I'm not sure who made the game POP, but I know I've been playing it for many years now. Mostly when I should have been studying hard, or doing work, but nevertheless apart from playing cards, this was one of my favorites.
The POP History (my pop history)
I first programmed this game in Turbo Pascal 5, a long time ago. That was the original POP (I don't have it anymore). Then I programmed it in Pascal 6, and gave it a sort of a nice startup screen. That was POP2. Then, I reprogrammed it so that it was faster at thinking, and used the graphics libraries that came with Pascal, and supported VGA! That was POP3.
I reprogrammed it in Delphi 1.0 for Windows 3.1, and by gosh it also works in 95/98 and NT. That was POP1 (for Windows of course). There was no multiplayer support, and definately not as much support as there is now. It looks very similar to this release of pop though.
When I got Delphi 3.0, I reprogrammed it, but that was lost. And now that I have Delphi 4.0 client/server, I've reprogrammed it again, to include internet play, and here it is.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I now give you.... (ta daaa)
1. Start a new 10 x 10 or a 15 x 15 Game - depending
on which one you click of course.
2. Challenge an Internet host to a 10 x 10 or a 15 x 15
Game. You need to know the other player's IP address or host name.
3. Allow other hosts to challenge you.
4. Easy or Difficult. With Easy, the computer will try
to play 'O's, making the game easier to play. With Difficult,
the computer will play 'P's where it can, making the game more
difficult.
5. Sometimes it gets difficult to see where your opponent
has played, click here and it will show you on the message window
(13) where last the opponent has played.
6. Launch Help File. If the help file is in the same location
as the pop2 executable, then the help file will be fetched from
there, otherwise it will attempt to fetch the help file from the
internet.
7. This space intentionally left blank
8. Exit this game. Now I wonder why I made it possible
to exit the game in so many ways? Probably because I'd expect
most people to give up!
9. The game screen. This is what you need to click on to
place a 'P' or an 'O' using your left (P) and right (O) mouse
buttons.
10. This is what it looks like when a "pop" is
made. The different colours indicate the player who has made the
pop, or placed the P or the O. You are ALWAYS Red. Your opponent
is ALWAYS blue.
11. This is you. You are Red. Click on your name to change
it (Note - this is not a permanent change, but only for your current
exe session. To change it premanently use the Options (Ctrl-O)).
Your score is shown below your name, in your colour too. If your
name is bold then it means it is your turn.
12. This is your opponent. This is either the computer
or an internet host. Your opponent's score is shown below his
name.
13. This is the message window. All service based messages
will be shown here, as well as messages from a remote computer
(where applicable)
14. This is where you can type messages and send them to
your opponent.
15. This is the status bar. In case you are ever wondering
who's turn it is, it will show you here, as well as have the player's
name bold (under the scores box).
The concept of gameplay is pretty simple. You have a set of rules, and from there you need to strategically try and play the game. You use your left and right mouse button to play a "P" or an "O". The object of the game is to get as many "pop"'s as possible, and of course, giving as few away. A pop is the letters P O P in a line vertically, horizontally or diagonally. The player who has the most pop's at the end of the game, wins. There are 2 flavours of game - 10 x 10 and 15 x 15. The 10 x 10 game is a quick game, and the 15 x 15 is a long, and more challenging game.
Once you have placed a "P" or an "O", it is the other player's turn. HOWEVER, if you make a POP, you MUST play again - you do not have a choice. Hence, if your opponent places a "P" or an "O" in a position where you can get a "pop", and you take it, then you must play again. In some cases, it benefits NOT to take the pop, but you may find that for yourself later. Don't expect to beat the computer on the first try. The computer does not make mistakes, and therefore you will need a lot of thinking power in order to beat it. You will probably find playing against another human individual more pleasant.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Please read this first as you may find your question has already been asked.
Questions asked :
1. Is this game year 2000 Compliant?
Answer : Yes, even if your workstation/os is not. The clock routines
used herein don't rely on the system time.
2. Can I play with myself?
Answer : No, you cannot. You are always player 1, and if you try
to start a game with yourself, the computer will wait for a player
2 to play. As you can only ever be player 1, you cannot be player
2 too.
3. The game can't resolve a host!
Reason : Because neither can your operating system. This program
uses standard WINSOCK routines to connect to remote computers,
and therefore you have to have a DNS server specified, or an entry
in your hosts file. Try and use the IP address instead.
4. The computer always wins!
Reason : Because it's programmed to. The computer IS however beatable,
you just have to use the right technique. TIP - the computer will
ALWAYS take a pop, and it will always search for pop's with a
P first, and then an O. This may help you to figure out the computer's
strategies.
5. Why is the icon so crappy looking?
Answer : Becuase I'm not very good at art.
6. Why is the game so large?
Answer : Becuase it was programmed so that it does not require
any external DLL's, because people find additional DLL's a pain
in the backside. All the code is in one .EXE file, as most of
the code wouldn't be able to be used with other applications anyway.
7. Where are the options saved?
Answer : The options (CTRL-O) is saved in the Registry, under
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Lester\Pop. Naturally, if you log in
as a different user, then the settings won't be there, but then
the new user will have his own settings.
8. How was this game made?
Answer : Using Delphi 4.0 Client/Server. The source code is not
available.
9. How do I register this game?
Answer : You can't. This game is free, and can be distributed
at no cost, unless it is the cost for shipping or internet.
10. Where do I go for updates?
Answer : If this game is updated, you will be able to download
it from the main POP web page (link is below).
11. Why do I get this crappy "Internet Mail Configuration"
wizard when I click on your "e" to e-mail you?
Answer : Because you don't have a defult e-mail application set.
When you click on the e to e-mail me, then it will be exactly
the same as doing a Start/Run mailto:lester@lester.co.uk. Many
mail applications forget to set a default mail application when
they install.
Note : For those of you who aren't following, the e is the e found
on the About page.
12. Does this game support Firewalls/Socks?
Answer : I'm afraid not. Try and use a port that will most likely
not be firewalled (Port 1, 6, 21, 23, 25, 80, 110 normally aren't).
If it's proxy you need to be doing, then this is not supported.
Frightfully sorry.
Like I said, the best kind of game is when you play with somebody
over the internet. As I don't yet have a service where you can
see who's available for games, etc (which is probably a brilliant
idea, I'm just too stupid to implement it), then I can only reccomend
going for another plan. IRC might be an idea, but I just have
to think about where and when. You can always e-mail me so that
we can setup a mutually agreeable time, but as I dont' have any
internet access at home (only work) at the moment, then it could
be difficult. In a few months time when I get internet access
at home, then it should be easier. If you want to challenge me,
then send me an e-mail (link below).