Subject: "Herding Cats" screenshots

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:56:48 -0500

First screenshots of "Herding Cats" are up on Opry99er.com.  Keith  
Bergman has been developing this game for the retroclouds game  
programming contest on atariage.com.  Great job Keith!!!  The link is  
below, and you can click on the link below the screenshots to visit  
the development discussion on his game.

http://www.opry99er.com/new-game-developments.php

Owen Brand
**Oprysoft**
Opry99er.com

---

From: Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:26:43 -0500

Thanks for putting those up, Owen.  It's my hope to have a couple more
screens, including the new intro screen and some of the introductory stuff,
ready tonight or tomorrrow.

The interface for entering your game commands - the 'tools' you use to get
the cats moved around the board - is coming together nicely.  This may be
one of those games where you need a printout of the instructions handy, but
I'm trying to add enough in-game information that you can play it without a
manual.

Getting pretty excited about finishing the game engine and getting down to
working on (and play-testing) individual levels.  My 8-year-old son is going
to design one of the levels himself, with graph paper - he's all fired up to
do it.  He asked me the other day if I'd start teaching him BASIC!  Time to
indoctrinate another generation.... :)

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:46:18 -0500

That's great man.  I hope my boy comes to me one day and says "Teach  
me BASIC, I want to write a game...".  :) a proud moment in  
fatherhood, for sure.

Owen Brand
**Oprysoft**
Opry99er.com

On Jan 17, 2010, at 9:26 PM, Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>  
wrote:

> Thanks for putting those up, Owen.  It's my hope to have a couple  
> more screens, including the new intro screen and some of the  
> introductory stuff, ready tonight or tomorrrow.
>
> The interface for entering your game commands - the 'tools' you use  
> to get the cats moved around the board - is coming together nicely.   
> This may be one of those games where you need a printout of the  
> instructions handy, but I'm trying to add enough in-game information  
> that you can play it without a manual.
>
> Getting pretty excited about finishing the game engine and getting  
> down to working on (and play-testing) individual levels.  My 8-year- 
> old son is going to design one of the levels himself, with graph  
> paper - he's all fired up to do it.  He asked me the other day if  
> I'd start teaching him BASIC!  Time to indoctrinate another  
> generation.... :)
>
>
>
>

---

From: mark wills <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:46:14 -0800 (PST)

>My 8-year-old son is going to design one of the levels himself, with
graph paper - he's all fired up to do it.  He asked me the other day if
I'd start teaching him BASIC!  Time to indoctrinate another
generation.. .. :)

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!

Heck, it's none of my business, but you *really* need to sit down with him and teach him BASIC. You will be preparing him for a career in computing and hopefully you will spark up a love affair with computing, just like when we were kids. Clearly, this will give him an edge in later life, like we all had and can only benefit him!

It's different these days. Kids seem to want instant gratification with computer games, but seem to show no interest in how the games were developed. I think part of the problem these days is perhaps not so much 'the kids of today' but the fact that consoles etc are not *programmable* like our machines when we were kids.

Also, the 'type in game' magazine has died, along with the home-computer boom, so there's nothing to foster a budding interest.

I remember me and my step-father spending HOURS typing TI games in from magazines like Computer and Video Games (C&VG) and 99er. I can still vidily remember typing in Camelot from 99er magazine :-)

Mrk.

>
>From: Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>
>To: [email-masked]
>Sent: Mon, 18 January, 2010 3:26:43
>Subject: Re: [TI994A] "Herding Cats" screenshots
>
> >
>
>
>
>
>  >
>>      
> 
>Thanks for putting those up, Owen.  It's my hope to have a couple more screens, including the new intro screen and some of the introductory stuff, ready tonight or tomorrrow.
> 
>The interface for entering your game commands - the 'tools' you use to get the cats moved around the board - is coming together nicely.  This may be one of those games where you need a printout of the instructions handy, but I'm trying to add enough in-game information that you can play it without a manual.
> 
>Getting pretty excited about finishing the game engine and getting down to working on (and play-testing) individual levels.  My 8-year-old son is going to design one of the levels himself, with graph paper - he's all fired up to do it.  He asked me the other day if I'd start teaching him BASIC!  Time to indoctrinate another generation.. .. :)
> 
>
>
> 
>On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 12:56 PM, Owen Brand <owenbrand@opry99er. com> wrote:
>
>  
>>http://www.opry99er .com/new- game-development s.php
>>
>>Owen Brand
>>**Oprysoft**
>>Opry99er.com
>>
>
>

---

From: Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:55:54 -0500

Oh, he's showing the interest.  For one, he likes playing old games -- he's
way into his Nintendo DS and Xbox 360, but we just spent an hour loading in
and trying out Vic-20 games off tape tonight.  He isn't turned off by the
"hey, this looks OLD!" thing.  He realizes its age and that it's just
different.

