- Fixed a bug in the file management routines that caused scores not to be correctly stored in some situations.
- The preferences file and the registration data are now stored in the Preferences folder. The files are named respectively “MacPipes Preferences” and “MacPipes Registration”.
- The high scores table has been improved. It now shows the number of the level at which the scores have been achieved and the difficulty setting for that level using small “smile” faces (see the Options screen for their meaning). In addition, the game will remember the last name entered, so that you won't have to retype it again and again.
- You can now type numbers in the high scores table.
- The scores file is now named “MacPipes Scores” and it's still located in the same folder as the the game application. Having changed the file structure to store additional info, an option for loading the old scores files has been added. Just select ”Load Old Scores” from the File menu (a file named “MacPipes.scores” must be present in the game folder).
- An option for clearing the scores has been added. Select ”Clear Scores...” from the File menu.
- A “Practice” mode has been introduced to let the younger players among you enjoy the game without having to struggle against the time limit (scores achieved in this mode aren't recorded).
- A “Quit” button has been added to the title screen.
- The scrolling message in the title screen now reflects the registration status.
- The current version number is displayed in the top right corner of the title screen.
- The graphic of the pipes stack has been slightly modified to let the player more easily spot the next pipe segment to be placed in the grid.
- The sound routines have been completely overhauled. The effects are now played on three separate channels (i.e. up to three sounds can be played simultaneously).
- A click sound for the various buttons has been added.
- In the Options screen you can now select the difficulty using the mouse. An exit button has been added.
- The key for aborting a game has been changed to ESC (escape). Now when aborting a game, instead of simply returning to the title screen, you pass through the game over sequence, eventually recording the current score.
- Two key equivalents has been added for activating the bomb (default, Option) and for scrolling the stack (default, Shift). These two keys and the key used to start the flow (default, Space) are now user definable. Select “Set Keys...” from the Game menu.
- The text in the Help screen has been modified to reflect this new feature and has been made a little more informative.
- The usual minor bug fixes and code refinements.
- A FAQ file has been added to the package. Please read it.
As you can see, I added many new features to MacPipes in response to the good (and quite unespected) success it had among Macintosh gamers. I received many, many registrations (thank you guys!) and new ones are coming every day.
I think it's because of its excellent quality/price ratio that so many people liked MacPipes. For this reason, despite the big amount of work I put on this new version, I decided not to raise the shareware fee: it's still a bargain at 5$.
Nonetheless, if you really like MacPipes and you feel yourself devoted to the shareware cause, you can still add that extra bonus ;-). Many thanks in advance.
