==============================================================================

  WARNING FOREVER    v1.04 (2004.05.04)
       "Fixed really embarrassing
         bug from v1.03" version

  Produced by Hikoza.T.Ohkubo 2002-2004
==============================================================================


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What is WARNING FOREVER?
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  For several years running, I had the good fortune to secure space
at Comiket, the largest comics convention in Japan, only to wind up
each time with nothing new to show.  I'd kick myself over it, then
go right back and win space again, lesson unlearned.  Finally, two
years ago, I threw something together in a month just before the
winter Comiket.  This became WARNING FOREVER.

  Start the game, and suddenly there's a boss.  Kill the boss, and
there comes the next boss, and the next, and the next.  Slowly but
surely, the game gets insane.

  Development on WARNING FOREVER is essentially complete as of
version 1.00.  The only updates will be for bugfixing.  I might
add some exclusive BGM, if I feel like it.

  To all those who have shared their varied opinions and
enthusiastic impressions, the publishers, gaming webmasters, and
fans in Japan and abroad, thank you.

  I'm sure this won't be the last pleasant little game to fall
out of my brain, so stay tuned.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fixed and added in this version
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 - I added a pause button in v1.03, but for some reason the game
wasn't letting you change it in the options menu.  It turns out I
had the wrong button detecting it to begin with.  Highly
embarrassing.  This is now fixed.

 - If you set SHOT and SLOW to the same button, the name entry
screen wouldn't work.  I had known about this one for a while, but
I forgot to fix it in v1.03, so this is now fixed.

Below are the issues fixed in v1.03.

 - Added rule sets beyond the original time-based system.  Check
the "Settings" section below for details.

 - Since there are multiple gameplay modes now, it was also
necessary to break up the scoring system, which is now handled with
a separate .sco file instead of the .ini file.  Scores located in
.ini files from old versions will be automatically transferred into
the .sco file.

 - Added a pause button to the controls.

 - The functions I was going to use to make my own background music
are now almost all implemented.  My original file type ".seq" is
supported.  With a .seq file, you can play multiple music files in
succession with conditional branching.  A .seq converter is available
separately from the same web site as WARNING FOREVER, so check there
for more details and instructions (in Japanese).

 - When a boss reached its final form, the core's attacks would
suddenly drop to the weakest level.  The thing is, I'd never actually
made it all the way through to the final form myself, so I hadn't
noticed until now.  Sad, ain't it.  This is now fixed.

 - Along the same lines, if the boss reached the final form "The
Infinity", the core would start continuously flashing red.  This is
now fixed.  Also, it used to be that the core would just get
tougher and tougher forever, but since that didn't turn out to be
much fun, it now tops out at a certain level.

 - Generally, the code hasn't been modified at all.  Score data
(wf.ini) from any version past v1.00 and replay data (*.rec) from
any version past v1.01 is compatible with the current version.



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System Requirements
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  In general, the game should work on any machine that meets the
following requirements.

 * AT compatible running Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP that can handle
DirectX 7 or higher.

  How well the game runs depends almost entirely on your video card.
However, the game is perfectly playable even on a Celeron 300 with a
Riva TNT, so any modern PC should be more than capable.

  The game has been confirmed to run or not run on the following
hardware so far.

 - Video chips with perfect compatibility

  NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go
  NVIDIA GeForce2MX
  NVIDIA RIVA TNT
  ATi RADEON 9800 SE
  ATi RADEON 7500
    ATi MOBILITY RADEON-M
    ATi MOBILITY RADEON 9000 (slight display problems reported)
  ATi RAGE 128 PRO PCI TMDS
  ATi RAGE Mobility-CL AGP
  PowerVR KYRO
  PowerVR KYRO II
  Intel 82815
  Matrox Millennium G400 DualHead
  Matrox G200 PCI
  SiS 315
  3dfx Voodoo3 3000
  3Dlabs Oxygen GVX210
  S3 Savage/IX Display Driver

 - Video cards with some display errors

  ATi 3D RAGE PRO AGP 2X
  NVIDIA RIVA 128 (won't work in Win2000 or lower)
  Matrox Millennium II PCI (won't work in Win2000 or lower)
  S3 ViRGE (major speed issues)

 - Sound cards with perfect compatibility

  Creative Sound Blaster PCI
  Creative Sound Blaster AWE64
  YAMAHA AC-XG
  YAMAHA DS-XG
  SoundMAX Digital Audio
  C-Media CMI8738/C3DX PCI
  ONKYO SE-80PCI

 - Sound cards with "no sound" reported

  Creative Sound Blaster Audigy

  I appreciate the report on the Audigy, but I don't have access to
one so I can't deal with the issue.  I've received other reports from
Audigy users that the game functions normally for them, which leads
me to suspect that there might actually be compatibility issues with
drivers or other programs in this case.