Also, he's got a mind for this kind of stuff.  I was explaining my next
project to him (the mini RPG game I was working on when the Herding Cats
idea took over my brain), and completely off the cuff, he starts telling me
what the sequel should include -- everything from underground tunnels with
volcanoes leading to the surface, to wizards, to a bunch of other stuff I
had to write down so I wouldn't forget it.

I want to encourage his creativity and his analytical thinking, so I'm gonna
do it.  If he shows promise I'll set him up with his own TI system and let
him go nuts with it.  Between that and his recent obsession with Lego's, he
might be designing the game his peers are playing in 20 years, who knows?
:)

On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 11:46 PM, mark wills <[email-masked]>wrote:

> graph paper - he's all fired up to do it.  He asked me the other day if I'd
> start teaching him BASIC!  Time to indoctrinate another generation.. .. :)
>
> AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!
>
> Heck, it's none of my business, but you *really* need to sit down with him
> and teach him BASIC. You will be preparing him for a career in computing and
> hopefully you will spark up a love affair with computing, just like when we
> were kids. Clearly, this will give him an edge in later life, like we all
> had and can only benefit him!
>
> It's different these days. Kids seem to want instant gratification with
> computer games, but seem to show no interest in how the games were
> developed. I think part of the problem these days is perhaps not so much
> 'the kids of today' but the fact that consoles etc are not *programmable*
> like our machines when we were kids.
>
> Also, the 'type in game' magazine has died, along with the home-computer
> boom, so there's nothing to foster a budding interest.
>
> I remember me and my step-father spending HOURS typing TI games in from
> magazines like Computer and Video Games (C&VG) and 99er. I can still vidily
> remember typing in Camelot from 99er magazine :-)
>
> Mrk.
>
>
>
> *From:* Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>
> *To:* [email-masked]
> *Sent:* Mon, 18 January, 2010 3:26:43
> *Subject:* Re: [TI994A] "Herding Cats" screenshots
>
>
>
> indoctrinate another generation.. .. :)
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 12:56 PM, Owen Brand <owenbrand@opry99er. com<[email-masked]>
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> http://www.opry99er .com/new- game-development s.php<http://www.opry99er.com/new-game-developments.php>
>>
>>
>> Owen Brand
>> **Oprysoft**
>> Opry99er.com
>>
>>
>  
>

---

From: mark wills <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:36:03 -0800 (PST)

HA HA! Awesome! If you could see the smile on my face! That's brilliant! I work away a lot so don't get to see my kids so much these days. I'm very jelous, but very happy for you!

M

>Sent: Mon, 18 January, 2010 5:55:54
>Oh, he's showing the interest.  For one, he likes playing old games -- he's way into his Nintendo DS and Xbox 360, but we just spent an hour loading in and trying out Vic-20 games off tape tonight.  He isn't turned off by the "hey, this looks OLD!" thing.  He realizes its age and that it's just different.
> 
>Also, he's got a mind for this kind of stuff.  I was explaining my next project to him (the mini RPG game I was working on when the Herding Cats idea took over my brain), and completely off the cuff, he starts telling me what the sequel should include -- everything from underground tunnels with volcanoes leading to the surface, to wizards, to a bunch of other stuff I had to write down so I wouldn't forget it.  
> 
>I want to encourage his creativity and his analytical thinking, so I'm gonna do it.  If he shows promise I'll set him up with his own TI system and let him go nuts with it.  Between that and his recent obsession with Lego's, he might be designing the game his peers are playing in 20 years, who knows?  :)
> 
>
>
> 
>On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 11:46 PM, mark wills <markrobertwills@ yahoo.co. uk> wrote:
>
>  
>>>My 8-year-old son is going to design one of the levels himself, with graph paper - he's all fired up to do it.  He asked me the other day if I'd start teaching him BASIC!  Time to indoctrinate another generation.. .. :)
>>
>>AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!
>>
>>>From: Keith Bergman <exiletoledo@ gmail.com>
>>>To: TI994A@yahoogroups. com

