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CIPHWN11
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CIPHERWN.DOC
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Text File
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1994-09-01
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22KB
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458 lines
⁄ƒø ⁄ƒø ⁄ƒø ⁄ƒø ⁄ƒø ⁄ƒø
≥C≥ ≥I≥ ≥P≥ ≥H≥ ≥E≥ ≥R≥
¿ƒŸ ¿ƒŸ ¿ƒŸ ¿ƒŸ ¿ƒŸ ¿ƒŸ
For Windows
Crypto-Quotes Puzzle Game
Release 1.1 September 1, 1994
Nels Anderson
585 Edmands Road
Framingham, MA 01701
U.S.A.
Various kinds of word puzzles have existed for years in many
different forms. People spend hours trying to solve them, working
tediously with pencil and paper. Many a newspaper has been worn
through trying and retrying different solutions.
With the advent of computers, working these puzzles becomes more
enjoyable because the computer screen provides a working surface
that's easier to manipulate than paper and pencil. You can erase and
retry as often as you wish and the screen will never wear out as
paper is apt to do.
Still, many computerized versions of word games look dull. Just
because it's a word game does not mean that it has to use text mode
and black & white only. Why can't word puzzles be colorful, use high
resolution graphics and even run with a mouse? Well, since Cipher
for Windows runs under the graphical Windows interface that's exactly
what it does.
Cipher for Windows is a "crypto-quotes" type of game. That is, a
quotation is enciphered and displayed on the screen in its scrambled
form. Your challenge is to figure out the cipher by replacing the
scrambled letters with the actual letters. As you go along more and
more of the puzzle will start to look like real words and eventually
you should solve the whole puzzle and be able to read the quotation.
One set of puzzles is provided with the game. If you want more, you
can register the game for $15 and in exchange you'll receive the
latest version of the game plus many more puzzles to solve. For $22
you can order the "deluxe" version of the game, which includes a
registered copy of the software, the additional puzzles plus a
printed manual and binder to store everything in. Please include $2
shipping for the standard version or $4 for the deluxe version.
Foreign shipping is $4 for either version.
Cipher for Windows is distributed by the Shareware system -- this
allows you to try it before you buy it, but if you continue to use
the game you are expected to register. When you register, please let
me know what version you have (it's right on the info screen) and I'd
also be interested to know where you got it from. Please, make sure
you put your name and address on your letter! Or you can use the
instant registration form in the file "orderfrm.txt". Just copy the
file to your printer, fill it out, and mail it. If you're not
familiar with the Shareware concept, please read the file
"sharewre.txt".
If you have any suggestions or discover any problems with the program
you can reach me via the )(evious BBS system (300 through 28800 bps
HST/v.32/v.34, 8N1) at 508-788-6951. Leave a C)omment to the sysop to
reach me. )(evious is the official support BBS for all my software
and the latest versions are always available for downloading there.
There is also a support conference for people to exchange game tips
or ask questions. J)oin conference #31 and check out the latest
tips. B)ulletin #1 always has the list of latest versions of all my
programs, along with the file name if you wish to download them.
You can also reach )(evious through RelayNet. If there's a RelayNet
board in your area send a routed message to me at node XEVIOUS. The
Shareware conference would be the best choice, but if that's not
available try TPascal, Games or even Common.
I'm also available through CompuServe's email system. Send mail to
me at 71020,2613. Or join me and many other shareware authors in the
Shareware forum (GO SHAREWARE). You can also reach me through
Internet; address messages to 71020.2613@compuserve.com.
Cipher for Windows is pretty easy to use, so rather than reading all
the instructions you might want to just start it up and play. The
game includes complete instructions built in, using the standard
Windows help interface.
INSTALLATION
Cipher for Windows is installed into Windows just like any other
program, so you may want to consult your Windows manual if you're not
familiar with the procedure. Briefly, here is how you would install
Cipher:
1) Create a directory on your hard disk and copy all the Cipher
files into it. For this example, let's say the directory is
C:\CIPHERWN
2) From within Windows select the Program Manager, then under
the File menu select New.
