===============================================================================
                *** ANNOUNCING: A NEW APOGEE SHAREWARE GAME ***
                          XenoPhage: Alien Bloodsport
                  (c) 1994 Apogee Software, Ltd. & Argo Games

                         This Preview is available now!
                           (The game will come later)
===============================================================================

                               ==================
                               WHAT IS XENOPHAGE?
                               ==================

XenoPhage is a new fighting game that will be brought to you by Apogee Software
and Argo Games. Great gameplay and unique design work are delivered to you by
brand new, high-tech graphic & sound engines.

þ PREVIEW HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

  o 80386DX or later processor.
  o About 415k free conventional memory.
  o VGA compatible video card.

þ XENOPHAGE GAME MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

  o 80386DX or later processor running at 33MHz or faster.
  o VGA compatible video card (for 320x200 and 320x400 resolutions).
  o 4Mb free extended memory.

þ XENOPHAGE ADDITIONAL HARDWARE SUPPORT

 o SuperVGA video card (for 640x400 and 640x480 resolutions).
   (SVGA support requires a VESA compatible SVGA card in a local bus slot)

 o Multiple sound card support. For cards with appropriate drivers, stereo,
   true 16-bit sound, and very high sample rates are supported - up to CD
   quality sound! (16 bit 44KHz stereo).

   Currently supported devices include:

   o Any VESA VBE/AI compliant WAVE (digital audio) or MIDI (music) device.
   o MPU-401 compatible General MIDI devices.
   o SoundBlaster, SoundBlaster Pro, and compatibles.
   o Gravis UltraSound
   o ProAudio Spectrum 16 & 3d.
   o Disney Sound Source.
   o We plan on adding others, but those are working now.

  o Multiple joysticks and 4-button joysticks.
    (We strongly recommend a speed-compensating joystick card for optimal
     system performance).

 o 80486/Pentium optimized code.

 o Microsoft compatible mouse.

NOTE: This is a sneak preview, NOT a multi-media presentation. As such, the
sound support mentioned for the game itself is not present in the slide show.

This file is a bit more verbose & technical than the text presented in the
slide show itself. You'll probably want to take a look at the slide show
program before reading the rest of this file.

In the unlikely event that you have trouble with the slide show program,
please see the "TROUBLESHOOTING THE SLIDE SHOW PROGRAM" section near the end
of this document.


                                 ==============
                                 NIFTY FEATURES
                                 ==============

 o Character sprites that can only be described as HUGE. In XenoPhage, when 
   the sprites are really big, they're NOT blocky, unlike some other games!

 o Real-time generated shadows that skew, scale, fade, and climb up
   walls - like real shadows!

 o 256-color, full screen, pixel smooth, multi-directional scrolling, and
   FULL SCREEN ZOOM for VGA*, Extended VGA**, and Super VGA***! No wimpy,
   single screen, non-scrolling, non-zooming, low-res only, obsolete
   technology here!

  *   320x200
  **  320x400 - supported on almost all VGA cards
  *** 640x400 and 640x480

 o 11 really cool combatants - eight unique creatures (from one of the darker
   corners of our Creative Director's twisted soul), two very pissed off
   humans, and one VERY nasty surprise! The shareware version will include
   three of the characters, so you'll really be able to get a feel for how
   it plays.

   (We're getting pretty tired of fighting games with all the creative depth
    of "The Karate Kid" or "Transformers." Aren't you?)

 o 10 really cool backgrounds - each one is 960x400. That's over 3.5
   MegaPixels! Each one features a bunch of animations that help make you
   feel like you're actually there!

 o Reactive sonic environment - music that responds to the fighting action,
   and in-your-face sound effects (enhanced in real-time by Digital Signal
   Processing effects) that answer the age-old question "What does rending
   flesh _really_ sound like?"

 o Advanced Artificial Intelligence - lets you forget you're playing against
   a machine, even if you can't find anybody to take advantage of the
   multi-player support with. Multiple difficulty levels are supported,
   of course.


                              ====================
                              WHEN WILL IT BE OUT?
                              ====================

þ When it's ready! We know that you'd prefer to know when it'll be out, but
  we'd much rather have you be pleasantly surprised when it comes out than have
  you be irritated if we promise & miss a particular date.


                      ====================================
                      TROUBLESHOOTING THIS PREVIEW PROGRAM
                      ====================================

þ This sneak preview requires a 386 or better, with about 415k (424960 bytes)
  of free conventional memory (reported as "Largest executable program size"
  by the DOS "MEM" command), and a VGA compatible video card. If there's enough
  XMS memory available, it will preload all data into XMS.

 o If you have a VGA card, and the slide show thinks you don't, start with:
   XPSLIDE /GR

 o If you don't want the data to preload into XMS, or your system has problems
   with XMS preloading, start with: XPSLIDE /NOXMS

 o If you don't have enough conventional memory, follow the instructions on
   the not enough memory screen, and/or consult your operating system manual.


                      ===================================
                      WHERE TO FIND APOGEE'S GAMES ONLINE
                      ===================================

1. APOGEE'S HOME BBS:  THE SOFTWARE CREATIONS BBS

Software Creations BBS was recently voted North America's most popular BBS
by the readers of Boardwatch Magazine.  It was also featured on the TV show
Prime-Time Live in December 1993.  Apogee's releases are available here before
they're available anywhere else in the world!

To download any Apogee game, call one of the three numbers listed below.  Then,
look in the free Apogee file section, #1.  Type "F 1" to see a listing of the
files.  These are free downloads, and you do not need a membership.

   (508) 365-2359 -- 2400 baud                   Over 90 lines
   (508) 368-7036 -- 9600-14.4K v.32bis          available, and
   (508) 365-4035 -- 28.8k v.fast class (v.fc)   growing fast!

2. America Online - Use the keyword "apogee" to go to our forum.

3. CompuServe - Type "go apogee" (at any ! prompt) to find Apogee's games.

4. Internet - Apogee's titles can be access via anonymous FTP at our official
              ftp site.   The site is "ftp.uml.edu", and the directory they can
              be found in is (case important) "msdos/Games/Apogee".

5. Fidonet Filebone - If you are a Fidonet SysOp, you can now get Apogee's
                      games on the Fido filebone.  Talk to your local filebone
                      hub about the four Apogee areas (see FILEBONE.NO for more
                      information).


                                   =========
                                   LEGAL GOO
                                   =========

þ XenoPhage sneak preview, Copyright (c) 1994 Argo Games.

þ Any Trademarks or Copyrighted names mentioned in this document are the
  property of their respective owners.

þ All reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this document.
  However, it refers to an uncompleted product that may have features added,
  removed, or altered.
