Distribution:
If you are a distributor of software on CD-ROM - or some similar sort of medium - and feel like including the Joy Of Hex project, then feel free to include an unregistered version of the Joy Of Hex project. If you are somebody with a shareware archive site and wish to include the Joy Of Hex project then feel free to include an unregistered version of the Joy Of Hex project. In fact if you have some way to distribute the Joy Of Hex project then feel free to do so - just as long as you distribute the unregistered version of the software then I'll be happy.
Comments About Icons:
There are a few icons that you probally should be familar with.
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The Joy Of Hex application icon. |
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The icons for games saved by Joy Of Hex. |
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The Joy Of Hex Editor application icon. |
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The icons for scenarios saved by Joy Of Hex Editor. |
Comments About Memory Usage:
Joy Of Hex and Joy Of Hex Editor are applications that can get away with not needing much memory. To state the obvious: smaller maps use less memory, while larger maps use more memory. In fact, the default memory allowance is set at 10 meg since you need at least this much to open a 50*50 hex map - it also gives you the option of opening several maps, of a smaller size, if you so chose.
The amount of memory used is ultimately up to you. If you need to change the amount of RAM that Joy Of Hex or Joy Of Hex Editor will be allocated, then you can use the Finder to change how much memory the application uses by first selecting the relevant application icon, selecting the Get Info menu item from the File menu, and then changing the Prefered Size text field - remembering that the value that you are typing is in kilobytes.
Because I originally learnt to program on the Unix OS, I'm used to using dynamically allocated memory. For the Mac this background can create some problems - the most obvious is that I don't place any limits (other than the size of a short integer) on the size of maps that you can display. For small maps this isn't a problem and isn't noticible, but if you had gigabytes of RAM and the insanity to try it you could create a map about 32,000 by 32,000 (your ultimate limit being set by the size of a signed short) hexes in size (although I suspect the time required to render a map this size could be prohibitive).
The everyday problem that could arise is when a person sets their editor to run with a hundred meg or so of RAM and then someone else, who has only 10 or so meg, tries to play the scenario - this could create false bug alerts as when either Joy application runs out of memory they kick and scream (I have a habit of having a lot of alerts and dialogs appearing whenever something goes wrong - don't be too scared whenever this happens, I'm just trying to document what happened as throughly as possible ... if not a tad excessively). Don't be too alarmed if this happens to you.
Comments About File Names:
I've made up a rather simple convention so that various different game types can be distinguished by the user. It is all related to the opponent that you are playing against, and is tagged onto the end of the filename when you save it:
.map | - a file created by the Joy Of Hex Editor and contains a complete scenario |
.game | - a game against the computer |
.pbem | - a game against a human via email |
.local | - a game against a human on the same Mac |
This is a convention that I just made up - whether or not you want to follow it is irrelevant, as the various applicatins know what you have done with the files and can tell what it should do with them.
Your Comments:
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Do you have something that you'd like to say to me? Feel free to email me. Comments and discussion are useful to me as a programmer, for they highlight bugs in the application, weaknesses in the documention, features that are lacking (or should be deleted) from the application, and even ideas for future programming projects. I'm interested in anything that you might have to say. |
Development Tools:
Due to certain personal circumstances, I have no choice but to use the cheapest development tools that I can lay my hands on. The following are all the tools that I used to make both of the Joy Of Hex applications and their documentation (there are probally better tools but I can't afford them):
Battle Sounds:
Nearly everything that makes up the Joy Of Hex project is my own. All, that is, except for the sounds which I got from the following royalty free site:
Prefered Setup:
Joy Of Hex, Joy Of Hex Editor and Joy Of Hex-Map2PICT have exactly the same system and memory requires, which are listed below:
MacOS System 7.0 or greater. at least 256 colours. requires 10 Mb of RAM. being a FAT binary, they should work on both 68K Macs and PowerMacs.
Creating And Releasing Your Own Scenarios:
If you have created a few scenarios and you would like other people to play them then there are a few things that you should probally do:
1) Create a README file with the following information:
a) SCENARIO: The name of the scenario.
b) RELEASE DATE: The release date of the scenario's present version.
c) DESCRIPTION: A description of the scenario, putting the scenario in a historical context and explaining what the scenario's objectives are.
d) CREATOR: Your name.
e) CONTACT ADDRESS:Your email address.
f) URL: The URL(s) where people can get your other levels.
2) Take your scenario and the above README file and compress using a StuffIt product to create a ".sit" or ".hqx" file.
3) Upload your compressed scenario to a relevant web site.
If you have created a web site and want other people to play your levels, then put them on a web site and send me the URL. I'll have a look at your site and if it is appropriate, I'll link the site through my links page so that others can find your levels. Make sure that you include some means so that people can email you comments about your work.
Reporting Bugs:
If you find a bug (no matter how small) then please tell me about it by sending me an email. In your email please provide the following information:
1) Your CPU (eg 68040 25MHz).
2) Your MacOS version (eg 7.5.1).
3) The Application name (eg Joy Of Hex Editor).
4) The Application's version (this can be found be doing a Get Info on the app icon).
5) A description of the bug.
6) A detailed run through of what you did that lead up to the bug.
This all might seem like a lot of information to be sending but it is all useful in helping me to track down those inevitable bugs.
Disclaimer:
If, for whatever reason, there is a system crash, or there is loss of data, or there is some other situation from which a complaint can be raised against Joy Of Hex project, then no body but the user shall be responsible. Although the quality of the Joy Of Hex project applications and the documentation is set as high as the developer can get it, he shall not be held responsible for anything either related in connection to any software that he writes, or the related documentation that he creates, or any other aspect of his life in general.