Planeswalker 0.8
Copyright 2005 Shawn Silsbee

User's Manual


Introduction:
Planeswalker is an application which allows one to play the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering on a Palm OS handheld. It is similar to and loosely modeled on the programs Apprentice and Magic Workstation available for the PC platform.


Requirements:

A Palm OS PDA with:
Palm OS 5.0 or greater
Hi-Res (320x480) display
~200kb free memory for program
~6mb free memory for full card database


Installation:

At a minimum, install 'Planeswalker.prc' to play the game. If you would like access to the full Magic: The Gathering card database, install 'PlaneswalkerCardDB.pdb' as well. If you would like to test out Planeswalker without taking the time to enter in your own Magic decks, you can install 'DarkDevotion.pdb', 'Spiritcraft.pdb', and 'PlaneswalkerDeckDB.pdb' (all three databases must be installed) and play with two Betrayers of Kamigawa theme decks.


Instructions:

This guide assumes that you know how to play Magic: The Gathering. If you do not, I would suggest purchasing two starter decks and learning to play with paper cards rather than beginning with Planeswalker (or any other computerized version of the game).

Upon starting Planeswalker, you will be greeted with the game table screen, on which you will spend most of your time:

Game Table Screenshot

Player Toolbars: Each player has his own toolbar, one at the top and one at the bottom of the screen. The toolbar contains buttons for the majority of the actions you will need to take during the course of a Magic: The Gathering game; additional actions can be found in the menu.

Examine Button: Clicking this button activates Examine mode. The next time a player clicks on a card or his library or graveyard, the appropriate examine dialog will be brought up.

Tap Button: Clicking this button activates Tap mode. The next time a player clicks on a card in play, that card will be tapped or untapped, depending on its current state.

Life Total: Each player's life total can be kept track of in the text box on his toolbar. The up and down arrows to the either side increment and decrement the life total, respectively.

Hand Button: Clicking this button will bring up a dialog displaying the contents of the appropriate player's hand.

Library Button: Clicking this button will cause a player to draw the top card of his library into his hand. When in Examine mode, clicking the Library button will bring up the Examine dialog for the appropriate player.

Graveyard Button: Clicking this button activates Bury mode. The next time a player clicks on a card in play, that card will be sent to its owner's graveyard. When in Examine mode, clicking this button will bring up the Examine dialog for the appropriate player.

To begin a new game, bring up the menu and go to Game->New Game. On the New Game screen, each player can select the deck they wish to use. When ready, click 'Begin Game'.

To use the Card Editor, bring up the menu and go to Edit->Card Editor. In the Card Editor you can view and edit your database of Magic cards, as well as create new cards for use in the game.

To use the Deck Editor, bring up the menu and go to Edit->Deck Editor. In the Deck Editor you can view and edit your current Magic decks, as well as enter in new decks for use in the game.



Credits:
Planeswalker code by Shawn Silsbee.
User interface inspired by the Tapwave Zodiac DIA theme.
Card database converted from the latest Apprentice card database from Magic-League.com
Magic: The Gathering, card art, and card set names are property of Wizards of The Coast, Inc.


04/14/05

Shawn Silsbee
darkentripon@lycos.com