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╒═┌─════════════╕ ╒╛ ├ißß└εsⁿ°⌐k ╒╛ ╒╛ ⌠oƒ┬w┌ε ╒╛ ╘════⌡══════════╛tm █████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ ███ ▄▄┐ ▄▄ █▄┐ ▄▄▄▄▄ █ ▄▄┐ ▄▄ ██▀ ▄▄▄┐ ▄█▄┐ ▄█▀ ▄▄▄▀ ████ ███▄███│ ███▄██│ ██████▄█▄███│ ███▄█│ ████│ ███│ ██│ █████▄████ ███████│ ██████│ ████▀███████│ █████│ ████│ ███│ ██│ ▀▀▀██████ ███████│ ██████│ ▄▄▄▄ ███████│ ██████▄ ▀▀▀│ ███│ ███▄▄ ▀███ ███████│ ██████│ ████████████│ ████████▀ ▄█│ ███│ ████████▄┐ ███ ███████│ ██████│ ██████▀█████│ ██████▀ ▄███│ ███│ ██ ██████│ ███ ██████▀┘ ▀████▀┘ ▀▀▀▀▀ ████▀┘ ▀██▀▀ ▀███▀┘ ▀█▀┘ ▀█ ▄▀▀▀▀ ▄████ █████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ █████████▄┐ ▄▄ ▀██▄┐ ▄▄▄ █▄┐ ▄███▄┐ ▄██▄ ▄█▄ ▄█▄ ▄█▄┐ ▄▄▄ ██████████ ██████████│ ███ ██│ ▀▀████│ █████│ ████ ████ ▀▄████│ ▀▀████████████ ██████████│ ███ ██│ ██████│ █████│ ████ ████▀▄ ████│ ██████████████ █████████▀┘ ▀▀ ▄██▀┘ ▀▀▀ █▀┘ ▀▀▀ ██▄ ▀▀▄███▀ ▀█▀ ▀█▀┘ ▀▀▀ ██████████ █████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ Copyright (c) 1989-1993 by Todd S. Lehman ·─══════════════─· Introduction ·─══════════════════─· Tetris is a game which needs no introduction. Since the original version in 1986, dozens of clones have appeared on every conceivable platform, from the lowly Commodore 64 to powerful X Window terminals, making Tetris one of the most popular pastimes in video game history and at the same time the most popular game for hobbyists to clone. By 1992 it seemed that everyone and their dog had written a version, or knew someone who had written one. The first commercial version of Tetris in the United States by Mirrorsoft / Spectrum Holobyte in 1987 has attained great popularity, but it is in many ways inferior to the arcade version offered by Atari Games Corporation in 1988. The Atari version improved upon other versions by adding better graphics, better animation, a stronger scoring mechanism, and, most importantly, discrete levels. This clone is based on the Atari version. While it lacks the animated dancers and a musical score, the animation is smooth and the shaded 3D game pieces drop in real-time. If you have played the Atari version, you should feel comfortable with this one. ·─══════════════════════─· Documentation Layout ·─══════════════════════════─· Welcome to the ReadMe file from Hell. Sections in this document are arranged in increasing order of complexity, starting with the broad and simple, ending with the esoteric. Here is a brief roadmap of the sections that follow: System Requirements Release Information Main Menu How to Play Keys Scoring Hints, Tips, and Tricks Frequently Asked Questions About the README Viewer Technical History (For Dweebs Only) Terms of Use (Legal Rigamarole) If at any point if you become sick of this document, chances are that the sections following that point will make you sick too. In other words, if you need to bail, don't worry about missing anything. ·─═════════════════════─· System Requirements ·─═════════════════════════─· ■ MS-DOS version 3.0 or higher (or a clone such as 4DOS or DR-DOS). ■ EGA or VGA (or something backward-compatible such as SVGA or XGA). ■ 8088 processor or higher (a 286 or better is recommended). ■ At least 256K of free low DOS memory. ·─═════════════════════─· Release Information ·─═════════════════════════─· This program was released to the general public in March, 1993. Here is a list of all the files provided: README.COM Documentation viewer TETRIS.DOC Documentation file TETRIS.BAT Game launcher TETRIS.XEX Game file: Main program TETRIS.FNT Game file: Custom character font TETRIS.SCR Game file: Screen backdrop TETRIS.SCO Game file: High scores TETRIS.KEY Game file: Key configuration MODE_EGA.COM Video mode switcher MODE_VGA.COM Video mode switcher WINCHECK.COM Windows test utility The only files you need to worry about directly are the documentation viewer and the game launcher. To view the documentation, enter "README" at the DOS prompt. To start the program, enter "TETRIS" at