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READ.ME
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* |_o_o|\\ Copyright (c) 1987 Edmund Burnette, The Software Distillery. *
* |. o.| || All Rights Reserved. *
* | . | || Dave Baker Edmund Burnette Stan Chow Jay Denebeim *
* | o | || Gordon Keener John Mannering Jack Rouse John Toebes *
* | . |// Mary Ellen Toebes Doug Walker *
* ====== BBS:(919)-471-6436 *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ATTENTION: AMIGA LARN is freely redistributable for non-commercial uses,
if this file accompanies it. Please pass this file on with
any redistribution you do. Any distribution without this file
is a COPYRIGHT VIOLATION.
Welcome to AMIGA LARN version 12.0B!
AMIGA LARN is brought to you through the efforts of The Software Distillery,
a group committed to producing quality software for the Amiga at large.
Inquiries and flames should be directed via US Snail to:
Edmund B. Burnette
210 Willoughby Lane
Cary, North Caroline 27511
or
John A. Toebes, VIII
The Software Distillery
235 Trillingham Lane
Cary, North Carolina 27511
or on USENET
...mcnc!rti-sel!sas!burnette (I check my mail once a year whether
I need to or not)
...mcnc!rti-sel!sas!toebes
The latest version of Larn and our other projects are available for
downloading from the Software Distillery bulletin board at (919)-471-6436.
They can also be obtained from us directly at the above addresses. Send US$6
for a disk containing the latest Larn, or any of our other disks. (Overseas
include US$1 extra for postage). Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for
a list of available disks.
Many Thanks to Shirley Galbrecht - Graphic Artist
SAS Institute Inc.
Box 8000 SAS Circle
Cary, North Carolina 27511
For her work on the graphics chacters.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ABOUT LARN +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is a version of the public domain program LARN (copyright 1986 by
Noah Morgan) implemented under AMIGADOS with the LATTICE C 3.10 compiler
(from SAS Institute Inc.).
Larn is freely redistributable. You may upload it to public bulletin
boards, or give it to users groups, and individuals you feel would
enjoy it. Under no condition may you charge for Larn without explicit
permission of the Software Distillery.
If you do enjoy the program and would like to support further
development (and receive information on the latest updates) send a
contribution to Edmund and his crew at the above address. We welcome
suggestions for improvements and upgrades.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ INSTALLING LARN +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Make a backup of this disk before doing anything.
You can use the Icon Editor 'HackIconII' to change any of the colors or
characters used by the graphics version of Larn. The characters for monsters
and objects are kept in the files '.monsters' and '.objects' respectively.
See the files 'HackIconII.doc', '.monsters.doc', and '.objects.doc' for more
information. HackIconII was written by Doug Walker.
There is also a configuration file '.larnopts' that you will want to edit
to set your default options and player name. See the online help in larn
(the HELP key) for more information.
To install Larn on a hard disk, make a directory called DH0:LARN and copy
the files from the disk into it. Then enter the CLI command
assign Larn: dh0:Larn
You can then execute Larn normally.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ COMMON PROBLEMS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If Larn comes up with a totally black screen that stays black, check the
Workbench screen behind the Larn screen. There may be a requester back
there begging for your attention.
Larn is a memory- and stack- intensive program. You need at least a 512K
machine to run it. If you invoke it from the CLI, YOU MUST HAVE AT LEAST
10K OF STACK. You can ensure this with the CLI STACK command:
stack 10000
If you invoke Larn from Workbench, you don't have to worry about the stack
size since it is preset to 10000.
Besides stack space, Larn uses a lot of dynamically allocated memory.
If Larn keeps crashing unexpectedly, especially near the beginning of the
game, chances are you are running out of memory. Try running it with no
background tasks and as few as possible open windows. If you execute it
from Workbench, close all CLI windows before executing Larn so it can
shut down the Workbench while running. Also, Version 1.2 of the ROM Kernel
seems to take more memory that Version 1.1, so try 1.1 if you are having
trouble with 1.2.
You should not have to use this method, but if all else fails...
If you are still running out of memory, reboot your machine and hit control-D
as soon as you see the first AmigaDos window appear. Execute the stack
command above, change directories to Larn:, and resize the window to as small
as possible. Then type the Larn command:
stack 10000
cd Larn:
Larn
If you get a requester asking for you to insert the volume 'LARN' in any
drive when you go to run your copied version of Larn, then you need to rename
the copied disk to LARN using either the CLI relabel command or the rename
option from workbench. A common (VERY common) mistake is to delete the
'copy of' text from in front of the name leaving the space in front of LARN
(Workbench likes to put 'copy of ' in front of any disk copied). Make sure
you delete the leading space also.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PLAYING LARN ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you've played Larn under UN*X or some other environment, you won't have
any trouble with this version. Many of the commands are the same. Even if
you haven't, however, you can use the menus in AMIGA LARN. Just hold down
the right menu button and select the command. After you get to know the
commands, you will be able to use the keyboard commands. The keyboard
command equivalent for each menu selection is listed next to the selection.
Three commands you will want to know are HELP, '/', and ALT-click. Pressing
the HELP or '?' key gets you into the online help system. The '/' command
displays all graphics characters used in the game. Finally, to identify a
particular graphics character on the screen, point the mouse at a character,
hold the ALT key, and click on the monster or object you want identified.
