500 Game Surplus/XSurplus.iso/410/SPADES32.EXE/readme.txt

Text File | 1997-10-16 | 20KB | 324 lines

Championship Spades for Windows 4.0c public release
Last updated October 16 at http://www.dq.com/spades.htp

GAME DESCRIPTION:
Championship Spades for Windows, 95, and NT provides a polished Spades card
game for serious players.  Features fast game play, extensive options, sounds,
exceptionally strong computer personalities, and soon, Internet play.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
486 or better, 8MB memory, 5MB disk space, mouse, 256-color video driver.
spades32 is a 32-bit program that only works on Windows 95 and NT.
spades16 is a 16-bit program that will work on Windows 3.1 and OS/2.

INSTALLATION FROM A SELF-EXTRACTING EXE:
Simply double-click on the EXE and specify the directory to install.  After
installation, the game will create an icon and allow you to start playing.  You
can now safely delete spades32.exe (or spades16.exe) to conserve disk space.

INSTALLATION FROM A ZIP FILE:
Extract the Zip file to any directory (make sure to extract subdirectories too)
and then 'Run' setup.exe from the Start menu (not from a DOS prompt) and the
game will then create a game icon.  You can now erase the original ZIP file.

7 QUICK TIPS FOR GOOD LUCK:
1. View each of your opponent's playing styles by right-clicking on their face.
2. Disable the name prompt or change game speed under the Options...General dialog.
3. Practice using the undo, rebid, and replay options under the Practice menu.
4. Quickly set the difficulty level of opponents using the Difficulty menu.
5. Create custom computer personalities by clicking on Edit... under Details.
6. Use the keyboard number keys to quickly bid and play.
7. Use Shift-Ctrl-B (boss key) to minimize game and turn off sound.  Use
   Shift-Ctrl-N or option menu to skip to the next soundtrack.
   Shift-Ctrl-S or sounds dialog (under Options) to toggle sound on/off.
   Shift-Ctrl-P to have the computer play against itself for a whole game!

REGISTRATION:
Please read the registration section under Registration... from the Help menu
in the game.  Your registration will help support a multi-player version and
you will receive an extensive Mastering Spades tutorial to improve your play!
Order before Christmas and you qualify to register for only $29 or $19!

UNINSTALL:
You can uninstall the 32-bit version via the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs
dialog.  The 16-bit has an uninstall icon in the Games group.

FEEDBACK, SUPPORT, QUESTIONS:
Please e-mail [e-mail] with feedback and ideas for improvement.

SUMMARY OF 300+ IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CURRENT 4.0c PUBLIC RELEASE:
1. Over 50 bid improvements (details below), particularly with nils and long suits.
2. Over 150 play improvements (details below), particularly to cutthroat & Nil play.
3. Registration price dropped to $29 ($19 for students, seniors, military).
4. Uniform delays added for better timing on really fast & slow systems.
5. Multiple-card undo now works properly, not allowing computer to 'cheat'.
6. New installer (w/uninstall support) for both 16-bit and 32-bit releases.
7. New Sandbag limit, min bids, handicap, 10 for 200 penalty options.
8. New sort order, 'Lead Spades when not broken' and 'Nil tricks goto' options.
9. Separate lifetime and resetable game counters to track record.
10. Difficulty now utilizes new 'handicap' option for extra challenge.
11. Addition of several new tables and decks, including some true color.
12. Full MIDI add-on pack now bundled in both 16-bit and 32-bit releases.
13. Timer on unregistered exit now audibly 'ticks' and is more clear and robust.

