| (C) 2001-05 by Frank Hollwitz | http://boxit.sourceforge.net/ | 2005-02-24 |
What is BOXit?
BOXit is a small logic game for occasionally. It is one of the games that are quick to learn but hard to handle. If you have fun in puzzling, BOXit is just right for you.
The author
The translations
The homepage
The homepage of BOXit is to be found at the address http://boxit.sourceforge.net/. There you find news and information and can always download the most current program version.
Support
There is support for BOXit exclusively in the forum at the address http://boxit.sourceforge.net/forum.php.
Perhaps, your question was already answered, so that you can find your problem's solution in the forum. If not, just write in your question. Select a subject for your question that is significant („Need help“ is not significant!). Note in the text your BOXit version number, your Java version number and which operating system you use. Then I or an experienced BOXit user will try to help you. The more elaborated and detailed your problem description is, the better we can help you.
Don't hesitate to take a look around in the forum. Maybe you can help another user in his problem. I will not be able to answer each and every question. Especially if you work with an operating system which I have not installed. If you have the experience or the knowledge to answer open questions, then it would be very nice from you to do it. And maybe yourself profit also sometime from the help of another user.
To be able to play BOXit, Java Runtime Environment (short: JRE) version 1.4.2 (or newer) must be installed. It can be downloaded and installed at the address http://www.java.com/.
The system requirements for BOXit are as follows:
BOXit is also compatible with new Java 5.0 (or 1.5.0). Perhaps the sound output is not optimum here. In this case I recommend either to switch off the sound or to install Java 1.4.2 (download under http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html).
Meanwhile besides Sun's Java there are of course free Java VMs available. I haven't tested BOXit up to now under a free Java VM. If a VM is 100% compatible to Sun's Java 1.4.2, there should be actually no problems. But if there are problems, the main problem is probably the sound output. Perhaps it is enough to switch off the sound. Should a new compilation with the SDK of the desired Java VM or even adjustments within the source code be necessary, then this is no problem. The Gnu GPL allows this and the commented source codes are available within the file boxit.jar.
BOXit 2.0 is free software in the purposes of the Gnu GPL version 2 or newer. To inform yourself about the license regulations, please read the enclosed file license.txt or the original at the address http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html.
Installation
Unpack the file archive boxit-2.0.0.tar.gz either with the command tar −zxvf boxit-2.0.0.tar.gz or with one of the graphic tools which are available to you. In doing so, a new subdirectory boxit is created, in which you find all files belonging to BOXit. Root rights are not necessary while unpacking.
Optionally you may create a symbolic link in a directory which is listed in the environment variable PATH (i.e. /usr/local/bin). Enter the command ln −s /pfad/zu/boxit/boxit.sh /usr/local/bin/boxit.sh to do so. Depending on if whether you have writing access to the destination directory you need root rights.
If you like you can create in your graphic desktop environment a desktop shortcut or a menu entry for BOXit. How to do this in detail, is described in the help of your desktop environment. As icon you can use the attached graphics boxit.xpm.
Game start
With the shell script boxit.sh BOXit is launched. This script makes sure that the system changes to the directory boxit, and afterwards launches the game. Alternatively you can launch BOXit also with cd /pfad/zu/boxit && java −jar boxit.jar .
Installation
Java is also available for MacOS and therefore BOXit on this operating system might also run. However, to my disgrace I must admit that I have no idea what is to be considered by running Java applications on MacOS. If you are an experienced Mac user, you will probably know this. In the case of doubt, please read the installation instructions for Linux and Windows. Maybe they help you.
Game start
MacOS X is based on Unix. Therefore the game may also start there with the shell script boxit.sh. If it doesn't work, then change before the game start always in the boxit directory and call then from there the command java −jar boxit.jar .
BOXit can be installed under Windows in two different ways.
Tip for the game start
While launching BOXit the file boxit.exe always checks first whether Java is installed in the right version. If so, BOXit starts immediately. If Java is not installed or if the installed Java is outdated, you are informed about it by an error message, which is able to forward you to the homepage of Java (http://www.java.com/).
Your task consists in clearing the field as far as possible. You do this, while dragging same-colored or equivalent tokens one over another. Such a move is only valid if the destination token is in the same line or column on the playing field as the dragged token.
