BBS Toolkit/BBS Toolkit.iso/doors_1/lod331a.zip/NEWSLETT.TXT

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# LOD Newsletter file
#
# This file will be updated to contain all LOD newsletter issues. Please
# Don't delete it - it is used by LOD itself when users request a newsletter
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NUMITEMS 2
LODNEWS1 Volume 1, Issue 1: Premier Issue!
LODNEWS2 Volume 1, Issue 2: LODNews Continues!
@@LODNEWS1
                   Land Of Devastation News
                      Volume 1 Number 1

                    Editor: Scott M. Baker

Contents
 1) Welcome To the Premier Issue!.......Scott Baker
 2) Planned LOD Updates.................Scott Baker
 3) LOD's Graphics: How it works........Scott Baker
 4) User Submissions....................Scott Baker
 5) LOD Thoughts from Nick..............Nick (David Doyle)
 6) Xenon's Jounral Entry...............Xenon (Jonas Saunders)

Welcome to the Premier Issue!
By Scott M. Baker

    Welcome to the premier issue of the LOD newsletter. A few
users have requested that we start up a newsletter, so here it
is! (Now, if those same users would just submit something!)
    First of all, let me talk a little bit about my current
work on LOD. As I write this issue, I am taking a break from
the deisgn of LOD 3.00. Origanally, version 3.00 was going to
be a simple bug fix release, but the demand for new features
is so strong, I have decided to do what I can while I have the
time.
    For those of you who have complained that LOD is not
finished, version 3.00 is getting very close to what I am
going to consider "completion". The Puritron routines are
finally installed and fully functional. This means that the
users can finally win and restart the game. Also, if we we can
figure out the best way to do it, I'm going to try to throw in
some player-vs-player games and some player-vs-player combat.
    I've also been working on a set of new weapons for the
power hungry players out there. Already added are a few exotic
items such as the Pulse Bazooka and Xenon's Surprise. To power
these weapons, we have a nice Vortex Cell which can hold an
immense amount of power.
    Medical lining is also having some addition - there are
two new classes available which are quite handy out in the
wasteland. The price for these items? Well, let's just say
you'd better have played for a while before trying to buy one!
    For those of you who have completed all of the special
quests, I'm going to throw in a few more that you can work on.
Perhaps the first person to complete them in each game
will get a special award.

------------

Planned LOD Updates
Scott M. Baker

    Currently, here is a list of what updates I plan on making
in the future. These aren't listed in any particular order,
just whats on my mind:

    1) Finish player-vs-player combat! We all know you players
out there want to kill each other, so let me see if I can get
an option for it.

    2) Multi-level support. Not similar to the previous
multilevel support where the landscape was duplicated, but
actual inner maps for buildings and such. (i.e. You enter
Xeboc's lair and there is a sub-map for it)

    3) More monsters. We need the 4th, 5th, and 6th levels
populated. I threw in a few, but I could really use some
suggestions for a few more. (hint, hint)

    4) Player-vs-Player games. One of the major complaints
about LOD is that there isn't enough player-vs-player
interaction. I'd like to throw in some games to use that game
account and let the users interact a bit.

    That's whats on my mind for the next versions. If anyone
out there has any suggestions of other important things to be
added, or any ideas on the above, then let me know!

