WIZARD'S ARENA -- RELEASE 1.36 (C) Copyright 1991,1992 by Douglas Summers SYSOP DOCUMENTATION 컴컴컴컴컴컴 INTRODUCTION 컴컴컴컴컴컴 To all you new users, thank you for trying out Wizard's Arena. If you're not a new user, refer to UPGRADE.TXT for instructions on upgrading to the new version. The Wizard's Arena is a BBS door game, allowing a number of players to wander around in a large maze-like area and fight it out, using a wide variety of spells and a certain amount of ironmongery. Further details on the setting of the game -- and on actual play -- can be found in the player's documentation. 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� BEFORE WE GET STARTED 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Check your distribution files. You should have the following : WIZARD.EXE -- the game itself WA-UTIL.EXE -- to install and do daily maintenance WIZARD.TXT -- the player documentation COMMAND.TXT -- the on-line quick-help file CHANGES.TXT -- a list of the modifications since 1.00 SYSOP.TXT -- this documentation COPYRIGH.TXT -- the copyright notice for the game, & legal stuff UPGRADE.TXT -- how to upgrade from older versions CONFIG.TXT -- how to customize the game DATABASE.ZIP -- the initial game databases (see notes, below) DOOR.SYS -- used to run in LOCAL mode README.1ST -- a file that tells you to read this file. There may also be a README.TXT. If one exists, you should read it IMMEDIATELY. If there isn't one, don't worry about it. There may also be an ADS.TXT file, which will be a small file describing other games you might be interested in. If it's not there, don't sweat it particularly, either. Other than README.TXT and/or ADS.TXT, if any of these files are missing or there are 'extra' files, I suggest you delete this stuff off your disk and get a copy from a 'known clean' source. 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� SETTING UP (NEW USERS ONLY) 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Just follow these simple instructions: 1. Make a directory for the game. For example, D:\WIZARD. 2. Copy all the distribution files into that directory. All the files should remain together; the game looks in its own directory for the databases and text files (although that directory needn't be the CURRENT directory at the time the program is run). 3. Unzip DATABASE.ZIP. 4. Set up a batch file to run the program. See the following section for details. 5. Run WA-UTIL.EXE. This will generate a small file named "CONFIG.WA". (It will also generate a file named "REGISTER.ME" that you will need if you decide to register the game.) You should customize the CONFIG file, at the very least to specify your BBS's name. Please refer to CONFIG.TXT for details. 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� SETTING UP THE BATCH FILE 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� You'll need to make a batch file to call the program with. The line actually calls the game can look something like this: C:\WIZARD\WIZARD C:\PCB\PCBOARD.SYS The directory the game is in doesn't need to be on your path; of course, your batch file must be. The only parameter to the program is the location (full path-and- filename) of the door-information file for your BBS. Different BBS types use different ones, so if you're not sure how to set this up, just refer to your BBS documentation. The batch file should look something like this (this example is for PCBoard): C:\WIZARD\WIZARD C:\PCB\PCBOARD.SYS board.bat (or whatever it takes to crank your board back up) 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 NETWORK CONSIDERATIONS 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 Both programs (WIZARD and WA-UTIL) require complete control of the database; two nodes can't be running the program at the same time. The programs enforce this by creating a semaphore file and deleting it when the program terminates. If the program sees this file, it simply terminates with a 'Sorry, you can't...' sort of message. What happens if the system goes down, or the program locks up? The semaphore file remains behind, blocking further access. For this reason, the file is time-stamped: a semaphore file more than an hour old is ignored. For this reason, it is necessary that each machine's time-of-day clock be more-or-less in sync with the server's. Chances are, you're set up that way already. If you can't guarantee that, you should manually perform such semaphoring in your batch file and set WIZARD's automatic semaphoring off. (See CONFIG.TXT). 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� RUNNING LOCALLY 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� The game can be run locally simply by calling it directly with a command-line parameter of "DOOR.SYS". This causes the game to use that file (provided with the game) instead of the door- information file normally employed. It'll prompt you for a user's name; any user in the game is available to you. 