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┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Trivia MASTER V1.5 │
│ ****************** │
│ │
│ Live BBS Game for Wildcat!, RBBS, SpitFire │
│ QuickBBS, GAP, GTPower, Phoenix & others │
│ Release date 10-20-1991 │
│ │
│ (C)opyright 1991 │
│ │
│ -By- │
│ │
│ Late Nite Software │
│ │
│ Marvin Davis │
│ 313 Queens Road │
│ Sanford, NC 27330 │
│ │
│ Late-Nite BBS │
│ Node-1 (919) 776-2368 │
│ Node-2 (919) 775-4477 │
│ USR Dual Standard V.32, V.29, V.22bis │
│ 14400/9600/4800/2400/1200/300 24 hrs │
│ │
│ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Trivia MASTER! (C)opyright 1991, Page 1
Warranty
This is product is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. The entire
risk as to the results and program performance is assumed by you. Also, in
addition, I the author do not warrant, guarantee, or make any representations
regarding the use of, or the results of the use of the program, and you rely
on the program and results solely at your own risk. This author cannot accept
responsibility for system damage, loss of profit, or any other special, or the
incidental or consequential damages resulting from the use or inability to
use this product.
Copyright
'Trivia MASTER!' live game is distributed as SHAREWARE. Under this concept
you may use the SHAREWARE (unregistered) version for a reasonable period of
time, which I consider to be 30 days, after which you must either register
your copy or discontinue usage altogether.
Registration
With registration, you'll receive the latest version of Trivia MASTER! with
also the ability to download any futher updates from The Late-Nite BBS! at
no extra cost. You will also receive any support the author can give in
reference to bugs or other problems that may arise during the games use.
I feel that sysop's have enough expense without charging a high cost for a
game for their users. I have set the cost of registration at $13.00 which
I feel if people will follow the shareware concept will be enough to cover
shipping/handling costs and encourage me to write more doors for BBS's!
SEE REGISTRATION FORM INCLUDED in this archive for ordering instructions.
When registered, the Doorware message and delay will not be present. Do not
attempt to delete or alter the Doorware message as the game will cease to
function entirely.
Distribution
You are free, in fact encouraged, to distribute the SHAREWARE (unregistered)
version of Trivia MASTER! door game provided that all files contained in the
original Trivia MASTER! archive are distributed in the absolute original and
unmodified state.
Trivia MASTER! (C)opyright 1991 - Page 2
Files found in the distribution file TMSTR10.ZIP
These files are found in your ZIP or will be created during the runtime;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
README ;read this first! Startup Info...
SETUP EXE ;Setup program for game, just run.
REGISTER FRM ;Form to mail in your registration.
DOORWARE ASC ;Doorware announcement - WARNING, DO NOT DELETE OR EDIT!
TRIVIA EXE ;The Trivia MASTER executable file.
TMCODE EXE ;datafile encode/decoder (for REGISTERED users only!)
TRIVIA1 USR ;ASCII file to hold current players/scores.
TITLE ASC ;ASCII title screen file.
TITLE SCR ;ANSI color title screen file.
TMCFG_1 DAT ;encoded question/answer database
TM_HELP1 SCR ;ANSI color help screen
TM_HELP1 ASC ;ASCII monochrome help screen
TRIVIA CFG ;ASCII game and BBS configuration file.
TRIVIA DOC ;game documentation and setup info.
* TRIVIA ERR ;logs runtime errors for record.
* SCORE_1 SCR ;Top 10 Color scoreboard
* SCORE_1 ASC ;Top 10 Mono scoreboard
* BULL#xx BBS ;MONO bulletin (auto TOP TEN) Path in TRIVIA.CFG
* BULL#xx SCR ;COLOR bulletin (auto TOP TEN) Path in TRIVIA.CFG
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* DENOTES that file is updated/created during RUN-TIME.