---

From: Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:40:24 -0500

One of the reasons I have more "TI time" of late is because this year, I
decided to hang up another pursuit of mine, which was playing in a rock
band.  We went on a 2 1/2 week tour late last summer, our first in two
years.  While it was a lot of fun, it killed me to be away from the kids for
that long.  They're 8 and 2 1/2 now, and as much as I enjoy "me time," if I
don't see them after a day or so, I start getting really weirded out.  My
hat's off to you for being able to do it, and for sacrificing to give them a
good life.  I don't know how folks in the military, for example, do it.

It almost seems criminal to walk away from the rock thing, when I had what
might be the only wife on earth who was cool with me going, but there ya
go.  I'm getting too old for sleeping on floors and driving all night on no
sleep, anyway.  :)

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 12:36 AM, mark wills <[email-masked]>wrote:

>
>
>  HA HA! Awesome! If you could see the smile on my face! That's brilliant!
> I work away a lot so don't get to see my kids so much these days. I'm very
> jelous, but very happy for you!
>
> M
>
>
> *Sent:* Mon, 18 January, 2010 5:55:54
>
> I want to encourage his creativity and his analytical thinking, so I'm
> gonna do it.  If he shows promise I'll set him up with his own TI system and
> let him go nuts with it.  Between that and his recent obsession with Lego's,
> he might be designing the game his peers are playing in 20 years, who
> knows?  :)
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 11:46 PM, mark wills <markrobertwills@ yahoo.co.
> uk <[email-masked]>> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Keith Bergman <exiletoledo@ gmail.com <[email-masked]>>
>> *To:* TI994A@yahoogroups. com <[email-masked]>

---

From: Gregory McGill <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:59:29 -0800

Is there instructions for "Herding Cats" somewhere it's not intiutive.. or
at least not to me.

Greg

---

From: Owen Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 00:21:37 -0500

If anyone feels like reading, here's the latest draft of the  
instruction file, which will give you a nauseatingly clear idea of  
what's going on in the game.

HERDING CATS - beta release

program and documentation by Keith Bergman for Orphantech.com
© 2010

1. OVERVIEW

Herding Cats is a game for the Texas Instruments 99/4A home computer.  
It requires you to use various tools to manipulate a playfield, in  
order to guide a randomly-moving herd of small black cats past holes,  
walls and each other to an exit.

It was conceived in November 2009, and programmed over the winter of  
2009-2010. It was submitted on February 14, 2010 as an entry into the  
Retroclouds Game Programming Contest (RGPC) on the AtariAge.com TI  
Programming forum.

1. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

On original hardware, Herding Cats requires the TI Extended BASIC  
cartridge, disk system and 32K memory expansion. It has been tested  
and found to work on the Classic99 emulator on a Windows Vista PC. The  
program is written in 100% "stock" Extended BASIC, so it should have  
no issues in other emulators.

Herding Cats consists of one, self-contained program, which can be run  
from any disk. No file access is required during the game.

2. OBJECT AND SCORING

Never in history has a game been more accurately described by its  
name. In Herding Cats, you must herd cats! Imagine if Pac-Man had been  
named Eating Dots, or Asteroids had been presented to the world as Not  
Getting Crushed By Rocks. (Score one for truth in advertising!)

Of course, anyone who's known a cat will immediately protest "you  
can't tell a cat what to do! That's why 'herding cats' is an  
expression in the first place!" This is true. The little black kitties  
you're about to see on your TI screen will not listen to you. They'll  
move randomly about, sometimes skirting the edge of safety before  
blithely wandering off to fall in a hole. You have no direct control  
over the cats whatsoever. (Score one for realism!)

What you do have is control over the environment, through a series of  
tools you can use to influence the world around the cats. Each use of  
these tools costs you in points, though, which you then earn back for  
each cat that makes it to the exit. You need to maintain a minimum  
score to advance to the next level. This, in fact, is your object --  
not saving all the cats (you usually can't, in the best of  
circumstances), but having enough points to keep going, and to "buy"  
the most effective tools in future rounds.

