Welcome to the first edition of the Land of Devastation (LOD) FAQ! Author: Konnor McCloud, author of the Highlands series of datasets for LOD. Version:1.00 旼컴커 旼컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴� 읏 粕 � 旼컴� � 읏 旼컴� 읏 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 旼� � � � � � � � � 粕 읕컴� � � 읕컴� � 粕 읕컴� 粕 읕컴컴컴컴� 읕컴컴컴컴� 읕컴컴컴컴� This FAQ addresses creating custom datasets for the LOD door game (version 4.1 and prior) created by Scott Baker. ============================================================================ Throughout this FAQ, you will see special notes. These notes contain information I have gathered from making datasets that is not covered in any other documentation. Please read these and make note of them for your own reference. ============================================================================= BASIC INFORMATION ================= What is this FAQ sheet for? --------------------------- Through the LOD FidoNet echo, I have received many requests for information from sysops and players who have wanted some information on creating custom datasets for LOD. So, this is not a technical discussion on how to play the game, although many hints will be given, and it is not a technical forum for getting the game to run on your bbs, although I welcome submissions for future versions of this FAQ that may address these points. This is primarily for those sysops and dataset designers who wish to create custom datasets for LOD and are struggling with some of the finer points. This FAQ is intended to encourage the creation and distribution of custom datasets for LOD (and since no one wants to play the dataset designers on their own datasets, we are always looking for good new ones to play!). This FAQ is not intended as a replacement for the documentation that is provided with the LOD door game itself. Rather, it is meant to enhance those files with information gleaned from my experience in programming custom datasets, information gathered from others who have tried to make custom datasets, and information and submissions from the LOD FidoNet Echo. It is therefore suggested that dataset designers thoroughly read and familiarize themselves with Scott's original documentation before reading this FAQ. Thanks, --Konnor What is LOD? ------------ LOD is a bbs role-playing door game. It only supports one player at a time, however it does support team play and player vs. player battles. Several video modes are available, including Text, ANSI, and EGA (through an available terminal program called GTERM). The game is fairly customizable and these customized versions are distributed as "datasets". A default dataset is supplied with the game that provides the "Xeboc" scenario. Due to some limitations of the game engine, parts of the game cannot or should not be modified. What is LOD about? ------------------ LOD is set in a post-apocalyptic world of mutated beasts and gangs that roam an area called "the wasteland". You portray a warrior for a small outpost of humanity committed to bringing civilization back to the countryside. Your band of adventurers and scientists have perfected a device called the PuriTron that will cleanse the irradiated particles from the air and the surrounding wasteland. However, the PuriTron was captured by an unknown wasteland entity and disassembled into its nine component pieces. What is the object of LOD? -------------------------- The object of LOD is that you must venture out into the wasteland, arming, equipping, and training yourself as you go, and try to locate the missing PuriTron parts. As you meet and vanquish these various wasteland entities, you gain experience and money from them (unless they vanquish you!). You must take this experience and use it to train yourself, usually at your home base, an outpost called Sacre Base, in your attempt to become more powerful and able to recapture the missing PuriTron parts. Of course, the wrinkle here is that the other players in the game want to do the same, and of course, will only see you as an adversary. What is a "custom dataset"? --------------------------- At its simplest, a custom dataset is a modified GAME.DEF file created by editing the text files supplied with LOD and compiled with the LOD compiler. Additional files can be modified also, including: TRIVIA.DEF to provide new trivia questions for the casino ANSI.DEF to provide new ANSI menus and object pictures USERDOC.TXT to provide a custom description in the Documentation menu RESOURCE.002 to provide custom EGA pictures for GTERM GTSTRS.DEF to provide custom strings for GTERM Who can make a custom dataset? ------------------------------ Anyone with the time or desire to try. LOD is definitely not at the forefront of current computer game technology, however, it is fairly popular on bbs' and the game is not that hard to customize. So far as I know, the first custom dataset for LOD (other than the default) was created by Ray Bacon of Pearland, TX, sysop of the Cobra bbs and Moderator of the LOD FidoNet echo. How do you make a custom dataset for LOD? ----------------------------------------- Scott Baker, the author of LOD, has provided the game with many tools for customizing his game. There is a compiler available for compiling new game definition files (GAME.DEF), another compiler for trivia questions, one for adding ANSI graphics to the game, and one for adding EGA files to GTERM. There is also a program supplied with LOD to facilitate the creation of custom datasets and editing the *.BIN files required by the game called CUSTOM.EXE. Other utilities are available, both from Scott Baker and from other sources. What is GTERM? -------------- GTERM is a custom remote terminal front-end for LOD. It contains a set of EGA pictures to associate with many different items and monsters and can speed up play at higher modem speeds over the ANSI mode. It also features sound support for SoundBlaster compatible sound cards. GTERM has its own set of graphics and strings. Anyone wishing to change the "theme" of LOD should investigate changing all of the appropriate items for GTERM also, since many players enjoy using this front-end and might be confused playing a custom dataset with a description of one kind of monster and a picture of another. What Are Some of the Limitations for LOD DataSet Designs? -------------------------------------------------------- There are many limitations in this game, particularly for those dataset designers who don't happen to be programmers. This game does not lend itself well to the creation of alternate realities since many of the little details are hard-coded. (For example: You can change a ROM disk's name, change its description, change its readout (if its a text file), but you can't change the