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Software Buyer's Guide Volume 7 #1
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Software_Buyers_Guide_Volume_7_Number_1_SelectWare_Technologies_1995.iso
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sil10000
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readme.tx_
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readme.tx
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Text File
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1995-03-08
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13KB
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275 lines
CrossWire! 1.00
Copyright (c) 1995, SilverSun, Inc. All rights reserved.
==============================================================
Contents of this file
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. CrossWire Game Information
2. Screen Saver compatibility
3. Large-screen monitors
4. Deinstalling CrossWire
5. Problems with audio
6. Using a parallel port audio card
7. Effects of memory conflicts
8. Running Windows(tm) Sound System
9. Incompatibility with Windows 3.0
10. Installing with alternate desktop shell programs
==============================================================
1. CrossWire Game Information
--------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to CrossWire! - The Knowledge Connection Game. This file
contains all of the information you need to know to play CrossWire.
Signing in -- After starting the program, you will see the player
sign-in screen. If you are a new player, you should click on "Click
Here For New Player", and then type (or click) in your name. If you have
played before, simply click on your name in the list of previous players.
You should identify yourself as the current player so the game can keep
an accurate history of your scores. Note: The game will only track
scoring histories for seven different players.
Adjusting the options -- After you've read the instructions, and before
you start playing, you should click on "Options" on the menu bar. The
most important option is the Level of Play option. You can control the
level of challenge of the game by adjusting this option - from a slow
"Leisurely" pace, to a faster "Challenging" level, to a frenetic "Wired"
pace. Once you have set the Level of Play option and started to play,
you can't change it again until your next game. You also have options
to turn the sound effects and music on or off and to change the display
background for the text in the game. On a laptop, it is preferable to
display white text on a black background. To set any of these items,
simply click on the setting with the mouse.
Fundamentals -- CrossWire can be played entirely using the mouse.
To advance to the next screen, click on the "Click Here To Continue"
button. Click only once -- clicking twice may cause you to skip a
screen. All menu bar items can be accessed by clicking them. The
only key you need to know about is the Escape key. Pushing the Escape
key at any time during the game immediately exits the player from
the game without storing any results of the active game. When the
player reenters CrossWire at a later time, the same game will start
over. The same thing happens if you select Game/Exit from the menu bar.
Also, the F9 key is a shortcut for "minimizing" the application.
How To Play -- Each game of CrossWire consists of three rounds,
the CrossWire Round, the LiveWire Round, and the HighWire Round.
You start with the CrossWire Round. First, you are introduced to
the Challenger you will play in the LiveWire Round if you score enough
points in the CrossWire Round. Each Challenger has certain strengths
and weaknesses. You should note these - this info will help you beat
the Challenger.
The CrossWire Round -- To start, you are presented with five categories,
color-coded by subject. The titles tell you something about the clues
in that category, but some titles disguise the exact nature of the
clues. You will play three of these categories in the CrossWire Round.
If you score at least 2500 points in these three categories, you get
to move on to the LiveWire Round where you play one of the remaining
categories against a Challenger.
Strategy -- You choose the order in which you play the categories.
You should set your strategy so that you reach at least 2500 points
after the first three categories, but are left with at least one
category in which you can do well against the Challenger. You won't
have to play one of the five categories, so you can avoid the category
you know the least about.
Scoring -- The point value increases for each category chosen, so start
with your weaker categories. In each CrossWire Round, there is one
bonus clue, designated with a $ sign. If you match this clue, you get
double bonus points. Keep an eye out for it, and go for it first.
Also, if you get all of the clues in a category right without getting
any wrong, you pick up 300 bonus points.
Playing the Clues - Once you have set your strategy, click on one
category to select it. Immediately, the clues appear in two columns,
revealed from top to bottom. The clock begins ticking. You should begin
playing right away.
You must match as many of the pairs as possible before the clock runs
out. You match a pair by first clicking on a clue on either side,
then clicking on the matching clue on the opposite side. If you are right,
both clues are dimmed and you gain points. If you try to match two
clues incorrectly, the clues flash, the buzzer buzzes, you lose points,
and the clues stay active. If, after selecting one clue, you want to
deselect it without trying to match it, simply click it again or select
a different clue from the same column. This will deselect the first
clue and activate the second one for matching.
A bell rings to tell you time has expired. After time has expired, you
can see correct answers by clicking on an unmatched clue. This causes
a "CrossWire" to be drawn indicating the correct match. Also, more
information is sometimes available about the category by clicking on
the "More Info" button.
Buying A Clue -- After playing two categories in the CrossWire Round,
you get the chance to buy a clue about one of the remaining categories.
You will be charged points to see the clue, but if you buy it, it will
definitely help you in one of the categories. You just won't know
which one. If you choose to play the category that the hint was in,
it is a good deal. If you don't, you've wasted points.
The LiveWire Round -- If you score 2500 points or more in the CrossWire
Round, you move on to face a Challenger in the LiveWire Round. In this
round, both you and the Challenger are trying to guess the clues AT THE
SAME TIME! You start by selecting a category out of the two remaining
categories. Play begins immediately. In the LiveWire Round, your guesses
are shown in blue and the Challenger's guesses are shown in red. You
must make at least FIVE matches in this round to beat the Challenger
and move ahead to the final round, the HighWire Round.
