home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
DP Tool Club 19
/
CD_ASCQ_19_010295.iso
/
vrac
/
inf235.zip
/
INF.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-09-12
|
31KB
|
881 lines
DOCS for VGAP Informer V2.0
-----------------------------
Contents
--------
Hardware Requirements.
Getting started.
An Explanation of the map.
Keys that you can use while on the map.
Available Reports
How to set up message definition file.
Credits.
Shareware blurb.
Hardware Requirements.
----------------------
It requires a VGA card but if you can play planets then you have one,
and a 286 or up (sorry my graphics library's are written that way).
It must be run in the same directory as you run Planets.exe
It accepts a path to a play directory just like all Tims programs
ie: sub directory eg MyGame
Getting started.
----------------
Run the program with or without a path to an unpacked .RST file.
eg inf, or inf game1 - if in a subdirectory.
A list of 11 unused's will appear.
Select one of them and you will be prompted for some information.
A description.
A race.
Mine decay rates .
History.
Pressing the up or down arrows will allow you to change the field that you
are currently editing.
Description.
For the description you can type any text that will help you Identify
the game represented by that "GAME SLOT"
EG. "Joe's Board Game 1"
Race.
The race is so that the program can know which race you are playing
in the "GAME SLOT" you are about to set up.
There must also be an unpacked .RST file for the race you select.
Mine decay rates.
Here you can set up how fast the "HOST" shrinks mine fields.
This is used so the program can represent the current estimated state
of any known mine fields. I say estimated because someone might have
come along and swept it since you last detected it.
The "HOST" default is 5 percent so its my default too.
History.
This field sets up how much history the program will show you.
It always keeps up to 10 turns of changeable information,
for example, a ships x,y position or its wieght, but will only
show you as many as you want to see.
Passcode
This field if set to anything other than 0 will insert the value
into allied information sharing messages. Also incoming allied shared
information will be rejected if it does not contain the same value.
This prevents people sending you false information to spoil you knowledge.
Order sequence.
A three character string that can contain a "F" a "M" and a "D"
if "F" appears then factories are built if possible to the maximum
factories setting.
The same applies for "M"ines and "D"efence. The units will be built
in the order that they appear in the string.
Only those that appear in the string are effected.
Max mines
Max factories
Max defence. (See order sequence)
Sweep range.
From what range can ships sweep minefields. (starts at default host setting)
Once you have set everything up you can Press F10 and if there
is an unpacked .RST file a map similar to the one given by F4
will be displayed.
Now press F1 for further help.
An Explanation of the map.
--------------------------
In the top left hand corner you can see two numbers that change when you
move the mouse. These represent the actual map location pointed to by the
mouse, the first number is the X-coordinate and the second the Y-coordinate.
To the right of that appears the Word "Ship : " wich may or may not have
a ship name next to it.
If there is a name there then it is the nearest "Visible to you" ship
to the mouse cursor. If there is a blank space then there are no ships within
70 light years(ly).
To the right of the ship appears the word "Planet :" and once again
it may or may not have a name next to it. The same applies for the planets
as for the ships.
Underneath the ships appears the word "Bangs :" and acts just as with ships
and planets. This represents explosions reported to you by a your messages.
All three of the above will be written in 1 of four colours.
Red indicates it belongs to the enemy.
Yellow indicates that it belongs to an allied force.
Green indicates that it belongs to you.
Cyan indicates that ownership is undetermined. (Planets only)
Below this data appears a window on to the universe in which you can
see planets, ships, explosions, mine fields, Allied boundaries and more.
Plain white dots represent planets that you have not discovered the ownership
of yet and which may well be unowned.
White dots ringed by a tiny coloured circle indicate a planet whos ownership
is known by you.
Pink is an enemy planet,cyan an allied planet and blue a planet owned by you.
White dots with a coloured square indicate a Starbase whos ownership is known.
The colours are the same as for owned planets.
* ---- NEW -----
White dots with two yellow arc's indicate a planet with some known information
but the planet is unowned by a player race or its player race ownership is
indetermined.