------------

LOD's graphics: How it works.
By Scott M. Baker

    The most often design question I get asked is about LOD's
(and GTERM's) graphics - how are they implemented? Well,
there's quite a long story to the actual process. Let's begin
by talking about where they came from.
    Shane Chambers has drawn up the bulk of the images. From
my understanding of the process, they start out on a clean
white piece of paper. Shane sketches them out freehand with a
pencil. Then he scans them in with a 2-color (monochrome)
scanner. The pictures are then converted and edited with Dr.
Halo and Dr. Halo DPE, colorized, and exported in a .GIF which
Shane sends to me.
    We chose the GIF format because it was something that is
somewhat popular and something that both Shane can write to
and I can read them. When the image arrives to me, I load it
into a little utility that I wrote which converts it to a
turbo pascal format.
    For the final step in organizing the images, they are
packed together into the various RESOURCE.xxx files. Some
people are under the impression that these files are in some
kind of proprietary format. They really aren't in any actual
format at all. They are simply all of the images stuck end to
end one right after the other. Small images (such as inventory
and map items) get thrown in one file and large images (such
as monster and town pictures) get thrown in another.
    The way I read these pictures in is really a complex
matter involving memory buffering and caching, EMS support,
etc, but the concept is really pretty simple - you "blockread"
them in to memory, and then display them onto the screen. It's
as simple as that. If you want to get fancy, you can RLE or
LZW compress your images to save space; You can buffer the
images in memory to increase speed, etc.
    The final thing that remains to be discussed is how does
LOD tell GTERM what pictures to display? This is accomplished
by a miniature error-correcting protocol that is operating
mostly in the background. LOD sends "packets" of data to
GTERM. GTERM interprets the contents of these packets and acts
accordingly. If you haven't already, then reading a good
discussion of XMODEM will help you understand the operation of
error correcting protocols. While xmodem is not very highly
regarded for it's efficiency or security, it's basic
foundation is the key to understanding how a door may
communicate with remote terminal.
    Well, there you have it, a very basic discussion of how
the graphics routines in LOD and GTERM work.

-------------

User Submissions
by Scott M. Baker

    This newsletter is open to submissions by anyone - if you
have something to submit, then just upload it to my bbs. If I
decide it belongs in the newsletter, then it'll show up in the
next issue.

    Here's a few things that I would like to see submitted if
some people out there have the time:

- Newuser tips, playing strategies, etc.

    At times, LOD can be a very comlex game. Sometimes,
    these complexities are a bit hard for new users to
    pick up. So, those of you experienced LOD maniacs
    out there, please send in some tips, your winning
    strategies, etc.

- Historical Text

    If you like to do SF writing, then a few "background"
    stories about the nuclear history in LOD would be
    nice. In my own discussion of LOD's history have left
    some details out. If for example, you would like to
    document the fall of society to nuclear holocaust in
    2005, then go for it! After all, LOD really is just an
    interactive multiplayer story!

- Monster Designs

    Although they probably won't appear in the newsletter,
    I am always looking for more monsters. Particularly
    ones to populate the outer zones. If you like, write
    me up some and I'll see if I can throw them in. Note:
    Please try to fit them into the existing LOD framework
    and plot. Monsters that have unknown weapons and
    origins sometimes just don't fit.

- Combat description text

    Are combat descriptions sometimes seem a bit limited.
    Sometimes I myself can get real tired of hearing "You
    slash into the Rad Hound with your sword." If you have
    a talent for writing up good descriptions, I wouldn't
    mind seeing some of these either.

    The newsletter will be published as often as enough
material accumulates to make it a decent size.

-------------

LOD thoughts from Nick...

I never thought I'd become an adventurer:  I'm really not the
type for blasting mutant creatures, executioner robots and
such with gizmos I can't even pronounce, much less understand.
But then again, I never thought the civilized world would come
to an end either.  You have to do you best with what you have
to work with though, and so, with the world the way it is, I
guess I'm real fortunate to have had the sense to enlist.  And
you know what?   I found out I'm not half bad at it either!

Now most people don't do things quite the way I do -- and
nobody can tell you what you ought to -- a body's gotta decide
such things himself and live with it.  But I noticed some
things I thought might make it easier on those that take up
where I leave off.  Maybe what I tell might help.  Then again,
maybe not.

First off:  Money.  Figure out what's worth collecting
depending on your net worth and level.  At first, a real quick
trip out to pick up anything you can find will get you that
extra 100 to buy a razorlance.  Also, suppose you hop out of
base in your shorts and not so much as a butter knife on you
(don't waste your money on equipment [more on this in a
minute])  I wouldn't be afraid to run away from a scavenger or
insane soldier -- they might shoot at you, but you can just
heal it.  Later on in the game, don't waste your inventory
carrying cheap stuff -- some of the armor is worth a lot.
Also, keep some cash in the bank ... compound interest is the
8th wonder of the new world!

