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Software of the Month Club 1998 March
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Software of the Month Club 1998 March.iso
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win
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games
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pinc16
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readme16.tx_
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readme16.tx
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1997-08-30
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353 lines
MeggieSoft Games for 1997 (16-bit) - README.TXT
===============================================
This file contains the following sections:
Introduction
System Requirements
Installation
De-Installation
Registration
Distribution
Frequently Asked Questions
Introduction
------------
MeggieSoft Games distributes three two-handed card games for the
Microsoft Windows operating systems. The games are available in
both 16-bit (for Windows 3.x and Windows 95) and 32-bit (for
Windows 95 and Windows NT) versions.
Rummy 500 was our first offering, released in August 1994. We
released our second product, Gin Rummy, in February 1995. Our
third game is Pinochle which was released in July 1996.
In each game, you play against the computer, which can be set to
one of six different skill levels. At Champion and Master levels,
the computer is harder to beat and provides a very challenging
game.
All games share the same MeggieSoft Games user interface which
provides very rich customization features, including sound effects,
music, and speech synthesized output.
System Requirements
-------------------
The 16-bit versions require Microsoft Windows 3.x or Windows 95
and a mouse.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Many shareware distributed versions do not include the required
Visual Basic runtime files in order to minimize download overhead
for the many users who already have these files installed on their
systems. If you are missing these files, the games will not run.
You may obtain an installation set of the runtime files from the
MeggieSoft Games website at http://members.aol.com/meggiesoft and
at many other internet shareware sites.
An Intel 386 class system with 4 megabytes of RAM is considered to
be the minimum configuration, although a 486 class system with 8
megabytes of RAM will provide more fluid action.
Installation
------------
Installation is achieved by running the setup.exe program.
16-bit versions may be installed under Windows 95 via the
"Add/Remove Programs" capability, but must be de-installed
manually, as described below.
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.
MeggieSoft Games distributes a few simple 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 "Edit Preferences"
menu option.
Midi music files are not distributed for copyright reasons. You
may acquire these from regular online sources. You will probably
have canyon.mid in your Windows directory (under the "media"
subfolder for Windows 95) since this is distributed with Windows
by Microsoft. If this is the case, the games will automatically
find it and select it as the default.
Note that, in rare instances, some systems may be unable to
handle midi music and other sounds at the same time.
De-installation
---------------
Delete:
1. The MegiSoft directory,
2. The RUMMY500.INI, GINRUMMY.INI and/or PINOCHLE.INI files from
the Windows directory (Windows 3.x)
3. The program group for MeggieSoft Games
Registration
------------
You may evaluate shareware programs from MeggieSoft Games for a
period of 30 days after which you must register or remove from
your system. To not comply with this condition is a violation of
United States and international copyright law. Ensure you have
reviewed and agree with the terms stated in the LICENSE.TXT file.
To register, please use the printable order form under the "Help"
menu. The cost of registration for each game is $15. If you
require the latest versions on diskette, the fee is $20 to
register one game, $30 for two games, and $45 for all three games.
If you are unable to print the order form, please copy the
information from the on-screen order form onto a sheet of paper
and make sure that you:
1. Specify which game you are registering
2. Add 5% sales tax to the registration fee 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.
Please allow 28 days for your registration to arrive, although
every effort will be made to mail your registration within 5 days.
Your registration may also be valid for future versions as they
become available.
Because we cannot track which versions are currently available at
what locations, it is possible that a game will have been updated
since your evaluation copy unless you downloaded a recent version.
Details of latest versions may be found at the MeggieSoft Games
worldwide web site at http://members.aol.com/meggiesoft. If your
system is configured for internet access and you have a web
browser installed you may access the site from the "Help" menu.
Distribution
------------
You may distribute MeggieSoft Games products to others provided
that you derive no revenue other than that associated with the act
of distribution, provided you make it clear that the products are
shareware, and provided that you distribute all distributed files
intact and unaltered.