program name used to call it up.) So, to create a new game scenario within the confines of this game's limitations is truly challenging, and I have yet to see one done successfully and done well. I will try to point out the limitations where I can. It will be up to you to find your way around them. Some of the limitations are provided below just for quick reference: The program names used on the laptop cannot be changed. The nature of many of the quests cannot be changed. No more than 9 cities. Cannot create more huts than are already available. The number of items a fort can hold can be limited, but factories will ignore this limitation. GTERM!!! Below are some of the number limitations of the game structure that I have found. If these parameters are exceeded, either an apparent random factor appears in the numbers associated with these items or the game crashes. In some cases, weapons will appear to do infinite damage, or shields will not show up at full strength. I include these as references, I cannot verify them. I just know they work for me: No more than 10,000 strings can be compiled (fixed in 4.1). No more than 349 items. Fort Shields cannot be larger than 50,000 points or they become seemingly random in size (overwriting memory). Weapons (Long range, short range, and mine and grenade blasts) cannot do more max damage than 250 points or they do infinite damage. (fixed in 4.1) Max % of Xeboc: There is a bug in this that I have not fully explored. But I know an error occurs if over 100%. Medlines cannot restore more than 1 hit point per step (game crashes) Players cannot walk in wasteland with more than $1 billion dollars on them (game crashes) Players cannot put more that $1 billion dollars in Rent account or it goes negative (and the player owes that much rent!!!) No more than 16 pylons can be placed on the wasteland map. How Do I Create a Custom DataSet? --------------------------------- Are you sure you want to try this? Well, if you do, all you have to do is edit some of the text files included with the game and perhaps change the map a little. Then simply recompile the GAME.DEF and send your dataset out (be sure and test it first!). It can be as simple as that! But... For the more adventurous, there is a LOT more you can do...limited only by your imagination and the LOD game engine! Listed below are some of the things you can change: -THE SCENARIO. With certain limitations, you can change the theme of LOD around to reflect your own vision. -THE MAP. Make a few changes in the default map or start over from scratch and make one that's all yours (recommended). -THE MONSTERS. Change around the creatures that your players meet. -THE TAVERN CHARACTERS. Your players can go into any city and talk to denizens in the local tavern. Put some new or interesting people or (?) in there...perhaps giving out useful advice? -A NEW CITY. LOD allows you to add one more city to the existing ones, or you can start from scratch and rename them all (much harder!) -ITEMS. Create new items for your players to find, or modify existing ones. -TRIVIA. There is a trivia game available in all city casinos, make your own! -PICTURES. Either ANSI or EGA, change the way items look when your players view them. -PLAYER STATS. Change the stats your players start with. You can also change the items and cash they initially start out with. -EXPERIENCE POINTS. Change the number of experience points players receive for going up a level. -PLAYER ADVANCEMENT. Change how fast (or slow) your players move up. -FINANCIAL DATA. Change the amount players can borrow in a loan, the amount of interest their accounts will earn, how big their accounts can get, how long they have to wait for a loan, and more! -QUESTS. To a limited degree, you can change the quests around. -FORTS. Change how players can use and equip their forts. -AND MUCH MORE!!! What Tools Do I Use to Make My DataSet? --------------------------------------- The LOD basic package of files include almost all of the utilities you will need to get started. Listed below are the game editors provided: CUSTOM.EXE--This program is used to edit many of the features found in the game, including the map, all of the objects, and the terrain. This program automatically creates the *.BIN files required to compile your dataset. It also allows you control over many of the other aspects of starting your game, including: -New Player Options (Control over options players start out with) -Fort Options (Control over how forts are configured and controlled) -Combat Modes (Control over the different types of combat available) -Finances (Control over all of the financial aspects of the game) -Misc (Janitor payments, raising levels at all cities option) -Advancement (Control over how players advance) -Taxes (Control over how and when players are taxed) -Casino (Control over how much can be bet and won) ANSIPUT.EXE--This program allows you to add, delete, and edit the 255 available ANSI pictures that can be used in the game. This program must be used in conjunction with an ANSI editor program. COMPILE.EXE--This program takes all of the files specified as .txt files to be included in the game, along with the .def and .bin files to compile the dataset. The dataset file is generally output as GAME.DEF. DOCVIEW.EXE--This program allows you to view and sort the various documentation files in LOD from a central program. It separates the USERDOC.TXT file into its basic areas of interest by topic. Helpful for offline viewing. EDITIMG.EXE--An EGA graphics editor. EGAPUT.EXE--Adds EGA graphics to the compiled resource file. GAMEEDIT.EXE--Editor for games in progress. Useful for fixing players who have 'screwed the pooch'. If a player attempts to take a step with more than a billion dollars on their person, they get kicked out of the game. Use this utility to fix them up. If a player dies through a massive bout of line noise (and the sysop feels merciful), use this utility to resurrect them. If a user sticks more than a billion dollars into their RENT account and it goes negative (wanting them to PAY a billion dollars), use this to get them squared away. This is a useful utility for fixing just about anything that has to do with a game in progress. GETBIG.EXE--A .GIF file capture utility. GMAPEDIT.EXE--This program is an EGA Map Editor. It allows you to edit the map in EGA mode so you can see how the map will look in GTERM. LCDOS.EXE--LGPL Compiler (DPMI version) RTM.EXE--A file needed for DPMI (Copyright Borland International) TRIVCOMP.EXE--This program is used to compile your TRIVIA.TXT file into TRIVIA.DEF. The format for the questions must be followed fairly explicitly. One problem I have noticed is that you DO NOT want to include any sort of punctuation in your questions other