the DOS prompt. ·─═══════════─· Main Menu ·─═══════════════─· When you start the program, you are greeted with a screen containing some credits, followed by a screen listing the high scores (the space bar takes you between screens). Just past these opening screens lies the Main Menu: ┌───┐ ┌───┐ │ 1 │ NOVICE │ D │ DEMO └───┘ 7 PCS. └───┘ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ │ 2 │ AMATEUR │ K │ KEYS └───┘ 14 PCS. └───┘ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ │ 3 │ EXPERT │ G │ SOLO └───┘ 21 PCS. └───┘ GAMES ┌───┐ ┌───┐ │ 4 │ DEITY │ S │ SOUND └───┘ 28 PCS. └───┘ ON ┌───┐ ┌───┐ │ C │ CONTINUE │ Q │ (QUIT) └───┘ GAME └───┘ The square boxes represent keys to press. "1" through "4" start a new game. "C" continues the previous game (where applicable). "D" runs a demo with the computer making moves; the demo always runs in Solo mode and will run until a key is pressed or until the computer loses. "K" enters a key selection mode where you can redefine the standard keys for each of the two players. The "Red" player is the player on the left in Team games, or the only player in Solo games. The "Blue" player is the player on the right and is only active in Team games. "G" switches between Solo and Team games. The current mode is reflected on the screen. "S" turns the sound on or off. The current state is shown on the screen. Sound is only available through the PC speaker (sorry, no Adlib, SB, or GUS support). "Q" shuts down the game and returns to DOS. ·─═════════════─· How to Play ·─═════════════════─· I'm assuming you already know how the basic game works. (If you don't, what rock have you been hiding under for the past five years? Seriously though, if you're not familiar with the game, your best bet is to watch the demo mode -- the game is quite simple to learn.) Like most Tetris clones, this game is divided into Rounds. Each round has a target goal of a certain number of Lines to complete; each line you complete brings you closer to the next round. The difference, though, from most Tetris clones (Spectrum Holobyte, etc.) is that here between rounds your puzzle is wiped clean, the idea being that you should be given a break between rounds, and that rounds should be discrete. This is the way the Atari version does it, that's the way it works here. On low rounds, the puzzle is simply wiped clean -- a brand new slate, so to speak. On higher rounds, the puzzle is wiped clean but also starts with a few pre-placed blocks to add to the challenge. On even higher rounds, other weird things start happening. At around round 10, it starts getting pretty nasty. That's about all I can say; if you find the game interesting enough, I'm sure you can discover all the twists. If you need to quit in the middle of a game, the simplest way is to hold down the "drop" key until your puzzle reaches the top, or just press Ctrl-Q. The "Esc" is used to pause the game. ·─══════─· Keys ·─══════════─· The arcade version uses a joystick which responds only while the stick is actively held in a given direction -- that is, when you let go of the stick, the piece stops moving left or right, or stops dropping fast. The keyboard works a bit differently. In this game, directions are given by tapping the keys multiple times rather than holding it down. So if you need to move three notches to the left, you hit the Left key three times (this is the way most PC Tetris clones work). When you press the Drop key, the piece quickly accelerates to a free-fall and hits the bottom unless you press the Suspend key. Most Tetris clones seem to use a "T" or "Inverted-T" cursor arrangement, with the middle finger controlling both the Rotate and the Drop keys: ┌───┬───┬───┐ ┌───┐ │ │ R │ │ │ R │ └───┼───┼───┘ or ┌───┼───┼───┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ └───┘ └───┴───┴───┘ Contrary to this pseudo-established standard, this program maps the Rotate key onto the Space Bar in order to avoid soreness in the joints of the middle finger