Sysop Documentation for Illusions 1.3 Copyright (C) 1993 by Paradox Development Corporation All rights reserved. Designed by Kris D'Nal and Andrew Laakmann Programmed by Andrew Laakmann INTRODUCTION ---------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the next generation of on-line gaming for TBBS systems. Illusions 1.3 is the first in a series of exciting new games that will bring TBBS on-line gaming to new levels of excitement, playability, and adventure! Some new features have been added to Illusions 1.3, including: - Optional daily time limits for players - Demigod shop, message, spell. and external exit creation - Auto locking doors - An expired light source scavenger - An external database packer - Ability to age out players who have not entered the game in a while - An in-game chat system that allows players to chat between themselves without ever leaving Illusions. - On-Line help for EVERY command that Illusions knows about. - Intelligent "command completion" to remove some of the burden of the command line interface. - Upgraded and easier to use demigod functions. - Safe zones within towns so no rebel players can spoil everyone's fun - Automatic play log so you can keep track of game usage - and more (check out the update file included in the package) In addition, Illusions 1.3 has been created with an eye towards minimizing CPU usage, so despite the complexity and richness of the Illusions worlds, many players can be in the game simultaneously without too much of a drop in performance. Also, watch for the full VGA graphics and sound version of Illusions coming soon to a PC and BBS near you. So get ready to play, and we hope you will enjoy playing Illusions as much as we enjoyed creating it for you! INSTALLATION ------------------------------------------------------------- When installing Illusions, you have two options. If you wish to install Illusions over existing software and maintain your current world and databases, you need only install the program files over the top of the previous game and Illusions will do the rest. See the following section for information on this type of installation. If you do not have existing software that you wish to use the databases from, skip to the section entitled "COMPLETE INSTALLATION" for instructions on installing both the Illusions program and world files. INSTALLING OVER PREVIOUS SOFTWARE ----------------------------------------- This section contains information on installing Illusion program and system files over previous software. It is highly recommended that before you install Illusions over your existing software, that you backup your those previous files. (Note, if installing over Legends, Illusions can only be installed over Legends 4.2) When you unpack your Illusions archive, it will contain the following two subarchives: "world" and "program". Since you want to maintain your current world and databases, you need only to unpack the "program" archive and copy the extracted files into the subdirectory containing your existing software. When copying the files, some overwrites may be encountered. Simply respond YES to all overwrites since you will be both replacing and adding some files. Once the system files have been copied, you will need to make minor changes to your menu file. Depending upon your existing software, these changes may included deleting and/or modifying some menu entries. Skip to the section entitled "MODIFYING YOUR MENU" for information on how to do this. COMPLETE INSTALLATION ---------------------------------------------------- To install the complete Illusions software, including system files and the Illusion world, first create an Illusions subdirectory by following your operating system instructions. Once a subdirectory has been created, unpack the Illusions archive. Contained within this archive will be the following two subarchives: "world" and "program". Extract the files from both of these archives into your new directory. Once you have done this, all the files that you need to play Illusions will now be located in your new directory. Next, you need to update your menu such that it calls the game and various support files. MODIFYING YOUR MENU ------------------------------------------------------ Illusions requires three menu entries for complete use of the game. One entry must execute the game, another can display the player's handbook, and a third can be used to display the high scores. Here is an example entry to execute the game. You may need to modify this according to your directories, privileges, and prompting styles. Entry: I -> Illusions 1.3 PRIV=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3 = -------- A4=-------- IBM=- ANS=X KEY=I TYPE 200 OPT DATA=C:\TBBS\ILLUSION\ILLUSION /Q Now, you need to make an entry for the SCORES text file that displays the current high score list. Scores are only available in the registered version of Illusions. Here is an example menu entry for the SCORES file. Again, you may need to modify this according to your local system. Please note that this menu selection is optional, as the scores are available to players via the "SCORES" command while they are in the game. Entry: S -> Scores for Illusions 1.3 PRIV=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3 = -------- A4=-------- IBM=- ANS=X KEY=S TYPE 1 OPT DATA=C:\TBBS\ILLUSION\SCORES.TXT Finally, you will need to make an entry to display the player's handbook, as this text file contains useful information to all the players of the game. Like the scores file, the handbook is available during game play, so having this menu command is optional. Here is an example entry: Entry: H -> Handbook for Illusions 1.3 PRIV=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3 = -------- A4=-------- IBM=- ANS=- KEY=H TYPE 1 OPT DATA=C:\TBBS\ILLUSION\HANDBOOK.TXT /Q Once all of these changes have been made to your menu files, recompile them. That completes the game, scores, and handbook installation. GHOST EVENT INSTALLATION ------------------------------------------------- The final hurdle of installation is the ghost event. The ghost event is a TDBS ".tpg" file called GTASK which is located within your Illusions subdirectory. It is recommended that you run this ghost event twice a day for proper operation of the game. The ghost event distributes new items to the