synchro.net

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ synchro.net / synchro.net.tar / synchro.net / main / BBS / PTEOS202.ZIP / SYSOP.DOC < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 2001-01-18 | 14.8 KB | 383 lines

░▒▓ PLANETS: THE EXPLORATION OF SPACE V2.02 ▓▒░ Also known as TEOS. (tee-ose) Originally Written by Seth A. Robinson Developed by Michael Preslar (c) Copright 2001 : Metropolis, Inc. Home Page: http://www.metropolis.com ░▒▓ INDEX ▓▒░ *1* ................. About the game *2* ................. Game Installation *3* ................. Sysop Info/Tricks *4* ................. Game Registration To access parts of this document fast use the find feature in your text editor. (like "find *3*" for section 3) ░▒▓ SECTION *1* About the game ▓▒░ TEOS is a space trading game. V2.02 is NOT finished. We are allowing anyone who wishes to test it however - and help make it a better game via bug reports and suggestions. It is a space oddessy that allows players to shape the game like no other. ANSI games are becoming a relic of the past - falling to new graphically oriented games and BBS clients, but there is still something magical about how simple and complex a text game can be when inside a world that allows you to take player interaction to the max. * Supports 200 players. * Multinode interactive (some options only appear when 2+ are playing!) * Team play - up to 10 players per 'cartel'. Up to 200 teams * Support for team allys - up to 20 * Support for up to 99 planets * Up to 32,000 ship types, comes with 16 * Player, World, Ship, NPC editors are inside PLANCFG.EXE! (note: a registered game is required to change values) * Support for most drop files * Copy setup from LORD option (if you can run LORD, you can run this) * own planets and get daily reports, taxes, news * be good (Alliance), evil (Maraken) or neutral * Alliance and Maraken each have a home planet and base players can land on * Comprehensive player and team rankings * Players can see if their teamates have played yet today/how much * In game email of unlimited length * 'mass team mailing' * `%Sansi `2color `%codes!! * Players can customize their planets after they own them * IGM Support! Each planet can have up to 8 IGM's. Players must be on the planet to see 'em * "Game Info" feature shows players what the settings are, what IGM's are installed and where they are. (unless the IGM tells TEOS not to) * Smart NPC's that have custom texts, stats, likes and dislikes and remembers every encounter with every player they meet. NPC's can be edited and added * IGM's are strictly controlled - because IGM authors use the TEOS Kit, you know they will be compatible - PLUS extras like all IGM's can handle mail and communication all automatically (new!) * Players can put chatwalls up on their own planets * Players can pretty much have the time of their lives * New flavors including new Planets, Item Settings, Ships, Enemies and Gossip files are/will be available for download for a unique game, or just make your own! * Actually fun to play! <-- The most important feature ░▒▓ SECTION *2* Game installation ▓▒░ Those familiar with how LORD: The setup is identical. There is also a 'COPY NODE SETUP FROM LORD' option inside PLANCFG.EXE. To install: Unzip into an empty dir. * Run "PLANCFG.EXE" from the dos prompt. (it will create the GAME.DAT file) * Exit it. -=-=-=-=-=- To play without a BBS or for testing purposes: * Type "START" from the directory TEOS is in. You are now playing the game! (quick tip - to advance the day one and put the game into debug mode, type "START MAINT" This is a LOCAL ONLY switch for testing ONLY!!!) -=-=-=-=-=- To setup on your BBS. Run "PLANCFG.EXE" and choose the (S)etup a node option. You can now setup up to 999 node configurations, including drop file type & path, com port, locked port rate and more. ** YOU MUST RUN START.BAT FROM THE DIRECTORY IT IS IN! ** ** If you wish, you can edit the top of the START.BAT ** ** file to switch to that directory - that works too. ** Examples of command lines to run the game from your BBS: CALL START 1 (to run configuration 1) CALL START 13 (to run configuration 13) For trouble shooting, check TROUBLE.DOC. If you run just START with no parm, it will default to 0. When you unzip, NODE0.DAT comes with it, setting node 0 to local node. You CAN change this if you want to run your BBS on