The Game Master (3rd Edition)

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Text File | 1991-10-09 | 34KB | 685 lines

┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ │C│ │I│ │P│ │H│ │E│ │R│ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ └─┘ Crypto-Quotes Puzzle Game Release 2.1 October 9, 1991 Nels Anderson 92 Bishop Drive Framingham, MA 01701-6515 U.S.A. Various kinds of word puzzles have existed for years in many different forms. People spend hours trying to solve them, working tediously with pencil and paper. Many a newspaper has been worn through trying and retrying different solutions. With the advent of computers, working these puzzles becomes more enjoyable because the computer screen provides a working surface that's easier to manipulate than paper and pencil. You can erase and retry as often as you wish and the screen will never wear out as paper is apt to do. Still, many computerized versions of word games look dull. Just because it's a word game does not mean that it has to use text mode and black & white only. Why can't word puzzles be colorful, use high resolution graphics and even run with a mouse? Well, they can, now at least, because that's exactly how CIPHER works. For those who don't have a mouse the game will run with keyboard only. And if you don't have VGA/EGA graphics available it will also run in text mode (though it's still quite colorful if you have a color monitor). But for those with a full featured PC you get what I hope is the most colorful and fun to use computerized word puzzle game available. CIPHER will automatically run in the "best" possible mode, though it is possible to override this. The following command line parameters are available: cipher -t (force text mode) cipher -k (force keyboard mode) Note that when in text mode keyboard mode is automatically selected so it isn't necessary to use both overrides at any time. CIPHER is a "crypto-quotes" type of game. That is, a quotation is enciphered and displayed on the screen in its scrambled form. Your challenge is to figure out the cipher by replacing the scrambled letters with the actual letters. As you go along more and more of the puzzle will start to look like real words and eventually you should solve the whole puzzle and be able to read the quotation. One set of puzzles is provided with the game. If you want more, you can register the game for $15 and in exchange you'll receive the latest version of the game plus many more puzzles to solve. For $22 you can order the "deluxe" version of the game, which includes a registered copy of the software, the additional puzzles plus a printed manual and binder to store everything in. Shipping is $2 on the standard version, or $4 for the deluxe version or for shipping outside the U.S. CIPHER is distributed by the Shareware system -- this allows you to try it before you buy it, but if you continue to use the game regularly you are expected to register. When you register, please let me know what version you have (it's right on the title screen) and I'd also be interested to know where you got it from. Please, make sure you put your name and address on your letter! Or you can use the instant registration form in the file "orderfrm.txt". Just copy the file to your printer, fill it out, and mail it. If you're not familiar with the Shareware concept, please read the file "sharewre.txt". If you have any suggestions or discover any problems with the program you can reach me via the )(evious BBS (PCBoard) system (300/1200/2400/9600-HST, 8N1) at 508-875-3618 or 617-449-7322. Leave a C)omment to the sysop to reach me. )(evious is the official support BBS for all my software and the latest versions are always available for downloading there. There is also a support conference for people to exchange game tips or ask questions. J)oin conference #31 and check out the latest tips. B)ulletin #1 always has the list of latest versions of all my programs, along with the file name if you wish to download them. You can also reach )(evious through RelayNet. If there's a RelayNet board in your area send a routed message to me at node XEVIOUS. The Shareware conference would be the best choice, but if that's not available try TPascal, Games or even Common. I'm also available through CompuServe's email system. Send mail to me at 71020,2613. Or join me and many other shareware authors in the Shareware forum (GO SHAREWARE). You can also reach me through Internet; address messages to 71020.2613@compuserve.com. CIPHER is pretty easy to use, so rather than reading all the instructions you might want to just start it up and play. The game has help screens built right in and they provide all the basic information you need. ***************************************************************************** * PLAYING THE GAME * ***************************************************************************** OBJECT: The object of the game is to decipher the puzzle shown on the right side of the screen. The puzzles vary in difficulty and size. When you solve the puzzle correctly a message will pop up on the screen to let you know. KEYBOARD MODE COMMANDS: If you're going to be playing the game with a mouse, skip down to the "Mouse Mode Commands" section. Also see the section on "Common