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1996-09-29
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Shut The Box Deluxe Version 4.26
Copyright (C) 1996 John Parlin
All rights reserved
Release Date: 09-30-1996
╒═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
│░░░░░░ LICENSING INFORMATION ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
This program is not Freeware. This is SHAREWARE which means it is user-
supported software. If you use this program for more than 30 days, you are
required to register or remove it from your system. The registration fee
is a mere $10.00 and is not a lot to ask.
The concept works only with your support. If you find that you can use
this program, then a registration fee of $10.00 U.S. funds will help defray
the development cost and encourage the authorship of other programs that
might be useful to you. A Registration Form for this purpose is included
with the distribution archive and is called SHUTREG.DOC.
ShutBox is Copyrighted by John Parlin and all rights are reserved. You may
copy this program and documentation for backup purposes. You also may copy
and share UNMODIFIED copies of the program package, providing that the
copyright notice is reproduced and included on all copies.
You may not sell the product for a fee and/or distribute the product along
with other products without expressed written permission from John Parlin,
nor may you modify or remove the Copyright Notice from the program or the
documentation.
Those who register this program within one year of its release by the
author, will receive a registration key. The key will be delivered either
by personal upload or postal service. Allow up to 6 weeks for delivery for
locations outside the continental U.S.
Comments, suggestions and bug reports are welcome. If you have any, you
should contact the author in the Fidonet DOORWARE echomail conference or at
the address listed below:
John Parlin
7043 Fremont Avenue North
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430-1138
If you're reporting a bug, please give as much detail as possible about the
problem you are experiencing so that it can be duplicated and fixed.
╒═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
│░░░░░░ INTRODUCTION ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
Shut The Box has been around since the 18th century and was thought
to have been invented by fishermen in the Channel Islands. It has remained
a popular game in the British Isles and has also been glorified in the TV
game show High Rollers. Its simplicity coupled with a beat-the-odds type
of play, make Shut The Box, a fun, fast-paced game.
THE OBJECTIVE:
Players try to get the highest monthly score possible, by shutting
numbered doors or "tiles" which match rolled dice. At the beginning of play,
tiles numbered 1 thru 12 are displayed on the screen in an "up" position
(see Figure 1).
┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
│ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ 10│ 11│ 12│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
└───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
Figure 1
Tiles 1 through 9 constitute the regular "9-tile box" while tiles
10 through 12 make up the "Deluxe Box" (see figure 2).
┌───────Regular, 9-Tile Box───────┐ ┌─Deluxe──┐
┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
│ 1 │ 2 │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │ 6 │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ 10│ 11│ 12│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
└───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
Figure 2
The player begins by rolling two die and then closes a combination
tiles whose numbers total that of the dice. The player's turn ends when a
number is rolled which cannot be matched by any total of the remaining tiles
left up (open) or, when all tiles have been closed.
For example: A player's first roll is a six and a two, totalling
eight. The player may shut either the tile numbered eight, or the six
and two, or the five and three, or any other combination that totals the
rolled value of eight.
In our example, the player chooses to shut (pull down) the two and
the six, leaving the board as you see in Figure 3.
┌───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┬───┐
│ 1 │ │ 3 │ 4 │ 5 │ │ 7 │ 8 │ 9 │ 10│ 11│ 12│
├───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┼───┤
│ │ 2 │ │ │ │ 6 │ │ │ │ │ │ │
└───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┴───┘
Figure 3
When the player is finished selecting tiles (and the Tile Total is
equal to the total of the dice), the player presses <ENTER>. The tiles
that were pulled down will then change color and be considered out of play
or "closed".
Upon game completion, all tiles are reopened and the player may
select to play another game providing that he has not reached the maximum
number of daily turns allowed by the System Operator.
At the end of each month, the player with the highest score is
declared the winner. The top-three scoring players are recorded and displayed
to players throughout the following month.
SCORING:
Whenever tiles are shut, or pulled-down, and "entered", the player's
score is incremented by the total of the tiles which were closed. At the end
of each game, players receive a bonus of 10 multiplied by the number of tiles
that were closed. If a player closes all tiles in the regular 9-tile box,
a bonus of 500 points is added to the player's score and the player is
awarded a free turn. If all tiles are closed, the player is awarded for
shutting both the 9-tile and deluxe boxes and is awarded the same PLUS an
additional 1,000 points for shutting the deluxe box.
