Wowy-Ka-Zowy v1.5 Written by: David E. Basile Requirements: þ VGA 640x480 (No CGA/EGA)! þ Mouse þ Sound Blaster/Sound Blaster Pro þ Dos 3.3 or higher þ 640k memory þ WOWII by Jan Ole Suhr (In your path) þ PKUNZIP.EXE and ARJ.EXE (Must be in your path if you have MODs in that format) þ At least 1 MOD file (either MOD or in a Zip or ARJ) Files Included: þ WOWY.EXE - Main program þ WOWY.TXT - This document þ SOUNDS.000 - Extra sounds for buttons þ MUSIC.000 - Background music þ MUSIC.NDX - Index file for the back ground Music þ DIGITAL.FNT - Digital font for the clock þ KILL.EXE - Clean up program. Removes files Wowy creates. þ ADDONS.TXT - Info about Wowy-Ka-Zowy Music Creator þþþ This archive should be named WOWY15.??? Credits: I always believe in giving credit where credit is due and thanks too. Jim Basile (My brother) I'll bet you never would have guessed. Test and suggestions. On every call he always had input. Thanks. Mark Gwynn Sysop for the OdieLink BBS. Thanks to his testing he helped me find a few NASTY bugs. Give his BBS a call at 614-333-6343. Mark has a nice selection of SB files. Darin Saber Sysop of the Point of Know Return BBS. He suggested the VGA, ZIP, and ARJ support. He also helped test. Give his BBS a call at 602-687-0488. Darin has a LARGE selection of MOD files. T.J. Gendrue a GALAXY BBS user. Test and suggestions. He tested with a Pro Audio Spectrum. Jim Logan sysop of The OnLine Pitstop BBS. Test and suggestions. Call his BBS at 402-292-3637. What is it: Wowy-Ka-Zowy is a menu shell for Jan Ole Suhr's WOWII Mod file player. In my opinion WOWII is the best Mod file player there is but, and there is always a but, it lacks one thing! If you want to play quite a few files you to have type each one on the command line and then retype the next one or re- edit the command line. This works fine but can get tiresome. Wowy-Ka-Zowy will put an end to that. Setup: Basicly there is none. You do not need to create a configuration file. Just run WOWY. The first thing it should tell you is that there are no files in C:\. Just enter the directory where you store your Mod files, ie; D:\SOUND\MODS. It will then ask for a Work drive and path. This is used for extracting files from a ZIP or ARJ file. If you have a RAM disk I suggest you use that. Try not to use the same directory where your mod files are. If you plan on playing mod files from a ZIP or ARJ then PKUNZIP.EXE AND ARJ.EXE MUST BE IN YOUR PATH. You might want to run the setup to ensure that the settings are correct for WOWII. Wowy will read in all your MOD files and display them. After that you can tag the file(s) you want to play and press the mouse button. Only the LEFT mouse button is used. WOWII MUST BE IN YOUR PATH OR WOWY WILL NOT WORK!!! You can put Wowy in your path too. On the first time you run Wowy it will default to the plain Sound Blaster. If you have a Sound Blaster Pro make sure you change this in the setup so you can utilize the volume controls. Controls: The other buttons are pretty easy but here is a description of each: Title - Shows the MOD file Title, Size, Instruments, and Patterns. This is only available on a MOD file, not ZIP or ARJ. Wowy - Gives you support information. Left and Right Arrows - Shift the screen to the left and right if you have more than one page of files. Master volume - Sets the master volume (Sound Blaster Pro ONLY) FM volume - Sets the FM volume. This will increase the volume of the background music in Wowy. (Sound Blaster Pro ONLY) VOC volume - Sets the VOC volume. All the sound effects in Wowy are actually VOC files and if they are two loud for you turn this down. (Sound Blaster Pro ONLY) Flash - This will just rotate the palette. If you tag it, the Flash should start to pulsate and any file that you tag should do the same. Play - Play the tagged file(s) Change Directory - Change to a different directory. It will look for all mod files to include inside a ZIP or ARJ. Setup - Allow you to change the WOWII and Wowy parameters. Help - Gives you help should you really need it. Quit - Leave Wowy-Ka-Zowy (ESC will do the same thing) Change Background tune - Allows you to switch between the different tunes that can be played in the background. Points to note: You can rename the file WOWY.EXE to whatever you wish, that is ok, but all the other files must retain their original names. The SOUNDS.000 file can be deleted if you do not want the little sound effects. Wowy will create a 0 byte file though. If you try to run WOWY with Sound Blaster settings that just aren't right, like using IRQ 5 instead of 7 (when you are using 7) may cause WOWII to malfunction. I have had this problem and I had to reboot my system to get the card to reset so I could use WOWII again. If you select a MOD file, and it goes to WOWII and back out again without playing, and your settings are correct, then the MOD file may be to large to play. I have 2 MOD files over 450k which will not play with WOWII but will play with an older version of WOW. No big deal there and I can't control that. It is possible to have a corrupted MOD file. If you turn down the VOC volume to low and then play a MOD file you may not be able to hear it. The VOC volume will control the output of WOWII. I have not tried Wowy under DesqView and don't know what the results will be. Wowy does not check for VGA, mouse, or the existence of paths or drive space, so make