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Software Vault: The Gold Collection
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Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO
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TOWERS.DOC
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1992-05-14
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TOMMY'S TOWERS (C) COPYRIGHT 1986 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #86-026-1A
INSTRUCTIONS:
TOMMY'S TOWERS IS A NEW (TO EARTHLINGS) GAME OF CHESS PLAYED ON A 20 X 50
BOARD WHERE EACH ARMY STARTS WITH OVER 300 PIECES. ITS LARGE SIZE MAKES IT
A MORE REALISTIC SIMULATION OF BATTLE THAN TRADITIONAL 8 X 8 CHESS. THE
PIVOTAL ROLE OF THE TOWERS GIVES IT ITS NAME.
TOMMY'S TOWERS WAS DESIGNED TO ILLUSTRATE THAT THE FUTURE OF COMPUTERS IN
CHESS IS NOT MERELY TO SUBSTITUTE FOR A PLAYER IN THE TRADITIONAL GAME BUT TO
IMPLEMENT UNLIMITED NEW VARIETIES OF CHESS WHERE EVEN THE BOARD SIZE AND
SHAPE, NUMBER AND TYPES OF PIECES AND THEIR RULES OF PLAY, CAN VARY FROM GAME
TO GAME AND DYNAMICALLY WITHIN A GAME: THE HUMAN PLAYERS THEN HAVE A REAL TEST
OF WITS AND DETERMINATION IN FIGHTING UNDER THESE UNPREDICTABLE CONDITIONS.
RULES:
EACH TYPE OF PIECE HAS A RULE FOR MOVING, A RULE FOR TAKING A PIECE (OF THE
OTHER ARMY) AND A RULE FOR BEING TAKEN BY OTHER PIECES.
IN ADDITION, MOST PIECES HAVE A MAXIMUM RANGE OF OPERATION ON A SINGLE MOVE,
WHICH EFFECTIVELY BREAKS THE BIG BOARD DOWN INTO NUMEROUS INTERLOCKING
SMALLER BOARDS OF PLAY.
ALLOWABLE MOVE TERMINOLOGY:
IN WHAT FOLLOWS, THE ALLOWABLE MOVES ARE DESCRIBED AS "FORWARDS",
"BACKWARDS," "DIAGONALLY BACKWARDS," ETC. HERE IS WHAT IT MEANS:
FOR THE GENERAL (PLAYER) AT THE TOP OF THE SCREEN (WHITE):
DIAGONALLY BACKWARDS
/
BACKWARDS/
| /
RIGHT----|----LEFT
/ |
/ FORWARDS
/
DIAGONALLY FORWARDS
WHEN A PIECE CAN MOVE ONLY B/F/L/R BUT NOT DIAGONALLY, THIS IS CALLED
"UNDIAGONALLY".
THE PIECES.
NOTES: 1. NORMALLY, A PIECE CANNOT HOP OVER PIECES IN THE LINE OF TRAVEL; ANY
EXCEPTIONS WILL BE NOTED.
2. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ARCHER AND THE CANNON, A PIECE CANNOT
TAKE ANOTHER PIECE OF THE SAME COLOR.
1. PAWN. CAN MOVE FORWARDS 1 SQUARE AT A TIME ONLY (NO EN PASSANT).
CAN TAKE DIAGONALLY FORWARDS ONLY (LIKE IN CLASSICAL CHESS).
ANY PIECE CAN TAKE IT.
2. SHIELD. CAN MOVE FORWARD OR LEFT OR RIGHT, ONE SQUARE AT A TIME, INTO
AN EMPTY SQUARE.
CAN ONLY TAKE ANOTHER SHIELD AND THEN ONLY FROM THE SIDE WITH
A L/R MOVE, OR DIAGONALLY FORWARDS LIKE A PAWN.
THE ONLY PIECES THAT CAN TAKE A SHIELD BESIDES ANOTHER SHIELD
ARE THE PAWN AND THE CANNON.
3. KING. CAN MOVE (AND TAKE) ONE SQUARE ANY DIRECTION.
THE OLD ESCAPE MANEUVER KNOWN AS CASTLING HAS BEEN ELIMINATED
DUE TO POLITICAL PRESSURE FROM MARS.
4. TOWER. CAN MOVE UNDIAGONALLY ANY NUMBER OF SQUARES.
CAN TAKE ANY PIECE. THIS IS THE ONLY PIECE WITH UNLIMITED
RANGE, HENCE THE NAME TOMMY'S TOWERS.
