Gin Rummy (Version 7.5) - READGIN.TXT ===================================== This file contains the following section: Revision History See the MeggieSoft Games README.TXT file for information concerning: Introduction System Requirements Installation Registration Distribution Frequently Asked Questions Revision History ---------------- Version 1.x - Development versions. Version 2.0 - Beta test version Version 2.1 - First shareware release. Fully functional. Version 2.2 - Minor improvements and problem fixes. Version 2.3 - Improved opponent skill algorithms Version 3.0 - Custom card backs - "Trim Corners" - "AutoMouse - Dialogs" - "Series Scoring" 3.01 - Maintenance release 3.02 - Maintenance release Version 3.2 - "No Layoff On Gin" changed to "Layoff On Gin" - "Display Deadwood" - Expanded "Hint" - Double-click discard - "Check Meldable Discard" - "Check Missed Layoff" - "AutoSave" - "AutoStart" Version 3.3 - Trapping and ignoring a double-clicks - Manual arrangement of cards in player's hand - "No Sorting" - "Ace Can Meld High" - "Ellwood Gin" - "No Bell" - "Display Error Box" Version 4.0: Display - Enhanced 3D cosmetics for main display window. - Almost all texts now displayed "unbolded". - Improved handling of "Large Fonts" display mode. - Dialog background color can now be changed. - Card-by-card dealing. - "Quick Deal" - "Assist" button in some dialog boxes. - "On-Screen" scoresheet. - Other on-screen counters moved to status bar. - Scoremasts display player name and opponent skill. - Gin Rummy main window is now dynamically resizable. - Four screen resolution sizes plus custom resizing. - Four different card sizes. - "Knock" display highlighting (Oklahoma rules). - "Deadwood" display highlighting. Interface - ALT key with the left mouse button is equivalent to the right mouse button. - "Drag and Drop". - Ability to set aside cards as a separate group. - Top stock card displayed while the mouse is down. - New status bar button to invoke Assist! Assistant - "Recall", "Deduce" and "Show Distribution" options. Sound - MIDI music files support. - "Shuffle" and "Play Card" sound effects. - "Speak-To-Me" synthesized speech capability. Logic - Improved opponent logic. - Improved Suggest (hint) facility. Rules - "Must Gin". Miscellany - "AutoMouse" options moved to "Player" menu. - AutoPlayer information counter displays. - Various minor improvements. - Some maintenance fixes. Price - The registration fee has increased to $15 ($20 with diskette) and a new registration coding introduced. Version 4.01 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem with misreported player deadwood count. - Fixed problem with Ace not being able to be melded high by the player. - Fixed problem where Ace deadwood value was incorrectly calculated when Ace Can Be High is selected. - Fixed errors in help file (Rules Menu section) 4.02 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem with "cut for deal" display at larger screen resolution sizes. - Fixed the occasional "Invalid Property Value" problem. - Fixed "Type Mismatch" problem. 4.03 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem with not allowing player to lay off all cards in hand when opponent has knocked. - Added shuffle after cut for deal to ensure player doesn't take advantage of card positions in the deck. 4.04 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem where Hall Of Fame scores were not being correctly reported. 4.05 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem where Music details were sometimes not correctly updated after having been changed. - Display of cards dealt now in order (non-dealer receives first card). - Corrected window positioning when window size equals screen resolution setting. - Updated help file and order form to accomodate release of Pinochle. - Fixed problem of Hall Of Fame being incorrectly displayed when "Speak-To-Me" option is enabled. 4.06 - Maintenance release - Detects invalid sound file definitions and ignores sound instead of giving "Bad File Name" message. - Fixed failure to show "True Corners" on some melded cards. 4.07 - Fixed problem where card display in player's hand was sometimes not correctly refreshed when highlighting and melding. - Altered shuffle method to overcome reports of same hands sometimes being redealt. 4.08 - Tracked down and fixed reshuffle problem between rounds. Version 4.1 - Fixed problem of sometimes not detecting ability to layoff last card after opponent lay-down. - Fixed occasional problem of opponent declaring that it wants the discard and then either offering it to the player or taking a card from the stock. - Fixed problem of card sometimes not appearing in player's hand after electing to take discard refused by opponent. - Incorporated WinSpeech technology as an integral part of Gin Rummy. WinSpeech is licensed by MeggieSoft Games from PC WholeWare. - Speak-To-Me facility now includes ability to change pitch, tempo, and volume. - Changes to file selection facility for music and sound effect files. Version 4.2 - Added rule options for Run Melds and Rank Melds only. - Improved handling when missing speech file is detected. - Fixed problem of abrupt exit from File Selector when a referenced directory has been removed. Version 5 - No such version. Skipped to synchronize with new MeggieSoft Games version numbering. Version 6 - Reorganized menus to Windows 95 style (even when running under Windows 3.x). Added Edit Preferences feature to consolidate configuration and rule options. - Right-click pop-up menu. - Released both 16-bit and 32-bit versions. - Added card movement animation. - Added visual Drag-and-Drop. - Added custom