SURE these are correct before running Wowy. The Flash button will pulsate the selected files. This makes them stand out a bit more but on a few systems this seems to slow the background music down. If this happens then you won't be able to use the flash option. Sorry! Wowy has been tested on a Pro Audio Spectrum and worked. Menu Music: While you are at the Wowy main menu you should hear some cheap watch music being played. I added this just for laughs and grins. Because I have included all the music into one file it is rather large. The MUSIC.000 file is for the back ground music and SOUND.000 is for the other sounds. If you don't like my music (and why wouldn't you) you can get WKZMC10.ZIP from our BBS. This is the Wowy-Ka-Zowy Music Creator. It allows you to take your favorite ROL files and build a MUSIC.000 and MUSIC.NDX file. It is limited to 99 songs but that should be PLENTY!! Playing: After you have selected your file to play just click on the Play button. This will play all the selected files. If you have more than one there will be a 4 second delay before the next one is played. A small screen will be displayed giving you the option to Abort or Jump to the next song or Skip the timer. If it is on the last song and you hit J it will is the same as hitting the abort. If the file needs to be extracted then there may be a slight delay depending on where it is being extracted to and the speed of your machine. Jumping to the next song will set the next song in the queue and start the timer back to 4 seconds. Skipping the time will bypass the timer and go right into the song. Support: If you have problems, suggestions or just would like to have a feature added you can contact me at the GALAXY BBS in Daleville Alabama. Node 1 205-598- 9509 HST Dual Standard, Node 2 205-598-6547 HST Dual Standard. By the way, the GALAXY BBS is a Totally Free BBS with 5 Gigs on line. No dues or fees. Stop by and take a look around. I can also be contacted on FIDO 1:18/9. Monitor the AdLib, Qbasic echos. Registration: NONE. It is free. Not crippled nor does it say UNREGISTERED anywhere so feel free to use it as long as you want. I do encourage you to register WOWII if you are using it. Jan Ole Suhr is a nice guy and could probably use the money . Guarantee: NONE. Use it at your own risk. It works fine for me. License Agreement: Consult your physician before starting this program. Batteries not included. May cause drowsiness. Must be over 17. Not available in all states. Not responsible for acts of God. Prices subject to change. Proof of purchase required. Read label before using. Some assembly required. Not responsible for typographical errors. Some restrictions apply. Subject to local regulation. Warrantee period limited. Close cover before striking. No resemblance to any person, living or dead, is intended. Subject to availability. No COD's. Sales tax not included. Local restrictions may apply. Shipping & handling extra. All orders subject to review. For external use only. Do not give to children under 8 years of age. May cause excitability. Avoid alcoholic beverages while using this software. Use caution while operating mechanical devices. If symptoms persist, consult your physician. Keep this and all software out of the reach of children. May be unsuitable for sensitive people. Parental guidance suggested. Do not use this software if you are currently taking a drug for depression. Neither the seller not the manufacture will be liable for any brain damage arising from the use of this software. The buyer assumes all risks associated with using this product. In case of irritation, flush eyes with cold water and consult your physician. This software is not a savings account and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Use with adequate ventilation. Avoid prolonged or repeated contact with skin. Contents under pressure; do not puncture or incinerate. Store in original containers. Always replace sleeve before discarding any computer disk. Get medical attention if symptoms persist. Harmful if swallowed. Do not remain in enclose areas after use. Not responsible if you've fallen and can't get up. So there! Future Enhancements: Possibly support for other MOD file players but if you want them supported, let me know. Right now WowII is the only one that Wowy supports. Total rewrite soon with support for Grave (for the 669 File Format). History: 1.5 Now supports PkZip 2.04 1.4 Fixed a bug that would cause Wowy to error on Exit Changed the Music file format so users could create their own MUSIC.000 with WKZMC (Wowy-Ka-Zowy Music Creator) Support for ZIP and ARJ Volume controls for the Sound Blaster Pro Added the SB Port to the status box Added the NEW Loop command for WOWII v1.3 Some Major and Minor changes to the code. 1.3 VGA only version with mouse support. More background music 1.2 Had the Default for the DMA Buffer set to 32000 when it should have been 31000. Fixed. Wowy no longer Shells out to play a mod. It completely exits and run WOWII and then runs Wowy again. This ensures all available memory is there for the mod player. Fixed a small bug where it would only show 7 columns instead of 8. 1.1 Fixed a small time bug when running all the MODS Wowy now creates a Wowy.CFG. Makes running the program a bit faster. Added some background Menu Music while you are waiting to make your MOD file selection. 1.0 Initial release!