@database "Imperial" @master "Imperial.guide" @node main "Imperial Help" ««««« IMPERIAL »»»»» ««««« V2.65 »»»»» ««««« © 1993-94 Jean-Marc BOURSOT »»»»» Impérial is a Jean-Marc Boursot production for Ringard' Production. This program is SHAREWARE. If you like it and use it, I would like you to send me a registration fee of US $15 (or 60 FF, or 20 DM) to the following address : Jean-Marc BOURSOT 1 grand'rue 68170 RIXHEIM (France) The program may be freely distributed and copied for NON-COMMERCIAL use, as long as the following conditions are fulfilled: - all files must be included: Imperial, Imperial.data, Imperial.info, Imperial.fra.guide, Imperial.eng.guide, english.lng, francais.lng, Mer.song, Sasquatch.song, Zen.song, Elements.data . Distribution of single parts is not allowed. - all files must be in their original form without any additions, deletions or modifications; all copyright notices in the programs and accompanying documentation files must remain on their places. - the sales price must not be higher than the cost of an (empty) disk plus costs for shipping. This software is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. I explicitly reject any responsibility for any direct or indirect consequence from the use of it. reqtools.library isn't a part of Imperial and is copyright Nico François. Thanks to the game testers : Fabien, Bernie, Thierry, Tom, Brice, JD and Olivia. Special thanks to Tom for his advices, to Didier for the songs and to Nico François for its wonderful reqtools.library . Thanks to the users that encouraged me, gave me ideas or simply contacted me. The best for the end : thanks to my fiancée Olivia cause she still loves me after long nights to work (SWALK). I started this program 3/8/93. 15/9/93 : V1.0 playable version without editor. 27/9/93 : V1.6 editor added. 16/10/93 : V2.0 english version, time counter added. 10/11/93 : V2.5 music added, score table, new menus. 20/2/94 : V2.6 preferences, pseudo-localization. 10/6/94 : V2.65 new preferences. -> final version Compatibility A4000, A1200, Kick 2.0 & 3.0 (sorry, not 1.3). @{" Presentation " link Presentation} @{" Rules " link Rules} @{" Installation " link Installation} @{" Getting started " link "Getting started"} @{" Description of the game " link Game} @{" Description of editor " link Editor} @{" How to create your own language file ? " link "Language file"} @{" Extra data files " link "Data files"} @{" Important remarks " link "Important remarks"} @{" Credits " link Credits} @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node Presentation Impérial is a game for one or two players. You can see a board with a lot of tiles. These tiles are taken from the game of Mah-Jongg. There are seven different suits of tiles : - Bamboos There are bamboos on the tiles (except the first which has a bird). There are 9 different Bamboos with numbers from 1 to 9. There are 4 of each Bamboo. - Coins There are circles on the tiles. There are 9 different Coins with numbers from 1 to 9. There are 4 of each Coin. - Characters There are characters on the tiles. There are 9 different Characters with numbers from 1 to 9. There are 4 of each Character. - Winds There are chinese symbols on the tiles. There are 4 different Winds : East (E), South (S), West (W), North (N). There are 4 of each Wind. - Dragons There are colored symbols on the tiles. There are 3 different Dragons : Green, White, Red. There are 4 of each Dragon. - Flowers There are green chinese characters in the top left corner. There are 4 different Flowers (one tile of each). - Seasons There are red chinese characters in the top right corner. There are 4 different Seasons (one tile of each). Total : 144 tiles. To see these tiles, try the menu HELP/Tiles. @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node Rules You have to remove all the tiles from the board to win. Here are the rules : - a tile must be free to be removed : a tile is free when it has no tiles on top of it and when you can slide it out to the left or the right. - tiles must be removed in matching pairs : tiles that compose the pair must be identical. Note : Since there is only one of each kind of Season and Flower, any two in the suit may match. To see the rules, try the menu HELP/Rules. The program know the rules and it will open a requester when an error occurs (Tile isn't free or Tiles don't match). @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node Installation First, copy reqtools.library in your drawer LIBS:, then copy Imperial and all the other files in the drawer you want the game to be. To execute, simply type : 1> Imperial NB : - unprotect your disk because the program save a score table and the preferences when you quit. @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node "Getting started" You have to press the left mouse button on the title page to start the game. It starts in solitaire with a random layout and a random game number. Every game has (at least) one solution, you only have to find it. @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node Game Game menus are : FILE Load Game : Opens a file requester which allows you to load a formerly saved game. The program controls the selected file. Save Game : Opens a file requester which allows you to save a game. Scores : Displays a score table with the following informations for each type of layout : number of games won, number of games played, average time and best time to win a game. To clear the table, click on "clear" when you