Season's Greetings & Games Unlimited/UGOLD.bin/minerva/history.log

Text File | 1993-09-16 | 16.2 KB | 330 lines

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/* NOTE: started from source of Blowup in nic.funet.fi *******************/
/* log ********************************************************************

Coding:
- error messages into own function, re-outlined code, _lots_ of comments
- rewrote command line argument handler and fixed fatal startup bug
- less cryptic variable names (struct members and macros had equal names)
- clear upper left corner for starting place
- header file
- (SQUARE).marked overflow fixed (not bug, but question of principle)
- removed open_near_squares() since I couldn't understand it
- struct bit-fields (use less memory)
- split some functions to smaller and more specialized ones
- fixed (finally) a serious bug in counting safe squares
- added keyboard control for cursor (my mouse got broken...)
- lots of defines to make it easy to move fields (buttons) around
- game options (3 sizes, 4 levels)
- keyboard shortcuts
- removed command line options (temporarily)
- status flags
- redundant error checking "just in case"
- radio buttons functional
- time checking into own function to let time progress all the time
- split code to several files (too big to compile in one piece)
- added possibility to CHEAT, always noticed and marked as CHEATing (now..)
- quit and new buttons functional
- open_near_squares() back, different approach, same idea (game too easy now)
- command line options back
- control from status word to several flags
- dialogs functional
- keep only common dialog image to save memory
- stack overflow when reveal in easy+large -> double stack size
- keyboard buffer fills up too fast, thanx to "keep cursor inside minefield"..
- rewrote command line handling and error/exit routines
- generic function handle_dialog() works!
. pointer to structure, whose member is a pointer to array of static void
  function pointers, and this is passed as an argument from outside of file :-)
- menubar and menus functional
- hierarchical submenus 1. level functional (some really wasteful code..)
- memory allocation problems: some fatal, all mysterious
- Hall of Fame dialog lookalike
- removed most of status bar to make menus more important
- First software review session! Some nice feedback and suggestions
- icon drawing functions take now absolute coordinates -> replace old w/macros
- unite all 3 functions that checked keyboard input
- get rid of memory allocation problem by not allocating memory
. free everything as soon as possible == before smthng else is allocated
. don't try to free memory, which you didn't allocate!!
- optimized menu code and reduced structures by half
- more memory management (pre-allocated template memory + flags)
- save settings between sessions
- highscore functional
- cheating enabled - not marked as cheating for testing purposes
- "portable" ANSI C RNG
- can't change country settings, not even w/direct BIOS call..
- trouble in redefining colors
. red and brown are same color in my color editor!?!
  (actually brown doesn't function and red is used in place of both)
. setting 16 16-color pages gives 4 color pages
. setting 4 64-color pages gives 1 color page
- HAA! Now remember this: when totally mysterious, weird and unpossibly
  crashes happen, increase stack size!!!
- can't test from compiler due lack of memory (anything related to score)
- compiler used to optimize my pseudo Result Generator Algorithm away. Fixed.
- check for read-only diskettes -> lots of trouble
- Thanx Harri! First BETA-tester ;-)
. added flag to prevent creation of mines.def and mines.hof files
. some noise added: 4 beeps
- amount of extended memory (still needs to get free/used)
- easier system-generated scores (too easy now.. how to please everybody?)
- I printed all the code, removed some redundant code and fixed some bugs
. remember: mpage changed all TAB -> CR == restarted printing at 1st column
. (FLAGS)now structure to 14 unsigned ints. Faster code, uses more memory.
. fixed bug in restoring last used level. Would've never occured since it
  is 2 bit field and all possibilities are used, but still it was a bug..
. fixed bug in handling Score dialog w/keyboard. I forgot to enable it.
. found out why Score got zeroed sometimes.. real stupid, counting lenght
  of string instead of size of memory buffer. Fixed.
- "Ask, and it shall be given to you"
. 2 ways to reset score: all via menu and some via button in Score Dialog
. all levels now easier
. statusbar is now 3 buttons, shift reverses operation in size/level
- small changes
. SHADOW no more part of dialog
. cursor centering faster
. fixed debug detection of changed amount of free memory (finally)
- between summer holiday and Finnish army refreshment camp
. one or two flags
. mark default button (Bug: draws over cursor. Fix: don't use moving line)
. Mac cursor + blown-up cursors
. superclick by stepping on opened square (unsafe)
. statusbar now works w/mouse only: step forward and mark backward
. more general radiobutton grouping/handling
. default button
- BUG2: pressing ESC while menu is open.. disabled.
- new ToDo list (lots to do :)
- more general menu creation
- superclick now safe, auto-stepping and auto-marking.. too easy to play
- BUG2: ESC works correctly with all menus
. it's so incredible simple I wonder, if it really works..
- generic check_text_input() for getting user input
- color editor finally works (crossing my fingers..)
. palette saved in a file and read at start up
. take 2: when mysterious and weird errors happen, REBUILD the whole PROJECT
. sleep it over and try again next morning.. well, later same day actually :)
. edit one file at a time and if you redefine a structure REBUILD all PROJECT

