Index

Commands

Using the Mouse

Using the Keyboard

Description

Comments

Register.


Commands

These commands are available from the Command Line:

Cube	- change the Cube

Options	- Options to change the colors and modify the Undo feature

Quit	- Quit the game

Help	- Get help


Cube - Commands

Scramble	- create a random pattern

  Stop srcambling with Mouse- or ESC key

New	- Resets the cube pattern, the clock and the undo ring

Load 	- load a saved cube pattern

Save	- saves the current pattern and color

A Filedialog-Window will be opened for load and save.  Within this dialog, a Show option gives the opportunity to inspect the saved cubes before loading/saving a new one.


Color Selection

Colors - Command

The Colors Command opens a window for a color dialog.  The window has several frames.

For details of these frames, please reference :

Sideframe

Mainframe

Paletteframe

Mixframe

Actionswitches.


Quit

Quit - Command

 The Quit - Command ends the game.

 In case of any moves, you will be asked for saving.


Help

Help - Command

You can get help at any time with  F1. Select a command from the Command Line or from a Popup Menu and press F1.

Explanation of Help-Subcommands:

Index

Commands

Statusline

Keyboard

Mouse

Description

UsingHelp

Comment

Register.


Keyboard

explains how to play with the keyboard.


Mouse

explains how to play with the mouse.


Description

describes the game .


Comment

a short comment on this program .


Register

Hints for registration.


Commands

explains the commands in the command line.


Status Line

explains the Statusline.


Help - Index

gives an Index of available commands.


Using Help

explains the WINDOWS Help System


Using the Mouse

Move the cursor to a row (horizontal), a column (vertical) or a side, press the left or right button and drag into the desired direction.

Left  Mousebutton - Drag a row or a column

Right Mousebutton - Drag the whole Side


Using the Keyboard

The 'active' row and column will be marked with a frame whenever a key is pressed. They may be moved using the CURSOR-Keys.

Cursor keys together with the CTRL-Key will move the whole side.

Cursor keys with the SHIFT-Key will move the mark.

Cursor left	- row / side / mark to the left

Cursor right	- row / side / mark to the right

Cursor up 	- column / side / mark upward

Cursor down 	- column / side / mark downward

The Undo feature is enabled/disabled with the PageUp key. When enabled, the scrollbar in the right corner of the status bar will be focused. You may now use the Cursor left or right key to Undo/Redo the last moves. Pressing PageUp again will give the focus back to the cube.


Status Line

There is a Status Line at the bottom of the picture. It has three fields:

timer field	- shows the elapsed time from the first move

message area	- gives short messages on the current status and which keys to use

undo/redo bar	- a scrollbar for undo / redo moves.


Description

wCUBE is a flat copy of Professor Ernö Rubik's famous  RUBIK'S CUBE(tm), now running under Windows. You see a standard 3-D drawing of a cube surrounded with a kind of 'mirror' of the three invisible sides. Rows and columns of the center sides are moveable, the outer sides will change accordingly.

Aim of the Game:

Once scrambled, move all fields of same color back to one side.

How to play:

You may play in Keyboard - mode as well as in Mouse - mode.

In Keyboard-mode, a row and a column will be marked when any key is pressed. These may be moved with the Cursor keys.

As soon as the mouse is moved, a switch to mouse-mode will take place.

Note that you can see the current pattern of the cube in the icon when iconizing, which might be helpful when playing with several cubes..

Enjoy !


Options

The available options are:

Colors  	-  to change the colors of the picture

Undo  	- to modify the undo-feature.


Undo

The Undo feature allows to undo the last moves. The number of moves stored can be defined with the Set subcommand. You may toggle back and forth within the specified range.

The subcommands:

Enable	- enable/disable the undo feature. If enabled, the command line is checked.

Clear	- clear the undo-ring. May be useful in some situations.

Set	- set a number up to 9999 moves that might be restored.


Register

Since I made this program for my own pleasure and no extensive testing has been done,  I decided  to take no registration fee. However, if anybody is going to play with this program, I would be glad to get any comments or suggestions. Error incidents are appreciated as well. Please use the address in the info-window to contact me.

Of course, I keep my full copyright, and this version should not be used commercially without my agreement.

Thanks, Fritz


Side Frame

Side - Frame

 (Colordialog)

There are  six numbered switches, one for each side of the cube, a switch 'B' for Background and a switch 'F' for the selection Frame. Clicking on one of the switches will draw a frame around the side to be changed, around the whole picture for background color, or a thick frame for the selection frame. You may now click on one of the colors in the Palette  or mix it to your own taste. The selected color will immediately appear on the cube in the main frame.

Note that the usage of the color dialog is slightly limited when using the keyboard. You will not be able to choose a color directly from the Palette frame, but may use the mix scrollbars to change a color.

Use the tab key to step to a switch and press enter to activate it.


Main Frame

 (Colordialog)

The Main Frame shows a copy of a cube with the currently active colors. The side selected in the Sideframe will be marked.


Palette

Palette - Frame

 (Colordialog)

Sixteen squares show colors from the WINDOWS-Palette. Clicking on one of these colors will associate it with the side selected in the MainFrame .


Mix frame

Mix - Frame

 (Colordialog)

The three scrollbars will change the Red/Green/Blue values of the side selected in the MainFrame . Choosen values will be shown as numbers and on the bars as well.


Action switches

Action - Switches

 (Colordialog)

Next 	- Will step to the next side. The appropriate switch in the Side Frame will be focused and the selected side will be marked.

Cube	- Return to the cube. The colors in the Main Frame frame will be set.

Default	- Default colors will be shown in the Main Frame.

Cancel	- Cancel color selection. Colors in use before the dialog will be set.


Comment

Comments

(an Author's burden)

This is the windows version of my Rubik's Cube written in 1992 in Turbo C for DOS/VGA. When  migrating to Borland C++3.1, I thought it could be a good idea to convert it to WINDOWS, just togain some experiences in Windows programming. Since then I have undergone all the terrific experiences a newcomer will find when he starts Window programming and has to rely on Borland's documentation. But finally I am pretty satisfied with the results and I really learned a lot about Windows functions.

Users may forgive bugs and other uneven things they might discover. Notes or comments are highly appreciated. (100334,530 in CompuServe).

I know, the time of the cube has passed, but I feel it is still a great game, and it seems to be also a big challenge for hobby programmers. So I did see a few more Cubes with different approaches, but I think this one can compete with others. Some features seem to be new (keyboard support, the extensive colordialog,  p.e.).

I will first distribute this as Freeware, keeping of course my full copyright. This version should not be used comercially without my agreement.

There are plans to provide an solution approach, a display of saved cubes, an undo-feature etc..

Watch out if you are interested or ask for registration.

Also look for the old DOS/VGA version (I still like it) and for a nice issue of Rubik's Clock for VGA.

Fritz Mueller  100334,530 @ CompuServe

March 1994

Version 2 (April1994):

By employing the object structure of the cube, I could easily manage some of the promised improvements. So there is now a show option when loading/saving a new cube and an improved color selection. Besides this, there is a new undo/redo feature which enables to undo up to 9999 moves.

Some small bugs and logic errors are also removed.