than question marks and periods. Commas really give you screwy results. TVHC.EXE--A Help file compiler. How Do I Make a Good DataSet? ----------------------------- Now THAT is a good question! The best answer to this question is this: "Make a game that you would want to play." This includes things like: -Balance. The game must play well, giving players only what they need and only as they need it. What's the point if a player can get the best weapon in the game right off the bat? -Creativity. Make players want to stop and explore your world. -Attention to Detail. There's nothing worse than playing a game that says one thing will happen, and something completely different occurs. (It is really easy for this to happen when you are modifying the default dataset.) -Theme. Be sure to build the world your way, people it with your characters and plots and items and, well, you get the idea. Remember why you are doing this, for FUN! The following instructions are provided to help you in creating a custom dataset for LOD: CUSTOMIZING THE MAP =================== LOD is played on a 125X125 map made up of a grid consisting of terrain tiles. Each tile has a particular terrain type associated with it. In this version of LOD (4.1) there are 50 terrain types available through the CUSTOM.EXE program. The first 48 of these are used in the default dataset. It is fairly simple to edit these terrain types in the CUSTOM program, but it must be noted that these terrain types can not be changed in the GTERM program, so I do not recommend changing them since GTERM is a popular way to play this game. Editing the Map --------------- From within CUSTOM, select EDIT, then MAP. You are presented with a 125X125 grid that represents a map of the wasteland as used in LOD. You also have 48 terrain types to choose from to add to your map. Some of these terrain types are standard terrain features (deserts, swamps, etc.), others are specialized terrain squares representing cities, huts, and other domicile type locations. To place a terrain tile, simply use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the desired square, then press the letter corresponding to the terrain type to be placed in that square. Alternate menus of terrain types are available by pressing the SHIFT+> or SHIFT+< keys. Remember, since the wasteland is limited to 125X125 sectors, the outer rim should be some type of impassable terrain to keep players from "falling off". Note: If you wish to start with a blank map freq TPLODMAP.ZIP from 1:106/131 or ftp it from blkbox.com. Taylor Parker "filled" it in with just plains terrain. Placing Sacre Base ------------------ This is probably the most important decision you will make in your dataset. The zones used to indicate the types of monsters players will encounter all radiate away from Sacre Base based on the distance that squares are from the base. Placing the Cities ------------------ Each of the cities should be placed in the wasteland. It might be advisable to space them out to avoid getting large readouts when players use their scanners (and for variety's sake!) NOTE: If you place a city on the map more than once, whenever a player enters the city, they will always exit back out at the one furthest away from the upper right corner. For example, in my latest, I placed four Death Warrior Camps out in the wasteland. Whenever a player enters any one of them, they exit at the one furthest from the upper right corner. Selecting Terrain Types ----------------------- There are a lot of different approaches to creating terrain. This is strictly up to you. Some people like to create semi-realistic terrain, with one type of terrain blending into the next. Others prefer a more stark effect with all types of terrain mixed in. Let your creativity shine! Here are some suggestion that I try to follow: -Don't mix your terrain up too much. Having deserts next to water or lava rivers in snow terrain gets confusing. (But it is a wasteland!) -Try to put several of the same types of terrain squares together to get some continuity. Create mountain ranges, nuclear strikes, volcanoes, and, if you like, entire eco-systems! -Create a different type of impassable terrain than just mountains. It can get boring running into mountains all of the time. -Use your map as an integral part of your dataset. Make it work for your dataset in setting up what you are trying to do. One early dataset turned the entire wasteland into one big maze. Talk about your theme concepts! Placing Pylons -------------- Pylons are a particular type of terrain that allows players standing on that terrain square to "enter" the pylon (if they have a key) and use it to jump around on the wasteland to another pylon by entering the proper three digit color code. There are two types of pylon, the Up pylon and the Down pylon. Use these interchangeably. There is no difference in the two any more. In an early version of LOD, there were multiple levels (this is also what the "Rope" is for) that players could move between (hence, up and down pylons!). This was changed in favor of a larger, single level map. But the pylons were never changed. There is no difference between the two. To place a pylon, simply select a place that you want a pylon to be and put it there. Don't worry about the color codes, these are automatically assigned when the dataset is compiled. NOTE: Do not use more than 16 pylons on your map. The compiler will not support more than 16 pylons. If you add more, the first ones are dropped off of the list. Designating Zones ----------------- The zones, by default, radiate away from Sacre Base in 30 click increments. The only thing affected by these zones is the placement of monsters. Generally, as a player passes into a higher zone (further away from Sacre Base), they will run into harder monsters. This is controlled by the MINDIST and MAXDIST settings in the description of each monster. To change the zones, simply change the MINDIST and MAXDIST parameters on your monsters. You can't change the display though if you do this. It will still read zone 1 as 30 clicks from Sacre, etc. Creating Multiple Maps ---------------------- By using a batch file to swap out a series of GAME.DEFs when the game is first called and loaded, the possibility arises for multiple maps to be used in the game. This effect was first introduced by Ray Bacon of New Age Software, and has also been used by Marvin Moffett in several of his datasets. With this setup, it is possible that a player will face a different map every time he logs into the game. The changes he may face may be minor or major, it's all up to you. EDITING THE TEXT FILES ====================== Editing the text files is the easiest way to change LOD. You can easily add new