normally brought on by sharing the finger between two commonly used keys (generally a BAD IDEA in computer video games). ┌───┐ │ │ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌───┼───┼───┐ │ R │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┘ └───┴───┴───┘ The up-arrow represents the Suspend key, which slows a falling piece back to normal speed (the Suspend key is seldom needed in practice, but it's there if you ever need it). Tests contrasting this method with the standard method indicate that a separation of key duty involving both hands can result in quicker responses, longer playing times, higher scores, and less muscle and tendon fatigue. Of course, if you're left-handed or just plain stubborn, you will definitely want to change the default keys. To change the assignments, select "K" at the main menu and choose new keys for both the Blue and the Red players, avoiding overlap. If you use the 10-key pad, make sure that Num Lock is turned on, or else you'll be unable to access the "5" key. ·─═════════─· Scoring ·─═════════════─· PLACING PIECES. The number of points p awarded for a given piece is a function of the round r, the vertical height h of the piece counting upward from the bottom of the puzzle starting with 1, and the ratio of time f spent dropping in free-fall versus dropping at normal speed, p = (f + 1) (M(l) h + B(l)) , where M(l) and B(l) are the slope and intercept respectively of a linear scoring curve defined as follows: ┌ ┌ │ 1, r = 1 │ 1, r = 1 │ 2, r = 2 │ 4, r = 2 M(l) = ┤ 4, r = 3 B(l) = ┤ 8, r = 3 │ : : │ : : │ 2r, r ≥ 4 │ 4r, r ≥ 4 └ └ So for rounds 4 and up, the fomula is simply p = (f + 1) (2rh + 4r) = 2r (f + 1) (h + 2) . The multiplier (f + 1) covers the interval [1,2] with identity at f = 0 and doubling at f = 1. You are thus rewarded up to twice as much for dropping a piece quickly as you are for letting it fall to the bottom on its own accord. A basic tenet of scoring in video games is that the player be encouraged to think quickly, hastily, or foolishly in order to shorten the game playing time. Accordingly, gutsy behavior is rewarded with points. The height h from the bottom of the puzzle participates in a nonobvious way: rather than reward you for placing pieces lower in the puzzle, the game rewards you for placing pieces higher on the puzzle. Generally speaking, placing pieces high on the puzzle or in precarious positions can quickly lead to demise, so it would seem logical to reward lower positions with higher point values. But another basic tenet of scoring in video games is that the player be encouraged to attempt dangerous moves by rewarding skillful avoidance of danger with more points. Remember, an arcade game doesn't care how many points you amass, it only cares how long you play; it therefore tries to limit your game time so it can get to eating the next quarter. ELIMINATING ROWS. Elimination of a single row is called a "Single" and is worth 50 points. Simultaneous elimination of a pair of rows is called a "Double" and is worth 150 points. Simultaneous elimination of three rows is called a "Triple" and is worth 450 points. Simultaneous elimination of four rows (only possible with the Red piece) is called a "Tetris" and is worth 900 points. These point values are irrespective of the round. EARNING BONUS POINTS: Upon completion of a round, a bonus is awarded for a low puzzle -- the lower the puzzle, the higher the bonus. The bonus b is a function of the round r and the vertical depth n of the top of the puzzle counting downward starting with 1: n b = 10 r Σ i i=1 = 5 r (n² + n) . So in contrast to the previous discussion in which you are rewarded for high puzzles, here you are awarded for low puzzles. You may find it helpful to analyze and contrast these formulas and devise a global strategy to improve your scores. HALL OF FAME: The top ten all-time scores and the top ten scores of the day are tracked in the Hall of Fame opposite the main menu. To get to this screen, press