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DNDBBS Documentation Page 1
Table of contents Page
----------------- ----
1.0 Hardware requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.0 File distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.0 Modem settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4.0 Communications device driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
5.0 Console ansi support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
6.0 Command line options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
7.0 Dndbbs as a single user program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
8.0 Problem determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
9.0 Configuration problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
10.0 Setup instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
11.0 Configuring instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
12.0 Operating dndbbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
13.0 Modem communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
14.0 Configuring for communications ports . . . . . . . . . . . 7
15.0 Door information and nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
16.0 Door batch files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
17.0 System environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
18.0 Files used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
19.0 Compiling instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
20.0 Rbbs door file structure information . . . . . . . . . . . 10
DNDBBS Documentation Page 2
1.0 Hardware requirements
--------------------------
The adventure system requires an IBM (or compatible) PC, XT, or AT,
dos 4.0 or higher, serial port, hayes smartmodem (or compatbile),
minimum of 640k memory, an 80 column color monitor, and 10 megabyte
fixed disk drive with at least one megabyte of free disk storage.
2.0 File distribution
----------------------
The adventure system is distributed on Executive-PC Bbs, data number
1-414-789-4210, in file dnd29c4.zip containing all executable files,
documentation, data, source, and help files. You must use the PKWare
utility to separate the programs from the compressed .zip files.
3.0 Modem settings
-------------------
Dndbbs can autoanswer the modem by receiving the response ring and
returning the command ata, or by receiving the response connect then
the modem speed (i.e. connect 2400). This way the modem can autoanswer
with s0=1 or with s0=0 (modem register s0 sets the number of rings).
Dndbbs configures serial ports for 300 up to 38,400 baud at no parity,
eight data bits, and one stop bit (n,8,1). The initial modem settings
should be one of these commands:
Modem initialization string 1: atm0e0q0v1x1
m0 -- speaker off
e0 -- do not echo commands
q0 -- enable result codes
v1 -- verbose result codes
x1 -- extended result codes
Modem initialization string 2: atm0e0q0v1x1&c1&d2
&c1 -- carrier detection
&d2 -- DTR detection
Modem initialization string 3: atm0e0q0v1x1&c1&d2s0=1Ss=255
s0=1 -- autoanswer on ring one
s2=255 -- disable escape codes
4.0 Communications device driver
---------------------------------
Dndbbs can access most communications device drivers for modem input,
output and initializing. Normally all you need to do is put the device
driver statement in your config.sys file and reboot to install the
port driver. The fossil (fido/opus/seadog standard interface layer)
driver distributed as x00.sys is required to be placed in config.sys
with the statement device=x00.sys, or if you are using more ports
(up to a maximum of eight), use the statement device=x00.sys 2, etc.
DNDBBS Documentation Page 3
5.0 Console ansi support
-------------------------
Dndbbs sends color code changes to the ansi.sys device driver. This is
done by calling the basic interrupt function. The ansi driver is found
on your dos disk. Install the driver by placing the program on the
boot directory, add the statement device=ansi.sys into the config.sys
file then reboot. Desqview users should put the statement dvansi.com
in the current dndbbs partition. The ansi.sys driver is distributed
with dndbbs. The vdisk.sys device should be installed for a small ram
disk of 16k and selected in the dndcnfg files variables. Vdisk.sys is
only required for the ram disk option if you are using multinodes for
message transfers between nodes by using the message work files.
Example contents of config.sys:
files=20
buffers=8
device=ansi.sys
device=vdisk.sys s:16
Dndbbs can also utilize the enhanced ansi code as stated by the avatar
device driver specification. The driver included for using these codes
codes are zavt.sys and zavtnk.sys. The zavtnk file has the same ansi
codes without keyboard redefinition code parsing. When the config
options Prompt For Avatar, and Detect Remote Avatar are selected, then
dndbbs will use local avatar code sequences. Dndbbs will also detect
remote avatar if these options are selected. Example Avatar driver is,
device=zavtnk.sys.
