RE: online Games Monopoly
- From: "Lisle, Ted (CHFS DMS)" <Ted.Lisle@xxxxxx>
- To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:41:11 -0400
Man alive, if you could play this against another player in the room, or
against the machine, I'd be downloading it right now! I spent scores,
if not hundreds, of hours with the board game back in my adolescence,
but, with dial up it's just not happening. Nonetheless, it's a really
cool idea.
Ted
From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Rob
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 1:42 PM
To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: online Games Monopoly
http://www.x-sight-interactive.net/rsgames/Monopoly.php?view=2
Monopoly: A ZanoSoft and Rs Games Production
Updated January 19, 2010
Version 1.1
1. Introduction
Thanks for downloading Monopoly, an accessible version of the classic
board game Monopoly developed by RSGames and ZanoSoft. This document
will give you an introduction to the game itself,
as well as introduce you to the features specific to this accessible
version.
Monopoly is server based, meaning you must have an internet connection
in order to play. Once connected, you can play against your friends, or
computer
players called bots.
1.1. System Requirements
Monopoly requires the following:
* A windows PC with an Internet connection. Windows XP, Windows Vista,
and Windows 7 are known to work well with the game.
* Speakers or headphones
* A screen reader, JAWS, Window Eyes, or System Access. Alternatively,
the Microsoft Sapi 5 speech engine can be used.
* The .Net Framework version 3.5. If you do not have this, you can
download it from the Microsoft website at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=333325FD-AE52-4
E35-B531-508D977D32A6&displaylang=en
* The latest version of DirectX 9.0C. If you do not have this, you can
download it from the Microsoft website at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2DA43D38-DB71-4
C1B-BC6A-9B6652CD92A3&displaylang=en. Note that updates to DirectX were
released during 2009, so if the game does not run, please redownload
directX.
1.2. License Agreement
RSGames Monopoly is freeware. You may freely distribute it to anyone so
long as it is kept, unmodified and untampered with, in the original
setup package
released by Zanosoft and Rs Games. By downloading this software, you
agree not to reverse engineer or obtain illegal access to the source
code of this game.
2. Monopoly Rules
The object of Monopoly is to own as many properties on the board as
possible, thereby bankrupting your opponents. The game is turn based, so
you can only
perform in game actions when it is your turn. Your turn begins by
rolling two dice to determine the number of spaces you will move around
the square Monopoly
board. At the beginning of the game, you start on Go, which is one of
the corner spaces of the board. Whenever you pass or land on this space
you collect
$200. Initially, you start off with $1500. There are a number of types
of spaces you can land on.
Properties
If you land on a property, a number of things can happen. If the
property is not owned by anyone, as is the case for all properties at
the beginning of
the game, you may buy it from the bank at a certain price. Moving around
the board from Go, properties become progressively more expensive. If
the property
is owned by another player, you must pay them rent. Rent is based on the
value of the property, as well as the houses or hotels on the property
(explained
later). If you own the property, nothing happens.
Chance and Community Chest
You can also land on Chance or Community Chest spaces. A number of these
spaces are spread throughout the board. Landing on one results in you
drawing
a Chance or Community chest card. These cards will tell you to do
something, for example, collect money or pay money to other players,
move a certain number
of spaces, or move to a certain property.
Jail
If you land on the Jail space, you are considered to be just visiting.
However, if you land on the Go to Jail space or draw a "Go to Jail"
card, you go
directly to Jail, without passing Go. When it is once again your turn,
you can either pay the $50 fine to get out of jail, use a "Get Out of
Jail Free"
card if you have one, or try to roll doubles. If you use 3 turns without
rolling doubles, you will be forced to pay the $50 fine.
