ProfitPress Mega CDROM2 Shareware Freeware (MSDOS)(1992)(Eng)

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Text File | 1991-03-15 | 13.4 KB | 317 lines

╓──────────────────────────────╥───────────────────────────────────────────╖ ║ ╦══╔═╗╗ ╗╗ ═╦═╗╗ ╔═╗╗ ╔ ║ HysteriaWare Product - by Brian Tardiff ║ ║ ╠═ ║ ║║ ║║ ║ ║║ ╠═╣║ ║ ║ The MASS Hysteria BBS - FidoNet 1:324/174 ║ ║ ║ ║ ║║║║║ ╠═╝║ ║ ║╚╦╝ ║ Line #1: (508)465-3198 - 300/9600 HST ║ ║ ╩ ╚═╝╚╩╝╚═╝ ╝ ╚═╝╝ ╝ ╩ ║ Line #2: (508)462-1565 - 300/2400 Bps ║ ╙──────────────────────────────╨───────────────────────────────────────────╜ ╓────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╖ ║ Version 1.00 : Released on March 15, 1991 by HysteriaWare Software ║ ╙────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╜ ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ╓───────────────────────────╖ ║ Introduction to Fowl Play ║ ╙───────────────────────────╜ Thank you for your interest in The Fowl Play Door. Fowl Play was designed to bring some extra excitement to the typical RemoteAccess Bulletin Board System. Fowl Play works off the concept of the duck pond games that are seen at fairs and amusement parks. A person pays some money (usually $1.00) for a chance to grab one of the plastic ducks from the water. The duck has a number written under it and the person wins the prize that corresponds with that number. So, with that in mind, here is what Fowl Play does. A user pays a certain amount of system time for a chance to grab a duck. Then the door matches the number on that duck with the prize board and the user will receive that prize. The prizes are System Time, Upload Credit and Message Post Credit. Now that you have the main idea of this game, here are some specifics on the Fowl Play Package: ■ Great ANSI Graphics! Users without Ansi Graphics ON are returned to the system. (Sorry, no Avatar Support) ■ 100 Fully Configurable Ducks ■ Fowl Play comes with FPCONFIG, a prize configuration and registration program. The program allows you to edit all 100 ducks. ■ Each user is allowed one play per day ■ Last 5 Winners Function ■ Throw Out/Force Duck # to Win Functions (See SysOp Commands) ■ Not allowing 'certain users' to play the game (See NOPLAY.CTL) ■ Non-Ansi users are sent back to the system ■ Complete Fossil Driver Communication Support ■ Carrier Detect and Keyboard Time-Out Protection ╓─────────────────────────╖ ║ Fowl Play Archive Files ║ ╙─────────────────────────╜ The following files should be found in the FOWL100.ZIP file: FOWLPLAY.EXE .................. Actual Door Program FPCONFIG.EXE .................. Prize Config/Reg Program FOWLPLAY.DOC .................. Fowl Play Documentation FOWLPLAY.CFG .................. Door setup Config File FPSINGLE.BAT .................. Example Single Node .BAT File FPMULTI.BAT .................. Example Multi Node .BAT File The following files will be created by the Fowl Play Programs: FOWLPLAY.PRI .................. Prize Configuration File FOWLPLAY.WIN .................. Last 5 Winners Data FOWLPLAY.DAT .................. Once Per Day Play Data ╓──────────────────────╖ ║ Installing Fowl Play ║ ╙──────────────────────╜ There are THREE parts to setting up this door. Two parts are essential to door operation and the third will probably determine how much your users like this door. The installation part of this documentation has been broken up into four headings. The first two involve the actual door setup (for Single and Multi-Node Systems) and the second two deal with configuring the door to suit your desires. ╓────────────────────────────────────╖ ║ Installing to a Single-Node System ║ ╙────────────────────────────────────╜ You have two options of setup with a Single-Node System. Option #1 - Install to Main BBS Directory: 1) Copy all Fowl Play files into your main BBS directory. (ie: C:\RA) 2) Simply run FOWLPLAY.EXE (with NO parameters) using a Type 7 exit from RemoteAccess. Option #2 - Install to another directory: 1) Copy all Fowl Play files into a separate directory (ie: C:\DOORS\FOWL) 2) Using a Type 7 Exit from RemoteAccess execute a batch file such as the included FPSINGLE.BAT. You must tell Fowl Play where it can find files such as DORINFO1.DEF and EXITINFO.BBS. The syntax is: syntax: FOWLPLAY.EXE [Path to Files] ie: FOWLPLAY.EXE C:\RA See FPSINGLE.BAT for example of changing directories and running the Fowl Play Program. ╓───────────────────────────────────╖ ║ Installing to a Multi-Node System ║ ╙───────────────────────────────────╜ Setting Fowl Play up for a Multi-Node System is easy if you follow these directions. To run Fowl Play in Multi-Node mode you must install SHARE.EXE that comes with your MS-DOS package. For more information on SHARE, see your DOS manual. So that there is no confusion, these directions will be as detailed as possible. Please follow these step by step. 1) Create a seperate directory on your system and copy all the Fowl Play files into that directory. (ie: C:\DOORS\FOWL) Now for the actual system installation. The example batch file FPMULTI.BAT will be the file referred to in these steps. You may rename this batch file to suit your needs. 