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1991-11-17
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PC-Gammon V4.12
Copyright (c) 1991
Repstad Computer Consultants
All Rights Reserved
Repstad Computer Consultants
RFD #1, Box 3720
Sheldon, VT 05483
(802) 933-5143 (Voice)
(802) 933-2417 (Data - Black Creek BBS
300/1200/2400/9600HST
24hrs/7days)
╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ PC-Gammon is Shareware... it is NOT FREEWARE... ║
║ ║
║ If you enjoy playing this game, you must register it. Registered ║
║ users will not have to put up with the shareware screen, and they ║
║ will also encourage me to improve the game and help send my kids ║
║ to college. ║
║ To register your copy fill out the registration form (included in ║
║ the PC-Gammon archive or disk), and send $15.00 to: ║
║ ║
║ Repstad Computer Consultants ║
║ RFD #1, Box 3720 ║
║ Sheldon, VT 05483 ║
║ ║
║ Registered users can obtain support via the Black Creek BBS at ║
║ (802) 933-2417 300/1200/2400/9600HST, 24hrs/7days. Just leave a ║
║ message for the SYSOP if you have any questions or problems. ║
║ The latest shareware version of PC-Gammon will always be ║
║ available on the board. Thanks in advance for your contribution. ║
║ ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Hardware Requirements:
IBM-PC XT/AT (or compatible)
640K of memory
EGA/VGA or Hercules Graphics Adapter
Installation:
You can either play PC-Gammon from the floppy disk or
copy the contents of the disk to your hard disk.
PC-Gammon requires no special installation. Simply copy or
unzip the files to your hard disk.
PC-Gammon is completely unprotected. It is suggested
that you make a back-up copy of the original.
Running PC-Gammon:
Hard disk users can either change directories to the pcgammon
directory or place the PC-Gammon directory in their path and type
the following;
PCGAMMON
Floppy users would place the PC-Gammon disk in their A:
drive and enter the following commands:
A:
PCGAMMON
Additionally PC-Gammon can be invoked with command line
parameters, the syntax is:
PCGAMMON p1 p2 p3
The parameters are shown in the table on the following page.
Command Line Parameters:
Parameter Meaning
========= ==================================
E Force EGA Color Mode
M Force EGA Monochrome Mode
H Force Hercules Monochrome Mode
L Printer is HP Laserjet Series II
Tnnn Set Animitation Delay Time
(nnn = Time in milliseconds)
Dnnn Set Animation Motion Increment
(nnn = number of pixels)
PC-Gammon will automatically determine the type of video
adapter you have in your computer (EGA or Herc) and set the
graphics mode accordingly. There are circumstances in which
the default video mode is incorrect or undesireable, the most
notable of these are
1) Some video adapters support both EGA/Herc modes, and
when connected to a monochrome TTL monitor, they will
erroneously report a EGA color monitor is attached.
Use the 'H' command line parameter to force the program
to use the Hercules Graphics Mode.
2) Some users with either Laptops or VGA Paper White monitors,
only really have two colors. In this instance use the 'M'
parameter to force the game into a 640x350 two color mode.
3) Some EGA/VGA cards will not be detected correctly, use the
'E' parameter to force the video mode into 640x350 16 color
mode.
The 'L' parameter indicates that you have an HP Laserjet series
II (i.e. the printer supports HPPCL language). The default
printer is the IBM-PC Graphics Printer for dot matrix, if your
printer is not a dot matrix you must include the 'L' command
line parameter in order to obtain a graphics print of the screen.
PC-Gammon animates the motion of the men (i.e. it slides them
across the screen) when they are moved. These two parameters
control the speed and distance at which they are moved. The
default values are T25 D50, if you find the men move to slow
or fast, you may increment or decrement these values to suit
your needs.
Introduction:
PC-Gammon V4.12 has an easy to use menu system.
At the bottom right portion of the screen you will see the
menu area. To select a menu item, you may either type the first
character of the menu item (i.e. "F" for Forfeit), or click the
mouse cursor (if you have a mouse) on the desired menu item.
Options:
Selecting the Options entry from the main menu will display
the options menu consisting of the following (a detailed
description of the options is at the end of this file) :
Load : Load a previously saved game
Save : Save the game currently being played.
Score History : Select player/View score history
Print Screen : Provides a graphics dump of the
screen to an IBM PC Graphics
printer or compatible. (See command
line parameters for printer selection).
Auto Doubles : Enable or Disable automatic doubling.
Computer Rolls : Enable or Disable the computer rolls.
Game Log : Writes a log of all moves to the disk.
Main Menu : Returns you to the main menu.
Main Menu Commands:
Redraw:
If for any reason the board display should become corrupted
the XDraw command will redraw the board for you.
Double:
The Double command is used to double the stakes of the game.
Initially neither player owns the doubling cube, and it's value
is set to 1, it appears in the middle of the board. Either
player may offer to double when the doubling cube is unowned.
As soon as one player offers to double the player who
accepts the double gets possession of the cube and then only
he may double (the cube changes color to the color of the player).
If either player refuses the double, that player forfeits the game.
