═══ 1. Introduction and Rules ═══ Matrix is a strategy tile game. Select one of the following for more information: o How to play Matrix o Scoring o Tiles o Menus o Keyboard o Mouse Press ctrl-c for Table of Contents. MATRIX Copyright (c), CodeSmith Software, 1995. All Rights Reserved. ═══ 1.1. How to Play Matrix ═══ Matrix is a two player game consisting of 48 coloured tiles. A tile consists of 3 sections, each section being 1 of 4 colours. Each player takes a turn placing one of their 3 tiles on the board. Points are awarded for creating rows, columns and diagonals of the same colour. After the last tile is played, the player with the highest score wins the game. Valid moves are as follows (game beeps if invalid move is played): 1. The first tile played can be placed anywhere on the board. 2. All remaining tiles played must touch one another. Tiles cannot overlap. 3. Tiles that have more than one colour must have all 3 sections of the tile adjacent to 3 other sections on the board, and the 3 sections touching must all be on the same edge of the new tile (the long edge). 4. Tiles that have only one colour (eg. all red) have more flexibility. They can be placed so that only a corner is adjacent to another tile or 1, 2 or 3 sections are adjacent (whichever gives the player a better score). 5. A tile played does not have to score any points. For examples of valid moves, scroll down to the end of this page. The game ends when there are no tiles left to play. See also: o Scoring o Tiles o Keyboard o Mouse Here is a sample startup game, showing valid moves. After the first move, there only two possible moves (assuming a mixed colour tile is used). Either below or above The third move can also only be played above or below. In this example, it is placed above. At this point, the fourth move can be played in one of four places: If the fourth move was placed at the bottom, then the next move can be placed in any of the following places, as long as it covers 3 of the black circles: ═══ 1.2. Scoring Help ═══ Points are scored by adding adjacent sections of tiles that have the same colour, where at least one section is on the last tile you played. There must be at least 3 or more of the same coloured sections in a row, column or diagonal. Rows and columns are worth one point for each section. Diagonals are worth two points for each section. You may complete lines for all three coloured sections on the current tile played. These lines may be any combination of rows, columns and diagonals. In the following example, the solid blue tile has been placed vertically on the extreme right. The blue tile joins two diagonals, the top one scoring 6 points, the bottom one scoring 8 points. The tile also joins a horizontal row for 3 points, and the tile itself counts for 3 points in the vertical direction. Total score for the tile is 6+8+3+3=20. A tile played does not have to score any points. Sometimes it is to your advantage to play a tile that scores zero, since it may help in obtaining a higher score in your next move. ═══ 1.3. Tiles Help ═══ There are 48 tiles, each having three coloured shapes. There are four colours in all, with the default being blue, red, yellow and cyan (light blue). None of the tiles have the same layout as any other, with the exception of those that have only one colour. There are three each of the single colour tiles (for a total of twelve). ═══ 2. Menus ═══ Select one of the following main menu options: o Game o Move o Players o Options ═══ 2.1. Game Menu ═══ Select the Game option to start a new game, save/load a game, or exit. o New Game o Restart current game o Save Game o Load Game ═══ 2.1.1. New Game ═══ Select the New Game option to begin a new game. If a game is in progress, it is wiped out. The tiles are shuffled and each player gets a new starting hand. ═══ 2.1.2. Restart ═══ Select the Restart menu option to restart the current game without shuffling the tiles. ═══ 2.1.3. Save Game ═══ Select the Save Game menu option to save the current game in progress. This allows you to continue playing (or replay) it at a later time. You will be prompted for a file name to save the game in. The default extension of ".GAM" is recommended. The following options are saved: o All played tiles. o The tiles in both players' hands. o The order that the tiles are removed from the pile. o The current score. Options under the Options menu are not saved with a game. See also: Load game, Save options, Save window position. ═══ 2.1.4. Load Game ═══ Select the Load Game menu option to load a previously saved game. You can also load a game on startup by passing the