monsters, forts, characters, conversations, and even customize the screen displays in the game. Refer to section 4 of CUSTOM.DOC for a listing of the text files that can be edited and compiled. Editing the STRINGS.TXT File ----------------------------- Rule #1--DO NOT ADD OR DELETE ANY LINES IN THIS FILE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rule #2--See Rule 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can modify this file as much as you want, as long as you obey Rules 1 and 2. Just read through the file to get a sense of what this file is for. This file contains all of the text "strings" that appear whenever certain game conditions are met. Actually, this file represents almost all of the game interface except for the basic ANSI shell. Changes you make to this file will go a long way toward establishing your "personality" in the game. So be careful to keep your changes consistent. There is also a GTERM strings file that can be edited, but must be distributed with the dataset. Konnor's Note: I caution dataset designers against changing the GTERM files, since many players use the same GTERM configuration for many different boards. If you change it to where the game calls a different picture for a standard scene, the users who have not set up your included files will be faced with a blank area on their display, or worse, if they do set yours up and you change a default picture, they will get a blank area on other boards. This goes for the RESOURCE.000 and RESOURCE.002 files also. Many players will not want to keep up with all of that. If you do change these files, make it so that none of the default pictures are changed. Creating Monsters ----------------- Creating new monsters consists of several steps, most of which can be understood by viewing a sample monster. This one is from my custom dataset, and is a monster that guards the crumbling labyrinth situated around KILL, INC. Comments are included after each section describing what each is for: EXAMPLE MONSTER FROM MONSTER.TXT COMPILED IN KM4ALOD4.ZIP: ;---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NAME Minotaur ;You gotta give it a name! DESC As you venture down the hallway in this creepy labyrinth, you hear the DESC distinctive "THUMP, THUMP" of footsteps approaching you. From the sound, DESC you must assume that whatever is coming, it's very large. Then suddenly, DESC you are face to knee with a giant minotaur! It is armed to the teeth and DESC definitely not happy to see you here. ;Description of the encounter. TRESTRICT FLOOR ;Makes this monster only show up on a certain type of terrain. ORIGX 67 ;X Origination point\ ORIGY 100 ;Y Origination point -The place on the map around which this monster ORIGZ 1 ;Z Origination point/ will appear-used with MINDIST and MAXDIST HITPTS 350 ;How much damage it can sustain STR 360 ;Strength rating DEX 245 ;Dexterity Rating AGL 245 ;Agility Rating EXP 25000 ;Amount of experience a player gets for defeating this monster MONEY 31000 ;Amount of money a player gets for defeating this monster DISINT 50 ;percentage chance that an item will disintegrate upon death MINDIST 0 ;Minimum distance this monster appears from XYZ origination point MAXDIST 20 ;Maximum distance this monster appears from XYZ origination point WEAPON1 WidowLance ;Short range weapon--affected by DISINT % WEAPON2 WidowBlaster ;Long range weapon--affected by DISINT % ARMOR Widow Armor ;Armor type worn by monster--affected by DISINT % INV WidowPack ;Ammo for weapons--NOT affected by DISINT % INV WidowPack ;Ammo for weapons--NOT affected by DISINT % INV10 Rations/10 ;10% chance of item in inventory--NOT affected by DISINT % INV25 Bag of gold ;25% chance of item in inventory--NOT affected by DISINT % TYPE 4 ;Combat strings of this type (4) will appear KILLHIM The Minotaur screams a mighty wail, then falls dead at your feet. You KILLHIM search his massive body for anything of value. ;Death description ;---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Detailed instructions for creating monsters are included in the default MONSTER.TXT included with the LOD program files. Adding New Monster Files ------------------------ New monster files can be added by modifying the section of the DATASET.TXT file that identifies the usage of the MONSTER keyword. To add a new monster file, simply add your file name to the list of monster files in DATASET.TXT using the following format: MONSTER MONSTER.TXT (substitute your file name for MONSTER.TXT) Limiting the Range of Monsters ------------------------------ Use the MINDIST and the MAXDIST parameters to specify the maximum distance and the minimum distance that a monster will appear from any given point. Default point of origin is Sacre Base. Use in conjunction with the ORIGX, ORIGY and ORIGZ commands to specify alternate starting points for your monsters to radiate out from. Hint-when using the ORIGX, ORIGY, and ORIGZ commands, ORIGX is always the number of columns over, starting from the left, and the ORIGY is the number of rows down, starting from the top. ORIGZ is ALWAYS set to 1. So the entry for a monster that you wish to have radiate a minimum of 2 squares and a maximum of 10 squares away from the point 10 squares in and 10 squares down on the map would be as follows: ORIGX 10 ORIGY 10 ORIGZ 1 MINDIST 2 MAXDIST 10 Konnor's Note: Be sure that you do not put monsters that are inappropriate to the zone they are in. No newbie wants to face a monster that they have almost no chance of beating right off the bat! Limiting Terrain Type Appearances for Monsters ---------------------------------------------- There are two different ways to have your monsters appear only on certain types of terrain. You can use the WATERONLY command to limit the appearance of your monsters to only water type terrain (see Editing Terrain Types for more info on setting a terrain type to water), or you can use the TRESTRICT command option to force your monster to appear on only specific types of terrain. More than one TRESTRICT command can be present for each monster. I've used up to five at a time without any problem. Use this format: TRESTRICT plains This command will cause your monster to only appear on the terrain type called "plains". The LANDWATER command will simply cause your monster to appear on both land type and water type terrain. Konnor's Note: Using the TRESTRICT command in conjunction with the MINDIST and MAXDIST commands can limit even further the range of terrain that your monsters may appear in. Editing Terrain Types --------------------- A limited amount of editing of the terrain types can be done. The easiest things to do is to change certain types of terrain that are currently passable to impassable (Forests?) or certain types that are land types to water types (Swamps?). You