mousepointer cursors. - Scores may be displayed either as scoremasts, or in the title bar, or in the status bar. - Melds may now be laid down card-by-card. - Freely selectable optional table and mat background images (wmf or bmp). - Freely selectable card back images (wmf or bmp). - Cards are now completely rectangular (no grey corner flash) except when "Rounded Corners" option is selected. - Highlighted card color tint now customizable. - Added "Tool Tips" for status bar buttons. - "Silent Deal" speeds card-by-card dealing when "Play Card" sound effect is active. - VBCTL3D.VBX support dropped (3-D effects are now supported from within the Visual Basic programming language). - New "Start Button" - Help menu now provides access to readme files and MeggieSoft Games web site (if system configured for internet access). - Sound synchronization is now suppressable. - The double-clicking method of protecting against accidental discarding has been replaced by a confirming pop-up menu entry. - The Default player settings are no longer used as defaults for other players. All defaults are the factory defaults. - Added Gin Off bonus (separate from Undercut). - Added Additional Box Bonuses option. - Completely rewritten help file. - Various other minor improvements. - Maintenance fixes to address reported problems. Version 6.1 - Fixed bug whereby a previously finished game scoreboard was being continued when the program was next run - Replaced sound effects with uncopyrighted sound files - 32-bit versions now work correctly with Windows NT - Card selection now works correctly with staggered hand displays - Minor bug fixes and cosmetic improvements Version 6.2 - Improved scoresheet on long games (stop overwriting) - Fixed refreshing of deadwood counter when card taken from discard pile - Inhibited hint on unfinished melds - Reduced animation speed for slower settings (to smooth animation on fast systems) - 32-bit versions now examine GINRUMMY.INI for previous 16-bit registration information when first run - Other maintenance fixes Version 6.3 - Fixed occasional problem of same card being cut for each player - Improved supression of menu actions when game activity is processing. Fixed clearing of menu supression after actions have been supressed. - Fixed occurences of bell/beep sounding when bell has been selected as being supressed. - Improved detection and ignoring of double-clicking the mouse. Version 6.4 - Improved detection and ignoring of user click on the stock when the opponent is taking a stock card after the player has declined taking the discard - When player elects to take discard when offered the lead, the movement of the card to the hand is no longer automatic, but the player is forced to take it (and not the stock card) Version 7.0 - Enhanced animation to include animated twisting when a card is being turned over. This is deselectable via the Animation preferences tab. - Revised animation logic for smoother operation. - Added many extra animation features. - Replaced "Cut For Deal" dialog with on-table animated stock cutting. - New preferences selection dialog. - Changed color selection method. Also, custom colors set within the color selector are saved between sessions. - Changed file "Browse" selection method. Images and sounds are now dynamically previewed as the user moves around the file list within the selector. - Enabled selection of undersized bmp/wmf image files for card backs. These are appropriately stretched to fill the cardback size - Added three more (slower) animation speeds for systems with very fast graphics capabilities. - Added warning message when excessive double-clicking is being trapped. - Added five second timeout to "Wait for Silence" routine to avoid hanging if user system has problems detecting silence (after speech and sound effects). - Fixed problem of ending a round with a player meld of less than three cards. - Changed management of playing midi music, including enhanced Music Status window with Pause and Resume - Use of the "Speed Buttons" on status bar now has no effect on saved preferences - Reduced number of external DLL and OCX files required - Numerous minor improvements plus bug fixes Version 7.1 - Fixed problem with Preference file browsing when user's systems has 32-bit True Color resolution set - Fixed problem with default image file detection failing Version 7.2 - Maintenance release Version 7.3 - Spade doubling is now selectable irrespective of whether Oklahoma Gin is selected - Added Hollywood doubling rule option which doubles scores for remaining rounds of a Hollywood game when both players have scores recorded in column three. - Speech volume no longer defaults to loud - Non-standard windows desktop color schemes are now supported correctly - Other minor improvements and bug fixes Version 7.4 - Corrected mishandling of card display and movement when mouse button #2 is pressed while button #1 is already down. - Other minor improvements and bug fixes Version 7.4.1- Corrected display of "No Sorting" icon in button bar - Fixed problem with hint not including a discard when all cards are meldable Version 7.5 - Corrected incorrect reporting of possible layoff when opponent has laid down a gin - Attempted to fix problem with game freezing - Corrected occasional discard pile display problem - Stopped ability to discard via "drag and drop" after opponent has knocked - Registry read error now sets default preference value rather than terminating program - Fixed problem whereby player could highlight and discard via drag-and-drop to knock with too many points in hand. Gin Rummy © MeggieSoft Games 1995-1998. All Rights Reserved.