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1994-04-29
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** Table of Contents **
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Printing the Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Special Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Software Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Install Sub-menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
The <ESC> key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Shareware version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
DOOM(tm) version 102 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
DOOM(tm) version 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Registered version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Slot Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Game Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
DOOM(tm) version 102 users . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
DOOM(tm) version 101 users . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Patch Edit options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Use Space-Bar toggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Use Hot_Key <ENTER> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Arrows equal <ENTER> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Hot-Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Tics per second ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
<V>ersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
<ESC> Exit to Main menu & save . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
D-Day Internal Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
D-Day basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Slot file management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Save Game Sub-menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
<#> Slot number to save as game file . . . . . . 18
<A> Save all slots as game files . . . . . . . . 18
<D> Delete slot file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Remote player operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
<T>ransfer slots to floppy . . . . . . . . . . . 20
<L>oad all slots from floppy . . . . . . . . . . 23
Load Game Sub-menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Loading Multi-player Games . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 2
Patch Sub-menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
<PG-UP/DN> file # . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
<CTL-D> Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
<D>escription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
<S>earch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
<R>ename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
<E>dit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
<M>ax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
<P>layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
<C>lone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Game Saving/Patching Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Multi-Player floppy test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Loading and saving non-DOOM(tm) WAD file games . . . . . 43
Ordering the registered version of D-Day . . . . . . . . 45
D-Day Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Automating D-Day Operation with Batch files . . . . . . . 47
Status and Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
D-Day Disclaimer / User agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Software license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Network, serial link, and modem games . . . . . . . . 50
Software ownership / distribution . . . . . . . . . . 50
Shareware version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
CD ROM Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Registered version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Modified software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 3
** Introduction **
Please read the license agreement at the end of this document
before installing or running D-Day. For comments or error
reports my Internet mail address is 'jray@castle.com' or
'jray@castle.uu.holonet.com'.
DOOM is a trademark of id Software Inc.
D-Day is a menu driven utility for DOOM(tm) that allows
saving up to 60 single or multi-player games, plus a patch
utility for editing all weapons and attributes for single or
multiple player games. The patch utility features a full screen
editor with a selection of options to customize the editor to
the user's personal preferences.
D-Day started out as a simple game saver written for a friend
to allow him to save more than four games. Over the last few
months it has grown into what you see now.
Although you can use D-Day as the ultimate cheating tool, it
is not specifically designed for this purpose. The original
reason for adding the patch capabilities was to allow players in
multi-player games to have enough ammo, weapons etc. to survive.
In a two player game each player can usually find enough
health and ammo, but in a three player game it gets tougher. In
a four player game you are hitting the space-bar every other
minute. If the players have agreed to leave the game if they are
killed, a game will not last very long. By adding ammo and
health you can usually play a game under these rules for quite a
long time. In other words D-Day allows you to create game
scenarios other than just hitting space-bar when you die.
This manual is written to allow all levels of users to
install and operate the program. So all you power users out
there, have a little patience if the documentation refers to
subjects that seem obvious to you, or if it is a bit redundant
at times.
** Printing the Documentation **
To print the documentation type: PRINT DDAY.DOC <ENTER> at
the DOS prompt. If your printer is connected to a port other
than LPT1: or PRN:, enter the device to print to, otherwise hit
<ENTER>.
** Special Thanks **
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Roger Barrett
for allowing me to use his personal network system for
development and testing of D-Day, and to Tom Burnett for
repeated programming advice.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 4
** Software Installation **
Shareware version:
You must copy D-Day and it's associated files to the drive
and directory where DOOM(tm) and it's related files are located.
Registered version:
If you have the registered version of D-Day you may install
and run it on any drive and directory by simply copying the
files to this location. However, this will require you to move
to the D-Day directory area and back to the DOOM(tm) working
directory every time you want to run D-Day.
Note: In all cases D-Day must be initiated from the drive and
directory where it is located. Commands such as: E:\dday etc.
will bring up the program, but it will look for it's operation
parameter data file at the drive and directory where you are
located when the program is started. This will happen even if
the data file is somewhere in your path. Although you can run
'I' install each time, you would end up with DDAY.DAT files in
every directory you did this from. Tacky! This is the reason we
recommend installing D-Day in the same directory as DOOM(tm).
For now, let's assume you have installed DOOM(tm) on drive D:
in a directory called DOOM. Here are two ways to copy the files
over:
If you are at the DOS prompt and are installing from floppy
drive A:
From any drive or directory:
copy a:*.* d:\doom <ENTER>
From the DOOM(tm) directory on drive D:
copy a:*.* <ENTER>
If you are installing the software from floppy drive B, you
will replace the a:'s in the above examples with b:'s . If you
have installed DOOM(tm) on drive C:, replace the d:\doom with
c:\doom.
Here is one last example:
Let's say you have DOOM(tm) installed on drive E: in the
directory \GAMES\DOOM and you are installing from drive B.
From any drive or directory:
copy b:*.* e:\games\doom <ENTER>
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 5
** Install Sub-menu **
To run D-Day, make sure you are in the directory where D-Day
is located and type: dday <ENTER>. If you are running the
registered version of D-Day, you will be placed at the Install
D-Day menu the first time you run it.
IMPORTANT!
The <ESC> key is one of the most important keys in D-Day. It
is used as a multi-purpose key allowing non-destructive escape
from most procedures. It is used for everything from aborting
incorrect input to skipping entry selections. It is also used to
abort error displays. In cases where D-Day displays an error or
status message it will usually leave the error message displayed
until the <ESC> key is hit. This ensures you won't miss it, and
you won't have to wait for timed error messages to time out.
Shareware version:
In this document we will refer to DOOM(tm) versions 1.1 and
1.2 as versions 101 and 102 respectively since this is the way
they are referenced internally by DOOM(tm).
If you are using the shareware version of D-Day, there is no
installation menu. D-Day will create a game directory for it's
use called GAMES just below the directory where DOOM(tm) is
located for DOOM(tm) version 102, and just above the DOOMDATA
directory on drive C for DOOM(tm) version 101. Although this is
transparent to the user we will illustrate for clarity.
If DOOM(tm) is located on drive D in the DOOM directory, the
directory tree would be as follows.
DOOM(tm) version 102:
D:\DOOM_
\_GAMES
DOOM(tm) version 101:
C:\DOOMDATA_
\_GAMES
The D-Day shareware version will prompt you to enter DOOM(tm)
version 101 or 102 when run. If you are using the shareware
version you may skip the following installation procedures.
Registered version:
There are several attributes regarding the operation of D-Day
that are stored in the DDAY.DAT data file created by the install
routine. You must finish the installation procedure for D-Day to
operate properly on your system. The menu choices are:
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 6
** Install Sub-menu **
<1> Slot Drive - C:
<2> Slot Path -
<3> Game Drive - C:
<4> Game Path -
** Patch Edit options **
<5> Use Space-Bar toggle - N
<6> Use Hot-Key <ENTER> - N
<7> Arrows equal <ENTER> Y
<8> Hot Edit - N
<ALT-9> Tics per second ratio - 1.000000
<V>ersion - 101
<ESC> Exit to Main menu & save
The 'slot drive' and path is where DOOM(tm) stores it's 'slot
files'. These are DOOMSAV0.DSG through DOOMSAV5.DSG for slots 1-
6 respectively. D-Day must know where these are in order to save
and load them as 'game files'. This must be where DOOM(tm) is
located for version 102, and C:\DOOMDATA for version 101.
The 'game drive' and path choices are up to you although I
recommend selecting the same drive with a directory named GAMES
placed just below the DOOM(tm) directory for DOOM(tm) version
102 and just below the DOOMDATA directory for version 101.
You should read the examples for both version 101 and 102
regardless of which version you have installed. Some of the
concepts relate to both versions.
DOOM(tm) version 102 users:
Here's an example. If DOOM(tm) is installed on drive C: in
the DOOM directory, this is what you should enter for the above
suggestion:
<1> Slot Drive - C:
<2> Slot Path - \DOOM
<3> Game Drive - C:
<4> Game Path - \DOOM\GAMES
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 7
If DOOM(tm) is installed on drive D: in the GAMES\DOOM
directory and you want the D-Day games to be stored in a
directory called GAMES just below it, this is what you should
enter.
<1> Slot Drive - D:
<2> Slot Path - \GAMES\DOOM
<3> Game Drive - D:
<4> Game Path - \GAMES\DOOM\GAMES
Here is the above example with the GAMES directory placed on
drive C: just below the root directory.
<1> Slot Drive - D:
<2> Slot Path - \DOOM
<3> Game Drive - C:
<4> Game Path - \GAMES
Note: The last example shows how you can place the D-Day
'game files' anywhere you choose. However, it should be done in
a fashion that makes it obvious the files are D-Day games files.
In the first two examples, the D-Day game directory was placed
below the DOOM directory. In the last example the GAME directory
is all by itself and it might be misinterpreted by you, or other
users, as a place to stick all kinds of games! It would have
been better to name the directory DDGAMES, DGAMES, or DMGAMES in
this example. The D-Day games directory should only contain
D-Day 'game files'. D-Day has a routine to distinguish other
files as invalid games files. However, there is no reason to
fill up the directory with garbage that is not relevant to
D-Day.
DOOM(tm) version 101 users:
These are the same examples as above, but for version 101
users. If DOOM(tm) is installed on drive C: in the DOOM
directory, this is what you should enter for the above
suggestion:
<1> Slot Drive - C:
<2> Slot Path - \DOOMDATA
<3> Game Drive - C:
<4> Game Path - \DOOMDATA\GAMES
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 8
Here's another example showing the GAMES directory placed on
drive D: just below the root directory.
<1> Slot Drive - C:
<2> Slot Path - \DOOMDATA
<3> Game Drive - D:
<4> Game Path - \DDGAMES <- This tells you this is for D-Day
For the path entries, a reverse slash should be placed at the
start of the line and between each directory entry without
entering any spaces. There must not be a reverse slash at the
end of the entry. Here's an example showing the GAMES directory
placed just below DOOM.
Correct:
\DOOM\GAMES
Incorrect:
DOOM\GAMES <- there should be a reverse slash at the start
\DOOM\GAMES\ <- should not have the reverse slash at the end
\ DOOM \ GAMES<- should not have spaces in the entry
/DOOM/GAMES <- regular slash, use the reverse slash key
Once you have entered the correct values for your version of
DOOM(tm) move on to the next section.
The next entries are the same for version 101 and 102 of
DOOM(tm).
** Patch Edit options **
<5> Use Space-Bar toggle - N
<6> Use Hot-Key <ENTER> - N
<7> Arrows equal <ENTER> Y
<8> Hot Edit - N
<ALT-9> Tics per second ratio - 1.000000
<V>ersion - 101
<ESC> Exit to Main menu & save
Items 5 through 8 allow you to customize the operation of the
full screen patch editor. If they are all set to 'N', you will
be required to hit <ENTER> after each entry when using the patch
editor. I will cover each of them and tell you my preferences.
