Shareware Overload/ShartewareOverload.cdr/games/tomtriv2.zip/TRIVIA.DOC

Text File | 1989-09-21 | 10KB | 200 lines

TOMMY'S TRIVIA (C) COPYRIGHT 1987 BY TOMMY'S TOYS
P. O. BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CATALOG #87-060-1A

INSTRUCTIONS:

THIS IS A TRIVIA GAME PROGRAM FOR ASPIRING EARTHLING TRIVIOLOGISTS. THE TRIVIA
QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY PREPARED BY ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE AND ARE
PRESENTED IN AN ALTERNATE-CHOICE FORMAT.  FROM YEARS OF OBSERVING YOUR PLANET
WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT WE SHOULD *NOT* DIVIDE THE TRIVIA INTO CATEGORIES,
SINCE THAT WOULD BE UNTRIVIAL, AND BESIDES, BY THE TIME ANYBODY ELSE IN THE
GALAXY RECEIVES YOUR TV AND RADIO TRANSMISSIONS, THEY ARE ALL MIXED UP
TOGETHER LIKE THIS ANYWAY.

NEITHER DO WE GRADE THE QUESTIONS ON DIFFICULTY, BECAUSE IF YOU KNOW IT IT
ISN'T DIFFICULT AND IF YOU DON'T IT IS!  AND NO, A PH.D IS NOT NECESSARY TO
ENJOY THIS GAME BECAUSE YOU'D NEED A HUNDRED OF THEM TO GET ANY ADVANTAGE ON
US ALIENS WHO MADE UP THE QUESTIONS, AND MOST EARTHLINGS PLAY FROM SUCH A LOW
LEVEL OF IGNORANCE THAT YOU ONLY NEED TO GET ONE OR TWO EXTRA RIGHT ONCE IN
AWHILE TO BEAT ANOTHER EARTHLING ANYWAY.

THE MORAL OF THIS TOY IS THAT, WHILE TRIVIOLOGY IS THE QUEEN OF SCIENCES (IT
IS ON VIRTUALLY EVERY CIVILIZED PLANET WE KNOW OF), YOU EARTHLINGS HAVE A LONG
WAYS TO GO TO CATCH UP, HAVING GONE THROUGH THE PRIMITIVE *FLASH CARD* STAGE
JUST A FEW YEARS AGO!  (NOT TO MENTION NO DECENT TRIVIOLOGY PH.D PROGRAMS IN
YOUR MAJOR UNIVERSITIES, NO CHAIRS OF TRIVIOLOGY YET, NOT EVEN A SINGLE
TRIVIAL FELLOW IN THE NATIONAL ACADEMY -- TSK, TSK YOU EARTHLINGS ARE
BACKWARD, HA HA).

THERE ARE 6 WAYS TO PLAY.  THE FIRST 3 ARE SOLITAIRE (YOU AGAINST THE HIGH
SCORE FILE), THE LAST 3 ARE FOR 2 KEYBOARD PLAYERS (OR 2 TEAMS) AGAINST EACH
OTHER:

    1. 50 QUESTIONS.  YOUR SCORE IS THE NUMBER OF CORRECT GUESSES, TIMES 2.
       HENCE, MAXIMUM SCORE IS 100.

    2. BEAT THE CLOCK.  YOUR SCORE IS THE NUMBER OF CORRECT GUESSES IN THE
       ALLOWED TIME (300 SECONDS), TIMES 2.  (NOTE: THE ELAPSED TIME ONLY
       COUNTS AGAINST YOU BETWEEN THE TIME THE QUESTION IS DISPLAYED AND
       THE TIME YOU ACTUALLY ANSWER IT -- HENCE THE GAME CAN TAKE WELL OVER
       5 MINUTES.)

    3. JEOPARDY STYLE.  YOU GET 50 QUESTIONS, IN 5 SERIES OF 10, EACH WITH
       MONEY VALUES OF $10, $20, ..., $100 (TOTAL MONEY VALUE IS
       5*$550=$2750).  IF YOU GUESS CORRECT, THE AMOUNT IS ADDED TO YOUR
       SCORE, ELSE IT IS SUBTRACTED.

