300 Favorite Games/300GAMES.iso/307/readgin.txt

Text File | 1996-10-05 | 24KB | 537 lines

Gin Rummy (Version 4.2) - READGIN.TXT
=====================================

Introduction
------------
Gin Rummy is probably the best known member of the Rummy family of
card games.

You play against the computer, which can be set to use a number of
different skill levels.  At Champion and Master levels, the
computer is hard to beat and provides a very challenging game.

Customizable features include:
    Colors
        Sound effects
        MIDI music
        Speech synthesized messages
    Card backs
    Screen resolution and custom resizing
        Card sizes
    AutoMouse (moves mouse pointer automatically)
    Opponent skill level
        Rule variations

System Requirements
-------------------
To use Gin Rummy you need Microsoft Windows 3.1 and a mouse.
Gin Rummy also has been tested with no problems under Windows '95.

An Intel 486 class system or better with 8 megabytes or more of
RAM is the optimum configuration.  An Intel 386 class system with
4 megabytes of RAM is considered to be the minimum.  Gin Rummy has
not been evaluated on less capable systems, but should present no
problems other than responsiveness and speed.

You are recommended to take advantage of the comprehensive help
file information in order to learn how to play Gin Rummy.  Perhaps
the best first step to learning Gin Rummy is to use the "Assistant
| AutoPlay" option and watch the computer play against itself.

Installation
------------
The installation requirements are that all supplied files reside
in the same directory except that VBCTL3D.VBX and WSPLIB20.DLL
are to be placed in the windows\system directory.  Also,
VBRUN300.DLL must be present in your path (typically in the
windows\system directory).  VBRUN300.DLL should be downloaded
separately if you don't already have it on your system.

To use the sound effects and Speak-To-Me capability, you must
either have a sound card installed in your system, or have the
speak.exe driver installed to use your system's regular speaker.
Speak.exe is a freely distributed product from Microsoft, and is
available on most online services and bulletin board systems.
Gin Rummy is distributed with a few sound files, others may be
obtained from libraries on most online services and bulletin board
systems.  To enable sound effects, you must check "Enable" from
the "Sounds Effects" option under the "Configuration" menu.
Remember to "Save Configuration" to make the setting permanent.

Midi music files are not distributed with Gin Rummy for copyright
reasons.  You may acquire these from regular online sources.  You
will probably find canyon.mid in your Windows directory as this is
distributed with Windows by Microsoft.

Note that some systems are unable to handle midi music and other
sounds at the same time.

Registration
------------

Gin Rummy is shareware, and is fully functional.  You may evaluate
this program for a period of 21 days after which you must register
it or remove it from your system.  To not comply with this
condition is a violation of United States and international
copyright law.

To register Gin Rummy, please use the printable order form under
the "Help" menu of Gin Rummy.  The cost of registration for the
version you are currently evaluating is $15.  If you are unable to
print the order form, please make sure that you:

1. Specify that you are registering Gin Rummy
2. Include sales tax if you are a Massachusetts resident
3. Enclose a check drawn on a U.S. bank, or an international money
   order, for the correct amount, in U.S. funds, payable to Carol
   Bufton

We return checks made out incorrectly, or drawn on a non-U.S.
bank.

You will receive your registration code by mail.  The registration
code is encoded from your name, so be sure to provide your name
exactly as you wish to be registered.

If you require a diskette (3╜" only), add $5 making the total cost
$20.  The diskette version may contain a later version of Gin
Rummy if improvements have been made since the release of your
evaluation copy.  Because we cannot track which versions are
currently available at what locations, it is possible that Gin
Rummy will have been updated since your evaluation copy unless
you downloaded a recent version from CompuServe, America Online,
or the MeggieSoft Games worldwide web site at:
                 http://members.aol.com/meggiesoft

Please allow 28 days for your registration to arrive, although
every effort will be made to mail your registration within 5 days.
Your registration code licenses you to use the version of Gin
Rummy that you are currently evaluating, irrespective of which
is the latest version currently available on America Online,
CompuServe, our web site, or registered diskette.  Your
registration may also be valid for future versions as they become
available.

Note that Version 4 was not a free upgrade.  Existing registered
customers may upgrade and receive a new registration code for a
fee of $8.00.  See the "Upgrade" option under the "Help" menu.

You may not share your registration code with others.  Your
registration permits you and other users to use Gin Rummy on any
single-user computer system. You may also use Gin Rummy on any
other computer system of which you are the primary user, such as a
laptop.