<5> Use Space-Bar toggle:
This allows use of the space-bar to toggle between 'Y' and
'N' ('yes' the attribute is active, no it isn't active) for
weapons, keys, map, and backpack.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 9
<6> Use Hot_Key <ENTER>:
This allows hitting the 'Y' and 'N' keys to make your
selection and automatically move to the next field without the
need to hit <ENTER>.
Note: Items 5 and 6 are mutually exclusive. You can only select
one or the other. D-Day will manage this for you automatically.
If you have selected Hot-Key <ENTER> and then select Space-Bar
toggle, D-Day will reset Hot-Key <ENTER> to 'N' and vice-versa.
<7> Arrows equal <ENTER>:
This allows D-Day to take entry like a spreadsheet in that it
will accept an entry as valid by simply moving to another item
via an arrow key. It's a smart <ENTER> though. It will only
change the item if a value has been entered. This allows the
arrow keys to move through the screen without affecting entries
unless you change them.
When 'Arrows equal <ENTER>' is enabled the <ENTER> key
acquires an additional function. Hitting <ENTER> without any
input will tell the patch editor to use the last entered value
for this entry. Example, if you enter 1200 for bullets, the
patch editor will remember 1200 as the last entered value.
Subsequent <ENTER> presses will use 1200 as input for the
current field. This will only apply if you have not entered a
new value.
Using the arrow keys to move will not change the field
values. This "last entry memory" also applies to the 'Y' and 'N'
fields if you have also selected 'Hot-Edit'. The editor is
smart, it will not try to enter 1200 (or any numeric value) in
the 'Y' and 'N' fields, but instead will use the last entered
'Y' or 'N' value. Entering a new value will change the "last
entry memory" to this new value. The timed attribute fields do
not have "last entry memory".
<8> Hot-Edit:
This does two things. First, it allows you to hit the right
arrow key instead of 'E' to enter the edit mode. Second, it
allows use of the up and down arrows keys to move from file to
file. This only happens when you are not in the edit mode. In
the edit mode the up and down arrows move from field to field,
as they should.
My preferences:
I use 'Space-Bar toggle', 'Arrows equal <ENTER>', and
'Hot-Edit'. The last two are needed to provide a powerful
editing environment in my opinion. The first one, Space-Bar
toggle is a matter of user preference.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 10
The last two offer a editing system that is fluid and
requires a minimum of key strokes. Space-Bar toggle verses
Hot-Key <ENTER> is subject to personal data input style. It's up
to you. This is why I included so many options. Remember, D-Day
is designed to require a minimum of time using this program so
you can get back to playing DOOM(tm).
<Alt-9> Tics per second ratio:
This is, if anything, a test of how I could calibrate the
display of timed events against the error of the DOS clock. If
you have a system that loses several minutes per hour, this
might be worth pursuing. If not, who knows. On some motherboards
the tic clock speeds up when a sound card is installed. The only
thing that can happen by invoking this function is you will end
up with a more accurate display of the time left for timed
attributes. This assumes you can tap your head and rub your
stomach at the same time.
If your DOS clock is relatively accurate you might as well
skip this feature. If you're a glutton for punishment, or just
plain picky, read on.
The concept is simple. After boot up, DOS relies on a tic
count which is a percentage of the system CPU clock. This is at
best a lousy way to keep time for systems that are not re-booted
on occasion. However, for short events, a few hours or less, it
is usually relatively accurate.
For our purposes this function allows you to see how far off
your system clock is, and to calibrate the display of timed
events in D-Day to reflect this error. It does not allow you to
add more time. It merely shows the real time available verses
the time displayed without calibration.
Before we go any further. If you have already started this
function and want to know how to get out of it, just press any
key. It will ask for number of seconds. Hitting <ENTER> with no
input, entering a '0', or any negative number will set the ratio
to 1.000000 (the default) ie 1:1 ratio.
Unless you know, or want to know if, your system clock is way
off, (a few percent error or more) there is probably no reason
to perform this calibration.
The calibration method is very simple. While holding a stop
watch that has been reset to 00:00, (a $10.00 digital watch
folks) hold down the ALT key. While holding down the ALT key,
press start on the stop watch and '9' on the keyboard exactly at
the same time (rub your stomach and tap your head).
'** START **' will appear.
It's up to you to decide how long to let this run. The
longer, the better (up to 16.5 minutes - 990 seconds). Anything
less than two minutes will most likely not yield satisfactory
results. It just depends on how accurately you start and stop
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 11
the timer. If you are off by 1/2 second total for starting and
stopping the timer for a two minute test, this will represent
almost 1/2 percent error on your part. If the system clock is
not off by at least this much or more (doubtful) you may
actually end up with a less accurate display of timed attributes
than if you had not performed the calibration.
I recommend running the test for about ten minutes. Go get a
cup of coffee and relax for a few. If you run past the time by a
minute or two, don't worry. You have up to 16.5 minutes in which
to screw up.
When the elapsed time you have selected to use approaches,
(or time you have to use because you over shot the time) get
ready to hit any key (the space_bar is fine). Hit the space_bar,
or whatever, exactly as the second counter goes to the next
minute. The display will ask you to enter the number of seconds
used for the test. If your test ran for ten minutes, enter 600.
If you enjoyed your cup of coffee so much the test ran twelve
minutes, then enter 720, etc.
Now you get to see the futility of running the test. If the
displayed ratio is more than .99 and less than 1.01, there was
no reason to bother with the test since your system clock is off
by less than 1% (unless you're picky). If the results are far
from these figures, it means one of two things. Either your
system clock is in sad shape, in which case this test was
needed, or you screwed up the test (rub your stomach, tap your
head, tap your stomach, rub your head). Which one is it? Who
knows. Maybe you need to run the test again to be sure. #%^@%$!
There is one more caveat. I have seen a few motherboards
(very few) that the system clock runs slower when the system is
cold, and faster when the system is warm! Hey, aren't these
suckers supposed to be temperature compensated? Yep, but notice
the phrase "supposed to be".
Well, I can't believe I wrote this much about this stupid
timer routine, but I did.
<V>ersion:
Hitting 'V' will toggle the display from '101' to '102' and
back again. This represents the version of DOOM(tm) you are
installing D-Day for. This must be set correctly or the patch
utility will not display information about the 'game file'.
There are a few other things affected that are not applicable to
the installation. Just make sure this is set correctly.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 12
<ESC> Exit to Main menu & save:
Hitting the escape key <ESC> will display:
Is everything correct (y/N) _
towards the bottom of the screen (see note below). If you are
satisfied with the data, hit 'Y'. Any other input will be
interpreted as no ('N'). If you leave the install menu and
realize you need to get back, just hit 'I' from the main menu.
This is covered again in the "Main-menu" section. Once you
select 'Y', D-Day will save all your entries in a data file
called DDAY.DAT. This is saved in the directory you ran D-Day
from. If the game directory path you selected to save your 'game
files' in does not exist, it will be created as D-Day saves the
data file. D-Day will create the entire directory path, not just
one level. Make sure your entry is correct. If you intended to
enter \DOOM\GAMES but instead enter \DOON\GAMES, D-Day will
create a directory off the root directory called DOON and will
create the GAMES directory below it. This will function fine as
far as D-Day is concerned. It doesn't care where your 'game
files' are as long as it can find them. If you do create an
incorrect directory path, you should exit to DOS and use the RD
or RMDIR commands to remove it, or them.
Note: The (y/N) format is used throughout the program. In
such formats the uppercase character is the default. In this
case 'N' is the default and 'y' is the only character that will
override this default.
After completing the installation procedure, you will be
placed at the main menu. This is where you will normally start
when running D-Day. If the DDAY.DAT file should ever be damaged
or erased, D-Day will automatically place you at the Install
menu.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 13
** D-Day Internal Operation **
Before we describe the menu operations you need to have a
basic idea of what D-Day does, how it does it, and why it does
it. When reading the next few pages you may be thinking to
yourself "This is a awful lot to remember". Actually most of the
details are transparent to the user and are handled internally
by D-Day. It's for your general information and it will enhance
your understanding and operation of D-Day.
All through this documentation we will be referring to 'slot
files' and 'game files'. For the purpose of this documentation
'slot files' are the game files loaded and saved by DOOM(tm).
They are the DOOMSAV#.DSG files. The '#' in the previous example
can be any number from 0-5 which represents slots 1-6 in
DOOM(tm). If a slot has been saved in DOOM(tm), a DSG file will
exist for this slot. For example: If you have only saved games
in slots 1 and 3 there will be two DSG files, DOOMSAV0.DSG and
DOOMSAV2.DSG. These files are located in C:\DOOMDATA for
DOOM(tm) version 101 and on the drive and directory where
DOOM(tm) is installed for version 102.
'Game files' are the files saved, patched, and loaded by
D-Day. When you save a game in D-Day, you actually copy one of
the 'slot files' to a 'game file' using a new name. The name
used to save the game is a derivative of the name you typed in
when you saved the game in DOOM(tm). If you have wondered why
the 'slot file' names DOOMSAV0.DSG through DOOMSAV5.DSG are not
the same as the names you saved in DOOM(tm), you probably also
wondered where those names you saved are stored? They are stored
in the first few bytes of the 'slot file' for that game. In
other words, if you saved a game called "I finally beat John" in
slot 1 in DOOM(tm), the 'slot file' DOOMSAV0.DSG contains this
name in the first nineteen bytes of the file.
When D-Day saves a 'slot file' to a 'game file' it extracts
this internal name and uses it to create a valid DOS filename in
which to save it. In the above example D-Day would extract the
name, change spaces to underline characters, and truncate it at
eight characters long. The resulting name would be: "I_finall"
DOS will allow lower case letters in a file name but will
convert them to upper case. For this reason D-Day does not
bother to convert case. When saved, the resulting file will be
"I_FINALL". All such files are stored on the drive and path
selected for 'game files' in the install menu.
Important Note: When saving files in DOOM(tm), don't use any
special characters that can't be used in DOS filenames (at least
not in the first eight characters). Rather than list them here,
there is an easy rule of thumb to follow. If you only use
letters of the alphabet, and numbers, you are safe. If you use
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 14
names like "#@&#\%@/% that Roger", you are going to be in
trouble. In fact if you use a name like "John\Roger", D-Day will
interpret the filename as "JOHN\ROG". D-Day (actually DOS) will
look for a directory called "JOHN" and try to save the file
"ROG" in it. If your name is John and you have such a directory
in existence (many of use do have our names as directories) that
'game file' will be rat-holed away for a long time.
Two more terms we will be using are 'game directory' and
'slot directory' these refer to the drive and directory paths in
which 'game files' and 'slot files' are stored.
Before describing each of the menus and their options you
will need to know a little bit about the basic procedure of
saving, patching, and loading 'game files'. This is only an
outline. Detailed instructions on each menu's operation and
features are coming up.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 15
** D-Day basics **
D-Day's operation is quite simple. It allows the user to save
any of the 'slot files' created by DOOM(tm) as D-Day 'game
files'. These are saved in the D-Day game directory for further
processing or retrieval at a later date.
