OS/2 e-Zine! - WarpTris v1.01

WarpTris v1.01 - by Jorge Martins

WarpTris v1.01 is a unique four-directional Tetris variation, written from the ground up as a 32-bit PM application and built using VisualAge C++ for OS/2.

According to my tests, WarpTris runs equally well under Warp 3.0 or Warp 4.0 and it displays properly under resolutions from 640x480 to 1024x768. Actually, WarpTris runs better under Warp 4.0 since the sound effects (using MMPM MCI interface on a separate thread) are smoother.

Besides being another demonstration that ANY computer is subject to being used to play some games, the author, Paulo Gago da Câmara, released the source code and wrote an article published by EDM/2 describing how he did it.

According to Câmara, this was a first project so if users acknowledge that they are using WarpTris and like it, that's enough payment for him. If you do, you may see more (better) games for OS/2. (Personally I'd like an Oil Imperium clone for OS/2.)

Installation

Installation of WarpTris is pretty straightforward. WarpTris is distributed as a single zip file; after unzipping it, a REXX script creates a folder on the Desktop containing a shadow of the readme file, the WarpTris program object and the Help file (INF format). Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done! You can skip installation and run the EXE directly.

It is impressive that such a small free program like this one actually has a help system, and a very complete one!

Gameplay

This has to be one of the toughest Tetris variations in existence. The reason for this is the unique variation on the play; pieces fall in four directions. I'm OK with that, but when a full line disappears it creates a hole on the adjacent sides. Now try to fill that up! The combined difficulty of having to deal with pieces falling all over the place and those nasty holes makes this game a great challenge.

Should you need to divert your attention from the game to another task, WarpTris automatically suspends the game. Even if you change the focus to any window within WarpTris other than the Game Window, WarpTris stops. A nice touch.

There are 3 levels of difficulty ranging from "Donkey" to "Warp!". I found "Donkey" to be enough for me, but if you're a Tetris-master, you have the ability to speed things up. Another way to make things difficult on yourself are to turn the preview window off so you won't know what piece is coming next (or which way it's going to go).

As any decent Tetris clone the main user interface (GIF, 9.9k) features the next piece you'll have to deal with, the current score and the top 10 high scores. The preview window differs from standard Tetris though since it also includes an arrow indicating which way the next shape will be moving. You can also turn on and off the sound effects, which are limited to beeps when pieces appear and applause when a game is finished.

Quirks

This game has few, if any, quirks (some unnecessary window refreshes -- nothing special). There are a few things that could make it a better game though.

There is no way of specifying the grid size, to take advantage of higher resolutions.
There is no way to reconfigure the keys.
The only way to reset high scores is erasing the scores.ini file <g>.

Uninstallation

WarpTris v1.01 doesn't register any WPS classes, nor does it modify files such as the CONFIG.SYS, STARTUP.CMD or system INI's, so the uninstallation program is the Shredder. You just have to delete two folders and you are done. Of course there could be an uninstallation script that would do just that, but this is only a minor annoyance.

Conclusion

WarpTris v1.01 will please Tetris buffs as well as the casual player. The program is stable and bug free (as near as I could tell). It's also multithreaded, MMPM enabled and FREE. And finally, the author even lets you peek into the source code (also free).

Download it and try it out!

WarpTris v1.01
by Paulo Camara
download from Paulo Camara's home page (ZIP, 148k)
Registration: Freeware

Jorge Martins is a Mathematics/Computer Science student at Azores University in Azores, Portugal. He is also a C/C++ instructor at CFPA, an Azorean Training Center. He has used and programmed OS/2 since version 1.0.

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