White dots ringed by a small coloured circle indicate a planet being orbited
by a ship.
The colours are green for own ships, yellow for allies and red for the enemy.
Red,Green and Yellow dots represent ships in deep space.
The colour representation is the same as for orbiting ships.
Tainted grey lines leading to red, green or yellow dots show a historically
plotted course for the ship represented by the dot at the end of the line.
Lines are tainted by the colour that represents the ships allegiance.
Dotted tainted grey lines represent the probable course of a ship while
cloaked where two points are known when the ship was not cloaked. The
colour representations are the same as for the solid line.
A blob of grey shows a ship that hit a mine but survived,
a blob of red and yellow shows a ship that exploded.
A dull cyan line shows an allied boundary agreed upon by two races.
A grey to white circle represents a minefield that will cause your own ships
no harm. Ie a field layed by you.
A light yellow circle represents a minefield that represent a threat to your
ships. Ie layed by the enemy.
Either of these two coloured circles may also have small rectangles at north,
east,south and west quadrants this will indicate that the field contains WEB
mines.
Circles around planets in a duller colour than the ring ring around the
planet indicate the strength of the planet if known. The bigger the
circle the stronger the planet.
Support for another utility
---------------------------
I have also included support for Hans-Jocken Kirchhoff's program Worm
that adds a Wormhole feature to planets.
Support here is for version V0.34Beta and if he changes his formula then
my drawing of wormholes will no longer be accurate.
A worm hole will first appear once you have received a message from a scan.
Thereafter you can specify where it comes out in the universe manualy after
you travel through it and determine where your ship came out.
It is drawn as a brown ring with a line joining the other end if the other
end is known.
Keys that you can use while on the map.
---------------------------------------
F1
Will list what each key does.
1). Left mouse button.
If there is a ship name on the top row then details for that
ship will pop up.
Two boxes will appear. One has a list of all ships at the same
position as the one whose name appears on the top row.
This list will also say who owns the ship.
The other box tells you information about the hull of the ship.
Including the hull type, the amount of beams,torps or fighter bays
the hull can be built with, as well as its cargo and fuel capacity.
And then it lists the weight of the ship at the last "HISTORY" turns.
This is useful for spotting where a ship offloads and picks up cargo/fuel.
If a ships weight is not known for a specific turn then three ?'s will be
displayed.
If more than one ship appears in the list then what is displayed in
the second box is the information for the currently highlighted ship.
You can move the highlight with the up and down arrows, or by pointing
to a new ship in the list with mouse and clicking one of the buttons.
* Once a ships hull has been seen by you the program remembers it for
you even if the ship gets out of visible range again.
* Pressing "X" from this list will bring up a distance and fuel consumption
for distance status bar. This red tracking line can be ended by pressing
"X" or "ALT_X". If "ALT_X" is used the ships way point will be changed
to the current mouse position .
(SEE ALT_O).
* Pressing "H" will bring up a waypoint status bar and a ring of 350 ly
in radius. Where the red line crosses the red ring is where the ship
will come out if it Hyperjumps with its waypoint set to same as the
readout. This mode can be ended by pressing "X".
* Pressing "M" from this list will pop up a list of missions. From here
you can change the ships mission. This is usefull for seening the effect
of a mine sweep mission.
(SEE ALT_O)
* The "L" key from the map will bring up an almost identical list to this
except it will include all known ships. Ships that have an "*" on the
left can be found by pressing <ENTER> while selected. The current position
is known.
You cannot use "M" from this method of getting up the list.
2). Right mouse button.
If there is a planet name on the first row then the details for that
planet are brought up in a pop up box. (SEE F5)
If no planet appears on the first row then
If there is a explosion name on the second row then all explosions at
the same location will be displayed in a popup box. The box remains on
screen until you release the mouse button.
Only explosions for the current turn are shown. Ie. The turn number
shown on the second line of information.
