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Text File | 1996-09-09 | 15.9 KB | 399 lines

BIG MATH ATTACK! DESCRIPTION: BIG MATH ATTACK! tests your math, spelling, typing and metric conversions skills in a fun arcade environment. Several skill levels are available that makes this program suitable for both children and adults. Top scores are recorded to track one's progress. The objective of the game is to protect your city from falling meteorites. The only defense that you have is to launch missiles at the descending meteorites before it is too late. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: DOS Version: 3.0 or greater Video: EGA, VGA or greater Hard disk: Optional (this program can run straight from a floppy diskette albeit the performance will be slower). Although this is a DOS program, it will run under Microsoft's Windows 3.x and Windows 95 operating systems. You can use the SETUP.EXE utility to create a program icon on your desktop. If for some rare reason Big Math Attack will not run under Windows then exit Windows completely and run Big Math Attack from a DOS prompt instead. GETTING STARTED: Insert the BIG MATH ATTACK! diskette into a drive. Set your working drive to the same drive at which the diskette is located. Then to load the program simply type: BIGMATH then press [ENTER]. The program will load automatically. You will first be greeted with a title screen. After this, enter the name of the player (maximum 13 characters long). PLAY OPTIONS: You can configure the program to suit your preferences by using the "OPTIONS" sub-menu. From the "OPTIONS" sub-menu you will can toggle the following options: FREEZE ON/OFF: Toggle on or off whether the meteorites descend out of the sky or just pop-up on the screen and remain motionless (frozen). SPEED ON/OFF: Toggles the rate of descent of the falling meteorites. If SPEED is ON, you will notice that the meteorites begin to fall at a faster and faster rate the longer you play. SOUND ON/OFF: Toggle the exploding noises on or off. X+Y= ON/OFF: This toggle determines whether the mathematic problems that are presented appear in "X+Y=" format (side by side), or as "X over Y". Your "OPTIONS" selections will be saved to disk in a BIGMATH.CFG configuration file, and will be used next time you start the program. Although the user can modify some of the playing options within the program, there are a few options that must be activated from the command line when starting the program. The following are how to use these options... ERROR TRACKING FILE: If you wish to keep track of the errors (incorrect answers) of the user, then start the program -> BIGMATH ERR=ON What this will do is create an error tracking file. At the close of the program, an .ERR file will be written to disk. In this ".ERR" file you will find all the incorrect responses the user entered, and the questions that were presented. This is a good way to review what questions gave the user the most difficulty. The error file will be named after the player's name and will have the extension ".ERR". RIGHT TO LEFT INPUT: When the "X+Y=" toggle is OFF, all mathemathic problems will descend as: 386 +288 If you have ever balanced your checkbook, or subtracted or added two large numbers, you have more than likely started from the right column and added each column of numbers progressing towards the left. If this is the way that you wish for the answer to be input by the user (right to left) then you must start the program: BIGMATH R2L When the above parameter is used, it will take affect ONLY if the "X+Y=" option is OFF and an addition or subtraction problem appears. During multiplication/division exercises, the right to left input is always ignored. SLOW IT DOWN!: Since Big Math Attack! can be used and enjoyed by both children and adults alike, the "fall rate" of the meteorites may need to be changed to suit the user. To decrease the rate at which the letters and numbers fall, use one of the following command line parameters when you begin the program. BIGMATH SLOWER BIGMATH SLOWEST BIGMATH SLOWX=n The first two examples above will slow down the rate at which the meteorites fall from the sky. If using the "SLOWER" and "SLOWEST" commands are too slow or not slow enough, you can use the last example to fine tune the rate even more. "SLOWX=n" can be used where "n" is replaced with a number between 1.01 and 10 - the higher the number, the slower the rate of descent. As a guide to the numbering system, "SLOWER" is equivalent to "SLOWX=2" and "SLOWEST" is equivalent to "SLOWX=4". Another command line parameter that can be used is to force a particular name by using the NAME= parameter at the DOS prompt. For instance, starting the program at the DOS prompt with