Commands". When using the keyboard you will alternate between "select character" and "place character" modes. You will see a prompt at the upper right corner of the screen to tell you what the game is expecting. You must first select a letter of the alphabet that you want placed into the puzzle. Just type that single letter and it will be highlighted on the left hand side of the screen. Then you must decide where to place the highlighted letter into the puzzle. Hit the letter that you want translated to the letter you just selected. You'll see your selection placed throughout the puzzle. The game prevents you from using a letter to translate more than one encrypted letter. Thus, if you change your mind on the translation of a letter you can just reuse the translated letter somewhere else and your previous use will be erased. If you want to erase a guess without placing it somewhere else, hit the space bar when asked to select a letter and then choose where to place it in the puzzle. MOUSE MODE COMMANDS: If you're going to be playing the game with the keyboard, go back to the "Keyboard Mode Commands" section. Also see the section on "Common Commands". Unlike playing with a keyboard, playing using a mouse is "modeless" in that you do not have to alternate between selecting a character and placing it into the puzzle. At the left side of the screen you'll see the alphabet displayed. Click on the letter you want to select for use in the puzzle. If your aim is off, just move the cursor and click again. The letter you choose will be high- lighted. On the right side of the screen you'll see the puzzle. After you have selected a letter point to the position in the puzzle where you want that letter used and click the mouse. The letter will be placed at that position and at all other positions that have the same enciphered letter. The game prevents you from using a letter to translate more than one encrypted letter. Thus, if you change your mind on the translation of a letter you can just reuse the translated letter somewhere else and your previous use will be erased. There are several options in addition to simply placing a letter. If you click on the top half of a letter pair on the right side, all occurences of that letter throughout the puzzle will be highlighted but not filled in. Clicking the right mouse button instead of the left one will remove your guess from the position in the puzzle being pointed to. COMMON COMMANDS: Along the top line of the screen you'll see a number of commands displayed. If you're playing using a keyboard you will also see the name of the function key that activates the commands. If you're using a mouse you just move the cursor up to the command and point and click. Mouse users can also use the function keys though the key numbers are not displayed. Some of the more commonly used commands have keyboard shortcuts, using Ctrl or Alt key combinations. These are displayed in the menus. The available commands are as follows: F1 - Help Supplies several screens of basic information on how to play the game. Each screen has the option to go to the next screen, previous screen, or to quit help. Mouse users just point to their selection; keyboard users should hit "N" (next), "P" (previous), or "Q" (quit) as desired. F2 - Info Provides some basic information on the game and how to register. Hit a key or click the mouse to remove the info window. F3 - Filer The filer has a number of subfunctions: 1) Next Puzzle -- if you're stuck on the current puzzle or don't want to play it select next puzzle to get the next consecutive puzzle in the puzzle file. You can also access this function more quickly by hitting Ctrl-N. 2) Previous Puzzle -- if you want to go back to a previous puzzle use this command. You will use this command fairly seldom because previous puzzles are ones you've already played. 3) Select by Number -- lets you select any puzzle within the current puzzle file by entering its number. Handy if two people want to play the same puzzle. 4) Change Puzzle File -- this command allows you to load a different puzzle file. All puzzle files end with the file extension ".cpz". The shareware version of the game only comes with one puzzle file so this command won't be useful until you register the game. 5) Save Game -- use this command to save the current puzzle along with your guesses to a disk file. All saved game files use the file extension ".csv"; it's optional whether you type this in or not when entering the file name. 6) Load Game -- use this command to reload a puzzle that you saved previously. Select the name of the saved game file you want from the displayed list. Make Puzzle -- this function lets you enter puzzles from other sources and play them using CIPHER. There are two types of puzzles that CIPHER understands, the first being puzzles that are already encrypted like you might find in the newspaper or a puzzle book ("user quotes"), and second being plain language quotes that CIPHER will scramble for you ("standard quotes"); standard quotes can come from any source. When you select this function you are first asked for the name of the puzzle file. If you're adding to an existing puzzle file just select it from the list. If you want to start a new file, type in