What's New in version 2

The main focus in the development of version 2 of Four Winds was in the introduction of modern versions of Mah Jong as it is played around the world, and full customizability of scoring. Four Winds 2 also supports multi-player games, and offers now renewed game boards for large displays. Below is a summary of the new and changed features.

The key features

• Full coverage of Mah Jong rules around the world. The new rule presets include e.g. the Modern Japanese, Chinese New Style, Chinese Official, Taiwanese 16-tile Mah Jong, Internet Mahjong Server (IMS) rules, Mahjong Masters Million (MMM) rules,  World Mahjong Players Association (WMPA) rules, Korean Rules, Modern American, Modern Australian, Dutch, French, German, Italian and English rules.
• Multi-player support using TCP/IP, IPX/SPX (local area network), serial cable or modem with up to four human players (two if a serial cable or modem is used) and 10 spectators (TCP/IP and IPX/SPX only).
• Myriads of game and scoring options combined with an elegant and customizable user interface. You can use  Four Winds as a light-weight 640x480 sized desktop game for 5-minute recreational breaks in your office, or indulge in total, full-screen Mah Jong for hours. You can ignore the complexities of rules and accept the defaults, or study the rule options and details of scoring and experiment with unique combinations.

Improvements and additions in user interface

• Several new game board sizes supporting new larger tile size, modern wide screen displays and square layouts. Basic boards are now supported in 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280/1200x800/768/720 resolutions. Integrated game boards, where all game information (hands, melded sets, discards and the Wall) is presented in one view, are supported in 1024x768, 1080x720 or 1128x752, 1280x1024, 1280/1200x800/768/720, 1360/6x768 or 1366x780, 1366x912, 1440x900, 1500x1000, 1600x900, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1080 and 1920x1200 resolutions, most available in both row-based and square layouts. Discards can be displayed in four different ways (three when a square layout is used). For smaller screens the traditional game board with separate views for discards and hands has been enhanced with equivalent roll-up windows. You can display the discarded tiles as a separate non-modal miniature window by choosing Discards Window on the View menu (or by pressing CTRL+D). To use a magnifier, hold down the SHIFT key.
• The complete game comes with ten new themes (alternative graphics) and several alternative tile sets. In addition, user-defined themes are now fully supported. A free utility, Four Winds Theme Editor can be used to facilitate creating new themes. In addition, custom tile faces can now be used with any theme.
• A new non-modal control, the Game Manager, with five tabs. The Hands tab lists and fully describes the valuable hands enabled in the current rules and gives a suggestion of hands that are worth collecting. Holding down the SHIFT key magnifies the hands. The Rules tab lists the rule and scoring options currently in effect, and the Statistics tab shows statistical and other information about the players (address, number of deals, total points, number of times player has been winner or discarder, number of claims, and number of discards claimed). The Moves tab displays the main events of the deal and allows you to move back and forth in the game. Finally the Chat tab allows you to communicate with other players. 
• The Scores dialog box features high score tables. Separate Top 50 Hands and Top 50 Games tables are kept for each pre-defined and saved, user-defined rule presets. For top 50 hands a graphical description and full details of scoring are included, for top 50 games some statistical information and a bar graph describing the development of the game are included. In addition, you can use the controls of the Scores dialog box to save any winning hand as a favorite.
• You can now arrange your hand manually. Clear the Auto arrange hand box on the Gameplay option page of the Preferences dialog box to enable this option.
• Mouse and keyboard operations can now be configured for the main game events like discarding, claiming, undo and acceleration.
• Sound effects can now be customized individually for each of the four players and new sounds have been added for additional game events (including multiplayer game events).
• HTML Help with improved navigation between contents and help topics, active content and full text search capabilities allow more user-friendly and logical documentation and along with the links to related sites on the Internet make it possible to use Four Winds documentation as a world wide encyclopedia on the game of Mah Jong. The documentation is also available on Internet and updated regularly.
• Four Winds now supports system color management, a useful feature if you have a large-gamut display, to avoid oversaturated graphics.

