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█▀▀▀█ █▀▀▀█ ▀▀█▀▀ █▀▀▀█ █▀▀▀█ █ █▀▀▀█ █▀▀▀█ █▄▄ █▄▄▄▄ █ █▄▄ █▄▄▄█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █▀▀▀█ █ █ █▄▄▄█ █▄▄▄█ █ █▄▄▄█ █ █▄ █ █ █ █ █ █▀▀▀█ █▀▀▀█ █▀▀▀█ █▀▀▀█ █ █ █▀▀▀█ █▀▀▀█ ▀▀█▀▀ TM █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █▄▄ █▄▄▄▄ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █▄▄▄█ █▄▄▄█ █ █ █▄█▄█ █▄▄▄█ █▄▄▄█ █▄▄▄█ █ █▄ █▀▀ █ █ █▀▀ █▀█ █▀█ █ █▀▀ █▀▀ █ █ █ █▀▄ █▀▀ ▀▀█ ▀█▀ ▀▀█ █ █ █▀▀ ▀▀█ █ ▄ █ █ █ █ █ █▀ ▀▀▀ ▀ ▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ ▀ ▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ ▀ ▀▀▀ ▀▀▀ ▀█▀ Copyright (c) 1990 by Bentley C. Griffith. █▀▀█▀▀▀ All rights reserved worldwide. █ █ ▀█ Esterian Conquest is a Trademark of Griffith █▄▄█▄▄█ International. ▄█▄ Sysop's Guide written by Joel B. Cohen, Ph.D. First Edition, December, 1990. Published by: Griffith International, P.O. Box 530203, Birmingham, AL 35253 ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Using this sysop's guide Background Popularity of this game What makes Esterian Conquest unique Test-drive this software INSTALLING THE PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 System requirements for Esterian Conquest Files on the program diskette Installing Esterian Conquest ESTERIAN CONQUEST SYSOP UTILITY (ECUTIL.EXE) . . . . . . . 6 Running ECUTIL The Main Menu options Message files created by this program ESTERIAN CONQUEST PLAYER INTERFACE (ECGAME.EXE) . . . . . 8 Running ECGAME Sysop options available Message files created by this program ESTERIAN CONQUEST MAINTENANCE PROGRAM (ECMAINT.EXE) . . . 9 Running ECMAINT Command line options available Message files created by this program TROUBLESHOOTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Checklist for complete setup of Esterian Conquest Symptom: The game was restored from a backup and there is a file named ERRORS.TXT in the game-file directory Symptom: The ECGAME program does not take players' orders and there are files ending with ".TOK" in the game directory APPENDIX A. DATA FILES STORED IN THE GAME DIRECTORY BY ESTERIAN CONQUEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 APPENDIX B. FEEDBACK/SUGGESTION SHEET . . . . . . . . . . 15 APPENDIX C. REGISTRATION OF ESTERIAN CONQUEST . . . . . . 16 ESTERIAN CONQUEST ORDER FORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) ============================================================= INTRODUCTION ============================================================= USING THIS SYSOP'S GUIDE: ------------------------------------------------------------- We assume that you are a System Operator (SYSOP) on a Bulletin Board System (BBS). This manual is designed to give you the information needed to run Esterian Conquest on your BBS. We also assume that you are familiar with running your BBS software and installing software on your computer. You may want to refer to your BBS software manual for information on installing a door game. The main purposes of this Sysop's Guide are to: 1. Familiarize the you with Esterian Conquest's features. 2. Provide you with the information needed to install and maintain Esterian Conquest. 3. Serve as a reference for more detailed information. We suggest that you read this entire document, or at least familiarize yourself with it. All information regarding actual game play is contained in the Players' Guide to Esterian Conquest contained in the file called "ECPLAYER.DOC" on the program disk. BACKGROUND ------------------------------------------------------------- Esterian Conquest is the brainchild of a relentless gamer who is also an electrical engineer and a professional programmer. Dissatisfied with existing galactic conquest programs, he wrote his own game from scratch. He designed it to realistically simulate the actions of interstellar fleets, planetary production, land-based armies, starbases, and more. He also made it easy for players to issue orders to their empires so their time is spent on strategy rather than struggling with complex commands. The planning of this game alone took three months. During that time, the author consulted many experienced gamers and sysops to find out what they wanted in a stellar strategy game. Then, he locked himself in his office for almost fifteen months and programed the game. Esterian Conquest is the result of thousands of hours of programming, testing, and playing. