Global Backgammon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright (c) 1994-1995 Joel Bergen ProVision BBS: (206) 353-6966 & (206) 353-2494 Fidonet 1:343/65 First of all, let me assure you that if you don't follow these instructions, Global Backgammon will not work. Global Backgammon must be executed in its own subdirectory. Your BBS ideally should call a batch file which should change to this subdirectory, execute the game, change back to your BBS subdirectory, and return to your BBS. If your BBS can't execute a batch file, you may have to run the game from your main BBS subdirectory. For example purposes, this document will assume your main BBS subdirectory is named "C:\BBS" and that Global Backgammon is in subdirectory "C:\BBS\GAMMON". Substitute your actual subdirectory names if they are different. Installing Global Backgammon on your system: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Make a subdirectory anywhere on your hard disk to contain the Global Backgammon game (C:\BBS\GAMMON for example). Put all the files in the Global Backgammon archive into this directory except GAMMON.BAT, which you should copy into your main BBS directory (C:\BBS for example). Edit GAMMON.CFG, following the instructions found in that file. Now change back to your main BBS directory. You will need to edit GAMMON.BAT to tell Global Backgammon what type of BBS software you're using. Global Backgammon will work with PCBoard, Wildcat, RBBS, WWIV, QuickBBS, RA Spitfire, Searchlight, TAG, Telegard, GAP, Maximus, Genesis Deluxe, and any other BBS program that can run doors made for any of these BBSs. Select one of the following installation methods: BBSes which use DORINFOx.DEF ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many BBS systems can create a file called DORINFOx.DEF which Global Backgammon can read. Use the "/R" switch to tell Global Backgammon where to look for DORINFOx.DEF. The calling convention is: GAMMON /R d:\path\DORINFO1.DEF NOTE: Multi-Node BBS systems may substitute a node number in place of the "x". For example, Node 1 may write dorinfo1.def, node 2 may write dorinfo2.def, etc. Be sure and specify the correct filename. Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /R C:\BBS\DORINFO1.DEF CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different. WWIV version 4.20+ (CHAIN.TXT) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: CHAIN.TXT was changed in WWIV 4.20. Global Backgammon will not read the old CHAIN.TXT format from WWIV prior to version 4.20. WWIV creates a file called CHAIN.TXT which Global Backgammon will read. Use the "/W" switch to tell Global Backgammon where to look for CHAIN.TXT. The calling convention is: GAMMON /W d:\path\CHAIN.TXT Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /W %1 CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names, of course. Run WWIV, go into Chainedit (hit "C" at WFC) and create a new entry for Global Backgammon with the following information: A. Description : Global Backgammon B. Filename : GAMMON.BAT %1 C. SL : 10 D. AR : None E. ANSI : Required F. DOS Interrupt : Not Used <-- IMPORTANT!! G. 300 baud : Not allowed door will lock up if H. Shrink : No set to "used" Older versions of Wildcat! BBS using CALLINFO.BBS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Old versions of Wildcat BBS create a file called CALLINFO.BBS which Global Backgammon will read. (Newer versions of Wildcat use DOOR.SYS). Use the "/I" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for CALLINFO.BBS. The calling convention is: GAMMON /I d:\path\CALLINFO.BBS Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /I C:\BBS\CALLINFO.BBS CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different. Genesis Deluxe BBS version 4 (unique CALLINFO.BBS) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Genesis Deluxe 4 creates a file called CALLINFO.BBS which Global Backgammon will read. NOTE: THE CALLINFO.BBS FILE THAT GENESIS DELUXE CREATES IS SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT THAN THE MORE UNIVERSAL OLDER WILDCAT FORMAT. DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO, THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGABLE. Use the "/G" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for CALLINFO.BBS. The calling convention is: GAMMON /G d:\path\CALLINFO.BBS Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /G C:\BBS\CALLINFO.BBS CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different. For Genesis Deluxe info & support, contact: Prism Software, Box 267, Hannibal NY, 13074 Late Night BBS (315) 564-5700 FidoNet 1:2608/15 PC-Board v14.x & v15.x (not