Thus, it's not really a "high score" kind of game, but one where you  
try to advance as far as possible. Can you make it through all thirty  
levels with your score - and sanity - intact? (Score one for.... okay,  
I'll stop doing that.)

3. GAME PLAY

After you select "play game" from the start menu, you'll be told the  
name of your first level to conquer (level one is called "nice and  
easy," to ease you into things). Note how many points you must have by  
the end of the level, and how many "moves" you have to achieve them.  
Each tick of the game clock is one "move" of a cat.

You'll also be given information about whether cats can "wrap" around  
the screen - wander off one edge and appear on the opposite side --  
and whether they explode on contact. (As part of that whole "nice and  
easy" thing, we don't allow cats to blow up in level one... but later,  
it will happen). Once you've steeled your nerves, taken a deep breath,  
and procured snacks, hit any key (if only to stop that  
"wheedlywheedlywheedly" sound, which is the game telling you "press  
any key already, would you?!") and the game will begin.

See the big red box on the screen? That's the exit. It'll be where you  
want your cats to go on each level. The black-and-white, brick-y  
looking things are walls -- in level one, all but one of your cats is  
surrounded by wall, keeping them from wandering away. Those black  
spaces on the edges of your screen are holes - the cats have no  
survival instiinct whatsoever and will wander right into one, given  
the chance.

As the game begins, you'll hear small "thuds" periodically. That's the  
cats, bless the little brainiacs, attempting to walk into a wall or  
each other. Count your blessings - if this were a level where cats  
exploded on contact, every one of those little noises would instead be  
the traumatic, fiery end of one of your little furballs. (In order to  
move things along a bit, if a cat tries to walk into something more  
than a few times, you'll hear a slightly longer low tone and he'll  
stay put for the time being).

Other audio cues include a triumphant little fanfare each time a cat  
makes it into the exit (you should be hearing this fairly often on  
level one), and a sad little descending note and a crash when one  
falls into a hole. You score 1000 points for each saved cat, and are  
not penalized when one dies.

Of course, we haven't discussed what you, the player of the game,  
actually DO yet. You could actually do nothing, and just let the cats  
wander freely - on many of the levels, though, this will lead to many  
deceased virtual felines. Just because they don't respond to commands  
doesn't mean they don't need your help -- they just can't ask for it  
directly, since they're such proud (read: stupid) animals.

Hit the space bar (you may need to hold it down for a second) and you  
effectively pause the game. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a  
menu option of "A: CATNIP MAGNET," followed by how much it'll cost you  
in points to use it, and the instruction "ARROWS SELECT-ENTER  
CONFIRMS." Using the up and down arrows (FCTN-E and FCTN-X) will  
scroll through your menu options. Pressing the letter of the option  
("A" for "catnip magnet," for example) will take you right to that  
option. Pressing ENTER confirms it.

Your menu of tools is as follows:

A: CATNIP MAGNET
B: CAT REPELLENT
C: MOVE EXIT
D: EXPAND EXIT
E: EXPAND EXIT x 2
F: TURN BACK TIME
G; BUMP TABLE
H: CAT-DOZER
I: CAT-A-PULT
J: BUILD WALL
K: CAT RAPTURE
L: CAT BOOKIE
M: CUT TABLE IN 2
N: WRECKING BALL
O: CAT-POCALYPSE

W: QUIT TO MAIN
X: CONTINUE

Any time you want to resume the game and let the cats keep wandering,  
just hit X and then ENTER, and the action will start again.

The tools work as follows:

A: CATNIP MAGNET - This can be put on any unoccupied square on the  
board (you'll use the arrow keys to select a spot, and ENTER to  
confirm). It attracts the cats in that general direction, although not  
perfectly, and not in anything resembling an orderly fashion. It can  
usually get more cats in the general vicinity you're looking for,  
though. Can be destroyed by the Wrecking Ball. Can not be deployed  
more than once at a time, and cannot be used at the same time as Cat  
Repellent.

B: CAT REPELLENT - Has exactly the opposite effect, making cats move  
away from it. Can be destroyed by the Wrecking Ball. Cannot be  
deployed more than once at a time, and cannot be used at the same time  
as the Catnip Magnet.

