			Connect Four, v1.0  TI-86 version
	
			by Olcay Cirit, olcay@libtech.com


OBJECT OF THE GAME:

	To get four of your pieces in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally.
	You move by dropping pieces into columns. Each piece falls to the 
	bottom of the column.

HOW TO PLAY:

	Quick Keys:

		Move pointer = Left Arrow, Right Arrow
		Select       = Up, Down, or ENTER
		Quit Game    = EXIT


	At the startup menu, select the kind of game you want: 2 Human players,
	Computer vs. Human, or Human vs. Computer (the difference is in who
	goes first).

	In the game, use the left and right arrow keys to move the arrow pointer,
	and press up, down, or enter to select a column. 

	The color and type (human/computer) of the current player is displayed
	at all times in the top right corner. If it is the computer's turn,
	the bottom of the screen will display "Thinking..." while the computer
	is evaluating the possible moves. 

	If either side achieves four in a row, the game will end, and the program
	will display which side won. If neither side gets four in a row and the board
	fills up, the game will be declared a tie. After the game is over, the
	program will return to the main menu.

	Pressing Exit will leave the game screen and return to the main menu.

MISC. STUFF:

	Yes, I know that there are other connect four programs out there for the 86, but 
	none of them had all of the qualities I sought: speed, good graphics, and a good
	computer player.

	Speaking of the Computer player, tries every possible move looking 3 turns ahead, 
	and scores each move it can make based on the possible future outcomes. In the
	event of a tie score, it favors positions closer to the center column. It doesn't
	use randomization, as I'm not sure how to do that yet.

	This game was compressed using Lite86 by Kirk Meyer, which means that it can't be used in
	shells that use program writeback (whatever that means). It works properly under
	ASE, but I haven't tested it in other shells.
	
	I owe a great debt to Chris Dannemiller and Jeremy Scoggins for their wonderful 
	Small-C for the TI83/TI86. This is an awesome tool for creating fast, ASM-caliber
	programs without having to learn Z80 assembly. Thanks also to the people behind
	Assembly Studio 86 for the easy-to-use sprite editor.

	Get Small-C 83/86 at: www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/1143/ti86cc.html

FUTURE PLANS:

	I might add an option to allow the user to adjust the strength of the AI. I might
	try to make the AI faster, but Small C isn't as fast as finely-tuned ASM, and
	I don't see any good way to make it faster.

SOURCE:

	Feel free to do whatever you want with the source code, but please give me credit
	for my work if you use it.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you find a bug in the game, please send
me an e-mail at olcay@libtech.com. Alternatively, you can send an Instant Message to
my sn: olozanthes