The Menu & Windows
Lobster Fishing using the RISC OS environment to interact with the user. This means that you operate it
through a menu and a series of windows. This section gives a detailed window by window account of what
each part does and its purpose in the program. Click on the links below to go to the pages on the different
windows:
The Icon Bar Menu
Lobster Fishing has just one menu. To display it click with the middle button on the Lobster Fishing icon on
the icon bar. The menu has six items on it. The purpose of each is outlined below.
Info
If you move the mouse to the right of this item it will open a window displaying some brief information
about the program such as name, purpose, version number etc.
Save Game
If you select this option it will open a standard "Save As" box to let you save the current game. You should
do this if you want to carry on with the game at a later date. If there is no game in progress at the moment
this option will be greyed out.
Graphs...
This option will open the Graphs window where you can view a number of statistics about the performance
of the players. It may be greyed out if you have not started a game as there will be no data to plot.
New Game...
This opens the Start New Game window. If you are in the middle of a game then Lobster Fishing will ask
you if you want to discard it and start again. If you don't want to lose it then you should save it for use
another time
Configure...
Selecting this option will open a window containing a large number of icons. (You can also click adjust on
the icon bar icon to open it.) It lets you set the way Lobster Fishing operates. You can do things like change
the difficulty of the game, how long the game lasts, and turn options like sound on or off.
Quit
This option will stop Lobster Fishing and remove it from the icon bar. All the memory it was using is given
up. If you are in the middle of a game then you will be asked if you are sure you want to quit without saving
it.
This window lets you set which players are operated by the computer and which are operated by people. It
also lets you set the names of all the human players. To open it you can either click on the Lobster Fishing
icon on the icon bar if there is no game currently in progress (eg. if you have just run Lobster Fishing) or by
selecting the New Game option from the main menu.
The window is split into four coloured strips - one for each player. The background colour for each player
stays with them throughout the game. This enables children to identify the parts that are relevant to them
and greatly reduces confusion.
Setting each Players' Status
Before you can start a game you need to set how each player is operated (ie. by person or computer):
- Click on the picture icons to the right of the space for the players name. These will change between
showing a face and a computer - the other one will have a big red cross over it.
- To make the player a human player you should toggle the icons until the face is shown and the
computer has the big red cross over it.
- To make the player a computer player you should do the opposite so the computer is shown and the
face has the large red cross over it.
Entering Players' Names
Once you have set how the players are operated you can enter the names of any human players.
- Click in the white icon in the coloured area of the player you want to change. (You cannot change the
name of the players operated by the computer.)
- Delete the old name and type yours in the icon.
Action Buttons
Once you have finished entering the names and the status of each player you need to choose one of the three
action icons at the bottom of the window - each one performs a different operation:
Save Choices
If you click on this icon then the names of each player and who controls them (ie. a person or the computer)
will be saved as the defaults. This means that next time the program is run and the Start New Game window
is opened it will look the same as it does now.
If you ran the program from a floppy disc you will need to insert this disc so the program can write to it - it
will ask you for it if it can't find it.
Cancel
If you click Cancel then it will close the window and undo any changes you have made to the players names
or status. It will restore it to its state before you opened the Start New Game window.
Start Game
You should click on this icon when you have filled in all the players details and are ready to start playing. It will close the Start New Game window and open Lobster Fishing’s' main window. This icon is the default
action icon (this is why it has a yellow border) and so the same thing should happen if you press return.
This is the main window used by Lobster Fishing. To open it click Select on the icon bar icon. The main
feature of the window is the four coloured areas - one for each player. The diagram below shows one of
these areas.
Down the right hand side of the window are sections showing yesterdays weather and todays date. The
previous days weather is useful for deciding where to place your pots.
Player's Name
This icon displays the name of the player whose area it is. The name is set in the Start Game window.
Inshore Pots
This part is used to set the number of pots that the player wishes to place inshore. To increase the number of
pots click on the right arrow icon. To decrease the number of pots click on the left arrow icon.
The arrow icons also wrap the number of pots placed round - eg. if you have not placed any pots and click
on the left arrow icon (to decrease the number of pots) it will put all the pots inshore. This can save a lot of
time, especially if you have a lot of pots.
Offshore Pots
This area is very similar to the Inshore Pots section above except it refers to the number of pots the player
has placed offshore.
Total Number of Pots
This shows the number of pots you have to fish with. To get more pots you must buy them from the shop. It
does not include any damaged pots that you have.
Amount of Cash
This displays the total amount of money that you have. You must make enough money by the end of the
week to pay all your bills.
Go Shopping
This icon takes you to the islands shop. Once there you can buy, sell, and repair pots as well as taking out
some insurance. When you want to go to the shop you must use the icon in your coloured area so the
computer knows that you are paying for the things that are bought.
Weather Yesterday
This section of the window shows what the weather was like the previous day. This may effect what the
weather is like today and so where you decide to place your pots.
Calendar
This part of the window shows the current day and date. The part that tells you the day of the week shows
you how many days you have left to make enough to pay this weeks bills. If you have set a time target in the
Configure window you will also find the date section useful as it will tell you how much longer you have to
survive for.
