The Pier Shareware 6/The_Pier_Shareware_Number_6_(The_Pier_Exchange)_(1995).iso/048/rum500.zip/README.TXT

Text File | 1994-11-14 | 17KB | 312 lines

RUMMY 500 (Version 3.51) - README.TXT
=====================================

[NOTE: See "Having Problems?" below if the cards don't display correctly]

Rummy 500 is an exciting member of the Rummy family of card games.  Its
main differentiating feature is that you can pick up any number of discards
if you can lay down some of them immediately.  Rummy 500 is believed to be
the first shareware Rummy game available for Microsoft Windows.

You play against the computer, which can be set to use a number of different
skill levels.  At expert and champion level, the computer is hard to beat and
provides a very challenging game.

Customizable features include:
    Colors
        Sound effects
    Card backs
    Screen resolution (600x480 or 800x600)
    AutoMouse (moves mouse pointer automatically between deck and hand)
    Opponent skill level
        Rule variations

The only installation requirements are that RUMMY500.EXE, RUMMY500.BMP, and
RUMMY500.HLP reside in the same directory, and that VBRUN300.DLL,
CMDIALOG.VBX, and VBCTL3D.VBX are present in your path (typically in the
windows\system directory).  CMDIALOG.VBX and VBCTL3D.VBX are included with
this distribution.  VBRUN300.DLL should be downloaded separately if you don't
already have it on your system.

To use the sound effects, you must either have a sound card installed in your
system, or have the speak.exe driver installed to use your system's regular
speaker.  Speak.exe is a freely distributed product from Microsoft, and is
available on most online services and bulletin board systems.  Rummy 500 is
not distributed with any sound files, but you probably have some already on
you system, and they are freely available from online services and bulletin
boards.

Rummy 500 is shareware, and is fully functional.  You may evaluate this
program for a period of 21 days after which you must register it or remove it
from your system.  To not comply with this condition is a violation of United
States and international copyright law.

You register your copy of Rummy 500 by sending $12 (check or money order) to:

    Carol Bufton
    58 Prendiville Way
    Marlborough
    MA 01752
    USA

You will receive your registration code by mail.  The registration code is
encoded from your name, so be sure to provide your name exactly as you wish
to be registered.  Please allow 28 days for your registration to arrive,
although every effort will be made to mail your registration within 5 days.
Your registration code licenses you to use the version of Rummy 500 that you
are currently evaluating, irrespective of which is the latest version
currently available on Akmerica Online, CompuServe, or registered diskette.
Your registration may also be valid with future versions as they become
available.

****************************************************************************
IMPORTANT NOTE: MeggieSoft Games does not process any registrations between
December 15th and January 15th.  Any registrations received during this
period will be processed after January 15th.  The registration reminder
will not be displayed between December 20th and January 15th.
****************************************************************************

If you require a diskette (3╜" only), add $3 making the total cost $15.  The
diskette version may contain a later version of Rummy 500 if improvements
have been made since the release of your evaluation copy.  Because we cannot
track which versions are currently available at what locations, it is very
possible that Rummy 500 will have been updated since your evaluation copy
unless you downloaded it from CompuServe or America Online.

You may not share your registration code with others.  Your registration
permits you and other users to use Rummy 500 on any single-user computer
system. You may also use Rummy 500 on any other computer system of which you
are the primary user, such as a laptop.

You may distribute Rummy 500 to others provided that you derive no revenue
other than the cost of distribution, and provided that you distribute the
following, and only the following, files intact:

    RUMMY500.EXE - The program
        RUMMY500.BMP - The card images
        RUMMY500.HLP - The help file
    VBRUN300.DLL - The Visual Basic Runtime
        CMDIALOG.VBX - The Visual Basic Common Dialog extension
        VBCTL3D.VBX  - The Visual Basic 3D Effects extension
        README.TXT   - This file

To use Rummy 500 you need Microsoft Windows 3.1 and a mouse (with at least
two buttons).  An Intel 386 class system with 4 megabytes of RAM is
recommended as a minimum.  Rummy 500 has not been evaluated on less capable
systems, but should present no problems other than responsiveness and speed.

You may encounter graphics problems if you have your configuration set to
display more than 256 colors.  see "Experiencing Problems?", below.

You are recommended to take advantage of the comprehensive help file
information in order to learn how to play Rummy 500.  Perhaps the best
first step to learning Rummy 500 is to use the "Player | AutoPlay"
option and watch the computer play against itself.  Enjoy!