file name of the game: MATRIX saved.gam You can also drag a saved game onto the Matrix object to load it. ═══ 2.2. Move Menu ═══ Select the Move option to modify the current game play. o Undo last move o Redo last undo o Hint for your move ═══ 2.2.1. Undo ═══ Select the Undo menu option to take back the last move played. You can undo all the way to the start of the game. Use the Redo option to replay an Undo. Warning: If you execute an undo without a matching redo, your score will not be recorded in the Hall of Fame. In other words, if you undo to improve your current score - you're cheating! ═══ 2.2.2. Redo ═══ Select the Redo menu option to replay the last undo. It's recommended that you redo every undo if you want your score in the Hall of Fame. ═══ 2.2.3. Hint ═══ Select the Hint menu option to get a hint of a move to play. A hint is indicated by a shadow piece on the board, and the player's selection arrow points to the tile to play (this arrow turns a different colour when it is hinting at a tile to play). If you play the hint, you may need to rotate the tile to get the best score. Since hints give the player an advantage, it's best not to use them if you want your name at the top in the Hall of Fame. ═══ 2.3. Player Menu ═══ Select the Player option to edit the players or view the high scores. o Edit players o Game - Hall of Fame o Game - Hall of Shame o Move - Hall of Fame ═══ 2.3.1. Edit Players ═══ Select the Edit menu option to edit the player options. Player options are automatically saved when you exit Matrix. See Players dialog. ═══ 2.3.2. Hall of Fame and Shame ═══ Select the Hall of Fame/Shame menu options to view the highest/lowest scores for a game or a move. Scores are sorted in the Halls first by the Hints column, then by the Score column. Since hints give the player an advantage, it's best not to use them if you want your name at the top in the Hall of Fame. Press the Clear button to erase the scores. Press the Restore button to undo the Clear action. Press OK to exit - if the Clear button has been pressed then the cleared table is updated to file at this point. Restore is not available after pressing 'OK' or 'Game/Move' or 'Fame/Shame'. At the end of a game, if any player's score has been added to either Hall, the Hall will automatically display. Only the winner of a game is recorded in the Hall of Fame. Only the loser of a game is recorded in the Hall of Shame. Computer player top scores are recorded by default, but you can disable this in the options section. ═══ 2.4. Options Menu ═══ Select the Options option to edit various game settings. o Sound o Show buttons o Mouse snap o Auto-center board o Hide opponents tiles o Highlight current tile o Allow computers score in Halls o Board options o Tile options o Auto save all options o Save window position o Save options ═══ 2.4.1. Sound ═══ Select the Sound menu option to toggle game sounds on or off. ═══ 2.4.2. Show Buttons ═══ Select the Show buttons menu option to toggle the display of the button group that appears in the bottom right corner of the board. The default is enabled. ═══ 2.4.3. Mouse Snap ═══ Select the Mouse snap menu option to toggle the action of the mouse cursor. If snap is enabled, then the mouse pointer will move to the next player's hand after the other player has moved. When a game is finished, the mouse will snap to the New Game button, if the Show buttons option is enabled. The default is enabled. ═══ 2.4.4. Auto-center Board ═══ Select the Auto-center board menu option to toggle the action of automatically moving the tiles to the center of the board when the last played tile is played near the board's border. The default is enabled. ═══ 2.4.5. Hide Opponents Tiles ═══ Select the Hide opponents tiles menu option to toggle the display of the opponent's tiles to be played. The default is enabled. ═══ 2.4.6. Highlight Current Tile ═══ Select this option to have the current tile in play or the last tile played highlighted. This allows you to visually see where the last move was played. The default is enabled. ═══ 2.4.7. Allow Computers Score in Halls ═══ Select this option to allow a computer's high score to be eligible for the Hall of Fame/Shame (for both Game and Move). If disabled, only human scores will be entered in the Halls. The default is enabled. ═══ 2.4.8. Board Options ═══ Select the Board menu option to edit the various board options. See Board dialog. ═══ 2.4.9. Tile Options ═══ Select the Tiles menu option to edit the various tile options. ═══ 2.4.10. Auto Save All Options ═══ If selected, any options changed (including a new window size/position) will