A few words about "Greedy v1.1" March '97 What is "Greedy"? ----------------- It is a board game, somehow inspired by Monopoly (tm) by Parker Brothers. This version is rather different from the original; it is designed to run on Psion Series 3a. It's a 1 player game, the Psion handling the 3 opponents. You'll need the Serial link & appropriate software to transfer the game onto your Psion. An alternative solution is a PC-SSD parallel interface. Or the Cyclone drive. "Greedy v1.1" requires a 480x160 (or larger) screen to run. That means no chance for Series 3, Siena or Workabout owners to run it... Required installation skills ---------------------------- Sorry, I have provided no scripts or anything, you'll have to do that yourself: You can install the game from an external Flash or Ram SSD. It will NOT attempt to write to that drive (hopefully). Create a directory called greedy in \APP These files should go in your freshly created \APP\GREEDY directory: elib.opo cards1.dbf vbg1x.pic boo.wve ** claps.wve ** coins.wve * dice.wve * dings.wve * ohprunel.wve * relax.wve * siren.wve * thankyou.wve ** uh-oh2.wve * wahoo.wve * wildeep.wve * woody.wve * Files with no star MUST be present. Files with 1 star are not necessary though they make the game more pleasant. Files with 2 stars are not necessary, just there for more fun. The entire distribution takes a lot of memory, so you may not want to include everything... (Note that I have released some 'cut' versions of Greedy, without sounds. You can use sounds from Greedy v1.0 if you own it.) This file should go in your \APP directory: greedy.opa Then install using the standard Psion-I hotkey; choose greedy.opa While playing, some files will be created in the internal \OPD directory: "greedy.ini", "greedyhs.ini" as well as saved games (all files ending by .gdy) Be sure to delete them if you remove greedy from your machine... The Rules --------- Ok, you've played this game before, at least when you were young... Things you oughta know ---------------------- The game takes a lot of memory while running... Please make sure that you have about 140k of free memory on the internal drive before launching a game. I've tried to keep it as small as possible. It is definitely a good idea to use it from an external Flash or Ram SSD drive. The board is quite large, and keeping graphisms interesting required a big bitmap (480x480) to be opened. The tricks it uses to scroll rather fast and take as little memory as possible have disadvantages. It takes ages to start a game, and playing with resolutions larger than 480x160 lead to strange results etc. I've tried to make it as playable as possible under the emulator. Small cartoon characters have been extracted from some free Window 95 icons libraries, sounds from free sounds libraries on the Net. I've already been asked why there's no sound while the player's icon moves across the board. Actually, I've tried. But when the screen scrolls to follow the player's icon, there's a delay which makes a weird (and unpleasant) effect. Money talks ----------- This is freeware. That means you can use it as much as you like without having to pay anything. However, I keep the copyright on the source code and the graphical layout. Please do not modify it without telling me beforehand. Please do not decompile it using RevTran or whatever utility you'd have. You'd better politely ask for the source code! I'm not sure you'd learn something interesting out of this mess anyway... Lurking insects in v1.1 ----------------------- Error handling is very limited, so please respect the installation directory names or your Psion will scream in anger. Please report me any nasty behaviour via Email. Greedy is not a multitask-friendly software. This means it will keep running in the background if you switch to another application. This also means you may run out of memory. What's new in v1.1 ------------------ - New screen design. I've tried to improve readability on the main screen as well as the properties screen. Added a clock (upon request of many people) - Use of elib.opo instead of greedyx.opo and moved it into \greedy "e" stands for English. This leaves an open door to people willing to translate in other languages. See "What's next". - Fixed the "Overflow error" bugs. - Changed the "X" mark for investments to avoid confusion with players whose names begin with an "X". - Added an "Accept proposals" and "Refuse proposals" option to prevent rich computer players calling for buy-outs when the human player is not willing. - Added some more "Jailbait" cards. - Introduced a "Go to prison" card. - Reduced the overall cards' winning amount. - Added an "Are you sure?" option when buying from a computer player. - Added a male/female option to allow correct gender comments. - Added a "Quick save" option. Quitting the game now saves the game automatically. - Added a "Restore" option (along with "quick save") - Added a "multiple save games" facility. - Added the "Highscores" routine. - Fixed the players token removal if fewer than 4 players are selected. - Added the sounds paths option. - Added a preference save, which remembers your last preference settings and uses them in any new game you start (i.e. sounds, automatic moves, speed and proposals). - Removed the "drug dealing" hazard. Plus a couple of other things you will notice (or not) while playing... What has not been done (but requested by several users) ---------------------- - Access to menu options anytime. I've tried, but the keyboard scan introduced some nasty delays while tokens are moving. I will try some other routines (maybe more low-level) - Quit game anytime. Actually, I won't do this :( This is too much of a hassle, and I should have thought of this much earlier... - Constant memory checking. - More than one human player. I won't do this either. - I've been warned that some characters' names weren't corrected. Especially Barney Flinstone / Barney Rubble. I've decided not to change them to be clearer as to who belongs together in which families... - Psion-style online Help. Erm. I really don't have time to do this! What's next ----------- I won't do many new updates as I consider Greedy a playable game. People who want some more Monopoly (tm) rules should consider buying the real game! People willing to translate Greedy into other languages are welcome. OPL knowledge is required as I would send them part of the source code. It's now time to move to another game! Legal stuff to be aware of -------------------------- Feel free to pass this software to anybody you know. Inclusion in any software library, on floppy, CDRom, electronically etc. is very welcome as long as you do not alter the archive. If you're intending to insert Greedy v1.1 in a library (on floppy, CDRom etc), please drop me a quick Email (I won't ask for a freebie, don't worry!). This is only to ensure you have the latest version. Please do not charge for more than the usual media & postage fees. Warranty -------- No warranties whatsoever. Use at your own risk. To get in touch --------------- Email: fbotton@hol.fr (Internet) or fbotton@compuserve.com (Internet) 2:320/220.13 (Fidonet) Snail mail: Frederic Botton 25, rue d'Enghien F-75010 Paris France Ph: ++33 (0)6 09477072 Web place: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/FBotton/psion.htm Thanxx ------ I have to thank my wife who tested this game on her Psion! And my kitty for her massive appreciation (if staring means appreciation :) Thanks a million to all beta-testers, you've been great and you know who you are! Thanks a lot to those who sent me graphisms upgrades! Thanks a lot to those who sent me English corrections! Thanks many times to Mike Rudin, author of RevTran, who saved this software from oblivion after a bad HD crash! Thanks a lot to Steve Litchfield and Palmtop Magazine, who both reviewed Greedy and helped my Web page counter go crazy! Thanks a lot to all players who mailed me their kind words and useful comments... Thanks to shareware authors who gave me some free registrations! Thanks to those who offered me money for Greedy! This software has been written under heavy decibels. Metallica, Aerosmith, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Motorhead to name some of them... Software used to write Greedy ----------------------------- s3atran, Paint Shop Pro, Cool Edit, PsiWin, WinLink and the s3a emulator. Plus PC-SSD parallel interface... And RevTran, of course, which managed to retrieve some of my sources back! (thanks again, Mike!) Final word ---------- I hope this game will please you! If you're not familiar with it, give it a few tries before feeding your dustbin. Have a look at the FAQ if you need some help. You may also want to try Memory and Mille Bornes, available on my homepage, Compuserve and Aol palmtop libraries. Both of them are freeware as well. Do buy the original game! ------------------------- Monopoly (tm), the real game is available, written by well-known Psion author Steve Godfrey and Psion graphist wizard Phil Creed. This is the ultimate Monopoly (tm) conversion, I urge you to get it if you like Greedy! Fred.