--------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is Bricklayer for Windows ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bricklayer32 for Windows is a fast-paced falling blocks game.  Guaranteed
to get you addicted, Bricklayer32 for Windows features beautiful 256-color
artwork, an original music soundtrack, terrific sound effects, and more.
Systems which are not 256-color or sound-capable are also supported.
Bricklayer32 is a 32-bit version of Bricklayer, designed for Windows 95.

The DirectSound libraries are required for sound output (see System
Requirements below for details).

Version 2.0 added joystick support, ability to select entire directories
of graphics modules, 2-player support, variations on the standard game
(decay blocks and heavy blocks), larger and more detailed high-scores files,
and ability to right-click on game objects to modify their properties.

Version 2.1A includes support for varying-sized game boards and pieces,
gives more control over keyboard control mappings, and fixes bugs in
viewing high scores and performing registrations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
- System Requirements
- Background Music
- Comments, Suggestions, Bug Reports: Contacting the author
- Registration [Register by mail or directly through CompuServe]
- Controls
- New Features in v1.5
- New Features in v1.6
- New Features in v1.7
- New Features in v2.0
- New Features in v2.1A
- Bonus Disk Set

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
System Requirements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bricklayer has been beta tested on i386, i486, and Pentium systems with
4-16MB of memory.  It has reportedly worked under OS/2 and Windows NT
although it has not been thoroughly tested under those operating systems.
Bricklayer32 has been tested on Pentium workstations running Windows 95.
The memory requirements may be quite steep because Bricklayer needs to load
close to 1MB of music files.  To enjoy the background music and sound 
effects, you will need to have a sound card with wave playing ability 
supported by Windows (such as Microsoft Sound System, or Creative Labs 
Sound Blaster), and the DirectSound libraries.  DirectSound is a part of
the DirectX API released by Microsoft.  It is distributed with the Games
SDK and is available online.

* If you cannot make Bricklayer even start up, try creating a file called 
  BRICK32.INI in your WINDOWS directory and putting the following lines 
  there:
                [Settings]
                LoadMusic=0

  This will force Bricklayer to ignore the music and sound settings and
  not load any music files.  You will be able to play, but will have no
  music or sound effects.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background Music
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This version of Bricklayer, 2.1A, uses the Microsoft DirectSound library.
You should have this library installed before playing Bricklayer to get
background music and sound effects to function.

For those systems which are not sound capable, unselecting the "Load Music"
check box in the preferences dialog will prevent Bricklayer from loading 
the music and sound files, decreasing load time and memory requirements.

The music BM2 modules are Copyright Opinicus Microtechnologies, and may be
freely distributed only as part of the Bricklayer32 for Windows game for use
by the Bricklayer executable.  See the distribution information for more 
details.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments, Suggestions, Bug Reports
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I look forward to hearing from you.  If you encounter problems while
playing Bricklayer, I would appreciate any information that you can 
provide, such as your system configuration and a detailed description 
of the problem.

Suggestions for improvements are also very welcome.

Contact me at the address listed below, or send email to:
America Online: Yevg
Internet:       yevg@aol.com 
CompuServe:     76101,2317

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Registration
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bricklayer is $10 shareware (free for those people who've paid for previous 
versions).  If you enjoy and play Bricklayer, PLEASE send in the $10 
shareware fee.  It is not very much compared to the cost of a commercial 
game, and it motivates me to keep improving Bricklayer as well as to work on 
new games.  If you play, please pay.  Upgrades to new versions of Bricklayer 
are always free for registered users.  Those who register will also be kept 
informed of new version releases, as well as the releases of any new 
products.  

Registered users receive a registration code which allows use of a larger
variety of background and piece graphics, and removes "unregistered" notices
in the game window and About box.  Registered users may also order the
Bonus Disk Set (described in a separate section below).

To register Bricklayer, please either
* send a US$10 check payable to Yevgeny Gurevich to the address listed
  below.  If you live outside of the U.S., please send an international
  money order (preferred) or cash, since checks drawn on foreign banks
  are sometimes difficult to clear.  Please do NOT send Eurocheques, as
  they are more costly to process than their face value ($20.00 to process
  the $10.00 registration).
OR
* use the CompuServe SWREG feature to electronically register.
  GO SWREG in CompuServe.  The id of Bricklayer is #4732.
  You will be emailed the registration code directly.

Site licenses are available. 