the name of the new file. It is not necessary to enter the .cpz portion of the file name (that is, "puzzle" is enough, you do not need to enter "puzzle.cpz"). If you are starting a new puzzle file a box will pop up for you to select the puzzle type. Select "Standard Puzzle" if you're entering a plain text puzzle or "User Puzzle" if you're entered a puzzle that's already encrypted. Then a box will pop up asking for the puzzle file description. Each puzzle file can have an overall topic which is displayed on the status line during play. If you don't want to enter a topic just press the Enter key. Once the file has been selected, a small box will open in which to type in your new puzzle. The puzzle you enter is expected to be in a form similar to other CIPHER puzzles; that is, up to four lines of quote and then the author's name on the last line with two dashes in front of it. When you have the puzzle entered correctly, hit the enter key twice and you'll be prompted to confirm; hit "Y" if the puzzle is correct and it will be saved. At the present time there are no editing capabilities available so if you make a mistake your only option is to not save the puzzle and to start over. User defined puzzle files are slightly different from normal CIPHER puzzles, so do not try to add user puzzles into the standard puzzle files. You also lose one normal feature of the game with user puzzles; the game can't determine when you've solved the puzzle. 8) Clear Guesses -- use this function if you want to clear all your previous guesses and start the current puzzle over again. It also marks the puzzle as being unplayed; use this if you want to quit but play the current puzzle next time you play. You can also access this function more quickly by hitting Alt-C. 9) Abort -- select this if you changed your mind about doing a filer function. F4 - Hints 1) See Puzzle -- If a puzzle gets too frustrating you can "cheat" and see the solution. Once you've done this the puzzle is marked in the puzzle file as having been played to completion. 2) Get Hint -- This allows you to get a hint on a single letter. Enter the encrypted letter from the puzzle that you would like to see the matching unencrypted letter for and this letter will be entered throughout the puzzle. You can also access this function more quickly by hitting Ctrl-H. 3) Clear Wrong Guesses -- Selecting this will remove all letters from the puzzle that are incorrect. You can also access this function more quickly by hitting Ctrl-C. 4) Show Letter Frequencies -- It's well known that some letters of the alphabet are used much more often than others. In the English language, the most common letters, in order, are generally ETOANIRSH. Knowing this fact and knowing which letters in the puzzle appear most often is a strong clue. This hint will show all letters of the alphabet along with the number of times they appear in the puzzle. You can also access this function more quickly by hitting Ctrl-F. 5) Abort -- Select this if you change your mind about getting a hint. F5 - Options 1) See Hall of Fame -- Using this option you can see the all time high score list at any time. To erase the hall of fame click on "CLEAR" or hit the "C" key, otherwise hit any other key or click on "OK" to return to the game. 2) Select New Player -- Use this option to let a different player use the game. You will select the player name you want from a list, or you can enter a new player name or change an existing player name and use that. 3) Switch Score/Clock -- The lower left corner of the screen can display either the current time or a running score. Use this option to toggle between the two choices. 4) Sound On/Off -- Use this option to toggle sound on or off. 5) Select Colors -- You can customize your screen colors with this option. Your selected colors will be stored so that your last selections will automatically be loaded whenever you play. Each player can have their own color selections. 6) Switch Mouse/Keyboard -- If you're running in graphics mode you can use this option to switch between mouse and keyboard play at any time. 7) Abort -- Use this if you decide not to use one of the options. F10 - Quit This quits the game. You'll be prompted just to make sure that you really meant to quit and also if you want to save the game if you did not complete it. COMMAND LINE OPTIONS: Normally you start the game by just entering "CIPHER". The game will determine your hardware configuration and select the correct modes automatically. It will then ask you for the name of the player and the puzzle file you wish to use. There are a couple of options available that can be entered on the command line if you wish though. The first two parameters let you override the default hardware selections. Use "-t" to run in text mode even if VGA or EGA is available. Use "-k" to play using the keyboard even if you have a mouse attached. You can also select the player from the command line. The game stores up to nine player names, so to use a specific name use the parameter "-p#", replacing the # with a digit from 1 through 9 for the number of the desired player. The game normally shows the running score in the lower left corner of the screen. You can change this to show the time of day instead, which you'd