RUMMY 500 (Version 7.5) - READ500.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 - First Shareware release. Fully functional. Version 2.1 - Scoreboards. 2.11 - Minor improvements. Version 2.2 - Player can freely select the last discard. Version 2.3 - Startup window. Version 3.0 - 3D-style user interface. - Multiple player scoreboards . - AutoResume. - Sound effects. 3.01 - Maintenance release 3.02 - Maintenance release Version 3.5 - Conforms to "Hoyle's Rules Of Games". - Suggest. - Undo. - Hall Of Fame. - League Table. - Displays of total games won. - Swap Cards. - AutoPlayer. - Quick Display. - Animate Display (removed in version 3.9). - Updated Help. 3.51 - Revised discard algorithms. Version 3.6 - Changed method of taking discards. - Undo Version 3.7 - Sort by Suit - Show Remaining 3.81 - Overlap Melds - Display Turn Count - "Master" skill level Version 3.9 - Updated user interface - Stagger Player Hand - Cut For Deal - Reset Scoreboard - Restart Round 3.91 - Maintenance release Version 4.0 - Custom card backs - "Trim Corners" - "AutoMouse - Dialogs" 4.01 - Maintenance release 4.02 - Maintenance release Version 4.2 - Expanded "Hint" - Double-click discard. - "Check Meldable Discard" - "Color Opponent Melds" - "AutoSave" - "AutoStart" - Enhanced "Champion" and "Master" Version 4.3 - Trapping and ignoring of double-clicks - Manual arrangement of cards in player's hand - "No Sorting" - Descriptions of melded cards. - "No Bell" - "Display Error Box" Version 5.0: 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. - Rummy 500 main window is now dynamically resizable. - Four screen resolution sizes plus custom resizing. - Four different card sizes. 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 - "Persian Jokers" - "Born To Meld" - Optional scoring bonuses. - Bonuses and rule options reminder display. 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 5.01 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem with Ace sometimes not being able to be melded by the player. - Improved Champion and Master skill level algorithms. 5.02 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem with Joker being meldedable as an Ace. - Fixed problem with opponent red jokers disappearing. - Adjusted Master skill level algorithm to be less aggressive/reckless in latter part of a round. - Fixed problem with "cut for deal" display at larger screen resolution sizes. - Fixed "Invalid Property Value" problem. problem caused by missing fonts. - Fixed "Type Mismatch" problem. 5.03 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem where "Sound Effects" enabled setting not being saved. - Fixed Carefree skill level hanging problem. - Added shuffle after cut for deal to ensure player doesn't take advantage of card positions in the deck. 5.04 - Maintenance release - Fixed problem which could very rarely permit the opponent to not meld a discard that it took. 5.05 - 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. 5.06 - 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. 5.07 - 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. Version 5.1 - Incorporated WinSpeech technology as an integral part of Rummy 500. 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 5.2 - Meld scores are now spoken as melds are played. - 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 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-clicking now displays a pop-up menu of frequently used main menu options. - Released both 16-bit and 32-bit versions. 16-bit versions continue to use RUMMY500.INI for saving option preferences; 32-bit versions use the registry. - Added card movement animation with adjustable animation speed (may be suppressed via Preferences options.) - Added visual Drag-and-Drop to display card as it is dragged (may be suppressed via Preferences options.) - 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 as an alternative to using a negative image. - 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 for users who find that their systems give problems when Rummy 500 waits for silence between sound effects and speech outputs. - 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. - 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 - Inhibited hint on unfinished melds - Reduced animation speed for slower settings (to smooth animation on fast systems) - 32-bit versions now examine RUMMY500.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 - Fixed problem where player could go out with an incomplete meld - Fixed problem where opponent was not scoring 50 point bonuses for the Queen of Spades and Two of Clubs in runs - Fixed problem where player was not penalized 50 points for the Queen of Spades and Two of Clubs remaining in hand. - 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 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). - 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 - Minor revisions to higher skill level algorithms Version 7.3 - 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 including display refresh of overlapping melds. Version 7.5 - Attempted to fix problem with game freezing - Registry read error now sets default preference value rather than terminating program Rummy 500 © MeggieSoft Games 1994-1998. All Rights Reserved.