JCSM Shareware Collection 1996 September

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ULTIMA 21 BLACKJACK FOR WINDOWS (tm) ==================================== ***************** SHAREWARE VERSION ***************** Version 2.8d July 15, 1995 Copyright (c) 1993-94, All Rights Reserved Bitwise Software International, Inc. 901 West Hononegh Drive Phoenix, Arizona 85027 Voice: (602) 582-4468 Fax: (602) 516-8697 BBS: (602) 492-9747 CIS: 72074,2677 AOL: BITWISE SW REQUIREMENTS: ============= Windows 3.1, windows compatible PC computer, windows compatible VGA display with 640x480 resolution or higher, 3 Meg RAM, 5 Meg free on hard disk. Recommended: ============ Windows 3.1, windows compatible 386/486+ computer running at 25Mhz+, windows compatible SVGA display with 640x480 resolution or higher, 16+ colors, 4+ Meg RAM, 5+ Meg free on hard disk, Mouse, and Sound Card (not required). INSTALLATION: ============= To install this blackjack game from the distribution diskette, simply copy the file "ULTIMA.EXE" to the desired directory ("\ULTIMA21" suggested) on your hard disk and run the program. This is a self-installing packed file and running it will unpack and install all the needed program files and icons. Once self- installation is complete, this file (ULTIMA.EXE) can be removed. However, you should always retain a copy of this file on diskette or tape just in case you need to reinstall it in the future. The installation process will ask you a few questions regarding where you would like the program files installed to and what Windows Program Group you would like the icon added to. The installation process is automatic and very easy to use. It can be cancelled at any time by pressing a CANCEL button on any of the installation windows. The installation process run from within Windows and will automatically the game program once installation completes. WINDOWS ENHANCED MODE: ====================== NOTE: Be sure you are running Windows Version 3.1 or higher and your are running Windows in "386 Enhanced Mode" (not Standard Mode). Check your \WINDOWS directory and see if you have a WIN.BAT file. Be sure the WIN.COM or WIN command in the batch file DOES NOT include the /S switch. This causes Windows to start in Standard Mode. Be sure the command is followed by blanks or /E to insure you start in Enhanced Mode. Otherwise, this game may not operate correctly. If you cannot see the 386 Enhanced Program Item (icon = computer chip) on the Windows Control Panel, then you are not running Windows in the Enhanced Mode. Please see your Windows Users Manual for more information. Also, once you are running Windows in 386 Enhanced Mode, you should set up as large a Permanent Swap File (not Temporary) as Windows will allow. This allows Windows to use free disk space as computer memory and it will allow you to run bigger programs. This is done from Windows Control Panel with the 386 Enhanced Icon. VBRUN300.DLL RUNTIME FILE: ========================== NOTE: If you obtained a copy of this game from Compuserve or Ziff-Net, the file VBRUN300.DLL WAS NOT INCLUDED in the packed file ULTIMA.EXE. This file is the Visual Basic Runtime Library (DLL) of routines for all programs written in Visual Basic Version 3.0. Once you have this file on your computer, all programs (not just those from us) written in Visual Basic 3.0 can access and use this file. Place this file in the windows system directory for all Visual Basic Programs to use it. This directory is called \WINDOWS\SYSTEM and just place the VBRUN300.DLL file in there. This was done to save download time and related costs. Actually, CompuServe, Ziffnet, America On-Line, Prodigy, and other BBS systems WILL NOT LET US include this file in our package for you to download. The file VBRUN300.DLL is available in most BBS forums -- check with your forum's Sysop or search the BBS files by name for VBRUN300.DLL or "Visual Basic". You can also call our BBS to download this file. Some BBS store this file as VBRUN3.ZIP. Try looking for this file with a wild card search such as VBRUN*.*. It is on the service somewhere, so do not give up looking. Remember, you are looking for the "Visual Basic" Version 3.0 Runtime Library DLL. There have been 3 versions of the Visual Basic Runtime DLL so far. The first was version 1 and was called VBRUN100.DLL. The next was version 2 and was called VBRUN200.DLL. The current version is VBRUN300.DLL and THIS IS THE REQUIRED RUNTIME FILE for this program to operate. Be sure to download and use this file!! If a message appears asking you whether or not you wish to replace an existing file in the ULTIMA21 directory, answer with a "Y". DO NOT USE OLD FILES WITH A NEW VERSION - FATAL ERRORS WILL RESULT. PLACEMENT OF VBRUN300.DLL ========================= As with most Windows programs, the main program looks for its needed DLL and VBX files in the same directory as the ULTIMA21.EXE file. If it cannot find them there, it looks into the default Windows system directory called \WINDOWS\SYSTEM. If it cannot locate the file it needs, it issues an error message stating it cannot locate or find the needed file. You have two choices for loading the VBRUN300.DLL runtime library file. Placing it in the game's directory will allow the program to find it but no other Visual Basic programs can. Placing