Distribution
------------
You may distribute Gin Rummy to others provided that you derive no
revenue other than that associated with the act of distribution,
provided you make it clear that Gin Rummy is shareware, and
provided that you distribute the following, and only the following,
files intact and unaltered:

        READGIN.TXT  - This file
    GINRUMMY.EXE - The program
        GINRUMMY.HLP - The help file
    RUMCRD1.WMF  - The small card images
    RUMCRD2.WMF  - The regular card images
        RUMCRD3.WMF  - The large card images
        RUMCRD4.WMF  - The extra-large card images
        VBCTL3D.VBX  - The Visual Basic 3D Effects extension
        WSPLIB20.DLL - The WinSpeech function library
        GENERAL.WSD  - The WinSpeech dictionary
        USENM11A.WSF - The WinSpeech voice font
        VBRUN300.DLL - The Visual Basic Runtime (if desired)

To the best of our knowledge, the wav sound files may also be
distributed freely.

Revision History
----------------
Version 1.x  - Development versions.

Version 2.0  - Beta test version

Version 2.1  - First shareware release.  Fully functional.

Version 2.2  - Minor improvements and problem fixes.

Version 2.3  - Improved opponent skill algorithms

Version 3.0  - Custom card backs
             - "Trim Corners"
             - "AutoMouse - Dialogs"
             - "Series Scoring"

        3.01 - Maintenance release

        3.02 - Maintenance release

Version 3.2  - "No Layoff On Gin" changed to "Layoff On Gin"
             - "Display Deadwood"
             - Expanded "Hint"
             - Double-click discard
             - "Check Meldable Discard"
             - "Check Missed Layoff"
             - "AutoSave"
             - "AutoStart"

Version 3.3  - Trapping and ignoring a double-clicks
             - Manual arrangement of cards in player's hand
             - "No Sorting"
             - "Ace Can Meld High"
             - "Ellwood Gin"
             - "No Bell"
             - "Display Error Box"

Version 4.0:
     Display - Enhanced 3D cosmetics for main display window, plus
               cleaner overall appearance and expanded use of
               status bar.
             - Almost all texts now displayed "unbolded" to be
               more consistent with the Windows '95 interface (and
               to make more room on the status bar).
             - Improved handling of "Large Fonts" display mode.
             - 3D-Effects updated to improve cosmetics when
               running under Windows '95.
             - Dialog background color can now be changed.  This
               affects status bar displays, messages, and some
               information displays.  This has been introduced
               primarily to assist sight-impaired users who find
               black on gray difficult to read.
             - Default dealing method is now card-by-card to add
               realism.  A "Quick Deal" option is added to the
               "Configuration menu for users who prefer the
               previous "instant" display method.
             - New style dialog boxes now include "Assist" button
               when error messages are displayed in a dialog box.
             - New "On-Screen" scoresheet displays all round
               scores for the current game, plus the running
               totals for the current round and current game.
             - New color configuration facility showing changes on
               screen as they are previewed.
             - Other on-screen counters moved to status bar.
             - Scoremasts now display player name and opponent
               skill.
             - Gin Rummy main window is now dynamically resizable.
             - Enhanced configuration options now support four
               screen resolution sizes (640x480 to 1280x1024) plus
               custom resizing.
             - Enhanced configuration options now support four
               different card sizes (Small, Regular, Large, Extra
               Large).  These can be set to change automatically
               with changes to the window size.
             - "Knock" display highlighting when Oklahoma rules
               are in effect and points will be doubled.
             - "Deadwood" display highlighting when deadwood
               count is displayed and player is able to knock.

   Interface - Added support for single-button and non-standard
               mouse properties by treating use of the ALT key
               with the left mouse button as being equivalent to
               the right mouse button.
             - Added "Drag and Drop" capabilities for moving cards
               between the stock, discard area, player's hand, and
               melds.
             - Added ability for player to set aside cards as a
               separate group to the right of the player's main
               hand.  This permits meldable cards to be grouped
               separately from the main hand, for example.
             - The top card of the stock is now displayed when the
               mouse is clicked down and "taken" when the mouse
               button is released.  This permits the user to view
               the card at their own pace.
             - New status bar button to invoke Assist! (instead of
               clicking on the status/error message).

   Assistant - Assistant menu now has "Recall" and "Deduce"
               options to display information based upon which
               cards have been seen by the player, and where.
             - Assistant menu now has "Show Distribution" option
               to display a map of all known (by the player) card
               positions.

       Sound - Added support for playing MIDI music files with
               single, repeat, cycle and random play options.
             - Added "shuffle" and "play card" sound effects.
             - Added "Speak-To-Me" synthesized speech capability
               (provided via PC Wholeware's WinSpeech program).

       Logic - Rewritten opponent logic for taking discards,
               knocking and discarding. Used by the opponent,
               AutoPlayer, and hint suggestions.  The new logic is
               a little slower on the higher skill levels, but
               should be more challenging.
             - Improved Suggest (hint) facility which also allows
               automatic execution of the suggested sequence.

