Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/BBS_GAME/FFIGHT44.ZIP/FFUSER.TXT

Text File | 1994-03-11 | 23KB | 552 lines

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                                    DOOR

                                 version 4.4

                             User Documentation


























                              by Michael Wilson

                                 The Village
                                408-229-0706
                            USR Courier HST 14.4K
                               2400/9600/14.4K
                              24 hours / 7 days





  Once upon a time, there were three very good friends.  Their names were
  Larry, Moe and Curley.  Even though they spent all their time together,
  they would always fight.  The way they fought inspired similar actions in
  school cafeterias around the world.  Their style of getting even was so
  special, that we at Compufax had to make a game for Bulletin Boards around
  the country that emulated this style.  This is  Food Fight!

  First, I will tell you what you will see in the game, then I will tell you
  how to play.

  When you first log into the game, you are presented with a title screen
  that tells you that you are in FOOD FIGHT.  It will also tell you if the
  sysop has been naughty or nice (whether he has registered this game or
  not).  If you press return, 2 things could happen.  This depends on whether
  you are a new user or not.

  IF YOU ARE A NEW USER
  ─────────────────────

  You will be presented with a screen telling you about the game.  Next you
  will have the option of choosing an alias.  This alias will be the name
  that everyone in the game knows you by.  If you choose an alias, no one
  will ever know your real name!  choose your alias wisely, for you will not
  have an opportunity to change it once you are in the game.

  IF YOU ARE NOT A NEW USER
  ─────────────────────────

  I will check for, and display, any new personal messages for you.  I will
  also tell you what happened to you since your last call.  This list will
  give you the names of the people who threw things at you, what they threw,
  whether they hit or missed, and how much damage was done to you.

  FOR EVERYONE
  ────────────

  I next display the message left by the last caller, if one.

  At last, you arrive at the main menu, the control center for the game.  The
  Main Menu has the following options:

  NOTE:  items marked (optional) can be disabled or changed by the sysop, and
  may not be available in every Food Fight game on every board.

  MESSAGES and WHAT HAPPENED?
  ───────────────────────────

  After the initial title screen, Food Fight will check for messages for you.
  It will also check for activity against you.  If the game is an active one,
  this may take several moments.  Please be patient.



  Fight another Player
  ────────────────────

    This is the main point of this game.  From here, you are presented with
    a list of all other players active in the game.  You need to choose
    one.  Then, you are transported to The Arena.  In The Arena, your name
    and score are listed at the top, and you opponent's are listed on the
    bottom.  The left side of the screen lists the foods that you have, and
    the quantity.  The foods are labels A - J.  Pressing one of these keys
    will throw the desired food at your opponent.  You will be told if you
    hit or miss, and will notice a change in your score and your opponant's
    score.  You will also be told if your opponant has protection AFTER you
    throw.  If one of your hits disables his protection, you will also be
    told this.   Pressing 'O' will allow you to choose another opponent.
    Pressing 'X' will exit back to the main menu.  Prior to exiting or
    choosing another opponent, you have the option of leaving a 1 line
    message for the player you just threw food at.  It will be automatically
    displayed next time he calls.

  Go to the Store
  ───────────────

    This is where you buy the food to throw.  All available food is listed
    with the cost.  Entering the desired food number, you are asked how
    many you want.  After each transaction, your dollar amount is decreased
    while your food arsenal is increased.  Pressing Q will exit back to the
    main menu.

    You can only carry a maximum of 500 pieces of food.  So, if you are
    saving up for a grand assault on another player, keep this limit in mind.
    Also remember that the more food you carry, the easier it is to steal it.

  Look for Money
  ──────────────

    Every day, each player may look for money.  They must do this to buy
    food to throw at other people.  There are 6 places where you can look
    for money. Each has a chance that something bad may happen.  This means
    that you trip, are mugged, hit by a car, etc.  If something bad
    happens, you will lose some food and/or some money.  There is also a
    chance that something good may happen.  This means you find more than
    the standard $20.00.

    No matter where you look, you will find a minimum of $20.00

                        Places to Look
                        ──────────────
                        Sidewalk
                        Street
                        Alley
                        School Yard
                        Parking Lot
                        In your Pockets

    You will need to experiment to find the best place for you to look for
    money.  As a hint, looking In Your Pockets will always return $20.00
    with no chance for bad and no chance for good.



