# Splynch

Milestone 1 Testing Release
Release Notes

Warning:
This is a testing version of Splynch. It is only intended for official Splynch testers. Don't give copies out or put it up on file-sharing sites. This is, essentially, confidential stuff. Feel free to let people try it out and give their ideas on things, but don't actually give them a copy.

Hello and welcome to Splynch Milestone 1. This is the first testing version to contain portions of the final game. The entirety of Episode 0, consisting of two levels and a boss, are included. Happy testing!

Changes since Milestone 0
-fixed a wealth of bugs from M1
-added levels 0-1, 0-2, and 0-3
-modified Splynch's handling to make for a less floaty control experience
-pause function re-done
-full screen mode officially added and fixed
-1-up added at 100 candy corns
-title screen revised
-new level start and level end screens
-level end gives time bonus
-added configuration program
-new power-up: Power Pill
-fixed controls and added gamepad support
-and lots more!

Basic How to Play Guide:
Here are the basic concepts of the game so that you know exactly what is going on.
Controls (Keyboard):

Button | Action
Arrow keys | Move
X | Jump (hold in midair to glide)
Z | Shoot
Enter | Pause

These controls can be changed to an extent. You can't use the configuration program and will have to manually edit Splynch.cfg in order to change them. In addition, the controls will only take effect in levels-- menus and other areas will still use the default controls.
Splynch now ALSO supports gamepads and joysticks. However, due to being unable to try the game with many kinds of controllers, we only officially support the Xbox 360 Controller.
Controls (Xbox 360 Controller):

Button | Action
Left stick | Move
A | Jump (hold in midair to glide)
B | Shoot
X | Pause

The controls, unfortunately, are not changable when using a gamepad or joystick.
Basic Idea:
You're Splynch and you're running around grabbing food and killing enemies with your eye laser. There are also loads of power-ups scattered around to assist in your quest. You need to get to the sign at the end of the level to complete it.
The Game Display:
Match the number to the red number on the screenshot to discover what everything is.
1. Health - you have three units of health in this bar.
2. Score - In the final game, this will be useful in getting the highest score possible!
3. Power-up Bar - As a Power-up is being used, it runs left across the bar. When it reaches the end, the power-up runs out.
4. Lives - Shows how many more times you can die before getting a Game Over.
Items, Objects and Power-ups:

| Candy Corn - Gives you 10 points. Collect 100 for an extra life.
| Raspberries - Restores 1 unit of health.
| Enemy - A poorly drawn and extremely dumb enemy character contained in the testing level 42-0. It just runs back and forth. (2 hit points)
| Purple Bot - These bots patrol low-security areas. If they see you, they'll stop and shoot at you. (2 hit points)
| Blue Bot - They are a lot like the Purple Bots, but move faster and fire speedier lasers. (3 hit points)
| ClickShot - These indestructible laser cannons are placed in strategic positions. Time your jumps in order to pass by between shots.
| Big Red Button (brb) - Step on this button in the normal levels to open doors. Some doors will require multiple Big Red Buttons to be pressed. In the testing level 42-0, these spawn extra enemies.
| Ghost Wall - You cannot pass through this wall unless you have the Ghost power-up (see below)
| Lunch Box - If you open this lunch box, you will restart from it if you die.
| "Food" / "Exit" sign (depends on the level) - Pass by this sign to complete the level.
| Big Laser - Your laser power increases by 3.
| Ghost - Pass through certain walls, with the penalty of being unable to obtain any power-ups except more Ghost power-ups. Also, if you have the Invincibility Hat, it will not work while you are a ghost.
| Invincibility Hat - This hat has magical abilities that allow you to plow through enemies, killing them instantly on impact.
| Power Pill - Your jump height and top speed increase dramatically but your will have trouble making precise movements.
| Rear Laser - You will now not only fire in front of you, but behind as well!
| Shield - Allows you to withstand 2 additional hits.
| Super Speed - Your top speed is increased by 1.5x.
| Wide Laser - You shoot 3 lasers in an angled pattern, but you cannot shoot rapidly.

There will be more power-ups and items in the final game, but right now that is everything that has been made.

Comments and Concerns You Might Have

"This feels a bit unfinished." It kinda is. We dropped several nonessential things from Milestone 1, like cutscenes and a proper main menu, because it was running behind. There's also some stuff going on internally regarding Splynch's code that requires us to basically skip the polishing process this time around. Milestone 2 should remedy the lack of refinement.
"Hey, I've heard this music before!" In our game development method, we're saving the composing of the soundtrack for last, when everything else is done. Until then, however, we do need some music to set the mood for the game, so we've chosen to temporarily steal music from other games. For Splynch, we've picked music from various Sega Genesis games (and other music played on the Genesis's sound chip), so maybe you've heard a tune or two elsewhere. Don't worry-- we'll have it all removed for the final version. For now, though, listen to its loveliness, because that's what this music is. We don't pick this stuff because it's bad or anything, and it's not criminal copyright infringement unless we try selling it like this!
"Full screen mode runs really slowly." The included full screen mode is the result of about a dozen workarounds, since Multimedia Fusion is not cooperating with us. It does not change the screen size like it should, meaning we instead made the software takes over and enlarge the picture. The problem with this is that it's a very slow process. The only thing we can recommend is lowering your screen resolution and then playing Splynch in full-screen.
"I don't get how the levels are connected storyline-wise." We had to leave out the cutscenes, and that's why you're confused. You'll understand when we add them in in a later milestone.

How to Be a Good Tester
Being a Splynch tester isn't really that hard, but here are some guidelines to make yourself more useful to the project.
-Try doing weird things. Chances are somebody who gets the game will, and then odd things happen that we hadn't expected and then they complain. We need to prevent such things happening.
-Play it through a few times. Get a feel for how it plays, and take note of what you like and what you don't like. Your feedback is valuable.
-If you have access to more than one computer, by all means try this on all of them. Splynch needs tested on as many configurations of hardware as possible. If you find a computer on which it doesn't work or runs slowly, let us know (and don't forget to tell us a bit about the computer, like how fast it is and what version of Windows it has!) This will also help us gauge system requirements for the game.
Most of the testing process is being coordinated through the Monochrome Nightmares Forum, so that's where we'll be collecting bug reports and feedback. Just make sure you're registered there and that you've been put in the Splynch Tester group at the forum and you'll be able to use the following locations:
Found a bug? Post it in the M1 Bug Reports Thread.
Got feedback, opinions, etc? Post it in the M1 Feedback Thread.
If, for some reason you are unable to use the forum, you can always send this same stuff via email to Kyle at ksoftgames@gmail.com. We'd prefer, though, that you use the forum if possible. It's much easier to keep things organized that way.
That's all! Happy testing!

(c) 2009 Monochrome Nightmares.
Developed using Multimedia Fusion 2.0, (c) Clickteam.
Uses music from Dynamite Headdy (c) Treasure, Final Fantasy (c) Square-Enix, McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure (c) Treasure/McDonald's, Mega Man and Bass (c) Capcom, Sonic CD (c) Sega, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (c) Sega, Space Invaders '91 (c) Taito, Sparkster (c) Konami, Streets of Rage 3 (c) Sega, Super Mario Land (c) Nintendo, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (c) Konami. Encoded in Ogg Vorbis.