# LOD Newsletter file # # This file will be updated to contain all LOD newsletter issues. Please # Don't delete it - it is used by LOD itself when users request a newsletter # to be displayed. NUMITEMS 5 LODNEWS1 Volume 1, Issue 1: Premier Issue! LODNEWS2 Volume 1, Issue 2: LODNews Continues! LODNEWS3 Volume 1, Issue 3: Yet Another LodNews! LODNEWS4 Volume 2, Issue 1: March, 1993 LODNEWS5 Volume 3, Issue 1: May, 1994 LODNEWS6 Volume 4, Issue 1: May, 1995 @@LODNEWS1 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) 544-4655 (V.32) Node #2: (602) xxx-xxxx (USR DUAL) (Temp Down) @@LODNEWS2 Land Of Devastation News Volume 1 Number 2 Editor: Scott M. Baker Contents 1) Welcome to Issue Number Two!......Scott Baker 2) Version 3.30: Team Support........Scott Baker 3) Some Tips for Advanced Players....Art Rainy 4) Special Questing..................Gurlock The Almighty 5) Crippleware/Bonusware/Delayware...Scott Baker 6) The Death of Nuke Man.............Pit Bull (James Cox) 7) Salvation of the Puritron I.......Pit Bull (James Cox) 8) People I wish to thank............Scott Baker 9) Letters to the Editor.............n/a Welcome to Issue Number Two! By Scott M. Baker Welcome to the second issue of LODNEWS. If everything goes as planned, then this issue will be released on the same date as Land of Devastation version 3.30 which has some nice new features. (See the section about version 3.30 below) We're still running a bit low on user submissions. I know there are many of you out there playing Land Of Devastation, so how about sharing your knowledge and strategies with the rest of us? Or why not personalize your character by sending in a short story describing his history? We'd really like to hear from you! ------------ Version 3.30: Team Support! By Scott M. Baker I'm very excited about version 3.30 and I hope some of you are too. This is the first version of LOD that has team support built in! You can now band together with your comrades! For you lower players out there, teaming up will allow you to make some progress against those higher above you. So what can a team of lower players do to fight someone immensely larger than them? How about laying siege to your enemy's fortresses? Although a fortress's defenses may be great and powerful, a band of determined players can exhaust the fortress's energy supply, effectively neutralizing it's defenses. Then you just walk in and take inventory of your new home! Or perhaps you sell out it's defenses and self destruct the fortress! That ought to get your adversary more than just slightly upset. A prime advantage for team play is a pooling of resources. Sharing fortresses can be a great advantage. For example, you may have more Warper/5's then you know what to do with, but your friends may be in desperate need for a warper. So, leave it in your fortress and your teammate [assuming he has your fortress's password] can pick it up when he needs it. Those are all things that you could previously do on your own. So, what does the new built in team support grant you? First of all, if you buy a smart mine and set it somewhere, it is smart enough not only to spare your life if you re-enter the area, but your teammates as well. The nice thing about mines is that an adventurer never knows how many are there. This element of uncertainty can allow you to build up a decent defense around an important area (such as your favorite fortress!) Secondly, your teammates can view the location of your fortresses (with the fortlist ROM and with the fortress teleporter command) and teleport to/from them for free. This allows you to set up a "transportation network". One of you could build and maintain a fortress by Sacre Base, another by Freedom City, and another by the Death Warrior camp. Instantly, you have the capability to travel between three of the main cities! ------------ Some Tips for Advanced LOD Players By Art Rainy Warpers--The EM-Warp program always uses the highest numbered warper in your inventory. Free up inventory slots by always placing your lowest numbered warper highest in your inventory. That should eliminate the problem of two or three warpers with only one warp left on them. [Editors note: Making the EM-Warp program a bit smarter about which Warper is used is on my list of things to do, so the above may or may not be valid at the time you read this] Stealth fields and Inviroblurs--These units operate cumulatively. The use of multiple units can double your chances of increasing those valuable experience points or of surviving as you sneak away from dangerous territory. Kill Objects--Most players quickly learn the advantage of leaving items where they fall if they need neither its cash value or its advantage in conflict. Thus they exchange items of value and bypass Sacre Base. However, when most players have advanced into levels two and higher, no player is interested in picking up daggers and cloth armor. It is to your advantage to kill those useless objects and benefit from the janitorial fee. Sysops might consider raising that fee to more than $5 per unit to further temp players to clean up the board. Map the Board--LOD's intrepid designer has included editing capabilities that allow sysop's to modify the design of the map. Just because the Clone Center was at a certain location in the last game does not imply that it will remain there after a reset. To avoid confusion about locations prepare a 125 by 125 grid and map the locations of obstructions as well as those of cities and camps. You can eliminate trips into cul-de-sacs and excessive danger zones -------------- Special Questing By Gurlock The Almighty [Editors note: The following gives information on solving 2 of LOD's special quests. Players who don't want the secret "given away" may wish to skip this secion] Ok now, the best way that a starting player can get going quickly is to use the quests. Land Of Devastation has many special quests. There's hard ones and there's easy ones. I'll describe an easy one or two for you new guys out there! The first thing that you should do is perform the steaks special quest. Do this when you are like level 2 or 3 (other wise you might get wasted). Ok - here's what you do: Follow the road that leaves sacre base and keep going east. If you come to any "T" intersections, then choose the upper path. At some point you'll enter zone #2, so start running from all of monsters (otherwise they'll waste you). Eventually, you'll come to another city. This city is freedom camp. Now, follow the mountains south of Freedom Camp. You'll first see a pylon (ignore it) and the as you continue, you'll run into the horticulture center (HS). Enter the HS, talk to the manager, and pick up Troy's Steaks. Then go back the way you came - back to sacre base. When you will return, you will have won the first special quest!!!!!!!! The next quest is also pretty easy. First you'll need to buy a pylonkey. Do this at either Sacre Base or Freedom City. Remember that pylon you passed in the above quest? Well, go back there. Now, try all the code combinations at the pylon. Write down where you end up with one. Important-- if you run into Xeboc, RUN FROM HIM! or he'll waste you!!! Eventually, you'll find the T.A.D.S.U. When you find it, you've won another special quest!!!! (Now, you just gots to remember the right pylon code [You wrote them down, right?] to get back to where you cam from!] If I remember, you got like 5,000 experience for each of those quests! Wow! For a beginner, that's a level or two!!! Plus you also get to talk to the tadsu and learn a bunch of information! And theres more! Once you buy a laptop, you can go to the computer store and pickup Troy's Rom and get a whole lot of info!!! ------------ Crippleware/Bonusware/Delayware By Scott M. Baker As most of you notice, LOD is distributed in a manner similar to shareware. The fully functional working version is distributed to everyone. Those who like the program, use it a lot, etc are supposed to send in a registration fee (aka donation) to support it. Once a donation is received, I enter their information into the Reglook door on my bbs where they can call and pick up a code. The code then enables the message "This copy is registered to xxxx. Please thank your sysop for registering." I have had several sysops who have told me that this is not enough incentive for them to register. They say they would only register if they receive something above the current version. They want their registered copy to be something better than John Doe's unregistered copy across town. They want users to appreciate the fact that they have registered. Before I continue, let me explain a few terms: Crippleware: In this method, the game is distributed to the public with many of it's features disabled. Limits on the number of players are imposed, etc. When the sysop sends in the donation, he receives a "key" which enables the full features. Bonusware: Very similar to crippleware, but the philosophy is slightly different. The full version is distributed, but sending in a donation will get the sysop some sort of "bonus". Something like an external player editor. The problem is, there is a fine line between bonusware and crippleware. Is removing the editor considered "crippling" a program or is the editor a "bonus" for registered users? Delayware: This is where you put a delay in the unregistered version. Something similar to "This copy is unregistered. Please wait 10 seconds." Annoyware: Here we find other ways to annoy the sysop into registering. We could throw up a long message on the screen every time a user enters the door. We could put in a message attacking the sysop for not registering, etc. As I said before, I don't currently use any of the above methods. You get the full version whether you register or not. Sysops who send in registrations simply have the piece of mind of knowing they have paid for the software, and of course, a message saying "Please thank your sysop for registering." As more and more people keep telling me they think I should do something more, I am starting to consider it. After all, LOD is no small project - it does require a lot of my time and I wouldn't mind an increase in donations. So what I would like is comments, what would people think? Here is what I would do under each of the above ideas: Crippleware: (Out of the question - I hate crippled programs) Bonusware: Only give registered sysops the editor package (LODxxxE.ARJ) Delayware: Add in a 5 or 10 second delay after the "encourage your sysop to register" message. Annoyware: Make the user read a screen at the end of the game (i.e. when the user quits or camps out) about how his sysop should register, how important registering shareware is, etc. My question is, if I was to instate one of the above policies, which one would people prefer? Right now, I like the delay idea. 5 seconds isn't too long to turn people off and it is long enough to make the "please register" message stick in peoples' minds. If you have a response, you can send it to me at the bbs number listed at the end of this document. ------------ The Death of Nuke Man By Pit Bull I woke up to an alarming situation. I was no longer within the safe confines of my fortress - I was laying on the bare wasteland. It is pure luck that I am alive. A single Biomutant could have done me in while I slept unprotected. But what had happened to my fortress? My protection against this hellish land? I could just see it's smoldering ruins a few meters to the east. The cause was clear: Another warrior, one who should have been my companion in this struggle for freedom, had ruthlessly desecrated my base. He must pay. I bootup up my laptop which had luckily been spared from the attack. I typed in the commands to retrieve the previous few days log. And I waited.... waited... for the name of the one who had done this. The name of the person who would suffer my vengeance. And then it appeared: Nuke Man. Why had he done this to me? Perhaps I shall never know. I had never met Nuke Man personally. From the rankings posted in the troop quarters, I could tell that he was nearly as good as myself. Perhaps he was in need of some quick cash and my glorious fortress caught his eye. Or perhaps he wanted the glory of capturing the puritron parts himself. Something else caught my eye in the log. Those two words would burn in my mind for the next two days: "Fortress Constructed". After Nuke Man had destroyed my own home, he had constructed himself a fortress. This would be my vengeance. I will find his fortress and show him that what goes around comes around. For two days I searched. Across the plains surrounding Sacre Base, within the mountains around Freedom City. Even as far as the EEEE center and then I found it. Hidden around the bend amongst some impassable mountains. I leveled my phaser-3 at the base's defense field and fired. Electric fire shot up when the two energy fields met. By now, Nuke Man would be panicking with the sounds of sirens and alarms. I entered the moat surrounding his fortress and I saw it - the alligator ... It was approaching fast. I tried to swim faster, but it was no use - MY right leg was nearly town apart by it's jaws. Luckily I managed to reach the bank of the moat with my life still intact. I slashed several times with my electrolance, burning into Nuke Man's defense fields. I took a few slugs from his robopistol. But I was more powerful then his measly defense. The fortress's defense field fell. Then it was just me and Nuke Man. He had an electroblade. He must have thought that he would be able to handle me in my weakened condition - but he was wrong for my dexterity and agility were much greater than his. He lunged forward, hoping to stab me with his electroblade. One quick swing with my electrolance and the electroblade, along with the majority of Nuke Man's hand and lower arm was now lying across the room. He cried in pain and begged for his life. I was not without mercy. I let him live. After all, I had gained a new fortress - and I would not self destruct this one as the foolish Nuke Man did when he conquered mine. I figured that would be the last of Nuke Man - that he had learned his lesson. But sadly, it was not so. The very next day the log showed an attempted attack on my new fortress - by none other than Nuke Man. The log simply said that he had perished. But I knew what had happened. That alligator in the moat - the one that Nuke Man had bought - had a very full belly that day. I hope this sad tale will convince those out there that I, Pit Bull, am not to be toyed with. I have shown mercy and let one evil one live, only to have him attack my fortress the very next day. The next