Copyright ⌐1996, 1997 by Syd Logan. All Rights Reserved.
I hope that you find Machinko interesting and bug free. If this is the case, then please send a postcard to me at:
Syd Logan
1015 Foxglove View
Carlsbad, CA
92009
USA
How to use Machinko
Double-click Machinko. Hit the fire button to launch a ball. Check the continuous fire checkbox to cause Machinko to automatically shoot balls. To turn off automatic firing, click the continuous fire checkbox again. If Machinko is busy handling a ball in play, it will take a couple of seconds for the checkbox to change and continuous firing to stop.
If you run out of balls, the game is over. Just like the real Pachinko. You can start a new game at any time by going to the File menu and selecting New game.
When you quit a game, if you are in the top ten scores, you will be prompted for your name.
Why I wrote Machinko
Simply put, I wanted to try a game. And the first thing that came to mind was Pachinko. I have several pachinko games at home, I've had them since I was little, and I have been lucky enough to play in Japan on numerous occasions. So, I like Pachinko. This version of Machinko is a "first attempt" for me at game writing on the Mac. My second one is OTChess, which you can find on info-mac or download from my home page. I may try and write an improved, and more realistic Pachinko game for the Mac. If I get a lot of postcards, that is, to prove to me that people think it is a cool idea. To-do items include:
- Sound.
- Variable power shooting. Right now, Machinko randomly selects how far the ball will travel on the rail before falling into play. Allowing the user to control this will improve the game alot.
- More realistic graphics, maybe photo-realistic if I can get a good scan of a machine face.
- More realistic ball movement.
- Pins and other board features. Right now, the ball just bounces along the targets and wheels, which is not terribly realistic. Pins would be a nice addition to the board.
- Any ideas that you want to e-mail or scribble on a postcard will also be considered, of course.
Remember, no postcards, then no inspiration.
Submitting Bug Reports
Please include your system configuration, e.g.,
- Macintosh model. It should run on 68K and PowerMac.
- OS version (you can find out by selecting the About this Macintosh... menu item from the Apple menu). I've tested this on System 7 and System 8 with no problems.
- Any system extensions that you may have running that you think might have an effect on the problem.
- Did you crash into macsbug? If so, send me what you can using stdlog.
Also, a list of the explicit steps which can be used to reliably cause the problem you observe would be appreciated. Generally speaking, if I cannot duplicate the problem, I probably can't or won't be able to fix it. Keep the list of steps simple, and focus on just those steps which can be used to reproduce the problem.
If the information you supply is not enough for me to duplicate the problem, I will likely send you an e-mail with further questions.
Posting On Bulletin Boards, AOL, or Whatever.
Feel free to do so, provided that you submit it in the same form that you downloaded it in, and that it contains these release notes. I would really like to keep track of where Machinko is available, so please drop me an e-mail at slogan@cts.com to let me know when and to where you performed the upload. If I don't have access to that board or service mentioned, then I will probably ask you to repost any future releases to that location, as I make them available. So let me know if you are willing to do something like this. It is not a requirement.
For other Mac shareware by me, check out http://www.users.cts.com/crash/s/slogan.
