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Text File | 1992-12-12 | 49KB | 964 lines

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ ╓──────────┐ │ │ ║ ╒═════╗ │ │ │ ║ │ ╓─┐ ╚═╛ ╓─────┐ ╓─┐ ╓─────┐ ╓─────┐ ╓─────┐ ╓───┐ ╓─────┐ │ │ ║ └─╜ │ ║ ╒═╗ │ ║ │ ║ ╒═══╛ ║ ╒═╗ │ ╚═╗ ╒═╛ ╚╗ ╒╛ ║ ╒═╗ │ │ │ ║ ╒═╗ │ ║ │ ╚═╛ ║ │ ║ └─┐ ║ │ ╚═╛ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ╚═╛ │ │ ║ │ ╚═╛ ╓─┐ ║ │ ╓─┐ ║ │ ║ ╒═╛ ║ │ ╓─┐ ║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ╓─┐ │ │ ║ └─────╜ │ ║ └─╜ │ ║ └──┐ ║ └───┐ ║ └─╜ │ ║ │ ╓╜ └┐ ║ └─╜ │ │ │ ╚══════════╛ ╚═════╛ ╚════╛ ╚═════╛ ╚═════╛ ╚═╛ ╚═══╛ ╚═════╛ │ │ │ │ ╓─────────┐ │ │ ║ ╒═══╗ │ │ │ ║ │ ║ │ ╓─┐ ╓─┐ ╓─────┐ ╓────┐╓─┐ ╓─┐ ╓─┐ ╓─────┐ │ │ ║ └───╜ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ ╒═══╛ ║ ╒╗ │║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ ╒═══╛ │ │ ║ ╒═══╗ │ ╚╗└┐ ╓╜╒╛ ║ └─┐ ║ │║ │║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ └─┐ │ │ ║ │ ║ │ ╚╗└┐╓╜╒╛ ║ ╒═╛ ║ │║ │║ │ ║ │ ║ │ ║ ╒═╛ │ │ ╓╜ └┐ ╓╜ └┐ ╚╗└╜╒╛ ║ └───┐ ║ │║ └╜ │ ║ └─╜ │ ║ └───┐ │ │ ╚════╛ ╚════╛ ╚══╛ ╚═════╛ ╚═╛╚════╛ ╚═════╛ ╚═════╛ │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Eclectic Avenue - 1.20 Copyright 1991 by John Parlin and Paul Andre All Rights Reserved Release Date: 12-11-1992 ╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │░░░░░░ LICENSING INFORMATION - READ THIS! ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ This Software is Licensed, not sold. The Software in this package is licensed according to the terms of the following agreement: ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Software License Agreement │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ IMPORTANT: Please read this license agreement before using this software. By using this software you acknowledge your agreement to the terms of this license. If you do not wish to follow the terms of this license agreement, you must remove this software from your system. The only portion of the Software that you may retain is the distribution archive itself which may be used solely for distribution purposes. DEFINITIONS: The term "Software" as used in this agreement means the full system and all utility computer programs contained in the distribution archive, together with any updates subsequently supplied by JPSoft. The term "JPSoft" as used in this document refers to the alliance between John Parlin and Paul Andre whose combined efforts helped to create this Software. The term "Related Materials" means all the printed materials provided in this package or later supplied by JPSoft for use with the Software. TERMS: You are granted a limited license to use this software for a sixty-day trial period. You are encouraged to run this software for the full sixty-day period to ensure proper operation. After expiration of the trial period, you must either register with the authors or remove the Software from your system. No special "demo" key files are required during the trial period. The registration fee is $20.00 U.S. Funds. A Registration Form is included in the distribution archive and is called EA.REG. Once registered, you will receive a license to use the Software on your system for an unlimited period of time. Eclectic Avenue is Copyrighted 1991 by John Parlin and Paul Andre. All rights are reserved. You may copy the Software and documentation for backup purposes. You also may copy and share UNMODIFIED copies of the distribution archive, providing that the copyright notice is reproduced and included on all copies and no fee is charged for distributing the Software. You may not sell this software for a fee and/or distribute this software along with other products without express written permission from John Parlin or Paul Andre, nor may you modify or remove the Copyright Notice from the program or the documentation. You may not alter the machine-readable object files or program documentation files for any purpose including but not limited to; Defeating the internal key system structure for purposes of gaining an unlawful registration or; Modifying the program copyright notice or any other text therein. Those who register this program, will receive a non-transferable registration number. This number will be delivered either by personal upload, or postal service. Allow up to 6 weeks for delivery to locations outside the continental U.S. For locations within the continental U.S., allow 2-6 weeks for delivery. All registrations are processed in a timely manner and usually only take a few days to deliver. However, when unforseen circumstances arise, registration turnaround times may be delayed. John Parlin and Paul Andre reserve the right to revoke software licenses in lieu of any violation of the terms of this license agreement. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ LIMITED WARRANTY │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ THIS PRODUCT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS ASSUMED BY YOU. JPSOFT DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF, RESULTS OF, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OF THE SOFTWARE. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU (AND NOT JPSOFT OR ITS DISTRIBUTORS) ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. FURTHER, JPSOFT DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF, OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE; AND YOU RELY ON THE SOFTWARE AND RESULTS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. JPSOFT WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SYSTEM DAMAGE, SERVICE, REPAIR, CORRECTION, LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF SAVINGS, OR ANY OTHER INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Distribution Sites │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Comments, suggestions and bug reports are welcome. If you have any, you should contact John Parlin or Paul Andre at one of the support systems listed below: Home Base Site: Low Voltage BBS System Operator: John Parlin Phone Number: (612) 566-5532 BBS Software: RemoteAccess 1.11/Pro Maximum Baud Rate: 9600/DS/HST/V32 Address Mail To: John Parlin (or Sysop) Primary Distribution: Odyssey BBS System Operator: Stan Hirschman Phone Number: (612) 832-5127 BBS Software: RemoteAccess 1.11/Pro Maximum Baud Rate: 9600/DS/HST/V42/V32 Address Mail To: John Parlin Secondary Distribution: Beg, Borrow or Steal System Operator: Paul Andre (JPSoft) Phone Number: (612) 934-2982 BBS Software: RemoteAccess Maximum Baud Rate: 2400 Address Mail To: Paul Andre (or Sysop) Alternate Distribution: O-Zone BBS System Operator: Jim Biggs Phone Number: (612) 837-8679 BBS Software: ProBoard Maximum Baud Rate: 9600/DS/HST/V32 Address Mail To: John Parlin METHODS OF SUPPORT: Our primary support system is Odyssey BBS. For fast response on support issues, call and log on in person. First-time callers have access to our support area where they can leave messages to us or download the latest releases of our software. Remember, if you leave a message requesting support, call back in 48 hours to receive your response. Netmail received on these systems is read but cannot be responded to. Therefore, Netmail comments are welcome but if you require a response, please log on in person. Messages should be addressed to Paul Andre or John Parlin on any of the above listed systems. If you're reporting a bug, please give as much detail as possible about the problem you are experiencing (including the version you're running) so that it can be duplicated and fixed. Also be sure to call back to the same system to check for a response (usually within 48 hours). ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ UPGRADES: │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Upgrades will be provided through the support sites listed above. Program updates consist of minor and major revisions. All minor updates are available for download and usage free of charge to registered Sysops. Major updates may require a small upgrade fee based on the complexity of the update. How can you tell if a release is a minor or major update? The program version number will indicate this. For example: Program version number: 1.00 | | | --- Minor revision \---- Major revision In this example, a release revision of 1.10 would indicate a minor program revision and no upgrade fee would be charged to those who are currently registered 1.00 users. A release revision of 2.00 would indicate a major program revision and may require a small upgrade fee, which would be indicated in the EA.NEW file (included in the distribution archive). ╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │░░░░░░ INTRODUCTION ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Eclectic Avenue is a board game where players win points or "cash" by collecting rent from other players on properties that they own. Players may participate in as many games as the Sysop allows through the use of the configuration utility called EACONFIG.EXE. Many options that control how the game works are also configurable by the Sysop through the use of EACONFIG.EXE. Eclectic Avenue supports two types of BBS drop files. They are, the DORINFOx.DEF standard (QuickBBS, RemoteAccess, ProBoard and more) and DOOR.SYS (32-line version and the RemoteAccess version). Eclectic Avenue also supports the RBBS DORINFOx.DEF standard directly and a conversion utility is not required. When Eclectic Avenue is fired up, it determines whether or not to use the RemoteAccess/QuickBBS or RBBS DORINFO conventions. Here's how it works: ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Eclectic Avenue will search the drop path specified in │ │ the current configuration profile for DORINFO1.DEF. │ │ If it is found it will be used no matter what BBS line │ │ number is specified in the configuration profile. │ │ This is in keeping with the QuickBBS/RemoteAccess │ │ standard of reading the DORINFO1.DEF drop file. │ │ │ │ If DORINFO1.DEF is not found, Eclectic Avenue will look │ │ for DORINFO<node>.DEF where <node> is the node number │ │ specified in the configuration profile. │ │ │ │ This enables Eclectic Avenue to read a range from │ │ DORINFO1.DEF to DORINFO9.DEF. │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Eclectic Avenue supports the use of an installed FOSSIL driver as well as direct asynchronous communications support. The async engine that is built-in will support locked DTE rates of up to 38400 