C: MOVE EXIT - Allows you to move the exit anywhere on the board, as  
long as its entire size (four "squares" of screen by eight squares)  
will fit (the exit can't "wrap" around the screen). Its former  
location will be replaced by blank, empty space. It can go on top of,  
and eliminate, holes and walls, Cat Magnets and Cat Repellents. Any  
cats in the area of the new exit will be automatically pulled into the  
exit and saved.

D: EXPAND EXIT - Adds two "squares" of width and length to the exit,  
as long as the resulting exit will fit on the screen. The new exit  
area can go on top of, and eliminate, holes, walls, and previously- 
placed tools. Any cats in the area of the new exit will be  
automatically pulled into the exit and saved.

E: EXPAND EXIT x 2 - Same as above, only four squares of length and  
width are added.

F: TURN BACK TIME - Sets the clock back 100 moves. Can be done  
multiple times per level, and can be activated before the clock even  
reaches 100 moves, although it'll just reset back to 1 and you'll have  
just rather foolishly wasted some points. It doesn't undo anything  
that's happened in the game -- just resets the timer so you have more  
time to save more cats.

G: BUMP TABLE: After watching cats wander right up to the edge of the  
exit, then saunter off nonchalantly toward the nearest hole in the  
ground, who doesn't have the urge to "tilt" the board like a 1970's  
pinball game? Simply choose an edge - north, south, east or west - and  
the table will be bumped, sending the cats toward the opposite edge.

Nearly all of the cats will all move to some degree, but not all will  
go all the way to the opposite edge of the table. Cats can be flung  
right into the exit, saving them, or right into a hole. They can't  
collide with walls or each other while being flung, though, so you  
don't have to worry about exploding mid-air collisions or anything  
like that. A few of the tenacious little rats may dig in their claws  
and hang on to their original spot, just to be stubborn.

Bump Table can be used multiple times per level. It does not affect  
stationary objects (walls, exit, Catnip Magnet, Cat Repellent).

H: CATDOZER - Pick a square on the board with the arrows. Pick a  
direction (right to left or left to right). Out comes the CATDOZER,  
plowing across the board, scooping up all in its path and pushing it  
across.

The Catdozer will scoop up cats as it moves along the board. It  
destroys all walls, Catnip Magnets, Cat Repellent and Cat-A-Pults in  
its path. The cats stay in the Catdozer and can safely pass over holes.

If the Catdozer encounters the exit, it stops and deposits all its  
cats safely. This can be a big game-changer, which is why the Catdozer  
costs so much.

When the Catdozer reaches the other side of the board, any cats not  
dropped off at the exit will line up in a row where the Catdozer  
stopped.

A NOTE ABOUT THE CATDOZER: it starts, and ends, on the extreme left  
and right edges of the playfield. It may be hard to see the cursor to  
select where to place it, or to see the cats it drops off at its  
conclusion.

ANOTHER NOTE ABOUT THE CATDOZER: it's incredibly powerful and a huge  
game-changer, but in this incarnation of Herding Cats, it's really,  
really slow - particularly when it picks up a cat or passes over the  
exit. Working on that will be a goal for the final version.

I: CAT-A-PULT - Pick an area on the board, and a direction, and the  
CAT-A-PULT will be deployed. Any cats who step on its five-square by  
five-square area will be flung in the direction you've chosen.

Move the cursor to where you want the top left corner of the Cat-A- 
Pult to be. If a sufficient area isn't clear to the right of and below  
the cursor, you will not be able to build there.

The Cat-A-Pult flings cats pretty hard, so if the "screen wrap" is on,  
a cat could actually wrap around the screen and end up on the opposite  
side. A cat can also fall down a hole, or into the exit, depending on  
where they land after being flung. If a cat flies OVER a hole while en  
route to the ground, though, it won't fall in. Likewise, the cat can't  
hit a wall in mid-fling, but if the cat hits a wall, Cat-A-Pult or Cat  
Repellent when it lands, it'll splat.

The Catdozer can destroy part or all of your Cat-A-Pult. If part of  
the Cat-A-Pult remains on the screen, it can still be used by cats.  
You can only buy one Cat-A-Pult per level, even if you bulldoze it off  
the board or otherwise manage to destroy it.

J: BUILD WALL - Allows you to place a square of wall on the board,  
using the cursor and arrow keys. Build walls to keep cats in a  
confined area, or to keep them away from holes and other danger. Walls  
you build have the same properties as walls in place at the beginning  
of the level, and can be removed by the Wrecking Ball, or destroyed in  
the creation of a new or larger exit, a Cat-a-pult, or Cat-Dozer. You  
can only build a wall on an empty square - if there's a hole or object  
there, clear it first with the wrecking ball.

