Solitaire (Windows, 1990)

Prototype Info Notes

Retail Version#

Game Number#

A window in the game executable which allows you to type in a game number, like FreeCell...except Solitaire doesn't use game numbers in the retail version.

Assertion Failure#

Also hidden in the game executable, but never appears. As above, it asks for the game number to be included with bug reports, which don't exist in the retail.

Unused Text#

Unable to load bitmap; do you want to use a green background?

This leftover message, which can been found in all available versions, suggests there could've been an option that allowed you to use a custom bitmap for the background image of the Solitaire window. There doesn't seem to be any way to re-enable this feature for use.

Development Text#

To do: What about later versions?

Not Yet Implemented

There's no clue as to what hasn't (yet) been implemented. As of Windows 3.1, it still hasn't been implemented.

Obscure Settings#

Inside the main executable, is this group of strings:

Back
Options
Bitmap
iCurrency
sCurrency
intl

These appear to be used for sol.ini settings, telling the game which names to load from and save to. Back and Options are the normal settings the game reads from and saves to. The Bitmap option is probably linked to the above-mentioned ability to set a bitmap as the background. The Currency options go in an [intl] section to alter the currency format in Vegas mode. iCurrency (valid values are 0, 1, 2, and 3. 1 puts the symbol after the amount. 2 and 3 are the same as 0 and 1 but with a space between the symbol and the amount) sets the position and spacing of the currency symbol. sCurrency sets the currency symbol itself (for example, one can add sCurrency=£ to an [intl] section of sol.ini to play Vegas mode with pound sterling instead of dollars). The Windows XP version does not seem to support the sCurrency setting, but iCurrency works fine (the settings are stored in the registry rather than sol.ini).

Debug Version#

This debug version is included in most debug/checked versions of Windows NT versions starting from NT 3.51 up to XP.

The debug menu is "hidden" between the Game and Help dropdown menus, just click there to reveal it.

• Set Game Number allows you to enter a specific game number to start a game. The debug version of Solitaire does use game numbers, and shows them prominently in the interface.
• Print icrdMacs displays some numbers, as seen at the right. They display the amount of cards in this order:
  • The deck.
  • The revealed cards of the deck.
  • The suit stack.
  • Each of the row stacks.
• Force Win, well, forces a win. The key combination which is assigned to (Alt + Shift + 2) still works in the retail consumer version.
• Assert Failure triggers the Assertion Failure window, shown above. While a sol.dbg is in fact generated, the file is completely empty. There is a sol.dbg containing text included with the Windows NT 4.0 source code, see the Notes page for more. Unlike what it says, the Exit Windows button does not induce a shutdown.
• Marquee Test seems to have no programmed function.
• Configure for screen shots hides the game number from the interface. This is probably there to hide this feature from screenshots released to the public.

Oddities#

The high resolution 32 bit icon used in the Windows XP version seems to be using the incorrect icon, where its drop shadow is blocky like the 8/16 bit icon. In the lower resolution variants, the correct smooth drop shadow is present.

8/16 BPP	32 BPP

Version Differences#

Icon#

Windows 3.0	Windows 3.1/95/98/ME/NT/2000	Windows XP

It is worth noting that the 16-color icon variant (used from Windows 3.1 onwards) still actually exists in Windows XP version as a low color depth fallback.

Card Decks#

Windows 3.x/9x/NT/2000/ME	Windows XP

None of the XP decks ever seem to be animated, unlike some of the classic decks. That said, animation frames from these classic decks can still be found in the Windows XP version under cards.dll.

Other Differences#

The Windows 3.0 version saves its settings to (and loads settings from) win.ini: a [Solitaire] section and a [intl] section (for this reason, the currency format in this version is "inherited" from the system). Starting with the Windows 3.1 version, Solitaire gets its own INI file: sol.ini, which contains the [Solitaire] section. However, because the [intl] section is not also migrated to sol.ini by default (as they are system settings, they remain in win.ini, but the 3.1 and later versions have been completely "redirected" to sol.ini), these versions use the default currency settings unless one adds an [intl] section to sol.ini. The Windows 2000 and XP (and NT?) versions store settings in the registry.

The Windows 3.0 version has its own, independent About dialogue. The Windows 3.1 and later versions use the Windows About dialogue.

References#