After any number of slots have been saved in DOOM(tm) and the
program has been exited, the user will run D-Day from the DOS
prompt (it can be loaded automatically by a batch file. The
procedure for this is towards the end of the documentation).
They will then save any slots they want to save as 'game
files' from the 'Save Game Sub-menu'.
To retrieve the game or games at a later date, run D-Day
again. The user will then select the "Load saved games to slots"
menu and select the games they wish to load as DOOM(tm) 'slot
files'.
To patch files the user selects the 'Patch game features'
menu. They can then use the full screen editor to change the
attributes of their choice. Optionally they can patch additional
player's attributes if it is a multi-player game.
After a 'game file' has been patched or edited, it must be
loaded into a DOOM(tm) 'slot file' from the 'Load saved games to
slots' menu before it can be played.
D-Day only allows editing the 'game files' that have been
saved, not the 'slot files'. This ensures you don't
inadvertently damage a 'slot file' without the ability to re-
load it.
There are several menus in D-Day and each has it's own
function. I have tried to compose the program so all associated
functions are grouped together. In addition, all menus use a
uniform method for escape from unintentionally selected options.
There are many subtle features in D-Day that are not always
apparent by looking at the menus (although easy to use and
remember). These are covered as we progress through the
documentation. We will cover the main menu first.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 16
** Main Menu **
There are five possible selections at the main menu for the
registered version of D-Day.
** Main-Menu **
<S>lot file management
<L>oad saved games to slots
<P>atch game features
<I>nstall D-Day
<X> Exit to DOS
All "Main-Menu" options except '<X> Exit to dos' place you at
another menu so we will cover 'X' first. Hitting 'X' will prompt
you, towards the bottom of the screen, to confirm exit:
Are you sure you want to exit (y/N) -> _
Here is the (y/N) again. This means 'N' is the default
(capitalized). The only key that will exit the program is 'Y'.
If you hit 'Y' or 'y' D-Day will close any open files, clear the
screen, and exit to dos.
Note: D-Day does not require the use of the shift key to enter
caps. Hitting 'y' will convert your input to 'Y'. You may use
the shift key or caps key for input, but it is not necessary
anywhere in D-Day. The closing of files is just redundant code
supplied as a "just in case" measure. D-Day never leaves files
open after reads or writes. This is to ensure data integrity
even after a power failure.
<S>lot file management:
Hitting 'S' or 's' from the main menu will place you at the
'Save Game Sub-menu'. This section is used to save and rename
DOOM(tm)'s DSG files as D-Day 'game files'. You must select any
slots you wish to save as 'game files' from this menu. A typical
menu screen might appear as follows:
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 17
** Save Game Sub-menu **
Slot 1 - K1END 1 player
Slot 2 - I4ROGER 2 players
Slot 3 - S3LAST 3 players
Slot 4 - INPLAY 1 player
Slot 5 - ** Empty **
Slot 6 - NET GAME 3 players
<#> Slot number to save as game file (1-6)
<A> Save all slots as game files
<D>elete slot file
** Remote player operations **
<T>ransfer slots to floppy
<L>oad all slots from floppy
<ESC> Exit to Main menu
Enter choice -> _
The first six lines of the menu are status lines to display
the internal names of the 'slot files' DOOMSAV0.DSG through
DOOMSAV5.DSG for slots 1-6. If there is no current game saved in
a slot '** Empty **' is displayed.
The number of players involved in the game is displayed to
the right of the game name. If you have not yet, or don't plan
to use DOOM(tm) for multi-player games, the number of players
will be one.
There are additional status indicators that will be displayed
to the right of the player info. Some display the progress for a
particular action and others are error messages.
Notice the types of names used. When saving a game in
DOOM(tm) it is important to use games names that are short and
to the point. You have a maximum of eight characters available
for use by D-Day. If you are worried about losing the twenty-
four character description line in DOOM(tm), don't be. D-Day
allows you to attach a forty character description to each game.
At present there are only three episodes in DOOM(tm) and each
of the can be identified by a single letter. K, S, and I are all
you need. If you want slightly more, then KDD, SOH, and INF
should do. Follow this with a level number and a short
descriptive word and you have a name that conveys all the
information you need in less than eight characters. I4END,
K6PLAY, S5OOPS, etc are all good choices. Whatever you use,
stick to it. By the way I use K, I, and S, followed by a number.
This leaves me the most room for more of a description at the
end. I also use 'INPLAY' for a game I am currently playing so it
is easy to find. If you decide to use dates, please put them in
the D-Day description line, not in the DOOM(tm) slot name.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 18
** Save Game Menu Options **
<#> Slot number to save as game file
To save a slot as a 'game file' just hit the number of the
slot you want to save. '** Saved**' should show up to the right
of the player status. If you try to save an empty slot, nothing
will happen. If the game name is already assigned to a
previously saved game the following prompt will be displayed:
Overwrite? (y/N) _
At this point you have two choices, hit 'Y' to overwrite the
previous game or hit any key to cancel the save.
If you want to save the game without deleting the previous
game you can exit to the main menu <ESC>, go to the patch menu
and rename it to something else, go back to the Main menu, hit
'S', and save the slot (this only takes a few seconds). We will
cover rename in the patch menu section.
<A> Save all slots as game files
If you want to save all the loaded slots (not empty) as 'game
files' just hit 'A'.
<D> Delete slot file
To delete a 'slot file' hit 'D' and D-Day will display:
Slot # _
Enter the slot number to delete and (y/N) will appear. Any key
other than 'Y' will abort the deletion. Deleting an empty slot
has no effect.
** Remote player operations **
'Registered Version Only'
Remote operations are primarily designed for multi-player
games but there is one instance where they can be used for
single player games. Let's say you want to show a few games you
have played to a friend. You can use the '<T>ransfer slots to
floppy' option to put your current 'slot files' on a disk for
him/her. You can also load previously saved games to slots 1-6
(<L> from the main menu) and transfer them to a floppy. If your
friend has D-Day they can use the 'Load all slots from floppy'
to transfer them to their slots. They can also use the DOS copy
command to copy them to the appropriate directory. Read the next
section for more information on the <T> and <L> options.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 19
** Multi-player Games **
Multi player games are easy to manage with D-Day as long as a
few rules are followed. One computer on the network or modem
game should be designated as the 'Main D-Day console'. All this
means is the same computer should be used to save the games in
DOOM(tm) and to manage the slots and games in D-Day. By using
one computer for these operations at all times, you will ensure
you always know the location of a given 'game file'. This does
not mean you cannot have several different computers save multi
player games, it's just easier to manage from one computer.
Looking at the typical screen above you will notice slot six
has the name 'NET GAME'. This is the name DOOM(tm) uses for any
games saved from another computer on the network or modem game.
If you try to save this game D-Day will respond with
'* Skipped *'. There are several reasons for this but the main
reason is to keep D-Day from saving a 'game file' that is not a
'computer number 1' 'game file', as a 'computer number 1' 'game
file' (huh?).
Saving and loading multi player games requires the use of a
floppy disk for each remote player on the system. By remote
player I mean all players except the D-Day console player. A two
player game will require one floppy, a three player game will
require two floppies, and a four player game will require three
floppies (golly! Bullwinkle).
Note: I wish to add routines to D-Day to allow auto file save
from the remotes but I have yet to find any code in 'C' or a
good book on IPX interfacing in 'C'. Any suggestions? Perhaps a
comprehensive document on the IPX protocol would suffice. I
already have code that could be implemented for modem games but
I hate to add the additional options to the install menu and the
floppy override code without implementing IPX support.
The main D-Day console user should learn about all aspects of
D-Day. The remote user only needs to learn how to use the <L>
and <S> options in the 'Save Game Sub-menu' (this menu).
After you have saved one or more games/slots within DOOM(tm)
and have exited to DOS, run D-Day. The first step is for the
remote players to copy their 'slot files' to floppy using the
'<T>ransfer slots to floppy' option.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 20
<T>ransfer slots to floppy (remote players only)
The '<T>ransfer slots to floppy' option is used in multi-
player games by the remote player to place their 'slot files' on
a floppy disk for use by the main D-Day console operator
(computer 1).
When <T> is pressed, D-Day will display:
Drive (A/B) __
Enter either 'A' or 'B'. D-Day will prompt you with:
Slot 1 (y/cr/N) _
Either 'Y' or <ENTER> (cr) means transfer the 'slot file' to
floppy. Any other key equals no, including the <ESC> key. There
is a reason for allowing cr (<ENTER>) to equal 'Yes'. The key
strokes are buffered so you can enter more than one selection
before you are prompted for the next one. This means if you want
to copy slots 1, 3, and 6, you can hit the following keys in
secession:
Slot # 1 2 3 4 5 6
Press <ENTER> <ESC> <ENTER> <ESC> <ESC> <ENTER>
Equals 'Yes' 'No' 'Yes' 'No' 'No' 'Yes'
D-Day will copy only slots 1, 3, and 6 to the floppy. When
done, if you find you have made a mistake and copied the wrong
files to the floppy, don't worry. Just do it again. When D-Day
is told not to copy a 'slot file', it looks a the floppy to see
if that .DSG file is already there. If it is, it deletes it.
This ensures your floppy only contains files you want the D-Day
console operator to use. This also saves you the time of looking
at a floppy to see how many 'slot files' (.DSG files) are on any
given floppy disk.
As the 'slot files' are transferred to the floppy the status
line for each slot will display 'Transferred' to the right of
the player information. '* No File *' will be displayed if you
try to transfer an empty slot.
Next, the main D-Day console operator will save the slots of
their choice (or all) using the <#> 1-6 or <A> option. For
multi-player games, the main D-Day console user will be prompted
for a floppy drive for computers 2-4. Yes, you will need those
floppies in your hot little hands. This is why I am looking for
IPX interface code in 'C' (or a good book on the subject).
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 21
I should explain the difference between players 1-4 and
computers 1-4. DOOM(tm) expects to see the same file it saved
when the game is reloaded. If you are the main D-Day console and
are player number 3, D-Day doesn't care. It will still save the
file on it's hard drive as coming from computer number 1. The
main D-Day console is always computer number 1. You might be
player 3 in the game, but you are still computer number 1 to
D-Day. All other computers can be assigned as you please as long
as they are always the same. It is best to make up blank
formatted floppies for the maximum number of remote players you
will ever have in one game. You might as well make three, just
in case. Use either 5-1/4" 1.2meg or 3-1/2" 1.44meg diskettes to
make sure there is always enough space for six 'slot files'.
These diskettes need to be assigned to the computer they will be
used on. If you have names for your computers, label the
floppies 1-3 with the name or users name on the label in
addition the computer number. This makes it easy to remember
which floppy is assigned to which computer.
D-Day names and stores files on the main D-Day console hard
drive in the following format. Where [gamename] is any valid DOS
file name:
[gamename] Main D-Day console (computer 1)
[gamename].CN2 Computer number 2 (any player number)
[gamename].CN3 Computer number 3 (any player number)
[gamename].CN4 Computer number 4 (any player number)
The number of files saved will depend on the number of
players in a given game. A three player game will have three
files saved, [gamename], [gamename].CN2, and [gamename].CN3. All
games with extensions are handled by D-Day and are transparent
to the user.