This can also be achieved by pressing "B"
3). F5 (function key 5)
If some information is known about a planet from previos ownership,
dark sense, superspy , sensor scan or any other means then all
known information will be displayed in a popup box.
All unknown information will appear as question marks.
The popup will also tell you how old the information is.
4). Number keys from 1 to 7.
This enables you to look back in history.
1 looks at newest information, 2 at one turn back and so on.
5). 'S'
Allows you to search for a planet either by name or planet ID.
Allows you to move your window to the universe to include the
planet being searched for. The mouse cursor points at the planet.
If you enter only a number then the program searches by planet id.
If you enter any other letters or more than 3 characters then the
program attempts to find a match in the planet names table.
A partial name will also work Ie "ull" will locate "Dull Planet".
But note that it finds the first match and stops there so
"Gamma" will find "Gamma 300" and not "Gamma Ti Sid'
Dont worry about getting the case correct. The program will look after
that.
6). 'M'
Brings up a menu that allows you to set some drawing options, edit
the slot header, set allies etc.
7). 'Q'
Allows you to search for resources.
Brings up a search range and a list of all items available on planets.
Once you have pressed F10 all planets that meet at least one of your
requirements that are within the range you specified will get a flashing
ring around them.
Note that a requirement of 0 for any resource means dont include
that resourse in the search.
Also note that if the range is 0 then the entire universe is within range.
8). 'C'
Stops planets located by the above search from flashing. (Clears them)
12). ALT and 'B'
This allows you to set up to 8 lines that will be drawn on the map
to represent boundaries.
You will first be asked to select a boundary number.
You will then be asked to move the mouse to a point in space where
the boundary line must start.
Once you reach the spot press one of the mouse buttons and that will
be the start of the line.
From then on a line will be drawn from that spot to where the mouse
is located. Press a button again and the line will be fixed.
If you like the position then press F10 and the line is permanent.
Note that the Esc key will take you back to the previos step.
There are on screen cues.
13) ALT and "M"
This brings up a minefield calculator.
You can edit up to 4 imaginary fields by supplying torp tech.
and number of torps. Four circles will be drawn where the fields
are placed.
Place the fields by moving the text cursor to the field that says
mouse move. Now move the mouse and the circle will follow it.
14). ALT and 'L'
This allows you to mark up to 10 planets at a time as belonging to
to a specific race.
Select the race at the top and then enter planet id's
Then press F10 to mark the planets.
* You can now also set the planet to unowned.
15). 'R'
This will bring up a list of available reports.
It will also ask you if it should append the new report to a file
called inform.rep or if it should recreate the file.
You can also set the program to tag the planets that make it onto
to report. (tagged planets flash)
The report runs across the screen as well as being written to file.
You can later print the file out to help you manange your empire.
The <ESC> key will abort any report and go back to the map.
Once you have selected the report you are prompted for minimum
criteria relating the specific report.
16). ALT and 'R'
This will allow you to read your 'Filtered' messages.
Just as with planets each message will be displayed but
if the message is used to produce data for informer and the
defininition for the message contains a [DISCARD] keyword this
message reader will not display the message.
This is great for getting rid of all those mine sweep messages
or all those sensor sweep messages. Since this data is now graphicly
displayed they are just annoying to have to read.
If you want, you can get rid of all sorts of messages by defining them
as meteor messages now defunct but still legal for backward
compatability. Eg. The Hissss mission.
17). F4
This is a tax calculator and forcaster.
* This starts out with the current tax rates number of mines and
factories.
Now you can see the effects of building mines and factories, Raising
and lowering taxes and bringing in a terraforming ship to change the
temprature.
Several keys are in operation.
1. Raise colonist tax
2. Lower colonist tax
3. Raise native tax
4. Lower native tax.
M. Build mines.
CTRL_M. Unbuild mines. (To starting point only)
F. Build factories.
CTRL_F. Unbuild factories. (To starting point only)
- Lower temprature.
+ increase temprature.
These changes are hypothetical but if you exit from this calculator
with "F10" instead of "ESC" then tax rates selected are updated.