       Rules - "Must Gin" option requiring that one only knock
               when all ten cards can be laid down as melds.

  Miscellany - "AutoMouse" options moved to "Player" menu.
             - Enhanced AutoPlayer information displays of points
               in hand, etc.
             - Various minor improvements.
             - Some maintenance fixes.

       Price - The registration fee has increased to $15 ($20 with
               diskette) and a new registration coding introduced.
               Previous registration codes are not valid for this
               version.  See the "Help" menu for an upgrade form.

Version 4.01 - Maintenance release
             - Fixed problem with misreported player deadwood
               count.
             - Fixed problem with Ace not being able to be melded
               high by the player.
             - Fixed problem where Ace deadwood value was
               incorrectly calculated when Ace Can Be High is
               selected.
             - Fixed errors in help file (Rules Menu section)

        4.02 - Maintenance release
             - Fixed problem with "cut for deal" display at larger
               screen resolution sizes.
             - Fixed the occasional "Invalid Property Value"
               problem caused by missing fonts.  Gin Rummy will now
               warn of the condition, but text display will be
               ugly.
             - Fixed (hopefully) the occasional "Type Mismatch"
               problem.

        4.03 - Maintenance release
             - Fixed problem with not allowing player to lay off
               all cards in hand when opponent has knocked.
             - Finally tracked down and fixed the "Type Mismatch"
               problem.
             - Improved handling of situation when "Speak-To-Me" is
               enabled when WinSpeech location is not correctly
               defined.
             - Altered shuffle method to overcome reports of same
               hands sometimes being redealt.
             - Added shuffle after cut for deal to ensure player
               doesn't take advantage of card positions in the
               deck.

        4.04 - Maintenance release
             - Fixed problem where Hall Of Fame scores were not
               being correctly reported.

        4.05 - Maintenance release
             - Corrected default WinSpeech program name to be
               "wspeech.exe".
             - Fixed problem where WinSpeech details were not
               correctly recovered after having been changed.
             - Fixed problem where Music details were sometimes
               not correctly updated after having been changed.
             - Display of cards dealt now in order (non-dealer
               receives first card) to improve realism.
             - Corrected window positioning when window size
               equals screen resolution setting.
             - Updated help file and order form to accomodate
               release of Pinochle.
             - Fixed problem of Hall Of Fame being incorrectly
               displayed when "Speak-To-Me" option is
               enabled.
        4.06 - Maintenance release
             - Detects "Invalid File Format" message related
               to old VBCTL3D.VBX and directs user accordingly.
             - Detects invalid sound file definitions and
               ignores sound instead of giving "Bad File Name"
               message.
             - Fixed failure to show "True Corners" on some
               melded cards.
        4.07 - Fixed problem where card display in player's
               hand was sometimes not correctly refreshed when
               highlighting and melding.
               Changed shuffle method to attempt to circumvent
               very rare reports of the same cards being dealt
               repeatedly.
        4.08 - Tracked down and fixed reshuffle problem between
               rounds.

Version 4.1  - Fixed problem of sometimes not detecting ability
               to layoff last card after opponent lay-down.
             - Fixed occasional problem of opponent declaring
               that it wants the discard and then either
               offering it to the player or taking a card from
               the stock.
             - Fixed problem of card sometimes not appearing in
               player's hand after electing to take discard
               refused by opponent.
             - Incorporated WinSpeech technology as an
               integral part of Gin Rummy.  WinSpeech is
               licensed by MeggieSoft Games from PC WholeWare.
             - Speak-To-Me facility now includes ability to
               change pitch, tempo, and volume.
             - Changes to file selection facility for music and
               sound effect files.
Version 4.2  - Added rule options for Run Melds and Rank Melds
               only.  With these options, melds are respectively
               limited to runs or same rank only.
             - Improved handling when missing speech file is
               detected.
             - Fixed problem of abrupt exit from File Selector
               when a referenced directory has been removed.


Frequently Asked Questions
--------------------------

Q. In what programming language is Gin Rummy written?

A. Microsoft Visual Basic.  See the "For The Technically Curious"
   section of the help file for more information.


Q. Where did the name "MeggieSoft Games" come from?

A. See "Help | About" when running Gin Rummy.


Q. Why do I get an "Invalid File Format" message when I try to run
   Gin Rummy?

A. Because there is an older, and incompatible, version of
   VBCTL3D.VBX on your hard disk.  Gin Rummy is loading this
   rather than the version distributed with Gin Rummy.  Make sure
   that the copy of VBCTL3D.VBX distributed with this version is
   present in your \windows\system directory and make sure you
   delete any older copies of VBCTL3D.VBX which are on your system
   (possibly in the directory where you previously kept Gin Rummy,
   or your \windows directory).