Technical Support:
If you have problems with Trivia MASTER!, you may contact Marvin Davis at
Late-Nite BBS! Node-1 (919) 776-2368 HST 14400/9600/2400 24 hrs.
Node-2 (919) 775-4477 HST 14400/9600/2400 24 hrs.
Registration/ Order Information: Just mail $10.00 (Single node) - NO Personal
checks please. Send Certified Check, Money Order or Cash to:
Marvin Davis
313 Queens Road
Sanford, NC 27330
Registered users will be given FREE updates to releases of Trivia MASTER!
Look for other new live games from Late-Nite BBS. You can download FREE
updates to a particular game once registered, directly from the BBS. Simply
call and check in or leave <F>eedback to Sysop Marv' and I will leave some
instructions on how to obtain an updated version of a particular door.
Trivia MASTER! (C)opyright 1991, Page 3
-Trivia MASTER!-
(C) 1991 Marvin Davis
In this release of Trivia MASTER, it is configured as a ROCK 'n ROLL Trivia
game with up to 250 questions and a TOP-10 Pyramid scoreboard. Instructions
on playing the game are viewed with the (I)nstructions command when the game
starts up. This game is CONFIGURABLE up to 9 different games can be setup
for BaseBall, Football, Movie, StarTrek and many other subjects. Simply
create the database, encode it and set the command line paramaters for a
new game and 'voila', you have another Trivia game.
Hence the name "Trivia MASTER!"....
Registered users will recieve an ENCODER-DECODER program to convert database
files from ASCII to required format for the game, and the info for setting
command line parameters for different games will be sent to you as well upon
receipt of your registration form and appropriate amount.
The game supports both MONOchrome and ANSI Color graphic modes, Com ports
COM1-COM4:, game exit on loss of carrier, and complete keyboard control
during runtime. Game is configured by the configuration file below. Support
for several popular BBS programs, WildCat! V2.xx, RBBS v17.xx and a command
line 'generic' setup for use with basically any board program. Game "dead
time" is a two minute timeout at any prompt and the game is terminated.
The following ASCII file is commented so that it can easily edited to comform
to your BBS. The file must be in this format to correctly pass important
parameters to the game. All the text to the right of the ";" semicolons are
just remarks. There is a SETUP.EXE program that you may use to create this
instead of an ASCII editor. Just run SETUP and follow the prompts exactly.
TRIVIA.CFG ;game config file
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starvin' Marv's ;Your BBS's name
Marvin ;Sysops first name
Davis ;Sysops last name
C:\BBS\CALLINFO.BBS ;BBS PATH to caller file supported (see LIST)
C:\BBS\BULLETS\BULL#22.BBS ;PATH for Text bulletin
C:\BBS\BULLETS\BULL#22.SCR ;PATH for ANSI Color Bulletin
N/A ;Locked baud use N/A or LOCKED {baud} RTS/CTS
N/A ;Printer Log [LPT1-3]
DIRECT ;DIRECT or BIOS screen writes
NONE ;registered Name
00000 ;registered serial number
BULLETINS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
On a game completion, automatic TOP TEN Bulletins, both MONOCHROME and COLOR
will be created to the PATH/FILESPEC designated. If the user aborts the game
at a speed prompt with 'Q',then the game is exited and no bulletin created.
If NO BULLETINS ARE WISHED, or no color bulletin is supported, then place
a N/A in the line where the PATH parameters/filespec is!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRINTER LOG
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If a printer is being used to keep a running log of callers, errors, etc.,
then you can place in upper case the word LPTx (x=1-3) in the above config
file. Game minutes, start time and end time are printed on the printer
connected to printer port 1 (LPT1-3). Also untrapped errors are recorded
and are useful in debugging or isolating a problem.
Trivia MASTER! (C)opyright 1991, Page 4
Command Line parameters to call Trivia MASTER!
TRIVIA {space} /game switch(s)
WILDCAT! V2.xx
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /WC ;the ' /WC' parameter instructs the game to run under
;WildCat! and get its user info from the CALLINFO.BBS
;file that WildCat! produces when running a door.