baud. Eclectic Avenue is self-maintaining. With the use of a command line parameter, Eclectic Avenue will perform maintenance tasks, through the use of its internal Maintenance Agent. This allows Eclectic Avenue to run in a trouble-free environment. Eclectic Avenue challenges players to maintain the highest possible real-time tournament score. Eclectic Avenue maintains an ongoing tournament score list which reflects the overall scores for all players involved in all games. As games are "closed out" or removed, tournament scores are adjusted as needed. This allows for an ongoing "real-time" tournament environment which encourages players to remain active and maintain a competive score. This program was written in Turbo Pascal using a customized version of JPDoor 3.1 (JPDoor 3.1 Custom-XL). A drop file (DORINFOx.DEF or DOOR.SYS) is required. Beta testing was done on the following systems: Name BBS Software ------------------------------------ ----------------------------- Tony Mannino - Fantasy Land BBS RemoteAccess (multi line) Paul Andre - Beg, Borrow or Steal RemoteAccess (single line) Mary Warren - Fire! & Ice Wildcat! (single line) Steve Richmond - Salt City Caverns Wildcat! (multi line) Jim Biggs - The O-Zone BBS ProBoard (single line) Greg Jansen - Muddy Waters BBS RemoteAccess (single line) Robin Matthew - About Time BBS Wildcat! (multi line) We sincerely appreciate the efforts of our beta testers. Thanks for a job well done! Eclectic Avenue supports DesqView and automatically uses the DesqView alternate video address if it is detected. Turbo Pascal is Copyrighted by Borland International. DesqView is Copyrighted by Quarterdeck Office Systems. JPDoor is Copyrighted by Motor City Software. Eclectic Avenue uses record locking and is multi-line aware. To accomodate the multi-line functions, SHARE *MUST* be loaded on the host computer system (even on single line systems). If you run a DOS version prior to 4.0, you may still be required to load SHARE. If Eclectic Avenue aborts abrubtly without producing an error in the EA.LOG file, you should verify that SHARE is loaded on your computer. REQUIREMENTS: Eclectic Avenue requires 180K of RAM in order to run. It also requires DOS version 3.3 or later. Players are required to support ANSI color and graphics. Though the game will play fine in mono-mode, it is mandatory that ANSI emulation be supported on the player's machine. Also, an installed ANSI driver is required on the host computer such as the DOS ANSI.SYS. ╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │░░░░░░ INSTALLATION/CONFIGURATION ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ By following the installation steps outlined in INSTALL.DOC you installed the Eclectic Avenue program files. Now, you must configure Eclectic Avenue to run on your system. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Included in the program package is the configuration utility program EACONFIG.EXE. This program allows you to create one or more configuration profiles for Eclectic Avenue. Why would you need more than one configuration profile? You may need to pass different information to Eclectic Avenue based on the configuration of the BBS line or "node" in use. For example, if you have a two-line BBS you may want Eclectic Avenue to look in the directory \BBS\LINE1\ for the BBS drop file when a user is on line 1. And you may want Eclectic Avenue to look in the directory \BBS\LINE2\ for the BBS drop file when a user is on line 2. Similarly, you will no doubt have different communications port setups for the two lines. So you need to tell EACONFIG.EXE the name of the configuration profile that you are creating or editing. To do this, simply pass the name of the configuration profile on the command line. For example: EACONFIG.EXE EA.CFG This instructs EACONFIG.EXE to load and edit the configuration profile held in EA.CFG. If EA.CFG does not exist, it will be created and default values will be inserted into all fields. Here is the list of all options available in EACONFIG.EXE: SYSTEM SETUP: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Line Number: This is the BBS line number in use for this configuration file. This is reflected on the status bar. BBS Name: This is the BBS name that you wish to use with Eclectic Avenue. This is the BBS name that you should specify when filling out the Eclectic Avenue registration form (EA.REG). System Operator Name: This is the BBS System Operator (Sysop) name that you wish to use with Eclectic Avenue. This is the Sysop name that you should specify when filling out the Eclectic Avenue registration form (EA.REG). Drop File Type: This setting specifies which drop file type that Eclectic Avenue should use. This is a toggle setting and valid choices include DORINFOx.DEF and DOOR.SYS. Drop File Path: This is the path where Eclectic Avenue will search for the drop file indicated by the Drop File Type setting. If you do not specify a trailing backslash, one will be appended for you. Communications Driver: This setting allows you to choose between using an installed FOSSIL driver or the internal ASYNC ENGINE. When using the ASYNC ENGINE, you can also specify non- standard communications port settings (see