FishMarket 1.0/FishMarket v1.0.iso/fishies/401-425/disk_404/ngtc/ngtc.doc

Text File | 1992-05-06 | 51KB | 961 lines

SOURCE:   OFFICE OF THE COMMANDANT, STARFLEET ACADEMY
AUTHOR:   ADMIRAL GREGORY EPLEY, COMMANDANT, STARFLEET ACADEMY
STARDATE: 9008.08 (OLD CALENDAR RECKONING, AUGUST 8, 1990)
SUBJECT:  LOW-LEVEL ACCESS GENERAL COMMUNIQUE
RE:       STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - TRIVIA CHALLENGE


CONTENTS:  1.1   INTRODUCTION
           1.2   OVERVIEW
           2.1   INSTALLATION
           2.1.1 INSTALLING ON FLOPPIES
           2.1.2 INSTALLING ON HARD DISK
           3.1   FLOPPY-BASED PROBLEMS
           4.1   THE STARTUP AND SCRIPT
           5.1   LOADING THE GAME
           5.1.1 LOADING OFF FLOPPIES
           5.1.2 LOADING OFF HARD DISK
           6.1   COMMAND PANEL
           6.1.1 SCORING SYSTEM
           6.1.2 ANSWERING QUESTIONS
           6.1.3 KEYBOARD INPUT ROUTINE
           6.1.4 FUNCTION KEY ACTIONS
           7.1   FINAL GAME COMMENTS
           A.1   TECHNICAL INFORMATION
           B.1   KNOWN POSSIBLE DATABASE ERRORS
           C.1   CREDITS
           D.1   DISCLAIMER
           E.1   EDITORIAL
           F.1   CONTACTS


1.1   INTRODUCTION

First. I urge you to read this entire document as it contains important
information throughout.  I hate to read instructions as much as anybody else
when I get a new piece of software, especially when written by someone who
tends to be as long-winded as I, but there is little choice in this case.
Most importantly, you should read Section D.1 on the Disclaimer and Section
E.1 with the Editorial.

Second, you will note, as was already mentioned, that I tend to be a bit
long-winded describing things.  This has its advantages and drawbacks.  The
primary advantage is that I go into as much detail as possible, which often
eliminates or answers a lot of questions you may have.  The drawback is that
material is difficult to organize in this manner, so you may have to read
quite a bit to find something specific you're looking for.  I have attempted
to overcome that drawback by organizing items into separate paragraphs as
much as possible so that you can quickly skim.

Third, I have intermixed the descriptions on mechanics of game play with
their representative computer, or real-world, elements.  For example, the
section on the scoring system describes the scoring system and how scoring
is relayed to the player (on the computer display).  That is why it is so
important for you to read this entire document before attempting to play the
game.  Operation of a Command Terminal on the Enterprise is not something
which is readily apparent at first glance.

Fourth, because of the tremendous amount of data required for the game (the
game module itself is fairly small), and because the current release of The
Director can only handle common IFF files (not those extremely crunched
proprietary format things), and because I needed a simple way to distribute
everything with as little hassle to all as possible, it was necessary to
distribute this first release in three (3) LHARC files.  On Fred Fish, the
first two files are included on the disk with this documentation; the third
file is on a related Fish disk.  Sorry, you'll have to look for it since I
don't know the disk numbers as of this writing.  The filenames and such are
listed in the installation section of this document.  I had planned to
release all files in compressed form on one disk but they simply would not
fit; it was either reduce the game or spread to another disk.  You will also
have to do some setup work before you can play - sorry about that too - I've
tried to keep it as short and simple as possible.  In the event that you
don't know how to use the CLI and LHARC to get everything set up yourself,
I'm sure you can find someone to help.  I would be glad to walk you through
over the phone (at your expense) if nothing else.

Fifth, there are bound to be some criticisms about what I consider "trivia"
versus what others might consider "trivia".  About 95% of the questions are
based on material which has been revealed in the series within the scope of
seasons the data base covers.  For example, some material was revealed during
the third season about the background of the U.S.S. Enterprise; however, this
is not used as source material for the current trivia data base because it
only asks questions based on the first season.  The point is, when the trivia
data base catches up with the material I will include it; otherwise I'll omit
it because it's the kind of thing you'd only find in a fan periodical prior
to revelation in the series.  On a related note, it is possible that some
errors appear in the Trivia Database.  If you locate any errors I would
appreciate your bringing them to my attention (see Section F.1).  Corrections
or additions will appear in future data sets.  Known possible errors in the
current Trivia Database are listed in Section B.1, so check there before
reporting anything.

Sixth, upon starting the game you may be disappointed at the lack of a fancy
opening title and theme music...and I was disappointed at not being able to
provide these.  However, it was evident this would occupy too much disk
space and wouldn't add sufficiently to the game.  Therefore, I chose to
provide more "game" and less "opening glitz".


1.2   OVERVIEW

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - TRIVIA CHALLENGE, or NGTC, is a trivia game
based on the syndicated television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation".
Your ultimate goal is the achievement of Starfleet's highest rank - Admiral
of the Star Fleet.  Your score is based on your ability to answer as many
questions correctly as possible.