the space bar at the main menu. To get back to the main menu, press the space bar again. The first few times you play the game, the initials in the hall of fame are set to TSL (that's me). ·─════════════════════════─· Hints, Tips, and Tricks ·─════════════════════════════─· 1. When there is an open spot partially covered by blocks, like this... ║ ║ ║ ┌─┐ ║ ╟───┐ ┌───┬─┘ │ ┌─╢ ║ │ └─┐ └─┬─┴─┤ ║ ╚═══╧═════╧═══╧═══╧═╝ ...sometimes you can "tuck" another piece into the open spot and close the gap. For example if the next piece was the purple piece ┌─────┐ you would want to wait for it to get to the bottom row, and │ ┌───┘ then move it to the right at the last possible moment. └─┘ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ║ ╟───┤ │ ┌───┬─┘ │ ┌─╢ ╟───┐ │ ├───┬─┘ │ ┌─╢ ║ │ └─┼─┐ └─┬─┴─┤ ║ ║ │»│ └─┐ └─┬─┴─┤ ║ ╚═══╧═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╝ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═══╧═╝ It's a tricky maneuver at first, but it's not too difficult to learn. 2. Plan ahead (obviously). Use the "next piece" preview wherever you can. ┌─┐ For example, suppose you have to place the green piece ┌─┘ └─┐ in the following puzzle: └─────┘ ║ ║ ║ ┌───┐ ┌─┐ ║ ║ │ ┌─┴─┤ └─┬─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┐ │ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ At first glance, you might see six "sensible" places to drop the piece: ┌─┐ ║ ║ ║ ┌─┘ │ ║ ║ ┌─╢ ╟─┐ ┌───┐ ┌─┐ ║ ║ ┌───┐ ├─┐ │ ║ ║ ┌───┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┘ ║ ║ └─┐ │ ┌─┴─┤ └─┬─┐ ║ ║ │ ┌─┴─┤ └─┼─┐ ║ ║ │ ┌─┴─┤ └─┼─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┤ │ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ║ ┌─┐ │ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ║ ┌─┐ │ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ║ ┌─┘ │ ║ ║ ┌─────┐ ║ ║ │ └─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┴─┐ ├─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┴─┐ ┌─┤ ║ ║ ┌───┤ ┌─┤ ║ ║ │ ┌─┴─┤ └─┬─┐ ║ ║ │ ┌─┴─┤ └─┬─┐ ║ ║ │ ┌─┴─┤ └─┬─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┐ │ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ║ ┌─┐ │ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ║ ┌─┐ │ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ ┌───┐ But suppose you knew that the next piece was the orange piece ┌─┘ ┌─┘ and you could use this information in placing the green piece. └───┘ You could, of course, still choose one of the 6 moves listed above. But perhaps a more clever move would be to place the green piece flat on its back on the far left (a), then place the orange piece on the far right (b) to knock out a row (c): ║ ║ ║ ┌─┐ ║ ║ ║ ║ ┌─┐ ┌───┐ ┌─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┐ ┌───┐ ┌─┐ │ └─╢ ║ ┌─┐ ║ ╟─┘ └─┤ ┌─┴─┤ └─┬─┐ ║ ╟─┘ └─┤ ┌─┴─┤ └─┼─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┐ ┌───┐ ┌─┐ │ └─╢ ╟─┬─┬─┤ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ╟─┬─┬─┤ │ │ ┌─┘ ├─╢ ║ ├─┤ ├─┬─┴─┼─┼─┴─┬─╢ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╟─┘ │ ├─┴─┬─┴─┤ ┌─┤ ║ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ ╚═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╧═╧═╝ (a) (b) (c) At first it seems like a bad idea to trap an open square underneath the green piece, especially since that row is almost complete (the far left square in the second row). But when the orange piece drops and the third row is eliminated, the trapped square is reopened as the bulk of the green piece disappears! You couldn't make a cool move like that without the next piece preview unless you were crazy, clairvoyant, or lucky. One more example. Suppose at some point your puzzle looks like this... ║ ║ ║ ┌───┬───┐ ║ ║ └─┬─┤ ┌─┴─┐ ║ ║ ┌─┐ ┌─┤ ├─┤ │ ┌─╢ ╟─┘ ├─┘ ├─┤ └─┬─┘ │ ║ ╚═══╧═══╧═╧═══╧═══╧═╝ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ │ │ ┌─┘ │ ...and you are given the yellow piece ┌─┘ │ and the green piece └─┐ │ to work with. Well, there are a dozen └───┘ or so reasonable ways └─┘ to drop these pieces, but notice that it