History and Versions History... Partickles was originally written as part of a research project - the thesis being that object-oriented systems lend themselves to the production of help that is not merely descriptive and (perhaps) context-sensitive, but which tells you what objects could do in their current state. This is because significant objects in object-oriented systems usually comprise information and functionality. The partickles (playing pieces) in Partickles (the game) provide descriptions of what they could do. This facility is accessed from the program's Move Info option... do try it out! Versions... The current version of Partickles is 2. The computer player in this version is strong enough to beat most beginners, and to intrigue more experienced players. Further enhancements to the computer player are planned. Version 1 was released as: version 1w1s - Windows 95 stand-alone version version 1b1s - Internet Explorer browser version version 1o1s - Online version Added in Version 2: automatic adjustment between early and recent releases of Java, display of progress in loading resources, last-ditch troubleshooting options ("Problem?" menu option), tighter control of fonts and screen messages, a reminder that the "Stop" menu option halts demonstration games, self-extraction for the Windows stand-alone version. Version 2 has been released as: version 2w1s - Windows 95 self-extracting stand-alone version version 2b1s - Internet Explorer browser version version 2o1s - Online version Successful Tests (relevant to current releases): 1o1s on Mac with Netscape 3 (2o1s should be ok) 2w1s on Win95 2b1s on Win95 with IE3 and IE4, Netscape 3 and HotJava 1.1.4 2o1s on Win95 with Netscape 4 (I'm told)

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