MORE WinGames/WINGAMES.iso/mazemake/mazemakr.hlp

Text File | 1993-03-01 | 27KB | 597 lines

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MAZEMAKR.HLP      HELP FILE FOR MAZEMAKER by CUSTOM REAL-TIME SOFTWARE
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GENERAL INFORMATION

The MAZEMAKER is capable of generating an assortment of different
types of mazes with varying levels of difficulty.  When MAZEMAKER is
first started it creates a "Maze of the Day."  (You may select the
default type of maze; see TYPES OF MAZES and SETUP.)

Each maze may be thought of as a house.  You must find your way from the
entrance to the exit, travelling through the rooms of the house.

There are one or more floors to each maze.  Each floor is laid out as a
rectangular array of rooms.  If there is a wall between rooms, then passage
between those rooms is prohibited.  Conversely if there is no wall between
rooms then travel is permitted.  Rooms that have an arrow in them are
ones that have stairways leading to other floors.  Arrows may be up
arrows, down arrows, or bidirectional arrows, and they indicate the
direction in which travel is permitted.



MAZE TRAVEL

Maze travel begins at the upper-left-hand (northwest) corner of the first
floor and the goal is to reach the green dollar sign in the lower-right-hand
(southeast) corner of the first floor.  All mazes have at least one solution
path.  Many mazes have some loops and, in these mazes, if the a portion of
the loop lies along the solution path then there will be more than one
solution.

To travel from one room to another on the same floor just move the cursor
to the room you want to go to.  To travel from one floor to another click
on an arrowhead to move in the direction indicated.  As you travel you
will (usually) leave a trail of red "breadcrumbs."  On some advanced mazes,
floors may be "No Breadcrumb Floors" (xBC) which means that no trail is
left on floors so designated.



THE STICKY CURSOR

MAZEMAKER uses a STICKY CURSOR which resists being pulled
through walls.  If you pull hard enough the cursor will change from a
transparent arrow to a cross to indicate that you are no longer following
the maze path.  (You may do this intentionally to select a menu item, or
switch to another Window.)  To regain the arrow cursor and resume travel
at the point where you left off, either click the mousebutton while the
cursor is on the MAZEMAKER Window or move the cross back to the
room where you left the maze.  (If you have scrolled a large maze so that
the place you would resume from is not visible, the you must press the
SPACEBAR while MAZEMAKER is the active Window to get going
again.)




TYPES OF MAZES

MAZEMAKER can create the following types of mazes:

  1)  SINGLE FLOOR MAZE       One floor mazes which are changed daily.

  2)  EASY "MAZE OF THE DAY"  Two, or occasionally three, floor
                              mazes which are changed daily.

  3)  "MAZE OF THE DAY"       Four, or occasionally as high as six,
                              floor mazes which are changed daily.

  4)  "MAZE OF THE WEEK"      Seven through nine floor mazes which
                              are changed weekly (every Sunday).
                              There are no breadcrumbs on a few
                              of the floors.  You must complete the
                              "Maze of the Day" before you are
                              given the option of selecting this
                              maze type.

  5)  "MAZE OF THE MONTH"     Eight through ten floor mazes,
                              changed monthly.  Larger floors and
                              fewer breadcrumbs than "Mazes of
                              the Week." You must have completed
                              the current "Maze of the Week"
                              before you can try the "Maze of the
                              Month."

  6)  "MAZE OF THE YEAR!"     Mazes with ten large floors and with
                              hardly any breadcrumbs, which are
                              changed yearly.  To be eligible you
                              must have completed the current
                              "Maze of the Month."  Persons
                              attempting these mazes may be
                              considered certifiably insane.
                              Persons solving them may be honored.
                              Call CRTS (201-228-7623) for details.

  7)  NAMED MAZES             "Maze of the Day" style mazes.
                              Each named maze is unique.  Named
                              mazes may be declared to be "Stock"
                              mazes.

  8)  CUSTOM MAZES            Mazes where maze parameters (size,
                              breadcrumbs, etc.) are specified.
                              Custom mazes may be declared to be
                              "Stock" Mazes.

  9)  STOCK MAZES             Named or Custom mazes which are
                              so designated in order that they may
                              be easily selected from a list.

