Demo of software by Jon Prestidge.
(c) Jon E Prestidge 1997.
Tile: Untitled. 
      ( Became commonly known as the "V600" demo.
        The game has now been titled 'Oblique'.
        See the update text at the bottom of this file )
Version number: 600
Released: 17-Aug-1998.




Features:
=========
  Visualy adjust the attributes of your character.
  Characters are fully articulated (well almost!).

Info.
=====
Hello,
  thanks for looking at this demo.
This is a preliminary demo of my game engine I'm working on.
It's still has a long way to go: for example 'collision detection' is
implemented yet 'collision reaction' is not.  At least now it is almost
to the stage where I can develop the actual game. 
Sorry there is not yet any game play at all, but hopefully the
aesthetics alone will make it worth a look.  Any feed-back is more than
welcome (to jon@surfed.to  or  jon@obli.co.uk).

In the pre game-play mode which first greets you when the program is run:
three characters are displayed which can be metamorphosised adjusting
their attributes (or in other words their biometric parameters).
Not all the proportions of the characters in every permutation are
correct yet -- this is a major task that will take more research... for
example I need to ascertain how sholder width relates to height...
all relationships are accounted for but some are only guessed-at so-far
or have just been left at their initial 1:1 ratio.
There are only a few attributes to adjust currently but eventually
there will a whole host attributes that can be adjusted ... for example
you will beable to either get the playstation to select a face for you
randomly or you will beable to adjust many aspects of the face to emulate
your own.   Major attributes, like how fat you are or how muscly you
are, will effect the game-play for things like strength, energy, speed,
agility etc, and may or aid or hinder you in certain activities during
the game,  while other attributes will be just aesthetic.

Game control will be quite tactile and limb movements aren't largely
pre-canned as per usual... each limb can be moved independently (or
as much as the number of controller buttons available will allow).  In
other words, controls are more 'simulator-like' than 'arcade-like'.

PS.  donn't worry if everyone is bald!


The files in the ZIP set:
=========================
README.TXT    This file
INFO.GIF      This tells you what buttons do what - just load it into
              an art package or your web browser to look at this.
NY.PXE        The program itself for down-loading to the Yaroze.
LOADIT.       A load-file to specify to SIOCONS.  Not required for
              CodeWarrior users.


Instructions for users with CodeWarrior:
========================================
This should work with all versions of PSComUtil but I've only tested it
with v1.4b3 so far.
Just run PSComUtil as usual and click on "Program Execution" then
"Download Program".  Select the "NY.pxe" file.  When it has down-loaded
to the Yaroze, click on "Program Execution" again and then
click on "Run".


Instructions for users with SIOCONS:
====================================
Unfortuneatly when this program is loaded and run with SIOCONS some
of the top of the display is missing (well this is what happens on
my TV anyway).... so if you do have a copy of CodeWarrior then best
to use that.
Set your default directory (with the "cd" command) to where you have
put the files.  Run SIOCONS in the normal way.  When you are connected
OK (when you've got ">>") then press F3 and enter "LOADIT".  The program
with then load and run.  (Load-time at 9600 baud is 225 seconds)


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Update.   12-August-2000

Blimey it's almost exactly two years since I released this demo.
Sorry I have nothing new off the test-bed to put-out as a demo yet.
I'm deep into upgrading the game engine into a 'real physics' game engine
as part of the third reworking of the program since I started back in
1997.  It is proving a really grim task... for example each person's
centre of gravity and their moment of inertia has to be caculated
for every new screen refresh if they have moved even as much as a finger
tip. Also I never expected the mechanical behavior of the human body to
be so difficult to get right -- it can be like a rigid structure or a
lot of loose levers... or anything in between those two.

The game now has a proper title: "Oblique" and it has its own website
now too: www.obli.co.uk.  (this particular demo has become known as
"V600" since it was released before the the game was titled Oblique)

I'm afraid all I've done to this demo is update my email address that
is displayed on screen!  Bah.  But I'll be bringing a new demo out
as soon as I can... keep your eye on www.obli.co.uk or
www.eclipsesoftware.co.uk for news.

bye for now,
Jon.

Jon@surfed.to