ASTRAWARE
the home of handheld entertainment 
 Mars Needs Cows Palm OS® Products 
Current released version: 2.1 - 12th January, 2005
Current release expires: never
Feedback to: Haemish Graham (mnc@astraware.com)
Game Info: http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?prodID=36718

Recent update headlines: All new hi-res graphics and enhanced sound, and in a single PRC file! - Mars Needs Cows receives the Aurora Sound System! - Music for Palm Zire 71, Palm Tungsten series , Handspring Treo 600 or Sony UX series devices!

Copyright (c) 1999 - 2004 Astraware Ltd, 2000 - 2004, PopCap
All rights reserved.

Introduction

[INCOMING TRANSMISSION....]
WE NEED MORE ANIMALS!
And not just any old boring martian animals... we need EARTH animals! And lots of them! Why ? Well, its obvious! Err....
Your job - go down to Earth, and herd their animals into position for beam-up by the collection saucer. Collect enough of the right sorts, and there's a promotion in it for you!
Intelligence tells us that the indiginous species are highly stupid, and you should have no problems in your mission, although it may be complicated by the fact that some of the species eat or kill some of the others. We've selected some target areas where some of the animals are captive in enclosed spaces - that should make it nice and easy for you!
[...TRANSMISSION ENDS]
Mars Needs Cows is the wacky puzzle game from the famous online masters, PopCap!
Stretch your brain muscle in a series of increasingly challenging puzzles, as you maneouver animals into the middle of a field so that you can beam them to your ship!
This game features:

How To Install

Use an extractor program such as WinZip or Stuffit Expander to get at the Mars Needs Cows files.

Install the game by double-clicking the .prc file, which opens the Palm Install Tool or Quick Install program.

If one is available, users with Palm OS® 5 devices might also wish to install the music file as well. Double click on the .pdb file (or files, if there is more than one) to install it in the same way as installing the .prc file. Please note that not all Palm OS® 5 handhelds support music, for more information please refer to our knowledgebase here.

Use the HotSync button as usual to install the game onto your handheld. If you have a handheld with an expansion card, you can then move the game over to it. Do this before you register the game!

Now run Mars Needs Cows and tap the screen to play the game!

If you've got any queries about Mars Needs Cows or the registration process, first check out our knowledge base on our website (you must be connected to the internet to access this). If this doesn't help, get in touch with us at support@astraware.com. If you've got any questions (or suggestions, we love those) about the game itself, please get in touch with us at the email address at the top of this page.

How To Play Mars Needs Cows

As part of a Martian "biodiversity" project your job is collect animal specimens from the planet Earth and bring them back to Mars.

You will be asked to complete a series of missions, each mission requiring you to abduct particular animals. If you forget the mission brief a summary of the animals left to collect is shown on the left hand side of the display.

To abduct an animal, you need to move it onto the square marked with a cross in the centre of the screen. To do this, you tap on an animal to select it, and arrows will appear for each direction you may move it in.

Tap on a direction arrow and the animal will run in that direction until it hits another object or the perimeter fence, so you will have to think carefully before each move.

Be sure to watch out for electric fences and holes, the farm yard animals are not too bright and will merrily run into the electic fence or fall down a hole. If you destroy one of the animals required for the mission you will have to start again.

In addition to cows, sheep, chickens and pigs you will encounter a variety of other animals, each with its own particular characteritics. Foxes eat chickens, wolves eat sheep and the farmer shoots foxes and wolves.

Everything with legs runs away from the Martian... (perhaps they know why you are here!)

If you get stuck or make a mistake you have three options; Show the solution to the mission, Reset the mission or Undo the last move, to do each of these tap the "S", "R" and "U" icons in the top left hand corner of the display repectively.

Note you can only request the solution to three missions, if you request the solution for a fourth mission you will be sacked and sent home in disgrace.

Your goal is to accomplish 40 missions in the shortest time possible. The faster you complete each mission, the more points you'll get. You'll get more points for harder missions!

Registering

Whenever possible, you should purchase your software from the portal where you initially found and downloaded it! This means that the portal can take a commission on the sale which they use to keep running and keep providing the listing and download service. Without your support these portals can not continue to operate! They will pass the details straight back to Astraware to fulfil your order just as quickly as if you'd ordered directly from Astraware's own web shop.

