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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Zentris (tm)
version 1.50
The Best 'Tris in the World (tm)
Copyright (c) 1991-92 Robert J. Sundling
Documentation (April 26, 1992)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Zenithal Software (tm)
200 Rowe Street
Stoughton, WI 53589-2352
United States of America
- i -
Table of Contents
Preamble/Foreword/Opening/Prelude/Introduction . . . . 1
A Note on Viruses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Zentris Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
How To Register Zentris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The History of Zentris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Nature of Zentris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Playing Zentris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Keyboard controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Joystick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Pull Down Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Write Config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Zentris Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Registration Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Demo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Color/Gray Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Joystick Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Invocation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Quick Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Next Piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Stats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Level/Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Pull Down Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Redraw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Pause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Sound on/off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Initials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Demo On/Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Joystick calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Quit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- ii -
Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
DESQView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Microsoft Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Release History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The Best 'Tris in the World? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Alphabetical Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
- iii -
Preamble/Foreword/Opening/Prelude/Introduction
Copyright 1991,92 Robert J. Sundling. All Rights Reserved.
Zentris is a product of Zenithal Software, Ltd. Zentris is
protected by the copyright laws of the United States and its
treaty provisions for foreign countries. Zentris, Zenithal
Software, and The Best 'Tris in the World are trademarks of
Robert J. Sundling. DOS, Microsoft, and Microsoft Windows are
registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. DESQView is a
trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems. Tetris is a trademark
of V/O Electronorgtechnica (Elorg). All other trademarks or
service marks belong to their respective companies.
Disclaimer of liability: The author makes no warranties,
expressed or implied, as to this product, including but not
limited to implied warranties of suitability for a particular
purpose, or any damages that may result from its use, such as
lost profits or damaged equipment, among other possibilities.
A Note on Viruses
The Zentris program is stored in an encrypted format in an
attempt to prevent viruses from modifying its code. A CRC check
may be added in the future if it is deemed necessary.
Distribution
Only the "shareware" (i.e., evaluation) version of Zentris
may be distributed. This version can be recognized by the
message that it displays when run that says "This is an evalua-
tion copy of Zentris" or something to that effect.
If the evaluation version of Zentris is to be distributed in
an archive file, such as with an extension of .ZIP, .ARC, .LZH,
.ARJ, .LBR, etc., or as part of a self-extracting archive, a
specific filename convention must be observed. The file MUST be
named ZTRISxxx.ZIP (or .LZH, etc.), where "xxx" is the version
number. For example, version 1.50 would be "ZTRIS150.ZIP."
When Zentris is distributed, all four of the shareware
Zentris files must be included: ZENTRIS.DOC, ZENTRIS.EXE,
ZENTRIS.OVL, and REGISTER.FRM. Once again, only the evaluation
version may be distributed. No files from the registered version
of Zentris may ever be distributed, under any circumstances, by
any party other than the author. Zentris may *not* be distrib-
uted by anyone that would be advertising Zentris as free soft-
ware. If Zentris is offered in a Shareware catalog, it must be
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 1
noted that a user is expected to register Zentris with the author
if he wishes to use the program.
No fee may be charged for the distribution of Zentris unless
the author has given his express written consent for you to do
this.
Zentris Contacts
If you wish to purchase a copy of Zentris, would like to
distribute Zentris as a Shareware distributor, or have any
questions or comments about the program, please contact:
Robert J. Sundling
Zenithal Software, Ltd.
200 Rowe Street
Stoughton, WI 53589-2352, USA
Voice: (608) 873-8385, preferably from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Central Standard Time
BBS: Bob Sundling at Synergy BBS, (608) 277-0280
Fidonet: Bob Sundling at NineJackNine, 1:121/99
If you represent a software company interested in having
Zentris be one of your products, please contact:
Peter Kienitz
Marketing Manager, Alpha Computers
M/S FRS-V
301 Troy Drive
Madison, WI 53704-1521, USA
Voice: (608) 244-9758
How To Register Zentris
If you have not paid for Zentris, you may only use this
program for an evaluation period of two weeks. If you continue
to use Zentris after this period, you MUST pay for it. In
exchange for the $10 fee, you get the following:
* A license to legally use Zentris.