DETAILS OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THIS 4.0c PUBLIC RELEASE:

1. Players will now bid extra if partner to a BNil bid w/swapping.
2. Shy experts will now try to set Nils when playing 3rd on trick.
3. Improved order form in help for printing.
4. Updated help to reflect new options and expanded 101 tutorial.
5. Will no longer avoid bags if bag/overtrick penalties are disabled.
6. Improved 'enter key' dialog.
7. Added a clear visible timer to the unregistered dialog on exit.
8. Added an audible 'click' for countdown timer & enabled OK button.
9. 'Faster' speed is now much faster but without Fastest sacrifice.
10. Maximum bid of 10 no longer enforced, bid - 1 if team bid > 10.
11. Don't warn when changing general options.
12. Experts will no longer lead pref suits if Nil has trumped them.
13. Save/report files with long info/scores now load properly.
14. Fixed poor lead if player (not pard) had trumped a suit.

DETAILS OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THE 4.0b TEST RELEASE:

1. Added online and check reg buttons direct from reginfo dialog.
2. Split old options into 2 new general and game option dialogs.
3. Added a new option to sort high cards to left or right.
4. Reordered and organized options so most popular are at top.
5. Aggressive players who bid last will now let total go up to 14.
6. Experts no longer raise bid by 0.5 if partner goes Nil.
7. Edit Player dialog now adds ".bmp" and sets Picture based on Name.
8. Moderate players will now bid 2 instead of 1 with 3S (1 high).
9. Experts will now count QK as 1 full trick if 4, 0.5 if 5, 0 if 6+.
10. If pard won & out, pard will no longer dump Spades, if pref suit.
11. If Nil win & out, others will no longer dump Spades, if pref suit.
12. Mouse/numkeys now adjust properly for card sort order.
13. Canceling from Assign dialog now forces a refresh of hands.
14. Experts will now count top and extra Spades better when bidding.
15. Blind Nil no longer allows multiple swaps when rebid/replay.
16. Blind Nil swap now sets indicator and redraws the playfield.
17. Fixed save/load to display dialog properly on NT 4.0.
18. Playfield is cleared and redrawn properly when replaying.

DETAILS OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THE 4.0a PUBLIC RELEASE:

1. GetSysColor now properly handles 32-bit true color (no warnings).
2. Difficulty level change no longer news game if 1st hand, just rebids.
3. ESC from table select no longer sizes Select Deck... dialog wrong.
4. Deck selection dialog now shows table background to help user choose.
5. Deck and table selection dialog now shows wait dialog while building.
6. Make scoring dialog height a little taller for fat 16-bit borders.
7. On soundtrack or sound change, force new music to start immediately.
8. Show the bids after position name in the play history dialog.
9. Added several new tables and decks all nicely-sized and 256-optimized.
10. Display warning about some high-color tables look bad in 256-color.
11. Deck & table resets to Forest and DeepBlue and no faces on 16-color.
12. Space (bid or play) now asks for confirmation if confirm turned on.
13. Now displays messagebox (plus status) if player bids below minimum.
14. Show bids next to names when viewing all cards (normally end of hand).
15. Order of cards now opposite (Spades->Hearts->Clubs->Diamonds) in hand.
16. Viewing all cards now breaks up hand by suit (normally end of hand).
17. Replaced poor speed estimate in debug options with screen rez.
18. Order of suits now opposite in save/print/report with Spades first.
19. Old save format (with Diamonds first) will still load correctly.
20. Order of suits now opposite in assign dialog with Spades first.
21. Rank order now highest first (left) in view, save, print, assign.
22. Experts no longer bid Nil if they can also win by bidding 1.
23. Rounding bid up now based on bid as well as predict & aggress.
24. LadyLuck default personality is now Shy and Average predictability.
25. JS now only counts for .5 if higher Spades.
26. Error that made average players lead low all the time now fixed.
27. If I only have Spades left, make sure I still lead a good card.
28. Experts will now lead an Ace on first round if singleton or AK.
29. Experts now lead Aces and Kings a little more aggressively.
30. Turn indicator now updates on Faster speed but not Fastest speed.
31. Assign dialog and loads now error if 13 cards are not in each hand.
32. MIDI soundtracks now restarted via timer so will work if dialogs up.
33. MIDI timer now uses less system overhead (good for slow sound cards).
34. JustStartd flag to not confirm changes now works with handicap.
35. A is still worth 1 with 5 in suit, just not 6.
36. Increase suitmean acceptable for expert Nil if void in suits.
37. Dont go Nil with doubleton Ace even if pard 5+ unless void suit.
38. Even shy players will now lead to sink a Nil.
39. Fixed trump/dump record so players now lead pard's void suits.
40. Players will no longer lead Spades unless 5+ & no pard pref suit.
41. Since assign now checks a warning is displayed if cancelled midway.
42. 2nd to play will dump rather than trump if it knows 3rd can trump.
43. Players out of suit now dump short pref. suits rather than lowest card.
44. Experts now lead J or Q if not trumped or most Spades used.
45. Experts no longer lead Spades even if pard likes Spades.
46. Experts now lead Spades if they have 5 - SpadeRounds or more.
47. Experts no longer lead a signal card if they have Ace.
48. Experts now lead medium even if they dont like suit if SuitRound > 1.
49. Experts with no good options now prefer to lead shorter suits.