automatically be saved when the user exits the game. If this is enabled, the user does not have to manually select Save options or Save window position. Note that the current game in progress is NOT saved - you must use Save game to save a game. The default is enabled. ═══ 2.4.11. Save Window Position ═══ Select the Save window position menu option to save the current location and size of the main game window. The information is saved in the file matrix.ini, located in the games home directory. When Matrix loads, it checks to see if a window size and position has been saved, and, if found, adjusts its size and position. If a position is not saved, the operating system will determine the location and size of the window. See also: Save options. Save game. ═══ 2.4.12. Save Options ═══ Select the Save options menu option to save the current settings in the file matrix.ini, located in the games home directory. The following options are saved: o All options under the Options menu. o All board options. o All tile options. See also: Save window position. Save game. ═══ 3. Dialogs ═══ Select one of the following dialogs: o Player options o Board options o Tile options ═══ 3.1. Players Dialog ═══ The player dialog is divided into 3 sections. The Player 1/2 section in the top half allows changes to each player. The Status Window section controls the appearance of the window displayed just below the players' windows. The Preview section displays changes as you make them. The preview window is a tiny view of the main playing window - it shows only the major features that are affected by changing the configuration options. Press Ok when the changes are completed. Changes are saved automatically when you exit the game. Press Cancel to abort any changes you have made and return to the game. Press Defaults to set all fields to the default values. For more information on specific field settings: o Player's name o Main colour o Edge colour o Computer opponent o Level of computer opponent o Animation of tile o Delay of tile move o Display status window o Text colour ═══ 3.1.1. Player's Name ═══ Enter the name to use for this player. This name will be used in the Hall of Fame/Shame and in the player's window. ═══ 3.1.2. Main, Edge and Text Colour ═══ You can adjust the colours used by choosing a colour for the main section of the player's window and the edge section of the window. The text colour is used for text displayed in the players and status windows. The defaults are Blue and Dark Blue for player 1, Magenta and Dark Magenta for player 2, and Dark Cyan and Dark Gray for the status window. White is the default for the text colour. ═══ 3.1.3. Computer Opponent ═══ If selected, this player is controlled by the computer. Select this option if there are no other humans in the room who want to play. To control the playing level ability, select one of the level buttons on the right side. The default is enabled for Player 2. ═══ 3.1.4. Level of Computer Opponent ═══ Select one of the levels to play against - either a smarter or dumber opponent. The lowest level (beginner) is Moron, the highest level is Ace. The default is Moron. ═══ 3.1.5. Animation of Tile ═══ If selected, the tile from the computer's hand will float from the player's window to its final destination. The length of time for an animated moved is controlled by the delay setting. The default is enabled. To speed up the play, disable this option. ═══ 3.1.6. Delay of Tile Move ═══ Adjust this setting from 0 to 2 seconds, in 1/20th second increments. This delay will do one of two things. If animation is enabled, then this delay is the time between tile updates on the screen as the tile floats to its destination. If animation is disabled, this is the time between your last move and the time when the computer player will place its tile. The default is 1/20th of a second, which assumes animation is enabled. To speed up the play, set the delay to 0 seconds. ═══ 3.1.7. Display Status Window ═══ Select this option to display the status window during the game. The status window is displayed between the players' windows and the buttons on the right side of the screen. The status window shows the number of tiles left to play and the highest score for a single move in the current game. The default is enabled. ═══ 3.2. Board Dialog ═══ The board dialog is divided into 3 sections. The Background section allows changes to the board's background colours or bitmap. The current size of the board and bitmap (if any) is displayed in pixels. The Board section allows changes to the size of the board. The Preview section displays changes