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Text File | 1992-09-15 | 23KB | 483 lines

BBBBBB SSSSS X X B B S X X BBBBBB SSSS X B B S X X BBBBBB SSSSS X X I n t e r n a t i o n a l presents... W W OOO W W ZZZZZZ EEEEEE EEEEEE W W O O W W Z E E W W W O O W W W ZZ EEEE EEEE W W W O O W W W Z E E WW WW OOO WW WW ZZZZZZ EEEEEE EEEEEE Version 1.0 A Shareware Card Game that will change the course of the Empire. - Winston Churchill 1.0 - Welcome. "Nothing to do tonight. Nothing on TV. It's too late for that girl to call. Oh well. Hey, wait! What's this?!? Another really neat solitaire game from those amazingly cool guys at BSX International! Excellent!" These are the words so frequently uttered by today's computer shareware users. Those in the know spend their time with the good folx at BSX instead of wasting it with endless TV re-runs, bad novels, staring at walls and ceilings, or using spreadsheets. Wowzee is the next game to help keep them going. Old BSX'ians can go right ahead and use the online help or skim the rules below to begin their Wowzee oddysey. Newcomers should read these dox for rules and usage tips. All will soon be enjoying another BSX game of extraordinary magnitude. 2.0 - Legal Stuff. PLEASE READ!!! WOWZEE 1.0 (C) 1992 BSX International WOWZEE 1.0 was developed and compiled using Borland's Turbo Pascal 5.5. This software is provided "as is" with no guarantees of any kind. The developers assume no responsibilities other than those indicated below. You may use and distribute this product as you wish, but only under the following conditions: 1) You may sell this program without permission from BSX International, but you MUST NOT alter the program or its documentation. You MUST NOT charge any fees other than fees for copying and MUST clearly state that this fee is NOT a substitute for registration with BSX. 2) Do not distribute this product if it has been reduced in any way. You may add files, but may not remove any of the originals. 3) Under no circumstances remove the copyright notices from the code or documentation. 2.1 - Shareware. This product is SHAREWARE and is distributed in good faith for your enjoyment. You may play it for a short period to become familiar with it. If you decide you like it and want to keep playing it, you should send a $10 registration fee to BSX, otherwise you should stop using it. If only all software folks let you use their product before you paid for it the world would be a much better place. We've bought so much BAD software that we don't use, and we're sure you have too, that we feel GOOD programs should be rewarded. If you don't like WOWZEE, we're not hurt; if you do like our stuff, thank us, and we'll keep making it. This program is not "protected" in any way and is not altered so that non-registrants will suffer. The authors don't believe in denying anyone a chance to use our stuff. We are programmers, not businessmen. We trust that anyone who likes WOWZEE and wants more of it will register. We're not naive, just a little idealistic. And we do so much for the environment. If you do not register you may still distribute this game provided you follow the rules above. Also, even if you have paid a distributor for the disk this game was on, YOU ARE STILL NOT REGISTERED. Distibutors simply help us get our stuff out to the people; they do not pay us a cent. Not that we don't appreciate this, mind you. 2.2 - Registration. To register WOWZEE with BSX send a check/cash/MO for $10 (US) or $12 (Canadian) PAYABLE TO ROBERT ROBERDS, to: ROBERT ROBERDS BSX International 806 Park Ridge Road Apt. A8 Durham, NC 27713 *** PLEASE MAKE THE CHECK PAYABLE TO: ROBERT ROBERDS *** **** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** **** *** FAILURE TO DO SO WILL FORCE US TO ALERT YOUR *** *** SIGNIFICANT OTHER THAT YOU ARE NOT REALLY SENSITIVE *** *** TO HIS/HER NEEDS AND THAT YOU ARE NOT READY FOR A *** *** COMMITTED, NURTURING RELATIONSHIP. THE DOUBT WE WILL *** *** CAUSE WILL MAKE YOU GROW APART AND EVENTUALLY LEAVE *** *** YOU BOTH BITTER AND ALONE. OR AT LEAST CAUSE YOU TO *** *** NOT HAVE SEX QUITE AS OFTEN. *** *** THINK ABOUT IT! *** **** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** **** Note to Canadian customers: While we welcome Canadian checks and cash, it's perhaps simpler to just send us a Canadian Postal Money Order made out in US dollars. You can get one at your local Canada Post Office and send it right off. Note to customers outside the US and Canada: You, too, can probably send postal money orders from your country's Post Offices, made out in US dollars. This is no doubt the easiest way to do business with shareware authors in the United States. For registering, not only will you encourage us to keep writing shareware...you will also receive: 1) Our Gratitude. (As soon as we remember where Dave put it.) 2) 1/2 Price discounts on upgrades of this product. 