Shareware Games Galore!/Shareware Games Galore!.iso/arcade/cycloid/cycloid.doc

Text File | 1991-02-01 | 32.0 KB | 557 lines

                                CYCLOID
                             Version 1.23

CYCLOID: The Spirograph(tm) simulator with a smidgeon more.

Copyright(C)1991
by  Phil Paustian
    Box 644
    Terry, MT  59349

Hardware required:IBM-PC or compatible with Hercules, CGA or EGA graphics.

Disclaimer: If something goes wrong, I didn't do it, I don't know who did it,
and besides, it wasn't my fault.


                                 CYCLOID
    Cycloid is a program that draws curves known technically as hypocycloids
and epicycloids.  To put it more simply, you'll recognize them as the curved
designs of a spirograph.  As you can probably imagine, a spirograph is
something that is much easier to use than it is to describe.  I would guess
that you will learn a lot more about this program by running it than you will
by reading this manual. However, I will give you a brief description of all of
the commands to help you as well as I can.
    I suggest printing out this manual and reading the appropriate sections as
you use the program.  From DOS use the command "TYPE CYCLOID.DOC >PRN" to get a
copy on your printer.
    I have also included a tutorial demonstration of the program.  From DOS
use the command "CYCLOID ?" to run the tutorial. Or run the program normally,
and then hit the question mark to start the tutor.

                                RUNNING CYCLOID
    From DOS type "CYCLOID".  You can watch the introductory screen draw some
random spirograph designs, or press any key to start.  Cycloid will take a
stab at figuring out what kind of monitor you have, but it's only human, so if
it doesn't work correctly, start the program with one of the following
commands: "Cycloid E" for EGA color monitors, "Cycloid C" to use a CGA color
monitor, "Cycloid M" to run the program in monochrome, or "Cycloid H" with a
Hercules graphics card. If you've got an EGA monitor, you might also try
running "Cycloid 7", which uses a medium resolution screen (screen 7 uses half
as much disk space when you save designs), or "Cycloid 9" which runs on the
EGA enhanced high resolution screen (with more colors available, but presently
it won't permit loading or saving images).
    When you begin the program, you will be presented a menu with seventeen
choices, a rather intimidating assortment of arcane jargon.  To enter any menu
selection simply hit the first letter of that command (the capitalized
letter), or use the Arrow Keys to move the highlighted bar to the command of
your choice and hit [Return].  For the novice, the commands you will want to
learn first are Disk, Ring, Go, Clear, and Quit.

                                 GO
    Go:  This command tells the computer to draw your designs.  Just hit the
letter "G" and it goes to work.  You will be returned to the menu as soon as
the design is completed.  You can stop sooner by hitting any key while the
design is being drawn. If you stop too soon, you can press Ctrl-G (Hold the
Ctrl key down as you hit a G). This draws your design one step at a time.

                            CLEAR SCREEN
    Clear screen:  Hit the letter "C" to erase the screen.  Simple enough.
Maybe too simple.  Before you go wiping out designs indescriminately, think
for a moment of the tragic loss.  If Leonardo da Vinci had had a "C" key the
world might never have seen Mona's smile.
2

                                QUIT
    Quit:  Hit "Q" to quit.  Naturally you will be so enthralled by Cycloid
that you will wish you never had to use this command.  But such is life.  All
good things must have a "Quit" command.  If the boss walks into the room, you
can hit Ctrl-Q (Hold down the Ctrl key and hit Q), which will immediately end
the program and blank the screen faster than he can say, "You're fired."