5. BISHOP. CAN MOVE UP TO EIGHT SQUARES DIAGONALLY.
CAN TAKE ANY PIECE.
6. QUEEN. CAN MOVE IN STRAIGHT LINE UP TO EIGHT SQUARES.
CAN TAKE ANY PIECE.
7. JACK. CAN MOVE AND TAKE LIKE KING.
8. DUKE. CAN MOVE ONE SQUARE FORWARDS OR BACKWARDS.
LIKE A PAWN, CAN ONLY TAKE PIECES ONE SQUARE DIAGONALLY FORWARDS.
9. EARL. CAN MOVE LIKE A BISHOP, ONLY ONE SQUARE AT A TIME.
CAN TAKE ANY PIECE.
10. KNIGHT. CAN MOVE 2-4 SQUARES UNDIAGONALLY AND THEN OPTIONALLY ONE MORE
PERPENDICULARLY TO THAT. CAN TAKE ANY PIECE.
CAN JUMP OVER HILLS. (THE RED KNIGHT IS THE ONLY OTHER PIECE
THAT CAN DO THIS).
11. ARCHER. MOVES AND TAKES LIKE JACK, PLUS IT CAN 'SHOOT', WITHOUT MOVING,
ANY SQUARE THAT IS AT LEAST 2 SQUARES BUT NO MORE THAN
4 ROWS AND 4 COLUMNS AWAY.
IT WILL NOT DESTROY A SHIELD, CANNON, PIT/BRIDGE/HILL.
AN ARCHER CAN SHOOT A FRIENDLY PIECE.
12. PRINCE }THESE PIECES MOVE AND TAKE LIKE A JACK, PLUS THEY CAN
13. PRINCESS }LOOK IDENTICAL. HOP ONTO ANY SQUARE ON THE STRAIGHT LINE
BETWEEN THEM, TAKING IF NECESSARY. MAXIMUM
RANGE IS 8.
NOTE: IN OLDER VERSIONS OF TOMMY'S TOWERS, THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS COULD
COMMIT SUICIDE, TAKING OUT ALL PIECES LOCATED ON THE STRAIGHT
LINE BETWEEN THEM. THIS HAS BEEN ELIMINATED BECAUSE IT ISN'T
FAIR TO GAY DUKES AND EARLS.
14. CANNON. MOVES ALONG A COLUMN (FORWARDS/BACKWARDS) ONE SQUARE AT A TIME,
WITHOUT TAKING.
CAN 'SHOOT', WITHOUT MOVING, ANY SQUARE ON THE SAME COLUMN AT A
RANGE OF 2-8 IN FRONT OF IT, INCLUDING ONE WITH A FRIENDLY
PIECE ON IT; IF A BRIDGE IS SHOT, IT IS DESTROYED (THE ONLY WAY
TO DESTROY A BRIDGE).
15. RED QUEEN. CAN ONLY MOVE BY TAKING A PIECE SITUATED IN A STRAIGHT LINE
FROM IT, NO MORE THAN 8 ROWS OR 8 COLUMNS AWAY, HOPPING OVER
ALL INTERVENING PIECES AS NECESSARY.
16. RED KNIGHT. CAN ONLY MOVE BY TAKING A PIECE ON THE SAME ROW OR SAME
COLUMN UP TO EIGHT SQUARES DISTANCE, WITH AN OPTIONAL
PERPENDICULAR STEP OF ONE SQUARE BEFORE TAKING (HOPS OVER
INTERVENING PIECES).
CAN HOP OVER HILLS. (THE KNIGHT IS THE ONLY OTHER PIECE THAT
CAN DO THIS).
17. WIZARD. CAN MOVE TO AN EMPTY SQUARE (NO PITS/BRIDGES/HILLS) ANYWHERE
ON BOARD.
A WIZARD CAN TAKE ANOTHER WIZARD IF IT IS LOCATED WITHIN 8 ROWS
AND 8 COLUMNS OF IT; A KING CAN TAKE A WIZARD IF IT IS LOCATED
ON THE SQUARE ADJACENT TO IT.
ONLY KINGS AND WIZARDS CAN TAKE OTHER WIZARDS. SO WHAT USE
ARE THEY?