3) Upon demand, we will send you a list of both girls and guys we know who are available for a meaningful relationship. We can also provide a list of girls we have dated and been dumped by and a list of intimate personal problems (of theirs) that make us glad we were able to get out of the relationship when we did. Read BSXCAT.DOC and ORDER.DOC for full details! Your support and comments are appreciated! And if you're a girl who doesn't need a meaningful relationship, we'd like to know about you. 3.0 - Setup. A complete copy of WOWZEE 1.0 has the following files: 1) WOWZEE.DOC - Documentation file you are now reading. 2) WOWZEE.EXE - The actual compiled program you run to play. 3) WOWZEE.DAT - "Data" file needed for program execution. 4) WOWZEE.ICO - Windows 3.0+ compatible icon file. WOWZEE IS NOT A WINDOWS PROGRAM, but we include a .ICO file for those users who wish to install it under Windows. It's your funeral. Allow lots of memory for it in the PIF. 5) BSXCAT.DOC - BSX's latest catalog. You may be suprised. 6) ORDER.DOC - E Z 2 UZE BSX order and registration form. To run WOWZEE 1.0 from a hard drive, simply copy the WOWZEE.EXE and WOWZEE.DAT files into a directory of your own choosing. Just type WOWZEE and there you are. If the directory is in your PATH, you may run WOWZEE from anywhere. To run WOWZEE 1.0 from a floppy disk, (if you must) just make sure the disk has the WOWZEE.EXE and WOWZEE.DAT files on it. Change your default drive to A: or B: and type WOWZEE. If any of the above is confusing, refer to your DOS manuals. These are those things that came with your computer when you got it that you probably mistook for packing material. Which isn't to say that they aren't primarily used for packing material; it's just that if you don't have a clue about DOS, they're a good way to make you so totally frustrated and lost that you probably won't even remember why you looked at them in the first place. If you still really want to play WOWZEE, give us a holler. Also, make sure your system meets the following criteria below: 1) IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or compatible (any 80x88/80x86 machine, from 8088/8086 clear on up through 80486 and beyond). 2) 256K of free RAM, minimum. You'll probably need more. 3) EGA or VGA video adaptor with at least 256K of video RAM. 4) DOS 2.1 or higher or the DOS Compatability Box of OS/2. 5) Microsoft compatible mouse is supported, but NOT required. WOWZEE 1.0 WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT AN EGA OR VGA CARD! This game has been playtested on several systems. We can't say it will work on every possible configuration, but every effort was made to verify that it works on everything we are aware of. We cannot guarantee that this program will run on any operating system other than MS-DOS or that it will work with any TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident programs) or memory management devices. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you put files=20, buffers=40, and device=ansi.sys in your config.sys file. These shouldn't be necessary for WOWZEE, but it's best not to take chances. So many problems are caused by the omission of these lines that you'd be a fool not to put them in. IT IS ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, if you do have problems with WOWZEE, that you unload and reload any TSRs before playing. This often helps clean up problems that other programs have left behind. But we can' t guarantee it. In fact, we can't really guarantee diddly. Waddaya want for ten bucks? Please try to recreate any problem on another, similar configuration before assuming that we have screwed up. We will try to solve any problems if you contact BSX. Before doing so, please re-read the dox to make sure you aren't missing something. You may get in touch with BSX International at (919) 493-4875, just about any time, or you can send a message on Prodigy at JBVC54A, or on GEnie at R.ROBERDS1, or on VNet at 5 @9198 or on WWIVNet at 5 @9979. Or you can even use the real mail! Don't say we're not available! Cuz we ARE, dammit! 4.0 - Rules. (i.e.