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<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.1.2//EN" "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.1.2/docbookx.dtd" [
<!ENTITY legal SYSTEM "legal.xml">
<!ENTITY appversion "2.12">
<!ENTITY manrevision "2.8">
<!ENTITY date "September 2004">
<!ENTITY app "<application>Four-in-a-Row</application>">
<!ENTITY appname "Four-in-a-Row">
<!ENTITY version "2.8">
]>
<!-- ===== DOCUMENT HEADER ===== -->
<article id="index" lang="en-GB">
<!-- please do not change the id -->
<!-- translators, change lang to the appropriate code -->
  <articleinfo>
    <title>Four-in-a-Row Manual</title>
    <abstract role="description">
      <para>The object of Four-in-a-Row is to place four pieces in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row while the opponent tries to block and make his orher own row of four. Four-in-a-Row can be played against another human or the computer.</para>
    </abstract>

    <copyright lang="en">
      <year>2001-2002</year>
      <holder>Timothy Musson</holder>
    </copyright>

    <!-- translators: uncomment this:

    <copyright>
     <year>2000</year>
     <holder>ME-THE-TRANSLATOR (Latin translation)</holder>
    </copyright>

    -->

    <publisher role="maintainer"> 
      <publishername>GNOME Documentation Project</publishername> 
    </publisher> 

      <legalnotice id="legalnotice">
	<para>Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation Licence (GFDL), Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. You can find a copy of the GFDL at this <ulink type="help" url="ghelp:fdl">link</ulink> or in the file COPYING-DOCS distributed with this manual.</para>
         <para>This manual is part of a collection of GNOME manuals distributed under the GFDL. If you want to distribute this manual separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the licence to the manual, as described in section 6 of the licence.</para>

	<para>Many of the names used by companies to distinguish their products and services are claimed as trademarks. Where those names appear in any GNOME documentation, and the members of the GNOME Documentation Project are made aware of those trademarks, then the names are in capital letters or initial capital letters.</para>

	<para lang="en">
	  DOCUMENT AND MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THE DOCUMENT ARE PROVIDED
	  UNDER  THE TERMS OF THE GNU FREE DOCUMENTATION LICENSE
	  WITH THE FURTHER UNDERSTANDING THAT:

	  <orderedlist>
		<listitem>
		  <para lang="en">DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS,
                    WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR
                    IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES
                    THAT THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE
                    DOCUMENT IS FREE OF DEFECTS MERCHANTABLE, FIT FOR
                    A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGING. THE ENTIRE
                    RISK AS TO THE QUALITY, ACCURACY, AND PERFORMANCE
                    OF THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION OF THE
                    DOCUMENT IS WITH YOU. SHOULD ANY DOCUMENT OR
                    MODIFIED VERSION PROVE DEFECTIVE IN ANY RESPECT,
                    YOU (NOT THE INITIAL WRITER, AUTHOR OR ANY
                    CONTRIBUTOR) ASSUME THE COST OF ANY NECESSARY
                    SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. THIS DISCLAIMER
                    OF WARRANTY CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS
                    LICENSE. NO USE OF ANY DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED
                    VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT IS AUTHORIZED HEREUNDER
                    EXCEPT UNDER THIS DISCLAIMER; AND
		  </para>
		</listitem>
		<listitem>
		  <para lang="en">UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL
                       THEORY, WHETHER IN TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE),
                       CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL THE AUTHOR,
                       INITIAL WRITER, ANY CONTRIBUTOR, OR ANY
                       DISTRIBUTOR OF THE DOCUMENT OR MODIFIED VERSION
                       OF THE DOCUMENT, OR ANY SUPPLIER OF ANY OF SUCH
                       PARTIES, BE LIABLE TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY
                       DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR
                       CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER
                       INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS
                       OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR
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                       DOCUMENT AND MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THE DOCUMENT,
                       EVEN IF SUCH PARTY SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF
                       THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
		  </para>
		</listitem>
	  </orderedlist>
	</para>
  </legalnotice>



    <authorgroup>
      <author lang="en">
        <firstname>Timothy</firstname>
        <surname>Musson</surname>
        <affiliation>
          <!-- <orgname></orgname> -->
          <address><email>trmusson@ihug.co.nz</email></address>
        </affiliation>
      </author>

<!-- This is appropriate place for other contributors: translators,
      maintainers,  etc. Commented out by default.