D-Day does not care what player number a file is, it just
needs to make sure saved 'game files' go back to the same
computer they were loaded from. If any of the remote player
computers have different floppy types, (ie one has a 3-1/2" and
another has a 5-1/4"), the main D-Day console will need to have
both types (duh!).
D-Day will prompt you for a remote player floppy after it has
saved it's own 'game file'. This will appear at the end of the
status line for the game being saved. The prompt for computer
number 2 will be:
NC# 2 drv: __
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 22
At this point you need to enter either 'A' or 'B'. If you enter
the wrong drive or if there is an error reading the diskette
(not formatted, MAC diskette, etc.), D-Day will respond with
'** Error **'. Hitting <ESC> will re-prompt for the drive.
Hitting <ESC> additional times will move through the computer
numbers until the last one (no more players) is displayed, at
which point D-Day will allow for additional menu options.
When you are prompted for floppies there are two ways to save
games. The following swap methods are for 3 or four player
games. For two player games you no not need to swap diskettes.
If you are saving only one multi-player game you can just swap
floppies for each computer as you are prompted for it. In fact
you can use this method no matter how many game files you are
saving, but there is a better way. If you are saving multiple
'game files' for more than two players the following method is
the fastest, with the fewest number of diskette swaps.
Let's say you want to save three, 3-player games, in slots 2,
4, and 5. Hit 2 and mount the computer 2 diskette when prompted
for it. When it prompts you for the computer 3 diskette, hit
<ESC>. This will skip saving the computer 3 'game file' for now.
Leave the computer 2 diskette in the drive. Next hit 4, followed
by the drive spec for computer 2 when prompted. Once again, hit
<ESC> to skip the computer 3 diskette. Now hit 5 and do the same
as you did for slots 2 and 4. This completes the saves for
computer 2.
Now let's save the computer 3 'game files'. Hit 2 and the
following prompt will appear:
Overwrite? (y/N) _
Since you just saved the D-Day console file (computer 1) a
minute ago when you saved the computer 2 'game files', D-Day
wants to make sure you want to overwrite this file. Enter 'Y'.
When prompted for the computer 2 diskette, hit <ESC>. This will
leave the computer 2 file intact and skip to the prompt for
computer 3. Enter the drive for the computer 3 diskette. Now all
player files (computer number files) are saved for that slot. Do
the same for slots 4 and 5. Presto, you're done.
For 4 player games the procedure is the same only you will
hit <ESC> more times and will have to answer 'Y' twice to the
'Overwrite (y/n)' prompt. At this point all your files should be
saved for patching or retrieval at a later date.
We will cover patching and loading 'game files' in their own
sections but for now let's assume we have retrieved or placed
patched 'game files' on floppies for re-loading by the remote
player.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 23
<L>oad all slots from floppy
Once the D-Day console operator has patched or loaded 'slot
files' onto a floppy for use by the remote player, the 'slot
files' must be placed back in the slots on the remote player
computer. The '<L>oad all slots from floppy' option performs
this function. Since the floppy only contains 'slot files' that
were selected by the D-Day console operator, all files on the
diskette are loaded into the slots. The <L> option will
automatically write over any existing 'slot files' so make sure
you have saved any slots you might not want to lose as 'game
files'.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 24
** Load saved games to slots menu **
Use the <L> option from the 'Main menu' to retrieve stored or
patched 'game files' and copy them to your slots for access by
DOOM(tm). Before using this menu, you should make sure you have
saved any slots you wish to keep as 'game files' from the 'Save
Game Sub-menu'.
The following screen shows the prompt line for all six slots.
When you first enter the 'Load Game Sub-menu' D-Day will only
display the prompt for slot number one. As you make entries or
use the up or down arrow keys to select a different slot to
load, the prompts for each of the selected slots will be
displayed.
A typical 'Load Game Sub-menu' screen follows:
** Load Game Sub-menu **
1-I4ST 10-I7ST
2-I6PLAY 2P 11-S2END
3-K2END 3P 12-S3END 2P
4-K2ST 13-S3PLAY 2P
5-I4PLAY 4P 14-S3ST 2P
6-I6END 15-S4END 3P
7-I6PLAY 2P 16-S4ST
8-I6ST 17-S5END
9-I7END 18-S5ST
Game # for slot 1: __ Game # for slot 4:
Game # for slot 2: Game # for slot 5:
Game # for slot 3: Game # for slot 6:
Although this screen only shows eighteen games, D-Day will
display up to sixty games on the screen. If you save more than
sixty games, D-Day will display the first sixty and the rest
will be ignored. If you save more than sixty games, you need to
get a life.
To the right of the game name, D-Day will display the number
of players (if more than 1). 2P means two players etc (gee!).
Although most games that display a multi-player status line have
other files associated with them, they are transparent to the
user. Sixty 4 player games will result in 240 games files! At up
to 100k or more each, this is a lot of data! Make sure you have
room.
The number of rows and columns of games is adjusted
automatically until a maximum number of fifteen rows by four
columns is displayed. D-Day keeps the display looking uniform so
you will not end up with a single column with 15 games in it.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 25
Let's talk once more about naming games in DOOM(tm) for use
with D-Day. Make them short, and stick to the same naming
convention. If you have the registered version of D-Day, the
files are displayed in alphanumeric order. If you name one file
I4START and another INFFOUR and yet another IFOUREND, the games
will be displayed in a confusing order. After you get twenty or
more files saved using this non-strategy, there won't be any
reason to display the games in alphanumeric order. It just won't
help much.
Loading games into slots is easy. Just enter the slot number
you want to load when prompted. The up and down arrow keys are
used to select the slot you wish to load with a 'game file'. If
the prompt is at a slot you wish to leave unchanged, the up and
down arrow keys will move non-destructively through the slot
choices.
If you select the wrong floppy drive D-Day will display
'* Error *'. Just hit <ESC> and re-enter your selection.
Remember, the <ESC> key is a multi-purpose "get me outta this"
key. If you are using a registered version of D-Day and are
loading multi-player games, read the next section.
** Loading Multi-player Games **
The process for loading slots with multi player games is a
mixture of the above and the floppy swap techniques learned in
the 'Save Game Sub-menu' section.
After moving to the slot you wish to use, enter the game
number to be loaded to the slot. After D-Day has loaded the
'game file' into it's slot (computer 1) in the 'slot directory',
D-Day will prompt you with:
NC# 2 drv:__
Enter either 'A' or 'B' for the floppy to copy the 'game file'
to. After D-Day has copied (loaded) the 'slot file', if there
are any additional floppies to load, you will be prompted with
NC# 3 drv:__ , etc. The technique of using <ESC> to skip files
is the same as in the 'Save Game Sub-menu'.
However, if there is no file saved, D-Day will respond with
'** No File **'.
Wait a minute! Why does it say '** No File **' when it shows
it as a multi-player game? There are a few reasons this can
occur, some intentional and some not. We will discuss the
reasons for that in a minute, but first let's assume D-Day does
find all the player files.
If you wish to load more than one slot you can use the <ESC>
key to skip players so you will not need to swap the floppy disk
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 26
for each file. This is essentially the same as the technique
used in the 'Save Game Sub-menu'. The only difference is you
will not be prompted with the 'Overwrite (y/N) _' prompt.
Since you have already saved the slots as 'game files', there
is no reason to worry about overwriting a 'slot file'. If you
screw up, just load the erased 'slot file' back in from the
saved 'game file'. That's one of the nice features of D-Day.
Once you have saved 'slot files' as 'game files', there is no
reason to reserve any of the slots. You can put anything you
want in them.
When D-Day loads a remote player game to a floppy diskette it
does not use the internal name 'NET GAME'. Instead it uses the
internal name from the player number 1 file with an extension
representing the computer it is for. For example: The second
player file for the game 'I4END' would have the internal name
'I4END.NC2'. This is the same as the actual file name in the
D-Day game directory. This lets you see you have loaded a file
that has been saved or processed with D-Day. Once the file has
been played and re-saved from DOOM(tm), it will revert back to
the name 'NET GAME'. This allows you to tell if a game has been
played and might need to be re-saved or not. If you need to use
a slot, and a file name like 'S5START.NC3' exists, you can use
that slot. Due to it's name, you know you have already saved it
in the D-Day game directory and it has not been played (no
updates) since it was loaded into that slot.
Ok, let's find out why D-Day might display '* No File *'.
First you need to know that every DOOM(tm) multi-player 'slot
file' and 'game file' has information in it for each player. If
it is a four player game, it has information about all four
players in each of the four files. This is why D-Day will show
it as a 2 through 4 player game, even if it does not have all
the player files saved. It knows the format of the file.
If you save a game from the 'Save Game Sub-menu' and neglect
to save (skip) one of the remote player files, it won't have all
of the files associated with that multi-player game. D-Day is
smart enough to tell you about this. If you have saved the files
within the last few minutes you are in luck. You can re-save the
file off the remote floppy. If not, oh well.
You may also decide you only want to save the file for the
first computer (D-Day console). Let's say you are playing a two
player game and your friend (or foe) decides it's time to go.
You will notice when they leave the game DOOM(tm) will display a
message saying player 2 (or whatever) has left, yet you can
continue to play.
If one or more players leave the game, there is no reason you
cannot save your game for later play. If you are the D-Day
console then just save the game. If you are not the D-Day
console, but wish to play the game as a single player game
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 27
later, save the game anyway! As long as you remember you have
saved it as a D-Day 'game file', the file is ready to replay.
This assumes the 'slot file' is not named 'NET GAME' (more on
this in a minute). However, you will have to play it as a single
player game. You may run into the other players during the game.
There is no reason to waste ammo on them. They won't shoot back.
In fact leave them alone! During the game the some of the
monsters will be busy killing the other left over players and
will leave you alone.
If a multi-player game has been saved, and it was not saved
from your computer, you will have a 'slot file' with the
internal name 'NET GAME'. D-Day won't save a slot named 'NET
GAME' as a 'game file'. There is a good reason for this.
Whenever you load a single player game with DOOM(tm), it expects
you are loading a game saved for computer number 1 (computer
number 1 is my own terminology). If you have ever played a game
called 'NET GAME' as a single player game, you know what I am
talking about. See, D-Day has a method to it's madness.
Anyway, this is why you may not have all the files for a
multi-player game. D-Day will inform you of this so you can make
the decision to load the game or not.
Note: If you decide to play a player 1 'game file' of a
multi-player game as a single player game, don't use D-Day to
re-save it as a D-Day 'game file' if you want to play it as a
multi-player game in the future. The reason is, D-Day has a
'player file' management routine that will delete all 'player
files', [gamename].CN2 through [gamename].CN4 when a 'game file'
is saved, if the player 1 file size, or internal name is
different from the rest of the player files. This is to ensure
that you do not end up with files that are not compatible for
multi-player games.