K: CAT RAPTURE - Miss all your late, lamented furry friends? Put away  
that ouiija board and bring them back to life! The Cat Rapture  
replenishes the game with all the cats who've died so far, placed into  
random locations on the board. It can be deployed as often as you'd  
like.

L: CAT BOOKIE - Allows you to place bets on how many cats you'll save,  
or (if you're a sadistic bastard) on how many will be killed over the  
course of the level. The bookie will offer you an amount in points,  
which he'll pay out at the end of the level for each cat you kill or  
save. However, you also agree to pay for every cat who does the  
opposite thing. For instance, let's say you bet on saving your cats,  
and you save eight, but six die. You'll get paid for the eight, and  
then you'll pay out for the six, for a net payout of (two cats x the  
bet amount).

The bookie will adjust his offer amount, depending on what has  
transpired in the level so far, and will not take bets too near the  
end of the level, or if the bet is too obvious (for example, if you've  
already killed 13 of 15 cats and then asked to win for each cat you'd  
killed).

Choosing the Cat-Pocalypse cancels all bets, so you can't bet on your  
cats dying and then immediately blow them all up. You'll just have to  
let them meet a slower, more random end through neglect, like the rest  
of us do.

M: CUT TABLE IN 2 - Allows you to remove half the playfield and  
everything on it. This can be helpful if one side of the board has an  
excessive amount of holes or obstacles,or you just want there to be  
less room for the cats to wander off to.

The table is cut down the middle, and either the right or left side is  
removed, square by square, depending on which side the exit is on. If  
the exit is in the middle of the table, you cannot cut it in two, and  
must move the exit first. All cats on the removed side of the table  
are killed off. Once half of the table has been removed, a wall is put  
up on both sides of it, to keep cats from wandering into the void.

The Wrecking Ball can not only punch a hole in that wall, but even  
reclaim the void, one square at a time. Bump Table can also send cats  
hurtling into the void, where they will die. You can also move the  
exit into the empty space between the walls... but why would you?

N: WRECKING BALL - Perhaps a bit of a misleading name. The Wrecking  
Ball does, in fact, knock down squares of wall, restoring them to  
flat, empty surface where a cat can walk. But it also does this to  
every other surface it touches, as well, including holes, Cat  
Repellent, Cat Magnet, and even cats themselves (the cats don't fare  
too well in this process, so it's not recommended unless you need a  
cat to die to move the game along. Or if you just really dislike the  
little jerk.)

You move a cursor with the arrow keys until you've found the square  
you wish to make flat, and then press enter. If you want to wreck more  
than one square, you'll have to press N and ENTER again, then move to  
the next location -- a slightly more deliberate approach that we hope  
gives you a moment to think before engaging in wanton destructive  
sprees. (Not saying you shouldn't engage in wanton destructive  
sprees... just stop and reflect on them pensively first.)

You cannot use the Wrecking Ball on the exit. Destroying Cat Repellent  
or Catnip Magnet with the Wrecking Ball allows you to deploy either of  
them again, but there are no refunds on such tools - make sure you're  
not spending too many points to survive the level. If you damage your  
Cat-A-Pult with the Wrecking Ball, you can neither fix it nor buy a  
new one in that level.

O: CAT-POCALYPSE - Kills off all remaining cats on the board, bringing  
about the end of the level. Useful if you've saved all but one or two  
cats and they have no intention of coming near the exit, or if you're  
just frustrated and like to watch crudely-drawn small cats blow up.

The Cat-Pocalypse negates any bets made with the Cat Bookie.

[P through V are inactive and reserved for future use.]

W: QUIT TO MAIN: ends your game and returns to the main menu

X: CONTINUE: exits the menu and restarts the game.

END OF LEVEL:

When all the cats are either saved or dispatched, or when your timer  
reaches the time limit, a shrill whistle will sound, and your status  
will be displayed. If you've placed a bet with the Cat Bookie, your  
winnings (or losses) will be shown and your score adjusted  
accordingly. There is also a bonus, increasing with each level, for  
saving every cat on the board.