GAME CONTROLS:
Primary Command Set:
The primary command keys used to control Shut The Box, are the number
keys 4, 6, 8, 2, and <ENTER>. Move the block cursor using the numeric key pad
with the NUM LOCK key turned on. The block cursor can be moved right and left.
To close a tile (pull it down), use the 2 key. To open a tile (deselect it),
use the 8 key.
(u)
8
(l) 4 6 (r)
2
(d)
Alternate Command Set:
The alternate command keys used to control Shut The Box, are the
keys A, D, W, X and <ENTER>. Move the block cursor using the keys A and D.
The block cursor can be moved right and left. To close a tile (pull it down),
use the X key. To open a tile (deselect it), use the W key.
(u)
W
(l) A D (r)
X
(d)
When you are satisfied with the tiles you have pulled down, press
<ENTER> to "enter" the tiles and remove them from play.
Players dialed in using a RIPscrip terminal program may find
that clicking the number boxes and text commands is much faster and simpler
than using the keyboard at all.
╒═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
│░░░░░░ INSTALLATION ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are running an earlier version than 4.0, please
read SHUTBOX.NEW for instructions on how to procede.
Shut The Box runs great with most any BBS that can create a DORINFO1.DEF
or DOOR.SYS drop file. A FOSSIL driver is also required for communications
input/output. All file I/O uses record locking and this door will run fine
on two nodes simultaneously. All you need to do is pass some command line
parameters to the program.
These are:
/S - This parameter is for use on systems that use a DOOR.SYS drop file
rather than a DORINFO1.DEF drop file. This specifies the BBS
system name. Use underscores in place of spaces. This parameter
is needed on DOOR.SYS systems because DOOR.SYS does not contain the
name of the BBS which is needed for registration information.
e.g. SHUTBOX /SThe_O-Zone_BBS
/O - This parameter is for use on systems that use a DOOR.SYS drop file
rather than a DORINFO1.DEF drop file. This specifies the BBS
System Operator's name which is not contained in DOOR.SYS. This
parameter is needed on DOOR.SYS systems.
e.g. SHUTBOX /OJohn_Doe
/H - This parameter specifies that the FOSSIL driver is not to be
initialized. Use this parameter if you are getting a FOSSIL driver
error (i.e. FrontDoor not able to detect FOSSIL).
/A - If this parameter is used, it specifies that scoring and sorting
will be done on the player's monthly average score rather than the
total monthly score. If ommitted, scoring and sorting is done on
player's total monthly score. NOTE: If used, you may find that
players who only play a few times will win the monthly tournament
versus those who play on a regular basis.
/Tn - This is the maximum number of games a player may play per day.
This should be a number between 1 and 99. If it's not in this
range, it will default to 5.
/Mn - This is the maximum number of make up days allowed per day.
Players may not be able to call in and play every day. So, to
enable players to keep up and be competitive, the Sysop can allow
players to have 'n' make up days per day. This should be a value
between 1 and 5. If it's not in this range, it will default to 3.
Example: If I allow 3 make up days per day, and 5 games per day, a
player can:
- Call in on the 5th and play his 5 games for that day.
- Use a up to 3 make up days and play 5 games for each make up day
that he uses.
/Pn - This is the path to DORINFOx.DEF or DOOR.SYS. This is where Shut
The Box will look for the drop file. If a trailing backslash is
not specified, one will be added.
/D - This parameter specifies that a RemoteAccess or GAP (PCBoard)
DOOR.SYS drop file should be used instead of a DORINFOx.DEF drop
file. This file should reside in the directory path specified by
the /P parameter. This parameter is optional.
/J - This parameter should only be used game messages fly by too
quickly. Some screaming PC processors such as pentiums may need to
set use this parameter if their users complain that game messages
fly by too quickly to be read.
Examples:
SHUTBOX.EXE /t7 /m2 /pC:\RA\ 7 games per day.
2 make up days per day.
DORINFO1.DEF can be found in C:\RA\
directory.
SHUTBOX.EXE /m5 /p\RA\ 5 games per day (default).
5 make up days per day.
DORINFO1.DEF can be found in \RA\
directory.
SHUTBOX.EXE /pC:\RA\ /D /SCity_Terminal_BBS
5 games per day (default).
3 make up days per game (default).
DOOR.SYS can be found in C:\RA\ directory.