time someone attacks one of my fortresses I may not show any mercy. After all, the alligators do need to eat. ------------ Salvation of The Puritron Part I by Pit Bull It was a lonely day in the wastelands. When I awoke, I had no special feeling of greatness - no idea of the glory that would come later in the afternoon. No idea that I would earn my place in the great plaque of the puritron room. I set out to do my usual exploring. First on my list was the pylons. I had already mapped out two of the locations and I was going to find the rest. These pylons are of a powerful nature. Able to teleport matter all around the wasteland. I wondered where the codes I would try today would lead me. The first one took me out into Zone four somewhere. Not a very pleasant place. I was nearly killed by a Black Widow before I was able to escape back into the pylon and get back to Zone two. The next one took me into some computer. The feeling of disorientation was incredible. I think that I was actually inside of the computer itself. The information and insight I gained was incredible. Knowledge that would help the fight for peace and the salvation of the wasteland was in my grasp. I had also completed one of the special quests. This day was shaping up tp be pretty good. Then I tried another pylon code. This one brought me to a strange room. The walls were made of a metal that I had never seen before - something from beyond this world. I walked ahead. A lone humanoid stood before me. I yelled "I am Pit Bull ... Of Sacre Base ... I come in search of the lost Puritron Parts". The response I received was not very pleasant. "I am Xeboc the almighty... Xeboc the all powerful... I will destroy you!". I raised my weapons in preparation for a fight. I sighted him in with my Comp Blaster. A stream of electric death shot forward from my weapon... and right into the wall next to Xeboc. Damn! I had missed. We clashed into hand to hand combat. I hit and he hit. Then I missed. He missed. I hit and I hit again. Finally he fell. I had succeeded! Or at least I thought. I was tricked. The image before me vanished. I was fighting a hologram. Xebocs voice came across the speaker, mocking me. I would have to search elsewhere for this villain. I prepared to leave. But something caught my eye - it was one of the puritron parts. I reached for it. I ran all the way back to Sacre Base with my treasure. Defs Sacre and Troy Hadley were waiting for me. They eagerly installed the part into the puritron room. "Well, Pit Bull, you only have four more left to find" Defs Sacre grinned. And then I rested, knowing that I had accomplished something great that day.... and preparing for what would lie ahead. I was sure I would have to face Xeboc again. And it would not be a pleasant experience. ------------ People I Wish to Thank Scott M. Baker In this section, I'm going to start listing a little about the people who help me support LOD, who submit information that isn't presented here. Anthony Malone: Anthony wrote up the nice history text file that is used in the HISTORY ROM / special quest in LOD. His story fit nicely into the game and is much appreciated. Joseph Johnson: Joseph submitted me a very extensive listing of combat strings for use in LOD. His board [place bbs name here] at 212-893-2318 [Note: This is a correction from the original LODNEWS2 where the incorrect area code was specified], is running a highly customized copy of LOD. I haven't seen it myself, but I hear it's quite a thing to see. Jonas Saunders: The infamous Xenon in my LOD game here on the bbs. He's as skilled a bug-finder and playtested as he is a LOD warrior! Jonas also happens to be the very first winner of a LOD game! ------------ Letters to the Editor Well, every newsletter/magazine has a letters to the editor section, right? So here is ours! I've posted a few messages out of my comments area on the bbs and a few of the national echos to get things started, but in the future, anyone who wants to, just mark that you would like your letter to appear here and I'll post it up! Scott, Let me start off by saying that I don't usually post messages, or write letters. Today I Installed LOD321 (from Wildcats(MSI) BBS). I have never been a fan of Role playing games at all. But, somehow your is different, you dont get sucked into it (although i played for 12 hours, thats besides the point), anyway I am thoroughly impressed, I have never seen such graphics/details (Pixels and or ansi) in a door game, not to mention the plot of the game. At any rate keep you the EXCELLENT work. You can rest-assured that come pay day you will get whatever it takes (I believe $20 or so) to get the game registered. Craig Salmond SYSOP of Craig's DATA Exchange (904) 483-2498 14.4k FREE! PS, You need to hold a conference on how you got you modem to answer flawlessly at 14.4k with a non-usr modem. Most people I connect to I get a measly 9600, but not on your BBS. keep on BBSing -=- Thanks for the kind words, Craig. I try my best to keep LOD at the leading edge of technology and from the comments I get, I see that I am being successful! As for the modem, I don't know of anything particular that I've done, but I'm glad it works! Scott Baker -=====- Hey Scott, I really like LOD, and am grateful that you got my registration up so quickly... I run a bbs here, and want to get Galactic Warzone for it as well. Also I want to be a Registered user on your BBS, so if ya could validate me, I would Appreciate it. And thanks for the great game... Wish I was able to Write games myself... Thanks.... Wayne Gay -=- I'm glad to hear you like LOD, Wayne. With my current registration system, I usually get registrations up on the bbs either the same day they arrive or shortly later. As for Galwars, I have sold the rights to Jim Kiersey who will be continuing support for it. Expect a new release from him very soon! Scott Baker -=====- [From Joel Boutros to Jeff Hanson in Area Ooii. Subject: L.O.D.] JH -=>writing a door yourself. Ah, but is it the next best thing to copying a door? Or Copying 5 or 6 doors? Let's see...OOII, TW1000, Never got SZModem working and when I mailed the wanna-be he never replied, MechWars never worked right... Gee, Jeff, you seem to be a brown-noser to this guy...What else did he make that wasn't worth 30 seconds to download? Oh, tell the little bag of toejam that I _still_ can't get SZ working after 1 year and a half. --- GEcho/beta * Origin: Cosmix Station (913) 422-7345 (1:280/2) -=- Joel, I'm sad to see that you feel this way about me and my software. Such negative comments are the mark of an immature mind and an eyesore to the entire bbs community. Let's start at the top. LOD is not a copy of OOII. Galactic Warzone was written with Al Davenport's (author of TW1000) support and encouragement. I'm sorry you couldn't get SZModem to work - you might wish to try the latest version which has new Async routines. I don't recall ever receiving a letter from you. MechWars is written by Shane Chambers, not myself, and it seems to work fine on my system and many more across the country. In addition to LOD, GW, and SZMODEM, I have written NEWGAL (GWII), Door Driver, CMENU, CDRDoor, Locread, and the initial Echodor mail reader. (All of which have an established registered user base) Jeff Hanson is a friend that I had mind the system for a week while I was gone. And I must admit, he did a good job here, possibly even better than when I'm operating the bbs myself. You seem to be quite full of criticism. Tell me, where is some of the software that YOU have written that I may download and evaluate? I'll be sure to send my comments your way. Scott Baker ------------ 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) 544-4655 (v.32) FIDO: 1:300/9 Node #2: (602) xxx-xxxx (USR Dual) FIDO: 1:300/29 (Temp. Down) @@LODNEWS3 Land Of Devastation News Volume 1 Number 3 Editor: Scott M. Baker Contents 1) Welcome to our third issue!........Scott Baker 2) The Player Who Has Everything......Steve Lamb 3) Foxx's Hunters, Law of the.........Steve Lamb 4) Nuke Mania.........................Pit Bull 5) Lod Story..........................}{ighlander 6) Lod Suggestions....................}{ighlander 7) Delayware..........................Scott Baker 8) People I wish to thank.............Scott Baker Welcome to our third issue! By Scott M. Baker The time has come for the third issue of LODNEWS. This issue isn't as large as I had hoped for, but I decided to rush it out with LOD 3.40 because I had a few users submissions that I wanted to take care of. I wish to thank those who sent me in submissions - your work has helped to make LODNEWS a success! Scott Baker ---------- Subject: For the player who has everything A.K.A "The SysOp" OK, so, you're a SysOp of a BBS running LoD and you play that game. However, you find that you dominate the game because you are the SysOp or the other players think you dominate because you are SysOp. Here's a suggestion on what to do and still play: Play "Guardian." You know, they support guy who never does the heroic deeds himself, but helps the hero (in this case, the players), indirectly? Like the kindly old man in the swords and sorcery genre of movies who tells the hero to complete a quest which he, the old man, cannot accompany, BUT can give you this to "help you finish your quest." In other words, since you are SysOp and can dominate that if you so choose, dominate the game! But don't play to win, play to help YOUR callers complete the quest for the Puritron. However, in no way do I mean whip out the player editor and give yourself god-like powers! On my BBS, where a game of LoD just started, I play LoD quite a bit, more than the time limits of all my callers (what can I say, I like LoD). I'm currently in the process of setting up fortresses in Zones 1,2 & 3. These fortresses (which I call holds) offer low cost teleportation, low cost medical & power, and weapons at reduced price (but above the resell value). The whole purpose of playing the game locally is to keep these fortresses well stocked and defended. LoD, unlike other "wasteland" doors, is difficult to learn and master. Newbie's to the wasteland scenerio as well as "pros" at the other wasteland scenerios can easily get discouraged. The idea of the "public" fortresses is to give them easy access to the nessecities, but at a price... Not to make a profit, but to let them learn the limits of *THIS* game w/o the discouragement of dying. Unlike other games, if you die in LoD w/o a clone, it is *VERY* difficult to return to combat. Death does take it's toll in LoD. On the other hand... If one of the callers nukes a "public" fortress, the owner/keeper does have the right to extract payment in the form of one life. :) ---------- [Date] : Oct 25th, 2022 [Time] : 00:00:00.00 [Subject]: Foxx's Hunters, Law of the Ever since Defs Sacre, leading the Sacre Hawks, was attacked and lost the puritron device there has been a need for an elite group of warriors to retrieve the five parts of the device. Let it be known that on October 25th of the 2022 year of the old calander makrs the birth of the Foxx's Hunters. Following are the x laws of the Foxx's Hunters. Any who wish to apply must follow these laws completely. 01: All information/weapons/armor/misc items are property of the Foxx's Hunters. At the end of the day the following procedures must be taken: a: All credits must be deposited into FXHold. 01: Major Foxx can and will authorize personal funds to be deposited into the Game Account for the sole purpose of gaining interest for the Foxx's Hunters b: All powerpacks/belts must be discharged into FXHold. c: All medical supplies must be discharged into FXHold. d: All items minus personal computers must be dropped into the FXHold storage facility. e: All Puritron device parts must be dropped into the FXHold storage facility. 02: The sole purpose of the Foxx's Hunters is to retrieve the five lost components of the Puritron device. To this end the following procedures must be followed: a: NO other recruits/fortresses are to be attacked or harmed in any way unless ordered by Major Foxx. 01: Major Foxx will order retalitory attacks as described under section 04. b: NO threats will be made by any member of the Foxx's Hunters towards any other recruit or thier property. c: NO assistance is to be rendered to any other recruit in the form of credits/armor/weapons/information or misc items unless otherwise authorized by Major Foxx. 03: Loyalty to the Foxx's Hunters must be absolute. To this end the following procedures will be followed: a: NO fighting between members of the Foxx's Hunters. b: NO individual, unauthorized strikes. c: NO willful destructiong of Foxx's Hunter property. d: NO disclosing the existence of the Foxx's Hunters to anyone other than fellow Foxx's Hunters recruits. e: NO willful inaction on an offensive strike as ordered by Major Foxx. 04: Offensive action will be taken, as ordered by Major Foxx, under the following offenses: a: Attack on or willful distruction of Foxx's Hunters property. b: Attack on Foxx's Hunters personell. c: Violation of Foxx's Hunters law sections: 01.b, 01.d, 01.e, 02.a, 02.c, 03.d, 03.e. In a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen, you join the Foxx's Hunters and you gain something and you loose something. What you gain is a guarenteed safe place to sleep other than Sacre Base and Freedom City. You gain all knowledge and information that all other members of the Foxx's Hunters have. You gain the weapons and armor collected by the entire group. You gain the added benefit of safety in numbers, in other words, if another Sacre base attacks you, you know that the entire Foxx's Hunters will not rest until they have paid equal to the injustice done to you. What you loose is the personal freedom to do what you want when you want. The freedom to keep personal weapons, to act in an offensive strike on your own, and to gain personal wealth. But it is for the common good. The Earth will be a better place. For it is easier to overcome greater challenges from inside a group. Secrecy of the Foxx's Hunters is paramount. The less the other recuits know, the better off we are. Information is power, and if they do not know that there is a tangable force out there, nor it's name, they are not inclined to attack the "all powerful" group. If anyone wants out, leave the room now. However, you are hereby warned, anyone disclosing this meetings events will face the Foxx's Hunters. And a dead recruit cannot identify it's killer... ------------ Nuke Mania Pit Bull I knew he would be back. I had fought him once before and defeated him. And when I let him live without punishment, he had double crossed me by