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1994-12-23
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Minefield - version 1.17 - (c) 01/02/93 - by Michael D. Fischer
NOTE:
----
Minefield works ONLY on Amigas running Workbench 2.04 or greater!
DESCRIPTION:
------------
Minefield is a fun and addictive game in which the object is to find
all the mines in a minefield. The minefield is a rectangular grid of
squares. You are equipped with a mine proximity detector, which will
tell you how many mines are near you. You also know how many mines
are in the minefield, and have one flag for each mine. When you think
you know where a mine is, you put a flag at that place to mark it.
The score for each game is the amount of time it took you to win.
Therefore, lower scores are BETTER than high scores. A score chart is
kept for each type of game (difficulty level and board size).
GETTING STARTED:
----------------
When you first start Minefield, you will see a column of buttons along
the right side of the screen:
expert: This sets whether or not you want expert mode. See GAME PLAY.
easy: This is the difficulty selector. It toggles between easy and hard
each time you click on it. This determines how many mines are in
the minefield.
small: This is the size selector. It toggles between small, medium, and
large. This determines the size of the minefield.
start: This button starts a new game. Once a game is started, the
button changes to "abort." Clicking this will end the current
game. See GAME PLAY.
scores: This displays the score chart for the currently selected game
type. Clicking this again or clicking in the scores window will
close the score window. See SCORE CHARTS.
about: This will show you a little information about the program and
its author, me!
exit: This exits minefield.
GAME PLAY:
----------
Once you have chosen a game type and selected "start", the minefield
will be drawn on the screen. At the top-right are two counters: One
lists the number of flags you are holding. The other indicates the
amount of time that has passed since the game started.
There are two things you may do while playing:
Use the mouse to point to a square and press the left mouse button.
This will cause you to "step" on the square. If there is a mine on
the square, you are killed! If there ISN'T a mine there, you will
activate your mine-detector which will tell you how many mines are
ADJACENT to the square you stepped on. For example, if the number 2
appears, it means that there are two mines in the squares around
yours. If there are no mines adjacent, i.e. the number is zero, the
square is cleared rather than labeled with a "0". This improves the
clarity of the board. Also, in this case, the computer will save you
some time: Since the number is zero, you know that all the squares
around yours are not mined! Therefore, the computer will
automatically step on them for you. If any of THOSE are also zero's,
the squares adjacent those are also stepped on. This can clear off
quite a large part of the board for you.
If you think you know where a mine is, you can put a flag there by
pressing the right mouse button over that square. Once a square is
flagged, you can not step on it. If you realize you made a mistake,
you may pick up a flag by pressing the right mouse button there again.
Once you have correctly flagged all the mines, you win! If your time
is one of the top 15 for that game type, you will be asked to enter
your name for the score chart. Scores are saved in the file
s:minefield.scores
Clicking on "abort" will end the current game. Clicking "exit" will
exit the program.
EXPERT MODE:
------------
In non-expert mode, Minefield gives you a chance to change your mind
before stepping on a square or flagging it. When you click with a
button, the square is highlighted. When you release the button, you
step down or place a flag, depending on the button pressed. If you
decide you do not want to do this, you can move off the square, and
then release the button. The action will be cancelled. Once players
become expert at Minefield, they move and click squares very quickly.
Sometimes, they click down on a square, and before their finger
releases the mouse button, they have moved off the square, resulting
in the square not being stepped on or flagged. Expert mode solves
this problem. In expert mode, when you click the mouse button DOWN,
the square is IMMEDIATELY stepped on or flagged. The game does not
wait for the button to be released. If you find that you are moving
quickly and are 'missing' squares when you try to click them, this may
be the answer.
SCORE CHARTS:
-------------
If you click the "scores" button, or achieve a high score after a
game, the score chart for the current game type is displayed. If you
just got a high score, your score and name are highlighted. By
clicking the difficulty and size buttons you may view the score charts
of the other game types. Select "scores" to exit the scorechart, or
"exit" to exit the program.
