HOW TO ADD NEW WORD LISTS TO PHIL WEGRZYN'S WHEEL OF FORTUNE GAME
Stephen P. Nye (76703,4032)
Some users have expressed an interest in adding new word lists to the Wheel of Fortune game available here in CBMART. This file will explain how to make up new
word lists and add them to the Wheel of Fortune, how to upload your lists for other members to share, and how to download those that are uploaded by others and
merge them into your WOF game. No special programming skills are required, but you will need two programs, LIST CREATOR from the WOF ARC file and WOFLST
available in DL11 here. You might also want to download an example file I have uploaded called VIDEO.LST.
** NOTE ** All operations take place on the WOF disk. There is no opportunity to swap disks. If you are creating a list of your own, you can load LIST CREATOR
and then place the WOF game disk in the drive before running the program. If you download to a separate disk, you will have to copy the file onto the WOF disk
BEFORE you can merge it into the game.
MAKING A NEW LIST
When adding a list of words to WOF you should take the time to plan out the list before you sit down to enter it on the disk. The structure of the word files
is not complex, but does require a little explanation. There will be 5 categories, and these categories should share a common theme. The theme of my example
file is VIDEO. The 5 categories of the example file are TV Shows, Movies, Soaps, Cartoons, and Oldies. You must have the same number of words for each
category. Once you have compiled the list of words you want to add, it is time to sit down at the computer.
Load and run the LIST CREATOR from the WOF disk. It will display a few instruction screens, and then ask if you wish to Add or Erase a theme. Choose "A" unless
you want to delete an existing theme. You will then be prompted for the theme of the file you are about to create. For the example file I chose VIDEO. You will
then be prompted for the five categories. After entering the categories, you will be prompted for one word at a time for each category. The words can be up to
33 characters long and can include apostrophe, comma, period, etc.
If you make a mistake while entering the word lists, you can use the DEL key if you have not yet pressed RETURN, and if you have already entered the RETURN,
you may press the left arrow key. The left arrow key will erase the last entry for ALL categories. You will then be prompted again for those entries.
You terminate the session and save the new word lists by pressing a RETURN at the prompt for the next entry in the FIRST category. The data will automatically
be saved to the disk. The necessary file information in the WOF game is modified at this time also.
UPLOADING WORD LISTS
The word lists reside on the WOF disk as separate small SEQ files. In order to upload them you have to merge them into one file. The program WOFLST will do
this for you. When you have finished entering the word lists, exit LIST CREATOR and load WOFLST. When run, it will prompt for the theme of the 5 categories you
wish to extract. Extracting the theme does NOT erase it from the WOF disk. It is copied into another file. You are then asked for a name for the new file. The
normal CBM SEQ filename conventions apply. The rest of the operation of the program is automatic.
Once the upload file has been created on disk, you are ready to upload the file. If using B Protocol (Vidtex) just upload as a normal CBM SEQ file. If you are
using Xmodem, upload as a SEQ file with ASCII/PETSCII translation. I suggest that the CompuServe filename end with a .LST extension so we can identify the file
as a WOF word list. Please note the theme of the list in your file description.
DOWNLOADING WOF WORD LISTS
You can download a WOF word list as you would any other CBM SEQ file. If using Vidtex, no special procedures are needed. If using Xmodem, make sure to use
ASCII/PETSCII translation. No special filename rules apply when downloading, you may name the file anything you wish. When downloading, note the theme from the
file description, as you will be asked for it later.
Once you have the file downloaded, load and run WOFLST. At the opening prompt, choose Add a file. You will be prompted for the theme of the five categories,
and the name of the file as you downloaded it. The rest of the operation is automatic.
DELETING THEMES FROM THE GAME DISK
At some point, you may wish to delete a theme from the WOF game disk. To do so, load and run the LIST CREATOR. At the opening prompt, choose to Erase a file.
The program will list the themes on the disk to the screen and prompt for the NUMBER of the theme you wish to erase. The rest of this operation is automatic.
If you have any problems, leave me a message on the SIG and I will help you out.
