Software of the Month Club 1998 March

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Pyramid Deluxe, Version 1.03 ============================================================================== Copyright 1995-1997 By Randy Rasa 18215 Troost Olathe, KS 66062-9208 Internet E-Mail: rrasa@sky.net or 105711.3266@compuserve.com World-Wide Web Page: http://www.sky.net/~rrasa/sw.html or http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rrasa/sw.html Compuserve E-Mail: 105711,3266 Compuserve Forum: go GAMESITE, library #5 (Bridge/Card Games) Installation Instructions ------------------------- Introduction ------------ Pyramid Deluxe is a SuperVGA version of the well-loved solitaire card game known as "Pyramid". The game is easy to learn, but difficult to win, and offers plenty of room for skillful play. As you play the game more, you'll find that there is more to it than appears at first glance. It's damn addictive ... Included Files -------------- Refer to VENDINFO.DIZ for a list of all the files included with Pyramid Deluxe. Of those, only the following are required to run: PYRAMID.EXE ..... executable file PYRAMID.RES ..... program resources PYRAMID.CRD ..... card bitmaps The remaining files may be deleted to save disk space. Hardware Requirements --------------------- Pyramid Deluxe requires the following: Processor: 386SX minumum, 486 preferred (the faster the better) Video: SuperVGA capable of 640x480 at 256 colors Memory: 256K minimum free, 600K preferred XMS memory will be used if it is available Mouse: Microsoft (or 100% compatible) pointing device Disk Space: 600K, hard disk preferred Software Requirements --------------------- Pyramid Deluxe requires MS-DOS version 3.0 or later. It is not intended to run under Microsoft Windows or OS/2, but it probably will. I have tested it under Windows 3.1, and it runs fine (although if you switch to another window and back, Windows will get confused and terminate this program). I have also tested it under Windows 95, where it runs much better, without the problem mentioned above. Disclaimer ---------- Yeah, this is the standard legal B.S. ... annoying but necessary, I'm afraid. My apologies in advance. This program is warranted to do nothing but take up space on your hard disk. Randy Rasa may not be held liable for any loss or damage to data and/or equipment by your use, whether proper or improper, of this software. This product is provided AS IS. There are NO warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied. By using this program, you automatically CONSENT to the terms and conditions of this disclaimer. Distribution Requirements ------------------------- This program, as shareware, is meant to be freely distributed. Please, pass it along to family, friends, and strangers alike. I require only that the program be distributed in whole, with all of its files unaltered and intact. Refer to VENDOR.TXT for complete distribution requirements. Registration ------------ Pyramid Deluxe is SHAREWARE! You may evaluate this program for a reasonable period of time (typically 30 days), after which you must either register with the author, or stop using the program. Registration is only $15.00, for which you will receive a registration code good for all future updates of this program, the latest version on the diskette of your choice, and discounts on my other games. Prices and terms are subject to change without notice. If this file is over a year old, you are encouraged to contact the author for current registration information (and the latest version). To register Pyramid Deluxe, please use the order form provided. You may print the form (PYRAMID.FRM) by clicking the "Print Registration Form" button in the "About" box. If no printer is connected, you'll be asked if you wish to save the registration form as a text file. If you say "yes", then PYRAMID.FRM will be saved in current directory, and you may print it at a later time by typing the following command from the DOS command line: COPY PYRAMID.FRM PRN You may also e-mail the form with a credit card order. If you do this, attach the file to the message rather than including it as part or the message text -- this will retain the form's formatting. You may pay by cash, check, money order, or credit card. All payments must be in US funds, and drawn on a US bank. Foreign orders are encouraged to use international postal money orders. EuroCheques are not accepted. Mastercard, VISA, and Discover credit cards are accepted. Note: If you are the author of any shareware programs, I'd be happy to consider a registration trade. Please contact me before placing your order, and let's talk about it! If you are a member of Compuserve you can register online with the SWREG service. The registration ID