DETAILS OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THE 2ND CANDIDATE RELEASE:

1) Reset South position's score properly in new game of cutthroat.
2) Challenger cut difficulty uses Red and grandmaster handicaps 150.
3) If trying to win and 2nd to play on K/A and can trump, do so.
4) Dont lead Ace if opponent already trumped that suit.
5) Remove extra lead symbol (+) and fix card cutoff on play print.
6) On load hand, prompt to load score & set cutthroat option.
7) Load game player name from old INI and dont reset it w/other options.
8) Count T and J of Spades as good tricks too if I have higher ones.
9) If I dont have Ace and have high Spades, I will lose one to Ace.
10) Rounding error caused overbidding with 4+ low/middle Spades.
11) Cantmake flag caused experts to avoid bags 2 TRICKS too early!
12) Error fixed so experts dont lead low to Nil late in the game.
13) Int players no longer lead Kings on the first round of that suit.
14) Experts will no longer lead Kings on 2nd round if Ace still out.
15) Date, wins, and name now transfer over from old versions properly.
16) Upgrades now thank supporter and show transferred info.
17) Fixed 16-bit registry so it will save properly to 8 char filename.
18) Dont count the TS as a trick even with higher S unless I have all.
19) Close the form history view before scoring dialog to prevent lockup.
20) Set Jokers option automatically when loading or assigning hands.
21) Add thanks to Jon Holzman and David Plaisance in About box.
22) Add 'Register by check/fax' option in Help and reorder menu.
23) Simplified PickClosestLoser function used by avoidbags & Nillers.
24) If oppnil winning & out of suit, dump low rather than trump.
25) 2C lead: If void in clubs, dont trump if oppnil could win.
26) History window can now be 'closed' using the close box.
27) History window now also shows games won and lost.
28) Play speed is no longer sporatic.

DETAILS OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THE 1ST CANDIDATE RELEASE:

