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Software Vault: The Games Collection 1
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DCWORLD.DOC
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1993-04-02
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NOTE: This manual was written in a graphics word processing system
(Ami Pro 2.0). This text file contains most of the text in the
manual, but the graphics are lost and the tables are not formated.
When you register, you can get a copy of the documentation for
only $5 to cover the cost of printing and shipping. See INVOICE.DOC
for details
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction 1
A Note from the Author 1
General Information 3
Hardware Requirements 4
Shareware 5
Getting Started 6
Basic Building Blocks 6
The Graphics System 6
Setting Up Your Working Directory 7
Building Worlds 8
Save (F1) 11
Copy World (F3) 11
Select Blocks (F4) 11
Previous/Next World (F5/F6) 12
Flood Landscape (F9) 12
J)ump 12
R)esize 12
W)orld 12
World Information 13
Creating Doors 15
Creating Objects 16
Type 18
Class 18
Graphics Block 18
Description 18
Script 18
PCX File 19
Value 19
Count 19
Weight 19
Other Attributes 20
End Game 20
Text 20
Creating Characters 21
Type 21
Class 22
Graphics Blocks 22
Name 22
PCX File 22
VFL File 22
Script 23
Count 23
Treasure 23
Text 23
Statistics 23
Predefined Object Types 25
Food 25
Weapons 25
Ammunition 25
Armor 25
Shield 25
Amulets and Rings 26
Potions 26
Scrolls 26
Staffs 26
Chests 26
Keys 26
Gems 26
Books 26
Gold Sack 27
Torches and Lanterns 27
Rope and Hooks 27
Mirrors 27
Signs 27
Vehicles 27
Predefined Character Types 28
Regular 28
Civilian 28
Hostile 28
Merchant 28
Healer 29
Teller 29
Questor 29
Prisoner 29
Beggar 29
Trainer 29
Guard 30
Predefined World Types 31
Outdoors 31
Big City, Small Town 31
Dungeon 31
Hideout 31
Houses and Castles 32
Arena 32
End Game 32
The Magic System 33
Personal Magic 33
External Magic (Spells) 34
D C G A M E S
Version 3.0
WORLD BUILDER USER'S GUIDE
March 1993
(c) DC Software, 1992
6705 Laramie Drive
Plano TX 75023
(214)-517-0428
Introduction
A Note from the Author
Version 3.0 of DCGAMES brings to the adventure/role playing game
author a degree of flexibility and power never before attempted.
The following are the major new features:
- New script language enables you to change just about every
aspect of the game. You have complete control over every
character, object and world in the game. Almost every single
aspect of game play is controlled from a script that you can
modify to fit any requirement you can think of.
- You can modify or create brand new character, object or world
types and classes, with complete control over their behavior and
characteristics.
- Support for the .PCX graphics format means you can display full
graphics images during game play to complement the game. For
example, when you 'LOOK' at an object or character, you may not
just get a textual description, but a full graphics image.
- If you have a SoundBlastertm or compatible card, you can use
full sound (both recorded voice playback and full instrument
music) as well as text-to-speech translation. Besides having
full control from the script language, every character can have
his/her own pre-recorded speech file for interactive
conversations.
- You can now run DOS programs from within a script.
The main benefit of the new system is that you have complete
control over the game. You no longer have to wait for me to add
a new feature, you can do it yourself! Or, if you choose to
wait, you'll have to wait a lot less, since the new feature you
have in mind can most likely be implemented using scripts.
I am already working on version 3.1 which will add some new
features that will make the system even more flexible:
- Support for voice and music through the PC speaker, so you don't
have to have a SoundBlaster card.
- Support for virtual memory (expanded and extended, as well as
disk based), to allow you to create larger and more diverse
graphics blocks and worlds.
- File I/O to allow you to read and write files from within a
script.
- Light and darkness (as in night and day as well as in places
where you need a light source to see in, like caves).
- The ability to use a different landscaping blocks file for
different types of worlds.
- Animation, where each character moves according to his/her own
schedule, even when you are not around.
- True container objects which can contain other objects
themselves.
- Add your own ideas to the list!
Many of the ideas above were sent in by users that are actively
creating adventures and role-playing games. The one rule that
you must always remember is that there are no rules. Feel free
to try something new. Don't stick to the current definition of
adventure or role playing game, and by all means, if you can't
figure out how to do something, no matter how strange, give me a
call. The worst thing that can happen is that I'll tell you it
can't be done, the best thing is that it might be easy, and if
it isn't, I might add your idea to my list and maybe one day it
WILL be easy!
I want to thank all of you who have sent in your registration
(HINT!) and specially those that took the time to send in their
ideas, constructive criticism and just plain kudos. You are the
reason I keep working into the wee hours of the morning.
I hope you enjoy creating adventure and role-playing games, and
by all means send me a copy of any games you write!
Sincerely,
David A. Hernandez
DBA, DC Software
General Information
The DC Software Graphics Adventure Game Builder is a tool that
will allow you to create graphics based adventure and role
playing games with a minimum effort and no programming knowledge.
The basic premise in DCGAMES is that you are an artist and you
have a story to tell. You want to create a world in which your
story takes place, and have all the pieces of a complex puzzle
that the game player must unravel.
Catering to both the casual user as well as the serious game
developer, the system provides maximum flexibility by providing
a complete set of world, character and object elements that you
can configure and combine with ease. The serious developer can
modify the predefined elements, changing the rules of the
universe to fit his/her particular needs, and can create totally
new types of worlds, characters and objects, as well as control
almost every aspect of game play.
Each world, character and object in your adventure can be
customized in many different ways to provide that uniqueness
that is the essence of your creation. There are 5 increasingly
more complex ways to customize your game:
You can configure each world, character and object through the
extensive set of attributes that each of them has. For example,
there is a big difference between a Battle-Axe, which causes 8
points of damage, has a reach of 1 square, requires 2 hands to
wield and weights 15 pounds, and a Laser Gun which causes 40
points of damage, has a reach of 10 squares, requires 1 hand to
wield, weights 2 pounds and an Energy-Pak to operate (as
ammunition), yet these two objects are different only in their
attributes, which are set when you create the object using the
DCWORLD program or from a script.