       YOU ARE ALSO GIVEN 2 RANDOMLY-SELECTED DOUBLE-OR-NOTHING OPPORTUNITIES
       IN THE FIRST 49 QUESTIONS (1 IN THE FIRST 25 QUESTIONS, 1 IN THE NEXT
       24 QUESTIONS): YOU MAY WAGER FROM $1 TO YOUR PRESENT WINNINGS; IF YOUR
       WINNINGS ARE LESS THAN $50, YOU MAY WAGER UP TO $50.

       QUESTIONS 1-49 ARE NOT MANDATORY TO BET ON UNLESS THEY ARE DOUBLE-OR-
       NOTHING QUESTIONS: TO SKIP A QUESTION, HIT THE SPACE BAR OR THE
       <ENTER> KEY OR THE "+" KEY.

       THE FINAL (50TH) QUESTION IS ALWAYS A MANDATORY DOUBLE-OR-NOTHING,
       HOWEVER, YOU CAN'T BET UNLESS YOU HAVE AT LEAST $1 IN WINNINGS.

    4. DOUBLE DARE.  HERE YOU PLAY AGAINST A LIVE PARTNER.  THERE ARE 50
       QUESTIONS.  ON YOUR TURN, YOU MAY GUESS THE ANSWER, OR (DOUBLE) DARE.
       IF THE LATTER, THE OTHER PLAYER HAS TO ANSWER OR DOUBLE DARE; IF
       HE IS ALREADY BEING DOUBLE DARED, HE MUST GUESS THE ANSWER.  A WRONG
       GUESS GIVES THE MONEY AND THE NEXT QUESTION TO THE OTHER PLAYER.
       TO DARE, HIT THE "D" KEY, OR THE "+" KEY.

    5. VOLLEYBALL.  THE FIRST SERVER IS CHOSEN BY THE COMPUTER.  THE PERSON
       SERVED TO THEN MUST ANSWER A TRIVIA QUESTION.  IF THE ANSWER IS
       CORRECT, SIDE OUT AND THE SERVE SWITCHES; IF THE ANSWER IS INCORRECT,
       SERVER SCORES 1 POINT AND ANOTHER QUESTION IS ASKED.

       GAME IS 15 POINTS.  THE WINNER MUST BE AT LEAST 2 POINTS AHEAD OF
       THE LOSER.  A MATCH IS BEST 3 OUT OF 5 GAMES.

    6. TIC-TAC-TOE (HOLLYWOOD SQUARES STYLE).  THE FIRST PLAYER IS CHOSEN BY
       THE COMPUTER.  HE THEN CHOOSES A SQUARE IN THE TIC-TAC-TOE BOARD
       (1..9) -- SEE ACTUAL DISPLAY.  IF HE GETS THE QUESTION RIGHT HE GETS
       HIS MARKER PUT IN THE SQUARE, ELSE THE OTHER PLAYER GETS HIS MARKER
       PUT IN THE SQUARE AND THE OTHER PLAYER IS NOW UP.  THE FIRST TO GET
       TIC-TAC-TOE (3 IN A ROW) WINS THE GAME.  IN ADDITION, EACH QUESTION
       IS WORTH $100.  IF ALL THE BOARD SQUARES GET FILLED WITHOUT ANYBODY
       MAKING TIC-TAC-TOE, THE PLAYER WITH THE MOST SQUARES WINS.  NO PLAYER
       MAY WIN THE GAME WITH TIC-TAC-TOE ON AN OPPONENT'S MISTAKE, HENCE THE
       SQUARE REMAINS UNTAKEN UNTIL HE WINS IT OUTRIGHT.
       A MATCH IS BEST 3 OUT OF 5 GAMES.

TO ANSWER A QUESTION:
PRESS THE "1" OR "2" KEYS ON THE UPPER ROW OF THE KEYBOARD, OR USE THE "INS"
AND "DEL" KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEY PAD INSTEAD.

TO SKIP A QUESTION IN JEOPARDY MODE, HIT THE SPACE BAR, THE <ENTER> KEY, OR
THE "+" KEY.

TO DARE IN DOUBLE DARE MODE, HIT THE "D" KEY OR THE "+" KEY.