   [If you have multiple programs on your system which use
   VBCTL3D.VBX and they require different versions of VBCTL3D.VBX,
   you can install a copy of the required version in the same
   directory as each program that requires it.  Such a copy will
   be loaded in favor of the "central" copy in the /windows/system
   directory.]


Q. Why does my mouse not work correctly in Gin Rummy?

A. We have had a couple of reported instances of this problem, but
   we are unable to replicate it or guess at what the problem
   might be.  One customer found that the problem disappeared when
   he upgraded from Microsoft Windows 3.1 to Windows for
   Workgroups 3.11.  We therefore surmise that this problem is
   system configuration dependent in some way.


Q. What happens if Gin Rummy causes system messages, "bombs out",
   or freezes?

A. These problems are almost always to do with the way your system
   memory is configured or managed.  Check that you have around
   450K minimum of low memory available and that your memory
   manager (e.g., EMM386) is not causing the conflict.  Gin Rummy
   is quite intensive in its use of system resources and runs on
   99% of customers' systems without problems. However, sometimes
   such problems are reported, and all we can do is offer the
   advice noted here.


Q. Why do I get white rectangles displayed where the cards should
   be (and other strange behavior)?

A. Very occasionally we receive reports of this problem, which is
   a result of your graphics configuration not being able to load
   and/or display the card images.  If your graphics card is
   manifesting such problems, try setting the number of colors it
   displays to 256, or even 16.  Alas, there is little we can do
   about this situation without severely comprising Gin Rummy's
   display speed, since this is predicated upon holding relatively
   large card image maps in memory.  However, you might find that
   an updated driver is available for your graphics card if you
   contact your system manufacturer.


Q. Why do I get "subscript out of bounds" error messages and/or
   see Gin Rummy start to behave erratically?

A. Gin Rummy is designed to respond to single mouse-clicks, not
   double-clicks.  In earlier versions it was possible to trip
   Gin Rummy if it reacted to the second click before it had
   finished processing the first click.  In versions 4.3 and
   later, Gin Rummy traps and ignores extra clicks when it is
   busy.


Q. I have my graphics display set to "Large Fonts".  Why are some
   of the fonts displayed smaller?

A. Many graphics drivers (particularly for Windows 95) alter the
   Twips parameter of the display in order to display everything
   larger - not just the fonts.  Gin Rummy compensates for this by
   shrinking some of the font sizes on those windows which display
   card images, particularly the main playing window.  While this
   makes everything fit the result is not as attractive as when
   "Small Fonts" is the enabled graphics display mode.


Q. How do I permanently change the default colors or card designs?

A. Set up the screen as you want the defaults to be.  Then select
   the "Save Configuration" choice from the "Configuration" menu.
   Consult the help file for more information.


Q. Does Gin Rummy cheat by peeking at the player's cards?

A. No!  However, at the higher skill levels, Gin Rummy will
   remember what you have picked up from the discard pile, and
   will also make probability estimates of which unseen cards
   might be in your hand versus the stock.


Q. Why didn't you respond to the suggestions for enhancement I
   made?

A. Our first priority is to provide a quality game at the lowest
   possible price and this prevents us from entering into much
   personal correspondence.  Most suggestions are incorporated
   into the next version of Gin Rummy. This is our way of
   responding positively to your suggestions.


Q. Why don't you accept credit cards or online registrations
   through CompuServe, for example?

A. Again, our first priority is to provide a quality game at the
   lowest possible price and thus we keep our overheads to a
   minimum.  With respect to online registration, our customers
   obtain Gin Rummy from a wide variety of sources and it would be
   impractical for us to offer different registration means for
   each source.


Q. I am a shareware distributor.  How do I obtain permision to
   distribute Gin Rummy to my customers?

A. As noted earlier in this file, permission is automatically
   granted provided you distribute only the files noted herein.
   Include VBRUN300.DLL if your customers might not otherwise have
   it on their systems.


Q. I am a software developer.  Are you able to share any of the
   Gin Rummy program code?

A. No.  All Gin Rummy code is proprietary to MeggieSoft Games,
   except for the third-party components which are described in
   the help file (in the section called "For The Technically
   Curious").


Q. Does MeggieSoft Games market any other games?

A. Rummy 500 was our first offering, released in August 1994.
   We released Gin Rummy, our second product, in February 1995.
   Our third game is Pinochle which was first released in July
   1996.  See the help file for more details regarding Rummy 500
   and Pinochle.


Gin Rummy  ⌐ MeggieSoft Games 1995, 1996.  All Rights Reserved.