If you need something to work just a little bit different, you
can modify the default scripts as much as you want. For
example, the default scripts do not allow wizards to use weapons
that weight more than 5 pounds, or need more than one hand. You
could change this to allow wizards to use only edged weapons
that weight less than 2 pounds.
You can add new classes of an existing object, eacjh with its
own peculiarities, for example, a new spell that turns your
enemy into a frog, or a new type of weapon that works only
against certain types of monsters.
You can also extend the default scripts to add new types. You
could create a new character type that is a thief; they get a
better chance at detecting hidden traps, don't wear heavy armor
and can usually get a better price when you bargain. Or you can
create a bomb type, which will cause extensive damage to objects
and characters in the area where it explodes.
The ultimate customization is to create a brand new script which
handles the needs of a single world, character or object.
These specialized scripts are what allows you to create truly
professional games.
As you can see, it's probably a good idea to learn about
scripts, but it is NOT indispensable, nor do you need to learn
how to write scripts right away. Let's first look at each of
the building blocks provided and their default attributes and
behaviors, and you will see that you can probably write the 90%
of the game without writing a single line of script.
In fact, I strongly suggest that you put off writing any scripts
until you have most of the game in place. When you've done
most of the work, go back and determine which parts of the game
could use some specialized handling.
Hardware Requirements
The adventures created can be run on any graphics device
available, be it CGA, EGA, VGA or even TANDY color graphics,
with up to 640x480x16 color resolution for maximum detail, or
320x200x256 color for truly outstanding graphics. And the games
are always device independent!
The system will run on any IBM-PC compatible computer with 384K
or more of memory. A very large world, with a large number of
objects and running on high resolution VGA may require 512K or
even 640K, but I have yet to run into this problem.
While a small adventure (like the example adventure) can be run
from a 360KB diskette, you'll find that a hard disk is needed
for any serious work. If you have a 3 1/2" drive (720KB or
1.44MB), or a high density 5 1/4" drive (1.2MB), it should be
enough. Speed is never a problem. The program will perform quite
well on an old 4.77MHz PC. Disk speed is a factor only when
moving from one world to another.
If you have a SoundBlaster or compatible sound card, the system
supports voice (.VOC) and music (.CFM) playback, as well as the
SBTalkertm text-to-speech translation.Shareware
This software is distributed as shareware. The entire product is
archived into a single file called DCGAMES.ZIP which should
contain the following files:
File Name File Description
--------------- -------------------------------------------------
BUGFIX.DOC List of cumulative fixes and changes
CONTEST.DOC Game building contest!
INVOICE.DOC The registration form
LICENSE.DOC The license agreement
README.DOC Some minimal instructions and last minute details
BUILDER.ZIP World Builder ZIP file
DCWORLD.EXE The world builder program
DCWORLD.DOC World builder documentation
PLAYER.ZIP Run-time ZIP file
DCPLAY.EXE The run-time program (royalty free)
DCPLAY.DOC Documentation for game players
GRAPHICS.ZIP Graphic blocks and fonts
DCFONTS.7X5 Graphic fonts
DCBLOCKS.mde Graphic landscaping blocks
DCOBJECT.mde Graphic object blocks
DCPEOPLE.mde Graphic character blocks
DCSYSTEM.mde System graphic blocks
EXAMPLE.ZIP Example adventure game
SCRIPTS.ZIP Pre-defined script sources
SOUNDS.ZIP Utility to create character voice files and sample sounds
CONVERT.ZIP Utilities to convert old games to the new format
UTILITY.ZIP Utilities to print reports or convert graphics files
BLOCKS.ZIP Utilities to create new graphics blocks
WORLDGEN.ZIP Utilities to generate fractal world landscapes
Written by a 3rd party. It had not been updated to work with
version 3.0 when this was written
Getting Started
Basic Building Blocks
Your adventure consists of a set of worlds, characters, objects
and scripts that together create a story that the game player
will be a part of.
The DCWORLD program is used to create your worlds and populate
them with characters and objects. It also allows you to
configure each of these elements by specifying values for their
most important attributes, and assigning scripts to be used by
each of the elements.
Should you need to modify, extend or write a script, you will
need to see the Script Language User's Guide, which contains a
complete explanation of how to do these things.
The Graphics System
The DCGAMES system includes a rich set of predefined
landscaping, character and object graphics for a variety of
graphics modes. In general, the more colors or the higher the
resolution, the more disk space is needed to hold the graphics
files. You will only need to have the graphics files for the one
mode that you intend to use to develop or play your games. Your
adventure will be created independent of the graphics mode, so
other people can play it at other resolutions by using a
different set of files.
With version 2.0 of DCGAMES, the space needed by these graphics
files has been reduced dramatically. The following table shows
the space required by the different resolutions.
Colors Mode Description Mode File Size
4 320x200 CGA low resolution -CLO +40KB
2 640x200 CGA high resolution -CHI +70KB
16 320x200 MCGA low resolution -MGA +55KB
16 320x200 TANDY's low resolution -TDY +63KB
16 640x200 EGA low resolution -ELO +94KB
256 320x200 VGA low resolution -VLO +63KB
16 640x480 VGA high resolution -VHI +221KB
While the higher the resolution, the more memory the program
will require, the difference between running in CGA low
resolution and VGA high resolution is only about 64K of RAM.
