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SHERLOCK 1.1
A Shareware game for EGA
Copyright 1991 Everett Kaser
All rights reserved.
May 11, 1991
This is a game of logic and deduction for the IBM PC family of
compatible computers.
REQUIREMENTS: IBM PC compatible computer with at least 512K of RAM.
EGA/VGA compatible display with at least 128K or RAM.
Microsoft compatible mouse.
The program will not function with CGA, MDA, or Hercules display
adapters, nor will it work without a mouse.
Sherlock is a game of deduction. It is your task, based upon the
information available in provided clues, to determine the locations
of 36 blocks. Every puzzle can be solved by using the clues to
eliminate possibilities until the location of a specific block can
be determined. Sherlock may be played by a SINGLE person, or a
TOURNAMENT may be set up, with each person in the TOURNAMENT
attempting to solve the same puzzle as quickly as possible. A
TIME LIMIT may be set if desired.
_________________________________
ALSO AVAILABLE FROM EVERETT KASER
________
SOLITILE is a game of solitaire, played with "tiles". It derives
from several similar games, such as "Shanghai", "Gunshy", and
"Mahjongg", which are played with Mah-Jong tiles. Solitile plays
the same game, but adds new starting layouts and the ability for the
player to create new layouts and/or modify the layouts provided. It
also uses new "westernized" pictures on the faces of the tiles.
Best with mouse, but works well from keyboard, too.
_____
SNARF is an arcade style game where you have to run around through
various mazes (levels) picking up treasure (rings and crowns) while
avoiding the Snarfs. You can shoot the Snarfs, but you only get points
for the treasure, not for the Snarfs. Each time you're touched by a
Snarf, you're "tagged". You start with a "tag count" of 50. Each time
you're tagged the count is decremented. If you get tagged when the
count is 0, the game is over. You can get "healed" at a first-aid
station (your tag count is pumped back up to 50). There are more
than 30 levels in the registered version of the game, and the user
can create more levels with the built-in Level Editor.
Print the file REGISTER.DOC for ordering information.
SHERLOCK is being distributed as SHAREWARE. You may use the program
for a period of 7 days, after which you must either register the
program with the author or stop using it. To register the program,
send $15 in U.S. funds to:
Everett Kaser
Sherlock
35405 Spruce St
Albany, OR 97321
A registration form is included to help with the registration process.
To print the file REGISTER.DOC, ensure that your printer is turned on,
that it's on-line, and then type:
PRINT REGISTER.DOC
Registered users may receive an update at any time by sending $5 to
the same address. Registered users may write or call at any time to
find out the latest revision date or to receive other support.
I can be contacted via U.S. Mail at above address, via email on
Internet at
hplabs!hp-pcd!everett or everett%hpcvlx@hplabs.hp.com
or by phone at (503) 928-5259 (not before 8:30am or after 9:30pm,
Pacific Time, please).
The game package, which MUST include the files SHERLOCK.EXE (the game),
SHERLOCK.DOC (this file), and REGISTER.DOC (the registration form) may
be freely copied and distributed. These three files may be re-archived
to better suit a given distribution system, but the files may not be
modified in any other way. No distributor may charge more than $6 for
the distribution of this program, and that fee in no way reduces the
shareware registration fee owed to the author by the user.
Bug reports, suggestions, and comments are always welcome.
__________________________________
I. GETTING STARTED: ABOUT THE GAME
This game is based upon a puzzle that I remember from my high school
days. In that puzzle you were told that there were six different
colored houses side-by-side, in a row. A person lived in each house,
and each person had a different pet, drank a different drink, drove
a different car, etc. Then you were given a list of clues, such as:
"The person who drinks orange juice lives next to the red house."
From the list of clues, you had to decide which things went where.
Sherlock implements basically the same thing, but done in a graphical
environment where you use the mouse to organize the clues, keep track
of possibilities and impossibilities, and mark the deduced locations
of objects. There are 65,536 different puzzles, enough to keep you
occupied well into the next century.
It would be best to start the program at this point, so you can refer
to the display and try things as you read through these instructions.
