:----------------------------------------------------------------------: :--------------------------- WOWSpill (TM) --------------------------: :------------------------ by -----------------------: :-------------------- World Of Windows Software (TM) ------------------: :----------------------------------------------------------------------: Welcome to WOWSpill! WOWSpill Copyright 1993, Ben C. Pullen :----------------------------------------------------------------------: DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THIS SOFTWARE IS SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. BECAUSE OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE PUT, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM. ANY LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: HARDWARE/SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS WOWSpill is a Windows (TM) program, and therefore requires a machine capable of running Windows 3.x, with ample memory. WOWSpill requires VGA graphics or higher (pretty standard with Windows systems) and a mouse. The WOWSpill files take up almost 1 Meg of disk space. It is preferable to be running Windows 3.1 or greater, as WOWSpill is resource-intensive, and Free System Resources are more limited in Windows 3.0. If you are running under OS/2, OS/2 2.1 (non-betas) is necessary. If you encounter any problems related to hardware, please contact the author: Ben C. Pullen World Of Windows Software 7112 Brookdale Court Watauga, TX 76148 CompuServe ID - 73163,2110 :----------------------------------------------------------------------: INSTALLATION / FILELIST Depending on where you acquired your copy of WOWSpill, you may have more files than shown. WOWSpill was initially distributed as a self-extracting compressed file (using LHARC). This file is WOWSPL.EXE, and contains all of the files necessary to run WOWSPILL. WOWSPILL.DOC (this file) may accompany WOWSPL.EXE, as well as WOWSPILL.SCR (score file, created upon demand). To install WOWSpill, create a directory on your hard drive, (preferably \WOWSPILL), and copy WOWSPL.EXE into it. Then just run WOWSPL.EXE and it will decompress into the following files: WOWSPILL.EXE - Main WOWSpill program. WOWSPILL.HLP - WOWSpill help file. WOWSPILL.DOC - This document. REGISTER.DOC - Registration/bug reporting form. VENDOR.DOC - Info for Shareware distributors SYSOP.DOC - Info for BBS Administrators README.DOC - Intro to WOWSpill To set up WOWSpill as an icon on your Windows Desktop, select the folder you want to place it in, and then select New... from the File menu in Windows Program Manager. You should get a dialog on which you can select Program Item, and then hit OK. This will bring up the properties screen. Enter WOWSpill in the 'Description' field and wowspill.exe in the 'Command Line' field. In the 'Working Directory' field, type the directory where you installed WOWSpill. Windows needs this info so WOWSpill can find the Help and Score files. The distribution of WOWSpill should be done in the WOWSPL.EXE form. Do not distribute the files separately. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: HOW TO PLAY The object of WOWSpill is to obtain points by connecting pieces of 'pipe' together so that the water will flow thru them. There is a 'faucet' piece already on the board from which the water will start flowing. You pick up a pieces with the mouse by clicking on the piece in the selection area on the right side of the screen. Place the pieces on the board so that they connect to the faucet and to other pieces. In this manner, when the water starts to flow, it will flow through the pieces that are connected to the faucet. The water will continue to flow until it hits the drain or it hits a non-pipe piece. When a non-pipe piece is hit, a spill occurs, and the round will be over. You get three spills and then the game is over. When the water hits the drain, you will be advanced to the next level. When the water goes through a cross piece, it will continue to flow straight, and not spill out of the sides. This allows you to 'crossover' an already built section of pipe so you can continue building. You select the pipe pieces from the queue area on the right of the screen. The top three pieces are 'preview' pieces that are not selectable, they will shift down each time you select a piece. Once you select a piece, you can place it on the board in any square. If you place it on top of another piece, it will destroy the underlying piece, and subtract 60 points from your score! This is, you will find, sometimes necessary when a piece is in your way. At the top of the board, you will notice 4 status fields, which tell you the time before the flow starts, your score, the level you are in, and the number of spills you've had. You get 60 seconds to place pieces in the first level before the water starts to flow. In the second level, you have 50 seconds. After that, only 40 seconds is given. Once the water starts flowing, you will get points for each second the water flows. Once you connect the faucet to the drain, you can increase the water flow speed by clicking the mouse on the faucet. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: WOWSPILL SCORING Scoring for WOWSpill occurs during play (flow score), as well as scoring for the level after level completion or a spill. During play, you get points for each second that the water flows through the pipes. If you place a piece on top of another piece, your score is reduced by 60 (if you have that many points!). After a spill or at the completion of a level, the Scoring Screen will appear, and show your scores for the level. When you begin a level, you will see bonus pieces appearing on the board. If you connect to these pieces, and the water flows through them, you will receive the specified bonus amount at the end of the level. Any pieces that are left on the board and do not have water in them are 'extras', and 50 points will be deducted for each. Crosses are special in WOWSpill, and can be used to score many points. You get points for a cross only when the flow occurs in both directions, ie. the whole cross is full of water. You get 100 points for having 1 cross, and the amount doubles for each subsequent cross, up to 7 crosses. If you get 8 crosses, you get 10,000 points, plus 5000 points for each additional cross. To simplify, if you get 1 cross you get 100 points. 2 200 points 3 400 points 4 800 points 5 1600 points 6 3200 points 7 6400 points 8 10000 points 9 15000 points 10 20000 points +1 +5000 points If your final score is high enough, you will get to enter your name for the High Score Board. There is a High Score Board for each board in WOWSpill, (Small, Medium, and Large), and the scores are kept separately. To see the High Scores, you can select the Scores button from the left side of the menu. You will get a screen from which you can select the size board you want scores for. The high score file (WOWSPILL.SCR) will be created if none exists, so you can clear the high scores by deleting this file. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: GAME SELECTION When you want to play a new game of the same size board, you can simply select the 'Same' button from the tile selection area. If you want to play a board of a different size (or same size), you can select the 'New' button from the left side of the screen. This will bring up a screen from which you can select the size of game to play. A purple border will surround the size board that is currently selected. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE WOWSpill is Shareware, which is a distribution method which gives users a chance to try software before they purchase it, and keeps costs of software down by not requiring the developer(s) to go to the expense of packaging and marketing their products. If after trying WOWSpill, you continue to use it, you are expected to register yourself as a user. This benefits both you as a user and shareware developers by keeping quality software on the market at reasonable prices. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: ASP - ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS WOWSpill is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442-9427 USA, FAX 616-788-2765 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: REGISTRATION The Registration fee for WOWSpill is $15.00. This will entitle you to use WOWSpill, as well as to receive support for any problems. It will also get you on a mailing list for future World Of Windows products (currently under development). Please send $15.00 in US funds to: Ben C. Pullen World Of Windows Software 7112 Brookdale Court Watauga, TX 76148 You can use the REGISTER.DOC file for registration if you have access to a printer. REGISTER.DOC provides a fill-in-the-blank type form for easy registration. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: COMMENTS / BUGS / PROBLEMS If you have any comments or suggestions for WOWSpill, please feel free to write to the author at the above address or on CompuServe at 73163,2110. If you find any bugs, please report those as well. When reporting bugs, please include information about your systems hardware setup, such as the machine brand/model, display type, display card, and operating system being used (Windows 3.0, Windows 3.1, Windows NT, or OS/2 2.1). REGISTER.DOC has this info in a fill-in-the-blank type form for easy bug reporting. The most common problem encountered by WOWSpill users is not having enough Free System Resources/Memory, because WOWSpill is a resource-intensive application. When this problem appears, you will get the message "Could not load bitmap due to limited resources". You can usually solve this problem by closing other applications that are running on your system. If this does not help, then your machine may not have enough hardware (memory) or may not be a current enough version of the operating system. If this is the case, please do not attempt to register, as the author cannot support inadequate hardware/software configurations. See Hardware/Software requirements at the beginning of this file. :----------------------------------------------------------------------: Thanks for trying WOWSpill! Ben C. Pullen World Of Windows Software :----------------------------------------------------------------------: :----------------------------------------------------------------------: :----------------------------------------------------------------------: