ftp.barnyard.co.uk/2015.02.ftp.barnyard.co.uk.tar/ftp.barnyard.co.uk/cpm/walnut-creek-CDROM/BEEHIVE/GAMES/NIMMOIA1.ARC/CREATE.DOC

Text File | 1989-09-27 | 24KB | 472 lines

create.doc.
congratulations!
if you are reading this it means you have decided to create a
game.
maybe you are looking for a little revenge, <grin>.
well, here we go.
introduction:
first a few words about games.  if you have ne@never played a
nimmoia game, or you have not read nimmoia.doc then go no further
here.
on the other hand if you are well acquainted with the system, and
adventure games in general then you will probably be able to
design a nimmoia game without reading this document.  the nimmoia
world creator has on-line brief help.
if you find any prompt confusing then type a question mark and
help will be given on that prompt.
definitions.
some things you should know. a world, in nimmoia, is the name
given to a game file.
these have the extent .wld and are created by the program
nimmoia5.
a room is any location within a game. you may have 30 of these.
remember a room does not have to be inside.  it may be the deck
of a ship, a river bed, mid-air, anything you want.
a monster is a creature within a room. a monster can again be
anything you want.  also, they may be friend or foe depending on
how you design them, see below.
objects are anything else, literally.  sound confusing? well it's
really not once you get into it.
a character is the player.
a turn is 1 move made by the player.
getting started.
you can start the creator either by selecting the C option from
the prompt at the beginning of a game or by running nimmoia5.com
from run disk program or from the dos prompt.
if you have limited space, say on a work disk, it is only
necessary to have nimmoia5.com for creation.  remember though,
for playing you need the other 4 modules plus at least 1
character file.
when you first run the creator you will hear a sign-on message
after which you will be asked:
what is the name of your adventure?
this will be displayed by the player when transporting you to the
world, i.e. when getting everything ready.
you will then be asked for a file name to store your adventure
in.  this may be any valid file name, up to 8 characters.  do not
type an extent here except if recalling a .tmp file, see below.
now you are asked for an introduction. this may be up to 9 lines
of text. it is displayed as soon as the game starts and cannot be
seen again except by restarting the game.
note: a Line, in the editors of this game can contain 255
characters. i.e. 9 lines is about a screens worth.  funny
wrap-arounds will cause eureka pronunciation problems
occasionally but this is unavoidable.
now you are asked, how many rooms in your adventure? enter the
number of rooms you wish to have.
note: it is always a good idea to map or plan an adventure before
designing it.
now, for this example let's say you put 10 here.
the prompts listed below will keep cycling until all 10 rooms, or
however many you specify, are defined. you have a limit of 30
rooms, 30 monsters and 30 objects.
if this doesn't sound like much to you then please write me such
an adventure, i would love one, <grin>.
now you will be asked:
enter name for room n.
n will be the room number you are currently up to.
the room names are displayed when you first enter a room. they
are preceded by: you are. hence you should use room names such
as,
in the dungeon, at the entrance, on the main deck, etc.
next you are asked for a connection table. this is 6 numbers
separated by returns.
these tell the program which rooms are next in which directions.
for example if room 2 is to the north, your first number should
be 2.
for no exit simply type a 0, or, for a gate-way, the way back to
nimmoia type minus 1.
you must explain in your room descriptions where your exits lead,
if you want people to know.
next is your room description.  this can be up to 10 lines.
terminate your description with a dot on an empty line, similar
to many b.b.s. editors. you will then be given some editor
commands. this is self-explanatory.
room descriptions are displayed automatically the first time you
enter a room or, when a character types look.
next you will be asked, any monster here?
let's type y for yes.
you are asked, enter monster's name?
type a name for the monster.
this is up to you since it is displayed with nothing in front of
it.  use relatively easy names to spell though as the first word
of your monster name will be used by a character in battle, etc.
now you are asked for a monster desc.  this is, of course, a
description.  it is used by examine.
now you are asked, monster's strength? this is, as you might
expect, how strong the monster is in battle.
it is used along with monster weight and weapon bonus, if any to
calculate how much damage a monster does to a character in
battle. next is monster's dexterity. this controls how fast the
monster is and therefore how likely he is to register a hit, or,
avoid one from a character.  next is hit points. this is the same
as for a character.  it controls how much damage can be taken. if
this figure falls below 0 the monster is dead.
now you are asked, unfriendliness to females? this controls how
friendly, or otherwise the monster is to female characters. if a
female character's charisma is above this value then monster will
be friend and surrender at the outset of a battle. if not,
monster will fight.