can also change the ANSI colors of the terrain types and the characters used to define them. I would not recommend changing much more than that since any such changes would ruin the gaming experience for GTERM users. Konnor's Note: Terrain tiles that do not have a corresponding display tile in GTERM show up as big, black, ugly squares with the terrain number smack dab in the middle when GTERM is used. If you use altered terrain squares to hide certain paths or mazes, they stick out like a sore thumb when GTERM is used. Adding Terrain Types --------------------- This can be done in the for the ANSI display options. But this is not recommended because players using GTERM will only see a big black square that will stick out like a sore thumb. However, you can do it by editing the last two available terrain types in CUSTOM.EXE. Creating New Items ------------------ Now comes the fun part! You should definitely read section 8 in the CUSTOM.DOC file before attempting to do this. Remember, this FAQ just enhances the info in the LOD docs, the best source is still Scott's original docs, and this topic is covered extremely well. The easiest way to create a new item is to use CUSTOM.EXE to simply change the name of an existing item (be careful though--make sure the item is not referenced elsewhere by its previous name). Even better, go to the end of the existing items in the list defined in CUSTOM.EXE and start from scratch. Here are some hints on items to add: -Fort options: Make some really good weapons and fort packs and shields to give the fortress owners something to spend all of their loot on. -Take care of the necessities: Need bigger medkits or food packs? Make them! How about warpers, stealth fields, rechargers? Give it to them! -Gotta take care of the baddies that you are going to create, so make some better weapons; both long range and close. -Get creative. Dive into the GENOBJ.TXT file and create some real goodies! (Watch out for that Replicator though!) Konnor's Note: The replicator is an item that is provided but not used in the default dataset. It will essentially replicate any item it is used on. This means that it is basically an endless, limitless source of wealth for any player who has one. I do not recommend using this device in your dataset, unless you make sure it does not come into play until near the end of the game, say, as a reward for the winner? There is a way around it, and that is to modify the replicator to give a limited number of uses. If you do this, do not put it up for sale unless it is THE most expensive item in the game. Otherwise, a creative macro writer will loop it and have a limitless source of wealth. Figuring the Cost of Items -------------------------- Remember that the price paid for an item is greater in the other cities than it will be in Sacre Base, so take into consideration what city the item will be sold in when assigning a cost to a new item. The cost increases according to the city number, so if the same item is sold in City 3 and City 4, it will be more expensive in City 4. Creating Upgraded Weapons ------------------------- Weapons can be created that feature the same type of upgrades that are available from ACME Labs. All instances of the weapon will feature the upgrade and players will have to do nothing to receive those benefits except equip and use the weapon. The upgrades that are available are: Dexterity bonuses of 10%, 20%, and 30% Strength bonuses of 10%, 20% and 30% (Upgrades of only 10 and 20% are available at ACME.) Stunner (Useful on long range weapons only) Burst Mode (Useful on long range weapons only) UniAmmo (Useful for all types of weapons that require ammo) There are 127 different combinations of the bonuses and upgrades. A numeric value between 1 and 127 is assigned to each combination. To create an upgraded weapon, simply put the proper number in the VAR2 slot for the weapon. Leaving the VAR2 slot blank or putting a 0 in it is the same as no upgrade. Be sure to choose the proper upgrade for the type of weapon. You wouldn't want to have a short range weapon that has a stunner upgrade on it that wouldn't work, would you? Use the following chart to choose the correct number for the upgrade: ##d=Dexterity ##s=Strength S=Stunner B=Burst Mode U=UniAmmo 1-10d 33-10d,10s 65-10d,20s 97-10d,30s 2-20d 34-20d,10s 66-20d,20s 98-20d,30s 3-30d 35-30d,10s 67-30d,20s 99-30d,30s 4-S 36-10s,S 68-20s,S 100-30s,S 5-10d,S 37-10d,10s,S 69-10d,20s,S 101-10d,30s,S 6-20d,S 38-20d,10s,S 70-20d,20s,S 102-20d,30s,S 7-30d,S 39-30d,10s,S 71-30d,20s,S71 103-30d,30s,S71 8-B 40-10s,B 72-20s,B72 104-30s,B72 9-10d,B 41-10d,10s,B 73-10d,20s,B 105-10d,30s,B 10-20d,B 42-20d,10s,B 74-20d,20s,B 106-20d,30s,B 11-30d,B 43-30d,10s,B 75-30d,20s,B 107-30d,30s,B 12-S,B 44-10s,S,B 76-20s,S,B 108-30s,S,B 13-10d,S,B 45-10d,10s,S,B 77-10d,20s,S,B 109-10d,30s,S,B 14-20d,S,B 46-20d,10s,S,B 78-20d,20s,S,B 110-20d,30s,S,B 15-30d,S,B 47-30d,10s,S,B 79-30d,20s,S,B 111-30d,30s,S,B 16-U 48-10s,U 80-20s,U 112-30s,U 17-10d,U 49-10d,10s,U 81-10d,20s,U 113-10d,30s,U 18-20d,U 50-20d,10s,U 82-20d,20s,U 114-20d,30s,U 19-30d,U 51-30d,10s,U 83-30d,20s,U 115-30d,30s,U 20-S,U 52-10s,S,U 84-20s,S,U 116-30s,S,U 21-10d,S,U 53-10d,10s,S,U 85-10d,20s,S,U 117-10d,30s,S,U 22-20d,S,U 54-20d,10s,S,U 86-20d,20s,S,U 118-20d,30s,S,U 23-30d,S,U 55-30d,10s,S,U 87-30d,20s,S,U 119-30d,30s,S,U 24-B,U 56-10s,B,U 88-20s,B,U 120-30s,B,U 25-10d,B,U 57-10d,10s,B,U 89-10d,20s,B,U 121-10d,30s,B,U 26-20d,B,U 58-20d,10s,B,U 90-20d,20s,B,U 122-20d,30s,B,U 27-30d,B,U 59-30d,10s,B,U 91-30d,20s,B,U 123-30d,30s,B,U 28-S,B,U 60-10s,S,B,U 92-20s,S,B,U 124-30s,S,B,U 29-10d,S,B,U 61-10d,10s,S,B,U 93-10d,20s,S,B,U 125-10d,30s,S,B,U 30-20d,S,B,U 62-20d,10s,S,B,U 94-20d,20s,S,B,U 126-20d,30s,S,B,U 31-30d,S,B,U 63-30d,10s,S,B,U 95-30d,20s,S,B,U 127-30d,30s,S,B,U 32-10s 64-20s 96-30s 128-10d (restarts) So, if you wanted to create a short range weapon that had both a 20% upgrade in strength and a 20% upgrade in dexterity, and a UniAmmo upgrade, you would simply insert 82 into the VAR2 for that weapon. Damage Limitations ------------------ Prior to version 4.1, there was an undocumented limit to the amount of damage that a weapon or mine could do. This limit was 255 for the maximum damage variable. Any weapon that exceeded this would do a random amount of damage that could be considered "infinite" in this game. Of course, you can use this "bug" to your advantage by creating a fort weapon that would do "infinite" damage. That would make someone think twice before attacking your fort! Creating New Armor Types ------------------------ Here's a few suggestions for new armor types: -Change the size of all existing armor types. -Make a type of armor that has a high deflection rate, but has a low charge to it and is not