| ASTRAWARE | palm os products |
| Gem Drop Information |
Copyright (c) 2001 Astraware Ltd, 2000,2001, GameHouse.
All rights reserved.
Practise those Tetris reactions and keep those gems moving in this masterpiece from GameHouse As gems pour from a magic goblet, you have to guide them into positions to make groups of three or more matches! Do this and the group will vanish, giving you more space.
Too slowly, and your screen will fill up - and its game over if you let them overflow! Gem Drop Features
Introduction
Use an extractor program such as WinZip on the PC or Stuffit
Expander on the Mac to get at the
Gem Drop
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
Gem Drop and tap the screen to play the game! If you've got any queries about
Gem Drop 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.
Gems continually pour out of your magic goblet, and out onto your screen! You have just a short time to decide where to put them to keep your screen as clear as possible.
If you can survive a certain number of gems each level, you win! Arrange Identical gems in groups of three or more to prevent them overflowing the screen. Drop the blocks one at a time into the playing area. A gem can be grouped with its neighbours to the left and right, or up and down ( but not diagonally ) Once a group of three or more is formed it evaporates.
Any gems that were above the group move down into the vacated spaces.
If these cascading gems form matches then the score is increased for the new match. Tap the screen or press the (customisable) drop button in whichever column you wish the gem to be released.
If you fail to release a gem within a certain amount of time then the gem will drop anyway in whichever column the gem waits.
You dont have to wait for the gems to reach the bottom before dropping another. Use the stylus to tap on the column you wish the gem to fall. You can drag the stylus to change columns, the gem is released when the stylus is lifted.
Use the customisable left and right buttons to change the column and press the drop button to release the gem To move onto the next level of play, you must drop the required number of gems for the level.
Each blank area of the screen at the end of a level is converted into points. If you match three or more white gems then the score for that match is multiplied by 10 Match a group of whites after two or three cascades for huge scores Black gems are your best friends when you are running out of room. Choose to land them on a gem of which there are many on the screen.
All similar gems are removed from the screen resulting usually in several extra cascades.
Here are a few hints that should increase your score Go For Big Bonuses! - If you have plenty of space in the screen, try to avoid just matching the gems in columns of three. This will allow you to advance through the levels but you only score 70 for each match.
Try matching two gems then sandwich another different gem between those and another of the same gem. Matching the sandwiched gem with two of its own kind will result in 70 points plus
420 for the resulting match. setting up greater cascades in this manner will result in huge scores. Use Your Black Gems Wisely - After completing 12 levels the fifth gem of each level should be a black gem. Before starting these levels decide which gem you will obliterate from the screen otherwise you may find that you have wasted it on a single gem.
There's just one hidden feature built in! If you're stuck on a level and the gems are nearly right to the top - then as an emergency you can write a graffiti 'P' and you'll get a free black gem. You can't overuse this though - you only get one every 10 levels....
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 In Demo form, you can play 10 games of
Gem Drop
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://www.astraware.com/palm/gemdrop
You'll need to know your HotSync ID which you can find by running
Gem Drop,
and going into the menu, and selecting the 'register' option. Your
HotSync ID (or username) will be filled in for you below.
Registered users of the game are entitled to submit their high scores
to our Internet High Score table. Just visit the Gem Drop web pages at
http://www.astraware.com/palm/gemdrop 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: 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)
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/.
Release 1.0 : 11th April, 2002
If you've got suggestions
about how to improve Astraware
Gem Drop - or with reports of any problems you've had,
then please contact us!
Gem Drop enquiries/feedback: gemdrop@astraware.com
Programming - Ben Exworthy, Ray Seys Graphics - Marina Fish, Stephen Thorley Game Design - Garr Godfrey, Ben Exworthy
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
Gem Drop.
Gem Drop is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as
well as other intellectual property laws and treaties.
Gem Drop is licensed, not sold. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble this software. 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) 2001 Astraware Ltd, 2000,2001, GameHouse..
Astraware and the planet logo are trademarks of
Astraware Limited. All rights reserved.
How To Install
How To Play Game Objective
How to Play
Controls
Levels
White Gems
Black Gems
Hints and Tips
Hidden Features
Registering
for more details.
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!
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Release Revision History!
Feedback
Registration problems: registrations@astraware.com
General Astraware
enquiries: feedback@astraware.com
Contributors
Legal
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.