;CALLINFO.BBS path and filespec are configured in the
;TRIVIA.CFG file line # 4.
WildCat v3.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /WC3 ;the " /WC3" switch instructs the game to read in the
;new file USERINFO.DAT, which Wildcat has changed to.
;Place the full DOS path to the file on Line #4 using
;SETUP.EXE or an ASCII editor. If the file is copied
;into the game directory prior to calling up the game
;put no PATH but just the filename USERINFO.DAT
RBBS V17.xx
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /RBBS ;the ' /RBBS' parameter instructs the game to run under
;RBBS and to get its user info from the DORINFOx.DEF
;file, where 'x' is node 1-9. For a single line board
;x = 1 and the caller infor file would be DORINFO1.DEF.
;DORINFO1.DEF path and filespec are configured in the
;TRIVIA.CFG datafile line # 4.
QuickBBS/RA users whose BBS software writes a DORINFOx.DEF file can use the
"/QBBS" switch to inform the game to get its caller information from the
same compatible file DORINFOx.DEF with the exception of GRAPHICS info. RBBS
writes three values (ie 0=ASCII, 1=IBM MONO, 2=ANSI color) where in QuickBBS
reads/writes only two (ie 0=ASCII, 1=ANSI). Using this switch will allow
the proper graphics flag to be passed to the game.
GAP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /GAP ;Set game for GAP and read in DOOR.SYS as it caller
;file. filename entered on line #4 of TRIVIA.CFG.
;If you are a GAP user and wish locked port DTE baud
;then RUN SETUP.EXE or enter LOCKED {baud} on line # 7
;of TRIVIA.CFG file.
GTPOWER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /GTP ;Sets game for GTPower and read in GTUSER.BBS caller
;file for caller information. Since this BBS's caller
;file does NOT contain current COM PORT configuration
;you may need an additional switch to set the game up.
;to COM: port # 2 with an additional switch parameter.
;EXAMPLE: TRIVIA /GTP/2 this sets the game to COM2 from
;the DEFAULT COM1. If using COM1 ignore the "/2".
PHOENIX v1.x
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /PHX ;Sets game for Phoenix and read in INFO.BBS for caller
;caller info. Game gets baud speed from this file and if
;you are a HST user - use the TRIVIA.CFG file to setup
;LOCKED port of 19200 or 38400 baud to ignore the caller
;DCE baud rate. This can be done in SETUP as well.
Trivia MASTER! (C)opyright 1991, Page 5
PCBoard
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /PCB ;PCBoard v14.x use the /PCB parameter reads PCBoard.sys
;for the caller information.
WWIV
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /WWIV ;WWIV systems can use this switch to tell the game to
;read the CHAIN.TXT file via the PATH contained in the
;TRIVIA.CFG file.
SpitFire
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /SPIT ;SpitFire BBS's can use this switch to tell the game to
;read the SFDOORS.DAT file for caller info. Place the
;PATH to this file on Line #4 of the TRIVIA.CFG via an
;an ASCII editor or use SETUP.EXE
GENERIC BBS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /GEN ;the ' /GEN' parameter instructs the game to look for its
;basic configuration info on the command line! You can
;set up the game to run on any BBS with these basic
;parameters shown below with parameters separated with
;a SPACE character.
TRIVIA /GEN COM1 n AN
;where COM is either COM1 or COM2, where "n" is the
;specified baud rate:
0 = 300
1 = n/a [NOTE: 1 is NOT USED!]
2 = 1200
3 = 2400
4 = 4800
5 = 9600
6 = 19200
;8 data bit, 1 stop bit and no parity are defaulted.
;
;The AN instructs TRIVIA to display ANSI color graphics
;and an AS instructs to use standard ASCII text.
;Without ANSI or ASCII specified, ASCII is defaulted.
;The following is an example of a 'generic' setup.
