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Beat up on Black Box docs, after Debian bug #548472.
[originally from svn r8735]
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110
puzzles.but
110
puzzles.but
@ -1502,40 +1502,41 @@ points in the generated graph.
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\cfg{winhelp-topic}{games.blackbox}
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A number of balls are hidden in a rectangular arena. You have to
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deduce the positions of the balls by firing lasers from positions
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on the edge of the arena and observing how they are deflected.
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deduce the positions of the balls by firing from lasers positioned at
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the edges of the arena and observing how their beams are deflected.
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Lasers will fire straight until they hit the opposite side of the
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arena (at which point they emerge), unless affected by balls in one of
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the following ways:
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Beams will travel straight from their origin until they hit the
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opposite side of the arena (at which point they emerge), unless
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affected by balls in one of the following ways:
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\b A laser that hits a ball head-on is absorbed and will never re-emerge.
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This includes lasers that meet a ball on the first rank of the arena.
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\b A beam that hits a ball head-on is absorbed and will never
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re-emerge. This includes beams that meet a ball on the first rank
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of the arena.
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\b A laser with a ball to its front-left square gets deflected 90 degrees
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\b A beam with a ball to its front-left square gets deflected 90 degrees
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to the right.
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\b A laser with a ball to its front-right square gets similarly deflected
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\b A beam with a ball to its front-right square gets similarly deflected
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to the left.
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\b A laser that would re-emerge from the entry location is considered to be
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\b A beam that would re-emerge from its entry location is considered to be
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\q{reflected}.
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\b A laser which would get deflected before entering the arena (down the
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\q{firing range}) by a ball to the front-left or front-right of its
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entry point is also considered to be \q{reflected}.
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\b A beam which would get deflected before entering the arena by a
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ball to the front-left or front-right of its entry point is also
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considered to be \q{reflected}.
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Lasers that are reflected appear as a \q{R}; lasers that hit balls
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dead-on appear as \q{H}. Otherwise, a number appears at the firing point
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and the location where the laser emerges (this number is unique to
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that shot).
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Beams that are reflected appear as a \q{R}; beams that hit balls
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head-on appear as \q{H}. Otherwise, a number appears at the firing
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point and the location where the beam emerges (this number is unique
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to that shot).
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You can place guesses as to the location of the balls, based on the
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entry and exit patterns of the lasers; once you have placed enough
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entry and exit patterns of the beams; once you have placed enough
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balls a button appears enabling you to have your guesses checked.
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Here is a diagram showing how the positions of balls can create each
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of the laser behaviours shown above:
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of the beam behaviours shown above:
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\c 1RHR----
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\c |..O.O...|
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@ -1548,15 +1549,15 @@ of the laser behaviours shown above:
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\c |.....O..|
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\c 12-RH---
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As shown, it is possible for a ball to receive multiple reflections
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before re-emerging (see turn 3). Similarly, a ball may be reflected
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As shown, it is possible for a beam to receive multiple reflections
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before re-emerging (see turn 3). Similarly, a beam may be reflected
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(possibly more than once) before receiving a hit (the \q{H} on the
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left side of the example).
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Note that any layout with more that 4 balls may have a non-unique
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Note that any layout with more than 4 balls may have a non-unique
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solution. The following diagram illustrates this; if you know the
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board contains 5 balls, it is impossible to determine where the fifth
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ball is (possible positions marked with an x):
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ball is (possible positions marked with an \cw{x}):
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\c --------
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\c |........|
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@ -1569,59 +1570,62 @@ ball is (possible positions marked with an x):
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\c |........|
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\c --------
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For this reason when you have your guesses checked the game will
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For this reason, when you have your guesses checked, the game will
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check that your solution \e{produces the same results} as the
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computer's, rather than that your solution is identical to the
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computer's. So in the above example, you could put the fifth ball at
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\e{any} of the locations marked with an x, and you would still win.
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\e{any} of the locations marked with an \cw{x}, and you would still
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win.
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Black Box was contributed to this collection by James Harvey.
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\H{blackbox-controls} \i{Black Box controls}
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\IM{Black Box controls} controls, for Black Box
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\IM{Black Box controls} keys, for Black Box
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\IM{Black Box controls} shortcuts (keyboard), for Black Box
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To fire a laser, left-click in a square around the side of the arena.
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The results will be displayed immediately. Lasers may not be fired
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twice (because the results will never change). Holding down the left
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button will highlight the current go (or a previous go) to confirm the
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exit point for that laser, if applicable.
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To fire a laser beam, left-click in a square around the edge of the
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arena. The results will be displayed immediately. Clicking or holding
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the left button on one of these squares will highlight the current go
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(or a previous go) to confirm the exit point for that laser, if
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applicable.
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To guess the location of a ball, left-click within the arena and a
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black circle will appear marking the guess; to remove the guessed ball
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click again.
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black circle will appear marking the guess; click again to remove the
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guessed ball.
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Locations in the arena may be locked against modification by
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right-clicking; whole rows and columns may be similarly locked by
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right-clicking in the laser firing range above/below that column, or
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to the left/right of that row.
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right-clicking in the laser square above/below that column, or to the
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left/right of that row.
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The cursor keys may also be used to move around the grid. Pressing the
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Enter key will add a new ball-location guess, and pressing Space will
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lock a cell or a row/column.
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Enter key will fire a laser or add a new ball-location guess, and
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pressing Space will lock a cell, row, or column.
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When an appropriate number of balls have been guessed a button will
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appear at the top-left corner of the grid; clicking that (with mouse or
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cursor) will mark your guesses.
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When an appropriate number of balls have been guessed, a button will
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appear at the top-left corner of the grid; clicking that (with mouse
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or cursor) will check your guesses.
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If you click the \q{mark} button and your guesses are not correct,
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the game will show you as little information as possible to
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If you click the \q{check} button and your guesses are not correct,
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the game will show you the minimum information necessary to
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demonstrate this to you, so you can try again. If your ball
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positions are not consistent with the laser paths you already know
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about, one laser path will be circled to indicate that it proves you
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wrong. If your positions match all the existing laser paths but are
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still wrong, one new laser path will be revealed (written in red)
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positions are not consistent with the beam paths you already know
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about, one beam path will be circled to indicate that it proves you
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wrong. If your positions match all the existing beam paths but are
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still wrong, one new beam path will be revealed (written in red)
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which is not consistent with your current guesses.
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If you decide to give up completely, you can select Solve to reveal
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the actual ball positions. At this point, correctly-placed balls
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will be displayed as filled black circles; incorrectly-placed balls
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are displayed as filled black circles with red crosses, and missing
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balls are filled red circles. In addition, a red circle marks any
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laser you had already fired which is not consistent with your ball
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layout (just as when you press the mark button), and red text marks
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any laser you \e{could} have fired in order to distinguish your ball
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layout from the right one.
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will be displayed as filled black circles, incorrectly-placed balls
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as filled black circles with red crosses, and missing balls as filled
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red circles. In addition, a red circle marks any laser you had already
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fired which is not consistent with your ball layout (just as when you
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press the \q{check} button), and red text marks any laser you
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\e{could} have fired in order to distinguish your ball layout from the
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correct one.
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(All the actions described in \k{common-actions} are also available.)
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@ -1642,7 +1646,7 @@ or a range (separated with a hyphen, like \q{2-6}), and determines the
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number of balls to place on the grid. The \q{reveal} button is only
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enabled if you have guessed an appropriate number of balls; a guess
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using a different number to the original solution is still acceptable,
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if all the laser inputs and outputs match.
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if all the beam inputs and outputs match.
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\C{slant} \i{Slant}
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