3) A dialog will pop up; select Program Item and click on OK.
4) Another dialog will pop up. Under Description enter "Cipher"
or "Cipher for Windows". Then, under Command Line enter
"C:\CIPHERWN\CIPHERWN.EXE". If you've used a different
directory than the one suggested in step 1 above you'll need to
modify this accordingly.
5) Click on OK and you'll be returned to the desktop where you
should now see the Cipher icon.
PLAYING THE GAME
OBJECT:
The object of the game is to decipher the puzzle shown on the right
side of the screen. The puzzles vary in difficulty and size. When
you solve the puzzle correctly a message will pop up on the screen to
let you know.
KEYBOARD MODE COMMANDS:
If you're going to be playing the game with a mouse, skip down to the
"Mouse Mode Commands" section. Also see the section on "Common
Commands".
Though Windows is primarily a mouse based interface, some people will
find Cipher easier to play using the keyboard. When using the
keyboard you will alternate between "select character" and "place
character" modes. You will see a prompt at the upper right corner of
the screen to tell you what the game is expecting.
You must first select a letter of the alphabet that you want placed
into the puzzle. Just type that single letter and it will be
highlighted on the left hand side of the screen.
Then you must decide where to place the highlighted letter into the
puzzle. Hit the letter that you want translated to the letter you
just selected. You'll see your selection placed throughout the
puzzle.
The game prevents you from using a letter to translate more than one
encrypted letter. Thus, if you change your mind on the translation
of a letter you can just reuse the translated letter somewhere else
and your previous use will be erased.
If you want to erase a guess without placing it somewhere else, hit
the space bar when asked to select a letter and then choose where to
place it in the puzzle.
MOUSE MODE COMMANDS:
If you're going to be playing the game with the keyboard, go back to
the "Keyboard Mode Commands" section. Also see the section on
"Common Commands".
Unlike playing with a keyboard, playing using a mouse is "modeless"
in that you do not have to alternate between selecting a character
and placing it into the puzzle. At the left side of the screen
you'll see the alphabet displayed. Click on the letter you want to
select for use in the puzzle. If your aim is off, just move the
cursor and click again. The letter you choose will be highlighted.
On the right side of the screen you'll see the puzzle. After you
have selected a letter point to the position in the puzzle where you
want that letter used and click the mouse. The letter will be placed
at that position and at all other positions that have the same
enciphered letter.
The game prevents you from using a letter to translate more than one
encrypted letter. Thus, if you change your mind on the translation
of a letter you can just reuse the translated letter somewhere else
and your previous use will be erased.
There are several options in addition to simply placing a letter. If
you click on the top half of a letter pair on the right side, all
occurrences of that letter throughout the puzzle will be highlighted
but not filled in. Clicking the right mouse button instead of the
left one will remove your guess from the position in the puzzle being
pointed to.
COMMON COMMANDS:
Along the top line of the screen you'll see a menu of commands
displayed. Just move the mouse cursor up to the command and point
and click on the one you want.
The available commands are as follows:
Info
Provides some basic information on the game and how to register.
Also displays the version of the program being used.
File
The file menu has a number of subfunctions:
Next Puzzle -- if you're stuck on the current puzzle or just don't
want to play it select next puzzle to get the next consecutive puzzle
in the puzzle file.
Previous Puzzle -- if you want to go back to a previous puzzle use
this command. You will use this command fairly seldom because
previous puzzles are ones you've already played.
Select by Number -- lets you select any puzzle within the current
puzzle file by entering its number. Handy if two people want to play
the same puzzle.
Change Puzzle File -- this command allows you to load a different
puzzle file. All puzzle files end with the file extension ".cpz".
The shareware version of the game only comes with one puzzle file so
this command won't be useful until you register the game.
Save Game -- use this command to save the current puzzle along with
your guesses to a disk file. All saved game files use the file
extension ".sav"; it's optional whether you type this in or not when
entering the file name.