as you make them. The preview window is a tiny view of the main playing window - it shows only the major features that are affected by changing the configuration options. Press Ok when the changes are completed. To permanently save the changes, select Save options. Press Cancel to abort any changes you have made and return to the game. Press Defaults to set all fields to the default values. For more information on specific field settings: o Background colour button o Bitmap button o Main colour o Edge colour o Filler colour o Bitmap file name o Stretch/Tile bitmap o Fill entire window o Board size o Display grid ═══ 3.2.1. Background Colour or Bitmap Button ═══ Select the Colour radio button to use a solid background colour for the playing board. Select Bitmap to use a bitmap for the board background. For better performance, select Bitmap (with Tiled option). If bitmap is selected, you must type in a valid file name for a bitmap file to use. See Bitmap file. The default is Colour. ═══ 3.2.2. Main, Edge and Filler Colour ═══ If the Colour radio button is selected, you can adjust the colours used by choosing a colour for the main section of the board and the edge section of the board. The filler colour is used in areas where the board or bitmap do not cover. The defaults are: Main - dark grey Edge - pale grey Filler - pale grey ═══ 3.2.3. Bitmap File ═══ If the Bitmap radio button is selected, you must enter a filename of any OS/2 bitmap that is to be used as the background of the playing surface. To verify the bitmap format is supported, press the tab key after typing in the file name - the Bitmap size field should display a height and width value. If this field is blank, then the bitmap is not supported. You can use the Find button to search for bitmap files. You can try using bitmaps supplied with OS/2 in the \OS2\BITMAP directory (try BLUES.BMP or WMARBLE.BMP). ═══ 3.2.4. Stretch or Tile Bitmap ═══ Select Stretch to stretch the bitmap to fill the entire board area. This option may affect performance on slower systems. Select Tile to use the bitmap in its current size - multiple copies of it will be loaded to fill the board. The default is Tile. ═══ 3.2.5. Fill Entire Window ═══ If this option is enabled, the bitmap will fill the entire game window - the filler colour is not used. The default is enabled. ═══ 3.2.6. Size of Board ═══ Three board sizes allow you to select the number of squares on the board. Smaller board sizes result in larger playing tiles. Note that when you change a board size, the current game in progress is lost. Small gives a 17x17 playing grid. (640x480 default) Medium gives a 23x23 playing grid. (800x600 default) Large gives a 29x29 playing grid. (1024x768 default) ═══ 3.2.7. Display Grid ═══ If selected, the playing grid is displayed on top of the board. The default is enabled. ═══ 3.3. Tile Options Dialog ═══ The tile options dialog is divided into 3 sections. The Select Tile section in the top left allows you to select 1 of 4 tiles to edit. The Shape/Pattern/Colour section allows you to make changes to the current tile selected. The Preview section displays changes as you make them. Press Ok when the changes are completed. To permanently save changes when you exit the game, select Save options. Press Cancel to abort any changes you have made and return to the game. Press Defaults to set all fields to the default values. For more information on specific field settings: o Tiles 1-4 or Background o Shape/Pattern/Colour o Stretch shape to tile edge ═══ 3.3.1. Tiles 1-4 or Background ═══ Select one of the tiles to work on. Select background to work on the colour and pattern used for parts of the tile that are not covered by the shape. Selecting background only makes sense if the Stretch shape to tile edge is not checked. ═══ 3.3.2. Shape/Pattern/Colour ═══ Select one of these options to change the appearance of the tile. The edge colour is only enabled for the 3D shape. ═══ 3.3.3. Stretch Shape to Tile Edge ═══ Select this option to stretch the tile shape (3D, square, etc) to the edge of the tile. Default is enabled. ═══ 4. Registration ═══ Matrix is shareware. You may use it for a 45 day trial period, after which you must purchase it. Buying the product will provide you with a registration number that will: o Remove all dialogs referring to registration. The registration number will be valid for all future minor releases (usually bug fixes). o Allow you to upgrade to future major releases at a reduced cost. o Provide you with the latest version (sent via email or diskette). o Provide you with technical support via email or regular mail. The cost of Matrix is 15 Canadian dollars or 12 US dollars. Payment can be made either in money order, cheque or cash (use registered mail if you are sending cash). If using a cheque or money order, please draw it from a Canadian or US bank, if possible. Make cheques payable to CodeSmith Software. For bulk or group orders, contact us at the address below for more information. Click here for Order Form Please send all orders to: Registration, CodeSmith Software, P.O. Box 39167, 3695 W. 