below). Comm. Port Name: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communica- tions driver. Valid selections are COM1 through COM8. Use the <SPACEBAR> to toggle this setting. NOTE: When selecting COM1 through COM4, default values are assigned to the Comm. Port Address and IRQ Number settings. These may then be changed manually. Comm. Port Address: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communica- tions driver. This allows the use of non-standard communications port base addresses to be used. NOTE: When selecting standard addresses $03F8, $02F8, $03E8 or $02E8 a default value will be assigned to the IRQ Number setting. The IRQ Number setting can then be changed manually. Standard Port Standard Address Standard IRQ ============= ================ ============ COM1 $03F8 4 COM2 $02F8 3 COM3 $03E8 4 COM4 $02E8 3 When using COM5 through COM8, you should specify the correct base address and IRQ line number settings that you are using. If you are using an IBM PS/2, Address and IRQ line settings might be: Standard Port Standard Address Standard IRQ ============= ================ ============ COM1 $03F8 4 COM2 $02F8 3 COM3 $3220 3 COM4 $3228 3 COM5 $4220 3 COM6 $4228 3 COM7 $5220 3 COM8 $5228 3 IRQ Number: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. Valid selections are 1 through 7. Locked Baud Rate: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. If this is set to any value other than 0, the baud rate used to communicate with your modem will be equal to the value specified here. Valid entries are 0 (no lock), 9600, 19200 and 38400. Registration Number: This is the registration number you received from JPSoft when you registered Eclectic Avenue. Adopted By: This is the optional name of a user who may have adopted (registered) Eclectic Avenue for you. This is used only when Eclectic Avenue has been registered. Multi-line Operations: This setting activates multi-line operations within the game. This tends to slow things down a bit if you are running single line so only change this if you are running multi- line. Eclectic Avenue, even in its unregistered mode, supports up to 6 lines or nodes. If you are running more than 6 lines, you must contact JPSoft for multi-line pricing and availability. Communications Drive: This setting may only be modified when multi- line operation is enabled. If this is set to anything other than none, then this is the drive and path that Eclectic Avenue will use for all multi-line activity communications. Ideally, this should be a RAM disk drive letter with an optional directory name. If you do not have a RAM disk drive, then this should be left blank. For example, if I was running a two-line system, I might make a 16K RAM disk as my E: drive. Setting the Communications Drive to E:\ tells Eclectic Avenue to use the RAM disk root directory for all multi-line communcations. NOTE: When using this option, it is IMPORTANT to specify the same Communications Drive for each configuration profile used! GAME SETUP: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Snoop Mode: When this setting is ON, anything echoed to the remote terminal is also echoed on the local console. In other words, the Sysop can see what the players are doing. When this setting is turned OFF, the initial loading messages are echoed to the local console but actual game play is not. Use Handles: This setting allows the Sysop to specify whether or not players may select an alias to use during the game. If this setting is ON, players will enter the game using their current log-on names. If this setting is OFF, players may select their own aliases. Max Participate: This setting specifies the maximum number of games that each player may actively participate in at any given time. Max Game Starts: This setting specifies the maximum number of games that can be started by each player during a period of time that is based on the Game Duration setting (described below). For example, if the Game Duration setting is 7 days, and Max Game Starts is 2, players are able to start 2 new games every 7 days. Max Turns Per Game: This setting specifies the maximum number of turns each player may take per game, per day. Game Duration: This setting specifies the maximum number of days that each game will last. When this value has been reached, the game is closed out by the Maintenance Agent (see below). Players Required: This setting specifies the number of players that must join a game before any of the players in that game may take a turn. Other commands may still be used while in the game but no player may move his or her game piece. Save your configuration profile by selecting Quit from the sub and main menus and answering "Y" when asked, "Save Changes?". ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ STEP TWO: Build a Batch File │ └────────────────────────────────┘ If you will be running Eclectic Avenue on a multi-line system, there are several ways you could go about creating a batch file. It won't take a large amount of work to create a batch file system for loading Eclectic Avenue. One example might look like this: EA.BAT : IF %1 == 2 GOTO LINE_TWO IF %1 == 1 GOTO LINE_ONE :LINE_ONE CD \GAMES\EA EA EA.CFG CD \BBS\LINE1\ GOTO STOP :LINE_TWO CD \GAMES\EA EA EA2.CFG CD \BBS\LINE2 :STOP In this example, it is assumed that the line or 'node' number in use is being passed to the batch file as a command line parameter. In the batch file it is referred to as %1. It is beyond the scope of this document to get into the technical aspects of batch file programming. This is just a basic no-nonsense example scenario. Please consult your DOS manual for more information on batch file programming. For single line systems, the batch file needed is a simple set of instructions. For example: EA.BAT : CD \GAMES\EA EA EA.CFG CD \BBS ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ │ STEP THREE: Import Trivia Files │ └──────────────────────────────────┘ Eclectic Avenue allows you to add to the list of trivia questions that are provided in the program package. The program package comes with a default set of trivia questions which is contained in the file TRIVIA.LST. This is an ASCII text file that you can edit with any text file editor. However, it is important that you follow the conventions used by Eclectic Avenue for importing this trivia question list. When importing the question list, Eclectic Avenue reads through the file line-by-line and looks for and interprets two embedded command characters. They are CONTROL-P and CONTROL-K. Each trivia question is preceded by a CONTROL-P on a line by itself. Then, after the question text is entered, it is "ended" with a CONTROL-K on a line by itself. This is then followed by the correct answer letter on a line by itself and the score worth on a line by itself. ALL questions MUST have a multiple choice list consisting of 4 choices lettered A, B, C and D. For example, a valid trivia question would be formatted as follows: Line 1: ^P Line 2: The black round things on the wheels of cars are Line 3: called: Line 4: Line 5: A) Hub Caps Line 6: B) Tires Line 7: C) Headlights Line 8: D) Turn Signals Line 9: ^K Line 10: B Line 11: 50 In this example, the question itself is preceded by a CONTROL-P and followed by a CONTROL-K. The very next line contains the correct answer character (B) which is then followed by the point worth of 50. IMPORTANT LIMITATIONS: ■ Question text MUST NOT exceed 58 characters in length, per line. ■ There must be NO blank lines in the question list file EXCEPT within the question itself (as shown in the above example). ■ The First line of the file MUST be a CONTROL-P and the last line of the file MUST be the point worth of the last question. The question file supplied with the program package (TRIVIA.LST) should be used as a guide to formatting additional questions. Simply append to the end of this file when adding more trivia questions. IMPORTING THE LIST: To import the question list into Eclectic Avenue, append the command line parameter /I to the command line. For example: EA.EXE EA.CFG /I This executes Eclectic Avenue using the configuration profile held in EA.CFG. However, Eclectic Avenue is not executed in play mode. Instead, it will prompt you for the question filename to import. Enter: TRIVIA.LST This will cause Eclectic Avenue to delete all existing trivia questions and attachments and will then import all questions in the file TRIVIA.LST. This type of operation allows for easy appending of additional trivia questions. So to summarize, you can always add to the list of trivia questions used by the game. But for now, let's just import the existing TRIVIA.LST using the instructions outlined above (the /I parameter). ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ┌───────────────────────────────────┐ │ STEP FOUR: Let your users play! │ └───────────────────────────────────┘ Eclectic Avenue is now ready for action! NOTE: Some BBS software and drop file conversion utilities do not write a proper drop file when logged in local mode, in that the COM Port is not specified as COM0 and the Baud Rate is not specified as 0,N,8,1. If this is the case, Eclectic Avenue may still be run properly in local mode operation if the /L command line parameter is used. For example: EA.EXE EA.CFG /L Executes Eclectic Avenue using the configuration profile EA.CFG and forces local mode operation. ╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │░░░░░░ PROGRAM MAINTENANCE ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Eclectic Avenue is self-maintaining with the use of the built-in Maintenance Agent. You will need to run the Maintenance Agent once per day during regularily scheduled BBS system maintenance. This is done by appending the command line parameter /M to the DOS command line. For example, to execute the Maintenance Agent, you might enter the command: EA.EXE EA.CFG /M It does not matter what configuration profile filename you specify as long as it exists and is a valid profile. The only information that is obtained by reading the configuration profile is the communications drive field. Since this field must have the same value in all configuration profiles, any profile filename can be specified on the command line when calling the Maintenance Agent. The Maintenance Agent performs several maintenance tasks. These tasks require that no user is currently playing the game. If a user is playing the game when the