Once you play a player 1 'game file' as a single player game,
your player location and attributes will change. They must be
the same in all player files! You can save the game with
DOOM(tm) and re-play it from it's slot as many times as you
wish, just don't re-save it as a 'game file' with D-Day unless
you don't intend to play it as a multi-player game in the
future.
If you want to play the multi-player game as originally saved
with D-Day, you will have to use D-Day to reload all the player
slots first.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 28
** Patch Sub-menu **
This is the most complex menu in D-Day, yet it is easy to
understand and use. The way the full screen editor operates will
depend on the options selected in the 'Install Menu'
There are 'Patch Sub-menu' features that are only available
in the registered version of D-Day and I will cover them now.
All optional edit commands: Optional edit commands
such as 'Space-bar toggle' and 'Hot-Edit' are not
available. The user must use <ENTER> for input.
Up and down arrow file access: In the registered
version of D-Day the user can use the 'Up' and
'Down' arrow keys to move through the files if
'Hot-Edit' is selected. The shareware version only
allows the 'Page-Up' and 'Page-Down' keys.
Attributes: The shareware version does not have
access to the 'Plasma rifle', 'BFG', 'Cells',
'Max # cells', or the 'Thru-walls/Invincible'
option. In addition the blue, yellow, and red cards
are only accessible on the shareware version of
DOOM(tm).
Max values: The maximum value that can be set for
'Health', 'Armor', and 'Ammunition' is 500 in the
shareware version and 65535 in the registered
version. The maximum time for timed attributes such
as 'Berserk' etc. is 6 minutes for the shareware
version and 32 minutes for the registered version.
Note: The listed times for timed attributes is based
on a 1:1 DOS tick timer ratio. This is calibrated
from the 'Install Menu'.
Patch menu functions: The shareware version has the
Search, Description, Rename, Delete, Clone, and
alphanumeric sort options disabled.
The 'Patch Sub-menu' screen displays a wealth of information
about the selected 'game file'. This is why features such as
'Delete', 'Description', and 'Rename' are located in this menu.
Starting at the top left field D-Day displays the game number
and name. The number assigned to a game is for reference only.
It is the same as the number in the 'Load Game Sub-menu'. The
number is assigned when the program is run. If you delete,
rename, or add files, the number for a given file will most
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 29
likely change.
On the next line, D-Day will display 'Single player game' if
there is only 1 player, and 'Net game' followed by the number of
players for multi player games.
The 'Player' line displays the current player selected by the
'Player #', option. This will always be player 1 when the 'Patch
Sub-menu' is first selected.
The 'P' key will move through the player screens assuming you
are viewing a multi-player game. Successive 'P' key presses will
move to the next player screen until the last player number is
reached at which point it will revert to player one. Moving to
another game using 'Page-up' or 'Page-down' (or optionally 'Up'
or 'Down' arrow if 'Hot-Edit' is selected) will always reset the
player number to 1.
The Version flag is to assure you that D-Day recognizes the
'game file' as the correct version for the version of DOOM(tm)
you are using. If the version was set incorrectly in the
'Install Menu' for the version of DOOM(tm) you are using, D-Day
will display '* Invalid *' to the right of the Version label.
This will also be the case for any other type of file that is
not a valid D-Day 'game file'.
If you should inadvertently copy non-game files to the D-Day
game directory, D-Day will report all invalid files that do not
have an extension. D-Day ignores extensions when loading the
game array. The only operation that can be performed on an
invalid file is 'Delete'. D-Day will not attempt to display
information about it since there is nothing to display. If you
copy a non-game file to the D-Day game directory that has an
extension, you will need to remove it using ERASE in DOS. Do not
remove any files with the extensions NC2 through NC4. These are
D-Day remote player 'game files'.
This should rarely occur, if ever. The only way to put
non-game files into the D-Day directory is if YOU put them
there.
The version checking extends to the <L> option in the 'Save
Games Sub-menu'. If you try to load a 'slot file' from a floppy
diskette that is the wrong version, D-Day will display
'* Version *' to the right of it's slot number status line and
will not copy the 'slot file'.
The 'Episode' label is self-explanatory, as is the 'Level'
flag. The 'Skill' level labels are for my own amusement. The
skill levels are: 'Wimp' (I'm too young to die), 'Not too rouge'
(Not too rough), 'Hurt me please' (Hurt me plenty), 'Ultra
violins' (Ultra violence), and 'Kiss your butt (goodbye)'
(Nightmare).
The 'Time' label was a pain! The format is simple, it's just
weird. Anyway, the 'Time' label should always be within a second
of what DOOM(tm) displays. In addition, if you have played for
more than one hour, time will display the correct time. This is
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 30
in addition to the classic 'SUCKS'. Keep in mind the displayed
time accuracy is dependent on the accuracy of the DOS tick
timer. I did not add a routine to adjust the displayed time to
reflect the real time based upon the 'Ticks per second ratio'
option in the 'Install menu' as I did for the timed attributes
such as 'Berserk' etc.
<PG-UP/DN> file #
To move through files one by one, use the 'Page-up' and
'Page-down' keys. D-Day will automatically stop when either the
first or last game is reached. If you have the registered
version of D-Day you can also use the 'Up' and 'Down' arrow keys
if you have selected the 'Hot-Edit' option in the 'Install
Menu'.
<CTL-D> Delete (registered version)
Holding down the <CTRL> (control) key while pressing 'D' will
prompt the user towards the bottom left of the screen with:
Delete game - are you sure (y/N) -> _
Hit 'Y' to delete the currently displayed 'game file', any other
key will abort the deletion. D-Day will delete all associated
files for all players if a multi-player game is displayed.
<D>escription (registered version)
D-Day allows you to add a description up to 40 characters in
length to saved games. Press <D> and D-Day will prompt you with:
Game description:_________________________________________
You can type any text you want here. If D-Day will let you type
it, D-Day will store it in the description line. As with all
other input prompts in D-Day, <ESC> will abort input. If you add
a description to the wrong game or decide you don't want a
description for this game, just hit <D> followed by <ENTER>.
This will replace the description with ** No Description **'.
After you get a few descriptions added to games you might
find yourself looking for a 'Description' file. Don't bother,
there isn't one. D-Day tags the description onto the end of the
player 1 'game file'. DOOM(tm) doesn't seem to care and it makes
description file updates for additions, deletions, renames, etc.
totally unnecessary. Instant file management.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 31
Note: Don't add a description until all player files have
been saved as 'game files'. This changes the size of the player
1 file by 42 bytes. Doing so will cause D-Day to refuse to load
the additional player files and display '** Size **' since the
size is different. This is actually a hard situation to get
into. You would have to abort the 'Save Game Sub-menu, select
the 'Patch menu', and then re-select the 'Save Game Sub-menu' to
create this scenario. This is just mentioned as a caution for
your information.
<S>earch (registered version)
To search the game array for a particular game, hit 'S'.
D-Day will display:
Search for -> ________
This is an instring search which simply means it will search
for an occurrence of the input text in any position within a
game name.
If it finds a match, D-Day will make it the current 'game
file' and will display it's statistics. If it does not find the
selection you are looking for on the first match, hit 'S' once
again followed by <ENTER>. This will continue the search from
the current position in the game array and will attempt to find
another match. If several matches are found, you can continue to
hit 'S' <Enter> until no more matches are found at which point
D-Day will respond with '** Not found! **'. This will display
for 1.5 seconds on top of the search prompt. Example: If you
input 'KDD' the search would find a match on: KDD1, KDD12,
JOHNKDD, NEWKDD13, etc. To end or abort a search at any time
just hit <ESC>.
Search can also search for text in game descriptions. Just
put a period '.' as the first character in the search string.
Example: In input of '.ROGER' would search all 'game file'
description lines for 'ROGER'.
It is not case sensitive so '.ROGER' would also find 'Roger',
'roger', or even 'RoGeR'. This is a nice feature since a game
name does not always tell you much. As with the standard game
name search, 'S' <ENTER> will search for additional occurrences.
<R>ename (registered version)
The rename function is just that. Hit 'R' and D-Day will
display:
New name:________
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 32
Type in a new name and hit enter. All done. Once again, <ESC>
will abort rename.
Rename is very simple to use but performs quite a few
functions. First, input is limited to legal DOS names. (Although
you can put spaces in a legal DOS name, D-Day will not allow
this. Instead it will replace all spaces with the underline
character '_'). Second, it not only renames the player 1 file
but all associated players files. It also replaces the internal
name in all of the player files. Last, it re-loads the game
array and makes the newly named file the current file.
<E>dit (or Right-Arrow on the registered version)
At last, the reason we selected the 'Patch Sub-menu'. Editing
is easy but there are so many editor option combinations there
ends up being several ways to go about it. I will goes through
the basic editing options first.
After hitting 'E', D-Day will place a cursor at the 'Health'
field. If you have the registered version of D-Day you can enter
any number between 0 and 65535. For shareware versions the
maximum is 500. If you enter a value higher than the maximum
allowed, D-Day will set it to the maximum automatically.
If you have the shareware version, or you have not selected
the 'Arrows Equals <Enter>' option for the registered version,
hit <ENTER> to save your selection.
Editing Options (registered version)
If you have selected 'Arrows equal <ENTER>' you can use an
arrow key instead of <ENTER> to confirm your entry. The <ENTER>
key takes on an additional meaning when 'Arrows equals <ENTER>'
is selected. Hitting <ENTER> without entering a value in a field
will tell D-Day to use the last entered value. If there was no
last entered value since D-Day was started, it will use the
maximum value allowed. The 'Last entered value' memory is
retained until D-Day is exited.
The 'Space-Bar toggle' and 'Use Hot-Key' options are for the
'Y' and 'N' fields. If you have selected 'Space-Bar toggle' then
hitting the space-bar will toggle between 'Y' and 'N'. Hitting
<ENTER> (or an arrow key if 'Arrows equal <ENTER>) will enter
your selection. If 'Arrows equals <ENTER>' and 'Hot-Edit' have
been selected, subsequent <ENTER> presses will use the last
entered selection for the next entry field.
If you have selected 'Hot-Key', then as you press 'Y' or 'N'
D-Day will enter the selection and move to the next field. Other
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 33
attributes are the same as for 'Space-Bar toggle'.
If you have selected 'Hot-Edit' you can use the 'Right-
Arrow' key to enter the edit mode. When not in the edit mode,
'Up' and 'Down' arrows act like the 'PG-UP' and 'PG-DN', moving
you from file to file. 'Hot-Edit' is also required for some of
the advanced features mentioned earlier.
Try editing with the following options enabled at first and I
think you will not want to change them:
'Use Space-Bar toggle'
'Arrows equal <ENTER>'
'Hot-Edit'
This will give you all of the advanced editing features.
Ok, now that we're done with the editor options, let's get
back to the editor.
Once you are in the edit mode, using the arrow keys will move
the cursor up, down, right, and left through the input fields.
This is a non-destructive movement meaning the current values do
not change as long as no values are entered.
When the editor passes the bottom right field it wraps around
to the top left field and vice versa. It will also wrap from
right to left or left to right. When is moves past the bottom
row it moves to the next right hand column at the top row.