Upgrading From Version 2.x
--------------------------

If you are not installing Rummy 500 Version 3.51 from diskette and you
already have Version 2.3 or earlier installed on your computer, you should
delete the file RUMMY500.INI from your windows directory before using
version 3.51 for the  first time.  This is because versions 3.0 and later
use a new format and will ignore the previous content anyway.  If you do
not delete RUMMY500.INI, no ill effects will occur, but RUMMY500.INI will
contain redundant and unused data.

Registered users installing from diskette using the automatic install
procedure can ignore this note.  The installation procedure will
automatically replace RUMMY500.INI for you.


Having Problems?
----------------

The only known problem outside of Rummy 500's control is when Rummy 500 is
initiated on a system with insufficient memory or other graphics resources
available.  This problem usually manifests itself by Rummy 500 "locking up"
when loading, or by all cards being displayed as blank images.  The reason is
usually one of the following:

1. Insufficient low memory.  Try loading high some of the DOS start-up
   utilities in AUTOEXEC.BAT and/or CONFIG.SYS.  If you have DOS 6.0 or
   later, you might try the memmaker utility.
2. Too many other programs running.  Exit Rummy 500, terminate some of the
   other programs, re-execute Rummy 500.
3. Insufficient resources to handle graphics colors.  If you have your
   graphics driver set to handle more than 256 colors, try resetting to
   256 colors before executing Rummy 500 again.

All other reported problems have been related to logic errors in the Rummy
500 program itself.  These are always fixed in the next release.  If you find
such a problem, please report it to us at the above address.


Revision History
----------------

Version 1.x - Development versions.

Version 2.0 - First Shareware release.  Fully functional.

Version 2.1 - Enhanced scoreboard now shows the scores of previous games and
              the scores of previous rounds in the current game.
        - Includes ability to store game totals and round scores between
              sessions.  (See help file "Menus, Game, Quit" for details)
        - Added "Save Scoreboard" option.
            - Fixed problem when Rummy 500 sometimes demanded discard before
              player had yet taken a card to start their turn.
        - Fixed problem when more than two cards added simultaneously to
              an existing meld sometimes yielded an incorrect "invalid meld"
              message.
            - Fixed problem (VGA mode) when vertical compression of melds
              sometimes did not occur when meld length exceeded the visible
              display area of the table.
         - Improved display cosmetics when player's hand is updated.
        - Now shows all changes to cards in opponent's hand as cards are
              taken, melded and discarded.
            - Now shows opponent's cards sorted when visible option is
              enabled.
        - Expert mode is tougher.  The opponent now checks all previous
              discards when making discard decision.

Version 2.11 (Registered distribution)
            - Minor improvements to registration code validation process
            - Overrides an SVGA setting in ini file if screen currently set
              to VGA resolution.

Version 2.2 - RULE CHANGE.  Player can freely select the last discard as
              an alternative to taking a card from the deck, in accordance
              with the traditional rules.  The card is added to the players
              hand.  If multiple discards including the last are required,
              select (highlight) one of the others first.
            - Dramatically improved speed of opponent thinking process.
              Now 3-10 times faster depending upon current state of play.
            - Opponent now highlights card in discard pile before taking
              multiple discards and shows it highlighted when melding.
            - Added menu option to supress opponent highlighting if desired.
        - Opponent now pauses briefly when taking and melding cards.
              This improves visual feedback of the opponent's actions on
              faster systems.
            - Added total lines to scoreboard (games and rounds).
            - Fixed "overflow" error which could occasionally occur during
              opponent's analysis of meld possibilities.
        - Fixed problem when player could sometimes meld all cards from
              his or her hand and leave nothing to discard.
            - Fixed problem of opponent only scoring for three cards in the
              rare instance when it melds four cards of the same value
              together.

Version 2.3  (Registered distribution)
            - Fixed problem when scoreboard was not updated after the last
              round of a game when exiting Rummy 500.
            - Fixed problem when player couldn't deselect the only card
              left in the player's hand once it was highlighted.
        - Added startup window to confirm Rummy 500 is loading (which
              takes a little time on slower systems).