Before you get to the game display, you're faced with the either
the MAIN MENU or the PLAYER SELECTION display. If this is the first
time you've run Sherlock and your copy didn't come with a file called
SHERLOCK.CFG (it normally doesn't), then the PLAYER SELECTION screen
is displayed. At this point you MUST enter a NEW PLAYER name before
going further. Click either mouse button on the NEW PLAYER box, type
in your name, and then press the ENTER key. Next click either mouse
button on the DONE box. This will bring you to the MAIN MENU.
The MAIN MENU has a number of things to select from, most of which we
will ignore at this point. The items of primary interest are:
PLAY: this starts the game.
EXIT_TO_DOS: this exits the program.
Click either mouse button on the PLAY box. This will bring up the
game display. The program must first "generate" the current puzzle.
It does this by first randomly scrambling all of the items within each
row. It then generates random clues until there are sufficient clues
to correctly solve the puzzle. Lastly, it draws the board and clue
areas onto the display, at which point it's ready for you to begin
solving the puzzle.
The game display has four major areas:
1) The playing board which consists of six rows, each row containing
six related pictures (six people, six numbers, six different street
signs, etc). Initially, each location in a row shows all six
possibilities for that row as half-sized images. The half-size
indicates that they are only possibilities. When a row-column
location is inhabited by a single full-sized image, that indicates
that the block is (or is BELIEVED to be) located there. As you
deduce that an item can't be in a given square, the RIGHT mouse
button can be used to remove that possibility from that location.
When you've deduced that a specific item HAS to be at a specific
location, the LEFT mouse button can be used to signify it. The
correctness (or the incorrectness) of your deductions is not checked
or displayed until you have specified locations for all 36 items, at
which point the game is over, and you will have won or lost.
2) Below the playing board is a menu and information area. This area
lets you get back to the main menu, undo up to 25 of your most
recent actions, get a hint (which costs 30 seconds of "time"), or
see the clues that you have moved to the "OTHER CLUES" bank. This
area also displays the current player's name, the current game time,
and the current puzzle number.
3) To the right of the playing board is the "horizontal clue" area.
These clues show relationships between items that are in different
columns.
4) Across the bottom of the display is the "vertical clue" area. These
clues show relationships between items that are in the same columns.
______________
II. THE CLUES
There are two basic groupings of the clues.
Horizontal, or multi-column, clues consist of three pictures of blocks,
and they indicate how certain blocks are located relative to each
other when those blocks are in different columns.
Vertical, or single-column, clues consist of two pictures of blocks,
and they indicate either that two blocks ARE or ARE NOT in the same
column. Most puzzles will have some blocks that are not included in
any of the clues (there position becomes apparent through a process of
elimination). These are shown individually in the vertical clue area
for reference.
A third type of clue is the most helpful. Many puzzles will have from
one to three blocks shown at their actual positions on the board. When
this occurs, those blocks are not shown as possibilities at the other
locations in their rows, and they're shown as a large picture at their
actual location. These blocks cannot be moved or changed.
After reading through this description of the clue types, a good way
to get a feeling for how to apply the clues to solving the puzzles is
to use the hint feature to play all the way through a puzzle. In this
way the game will show you how it solves the puzzle.
--- VERTICAL CLUES ---
The first type of vertical clue is known as IS_SAME_COLUMN:
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ This clue tells us that the RED_HOUSE and the STOP_SIGN
³ ³ are in the same column. So, if we know where the
³ RED ³ RED_HOUSE is, then we know where the STOP_SIGN is,
³HOUSE³ since we always know what row a given block is in, and
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ this along with the known position of the RED_HOUSE
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ would tell us which column it's in. The reverse, of
³ ³ course, is also true. If we know where the STOP_SIGN
³STOP ³ is, then this clue tells us where the RED_HOUSE is.
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ Conversely, if the RED_HOUSE is known to NOT be in a
particular column, then this clue tells us that the
STOP_SIGN can't be in that column either, since they have to
both be in the same column. Also, if the STOP_SIGN can't be
in a given column, then the RED_HOUSE can't be in that column.