The timed attributes fields do not take advantage of the
advanced editor options and require inputing a value followed by
<ENTER>.
The 'Thru walls' byte is toggled from 'Off' to 'Thru walls'
to 'Invincible' to 'Both' and back to 'Off' by using the
space-bar. More on the 'Thru walls' byte coming up.
When you are done editing, hit <ESC>. D-Day will respond in
the lower left section of the screen with:
Save modification (y/N) -> _
If you hit 'Y' the changes you entered will be saved to the
'game file'. This only changes the attributes of the player
number displayed in the 'Player ->' field. If you have the
shareware version of D-Day this will always be player 1.
If you hit <ESC> again (or any other key except 'Y') the
editing will be aborted. You will notice the screen does not
revert back to the original values. Instead it still displays
the values you have just entered. There is a reason for this.
This will be explained in the 'Clone' section coming up. If you
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 34
meant to save the input but have aborted the edit by mistake,
just hit <ESC> again and answer 'Y' to the 'Save modifications'
prompt.
If you have aborted due to selecting and editing the wrong
file, just go to the new file you want to edit. The values you
just input will not be saved to the 'game file'. If you want to
edit the same file but want to see what the original values
were, just hit the 'P' key until the current player you were
editing is re-displayed. This will reset the values. Another way
is to hit <S> for search and search for the current file. When
it finds it will display the original values. See the 'Clone
function' for more details.
Now that we know how to use the editor, let's describe the
fields.
The 'Health' field is a special case and I need to explain a
few problems when entering values larger than 199. You can enter
a value of 65535 (or 500 for the shareware version) and have
access to all of it, with the following limitations.
The first problem is, if you pick up a blue health sphere or
blue vial your health will revert to a value of 199. This may be
cast in stone. I have not been able to find any bytes in the
.DSG files that can overcome this. If anyone knows where to
patch a .DSG file to set the maximum allowed value for health,
I'd sure like to hear from you.
Don't worry about 'Med-kits' and 'Stim-packs'. They only
affect the total if DOOM(tm) displays your health as being below
100. In other words, if it's a white box, don't worry. If it's
blue, look out. Don't worry about 'Berserk packs' or
'Invincibility spheres' either, unless you have set a value to
their timed attributes. More about this later.
The second problem is not as hard to overcome. Unlike most
attributes in a 'game file', the health value is stored in two
places for each player in a given 'game file'. The first one is
a cinch to find. The second one is a pain to find. Without
getting into a detailed explanation of how D-Day attempts to
find the second health patch area, let's just say it looks for a
byte pattern. If it finds it, then it proceeds with the patch.
If successful, D-Day will display:
Successful health patch 1
Otherwise it will not display anything. The 1 at the end stands
for player number 1. If nothing is displayed, the 'game file'
has not had it's second health area patched.
There seems to be more than one possible byte sequence to
search for and D-Day currently only knows about one of them. For
this reason, although D-Day will patch the first health patch
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 35
area for all players, it will only attempt to find the second
health patch area for single player games. Due to the
possibility of not finding the correct byte sequence for all
players in a given game, D-Day will not attempt to patch the
second health area in multi-player games. If I can identify the
rest of the byte patterns, I will include this feature in a
future release.
The code to search and patch this second health area for
multi-player games is already in place. It is just turned off
for multi-player games. This is the reason for the '1' at the
end of the 'Successful health patch' display.
Here's the reason the second health patch area is important.
Even if the second health area is not patched, it will appear as
if it succeeded when you play the game. The display will show
the value you selected. This is no indication you have what is
displayed! Such games will play until you have lost the amount
that was displayed before you patched the 'gamefile' and then
you will die. Sometimes hitting space-bar will bring you back,
other times you will come back as the living dead and you won't
have any weapons. If you pick up a stim-pack etc., it will look
as if you are ok, but you will still have no weapons.
In any case all is not lost. Even if D-Day does not patch the
second health area you still have a chance. If you can get to
the exit and move to the next level before any player loses all
of their originally displayed health, you will not have this
problem in the next level.
Remember just because you move to the next level does not
mean you can pick up 'Blue health spheres' or 'Blue vials'.
These suckers are poison when you have a very high health level.
You will ALWAYS revert to 199 if you touch these.
Note: The health attribute is the only one with this strange
behavior. All other displayed values are usable in their
entirety. I should mention at this point DOOM(tm) will not
display values over 999. Don't worry, it's still there. A value
of 65535 will display as 535. When the display passes 0 it will
start counting down from 999. This will happen 65 times before
it actually reaches 0.
All attributes except keys (cards and skulls), the computer
map, and the backpack will transfer to the next level.
The 'Armor' attribute is like the 'Health' attribute in that
if you have 200 units or more, you can't add more by picking up
the 100% or 200% armor. In fact you can't pick them up. Other
than that, there is nothing to worry about. Go ahead and pick up
the 'Armor bonus helmets'. They will add 1 to the total for each
one even if your armor is set high.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 36
All of the weapon attributes are the same. You either have
them or you don't. The shareware version of D-Day does not have
access to the 'Plasma rifle' or the 'BFG'.
Each piece of ammunition has two attributes. The quantity you
have and the maximum quantity you can have. The second one
affects your ability to pick up ammo that is laying around. For
example, if you were to set 'Bullets' to 2000 and
'Max # Bullets' to 1000, you will still have 2000 rounds. But
you will not be able to pick up any more until the total drops
below 1000, and even then only until the total reaches 1000
again.
An interesting twist on a multi-player game is this. Set your
ammunition values rather low and set you max-ammunition values
high. Now, the player who is the best a finding ammunition will
end up with a lot, leaving his/her opponents in deep guacamole.
The shareware version of D-Day does not have access to
'Cells' or 'Max # cells'.
As mentioned earlier the keys, (both cards, and skulls), do
not transfer to the next level (unless you're playing multi-
player 'Death-match'). The easiest way to get around this is to
save the game right after moving to the next level, add the keys
with D-Day, and then reload the game.
The Shareware version of D-Day only allows access to
selecting the card keys for the KDD level of DOOM(tm).
The computer map does not transfer to the next level.
The timed attributes are input in minutes and tenths of
minutes. The displayed times will be based on the ratio supplied
when the 'Tics per second ratio' was selected in the 'Install
Menu'. If the calibration was not performed, the max value for
the shareware version of D-Day is 6.0 minutes, and 32 minutes
for the registered version. If calibration was performed, the
max displayed value will be higher or lower depending on the
ratio obtained.
In any case if the calibration was performed the value shown
should be quite accurate. If not they will still be close,
unless your motherboard is sick.
All of these attributes will transfer to the next level but
there is one thing to watch out for. Picking up items that
affect timed attributes will reset the value to the time alloted
to that item. For example, if you set the 'Radiation suit' value
to 15 minutes and pick up a 'Radiation suit' during the game,
DOOM(tm) will reset the timer to the value alloted by the suit
(approx 1 minute). The same goes for the 'Berserk pack', 'Light
amplification box', 'Invisibility sphere', and the
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 37
'Invincibility sphere'. So be careful.
If a value higher than the max value is selected, D-Day will
insert the highest value allowed.
The 'Thru walls' byte is named 'Thru walls' by me. The actual
names used in DOOM(tm) for it's functions are not very
descriptive (clipping, degreeless, True God mode).
The 'Thru walls' byte actually has two (or more [maybe])
functions. When the first bit is set in the byte, DOOM(tm) sets
a mode that allows the player to walk through walls. There is a
lot more on this function but I want to cover another bit in
this byte first.
If the second bit is set, DOOM(tm) sets an invincible mode
that does not have the negative image effect the normal
'Invincible' mode has. This allows you to see what the hell is
going on! Another plus. This invincible mode is not timed. It
moves from level to level and does not run out.
When you are editing the 'Thru walls' byte, hitting the
space-bar will toggle from 'Off' to 'Thru walls' to 'Invincible'
to 'Both' and back to 'Off' again. This simply toggles the
setting to: No bits set, bit 1 set, bit 2 set, both bits 1 and 2
set, and back to no bits set. This means you can either have the
attribute turned off, the ability to walk through walls, become
invincible, or both. Ok, let's get back to the 'Thru walls' bit
for a bit (pun intended).
As stated, the 'Thru walls' bit allows any player with that
attribute set to walk through walls. This can be difficult to
get used to using. There are several conditions that will create
weird and unusual results. So let's cover these first.
If you try to walk into a wall that is an outer perimeter of
the map, you will walk forever. This is because there is no
where to go (or arrive at). If this should happen, turn until
you can see reality. It will look like a little piece of the
screen that looks correct. It's hard to say what this is but
when you see it, you'll realize it. By the way, the farther you
step outside the boundaries, the harder it gets to find reality.
Hey, just like life.
When walking though walls that are in the perimeter you will
quite often find yourself changing floor levels. In other words,
there is no reason to use elevators, stairs, etc. Walking down
stairs will seem normal, but walking off to the side and
dropping down (or up) will work just as well.
One of the neat things about automatically changing levels is
you can get to places you never could have before. Any place you
can fit, you can go.
You can get quite confused walking around by going through
walls, but you will also get a feeling for the map layout in
your head once you get used to it. Here are a few places to go
to try out the 'Thru walls byte'.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 38
On KDD level 1 in the second room, before to get to the room
with the imp up on the platform, step up into some of the
control panel areas. You can also step on the platform with the
imp.
On the last level of KDD, set your health, armor, and ammo
high. Then set the 'Light amp' time high and set 'Thru walls'
option. After you blast everybody, pick up a computer map (you
could have set this is D-Day also) and look at it. See the box
outside the perimeter? Ok. Go out there and blast away. After
they are all dead you will still see a periodic red flash. Watch
your health. Yep! It's futile to try and win this one.
It's best to start using the 'Thru walls' option on a small
level. It makes it less confusing to get around. There are a few
things you should know about the 'Thru walls' function before
you continue.
You cannot pick up anything with the 'Thru walls' option on.
This includes weapons, ammo, spheres, etc. You also cannot trip
switches that are designed to be pressure sensitive (designed to
recognize your presence). This includes transports. On episodes
and levels that use transports to move to the next level, you're
stuck unless you are playing a multi-player game and wait for a
player who does not have the 'Thru-walls' attribute set to move
to the next level!
Yes the 'Thru walls' option does work in multi player games.
One thing to keep in mind. When you are just starting to see
through to the other side when walking through a wall, you
cannot be seen by monsters or opponents from that side. A good
way to tell if you can be seen is to fire a bullet, or even
better a short burst of plasma. If it appears as if it hit right
in front of you, you are not all the way thru. That's right,
although you can see them and they can't see you, you cannot
fire at them until you step through far enough to allow them to
see you.
It's obvious to me this byte was included for internal
testing purposes.
<M>ax
The 'Max' function simply sets the 'Health', 'Armor', and all
accessible ammunition attributes to the maximum value for the
player number displayed in the 'Player ->' field and places
D-Day in the edit mode. This is 500 for the shareware version
and 65535 for the registered version. It also sets all the
accessible 'Y' or 'N' attributes to 'Y'.
