Land Of Devastation News Volume 1 Number 1 Editor: Scott M. Baker Contents 1) Welcome To the Premier Issue!.......Scott Baker 2) Planned LOD Updates.................Scott Baker 3) LOD's Graphics: How it works........Scott Baker 4) User Submissions....................Scott Baker 5) LOD Thoughts from Nick..............Nick (David Doyle) 6) Xenon's Jounral Entry...............Xenon (Jonas Saunders) Welcome to the Premier Issue! By Scott M. Baker Welcome to the premier issue of the LOD newsletter. A few users have requested that we start up a newsletter, so here it is! (Now, if those same users would just submit something!) First of all, let me talk a little bit about my current work on LOD. As I write this issue, I am taking a break from the deisgn of LOD 3.00. Origanally, version 3.00 was going to be a simple bug fix release, but the demand for new features is so strong, I have decided to do what I can while I have the time. For those of you who have complained that LOD is not finished, version 3.00 is getting very close to what I am going to consider "completion". The Puritron routines are finally installed and fully functional. This means that the users can finally win and restart the game. Also, if we we can figure out the best way to do it, I'm going to try to throw in some player-vs-player games and some player-vs-player combat. I've also been working on a set of new weapons for the power hungry players out there. Already added are a few exotic items such as the Pulse Bazooka and Xenon's Surprise. To power these weapons, we have a nice Vortex Cell which can hold an immense amount of power. Medical lining is also having some addition - there are two new classes available which are quite handy out in the wasteland. The price for these items? Well, let's just say you'd better have played for a while before trying to buy one! For those of you who have completed all of the special quests, I'm going to throw in a few more that you can work on. Perhaps the first person to complete them in each game will get a special award. ------------ Planned LOD Updates Scott M. Baker Currently, here is a list of what updates I plan on making in the future. These aren't listed in any particular order, just whats on my mind: 1) Finish player-vs-player combat! We all know you players out there want to kill each other, so let me see if I can get an option for it. 2) Multi-level support. Not similar to the previous multilevel support where the landscape was duplicated, but actual inner maps for buildings and such. (i.e. You enter Xeboc's lair and there is a sub-map for it) 3) More monsters. We need the 4th, 5th, and 6th levels populated. I threw in a few, but I could really use some suggestions for a few more. (hint, hint) 4) Player-vs-Player games. One of the major complaints about LOD is that there isn't enough player-vs-player interaction. I'd like to throw in some games to use that game account and let the users interact a bit. That's whats on my mind for the next versions. If anyone out there has any suggestions of other important things to be added, or any ideas on the above, then let me know! ------------ LOD's graphics: How it works. By Scott M. Baker The most often design question I get asked is about LOD's (and GTERM's) graphics - how are they implemented? Well, there's quite a long story to the actual process. Let's begin by talking about where they came from. Shane Chambers has drawn up the bulk of the images. From my understanding of the process, they start out on a clean white piece of paper. Shane sketches them out freehand with a pencil. Then he scans them in with a 2-color (monochrome) scanner. The pictures are then converted and edited with Dr. Halo and Dr. Halo DPE, colorized, and exported in a .GIF which Shane sends to me. We chose the GIF format because it was something that is somewhat popular and something that both Shane can write to and I can read them. When the image arrives to me, I load it into a little utility that I wrote which converts it to a turbo pascal format. For the final step in organizing the images, they are packed together into the various RESOURCE.xxx files. Some people are under the impression that these files are in some kind of proprietary format. They really aren't in any actual format at all. They are simply all of the images stuck end to end one right after the other. Small images (such as inventory and map items) get thrown in one file and large images (such as monster and town pictures) get thrown in another. The way I read these pictures in is really a complex matter involving memory buffering and caching, EMS support, etc, but the concept is really pretty simple - you "blockread" them in to memory, and then display them onto the screen. It's as simple as that. If you want to get fancy, you can RLE or LZW compress your images to save space; You can buffer the images in memory to increase speed, etc. The final thing that remains to be discussed is how does LOD tell GTERM what pictures to display? This is accomplished by a miniature error-correcting protocol that is operating mostly in the background. LOD sends "packets" of data to GTERM. GTERM interprets the contents of these packets and acts accordingly. If you haven't already, then reading a good discussion of XMODEM will help you understand the operation of error correcting protocols. While xmodem is not very highly regarded for it's efficiency or security, it's basic foundation is the key to understanding how a door may communicate with remote terminal. Well, there you have it, a very basic discussion of how the graphics routines in LOD and GTERM work. ------------- User Submissions by Scott M. Baker This newsletter is open to submissions by anyone - if you have something to submit, then just upload it to my bbs. If I decide it belongs in the newsletter, then it'll show up in the next issue. Here's a few things that I would like to see submitted if some people out there have the time: - Newuser tips, playing strategies, etc. At times, LOD can be a very comlex game. Sometimes, these complexities are a bit hard for new users to pick up. So, those of you experienced LOD maniacs out there, please send in some tips, your winning strategies, etc. - Historical Text If you like to do SF writing, then a few "background" stories about the nuclear history in LOD would be nice. In my own discussion of LOD's history have left some details out. If for example, you would like to document the fall of society to nuclear holocaust in 