New rule options

• Number of rounds can be specified from 1 to 16 (default is 4). You can also specify the round wind sequence.
• Three options for using the Dead Wall: Replenishing (traditional), Exhaustible and None. For the two first mentioned, any even value from 2 to 40 tiles can be specified as a number of dead wall tiles.
• Four or eight Jokers with several options, e.g., you can specify whether jokers are allowed in Chows, pairs and as single tiles, and whether they can be discarded and exchanged with melded tiles. "Virtual" jokers are supported, as well: each player receives 1 or 2 jokers in the dealt hand and is allowed to use the joker(s) only on going out – this allows so called 11-tile and 12-tile versions of Mah Jong, popular in China.
• Dora tiles, including simple Dora, Kong Dora, Ura Dora, Kong Ura Dora and Red Dora.
• Support of transparent tile sets (0 to 4), to allow Akagi style game.
• Possibility to omit the Bamboo suit (to allow Korean style Mah Jong).
• Charleston (with optional Ding Dong) with a possibility to specify on which rounds the rule is applied.
• Kitty (pool for the winner with a Pung hand).
• New options for Flowers and Seasons: you can now exclude Seasons and meld the Flower and Season tiles face down; going out on 7 or 8 Flower/Season tiles is now also supported.
• Enhanced minimum points/ doubles/faan/han rules with several exceptions, e.g., you can specify whether bonus points for Flowers, Seasons, Dora tiles and certain winning bonuses are ignored or included when determining if the hand meets the minimum point requirement.
• Prohibition of mixed suits with the possibility to specify exceptions for limit and special hands.
• Enhanced options for claiming Chows: no restrictions, only from the player on the left (including or excluding a situation the claimed tile can be used to complete the hand), only on going out, or never.
• Enhanced claiming restrictions: fully covered options for the rules of Sacred discard and Missed discard, and support for Japanese Kuikae. 
• Rules for competitive claims when more than one player claims the same tile for going out.
• Support for over-claiming both for local and multiplayer games.
• Renewed Ready rules now supporting fully the modern Japanese Riichi.
• Enhanced Draw rules (e.g., Goulash deal) including the possibility to define the conditions for a dead hand.
• Passing of the deal after East's win.