The second type of vertical clue is known as IS_NOT_SAME_COLUMN:
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ Imagine that the clue to the left has superimposed over
³ ³ it a red circle with a slash through it (the standard
³GOLDI³ symbol for DON'T or NO). This would indicate that
³LOCKS³ the S block is NOT in the same column as GOLDILOCKS
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ (and vice versa). This clue isn't of any use to you
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ until you know the location of one of the blocks. At
³ ³ that point, you can use this clue to eliminate that
³ S ³ column as a possible location for the other block.
³ ³
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ
Again, a single block appearing in a vertical clue by itself means that
block is not involved in any clues.
--- HORIZONTAL CLUES ---
The first and most common horizontal clue is known as IS_NEXT_TO:
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ This clue means that the 5 block and the
³ ³³ ³³ ³ GREEN_HOUSE block next to each other (the
³ 5 ³³GREEN³³ 5 ³ phrase "next to" means that they're in adjac-
³ ³³HOUSE³³ ³ ent columns; since they're different "types"
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ of blocks, they can't be in the same row).
But, the clue doesn't tell you whether the 5 is on the left of the
GREEN_HOUSE, or if the GREEN_HOUSE is on the left of the 5. That's
why the 5 is shown on both sides of the GREEN_HOUSE, because it's
next to the GREEN_HOUSE, but it could be on either the right or left.
The second horizontal clue type is known as IS_NOT_NEXT_TO:
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ Imagine that the NOT symbol (the red circle
³ ³³ ³³ ³ with the slash through it) is superimposed
³ 5 ³³GREEN³³ 5 ³ over the GREEN_HOUSE in this clue. This
³ ³³HOUSE³³ ³ would indicate that the GREEN_HOUSE is *NOT*
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ next to the 5, neither on the left or the
right. This clue is usually not of much use until the location of one
of the two blocks is known. At that point the other block can be
removed as a possibility from the adjacent columns.
The third horizontal clue type is known as IS_LEFT_OF:
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ This clue tells you that the DEAD_END sign is
³ ³³ ³³ ³ in a column somewhere to the left of the
³ DEAD³³ ... ³³ M ³ column in which the M is located. The DEAD_
³ END ³³ ³³ ³ END may be immediately adjacent to the M on
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ the M's left, or the DEAD_END may be in the
left-most column while the M is in the right-most column, or anywhere
between these two extremes. But, the DEAD_END is *NOT* in the same
column as the M, and the DEAD_END is not to the right of the M. The
three dots in the center block of the clue is being used as the
IS_LEFT_OF symbol.
The fourth (and generally most useful) horizontal clue is IS_BETWEEN:
<-------------> Imagine that the double-headed arrow is
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ actually superimposed over the tops of the
³ ³³ ³³ ³ three clue blocks. This clue means that the
³ L ³³APPLE³³BLUE ³ APPLE column is between the L and BLUE_HOUSE
³ ³³ ³³HOUSE³ columns, and that the L and BLUE_HOUSE columns
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ are immediately adjacent to the APPLE column.
However, the arrow means that the L could be on the left and the
BLUE_HOUSE on the right, *OR* the L could be on the right and the
BLUE_HOUSE on the left. This clue also tells you that the APPLE can
not be in the left-most *OR* right-most columns, since then it would
only have one adjacent column. Also, as soon as the location of any
one of these three blocks is known, then there are at most only two
possible locations for each of the other two blocks, either to the
right or left of the known block. This clue can also be used to
eliminate possibilities. For instance, suppose that the APPLE is still
shown as a possibility in the second column from the left, but neither
the L or BLUE_HOUSE is a possibility in the left-most column. Since
either the L or the BLUE_HOUSE *HAS* to be to the left of the APPLE
and neither of them can be (in this scenario), then the APPLE can't be
in the second column from the left.
The fifth (and last) horizontal clue type is IS_NOT_BETWEEN:
<-------------> Imagine that the double-headed arrow is
ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ actually superimposed over the tops of the
³ ³³ ³³ ³ three clue blocks, and that the red NOT symbol
³ L ³³APPLE³³BLUE ³ is superimposed over the APPLE. This means
³ ³³ ³³HOUSE³ that the L and the BLUE_HOUSE have one column
ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ between them (just as in the IS_BETWEEN clue)
and that the L could be to the left or to the right of the BLUE_HOUSE,
but the APPLE is *NOT* between them. Again, this clue doesn't tell us
anything about the location of the APPLE until the locations of both
the L and the BLUE_HOUSE are known. But, this clue does tell us that
the L and BLUE_HOUSE are two columns away from each other.