WIZARD FREEZE:
NO PIECE OF THE OPPOSITE COLOR -- EXCEPT ANOTHER WIZARD OR A
KING -- ON A SQUARE ADJACENT TO A WIZARD CAN MOVE OR TAKE.
PASSIVE PIECES:
THESE PIECES DO NOT MOVE BUT TAKE UP SQUARES AND HAVE SPECIAL PROPERTIES.
1. BRIDGE. WHEN A PIECE CAN MOVE INTO A SQUARE OCCUPIED BY A BRIDGE, THAT
PIECE MUST CONTINUE OVER THE BRIDGE IN THE SAME DIRECTION AND
LAND ON THE FIRST SQUARE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRIDGE.
NOTE: BY "SAME DIRECTION" IS MEANT THAT ANY COMPONENT OF
VELOCITY TO THE LEFT WILL SEND THE PIECE TO THE FIRST SQUARE
ON THE LEFT OF THE BRIDGE ON THE OTHER SIDE, ETC.
2. PIT. ANY PIECE MOVING INTO A PIT IS DESTROYED; ALL 'HOPPING' PIECES
(KNIGHT, REDKNIGHT, PRINCE/PRINCESS, REDQUEEN, WIZARD) ARE
ABLE TO HOP OVER PITS; ARCHERS AND CANNONS CAN SHOOT INTO PITS.
3. HILL. BLOCKS ANY PIECE FROM HOPPING OR SHOOTING OVER IT FOR ANY REASON
(WIZARDS, KNIGHTS, REDKNIGHTS EXCEPTED).
NOTE: CANNONS CAN FIRE INTO PITS AND HILLS.
TO RUN THE PROGRAM:
YOU ARE FIRST PROMPTED FOR THE NAME OF THE TEMPORARY SCRATCH FILE USED
TO RECORD THE MOVES. IF YOU HAVE A RAM DISK OPTION YOU MIGHT WANT TO
SPECIFY A FILE ON SUCH A DRIVE; IF YOU SIMPLY TYPE <ENTER>, THE FILE NAME
"TOWERS.SCR" IS USED. IF YOU USE A FLOPPY, BE SURE THE WRITE-PROTECT TAB
IS REMOVED.
*NOTE: THERE IS A LIMIT OF 32767 MOVES PER GAME.
YOU ARE THEN PROMPTED FOR THE PLAYERS' NAMES, AND THEN WHETHER YOU WANT
TO REPLAY A PREVIOUSLY-SAVED GAME.
INITIAL BOARD LAYOUT: PLAY THE GAME AND FIND OUT! (NOTE: BOWING TO ANCIENT
TITANIAN TRADITION, THERE ARE 2 HILLS, 3 BRIDGES, AND 4 PITS ON
EACH SIDE OF THE FIELD -- YOU ALL KNOW THE PROVERB).
COMMAND SET:
YOU HAVE USE OF THE FUNCTION KEYS AS WELL AS KEYBOARD COMMANDS.
FUNCTION KEYS:
FN KEY FUNCTION
------ --------
F1 SAVE GAME
F2 RESTORE GAME (YOU ARE GIVEN THE OPTION OF REPLAYING THE GAME OR
RESTORING THE BOARD). NOTE: WHILE THE GAME IS BEING
RESTORED, YOU CAN TOGGLE THE REPLAY MODE BY TYPING "R", AND BREAK
OUT OF THE COMMAND BY TYPING "Q" OR HITTING THE ESC KEY.
F3 BACKUP AN ARBITRARY NUMBER OF MOVES (REPLAY MODE ALSO WORKS HERE)
F4 UNDO AN ARBITRARY NUMBER OF BACKUPS (DITTO)
F5 SPEED DECREASE (FOR REPLAY MODE)
F6 SPEED INCREASE (FOR REPLAY MODE)
F5 INCREASES, AND F6 DECREASES THE INTER-STEP DELAY. THE CURRENT
VALUE OF THE DELAY, IN SECONDS (0 TO 9.9) IS DISPLAYED NEXT TO THE
ARMY SIZES.
F7 ENABLE/DISABLE THE NOTE LINE FEATURE (SEE BELOW)
F8 ENTER A NOTE FOR CURRENT MOVE
F9 AUTO/MANUAL MODE TOGGLE SWITCH. IN AUTO MODE, FOR DEMONSTRATION
PURPOSES ONLY, THE COMPUTER MOVES THE PIECES, BUT NOT NECESSARILY
IN A GOOD FASHION.