it here makes it easy to keep track of all of the program's files for easy uninstall. However, you may end up with multiple copies of this same file all over your System (one for each Visual Basic 3.0 program). Most people will place this file into the Windows System directory (\WINDOWS\SYSTEM) so all Visual Basic 3.0 applications and programs can find it. This way, you only need 1 copy of this file on your computer system. The choice is yours - either way this game program will function correctly. ERRORS AT STARTUP ================= If you encounter either of the following two errors at startup: 1) "OVERFLOW" 2) "Invalid Control Index" then the startup files (ULTIMA21.DEF, ULTIMA21.CNT, & ULTIMA21.SAV) may be corrupted or may be the wrong version. Try renaming these files to something else and restarting this game. The program will use its own internal game settings since it will not be able to find these files. All three of these files should be exactly the same length. If not, there is a problem. You should first try renaming the ULTIMA21.DEF and restarting the game. 99% of the time this file is causing the problem. Once the game has started successfully, use the FILE MENU and select the option to save the current settings as the default for a new game. This will create a valid (new) ULTIMA21.DEF file on disk. There are other "Known problems" discussed later on in this file. Please take a moment to read through the discussion. If you still have problems after trying this procedure, please contact the Author by mail on Compuserve or by phone. MISSING FILE at STARTUP ======================= If you receive a message like "Missing DLL file" or "Missing File", then you most likely do not have the VBRUN300.DLL on your system. It must be downloaded from your BBS and placed in the game program's directory or in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. Please see other sections in this text file for more information on getting a copy of this standard file from your local BBS. If you still have problems after trying this procedure, please contact the Author by mail on Compuserve or by phone. STARTING THE GAME: ================== To start the blackjack game, run the file ULTIMA21.EXE from Windows File Manager or double click on the icon for this game in the Program Group you selected for installation. The icon file ULTIMA21.ICO contains the icon for you to use if you wish to manually setup this blackjack game in your Games Program Group or set one up just for this game. Please see your Windows Users Manual for instructions on manually adding Program Items and setting up Program Groups from the Program Manager. Also, the help file (ULTIMA21.HLP) that comes with this game also provides step-by-step instructions for setting up Program Groups and Items in Windows. This program was written in Visual Basic V3.0 and REQUIRES the following files: VBRUN300.DLL (normally included), QCARD.DLL (included), FXTOOLS.DLL (included), QPRO200.DLL (included), BSISOUND.DLL (included), MHDES200.DLL (included), MHRUN200.DLL (included), CSGROUP.VBX (included) FXIMG200.VBX (included), FXLAB200.VBX (included), MHMQ200.VBX (included), RSW31.DLL (included). Be sure ALL these files are all located in the directory where you loaded and installed the ULTIMA.EXE file. NOTE: Occasionally, Microsoft will release an updated VBRUN300.DLL file which will correct some bugs in their runtime modules. You should periodically compare the date/time/size of this file to the latest one available on CompuServe in the Microsoft MBASIC+ Forum. If a later one is released, please download it and place it in the game's directory. The game program will use it automatically from then on. FILES: ====== BSISOUND.DLL - Deal card sound effect routines. RSW31.DLL - Speaker/Sound Card Routines (Licensed). FXTLS200.DLL - Special Effect Routines (Licensed). FXIMG200.VBX - Licensed VB Control. FXLBL200.VBX - Licensed VB Control. MHRUN400.DLL - Special Effect Routines (Licensed). MHMQ200.VBX - Licensed VB Control. CSGROUP.VBX - Licensed VB Control. QCARD.DLL - Steven Murphy's Card Drawing Routines (FREEWARE). QPRO200.DLL - Special Effect Routines (Licensed). VBRUN300.DLL - Microsoft's Visual Basic Runtime Library (Licensed). READ.ME - This file. ULTIMA.EXE - Self-installing packed distribution file. ULTIMA21.EXE - Unpacked Windows blackjack game program. ULTIMA21.HLP - Help File for this program. ULTIMA21.ICO - Icon for adding to Window's Program Manager. ULTIMA21.CNT - Custom card counts save file. ULTIMA21.DEF - New game default settings file. ULTIMA21.SAV - Saved "NEW" Game. ULTIMA21.SGY - Default playing strategy file. ULTIMA21.REC - Pre-Recorded Auto Play Macro for Simluated Auto Play. ULTIMA21.STx - Hand Stats Tracer File (when activated). BACKUP.CNT - backup copy of file ULTIMA21.CNT. BACKUP.DEF - backup copy of file ULTIMA21.DEF. BACKUP.SAV - backup copy of file ULTIMA21.SAV. BACKUP.SGY - backup copy of file ULTIMA21.SGY. BSIDIAL.EXE - DOS Communications program to call our BBS. BSIORDER.EXE - Windows program to view our product catalog, place orders, and call our BBS. AUTOPLAY.SAV - Saved game for setting the game up for Auto Play. M*.WAV - various digitized (male) Computer Voice sound files. BASIC OPERATION: =============== This game program true windows application which