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1995-04-27
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Fiction Factory Version 1.00
User's Documentation
(C)opyright 1995, Joel W. Downer
Welcome to Fiction Factory! FictFact is a pretty simple door, but if
you get confused, just hit Ctrl-Z at any time -- hold down the Ctrl key
and press 'Z' -- for context-sensitive help. (Try it! You'll see some
helpful text about how to read this documentation file.)
This door will allow you to collaborate with other callers to create
stories -- dramatic, profound, funny, or all of the above, depending on
what you want and how well you and the other contributors work together.
Fiction Factory is not a competitive door: there are no scores and no
winners and losers. The point is to have fun and be creative. The door
is open-ended, so you and your fellow authors may create stories that
are hundreds or even thousands of lines long.
Getting involved in Fiction Factory is easy. From the main menu, which
you'll get to shortly, you can choose to start new stories (you'll be
allowed to choose a title and write the first few lines), to add to
stories other people have started, or to read through the stories
currently in progress. To help spur your imagination, in case you're
one of the first people to visit Fiction Factory, the door comes with
four "pre-started" stories by famous authors (and one story by a
not-so-famous author). Can you turn H.G. Wells's classic "War of the
Worlds" into a Western or turn "Moby-Dick" into a science fiction story?
Feeling shy? Depending on your sysop's configuration, the door allows
anonymous entries so you can contribute without embarrassment.
(However, "Jake Baker" wannabes be warned: Your sysop can use the door
logfile to figure out who wrote a given entry if a problem comes up.
Anonymous entries do *not* mean you can write anything you want without
taking responsibility for it!)
Choosing a story (to read or add to) is straightforward. A popup menu
will appear with a list of your choices; you can choose by typing the
highlighted character of the selection you want to choose. (You can use
the arrow keys to move around the menu and make your choice, too -- this
usually works with "Num Lock" turned off, but some terminal programs
will require you to turn "Num Lock" on.) If there are more choices than
will fit on a single screen, you can use the "+" and "-" keys to scroll
up and down on the list. (This is most intuitive if you use the grey
"+" and "-" keys next to your numeric keypad.)
If you're using the door using RIPScrip graphics, navigating is a little
bit different (but even easier!). Just use your mouse to point at and
click on the button you want. Using RIP, you don't even have to
remember Ctrl-Z for help: Once you get to the main menu, a "Help"
button will appear at the bottom of the screen. You can click on it and
get information on your current options at any time.
When you choose to add to a story or to create a new one, you will be
able to type your entry in a full-screen ANSI editor. You should be
able to move around the screen using your arrow keys; if your terminal
doesn't support this use of arrow keys, try selecting "Raw" or "Doorway"
mode. When you're done typing, you can hit Escape and then choose to
save or abort your work. You can read more information about the editor
by selecting help while actually editing a story.
When you start a new story, the door will ask you whether you want to
set a password for the story. This password allows you to limit who may
add to the story, in case you want to write it with your friends and
don't want someone else killing off your favorite character. Remember,
though, that the password just controls who can *add* to the story:
anyone may read it. What's more, if you and your friends don't keep the
story moving along, the password will expire and the story will be open
to contributions from anyone. (The exact amount of time for expiration
is configurable by your sysop.)
That's about all you need to know to get started. Enjoy the door!