HPAVC

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ HPAVC / HPAVC CD-ROM.iso / pc / LORD2B6.ZIP / SYSOP.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1997-05-16 | 16.7 KB | 435 lines

*** SPECIAL BETA NOTE *** This is beta 6 (.80) By unzipping this you have become an official RTSoft beta tester!!! Your duties are as follows: * Test the game * Give us constructive comments and bug reports * Do not get angry when it doesn't work * Be patient and loving * Understand that the game is not finished and the docs may lie a little bit * Hit the web site at least every week to pickup new beta versions * If you have time, help me think up new quests, you could even send me .REF files for houses you've made, etc * Make addons for it not related to LORD2, for instance, a trivia door using the LORD2 engine, it wouldn't even need to use the 'walking around' part of it. (again, if you have nothing better to do) The bad news: You don't get a free registration for beta testing. But you could still earn one by being a GREAT beta tester!! <G> The good news: I'm keeping it at the low price of $15, and with your help, I wanna make it well worth it. These docs are not finished. Hell, nothing is finished. I am accepting registrations for it now - it is drastically crippled right now, and registering will open another two hundred fifty or so screens to explore, even more to come. I hope to make the unregistered portion bigger later, but it is VERY difficult to do, because most of the quests are interwoven between various towns and such - Stonebrook is the only town that kind of operates on its own... The page: www.rtsoft.com My email: sethable@rtsoft.com **** NOW BACK TO THE NORMAL DOCS ****** │ █▀█ │ ░▓░ │ ▒▒▒ egend │ ▓░▓ ▄▄▄ │ █▄█▄█▄█ │ │ █▀█▀█▀█ │ ░▓░ ░▓░ │ ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ │ ▓░▓ ▓░▓ │ █▄█▄█▄█ │ │ █▀█▀█▀▄ │LORD 2 (Legend of the Red Dragon) is a multi-player battle game ░▓░ ░▓░ │ created for Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). ▒▒▒▀▀▒▄ ed │ ▓░▓ ▓░▓ │ (c) Copyright 1997: Robinson Technologies, Inc. █▄█ █▄█ │ All rights reserved. │ █▀█▀▀█▄ │ Written By: Seth Able Robinson ░▓░ ░▓░ │ ▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ragon │ ▓░▓ ▓░▓ │ Seth A. Robinson █▄█▄▄█▀ II │ 761 E St │ Independence, OR 97351 New World │ │ The Darkside BBS V0.78 │ (503) 838-6171 │ Beta 4. │ │ WWW: www.rtsoft.com │ Email: sethable@rtsoft.com │ │ This archive may be shared with all, in its unmodified │ shareware format. │ │ │ │ TEXT FILES INCLUDED: │ │ REGISTER.DOC <- Info on buying this product │ REFHELP.DOC <- Info on the .REF scripting language │ SYSOP.DOC <- Setting it up and general info │ 3RDPARTY.DOC <- Tips and help and the structures │ LORDAD.ANS <- Ansi ad for your BBS if you want it │ │ │ ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Index ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Part 1 -=-=- Introduction and description Part 2 -=-=- Setup locally or with a BBS Part 3 -=-=- Common Questions & Answers Part 4 -=-=- Acknowledgements ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Introduction ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Most of you know what LORD is - a BBS door over 8 years old I originally wrote on a Commodore Amiga. It was funny and strange and did very well. This is the sequel - some will be suprised to find it plays completly different, although it contains many of the same characters. Here is why: The entire game runs under a nifty engine - this gaming engine is what is special - it allows people run walk around in the same world. It uses clock based timing to communicate by HD through tiny, tiny files. For instance, the locations of all players are in one tiny file. This tiny file is read and written very quickly using advanced file locking techniques. It is recommended you use a disk cache such as Smartdrv.exe or things will run entirely too slow. The engine is smart enough to NOT draw every single movement other players are making - if a player is moving quickly, it will still draw him at the same rate, making the game playable, even at 2400 baud. And of course, the engine will not redraw players unless they have moved. You can CHANGE how quicky it 'polls' the HD from the Game Options in L2CFG.EXE. (100 is one second, which is standard. Set to 50 to poll twice as fast, player movement will be more acurate, but require more computer muscle) Features: * It's an ANSI graphical MUD * It gives a new meaning to the word multi-player * People can SEE other people moving around the map in realtime * People can travel in packs, follow each other around, show people hidden stuff, etc * Players can pickup/buy/sell and use items * Smart data recovery after dropped carriers and even lockups. * Swear checking * Players can GIVE items/money to other players offline or online * NPC's can travel with you (sort of), and you can talk to them * It is possible to do things like buy