2) Create a Type 7 menu entry with the following info: ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1 2 3 4 5 6 123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901 [^F^] Fowl Play COMMAND.COM /C FPMULTI.BAT *N ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── The optional data is what is important here. The COMMAND.COM /C FPMULTI.BAT simply calls the batch file. Make sure the batch file that runs Fowl Play is placed in a pathed directory so RA can easily locate it. The *N tells FPMULTI.BAT which node number the program is being executed for. The number passed by *N becomes the %1 in the batch file. 3) Modify the batch file to suit your needs. In this setup, Fowl Play needs to know where to find files such as DORINFO1.DEF and EXITINFO.BBS. The syntax is: syntax: FOWLPLAY.EXE [Path to Files] ie: FOWLPLAY.EXE C:\RA\LINE%1 The %1 represents the node number passed by the *N from RemoteAccess. In this example, if the nodenumber was 1, Fowl Play would look for the files in the directory C:\RA\LINE1. For more help on this, see the example batch file FPMULTI.BAT. ╓──────────────╖ ║ FOWLPLAY.CFG ║ ╙──────────────╜ This file contains half the setup of Fowl Play. You must edit this file with a text editor. The format is as follows: Example: ════════════════════ Line 1: Name of your Bulletin Board The MASS Hysteria BBS Line 2: Cost of a Duck (In Minutes) 15 Line 3: Value of Uploads (In K-Bytes) 20 ■ The Cost of a Duck (Line 2) is the amount of System Time that will be deducted from a user's account when he/she decides to grab a duck for a prize. ■ The Value of Uploads (Line 3) is the amount of K-Bytes each upload a user wins will be worth. For example, if a user wins a duck worth 5 uploads, and this option is set to 20, the user will receive the 5 uploads and 100 K-Bytes Upload Credit (5 Ups * 20 K-Bytes = 100 K-Bytes). That is all for the text configuration. Now configure the prizes, (next section) and you are ready to use Fowl Play. ╓────────────────────────────────╖ ║ FPCONFIG - Prize Configuration ║ ╙────────────────────────────────╜ The FPCONFIG.EXE is the program that configures all 100 of the ducks used by Fowl Play. When the program is first executed, it creates a default prize configuration file. The default prize board that is created is EXTREMELY BORING. *YOU* are the person that must make this game exciting. Go through the ducks and edit them with variety. No user wants to play a game that has 33 System Time Prizes (all set at 15 Minutes), 33 Upload Credit Prizes (all set at 3 Uploads), and 34 Message Post Prizes (all set at 5 Posts). Editing the ducks has been made as simple as possible. When you select "E" from the menu, you will be prompted to enter the number of duck you wish to edit. Then, you may change the type of prize or raise/decrease the value with a few simple keystrokes. Again, I cannot stress the importance of variety. If you are unclear about the prizes, run the FPCONFIG program and keep the default settings. Then, play the actual game to get a feel for the objective of the game. By then, creativity should smack you right in the face. ╓────────────────╖ ║ SysOp Commands ║ ╙────────────────╜ There are two commands available to the SysOp while a user is playing Fowl Play. They are: ■ F6 Key: Throw Out User - Returns the user to the system. ■ F7 Key: Force Duck Num - This option allows you to pick the number of duck the user will win. The option is available any time BEFORE the ducks actually start to rotate. ╓────────────╖ ║ NOPLAY.CTL ║ ╙────────────╜ For whatever reason, certain users may be shut off from playing Fowl Play. Simply create a text file called NOPLAY.CTL and add the user's name to that file. If Fowl Play matches the current user with a name in the file, the following will occur: ■ The user's name will appear in RED (instead of yellow) on the bottom status bar. ■ The user will be allowed to use all game functions except for the "Pick a Duck" feature. Note: All names must be matched exactly. The first letter of the first and last names must be capatilized and the reset lower case. ie: "JOHN USER" would be allowed to play the game "John User" would NOT be allowed to play the game ╓───────────────────────╖ ║ Registering Fowl Play ║ ╙───────────────────────╜ This program is in NO way 'Cripple Ware' and the only thing that is different about your version is the subtle notice that states that the door is un-registered. It irritates me when authors of slightly significant programs literally DEMAND outrageously high registration fees. Personally, I think you should do what you feel is right. If you feel I deserve a registration check from you, then I would appreciate it if you would register the door. There are many registration options to obtain a Fowl Play KEY, starting with the very fair price of $6.00. For your convenience, FPCONFIG will handle all of your questions about registering. Using the answers you give, the program will output a registration form to a text file OR your printer. All you have to do is mail it along with your check. It couldn't be simpler! Finally, if you are the author of a program that requires users to register, send me netmail. We can probably work out a trade. This benefits both of us! ╓────────────╖ ║ DISCLAIMER ║ ╙────────────╜ Since no one really cares, but I have to do it, this section has been placed at the END of this document. Fowl Play may be distributed freely as long as no changes are made to the executables or documentaion and no fee is charged for the distribution of it. The MASS Hysteria BBS or myself will not be responsible in any way for any damage or aggravation this program could potentially cause. The door has been beta tested for over one month on RemoteAccess v1.00+ without any problems. However, if problems do occur, I will gladly help you fix them but not take responsibility. ==========================[ End of File ]===============================