this C:>BIGMATH NAME=FRANKLIN will bypass the "Enter your name" prompt, and will use "Franklin" as the player's name. For teachers and parents who wish to restrict your children from accessing the "Options" selection from the Main Menu, you can accomplish this by starting the program from the DOS prompt in the following manner: BIGMATH NOOPTS press [ENTER] If you would like to restrict the type of problems and skill level to just one type and level, you can do this at the DOS command line. For instance, if you want to have your children work with subtraction problems at skill level 4, then start the program: BIGMATH SUBTRACT SKILL=4 press [ENTER]. Other variations on this would be: BIGMATH ADD SKILL=x For addition BIGMATH PLUS SKILL=x For addition BIGMATH MINUS SKILL=x For subtraction BIGMATH DIVIDE SKILL=x For division BIGMATH MULTIPLY SKILL=x For multiplication BIGMATH MATH SKILL=x For all the above BIGMATH ADD&SUBTRACT SKILL=x For mixed addition & subtraction ...where "x" in SKILL=x is replaced with the skill level (valid range: 0-9) You may also start the program for spelling and typing exercises in the same manner: BIGMATH SPELL SKILL=x For spelling words BIGMATH TYPE SKILL=x For typing drills Another command line option is the use of "BRACKET" which displays a division bracket in all division problems. For example, start the program from DOS: BIGMATH BRACKET NETWORK CONSIDERATIONS: Big Math Attack! will run on a network under the proper conditions: 1) The current user must have DELETE and WRITE privileges to the drive/directory where Big Math Attack! was installed. 2) The current drive and current directory must be changed to the drive/directory where Big Math Attack! was installed. If you do not wish to give your users DELETE privileges, then start the program with the /NODEL command line parameter. This will allow you to bypass certain functions of the program that require temporary files (which are later deleted). The only drawback to the /NODEL option is that you will risk losing students' scores/updates to the score chart (see below). SCORE CHART: The ten top scores for each category are recorded and saved to disk after each round of play. If your score did not make it to the "top 10", then the scoreboard will not display. If you did indeed record a score worthy of honor, the scoreboard will display your score and save it to disk. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE-PROTECT your disk (if using a floppy), for the program needs access to write the "top 10" scores to the disk. If you receive the BIG MATH ATTACK! disk and find that the names in the scoreboard are those who you do not know, and do not want to know, you can wipe the scoreboard clean by deleting the scoreboard file from the DOS prompt. Delete the file "BIGMATH.SCR" and next time you use the program, you will no longer see names that are unfamiliar to you. Since I have no control over who uses this program before you received it, silly or uncommon names, or very high unbeatable scores may be in the scoreboard that you wish to eliminate. Just type "DEL BIGMATH.SCR" (without quotes) at the DOS prompt and you will have a new clean scoreboard the next time you use the program. SPELLING LISTS: For parents who would like to add, delete, or modify the existing spelling lists, Big Math Attack! allows the user to make these modifications from the "Options" selection from the "Main Menu". Once "Options" has been selected, select "Modify spell list". Then select a skill level corresponding to the spelling list you wish to modify (0-9). You will then be given the opportunity to review all the current spelling words and phrases. Use the cursor control keys (arrow keys) to move the cursor to the appropriate line you wish to modify. You can enter up to a maximum of 512 spelling words/phrases in each skill level spelling list. Use the PG UP and PG DN keys to move from one page to another. Don't worry about maintaining an alphabetical order in the list, for the program will alphabetize the list when you are finished automatically. You must maintain the same structure of the word as you see in the word list. An example... SPELLIN_ WORD,G ...where 1) an underscore character (shifted dash) represents the missing letter or letters; 2) a comma separates the spelling word from the missing letter(s); 3) followed by the actual missing letter(s). The program will check for any errors and violations to these 3 requirements before the new word list is saved to disk as a safety precaution and prompt you to fix your mistakes. Also for parents and teachers...if you want to keep your kids from accessing your spelling lists from within the program, add the command line parameter "READONLY" when start the