--- MANAGING THE CLUES ---
The clues can be moved around to better group them, so that clues with
common blocks can be placed together. To do this, use the mouse to
point to any one of the blocks in the clue. Press and hold either
mouse button, then move the mouse, dragging the block to its new
location (within that group of clues; you can't move a HORIZONTAL clue
to the VERTICAL clue group or vice versa). When it's positioned where
you'd like the clue to be located, release the mouse button. If the
new location was empty, the clue will be moved there. If the location
was not empty, all clues below and to the right will be moved "down"
to make room before the clue is moved.
Notice that if you select a clue block with the left mouse button that
the block remains full-sized. If you select the clue block with the
right mouse button, it becomes half-sized. Either way works fine for
moving clues. Should you realize that you've incorrectly removed a
block as a possibility from a given location on the board, you can use
the right mouse button to select the block from a clue and drag it to
the location on the board where you feel it should still be a possibil-
ity. You can similarly pick and drag possibilities from the board
itself. Usually, this feature won't be of much use, as UNDO is handier.
Another feature that is very useful in managing the clues is the
"OTHER CLUES" bin. Initially, all clues are shown on the display. You
can think of this as the "GAME CLUE" bin. As you play the game, some
clues will become "used". In other words, the clue will be of no
further use because all of its information has become used on the
board. You can click the right mouse button on the clue, and it will
disappear, moved to the "OTHER CLUES" bin. This keeps the "GAME CLUE"
bin as un-cluttered as possible, letting you focus just on the clues
that still have useful information.
However, you may occasionally move a clue to the "OTHER CLUES" bin
before you've actually used all of the information in the clue. The
"GAME CLUES" bin and the "OTHER CLUES" bin can be swapped by clicking
either mouse button on the "OTHER CLUES" menu box.
______________________
III. NOTES ON PLAYING THE GAME
The whole object of the game is to correctly locate all 36 blocks.
This is done through a process of deduction and elimination, using
the clues as a guide. When a clue tells you that a particular block
can not possibly be located at a particular square on the board, point
to the block with the mouse and then click the right mouse button. The
image of the block that you pointed to will disappear. When there's
only one small image left, it MUST be the block that is located at that
square. When that happens, point to it with the mouse and click the
left mouse button. The block will be made full-sized and all other
half-sized images of that block in the row will disappear.
Also, watch for situations where a particular block exists as a
possibility at only one location. This means that it HAS to be located
there, so it can be enlarged.
While you're first learning the game, in order to keep the mouse
buttons straight, think of the left button as BIG/KEEP and the right
button as SMALL/REMOVE.
In order to solve the puzzle, you must repeatedly scan through the
clues, testing each clue to see if it will eliminate any more possibil-
ities in each column. Each time you remove one possibility from the
board, that may cause other clues to become useful in removing further
possibilities. Remember, all boards are guaranteed to be solvable with
the provided clues.
When you locate the last of the 36 blocks the game is over, and the
program will tell you whether your deductions were correct or not.
--- HINT ---
The HINT menu box is a very good way to quickly get a feeling for how
the puzzles are solved. Click either mouse button on the HINT box.
The program will draw a box with a HINT in it, blinking a box around
the associated clue and an arrow pointing to the appropriate clue on
the board. When you click a mouse button a second time, the HINT box
goes away and the appropriate action for the HINT is automatically
performed for you (usually removing a possibility or locating a block).
So, by repeatedly clicking on the HINT menu box and reading the HINTs,
the program will teach you how to use the clues to solve the puzzles.
If you're trying to solve the puzzles as fast as possible, you should
use HINT very sparingly, as each HINT costs you 30 seconds. If you're
playing the game with NO TIME LIMIT, then 30 seconds is added to the
"game time". If you're playing with a TIME LIMIT, then 30 seconds is
subtracted from your remaining time. But, used at a critical point,
HINT can be used once or twice, very strategically, to get you past
a particularly difficult spot.