can be run and controlled by you just like any other windows application. When first loaded, the program will display its opening window while it initializes itself. Next a photo of the Casino will appear. Shortly after that, the Casino's Manager will appear and ask you to enter your name and then he will take you to a blackjack table. When it starts, it loads a file called "ULTIMA21.DEF" as the default table rules, player names, playing strategy, and other environment variables. If it cannot find this file, it will use its own pre-programmed default settings. See the next section for more information regarding saving/restoring games and the default settings. Next, the program will attempt to load the file ULTIMA21.CNT from disk. This file contains custom card count settings and will override those stored and loaded from the defaults file ULTIMA21.DEF. These count settings control the calculation of the running count, the true count, and the user count. If this file cannot be loaded, the program will use its own pre-programmed card count settings. Finally, the program will attempt to load the default playing strategy file called ULTIMA21.SGY. This file controls how Auto Play, Auto Help, and Auto Focus operate. This file contains a set of playing option strategies (hit, stand, double, split) that should be made based on the dealer's up card and the player's current hand. When the blackjack table is first displayed, you will notice several buttons at the bottom of the screen. Some of which will be disabled (grayed out) and some of which will be enabled. At the start of a new hand, the DEAL button will be the default button and should be used to deal the next hand. To deal, move the mouse pointer to the DEAL button and press the left mouse button. The other buttons will be enabled/disabled depending on what is happening at the table. For example: the DOUBLE button will only be enabled when a player's hand is such that a double down is allowed. The same is true for the SPLIT and SURRENDER buttons as well. The status of these two buttons is determined based on the double down and split rules for the table and on the cards currently dealt to the player. The HIT and STAND buttons are always enabled during a hand. The HIT button will deal one card to the player. The STAND button will tell the dealer the current player's hand is done and play will transfer to the next player's hand. If there is not a next player, control will transfer to the dealer's hand. The DOUBLE button will allow the player to double his/her bet and receive one card and one card only. Play will then transfer to the next player's hand. There are several double down rules you can customize and control. The SPLIT button will break up a pair into two hands. This is normally allowed on like pairs (8 and 8 or A and A) or on a pair of face cards (J and Q). When a hand is split, one card is moved to second hand (split hand) and the player must match the bet of the original hand. There are several splitting and resplitting rules you can customize and control. The other buttons on the screen and their functions are: BETS: will prompt you for each player's bet and is available only at the start of a new hand. SHUFFLE: will reshuffle the deck before the next hand. PEEK: will allow you to peek (view) the next few cards to be dealt. STRATEGY: will access the Playing Strategy Window where you may view, change, save, or load the playing strategy for this table. The playing strategy is used in conjunction with the automatic decision help. A playing strategy consists of hit, stand, double, and split rules for a player's hand based on what the dealer is showing in his hand. EXIT: will allow you quit playing this game. SPEED: will access the Set Game Speed Window which allows you to control how fast the cards are dealt by the dealer. STATS: will display the current playing statistics for each player and for the dealer. COUNT: will display the current card counts. This shows the number of cards dealt (ace, two, three...) as well as other card counting information. SAVE: will save the current game to disk. HINT: will display a window that displays the correct play (hit, stand, double, split) based on the current playing strategy in effect. REDRAW: updates the playing table and redraws all controls, cards, and messages. SAVING & USING THE GAMES DEFAULT SETTINGS: ======================================== This game program allows you to customize the table rules, number of players, bank balances, playing strategy, etc... Once you have the game set up how you like to play, you may save all the current settings as the "defaults" for a new game. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE DEFAULT SETTINGS FILE -- please see the SAVE/RESUME section below for information on saving/restoring multiple games. To do so, click on the FILE menu & select the SAVE SETTINGS AS DEFAULT option. This will save the current settings into a disk file called "ULTIMA21.DEF". Each time a new game is started, the program will read this file and set itself up according to what was saved in it. Note: in order for the program to locate and load this file automatically, it must reside in the same directory as the game program. If it cannot find this file, it will revert back to its own internal settings. SAVING AND RESUMING A GAME =========================== This blackjack program allows you to save a game and resume playing it at a later time. This should not be confused with the saving of default settings explained above. You may save as many different games as you like and resume playing them at any time in the future. Saving a game saves everything about the current game so you may resume playing where you left off at a later time. When you save a game, it is normally stored in a disk file called "ULTIMA21.SAV". However, you to can save multiple games by changing the name of the the save file when saving a file to disk. To save a game, click on the FILE menu and select either the SAVE or the SAVE AS option. The SAVE option will just save the current game to the current game's save file name. Normally this is a file called "ULTIMA21.SAV". This works the same as clicking the Save Button on the main table. If you choose the SAVE AS option, a file name prompt window will appear and you may select a file name you prefer. You will always be required to enter a file extension of ".SAV". At any time, you may resume a previously saved game by clicking on the FILE menu and selecting the RESUME GAME option. The program will prompt you for the name of the save file you wish to resume. The default is "ULTIMA21.SAV" but you select another save file from the file list displayed. SETTING UP MULTIPLE CASINOS =========================== This program allows only 1 default settings file which is used when a new game is started. The default settings file CANNOT be used to set up the rules of multiple casinos. Instead, use the save/resume features to do so. Normally, the save/ resume features are used to save games already in progress so they can be resumed at a later time. However, they can also be used to set up multiple casinos. To use the save/resume features to set up multiple casinos, follow these steps: 1) Start a completely new game. This will clear the table, reset all game settings, and load the default settings file. Select the NEW GAME OPTION from the FILE MENU. 2) Set all the playing options as played at your favorite casino. When everything is set, use the SAVE AS option from the FILE MENU. Then enter the name of the casino followed by the .SAV extension. Be sure the casino name is no more than 8 characters long. 3) Use the RESUME feature from the FILE MENU anytime you wish to switch play to one of your saved casinos. Just click on the file name saved in step 2, and you will begin a new game at that casino. Since you may save/resume as many games as you wish, you can use the steps above to save as many different casinos as you wish. >>>> BE SURE that step 2 is done immediately after step 1 & before the DEAL BUTTON is pressed. This way when you resume the saved game, you will always be starting with a brand new game. CHANGING PLAYING OPTIONS ======================== The game program's menu system (located at the top of the playing table) allows you to change every aspect about the casino options, rules, table limits, player names, bank balances, card deck picture, playing strategy, etc... The following items can be accessed from the FILE menu: a) Start a new game. b) Resume a previously saved game. c) Save the current game to disk in the default save file name. d) Save the current game to disk in a selected save file name. e) Save the current playing settings as the default for a new game. f) Exit the game. The following items can be accessed from the VIEW menu: a) View the players statistics. b) View the card count statistics. c) Peek at the next few cards to be dealt. d) View a deck of 52 cards. e) Non-Decision Buttons ON/OFF. The following items can be changed from the OPTIONS menu: a) Double down rules. b) Surrender rules. c) Splitting pairs rules. d) Splitting aces rules. e) Dealer hitting soft 17 rules. f) Insurance options. g) Six card hand winner options. h) Push Hand Winner. i) Hand totals display options. j) Dealer hole card display options. k) Speed of the game. l) Automatic decision help. The following items can be changed from the SET menu: a) Table limits. b) Table color. c) Payoff amount for a blackjack . d) Number of decks in play. e) Number of players at this table. f) Each player's name. g) Each player's bank balance. h) Card deck picture. i) Shuffle point. j) Number of cards to bury. k) Active Dealer Controls. l) Dealer first two cards each hand. m) Player's first two cards each hand. n) Playing strategy. QUICK OPTION CHANGES ==================== In addition to using the menu system, you may also access and change most of the items on the menus by using the mouse and clicking on certain items on the table. Examples: Clicking on a player's name, will display the Change a Player's Name Window. Clicking on a player's bet will access the Change Bet Window for that player. Clicking on the "table limits" text in the Game Stats Window will display the Set Table Limits Window. When the main playing table is visible, the mouse pointer will change as it moves to help identify the quick option areas. When the mouse pointer is located over an area that does not support a quick option change, or is not allowed at that time, the pointer will display as a circle with a line drawn through it. When the mouse cursor is located over an area that supports a quick option change, the pointer will display as the default windows arrow. THE MOUSE POINTER CHANGES ONLY OCCUR WHILE THE MAIN PLAYING TABLE IS SHOWN. One all other forms, windows, and controls, the mouse pointer is always displayed as the default windows arrow. CHANGING A PLAYER'S BET ======================= When you wish to change a player's bet, there are 4 easy methods to use. NOTE: you may only change your bet at the start of a new hand (just like in the casinos). 