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Text File | 1991-07-16 | 22KB | 434 lines

BBBBBB SSSSS X X B B S X X BBBBBB SSSS X B B S X X BBBBBB SSSSS X X I n t e r n a t i o n a l presents... DDDDD AAA RRRRR N N II TTTTTT D D A A R R NNN N II TT D D AAAAAAA RRRRR N NN N II TT D D A A R R N NNN II TT DDDDD A A R R N N II TT Version 11.0 A Shareware Solitaire Game of Extraordinary Magnitude 1.0 - Welcome. Welcome to Darnit 11.0! You keep buying it, so we keep improving it! Users familiar with earlier versions can look forward to a host of new features and an exciting new play screen. Newcomers will rejoice at the ease of play and happy fun times to be had all by one's lonesome. Solitude and loneliness. For many, these words are synonymous. But here at BSX, solitude is always a good time (none of your damn business, if you must ask!). And now it can be for you too! Just fire up DARNIT 11.0 and there you are. So next time you get stood up for that big disco date, or when all your friends get married, move out of town and can talk about nothing but mortgages and baby clothes, no problem! You can spend some time with BSX and DARNIT 11.0, because we know just what you're going through. If you can play DARNIT while those about you are getting married and blaming it on you, then, and ONLY then, will you be a cardmeister, YOU BUM! Listen: only the most neophytical of neophytes will need to pore over these dox. Just start the game and play. Then, if you got a problem, you can bet these dox will help you solve them. Have fun! 2.0 - Legal Stuff. PLEASE READ!!! DARNIT 11.0 (C) 1991 BSX International DARNIT 11.0 was developed in Borland's Turbo Pascal 5.5. This software is provided "as is" with no guarantees of any kind. The developers assume no responsibilities other than those indicated below. You may use and distribute this product as you wish, but only under the following conditions: 1) You may sell this program without permission from BSX International but you MUST NOT alter the program or its documentation. You MUST NOT charge any fees other than fees for copying and MUST clearly state that this fee is NOT a substitute for registration with BSX. 2) Do not distribute this product if it has been reduced in any way. You may add files, but you may not remove any of the originals. 3) Under no circumstances remove the copyright notices from the code or documentation. 2.1 - Shareware. This product is SHAREWARE and is distributed in good faith for your enjoyment. You may play it for a short period to become familiar with it. If you decide you like it and want to keep playing it, you should send a $10 registration fee to BSX, otherwise you should stop using it. If only all software folks let you use their product before you paid for it, the world would be a much better place. We've bought so much BAD software that we don't use, and we're sure you have too, that we feel GOOD programs should be rewarded. If you don't like DARNIT, we're not hurt; if you do like our stuff, register, and we'll keep making it. We're on our eleventh version of this product, so we think we're doing our part. This program is not "protected" in any way and is not altered so that non-registrants will suffer. The authors don't believe in denying anyone a chance to use our stuff. We are programmers, not businessmen. We trust that anyone who likes DARNIT and wants more of it will register. We're not naive, just a little idealistic. If you do not register you may still distribute this game provided you follow the rules above. Also, even if you have paid a distributor for the disk this game was on, YOU ARE STILL NOT REGISTERED. We do not receive payments from distributors. They just help us disperse our stuff, and we help THEM by giving them our stuff for distrubtion, gratis. 2.2 - Registration. To register DARNIT 11.0 with BSX send a check/cash/MO for $10 (US) or $12 (Canadian) PAYABLE TO ROBERT ROBERDS to: BSX International 806 Park Ridge Road Apt. A8 Durham, NC 27713 ************************************************************* *** PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: ROBERT ROBERDS *** *** DO NOT MAKE THEM PAYABLE TO BSX INTERNATIONAL! *** *** IF YOU DO, WE JUST HAVE A GOOD LAUGH AT YOUR EXPENSE *** *** AND THROW THEM AWAY. AND YOU'RE STILL NOT REGISTERED! *** *** SO, THERE. WE'RE NOT JOKING. REMEMBER, THAT'S -> *** *** *** *** R*O*B*E*R*T R*O*B*E*R*D*S *** *** *** *** YOU'D THINK WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO REMIND PEOPLE LIKE *** *** THIS, BUT WE DO. WE REALLY DO. OY THE STORIES WE GOT. *** ************************************************************* For registering, not only will you encourage us to keep writing shareware, you will also receive: 1) Our Gratitude. 2) 1/2 Priced discounts on upgrades to this product. 3) A meeting with the Government of Pakistan. (Just send them the canceled check, and they'll do the rest. Tell them "Farouk" sent you.) Your support and comments are appreciated! No foolin'! Listen up: Please read BSXCAT.DOC and ORDER.DOC for FULL INFO on the rewards you get for registering, and to see a current BSX catalog. 