unfriendliness to males is the same as above but for male
characters. you may, for instance, want to have a vampire who
attacks females but leaves males alone, or, vice versa.
the next prompt is cowardous. if monster's hit points fall below
this level then surrender text will be displayed and monster will
become friend.
note: friends will sometimes, not always, assist a character in
battle.
the next value you are asked for is score. this is added to
character's score if defeat or surrender occurs.
now you are asked for a weight. this can be any number from 0 to
infinity. it may also be randomized, see below.
this value is added to strength, and weapon bonus, if any, in
damage calculations.
then you must enter some 1 line texts. these give your monster's
the power to talk to a character, in a limited way.
first, you must enter a dead body description.
this is displayed if a character enters a room containing a dead
body.
next is surrender text, displayed if monster becomes friend, i.e.
surrenders.
then defeat text, displayed if monster is defeated, and finally,
win text, displayed if monster wins battle. don't forget that if
a monster wins, a character dies. the win text will be
immediately followed by the message,
you have died, better luck next time.
apart from that all monster text is displayed as it is written.
there are 2 more optional entries for monsters. weapon name is
simply a weapon for your monster to carry.  actually, unless you
also put this in the description it is not seen by the character.
however, if you enter a weapon name, and don't just hit return,
you will also be asked for a weapon bonus.  this value is added
to strength and weight for damage calculations.
it can, of course, be randomized.
note: if you type the letter r in place of a number anywhere in a
monster or object definition a random number between 1 and 24
will
be used. this number is generated by a dice throw at the
beginning of each game session. it is not put there by the
creator. this allows you a fare degree of random chance.
e.g. let's say you are constructing a level 1 monster. that is,
strength, dexterity and hit points between 100 and 200.
if you type r for weight and r for weapon bonus then you will
effect damage by, randomly up to 48 points.
this is because, let's say your monster has a strength of 150.
the damage calculation will be based on a figure between 152 and
198 which will be different in every game.
if you precede the letter r with a minus sign as in:
-r
then the value produced will be negative. this may be very useful
with certain objects, see below.
note: i can't think of a single use for a negative value in a
monster definition. unless of course you are on a strange planet
where things are not always what they seem, <grin>.
don't be afraid to experiment. if you make a mess, you'll be the
first to know since you should be the first to play one of your
own creations.
you are allowed a limit of 3 monsters in each room and 30 in the
whole game. since this is so the next prompt will be, any more in
here? if you say yes, the monster prompts will cycle again.
if you say no, you will be asked, any objects here?, which brings
us to our next subject.
objects.
objects can be just about anything you want in a room. although
they are inanimate by definition they can effect all the primary
character attributes, and even location. these effects can be
positive or negative, this is up to you.
there are 6 classes of object and these are discussed below.
they are: type 0, gold pieces,
type 1: weapons.
type 2: normal.
type 3: containers.
type 4: worn.
type 5: specials.
type 0: gold pieces.
this is more or less self-explanatory. if you select this type
you will be asked, how many gold pieces? just enter a number >0
or r for a random value between 1 and 24. the object name is
automatically initialized as gold pieces and if a character gets
them the value will be added to their gold in hand.
examining gold pieces simply tells a character how many there
are.
note: you can enter a negative value here causing the amount to
be deducted, rather than added to the gold in hand attribute. if
you do this however, there must be an explanation somewhere in
the game for your poor characters.
type 1: weapons.
if you enter this type you will be asked for a weapon name. this
can be anything you want.
you are then asked for a strength bonus, this is added to
character's strength in damage calculations.
then you are asked for a dexterity bonus, this is added to
character's dexterity in battle.
of course, for this to be so a character must have readied this
weapon after getting it.
examining a weapon will tell a character about it's strength and
dexterity bonuses.
note: you may use r here also if you wish random weapon bonuses.
it would also be possible to have a cursed weapon with negative
bonuses but that's getting nasty. i for one would *never* do it,
would i?
type 2: normal.
now we get into the real stuff. a type 2 normal object is one
whose effects are immediately apparent when the object is taken.
they are defined exactly as a type 4, worn objects, but type 4's
need to be worn for there effects to be apparent.
i.e. type 2 objects could be inanimate treasures such as the vas
in test of triumph or cursed objects such as a crystal which when
in the player's possession automatically damages there
intelligence, ouch!
yes, you can effect character's attributes both negatively and
positively. ok. let's examine them 1 by 1.
first you are asked for the objects name. this may be anything.
remember, however, the following.
the first 4 letters of your object names may not be ambiguous.
for example, you cannot have a green button, and a green bottle
in the same game.
