Solitaire Games: Goodsol Newsletter #152 - Happy New Year and Common Questions

Goodsol Newsletter #152

-----------------------
http://www.goodsol.com

Happy New Year!
---------------

Another new year has begun and we will have many new releases this year.

First, we will have the 300 game Mac version of Pretty Good Solitaire. With 100
new games and some new features, this will be a big update (and free for all
registered users of the Mac Edition). It is currently in testing now and will be
available soon.

After that, we'll have a new update of the Windows Pretty Good Solitaire with some
new games, adding to the current 750 games.

And then, of course, there will be updates of some of our other games.

Mac App Store
-------------

As you may of heard, last week Apple opened the new Mac App Store, where you
can buy Mac software using your iTunes account. I'm happy to say that both
Pretty Good Solitaire and Pretty Good MahJongg are in the Mac App Store. If you
have updated to Mac OS X 10.6.6, both games can be found in the App Store by
searching for "pretty good".

This provides a new and easy way to buy Pretty Good Solitaire and Pretty Good
MahJongg on the Mac. Having tried it out myself, I can say that the App Store
makes it extremely easy to buy, download, and install. There are no codes, the
App Store handles everything, including updates. You buy, it downloads, it
appears in your dock, and you play. All of the available card sets are included in
the single App Store download, so it is a much larger download than the download
from our web site, where the card sets are separate downloads (the same is true
for Pretty Good MahJongg's tile sets).

Note that if you have purchased Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition previously from
us, there is no way to do updates via the App Store. Apple has not provided other
developers any means to do that. You will need to continue to download updates
via the link in your receipt email. However, if you have not previously purchased
Pretty Good Solitaire or Pretty Good MahJongg, you can now do so at the App
Store and the App Store will handle all updates.

We intend for updates to Pretty Good Solitaire Mac Edition to continue to be free
until we get it up to at least the 700 game level of the current Windows version.

Because all updates in the App Store have to go through Apple's approval process,
updates in the App Store may not appear at the same time we update the games
on our web site. However, when we do update the games you can expect to see
an update in the App Store soon afterwards.

Answers to Common Questions
---------------------------

Here are some of the most common questions we get via email. A large majority
of all the questions we get are actually answered in the email you receive after
your order. This email contains your registration code. For Windows users, it gives
the instructions for how to enter the code into the trial version to make it the full
version. For Mac users, it gives the download link where you can download the full
version, which asks for your code the first time you run it.

I highly recommend reading this email, it really does answer most people's
questions!

Q. I have lost my registration code, where can it get it?
A. Just go to http://www.goodsol.com/regusers.html to have it sent to you again.

Q. How do I enter my registration code?
A. In Windows games, just go to the ABOUT window by selecting ABOUT from the
HELP menu (note, help menu not help button). In the ABOUT window, click on
ENTER REGISTRATION CODE. For Mac games, they will ask for your code the first
time you run the full version (except for games purchased from the Mac App Store,
which have no codes).

Q. Where can I download the Cat Card Set?
A. The Cat/Dog Card Set Pack can be downloaded from
http://www.goodsol.com/pgs/catcardset.html .
Both Windows and Mac versions are available there.

Q. I have an old CD and I can't get it to install on Window 7.
A. If you are trying to install from one of our older CDs (from early 2007 or
earlier) on Windows Vista or Windows 7, the CD menu installer does not work in
Vista or 7. You need to view the files on the CD and run the "gdsol.exe" file in the
goodsol folder on the CD to install Pretty Good Solitaire, or go to the folder for
other games to install them (such as the goodmj folder to install Pretty Good
MahJongg). CDs from 2007 and later will not have this problem.

Q. Why do I keep seeing the same games in the trial version?
A. The trial version is limited to game numbers 1 to 30 for each game, so if you
play a lot of games you will see game numbers repeated. The full version has
game numbers up to over 2 billion for each game, so you are unlikely to see
repeated games (at random) in a lifetime.

Q. I'm running the Mac version, how come I can't see all of the games?
A. You are probably looking at a sublist, such as the Most Popular list or the Most
Recent list. To see the list of all games, go to the Preferences menu (the menu is
above the buttons), select View, then select All Games or Complete.

Q. Why is the new game button unavailable?
A. You are in Climb Mode. Climb Mode is a special way of playing where you start
with game #1 and play the game numbers in sequence for a cumulative score. In
Climb Mode, you play another game using the Next Game function. New Game is
unavailable. Climb Mode can be turned off via the toolbar on the main screen
(where you see the names of the games) or from the Preferences menu (not
button) on the main screen. When Climb Mode is off, the New Game function will
once again be available.

Q. Where can I download an older version of Pretty Good Solitaire?
A. If you purchased in 2005 or later, you are still in your free upgrade period and
you can download from http://www.goodsol.com/download.html . Otherwise, you
can upgrade to the latest version at http://www.goodsol.com/upgrade.html .
Upgrades are still only US$11.95 and will be good for several years of free
upgrades.

If you prefer not to upgrade, note that we always keep older versions available at
http://www.goodsol.com/downloadpre.html for those who prefer not to upgrade.
Pick the version that is a free upgrade for you. Important: If you have installed
version 12, be sure to uninstall it before installing an earlier version.

Q. In the Windows version, I can't find the bar at the bottom that gives the score,
game number, and so forth. Where is it?
A. The statusbar is probably still there under the Windows taskbar. Just move the
game window up the screen a bit, or maximize the game window by clicking on the
middle button of the 3 buttons in the upper right corner of the window.

Q. I accidentally clicked on new game and lost a game. How do I delete the score?
A. Unfortunately, once a score has been recorded it cannot be deleted except to
delete all the scores for that game. Otherwise, everyone would just delete all of
their losses. To keep this from happening in the future, click on the Options button
on the main screen (Preferences button on a Mac), go to Preferences and check
the box "Confirm new games and restarts".

Q. When is the iPad version coming out?
A. Yes, yes, we are working on it. Getting the Mac version of Pretty Good
MahJongg out was our first priority, now we are trying to get the 300 game Mac
version of Pretty Good Solitaire out. After that, the iPad versions will be our
biggest priority. When they are available they will be in the App Store and there
will be info at http://www.goodsol.com/ipad .

Q. Is game #xxxx of game xxxx unwinnable?
A. We have a forum for just this kind of question. Go to
http://www.goodsol.net/forum and go to the "Is it Winnable?" forum. There are a
bunch people there who will try it out and answer that question.

------------------------------------------
Thomas Warfield - Software Designer - [email protected]
Anne Warfield - Order Fulfillment - [email protected]

©2011 Goodsol Development Inc. PO Box 9155, Springfield IL 62791
Pretty Good Solitaire, Pretty Good MahJongg, and more. Visit us at <http://www.goodsol.com>;.

List Archive: <http://www.goodsol.com/newsletter.html#archive>; View past
newsletters.

Goodsol Newsletter subscribe or unsubscribe:
<http://www.goodsol.com/cgi-bin/news/mail.cgi>;