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- B4UGO2: A Shareware Program <ASP>
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- B4UGO2 (V2.0)
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- GO-MOKU
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- (C) 1993, P. K. Winter, Toronto, Ont.
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- TABLE OF CONTENTS
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- [1] OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2
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- [2] SHAREWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
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- [3] DISCLAIMER AND AGREEMENT . . . . . . . . 4
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- [4] REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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- [5] FILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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- [6] PLAYING B4UGO2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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- [7] TO PROGRAMMERS ... . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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- [8] REGISTRATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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- B4UGO2 (V2.0)
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- [1] OVERVIEW
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- B4UGO2 is a Turbo Pascal (text mode) variation of GO-MOKU.
- GO-MOKU is a traditional oriental game played by two players
- on a 19 x 19 board. In this version you play against the
- computer. The objective is to place five consecutive O-s (red
- markers) on the board before the computer completes a string
- of five of its blue, + shaped markers. The markers may be
- lined up horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. When you
- win, your score will depend on how much time it took you to
- create a string of five markers.
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- B4UGO2 plays a reasonably strong game. If you have found a
- winning strategy, you may still challenge yourself to achieve
- higher scores by reducing the time it takes you to win. Once
- you have reached what you think is the maximum score possible,
- try to play the machine to a draw. That is, try to fill up the
- 361 positions on the board so that you don't complete a string
- of fives, but also don't let the computer complete a string of
- fives. This is a much harder game; don't be surprised if the
- games take more than ten minutes. Good luck, enjoy the games
- and don't forget to blink.
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- (C) 1993, P.K. Winter, Toronto, Ont. 2
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- [2] SHAREWARE
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- Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software
- before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue
- using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs
- differ on details -- some request registration while others
- require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With
- registration, you get anything from the simple right to
- continue using the software to an updated program with printed
- manual.
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- Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial
- software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a
- few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors
- are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors,
- and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases,
- there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is
- in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants
- the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all
- and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors
- require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may
- copy their Shareware.
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- Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software.
- You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook,
- whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system
- makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before
- you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low
- also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if
- you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.
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- "This program is produced by a member of the Association of
- Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that
- the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to
- resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by
- contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The
- ASP Ombudsmen can help you resolve a dispute or problem with
- the an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for
- members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545
- Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message
- via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536."
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- (C) 1993, P.K. Winter, Toronto, Ont. 3
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- [3] DISCLAIMER AND AGREEMENT
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- The B4UGO2 program and associated documentation, on hardcopy
- and on magnetic media, is copyrighted and the author,
- P.K. Winter, reserves all rights. The B4UGO2 software and
- associated documentation are provided without warranty of any
- kind, either expressed or implied. The author specifically
- disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness
- of the software and documentation for any particular purpose.
- In no event will the author be liable for any damages,
- including any lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental
- or consequential damages arising out of the use or the
- inability to use this software. The author reserves the right
- to make any changes in the software and in this documentation
- at any time without obligation to notify anyone of such
- changes.
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- B4UGO2 is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge
- to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with
- friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of
- another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is
- to provide personal computer users with quality software
- without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for
- programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find
- this program useful, entertaining, or educational and continue
- to use B4UGO2 after a reasonable trial period, please submit a
- registration fee of $3.00 to the author.
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- Commercial or institutional users of B4UGO2 must register and
- pay for their copies of B4UGO2 within 30 days of first use.
- The Site-License fee for educational institutions is $10.00.
- The Site-License for corporations is $20.00.
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- Anyone distributing B4UGO2 for any kind of remuneration must
- first contact the author at the address below for
- authorization. This authorization will be automatically
- granted to distributors recognized by the Association of
- Shareware Professionals (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines
- for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin
- offering B4UGO2 immediately, however the author must be
- advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with
- the latest version of B4UGO2.
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- (C) 1993, P.K. Winter, Toronto, Ont. 4
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- You are encouraged to pass a copy of B4UGO2 to your friends
- for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy.
- Registered users only are eligible to purchase for $15.00 the
- subroutine library source code (Turbo Pascal 6.0) used for the
- development of B4UGO2. The source code may not be distributed
- in any form with, or without, the B4UGO2 executable program.
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- Please submit your registration fee, questions, or comments
- to:
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- P. K. Winter
- 69 Summerhill Ave
- Toronto, Ont., M4T 1A9
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- CompuServe 71213,1337
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- (C) 1993, P.K. Winter, Toronto, Ont. 5
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- [4] REQUIREMENTS
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- To use B4UGO2 you require a 386SX or 486 based PS/2 or PC/AT
- compatible micro computer with a minimum of 256K RAM, one 360K
- floppy disk drive, a color display screen, and a Microsoft-
- compatible mouse.
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- B4UGO2. can run off a floppy disk but ideally it should be
- installed on a hard drive. In either case, all components of
- B4UGO2 must be in the same subdirectory.