is 15283. You will receive your registration code by e-mail, usually within 24 to 48 hours. You will not receive a disk. Program updates can be downloaded off the web pages specified at the top of this document. Differences Between Shareware And Registered Versions ----------------------------------------------------- The shareware version of Pyramid Deluxe is complete, fully functional, and not crippled in any way. However, the program will remind you that it's un-registered by displaying the "About" box each time you run the program, and also by delaying a few seconds when you exit. When you register, you will recieve a registration code, which you can enter by clicking on the "Register" button in the "About" box, and entering your name and the code. Once you've done that, the program will be "branded" with your name, and you won't be bothered by any more delays or nags. How To Play Pyramid Deluxe -------------------------- The game is begun by dealing 28 cards, face up, to the "tableau" in the form of a pyramid (or triangle). The remaining 24 cards form the "stock". The "waste" pile is initially empty. The object of the game is to remove all the cards from the stock, tableau, and waste. Cards are removed singly or in pairs that add up to 13, regardless of suit. Kings count as 13, Queens as 12, Jacks as 11, and all other cards as their face value (Ace = 1). Valid moves are: A-Q 2-J 3-10 4-9 5-8 6-7 K Only cards that are completely visible are available for play. The top card of the wastepile, if any, is also available for play. If the top card of the stock cannot be played, move it to the wastepile by clicking on the "deal" button (it's the one just to the right of the stock, shaped like an arrow). You can also click the right mouse button anywhere within the card area to deal the next card. When all the stock cards have been played or moved to the wastepile, you can click once more to move all the cards from the waste back into the stock. In this way, you can go through the deck three times (this is shown on the bottom of the screen as "Deal x of 3", where "x" is 1, 2, or 3). Hints ----- If you're new to the game, stumped, or just lazy, click on the "Hint" button. You will be shown one possible move (if any exist). Note that this is not necessarily the *best* possible move, just the first one that the program happens to find ... Pyramid Deluxe Options ---------------------- Pyramid Deluxe has several options that may be selected by clicking on the "Options" button from the main screen. The following options may be set: General: End-Of-Game Action: This option determines what happens after each hand is won or lost. The possible setting are: "Do Nothing", "Display Stats and Wait For Input", and "Display Stats and Delay 3 Seconds". Move Alert: Toggle this on or off to enable or disable the "move alert" feature. If enabled, a red light will flash on the "Hint" button if any moves are possible. Background Color: Click this button to bring up a dialog box from which you can choose a suitable background color for the card area. Press Esc to exit the dialog without selecting a new color. Rules: No options at this time ... (future) Mouse: Mouse Speed: This option allows you to adjust the mouse pointer speed, from slow to fast. The speed you select will be remembered, and recalled the next time you run the program. Select "OK" to save the new option settings, or "Cancel" to restore your previous settings. Changing Players ---------------- Pyramid Deluxe will keep track of up to ten different players, and allow each to have his or her own statistics and options. In addition, there is also a player called "King Tut", which is used only in demo mode. To add a player, click on one of the numbered buttons to the left of an empty players name (it will be displayed as "?"). This will bring up a dialog that will ask you to enter your name, then a second dialog will prompt you to select a picture for yourself. Note: Players names may be up to 30 characters long, but it's best to select a name of eight characters or less, since that is all that there is room for on the main game screen. If you have a particularly long name, use your initials ... You can delete a player by highlighting the players name, then clicking the "Delete" button. You can clear the stats for a given player by first selecting the player, and then clicking the "Clear Stats" button. You can change a player's picture by clicking on the picture box and selecting a new portrait. To change players, simply select a new player, then click the "OK" button. If you've made a mistake (deleted the wrong plater, for example), or changed your mind, you can click on the "Cancel" button, and it will undo all your changes. Note: You cannot change the