1.  Added an explanation if closing during 'nag' delay.
2.  Shows 16 vs 32-bit in header of print/bug reports.
3.  'Enter key' button on exit dialog no longer crashes.
4.  Show first bidder in printout and play history (+ designates).
5.  Show rough estimate of machine speed in bug report.
6.  Added sandbag limit option at 0, 5, 8, or 10 bags.
7.  Made security codes and passwords harder to crack.
8.  Redid function keys to force bid, tricks, & score for debugging.
9.  Play reporting simplified and better instructions added.
10. Allow view play history from scoring summary dialog.
11. Clarify slam bonus scoring to indicate lack of 10-for-200 bonus.
12. All protectors (not just counters), now lead suit if Nil is out.
13. Counters now also lead preferred suit iff rank is > 9-round*2.
14. If only Spades left & avoidbags, always lead highest Spade.
15. Combined maximum partner computer bid is now 10 instead of 11.
16. Experts no longer bid Nil if 2 cards >= JACK, but not 2 <= 9.
17. Show trick leader in play history dialog with a +.
18. If experts have top 3 Spades, bid rest of Spades as tricks too.
19. Fixed 'spades broken' flag which incorrectly always reset on undo.
20. Undo now restores counters so player's 'forget' what they saw.
21. Exception handling is better so error recovery may be possible.
    (luckily, it is very hard to get the game into an invalid state).
22. All 32-bit options (almost 100!) are stored in registry (not INI).
23. Upgrades of registered user information transferred from old INI.
24. Multi-level undo now restores the leader & works correctly.
25. Trying to undo before 1st trick no longer screws up the leader.
26. Experts no longer count 1/2 trick when bid w/ J/Q when 6+ in suit.
27. Added function key to set bid/trick leader for debugging.
28. Experts who bid after partner will bid -1 if they can still win game.
29. Experts with King on a 5-suit will now bid .5 on King.
30. Experts with K/A on a 5-suit will now bid 1.5 instead of just 1.
31. Experts now only count voids for 2 instead of 2.5 tricks.
32. Experts will now try for Nil with void suit and lots of low cards.
33. Average is now less aggressive on Nils & Shy is more aggressive.
34. Aggressive experts will now bid Nil with low 3-suit and an Ace.
35. Shy experts now require an extra cover card to go Nil (3 covers).
36. When debugging, view cards flag does not clear after every hand.
37. Show cut or partner mode in PLAY HISTORY title when saving/printing.
38. Changed debug/register password.
39. Show thank you when user enters valid register key.
40. Added Enter key... to main menu in addition to button on dialog.
41. Renamed Help menu entries to explain the different topics better.
42. Added email and download/register browser links to reginfo dialog.
43. Added Download and Register online menu items to bring up browser.
44. Added -no_sound & reset command-line option to disable initial sounds.
45. Timer delays (for bid/play) no longer cause game to hang at midnight.
46. SpadesMustBreak option added to allow leading Spades before 'broken'.
47. Handicap option to add/subtract from computer starting score.
48. Moved hash scoring option from options dialog to view menu.
49. Pard games now won if opponent gets -GameScore/2 (-250) with other > 0.
50. All difficulty levels increased and now use the new handicap option.
51. 3/4: If avoiding bags, no oppnil, & I must win the trick, play highest.
52. 3: If opp trumped already, pard winning, dump instead of wasting trump.
53. 3: Under normal play, trump even if pard winning with < Q - SuitRounds.
54. If there are not enough tricks left to make bid, avoid the bags.
55. Dont try to set oppnil if you bid and can make 10 for 200 bonus.
56. Lead and response signalling will now use six, seven, and eights.
57. Lead Ace if player has both Ace/King and wants to lead that suit.
58. Experts always lead lower cards if trying to sink opponent's Nil.
59. 3: No longer occassionally trump trick if Nil is currently winning.
60. If Nil only has Spades & must trump, trump low, not high.
61. Exp: If pardwinning and oppnil hasnt gone, dont try to take trick.
62. 2nd: If A/K/Q was played, dont bother trying to finesse, play low.
63. Experts ignore oppnil if we can win game but getting our bid.
64. If blown nil, dont avoidbags if opp must get all tricks.
65. Exp 2nd round, cutthroat players, >=5 of suit, or has both K/A now
    lead Ace/King over partner's preferred suit.
66. Experts now lead better if they are void in pard's pref suit.
67. Cover: Weak hands take w/closest, not highest (save to protect).
68. Exps now bid nil more aggresively if pard already bid 5+.
69. Exps now require a little lower Spade rank average to bid Nil.
70. Don't reset install date for registered users who upgrade.
71. Added game lifetime win counter that does not reset on upgrades.
72. Added resetable game win counter (reset from game won dialog).