display the table or delete the file Imperial.high before you run the program. About : Some greetings. Quit : See you soon ... The program saves the score table and the preferences when it ends. GAME Solitaire : To play alone. To select a tile, simply click on it with the left mouse button. If it isn't free, a requester reports it. When you select the second tile, if you have a matching pair, the tiles are removed, otherwise a requester reports the problem. When you remove the last pair, a requester gives you the time used to solve the game and updates the score table. Challenge : To play against an opponent. The players will play in turn. A requester asks you the time limit for each turn. When the challenge starts, a little window is opened : it contains the scores and the available time for the current player. If music isn't activated, you'll hear a bell 3 seconds before the end of your turn. While the challenge, menus don't work; information requesters (Tile isn't free and Tiles don't match) don't work neither. If you double-click with the right mouse button, you can end the challenge. If you continue, time is restored. If 4 turns pass without playing or all the tiles are removed, the challenge ends. Solution : Gives you the solution (for the current game). While the solution, menus don't work. To remove pairs and continue, press the left mouse button. To end the solution, press the right mouse button. Restart : Restarts the current game. New : Starts a new game with a different random number. Select : Opens a number requester. The number you choose will be used to create the game. LAYOUT Load : Loads a formerly edited and saved layout as current layout. Edit : Starts the layout editor (See @{"Description of editor" link Editor}). Taipei, Dragon, Castle, Bridge, Glyph, Cube : Defined layouts. MOVEMENT Back : Restores the two last removed tiles. You can go back up to the first movement of the game. Hint : Searchs all the free pairs. While the hint, menus don't work. Press the left mouse button to see the next pair. Right mouse button ends the hint. A hint costs you 10 seconds penality. HELP Tiles : Displays the seven suits of tiles. Rules : Summary of the rules. Strategy : Some advices that may help you solving the games. PREFS Title : Displays or removes a titlebar which contains the following informations: - tiles remaining, - number of tiles of the layout, - game number, - layout name. Default : no title. Messages : Displays or hides error requesters when you play alone. Default : no messages. Tiles : Allows you to load new tiles from an extra data file. Default : tiles are loaded from file Imperial.data . Palette : Allows you to define your own palette, if you don't like the default colors. Language : Opens a file requester which allows you to choose your language file. For the moment, you can choose between two files : english.lng and french.lng. You can create your own language file if you don't like neither french nor english (see @{"How to create your own language file ?" link "Language file"}). Default : english language. Players names : Allows you to define the players names used when you play the challenge. Music : You will have to choose between 4 submenus : Mer.song Zen.song Sasquatch.song which start or stop the music, and Custom song which opens a file requester which allows you to choose your music. To stop the music, select Cancel in the file requester. The program can play either SoundTracker or EMS modules. Default : no music. @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node Editor Editor menus are : FILE Load Layout : Allows you to load a formerly saved layout. Save Layout : Allows you to save your layout in order to use it later to play. You can't save an empty layout or a layout with an uneven number of tiles. Play : Goes back to the game with your custom layout (see @{"Description of the game" link Game}). If it has an uneven number of tiles, you'll have to change it (a requester will report the problem). If your layout is empty, program will use one of the defined layouts to prepare the game. TILES Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5, Level 6, Level 7 : Selects the level on which you work. Useful only when you add tiles. Add : With the left mouse button, you add a tile at your pointer location, on the level you selected before. The maximum number of tiles is 144. If you try to add a 145th tile, a requester will report the problem. Remove : When you select this mode, you can remove the tile at your pointer position with the left mouse button. Clear Layout : Clears the layout of all the tiles. A requester asks for confirmation. Undo : Undoes the last action. Titlebar (which can't be removed) contains the following informations : - number of used tiles, - position (there are 7 levels of 29 by 15 tiles). @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node "Language file" You will find in this section the language files structure. if you don't follow the specifications, Impérial may crash. You are not allowed to modify the existing language files. The language files you create must be the translation of the existing files. If you create a language file, please send it to me before distributing it. STRUCTURE : When a text has several lines, put it between brakets {}. - rules text (max 25 lines and 78 chars/line). { IMPERIAL The tiles used in Impérial are taken from the game of Mah-Jongg. The object of Impérial is to remove all of the tiles from the board. Tiles are