Second:  Use the technology.   Some say we're better off back
in the caves wearing skins and fighting with rocks 'cause
"technology" got us into this mess.  But its what people  did
with it that caused the devastation and besides, when a death
warrior comes after you, energy armor and a neutron rifle sure
keeps you alive better.  Also, its our only hope ... we have
to get the puritron on-line or we're stuck!

Oh yeah, I was talking about using the devices:  The stealth
buckles are great!  You can use several at a time to cover
some dangerous ground, and scavenge some good equipment up.
Also the computer store has some handy stuff -- the DIET
program sure saves you hassle and food bill.  (Nobody enjoys
eating now anyway)

Third:  Pay attention to where you are.  If you find yourself
in a new area, remember what you did to get there and what it
looks like.  If you can't close your eyes and still see the
scenery, you're not concentrating on what's around you enough.
You should have a sense for how far away from things you are,
too:  the dist/zone monitor helps you develop a feel for this.

Fourth:  Cooperate.  Use the mail, talk to the others out
there.  And remember, we're all trying to save the world --
there's enough opponents out in the wasteland without us
killing each other off.

----------
Xenon Journal Entry - Date ????

        Today as I set out from Sacre Base, in search for the
missing puritron devices, I had an uneasy feeling.  This
wasn't going to be a easy journey.

                                Xenon

Ok, guys, so you wanna be an adventurer?  Here's some hints
from the greatest adventurer ever, Xenon (aka Jonas Saunders).

Getting killed by monsters too quickly?  Buy a stealth device.
Activate the stealth's Quiet Mode.  Go as far as you can, in,
say zone 3 or 4.  Find some better weapons.  (There's bound to
be some laying around if the game has been running for a
while) If you happen to encounter a monster, RUN.  If you get
hit, use your medkit. Don't attack until you have better
weapon and armor. When you do find some, go back to Zone 1 and
start attacking monsters.  ALWAYS surrender if your HP go
below 10.  Or take risks.

Starving to death?  Buy the laptop and the DIET program.  Get
the GSRZ/50 rations.  You'll last about 1 month.  (Real-time,
not game-wise)

Dying and starting over?  Buy the laptop and find the EM-Warp
ROM. Find some Warper/5's.  You'll save some precious time and
won't have to start over so much.

Collecting items the monster drop off the wasteland and
selling them is the BEST way to earn money.  As soon as you
have about 2 million credits (About 20 minutes worth of
work/play time) BUY the Neutron Sabre and Neutron Rifle.
Those weapons will help. Getting a Pylon key will really help
you later on the game.

Find the EEEE Center and the Clone Center AS EARLY IN THE GAME
AS YOU can.  The EEEE Center has a nifty weapon, called
Xenon's Surprise. This weapon will blow the monsters away with
ease.  Get one of the Vortex Cells also.  You can add
unlimited amounts of power to it and don't have to worry about
going back to one of the base to buy more power.  Get Stizli
Medline and you'll regain 1 HP each 2 move.  This may help out
in tight situations where you're out of Medkits.

Build a Fortress in each Zone.  (Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) Give
all fortresses Teleporters.  This will help you teleport back
to Sacre Base to resupply.  Then you can go back to Zone 1
base and teleport to whatever zone you were in last.  This
strategy has helped me greatly.

Use the Pylons to find TASDU - the machine may have some
useful information.  Use the Pylons to find Xeboc too.  He has
one Puritron Device.  Use the Pylons to find the Nuclear Silo.
There is a Puritron Device there.

Talking to monsters may yield some interesting answers and
solutions for the Quests.  Some monsters might have the Tetris
ROM, buy it.  (or destroy the monster and risk the Tetris ROM
being dissolved)

I think this should be good enough to get you guys started.
Xenon Out.