NGTC is written with The Director (v1.6), and requires an Amiga with 1.2 or
1.3 Kickstart, a minimum of 1M (Megabyte) of memory, two floppy drives or a
hard drive, and audio hookup.  Sound is very important in this game because
some of the questions relate to various sounds; you must be able to hear
these to answer the related question.  A Trivia Data Set for Season One,
containing well over 400 questions and accompanying audio and video data, is
included, with plans to add Data Sets for other seasons in the future.  The
game accepts both mouse and keyboard input for most actions, saves the "Top
Ten" scores, and allows you to save a game in mid-play for later recall.
Your Amiga is transformed into a Command Terminal, complete with sound
effects - you'll feel like you're right on the bridge of the Enterprise.
But don't be too impressed or distracted by your surroundings - the
CHALLENGE is about to begin.

This game has NOT been tested on a machine with one or more of the following:
1M Agnus, 512K total memory, or 680xx/6888x processors.  Additionally, any
hardware or software not listed earlier has not been tested with the game.


2.1   INSTALLATION

The first distribution disk has two LHARC files, NGTCGMD.LZH and NGTCTD1.LZH,
and this documentation file.  You MUST have the second distribution disk
which has the LHARC file NGTCTD2.LZH.  Both distribution disks should be
listed fairly close to one another in the Fred Fish collection (e.g., if disk
1 is on FF#380, disk 2 will likely be on FF#381).  However, I have no control
over the organization beyond what I supply to Fred, and I cannot control how
the files may be modified on a BBS or public access service such as BIX or
GEnie or PLink.

2.1.1 INSTALLING ON FLOPPIES

If you plan to install the game on floppy disks, you MUST format two disks
first.  The easiest way to do this is to put a disk in one of your drives,
then select "Initialize" from the "Disk" menu on Workbench.  When the format
finishes you will have a disk named "Empty".  Select "Rename" from the
"Workbench" menu on Workbench and type in a unique name for the first NGTC
disk, such as "NGTC-One".  Now repeat this process for a second disk and
give it a name such as "NGTC-Two".  It is preferable to use names WITHOUT
spaces in them to simplify things later on; do otherwise at your own risk.
You might like to delete the "Trashcan" since you don't need it but you'll
have to do that from the CLI or elsewhere.  Of course, you can also use the
CLI "Format" command and save yourself a lot of other steps.

Decompress the NGTCGMD.LZH file to your FIRST blank formatted NGTC disk.  A
CLI command such as:

    1> lharc -m -x e NGTCGMD.LZH NGTC-One:

will work, although you may have to make some slight changes depending on
your setup.  The point is to decompress the contents of the NGTCGMD.LZH file
onto your first blank formatted NGTC disk.  Use the "-m -x e" options and
LHARC will automatically extract all files and create needed directories.

Decompress the NGTCTD1.LZH file to your FIRST blank formateed NGTC disk,
using a command similar to the above.

Decompress the NGTCTD2.LZH file to your SECOND blank formatted NGTC disk,
using a command similar to the above.

Insert your FIRST prepared NGTC disk (not the first distribution disk) in
one of your drives and open it.  You do not need to keep the "ngtc_script.hd"
file, the one indicated by the large orange question mark, so you may delete
it if you like.  You don't really need to keep any of the icons for the
remaining files, except for the "NGTC" file; that's the game icon; DO NOT
DELETE IT!  You may also delete the "Projector" and drawer icons on your
SECOND prepared NGTC disk.  WARNING: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use the
"Discard" item from the Workbench menu to delete icons; use the CLI "Delete"
command or delete ONLY the indicated "<name>.info" files.

You may wish to examine the "ngtc_script" file with your text editor to make
some changes.  Specifically, note the commented line referencing the
"Projector" player.  If you move this player to another location on your
floppies make sure to note that here.  WARNING: THE SUPPLIED SCRIPT SHOULD
SUFFICE AND YOU SHOULD NOT BE MAKING ANY MODIFICATIONS UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT
YOU ARE DOING!

Now refer to Section 3.1.

2.1.2 INSTALLING ON HARD DISK

If you plan to install the game on your hard drive, you may wish to create
a master directory and drawer to keep the game in; you should be familiar
with this process so I'll not cover it here.

Decompress the NGTCGMD.LZH file to your selected hard disk location.  Here
are two sample command lines suggesting format and setup:

    1> lharc -m -x e NGTCGMD.LZH HD0:
    1> lharc -m -x e NGTCGMD.LZH DH0:STTNG

The first line extracts the files to the root of HD0:, the second extracts
them to a master directory drawer called "STTNG" on DH0:.  Use whichever
method suits you.

Now decompress the NGTCTD1.LZH and NGTCTD2.LZH files to THE SAME hard disk
location as above.  If you are so inclined, and you know how, you may move
things around otherwise later on.

Open your hard disk to the location where you decompressed the files and
look for the "ngtc_script.hd" file, indicated by a large orange question
mark icon.  Also note the "ngtc_script" next to it.  Delete or rename the
"ngtc_script", then rename the "ngtc_script.hd" as "ngtc_script".  You may
also wish to examine this script with your text editor to make some changes.
Specifically, if you already have The Director "Projector" utility on your
hard drive, change the commented line appropriately so your copy of the
Projector will be referenced.  I'll assume you know enough about the CLI
to do all these things.