* The latest version of Zentris on-disk, with no time-
delayed registration messages.
* Unlimited future upgrades to Zentris, for a cost of
only $5 each (to cover the cost of a disk, disk mailer,
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 2
handling, and postage), and notification of any major
upgrades to Zentris.
* Joystick support, a keyboard redefinition feature, and
a feature to save your game configuration (sound, next
piece display, etc.) to disk.
* Special discounts on other Zenithal Software products.
* My eternal thanks and friendship.
In addition, if you register Zentris by July 30, 1992, you
will be able to purchase Super Zentris (predicted to be available
August 1, 1992) for only $10 (retail value: $25). Super Zentris
includes:
* SuperVGA support (640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768)
* Side-by-side two-player modes, as well as modem support
* A tournament mode, for finding the BEST Zentris player
Right now, before you forget, quick grab an envelope and
write a note to:
Robert J. Sundling
Zenithal Software
200 Rowe Street
Stoughton, WI 53589-2352, U.S.A.
Be sure to enclose the $10 (US) registration fee, as well as
your name and address. Feel free to send more money if you think
Zentris is worth more. Please specify a diskette size (5.25" or
3.5"). If no diskette size is specified, Zentris will be shipped
on a 360k 5.25" diskette. Make checks or money orders payable to
"Robert J. Sundling" (not "Zenithal Software"). Credit cards
cannot be accepted at this time.
SHIPPING: The $10 includes all applicable shipping costs for
areas within the United States and Canada. Overseas purchasers
or those from Mexico, Central, or South America, please add $5 to
cover the additional shipping costs.
The History of Zentris
Zentris was inspired by a similar game of falling-blocks,
which shall not be mentioned here. Zentris was created because
this wondrous concept was to date implemented in a rather poor
way, with low-quality graphics or unconventional controls.
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 3
Zentris is an attempt to provide this concept in a wonderful
and beautiful way. I believe it has been a success.
System Requirements
Zentris requires an 80x86 computer running DOS with a VGA,
MCGA, or compatible graphics adapter installed. A mouse or
joystick is optional but not required. Approximately 384k to
512K of free memory is required, the exact amount varies.
The Nature of Zentris
Zentris is, quite simply, a game. The object of this game
is to arrange falling pieces so that they fill up complete rows
which then disappear. After every twenty rows, a new level is
reached and the pieces fall faster.
Every time a piece stops falling or a row is completed, the
player scores points. The exact number of points depends on the
speed at which the player drops the pieces--the faster the piece
is dropped, the more points the player gets.
Playing Zentris
Pieces fall at a certain speed for each level. The pieces
fall faster on higher levels. The player may move the pieces
left and right, may rotate the pieces, or may instantly drop the
pieces (effectively speeding up gravity until the piece hits
another or the bottom).
The following keys are available for manipulating the
pieces:
[Left] Move the piece to the left
[Right] Move the piece to the right
[5] or [Space] Rotate the piece
[Down], [Enter], [Ins] Drop the piece
It is recommended that a player use the numeric keypad when
playing with keyboard controls, for all the necessary keys are
grouped relatively close together.
Additionally, a Microsoft-compatible mouse may be used to
play. A two button mouse works best, although if a three-button
mouse is fully two-button compatible, it will work as well. A
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 4
Microsoft-compatible trackball may also be used.
When playing with a mouse, a player may do the following:
Move mouse left Move the piece left
Move mouse right Move the piece right
Click left button Rotate the piece
Click right button Drop the piece
Many people find playing with a mouse to be easier than
using a keyboard, I myself included.
If you have paid for Zentris, your version will have support
for a joystick device. The following actions can be used:
Move stick left Move the piece left
Move stick right Move the piece right
Press button Rotate the piece
Stick down Drop the piece
Pull Down Menus
New in Zentris version 1.40 are pull down menus. These
menus can be accessed at any time (except when waiting for a
registration delay or entering a name for a high score) by
pressing the ESC key.