The following files comprise the MeggieSoft Games 16-bit products
(and supporting, distributable, Microsoft Visual Basic system
files), together with their default installation locations:
[System]
VB40016.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
OC25.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
OLE2DISP.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
OLE2PROX.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
OLE2CONV.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
COMPOBJ.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
CTL3DV2.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
OLE2NLS.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
OLE2.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
STDOLE.TLB -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
SCP.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
VAEN21.OLB -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
STKIT416.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
TYPELIB.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
STORAGE.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
OLE2.REG -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
WINMM.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
TABCTL16.OCX -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
COMDLG16.OCX -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
MCI16.OCX -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
[MeggieSoft Support Files]
WSPLIB16.DLL -> C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ReadMe16.TXT -> C:\MEGISOFT
License.TXT -> C:\MEGISOFT
Africa.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\CardBack
Buttrfly.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\CardBack
Daisies.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\CardBack
Pencils.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\CardBack
Rose.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\CardBack
Watrfall.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\CardBack
Megan.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\CardBack
GENERAL.WSD -> C:\MEGISOFT\Speech
USENM11A.WSF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Speech
GrnCloth.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Effects
RedCloth.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Effects
BluCloth.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Effects
Mahogany.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Effects
Pine.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Effects
Oak.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Effects
Granite.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Effects
Water.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Effects
Small.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Cards
Regular.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Cards
Large.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Cards
XLarge.WMF -> C:\MEGISOFT\Cards
Shuffle.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
Card.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
Knock.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
mgenter.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
mgexit.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
mgwnrnd.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
mglsrnd.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
mgwngame.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
mglsgame.WAV -> C:\MEGISOFT\Sounds
[Optionally, if distributing Rummy 500]
Rummy516.EXE -> C:\MEGISOFT
Rummy500.HLP -> C:\MEGISOFT
Read500.TXT -> C:\MEGISOFT
[Optionally, if distributing Gin Rummy]
GinRum16.EXE -> C:\MEGISOFT
GinRummy.HLP -> C:\MEGISOFT
ReadGin.TXT -> C:\MEGISOFT
[Optionally, if distributing Pinochle]
Pinoch16.EXE -> C:\MEGISOFT
Pinochle.HLP -> C:\MEGISOFT
ReadPin.TXT -> C:\MEGISOFT
Commercial distributors are expected to check the MeggieSoft Games
web site periodically in order to ensure that the latest versions
are being distributed.
Frequently Asked Questions
--------------------------
Q. In what programming language are the MeggieSoft Games written?
A. Microsoft Visual Basic. See the "For The Technically Curious"
section of the help files for more information.
Q. Where did the name "MeggieSoft Games" come from?
A. From a pet Border Collie named Megan. The program icons are
derived from a photograph of Megan
Q. Why does my mouse not work correctly?
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 the game 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. The MeggieSoft Games are
quite intensive in their use of system resources and run on
99% of customers' systems with no 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 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 erratic behavior?
A. The MeggieSoft Games are designed to respond to single
mouse-clicks, not double-clicks. In earlier versions it was
possible to "trip up" the processing of actions if the program
reacted to the second click before it had finished processing
the first click. In current versions the games attempt to
trap and ignore extra clicks when they are 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. The MeggieSoft Games compensate
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 preference settings?
A. Check the "Save Preferences" box at the bottom of the
Preferences frame to make changes permanent.
Q. Do the games cheat by peeking at the player's cards?
A. No! However, at the higher skill levels, the games will
remember everything that you have done, 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 quality games at the lowest
possible price and this prevents us from entering into much
personal correspondence. Most suggestions are incorporated
into the next version of the game(s). 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 our games 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 your products to my customers?
A. As noted earlier in this file, permission is automatically
granted subject to the conditions stated.
Q. I am a software developer. Are you able to share any of the
program code?
A. No. All program code is proprietary to MeggieSoft Games,
except for the third-party components which are described in
the help files (in the section called "For The Technically
Curious").
⌐ MeggieSoft Games 1994-1997. All Rights Reserved.