This game is written for PalmIIIc devices (and Palm OS Emulator), but will run on other Palm Computing Platforms or IBM WorkPad from PalmOS 3.0 onwards, but one may not be satisfied with the display of the game on these units. Use version 1.x if this is the case. There are no warranties regarding data integrity, stability, usability and userÆs sanity. Installation to your device and subsequent usage is entirely at your own risk.
Introduction:
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Quartus
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Quartus is Neal Bridgesæ project to give a real Forth design environment to the Palm Computing Platform community. You can find it, its history, as well as a livid discussion forum via
http://www.quartus.net
Being a Forth old-timer myself (only if there is a Forth system available for it, it is a computer) I stumbled over NealÆs project and decided, for the first time in well over five years, to write code that exceeds the occasional "Hello World!" I normally hack up to check for the success of environment installations.
The Game of Quintominoes
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The game was written and tested over the long Ascencion day weekend. Unlike 'EisbΣr', this is somewhat more sophisticated, using resources and controls, taking over the app buttons etc.
This is an adaptation of the (very) old logical puzzle game more commonly also referred to as Pentominoes. The objective of the game is to find solutions to the puzzle. There are 12 pieces made up of 5 squares each, so you get 60 squares in total. The magic of this ancient puzzle is that you can form rectangles, utilizing all the pieces. Four types of rectangles are possible, 6 by 10 squares, 5 by 12 squares, 4 by 15 squares or, most challenging, 3 by 20 squares. For the latter there are only two known solutions, but the 6 by 10 task has 2339 solutions, so I doubt that you get bored easily once you are hooked to the game. More hints and game options see ->
Further References:
The Canterbury Puzzles, Henry Dudeney, 1907
Polyominoes, Solomon W. Golomb, 1965, preceeding articles as early as 1954
Installation and Gameplay
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Install *only* the file Quint.prc from this package to your Palm Computing Platform Color device or Emulator in the same way you usually install 3rd party applications.
To play, tap the applicationÆs icon in your favorite app launcher. You can control, i.e. move, turn or flip over the active piece either by using the on-screen controls or with the corresponding application and scroll buttons. To select an active piece you tap on it, and now you can also drag it with the Stylus.
If you "loose" a piece by moving it off-screen you can try to retrieve it by reversing the move, or, if its really lost, you can use the "Refr/Rescue" option from the menu. To properly admire your results you can temporarily deselect the piece in another menu option.
The game keeps status when switching off or changing to other apps. Due to having captured the application buttons, the game can (only) be left by tapping the silk screen launcher button.
Software Status
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Version History
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This is version 2.56 \ 29Apr2000
Added "Rescue" option for pieces accidentally moved off screen.
Previous versions:
This is version 2.55 \ 06Mar2000
Improved speed of piece-dragging, visible dragging again. Sorry for the inconvenience
This is version 2.51
Due to the impossibility to drag/redraw a piece in full color under the stylus, the dragged piece now blinks out of existence and redraws when the stylus is lifted again.
This is version 2.50
More beatiful display, color cycling, now runs from OS3.0 upwards.
This is version 2.00c \ 19Feb2000
No enhancements or fixes over version 1.50 but a version intended for the PalmIIIc device only.
This is Version 1.50 (final) \ 15Jul1999
Selected piece can be dragged with Stylus.
This is Version 1.01 (final) \ 31May1999
Slightly modified graphic presentation, minor source-code cleanup.
This is Version 1.00 (final) \ 24May1999
Final gloss over and 1 million gremlins in POSE passed.
This is Version 0.98 (beta) \ 23May1999
Canges over previous version: Restructured code, better event handling, better display handling, modified user interface (rotate and flip on separate buttons/controls), fixed some loopholes where trying to move when no piece was selected could lead to a forced reset. Menu leave bug fixed.
This is Version 0.97 (beta) \ 21May1999 never released
New eventhandling concept, better handling of hard-button capture.
This is Version 0.96 (beta) \ 19May1999 first public release
and currently contains one bug I know of, if you open the menu and leave it without selecting a menu item, you need to press an app button or tap an on-screen control to resume normal operation.
This application was designed and compiled 100% on a Palm Computing Platform (namely my very own PIIIx, later PIIIc, and POSE version 3.0a4/3.0a5), utilizing Neal Bridges' Quartus Forth Compiler version 1.2.6 to create the executeable and creating the forms-resources entirely with the Onboard RsrcEdit version 1.0009 by Roger Lawrence of Individeo.
License Information
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This is time limited Postcard/EgoWare; distribution and usage of this version is free of charge as long as the application and this document are kept together. If you like it, I request you to send me a (picture) postcard or gadgets or whatever stating your e-mail address so you may receive a version with the time limit removed.
Nevertheless, inclusion in non-online software collections requires my written consent and may be subject to financial compensation due.
Author Information
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This game was written by me, Erwin Schomburg, Moerser Str. 31, D 40667 Meerbusch, Germany.
My e-mail is Erwin.Schomburg@t-online.de, this time I *do* answer requests for hints.
Package Contents
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As you have noticed, the whole shebang comes as a zipped file archive. If complete it contains:
The.txt \ This document
Quint.prc \ The installable executeable, the only file you install to play
