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This page will discuss the following:
Please, please, please read this FAQ (short for "Frequently Asked
Questions") before asking other people (me) questions about Supaplex.
This FAQ will address the most commonly asked questions about the game
Supaplex and related software.
The latest version of this FAQ should be available from the Supaplex web
pages. The location is http://www.elmerproductions.com/sp.
If it's not there, search the web for "Supaplex".
This FAQ is copyright 1997-2010 by Maarten Egmond. You are allowed to
distribute this FAQ freely, as long as no part of it text is modified in any
way. The author of this FAQ can not be held responsible for any damage,
caused by this FAQ or not. Everything you do with this FAQ, and the
information in it, is at your own risk. If you want to copy/distribute this
FAQ for other than personal use, please make sure you have the lastest
version and ask the author for permission first.
Please, please read this list of questions carefully before asking me any
questions. Maybe your question is in here, but just phrased a little
differently.
You can click on the hyperlinks below to find the answers quickly.
To record a demo, all you need is the SpeedFix (v5.4 or better is
recommended). Start the SpeedFix with debugging enabled (Use the
"D" command line option.)
Start playing the level you want to record a demo of, and press Ctrl-Fx
(Fx is a function key, from F1-F10) to start recording. Note
that the file named DEMOn.BIN (n is the number of the function key minus
one) will be overwritten, so back up your old demo's first! On the bottom
of the screen, a message will be shown stating that you are now recording
a demo, and the level will be restarted. Also note that during the first
few seconds of the first level you play after running SPFIX54.EXE, you
can't start recording a demo yet. This is because the speed autodetect is
still working.
When you are done, you can press Ctrl-F12 to stop recording, or just end
the level (through the exit, or by getting destroyed.) Your file
DEMOn.BIN is now ready, and you can copy it to anyone who wants to see
it.
Note that if you use an alternative dataset (SpeedFix "!xx"
command line option), the file will be
named DEMOn.Bxx. Also, the demo's you have recorded can not be played by
the original SUPAPLEX.EXE executable!
Something you can also do (but is not required) is to add a signature
file to the demo, so other people can see who recorded it. Read about
how do I add a signature to my demo?
A signature is any (text)file smaller than 512 bytes, usually containing
your name, and contact (email) address (but you can put any other text in
if you want.) If you attach one to your demo, other people will be able
to see who recorded it, and (if you include a way to contact you) they
can ask you about it, congratulate you, or whatever else they want to say
to you.
To append a signature to the demo, get the
SPSIG program, and use it like this:
"SPSIG.EXE A DEMOn.BIN SIGNATUR.TXT". (If you are a Windows
user, and don't know how to use command line options, please read more
about How do I use command line options with
Windows 95?.) This will add the file SIGNATUR.TXT to the demo named
DEMOn.BIN.
Note that you should only add ONE signature to the file. If you want to
change it, make sure you remove any old signature that is attached first,
and then add the new one.
Another easy way might be to use 'MegaPlex', a windows version of the game
which can also play solutions. Please refer to the
MegaPlex website for
more infromation about this option.
Below is the 'oldfashioned' way of doing it (with commandline parameters).
Unless you are a DOS user, you probably don't want to see it, and use
SpLaunch or MegaPlex instead.
Note that the filename "spfix54.exe" should be replaced by
the appropriate executable if you use a different version, e.g.
spfix55.exe, spfix61.exe, etc.)
You need the SpeedFix (v5.0 or better) to be able to play it. Let's
assume the demo/solution you want to see is named MYDEMO.SP, which you
have just downloaded.
Start the SpeedFix with the colon command
line parameter (i.e. "SPFIX54.EXE :MYDEMO.SP" - See
SpeedFix documentation for more information about the commandline options)
The SpeedFix will now load and play your demo. When normally the intro
screens, and menu would appear, the SpeedFix will now immediately start
playing the demo.
If the demo does NOT start playing, here are some things that
"normally" go wrong:
Once playing, you can terminate the demo at any time, like in a normal
demo (press ESCAPE). If you want to view the demo again, press F11 in the
menu screen, and it will be played again. If you want to play the level
yourself, press F12 in the main menu screen.
Levels that are already present will remain here of course, so you can
still enjoy the work of all those people.
Effectively, it means that the original game is running at twice it's
intended speed these days. The SpeedFix uses an updated method to make
sure the game is equally fast on all machines, and uses the intended
speed.
For those of you who dislike the slow (but intended) speed, you can
still play at your preferred speed with the SpeedFix. Please read the
SpeedFix documentation, or "How do I change
the speed of the game?" for more information on the keys and/or
command line options to use.
Technical note: The speed of the game is not the same under all
circumstances, since video card manufacturers are not always using the
VGA standard of 70Hz for display updating anymore. It means that,
depending on the videocard, the original game may run slower or faster
than was intended. However, typically these differences are quite small,
and if they become too large the SpeedFix will adapt itself to the new
speed.
