@database MineHunt.guide
@author "Stewart Ponsford"
@(c) "Copyright © 1994 by Stewart Ponsford"
@$VER: MineHunt 1.5 June 1994
@wordwrap

@node Main "MineHunt User Guide"
@title "MineHunt User Guide"

                                  @{fg shine}@{b}MineHunt!@{ub}@{fg text}
                          June 1994 Stewart Ponsford

    This is Version 1.5 of MineHunt, the Best Amiga Mine Sweeper game ever!
    MineHunt should reach you with the following files:
        MineHunt (dir)
            MineHunt
            MineHunt.config     (don't worry if these are not present,    )
            MineHunt.highscores (they're automatically created by MineHunt)
            MineHunt.guide

    MineHunt is copyright 1994 to Stewart Ponsford. MineHunt may be freely
    distributed as long as the above files are together and no monies are
    exchanged as payment for MineHunt itself.

        @{" READ BEFORE PLAYING! " Link "important" }  @{" How to play " Link "instructions" }
        @{" About MineHunt       " Link "About"     }  @{" Options     " Link "options" }
        @{" Special Requirements " Link "req" }
@EndNode

@Node "important"
@title "Read this before playing..."

@{u}Game Colours may need adjusting...@{uu}

    If you have a Workbench with few colours (I use 16) and try playing 
    MineHunt, you may find that you cannot see certain numbers in the field.
    This is can be fixed on the @{"options" link "options"} window.
    
@Endnode

@Node "About"
@Title "About MineHunt"
  @{u}Compatibility@{uu}
  MineHunt was written on a standard Amiga 1200 and I have tested it on an
  Amiga 1200 GVP1230 II and an A500 kickstart 2.0. It should run fine on 
  machines with kickstart 2.+ & 3.+. Sorry 1.2 & 1.3 owners!
  
  MineHunt is yet another version of the Windows game MineSweeper. I decided
  to write an Amiga version after I had already written a version on the VAX
  system at Southampton Institute.  
  
  I have seen many versions of this game on the Amiga, but I didn't like 
  them much.  Most made poor use of colour, were slow and didn't have all
  the features that the Windows version had.
  
  This version has four levels of playing (+ the custom level) with a
  high score table each. Fantastic sound effects (16 bit honest!), and a
  nice big workbench icon!


@EndNode

@Node "instructions"
@title "Instructions"

                                @{u}Instructions@{uu}


@{u}Object of the game@{uu}

You are presented with a minefield which needs to be "sweeped".  To do this
you must uncover ALL of the squares which do NOT contain mines, ie. all the
mine squares must remain covered.

@{u}Controls@{uu}
    
    Left mouse button       uncover a square or squares
    
    Right mouse button      mark a square with a flag. This square is marked
                            because YOU think there is a mine there, and
                            it CANNOT be uncovered.
    
                            If you are unsure whether a square has a mine,
                            you may press the right button on a marked 
                            squareand you will replace the flag with a 
                            question mark, so that you may come back to it
                            later.
                            
    Both mouse buttons      "Clear around" - only by pressing both buttons
                            on a NUMBERED square.
                            This is exaplained below.
                            
@{u}What do the numbered squares mean?@{uu}

Each square has 8 other squares around it, the number tells you how many of
them are mines.

@{u}Which squares have mines in them?@{uu}

Before you can do anything you must click the left mouse button on a square.
Now you will see an area of the field uncovered. This could be just one 
uncovered square or a bigger area ( see "uncovering" below).

Working out which squares have mines in them is a question of deduction. You
will need several clues (numbered squares next to each other) to work it out.

If a square contains a '1' and there is only one "covered" square next to
it, this must be a mine. You would then click the right mouse button on this
square to "mark" it. This "mark" (a flag) will remind you during play which
squares are mines. If there is another '1' next to the first one, and there
are other "covered" sqaures next to it, you know that they are NOT mines, as
there is already one in the area. 

@{u}Uncovering@{uu}
    
When the left mouse button is clicked on a "covered" square (a square
without a number or flag in it) if it is NOT a mine, the total number of
mines in the surrounding eight squares is calculated and the answer is 
displayed in the square. If there were NO mines around it then the 
surrounding eight squares are uncovered, and the same process is carried 
out on them.  This is why sometimes when you uncover a square, a large area
is uncovered.

If you uncover a mine you are dead, all the other mines are displayed and
any flags that are not on mine squares are shown with a mine with a cross.

@{u}Clear Around@{uu}

This function is only for players who can play well but could use a 
shortcut. 

For example, if there is a '1' square next to a flagged square, and there
are some covered squares next to it as well, instead of clicking 
(uncovering) all these squares one-by-one you simply press both mouse
buttons on the numbered square and they are uncovered for you.

Clear around will only work if the number of surrounding flag squares is the
same as the numbered square.

If you have marked a square incorrectly it will still uncover a mine!! BANG!

@{u}Counters@{uu}

The two counters in the top left of the display show the time that you are
taking and the number of mines left to mark.  The mine counter will go down
every time you mark a square, whether it is correctly marked or not.

@{u}Starting a new game@{uu}

To start a new game click on the face gadget, and the field will be cleared.
@EndNode

@Node "options"
@title "Options"

The options window can be found by clicking on the "options" button in the 
game window.

There are three gadgets in this window:

    1. "Join Hi-score tables"
    
    2. "Sound effects on"
    
    3. "Number colours"
    
1. @{u}Join Hi-score tables@{uu}
This (surprise surprise!!) will join two MineHunt Hi-Score tables and update
both with the highest scores from both tables. Simply click on the button 
and you will be asked for the path of the @{i}other@{ui} MineHunt.

    for example: 
    
        if the other game is on a floppy in df0:, lets say in a directory 
        called games, this is what you should type:
        
            df0:games/MineHunt  (MineHunt and files should be kept in a 
                                directory called MineHunt)
            
You can cancel at any time before entering the path by clicking on the big
cancel gadget.

2. @{u}Sound effects on@{uu}
If you get tired of the sampled explosion then make sure that the box is NOT
ticked.

3. @{u}Number Colours@{uu}
You will see a box with numbers in it at the bottom of this window. If you cant see all the numbers (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8) in the box, you need to adjust the settings.
This is done by pressing the corresponding numbers on the keyboard, which cycles through the palette.

These settings (gadgets 2 & 3)  will be saved for next time on exit.


@EndNode

@Node "req"
@Title "Special Requirements"

MineHunt needs a maximum stack size of around 25000 bytes! This is only 
needed if playing the custom level with a very large field and few mines.

MineHunt has been tested on the following Amigas:

A500 kickstart 2.0
A1200 
A1200 GVP Turbo II Accelerator

If you have any problems running MineHunt on an Amiga with kickstarts 2+ or
3+, or find any bugs, please let me know.

    Stewart Ponsford                email:  sis3459@sis.port.ac.uk
    6 The Quantocks
    Dibden Purlieu
    Southampton
    SO45 5QU
@EndNode