3.0 - Setup. A complete copy of DARNIT 11.0 has AT LEAST the following files: 1) DARNIT.EXE - The actual executable program. 2) DARNIT.DAT - "Data" file needed for program execution. 3) DARNIT.ICO - Windows icon file (not necessary to play DARNIT, but provided for expert users who want to run DARNIT under Windows 3.0+). 4) DARNIT.DOC - Documentation file you are now reading. 5) BSXCAT.DOC - BSX's latest catalog of stuff. Also, our newsletter. 6) ORDER.DOC - E-Z-2-UZE BSX order and registration form. Print it! 7) STUFF.DOC - BSX International newsletter for users. To run DARNIT 11.0 from a hard drive, make a directory for this game (we don't care what you call it, but DARNIT isn't a bad idea) or pick an existing directory into which you want to put the game. Copy the DARNIT.EXE and DARNIT.DAT files into this directory. Change your default directory to the one you just created (with the "CD" command) and type "DARNIT". It's as simple as that. Or, if that directory is in your path, you can now type "darnit" from anywhere and the game will start. Presto! To run DARNIT 11.0 from a floppy, ensure that the files DARNIT.EXE & DARNIT.DAT are on the floppy. (Use the "DIR" command.) Change your default drive to the drive the floppy is in (Type "A:" or "B:", whichever applies) and type "DARNIT". NOTE: We highly recommend that you run DARNIT from a hard disk, not a floppy, if at all possible. Refer to your DOS manual for help, if needed. If you're still having trouble, make sure your machine meets the minimum requirements below: 1) IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or compatible (any 80x88/80x86 machine, from 8088/8086 clear on up through 80586 and beyond). 2) 256K RAM minimum. 3) EGA or VGA video adaptor with at least 256K of video RAM. 4) DOS 2.1 or higher or any other DOS-compatible operating system. 5) Microsoft compatible mouse is supported, but not required. DARNIT 11.0 WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT A EGA OR VGA CARD! This game has been playtested on many, many systems. We cannot say it will work on every possible configuration, but it does work on every system we have tried it on. SO THERE! We cannot guarantee that this program will run under any operating system other than DOS or that it will work with any TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident programs) or memory management devices. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you put: files=20 buffers=40 device=ansi.sys in your CONFIG.SYS file. These shouldn't be necessary for DARNIT, but it's best not to take chances. So many problems are caused by the omission of these lines that you'd be a fool not to put them in. IT IS ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, if you do have problems with DARNIT, that you unload and reload any TSRs before playing. This often helps clean up problems that other programs have left behind. Please try to recreate any problem on another, similar configuration before assuming we have screwed up. If any of the above is confusing to you, please refer to the manuals that came with your machine. Or you could talk to a computer salesman. (This won't solve your problem, but it's always good for a laugh.) You can always contact BSX, unless we're out on a date or something (in other words, always). Before beefing, though, please re-read our docs to make sure you aren't missing something. You may get in touch with BSX International at (919) 493-4875, just about any time, or you can send us a message on the Prodigy service at JBVC54A, or on GEnie at R.ROBERDS1, or on WWIVnet at 11 @9978. Drop us a line! If you call, you may get our answering service. Leave a message for Bob. He can get lonely. 4.0 - Rules of the Original Card Game. We don't really know the official name of this type of solitaire card game, but we have opted to call it DARNIT because we seem to say that an awful lot while playing it. Well, what we REALLY say is unprintable in a family forum. Anyway, Bob learned it from a college roomie, who had himself learned it from an obviously sadomasochistic kid at the summer camp where he worked. And it goes something...like ...this: You shuffle the deck and, one at a time, take cards from it and lay them out in a 4x4 grid. The goal is to get the face cards in this pattern here: K | Q | Q | K ------------- J | | | J ------------- J | | | J ------------- K | Q | Q | K Non-face cards can go in any position. Face cards HAVE to go into the postions shown above. When you have filled the grid, you can then discard all the tens and all the pairs of non-face cards whose values add up to ten (aces count as ones). Then you fill the grid again, and discard, and fill, ad nauseum, until the face cards are all out in the above pattern. But you lose if you can't place a face card, or if you fill the grid and it has no tens or pairs that add to ten. It's rough; it's tough; it's in the buff. Be prepared to get yer butt kicked a lot. But the thrill of victory makes all the agony of defeat worthwhile (usually). Variations: some people like to wimp out and play by the rules that let you not only eliminate tens and pairs that add to ten, but also to eliminate ANY groups that add to ten; say a six, a three, and an ace. This is an unbelievably weenie thing to do, but DARNIT offers it as an option. You never know with some people. 