Load Game -- use this command to reload a puzzle that you saved
previously. Select the name of the saved game file you want from the
displayed list.
Make Puzzle -- this function lets you enter puzzles from other
sources and play them using Cipher. There are two types of puzzles
that Cipher understands, the first being puzzles that are already
encrypted like you might find in the newspaper or a puzzle book
("user quotes"), and second being plain language quotes that Cipher
will scramble for you ("standard quotes"); these quotes can come from
any source.
When you bring up the make puzzle window you'll have three edit boxes
to fill in. The upper box is for the actual quote. The middle box
is for the author's name; leave it blank if you don't know the
author. The lower box is for the overall puzzle topic for the entire
puzzle file; you only need to enter the topic once per puzzle file.
The puzzle entry window includes a standard set of editing functions.
These include the ability to paste in text from the Windows
clipboard.
When you've entered the puzzle use the buttons to select either user
or standard puzzle type and then click on the "OK" button. A
standard file selection box will appear for you to choose which file
you want the puzzle saved into. If you change your mind, click on
the "Cancel" button and the puzzle will not be saved.
Note that user defined puzzle files are slightly different from
standard Cipher puzzles, so do not try to add your own puzzles into
the standard puzzle files or vice versa. You also lose one normal
feature of the game when using user puzzles: the game can't determine
when you've solved the puzzle. Several of the hints functions also
don't work with user puzzles.
Clear Guesses -- use this function if you want to clear all your
previous guesses and start the current puzzle over again. It also
marks the puzzle as being unplayed; use this if you want to quit but
play the current puzzle next time you play.
Hints
The hints menu has a number of function. Note that using most
hints will have a negative effect on your final score. Most of
the hints have keyboard shortcuts which are shown on the menu.
See Puzzle -- If a puzzle gets too frustrating you can "cheat" and
see the solution. Once you've done this the puzzle is marked in the
puzzle file as having been played to completion.
Get Hint -- This allows you to get a hint on a single letter. Enter
the encrypted letter from the puzzle that you would like to see the
matching unencrypted letter for and this letter will be entered
throughout the puzzle.
Clear Wrong Guesses -- Selecting this will remove all letters from
the puzzle that are incorrect.
Show Letter Frequencies -- It's well known that some letters of the
alphabet are used much more often than others. In the English
language, the most common letters, in order, are generally ETOANIRSH.
Knowing this fact and knowing which letters in the puzzle appear most
often is a powerful clue. This hint will show all letters of the
alphabet along with the number of times they appear in the puzzle.
Options
See Hall of Fame -- Using this option you can see the all time high
score list at any time. Click on the "Clear" button to erase all
entries in the hall.
Select New Player -- Use this option to let a different player use
the game. You will select the player name you want from a list, or
you can enter a new player name or change an existing player name and
use that.
Select Colors -- You can customize your screen colors with this
option. Your selected colors will be stored so that your last
selections will automatically be loaded whenever you play. Each
player can have their own color selections.
Switch Mouse/Keyboard -- Use this option to switch between mouse and
keyboard play at any time.
Help
Starts up the standard Windows help interface. Complete instructions
are available on how to play Cipher, along with other information
such as how to register, contact the author, etc.
CIPHER RECORD KEEPING
The game tries to keep track of which puzzles you've played in an
intelligent manner. In general, it expects you to play the puzzles
within a file in order so when you select a puzzle file it
automatically loads the first puzzle within that file that you have
not tried yet. When you've tried all the puzzles within a file,
you're given the option of going back to the beginning and playing
those puzzles you didn't solve the first time through.
These records are kept separately for each player, by player number.
Changing a player's name does not change the records for that player
number within the puzzle files you use.
CIPHER SCORING SYSTEM
The scoring system is fairly simple. When you start a puzzle you are
given 1000 points. One point is ticked off every second, so the
faster you solve the puzzle the higher your score. Clear Wrong
Guesses and Get Hint will cost you 10 points each time you use them.