                            DISK and RING
    Disk and Ring: First a brief refresher course in spirography. If you
remember the spirograph you had when you were much, much younger, you had an
assortment of plastic rings which had to be pinned down onto the paper. You
also had some smaller round disks that were spun around inside the ring to
create a design. The ring and disk had a lot of gear teeth around their rim.
The "Disk gear" command asks you to tell the computer how many gears the disk
should have. When you are in the menu, hit the letter "D" and a prompt at the
bottom of the screen will ask you what to change Disk gears to. Type in a
number and hit return. Or you can just hit return without any number to leave
the number unchanged. You can also hit the Escape key at any time to get out
of a command you didn't want to make.
    Both Disk and Ring must be set at some number other than 0 before you can
draw a design. The larger the number, the larger the disk will be. The same
thing goes for the "Ring gear" command.
    Actually, the program will automatically draw every design the same size,
large enough to fill the screen, unless you tell it not to.  So changing
"Disk" or "Ring" will not affect the size of the design.  But the combination
of those two numbers will tell the program what design to draw. To create an
authentic spirograph design Ring should be a larger number than Disk
(otherwise the disk wouldn't fit inside the ring, obviously), but the program
won't complain if you throw logic out the window.
    By experimenting with these two numbers you will learn that whenever the
Ring is three times the size of Disk the program will always draw a triangular
design. But if you use very large numbers the design will be drawn very
slowly. Using smaller numbers will speed up the drawing, but if the numbers
are too small, let's say below ten or fifteen, the curve will not be smooth.
  With a real spirograph, there are two ways to make a design, by spinning the
disk inside the ring, and by spinning it outside.  With Cycloid creating an
outside design is as simple as using a negative number for either Disk or Ring
(not both). Like this:
        D -30 [Return] R 100 [Return] G
    If you type Ctrl-D, the program will automatically switch you from an
inside drawing to an outside drawing, or vice versa.
    If you type Ctrl-R, instead of inputting the number of Ring gears, you
will be asked for the number of lobes or points your design should have: hit
"Alt-R 5 [Return]" to draw a pentagram, or "Alt-R 2.5 [Return]" for a 5
pointed star.

                                 PEN
    Pen position: Another method you can use in a real spirograph to change
the way a design looks is by moving the pen position. Every disk had a number
of holes in it. If you put the pen in a hole near the edge of the disk, you
get a design with sharp points. Holes near the center give nothing but gentle
curves. This effect is achieved in Cycloid by changing "Pen position". If Pen
is 1, the pen is set right at the edge of the disk; if Pen is 0, the pen is in
the center of the disk. You can choose any position between those extremes, or
you can take a step beyond what was possible with a real spirograph by setting
Pen at a number greater than 1. That puts the pen outside the physical border
of the disk. Try out some examples:
    C D 30 [Return] R 120 [Return] P 1 [Return] G
    P .5 [Return] G
    P 1.5 [Return] G
    P 0 [Return] G
3
    Of course, all these designs are the same size because the program is
automatically making every design fill the screen.  See the section of this
manual on "Size" to learn how to change that.
    An added feature of the Pen position command is the block-pen.  Hit
Ctrl-P, and the letter "B" will appear in the menu next to Pen Position.  You
are now in block mode; the pen will draw with blocks or solid rectangles
instead of a thin line.  This command can give interesting effects when used
with the Multicolor mode.  Hit Ctrl-P a second time to leave block mode.
    This might be a good time to mention a couple features of this program
that make entering numbers easier. The left arrow key can be used as a
non-destructive backspace to edit your response, while the right arrow key
will either type one character from the default (previous) setting, or it will
retype what you destroyed with the backspace. Hitting the down arrow, will
type the entire default.
    Secondly, instead of entering numbers directly and absolutely, you have
the option of adding a number to the present setting. Simply type a '+' before
the number and it will be added to the default, or a '+-' (Plus sign, Minus
sign) to subtract. For example if P is 1.5 then typing 'P+.1' makes it 1.6.
Typing 'P+-1.1' will then set the pen position to .5. To multiply the present
setting by one and a half you can type 'P*1.5' And dividing works the same way
with the '/'.  Or, if you're not fussy, just hit "P?" and the computer will
pick a pen position at random. When entering numbers you may also hit the
"at" sign, "@", and the computer will pick a single digit at random.

                              EXAMPLES
    Examples:  Just hit the letter "E" and the computer will begin drawing
several examples of what this program is able to do.  At any time while a
design is being drawn you can simply hit any key and you will be returned to
the menu.  When you stop the examples, the menu will show you the numbers that
were required to create this design.
    You can also hit Ctrl-E or Alt-E to create completely random designs.
Alt-E just draws a random design in the middle of the screen, while Ctrl-E
will put different sized designs in random spots on the screen and combine
them together.

                                MOVE
    Move:  You can move the design anywhere you choose on the screen.  Type
"M" and you will see crosshairs to show you where you are on the screen.  Use
the arrow keys to move anywhere you desire, and hit [Return] when you get
there.  The grey plus key can be used to speed up your movement across the
screen, while the grey minus key will move with smaller steps.
     Or you may choose to move by the numbers.  The screen is set up so that
the top of the screen is "U 100".  The bottom is "D 100".  The left and right
sides are "L 150" and "R 150". Keep the design within those limits.  To make a
move hit "M" followed by the letter of the direction you want to move, then
the distance and [Return]. Prompts at the bottom of the screen will remind you
what to do, and a crosshair will show you where you're at on the screen.
    If you wish to move to a specific spot on the screen, hit "S" for spot.
Then type in the coordinates (two numbers separated by a comma).  "M S 0,0"
is the command to move to the center of the screen, "M S 140,-90" moves you to
a spot near the top left corner of the screen.  (Horizontal location comes
first, right is positive, left is negative; Then the vertical location, up is
positive, down is negative).