attempting to take over my fortress. When I found his chewed up body floating in my moat surrounding my fortress the next morning, I assumed I had heard the last of the infamous Nuke Man. I carried his body back to sacre base with burial. But, to my surprise, the sacre base medics managed to bring life back to his body. And nuke man lived again. I didn't say much. I figured after his failure, he would leave me alone. Not to mention that he was not in the best of health to be fighting. I don't know how he managed to do it, but Nuke Man managed to befriend one of the larger player named Sneezoid. Sneezoid, who had accumulated quite a bit of wealth from scavenging the wasteland, gave Nuke Man a pulse bazooka and a neutron sabre. Of course, the first thing nuke man did was head for my base. It took him ten attacks, but he wasted the defenses and ravaged my supplies. When he was finished, he self destructed my fortress. I should have know he would do it. Lucky for me, I had built a second fortress across some mountains to the east. And nuke man didn't know about it. Thank God, I had relocated there when he destroyed the first fortress. At least I was safe in my second "backup". I hailed Sneezoid, I explained my plight. Sneezoid realized that he had bestowed his money into the hands of a dishonerable worrier. And he realized that he should compensate me for my trouble with Nuke Man. So he gave me a whopping ONE MILLION dollars. I equipped my second fortress with enough firepower to defend against Nuke Man. Then I challenged Nuke Man to come after me again. And of course, he took me up on the offer. That night Nuke Man returned to my fortress. Not realizing the strength of my defenses, he attacked. All that remained of Nuke Man was a charred corpse on the ground outside my fort. The body was so badly burned and decimated that I knew he could not be revived. I took his weapons and armed myself with them. Now, nobody would fool with me! Then next day I would set forth to seek out another puritron piece to save the land. When I was leaving though, something happened that nearly gave me a heart attack. I noticed a discarded receipt laying in the vicinity of nuke mans remains. It said "Clone Center, Inc."! ------------ Lod Story }{ighlander aka Cory Doss The sun was beating overhead hotter than usual, but there was no way it could ever heat me from my cold sweat. I had finally seen the phaser cache, and I knew that I had to make an attempt to get into it. Only a seemingly endless trip across wasteland and radiation hell was stopping me from getting to it, and the Black Widow's of the area weren't to thrilled about me being there either. I was no match for the local monsters, so what was I thinking when I headed for the obviously guarded cache? As I neared, I noticed signs of life which made me twitch with a nervous energy. I finally reached the cache, and examined it closer. I made my way inside, and when I did I found myself standing face to face with the star of pre-holocaust video entertainment, Captain James Kirk of the Starship Enterprise. Seeing his reassuring face relieved me, but the relief was short lived when the, obviously delirious, captain started babbling about how I was going to steal his phasers! I was shocked as he readied himself for combat. I had a split-second to decide which long-range weapon I would use, the sure fire grenade, or my newly aqcuired Pulse Rifle. I found myself answering my own question as I fired my rifle in his direction, it was the first time I had fired that weapon, and the results startled me. He was knocked back at least ten feet, and was stunned momentarily. His pitiful shot was no match for my Energy Vest, and we locked together in a fierce battle and hand-to-hand. He wore me down, as my fire sabre was having difficulty piercing his armor, but finally I broke through his armor, bringing us both down to exhaustion. I knew that whoever took the next fall would be the victim of the wasteland, but used that thought to power me for my last and most powerful swing. I thought my life was over until I heard his assuring cry, letting me know that victory was mine. After that, everything is a blur. All I know now is that I somehow brought a piece of the puritron device back, and I am a local hero. This all just goes to show that in a world like this, heroes aren't born, they just get really lucky for their entire lives. ------------ LOD Suggestions }{ighlander aka Cory Doss Ideas for enemy types.... A new military group calling themselves the Warheads have sprung up in the southwest central desert region. Apparantly an arms dealer back in 2003 had been stockpiling his arms here, and passed on without letting anyone know about them. Now a group of radicals have came across the weapons, and are using the shelter as their home base. They are led by a deranged military leader, who was a pre-war general in the U.S. Army. They are also after the puritron device parts, but for alternate reasons. They want the pieces because they also are needed for a specific biological warhead the group is working on building. They feel that if it is created, the remaining humanoids would submit to them out of fear. The types of soldiers in the army and there leader are below.......... Warhead Soldier... Str: 24 Dex: 24 Agl: 24 Health: 34 Short Range Weapon: RazorLance Long Range Weapon: M-16 * New Weapon * (Powerful Uzi,Weak Phas) Armor: Kevlar Equipment: Ammo For Gun, Rations (5). Level:2 Exp:1000-1250 Money:1100-1500 Warhead Lieutenant... Str: 36 Dex: 36 Agl: 36 Health: 52 Short Range Weapon: ElectroSword Long Range Weapon: Phaser-3 Armor: PlasmaVest Equipment: PowerBelt, Rations (5), Communicator. Level:3 Exp:5000-7500 Money:3500-6000 Warhead Colonel... Str: 50 Dex: 50 Agl: 50 Health: 75 Short Range Weapon: GravSword Long Range Weapon: GravBlaster Armor: EnergyVest Equipment: GravPack, Medkit/50, Grenades(25), AccuraGoggles* Level:4 Exp:10000-12500 Money:8000-12500 The Leader... Str: ?? Dex: ?? Agl: ?? Health: ?? Short Range Weapon: Nuetron Sabre Long Range Weapon: Pulse Rifle Armor: Energy Vest Equipment: ?? Level:5? Exp:??? Money:??? New Items..... M-16, this would be a little more powerful than the Uzi, little less powerful than Phaser-1. AccuraGoggles, these help the chance of hitting with a long range weapon by 5,10, or 15 percent depending on class 1,2,3. I hope you have enjoyed my submissions and there should be more to come...... ------------ Delayware Scott M. Baker Well, from the responses I got from the last newsletter, I have made a decision. LOD now has a seven second delay on loading and exiting of unregistered copies. I chose the delay of seven second because it is short enough not to turn off the users and sysops out there and it is long enough to make the unregistered message stick in their minds. I've seen doors with rediculous 30 second delays and such which sysops have outright refused to run. I didn't want LOD to become one of those! The delay was necessary for several reasons. The most obvious being that I could use a few extra $$ in registrations. LOD is a project that takes a lot of time to maintain and I need to take some money in from it to cover it's expenses and my time. Another reason was that registered sysops wanted something above and beyond the other unregistered copies out there. They wanted users to notice that they had sent in money to support the game. I hope this takes care of that. ------------ People I Wish to Thank Scott M. Baker Doug Merha: Doug sent me a very nice submission of monsters and a nice picture of a cyclops for the game. You should notice several new monsters have appeared in the outer zones.... Robby Eckert: Robby also sent in a plentiful amount of monsters. Although I don't think you players will be thanking him when one of his creations leads to your demise! @@LODNEWS4 [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + From the Editor Patrick Reed + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Welcome, one and all, to Land of Devastation (LOD). Scott Baker has just released version 3.70, which contains a variety of NEW features. Users might notice fewer delays while ANSI graphics are being displayed. Scott has trimmed down the displays to show only necessary information, which is most evident during combat encounters. GTERM 3.70 is also released with this version of LOD, and rumor has it that there are some hot new additions to the graphics and sound libraries. Be sure to try it out. This will be my initiation to GTERM, and I am looking forward to the fun of it. As the game documentation will state, I must advise you all that GTERM versions earlier than 3.70 will _NOT_ function properly with LOD version 3.70. Scott will reveal more to you about new features later in the game documentation. Included in this issue are articles from Christopher Darque, moderator of the proposed _NEW_ LOD Support Forum on FidoNet; and the famed Madonna, lusty wasteland adventurer. LOD News is published on behalf of Scott Baker by Patrick Reed, with new issues released as user support demands. Articles are needed from users of LOD in order to help LOD News to thrive. Send E-Mail to Patrick Reed on FidoNet Node 1:300/9, or at Internet address patreed@coyote.com to submit articles for publication. Topics include, but are not limited to: CHARACTER STORIES COMMON ERRORS & PROBLEM SOLVING CUSTOMIZING LOD DOOR SETUP PLAYER TIPS Everyone is welcome to write something up and submit it. Like I said, we need user support. LOD News depends almost entirely upon you all. Thanks in advance for your support. Now, for the News ... [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + From the Game Author Scott Baker + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Well, since I didn't get my submission to our editor, Patrick Reed, in time, I'm throwing this in at the last minute, so the formatting might not seems as consistant as the rest of the newsletter. First of all, let me address the subject of registrations. Many people have questioned why I don't send out registration packages with disks, documentation, etc. The primary reason is, it's a lot simpler to have people just pick up their codes from my bbs system. When A donation arrives in the mail, all I have to do is just type the sysops name and data into the online database, and it is ready and waiting to be picked up. To pick up a registration, all you have to do is log on (call- back verification is not needed - you may do this on your first call), select "REGLOOK" at my main menu, and you will be asked a few questions to verify your identity. Once that is done, the bbs will display your registration code for you. An added benefit of this system: If you ever lose your registration code (hard drive failure, etc), then you can just call the bbs up and grab it again. Next, I would like to extend my appreciation to Patrick Reed, who has taken up the task of maintaining our newsletter. Also of mention is Christopher Darque, who is working on setting up the LOD support echo as well as drawing up EGA images faster than I can implement them into the game! Last but not least, Chris Azure has provided me with even more of his excellent MOD music for the game. Scott Baker [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Customizing LOD Christopher Darque + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] EDITORIAL NOTE: At publication time, a number of changes have been made to LOD version 3.70. Some of these ideas have been included in the game. An errata to this article will be published in the next issue of LOD News. -- Patrick Reed LOD provides a number of tools that let you tailor the game to suit your particular desires. With the exception of the Ega graphics almost every aspect of the game can be changed. This opens up all sorts of possibilities that intrigued me because so few games are open to any modification. In doing so, I used all my years as a GameMaster and role-player to make a game that was based on the concept that I use in my BBS-based role-playing group, Zone Central. Zone Central is a multi - BBS universe that is based on the concept of our contacting the AlienNet, which as similar to an electronic Network. In doing so, we found that the Aliens could not tell that our Doorgames were not actual Universes. They simply used the connections to begin what it to them the normal exploration and development of a new Galaxy. All the Members of Zone Central are Dimensional Travelers, or simply Travelers. I wanted to use the customization of LOD to make it fit much more tightly with this concept. In doing so I realized that even though the tools were available, there was little to help Sysops (from this point on I will use GM, since that is what you become if you do this) actually use the tools. This article is an attempt to cover some of the basic steps you will have to work through. I hope that it will be helpful. But keep in mind that it is only a beginning, nothing can substitute for the experience of actually working on the game and really seeing what works. GETTING STARTED --------------- Before you do anything at all, READ THE DOCUMENTATION! I cannot state this strongly enough. Read them, look through the values in the editor and make sure you understand how things work. Scott has always been quite nice about answering questions so use that resource. At the end of this article I have listed a number of NetMail addresses for myself, and I can always be reached through Scott's BBS. WORKING COPY ------------ To begin, never work on a game that is in progress. There is nothing more annoying than having to restart a game because you made a mistake. Players do not take this at all well. Always set up a separate copy of LOD and work on it. That way you can experiment in safety. If something goes wrong and you have to erase it and start over you will not get angry messages asking what happened to my character that I have spent 3 months getting built up! So a private working copy is an absolute must. MAJOR PITFALLS -------------- It is fortunate that LOD is a rather forgiving game. I have found that most errors can be corrected without irreparable loss. If you find that the game is generating errors when run you can usually fix the problem and the datafile will correct themselves. This is not always true, but it usually is. One of the most common problems come when editing/creating items. If you make a mistake in the work the game might not be able to handle what you did. If a character has an item and you change it the game will still think that it has the old stats, causing confusion and sometimes errors. An easy way to test for this is running the Rankings