Setting Up Your Working Directory
Before you start, you will need to create a working directory
and place the basic startup files in it as follows:
C:\> mkdir mygame
C:\> cd mygame
C:\mygame> pkunzip a:builder.zip dcworld.exe
C:\mygame> pkunzip a:player.zip dcplay.exe
C:\mygame> pkunzip a:graphics.zip *.7x5 *.mde1
C:\mygame> pkunzip a:blocks.zip dcblock.exe2
C:\mygame> pkunzip a:scripts.zip
C:\mygame> dir
Volume in drive C is DCSOFT-114
Directory of C:\DCGAMES\TEST
. <DIR> 04-14-92 11:01p
.. <DIR> 04-14-92 11:01p
DCWORLD EXE 248765 12-15-92 12:04p ! World builder
DCPLAY EXE 398343 12-14-92 11:39p ! Game driver
DCBLOCK EXE 97564 12-11-92 10:47p ! Graphics block builder
DCFONTS 7X5 1152 02-29-92 12:01p ! Graphics font
DCBLOCKS VLO 27929 11-27-92 11:30p ! VGA low resolution
graphics
DCOBJECT VLO 12177 11-27-92 11:28p ! "
DCPEOPLE VLO 18621 11-19-91 11:21p ! "
DCSYSTEM VLO 1795 10-17-92 7:18p ! "
DCC EXE 209232 12-05-92 11:45p ! DCGAMES script compiler
DCCTOKEN DAT 17650 11-27-92 1:56a ! token definition file
BARTENDE SCR 3788 09-08-92 10:42a ! bartender characters
BEGGAR SCR 712 09-08-92 10:42a ! beggar characters
CASTING SCR 12364 11-27-92 1:45a ! casting spells
CIVILIAN SCR 1274 09-08-92 10:42a ! civilian characters
CONTROL SCR 16501 11-22-92 10:47p ! timed and control events
GUARD SCR 3823 09-08-92 10:42a ! guard characters
HEALER SCR 4911 09-08-92 10:42a ! healer characters
HOSTILE SCR 342 11-08-92 1:48p ! hostile characters
INITGAME SCR 1760 11-28-92 3:24a ! game initialization
MERCHANT SCR 4016 11-08-92 3:04p ! merchant characters
OBJECT SCR 32308 11-27-92 1:55a ! objects
PRISONER SCR 3012 09-08-92 10:42a ! prisoner characters
QUESTER SCR 4428 11-27-92 11:52p ! quester characters
REGULAR SCR 1716 09-08-92 10:41a ! regular characters
RESURECT SCR 1208 10-29-92 1:25p ! death & resurrection
TELLER SCR 936 09-08-92 10:43a ! teller (oracle) character
TRAINER SCR 5891 10-29-92 1:26p ! trainer character
25 file(s) 2345678 bytes
C:\mygame> for %i in (*.scr) do dcc %i
...
The last statement (for %i in..) compiles every script file
(*.SCR) into a script object file (*.SCO) for use in your game.
Instead of creating a brand new game, this document will use the
sample game that is included with DCGAMES. Therefore, you
should extract the adventure game on the directory you just
created:
C:\mygame> pkunzip a:\example.zip -o
The -o option tells the PKUNZIP program to overwrite any file
that already exists on the current directory. The example game
includes copies of the script files, as well as some additional
ones that handle special cases in the game.
Building Worlds
To start creating your game, type:
C:\mygame> dcworld [-mde]3
The main world builder screen will be shown, and the first world
(# 0) will automatically be created. Since a game already
exists, the first world is displayed.
<GRAFIC>
The screen is divided into 3 areas.
The text area (at the bottom) shows information on the world you
are currently working on (World 000, name Medan, Horizontal
(Width) 100, Vertical (Height) 76, Number of objects 15), and
the current mode (Move) and drawing coordinates (25,70), all in
the first line. The rest of the text area shows the commands
and function keys you can use to create your world.
The second area is the large window, which shows the as much of
the current world as possible. When you create a new world,
it's default size is 18 blocks wide by 11 blocks tall, and the
entire world is covered with the first landscaping block in the
graphics file, which happens to be grass.
The third and last area of the screen is the column on the right
hand side, which shows the current landscaping graphics block.
Look at the current landscaping block in the third graphics
area. Now press the + key 10 times while looking at it. As you
can see, every time you press the + key, the next landscaping
block is shown. Pressing the - key will show the previous
landscaping block. Use the + and - keys to scroll through ALL
the graphics blocks. Notice that there are blocks for trees,
rocks, mountains, rivers, oceans, towns, cities, castles, walls,
doors, windows, furniture, etc. The set of predefined graphics
block is quite comprehensive, but using the graphics block
editor you can modify the existing ones and create new ones.
If you want to see all the graphics landscaping blocks at once,
press the F4 key, and the following screen will be shown.
<GRAFIC>
You are now looking at a full page of graphics landscaping
blocks. You can move the cursor around to select one of them,
instead of using the + or - keys. You may use the PgDn and PgUp
keys to move from one page to the other, and press Enter (or
Return) to select one of the graphics blocks.
The text to the right of each block indicates the density of the
block. The player can walk over flat, rough and very rough
terrrain with increasing difficulty. The high and very high
densities require vehicles of low and high altitude (such as a
flying carpet vs an airplane). Low water, rough water and deep
water are used to represent areas such as rivers or lakes,
coastal waters and deep oceans respectively. Again, an
appropriate vehicle is required (such a small or large boat). A
low altitude vehicle can fly over low and rough water, but not
over deep water. A high altitude vehicle can fly anywhere.
If you press the PgDn key, you will see the second page of
graphics landscaping blocks:
<GRAFIC>
The wall density is used to indicate something over which you
cannot move. When you are in a building or cave, you cannot go
over the walls because there is a roof over your head.
At this time, move the cursor over to the lower, left side of
the screen, over the flat graphics block in the corner. Press
the Enter key, and you will be returned to the main screen, with
the selected graphics block showin on the right hand side of the
screen.
Now we are going to make some changes to the landscaping. Using
the arrow keys, move the cursor to the right, over the water.
Now press the Ins key. Notice that the current graphics block
gets inserted at the location of the cursor. Move a couple of
squares to the right again. Now press the Space key and notice
that the drawing mode changed from Move to Draw on the first
line of text. Now move the cursor around (in any direction,
several times). When you move the cursor, the graphics block is
automatically inserted into the new cursor position. Now press
Ins again to go back into Move mode.
