Elasto Mania

Table of contents
General Differences from Across Controls System requirements Availability Installation Version history Bugs Files Extra applications

General

Elasto Mania, commonly known as Elma or Across 2 (published in February 2000, programmed by Balázs Rózsa, Hungarian), is a very addictive 2D motorbike 'simulation' game. Like its predecessor Across it's based on a real physical model. Elma does either make people extremely addicted or makes them hate the game.

Since Elma is the next step in the development from Across, the way of playing is pretty much the same as in Across. If you aren't familiar with the way Across is played, we would suggest you read the information about Across first. There are some subtle differences in how to play Across and Elma, read more below on the Differences from Across section.

The shareware version game contains 18+1 levels, or tracks if you prefer (the last level contains information about how to register the game and cannot be finished). The registered version has 54+1 levels (the 55. level can't be finished, although it contains a web address to where to download more levels). The game has a very easy-to-use level editor. However, the use of it is limited in the shareware version. In the retail version you can make almost any kinds of levels and as many as you want. In case you run out of ideas, you can always enter the web and download thousands of new levels designed by other fans of the game. As in Across, you can also save replays of your drives in Elma.

Differences from Across

• New name: Elasto Mania
• Twelve new internal levels
• No moving objects anymore
• An offline multiplaying option
• Improved graphics
• Modified physics
  • The head is in a two pixel higher position (clarifying picture )
  • The horizontal positions of the bike and the head in Elma are the same as in Across, but mirrored (picture )
  • The bike is more elastic, so where you probably survive a high drop in Across, you would die in Elma
• The best times in external levels are now stored
• STATE.DAT is updated right after you make a new time or setting change, so there's no need to restart the game after you make a new best time
• Top 10 best times instead of top 6
• Replay length limit is increased from 4 minutes to 5 minutes
• Possibility to configure controls as you want
• New settings, such as displaying high details, object and menu animations; you're also able to configure sounds inside the game
• Screen modes can be switched during playing (by default by pressing +´ keys, next to backspace in many keyboards), there are five different ones
• The game can't run in DOS anymore
• The latter releases (including unofficial ones) offer even more new features (read the Version history for more information)

Controls

You can configure the controls yourself (Main Menu - Options - Customize Controls). The default keys are:

1. Player A: Arrows and space for controlling the bike, 1-key for screen-toggling, V-key for navigator, T-key for timer and I-key for screenshot
2. Player B: Numpad (5-key to accelerate, 2-key to brake, 1-key to rotate left and 3-key to right), 0-key (numpad Ins) for turning, 2-key for screen toggling, B-key for navigator and Y-key for timer

Additional keys: in player list (Main Menu - Options - Player A) you can remove the name of a player name (not his or her times though) by pressing ALT-CTRL-ENTER. Elma has also the supervolt bug. When pressing both rotate keys simultaneously the bike rotates faster clockwise. Usually a normal volt is needed in advance unless you manage to press the buttons exactly at the same time (this varies a bit on different kinds of computers). When you make a supervolt immediately, it's called an alovolt (alone supervolt). During the playing you might want to decrease or increase the screen size to get the game run smoother, this is possible to do by pressing + and ´ keys (next to the backspace in many keyboards). Also note that the fast Page Down and Up isn't working in menus as it was in Across.

Keys offered in unofficial versions: alovolt, alias ESC and alias brake keys. Professional players wanted to have an opportunity to configure even the ESC key to avoid moving your hands (usually you need to move your left hand to reach ESC) and when you press ESC thousands times in a day it is affecting. Alias brake was needed because some levels require an unoriginal key combination in the start (for example Freefall). Alovolt key was included because on some computers it was quite easy to do an alovolt and on others almost impossible. To have one specific key for doing an alovolt made it fair for everyone.

System requirements

Official requirements from the game's README.TXT:

• Microsoft Windows 95/NT/98/ME/2000/XP/FreeBEOS/Unix
• DirectX 5.0
• Pentium 133MHz
• 16MB RAM
• 4MB hard disk space (replay and level files space excluded)

Tweaking instructions for advanced players on the Tweaking page.

Availability

The shareware version is freely distributable, though if you want to distribute it, you must include all the files in the right-named ZIP file and not touch the file names. The full version costs $9.95 and can be ordered on the order page or on the official site.

Also you can order Elasto Mania Forever CD, which includes registered Elasto Mania, Action SuperCross (older version) and lots of other Elma related stuff.

