BBS Toolkit/BBS Toolkit.iso/doors_1/mwv1_8c.zip/MECHWARS.DOC

Text File | 1991-03-01 | 18KB | 458 lines

MECHWARS V1.8 BETA TEST VERSION (C) 1991  3 - 1 - 1991

/*
FOREWORD :

   Mechwars is by no means free(well almost), but it is affordable.
Aside from my own time, a great amount of others time went into
this door.  The programming, the documentation, the environment,
the pictures, the testing, the hassling, the fussing' and all the
complications that come with that.(I'm starting to convince myself)

     I must have uploaded the beta version about zillion times to
the local BBSes and half didn't even put it up!  Anyway, I went to
greater lengths to make it easier for you to purchase and set it
up.  The charge for Mechwars is only $10.00, I don't think that the
price is overpriced, and I don't expect to get rich overnight.
However I did cripple some of the SysOp functions in the game to
provide an incentive for registering Mechwars(the editor). I put in
enough protective measures in Mechwars as I could without the
SysOps labeling Mechwars a 'Virus'.  So don't tamper with anything
that you shouldn't and you will be O.K. (See Disclaimer below).

     To make your door setup easy, I provided this documentation
and a setup program to expedite matters.  Also in the setup program
there is a mailer that with the greatest of ease you can fill out
and mail out.  Now, I am not going to hit you with numerous version
costs, all I ask is a one-time-never-again-el-chepo-registration
fee.  With that fee you will receive a REGISTRATION CODE that will
allow you to use special functions in the upcomming future versions
of Mechwars.  If I decide to change the encryption program due to
any reason(like a desperate SySop avoiding registration costs by
spending days, weeks, months, years or longer to crack the
encryption program when he could have just spent $10.00 in the
first place) then I will send you your new password via mail.

     For those of you who do register Mechwars you have my sincere
appreciation.  The more people that register Mechwars, the more
time I will invest in the project.  If you want to send me a much
larger donation then feel free to empty your account, that will be
appreciated too. (Some of these Shareware programmers charge prices
that I would charge for a custom program!).  I have gone to even
greater lengths to error check just about every string entered by
the player so that there won't be any system crashes or hangups.

     Right now I am just testing the market and this little door is
just a part of a much bigger project that I expect to start on
soon.  If you register you may get discounts on other programs that
I put out as sort of a friendly gesture.  (Sounds really promising
right? (* Gasp *)).

*/

RELEASED : 1/14/91

DISCLAIMER:
          I, the programmer, will and can not be held responsible
for any damage whatsoever this door does to your computer including
but not limited to hardware damage, software damage, or data damage
(or mental damage, he he).  This program, to the best of my
knowledge, could not possibly do any damage to your system.

WHAT IS MECHWARS?
     Mechwars is a multi-player, non-scrolling, door game that was
designed to be played via modem in conjunction with BBS software.
Mechwars is programmed in Turbo Pascal 5.5. It is similar to most
of the existing space trading games, but with one twist -- Awesome
ansi graphics.

     The player plays in a 125 x 125 matrix, totaling 15,625
sectors/rooms.  Contained in the sectors are drone enemies in which
the player is to destroy.  Upon destroying these drones, the player
receives a bounty and salvages materials to finance his/her
weapons.  The player can sell/buy/trade these metals at one of the
1,000 ports situated throughout the universe.  The player not only
faces the menace of these drone enemies, but also other players
which in most cases are the worst.  Universal natural forces and
space shrapnel will also harm your mech, but in most cases they do
not inflict serious damage.  Equipped with a powerful robot and
gun, and a few expansion slots, the player roams throughout the
universe in search of something to destroy or exploit.  Players can
team up with other players to share resources or spy for another
team.

     Not only is sheer force a factor in the players success, but
also his skill level and ability troubleshoot and plan out a
strategy.  The universe never gets boring because the enemies are
always moving and ports are always changing.  Every time the player
attacks a drone, other drones start to 'home' in on the action and
possibly enter into the sector in which the player is in.  Every so
many moves, every enemy in the universe comes after the player ...
and sometimes they scatter.

