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BATTLE GRID ----------- VER 3.5 S Y S O P D O C U M E N T A T I O N ************************************************************************** DISCLAIMER: Locatha Industries, Inc. Makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, or inferable from the course of dealing or the custom of trade including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose, with respect to this documentation, its quality, or its performance. Battle Grid is licensed "AS IS". The entire risk as to its quality and performance is with the buyer. Locatha Industries, Inc. will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from the use or misuse of Battle Grid. The use of Battle Grid constitutes agreement with this disclaimer and releases Locatha Industries, Inc. from any form of liability or litigation. COPYRIGHT Battle Grid Copyright (c) Locatha Industries, Inc., 1991,92- 93 ALL Rights Reserved. This game, and the computer programs to which it relates are the property of, and embody trade secrets and confidential information proprietary to, Locatha Industries, Inc., and may not be modified or reverse engineered without the prior express written approval of Locatha Industries, Inc. TRADEMARKS Battle Grid <tm> is a trademark of Locatha Industries, Inc. *************************************************************************** UPDATE NEWS: There are no longer any command line parameters required for the operation of Battle Grid HOST. The HOST now has a configuration program where you will set the options particular to your system so that BATTLE GRID can run on it. However, there is an optional commandline parameter which is used to select a specific configuration setting in the BGCFG.DAT record library of configrations. For instance: If you run a 2 node board..and one node has a VGA monitor and the other node is monochrome, then all that is necessary is to create two configuration records within BGCFG.EXE by using the 'A' command. Then set the first record with graphics on and set the second record with graphics OFF. To have Battle Grid select these records on RUN-TIME all that would be necessary is to pass either a 1 or 2 as a commandline parameter to BG-HOST. So since the Second record was set to graphics off you would want to call: c:\>BG-HOST 2 to have Battle Grid boot up with no graphics and call: c:\>BG-HOST 1 to have Battle Grid boot up with graphics. The BG-TERM (terminal side of Battle Grid) now has one optional command line parameter and a configuration file (BGTCFG.EXE). The command line parameter will allow the user the ability to FORCE the comport if the auto-detection routines should fail. For instance: If one of your users is having trouble with the Term and it will not find an open com port, and he is active on COM2, then all that is necessary for that user to do is type c:\>BG-TERM COM2 <ENTER> and it will force BG-TERM to play through COM2. The configuration file for the terminal is used to select between Standard Communications (UART) and Fossil Communications ( Using a FOSSIL DRIVER). Now the rules have changed a bit from Version 3.0 to 3.5 when concerning how to initiate game play with the term. In version 3.0 we told you that you had to EXIT your term and NOT to SHELL......Well this is no longer true. We now require you to SHELL from your terminal and NOT EXIT. We highly suggest either the latest Shareware versions of Qmodem 4.52 or Telix 3.21 (holders of their respective copywrite). <<See User.DOC for more details concerning how to use these terminal packages and for adjusting settings for Swapping on Shell>> *************************************************************************** WHY REGISTER ------------ * When you register you will recieve a registered .EXE file that will allow you to play up to 50 games simulteaniously instead of the Shareware version of just 2 games. * You will recieve Free upgrades of the software in the future. * Gain special benefits as a Locatha Industries registered customer. - Beta Privilages of our up and coming Games and Releases. - Distribution Privilages of our New Releases. Be the first In your local area to have latest releases by Locatha Industries. - Tech Support/Custom Design suggested program. We will take your suggestions a step further than most...and even do minor custom programing to suit the needs of your system. (At our discreation) *************************************************************************** GETTING STARTED FAST --------------------------------------------------------- BY THIS TIME YOU SHOULD HAVE ALREADY RUN THE INSTALLATION BATCH FILE (INSTALL.BAT), HAVE BATTLE GRID UNCOMPRESSED IN ITS CORRECT DIRECTORY, AND HAVE RUN ITS CONFIGURATION PROGRAM SETTING BATTLE GRID TO THE PARTICULARS OF YOUR SYSTEM. NOW ALL THAT IS LEFT IS TO SET IT UP AS A DOOR ON YOUR BBS. When installing BATTLE GRID on your BBS there are two things you should consider. 1. If your BBS SOFTWARE allows for DOS INTERRUPTS or intercepting DOS CALLS as with WWIV, you should be sure that these options are toggled 'OFF'. BATTLE GRID handles all of its own communications and does not require this function. 2. Also, you should do whatever means your BBS SOFTWARE provides for shrinking the BBS SOFTWARE out of memory. BATTLE GRID is a memory intensive game and will need as much memory as you can muster. However, do not worry too much if you can't free up much memory. We've added an ANSI interface for Sysops that have to turn graphics off to be able to load the game. So they will see an Ansi Version of the game that resembles the EGA version of the game as closely as possible. <TURNING GRAPHICS OFF ON THE SYSOP'S SIDE DOES NOT> <AFFECT THE USERS TERMINAL SIDE IN ANY WAY..THEY > <WILL STILL SEE ALL THE GRAPHICS..................