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Text File | 1995-04-07 | 15.1 KB | 365 lines

$VER: Slider.doc 1.07 (02.04.95) SLIDER - version 1.07 02-April-95 Copyright ©1995 Joseph Carlson, All Rights Reserved This software IS freely redistributable as long as no files in the archive are modified or deleted. This program is SHAREWARE (sort of), if you use it and like it, you MUST send me email saying so. That's all, that's it... No money, just gratitude. Send email to internet: j.carlson10@genie.com or from GEnie: J.CARLSON10 == SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ======================================================== Requires Kickstart 2.0 or higher. Any Amiga from A500 to A4000. · If your machine has WB3.0+, the program asks the system for the video mode that most closely matches 640x480 64 colors (VGA Productivity). This results multiscan if available, or Euro72, DblPAL, PAL hires-lace, etc... On ECS machines, this may even use your graphics card if available to Intuition. · With WB2.x, or if 64 color hires mode is not available, a 16 color hires-lace screen is opened in the default mode that the computer was booted in (NTSC or PAL). For full speed and visual effect, I recommend use on AGA machines. == PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ======================================================== Slider is a puzzle similar to those little number slide puzzles we have all played with at one time or another. This version features a nice high res marble background with embossed wood pieces. The size of the puzzle is adjustable in width and height from 2x2 to 8x8. It is AGA & ECS compatible. The object is to move the pieces as quickly as possible until they are in numerical order. You move pieces by pointing to the piece you want to move, and pressing the left mouse button. THIS ARCHIVE INCLUDES: README - BBS description file Slider.info - The drawer icon. Slider/Slider.doc - This text and its icon. Slider/Slider.doc.info Slider/Slider - The game and its icon Slider/Slider.info Slider/Slider_AGA.iff - AGA graphics data Slider/Slider_ECS.iff - ECS graphics data Slider/Slider.snd - sound effects == INSTALLATION =============================================================== This archive decompresses into its own drawer. Just copy or move the drawer and its icon into whatever directory you want to keep it in (simple). == PROGRAM USAGE ============================================================== To run, just double-click its icon. Slider will display a scoreboard, the puzzle, and some gadgets. Clicking on the SHUFFLE gadget will reset the clock to 0 and shuffle the puzzle pieces. Just select with the mouse which piece you want to slide and that piece will move (if it can). The clock starts when the first piece is moved. The clock will stop when the puzzle is back in numerical order. Also your time and number of moves will be recorded in the previous scores display. -- THE SCORE DISPLAY ------------------ The large green display is the time elapsed (accurate to 1/10th of a second) with the smaller green numbers being the size of the puzzle and the number of moves made. The red displays underneath the green ones indicate the last 5 scores for solving the current size puzzle. (Sorry, it's not a high score table yet...) As of version 1.04, a character is displayed to the left of the moves count to indicate what mode the game is in. A "C" indicates the computer is solving or has solved the puzzle. A "P" indicates the game is paused. -- THE GADGETS ------------------------ There are 5 gadgets above the score display. Keyboard shortcuts are shown in "quotes". They are: QUIT "Q"- Quits the game. :) CONFIG "C"- Opens the config window for adjusting game parameters. (See THE CONFIG WINDOW below.) PAUSE "P"- Stops the clock until another piece is moved or PAUSE is clicked again. SOLVE "S"- Signals the computer to solve the puzzle for you! (Clicking it again will put the game in PAUSE mode so you can finish it.) SHUFFLE "<spacebar>" - Shuffles the pieces around and resets the clock to 0:00.0. The clock starts when you move your first piece. The larger the puzzle, the longer this takes. INVISIBLE DRAG BAR - You can't see it, but the screen's drag bar is there. Just try to drag the screen down, it works! INVISIBLE DEPTH GADGET - You can't see this either, but if you click in the upper-right corner of the screen, you will flip screens normally. -- THE CONFIG WINDOW ------------------ This is a small window which allows you to customize the puzzle. The gadget descriptions and keyboard short cuts are: PUZZLE SIZE "W" or "H" - You can select any combination of width and height for the number of puzzle pieces. VISIBLE SHUFFLE "V" - When checked, you get to watch the pieces get shuffled on the screen. If not checked, the new puzzle will appear instantly when SHUFFLE is pressed. ALWAYS SOLVABLE "A" - This determines