shopkeepers, shuffles monsters around, and performs other housekeeping operations. Follow the instructions contained within your TBBS manual for information on installing a ghost event. Operation of the ghost event will not effect players currently in the game, so it can safely run while players are on-line within Illusions. The ghost event can be run manually from within Illusions by typing the %GHOST command and the game prompt. If you wish to have players who have not played for a while be automatically aged out, simply supply an argument like bellow to the ghost command: OPT DATA = C:\TBBS\ILLUSION\GTASK /Q $90 The $90 indicates that all players who have not played within 3 months (90 days) will be automatically removed from the system. STARTING THE GAME --------------------------------------------------------- After installation - upon the first running of the game - Illusions will perform a variety of initialization functions, including an automatic run of the ghost event. This ghost event will only be run once at startup, after which you will be returned to the calling menu. Simply enter Illusions again and the game will now be operational. If you are installing Illusions over existing software, the old software files not used by Illusions will be deleted upon startup. With this in mind, please remember to backup your existing software before installing Illusions. DEMO VERSUS REGISTERED VERSION -------------------------------------------- If you did not purchase your Illusions software directly from a registered dealer, you have automatically received a demonstration version of the game. This demo version is a completely operational game, but for demonstration purposes some features have been removed and/or restricted. The most important restriction of the demo version is that players are only allowed to play once per day. Once they are killed or quit the game, they must wait until the following day before playing again. Another restriction is the lack of demigod commands. All of the commands that allow you, and other players, to modify the world have been removed from the demonstration copy. Also, players in the demo game are limited to at most one hour of play per session, and hence per day. Finally, the high score list is unavailable. If you later decide to upgrade to the full Illusions software, you can simply overwrite your current Illusion program files and continue playing with the same database. So try out Illusions, and if you like it, give us a call, and when you receive your new files simply plug them in and continue playing. ILLUSIONS NEWS ------------------------------------------------------------ As shipped, Illusions comes complete with a news file that displays helpful information to players, things such as help and command listing information. Players can access this news file by typing NEWS. Feel free to modify this news file and put whatever information you deem important, such as local events etc. For a while, you may want to leave the standard news file in place since it displays information on features that are new to Illusions 1.3 (like command completion) that current players might not know about. PLAYER TIME LIMIT --------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to set a daily time limit for players, simply modify your Illusion's SDL entry to include a "$T" option. For instance, if you desire a 2 hour daily limit, change your SDL entry to look like the following (of course, the directories may be different): Entry: I -> Illusions 1.3 PRIV=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3 = -------- A4=-------- IBM=- ANS=X KEY=I TYPE 200 OPT DATA=C:\TBBS\ILLUSION\ILLUSION $T120 /Q RAMDRIVE MESSAGE USAGE ---------------------------------------------------- Much of the Illusions world and interplayer messaging happens via disk files. With this in mind, Illusions performs much better when disk access is optimized. Perhaps the best way to speed up Illusions (and your entire system for that matter) is to run a disk caching program such as SMARTDRV. Consult your operating system manual for information on installation of a disk caching program. If you do not want to run disk caching, yet have enough available memory to set up a ramdrive, Illusions can be instructed to use its messaging information via a ramdrive. To set up a ramdrive, follow the instructions contained within your operating system manual on establishing a ramdrive. To compute the required size for your ramdrive, use the following formula: Maximum # of users in Illusions * 6000 bytes = ramdrive size For example, if at most 5 people will ever be playing Illusions, then your required ramdrive size would be 30k. Once the ramdrive has been created, you will need to copy the message database files to the ramdrive. These files will need to be copied EVERYTIME your ramdrive is created, which is usually when your computer boots up. With this is mind, you may want to create a batch file that automatically creates your ramdrive and copies the message files. The name of the files to copy are "MESSAGES.DBF" and "GAMEMAIL.DBF", and they can be found in your Illusions working directory. The first time Illusions is run with the message database on the ramdrive, an index file called "MESSAGES.NDX" will be automatically generated. Finally, you need to tell Illusions about your ramdrive by adding a $MSGDIR string to the opt data when you call Illusions. For instance, if your ramdrive is the E:\ drive on your system, the following menu entry would call Illusions with messaging stored on the ramdrive E:\ : Entry: I -> Illusions 1.3 PRIV=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3 = -------- A4=-------- IBM=- ANS=X KEY=I TYPE 200 OPT DATA=C:\TBBS\ILLUSION\ILLUSION $MSGDIR=E:\ /Q Note that there should be NO spaces surrounding the equal sign in the $MSGDRIVE switch. If you are installing multiple copies of Illusions on your system and want them all to use a ramdrive for messaging, you will need to create separate subdirectories on your ramdrive and call Illusions with a different ramdrive subdirectory for each instance of the game. Here are some examples: Entry: I -> Illusions 1.3 the standard world PRIV=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3 = -------- A4=-------- IBM=- ANS=X KEY=I TYPE 200 OPT DATA=C:\TBBS\ILLUSION\ILLUSION $MSGDIR=E:\G1 /Q Entry: J -> Illusions 1.3 the new improved dungeon PRIV=0 A1=-------- A2=-------- A3 = -------- A4=-------- IBM=- ANS=X KEY=I TYPE 200 OPT DATA=C:\TBBS\ILLUSION\ILLUSION $MSGDIR=E:\G2 /Q To check the status of your ramdrive while playing Illusions, type the %RAMDRIVE command. SYSOP COMMANDS ----------------------------------------------------------- As sysop, you have access to a variety of commands that other players cannot use (unless you specifically gave them access). In addition, you automatically have access to all the demigod commands for world modification (see the DEMIGOD instruction manual for information on those commands). Here are the additional sysop commands. These are available to all users with a TBBS privilege of 255: %GHOST - runs the Illusions 1.3 ghost event. This can be safely run while other players are in the game. If you wish to age out players who have not player for a while, supply an a "$" argument to the %GHOST command. For instance: %GHOST $90 will age out all players who have not played with 3 months (90 days). This same argument can be supplied on the menu SDL command to automatically age out players each time the ghost is run. %RAMDRIVE - displays if a ramdrive is being used, and if so, its location and free storage. VERSION - actually, everyone has access to this command. For everyone (including yourself), it displays the current version number of your Illusion software. For sysops, it displays additional information that can aid our technical support staff when tracking down problems. %EDITPLAYER - allows you to modify any player (including yourself). All aspects of a character can be modified with this command, including gold, experience, spell points, etc. This command is initially available only to sysops, but via %EDITPLAYER, sysops can give other players demigod ability. An Illusions privilege level of 500 (described below), allows access to the %EDITPLAYER command (but not the sysop commands listed above). ILLUSIONS PRIVILEGE LEVEL ------------------------------------------------- Every character in Illusions has a privilege level. This privilege level is NOT the same as the TBBS privilege level contained with the userlog. Any character created by a sysop (a user with a TBBS privilege of 255), is automatically assigned an Illusions privilege of 500. This 500 privilege level allows access to all demigod commands including a special version of %EDITPLAYER. All other characters are assigned a privilege of zero, which gives them no access any demigod commands. If you choose to, you can grant a player demigod ability by using %EDITPLAYER to modify their privilege level. Below is a list of the various privilege levels along with the demigod commands allowed by each level: 0 Standard player, cannot make or edit anything, cannot teleport, etc. 100 %TELEPORT, %E 200 %SUMMON 300 All %CREATE and %EDIT commands (can only edit there own creations). Access to %EDITPLAYER does not include privilege modification. 500 Can edit anything, including privilege levels. Also contained within your Illusions subdirectory is a demigod instruction manual, called "demigod.txt". This demigod instruction manual can automatically be displayed with the %DEMIGOD command, and is available to anyone with a privilege level greater than zero. Make sure anyone that you give demigod abilities to fully READS and UNDERSTANDS this manual, as they could quickly clutter your world with useless entities by misusing their power. As a final note, grant demigod abilities carefully. In general, the worlds and realms supplied with Illusions or option modules (the Quests from Ron Dias for instance) are complete worlds that need little if any modification. By granting demigod abilities, you allow players the ability to corrupt the integrity (even inadvertently) of the world. DATABASE PACKER ---------------------------------------------------------- From time to time, the Illusions databases may need to be packed. Included in your Illusions package is an executable file called "PACKER". Simply run this executable from within your Illusions directory and the databases will be packed. Note that the index files are deleted in the process, so they will automatically be rebuilt the next time a player enters the game. DO NOT RUN THE PACKER WHILE ANYONE IS IN ILLUSIONS!!! If you do this, serious database corruption will likely result. END OF FILE HITS AND INDEX CORRUPTION ------------------------------------- If, in the event of a power failure or system crash, the index files for Illusions become corrupted, simply delete all of the index files within the Illusions directory and they will be automatically rebuilt next time a player enters the game. You can tell an index file has been corrupted when Illusions issues an "end-of-file hit" error message. All of the index files end with the ".ndx" extension, so simply enter the Illusions directory and type "erase *.ndx". Note that the game will be inoperable until a sysop enters it, which will trigger Illusions to rebuild the index files. BUG REPORT ---------------------------------------------------------------- While all effort has been made to make Illusions as robust and solid as possible, bugs are still inevitable. Please report all bugs to either your local Illusions distributor or at the number shown below. When reporting bugs, please supply the COMPLETE error display and if possible, a screen capture of the events that led up to the error. Currently, there are two known bugs in Illusions. Both will result in the player being sent back to the Illusions calling menu, but other than that are completely harmless to the player and the world. If you or your players come across these error messages, PLEASE be aware the we are attempting to fix them. Known Errors: RECORD-IN-USE : this error usually appears when there are 8+ players in Illusions and interplayer messaging is happening. FIRPOOL : this appears sporadically and is a system resource issue. REGISTRATION AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT ---------------------------------------- For technical support please contact FUNN San Diego at the following phone numbers: FUNN San Diego: 2400 baud USA (619) 549-3866, MNP5-v.42 Bis 14.4k USA (619) 549-3879, MNP10-v.42/.32 Bis Or contact GW Associates: Voice (508) 429-6227 BBS (508) 429-8385