Mortgaging and Unmortgaging Properties
Should you ever need to generate a little extra cash, you can mortgage
any property you own to the bank, in exchange for half its value. While
mortgaged,
you still own the property, and nobody can take it from you. However,
you may not collect rent from others landing on your mortgaged
properties. Furthermore,
if you mortgage a property, none of the properties in that color group
may have any houses or hotels, and none may be built on any of those
properties
until all of them are unmortgaged. When you want to unmortgage a
property, you pay the mortgage value of the property back to the bank,
plus 10% interest.
Monopolies
The properties on the board are divided up into color groups. If you own
all the properties in a particular color group, you are said to own a
monopoly
in that color group. Any time you own a monopoly, the rent you collect
from others landing on those properties is doubled. You may also build
houses and/or
hotels on a property once you own a monopoly.
Houses and Hotels
Once you own a monopoly in a color group, you can buy houses or hotels
to put on those properties. Each property can have up to four houses, or
one hotel.
A hotel costs the same as five houses. The more houses or hotels you
have on a property, the more rent you will collect from others landing
on that property.
You must build evenly. For instance, if you have two houses on one
property in a group, you may not put any more houses on that property
until the other
properties also have two houses. You may sell houses off a property at
any time, for example, when you need to generate some cash to get out of
debt. However,
you will only receive half what you paid for them.
Building Shortages
There are only thirty-two houses and twelve hotels available in the
game. When there are no more houses/hotels available, or when the number
is lower than
what a player wants, this is called a building shortage. During a
building shortage, no, or very few, houses/hotels may be purchased until
some houses/hotels
become available, either by a player selling them, or going bankrupt.
Going into Debt
Quite simply, you can not go into debt. Any time you must pay more cash
than you have at the moment, you must generate the needed cash by either
mortgaging
properties, selling houses or hotels, or trading with someone else. If
you still cannot generate the needed cash, you are considered to be
bankrupt, and
out of the game. In this case, everything you have of value is turned
over to the creditor (the person you are required to pay). If you are
required to
pay taxes, fines, or some other payment not related to any other player,
you turn over everything you have to the bank. In either case, all the
houses
and hotels on all your properties are turned back over to the bank.
Trading
You may initiate a trade with any other player in the game. You may
trade properties or "Get Out of Jail Free" cards, and you may offer, or
ask for, cash
in the deal. No houses or hotels may be traded. If you want to trade, or
receive, a property that has houses or hotels on it, those houses or
hotels must
be sold back to the bank first. Properties and "Get Out of Jail Free"
cards may be traded at any price agreeable to both parties.
Official Rules
This is just a summary of the rules of the game, enough to get you
started. A copy of the official rules of Monopoly, in PDF form, may be
downloaded here:
http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/monins.pdf -
Note that the official rules assume a game with a physical board, and
all players physically located in the same room. There are also a few
differences
between the official rules and this version. For example, in the
official rules, any time a player decides not to buy a property, that
property is immediately
put up for auction and sold to the highest bidder. In this multi-player
networked computer version, this auction does not occur. Also, in the
official
rules, any time someone lands on your property, you must ask the other
player for rent before the second player following rolls the dice,
otherwise, you
are not entitled to receive the rent. In this version, all rents are
automatically paid.
3. Starting The Program
To start Monopoly, start the program from Start menu/Programs menu or
the desktop shortcut as with any other standard windows application. You
can leave
your screen reader active to have speech spoken through it, or you can
use Sapi if you prefer. Monopoly supports JAWS and Window Eyes.
When the game starts, it will attempt to automatically detect which
screen reader you are using, and if a screen reader is not running, Sapi
will be used
by default. However, if the screen reader you want to use is not
detected, or if you want to use Sapi while running a screen reader, you
can press F7 at
any time to switch screen readers.
Once the program loads, it will attempt to connect to the Monopoly
Server. You must have an Internet connection in order to play as
mentioned before. Upon
successful connection, you will be presented with a menu with two
options. You can use the up and down arrow keys to move through the
available options,
which are Login to an existing account, and Create a new account. If
this is your first time playing, you will need to create a new account.
