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- The README file accompanies the latest versions (6.0) of the four
- solitaire games, Klondike, Golf, Canfield, and Calculation. For details
- on the latest features, please read 'History' on the Help menu within
- each game. In general, version 6.0 improved color support, including a
- set of built-in color face cards, and simplified the Options menus.
- Most moves can be made by double-clicking, and Golf now has an
- available option to permit cards to be played on Kings.
-
- Depending on how much memory you have allocated to the game, you may
- notice that when dragging cards from pile to pile, you see only an
- outline instead of the whole card. This can easily be remedied by
- increasing the memory for the game in the Finder's 'Get Info...' box.
- Approximate memory requirements are:
-
- B/W 128k
- 256 Colors 384K
- Thousands 512k
- Millions 950k
-
- Use the above table to adjust the game to fit your needs. If you don't
- have thousands of colors on your Mac, reduce the RAM to free more
- memory for other programs. Likewise, if you have millions of colors and
- want full animation when moving cards, increase the RAM.
-
- When running under System 7, you will find Help menus on the system
- Help menu (the little question mark in a balloon, at the right end of
- the menu bar). The games have their own Help menu on earlier systems.
-
- With System 7, you can also turn on Balloon Help for explanations of
- menu items and buttons in the Scoring dialog.
-
- Read the Help for information on each game. There are three or four
- Help menus: Rules, Play, Scoring (where appropriate), and History.
- Rules will give you the basic rules of that solitaire game. Play
- instructs you in how the game works on the Mac, including the available
- options. Scoring explains the scorekeeping variations provided. History
- provides a summary of changes from release to release.
-
- A Little History
-
- I wrote the first game, Klondike, in 1984. It was written using the
- first Macintosh development environment (a borrowed Lisa computer plus
- a Macintosh 128K). A couple of years later, the availability of TML
- Pascal, the first native Pascal compiler I could obtain on the
- Macintosh, made it possible for me to continue to evolve Klondike and
- develop new, related games. At the time, I was using a 512K Mac with an
- external 400K drive. Now, THAT seems like a long time ago! Canfield was
- the first of the other games to be developed; I actually had a version
- of it running before having to return the borrowed Lisa, but it wasn't
- released until I obtained TML Pascal.
-
- The first of these games, Klondike, may be the most commonly-known
- version of solitaire. The Macintosh version has been a lasting success,
- enough so that more than one person has written to curse the day some
- friend gave them a copy. A recent letter included a screen shot proving
- that person had played over 26,000 games of Klondike on his copy.
-
- In January, 1987, Klondike won the Boston Computer Society's award for
- excellence in Macintosh public domain and shareware development.
-
- When Multifinder was released, Klondike was adapted to be Multifinder
- aware (it already had a ‘SIZE’ resource, as defined for Switcher, the
- precursor of Multifinder).
-
- After version 3.6, I added the ability to save and open external
- ‘decks’ (documents), which hold a private scoreboard and option
- selections. This was to support families with more than one Klondike
- fan: more than one husband (or wife) wrote in to complain that their
- spouse was getting so good, and making such high scores, they were no
- longer able to put their own name on the high scores list.
-
- There are also three (8-bit) colorized decks available which contain
- color face card images. Opening these decks makes the game even more
- colorful for those with color monitors. I hope some color artist makes
- a 24-bit deck available someday. Not that I have 24-bit color, but....
-
- More recently, the game was improved visually (in my opinion) by
- providing full animation of cards when moving them around.
-
- I have been able to verify that the games work in 32-bit addressing
- mode. They also work under A/UX.
-
- As of version 5.0, the games became System 7 friendly, which mainly
- meant that they accepted high-level Apple Events. They also used
- Apple’s Sound Manager to play tunes when they dealt the cards and when
- you won a game. This was to provide compatibility with new and future
- Macs, although it seems to have ruined the sound when played on my
- Plus. It bombed my upgraded 512K with System 6.0.8. If you have such
- problems, use the Options menu to turn the sound OFF.
-
- Version 5.1 replaced the original WaveTable sound with Square Wave,
- which seems to work on older Macs (although it isn’t quite as
- pleasant-sounding on newer Macs). I have also provided a color
- background to play on, and animation when returning cards to their
- original positions when no legal move was made.
-
- Version 6.0 now includes a full set of color face card pictures. The
- option menu structure has been simplified, and fast play has been made
- easier by the addition of 'intelligence' to move cards for you when you
- double-click on them.
-
- The Plea
-
- Klondike is a hobby. I only get to work on it a little every now and
- then (I find it therapeutic: I’m a programmer at heart). If you
- encounter any problems or incompatibilities playing Klondike, or have
- any suggestions for future improvements, PLEASE write to me personally
- at the address below (email preferred). When I get time, I hope that I
- can fix your problem. Actually, I usually get bugs fixed fairly
- quickly; enhancements can take a while.
-
- Mike Casteel
- 8924 45th Ave. NE
- Seattle, WA 98115
-
- Electronic mail can be sent to:
-
- Internet: mac@unison.com
-
- I hope you enjoy the games.
-
- Michael A. Casteel
-
-