HYPEROTHELLO

Version 1.75

(C) 1989 by Jake Rose

Documentation: 10/16/1989

HyperOthello is produced under the concept of user-supported software

(shareware, freeware, etc.). This means that it may be copied freely, but

is a commercial software package, and therefore, has a price tag. This

doesn't mean that an FBI agent will come knocking on your door if you don't

pay for the product. However, purchasing HyperOthello for $10-$20 provides

you with the next full version of the game (when available) and the latest

version (if you have versions 1.0 or 1.01). Remember that user-supported

software is not possible without you.

HYPEROTHELLO is a computer version of an ancient strategy game; Reversi.

The rules are as follows:

The game board is a square grid of 64 squares

Both players have game pieces of their color (black or white)

Each player must place one piece on the board per turn unless there
are no legal moves

The piece must flip one or more pieces of the opposing color

Whenever a new piece is introduced into the board, any rows of pieces
of the opposing color which stem from the new piece and are
terminated by a piece of the playing color are "flipped" to the
playing color's pieces:

Example 1:

New piece will go here!





(RESULT OF MOVE)







In HYPEROTHELLO mode, any pieces flipped also flip
other pieces, which then flip any other pieces, and so
on:

Example 2:

New piece will go here!













This piece will now flip...



(FINAL RESULT OF MOVE)



This Piece





When HyperOthello is executed (HYPERREV.EXE), a screen will appear bearing
the title, author, and copyright information. Press the space bar to enter
the game regularly, or 'S' to turn off the sound effects.

The title screen is replaced with the game board and the question 'Regular
or HyperOthello?'. If you type an 'R', the program will play the game as shown
in example 1. If you type 'H', the program will play as in example 2.

Next, the program asks if you would like to to turn the sound on or off.
Press 'Y' or 'N' depending on your preference.

The next two prompts are for the players' names. If you wish the computer
to play, press return ( < ) for the name; the prompt is replaced by one
requesting look-ahead level. Level 0 is the easiest; it does not "look-ahead"
(try to determine what the opponent will do on his or her turn). Level one
looks-ahead one turn, level two looks-ahead two turns, and so forth. I don't
suggest you try a level higher than 2 with an IBM PC-speed machine.

If you wish, the computer can play against itself; however, you will have
to reboot (reset the computer) in order to abort such a game.


ENTERING MOVES


When playing the game, you may enter your moves in two ways; with the
cursor keys (arrow keys), or by grid-label (x-y coordinates). Using the cursor
keys, you can move the white box, or cursor, around the game board until it
surrounds the grid square where you wish your new piece to be located. When
this is accomplished, press enter ( < ). The piece is placed on the playing
board (if it is a legal move), and the results are displayed.

The other method, grid-label or x-y coordinate, is often faster. You
simply type the letter-number combination printed in the grid-square where you
want the new piece to go, and it is placed there, and the results are displayed.


SAVING THE GAME FOR LATER


In order to save the game, press 'W' twice when it's your turn. A
"window", or box, appears on the screen. Type in a word (no spaces) which the
game will be stored under on disk. The disk light should flash for a moment,
and then game play will resume, the game having been stored.

SEEING WHAT GAMES HAVE BEEN SAVED


When it's your turn, you may type 'D' twice to see a 'directory' of the
games saved on the disk. A window appears on the screen. Type in the
pathname; this is the letter (A, B, C, etc.) of the disk drive where you have
saved games previously, followed by a colon (:), followed by the 'directory
path'. If you do not know what a directory path is, skip it.

A new window will appear containing the names of the games that are stored
at the location indicated by the pathname.


RESTORING A GAME YOU HAVE SAVED


Once you have saved a game to the disk, you can restore it (continue
playing it) by typing in the SAME player names as you did originally; when it
is your turn, type 'R' twice. A window will appear on the screen. Type the
name of the game you wish to continue. The saved playing board will appear,
and you can continue the game.


QUITTING THE CURRENT GAME


When you wish to stop playing a game, wait for your turn, then press 'Q'
twice. A message will appear; 'Aborting game....'. When it disappears, a
prompt will appear asking whether you wish to play again or not. It you type
'Y', the game will reset itself, and you can play again. Typing 'N' quits to
DOS or to your computer's menu system, if present. If you press 'I', you will
be presented with program information.


SETTING UP THE GAME BOARD


When it is your turn, typing 'S' twice will place you in 'edit' mode.
Move the cursor (box) around the playing board with the arrow (cursor) keys.
You may use the space bar to cycle through pieces (white, black, empty), or
press 'W' to enter a white piece, 'B' to enter a black piece, or 'E' to empty
the square. Leave edit mode by pressing 'Q' once.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM


This program was written in Turbo Pascal 5.0, and took a great deal of
time to complete, test, and debug. If you have any complaints, questions, or
errors to report, send them to:

JAKE ROSE
9240 KRISTIN LANE
FAIRFAX, VA 22032

I'd like to hear your suggestions for game improvements, too!


Version History


Version 1.00: First distributed version of HyperOthello

Version 1.01: Minor error on monochrome monitors corrected

Version 1.50: Disk services added and minor revisions to
sound and game control

Version 1.75: Optimizations performed on computer's playing algorithms;
playing speed and accuracy enhanced