     Ultimately, the player wants to gain universal domination, in
which he is the most powerful player via military might or
alliances formed with other players. The concept of it being
multi-player adds to the action because the player is playing
against those possibly of greater or lesser skill.  The player's
progression in this game is proportional to the amount of planning
and the efficiency of the player in destroying enemies.  Overall,
it may take weeks to effectively dominate the universe, even then
the player's power can be challenged and overthrown.

HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS(Sysop):
          / IBM or Compatible
          / Color ANSI support...non-ansi support is in development
          / At least 512 K memory (I haven't tested less than 1 MB)
          / BBS software..preferably one that "DOORDRIVER" supports
          / At least a 1 MB free of disk space
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS(User):
          / Color monitor with ANSI support...scanty ascii support
          / Modem (to play remote)

RECOMMENDATIONS:
          / 2400 bps or better
          / 43 EGA/VGA display(easier to play)
          / Color ANSI monitor
RUNNING :
    To run the door locally type MW/L ('L' designates local mode
operation)or MW/S ('S' is for Speed Logon for the Sysop).

CREDITS:
          SHANE CHAMBERS
          4705 NORTH OLD RANCH ROAD
          TUCSON, ARIZONA  85743
          [phone]
          GAME PROGRAMMER

          SCOTT BAKER
          6433 TIERRA CATALINA #48
          TUCSON, ARIZONA  85718
          DOORDRIVER PROGRAMMER

          DERRICK PARKHURST
          Contributions to Doordriver

          CARL EVANS
          Addition of PC-BOARD 14 Support to Doordriver

          JEREMY CHAMBERS
          4705 NORTH OLD RANCH ROAD
          TUCSON, ARIZONA 85743
          [phone]
          ENCRYPTION ROUTINES

*
*   READ THIS PART!!!  *
*

SET UP INFO :

     SETUP.EXE is the main set up program for Mechwars.  (* NOTE :
If you are upgrading from v 1.7 to v 1.8 then use the Convert files
option...This way old users can continue playing interrupted! *)
To set up Mechwars, run the SETUP.EXE program and select the option
to 'Set Up Mechwars'.  Answer all questions, and bang!...It's set
up.  In order to Register Mechwars, go to the option in the
SETUP.EXE called 'Register Mechwars'.  Answer all questions, turn
your printer on and print out the MAILER.  After you have sent in
you money order for $10.00 and recieved your Registration code, Run
the SETUP.EXE again and select the option to Register Mechwars.
Answer all questions and be prepared to type in your registration
code.  If done correctly, Mechwars will allow you to do things that
unregistered versions cant.  If you want to reset Mechwars, then Go
into the Setup.EXE and select the option to 'reset mechwars'. The
game as far as the maintenance goes, don't worry about
it...Mechwars is intelligent and will take care of itself.


SYSOP FUNCTIONS :
          ALT - Y : Chat Mode
          ALT - I : Info
          ALT - D : Drop to Dos
          ALT - E : Editor { Registered Version Only }
          ALT - H : Help with functions


M A I N  M E N U

HELP
          - '?' : Gets player help!

MOVING
          - Make sure that num-lock is on.  Use the keypad;
            the directional keys on the keypad correspond to the
            possible directions the player can move.
FOLDING
          - (F) Folding is another way of moving, but faster for
            sectors very far apart.  This takes the place of a slow
            and counter-productive auto pilot.  Just hit 'F' from
            the main menu, and enter an X-fold coordinate [1..125],
            and a Y-Fold coordinate [1..125] and if you are lucky,
            you will find yourself in the destined sector.

ATTACKING
          - (A) If enemies are in the sector this will allow you to
            attack them via a gun.  Watch out the enemy will
            counter attack you, both player and drone.  Your skill
            and the other skill is calculated and its a 1:1 shot
            firing suicide, and whoever looses their shields looses
            the game.
DOCKING
          - (D) Docks at a base to allow trading.

