What is it?

LineWars II is my newest game for PC-compatibles. It was released as ShareWare by Safari Software (which is a subsidiary of Epic MegaGames

) during September 1994. It was also released as the Game of the Month in the Epic Forum in CompuServe. The game is a three dimensional space fight simulation, something like Wing Commander or Elite (without the trading stuff). The unregistered version includes a demo, three single-player missions, a modem game and a network game (for up to 8 players). The registered version adds 6 new single-player missions, and different versions of the modem and network games. Some screen shots (from S3 800x600x256 mode) are available here and here. The screen shots are from an old beta version, but they look the same as the most recent version.

What hardware it runs on?

The game requires at least the following:

IBM AT-Compatible computer (386 or 486 highly recommended)
MCGA, VGA, VESA, S3 or Mach32 Graphics card
128K - 640K of total RAM (depending on graphics mode and music)
About 1 MB of disk space (either floppy disk or hard disk)

The game also supports:

Joystick
Mouse
ThrustMaster FCS (Flight Control System)
VESA-compatible SuperVGA in 640x480x256 mode (requires a 386 or better CPU)
S3 Accelerated SuperVGA in 800x600x256 mode (requires a 386 or better CPU)
ATI Mach8 or Mach32 Accelerated SuperVGA in 800x600x256 mode (on a 386 or better CPU)
Internal Speaker
Covox or other parallel port DAC sound device
Sound Blaster (with stereo sound on Sound Blaster Pro)
Gravis UltraSound (with Focal Point 3D sound!)
Roland LAPC-I (or MT-32 or compatible)
Roland SCC-1 (or other General Midi synth)
COM ports (supports also NS16550A and IBM Type 3 UARTs)
Any file sharing network protocol

Where do I get it?

NOTE! As of February 22nd, 1995 I have disabled the download of LineWars II directly from this machine. I had to do this because it caused such a big load, and this machine is rather sluggish during daytime even without additional file transfer processes.

Download it from ftp.funet.fi Version 1.05.
Download it from wuarchive (Version 1.04).
Download it from ftp.epicgames.com (Version 1.04).
Send me (ap@jyu.fi) E-mail, and I'll send it to you UUEncoded. Make sure you have sufficient space left on your disk (about 800 KB), and let me know if your mailer can handle huge e-mail files, or if I need to split the file to smaller (how small?) chunks.

How do I get the registered version?

There are three options for registering LineWars II:

If you live in Finland, you can get the registered version by sending me (Patrick Aalto) the amount of 100 FIM (including VAT). My address is: Patrick Aalto, Hiekkapohjan koulu, 40270 PALOKKA.
If you live outside Finland, you can register LineWars II for the amount of USD 30 (plus postage). Contact Safari Software, 10406 Holbrook Drive, Potomac, MD 20854, USA. Their phone number for orders is 800-238-1393.
If you are a registered user of LineWars, you can get the registered version of LineWars II directly from me, for 70 FIM (inside Finland) or for USD 20 (cash only!) (outside Finland).

What's new with LineWars II

Version 1.05 released February 4th, 1995. You can download the unregistered version here (see above). If you have purchased the registered version, you can upgrade it to version 1.05 by downloading lw2to105.zip (66 KB). Version 1.05 works correctly in S3 mode also on S3 864 and S3 964 graphics cards. The previous version did draw the planet outside of screen area.

My other projects, past and present

Programs (all for PC-compatible machines)

A tiny COM program to setup Power Management features of ATA-2 disk drives, called STANDBY (4K). The program was coded March 28th, 1995. The ZIP contains sources and documentation, too.
A tiny TSR program to speed up S3 864 VESA Bank Switch, called GP64VESA (3K). The program was coded January 14th, 1995. The ZIP contains sources and documentation, too.
A demo called TREKMO (608K), which was voted to the 13th position at the Assembly '94 demo competition. The demo was coded during June - July 1994. If you run the demo with -once parameter, it gives a benchmark of your machine's speed. The demo supports only Gravis UltraSound, but it will also run without a sound card. A VGA card and at least a 386 processor is (naturally) required.
A program to play Intel ADPCM 4:1 compressed sound files on a Gravis UltraSound, called GUSADPCM. The sources (6K) for it are available from all Ultrasound mirror sites, for example from ftp.luth.se. The executable (72K) is also available from ftp.luth.se or other mirrors. However, I recommend you get a demo ZIP file which includes the player. The demo files are: The KLF clip (1.1MB, 22kHz), the Art Of Noise clip (1.1MB, 44.1kHz), the Pet Shop Boys clip (1.2MB, 44.1kHz) and the Peter Gabriel clip (1.2MB, 44.1kHz). Since the program decompresses the sound on-the-fly, it requires a rather fast 386 machine, especially if you plan to play 44.1kHz stereo files.
A program to read Digital Audio data (that is, data from any standard audio CD record) directly from a Toshiba XM-3401 CD-ROM-drive onto your hard drive, called CDDAREAD (12 KB). The program requires a SCSI-2 adapter with ASPI drivers.
A program to play a MOD audio file thru a MIDI equipment, called MTRACKER. The program was coded in 1991, and it requires a VGA display, MPU-compatible MIDI sound card and a mouse. It also supports Akai X-7000 or S-700 samplers (in case someone else besides me would happen to own such an ancient piece of hardware).
A very simple demo about my Gouraud-shaded planet routine, called RTSYSTEM (15K). It was released in 1991 and it requires a VGA display.
The original LineWars, which was coded in 1988 and released in 1989. The most "recent" version 1.52 can be found from PC-SIG disk #1762.

MIDI-compositions

I do occasionally compose (or "compose") simple MIDI pieces, just for my own enjoyment. I have a Roland SCC-1 sound card to do this with. In case some of you are interested to hear my songs, I have included them here. They are meant to be played with Roland GS-compatible equipment, but they might sound approximately correct on other General Midi synths, too. I believe you need to turn on the "Load To Disk" option to get these.

Seaside Dreaming (17K). This is an old piece, originally meant for Roland MT-32, but I have modified it for Roland SCC-1 later on.
Nostalgia (23K). This is a song I composed in March 1993, and I even uploaded it to some FTP sites and got some positive feedback.
Warm Pad (26K). A silly name, I know. Composed a few months after "Nostalgia", this is a rather slow and melancholic piece. It is also my best piece, I think.

Back to my homepage:

ap@co.jyu.fi (Patrick Aalto)