in NEWLODED. If the problem is centered in a character the command will fail. Usually simply deleting the item from the character will fix the problem. Another major source of problems is errors in the Strings, Talk, Monster, and Combat DEF files. It is very important to maintain the structure of these files, if you do not then expect the game to go boom. Always make back-up copies of the original files to check against. Also at each successful step of the way copy the files to a back-up. That way, if you oops you will only lose the most recent work. GENERAL STEPS ------------- Concept Development Edit Map Edit\Create Items Modify Starting Stats Edit Strings Edit\Add Monsters Edit\Add Talk Edit\Add ANSI Edit\Add Combat Strings Edit\Add Tavern People Edit Terrain Specs Edit\Add Town Names Write Special Docs CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT ------------------- The first step is to decide on the concept that you are working towards. What about the basic game do you want to change. There are really two different approaches to consider. One, keeping the basic story-line of the game and adding to it. This would mean that you are not trying to actually change the ideas of the game, just add new things to it. All of the editing sections that follow apply to this style. With the exception of anything that is story-line dependant. The second, and more complex, is to alter the story-line to create a completely different environment. This takes much more time and effort but can be quite rewarding. This article is directed at this type of effort since it involves all the custom features of LOD. In doing a full customization, you will want to start with the Story-line. What has happened to put the World in this state? Who are the primary people involved? What are the conditions under which the world operates? The subject of world building is covered quite well in any number of Role - Playing texts. If I tried to really cover that topic we would have a very long article. Suffice to say that you need to investigate and consider every aspect of the game. In this article I will refer from time to time to Betelgeuse. That is the name of the Zone Central LOD game. The basic premise of it mixes the standard LOD story-line with the Dimensional Traveler concept discussed above. EDIT THE MAP ------------ This is where you should begin the actual work of creation. The map is literally the foundation upon which everything else should be built. No matter what you name them you will have the same basic pieces to work with; Cities, stores, quest locations, and the terrain Set. The primary focus for Betelgeuse was to make the map much more complicated. I put more in more mountains and limited access to many areas to a single route. I also reduced the number of teleporter pylons. To make the map more visually interesting I mixed terrain types in a sort of gradual style. What I mean by that is if you are moving from a large desert area into a plains area you would first see small patches of plains mixed into the desert. As you move closer, the density of Plains increases until it is 100%. You need to understand the concepts of LOD zones. The map is divided based on distance from 1,1. Every 30 units you enter a new zone and will meet a different group of monsters. Be aware of this while you are placing things in the wilderness. The farther away from 1,1 they are the higher the level of character needed to reach them. It is possible to modify the zones in that the monsters have the distance where they can be found as part of their stats. I found that having a few creatures that straddled 2 zones helped to make things seem a little less artificial. You can also reduce the area that a monster in which a monster will appear to make them less active. Give careful thought to the placement of the quest points. If it is too easy for players to get all the Puritron parts then the game will be over far too quickly. Use the whole map and spread them out. You can place a number of Sacre Base cities on the map to give players supply points. One of the main reasons to do this is so you can place unique people into each tavern. The map is probably the single most important part of the process. If it is too simply then players will get bored quite easily. If it is too hard they will become frustrated. I tend to err on the hard side; however, you can always compensate by giving players some information to help them along. Edit\Create Items ----------------- The basic item set for LOD covers all the important needs. The greatest area for change comes in the Fortress Items. There is quite a bit of room for more expensive and powerful items. I have always considered that there are two phases to LOD. In the first, most of the players are low level and money is scarce. Players slowly advance and build. In this part, the quest for the Puritron is pursued very heavily. Once at least a couple characters reach the level at which taxes are levied the game shifts into Phase II. In this phase, which lasts until the game is reset, players have large amounts of money, and even low level characters can afford the most expensive Items. Fortresses are rapidly constructed and quickly fully stocked. When Phase II is reached, the limitations of the basic fortress items becomes obvious. A mid-level character armed with strong weapons can destroy even a fully equipped fortress. The other problem that you will see is the massive amounts of money that the players will have. More powerful and expensive fortress Items would solve both of these problems. There are other possible solutions to the excess credit problem. One is to set the taxation level much higher and the percent much lower. This will increase the time in Phase I and reduce the money flow once Phase II is reached. You have a rather wide latitude in creating new items. A good look into the items list will show that some are single purpose devices that cannot be changed (the Laptop, Communicator, Scanners, etc.) but many do allow for variety (Weapons, Armor, Stealths, Ammo Packs, etc.). In creating new items, try to fulfill a need. Look at what is available and balance your new creation with the others. Cost should be a big factor but also consider availability. If an item can be purchased, then it is open to all. If it has to be obtained from a creature then it is a much more special prize. There are some inherent limitations that you have to observe. As far as I can tell no weapon can do more than 99 pts of damage on it's own (before strength adjustments are applied in the case of S.R. Weapons). Personal armor is limited to 999 pts. I have successfully created fortress shields that are 2,000 pts and reactors that produce 1,500 energy; so, they are basically unlimited. Most packs are limited to 99 pts as far as I can tell. Here is a new concept for you, InfoPacks. InfoPacks are items that actually do nothing except carry information. I use the rope application code for simplicity. The only feature of these is if you 'Show' it you will get an ansi picture or text. These can hold details on monsters, partial maps, special hints, or just about anything. Since items are a major source of game problems, I want to restate that you must carefully read the Documentation. If you look at the existing items and base your creations on those you should be ok. Modify Starting Stats --------------------- LOD does give you the ability to set quite a number of the basic starting values. Character attributes, hitpoints, credits, 3 starting items, fortress starting items, fortress costs and taxes are all under your control. Balance these to suit your tastes. Consider the strength of the characters in relation to the strength of the creatures. Give them enough to survive but not so much that life is too easy. Edit Strings ------------ All of the basic text strings used in the game are in a few files. These are the Strings.Def, Talk.Def, Combat.Def, and Ansi.Def. Each of these are discussed in their own sections. Strings.Def contains the general text used by the program for things like the laptop, commands issued in the game, menu selections and statistics displays. It is difficult to explain what is in here as opposed to the other Def files. The simple answer is that if you see it in the game, and it is not in the Monster, Talk, Combat, or Ansi files then it is in the Strings file. I know that is not a very good description, but if you look into the files then you should be able to understand. In this file, you have much of what the player's see. Since a definition is difficult, I am going to give you some example of what you can do with it. In Betelgeuse I did global replaces to make the to change all occurrences of character to persona. In a few areas, like the Rankings display, I used traveler. I changed the string that talked about the nasty tasting food packs to say, "The new food packs taste wonderful!" All 'Quit' commands were changed to 'Exit Dimension' or 'Retire for the Night'. One of the simplest things I did caught the most attention from my play testers, I changed the laptop main drive from 'C:' to 'Z:'. Depending on what type of modification you are doing you may not need to work on this file at all. Or, you may change almost everything in it. Unless you know the game extremely well, you may want to change the things you know about, run the game a bit and make notes on the things you wish to change. In version 3.51 there is a program called COMPSTR, to edit the Strings you change the Strings.Txt file and use COMPSTR to compile it into Strings.Def. Version 3.60 uses a compiler for a number of the Def files, check the Docs on the version you have for specifics. You have to be extremely careful to maintain the structure of this file. The game has no tolerance for changes that violate this rule. Edit/Add Monsters ----------------- The Monster.Def file contains all the creature specifications. You can modify the ones that exist and create new ones. The Zone structure has been discussed previously, so I will not go into it again. Place your creatures in an appropriate area. There are references to origin(x,y,z) commands in the file. As of version 3.51, these do not function properly. I discovered this the hard way when I created a number of lethal monsters and confined them to a valley at the end of the map. When a few play testers got killed by these creatures, far from the valley, I realized that the commands were not functional. Do not overlook the fact that creatures are the major source of many items. You can make some things easier to find, or harder to find by adjusting the number of monsters that carry them. Balance is important here. Try to make sure that by the time a player reaches the area where she/he might have to fight the new creature they are strong enough to have a fair chance. If you have any Role-Playing references you should have lots of source material for new creatures. Your new Story-line, if any, should also suggest possible new creatures. On the simple side, I have found that the special quests will last longer if you make them tougher. Doubling their hitpoints and increasing their stats can make them something that even a strong character will have to work hard to overcome. After all, there are not many of them, and if they are killed too quickly, the game suffers. Do not make them so strong that they will never be beaten but they can stand some work, especially if you have given the players more strength. If you have created new items consider distributing them to some of the monsters, especially weapons and armor. Edit/Add Talk ------------- The Talk.Def file is a great place to add details to your game. In it, you can give creatures a voice, and create tavern Dwellers. For the monsters you can add personality, instead of just the normal 'kill them when you see them'. If they have some information to impart then the players will have a reason to talk with them. You should mix the information in with a lot of useless chatter so it is not too obvious. Here is a trick that you might find useful. Have a creature tell a player that it is carrying some important item. It is best it this is set as an automatic item that the monster will always have. If the player hears about it they can either hope that it will not disintegrate, or they can pay the price to buy it. I have found this to work well with InfoPacks of various sorts. For example, the Black Widow Leader will tell you that she is carrying a map that will lead you to a secret treasure house. She is carrying an InfoPack named 'T-Map'. Most players will pay almost anything for such information. A nasty variant on this idea is to set the Disint factor very high so the item will most likely vanish if not purchased. Each city can have a number of Tavern people who will discuss things with players. By adding to the current stock, you can get information across to anyone who bothers to stop and talk. I always try to put really useful information here. It is also a good place to impart story points. Since each city can have different people in it, do so! This is currently the only way to make cities different. Once you are inside a Sacre Base style city, all the options are the same. The Tavern people are the one exception. Even if they do not have a lot to say, a few unique people give the city something to help differentiate it from the others. Edit/Add ANSI ------------- The Ansi.Def file holds all the menus, item descriptions, and intro screens. Using the ANSIPUT program you can extract, view, and modify all of these. A custom menu set really adds a lot to the uniqueness of your game, even if you simply colorize them differently. Of course you cannot change the keys that are used on each menu, but you can describe the function in a different way. If you create new items you will want to make ansi descriptions for them so players can have some idea of what they are getting. The ease of working with the Ansi.Def file is what made me think of the InfoPacks. There is one minor complication to working on the Ansi.Def, and it has to do with GTERM. Let's say that you have spent some time and completely redone your menus. Each one is a master- piece, colorful and functional. You get everything finished, attach the game to the Board and await your first player. Someone calls, hits the entry key for the game, it loads and opens up on Sacre Base. So far, so good. But when the player initializes GTERM the trouble begins. As he moves from screen to screen, the menus scroll out, they do not pop up as they should. You wonder what is wrong. Actually, nothing is wrong, but you have a bit more work to do. You