----------

You can download copies of this newsletter, upload
submissions, or whatever from the following bulletin board
system:

The Not-Yet-Named bbs
Node #1: [phone]  (V.32)
Node #2: [phone]  (USR DUAL)
@@LODNEWS2
                 Land Of Devastation News
                    Volume 1 Number 2

                  Editor: Scott M. Baker

Contents
 1) Welcome to Issue Number Two!......Scott Baker
 2) Version 3.30: Team Support........Scott Baker
 3) Some Tips for Advanced Players....Art Rainy
 4) Special Questing..................Gurlock The Almighty
 5) Crippleware/Bonusware/Delayware...Scott Baker
 6) The Death of Nuke Man.............Pit Bull (James Cox)
 7) Salvation of the Puritron I.......Pit Bull (James Cox)
 8) People I wish to thank............Scott Baker
 9) Letters to the Editor.............n/a

Welcome to Issue Number Two!
By Scott M. Baker

    Welcome to the second issue of LODNEWS. If everything
goes as planned, then this issue will be released on the
same date as Land of Devastation version 3.30 which has
some nice new features. (See the section about version
3.30 below)

    We're still running a bit low on user submissions. I
know there are many of you out there playing Land Of
Devastation, so how about sharing your knowledge and
strategies with the rest of us? Or why not personalize
your character by sending in a short story describing his
history?

    We'd really like to hear from you!

------------

Version 3.30: Team Support!
By Scott M. Baker

    I'm very excited about version 3.30 and I hope some of
you are too. This is the first version of LOD that has
team support built in! You can now band together with your
comrades! For you lower players out there, teaming up will
allow you to make some progress against those higher above
you.

    So what can a team of lower players do to fight
someone immensely larger than them? How about laying siege
to your enemy's fortresses? Although a fortress's defenses
may be great and powerful, a band of determined players
can exhaust the fortress's energy supply, effectively
neutralizing it's defenses. Then you just walk in and take
inventory of your new home! Or perhaps you sell out it's
defenses and self destruct the fortress! That ought to get
your adversary more than just slightly upset.

    A prime advantage for team play is a pooling of
resources. Sharing fortresses can be a great advantage.
For example, you may have more Warper/5's then you know
what to do with, but your friends may be in desperate need
for a warper. So, leave it in your fortress and your
teammate [assuming he has your fortress's password] can
pick it up when he needs it.

    Those are all things that you could previously do on
your own. So, what does the new built in team support
grant you?

    First of all, if you buy a smart mine and set it
somewhere, it is smart enough not only to spare your life
if you re-enter the area, but your teammates as well. The
nice thing about mines is that an adventurer never knows
how many are there. This element of uncertainty can allow
you to build up a decent defense around an important area
(such as your favorite fortress!)

    Secondly, your teammates can view the location of your
fortresses (with the fortlist ROM and with the fortress
teleporter command) and teleport to/from them for free.
This allows you to set up a "transportation network". One
of you could build and maintain a fortress by Sacre Base,
another by Freedom City, and another by the Death Warrior
camp. Instantly, you have the capability to travel between
three of the main cities!

------------

Some Tips for Advanced LOD Players
By Art Rainy

Warpers--The EM-Warp program always uses the highest
numbered warper in your inventory.  Free up inventory
slots by always placing your lowest numbered warper
highest in your inventory.  That should eliminate the
problem of two or three warpers with only one warp left on
them.

[Editors note: Making the EM-Warp program a bit smarter
about which Warper is used is on my list of things to do,
so the above may or may not be valid at the time you read
this]

Stealth fields and Inviroblurs--These units operate
cumulatively.  The use of multiple units can double your
chances of increasing those valuable experience points or
of surviving as you sneak away from dangerous territory.

Kill Objects--Most players quickly learn the advantage of
leaving items where they fall if they need neither its
cash value or its advantage in conflict. Thus they
exchange items of value and bypass Sacre Base.  However,
when most players have advanced into levels two and
higher, no player is interested in picking up daggers and
cloth armor.  It is to your advantage to kill those
useless objects and benefit from the janitorial fee.
Sysops might consider raising that fee to more than $5 per
unit to further temp players to clean up the board.