There are several hard to find problems with Supaplex. Many of these
result in strange behaviour of the graphics on screen. Murphy may be able
to walk off the visible part of the screen, the scrolling may seem weird,
or not working at all, sprites may appear where they shouldn't.
There can be a number of reasons for this. Here are some things to try.
If you're lucky, they will solve the problem.
If that does not work, or you are unable to use an external monitor, you
can try playing the game in EGA mode. To do this, you have to have the
SpeedFix. Start the SpeedFix like this: "SPFIX54.EXE EGA". The
game will not look so pretty anymore, but you should see the entire
screen.
Also, take a look at this question for more
information on strange screen behaviour in Supaplex.
Now there are several possible situations. Note that it would be advisable
to check out all possibilities/solution below, since the above method of
detecting whether the game actually hangs is not 100% foolproof.
If the two files are in the same directory, you can use the
command line
option "!xx" to play the levels. The SpeedFix will
automatically create a new player file for this levelset. You will be
able to keep track of which levels you have finished, but the first time
(for every new levelset) you will probably have to create a new player.
You should know that the new levels are not arranged in order of
difficulty (in fact, there are some VERY hard levels between the first
few in the first collection), so you might want to cheat while playing
these levels (see How can I cheat?)
The most popular new features are demo recording,
demo playing, easy playing of
new levels, configurable
game speed and a lot of (small) bugfixes.
In the SpeedFix, and most distributed "original" versions, this
check has been removed in one way or other:
The easiest way is to give up on sound, but if you really want to persist,
there are some things to try here. The best option would be to try running
Supaplex with DOSBox as explained in the first FAQ. Plenty of additional
information about DOSBox and sound is available at the
DOSBox Wiki.
Herman Perk has been very busy checking out the sound routines. So far,
some interesting things have been found out. On selection of a specific
sound card (and samples/music) the following files are loaded:
Also, you need to have your soundcard located at some specific resources
otherwise the game won't detect it properly. These are: DMA 1, IRQ 2, 3, 5
or 7, and I/O 220, 330 or 388. (You can check this in the control panel in
windows.)
If you are brave enough, you can try the sndfix1.zip.
It might fix your problems with sound, but nothing can be guaranteed. This
is the only known possible fix for this problem currently. To get it to
work, just unzip the file to your Supaplex directory.
If you have a question that is not answered in this FAQ you can ask me.
Please read the information in this FAQ carefully before contacting me, since
most problems I am asked about are already explained here. If your question is
not answered here, you can contact me.
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Anything you ever wanted to know about Supaplex, and even more.
I have trouble installing or playing the game.
I want to make a clone or similar game to Supaplex. Can you give me the source code?
I want to show my friends how I'm solving the levels.
How can I view a solution I downloaded from the Supaplex page?
Why do the graphics in the game look weird, is the scrolling wrong, does Murphy walk off the screen? How can I solve that?
When I choose a soundcard in the control panel in Supaplex, the game hangs.
I have trouble installing or playing the game.
Supaplex is a really old game, that was never designed to run on modern
computers. This means that it's quite likely it will not work on your computer
and never will. There is nothing I can do about this. Still, there are some
things you can try that may help. However, I have limited experience with
these solutions so I cannot provide further information about this if it
does not work for you. Questions about how to get Supaplex working will
generally not be answered!
Please be aware
that I am not a Windows or DosBox expert, and that I can (unfortunately)
not provide any additional assistence if you can't get it to run in Windows
XP.
DOSBox is a program that lets you run old software (such as Supaplex) on
a modern computer (even on non-Windows operating systems). Information
about DOSBox and how to download and install
it can be found on the DOSBox website. For
those not computer-savvy enough to do this by yourself, John was
kind enough to provide a simple installer for both 32-bit and 64-bit
Windows versions. Make sure you get the right one for your operating
system!
Please understand that I did not create these installers and cannot
provide assistence for them. If they don't work for you, go to
the DOSBox website directly and try it from there.
Megaplex is a port of Supaplex to run in Windows XP. It's easier to setup
than DOSBox, but although all levels and solutions are 100% compatible,
it looks and feels a little different from the real Supaplex (some would
argue it's easier to use as well). Unfortunately its homepage is no longer
active, but if you can still find it online it may be the easiest method
to play. (If you have a recent copy, let me know and I can host it on the website.)
I want to make a clone or similar game to Supaplex. Can you give
me the source code?
I do not own any of the intellectual property rights of the game. Very
simply, this means that I can not give away any such rights to others.
