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SysOp Documentation.
VGA Planets is a Registerd Trademark of Tim Wisseman.
VGA Planets is copyrighted shareware material owned by Tim Wisseman.
Including documentation in VP300.ZIP explains this matter fully.
Nothing in this text file (SYSOP.DOC) can supercede or overide
the obligations, restrictions, or particulars stated in Tim Wissemans
documentation in VP300.ZIP.
The VGA Planets BBS DOOR Interface program is written by Rick Di Lorenzo <me>.
It is also copyrighted but is shareware, so you may use it for up to 30 days
without registering it.
Note : Registering the door does not mean you have registered the GAME,
and vice versa in that registering the game does not give you automatic
registration of the door. The game and the door are two seperate
programs.
The BBS Interface door For VGA Planets is an entirely seperate package
that includes these files.
VGAPLANE.EXE Main DOOR .EXE file
BBSHOST.EXE Event/Maintenance file to be executed nightly.
SYSOP.DOC Documentation for both VGAPLANE.EXE and BBSHOST.EXE
PUSERX.DAT Empty user files for the Door Interfaces use.
BBSLOAD.BAT Sample DOOR.BAT file to load up the BBS Door.
REGISTER.LST List of SysOps who have registered the door.
HISTORY.DOC New features and docs (READ THIS FILE!)
The file VP300.ZIP is the actual game files written by Tim Wisseman.
The BBS Inteface door supports PCBOARD.SYS, DOOR.SYS, and DOORINFO.DEF
The PCBOARD.SYS support is solid and free of bugs (to my knowledge).
The DOOR.SYS support appears free of bugs, but has not been tested in a
longterm basis. The DOORINFO.DEF works but I haven't used it myself yet.
There is also WWIV support but I do not have much faith in it, it might/should
work if the development information on chain.txt I recieved is correct.
Quick Start to install VGA Planets as a Door on your BBS.
1. UNZIP VP300.ZIP into a directory, run the INSTALL.EXE program making
sure to install ONLY the HOST files onto your system. Choose an
appropriate door directory for your BBS.
2. Skim through or read the *.DOC files that will be created along with
the other host files in your appropriate created door directory.
3. Make sure that VGAPLANE.EXE, BBSHOST.EXE, and the PUSER*.DAT files
are in the same directory with the installed VGA Planet Host files.
4. Make these subdirectories.
MD GAME1
MD GAME2
MD GAME3
MD GAME4
MD GAME5
So you would have a directory like perhaps (only an example)
C:\BBS\VGAP\ that has the above mentioned installed files in it, along
with the BBS Door interface files. Then from that dir you would have
additional SUBDIRS such as C:\BBS\VGAP\GAME1\, and so on up to GAME5\.
5. Execute MASTER.EXE with the Command line Parameter GAME1.
Eg. At the dos prompt you would type.
C:\BBS\VGAP\MASTER GAME1
Select ALL 11 Player Races, as you select them they become highlighted in
green. Make sure all 11 become selected. Then press ENTER when you are
finished.
Answer "N" to the question of "Do you wish the players to have passwords?"
since such passwords would conflict with the BBS Door Interfaces internal
records.
Select "Y" to "Do you want the Planetary friendly codes randomized"
The additional starting options that it will question you on can be
answered in whatever way you feel would be best for maximum enjoyment
by your users. However I'd advise for a starting game, to have
(1) Classic Homeworlds, Being "Medium" range from each other.
Starting from the (C)enter of the universe. With maybe Extra Richness
of minerals, high populations, and high starting amount of money.
When it asks for starting ENGINE tech level I'd advise a starting level of
1, but this is my own preference for initializing a new game, and could
be set to a higher value if you wish. Once again check Tim's
documentation for further information.
6. REPEAT step 5 for EACH other game... I.E.
MASTER GAME2
MASTER GAME3
MASTER GAME4
MASTER GAME5
7. Look at BBSLOAD.BAT, it's a sample batch file that I use for my BBS
which is running PCBoard 15.0 (note it also works with PCBoard 14.x
versions). Here it is once again.
C:
CD \PCB\DOOR\VGAP
VGAPLANE /P:C:\PCB
CD \PCB
BOARD
The first two lines are obvious I hope. They serve to move into
the directory that contains both the VP300.ZIP installed HOST files,
and the BBS Host Interface files.
The third line is what loads up the BBS Door. It's command line
parameter switches are.
/P For PCBOARD.SYS
/W for CHAIN.TXT <No idea if the WWIV chain.txt support works though>
/D for DOOR.SYS
/R for DOORINFO.DEF
/S Turns on SOFTWARE FLOW CONTROL. Useful if you have users
that for some reason don't use hardware flow control.
/F Fossil Driver support.
