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Concentration Version 2.04 Copyright 1990-91 By Randy Rasa 18215 Troost Olathe, KS 66062 What Is It? ___________ Concentration is one of the classic solitaires, popular with all ages. It is easy enough for children to play, but offers enough challenge for adults. This version of Concentration uses a graphical user interface for an especially colorful and appealing game. Program Requirements ____________________ Concentration requires 256K of memory, EGA or higher graphics capability, and a Microsoft-compatible mouse. If you are not sure you have the right hardware, just run the program. If there's a problem, the program will let you know. In addition to the program file (CONCEN.EXE), the game requires that the card definition files (CARDS.CD1 and CARDS.CD2) be in the current directory. These files contain the bit-maps for each cardface in the deck. Using The Mouse _______________ The mouse pointer will appear as a white arrow with black edges. In general, the left button is used to select the object being pointed to (a card or a button), while the right button is used to exit menus or prompts. If you have a three-button mouse, the middle button will blank the screen. This can also be accomplished by pressing the left and right buttons simultaneously. Concentration Documentation Page 2 How To Play ___________ Concentration uses a standard 52-card deck (no jokers). To begin the game the deck is shuffled, then dealt face-down in four rows of thirteen cards each. The object of the game is to remove all the cards, two at a time, by pairs. You may select any two cards. As you do so, they will be turned over (face-up). If they match (that is, if they are of the same rank, regardless of suit), then they will be removed, otherwise they will be turned back over. Some people select cards at ramdom, others move sequentially from one card to the next in row or column fashion. Either way will work -- use whatever method helps you to remember where cards have appeared. Note that this game is the opposite of most in that a low score is desireable -- you want to be able to remove all cards in as few attempts as possible. Though becoming proficient at this game is dependent to a large degree on strengthening your short-term memory, luck plays a role as well. A good score requires both skill and luck. Buttons _______ Along the bottom of the screen are a number of "buttons", which may be selected by pointing and clicking with the mouse. The buttons are: Options: This button brings up the options menu, which you can use to set your preferences for the following: Sound: Select "Off" to disable the beeps, clicks, and various other noises the program makes. Select "On" to enable the sounds. Multi-Player Mode: Refer to the section of this document entitled "Multi-Player Mode" for information on this option. Background Color: Click on the up-arrow and down-arrow to step through the available background colors, until you find one that suits your tastes. Card Back: Click on the up-arrow and down-arrow to cycle through the available card designs until you find one you like. You can also click on the card back itself to bring up a dialog box which will show you all the available card backs and allow you to choose one. Once you've set things to your liking, you may click on the "OK" button to save your preferences to disk, or on the Concentration Documentation Page 3 "Cancel" button to exit the Options menu without changing anything. Help: This button will bring up several pages of help screens, which you can view by clicking on the "Next" or "Prev" buttons to move from page to page. When you are finished reading the help, click on the "Done" button to exit. New Game: This button will end the current game, update your statistics, and start a new game. Note that the stats will only be updated if you have a score greater than zero. This will allow you to select a new player (if Multi-Player mode is enabled). Quit: Click on this button to exit the program. If you have a score greater than zero, your statistics will be updated and displayed briefly before returning you to DOS. Another way to exit the game is to press the "Abort" key (F10). If you press F10 (and select the "Exit This Program" option in the pop-up dialog box or press F10 again), the program will quit to DOS without saving the data file. Running Under Windows _____________________ This program will run properly under Microsoft Windows in real and standard modes, but appears to have trouble with 386 Enhanced mode. The program exhibits two problems when running in this mode: 1. The mouse coordinates are shifted eight pixels down and to the right. This causes clicks on the upper left corner of an object to be ignored, and clicks slightly below or to the right of an object to be misinterpreted. 2. The sound is sort of short and stuttering. Eventually, after you lose a game and the "lose" sound is played, the game slows down to where it is unplayable. I have tried using a PIF file and experimenting with all the available settings, but with no success. However, I am not an expert on Windows, so if anyone can figure this out, please let me know. In the meantime, here are three alternatives if you want to play this game under Windows: 1. Run Windows in real or standard mode. 2. Turn the sound off in the "Options" menu. You'll still have the mouse problem, but at least the program will run at full speed. 