Before you play, you might want to print out the file '.larn.help'. This is
the file displayed with the HELP key.
You can use all the standard 'vi' style keys to move your player character
around in Larn. This is the way I prefer to play the game because it keeps
my fingers in the same place I need them for entering commands and answering
prompts.
For your convenience, however, you can also use the arrow and keypad keys.
In addition, you can control your character three ways with the mouse.
First, if you just click the mouse anywhere in the playing area, the
character will try to move in that direction. Second, you can click on your
character and drag it wherever you want. This is called 'mouse tracking'.
Third, to make your character stay where it he is, just click on the
character and release. This is equivilent to the '.' command. All this
is explained in the online help.
NOTE: For your safety, Larn will not allow you to move over known traps
and pits with the mouse. Also, if a monster takes a swipe at you while
you are under mouse tracking, the tracking will be dropped.
In case you're interested, when you are moving the player character with the
mouse, Larn tries to move into one of the three cells next to the current
player position that are closest to the mouse. It tries them in order of
increasing distance. If all three are blocked, it gives up and does not
move the player (a cell is considered blocked if there is a wall or a
visible trap there). There is a special case if the player is right next
to the mouse position but for some reason it can't move to that spot (for
example, if the mouse was over a wall or pit). If that happens, Larn gives
up immediately. Otherwise, it would probably thrash back and forth between
adjacent squares and waste lots of time. This is because when mouse tracking
is on, Larn tries constantly to keep the player directly under the mouse.
If the mouse for some reason gets ahead of the player, Larn will move the
player multiple times to let him catch up.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 12.0B Changes +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bug Fixes
Bugs? What bugs?
Additional Features
A clikable READ.ME file (this here document).
Amiga Features
Nicer icons for starting the game from the Workbench (peel-away style
created using ZapIcon and SetAlternate).
Larn now closes the Workbench to free up extra memory. Close all
non-Workbench windows (like your CLI) to get the full effect.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WIZARD Mode ! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wizard mode under Larn allows you to play with almost complete
invulnerability. It is there to allow you to learn some of the finer points
of Larn (and to help the me debug the program!). To get into wizard mode,
you must first make sure you are using the player name of "Wizard" in your
.larnopts file:
name: "Wizard"
This is not enough since you can play a perfectly normal game using this
player name. You must get into Larn and type the '_' command. Larn will
prompt for a password which happens to be 'amiga' (no quotes or carriage
return). This mode gives you a +25 lance of death, a +50 ring of protection,
25 levels of experience, and one of everthing in the game. It is useful for
learning the game or for working off frustration (much better than kicking
the stairs). Once you are in, there is no way out of wizard mode!
One caveat: wizard mode will not allow you to save high scores (that would
be cheating, wouldn't it?)
+++++++++++++++++++++ Help for the Beginning Programmer ++++++++++++++++++++
If you are struggling with the Amiga and with learning how to program or
simply use your Amiga, there are two excellent sources of information:
Amazing Computing - generally available from your local Amiga dealer.
It is a 'slick' cover magazine with advertising and fairly high level
coverage of basic Amiga operations. It has been extremely informative
and covers may advanced programming topics with farily indepth articles.
Available from your local dealer
The Amigan - PO Box 411, Hatteras NC 27511 - $24 for 6 issues/year
subtitled 'Apprentice and Journeyman', the Amigan is aimed at both the
beginning programmer and advanced hacker. The editor, Dick Barnes has
a very readable style, making for easy and informative reading. The
journal comes on 3 hole punched paper ready for building an ongoing
reference manual for the Amiga. The articles tend to focus on solutions
to problems and approaches to take. No advertising is taken so all
reviews are fair and hard-hitting. Unlike other 'help' newsletters that
tend to be fly-by-night, the Amigan is informative and committed to
providing useful tips to make your life easier and more productive. A
must for the serious Amiga Programmer.
+++++++++++++++++++++ Other Public Domain Software ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Fred Fish
345 Scottsdale Rd
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
Offers (now 50) disks of PD software for $6 each. These are well organized
and a MUST for any user group.
++++++++++++++++++++++ From the Software Distillery +++++++++++++++++++++++
Other programs from the Software Distillery may be obtaining by calling our
Bulletin board. Many of these programs were used in the development of
Larn. At present we offer the following:
* C-Kermit (by Jack Rouse) - A telecommunications program that implements
the full Kermit protocol with many features such as remote commands and
batch file transfers.
* An advanced UN*X MAKE program with default rules and macro expansions.
* POPCLI - a screen saver program and 'hot-key' extension for bringing up
a new cli at the touch of a key.
* ICONEXEC - a program for making AmigaDOS programs run from workbench
without any changes.
* SETALTERNATE a program for setting the alternate (selected) image on an
icon to other than inverse.
* BLINK - an Amiga Linker that is FULLY ALINK compatible and up to 4 times
faster. It supports many advanced linking features as well as an
excellent map facility. A must for the serious programmer.
* TSIZE - a utility to list the amount of disk space taken up by tree
structured directories on a disk. VERY useful when trying to clean up
on a disk (What *IS* taking so much space?!), especially for hard disks.
* WBRUN - A program for running workbench programs from CLI without having
to load workbench.
* MEMWATCH - A background utility to watch for ramdom memory trashing.
* HACK, another UN*X game ported to the Amiga by John Toebes. A classic
every Amigan should have.