ASTRAWARE | palm os products

Mars Needs Cows Information

Current released version: 1.05 - 26th April, 2002
Current release expires: never
Feedback to: Haemish Graham (haemish@astraware.com)
Game Info: http://palm.astraware.com/mnc/
Recent update headlines: First Release!

Copyright (c) 1999,2000,2001 Astraware Ltd, 2000,2001, PopCap
All rights reserved.

Introduction

[INCOMING TRANSMISSION....]
WE NEED MORE ANIMALS!
And not just any old boring martian animals... we need EARTH animals! And lots of them! Why ? Well, its obvious! Err....
Your job - go down to Earth, and herd their animals into position for beam-up by the collection saucer. Collect enough of the right sorts, and there's a promotion in it for you!
Intelligence tells us that the indiginous species are highly stupid, and you should have no problems in your mission, although it may be complicated by the fact that some of the species eat or kill some of the others. We've selected some target areas where some of the animals are captive in enclosed spaces - that should make it nice and easy for you!
[...TRANSMISSION ENDS]
Mars Needs Cows is the wacky new puzzle game from the famous online masters, PopCap!
Stretch your brain muscle in a series of increasingly challenging puzzles, as you maneouver animals into the middle of a field so that you can beam them to your ship!
This game features:

- Cute Animated Graphics for Cows, Sheep, Pigs, Chickens, Wolves, Foxes, and more!
- Comic style animated effects
- Colour or Greyscale versions available
- Puzzles ranging from easy to learn, to brain bustingly hard.
- Inbuilt Tutorial
- Easy to learn tap-based play
- Three difficulty settings
- High score charts for each difficulty
- Earn Ranks as you complete further missions
- Option to export your score to our Internet High Score table
- Two THOUSAND unique levels to play!
- Support for additional level packs
- Inbuilt ability to show the solutions for levels you can't do!
- Sound Effects

How To Install

Use an extractor program such as WinZip on the PC or Stuffit Expander on the Mac to get at the Mars Needs Cows files. Install the game by double-clicking the prc file.

Use the HotSync button as usual to install the game onto your handheld.

Now run Mars Needs Cows and tap the screen to play the game!

If you've got any queries about Mars Needs Cows or the registration process, first check out our frequently asked questions page on our website (you must be connected to the internet to access this). If this doesn't help, get in touch with us at support@astraware.com. If you've got any questions (or suggestions, we love those) about the game itself, please get in touch with us at the email address at the top of this page.

How To Play Mars Needs Cows

As part of a Martian "biodiversity" project your job is collect animal specimens from the planet Earth and bring them back to Mars.

You will be asked to complete a series of missions, each mission requiring you to abduct particular animals. If you forget the mission brief a summary of the animals left to collect is shown on the left hand side of the display.

To abduct an animal, you need to move it onto the square marked with a cross in the centre of the screen.

To do this, you tap on an animal to select it, and arrows will appear for each direction you may move it in. Tap on a direction arrow and the animal will run in that direction until it hits another object or the perimeter fence, so you will have to think carefully before each move.

Be sure to watch out for electric fences and holes, the farm yard animals are not too bright and will merrily run into the electic fence or fall down a hole. If you destroy one of the animals required for the mission you will have to start again.

In addition to cows, sheep, chickens and pigs you will encounter a variety of other animals, each with its own particular characteritics. Foxes eat chickens, wolves eat sheep and the farmer shoots foxes and wolves. Everything with legs runs away from the Martian... (perhaps they know why you are here!)

If you get stuck or make a mistake you have three options; Abort the mission, Reset the mission or Undo the last move, to do each of these tap the "A", "R" and "U" icons in the top left hand corner of the display repectively.

Note you can only abort three missions, if you abort a fourth mission you will be sacked and sent home in disgrace.

Your goal is to accomplish 40 missions in the shortest time possible. The faster you complete each mission, the more points you'll get. You'll get more points for harder missions!

Registering

If you downloaded the game straight from the internet, from Astraware's web pages, or from one of the popular Palm download sites, then your copy is in 'Demo' form. Demo means that you can play 10 games for free, and then decide whether to register it or not. After these games are up, the program will display a short message before each game.

In Demo form, you can play 10 games of Mars Needs Cows for free, as you decide whether you like it or not. After these games are up, the program will display a short message asking you to register or purchase a full version from a shop!

If you beam a demo to someone else, and they also like the game, then they can register it either by purchasing a copy from a local store, or by purchasing online.

Registering Online:

For those that like the speed and convenience of buying of the internet, when you register for the game, you'll get a key which will unlock the game and remain valid for future 1.x upgrades. Go to the web page at http://palm.astraware.com/mnc/
for more details.

You'll need to know your HotSync ID which you can find by running Mars Needs Cows, and going into the menu, and selecting the 'register' option. Your HotSync ID (or username) will be filled in for you below.
When you register, Astraware will generate a key based on your ID, which will normally be sent out by email within 48 hours of you registering. When you receive your key, go to the same register option, and enter the key into the space provided.

