                             MineSeeker  v1.11
                               By Adam Dawes
                            6th November,  1995



How to play MineSeeker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you first start MineSeeker, you will see a grid of squares on the
screen. Each of these squares represents a location in an ocean. Some of
these squares contain mines, the rest are empty. The object of the game is
to locate and mark all of the squares that contain mines, so that they can
be safely disarmed.

Start the game by clicking somewhere in the grid. The square you clicked on
and those around it will clear away, leaving a space surrounded by numbers.
These numbers tell you how many of the 8 squares surrounding them contain
mines. You must use your skill and decuction to work out where the mines
actually are located.

When you think you have found a mine, click on the square with the right
mouse button. This will set the square as marked. If later on you decide
that the square does not contain a mine after all, click the right mouse
button on the square for a second time and the mark will be removed.

To uncover a square that you think does not contain a mine, click with the
left mouse button. This will reveal more numbers if further bombs surround
this square, or may reveal a larger section of the map if you have
discovered an empty area. Be careful, if you click on a square that
contains a mine, the game ends!

The game will not stop you marking squares that do not contain mines. If
you do mark a non-mine square, however, you will not be able to complete
the game until this mark is removed. It is very possible that when you
think you have finished, the 'Mines left' display at the bottom of the
screen will say something like 'Mines left: -1'. In this case, you have
marked one square that does not actually contain a mine. You will have to
carefully go over the map and see if you can discover this mistake.

As soon as you have marked every single mine (and not marked any non-mine
squares!) the game is won, and any non-mine squares will be cleared. How
quickly can you finish each of the difficulty levels?



Commands/Menu Options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The functions of MineSeeker's buttons are as follows:


  New game      Starts a new game, keeping the same grid size
                and mine density as on the previous game.

  Beginner      Start a game with 11x11 squares, and 11 mines
                (density = 9%)

  Advanced      Start a game with 20x18 squares, and 50 mines
                (density = 14%)

  Expert        Start a game with 37x18 squares, and 110 mines
                (density = 17%)

  Custom        Opens a window allowing you to configure the width
                and height of the minefield, and select how many
                mines are scattered across it. The maximum minefield
                size is limited by the screen resolution -- though
                the game will slow down a little when an extremely
                large minefield is selected!

  Pause         Pause a game in progress.



The following menu functions are also available:


   Safe Start

        If you select the 'Safe start' option in the 'Options' menu, the
        game will automatically clear the very first square you click on,
        and all squares that surround it. This means that you will never
        die on the first square, and that you will always get a reasonably
        sized safe area in which to start. For more of a challenge, try
        turning this option off!


   AutoPause

        When selected, this function will automatically pause the game as
        soon as MineSeeker's screen becomes deactivated. So if you suddenly
        remember that some other task in the background needs some
        attention, you can go and see to it without needing to pause
        MineSeeker. Turn this option off if some other task keeps stealing
        the focus whilst you are trying to play.


   Select Screen Mode

        Allows you to select the screen mode and resolution that MineSeeker
        operates in. (Note: This function requires the reqtools.library. If
        this library is missing, you will only be able to use the default
        (PAL, HIRES NOLACE) screen mode, but the rest of the game will work
        fine).



System Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MineSeeker should run on any PAL Amiga running Kickstart v37 or greater.



Legal Stuff
~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, so my associates and I have tested this program as extensively as we
can, and haven't found any bugs in it yet, but sod's law clearly dictates
that the experiences of the many are worse than the experiences of the few.

I won't accept responsibility for any damage done to your system or data
lost, directly or indirectly, as a result from using this program or any of
its associated files. You use the program entirely at your own risk. Of
course if you *do* experience problems then I'll do what I can to sort them
out, and please let me know so that I can try to cure them in a future
release.

MineSeeker and its associated files are not public domain. They may be
distributed freely as long as no unreasonable charge is imposed. They may
not be included within any commercial package without express written
permission from the author; the exceptions from this are the AmiNet CDs and
Fred Fish's collections. MineSeeker may only be distributed if all files
contained within the original archive are present.



History / Future
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MineSeeker History

   v0.1     (First beta release)

   v0.2      Added 'Safe start' option
             Improved rendering for timer

   v1.0     (First public release)
             Added Bret McGee's ButtonClass gadgets

   v1.1     (Internal beta release)
             Implemented 'Custom' game mode
             Implemented 'Pause' function
             Implemented 'AutoPause' option
             Added screenmode selection option
             Changed dimensions of 'Expert' mode to allow it to fit on NTSC
              screen

   v1.11    (Second public release)
             'MinesLeft' counter immediately updates when incorrectly marked
              squares are uncovered by the cascade routine (thanks to Stephen
              Cropp for pointing that one out!)
             MineSeeker may now be launched from WorkBench.


Things for the Future:

   The disabled buttons and menu items are not disabled because this is
   an unregistered copy! They are disabled because I have not had time
   to code the associated routines. This will be done in the near future,
   and an updated version of MineSeeker will be released.

   If you like MineSeeker or have any suggestions then please contact me.
   If I get lots of mail about the program, I am much more likely to
   continue developing it.



Thanks To..
~~~~~~~~~~~

I send my thanks to two groups of people:

  All the people on Beachy Head Amiga BBS who have beta tested MineSeeker
  and thought up suggestions for its future.

  All the people who have EMailed me since the release of MineSeeker with
  suggestions and bug reports. Hopefully I will one day get the time to
  implement the still-ghosted menu items.. I must stop playing NetHack! ;)



Contacting the Author
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you like MineSeeker, have found a bug, or have suggestions for its
future, please contact me! I can be contacted via electronic mail or snail
mail. I can't promise to reply quickly to snail mail, but I will always
reply to email messages. I won't complain if anyone decides to send money!
:)

  InterNet:
      ad32@brighton.ac.uk
      adam@beachyhd.demon.co.uk

  FidoNet:
      Adam Dawes@2:441/93.5

  Snail Mail:
      Adam Dawes
      47 Friar Road
      Brighton
      BN1 6NH
      England



                    MineSeeker is a "BeachWare" product
               from the Beachy Head Amiga BBS, Eastboune, UK
                   2:441/93@FidoNet   +44 (0)1323 520999
                  7 days/24 hours  300-28800 bps  2 lines