18). ALT and O
Builds mines factories and defence posts according to some rules
defined in your header as described above.
Also if you have changed any waypoints for ships or ships missions
or planets tax rates these are now commited to file. Note that this
is only available for registered copies.
Available Reports
-----------------
A Neutronium location report (mined) and (in ground)
Reports planets within search range of each starbase that
have the minimum neutronium requirement.
Minerals mentioned below include only moly,trit and dura.
A Mineral location report. (mined) and (in ground) (1 meets requirement)
Reports planets within search range of each starbase that
have one of the minerals that meet the minimum requirement.
A Mineral location report. (mined) and (in ground) (All meets requirement)
Reports planets within search range of each starbase that
have All of its minerals that meet the minimum requirement.
Note. If any of these is set to 0 none of the planets will meet
the requirement.
A Financial report.
Reports planets within search range of each starbase that
have either enough megacredits or enough supplies to meet
minimum requirement.
A Population report
Reports planets within search range of each starbase that
have enough colonists to meet the minimum requirement.
Minimum requirements for each report are prompted for after selecting
the report required.
The <esc> key also now abandons a report.
****************************************************************************
*HOW TO SET UP MESSAGE DEFINITION FILE
****************************************************************************
VGAP Informer has a message definition file; a file with a set of rules on
how to extract data from the messages.
This makes the program very flexible in collecting the information.
If the message layouts change, then just change the definition.
If new messages offer more information then setup a definition to
capture the information.
How the message definition file works.
-------------------------------------
KEYWORDS
--------
NEW The keyword 'NEW' must appear at the beginning of every
message definition.
TYPE The keyword 'TYPE' indicates what information this definition
will supply to the program. Here follows a list of possible
'TYPES'.
OWNMINES Own mine field.
ENEMYMINES Enemy mine field.
OWNWEBMINES Owm web mines.
ENEMYWEBMINES Enemy web mines.
OWNEXPLOSION Own ship has exploded.
ENEMYEXPLOSION Enemy ship explosion.
OWNMINEHIT Own ship hit enemy mine.
ENEMYMINEHIT Enemy ship hit your mine.
METEOR Meteor hit. (not used).
MINEDECAY Mine decay rate.
WEBDECAY Web mine decay rate.
PLANETLIST A list of identified planets.
PLANETS Miscellaneous planet information.
MINERALS To record planet minerals/megacredits
STARBASE Indicates a starbase.
WORMHOLE Locates a wormhole.
ID/IDN These keywords, 'ID' and 'IDN' indicate any text that
will uniquely identify the message type. Up to 4
of these keywords may be used per definition.
XCOORD To extract the x-coordinate of the item defined.
YCOORD To extract the y-coordinate of the item defined.
VALUE The 'VALUE' keywords extract numerical values relating to
VALUE2 the message definition 'TYPE'. eg: number of mines in a
VALUE3 mine field.
VALUE4
VALUE5
NAME Extracts text to use as the name. eg Explosion name.
RANGE A message will be disregarded if a value given in the
message does not fall within the range set in the message
definition.
RACE Extracts the race from the message.
PID Extracts the planet ID from a numerical field.
DISCARD This message will not be readable by Informer's message
read facility.
****************************************************************************
KEYWORD LAYOUT
--------------
Line numbers work as follows. When a possitive number is used it
indicates the line number starting from the top of the message. When
a negative number is used, it indicates the number of lines up from
the last line of the message, with -1 being the last line.
Word numbers work as follows. When a possitive number is used it
indicates the word number from the left hand margin. When a negative
number is used it indicates the word number from the right hand margin
with -1 being the last word on the line.
When you are looking for numeric words all non-numeric words are not
counted.
A semi-colon on any line informs the program to ignore anything else on
the line so that you can explain what the message does for future reference.
[NEW] ; No additional requirements
[TYPE] OWNMINE ; Followed by one of the 'TYPES'
[ID] 2 "USING THE DARK SENSE" ; Followed by a number which
; indicates the line to check
; for the existance of the
; identifying text which must
; be enclosed by double quotes.