- About playing WOWZEE.) WOWZEE is a one-player card game based on Yahtzee, Poker and Mah Jongg. (If you know FORZEE, another BSX game, you're almost done reading.) A deck of cards is displayed face up with cards piled on one another. Your job is to remove cards from the pile in groups of five and score the resulting poker hand using each of the possible scoring combinations only once. The only problem is this: you can only remove a card if there is no card stacked above it AND if there is no card immediately next to it on one of its left or right edges. After you remove five cards and score the hand, you have to do it again and again until you haved used up all the scoring possibilities. Halfway through you will exhaust the pile. We will give you a brand new pile to play with. The goal is to attain a score of 600 or more points. Scoring is determined as follows: (For each five card hand you can score it once and only once.) ACES: One point for each ace in hand. (A,A,A,8,7 = 3 pts.) TWOS: Two points for each two. (3,2,K,2,7 = 4 pts.) THREES: Three points for each three. and so on 'til... TENS: Ten points for each ten in hand. NOTE: If the total number of points gathered with the above combinations is equal to or greater than 160, a 50-point bonus is awarded. Don't forget this! PAIR: Two cards of equal face value (or "rank") gets 10 points. TWO PAIR: Two sets of pairs in the same hand gets 20 points. 3 OF A KIND: Three cards of equal rank gets 30 points. SMALL STRAIGHT: 4 cards with consecutive face values. Ace can be high or low. (ex: A,2,3,4,8 or J,Q,K,A,5). Earns 40 points. LARGE STRAIGHT: As above but with all five cards consecutive. 50 points. Ace can be high or low. FLUSH: All five cards are the same suit. (ex: All Spades or Hearts). Worth 60 points. FULL HOUSE: A three of a kind and a pair in the same hand. 70 points. FOUR OF A KIND: A hand containing four cards that are all the same face value. 80 points. STRAIGHT FLUSH: Same as a large straight except that all cards are of the same suit. 90 points. CHANCE: Score each card its face value with face cards worth 10 and aces worth one. (ex: A,3,7,J,K is worth 31 points). You'll notice when you start the game or get a whole new pile that you are forced to play one of the top two cards no matter what. Since you HAVE to score every hand, you may be forced into scoring something "0" or some other low value. You may even find that later on a straight you carefully created buys you nothing since you already scored both possible straights. (Before you complain about this, think. If you weren't forced to score this way, you could just keep sitting there pulling cards off the pile and win every time. Wouldn't be much of a game, would it? So shut up.) At this point we recommend just going ahead and playing with the game. You will soon figure out what's going on. There's no need for you to fuss over the rules; the program knows them perfectly and won't let you cheat. Don't worry about screwing up or getting a low score or anything. We almost certainly won't laugh at you. 5.0 - Using WOWZEE 1.0 After you get past our title screen, you're right into the action. You'll be in whatever play mode you last used with the player settings same as last time. The first time you play we set you up, so don't worry. How you use WOWZEE depends on your system: If you have a MOUSE: We detect it. Just put the mouse cursor over a card and click the left button to take it off the pile. Right button click puts it back where it was. Score hands and select option buttons with the left mouse button. When you click a scoring choice we will add it up for you and give you a chance to change your mind. The left button will make that choice official, the right button will cancel it. You can adjust mouse sensitivity to your taste. If you have a KEYBOARD but NO MOUSE: You can arrow around with the cursor using the arrow keys and/or numeric keypad (with NUMLOCK off) hitting ENTER (RETURN) or SPACEBAR to select a card or option button. ESC or BACKSPACE will put a card back on the pile where it came from. If you select a scoring option you can hit enter to confirm it or ESC to change your mind. Also, the first letter of an option will often invoke it; for instance, "Q" for "Quit". Mousers can force the program to use the keyboard by typing: WOWZEE -n to start the program. Just play it. We gave ourselves hernias making this game easy to use. If you can't handle it, you should probably be euthanized. We recommend you peruse "Final Exit" for ideas. 5.1 - Features Below is a list of the buttons on your screen and what they will do for you: HELP: Brief rules summary will appear. PLAYERS: You can store names and stats for up to eight different players. The active player's name appears on the game screen. GAME/TOURNEY: You can play in one of two different modes: Game or tournament. Game mode is just single games. Tourney mode challenges you to a best-of-seven contest with final victory dependent upon more than one game. You can quit tourney mode but you cannot "save" a tournament in progress. That would be bogus. MOUSE: Allows you to adjust mouse sensitivity with VCR-style buttons. The changes you make will take effect instantly to allow you to see what you're doing. These settings are saved permanently until you change them again. BOSS: A fake DOS screen will appear that should fool passersby that you are doing more meaningful computer stuff than playing this