--- UNDO ---
Sherlock keeps track of the last 25 actions you've taken and can undo
those actions. If you realize that you've made a mistake, you can
repeatedly click on the UNDO menu box until you reach the point at
which you made the mistake (assuming that it was within the last 25
actions). UNDO cannot be UNDOne (except by repeating the action which
UNDO UNDid).
_______________________
IV. THE MAIN MENU
The Main Menu contains a number of options to allow you to configure
the game to your preferences. Any of the menu boxes is activated by
clicking either mouse button on the desired box.
--- PLAY/RESUME and RESTART ---
This box will say PLAY if the game has not been started yet. Clicking
on the PLAY box will cause the program to generate the next puzzle and
display it (this process can take anywhere from 3 or 4 seconds up to
20 seconds or more, depending upon the puzzle and the speed of your
computer). Once the game has been started, the player can return to
the Main Menu by clicking on the MENU box. At this point, the PLAY
box is re-labeled as RESUME, and a RESTART menu box is also shown.
RESUME will take you right back to your game. RESTART will start the
puzzle over in its initial state. Once a puzzle has been started,
the only Main Menu entry that will have any effect on a RESUMED game
is SOUND. TIME, COLORS, IMAGES, BACKGROUND, PUZZLE, and PLAYER are
modifiable, but only affect the configuration file and/or future
puzzles, and should generally only be changed in between puzzles. HELP
can be used at any time, as can RESUME, RESTART, and EXIT_TO_DOS.
--- PUZZLE ---
This box always shows the puzzle number that will be generated on the
next PLAY. Clicking on this menu box will allow you to specify a
different number. When you first start playing Sherlock, the puzzle
number will be 0. As each puzzle is solved, the game automatically
increments to the puzzle number. The current puzzle number for each
player is kept in the SHERLOCK.CFG file.
For tournament play, the game generates a random puzzle number, which
can be over-ridden with a specific puzzle number before the first
player starts, if desired.
--- PLAYER ---
This menu box always shows whether you're in SINGLE or TOURNEY play
mode. By clicking on the PLAYER menu box, you'll bring up the PLAYER
menu, which allows you to add new players, change the names of players,
remove players from the list, and select SINGLE or TOURNEY play mode.
If you look carefully, you will notice that the SINGLE or TOURNEY
menu box appears to be "pushed in". This indicates that that mode is
active. If you click on the other menu box, it will "go in" and the
previous one will "come out". If you click on SINGLE or TOURNEY when
its menu box is already "in", the program will just beep at you.
When in SINGLE mode, the name of the current player is highlighted.
A different player can be selected by pointing at the players name with
the mouse and clicking either mouse button.
When in TOURNEY mode, all of the names of those players who will be
participating in the tournament are highlighted. Again, players can
be selected or de-selected for participation in the tournament by
pointing at them with the mouse and clicking either mouse button.
When the SINGLE/TOURNEY mode and player(s) are selected, click either
mouse button on the DONE menu box to return to the main menu.
Each player can have his/her own set of configuration options, all of
which is saved in the SHERLOCK.CFG file. Each player can have a
different set of colors, background pattern, block images, time limit,
and sound. When a player is selected, his/her configuration is
automatically selected and used. Because of this, it's important that
you ensure that YOU'RE the selected player before you start changing
configuration information.
--- TIME ---
You can play the game with NO time LIMIT, in which case the game timer
starts at 00:00:00 and counts upward. However, you can also set a
time limit, in which case the game timer starts at that time setting
and counts downward. If the puzzle isn't solved before the timer
reaches zero, you lose.
When you click on the TIME menu box, it's replaced with a two-button
selection. Click on the desired item. If COUNT DOWN is selected,
you will be prompted to enter a time in HH:MM:SS format (that means
hours:minutes:seconds). At this point, use BACKSPACE and the number
keys (and the colon) to enter a new time, then press ENTER. If the
time is not in the correct format, the time limit won't be changed.
--- COLORS ---
This menu box will bring up another menu that allows you to select the
colors that you wish to be used for various parts of the game display.