TRIVIA /GEN COM1 3 AN -> sets PORT as COM1, speed as 2400 and
also use ANSI COLOR graphics.
Trivia MASTER! (C)opyright 1991, Page 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
KEYBOARD PLAY or local mode
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRIVIA /LOCAL ;sets game to play on the keyboard, with no color.
TRIVIA /LOCAL/C ;set game to play on keyboard and use COLOR graphics.
:NOTE, bulletins are NOT created in LOCAL keyboard mode.
This a purely an evaulation mode.
SETUP EXAMPLES
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Setting up Trivia MASTER! Game for WildCat! version 2.xx
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Create your batch file to;
1. call the game with file TRIVIA /WC
2. last line in batch file calls WILDCAT! back
An "example" of a batch file from WildCat1 ver 2.xx, named DOOR35.BAT
might look like this;
CD DOOR
CD TRIVIA
TRIVIA /WC
CD \WILDCAT
CAT
** Be very careful with PATH for files, it must be complete and correct! **
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game STATUS LINE;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
While the game is up, at the bottom screen line (line 25) will be the current
Player Status Line. The Game name, players name, date, time of game start,
callers baud rate and current state of the CLOCK. This will let the SysOp
know how much time the user has left in the game or online. If the SysOp
wishes to 'nuke' a player out of the game, the ESC key is the KILL key!!
Once pressed the game is immediately terminated, so be carefull on that as
some keyboards (84 and 102) have the ESC key right next to the number 1!
FOR REGISTERED USERS ONLY!!
===========================
Once registered, you will recieve the TMCODE.EXE file which will allow you
to DECODE the TMCFG_1.DAT (Rock Database) file into a standard ASCII file
in which you can edit, delete or add on more questions up to a maximum of
250 questions and answers. The TMCODE program is also required to CREATE
the TMCFG_x.DAT files for your Trivia subjects. Also you will get info on
how to setup the Trivia MASTER game for other subjects that you might have
a preference to in which YOU will create the databases, encode them and then
setup the new game subject via command line. Up to a total of (9) different
games can be configured from this "one" TRIVIA.EXE game file.
Trivia MASTER! (C)opyright 1991, Page 7
RBBS sample batch file (door)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RBBS example by Wayne Aiken, Sysop, StarFleet BBS, Raleigh NC 919-782-3095
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RBBS has the capability to call DOORs by either by SHELLing out to DOS, or by
quitting RBBS completely. My system does the latter. When RBBS quits to a
DOOR, it dynamically builds a file called RCTTY.BAT. This file is dynamically
created, and contains the name of the next batch file in the sequence, the
batch file that invokes the particular door:
------------------------------- RBBS.BAT ------------------------------------
echo off
cd \RBBS
if exist RBBS1F1.DEF del RBBS1F1.DEF
if exist RBBS1TM.DEF del RBBS1TM.DEF
if exist RCTTY.BAT del RCTTY.BAT
WATCHDOG OFF
RBBS-PC
if exist RBBS1F1.DEF goto Exit
if exist RCTTY.BAT RCTTY.BAT
if exist RBBS1TM.DEF RBBS1TM.BAT
E:\RBBS\RBBS.BAT
:Exit
-------------------------------- RBBS.BAT -----------------------------------
In the example above, the presence of the file RBBS1F1.DEF means that RBBS
has been ordered to shut down, RCTTY.BAT means a DOOR will be executed, and
RBBS1TM.DEF means that the daily event has been invoked. All of these files
are deleted when RBBS starts up, if it is recycled as in the case of a DOOR
or scheduled event.
RCTTY.BAT contains the lines:
G:\COMMAND /C xxxx
E:\RBBS\RBBS.BAT
where xxxx is the name of the batch file for the Door. This name must also
appear in MENU5x, which is the Doors menu.
