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1991-04-09
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Midnight Oil
Version 2.15
Copyright 1989-91 By
Randy Rasa
18215 Troost
Olathe, KS 66062
What Is It? ___________
Midnight Oil, also known as "La Belle Lucie" and "Three Shuffles
and a Draw", is one of the few solitaire card games that offers
both challenging play and a reasonable chance to win. It is also
highly addictive; once you get into it, you'll be "burning the
midnight oil" more often than not.
Program Requirements ____________________
Midnight Oil requires 256K of memory, EGA or higher graphics
capability, and a Microsoft-compatible mouse. If you are not sure
you have the right hardware, just run the program. If there's a
problem, the program will let you know. Incidentally, the text-
mode-only version of Midnight Oil is still available on request,
for those of you without EGA graphics.
In addition to the program file (MO.EXE), the game requires that
the card definition files (MO.CD1 and MO.CD2) be in the current
directory. These files contain the bit-maps for each cardface in
the deck.
Using The Mouse _______________
The mouse pointer will appear as a white arrow with black edges.
In general, the left button is used to select the object being
pointed to (a card or a button), while the right button is used to
exit menus or prompts.
If you have a three-button mouse, the middle button will blank the
screen. This can also be accomplished by pressing the left and
right buttons simultaneously.
How To Play ___________
Midnight Oil uses a standard 52-card deck (no jokers). To begin
the game the deck is shuffled, then dealt face-up, one card at a
time, into seventeen piles of three cards each. The last card is
placed by itself as an eighteenth pile. These piles are also known
as "fans".
Midnight Oil Documentation Page 2
The object of the game is to move all of the cards from the
eighteen fans into four new piles, arranged by suit, in order from
Ace (low) to King (high). These four destination piles are known
as the "foundations". Only the top card of each fan is available
for play.
In addition to moving cards from fans to foundations, cards can
also be moved from one fan to another, building down in suit. In
this way submerged cards can be freed up for play to the
foundations or to other fans. Once a fan becomes empty (which will
be represented my a dashed line where the fan was), no moves can be
made to that fan.
When you have made all the moves you can, from the fans to the
foundations and from fan to fan, the remaining cards in all the
fans may be reshuffled and re-dealt in the same manner as at the
beginning of the game (three cards to a fan). In all, the deck may
be shuffled three times (once to begin the game, and twice more
during the game).
At some point during the game, you may draw one submerged card from
a fan and play it on any valid foundation or fan. It is generally
better to save this draw for as long as possible.
Buttons _______
Along the right side of the screen are a number of "buttons", which
may be selected by pointing and clicking with the mouse. The
buttons are:
Shuffle: This button will initiate a shuffling of the deck, in
which all of the cards in the fans are picked up, shuffled,
and then re-dealt. If no shuffles are left, the program will
display the message "No shuffles left".
Draw: When you select this button, you will be asked to select a
pile (fan) to draw from. When you select a fan, it will be
displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, and you
will be allowed to select one card from that fan to draw. If
you change your mind and decide that you don't want to draw a
card after all, press the right button to exit draw mode. If
you select a card, it will be removed from the fan and
displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, and you
will be prompted to select a destination. Point to the
desired fan or foundation and press the left mouse button to
move the drawn card to the selected fan or foundation.
Peek: This is similar to a draw, in that an entire fan will be
displayed in the lower left corner of the screen, but you are
only allowed to look, not touch. To exit peek mode press the
right mouse button twice.
Midnight Oil Documentation Page 3
Options: This button brings up the options menu, which you can
use to set your preferences for the following:
Sound: Select "Off" to disable the beeps, clicks, and various
other noises the program makes. Select "On" to enable the
sounds.
Auto Mode: When this is set to "On", the program will attempt
to move cards from the fans to the foundations
automatically. This will relieve you from having to worry
about missing obvious moves, so that you can concentrate
on strategy. When this is set to "Off", the game is
essentially in manual mode, and you will need to make all
moves to the foundations by yourself. This option is
provided for those traditional-minded souls who might
consider auto mode to be cheating.
Auto Speed: This allows you to adjust how fast the cards are
played in auto mode. Click on the left and right arrows
to move the pointer along the scale from "Slower" to
"Faster". At the fastest setting, cards are moved as fast
as possible (a blur of action). The slowest setting is
"single-step" mode, in which you will be prompted before
each automatic move. You will need to experiment to find
an acceptable setting for your computer.
Session Statistics: When this option is set to "On", the
program will keep track of your statistics (games played,
games won, change in average score) throughout the game
and then display them when you quit. (Note: During play,
you can also display the session statistics by clicking on
the score box.)
