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C/C++ Users Group Library 1996 July
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C-C++ Users Group Library July 1996.iso
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pc_gamn6.doc
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1987-07-29
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PC-Gammon Version 6.0 with *Color*
USER'S MANUAL
by
David C. Oshel
PC-Gammon 6.0, the LampLighter edition, is a WARP-SPEED full screen
backgammon game for PC clones. This edition, now with COLOR, has pleasant
sound effects and takes full advantage of the IBM standard screen characters.
You may alter any or all of the colors/attributes to suit your own taste,
and PC-Gammon distinguishes between CGA and Monochrome.
There is no meaningful way to slow the game down. Sorry.
1. Installation & System Requirements
-------------------------------------
PC-Gammon runs on 100% IBM PC compatibles. PC-Gammon uses the ordinary IBM
screen graphics characters to draw its playing board, so no special hardware,
such as a graphics card, is needed. This program has been tested on the Epson
Equity I and on the NCR PC Model 3. PC-Gammon should run in less than 256k.
No special installation is needed. (An earlier version of PC-Gammon required
the ANSI.SYS driver. Versions 4.0 and up totally ignore ANSI.SYS, if present.)
2. Starting the Game
---------------------
Just type BACKGMMN at your DOS prompt and hit the ENTER (or Return) key.
Method (1): A>backgmmn <ENTER>
If you have a "two-color" monitor, i.e., b&w or greenscreen etc., but you have
to use a color graphics adapter, you may force PC-Gammon into B&W mode with:
Method (2): A>backgmmn b&w <ENTER>
PC-Gammon will automatically detect a monochrome adapter, if that's what
you've got, so not to worry: Use method (1).
Helpful information early on: When in trouble, when in doubt, hit ESC. The
ESC key is your "bailout" key. It gets you out of any jam PC-Gammon can get
into, except for peanut butter in the keyboard or something like that.
3. Command Lines
-----------------
PC-Gammon is very friendly. When you start up the program, you will
eventually see the PC-Gammon command line. This is it:
Select: Play, Arrange, New, Reverse, Swap, Hilite, Quit
The first letter of each of the command words is high lighted. Type P, for
example, to Play a game of backgammon.
If you type anything else, such as the spacebar, you will see a second line of
perfectly valid commands:
Select: Use your dice, Opponent, Xpert, Tone, Count, Zero, Quit
If you press the spacebar again, you will flip back to the first command line.
(A helpful hint: If you DO NOT see the command line, you're in "expert mode",
so press the ESC key. The command lines will return.)
4. The Commands and Their Meanings
-----------------------------------
The first command line:
P Commence playing backgammon. If you have not chosen
an opponent yet, you will first chose your opponent.
A Arrange the playing board as you would like. You may
begin from the new board position. Also known as
cheating. Or study.
N Remove the current board arrangement and start over
from scratch, as though the last game were finished.
The score does not change.
R Reverse the board position. Play resumes from left to
right, if it was right to left, and vice versa. This
happens automatically every time a game concludes. So
you can use R to put the board back the way you like it.
Truly excellent backgammon players know the board from
both sides, and don't care.
S Swap stones with the computer. Swap again and you get
a different style of stone. Keep swapping and you cycle
through all the options.
H Hilite, or Hues. Allows you to change the screen colors
(or screen attributes, if you have the monochrome
adapter.) For color, note that the F9 key switches between
foreground ("obverse") and background ("inverse"). The F9
key with the monochrome adapter just toggles the "reverse"
feature. The F1 key controls brightness, F2 controls
blink. F10 calls up the help reminder, and ESC quits.
Use the arrow keys to cycle through the various color
options. Your color changes take effect immediately, as
soon as you leave the popout window. Strike any key to
get past the help messages when the window pops out.
Q Quit, return to the system.
The second command line:
U You have the option of using real dice, and entering
the actual dice rolls into the computer. Switches
back and forth between your real dice and the computer's
fake, but nice, dice.
O If you've already chosen your opponent, you can
choose somebody else with this command. You can't
switch during play, however. If you do, it's the same
as hitting the New command.
X Xpert ("expert") mode gives VERY brief messages and
volunteers no help at all. Type ESC at the main command
line, or X again, to get out of Xpert mode. Also known
as the "wizard" or "drip under pressure" key. It's just
there to confuse you and take you down a notch.
T The Tone command turns the sound effects on and off.
Most useful if you're supposed to be doing something else,
like working or sleeping.
C Turn the pip counters on the left side of the screen
on and off. These indicate the total points on the dice,
or pips on the board, you need to bring all your stones
safely Home.
Z Sets the score at the top right of the screen back to
zero.
Q Quit.
FUNCTION KEYS
As it happens, the function keys on a PC clone keyboard are also defined to
match these commands. F1 means Play if the first command line is visible,
but F1 means Use your dice if the second command line is visible. F10 always
means Quit. F2 means Arrange or Opponent, F3 means New or Xpert, and so on
through each command line, in order from F1 to F6.
The function keys aren't especially useful, but they're there if you like
to use them.
For Xperts only, Shift-Fn always means the second command line. Unshifted Fn
keys have the meaning defined by the command line, whichever it happens to be.
In Xpert mode, the command line is, of course, totally invisible.
5. Styles of Play
------------------
PC-Gammon has three different STYLES of play, as contrasted with different
LEVELS of play. The difficulty level of all three styles is about equal, but
the mannerism varies. If you are a good-to-superb backgammon player, you
will not have much trouble polishing off PC-Gammon. If you're a novice,
sometimes you'll win, sometimes you'll lose. Hopefully, you'll have fun!
When you begin a game, the first thing that happens is you get to read a
little story, and then chose your computer opponent from one of three nice
people: Louisa Parini, Anthony Villiers, or Torve the Trog.
These characters are freely adapted from a long out-of-print travelogue
written about thirteen years ago by Alexei Panshin. Good grief, if you ever
find an Anthony Villiers novel, buy it, read it, keep it, and share it with a
friend.
You select your opponent from these three by hitting either the L, V or T key,
and upper or lower case doesn't matter.
6. Entering Your Moves
-----------------------
We'l