In short, it is usually illegal to use anything from the game in anything
else even if it's free. For the long option, please consult a lawyer or
copyright expert. As far as I know Digital Integration still hold the
original rights. Their website is
http://www.digint.co.uk (it no longer points to them) but I don't
know if they can still be contacted there (and I don't have any alternate
address).
Also, be aware that as far as I know, the source code to Supaplex got lost
a long time ago. Whether due to insufficient care, faulty backups or other
causes I don't know, but it simply does not exist anymore. This means that,
besides the fact that I can't supply it because of the potential legal
issues with that, I can also not give it because I simply don't have it.
As far as I know, the source code to the game has been lost 'in history'.
Probably it was on someone's computer at some time, and did not get
transferred to a new computer when it was replaced. If there were any
backups, I am not aware of them and they have probably also been lost or
deteriorated.
The changes made to the game in the SpeedFix version, have all been made
with a lot of effort to the disassembled code of the game. Needless to say
this is quite complicated at times as there are no meaningful variable or
function names to work with. (Note that also in relation to the question
above, I cannot give away any disassembled SpeedFix-related code that may
still linger somewhere on my computer or in a backup).
This is usually due to a problem writing the progress to disk. There are
several possible sources. If you don't understand what it says below,
consult your operating system's manual, or ask your system administrator
for help. Without knowing all details on your system setup, I will not be
able to provide more details than are already mentioned here!
If you take a look at the opening screen in the game, you will see
the proper credits. Note that in the SpeedFix, you will see two extra
lines appear on the bottom of the screen, stating that Herman Perk and
Maarten Egmond made the SpeedFix (which uses the original SUPAPLEX.EXE
as basis). The original authors are (in the same order as the credits
screen):
Also, more information about the history of the game can be found on the
history page.
Firstly, you should read this FAQ carefully, as it contains the most
frequently asked questions. If you have done that, and can't find what
you are looking for, you can try these sources:
If these methods don't turn up the information you are looking for, you
can try asking me about it, but if it's not on my Supaplex webpages, I may not
know much about it.
Here is a list of keys you can use while playing.
Use these to move Murphy (the little orange fellow) around.
If you press (and hold) space, and then press an arrow key, Murphy
will eat away an object in that direction (if it's edible).
If you just hold space long enough, Murphy will drop a red disk (if
he has any.)
Pressing right shift will reveal how many red disks you still have
with you. Look in the bottom right corner of the screen. The number
that appears there is the number of red disks you have.
Will show/hide the information panel at the bottom of the screen.
(Why does ENTER abort my game?)
Quit level (destroy Murphy) and return to the menu screen.
Recalibrate joystick.
Pause. Note that these are two different pause functions, so if
you press "p"to set pause on, you can't turn it off by
pressing NumLock, and vice versa. (Talk about confusing...)
In the SpeedFix (hopefully the program you are running) there
are additional keys available besides the keys from the original
Supaplex. Please refer to the SpeedFix documentation (SPFIX62.DOC)
for more information about those keys.
Simply hold the spacebar for a few seconds. This will cause Murphy to drop
a red disk (assuming he has any). Note that quickly after the disk is
dropped, it will explode, so make sure you run away on time. Also, before
the disk is really dropped, Murphy will show that he's about to drop it.
If you release the spacebar at that point, no disk will be dropped. So if
that happens, keep the spacebar pressed a little longer.
If you need to use commandline options to run the SpeedFix (or any other
program) with special options, there are a few ways to do it:
There are several ways to cheat, though you should only use them as a
last resort, since the game is really about solving the puzzles
(yourself), and if you cheat you don't solve the puzzles (yourself),
so you are not really playing the game!
I want to show my friends how I'm solving the levels.
Note that the filename "spfix54.exe" should be replaced by
the appropriate executable if you use a different version, e.g.
spfix55.exe, spfix61.exe, etc.)
First, let me explain what exactly a signature file is (with respect to
Supaplex demos.)
How can I view a solution I downloaded from the Supaplex page?
It's usually easiest to use SpLaunch to
play solutions (if it works for you). If you have installed Supaplex
you should unzip the solutions to the same folder. Then simply download
SpLaunch and unzip it also to the same folder as Supaplex. Then run
SpLaunch and browse to the SpeedFix executable (something like spfix54.exe
or spfix63.exe). After that, simply fill in which demo you want to see, and
click on the RUN button. It's very easy to use. If you run into problems,
put Supaplex, SpLaunch and the solution that you want to see in a folder
c:\sp. The shorter folder name may help
If you have followed these rules exactly, the SpeedFix should be
able to find and load your demo, and something else must be wrong.
It is no longer possible to submit new levels for inclusion on the
website. This is unfortunate, as people still regularly create new levels.
However, because it takes a lot of time to keep the new levels updated,
and I am working on other, more important, things I can not keep updating
the level collections anymore.
It is no longer possible to submit entries for the Hall of Fame.