Map the Board--LOD's intrepid designer has included
editing capabilities that allow sysop's to modify the
design of the map.  Just because the Clone Center was at a
certain location in the last game does not imply that it
will remain there after a reset.  To avoid confusion about
locations prepare a 125 by 125 grid and map the locations
of obstructions as well as those of cities and camps.  You
can eliminate trips into cul-de-sacs and excessive danger
zones

--------------

Special Questing
By Gurlock The Almighty

[Editors note: The following gives information on solving
2 of LOD's special quests. Players who don't want the
secret "given away" may wish to skip this secion]

    Ok now, the best way that a starting player can get
going quickly is to use the quests.  Land Of Devastation
has many special quests.  There's hard ones and there's
easy ones.  I'll describe an easy one or two for you new
guys out there!

    The first thing that you should do is perform the
steaks special quest.  Do this when you are like level 2
or 3 (other wise you might get wasted).  Ok - here's what
you do: Follow the road that leaves sacre base and keep
going east.  If you come to any "T" intersections, then
choose the upper path.  At some point you'll enter zone
#2, so start running from all of monsters (otherwise
they'll waste you).  Eventually, you'll come to another
city. This city is freedom camp.  Now, follow the
mountains south of Freedom Camp.  You'll first see a pylon
(ignore it) and the as you continue, you'll run into the
horticulture center (HS).  Enter the HS, talk to the
manager, and pick up Troy's Steaks.  Then go back the way
you came - back to sacre base.  When you will return, you
will have won the first special quest!!!!!!!!

    The next quest is also pretty easy.  First you'll need
to buy a pylonkey.  Do this at either Sacre Base or
Freedom City. Remember that pylon you passed in the above
quest? Well, go back there.  Now, try all the code
combinations at the pylon.  Write down where you end up
with one. Important-- if you run into Xeboc, RUN FROM HIM!
or he'll waste you!!! Eventually, you'll find the
T.A.D.S.U.  When you find it, you've won another special
quest!!!!  (Now, you just gots to remember the right pylon
code [You wrote them down, right?] to get back to where
you cam from!]

    If I remember, you got like 5,000 experience for each
of those quests!  Wow!  For a beginner, that's a level or
two!!!  Plus you also get to talk to the tadsu and learn a
bunch of information!  And theres more! Once you buy a
laptop, you can go to the computer store and pickup Troy's
Rom and get a whole lot of info!!!

------------

Crippleware/Bonusware/Delayware
By Scott M. Baker

    As most of you notice, LOD is distributed in a manner
similar to shareware. The fully functional working version
is distributed to everyone. Those who like the program,
use it a lot, etc are supposed to send in a registration
fee (aka donation) to support it. Once a donation is
received, I enter their information into the Reglook door
on my bbs where they can call and pick up a code. The code
then enables the message "This copy is registered to xxxx.
Please thank your sysop for registering."

    I have had several sysops who have told me that this
is not enough incentive for them to register. They say
they would only register if they receive something above
the current version. They want their registered copy to be
something better than John Doe's unregistered copy across
town. They want users to appreciate the fact that they
have registered. Before I continue, let me explain a few
terms:

    Crippleware: In this method, the game is distributed
to the public with many of it's features disabled. Limits
on the number of players are imposed, etc. When the sysop
sends in the donation, he receives a "key" which enables
the full features.

    Bonusware: Very similar to crippleware, but the
philosophy is slightly different. The full version is
distributed, but sending in a donation will get the sysop
some sort of "bonus". Something like an external player
editor. The problem is, there is a fine line between
bonusware and crippleware. Is removing the editor
considered "crippling" a program or is the editor a
"bonus" for registered users?

    Delayware: This is where you put a delay in the
unregistered version. Something similar to "This copy is
unregistered. Please wait 10 seconds."