** See REGFORM.TXT for a detailed pricing schedule **

Yevgeny Gurevich
Vanilla-Extract Software
P.O. Box 391
Falls Church, VA 22040-0391

America Online: Yevg
Internet:       yevg@aol.com 
CompuServe:     76101,2317

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Controls
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keyboard and joystick control is customizable with the [Change Controls...]
Options menu item.

Keyboard Settings:
The numeric keypad keys are active as control keys in addition to any
user-selectable settings.  The default user-selectable keyboard
settings are the 'j', 'k', and 'l' keys for left, rotate, and right 
motion, and the spacebar for the drop.  The 'a' key controls the push.
On the numeric keypad, the 4, 5, 6, and 0 act the same as the j, k, l, and
space.

Version 2.1a allows you to use any of the numeric keypad and arrow keys
in defining your custom key mappings.  These mappings will override the
default mappings as described above.

Joystick Settings:
Joystick controls may be selected and calibrated in this dialog box if the
"Joystick" radio button is selected for either player.  Usually, the
joystick needs to be calibrated only once.  Bricklayer saves calibration
information for future games.  Sometimes, due to joystick drift, you will
need to recalibrate the joystick.
Joystick controls are as follows: move the joystick left or right to move
the game piece left or right.  Move the joystick down to PUSH the piece
down.  Press Button 1 of the joystick to rotate the piece, and press Button 2
to DROP it.

Two Players:
The Controls dialog box allows users to specify controls for player 1 and
player 2.  In a two player game, each player uses their own individual
keyboard mappings (or a joystick if that is the control selected for that
player.)  Both players may elect to use the same joystick, same keyboard
mappings, one joystick and a keyboard, or two different keyboard mappings.
In one player games, the "Player 1" controls are used for keyboard mappings
and joystick selection.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Features in v1.50
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.50 of Bricklayer for Windows introduces event recording, a
computer player feature, and support for external background modules.

* Event recording allows you to record your own games for future playback.
  To record your game, check the [Record] Event Recording menu item.
  The games that you play will then be recorded.  Only the last game played 
  is stored in the event buffer.  You can replay that game, using the 
  [Replay] Event Recording menu item, or save it to disk for future loading 
  and replay - using the [Save Event] and [Read Event] File menu items, 
  respectively.

* The computer player options in the file menu let the computer play a
  game on its own.  The fast player thinks quickly but is not as good
  at playing the game as the slower and smarter player, which uses the
  Next Piece for lookahead.  On fast systems like i486DX2-66's, the smart
  player is faster than the dumb player on an i486SX-33.

  >> For programmers:
     I may release a programming interface and guidelines to allow 
     you to write your own Bricklayer players in the form of DLLs.
     Please write me if you are interested.

  >> Background module support has been revamped for v1.6 (see below).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Features in v1.60
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Version 1.60 of Bricklayer has support for external piece and background 
  graphics modules.  These features have been moved to the Preferences 
  dialog box, where users can select to use an external file (other than 
  DEFAULT.BLB and DEFAULT.BLP) for background and piece graphics, 
  respectively.  Two alternate piece graphic files are provided 
  (PLAIN.BLP and SPHERE.BLP).  An alternate backgrounds file is provided 
  (TONES.BLB).

  >> Please contact me if you want to request custom piece or background
     graphics, wish to have your own included in future distributions, or
     would like to distribute compatible modules on your own.

* Starting with this version, the game identifies unregistered copies with 
  an "UNREGISTERED" printed in the window caption.  Once a registration code 
  is entered, the game is identified as a registered version.

* You can now opt to play the game with double-size blocks (selected in the
  Preferences dialog box).  Double-size blocks are especially convenient when
  you have a high-resolution display.  It's also easier for the kids to play.
  You can switch between modes at any point in the game.

* Continuous background music is more stable.  On most systems the music
  can now play virtually without limit.

* An incompatibility with PC Tools Desktop for Windows has been fixed.

* The BRICKLYR.HLP Windows Help file has replaced the more rudimentary
  on-line documentation.  Pressing F1 will bring it up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Features in v1.70
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Version 1.70 of Bricklayer has support for external music modules.  
  The default music file is DEFAULT.BLM.  Another short music file is
  provided to give unregistered users a feel for how easy it is to
  interchange music modules (WAGNER3T.BLM).  Other music files are 
  available for registered users from a separate Bonus Disk Set
  (described in a separate section below).

  >> Please contact me if you want to request custom music files, wish
     to have your own included in future distributions, or would like to 
     distribute compatible modules on your own.