When you select
this option, you will be asked to enter a username. This can be anything
you like. Once you type it in and press enter, you will be asked to type
in your
email address. You must enter a valid email address as a password will
be sent to it. This is to prevent spammers from repeatedly creating
accounts. After entering
this information, check your email, and you should receive a message
containing your password. If you don't receive an email, send an email
to rsgames@xxxxxxxxx with the username you chose.
After you've created your account, or if you are a returning player,
choose the login option and enter your username and password. The
password you receive
in the email is randomly generated, and you can change it once you are
logged in by pressing F8.
4. The Main menu.
Once you are logged in successfully, you are presented with the Main
Menu, where you can either choose an option with the up and down arrow
keys and the
enter key or wait for a notification that someone has created a game.
The Main Menu has three options:
4.1. New Game
This option will start a new game, after which you can wait for players
to join. While waiting, you can press B to add a bot or R to remove a
bot. When
you are ready to begin playing, press Enter.
4.2. Join Game
Selecting this option will present you with a menu of available games,
if there are any. You can arrow through the games and press enter to
join one.
4.3. List Games.
This option simply speaks a list of active games which you can join, and
the players in each game.
5. Starting The Game
If you choose to start a new game, you can press enter to start it as
mentioned above. Otherwise, the game master will have to start the game.
Once this
is done, the dice will be rolled, and the player who rolls the highest
number will go first. Each player will then be asked to choose a token.
This prompt,
along with most other prompts in the game, is presented in a menu. Use
the arrow keys to move through the choices and enter to select one.
5.1. Your Turn
When it is your turn, you are presented with a menu:
Roll Dice: Rolls the dice and proceeds with your turn.
Manage Assets: Presents you with a menu of your assets. You can press
Enter on any one of them to buy/sell houses and mortgage/unmortgage the
property.
View Assets of Other Players: Allows you to select a player and hear a
summary of his or her assets.
Trade: Allows you to make a trade with another player. You are first
asked to select the player to trade with. Then, you can select the
properties you
would like to give to the player in the trade. You can select each
property in the menu, and select done when finished. If you do not want
to give any
properties in the trade, select done without choosing any properties.
Next, enter the amount of money you would like to give in the trade, or
hit enter
for no money at all. The process then repeats itself, except you select
properties and enter an amount of money you would like the other player
to give
you. Once you finalize the deal, it is read to the player, and he or she
can choose to accept or deny it.
Leave Game: Allows you to leave your current game.
If you are in jail, you can either roll the dice and attempt to role
doubles, press j to use your get out of jail free card, if you have one,
or press p to pay the $50 fine. If you roll three turns and fail to roll
doubles, you will automatically pay the $50 fine.
The game is entirely menu based. This includes selection of properties
and other options, as well as Yes or No prompts. Use the up and down
arrow keys
to move through the options. The escape key automatically chooses the
last option in the menu, which in most cases will return you to the
previous menu.
In a Yes or No prompt, the escape key chooses No.
5.2. Chat
While playing, you can chat with other players in the game by pressing
F2. Type in a message and it will be sent to all players in your current
game. Also,
the players will be notified when you are typing a message, and vice
versa.
If you type #who as your message, you will receive a list of players
currently connected to the server.
You can also chat while in the main menu. In that case, your messages
will be sent to other players who are waiting for a game.
5.3. The History Buffer
The history buffer stores all messages from the game so they can be
reviewed later. The following keys can be used to navigate the buffer:
Page Up or A: Move up one entry in the buffer.
Page Down or Z: Move down one entry in the buffer.
Home: Move to the top of the buffer.
End: Move to the bottom of the buffer.
5.4. Game Information
There are several ways to get information on your current game. To hear
who's turn it is, press T. For a list of players and bots in the game,
press Tab.
In the menu accessible when it is your turn, there is an option called
"View Assets of Other Players", which allows you to view information on
properties owned by yourself or other players. This feature can also be
accessed when it is not your turn, by pressing the V key.