1) Press then BETS Button at the bottom of the screen. This button brings up the Enter Player Bet Window for EACH active player at the table. This window allows you to enter a new bet from the keyboard. This is by far the most flexible way to enter bets for ALL active players. 2) Move the mouse cursor over the Player's Bet square on the table and press the LEFT Mouse button. This will bring up the Enter Player Bet Window for this player only. This is just like option 1 except the window only appears one time (for the current player). 3) To the left of each player's bet square are 2 buttons for increasing (+) and decreasing (-) the player's bet. These 2 buttons modify the current bet based on the last "original" or "base" bet. Each time you access the Enter Player Bet Window, this sets "base" bet equal to the bet you enter. From then on, whenever you press the increase or decrease bet buttons for that player, the bet will be increased or decrease by the base bet. Each player has their "own" base bet and their own increase/decrease buttons. 4) To quickly return to the original or base bet, move the mouse cursor over the player's bet square & press the RIGHT Mouse button. This will instantly change the player's bet back to the base bet. You could always use the increase/decrease bet buttons to accomplish the same thing, however, this feature is must faster and easier. NOTE: A new feature in Version 2.7a+ it the ability to control whether or not double down bets play the next hand ("let them ride"). On the Double Down Option Window, you can select whether the previous hand's doubled bet is left on the table or removed for the next hand. If you let it ride, your bet will remain the amount is was increased to by the previous double down. If you select to remove it, the next hand's bet will be the previous hand's original bet before the double down. CHANGING THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS ============================== Our blackjack game allows for 1 to 3 players and there are two ways to change the number of players. The first method is to use the "Change Number of Players" option on the SET Menu. If you change the number of players during a hand, the change will be delayed until the start of the next hand. The second method is a new feature in V2.7+. It allows you to quickly change the number of players simply by pressing the keys "1", "2", or "3" on your keyboard. Unlike the first method above, the quick access keys only work when the DEAL Button is enabled (start of a new hand). When allowed, pressing the "1" changes you to 1 player, "2" changes to 2 players, and "3" to 3 players. AUTO DECISION HELP ================== When this feature is active (see the OPTIONS menu), the dealer will help you make playing decisions. That is, the dealer will tell you whether you should hit, stand, double down, or split your hand. Auto Help is always based on the current playing strategy in effect at the table. Since you can customize the playing strategy, you also control the Auto Help decisions that are displayed or required. There are two types of Auto Help: a) Anticipation Help b) Correction Help Anticipation help will display the correct playing strategy for the current player's hand. This will be displayed just below the dealer's shoe and will be displayed at all times during the player's hand. This feature "anticipates" or displays suggestions before you make each playing decision. You may still play the hand anyway you like since this type of help is only for assistance. Correction help will maintain a close watch on your play to insure you follow the current playing strategy. Instead of displaying the correct playing strategy at all times, it will only inform you when you do not make the correct playing decision. For example, if you click the Hit Button when doubling down is the correct decision, a window will appear telling you HIT is not correct. This feature REQUIRES you to play along with the current playing strategy. Another feature available while Auto Help is active is called Auto Focus. An option button on the table has "focus" when it is the default button to be executed when the Enter Key is pressed. Auto Focus sets the focus to the correct playing option button (based on the current playing strategy). This way all you need to do is press the Enter Key and the correct decision will be made for you. Great for new blackjack players or for Auto Play. CUSTOM PLAYING STRATEGIES ========================= Playing strategies are stored in disk files and are identified with the file extension ".SGY". The default strategy is located in the file "ULTIMA21.SGY" and is found on the master diskette you received. When the game first starts, it attempts to load the default playing strategy tables from the file "ULTIMA21.SGY". The