    Annoyware: Here we find other ways to annoy the sysop
into registering. We could throw up a long message on the
screen every time a user enters the door. We could put in
a message attacking the sysop for not registering, etc.

    As I said before, I don't currently use any of the
above methods. You get the full version whether you
register or not. Sysops who send in registrations simply
have the piece of mind of knowing they have paid for the
software, and of course, a message saying "Please thank
your sysop for registering."

    As more and more people keep telling me they think I
should do something more, I am starting to consider it.
After all, LOD is no small project - it does require a lot
of my time and I wouldn't mind an increase in donations.

    So what I would like is comments, what would people
think? Here is what I would do under each of the above
ideas:

    Crippleware: (Out of the question - I hate crippled
programs)

    Bonusware:   Only give registered sysops the editor
package (LODxxxE.ARJ)

    Delayware:   Add in a 5 or 10 second delay after the
"encourage your sysop to register" message.

    Annoyware:   Make the user read a screen at the end of
the game (i.e. when the user quits or camps out) about how
his sysop should register, how important registering
shareware is, etc.

    My question is, if I was to instate one of the above
policies, which one would people prefer? Right now, I like
the delay idea. 5 seconds isn't too long to turn people
off and it is long enough to make the "please register"
message stick in peoples' minds. If you have a response,
you can send it to me at the bbs number listed at the end
of this document.

------------

The Death of Nuke Man
By Pit Bull

    I woke up to an alarming situation. I was no longer
within the safe confines of my fortress - I was laying on
the bare wasteland. It is pure luck that I am alive. A
single Biomutant could have done me in while I slept
unprotected.
    But what had happened to my fortress? My protection
against this hellish land? I could just see it's
smoldering ruins a few meters to the east. The cause was
clear: Another warrior, one who should have been my
companion in this struggle for freedom, had ruthlessly
desecrated my base. He must pay.
    I bootup up my laptop which had luckily been spared
from the attack. I typed in the commands to retrieve the
previous few days log. And I waited.... waited... for the
name of the one who had done this. The name of the person
who would suffer my vengeance.
    And then it appeared: Nuke Man. Why had he done this
to me? Perhaps I shall never know. I had never met Nuke
Man personally. From the rankings posted in the troop
quarters, I could tell that he was nearly as good as
myself. Perhaps he was in need of some quick cash and my
glorious fortress caught his eye. Or perhaps he wanted the
glory of capturing the puritron parts himself.
    Something else caught my eye in the log. Those two
words would burn in my mind for the next two days:
"Fortress Constructed". After Nuke Man had destroyed my
own home, he had constructed himself a fortress. This
would be my vengeance. I will find his fortress and show
him that what goes around comes around.
    For two days I searched. Across the plains surrounding
Sacre Base, within the mountains around Freedom City. Even
as far as the EEEE center and then I found it. Hidden
around the bend amongst some impassable mountains.
    I leveled my phaser-3 at the base's defense field and
fired. Electric fire shot up when the two energy fields
met. By now, Nuke Man would be panicking with the sounds
of sirens and alarms. I entered the moat surrounding his
fortress and I saw it - the alligator ... It was
approaching fast. I tried to swim faster, but it was no
use - MY right leg was nearly town apart by it's jaws.
    Luckily I managed to reach the bank of the moat with
my life still intact. I slashed several times with my
electrolance, burning into Nuke Man's defense fields. I
took a few slugs from his robopistol. But I was more
powerful then his measly defense. The fortress's defense
field fell. Then it was just me and Nuke Man.
    He had an electroblade. He must have thought that he
would be able to handle me in my weakened condition - but
he was wrong for my dexterity and agility were much
greater than his. He lunged forward, hoping to stab me
with his electroblade. One quick swing with my
electrolance and the electroblade, along with the majority
of Nuke Man's hand and lower arm was now lying across the
room.
    He cried in pain and begged for his life. I was not
without mercy. I let him live. After all, I had gained a
new fortress - and I would not self destruct this one as
the foolish Nuke Man did when he conquered mine. I figured
that would be the last of Nuke Man - that he had learned
his lesson. But sadly, it was not so.
    The very next day the log showed an attempted attack
on my new fortress - by none other than Nuke Man. The log
simply said that he had perished. But I knew what had
happened. That alligator in the moat - the one that Nuke
Man had bought - had a very full belly that day.
    I hope this sad tale will convince those out there
that I, Pit Bull, am not to be toyed with. I have shown
mercy and let one evil one live, only to have him attack
my fortress the very next day. The next time someone
attacks one of my fortresses I may not show any mercy.
After all, the alligators do need to eat.

