Archon: Evolution Beta, build 0.6.999 (10/Dec/2007)

Copyright 2004-2007 Curve Software, Studio 4d1 and Free Fall.


Installation
------------

None required.


Release notes
-------------

Originally released in 2005. Re-released, with minor changes, on in December 2007.

This beta does not support the following game modes: 1 Player, Network Play.

This is an early release of the game and is therefore missing certain key elements.
Missing sounds have been substituted with the default light "ping". Many images and sounds are
still not final. No music has been included in this release.

No images are anti-aliased in this release (code is incomplete, so disabled).

The in-game fonts are not currently anti-aliased and can, on certain surfaces, appear "ugly".

The beta's resolution is fixed at 640x480.

The shadow system implemented in build 0.6.509 is a temporary one. A new pre-calculated
system is in the works. The balance of power algorithm has been temporarily disabled, as
it's not *quite* right yet.

The configuration screens (or sub menus) have not been developed yet. Manual configuration is
however possible via the archon.ini file.

The default control configuration is:

Player 1: Joystick Port 0 ( [Controls]Light=J0 in the ini file )
Player 2: Keyboard        ( [Controls]Dark=K )

LightKeys: W, A, S, D, [Shift]
DarkKeys:  Cursor keys and [R CTRL]

J0 thru J3 specifies which joystick port is to be used (via the INI file).

[ESC] is the exit/backup key.

Keyboard configuration is not currently implemented. If you'd prefer to play with a different
configuration, you can modify the archon.ini file by specifying the scancodes for the required keys.

It is not yet possible to configure the order of play or assign sides. Player 1 is always light,
and the light side always starts.


Contributions
-------------

Please feel free to submit replacement in-game media. We're always on the look out for improved
sounds fx and music. Full credit will be given in revised releases. Whilst development has all
but ceased, we like to see the game evolve through the community.

Feel free to create completely new themes. HotSpotEditor.exe is supplied so that you can attach
icons to weapons. You need to set the "hot spot" (the flashing red square) for both the icon
(on, for example, its hand) and for the weapon (on, for example, the handle) and the game will
automatically (in this example) place the weapon in the icon's hand. The resulting settings file
(HotSpots.ini) needs to replace the one found in Themes\Evolution\640x480.


License
-------

Archon: Evolution is released as freeware, and may be freely distributed. You are not, however,
permitted to use any of the supplied media for personal or commercial use (such as websites, your
own games etc). Copyright is retained by Leigh Bowers and Studio 4d1.


Feedback
--------

Please remember that this is not the finished game, and should be viewed accordingly.
That said, we value constructive critisism, be it positive or negative. If something
simply doesn't feel right, let us know. If something looks out of place or sounds wrong,
we need to know about it.

Email: archon@curvenet.co.uk
