Copyright: Copyright 1998 SeaSide Studios


Contents
Net Fortune  is a word guessing game based on hangman.  The game can accommodate up to 4 players and comes with an extensible phrase database of over 700 phrases.  Players can play a regular game or play online against friends all over the world.

Contents:

Playing the game 	Registration

On Line Play 	Troubleshooting

Phrase Database	Disclaimer

Credits 	Options


Options

Menu items:

Sound

This toggles sound on and off.

Clockwise

Use this option to change the direction of the wheel to either clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Time

Toggle time between 15, 20 and 30 seconds

Player Profile...

This option brings up the window shown below and contains setting for network play.

Your Name

Type in your full name here

Nick Name

This is the name that your on-line opponents will see.  It will be the name that appears under your characters portrait

Show Messages

Check this box if you would like to view game messages in a list when playing on-line.  This good for when a player guesses incorrectly and you want to see what they guessed, as well as for reviewing messages that other players have sent.

# Rounds

This parameter specifies how many rounds the on-line game will include.

Note: this is controlled by the player who starts a NEW SESSION not by those who join.

Player Portrait

The way your player will look to your opponents.

Network Timeout

This value specifies the number of milliseconds Netfortune will look for online games and players when establishing a connection.   You should set this at 3000 or greater for internet games.  Local LAN games can use a lower number because the distance between players is less.

Get my IP...

This function will get your internet IP address and will copy it to the clipboard for pasting later.  This is useful for dial up accounts where IP's are dynamic.  Use this option when you want to play on-line over the internet.  A simple way to let your fellow players know what your IP is is to either e-mail them with your IP or by send it to them using ICQ.  Note this is only necessary if start a NEW SESSION.


Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting:

If the program will not load, it is typically one of the following problems:

1)	You do not have microsoft directx installed on your machine

2)	You do not have a soundcard

3)	You have both a sound card and directx but you are playing music through your 	soundcard

If you have problems with connecting to remote players and get "no session running to this provider" message, you most likely need to change the network timeout option in the Options -> Player Profile.. menu item to a higher value.

If you have any other problems, please write me:

lsafrany@uvic.ca


Credits

Author, Graphics, Code:	Laszlo Safranyik

Beta Testing:	 	Damon Mak(dmak@uvic.ca)

Jason Klinke (jklinke@uvic.ca)

Phrase input:	 	Damon Mak, Laszlo Safranyik

DirectX support:  	This program uses the Delphi Games Creator DirectX

library written by John Pullen, Paul Bearne and Jeff Kurtz


Registration
Registration:

Shareware:

This game is shareware and you may use the program for a 30 day trial period.  After this trial period has expired you may either register the program or remove it from your hard disk.

Why Register?

By registering you will be able to add, insert, delete and edit the phrases in the phrase database,  receive additional phrases and categories and be able to play the game for longer than 30 days.  In addition, as a registered user, you get free upgrades for this product as soon as they are available and will be updated on my future projects.

How to Regsiter:

Registering by credit card is $18.00 (US) and $15.00(US) by mail.  Credit card purchases cost 3 dollars more to cover processing.  There are 3 ways to register Netfortune, Online, 1-800 number or by mail:

Online:

To register NetFortune online, simply go to HTTP://www.islandnet.com/~specter and go to the registration section. Select Netfortune from the dropdown list and hit register, this will take to a secure site where you can enter your credit card information.  Once I have received confirmation, I will send you registration instructions and your copy of NetFortune will be registered.

1-800 number:

To register NetFortune by 1-800, have your credit card ready and call 1 800 427 2770 and when prompted, ask for extension 127b.  Once I have received confirmation, I will send you registration instructions and your copy of NetFortune will be registered.

Mail:

To register Netfortune by mail, please send a check for $15.00(US)  along with your e-mail address to:

Laszlo Safranyik

141 Durrance Rd,

Victoria, BC, Canada

V8X 4M6

I welcome your questions comments and suggestions regarding this game. Please send them to:

lsafrany@uvic.ca


Disclaimer

The author of NetFortune! accepts no responsibility for damages resulting from the use of NetFortune! and makes no warranty or representation, either express or implied, including but not

limited to, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.  NetFortune! is provided "as is", and you, its user, assume all risks when using it.


Playing the Game

Regular Play:

Net Fortune! is broken up into four regular rounds and a bonus round for the winner of the earlier rounds.  At the beginning of a round a phrase is selected from the word database and is displayed without letters in the phrase grid  (on the top right of the screen).  Along with the phrase is the topic heading which the phrase belongs to which is displayed on the top of the phrase grid in yellow text.

