This is B-DASH, the free B*ulder Dash clone for LinuX.
B-DASH is a simple digging game, originally written for some old
8-bit homecomputers. This version utilizes 256-color graphics and
digitized sounds. 

INSTALLATION

As BDASH uses the VGA-memory directly, it must be run as root, 
so make will set the setuid/setgid flags on bdash.
To install BDASH, simply login as root and type "make install".
This compiles the binary and copies all the required files to the
appropriate directories and sets up their permissions. To unistall
BDASH, type "make uninstall" which will try to remove bdash from 
your system.

To get a list of the supported parameters, call "bdash -h".

RE-COMPILATION

Bdash uses svgalib and the framebuffer-library that comes together
with it. If you don't have svgalib installed get the source and
install it. Bdash does not work with vgalib! Although it uses svgalib,
it should run on ANY VGA-card.

If you are using the pcspeaker-device driver, make 
will probably complain, because you won't have the file <linux/soundcard.h>.
So pcsp-users need to make the following symlink first:
ln -s /usr/include/linux/pcsp.h /usr/include/linux/soundcard.h

If you want to change some of the predefined constants, have a look at
include/config.h. To compile it, just type "make" or "make install".
DO NOT change the *.c, *.r or *.h files in ooc_src! These are automatically
generated source codes, that implement the objects described in the *.d
and *.dc files. These objects are constructed using the ooc-preprocessor
for ObjectOriented C by Axel T. Schreiner (axel@informatik.uni-osnabrueck.de).

OPERATING SYSTEMS SUPPORTED

As I wrote it first for DOS, this source code
contains a lot of #ifdef's and should still compile under DOS's
TurboC 2.0 and produce a nice working
DOS-executable (but, who needs it?). 
The DOS-version is being maintained by Jens Toelle, q99558@pbhrzx.uni-paderborn.de

The LinuX version has been
compiled with GCC 2.4.5 using the libraries version 4.4.4, but
it should also work with older versions of the compiler. 

Some people asked me for adding X-support to bdash. This is a great idea, 
because it would be very easy to support the two/multiple player mode under
X. But I don't know anything about X and I currently cannot access any
good book about it. If someone would like to support me in porting bdash
to X, PLEASE contact me. I believe there is very few work to be done.

Support for X-Windows is planned and I hope to get it running during
the first few month of 1994.
Volunteers who want to port Bdash to other systems, are highly welcome
and encouraged to contact me.


OTHER INFORMATTION

To see the options available, call "bdash -h".
                 8
Use the numbers 4 6 to move the player, use ESC to abort.
                 2

Use the spacebar to accept the messages and to continue the game after
one player has died.

FILEFORMATS

The level definitions (*.lvl) are plain ASCII files, which can be
easily edited. All files except the configuration files can be compressed
with gzip which is the way they are delivered. If you want to get the
loading of the data faster, simply uncompress them with "gzip -d".
If Bdash finds both a compressed and uncompressed version of a file it prefers the
uncompressed one.
If you like the program, please send me at least one
new level. The levels included are created by my brother Volker. 
Thanks, Volker!

The sound files used are listed in bdash.snd, together with their
sampling rates and their length in bytes. In this release, they come in
sun-audio format.

SOUND-SUPPORT

If you wish to use the digitized sounds, you need the /dev/audio device.
This can be implemented using a soundcard (just get the kernel patches
with the soundcard driver) or via the internal speaker or other hardware.
If you don't have a soundcard, get the pcsp-device from Michael Beck via 
anonymous ftp from: ftp.informatik.hu-berlin.de. It resides in
/pub/os/linux/hu-sound/pcsnd* .
This driver implements all the functionality of a soundcard by using the
internal speaker or some additional hardware attached to the parallel port.
The quality of the sound is surprisingly high.
B-DASH works without sounds, too, but is much less fun.
As I am still working on this program, there will be improvements like
a highscore table, better graphics/sound and maybe  even a working two-player
mode (there is a two-player mode in the source which worked unreliably in the
DOS-version). If you have created some interesting levels or if you have better
sound or graphic, PLEASE contact me.


###############################################################################
This software is no public domain, but freeware! It is (C)opyright by
Karsten Ballueder and distributed under the terms of the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC
LICENSE. See file COPYING for details.                 (C) 1993 by K. Ballueder
###############################################################################

If you have any comments, suggestions, improvements, critics, .....
please feel free to contact me:

		kballued@charon.physik.uni-osnabrueck.de
		kballued@jupiter.rz.uni-osnabrueck.de

		Karsten Ballueder
		Lessingstrasse 2
		32756 Detmold
		Germany