2005, then go for it! After all, LOD really is just an interactive multiplayer story! - Monster Designs Although they probably won't appear in the newsletter, I am always looking for more monsters. Particularly ones to populate the outer zones. If you like, write me up some and I'll see if I can throw them in. Note: Please try to fit them into the existing LOD framework and plot. Monsters that have unknown weapons and origins sometimes just don't fit. - Combat description text Are combat descriptions sometimes seem a bit limited. Sometimes I myself can get real tired of hearing "You slash into the Rad Hound with your sword." If you have a talent for writing up good descriptions, I wouldn't mind seeing some of these either. The newsletter will be published as often as enough material accumulates to make it a decent size. ------------- LOD thoughts from Nick... I never thought I'd become an adventurer: I'm really not the type for blasting mutant creatures, executioner robots and such with gizmos I can't even pronounce, much less understand. But then again, I never thought the civilized world would come to an end either. You have to do you best with what you have to work with though, and so, with the world the way it is, I guess I'm real fortunate to have had the sense to enlist. And you know what? I found out I'm not half bad at it either! Now most people don't do things quite the way I do -- and nobody can tell you what you ought to -- a body's gotta decide such things himself and live with it. But I noticed some things I thought might make it easier on those that take up where I leave off. Maybe what I tell might help. Then again, maybe not. First off: Money. Figure out what's worth collecting depending on your net worth and level. At first, a real quick trip out to pick up anything you can find will get you that extra 100 to buy a razorlance. Also, suppose you hop out of base in your shorts and not so much as a butter knife on you (don't waste your money on equipment [more on this in a minute]) I wouldn't be afraid to run away from a scavenger or insane soldier -- they might shoot at you, but you can just heal it. Later on in the game, don't waste your inventory carrying cheap stuff -- some of the armor is worth a lot. Also, keep some cash in the bank ... compound interest is the 8th wonder of the new world! Second: Use the technology. Some say we're better off back in the caves wearing skins and fighting with rocks 'cause "technology" got us into this mess. But its what people did with it that caused the devastation and besides, when a death warrior comes after you, energy armor and a neutron rifle sure keeps you alive better. Also, its our only hope ... we have to get the puritron on-line or we're stuck! Oh yeah, I was talking about using the devices: The stealth buckles are great! You can use several at a time to cover some dangerous ground, and scavenge some good equipment up. Also the computer store has some handy stuff -- the DIET program sure saves you hassle and food bill. (Nobody enjoys eating now anyway) Third: Pay attention to where you are. If you find yourself in a new area, remember what you did to get there and what it looks like. If you can't close your eyes and still see the scenery, you're not concentrating on what's around you enough. You should have a sense for how far away from things you are, too: the dist/zone monitor helps you develop a feel for this. Fourth: Cooperate. Use the mail, talk to the others out there. And remember, we're all trying to save the world -- there's enough opponents out in the wasteland without us killing each other off. ---------- Xenon Journal Entry - Date ???? Today as I set out from Sacre Base, in search for the missing puritron devices, I had an uneasy feeling. This wasn't going to be a easy journey. Xenon Ok, guys, so you wanna be an adventurer? Here's some hints from the greatest adventurer ever, Xenon (aka Jonas Saunders). Getting killed by monsters too quickly? Buy a stealth device. Activate the stealth's Quiet Mode. Go as far as you can, in, say zone 3 or 4. Find some better weapons. (There's bound to be some laying around if the game has been running for a while) If you happen to encounter a monster, RUN. If you get hit, use your medkit. Don't attack until you have better weapon and armor. When you do find some, go back to Zone 1 and start attacking monsters. ALWAYS surrender if your HP go below 10. Or take risks. Starving to death? Buy the laptop and the DIET program. Get the GSRZ/50 rations. You'll last about 1 month. (Real-time, not game-wise) Dying and starting over? Buy the laptop and find the EM-Warp ROM. Find some Warper/5's. You'll save some precious time and won't have to start over so much. Collecting items the monster drop off the wasteland and selling them is the BEST way to earn money. As soon as you have about 2 million credits (About 20 minutes worth of work/play time) BUY the Neutron Sabre and Neutron Rifle. Those weapons will help. Getting a Pylon key will really help you later on the game. Find the EEEE Center and the Clone Center AS EARLY IN THE GAME AS YOU can. The EEEE Center has a nifty weapon, called Xenon's Surprise. This weapon will blow the monsters away with ease. Get one of the Vortex Cells also. You can add unlimited amounts of power to it and don't have to worry about going back to one of the base to buy more power. Get Stizli Medline and you'll regain 1 HP each 2 move. This may help out in tight situations where you're out of Medkits. Build a Fortress in each Zone. (Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) Give all fortresses Teleporters. This will help you teleport back to Sacre Base to resupply. Then you can go back to Zone 1 base and teleport to whatever zone you were in last. This strategy has helped me greatly. Use the Pylons to find TASDU - the machine may have some useful information. Use the Pylons to find Xeboc too. He has one Puritron Device. Use the Pylons to find the Nuclear Silo. There is a Puritron Device there. Talking to monsters may yield some interesting answers and solutions for the Quests. Some monsters might have the Tetris ROM, buy it. (or destroy the monster and risk the Tetris ROM being dissolved) I think this should be good enough to get you guys started. Xenon Out. ---------- You can download copies of this newsletter, upload submissions, or whatever from the following bulletin board system: The Not-Yet-Named bbs Node #1: (602) 577-3650 (V.32) Node #2: (602) 577-3419 (USR DUAL)