also, case sensitivity is respected totally. therefore a Blue
parrot is not the same as a blue parrot.
note: since i have designed this system for eureka users, if you
are a non-eureka user and writing a game which is case sensitive,
please make this known in your introduction by suggesting that
eureka users enable upper case beep.
otherwise just use all lower case input.
also, remember a character must only type the first 4 letters of
the first word in your object name when using commands such as
examine, get etc.
therefore object names like,
big black furry round ball,
are probably pretty stupid.
save your adverbs for the object description.
the object description is asked for next. it is a maximum 5 lines
and must be terminated with a dot on an empty line.
it is used by examine.
now comes the fun part. you may effect any or all of a
character's primary attributes. if you don't understand the
difference between primary and secondary attributes, or what they
are, stop here and go and read nimmoia.doc.
you may also pick whether you are effecting male or female
attributes. you may have an object which, for example, enhances a
female's attributes but damages a males, come on girls now's ya
chance, <grin>, but it can also be vice versa.
the values you enter will be *added* to the relevant character
attribute. if the values you enter are minus ones, then, of
course, they will be subtracted from the character attribute. r
an
-r are also valid here and will produce values of 1 to 24 as
usual.
if you wish no female effect, or no male effect, simply type n
when prompted. also, 0 is of course valid in all cases.
now you will be asked for a weight. this is added to the weight a
character is carrying.
value is used to help gerron calculate how much you are worth in
gold at the end of the game.
score is added to a character's score.
excuse me skipping a bit but:
type 4: worn objects.
these are defined in exactly the same way as are type 2's. the
only difference is that their effects will not be apparent until
they are worn.
type 3: containers.
as the name suggests these are objects that contain objects, such
as chests, bottles, boxes, cylinders, cupboards, refrigerators,
stoves, diophrenetic intelligence generators, what?, in fact,
anything at all that you might wish to contain something.
first you are asked for a container name.
again, use relatively simple names.
diophrenetic intelligence generators could be called a black box.
incidentally if you want to know what one is you'll have to wait
till i figure it out and stick it in a game, <grin>.
now you are asked for an container description.
this is of 3 lines maximum and will be printed as is followed by
the status of the object, that is, whether the container is open,
or closed.
this will occur if a player examines your container.
next you must enter a container weight. this weight is
independent of the weight of the object inside.
typing minus 1 at this prompt as in:
-1
will cause the object to be immovable as in a cupboard or
something fixed to the floor.
if you wish the container may also have 0 or random weight.
container value refers to what the container, rather than the
object inside, is worth to gerron. if the object is fixed this in
unapplicable so just hit return.
now you are asked for the item type.
this refers to the type of item in your container.
type 0: gold pieces.
you will be asked how many and these will be put in your
container for the character.
type 1: normal.
these are like type 2 above. there effects will be apparent when
taken.
type 2: can be eaten.
this object can be taken but it's effects will not be apparent
until eaten.
type 3: can be drunk.
this is assumed to be liquid of course. therefore it cannot be
taken, only drunk.
type 4: gas.
this escapes from the container as soon as it is open. the object
description, see below, is printed immediately. you can use this
to describe the symptoms the character is experiencing.
note: you could use the type 4: gas to allow something living to
jump from a container. however, a character cannot attack it as
it will be assumed to be an object.
if your item choice is anything but type 0: you will now be asked
for a description. this is the same as above but for the object
inside the container this time. in the case of a gas remember
that this is printed immediately. in all other cases it is
printed only if a character examines the object inside the
container. in order to do this the character must, of course,
have opened the container first.
now you must type in effects. these are the same, once again, as
for above and will work according to the item type.
weight and value are also asked for.
note: be sensible and fare. do not have containers with immovable
objects inside them unless you can think of a good reason to! it
is worth remarking here that gerron will pay for the contents of
a container, open or not, hmmmmm. any ideas?
now there is only 1 type to go.
type 5: special's.
these are as the name suggests, special events. they are, indeed,
as far as the program is concerned objects. as far as the user is
concerned however, they may be anything.
this is where you put things that have not yet been covered. you
can create spells, special armour, transporter beams, secret
passages responsive to a password, in fact, anything.
first you will be asked for the special's name. this may be what
you like and will be used by examine, get, etc.
now you are asked for an activation string. this may be anything
you want the special to respond to.
note: you may only use program verbs as the first word of your
activation string if the string contains more than 2 words.
i.e. open door is not a valid activation string for a special
but:
open green door is!
also, special activation strings must contain more than 1 word
except in a very unusual case, see designer.doc, not included
with this archive but available by mid november 1991 on this
b.b.s. or from wherever you obtained this archive.
