OS/2 Spiele Shareware/os2games.iso/os2games/strategy/mahjong2/mahjongg.hlp

OS/2 Help File | 1994-11-12 | 31.1 KB | 720 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Extended help for Mah Jongg ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

                                    Mah Jongg
                                    for OS/2

                            (C) Bernd Wetzel 1989-94
                                Raunauer Str. 20b
                                 86381 Krumbach
                                     Germany
                          Phone/Fax: +49 - 8282 - 81517
                             CompuServe: 100256,664

MAH JONGG is an more than 3000 years old chinese game, that was especially
played by sailors.The tiles (made from bamboo) were arranged in form of a
"dragon", and then removed using specific rules.

Mah Jongg is a game, where logic and luck are needed to win, The sense of this
game is to remove all tiles (pair by pair) from the dragon (or any other typ of
board). Because all tiles are initally placed by chance on a board, some boards
will not allow to remove all tiles.

This program was orignially designed to show the possiblities of the OS/2
Presentation Manager.

Mah Jongg is shareware. This concept gives you the possiblity to test the
software (for a specific duration) and only register if you like the program
and want to use it. Please look at the the initial dialog for further
information or select help->shareware from the menu (only in shareware
version).

Help topics

Rules of Mah Jongg
  Here you will see the rules of this game.

Game options
  This section descibes the options while playing Mah Jongg.

Service functions
  Here you can see what the so called "service" functions are for.

Statistic functions
  Like statistics ? So look it this point to get more information about it.

Arguments of Mah Jongg
  See this section for command line arguments of Mah Jongg.

Thanks to Nels Anderson
  He's the one who inspired me ...

For changes since the last release of Mah Jongg see program history.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Exit Mah Jongg ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select Exit from the "options" menu, or press ALT-F4 (Close) to exit Mah Jongg.
If you have already removed tiles from the actually board, statistic will be
updated.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Keys ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Keys for help

F1
  Invoke help

F2
  Invoke general help

Alt+F4
  Close help

F9
  Help for keys

F11
  Help index

Esc
  Step backward to the last panel (exits help if first panel)

Alt+F6
  Switch to program

Shift+F10
  Help for using help

System keys

Alt+F6
  Switch to next window

Alt+Esc
  Switch to next task (includes fullscreen applications)

Ctrl+Esc
  Invoke tasklist

Mah Jongg specific keys

Cursor keys, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn
  Move the mouse pointer

Space key
  Select/deselect tile

Ctrl+A
  Show game statistics

Ctrl+L
  Load game

Ctrl+N
  New game

Ctrl+P
  Pause game

Ctrl+S
  Save game

Ctrl+T
  Show playable tiles (tip)

Ctrl+U
  Undo last move

Shift+U
  Undo last undo

Ctrl+R
  Show removed tiles

F2
  Show general help

F9
  Show help for keys

F10 oder Alt
  Jump to/from menu

F11
  Show help index

Alt+F4 oder F3
  Exit Mah Jongg

Alt+F5
  Restore window

Alt+F7
  Move window

Alt+F8
  Change window size

Alt+F9
  Minimize/Hide window

Alt+F10
  Maximize window

Shift+F10
  Show help for using help

Shift+Esc or Alt+Space
  Jump to/from system menu

Mouse buttons

Left and right mouse button
  Select tile/release (DRAG and DROP) Select an unblocked tile with the right
  or left mouse button, drag the tile over an matching tile (must also be
  unblocked) and now release the mouse button. Select settings from the
  "options" menu if you don't like this mechanism, to change the behaviour of
  the mouse.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Game rules ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The object of the game is to remove as many of the tiles from the playing board
as possible within the rules of the game.

Tiles are always removed in pairs and can only be removed from the left or the
right edges. Any tile that is not on a left or right edge is considered blocked
and cannot be removed.

Note:   The tiles may be arranged in 1 or more levels and each level has a left
        and right edge so there are many more unblocked tiles than it would
        first appear.
        When you are playing a dragon, the tile on the top of the pile blocks
        all four tiles below it, and tiles on row 5 block both rows 4 and 6.

In the following example (which shows a part of a board) all blocked tiles are
lilac.