You drag a token by clicking down on it with the left mouse button, and then move the mouse while holding the button pressed around the playing field. Watch the moving token to see whether the desired move is valid. If you want to lay down the token, then simply release the holded mouse button. If the move that you done is valid, then the dragged token replaces the targeted token. The game is over, as soon as no more valid moves are available.
In an ideal case only there is only one token is left in the end, but to handle that you will have to practice hard ;-)
During the game it is possible to undo every single move in turn. The most easy way to undo a move is to click the right mouse button somewhere on the playing field. By undoing one or more moves you can try different solutions. But you have to pay attention to the time, because BOXit is a game which is also about quickness.
Did you end a game or did you cancel it, then BOXit checks whether your efficiency is good enough for the highscore list. If that's the case, then you have to enter your name. Afterwards you get a highscore list with your new entry marked.
In the highscore list can sign up up to 100 players. The placing is primarily in comply with the number of tokens left on the playing field. Should this number be equally low, the shorter playing time decides who is better.
You can reset the top list any time, delete thus. To do so click on the button Reset which you find on the highscore list. But careful! This can not be undone, the highscore list is irrevocably lost.
If you quit BOXit, then the highscore list is automatically saved. The highscore list as well as the other program options are saved in the file .boxit.ini. This file is automatically created on the first program start after the installation and it's located in your home directory (i.e. C:\Documents and Settings\User on Win XP, C:\Windows on Win98 or /home/user on Linux).
If you quit BOXit, the program options automatically saved. The options as well as the highscore list are saved in the file .boxit.ini. This file is automatically created on the first program start after the installation and it's located in your home directory (i.e. C:\Documents and Settings\User on Win XP, C:\Windows on Win98 or /home/user on Linux).
The following options are saved:
If you want to reset BOXit into the state it had before it's first start, then you only need to delete the file .boxit.ini. BOXit should not run while deleting the file.
BOXit is actually a mouse game and without a mouse it's not playable. Nevertheless, you can access the most important program functions by keyboard too.
| Here an overview to the keyboard shortcuts: | |||
| F6 | - | show the highscore list | |
| S, F7 | - | switch the sound output on or off | |
| F4 | - | switch the full screen mode on or off | |
| H, F1 | - | show this help | |
| F9 | - | show the about dialog | |
| Alt-F4, F10 | - | quit BOXit | |
| in addition, while no game is running: | |||
| N, F2 | - | launch a new game | |
| in addition, while a game is running: | |||
| BACKSPACE, DEL, F8 | - | undo a move | |
| PAUSE, P, F3 | - | pause or resume a game | |
| A, F2 | - | cancel a running game | |
| within dialogs use these keys: | |||
| RETURN, ENTER | - | answer questions with Yes or close info dialogs | |
| ESC | - | answer questions with No | |
With the buttons F7 or S or with the menu button Sound the sound output can be switched on or off. You can read the state of the sound output on the inscription of the sound button in the menu bar. If the button is checkmarked, then the sound is switched on.
Under Windows I have seen that the sound is problematic while running BOXit with Java 5.0 (or 1.5.0). The sound output doesn't work partially not or not at all. This new Java seems to have a few problems with sound output. In this case you should either switch the sound off or install the „old“ Java 1.4.2. Unfortunately, Java 5.0 must be uninstalled to be able to use Java 1.4.2 as the standard Java. Proceed as follows:
Under Linux no sound problems in association with Java 5.0 are known to me up to now. Here the sound is optimal with both Java versions.
How this is about under MacOS I cannot tell, unfortunately. But MacOS X got an Unix based kernel, so I suppose that the sound is well here with both Java versions.
The menu button Full Screen or the button F4 you toggle between window and full screen mode. No matter that you recognize of course immediately whether the program is in the full screen mode, you can read the state on the full screen button in the menu bar too.
For full sreen mode a screen resolution of 640×480 with color depth of 32 bit is used.
Unfortunately this does not seem to work under Linux. Even if the X server is configured for supporting this resolution and it works well with other games, Java seems not to be able to take influence on the screen resolution. So you unfortunately have to renounce the full screen mode.
Under Windows the full screen mode should work well, if the graphics card and the monitor support this resolution and color depth.
I have no idea, if the full screen mode works under MacOS. Maybe a Mac user sends me a detailierten report of his experience with BOXit on this system;-)
With a click on Help or in the about dialog on License this help file is launched in the system's standard internet browser. Unfortunately there are no Java instruments to access the standard browser. Therefore I use the BrowserLauncher class written by Eric Albert. Basically that seems to work quite well, but there are also some restrictions.
Under Linux no universal standard browser can be recognized, because of the different desktop environments. Here BOXit uses the command mozilla for launching the browser. I imply that on today's most Linux systems the Open Source browser Mozilla is installed. If you didn't install Mozilla or if you would like to use another browser, then add to the end of the option file ~/.boxit.ini the following two lines and customize them if necessary to make BOXit able to access your favorite browser:
[Help]
Browser=/usr/bin/firefox
Maybe under older Windows versions no browser is launched. In this case there is nothing else you can do, than to load the help file help.html manually into a browser.
Under MacOS everything should work fine. Unfortunately I can't check that. If the help file is not launched from BOXit, then please load the help file help.html manally into a browser.
While the program launches the language used by operating system is recognized. If BOXit has got a suitable translation, this one is used. If no translation is available, then English language will be used.
Until now BOXit is only available in English and German. If you have fun and time by translating, I invite you warmly to translate the program into another language.
Among other things the resources files containing the output texts can be found in the file boxit.jar. The file boxit.jar can be unpacked with every ZIP compatible unpack software. The file boxit.properties contains the English texts which are used as standard texts. You find the German translation in the file boxit_de.properties. You can use on of these files as a template for your own translation.
Your language file has to have the name boxit_xx.properties. The xx must be replaced with the two letter code of the language, i.e. fr for French or pl for Polish. Pay attention to that the filename must be composed only by using lowercase letters.
The language file can be edited with every text editor. Best is to copy all the contents of one of the already available language files into your new language file and then just to start with the translation. The lines which begins with a hash (#) are comments which should make the translation easier for you. In the other lines only the text which is right from the equals (=) has to be translated. The text that is left from the equals, must remain like it is.
Optionally you can also translate the help file help.html or help_xx.html afterwards - xx is here again for the language code. But please pay attention in a correct XHTML-1.0-coding of your new help file.
If you done the translations, you can use a file archiver to pack the new files into the file boxit.jar. I would be pleased if you send me your translations (to hollwitz@users.sourceforge.net), so I can add them to the official BOXit packages.
With BOXit the following files are delevered:
| boxit.jar | - | the game BOXit | |
| help.html | - | this help file | |
| help_xx.html | - | translations of the help file | |
| readme.txt | - | the readme | |
| readme_xx.txt | - | translations of the readme | |
| license.txt | - | the license | |
| boxit.sh | - | the launcher for Linux | |
| boxit.xpm | - | the icon for the Linux desktop | |
| boxit.exe | - | the launcher for Windows | |
| launcher.cfg | - | die configuration of the Windows launcher | |
| the Windows installer installs two additional files: | |||
| unins000.exe | - | the uninstaller | |
| unins000.dat | - | the configuration of the uninstaller | |
BOXit 2.0 (2005-02-24)
BOXit 1.02 (2003-11-18)
BOXit 1.01 (2003-11-16)
BOXit 1.0 (2001)
BOXit is released the under the rules of the Gnu GPL. Therefore the source codes are available too, of course. Among the classes and resources the source codes are in the file boxit.jar.
The file boxit.jar can be read and unpacked with every ZIP compatible unpacker. The source codes are in the subdirectory source. In addition, a build file for Ant (http://ant.apache.org/) is there, to create the class files in the upper directory.
I have tried to comment the source codes in the file boxit.java in detail. The other two .java files were not written by me. If I have changed these files, then the changes are marked by comments.
In order to compile the classes I have used Java JDK 1.5.0_01 and Ant 1.6.2.
Although I try to use third-party classes for my programs as few as possible, there are exceptions. In BOXit I use the following third-party classes:
You find the original versions of both classes in the subdirectory redist within the file boxit.java. The authors of the these classes doesn't take over any liability for their classes and its functionality.
I know that many users very much interests in which software was used with developing. I tried to list here what software I used to develope BOXit.
You see that BOXit has nearly complete originated under Linux. Only the exe-wrapper was compiled and packed under Windows. All used software is available free of charge, a large part even as Open Source. As hardware platform served an Intel Pentium IV with 2.53 mhz.
In addition I have tested the program still under Windows 98 SE (emulated under Linux within Qemu [http://fabrice.bellard.free.fr/qemu/]) and under Windows XP Home SP2 (nativ).
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