program. For example, at the DOS prompt type: BIGMATH READONLY then press [ENTER]. This will prohibit access to the Options|Modify Spelling List selection. DISCLAIMER: We shall not assume any direct or indirect responsibility for losses incurred from the use of BIG MATH ATTACK!. This program is offered "as-is" with no guarantees attached. Unless the user obtained this copy of BIG MATH ATTACK! from the author direct, we will not be responsible for the performance of this program. Considering the methods by which shareware/public domain software is distributed, any number of things can happen to the integrity of the program or files on this disk. If your copy of BIG MATH ATTACK! does not work and you obtained it from a source other than the author, we are not obligated to provide you with a working copy. Contact the source where you obtained this disk, or submit the registration form to us for a fully working copy. DISTRIBUTION GUIDELINES: BIG MATH ATTACK! is copyrighted shareware software. It is NOT public domain. If you find this program useful, you are obligated to register your copy with the program author. If you do not find this program useful, then pass this disk on to a friend. INDIVIDUAL users are permitted to make copies of this disk and pass them on ONLY IF ALL of the following conditions are met: 1) No changes or deletions are to be made to BIG MATH ATTACK! - this includes ALL related files on this disk. 2) No one may sell BIG MATH ATTACK! Shareware/public domain vendors can only distribute this program under the following condition. We simply want to make sure that you distribute the latest version: 1) Written permission must be received by the program author BEFORE public distribution of this program IF the date/time stamp on the BIGMATH.EXE file is more than 2 years old. 2) No more than $6.00 can be asked for an evaluation copy of this program. BBS's and CD-ROM publishers are permitted to distribute this program as long as the date/time stamp on the BIGMATH.EXE file is less than 2 years old. AUTHOR: Philip P. Kapusta 406 Monroe Avenue Falmouth, Va. 22405 U.S.A. EMAIL: 74170.3550@compuserve.com shareware@aol.com PHONE: (540) 371-5746 BY THE WAY... Oh, about the title "BIG MATH ATTACK!"... Why did we give it this title when the program includes SPELLING and TYPING drills? Well, if you can think of a better title for the program, let us hear your suggestions. Sorry, but "SPACE INVADERS" has already been used! :) OTHER PROGRAMS: If you like Big Math Attack! you may be interested in trying some of the author's other programs. Most of our programs are family, educational, or Bible related. For shareware evaluation copies, you can obtain the latest versions from: The Internet - World Wide Web http://members.aol.com/shareware/ The Mustard Seed BBS Falmouth, VA 1200-14.4k N-8-1 BBS phone number: 540-372-9680 If you do not own a modem, or you wish to avoid long distance phone charges, a printed catalog of our software is available by submitting 5 first class U.S.A. postage stamps to the author along with a note of interest. For those of you living outside the U.S.A., include 5 international postal coupons instead of U.S. postage stamps (ask your postmaster for coupon details). BIG MATH ATTACK! REGISTRATION Big Math Attack! is distributed under the shareware concept. This means that the user is obligated to support the author if they find this program useful. Upon registration you will receive a personalized copy of the latest version of the program. Software will be shipped on a 3.5" high density diskette unless you specify otherwise. 5.25" floppy disks will incur a $2.00 surcharge. Please print your name and address below VERY CLEARLY! Individual's complete name _______________________________________________ Mailing address __________________________________________________________ City ____________________________ State __________ Zip Code ____________ Country ________________________ Phone __________________________________ Make U.S. funds payable to: Philip P. Kapusta 406 Monroe Avenue Falmouth, Va. 22405 U.S.A. BIG MATH ATTACK! REGISTRATION COSTS: Yes, send me Big Math Attack! Registration for use on one PC computer: $ 9.95 Virginia residents, add 4.5% sales tax $______ Overseas/foreign addresses air mail: $ 2.00 $______ Total enclosed: $______ ** * Prices are valid through December 31, 1998. Contact author with a self-addressed stamped envelope after this date for the latest prices. ** For registrants in Canada, U.K., Australia or Europe, payment can be made by International money order payable in U.S.A. dollars, or you can pay by mailing CASH (your native currency). If mailing cash, wrap well for the author will not be held responsible for lost mail. No coins!