Formula PC Version .9.75 beta     4.2.2001
(C)2000-2001 ONYX (JBoen) onyx@flash.net
http://home.flash.net/~onyx/Formula_PC/Formula_PC.htm

Introduction:
Formula PC is the unofficial PC version of EuroGames' board game "Formula De".
If you are familiar with Formula De then the majority of Formula PC will be easy
for you.
If you aren't familiar with Formula De then you should be! Open your browser and
hit http://www.formula-de.com right now!

Install:
Simply run the setup.exe included with this .zip file. The setup is standard and
you can install Formula PC anywhere you wish.

Once the install is completed you will have a directory structure under the main
Formula PC directory. This consists of:
\Classes
\Games
\Teams
\Tracks
The Classes directory is where race class type files (.cls) are stored. These
class files determine the structure of the car (wear points), dice ranges, etc.
In the future we'll be able to create new racing classes so we can have touring
cars, F3000, etc.
The Games directory is where you will store your saved games (.fpc).
The Teams directory holds the team files (.tem) as well as bitmap images of the
team logos and driver faces. In the future, when team editing is fully
implemented, this is where you will store your own team files and your own
driver bitmaps.
The Tracks directory is where track files (.trk) are stored. Currently there is
only the Monaco circuit available. But that will change as new tracks are built
using the Track Designer tool (found in the \Formula PC directory).

Once the install is complete you can run Formula PC either by double-clicking
the Formula PC.exe in your Formula PC directory, or by clicking the Formula PC
icon on the Start menu.

Gameplay:
Since this is just a beta version, only 1 or 2-lap games are suggested. There are
still many aspects to the game which are not implemented.

First, go to the Game | New Game menu. The default is a 1-lap race and any
available circuits will show in the "Circuit" dropdown. You can select up to 10
drivers on 5 different teams.
Once you have selected your drivers, hit "OK"
The next option is to have each driver roll for his starting grid position, or
let Formula PC assign the grid randomly. This is to expedite gameplay if you are
in an email situation, this way drivers aren't required to roll and wait just to
get the game started.
Once all starting grid positions are assigned, drivers roll (in order) for their
start, then shift into 1st gear and begin moving.

Gameplay henceforth follows the rules of Formula De, so, rather than go into it
all here, I'm going to get back to writing more code.

More information to follow as each build is released.

(Be sure to take a look at the Basic Help.txt that accompanies the setup. It has
 more information on gameplay and navigating around the game screen)

Enjoy!

Minimum Requirements:
Pentium 200MHz PC
Windows 9x/NT/2000
SVGA 800x600 Video Resolution
5 Megs of Hard Drive space
Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime Module
(http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10082-100-897832.html?tag=st.dl.10001_103_1.lst.td)

Suggested:
Pentium II or III
Windows 9x/2000
SVGA 1024x768 (or higher)


Version Information:

.9.75 beta
----------
*Note: Again, previous saved games will *NOT* work with this release. This should be
	considered true of all releases until we reach 1.0

Bugs addressed:
	I believe I finally cracked the "Invalid Row" issue. I was not including the
	VB Runtime and OLE components in the setup, to save on DL size. Once I included
	them in the package we were able to overcome the error. Never did find a problem
	in the code, so it was definitely an issue with the VB Runtime.
	There were *still* issues in the pit routine, and I have no doubts more will
	arise. But for now I think it's very stable.
	With the creation of new circuits, it has become clear that the routines for the
	pit lane entry and exit needed to be rewritten to deal with counter-clockwise
	tracks. This has been addressed and corrected.
	When the trophy screen was shown it was cause a subscript error - fixed.
	Slipstreaming was causing a subscript error. This was due to a slipstream allowing
	a player's movement to exceed the value shown on the die, thus causing a sub out of
	range error when speed was computed according to the distance moved - fixed.

Features Added:	
	Added the ability to customize the Current Standings grid. You can choose what
	columns of information you would like to see. More stats coming in future releases.
	Modified the fonts used for the starting grid, current standings and corner flags.
	It it "Futura", the same font used on the Tag Heuer(tm) timing screens of the world
	TV feed.
	A *MASSIVE* thanks to Tony Crider, the second "freelance" track designer out there.
	Tony has already banged out 4 circuits and has been instrumental in developing the
	track designer, as well as molding the track file format to fit future needs. Go play
	Jarama and then thank Tony for putting in the time and effort.
	I worked in a little routine to slightly randomize the displayed speed of each car,
	this keeps everyone's speed from looking too similar on the Current Standings, but
	doesn't affect the computation of lap times.

