JEWEL THIEF INTERBBS PLAY

6/10/95

Jewel Thief ver 2.0 was the first InterBBS version of Jewel Thief.
Version 2.1 added a few more features to the InterBBS play of the 
game and 2.2 fixed a bug.

Jewel Thief InterBBS Play:

Version 2.0 of Jewel Thief had more changes added to it than
have been added in a long time.  What I have added up to this point is
the ability for the player to save the level they are at, should they
have to quit before they run out of lives.  Next time they play they
will start off where they left off, unless the end of month 
has passed since the last time they played.

The other major feature that I've added is InterBBS play.  This means that
two or more boards can share their scores with each other, creating a 
little interbbs rivalry between the boards.  This feature has proven to
be very popular already.  Currently there is no checking for duplicate
players on different boards or changes in the scores. Some kind of checking
is planned for future versions along with the ability to use an alias for play.
I have been running a 13 board league with over 70 players, and it has gone 
real well.

How it works:

Before the InterBBS function will work, a file called LEAGUE.JT must exist
in the Jewel directory.  This is the master list of all nodes playing.  
The LEAGUE.JT is a plain ascii text file with information on the BBS and Sysop
names, BBS Phone number and city/state of the BBS.  By default, the first BBS 
is the Hub BBS, although the way the IBBS works, any one of the nodes can be
the Hub BBS.  Below is an example of what the LEAGUE.JT looks like:

#1
Com-Dat BBS
Mike Jordan
503-681-0543
Hillsboro, OR
Node ID if any 
#2
The Coliseum BBS
Matt McClanahan
503-692-6505
Portland, OR
Node ID if any 
#3
Williams Computer Service BBS
Rob Williams
503-631-8435
Oregon City, OR
Node ID if any

*Important - The BBS name and Sysop name should match the info in the 
JEWEL.CFG file.  You must have all lines present, even if left blank.
The Node ID field is not active yet and could even be used as a short
comment line.

The person starting the league should be #1 and is called the Hub Node. 
The Hub node will create the LEAGUE.JT file, adding in each node until
the game is ready to start. The Hub should then pass around (or make
available) the LEAGUE.JT file to everyone else in the League. If you do
not have this file your *.dat IBBS scores will not be processed.  Also,
all number parameters should match; i.e. number of games per day, number
of makeup days, ect.

When everyone is ready to go, each node should run JEWEL IBBS from
the DOS prompt in the Jewel directory.  This will create the Who's Who 
list based on the LEAGUE.JT information.  Should someone get added in
after the game has started, update the LEAGUE.JT file and then re-run
JEWEL IBBS. They will then be added into the Who's Who list. 

This same command is used to combine the node JT-#.dat files and add them
to the master score file.  This can be done as an event or manually by
the Hub Sysop.  

Each node will have a score file created based on their number in the
LEAGUE.JT file.  #1 will be JT-1.DAT, #2 will be JT-2.DAT, #3 will be
JT-3.DAT, etc.  This file keeps the scores that will be passed to the
Hub Node. 

It's up to the league to determine how they want to pass the JT-#.DAT files
up to the Hub Node.  Each node can send it or upload it to the Hub Node or
the Hub Node can call and get it.  It makes no difference to the game how,
as long as the JT-#.DAT file is available at the Hub Node's BBS when the
JEWEL IBBS is run.

I recommend all JT-#.DAT files be sent to the Hub, he creates the master
score file and then passes that back to the other players. Once the other
nodes receive the MASTER.JT file, they just need to put it in their JT
directory.  The Master score file will only be updated if the
score in the JT*.DAT file is HIGHER than what is in the Master file.

Upgrading from version 1.6 or older:

I recommend, before doing the following, that you Zip up your complete Jewel
directory and keep it as a backup.

To upgrade, take the files in this packet (the *.exe, *.slb and *.hps files) 
and drop them into your Jewel directory. 

That's all that is required if you are not interested in the InterBBS stuff.
The level saving feature will now be available. You will be able to see a 
InterBBS Score Card, but it will not have any info on it. You won't be able
to go into the Who's Who screen.

For InterBBS Play:

Create your LEAGUE.JT file (it only needs #1 info to turn on the IBBS
feature).  Run JEWEL IBBS.

And that's all there is too it, for now.

Once the game starts, each node should pass their JT-#.DAT file to the 
Hub Node at some arranged time.  Then either by an event or manually,
the Hub Node should run JEWEL IBBS to create that days MASTER.JT 
file.  The MASTER.JT file should either be sent back to each of the
member nodes or made available so they can pick it up.  Each node should
copy the new MASTER.JT file back into their Jewel directory.  Once the old
file has been over written, the new information can be viewed.

I use InterMail's IMSEND program to send the MASTER.JT file to my league 
members. There are a variety of ROBOT type programs that will send or call
to get files at specific times. 

Read the M&S_INFO.DIZ file for addresses and locations that any problems 
can be sent too.  If you need to call, the Registration/Support Voice
number is (503) 693-7068.  

Mike