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 2 POPULARITY OF THIS GAME ------------------------------------------------------------- If your BBS is like most, Esterian Conquest will probably become one of the most requested and used door programs you own. We have seen this happen even when other very popular galactic conquest games were in use at the time this game was introduced. A typical example came from a six-line BBS in Alabama. They had 15 other door games in progress when they put up Esterian Conquest. Their user statistics showed that Esterian Conquest was used more times in just two months than were all other door programs COMBINED for the prior ten months. In fact, the average user was logging onto the system more than twice a day just to play Esterian Conquest. Our goal is to create the best and most used BBS door game in existence. The players' enjoyment of the game is our highest priority and we are willing to do whatever is necessary to enhance their fun. We welcome your comments and suggestions. WHAT MAKES ESTERIAN CONQUEST UNIQUE: ------------------------------------------------------------- The feedback we have gotten from players and sysops has been overwhelmingly positive. The players enjoy the realism of the simulation and the ease of use. Sysops like it because it requires almost no attention and because it is practically foolproof. REALISM. Players issue their orders between maintenances, while game-time is stopped. Esterian Conquest's maintenance program uses a sophisticated simulation to model what would happen in real-time. During a battle, the program actually plays every ship in each fleet simultaneously and tracks the results. Other games use simple formulas or percentages and just "flip a coin". As in a real-life war, fleets, starbases and planets report to their commanders when they've accomplished a mission or when they see something that could be a threat. These reports are verbal and word-wrapped and they add a feeling of "being there" to the game. LOW-MAINTENANCE. The programmer went to great lengths to make Esterian Conquest sysop friendly. It is easy to install and is self-reliant. Simply install the program, initialize one or more player games, and forget about it until you want to re-initialize a game. When the game maintenance program runs, it checks all data files and databases for corruption that can occur during power failure. If the files pass the test, maintenance backs up the game. If maintenance finds one or more corrupted databases, it automatically restores the game from a previous backup. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 3 TROUBLE-FREE OPERATION. Unlike many door-games, Esterian Conquest allows simultaneous multi-node use. The methods of handling input from multiple players (even several players at the same time) work under the most punishing situations. This is a very well behaved program that will run reliably and return to your BBS software correctly when done. Also unlike many door-games, Esterian Conquest takes full responsibility for handling the serial communications hardware and interrupts. Esterian Conquest's door-game program is interrupt driven so it does not miss characters typed by players, nor does Esterian Conquest lock up when a remote player hangs up his modem in the middle of play. If carrier is lost, the program stops, saves the state of the game, restores the state of the machine, and then exits. Thus, you do not need Watch-Dog type programs to guard Esterian Conquest. Esterian Conquest uses as much memory as is available. We recommend turning off the Watch-Dog type programs to allow more memory for the game to run faster. TEST DRIVE THIS SOFTWARE: ------------------------------------------------------------- We are very proud of this game and grateful for the feedback and suggestions we received. We want you to find out for yourself about how popular this game can become with your users. Therefore, we have created this shareware version for you to try on your BBS. The shareware version of Esterian Conquest is identical to the registered version except that in the shareware version, player games will stop running after 30 rounds. When the game reaches this stopping point, you have the option of re-starting a new game or buying a registered version of Esterian Conquest in order to continue the game. Buying the registered version of Esterian Conquest also offers you additional benefits such as: 1. Free minor upgrades and highly discounted major upgrades. 2. Your name and your BBS name appearing at the start of the game. 3. A professionally printed manual containing the full Sysop's Guide and Players Guide. 4. BBS support for general questions. 5. VOICE support for bug information. When we correct program bugs, you will get the bug fix for free. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 4 Please refer to the order form at the end of this manual for information on buying a registered version of Esterian Conquest. We rely on your support for maintaining and improving this game. ============================================================= INSTALLING THE PROGRAM ============================================================= SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR ESTERIAN CONQUEST ------------------------------------------------------------- Esterian Conquest will run on any IBM PC,XT,PS/2, or compatible machine with the following capacities: MS-DOS version 2.11 or later. 