3.1   FLOPPY-BASED PROBLEMS

The current game player module does not prompt you if it can't locate the
Audio or Video clue that goes with some of the questions in the Trivia
Database.  Because of the tremendous amount of space required to hold all the
clue files for the Trivia Database, floppy users will eventually have to
swap disks to play the game when the Trivia Database is expanded.  Current
plans are to offer a revised game player module with the next Trivia
Database.  I have considered several options for floppy-based players in this
next module: (1) cause the game to prompt the player once to insert the disk
with the needed data if not present; and (2) allow the option to ignore all
Audio and Video clue questions so that disk swapping isn't necessary.  With
option (2) floppy-based players won't be able to obtain the higher scores
that clue-related questions offer, so option (1) will allow floppy-based
users access to these questions if they can accomodate some disk swapping.
With option (1) players would be prompted once to insert the needed disk; if
the disk with the needed data still isn't available during the second check
the game would skip the question and move to the next.  The problem with
prompting is that it might also cause some occasional system requesters
which force you to the Workbench.  That could get quite irritating and there
is no way around it with the current release of The Director.  None of this
is set in stone yet, so if you floppy-based players have any other good
ideas on how to handle this situation I'd like to hear them.


4.1   THE STARTUP AND SCRIPT

Your installed game disks, or the game as installed on your hard drive, will
now be referred to as your NGTC disks.  You should put the distribution disks
with the LHARC files away for safe keeping.

Look for an icon on your NGTC disk labelled "NGTC"; it looks like the logo
from the television series.  It will be on your first floppy disk assuming
you didn't make any mistakes during installation, or it will be in the root
or master directory drawer on your hard drive likewise.  This icon is linked
to a control script which handles some pre- and post-housekeeping chores and
loads the game.  You cannot access this script from the Workbench and you
should not be messing with it from the CLI if you don't know what you're
doing.

The icon has two ToolTypes set in it which you will need to change.  Single-
click the left mouse button with the pointer over the "NGTC" icon, then
select "Info" from the "Workbench" menu to display icon info.  Look for the
box labelled "TOOL TYPES" in the Info window.

Single-click the left mouse button on the little down arrow beside the TOOL
TYPES box; you'll see a line which says:

    EXECUTE=Assign ngtc_one: DF1:

Click in the box where it says "DF1:" and, using the <BACKSPACE> and <DELETE>
keys, change the DF1: to the name of your first NGTC disk, or to the drive
and/or master directory drawer name(s) on your hard drive.  REMEMBER TO PRESS
THE <RETURN> KEY TO END YOUR INPUT.

FLOPPY EXAMPLE: If your first NGTC disk were named "NGTC-One" change the
"DF1:" to "NGTC-One:" - DON'T FORGET THE COLON (:) CHARACTER! - AND DON'T
TYPE IN THE DOUBLE-QUOTE (") CHARACTER!

HARD DRIVE EXAMPLES: If you installed the game in a master directory drawer
called "STTNG" on hard drive "HD2:" change the "DF1:" to "HD2:STTNG" - DON'T
TYPE A TRAILING SLASH (/) CHARACTER! - AND DON'T TYPE IN THE DOUBLE-QUOTE
(") CHARACTER!  If you installed the game on hard drive "FD0:" just change
the "DF1:" to "FD0:".

Single-click the left mouse button on the little down arrow beside the TOOL
TYPES box again; you'll see a line which says:

    EXECUTE=Assign ngtc_two: DF0:

Click in the box where it says "DF0:" and, using the <BACKSPACE> and <DELETE>
keys, change the DF0: to the name of your second NGTC disk, or to the drive
and/or master directory drawer name(s) on your hard drive.  REMEMBER TO PRESS
THE <RETURN> KEY TO END YOUR INPUT.  Refer to the above examples for help.

Now select the "SAVE" button at the bottom of the Info window to save your
changes.  The script refers to the assignment names ngtc_one: and ngtc_two:
for referencing other items during startup and shutdown.  Again, DO NOT make
ANY changes to the script file itself, or ANY changes to other lines in the
icon's ToolTypes, unless you know what you're doing.

Depending on whether you are using the floppy or hard disk version of the
supplied script files, the following additional assignment names and system
files may be used:

    OLDC:, OLDL:, OLDLIBS:, OLDFONTS:, ngtc_game:, g001006:, g007025:, a01:
    c (dir) Assign, Run, Delete
    l (dir) Ram-Handler, Disk-Validator
    libs (dir) diskfont.library, icon.library, info.library

A few more rules:

  (1) You CANNOT change the assignment names.  Well, you can change some of
      them but do so entirely at your own risk!!!

  (2) You CANNOT use the assignment names for any other programs you might
      run along with NGTC.  Again, you can make some changes but do so
      entirely at your own risk!!!

  (3) All necessary assignment names MUST be assigned to point to the
      correct data because the current game player module does not search
      or prompt for it.


5.1   LOADING THE GAME

Everything should be installed and set up to load the game at this point.

5.1.1 LOADING OFF FLOPPIES

Boot with your standard (usual) Workbench disk.  Do not run other tasks
which might require some disk swapping unless you want to put up with the
extra hassle.  Since very few commands from your system c: directory are
transferred during setup, you may encounter some conflicts trying to run
other programs which reference c: commands.  It is best to run the game by
itself with nothing else so that both floppy drives will be available.  If
you happen to have more than two floppy drives and enough memory you can
try running other tasks with the game.  I will refer to the default setup.

Place disk #1 in drive DF1: and double-click on disk #1 to open it.  Double-
click the left mouse button with the pointer over the "NGTC" icon to start
loading.

After a few seconds you may encounter a system requester asking for your
second NGTC game disk.  Leave the first disk alone; put the second disk in
drive DF0: or another extra drive and wait for the system to continue.