Use DOOR.SYS instead of DORINFO1.DEF. No
need to worry about the format. Shut The
Box will automatically determine if a
RemoteAccess or PCBoard DOOR.SYS is being
used. The BBS System Name is City
Terminal BBS.
NOTE: If you are running this program under PCBoard, you may have to load
a FOSSIL driver from a batch file before the game is run, and unload
it when the game is finished and before control is returned to the
BBS.
Are command line parameters difficult to comprehend or use? You can use a
configuration profile as an alternative to using command line parameters.
To use a configuration profile, create a valid DOS ASCII text file. In
it, define the settings using the following syntax:
setting=<your setting>
Valid settings are:
PATH This is the path to DORINFO1.DEF or DOOR.SYS.
BBSNAME The name of the BBS (used to validate registration code).
SYSOPNAME The name of the Sysop (used to validate registration code).
MAXTURNS A number between 1 and 99 that is the maximum number of turns a
player may take per day.
MAKEUPDAYS A number between 1 and 5 that is the maximum number of make-up
days a player may use per day.
DOORSYS A YES or NO setting that determines whether DOOR.SYS is used.
If set to NO, then DORINFO1.DEF is used.
AVGSORT A YES or NO setting that determines whether the score card is
sorted by average or total scores. If set to NO, then standard
tournament scoring is used.
SLOWDELAY A YES or NO setting that determines whether the system clock
should be used in delay routines. When program messages scream
by too quickly because you're running a boss pentium or other
fast processor, set this to YES. If program pauses are
sufficient, leave it set to NO.
Here's an example of a configuration file. Let's call it STBNODE1.CFG.
The contents of the file are:
PATH=C:\BBS\NODE1
BBSNAME=CITY TERMINAL
SYSOPNAME=JOHN DOE
MAXTURNS=5
MAKEUPDAYS=2
DOORSYS=NO
AVGSORT=NO
SLOWDELAY=NO
When executing Shut The Box, include the filename of the configuration file
instead of the command line parameters. Shut The Box will run using the
settings from the file. For example, to run Shut The Box using the
configuration profile STBNODE1.CFG (above), just use the command line:
SHUTBOX.EXE STBNODE1.CFG
Shut The Box can be run in the BBS system directory or in a directory of
its own. If you use a separate subdirectory, you will need to use a batch
file.
SHUTBOX.BAT:
CD \BBS\SHUTBOX
SHUTBOX /t7 /m3 /pC:\RA\ (or SHUTBOX <config file name>)
CD \BBS
Running Shut The Box on a mutli-node system may require a batch file
similar to this one:
CD \BBS\SHUTBOX
IF %1==2 GOTO LINE2
SHUTBOX /t7 /m3 /pC:\BBS\NODE1\
GOTO STOP
:LINE2
SHUTBOX /t7 /m3 /pC:\BBS\NODE2\
:STOP
In the above example, it is assumed that the node number is being passed
into the batch file on the command-line. Inside the batch file, it is then
referred to as %1. It is beyond the scope of this document to get into
batch file programming. See your DOS manual for more information.
That's all there is to installing the Shut The Box door. There is no setup
program needed.
Manually Restarting the Game:
The game may be restarted at any time by deleting the file SHUTBOX.DTE.
The main program executable will do the rest.
╒═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
│░░░░░░ SUPPORT FILES ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│
╘═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
The following is a list of files related to the operation of this program.
It is noted whether or not the file is absolutely required in order for the
program to run.
Filename Required Description
------------ -------- -------------------------------------------------
SHUTREG.DOC No Program registration form.
SHUTBOX.NEW No Program revision history. Be sure to read!
SHUTBOX.EXE Yes The main progam executable.
SHUTBOX.ANS Yes The game board graphic.
SHUTOPEN.ANS Yes The Shut The Box intro graphic (color graphics).
SHUTOPEN.RIP Yes The Shut The Box intro graphic (RIP graphics).
STBHELP1 thru
STBHELP4.RIP Yes The program help/instructions in RipScript.
SHUTBOX.HLP Yes Help file.
SHUTBOX.DOC No This documentation.
SHUTBOX.DTE No This is a date file. This is used to determine
when the end of month has been reached.
SHUTBOX.HSC No This file contains the last month's high scorer
statistics.
SHUTBOX.DAT No This is the player data file. If it does not
exist, it will be created.
SHUTBOX.LOG No This file is created if Shut The Box encounters
an error during operations. If this file
exists, it is intended for your viewing
pleasure.