Example:

There a 7 different groups of tiles (original symbols !):
Character tiles
Bamboo tiles
Dot tiles
Dragon tiles
Wind tiles (E,S,W,N)
Flower tiles (Plum,Mum,Bam,Orc)
Seasons (Win,Spr,Sum,Aut)

There is only one each of SUM, AUT, WIN, SPR, MUM, PLUM, BAM, and ORC. There
are four of each of the other tiles for a total of 144 tiles on the board.

Normally you can remove a pair of tiles when both are identically (and both are
unblocked), but any of the four seasons (SUM, AUT, WIN, SPR) match each other
and any of the four flowers (MUM, PLUM, BAM, ORC) match each other.

Examples:
 Ok
 Ok
 Doesn't work
 Doesn't work

When you start a new board (especially the dragon) watch out for tiles in the
highest level and tiles on the right and left of the board. Try to remove them
first, that makes live easier.

Keep in mind that there are 2 pairs of every tile (flowers and seasons
excluded), so try to choose the right pair combination (and not block the whole
board by choosing the bad pair).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Game options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 1. Option Load game

    Use this option to restore a saved game (from MAHJONGG.SAV).

 2. Option Save game

    Use this option to save the actual state of the game (in MAHJONGG.SAV) for
    later use.

 3. Option New game

    Select

   o Next to start the board with the actual number + 1.

   o Repeat to repeat the actual board.

   o Chance to start a new board by chance.

   o Board #. to start the board with the number from the entryfield.

   o Cancel to exit without changing the actual state.

 4. Option Tournament

    Select this option to start or resume a tournament.

 5. Option Setting

    Use this option to change the background image, the colors, the mouse
    behaviour, the size of the symbols and the active symbol set of Mah Jongg.

 6. Option Exit

    Select this option to exit Mah Jongg.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Command line arguments ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There is only one possible argument when invoking Mah Jongg, which corresponds
to the number of the board.

Example: mahjongg 3 => start Mah Jongg with board # 3


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Thanks to Nels Anderson ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Hello Nels, here's the place to say thank you for that great EGA MAH JONGG !!!
Me and my friends played thousands of dragons (thats true !). Now I had the
chance to adapt this game to the OS/2-Presentation-Manager and so I did it.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Product information ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This option will show you the actual version of Mah Jongg, a copyright message
and my contact address.

In the unregisterd version you can invoke the dialog for entering the register
code here.
If the version is registered you will see the name of the user instead.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Register Mah Jongg ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this dialog to register Mah Jongg.

Therefor you need a special register code, which you will receive in return
when ordering Mah Jongg. Enter this code in the shown entryfield. If the code
is valid (please note, that the code is casesensitve) Mah Jongg will popup a
message saying that Mah Jongg was successfully registerd.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Save game ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this option to save the actual state of a board. The state will be saved
in MAHJONGG.SAV in the directory, where MAHJONGG.EXE was installed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Load game ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Use this option to restore from an already saved board to resume that game. The
actual state will be restored from MAHJONGG.SAV in the directory, where
MAHJONGG.EXE was installed.

If there isn't a saved game you will only get an information and the actual
state of the game will be preserved.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. Game statistics ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting this option will show some information about your success in playing
Mah Jongg. Game statistics will be saved in MAHJONGG.STA (in the directory,
where MAHJONGG.EXE was installed), every time you start a new board or exit Mah
Jongg (only if tiles were removed from the actual board !).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. Show removed tiles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

By selecting this option you will see the removed tiles so far. Every removed
pair of tiles will be represented by one of these tiles. The tiles will be
shown in the sequence (from left to right, from top to bottom) they were
removed.
This option is only available if at least one pair of tiles were removed from
the actual board.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 14. Shareware ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This option will show an short explanation about the concept of shareware, the
way you are allowed to use this shareware version and how you can register Mah
Jongg.
This option does not exist in the registered version.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15. Continue ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When selecting "Show playable tiles" in normal mode (not tournament mode) you
will see all playable tiles in reverse color, as long as your not leaving this
little dialog window.

Press <ENTER> or select the "Continue" pushbutton to resume playing.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 16. New game ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

o Option Next will start the next board, which means that the board with the
  actual number + 1 will be started.

o Option Repeat restarts the actual board, so you can try to beat that board
  again.

o Option Chance will start a board by chance (the number of the board may be
  from 0 to 65535).

o Option Board # will start the board with the number which is entered in the
  entryfield (may be from 0 to 65535).

o Option Cancel will exit this dialog an preserve the state of the actual
  board.