Submit your High Scores!

Registered users of the game are entitled to submit their high scores to our Internet High Score table.

Just visit the Mars Needs Cows web pages at http://palm.astraware.com/mnc/ and select the link to view high scores.

To submit your own score, you need to go to the menu in the game, and select 'export high score'. This will provide you with a code which you can then type into our site:

http://www.astraware.com/palm/mnc/high/

You can only submit high scores once you've beaten the scores built into the game!

(Astraware reserves the right to remove this board or facility without any notice, or to remove individual names if necessary)

Astraware Products

You can find out about Astraware and the product range we have for the Palm-powered platform by visiting our website at www.astraware.com/.
Here are our top products at time of writing:

Astraware Palm Packs
It's A Blast! Shooting Pack | Let out your tension with some target practice with Astraware's collection of great screen-tapping games!
Palm Games Pack 2001 | 4 games for under $25 - save over 25%
PopCap Games Pack | PopCap Games are sweeping the web, and now Astraware brings the top games to the Palm
Astraware Palm Games
Alchemy | Turn lead into gold in Astraware's addictive PopCap puzzle game!
Astro Defence | Defend your city from the asteroid threat!
Atomica | Make Molecules in Dr. Atomica's Laboratory in Astraware's addictive PopCap puzzle game!
Bang! Bang! | Backyard blasting fun
Bejeweled | Bejeweled is a Palm version of the incredibly popular and addictive online game by PopCap
Big Money! | Coin collecting fun in another Pop Cap classic!
Biplane Ace | Dogfight against rival fighter pilots
Bounce Out | Brain bending ball matching action
Bzzz! for Palm | Fly-catching action for the Palm
Collapse! | Tap matching blocks in this simple but frantic GameHouse game.
Eye of Horus | Unleash your magical powers with this Astraware puzzle game.
Galaxy Ranger | Be a Galaxy Ranger, Save the Universe!
Gem Drop | Gem dropping, jewel matching fun
Mad Gab | ...It's not what you SAY, it's what you HEAR!
Mahjongg | Relax your mind with the most authentic Mahjongg solitaire game for Palm-powered handhelds
Mars Needs Cows | The challenging PopCap puzzle game of animal abduction!
Mummy Maze | Escape the maze and outsmart the mummy in this great PopCap game!
Nisqually | Make lines of blocks to clear the screen and complete the level
Noah's Ark | Save pairs of animals from the rising water in this great PopCap game!
Police Range | Police Range is a fast game of reactions, dexterity, accuracy and good judgment!
Round Up | Marble Moving Madness
Seven Seas | Ship Ahoy! Blast pirates with a broadside and navigate through dangerous waters, in this PopCap puzzle game
TacTic | A twist on the classic Tic-Tac-Toe game pits you against the brain
Text Twist | Juggle letters to make as many words as you can in a limited time!
Zap!2000 | Arcade gaming on the Palm has never looked so good!
Zap!2016 | The essential showcase for your 16-bit color Palm
Astraware Palm Applications
e.Guide | Your essential TV episode guide for Palm
Timetable | Know whats when with Timetable!
Timetable Plus | The essential tool for teachers and students, with assignment tracker
Timetable Pro | The essential tool for teachers and students

Release Revision History!

Release 1.05 : 26th April, 2002

- New Update to have better support for newer devices!
- Corrections made to instructions tutorial to be clearer
- Fix for a bug regarding pausing at the end of the level or game

Release 1.02 : 20th February, 2002

- Revised with new library routines to have better support for latest devices.

Release 1.0 : 3rd December, 2001

First release

Feedback

If you've got suggestions about how to improve Astraware Mars Needs Cows - or with reports of any problems you've had, then please contact us!

Mars Needs Cows enquiries/feedback: mnc@astraware.com
Registration problems: registrations@astraware.com
General Astraware enquiries: feedback@astraware.com

Contributors

Programming: Haemish Graham, Larry Dyde Game Design: Jason Kapalka Graphics: Josh Langley Sounds: David Oakley

Thanks also to all the beta testers who helped with their feedback during September and November 2001!

Legal

Astraware Ltd takes no responsibility for any adverse effect that this software could cause to your machine or the data on it: backup important data before using Mars Needs Cows. Mars Needs Cows is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. Mars Needs Cows is licensed, not sold.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble this software.
Astraware’s and its suppliers’ entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be, at Astraware’s option, either (a) return of the price paid, if any, or (b) replacement of the product that does not meet the warranty and which is returned to Astraware with a copy of your receipt. This warranty is void if failure of the product has resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication. Any replacement software product will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer. These remedies are not available without proof of purchase from an authorized source.

Written permission must be obtained before distribution of this game, either in demo form or full form, through any online or offline methods.

Copyright (c) 1999,2000,2001 Astraware Ltd, 2000,2001, PopCap.

Astraware and the planet logo are trademarks of Astraware Limited. All rights reserved.