The newest released version of the Same Game for
Windows
is
1.20, dated 7.28.2001.
The newest released version of the Same Game TCL/TK for Linux / Unix /
Windows / MacOS is
1.15, dated
2006.05.
See below for a status report on any new versions, including bug fixes
and new features.
Linux / Unix / Windows / MacOS versions:
1.15
Windows-only versions:
1.2
Version 1.15 TCL/TK for Linux / Unix / Windows
/ MacOS
|
(2006.05) This version is a minor update to the
previous version.
Improvements in this version:
- Added sound support via the Snack package. All systems with
Snack installed (part of the ActiveState installer package) should now
play sounds. Sounds are played from wav files, so custom sounds
can be used.
- Exiting the game by clicking the window Close box now saves
settings.
- Added Windows icon.
Errata and known bugs:
- Same issues as in version 1.10.
(7.28.2001) This released version includes major
improvements
to code.
Improvements in this version:
- Released as copyrighted Freeware.
- Added a background color selector to the Edit menu.
- Added the Zoom feature. When zoomed, the game board fills the
width of
the screen, and the game pieces are scaled to fit. This mode is much
easier
to play for long periods of time. Select zoom again to return the game
to normal size.
- Changed the Z key to zoom/dezoom the game board.
- Added the X key to do undos.
- Changed the Count window to a horizontal format, and moved it
above or
below the game board when zoomed.
- Added better error detection on load and save of game boards.
- Added save / restore of more game settings, including last high
score name.
- Mouse right button now deselects pieces. However, the middle and
right
buttons can still be used to double-click a group, so be careful.
- Mouse middle/wheel button now finds largest group of pieces.
- Search for a game board that has the number of pieces you want.
Double-click
a piece total in the Count window to bring up an input box. Type in the
number of a piece you want, and the game will search up to 100 game
boards
for one with at least that number of that type of piece.
- Added keyboard control of the default dialog box, using the first
letter
of each button as a hotkey, Enter to select the default button, and ESC
to cancel the dialog box.
- Change the dialog box default button font color to red in some
dialog boxes.
- Added the capability to load new piece graphics from disk. Visit
the Custom
Pieces instruction page for more information. This feature was
suggested
via email by a current Same Game player.
- Reorganized the menus to put Pieces, Sizes, and Difficulties on
their own
menu.
- Removed all pieces and left only cards as built-in pieces. All
other pieces
can be easily added to the game with folders, bitmaps and wav files.
- Added a new text field in the status bar to the right of your
game score,
that shows that maximum possible score you could earn with the current
game board. This feature was suggested by a player.
- Added Concentration Mode to the Modes menu. Concentration mode is
like
the Concentration card game: it hides all the pieces (instead showing
the
Same Game icon) and shows a group only when you click on it, or
automatically
show the group using One-Click mode.
- Reorganized the menu to add submenus for Demo and Concentration
Modes.
- You can now undo back out of a Replay Game command and continue
from where
you left off.
- Added the saving of undo moves in Demo Mode. Previously, you
could not
stop Demo Mode and use Undo to reverse the play.
- Changed the About box animation to start only after you click on
the large
graphic.
Bugs fixed:
- Removed Save as Picture feature to solve some crashing bugs
- Fixed Replay Previous Game when performed on the first game.
- Fixed Auto Demo Mode so that it now starts up properly and
detects when
a game is in progress.
- Fixed the About-Help window to correctly launch the web browser
to visit
the help page.
- Fixed an incompatibility between One-Click mode and keyboard
control of
the mouse cursor. Removed Auto-Find Largest Group feature to make this
change.
- Modified the game save format to be compatible with more versions
of my
Same Game (1.2 and up).
- Added better error detection and reporting during game saves and
loads.
- Fixed the red coloring on the high score table to show only the
newest
score in red.
- Fixed some potential crashes related to the display of modal
windows.
- Increased the number of undo levels to an essentially unlimited
amount
(actually 32,767, but this is two orders of magnitude more than any
game
would require). This had the added benefit of simpler undo code and
reduced
the executable file size.
Issues that still need more work:
-
Changing screen resolution while playing the game confuses the Zoom
feature.
Fix is to exit the program before changing the screen resolution.
-
Add window docking so windows stick together.
-
Optimize code further and do more code review.
This is a quick list of ideas I have for future
versions of the Same Game. I have listed them in the order I might
include them in a future version of the Same Game. If there is a change
or addition you would like to see in the next version, please
send me email.
- More extensive help text and strategy
tips, on web site
- Larger variety of pieces
- More attractive piece graphics
- 3D graphics using OpenGL
- Background graphic that lays underneath the pieces and is
revealed
as the game progresses
- Animations to show when pieces are removed
- Multiplayer (network) capability.
- Use of MS Agent for speech (Windows)