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V6R 1G0 Please include an email address, if possible, with your order. This will allow you to receive your registration number as quickly as possible. If you need to contact CodeSmith, the email address is: Via Internet, AOL, BIX mshill@Direct.CA Via Compuserve TO:internet:mshill@Direct.CA Via MCI EMS:INTERNET MBX:mshill@Direct.CA Via GEnie mshill.Direct.CA@inet# Via Delphi TO:internet"mshill@Direct.CA" ═══ 4.1. Matrix Order Form (1.1) ═══ Name _________________________________________________________________ Address _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ Email address ___________________________________________________________ Email type ____Internet ____Compuserve Other_________________________ Ship to (check one) ____Regular mail ____Email Version of Matrix you are registering _________________ Where did you find Matrix _______________________________________________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ________ Matrix registration fee (15.00 Cdn or 12.00 US) ________ Disk (latest version) (optional) (6 Cdn / 8 Cdn outside Canada) Specify media: ____3-1/2" ____5-1/4" ________ 7% PST Sales tax (BC residents only) ________ Total enclosed - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mail registration fee (cheque or money order drawn on Canadian or US bank, payable to CodeSmith Software) and this form to: Registration, CodeSmith Software, P.O. Box 39167, 3695 W. 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V6R 1G0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What language (other than English) would you like Matrix in ____________ What other platforms ___Mac ___Unix ___Windows Other_____________ Comments or Suggestions: ═══ 4.2. How to Register ═══ To register this product, you must first obtain a registration number. For info on this, click here for obtaining a number, or print out the Order Form and send it in. Once you have the registration number, load Matrix (if not already loaded) and select the 'Help' main menu option, then the 'Registration' menu option. A dialog window will appear. Enter your name in the first field, then enter the registration number EXACTLY as shown in the registration letter you received. Press 'OK' - the game is now registered. ═══ 5. Technical Support ═══ Technical support is provided for all registered users via email or regular mail. Please include your registration number in all correspondence. For CodeSmith's email and mailing address, click here. ═══ 6. What's Next ═══ Stay tuned for these enhancements in the next version of Matrix. o Remote player support over modem or network. o Support for up to four players. o Game play options. o Smarter computer opponent. o Real sound support via MMPM/2. o International versions, including German and Dutch. ═══ 7. Keys Help ═══ Keys for Playing Game o Player's window keys: Cursor up/down Highlight tile to select. Enter/Space/Backtab Place selected tile on the board. Tab Selects player to start a game (if game hasn't started). o Board window keys: Pad 5 Rotate tile 90 degrees. Cursor/Home/End/PgUp/PgDn Direction Keys Move tile 1 square in that direction. Shift or Ctrl or Alt + a Direction Key Move tile 3 or 6 or 9 squares in that direction. Enter/Space Place tile on the board at current location and end turn. Tab Move current tile back to players hand. Shortcut Keys Ctrl+H Hint for next move. Ctrl+G Toggle grid on board. Ctrl+M Toggle mouse snap. Ctrl+N New game. Ctrl+R Redo last undo. Ctrl+S Toggle sound. Ctrl+U Undo last move. F3/Alt+F4 Exit game. See also Mouse help. ═══ 8. Mouse Help ═══ o Player's window: Button 1 click on tile Place selected tile on the board. Move mouse to other player's window Selects player to start a game (if game hasn't started). o Board window: Move mouse pointer Current selected tile is dragged with the mouse pointer. Button 2/3 click Rotate tile 90 degrees. Button 1 click over square Place tile on the board at current position and end turn. Button 1 click on player's other two tiles Move current tile back to player's hand and play new tile. See also Keys help.