After a few seconds you may encounter another system requester asking for
your boot disk again.  This usually occurs if you had to put the second
NGTC disk in your boot DF0: drive.  Again, leave the first NGTC disk alone;
put your boot disk in drive DF0: or another extra drive and wait for the
system to continue.

You may encounter another system requester asking for your second NGTC disk
when the game begins to load.  Just repeat what you did earlier with the
second NGTC disk.

After a few seconds you should see a black display and shortly thereafter
a title screen.  You should not need your boot disk again during game play
unless some unforseen error arises.  Try to note as much as possible about
any problems or errors you encounter and report them so they can be fixed
or checked.

When you exit the game and return to the Workbench you may encounter a
system requester asking for your boot disk again.  Just repeat what you did
earlier with the boot disk.  I will remind you of this later.

Refer to Section 6.1 on the Command Panel now.

5.1.2 LOADING OFF HARD DISK

Boot your system as usual.  If you have enough memory you may run other tasks
provided they don't use any of the assignment names.

Double-click the left mouse button with the pointer over the "NGTC" icon to
start loading.

After a few seconds you should see a black display and shortly thereafter
a title screen.  When the title fades out and the "Starfleet Command" seal
appears you're ready to play.  Hard drive players should not see any system
requesters unless some unforseen error arises.  Try to note as much as
possible about any problems or errors you encounter and report them to so
they can be fixed or checked.


6.1   COMMAND PANEL

You should be looking at the Starfleet Command seal on the Command Panel.
Forget the Amiga for awhile, you're on the Enterprise now and you're using
a 24th-century computer terminal (through an Amiga).

You may use the keyboard or the mouse for most actions.  If you see your
normal Amiga mouse pointer you may optionally use the mouse.  The keyboard is
ALWAYS available but only a few keys will work at a given time.  Both mouse
and keyboard operations are "idiot-proof" to prevent selections other than
those available at a given time.

There are three pads on the Command Panel.  You can select the pad with the
mouse by clicking the left mouse button while the pointer is over the pad
area.  You can select the pad with the keyboard by pressing the first letter
of the pad name, with or without SHIFT or CAPS LOCK.

The REQUEST pad may be used to bring up the EXAMINATION OPTIONS display, to
continue or resume after message or information displays relating to an
action selected from the EXAMINATION OPTIONS Function Key list, or as your
basic "Panic Button".

The OPT pad is used to display the answer choices when a Video clue is
displayed.

The IMAGE pad is used to replay an Audio clue or redisplay a Video clue.

Remember, if you get stuck, select the REQUEST pad with <R> or <r> on the
keyboard, or a left mouse button click with the mouse pointer over the
REQUEST pad.  This will get you out of most messes (with a few exceptions
which we'll note later).

With the Starfleet Command seal displayed, select the REQUEST pad to bring up
the EXAMINATION OPTIONS Function Key list.  Notice that your mouse pointer
disappears - the listed function keys are the only valid actions.  We will
cover these function keys later; select F1 for now.

Now we'll look at the scoring system and how to respond to questions.

6.1.1 SCORING SYSTEM

You will notice that it takes a few seconds before a question appears after
starting/resuming a quiz or moving to the next question.  Refer to Section
A.1 for an explanation of this if you're curious.

Each new player begins as an Ensign with 6 points.

Notice the line of information at the bottom of the Command Panel.  It has
your current rank on the left, two numbers separated by a colon (:) in the
middle, and your current score on the right.  The two numbers in the middle
give you some idea of how many questions you must answer correctly to be
promoted to the next rank level.

Every rank level has the same number of questions, so once you see that
second number following the (:) you know how many questions are going to be
on every rank level.  The number of questions on a rank level is determined
by dividing the total number of questions in the Trivia Database by 11,
since there are 11 ranks, and the number is just rounded off to make things
simple.  The more questions you have in the Trivia Database, the more you'll
have to answer correctly on each rank level to be promoted.  This is the only
fair way to do it.  Establishing some set number like 25 would be fine if you
only had 250 questions in the Database; but when you add more questions to
the Database it would be unfair, and not very challenging.

The number before the (:) tells you how many more questions you need to
answer before you'll be eligible for promotion.  For example, if it says
"32:41", that means there are 41 questions per rank level and you must answer
32 more to be promoted.

The three basic types of questions offered and their point values are:

        True/False...................................1 point
        Multiple Choice..............................2 points
        Either of above with Audio or Video clue.....3 points

If you answer a question correctly that number of points is added to your
score; if not, they are subtracted.

If your score drops below zero you'll see a short message from the Commandant
of Starfleet Academy, asking you to study more.  The game is over at this
point and you MUST select the REQUEST pad to exit the game.

If you correctly answer enough questions for a rank level you will be
promoted to the next rank level.  With any promotion there comes a short
period where mistakes could be costly.

If you incorrectly answer enough questions you will be demoted.  When you are
demoted you will have to answer a full rank level of questions correctly to
be promoted again.  For example, let's say there are 30 questions per rank,
you're a Captain, and you've incorrectly answered enough questions to demote
you to Commander.  You will have to complete the entire rank level of 30
questions again to get your Captain's rank back, and rest assured, they will
be different questions, mister!  I told you this was a challenge, not a day
at the beach...