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- Version 2.0 of B4UGO2 was written in Turbo Pascal (V6.0) under
- DOS 5.0 on a 486 machine. B4UGO2 uses a Timer ISR. The 'old'
- timer interrupt is restored on exit from the program.
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- B4UGO2 appears to run without problems under Windows 3.1.
- However, for this version of B4UGO2, Windows is not the target
- environment and thus there are no guarantees.
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- To start B4UGO2, change to the subdirectory that has all the
- B4UGO2 files and type B4UGO2 after the DOS system prompt
- (e.g. C> or A>).
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- POINTS TO REMEMBER
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- ■ Do not erase or modify any of the files that are
- distributed with B4UGO2.
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- (C) 1993, P.K. Winter, Toronto, Ont. 6
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- [5] FILES
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- B4UGO2 LOG a list of up to 25 GO-MOKU players and
- their latest score (this is a FIFO list:
- first in, first out; i.e. once there are
- 25 names on the log, the oldest name gets
- dropped to make room for the latest
- entry)
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- B4UGO2 TOP scores of the top three players; these
- are preserved even if a particular
- player's name is bumped off the LOG
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- B4UGO2 DOC this documentation
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- B4UGO2 EXE the B4UGO2 (GO-MOKU) program
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- READ EXE program for reading text files
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- READ B4UGO2.DOC)
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- (C) 1993, P.K. Winter, Toronto, Ont. 7
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- [6] PLAYING B4UGO2 (GO-MOKU)
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- First you are prompted to pick between SOUND ON or OFF. Then
- you are asked to enter a name up to 10 characters long. With
- these preliminaries out of the way, you are presented with
- the GO-MOKU board with the computer already having placed
- its first marker in the middle of the board. Now it's your
- turn. Move the mouse cursor over the position where you want
- to place a marker and click with either the left or right
- mouse button. At the bottom of the GO-MOKU board there is a
- timer. The elapsed time shown here is used for calculating
- your score in the event that you win. When a game ends, you
- are prompted to indicate whether or not you wish to play
- another game. You may respond with pressing the Y or N keys
- on the keyboard, or you may click on the Y or N icons on the
- top of the GO-MOKU board. With this version of B4UGO2 the
- only other icon that is active is the little person on the
- left of the top edge of the board. This icon is the 'quick-
- exit' button. There may be occasions, both at the office and
- at home, when this feature is valuable.
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- As indicated in the OVERVIEW, playing the machine for a draw
- is a harder game than playing for a win. While the computer's
- basic strategy does not change, the strength of its strategy
- becomes more evident when the board gets cluttered. This
- version of the game presents considerable opportunities to get
- frustrated: think of having stared at the board with absolute
- concentration without blinking for ten minutes. Imagine that
- there are only a dozen free spaces left of the original 361
- and the computer stuffs a blue marker in the one empty slot
- that gives it a string of fives ...
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- (C) 1993, P.K. Winter, Toronto, Ont. 8
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- [7] TO PROGRAMMERS ...
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- My first Turbo Pascal version of GO-KOKU was uploaded to the
- Canada Remote System BBS in 1986. That version had no mouse
- support and, by today's standard, was somewhat drab in
- appearance.
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- As is the case with so many computer games, the idea for
- B4UGO2 (pronounced Before-You-Go-To) started as a programming
- exercise. I was challenged to gussy up an older, text-based
- program with a bit of color, window-like boxes, frames with
- shadows, an ISR timer, new ASCII graphic characters, and a
- self-modifying EXE program for tracking the number of
- executions. With Turbo Pascal 6.0 it was relatively
- straightforward to implement these facilities in a small
- number of TPUs.
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- I found it particularly interesting to explore graphics
- possibilities in text mode by replacing some of the seldom-
- used ASCII codes, such as the 128 to 168 range. These are
- characters I seldom use and thus I designed six graphics
- shapes which were to help rejuvenate this ancient game.
- After you have used B4UGO2, the original ASCII codes
- 131 to 148 are not restored until you re-boot your system.
- This gives you the opportunity to examine the bit maps of
- these new characters. The use of more color and new ASCII
- graphic characters would also improve older and, nevertheless,
- imaginative computer games such as LARN or HACK.
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- (C) 1993, P.K. Winter, Toronto, Ont. 9
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- B4UGO2 (V2.0)
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- [8] REGISTRATION
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- Personal license $ 3.00
- Site-License (schools) $10.00
- Site-License (corporate) $20.00
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- PAYMENT ENCLOSED ___________________________
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- NAME ______________________________________
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- ADDRESS ______________________________________
- ______________________________________
- ______________________________________
- ______________________________________
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- COMPANY ______________________________________
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- PHONE (___) ___ - ____
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- FAX (___) ___ - ____
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- DATE _________________
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- Please return this registration with any questions or comments
- you may have to:
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- P. K. Winter
- 69 Summerhill Ave
- Toronto, Ont., M4T 1A9
-
- CompuServe 71213,1337
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- ______________________________________________________________
-