MAZES OF THE DAY/WEEK/MONTH/YEAR are sometimes referred
to as "competiton" mazes because they identical on all computers
and are intended for competition among pathfinders working
throughout the PC world.  Some options which might make it
easier to solve these mazes are disabled when you work on them.



MAZE SELECTION

The maze generated each time MAZEMAKER starts is referred to as
the "default" maze.  Initially the default maze is the "Maze of the Day."
(You may change this from GAME\SETUP menu option.)  You should set
the default to a maze type which you find challenging, but not impossible.
Beginners may prefer either the  Single Floor Maze or the "EASY Maze
of the Day," while people who are good puzzle solvers should probably
stick with the standard "Maze of the Day" as their default.  You may also
choose a Custom maze with parameters you specify as your default.

You may ask the MAZEMAKER to display a different maze at almost
any time.  Choose from the OTHER MAZES menu, which shows the
different selections you are permitted to make.  Your choice here depends
partially upon which mazes you have previously solved.  The
MAZEMAKER determines this from the History it keeps and from whom
you have told the MAZEMAKER you are. (The MAZEMAKER will ask
you for your name when you solve a maze.  You can sign in anytime using
the RECORD BOOK\SIGN IN menu option.)



MAZEMAKER ETIQUETTE

The MAZEMAKER may become seriously upset with Pathfinders who set
their system clocks to anything other than the correct date.  It must be
assumed that the reason for doing this is to attempt some maze which the
Pathfinder is not presently entitled to work on.


THE MAZEMAKER MENU

The menu presented by MAZEMAKER normally has four items.  They
are "Game," "OtherMazes," "RecordBook," and "Help."  If the
MAZEMAKER window is sufficiently narrow, though, the menu will
merely indicate "Menu."  Selecting this little menu will elicit a popup
menu with usual four items.  In other respects the normal and little menus
are identical.  If you request a "Demo," you get a DEMO MENU until you
stop the demo.  The Demo Menu different from the main MAZEMAKER
menu, and is discussed later.

The menu bar occasionally contains non-menu information near its right
margin.  Specifically the elapsed time, and floor data may be presented in
this manner.  This will occur when the MAZEMAKER window is too
small to display this information inside the window, or when the
MAZEMAKER window cannot show an entire floor of the maze.

The organization of the MAZEMAKER menu is as follows:

      GAME \ DEMO
      GAME \ HINT
      GAME \ RETURN TO START
      GAME \ SWEEP BREADCRUMBS
      GAME \ SETUP ...
      GAME \ EXIT

      OTHER MAZES \ MAZE OF THE DAY/WEEK/MONTH/YEAR
      OTHER MAZES \ STOCK ...
      OTHER MAZES \ EASY MAZE OF THE DAY
      OTHER MAZES \ SINGLE FLOOR MAZE
      OTHER MAZES \ NAMED ...
      OTHER MAZES \ CUSTOM ...

      RECORD BOOK \ SIGN IN ...
      RECORD BOOK \ COURSE RECORDS \ ALL TIME
      RECORD BOOK \ COURSE RECORDS \ RECENT
      RECORD BOOK \ HISTORIES \ THIS MAZE
      RECORD BOOK \ HISTORIES \ THIS PATHFINDER
      RECORD BOOK \ HISTORIES \ THIS TYPE
      RECORD BOOK \ HISTORIES \ COMPLETE

      HELP \ GENERAL INFO
      HELP \ MAZE TRAVEL
      HELP \ THE STICKY CURSOR
      HELP \ TYPES OF MAZES
      HELP \ MAZE SELECTION
      HELP \ DEMO MODE
      HELP \ STAT WINDOW
      HELP \ MAIN MENU
      HELP \ DEMO MENU
      HELP \ DIALOGS \ SETUP
      HELP \ DIALOGS \ NAMED MAZE
      HELP \ DIALOGS \ STOCK MAZE
      HELP \ DIALOGS \ CUSTOM MAZE
      HELP \ ABOUT


GAME \ DEMO (or <Ctrl> D) causes the MAZEMAKER to enter
"Demo" Mode.  While in Demo Mode the MAZEMAKER attempts to
solve the maze and you watch!  See discussion on Demo Mode below for
more information.  Demo Mode may not be initiated after you have spent
five or more minutes on the maze in progress, nor may it be initiated on a
Maze of the Week/Month/Year.

