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Eric's Ultimate Solitaire FAQ
Last Updated on: 2000-09-16 01:42:27

This is where you will find useful information about Eric's Ultimate Solitaire. The following are answers to some frequently asked questions about this game. Please read these before e-mailing Loki Technical Support - Chances are your question is answered here too!

1. Introduction

• 1.1 How to use this FAQ
• 1.2 Authors

2. Requirements

• 2.1 What are the system requirements for the game?
• 2.2 Can the game be played on all distributions of Linux?
• 2.3 Which hardware platforms are supported by EUS?

3. Demo

• 3.1 Where can I get the EUS demo?

4. Installation

• 4.1 How do I install the game?
• 4.2 Do I have to be logged in as root to install the game?
• 4.3 How do I set my path so that it can access the game directory?

5. Updates

• 5.1 Where can I download the update patches?
• 5.2 What issues are addressed in the patch?

6. Gameplay

• 6.1 I tried to undo my previous move, but Eric's minimized itself instead. Why would I want that?
• 6.2 Why can't I resize the window?
• 6.3 Why is the "Backgrounds" dialog so slow to appear?
• 6.4 The manual says I can push the shift key to highlight all playable moves, but nothing happens.
• 6.5 I try using the --nosound option, but it doesn't work.

7. Miscellaneous

• 7.1 Why does Eric's take so long to start?

8. Contact

• 8.1 How do I report a bug?
• 8.2 How can I receive technical support?

1. Introduction

• 1.1 How to use this FAQ
  
  
  This FAQ allows you to navigate through the answers by category, or individually, or to view the entire FAQ at once. The full view is also suitable for printing.

  This FAQ is modelled on the Linux HOWTO documents for consistency and ease of navigation.

  
  
• 1.2 Authors
  
  
  The maintainers of the FAQ can be reached by e-mailing faqs@lokigames.com. Please send all correspondance directly related to the FAQlist tool to that address.
  
  

2. Requirements

• 2.1 What are the system requirements for the game?
  
  
  • Pentium compatible, PowerPC, Alpha, or SPARC processor
  • 16MB RAM
  • Linux Operating System
    • kernel version 2.0.x or 2.2.x
    • glibc 2.0 or glibc 2.1
  • XFree86 version 3.2 or later.
  • OSS compatible sound device (optional)
  '
  
  
• 2.2 Can the game be played on all distributions of Linux?
  
  
  We spent a significant amount of development time ensuring that Eric's Ultimate Solitaire works properly with all major distributions.
  
  
• 2.3 Which hardware platforms are supported by EUS?
  
  
  Eric's Ultimate Solitaire works on X86 Linux, PPC Linux, Alpha Linux, and SPARC Linux. Binaries for all four platforms are included on the CD, and your architecture will be detected at installation, automatically installing the correct binaries.
  
  

3. Demo

• 3.1 Where can I get the EUS demo?
  
  
  The Eric's Ultimate Solitaire demo is available through our Demo Launcher (http://www.lokigames.com/products/demos.php3).
  
  

4. Installation

• 4.1 How do I install the game?
  
  
  1. Mount the CD-ROM using the "mount" command. If you are unsure how this works, please check the documentation for your Linux distribution. Generally, the format for mounting a CD-ROM under Linux is similar to:

         mount -t iso9660 -r /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
     

  2. Under X11, enter the command "sh [Mounted CD-ROM Path]/setup.sh". Be sure to replace the [Mounted CD-ROM Path] portion of this command with the correct path for the mounted CD-ROM. In the example above, the command would be:

         sh /mnt/cdrom/setup.sh
     

  3. Under "Global Options":
     • Enter the directory into which the game should be installed in the Install path: box. In the box labeled Binary directory, enter a directory in your $PATH where a symbolic link for the binary should be set up. Make sure you have write permissions in both of these directories.
  4. Under "Install Options":
     • You must install "Binary Install" (the game binaries). You may choose to leave the Artwork and Music on the CD. If you wish to write these files to your hard drive, click in the corresponding boxes.
     • Below the Install Options, the installer will display how much space is left on your partition, and how much the game will use per the options selected (3 MB just for the most minimal, 51 MB for everything).
     • Check in the box for KDE/Gnome menu items if you would like them installed.
  5. You may view the game README at this point if you wish, by clicking on "View Readme". Otherwise, click on "Begin Install" to begin the copying of files.
  6. When the game has finished installing, you may choose either to launch it directly (click on "Play!") or to simply exit and run the game from the console.
  7. To run the game generally, just type "eus" from the console (you shouldn't have to enter the complete path).
  