next you will be asked for a text to be displayed when special is
activated.
this will be displayed automatically if the correct activation
string is used.
now comes some unusual ones.
turn counter is a number greater than 0. the turn counter is
check, that is, how many turns has the character had. if the
characters turn count is higher than the value here the special
will not work and the character will be advised of the reason.
i.e. the character will be told that they have not been fast
enough. they will be told how many turns was required.
yes, you can randomize this number but that would be nasty.
intelligence required works similarly. the character's
intelligence is checked this time. if it is equal to, or greater
than your value then special will work. if not the character will
be told how much intelligence is required. use this for designing
spells in conjunction, maybe, with the visibility option, see
below.
hit points required allows you to, for example, stop a character
from killing themselves. conversely, you could use it to ensure
they *did*!
it works as above. if character's hit points are higher than your
value special will work. otherwise special will not work and
character will be told why.
note: the above 3 values are called qualifiers. if you use them
you must make it possible for character's to become qualified,
mustn't you?
now you are asked for the effects on a character. these are
almost the same as other object types except that a sixth value,
location is added. this must be a number between 1 and the
maximum number of rooms in your adventure. if character works the
special they will be moved to this room.
yes, you can use minus 1 to move your character automatically to
the gate-way and, consequently, out of the game.
again, you may type n if you wish no male, or no female effects.
also, typing return is the same as typing 0 hear.
note: a location change of 0 will not move the character. if your
game contains 24 rooms or more you can make the location change
random in the usual way. effects may be unpredictable however.
now you are asked for a weight an value as above. again you may
use minus 1 for fixed object. if you have, don't enter a value.
now 2 more new prompts. visibility was mentioned briefly above.
if you type v for visible then special will be visible to *all*
characters. if you type i here, however, the special will only be
visible to characters qualified, that is, those whose turns are
low enough and intelligence and/or hit points high enough.
note: if you used no qualifiers you must type v here.
lastly, armour class. this is added to the secondary attribute,
armour class when character works special.
this is how you design armour.
note: remember, wear armour is not legal here. you must tell your
character, somehow or somewhere in the game how to operate the
armour.
and that's it for objects.
you will be asked, any more in here? you are allowed 3 objects in
a room.
now 1 of 2 things will happen. either the program will cycle back
to enter name for room n, or, the following will occur.
you will see the prompt, turn counter, return for none.
this allows you to limit the amount of turns permitted in your
game.
if you enter a turn counter you may then enter a 1 line string to
be displayed if the turn count is exceeded.
you may also choose here whether your character dies or not at
this point.
e.g. you might have a limit on saving  princess from execution of
300 turns. the string might say:
sorry adventurer but you failed to reach the princess. try again
next time.
alternatively, you may want to kill the character.
i.e.
"the wizard appears and says: "well fool, you weren't fast
enough, therefore, you die."
if you have answered yes to the question should the character die
then the message, "you have died, etc." will appear and the
character file will be erased from disk irrespective of the
character's attributes.
temporary files.
as you can see from above designing a really large game may take
some time. for this reason there is a temporary save option.
if you want to save a partially completed game then press return
at the:
enter name for room n, prompt. n will be the number of the room
you are up to in your design.
to re-load the file type the full file name including .tmp extent
when prompted for a file name to store your adventure.
everything will be re-loaded and you will be where you were at
the end of last session.
note: if re-loading a .tmp file it is not necessary to enter a
game name. this will be automatically re-initialized from the
data file so just hit return.
special notes.
conventions.
please remember that what i have written here are only guide
lines. you may, of course, design your games anyway you like. but
try and stick to a few little things to create some sort of
uniformity.
firstly, where possible, stick to the levels mentioned in
nimmoia.doc. that doesn't mean you can't have a level 3 character
in a level 1 game though.
also, adult games. i am not in the habbit of playing moral judge.
i have been asked about over 18 games, some of you might call
them pornographic. i do think though that you should make them
password protected as in the restricted area in the hall of
learning, or janaleen nimmo's game, found in this archive.
you can password protect a game by creating a room with no exits
as your first room.
then put a special in there that responds to a password and moves
the character into the game proper.
good luck and happy adventuring!
please remember that if you write a game, share it. don't be
backward in coming forward with ideas. i've had suggestions all
the way from medieval dungeons to u.s.s. enterprise so be
adventurous.
if you enjoy and use this program you may want to consider
sending a small donation to:
paul nimmo
7 flood street revesby, australia, 2212.
any comments most welcome at the above address or in mail on th
b.b.s. where you obtained this archive.
 australia, 2212.
any comments most welcome