what method is used to shuffle the pieces. If checked, the computer will start with a solved puzzle and then randomly move the pieces around. The number of moves depends on the size of the puzzle. If not checked, the computer will start with an empty puzzle and drop pieces in random places in the puzzle. This is very quick, but the resulting puzzle will not always be solvable. (Thanks to Randy for this idea) HIGH TASK PRIORITY "P" - On an A500 things are a bit slugish as far as mouse movement is concerned... When checked, this raises Slider's task priority to 50. I only suggest using this on an A500, it will actually slow things down on faster machines. If not checked, task priority is set to 0. (default) CUSTOM PICTURE / PICTURE SETTINGS - For future versions if people are interested in one. -- Not implemented. SAVE "S"- saves current settings as tool types in Slider's icon (slider.info). -- Not implemented. USE "U"- uses the current settings and remakes puzzle if size was change. CANCEL "C"- returns to puzzle, ignoring any new settings. -- THE KEYBOARD ----------------------- "<ESC>" or "Q" Quits the game. Shortcuts for gadgets are listed above. You can also move the puzzle pieces by using the cursor keys or numeric keypad keys. This will move the piece that is on the side of the blank space that you point to. (?) For example, if you press UP, the piece up above the blank space will move. A little confusing, but it really hurts to play this way. Just use the mouse, I am not responsible for any hand injuries caused by anyone playing this game with the keyboard. -- THE BRAIN -------------------------- If you select SOLVE, the computer will solve each piece in order until it reaches the bottom two rows. It will then solve the last two rows simultaneously from left to right. If the puzzle is unsolvable, the computer will beep when it has solved as much as it can, and the timer will just keep on going... The fastest that computer is allowed to move is once every Intuitick (0.1 seconds). Because the window doesn't get every intuitick message, and the computer pauses in between move sequences, it's time will be slower than 10 moves a second. It's still faster than I've seen anyone play this, so I have no desire to speed it up. (I wouldn't mind if it was even slower than this...) == HINTS ====================================================================== Just hold the mouse button down when moving pieces. Your mouse button probably won't last long if you click it once every move. It's about 1000 moves to solve an 8x8 puzzle (I had to replace my left mouse button before I realized I should put this feature in.) If you get stuck on one piece, press SOLVE to see how the computer puts it in, then press SOLVE again to stop the computer and finish the puzzle yourself. Read "THE BRAIN" section to see what order the computer solves the puzzle in. If you activate another window to check on something else running on your Amiga, Slider will pause the clock and wait for you to you reactivate the Slider window. == KNOWN BUGS: ================================================================ None, anymore ;-). I try my hardest to make sure all my programs are completely bug free. I use an A4000 and nothing iritates me more than downloading a game that doesn't run on this machine. I test all my software on the A4000 as well as on an Amiga 500, trying every combination of options possible, running other programs at the same time, and using up LOTS of run time. I can solve these puzzles almost as fast as the computer now. If you find a bug, PLEASE let me know!!! If I don't know about it, I can't fix it. Quality is very important to me. == HISTORY ==================================================================== Version 1.07 06-Apr-95 · V1.06 proved not to work with ECS and WB3.1... Screen setup routine is now completely rewritten. It checks GfxBase directly for chip set and default display mode. With AGA chipset, Slider asks system for best mode available (64 colors). With non-AGA chipset, Slider opens a hi-res lace screen in the mode the computer was booted in (NTSC or PAL). Should work with all Amigas 500-4000, WB 2.0-3.1, OCS/ECS/AGA Chips. Thanks go to all those who reported problems and successes, and to those who tested this version for me on their different Amigas so I could be sure it worked for everyone before I released it. Version 1.06 31-Mar-95 · This time I really fixed the A3000 problem (at least with WB2.1).... Thanks go to Mike Nelson for testing and quick bug reporting! Version 1.05 26-Mar-95 (wish it was not released) · Thought I fixed problem when running on an A3000, but I made it worse. Seems OpenScreen() would open a Productivity screen in 4 colors even though I specified 64! Version 1.04 13-Jan-95 · Added Pause/Computer indicator (the P or C on the LED display). · Added ability to move more than one piece at a time. Now if