Date: Thu, 17 Dec 92 12:22:42 MST
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games
Subject: Andrew Welch about Maelstrom  R
Organization: Brigham Young University, Provo UT USA
From: mikad@bones.et.byu.edu (David P. Mika)

He asked that this be posted to the net, if someone else
has already done the same please forgive:

About Maelstrom "copying" from Solarian ][, this is the last I'm going to say
on the subject.  I wanted to make Maelstrom and excellent arcade game in the
style of the coin ops you see in the arcade.  As such it uses the entire
screen to envelope you in the game, and it has a title screen, about screens,
and a high score list.

Now of course I have Solarian ][, and Lunatic Fringe both.  All the artwork
in Maelstrom was done from scratch by a graphic artist I hired to do the
artwork.  Maelstrom was coded by scratch by myself and myself alone.  The
vast majority of the sounds in Maelstrom were created right here, including
the "Ren & Stimpy" sounds (a friend of mine did them).  Some sounds were
taken from a public information services, and thus I considered them fair
game.  Solarian ][ also has several samples ("Damn" which is Prince for one)
that were taken from public information services.

The Maelstrom title screen developed the way it did out of functionality: I
wanted the high scores, title graphic, and functions to be all displayed on
one main screen.  The way I presented them in the game reflect that
functionality.  Did I perhaps unconsciously choose this idea of one main
screen from Solarian ][?  Maybe, I don't know.  The fact is that Solarian ][
is very far from the only game to use this arrangement.  I can point you to
several games for the PC and several arcade games as well that would cause
you to say "Hey, that looks like Solarian ][ -- er -- or does Solarian ][
look like that?"

So can we please get beyond all this?  If this is really going to be an
issue, I can mangle Maelstrom's interface very easily, but what would the
point be?  What arrangement could possibly be more simple or straighforward?

Does Maelstrom borrow from Solarian ][?  Sure.  Does Solarian ][ borrow from
Galaxian?  Sure.  Do both games borrow from hundreds of existing arcade
games?  Sure.  That's it, that is the last I'm going to say about all this;
lets focus on the game itself.

Here is a list of points.  You are welcome to post 'em on the Internet if you
like:

Small asteroid -> 300 points
Medium asteroid -> 100 points
Big asteroid -> 50 points
Vortex -> 500 points
Autonominous mine -> 700 points
Super nova -> 1000 points
Hitting a steel asteroid -> 100 points
Blowing up a steel asteroid -> 5000 points
Big Enemy -> 1000 points
Little enemy -> 2000 points

Picking up a stranded pilot gives you and extra life.

Here is a list of cheats for Maelstrom 1.03:

The Official Maelstrom 1.03 Cheat Guide

by Andrew Welch

To start playing on any level you like, hit the 'L' key while you are at the
main screen.  A dialog box will come up that lets you choose what level to
start on.  The 'Turbofunk' option makes the game run as fast as it can,
instead of the constant 30fps it normally uses.

Here are some neat little cheats that make Maelstrom interesting.  You'll
need Maelstrom 1.03 for all of these cheats, DO NOT try them with an earlier
version (you might crash your machine).

You'll also need MacsBug; it is widely available on AOL and other information
services.  To install it, just drag 'MacsBug' and 'Debugger Prefs' into your
System Folder and reboot.

Once you've installed MacsBug, load up Maelstrom 1.03 and hit 'P' to start
playing the game.  When you want to use a cheat, hit the interrupt switch on
your Macintosh to drop it into MacsBug; take care to hit the right switch:
one reboots the machine, the other will drop you into MacsBug.  On Machines
like the ][si (which doesn't have an interrupt switch), hold down the Command
key and hit the Power On key to drop you into MacsBug.

Now for the cheats:

Type: SW (A5)-$338 1 <return> for ACME XQJ-37 Retro Thrusters
Type: SW (A5)-$336 1 <return> for Machine Guns
Type: SW (A5)-$334 1 <return> for Luck
Type: SW (A5)-$332 1 <return> for Long Shots
Type: SW (A5)-$330 1 <return> for Triple Shots

Type: SW (A5)-$384 #X <return> where X is the number of lives you want

Type: SW (A5)-$32C #300 <return> for Maximum sheilds

After you've finished cheating, Type: G <return> to continue playing.

Enjoy,

Andrew

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.games