game. (Assuming there IS something better to do than this game. We have our doubts about that.) Anyway, it is not a real DOS "shell", just a screen. To get back to your game type "exit" followed by ENTER. To really quit the game for good, type "abort". This may keep you from being fired. SOUND: If you need to play quietly so's not to disturb those about you or draw needless attention to yourself, this button will toggle the sound on or off. The words "Noisy" or "Silent" appear in the box in the lower left to tell what the game thinks you want. WOWZEE "remembers" this setting even if you quit and start the game again. But to be SURE the sound is off when you start, invoke the program with the "-s" switch, as in: WOWZEE -s The sound setting is remembered from your last game, but this will INSURE the game will start in "Silent" mode. For paranoid players, and the women who love them. Handy for the first time you install WOWZEE on your computer at work (you LOAFER!). QUIT: Leave the present game/tourney. If you want to quit to DOS, you'll be given a chance to do that here. You can't "save" a game, though. That would be bogus. 6.0 - Technical and Version Notes. WOWZEE was developed using Borland's Turbo Pascal 5.5 on an IBM PC with an Intel Inboard 386, Paradise Pro VGA card, 2 megs of RAM, a 120MB Maxtor Hard Drive, and a Logitech Bus Mouse, running DOS 3.3, of all things. It was beta tested and further developed on a Gateway 2000 386/33 with a Kraft Trackball running under DOS 5.0. 6.1 - Version Summary 1.0 - 16 Sept. 1992 - Baseline version. Controls and features adapted from FORZEE 3.0, another amazing game you can get from us. All's you gotta do is ask (and pay). 7.0 - About BSX International. Makers of startlingly fun game software, BSX International owes its existence to the large number of game enthusiasts and registrants who support us. (And the fact that beer is still cheap enough and readily available.) We continue on into the nineties with this simple pledge: If you keep registering, we'll keep making it. (More of an ultimatum, actually.) Truth be told, we'd write this stuff anyway because we love games. We'd starve to death, but we'd do it. Still, we REALLY don't WANT to starve to death, so we'd appreciate it if you'd register. You cheap bastards. There simply aren't enough good games available for computers. If you're like us, when you get a software catalog or go to the store you head right for the games section. Forget this nonsense about computers being "powerful tools for business." They're powerful tools for fun. Now don't you make us get nasty. After all, we're PRETTY DARN NASTY already! Bob "Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun to Be With" Roberds - President & Development David "Dr. K" Kotomski - Another President & Developer So round, so firm, so fully packed... It must be from __ ___ | \ / \ \ / |__/ \___ \/ | \ \ /\ |__/ \___/ / \ International "Where the Future is Tommorrow" Rootin Tootin Computin for the 90s and Beyond Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! We're fierce, we're BSX International, and we're *IN YER FACE!* Serving your shareware needs for over a fiftieth of a century! 8.0 - Acknowledgements. Bob would like to thank Dave for all the BSX stuff, as well as for the numerous/humorous anecdotes about his alleged love life. I mean, let's face it: it's not exactly Don Juan. It's more like Don of the Dead. Kudos to all BSX registrants. More thangs to all the folks out there in BBS land for their suggestions and stuff. I'd name them, but I don't KNOW most of their names because they insist on using handles. Accolades to LRG for perfecting the Silent Treatment (TM). So I burped in her ear on the phone a couple of dozen times. BIG DEAL. It's not like I *killed* a guy. Well, OK; I *DID* kill a guy, but *SHE* doesn't know that. PS: You may have noticed in the title screen that there is a picture of me wearing a US Navy uniform. I am not actually in the Navy. I wear those clothes because they make me look good. DAMN good. Dave needs to thank Bob, Joan, Alexei & Chip for good times and stuff. Bob and I have been doing all manner of silly things for 16 years and I see no reason to stop now. I guess I'm suppossed to acknowledge my source of inspiration here, but outside of beer, games and possibly sex, I'm not sure I have one. Actually, there is that new car I ordered. And that girl that sat across from me in high school English. She had the greatest... 9.0 - What others have to say about Wowzee: "Youuuuuu ewwwawaaan ahnnnn Wowzee ehhhhhhh!" - Bob Dylan "I like it. Awwriight!" - Billy Idol "The analytic requirements are so great, I fail to see how humans would find this game enjoyable." - Lt. Commander Data "Less talk. More Wowzee." - Lt. Worf Power corrupts. Absolute power is kinda neat. Peace.