
                                SAM SPADE GAME

               Copyright (C) 1985,2008 by Robert C. Sanborn Jr.
                           Sanborn Software Systems
                               402 East 43rd St.
                         Indianapolis, Indiana  46205
                          robert@sanbornsoftware.com




    The Sam Spade game is a detective game whereby you the player become
    Sam Spade, the cheap private detective.  Your mission is to solve a
    case by visiting a number of places around town as shown by the map
    displayed on your screen.  You are given a set amount of money and have
    a certain amount of time to solve the case.


    One of the more interesting parts about Sam is that you can develop you
    own cases to solve with any word processor or text editor that can pro
    duce pure ASCII files.  If you have taken a look at the file called
    SAMCASE1.FIL, you will have noticed that there are numbers and letters
    beginning some of the text files and this is the basis that you can use
    to build your own cases.  If you have a word processor, I encourage you
    to take a look at it as the structure that you will use will be pretty
    much the same.


    This document contains the detailed explanation on how you can build
    your own cases for Sam Spade.  This new version of Sam Spade will not
    run the old cases as delivered with the pre-release version and that is
    only because of the file naming constraints with the old version.
    Actually to use the old SAMCASE1.FIL, just rename it using the new
    convention.  More on that later.



    Sam Spade has gone through a few changes since it was introduced in
    January 1986 and for those of you who have responded with your com
    ments, suggestions, and especially, your money, I think you will find
    it worth while.  Now for the legal points:

    Sam Spade Game is a copyrighted product of Robert C. Sanborn Jr. and
    Sanborn Software Systems and is not for public distribution.   Please
    read the license agreement.  Versions of Sam Spade 1.1 and above are
    only distributed to people like you that have registered by sending in
    the $25.  Please do not give out this version.  Version 1.0 and below
    are the only versions that may be distributed freely to encourage
    people to look at the game.

    It is because of contribution of people like yourself that I am sending
    you these new cases and this program update and the instructions on
    building your own cases.  I would appreciate you keeping them to your
    self.



    The cases in Sam Spade were originally written using VolksWriter Deluxe
    from Lifetree Software Inc. but can be written using any word processor
    that can create an ASCII file.  The cases have specific formats that
    must be followed in order for the program to get the information it
    needs and those are as follows:


    In your document:

    Lines 1 - 17 are the text of the problem to be solved.

    Lines 18 and 19 are what you need to solve the case.

    Lines 20 is the money and time parameters.

    Lines 21 - 134 are the individual location clues.

    Lines 136 - 139 are the answers to the problems.


    To build your own case I will help you by showing you how that I the
    first case was set up.  Probably the first thing you should do is to
    print off the first case and that is SAMCS1.FIL  You will notice that
    this case is the same that came with the original version and I have
    retained it for clarity and documentation.  If you have already gone
    through the efforts of creating a new case for the old version, you can
    use it here by just renaming it to fit this convention.


    If you are familiar with your PC and modifying text files, batch files,
    paths and directories, I don't think you will have any problems with
    making your own cases.  If you are a novice or a beginning PC user, I
    hope that you will find the instructions detailed enough for you to
    follow without any trouble.  If you do have problems or questions, feel
    free to call me or drop me a line.   At the end of this document, I
    will include some more final hints and caveats that you will need to
    follow when building your cases.  Be sure to look at that list before
    you try your case to help you avoid any problems.


    So good luck with your new cases.  If you would like to share your
    cases with others, please send them to me and I will make them avail
    able.  I am also trying to think of a way to rate them as Sam Spade
    would make an excellent game for competition with other would be
    sleuths.  If you have any ideas on that topic, let me know.


    The first thing you should do is print off the file SAMCS1.FIL.


    FILENAME:


    The name of the case I gave you was SAMCS1.FIL and all other cases must
    conform to that naming convention.  That is each case must have SAMCS
    and FIL as part of the name, so the second case would be SAMCS2.FIL and
    the 20th case would be SAMCS20.FIL

    The game will automatically recognize the file names when you type in
    the case number at the beginning of the game.


    LINES 1 - 17:


    As you can see, the first part or lines 1 through 17 is the initial
    part of the case that gives you enough background to begin with.  You
    can think of this part as if you were the Private Eye and someone came
    into your office and told you their story.  Now whether they tell you
    the whole story or just part, that is one thing that you will have to
    determine.  What ever you do, be sure that you take up all 17 lines.
    As you can see with Case 1, lines 3, 16, and 17 are blank.  What ever
    you place in these lines will appear at the beginning of the case and
    will remain on the screen for one minute.


    LINES 18 - 19:

    These lines will also be printed as you enter them but there are a
    couple of keywords that you need to be sure are there for the game to
    recognize the problems.

    If you will notice on line 18 in case 1, the words "find out:" and
    "and:".  These keywords are needed to distinguish the problems to be
    found out.  You must keep to this format.  Whether the text between
    them is all caps or not, doesn't matter. But you must use these words
    as separators.