DEMO MODE: FUNCTION KEY F2 TOGGLES THE DEMO MODE.  IN DEMO MODE, THE COMPUTER
RUNS THROUGH THE QUESTIONS BUT DOESN'T ANSWER THEM.  NOTE: TO KEEP YOU FROM
RAISING THE SCORE BY MENUING THE QUESTIONS, THE GAME IS RESTARTED EVERY TIME
F2 IS PRESSED.

SOUND EFFECTS TOGGLE: FUNCTION KEY F1 TOGGLES THE SOUND EFFECTS ON AND OFF.

TO QUIT: HIT FUNCTION KEY F7 THEN "Y".

TO CHANGE THE SCREEN BORDER COLOR (COLOR MONITORS ONLY): HIT FUNCTION KEY F10.
FOR MONO MONITORS ONLY: F10 CHANGES THE PSEUDO-COLOR OF THE QUESTION/ANSWER
TRIADS.

TO DISPLAY THESE INSTRUCTIONS: HIT FUNCTION KEY F5.

TRIVIA DATA FILES:
TOMMY'S TRIVIA OPERATES ON UP TO 100 MODULAR TRIVIA DATA FILES, WHICH MEANS
THAT ANY ONE OR MORE OF THEM CAN BE PRESENT AND THE PROGRAM WILL PICK AND
CHOOSE QUESTIONS AT ITS WHIM FROM THOSE THAT ARE; THE CURRENT TRIVIA DATA FILE
NUMBER (0..99) IN USE IS SHOWN IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE SCREEN
WHILE PLAYING.  (NOTE: TOMMY'S TRIVIA IS USUALLY SOLD WITH THE FIRST 2 DATA
FILES AS A STANDARD SIZE TOMMY'S TOY; TO GET MORE DATA FILES YOU MUST ORDER
THEM SPECIALLY -- SEE INFO. ON TOMMY'S TRIVIA PAK, BELOW.)

ALL TRIVIA DATA FILES HAVE THE NAMES "TRIVDAT.n", WHERE n=0...  THE PROGRAM
KEEPS AUXILIARY FILES "TRIVAUX.n" TO RECORD WHICH QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN USED SO
FAR; THE SIZE OF EACH TRIVAUX.n FILE IS 10+2*m, WHERE m=MAXIMUM NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS ALLOWED PER TRIVDAT.n FILE; CURRENTLY m=3000 (IF THERE ARE ANY MORE
QUESTIONS THAN THAT IN A FILE, THEY ARE IGNORED).

DOS PATHS:
THE PROGRAM FIRST ASSUMES THAT THE TRIVDAT.n FILES ARE ON THE DEFAULT DOS
PATH (THE ONE YOU GET WITH THE PATH COMMAND).  IF IT CAN'T FIND ANY TRIVDAT
FILES THERE, IT ASKS YOU FOR ANOTHER PATH.  YOU CAN THEN ENTER, FOR EXAMPLE,
D:\TRIVIA\ OR C:\.  UPON EXITING, THE PROGRAM STORES THE TRIVAUX FILES ON
THAT PATH, NOT THE DEFAULT PATH; THAT WAY, THE DATA AND ITS USAGE RESIDE ON
THE SAME PATH, SO, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN HAVE ONE TRIVDAT.3 FILE ON ONE
SUBDIRECTORY AND ANOTHER TRIVDAT.3 ON ANOTHER SUBDIRECTORY, WITH NO CONFLICT.

THE HIGH SCORE FILE, HOWEVER, IS HELD ON THE DEFAULT DOS PATH, SINCE IT
DOESN'T MATTER WHERE THE DATA CAME FROM WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HIGH SCORES.