[IDN] 2 "WEB" ; Followed by the line number, it
; is opposite to the ID key. The
; text must not appear to qualify
; the message.
[X-COORD] 6 1 ; Followed by the line number and
; numeric field number that gives
; the x-coordinate of an item.
[Y-COORD] 6 2 ; Followed by the line number and
; numeric field number that gives
; the y-coordinate of an item.
[VALUE] 4 3 ; Followed by the line number and
; numeric field number that gives
; a numeric value whose meaning
; depends on the 'TYPE'.
[VALUE2] ; As for [VALUE]
[VALUE3] ; As for [VALUE]
[VALUE4] ; As for [VALUE]
[VALUE5] ; As for [VALUE]
[NAME] 3 1 -1 ; Followed by the line number and
; 2 word numbers, the first indicating
; the start of name, and the second
; indicating the end of name. In this
; case use the whole line.
[RANGE] 6 1 0 20000 ; Followed by the line number,
; the numeric field number, the
; minimum value, and the maximum
; value. Only one per definition.
[RACE] 7 ; Followed by the line number in
; which any of the three race name
; descriptions that the host uses
; will appear.
[PID] 5 3 ; Followed by the line number and
; numeric field number in which the
; planet ID appears.
[DISCARD] ; No additional requirements
****************************************************************************
MESSAGE TYPES AND THEIR REQUIREMENTS
------------------------------------
Each message type requires at least one ID keyword to uniquely identify
a message as one containing information required for this definition.
Each message type listed below is followed by an example.
Each message is evaluated by each definition, so each message may
contain more than one set of information.
In messages where planet ID and Planet Name are given, Using the PLAN-ID
is the prefered method for its speed.
OWNMINES, ENEMYMINES, OWNWEBMINES, ENEMYWEBMINES
------------------------------------------------
Must contain X-COORD, Y-COORD, and VALUE.
[NEW]
[TYPE] OWNMINES ; from msg about us scanning own mines
[ID] 5 "SCANNING OUR MINES" ; this text appears on line 5
[IDN] 8 "WEB" ; line 8 musn't contain the word 'WEB'
[X-COORD] 7 1 ; line 7 word 1 contains the X-Coord
[Y-COORD] 7 2 ; line 7 word 2 contains the Y-Coord
[VALUE] 6 1 ; line 6 word 1 contains no. of mines
OWNEXPLOSION, ENEMYEXPLOSION
----------------------------
Must contain a NAME, X-COORD, and Y-COORD.
[NEW] ; from message to all not involved
[TYPE] ENEMYEXPLOSION ; about an explosion
[ID] 2 "DISTRESS CALL AND EXPLOSION" ; this text appears on line 2
[NAME] 6 1 -1 ; use the whole of line 6 for name
[X-COORD] 4 1 ; line 4 word 1 contains the X-COORD
[Y-COORD] 4 2 ; line 4 word 2 contains the Y-COORD
OWNMINEHIT, ENEMYMINEHIT
------------------------
Must contain X-COORD, Y-COORD and NAME.
[NEW] ;
[TYPE] OWNMINEHIT ; from msg about us hitting their mines
[ID] 4 "HAS STRUCK A MINE" ; this text appears on line 4
[X-COORD] 5 1 ; line 5 word 1 contains the X-COORD
[Y-COORD] 5 2 ; line 5 word 2 contains the Y-COORD
[NAME] 3 1 -1 ; use the whole of line 3 for name
[RANGE] 6 1 0 99 ; line 6 word 1 value must be between
; 0 and 99. With this range set we
; only see ships that survived the mine
; hit
METEOR
------
This is a relic of an old version.
Hint. It could be used to get rid of boring messages, and for that reason
will always be supported.
[NEW]
[TYPE] METEOR
[ID] 4 "HISSSS"
[DISCARD]
MINEDECAY, WEBDECAY
-------------------
Must contain a VALUE.