player to "King Tut" -- he is reserved only for demo mode. You also cannot delete him. You can, however, clear his stats. Scoring ------- The game currently uses a simple one-point-per-card scoring method. Other methods may be implemented in a future version. The "Scores" dialog allows you to view your statistics, both in the current session, and over all games played. You can also display the stats for all players on a single screen, to compare yourself to others. Demo Mode --------- When you click on the "Demo" button, the player will change to "King Tut", and he will begin to play the game. He's not a particularly intelligent player, but he's very persistent, and he never misses a possible move. He'll continue playing until you press a key. The "scores" dialog will then pop up to show you his results. As of the time of this writing, here are King Tut's stats on my system: Games Played: 6498 Games Won: 656 (10.10%) Average Score: 37.81 Note: Demo mode can only be initiated when a game is not in progress. If you're in the middle of a game, you'll have to finish it before running the demo. Note: Selecting demo mode ends the current players "session". When demo mode ends, the previous player will be restored, and a new session will begin. Command Line Options -------------------- Pyramid Deluxe only has a few command-line options: -h or -? = display command-line help -s = convert the registered version to the shareware version -x = don't use XMS memory Version History --------------- 1.00 09-05-95 First Public Release 1.01 01-28-96 Allow '-. characters in user's name. Add OK & Cancel buttons to "Select A Color" dialog. Added Windows icon (PYRAMID.ICO). Added Windows setup program. Allow mouse speed to be adjusted. 1.02 09-28-96 Simplified the registration code scheme. Updated registration form and documentation to add information about my newest games. Removed DOS-based installation program; it wasn't necessary -- just run PYRAMID.EXE. 1.03 05-17-97 Updated contact information. Added information on new games. Added Compuserve registration option. Future Changes -------------- You tell me ... what do you want to see? Suggestions welcome! Things I have in mind are: - Digital sound (WAV) support - Digital music (MIDI) support - Decent win/lose graphics - Alternate scoring methods - Tournement mode Support ------- I may be contacted by one of the following means: World Wide Web: http://www.sky.net/~rrasa/sw.html Internet: rrasa@sky.net Compuserve: 105711,3266 Snail Mail: Randy Rasa 18215 Troost Olathe, KS 66062-9208 If you have any comments, suggestions, or problems with this program, please contact me by one of the above means. I'd love to hear from you! Credits ------- Concept, Design, Programming: Randy Rasa Beta Testers: Les Blades Dan Rosenthal Michael Miller Jesse Zuelly Brad Sutcliffe Robert Coffman III Linda Rickman Jim McGilton Robert Rosenthal Andrew Schendel Technical Info -------------- The following tools were used during the development of Pyramid Deluxe, and are highly recommended: Borland C/C++, version 3.1 TGE (The Graphics Engine), by Matthew Hildebrand (mhildeb@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca) RES (Resource File Manager), by Matthew Hildebrand (mhildeb@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca) XMSIF (XMS Interface Library), by James Birdsall (support@picarefy.com) EXEVALID, by Brian Pirie (brian@bpecomm.ocunix.on.ca) Problems -------- Pyramid Deluxe is known to have the following problems (whether these are "bugs", or "incompatibilities", or simply "limitations", is a matter of interpretation): <g> - If you're running this program in a DOS shell from Windows 3.x, and change to another window, and then back, Windows will report: "This application has violated system integrity due to an invalid page fault and will be terminated. Quit all applications, quit Windows, and then restart your computer." As far as I can tell, this is a problem with Windows 3.x and SuperVGA programs in general, and is nothing specific to this program. My best advice is to not run this program under Windows 3.x, and if you do, to not switch windows ... This problem does not occur under Windows 95. Troubleshooting --------------- If you encounter a problem with running Pyramid Deluxe, look here for possible solutions. If you cannot solve the problem, contact the author for support. Problem: The program doesn't recognize your mouse. Solution: Make sure that the mouse driver is loaded. If you're running under Windows, the driver should be loaded before launching Windows (usually from CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT). As a quick check, type "mem /c/p" from the DOS command line -- you should see MOUSE (or some variation) listed as one of the