New scoring options

• Scoring can be fully customized using points, fu, doubles, faan, han or % of Limit as units (the units vary according to the selected scoring system). Separate scoring can be specified for the winner and the losers. Multiple limit hands are now supported, as well.
• Dozens of new patterns. Four Winds 2 supports over 250 patterns. The following list contains only the new patterns:  
  1) Basic points: separate scoring for a melded or concealed Pung (or Kong) of Simples, Terminals, Winds and Dragons; separate scoring for a melded and concealed pair of Simples, Cheung, Terminals, Winds, or Dragons; in addition, basic points for Out on a concealed hand, Out on a fully concealed hand, Out on a Chow hand, Out on a Pung hand, Out on a Kong hand, Out on one suit only, Out on the last tile of the Wall, Out on the first discard, Out on the last discard, Out on a supplement tile, and Out by robbing a Kong.
  2) Basic sets: separate scoring for each concealed or melded Kong, for Pungs and Kongs of ordinary Winds, Pungs and Kongs of a Double Wind, and Pungs and Kongs of the Dominant Wind.
  3) Flowers and Seasons: separate scoring for Flowers and Seasons and all combinations of them, points for Flower/Season of Dominant Wind, having Opponent's Flower and Season, and for No Flowers. In addition, support for considering Seven Flowers/Seasons and All Flowers and Seasons as winning hands.
  4) Patterns based on Chows: Four Chows, Same Chows from two suits, Same Chows from two suits twice, Three Chows of the same numbers, Same Chow from all suits, Four Chows of the same numbers, Two identical Chows, Two identical Chows twice, Two identical Chows twice of the same numbers, Three identical Chows, Four identical Chows, 123789 of the same suit, 123789 of the same suit twice, 123 789 of two suits twice, Run of 6 tiles of one suit, 2 runs of 6 tiles of one suit, Three Chows in sequence with all possible variations (with 1, 2 or 3 suits, with the interval of 1, 2 or 3), Four Chows of 1 suit step 1, Four Chows of mixed suits step 2, Four Chows of 1 suit step 2; 
  5) Patterns based on Pungs and Kongs: Triplets 1 and 9 of the same suit, Triplets 1 and 9 of the same suit twice, 3 triplets of Terminals and Honors, 4 triplets of Terminals and Honors, Two triplets of the same number, Two triplets of the same number twice, Two triplets and a pair of the same number, Three triplets of the same number, Two triplets of a Chow set, Two triplets and a pair in sequence, Three triplets in sequence, Three triplets in sequence in all possible variations (in 1, 2 or 3 suits, with the interval of 1, 2, 3 or 4), Three triplets of a Chow set, Four triplets in sequence, Four triplets in sequence of 1 suit, Four triplets, 1 concealed, Four triplets, 2 concealed, Two concealed triplets, Three concealed triplets, Five concealed triplets, Two Kongs, Two exposed Kongs, Two concealed Kongs, Three Kongs, Three concealed Kongs, Four concealed Kongs, Two Dragons, Little Three Winds, Big Three Winds.
  6) Patterns based on the whole hand: Exposed hand, Chicken hand, Chow hand, Grand Chow hand, Chow hand of Simples, Pung hand to 3 melded sets, Pung hand of Simples, Pung hand of one suit, No fives, All 2's, 5's and/or 8's, All upside down, All odd, All even, Terminal in each set, Terminal 1 (9) in each set, Same number in each set, Same number in each set across 5, Same number in each set across 4, Same number in each set across 3, All of 12345, All of 34567, All of 56789, All of 1234, All of 6789, All of 3 numbers and Honors, All of 3 "numbers", All of 3 numbers, All of 123, All of 456, All of 789, All of 2 "numbers", All of 2 numbers, No Honors, No Honors/ Flowers, All suits, Dragons and Winds, Two suits only, One suit and Honors 2-2-X, One suit and Honors 3-1-X, One suit and Honors 4-1, One suit and Honors 5-1, One suit and Special Honors.
  7) Miscellaneous patterns: Pair of 2's, 5's or 8's, Fives of all suits, Four same in two sets, Four same in three sets, Four same in four sets, Five same in two sets, Five same in three sets, Five same in four sets, and bonus for claiming East's first discard for a Chow or Pung/Kong; All Opaque, All Transparent. 
  8) Points for the winner: Fully exposed hand, Out on a one-chance Chow, Out on last of a one-chance Chow, Out on last of a multi-chance Chow, Out on 5 of a Chow 4-5-6, Out on a pair, Out on a major pair, Out on a pair of fives, Out on 4th of its kind, One-chance hand, Last-chance hand, Bird eats the cake, Out on 1st turn with a self-drawn tile, Out on 1st turn with a discarded tile, Early winning, Early winning 2, Declaration of Ready, Declaration of Exposed Ready, Out one after the Ready declaration, Ready on original hand, No jokers, Winning tile bonus, Dora tile, Ura Dora tile, Kong Dora tile, Ura Kong Dora tile.
  Note: Many of the above mentioned patterns have a separate scoring in the event that they appear concealed or in a concealed hand. In addition, the names of all patterns can be changed and you can print a list of all scoring items or only enabled items, with or without a graphical and verbal description of each item.
• New Limit and Special hands. Four Winds 2 supports over 100 different limit and special hands. The following list contains only the new ones:
  1) Classical: Nine Gates (impure), Thirteen Orphans (pure), Fully Concealed Suit Hand.
  2) Serpents: Squirming Snake, Run, Pung and a Pair, Little Snake, Little Snake with Dragons, Wriggling Snake (News), Five Odd Honors, Great Brothers, Emerald Snake, Ruby Snake, Diamond Snake, Peking Garden, Cheater’s Hand, Seven Lanterns, Knitted Dragon, Knitted Dragon with Winds, Knitted Dragon Royal.
  3) Pairs: All Honor Pairs, All Terminal Pairs, All Terminal and Honor Pairs, All One Suit Pairs, One Suit and Honor Pairs, One Suit Terminal and Honor Pairs, Consecutive Pairs in One Suit, Big Wheels, Windy Pairs, Sparrow's Sanctuary. In addition, the following hands optionally support 7-pairs versions: All Green, All Red, Jade Hand, Ruby Hand, Pearl Hand, Ruby Jade, Jade Dragon, Ruby Dragon and Pearl Dragon.
  4) Special ways of going out: Kong on Kong, Thirteen Discarded Orphans, Dealer's Consecutive Wins.
  5) American hands: Jade Hand, Pearl Hand, Ruby Hand, Imperial Jade, Imperial Pearl, Imperial Ruby, Ruby Jade, All Red, Lily of Valley, Red Lily, Chop Suey, Sukiyaki, Chow Mein, Lil, Suit Pairs and Honor Orphans, Down You Go, Up You Go, Numbers Racket, Double Numbers, Simple Gates, Confused Gates, True Gates, Golden Gate, Dragon Gates, Terminal Gates, Gone with the Wind, Christmas, Civil War.
  6) Miscellaneous: Windy Chows, Royal Chows, Windy Pungs, Windy Pungs of the Same Number, Royal Pungs, Windy Ones, Windy Nines, Dragonfly, Windy Dragons, Dragon's Breath, Knitting, Gertie's Garter, Triple Knitting, Independent, Independent with 7 Stars, Independent (Knitted) and Independent with 7 Stars (Knitted). 
  Note: In addition, many of the limit hands have new special options. E.g., you can specify whether melds are allowed in limit and special hands (including irregular hands) and whether the scoring is doubled for concealed hands. Now you can also change the names of the limit hands and print a list of all limit and special hands or only enabled hands, with or without a graphical and verbal description of each hand.
• Enhanced options for dealer's bonus and dealer's extra hands, supporting the modern Japanese and Taiwanese rules. Bonus for winning the kitty or a Goulash deal can also be customized.
• Enhanced rounding rules.

