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