Trefoil Option: 'Trefoil' is the name of a variation of
Midnight Oil in which all the aces are placed on the
appropriate foundations at the start of the game. This is
supposed to make the game a little easier to win, since
there are four fewer cards to move to foundations. If you
change the Trefoil option while a game is already in
progress, you'll have to finish the current game before
the change takes effect.
Background Color: Click on the up-arrow and down-arrow to
step through the available background colors, until you
find one that suits your tastes.
Once you've set things to your liking, you may click on the
"OK" button to save your preferences to disk, or on the
"Cancel" button to exit the Options menu without changing
anything.
Undo: This button allows you to undo the last inter-fan move,
that is, the last move from one fan to another. You cannot
undo moves to the foundation, a shuffle, or a draw.
Midnight Oil Documentation Page 4
Help: This button will bring up several pages of help screens,
which you can view by clicking on the "Next" or "Prev"
buttons to move from page to page. When you are finished
reading the help, click on the "Done" button to exit.
New Game: This button will end the current game, update your
statistics, and start a new game. Note that the stats will
only be updated if you have a score greater than zero. This
allows you to evaluate the layout of the cards and, if you
don't like what you see, to begin a new game without having
it count against you.
Quit: Click on this button to exit the program. If you have a
score greater than zero, your statistics will be updated and
displayed briefly before returning you to DOS.
Statistics __________
Midnight Oil keeps track of the score (the number of cards you've
moved to foundations) and the number of shuffles and draws you have
left during the course of the game. Also displayed are the total
number of games you've played, the number of games you've won
(expressed as both a number and a percentage, and your average
score. At the end of each game, the statistics are written to
disk, either in the default MO.DAT or in the data file specified on
the command line. The data file also contains the preferences you
set in the options menu (sound on/off, auto mode on/off, and
background color).
To specify a data file on the command line, start up Midnight Oil
with the following syntax:
MO filename.ext
This allows several different people to use the same copy of
Midnight Oil on the same machine, yet keep separate statistics for
each person. For example, suppose three people (Tom, Dick, and
Harry) played the game at various times on the same machine. They
could each easily keep personalized data files, containing their
scores and preferences for sound, auto mode, and background color.
Tom would use his data file by typing:
MO TOM.DAT
Likewise, Dick and Harry could have data files called DICK.DAT and
HARRY.DAT. Note that the "DAT" extension could be "SCR" or "HGH",
or whatever, as long as it is three letters or less.
Admittedly, this method is not the most elegant, but it is
workable, and perhaps a future version of the game will provide an
easier and robust approach.
Midnight Oil Documentation Page 5
Legalese ________
Midnight Oil is shareware. As such, you can play it, copy it, and
give it away as you wish. In fact, you are encouraged to
distribute the program to friends, family, and strangers alike.
This includes distribution via electronic bulletin board systems
(BBS), user's groups, and disk-distribution services. All that I
ask is that the program remain in an archive consisting of:
MO.EXE ............. the program
MO.CD1 ............. card definition file #1
MO.CD2 ............. card definition file #2
MO.DOC ............. documentation
MO.FRM ............. registration form
Registration ____________
Midnight Oil is shareware. If you enjoy the game, please support
it. There are three registration packages available:
1. Basic Registration ................................... $5.00
This minimum registration will get you the latest registered
(no shareware "beg" message) version of Midnight Oil on a
diskette of your choice, along with a registration code good
for all future updates.
2. Package Deal #1 ..................................... $10.00
This package consists of the latest registered version of
Midnight Oil, plus shareware versions of as many of the
programs listed below that will fit on the disk, along with a
menu program to tie them all together. Note that all of the
additional programs are unregistered versions (with shareware
"beg" screens). You will also receive a registration code
good for all future updates of Midnight Oil.
3. Package Deal #2 ..................................... $15.00
This package consists of the latest registered version of
Midnight Oil, plus registered versions of as many of the
programs listed below that will fit on the disk, along with a
menu program to tie them all together. Note that all of the
additional programs are fully registered versions (no
shareware "beg" screens). You will also receive registration
codes good for all future updates of Midnight Oil and the
programs included with your registration.
No matter what option you choose, you'll be getting a lot of
quality software for just a little dough. Please consider
registering.
Midnight Oil Documentation Page 6
The programs that you will get with the package deals will be
selected from the following:
Monte Carlo: An EGA-based solitaire card game in which you try
to remove pairs of cards from a 5 x 5 matrix. This easy-to-
play game offers hours of relaxing fun. It keeps statistics
in much the same way as Midnight Oil, has selectable card
designs, and a "hint" button that makes the game especially
easy to learn.
Calculation: This EGA-based solitaire card game is a real brain-
teaser in which you build up four foundations, each in a
different sequence. It requires skill and logical thinking
to win, but on-screen assistance makes learning and playing
the game a snap. It keeps a statistic file like Midnight Oil
and has selectable card designs.
