Solitaire Mania Pro for Treo 600

Version 1.07  June 15, 2004              www.pdart.com

1. Introduction

Solitaire Mania Pro (SMPro) is the largest collection of solitaire games for PalmOS. With more than 320 games, superb graphics and animation, high quality sounds effects, and many configuration options, SMPro is the best solitaire collection for PalmOS.

2. System Requirements

palmOne Treo 600 with 880 kb free RAM

3. Installation

Overview

Because SMPro provides many graphical niceties and hundreds of solitaire games, it is a large program. To ease its memory configuration so it will fit the demands of your device, SMPro is comprised of five files: two required, three optional. This arrangement gives you the most flexibility in whether and where to install the files. For example, you can put everything into your device's RAM, put some in an external memory card, or even omit some.

Instructions

1. Install the SMP30Gam.pdb file to your device's main memory. You cannot install it to an external memory card.

2. Install the SMPro_CL.prc file. You may install it to your device's main memory or an external memory card.

3. If you want game instructions on your device, install SMP30Hlp.pdb to your device's main memory. You cannot install it to an external memory card.

4. If you want pictures in the background, under the cards, install Backgr_CL.pdb to your device's main memory or an external memory card.*

You can download additional backgrounds from http://www.pdart.com.

5. If you want pictures on the backs of the cards, install CBPro_CL.pdb to your device's main memory or an external memory card*.

SMPro makes it easy for you to manage the backgrounds. After starting SMPro, select Game Preferences from the Preferences menu. Select the Backgrounds page and click "Move Pictures to Memory Card." SMPro will create the /Palm/Programs/SMPro/ on the memory card, and it will put all background images there. This allows you to download a variety of backgrounds which don't consume main memory or occupy the same folder as other files on the memory card.

*Copy the file to the /Palm/Programs/SMPro/ directory on the memory card. It must be in that directory in order for SMPro to see it.

4. Purchase Information

This game can be purchased at www.palmgear.com

 

5. Unlocking SMPro After Purchase

Once you purchase SMPro, you'll be sent a registration code. Start SMPro, enter the registration code into the "Unlock Code" field on the main screen and tap "Unlock".

6. Using SMPro

SMPro's main screen shows a list of the available games. Each listed game includes an information button on the right (the circle-i button). When you tap and hold the information button for a game, SMPro shows a miniature version of the game's layout plus some statistics such as game type, skill required, difficulty of winning, etc. Once you find the game you'd like to play, tap the Play button on the lower left side of the screen.

6.1 Filtering

As the large list of games supported by SMPro can make choosing the game you want, SMPro allows you to filter the games list according to many criteria. That can help you make the list more manageable to help in selecting the game you want to play.

To filter the games list, tap the Filters tab on the main screen. A number of filter categories appear on the right. Select one to filter according to that category.

6.1.1 Mutually Exclusive Filters

These filters allow you to make only one from among many choices.

6.1.1.1 General Filter

Tap the General button to set one of the following filters:

All of these filter in addition to other filters you may have set except for "All Games." That option disables all filters.

6.1.1.2 Game Categories Filter

Tap the Game Categories button to choose one of the types of games you'd like to play. The choices available are: Canfield, Forty Thieves, Freecell, Klondike, Pairing, Pyramid, Spider, and Yukon.

6.1.2 Multiple Selection Filters

These filters allow you to select one or more choices at a time. At the bottom of each multiple selection filter screen you'll find a Select All button and a Clear All button. The former selects all options, whereas the latter clears them all. This can make it easier to select just the options you want.

6.1.2.1 Skill Level Filter

Tap the Skill Level button to choose the acceptable skill level(s) for the game(s) you'd like to play. You can choose any or all of the following options:

6.1.2.2 Odds of Winning

Tap the Odds of Winning button to choose the acceptable skill level(s) for the game(s) you'd like to play. You can choose any or all of the following options: Extremely Easy, Very Easy, Easy, Even Win Loss, Hard, Very Hard, Extremely Hard.

6.1.2.3 Completion Time

Tap the Completion Time button to choose the acceptable game duration(s) for the game(s) you'd like to play. You can choose any or all of the following durations: two, three, five, 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes. The times are, of course, typical and only meant to give you an idea of the relative amount of time it takes to complete a game. It might take you more or less time than indicated. It is likely to take you longer when first learning a game, and less time after you've mastered it.

6.1.2.4 Deck Amount

Tap the Deck Amount button to choose how many decks of cards you'd like to allow for the game(s) you'd like to play. You can choose one, two, or three decks, or any combination thereof.