                                TURN
    Turn:  It does what it says, it turns the design whatever number of
degrees you enter. "T 180" will set a design upside down, while "T 5" will
just turn it slightly out of its normal position.  Positive numbers turn
clockwise, while negative numbers will turn counterclockwise. "T+5" will turn
it five degrees from its previous setting, and this simplifies the task if you
want to draw the same design several times turning the design just a little
bit each time.  One good turn deserves another.
4

                                SIZE
    Size:  To change the size of a design hit "S".  You will be given three
choices, "Constant, Variable, or Nested".  Hit "C", "V" or "N".
    If you choose "Constant" you will be asked to enter a number, usually
between 0 and 1 if you want the design to fit on the screen.  Entering .5 will
give you a design one half as large as the normal size; .1 would be one tenth
the normal size.  You get the idea.  The current size is indicated by the
number under the word size in the menu.
    Your second option is "Variable".  Hitting the letter "V" will freeze the
Ring at its present size.  That means that from now on, different pen
positions will be different sizes.
    Setting a smaller Pen position will give you a smaller design. This option
is handy for making inner designs fit inside outer designs, or making changes
in the Pen position act exactly as they would in a "real spirograph." (Pretty
soon I'm going to have to start calling a "real spirograph" what it really is,
nothing but a "Manually-operated Cycloid")
Example: Type "P 2 [Return] G"; Now hit "S V"; And try the following examples
  P 1.5 [Return] G
  P 1 [Return] G
  P .5 [Return] G
  P 0 [Return] G
    If you set Pen position greater than 2, the design will be too large for
the screen, but I can tell you're just the kind of rebel who's going to do
it anyway just because I told you not to. To get back to "Constant" mode, type
"S C [Return]".
    The final size option is "Nested".  "S N" changes the "Size" to cause new
designs to fit in the hole in the center of your design.
    If you hit Ctrl-S, the size mode will switch between "Size Constant" and
"Size Variable" instantly.
    Whew.  That was confusing.  If you now understand how to use the various
size options, you are truly a master Cyclologist.  If not, a little
experimentation might teach you enough to use these commands profitably.

                                OVAL
    Oval:  You can make your drawing either a vertical or horizontal oval by
changing this number.  A setting of 1 gives you a circle.  A setting between 0
and 1 gives a tall oval, while settings greater than 1 create wide ovals.  One
way you might choose to use this setting is to really make Cycloid fill the
whole screen.  Here's how:
    Type "O O 1.5 [Return] S C 1.5 [Return]" This will give you an oval that
is as wide and as tall as the screen.  Once you have set Oval at something
other than a circle, you may use the Ctrl-O key combination to switch from a
vertical oval to a horizontal one and back.
    Cycloid can also draw an oval design rotated to any angle.  Type "O R" for
Oval, Rotation, and just pick an angle.  This feature slows down your drawings
slightly.

                                HUE
    Hue: That means color, but I had to use "C" to clear the screen, so you'll
just have to get used to saying Hue. When you hit "H" you will be prompted to
enter either "F" to change the foreground color (the color of the lines), or
"B" to change the background color.  With monochrome screens the only thing
this command will do is set the color black or white. Even numbers (Black) can
be used to erase designs without clearing the whole screen. On CGA screens you
have 4 colors to choose from and on Ega you have 16.
    A third color option is "M" for multicolor drawings.  You tell the
computer how many colors to use in the design (always starting with the
present foreground color), and each line segment will be a different color.
    The final color option is "L" for length.  This command only affects
multicolor drawings.  It tells the computer how many line segments to draw
before switching to the next color.  "H L 10 [Return]" means the computer will
5
draw 10 segments of the design in one color, and then switch to another. The
command "H L 0" is a special case that automatically makes each side a
different color.
    With a CGA screen, if you hit Ctrl-H you can quickly change the background
color.  With an EGA monitor, Ctrl-H will change the background, as well as
change all the other colors around. Alt-H switches all the colors without
changing the background.  With EGA the function keys, F1 to F10 and shift-F1
to shift-F6 will change one of the 16 screen colors to any new color.  EGA
users can also hit "H P" (Hue Palette) to change any color.