6.0 Command line options
-------------------------
The command line options are parameters you type after the command
dndbbs at the dos prompt. If there are any parameters at all, the
first must be the node number. The node number must be in the range
from 0 to 9 or A to Z. All command line options should be separated by
a space. There are six options: [node], local, bbs, bypass, disable,
and name. Bbs starts the bulletin board service. Local starts the game
without modem communications. Bypass skips the startup screen. Disable
prevents dm commands or dm logins from being entered. Name starts the
dndbbs with the username in quotes without being required to enter the
user's password. The last two optional parameters are for over-riding
the communications port number specified in the configure modem screen
variables and over-riding the amount of time the user can be online.
The port parameter is /p:n where n is replaced with the alternate port
number. The time parameter is /t:n where n is replaced with the amount
of time the user can be online in minutes.
Examples starting dndbbs:
dndbbs bbs
dndbbs local
dndbbs 1 bypass
dndbbs c local name="uzernaym"
dndbbs bbs /p:1 /t:30
DNDBBS Documentation Page 4
7.0 Dndbbs as a single user program
------------------------------------
To start the adventure at your computer without a modem or serial port
type dndbbs local and you will be able to enter the program from your
keyboard. When started locally you are not required to operate dndbbs
as a bbs, need to have a modem, or need the fossil driver installed.
8.0 Problem determination
--------------------------
The modem does not answer the phone. This is probably because the
modem is not initializing correctly. Try rebooting and then starting
the program. Try initializing the modem with another communications
program. If none of these work then your modem might not support the
hayes command set. When you start dndbbs, the fossil is initialized,
then the opening screen appears. The status indicator will show
Waiting for Calls if the modem has initialized correctly.
If the status indicator shows Reset Timeout or Init Timeout this means
the modem has not sent ok back to dndbbs and the modem might not have
initialized properly. In this case dndbbs continues normally anyway.
Most users do not increment the files= statement in config.sys when
installing dndbbs for the first time. Dndbbs uses sixteen files for
its own use. Dos uses four files. Adjust the files= statement in the
config.sys file to 20 or more. The increased files will go into effect
when you reboot.
The message Out Of Memory, or Program To Large To Load during exiting
to edit, dndcnfg, or dndedit from dndbbs opening screen, or from the
dnd game indicates that the program cannot load the secondary ones. In
this case select option shell/chain from the configuration menu screen
for modem variables and set the option to chain. Shell has advantage
over chain because the main program still resides in memory. Chain
directly loads the secondary program and must restart dndbbs from disk
after returning. Therefore chaining is slower yet takes less memory.
DNDBBS Documentation Page 5
9.0 Configuration problems
--------------------------
The program does not read the configuration file:
Delete all the configuration files (files with the extension .cfg) and
start over with dndcnfg. Dndcnfg loads zero into all configuration
values. Load the default configuration values with control-d. You will
be prompted for the node number. Press enter for no node or enter the
node number from 0 to 9 or A to Z.
The program does not recognize the configuration file:
You have not written a new configuration file to disk. Make sure you
use the control-w command before exiting dndcnfg. Or the configuration
file is from an old version. You will prompted for the node number for
the configuration file. Press enter or type the node number.
Installing a new version of dndbbs:
The configuration file structure may have changed from an old version.
Delete all old configuration files and write new files with dndcnfg
and the control-w command.
The program displays errors and does not start:
Make sure the statement files= in config.sys is set for 20 or more.
Place the statement files=20 in config.sys and reboot the computer.
10.0 Setup instructions
-----------------------
The remaining contents assumes you are installing dndbbs into a fixed
disk system and your computer is an MS-Dos compatible, or 100% IBM
compatible. Create a subdirectory on your fixed disk and copy the
dndbbs .zip files. Separate the compressed .zip files with the
PKWare utility.
11.0 Configuring instructions
-----------------------------
This section is primarily text on creating the configure file for
dndbbs. The dndbbs will look for this file in the default directory
it is started from. If the configuration file is not found then the
program exits with an error message to create a configuration file.
Start the configure program by typing dndcnfg in the dnd directory.
You will be presented with a color screen containing eight options:
F1 Logon variables F5 Command variables
F2 Processing variables F6 Modem variables
F3 File variables F7 Custom equations
F4 Rooms variables F8 Quit configure
DNDBBS Documentation Page 6
11.0 Configuring instructions (cont.)
-----------------------------
And a selection on the bottom line:
Highlight Menu Choice W/ Cursor Keypad, Press Return To Select Option.
Control-D Load Default, Control-W Write Config, Control-R Read Config.
