The Universal Hint System was developed by Jason Strautman
and others as a way to help game players get through various games
without being spoiled by a detailed solution. Thus, a single hint
for a problem spot may be retrieved, allowing the rest of the
game to be played with the intended game play intact. If the first
hint for a problem is not specific enough, the UHS system allows
more detailed information to be revealed at the player's discretion.
All UHS files have a file name ending in ".uhs". There
are several versions of UHS file format that allow enhanced hint
presentation:
The UHS 91a format allows graphics.
The UHS 95a format allows cross-referencing hypertext links.
The UHS 96a format allows progressive graphics and sound.
UHS readers are backwards compatible and can successfully display
any format equal to or lower than it's version number.
Reader programs The UHS system is available for several operating systems.
The reader program is shareware with a $20.00 registration fee
for use after an fair evaluation period. Although the hints for
a large number of older games may be viewed in their entirety,
hints for newer games may omit the latter portion of the game
when viewed through an unregistered reader.
MS-DOS
(Supports UHS 96a format) Windows 3.1
(Supports UHS 96a format) Windows 95/98/NT
(Supports UHS 96a format) MacOS
(Supports UHS 96a format, except for sound) Amiga
(Supports UHS 91a, partial UHS 95a formats) Java
(Supports UHS 91a)
Support programs UHS files are compressed with PKZip in order to reduce
file sizes. A program such as PKUnzip
is required to restore the file prior to use.
UHSWeb service A significant number of UHS files have been converted
into HTML format for viewing by web browsers without the use of
the reader programs. Some files still remain unavailable for copyright
reasons, when the authors do not permit conversion and subsequent
distribution of their file outside of the UHS format. However,
all files available via UHSWeb are available without cost or subscription.
Frequently Asked Questions Jason Strautman has organized a FAQ
to address some commonly noted problems and issues. Please read
this document if you're having problems downloading or reading
UHS files.