2. Run the program with the new "/W" (Windows Compatability) command-line option. This option simply shifts the mouse coordinates back to where they should be and uses a different "lose" sound that doesn't appear to cause problems. Concentration Documentation Page 4 I recognize that none of these are optimal solutions, and I hope to improve the situation in the future. Command-Line Options ____________________ /NC -- "No Cheat" option disables the F10 (abort) key. Use this if you find yourself unable to resist temptation. /LCD -- This option may improve the screen display on monochrome LCD displays. This option simply changes a few color combinations to improve contrast on LCDs. /Rxxxxxx -- This option is used to convert a shareware version of the program to a registered version. Refer to "A Note To Registered Users" at the end of this document for more information. /SW -- This option is used to convert a registered version to a shareware version. /W -- This option forces the program to run in "Windows Compatability" mode. Refer to the "Running Under Windows" section of this document for more details. filename.ext -- This option is for alternate data files (see discussion below). Concentration Documentation Page 5 Statistics __________ Concentration keeps track of the score (the number of attempts you've made to remove pairs of cards), the number of games you've played, your best and worst games, and your average score. At the end of each game, the statistics are written to disk, either in the default CONCEN.DAT or in the data file specified on the command line. The data file also contains the preferences you set in the options menu (sound on/off, auto mode on/off, and background color). To specify a data file on the command line, start up Concentration with the following syntax: CONCEN filename.ext Multi-Player Mode _________________ Concentration has a option called "Multi-Player Mode", which enables up to ten people (or one person playing under ten names) to keep their statistics in the same data file. When this mode is enabled, you will be presented with a menu at the beginning of each game, from which you may select an existing player, add a new player, or delete an old player from the list. Each player's name can be up to fifteen character long. In addition to keeping separate statistics for each player, this mode allows a different setup for each player as well. This means that each player can have his or her own screen color, card back, and sound selection. When multi-player mode is disabled, the game will not bring up the player list for each new game. The configuration options set in this mode will serve as defaults for any new players which are added in multi-player mode. Concentration Documentation Page 6 Legalese ________ Concentration is shareware. As such, you can play it, copy it, and give it away as you wish. In fact, you are encouraged to distribute the program to friends, family, and strangers alike. This includes distribution via electronic bulletin board systems (BBS), user's groups, and disk-distribution services. All that I ask is that the program remain unaltered, and be distributed in an archive consisting of: CONCEN.EXE ......... the program CONCEN.DOC ......... documentation CARDS.CD1 .......... card definition file #1 CARDS.CD2 .......... card definition file #2 Registration ____________ Concentration is shareware. If you enjoy the game, please support it. There are three registration packages available: 1. Basic Registration ................................... $5.00 This minimum registration will get you the latest registered (no shareware "beg" message) version of Concentration on the diskette of your choice, along with a registration code good for all future updates. 2. Package Deal #1 ..................................... $10.00 This package consists of the latest registered version of Concentration, plus shareware versions of my other programs, along with a menu program to tie them all together. Note that all of the additional programs are unregistered versions (with shareware "beg" screens). You will also receive a registration code good for all future updates of Concentration. 3. Package Deal #2 ..................................... $15.00 This package consists of the latest registered version of Concentration, plus registered versions of my other programs, along with a menu program to tie them all together. Note that all of the additional programs are fully registered versions (no shareware "beg" screens). You will also receive registration codes good for all future updates of Concentration and the programs included with your registration. Basic registration is available on a 5.25", 360K disk or on a 3.50", 720K disk. The package deals are available on two 360K disks (with the programs ZIPped (with the PKZIP compression program) to pack as much as possible onto each disk), one 720K disk Concentration Documentation Page 7 (ZIPped), or one 5.25", 1.2M disk. If you do not have access to PKZIP, you'll need to order the package deals on a 1.2M disk. No matter what option you choose, you'll be getting a lot of quality software for just a little dough. Please consider registering. The programs that you will get with the package