PORTING
          - (P) Ports at a fortress. If it isn't yours it will
            attack.

CREATING A FORTRESS
          - (J) Creating a fortress takes 300,000 StarVacs (Money
            units)
          - 2000 Units of Lithium, 1500 of Titanium, 1000 of
            Alloyis.
          - Players create a fortress to offer protection to
            themselves or their teammates.  Players can store/share
            tactical mounts, shots,  starvacs, and cargo if they
            wish.  Players can loggoff inside of the fortress to
            prevent being attacked. Players can convert cargo into
            shots, photons, shields and stun-bursts.

CREATING A PLANET
          - (G) Creating a planet takes 100,000.  The universe has
            a 250 planet limit so get them while they last.

LANDING ON A PLANET
          - (L) Lands on a planet if it is defenseless, if it is
            not then it will attack your mech.

CLOAKING
          - Players can cloak when they log-off the game, It will
            take 20 energy units to do this.  The player will
            remain hidden until his next logon.

FIND CLOSEST BASE
          - (B) Finds the closest base.  This will calculate the
            distance between the player and the closest base. It
            will display a sector and a base name.  From there you
            can either hyperspace to or move in on the base.

COMPUTER SUB MENU
          - (C) The Computer is a sub menu that does other
            functions.

TEAM SUB MENU
          - (T) Allows users to band together.
HELP
          - (?) = Help

MESSAGE(S)
          - (M) To send a message to a user, the player can type in
          the displayed user number to send it.  A prompt will
          appear asking them to send the message with an attitude
          (moral).  Then the player can type 5 lines of 70
          characters.  The message will be displayed to the paged
          user the next time he logs on.

RANK
          - (R) This will rank players and show your standing. This
          aids in competitive spirits among users.  Its main
          purpose is to calculate appreciation, or the money you
          get when the maintenance is run to help you destroy the
          drone forces.

FIND BASE
          - (F) Enter in a base name and if possible it will locate
            it for you.

COMPLETE BASE REPORT
          - (B) It will display the all the 1000 base statistics.
            It will quit displaying by pressing a key.

FIND DRONES
          - (D) It will display the locations of all 2000 drones as
          of that instant. The drones move while you move, so that
          info will be inaccurate very quickly.

FIND FORCES
          - (F) Looks for your fortresses throughout the universe.

ANSI TOGGLE
          - (T) Toggles ansi support.

QUIT
          - (Q)  Quits computer
T E A M  S U B  M E N U

CREATE A TEAM
          - Accessed through 'C'.  Allows users band together.  Up
            to 6 players on a team. A name and a password must be
            picked.

QUIT A TEAM
          - (Z) Quits Team.

CHANGE TEAM NAME
          - (N) Changes team name. Reserved for Captain.

CHANGE TEAM PASSWORD
          - (P) Changes team password. Reserved for Captain.

BANISH TEAM MEMBER
          - (B) Banishes teammate. Reserved for Captain.
QUIT
          - (Q) Quits computer menu.

F O R T R E S S  S U B  M E N U

LOGOFF
          - (L) Allows you and teammates to log off inside of the
            fortress under the protection of shields, photons, and
            power bursts.

TRANSFER CARGO
          - (T) Transfers cargo to fortress

CONVERT CARGO
          - (C) Converts cargo into shots, photons, shields, or
            power bursts.

INCREASE SHIELDS
          - (S) Increase shields strength. 500 Starvacs/ Unit

INCREASE PHOTONS
          - (P) Increase photon strength 1000 Starvacs/Unit

INCREASE STUN BURSTS
          - () Increase power burst strength.

TRANSFER/TAKE MOUNTS
          - (T) Takes or transfer mounts.

OTHER INFO:

OPTICAL GATE
          - Optical Gate is a special base.  It allows the player
            to buy higher lever guns, tactical mounts, shots,
            plasma shells, energy and energy storage units, cargo
            holds, shields and shield units.