Osmosis: In this EGA solitaire card game you have four
foundations to build, but a card can only be played to a
lower foundation if it has also been played to an upper
foundation. This addictive game is simple to play but
difficult to win, with success often depending as much on
luck as skill. It keeps statistics on-disk, offers
selectable card backs and has a "peek" option to give you an
extra edge.
Idiot's Delight: An EGA version of "Aces Up", a simple but
addictive game of luck and skill. This is one of those games
that leave you saying "just one more game" time after time
after time. As in my other EGA games, it keeps a statistic
file and offers selectable card backs.
Royal Cotillion: This is a two-deck EGA solitaire in which you
must build up eight foundations in suit by twos. It offers
good opportunity for skillful play, a pleasing layout, and
hours of engrossing fun. It keeps a statistics file, has
selectable card backs, and a time-saving auto mode.
Poker Squares: A text-mode card game that is also known as Poker
Solitaire. In this game you pull cards one at a time from
the deck, placing them on a 5 x 5 matrix, trying to form the
best poker hands in the five rows and five columns. The game
can be played on color or monochrome systems, and will use a
mouse if one is available. The top ten scores are kept on
disk.
Concentration: A text-mode version of the classic memory-
stretching solitaire. It features 8 selectable card backs,
mouse support, runs on any monitor, and keeps the top ten
scores on disk.
Strategy: This is a solitaire card game that requires skill,
luck, and concentration. It runs in color or monochrome, and
requires a mouse.
Midnight Oil Documentation Page 7
I am adding new programs all the time, so I'll probably send along
whatever I can fit on one disk, using the newest programs first.
As you can see, you get a lot of fun and useful software for just a
little dough. Please consider registering.
You may print out the registration form by entering the following
command from the DOS prompt (with your printer connected and
ready):
COPY MO.FRM PRN
Then just fill out the form and send it, along with cash, check or
money order, to:
Randy Rasa
18215 Troost
Olathe, KS 66062
Upgrading To Version 2 ______________________
For those of you upgrading from version 1.xx of Midnight Oil, the
transition should be simple. The only major new requirement is EGA
graphics. The data file (MO.DAT) created by version 1.XX should
work with the new version without any problems (though using the
new data file with the old version may be less successful). The
program has been substantially rewritten for version 2, and a few
features have been dropped, a few changed, and a few added. All in
all, you should feel right at home.
Revision History ________________
1.00 11-08-89 First Public Release. Text-based version. Through
the next year, the program went through about a
dozen revisions as bugs were fixed and features
were added..
2.00 12-19-90 New EGA version released.
2.01 01-03-91 A few small enhancements and bug fixes.
Documentation upgrades.
2.02 01-05-91 A few cosmetic changes.
2.10 01-11-91 Added "Session Statistics" option.
More cosmetic changes.
2.11 02-08-91 Fixed bug in draw routine.
More cosmetic changes.
2.12 02-24-91 Added auto mode speed adjustment.
2.13 03-12-91 Added Trefoil option.
Added registration procedure.
2.14 03-23-91 Modified registration procedure.
2.15 04-09-91 Fixed bug in "Peek" mode.
Midnight Oil Documentation Page 8
A Note To Registered Users __________________________
The registration procedure allows previously-registered users to
update to the new registered version of the program by entering a
special 'registration code' that was included as part of your
order. Run the shareware version of the program with an "/R"
command-line switch, followed by the registration code, like this:
MO /Rxxxxxx
You would, of course use the proper registration code in place of
the "xxxxxx". Note also that there should be no space between the
"R" and the registration code. After running the program with /R
switch and the proper code, you'll have a brand-spanking new
registered version of the program. What this essentially amounts
to is unlimited, free updates with each registration.
The registration procedure comes with the following limitations:
1. The name your EXE file must be MO.EXE.
2. You cannot perform the registration procedure on a compressed
version (ie: an EXE file processed with PKLite, Diet, or
LZEXE). The EXE file may be compressed after the
registration procedure, but not before.
3. Please do not distribute registered versions of the program.
4. Since the registration procedure is a new feature (as of
version 2.13), there are a number of people who have
registered earlier versions that won't be able to take
advantage of it just yet. But if you send me a self-
addressed stamped envelope, I'll be happy to send you the
registration code.
Note: You can also change the program back to the shareware version
by using the "/SW" command-line switch. This function is
subject to the same limitations as with the registration
procedure (ie: the program must be properly named and
uncompressed). Please use this option to "un-register" the
program if you wish to pass it along to anyone. Also, please
include all of the files listed under the "Legalese" section
of this document. Thanks.