5.0 - Using DARNIT...The Basics Just type: darnit at the DOS prompt. You'll see the opening screen and cruise on to an all-nighter of solitaire madness. Now to explain a few fundamentals. First off, if you have a Microsoft Mouse or any compatible device, you move around with the mouse and click with the left button. If you don't have a mouse, you move around with the arrow keys and with PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End, and click on things with Return; also, command buttons onscreen can often be envoked with the first letter of the command; for example, hitting 'H' calls up the Help screen. You take cards from the deck by clicking on it. You put the now face-up deck card in a grid square by clicking in that square. Note that face cards will only go into their appropriate positions, and that the cursor becomes a hand there. Other cards may go into any empty square. DARNIT has an "oh jeez I didn't mean to put it there" option, too. If you put a card in a grid square and then realize that that wasn't what you wanted, you can hit the right button (or Escape, if you don't have a mouse) to put it back on the top of the deck and place it all over again. But after turning over the next card, there ain't no such option. That ain't allowed in the card game, and it ain't allowed here. CHEATING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Once the grid is filled you can eliminate tens by clicking on them, and you can eliminate pairs by first clicking on one card to highlight it, then clicking the other. If you change your mind after highlighting a card, just hit the right mouse button (or Escape) to unselect it. Click on the deck to start filling again. 5.1 - Features. Rule Varations: You have the option to choose to play by the easy rules; that is, allowing the elimination of not just tens and pairs that add to ten, but of ALL groups that add up to ten. 'Tis wimpy, but 'tis offered, because BSX International has only YER best interests at heart. If you want DARNIT to start off with wimpiness as the default, you can use the -w command line paramter; that is: start the game with the line darnit -w at the DOS prompt. But you can always choose what rule to use by clicking on the Rules button while playing the game. DARNIT will remember that setting from now on. Try it out! Run Silent, Run Deep: Another nifty option is the silent playing mode. This lets you play without any of the cute music playing on startup and after winning or losing. So you can play without bosses/and or parents and/or your roommate(s) kicking yer hiney. To run DARNIT in silent mode, just use the parameter -s (or -S) on the command line, as in: darnit -s. Silent mode is also accessible from the playing screen. If you pick silent running and then quit, the game will begin silently from now on. Don't be intimidated; just try it! It's simple! It's the Boss: This brings us to the Boss option. Say you got a real dull, pointless job, kind of like Bob's, and you decide to kill some time with a nice game of DARNIT. But yer neo-facist employer would not take a shine to that if he was to catch you at it. Yer boss, the Master Of The Universe with his heroic Yale chin, would toss you in the shredder if he caught you goofing on this GAME instead of making him money. (An aside: I'm using the male pronoun for simplicity. I know there are plenty of horrible *female* bosses, too.) What to do? Well, just hit the Boss button on the playing screen, and -POW!- up comes a fake DOS screen. Yer boss walks by, none the wiser. Cool, huh? This is a convincing Boss screen, not a lame EGA "C>" like in F-19 Stealth Fighter. All you have to do is type "darnit" or "exit" to return to your game. Or, if there's an emergency, you can type "abort" to leave immediately and exit right to DOS. Your game will be lost, but your job may well be saved. It is an even swap. It has been brought to our attention that only bosses play games at work. So be it. Then you bosses may think of the BOSS option as an EMPLOYEE option. The song remains the same. Here's some other options available to you while playing: Help: Puts up a full-scren help facility. Helps you to keep it straight! As it were. Players: This enables you to look at the lifetime scores of up to 10 players. Choose "USE" to play with that player, or "NEW" to erase that player's stats and enter a new name. And there's always "DONE" for when you want to get back to the game. Cards: Choose from one of the eight