node 0, in PLANCFG's (S)etup a node option enter 0 for the node to edit. ░▒▓ SECTION *3* Sysop Info/Tricks ▓▒░ Q. LOOKS COOL - IS IT CRIPPLED? A. <sigh> Yes - players cannot buy new ships or use torpedos. IGM's that change these values not function correctly. HOWEVER - Its still a fun game. (until you lose your ship and have to come back in a garbage scow!! <G> ) Registering also allows you to use the many editors in PLANCFG.EXE, unregistered you can VIEW everything but not change 'em. * WHEN YOU DECIDE ITS A ROCKING GAME AND A BARGAIN AT $15 * $15 on your Visa/MC on our voice registration line can have you registered in minutes. (we give you a code that unlocks this copy!) Q. DOES TEOS HAVE RIP SUPPORT? A. No. I just didn't see RIP begin high enough to warrant that much time into development. But this RIP 2.0 is looking good so who knows! Q. HOW CAN I GENERATE SCORE FILES FOR MY BULLETINS? A. ANSI and ASCII score files are called SCORE.ANS and SCORE.ASC defaultly, you can change this in the (G)ame Options section in PLANCFG.EXE. The files are generated after someone PLAYS the game, then quits. TIP: Enter a blank line to not generate files. Q. WHAT THE HELL? THERE IS NO PLANETS.DAT OR ENEMIES.DAT FILE!!?? A. Duh. If they don't exist they will be created the first time you play or use PLANCFG.EXE. They are copied from PLANETS.ORG and ENEMIES.ORG. Planets and NPC's change throughout the game. NPC's grow stronger, buy holds, items and develop likes and dislikes. The .ORG files are the 'fresh' versions and are never changed - keep in mind some NPC's will hate people right off the bat because of their alliance or they are just mean. Some NPC's have a low 'intelligence' and trade and build slower than others. Q. DOES TEOS HAVE IGM SUPPORT? A. Yep. That it does. IGM's in TEOS are special - they can directly communcate with the game in many ways unprecedented in door history - they can move themselves from planet to planet, add planets, destroy planets, add players, npcs, quests, change other IGM's and handle reading and writing mail as if they were in TEOS itself. Q. WHAT THE DING DONG DOES IGM STAND FOR, ANYWAY? A. (I)n (G)ame (M)odule. A term created by RTSoft for another door called LORD a few years ago. Q. HOW MANY IGM'S CAN I PUT IN TEOS? A. Each planet can hold up to 8. They will show up on the main console menu. Don't forget that the Alliance/Maraken Headquarters/Bank/Dreamor temple count as IGM's, even though they are internal. They can be removed in PLANCFG.EXE though. Q. CAN I MAKE AN IGM FOR IT? A. At this time, I think I'm only going to give the 'TEOS IGM KIT' to certain people. I hope this improves the quality of the IGM's and in the long run makes the sysops job easier. If you wish to develop - contact me and send me a copy of a program you have written. This will prove to me you know what you're doing and this isn't your 1st project. The IGM kit contains many TPU's from TEOS itself, and can only be used in Turbo Pascal 7.0. (Sorry C devs!!!) It's SOOO darned easy! Q. CAN THIS GAME BE FINISHED? A. No. This will probably be added as an IGM set - IGM's can actually do this now, and even reset the game and post screens depicted the last winner/ect for people in the next game to see. Q. I JUST INSTALLED THE CRAPPIEST IGM ON EARTH - HOW DO I GET RID OF IT? A. Two ways - One is use the CFG program it came with, (it should have a uninstall option) or use the IGM Control option in PLANCFG.EXE. Switch to the planet it is on then move the curser to the IGM line it is on and pres the <DELETE> key. Q. I like the IGM Control area, but what is NOSHOW and NOLOCATION mean? A. Setting NOSHOW means this IGM does not shop up in (G)ame Stats at all. Setting NOLOCATION means the IGM 'name' shows up but not which planet it is on. Q. WHY WON'T IT LET ME KILL SOMEBODY WHO IS ONLINE? A. We tried it both ways, and it seems this is the more 'fair' way for those playing. No one likes being killed while they are trading and uncloaked simply because they were on while someone else was. Q. WHAT THE?? WHERE IS GOMAR'S GUNS AND THE SCHOOLOR LIBRARY, ECT? A. I know a few planet descriptions reference places to go that are not there, I hope that these will be added by myself or someone else later in the form of an IGM. They aren't essential anymore, ie, Phaser units were taken out. Q. HOW DO I DISABLE/ADD TO OR MODIFY THE 'PROFANITY