program looks for this file in the same directory as it was started from. If it cannot locate this file, you will need to access and set the playing strategy tables manually and save them back to disk. This is done by clicking on the STRATEGY button or using the SET menu and selecting the PLAYING STRATEGY option. A single playing strategy file contains two tables of playing options that make up a game's Playing Strategy Logic Rules. The program allows you to control (change) the two tables that make up the game's Playing Strategy Rules. The first table is called the BASE PLAY TABLE. It controls all HIT and STAND play decisions and acts as the default table at all times. The second table is called the SPECIAL PLAY TABLE. It controls all DOUBLE DOWN, SPLIT, and SURRENDER play decisions. It also allows you to enter a "N/A" (not applicable) in a cell. This means you wish the BASE PLAY TABLE's decision used for this cell. NOTE: The program always checks the SPECIAL PLAY TABLE first to see if a double down, split, or surrender is recommended for the hand. If not, it will retrieve the BASE PLAY decision for the hand. If the program cannot use or find a cell decision from the SPECIAL PLAY TABLE, it will switch to the BASE PLAY TABLE where a HIT or STAND decision will always be present. Therefore, the BASE PLAY TABLE is used as a default table whenever the SPECIAL PLAY TABLE contains a decision that is either: "N/A" (not applicable) or not allowed (like a double down when the hand contains more than two cards). Remember, if you code a "surrender" decision into a SPECIAL PLAY TABLE cell and surrenders are not allowed, the HIT/STAND cell decision in the BASE PLAY TABLE will be used instead. When Auto Help is active (or when the Hint Button is pressed), the program will check the current strategy tables and determine the correct playing option (hit, stand, double, split, or surrender). The correct option it returns will come from either the SPECIAL PLAY TABLE or the BASE PLAY TABLE. The Set Playing Strategy Window allows you to view and change the various playing options for the current tables. You view and change the entries for only one table (BASE or SPECIAL) at a time. To switch to the other table, press the Table Button located in the lower right hand corner of the window. If you are on BASE PLAY TABLE, the table button will say "SPECIAL TABLE" and pressing it will take you to the SPECIAL PLAY TABLE. When you are on the SPECIAL PLAY TABLE, the table button will say BASE TABLE and pressing it will take you to the BASE PLAY TABLE. Once all changes to the playing options have been made on both tables, you can save the entire playing strategy to disk. This way, the program can load them automatically each time you start a new game. During any game, you may switch to another playing strategy by loading a playing strategy file from disk. This is done by pressing the Load Button on the Set Playing Strategy Window. Both the save and load features allow you specify a file name and a directory. This allows you to set up and use many different playing strategies. Our blackjack game is very flexible and can help you build a winning strategy & practice your card counting and other blackjack skills. CARD COUNTING ============= This blackjack game contains three very flexible card counting systems and you may customize how card count systems are maintained and calculated. There are three card count systems used in this game. They are called the Running Count, the True Count, and the User Count. The Running and True Counts calculations are initially set to the generally accepted formulas recommended by the blackjack "experts". The User Count is provided to allow you to customize and test your own point-count system. While you may customize the Running and True Counts, most players prefer to leave those two count systems alone and use the User Count to test their own systems. This way you can test your system "against" the experts. Once you customize the card count systems, you may save them to disk in a file called ULTIMA21.CNT. This file should always be stored in the same directory as ULTIMA21.EXE in order for the program to automatically load it each time you start the game. If you wish to see the three card count systems in action, you may elect to have them displayed while hands are being played. This way you can test yourself against the counts as well as see them in action. This is done from the Card Count Window by pressing the Display Button. The Display Button brings up a window that allows you to turn on or off the card count display. A new feature in Version 2.7+ is the ability to quickly view the card counts. This is done from then main playing table by pressing the "9" on your keyboard. Pressing the 9 displays a window that shows you the current card counts. This allows card counters to check their count against the computer's without having to display the card count at all times. GAME SPEED ========== As with all windows applications, the faster your CPU and video card are, the better the performance will be. Our blackjack program's default game speed is designed to run on a 486-33 CPU with a VGA display. If you experience slow card dealing or slow video performance, try changing the game speed to "very fast". This will improve