see, if the Ansi.Def you are using for the Host does not match the Ansi.Def the player is using with GTERM things will not work as they should. The game can be played but the player will not get the instantaneous response they are used to. This problem confused me for quite some time, but I have worked out a solution. What you will need to do is supply your Ansi.Def file to the players. If they use it with their GTERM they will not have any problems. But, wait, what if they wish to play standard games as well? My solution to this is to provide both your Ansi.Def file and the Standard Ansi.Def file in whatever archive format is popular in your area. Along with this add a couple of simple batch files. Most people have a key on their communications program to start GTERM. They will simply have to add two more keys. One of these will unarchive your Ansi.Def file into the GTERM directory, and the other will unarchive the standard Ansi.Def file into the GTERM directory. It is actually simpler than it sounds. And of course, if your players only play on your game, then they simply replace the standard Ansi.Def file with your modified one and they are in business. If you are going to really make a custom LOD game, the slight pain of the GTERM problem is worth overcoming. Nothing makes a game more unique than special menus. And it really is easy to handle. Edit/Add Combat Strings ----------------------- I am not going to say a lot about the Combat strings. It is all of the things that blur by as you hank and slash through a fight. You can edit them and even add new ones if you wish. I like the idea, but it is hard to get anyone to really read them. The only part that is somewhat interesting is the definable type codes. You can create special combat strings for a specific creature or class of creatures if you wish. This would allow for more specific combat. If you are creating a new class of creatures you might wish to investigate this option. I have created a number of Storms. These are very high hitpoint things that are really supposed to be evaded. It is impossible to 'kill' them. But since I have to work within the game system they are defined as monsters. I have created a few new items to serve as weapons, set the Disint to 100 and made a few combat strings to support them. This is the sort of thing that requires combat string work since storms do not have body parts to be hit and never dodge out of the way. Edit Terrain Specs ------------------ Unless you are working in an Ansi-only game there are only three things that you can do with the actual terrain pieces. One, you can give them another name, but that is limited since you cannot change what they look like. Two, you can make them passable or not. Three, alter the chance of an encounter occurring when a player steps in them. Renaming them is something that must be done with care if you want to make the game make sense. Calling the swamp piece a beach will tend to confuse players, since it certainly does not look like sand. But calling the desert piece a beach is acceptable. Just try to make sure there is some sort of visual connection to the names. Changing which pieces can be passed through can provide some interesting mapping possibilities. While I was writing this article one of my team was working on his first custom map and game (convenient huh?). He decided to make both mountains and rivers impassable. He then proceeded to make a map with a low percentage of mountains but lots of rivers. It worked quite well. Each terrain piece has a percentage chance that an encounter will occur. This can only be modified by stealth devices. If you wish to create a bunch of stealth devices with varying abilities, you can increase the encounter rate by turning each piece up. You can also widen the range of levels by turning some pieces up, and some down. If you plan to make changes in the encounter percentages, you should test the effects of the available stealth devices on the new pieces. After such a test, you might wish to adjust the devices effectiveness to suit you. Sometimes a player wishes to explore and not have to stop every other step to fight something, turning a couple stealths on can accomplish this. Think hard before you take this ability away. If you have even run out of ammo deep in the desert and had to sneak home, you will appreciate this need. Edit/Add Town Names ------------------- As noted in the Sysop.doc file, you need to change both the terrain name and the Town name to alter the Cities. Remember that their are references to the ones that already exist in the other files which must be changed as well. Although, much work may be required to remove all references to the Black Widows; if you want to set your game on another world you have little choice. There is always the possibility of recreating their background to fit your new concept. It is quite important to be thorough. If your background setting contains references to the Black Widows, and you have renamed them the Slar'Kar, players will be confused and the game will suffer. Write Special Docs ------------------ It is a good idea to write a special file to be distributed to players. This can contain story-line information as well as any notes that they need to be able to handle your new world. If you have created any new Ansi then you can distribute this file with the ANSI.DEF. I find that players like to have some info files that they can read offline. Sometimes I write Briefing Packs and memos to support the games that I create. Distributing little maps is a nice touch too. End Notes --------- In this Doorgame, Scott Baker has created the most flexible format that you could want. It has a great amount of potential and I hope that this article will be of some help when you begin the process of creating your World. Christopher Darque Zone Central January 1993 [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + "One Mean Mother" /\/\adonna + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] The Black Widow Gang was another matter... The first one of those girls I saw was around the Death Warrior Camp, South of Sacre Base. She didn't look like what I expected though... Instead of the sleek, jet-black power armor I was briefed on, this bitch was in clunky Energy Armor 500. She leveled a Phaser 3 at me and missed by a mile, but I wasted no time in heaving a Rad Grenade in her direction. The Rad Grenades may not do as much damage as my Neutron Rifle, but they ALWAYS hit, unlike a random shot, which would often deflect off some of the fancy powered armor I had read up on. Then we engaged in combat. Her Electrolance singing with radiated power, while I parried her attack with my Neutron Sabre. Suddenly, she fell on the ground, holding her back. Effects of over-exposure to radiation, I suppose. But I had her. I showed no mercy as I made one final slash into her Energy Armor, and deprived her of the last bit of life. I thought to myself, "These Black Widows are a bunch of WIMPS!" I wondered why Defs and his new guys were having such a hard time with them. Among the effects of the Black Widow, I found a computer diskette simply labeled ROM:T-CODE.EXE. I wasted no time in copying it over to my trusty Laptop, and prayed it didn't have a Virus. Thinking that I'd have no problem in handling any more of the Black Widows, I began exploring the Pylons with the new data I had just won. Suddenly, I was there! I had found the Black Widow Base! In moments, a Warmonger approached me, and began to boast about how he had helped the Black Widows steal the Puritron from Sacre Base. I thought about all those brave men Defs had lost in trying to defend it, and shoved a Rad Grenade under his nose. He just laughed when it went off. This geek thought I was an easy mark, and like so many before him; he underestimated me, Badly. I ripped him a new belly button with my Neutron Sabre, and while he stood there in sheer shock, I thrust my Neutron - powered weapon as deep in his guts as I could and twisted it, just to see the look in his eyes as he died. I pulled my Sabre out, and he fell to the ground. But no sooner had his guts colored the ground red, I turned to see a Black Widow Leader. She was a handsome woman, and just as deadly as she was beautiful. "So, some of you scum from Sacre Base finally made it here, did you? Well, you will make a welcome addition to our gang... ...In the slave pen! Hahahahahaha!" OK, bitch... Here's where we see how well that fancy Widow Armor 600 of yours can withstand the meanest Mother of them all! A well-placed Rad Grenade caught her complete attention as I began my attack. She was quick. I had to give her that; and had it not been for me wearing captured enemy armor myself, I would not have stood a chance against her. My Energy Armor was taking a severe pounding from her WidowLance, and as good as I was, I knew I wasn't going to make it, but I decided to go-for-broke. I decided to PMS all over her, and just went Berserk! I have to tell you, it was a close one. I was down to less than 10% of my usual health, but when she suddenly quit attacking and fell on the ground, I was on top of her in a hot New York second to give her a new hair-do with my sparking Neutron Sabre. I wasted no time in examining her armor. It was cold and black, and felt so deliciously wicked and sexy at the same time. I scooped up as much loot as I could carry with me from my fallen enemies, and snuck inside the Black Widow Base. Talk about expensive! Do you have any idea how much stuff sells for there? I guess the Black Widows never heard of Double Coupon Days. I ended up paying 3 times as much for a new Neutron power pack there as I would have paid at Sacre Base. But I wanted to see how well this new armor would do, so I sold off all the junk I thought I didn't need, and had the balance put in my bank account for a rainy day and headed out the door. [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + LOD_SUPPORT Echo Christopher Darque + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Hail! I have started an LOD Support echo here in Indy. It will be made available on the national Backbone as soon as possible. If you would like to connect to it now, here is the information you need: NAME: LOD_SUPPORT HUB: Syn'er-gis'tic BBS SYSOP: Don Packwood Address: 1:231/50 2400 Line: 546-1537 9600+ Line: 549-1835 Your Sysop will need to send a netmail with the following info to get hooked up: His net/node address A voice number in case of problems A Session Password Modem Type/Speed After that you can begin to poll Syn'er-gis'tic to get the Echo. I have a lot of good things planned for it, and it should be unique. I can answer any questions you may have as well. Darque ... (-) LOD Support Moderator (-) ... * Origin: NYN BBS - MegaCD-ROM 2 CD Online! (1:300/9) @@LODNEWS5 ======================================================================== LAND OF DEVASTATION NEWS Volume 3 Number 1 ======================================================================== Editor: Dave Rosson Contents From the Editor: Changing of the Guard....................Dave Rosson Submissions Wanted.......................Dave Rosson From the Author Whats new with LOD!......................Scott Baker Fiction The Right Of Passage.....................JudgeDread Rebel Without A Clue...................../\/\adonna The Short Road to Chaos..................NORT Heard On KLOD, THE Wasteland Radio Station...Erik Madison News From the Wastes Politics, Propaganda, and the Puritron...JudgeDread Scenario Custimization Critters and Quests......................Dave Rosson Team LOD: Data On Some of the Big Names in the Wasteland Ray Bacon, Christopher Darque, Dave Rosson, & Tristan Walling [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Changing of the Guard Dave Rosson + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] First of I would like to apologize for the late date of this document's release. Life has a tendency of getting in the way of important things..... To make a long story short, I'm the guy chosen to replace Patrick Reed as the LOD Newsletter Editor, because he had to resign from the post do to other pressing engagements. Some of you may recognize my name from the Pictures.IDX file or the Land echo on Fidonet. I've been involved with LOD since....since....well, try to find the first version to have the Loki in it: They and some other monsters and the Cyclops picture where my first submission. Most recently I helped devise the two newest puritron quests and made many of 4.0s new graphics. I've put my plans for world conquest on hold for the moment and have started to experiment (SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME) with the design of newsletter, attempting to pull the best aspects of earlier issues. It would also help to see more submissions, so the newsletter can be released more often. But enough theory. [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Submissions Wanted Dave Rosson + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] What is a newsletter without articles? I suppose it could be just Scott announcing things, but there are better venues for that sort of thing. Put simply, we need your help. When you do send submissions though, could you please make it clear if you want the authorship credits to be your real name, game pseudonym, or both. *What sort of articles do we NOT want? --Alterations & Bug Reports: If its something that requires changes to main LOD code or documents, its best sent through the Fido LAND echo or to Scott's address. *What sort of articles do we want? --Fiction: A nice story of the Wasteland is always entertaining. --Scenario Custimization: Lots of articles can fit here -Techniques that can be used to build better scenarios. -Tricks that produce useful effects in the game. -Genobj Code: The new Genobj can do all sorts of special things, and sharing what you use them for would be nice. -Unfinished Ideas: Have a plotline for a scenario but no time to create it? Let others have a shot. -New Gangs & Monsters: Monsters that are to redundant, outlandish, or specialized for the conventional scenario might be just what others are looking for. -One Liners: Have some new lines for the Ghetto Blaster, Communicator, Trivia, or the new Chaos Medallion? Send em. --New Players Help: LOD can be pretty overwhelming at first. Share your insights and tricks with the new players. --Announcements & Reviews: -Your Creations: Want to make sure everybody knows about your cool new scenario or utility? Announce it here. -Other People's Stuff: Want to sing the praises of, criticize (constructively), or offer suggestions regarding scenarios or utilities other