> After keeping these two factors in mind you should simply install BATTLE GRID as any other door. We suggest using the BATCH file methode since BATTLE GRID may not be contained in your BBS root directory. Here are a couple of examples of what I mean: (NOT USEING THE .SYS PATH OPTION IN THE BGCFG.EXE PROGRAM) "Lets assume that your BBS is on your 'C:' drive under the directory 'BBS'. Your BBS path would look like: 'C:\BBS' Now, lets assume that BATTLE GRID is in its own director on drive 'C:' under the 'BBS' directory. Its path may look like this: 'C:\BBS\GAMES\BGRID' to run BATTLE GRID as a door on your BBS system you would actually call the batch file below from within your "CHAINEDIT", "DOOREDIT" functions on your particular BBS SOFTWARE PACKAGE. 'C:\BBS\BGRID.BAT' BGRID.BAT: copy door.sys c:\bbs\games\bgrid { OR WHICH EVER .SYS FILE YOU USE } cd c:\bbs\games\bgrid BG-HOST.EXE 1 {the 1 represents the first Configuration Record} erase door.sys { OR WHICH EVER .SYS FILE YOU USE } cd c:\bbs This method copies the 'door.sys', 'chain.txt', 'callinfo.bbs', 'dorinfo1.def', or 'sfdoors.dat' to the BATTLE GRID directory so that BATTLE GRID may use it to get information about the user playing the game. If possible we highly suggest using DOOR.SYS over other formats due to it's stable format. ( USING THE .SYS PATH IN THE BGCFG.EXE PROGRAM ) The only difference with this methode from the above described methode is that you will not need to copy the 'door.sys', 'chain.txt', 'callinfo.bbs', 'dorinfo1.def', or 'sfdoors.dat' file to the BATTLE GRID directory. Nor, should you have to erase the file from the BGRID directory. The path in the Configuration program should point to the path of where to locate this file and BATTLE GRID will do all the changing of directories to find the file and use it. So in the scenerio listed above, if your 'door.sys' file would be created in your BBS's root directory then you would place this path in the BATTLE GRID configuration program. C:\BBS {WITHOUT A TRAILING '\' } if you mis-entered this information in the BGCFG.EXE (CONFIGURATION) program you may go to the BATTLE GRID directory and type the above listed .EXE program and make the desired changes. The BGCFG.EXE program also allows you to set up unique configurations for a multiple of uses. For instance..you can use the 'A' key in the BGCFG.EXE program and it will create another bgcfg record. Use PGUP/PGDN/HOME/END keys to switch between the records and to access these records by Battle Grid all that will be necessary is when you make a call to BG-HOST pass a single parameter 1,2,3,4, or 5 or whatever number you have created and Battle Grid will use that Configuration Record. That way for instance if you are running a multi-node board..and do not wish to use the Environment variable you can easily create a seperate Configuration record for each node. Setting some with graphics OFF and some with graphics ON. Therefore, you can pass your Multi-Node Environment variable to Battle Grid and it will use the corrasponding BGCFG record. Welp, that's it to the installation of BATTLE GRID. Once you've gotten it in your BBS and the BATCH file written and working then you should now be able to log onto your BBS locally and run the door locally. If you have GRAPHICS set to 'ON' in the Configuration program then you should be able to see Battle Grid....play and enjoy... if you have GRAPHICS set to 'OFF' in the Configuration program then you will only be able to see an ANSI version of the game. DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF BATTLE GRID..NOT ALL SCREENS AND OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE ANSI MODE. IT IS MORE OF A VISUAL CONFERMATION FOR THE SYSOP TO SEE WHO IS IN THE GAME AND A GENERAL ACTIVITY WITHIN THE GAME. THE GAME IS NOT PLAYABLE VIA THE ANSI OPTION. ***************************************************************************** INFORMATION ABOUT BATTLE GRID THE SYSOP SHOULD KNOW --------------------------------------- 1. If graphics is turned 'ON' then the sysop will see all the graphics even when another user logs on to play. So you may whatch a user playing Battle Grid in real time online. If Graphics is turned 'OFF' then the sysop will see only the ANSI INTERPRETATION <NOT PLAYABLE HOWEVER> 2. We have now accounted for allowing the terminal package to be downloaded via BATTLE GRID. So when a user calls and has never played BATTLE GRID before they will see the following: 'DO YOU HAVE BATTLE GRID GRAPHIC TERM VERSION 3.5 [Y/N]' If they answer 'NO' to the above question it will proceed asking them a few questions about there system..then package them up a terminal version and upload it to them in a ZIP compressed file. It will then instruct them to exit there term without dropping carrier and uncompress the file. Then all they will need to do is run BG-TERM.EXE and they are in the game. THE TRANSFER PROTOCAL USED IS ZMODEM HOWEVER, YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE DSZ.EXE OR ANY OTHER PROTOCOL DRIVER IN THE BATTLE GRID DIRECTORY. BATTLE GRID HAS ZMODEM INTERNAL. If a user is having trouble with the game reference them to the User Docs. 3. The terminal package for BATTLE GRID does support UART and Fossil communication methodes. The user can select which methode he/she wishes to use via the BGTCFG.EXE program whish has only one option which toggles between FOSSIL or UART. It will Default to a Uart settings. 