the card dealing speed and improve some of the game's video performance. This game is written in Visual Basic for Windows, Version 3.0, by Microsoft. We have taken great care to get the maximum performance from Visual Basic. However, some areas of Visual Basic, such as graphics display, are INHERENTLY SLOW and our hands are tied (for now). However, if the game is still too slow when you set the game speed to "very fast", contact us to see if we may have a faster version (If Visual Basic has been upgraded and made faster by Microsoft). Since all WAV sound files must be read from your hard disk each time they are played, a slow hard disk will cause the game to slow noticeably during sound file reading and playback. Be sure you have a disk caching program like Smart Drive loading and running. All Windows programs will benefit from disk caching. SOUND EFFECTS ============= Starting with Version 2.5a, this program now plays digitized sound files known as "wave" files. These files have the extension WAV and are normally reserved for playing on expensive add-in sound boards like those from Creative Labs. Microsoft, and Adlib. ********************************************************************* <<<< HOWEVER >>>> This game plays digitized sound files thru your PC's Speaker or most add-in sound boards!!! ********************************************************************* This allows almost every Windows user to experience the exciting world of digitized sound and speech. You control whether sound is active and whether it is to be played on the PC Speaker or on the Sound Card that may be installed in your system. You can control whether or not the following are active: a) Dealing cards sound effect b) Shuffle deck sound effect (sound cards only) c) Hit, Stand... button pressed speech d) Hand total speech e) Winner/Loser hand results speech f) Game actions speech (cocktails?, Insurance?...) g) Male or Female Computer Voice NOTE: since the PC Speaker is very limited in design, the quality of the PC Speaker's sound output will be less than an add-in sound board. Some of the more elaborate sound files will not sound very good when played on the Speaker and therefore, this game will only play them when sound is being sent to a Sound Card. NOTE: To improve card dealing and overall game speed, turn all sound effects and speech OFF. NOTE: To reduce system resource usage (memory), turn all sound effects and speech OFF. This game is shipped with the sound effects OFF as the default. If you experience problems when starting this game, be sure to set the default for sound effects to OFF. If you delete the ULTIMA21.DEF file from the \ULTIMA21 directory, the game will reset all defaults including all Sound Effects (to OFF). This should then allow you to start the program successfully. Since all WAV sound files must be read from your hard disk each time they are played, a slow hard disk will cause the game to slow noticably during sound file reading and playback. Be sure you have a disk caching program like Smart Drive loading and running. All Windows programs will benefit from disk caching. WAVE FILES INCLUDED =================== Since digitized WAV files can take up a lot of disk space and increase the size of downloading and distributing this game, the shareware version of this program only includes the smaller male WAV files. Bitiwse Software International, Inc. may add additional (longer) male voice wave files or even female computer voice wave file. If these are available, registered users can obtain the entire complete set of wave sound files directly from the Author. SIMULATED AUTO PLAY =================== We are working on a new version which will allow you to set up and control Auto Play and Auto Betting Strategies. Until this version is complete, you may simulate Auto Play by using Window's Macro Recorder and Auto Focus. To accomplish this, set the game features as follows: 1) Turn "Auto Help" ON (yes). 2) Set the "Auto Help Type" to ANTICIPATION. 3) Set "Auto Focus" to ENABLED (active). (Use the "Auto Decision Help" item on the OPTIONS Menu) 4) Be sure double down bets do not remain on the table. Select "Add to Bank" on the Double Down Option Window. 5) Turn off Insurance Prompting. This is done with the "Insurance" option on the OPTIONS Menu. 6) Set "Game Speed" (from SET MENU) to FAST. 7) Turn "Sound" OFF (from the SOUND Menu) 8) Turn off the display of the deck shuffle. This is controlled when setting the game's "Shuffle Point" (from the SET Menu). 9) Turn OFF either the "Dealer Card Bury" all together or just turn off the "display" of the cards being buried. Use the "Number of Cards to Bury" option from the SET Menu. 10) Use the "Active Dealer Controls" on the SET Menu and set the number of hands for a dealer to UNLIMITED. 