• 1.0 shareware version of Elasto Mania (1122 kB) for Windows
• 1.11a shareware version of Elasto Mania (1122 kB) for Windows
• Upgrade patches for the registered Windows version:
  • 1.0
  • 1.1
  • 1.11
  • 1.11a
  • 1.11h (unofficial)
  • 1.11hb (unofficial)
  • 1.2 (unofficial)
• 1.1 shareware version of Elasto Mania (1359 kB) for FreeBeOS
• Instructions how to run Elma under Unix

Installation

Upgrade patches 1.0, 1.1, 1.11, 1.11a, 1.11h, 1.11hb include a single executable file. Just overwrite your elma.exe by the one you find in the zip. Version 1.2 has the installation instructions in Elma12.txt. The game won't launch unless you run the ResEdit.exe correctly. The shareware versions have an installer.

Version history

1.0

3. Feb 2000

The first released version of Elma.

1.1

18. Sep 2000

• Program gives the correct time (+/- 0.02 secs) of a replay file when the CTRL-ALT-ENTER is pressed in the replay menu
• While customizing the controls the a and p display is not mixed anymore
• Animal Fram is renamed to Animal Farm
• The title while customizing player B, is B, not A anymore
• If you press ESC while the program starts, the screen doesn't go black
• If you click on the OK button in the Create Picture dialog in level editor, it won't create a picture also after the dialog disappears
• If you try to load a locked level into the level editor, the game doesn't quit
• The brake works better in multiplaying mode

1.11

27. Sep 2000

• Supports more level and replay files in the directories (previous limit was about 600)

1.11a

21. Oct 2000

• LGR file limit is increased

1.11h

7. Oct 2002, unofficial, made by Hibernatus

• Merging replays
• Alovolt key
• Alias brake key
• Alias ESC key
• VCR-style controls when watching replays (rewind, slow motion, pause)

1.11hb

17. Oct 2002, unofficial, made by Hibernatus

• Levelpack organizing system
• Improved VCR-style controls when watching replays
• Great key settings panel
• Fast search in menus
• Bugs fixed

1.2

24. Mar 2006, unofficial, made by Hibernatus

• New options
• Advanced fast search in menus
• Bugs fixed

Read the readme.txt more detailed information. Elma12.txt is especially recommended.

Mopolauta has lots of discussion about the unofficial versions.

Bugs

Fortunately the game doesn't contain very many bugs. And some of them have actually increased the complexity of the game play. Many bugs are fixed in new versions and in the latest one there shouldn't be any serious bugs left.

• Alovolt (originally just supervolt) works only clockwise and it has been announced to be a bug
• Bounces were not intended either, but they sure increase the complexity of the game
• Sometimes (only in some extreme levels) the bike stretchs way too much and causes the game in crashing and reporting an internal error message
• Weird wheel behaviour when it gets stuck on tight places, for example when wheels are placed in Animal Farm's cock head spikes
• Try to press for instance Q-, P-, S-keys in menu: the cursor is jumping unlogically
• Elma crashes if you try to open corrupted levels, replays or LGRs
• So-called Hooked-bug causes bug times in people's state.dats; luckily there is a program, called BRemover, to fix those times
• Sometimes some levels have a graphical bug: an extra line in navigator or even in the screen; for example some people see a bug line in Hill Legend - this depends on the system you have; if this phenomenon occurs in some of your levels, just move one of the bugging vertexes a little bit and the line will disappear
• If you die during Flag Tag when rotating, starting over might cause a bug (sample replay)
• Sounds are delayed when you start a new level
• If you merge a state.dat where are same times in the same level the merging doesn't work correct

Files

The needed files to run the version 1.2:

• Elma12.exe (executable program that the compiler produces)
• elma.res (in some cases you might have an ACROSS.RES or elmaupg.res instead of elma.res)
  • Contains the graphics, sounds, internal levels (res as resources)
  • Not allowed to be distributed
  • The only file which is different in shareware version
• ElmaConf12.exe (many kinds of settings)
• state.dat
  • Contains the player data, times, key settings
  • Automatically created if not exists
• Directories: rec, lev, lgr (theoritically only the lgr directory is needed to run the game)
• Bunch of text files such as readme.txt, Elma12.txt, stats.txt (recommended but not needed)

The rest of the files are more or less not needed. You shouldn't be having files like ElmaKeys.exe, ElmaConf.exe, AlovoltConfigure.exe, ElmaConf12.exe, alovoltpatch.exe, alovolt.dll, alovolt.exe, alovoltcfg.exe, alovolt.dat, ResEdit.sfx.exe, ResEdit.exe, Lev2Leb.sfx.exe, elma.res.bak, UNWISE.EXE in your Elma directory. Back up and remove them and get a cleaner Elma and be happy.

Extra applications

In order to make your Elma even more advanced you probably find these programs useful:

• ALE 2.1: Advanced Level Editor
• Bug time remover: to remove your Hooked-bug times
• Elmatim0r: to check exact times of the replays, even by 0,001 accurate
• LGR Development Kit: to import own graphics to the game
• Reforce: to adjust monitor settings to achieve smoother Elma
• Stats generators: to generate many different kind of statistics of your times