MISCELLANEOUS:
--------------
Minefield is PUBLIC DOMAIN. This means, copy it and give it to
whomever you wish, free of charge. However, if you decide you really
like it and want to send me some money, my address is below. If you
want to make a comment, report a bug, or see the source code, the best
ways to reach me (in order of best-ness) are:
Internet: greendog@max.physics.sunysb.edu
Bix: greendog
Genie: M.Fischer
A.M.U.G. BBS: Michael Fischer
US MAIL: Michael Fischer
P.O. Box 714
Great River, NY 11739
REGISTRATION:
-------------
To become a registered user of minefield, all you have to do is send
me your name and address or e-mail address. If you have an e-mail
address I'll try to notify you of new versions or new programs I
release. Please let me know what you think, and your suggestions
for improvements. Your input is what will make Minefield better!
CREDITS:
--------
Thanks go to Doug Novellano, Joel C. Justen, Glade Diviney, Steve
Heller and Jim Biggs for bug reports, help, and suggestions for
improvements, and to Joanne for crashing every program I write, and
for the best Lasagna.
HISTORY:
--------
1.00 01/08/91 First release.
1.01 01/20/91 Code cleanup.
1.02 01/14/92 Added 2.04 version lookup string. Tried unsuccessfully
to fix the crashing bug.
1.03 01/17/92 Changed method of exiting score chart from QUIT button
to SCORES button.
1.04 01/18/92 Auto-detaches from CLI
1.05 01/19/92 Major changes to code. Changed start button to a cycle-
gadget so QUIT button isn't overloaded. Added ABOUT
gadget (doesn't work yet). Overall code cleanup. Started
using RCS for revision control. Correct launches from WB.
1.06 01/22/92 Found and fixed the insidious crashing bug! Thanks Doug...
1.07 01/23/92 Found similar bugs in score display, main gadget check,
and get_name().
1.08 01/24/92 Fixed bug in random number generator which caused mines to
only appear on odd x locations and even y locations!!
Thanks Glade for spotting that... I never noticed!
1.09 01/26/92 Game opens to size of workbench screen. Reorganized and
cleaned up code. Game board is centered in the play-area.
1.10 01/27/92 Implemented 'about' display.
1.11 01/28/92 Fixed bug which caused small screen to open for those who's
workbench screen was non-interlaced. Score chart is only
displayed if you win a game. All windows (score, messages,
name entry) centered in play-area.
1.12 02/02/92 If you get a high score, it is highlighted in the score
chart. Timer doesn't start until you click the mouse.
Clicks in main window while other window (such as scores
or about) is open are discarded now. Medium and large
boards had too many mines. The number of mines is now
proportional to the number of squares in the board.
1.13 02/08/92 Exiting 'about' window would enable HELP gadget. Fixed.
Increased stack size to prevent overflow during recursion.
Fixed 'about' window crash bug.
1.14 02/16/92 Gadgets clicked while board is being drawn are discarded.
Added an icon! Drastically speeded up board drawing.
Found a bug in about window which sometimes caused crashing.
Removed 'help' button for release.
1.15 04/18/92 Improved way of determining overscan screen size.
Fixed bug: clicking 'start' while board being drawn left
'start' gadget in undetermined state. Can now click in
score chart to close it (yeah! shared IDCMP). Better way
of drawing images (flags and mines). Mines are now graphic
instead of text (*). Added expert mode - see manual. Fixed
up some incorrect or outdated info in the manual.
1.16 12/17/92 Recompiled with SAS/C 6.1. Made some minor changes to the
code to make it more 'correct'. However, minefield
sometimes gives a 'recoverable alert' on exiting on my
A3000! Will look into this... Also changed my e-mail
address in the about requester.
1.17 01/02/93 Finally found and fixed the CloseWindow() bug causing
enforcer hits, alerts, and crashes. Should be quite
stable now (famous last words :-). New pause mode:
game pauses when you hit space, or the window/screen
becomes inactive (i.e. you switch screens). Fixed bug
causing stack overflows. Game starts in expert mode
now by default.