FILE PARAMETER DISPLAY:
AT THE BOTTOM LEFT OF THE GAME SCREEN THERE ARE SOME NUMBERS DISPLAYED.  HERE
IS WHAT THEY MEAN:
    1. NUMBER OF QUESTIONS IN CURRENT DATA FILE (THE ONE LISTED ON THE BOTTOM
       RIGHT OF THE SCREEN) THAT HAVE NOT BEEN USED UP.  INITIALLY, WHEN THERE'S
       NO TRIVAUX FILE FOR THAT DATA FILE AND THE PROGRAM HASN'T SCANNED THROUGH
       THE FILE YET TO COUNT THE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS, THIS NUMBER IF 3000 (THE
       MAXIMUM FILE CAPACITY m); WHEN THE PROGRAM HAS REACHED END-OF-FILE ON
       THAT DATA FILE, IT FINALLY KNOWS THE TRUE NUMBER OF QUESTIONS IN THE FILE
       AND ADJUSTS ACCORDINGLY -- HENCE THE SECOND TIME IT STARTS THROUGH THIS
       FILE THE NUMBER OF 'UNUSED' QUESTIONS MAY JUMP DOWN CONSIDERABLY.
    2. THE NUMBER OF THE LAST QUESTION USED: A DEMO MODE QUESTION IS NOT USED SO
       IT DOESN'T COUNT.
    3. THE CURRENT QUESTION BEING EXAMINED BY THE PROGRAM: WATCH IT SKIP
       THROUGH TO WHAT IT WANTS.
    4. THE NEXT QUESTION IT PLANS TO GO TO (IT HOPS THROUGH THE DATA FILE IN
       RANDOM SIZE HOPS SO IF YOU DELETE THE TRIVAUX FILE AND RUN THE PROGRAM
       AGAIN, THE QUESTIONS WILL COME OUT IN A DIFFERENT ORDER).

COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS:
    S   START UP WITH SOUND EFFECTS OFF
    M   FORCE MONO DISPLAY MODE
    C   FORCE COLOR DISPLAY MODE

EXAMPLE: >TRIVIA MS

DID YOU LIKE THIS TOY?
DON'T FORGET TO TRY OUR GOBS OF OTHER NEAT LOW-PRICED TOYS AND GAMES FOR THE
IBM PC AND COMPATIBLES.  WE ARE WAITING TO SEND YOU OUR 5.25 INCH (360KB) OR
3.5 INCH (720KB) DEMO DISK, CONTAINING AN ELECTRONIC CATALOG AND OTHER
GOODIES, FOR ONLY $2 TO ANY U.S. ADDRESS, $3 OUTSIDE U.S. (U.S. FUNDS ONLY OR
CHECK DRAWN ON U.S. BANK).

******************************************************************************
                          TOMMY'S TRIVIA PAK
                          ------- ------ ---

AND IF YOU LIKED THE 2500+ NEAT TRIVIA QUESTIONS IN THIS TOY (THERE WERE OVER
1250 IN EACH DATA FILE), TRY

        *TOMMY'S TRIVIA PAK*

CONTAINING THE LATEST VERSION OF TOMMY'S TRIVIA PLUS AN AWESOME ASTOUNDING
DATA BANK OF OVER

        *13,000* TRIVIA QUESTIONS

ON ALL SUBJECTS IN THE UNIVERSE, PREPARED BY ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE WITH
HYPERINTELLIGENCE AND AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL SLANT ON THINGS.  JUST $24.95
POSTPAID IN USA (FOREIGN ADD $5).  (U.S. FUNDS ONLY OR CHECK DRAWN ON U.S.
BANK).  PLEASE SPECIFY 3.5 INCH OR 5.25 INCH DISKETTES.  WE REALLY WENT TO
TOWN ON THIS PACK, IT IS THE HOTTEST TRIVIA GAME ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW,
AND IF YOU ARE AT ALL INTO TRIVIA YOU ARE GOING TO *NEED* THIS HELP TO KEEP
UP WITH YOUR EARTHLING FRIENDS.

P.S.  HELP TOMMY!
DON'T FORGET TO REPORT ANY BUGS OR DEFECTS IN THE PROGRAM OR TRIVIA DATA AT
ONCE: WE OFTEN SEND FREE TOYS AND GAMES TO BUG HUNTERS, SO HURRY AND GET YOURS!
JUST LIST THE INFO. IN A POSTCARD OR LETTER AND INCLUDE YOUR NAME AND
ADDRESS.  SEND TO TOMMY'S BUG HUNT, BOX 11261, DENVER, CO 80211 USA.

ENJOY!