people have made? Do it here. --Other Stuff: I can't think of everything. *Where do I send my articles? --You can upload them to either of two BBSs. In either case leave a message to me warning me what they are so I can check with the appropriate sysop. -Not Yet Named BBS (1-602-544-5655 and 1-602-797-8573) -Starblazer's Express (1-619-951-5389) --You can mail it to me: -Dave Rosson, PO BOX 258, Victorville, CA. 92393 --You could drop it into the RIME Land echo, IF ALL ELSE FAILS. --Incidentally, if you wish to call me voice (to ask about the newsletter, discuss LOD, or whatever) the number is 1-619-244-5852. [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Whats new with LOD! Scott Baker + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Whats new with LOD? Currently, I am working on the Windows version of GTERM.... Why Windows you ask? Isn't GTERM slow enough already? Although Windows does have several drawbacks, there are many advantages which will be noticable in the Windows Version of GTERM: - AUTOMAP. GT/Win features a complete automap system. As you move about in the wastland, the map is updated. You can then zoom in and out of your automap, scroll around to see where you've been, etc. You can also save and load automaps from previous sessions. I'm planning on adding some sort of a print option in the near future. - MAP WINDOW. The standard map terrain display has been raised from 3x3 to 5x5. This means you get a clearer picture of the surrounding terrain as you move. - DIALING DIRECTORY. This is the first GTERM with standalone capability. You don't need to shell to it from a terminal program. - MULTIPLE WINDOWS. If you're operating in 800x600 or greater, then you can pop up an additional inventory or automap window or whatever and put it on the screen wherever you want. In 1024x768, you can have your full inventory visible at one time! - VGA SUPPORT. Although we're currently still using the EGA graphics, GT/WIN will have full VGA support. So as soon as our designers have some graphics done, we'll be able to release them. Requirements: MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.1 or greater CPU: 386/40 or greater RAM: 4 megs or more Video: 640x480x256 (minimum supported) 800x600x256 (recommended) 1024x768x256 (good power-user setting) Modem: 2400+ (9600 recommended) As of this date, GT/WIN is currently in the beta test stages. The beta version can be found on my bbs, but there are no guarentees that it'll work. Call NYN @ (602) 544-4655. NOTE: Although I am presently working on the Windows version, have no fear, I WILL NOT ABANDON DOS. The Dos version is here to stay, and within a few months, I may be releasing a VGA version of LOD and GTERM for DOS. [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + The Right Of Passage JudgeDread + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Today I am 15. Tomorrow, I will be 16, and hopefully a man. Finally, I will be allowed out of this small, secluded city that has been my home all these years. They have said the wastelands outside are to dangerous for children, but how bad can it be? I learned about radiation in school four years ago, and I even built my own intensity meter! Ahh, sleep shall come hard tonight. Breakfast was special for us today, double helpings of RS-32. We were even given a ration of A-19, which is reserved only for special days like today. It had a strange flavor, bacon-like I think my grandfather once said. He used to tell us bedtime stories of days when food was large enough to need a plate, not in pill form like today. How inconvenient! All passers please report to the ritual dome Wow, we even get to meet the most respected of all Elders, Def Sacre! "Children, shortly you shall embark on a great and perilous journey. If you complete this challenge, and return home, you shall be an adult. Your destination is our brothers and sisters in Freedom City. But be forewarned! Entry is reserved only for those who are able to prove themselves in a battle with the mutated giant. This creature, having only one eye, is unable to notice those that approach with stealth. Strike fast, and strike hard! Work together, as the wastelands are harsh and without pity on the weak. The dangers are many, the sanctuaries few. Stay close to our base for a few days, and get the feel for your chosen weapons. Our soldiers have cleared the immediate areas of the harshest of hazards, leaving only an occasional rat for you to practice on. Perhaps even a credit or two may be found, in which case our stores will be happy to supply you with stronger equipment. To begin your journey, I give each of you 2000 credits, a small med-pack, and ration-pills for 5 days. I wish you all well." That was five years ago. I am now a battle hardened mercenary. Last year I came across the half-buried ruins of a city called Two-Sun, and found enough duralloy to construct a fortress. I also found a storehouse of paper, most of which crumpled at my touch. One piece which did not was titled "Department of Energy, Atomic Studies Division." It listed devices of great power called "Fusion Reactors" which are supposed to generate great amounts of energy. Just what my home-base needs! Could the Phoenix division be near the hamlet of Fe-nick-son? So now I have a mountain-top fortress with power to last a lifetime. Although I have cleared the valleys below of mutant scum, the skies are still filled with strange looking men who scream "Loki!" every so often. I need weapons, more powerful than this Neutron Sabre I bought off a confused 'droid last week. I've heard a man named "Ed" is a whiz with large scale computer controlled phasers, as well as numerous "bazookas." Perhaps that Death Warrior I caught yesterday has heard of him. A couple shots of Spinal fluid coagulator and he just may tell me... [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Rebel Without a Clue /\/\adonna + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Editor's Note: This appears to predate the last article by /\/\adonna, "One Mean Mother" but I found no sign of it elsewhere, so... I remember Defs Sacre from the time before the bombs began to fall, when the world with all it's insanity was still more sane than what came afterwards. I had no idea he was even alive, of course... Then one day, a runner from Sacre Base caught up with me, with a dispatch from Defs. Seems some of his new boys were having trouble with an all-female gang called the Black Widows, and thought I could come and help them out of the jam they'd gotten themselves into. I wasn't sure how I'd be received by the new Rookies at Sacre Base. After all, the world before the bombs was pretty sexist, and I didn't know if those prejudices would be carried over into the new nuclear age. But Defs knew me, and he knew that I wasn't a weak sister. I had just as much training as any of his new recruits, and could do anything they could do. I just did things differently, that's all. Sure. Why not? Since the bombs wiped out the last of the shopping Malls in these parts, all I've kept myself busy with is plinking the stray lizards that cross my path every so often. But I really wasn't ready for the first mutant Valley Girl I ran into. She must have been somebody's sweetheart at one time or another. Even with her green face, you could tell that she had been very pretty at one time, before the radiation got to her. She was even wearing the cheerleader outfit from the high school she must have gone to before the world turned upside-down. "Like, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to kill you, y'know?" she said with a hair toss. Fortunately, I had been well-versed in ValSpeak, thanks to my own memorable trips to shopping emporiums like The Galleria. I even had a bumper sticker on my old Mercury Sable that read, "I shop, therefore I am." I felt compassion for the poor girl. After all, it wasn't her fault she looked like a page from an old Don Heck comic book. "Gag me! Like, that is a totally bitchin' outfit you have! Would you like, sell it to me?" The Valley Girl had to think for a few minutes, but she finally agreed to sell me her Cheerleader Outfit for $1000 American. I thought I could have maybe gotten it for less at the Galleria way back when, but I didn't haggle over price with her. After all, it was a cute outfit, and I didn't have the heart to kill her when it wasn't necessary. Besides, I get tired of cleaning up messes. We parted as friends. I knew I'd see her again, and as I began the final part of the journey to Sacre Base, I found an old Ghetto Blaster just like my Val friend had been carrying. So I turned it on and began walking on to Sacre Base. I then ran into an Insane Woman hiding behind a tree. I tried to talk to her, but she was beyond reason, so the merciful thing to do was kill her and end her misery and suffering. And just beyond the gates of Sacre Base, I found a Mutant Mother-In-Law. She ran at me with a rolling pin in her hand, as if I were her errant Daughter-In-Law. But at least I was able to talk to her. She had made some yummy Wasteland Brownies, so I bought some from her to tide me over until I had the chance to go to the store. At least, that's what I told her. If the truth were known, those were the WORST tasting Brownies I'd ever had in my life, but I could hardly tell her that. I nibbled on one just before I got to the huge gates that surrounded Sacre Base. After all, my tummy was growling at me. Some of the rookies thought I was a Valley Girl, and as I got up to the gates, they had their Crossbows aimed at me! It was a good thing Defs was nearby. "Hold your fire, you idiots! That's not a Valley Girl!" I was glad Defs didn't spend all his time in bars anymore... [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + The Short Road to Chaos NORT + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] "The order you embrace will be your undoing!" spit the high priest of chaos as our weapons locked yet again. I hadn't expected so hard a conflict, even from such a high member of the Loki faith: Things were different with this one, as if the fight was personal. As I watched he performed a midair somersaulting kick that, while easily absorbed by my armor, knocked the warper from my belt. The rules of the fight had changed: Kill or be killed. Throwing caution to the wind I yelled like a banshee and bounded towards him, my A-Mk. II glinting in the moonlight. I awoke later in the hospital at Sacre Base. The doctor calmed me and said "There was some permanent damage, but you'll live. You really should invest in a clone sir." "I never lost before," I grunted back. He answered that I had this time, and next time I might not be lucky enough to be brought back. He also handed me a ROM disk that had been found near my body. When loaded, the disk turned out to be a some Loki propaganda. I nearly turned it off before a menu selection caught my eye. With baited breath I pushed the key to view it: "My beloved Sara and I had been assigned, along with other Sacre recruits, to investigate the wasteland and the recent reports of gangs sprouting up. We were given the best weapons Sacre had available at the time, and felt quite confident. Avoiding encounters with Death Warriors, already well known for killing eachother off to encourage strength, and the Traders who scavenge the wasteland to sate their greed, we soon entered territory that had unknowingly been claimed by the Widows. The one that greeted us was tall and muscular, not unlike Sara, dressed in a skin tight suit of grey and black flexible armor. She paused to accuse men of destroying the world, and to state how her kind would create order by reducing our role to menial labor and reproduction. No great feminist, I disagreed, at which point she attacked. Though her delicate LOOKING armor absorbed our first blasts, eventually Sara and I prevailed. Hearing laughter we whirled to face a man in red and black robes, floating in the air and saying "She sought order with new principles, failing to see that order itself is the problem. Do you understand?" We were dumfounded, so he shrugged and flew off. Following him only led to more Widows, till one night Sara shook me awake: A person with glowing skin and a "Fang Gang" shirt was approaching the camp. We hailed him in peace, but he only bared his fangs and charged, screaming about hunger. He stopped only after taking tremendous damage, saying "The hunger, I don't feel it now" and vanishing after pushing a button on his belt. We turned back towards camp, only to see the man in red and black sampling our rations. "He sought internal peace, unaware that all existence is in flux and can never know such a state. I am a Priest of Loki: I understand such things. Do you?" Grinning at my confusion he shot out of sight into the sky. The ensuing weeks followed much the same pattern: Each encounter with a new gang would invariably bring the comment of the priest, asking if we understood. Of the Snow Demons he said "They seek to retreat from the Chaos and isolate themselves in the cold. But Chaos is all reality. You can not escape it." And the Serpine brought the remark "These beings correctly embrace nature, but foolishly see it as essentially neutral." And over the fallen corpse of a mighty Draku warrior he muttered "Alas, the chaos this one brought by supplying arms to the wasteland will be missed." Eventually Sara and I decided to head back to Sacre, and didn't set camp, so eager to go home that we kept going. The dark, heavily armored figure that blocked our path was shaped like a man, but had the face of a reptile. "I am a Cabal warrior," his voice wrung out over Sara's Uni-Translator. "My lord Xeboc has chosen this planet as his own. It is time for you to vacate it." The fight was intense and he seemed immune to everything we could throw at him. I only survived his glowing blade and alien strength because Sara threw herself in the path of a blow that would have surely disemboweled me. Freeing my gun I took careful aim at his head. He stared back with huge snake eyes. I pulled the trigger as he grinned his last words, "HAIL XEBOC!!" Under that black night I knelt, cradling the corpse of my beloved Sara, unable to staunch the flow of her red blood. "Damn this wasteland!" I screamed, "Damn Xeboc, the Widows, all the gangs! Damn Sacre and the futile attempt to bring order." I broke down sobbing, failing at first to notice the tall cloaked figure. I couldn't tell who or what he was in the darkness, and didn't care. "Are you ready to die?" I asked. "Always." he answered with a grin in his voice. "I'm going to kill every living thing in this wasteland to avenge Sara, starting with you, then