Maintenance Agent has been started, it may result in corrupted data files. ╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │░░░░░░ SUPPORT FILES ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ In addition to any files listed above, Eclectic Avenue has other support files related to program operation. These are: Filename Description ------------ -------------------------------------------------------- EA.BUM This is a bummer list of aliases that cannot be used in the game. This is an ASCII text file which contains NO BLANK LINES. Each line contains a string of characters that you do not want to be used in an alias. When a new player logs on, this file is referrenced (if it exists) and a comparison is made on the alias that the new player has selected. If any string contained in the bummer list is found to be embedded in the player's alias, the player will receive a short message and will be reprompted for another alias. Example: If a line of EA.BUM contains the word "HATER", and a player signed on and chose an alias of "WOMAN HATER", the alias would not be allowed. Example of EA.BUM contents: hater sysop vacant slot It doesn't matter if the characters are in upper and/or lower case. Eclectic Avenue will convert to all upper case for comparison. EA.DAT This is the player data file. This file is created and maintained by the main program executable. EA.DOC This documentation. EA.EXE The main program executable. EA.GAM This is the game board data file. This file is created and maintained by the main program executable. EA.LOG This is an error log that Eclectic Avenue creates when an error is encountered. If it exits, it is recommended that you view it to determine if an actual problem exists. Then, delete it when you are finished viewing it. EA.MSG This is the message header database file. This file is created and maintained by the main program executable. EA.REG Program registration form. EA.SCR This is the tournament text file (also known as the bulletin file). This is an ASCII text file that can be displayed by your BBS software and contains a current tournament listing of all players in all games. EA.TRN This is the tournament database file. It is created and maintained by the main program executable. EA.TRS This is the treasure chest database file. This file is created and maintained by the main program executable. EA.TRV This is the trivia question database file. This file is created by the Import Agent and maintained by the main program executable. EACONFIG.EXE The program configuration profile editor. This is the utility program used to create and/or edit configuration profiles. INSTRUCT.HLP This is the main program instruction or 'rules' file. This is displayed to new players when they first enter the game and also when I>nstructions is selected from the Main Menu. LAST.TRV This is the trivia tracking agent file. This file allows Eclectic Avenue to track the last trivia question played. This file is created and maintained by the main program executable. MAINMENU.HLP The main program help file displayed when a player selects H>elp from the Main Menu. REMOVE.EXE This is a separate utility that can be used to remove players and games from the Eclectic Avenue data files. This utility should only be used when Eclectic Avenue is NOT in use. TRIVIA.LST A default text file containing a list of 25 trivia questions which can be edited and imported using the import function described earlier. ╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │░░░░░░ PLAYING THE GAME ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ What Is Eclectic Avenue? The word Eclectic is taken to mean that the game pools the best of all available resources to form an interesting and fun game for players of all ages. Eclectic Avenue is a board game that challenges players to achieve and maintain the highest "tournament" score possible. Players accomplish this by purchasing properties and collecting rent from other players. The game board consists of various spaces or 'squares', each with a brief description label and square number. There are 7 City Blocks which are each made up of up to 4 property squares that players may buy and sell on the Real Estate Market. Players who own entire City Blocks enjoy the benefit of doubled rent prices on all the properties contained in the City Blocks. Getting Started: You can usually get a good start by J>oining in on a game that is already in progress. When you select to J>oin a game, you are entering into a game that already has at least one player in it. Another way to get started is to S>tart a new game. When you select this option, a new game is initialized and you are added to its player list. Other players can then J>oin the game that you have started. Players can start a number of games configured by the Sysop each time the 'Game Duration' period expires. Players start with $500 and receive an additional $500 whenever landing on, or passing the START space. Players are awarded a bonus of $1000 for landing directly on START (for a total of $1500). Players can also collect money by correctly answering trivia questions or by drawing the 'right' LUCK cards. And, of course, players collect rent when other players