Development environment:
  Self-built AT-compatible "Moegi-iro Maximum111%" Mark III
  CPU: Pentium4 1.77GHz    Memory: 512MB    Video: GeForce2MX AGP
  Sound: AOpen AW744S      OS: WindowsXp SP1 + DirectX9

Development language:
  Microsoft Visual Studio.NET Professional
  Microsoft DirectX 9 SDK (Used as DirectX 7)



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Installing and Running
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  While there's no installation wizard or anything, the files have
been compressed to preserve the earth's natural resources.  The game
is self-extracting and can be installed by the following steps:

 1) Double-click the file "wf***.exe" (the *** will be different
    depending on the version number).

 2) Change the default installation folder to that of your choice
    and click "OK".

 3) The designated folder will fill with files.  Find the file
    "wf.exe" and double-click on it.

 4) A DirectX settings dialog box will appear.  The typical user can
    start just by clicking "OK".  If a joystick is connected, the
    game will automatically choose that option, but users who prefer
    to use the keyboard can select "Keyboard" from the drop-down menu
    to the right of "Control".

 5) Click "OK" to start the game.  The game was written assuming
    full-screen mode, so that is the recommended mode of display.
    Choosing to run in a window may adversely affect game performance
    on older video cards, especially in 32-bit color.

 6) You can uninstall at any time simply by deleting the folder to
    which you installed the game.  The game uses a resource-friendly
    .ini file and will leave no trace on the system after deletion.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Game
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  As I wrote before, the bosses just keep coming one after another,
so kill, kill, kill!  The bosses will gradually get stronger and
stronger.

  When the timer in the upper-right-hand corner reaches zero, the
game is over.  But no matter how hard you try, it'll always reach
zero at some point, so relax and enjoy the exquisite feeling of
self-torture.  Actually, though, this game's fairly mild compared
to earlier works, so there probably are people out there who
could play it forever.  It's that sort of game.

  Each time you kill a boss, you get 30 seconds.  Each time you
die, you lose 20 seconds.

  The above are the standard rules, but starting in v1.03 there
are a few other ways to play.  Check the "Settings" section below
for details.

  The way you fight the bosses will affect how later bosses evolve.
The bulk of the evolution is decided by how you choose to "cook" the
wimpy bosses in the first four or five stages, so try all kinds of
strategies.

  In general, there are only nine ways the bosses can evolve.  The
variation is not limitless (it wouldn't be a game if it were).  That
said, your method of fighting also determines the placement and
choice of weaponry on the bosses, so even if you see all nine types,
that doesn't mean the game is over.  Feel free to play for all
eternity.

  Very little about boss evolution is determined randomly.  If you
play without giving any thought to it, you'll be stuck playing
practically the same game over and over.  Of course, if you really
want to fight a certain form of boss, you can follow the same
procedure as before and fight that form as many times as you want.

  Finally, you don't have to set any crazy rules like "no deaths"
or "first ten stages in 30 seconds" in order to affect boss growth.
Everything can be done in one play session.  I know there are a lot
of people into "yarikomi" (replaying a game using self-imposed
rules), but I don't really happen to be one of them.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Controls
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This game was written to be played with a gamepad or joystick.
Keyboard play is supported but is not recommended.
  The key assignments can be changed in the OPTION menu.  Below are
the default assignments.

   Pad        | Keyboard   | Effect
  ------------+------------+-----------------------------------
   U+D+L+R    | Numpad     | Ship movement
              | Arrow keys | Ship movement
   Button 1   | Z          | Fire
   Button 2   | X          | Slow (when held)
   Button 4   | D          | Change weapon (forward/free-range)

  It's quite simple.  No powerups or anything.

  The "free-range" shot is...well, it'll make sense when you see
it in action.  I suggest you learn by doing.

  The forward shot can be focused and concentrated by rapidly
pressing the directional keys.  If you slow your ship movement
by pressing the Slow button and then move your ship in tight
circles, you can pinpoint your attack.  However, this technique
also increases the danger of getting hit and dying, so it is
probably best used in moderation.

 - Others
  ESC ...... Quit (completely) anytime
  F12 ...... Reset game anytime



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settings
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  You can adjust the game settings by selecting "OPTION" from
the title screen.  Below are brief explanations of each item.

 - BGM VOLUME
 - SE VOLUME
  Regulate the volume of background music and sound effects.

 - BGM MODE
  Regulates the method of background music playback (when you
  choose to have music).  Check the "BGM Functions" section below
  to learn how to set up ingame music.
   - LOOP
     Plays an infinite loop with no interruptions (default).
     Good for trance music and anything else you want to play
       continuously.
   - FADE
     Plays an infinite loop but fades out outside of combat.
     Good if you want a little variety.
   - REW
     Starts playback at the boss warning and fades out when the
       boss is defeated.
     Good for tracks that sound like "boss music".