deals will be selected from the following: Midnight Oil: An EGA solitaire card game, otherwise known as La Belle Lucie and Three Shuffles and a Draw. In this game the deck is dealt into seventeen fans of three cards each. Cards are moved from the fans to four foundations, which are then built up in suit from Ace to King. Midnight Oil is one of the best solitaires, affording great opportunity for skillful play. The game keeps statistics in a disk file, and has a special auto mode that makes the game especially easy to play. Monte Carlo: An EGA-based solitaire card game in which you try to remove pairs of cards from a 5 x 5 matrix. This easy-to- play game offers hours of relaxing fun. It keeps statistics in much the same way as Concentration, has selectable card designs, and a "hint" button that makes the game especially easy to learn. Calculation: This EGA-based solitaire card game is a real brain- teaser in which you build up four foundations, each in a different sequence. It requires skill and logical thinking to win, but on-screen assistance makes learning and playing the game a snap. It keeps a statistic file like Concentration and has selectable card designs. Osmosis: In this EGA solitaire card game you have four foundations to build, but a card can only be played to a lower foundation if it has also been played to an upper foundation. This addictive game is simple to play but difficult to win, with success often depending as much on luck as skill. It keeps statistics on-disk, offers selectable card backs and has a "peek" option to give you an extra edge. Idiot's Delight: An EGA version of "Aces Up", a simple but addictive game of luck and skill. This is one of those games that leave you saying "just one more game" time after time after time. As in my other EGA games, it keeps a statistic file and offers selectable card backs. Royal Cotillion: This is a two-deck EGA solitaire in which you must build up eight foundations in suit by twos. It offers good opportunity for skillful play, a pleasing layout, and hours of engrossing fun. It keeps a statistics file, has selectable card backs, and a time-saving auto mode. Concentration Documentation Page 8 You can print the registration form from the initial shareware screen. Simply select the "Print Registration Form" button, then select a destination, either to a printer or a file. If you elect to send the form to a printer, make sure it is on-line and ready. The form should print on any standard 80-column printer. If you want to save the form to a file, the file "CONCEN.FRM" will be created in the current directory. You can then print out the registration form by entering the following command from the DOS prompt (with your printer connected and ready): COPY CONCEN.FRM PRN Then just fill out the form and send it, along with cash, check or money order, to: Randy Rasa 18215 Troost Olathe, KS 66062 Revision History ________________ 1.00 11-17-89 First Public Release. Text-based version. 2.00 06-14-91 New EGA version released. 2.01 08-23-91 The program now exits to DOS after running the registration procedure, and the program date and time are set correctly. Added /LCD command-line switch. Added /M command-line switch. Fixed bug in "Select Player" menu. 2.02 09-02-91 Rewrote mouse initialization routine. Removed /M command-line switch. 2.03 10-28-91 Added dialog box to select card back. Improved parsing of command-line arguments. Modified the "abort" sequence so that pressing F10 once will bring up the abort dialog box, and pressing F10 again will exit the program. 2.04 02-14-92 Increased number of available card backs to seven. Added "/NC" (No Cheat) command-line option. Added "/W" (Windows Compatability) command-line option. Concentration Documentation Page 9 A Note To Registered Users __________________________ The registration procedure allows previously-registered users to update to the new registered version of the program by entering a special 'registration code' that was included as part of your order. Run the shareware version of the program with an "/R" command-line switch, followed by the registration code, like this: CONCEN /Rxxxxxx You would, of course use the proper registration code in place of the "xxxxxx". Note also that there should be no space between the "R" and the registration code. After running the program with /R switch and the proper code, you'll have a brand-spanking new registered version of the program. What this essentially amounts to is unlimited, free updates with each registration. The registration procedure comes with the following limitations: 1. The name your EXE file must be CONCEN.EXE. 2. You cannot perform the registration procedure on a compressed version (ie: an EXE file processed with PKLite, Diet, or LZEXE). The EXE file may be compressed after the registration procedure, but not before. 3. Please do not distribute registered versions of the program. Note: You can also change the program back to the shareware version by using the "/SW" command-line switch. This function is subject to the same limitations as with the registration procedure (ie: the program must be properly named and uncompressed). Please use this option to "un-register" the program if you wish to pass it along to anyone. Also, please include all of the files listed under the "Legalese" section of this document. Thanks.