land on properties that they own. The Eclectic Avenue game board contains a START space, property spaces LUCK spaces, penalty spaces, a LOOK OUT POINT space, and a JAIL space. When a player lands directly on a LUCK space, a "LUCK Card" is drawn from the top of the pile. This card can either be good luck or bad luck. Penalty spaces include a TAXES! space and a BUSTED! space. When a player lands on the TAXES! space, he or she must pay %10 of the amount of cash on hand. When a player lands on the BUSTED! space, he or she is sent to jail where $50 bail is required in order to get out again. City Blocks: When a player buys all properties that are on the same 'City Block', that player will receive double the amount of rent on the properties contained within the Block. When displaying Y>our Stats, or V>iewing Game Details, properties which are part of an owned City Block are preceded by "*Bn*" where 'n' is the City Block number that is owned. There are SEVEN City Blocks on each game board. They are: ┌────────┬──────────┬────────────┬─────────┬──────────┬──────────┬─────────┐ │Block 1 │ Block 2 │ Block 3 │ Block 4 │ Block 5 │ Block 6 │ Block 7 │ ├────────┼──────────┼────────────┼─────────┼──────────┼──────────┼─────────┤ │ Farm │Night Club│Restaraunt │ Videos │ Casino │ Al's Bar │ Suits │ │ Salon │Movies │Condos │ Bank │ Massages │ Theatre │ Spa │ │ Hotel │Drug Store│Golf Course │ Liquors │ Bandstand│ Used Cars│ Books │ │ │ │Tennis Court│ │ │ │ │ └────────┴──────────┴────────────┴─────────┴──────────┴──────────┴─────────┘ Paying The Bills: When a player lands on a space that is owned by another player, that player will be required to pay rent. If the player cannot afford to pay the rent, the player's properties will be cashed out one-by-one until the player has enough cash on hand to pay his or her bills. If the player does not own any properties or does not have enough cash on hand even after cashing out all owned properties, the player is out of that game completely. But the player may still continue with any other games that he or she is participating in. The Real Estate Market: The Real Estate Market (or Market for short) is accessible from within any game board. Here, players are allowed to buy and sell properties between themselves. Properties that are for sale are indicated on the game board by a flashing square number. For example, if Joe Blow owned two out of three properties on a City Block and Jane Doe purchased the remaining property, Jane might consider placing the 'block' property on the Market. Jane can specify her own selling price. If Joe Blow then wanted to purchase this property to obtain the City Block, he would be required to pay Jane's selling price. Note however that the actual property purchase price does not change. Luck Cards: Luck cards can be good or bad. They can award or take away; cash, turns and properties or even allow a player to select a free square to move to. Twists: There are several of what are called "twists" in each game. One of these is the SECRET SQAURE twist. Each time a player enters a game, one property square is randomly selected and designated as the SECRET SQUARE. When a player lands on this square, he or she is awarded one extra turn and $250. Other twists are available only when certain squares are landed on. When landing on a square that has a twist, players will see an additional, flashing command prompt. We're not going to spill the beans on the details of these additional game twists because we think you'll have more fun finding them on your own. What Else Do I Need To Know? Each game board will support up to 8 players. The maximum number of games that is supported at one time is 100 for a total of 800 active players. Players may participate in as many games as the Sysop has configured and may take a number of turns per game, per day which is also configured by the Sysop (maximum configurable value is 25). Each player who is participating in at least one game will have an entry in the tournament scores list. These scores include the total sum of all cash and properties held by each player in all games. As games are "expire" and are "closed out" by the system, the tournament scores are adjusted as required. This allows for an on-going, real-time tournament that encourages constant player activity. When the system "closes out" games, the games being closed out are physically removed from the data files. This causes tournament scores to be lowered for those players who were participating in the closed out games. Games are closed out after a period of time (configured by the Sysop) has expired. This is known as Game Duration. Have some fun! ╒═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕ │░░░░░░ THAT'S A WRAP! ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░│ ╘═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛ Well Sysops everywhere, we sincerely hope that you and your users will enjoy this game. A great deal of time and effort went into producing Eclectic Avenue. We would like to encourage you to try this software for 60 days on your BBS and if after 60 days you feel as good as we do about this project, please register with us. Yours Truly, John M. Parlin Paul D. Andre