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1993-07-01
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LAST UPDATE: 07/01/1993
----------------------------------------------------------------------
QUATRIS II+ is Copyright (C) 1993 by Eugene Ignatius Kim
Copyright (C) 1993 by Hong Kim
Copyright (C) 1993 by Awesome Softworx
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This document, including all of the files that are part of the
Quatris II+ program is copyrighted and is subject to any modifi-
cations.
QUATRIS II+ was compiled with Borland Pascal With Objects 7.0
using both BGI and the GENUS graphics library series (PCX & FX).
QUATRIS II+ was written using a 486/50 DX local bus system
running under IBM OS/2 2.0.
Title screen compiled under Turbo C++ 3.0 by Hong Kim. Most graphics
functions are performed using Fastgraph 3.0 library from Ted Gruber
Software.
Portions Copyright Genus Microprogramming, Inc. 1988-1990
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER
The authors of Quatris II+ have made their best efforts
in writing a "bug-free" program. The authors and Awesome
Softworx make no warranty for this "free" version of Quatris II+.
The authors of Quatris II+ and Awesome Softworx shall not be
responsible for any incidental damages arising out of, or in
connection with any misuse of the program.
_______________________________________________________________________
TABLE OF CONTENTS
______________________________________________________________________
1 - INTRODUCTION
2 - HOW TO PLAY QUATRIS II+
3 - Install/Running Under DOS
4 - Running Under ....... WINDOWS 3.1
5 - Running Under ....... OS/2 2.0
6 - Skipping The Title Screen / Disabling Sound / Clearing Scores
7 - Penalties For Using Bombs
8 - QUATRIS II+ Feature Summary
9 - System Requirements
10 - NEW FEATURES/FIXES
11 - CUSTOMER SUPPORT / TROUBLE SHOOTING
12 - METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION -- (SHAREWARE/PD VENDORS: READ!!!)
_______________________________________________________________________
1. INTRODUCTION
_______________________________________________________________________
This program was originally written for a high school programming
contest sponsored by LAUSD and Rockwell International. Quatris, an
entry from Granada Hills High School, was awarded first place for
this contest in 1990 when the author was 16 years old. Quatris was
released as public domain followed by Quatris Pro which was named as
"Best New Programs of 1991" by Public Software Library. The author
(19) wrote Quatris II+ while studying at UC Berkeley (Spring 1993).
Hong Kim (17) is a student at Granada Hills High School and is one
of two brothers of Eugene Kim. Hong Kim wrote the Title Screen for
Quatris II+. Henry Kim (11, youngest of the three brothers) is
another future partner to the Awesome Softworx organization.
_______________________________________________________________________
2. ** HOW TO PLAY QUATRIS II+ **
_______________________________________________________________________
Help is also available by selecting HELP from the Quatris II+ main
menu.
You are given objects composed of 2 or more blocks which will
start falling down from the top of the screen. You can rotate
and move these blocks by pressing up, left, right, and down arrow
cursor keys.
You are to rotate and guide these objects to the bottom of the well
in a way so that they will all "fit" together. When you completely
fill up a row, that particular row will disappear. You are to
continue this step so that the objects will not stack-up to the
top--if they do, the "GAME IS OVER". If this is your first time
playing, do not use any of the bombs, it will give you a wrong idea
of the game. Also note that there are several penalties for using
the bombs.
The more rows you fill-in at once, the more points or more (QX)s you
get. High scores are sorted using your (QX)s.
You can use Regular, Super, or Match bomb by pressing "1", "2", or
"3," repectively. Again, if you are a first time player, using the
bombs at this point can give you a wrong idea of how this game works.
Quatris II+ is a tournament style game that can take hours to complete.
For the player's convenience, Quatris II+ lets the player save the game
and continue at a later time. To save the game, simply press [ESC]
and your game will be saved using your NAME as the file name with
".SAV" extension in the Quatris II+ directory. This is the same file
where your keyboard configuration is also stored.