  Color Toggle
  ────────────

    This will toggle the color on and off.  Default is whatever was in the
    BBS system file.

  View Player Scores
  ──────────────────

     This will list all the players in the game, their score and the last
     time they played.  The list is sorted with the highest score on top, and
     the lowest score on the bottom.

  Sysop's Bulletin
  ────────────────

     The sysop has the option of making a bulletin telling the players
     anything he wants.  If he has created such a bulletin, it will be
     displayed when you press this option.  You will be told if no such
     bulletin exists.

  Daily News Report
  ─────────────────

     This is the newspaper that will tell you everything that has happened in
     the game.  You can specify a date to search from.  It is suggested that
     you enter the date of your last call.  This is a good way to see how
     people are doing in hitting and missing, who is the most agressive, what
     the most popular food is, etc.

  Examine Configuration
  ─────────────────────

     This will display a screen detailing the following inforamtion:
          Version Number
          Names, hit percentage and damage of avialable foods
          Lottery tickets allowed per day
          Is stealing allowed?
          Are spys allowed and their cost
          Winning score
          Losing score



  Post a Message
  ──────────────

     This allows you to leave a private message for any other player in the
     game.  You can enter the full name, or any of the first part of the
     name.  You will be prompted when the game thinks it knows who you want
     the message sent to.

     The editor that you will use to post your message provides automatic
     word wrap.  You must use the BackSpace key to erase errors.  Once you
     are on a new line, the old line is not editable.  You can enter up to
     150 lines of text,

     To save your message, press ESC.  If you wish to abort your message,
     press Alt-X.



  Buy Protection  (optional)
  ──────────────

     This feature is optional, and may disabled by the sysop.  If the sysop
     does not support this feature, and you wish him to, leave him a comment.

     When you exit the game, and other players come in, they can, and most
     likely will, throw things at you.  You may buy protection against this,
     so that you will not lose as many points when they hit you.  When you
     choose this option, you will be presented with a menu that looks like
     this:

                 TYPE                PERCENT  POINTS   COST
             ────────────────────────────────────────────────
              1 Tennis Racquet          5       10      $10
              2 Table Cloth             10      20      $20
              3 Heavy Coat              20      60      $30
              4 Wool Blanket            35      85      $42
              5 Garbage Can Lid         50      150     $60
              6 Table to Hide Under     85      500     $175
              S Sell your protection
              0 Abort Protection purchase
              H HELP on your protection purchase

     These items are 100% configurable by the sysop, but these are the
     defaults.  There is a help option that will explain the headings and use
     of the menu, as I am going to do here.

     TYPE:     This is the type of protection

     PERCENT:  This is the percentage of damage that the protection will
               absorb, and deflect away from you.  For example, if someone
               throws a pinapple at you, and hits.  Normally, this would do
               100 points of damage.  But, if you had a Garbage Can Lib, the
               pinapple would only do 50 points of damage (50% of 100).  The
               Garbage can lib would absorb 50 points (50% of 100).

     POINTS:   The points is the amount of damage the protection can absorb
               before becoming useless.  In the above example, the garbage
               can can absorb 150 points before becoming useless.  After 3
               hits with a pinapple, absorbing 50 points per hit, the
               Garbage Can Lid would disappear, and you would be without
               protection.

     The amount of damage that your protection absorbed will be listed in the
     daily battle report telling you what happened to you since your last
     login.

     Using protection is up to you.  The more protection you buy, the less
     points you will lose, but the less food you can buy and throw.  So,
     buying protection will basically slow down the advancement of your
     score, and will also slow down its decline.



     SELL YOUR PROTECTION:  If you buy some protection, and later wish to
     upgrade, you must sell your current protection first.  If you do not,
     your current protection will disappear, and you will lose it.  When
     selling your protection, the door will figure the cost per point left
     and offer you a reasonable sum based on that calculation.  It may or may
     not be "top dollar", depending on the mood of the store.  If you like
     what is being offered, then answer Y, if not, answer N.  You may try to
     get a higher price if you do not like what is being offered, but be
     warned, if you try too often, the store will close, and you will not be
     able to sell your protection at that time.

     Protection is not additive.  You cannot have a coat and garbage can lid.
     A good food fighter must be quick on his feet.  To much protection will
     weigh you down, so multiple protections is not allowed.


