ST SQUARES WRITTEN BY GLENN NOVAK PROGRAMMED IN GFA BASIC 2.0 PICTURES DRAWN USING DEGAS ELITE REQUIREMENTS 1. COLOR MONITOR 2. 512K MEMORY (1 MEGABYTE RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED) 3. MOUSE 512K VERSUS 1 MEG OF MEMORY 512K SYSTEMS ARE ADVISED NOT TO HAVE ANY DESK ACCESSORIES ACTIVE (NOT EVEN THE CONTROL PANEL). THIS GAME TAKES UP A GOOD AMOUNT OF MEMORY. I'VE EXPERIENCED NO PROBLEMS YET WITH 512K SYSTEMS, BUT MY FRIEND HAD THE GAME LOCK UP ON HIM DURING HIS 4TH GAME ONCE. IF ANY 512K USER EXPERIENCES THAT SAME PROBLEM, JUST REBOOT YOUR MACHINE. THE BEGINNING THIS IS A GAME BASED ON THE 'HOLLYWOOD SQUARES' GAME SHOW. A FEW DIFFERENT ENHANCEMENTS WERE ADDED INCLUDING A FABULOUS BONUS ROUND (EXPLAINED LATER). THE GAME INCLUDES A CELEBRITY PANEL MADE UP OF 9 FAMOUS CARTOON CHARACTERS INCLUDING BATMAN AND FRED FLINTSTONE. THE REST, WELL, YOU'LL SEE !! THIS IS A GAME FOR BOTH ADULTS AND YOUNG ADULTS. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE EASY GAME PLAY. THIS IS A 2 PLAYER GAME. THE INTRODUCTION THE FILES NEEDED TO PLAY 'ST SQUARES' ARE: 1. HOLLYWOOD.PUT (THE CELEBRITY GAME BOARD) 2. TITLE.PUT (TITLE SCREEN) 3. STSQUARES.BAS (THE PROGRAM ITSELF) 4. STSQUARE.DTA (DATA FILE) 5. GFABASRO.PRG (GFA BASIC RUN ONLY PROGRAM) 6. CAR.PUT (THE CAR, WHAT ELSE ?) 7. QUESTION (QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (NO PEEKING)). 8. COM1.PUT (COMMERCIAL # 1) 9. COM2.PUT (COMMERCIAL # 2) 10. COM3.PUT (COMMERCIAL # 3) 11. COM4.PUT (COMMERCIAL # 4) 12. COM5.PUT (COMMERCIAL # 5) 13. COM6.PUT (COMMERCAIL # 6) 14. COM7.PUT (COMMERCIAL # 7) 15. COM8.PUT (COMMERCIAL # 8) 16. COM9.PUT (I'LL LET YOU GUESS THIS ONE !) 17. READ_ME.TXT (THE DIRECTIONS FOR GAMEPLAY) FILES 1 THROUGH 16 MUST ALL BE IN THE SAME DIRECTORY. LOADING THE GAME DOUBLE CLICK ON THE GFABASRO.PRG FILE. WHEN THE FILE SELECTOR SCREEN COMES UP, CLICK ONCE ON 'STSQUARE.BAS'. THEN CLICK ON THE 'OK' BOX. THE GAME WILL LOAD. QUITTING THE GAME TO QUIT THE GAME, JUST PRESS THE 'ALTERNATE' KEY,THE LEFT 'SHIFT' KEY, AND THE 'CONTROL' KEY ALL AT THE SAME TIME. THIS KEY COMBINATION CAN BE HIT ANY TIME DURING THE GAME. INTRODUCING ST SQUARES YOU WILL FIRST BE PRESENTED WITH A TITLE SCREEN FOR 'ST SQUARES' INTRODUCING THE PROGRAM. JUST HIT RETURN TO BEGIN PLAYING. INSTRUCTIONS ? YOU WILL THEN BE ASKED IF YOU WANT TO SEE INSTRUCTIONS. HIT THE 'Y' KEY FOR YES AND THE 'N' KEY FOR NO. IF YOU HIT YES, THEN IT WILL INSTRUCT YOU TO READ THIS FILE. THIS IS JUST MEANT FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN TO READ THE TEXT FILE OR WHO DIDN'T KNOW THAT THIS TEXT FILE CONTAINS DIRECTIONS. HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE OR HIT