GAME \ HINT (or <Ctrl> H) presents a hint from the MAZEMAKER.
Hints are not normally given on "Competition" mazes unless the
MAZEMAKER senses that you are in serious trouble.  Hints are limited
to five on any maze.

GAME \ RETURN TO START repositions the cursor back to the
beginning of the maze (for those who cannot find their own way).  This
option is disabled on "Competition" mazes.

GAME \ SWEEP BREADCRUMBS clears all the breadcrumbs (red stuff)
from the maze.  Normally this takes only a few seconds but it may take a
while on larger mazes. This option is disabled on "competition" mazes.

GAME \ SETUP ... presents a dialog box which allows you to customize
the way MAZEMAKER operates.  The changes you make are recorded in
the MAZEMAKER's data file, and so these changes affect future
MAZEMAKER sessions as well as the present one.

GAME \ EXIT causes MAZEMAKER to terminate.  Once
MAZEMAKER is terminated the maze in progress is lost and cannot be
restored.  To suspend MAZEMAKER so a maze can be resumed later,
shrink MAZEMAKER to an icon.





OTHER MAZES ... Selection of a maze from this menu item causes the
maze in progress to be discarded.  That is, it cannot be resumed from the
point at which one left off.  If you wish to start a new maze and be able
to continue the maze in progress at a later time, you should shrink the
present instance of MAZEMAKER to an icon and launch another
instance of MAZEMAKER.

OTHER MAZES \ MAZE OF THE DAY/WEEK/MONTH/YEAR causes a
new maze of the type specified to be displayed.  The actual menu choice
here (and the type that will be drawn) depends upon the mazes that the
present "Pathfinder" (the person who has "signed in") has solved.  For
example, to qualify for the "Maze of the Month" one must have solved both
the current "Maze of the Day" and the current "Maze of the Week."

OTHER MAZES \ STOCK ... presents you with a dialog from which you
may select an existing Stock maze.


OTHER MAZES \ EASY MAZE OF THE DAY causes the "EASY Maze
of the Day" to be generated.  The maze in progress is lost.

OTHER MAZES \ SINGLE FLOOR MAZE causes the "Single Floor
Maze" for the day to be generated.  The maze in progress is lost.

OTHER MAZES \ NAMED ... causes the Named Maze Dialog to be
initiated.  It is used to request that a specific "Named" maze be
generated.

OTHER MAZES \ CUSTOM causes the Custom Maze Dialog to be
initiated.  Unlike other maze types where the MAZEMAKER chooses the
maze parameters (height, width, etc.), "Custom" mazes are ones where you
define the parameters.  The Custom Maze Dialog allows you to ask the
MAZEMAKER to generate a maze of the type you define.

RECORD BOOK \ SIGN IN  brings up a dialog screen which allows the
current pathfinder (You!) to sign in.  You are presented with a list of
known pathfinders and may choose from the list or enter a new name.  This
menu item may not be selected if the maze in progress is the "Maze of the
Week/Month/Year."  This dialog is also presented whenever a maze (except
Week/Month/Year) is solved.  You may want to sign in before you solve a
maze if you have already solved the "Maze of the Day" or if you want the
MAZEMAKER to keep track of mazes you do not solve.

RECORD BOOK \ COURSE RECORDS \ ALL TIME displays a selection of
bests and fastests for the default maze type, and for all
non-trivial mazes.

RECORD BOOK \ COURSE RECORDS \ RECENT displays a selection of
bests and fastests for the default maze type, and for all
non-trivial mazes among the 100 most recent mazes attempted.

RECORD BOOK \ HISTORIES \ THIS MAZE  displays statistics about
previous attempts to solve the maze in progress.

RECORD BOOK \ HISTORIES \ THIS PATHFINDER  displays
information about each maze the current Pathfinder (the one who has
signed in most recently) has attempted.


RECORD BOOK \ HISTORIES \ THIS TYPE  displays information about
each maze, previously attempted, which is of the same type as the maze in
progress.