BONUS GAMES: -------------------------------------------------------
One of the bonus games that should be exaplained
is the one with 5 small blocks. This is also a variant of the game
called "Simon". The computer will first blink few of the blocks and
the player is to memorize and follow the sequences displayed by the
computer. The number keys on top of your keyboard (1 through 5)
should be used to press these blocks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are some keys that you should know:
These keys are installed by default, you can also customize
these keys to fit your own preferences. You can also view this
by pressing "F1" while you are playing.
- [LEFT,RIGHT] cursor keys. Move the blocks left or right.
- [DOWN] cursor key. Move the block down.
- [HOME] cursor key. Turns the grid on/off.
- [PgDn] cursor key. Drop the object to the bottom of the well.
Similar to [Down] key.
- [UP] key. Rotate blocks.
- "S" : Toggle sound on/off
- "P" : Pause game
- "1" : Wipe bomb - Move the selection bar and press [ENTER]
activate the bomb.
- "2" : Match bomb - Destroys all blocks with the same images
as the falling object. For example, if
the current falling object has blocks with
images A, B, and C, all of the blocks in
the screen with A, B, and C images will be
destroyed. After the the blocks are destroyed,
the remaining blocks will stack to the bottom.
- "3" : Super bomb - Super bomb.
- <ESC> key will bring you back to MAIN MENU and save your current
game.
_______________________________________________________________________
3. Install / Running Under DOS
_______________________________________________________________________
Running Quatris II+ from DOS:
To run the program, simply type "RUNME" or "Q2PLUS" at the DOS
prompt. RUNME.BAT only displays a few help texts before running
Q2PLUS.
* To install QUATRIS II+ to your hard disk, follow instructions
below:
1. First, you need to create a directory for Quatris II+.
Type MD and a new directory name, say, Q2PLUS:
C:\> MD Q2PLUS
2. Change your directory to the new Q2PLUS directory:
C:\> CD Q2PLUS
C:\Q2PLUS>
Your DOS prompt should have changed as shown above.
3. Copy Quatris II+ files from your disk, say, drive A:
C:\Q2PLUS> COPY A:*.*
4. Run Quatris II+:
C:\Q2PLUS> RUNME
_______________________________________________________________________
4. RUNNING QUATRIS II+ UNDER WINDOWS 3.1
_______________________________________________________________________
* Installing QUATRIS II+ in Windows: -----------------------------------
A patch program that will automatically install QUATRIS II+ to your
Windows Program Manager may soon be available. For now, you must
install Quatris II+ manually.
1. Select a program group, say "Games," by clicking any of the
available program group windows.
2. Goto File menu and select New.
3. Click Program Item and select OK.
4. Enter "Quatris II+" for description. Press TAB.
5. Enter the directory of Quatris II+ followed by Q2PLUS.EXE.
Press TAB.
(Example: C:\Q2PLUS\Q2PLUS.EXE)
6. Enter the working directory of Quatris II+.
(Example: C:\Q2PLUS)
7. Click "Change Icon" button.
8. Type in the Quatris II+ directory followed by the file Q2PLUS.ICO.
(Example: C:\Q2PLUS\Q2PLUS.ICO)
9. Click OK. Click OK again.
10. Double click on the Quatris II+ icon (the Robot icon) to
run Quatris II+.
11. You can switch back to the Program Manager by pressing CTRL-ESC
or ALT-ESC anytime while running Quatris II+.
12. You may also try pressing ALT-ENTER to try running it inside the
Windows desktop. Quatris II+ may run slower in this mode.
Press ALT-ENTER again to run Quatris II+ in full-screen mode.
_______________________________________________________________________
5. RUNNING QUATRIS II+ UNDER OS/2 2.0
_______________________________________________________________________
* Running Quatris II+ under OS/2 2.0: ----------------------------------
Quatris II+ was programmed under the OS/2 environment. There
shouldn't be any problems running Quatris II+ under OS/2.