the gangs, then...." "What?" he asked, "You dislike the order the gangs are attempting to bring to the wasteland?" "Damn ORDER! I follow CHAOS now!" I growled, shaking. "Then I greet you brother, for I to follow chaos, worship it, become one with it. Only through anarchy can entropy be achieved and the world cleansed. You understand that now. You are ready." "What....." The word caught in my throat as he floated forwards. He was dressed in Red and Black. The Black of my dark thoughts. The Red of Sara's blood, and the blood of those who would die for her. He was the priest. And at last I understood. -- High Priest Kestol of the Loki Kestol had been a friend of mine, a jovial man with a beard and a joke always at the ready. He and his wife had vanished into the wasteland years ago. Funny, how without the beard and the Sacre uniform I hadn't recognized him as the high priest I fought. [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Critters & Quests Dave Rosson + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Critters Nature has produced marvelous killers, from the smilidon (sabre tooth tiger), to the veloceraptor, to any of the big cats today. Docile creatures can be scary en'mass or when cornered (beavers have been known to scare off bears). So are why the animalistic things in LOD just humanoid-animal-tool users, except the weak ones in zone 1? Step 1: Come up with a list of beasts that you like. Step 2: Figure out what they could take out in a fair fight. I.E. A veloceraptor could take out a death warrior easily, so zone 4 or 5 is probably right. Step 3: Base their attributes on the zone. Step 4: Simple descriptions will do (something like "A bear attacks" suffices, though describing the fangs and blood matted fur is a definite plus). Step 5: Look at the stats for the weapons used in your animal's zone and create animal weapon and armor with the same stats (no ammo required of course). Step 6: Put DISINT 100 or players will be able to get the items and you will have Sacre recruits biting people. Quests Nothing helps a customized set like its own distinctive quests. And there are lots of ways to make them seem distinctive: 1) No Puritron Quests: The recruits can instead be 'Elimination Specialists' blowing away gang leaders. Alter Talk.TXT and Strings.TXT to remove mention of the puritron and add clues to who to kill, (be very careful not to change how many lines any particular topic in Strings.TXT has. Change the descriptions in Ptron.TXT and Bossmon.TXT, and change the Ptron display in Ansi.Def and your set. 2) The Steaks, Eye, and Badge: You can completely change the character of these quests: First go into CUSTOM and change item names. Then go onto the Talk.TXT and Strings.TXT to make them agree with the new names. For instance, in my setup you go to NORT's Base (the Horticulture Center), pick up the data disk (steaks), take them back to Fafnir Base (Sacre), and get the MissionInfo Disk (TroyInfo). Or you could have to present the Skull (Death Badge) found only on Death (Kirk) to enter the Gates of Hell (Death Warrior City) which uses the teleport trick to send you to an area with lots of lava, mountains, and some....interesting....monsters. Etc. 3) Talking Quests: I'm sure you are aware that at several points in Talk.TXT a % and a number signify that the above keyword solves a quest. And you can of course edit the conversations to your hearts content to have other keywords solve those quests. But did you know that all quests can be solved through Talking? If you are a believer in the power of the spoken word, you can get rid of a few ROM quests and make them talk quests instead. The targets are Tetris (4), Windows (10), History (11), and SpWeap (15). [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Heard On KLOD, THE Wasteland Radio Station Erik Madison + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Wanted: 3 laborers needed for immediate work. Duties include light demolition, duralloy shaping, phaser installations, and reactor cleaning. Also need 2 techies for transporter realignments. Contact Joc Dresnor at Fortress Constructors Inc. For Sale: 2 vitron cells with 25/50 charges remaining. May be repowered at Ed's Emporium. 150,000 credits each or trade for Phase Armor, working or not. Companion needed: Need partner for expedition to Kill Inc. Will share all booty acquired during trip 50/50. Bonus paid for successful return. Programmer wanted: Must be proficient in Z++ and familiar with the AS/9000 architecture. Contact Hal-4000 for details. In Sports News; Today at the Octoatholon Arn Wormron achieved a new record in the long jump of 100.2 meters. He also tied the high jump record of 229 meters. The Widowed Warriors destroyed the Black Death in Cre-ball, 69-13, although the judges are questioning the use of neutron assisted backhands. Typhoo Jogl lost to Helnor Actel in the phaser try-outs. Funeral services will be held tomorrow. [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Politics, Propaganda, and the Puritron JudgeDread + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Editor's Note: Recruit JudgeDread recently brought in this strange pamphlet that has been circulating through the wastelands. We advise you deal with such material, and the madmen distributing it, as you would deal any wasteland threat: Avoid or execute... This is to inform you of a great lie our leaders have laid upon us: The Puritron. They have claimed this device will cleanse our world of the radiation that pollutes it, and restore it the pristine beauty our ancestors enjoyed. Bull! How do I know? Because I helped design and build this device over 30 years ago. While my research indicated the idea was feasible, in all actuality it did nothing more than "move" the radiation. For every square mile near us it cleansed, another distant area was polluted. The recycler section never worked, so Dr. Jack Sacre suggested we replace it with circuitry similar to that found in a pylon. "Out of sight, out of mind" he said. Yeah, until I noticed on a journey to the Widows camp for some spare parts that the ambient radiation levels had _increased_! This is why it was stolen and disassembled. Our world is filled with many factions and communities, not all of which have decided to make their presence known. Why should their families be subjected to the horrors of the atom, for our benefit? They just could not sit idly by and allow us to destroy that which they cherish! So, do not be tempted by the "rewards" offered for its return by our leaders. If in your travels, you should find clues to its whereabouts, destroy it! [L]==================================================================[L] [O] + Team LOD Today's Victims + [O] [D]==================================================================[D] Name: Scott Baker Occupation: Student, University off Arizona LOD monster you most identify with: Distraught Sysop (grin) Hobbies: Programmimg, Salt Water Fish, Firearms Favorite Books: None. Favorite Movies: Star Trek, or particularly anything Sci-Fi Favorite Computer Games: Ultima, Sierra Adventures, and ... LOD! Commonly Used Quotes: Save Early, Save Often Anything you want to say to LODers: Write Datasets! Name: Ray Bacon Occupation: Commercial Pilot/Computer Tech. What you like most in LOD: Ability to create your own game. What you like least: Clues in the text file pain in the ass to edit. LOD monster you most identify with: None. Hobbies: Running a Multi-Line BBS, Golf. Favorite Books: None. Favorite Movies: None. Favorite Computer Games: LOD. Commonly used quotes: N/A. Anything you want to say to LODers: Beware the next NAS dataset! Name: Christopher Darque Occupation: Consultant & Counselor. What you like most in LOD: DataSets & The Choices. What you like least in LOD: Fixed Map, Lack of background activity. LOD monster you most identify with: Tranlius Defender. Hobbies: Games of all sorts, Lisa, Mind puzzles, & studying Life. Favorite Books: Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, Travels. Favorite Movies: Star Trek II, Edward Scissorhands, Buckaroo Banzai. Favorite Computer Games: AV8B Harrier, Ultimate Universe, Starfox. Commonly used quotes: Computer, Tea, Earl Gray, Hot, in a Cup this time. Time is an illusion, lunchtime, doubly so. Do, or do not, there is no try. Anything you want to say to LODers: LOD has the potential for the rich interaction that has made role playing games what they are. More than just a door, this is a complete RPG creation system. Make use of it and your only limitations are those you put on yourself. Name: Dave Rosson Occupation: College Student, Computer Tutor. What you like most in LOD: Talk.TXT and IsReals. What you like least in LOD: The default pic and No friendly monsters. LOD monster you most identify with: The Vampire Aretas. Hobbies: Computer Games, RPGs, Writing, Painting Miniatures. Favorite Books: The Judge Dee mysteries, the last 3 XXV novels, WarDay, Dune, 2001, Call of the Wild, Jurassic Park, A Separate Piece, Elison's Invisible Man, and Tower of Deception. Favorite Movies: Amadeus, the 3 Musketeers, Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones (1 & 3), Nightmare on Elm Streets 1, 3, & 6. Favorite Computer Games: LOD, Wasteland, Starflight I & II, Ultima VI, Neuromancer, Sango Fighter, & Romance of the Three Kingdoms III. Commonly Used Quotes: Fascinating. Ni! Hmmmmmmm. I'll be back. Huh? Anything you want to say to LODers: Embrace Chaos. Name:Tristan Walling Occupation:Blues Critic. What you like most in LOD: Strange Little Critters that need a pic. What you like least in LOD: Going out into the wasteland to find one of the little beasties that I made, getting lost, getting attacked by that SAME @#*&# Draku Defender a hundred times in a row, then running out of ammo and getting killed by that "little beastie" that I was looking for. With no warper. LOD monster you most identify with: The Energizer Bunny. Hobbies: Drawing, making rhythmic noises, playing computer games, going out and messing with people as much as I can without getting myself killed. Favorite Books: 101 Uses for a Dead Cat, Stranger in a Strange Land, Roget's Thesaurus, and ElfQuest. Favorite Movies: Star Wars, Alien, Fantasia, and ones with lots of "hooters" in 'em! Favorite Computer Games: LOD, A10, wolfensteiny-shoot-up-everything- -that-moves types of games, and ones with overwhelming 256- color niftiness. Commonly used quotes: If I were me, which I sometimes am... Just a little peril... F@*k it! Anything you want to say to LODers: When wandering through the wasteland, remember one thing and you'll be fine --- everything IS trying to kill you, and there are always more. But, as they say at Sacre base, you can win, just keep at it! ... by the way, does anyone have a spare warper? @@LODNEWS6 LAND OF DEVASTATION NEWS 6 Volume 1 Number 6 Editor: Dave Rosson --------------------------------------------------------------- Contents From the Editor: Ramblings.................Dave Rosson From the Game Author: Lod on the Web............Scott M. Baker Fiction: Christmas at Sacre........Andrew Wilson Time Running Short........Unknown Scenario Ideas: The Future of LOD.........Scott M. Baker Custom Device Ideas.......Scott M. Baker Other: Love and Registration.....Jenifer Aro --------------------------------------------------------------- Ramblings By Dave Rosson - - - - - - - - - You are now looking at the first LOD Newsletter designed first as an HTML (World Wide Web readable) document. This either means you are seeing the text version that will be included with LOD, which is pretty plain, or the version on the internet with a nice hypertext contents page and formatting. As Scott points out in the next article Lod on the Web, Land of Devastation has just hit the web in a big way. In addition to his page and another fellow's, there is the LOD News Homepage, at "http://www.primenet.com/~drosson/lodnews.html" on which I've set up html versions of all the newsletters and FAQs that I can find regarding the game (if you know of any others, drop me a note). Beyond that, Newsletter submissions are still wanted: Fiction, lgpl code, scenario ideas, odd quotes for radios: Anything is welcome. Aim your submissions to me, via: E-mail: drosson@primenet.com (this is the ideal method). Snail-mail: Dave Rosson, PO BOX 258, Victorville, CA. 92393. Upload: Not Yet Named BBS (1-520-544-4655), making sure to note Scott Baker there to tell me about it. --------------------------------------------------------------- Lod on the Web By Scott M. Baker - - - - - - - - - - The World Wide Web (WWW) is certain to have a massive impact in computing in the near future. I encourage anyone who has not explored this interesting technology to do so at once - you will have access to a massive amount of information at a very reasonable price. In recognition of this, we are making LOD very accessible from the WWW. Dave Rosson and I both have home pages setup where LOD information may be found. My personal home-page is at the url address "http://www.primenet.com/~smbaker". Here is what you can find: - Information about me :) - Online registration lookup capability. If you've sent in a registration, but are having trouble contacting my bbs, then you may be able to pick up your code here. The process is very automated and fairly easy. - The LOD interactive monster guide. Here is information on all of the monsters, indexed and cross-referenced with their weapons and armor types. Postage-stamp graphics are present of all the monsters. The whole thing prints up rather nicely if you want a quick guide to what monsters you might expect. - Various HTML documents. I will be converting portions of the user documentation, sysop documentation, etc to HTML format so that it is more easily accessible. HTML prints out very nicely, and I suggest if you are going to print out the user manual that you try to print out the HTML version as opposed to the plain ascii version. - LOD distribution archives. I will always have the latest version of LOD up for you to download. - Links to other sites. You can easily navigate over to Dave Rosson's page from mine. If anyone else has LOD- related pages online, send me a note and I'll add yours to the list! --------------------------------------------------------------- Christmas at Sacre By Andrew Wilson - - - - - - - - - - It was Christmastime at Sacre Base again, and everyone was busy getting ready. Early on, Defs Sacre and the leaders of Sacre Base had realized the need for holiday cheer in this grim new world. Troy Hadley was hard at work playing Santa and building Sacre Warrior action figures and vehicles for the kids - these action figures were fully