Since the world is much larger than fits on the screen, you will
need to move around to see other parts of it. The arrow keys
can move you one square at a time, and the following key
combinations will move you one page at a time: Ctrl-PgUp moves
your view up one full page, Ctrl-PgDn moves the view one page
down, Ctrl-LeftArrow moves the view one full page left, and
Ctrl-RightArrow moves the view one page right.
If you have a numeric keypad, make sure NumLock is not selected
(most keyboards have a light indicating if it is or not). The
keys in the keypad double as arrow keys when the NumLock is not
selected (8 is up, 6 is right, 2 is down, 4 is left). To make
it easier to work, the other numeric keys, which double as Home,
PgDn, End and PgDn also work as arrow keys for diagonal
movement. Try to move around and explore the world you are now
looking at.
If you press the Esc key, all changes you have made so far are
discarded, and a copy of the world and it's objects is re-loaded
from disk. Try it now.
The following commands can be useful when creating the worlds:
Save (F1)
Saves the changes you have made to disk. A save is automatically
done when you either exit the program or go to edit another
world. If you press the Esc key, all changes you have made to
the current world since the last save are discarded.
Copy World (F3)
Makes an exact duplicate of another world, replacing the current
world. For example, if you want to have 2 houses that look the
same, you can create one, then edit the other world and just
duplicate the one you already created. You can then modify the
copy. Again, if you have not saved, pressing Esc will discard
the changes and revert to the original.
Select Blocks (F4)
As you have already seen, you can select landscaping blocks from
the full screen, instead of using + or - to scroll through them
until you find the one you want.
Previous/Next World (F5/F6)
Takes you to the previous or the next world respectively. Each
world is numbered starting with world 0. F6 takes you to the
next world, F5 to the previous one. If you press F5 when you
are in world 0, or F6 when you are in the last world (highest
number), you will be taken to the next world above the last one
and given a chance to create it. The current world is saved to
disk whenever you move to another world.
Flood Landscape (F9)
Fills the entire world with the current graphics block. You
might want to use this command when you are creating a world
where most of the landscaping is of a single type. For example,
the outdoor world would usually be flooded with a graphics block
representing an ocean. The continents and islands can then be
manually created.
J)ump
Pressing the letter J will allow you to jump directly to another
world by providing the world's number.
R)esize
Pressing the letter R will allow you to change the size of the
current world without destroying your current design. If the
new world is larger, you are allowed to specify if you want to
center the old landscaping over the new world, or whether it
should be left or right justified within the new world. If the
new world is smaller, the old world is truncated, and again you
can specify whether the old world should be centered on the new
one (i.e. truncated on both sides) or justified (truncated on
one side only).
W)orld
Pressing the letter W will bring up a screen in which you can
see the extended information about the world, and you can modify
the world's name, type and other attributes.World Information
Now that you know how to paint a world, let's take a look at the
first screen that allows you to modify the world's attributes.
To display the screen, press the letter W.
The screen should look something like this:
<GRAFIC>
You can use the arrow keys to move from one field to another on
the screen. The field you are currently on is displayed in
reverse mode. You can type in a value for any field that you
can get to (some fields, like the world's number, cannot be
modified).
In this screen, you can set the world's name (up to 15
characters), select a type, change the world's size (but it
destroys the current world; see the R)esize command on the main
screen to change the size without loosing the world's
landscaping or contents).
For a complete list of world types and a description of the
differences between them, see the section Standard World Types
later in this document.
The level field allows you to specify the minimum level that the
playing character must have before it is allowed to enter this
world. It usually applies only to special purpose worlds, such
as dungeons, or places that you don't want an inexperienced
character going to.
The edge field is used to indicate which door (each world has 32
doors) will be taken when the player walks off the edge of the
world. The edge door will usually be the same door through
which you entered the world in which you are. Door 0 is the
default edge door.
Note that worlds of type outdoors are different in that when the
player reaches the edge he/she just wraps around to the other
side of the world. The world is round!
The long table shows every door in the current world (in two
pages), the location of the door in the world, an indication of
whether the door is automatic (the player enters the door by
just walking over it) or not (the player must specifically enter
the door), the destination world, destination door or X, Y
location in the destination world, as well as the # of the text
record that will be displayed when you enter or exit the current
world through the specific door, and whether the text is
displayed every time or just once.
Note that door 0 is located at 25, 70; it is an automatic door
(Auto=Yes) and leads to a world called "your home," door 0.
Since the door leads to another door, no X/Y location is given
for the destination. If the door leads to a location
independent of a door in the destination world, the door # would
be n/a and the X/Y fields would have numbers.
The last 4 columns indicate, for each door, whether a specific
text record is to be displayed when the player enters or exits
through the given door, and whether it is to be displayed only
the first time or every time that the door is used for that
purpose.
On this screen, you can press Esc to throw away any changes you
have made, and F10 to save the changes and return to the main
screen.Creating Doors
Back on the main screen, move the character to location 25, 70
(which is right where the game started). At this location,
press E (for Enter), and the current world will be saved and the
door over which the cursor is positioned will take you to its
destination.
You should see the following screen:
<GRAFIC>
You are looking at the world that represents the adventurer's
home. Notice that landscaping blocks have been used to create
walls, windows, doors, and furniture. Some of the furniture
(the bed, a large table with chairs and a chest of drawers) is
actually created by multiple blocks. When the adventurer is
playing the game, the density of the landscaping block will tell
the game driver where the adventurer can walk, and where not.
Now, if you press W, you will be able to see the information on
this world. You may notice that door 0 leads back to the main
world (Medan), and to the same door which leads to the door we
came in from. The doors in each world are independent of the
doors in the other worlds, but you will normally want the doors
to exist in both directions, so that pressing E (for Enter)
multiple times will just take you from one world to the other
again and again.
Door number 0 in this world is located exactly outside the door
graphics block. When the player enters the door in the main
world, the party is transferred to this world and positioned
over the destination door. To exit this world, the character
may enter the door or may just walk of the edge of the world,
which for every type of world except outdoors means that the
character leaves the world through the Edge door (the last field
in the second line on the world information screen.