------------

Salvation of The Puritron Part I
by Pit Bull

    It was a lonely day in the wastelands. When I awoke, I
had no special feeling of greatness - no idea of the glory
that would come later in the afternoon. No idea that I
would earn my place in the great plaque of the puritron
room.
    I set out to do my usual exploring. First on my list
was the pylons. I had already mapped out two of the
locations and I was going to find the rest. These pylons
are of a powerful nature. Able to teleport matter all
around the wasteland. I wondered where the codes I would
try today would lead me.
    The first one took me out into Zone four somewhere.
Not a very pleasant place. I was nearly killed by a Black
Widow before I was able to escape back into the pylon and
get back to Zone two.
    The next one took me into some computer. The feeling
of disorientation was incredible. I think that I was
actually inside of the computer itself. The information
and insight I gained was incredible. Knowledge that would
help the fight for peace and the salvation of the
wasteland was in my grasp. I had also completed one of the
special quests. This day was shaping up tp be pretty good.
    Then I tried another pylon code. This one brought me
to a strange room. The walls were made of a metal that I
had never seen before - something from beyond this world.
I walked ahead. A lone humanoid stood before me. I yelled
"I am Pit Bull ... Of Sacre Base ... I come in search of
the lost Puritron Parts". The response I received was not
very pleasant.
    "I am Xeboc the almighty... Xeboc the all powerful...
I will destroy you!". I raised my weapons in preparation
for a fight. I sighted him in with my Comp Blaster. A
stream of electric death shot forward from my weapon...
and right into the wall next to Xeboc. Damn! I had missed.
    We clashed into hand to hand combat. I hit and he hit.
Then I missed. He missed. I hit and I hit again. Finally
he fell. I had succeeded! Or at least I thought. I was
tricked.
    The image before me vanished. I was fighting a
hologram. Xebocs voice came across the speaker, mocking
me. I would have to search elsewhere for this villain.
    I prepared to leave. But something caught my eye - it
was one of the puritron parts. I reached for it. I ran all
the way back to Sacre Base with my treasure.
    Defs Sacre and Troy Hadley were waiting for me. They
eagerly installed the part into the puritron room. "Well,
Pit Bull, you only have four more left to find" Defs Sacre
grinned.
    And then I rested, knowing that I had accomplished
something great that day.... and preparing for what would
lie ahead. I was sure I would have to face Xeboc again.
And it would not be a pleasant experience.

------------

People I Wish to Thank
Scott M. Baker

    In this section, I'm going to start listing a little
about the people who help me support LOD, who submit
information that isn't presented here.

    Anthony Malone: Anthony wrote up the nice history text
file that is used in the HISTORY ROM / special quest in
LOD. His story fit nicely into the game and is much
appreciated.

    Joseph Johnson: Joseph submitted me a very extensive
listing of combat strings for use in LOD. His board [place
bbs name here] at 202-893-2318, is running a highly
customized copy of LOD. I haven't seen it myself, but I
hear it's quite a thing to see.

    Jonas Saunders: The infamous Xenon in my LOD game here
on the bbs. He's as skilled a bug-finder and playtested as
he is a LOD warrior! Jonas also happens to be the very
first winner of a LOD game!