The SpeedFix was originally written to recreate the speed that was
used for the original Supaplex. The game uses a special method to ensure
constant speed on all computers, but when the game was written, computers
were a lot slower than today, and the method that was used wasn't
entirely correct.
You have to use the SpeedFix to be able to change the speed of the game. If
you use it, there are two ways to influence the speed:
Why do the graphics in the game look weird, is the scrolling wrong,
does Murphy walk off the screen? How can I solve that?
You are probably using a laptop/portable computer. Since the game
uses a special graphics mode, you need to have a 100% VGA compatible VGA
card (and monitor!) Some laptop/portable computers are not very good at
this, and leave out the bottom of the screen. The recommended solution is
to try to use an external VGA monitor (which is not the/an LCD screen).
First, you should find out whether or not the game really hangs. In
many cases, the game has returned to DOS, but without clearing the screen
properly.
If you use plain DOS: See if the DOS command "mode co80" works
(first press ENTER a few times, to make sure you have a clear command
prompt, then enter "mode co80" and press ENTER again).
If you use Windows, you can check if the game returns to Windows
normally (then Supaplex doesn't really hang), or that you have to use the
"close" option or Windows gives an error message (then the game
probably does hang.)
In this case, some system options in Windows prevent Windows from
running the game (some versions of Windows don't even let the game
run under any circumstances). Sometimes switchting the window to
full-screen helps, or changing the properties for the DOS-box the
game runs in.
If you can't get it working, your best bet might be to download and
try 'MegaPlex', which is a fully Supaplex-compatible clone that runs
'natively' under Windows. For more information see the
MegaPlex website.
I am aware that it is possible for Supaplex to crash after the game
exits. This happens very rarely, and you will see the DOS prompt on
screen properly (At least if you use plain DOS.) I don't know how it
is possible. The best thing you can do then is to reboot, and hope it
doesn't happen again.
If you are using the SpeedFix, the most likely cause of the problem
is that you did not unzip the file NEWDEMOS.ZIP that came with the
SpeedFix properly. Make sure all demo files (DEMO?.BIN) are the new
ones (they must all be larger than 1536 bytes). If not, unzip the
file NEWDEMOS.ZIP, and try again (see also
How to install Supaplex.)
This works the same as playing Supaplex demo's, only in stead of the
demo that would be played automatically, the level will be started
automatically. Read How to play a Supaplex demo
to see how to play a demo. Also note that F11 will not work now in the
main menu, since there is no demo to play. F12 will still work.
You should use the SpeedFix to play alternative levelsets. First, you
should make sure that at least the files LEVELS.Dxx and LEVEL.Lxx (the
two "x"'s are any number between 00 and 99) are located in the
same directory (folder) as Supaplex is. If they're somewhere else, you
can't use them!
There are several reasons to use the SpeedFix. The main reason is that
is is basically an updated version of the original game (SUPAPLEX.EXE)
with some minor bug-fixes and new features. It's more flexible than the
original version, and some of it's features are essential to popular
things like viewing other people's solutions, or playing new levels
easily.
To properly submit your record time, you must match these criteria:
To join this list do the following:
There seems to be a bug in Supaplex (the original version and the
SpeedFix versions before v6.1) that makes Murphy unable to drop red
disks, even though he has one or more with him. This bug was fixed in
SpeedFix v6.1, so if you don't have it yet, you should download it from
the software page.
In some versions of the game (especially the originals) there is a copy
protection, which meant you were given a three digit number, and you had
to find the correct "reply-number" as answer. If you guessed
wrong, you would not be allowed in the game. (The correct reply for each
possible number were printed in the manual.)
So if you see these numbers at startup, don't worry about them. Note that
it is recommended to use the SpeedFix, which
does not display the number!
In the original game (and some of the older SpeedFix versions) the game
would be aborted when ENTER was pressed during play. This would only
occur when there was NO mouse driver loaded. So the usual solution would
be to load a mouse driver before playing. If you use one of the latest
SpeedFix versions, this bug should have been fixed, and you should be
able to use ENTER even when NO mouse driver is loaded.
When I choose a soundcard in the control panel in Supaplex, the game hangs.
The sound routines in Supaplex are very old and very complex. It seems
they only work with true SoundBlaster (Creative Labs) soundcards, and
even then, you specifically need an ISA card (as opposed to the modern
PCI cards). If you don't have one of those (and even if you do), the game
might very well hang itself when you try to choose any sound option in the
control panel of the game.
In some of these files, short loops are used to determine the settings
of the soundcard. On 'fast' processors (anything above a Pentium 150MHz probably)
this will not work properly, and may cause the game to hang, even though
you have the proper soundcard.
To learn more about the history of Supaplex, check out
this page.
Chapter 3 - How to contact me
Copyright (c) Elmer Productions
(contact us)