When plaing in tournament mode you can only select Repeat or Cancel.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 17. Show playable tiles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This option will help you to find playable tiles. When you choose this option
all playable tiles (= unblocked pair of tiles) will be shown in reverse color.
If one tile was already selected, only playable matches of this tile will be
display.

If there is no playable tile you will here a short beep.

Note:   In tournament mode you will only get a message whether there are
        playable tiles (or a playable match if one tile is selected) or not.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 18. Played time ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The clock in the Mah Jongg window shows the played time for the actual board.
When you start a new board, the clock will be reset to zero.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 19. Remaining tiles ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can see the remaining tiles in the Mah Jongg window. An new board always
has 144 tiles.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 20. Board number ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can see the actual board number in the Mah Jongg window. The number can be
0 to 65535.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 21. Tournament ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This option allows you to play a board multiple (to watch your progress) or to
compete with other players. If tournament mode was already active, you can
reset to normal mode by selecting "Tournament" (if tournament mode is active
this option has check mark in the menu).

When you activate tournament mode, you can select whether you want to continue
an old tournament (if existing) or start a new one.
The first player always sets up the new tournament. When you select a new
tournament you have to enter the board number and whether you want a timed game
or not. If you select a timed game you must enter how long (in minutes) a
tournament game can be. After this you have to enter your name (or an alias if
you like).
When you select the existing tournament, you only have to enter your name (or
select one of the existing names in the tournament).

In tournament mode you will see the name of the player and the remaining time
(only if timed tournament game) in the Mah Jongg window (in addition to the
board number, tiles and time).
In this mode your aren't allowed to undo a move, to show the played tiles, to
save or load a game.

All tournament data will be save in MAHJONGG.TRN, which is in the directory
where MAHJONGG.EXE was installed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 22. Tournament statistics ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This option will show you a ranking list for the actual tournament. The best 10
players of the tournament are listed (name, tiles left, time left).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 23. Program settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog is for customizing the settings of Mah Jongg. You can change the
behaviour of the mouse, select a different background image, select another
symbol set, change the symbol size or change the colors.

The following settings will change the behaviour of the mouse:

o Different mouse pointer over unblocked tiles
  When this option is checked, every time the mouse pointer moves over an
  unblocked tile, the mouse pointer changes and shows a little 'Ok' (only of no
  tile is selected).

o 'Drag and Drop' of tiles
  When this option is checked, you can remove tiles by 'Drag and Drop' (Press
  mouse button - drag mouse (with pressed button) - release mouse button),
  if not you have to select the unblocked tile by pressing the mouse button,
  drag the mouse and press the mouse button again when over the matching tile.

Use this setting to select your favorite background image (or no image if you
don't want any). All bitmap files (*.BMP) from the MAH JONGG directory (this is
were you installed MAH JONGG) and the \OS2\BITMAP directory on the bootdrive
are listed. Mah Jongg supports OS/2 and Windows bitmaps.

Mah Jongg comes with an (internal) standard symbol set and some additional
symbol sets (Comic stars, flags, ...), which are installed in the directory
where MAHJONGG.EXE is. The files are named *.TIL (OS/2 DLLs) and you can make
your own one.
In the so called value set you can select your favorit symbol set (only the
first symbol of overy set is displayed). If you do not have 10 symbol file
(*.TIL), some fields of the value set will be empty.

To change the size of the symbols just use the arrows of the spin button. The
size of a symbol can be 24 to 64 pixels.

If you want to change the color of the tiles or of the background, select the
item you want to change and then press one of the colored buttons to set the
color for the item.

If you press Save the actual settings will be saved (to OS2.INI) and restored
the next time you start Mah Jongg.

You can reset the setting to the internal defaults by pressing the Default
pushbutton.

If you leave the dialog by pressing Ok the actual settings will only be applyed
to this Mah Jongg session, but not saved.
So if you want to change the settings for this sessions and for later session,
please press Save and then press Ok to leave this dialog.