6.2 Favorites

After using SMPro for a while, you may find that some games become favorites to which you return repeatedly. When a game becomes a favorite, select it in the games list and tap the Add to Fav. button. Then you can filter on your favorites (see 7.1.1.1) and you can view a list of all of your favorites by tapping the Favorites tab on the main screen.

6.3 Hiding Games

After using SMPro for a while, you may also find that there are some games you never want to play again. When that happens, select the game in the games list and tap the Hide button. You can see which games you've hidden by tapping the Hidden tab on the main screen.

(You could also use this feature to create a second list of favorites if you don't care to hide any games.)

6.4 Controlling the Randomness of Your Games

SMPro allows you to control the randomness of your games. If you'd like to repeat a game at a later time, simply note the Seed value shown on the main screen and reenter that value later. If you'd like to try every possible variation of a particular game, check the Sequence box. SMPro will increment the seed each time you play a game.

Technical Details:

SMPro uses a pseudo random number generator to shuffle the cards. A truly random number generator never shows any pattern to the numbers it generates. Generating a truly random sequence of numbers on a computer is not possible. Some random number generators are more random than others. SMPro uses a random number generator which balances randomness against performance -- after all, you don't want to wait all day for SMPro to deal the cards, right? -- and ease of programming. To generate the random sequence of numbers, the random number generator starts with a "seed" number which is used in the calculation of the sequence. If you feed it the same seed repeatedly, the random number generator will yield the same sequence of numbers. That means SMPro will deal the cards exactly the same as the last time it used that seed value with a given game. Each time you ask SMPro to deal a new game, without changing the seed value, SMPro continues to use the random number generator from where it left off. If you return to the games list and tap Play again, without changing the seed value, you'll play the same game as before. To change the deal in that case, you need to use a different seed value.

6.5 Preferences

SMPro allows you to configure a number of options controlling how it behaves and draws the playing surface and cards. To set the preferences, you must start playing a game and then open the Preferences menu.

The Preferences menu provides several choices: Game Preferences, Change Background, Change Cards Back, Show/Hide Menu Bar, and Change Menu Bar Position.

6.5.1 Game Preferences

You can see the Game Preferences by tapping the Preferences icon in the tool bar or by selecting Game Preferences from the Preferences menu.

6.5.1.1 Preferences - General

Load Autosave on Game Start - When active, it automatically loads the last autosave upon the starting of the game. If not active, the list of the games is displayed upon starting of the game. Movement Animation – Enables or disables the animated card movement. Auto-Jump to Foundations – When active, the cards are automatically placed in Foundation cells. Single tap action – Enables or disables the movement of a card or a group of cards through a single tap.

6.5.1.2 Preferences - PDB Backgrounds

Random Background - If you would like the backgrounds to change at random, activate one or more of these choice ticks. Background Color - To activate the Background color, unmark the Background Picture tick below. Tap the colored button to change the active background color. Background Picture - To activate the Background pictures, mark the Background Picture tick. Move Pictures to Memory Card – Tap this button if you wish to move the background picture database files to a memory card. You device should have an expansion slot, a memory card installed with sufficient free space and the database files should be installed in the memory of the device.

6.5.1.3 Preferences - JPEG Backgrounds

Search in All Directories: Searches all directories on the card. If there are too many files and directories available, the search could take more time. Search in this Directory: Searches only the directory indicated in the text box. Search in the Default Directory: Searches only the directory by inference in your memory card. When you install JPEG files, the latter are automatically installed in this directory.

6.5.1.4. Preferences - Cards Back

Random Cards Back - If you would like the cards back to change at random, activate one or more of these choice ticks. Move Pictures to Memory Card – Tap this button if you wish to move the cards back picture database files to a memory card. You device should have an expansion slot, a memory card installed with sufficient free space and the database files should be installed in the memory of the device.

6.6. Save/Load Game

You have 6 slots to save games. The top one is allocated for the autosave upon exiting the game and you can only load a game therefrom. To save your current game select the Save/Load Game option, chose one of the lower five slots, type the name of the game in the text field and tap the Save button. To load a game already saved, select the slot with the game you wish to load and tap the Load button. You cannot load a game from an empty slot.

7. Contact Us

To report a bug or make a suggestion, you can contact us at support@pdart.com. Please check our website www.pdart.com for new products and updates.

8. Disclaimer

This program is provided without any warranty and the user accepts full responsibility for any damages, consequential or otherwise, resulting from its use. Backup important data before using this software.



Palm Pilot and Palm are registered trademarks of Palm Computing. All other trademarks in the document belong to their registered owners.