If you are good enough and manage to reach Admiral of the Starfleet, you will
be asked to submit your name to Starfleet Command for the Top Ten list.
Refer to Section 6.1.3 on how to use the keyboard input routine.  After you
submit your name the Top Ten list will appear.  When you finish looking at
the list you MUST select the REQUEST pad to return to the EXAMINATION OPTIONS
Function Key list.  You MUST select F2, F3, F5, or F7 to continue.

6.1.2 ANSWERING QUESTIONS

Now let's look at ways to respond to the questions.  The question appears in
the top portion of the Command Panel, beside the REQUEST pad.  Answer choices
and/or Video clues appear in the bottom portion of the Command Panel, beside
the OPT and IMAGE pads.

A Standard True/False question can be answered with the mouse or keyboard.
True is always first, False is always second, and there is no pattern to
True/False questions.  Sometimes the question will be just slightly wrong
somehow, sometimes obviously wrong, sometimes exactly right.  Select True
with <T> or <t> on the keyboard or just click the left mouse button with the
pointer somewhere over or to the right of the word TRUE.  It's not hard to
select with the mouse, but do try to avoid getting too close to the edges of
the word or you may select the wrong thing.  Select False with <F> or <f> on
the keyboard or select with the mouse pointer over FALSE.

A Standard Mutliple Choice question can be answered with the mouse or
keyboard.  Just click the left mouse button with the pointer somewhere over
or to the right of your answer choice.  Select with the keyboard using <A>,
<B>, <C>, or <D> or <a>, <b>, <c>, or <d>; "A" denotes the first choice, "B"
the second, "C" the third, and "D" the fourth.  These letters are not listed
beside the choices so you'll have to remember them.  Multiple choice
questions are tricky because the choices are mixed up each time the question
is presented.  So the answer might be "A" one time and "C" another time; that
should keep you on your toes...

Some questions have Audio clues.  A question with an Audio clue appears as a
normal True/False or Multiple Choice question.  After the answer choices are
listed the clue is loaded and played once; you'll notice the IMAGE pad
activates when the clue plays.  If you wish to hear the clue again just
select the IMAGE pad (remember you can do this with the mouse, or by pressing
the <I> or <i> keys on the keyboard).  You can replay the Audio clue as many
times as you wish.  When you are ready to select your answer do so as
described above depending on the type of question.

Some questions have Video clues.  The question will appear normally and may
be True/False or Multiple Choice.  The clue is loaded and displayed with the
IMAGE pad activated.  To see the answer choices just select the OPT (options)
pad (remember you can do this with the mouse, or by pressing the <O> or <o>
keys on the keyboard).  The IMAGE pad will appear normal; the OPT pad will
activate and display the answer choices.  If you want to see the clue again
just select the IMAGE pad; the OPT pad will appear normal; the IMAGE pad will
activate and show the clue.  You may toggle back and forth between the OPT
and IMAGE pads reviewing the Video clue and the answer choices as many times
as you wish.  You can only select your answer when the answer choices are
displayed; when you are ready to select your answer do so as described
earlier depending on the type of question.  NOTE: With Video clues, the
answer choices for multiple choice questions are only mixed when the question
is initially displayed.

In addition to any actions listed above, you may select the REQUEST pad to
display the EXAMINATION OPTIONS Function Key list.  You might want to do this
to save a game in progress and exit, or to submit your name to the Top Ten
list, or whatever.

Once you have selected an answer choice you will be told if your answer is
correct or incorrect.  If correct, you will occasionally see some additional
information relating to the answer.  No additional information is given for
incorrect answers.  You'll have to watch the show to find the answer and
improve your knowledge and score.

To move to the next question, you may select the REQUEST pad, or press the
<RETURN> key on the keyboard, or click the left mouse button with the pointer
anywhere else.  You MUST answer the question to move on to another question.

6.1.3 KEYBOARD INPUT ROUTINE

If you achieve Admiral of the Starfleet and answer all questions on the rank
level correctly, or request function keys F4, F5, or F6, you will be asked to
input some information from the keyboard; your own name, or the name of a
previously saved game, or the name to save a game under.  This section tells
you how to input this information.

Once prompted for keyboard input, you may type in up to 20 characters.  You
should only use letters of the alphabet and/or numbers, or the characters
listed in these curly braces {:;,."-_()!}.  If you are entering a file name
use valid names - the program does not check these things.  You may see a
little "N/A" (Not Available) character if you use a character which is not
available in the font.

Use the <BACKSPACE> (or dark back arrow) key to make corrections as you type.

You may enter up to 20 characters.  If you enter any less than 20 you must
press <RETURN> to signal the end of input.  When you enter a 20th character
input is accepted without <RETURN>.  WARNING: Be careful when typing in
information that is very close to 20 characters in length; don't continue to
type or you may cause unpredictable input results.

After input different actions will occur depending on what you were doing
before input.  I have already described what will happen after you submit
your name to the Top Ten list as Admiral of the Starfleet at the end of
Section 6.1.1.  Now let's look at the function keys in detail and I'll cover
what happens with F4, F5, and F6, as we go.

6.1.4 FUNCTION KEY ACTIONS

The function keys are only valid when the EXAMINATION OPTIONS Function Key
List is displayed.

The F1 key is used to start a new game after loading NGTC, or after loading a
previously saved game, or after resetting the quiz parameters with F2, or to
resume a game in progress after some other function key action has ended.

The F2 key is used to reset the game (quiz) parameters for another new game
after completing a game or if you want to start back over for whatever
reason.  This remixes the questions and initializes other parameters as if
had ended and reloaded NGTC.  When the message "QUIZ PARAMETERS HAVE BEEN
RESET." appears you MUST select the REQUEST pad to display the EXAMINATION
OPTIONS Function Key list to continue.

