ASTRAWARE palm os products 
 
Zap!2000 Information
Current released version: 1.6 - 2nd September, 2002
Current release expires: never
Feedback to: David Oakley (david@astraware.com)
Game Info: http://palm.astraware.com/zap2000/
Recent update headlines: Better memory handling on Palm III, improved graphics, GamePad support

Copyright (c) 1999-2001 Astraware Ltd. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.

Introduction

Zap!2000 opens a new era in gaming for the Palm: smooth colour or grey-scale graphics, scrolling backgrounds, more aliens, bigger bosses, more power-ups! Playing it is simple, just shoot the aliens, dodge the incoming shots, and pick up the power-up gems! The further you go, the harder it gets. The boss which is found at the end of each mission has a special attack (watch our for it), but also a weakness that you can exploit to destroy it and move on!

Zap!2000 (for greyscale and 8-bit colour) and Zap!2016 (for 16-bit colour handhelds) are now the same price, and so we've merged the instructions. Where we refer to Zap!2000, the same applies to Zap!2016!

If you enjoy Zap!2000, please take the time to enter a review at PalmGear HQ or Handango.

How To Install

To reduce the occurrence of piracy of our games, we have a separate version of Zap!2000 for our registered users. If you have registered Zap!2000, please read the registration email that we send to you to check where to download a package containing the full versions of the game.

Zap!2000/2016 comes in three varieties, and you'll need to install the correct one for your handheld:

If the version you need isn't included in the zip file you downloaded, go to the Zap!2000 or Zap!2016 web page and get the correct one. Use an extractor program such as WinZip on the PC or Stuffit Expander on the Mac to get at the Zap!2000 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 Zap!2000 or Zap!2016 and tap the screen to play the game. If you are running the full game for the first time and haven't registered by entering your code in the game yet, you will be asked to do so. Your registration code is included in your registration email.

If you've got any queries about Zap!2000 or the registration process, first check out our support pages 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.

Known Problems with Hacks

Zap!2000 graphics and gameplay push the capabilities of your palm to its limits! To do this, we've had to make direct use of much of the hardware of your machine. While this causes no problem for most users, we've had reports from a few users running lots of hacks that the game reports memory problems - even when there is plenty to spare.
 Since many hacks also try to use the same hardware calls, sometimes they might be incompatible. If you get the memory error, and you know that you've got enough space, then try de-activating your hacks one by one until you can narrow down which are causing the problems. So far, we have had confirmed reports that Padlockhack and Switchlock hack seem to be incompatible with Zap!2000.

Speed Up Hacks
There are quite a few hacks available ( Afterburner, Tornado, and I personally use Eco-Hack) which allow you to change the speed your main processor runs at. At the expense of some battery life (about 20% less) your palm can run faster by overclocking. This does not cause any problems with Zap!2000, and many users use these hacks to make the game run faster (or slower) than normally allowed by the standard Zap!2000 speed settings. For those concerned with getting high up the internet high score table, using these hacks makes the game run at a relatively higher speed - so you will get a difficulty bonus added to your score!

Playing Zap!2000

Install and run the game on your Palm.
Tap the screen to start a game.

(Datebook)
Left		 (Phonebook)
Right		 (Up)
Special Attack		 (To Do List)
Thrust		 (Memo pad)
Fire
(Down)
Shields

The control buttons can be fully customised if you wish, by selecting the 'Controls...' menu option! You can also turn 'auto-fire' on or off using the 'Game Preferences...' option.

You get an extra ship every 5000 points.

Zap!2000 has a facility to allow you to save your position at key points throughout the game. You can use 'Save game' only at the end of each mission. After you kill a boss you will see a 'Save' icon while the Summary is shown. Tap it and your score, lives and power-ups will be saved at the start of the following mission. You can use the 'Game' menu to use 'Resume game' and continue from where you were.

Registering

If you purchased a copy of the game on a CD from a store, then it will come pre-registered!  If so.. please find the accompanying details with the CD to find out how to register your purchase to get upgrades!

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.

If you downloaded the game straight from the internet, from Astraware's web pages, or from one of the popular Palm download sites, then you will have the demo version of Zap!2000. The demo version contains only two of Zap!2000's 7 levels, and to go further into the game you will need to purchase the full version of Zap!2000 online or from a shop.

Retail Copies

This and other great Astraware games are available to purchase straight from a store - you'll get a CD with pre-registered copies of the games - no hassle - and makes a great gift!

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/zap2000/
for more details.

You'll need to know your HotSync ID which you can find by running Zap!2000, and going into the menu, selecting the 'How to register' option and clicking on "My registration ID". Your HotSync ID (or username) will be filled in on this screen.

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, follow the instructions on the email to download, run and register the full copy.