v12.x) (PCBOARD.SYS) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PCBOARD creates a file called PCBOARD.SYS which Global Backgammon can read. Use the "/P" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for PCBOARD.SYS. Global Backgammon does not require PCBOARD.DAT. The calling convention for the PC-BOARD version is: GAMMON /P d:\path\PCBOARD.SYS Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /P C:\BBS\PCBOARD.SYS CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different. GAP, TAG, Telegard, Wildcat (any system using DOOR.SYS) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DOOR.SYS is a standard door info file format used by many BBS systems. Use the "/D" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for DOOR.SYS. The calling convention is: GAMMON /D d:\path\DOOR.SYS Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /D C:\BBS\DOOR.SYS CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different. Spitfire (SFDOORS.SYS) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spitfire creates a file called SFDOORS.DAT which Global Backgammon can read. Use the "/S" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for SFDOORS.DAT. The calling convention is: GAMMON /S d:\path\SFDOORS.DAT Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /S C:\BBS\SFDOORS.DAT CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different. Searchlight BBS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the Searchlight .DEF file, modify GAMES.DEF or DOORS.DEF (whichever is chosen) as follows: 0;0;0;10;Global Backgammon;.;GAMMON.BAT %B %T %N GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /C %1 1 %2 %3 %4 <-the "1" assumes COM 1 CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names and com port if different. Maximus BBS (DORINFOx.DEF, DOOR.SYS, CALLINFO.BBS) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maximus can create DOOR.SYS, CALLINFO.BBS or DORINFOx.DEF. DORINFOx.DEF is recommended since it supports multi-node applications. NOTE: The CALLINFO.MEC file supplied with Maximus 2.01 and prior is not correct and will not work with Global Backgammon (or any other door most likely). Use of DORINFOx.DEF is recommended. Your MENUS.CTL file should have an entry something like this if you are using DORINFOx.DEF. Display_File Misc\Dorinfo Normal "Global Backgammon" NoDsp Xtern_DOS GAMMON.BAT_%k Normal "G" GAMMON.BAT should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /R \BBS\DORINFO%1.DEF CD \BBS Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different. Command line parameters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If your BBS can specify command line parameters (QuickBBS's menu 7 for example) you will use this. The calling convention is: GAMMON /C BaudRate ComPort MinutesLeft FirstName LastName Edit GAMMON.BAT, which should look something like this: ECHO OFF CD \BBS\GAMMON GAMMON /C %1 1 %2 %3 %4 %5 CD \BBS In this example (for QuickBBS), the BBS is passing the caller's baudrate (%1), time remaining in minutes (%2), caller's first name (%3) and last name (%4). Include an extra parameter (%5) if you anticipate having more than 2 word names (example: W. C. Fields). The comm port (COM1) is hard coded in the batch file (1). A baud rate of 0 will cause Global Backgammon to run in local mode. Global Backgammon can be run locally from DOS using this method. For example, typing... GAMMON /C 0 1 60 FirstName LastName ...will let you try out the game in local mode from DOS. The Statusline ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The bottom line on your screen will display several important bits of information. For example: JOEL BERGEN | 23.14 | 02/05/93 17:24:27 | 122k | 1 2 3 4 5 The information is: 1. The player's name exactly as it was passed to Global Backgammon from the BBS. 2. The amount of time the player has left in minutes. The player will receive a warning when he has less than 5 minutes left, and the door will drop carrier & return to the BBS if he runs out of time. 3. The current date and time. 4. The amount of free memory remaining. 