is possible to clear a row by making an unorthodox move with the yellow piece, followed by another unorthodox move with the green piece. You find the moves! (Hint: try to clear the fourth row.) 3. Watch the demo mode carefully and learn new tricks from the computer. I didn't explicitly program the computer to invent new tricks, but it's inevitable that new moves will be discovered when you're searching for the "best" move. In fact, both of the examples above originated in the demo mode. 4. If you are confident, leave a column open on the side of the puzzle for the Red piece so you can clear four rows simultaneously and earn 900 points! ╟───┐ ║ ║ ┌─┴─┬───┐ ┌─┐ ║ ║ ├─┐ └─┐ └─┬─┘ └─┐║ ╟─┘ └─┬─┴─┬─┴─┬───┤║ ╟───┬─┘ ┌─┤ ┌─┘ ┌─┤║ ║ ├───┘ │ ├───┘ │║ ╚═══╧═════╧═╧═════╧═╝ 5. Learn the colors of the game pieces and use your peripheral vision to recognize next piece so you can keep your eyes focused on the puzzle. On higher rounds, looking away even for a moment can throw your game. 6. Play often. ;-) ·─════════════════════════════─· Frequently Asked Questions ·─════════════════════════════════─· 1. Why is it called Tetris Deluxe? What's so Deluxe about it? In addition to the standard 7 game pieces you know and love, there are 21 new pieces, for a total of 28. The standard 7 pieces comprise all possible ways to combine 4 laterally-adjacent square elements: ┌─┬─┬─┬─┐ └─┴─┴─┴─┘ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ├─┼─┬─┐ ┌─┼─┼─┐ ┌─┬─┼─┤ └─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┘ ┌─┬─┐ ┌─┬─┐ ┌─┬─┐ └─┼─┼─┐ ├─┼─┤ ┌─┼─┼─┘ └─┴─┘ └─┴─┘ └─┴─┘ 17 of the new pieces comprise all but one of the possible combinations of 5 square elements: (Can you guess which piece was omitted?) ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ├─┼─┬─┬─┐ ┌─┼─┼─┬─┐ ┌─┬─┼─┼─┐ ┌─┬─┬─┼─┤ └─┴─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┴─┘ ┌─┬─┐ ┌─┬─┐ ┌─┬─┐ ┌─┬─┐ └─┼─┼─┬─┐ ├─┼─┼─┐ ┌─┼─┼─┤ ┌─┬─┼─┼─┘ └─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┘ ┌─┬─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┬─┐ └─┼─┤ ┌─┼─┤ ├─┤ ├─┼─┐ ├─┼─┘ ├─┼─┐ └─┼─┼─┐ ┌─┼─┼─┐ ┌─┼─┼─┘ ┌─┼─┤ └─┴─┘ └─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┘ └─┴─┘ └─┴─┘ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┬─┬─┐ ├─┼─┼─┤ ┌─┼─┼─┐ ├─┼─┐ └─┴─┼─┤ └─┴─┴─┘ └─┼─┼─┘ └─┼─┼─┐ ├─┤ └─┘ └─┴─┘ └─┘ The remaining 4 new pieces comprise all the possible combinations of 1, 2, and 3 square elements: ┌─┐ ┌─┬─┐ ┌─┬─┬─┐ ┌─┬─┐ └─┘ └─┴─┘ └─┴─┴─┘ ├─┼─┘ └─┘ Each of the 28 pieces has a unique color. I won't list them here -- you'll have to play the game to learn the colors. 2. Can I make my own game pieces? Sorry, no. With 28 predefined shapes, I didn't think it was worth the time to write a game piece editor, even a non-interactive one. 3. Why is the R backwards? That's the way Atari did it, and I thought it was way cool. The Cyrillic alphabet contains a letter that resembles a backwards R in the Roman alphabet, and this letter is traditionally used in Tetris clones to honor the creators of the original version. 4. Where and when was the very first Tetris produced? I'm not totally sure where the FIRST Tetris game was produced, but I've seen a 40x25 CGA text mode version bearing the following copyright: (C) AcademySoft CCAS USSR Moscow, 1986 The authors were listed as 30-year old Alexy Pazhitnov (mathematician / game theorist) and 18-year old Vadim Gerasimov (programmer). 5. Why is there no competitive mode in your version? Why do I have to play in this silly cooperative mode if I want to play with someone? Because I'm a bonehead, and I didn't do it right. The arcade version had a great head-to-head mode, but for some reason my brain wasn't working and I took a different route. Sorry. Get a Nintendo GameBoy if you want to play head-to-head. 6. Why is there no joystick support? Again, sorry -- I'm a bonehead. I didn't then (and still don't now) own a joystick. 