rechargeable. This would be good for those "hard to kill opponents as a one-shot deal. -Make armor types that do not fully recharge by setting the MAXUSE lower than the original charge. -Make some armor types that are already upgraded in one or both areas. -Make an armor type that has a very high charge, but a very low deflection rate! Making New Armor Types Rechargeable ---------------------------------- This little item is pretty tricky! It should be as easy as setting the VAR1 to a "0" if the armor is not to be rechargeable, and to a "1" if it is to be rechargeable. However, there is a little kicker thrown in, and it comes in the form of an extra utility you need to get from either Scott's NYN bbs or any other bbs that has it. This is the MAXUSE.EXE utility. You simply insert this utility into your working directory and then run it to edit your armor types. What this does is tell LOD what the recharged strength of the armor will be. By default, the MAXUSE value for any item is 0. That is why you need this utility, otherwise, you can recharge your armor, but you will be recharging it to the default value, which is "0"! HINT: You'll need this utility to edit other items, too. The MAXUSE value of an item is referenced when the item is used. So, if you have a new type of, say, food that has 100 uses, when the player goes to use it, the game will report: There are 100 of 0 applications remaining. Use an application (Y/N) ? So, you might want to fix this, since it looks a little stupid. Creating Upgraded Armor Types ------------------------- This bit was submitted by Doug Merha. Pay attention! ARMOR UPGRADES Any precreated armor may have E.T.S. capability which will augment the character's stats with E improving Strength, T improving Dexterity, And S improving Agility. The key is in VAR1, which should be set as follows: ##R (Where ## is chosen from the table below and R is set to 1 if the armor is Rechargeable, 0 if not.) 10%, 20%, 30% E=strength T=dexterity S=agility: ##R ETS (EXAMPLE) 011=110 III II III ------STR & DEX UP 10% --------RECHARGEABLE VARIABLE (1 for YES, 0 for NO) ----------THIS NUMBER ADDED WITH A 1 OR A 0 (011)IN VAR1 ## ETS ## ETS ## ETS ## ETS 00 000 16 001 32 002 48 003 01 110 17 111 33 112 49 113 02 220 18 221 34 222 50 223 03 330 19 331 35 332 51 333 04 011 20 012 36 013 52 010 05 121 21 122 37 123 53 120 06 231 22 232 38 233 54 230 07 302 23 303 39 300 55 301 08 022 24 023 40 020 56 021 09 132 25 133 41 130 57 131 10 203 26 200 42 201 58 202 11 313 27 310 43 311 59 312 12 033 28 030 44 031 60 032 13 100 29 101 45 102 61 103 14 210 30 211 46 212 62 213 15 320 31 321 47 322 63 323 Creating NPC Forts ------------------ NPC forts are useful for several reasons. You can use them to: -Provide convenient access to a particular area. -Protect a particular area (with a good proximity detector and a very strong weapon or a nice consistent mine spreader!) -Sell special items. -Sell energy or medkits. -Spread mines. It is important to remember the following: Your NPC forts WILL be attacked. You can set them up so that they are either easy or hard to take over. Remember, after a certain point in the default dataset, you cannot protect a fort. Players simply get too strong. If you want your NPC fort there for the duration of the game, you have several options: -Make it inaccessible. This only works for Proximity defense forts and mine spreaders. Players would need to get to all of the other types. Do this by putting some sort of inaccessible terrain on all four sides and do NOT put any sort of teleporter in it. -Create fortress weapons and shields that NOBODY, not even the strongest possible player in the game can get past. (You don't have to make these fort items generally available.) -Create items that are locked in place and cannot be removed. Make sure the fort is also equipped with an anti-self destruct option. Creating NPC Fort Stores ------------------------ To create an NPC fort store, you first need to create the fort options which will stock your store and then restock it at night during maintenance. The easiest way to do this is to simply copy the setup for the TERRA LABS SELLERs, either A, B, or C, to another slot. Then specify the VAR2 as the device number of the item you want the stocker to create and put up for sale. You'll notice that the VAR1 value for each of the three TERRA LABS SELLERs is different. That's because each one stocks a different available slot in your fort: -A stocks slots 1 and 2 -B stocks slots 3 and 4 -C stocks slots 5 and 6 Now that you have your stockers created, simply go to your NPCFORT.TXT file and create a new fort. Below is an example: ;----------------------- NAME Nemesis Dry Goods ;gotta give it a name! X 62 ;X location Y 47 ;Y location Z 1 ;Z location (always 1) PASSWORD RANDOM ;IMPORTANT! So no one can guess it! ;RANDOM assigns a randomly generated password MED 50000 ;If you want it to sell medkits, give it some MEDFS 50000 ;How much of the medkits are for sale? MEDPRICE 200 ;How much are the medkits per dose? ENERGY 10000 ;Give it some energy right off the bat. ENERGYFS 0 ;Don't sell it or it can be depleted and the ENERGYPRICE 0 ;fort easily conquered. MONEY 0 ;Does your fort need any cash in the treasury? TELEPRICE 1000 ;Teleportation charge. Delete if no teleporter. TOLLPRICE 0 ;Toll charge. Delete if no Toll Station. SPEC Sacre Pack ;Fort option (default pack) SPEC Black Hole Tap ;Fort option (custom energy) SPEC Death Knell ;Fort option (custom weapon) SPEC Gassy Nebulae ;Fort option (custom moat) SPEC Ultimate Shield ;Fort option (custom shield) SPEC Sacre Seller 2 ;Fort option (custom stocker) SPEC Sacre Seller 5 ;Fort option (custom stocker) SPEC Sacre Seller 8 ;Fort option (custom stocker) LISTUNION ;Why not? You gotta advertise! ;----------------------- NOTE--Before LOD ver. 4.1, forts with the RANDOM password option were assigned random numeric passwords up to five digits. These types of forts could be broken into easily with a sequential number macro. Version 4.1 changes the RANDOM function to assign alpha-numeric passwords. Creating Mine Spreader Forts ---------------------------- These are easy. Simply equip an NPC fort with one or more mine factories and a mine spreader. A single mine spreader will spread all mines created so you do not need more than one mine spreader. For more fun, give the fort a Wanderer, so it will warp around randomly leaving mines all over the wasteland. Making NPC Forts That Warp -------------------------- If you add a Wanderer device to your NPC forts, be sure and list their initial location as: X1 Y1 Z1 Creating Fort Packs ------------------- Creating fort packs is not as hard as it has been made out to be, but there is a bit of an art to it, and a lot of trial and error. First, refer