    Keyword "find out:" will note the first problem and keyword "and:" will
    show you the second.  If you have problems three and four on line 19,
    then they must be shown with "and:" for each one.  for example:

    Line 18 is:

    Sam, find out: WHERE ARE THE CERTIFICATES  and:  WHO KILLED CHARLIE

    and Line 19 could be:

    and: WHERE IS THE BODY  and: WHO IS IN JAIL

    As you can see, for this version of Sam Spade, the problems should be
    very specific and ask definite questions that can be answered in one
    word.  If you do this, then when it comes time to solve the case, the
    person doing so doesn't have to worry about typing in a long or compli
    cated answer.  It also makes it much easier on the program as it tries
    to understand the answer given to it.

    Also as you can see from case one, you do not need all four problems to
    be solved and so you can make the case as easy or as complex as you
    want.  The game will handle one to four problems.


    LINE 20:

    To solve the cases in Sam Spade you must be back to Sam's office within
    the time limits given and here is where it is done.  Like lines 18 and
    19, this line is also printed as is shown.  Also like lines 18 and 19,
    there are keywords that the program looks for.  For the time limits,
    the game looks for "Minutes" and if there is none shown, it will
    assume a time limit of 300 minutes.  For the money, the program looks
    for "Dollars" with a maximum default of $250.  Please note that "Min
    utes" and "Dollars" must be typed exactly as shown !  Examples:

    you have  200 Minutes and   100 Dollars to solve this case.

    or:

    Sam, you must solve this case in   30 Minutes and you have  50 Dollars.


    If you will note there are spaces surrounding the numbers.  The way the
    program works is that you have a field of six characters before the
    keywords to enter the numbers.


    LINES 21 THROUGH 134:

    These lines include the clues to the various locations through out the
    map.  Each clue can be up to two lines in length and there can be up to
    three clues per location.  Each location has a number and they are:

      1.   Sam's Office     9.   Hospital        17.  Police
      2.   Train Shed       10.  Bank            18.  Library
      3.   Greasy Spoon     11.  Dock House      19.  Museum
      4.   Hanks Bar        12.  Chinese Food
      5.   Pool Room        13.  Beer Wine
      6.   Belch Hotel      14.  News Cigs
      7.   Pier             15.  Warehouse
      8.   Morgue           16.  Park

    There are three clues per location that must be built.  Not all loca
    tions will have clues (see the clues for the Train Shed) and each clue
    must be two lines in length.

    If you will notice when looking at the first case, all clue lines must
    begin on column 5 and the first line for each clue must have the two
    digit code number of the location it represents.  For example, The Pool
    Room (5) is:

    ....05Word has it that Vinny had a contract out on Charlie.

    If the clue will only fit on one line, then the second line must be
    present and it should be blank.

    If there is no worthwhile clue to be given for a location, you must
    state so and you should say so using the following specific keywords:

         "No clue"  or  "Nothing here"

    as the text immediately following the clue location number.  Example:

    ....04No Clue.  The bar is closed.  Temperance Day.

    The reason for the special keywords is that if a clue is present, the
    program will leave it on the screen for 20 seconds.  If one of the no
    clue keywords are there, then it will only be displayed for 5 seconds.

    So be sure to make the clue simple enough so that it can be read
    and written down and understood within the 20 second time limit.


    LINES 21 THROUGH 134: (cont.)


    Keep the clue text short enough so that it will fit on the screen. Keep
    it under 75 characters in length total including the five spaces needed
    at the beginning of each line.

    Clue tips:  As far as the clues go, try to keep them simple enough as
    they are only displayed for 20 seconds.  Also when you are building
    your case and the clues, try to make the clues fit the locations and
    the context of the case.  In Case 1, the train shed location is a good
    example as the case has nothing to do with the train or the shed.  The
    idea here is that you should penalize the detective if he or she
    decides to go somewhere that may not have any bearing on the case or
    crime.  This is one of the features that Sam Spade offers that I think
    makes it better than most types of detective or adventure games.  How
    ever, when you make up the cases, you can do as you wish.

    If you found out with this first case, you can also introduce clues
    that also may be a bit off the truth.  Consider Sam Spade and the cases
    he solves, not everyone is telling the truth.  Be careful how you do
    this as it may make the case unsolvable.

    The reason for three clues to a location is that as the game is played,
    when Sam goes around looking for clues, he will only get one clue per
    location.  Which clue he gets is randomly picked and so it may
    force him to return to a particular location several times before he
    gets the clue that he needs.  That is why sometimes that as you go from
    place to place, you sometimes get the same clue.

    Another tip would be to be sure to plant some solid evidence around for
    Sam to pick up.  If you make all of the clues to vague, you may make it
    too difficult to solve the case.  Also be sure to thread the clues.
    That is to have one clue send you to another location.

    If you noticed with the first case, you can also through in some "Red
    Herrings"; that is a suspect that did not commit the crime even though
    it looks like he has an excellent motive.  Many people though that
    Vinny bumped off Charlie and got a rude surprise when he didn't.


    LINE 135:


    Line 135 is just left blank.