Using Show Letter Frequencies doesn't cost any points, but the clock
does continue to run while you're looking at the frequency list so
you're losing one point per second. Using Show Puzzle sets your
score to zero.
When you solve the puzzle, you get a 100 point bonus. You get an
additional 100 points if you did not use any of the hint functions.
If you managed to solve the puzzle with no wrong guesses you get a
100 point bonus. Finally, you get 20 points for each correct letter
and lose 10 points for each wrong guess you made before solving the
puzzle.
If your score is one of the top ten it will be entered into the Hall
of Fame and the hall will automatically be displayed. If you wish to
clear the Hall of Fame use the Clear button at the lower right of the
Hall of Fame display.
INCLUDED FILES
The following files are included in Cipher for Windows:
CIPHERWN.EXE Cipher program
BWCC.DLL Run time library
CIPHERWN.DOC This file
CIPHERWN.TXT A brief description of Cipher
CIPHERWN.HLP Help data file
PUZZLE1.CPZ Puzzle data file
SHAREWRE.TXT Information on Shareware
ORDERFRM.TXT Ready to print registration form
VENDOR.TXT Distribution information for disk vendors
FILE_ID.DIZ Standard program description for BBSes
CATALOG.EXE Runnable catalog of other products
You are free to pass this program along to friends, give it to user
groups, upload to BBSes, etc. with the understanding that anyone who
continues to use the game is required to register it. All these files
MUST be included when distributing this program. If you archive the
program for distribution through BBSes, please use the name
CIPHWN11.ZIP (or .LZH, .PAK, etc. as appropriate).
REGISTRATION
Please remember that Cipher for Windows is not free software. As
with all Shareware you are expected to purchase it after you've given
it a reasonable trial.
The registration price for Cipher for Windows is $15, which includes
a disk with the latest version plus over 200 additional puzzles to
solve. Other sets of puzzles (about 200 puzzles per set) are also
available for $5 each; contact the author for availability. At the
date of this release there are three puzzle set disks available.
A deluxe version of Cipher for Windows is also available. This
includes a storage case, printed manual plus the registered version
of the program with over 200 puzzles. This version is available for
$22.
Please include $2 shipping for the standard version or $4 for the
deluxe version. Foreign shipping is $4 for either version.
ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS
This software is produced by Nels Anderson who is a member of the
Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure
that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to
resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting
the member directly, ASP may be able to help.
The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an
ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members'
products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road,
Muskegon, MI 49442, USA or send a CompuServe message via email to ASP
Ombudsman 70007,3536 or FAX to 616-788-2765.
_______
____|__ | (R)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
AVAILABLE SOFTWARE
Other software which I've either written or contributed to:
CIPHER: Just like Cipher for Windows but runs under MS-DOS.
EGATREK: Space strategy battle game, using high resolution EGA
graphics, based on the classic minicomputer game. Winner of Public
Brand Software's 1988 software contest.
MAH JONGG: Solitaire game played with Chinese tiles. Supports EGA and
Hercules graphics; mouse optional. See reviews in December 1988
"PCWorld" and April 1989 "Compute!". Includes editor to create your
own tiles.
TILE MATCH: Solitaire game based on concentration or memory solitaire
but with many more features. Includes multi-player games and play
against the computer. Uses the same tiles as Mah Jongg solitaire.
SHOOT: "Shooting Gallery" tests your aim and reflexes in a number of
different rounds of shooting. Uses MCGA graphics mode for 256 colors
and and also requires a mouse. See review in "PC Magazine" vol. 9
#20.
SUPERFLY: An action game using hi-res EGA/VGA graphics. Chase the
flies and other insects through twenty different rounds. Includes
three levels of difficulty, hall of fame, shell to DOS, etc.
Keyboard/joystick/mouse supported. See review in "PC Magazine" vol.
10 #17.
- - - - -
Cipher for Windows is copyright (c) 1994 by Nels Anderson
All rights reserved