  Try the Lottery  (optional)
  ───────────────

     This feature may be disabled by the sysop.  Also, the number of tickets
     you may buy is set by the sysop.  If you feel that the sysop should
     change the settings of this feature, leave him a comment.

     This option allows you to buy a lottery ticket.  You can win up to
     $100.  Each tickets costs $1.  To play the lottery, enter a 4 digit
     number.  The computer will then generate a random 4 digit number.  For
     each digit you match in the same location as the computer, you win
     money.

     The jackpot, won by matching all 4 numbers, is progressive.  The more
     money that is lost in the lottery, the larger the jackpot will become.
     $100 is the minimum jackpot at all times.  All winnings, however, are
     also taken from the jackpot.  So, if a player wins a dozen small prizes,
     the jackpot could return quickly to the $100 mark.

     To summarize, all money paid for tickets adds to the lottery jackpot.
     All money won is removed from the jackpot.  Winning the jackpot
     guarantees a prize of at least $100.

     Example:  If you enter 1234, and the computer has 4321, you don't win
     because none of your numbers are in the same position as the computer's.
     If you enter 1234, and the computer has 1223, you would match 1 number
     (the first 2).

     The prizes are as follows:
                        For matching 1 number:  $1
                        For matching 2 numbers: $15
                        For matching 3 numbers: $50
                        For matching all 4 numbers:  JACKPOT

     You may buy a BLOCK of tickets, where your single number is matched
     against any number of tickets.  Much quicker if you want 30 tickets
     using the same guess number.



     Tax Man (optional)
     ───────
     If you win over $100 in the lottery, there is a chance that the tax man
     will appear.  Just like the real one, this tax man will take (without
     asking) 20-33% of your winnings.  The sysop can disable the tax man.
     All money taken by the tax man, however, is put into the jackpot.




  ATM - The Bank  (optional)
  ──────────────

     Due to the excessive crime around the Food Fight World, we have built
     a bank.  You access the bank by pressing 'A' from the main menu.  If it
     is your first time in the bank, you will be told the rules of the bank,
     and given an opportunity to open an account.  If you choose to open an
     account, you will be given a 5 digit account number.  YOU MUST INPUT
     THIS ACCOUNT NUMBER EACH TIME YOU ENTER THE BANK!  If you do not know
     your account number, your account will be closed, and all bank contents
     will be lost.

     To open an account, you must have either $50 cash, or 30 pieces of food.
     The bank is the place to store both food and money.  Either way, you
     must also have a $5 processing fee to open the account.

     Like all banks, this one is closed from time to time.  when it is
     closed, you may not transact business.  Sometimes closures are
     temporary.  Logging out, and logging back in a few hours later might
     find the bank open, or it may not.

     Once inside the bank, you can deposit, withdrawl or take out a loan
     (optional).  If you deposit, you will be asked if it is food or money.
     You will then put in the amount, and the food/money is deposited.
     Withdrawals operate the same way, except in reverse.

     NOTE:  Taking out a loan may be disabled by the sysop.
     If you want to take out a loan, press [L]oan, and Guido the loan broker
     will appear, ready to lend you money.  You can take out any amount from
     $50 to $500 in $50 increments.  Guido will then inform you of the terms
     of the loan and the interest rate.  If you feel this is to high of an
     interest rate, or too short of a term, just say no.  You may try for
     different terms and interest later if you wish.  If, however, you try
     too often, you might make Guido mad, and you won't get any money.

     MAKE SURE YOU PAY YOUR LOANS BACK ON TIME.  If you don't Guido and the
     boys will show up, and take your food and money, plus some of your
     points as interest,  You'll still owe the money, however.  The longer
     you don't pay, the worse it gets, so pay your debts.

     If you lose (go below the losing points), and are forced to start back
     at zero, you still owe the money.  If you owe a loan, and have enough
     points to win, you will be told to pay back your money before you can
     win.  YOU CANNOT WIN THE GAME WITH AN OUTSTANDING LOAN ON THE BOOKS.
     There is no way to get out of a loan except to have the sysop totally
     reset the game.

     To pay back a loan, just push P from the bank menu.  The [L]loan option
     will be replaced with a [P]ay option after you have a loan.  You can
     only have 1 loan at a time.

     You must keep your PIN number secret.  If someone else knows it, they can
     steal your money from your account.  Therfore, when your friends are over,
     do not let them look over your shoulder.