Go Fishing
When everybody has placed all the pots they want to you should click on this icon. This will take you to the
next day, showing you what the todays weather was like. If one of the players has not placed any pots the
program will ask you if you are sure you want to continue.
This is the window where all the trading takes place. You can buy, sell and repair your pots as well as taking
out an insurance policy. To open it click on the Go Shopping icon in your coloured area of the main window.
(It must be the one in your area so the computer knows who's paying!)
The sentence at the top of the window indicates how much money you have spent so far, how much you
have earned from selling pots, and how much cash you have left. The coloured icon at the right of the
window shows which player is at the shop.
The shop can be visualised best as four rooms. Each room has a different purpose such as buying pots or
taking out insurance. To open a room click on its picture in the Shop window:
Buy Pots Room
This indicates how much you have spent on lobster pots and how much you have left. It also shows how
many lobster pots you have and the price of new lobster pots. The left and right arrows are clicked on to
change the number of pots you wish to buy. Clicking on "Buy pots" returns you to the shop and updates the
number of pots and amount spent indicators. "Cancel" returns you to the shop without buying any more
pots.
Sell Pots Room
This is similar to the Buy pots window, but the sentence at the top of the window shows how much you
have earned rather than how much you have spent. The arrows are used to change the number of pots you
wish to sell. Sell Pots sells the pots and takes you back to the shop window. Cancel takes you back to the
shop without selling any more pots.
Repair Pots Room
The repair pots window shows how many damaged lobster pots you own and the cost of repairing them, as
well as how much cash you have spent and how much you have left. The number of pots to be repaired can
be changed by clicking on the arrows. Click Repair Pots to repair the pots and return to the main shop
window. Alternatively, you can click Cancel to return to the shop without repairing any pots.
Insurance Room
This window shows the three possible options available for insurance - Policy 1, Policy 2, and Uninsured.
These can be chosen by clicking on them with the mouse. The "Insure Pots" icon insures your pots and
returns you to the shop. "Cancel" returns you to the shop leaving you with the same insurance policy you
had before clicking the "Insure Pots" icon.
Buying / Selling Goods
Once you have been to each of the rooms and selected your goods you should click on the OK icon in the
main Shop window to buy them.
This window is shown at the end of each week. It is basically a table showing the bills that each player has
had to pay. Each column refers to a different player, and all the rows are the different bills. You have to pay
for various items including tax, rent, fuel and insurance. The last row shows the amount of cash each player
has left after deductions.
If you have run out of money or reached the target then your game is over otherwise you can carry on
playing by clicking on the Continue icon or view some graphs by clicking on the View Graphs
icon.
This window is displayed at the end of each day after you have placed some pots and clicked on the Go
Fishing icon in the main window.
The main feature of this window is a picture showing the island with one of the various types of weather. If
you have chosen to have it animated (see Configure Window) then various bits will move depending on the
weather type. You may also hear a sound effect of the weather if this has been configured as well.
The weather is also described in two icons just below the picture. When you are ready to carry on with the
game click on the Continue icon at the bottom of the window.
The different types of weather and the effects they have on the game are described in Game
Features.
If you have chosen to be asked questions each day then this window will be opened after you have clicked
on the continue icon in the Weather Report window.
The name of the person who should try to answer the question is shown in the icon at the top of the window.
The sentence at the top is the question you should try to answer. The four buttons at the bottom are the
possible answers. Pick the answer that you think best fits the question and click on that icon.
When you answer a question you will be shown one of two windows depending on whether you got it right
or wrong.
If you got it right it will tell you what your prize is. This could be a number of things including some cash, a
few lobster pots, or having your pots repaired.
If your answer was wrong it will tell you what the correct response was. Click on the Continue icon at the
bottom of the window to carry on with the game.
This window is the place where you can alter many of Lobster Fishing's parameters. Using the various
options in this window you can turn some features off so it is more suitable for a lower specification
computer. You can also change the difficulty of many areas and so make it suitable for anyone from a novice
to an expert to play.
You can open this window from the main menu on the icon bar or by clicking with the Adjust button in the
icon bar icon.
Options
The top section in this window lets you set a number of options about various aspects of the game:
Animate Weather
If this is selected then the picture representing the weather type in the Weather Report window will be
animated and various parts will move. If it is not selected then a still picture will be shown instead.
Auto Save
This option is designed as a safety precaution. It will save the game at the end of each week meaning that if
your computer crashes or there is a power cut and you lose the game you can easily restart it by loading it
back in. It is also useful if you make a big mistake and want to be able to try again without restarting the
whole game.
Before this operation will work effectively you must save it once manually. The computer then knows
where to save it in the future. To do this use the Save Game option on the menu.
No Disasters
This option lets you choose whether or not you want disasters to strike to island. In a disaster there is a lot
of destruction and you could easily lose all your pots. If you do not want to have to plan for these freak
weather types then select this option. Once you get better at the game we suggest you leave disasters turned
on and try to think of some strategies to survive these conditions.