mechanized and had real lasers. Jeffrey spent Christmas running away from a Mean Max figure. Max was set to play Scrooge in the Freedom City production of "A Christmas Carol," and Captain Targon had ordered truckloads of frozen snow from Frost Bite, so that the kids could build snowmen and have snowball fights on base. Some of the cooks were making their world-of-ruin-famous Liarei egg-nog. And they were decorating a Christmas cactus. The recruits that had battled this mutant cactus to the death were busy picking thorns out of their bodies. And among other things, the Drakus were actually in good spirits this Christmas and had built genetically-engineered reindeer from their chromosome stock. Of course, those festive Drakus paid for it when Black Widow command found out, but they died happy, in any case. --------------------------------------------------------------- Time Running Short By Unknown Editors Note: If anybody could pass on the author and true title of this peace ('Time Running Short' is just what I decided to call it) I would be most grateful. - - - - - - - - - - Time was running short. Chris decided to camp his character out on an uncharted part of the wasteland and call it a night. He had been going at it for several hours now and his eyes were sore from looking at the screen. He logged out of his BBS, turned the monitor off and went to bed. It didn't take long before he had fallen asleep. * * * Chris woke with a start and looked around. The wasteland countryside he had called home for the night was still there. In the distance he thought he could hear the sound of a rad hound barking loudly. Probably tearing into some poor humanoid mutant, Chris thought. He checked to make sure no one had stolen anything over the course of the night and took off. He was farther from Sacre Base than he had ever been. To the north was a string of mountains that kept a good large amount of radiation out. To the east was wasteland surrounding a rad field where some nuke missile had hit. To the south, more of the same. He had come from the west, and had no intention of going back until he had gotten a piece of the puritron device or gotten himself killed. In the distance he saw someone he recognized from his high school days. Sapphire, or was this her twin sister Patti? There was something odd about the way she was dressed, Chris thought, as he examined her armor. It was black (sans two red triangles that met at a point forming an hourglass shape). Both Patti and Sapphire had always been bright colored people. Floral print, mostly. He decided, since she hadn't seen him that he'd try to strike up a conversation. "Sapph?! Sapphire is that you?" "Chris?" She turned to meet his gaze. Her blonde locks of hair shone in the post-nuclear sun, nearly blinding him. She still had the same great build and stunning looks. Her green eyes were still as piercing as they were back in high school. Her fair skin probably burned easily in the wasteland. "Who were you expecting? The Energizer Bunny?" Sapphire thought about this a moment, not entirely sure if he was joking or not. "Not really. What are you doing out in this part of the wasteland? Last I heard, you were stationed at Freedom City as a backup to help the convoy in the event of an attack." "Nothing's changed. I'm out looking for Puritron parts. Some raiders calling themselves the Death Warriors charged the convoy and stole the thing." "So then Sacre Base sent you?" "Yep." A thin sliver of a smile spread across Sapphire's face. She had seen a poster in the Widow Warrior's HQ. "$500 for a live Sacre Base soldier, $2500 for a dead," it had read, less than three hours ago and she intended in making a few thousand dollars for some more widow packs. "Chris, don't take this personally," "Fine. I won't." "But I've got to kill you." Chris rolled this around in his head. Her, kill me? Her? Kill me? He started to laugh. It started as just a giggle, but soon he was slapping his leg to keep from crying. "Laugh at me? Do you know who I've become?! Do you? I'm one of the highest ranking Widow Warriors in the wasteland." Chris sobered up immediately. He recalled messages on the Sacre Base BBS. He knew what the Widow Warriors were capable of. "You don't know how much it pains me to hear that." "I wish it could be different." "Likewise," Chris said, assuming his combat position. The ensuing battle raged on for several minutes. Sparks flew on both sides. Finally Chris's Laser Resist Armor Monitor beeped at him. His armor was depleted down to nothing. The only things that save his life now would be a miracle or good place to go run and hide at. Unfortunately, the nuclear blast that had happened fifty years ago had melted all the rocks in the area. Boulders had been reduced to a raised area in the Earth about half an inch high and several feet around. Sapphire also heard the beep and took full advantage of Chris's distraction, slashing viciously at his neck. The last thing he saw was Sapphire standing over him saying "Forgive me, Chris." She raised the Widow Lance a little, readying herself for the final blow. * * * Chris sat bolt upright in his bed. Beads of sweat glistened off his forehead, his heart was pounding, and his alarm clock buzzing at him, all in the safe confines of his bedroom. His computer lay in the corner, the lights giving off the usual glow of their yellow and green LEDs. The room was dark, otherwise, with the exception of the eerie glow of the Electro-Lance that he held in hands. Chris looked down at the deadly weapon that had yet to be invented. "No!" he cried as he saw the thing in his hands. Sobbing, he shook his head, as if that would help to shake away the impending future. "NO!" The thought of fighting like that with a woman he idolized was bad enough, but to be killed! He looked around, using the Electro-Lance as a flashlight. The room was in it's usual state of chaos. Clothes, books, armor, weapons, and some CD-ROM discs lay on the floor. Chris got up, unsure of where the armor or weapons had come from. The black energy armor had the same red triangles as did Sapphire's armor in his dream. The black Widow Lance also bore the symbol of the Widow Warriors, as did the Widow Blaster. The CD-Roms were also familiar, EM-Warp (Emergency Warp program) and a NOTES CD ROM. Chris picked up the NOTES CD, put it into his computer, exited the BBS software, which had finished doing the nightly maintenance, and ran the notes program. The usual was there, with one exception. The log read as follows... C-COORD 1,52,41 ACME Weapons Inc. C-COORD 1,104,1 EM-WARP Activated. Manual entry: Chris, If you are reading this it is to let you know that I am back with my fellow Widow Warriors. You got lucky this time. A Rad Hound saw me and decided I'd be an easy lunch. After fighting you. I was in no mood or condition to face him, so I warped out. I just wish things could have been different. S.S. P.S. Try using the Widow Armor the next time you're out that far. You might last a little longer. -END LOG- Chris looked up at the clock. It was time to face school again. Later that day, while Chris was at school, the Widow armor, WidowLance, WidowBlaster and the Electro-Lance disintegrated. hey had gone back to the future that they belonged in. Chris debated whether or not to tell Sapphire, but then decided it would be best not to tell her and let the future take care of itself. It always had before, Chris reasoned. Little did he know, Sapphire had woken up from the same dream that morning with claw marks on her from her encounter with the Rad Hound. --------------------------------------------------------------- The Future of LOD By Scott M. Baker - - - - - - - - - - The future of LOD lies in the construction of user datasets. This is really what I have been striving to accomplish for the last several years. Many of you may not realize the extent to which lod can be customized. With the LGPL programming language that is now built into LOD you can easily add your own objects, new places to explore, etc. One very good example of this is Konnor McCloud's dataset for version 4.21. Konnor added a ton of new items; I believe he even filled the entire device definition file up! Some of them were bizarre, like steroids or cherry pez, but others were natural extensions of existing concepts, such as medkit- rechargers and warper rechargers. All of this can be done by ANYONE who has a reasonable knowledge of a pascal-like programming language. You don't really even need to know how to program that well either. By cutting and pasting existing code, you can easily make new objects that perform functions similar to objects that already exist. I'll give you some information on creating custom objects below. The first thing to do is obtain the proper LOD files. To test your creations, you will of course need LODxxxA.ZIP and LODxxxB.ZIP, and whatever other items may be required for svga graphics, etc. You will also need the dataset construction package, LODxxxE.ZIP. The primary files of interest within LODxxxE.ZIP are LCDOS.EXE, COMPILE.EXE, and STANDARD.ZIP. STANDARD.ZIP contains all the files for the default dataset and you'll want to unzip it immediately and have a look at the contents. The following files are used to create LGPL objects: - lodlib.inc. This file contains definitions for function calls that can be made to the lod game that is operating. For example, such things as placing objects on the ground, initiating combat, etc. - lodvar.inc. Primarily structure definitions and a few variable declarations. The structures in this file define the record formats in which users and fortresses are stored, etc. - lgpl.in. This is the main file. It contains high-level code and include statements for all the other files. - miscuse.inc. Many miscellaneous objects are stored here. You can get a good feel for how LGPL works by examining the procedures here. There are lots of other files too. LGPL files usually have the extension of ".INC" and you can always find include statements referencing them in LGPL.IN. To add your own object, this is the process that you will need to follow. 1) Assign a new "devapp" code to your object. All of the devapp codes are listed in lodvar.inc. Just pick an unused number and that will be the code for your object. 2) Using the device editor (inside CUSTOM.EXE), create the device itself. You might want to put it in a store so you can get them easily for testing. Make sure to specify in the devapp field the devapp code that you chose in step 1. 3) Load up LGPL.IN and find the procedure USEITEM. This procedure has a large switch statement that dishes out control for smaller helper procedures that handle the devices. You'll need to add a new line for your device. For example: case devapp_mydevice: use_mydevice; break;< 4) Now you have to actually write the procedure to handle your device. I suggest you create a new .INC file and "include" it the same way the other includes are done (look near the top of LGPL.IN). This is where some programming knowledge is necessary. You can of course just cut and paste in code from another device that is similar to what you want to do and modify it slightly. Or if you really know what you're doing, write it from scratch. The name of your new procedure should match the name in the switch statement in step 3. 5) Now you have to compile the LGPL code. This is done by running LCDOS.EXE. If it won't work ("invalid entrypoint called") and you're running windows, try LCWIN.EXE. LCDOS will probably spit out some error messages, because you probably mistyped something somewhere or used improper syntax or something - nobody's perfect. LCDOS will tell you what line number has the problem and you can load up the file and try to fix it. LCDOS's error messages can be somewhat confusing at times, but with enough practice you will be able to figure them out. 6) Finally, you must compile the dataset itself. This is done by running COMPILE.EXE. --------------------------------------------------------------- Custom Device Ideas By Scott M. Baker - - - - - - - - - - Now that I've given you some information on creating custom devices, here's a few ideas for you: - Finish out the stuff I've left unfinished! There's a few odds and ends about in the game. If you see something that could be dealt with more thoroughly, then you might want to add some custom devices. For example, HISTORY.TXT tells about Richard Sacre's orbital platform. Maybe you could add a way to find it? Or a device to communicate with the online computer? That DRAKU HQ is pretty plain. Maybe the Draku's ought to have some sort of secret weapons facility there... - Potions are nice and easy to create. Have a look at chem.inc... How about a potion to transfer attributes from one type to another? - Gadgets. Everyone loves gadgets... How about a mine-sweeper? Or maybe some plastic explosives to blast fort defense shields with? What about a nearest-pylon locator. - Rechargers/Converters. An idea vastly explored by Konnor Mccloud...How about a device to convert power packs into armor rechargers? What about a do-it-yourself three round burst kit? - What about a more complex bar? I've seen other doors that let you flirt with the waitresses, meet with secret black market dealers, etc. - Puzzles/Riddles. How about a sphinx that makes the player solve a riddle? - Build stuff. The good 'ol "use item a with item b to create item c". Maybe you can add combine TNT and a detonator to make a new sort of mine? What would happen if you hooked up a proximity trigger to a fully-loaded vortex cell? How about a kit to add molecular-bonding to a steel shield? - Diseases... Let your imagination run wild! What about a disease which causes to you occasionally get delirious and walk to a random location? --------------------------------------------------------------- Love and Registration By Jenifer Aro - - - - - - - - - - - A little more than 2 years ago I started my BBS, Kerowyn's Haven, in Duluth, MN. Somewhere along the road of development I found the game LOD. I liked it a lot and it became a bit popular for a while. One of my users, Detrix, liked it so much that he wanted to register it for me. (He eventually became the first person to win the game on the BBS). Anyway, Detrix and I met at my college. I thought he was a bit strange with the long hair and all (you can see an old picture of him at my WWW site), but we really kicked it of. We had so many of the same interests..about 1/2 year later we started to date. Now 2 years later we are engaged! And to think none of this would have happened if he hadn't registered LOD for me. :) ---------------------------------------------------------------