The F3 key is used to display the TOP TEN ACADEMY APPLICANTS list.  If there
are none on file a message to this effect will appear, otherwise, a list of
up to ten entries will appear.  The entries in list appear in order of
highest to lowest rank, with scores from highest to lowest within ranks.  You
MUST select the REQUEST pad to display the EXAMINATION OPTIONS Function Key
list to continue.

The F4 key is used to submit your current score and rank to Starfleet Command
for the Top Ten list.  You will be asked to submit your name (refer to
Section 6.1.3 for assistance).  This action does not guarantee that you will
appear on the Top Ten list; you must have a score and rank sufficient to
place you on the list.  After you submit your name and confirm the F3 display
will appear; refer to F3 above for more information.

The F5 key is used to load a quiz stored with F6.  This allows you to resume
an earlier game.  You will be asked for the name of the quiz to load (refer
to Section 6.1.3 for assistance).  After you submit the name and confirm an
attempt will be made to load the file and one of two things will happen: if
the file is not accessible for whatever reason a message to that effect will
appear, otherwise the file will be loaded and the message "QUIZ HAS BEEN
LOADED TO RESUME." will appear.  Regardless of the outcome you MUST select
the REQUEST pad to display the EXAMINATION OPTIONS Function Key list to
continue.

The F6 key is used to save a quiz for later recall with F5.  This action is
NOT available after you have completed a quiz.  You will be asked to name the
quiz (refer to Section 6.1.3 for assistance).  After you submit the name and
confirm an attempt will be made to save the file and one of two things will
happen: if the file is not accessible for whatever reason a message to that
effect will appear, otherwise the file will be saved and the message "QUIZ
HAS BEEN SAVED FOR LATER RECALL." will appear.  Regardless of the outcome you
MUST select the REQUEST pad to display the EXAMINATION OPTIONS Function Key
list to continue.

The F7 key is used to exit the game.  If you installed the game on floppies
and have one of the NGTC disks in drive DF0: you should encounter a system
requester asking for your boot disk.  Just insert your boot disk in drive
DF0: and wait for the system to continue.  You MUST use the F7 action to end
the game or risk unpredictable consequences.  Upon exit the startup will
restore your system as it was before.


7.1   FINAL GAME COMMENTS

That concludes the basic operation of the game and display.  If you find
that something has been omitted from this documentation or needs further
clarification I would appreciate your letting me know so the correction can
be included in later updates.  In addition, let me know what you think
about the scoring system and the look and operation of the game.

As of this writing, I cannot say when the Database for Season Two will be
released.  That depends on what happens over the next few months and on how
busy I am.  I will say that I hope to have Season Two out by June of 1991,
with Season Three around December 1991, and Season Four around June 1992.
However, I retain the right to terminate all distribution without notice,
and without further release, and such shall depend on the reactions I get
from this release.  If nobody else seems to be interested in the game I'll
terminate it.  It has nothing to do with money, in fact, I'm not asking for
any and I don't expect any.  That option is left entirely up to you.


A.1   TECHNICAL INFORMATION

All data in the Trivia Database is encrypted to prevent cheating.  It takes
an average of three seconds to decrypt the data before each question is
displayed.  Unfortunately, this data doesn't compress as much in encrypted
form as in normal ASCII, and it does require more setup work, but I knew a
lot of people would cheat if I didn't do something to the data.

An "Enterprise"-ing hacker could likely break the code and use the decrypted
file to cheat but what's the challenge?  Breaking the code?  I'm no hacker
and I doubt my code would be that difficult to break.  Any self-respecting
hacker that found it difficult isn't much of a hacker in my book.  Once you
break the code and know all the answers there's not much use in playing the
game, now is there?  While I suppose you could give or sell the decrypted
file to other players the end result is the same and you'll pay for it one of
these days anyway.

It would take a minimum of approximately 2 x 10^83 (2 followed by 83 zeros)
years - that's right I said YEARS - to break the code IF you could spit out
a new code every second.  It would take at least one second or more to TEST
the code.  You would have to know exactly how long the key is and the exact
characters in the key, and further, I rotated the key to some position so it
doesn't start at the beginning.  The key may or may not have anything which
relates to me in some way, such as my social security number, or address, or
telephone number, or something based on numerology, or my birthdate, or age;
in other words, forget looking for patterns like that.

I will say again that you are gaining very little by trying to break the code
and decrypt the Database.  I can assure you I will change the code if I
release a new game player module so you'll have to do all your work over
again.  The code is also changed to prevent your being able to use an older
trivia data base with a newer game player module, since there's nothing
else in the data base to signify such a change.

The AmigaBASIC program which creates the Database reads a plain ASCII file
which uses markers to denote the type of data it is dealing with at any
point in time.  These markers denote questions, answer choices (and the
correct answer), additional information for correct answers, and the file
names of Audio and Video clues.  Because the display font is proportional,
the program refers to a table of character widths to split long lines
intelligently.  It then encrypts the data and writes it (without markers),
creating the Database.  An additional file is created during this process
which is nothing but a jumble of numbers to everyone else; this allows
questions to be quickly located by the gane player module.