 - SCORE RESET
  Resets the scores for the current game mode.  Set to "YES" and
  leave the options screen to clear the scores.

 - STAGE REPLAY
  By default, the game only records replay data of the last stage
  played and particular boss battles, but you can set this to "YES"
  to record every single stage.

 - SETUP DIALOGBOX
  Regulates whether or not to display the DirectX dialog before
  the game begins.

 - GAME MODE
  Choose from the following rulesets:
   - NORMAL
     The original game mode.  Start with 180 seconds and play
     until time runs out.  Defeating a boss gives you 30 more
     seconds, and dying costs you 20 seconds.
   - 3 SHIPS
     Play until you lose all your lives.  You start with three
     ships.  Destroying 100 boss-chunks gives you one extra ship.
     No time limit.
   - SUDDEN DEATH
     See how far you can get on just one ship.  No time limit.
   - 5 MINUTES ATTACK
     See how far you can get in just five minutes.  There is no
     penalty for dying; each game will last exactly five minutes.
   - CUSTOM
     Set up the following options to create your own ruleset.

 - START TIME (available only when CUSTOM is selected)
  The amount of time left when the game starts.  This and NUMBER
  OF SHIPS cannot both be set to INFINITY.

 - TIMER MODE (available only when CUSTOM is selected)
  Select from one of two possible timer countdown settings:
   - NORMAL
     The regular setting, where dying decreases the timer and
     clearing a stage increases it.
   - COUNT DOWN ONLY
     The timer only counts down, unaffected by gameplay.

 - NUMBER OF SHIPS (available only when CUSTOM is selected)
  Sets the number of ships.  This and START TIME cannot both be
  set to INFINITY.

 - SHIP EXTEND (available only when CUSTOM is selected)
  Regulates how the player can earn extra ships.
   - NO EXTEND
     No extra ships.
   - BY STAGE CLEAR
     Player gets one extra ship when a stage is cleared.
   - BY 100 PARTS
     Player gets one extra ship when 100 boss-parts have been
     destroyed.

 - SHOT
 - SLOW MOVE
 - WEAPON SELECT
  Assign buttons to these three functions.  Just line up the
  cursor with an item and press a key/button to assign that key/
  button to that function.

 - GAME PAUSE
  Enables or disables use of the Pause button.

 - PAUSE BUTTON
  Assigns a key/button to use as the Pause button.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Replay Data
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This game automatically makes recordings of gameplay.  This replay
data is stored in the "rec" folder.  The following types of files are
automatically recorded:

 - best.rec    : The last stage played of the highest-scoring game
 - last.rec    : The most recent stage played
 - boss**.rec  : Recordings from 00 to 11 of encounters with the nine
                 standard boss forms and the three final forms
 - stage**.rec : Recordings of each stage (disabled by default)
 - temp.rec    : A temporary file for use by the game (usually this is
                 deleted, but sometimes it isn't)

  If you would like to record all stages played, set STAGE REPLAY in
the OPTIONS screen to "YES".

  Replay data can be played by selecting "REPLAY" on the title
screen.  Pressing the Slow button during replays will return you to
the title screen.  Any other button will proceed to the next replay.

  The game will replay any and all *.rec files in the "rec" folder,
so if you create an amazing recording and want to show all your
friends, just change the filename to something appropriate, and you
can watch that recording forever with no fear of it being
overwritten.  Just one caveat: the filename needs to be kept under
63 bytes.

  Recordings are normally played in alphabetic order.  However, when
a game has just finished, replays will start with the last recording
made.



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BGM Functions
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This game doesn't come with any background music, but it does now
have the ability to play music.  You can play your own choice of
music, provided you just set it up first.

 - Supported formats

   - WAV (*.wav) / Ogg Vorbis (*.ogg)
     Playback should be perfectly fine as long as your sampling
     format or length aren't completely insane.  You can convert
     files to Ogg Vorbis format using encoding software available
     from http://www.vorbis.com/.

   - SEQ (*.seq)
     With this original Hikware. format, you can play multiple
     files with conditional branching.  A converter and detailed
     instructions (in Japanese) are available from the URL below, so
     please check there for more details.
       http://www18.big.or.jp/~hikoza/Package/seq100.zip

  Rename your BGM files to bgm.wav, bgm.ogg, or bgm.seq (depending
on the file type) and place them in the same folder as wf.exe.  If
more than one is present, the game will choose, in order of
preference, seq > ogg > wav.  All files referred to by the bgm.seq
file must also be in the same folder.