                             LOAD/SAVE
    Load/save:  For saving your masterpieces.  When you hit "L" you are given
two choices, Load or Save.  Hit "L" a second time to load an image either from
disk or from memory, or hit "S" to save an image.  You will be asked to enter
the file name. If you do not type in a file name, the image will be saved in
computer memory temporarily.  At any time the program can hold one image in
memory.  Keep in mind that images in memory will be lost as soon as you save
another design, or when you quit the program.
    When you save a design on disk, I would suggest that you use the file
extension that the program suggests (such as .CGA .MON .HRC .EGA etc.). This
will enable the program to identify the image when you load it again. On CGA
monitors, you can also use the extensions .SCN and .PIC.  These were included
to allow you to swap images into and out of the shareware program PC-KEYDRAW.
If you use any other graphics program that you would like to use with CYCLOID
designs, you'll have to check whether the program has a screen capture utility
that can save my screen images.
    I have also been asked about printing designs with your printer.  This
program has no commands for printing.  Please use GRAPHICS.COM, which comes
with DOS, or one of the many graphics screen dump programs available as
shareware.
    When you choose to load an image , there will be four options to choose
from.  They are:
    RESTORE: erases whatever is presently on the screen and brings back the
saved image exactly as it was stored.
    NEGATIVE: erases the screen and brings back the old image with the color
reversed, so every black pixel is white and vice versa.
    ADDED: adds the saved image to the image presently on the screen. Any
point that was white on either screen will remain white.
    ICON: adds the saved image in a way that allows it to be subtracted again.
Choosing this option once adds the saved image to the present image.  Choosing
it a second time erases the saved image and returns the screen to the same
condition it was in before you loaded that image.
    On an EGA monitor, Load/Save has a third option, "Page."  By typing "L P"
you alternate between two separate screens to work on.  Note: If your computer
has limited memory the Load/Save command may not work.
    Ctrl-L will save the present screen in memory, and Alt-L will immediately
load the image currently held in memory onto the screen as an icon.

                               BLANK
    Blank menu:  This command erases the menu so it never hides the design.
Hitting "B" a second time will restore the menu.

                               WIPE
    Wipe: This is a paint fill-in command.  Choose a color or pattern to fill
in either inside or outside of your design.  Use the Move command to move the
crosshairs to the section of the screen you wish to fill in.  Then hit "W" for
wipe. Choose "C" to paint the screen with a solid color, or "P" to use one of
100 tile patterns.
    Now enter a number from 1 to 15 to fill in that part of the screen with a
solid color, or a number from 1 to 99 if you are choosing a tile pattern. The
color or pattern you choose will paint the screen, filling outward and
stopping when it reaches the present foreground color. Experiment and you'll
6
see what I mean.
Examples: "C W C 1 [Return]"
  "C W P 3 [Return]"
  "C D 20 [Ret] R 85 [Ret] G W P 51 [Ret] M R 130 [Ret] W P 51 [Ret]"
If you find a pattern you like, but you hate the color, try entering numbers
above 100.  These are the same 100 patterns with various color shifts.
    And then there's Wipe Options ("W O").  These options allow you to change
the default colors for the wipe patterns, or to see what a pattern looks like
without painting your screen.  You can even edit the patterns and create your
own. (If you know which option you are going to choose, you can save yourself
one keystroke and immediately hit any of the following commands right after
the "W" for Wipe.)
    The first option is "Tile colors."  Hit "T" and you'll be asked to enter
four numbers for the tile parts, plus a background color.  The default colors
are 1 (blue), 2 (green), 4 (red), and 8 (grey).  You can set all four to the
same color for some monochrome patterns, or rearrange the colors, or pick four
different ones.  (Note: if you use any colors other than those 4, some
patterns will not use as many different colors as normal).  When you change
these defaults, the computer will tell you what pattern numbers give you your
selected color, but you from now on you can get these new color combinations
just by using tile patterns 1 to 99.
    Another choice with the wipe command is to hit "V" for View.  Choose "V"
(View) if you want to see what a pattern looks like without using it in your
drawing.  It will be displayed in a box on your screen.  If you want to see
all 99 patterns, just view pattern 0 (or any multiple of 100). But be warned,
viewing all the patterns this way will erase your screen.
    If you're ready to try creating some of your own patterns, hit "E" to edit
a pattern.  Pick a pattern to start with and it will be displayed enlarged for
you on the left side of the screen.  Now you can use the arrow keys to move
around and hit the "<" or ">" keys to change the color of any dot.  Hit a "V"
or the [Return] key to see what your new pattern looks like; hit "S" to save
it, or hit "E" to edit another pattern.  As always, Esc will get you out of
this command.  Please note that when you want to view or save any pattern you
have created, you must place the cursor on the lowest line that you would like
included in the pattern.
    If 100 tile patterns isn't enough for you, you may have up to 10 different
pattern files on disk.  Use the "Wipe Options File" command to switch to a new
pattern file.  Before you can do that you'll have to make some additional
files to use.  From DOS type the command "COPY PATTERN1.* PATTERN2.*". Then
you will have a file called "PATTERN2.EGA" (or CGA or MON), which can be
edited to give you another 100 patterns.  When you need more, just replace the
"2" in that DOS command with any digit from 0 to 9.  If this all sounds
confusing, don't worry, if you can get by with 100 patterns you'll never need
this command.
    Ctrl-W immediately wipes with the same color or pattern you used the last
time you used the Wipe command.