a castle or hold and live in it! * A huge and interesting world filled with lots of story and uniqueness * Sort of sick and twisted * Regular and adventure mode (unlimited lives, no turn limits) * Unlimited worlds and quests can be added, either by you or you can download other peoples work * Only $15 to register Features creative people with time would be interested in: * Complete easy to use map editor, up to 2 million locations * LORD II's innards are completely built with the the .REF system, this means you can edit them in any way you want * The RTREADER .REF system has had a major overhaul and is inside the engine * Item editor * Add as many quests and characters as you want * EVERYTHING can be changed, even the player ranking format or stat screen * You can distribute your own 'world' to other LORD II users * You could make your own addon pack that is a different game completely Registered features: Until you register, you can only access a very tiny portion of the game. (this file contains the registered version too, you can unlock it by purchasing a registration code - in minutes over the phone even!) * Can use 99 items instead of 20 * Access to to other 95 percent of the world which includes: * Can access the world editor * Too much to list, over 250 new screens! * Port Town * The City Of Greentree * The Red Dragon Inn * Flagcity * The Lodge * Ice Caves * Dark Forest * Players can raise their levels * Sleep at different Inns safely.. most of them are safe anyway * Purchase castles and live in them, with real friends if you want * Travel to distant lands * All future upgrades to DOS LORD2: New World will be FREE for you * You will be able to run all other LORD2 engine based games and .ref files without worrying if they used screens outside of the unregistered scope * Everyone will be mailed a hardcopy with their code on it for safe keeping ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Setup ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ *****NOTE: To change rule settings for LORD2, you must edit the RULES.REF file with a text editor. (to change how many turns per day, etc) Ok - First you will want to know what the game looks like and if it works. Here is how to play it locally: From DOS type: LORD2 That is it. It will give you the name of SYSOP automatically. To test it out multinode locally under Win95, DV or OS/2: Open a window and run "LORD2", get into the game. Open ANOTHER window and run "LORD2 /L", this will prompt you for your name. (allowing you to make a new character) Once in the game, you should see the second character pop up on the first guys screen. You are now enjoying truly multinode movement! It is possible to play a game with friends over a LAN, as long as everyone can play from the same guys drive, it will work. To set it up for your BBS: Well, if you've every set up LORD or Planets: TEOS, this will be a breeze! The setup is identical. STEP 1: Run L2CFG.EXE. Choose the (S)etup nodes option. There is an option to copy the settings from LORD or TEOS if you already have those installed. STEP 2: Edit the LORD2.BAT file. At the top, change the cd statements to reflect where the LORD2 files are located. (we want to move to the LORD2 dir before running the game) STEP 3: Have you BBS run: CALL LORD2 <node number> (ie: "CALL LORD2 1" for node 1) For multiplayer interaction to work properly, make sure each player is on a DIFFERENT node #. (Don't do "call lord2 1" for all nodes) ***** How to trouble shoot a problem ****** When LORD2 starts, it shows the comport, fossil driver info etc - if you hit Pause right when LORD2 starts, you can make it stop so you can compare it to your system and make sure LORD2's setup is correct. (it doesn't show this screen remotely) ***** About the CALL statement ***** If you run it like this: CALL LORD2 And forget the 1 as a parm, it will run as node 0 which is by default, locally. So if it keeps coming up in local move, this is probably why. If you run it like this: LORD2 1 And after LORD2 is played and the user quits, it stops at a DOS prompt, this is because you need word CALL in front. This will allow it to be called from a batch file and RETURN when it is done. ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Common Questions & Answers ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Q: What is the RULES.REF file for? A: This is VERY important - if you wish to see what settings can be changed in LORD 2, edit this file. It's self explanatory but we'll go over it anyway. Q: What is adventure mode? A: It means your callers can CONTINUE to play after they are 'killed'. (instead of having to wait until the next day) Edit the RULES.REF file, you will see where to change the 0 to 1 to activate this mode. Q: What are 'turns per day'? A: Changing this lets you set how many 'movements' a person can do a day. We've defaulted it to 3000. 