To create a door, you should move the graphics cursor to the
location over which you want the door to exist, then use the
O)pen command to create the door. You can also enter the
information in the W)orld information screen.
Press F10 to return to the main screen. You may experiment
opening multiple doors in this world that lead back to the same
world. For example, position the cursor somewhere in the house,
and O)pen a door (say door # 1) to destination door 0 in world #
1 (the current world). Moving the cursor over the position that
hold the new door will and pressing E will transfer you through
that door to door 0. Pressing E over door 0 will not, however,
transfer you back to door 1, instead it takes you back to the
main world, since that is where that door leads to).
Creating Objects
Now that you know how to create a worlds and how to open doors
between them, it is time to create a few objects that may be
used during the game. To create an object, you use the P)ut
command which takes you to the Create Object screen:
<GRAFIC>
If you have not created objects before, you are asked to select
a graphics block to represent the object. The above screen
shows the first page of the default graphics blocks for objects
that are included in DCGAMES. The names by each object are the
names of the graphics blocks, and indicate what the object was
intended for. Note that the object type is NOT tied to the
graphics block that represents it. Thus, you could create an
object using the first graphics block above (a roasted turkey)
and have it represent an amulet instead of food. The names are
there to indicate what the graphics designer had in mind when
that particular graphics block was created, not to force you to
use the graph in any specific way.
Once you select a graphics block you are presented with the real
Create Object screen. This screen allows you to specify the
object's attributes (like Name, Type, Class, Weight, etc). The
sample screen below shows an object for which the attributes
have been set:
<GRAFIC>
The following is a quick discussion of the main object
attributes and what they are used for. The complete set of
attributes is listed in the Script Reference Guide, where you
can see how to manipulate objects and set their attributes from
within a script program.
NOTE: The section entitled Predefined Object Types contains a
detailed discussion of each of the object types that are
predefined in DCGAMES. Additional object types can be created
using the script language, as detailed in
Type
The type attribute is used to determine what the object can be
used for. Food can be consumed, weapons can be wielded, armor
can be worn, vehicles can be ridden. The DCGAMES system
includes the following predefined types: Food, Weapon, Ammo,
Armor, Shield, Amulet, Ring, Potion, Scroll, Staff, Chest, Key,
Gem, Book, Gold Sack, Torch, Lantern, Rope, Hooks, Mirror, Signs
and Vehicle.
You can use the +/- signs to scroll through the list of valid
types. You can, of course, create your own object types using
the Script language to modify the OBJECT.SCR file, which
controls the behavior of all object types.
Class
Within each type of object, the class attribute allows you to
further differentiate between objects of the same type. For
example, a Weapon may be a Blunt, Edged or Missile weapon, and
an Amulet's class indicates the type of spell that the amulet
has.
Once again, you can create new classes or modify the existing
ones if they don't fit your needs.
Graphics Block
You have already chosen the graphics block you will use, but you
can change the block by using the +/- keys or pressing F2 and
choosing another graphics block from the list of blocks shown.
Registered users can create new graphics blocks by using the
DCBLOCK graphics block editor.
Description
This field holds the name of the object. Up to 15 characters
may be used. This name will be used to describe the object.
The object in the example is called "Long Bow".
Script
The behavior of all objects is controlled by the OBJECT script.
This script handles all generic objects, such as food, weapons,
armor, etc. The script can be extended to handle new types of
objects, or classes of any given type. In some rare cases you
may want to create an object that has a behavior that is
different from the generic objects in some particular way. In
that case, you will write a script to handle that object, and
give the name of the script in this field. Whenever the object
is used or referenced in the game, your script will be allowed
to control the object's behavior. If your script does not
handle the specific behavior, the OBJECT script will be used
instead.
PCX File
Each object can have a PCX graphics file associated with it,
which is displayed when you look at the object. Specify a value
between 1 and 999. The PCX file should be called OPICT###.PCX,
where ### is the 3 digit number (001 through 999).
Value
The value of an object is the amount that you would be expected
to pay for it if you bought it at a local store. If you SELL the
object, you will usually get about 1/2 of the value. For a CHEST
or GOLD SACK, the value indicates the amount of gold found in it.
The value field is entered in silver pieces (SP), and 10sp is
equal to 1 gold piece (GP).
Count
When you create an object, you may want to specify that the
graphics block represents more than a single object. For
example, ammunition (such as arrows) would be represented by a
quarrel full of arrows. In that case, the count would be the
number of arrows being represented.
Weight
When you create an object, you may specify it's weight. An
object with a weight of 1 is considered to be weight-less. A
weight of 0 is not valid.
A character's ability to carry objects varies depending on the
character's type and strength. Objects with a weight between 1
and 255 may be carried. Objects with weight higher that 255 are
considered to be too heavy to be moved. This is, of course,
customizable in the OBJECT script.
Weigh Text displayed if you try to move the object
999 The <object> is much too heavy
998 The <object> can't be moved
997 Why would you want to take the <object> with you?
256+ You can't move it.
Other Attributes
Each object may have up to 5 different variable attributes.
These attributes are used for different purposes depending on
the object's type. For weapons, the 5 attributes are: hands
(the number of hands needed to wield the weapon), range (how far
away from the player can the weapon reach), damage (approximate
damage done with the weapon) and ammo code (if the weapon is a
missile class weapon, then it uses ammunition of class ammo code.
End Game
This field is a number that can be used to indicate that the
game should finish under special conditions, such as when
someone GETs the object, or GIVEs it to someone else. There are
much better ways of controlling the end of the story. This
field is retained for compatibility with games written with
older versions of DCGAMES, in which the number of ways to end a
game were pretty limited.
Text
Some objects (such as books and signs) may have some text
written on them. The text field allows you to specify a text
record which contains the object's text. Each text record can
contain up to 16 lines of text. At the bottom of the screen you
will see the first six lines of the text record. Pressing F4
will allow you to access all 16 lines.
Creating Characters
You can populate your worlds with all kinds of characters. Each
character created has it's own unique characteristics, which
vary depending on the character's type, class and statistics.