Ask Questions
If you want to be asked some maths questions based on situations encountered in the game then turn this
option on. After you have had the weather report at the end of each day one of the players will be asked a
multiple choice question with the chance to win a prize. If you would rather get on with playing the game
then turn this option off.
Sound Effects
If you want to be played some sound effects relating to a number of different events in the game then you
should select this icon. If you choose to have the sound it will be played in the following places:
- when the weather is reported;
- when you either win or lose the game;
- when a question is answered correctly or incorrectly.
If you have selected the Low Memory option then this icon will be greyed out and you will not be able to
select it. In this case first turn Low Memory off - you will then be able to turn the sound on.
Low Memory
This option tries to claim some of the memory that Lobster Fishing uses back so you can use it for other programs. It does this by getting rid of the sound and using lower quality pictures.
While this option is selected you will not be able to use the sound or change the sprite resolution - if you
want to alter these settings then you first have to turn Low Memory off.
This item is most effective if it is saved as the default. This way it does not have to load the sound etc in the
first place.
Sprite Resolution
Lobster Fishing has two sets of sprites, one set is better quality and nicer to look at but takes up more
memory while the other set, although of lower quality, takes up less memory. This section of the window
lets you choose which ones the program uses. If you have spare memory and a high resolution monitor then
select the High Quality icon. On the other hand if you are short of memory or do not have a high resolution
monitor then select the Low Quality icon.
If you want Lobster Fishing to decide which it thinks are best by considering what screen mode you are in
and how much memory there is then select the Change Sprite on Mode Change icon. This will automatically
change the sprites if the situation changes (eg. if you changed the screen mode), but if you were running
from floppy disc this would be time consuming so you would be advised to turn this feature off.
If you have selected the Low Memory option (see page 16) then you will not be able to choose which sprites
are used - it always uses the Low Quality ones to save some memory.
Game Difficulty
The next section of this window lets you set the difficulty of the game. It changes the value of the lobsters
you catch, the price of new pots and the size of your bills. To make the game more difficult click on the
arrow to the right of the red bar. To make the game easier click on the left arrow.
Questions Difficulty
The next section lets you decide the approximate difficulty of the questions you will be asked if you have
chosen them in the options section above. To make them harder click on the arrow to the right of the slider
bar and to make them easier click on the arrow to the left. The harder questions are not just harder sums -
the wrong answers are less obviously wrong as well so it is more difficult to choose between them.
Game Target / Duration
The section towards the bottom of the window lets you set the length of time the game will last. There are
two ways of setting the target. You can choose to finish the game when the amount of cash you accumulate
is greater then a certain value after you have paid all your bills at the end of the week or you can choose to
play for a certain number of weeks and see how much money you can make in a certain time.
To go for the money option, first select Cash Limit and then use the arrows to change the value of the target.
To have the length you play as the target first select Time Limit and then use the arrows below it to set the
duration.
Action Buttons
Down the right hand edge of the window there are three buttons:
Cancel
This will close the window and undo all the changes you have made since opening it. You should use this if
you decide you do not want to alter the settings after all.
Save Choices
This icon will save the current settings to disc as the defaults. This means that next time Lobster Fishing is
run it will be set up as it is now. It also activates any changes you have made so they happen immediately
too.
OK
This will close the window and try to activate the choices you have selected. If it is unable to do so (for
example due to lack of memory) then it will open an error window to tell you what went wrong and advise
you on what to do about it. For details of the error messages see the section later on in this manual.
Lobster Fishing has the facility to draw graphs of data collected from the game. You can view these by
selecting the Graphs... menu item from the main menu on the icon bar or by clicking on the View Graphs
icon on the End of Week Report.
When you first open the window it will probably show a graph of the number of lobsters on the y-axis
against the number of days that you have been playing on the x-axis. There is only one button on the
window - it lets you configure how the graph looks. If you click on Alter Options icon it opens the Graph
Options window which is described below.
For graphs of the amount of cash and the number of pots each players data is drawn in their colour. If two
people have data in the same place then one is drawn on top of the other and you may not be able to see the
one underneath. This usually only happens in the first few days and is not a big problem.
When you have finished looking at the graphs you can close the window by clicking on the close icon on
the title bar.
This window allows you to configure the appearance of the graphs. You can open it by clicking on the Alter
Options icon in the graphs window. It is divided into three sections. The first allows you to set which data is
plotted. You have the choice between showing the number of lobsters, the amount of cash each player has
and the number of pots each player has.
The second section only applies if you have asked to draw either the cash or the pots graphs. For both of
these there are four sets of data - one for each of the players. You can choose not to draw some of the sets of
data by deselecting the icon for that player.
The third section lets you alter the appearance of the graph. If you would like crosses to be placed at the
points on weekly intervals then select Show Crosses. If you would just have the lines then deselect this icon.
You can also choose how many points the program draws. It will either draw the data for every day or just
the data from the end of each week. This second option is very useful if you have been playing for a few
weeks and want to see the general trends - it can become quite cluttered otherwise.
When you have finished setting the options then Click on Set Options to make them happen. If you decide
you liked the graph the way it was and do not want to alter it then click on the Cancel icon.
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