THE 'Q' KEY TO QUIT. IF YOU ANSWER 'N' THEN YOU WILL BE ASKED TO ENTER YOUR NAMES. ENTER YOUR NAMES PLEASE THE NEXT SCREEN WILL ASK PLAYERS TO ENTER THEIR NAMES. KEEP THE AMOUNT OF CHARECTERS TO BE 11 OR LESS. JUST TYPE IN YOUR NAME AND HIT 'RETURN'. THE SAME FOR PLAYER 2. CHOOSE YOUR MARKERS PLEASE ON THIS NEXT SCREEN, PLAYER 1 WILL BE ASKED TO CHOOSE THE MARKER (X OR O). HIT THE 'X' KEY FOR THE X AND THE 'O' KEY FOR O (OBVIOUSLEY). TRY HITTING ANOTHER KEY INSTEAD OF X OR O AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS (A LITTLE FUNNY PUN INTENDED. HEE HEE!). INTRODUCING ROUND 1 THE TITLE SCREEN WILL COME UP ONCE AGAIN REMINDING EVERYONE THAT THEY SHOULD READ THESE DIRECTIONS BEFORE PLAYING ST SQUARES. IT ALSO STATES WHO GOES FIRST. 1. IN ROUND 1, PLAYER 1 ALWAYS GOES FIRST. 2. IN ROUND 2, PLAYER 2 ALWAYS GOES FIRST. 3. IN ROUND 3, THE COMPUTER RANDOMLY CHOOSES WHO GOES FIRST. JUST HIT ANY KEY TO CONTINUE TO THE GAME BOARD. THE GAME BOARD YOU SHOULD NOW SEE THE CELEBRITY GAME BOARD. YOU MUST NOW USE THE MOUSE TO SELECT YOUR CELEBRITY. POSITION THE MOUSE OVER YOUR CELEBRITY AND CLICK THE LEFT MOUSE BUTTON. ONE NOTE, CHOOSE YOUR CELEBRITY AFTER THE SOUND OF THE TONE. THE PROGRAM REDRAWS THE SCREEN AND EVALUATES THE BOARD TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY WINNERS. YOU MAY CHOOSE YOUR CELEBRITY ANYTIME AFTER THE SOUND OF THE TONE. A RED SQUARE WILL HIGHLIGHT YOUR SELECTION CONFIRMING YOUR CHOICE. YOU WILL THEN BE TAKEN TO THE QUESTION BOARD. THE QUESTION BOARD THE QUESTION BOARD CONSISTS OF: 1. YOUR CHOSEN CELEBRITY (UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER) 2. MESSAGE BOX (BLACK BOX IN MIDDLE OF SCREEN) 3. QUESTION BOX (BOTTOM OF SCREEN) 4. BOX CONTAINING THE CELEBRITIES RESPONSE.(UPPER RIGHT) 5. THE NAME OF THE PLAYER WHOSE CURRENT TURN IT IS.(BOTTOM) THE CELEBRITY YOU CHOSE WILL APPEAR. IN A FEW SHORT SECONDS, YOU WILL SEE A QUESTION POP UP. TAKE A MINUTE TO READ THE QUESTION. IN ANOTHER SECOND YOU WILL SEE A MESSAGE POP UP IN THE 'MESSAGE BOX' INSTRUCTING YOU TO WAIT FOR THE CELEBRITIES ANSWER. THE QUESTION IS BEING ASKED TO YOUR CELEBRITY, AND NOT TO YOU. THE CELEBRITY WILL THEN GIVE AN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION TO THE BEST OF HIS OR HER KNOWLEDGE. A MESSAGE WILL THEN POP UP IN THE MESSAGE BOX TELLING YOU TO HIT THE 'A' KEY IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CELEBRITY'S ANSWER OR HIT THE 'D' KEY IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE CELEBRITY'S ANSWER. THE LOGIC HERE IS SIMPLE. IF THE CELEBRITY'S ANSWER IS WRONG AND YOU AGREE WITH HIM, THEN YOU LOSE. YOU OPPONENTS MARKER WILL THEN BE PLACED ON YOUR CHOSEN CELEBRITY. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH THE CELEBRITY, THEN YOU ARE CORRECT. GET IT? IF NOT, THE GAME WILL GUIDE YOU THROUGH AND MAKE ALL THE CORRECT DECISIONS. THE MESSAGE BOX WILL THEN TELL YOU IF YOUR DECISION TO AGREE OR DISAGREE WAS A CORRECT ONE. IF YOU MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION, THEN YOUR MARKER WILL BE PLACED ON THAT CELEBRITY. IF NOT, THEN YOUR OPPONENT AUTOMATICALLY GAINS CONTROL OF YOUR SQUARE AND HIS MARKER WILL BE PUT ON THAT CELEBRITY. THE MESSAGE BOX WILL TELL WHOSE TURN IT IS. WATCH THIS CLOSELY BECAUSE EXTRA TURNS CAN BE AWARDED. THIS IS EXPLAINED NEXT. TURNS GENERALLY ALTERNATE BETWEEN THE 2 PLAYERS. THEN YOU WILL BE TAKEN BACK TO THE GAME BOARD AND THE PLAYER WHOSE TURN IT IS WILL CHOOSE HIS CELEBRITY AFTER THE SOUND OF THE TONE. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE THE OBJECT IS TO ACHIEVE TIC-TAC-TOE BY GAINING TOTAL CONTROL OF SQUARES ON THE BOARD. CORRECT DECISIONS PUT YOUR MARKERS ON THE BOARD. INCORRECT DECISIONS WILL PUT YOUR OPPONENTS MARKERS ON THE BOARD. BE CAREFUL. YOU MUST WIN 2 OUT OF 3 ROUNDS TO PROCEED TO THE BONUS ROUND.(EXPLAINED LATER). GAME STATS BOARD AFTER EACH ROUND (WHEN A WINNER IS DECLARED), YOU WILL THEN BE TAKEN TO THE GAME STATS BOARD. THIS WILL TELL YOU THE WINNERS OF EACH ROUND AND ALSO THE WINNER OF 'ST SQUARES' (IF THERE IS A WINNER AT THIS TIME). JUST HIT ANY KEY TO ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND OR TO THE BONUS ROUND. THE SECRET SQUARE THERE IS A SECRET SQUARE IN SOME ROUNDS (NOT ALL). WHEN A SECRET SQUARE HAS BEEN SELECTED, A TUNE WILL PLAY AND YOU WILL SEE A DIALOG BOX TELLING YOU THAT YOU GET AN EXTRA TURN. WHOEVER CHOSE THIS SQUARE WILL GET AN EXTRA TURN WHETHER HE ANSWERS CORRECTLY OR NOT. EVEN IF PLAYER 1 IS WRONG AND HE CHOSE THE SECRET SQUARE, HE STILL GETS THE EXTRA TURN. SO PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE MESSAGE BOX STATING WHOSE TURN IT IS. YOUR NAME MAY POP UP TWICE. NO TIC-TAC-TOE ? IF NOONE GETS 3 IN A ROW AND THE BOARD IS FULL OF X'S AND O'S, THEN WHOEVER HAS THE MOST X'S OR O'S ON THE GAME BOARD WILL BE DECLARED THE WINNER. THE COMPUTER WILL DETERMINE THE WINNER ON IT'S OWN WHEN THIS HAPPENS. THE WINNER'S NAME WILL BE SHOWN ON THE GAME BOARD. WHOEVER WINS 2 OUT OF 3 ROUNDS WILL PROCEED ONTO THE BONUS ROUND. THE BONUS ROUND YOU MUST WIN 2 OUT OF 3 ROUNDS TO PLAY THIS BONUS ROUND. AN ALERT BOX WILL BE SHOWN TELLING YOU THAT ONE OF THE CELEBRITIES ARE HOLDING THE KEY THAT WILL START YOUR NEW CAR ( WELL, MAYBE YOUR NEW CAR ). YOU MUST CHOOSE A CELEBRITY WITH THE MOUSE AND CLICK THE LEFT MOUSE BUTTON TO MAKE YOUR CHOICE. HOPE YOU CHOOSE WISELY. BECAUSE IF YOU PICK THE