6000 would mean they can play twice as long. Setting it to 0 means NO LIMITS at all. Q: I've been playing locally and I want it to be the 'next day' and I am tired of changing the date! A: Heh, ok.. Add /MAINT to the command line when you play, it will cause it to advance a day. Q: I tried to play and it said "Someone is attacking you/giving you an item, try again later." but no one is?? What's up!??! A: On rare occasions LORD2 will make a mistake due to a crash or runtime error - it will automatically fix this 60 minutes from when it happened, just wait until then. Or run ALLOFF.EXE, this will tell LORD no one is logged on, therby fixing the problem. Q: I noticed Swear Patrol is on. But I love swearing!! How can I turn it off? A: Easy.. Same as LORD. Delete the BADWORDS.DAT file or edit it to your liking. Q: How come I don't see an intro screen when I play with an (E)nter the realm option like LORD and all the LORD clones? A: This isn't a LORD clone. As soon as the door is run, the 'adventure' begins. I'm sorry it's unorthodox, but I kinda like it. If you REALLY need an 'intro screen' you could easily add one - put it in the rules ini, it is run before the game starts. Q: I know LORD2 is incredible in how it can allow you to see other real people moving and all, but really, how many people could it support at once? A: Good question. It communicates entirely through a complicated process of file locking, it depends on how fast your HD is, how well it is caches and such. Running over a network will work, although it will slow it down a bit. I have not done many tests, but if things are too slow, like you have 6 people in and it is unplayably slow, then you will want to change the poll rate to 500 for read and write, this way it will only update every 5 seconds, thereby requiring much less disk access. Setting the poll time to something really high effectivly turns off most communication - it will still play multinode fine and fast, but players will not see other players moving around. (But it will keep track of who can attack and such, so it would work ok) Q: I already registered LORD, so I get LORD2 for free, right? A: No. LORD2 is all new code and an all new game. For this reason, I am charging for it seperately, at what I believe is a very fair price! Q: Yeah.. Um, I kinda like LORD2 and wanna buy it, can I buy 2 for $20 like with LORD? A: No. No volume discounts are available. (sorry!) Q: You make a lot of sexual allusions to goats. Why? A: Goats are people too. ;> Q: Why the hell are you still making ansi games? Why not internet winsock compliant client/terminal games? A: I'm a loser! Nah, I really like BBS's and the thought of local people getting together to game in the same world. Remember - the most important part of a game isn't the graphics and sound.. it's the game. This is my last contribution to the BBS world!! Q: What is the real story behind New World? A: I promised a game called "New World" a few years ago, I even put an add into LORD for it. At the time, it was half done - it was a futuristic game that let you join a colonizing ship to go to a new world, and eventually Earth is destroyed for some reason and this little colony is all that is left. Alien artifacts are found and sold, you basically walked around and stuff, including flirting with this Natasha chick. BUT: I got bored and quit working on it. I don't know, I got bored and quit working on everything. Two months ago I got an ever so familiar email saying "Where is New World? I saw an add for it years ago!" and I snapped. I said "Gawd damn it!! I better finish this friggin game!!!" so I starting working on it. A week later I renamed it to LORD II: New World. Viola! I got to work with characters I liked in a world I liked and I also got to use the "New World" engine and be true to my promise. I'm probably gonna put up the unfinished New World game up for download sometime in the 'Nostalgia' dir just so people could see what it would have been like... ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Acknowledgements ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ Special thanks to the RTSoft staff: Seth A. Robinson Sean Teal Justin Martin Kurt Kim Greg Smith Pap Dan Oliver And some others: Jesse Barfknecht: Helped to goof off. Chris Navilio: For being an insperation to me - if a guy as old as he is doesn't have a license and can put up with us making fun of him, I can do anything! My family: For everything. And for helping me move into my new house!!! Mulaware; Copyright 1992, ABSoft - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Turbo Pascal is a registered trademark of Borland International Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation OS/2 is a registered trademark of IBM Corporation MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation RIPterm, RIPscrip, RIPaint, the RIPterm logo, TeleGrafix Communications. All other programs are copyright and/or trademarked by their respective author unless otherwise noted.