═══ 1. About PM-Equator ═══ PM-Equator -- do some brain jogging! This is a classic number puzzle. Come on, practice it! Start with a low level and watch yourself improving and finally crack it all. The object of the game is to correctly reconstruct the secret array of calculations. You are shown the whole array, but with each digit replaced by a unique symbol and your aim is to identify all the symbols. For details see How to play. Many thanks to the magazine Games & Puzzles and especially Yerry Felix for inspiring me for this program. Cheers! P.S.: Please let me know of all critisisms and suggestions to improve this little program. Mail nestel@am.uni-erlangen.de. ═══ 2. How to play the game ═══ Well, I'll assume you've read About PM-Equator and know the idea of the game: Finding out digits in some calculations. If you are still confused, have a look at I've any idea. Remember there are two different modes to play this game (see Hardmode ), but the main thing you might wan't to know is answered here: How can I enter the digit for a symbol? There are two different methods to do that: You can do it by a special digit dialog or by a sort of simulated drap and drop. The number dialog Just click twice with the left mouse button on a digit symbol in the puzzle, a dialog box pops up and you can enter your guess for the value of this symbol. Drag'n drop You can either drag a digit from the digit array on the puzzle or a symbol from the puzzle to the digit array: Click once with the thing you wan't to drag. Whatch the Mousecursor change. Move it, where you wan't to drop it and click with the left mouse button again. Note: Whenever you click in the digit array you get a digit (even if you click on a symbol) and whenever you click on the puzzle you get a symbol (even if you click on a digit). To stop this drag'n drop, press the right mouse button once. Note: You might also have a look to Level about setting levels, to Scoring, to maximize your performance. ═══ 3. The Puzzles ═══ The puzzles generated by this program have the following features: There is at least one dot operation (multiply or divide) and at least an addition/subtraction. All numbers are positive. Each digit 0,..,9 appears at least once. Note: The solution of some of the easier puzzles might be non unique . In this case it is your task to reconstruct the puzzle generated by the program. This introduces a bit of luck in the game, but disappears at the higher levels. ═══ 4. Main screen ═══ The main screen of the program looks like and is divided into three parts by horizontal lines. Above the upper line is the puzzle or it's solution. Below the lower line you can watch your score and remaining time. In the middle part you can see which digits you allready decoded or still to be guessed. Note: The upper two parts of the window are sensitive to certain mouse actions! (see How to play ) ═══ 5. I've any idea ═══ If you never came across Equators yet, lets look at some examples. Each Symbol or symbolizes a digit. So, if you look at this calculation: You can conclude immediately since the sum of two 3 digit numbers must have a 0 or 1 as 4th digit and the digit zero is never written on the left hand of a number (as with any number). Furthermore it has to be since must hold. A bit more difficult to see is and finally but it's true! And we can finally conclude which looks a bit less cryptical than the starting point. By such deducing and some trials one can solve all Equators generated by this program. Good look! Note: The above is a very simple example, just to give you an idea, normally you can't conclude so much from just one calculation. To get some more first clues, you might like to peak at the Solutions of some puzzles ═══ 6. The Equator Menu ═══ The Game menu contains commands that you use to choose the level to play and to exit the application. The following commands appear in the File menu: Level A dialog box appears where two levels can be entered: One as a lower and one as a upper bound. Legal levels range from 1 to 50. New A new puzzle is generated at random. Solution Give the solution of the displayed puzzle. Highscores Show highscores. Level Change (see level setting. Hardmode Switch to Hardmode Alpha Switch between Alpha or Symbolset for coded digits. Hedgehog Switch on/off the special mouse cursor. Exit Well, sometimes one has to end playing and do some work. ═══ 7. Level ═══ A dialog box appears where you can enter the two desired levels. Legal levels range from 1 to 50. The upper level has to be bigger than the lower! Note: There is another way to make the game easier or harder: See Hardmode The level setting is stored in the .ini file. Come on! Practice yourself and increase the level every now and then. Watch your score improve with time. Note: Setting a new level immediately generates a new puzzle, a process which can take a few seconds on a slow machine ( cf. New ) ═══ 8. New ═══ With the menu selection Game-New a new Equator is generated. Note: This may take a few seconds on a slow computer, since the program generates a lot of puzzles and discards them if they don't fit certain criteria ( mainly your level setting, generating very easy or very difficult problems may take time). ═══ 9. Solution ═══ With the menu selection Equator-Solution the solution of the puzzle is shown. Note: If you don't know how to learn Equator you might generate some