  
• 4.2 Do I have to be logged in as root to install the game?
  
  
  No, but you do have to have write privileges to /usr/local/games (or wherever you want to install the game).
  
  
• 4.3 How do I set my path so that it can access the game directory?
  
  
  export PATH=$PATH:[installation directory] (replacing [installation directory] with the actual path to the installation, of course)
  
  

5. Updates

• 5.1 Where can I download the update patches?
  
  
  The 1.0a patch is available through loki_update (http://updates.lokigames.com/).
  
  
• 5.2 What issues are addressed in the patch?
  
  
  1.0a:

  • Fixed the command line handling. --nosound now works.
  • Fixed a bug in Calculation where the second card thrown to the top discard pile would corrupt masking for the duration of that run of EUS.
  • Fixed a bug where users could not add their own midi files.
  • Pressing the shift key highlights the currently available moves, as advertised.
  • Menu accelerators are now saved, for each user, between EUS runs.
  • EUS now releases /dev/dsp if sound has been turned off.
  • Dialog enhancements:
    • Added a progress bar to the "Choose Backgrounds" dialog.
    • File operations now work in the file selection dialogs.
    • Added stricter file checking support for save and challenge games.
    • Menu accelerators are disabled while dialogs are displayed.
    • Many other minor enhancements...
  • Window position now saved between EUS runs.
  • Fixed the rare occasion where the mouse cursor would not change, reflecting the state EUS was in.
  • Fixed the window sizing code so that:
    • Buttons now appear after a window resize.
    • the original window size is restored if cancel was pressed.
  • Fixed sound on newer Macs.
  • General binary size reduction.
  
  

6. Gameplay

• 6.1 I tried to undo my previous move, but Eric's minimized itself instead. Why would I want that?
  
  
  Been playing the Mac version, huh? When porting Eric's Ultimate Solitaire to Linux, we took the liberty of tailoring the user environment so that it behaved more UNIX-like. Control-Z is a common shell key sequence to put the currently running process in the background. The more UNIX-like the environment is, the lower the learning curve for a new user.

  For the duration of a single session, you can bind a keypress of your choice to UNDO. To do this, open the menu and highlight UNDO, and while it is highlighted press the key (or key combination) that you would like to be your UNDO key.

  
  
• 6.2 Why can't I resize the window?
  
  
  Actually, you can. You won't be able to resize it arbitrarily though. Eric's Ultimate solitaire provides you with several window sizes that the original developers thought it looked best in.

  To resize the window, first bring up the "Preferences" dialog from the "Options" menu. Within this dialog, you will find a "Screen Size" options menu, which is set initially to the window size you are currently running EUS at. Use this menu to set the screen size to whatever size you wish.

  
  
• 6.3 Why is the "Backgrounds" dialog so slow to appear?
  
  
  When you bring up the Backgrounds dialog, EUS has to open every background file it can find and make a thumbnail image from it. EUS uses the xpm file format for it's images. While this image is very inefficient, it was the best we option we had at the time EUS was ported. The delay is caused by the length of time it takes to read the file and turn it into an image the X-server can use. You can reduce the time it takes to make the Backgrounds dialog appear by reducing the number of files in the various locations EUS looks for backgrounds. The downside, obviously, is that this means there will be fewer backgrounds to choose from. :(
  
  
• 6.4 The manual says I can push the shift key to highlight all playable moves, but nothing happens.
  
  
  This is a known bug.
  
  
• 6.5 I try using the --nosound option, but it doesn't work.
  
  
  This is a known bug.
  
  

7. Miscellaneous

• 7.1 Why does Eric's take so long to start?
  
  
  This was a problem in the XFree 4.0 server and all Accelerated-X v5.0.2 and earlier servers. The XFree version has been fixed in release 4.0.1.The Accel-X version has been fixed in version 1.1 of the 3D server, and version 6.0 of their 2D server.
  
  

8. Contact

• 8.1 How do I report a bug?
  
  
  Please visit our publicly accessible bug database (http://fenris.lokigames.com/) and post a bug report. Be sure to first check the list of known bugs and fixes/patches.
  
  
• 8.2 How can I receive technical support?
  
  
  We support our products by e-mail (preferred) and phone. Phone support is available by calling (714) 508-2140 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) Monday through Friday, except holidays.