When the pull down menus are active, a sculptured menu bar
will be displayed across the top of the screen. The options may
be selected using the arrow keys or the mouse. Use the ENTER key
or the left mouse button to select menu options, and the ESC key
or the right mouse button to back out of menus. Alternatively,
pressing the first letter of a menu option will select it,
providing a suitable shortcut for selecting the menu options.
Please note that previously the ESC key had been used for
the Quick Shell to DOS function. This feature has been renamed
and placed under the "Game" menu as "Shell to DOS", and--if speed
is of the essence--it may be quickly accessed by hitting "ESC",
then "G", and then "S" (for the menu, then "Game", then "Shell to
DOS").
Most of the menu options have equivalent "Quick Keys" (see
"Quick Keys", page 8). However, there are several features which
may *only* be accessed from the pull down menus. These features
are as follows:
Registration Form This option allows you to easily print a
registration form for mailing. From the
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 5
"Register" menu, simply select "Regis-
tration Form". You will then be given
the option of printing the registration
form to your printer or writing it to a
file. Select the appropriate choice and
press ENTER. Please note that it is not
necessary to use a registration form to
register the game, the option is merely
provided as a convenience.
Write Config In the registered version only, this
option allows you to save your game
configuration to disk. This saves, for
example, whether you have the next
piece, stats, level, or clock displays
turned on, whether the sound is on or
off, and all of the keys that you have
redefined. The next time you start
Zentris, your new configuration will
automatically be loaded.
About the Author This option gives a little background on
the author of Zentris (me). Although
this serves little purpose, I thought
some of you might be interested.
Zentris Info This option shows the copyright informa-
tion for the game.
Registration Info This displays the information necessary
to register the game, to be written down
for later use.
Demo This is the most intriguing new feature
of Zentris. When Demo mode is selected,
Zentris will begin playing the game by
itself. Its skill level is relatively
average, although on faster computers it
has scored in the 24,000 to 25,000 point
range. An average score, however, is
about 6,000 points. To turn Demo mode
on, select "Demo" from the "Game" menu
and then select "Yes." To turn it off,
follow the same procedure but instead
select "No."
Color/Gray Scale This feature allows users of laptops
that have, for example, "8 gray scales"
to have Zentris customize the palette
for their display. Select this menu
option and then select the number of
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 6
gray scales that correspond to the num-
ber that your display can handle. A
standard VGA can display 64 gray scales.
Joystick Calibration
If you have registered Zentris, and have a joystick device,
when the game first begins you will be presented with an option
to calibrate your joystick.
When directed to do so, center your joystick and press
ENTER. After this, you will be asked to move your joystick to
all four corners. Do so, and press ENTER again. Your joystick
is calibrated.
You might wonder why joystick calibration is necessary.
There are many different models of joysticks available, and there
are often subtle differences in different models. Calibration
allows Zentris to extract the full potential from your joystick.
In addition to calibrating the joystick at startup, you may
press [J] at any time during the game to recalibrate your joy-
stick if it becomes misaligned. You may also need to do this if
you switch your computer out of (or into) "Turbo" mode. Joystick
calibration may also be accessed from the pull-down menus (see
"Pull Down Menus", page 5).
If you wish to not use the joystick, simply press ESC at the
calibration screen. You may also turn the joystick on and off
during the game by pressing [J].
Invocation Options
If your VGA system is not 100% compatible with a standard
VGA, simply invoke Zentris with the /f command line parameter.
The /f must be in lowercase. For example, instead of typing just
"zentris" at your DOS prompt, type:
zentris /f
This will override the check for VGA/MCGA hardware. Please
note that Zentris may not operate correctly with such incompat-
ible VGA hardware. If Zentris seems to load but locks up after
the introductory screen, invoke Zentris with:
zentris /f /a
This will use the alternative introduction screen.
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 7
Keyboard Redefinition
If you have registered Zentris, you will be able to redefine
the keyboard. This allows you to use alternate keys for playing,
rather than the standard keyboard layout. To access the keyboard
redefinition feature, select "Config" and then "Keyboard" from
the pull down menus (see "Pull Down Menus", page 5).
To redefine the keyboard, press [ENTER] at the prompt. If
you would like to just use the normal keys, press [ESC] instead.