5. The are: Local : The door is operating in Local Mode. Fossil : A FOSSIL driver is being used for all comm I/O. DigiBoard : A DigiBoard driver is being used for comm I/O. Uart : Comm I/O is being handled directly through hardware. (Timeslices are given up when idle if any of the following multitaskers are detected) DESQview : DESQview. Win-Enh : MicroSoft Windows in Enhanced Mode. OS/2 : OS/2 detected. DoubleDOS : DoubleDOS. MultiDos : MultiDos. VMiX : VMiX. TopView : TopView. TaskView : TaskView. DOS-TS : DOS 5 & 6 Task Switcher Win-Std : MicroSoft Windows in Standard Mode. Win-NT : MicroSoft Windows NT MicroSoft Windows users ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHARE.EXE must be loaded BEFORE running Windows or the door will lock up. Windows automatically loads SHARE if it isn't already loaded, but the door will still lock up unless SHARE.EXE is loaded first. It's a good idea to load SHARE.EXE in your Autoexec.Bat file. DESQview users ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Global Backgammon is DESQview aware. You should see a "DESQview" on the statusline which indicates that Global Backgammon has detected DESQview and is giving up time slices and using DESQview's virtual screen address. On a 286 or XT class machine, set "Writes Directly to Screen", "Displays Graphics", and "Virtualize text/graphics" all to "N" and Global Backgammon will multitask in a small window. DigiBoard users ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The DigiBoard universal device driver (XIDOS5.SYS) must be loaded in your CONFIG.SYS file to enable Global Backgammon to communicate with your DigiBoard. The "universal device driver" is DigiBoard's name for their INT14-based device driver that works with any of the following DigiBoards: COM/Xi, PC/Xi, PC/Xe and, presumably, any new boards the DigiBoard might produce. This device driver replaces the board-specific device driver that used to accompany each board. You are responsible for properly configuring your DigiBoard multiport board, properly configuring XIDOS5.SYS and installing XIDOS5.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS file. Please refer to your DigiBoard instructions for completing these operations. Multi-Node support ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Global Backgammon includes support for multi-node BBSs. Global Backgammon supports any number of users in the door simultaneously. DOS's SHARE.EXE MUST be loaded to support file sharing. SHARE is not required for a single line BBS. No other special requirements are necessary for multi node-use. Global Backgammon supports real-time multi-node play. Whenever there is a change to any game, the screens of all other players are updated automatically. Files included or created by the game ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GAMMON.DAT Data file containing info for all games. MESSAGES.DAT Messages sent from player to player. SCORES.DAT Data file holds winner's names, accumulated points, number of games won and lost. Sorted (and must remain sorted) in decending order by accumulated points. SCORES.TOP When the rankings are reset, SCORES.DAT is saved as SCORES.TOP and then SCORES.DAT is deleted. (see GAMMON.CFG for info on score configuration) BULLETIN.ANS You may replace this file if you want to display some sort of bulletin to all players. Displayed once when game entered. May be ANSI or ASCII. GAMMON.DOC Rules of the game (required) GAMMON.CFG Configuration file. Edit this using an ascii text editor. GAMMON.EXE The Global Backgammon game itself. Other notes ~~~~~~~~~~~ If you would like to make some sort of announcement to all players, such as a Hall of Fame list, you can create a file called BULLETIN.ANS and place it in your Global Backgammon directory. Global Backgammon will output this file after displaying the copyright notice. BULLETIN.ANS may be an ANSI file or a plain ASCII file. All *.TXT files included in this archive are for your information only and are not required by the game. The rest of the files ARE required. If you can't get Global Backgammon to work with your system, feel free to contact me at ProVision. Together, we'll make it happen! Global Backgammon requires no maintenance or Sysop intervention. Set it up once and forget about it. Completed games are automatically deleted after a specific number of days (see GAMMON.CFG). Even games that have been "forgotten" will automatically be deleted. Known bugs: PC-Board Sysops, you will need to lower your online time to under 9 hours per call (32767 seconds) if you are using PCBOARD.SYS. If you don't, your time remaining stored in PCBOARD.SYS will wrap around and go negative, and you won't be able to get into Global Backgammon. DOOR.SYS does not have this problem, so I recommend using DOOR.SYS instead of PCBOARD.SYS. Give my BBS, ProVision, a call for the latest version of Global Backgammon, Global War and additional support software and documentation. The phone number is (206) 353-6966 or (206) 353-2494. Or you may contact me by sending netmail to Joel Bergen at Fidonet node 1:343/65. I hope that you and your callers enjoy Global Backgammon, and that you find it worthy of your support. Please read the file REGISTER.TXT for information on how to register your copy of Global Backgammon. Joel Bergen