This is accomplished by adding lines to the text file READOUTS.TXT in your project directory. These lines must start with the keyword 'screen'. Next is the screen number. The screen number is just a reference number from 0 to 63. ( There are a maximum of 64 possible screens. ) The next word should be the filename of the .BMP. Do not have any spaces in the filename, or the line will not get read correctly. Following the name of the BMP is the screen # of the next screen in the sequence. The user gets to the next screen in the sequence by pressing the space bar. It is up to you to prompt the user to press the spacebar if necessary in your artwork itself.

An animated object or platform, or a specially programmed guard can end the game and put up a screen by setting universe register #127 with a screen#. Obviously, screen# 0 cannot be called using this method, since the default value of ureg#127 is zero to start with.

These screens are only decoration. From any screen, the game can be started using the menu. There are no provisions for buttons or keyboard commands other than spacebar for the next screen.

Warning: This only works in the Final Game; It will not work when testing levels.

For example, say you want the user to see three screens upon start up. You could enter these lines in readouts.txt:

screen 0 mylogo.bmp 10 ; This will start out with mylogo.bmp. Upon spacebar, screen #10 will then load.
screen 10 gametitl.bmp 11 ; Game title screen. Spacebar will result in screen #11 getting loaded.
screen 11 strthelp.bmp 11 ; Directions for the user on how to start game. Spacebar will do nothing.

Now you want one death scene for gunfire death, one for explosion death, and another for an animated object which kills the player by setting ureg#127 to the value 5. The game engine will always call screen#1 for a regular death from guard attacks, screen#2 for explosion deaths. If you set ureg#127 equal to 5, screen #5 will get called after the game engine stops.

screen 1 regdeath.bmp 0 ; Display death scene, then return to the intro when the spacebar is struck
screen 2 expdeath.bmp 0 ; ditto for explosions
screen 5 anmdeath.bmp 0 ; If death occurs by ureg127 getting set 5, show this screen, then back to intro

Now if you want to end the game by winning, just have a platform or animated object set ureg 127 to some value greater than 32. This will be effectively the same as dying, in that the game ends and a screen is put up. However, if we add some death effects like the viewpoint falling down etc, then there would be a difference. So if you want a winning scene to be put up, make the screen# be 32 or greater. Remember the highest screen# is 63....

screen 32 winning.bmp 33 ; Display a winning screen, spacebar takes them to the advertising screen for part II
screen 33 part2.bmp 10 ; Display your advertising screen, and then take them back to the game title.

By default, screen #0 will be TITLE.BMP if there are no definitions for screen #0.