5.5. Chat with an Administrator
If you have any questions while playing the game, or would like to
report a bug, press F1, and type a message to the administrators in the
text box that appears. An administrator will get back to you if one is
online. The message will only be sent to online administrators, so
please use this feature for urgent issues only.
6. Game Keys
The following keys can be used during game play:
C: Tells you how much cash you have.
P: Used to pay the $50 fine to get out of jail.
J: Allows you to use your get out of jail free card, if you have one.
T: Tells you who's turn it is:F2: Chat a message to the other players.
V: View assets when it is not your turn.
R: Speaks each player, his or her token, and his or her location on the
board.
Tab: Speaks information about the current game, such as the players,
bots, and who the game master is.
F3: Lower volume of background music.
F4: Raise volume of background music.
F5: Lower volume of sound effects.
F6: Raise volume of sound effects.
F7: Switch screen reader.
F8: Change password.
Q: Leave game.
F1: Chat with an administrator. Use this if you have a question or
problem, and an administrator will help you if one is online.
W: Get a list of who is currently online on the server. This command
works in the main menu as well.
When using Sapi:
Control+F2: Change Sapi voice.
Control+F3: Decrease speech rate.
Control+F4: Increase speech rate.
S: Stop Sapi speech.
7. Credits:
RSGames Monopoly was programmed by Michael Forzano, Ryan Smith, and
Jayson Smith.
Some sounds and music were downloaded from www.findsounds.com and
www.freeplaymusic.com,.
Thanks to the beta Testers for testing the game, helping to fix bugs and
ensure the game worked properly. The beta testers were Derek Roberts,
Peter Mahacz, Brett Boyer, Harrison Tu, Shaun Everiss, Sean Randall,
Shane Davidson, Liam Erven, Philip Bennefall, Oriol Gomez, and Andy
Smith.
A big thanks goes out to all the players who have reported bugs and made
suggestions since the initial release.
8. Technical Support and Contact Information
For any game related questions, please email RSGames at
rsgames@xxxxxxxxxx
This game is Copyright 2009-2010 by ZanoSoft and RSGames.
9. Change Log
Version 1.1:
Fixed the game to be a lot less of a processor hog. This should fix
reported problems of a long delay between pressing an arrow key and
hearing speech.
Added System Access Support. This includes support for the free System
Access to Go screen reader found at www.satogo.com.
Switch to a standard DLL for the JFWAPI, this should fix any problems
with JAWS not being autodetected.
Fixed the game to be a lot less of a processor hog.
Added the ability to view assets when it is not your tur, by pressing
Vn.
Added the R key which will read out each player, his or her token and
his or her location on the board.
Switched the chat with admins keystroke from A to F1, to avoid the key
conflict with A being used to move up in the history buffer.
Switched the game info key, previously F1, to Tab.
Added the ability to change the rate of speech when using Sapi. Use
Control+F3 to decrease the speech rate and Control+F4 to increase it.
Added Control+F2 to change the Sapi voice. This keystroke will step
through the available Sapi voices on your system.
Added the S key to stop Sapi speech.
You can now change your password while in the main menu as well as while
in a game, using the F8 key.
Version 1.0.1:
The game should now work on 64Bit systems.
Hopefully fixed some JFWAPI errors. If the game uses Sapi even though
you have a screen reader loaded, the API did not load properly.
Fixed autodetection of Window Eyes.
The manage assets menu will now tell you the cost of a house if you can
buy houses on the property.
Re-added A and Z as alternate keys to move up and down the history
buffer, respectively.
The volume keystrokes for sound effects, F5 and F6, should now adjust
the volume of all sound effects including tokens and dice rolls.
Added F1 key to give you information on the current game.
Added G key to set your gender.
Added w key to get a listing of who's currently connected to the server.
Added A key to chat with admins.
Game announcements are now stored in the history buffer.
The history buffer keys now work in the main menu as well as in games.
Fixed various server errors.
Version 1.0: First release.
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