To create a character, you press 'C' and fill in the form. Like
you did with objects, you can 'G'et a character and then
'C'reate it somewhere else, or you can 'D'uplicate a character
and 'C'reate a new one based on the old one.
Type
The character type indicates the normal behavior of the
character. Unlike object types, each character type has it's
own script that handles the character's behavior. By default, a
character's script has the same name as the character type.
DCGAMES includes the following predefined character types:
Regular, Hostile, Merchant, Healer, Civilian, Teller, Quester,
Beggar, Trainer, Guard, Prisoner.
The section Predefined Character Types contains a more detailed
description of each character type as implemented by the
corresponding script. You are welcome to modify the defined
types or invent new ones.
Class
Where the character type was used to indicate the profession of
the character, it's class is used to indicate the capabilities
of the same. Currently defined classes are: Human, Elf, Dwarf,
Archer, Wizard and Guard.
Graphics Blocks
A character may have two graphics blocks associated with it. The
first one is the one that is used to represent the character in
the adventure. The second one is only used under certain
conditions: For Hostile characters, the second graphics is used
to represent the followers or members of the band. For Prisoner
characters, the first graphics represents the character as a
prisoner, while the second one represents the character once
the prisoner has been rescued. Of course, under script control
you may use the second graphics block for any purpose.
A large number of graphics blocks are available to select from,
and you can create additional ones. Any graphics block can be
used to represent any character type. For example, a bartender
can be a massive troll, and a little girl can be the leader of a
band of monsters ravaging the country side. Your common sense is
the only restriction. Be consistent.
Name
A character can have a name of up to 15 characters.
PCX File
A graphics PCX file named CPICT###.PCX can be associated with
the character, where ### is a number between 000 and 999. A -1
indicates that NO graphics file is associated with the character.
VFL File
If you have a Sound Blastertm or compatible card, characters can
handle speech in full voice. A .VFL file (Voice FiLe) may
contain up to 32 Sound Blaster format .VOC files, each
associated with a unique keyword. During regular conversation,
the appropriate voice recording will be played back if it is
available.
A VFL file is formed using the MKVFL utility, and has name
VOICE###.VFL, where ### is a number between 000 and 999. Again,
-1 indicates that no voice file is associated with the character.
Script
As mentioned before, each character type has a unique script
associated with it. The default script for a character has the
same name as the character's type. In some special cases, you
may want to create a unique script for a special character.
Such is the case of JIMMY, a character that is supposed to be
the player's best friend in the example adventure game. A
special script file (JIMMY.SCR) is needed to handle interaction
between the player and the Jimmy character.
Count
The count field is used to indicate the number of characters
represented by a single character block. It is used mostly for
Hostile and Guard types, which represent multiple enemies during
a battle.
Treasure
Each character can carry an amount of money. The amount is
given in silver pieces (where 10sp = 1gp). For some character
types, this field is used for specific purposes. See Predefined
Character Types for more details.
Text
All characters except those with hostile intentions can have a
block of 16 lines of text associated with them. On each line,
the first 8 characters are a topic of conversation, and the rest
of the line is their response if you mention the topic.
Some topics have predefined answers in case none has been
provided by the designer. In such a case a standard answer is
given, such as NAME, JOB, HELLO, BYE. A DEFAULT keyword is used
to respond when an unknown topic is mentioned.
Note that all text records are all stored in the TEXT.DTA file
(both object and character text). To modify the text records
directly, use the T)ext command from the main window.
Statistics
Each character has a statistics record associated with it. The
statistics record is created with the S)tats command and is
stored separately from the characters. Multiple characters can
share a single statistics record.
A statistics record holds the following character attributes:
Level, Strength, Speed, Aim, Dexterity, Hit Points, Intelligence
(IQ) and Power. Both current and normal values are given. For
example, a magician's Power points are consumed casting a spell,
and are slowly restored back to their normal value. The current
value is how many power points are still available for casting
other spells.
In addition to these attributes, each statistics record can hold
up to 16 objects in a backpack, as well as the 6 items that can
be worn by a player (Weapon, Armor, Shield, Ring, Amulet and
Staff). Since the statistics records can be shared, you can
create a single record to represent all characters of a given
type (for example the guards of a castle), and all would carry
the same equipment and have the same attributes.
Some character types may use the statistics backpack for
different purposes. For example, a hostile character carries in
it's backpack the treasures that would be left behind if it were
killed, etc. For more details, see Predefined Character Types.
While the game includes many predefined statistics records, you
will probably want to define custom ones for all your main
characters.
Note that the Type, Class, Block and Name attributes are
over-ridden by the character's attributes of the same name.
These attributes exist in the statistics record mostly to allow
the game builder to remember why the record was created in the
first place. Also, when a character's statistics are modified,
the changes are saved into the statistics file. Thus, selling
an object to a merchant (which places the object in the
merchant's backpack) will make that object available to ALL
merchants that share that statistics backpack. Predefined Object Types
The following is a list of object TYPES, and a description of
their basic nature and attributes which you can manipulate to
create your own unique objects:
Food
A single unit of food will feed one person, and last about 500
steps. This is usually quite enough, as food is cheap and can be
carried in quantity without penalty.
Food can have a personal magic effect (cure, heal, poison,
etc..), in which case it will be kept separate from the regular
food. When creating magical food, you can specify the number of
units that will be affected, as well as whether the effect is
temporary or permanent.
Weapons
Weapons can be BLUNT, EDGED, MISSILE or MAGICAL. You specify the
number of hands needed (1 or 2), the range (in squares), the
damage done (in HP units) and the type of ammunition needed (if
any).
Some player types are restricted in the types of weapons they
can use, either by weight, or type. See the player's guide
(DCPLAY.DOC) for additional information.
Ammunition
A weapon may need some kind of ammunition. The Ammo_Code for the
weapon should match the Ammo_Type. The count is the number of
rounds available. The ammunition may have poison, or do extra
damage above the normal damage caused by the weapon. For
example, poison arrows, or explosive bullets, as opposed to
normal arrows or bullets.
