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- RUMMY 500 (Version 4.3) - RUMMY500.FAQ
- ======================================
-
- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- ==========================
-
- Q. What programming language is Rummy 500 written in?
-
- A. Microsoft Visual Basic. See the "For The Technically Curious" section of
- the help file for more information.
-
-
- Q. Why do I get an "Invalid File Format" message when I try to run Rummy 500?
-
- A. Because there is an older, and incompatible, version of VBCTL3D.VBX on
- hard disk. Rummy 500 is loading this rather than the newer version
- distributed with Rummy 500 4.2 and later versions. Make sure that the
- copy of VBCTL3D.VBX distributed with this version is present in your
- \windows\system directory and make sure you delete any other copies of
- VBCTL3D.VBX which are on your system (possibly in the directory where you
- previously kept Rummy 500, or your \windows directory).
-
- [If you have multiple programs on your system which use VBCTL3D.VBX and
- they require different versions of VBCTL3D.VBX, you can install a copy of
- the required version in the same directory as each program that requires
- it. Such a copy will be loaded in favor of the "central" copy in the
- /windows/system directory.]
-
-
- Q. Why does my mouse not work correctly in Rummy 500?
-
- A. We have had a couple of reported instances of this problem, but we are
- unable to replicate it or guess at what the problem might be. One
- customer found that the problem disappeared when he upgraded from Microsoft
- Windows 3.1 to Windows for Workgroups 3.11. We therefore surmise that
- this problem is system configuration dependent in some way.
-
-
- Q. What happens if Rummy 500 causes system messages, "bombs out", or freezes?
-
- A. These problems are almost always to do with the way your system memory
- is configured or managed. Check that you have around 450K minimum of
- low memory available and that your memory manager (e.g., EMM386) is not
- causing the conflict. Rummy 500 is quite intensive in its use of system
- resources and runs on 99% of customers' systems without problems. However,
- sometimes such problems are reported, and all we can do is offer the
- advice noted here.
-
-
- Q. The opponent appears to play extremely slowly, pausing for a couple of
- seconds even during the first few turns of a round - even with "Quick
- Display" enabled. What's the problem?
-
- A. We had one reported instance of this problem, and encountered it ourselves
- once. We overcame the problem by adding a single "dummy" line of program
- code. Our conclusion is that the problem is related to the Visual Basic
- compiler and your particular system configuration. If you should
- encounter it, please let us know and we will attempt to customize you a
- version with a similar dummy change to it to see if that overcomes the
- problem for you.
-
-
- Q. Why do I get "subscript out of bounds" error messages and/or see Rummy 500
- start to behave erratically?
-
- A. Rummy 500 is designed to respond to single mouse-clicks, not double-clicks.
- In versions prior to v4.3, it was possible to trip Rummy 500 if it reacted
- to the second click before it had finished processing the first click. In
- versions 4.3 and later, Rummy 500 traps and ignores extra clicks when it
- is busy.
-
-
- Q. I have my graphics driver set to "Large Fonts". Why are some of the fonts
- displayed smaller?
-
- A. Some graphics drivers handle "Large Fonts" by increasing the size of fonts
- that Windows displays in title bars and menus, for example. For these
- drivers, Rummy 500 automatically abbreviates some of the menu names (to
- avoid wrap-around onto a second menu line) and adjusts the position of the
- status bar to compensate for the title bar and menu line being taller to
- accomodate the larger fonts. Otherwise, everything appears as it does for
- the normal "Small Fonts" setting. It is likely that you won't even notice
- these adjustments.
-
- However, other cards, such as the Diamond Stealth, alter the Twips
- parameter of the display in order to display everything larger - not just
- the fonts. Versions 3.3 and later of Rummy 500 compensates for this by
- shrinking some of the font sizes on those windows which display card
- images, particularly the main playing window. While this "makes
- everything fit" the result is not as attractive as when "Small Fonts" is
- the enabled graphics display mode. It is our opinion that the "Large
- Fonts" setting on graphics cards which behave in this manner is counter
- productive, since "Small Fonts" at the next lower screen resolution
- provides a more attractive working environment, with less disruption, for
- many applications.
-
-
- Q. Why do I have to reset my sound and color preferences each time I play?
-
- A. You don't. After you have made the changes, "Save Configuration".
-
-
- Q. How do I permanently change the default colors or card designs?
-
- A. Set up the screen as you want the defaults to be. Then select the "Save
- Configuration" choice from the "Configuration" menu. Consult the help
- file for more information.
-
-
- Q. Does Rummy 500 cheat by peeking at the player's cards?
-
- A. No! However, at the higher skill levels, Rummy 500 will remember what you
- have picked up from the discard pile, and will also make probability
- estimates of which unseen cards might be in your hand versus the stock.
-
-
- Q. Why didn't you respond to the suggestions for enhancement I made?
-
- A. Our first priority is to provide a quality game at the lowest possible
- price and this prevents us from entering into much personal correspondence.
- Most suggestions are incorporated into the next version of Rummy 500. This
- is our way of responding positively to your suggestions.
-
-
- Q. I am a shareware distributor. How do I obtain permision to distribute
- Rummy 500 to my customers?
-
- A. As noted in the readme.txt file, permission is automatically granted
- provided you distribute only the files noted therein. Include VBRUN300.DLL
- if your customers might not otherwise have it on their systems.
-
-
- Q. I am a software developer. Are you able to share any of the Rummy 500
- program code?
-
- A. No. All Rummy 500 code is proprietary, except for the third-party
- components which are described in the help file (in the section called "For
- The Technically Curious").
-
-
- Q. Does MeggieSoft Games market any other games?
-
- A. Rummy 500 was our first offering, released in August 1994. We released our
- second product, Gin Rummy, in February 1995. See the help file for more
- details.
-
-