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
GameHouse Games Pack 1 Get shuffling with Nisqually, blast those blocks with Collapse and test your word power with TextTwist!
GameHouse Games Pack 2 Make crazy chains in Glinx, match stunning gems in Gem Drop, and get them balls bouncing in Bounce Out!
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
Abysma It's a race against time as you attempt to fill in the puzzle pieces before the descending bar of doom!
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
Candy Cruncher for Palm Candy Crunching Fun
Collapse! Tap matching blocks in this simple but frantic GameHouse game.
Elixir Collect valuable elixir from a stack of capsules without upsetting the balance in this ultra addictive game from Trixiam Studios.
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
Glinx Make chains of gems as long as you can!
Link Letters for Palm Form chains of words by altering single letters in Astraware's version of a classic word linking game
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!
Rooks Revenge Try to kill king in this real time chess game from ASAP Games.
Round Up Marble Moving Madness
Seven Seas Ship Ahoy! Blast pirates with a broadside and navigate through dangerous waters, in this PopCap puzzle game
T-Blaster Practice your graffiti/text entry by blasting aliens!
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!
What Word for Palm Word finding fun on your palm
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
Astraware Pocket PC Games
Alchemy for Pocket PC The Pocket PC version of this gold making game
Bounce Out! for Pocket PC Brain bending ball matching action for the Pocket PC
Diamond Mine The Pocket PC version of the addictive PopCap gem-swapping game, Bejeweled
Nisqually for Pocket PC Make lines of blocks to clear the screen and complete the level
Rooks Revenge for Pocket PC Try to kill king in this real time chess game from ASAP Games

Release Revision History!

Release 1.6 : 2nd September, 2002

  • Support for the latest devices

Release 1.52 : 17th June, 2002

  • Much better handing of low memory requirements

Release 1.5 : 26th April, 2002

  • Enhanced Sound Support added for Sony T-Series!
  • Improved Speed Support for new devices - Treo, M125/130/505/515, Sony Clies
  • Improved Memory Handling
  • Combined Registration System - Codes for Zap!2000 and Zap!2016 work on either version.

Release 1.45 : 18th January, 2001

  • Better memory management, should give more help when the handheld runs out of memory
  • Uses less working space on a Palm III which doesn't have much heap memory
  • Better backgrounds, as used in Zap!2016
  • WorldwideWidgetWorks GamePad support
  • More help for user registration

Release 1.3 : 9th September, 2000

  • Zap!2000 has now been Platinum Certified by Palm to be one of the most stable and usable games on the Palm.
  • Using the 'Find' facility when in Zap!2000 no longer crashes the machine.
  • No longer accesses screen memory directly
  • Better handling of low memory conditions 

Release 1.2 : 21st June, 2000

  • Two new levels for registered users, with new bosses, turrets, canyons, alien launchers, mines!
  • Save game available at end of each level, resume game restores you to the start of the next level with all lives and power-ups preserved
  • Tapping the top of the screen now opens up the menu, which is behaviour that Palm OS 3.5 users expect
  • Better compression techniques mean that the full colour 7-level version of Zap!2000 is now the same size as the old 5-level version was
  • Better error messages if game runs low or out of memory

Release 1.12 : 10th April, 2000

  • Auto-fire (only available in registered version)
  • Now compatible with Chrome alternate colour settings on Palm IIIc
  • Now only loads graphics when needed - much quicker to load
  • Fix: used to crash when you tryed to use 'Reset Highscores'
  • Fix: used to crash if you cheated to jump past level 5

Release 1.1 : 10th March, 2000

  • First colour release for Palm IIIc
  • Completely configurable controls (map any button to any action)
  • Shields countdown clock
  • Ability to turn scenery off and on for a faster game

Release 1.01 : 25th February, 2000

  • Palm OS 3.5 compatibility (Palm IIIc and Palm IIIxe)
  • Removed duplicate printing of Game Over
  • Added 'Zap!2000 is loading' message

Release 1.0 : 1st January, 2000

  • New completion screen
  • Redesigned highscore page
  • Boss aliens are harder to defeat
  • Shields
  • Nuke bomb (registered version only)
  • Fix: aliens don't disappear anymore

Feedback

If you've got suggestions about how to improve Astraware Zap!2000 - or with reports of any problems you've had, then please contact us!

Zap!2000 enquiries/feedback: zap2000@astraware.com
Registration problems: registrations@astraware.com
General Astraware enquiries: feedback@astraware.com

 

Contributors

Zap!2000 was based on an original monochrome game for Palms called "Zap!", written by Howard Tomlinson.

Zap!2000 was created by David Oakley, who made the game able to run in Greyscale, and then Howard and David worked together to add more aliens, levels, effects, and overall much more gameplay, ready for release on the first day of the year 2000!

The evolution of Zap! and Zap!2000 was also helped by...

  • Kevin Mohinani - for input to the design of graphics, and for providing some raw ship graphics to work with.
  • Pete Moss for the endless constructive feedback on how to improve the game.
  • Tim Adams for testing and nitpicking ;-)
  • All the beta testers who fed back with comments.

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 Zap!2000. Zap!2000 is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. Zap!2000 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) 1999-2001 Astraware Ltd. All rights reserved..

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