@DATABASE amigaguide.guide
@REM document for mine sweeper .
@WORDWRAP
@NODE MAIN "MINE SWEEPER"


@{b}@{u}
Introduction
@{ub}@{uu}

Minesweeper is a challenging game of strategy and luck.


          @{" What Is Minesweeper? " LINK WHATIS}

           How to...
                    @{"Keep Score        " LINK KEEPSC}
                    @{"Mark a Square     " LINK MARkSQ}
                    @{"Play the Game     " LINK PLATTG}
                    @{"Rules of the Game " LINK UTROTG}
                    @{"Strategies & Hints" LINK STANDh}

          @{" New features  " LINK NEWBITS}
          @{" Sound effects " LINK SOUNDS}    
          @{" Problems !    " LINK PROBS}
          @{" Authors       " LINK AUTHORS}
@ENDNODE

@NODE WHATIS "What is Minesweeper?"

           @{b)@{u}"What is Minesweeper?"@{ub}@{uu}

           When playing Minesweeper you are presented with a mine field,
           and your objective is to locate all the mines as quickly as 
           possible. To do this, you uncover the squares on the game
           board that do not contain mines, and you mark the squares 
           that do contain mines. The trick is determining which squares
           are which. 
           If you uncover all the squares without mines, you win; if you 
           uncover a mine instead of marking it, you lose the game. The
           faster you play, the lower your score. You can use the
           counters at the top of the playing area to keep track of your 
           progress.
           The counter in the upper-right corner of the playing area is
           a timer, which displays your playing time in seconds. The 
           timer does not begin counting until you select a square.
           The counter in the upper-left corner of the playing area 
           initially indicates the number of mines hidden in the mine
           field. Every time you mark a square as a mine, this number
           decreases by one, even if you incorrectly mark a square.
@ENDNODE

@NODE KEEPSC " keeping Score"


           @{b}@{u}"Keeping Score"@{ub}@{uu}

           Minesweeper scoring is simple. The counter in the upper-right
           corner of the playing area indicates your playing time. The 
           faster you find all the mines, the better your score.
           To see a list of your fastest playing times.
           Press the 'Sun' with the right mouse button.
@ENDNODE

@NODE MARKSQ " Marking a Square "


           @{b}@{u}"Marking a Square"@{ub}@{uu}

           Knowing when to mark a square as a mine is the key to winning
           the game.

           @{b}To uncover a square@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the left mouse button.
           
           @{b}To mark a square as a mine@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the right mouse button once.

           @{b}To mark a square as a question mark@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the right mouse button
           twice.

           @{b}To change a square marked as a mine into a question mark@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the right mouse button once.

           @{b}To clear a square marked as a mine@{ub}
           Point to the square, and click the right mouse button
           twice.

           Once you have marked at least one square as a mine, you may
           be able to safely uncover more squares by "clearing around" 
           them.
@ENDNODE

@NODE PLATTG "Playing the Game"


           @{b}Playing the Game@{ub}

           The object of Minesweeper is to correctly mark all mines as
           quickly as possible without uncovering one. The following
           section explains how to play the game.

           @{b}To choose a skill level@{ub}

           Goto the Sun stroke menu, by clicking on the Sun icon with
           the right mouse button then click on either Beginner,
           Intermediate, or Expert.
           The higher the skill level, the larger the mine
           field.

           @{b}To start a new game@{ub}

           Click the yellow Sun icon at the top of the game board.

           @{b}To locate the mines@{ub}

           1 To uncover a square, select it using the left mouse button.
             If the square is a mine, you lose.
           2 If the square isn't a mine, a number appears. This number
             represents the number of mines in the surrounding eight 
             squares.
           3 To mark a square as a mine, select it with the right mouse 
             button.
             To mark a square you are uncertain about, point to it and
             click twice with the right mouse button. This marks the 
             square with a question mark (?). Later, you can either mark
             the square as a mine, or uncover it.