     The Bank is only enabled if the sysop allows stealing.



  Rob a Player or Bank  (optional)
  ────────────────────

     This is an optional feature and may not be enabled in the current game.
     If you wish this option to be enabled, and it is not, leave a comment
     for the sysop...perhaps he will enable it.

     This option will allow you to:
       [A] Steal from another player (food and money not in the bank)
       [B] Steal from another player's bank account (food and money in the bank)
       [C] Steal from the bank Vault - general funds, no player's money

     Stealing From Another Player:
     If you think some other player is doing too well for their own good, you
     can steal from them.  Buy choosing this option, you will be asked to
     enter a partial name of the player you wish to rob.  You can find out
     player's names from the [V]iew Scores option on the main menu.  If the
     player exists, you will be given the option of stealing food or money.

     STEALING MONEY:  You will be shown the amount of money the player has.
     You then enter the amount you want to steal.  THE MORE YOU STEAL, THE
     BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING CAUGHT!  You will be told if you are
     successful or not.

     STEALING FOOD:  You will be given the option of stealing specific food,
     or all of the players food.  THE MORE YOU STEAL, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES
     OF GETTING CAUGHT! You will be told if you are successful or not.

     If you are successful, you will get the food or money you wanted.  If
     you fail, however, you will lose points.  The points you lose could be
     substantial, so be careful.

     Stealing From Another Player's Account:
     If you wish to steal a player's money from the bank, you must know two
     things:  The player's name and their account number.  You will be asked
     to enter both.  If you guess right, you get everything they had in the
     bank.  If you miss, you could spend the night in jail.

     Stealing from the Vault:
     If you want to go for the big bucks, you can try to dynamite the vault.
     This is a dangerous plan since you could get caught by the police.  You
     may also use too much dynamite, and blow yourself up!  If you succeed,
     however, you will find as much as $1500.

     Hire a Spy (optional)
     ──────────
     If you do not already have a spy, when you enter the "steal" screen, you
     will be presented with an option to hire a spy.  The default cost is
     $150, but this option and the price are 100% configurable by the sysop.
     If you have enough money, you can buy a spy.  With a spy, you have the
     option of viewing a player list that has all the money and food
     displayed.  This way, you can see who you should steal from.  A spy does
     not let you look into player's bank accounts, however.  Also, with a
     spy, you have a 10% better chance of stealing without getting cost.
     Spys will last for the rest of the game, but there is a chance that if
     you are hit with massive amounts of food, your spy might get hit and
     leave.

  Kill Yourself  (optional)
  ─────────────

     If you feel you are too far down to get back up, or if you are moving
     away and cannot play anymore, or, if you just don't like the game
     anymore, you can Kill Yourself.  This will remove all evidence of you
     from the game, and will not allow you to play again for a number of days
     set by the sysop.  5 days is the default.



  Exit to the BBS
  ───────────────

     This will exit the door and return you to the BBS.


     You will be given the option to leave a 1 line message for the next
     caller.  It will be displayed no matter who the next caller is.




                                   WINNING
                                   ───────

  By [E]xamining the game configuration, you will see what score is the
  winning score.  The game is over when someone has reached that score.  When
  the game has been won, no one else may play.  If you try, you are told that
  the game has been won, who won it, and when it was won.

                                   LOSING
                                   ──────

  If your score goes below the "losing score" set by the sysop, then your
  character will be deleted, and you will be forced to start over.  This
  feature was added to give player another chance if they really did poorly.
  If you go below the losing score, the game will immediatly exit.  You must
  sit out for one complete day before coming back into the game.  When you
  come back into the game, you will enter as a new player.


                                   PRIZES
                                   ──────

  The sysop has the option of offering a prize to the winner of Food Fight.
  If he has enabled that option, then you are presented with a description of
  the prize each time you enter the game.


                                    PLAYS
                                    ─────

  The sysop may limit the number of plays you have per day.  Make sure
  to examine the game configuration for that information.





                                 SUGGESTIONS
                                 ═══════════

   If you have any comments or suggestions that would make FOOD FIGHT
   better, please use one of the following means to conact the author:

   Mail:  Compufax Consulting Services
          7145 Aptos Beach Court
          San Jose, CA  95139

   BBS:   The Village
          408-229-0706/408-229-0709
          Leave comment for the SYSOP in the Main Conference [000]

   CompuServe:  76207,1673