If you do not want to apply the changes you made, leave the dialog by pressing
Cancel


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 24. Board type ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This option gives you the possibility to change the typ of board you are
playing. Every board has a different degree of difficulty. You may find out,
that some type of boards are really hard.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 25. Dragon ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "dragon" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 26. Square ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "squares" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 27. Rings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "rings" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 28. Spiral ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "spiral" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 29. The X ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "X" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 30. Pyramids ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "pyramids" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 31. Cross ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "crosses" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 32. Dice ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "dice" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 33. B & B ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "B & B" !

I love you Babsi !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 34. Flat ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "flat" !

This is a real hard one, only for professionals !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 35. Triangle ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "triangle" !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 36. Babylon ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "Babylon" board !


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 37. Hardcore ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Select this one to play the "Hardcore" board !

Can you beat this one ?!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 38. Service functions ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 1. Function UNDO

    Select UNDO to tack back the last move (= remove of a pair).

 2. Function UNDO-UNDO

    Select UNDO-UNDO to tack back the last Undo.

 3. Function SHOW PLAYABLE TILES

    Select SHOW PLAYABLE TILES to:

   o show all playable tiles if no tile is selected.

   o show matching tiles if one tile is seleceted.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 39. Undo ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When you invoke the function througn the menu, pushbutton or via keyboard
(Ctrl+U), the last move will be taken back. This is not possible if a tile is
selected. If you did not remove any tiles or if your in tournament mode, you
will here a short beep.

Because Mah Jongg notes all your moves, you can take back as much moves as you
want.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 40. Undo-Undo ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When you invoke the function througn the menu or via keyboard (Shift+U), the
last Undo will be taken back. This is not possible if a tile is selected or ff
you did not do any Undo.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 41. Statistics ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

 1. Function GAME STATISTICS

    Function GAME STATISTICS will show an overview about all played Mah Jongg
    games.

 2. Function SHOW REMOVED TILES

    This function will show the tiles that were removed so far.

 3. Function TOURNAMENT STATISTICS

    Function TOURNAMENT STATISTICS will give you an overview about the
    tournament state.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 42. Program history ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Version 2.1C
- Size of tiles (icons) can be changed now
- New symbol file for screen resolutions with more than 256 colors
Version 2.1B
- New: Online Registration with registration code
Version 2.1A
- New: Pause game
- New address !!!
- New CompuServe address 100256,664

Version 2.1
- New: Background image (OS/2 or Windows bitmaps)
- New board types

Version 2.0G
- Bugs fixed:
  * Some board had only 142 tiles instead of 144
  * Buttons for Undo,Load and Save were not disabled
    in tournament mode
- Helptext changed

Version 2.0F
- New: English version
- New design for the buttonbar
- New introduction screen

Version 2.0E
- New installation program

Version 2.0D
- Dialog for program setting changed.
  Now you can see the first icon of every symbol file, to
  choose the right symbol file.
  In addtition you will see the icon of the choosen
  symbol file in the colour example below.

Version 2.0C
- New board types
- New symbol files
- Pushbuttons of th buttonbar do not get the focus any more when
  you pressed one

Version 2.0B
- Better compatibility for 8514 and XGA
- Bugs fixed:
  * Redraw of window, if window was restored from icon
    (only if you minimized the window after removing all
    tiles of a board)

Version 2.0A
- New 'buttonbar' to invoke most used function by pressing
  a putton
- New display for game state (board, tiles, time ...)
- New board types
- Bugs fixed:
  * After timeout in tournament mode no move was possible
    any more if you selected a new board

Version 2.0
- 32 bit implementation of Mah Jongg

Version 1.3A
- Adjustable mouse pointer behaviour

Version 1.3
- Implementaion of different board types
- New look for the dialogs
- New external installation program

Version 1.2
- Implementation of 'Drag and Drop' when using a mouse
- New 'triumph' screen
- Implementation of a different symbol file
  (MAHTILE.DLL)
- Better performance and program size
- Dialog for colours extended to program settings

Version 1.1A
- Implementation of an installation dialog, when program was
  started from a diskette
- New dialog to change the colours

Version 1.1
- Firsttime released as shareware
- Extension for tournament mode
- Changed dialog for 'Tiles played'
- Implementation for key support

Version 1.0
- This version was not official published