512K of internal memory (640K is recommended for larger games involving 25 players). A hard disk with at least 1MB available disk space. PCBoard BBS software versions 14.0 or later (or any other BBS software with a utility that can generate a PCBOARD.SYS doorgame file that is compatible with PCBoard BBS software). FILES ON THE PROGRAM DISKETTE ------------------------------------------------------------- EXECUTABLE FILES. Esterian Conquest consists of three program files: ECUTIL.EXE (Esterian Conquest Sysop Utility) is used by you to initialize player-games, set up the schedule of maintenance, change the status of empires, and modify switches for how the game will run. ECGAME.EXE (The User Interface) allows players to enter their moves, review the status of their empires, and send messages to other players. ECMAINT.EXE (The Maintenance Program) simulates the movements of all the empires and figures out the results. Each of these programs are discussed in their own sections below. DOCUMENTATION FILES. Four documents (ASCII text files) are included with the Esterian Conquest software package. These are: ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 5 ECREADME.DOC: Overview document for setting up the game and information of any last minute changes to the program. ECPLAYER.DOC: Esterian Conquest players' Guide. This file should be made available to your users for downloading. ECQSTART.DOC: Esterian Conquest players' Quick Start document. This file should also be made available for downloading. ECSYSOP.DOC: This sysop's document. INSTALLING ESTERIAN CONQUEST ------------------------------------------------------------- Installing Esterian Conquest is straightforward. Four steps are involved: (1) Copy program files into a directory, (2) Create a door-game batch file to run the Esterian Conquest game when requested by users, (3) Add commands to run the Maintenance Program (ECMAINT) to your BBS daily event batch file, and (4) copy the player documentation files, ECPLAYER.DOC and ECQSTART.DOC to a directory so that players can download these files. COPY THE PROGRAM FILES. Create a directory on your hard disk to hold the program files (We recommend calling it \EC). Copy the three program files (ECUTIL.EXE, ECGAME.EXE, and ECMAINT.EXE) into this directory. Create a separate directory for the game files (call it \GAME01). If you wish to run multiple player games simultaneously, create a separate directory for each game (\GAME01, \GAME02, etc.). DOOR-GAME BATCH FILE. Create a door-game batch file that will run the ECGAME.EXE program. Run ECGAME from inside the directory that stores the player game data files (\GAME01). The command to run ECGAME must be followed by the path which contains the PCBOARD.SYS file. EXAMPLE OF DOOR BATCH COMMANDS: COMMAND: EXPLANATION: ---------------------------------------------------------- C: (switch to drive C:) CD\GAME01 (go to game directory \GAME01) C:\EC\ECGAME C:\PCB (from c:\ec, run ECGAME followed by directory \PCB which contains PCBOARD.SYS) ---------------------------------------------------------- ADD THE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM TO YOUR BBS EVENT BATCH FILE. The maintenance program (ECMAINT.EXE) should be run from the player game data directory. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 6 NOTE: Adding the ECMAINT program to the event batch file will start the game. You should advertise the start of a game and wait several days to allow users to sign up for empires before adding this command to your event batch file. COMMANDS TO ADD TO THE BBS DAILY EVENT BATCH FILE: COMMAND: EXPLANATION: ---------------------------------------------------------- C: (switch to drive C:) CD\GAME01 (go to game directory \GAME01) C:\EC\ECMAINT /R (from c:\ec, run ECMAINT and generate rankings file) COPY RANKINGS.TXT \BULLETINS (copy the player rankings to your bulletins directory) ---------------------------------------------------------- PLAYER DOCUMENTATION FILES. Make the player documentation files (ECPLAYER.DOC, ECQSTART.DOC) available to your users. You may wish to compress these files with programs such as PKZIP. Esterian Conquest is now ready to be initialized. Use the ECUTIL.EXE program to initialize a game (see the section on running the ECUTIL program which follows immediately). ============================================================= ESTERIAN CONQUEST SYSOP UTILITY (ECUTIL.EXE) ============================================================= The ECUTIL program is used to initialize or modify player games and to set configuration switches for the operation of the maintenance program (ECMAINT.EXE) and player interface program (ECGAME.EXE). This program is easy to use. Each screen gives instructions at the top and a menu for selection of options. The function keys pick options and the arrow keys or space bar make choices. The ESC key exits back to a previous menu in the program from anywhere. A list of functions in the program follows. RUNNING ECUTIL ------------------------------------------------------------- Before running the ECUTIL program, change to the directory in which you store the player game data files. EXAMPLE: ---------------------------------------------------------- CD\GAME01 (change to directory \GAME01) C:\EC\ECUTIL (from c:\ec, run ECUTIL) ---------------------------------------------------------- ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 7 There are two times