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Latest versions README
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1994-12-26
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The README file accompanies the latest versions (6.0) of the four
solitaire games, Klondike, Golf, Canfield, and Calculation. For details
on the latest features, please read 'History' on the Help menu within
each game. In general, version 6.0 improved color support, including a
set of built-in color face cards, and simplified the Options menus.
Most moves can be made by double-clicking, and Golf now has an
available option to permit cards to be played on Kings.
Depending on how much memory you have allocated to the game, you may
notice that when dragging cards from pile to pile, you see only an
outline instead of the whole card. This can easily be remedied by
increasing the memory for the game in the Finder's 'Get Info...' box.
Approximate memory requirements are:
B/W 128k
256 Colors 384K
Thousands 512k
Millions 950k
Use the above table to adjust the game to fit your needs. If you don't
have thousands of colors on your Mac, reduce the RAM to free more
memory for other programs. Likewise, if you have millions of colors and
want full animation when moving cards, increase the RAM.
When running under System 7, you will find Help menus on the system
Help menu (the little question mark in a balloon, at the right end of
the menu bar). The games have their own Help menu on earlier systems.
With System 7, you can also turn on Balloon Help for explanations of
menu items and buttons in the Scoring dialog.
Read the Help for information on each game. There are three or four
Help menus: Rules, Play, Scoring (where appropriate), and History.
Rules will give you the basic rules of that solitaire game. Play
instructs you in how the game works on the Mac, including the available
options. Scoring explains the scorekeeping variations provided. History
provides a summary of changes from release to release.
A Little History
I wrote the first game, Klondike, in 1984. It was written using the
first Macintosh development environment (a borrowed Lisa computer plus
a Macintosh 128K). A couple of years later, the availability of TML
Pascal, the first native Pascal compiler I could obtain on the
Macintosh, made it possible for me to continue to evolve Klondike and
develop new, related games. At the time, I was using a 512K Mac with an
external 400K drive. Now, THAT seems like a long time ago! Canfield was
the first of the other games to be developed; I actually had a version
of it running before having to return the borrowed Lisa, but it wasn't
released until I obtained TML Pascal.
The first of these games, Klondike, may be the most commonly-known
version of solitaire. The Macintosh version has been a lasting success,
enough so that more than one person has written to curse the day some
friend gave them a copy. A recent letter included a screen shot proving
that person had played over 26,000 games of Klondike on his copy.
In January, 1987, Klondike won the Boston Computer Society's award for
excellence in Macintosh public domain and shareware development.
When Multifinder was released, Klondike was adapted to be Multifinder
aware (it already had a ‘SIZE’ resource, as defined for Switcher, the
precursor of Multifinder).
After version 3.6, I added the ability to save and open external
‘decks’ (documents), which hold a private scoreboard and option
selections. This was to support families with more than one Klondike
fan: more than one husband (or wife) wrote in to complain that their
spouse was getting so good, and making such high scores, they were no
longer able to put their own name on the high scores list.
There are also three (8-bit) colorized decks available which contain
color face card images. Opening these decks makes the game even more
colorful for those with color monitors. I hope some color artist makes
a 24-bit deck available someday. Not that I have 24-bit color, but....
More recently, the game was improved visually (in my opinion) by
providing full animation of cards when moving them around.
I have been able to verify that the games work in 32-bit addressing
mode. They also work under A/UX.
As of version 5.0, the games became System 7 friendly, which mainly
meant that they accepted high-level Apple Events. They also used
Apple’s Sound Manager to play tunes when they dealt the cards and when
you won a game. This was to provide compatibility with new and future
Macs, although it seems to have ruined the sound when played on my
Plus. It bombed my upgraded 512K with System 6.0.8. If you have such
problems, use the Options menu to turn the sound OFF.
Version 5.1 replaced the original WaveTable sound with Square Wave,
which seems to work on older Macs (although it isn’t quite as
pleasant-sounding on newer Macs). I have also provided a color
background to play on, and animation when returning cards to their
original positions when no legal move was made.
Version 6.0 now includes a full set of color face card pictures. The
option menu structure has been simplified, and fast play has been made
easier by the addition of 'intelligence' to move cards for you when you
double-click on them.
The Plea
Klondike is a hobby. I only get to work on it a little every now and
then (I find it therapeutic: I’m a programmer at heart). If you
encounter any problems or incompatibilities playing Klondike, or have
any suggestions for future improvements, PLEASE write to me personally
at the address below (email preferred). When I get time, I hope that I
can fix your problem. Actually, I usually get bugs fixed fairly
quickly; enhancements can take a while.
Mike Casteel
8924 45th Ave. NE
Seattle, WA 98115
Electronic mail can be sent to:
Internet: mac@unison.com
I hope you enjoy the games.
Michael A. Casteel