And, naturally, current information will be maintained on the
Official Scorch Web Page (what you're looking at right now).
Special Scholastic Site Licenses Still Available!
Due to popular demand, special site licenses for schools are still
available. For only $40, you can legally run registered copies
of Scorch on any machine which is part of a registered school.
This includes the manual that comes with a Deluxe registration, so it's
only an extra $10 for the site license. To get a scholastic site
license, contact Scorch Headquarters directly.
I'm gratified that so many teachers and teacher's aides find Scorch
a useful part of their curriculum.
On to the FAQ
Due to the amount of mail I have received, I am unable to respond to
every item personally. Therefore, I have prepared a list of answers
to frequently asked questions (FAQs). Thank you for writing, and
please send more letters if you have other questions, or ideas you'd
like to see in future versions of Scorch.
The current version of Scorched Earth is 1.5. Scorch requires an
IBM-compatible PC running MS-DOS, and equipped with a VGA monitor. At
the end of the FAQ is a list of many of the features which have been
added between versions.
Scorched Earth 1.5 is distributed under the "pay before you play" or
"what you play is what you get" (WYPIWYG) principle. This means that
the shareware version contains most of the features of the registered
version.
Registered users get a disk with the registered version of Scorch -
this enables the triple-turreted tanks for users, and adds 25 new scanned
mountains.
You should
register Scorch if you feel that the game is worth $20 (which it
probably is if you play it more than 20 hours/day). In addition,
registration supports my efforts in developing shareware, so if you
would like to see new versions of Scorch, and other games, registering
is the best way to make sure that happens!
Scorch was written using Borland C++ and Turbo Assembler. The deluxe
version of the manual was prepared using Microsoft Word for Windows
and Microsoft Paint, and the ASCII version was automatically generated
using a custom RTF-to-Scorch-Manual filter.
Certainly. As long as your customers are aware that they are
purchasing non-registered copies, and the originals are in no way
modified, you may distribute Scorch. If possible, please send me a
copy of any catalog in which Scorch appears.
The most common problem is that you have selected 640x480 graphics
mode, and this mode is not compatible with your computer. To test
this type "scorch 320x200" from the DOS command line when you start
scorch. This will force Scorch to use a low resolution graphics mode
which is compatible with all VGAs. If you are using a Tandy, you will
need to set the "Bios keyboard" option. You can do this by editing
the file "scorch.cfg" and changing the line "BIOS_KEYBOARD=off" to
read "BIOS_KEYBOARD=on". Finally, If you have version 1.23 or lower, get
version 1.5. This will fix many problems.
This version is designed to solidify the features integrated so far,
and is consists mostly of bug fixes and small improvements.
Support for most 256 color video modes
Scanned Mountain Ranges!!
New sky: Cavern... actually this will be a landscape in the
next version of Scorch
New sky: Pitch black... test your skills at night!
Team support: three kinds, to please all people!
Real timer delays - great for people with 486's and up.
New weapon: lasers.
New shield: SuperMag - tough as a heavy shield, pushes missiles
like a deflector, and bounces away any that get through all that
like a force shield. Yikes!
Better keyboard support in simultaneous mode - multiple players
on the keyboard no longer conflict with each other.
Joystick support has been modified to support Gravis Gamepads.
Somewhat improved computer algorithms
Foreign character support (for talk files)
Version 1.2
Bug fixes. The following bugs (and quite a few other minor ones) were fixed:
After buying, Scorch would sometimes crash, usually with
a red line across the top.
When buying items, the menu would sometimes get messed up
and incorrectly purchase items.
At the end of the game, the box was sometime not the
correct size.
Alt-S works with Bios keyboard enabled. (as does F1)
Nuclear blasts work properly on all scales.
Various crashes of all kinds fixed. If you still
experience these or other bugs, please report them to the
author.
Scores are no longer limited to about 2 billion. Can
you find the new limit? (HINT: It's REALLY REALLY BIG!!!)
The "sticky key" problem seems to be fixed on MOST machines.
It may persist on some.
New features
You can now use the Inventory panel to activate and sell
items with a new keyboard interface.
One new way to die.
Yet more messages in the talk file (thanks to players!).
You can restore a game from the main screen.
Simultaneous Mode has been further enhanced. Players can
move and fire while missiles are in the air - up to 99
missiles can be active at a time!
New play mode: Synchronous. In this mode, all players
choose their power and angle before anything is launched.
Then, when everyone is done, all shots go off at once.
At the end of a game, you can see what type of Computer was
playing each tank.
Miscellaneous Changes
The menu structure has been redone some more. The "Weather"
items have been moved to the "Landscape" menu. The wall options
have been consolidated to make more sense.
The modem icon has temporarily disappeared It will reappear
when Modem Scorch is ready.
Cyborgs will no longer say "I'll be back" instead of reading
the talk file.
Version 1.1
Bug Fixes
XT incompatibility
"Save Changes" failed on many systems
Talking tanks didn't talk on some systems
"Simultaneous Mode" missing from menu
Various crashes of all kinds fixed
New features
Enhanced graphics interface, including push-buttons and
faster drawing
Easier initialization of players
Two new ways to die
Twice as many messages in the talk file
More talk options: you can make all tanks talk,
or just the computers talk; You can also control
how often anybody talks
Play order option: choose from random (as in Scorch 1.0),
losers-first, winners-first, and round-robin
Joystick support
Save/Restore/Restart Game from System Menu
Optionally, when computers are playing themselves,
the action will speed up until human players become involved again
Ability to track total interest earned
Optional supply and demand economy for pricing
Useless Options disappear from buying menu
Simultaneous Mode has been enhanced to show a bar graph of weapons,
shield, and power- batteries also work in simultaneous mode
4 New Weapons: Napalm, Hot Napalm, Liquid Dirt, Smoke
Tracers
Faster "Starry Sky"
Meteor showers
MEDIUM scale setting
control over effect of lightning/meteors
Ability to change icons from the "Reassign Players" menu
Keyboard interface to "Reassign Players" menu added
Status Bar option allows icons display of important info for
easier and faster play
Ability to sell back unwanted items
Inventory panel shortcuts
Right-clicking mouse can be used to choose a target exactly
an index to the manual (which is now over 60 pages)
and many miscellaneous changes to clean up the interface.