    LINE 136 THROUGH 139:

    These are the solutions to the problems to be solved.

    You can have up to four solutions to be solved in this case.  The
    solutions are to be kept to a single word to allow the player the
    ability to get it right.  The reason is that when it comes time to
    solving the case, the player must input the solution and the program
    will then see if it matches what the solution is.  They must match !

    Otherwise, the player will think that the answer is incorrect even
    though he might be right.

    To specifics:  The way the answer is checked is that the solution must
    be a part of the answer given.  For example:  In case number 1.  prob
    lem number 1 is WHERE ARE THE CERTIFICATES and the solution is MUSEUM.
    So the answer must contain the word MUSEUM somewhere in the text.  If
    the player had entered "In an urn in the museum" then the game would
    have a match.  But if the player had misspelled museum or didn't use the
    name then there could be a problem.

    The second problem shows this better.  The problem is WHO KILLED CHAR
    LIE and the solution is ERNIE.  If the player had entered:
         "The killer was Ernest"  then the answer would be WRONG !


    The key is to keep the solutions simple and to a single word that is
    easy to enter and is not easily mis-spelled.


    With this, you should have little trouble in developing a case for Sam
    Spade.  The next page is a quick capsule of the steps outlined so far.
    Take a look at them.


    FINAL INSTRUCTIONS & HINTS:



    LINES 1 - 17:  INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE TO BE SOLVED.

         No special instructions.  Just what ever you want.


    LINES 18 and 19: THE PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED.

         The keywords "find out:" and "and:" must include the
         colons and MUST be typed in lower case.

         The keyword "find out:" must indicate the first problem to be
         solved.

         Only a maximum of four problems allowed and two per line.

    LINE 20:  THE MONEY AND TIME LIMITS TO THE CASE.

         The keywords "Minutes" and "Dollars" must be typed as
         shown here.  Lower case with first letter Capitalized.

         The numbers for minutes and dollars must occupy the six spaces
         just before the keywords and cannot include punctuation or let
         ters.

         Maximum time limit can be is 300 minutes and dollars is $250.


    LINES 21 TO 134:  THE INDIVIDUAL LOCATION CLUES.

         Three clues per location, two lines per clue.  Each clue must
         start on column 5 and the location code must be the first two
         characters of the first clue line.

         Special no clue keywords are "No clue" and "Nothing here" and they
         must be entered exactly as shown.

         Clues will be shown for 20 seconds unless a no clue keyword is
         used then it will be shown only for 5 seconds.

         Keep the clues simple and easy to read.

    LINE 135:  is blank.

    LINES 136 TO 139:  THE SOLUTIONS TO THE CASE.

         You can have from 1 to 4 solutions but must have four solution
         lines.

         Each line must begin with "s1" "s2" "s3" and "s4".

         The keyword here to use for less than four solutions is "NONE".

         Keep the solutions to one word.



                            SAM SPADE GAME -- CROSS REFERENCE CHART


    This is the Cross Reference Point for calculating directions any where
    in the game.

    Cab fare is calculated as:  $fare = INT(5+(DIST/5))
    Cab ride time is calculated as:  time = INT(DIST/3) Minimum 2 minutes.
    To stay somewhere, costs 5 minutes.

    So, to go from Sam's (1) to Library (18) is 45 minutes
    if you walk, 15 by cab, and $14 cab fare.


   |  1 |  2|  3|  4|  5|  6|  7|  8|  9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| 16| 17| 18| 19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1 |  SAM 15  12  10  12  13  25  24  26  30  28  30  32  34  35  34  40  45  50
 2 |  TRAIN   20  18  13  07  30  26  22  15  34  35  37  40  42  32  50  45  40
 3 |  GREASY  02  04  07  09  13  11  13  20  15  16  18  20  20  18  23  28  34
 4 |  HANKS BAR   02  02  04  14  11  12  18  16  17  19  21  22  20  24  29  35
 5 |  POOL ROOM       02  02  17  14  06  15  18  19  21  23  24  24  26  33  38
 6 |  BELCH HOTEL         02  19  16  09  12  20  22  24  26  27  24  28  31  36
 7 |  PIER                    02  08  12  22  04  08  10  12  11  18  14  19  25
 8 |  MORGUE                      02  02  14  06  06  08  10  12  13  15  18  22
 9 |  HOSPITAL                        02  05  14  12  14  16  18  07  18  15  18
10 |  BANK                                02  20  18  20  22  23  15  22  20  18
11 |  DOCK HOUSE                              02  03  05  07  06  15  09  15  20
12 |  CHINESE                                     02  02  04  05  10  07  13  17
13 |  BEER                                            02  02  03  13  05  11  16
14 |  NEWS                                                02  02  10  04  09  15
15 |  WAREHOUSE                                               02  14  03  14  18
16 |  PARK                                                        02  14  08  10
17 |  POLICE                                                          02  05  10
18 |  LIBRARY                                                             02  04
19 |  MUSEUM                                                                  09


    If you have made it this far, good luck in building your cases.


    Robert C. Sanborn Jr.

    July 1, 1987
