* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Bible Baseball for Windows version 2.1 - Read this file first! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Installation Instructions for Program Manager: - Place the following four (5) files into a new directory (like c:\winbb) or into an existing directory. Just as long as the 5 files are in the SAME directory. WINBB.EXE BIBLE.QUS BB0.WAV BB1.WAV BB2.WAV - Select the window in program manager into which you want to add WinBB - Pull down the FILE menu and select NEW - Select Program Item and click OK - In the Program Item Properties window select BROWSE - Manipulate the directory structure until you find the directory where you placed the 5 WinBB files - Select WINBB.EXE and click OK - Back in the Program Item Properties window type "Bible Baseball" (without the quotes) into the DESCRIPTION field and click OK - That's it! WinBB should now be installed in the current window Playing Instructions: - Pull down HELP menu inside Winbb for playing instructions. Machine Requirements: - Windows 3.1 - Arial, Times New Roman true type fonts - MS Sans Serif screen font - VBRUN300.dll visual basic run module - MMSYSTEM.dll (for sound) - supplied with Windows 3.1 in your Windows\System directory (unless you deleted it!) - Speaker.drv (for sound) or equivalent - without it you won't hear the crowd About the Author: This is my first attempt at creating a program for the PC to be distributed to the general public. But I am not exactly a novice to computers. I am an 18 year mainframe computer programmer. My wife wanted me to learn Visual Basic so that I could write some applications for her fifth grade classroom's PC. She teaches at Penn Christian Academy in Norristown, PA. If you have any comments, corrections, bug notifications (heaven forbid), or ideas for other useful educational programs, please just let me know. My address is listed in Bible Baseball's ABOUT box. Development Environment: This program was written in Visual Basic V3.0 Standard Edition on my home PC which is a 486SX-25 with 4 meg RAM. I'm running Windows 3.1 on top of MS-DOS 6.2 using the standard Microsoft memory manager(HIMEM/EMM386), disk cache (Smartdrv), and speaker driver (speaker.drv). It was also tested on a 486-33, a 386-33, and a 386SX-16. Some of the machines running 640x480 and some at 800x600. It ran successfully on all of the machines (it was a little slow on the 386SX). The only setup that seems to pose a problem is a screen resolution of 1024 X 768 (LARGE FONT). Under this resolution the bitmaps don't seem to fit the window (I'm working on it). Future Enhancements: - Maintaining high scores - Better animation (I'm trying everything!) - Selecting questions by books of the Bible - Computer players with different strengths - 1 out & 9 run options by team - ???? If you have any suggestions, please let me know! Version History: - v1.0 released 1/11/94 - v1.1 released 1/20/94 - Typos in question file fixed, sound menu bar option changed to avoid some confusion, some buttons changed to fit labels better. - v1.2 released 1/26/94 - New question file format implemented with a canonical number and all info on one line. Please note that the program will work with both the old and new question file formats! Also, a conversion program is available to convert the old question format to the new format. - v1.3 released 1/27/94 - Three new options added to program startup. First, option for allowing a maximum of 9 runs per half inning. Second, option for allowing only 1 out per half inning. Lastly, option to start game without sound. - v1.4 released 1/28/94 - Options to select only Old Testament or New Testament questions added. Also, option info in menu bar of game. - v1.5 released 2/14/94 - Team uniform colors change at the end of each half inning. Plus new closing screen. Added new button on opening screen to "quit" without entering game. - v1.6 released 2/25/94 - More animation. Players run on and off the field. Batter and on-deck hitter move accordingly. Added options to opening screen and to new "options" menu bar for turning animation, sound, 1 out limit, or 9 run limit on or off. Added opening "Play Ball" wav file. - v1.7 released 3/10/94 - New start-up screen buttons and message. Question screen warning message. Improvements made in center baseball field message area. - v2.0 released 04/05/94 - Save and restart options added. Game now full-screen compatible to 800x600. Some behind-the-scenes coding and bitmap enhancements. Handling of quotation marks in question add screen. - v2.1 released 05/11/94 - Internal improvements. Fixed bug with overlap of shortcut keys on options menu bar. Questions: - This game contains 4 classifications of questions. They are SINGLE, DOUBLE, TRIPLE, and HOME RUN. - The SINGLE questions are the easiest and the HOME RUN questions are the hardest. - This version of WinBB contains 100 questions (40 SINGLE, 20 DOUBLE, 20 TRIPLE, and 20 HOME RUN). - Questions are taken from several different transalations. - More questions are available for a small fee. - Instructions for entering your own questions are also available. - The question file (BIBLE.QUS) format was altered in version 1.2 to put all fields on 1 line so that it can more easily be imported into a spreadsheet or other apilcation. Plus a new field was added as the first field. It is canonical number (sequence number of books in Bible). Note: The game will still work with the old format, but the Old/New Testament selection will not identify the old format questions. NOTE: If you have created questions from a version of Bible Baseball prior to version 1.2 (that is, in the old format) and would like them converted to the new format, please notify me either by E-mail (AOL-id=RLB777) or by US Mail. I will provide to you (for free) a convert program that will convert your questions into the new format. Remember, the old format will still work with the current version. Just the Old/New Testament option won't work. Standard Copyright and Disclaimer Stuff: - You may copy and give this game to anyone you wish as long as the 5 main files and this README.TXT file are kept intact. - This program is free of charge but the author still maintains all copyrights. - This program is provided to you on an "as is" basis. The author assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages incurred from the use of this program (but what could go wrong?!?). - Windows and Visual Basic are excellent products and are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Enjoy the game and try to absorb some of the wisdom from the greatest book ever written! By the way, did you know that baseball is referenced in the Bible? Yes, in Gen 1:1 it says that in the big inning God created the heaven and the earth.