7. What algorithm do you use in the Demo mode to select where to put the pieces? Just a simple enumerative weighted search. The next piece is always taken into account, so you may see what appears at first to be a foolish move but what may turn out to be a subtle stroke of genious by the program. Of course, you may also see moves that are truly just plain foolish -- it's not a very smart algorithm. 8. My other Tetris game doesn't have the "next piece" preview. Can I turn it off in your program? No. The game of Tetris is too simplistic without the preview. Tetris clones that don't have a "next piece" preview are broken, and you should boycott them. Some people claim that using a next piece preview is like "cheating" because you "already know what the next piece is, and that makes it easier." The truth is, there's not enough strategy without the preview. The placement of a standard (four-cell) Tetris piece involves choosing a "best" position and rotation from among as few as 9 to as many as 18 or so possibilities, depending on the piece. These numbers are small enough that examining most or all of possibilities in your head doesn't require an excess of brainpower. But now add a second piece -- the lower and upper bounds are raised to 81 and 324, respectively. Now, to find the "best" position, you need to consider a lot more variables. (Study the examples in the section "Hints, Tips, and Tricks.") If you really want the next piece preview to go away, get a piece of 3M Post-it Notes paper and stick it on your monitor. 9. What does it cost to register this program? (Shyeah, as if people ask) Not a bloody cent. It's FreeWare. You may distribute this program provided that you include all component files in their original and unmodified form (preferably via an archive file such as an ARJ, ZIP, or LZH file), and provided that you follow the additional restrictions as set forth in the "Terms of Use" section at the end of this document. 10. What's your high score on this game? I don't remember exactly (it was three or four years ago) but it was something like 157,000 on round 13. My eyes were quite sore <grin>. 11. I tried running the program in a Windows DOS box, but it refused to run and asked me to exit Windows. Why is this? The game does not multitask well under Microsoft Windows since it talks directly to the speaker hardware for the sound effects and to the video hardware for the color palette and double-buffering animation. Remember, this game was written way back in 1989, even before Windows 3.0. If you really think you need to run the game under Windows, you can edit the batch file and remove the check for Windows (caveat emptor). I didn't provide a .PIF file because both machines I tested with ran it strangely, even with DOS box exclusivity on and port monitoring off. Maybe you can get it to work nicely under Windows on your machine, but don't count on it. 12. Will the game run under OS/2? Yes, as long as your DOS box settings allow the program to write directly to the speaker and video hardware. You must also ensure that the video hardware ports are not virtualized, or else the game will run way, way, way too fast. ·─═════════════════════════─· About the README Viewer ·─═════════════════════════════─· Many people have commented on the smoothness of the README viewer, and have asked that I make it available outside the realm of this game. To use the viewer as a general text file viewing facility, simply copy README.COM to your \BIN, \DOS, \TOOLS directory, or some directory on the path, and rename it in the process to something useful, like V.COM ('v' for viewer). Why rename it? Because when the program is named README.COM, it wants to read this Tetris documentation file; if it's named anything else, it accepts a filename on the command line (sorry, no wildcards). The whole file is slurped into low DOS memory before any of the fancy scrolling begins, so you are limited to files of approximately 8000 lines or less and no more than around 500K. When you exit the viewer, the color settings are automatically saved in a .CFG file in the