RECORD BOOK \ HISTORIES \ COMPLETE  displays information about
all previous maze attempts.

HELP  (or <F1>) asks the MAZEMAKER to show you some relevant
portion of this MAZEMAKR.HLP file.  (The MAZEMAKER chooses based
upon your sub-menu selection or your current situation.)  Once you
are viewing some text you may scroll to view any other part of the
file or return to whatever you were doing.  MAZEMAKR.HLP is a normal
ASCII text file, so you can print it out if you wish.

HELP \ ABOUT displays the usual message about the copyright
owner of MAZEMAKER.


RECORD BOOK INFORMATION

Obviously all RECORD BOOK HISTORIES contain information only from
your own computer and from a single file on that computer.  This
information is kept in the file MAZEMAKR.DAT in the same directory as
the "exe" file.  If you manage to have more than one "exe," then you will
have a "dat" file for each "exe."

THE SETUP DIALOG

The SETUP dialog allows you to specify the "Startup Maze," "Maze
View," "Stat View," "Program Manager Resizing," and if you would like to
start up in "Demo Mode."

The startup, or default, maze is initially the "Maze of the Day."  You may
choose instead the "EASY Maze of the Day," a "Single Floor Maze"
which changes daily, or the "Default Custom Maze."  The default custom
maze uses the date as a randomizer so it, too, changes daily.  The size and
other parameters associated with the default custom maze are specified in
the dialog associated with the OTHER MAZES \ CUSTOM menu item.

The maze view controls the initial shape the main MAZEMAKER
window each time a new maze is generated.  The choices are "Normal"
and "Restricted."  Normal means that the window will be sized large
enough to show an entire floor of the maze, or as much of a floor as is
possible.  (except for custom/stock mazes marked "Restricted View Only."
These mazes are always shown in a restricted view window which cannot
be resized.)  Restricted means that the window will be only large enough
to show a small number of rooms at one time.  It is more difficult to
traverse, and more similar to being in an actual maze if the maze view is
restricted.

The stat view controls whether an auxiliary "STATS" window is shown.
Initially the stat view is set to "Auto."  Alternatively, you may set the
stat view to "On" or "Off."  On means that a STATS window is displayed
in the lower right hand corner of the screen if the mazeview is normal or
directly below the main window if the mazeview is restricted;  Off means
the STATS window is not displayed.  When auto is selected, the
MAZEMAKER decides when it first shows a maze based upon whether
any part of the STATS window would obscure a part of the maze.  If it
would then STATS are not shown; otherwise they are shown.

Cursor stickiness controls the force required to pull the "In Maze Cursor"
(the transparent arrow) through a wall and change it to a cross.  When the
cursor changes to a cross you stop traversing the maze and are free to
move to the menu, or to perform other Windows functions.  Set the control
to the left to make it easier to pull through walls (make the cursor less
sticky); or to the right to make it harder to pull the cursor through walls.
Initially cursor stickiness is set to a middle position.

Program Manager Resizing when enabled, causes the Program Manager
Window to shrink to an icon when MAZEMAKER is started; and to be
restored to its original size when MAZEMAKER is terminated.  (No
other control over the Program Manager Window is exercised, so it may be
manipulated normally while MAZEMAKER runs even if this feature is
enabled.)  Initially Program Manager Resizing is disabled to be consistent
with other Windows programs.  You will probably want to enable this option.

You may request that Demo Mode be initiated as soon as the
MAZEMAKER has completed creating the default maze.  This may be
useful for those who want obvious activity on their Windows Display and
invoke MAZEMAKER from the WIN.INI file.


NAMED MAZE DIALOG

The Named Maze Dialog allows one to specify that a "Named" maze be
generated.  Each unique name causes a corresponding unique "Maze of the
Day" style maze to be generated.  The dialog allows the maze to be
designated as a "Stock" maze.  Once designated as a stock maze, the name
cannot be reselected as a named maze.  (Others wishing to try the same
maze must select it via the stock dialog.)  The Named Maze Dialog may be
aborted by selecting the CANCEL button.