New payment options

• Fully customizable paying methods, including customizable settling tables for traditional point-double based systems, Chinese Faan-Laak scoring system and Japanese Mangan scoring system. Scores can now also be simply added up without payments between players.
• Fully customizable payments to winner: you can select from several pre-defined payoff schemes or define your own.
• Penalties are now customizable. Four Winds 2 also supports several new insurance (pao) penalties. 
• Enhanced draw payments. You can now specify the amount of bonus points paid to the players with a ready hand, if the deal ends in a draw.

Miscellaneous

• Four Winds lets you now play tournaments (multiple game sessions). You can also use specific tournament scoring to determine the winner of the tournament, and change the seat order for each round or match.
• You can replay any deal of the game by using the Resume/Close button option menu of the Scores dialog box (not applicable in tournament games). When used together with the history list of the Moves tab, you can replay virtually any move of the game.
• You can now quit and save the game in the Scores dialog box by using the Quit command of the Resume/Close button option menu.
• The hands can be arranged after the deal is over to reflect the way scoring is done. 
• You can have Four Winds auto-accelerate the pace of the game and stop only for discards that you can claim. You can now also disable the timer for discards, which allows you unlimited time for making a decision for claims.
• You can now arrange discards in random order and have extended information on discarded tiles.
• You can display the hands after a deal is over.
• You can display the Wall and Dead Wall tiles after a deal is over.
• Concealed Kongs can be melded face down. You can now specify whether and what kind of melded Kongs are considered as concealed Pungs.
• The number of each tile available for play is now presented graphically in a separate Available Tiles window (or beside the game board, when an integrated layout is used). The same information is still available on the message line, as well.
• The Players window displays total of each player's scores (including total of won and lost payments and total of tournament scores) and pending penalties and payments. It also lets you display custom bitmaps for representing players (you can also choose to send your customized player bitmap to other players when playing a multiplayer game).
• You can choose to display or hide information on competitive claims.
• You can send an on-going game as an e-mail attachment by choosing Send on the File menu.

Changed features

• The Display Points command (under the File menu) has been renamed as Scores and moved under the new View menu.
• The Wall command (under the Options menu) has been moved under the View menu (available only for boards with separate views).
• The Small board command (under the Options menu) has been removed. The board size can now be chosen from the View menu.
• The Display Rules command (under the File menu) has been removed. The rules can now be browsed on the Rules tab of the Game Manager.
• Changed hot keys: W (Wall) is now CTRL+W, L (Lock discarded) is now CTRL+L, and H (Hint) is now CTRL+H.
• When points are paid to the winner only, losers' tiles are no longer displayed after the deal is over (but the feature can be turned on from the Preferences dialog box).
• You can now cancel a claim without a penalty (but if you want to extend faulty claim penalty to canceling, you can do that with an option).
• Declaring "Out" on a discard after first claiming the winning tile for a Chow or a Pung (and then clicking the Out button on the Status bar) is no longer supported. When going out on a discard, you must declare "Out" by using the Out button of the Tile Claimed dialog box.
• Several rule presets of Four Winds 1 have been refined. When you load a version 1 game in Four Winds 2, it is possible that the rules are interpreted as customized rules. The rules are the same as when played with version 1, but because of differences between version 1 and 2 rule presets, they are no longer considered as pre-defined rules. You can save customized rules during the game as a user-defined rule preset by using the options of the Preferences dialog box.

Note: Menu commands for pop-up windows are available for game boards with separate views only.