11) Turn OFF "Waitress Interruption" for "Ordering Drinks". This is done from the "Distractions" Menu. 12) Turn OFF "Who Playing Interruption" for "Entertainment". This is done from the "Distractions" Menu. 13) Turn OFF all non-decision buttons. This is done from the VIEW Menu with the "Non-Decision Buttons ON/OFF" item. 14) AND FINALLY, use Windows Macro Recorder to Press the ENTER KEY on the Keybaord for you. Please see the Windows Manual and on-line help for more information on setting up Keyboard Macros. The ENTER KEY macro will cause the game to operate all by itself as if you were sitting there pressing the ENTER Key. The automatic playing decisions are made from the "Base" and "Special Play" Strategy Tables. You set up and control these tables. To assist you in this task, we have included a Macro Recorder File called ULTIMA21.REC. This pre-recorded file will simply press the Enter Key over and over until you stop the macro. To use this file, first open the Macro Recorder Option on Window's "Main" Window. Then select FILE-OPEN and pick the ULTIMA21.REC file in the \ULTIMA21 directory. Next, Minimize the Macro Recorder Window and return to playnig this game. Once the Main Table is displayed, press the CTRL-ENTER key combination to START the macro. Assuming the above items are all set properly, this will begin Simluated Auto Play. To STOP the Macro, press CTRL-BREAK. You may have to press CTRL-BREAK a couple of times in order for the Macro to STOP. RECORDING HAND STATS ==================== Added to version 2.7b, the game now allows you to record the results of each player's hand as each hand is completed. The game will save the stats from each hand into a disk file. The stats include initial bets, initial hands, card counts, playing decisions made, hand results starting/ending bank balances, etc... Player 1's hand stats are stored in file ULTIMA21.ST1. Player 2's in file ULTIMA21.ST2. Player 3's in ULTIMA21.ST3. These files are cleared and restarted when each new game is started. The default is NOT to record hand stats. To turn on recording of hand stats, select the STATS RECORDING button on the Player Stats Window. This will bring up a window which allows you to on/off the hand stat recording. NOTE: The card counts will be stored as 0's if the display card count feature is NOT turned on. To record the 3 card count stats in the hand stats file, turn on the card count display. NOTE: split hands are recorded in the hand stat files as player 1a, 1b, and 1c, player 2a, 2b, 2c, or player 3a, 3b, 3c. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KNOWN PROBLEMS: =============== Microsoft Visual Basic Versions 2.0 and 3.0 are not fully compatible with certain third party S3 Video Drivers (Windows Video Drivers for the S3 Graphics Chip soldered onto your accelerated video card). You may experience "out of memory or resources" problems, "Object Was Unloaded" problems, as well as other unexpected application errors while using ANY Graphic Intensive Visual Basic program with these type of S3 video drivers. These problems are NOT under the control of our program, Visual Basic, or Windows. ONLY the video driver Company can correct the problem. Please contact your video driver Company to get the latest copy of their Windows video drivers. Most Companies will update their drivers every few months to fix bugs and add enhancements. If you use the super or regular VGA Video Drivers supplied with Windows 3.1, these types of problems will most likely go away. To test your driver, install one of Microsoft's standard VGA Drivers that comes with Windows and see if your problem(s) go away. If so, then the other Company's Video Driver is the problem. Contact the driver Company and report the problem. Tell them you tested it against Microsoft's standard VGA Windows driver and it has to be their driver (since the problem went away). This game is shipped with the sound effects OFF as the default. If you experience problems when starting this game, be sure to set the default for sound effects to OFF. If you delete the ULTIMA21.DEF file from the \ULTIMA21 directory, the game will reset all defaults including all Sound Effects (to OFF). This should then allow you to start the program successfully. ======================================= POSSIBLE "OUT OF MEMORY" ERROR SOLUTION ======================================= In the January 24, 1994 issue of Info World, Brian Livingston has written in his weekly Windows column on a cure for what he calls "the most important cause of Windows instability." The instability is reflected in messages such as "Out of memory", "This application has violated system integrity", or "Application error" which happen even when plenty of memory and resources are available. It occurred to me that this may be related to some of the random problems that users are experiencing with WPWin 6.0, so I am summarizing his column here. The solution to the problem is to insert a single line into the [386 Enhanced] section of your SYSTEM.INI file, reading: MaxBPs=768 "MaxBPs" is an abbreviation for "maximum breakpoints." Breakpoints are small pieces of memory, about 10 bytes each, that Windows uses to save the state of a "virtual machine" (VM). All Windows applications run in a single VM, and each DOS session runs in its own VM. Windows applications may also create additional VMs for various reasons. Normally, Windows allocates 4K of RAM for breakpoints, which means that 358 breakpoints are set up when it starts. Windows immediately uses about 200 of these, leaving about 158 remaining. It is possible that in a long Windows sessions these could get used up, causing the strange errors described above. Setting MaxBPs to any number from 359 to 768 uses an additional 4K of RAM. The number could be set higher (up to 1,177) at the cost of yet another 4K.