Computerworld 1996 March/Computerworld_1996-03_cd.bin/idg_cd3/hry/rummy500/rummy5.exe/READ500.TXT

Text File | 1995-07-08 | 14.4 KB | 279 lines

RUMMY 500 (Version 4.3) - READ500.TXT
=====================================

Rummy 500 is an exciting member of the Rummy family of card games.  Its
main differentiating feature is that you can pick up any number of discards
if you can lay down some of them immediately.  Rummy 500 is believed to be
the first shareware Rummy game available for Microsoft Windows.

You play against the computer, which can be set to use a number of different
skill levels.  At expert and champion level, the computer is hard to beat and
provides a very challenging game.

Customizable features include:
    Colors
        Sound effects
    Card backs
    Screen resolution (600x480 or 800x600)
    AutoMouse (moves mouse pointer automatically between deck and hand)
    Opponent skill level
        Rule variations

The only installation requirements are that RUMMY500.EXE, RUMCARDS.BMP, and
RUMMY500..HLP, and the wav files reside in the same directory; and that
VBRUN300.DLL and VBCTL3D.VBX are present in your path (typically in the
windows\system directory).  VBRUN300.DLL should be downloaded separately if
you don't already have it on your system.

****************************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTE:  If you already have Rummy 500 on your system and it is
earlier than version 4.2, you must replace the old VBCTL3D.VBX with the
new version included with this distribution.  Failure to do so will result
in an "Invalid File Format" message when trying to run Rummy 500.  If you
have replaced the old version but still receive this message, there is
another copy of the VBCTL3D.VBX file on your hard disk -- which must be
deleted.  If you are installing a shareware distribution copy, the best
practice is to move (not copy) VBCTL3D.VBX to the /windows/system directory
as you install Rummy 500.
****************************************************************************

To use the sound effects, you must either have a sound card installed in your
system, or have the speak.exe driver installed to use your system's regular
speaker.  Speak.exe is a freely distributed product from Microsoft, and is
available on most online services and bulletin board systems.  Rummy 500 is
distributed with a few sound files, others may be obtained from libraries on
most online services and bulletin board systems.  To enable sound effects,
you must check the "Enable Sounds" box from the "Sounds..." option under the
"Configuration" menu.  Remember to "Save Configuration" to make the setting
permanent.

Rummy 500 is shareware, and is fully functional.  You may evaluate this
program for a period of 21 days after which you must register it or remove it
from your system.  To not comply with this condition is a violation of United
States and international copyright law.

To register Rummy 500, please use the printable order form under the "Help"
menu of Rummy 500.  If you are unable to, or chose not to, print the order
form, please make sure that you:
1. Specify that you are registering Rummy 500 (using the memo area on your
   check is acceptable)
2. Include sales tax if you are a Massachusetts resident
3. Enclose a check for the correct amount, in U.S. funds, payable to Carol
   Bufton

You will receive your registration code by mail.  The registration code is
encoded from your name, so be sure to provide your name exactly as you wish
to be registered.

If you require a diskette (3╜" only), add $3 making the total cost $15.  The
diskette version may contain a later version of Rummy 500 if improvements
have been made since the release of your evaluation copy.  Because we cannot
track which versions are currently available at what locations, it is very
possible that Rummy 500 will have been updated since your evaluation copy
unless you downloaded a recent version from CompuServe or America Online.

Please allow 28 days for your registration to arrive, although every effort
will be made to mail your registration within 5 days.  Your registration
code licenses you to use the version of Rummy 500 that you are currently
evaluating, irrespective of which is the latest version currently available
on America Online, CompuServe, or registered diskette.  Your registration
may also be valid with future versions as they become available.

You may not share your registration code with others.  Your registration
permits you and other users to use Rummy 500 on any single-user computer
system. You may also use Rummy 500 on any other computer system of which you
are the primary user, such as a laptop.

You may distribute Rummy 500 to others provided that you derive no revenue
other than that associated with the act of distribution, and provided that
you distribute the following, and only the following, files intact:

        READ500.TXT  - This file
    RUMMY500.EXE - The program
        RUMMY500.HLP - The help file
        FAQ500.TXT   - The "frequently asked questions" file
    RUMCARDS.BMP - The card images
    VBRUN300.DLL - The Visual Basic Runtime
        VBCTL3D.VBX  - The Visual Basic 3D Effects extension

To use Rummy 500 you need Microsoft Windows 3.1 and a mouse (with at least
two buttons).  An Intel 386 class system with 4 megabytes of RAM is
recommended as a minimum.  Rummy 500 has not been evaluated on less capable
systems, but should present no problems other than responsiveness and speed.

You are recommended to take advantage of the comprehensive help file
information in order to learn how to play Rummy 500.  Perhaps the best
first step to learning Rummy 500 is to use the "Player | AutoPlay"
option and watch the computer play against itself.  Enjoy!


Revision History
----------------

Version 1.x  - Development versions.

Version 2.0  - First Shareware release.  Fully functional.

Version 2.1  - Scoreboards.
        2.11 - Minor improvements.

Version 2.2  - Player can freely select the last discard.

Version 2.3  - Startup window.

Version 3.0  - 3D-style user interface.
             - Multiple player scoreboards .
             - AutoResume.
             - Sound effects.
        3.01 - Maintenance release
        3.02 - Maintenance release

Version 3.5  - Conforms to "Hoyle's Rules Of Games".
             - Suggest.
             - Undo.
             - Hall Of Fame.
             - League Table.
             - Displays of total games won.
             - Swap Cards.
             - AutoPlayer.
             - Quick Display.
             - Animate Display (removed in version 3.9).
             - Updated Help.

        3.51 - Revised discard algorithms.

