home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Cream of the Crop 20
/
Cream of the Crop 20 (Terry Blount) (1996).iso
/
doom
/
cddk9605.zip
/
README.NOW
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-05-17
|
7KB
|
203 lines
░░░▒▓ ░░░▒▓ ░░░▒▓ ░░░▒▓ ░░░▒▓ ░░░▒▓ ░░░▒▓ ░░░▒▓
░░▒ █ ░░▒ █ ░░▒ █ ░░▒ █ ░░▒ ░░▒ █ ▒▓█ ░░▒ █
░▒▓ ░▒▓ ▓ ░▒▓ ▓ ░▒▓ ░▒▓ ░▒▓█▓ ▓█▓ ░▒▓ ▓
▒▓█ ▒▓█ ▒ ▒▓█ ▒ ▒▓█ ▒▓█▓▒ ▒▓█ ▒ █▓▒ ▒▓█ ▒
▓█▓ ░ ▓█▓ ░ ▓█▓ ░ ▓█▓ ░ ▓█▓ ▓█▓ ░ ▓▒░ ▓█▓ ░
█▓▒░░ █▓▒░░ █▓▒ ░ █▓▒░░ █▓▒░░ █▓▒ ░ ▒░░ █▓▒░░
THE CONCERTO DOOR DEVELOPMENT KIT
(temporary documentation)
(c) 1996 Altair ∙ All Rights Reserved Worldwide
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for downloading the Concerto door development kit. Concerto
is the result of 12 months of intensive programming, writing and testing.
Hundreds of hours are invested in this package.
Concerto allows you to work on your game without worrying about the
low-level mechanics of communications programming. You do not have to
load a drop file or write an ANSI interpreter. Rather, you can spend
your time designing an intricate plot or drawing a set of ANSI screens.
FEATURES
o Chat-Mode
■ IceChat colors (optional)
■ Line-wrapping
■ Sysop-only slash-commands
o Color Code Systems
■ ANSI
■ AVATAR
■ HexPipe
■ LORD (Legend of the Red Dragon)
■ PCBoard BBS color codes
■ RemoteAccess ^K codes
■ WildCat! BBS color codes
o Drop Files
■ DOOR.SYS
■ DORINFOx.DEF
o Error Recovery
■ Responsive carrier detection
■ Configurable time-out system
■ Halts after time limit exceeded
■ Descriptive run-time errors with macros
o Input/Output Routines
■ Installable I/O drivers using an OOP approach
■ All low-level I/O procedures provided
■ Many high-level routines provided as well
o Script Interpreter
■ Comprehensive run-time library provided to the sysop
■ Easily extended by the programmer
■ Free-form formatting (like Pascal or C, not BASIC)
■ Variables can be imbedded in strings or text files
■ Variable expansion with left/right justification and formatting
■ Easily make any variable in any unit accessible to the sysop
o Sysop Power
■ Sysop-definable command-line parameters
■ Sysop-definable function-keys
■ Sysop-definable status-lines
RELEASE SCHEDULE
Updates to Concerto are released every 30 to 60 days.
Phase 1: Alpha During this phase we collect feedback, fix bugs
and add new features. This continues until we
reach a "critical" mass of changes.
Phase 2: Beta The new version is sent to selected beta sites.
We concentrate on fixing bugs and updating
the documentation.
Phase 3: Gamma The new version is released to the public. We
take a break for a few weeks, then start over at
phase 1.
Registered users can participate in any phase of development.
WARNING: READ CAREFULLY
This product is currently under development. Although we consider
Concerto to be one of the best door development kits ever made
for Turbo Pascal, there are certain factors that you must consider
before using this product.
o Price Concerto is not freeware. The unregistered version
contains units (TPUs) only. Refer to REGISTER.FRM
for a current list of prices. You are not allowed
to distribute any games made with an unregistered
version of Concerto.
o Programming Concerto uses pChars (null-terminated strings) and
OOP (object-oriented programming). These are advanced
programming topics and may frustrate novice programmers.
o Docs Our MS-Word(tm)-formatted programmer's reference was
was not finished in time for this release. We have,
however, provided a tutorial series, a voice technical
support package, and the heavily-commented headers
from the Concerto units.
We are going to do our best to support this product. We offer monthly
updates, a superb technical support package and a fresh approach to door
development. We want you to be happy with Concerto!
Please consider the above factors very carefully before investing your
time and money with this product. After all, the success of Concerto
depends greatly upon the satisfaction of its users.
INSTALLATION
1. Change to the Turbo Pascal directory (i.e. C:\TP).
2. Make a directory for the Concerto units (i.e. C:\TP\CONCERTO).
3. Copy the contents of the UNITS archive to this directory.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for the DOCS, INCLUDE and TUTOR archives.
DOCS . . . . . . . . . . Documentation
INCLUDE . . . . . . . . Sample ANSI screens, sysop documentation, etc
TUTOR . . . . . . . . . Tutorial series
5. Run TURBO.EXE or TPX.EXE.
6. Go to the Compiler Options menu (press ALT-O, then press C).
7. Select the following options:
[X] Force far calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ON
[X] Extended syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ON
Alternately, you may use these switches in your main program:
{$F+} { Force far calls }
{$X+} { Extended syntax }
8. Go to the Directories menu (from the IDE, press ALT-O, then D).
9. Add the above directory (step #1) to the INCLUDE DIRECTORIES list
and the UNIT DIRECTORIES list.
10. Save your settings. From the IDE press ALT-O, then press S.
TUTORIAL SERIES
A tutorial series has been included in the TUTOR archive. We highly
suggest running the tutorial programs from a unique directory (i.e.
C:\TP\TUTOR). This, of course, is not absolutely required.
Open TUTOR1.PAS with your IDE and work through the series. Read all
of the comments and follow any directions. It may take an hour
or more to finish the series, but it will certainly be worth it.
ENJOY
Run the tutorial series, then ask yourself: Will Concerto meet your needs?
If the answer is NO, then delete the archive or pass it along to a friend.
We thank you for evaluating the package. Please keep it mind that
updates are released every 30 to 60 days; a future version may be more
suitable for you.
If the answer is YES, then read SUPPORT.DOC and REGISTER.FRM as soon as
possible. And BTW: Welcome to the world of communications programming!
P.S. An unregistered message will be displayed about 1/10 of the
times you test your program. This should not interfere with your
evaluation of the package.