normally do using the Options menu. If you want to start up the game with the clock showing, use the parameter "-c". You can disable sounds by using the parameter "-s". The final option lets you enter the name of the puzzle file you want to use. The original shareware version only comes with one puzzle file so you won't need this option until you've registered. Some examples: If you want to play in text mode, you'd enter the following: cipher -t To use the puzzle file called "puzzle2.cpz" you'd enter: cipher puzzle2.cpz To play using the keyboard and use the puzzle file "puzzle3.cpz" you'd enter: cipher puzzle3.cpz -k Note that in the last example the order of the options does not matter. You must have spaces between the options. Command line parameter summary: -t Force text mode (also forces keyboard mode) -k Force keyboard mode -p# Select player number # -c Show clock in lower left corner of screen -s Disable sound CIPHER RECORD KEEPING The game tries to keep track of which puzzles you've played in an intelligent manner. In general, it expects you to play the puzzles within a file in order so when you select a puzzle file it automatically loads the first puzzle within that file that you have not tried yet. When you've tried all the puzzles within a file, you're given the option of going back to the beginning and playing those puzzles you didn't solve the first time through. These records are kept separately for each player, by player number. Changing a player's name does not change the records for that player number within the puzzle files you use. CIPHER SCORING SYSTEM The scoring system is fairly simple. When you start a puzzle you are given 1000 points. One point is ticked off every second, so the faster you solve the puzzle the higher your score. Clear Wrong Guesses and Get Hint will cost you 10 points each time you use them. Using Show Letter Frequencies doesn't cost any points, but the clock does continue to run while you're looking at the frequency list so you're losing one point per second. Using Show Puzzle sets your score to zero. If you solve the puzzle, you get a 100 point bonus. You get an additional 100 points if you did not use any of the hint functions. If you managed to solve the puzzle with no wrong guesses you get a 100 point bonus. Finally, you get 20 points for each correct letter and lose 10 points for each wrong guess you made before solving the puzzle. If your score is one of the top ten it will be entered into the Hall of Fame and the hall will automatically be displayed. If you wish to clear the Hall of Fame, just delete the file HALLFAME.LST, or click on the "CLEAR" button (or hit the "C" key) when the hall is displayed. ***************************************************************************** * INCLUDED FILES * ***************************************************************************** The following files are included in CIPHER: CIPHER.EXE Cipher program CIPHER.DOC This file CIPHER.TXT A brief description of Cipher NEWS.PCC Title picture PUZZLE1.CPZ Puzzle data file SHAREWRE.TXT Information on Shareware ORDERFRM.TXT Ready to print registration form VENDOR.TXT Distribution information for disk vendors FILE_ID.DIZ Standard program description for BBS use You are free to pass this program along to friends, give it to user groups, upload to BBSes, etc. with the understanding that anyone who continues to use the game is required to register it. All these files MUST be included when distributing this program. If you archive the program for distribution through BBSes, please use the name CIPHER21.ZIP (or .LZH, .PAK, etc. as appropriate). ***************************************************************************** * REGISTRATION * ***************************************************************************** Please remember that CIPHER is not free software. As with all Shareware you are expected to purchase it after you've given it a reasonable trial. The registration price for CIPHER is $15, which includes a disk with the latest version plus over 200 additional puzzles to solve. Other sets of puzzles (about 200 puzzles per set) are also available for $5 each; contact the author for availability. A deluxe version of CIPHER is also available. This includes a storage case, printed manual plus the registered version of the program with over 200 puzzles. This version is available for $22. A Microsoft Windows 3.x version is also available for the same prices. Cipher for Windows has the same features as the regular version but runs under Microsoft Windows and takes full advantage of it's capabilities. Please include $2 shipping/handling with your order, or $4 for deluxe versions or for shipping outside North America. ***************************************************************************** * REVISION HISTORY * ***************************************************************************** V2.1: Now allows players to enter both user puzzles (ones that are already encrypted) and standard puzzles (any straight text quote) Clear option added to Hall of Fame display List of files sorted alphabetically for all filer functions V2.0: Support for up to 9 players added Screen colors now selectable; selections are stored separately for each player New hint: show letter