you may find yourself talking that way and dreaming about gondolas... ;) Journey Mode Tips - Don't rapid fire in Journey mode unless you're in a confined area where catching pieces is guaranteed. - In Journey, take it slow. Shoot one shot at a time, and concentrate on catching the treasure in case it's about to fall in the water. - Try to shoot around objects when you can in Journey mode--the fewer ricochets you have, the easier it is to catch pieces. - Try to plan ahead a little in Journey mode so that you don't work yourself into a corner. Flood Mode Tips - If slots get close to the water in Flood mode and you don't have access to the correct piece, fire one to get a new reserve piece; the one you need will often appear. VERSION HISTORY [back to top]
1.0	Initial release!
CREDITS [back to top] Venice Deluxe was created by Retro64, Inc. and PopCap Games, Inc.
Design and Programming		Mike Boeh
Art and Additional Design		James Abraham
Additional Design		Jason Kapalka
Musical Composition		Guillaume Bastard
Additional Music		Staffan Melin
Story		Stephen Notley
Additional Levels		Dave Sutherland
Quality Assurance		Michael Guillory Shawn Conard Ty Roberts Adam MacDonnell Mike Racioppi Isaac Aubrey Chad Zoellner Shane Hood
Special Thanks		Ed Allard Ben Lyon David Parton Sukhbir Sidhu Jeff Weinstein Tysen Hendersen John Raptis Steve Verreault
Beta Testing		WendigoWolf Meatboy DixieWriter Inkmei deb1013 Spaggie Phanatic wolfpackmama Curious Games Catzen Sasha24 DaveDude Dryden wuggies FaereMoon HRACH hgalindo Fire Lexi TheShadow LoveDog lala jebksb1977 ashill Kingdom Pajol javansdaddy Dachsx2 Rambobear spirit291 reba10 Zelda MrsDbolt monkeyboy Suzy K
Thanks to all our beta testers and players on PopCap.com for their valuable feedback! SOFTWARE USE LIMITATIONS AND LIMITED LICENSE [back to top] GENERAL PRODUCT LICENSE. This Copy Of Venice Deluxe (The "Software") Is Intended Solely For Your Personal Non-Commercial Home Entertainment Use. You May Not Decompile, Reverse Engineer, Or Disassemble The Software, Except As Permitted By Law. PopCap Corporation And Its Licensors Retain All Right, Title And Interest In The Software Including All Intellectual Property Rights Embodied Therein And Derivatives Thereof. The Software, Including, Without Limitation, All Code, Data Structures, Characters, Images, Sounds, Text, Screens, Game Play, Derivative Works And All Other Elements Of The Software May Not Be Copied, Resold, Rented, Leased, Distributed (Electronically Or Otherwise), Used On A Pay-Per-Play, Coin-Op Or Other For-Charge Basis, Or For Any Commercial Purpose. Any Permissions Granted Herein Are Provided On A Temporary Basis And Can Be Withdrawn By PopCap Games, Inc At Any Time. All Rights Not Expressly Granted Are Reserved. ACCEPTANCE OF LICENSE TERMS. By Acquiring And Retaining This Software, You Assent To The Terms And Restrictions Of This Limited License. If You Do Not Accept The Terms Of This Limited License, Do Not Install or Use This Software. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION [back to top] ©2007 PopCap Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Venice was developed by Retro64, Inc. The PopCap Games logo is a registered trademark of PopCap Games, Inc. jpeglib Portions of this software are based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. ogglib ©2002, Xiph.org Foundation Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: - Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. - Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution. - Neither the name of the Xiph.org Foundation nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE FOUNDATION OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. pnglib ©1998, 1999 Glenn Randers-Pehrson zlib ©1995-1998 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler All other copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.