RIGHT ONE, YOU WIN THE CAR !! AFTER YOU CHOOSE A CELEBRITY, YOU'LL SEE THE CAR POP UP ON THE SCREEN ALONG WITH THE CELEBRITY YOU CHOSE. JUST POSITION THE MOUSE POINTER ANYWHERE ON THE CAR AND CLICK ONLY ONCE. YOU'LL HEAR THE SOUNDS OF THE CAR TRYING TO START. IF YOU CHOSE CORRECTLY, THE CAR WILL START AND YOU'LL GET A MESSAGE STATING THAT YOU WON. IF NOT, THE CAR WILL JUST KEEP MAKING WHINING NOISES AND WON'T START. YOU'LL GET A MESSAGE STATING THAT YOU LOSE. THE GAME IS OVER AND YOU'LL BE ASKED WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT TO START A NEW GAME. NOTE** (512K USERS, TO PLAY ANOTHER GAME, WHEN ASKED 'DO YOU REALLY WANT TO QUIT', JUST SELECT 'CANCEL' AND THEN SELECT STSQUARE.BAS. THE GAME WILL LOAD AGAIN.) ENDING THE GAME IF YOU SELECT 'NO' WHEN ASKED IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PLAY ANOTHER GAME, YOU WILL BE TAKEN TO THE TITLE SCREEN AGAIN. YOU MUST HIT 'RETURN' OR ANY OTHER KEY TO END THE GAME. IF YOU CHOOSE YES THEN THE GAME WILL BEGIN AGAIN. (**NOTE** THIS OPTION IS NOT AVAILIABLE ON 512K SYSTEMS.) PROGRAMMING THIS PROGRAM DOESN'T HAVE THE MOST EXPERT PROGRAMMING JOB IN THE WORLD. I'M JUST AN AMATEUR AT IT AND THIS IS MY FIRST GAME FOR THE ST. IT IS ALSO THE FIRST GAME I'VE EVER PROGRAMMED USING GFA BASIC 2.0. THOUGH THE PROGRAM IS NOT PROFESSIONAL LOOKING, IT STILL WORKS AND GETS THE JOB DONE. SO DON'T EXPECT A TOM HUDSON LOOKING PROGRAM HERE. IN TIME, I'LL GET BETTER AT IT. I LEARNED PROGRAMMING IN BASIC FROM JUST READING BOOKS. IT'S A TERRIFIC LANGUAGE !! THE COMMERCIAL IF THERE IS A ROUND 3 TO BE PLAYED, THEN A SMALL,BRIEF COMMERCIAL WILL BE SHOWN TO YOU. THE COMMERCIALS CONTAIN PRODUCTS WITH A LITTLE TEXT !!. THIS IS JUST MEANT TO GIVE THE PROGRAM A LITTLE ENTERTAINING FEATURE. THE TITLE SCREEN WILL POP UP BEFORE THE COMMERCIAL COMES ON TO TELL YOU THAT A COMMERCIAL IS COMING. JUST HIT THE ENTER KEY TO PROCEED TO THE COMMERCIAL ITSELF. JUST HIT RETURN WHEN INSTRUCTED TO CONTINUE TO ROUND 3. THERE IS NO WAY TO SKIP PAST THE COMMERCIAL. HOWEVER, THE COMMERCIALS ARE VERY BRIEF AND WON'T TAKE MUCH TIME !! COMMENTS I CAN BE REACHED ON GENIE AT MAIL ADDRESS 'G.NOVAK2' IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS FOR ME. MAKE SURE THEY'RE GOOD ONES. (HEE HEE). MAYBE PROGRAMMERS WHO LOOK OVER THIS PROGRAM CAN GIVE ME GOOD ADVICE ON BETTER, MORE EASIER WAYS TO PERFORM THE CERTAIN ROUTINES IN MY PROGRAM. AM UP FOR ANY ADVICE YOU MAY GIVE ME. IF ENOUGH INTEREST IS SHOWN, I PLAN TO MAKE UP NEW QUESTIONS AND A NEW CELEBRITY GAME PANEL WITH 9 NEW BIG NAMED CELEBRITIES. BUT THAT'S ONLY IF I RECIEVE ENOUGH COMMENTS. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE GAME. BYE NOW!!!!