Latest Release Info

12/15/2003 -- Mexican Train for Windows Version 1.3 released.

This version contains the following additions:

1. Fixed saved game bug where double 12 games would load as double 9 games.
2. Show All Hands (registered feature) option to display the hands of all opponents.
3. Show BonePile (registered feature) option to display the dominoes in the BonePile.
4. Create Hand Trains (registered feature) option to automatically create a train with the dominoes currently held.

12/15/2003 -- Chickenfoot for Windows Version 1.5 released.

This version contains the following additions:

1. Fixed saved game bug where double 12 games would load as double 9 games.
2. Show All Hands (registered feature) option to display the hands of all opponents.
3. Show BonePile (registered feature) option to display the dominoes in the BonePile.

06/12/2002 -- Mexican Train for Windows Version 1.2 released.

This version contains the following additions:

1. Player statistics are now tracked (registered feature).
2. Window settings are saved upon exit (registered feature).
3. Games can be saved and loaded.
4. The current game can be continued on the next launch.
5. Dominoes can be more freely re-arranged in the hand window.
6. A "Compact View" option has been added. When enabled, this view only shows the spinner and outer-most two dominoes of each train. This prevents the need for excessive scrolling while maintaining a sense of the current game activity. It is possible to switch between the Compact View and Normal View at any time during the game.

06/12/2002 -- Chickenfoot for Windows Version 1.4 released.

This version contains the following additions:

1. Player statistics are now tracked (registered feature).
2. Window settings are saved upon exit (registered feature).
3. Games can be saved and loaded.
4. The current game can be continued on the next launch.
5. Dominoes can be more freely re-arranged in the hand window.

10/16/2001 -- Mexican Train for Windows Version 1.1 released.

This version contains the following additions:

1. The hand and bone pile dominoes are now drawn in 3-D.
2. A Double-12 version of the game.
3. A tutorial for first-time users was also added.
4. Train markers are now small trains instead of the previous "coins".

10/16/2001 -- Chickenfoot for Windows Version 1.3 released.

This version contains the following additions:

1. The hand and bone pile dominoes are now drawn in 3-D.
2. A Double-12 version of the game.
3. A tutorial for first-time users was also added.

09/30/2001 -- Mexican Train for Windows Version 1.0 released.

This is the initial baseline release.  Possible enhancements include:

1. Add a game option where your train will be automatically constructed for you.
2. Create an alternate view of the table wherein only the spinner and outer-most dominoes of each train are shown (to further reduce scrolling).

09/30/2001 -- Chickenfoot for Windows Version 1.2 released.

This version contains the following additions:

1. Small domino size option was added.
2. First-time dialog was added to encourage utilization of the Help.

12/10/2000 -- Version 1.1 released.

This version contains only a few minor changes.  I have been working on the multiplayer/internet capability, but it is not yet finished. However, the next major release is forthcoming, so please be patient.

1. There existed a bug where if the "Show Info Dialog" option was disabled and the human player was forced to draw, the game would enter an infinite wait state.  The player could not draw, yet play would not continue until the player did draw.  This was fixed. %-)
2. Yet even more improvements were made to the intelligence of the Scheming AI.
3. The uninstall program previously failed to remove the added registry keys. All Chickenfoot-related keys are removed during the uninstall process. (all installed files are also removed, but this was already done in the previous versions)
4. A few documents (such as this one) have been included as a part of the distribution. The complete list of added files includes: VERSION.TXT, README.TXT, REGISTER.TXT, FILE_ID.DIZ, PAD_FILE.XML, and PAD_FILE.HTM.
5. The name of the install program has been changed to an 8.3 filename format, although it continues to support long filenames.

10/15/2000 -- Version 1.0 released.

A few minor problems have been fixed, and several significant improvements have been made.  This is the initial baseline release.

1. Perhaps the only known bug in the v1.01 Alpha release, the game will no longer crash after the number of players is changed prior to playing a hand, and then the first hand is begun by pressing F3.  (there was an attempt to draw too many dominoes)
2. The most notable improvement is the addition of the Last Played Window.  This allows you to see the last domino played by all of your opponents.  Note that if an opponent is forced to pass, the last domino played by that opponent will appear as nothing (meaning they passed).
3. Another significant addition is Help.  The help found on this website is now distributed with the game itself.  This help can be accessed by pressing F1 during the game, using the menu item "Help->Help Topics".  As a third option, the help is installed as an icon in the Chickenfoot folder of the Start menu.
4. Status bar menu tips are back.  When accessing menus, tip information will be displayed in the status bar.  Upon exit from the menu, the previous text will be restored.
5. Game play no longer continues while the Information Dialog is being displayed.  This makes following the play of your opponents much easier.
6. Another game speed option was added for even more flexibility.
7. A few additional improvements were made to the intelligence of the Scheming AI.

9/18/2000 -- Version 1.01 Alpha released.

This is an enhanced version of the initial Alpha release (v1.0 Alpha).  Enhancements include:

1. Configurable player options. You can now set the individual player names and skill levels.
2. Configurable game options. You now have control over the game options such as game speed, pause between hands, show information dialog, and show scoresheet between hands.
3. More game options. There are two new options that allow the screen to be automatically scrolled to the most recently played domino (if it was played somewhere off of the screen) and/or automatically center the most recently played double in the Table Window.
4. Splash screen at startup (thanks to Tim).
5. The status bar no longer shows menu information. After much consideration, it was decided that the menu information was not as important as game information. The menu information was, therefore, sacrificed.

Planned Future Enhancements

There are planned enhancements which have not been implemented to this point.  These include (but are not limited to):

1. Hints.  Add a feature that will suggest a domino to be played.
2. Smarter AI.  I have some ideas for making the AI players go into deeper thought about what domino to play.  Besides, you're getting tired of beating it, right?
3. Better overlap detection and rearrangement of the board.  It is currently possible (albeit rare) to have dominoes that overlap but go undetected.  It is also possible to have dominoes that overlap and although the overlap is detected and there is a possible solution to this overlap, the rearrangement algorithm fails to rearrange the dominoes accordingly.  If you ever see this happen, I would love to know about it.  Press ALT-PrintScreen, paste the clipboard image into a Word document, and e-mail it to me.
4. Add sound effects.
5. Multiplayer/internet play.  This would allow a single person to host a multiplayer game over the internet with other players of his/her choosing.  This is the most significant addition and will take some time.

Feedback

Perhaps even more important than these planned enhancements are the ones I have overlooked.  If you have any suggestions for future enhancements or comments on the current features, please drop me a line (sbnorris@chickenfootforwindows.com).

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Last modified: May 02, 2007