      <othercredit role="translator">
        <firstname>Latin</firstname> 
        <surname>Translator 1</surname> 
        <affiliation> 
          <orgname>Latin Translation Team</orgname> 
          <address> <email>translator@gnome.org</email> </address> 
        </affiliation>
        <contrib>Latin translation</contrib>
      </othercredit>
-->
    </authorgroup>
	
	<releaseinfo revision="2.26" role="review"/>

    <revhistory>
      <revision lang="en">
        <revnumber>Four-in-a-Row Manual V2.8</revnumber>
        <date>September 2004</date>
        <revdescription>
          <para role="author" lang="en">Timothy Musson
            <email>trmusson@ihug.co.nz</email>
          </para>
          <para role="publisher"/>
        </revdescription>
      </revision>
    </revhistory>

    <releaseinfo>This manual describes version 2.12 of Four-in-a-Row.</releaseinfo>

    <legalnotice>
      <title>Feedback</title>
      <para lang="en">To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding the Four-in-a-Row
        application or this manual, follow the directions in the
        <ulink url="ghelp:user-guide?feedback-bugs" type="help">GNOME Feedback Page</ulink>.
      </para>
    </legalnotice>
  </articleinfo>


  <!-- ============= Document Body ============================= -->

  <!-- ============= Introduction ============================== -->


  <sect1 id="intro">

    <title>Introduction</title>

    <para><application>Four-in-a-Row</application> is a four-in-a-row game for the GNOME Project. The object of the game is to build a line of four of your marbles while trying to stop your opponent (human or computer) building a line of his or her own. A line can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal.</para>

    <para>To run <application>Four-in-a-Row</application>, select <guimenuitem>Four-in-a-Row</guimenuitem> from the <guisubmenu>Games</guisubmenu> submenu of the <guimenu>Main Menu</guimenu>, or type <command>gnect</command> on the command line.</para>

    <para><application>Four-in-a-Row</application> is included in the gnome-games package, which is part of the GNOME desktop environment. This document describes version 2.8 of <application>Four-in-a-Row</application>.</para>

   <para lang="en">
     Four-in-a-Row also features multiplayer support with two 
     human players in hotseat mode.
   </para>


  </sect1>


  <!-- ============= Usage ===================================== -->


  <sect1 id="usage">

    <title>Basic Usage</title>

    <!-- ===== How to play ===== -->

    <sect2 id="playing">

      <title>Playing Four-in-a-Row</title>

      <para>To start a new game of Four-in-a-Row choose <menuchoice><guimenu>Game</guimenu><guimenuitem>New Game</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para>

      <para>The <interface>game board</interface> consists of seven columns and six rows. Above it, a special row indicates the current player and the marble about to be played. Each move consists of dropping a marble in one of the columns. The marble lands on the topmost empty row of the chosen column.</para>
        
      <para>To make a move, click on a column with the mouse. To play with the keyboard, move the marble in the top row with the left and right arrow keys, and drop it in place with the down arrow key. Your marble will drop into the topmost empty row of that column.</para>

      <!-- Figure -->
      <mediaobject id="mainwindow-fig" lang="en">
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="figures/mainwindow.png" format="PNG" srccredit="trm"/>
        </imageobject>
        <textobject>
          <phrase>Four-in-a-Row's Main Window</phrase>
        </textobject>
        <caption><para lang="en">Four-in-a-Row's Main Window</para></caption>
      </mediaobject>

      <para>The game is won when one of the two players manages to line up four of his or her marbles horizontally, vertically or diagonally. If the board fills up without a win, the game ends in a draw.</para>

    </sect2>
    
    <!-- ===== Commands ===== -->  
    
    <sect2 id="commands">
      <title>Commands</title>
      <anchor id="menubar"/><!-- id for removed section -->
      