memory-resident programs. If it is not listed, refer to your mouse user's manual for complete instructions on how to load it. Problem: This program won't run with your video card. Solution: First, are you sure that your card will support 640x480x256? Normally, this requires a SuperVGA card with at least 512K of video memory. If your card doesn't support this mode, then you can't run Pyramid Deluxe. Second, is your card VESA-compatible? Perhaps your card came with a utility program that allows it to emulate VESA -- if so, use it. If your card does not supply VESA support, either alone or with a VESA utility, then contact the author (or search on the Internet) for a freeware program called UNIVESA (Universal VESA), which allows the vast majority of video cards to emulate VESA video modes. Tested Configurations --------------------- Pyramid Deluxe has been successfully tested on the following computers: - Pentium/166, 24M RAM, Diamond Stealth PCI video, Microsoft mouse - Pentium/100, 24M RAM, Diamond Stealth PCI video, Microsoft mouse - 486DX2/66, 8M RAM, Genoa VLB video, Microsoft mouse, Windows 95 - 486DX2/66, 8M RAM, Microsoft mouse - 486DX2/50, 8M RAM, Trident VLB video, Logitech mouse - 386DX/33, 4M RAM, Trident video, Logitech mouse - 386SX/16, 4M RAM, Trident video, Dexxa mouse - 386SX/16, 8M RAM, ATI video, AAmazing mouse Catalog Of Games By Randy Rasa ------------------------------ All of these games are available on Compuserve or on the World Wide Web at "http://www.sky.net/~rrasa/sw.html". - Solitaire Suite A collection of seven classic solitaire card games, including Calculation, Concentration, Idiot's Delight, Midnight Oil, Monte Carlo, Osmosis, and Royal Cotillion. Requires EGA and a mouse. SWREG ID: 15281 - Simple Pleasures A collection of eight traditional and original solitaire card games for DOS, featuring the same great graphics as Solitaire Suite, plus hint mode and multi-player mode. Requires EGA and a mouse. SWREG ID: 15282 - Four Seasons This game is also known as "Corner Card", "Four Corners", and "Vanishing Cross", and is an addictive solitaire game for Windows. It is a full-featured solitaire, with auto move, undo, high score lists, multimedia sound, and challenge scoring. The registered version includes a bonus pack of extra sound effects. Requires Windows 3.1 or later, and VBRUN200.DLL. A sound card is optional. SWREG ID: 15284 - Poker Squares This is an unusual solitaire game. Rather than simply rearranging cards into a specific pattern, in this game the pattern is set from the start -- a grid of twenty-five spaces, five rows of five columns each. The object of the game is to deal twenty-five cards from the deck, one by one, and place them onto the grid to form the best possible poker hands in each of the rows, columns, and diagonals. Hands are scored using either the American or English point system. The game includes multimedia sound, statistics, extensive online help, and lots of options for play. Requires Windows 3.1 or later, and VBRUN200.DLL. A sound card is optional. SWREG ID: 15285 - Chinese Solitaire This is an original game, and combines the best elements of "Klondike" and "Scorpion", two of the very best solitaires. Like all my games, this one is full-featured, placing a strong emphasis on playability and convenience features, including autoplay, an "easy" mode, full statistics, selectable card backs and background color, sound effects, and background music. The graphics and sound in this game are particularly striking, reflecting the oriental theme hinted at in the title. Requires Windows 3.1 or later, and VBRUN200.DLL. A sound card is optional. SWREG ID: 15286 - Mount Sunflower Another Randy Rasa original, this game has a lot in common with Chinese Solitaire, at least in terms of gameplay. It also has great graphics and sound, and of course, lots of features such as selectable card backs and colors, full game statistics, and extensive online help. That it's also quite fun and addictive goes without saying, perhaps (but I'll say it anyway). Requires Windows 3.x or later, and VBRUN200.DLL. A sound card is optional. SWREG ID: 15287 - FoxFire 13 For DOS This is an original solitaire game, similar in some ways to "Idiot's Delight", but easier to win. Features full statistics, undo, digital sound, and lots of options. The registered version includes a bonus pack of extra sound effects. Requires EGA and a mouse. A sound card is optional. - FoxFire 13 For Windows This is a Windows version of the popular DOS game of the same name. It also is extremely full-featured, with statistics, undo, multimedia sound, and many options. The registered version includes a bonus pack of extra sound effects. Requires Windows 3.x or later, and VBRUN200.DLL. A sound card is optional.