you must use ECUTIL: the very first time you install the game directory and when you initialize (or re-initialize) a game. Otherwise, this utility is needed only for changing defaults. FIRST TIME: From the main menu, choose the SETUP PROGRAM option by pressing the F4 key. This creates system files needed by the other programs. See the section below on how to fill in the information on the screen. INITIALIZING A GAME: From the main menu, choose the INITIALIZE GAME option by pressing the F1 key. This creates a new player game. THE MAIN MENU OPTIONS ------------------------------------------------------------- F1. INITIALIZE A GAME. This starts a new game or restarts a finished game. You can specify the number of players in the game (4,9,16, or 25), reserve game slots for particular users, and decide which days of the week maintenance will occur. It also generates a new galaxy map. F2. MODIFY MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE. This allows you to change the days of the week in which maintenance will occur for a player game in progress. F3. EDIT THE PLAYERS' FILE. There are three options: (1) make an empire unowned, (2) have the computer play an empire, or (3) assign the empire to a player (assign or change player, or change empire name). F4. MODIFY PROGRAM OPTIONS. You can control a number of program parameters through the option keys. A. Auto-purge expired messages or results. This saves disk space used by outdated messages. B. Computer autopilot to run empires of inactive players. Set number of missed moves which causes a player to be considered inactive. When the computer takes control, it emphasizes developing defenses. The player can regain control if he/she logs into the program. C. Snoop ON/OFF. Players' moves will or will not be echoed on the sysop's screen. D. Local User Keyboard Timeout ON/OFF. Local user or sysop will be logged off if no key is pressed after the number of minutes specified in option F below. This does not apply if option F is set to zero. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 8 E. Remote User Keyboard Timeout ON/OFF. Remote user will be logged off if no key is pressed after the number of minutes specified in option F below. This does not apply if option F is set to zero. F. Set time for keyboard timeout. This applies to the Local/Remote Timeout settings in options D & E above. G. Set minimum daily time for each player. Guarantees a minimum amount of time even if they've almost used up their daily time limit on the BBS. Set to zero for no minimum. X. Exit back to the previous menu. MESSAGE FILES CREATED BY THIS PROGRAM ------------------------------------------------------------- ECUTIL generates the file GALAXY.MAP which contains the entire galaxy map for the particular game being played. You may want to make this file available for players to download so that they can chart their forces and planets. ============================================================= ESTERIAN CONQUEST PLAYER INTERFACE (ECGAME.EXE) ============================================================= This is the actual game door which is called when players want to enter their moves or send messages to each other. It allows true simultaneous multi-node use and is well behaved. RUNNING ECGAME ------------------------------------------------------------- ECGAME.EXE is called by a door-game batch file. The path containing the PCBOARD.SYS file should follow the program command. Before running ECGAME.EXE, the batch file should change to the directory containing the player game files. EXAMPLE OF DOOR BATCH COMMANDS: ---------------------------------------------------------- C: (switch to drive C:) CD\GAME01 (change to directory \GAME01) C:\EC\ECGAME C:\PCB (from c:\ec, run the ECGAME game followed by directory \PCB which contains PCBOARD.SYS) ---------------------------------------------------------- SYSOP OPTIONS AVAILABLE ------------------------------------------------------------- The sysop has a few options while ESTERIAN is running. They are the following: ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 9 F2. DISCONNECT USER. Causes the player to be immediately disconnected from the BBS and the door exits "gracefully." F8. FORCE DOOR CLOSED. The program will immediately exit and the player will be returned to the BBS. F10. CHAT WITH PLAYER. Allows you to chat with a player. MESSAGE FILES CREATED BY THIS PROGRAM ------------------------------------------------------------- ECGAME.EXE creates or appends to a file: ERRORS.TXT in case any errors are encountered while the player attempts to run the game. ============================================================= ESTERIAN CONQUEST MAINTENANCE PROGRAM (ECMAINT.EXE) ============================================================= The maintenance program takes all the moves submitted by the players in a turn and determines the results of these moves. It sends result reports to the players to alert them of the outcomes of the moves. It also creates a file called RANKINGS.TXT containing the rankings of all the players as of that turn. The ECMAINT program uses