4. Our TECHNICAL support numbers to reach us for any problems are: The Hall of Bones : (904)/241-6301 (USR HST) The Swap Shop : (904)/396-1983 (USR HST) FRED RUGAR : (904)/396-1967 (Voice ) (VOICE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 6pm-9pm EST STND TIME PLEASE!) LOCATHA INDUSTRIES, Inc. : (904)/387-9796 (Voice ) (VOICE 24hours a day 7 days a week) 5. The digiboard routines have been tested....or atleast Compatibility. Here's what has to be done to get battle grid to work with a DIGI-BOARD setup. First of all, you need to make sure you have XIDOS5.SYS loaded which is your DIGIBOARD driver. Second you install a DIGIFOSSIL driver...any will work.. Then in the BGCFG.EXE program set the communications type to FOSSIL (NOT DIGI) and set things up as you would on any multi-node board. (as any other Door) 6. The host side of BATTLE GRID works much faster than the USERS SIDE because of some unique buffering and compression of data. Therefore, if you are watching a user play....do not meddel with the keys on your end because the user may not have yet recieved everything. Oh!..yes...Your keys will operate the same as the users on the other end...therefore it would be possible in conjunction with the chat function of BATTLE GRID to walk a new user through battle grid explaining some of it's functions. The key here is don't fight the users over control of the game...it can sometimes cause problems. 7. If you have a game...that continually insists that the game is currently in use....but you are sure that no one is in the game it is possible that a GAME####.USE file is still in the Battle Grid directory and has not been deleted properly. This can sometimes occure if a power outage or sudden disconnect on the HOST side of Battle Grid is initiated. The solution is fairly simple, go to the Battle Grid directory and type :ERASE *.USE. This will erase all USE files within the directory allow game play to continue normally. ****** Todate we have not had a problem we were unable to correct...so please, if you are having any trouble getting the game installed and working....CALL US. **************************************************************************** B. S. NOTES: Well after we had released version 3.0...we found that a lot more of you guys out there that once had tried Battle Grid and couldn't get it to work or installed had finally found a version that you could make work or install. With the development of this we had an opertunity to talk to a lot more users and test with more unique systems than our earlier registered users. And ofcourse found areas that could be improved and updated. For instance, many of you asked that the BGCFG.EXE program be capable of creating and utilizing multiple configuration files which would be selected on run time so that you wouldn't be forced to use the Environment variable option or just for a little more flexibility. Welp, that option has been added and should resolve many problems on some systems...(especially on multi-node systems where each computer has different modem types...and some with Fossils and some without). We also had a roar of support from users who wanted some kind of ANSI interface for those sysops who were unable to see the graphics...and this too was added. However, the bigest reason for version 3.5 to be released where a few code bugs..and some serious incompatibility problems. One of which was on the users side with DOS 6.0. Upon its release version 3.0 no longer was able to detect the correct com port to run trough...so now we've added a forcible Com port commandline paramter which should allow those users which had upgraded Dos to select which comport they would prefer to use. Also, some users out there were using fossil drivers and insisted that we add Fossil support and which also solves the problems with those users using NON-STANDARD IRQ's. This was done..and you'll now find the file BGTCFG.EXE on ther TERMINAL side which allows the users to select from FOSSIL and UART. Also many of you out there were having trouble with HIGH SPEED MODEMS. The new Usr 16.8 Dual standards, V.32's, HST's, Hst Dual Standards, Trubo Modem's, etc... Welp we have tested and verified all these configurations and have now (probably for the first time) a version of Battle Grid that will work under the following conditions..Fully Tested, and verified and reverified: DESQVIEW, QEMM, WINDOWS, WITH 16.8, 14.4, HST, V.32, DUAL STANDARDS, and many other configurations. You shouldn't have ANY problems with compatibility what so ever..and if you do we'll do custome programming immediately to make things work for your system (With exectopn to Galacticom's and configurations similiar..when we make this boast we are refering to the Standard BBS hobbiest systems like PCBOARD, WILDCAT, WWIV, SPITFIRE, ETC...... Enjoy....... P.S. I know we promised you some VGA doors comming out really soon.. Well...here's how things stand...We're vigorously working to get Battle Grid to be as compatible with as many systems as possible..and once we've reached this state..we'll start releasing the other games...They're finished waiting...So give this game a try..run it through the ringers.. and based on your responce to the success of the game will dictate how and when we release newer and better games.... again, thank all of you for your support and hope to see it again in the future. Evan Schwartz