removed from the board in matching pairs. For all of the suits except the Seasons and Flowers, tiles must match exactly to be removed. Since there is only one of each kind of Season and Flower, any two in the suit may match. Tiles can only be removed if they are free. A tile is free if it has no tiles on top of it and if you can slide it out to the left or the right. } - strategy text (max 25 lines and 78 chars/line). { STRATEGY Every game has a solution. Here are some hints to help you to find it : - work from the outside in - remove the end tiles as soon as you can, especially those tiles that block more than one tile - if all four tiles in a matching set are free, you can remove all four safely } - 38 game menus (one line per menu). FILE Load Game Save Game Scores About Quit GAME Solitaire Challenge Solution Restart New Select LAYOUT Load Edit Taipei Dragon Castle Bridge Glyph Cube MOVEMENT Back Hint HELP Tiles Rules Strategy PREFS Title Messages Tiles Palette Language Players names Music Custom song - 16 editor menus (one line per menu). FILE Load Layout Save Layout Play TILES Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 Add Remove Clear Layout Undo - begin of fatal error message. {Problem : %s } - some messages. opening intuition.library opening graphics.library opening reqtools.library opening gadtools.library opening screen opening window opening file Imperial.data or extra data file accessing file Imperial.data or extra data file memory allocation Problem accessing file File incorrect Problem : can't find module Problem : no memory for module Problem : can't load module Problem : can't allocate audio channels Number of tiles incorrect No tiles left No more moves Layout isn't playable Tiles don't match Tile isn't free No more back move {4 turns without playing End of game} - custom layout name. Custom - tiles name (max 10 chars). TILES Bamboos Coins Characters Winds Dragons Seasons Flowers - game and editor titlebar (take care of screen width : 80 chars). {TILES : %3d/%3d GAME : %9d LAYOUT : } EDITOR USED TILES : %d POSITION : %2d %2d %2d - scores table (take care of screen width : 80 chars). {LAYOUTS GAMES WON AVERAGE TIME BEST TIME } {Taipei %4d / %4d %3d ' %2d '' %3d ' %2d '' } {Dragon %4d / %4d %3d ' %2d '' %3d ' %2d '' } {Castle %4d / %4d %3d ' %2d '' %3d ' %2d '' } {Bridge %4d / %4d %3d ' %2d '' %3d ' %2d '' } {Glyph %4d / %4d %3d ' %2d '' %3d ' %2d '' } {Cube %4d / %4d %3d ' %2d '' %3d ' %2d '' } {Custom %4d / %4d %3d ' %2d '' %3d ' %2d '' } - some requesters messages. Choose a number Are you sure ? - requesters gadgets. OK|Clear Yes|No OK - some requesters messages. What's up Doc ? Save Choose a time limit Information You win in %d min %d sec - waiting message. GAME : %d Please wait ... - players names (max 9 chars). Player 1 Player 2 - chars for score and time (1 char). S T - score requester message. {Final score : %d - %d} - read error messages. Problem reading file Problem reading file Imperial.high - "About" message. {If you like Impérial, please send contribution (US $15) to : Jean-Marc BOURSOT 1 grand'rue 68170 RIXHEIM (FRANCE) I dedicate this game to my fiancée Olivia. } @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node "Data files" There is one extra data file: @{"Elements.data" link Elements} If you want to have your own data file, design your tiles (PAL and NTSC format, 8 colors, same size and shape as mine), then send them to me and I'll create a new data file. @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node "Elements" Elements : There are seven different suits of tiles : - Clubs (Bamboos) There are clubs on the tiles. There are 9 different Clubs. There are 4 of each Club. - Hearts (Coins) There are hearts on the tiles. There are 9 different Hearts. There are 4 of each Heart. - Spades (Characters) There are spades on the tiles. There are 9 different Spades. There are 4 of each Spade. - Aces (Winds) There are 4 cards symbols on the tiles. There are 4 different Aces : Club, Heart, Spade, Diamond. There are 4 of each Ace. - Cobras (Dragons) There are cobras on the tiles. There are 3 different Cobras : Green, White, Red. There are 4 of each Cobra. - Initials (Flowers) There are elements initials (E, F, W, A) on the tiles. There are 4 different Initials (one tile of each). - Elements (Seasons) There are elements (earth, fire, water, air) on the tiles. There are 4 different Elements (one tile of each). @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node "Important remarks" If you have FAST memory the program will be almost twice faster than if you only have CHIP memory. When you edit a layout, check if it has a solution. If it hasn't, the program will try all the possibilities to fill it before it understands that it cannot make a playable board and this could take a very long time. If you are patient, there's no other problem with layouts which aren't playable. Gifts, suggestions, bug reports and enhancement requests should be sent to : Jean-Marc BOURSOT 1 grand'rue 68170 RIXHEIM (France) I may also answer questions asked via E-mail : Internet : ancien@uhafst.univ-mulhouse.fr @endnode ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- @node Credits ««««« IMPERIAL »»»»» ««««« V2.65 »»»»» ««««« © 1993-94 Jean-Marc BOURSOT »»»»» CREDITS : Program : Jean-Marc BOURSOT Gfx : Jean-Marc BOURSOT (Imperial.data, Elements.data) Docs and texts : Jean-Marc BOURSOT Music player : Thomas PIMMEL Songs : Didier AST (Zen.song, Sasquatch.song) Thomas PIMMEL (Mer.song) @endnode