Pass:
If you can't play (i.e. you're on the bar and can't get off, etc.),
this command will skip the remainder of your turn and the computer
will play. The computer will not allow you to pass if you have a
valid move.
Backup:
Allows you to backup to the beginning of your move. For instance
if you rolled a 6,1 and you played the six, and then decided you
could have made a better move, use the B command to back-up to
the beginning of your roll. The program also asks you if you are
sure at the end of each move. If you respond negatively, your
move will be backed up.
Forfeit:
If you clearly see you are loosing and you don't want to hear
the snide remarks the computer makes when it wins, type the "F"
key and the computer will start a new game. (It will however be
scored as a loss for you).
Help:
Selecting help will display the help file on your screen
during play.
Quit:
When dinners ready or you simply can't tolerate any more
backgammon, type the Q key and the game will return you to DOS.
Rolling the Dice:
The space bar is used to roll the dice. When it's your turn to
move, hit the space bar to roll the dice. You can't roll the
dice more than once per move. The dice are rolled at the
beginning of each game to see who goes first (yours is the
left die). The player that wins that roll must use the roll
as shown. Additionally if the first roll is a double, the
doubling cube is incremented to 2 (provided auto doubles are
enabled), and you roll again to see who goes first.
Mouse Users may roll the dice by clicking the left mouse button
anywhere on the playing board or in the dice area when it is
their turn to roll the dice.
Moving/Playing:
Please note: The "BAR" is slot 0.
Keyboard Users:
To move a man type an "M". A form will appear near the bottom
of the screen. Enter the location you wish to move from and
the value of the dice you wish to use separated by a comma,
(e.g entering a "12,5", would move your man from the 12 slot
5 spaces). The bar is designated as slot 0. Press enter to
complete the move or the ESC key to cancel a move.
Mouse Users:
To move a man simply click the mouse cursor on the man you
wish to move, a dot will appear in the center of the man to
indicated it has been selected. Then click the mouse cursor
on the appropriate slot you wish to move to. To deselect a
man (i.e. you changed you mind and don't wish to move
the man you selected), simply click the mouse cursor on the
selected man a second time (The dot will dissappear).
Alternately, after you have selected the man you wish to move
you may click on the dice you wish to use for the move and
the man selected will be moved the appropriate number of spaces.
If you attempt an illegal move the computer will notify you with
an appropriate messge.
Bearing Off:
Keyboard Users:
Bearing off men is the same as moving them, simply select
the man you wish to bear off followed by the dice value you
wish to use to move the man.
Mouse Users:
There are two ways you can bear off using the mouse. In both
ways select the man you wish to bear off by clicking the mouse
cursor on that man, then you may either click the mouse cursor
on the die you wish to use to bear the man off with, or you may
click the mouse cursor in the "OFF" area.
The Options Menu:
Load Game:
Selecting the Load Game option will bring up a directory of
previously saved games. Use the arrow keys to select the game
you wish to load and press enter, or mouse users can click
on the file name they wish to load to highlight it and then
click again to enter it.
Save:
Allows you to save a game in progress. Simply enter an eight
character name you wish to save the game under. File names must
conform to normal DOS file naming conventions and must not contain
a file extension. Examples:
Legal Names : MYGAME
MY_GAME
GAME001
Illegal Names: MY.GAM (Has File Extension)
MY?GAME (Illegal "?")
TOOLONGNAME (Name Too Long)
SAVE GAME (Name Has a Space)
Score History:
PC-Gammon will maintain a score history for as many players
as you wish. If there are no players in the score history file,
the program will prompt you to enter you name, enter your
name (up to 15 characters) and press enter when done, press
the ESC key to disable score keeping.
When one or more players is already in the history file then
the names of the players will appear on the screen with an
optional scroll bar. (depending on how many players are in the
history file). Use the arrow keys to highlight your name and
press enter or mouse users can click the mouse cursor on their
name to highlight it and then click a second time to select it.
To enter the name of a new user press "N" or click the mouse
cursor on the "NEW" button, then enter the name as described above.
Press "C" or click the mouse cursor on the Cancel button to
disable the score history.
Player selection may be done at any time, and the games score is
not actually updated until the end of the game.
Print Screen:
Select this option item to get a graphics dump of the screen to an
IBM Graphics Printer or HPLJ II. The default color scheme provided
with the game will produce an acceptable output. Should you change
the color scheme the printout may not be as readable. Be sure you
invoke the game with the 'L' command line parameter if you have
an HP Laserjet. Also, your laser jet must have at least 1MB of
ram to get a full graphics print.
Auto Doubles:
This feature allows you to select whether or not the doubling
cube will automatically be doubled on the opening roll,
if the opening roll is doubles.
Computer Roll:
Selecting this menu item will turn computer dice rolls on and off.
When on (the startup default), the computer will generate all
dice rolls. When turned off, you will be prompted to enter the
dice rolls for both yourself and the computer. This mode is
made available for those who prefer to roll real dice.
Game Log:
This feature will keep a log on the disk for each game played.
The log will include the players name, the date and time of the
start of the game, and each move made by both players.
(Available in registered version only!)
Main Menu:
Selecting this option will return you to the main menu.