* The ability to display "pit" graphics has been added.  Pit graphics are
  256-color bitmaps which adorn the ordinarily black bit in the main game
  board.  By default, the feature to display pit graphics is turned off to
  improve overall game performance.  Go to the preferences dialog box and
  check off "Show Pit Graphic" to enable this feature.  You may interchange
  pit graphic files just like background graphics files.  Two graphic files 
  are provided in the shareware distribution: DEFAULT.BLG and VALLEY.BLG.

* A bug in saving the alternate piece and background graphics preferences on
  program exit has been fixed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Features in v2.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
See the BRICKLYR.HLP help file for more detailed information on the new
features in version 2.0.

This is a short list of new features:
* Two-Player mode
	Two players can compete against each other in the same game.
	The players alernate dropping pieces within the same game board.
	Scores are updated individually for each player, allowing competition
	for higher score.  Controls may be modified on a per-player basis to
	allow both to share a keyboard, or one to play with joystick and the
	other with keyboard.  Network play is NOT yet included, but is planned
	for future releases.
* Play-Against-Computer mode
	Similar to the two-player mode, the play-against-computer mode allows
	a human player to compete against the computer.
* Joystick support
	The joystick may now be used to control pieces.
* Support for counter-clockwise rotation
	Pieces can now be rotated in both CW and CCW directions.  The
	"Change Controls" dialog box allows you to specify keys for both.
* Larger and more detailed high-scores.
        High scores now include the number of rows cleared, and the date of
        the game.  They have also been expanded to list 15 names.  There
        are now two high-scores tables: one for single-player games, and one
        for two-player games.
* Variations on the traditional game: heavy blocks can push the blocks that
        they land on by one square, squashing an empty square.
        Decaying blocks are a sort of "rot" which cause blocks on the game
        board to start disappearing.
* Interface improvements:
        Users can right-click on a background, pit graphic, or game piece
        to get a menu of available graphics modules that can be chosen.
	The entire DIRECTORY of modules can be chosen by selecting
	"Directory".  If the "Randomize" menu item is also checked off, the
	modules in the directory are chosen at random.  Otherwise, they are
	cycled in order (see next item).
* Ability to select entire directories of modules
        Both from the preferences menu and from right-clicking on a game
        object, the user can elect to select an entire directory of modules
        instead of a single file.  Bricklayer will then cycle through the
        available files in that directory.  Pit graphics are changed once
        per level, while pieces and backgrounds are changed on a per-game
        basis.  "Randomize" allows the user to specify that modules will
	be picket at random from the selected directory.
* Multipit modules
        A new pit module file format is supported.  In this format, a group
	of pit graphics is stored together.  As the game progresses, new
	graphics start moving from the bottom of the game board, eventually
	replacing the existing graphic.  The number rows being cleared
	controls the speed with which the graphics move.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Features in v2.1a
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2.1A improves on version 2.0 with the following features
* MSN Kids Space High Scores
        Players can automatically upload their high scores to the
        Microsoft Kid's Space.  When this option is enabled in the
        Preferences dialog boxes, high scores are automatically sent
        to a cache and then transmitted when the player logs on to
        the MS Kid's Space.
* Variable Block Size
        Instead of specifying normal or double-size blocks, you can now
        choose among 5 different sizes (normal, 25% larger, 50% larger,
        75% larger, and double-size).  Choosing larger block sizes will
        also scale up your game window.
* Variable Pit Size
        The game bit can now be resized from the default 10 columns and
        20 rows, to a range of columns and rows.
* New keys available for binding in control mappings
        You can now use the Numeric Keypad keys [0-9], the cursor keys,
        and the special insert/delete/home/end/pageup/pagedown keys when
        specifying keyboard control settings.  Numeric keypad keys appear
        as <0> through <9> to distinguish them from the normal 0-9 keys.
* Optimized color palette
        The color palette has been modified to allow more faithful
        reproduction of the background graphics.
* Bug fixes
        Certain bugs in viewing high scores and performing registration
        have been fixed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonus Disk Set
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Bonus Disk Set is available for purchase by registered users of Bricklayer
(it may also be purchased at the time of registeration) for the price of
$10.00.  You will receive disks of music compositions, background graphics,
piece graphics, and pit graphics.  The latest version of Bricklayer is
included in the distribution.
NOTE: When ordering the Bonus Disk Set, please specify that it is for
      "Bricklayer32 v2.1A", since the graphics and music modules are not
      interchangeable between Bricklayer and Bricklayer32.

See REGFORM.TXT for a complete pricing schedule.