F10 SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE (ON/OFF)
NOTE ON SAVE AND RESTORE FUNCTIONS:
AFTER PRESSING FN KEY F1, YOU ARE PROMPTED WHETHER YOU WANT TO SAVE THE ENTIRE
GAME (ALL THE MOVES PLUS THE BOARD), OR JUST THE BOARD; IF THE INITIAL GAME
BOARD CONFIGURATION WAS NON-STANDARD, YOU MUST SAVE IT SPECIALLY ON ANOTHER
FILE, THEN OPTIONALLY APPEND THE GAME FILE TO IT LATER AT THE OPERATING SYSTEM
LEVEL.
WHEN READING IN A FILE THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN INITIAL BOARD CONFIGURATION IN IT,
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SET THE ROUND AND THE PLAYER: IN THE PROMPTS, "*" MEANS TO
KEEP THE VALUE YOU ALREADY HAVE.
MOVES:
MOVES ARE DESCRIBED BY THE COMPUTER IN STANDARD CHESS STYLE, E.G.,
B1-C1 OR Q11-R12.
WHEN ENTERING MOVES, ANY ILLEGAL CHARACTER TYPED WILL RESULT IN THE COMPUTER
ASKING FOR THE MOVE TO BE COMPLETELY REENTERED.
IF THE NUMERICAL PART OF A MOVE IS LESS THEN 10, YOU MUST ADD A SPACE TO
COMPLETE THE ENTRY. FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MUST TYPE "B1<SPACE>C1<SPACE>" TO ENTER
THE MOVE "B1-C1", BUT "B12C13" TO ENTER THE MOVE "B12-C13".
COMMANDS RECOGNIZED BY THE MOVE INTERPRETER:
INSTEAD OF A MOVE, YOU CAN ENTER THE FOLLOWING COMMANDS:
COMMAND FUNCTION
------- --------
? DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS
. BACKSTEP ONE MOVE
/ UNDO THE LAST BACKSTEP
X OR ESC QUIT THE GAME
\ EDIT THE BOARD
= EDIT THE NOTE LINE (SEE BELOW)
WHEN EDITING THE BOARD YOU ARE PROMPTED FOR A BOARD POSITION AND ITS NEW
PIECE. THE PIECE IS ENTERED AS THE STANDARD NAME DISPLAYED IN THE SYMBOL
LEGEND AT PROGRAM START-UP, E.G., "QUEEN".
IF A MINUS SIGN "-" PRECEDES THE NAME, THE PIECE WILL BE WHITE, ELSE BLACK.
E.G.: "B12 QUEEN" SETS BOARD B12 TO A BLACK QUEEN
"G1 -ARCHER" SETS BOARD G1 TO A WHITE ARCHER
*NOTE: FOR PRINCE/PRINCESS ALWAYS ENTER "PRINCE" (THIS IS AN OLD-FASHIONED
GAME).
TO EXIT THE EDIT PROMPT WITHOUT CHANGING ANYTHING, TYPE "X".
*WARNING: THE COMPUTER DOES NOT CHECK FOR MOVE LEGALITY WHEN BACKSTEPPING
OR UNDOING BACKSTEPS; HENCE, IF YOU EDIT THE BOARD AND THEN ISSUE ONE
OF THESE COMMANDS, YOU MIGHT INADVERTENTLY MAKE AN ILLEGAL MOVE.
**DOUBLE WARNING: THE COMPUTER DOES NOT REMEMBER WHEN EDITS ARE MADE OR
WHAT THEY WERE, HENCE, SAVING A GAME IN THE MIDST OF WHICH AN EDIT WAS
MADE, WILL BE INVALID UNLESS THE BOARD AT THE POINT OF EDITING IS SAVED
FIRST.
NOTE LINE FEATURE:
THE TOP LINE OF THE BOARD CAN OPTIONALLY BE USED TO DISPLAY A 54-CHARACTER
NOTE FOR EACH MOVE: FN KEY F7 TOGGLES THIS FEATURE ON AND OFF.