frequencies Filer now allows selection of any puzzle by number Screen now displays player name, puzzle file name, puzzle number within file and puzzle file topic Scoring system added V1.2: On startup, if player hadn't select a specific puzzle file and more than one is available, a list of files is presented to select from. Added clear guess function to filer functions. Added user defined puzzles to the filer functions. On command line, entering the .cpz extension of a puzzle file name is now optional; consistent with the way the filer functions work within the game. V1.1: Changed the filer functions to force all puzzles files to a .cpz extension, whether or not the user entered it. Fixed bug with the scroll bar in the file selection function. Fixed problem with selecting additional puzzle files. ***************************************************************************** * DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY * ***************************************************************************** This software is sold "as is", without any warranty as to performance or any other warranties whether expressed or implied. Because of the many hardware and software environments into which this program may be used, no warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is offered. The user must assume the entire risk of using the program. Any liability of the seller will be limited exclusively to product replacement or the refund of the registration fee. ***************************************************************************** * ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS * ***************************************************************************** This software is produced by Nels Anderson who is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442, USA or send a CompuServe message via email to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. FAX: 616-788-2765. _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER ***************************************************************************** * AVAILABLE SOFTWARE * ***************************************************************************** Other software which I've either written or contributed to: CIPHWN: Cipher for Windows. All the features of regular CIPHER but runs under the Microsoft Windows 3.x environment. EGATREK: Space strategy battle game, using full EGA graphics, based on the classic minicomputer game. Winner of Public Brand Software's 1988 software contest. MAHJONGG: Solitaire game played with Chinese tiles. Supports EGA and Hercules graphics; mouse optional. See reviews in December 1988 "PCWorld" and April 1989 "Compute!". SHOOT: "Shooting Gallery" tests your aim and reflexes in a number of different rounds of shooting. Uses MCGA graphics mode for 256 colors and and also requires a mouse. See review in "PC Magazine" vol. 9 #20. SUPERFLY: An action game using hi-res EGA/VGA graphics. Chase the flies and other insects through twenty different rounds. Includes three levels of difficulty, hall of fame, shell to DOS, etc. Keyboard/joystick/mouse supported. See review in "PC Magazine" vol. 10 #17. MOUSTOOL: A collection of utilities for Turbo Pascal programmers wishing to incorporate mouse input in their programs. Sample programs included for both EGA and CGA graphics. Used extensively within CIPHER. SOUNDPAS: A collection of utilities for Turbo Pascal programmers to add music and sound effects to their programs. Includes units for interrupt and real time sounds. BASSTOUR: (Written by Dick Olsen). Game that simulates a fishing tournament, including rod and lure selection. Runs in EGA/CGA/MCGA/Hercules graphics modes. Uses many of the utilities from MOUSTOOL. Do not order this game from me; for more information contact: Richard Olsen, 68 Hartwell Avenue, Littleton, MA 01460. BASSMAP: Companion program for BassTour which allows lakes to be created or modified. EGA and CGA versions included. Requires BassTour or Bass Class. CALLDOOR: A PCBoard 14.x door that lets users view the system caller log. Logs for any node can be viewed in reverse order (i.e., most recent caller back) or the logs can be searched for any string. WAITDV: A sysop's utility that allows synchronizing of nightly house keeping events on a multinode system. WAITDV was written especially for systems running under DESQview: it's DV-aware so the active task runs much faster than it would if a non-aware wait utility was used. TOPPERS: A PCBoard 14.x sysop utility that generates a formatted list of the board's top users (by number of calls, downloads and uploads). The output file has three columns, one for each category. Graphics and non-graphics output is available. TOPTALK: A PCBoard 14.x sysop utility that tracks user activity in conferences based on number of messages posted. Included is a complete record of all user activity plus a bulletin file of the top ten most active message posters. GROUPERS: A PCBoard 14.x game door. Players gamble on the outcome of the next card drawn from the deck. The game is set up to run as a monthly contest and keeps track of current scores, generates a current scores bulletin and an end of month final scores bulletin. - - - - - CIPHER is copyright (c) 1990-1991 by Nels Anderson. All rights reserved.