same directory as the viewer. The README viewer is subject to the same distribution restrictions as the Tetris game (see the legal section at the end of this document). You are welcomed (and encouraged) to distribute it to anyone and everyone, but you may not charge a fee and you may not modify the program. I will be releasing a follow-up version of the viewer later in the year that will support 30, 34, 40, 50, and 60 line modes, 80 and 94 column modes, filename wildcards, and perhaps even horizontal scrolling. (Programmers only) If no file is given on the command line, input is taken from stdin. That means you can pipe output to the viewer, for example dir /od /s | v On my system I've replaced the 'more' filter with this viewer. But I'm biased. :'] ·─═══════════════════─· Technical History (For Dweebs Only) ·─═════════════════════════─· This game was developed in the fall of 1989 on a 4.77MHz 8088 system with an EGA. With such a pig-slow computer, it was necessary to use a text mode for the animation rather than a real graphics mode (sorry). To keep the graphics from looking crummy, I redefined the standard BIOS character set using larger letters and a complete set of 3D-looking brick elements (like the Atari arcade version). Thanks to this little-known-at-the-time trick, many people have actually been fooled into thinking that the game uses a graphics mode! If you have a VGA, the game will automatically run in EGA emulation mode. EGA mode is necessary because the EGA's 8x14 character cells work well with custom-defined characters, but the VGA's 9x14 cells do not, as the 9th column is either blank or a repeat of the 8th column. Smooth animation is accomplished by double buffering -- showing one image while constructing another, flipping between the images while the monitor is in a vertical retrace interval. ·─══════════════════─· Terms of Use (Legal Rigamarole) ·─════════════════════════─· COPYRIGHTS. Tetris Deluxe and the README viewer (the "Software") are Copyright (c) 1989-1993 by Todd S. Lehman (the "Author") and are protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Even though the Software is "free," the Author retains all copyrights and ownership of the Software and reserves the right to restrict its use and distribution at any time. TRADEMARKS. "Fibblesnork" and "Fibblesnork Software" are trademarks of Todd S. Lehman. NO WARRANTY. The Software is provided "as is," with no support and without any obligation on the part of the Author to assist in its use, correction, modification, or enhancement. The Author makes no representations about the suitability of the Software for any purpose and disclaims all warranties with regard to the Software, including without limitation all implied warranties of design, merchantibility, and fitness for a particular purpose or arising from a course of dealing, usage, or trade practice. NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. In no event shall the Author be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) whether in an action of contract, negligence, or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the use of or inability to use the Software, even if the Author has been advised of the possibility of such damages. GRANT OF USE AND REDISTRIBUTION. Permission to use, copy, and redistribute the Software and its documentation without fee is hereby granted, provided that (a) the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both the copyright notice and these Terms of Use appear in supporting documentation, that (b) the Software be distributed in its entirety with all accompanying documentation and in its original and unmodified form, that (c) the name of the Author not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to redistri- bution of the Software without specific prior written permission, and that (d) the Software not be included in or bundled with any commercial product including but not limited to magazines, books, hard disks, and CD-ROMs. ┬S└