                               AGAIN
    Again:  This is one of those commands that was created with the true
Cyclologist in mind.  This command lets you repeat any series of commands
over and over.  When you choose this option, you will be asked to enter the
command list.  Simply type in the commands exactly as you would normally, but
without hitting [Return] until you're finished.  After you hit [Return] you
will be asked how many times to repeat.
    For example, hit "A". Then type "ML5T+5P+-.1G [Return]"  The computer will
now ask "How many times?" Type "10 [Return]". The computer will now Move Left
5, Turn 5 degrees, Subtract 0.1 from the current Pen position, and draw the
design. Then it will do it again 9 more times.
    In your Again commands, don't forget to use a "?" to pick random settings;
you can also type the pound symbol, "#", to tell the computer to pause at this
point for user input of a number.  For example "P#G" lets you type in any
7
number for your pen position, the computer will draw it and then ask you for
the next pen position you would like to draw.
    One more feature of Again:  place an "A" at the end of the command list
and when the computer reaches the "A" it will start over at the beginning.
This will give you an infinite loop.  For example, at the "Again:" prompt,
type "HF+1GA".  This will draw the same design over and over, just changing
the color each time.  On a monochrome screen it will draw the design, then
erase it, then draw it again, over and over and over.

                                FORM
    Form:  We have come to the last command.  I saved this one for last
because it is not really part of a real spirograph simulation.  Hitting "F"
toggles the program back and forth between Gear input and Degree input. You
will notice that when you hit "F" the numbers under Disk and Ring change.  If
a disk has 20 gear teeth around its rim, then each tooth is 18 degrees wide
(20 x 18 = 360 degrees). If it has 60 gear teeth, each tooth is 6 degrees
wide. "Form Degrees" lets you enter those numbers by the number of degrees
instead of by the number of gear teeth.
    But that isn't the only thing this command changes. The Disk and Ring
sizes and rotation are also calculated differently. This command is useful for
creating unusual designs that look nothing like a spirograph. In a spirograph
you will normally use Disk and Ring settings between around 20 to around 200
or so. With "Form: Degrees" you should try using all numbers between 1 and
360.
    It will be more of a challenge to find designs that look aesthetic with
"Form: Degrees".  But some people like a challenge.  Hit "F" to get into the
"Form: Degrees" mode, and then hit "E" to see a half dozen examples of what
you can do.  You will see that these designs are very angular, unlike a
spirograph.  They are also more complex and varied than a spirograph. While
running the examples, you can hit a key at any time to stop, and then look at
the Disk and Ring settings to see what numbers created those designs.  Here
are a few Disk and Ring settings that give interesting images in the "Form:
Degrees" Mode:
 D132 and R48;
 D3 and R60;
 D38 and R90;
 D116 and R2;
 D68 and R100;
 D124 and R240;
 D12 and R132;
 D42 and R282;
 D110 and R50;
 D34 and R64;
 D138 and R46;
 D130 and R46...Try them out.