A sample batch file for the door, in this case the Trivia door is:
watchdog off
e:
cd \rbbs\game
trivia /rbbs
cd \rbbs
I set WATCHDOG off because the Trivia door automatically monitors carrier
detect. After the program terminates, I have it go back to the proper
directories. When it quits, it falls back to RCTTY.BAT (/c parm), which
then invokes RBBS. RBBS is a pretty big file to be re-loading each time, but
I have it in a RAM disk so it does it fairly quickly.
Some sysops may use the SHELLing method to do it. In either case, this
shouldn't affect your Doors programs, except possibly if this SHELLing makes
memory tight. RBBS takes up about 384K of memory, which is why I use the
RUN method in the case that I got a DOOR which was also memory-hungry.
Trivia MASTER! (C)opyright 1991, Page 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Installation tips;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For those with slow hard drives, you can run this game from a RamDisk to
save wear-and-tear on accessing.
If you have a printer on your board, use it to monitor the users during
the game run. Also any runtime errors that are not trapped will be
printed out on the printer. This game has almost 250 hours of continous
use and most errors possible are trapped. But some users have a knack
of finding even the weakest link in any program so if you experience
any repeatable errors and they can be duplicated, they will be fixed upon
reporting them to me!
Everything that you need to operate this game is included in this ZIP.
NOTE: A couple of WildCat! sysops have been having problems with my games
dropping carrier when a user quits the game. This is NOT a programming
problem. If your WildCat! is having DTR problems on game end, change your
modem delay in the initialization string within makewild. Changing the
S10 register to S10=24 gives more time for the board to reset before the
modem thinks a user has dropped carrier. Many modems are quite touchy!
Thank you for trying Trivia MASTER! I hope you enjoy it!
Trivia MASTER! (C) 1991 Marvin Davis Page - 9
Trivia MASTER V1.0
(C) 1991 Marvin Davis
--------------------------------------------------
Setup for Multi-Node Trivia MASTER! configurations
--------------------------------------------------
An additional switch setting can now be added to the command line with
the particular Node that is calling up the game. This is to be placed
after the command line switch for the particular BBS that is using the
game. An example command line below is set for WildCat BBS on Node #1;
TRIVIA /WC /NODE1
The following additional switch will cause the game to read in a file in
the current game directory called TRIVIA1.CFG instead of a normal single
BBS configuration file called TRIVIA.CFG. You may edit these files
directly with an ASCII editor or use the SETUP.EXE file and fill in the
prompts carefully, to create them. Up to 99 Nodes can have separate
TRIVIAxx.CFG (where xx=0-99 NODE numbers) in the current game directory,
and in this file you can point to the NODE directory's caller file. Below
is a sample BATCHFILE that might call the game from NODE 2 for instance;
C-WAR2.BAT
----------
CD DOOR#3
TRIVIA /WC /NODE2
ECHO Game finished, returning to BBS
CD BBS
CAT
EXIT
The NODExx (where xx = NODE 1-99) switch, will instruct TRIVIA.EXE to
read a different game .CFG file when its envoked. Note the complete
PATH to the caller file for the particular Node.
Example, the TRIVIA2.CFG might contain the following data;
Starvin' Marv's
Marvin
Davis
C:\BBS\NODE2\CALLINFO.BBS
C:\BULLETS\BULL#22.BBS
C:\BULLETS\BULL#22.SCR
RTS/CTS
DIRECT
NONE
00000
At present, up to four COM ports are supported (ie. COM1 - COM4). They are
normally assigned to their respective COMM ports, NODE1 to COM1 and NODE2
to COM2, etc. Although, the game will look into the caller file that is
specified in the BBS caller file listed in the TRIVIAxx.CFG file, and the
game will use that COM port specified for that caller.
Under the different 'node' configuration files, you could have two different
scoreboard bulletins created, one for each node - but the game will only have
one scoreboard file in both ANSI and ASC format in its own door directory
at the completion of a successful run by a player. These are created every
time on a good run even if the .CFG file lists an N/A for BBS bulletin msg
creation.
End Trivia MASTER! documentation.