MECHS:
          There are 3 types of mechs that the player can choose
          from:

BORGMAN - A very small and lightweight mech.  The borgman moves
          very efficiently..with considerably less energy units.
          With the right mounts, he can virtually move across the
          universe without much energy.  His disadvantage is the
          amour, its very weak. It's  shield projection units are
          also very weak.

MIRAGE - The Mirage is in about the middle.  It moves pretty
         efficiently, and it has good amour.  With the right
         mounts it can match any of the 3 mechs.

ORION - The orion is the battle-class mech.  It's shield strength
        is its main feature. However, its a energy hog. It requires

        30% more energy to move the same distance as the Borgman.

STATS:
------------------------------------------------------
BORGMAN   Move - 6 Energy Units        Shields +1

MIRAGE    Move - 7 Energy Units        Shields +2

ORION     Move - 8 Energy Units        Shields +3
------------------------------------------------------
MOUNTS
          - Plasma Cannon
                    Requires 200 energy units to fire, does 200 pts
                    damage. Max [6]
          - Turbine
                    Increases moving efficiency by +2
                    Max[1]
          - Solar Collector
                    Adds +1 to shields and energy per move.
                    Max[1]
          - Force Field
                    Gives a +1 to Shield Strength
                    Max[1]
          - Laser Targeting Light
                    Increases shooting accuracy.
                    Max[1]
          - EFS
                    When shields reach 0, it gets you out of the
                    sector
          - EFSHS
                    Tracks down EFS.

GUNS
          #1 - +1 Damage
          #2 - +2 Damage
          #3 - +3 Damage
          #4 - +4 Damage
          #5 - +5 Damage

UPDATES
--------------------------
V 1.0
     First release to test for bugs.
V 1.1
     I was humiliated at the tremendous bugs found which included
system hangups, missing files(still are to date), shotty error
trapping.. To many minor bugs to mention.

V 1.2
     More bugs reported..to numerous to name.

V 1.3--1.5
     Lost track of version, so many maintenance releases, sometimes
2x a day! Tons of ansi.

V 1.6
     Finally a playable version, I added planets and a few other
neat functions.  More ansi added.

V 1.7
     This version.  Editor made locally, this way you can call it
up via ALT-E.  This reduces the hassles that come along with typing
in a password and the risk of another sysop who DL a copy of
Mechwars using your game editor.  Major bug fixed in the
maintenance, it was displaying a file about 2000 times (Via
modem)!!  Copies must now be registered for $10.00.  More ansi
files added.  More ansi added.  DL file size shortened.

V 1.8
     This is it, a total overhaul!  I converted Mechwars v 1.8 to
a non scrolling door.  This version features faster ansi sequences,
screen pauses, faster screen updates, a panoramic view of
surrounding sectors at all times, an anti-user-fall-asleep-
detection-unit, devices that work, faster attacks, modular windows,
faster menus, more organized ranks, and much much more.  Some of
the bugs fixed :
     - No Garbage in the first time Player rank is used!
     - Smaller Enemy file, but still keeping ratio of enemy/sector
       at 1 enemy to every 8 sectors.
     - In 1.7, if a user died he could re-log back on in the same
       day...Not in version 1.8 though.
     - Major bug in Attack, after you destroyed so many enemies,
       you couldn't destroy anymore without thousands of plasma
       shells.
     - An automatic machine gun for your mech, no need to type
       in how many shots you want to shoot at the enemy drone.
     - Zillions of more little bugs, I hope this test version
       works.  By v 2.0 Mechwars should be totally bug free.

OBJECTIVES FOR V 1.9

     - Logfile ( Keeps track of universe news).
     - Correct V 1.8 Errors.
     - All new ansi files!
     - More Sysop Control over the door.
     - Wider range of BBS support.
     - Possible ANSI music!
     - * The invasion of the enemies territory to rid the universe
          of the scum.
/* Live Long and Prosper.  You shall if you read this entire
documentation.
*/