Graphics:
- tested 2-page drawing -> faster, but max available resolution decreased
- enable mouse for full screen all the time -> lots of trouble! (fixed)
. keep mouse always in sight == allowed area smaller than screen
. mouse routines in assembler just for the fun of it..
. mouse available for the whole program execution time
- support only VGA 640x480x16
- speedup screen update w/runtime square templates and specialized functions,
  removed unnecessary drawing on screen and prohibit writing over cursor
. program response time should be now fast enough
- buttons in statusblock for fast selecting
- identify keyboard shortcut keys in button names (color, highlight)
- smooth working radio buttons (no flicker, works even with keyboard)
. now Mac compatible (not selected, maybe selected, selected)
- try to speed graphics with code from Richard F. Ferraro's book (video.asm)
- new and quit buttons
- new colors for mine numbers (bright to dark)
- possibility to check the minefield layout for testing purposes
- save and restore old screen background color (just in case)
- dialogs have shadow to make them look 3D
. raise up front to catch attention
- changed solid background to interleaved to stress eyes less
- cursor flickers no more (mouse_hide for longer periods)
- can choose either lefthanded or righthanded cursor
- it sure is hard to make menus:
. 3D mine amount numbers
. new flags (different shapes for color blind people)
. different looks (metal, grass, sea)
- when using keyboard to move cursor, keep it inside minefield
. shift+arrow keys can move cursor outside
- menubar and menus look and behave pretty well..
. all 3D
. popup hierarchical submenus
- separate help menu + many new and bigger help dialogs
- status block at top of screen (better now)
- bigger squares -> smaller max minefield area
- always center minefield
- radio buttons in highscore work now with mouse and keyboard
- lots of and even more small cosmetics fixes while writing The Report
- second and last Review (lots of to fix):
. visualize mouse buttons w/mouse pictures
. OK button to dialogs (== only exit)
. menus to work with keyboard (how OS/2 works?)
. enter user name in DOS text mode to get a _blinking_ cursor
. help dialog items in order of usage (?)
- Marking dialog final (first version)
- OK button into Score dialog
- Postcard dialog final
. pixel image of Finland as a stamp
- "About This PC" dialog
. current country (27 different)
. RAM memory bar
- rewrote About, Credits, Rules dialogs
- delay in score dialog, when pressing the Exit button w/keyboard
- submenus work now as expected, not as I preferred
- Thanx Harri! First BETA-tester ;-)
- a real nasty looking bug when using menus w/mouse and keyboard. Fixed.
- sticky menus (should be optional)
. changed code in 3 places, remember when restoring normal menus
- active menu item marked (only one per menu, only in submenus)
- mouse moves closer to 1:1 resolution and faster (too slippery?)
- first BUG(!) report (Björn Karlsen) - MineValue justification fixed
- exploding mines damage cursor
- options dialog + some new options for it + all old enabled
- something small but visual for 1.0d release
. new score highligted on HighScore dialog
. Sea exterior has waves
. 2nd credits dialog
. safe superclick shows squares, which were about to be stepped/marked
- Color editor
. BGI calls to get it done fast (changing palette slow == misses function)
. sliders not fully functional
. should do getcolor() inside sample window
. undoc feature: mark_button while pressing Default == sum colors to Gray Scale
- it's raining so I can't cycle to university to upload 1.0d..
. inactive horizontal bar in menu to separate dangerous/group items
. in statusbar "Mines" title should've been and is now "Flags"
. Hint: moves cursor on safe square. Asking adds time (squares/10), will
  randomly search (squares/10) time and then in order from bottom right
  corner one row at a time.. still raining..
. fixed a bug w/pressing mouse buttons w/keyboard (ctrl-left/ctrl-right)

To-Do:
Version 1.0
- menus to work with keyboard (close!)
- startup screen (320x200x256 GIF, external)
- logout screen == nag (postcard dialog) (exit w/8 bit on didn't work ?!?)
- better sounds == tunes (2 requests, one for no sounds at all)
- yet again the ******** Random Score Generator algorithm...
. user can control the random score difficulty (shift/alt)
- save last used Record name into mines.def
- HighScore and Defaults files are created in current directory
. get that PSP specs and allow 2 possibilities: current vs. program dir
  (in case someone runs this from CD disk or read-only network)
. does PSP work in OS/2? Windows 3.x/NT (Nice Try :)?
. some other user-defined directory
- faster get/putimage() (Ferraro)
- software cursor drawing and movement (ISR) (2 requests)
- maybe own mouse device driver..
. "Logitech Mouse Programmer's Reference Manual" has serial I/O timing and
  somewhere I saw the port data bit by bit
. beware Microsoft Mouse Programmer's Reference! I checked it <shudder>.
. howabout How to Build a Better Mousetrap? Try to check reviews
- Icon and .pif files for Windows users <sigh>