STOCK MAZE DIALOG

The STOCK MAZE DIALOG displays a list of available stock mazes, one
per line.  For each maze, the name, height, width, number of floors,
difficulty, and best time are shown.  Also shown is an indication of whether
some, none, or all the floors are designated as "No Breadcrumb" floors,
whether the maze is marked as "Restricted View Only," and whether the
maze was originally defined as a "Named" (N) or a "Custom" (C) maze.

Along with the list are three options: OK, LIST, and CANCEL.  CANCEL
aborts the Stock Maze Dialog and restores the cursor to its most recent
position in the maze in progress.  OK and LIST each require that an item
from the list be selected before they do anything useful.  OK causes the
selected maze to be generated.  LIST causes a history of previous
attempts at the selected maze to be displayed. (After a LIST is viewed
the dialog is resumed, and the selection may be changed.)


CUSTOM MAZE DIALOG

The Custom Maze Dialog allows you to specify Width, Height, number of
Floors, Difficulty, which floors will not have Breadcrumbs, and whether the
maze is a "Restricted View Only" maze.  These parameters essentially
determine the Type of maze that will be generated.  You must also specify
a Name.  It is the name that determines which of the several Billion (with
a B!) mazes of the type you defined the MAZEMAKER will actually
create.


In addition the dialog allows you to specify that the maze you are defining
should become a "Stock" maze, and if you want the type of maze described
to become the "Default Custom Maze."  You will notice when you begin
the dialog that the MAZEMAKER has filled in all the answers.  These
are the default values.  You are free to change these, of course, to define
the type of maze you presently want.  And you can also declare that your
new values should become the new default by checking the "Make Default"
box.  This set of values is also used to determine the maze type if you
specify "Default Custom Maze" as the startup maze. (See SETUP
DIALOG.)

The Custom Maze Parameters are:

Name - A character string which has at least one character and is not the
same as an existing "Stock" maze name;

Width - The east-west dimension of the maze specified in rooms (minimum
5, maximum 999);

Height - The north-south dimension of the maze specified in rooms
(minimum 5, maximum 999);

Floors - The number of floors the maze has (minimum 1, maximum 10);

(The product of width, height, and floors - the house size - may not exceed
32,000.)

Difficulty - a parameter used by the MAZEMAKER when generating the
maze, but which is hard to define;  (Mazes with low difficulties like one or
two are almost certain to be trivial.  Increasing the difficulty above ten
percent of the house size is not likely to make the maze significantly
harder to solve, and may actually result in an easier maze.  The best way
to get a feel for the difficulty parameter is to experiment with it.  For
example if you try a one floor maze with a difficulty of one, you will find
that the shortest solution path does not stray much from the diagonal.)

No Breadcrumb Floors - specifies the floor numbers separated by spaces or
commas, where no breadcrumbs (red stuff) will be dropped as the maze is
traversed; (When left blank, all floors have breadcrumbs.  If "all" is
specified, none of the floors will have breadcrumbs.)



THE STAT WINDOW

The "Stat" Window shows statistics which are updated continuously as you
work on a maze. These include some or all of the following:

      1)    PL - The pathlength, or distance you have traveled (in
            rooms) since the start of the maze;

      2)    Spd - Your speed in Rooms per Minute;

      3)    RV - The number of Rooms you have Visited in this maze;

      4)    SV - The number of Stairways you have Visited in the
            current maze;

      5)    %RV - The percentage of Rooms in the maze that you have
            Visited;

      6)    %SV - The percentage of Stairways that you have Visited;

      7)    Time - The number of hours, minutes, and seconds, you have
            been working on this maze.

Items <3> through <6> do not appear on "No Breadcrumb" floors. (These
numbers, if shown, could be used to determine whether one were retracing
one's steps, or not; counteracting the reason for not having breadcrumbs.)
Items <4> and <6> are not shown on mazes that have only one floor. (No
stairways!)  Item <7> appears only if the maze, when first created, requires
scrolling. (Otherwise time is shown in the main Window.)


