• Any Macintosh with System 7 or higher (68030 recommended)
• A monitor with a resolution of at least 640x400 (not guaranteed to work on a smaller screen)
• At least 256 Colors or 16 shade grayscale recommended
• At least 2 megabytes of free memory
• Sound Manager 3.0 recommended, but not required
Playing Short Circuit
The Short Circuit package should contain the following files:
Short Circuit v1.2.1
Short Circuit README
Update History
GAME PLAY
Short Circuit is an action puzzle game where quick thinking is a must. The goal is to clear the board of all tiles within the allotted time. There are a total of 33 levels, divided into 8 different worlds. Each world has a different characteristic, where you have to reach to find out!
The Short Circuit board is divided into two parts. The play area is where the tiles appear and arranged.
Right below it is the control panel. It displays the score, world/level, time remaining and a message output. Also, the gadget buttons are accessible from here as well.
Clearing the board requires the following:
• Tiles can only be removed in pairs
• Tiles should be exactly alike
• The pair of tiles must be in a circuit
- A circuit is a connection between two tiles with an unobstructed path
- The path cannot be blocked by other tiles
- The path must be a straight line with zero, one or two 90° angles, which means it can be either one, two or three lines
Clicking on a tile will select it. If a tile is already selected and you click on another tile, it will check whether it fulfills the rules above. If so, the pair of tiles will disappear.
Clicking on the same tile again will deselect it.
GADGETS
There will be situations wherein a board cannot be cleared entirely using the rules above. On the right hand side of the control panel, there are three gadgets that can improve your chances of winning.
Use them wisely, however, as you have only a finite number of usages for each gadget. To use a gadget, click on its icon in the panel.
You start with three of each gadget and this will increase after each world. Depending on the level of difficulty level, you will get 3 more on easy, 2 more on medium and 1 more on hard.
Note: There will be situtations when there won't be any circuited pair of tiles and the search (magnifying glass) gadget will fail (you will be notified in the message area). In cases like these, use the test probe gadget or the zap gadget.
SCORING
Removing a pair gets 10 points. When the board has been cleared of all the tiles, the bonus will be calculated. 10 points will be awarded for each second remaining in the Easy level. In the medium level, 20 points are awarded. And in the Hard Level, 30 points are awarded.
For each mistake you make (e.g., tiles don't match, tiles aren't in a circuit), two points are deducted and some time off the timer.
MENU ITEMS
Apple Menu
About Short Circuit...
File
New Game
Start a new game
Load...
Bring up the file selector and load a saved game. If there is a game currently
running, it will ask whether you want to quit that game or not.
Save
Save As...
Save the current game and board. Save as... brings up a file selector. Save will
not bring up a file selector if a prior file was loaded.
Continue Game
Resume a paused game (a game is paused by pressing the space bar)
End Game
Quit game currently in progress and returns to the menu bar
Quit
Quit Short Circuit
Settings
Strategic Game
Toggle the strategic game setting. If this is checked, the game will be scored based on
the distance between tiles. The further away they are, the higher the higher the score.
Each tile space that separates the pair accounts for three points.
The timer does not run in the strategic game and there are no bonuses. However, the
opportunity to score points are still there.
Also, you cannot switch between the strategic and action games while a game is in progress.
It would be too easy to cheat in this situation :)
Sound
Toggle sound effects play
Background Music
Toggle background music play
Volume
The game volume can be set from Off(no sound) to 8(Maximum)
Difficulty Level
The amount of time given per level can be set by this menu. It can be set to either easy,
medium or hard. Setting to easy sets the timer to a lengthy amount of time, while hard sets it
to a shorter amount of time.
Animation Speed
There are three animation speed settings. The more animation detail there is, the slower the
animation. This is a disadvantage, scoring wise, since the timer is in real time.
Low detail/Fast
Medium detail and speed
High detail/Slow
Use Grayscale Tiles
Some tiles are hard to distinguish in a non-color monitor. Checking this item will enable the use
of grayscale tiles instead. This setting can be checked at any time during the game, but will take effect
only when the game is restarted or when the next level appears.
Keyboard Config
Configure the gadget keys. Select and enter a key for each gadget to activate it.
The return, tab keys and a few other keys are not accepted, however.
Misc
Show Help
Displays the help window for game rules and examples
Show Top Ten
Show the top ten highest scorers
Clear Top Ten
Clear the top ten table
Shareware Notice
This software is shareware. Please send $10, if you like it. If you register, I can provide you with the following:
If you feel that there are things you'd like to see before you send your money, please send me e-mail.
Feedback is very important to me.
• Get rid of the notice and gain access to load/save and the strategic mode
• FREE upgrades to Short Circuit (if you have internet access)
• Notification of the latest version and other software
• Allows me to buy more tools for game development
Whatever your opinion is on this game, I would like to hear from you. I also have a home page from where you can get the latest version of this and other games I plan to write.
Contact Information
E-mail: Carl.Limsico@Sun.COM
Home Page: http://www.stanford.edu/~limsico
Snail Mail:
Carl Limsico
265 Gambier St.
San Francisco, CA 94134-1339
Thank you very much! Especially to the numerous people in the Mac programming newsgroups who have
provided me with useful information and encouragement and people who have sent in the registration to
support shareware!
Regards,
Carl Limsico 1/96
Legal Stuff
Unless explicitly stated in writing, I, Carl Limsico, do not grant permission to distribute the software for profit in any form, including but not limited to, electronic information service distribution, bulletin board distribution, and magnetic or optical medium distribution. Non-profit distribution of this software is acceptable without prior written notice, providing that the software is not modified in any way, and the complete works of the software are included in the distribution package.
I will not be held responsible for any damage to the user's computer system or data and in no event will I be responsible to the user for any consequential, incidental, or indirect damages (including damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information and the like) arising out of the use or inability to use this software product, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Because some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitations may not apply to you.