TYPING "=", OR HITTING FN KEY F8, WILL CAUSE THE KEYBOARD TO ENTER NOTE
EDIT MODE:
JUST TYPE IN THE NOTE, USING THE BACKSPACE KEY AS NECESSARY, THEN HIT
<ENTER> TO RETURN TO MOVE INPUT MODE. WARNING: UNLESS A MOVE IS ALSO
ENTERED AND EXECUTED, THE NOTE WILL BE FORGOTTEN, FOR INSTANCE,
WHEN BACK/FORWARD STEPPING USING THE "." AND "/" KEYS.
THE NOTES ARE AUTOMATICALLY SAVED WITH THE GAME IN THE GAME FILE.
GAME FILES:
GAME FILES CAN BE EDITED TO INCLUDE VARIOUS SPECIAL NOTES AND COMMANDS FOR
PUBLICATION OR LIBRARY MAINTENANCE.
THESE LINES ALL MUST HAVE A SPECIAL CODE LETTER IN COLUMN 1, BECAUSE A
BLANK IN COLUMN 1 SIGNALS A MOVE LINE. THEY MUST ALSO OCCUR AFTER THE
"MOVES:" MARKER LINE IN THE GAME FILE (ALL LINES BEFORE THIS ARE SIMPLY
IGNORED).
1. NON-DISPLAY NOTE. A "." IN COL 1 SIGNALS A LINE FOR THE BENEFIT
OF THE READER OF THE REPLAY FILE, AND IS IGNORED BY THE PROGRAM
WHEN READING IN THE GAME.
2. DISPLAY NOTE. A "N" OR A "," IN COL 1 SIGNALS A NOTE THAT WILL
BE DISPLAYED ON THE NOTE LINE OF THE BOARD WHEN ENCOUNTERED.
3. WAIT COMMAND. A "W" IN COL 1 SIGNALS THAT THE PROGRAM IS TO WAIT
"n" SECONDS BEFORE READING IN THE NEXT LINE; "n" (IN THE RANGE OF
1..9) MUST BE GIVEN IN COL 2 OF THE LINE.
4. SOUND EFFECTS COMMAND. A "S" OR A "M" IN COL 1 SIGNALS THAT THE
REST OF THE LINE IS TO BE GIVEN AS AN ARGUMENT TO THE BASICA
"PLAY" COMMAND; SEE A BASICA MANUAL FOR AN EXPLANATION. THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN S AND M LINES IS THAT THE LATTER WILL ONLY
BE PLAYED WHEN THE NOTE LINE IS ON.
FINAL NOTE: IN THE UNLIKELY POSSIBILITY THAT THE PROGRAM REJECTS MOVES
WHICH IT IS SUPPOSED TO ACCEPT, YOU CAN DISABLE THE MOVE LEGALITY
CHECK LOGIC BY TYPING A COMMAND OF "@" FOLLOWED BY A PASSWORD
OF "O0OO0O". TO REENABLE THE LOGIC, REPEAT THE COMMAND WITH A
PASSWORD OF "SESAME" (WHILE TOUCHING YOUR NOSE WITH YOUR LEFT
ELBOW).
FETPAGOTT AWARD:
ARE YOU THE FIRST EARTHLING TO PLAY A (COMPLETE) GAME OF TOMMY'S TOWERS? IF
SO, SEND US THE GAME ON A 5.25 INCH OR 3.5 INCH DISK AND WE'LL SEND YOU A
NICE PRIZE. MY HOW SLOW HUMAN EVOLUTION IS.
TO SKIP STARTUP SHOW: HIT <ENTER> TWICE INSTEAD OF ONCE WHEN RUNNING THE
PROGRAM FROM DOS.
COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
S START UP WITH SOUND OFF
M FORCE MONO DISPLAY MODE
C FORCE COLOR DISPLAY MODE
* SKIP STARTUP SHOW
EXAMPLE: >TOWERS MS
----------------------
DID YOU LIKE THIS TOY?
DON'T FORGET TO TRY OUR GOBS OF OTHER NEAT LOW-PRICED GAMES AND TOYS FOR THE
IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES. OUR NIFTY DEMO DISK, CONTAINING AN ELECTRONIC TOY
CATALOG AND OTHER GOODIES, IS ONLY $2 TO ANY U.S. ADDRESS, $3 OUTSIDE U.S.
(U.S. FUNDS ONLY OR CHECK DRAWN ON U.S. BANK). (PLEASE SPECIFY 3.5 INCH OR
5.25 INCH DISKETTE). IF YOUR PC BORES YOU WRITE US NOW.
TOMMY'S TOYS, P.O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.
GOOD LUCK!