[NEW]
[TYPE] MINEDECAY ; from host msg with config changes
[ID] -4 "MINE DECAY" ; this text appears in the 4th line
IDN] -4 "WEB" ; from the bottom. This text must not
[VALUE] -4 1 ; word 1 on the 4th line from the bottom
; contains the value
PLANETLIST
----------
Must contain a RACE. All numbers following the TYPE keyword in the
message are taken as planet ID's for the list. This can be used to
send known enemy planets to an Ally too.
[NEW]
[TYPE] PLANETLIST
[ID] 4 "ALLIED PLANETS"
[RACE] 2 ; line 2 of the message.
; NOTE : When you send someone a
; message he gets a TO: line and
; a FROM: line.
PLANETS
-------
Must contain a RACE, and a PLAN-ID or NAME.
Can contain any of the VALUES.
VALUE supplies the temperature,
VALUE2 the number of colonists in clans
VALUE3 the number of mineral mines
VALUE4 the number of factories
VALUE5 the number of defence units
[NEW]
[TYPE] PLANETS ;
[ID] 1 "SENSOR SWEEP" ; line 1 contains this text
[ID] 4 "INDUSTRIAL" ; line 4 contains this text
[RACE] 8 ; line 8 contains the race
[PLAN-ID] 6 1 ; line 6 word 1 contains the planet ID
MINERALS
--------
Must contain a PLAN-ID or NAME.
Can contain all the VALUE keywords and the RACE.
VALUE supplies Neutronium content
VALUE2 supplies Molybedium content
VALUE3 supplies Tritanium content
VALUE4 supplies Duranium content
VALUE5 supplies Megacredits
[NEW]
[TYPE] MINERALS
[ID] 2 "USING THE DARK SENSE" ; line 2 contains this text
[RACE] 4 ; line 4 contains the race
[PLAN-ID] 7 1 ; line 7 word 1 contains the planet ID
[VALUE] 9 1 ; line 9 word 1 contains a value
[VALUE2] 9 2 ; line 9 word 2 contains a value
[VALUE3] 9 3 ; line 9 word 3 contains a value
[VALUE4] 9 4 ; line 9 word 4 contains a value
[VALUE5] 10 1 ; line 9 word 5 contains a value
STARBASE
--------
Must have a RACE and PLAN-ID or NAME.
[NEW]
[TYPE] STARBASE ; dark sense mission
[ID] 2 "USING THE DARK SENSE" ; line 2 contains this text
[ID] 11 "STARBASE" ; line 11 contains the word starbase
[RACE] 4 ; line 4 contains the race
[PLAN-ID] 7 1 ; line 7 word 1 contains the planet ID
WORMHOLE
--------
Must have a X-COORD ,Y-COORD and VALUE.
[NEW] ; From message about a wormhole
[TYPE] WORMHOLE
[ID] 5 "DETECTED A WORMHOLE" ; this text appears on line 5
[X-COORD] 6 1 ; line 6 word 1 contains x coord
[Y-COORD] 6 2 ; line 6 word 2 contains y coord
[VALUE] 11 1 ; line 11 word 1 contains hole size
****************************************************************************
Credits
-------
Program Author.
Sean Martens. (South Africa)
Fidonet 5:7107/9
RSANET (27/20/16)
Snail mail Po.Box 21349,
Heldekruin,
1733,
South Africa
Beta Testers
Mark Symons (Sysop of AECI BBS )
Charles McDonald
Thanks Guys.
Shareware blurb.
----------------
This program is shareware.
If you continue to use this program after 10 days
you should Send R10 or $5 and your full name to me. Sean Martens
Po.Box 21349,
Heldekruin,
1733,
South Africa
Please include your email address if you have one,
Its so much quicker once I get your mail.
If you register INFORMER and AFSIM together, you will receive both
for $9.
You may register INFORMER in a block registration of 5 for $20, being
$4 each.
You may also register INFORMER and AFSIM in a block registration for
$45.
Once you register you will get a special code that you can enter
so the program does not remind you at the end but rather says
registered to ..............
HAVE FUN