  There are three different playback settings, selectable using
"BGM MODE" in the OPTIONS screen.  Please check the "Game Settings"
section for more details.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further Updates
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Development on WARNING FOREVER is essntially complete, but if any
really nasty bugs are found, updated versions will be posted on the
web site below:

 - Hikoza.'s home page: HIKOZANCHI-9
   http://www18.big.or.jp/~hikoza/

  As with all my other projects, I sell this as fan software or
"doujin-soft" at conventions while making the same projects available
for download on my web site.  But even when it's sold, I only charge
the amount needed to cover expenses and participation fees, and
to download you need to pay your ISP anyway, so I hope for your
understanding in this matter.

  The way I see it, when I participate in Comiket, my work gets
exposure to people who haven't seen it before, and I get to talk to
all the people who buy it, so I have no intention of changing this
stance.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Info
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 - Web site
   http://www18.big.or.jp/~hikoza/     HIKOZANCHI-9

 - Email
   hikoza@big.or.jp                    Hikoza Ohkubo

  I welcome any and all impressions and "it doesn't work" emails.
Insulting, overemotional emails like "Gimme back my money! I'll
sue!" are likely to be ignored, but if I can fix your problem, I
will.

  When sending a "doesn't work" email, please make absolutely sure
to include the names of your machine's CPU, video card, and sound
card, and the version of Windows and DirectX you're running.

  Oh, and I'll do my best to help when the machine meets the
appropriate requirements, but if the system just isn't powerful
enough, there's really not much I can do.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terms and Conditions
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  This game is copyright (C) the author, Hikoza.  Any commercial,
public, or altered redistribution that does not have explicit
permission from the author is strictly prohibited.  I generally
am willing to grant permission for public distribution provided
that it is noncommercial and that I am contacted beforehand, so
please contact me first.  If you distribute this game, please use
the original compressed file to do so.  If you would like to change
the compression format or make other changes, please discuss this
with me first.

  I, Hikoza., and Hikware assume no responsibility for any damages
you may incur from the use of this software.  However, should you
have trouble with the software, I would appreciate feedback, as it
might help me avoid problems in the future.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WARNING FOREVER History
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

v0.80  2001.12.30  First public release
  Released because I ran out of time.  No sound.  Most elements
  still need adjusting.  Very bad.

v0.90  2002.08.11  "Summer Comiket 62" version
  Some sound effects added.  More boss-parts.  Most elements still
  need adjusting.  Very bad.

v0.93  2003.07.24  "Somehow I think the downloads are going to
                    go way up" version
  Sound effects finalized.  Everything else I had wanted to
  accomplish finished except for BGM and the game itself.

v0.98  2003.08.17  "Summer Comiket" version
  Boss formation, control, and scoring system almost completely
  revamped, but still incomplete.  As a result, game is in a
  horrible state.  Much soul-searching.  Game and bosses are in
  chaos, but the overall feel is closer to what I want.  Work
  on game balance will come next, followed by fixes and additions
  requested by users.  Game should be complete at that point.

v0.99  2003.12.16  "Because I said I would" version
  Growth system completely revamped AGAIN.  Reasonably satisfied
  this time.  Promised a November release to motivate myself and
  then promptly broke said promise because I suck.  Couldn't
  stand not releasing it, though, so here's the new version.
  Hope to finish at least everything but BGM before Summer Comiket.
  BGM remains tricky.

v1.00  2003.12.30  "Complete without BGM" version
  Game itself is complete, so here's version 1.00.  BGM will be
  worked on when I feel like it.  No idea when that will be.
  Updates will otherwise be reserved for bugfixing.

v1.01  2004.01.12  "Bugfixes and more" version
  Fixed numerous bugs in the replay function.  Probably still
  broken.  In a ground-breaking experiment, users can now prepare
  their own BGM data instead of waiting for my own to be finished.
  (In other words, I don't really feel like writing any.)

v1.02  2004.01.18  "BGM system fixed along with small bugs" version
  Very dumb bug found where WAV files wouldn't play as BGM.  Had
  only tested it on the debug version used for development, where
  it worked.  Much soul-searching.  Also, fixed several bugs from
  user reports.

v1.03  2004.05.03  "Many requests added and small bugs fixed" version
  Added some easily-created user requests (more gameplay modes, a
  pause button, etc.).  The functions themselves were easy enough to
  add, but the results were a lot of nastiness that took some major
  alterations to fix.  Added support for SEQ files, the final form
  of BGM.  Also, fixed several bugs from user reports.

v1.04  2004.05.04  "Fixed really embarrassing bug from v1.03" version
  Pause button settings were not working, or rather the game had
  been detecting the wrong button to begin with.  Highly
  embarrassing.  Also, forgot to fix in v1.03 the bug where name
  entry breaks if SHOT and SLOW are set to the same button.

Written by Hikoza.T.Ohkubo
English translation by Shih Tzu (http://www.flammie.net/vse/)
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