very sophisticated simulations to model the actions of ships, planets, starbases, and armies. For example, during combats, the computer plays out the action of every ship -- calculating the results of firing or being hit -- until there is a winner. Planets increase in production in accordance with particular growth equations that are affected by taxes imposed by the player. Opposing ships and starbases are able to spot each other depending realistically on whether they cross each other's path during their movement for the year. Therefore, the results are quite realistic in accordance with the battle models on which they were designed. RUNNING ECMAINT ------------------------------------------------------------- ECMAINT is called from your BBS daily system event batch file. The calling routine must change to the directory holding the player game data before calling the ECMAINT program. The syntax is: ECMAINT [/B] [/C] [/F] [/I] [/R] [/S=n] [/Y=n] [/?] COMMAND LINE SWITCHES. You can specify a number of switches after the ECMAINT command to alter the operation of the maintenance program. The possible switches are: ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 10 /B - Suppress auto-backup of old game data files /C - Close the present game (makes all unowned empires computer controlled). /F - Check File validity but do not process orders. /I - Ignore Maintenance schedule and run maintenance now. /R - Generate player ranking text file (RANKINGS.TXT) /S=n - Set minimum disk space (n kbytes) needed to run (ECMAINT will abort if available space is lower than this amount). /Y=n - Run maintenance "n" years in a row this time (accelarates game). /? - List possible options. /HELP- List possible options. We recommend that you notify all players in advance of a new game's availability before you put ECMAINT into the daily event batch file. That way, they can sign on and reserve empires before the game starts running. Then, at a specified time, add the ECMAINT program to start the game. You can run ECMAINT with the "/C" option switch after the close of a game if there are any unowned empires you wish to make computer controlled. If you generate a player rankings file (RANKINGS.TXT) by using the "/R" option switch, you can copy the rankings file to a bulletin area so that players can view their progress. EXAMPLE OF COMMANDS TO ADD TO THE BBS EVENT BATCH FILE: ---------------------------------------------------------- C: (switch to drive C:) CD\GAME01 (change to directory \GAME01) C:\EC\ECMAINT /R (from c:\ec, run ECMAINT and generate a ranking file) COPY RANKINGS.TXT \BULLETINS (put player ranking file in your bulletin directory) ---------------------------------------------------------- ECMAINT checks the integrity of the game files to be certain they have not been corrupted. If the files are valid, the program performs the maintenance and backs up the results. Otherwise, the program restores the game from a previous valid backup and notifies the players. MESSAGE FILES CREATED BY THIS PROGRAM ------------------------------------------------------------- ECMAINT.EXE creates or adds to the file: ERRORS.TXT if any errors are encountered while trying to process the moves. ECMAINT also creates the rankings list and puts it into a file called RANKINGS.TXT if you run ECMAINT with the "/R" option switch. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 11 ============================================================= TROUBLESHOOTING ============================================================= We have tested Esterian Conquest very carefully to make it as problem-free as possible. It takes full responsibility for handling telecommunications while it is active and will recover correctly even if the player suddenly disconnects. Generally, the only problems we've encountered with the current version were from incomplete setup of the program, power outtages, system crashes, or hardware difficulties. In almost all cases, the ECMAINT program is able to correct the problem when performs maintenance so you do not usually have to do anything. IF YOU ENCOUNTER ERRORS: In very rare instances you may have to restart a game if ECMAINT cannot restore it. This is especially true if you run ECMAINT with the "/B" option switch so that no backup files are generated. If this ever happens to you, please fill out the form in Appendix B and mail it to us. If possible, please compress the game data files and send that to us as well. We are striving to make this game completely self-sufficient and your help will prevent similar problems from reoccuring with your BBS. CHECKLIST FOR COMPLETE SETUP OF ESTERIAN CONQUEST: ------------------------------------------------------------- If Esterian Conquest does not run correctly on your BBS, first check that you have installed it completely. We encourage you to re-read the installation section of this manual. Here is a list of what should exist on your system: DIRECTORIES: ----------- There are no required directory names for running Esterian Conquest. If you will only have one game running on your BBS, you can put both game files and program files in the same directory. However, if there is a chance you will run more than one game simultaneously, you should keep the program files in one directory and reserve a separate directory for each game file. For the examples in this manual, we have used the following names: \EC - holds the programs: ECGAME, ECUTIL, ECMAINT. \GAME01 - holds the game files created by ECUTIL. A list of these files is in Appendix A. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 12 BATCH FILES: ----------- DOORGAME batch file which first goes to the \GAME01 directory and then calls ECGAME followed by the directory which holds the user's PCBOARD.SYS file. EVENT-BATCH: the daily event batch should call the ECMAINT program from within the \GAME01 directory. You should call ECMAINT every day even if maintenance is not scheduled to run that day. The ECMAINT program is smart and will only run on scheduled maintenance days. SOFTWARE SETUP: -------------- ECUTIL must be used from within the games file directory (\GAME01) for two purposes: FIRST-TIME setup (the F4 option) to initialize general defaults, and then the GAME INITIALIZATION option (F1) to create or initialize the game data files (see Appendix A). SYMPTOM: THE GAME WAS RESTORED FROM A BACKUP AND THERE IS A FILE NAMED ERRORS.TXT IN THE GAME-FILE DIRECTORY: ------------------------------------------------------------- CAUSE: Any corruptions or data problems encountered by either ECGAME or ECMAINT will be reported in a file called ERRORS.TXT. When errors in the data file are detected, the ECGAME program will not take any more orders, and the ECMAINT program will restore the game from the previously backed-up position which should be valid. The ERRORS.TXT file is there mainly for your benefit so you will know why a previous backup of the game data has been restored. CURE: Normally, the ECMAINT program restores the game from the previous backup and play continues from there. If, for some reason, the ECMAINT program is unable to restore a game from a backup, you can restart a game using the ECUTIL program. SYMPTOM: THE ECGAME PROGRAM DOES NOT TAKE PLAYERS' ORDERS AND THERE ARE FILES ENDING WITH ".TOK" IN THE GAME DIRECTORY ------------------------------------------------------------- CAUSE: Esterian Conquest uses token files (files ending with ".TOK") to control which user has access to the game data files at any given time. This prevents conflicts in which more than one node on a multi-node BBS tries to modify the game files at the same time. Normally, no node holds ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 13 control of a data file for more than a second or two, so there is usually no noticeable delay to the players when they enter their moves. However, if a system crash were to occur during an access, it is possible that a token file will remain in the directory which will "lock out" any other player from entering or accessing the game. CURE: The ECMAINT program removes all token files when it runs and therefore clears the game to continue. If, for some reason, the ECMAINT program is unable to restore the game, you can restart a game using the ECUTIL program. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 14 ============================================================= APPENDIX A. DATA FILES STORED IN THE GAME DIRECTORY BY ESTERIAN CONQUEST ============================================================= ECUTIL creates the following data files when it initializes a game: BASES.DAT - information on all starbases. EMPIRES.DAT - data of all empires. FLEETS.DAT - status and composition of all fleets. IPBMS.DAT - a database reserved for future versions of Esterian Conquest. PLANETS.DAT - the position, ownership, defenses, and production for all planets, MESSAGES.DAT - a database containing inter-player messages, RESULTS.DAT - a database containing combat & fleet mission reports, CONQUEST.DAT - a data file containing general game information, and GALAXY.MAP - an ASCII-text map of the entire generated galaxy for the current game. All the above files except "GALAXY.MAP", are used by Esterian Conquest during the course of the game and must reside in the game's directory. The "GALAXY.MAP" file is created for the purpose of downloading by the players. Any files ending with ".SAV" are the backed up versions of the corresponding ".DAT" files. TEMPORARY FILES ------------------------------------------------------------- ECGAME and ECMAINT use temporary files. Temporary files are either token files (with a ".Tok" suffix) or work files (with a ".Tmp" suffix). ECMAINT generates and uses the temporary work files as storage areas while performing maintenance. Token files are used to implement the simultaneous multi- node feature of Esterian Conquest. The presence of a token file tells all other nodes that a particular data file is reserved by the node currently using it. Before a node uses a data file, it checks for the existence of the corresponding token file. If no token file exists, the node creates one to reserve the data file for itself. When done, the node deletes the token file. A node will wait up to 30 seconds for an existing token file to be deleted. A typical wait is less than one or two seconds. If the token file does not go away after 30 seconds, ECGAME informs the player, closes the door, and adds an error report to the error log file "ERRORS.TXT." This occurs very rarely and is corrected automatically by ECMAINT when it performs maintenance. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 15 ============================================================= APPENDIX B. FEEDBACK/SUGGESTION SHEET ============================================================= Please Mail Suggestions or Comments to: ATTN: ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) Griffith International P.O. Box 530203 Birmingham, AL 35253 YOUR NAME: _________________________________________________ STREET...: _________________________________________________ CITY, STATE ZIP: __________________________________________ FEEDBACK/SUGGESTIONS ON ESTERIAN CONQUEST VERSION NUMBER (Appears when you log in): __________________ BBS YOU PLAY ON: ___________________________________________ BBS PHONE NUMBER: (______) ______ - ____________ COMMENTS: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 16 ============================================================= APPENDIX C. REGISTRATION OF ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) ============================================================= You can register your version of ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) for your BBS. Currently ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) runs on any IBM PC,XT,AT,PS/2 or compatible having the following: MS-DOS version 2.11 or later. 512K of internal memory (640K recommended). A hard disk with at least 1 MB free disk space. PCBoard BBS Software versions 14.0 or later (or any other BBS software with a utility that can generate a PCBOARD.SYS doorgame file that is compatible with PCBoard BBS software). ADVANTAGES OF REGISTERING YOUR ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) PROGRAM: ------------------------------------------------------------- A campaign will run for unlimited time (the Shareware version stops each game after 30 rounds). Discounts for minor revisions and upgrades: All minor revisions are free (subject to fee for postage and handling). Upgrades (major revisions) are available for a substantial discount ($15 plus postage and handling). Your name and BBS name will be encrypted into the program and will appear to all who use the game. Registration messages appearing at the beginning of the game are removed. A professionally printed manual containing both the SYSOP's guide and the PLAYER's guide. BBS support for questions. VOICE support for bug information. We correct program bugs and send you the corrected version absolutely free. ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) SYSOP'S GUIDE (TEST DRIVE VERSION) 17 ======================================================================= ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) ORDER FORM ======================================================================= * * * ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE MADE IN U.S. CURRENCY * * * Make checks or money orders payable to: GRIFFITH INTERNATIONAL Send your order to: ATTN: ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) Griffith International P.O. Box 530203 Birmingham, AL 35253 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Check One Description Each Total ----- ------------------------------------- ------ ----------- [ ] ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) on 5.25" disk $35.00 ___________ includes printed manual, full game features, full upgrade privileges and full support policies. [ ] ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) on 3.5" disk $36.00 ___________ includes printed manual, full game features, full upgrade privileges and full support policies. [ ] MAJOR REVISON OF ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) $15.00 ___________ [ ] MINOR REVISION REQUEST FREE -------------------------------------------------------------------- SHIPPING AND HANDLING: Inside U.S. $2.50 ___________ (Required on all orders) Outside U.S. $5.00 ___________ TOTAL ___________ ======================================================================= ENTER SYSOP AND BBS NAME AS YOU WANT THEM TO APPEAR IN THE GAME SCREEN: YOUR NAME: ___________________________________________________________ BBS NAME: ___________________________________________________________ ======================================================================= SHIP TO: NAME: ________________________________________________________ ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ __________________________________ +-------+ | Place | __________________________________ | Stamp | | Here | __________________________________ +-------+ ATTN: ESTERIAN CONQUEST(tm) Griffith International P.O. Box 530203 Birmingham, AL 35253 Place Feedback Form or Order Form inside this page. Fold into thirds. Insert any checks or money orders. Staple on bottom and sides.