Turn off the "Video Retrace Emulation" in your DOS session
settings before running Quatris II+.
You may also want to disable the background execution setting.
This way you don't have to pause the game when working with other
programs.
Keyboard responses could get a little slow for playing Quatris II+
when multi-tasking a lot of other programs. Try executing
"QUICKEY.COM" once or twice before running Quatris II+. The blocks
should move with much better control.
_______________________________________________________________________
6. SKIPPING THE TITLE SCREEN / DISABLING SOUND / CLEARING SCORES
_______________________________________________________________________
SKIP TITLE SCREEN:
If you are sick of looking at the same title screen every time
you load the program, use parameter "/T" to skip title screen
animation.
Example: " C:\> Q2PLUS /T "
" C:\> QUATRIS2 /T /S " - will turn off both sound & the title.
DISABLE SOUND INITIALLY:
To start the program silently with no sounds, type in parameter
"/S" when running QUATRIS II+. This will disable the sound
initially.
Example: " C:\> Q2PLUS /S "
You can always enable sound again by pressing "S" while playing
or choosing SOUND option from main menu.
CLEARING SCORES:
To clear all the high scores, use the CLRSCORE.EXE utility.
Example: " C:\> CLRSCORE "
_________________________________________________________________________
7. PENALTIES FOR USING BOMBS:
_________________________________________________________________________
Watch your score and energy when using the bombs. The bombs reduce
your energy, but they also reduce your score! Some bombs will
increase the number of rows you need to destroy.
_______________________________________________________________________
8. Feature Summary
_______________________________________________________________________
Quatris II+ features...
- Over 50 challenging shapes.
- Three bombs (Wipe, Match, and Super Bomb).
- Dynamic Well.
- Grid Toggle to aid visibility.
- AutoRotate to rotate large objects next to the walls.
Most tetris-type games, including Super Tetris,
can't rotate some of the longer blocks unless the blocks
are at a certain distance away from the walls.
- Tournament style game levels.
- Redefinable key configuration.
- Save & continue games.
- Easy to use 3D graphical user interface with pop-up menu.
_______________________________________________________________________
9. System Requirements
_______________________________________________________________________
System Requirements
Hardwares:
- IBM PC, XT, AT, IBM PS/2 Series, or a 100% compatible computer
- An EGA/VGA card with 256k or more video memory
(May have problems on old EGA cards with 64k memory)
- EGA monitor display or better.
- 640k RAM
- 286 or faster CPU recommended.
Software:
- Microsoft DOS or IBM OS/2 2.0. Also runs under Windows 3.1.
_________________________________________________________________________
10. NEW FEATURES / FIXES
_________________________________________________________________________
Fixes:
- Quatris II+ now works with MIRROR.EXE fully loaded.
- Quatris II+ now works with 486 machines running at 66 mhz.
Changes:
- Revised ordering form and documentation.
(New price adjustments)
- Windows icon file.
Explanation:
Previous versions of Quatris II+ had problems running with
MIRROR.EXE and QEMM loaded together. Quatris II+ also
didn't work when some 486 machines were running at 66 mhz.
This problem was temporarily settled previously by disabling
the MIRROR program and setting the turbo switch of the 486
machines down to 33 mhz.
All these problems were miraculously solved when Quatris II+
was simply recompiled using the new Borland Pascal With
Objects 7.0! Not to blame anybody, but we think the bugs
were caused by the previous version of Turbo Pascal used.
_________________________________________________________________________
11. CUSTOMER SUPPORT / TROUBLE SHOOTING
_________________________________________________________________________
* Just for your information, please read section 10 for
previous bugs that are now fixed.
If the title screen comes out distorted/weird, and the
program crashes later, it is because your VGA card is not
100% compatible with the IBM standard. You will have to
then skip the title screen, but you will be able to play
the game. To skip the title screen, type "Q2PLUS /T"
at your dos prompt.
