CYBER.XPO.95/CYBER.XPO.95 (Arsenal Computer).ISO/popreq/amiga1/blands.lha/BLSETUP

Text File | 1980-12-12 | 9KB | 177 lines

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*                             BATTLE LANDS                              *
*                                                                       *
*                    WRITTEN BY WAYNE 'STU2' STEWART                    *
*                                                                       *
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Hello,

I bet you really hate those long boring intros to games that people write.
You just want to get to the meat of the how to's and where for's. Me too.
Just let me say that 3 weeks before I programmed Battle Lands I didn't
know the first thing about arexx (well a little) so after playing this
through you can imagine where my games will be when I learn a little more.
I basically taught myself as I went. Reading code to other games (several
dozen) I found that arexx pfiles are just basically menu's which lead to
actions, subroutines and saves. Any really good arexx programmer will
tell you my code is far too long. I agree. I actually took out 20k but
didn't want to keep testing as I removed the useless stuff. Rest assured
my next pfile will be chopped and as far from memory hungry as I can get
it.

WHAT IS BATTLE LANDS?

Well, I based this losely on a role playing game I wrote a while back called
20KAD...which stands for 20,000 a.d. !! Clever, eh? It is a futuristic
role playing game where the ultimate goal is to open the Gate between
the Battle Zone and the Radiation Zone. The registered version should
contain 2 zones but this one was ready so I let it go. The characters
can gain levels, fight each other, fight monsters (97 different monsters),
visit dungeons, bases and alien crafts. They can rob each other, gain
access to the computer link and learn skill and improve their traits
and classes through blackmarket goods and so on. With the right skills
they can make their own weapons and make their own armor. It's pretty
fun I guess and should last a while. Just remember it is my very first
attempt.

WHAT TO DO?

put BL & BLmaint in your pfiles:
put the entire drawer BattleLands in your pfiles:

Adopt BL as an arexx pfile. Simple, eh? Also ad BLmaint to your nightly
maintenance or else people will not get to play. The Blmaint places
everyone's turns back to 0, all their player fights back to 0 and their
bank visits back to 0 so it is important that this file be run every
night. Players should get 4 turns per day, 3 visits to the bank per day
and 4 Player Fights per day. You really don't want to change any of
this. It is fair. Bank visits are low because with the right skill the
player can learn to access other bank accounts and the early bird gamer
could rob everyone blind before anyone else gets a chance to play!!!!

Do not kill any files. The banklist contains a list of files which are
built into the game for accounts other than those of the users. the BLmaint
needs these files to be there and for the banklist to be there in order
for the accounts to be adjusted daily when someone has plundered them.
The accounts (in the battlelands/users/bank drawer) look like a bunch
of numbers up to 9 digits. Do not change the file name or number or the
BLmaint will fail and people will cry.

REGISTERED UPDATE:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After spending some time working on some pfile utilities like Randomwall,
Steelwall, Officewall, Select A Menu, Filing Cabinet & starting a Neuro-
mancer style game called Sysop Control I finally gained a good amount of
arexx programming skills. Therefore I put my attention back into the
registered version of Battle Lands.

Well, I have so far added 80k of extra stuff and the file is now 10K
smaller. Hence, I took out the uneeded double routines and wasted calls
from the unregistered version. I am far from finished. Below is a list
of things I have added, things I intend to add and things I am thinking
of adding to the registered version.

THINGS I ADDED:
1. There are now NPC characters that hand out valuable advice.
2. I have taken out the shop and made all the shops within it accessable
    from the main menu. There are now about 18 commands from the main
    menu all easier to use than before.
3. All the menus have been changed. I worked hard on them to make them
    look pretty cool.
4. Assassins really do critical damage now.
5. I added a Dealer to buy back weapons and armor when you decide to
    upgrade to a better set.
6. I made actual screens for the places in the game before you enter.
    For example when you move over the castle you will get a neat ansi
    picture of what your warrior sees.
7. You can now give your warrior a clever name.
8. Movement on the maps can now be made diagonally.
9. I took out a lot of call to the savestats so the game moves much more
    efficiently. However, to save on code space I rerouted the manner in
    which I make the monster calls so when you are attacked by a monster
    there is an instant of darkness. I'm working on clearing this up.
10. I added 3 races. Android, Mutant and Cyborg to the other group.
11. I made it so that if you are a spellcaster and someone fights you
    in the arena while you are away your spellcaster will cast spells
    in their attack.
12. I added an actual message base so players can leave letters to each
    other. Each person only gets 1 piece of mail however, because of
    the size of the rest of the support files.
13. The religion data base now shows privliedged underground information.
14. Every pther level of advancement nets the player some key information
    that will send them in the right direction. This is for people who
    wonder around not knowing their purpose. This game actually does have
    a story behind it. 2 IN FACT!!
15. The Radiation Zone is in as well as 2 other cities and the first Base
    to be visited. I have 6 more maps to work on. They are drawn and all
    their code is hand written but now I must stick it in the program.
16. As players begin to solve the mystery they are open to loads of info
    given from the NPCs that they rescue or meet. This info comes in as
    Ansi animations, ansi screens and dialogue.
17. The viewing of your character or using spynet now shows the player
    location, whether or not they have certain items or have been to
    certain places so you can keep an eye on your opponent's progress.
18. There are now over 210 monsters rather than the 97 in the Unregistered
    version. And the player maximum level will never exceed the Monster's
    ability. They get really fast and really viscious.

THINGS I AM GONNA ADD:
1. I am going to place more things on the maps already in existence.
    Some I finished quickly just to get the thing onto the Office for
    testing. The current Military base is very empty except for the
    really good weapon (Battle Phaser).
2. The ending (already written) will be spectacular. The player, after
    months of playing Battle Lands will feel as if they have actually
    saved the world.

THINGS I MAY ADD:
1. A flea market where you can sell and buy weapons between players rather
    than using the Dealer or shops.


wanna send money???
Oh well, write me if you think the game is cool or you think I failed
miserably. I do accept money if you are just the kind of person who enjoys
sending a buck to anyone.... :)

The Registered Battle Lands should be done by summer I hope. But at
the current rate I am working on it it should be done by mid February.
It's pretty massive, and when it's available it can be registered for about
15 bucks and found on The Doctor's Office BBS. Of course, you won't
find it till I'm done and you won't get it without the fee... sorry...
I will test it there for about 2 weeks before I release it so start
calling in early February and log on as a new user. It's a free board
and you will soon find the registered version in the pfiles so you
can check it out before you purchase it.

The Doctor's Office [phone]/[phone]
look for Stu2

THE REGISTERED VERSION OF BATTLE LANDS IS $15.00
DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY UNTIL AT LEAST MID FEBRUARY!
GIVE ME A CHANCE TO PERFECT THIS THING!!
send cards, letters, cash, change & gifts to:


R.W. Stewart,II
8337 Washington Village dr.
Centerville, Ohio 45458

thanx

p.s. If you want me to mail you the registered version of Battle Lands
then send an extra $2.00 for postage and all that. I don't accept credit
cards but I accept checks and money orders...or if you feel real frisky
then I accept cash but we both know that's not a good idea.

The best thing to do is call The Doctor's Office to download it after you
have sent me the money and your handle, password, name and address you
would like to use on the system. The long distance call late at night or
on the weekened with 10 minutes to download should cost you less than
$2.00. If not then you should change your long distance carrier. Plus you
will be able to see the registered version at work and see and updates or
fixes if any need made. For now everything is perfect.

see ya.....................