/M Digiboard support, very buggy. I'd advise using a fossil.
following these intial switches is :PATH, where path is the path to the
BBS Drop file (I.E. Pcboard.sys, door.sys, or whatever).
So for my BBS I have /P:C:\PCB because I use PCBoard.sys to load
up the door and because C:\PCB is the directory that the BBS creates
the pcboard.sys file. Note that there are NO spaced between the /P
and the :C:\PCB. Also note that you do not need an end slash on C:\PCB
for it to work.
VGAPLANE, when loaded correctly should be able to tell if the current
user is on remotely or locally. Should be able to find the Com Port,
Baud Rate, user name, etc from the drop file correctly. Locked or
Unlocked baud rates should not cause a problem.
This has been tested over a period of use on my system (PCBoard 15.0)
and also on a friends (PCBoard 14.5). On other BBS programs I have not
been able to test it yet. If you successfully get this door running on
a non-pcboard system. Please tell me.
8. IMPORTANT LAST STEPS - Put the BBSHOST.EXE into your nigthly event or
maintenance file. So BBS Host will be ran every night. Make sure
it is executed in the PROPER directory. I.E. in your event.sys
(for pcboard) you would add something like this into your current
event file.
CD \PCB\DOOR\VGAP
BBSHOST
BBSHOST will default to run the HOST program on all games that have 9 or
more players in them currently. You can change this default by putting a
command line parameter. Such as "BBSHOST 11" instead of just "BBSHOST".
The Default of 9 is a good number I feel, this means the game will not
start processing until at least 9 players have joined the current game
and are ready. You can play with less, but the more players (up to
the max of 11 of course) the merrier. I feel 3 or 4 would be the
'minimum' you would want to set it to. But setting this does not mean
that it's putting a limit on how many people can play. Because more
users can join an in-process game through the "J" command still as long
as not all 11 user slots are used up in a game. So the game could start
running as soon as 9 players are ready, but later on a 10th and 11th could
join in.
9. COPY the VP300.ZIP file into your VGA Planets directory also!
This is very important because users on your board will HAVE to download
this file so they can install the PLAYER files locally on to their
hard drives at home. The Door interface uses DSZ.COM in the door
to allow users to download VP300.ZIP, it also uses dsz.com for users
to upload and download their TRN/RST files.
Other Notes - The door currently supports up to 5 games with 11 players
each. That's up to 55 users being able to play VGA Planets on your bbs.
To increase the amount of games the door supports, you will have to register
it. Registration fees can be any amount over 15 dollars. Basically
whatever you feel it was worth.
Support for the door can be reached at 416-633-8779 HST or 416-663-1103
V32.bis. If you can't reach me at those BBS numbers you can mail me a letter.
Address is
Rick DiLorenzo
171 Kingscross drive
King City, Ontario
L0G 1K0
Canada
Btw I'd accept both american or canadian currency <g>. Also if registering,
make it a cheque or money order, not cash please.
I can also accept VISA, just give me the number, name as written on the
card, expiration date, and how much you authorize to be charged.
Support BBS
~~~~~~~~~~~
The Support BBS for the Door Interface is Toronto Twilight Communications,
and of course I'm the SysOp. The numbers are in the above paragraph.
Disclaimer
~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer - The Usual, I will assume no responsibilities for damages
caused by this program. If it runs amuck and eats up your mind or blows
up, tough spit. It is your responsibility to determine if this program will
work reliably on your computer system and software environment. This program
is available in an unregisterd form for the purpose of evaluation; by
registering, you acknowledge that it works to your liking and satisfaction.
In no event shall I, my BBS, my fifth-born child, or anything else related
to ME be liable for any damages incurred by this program.
I don't like to include any disclaimer at all, but for 'legal' purposes
I suppose I have to to guard my own hide.
Shareware Agreement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note after 30 days of use your shareware agreement expires and you HAVE
to register this if you want to legally continue using it. Not registering
it after 6 months of use would be a break in your shareware lisence and will
make you a criminal. So please be a good little sysop and send me all your
money <g>. But once again, Tim would deserve your money more than I, his
programming job and task was much more difficult. So please register
VGA Planets with him FIRST. I think his registered copy also has a lot
of nifty additional features or something, READ his docs...
Other way of contacting me - Nanet SYSOP conference (message to
"RICK DILORENZO"). C2C SysOp conference, Intellec SysOp conference,
and also the EchoNet chit-chat conference I suppose. I also have an
internet address of cs911212@ariel.yorku.ca. I only check my mail there
about once a week though. (Because I'm on SUMMER VACATION now and have
better things to do than go all the way back to York University to read
my mail).
Toronto Twilight Communications BBS - 8 Nodes - 900 Conferences - 5 Gigs.
416-663-8779 HST Nodes. 416-663-1103 V.32bis nodes 416-663-5751 Freenode.
Rick DiLorenzo...