Version 3.6  - Changed method of taking discards.
             - Undo

Version 3.7  - Sort by Suit
             - Show Remaining

        3.81 - Overlap Melds
             - Display Turn Count
         - "Master" skill level

Version 3.9  - Updated user interface
             - Stagger Player Hand
             - Cut For Deal
             - Reset Scoreboard
             - Restart Round

        3.91 - Maintenance release

Version 4.0  - Custom card backs
             - "Trim Corners"
             - "AutoMouse - Dialogs"

        4.01 - Maintenance release

        4.02 - Maintenance release

Version 4.2  - Fixed problem of "Sort Ace Low" option not being correctly
               saved when enabled.  Also, setting/unsetting "Ace Must Be
               Low" rule option automatically sets/unsets the "Sort Ace
               Low" which must be reset independently if required.
             - Fixed problem when "Master" opponent sometimes failed to meld
               leftmost discard taken.
             - Expanded "Hint" now lists a complete sequence of moves from
               taking a card (if not yet taken) through discarding.
             - Added double-click "safety catch" alternative for discarding.
               When active, a single right-click has no effect and two
               successive single right-clicks on the same card will generate
               a reminder to double-click.
             - Added "Check Meldable Discard" configuration option.
               When selected, you will be asked for confirmation before
               discarding a card which is meldable.
             - Added "Color Opponent Melds" option to the opponent menu.
               When selected, either as "always" or "at end of round" the
               cards which the opponent has melded are displayed with a tint
               (default of pale yellow).  This has a slight display
               performance impact that might be noticeable on slower systems.
             - Added "speed button" to switch between tinted and untinted
               display of the cards melded by the opponent.
             - Added option to the "Configuration | Color" menu to permit
               custom definition of the color of the opponent meld tint.
             - Added compensation to the user interface when system graphics
               are set to display "large fonts".  In this case, the menu
               names are shortened to avoid menu bar wrapping, the window
               height is extended a little, and AutoMouse(Dialogs) adjusts
               appropriately.
             - Added compensation to overcome reported problem of Windows '95
               not processing empty files the same as Windows 3.1 does
             - Added detection to ignore double-click where it could cause
               "subscript out of range" problems when used instead of a
               single mouse click.
             - Moved player-related options from the "Configuration" menu to
               the "Player" menu.  Moved "AutoPlay" to the "Assistant" menu.
             - Removed the ability to save options for player or as default.
               Options are now always saved under the current player name.
               To change the local default options, change to player
               "Default" first.
             - Added "AutoSave" option to the "Configuration" menu.  When
               selected the "Save ..." option in the the "Configuration",
               "Player", "Opponent" and "Rules" menus are removed and all
               option changes made within these menus are always saved
               immediately.
             - Added "AutoStart" option to the "Configuration" menu.  By
               default Rummy 500 will now pause and display a large "Start"
               button when starting and when having changed players.  This
               enables menu option changes to be made before starting.
               Selecting "AutoStart" overrides this behavior, causing Rummy
               500 to start immediately - as it did in previous versions.
             - 3D Effects options are now replaced by a "No 3D Effects"
               configuration option.  The effects are now enabled/disabled
               immediately.  Previous users must replace VBCTL3D.VBX (in the
               windows directory) with the new version provided.
             - When the opponent takes a new card from the stock, the card
               back will now be briefly highlighted as confirmation. (This
               is suppressable via a new "Opponent menu" option.)
             - "Champion" and "Master" opponents now cease to hold off melding
               if they are close to potentially winning a game.

Version 4.3  - Fixed problem whereby "Sort Ace Low" option did not correctly
               remember which of the player's cards are currently hilited.
             - Fixed problem whereby undiscardable card taken from the discard
               pile for melding was not correctly tracked when hand was
               resorted.
             - Overcame occasional problem with "rumcards.bmp not found" by
               forcing to directory where Rummy 500 is located instead of
               current directory.
             - Improved detection of trapping and ignoring a second click in
               rapid succession when in process of processing the first click.
               This overcomes stability problems which could occur when
               melding.
             - Improved Large Fonts resolution support for display cards which
               change the screen's Twips/Pixel ratio (e.g., Diamond Stealth).
               Unfortunately, the font size of the main screen displays will
               be reduced to compensate.  The alternative is not to use "Large
               Fonts" for such graphics cards.  This adjustment does not affect
               graphics cards whose "Large Fonts" setting does not change the
               Twips/Pixel ratio of of the display.
             - Reduced resource stack requirements by approximately 16%
               (equals approximately 3% of overall Windows stack).
             - Added ability to manually arrange cards in player's hand by
               dragging and dropping a card to the left or right.  If dragged
               to the left, the card will be inserted before the place where
               dropped; if to the right, after the place where dropped.
             - Added "No Sorting" option under Player menu.  This inhibits
               Rummy 500 from sorting the player's hand.  When selected, the
               sort options and the sortation "speed button" in the status bar
               are disabled.  Right-click on the sortation "speed button" as a
               shortcut to enabling/disabling this option (without autosaving).
             - Buttons in the status bar now colored and depress when clicked.
             - Assist! window now has "OK" button to dismiss it.
             - Added ability to display descriptions of melded cards.
               Right-click (keeping button down) on a melded card to see its
               description in the status message box.  Keep the right button
               down and move over the melds to see other card descriptions.
               Release button to continue play.  This feature has been added
               to make it easier to determine the cards in melds when the meld
               area is crowded.
             - Added "No Bell" option under "Configuration" menu to suppress
               the bell sounding when under Rummy 500's control.
             - Added "Display Error Box" option under "Configuration" menu to
               display error messages in a dialog box instead of on the status
               bar where they may be harder to read at some resolutions.


⌐ MeggieSoft Games 1994, 1995.  All Rights Reserved.