you click on any piece that is in the same row or column as the empty spot, all the tiles in between will move. · Touched up AGA graphics to give more depth to LED display and to smooth marble background. · Rewrote shuffle routine to be more thorough and efficient. · Added version number into config window titlebar. · Error messages now appear in requesters. Version 1.03 29-Oct-94 (not released) · Added internal loading routines for IFF files eliminating the requirement for "iff.library". This also eliminated any need for access to iff files after gamescreen is loaded. · Computer now stops trying when it cannot solve a puzzle. Version 1.02 27-Oct-94 (not released) · Added busy pointer/ghosted gadgets for when window was busy shuffling tiles or during Config mode so that multiple gadget hits (like on SHUFFLE) would have no effect. · Now recognizes earlier Kickstarts and alerts you if your not using at least WB 2.0 Version 1.01 30-Sep-94 (not released) - It is possible to flip screens, activating another window without releasing the mouse button (ala QMouse). Slider would therefore not recieve the mouse SELECTUP message and let you move pieces even though you were no longer holding the button down. Version 1.00 9/9/94 - First public release. == ALSO FROM THE AUTHOR ======================================================= QMousePrefs - This program gives you a preferences window for adjusting any options for QMouse by Dan Babcock. Also includes icon for your WBStartup drawer so you don't have to modify s:User-Startup to use QMouse. CARNAGE - An addictive two player game in which you must seek out and kill your opponent with the nastiest weapon you can find. This 2d split screen overhead scroller features high-res graphics, well thought out stereo sound, mazes, teleports, all kinds of weapons ranging from rifles to bazookas, and terrifying killer robots that seem to know your every move. Also features serial/modem link support for playing against a friend (or foe) who is only a phone call away. And you can type messages to each other in real time so you can express your true feelings about having a grenade tossed at you. Carnage is written by Randall Richards and Joseph Carlson. CP-1 SEGA(TM) CONTROL PAD ADAPTER - Tired of the old joysticks that only have one button? Having trouble finding an old standard joystick? Well this little adapter allows you to use any joystick made for the Sega Genesis with your Amiga. Sega Genesis Controllers are easy to find (any Toys 'R Us) and inexpensive (about $13 for the SEGA brand). The joypad and trigger (B) button will work for any game, and we have released a shared library for other programmers to utilize ALL the other buttons in their games. Future games we release will use the extra buttons (Carnage registered version already does!). My friend Randy and I are currently using the adapter with SEGA infrared cordless controlpads on our Amigas. Please contact me if you are interested in obtaining or supporting such a product. CONTROLPAD LIBRARY: What good is a control pad adapter without support? Well, with this simple shared library, game programmers will have an easy time incorporating those extra buttons into their games. This library is freely distributable and allows programs to check the real time status of joystick or controlpad buttons, direction, and type with a simple and very fast library function call. If you feel the need to make a game that uses more than one button, then this is for you! The archive includes the library, docs, sample code, a controlpad/joystick/adapter test program, and ordering information for the CP-1 ControlPad Adapter. The library reads joysticks just fine without the adapter, so you can still use the library even if you don't want to take advantage of the extra buttons. -- COMING SOON ------------------------ READ - A fast text file reader which adapts to any screen mode and any fixed width font. Fast (and fine) scrolling via mouse or cursor keys. Scrolls left and right as well as up and down. (Just when you thought you've seen enough text readers...) By Joseph Carlson. == THE AUTHOR ================================================================= Please send any comments to: Joe Carlson 3020 E Yorba Linda Blvd Apt. E-22 Fullerton, CA 92631 USA EMAIL: INTERNET -> j.carlson10@genie.com or xjcarlson@csu.fullerton.edu GENIE -> J.CARLSON10 I would appreciate any feedback you might have, such as suggestions or bug reports. Special thanks to Randy Richards, good friend for over 10 years. The computer solving routines would've been a nightmare without your "queue.c" code. Also to Dave Esposito for testing this on his A1200 and to Peter Olafson for the mention of Slider in Amigaworld! Commodore is dead (and it's about time...) // Long live the Amiga \X/ and whatever company gets the rights to it! ===============================================================================