'Max' does not save this data to the 'game file', it just
inputs the data for you. You will need to hit <ESC> followed by
'Y' to save the data.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 39
If you enter 'Max' by mistake just hit <ESC>, answer 'N' to
save modifications, and hit 'P' (Player) until you are back at
the current player number. This will be a single keystroke for
single player games.
<P>layer (see Note:)
The 'Player' function just toggles from the current player
screen to the next player screen starting at player 1.
If the last player has been displayed, the screen will rotate
back to player 1. This allows you to edit each player
individually by selecting a player followed by the 'E' (edit)
key. After any given player has had modifications made to it's
data fields, you must hit <ESC> followed by 'Y' to save the
data.
Note: The shareware version will display the other player's data
but you will not be able to enter the edit mode unless you are
at player 1.
<C>lone (registered version - multi-player games only)
The 'Clone' function is just that. It clones the current
player 'screen data' to the player of your choice. 'Clone' is
primarily used to duplicate one player's attribute values to
another's. Obviously this function is for multi-player games.
The concept is this. Once you have input the data for a
particular player, all the other players are going to want the
same thing (or more). 'Clone' allows this without re-entry of
the data for each player.
First we will assume you are going to give the same
attributes to each player and you are editing for player 1. Once
you have input the data for player 1, hit <C> for 'Clone'. D-Day
will prompt you with:
Clone player 1 to player __
Let's say this is a 3 player game. Enter a '2' and hit <ENTER>.
This will save the displayed data to the player 2 attributes in
the 'game file'. Notice we said it will "save the data". That is
correct. The 'Clone' function writes the data to the file. Once
you have selected a player to clone to, and hit <ENTER>, it's a
done deal. Keep in mind if you screw up you can always re-type
the data and the use 'Clone' again. Let's assume everything went
as planned.
Once the player 2 data has been saved to the 'game file', use
'Clone' again and enter '3' as the player to clone to. At this
point you have saved the player 2 and player 3 data to the 'game
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 40
file'. You have not yet saved the player 1 data. There are two
ways to do this. The simplest is to hit <ESC> and answer 'Y' to
the 'Save modifications (y/N) -> _ ' prompt when you exit the
edit function. The other way is to hit the 'P' key (player)
until you are on either player 2 or 3. Select 'Clone' again.
This time select player 1 as the player to clone to. Either way
will save the player 1 data to the 'game file'.
The data on the screen is not saved by osmosis. It realizes
there may be input errors etc. You must elect to save the data
for it to be saved to the 'game file'.
The 'Clone' function on the other hand does not assume this.
Once you have selected to clone data to a player, the 'Clone'
function assumes you have looked at the edit screen and have
selected to clone it to another player because it is correct.
The 'Clone' function by design is to allow you to clone one
player's attributes to another's.
Remember when we said there was a good reason for not re-
displaying the original player attributes if you answer 'N' to
the save modifications prompt? Well there are actually two
reasons for this.
If you have hit <ESC> to leave edit, you may not want to lose
all of the data you have input just because you made a mistake.
There might just be one field you forgot to edit. The other
reason is, in multi-player games you might find yourself
entering the data for the wrong player by mistake. Do you want
to throw it all away by hitting 'P' until the correct player is
displayed and then be required to re-input all the data? No way!
Let's say you want to edit player 3's data but mistakenly
edit player 1's data. All you have to do is this. After the
input is the way you want it for player 3, hit <ESC> and answer
'N' to the 'Save modifications' prompt. Now hit <C> and enter
'3' as the player to clone to. Player 3's data is now cast in
stone. You can press 'P' until D-Day displays player 3 to check
this out. You might as well since you will have to press 'P'
anyway to re-display the original data for player 1.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 41
** Game Saving/Patching Procedures **
Ok. Let's go through a single player game saving and patching
scenario. If you would like to create some blank files to work
with, just run DOOM(tm), select 'New Game' and select an
episode. As soon as the game appears on the screen hit <ESC> and
select 'Save Game'. You can create up to six files in just a
minute or two this way.
Note: If you don't already know about the 'IDCLEV' command in
DOOM(tm), it allows you to move to any episode and level while
playing DOOM(tm). Once you are in a game, type 'IDCLEV' (do not
hit enter). Follow this with the episode number and level you
want to move to. DOOM(tm) will load this combination and you
will be placed at the beginning of the game. For example typing
'IDCLEV16' will place you in KDD, level 6 etc. However, no
matter how many weapons, or how much health or ammo you have,
you will start over with a pistol.
Using 'IDCLEV', you can create any game you want as a
template for use by D-Day. 'IDCLEV' does not function in multi-
player games.
Assuming you have already saved one or more game slots in
DOOM(tm), exit to DOS and run D-Day (DDAY <ENTER>).
Press 'S' for 'Slot file management' and you will be placed
at the 'Save Game Sub-menu'. Status for all loaded slots will be
displayed.
Select the slots you want to save as 'game files' by pressing
their slot numbers 1 through 6. After the selected slots have
been saved as 'game files', hit <ESC> to exit to the main menu.
Now hit 'P' to select 'Patch game features'. This will place
you at the 'Patch Sub-menu'. Hit 'E' to select 'Edit' mode. The
cursor will appear on the 'Health' field. Type 66000 and hit
<ENTER>. See how D-Day defaults to the max value (shareware 500,
registered 65535). You can either use the 'Up-Arrow' key to
move back to the 'Health field' and re-enter a new value or
leave it as it is.
Using the arrow keys, practice moving around on the screen
(this should take about 2 seconds to master). Select any fields
you want to edit and enter new values. When you are satisfied
with the selections, hit <ESC> and answer 'Y' to the 'Save
modifications' prompt. Hit <ESC> and you are back at the main
menu. The file is saved, and patched for use immediately, or at
a later date.
Here is the part most users forget (myself included). Even
though you have saved a 'slot file' and have patched it, it is
still a 'game file' and must be loaded from the D-Day 'game
directory' to a 'slot file' in the DOOM(tm) 'slot directory'.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 42
Select 'L' for 'Load saved games to slots' and you will be
placed in the 'Load Game Sub-menu'. Using the 'Up' and 'Down'
arrows keys to select the slot to load, enter a game number to
load to the selected slot or slots. When done hit <ESC> to exit
to the main menu.
Now your game is ready to play. Processing a file reads
longer than it takes to accomplish. The whole procedure takes
about a minute when you get good at it.
For multi-player games the procedure is the same. The only
difference is you will have to swap the remote player floppies
and patch each user individually or use the 'Clone' function.
Here's a way for several players to save a single player
version of a multi-player game that is going to be aborted for
one reason or another.
Before leaving the game each player saves the game from their
computer using a unique name and slot for each player. Then
D-Day can be used to transfer each of these slots to a floppy.
You can either use one floppy for all the players and swap it
from computer to computer (this would be done if the players
wanted all the games to be available on one computer), or they
can each use individual floppies so they can take the game home
with them. They can also save it as a D-Day 'game file' on their
computer since it will not have the name 'NET GAME' if saved in
this manner.
** Multi-Player floppy test **
Some floppy controllers do not respond well to the read test
performed by D-Day to test if the floppy drive is ready. This
may be due to the BIOS routines provided with my 'C' compiler. I
am not sure.
Test the <T> 'Transfer slots to floppy' and <L> 'Load all
slots from floppy' in the 'Save Game Sub-menu' several times
before ordering the registered version of D-Day for multi-player
use. If you receive the '** Error **' message, please let me
know the model and brand of controller you are using. I have had
problems with a few Adaptec models, yet the same model might
work on another computer.
The problem seems to be the BIOS routine's inability to deal
with the time required for some controllers to return a drive
ready (available) status. I have tried re-try loops and
conditional time delays with some success.
I assume I will be able to alleviate the problem if I receive
enough input about error conditions and models from users and
manufacturers. Until then, test that sucker.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 43
** Loading and saving non-DOOM(tm) WAD file games **
Loading and saving games created when playing DOOM(tm)
compatible 'WAD' files other than DOOM.WAD is easy as long as
you follow the rules.
The procedure of saving the games is the same as any other
game. D-Day can save, patch, and load them to slots as long as
the WAD file are created correctly. (There are a few out there
that won't save from DOOM(tm).)
The special procedure comes into play when re-loading these
games for re-play within DOOM(tm). First let's decide how to
name these saved games. You should use a name that indicates
which WAD file was used and yet allows room for some form of a
description of the game itself. Doing this in eight characters
can be a lot of fun.
Actually it's not really that hard if you are willing to
rename the WAD file. Let's say you have a WAD file called
'THEEND.WAD'. If you don't have any other WAD files with 'THE'
or 'END' in their names you can use these as names and have five
characters left for a game description. Another way is to use
just the first character of each word in WAD files that contain
more that one word in their name. In this case 'THEEND.WAD'
would be renamed as 'TE.WAD'. Note: Always use the extension
'.WAD' so you know what the file is.
Make sure WAD file names don't encourage game names that
might be confused with more than one WAD file. Example: If you
have a 'TE.WAD' file and a 'TENTS.WAD' file, a game named
'TENEXT' might mean 'TE NEXT' or 'TEN EXT'. Just make sure WAD
file names can allow for unique game names.
If you have used WAD files other than DOOM.WAD, you should
know the command line options for running the file. You might
even know the method for re-loading the game. To replay a game
saved when using a foreign WAD file, you must instruct DOOM(tm)
to load the same WAD when the game is re-played. If the episode
and level of the WAD file are not episode 1, level 1, then you
must also specify these when re-loading the game. The following
example assumes the WAD file is based on episode 1, level 1.
Let's say you save a game under DOOM(tm) while playing a WAD
file called 'TE.WAD'. This is treated like any other 'game file'
as far a D-Day is concerned. Once D-Day has loaded the 'game
file' to a 'slot file' (let's say slot 1), it is ready to play.
For single player games, just specify TE.WAD as the WAD file
to load without any other options, as follows:
doom -devparm -file te.wad <ENTER>
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 44
This will place you at the DOOM(tm) startup menu and you can
then load slot number 1.
For multi player games you will need to use the 'LOADFILE'
command line option in addition to any others, as follows:
ipxsetup doom -devparm -file te.wad -loadgame 0 <ENTER>
Creating batch files can make game loading much easier to
accomplish and more reliable. There are a multitude of possible
batch file configurations. Here is one we use quite often (I say
we, I developed and play DOOM(tm) at my friends house since I do
not have a networked system). It allows selecting the episode
and level using the '-wart' command line option.
echo off
'ipxsetup doom -devparm -file %1 '
'-wart %2 %3 -skill %4 -nodes %5 -loadgame %6'
Note: The last two lines are in single quotes because they
should actually be on a single line. Also notice the space ' '
after -file %1 .
We call the file DOIT.BAT. It allows input like:
doit te.wad 1 1 3 4 0 <ENTER>
This will tell doom to use the 'TE.WAD' WAD file, for
episode 1, level 1, skill level 3, 4 players, and to load the
first slot.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 45
** Ordering the registered version of D-Day **
(I am currently accepting U.S. orders only!)