Phrase categories are customizable ( upon registration ).  The following categories are included in the shareware trial version:

After the topic and phrase have been displayed it is time to commence the game (round).  Each player start the game with 0 dollars.  To obtain money one must spin the wheel and have it land on a non BROKE (or ??? when it equals lose a turn or bankrupt) position and then guess a letter which is in the phrase.  If the letter is in the phrase the player gets the value of the wheel position times the number of letters that are revealed.  For instance: if the wheel stopped at the $100 dollar space on the wheel and the player guesses an S and 4 S's are revealed, then that player gets 4X$100 or $400 dollars.  If there were no S's in the phrase that player would lose a turn.

The values associated with the wheel position are straight forward except for the four question mark spaces -- the two black ??? spaces and the two white ??? spaces.

Play continues until someone wins the round by either guessing the correct phrase or filling in all the

empty letter positions of the phrase.

When a player correctly guesses the phrase thier current score in the round score box is added to there total and the person with the highest total score is eligible to go on to the bonus round.

Buttons:

Spin!:

The player spins the wheel and gets to guess a letter (if the wheel does not stop at the black ??? or white ???).Only the letters that are not dimmed (that are not gray) are available to select.

$ Vowel:

Vowels cost $1000 dollars and therefore this option is only available to players who have a round score = or greater than 1000.  All consonants are dimmed and available vowels aredisplayed.  Only the letters that are not dimmed (that are not gray) are available to select.

Vowels that are available for selection show up dimmed, but have a yellow border around them signifying that they are still in play.

Solve!:

 An edit box will appear beneath the phrase grid and the player has to type in the phrase and then hit the accept button.


On-Line Play
On-Line Play:

•	From the file menu select New -> On line Game -> and then either New Session or Join Session.

·

•	If you plan to play through your dial-up or other internet connection, it is a good idea to choose Get My IP from the Options Menu to obtain your IP address.  By selecting this option, your IP address will be copied to the clipboard for pasting later.

•	A window will pop up displaying a list of various connection options:

TCP/IP For Direct Play

Choose this option if you are connected to the internet.

IPX For Direct Play

Choose this method if you are playing against oponents connected to a LAN (ethernet ETC.)

Modem For Direct Play

Select this method if you are going to use your modem to connect to your opponent

Serial Connection For Direct Play·

Choose this method if you have two computers connected by the serial port.

New Session

When you select New Session and select one the above options (excluding the modem option) a window will pop up and you will see players names added to the list in the window as they join the game.  Pay no attention to the first item in the list, "ALL".  The names that appear in the listbox correspond with the setting you have chosen in the options->player profile... menu item.  When all the players that will be playing appear in the list, select start game.  After this, you will be able to begin play.

If you are using a modem for connection, after you select new session a window will pop up with you modem displayed in a drop down list with the option to answer, hit anwer.  Once the modem answers the call, the list of users will pop up, select start game.

Join Session

When you select join session and choose the internet TCP/IP  option,  you will be prompted for the IP address of your oponent's computer.  The best way to obtain this address is for the other player to select Options -> Get My IP.. and email you the IP.  After you hit ok you will see a list box listing NetFortune Online.  Select this item from the list and hit OK.  The message window now says "Waiting for players to join"  once all the players have joined the game will begin.

IPX , modem and serial Connections do not require typing in the IP address.   For the modem option, a window will pop up with a edit box allowing you to type in the phone number of  your opponent.  Type in the phone number and hit connect.  This will connect you to the opponents computer and play will commence.

Sending messages to your opponents

Select Send Message from the file menu, or select the Message... button.  This will bring up a window containing the nick names of all players presently playing.  If you would like to send a message only to a particular player, select the player's name from the list box and then type in the message.  When you are done hit send.  To send a message to all players you would select ALL from the list type in the message and press send.

Msg History Button

Click this button to view all previously sent messages from the current game.  Clicking this button toggles a text box.

Online play is the same as regular play except for two important points.  The first is there is no bonus round after 4 rounds of regular play.  Play continues until the agreed upon number of rounds have been played afterwhich the game ends with the player with the highest combined score declared the winner.

The second point is that on-line games are not eligible for high scores.  This is because there is a user defined number of rounds in an on-line game so tracking the highscores would not make much sense in terms of comparibility.

NOTE: if you have trouble connecting to a remote host, set the network timeout value to a higher number in the Options->Player Profile.. menu item.


Phrase Database

Registered users may update the phrase database by either adding, deleting or importing phrases.

Adding Phrases:

Click the Add button, type in the phrase in the phrase box and select a category from the list.  If you don't find a suitable category, simply type in a new category in the NEW category box.

Deleting Phrases:

If you see a phrase you don't like, or you made a mistake entering a phrase, use the left and right arrow buttons to find it, or click the search button and type in the exact phrase and then once you located it hit the delete button.

Note: you may only enter phrases that are compatible with the game.  If you use characters not supported, individual words or phrases that are too long, you will not be able to add them.