to Section Eight of CUSTOM.DOC for information on creating your new items. Then, you simply add together the VAR1 settings for each item in the fort pack. Remember that you can only use items with an application code = 38. You'll notice if you look through the device list that there are two sets of Teleporters, Excelsior Teleporters, and Transporters with different application codes. The ones with an application code of 38 are the ones you will include in your packs. The other ones are the ones you can buy by themselves for your fort. For example, if you want to create a fort pack with a: -transporter VAR1 = 16 -comset VAR1 = 32 -wanderer VAR1 = 128 -SFG VAR1 = 64 --- 240 Simply add up the VAR1s (240) and put that number in the VAR1 slot in your fort pack. Now the art and trial and error comes in when you try to fit more than three or four items in a pack. Since the VAR1s are multiples of each other, you may start running into problems if you try to load them up. An even bigger hurdle comes when you try to make bigger proximity detectors, mine spreaders, or toll stations and the like. If you print out your device list now, you'll notice that the VAR1 for the PROXIMITY TRIP R0 is 1024. The VAR1 for the PROX R1 is twice that, or 2048. The VAR1 for a PROX R2 is 3 times that, or 3072. Get the pattern? So, you can safely assume that the VAR1 for a PROX R3 would be 4096. But, what would the VAR1 be for a PROX R7--8192? No, that's the VAR1 for a TOLL STATION R0! You can include Factories in your fort packs, too! The VAR1 for a factory is 256. Simply include the device number of the item you want the factory to create in the VAR2 slot. You can add as many factories as you want, but again, you can run into problem when you add more items. For example, say you create a fort pack with four factories: -Factory VAR1 = 256 -Factory VAR1 = 256 -Factory VAR1 = 256 -Factory VAR1 = 256 --- 1024 You might notice that this number (1024) is also the VAR1 for a PROX R0. This type of mistake becomes much more common when dealing with the larger numbers associated with some of the other items. Be sure to compile and check out your fort packs before you consider yourself done. NOTE: When you compile your GAME.DEF to test it out, you have to delete any items created from a previous compile or they WILL NOT have the properties of your current compile. For example, if you create a fort pack -- then compile, and enter the game, build a fort and install the pack -- and find out that it is not exactly what you want, when you correct the device and then recompile, this will NOT change the properties of the existing item already installed in your fort. You must delete that one and then install it again to check it out properly. Creating Fort Weapons --------------------- Be careful when you create new fort weapons that you do not make them too strong. For instance, if you limit your players to 200 hit points, there is no point in having a fort weapon that does more than 201 maximum damage. Having a fort weapon that does a minimum of 200 damage is sure to take out any attacker with one hit. If you are writing a dataset in version 4.0 or a previous version, there is a limit on how much damage a fort weapon can do. This limit is 255. Any weapon that is designed to do more than 255 damage will do an unspecified, and for the purposes of this game, infinite amount of damage. This bug has been fixed in LOD version 4.1. Creating Fort Shields --------------------- When creating new fort shields, remember that you want them to be somewhat vulnerable. You do not want a shield so strong that it CANNOT be defeated, unless you want your players to be absolutely safe, and this idea, generally, is not a good one for this type of game (it causes players to give up). So make your fort shields strong enough so that the strongest possible player in the game has a certain percentage chance of taking it over. The limit for fort shield strength in version 4.0 and prior version was 50,000 points. Any shield designed with a greater value than that would get a seemingly random value. (Konnor's Note: This may or may not have been fixed in version 4.1.) Creating Fort Factories ----------------------- A word of warning on creating fort factories. Remember that each factory will create one item per night. This can cause forts to get cluttered very quickly. Be sure and make factories only for items that players will want to use or sell on a daily basis. To create a fort factory, use a VAR1 of 256, application code of 38, and enter the device number of the item you want the factory to create in VAR2. Creating NPC Monsters and Characters ------------------------------------ I suggest you use the ISREAL.TXT file to setup your NPCs in, although you can create your own file if you properly include it as a monster file in the DATASET.TXT file. The trick to getting NPCs to work properly is to start assigning player numbers from the end of the available player slots. Since each NPC will take up a player slot, start from the end with slot 254 (taken up by a Deathstalker in the default dataset). Then assign the next one as: ISREAL 253 Following this formula, you can add quite a few NPCs to your dataset. Other than adding the ISREAL line, just set up the ISREAL like any other monster. Making NPCs Camped ------------------ Use the CAMPED and NORANDOM commands with the X, Y, Z coordinates. Do not use the MINDIST or MAXDIST commands. There is an exception to this rule. If you have a wide enough expanse of open terrain (NO impassable terrain types). Then you can set up an NPC to set up camp within a specific area, but not at any designated coordinates by setting your focus with the XYZ coordinates, and then setting the MINDIST and MAXDIST distances so that there is no chance your NPC will camp further away than the closest impassable terrain square. BTW, omit the NORANDOM command to make this work! The reason that you can only do this within an expanse of passable terrain is simply because you don't want your NPC camped on top of a mountain where no one can get at it! Limiting the Range of NPC Monsters or Characters ------------------------------------------------ There are two ways to limit the appearances of NPC (ISREAL) monsters: by terrain and by distance (or both). USING GENOBJ.TXT ================ This is a file where magic can occur! Various types of uses, appearances and transformations for objects can be programmed in this file. Use this file to get creative. Remember, your players don't always need to kill a monster to get a certain item. Perhaps they can MAKE that item... Be careful when using the REPLICATE command. This can throw off the balance of your game in a hurry. Players with access to a replicator basically have access