available designs for the backs of the cards! YOU make the call! Mouse: If you're using a mouse and don't like the response, no problem! Click on the mouse adjust button and use the VCR-like controls to change the feel. If you don't know how to work a VCR or don't know what horizontal and vertical are, what the hell are you doing using a computer? Do yourself a favor and just get a lobotomy right away. One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest. DARNIT will remember the mouse speed setting from now on. One More Thing: DARNIT is truly idiot-proof; I know because I've tested it myself a million times, doing all sorts of idiotic stuff. Lose the .DAT file, or forget the rules of the game, or try to run on a system w/o EGA: NO sweat! DARNIT WILL NOT crash. Nothing's more annoying than a game that crashes. Also, it's VERY user-friendly; mousers seldom need touch the keyboard, and non-mousers seldom need use any hand but the one on the numeric keypad. Note to mousers: You might want to disable any mouse-ignorant screen savers, or the screen may blank and scare the very bejeebers outta you, until you remember that all you gotta do is hit a key. Used to happen to me a lot when using mouse-only applications. 6.0 - Technical and Version Notes. DARNIT was conceived over a weekend of serious beer-drinking and hardcore Chinese food-eating. It was done in Turbo Pascal 5.5 on an IBM PC with an Intel Inboard 386, a Maxtor 120Mb hard drive, a Paradise Pro VGA card, and a Logitech bus mouse. The game was tested and docs were written on a Gateway 2000 386/33 with Super VGA & 200MB Hard Drive running MS-DOS 5.0 with a Kraft Serial Trackball. The mouse routines used were those in the Public Domain TP unit known as EGAMOUSE, by Eduardo Martins. This is a fine, simple-to-use unit that comes with source, allowing for easy modification. We modified it to make the vertical arrow shape in DARNIT, along with a bunch more. The unbelievably buggy background music routines were adapted and debugged from a REAL old TP3 include file dating from the Pleistocene (1985). 6.1 - Version Summary. Version 1.0 released 6 June 89 - Initial release. Many other releases followed until... Version 11.0 released 8 July 91 - Many improvments including new play screen, card back selection, mouse sensitivity control, extended win/loss tracking with player selection and incorporating all other bug fixes since initial release. 7.0 - About BSX International. BSX is mostly the fault of Bob Roberds, sometime programmer and all-around swell guy. Partly to blame is Dave Kotomski, sometime programmer and fellow game fanatic. Together with the help of programmers and other computer geeks, they run BSX International, a shareware company. Our amazing growth and diversity is due to the large number of registrants and other enthusiasts who contribute time and money (mostly just time) in the form of registrations and ideas as well as code, advice, the occaisional beer and shoulder to cry on. We appreciate it all. Mostly the beer, though. Bob and Dave spend a lot of time on the phone. We usually talk about politics, music, modern life, last week's Star Trek:TNG episode, and beer. When Bob's not on the phone, he eeks out his meager existence in Durham, NC and writes our software and drinks beer. When Dave's not on the phone with Bob, he's on the phone with his "wife" (should I get call-waiting?) or drinking beer in Trumbull, CT (never both. Maybe a new girlfriend?). Both of us are playing games the rest of the time, or we're passed out somewhere (often in Baltimore on bus-stop benches). 8.0 - Acknowledgements. Bob would like to thank Dave for being a true blue BSXian. More gracias to Ken Gutierrez for the Megabux Connection. Additional gratitude extended to local riff-raff like DJ, Hongalooga, Rosebud and Trailblazer for input (GIGO, I always say). Endless kudos to Spike the macaw for inspiring the ubiquitous parrot imagery. And, miracle of miracles, LRG has still refrained from calling in a B-52 strike on him (though we admit it's probably just a matter of time). Dave would like to thank Bob, John, Robin, Gail and Alexei for good times and stuff. It's amazing to me that Bob picks up the phone as often as he does when he knows I call so much. What's more amazing is he actually uses some of my "suggestions" in our games. I suppose I should acknowledge some ex-girlfriends out there. There, I did it. Happy? BSX International - Bob "Eighty-Eight Fingers Louie" Roberds - Development, Design & Beer. David "I AM Klingon" Kotomski - Playtesting, Dox & Jack Daniels. So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed- It Must Be From BSX International Where The Future Is Tommorrow Rootin-Tootin-Computin for the 90s and Beyond Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and Despair! "If you could ask Angela Landsbury anything about pain relief..." - TV Commercial Mars First! Fight the ignorant technophobic anti-spacer Luddites! Live Long and Perspire. Peace.