puzzles with New and look at the solutions. ═══ 10. Highscores ═══ You can see the Highscores by selecting this item. Note: There are three types of Highscores kept: The 4 highest scores in Hardmode, the 4 highest scores in Easymode and the 2 fastest solutions in Easymode. Note: The highscores are kept in the programs ini file, all but the very last one of each type. This allows you to watch your performance every time you play. ═══ 11. Alpha ═══ You can toggle between two different sets of symbols with this checkmark menu item. Note: If you play Hardmode you can only play with alpha mode. Drag drop cursors (see How to play) only match alpha mode symbols. ═══ 12. Hedgehog Cursor ═══ Equator comes with a special mouse cursor, if you don't like it, you can switch it of here. Btw. the nose is the hot spot, but it's a bit confusing... ═══ 13. Hardmode ═══ Clicking on this menuitem toggles the checkmark for Hardmode . I do not recommend Hardmode for beginners! There are two different ways to play Equator . In Easymode your input is checked, whenever you enter a digit. If you are right, you are right, if you are wrong, you suffer a penalty (See: Scoring). In Hardmode The program checks the correctness of your theory only when you enter the last digit . This is naturally much more difficult. Note: There is another way to make the game easier or harder: See Level The Hardmode setting is stored in the .ini file. Try to get really tuff, play the Hardmode. Note: Toggling Hardmode immediately generates a new puzzle, a process which can take a few seconds on a slow machine ( cf. New ) ═══ 14. Exit ═══ Some time its time to do some work again, so use this command, if you feel so: You quit the application by using the Exit command. To quit the Sample application, do the following: Select the Game menu and choose the Exit command. ═══ 15. Help Menu ═══ Here you get help! ═══ 16. Index ═══ Place information for the Help Index menu item here. ═══ 17. General help ═══ Place information for the General Help menu item here. Note: This screen will usually be handled by the default. ═══ 18. Using Help ═══ What can I say? It's help for using help! ═══ 19. Product information ═══ PM Equator was written by Frank Sven Nestel ( nestel@am.uni-erlangen.de ). Please have a look at the product information! If you like this program, feel free to register it! ═══ 20. Product information dialog ═══ This dialog displays information about the application, such as version number and copyright notice. ;-) ═══ 21. Continue ═══ The Continue button closes the Product information dialog. ═══ 22. Scoring ═══ Well the scoring is a bit difficult. There are two different scoring schemes. One for Easymode. one for Hardmode. ═══ 22.1. Easymode ═══ In the beginning you receive a base score and a bit of free time The higher the level (see Level), the more base score you get. If you are in your free time, your score increases slowly, if you run out of free time, your score decreases, this decrease is slightly coupled with the number of digits you allready identified. Whenever you identify a digit you receive new free time. When you make a mistake while identifying a digit you suffer a penalty and loose some free time. This penalty increases with each mistake, so be carefull. You can watch your score, errors, time and free time in the lower part of the window. Note: There are two different modes, but three different highscores, see Highscores There is a differnt Scoring method for Scoring.Hardmode ═══ 22.2. Hardmode ═══ Hardmode is simpler than Scoring.Easymode. Since there are no in between guesses of digits (if you are right in the end, ok, otherwise you are completely lost) and so you suffer a constant penalty in time. Though you start with a higher amount of free time, you don't get new free time during play, so scoring is mainly dependant on time. You can watch your score, errors, time and free time in the lower part of the window. Note: There are two different modes, but three different highscores, see Highscores ═══ 23. . Some more advertisement ═══ You may have recognized a hedgehog every now and then in this program. this is the Logo of a small game company from Southern Germany: We call ourselves Doris & Frank or shorter D&F and we published some boardgames yet and this program is Franks first trial to produce some shareware. If you are interested in boardgames (mainly little ones) have a look at Ken Tidwells or my WWW - Pages: http://www.kaleida.com/u/tidwell/GameCabinet.html you'll find very, very good information there and you'll find us under publishers. You may also write a snail mail to Doris & Frank Obere BБch 24 D-91054 Buckenhof Germany Thanx! ═══ 24. . Register? ═══ If you are so kind and wan't to register this program, please send me eurocheque with 10 DM (thats the only way for me to cash it without 30DM fee's) to Frank Sven Nestel Obere BБch 24 D-91054 Buckenhof Germany If wan't to pay in a different way (e.g. if you are from Germany), please first ask me: nestel@am.uni-erlangen.de Note: I can't offer you any upgrade garanties, printed documentation other programs of mine yet. The only thing I can do, is keep in touch with you. If this works out I've a lot of ideas for more little programs like that, and maybe some bigger ones. Thanx for anything! P.S.: Please let me know of all critisisms and suggestions to improve this little program.