Known Issues:
	The automated mail tools are still nowhere near correct, and I'm contemplating 
	removing them completely. Too many issues with different MAPI clients acting
	differently, firewalls, anti-virus programs, etc. For now, you can create email games
	and enter everyone's email addresses, but we've just been manually saving and mailing
	the games during testing. I'll keep trying.


.9.73 beta
----------
Bugs addressed:
	If the options menu was selected before a game was in progress, exiting the
	dialog would produce an "Invalid Row" error - fixed.

.9.72 beta
----------
Bugs addressed:
	There was an error in the flag-clearing routine that caused players to receive
	a spinout warning when the previous player had spun out during his/her turn.
	This one was a bear to hunt down but I believe I have it fixed.
	A "Subscript out of range" error was popping up instead of the results screen,
	or right after the OK button on the results screen was pressed. I believe this
	one is now fixed.

Features Added:	
	Where do I begin? 
	The gamelog has been revamped. People were requesting a way to filter the
	amount of info you are given, so the Options dialog now has a "Game Log" tab.
	There you can turn on/off a myriad of different types of messages to tailor
	the log to your liking. The information is still generated, just not displayed,
	so if you decide to mod your settings later, you can see messages that you
	were previously hiding. This also means that two different players in an email
	game can have differing settings depending on their preference.
	The Die has been moved up into the track area to increase the size of the driver
	card. This allows for longer team/driver names and also allows the "stop"
	indicators to be viewed in the center of the card. (I *still* get mails from
	people asking for an indicator of how many stops they have remaining in a corner,
	not realizing that it's been there all along. Hopefully now everyone will see
	them clearly)
	You can also collapse/expand each round of the gamelog (or set an option to do
	it automatically). This allows you to compress the log and minimize the amount of
	scrolling necessary to view old info. Simply click on the "Round XX" line of
	any previous round (the current one always stays open until completion) to either
	collapse or expand it. Only items that you have set for viewing (in the Options
	dialog) will show.
	The Rules dialog has been given a boost. You now have the ability to set the
	roll ranges for bad/flying starts, collisions and engine damage. This means that
	if you feel a 5% (1 in 20) chance of a collision is too low, simply change the
	roll range when you're creating a new game.
	Slipstreaming is the first of the advanced rules to be implemented, but it is not
	100% guaranteed and *3-Lap Races Are Still Not Ready*, so don't mail me saying
	they don't work. 
	In an effort to quell the constant arguments (I *still* get emails on this) about
	whether a car must completely cross the finish line, I've added the ability to
	choose whether a lap/finish is determined by the nose of the car crossing the
	line (landing on *any* space that contains a finish line marker) or by then entire
	car crossing the line (landing on a space just past the finish line on the inside/
	outside lanes, or landing on the second finish-line space of the center lane)

Known Issues:
	Some people have reported an "Invalid column width" error that I have not been
	able to reproduce. If you receive this error, please email me so we can try to
	hunt it down.

.9.6 beta
---------
Bugs addressed:
	During auto-rolls for other players' damage, the black die was disappearing
	- fixed.
	During pit stops, a quick stop roll of 2 (which would allow the driver to move
	1 space) would cause the car to be forced back into the pits - fixed.
	Modified the zig-zag logic once again to better match the rules for what
	constitutes "overtaking" another car.
	International settings were causing issues if the decimal separator was a comma
	"," rather than a period ".". They were also causing problems when the word
	"True" or "False" was being saved for boolean values. Routines are now in place
	to convert decimal commas to periods (to avoid the VB Input# from truncating
	entries) and booleans are converted to integers so "True" and "False" become
	-1 and 0 respectively.
	Found a problem with the routines to load more than 10 cars - fixed.
	Found an error in the Zandvoort 1 (20 player Skip 1) track file - fixed.

.9.56 beta
----------
Bugs addressed:
	So many that I've forgotten them all. Needless to say, many things are
	corrected and many other things are inevitably now broken.
Features Added:
	Fully-filled and colored track graphics. The provided tracks are only
	partially complete, but you can get an idea of what things will look like.
	Support for up to 20 players and 10 teams.
	A new track (Zandvoort 1) created by James Chapman!
	New versions of Monaco and Zandvoort that support up to 20 players.
	Ability to manually set starting grid positions.
	Ability to manually set pit space positions.
	MAPI tools are marginally implemented. Limited testing was done with these
	features (as much as we could with our setups) so I'm expecting plenty of
	issues to come up with these. Play with them and let me know what
	bugs you find.
	Improved the die icons drawn on the lane to show minimum and maximum
	possible rolls for all applicable gears