컴컴컴컴컴� REGISTERING 컴컴컴컴컴� Registering the game is pretty easy. After you've run the WA-UTIL program, there will be a file named "REGISTER.ME" in the directory with the WIZARD databases. Read it, fill in the few blanks, and mail it to me (the address is listed on the form itself) with a $15 (US) check or money order enclosed. Feel free to use the comment area for kudos or brickbats. After the post office has done its glacial best to lose the letter, I will return to you (via a postcard) a short sequence of numbers and some letters (along with my eternal gratitude). Simply edit your CONFIG.WA file to have a line in it that says: REGISTRATION = XXXXXXXX (where the X's are replaced by the registration sequence I send you). The game will now 'know' its registered, will be overjoyed to see that you support a starving shareware artist, and will gleefully permit the registration-specific parameters to take effect. There aren't any diskettes involved in the registration process; only a simple code. In particular, the author doesn't undertake to distribute newer versions far and wide as they become available. Announcements on the release of new version are made in appropriate RIME and InterLink conferences, along with a (short) list of BBS's that the new version can be downloaded from. Any comments you have about the game are more than welcome, particularly if accompanied by cash. I can be reached via RIME or by mail; my address is listed in the COPYRIGH.TXT file. Please Note: The key sequence, and therefore the registration sequence, are based partly on the BBS name you set up in CONFIG.WA. If you need to change the name of your board, you'll need a new registration sequence; contact the author in this event. 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� SYSOP FUNCTIONS 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� The author is very much indebted to Rickie Belitz for his excellent CKIT library for the nuts-and-bolts of door handling. Since I don't have the source-code to this shareware library, my ability to support it is limited. If any problems come up, though, I'll try. I've culled a small amount of documentation from his text files, to describe the features that my program provides via his library. Certain functions are allowed to the sysop while the remote user is running the door. These (as drawn from his documentation) are: Function Key 컴컴컴컴컴컴 F5 Shell to DOS F8 Return user to system F9 Toggle display F3 Toggle Printer (PCBoard only) F4 Toggle Bell (PCBoard only) F7 Toggle Caller Alarm (PCBoard Only) Alt-H Toggle status line Alt-N Toggle sysop on next Alt-X Exit to DOS after call 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 IF ERRORS OCCUR... 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴 If an error should happen during game-play, the user will be dumped back to the BBS and a file named ERRORS.OUT will contain specific information about the error. Try fixing the obvious things -- low RAM, not enough file handles, and so on. If you're running on a network, make sure that only one node at a time can be in the game. Then try restoring from the backup that you so prudently keep. If the problem persists, try running the WA-UTIL program; it does a small amount of error- detection and -correction, even when it doesn't need to convert anything. If none of these things work, contact the author. He'll try to sort it out. After errors are resolved, you might want to delete (or at least edit) the error-log, ERRORS.OUT. The game makes no effort to do so. 컴컴컴컴컴 BACKING UP 컴컴컴컴컴 If the program bombs, it might be nice to be able to restore from an archive to a state prior to the error. Therefore, it'd be nice to back up the databases from time to time. It isn't a good idea to back up EVERY time someone logs in, though -- much time is wasted. WIZARD.EXE (and WA-UTIL.EXE, see below) will exit with an errorlevel of 100 if it does the daily maintenance. You can use this to perform backups on a daily basis. For example: C:\WIZARD\WIZARD C:\PCB\PCBOARD.SYS IF ERRORLEVEL 100 GOTO DAILY GOTO NO_BACKUP :DAILY PKZIP DAILY C:\WIZARD\WA0*.* GOTO NO_BACKUP :NO_BACKUP The only files that need to be archived are the databases, which have a filespec "WA*.*". 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� DAILY MAINTENANCE 컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� The first user to enter the game on a given day triggers the daily maintenance; this is a process that distributes random monsters and items, gives everyone their AP/FP allotment and moves the NPCs. It can take from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the number of NPCs wandering around and the speed of your computer; you might, therefore, want to do it off-line. To this end, the program WA-UTIL.EXE will run daily maintenance if there is any need to do so. It takes the same parameters as WIZARD.EXE does, but ignores the ones not relating to daily maintenance. All it does is run the daily maintenance, if it hasn't already been run that day (by WA-UTIL.EXE or WIZARD.EXE). I recommend that you simply put a call to it in the 'system event' stuff (which is often used for getting/processing mail and so forth). That way, your users will never have to sit through it. Use of WA-UTIL.EXE this way is entirely optional; if it doesn't do the daily maintenance on schedule, WIZARD.EXE will.