By carefully selecting colors, you can come up with pleasing alternate
color schemes. (You can also come up with some really putrid schemes,
too!) To change colors, first point to the name of an item and click
a mouse button. This will cause that item to be outlined with a box.
Then, to select a new color for that item, point to the desired color
in the palette and click a mouse button. The color menu will then be
redrawn using that new color.
If you decide you've really botched things, you can use the ABORT
box to put things back to the way they were when you entered the color
menu and then exit back to the main menu. Alternatively, you can use
the INIT box to set the colors to the default settings that the program
uses. When finished editing the colors, click a mouse button on the
DONE box. The new color settings will be automatically saved in the
SHERLOCK.CFG file for the current player.
--- BACKGROUND PATTERN ---
This brings up a new menu which allows you to select from one of a
number of pre-made background patterns, shown on the right, or to
create your own pattern by clicking on the squares of the "zoom" box
on the left. The current pattern is shown in the box at the top of
the menu.
Again, ABORT will exit back to the main menu without changing the
background pattern, while DONE will save any changes in the
SHERLOCK.CFG file.
--- IMAGES ---
This allows you to modify the block images used in the game, or create
whole new sets. Initially, a menu comes up that shows all 36 blocks
along with the "empty" block. At this level, you can copy any block
image into a new location by pointing to the image you wish to copy,
then pressing and holding down a mouse button. Move the mouse to the
location where you want the image to be copied and then release the
mouse button. Of course, this over-writes the image that was at the
new location. This is most useful when creating a whole new set of
six images (a row). You can use the editor to create a common back-
ground image, then copy it to all six locations in the row. Then, you
can edit each of those to add the unique "foreground" image.
You enter the image editor by pointing the mouse at the image that you
wish to edit and clicking a mouse button. The image editor is then
brought up, which shows a "zoomed" image of the block, along with a
normal-sized and a half-sized image of the block. The current color
is shown by a white outline box in the palette area. You can change the
current color by pointing to a new color and clicking a mouse button.
You can change the color of a pixel by pointing to it in the "zoom" box
and then clicking either mouse button. It will be changed to the
current color.
You can "paint" by pointing to a desired area of the zoom box, then
press and hold the left mouse button. As you move the mouse around,
every pixel that the mouse points to will be changed to the current
color until you release the left mouse button.
You can draw lines using a rubber-band line by pointing to one end-
point of the line, then pressing and holding the right mouse button.
Now, as you move the mouse, a rubber-band line will follow the mouse,
anchored at the first point. No pixels are actually changed until you
release the right mouse button. At that point a line is drawn between
the two end-points using the current color.
There are menu boxes for ABORT, INIT, and DONE. ABORT will take you
back to the top-level image editing menu without saving any changes
you might have made. INIT will erase any changes you have made, set-
ting the image back to what it was when you entered the zoom editor.
DONE will take you back to the top-level image menu, saving the
changes you've made.
Also, there are four other menu boxes to aid you with your image
editing. REPLACE COLOR allows you to replace all pixels of one specif-
ied color with a second specified color. When prompted for the colors
you can point to them either in the zoom box or in the color palette.
The "H flip" and "V flip" will reverse the image horizontally or
vertically. "Clear to color" is useful when first starting a new
image; it sets the entire image to the current color.
Lastly, at the bottom-middle of the image editor there is a box that
is divided into four areas by a large X. Each area contains an arrow.
This is an "imaging shifter" control box. Each time you click on one
of the arrows, the image is shifted one pixel in that direction. This
is useful for centering an image that you've drawn, or for making the
half-size image look better. The half-size image is generated from
the full-size image by throwing away every other row and every other
column of pixels. Obviously, depending upon exactly which rows and
columns the pixels of an image are in, the half-size image may come
out looking very good or like an ink-blot. For each full-size image,
there are four different possible half-size images, controlled by
shifting the full-sized image left/right and up/down one pixel. You
should position the full-sized image so as to select the most recogniz-
able half-size image.