                             THE HIDDEN COMMANDS
    There are a couple of commands that are not mentioned in the menu.  It
sounds mysterious and vaguely ominous, but the truth is, I just ran out of
room in the menu, and the remaining commands are too trivial and useless to
deserve mention.  Judge for yourself.  The hidden commands are:

                             ? (TUTORIAL)
    ?:  A tutorial is available with five separate lessons to give you some
visual demonstrations of many of the commands in Cycloid.  Type ? and choose to
start the tutorial at the beginning, continue where you last quit, or pick one
of the five lessons.  While the tutorial is running, just watch, read the
messages, and hit a key to continue.  Hit [Escape] to stop and practice what
it has taught you whenever you desire.  The tutorial is not available when you
are running the program in color on a CGA monitor.  You can start the program
in Tutorial Mode by typing "Cycloid ?"
8

                             INITIALIZE
    Initialize:  This command simply resets most variables to their original
value except Disk and Ring.  It's not a command you'll use very often, but it
might save a few keystrokes once in a while. You can also use this command to
adopt your own initializer settings.  Hit Alt-I, and all present settings
are memorized (except Disk and Ring).  From now on hitting "I" restores these
memorized settings. You can always hit Ctrl-I to reset the original defaults.

                             JOINTEDNESS
    Jointedness:  J multiplies both Ring and Disk by 1.25, to give you the
same design but with a slightly smoother curve.  Ctrl-J divides both Ring and
Disk by the same amount, giving you less smoothness, but faster drawing. Note
that because of rounding, if you use this command several times in a row, the
design will keep drawing after it looks to you like it should be finished.
That's because the final point of the design didn't quite hit the starting
point.  You may simply hit any key to stop the drawing once you're satisfied
that it looks done.  However you can also take advantage of this phenomenon
to get thicker lines for your design.  Just keep hitting Ctrl-J until both
Ring and Disk are very small, below 5 or 10, then draw your design, and let it
run to completion.  You'll have a design with much fatter lines than usual,
especially around the corners.

                             VERSION
    Version:  Tells you the version number of your copy of Cycloid, a
fascinating piece of information I'm sure you'll want to read again and again.

                             ZILCH
    Zilch:  Does absolutely nothing except delays one second and beeps at you.
The only conceivable use for this command is to slow down an Again Command.
Example: Hit "A"; Enter "C W P +1 Z [Return]"  When you are asked "How many
times?" Enter "100".  The program will now show you all the Wipe patterns
available and give you one second to view each before showing the next one.
    Ctrl-Z adds sound to Cycloid.  Ctrl-Z again silences the program.


    The rest is up to you.  You have the know-how.  You have the tools.  You
have the discerning eye that can spot the ineffable quality of true art.  And
if you've actually read this whole manual, you apparently have a lot of free
time on your hands.  Be creative.  Be bold and daring.  Let the immortal Muse
of Spirography inspire the artist within your soul.  Endeavor to achieve your
true inner greatness.  Strive for excellence.  Go for it.

Oh, and have a nice day!


    Drop me a line with any suggestions or comments you might have.  If you
find this program interesting or you just feel very charitable, please
register by sending the low, low price of $9.95 to Box 644, Terry, MT 59349.
If the program totally bored or confused you, we offer a specially discounted
price of $9.87.  What will you get when you register, you ask?  You get my
undying thanks and devotion.  If that isn't enough, you'll also be informed if
and when the next update becomes available.  And you'll be eligible to receive
a registered version of the update for $1.00.  Now if that's not a great deal,
I don't know what is!  Hurry up and register your Cycloid today.

                                              Enjoy!

9
        Handy Registration Form
_________________________________________________________________________

CYCLOID REGISTRATION
VERSION 1.23

Mail your registration check to:
Phil Paustian
Box 644
Terry, Montana  59349

Check One:
    ___ Yes, I want to do my part supporting your outstanding achievement
        in pointless programming.  Enclosed you will find my check for
        $9.95.  I understand that I will receive a personal autograph from
        the author himself, on the back of my cancelled check, suitable for
        framing.  And I will be waiting with breathless anticipation for
        the next generation of CYCLOID.

    ___ This program totally bored and confused me.  Here's my check for
        $9.87.

    ___ No, I do not wish to register at this time, but here is my name and
        address, so you can harass me and my family, day and night, until we
        fork over the money.

Name:______________________________________________________________________

Address:___________________________________________________________________

City:________________________________State:___________Zip Code_____________

What computer and monitor do you have?_____________________________________

Please rate this program on a scale of 1 to 10 in the following areas:

Interest of subject matter____              Ease of use____

Quality of programming____                  Features____

Documentation____                           Value for the money____

Did you find any bugs or any parts of the program you couldn't use__________

____________________________________________________________________________

What would you like to see in the next upgrade______________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Does anything need more simplification or more explanation__________________

____________________________________________________________________________

Comments and Suggestions:___________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________