If you have other problems running QUATRIS II+, please try
the following before calling us:
< Please boot your system from a DOS diskette with empty
config.sys and autoexec.bat. By "empty" we mean the DOS does
not load any external devices or TSR programs.
If QUATRIS II+ works without a problem under this condition,
one of your device drivers or TSR programs must be causing
the conflict. Please send us the contents of your autoexec.bat
and config.sys if this happens.
______________________________________________________________________
If you have questions, please call:
(818)701-7465 -- BBS (by MODEM Only)
(818)886-5480 -- VOICE/FAX
(213)384-0147 -- VOICE
If we are not available, try again after 4pm pacific time--this is
a company being run by teenagers (school!).
NOTE: We can ignore any technical support calls for
any "free" version of Quatris II+.
Our mailing address is:
AWESOME SOFTWORX
4157 W 5TH ST. SUITE 222
LOS ANGELES, CA 90020 USA
______________________________________________________________________
12. METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION
______________________________________________________________________
Note : Quatris II+ is NOT a Shareware!
- BBS:
SysOps (System Operators) may treat this version of Quatris II+
as a free program. We request that SysOps remove any older
versions of the Quatris series (chart shown below) in his/her BBS.
- PD/SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTORS/VENDORS:
If you are a PD/Shareware distributor, we request that you
send us a notification with the version number of the program
you have in case there is a change or an update of our policy
and/or our program version.
Please write to: AWESOME SOFTWORX
4157 W 5TH ST. SUITE 222
LOS ANGELES, CA 90020 USA
Quatris II+ 1.0-S2 may be freely duplicated and distributed.
Any previous versions of the Quatris series must be updated
and replaced with the newer version. Copies of older versions
of Quatris series (Quatris, Quatris Pro, Quatris II) must be
destroyed. Newer versions include price updates and bug fixes,
and Awesome Softworx does not wish the spread of older price
arrangements and software bugs lose in the market.
| Name of previously released Possible .ZIP file |
| Quatris series and versions name(s) |
| to be removed |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1. Quatris 1.x series ( QUATRIS.ZIP ) |
| 2. Quatris Pro 2.x series ( QUATRIS2.ZIP / QRISPRO.ZIP ) |
| 3. Quatris II 1.0D ( 2QUATRIS.ZIP ) |
| Quatris II 1.xxS. ( 2QUATRIS.ZIP ) |
| Quatris II 1.1S. ( Q2-V11.ZIP / Q2-11.ZIP ) |
( The "x" in the version numbers can be any number between 0..9. )
Quatris II+ must be distributed as a whole with its original
files. No part of the program may be modified. Files maybe
compressed with compression utilities. Quatris II+ will not
fit into a 360k disk, and you may run into some serious
trouble trying to make Quatris II+ executable in two separate
360k disks (Do this at your own risk. Better yet, DON'T DO IT!).
Any person still using a 360k disk drive probably doesn't have
a system powerful enough to run Quatris II+ anyway. We recommend
using 720k disks or 1.2mg HD disks.
For your convenience, we would like to suggest a description
of Quatris II+ that you may want to include in your library
or BBS.
Suggested file name for compression:
" ASW-Q2P.ZIP "
Suggested description:
" Quatris II Plus version 1.0-S2
(NEW VERSION, JULY 1993, MIRROR BUG FIXED)
Award winning tetris-variant with 50 challenging shapes,
bombs, dynamic-well, game save features and more!
1st Place Winner of 1990 LAUSD-Rockwell Int'l CSC.
"Best New Programs of 1991" by PSL (Public Software Library).
Runs well under OS/2 2.0 and Windows 3.1 (icon file incld).
Excellent for improving pattern recognitions.
A MUST for all tetris fans. Great family entertainment.
EGA or VGA required. "
_________________________________________________________________________
THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS FILE.
EOF.
_________________________________________________________________________