Version 3.0 - Version 3 provides a full 3D-style user interface.  This is
              suppressable for users who prefer the traditional 2D look.
            - Added support for storing multiple player scoreboards and
              changing players during a session.
            - Implemented AutoResume to remember which player was playing
              last and automatically starting up the next session for that
              player.
            - Added optional sound effects (using wav files) when Rummy 500
              starts and finishes, and when games and rounds are won and
              lost.
            - RUMMY500.INI format now complies closer to ini file norms,
              and saves each player's options separately.
            - Added "Champion" skill level.  Champion is similar to Expert,
              plus it: (i) remembers what discards the player has picked
              up; (ii) will sometimes take the last discard rather than a
              new card from the deck; and (iii) discards higher value cards
              when the player has very few cards remaining.
            - Added "Rule Variations" options.  "Ace Always High" prevents
              Ace-Two-Three from being considered a valid meld.  "Meld Last
              Discard" prevents the last discard from being taken instead
              of a new card from the deck (i.e. inhibiting the v2.2 rule
              change, see above).
            - Added status bar to accomodate status messages, error
              messages, and a traffic light replacement.  Removed menu
              options for hiding error messages and traffic light.  Current
              player name and skill level are also displayed in the status
              bar.
            - Added "hotkey" capability to status bar.  For example, click
              on skill level to change it.
        - Completely revised the help system and implemented context
              sensitive help (F1).
            - VGA Resolution Only: Improved meld area display.  When a meld
              extends beyond eight cards, the meld is now split into two
              parts instead of vertically compressing.
            - Reworked the user interface mechanics to make graphic effects
              more stable and interaction more snappy.
            - Fixed problem of an ace in the player's hand being considered
              an invalid meld with a matching two and three.
        - Again fixed a problem when player could still meld all cards
              and have nothing left to discard.
            - Fixed problem when player could be trapped by not being able
              to discard the discard just taken when it is the last card in
              the player's hand.
       3.01 - Repaired some minor display cosmetics regarding horizontal
              compression of overlapping melds.
            - Additional minor improvements to user interface handler.
       3.02  (Registered distribution)
            - Fixed problem whereby card melded by opponent sometimes stayed
              highlighted.
            - If sounds are enabled, a tied round now plays the same sound
              as a player win instead of nothing.

Version 3.5 - Rummy 500 now conforms to "Hoyle's Rules Of Games".  In
              addition to some minor rule changes, thirteen cards are now
              dealt.  Almost all previous Rummy 500 conventions are
              preserved as available rule variations.
            - Implemented "Suggest" capability to give the player a hint
              regarding what to take, what to meld, and what to discard.
            - Implemented "Undo" facility to restart the player's current
              turn.
            - Implemented "Hall Of Fame" to report highest and lowest scores
              of recorded players.
            - Implemented "League Table" to report relative scores stored in
              all players' scoreboards.
            - The Logos are now replaced by displays of games won after the
              first game.  The "No Logo" option has been removed.
            - Implemented "Swap Cards" capability.  This swaps the cards
              in the opponent's hand with those in the player's hand.
            - Implemented "AutoPlayer" capability.  When in effect, the
              computer plays both hands while you watch.  (Useful for
              beginners.)
            - Introduced a brief pause when opponent takes and plays its
              cards.  (Some registered users commented that the action takes
              place too quickly on faster systems.)
            - Implemented "Quick Display" for opponent.  This suppresses the
              brief pause after the opponent takes and plays its cards.
            - Implemented "Animate Display" for player.  This updates the
              player's hand card by card, instead of "in a flash".  This is
              considered to be more attractive on faster systems.
            - Restructured menu system to simplify navigation.
            - Revised opponent skill algorithms.  "Champion" and "Expert are
              now a little smarter.
            - The "No Cards" symbol is now displayed when the player or
              opponent has no more cards in hand.
            - Implemented option to suppress the "who starts" reminders.
            - Updated Help facility now also includes Index and Glossary.
              The help menu now includes instant access to these.
            - Fixed some minor problems.

       3.51 - Increased intelligence of opponent when selecting card to
              discard ("Expert" and "Champion").
            - Fixed problem when an ace was sometimes displayed at the wrong
              end of a melded run.
            - Fixed problem when the "Best of 7 Games" rule variation was
              sometimes erroneously disabled.
            - Autoplay now has a "fast display" option.
            - Rummy 500 now tries to detect when there is insufficient
              resource or memory available when loading, and offers advice
              to resolve.
            - Made improvements to the fluidity of card display updates.


⌐ MeggieSoft Games, 1994.  All Rights Reserved.