to an unlimited source of funds. One thing to be careful about is that you cover all of the bases when programming in GENOBJ.TXT. If you make one thing happen on a certain type of terrain, be sure to include what happens when the player is NOT on that type of terrain. The more variables you use, the more distinct scenarios you have to cover. Konnor's Note: This file can be the key to an excellent dataset. Players who are familiar with my datasets know I make extensive use of this file. However, if this file is not done properly, it can ruin an otherwise excellent dataset. So, I suggest that you test each possible scenario repeatedly before you include it in your dataset. CREATING NEW TRIVIA ==================== Editing the TRIVIA.DEF File --------------------------- Watch out for those punctuation marks! Do not use commas in your questions or your file will not compile correctly. Use the following format--one question per line, followed by the answer. Start the question at column 1 of your text editor and start the answer at column 60. Leave at least one empty space between your question and answer. Use a plain ASCII text editor. Be sure and save your trivia questions file as TRIVIA.TXT. Compiling New Trivia -------------------- Simply make sure that your TRIVIA.TXT file is in the same directory as the TRIVCOMP.EXE file and run the compiler. Be sure to go back and check out each line that is reported by the compiler as containing an error. Many times just deleting any commas appearing in the question will fix it. EDITING THE ANSI SCREENS ======================== You will need an ANSI editor program to help you in this section. Using ANSIPUT.EXE ----------------- Use ANSIPUT.EXE to add, delete, extract, and list the ANSI files contained in ANSI.DEF. Type ANSIPUT by itself at the command line to get a listing of the proper command syntax. It can speed things up if you copy your ANSI.DEF and your ANSIPUT.EXE to the directory with your ANSI editor. Editing Menus ------------- You might want to edit the menus to give your game a more custom look or feel. Editing the Item Descriptions ----------------------------- These are called by the ANSI code entered in the CUSTOM program. It will help your players if you edit the ANSI screens for different items to correctly reflect the changes you have made in the dataset. The ANSI.DEF file is limited to 256 compiled ANSI files. Many of these are taken up by intro screens and game menus. That leaves fewer available for your items than you may have items. One way around this is to combine similar items on the same ANSI screen. For example, the Phasers 1, 2, and 3 are very nearly identical, so why not put them all together on one screen, and simply identify the strength of each one all on one screen? That frees two screens for your own amazing items! Dataset Naming Conventions -------------------------- Please follow the naming conventions Scott Baker has outlined in the LOD doc's for the zipped file that contains your custom dataset. Example: KMLOD41A.ZIP ^^ ^^^ | | | | | |__ This is the version of your dataset. | |____ This is the version of LOD it works with. |_________ These are your initials. Also to help the sysop's out include a text file in the zipped file named FILE_ID.DIZ that contains a descrption of what is included in the dataset. Many bbs softwares can use this FILE_ID.DIZ as the file description in the download directories. Example: This is the Highlands dataset for Land of Devastation ver. 4.1. This dataset was written by Konnor McCloud Features include a custom map, over 80 new objects, new trivia, new puzzles, new characters, new monsters, and new places to visit, even an updated ANSI.DEF. This ZIP file includes the GAME.DEF file, the ANSI.DEF file, the TRIVIA.DEF file, the USERDOC.TXT file, a README.TXT file, and this FILE_ID.DIZ. Simply unzip this file into your LOD 4.1 directory, delete all *.DAT files and PNEWS.* files and start playing! Please DO NOT modify this dataset in any way! FTP Site Information -------------------- An FTP site has been set up on the Internet with some LOD files you might be interested in grabbing. Below is a recent listing of files available on the site. If you have a file you would like added to the site forward it via FIDO netmail to Taylor Parker at 1:106/131. Be sure to include a netmail with a descrpition of the file. If you need help contact Taylor Parker in the FIDO LOD echo, via netmail or via the Internet - nemesis@blkbox.com Files on blkbox.com in the /pub/lod directory. GTERM400 ZIP 808,833 03-03-94 ega graphics for lod LOD400A ZIP 108,770 03-03-94 lod part a LOD400B ZIP 546,278 03-03-94 lod part b LOD400C ZIP 137,892 03-03-94 lod part c LOD400D ZIP 593,566 03-03-94 lod part d LOD400E ZIP 355,389 03-03-94 lod part e LOD400F ZIP 763,834 03-03-94 lod part f LOD400G ZIP 87,123 03-03-94 lod part g L400FIX2 ZIP 223,894 03-08-94 fix 2 for lod SLAMSET1 ZIP 195,074 01-09-95 lod 4.0 alternate dataset HELL400A ARJ 821,206 04-11-94 lod 4.0 alternate dataset. circles of hell TPLODMAP ZIP 1,474 04-16-94 my blank map to design datasets with 00INDEX TXT 0 01-26-95 this file you are reading KM3ELOD4 ZIP 233,084 01-09-95 lod 4.0 alternate dataset by konnor mccloud NAS240A ZIP 385,806 01-09-95 lod 4.0 alternate dataset by new age software ie. ray bacon and friends MAXUSE40 ZIP 8,625 01-09-95 fixes the rechargeable armor bug LOD410A.ZIP - Sysop and User documentation [REQUIRED] LOD410B.ZIP - Main LOD program and data [REQUIRED] LOD410C.ZIP - EGA version [OPTIONAL] LOD410D.ZIP - EGA additional graphics library [OPTIONAL] LOD410E.ZIP - Sysop customization package [OPTIONAL] LOD410F.ZIP - Sound/music support [OPTIONAL] LOD410G.ZIP - EGA developers kit [OPTIONAL] LOD410O.ZIP - OS/2 Executables [OPTIONAL] LOD410P.ZIP - DPMI Character Mode Executables [OPTIONAL] GTERM410.ZIP Remote EGA graphics and sound for LOD 4.1 KM4LOD41.ZIP This is the Highlands dataset for Land of Devastation ver. 4.1. This dataset was written by Konnor McCloud Features include a custom map, over 80 new objects, new trivia, new puzzles, new characters, new monsters, and new places to visit, even an updated ANSI.DEF. This ZIP file includes the GAME.DEF file, the ANSI.DEF file, the TRIVIA.DEF file, the USERDOC.TXT file, a README.TXT file, and this FILE_ID.DIZ. Simply unzip this file into your LOD 4.1 directory, delete all *.DAT files and PNEWS.* files and start playing! Please DO NOT modify this dataset in any way! Konnor's Final Note: Well, I hope this helps. If you have any questions, comments, submissions, or complaints, send them to me over the FidoNet LOD echo. Address them to Konnor McCloud. I check the echo nearly every day, so you will have a response very quickly--but I can't make any promises... :). Happy LODing everyone!