Back to the top-level image menu. Your edited images can be saved into
a file by selecting the SAVE menu box. The filename you specify can
be a complete pathname (including drive and sub-directories) or just
a filename (for the current drive/directory). However, you can not
specify a file extension, as Sherlock always stores these images in
files with an extension of .SHI (for SHerlock Images). The filename
you enter is remembered in the SHERLOCK.CFG file, and each time you
start playing the game, your image set is automatically loaded and
used. If someone else has created an image set that you wish to use
then just select the LOAD menu box and enter the file name of their
images. Again, this file name will be recorded in SHERLOCK.CFG as
your image file. However, if you plan to modify the images, you
should probably do a STORE to a different file name after you LOAD
them in. This way, you won't make your friend angry by modifying
his/her copy of the images.
You can also MERGE rows of images from one file into another. After
you select the MERGE menu box, you will be prompted for a filename
from which you wish to merge a row of images from. Enter the name
and press RETURN. You will then be prompted for the row where you
wish the images to be placed. Use the mouse to click on the row of
images that you wish to be replaced by the new ones.
And, of course, we have ABORT, INIT, and DONE. ABORT will exit the
IMAGE menu and restore your images to what they were before you entered
the menu (discarding any changes you made). INIT will set the images
to the default images that are built into the program. DONE is what
you select when you want to return to the MAIN MENU and you want to
save any changes that might have been made.
Hints on making good images:
1) Keep them simple. You don't have many pixels to work with, and
the simpler the images, the easier they are to recognize.
2) Choose your six sets of six images well, so that each of the six
sets is EASILY and QUICKLY distinguishable from the others. This
is very important when playing the game. Background colors and
subject matter are very important for this.
3) Choose your six images within each set so that they are quickly
and easily distinguishable from each other, even at half-size.
This is also VERY important while playing the game. This can best
be done with foreground colors and shapes.
4) Make sure that each image is best placed so that the half-size
image is as recognizable as possible. (See the paragraph above
on the "image shifter".
5) A good contrast outline on each image block really helps to diff-
erentiate the six half-size images at each location on the board.
That's about it for image editing.
--- SOUND ---
There are a number of sound effects during game play, and these can
be enabled or disabled by clicking on the SOUND menu box. It's a
simple toggle between YES and NO.
--- HELP! ---
This brings up a brief set of instruction screens for those that hate
to read manuals.
--- EXIT TO DOS ---
This exits the program and updates the SHERLOCK.CFG file as necessary.
__________________
V. TOURNAMENT PLAY
When TOURNEY is selected in the PLAYER menu, any number of the players
can be selected for inclusion in the tournament by clicking on their
names. (A selected player can be excluded, also, by clicking on his
or her name.) Once TOURNEY is selected, and all desired players are
selected, click on DONE. This takes you back to the MAIN MENU, with
a random puzzle number selected. Should you desire the tournament
to use a specific puzzle number, it should be selected at this point.
Also, TIME should be set to NO LIMIT or to an agreed upon limit.
When all is ready, click on PLAY. This will bring up the TOURNAMENT
STANDINGS box, which shows a list of all involved players and their
current standings in the tournament. Initially, all will show WAITING.
A prompt will show who the first player is. When next a mouse button
is clicked, the game will start for that player. All other players
should be away from the computer at this point, as they will each be
trying to solve the same puzzle, and they don't deserve to get a head
start by seeing the puzzle before it's their turn.
When the first player is finished, the puzzle is erased and the
TOURNAMENT STANDINGS box is shown again, along with a prompt for the
next player. This will stay on the display until a mouse button is
clicked, at which point the puzzle is redrawn and the second player
is off and running. This sequence continues until the last player
finishes, at which point the tournament is over and the MAIN MENU is
shown once more, along with the TOURNAMENT STANDINGS, with the players
organized by times.
During a tournament, the MENU box on the game display shows QUIT
instead of MENU. During a tournament, you're in a race, and there's no
getting out of it except by quitting. If you QUIT, that's the end of
your turn and the next player starts. Needless to say those who QUIT
come in last, next are those who complete the puzzle but get it wrong,
and the tournament winners are those who complete it correctly, in the
shortest amount of time. HINT is available during tournament play,
but remember, every HINT costs you 30 seconds of time.
____________________
VI. REVISION HISTORY
Rev 1.1 May 12, 1991
Initial release.
----------------------- end of file SHERLOCK.DOC ------------------------------