Perform the 'Multi-player floppy test' before ordering the
registered version of D-Day! To order, run DDORDER.EXE from DOS.
You must have a printer online on LPT1: or PRN: (normal printer
port) to complete the order form. The form prints out on
standard 8-1/2" x 11" paper.
DDORDER.EXE prompts for input and creates your order-
registration form and our shipping label to ship D-Day back to
you. Keeping this is mind, make sure the output is dark enough
and of high enough quality to ensure good legibility. Orders
without this order form will not be processed.
Please include your Zip code in the Zip+4 format if known.
Once the form has been printed fold as shown below and insert
either a money order or cashier's check for $5.00 made out to:
John Ray
DO NOT SEND CASH OR LEAVE THE 'PAY TO' SECTION BLANK! If cash or
a blank money order is lost in the mail, you have no recourse to
regain your funds. Sorry, no checks. This speeds processing.
** Folding Instructions **
(read form for details)
Bottom of form to the inside -> / <- bottom fold line
/ / |
Money order 'face down' -> / / |
/ / |
/ / |
\ / |
Top of form -> \ |
(printing on outside) \ |
\ |
\ |
\ |
\| <- top fold line
Fold at the top fold line so the printing is to the outside
of the fold (opposite of normal letter). Next fold on the bottom
fold line the same way and put the bottom flap to the inside of
the folded form. Place the money order or cashier's check face
down on the bottom flap (inside the fold). Folding the form and
inserting the funds in this manner creates a data shield to
protect the contents from viewing.
Place the form in a standard #10 envelope so the top of the
form is to the back of the envelope and address as shown on the
form. Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. (it usually takes less)
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 46
** D-Day Block Diagram **
The labels 'DOOM(tm)', 'D-Day', 'slot dir', and 'game dir'
will be used in the examples where: 'Function' = function to be
performed, 'Process' = the process involved, 'Src' = source
location, and 'Dest' = destination.
** Block Procedures **
DOOM(tm) <save game>
Function: <save slot>
Src: "DOOM(tm)" (RAM)
Dest: "slot dir" (file)
----------------------------
D-Day <save game menu>
Function: <create game file> File Location Diagram
Process: open file
Src: "slot dir" ____________
Process: process name | "DOOM(tm)" |
Process: copy file |____________|
Src: "slot dir" \
Dest: "game dir" \ ____________
---------------------------- | "slot dir" |
D-Day <patch menu> |____________|
Function: <patch game file> /
Process: open file ___________ /
Src: "game dir" | "D-Day" |
Process: apply patch |___________|
Dest: "game dir" \
----------------------------- \ ____________
D-Day <load menu> | "game dir" |
Function: <load game> |____________|
Process: copy file
Src: "game dir"
Dest: "slot dir"
-----------------------------
DOOM(tm) <load game>
Function: load slot
Src: "slot dir" (file)
Dest: "DOOM(tm)" (RAM)
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 47
** Automating D-Day Operation with Batch files **
Here are a few batch files that will automate the transition
from DOOM(tm) to D-Day and back again. Either use an ACSII
editor or copy the console input to a file to produce the files.
DDS.BAT:
This batch file is for single player games. Type in the
following six lines.
echo off
dday
echo Preparing to run DOOM. Hit Ctrl-C to exit to DOS.
pause
doom
dds
To use the batch file, type: dds <ENTER>
This will run D-Day first to allow you to load any 'game
files' you might wish to play. When you exit D-Day, the system
will display:
Preparing to run DOOM. Hit Ctrl-C to exit to DOS.
Hit any key to continue.
Hit <ENTER> to run DOOM(tm) or hold down the 'Ctrl' key and
hit 'C' to exit. DOS will display:
Terminate batch job (Y/N)?
Enter 'Y' to exit to DOS or 'N' to run DOOM(tm). When you
exit DOOM(tm), the batch file will place you back in D-Day as a
gentle kick in the butt to remind you to save any 'slot files'
you wish to keep as 'game files'. The loop will continue until
you select Ctrl-C to exit to DOS.
If you don't have an ASCII editor, enter the following at the
DOS prompt to capture keyboard input to a file:
copy con dds.bat <ENTER>
Enter each of the six lines as they appear above followed by
<ENTER>. Hold down the 'Ctrl' key and hit 'Z' to save the file.
DDM.BAT:
For multi-player games name the batch file 'ddm.bat' and
change the fifth line from 'doom' to 'setup'.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 48
** Status and Error Messages **
The following D-Day status and error messages may be
displayed at various times.
Can't open file! (error message - <ESC> to exit)
This message should never be displayed unless D-Day has had
an internal error or has not been installed correctly.
** Done ** (status message)
Displayed in the 'Save Games Sub-menu' after either 'Transfer
slots to floppy' or 'Load all slots from floppy' is finished.
** Empty ** (status message)
Displayed in the 'Save Games Sub-menu' if one of the DOOM(tm)
game slots is empty (available for use or loading).
** Error ** (error message - <ESC> to continue)
Displayed if an attempt to read or write a floppy diskette
fails. Reasons include, wrong drive, un-formatted disk, wrong
format, drive alignment problems, etc.
Note: See 'Multi-player Floppy test' for more details.
* File Exists! * (error message - timed 1.5 seconds)
Displayed if an attempt is made to rename a 'game file' to a
name that already exists.
** Not found! ** (status message - timed 1.5 seconds)
Displayed in the 'Patch Sub-menu' if 'Search' fails to find a
file or description search string.
** No Description ** (status message)
Displayed in the 'Patch Sub-menu' on line 25 to the right of
'[gamename] - ' if there no description line currently assigned
to the currently selected 'game file'.
** No file ** (status message - <ESC> to continue)
Displayed in the 'Load Slots Sub-menu' if D-Day does not find
a remote player 'game file' associated with the game being
loaded to a slot.
** No game files saved... Use slot file management first. **
(<ESC> to exit to 'Main menu')
Displayed when D-Day cannot find any 'game files' in the
D-Day 'game directory'. Reasons include attempting to access the
'Patch' or 'Load slots' menus before saving any slots as 'game
files', deleting all game files in the D-Day 'game directory',
or re-installing D-Day and selecting a new 'game directory'.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 49
** Reserved for Registered version **
(information message - timed 1.5 seconds)
This is a timed message that appears towards the bottom left
hand side of the screen. Get the registered version of D-Day,
and it goes away.
** Saved ** (status message)
Displayed in the 'Save Games Sub-menu' after successfully
saving a 'game file'.
** Size! ** (error message - <ESC> to continue)
Displayed in the 'Save games Sub-menu' if an attempt is made
to save a remote player 'slot file' from floppy that is not the
same file length as the game D-Day is associating it with.
Reasons include, inserting wrong diskette, damaged 'slot files',
or adding a description to the player 1 game file before saving
the remote player files (the last example is hard to reproduce
unless you try). The file is then skipped and the message is
displayed.
* Skipped * (status message)
Displayed in the 'Save Games Sub-menu' when a 'game file' is
either named 'NET GAME' or '[gamename].NC#'.
Slot Loaded (status message)
Displayed in the 'Save Games Sub-menu' to indicate successful
loading of slots when 'Load all slots from floppy' is selected.
Successful Health patch 1 (status message)
Displayed in the 'Patch Sub-menu' if D-Day successfully
patches the second health patch area for a single player game.
Transferred (status message)
Displayed in the 'Save Games Sub-menu' to indicate successful
transfer of slots when 'Transfer slots to floppy' is selected.
* Version * (error message - <ESC> to continue)
Displayed in the 'Save Games Sub-menu' when an attempt has
been made to load slots from a floppy which are for a different
version of DOOM(tm) than the one you have installed D-Day for.
The file is skipped and the message is displayed.
# files missing (status message)
Displayed on line 25 in the 'Patch Sub-menu' if D-Day is
unable find all remote player files associated with a multi-
player game when patches are applied. This is normal for multi-
player games saved for single player use.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch program Page 50
** D-Day Disclaimer / User agreement **
DDAY.EXE, DDAYORDR.EXE, DDAY.DOC and any other files
provided with past, present, or future versions of either
the shareware, or registered, versions of D-Day are
provided "AS IS", and without warrantee. This includes,
but is not limited to, any direct, indirect, special,
incidental, or consequential damages or loss of time or
data that may be incurred through the use of these
programs, files, or supplied diskette.
In addition all files are provided without any expressed
or implied merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose. The user agrees their exclusive remedy shall be
replacement of the diskette on which the registered copy
of D-Day was supplied if found to be defective at the time
of initial installation.
Software installation, copying files to a computer system,
storage device, media, or usage of the supplied programs
or files constitutes acceptance of this agreement.
** Software license **
Users are granted non-exclusive rights for operation of
D-Day and associated files on a single computer system.
Any exceptions to this are listed below.
Registered users are granted license for use on a single
computer in the single player mode.
Network, serial link, and modem games:
Registered users are granted license for use on the
number of computer systems required to operate one
multi-user game on one network system at a SINGLE
LOCATION. Each site, network system, or multi-user
game (upper limit of four players) will require one
registered copy of D-Day. Each group of players
(maximum of four) will require one registered copy
of D-Day. Each player in a modem linked game will
require one registered copy of D-Day.
** Software ownership / distribution **
The user is granted software operation license only. All
software remains the property of John Ray and Fairfield
Distributing.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
D-Day Game Saver/Patch Program Page 51
Shareware version:
Shareware versions of D-Day may be distributed only
by electronic means such as bulletin board services
that do not charge for distribution of programs, and
only if the software is distributed in it's original
form with all associated files. Organizations that
charge by CPU time, on line time, or monthly user
fees may distribute the shareware version as long as
no charge is made for downloading of individual
programs or files. No rights are granted for
distribution by any individual or firm that charges
a fee for distribution of programs. This includes,
but is not limited to, charging copy fees, or
individuals or organizations that distribute public
domain or shareware software.
In addition, any individuals or organizations which
purposely make, or have made, available by any
means, copyrighted software for which they do not
own or have permission or license for distribution,
are restricted from distributing any version of
D-Day.
CD ROM Distribution:
Suppliers of CD ROM shareware compendium disks may
include the shareware version of D-Day as long as
D-Day is one percent or less of the total number of
programs provided on the CD ROM (one hundred
programs minimum). To ensure the CD ROM will include
the latest shareware version of D-Day, it must be
ordered in the same manner as the registered version
to obtain distribution rights. With the order
include the indicated funds and a cover letter
stating the order is for CD ROM distribution.
Registered version:
No rights are granted for distribution of the
registered version of D-Day. Any organization
wishing to distribute the registered version of
D-Day should contact John Ray or Fairfield
Distributing in writing for details.
Modified software:
Modified versions of the shareware, or registered
versions of D-Day, any associated files, or any
program containing copyright protected source, or
binary, code derived from said files may not be
distributed without express written permission from
John Ray or Fairfield Distributing.
Copyright (c) 1994, John Ray - All Rights Reserved