.9.4 beta
---------
Bugs addressed:
	Choosing "Drivers roll for position" was not triggering the die image or
	GameLog to become visible. Some changes in process had rerouted these
	routines - fixed.
	When a driver overshot a corner, and had a possible roll for collision
	damage AND another car had a roll for collision damage (whew!) then the
	initial car would not have wear points deducted for tires, brakes, etc
	according to the number of spaces he overshot - fixed.
	Changed the large die image to use icons rather than .bmp's. This means
	your system color for the Formula PC background will fill the area around
	the large die image rather than gray.
	The Draw Car Path routine was jumbling car's paths - fixed.
	Turning the scroll bars on/off while the Move Options window was open was
	not causing the window to move as the view window was resized - fixed.
	DOH! I broke the Zoom Mode in .9.3 - fixed
	Due to consensus of the Formula De rules, drivers causing a collision that
	destroys another car automatically take a damage point then *do not* roll
	to see if they take another.
	All game options moved to their own dialog box.
	Fixed a problem in the Edit Team routines. New teams weren't getting added
	to the team list correctly - fixed.
	Expanded the driver card so that each item on the card (tires, brakes,etc)
	can show 15 items. This will be necessary when car construction is
	implemented in case some whacko wants 15 tire points or brake points, but only
	1 of everything else.
Features Added:
	Basic Rules fully implemented. Now you can pick and choose which of the 
	basic rules you want applied to your game. If you don't want tire wear or
	the ability to brake, take it out. If you want engine damage not just on
	maximum roll in 5th & 6th gear, but in 3rd, 4th, etc then choose it! Just
	the first step in customization and "house" rules.
	Added gear icons on the "Draw Car Path" routine. If you click on the lap
	length under "Current Standings" you will see the path the car has taken
	during the race. Now this "ghost" path also has the icon of the gear the
	car was in during each move. Now you can not only see a driver's line, you
	can see his gear choice.

.9.3 beta
---------
*Note: Previous saved games will *NOT* work with this release. This should be
	considered true of all releases until we reach 1.0

Bugs addressed:
	Ability to change lanes if your move started in a corner was incorrectly
	being limited. Completely rewrote the "valid next space" routines.
	Certain items in the gamelog were not being output
	(rolls for movement, etc) - fixed
	The scroll bars weren't working when you would click them in a spot off
	the their scroll cursor - fixed
	If you dragged the view using the "Pan View" cursor, then used the scroll
	bars, sometimes the track would	"jump" - fixed
Features added:
	Created a "Save As" game menu option. The old "Save" would ask you for a
	filename every time you saved, now, if the game already exists, "Save"
	writes over it without prompting and "Save as" asks for a filename.
	Whatever directory you loaded or last saved a game from is retained when
	you go into the Game Load/Save routines (not retained from session to session)
	Added support for retaining the last 5 games Loaded/Saved. They are listed
	under the "Game" menu, just above "Exit".
	Added "Driver Comments". There is a button on the toolbar that allows you
	to place a comment in the gamelog, useful for when you want to make a
	statement to other players in an email game. There is also an option under
    	the "Options" menu which, when checked, will prompt you for a comment at the
	end of your turn. This is helpful because when a player's turn ends the game
	moves to the next player. This gives you a chance to put in a comment first.
	Added the ability to click anywhere on the lane between your current location
	and the "final" location. Your car will automatically be moved to that spot.
	This functions just like the old "click on the final space" routine, only now
	you can do it for spaces other than the "final" one. If you know you want to
	move forward 5 spaces, then change lanes, you don't have to click each space
	along the way.
	Added Toolbar icons for New Game, Load Game, Save Game.
	Added Toolbar icon for Track Info.
	Added Toolbar icon for Hide Cars. Cars aren't drawn on the track when this
	button is pressed, making it possible to see the symbols on the spaces
	beneath.
	Added a Toolbar icon for Options (Non-Functioning... next release)
	Rules button on the New Game dialog now brings up a preliminary Rules dialog.
	This isn't functioning yet, but allows you to see what I have planned.
Other Changes:
	Redid all of the toolbar icons, now they're in pretty colors.
	I *completely* rewrote the click-select-of-spaces routines. Things are more
	efficient now.
	Changed the Jaguar Racing icon. The cat is now in red like the racing logo,
	rather than silver like the road car logo.
Known Issues:
	There have been reports of some problems with the game requesting rolls from
	cars that have retired. These still need to be hunted down. If you have any
	problems, feel free to let me know. Just be aware that I have been alerted
	but haven't hunted them down yet.
	There is an interpretation issue in the rules regarding a car that causes
	a collision. If a car causes a collision and the car it hit is retired because
	of this, the initial car automatically takes a point of body damage (Formula PC
	does this). Formula PC also has the initial driver roll for another possible
	damage point from the crash. Some have stated that they do not play this way,
	that the automatic damage is the only one sustained by the initial car and
	therefore a roll isn't necessary. If the car does roll and gets a 1, then it
	is penalized with an extra body wear point, which is incorrect according to
	this interpretaion.I need to get a consensus from the community to determine
	which way is "correct".

