Royal Flush is a pinball simulation game, that very accurately mimics the classic "Royal Flush" machine (Gottlieb, 1976).
System requirements
- Macintosh (or compatible) with 25 MHz 68020 processor (PowerPC recommended)
- 3600 K available internal memory
- About 3.5 Mb free disk space
- Monitor size 640 x 400 pixels (832 x 624 or more recommended)
- Monitor capable of displaying 256 colors (or shades of gray)
- System 6.0.7 or higher (system 7.x or higher recommended)
- External speakers recommended
Note that if the available internal memory is less than the required 3600K, but not less than 2800K, the game will run, but sound effects will be disabled.
How to install
Copy the Royal Flush program to any location on any disk. That's it. Double-click the program to start playing.
Features
- Accurate simulation of the classic Royal Flush machine, including sound effects
- Customize settings like incline, tilt sensitivity, flipper power and more
- 3-ball or 5-ball play
- Top ten list of high scores
- Custom settings can be saved in a file and restored later on (along with the top ten list)
- Top ten can be saved as a printable text document
- Magnet mode allows to draw the ball around and explore the game
- Nudging vertical or 45° sideways
- Game play with either keyboard or mouse
- Custom settings for keyboard control
- Demo mode
Some instructions for use
This is not a complete manual, but here are a few hints for using the game:
After starting the game the Macintosh menu bar disappears. It will reappear automatically when the mouse cursor is moved towards the upper part of the screen (where the menu bar normally is shown). This is not true when a game is in progress however: in that case the game must first be paused by pressing the "esc" key.
All game options are available from the so called "Pinball Café" as well as from the menu bar. Most menu commands have keyboard shortcuts as well.
The game can be played with the keyboard as well as the mouse. On many Apple keyboards the shift, control and option keys on the left side of the keyboard can be distinguished (by the software) from the ones at the right side of the keyboard. When you first start Royal Flush, the program finds out whether your keyboard supports this feature or not. If it does, this is the default key assignment used:
Left flipper Left shift-key
Right flipper Right shift-key
Plunger Down arrow
Nudge from the left Left alt-key
Nudge middle Space bar
Nudge from the right Right alt-key
If you own a keyboard where the left and right side modifier keys can not be distinguished, the keyboard is set up as follows:
Left flipper x
Right flipper . (dot)
Plunger shift-key
Nudge from the left z
Nudge middle Space bar
Nudge from the right /
In the Options menu you'll find the "Setup Game Controls" command, which allows you to reassign these functions to other keys.
The game can be played with the mouse as well. At the start of a game pressing the mouse button, moving back the mouse and releasing the button launches the ball. During game play moving the mouse nudges the play field. Pressing the button operates the right flipper. Using the "Setup Game Controls" dialog this behavior can be modified to operate either flipper or both flippers with the mouse button. If you operate only one flipper with the mouse, you must use the keyboard to operate the other flipper.
More than one player can play at a time. To accomplish this, press "-G" before launching the first ball of the game. Every -G adds one player. The maximum number of players is 4. Hint: instead of a "human" player you can add a "computer" player by pressing "-D" at this point.
A top ten list of high scores is kept wih the current machine settings. If you change anything, for example go from 3-ball to 5-ball play, the top ten list is reset. You can however save the high scores, along with the machine settings, in a file using the "Save Settings As" command. The "Open Settings" command can then later on be used to restore the settings and the high scores. A settings file only stores the pinball configuration and the top ten list, not the keyboard and mouse configurations. By the way, if you open a settings file first, and then obtain a high score, the score is automatically saved to that file. In that case the Top Ten board shows the name of the settings file.
The game has a "magnet" mode, which allows you to draw the ball around with a powerful magnet and explore the game. To activate this feature, click on the magnet next to the machine in the café, or choose "Magnet Game" from the "Game" pull down menu. Then insert a coin and start the game (Command-G, or "Start Game" from the "Game menu). During a magnet game, you can press the mouse button while the ball is in the play field. A magnet appears that allows to draw the ball around. Magnet mode is automatically reset after the magnet game is over. High scores obtained in a magnet game are not registered!
An excellent strategy guide for the game can be found on the web at http://www.pcpinball.com/rulesheets/rf1/rfabg.html
Known bugs and incompatibilities
- IF Royal Flush crashes (which is very rare indeed) NEVER end the program with Alt-Command-Esc. If you do, the program WILL terminate, but the system is bound to crash sooner or later. Instead reboot the computer with Control-Command-Power key.
If you notice any problem or weird behavior in Royal Flush, I would appreciate if you let me know by E-mail (gp@xs4all.nl). Please describe your problem as accurate as possible, to give me the opportunity to solve it. I don't have the resources to test Royal Flush on every type of Macintosh, so in order to maintain the quality of the product, I depend on this kind of feedback. Of course, if you don't encounter any problems, and think the product is great, you are also welcome to let me know ;-)
Solved bugs in version 1.2.1
Version 1.2.1 is a maintenance release; no new features have been added. The following bugs have been solved:
- On the iMac computer, keyboard and mouse input appeared to be disabled after playing one game. This was caused by the different bus architecture (USB versus ADB). The incompatible code has been rewritten. As a side effect, nudging the machine with the mouse now has a greater effect than it had before. So beware of "Tilt" when you were used to play the game with the mouse in previous versions!
- Users of the Kensington Trackball and Kensington Thinking Mouse have reported some annoying incompatibilities. These problems have been solved.
- Under some circumstances the control bar was not hidden correctly. This has been fixed.
- When a free game was awarded as the result of getting a "special" or a matching end digit, an "insert coin" sound was played. This is not like the real machine, so this sound has been removed. Now only the characteristic "knock" sound is heard.
Solved bugs and new features in version 1.1
Version 1.1 is mainly a maintenance release, adding just a few minor features.
The following bugs have been solved:
- On a Powerbook G3 it was impossible to enter your name after obtaining a high score. This type of keyboard is now fully supported by Royal Flush.
- Sometimes" the ball appeared to have an enormous weight, and the plunger had not enough power to even launch the ball into the game. This does not happen anymore.
- The "control strip" it is now correctly shown and hidden, along with showing and hiding the menu bar.
- It has been reported that on some Macintosh models the program ran out of memory. This has been solved by increasing the memory requirements from 3300K to 3600K, which appears to cover the worst case on any model.
- Under rare circumstances the "Quit" command was grayed out. This has been solved: the Quit command now is always available.
Two minor features have been added:
- The Tournament High Scores screen now supports copying of the high score and magic code to the clipboard. Use this to more easily fill out the tournament entry form on my home page.
- The user is no longer asked for confirmation when switching the screen to 256 color mode. The switch now occurs automatically. Switching to another program or quitting Royal Flush restores the screen to its original color mode.
Why is this high-quality product free?
It would take too long to explain, I'm afraid. If you really want to know, please read about it on http://www.pcpinball.com/history/mac.html