DEMO MODE

Demo Mode allows you to watch as the computer tries to solve the maze
currently displayed.  It is initiated by selecting GAMES\DEMO from the
MAZEMAKER's main menu, or by selecting the DEMO MODE
STARTUP option during SETUP.  While MAZEMAKER is operating in
Demo Mode, the usual menu is replaced by the DEMO MENU.  Demo
Mode can be exited by selecting QUIT from this menu, or by pressing the
ESCAPE key on the keyboard.

Demo Mode may not be entered if the current maze is the Maze of the
Week/Month/Year, of if more than five minutes have elapsed since the
maze was started.  No information is recorded in the MAZEMAKER's
history about any maze worked on during Demo Mode.

While Demo Mode is active, the MAZEMAKER leaves the normal
Windows cursor on the screen as well as displaying a Demo Mode Cursor
(with a small "D" inside) that traverses the maze.  You continue to control
the Windows cursor with the mouse, but the computer controls the Demo
Mode cursor.  You may even switch to another application, but the Demo
will continue as if MAZEMAKER were still active.

Demo Mode attempts to solve the maze with a reasonably intelligent
approach, but without actual knowledge of the solution.  Half a minute
after the maze has been solved, Demo Mode starts over at the beginning
(of the same maze) and repeats in this manner until you ask it to stop.
Unless the maze is relatively easy, the computer is likely to take different
paths each time it attempts to solve the maze.

DEMO MODE MENU

There are five options on the Demo Mode Menu:

      1)    Quit Demo
      2)    Pause Demo
      3)    Resume Demo
      4)    Help
      5)    Exit MAZEMAKER

QUIT DEMO  causes the MAZEMAKER to resume normal mode.  The
Cursor is switched from the Demo Mode Cursor back to the usual
MAZEMAKER cursor, and placed where the Demo Mode left off.  The
menu is also switched back to the normal menu.  Remember, though, that
once you have been in Demo Mode, your result on the present maze will
not be recorded in the MAZEMAKER's History.  You may also quit
Demo Mode by pressing the ESCAPE key or <Ctrl> D if MAZEMAKER
is the active Window..

PAUSE DEMO  causes the computer to stop moving the Demo Mode
Cursor around the maze.  The Demo may be resumed later.  The
SPACEBAR key may also be used to pause the demo if MAZEMAKER
is the active Window.

RESUME DEMO causes a paused demo to be resumed.  The demo
continues just as if it had never been interrupted.  The SPACEBAR key
may also be used to resume the demo if MAZEMAKER is the active
Window.

HELP enables you to view information contained in the MAZEMAKR.HLP
file in the same manner as the it does when selected from the main menu.

EXIT MAZEMAKER does just that; it terminates the program.  Do not
confuse this option with the one that merely quits Demo Mode.


MULTIPLE MAZEMAKER INSTANCES

You can create multiple instances of MAZEMAKER.  You may wish to
do this if you are in the midst of one maze, and want to begin a second
maze without losing what you have done on the first.  Multiple
instantiation also allows one to create some interesting demos. (For
example try running several restricted view instances in Demo Mode.)

The only limits on multiple instantiation are ones imposed by Windows
itself, by the amount of memory that is available, and by the processing
power of your CPU.  Obviously if some Windows resource (a timer is an
example of a Windows resource) is not available, then the new instance
will not execute normally or possibly at all.  Also each instance requires
its own memory, and memory is a finite resource too.  MAZEMAKER
always tries to degrade as gracefully as possible.


MAZEMAKER MEMORY REQUIREMENTS

MAZEMAKER memory requirements are strongly tied to the size of the
maze you ask the MAZEMAKER to generate, and to your video
resolution.  This is because the MAZEMAKER asks Windows to keep an
exact image of each floor.  The image sizes are based upon the number of
pixels required to display each room, and the number of rooms.  The
largest mazes (like the MAZE OF THE YEAR!) require approximately 4MB
free memory for VGA resolution.  (Click on HELP/ABOUT in the Program
Manager to find out how much free memory you have.) If you run
out of memory and you cannot make more available to MAZEMAKER (by
terminating other applications, adding "Virtual Memory" and/or
reconfiguring you extended memory) you must either ask for smaller
mazes or reduce your video resolution. (Video Resolution is a Windows
Setup parameter.  You might switch down to VGA from Super VGA, or
from VGA to EGA.)

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