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        This is a Unix SysV implementation of a game that appeared on
comp.binaries.amiga a while ago. The author, Quentin Neill,
saw it on an amiga here at work, and ported it to curses 
(on his own time, of course ;-)  ).
	I'm not too sure about the history of tetrix.  Someone 
said that the game originated in Russia, and that it is quite old.
We became enthralled with the game on an Amiga, almost to the point
of addiction.  That version had some documentation, but I never had
the chance to read it - I only played.  I considered writing a version
in machine language for my Franklin junker at home, but settled on a
C implementation for unix machines.
	The object of the game is to keep the board clear for as long as
possible.  Pieces consisting of four blocks (hence the name TETRix) in the
seven possible arrangements are sent down one at a time.  The player's
job is to find the best fit for the piece in the pile of blocks that have
already fallen.  He can rotate each piece and move it from side to side.  
If the piece just played causes a complete row of blocks, that row is 
erased and all blocks above it move down one row.  Points are awarded for
completed rows - more for rows higher up on the board.  A piece may
be dropped from a height for additional points when the player feels it 
is oriented correctly.  The game is over when no more pieces can be formed
at the top of the board.
	There is one variable INIT_PAUSE in tet.c that compensates for
different machine speeds.  Set this higher if tetrix screams, and the 
time between each piece's movement will lengthen.  Set it lower if
it crawls along too slowly.  On a Tower 32/800 with about 45 users on a
busy day, we do well with the value set at about 300.  On a Tower 32/200
with one user, the value was set at 1500.

	Good luck!					Quentin Neill
DataMuseum.dk

DKUUG/EUUG Conference tapes

⟦181beb043⟧ TextFile

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