If you met your points goal, you are invited to go on to the next  
level. If not, your game is over.

If you somehow make it through all thirty levels, the game will end  
and you'll be thanked by the surviving cats for your valiant efforts.

KNOWN ISSUES:

At this writing, the game is in beta release. The code needs a good  
going-over to save some memory and speed things up a bit. The  
Catdozer, as mentioned earlier, is excruciatingly slow at the moment.

FUTURE UPDATE PLANS:

We planned thirty levels for the game, but only had room for ten in  
this self-contained beta release. The final version will have 30 or  
more levels, which will load from disk. Also, a "save game" option  
will be included in the final release.

We're mulling over several more tools to add to the final version, but  
nothing to confirm publicly yet.

Also, when we do the final release of the game (including a limited  
physical edition disk version, with box and manual), I plan to create  
a two-player version of Herding Cats, where you can take on an  
opponent or the computer itself, to compete to bring the most cats to  
your exit and undermine your opponent.

A level editor is also a possibility.

CONTACT:

Any questions, concerns, or bug reports can be sent to Keith Bergman  
at [email-masked] or posted on the AtariAge.com TI programming  
forum.

Herding Cats is for all intents and purposes, freeware. I jokingly  
call it "cup-of-coffee-ware" -- if you really enjoy it and want to  
express your thanks, send $2.00 via PayPal to the email address above,  
to buy me a cup of coffee. Or just email me and let me know you enjoy  
it.

Herding Cats may not be sold by anyone else, in any configuration or  
format, or as part of any software collection. It may be freely  
distributed through electronic or other means, and I encourage and  
appreciate its wide distribution.

Updates to the game will be posted at orphantech.com, where the game  
will have its own dedicated information and download page.

Owen Brand
Opry99er.com

On Feb 28, 2010, at 10:59 PM, Gregory McGill <[email-masked]>  
wrote:

> Is there instructions for "Herding Cats" somewhere it's not  
> intiutive.. or at least not to me.
>
> Greg
>

---

From: Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 01:17:07 -0500

About 1/4 way down this page of the thread about it on AtariAge, you'll find
the most recent draft of the documentation.  There are a few things changed
in the game since it was written, but it'll give you the basic idea.

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/156307-herding-cats-rgpc/page__st__50

When I release the finished version with all 30 levels and the level editor,
I'll include a cleaned up README file with the docs.

Thanks for checking the game out!
Keith

---

From: Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 01:17:43 -0500

Or Owen could copy and paste it here.  Thanks, Owen!  :)

On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 1:17 AM, Keith Bergman <[email-masked]> wrote:

> About 1/4 way down this page of the thread about it on AtariAge, you'll
> find the most recent draft of the documentation.  There are a few things
> changed in the game since it was written, but it'll give you the basic idea.
>
> When I release the finished version with all 30 levels and the level
> editor, I'll include a cleaned up README file with the docs.
>

---

From: "Dan O'Quinn" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 12:17:18 -0500

Good God man, I must be getting old, thats much to complex for me :)
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Owen Brand 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Monday, March 01, 2010 12:21 AM
  Subject: Re: [TI994A] "Herding Cats" screenshots

  If anyone feels like reading, here's the latest draft of the instruction file, which will give you a nauseatingly clear idea of what's going on in the game.

  1. OVERVIEW

  Herding Cats is a game for the Texas Instruments 99/4A home computer. It requires you to use various tools to manipulate a playfield, in order to guide a randomly-moving herd of small black cats past holes, walls and each other to an exit.

  It was conceived in November 2009, and programmed over the winter of 2009-2010. It was submitted on February 14, 2010 as an entry into the Retroclouds Game Programming Contest (RGPC) on the AtariAge.com TI Programming forum.

  >>>>>>>>>>>>> SNIP <<<<<<<<<<<<<

---

From: Gregory McGill <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 14:10:45 -0800

Cool.. thanks guys

On Sun, Feb 28, 2010 at 10:17 PM, Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>wrote:

> On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 1:17 AM, Keith Bergman <[email-masked]>wrote:
>
>> On Sun, Feb 28, 2010 at 10:59 PM, Gregory McGill <[email-masked]
>> > wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Is there instructions for "Herding Cats" somewhere it's not intiutive..
>>> or at least not to me.
>>>
>>> Greg
>>>
>>
>>
>  
>