                     A clone of the wonderful classic
    -------------======||||||||||||||||||||||||||||======-------------
    -----------=======|||||||||||KIKSTART|||||||||||=======-----------
    -------------======||||||||||||||||||||||||||||======-------------
                               By Ben Wise
     

     This is a clone of a classic bike obstacle course game as it appeared
     on the Commodore Plus/4.

    /==============/
   /About The Game/
  /--------------/

  This is a side scrolling, fast paced, ultra tricky and ultra challenging
  game! Ok time to cut out the hype :>
 
  Basically you've got to beat the clock and stay alive by not crashing into
  any obstacles or steps.
 
  At the end of each level you will get an extra bike awarded if you have
  fewer than five bikes left. Bonus points are scored for finishing earlier
  and for each bike remaining. Once you run out of time the game is over.

    /===========/
   /How To Play/
  /-----------/

  Keys:
  -----
    Up arrow - Jump
    Right Arrow - Speed up
    Left arrow - Slow down
    Clear - Quit

  Simply put the file KIKSTART.83G on your calculator and run KIKSTART.
  Wait for the intro screens to appear so you know what to jump over and
  how use springs. Once you've seen this you can hold down the right arrow
  to start the game (and accelerate!).

  When your bike disappears you've "died". Wait for the bike to reappear
  again at a safe spot.

  Along the top of the screen you can see:
  [Your bikes]  [Time left to complete level]
  [Level]    [Score]


    /==============/
   /Game play Tips/
  /--------------/

  *Jumping on a spring will set that spring off "early". This can
  sometimes be an advantage and sometimes not! 

  *You can go a little way over the pot holes and other obstacles on
  the same level as the bike before you die, use this to jump clear
  of larger obstacles.... However _jumping_ onto an obstacle will kill
  you instantly!

  *Slow down... speed kills. You can slow down much faster than you can
  speed up.

  *Don't always run over springs at full speed - sometimes you need to slow
  down a bit to gain more height (before you clear some tall trees for
  instance).

    /====================/
   /Future Possibilities/
  /--------------------/

  Here are some things I'd like to see in future versions and I just might
  add if I feel so inclined (sorry I just had to talk posh like):

  *Pause support

  *Resume

  *Smaller more optimised levels

  *Level editor [PC or on calc]

  *Scrolling intro showing all levels

  *Improved collision detection [yeah it's not perfect right now]

  *High Scores

  *Sprites - Balloons and cartwheels, thunder clouds.

  *You tell me! (bwise@labyrinth.net.au)


    /========================================================
   /Thanks to the following people (in no particular order):
  /--------------------------------------------------------

   Jimmy Mardell
     *It was Jimmy's rotation and shifting tutorial that inspired me to
     make this game! It was easier than I thought. Jimmy also previewd
     the game.

   Hannes Edfeldt
     *Hannes' sprite routine enabled me to improve the efficiency of my
     own routine (closely modelling it on his code).
     
   Joe Wingbermuehle
     *I have used Joe's fast copy routine in my program. Thanks Joe!

   Olle Hedman
     *Olle has given me invaluable feedback about this game as well as
     providing me with a number of interesting discussions regarding
     assembly.
     
   Zsolt Prievara
     *For creating the EMU Plus4 Emulator which enabled me to clone this
     game as I couldn't remember well enough since I hadn't played it for
     about 9 years or so!

   Rusty Wagner
     *For writing the excellent VTI which enabled me to debug this game much
     more quickly than would otherwise have been possible.

   Eric Greening
     *An enthuastic recipient of "sneak previews" and "advanced releases"
     as the game was developed.

   The Author(s) of Kikstart for the Commodore Plus4 (???)
     *Alas I have no way of tracking down who wrote the program as there is
     no credit screen. One possibility is that it could have been written by
     Shaun Southern - who wrote the C64 version of Kikstart.

     *I have taken some of the graphics directly from the game and modified
     them to fit the screen dimensions and optimised their appearance in
     black and white.
     

    /==========/
   /Disclaimer/
  /----------/

  This program may have bugs in it. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Back up your
  calculator if you are worried about loosing data. By using this program
  you hereby agree that I shall not be held responsible for any damage this
  program may cause or any loss arising out of such a situation. This
  program could contain bugs... so please take due care.


    /=========/
   /Who Am I?/
  /---------/

  Well I live in the state of Victoria and I am a university student.
  I am a member of Icarus Productions (http://icarus.ticalc.org) and
  I enjoy walking, playing the piano, staying up all night, sleeping
  all day (it's 3:50am now) and going to church on Sundays. Please
  e-mail me if you have any suggestions or comments about this game or
  if you have some assembly related questions I _may_ be able to help you.

  E-mail: bwise@labyrinth.net.au
  ICQ: 7901373

  A few words about the source:
        - It is fairly messy and could be further optimised :)
        - The source size is 2.9k and the rest is data (pics and levels)
        - You can use bits of this source however you please EXCEPT for
          ILFASTCPY.ASM - which is Joe's routine you should ask Joe if
          you want to use this. Also please give me some credit if you
          use my source :>
        - If you find any bugs - PLEASE TELL ME 8-)


    /=======/
   /History/
  /-------/

  Version 1.0 (15 Jan 2000) - The initial release!

  ... 

  Whoa - you must have some time on your hands as you've read right to the
  end of this lengthy document. Hope you enjoy the game and thanks for
  reading :-)