Armor
Armor can increase a character's "Armor Class". The higher this
number, the better protected you will be against hits. Some
characters can't use armor, while others have a limit on the
weight of the armor they can use.
See the player's guide for restrictions on the type of armor
that can be used by the different character classes.
Shield
A shield works just like armor, but it requires a free hand.
Some characters can't use shields at all.
See the player's guide for restrictions on the type of shields
that can be used by the different character classes.
Amulets and Rings
Magical amulets and rings can be worn by anyone. They have a
limited number of charges (uses), and may have a personal magic
effect that can be temporary or permanent.
Potions
Magical potions can have personal magical effects. They can be
used only once, and may have temporary or permanent effect.
Scrolls
Magical scrolls can be invoked only once. They have magical
spells that be invoked by almost anyone. The attributes vary
depending on the spell they contain.
Staffs
A magical staff requires a free hand to wield, but can cast a
magical spell. You can specify the number of charges (between 0
and 255). 255 means it never runs out and 0 means there are no
charges left.
Chests
A chest can contain gold (it's value). If the value is 0, then
the chest will contain a random number of gold pieces that is
related to the player's current hit points. Chests can be
locked, and the locks can be trapped. The traps can be poison or
bombs.
If the Lock Code of a chest is non-zero, then the chest is
locked, and must be opened using a key with a matching Key Code.
The lock can also be broken, but you run the risk of setting off
a trap (if any).
Keys
A key can open a locked chest or door. The Key_Code should match
the Lock_Code in the chest. Doors always use a Key_Code of 0.
Gems
A Gem can be invoked for type 1 magical effect. It's effect may
be temporary or permanent. A gem has a limited number of charges
(uses).
Books
A book may have up to 16 lines of text, or have a PCX picture
associated with it. Either is shown when you LOOK at it.
Gold Sack
A gold sack will contain an amount of gold.
Torches and Lanterns
Torches and Lanterns are meant to be used in dark places. Since
light and darkness is not currently implemented, there is no
real need for torches and lanterns. In the future, there will
be, so plan to make these available (say by a local merchant in
some small town).
Rope and Hooks
Needed for climbing. (Not currently implemented)
Mirrors
Doesn't do anything usually.
Signs
Signs can have up to 16 lines of text painted on them. Signs can
hang from a wall or stand on the floor. A sign's text is
displayed when the player looks at it, unless it has a PCX file
associated with it!
Vehicles
Vehicles can be used to travel faster and easier. The type of
vehicle indicates the type of terrain they can be used on:
SMOOTH LAND, ALL TERRAIN, LOW FLYER, MID FLYER, HIGH FLYER, LOW
WATER and DEEP WATER.
At the moment fuel (or food for live vehicles like horses, etc)
has not been implemented, so vehicles are easy to use. You
cannot take a vehicle out of the world it is in, unless you can
carry it with you (weight < 256).
It is a good idea to limit the types of vehicles that can be
carried in the adventure. A good example of such a vehicle would
be a flying carpet.Predefined Character Types
Regular
This individual will talk to you about topics in it's text
record, and will JOIN the party if asked. The script
REGULAR.SCR handles this type of character.
Civilian
Similar to a regular character, but this individual is not
interested in Joining the party. The default script is
CIVILIAN.SCR
Hostile
This individual will attack on sight. Hostile characters are
the only ones that don't have a script. They are handled by the
game driver since they are animated. At a later time, when
animation is done in DCGAMES, hostile characters may have
scripts.
In the statistics file there are 4 statistics records dedicated
to hostile characters. These records represent Small, Medium,
Large and Pirate hostiles. The main differences between the
first 3 lies in the attributes (strength, etc) and weapons
(damage). The last one is used specifically to generate pirate
ships (characters) which when destroyed must leave behind the
ship (i.e. the backpack of a pirate ship's statistics should
contain a complete ship, and probably a small skiff also).
Merchant
This character buys and sells items. The character's backpack
contains the objects that it will sell. A merchant will only
buy items of the same type as the ones in it's backpack. For
example, if the merchant sells weapons and armor, it will also
buy any kind of weapon and armor, but will not buy shields or
rings or any other type of object.
In the statistics file there are 3 statistics records dedicated
to merchants (Magic Potions, Magic Rings & Amulets and Magic
Staffs). These statistics records are used by the game system
to generate treasures for random monsters. The P)arameters
command can be used to change the 3 records that will be used
for this purpose.
The merchant's script is called MERCHANT.SCR.
Healer
A healer will Cure poisoning, Heal wounds, Remove cursed items
and Resurrect dead players. All of this for a price, of course.
The healer script is HEALER.SCR.
Teller
A teller will talk to the player and (for a price) will deliver
some cryptic message. The message is stored in the teller's
text record. The entire record is displayed. No keywords are
used.
Questor
A quester will ask the player to bring him some item or rescue a
person. The backpack of the quester holds the items that are
being requested. The quest is finished when the player delivers
to the quester an object with the same Name and Type as the one
in the quester's backpack. The quester is the only character
allowed to have a character in it's backpack. This character is
not real, it is just a place holder that let's the quester
identify a person that was meant to be rescued. (See Prisoner
below).
Prisoner
A prisoner is someone that needs to be rescued. The prisoner
will join the party to escape from wherever it is being held.
When a quester character finds the prisoner to be a member of
the party, it removes the prisoner and considers the quest to
rescue the prisoner to be complete.
Beggar
A beggar asks for money. If any is given, it might give a good
hint, if not, it might try to steal some money. The hints are
stored in the beggar's TEXT record, and no keywords are used.
The first line of the text record contains the beggar's opening
line.
Trainer
A trainer will charge a fee to train one character in the party,
providing an expensive but quick way of increasing the
character's attributes.
Guard
The player's party is prevented from approaching a guard. This
allows the guard to prevent access to a door or a passage. When
the player talks to the guard, he/she will be given the
opportunity to provide a password or try to bribe the guard.