In Demo form, you can play 10 games of Mars Needs Cows for free, as you decide whether you like it or not. After these games are up, the program will display a short message reminding you to register each time you play!

If you beam a demo to someone else, and they also like the game, then they can register it either by purchasing a copy from a local store or by purchasing online.

Registering Online:

For those that like the speed and convenience of buying via the internet, when you register for the game you'll get a code which will unlock the game and remain valid for future upgrades. Go to the web page at http://www.palmgear.com/software/showsoftware.cfm?prodID=36718 for more details.

You'll need to know your HotSync ID which you can find by running Mars Needs Cows, opening the menus, and selecting the 'Register...' option. Your HotSync ID will be filled in for you below.

When you register, Astraware will generate a key based on your ID, which will normally be sent out by email within 48 hours of registering. When you receive your key, go to the same register option, and enter the key into the space provided.

Submit your High Scores!

Registered users of the game are entitled to submit their high scores to our Internet High Score table.

Just visit the Mars Needs Cows web pages at http://www.astraware.com/games/popcap/mnc and select the link to view high scores.

To submit your own score, you need to go to the menu in the game, and select 'export high score'. This will provide you with a code which you can then type into our site:

http://www.astraware.com/palm/mnc/high/

You can only submit high scores once you've beaten the scores built into the game!

(Astraware reserves the right to remove this board or facility without any notice, or to remove individual names if necessary)

Release Revision History!

Release 2.1 : 12th January, 2005 Release 2.01 : 1st January, 2004 Release 2.0 : 31st October, 2003 Release 1.05 : 26th April, 2002 Release 1.02 : 20th February, 2002 Release 1.0 : 3rd December, 2001 First release

Feedback

If you've got suggestions for Astraware Mars Needs Cows, or wish to report any problems you've had, then please contact us!

Mars Needs Cows enquiries/feedback: mnc@astraware.com
Registration problems: registrations@astraware.com
General Astraware enquiries: feedback@astraware.com  

Contributors

Programming: Haemish Graham, Larry Dyde and David Oakley
Game Design: Jason Kapalka
Graphics: Josh Langley and Stov Thorley
Sounds: Howard Tomlinson
Music: Yannis Brown

Thanks also to all the beta testers who helped with their feedback

Software License Agreement

This is a legal agreement between you, the end user, and Astraware Limited. Read this agreement very carefully. If you do not wish to accept this agreement, you may not use Mars Needs Cows on a device or software emulator.
  1. Grant Of License
    This License permits you to use Mars Needs Cows on any single computer, provided the software is installed on only one handheld device at any time.

  2. Copyright
    The software is owned by Astraware Limited and is protected by United Kingdom copyright laws, international treaty provisions, and all other applicable national laws. You may not modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to discover the code and algorithms of the software.

  3. Other Restrictions
    You may not rent or lease the software, but you may transfer your rights under this license agreement on a permanent basis provided you transfer all copies of the software and all written materials and the recipient agrees to the terms of this license.

  4. No Warranty
    The software is delivered as is and Astraware Limited makes no warranty as to its use or performance. Astraware Limited does not, and cannot warrant the performance or results you may obtain by using the Software or its documentation. Astraware Limited makes no warranties, express or implied, as to noninfringement of third party rights, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. In no event will Astraware Limited be liable to you for any consequential, incidental or special damages, or for any claim by any third party.

Legal

Astraware Limited takes no responsibility for any adverse effect that this software could cause to your machine or the data on it: backup important data before using Mars Needs Cows. Mars Needs Cows is protected by copyright laws and international copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. Mars Needs Cows is licensed, not sold.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble this software.

Astraware’s and its suppliers’ entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be, at Astraware’s option, either (a) return of the price paid, if any, or (b) replacement of the product that does not meet the warranty and which is returned to Astraware with a copy of your receipt. This warranty is void if failure of the product has resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication. Any replacement software product will be warranted for the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, whichever is longer. These remedies are not available without proof of purchase from an authorized source.

Written permission must be obtained before distribution of this game, either in demo form or full form, through any online or offline methods. You may link to the product specific page, but not directly to the files (as these will change and as the programs are updated) 

Copyright (c) 1999 - 2004 Astraware Ltd, 2000 - 2004, PopCap.

Astraware and the planet logo are trademarks of Astraware Limited All rights reserved.