.9.1 beta
---------
Bugs addressed:
	Error in the pit routine, was only letting cars exit using 1 of the 2
	available spaces. - fixed
	When cars overshoot a turn, they must stay in the same lane. - added
	You can only move back into the lane your turn started in if you are
	overtaking another car or if you are in a corner. - added
Features added:
	Scroll bars (optional) to pan the view. You can still use the Pan cursor.
	Frames around current gear modified. Clearer, look better.
	Option for displaying speed, avg speed in Kmh or Mph.
	Draw Car Path. If you click on a car's path length in the Current Standings
	window, the entire path of the car will be displayed. Helpful when you're
	wondering about the line a driver has taken during the race.

.9 beta
-------
Numerous bugs addressed and corrected

Starting Grid, Gamelog and Current Standings frames updates with an MSFlexGrid,
allowing the data to be laid out prettier and scrolled through easier.
The view window can be sized allowing for a larger Gamelog/Current Standings info
window.
Editing of teams fully implemented. Teams can use all windows colors (not limited
to Formula De colors).
Lane change and overshooting rules appear to be fully implemented and functioning,
but playtesting of the .9 release will tell.
Pit stops implemented (playtesting needed)

Features not yet implemented:
	All advanced rules
	3-lap races
	Qualifying

.7.2 beta
---------
Bugs addressed:
	Downsizing the game window caused a Runtime Error '380' Invalid property
	value. - fixed
	You can select the same team twice at the team selection screen. - fixed
	Upon a car finishing the race, a Runtime Error occurs. - fixed
	Spin outs don't seem to work correctly after the first spinout - fixed (but
	still needs testing)
	Upon a player losing their last bodywork point, the program stops. - fixed
	Driver faces and team logos not showing up in sync with name. - fixed

Features added:
	Cars now drawn as filled polys, much prettier.
	Die Icons on the track now drawn as filled polys, much prettier.
	Corner flags now show number of required stops.
	Clicking on a corner flag brings up detailed info on the corner.
	You can now click on the "final" green-shaded space anytime during a move
	and your car will cycle through the spaces to get to the destination. All
	rules will be applied as this move progresses and you will have the option
	to accept or reset once the car reaches the click-point.

Features not yet implemented:
	Pit stops.
	Editing of teams.
	All advanced rules.
	Cars cannot change lanes more than twice in one turn, may not zig-zag, etc.
	When cars overshoot they must stay in the same lane.

.7 beta
-------
Bugs addressed:
	Rolling for starting grid wasn't being sorted correctly. -  fixed
	Engine roll flag wasn't getting reset, causing one player to roll
		infinitely for engine damage. - fixed
	Game crashed when players crashed (ironic, huh?). - fixed
	Wear points not getting reloaded correctly from saved games. - fixed
	Loading saved games taking unusually long. - fixed
	Rules button not implemented. - Still not implemented
	Spin outs not working correctly. - Still developing, let's keep testing
	There is no need for a collision test when a car cuts off another
		and stops on the space in front of it. - routine removed
	Cars overshooting a corner with 2 or more stops remaining were not being
		eliminated. - fixed

Features added:
	Track spaces now filled in gray.
	New "Select" mode: (Arrow icon on the toolbar)
		Players can now click on "next" spaces to move during their turn.
		Right-Click to "Accept Move"
		Players can click directly on cars to bring up that driver's
			information.
		Players can also click on driver names and positions on the Starting
			Grid or Current Standings to bring up driver info.
	All Options Menu choices now saved/loaded to/from the registry.
	After clicking the die to roll it, you can click it again to skip the pause
		before the game continues.
	"Next" and "Final" movement space markers can be turned on/off.
	Screen flashes when wear points are used or cars retire. (optional)
		
.64 beta
--------
First public release.