Formula PC
(C)2000-2001 ONYX (JBoen) onyx@flash.net
http://home.flash.net/~onyx/Formula_PC/Formula_PC.htm

Basic Help (Updated 2.22.2001)

1 - Introduction

2 - Playing the game

3 - Navigating the screen




1 - Introduction

	For the best information on Formula PC (until I get some HTML help written) you
should crack open the board game "Formula De". Formula PC based 100% on this game and
in the end should follow its structure and rules.

	A simple rundown of the game is this:
Just like any turn-based RPG, players take turns rolling dice and moving their characters
(cars in this case) from place to place. Depending on circumstances, special rolls are 
often necessary to determine the outcome of situations.
	In Formula PC you roll to see how far (fast) you're moving and try to follow the
rules of the track by not speeding through corners too quickly. If you do, you risk damage
to your vehicle and when your vehicle's wear points (just like hit points) are used up,
you're out of the race.

	Again, for a comprehensive set of rules, grab Formula De, or visit:
www.formula-de.com for information and links to other resources about the game.



2 - Playing the Game

	To play Formula PC you simply start the program and then from the "Game" menu
choose whether you want to start a new game or load a saved game file. 
	If you're starting a new game, you get to pick your teams and drivers. If you 
want to create your own teams and driver names, it's easy; Just hit the "Edit" button on
the "New Game" dialog and enter your team information. You can even display pictures of
your team logo and drivers using any 32w x 25h bitmap (256 colors recommended).
	Once you've selected your drivers, gameplay begins. Formula PC can either roll
to see where everyone ended up on the starting grid, or each player can roll for him/her
self.
	Players then take turns shifting into different gears, rolling to see how far they
move, stopping appropriately in the corners, and rolling for possible consequences when the
game tells them to. Most of the gameplay is automated and remembering what happened is all
taken care of by the computer. All you have to do is follow the instructions that come up
in the gamelog and you will be guided through the race.

	A key reason for creating Formula PC was so that a friend and I could email saved
games back and forth and play long distance. This works! All you have to do is make your
move, save the game file, email it to a friend and have him do the same. Eventually there
will be utils in the game to do this for you, but for now you must take care of things 
manually.



3 - Navigating the screen

Keyboard Shortcuts - 

	Gameplay -
		[Space] - Rolls the die
		u - Shift up one gear
		d - Shift down one gear
		Arrow Up - Move forward (during movement phase)
		Arrow Left - Move one lane left (during movement phase)
		Arrow Right - Move one lane right (during movement phase)
		Enter - Accept the current move (during movement phase)
		ESC - Reset the current move (during movement phase)
		b - Use a brake point (during movement phase)
	
	Screen Navigation -
		+ - Zoom in
		- - Zoom out
		8 (Numpad Up) - Pan view up
		2 (Numpad Down) - Pan view down
		4 (Numpad Left) - Pan view left
		6 (Numpad Right) - Pan view right
		5 (Numpad Center) - Center the view
		7 (Numpad Home) - Center the current car
	
		g - Show the Game Log
		c - Show Current Standings
		s - Show the Starting Grid


The Toolbar Icons - 

New Game - Starts a new game.
Load Game - Loads and existing game from disk.
Save Game - Save the current game. *Note: If the game being played has been previously saved
	to disk then this action will replace the file. It does not prompt you to enter a
	filename. If you want to save the file under a new name, choose the "Save Game As"
	action under the "Game" menu.

Show Rules - Shows the rules dialog, displaying what rules and settings were selected during
	the creation of the current game.

Track Info - Shows information about the track (Name, Version, Date, Lane Lengths, etc). This
	action can also be performed by choosing "Track Info" under the "Game" menu.

Refresh View - At times the view area may need to be refreshed manually. This action will
	redraw the track view.
Center View - Centers the view about the center of the track.
Center Car - Centers the view about the currently-selected car/driver.
Hide Cars - This action prevents cars from being drawn on the track. It is an on/off button 
	and is useful when you need to see the symbols on track spaces.

Select Mode - Clicking the arrow icon on the toolbar puts you into Select Mode. In this mode
	you can click on drivers to show their driver card, click on corners to display the
	corner properties (Name, Required Stops, Longest and Shortest Path) and you can click
	on spaces during your move phase to guide your car along the track.
Zoom Mode - Clicking the magnifying glass icon (plain) will put you in Zoom Mode. You can still
	use the cursor to select drivers, corners and move, but you can also click and drag up
	or down to zoom the view in and out.
Translate (Pan) Mode - Clicking the magnifying glass with arrows icon will put you in Translate
	(Pan) Mode. In this mode you can select drivers, corners and move your car, but clicking
	and dragging will pan the view so you can see any part of the track you like. This is
	the same function performed by the scroll bars, but you may want to turn the scroll bars
	off to see more of the track.

Driver Comment - Prompts you to add a comment to the log at the current log location. This is
	useful for putting in a message during email games.

Send Game - (Only available in E-Mail games) Send the game to the next player in an E-Mail game.
Check E-Mail - Check the MAPI Inbox (of your E-Mail application) to see if a game has been
	received from another player.

Options - Brings up the Options Dialog.