Once this has been done, the guard will allow the player to pass
through the guarded spot.Predefined World Types
When the party enters or exists a world, the world's script is
executed. If the world does not have a script, the script
WORLDDEF.SCR is executed. This script handles the features of
the following world types:
Outdoors
This is a true WORLD. If you travel long enough in any
direction, you will return to your original point of departure.
(i.e. you wrap around at the edges).
In all other world types, walking of the edge of the world takes
you out of the world through the Edge Door of that world.
In an outdoor world, random monsters may appear. When a random
monster is created, it's statistics are chosen from a group of 4
statistics records that are configured in the P)arameters
screen. The graphics used for the monsters are also configured
in the parameters screen. Outdoor worlds use Land and Water
based monster graphics.
Big City, Small Town
Walking to the edge of this world will take you out of it
through the Edge Door. This is normally the door that you
entered from. No random monsters appear inside a city or town.
Right now there is no difference between a SMALL TOWN and a BIG
CITY. In the future, there might be some.
While there is currently no penalty for taking objects
(stealing) in a town or city, it is easy to add such a feature,
and it probably will be added to the scripts soon, so don't
place loose objects that the adventurer is supposed to get in
towns or cities.
Dungeon
This is an underground cavern. Random monsters are created from
the Cave Monsters parameter graphics. If you reach the edge of
the dungeon, you will "wrap" in the same way that you do
OUTSIDE. If you wish to prevent from happening, make sure the
EDGE of the dungeon is not reachable by having solid walls
around the world.
Hideout
Currently no different than a CITY or TOWN. However, it may
later have special features that distinguish it from a normal
place.
This is a good place to put "specialty" stores. No random
monsters will appear. Walking of the edge is the same as for
CITIES and TOWNS.
Houses and Castles
No random monsters will appear in a HOUSE or CASTLE. Walking of
the edge is the same as for CITIES, TOWNS and HIDEOUTS. There
are no other special features.
In houses and castles you are allowed to take anything that's
loose. To prevent an object from being taken, make it very heavy
and the player will be unable to carry it!
Arena
This is a special world in which a monster will be created every
time you enter, as well as periodically while you are in it. It
is intended as a place where you can fight random monsters to
build up your party. The monsters have no treasure since they
are assumed to be caught and brought to the arena, rather than
free.
End Game
When the character enters this world, the game ends. This way
of ending a game was used before scripts were available. Now,
you can end the game from within a script, but this is retained
for compatibility with previous systems.The Magic System
The magic system is explained in the Game Player's Guide
(DCPLAY.DOC) in more detail. This section introduces the magic
system so you can create objects that have magical properties.
Two types of magic exist, and each will be treated separately.
Personal Magic
Personal magic operates on an individual, and is usually
channeled through potions or artifacts that can be worn close to
your body such as rings, amulets and gems. The known effects
are listed in the following table:
Effect Description
CURE Cures poisoning and disease
HEAL Speeds up the healing process
POISON Causes poisoning
RESTORE Cures all wounds completely
STRENGTH Increases a subject's strength
DEXERITY Increases a subject's dexterity
SPEED Increases a subject's speed
AIM Increases a subject's aim
HIT POINTS Increases a subject's hit points
ARMOR CLASS Protects against damage
IQ Increases intelligence
POWER Increases magical power
When you create an object, be it Food, Potion, Ring, Amulet or
Gem, you can specify a magical property for that object, as well
as the amount of effect that the item will have and whether the
effect is permanent or temporary.
For example, you might create a ring of might, which would
increase your hit points by 80 points, allowing you to take a
lot more damage than normal during a battle. Such an item
should have TEMPORARY effect and a limited number of uses,
otherwise, it would make the adventure too easy!
In general, for each object you create that can have magical
properties, you can specify it's class (type of magic), points
of effect (units), whether the effect is temporary or permanent,
and the number of charges or uses that the object has. Not all
properties apply all the time. For example, food can only be
used once, and a 'cure' spell has no points or duration, it just
removes the poison.
The main thing to remember when you create magical items, is
that the better the magic, the more it should cost and the
harder it should be to obtain. Also, permanent effects should
never be attributed to objects that can be re-charged, since a
good magician could just keep re-charging the object and max out
all the characters. A potion, since it can only be used once,
is a prime candidate for a permanent effect object.
In the example adventure, there is a merchant in one of the
cities that sells potions. A 'red' potion (which increases
strength) is available for a relatively small amount of money,
but a 'deep red' potion (which is supposed to reflect it's
potency) costs a LOT more.
External Magic (Spells)
The second type of magic is much more powerful, and can only be
invoked by a wielder of magical power. Invoking a magical spell
consumes energy which must be replenished through rest and
meditation. Sometimes, a mage can infuse a spell into a conduit
that will hold that spell until it is released by another
subject. Example of such conduits are magical scrolls, or staffs
made of the rarest woods.
The following magical spells require concentration and
meditation, and are not suited for use during a battle:
Effect Description
DESTROY Destroy one object
DUPLICATE Duplicate an object
LEAVE Exit a cave through teleportation
RESURRECT Bring a dead person back to life
LISTEN Bring far-away conversations to your ears
LOCATE Find all exits/entrances in the immediate area.
RECHARGE Recharge a magical object (Ring, Amulet, Gem or Staff)
FLOAT Reduce an object's weight
ANALYZE Provide detailed information about an object
VIEW Provide an eagle-eye view of the area.
The following spells are for battle situations only.
Effect Description
KILL Causes massive damage to a single foe, usually resulting
in it's dead.
CONFUSE Confuses your foe, causing it to attack it's own kind.
PARALYZE Paralyzes a foe for a small amount of time.
SCARE Scares a foe, causing it to flee.
DAMAGE Causes massive damage to a single foe, usually resulting
in it's dead.
Note that the magic system described here is implemented with
scripts (OBJECT.SCR and CASTING.SCR), and that it can be both
extended (you can create more magic effects of either type, new
types of magic, new objects with different magical effects or
new characters with different magical powers), and modified (you
can change any and all of the above to any extent you wish).