      <para lang="en">To take back a move, choose <menuchoice>
                      <shortcut><keycombo>
                      <keysym>Ctrl</keysym><keycap>Z</keycap>
                      </keycombo></shortcut>
                      <guimenuitem>Undo move</guimenuitem>
                    </menuchoice>.
            If you're playing against a friend, this will undo one
            move. If you're playing against the computer, this will
            undo the computer's last move and then yours.
            Repeating this will return the board to its initial
            state.
      </para>
      <para lang="en">Choose <menuchoice>
                      <shortcut><keycombo>
                      <keysym>Ctrl</keysym><keycap>H</keycap>
                      </keycombo></shortcut>
        <guimenuitem>Hint</guimenuitem>
      </menuchoice> to get a suggestion from the computer for your next move.
      This is shown in the status bar.</para>
      
      <para lang="en">
        Choose <menuchoice>
          <guimenuitem>Scores</guimenuitem>
        </menuchoice> to show a tally of wins and draws
        for the current playing session. The scores will be reset to
        zero if Player Selection is changed in Preferences.
      </para>      

      
    </sect2>  

    <!-- ===== Preferences ===== -->

    <sect2 id="prefsdialog">

      <title>Preferences</title>

      <para>To change the game's settings, select <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>Settings</guimenu> menu. This opens the <interface>Preferences Dialogue</interface>.</para>

      <para lang="en">
        Configuration options in the <guilabel>Game</guilabel>
        tab are:

        <variablelist>

          <varlistentry>
            <term lang="en">
              <guilabel>Player One</guilabel> and
              <guilabel>Player Two</guilabel>
            </term>
            <listitem>
              <para lang="en">

                These two columns tell <application>Four-in-a-Row</application> who's playing and, if it is the computer, how hard they play. To play against a friend, select
                Human for both Player One and Player Two.

              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term lang="en"><guilabel>Theme</guilabel></term>
            <listitem>
              <para lang="en">
                The theme menu lists available themes and lets
                you choose your favourite.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

          <varlistentry>
            <term lang="en"><guilabel>Enable Animation</guilabel></term>
            <listitem>
              <para lang="en">
                Here you can toggle the game's animation on or off.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>

        </variablelist>
      </para>
      <para>Finally there is a <guilabel>Controls</guilabel> tab to change the keyboard controls. To change a control, double click the appropriate entry and then press the new key.</para>

    </sect2>
  </sect1>


  <!-- ===== Custom Themes ===================================== -->


  <sect1 id="custom">

    <title>Creating New Themes</title>

    <para>This section is included in case you'd like to make your own themes for <application>Four-in-a-Row</application>. It assumes you're familiar with basic text editing, graphics software and the command line.</para>

    <sect2 id="images">

      <title>Images</title>

      <para><application>Four-in-a-Row</application>'s tile sets contain six tiles of equal size, lined up horizontally. From left to right:</para>

      <orderedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>Player One's marble as it appears on the game board</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Player Two's marble as it appears on the game board</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>The game board's background</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>The top row's background</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Player One's marble as it appears on the top row</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>Player Two's marble as it appears on the top row</para>
        </listitem>
      </orderedlist>

      <figure id="shot1">
        <title>An example tile set</title>
        <screenshot>
          <screeninfo>This image shows the six tiles in a tile set</screeninfo>
          <graphic format="PNG" fileref="figures/tileset.png" srccredit="TRM"/>
        </screenshot>
      </figure>

      <para>Tiles three and four will be repeated over the game board and top row unless a full window background image is specified in the theme file.</para>

      <tip>
        <title>TIP</title>
        <para>PNG format is recommended for tile sets. The first, second, fifth and sixth tiles should contain some transparency if you want the background to show through. The third and fourth tiles should be solid, with no transparency, even if you'll be using a full window background image with your theme.</para>
      </tip>

      <tip>
        <title>TIP</title>
        <para>Tiles can be square or rectangular, and any size you like. Most of the tile sets that come with <application>Four-in-a-Row</application> use square tiles measuring 50 pixels by 50 pixels.</para>
      </tip>