Select the option for loading the configuration defaults (control-d),
loading a configuration file (control-r), or writing the configuration
file (control-w).
At this point you can select one of the eight options with the cursor
keypad and the enter key, or by pressing the function key selection,
or with the first letter of the option. The screen will display the
parameters for the selected option.
The critical operating parameters are the datapath to the .dat (data)
files, the datapath to the .doc (documentation) files, the datapath to
the temporary work directory, and the datapath to the door information
file. They are in the file variable screen. The modem variables screen
contains the option to operate as a rbbs door, the door information
file path, and communications port.
When you have entered the critical options, write the configuration
out to the dndbbs.cfg file. If you are using dndbbs as a door you must
use a node number. The node number is used for the configuration file
name. For node one the file created is dndbbs1.cfg, for node two the
file created is dndbbs2.cfg, etc. You will be prompted for the node
number, or to press enter for no node number. The configuration file
dndbbs.cfg is read by local mode (when the sysop runs the program from
dos or starts as a standalone bbs). When dndbbs operates in the bbs
door mode, the program will search for the door information file with
the specified node number.
12.0 Operating dndbbs
---------------------
After writing the configuration file to disk dndbbs can start locally
with the command dndbbs local or dndbbs bbs for bbs mode. While in
bbs mode the program controls the modem and answers incoming calls.
The opening screen status indicator displays the activity of the modem
during answering and connection. Dndbbs answers at speeds up to 38,400
baud. Your modem must be 100% hayes compatible and support the entire
hayes command set. The opening screen shows the modem status, recycle,
intializaltion, reset, and off hook commands.
DNDBBS Documentation Page 7
13.0 Modem communications
-------------------------
Sample of dndbbs to modem conversation bbs mode:
From dndbbs to modem:
atz (reset command, status indicator: Reset ok).
atm0e0q0v1x1 (initialization command, status indicator: Init ok).
Now the opening screen status indicator displays Waiting for call.
From modem to dndbbs:
ring (for s0=0, incoming call, status indicator: Ring,
dndbbs responds with ata, or),
connect 1200 (for s0=1, modem autoanswers, returns connect speed
after autoanswer, 1200, 4800, 9600, 19200, or 38400).
For 300 baud, modem returns connect then dndbbs waits and assumes 300.
If dndbbs does not detected a carrier signal within 30 seconds then
the modem disconnects and the program recycles. Dndbbs can configure
to disallow 300 baud access.
14.0 Configuring for communications ports
-----------------------------------------
For sysops using multinode systems, networks or multitask applications
you may need to configure dndbbs for a specific communication port
number besides the default of port 1. Dndcnfg modem variables screen
allows you to set the port to any other number from 1 to 8. The fossil
device driver can access up to eight ports on an AT. In order to do
this you must modify the command line on the device=x00.sys in
config.sys. Read x00 documentation for further information. Example
of the x00 command line for 2 ports would be device=x00.sys 2.
Example contents of config.sys:
files=20
buffers=8
device=x00.sys 2
15.0 Door information and nodes
-------------------------------
To start dndbbs as a door put the node number after the dndbbs command
(for example: dndbbs 1). To specify the node parameter from a batch
file use the node number for the first replacement parameter (for
example: dndbbs %1). Select the option in dndcnfg for the door type.
The option for dndbbs to be an rbbs door should be selected. Other
door types need to be converted to an rbbs door file with a conversion
program like DoorMaster or similar program. The door file searched for
will be dorinfox.def with x replaced with the node number. Select the
dndcnfg option for the pathname where the dos directory containing the
door file is to be found. Dndcnfg will add the trailing slash at the
end of the pathname if you forget.
DNDBBS Documentation Page 8
16.0 Door batch files
---------------------
Here is a sample batch file to call dndbbs from rbbs. This batch file
is named dnd.bat and is called from rctty.bat from rbbs.bat with the
command dnd 1.
cd\dnd
dndbbs %1
cd\rbbs
For futher rbbs batch file programming read the rbbs documentation.
There are many involved batch routines for files rbbs.bat, rctty.bat,
and rbbstm.bat. Rbbs uses the file menu5 to look for the keyword to
start the batch file. The menu5 file must have the batch file name in
uppercase surrounded by spaces so rbbs can find it. Then the rbbs
attaches .bat to this filename and checks the disk for the filename.