The questions are mixed using a pseudo-random heapsort routine which
guarantees that no question will be asked more than once within a normal
game.  The question numbers are stored in a temporary file in RAM: and
loaded shortly thereafter into an array in the game player module; the
temporary file is then deleted.  Note that the questions are remixed if you
happen to exhaust the supply.

The Top Ten file is a plain ASCII file with the rank number, player name,
and score of up to ten entries.  You could cheat and use a text editor to
make yourself look good but it's meaningless if you don't actually know
enough to get the score in the first place.

The saved game quiz file is a plain ASCII file and I'm shutting my mouth as
to what data, or in what order, the data is in.  You could meddle with this
file and achieve some technically impossible scores, so don't try to make
yourself look too good - I know better whether anybody else does or not -
and cheating like that will tell me a lot about what kind of person you are.


B.1   KNOWN POSSIBLE DATABASE ERRORS

The item(s) in question are enclosed in square brackets; if possible, the
episode name is also given.  Items are included in this list if confirmation
was lacking in the slightest.  Certain errors or ommissions from the first
three season review guides have been noted, verified by videotape, and
corrected in my listings for future reference.  Reprints of the first and
second season review guides did not arrive in time for confirmation on some
of these items.

  * [various country lingo] from "The Neutral Zone"; exact corrections may
    never exist despite the fact that we talk this way where I live; an
    exact spelling is difficult to pin down.
  * [Albanian] Meditation Crystal from "Angel One"
  * [Aldeberan] Serpent from "Hide and Q"
  * [Andorian] Tea from "Conspiracy"; possibly correct; I noted a reference
    to the Andorians in several other Trek-related publications, but the
    tea referenced could be something else with a similar sound.
  * [Armus Nine] from "Angel One"
  * [Kabatras] from "Angel One"
  * [Megmaline Throgmine] from "Angel One"; not included because I could not
    pin down a confirmed spelling; this will be included in the next release.
  * various French names from "We'll Always Have Paris"; not included
    because I lack enough understanding of the language to hazard guesses;
    these will be included in the next release.
  * Cafe de [Zachtieste] from "We'll Always Have Paris"


C.1   CREDITS

Source data for questions, answers, and related Video and Audio clues, as
well as models for additional graphics and sound effects, were obtained from
my personal collection of videotaped series episodes.

The Season Review Guides published by Enterprise America, the Star Trek: The
Next Generation fan club, were used to ensure that locations, characters, and
subjects were properly identified.  Special thanks to Jim Lyon and his crew
at Enterprise America for producing such a thorough and accurate set of
information; this improved the accuracy of the game and eliminated a lot of
guesswork on my part.  The club newsletter was referenced for several of the
actor/actress portrayal-related questions.

Video clues were digitized in 352 x 240 HAM with Digi-View 4.0 from NewTek
and reduced to 16 colors.

Audio clues and sound effects were digitized with Perfect Sound from
MicroSearch, Inc.

Models for the game icon, titles, Command Terminal display, and Starfleet
Command seal were digitized in 640 x 400 B/W and color using Digi-View 4.0
from NewTek and the Electronic Color Splitter from MicroSearch, Inc.  The
final hand-corrected or hand-drawn images were based on the low-resolution
models and were created with Deluxe Paint III from Electronic Arts.

The Command Terminal design and Starfleet Command seal were based on footage
from "Conspiracy".  The Command Terminal display and Starfleet Command seal
were hand-drawn; portions of the Command seal were based on a digitized
model.

The game icon and title were hand-corrected and hand-drawn based on the
digitized model of the series' logo.

The Command Terminal font was hand-designed using FontEd from the Amiga
Extras disk.  The Amiga version of this font is my own work and I would
appreciate credit if anyone else uses it for something.  A great deal of
time and effort was invested in making these fonts as accurate as possible
and tracking down displays from the series' episodes to use as guides.

Presentation and sequencing for game player module created with The Director
from The Right Answers Group.

Additional data files and IFF file optimizing software created with
AmigaBASIC.


D.1   DISCLAIMER

NEXT GENERATION TRIVIA CHALLENGE (NGTC) is a freely distributable release.
Star Trek: The Next Generation, all characters, concepts, and audio/video
segments referred to in this release are registered trademarks or copyrights
of Paramount Pictures Corporation.  No infringement is intended towards
Paramount Pictures Corporation by this freely distributable release which is
distributed without license from Paramount Pictures Corporation.  This
release may not be sold for profit by any parties under any conditions.  No
fees or payments are specifically requested or denied by Second Sight or the
author(s) of this release.  Any fees or payments received by Second Sight or
the author(s) of this release without specific request, which shall be all
fees or payments, shall be considered donations without any legal or moral
liabilities or obligations pertaining to their acceptance.  In no event shall
Second Sight or the author(s) of this release be held liable for any illegal
distribution or use of this release by other parties.  At the written and
signed request of Paramount Pictures Corporation , Second Sight or the
author(s) of this release will terminate distribution of this release at the
original source(s) of distribution, which shall be Second Sight, or the
author(s) of this release, or the Fred Fish Freely Distributable Library for
the Commodore-Amiga.  All other sources of distribution are exempt from such
termination as they are outside the boundaries of reasonable control of
Second Sight and the author(s) of this release.


E.1   EDITORIAL

Following is a fairly detailed description of the activities prompting this
release and my intentions and understandings.  This is not an attempt to make
excuses, but I feel it important that I try to clarify things as I observed
and understood them.  Let me repeat again, this is not an attempt to make
excuses or point the finger at somebody else; this is an outline for future
reference should a problem arise relating to the issues of legal or illegal
distribution of this release.