------------

Letters to the Editor

    Well, every newsletter/magazine has a letters to the
editor section, right? So here is ours! I've posted a few
messages out of my comments area on the bbs and a few of
the national echos to get things started, but in the
future, anyone who wants to, just mark that you would like
your letter to appear here and I'll post it up!


Scott,
    Let me start off by saying that I don't usually post
messages, or write letters.  Today I Installed LOD321
(from Wildcats(MSI) BBS). I have never been a fan of Role
playing games at all. But, somehow your is different, you
dont get sucked into it (although i played for 12 hours,
thats besides the point), anyway I am thoroughly
impressed, I have never seen such graphics/details (Pixels
and or ansi) in a door game, not to mention the plot of
the game. At any rate keep you the EXCELLENT work. You can
rest-assured that come pay day you will get whatever it
takes (I believe $20 or so) to get the game registered.

Craig Salmond
SYSOP of Craig's DATA Exchange [phone] 14.4k FREE!

PS, You need to hold a conference on how you got you modem
to answer flawlessly at 14.4k with a non-usr modem. Most
people I connect to I get a measly 9600, but not on your
BBS. keep on BBSing

-=-

    Thanks for the kind words, Craig. I try my best to
keep LOD at the leading edge of technology and from the
comments I get, I see that I am being successful! As for
the modem, I don't know of anything particular that I've
done, but I'm glad it works!

    Scott Baker

-=====-

  Hey Scott, I really like LOD, and am grateful that you
got my registration up so quickly... I run a bbs here, and
want to get Galactic Warzone for it as well. Also I want
to be a Registered user on your BBS, so if ya could
validate me, I would Appreciate it. And thanks for the
great game... Wish I was able to Write games myself...

                             Thanks....
                                  Wayne Gay

-=-

    I'm glad to hear you like LOD, Wayne. With my current
registration system, I usually get registrations up on the
bbs either the same day they arrive or shortly later. As
for Galwars, I have sold the rights to Jim Kiersey who
will be continuing support for it. Expect a new release
from him very soon!

    Scott Baker

-=====-

[From Joel Boutros to Jeff Hanson in Area Ooii. Subject:
L.O.D.]

JH -=>writing a door yourself.

Ah, but is it the next best thing to copying a door?  Or
Copying 5 or 6 doors?

Let's see...OOII, TW1000, Never got SZModem working and
when I mailed the wanna-be he never replied, MechWars
never worked right...  Gee, Jeff, you seem to be a
brown-noser to this guy...What else did he make that
wasn't worth 30 seconds to download?

Oh, tell the little bag of toejam that I _still_ can't get
SZ working after 1 year and a half. --- GEcho/beta *

Origin: Cosmix Station [phone]  (1:280/2)

-=-

    Joel, I'm sad to see that you feel this way about me
and my software. Such negative comments are the mark of an
immature mind and an eyesore to the entire bbs community.
    Let's start at the top. LOD is not a copy of OOII.
Galactic Warzone was written with Al Davenport's (author
of TW1000) support and encouragement. I'm sorry you
couldn't get SZModem to work - you might wish to try the
latest version which has new Async routines. I don't
recall ever receiving a letter from you. MechWars is
written by Shane Chambers, not myself, and it seems to
work fine on my system and many more across the country.
    In addition to LOD, GW, and SZMODEM, I have written
NEWGAL (GWII), Door Driver, CMENU, CDRDoor, Locread, and
the initial Echodor mail reader. (All of which have an
established registered user base)
    Jeff Hanson is a friend that I had mind the system for
a week while I was gone. And I must admit, he did a good
job here, possibly even better than when I'm operating the
bbs myself.
    You seem to be quite full of criticism. Tell me, where
is some of the software that YOU have written that I may
download and evaluate? I'll be sure to send my comments
your way.
    Scott Baker

------------

You can download copies of this newsletter, upload
submissions, or whatever from the following bulletin board
system:

The Not-Yet-Named bbs
Node #1: [phone]  (v.32)         FIDO: 1:300/9
Node #2: [phone]  (USR Dual)     FIDO: 1:300/29