The HighWire Round -- If you beat the challenger, you make it to the
HighWire Round. Here you are presented with one new category that you
must play. In this round, there is one bogus (i.e. incorrect) clue
in both columns. If you try to match the bogus clue, you lose
immediately. The bogus clues are identified with bomb symbols after
the round is over. Also, you must correctly match ALL EIGHT of the
good clues to win this round. If you make three mistakes in trying
to match these clues, you lose, even if you avoid the bombs.
Prizes, Fame and Glory! -- If you win the HighWire Round, you will win
a "prize". You select your prize by playing a random game in the
HotWire Room. Our attractive Prize Presenters will show you what to
do. There are 6 "prizes" in this version of CrossWire. After finishing a
game, you can review your scores and compare yourself to the other
players by clicking on the approriate items in the menu bar.
Addicted? -- Have you become addicted to CrossWire? Great!
Give us a call at 1-800-8SILVER to order the full 1st and 2nd Editions
of CrossWire, or one of our specialty Editions. Feel free to give us
a call about anything in the game. We'd love to hear your ideas for
more clues, too. Thanks for playing!
2. Screen Saver compatibility
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you are experiencing problems with CrossWire and also
are running a DOS or Windows screen saver, try shutting down
the screen saver, restarting your machine, and trying again.
3. Large-screen monitors
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you have a large-screen monitor, the text of the CrossWire
game is more readable if you install the MS Sans Serif font
that is called SSERIFE.FON. Usually this font is installed by
the video board driver when you ask for a small font in your
video driver setup program. If CrossWire does not find this
font, it will use the Arial font for the clues and dialog.
One of these fonts must be installed for CrossWire to run.
4. Deinstalling CrossWire
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you need to temporarily remove CrossWire from your hard disk
to free up disk space, you simply have to delete the CrossWire
files from the disk. There is no modification necessary to the
Windows .INI files. However, if you want to save your history and
your path through the game, copy the XWIRE.PLY to another directory,
and after you reinstall CrossWire from the original disks, copy
your saved XWIRE.PLY file back into the CrossWire directory.
5. Problems with audio
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you are having problems with the audio portion of CrossWire,
insure that you have only one audio driver installed and active.
If there is no immediate solution, you can disable the audio
portion of CrossWire entirely by adding the word NOSOUND after
XWIRE.EXE in the command line of CrossWire, which is available
in the File Properties command of Program Manager. In a typical
installation, the command line would look like this:
C:\XWIRE\XWIRE.EXE NOSOUND
To understand the File Properties command, consult your Windows
documentation.
6. Using a parallel port audio card
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you start Windows and CrossWire running with a parallel
port sound system and then remove the device from the port,
CrossWire and Windows continue to attempt to send audio to
it - and you may have problems. Restart Windows to correct
the situation.
Likewise, if you have the audio device removed when you start
Windows and then put it back in, CrossWire will ignore it.
Restart Windows to enable the sounds.
7. Effects of memory conflicts
---------------------------------------------------------------
If you do not have enough memory available in your system,
CrossWire may not play correctly. This may occur in
three situations:
1) when other applications are active in memory,
2) when another application's drivers occupy a
significant amount of low DOS memory, or
3) when you are running Windows in standard mode,
especially on a network workstation.
If there is insufficient memory, the following problems
may occur:
1) You may not be able to play the game at all.
2) You are able to play the game, but the audio will
not be enabled. In other words, you will not be able
to get the game music or sound effects while playing.
3) You are able to begin playing the game, but during play
you get a message that there is insufficient memory to
continue.
In any of these cases, you must do one or more of the following
to play the game or to enable the audio:
- close one (or more) of the other applications,
- remove drivers from low DOS memory,
- switch Windows to enhanced mode.
8. Running Windows Sound System
---------------------------------------------------------------
When running the Volume Control program in Windows Sound System,
be sure to turn off the "Show window when sound is played" button.
If activated, this setting will cause a conflict when CrossWire
audio is playing, causing Windows to lock up. If the setting is
deactivated, there is no conflict.
9. Incompatibility with Windows 3.0
---------------------------------------------------------------
If you are running Windows 3.0, you are not able to run
CrossWire. The message you will most likely see when
you begin the game is "Cannot find MMSYSTEM.DLL, please
insert in drive A:". You must upgrade to Windows 3.1
to run CrossWire.
10. Installing with alternate desktop shell programs
---------------------------------------------------------------
If you are using a replacement shell program, for example
Norton Desktop For Windows, New Wave, or CP Tools, instead
of the standard Windows Program Manager, you must first run
the WINDOWS\PROGMAN.EXE file and run the CrossWire! setup
program from there. Then you can drag the CrossWire! icon from
the Program Manager window onto your desktop, or close Program
Manager and create a new program item using the XWIRE.EXE file.
SilverSun and CrossWire are trademarks of SilverSun, Incorporated.
Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.