DETAILS OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THE 4.0 BETA RELEASE:

1.  Cutthroat: All Nil players will now properly avoid taking tricks.
2.  Cutthroat: All players will now properly avoid extra bags.
3.  Cutthroat: All players will now try to sink 'partner's Nil.
4.  Cutthroat: 'Partner' will no longer 'cover' winning Nil.
5.  Partners: Avoid bags by raising bid by 1/2 if partner bid Nil.
6.  Aggressive non-beginners raise bid by 1 if opponent bid Nil.
7.  Experts long on Spades will lead it, highest first or medium.
8.  If Nil, try to lead short suits, unless you have royals.
9.  Counters will now sometimes lead suit partner 'signaled' for.
10. Experts will always try to lead a suit partner trumped previously.
11. Cutthroat: Level warnings are now more applicable.
12. Exit game button in hand summary now works for unregistered users.
13. Register reminder dialog now unclosable & shows 60-second timer.
14. Aggressive players (esp. unpredictable) no longer bid so high.
15. Wimpy players (esp. unpreditable) no longer bid so low.
16. Experts no longer bid quite so high with 3+ lower Spades.
17. Experts now bid guaranteed tricks with runs of top Spades.
18. Installs now show thank-you which was lost with 3.1 installer.
19. 2C lead: NEVER go Nil with lowest club greater than the 5C.
20. Experts now value Jack/Queen pair for 1/2 trick in bid.
21. If Nil winning and cannot go low, go really high to sink later.
22. If Nil or partner already trumped/dumped suit, try to take trick.
23. Experts won't go Nil with JS or QS unless they have 2 low Spades.
24. Bid indicator now updates earlier if not faster/fastest speed.
25. The computer will now automatically play the last trick out.
26. Team minimum bids are no longer enforced if partner went Nil.
27. Tricks won by Nil can now count as bags or go to partner.
28. Minimum bid now supports player, team, or team (except Nil).
29. 2C lead: Experts bid 1/2 trick more if they have high low Club.
30. Print now shows new options and minor reformatting.
31. Spaces are always stripped from name & passwd in register dialog.
32. New list dropdown for less confusing team vs. player minimum bids.
33. New Team (except Nil) option exempts Nil protector from minimum bid.
34. All players now dump if partner currently winning trick with >= Q.
35. Partners: Always cover Nil even if protector must get extra bags.
36. Nil Experts now always avoid bags even if partner bid Nil.
37. Experts now avoid bags if opponent cannot possibly make bid.
38. Experts now take bags if by taking 2 they can set opponent's bid.
39. Partner: All now try to set Nil before setting opp's trick bid.
40. Fixed rare waste of high card on 4th play when player couldn't win.
41. All players now play highest rank (incl Spades) on 3rd, if avail.
42. Cutthroat: Experts check for Nil bids but are less aggressive.
43. Experts will no longer go Nil with 'killer' even if very bad hand.
44. Assign no longer needs spaces between ranks & now auto-selects.
45. Try to take trick if opp's nil previously dumped on this suit.
46. Try to take trick if opp's partner already trumped this suit.
47. If oppnil already played and is not winning, play trick normally.
48. Undo now resets Spades 'broken' flag to prevent Spades being led.
49. Undo now decrements rounds of the previous suit played.
50. Experts don't count Kings (even for 1/2) if they have 5+ in suit.
51. Partner: Dont trump if opp's nil is winning & trying to cover pard.
52. Experts wont try to sink if (by score) they win by getting theirs.
53. Uniform delays (faster on slow machines, slower on fast machines).
54. BETA released for feedback from a few testers.
55. Fixed Pentium Pro bug that shortened delays & made game very fast.
56. Help file: New PSL phone number & info, discount reg, opts, & form.
57. Added option to allow -200 if failed to get '10 for 200' bid.
58. New installer (w/uninstall support) for both 16-bit and 32-bit releases.
59. 16-bit version now includes the MIDI add-on pack too.

See the help file for a full version history of other improvements.