The basic concept for some type of game based on ST:TNG had been on my mind
since shortly before the airing of the original two hour premiere movie in
September 1987.

I sent a proposal to Paramount Pictures Corporation on November 4, 1989
outlining an action/adventure style game based on ST:TNG seeking a license
to pursue and distribute the end product.  The proposal outlined a game which
would use digitized audio and video from the show, with different backgrounds
for the digitized scenes, in an action/adventure format, with its own unique
story.  I requested carbon copies of my proposal be sent to Mel Harris,
President, Paramount Television Group, and Gene Roddenberry, Creator and
Executive Producer.

I received a reply dated November 16, 1989 from the Licensing Director of the
Marketing Division of the Motion Picture Group.  It stated "regrettably, due
to business, legal and contractual considerations, Paramount Pictures
Corporation is unable to grant you [Second Sight] a license for your proposed
game at this time."  Carbon copies of the reply [and my proposal, I assumed]
were sent to A. Hein, M. Katz, and D. Rosenbaum.

I sent a reply on November 20, 1989 in thanks for prompt consideration and
response, and stated that all work pertaining to the project would end until
such time as Paramount might grant a license.  It was my understanding and
intention that this only pertained to the project I had outlined in the
proposal, not to a ST:TNG computer game in general.

I considered there were some obvious technical difficulties associated with
the action/adventure game I had proposed, and I finally decided something
like that would best fit the CD-ROM format.  That Paramount Licensing said
"at this time", left a glimmer of hope that I might eventually get to create
the proposed game, since that sounded to me like the door wasn't completely
shut on the concept.  During the next few months I began to hear rumors of
other Amigans working on games based on Next Gen, and I finally even got my
hands on one, although it was buggy.  At this point it seemed that every good
software idea I had ended up being someone else's success; someone always
seemed to beat me to the public domain or commercially on my best ideas.  I
was determined I was not going to let that happen with Next Gen.

In June 1990 I hit upon the idea of a trivia game based on the show.  I
debated for another two months over whether the concept was sufficiently
different enough to begin work without violating any previous statements I
had made to Paramount Licensing.  I considered...

  (1) The need for some type of computer game based on the show was strong.

  (2) I decided to release what I did regardless of whether anyone beat me to
      the public domain or commercial market.  I'd let the public decide what
      they liked.  I felt that any effort less than my own could not possibly
      match what I had in mind.

  (3) I had made my position and proposal as clear and the need for the
      product as strong as possible.

  (4) Paramount might consider work on ANY computer game based on the show a
      violation of my agreement to stop work on the project.  Each of us
      referred rather generically to my proposal in communication, but I have
      already stated my understanding in that matter.

  (5) A license might only be granted after the show was no longer in
      production; at least several more years.  I felt the time to release
      such an item was while the show was still in production, still hot,
      still popular.  Since books and other items based on the show were
      being sold I could not fathom why they would not be more interested in
      a computer game.

  (6) Mindscape, Inc. had already released a commercial game based on Star
      Trek Five, and thus obtained a Star Trek license to sell it for profit.
      My chances of obtaining a license were slim against Mindscape's Star
      Trek license and the fact that I was not as well known.

  (7) The trivia game concept was sufficiently different from the concept in
      my Paramount proposal.  Audio and video are used as-is and game play is
      based on existing stories.

  (8) If the project were released entirely free of charge and made freely
      distributable I would not be making any profit or sales from the
      release of the project.  Paramount would not see any profit or sales
      either, but if this was a concern for them, I or someone would have
      been granted a license.  There could be no requests for donations or
      shareware fees other Amiga developers had requested in their Next Gen
      releases.

I opted to begin work on the trivia game project in August 1990 and to
release it free of charge as freely distributable, with the understanding and
intention that I was not doing it for profit, but because I wanted to do
something to demonstrate my appreciation for the show.

It is with the best of intentions, and in good conscience, that I offer this
release without expecting or requesting any rewards or compensation in
return.  This release was distributed because I wanted to do something to
demonstrate my appreciation for Star Trek: The Next Generation, not to
acquire money or fame.

In the event that nothing I have said has made a difference in your opinion
of my actions, let me simply conclude with a few quotes from the episode
"Justice" on my behalf:

    Picard: "There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute.  Even
            life itself is an exercise in exceptions."
    Riker:  "When has justice ever been as simple as a rulebook."


F.1   CONTACTS

The address and telephone number to contact for this release:

          Second Sight
                306 Arbor Drive
                Lexington, NC  27292 (USA)
                ATTN: Gregory Epley
                [phone]

Please call between the hours of 10AM-6PM EST, or alternatively from 7PM-10PM
EST (PLEASE pay attention to the time zones - I hate being called at 11PM if
you happen to be in Chicago or Los Angeles or something).  If you can't reach
me during one of those periods just keep trying back.  If you write please
enclose a SASE if you wish a reply.

If you see something incorrect or missing in the Trivia Database please let
me know so I can include the fix in a future Database release.  I can't fix
the problem if I don't know about it.  Just make sure you enclose that SASE
if you want a reply.

Comments, if you like the game, constructive criticisms, if you don't like
something...just make sure you enclose that SASE if you want a reply.

Enjoy the game and "live long and prosper"!

SINCERELY,

ADMIRAL GREGORY EPLEY
COMMANDANT, STARFLEET ACADEMY