@ENDNODE

@NODE UTROTG "Understanding the rules of the game"


           @{b}@{u}Understanding the Rules of the Game@{ub}@{uu}

           @{b}Follow these rules when playing Minesweeper@{ub}

           The playing area is a mine field, simulated by a grid of
           squares. Initially, all the squares are covered.
           To uncover a square, point to it and click the left mouse 
           button. You continue to uncover squares until only the
           squares containing mines are covered. 
           If you uncover a square that does not contain a mine, it
           either contains a number or is blank. 
           If the square contains a number, N, then there are N mines
           in the surrounding eight squares. If the square is blank, 
           there are no mines in the surrounding eight squares.
           If you uncover a blank square, the surrounding eight 
           squares are uncovered automatically because there cannot be
           any mines under them. 
           If you know that a square is a mine, you can mark the
           square. 
           If you uncover a square that contains a mine, the game is
           over and all the mines are displayed. 
           
           
@ENDNODE

@NODE STANDh "Using Strategies and Hints"


           @{b}@{u}Using Strategies and Hints@{ub}@{uu}

           @{b}Helpful hints for playing Minesweeper@{ub}

           If you have found all the mines around a numbered square,
           uncover the remaining squares around it by clicking the numbered
           square with the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously.
           Using this method can rapidly clear the mine field.

           If an uncovered square is labeled 1, and there is only one
           covered square touching it, that covered square must be a 
           mine.

           If an uncovered square already has the correct number of 
           adjacent mines marked, clear around it.
           Don't guess. If you can't figure out how to move, try 
           approaching the area from a different direction or marking
           squares with question marks.
@ENDNODE

@NODE PROBS "Problems .... "


            It is possible for Minesweeper to have a STACK OVERFLOW
            this happens on a Custom setting with a large Width and
            Height and very few mines... To prevent this from happening
            increase the stack size. i.e. Click on the ICON and then
            choose from the pull down menu "INFORMATION" and enter s
            larger value in the 'STACK' box.

            This version of Minesweeper likes a high resolution
            workbench with a minimum of 8 colours. 
            
            Thats all I know for now.
            Simon.
@ENDNODE

@NODE NEWBITS "Changes"

            V2.02 Features
            After loads more requests the following changes have
            been made:
            Fast clearing with both mouse buttons.
            Pull down Menu added.
            Fixed problems when VisualPrefs is used.
            Typo on sound tooltype corrected.

            V2.00 Features
            Thanks to everyone who has e-mailed us about mines.
            Here are the items that have been added / fixed.
            New configuration routines added from Adam Dawes.
            New icon made by Jan Marsch.
            New colour mapping so workbench colours are not corrupted.
            Revised menu layout.
            New randomiser routine.
            Sound effects added  @{" Sound effects " LINK SOUNDS }
            Sample sound effects are from the Weird Science CD given
            away with the May 95 issue of Amiga Computing.

@ENDNODE

@NODE SOUNDS "Sound effects"

            The game now incorporates three sound effects:
            1. Ticking of the clock sound
            2. Game over sound ( uncovering a mine ! )
            3. Game completed sound ( completing the puzzle ! )
            The sounds can be changed or individually switched off.

            @{b}Switching all the sounds on/off@{ub}
            To switch the sound effects on or off, click once on the Mines
            icon then select information from the workbench menu.
            Change the value Sound=
            0 for no sound effects
            1 for sound effects on.

            @{b}Changing a sound@{ub}
            The program reads iff sound files, so copy any sound effect
            that is suitable for one of the above sound effects into
            the same directory as Mines is situated. Click once on the
            icon for mines and then use the workbench menu to get
            information about the game. Change the name of the sound
            effect to the new sound sample.
            example:  WellDone=MERRYMEL.SND

            @{b}Notes !@{ub}
            To have just one sound effect, for example the clock sound the
            following settings would be used:
            Sound=1
            Clocksound=beep3.snd
            Deadsound=
            WellDone=
            i.e. no name for sound file = effect off !
            The sound sample for the clock_sound should be less than a second long.
            This program does not handle large sound samples.

@ENDNODE

@NODE AUTHORS "Authors..."

            Configuration program ...                Adam Dawes.
            Icon artistry ...                        Jan Marsch.
            Main ( brainy bit ) programming ...      Mike Gooder
                e-mail  mike@entire.demon.co.uk
            Other bits ( not so brainy programming ) Simon Warner
                e-mail  simon@emill.demon.co.uk

           If you like this programme, please e-mail either of the above.
           If you don't... well e-mail anyway !
@ENDNODE