      <para>For a full window background image, there's a bit more work to do. Let's say your tiles measure 50 by 50 pixels each. The game's display measures 7 by 7 tiles, including the top row, so the ideal background image for your tile set measures 350 by 350 pixels.</para>

      <tip>
        <title>TIP</title>
        <para><application>Four-in-a-Row</application> will automatically scale the background image if it doesn't match the tile set. This means you can make "large" and "small" versions of your theme, both using the same background image, just by having a large and a small version of your tile set.</para>
      </tip>

      <para>So, you now have a tile set and perhaps a background image to go with it. The next step is to put them in the right place.</para>

    </sect2>


    <sect2 id="directories">

      <title>Putting It Together</title>

      <para>The last step is to put your image or images where <application>Four-in-a-Row</application> can find them. You could put them in <application>Four-in-a-Row</application>'s install directory (which will depend on your particular system), but your home directory is probably a better idea.</para>

      <para>Make a <filename class="directory">~/.gnect</filename> directory, and a <filename class="directory">~/.gnect/pixmaps</filename> directory. Those names are important, as <application>Four-in-a-Row</application> won't look anywhere else.</para>

      <para>Copy your image(s) into the pixmaps directory.</para>

      <para>If you start <application>Four-in-a-Row</application> from the command line, it'll give you clues about any problems it has with your new theme. If it has none, you'll find your new theme listed the <interface>Preferences Dialogue</interface>.</para>

      <para>Have fun!</para>

    </sect2>


  </sect1>


  <!-- ===== Bugs ============================================== -->


  <sect1 id="bugs">

    <title>Known Bugs and Limitations</title>

    <para>Occasionally a marble-dropping animation doesn't look as smooth as it should.</para>

  </sect1>


  <!-- ===== Authors =========================================== -->


  <sect1 id="authors">

    <title>Authors</title>

    <para><application>Four-in-a-Row</application> was written by Timothy Musson (<email>trmusson@ihug.co.nz</email>) and David Neary (<email>bolsh@gimp.org</email>). Various others have taken the time to help in many ways since work on <application>Four-in-a-Row</application> began.</para>
    <para>The <ulink type="http" url="http://www.ce.unipr.it/~gbe/velena.html">Velena Engine</ulink>, <application>Four-in-a-Row</application>'s main computer player, was written by Giuliano Bertoletti. We're grateful to him for allowing us to include his work, without which <application>Four-in-a-Row</application> wouldn't be nearly as worthwhile.</para>
    <para>This manual was written by Timothy Musson.</para>
    <para>To report a bug or make a suggestion regarding this application or this manual, follow the directions in this <ulink url="ghelp:user-guide?feedback-bugs" type="help">document</ulink>.</para>


<!-- For translations: uncomment this:

  <para>
    Latin translation was done by ME
    (<email>MYNAME@MYADDRESS</email>). Please send all comments and
    suggestions regarding this translation to SOMEWHERE.
  </para>

-->

  </sect1>


  <!-- ============= License =================================== -->


  <sect1 id="license">

    <title>Licence</title>

    <para>This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the <citetitle>GNU General Public Licence</citetitle> as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the Licence, or (at your option) any later version.</para>

    <para>This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the <citetitle>GNU General Public License</citetitle> for more details.</para>

    <para lang="en">
      A copy of the <citetitle>GNU General Public License</citetitle> is
      included as an appendix to the <citetitle>GNOME Users
      Guide</citetitle>.  You may also obtain a copy of the
      <citetitle>GNU General Public License</citetitle> from the Free
      Software Foundation by visiting
      <ulink url="http://www.fsf.org" type="http">their Web site</ulink> or
      by writing to
      <address lang="en">
        Free Software Foundation, Inc.
        <street>59 Temple Place</street> - Suite 330
        <city>Boston</city>, <state>MA</state> <postcode>02111-1307</postcode>
        <country>USA</country>
      </address>
    </para>

  </sect1>

</article>