The Options Dialog Box

View Options - 

	Show Die Animation - Shows the numbers "rolling" when you click the big die.
	Auto-Center Current Car - Automatically centers the current car in the view. When a player's turn starts
		or when you click on a player's car in the Current Standings, the car will be centered.
	Auto-Scroll During Moves - If your move takes your car close to the edge of the view, the window
		will automatically scroll for you.
	Show Die Icons On Lane - When a player is preparing to select a gear, this option will draw small
		icons on the lane spaces, showing where the minimum and maximum roll for each gear would land.
		This is useful for choosing the gear you wish to be in so that you land in the corners as you wish.
	Blinking Current Car - The space beneath the current car will blink, making it easier to distinguish on
		the track.
	Draw "Next" Spaces - During a player's move phase, spaces that are valid next moves will be shaded
		in blue. Clicking on these blue spaces will move your car to that location.
	Draw "Final" Space - During a player's move phase, the last possible space (on the current lane)
		that the car can travel will be shaded in green. Clicking on this space will move your car
		to that location (unless other cars are blocking the way). This is helpful since it keeps
		you from clicking each space to get to the end of your roll.
	Flash On Wear Use - Whenever a player uses a wear point, the screen will quickly flash red 1 time.
	Flash On Car Retirement - Whenever a car retires from the race, the screen will quickly flash red
		3 times.
	Show Scroll Bars - Turns the scroll bars on and off for the track view. If you prefer to drag the view
		around using the Translate View mode, this turning off the scroll bars will give you a bit
		more view space.
	Track Detail - Turns track "joining" on and off. Later there will be polygons surrounding the track,
		drawing land, concrete, water, etc. Differing detail levels will turn the display of these
		polys on/off.

Game Options -

	Prompt for Driver Comments - At the end of each player's turn, the game will prompt for a comment to be added
		to the Game Log. This is helpful if you want to leave a comment in an email game, but want
		it inserted before gameplay moves on the next player. 
	Use Metric Distances - Displays all distance and speed information in Kilometers and Kmh. Currently this
		only applies to the speed and average speed stats in the Current Standings window, but as
		other stats are added it will apply.
	Auto-Roll Damage for Other Players - Damage rolls for collisions, engines, etc. are automatically rolled
		for players other than the current one. This is very helpful during E-Mail games since it keeps
		the game from being sent back and forth for just a single d20 roll.
	Auto-Save at the start of each Round - The game is saved at the start of each round (to help avoid lost game
		data). If the game has already been saved, it will be written over, if not then your game will be
		saved in the \Games directory with the name "Autosave.tmp". This file can be loaded just like any
		regular game file.

E-Mail Options -

	Enable E-Mail Gaming - The game checks for MAPI capability on startup. If you know your system isn't
		MAPI-enabled, or if you know that you won't use this feature then you can disable this feature so that
		checks are bypassed.
	Show Message Before Sending - When sending an E-Mail, the GUI of your local MAPI E-Mail composer is
		shown before the game is sent. This allows you to add comments to the message text.
	Auto-Mail to Next Player - When the game control passes to another player, the game will automatically
		E-Mail itself to the appropriate person.
	Auto-Check for E-Mail - Set an interval (in minutes) to check the MAPI Inbox of your E-Mail application
		to see if a game has been received.

Game Log Options - 

	Allows you to specify what types of information you want displayed in the game log.

Current Standings Options - 

	Allows you to specify what types of information you want displayed on the current standings.


*Here are a few tips of which you might not be aware:

- If you don't want to wait for the game to proceed after rolling a die, simply click the 
	die again and the game will move on.
- Clicking on a driver's car on the track will bring up his/her driver card so you can see
	how he/she is doing in terms of wear on his/her car.
- Clicking on a driver's name or position in the Starting Grid or Current Standings
	windows will do the same as above.
- If a driver has stops remaining for the corner he is currently in, stop sign icons will 
	appear in the center of the driver card. One for each stop remaining, this way you
	don't have to scroll back through the log to see if you made all the required stops.
- When you are moving your car, clicking anywhere between your current location and the 
	"final" space (shaded in green if you have the option turned on) will move your
	car to that space. This way you don't have click every space of your move, only 
	when you want to change lanes.
- To see the possible ranges of the different dice (or gears), hover your mouse above the
	small die icon above the driver's picture. A tooltip will come up showing you the
	possible range for that die (gear).
- The small gear icons on the lane (if you have the option to show them turned on) show
	the minimumm and maximum distances you can travel when rolling that die. The small
	icon is for the minimum possible roll in that particular gear and the large icon
	shows the maximum. Use these to help guide you as to what gear to be in so that you
	stop in the turns correctly.
- The gamelog has icons next to each entry. These denote the type of action each step is
	regarding. This can be helpful when searching back to see exactly what happened
	in an earlier round.
- The Current Standings show you the current order of the cars on the track, the gap between
	them (in spaces) and other interesting information, such as current speed, avg speed
	and the length (in spaces) of each car's current lap. Since the length of your lap
	often determines who is in the lead, you can gauge how nice of a "line" someone is
	driving by how far into the lap they have moved in relation to their lap length.
- To view a "ghost" of any (or all) car's lap, click on the car's lap length in the
	Current Standings window. This will temporarily show you step by step the path a
	car has taken. You can then see very clearly who is apexing the corners like a pro!
- When making a move, you can simply right-click on the track area when you're ready to 
	"Accept" it, rather than clicking the "Accept" button on the small "Move" window.
- Double-Clicking anywhere on the track area will center it on the screen

	
More to follow!