The keys you select will be in effect until you exit Zentris or
until you change them again. You may save keyboard configuration
to disk by selecting "Write Config" from the "Config" menu. Your
redefined keys will then automatically be loaded with Zentris.
To select keys for a certain action, press them at the
appropriate prompts. Zentris allows you to select several
different keys for each of the possible actions, so press up to
five keys at each prompt. Once you are finished with that
action, simply press [ESC].
For example, suppose you wanted the [G] key to move the
piece left. When Zentris asks you to press the key(s) for "Piece
Left", press [G] and then press [ESC] to go on to the next
action. Please note that you would then not be able to use the
left arrow key to move the piece to the left, for you would have
to use the [G] key instead. If you wished to be able to use
either [G] or [LEFT] to move the piece to the left, do the
following. Instead of pressing [ESC] right after [G], press the
[LEFT] key. Then press [ESC]. That indicates to Zentris that
both of those keys should mean "move the piece to the left."
This may sound complicated, but it is actually incredibly
simple. Most likely, this feature is unnecessary for you, as the
default keys are quite playable.
Quick Keys
While playing the game, the following features may be
activated (or inactivated) by pressing the appropriate keys.
[N] "Next Piece" display toggle. This display,
on the right side of the screen, indicates
the type of piece that will be coming next.
It is often useful for planning ahead.
[S] "Stats" display toggle. This display, on the
left side of the screen, indicates the number
of pieces of each type the player has re-
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 8
ceived. Although there is little point to
such a display, it is a matter of interest
for some people.
[L] "Level/Lines" display toggle. This display,
on the left side of the screen, shows your
current level and the number of lines you've
completed so far.
[Esc] Pull Down Menus. See the section of the
manual titled "Pull down menus" (page 5) for
more information. The pull down menus pro-
vide quick and easy access to all the fea-
tures listed in this section.
[R] Redraw the display screen. This is often
useful if you're using pop-up TSR programs
that can leave untidy "droppings".
[P] Pause the game. If you have to answer the
telephone, or simply want to stop playing for
a while, press this key. Any other key
resumes play from where you left off. Alter-
natively, the game may be paused by simply
activating the pull down menus (page 5).
[F2] Sound on/off. When sound is off, clicks will
be heard instead of beeps.
[C] Clock toggle on/off. If you often play
Zentris late at night, this feature can be
useful for telling you when you need to go to
bed. The clock is displayed in the far lower
right corner of the screen.
[I] Initials. REGISTERED VERSION ONLY. For
those of you who have purchased Zentris,
pressing this key during the game allows you
to place your initials on all of the pieces.
Simply type your initials (maximum of about
two letters) and press [ENTER]. They will be
shown on all of the pieces. It is often
preferrable to use uppercase to make them
more readable. Please note that the upper-
case letter "G" is slightly distorted--unfor-
tunately there is no simple way to fix this
problem.
[D] Demo On/Off. This toggles Zentris's self-
play demo mode. Note that while Zentris is
playing in demo mode you may break in at any
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 9
time by using the normal game playing keys.
[J] Joystick calibration. REGISTERED VERSION
ONLY. See the section of this manual titled
"Joystick calibration" (page 7).
[Q] [X] Quit. This function allows you to quit
Zentris and return to your operating system.
Answer [Y]es to the "Quit?" query to exit.
[F1] [?] [H] Help. Display a help screen summarizing the
available keys.
Compatibility
Zentris is fully compatible with the DESQView operating
environment and can operate in background windows and virtual
screens. Zentris should be given approximately 512k of memory,
it may or may not operate in less.
Zentris can operate under Microsoft Windows, although the
mouse may not function in the game. Give Zentris about 512k of
memory in its PIF file--although it may work in a bit less.
Experiment.
It is recommended that you play Zentris directly from DOS
for an added increase in program speed and response time.
However, this is not necessary, especially if you have a fast
computer.
Watch for Zentris for Windows, perhaps coming sometime in
late 1992.