Version 2.0
- add the other minesweeper games:
. unix: try to get from top-left to bottom-right
. Gung-Ho (exploded mine == +5 sec)
. only flag mines (now: only find safe)
. check every square (to make the selection complete)
. find only mines == apples, hedgehogs etc. (empty square == +2 secs)
- Roman, Japanese, Chinese, Indian etc. numerals (anybody want?)
- screen dump into file (PCX)
- used OS identification (== 2 lines 4 OS) (dos,4dos,OS/2,Win,NT)
- highscore result error checking and crypting
- CRC checking to prevent virus infections

Version 3.0 (The Ultimate version)
- print directly a screen snapshot
. color, shades of gray, PostScript.. laser vs. matrix printer
- more menu type options: tear-off+floating (the difficult one)
- multilingual (separate language files + default build-in)
. Pioneeripeli Suomen Armeijan Pioneerikoululle (Kouvola)
- get rid of BGI libraries
- own font (6x6 and 8x8) + writing routines (Ferraro)
- change to text mode when requesting user name (8bit font)
. save plane 2
- you should see through dialog shadows
- cycle cursor color (done, but how to keep it not-black-nor-even-too-dark)
- continuous background music (LPT sounds and/or some soundcards)
. volume control: silent, low, medium, loud (control w/PC impossible?)
. VOC
- for superVGAs extra huge play area 1024x768x16
- automatic solving
- for more see "mines.all"

Bugs:
- only 7 bit font in graphics mode == no Scandinavian characters
- keyboard and mouse together at the same time -> still unwanted operations ?
- biosmemory() returns false data under DESQview says
  Dr.James T.Smith: "Advanced Turbo C" page 30
- fprintf doesn't detect write-protected diskettes, so I got into trouble:
. I use INT13 AH=10 to check, if drive is ready
. don't know if partition is on first hd (0x80) or second hd (0x81)
. need to study partition table, I saw sample code in some magazine..
. at the moment no harddisk read-access checked, use -f flag to prevent
  file creation, if necessary
- can't write on 720k floppy !?!
- too slow main loop: w/fast mouse mouse_up detected in wrong square
. use ISR

Graphical User Interface:
There's no standard for graphical DOS programs, so I can make it just right!

Study rivalling programs for "common" features:

Mine Field 1.0.1 (Macintosh) (John Lindal 1992)
Mine Sweeper 1.0 (Macintosh) (William Edward Woody 1991)
Mind Mines 1.2.2 (Macintosh)
MacMines 1.0 (Macintosh) (Cary Torkelson 1991)
Bombs 2.2 (Macintosh) (Christer Ericson 1991)
Saddam's Revenge 1.1a (Macintosh) (David B. Zwiefelhofer 1991)
Mines 1.01 (Macintosh) (Daniel T. Griscom 1988)
Hexmines 1.1 (Macintosh) (Ingemar Ragnemalm 1992)
Mines (SunTools) (Tom Anderson) (I know it exist, but haven't seen)
xbomb 1.2 (X11) (Matthew Merzbacher 1992) (read man page)
xtmines 1.2 (X11) (Timothy K. Tsai 1992) (read man page)
Mine Find 1.0 (DOS) (Edward Hengin 1993)
Minesweeper 3.1 (MS Windows 3.1 1992)

menubar: all but one had this (Mine Find had only buttons)
    Info (About, Preferences, Help)
    Game (New Game, Highscores, Sound, Quit)
    Level (Easy, Intermadiate, Hard, Impossible, Custom)
buttons: for fast select (Mine Find, Saddam's Revenge)
status_block: number of mines to be found and used time
icons: visualize game objects and actions (step, flags, mine, blowup, Saddam)
colors: backgroud    (blue: cool, water)
    minefield    (gray: neutral)
    warning flag    (red: danger, stop, heat)
    "possible flag"    (green: safe, go, alive)
    mine        (black: unknown, threat)
    number of mines nearby    (gradate from safe to danger)
sound: explosions, laugh (Saddam's Revenge!), step/mark square
animation: Saddam's Revenge, explositions

Object of game:
- to get from top left corner to lower right corner
- to find all mines (identify every square)
- to find all safe places

Other observations:
- HexMines has a different minefield layout (how about 3D..)
- xtmines has 3 granades to explode mines and 10 levels of playing
- all need mouse
- some can have several simultaneous games

Tony Rubin: "User Interface Design for Computer Systems"

- Lower cost PC based colour systems often offer only sixteen fixed colours,
in two rangers of eight, one brighter than the other. Only the darker range
can be used as a background.
- ways in which colour can help on a screen
1. emphasise the format and partitioning of information on screens eg. make
   title stand out or make scrollbars and icon easier to differentiate
2. draw attention to significant information such as warnings or a single
   target item to be detected
3. categorise information: by colour coding similar items, related information
   of interest can be easily be grouped by the user
4. locate information at different positions of quantitative scale, eg.
   gradation from blue yellows oranges to red could indicate temperature
5. associate headings with information, as on a graph key for example
- don't rely on colour coding alone: redundant coding
 . position, size, spatial pattern, temporal pattern, color
 . London Underground map (black and white versus color)
 . few distinct colors minimizes color confusion as redundant coding, too
 . some users are color deficient and will have trouble discriminating some
   colour combinations. Using redundant coding w/pattern, shape, size and
   contrast will be useful if not essential to them
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