For example, menu5 could look like this:
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Rbbs doors menu selections |
| |
| Type in one of the following door options: |
| |
| DND - The adventure system v2.9c-4! |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
17.0 System environment
-----------------------
An environment string is a system variable locally known to dos and
the program dos executes. Environment strings are placed into the dos
system variable space with the set command. Dndbbs will recognize the
strings and use them for disk access. There are five set variables
recognized by dndbbs. You can also place the dos environment varables
into the autoexec.bat file. For example:
set dndbbs=c:\dnd\
set dnddoc=c:\dnd\doc\
set dnddat=c:\dnd\data\
set dndtemp=d:\
set dnddoor=c:\rbbs\
The path command can specify the directory containing the dndbbs.exe
program. By combining the environment strings with the path command,
Dndbbs can be started from any drive. The dos environment strings are
used instead of the configuration file pathnames. Dndbbs will add the
trailing slash at the end of the set statements. If the directory
containing dndbbs is c:\rbbs\dnd\ then the path statement would be:
path=c:\rbbs\dnd\
DNDBBS Documentation Page 9
18.0 Files used
---------------
A well organized dndbbs system would make full use of the datapath
options. The disk drive structure could look something like this:
c:\ c:\dnd\data\ c:\dnd\doc\
config.sys rooms.dat readme.1st
autoexec.bat spells.dat catalog.doc
ansi.sys objects.dat dndbbs.doc
vdisk.sys monsters.dat edit.doc
x00.sys monclass.dat hint.doc
montalk.dat summary.doc
c:\dnd\ nonplyrs.dat sysop.doec
brt71efr.exe treasure.dat
dndbbsx.cfg users.dat c:\dnd\source\
dndbbs.exe prelog.dat *.bas
dndcnfg.exe notice.dat *.bat
dndedit.exe welcome.dat *.inc
dndutil.exe logoff.dat *.lib
edit.exe dndedit.dat bc.exe
logon.dat link.exe
d:\ (ram disk) help.dat
messwrk1.dat dmhelp.dat
messwrk2.dat messbase.dat
messwrk3.dat *.new *.tbl
19.0 Compiling instructions
---------------------------
The dndbbs system is compiled into many separate executable files by
linking together individual submodules. Each submodule has the same
include file, dndbbs.inc, which also loads in several other include
files. If any of the .inc files are changed then all the programs
must be recompiled. The command line compiler distributed with the
Microsoft Professional Development System 7.1 and most recent linker
are required to make the dndbbs .exe files.
The bc.exe compiler command line switches /e, /s, and /fs are used
when compiling the submodules. After each submodule is compiled then
the linker makes the .exe file. For example:
bc dndbbs/e/s/fs;
bc dndsub1/e/s/fs;
bc dndsub2/e/s/fs;
bc dndsub3/e/s/fs;
bc dndsub4/e/s/fs;
bc dndsub5/e/s/fs;
link dndbbs+dndsub1+dndsub2+dndsub3+dndsub4+dndsub5,,,qbx+dtfmter/e;
The compiler switches are:
/e -- local error trapping
/s -- compress strings
/fs -- use far strings
The linker switches are:
/e -- compress .exe size
The dndbbs source is packaged with many batch files to autocompile
executable programs. Compile1.bat compiles the dnd main program,
compile2.bat compiles dndedit, etc. There are several linking batch
files, linkmain.bat, etc. For example, you could type compile4, or
linkall, or make, to compile, link, or make programs.
There are three library files used by the linker to compile dndbbs.
The .lib files used are qbx.lib, dtfmter.lib, and brt71efr.lib. These
files are installed by PDS 7.1 during setup. Link the files in with
link (brt71efr.lib links in for default) as the library part of the
linking command.
DNDBBS Documentation Page 10
20.0 Rbbs door file structure information
-----------------------------------------
Rbbs v17.4 door option, 13 lines ascii text:
dndrbbs (bbs name)
smedley (bbs sysop first name)
nowon (bbs sysop last name)
com1 (comm port used, com0 for rbbs local sysop)
2400 baud,n,8,1 (baud rate and parameters)
1 (network type)
schmuckle (sysop for local access, otherwise the user's
newbody first name, and last name)
new york, ny. (users city, state)
2 (graphics preference)
10 (the user level)
60 (time remaining)
-1 (fossil used)
========== END OF DOCUMENTATION ==========