Zentris Release History
New features in version 1.20:
* Extended 8514/A compatibility
* New styles for pop up boxes and row erasure
* Enhanced joystick support for registered version
* /f parameter for incompatible VGA systems
* Clock feature
* Some previously undocumented keys now listed in the manual
* Support for INS key to drop pieces
New features in version 1.30:
* New background screen design
* Keyboard redefinition for registered version
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 10
* Some minor changes to the manual
* Support for initials on the pieces
New features in version 1.31:
* Fixed "high-scores-not-being-saved" bug (thanks, Joel!!)
* Cleaned up introduction screen (there you go, Pete)
New features in version 1.40:
* Pull-down menus!
* New self-play mode ("Demo" from "Game" menu)
* Moved keyboard redefinition to pull down menus instead of
game start up
* Moved DOS Shell to "Shell to DOS" from "Game" menu
* New Game (restart) feature
* About Author and About Zentris information added
* Manual updated with the new Version 1.40 features
* Different types of gray scales, removed the [G] key for
[G]ray Scale and instead put the option in the menus
New features in version 1.41:
* Fixed inability to select 8-color gray scale option with a
mouse
* Made the game more responsive when in demo mode
* Added [D] key to toggle Demo, instead of just being able
to do this from the pull-down menus
New features in version 1.50:
* From a suggestion by Rick Ibarra, added an option to allow
you to write your game configuration to disk. Simply
select "Write Config" from the "Config" pull-down menu.
(Registered version only.)
* I have perhaps fixed a bug with joystick calibration that
resulted in an "Oops!" error with some joysticks. The
exact cause is still unknown, but a minor change was
made in the calibration procedure to hopefully solve
this problem.
* Changed the names of some commands on the menus so that
none of the first letters were duplicated in any pull
down menu.
* Made a Zentris Installation Program to allow upgrading in
the future to be quite a bit simpler, and to avoid
confusion in distributing the latest Shareware version
along with the Registered version (to give to friends).
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 11
The Best 'Tris in the World?
I think so. And so does the nuclear engineer who originally
called it that. Every aspect of Zentris puts it above the
competition--from the quality of its graphics, to the realistic
rotation of the pieces, to its magnificent sound effects.
But, if you have any questions or comments, please write, or
call me at home between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm Central Standard Time
at (608) 873-8385. Sorry, I cannot take orders over the phone.
Alphabetical Index
/a . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 mouse . . . . . . 4, 5, 10, 11
/f . . . . . . . . . . 7, 10 next piece . . . . . 3, 6, 8
about the author . . . . . 6 pause . . . . . . . . . . . 9
about Zentris . . . . . . . 11 pull down menus . . 5, 7-9, 11
BBS . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 questions . . . . . . . 2, 12
checks . . . . . . . . . . 3 quick keys . . . . . . . 5, 8
clock . . . . . . . . 6, 9, 10 quit . . . . . . . . . . . 10
comments . . . . . . . 2, 12 redraw . . . . . . . . . . 9
demo mode . . . . . . 6, 9, 11 registration . . . 2, 3, 5, 6
DESQView . . . . . . . 1, 10 registration form . . . . 5, 6
drop . . . . . . . . 4, 5, 10 registration info . . . . . 6
exit . . . . . . . . . 8, 10 requirements . . . . . . . 4
Fidonet . . . . . . . . . . 2 rotate . . . . . . . . . 4, 5
gray scale . . . . . . 6, 11 self-play mode . . . . . . 11
incompatible VGA hard- shell to DOS . . . . . 5, 11
ware . . . . . . 7 sound . . . . . 3, 6, 8, 9, 12
initials . . . . . . . 9, 11 stats . . . . . . . . . . 6, 8
invocation options . . . . 7 Super Zentris . . . . . . . 3
joystick . . . 3-5, 7, 10, 11 SuperVGA . . . . . . . . . 3
keyboard redefinition 3-5, 8, trackball . . . . . . . . . 5
10, 11 upgrades . . . . . . . . 2, 3
level . . . . . . . . 4, 6, 9 viruses . . . . . . . . . . 1
money orders . . . . . . . 3 zentris /f . . . . . . . . 7
Zentris Manual (April 26, 1992) Page 12