CHECKER'? A. The file is called BADWORDS.DAT - use any text editor. To disable it, comment out everything or delete the file. Q. HOW CAN I SET THE TIME TO DELETE INACTIVE PLAYERS? A. TEOS defaults to delete inactive players after 15 days. You can change this in PLANCFG.EXE. (Game options) Q. HOW CAN I FORCE TEOS TO DISPLAY A TEXT SCREEN I MADE TO PEOPLE? A. Name the file NEWS.TXT. TEOS will display it after the intro ansi. Very handy to notify them of a coming reset or beg for money. Q. HOW CAN I RESET THE GAME? A. To reset the players delete TRADER.DAT. To reset the planets delete PLANETS.DAT. To reset the NPCs delete 'ENEMY.DAT'. You can reset these all together or in any combination. Use PLANCFG.EXE's (R)eset Game option to reset everything for you. Q. IF I RESET, WILL I HAVE TO REINSTALL MY IGM'S? A. No! The IGM??.DAT files in the mail dir will remain intact - these hold the IGM info. The ?? is the planet #. Your IGM's will all still be there after resetting! Q. WHERE ARE THE PLAYER MAIL FILES KEPT, I WANT TO LOOK AT 'EM! A. TEOS creates a directory called MAIL. They as well as IGM data data files are kept there to keep the main dir clean. Q. HOW MANY PLAYERS CAN BE IN A GAME AT ONCE? A. The max player accounts in a game at once is 200. The max amount of players that can be online simultaneously is also 200. Q. IT SAYS A PLAYER IS 'ON NOW' BUT THEY AREN'T! WHAT DO I DO? A. TEOS will fix this at maintenance. (midnight) Or the next time that player logs on, whichever is first. Q. TEOS SAYS 'BAD TRADER.DAT FILE' I THINK ITS CORRUPTED. NOW WHAT? A. TEOS makes a backup copy called TRADER.BAK once a day. Rename it to TRADER.DAT and you may save your game. Q. I HATE YOUR MENUS, I WANNA CHANGE 'EM. A. Thanks. Use ADDANSI.EXE to extract or put ansi files in the PLANTXT.DAT, INTROTXT.DAT. Type ADDANSI without any parms to see the format for use. Remember, you can use any text editor such as EDIT to look at these files also - look for @#<NAME> to see what each ones header is called! Q. I WANT TO MAKE A PLANET THAT SELLS HOT DOGS. CAN I? A. Yeah. Use the Item Settings Editor inside of (G)ame Options inside of PLANCFG.EXE and find a blank item spot - change the name to "* Hot Dogs". (The 1st char is what a player needs to hit to pick it, I used * because I know its not being used anywhere else..There are a few letters left too though.. If two items start with the same letter/symbol, if they are both on one planet, only one can be accessed.) Set the price and how many someone can buy at once also. Leave 0 to limit it only by their cargo spaces. Next, use the planet editor and edit a planet - edit the trade rates, find Hot Dog on the list and set it to a % higher than 0. 100 means the planet will sell/buy at the base price. 200 % means twice as much. Q. AWESOME! I CREATED A BUNCH OF NEW ITEMS AND PLANETS, HOW CAN I SHARE THEM WITH MY BROTHER IN VEGAS? A. Not too hard - take your changed planets.dat file (before anybody plays it) and put it in an empty dir. Go to the TEOS dir and type "PUTIL MAKE FOOD.PAK". Put that in the empty dir too - now (assuming PKZIP.EXE is in your path) type "PKZIP FOOD.ZIP". Now send it off to your brother! Tell him to RESET his game before installing, otherwise when he adds your new PLANET.DAT file, any planets owned by his player will be lost! Next, have him type "PUTIL ADD FOOD.PAK". It will update his item list with YOUR items. 'course, you could always make an INSTALL.BAT for him or whatever also. If you plan on distributing your 'flavor' which could also include enemies, gossip defaults, menues, new planet graphics ect, please run a copy by me (Michael) so I can check it out 1st and make sure it works right. Thanks! Q. I REGISTERED, SO WHAT DO I GET?! A. I love you! - you can add and change ships, planets, npcs and users. Your players can now buy ships and torpedos and use IGM's that change 'registered only' values. You will also recieve a warm feeling for supporting a quality product which allows more of 'em to be made. You go to heaven now. ;> ░▒▓ SECTION *4* Game registration ▓▒░ -= TO REGISTER THE GAME =- See the file register.doc .. It has all of the information you need.. -= IF YOU HAVE REGISTERED AN OLDER VERSION ALREADY =- Due to piracy problems TEOS 2.0 uses a different registration scheme than its predecessor. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED TEOS 1 or 1.12, THIS IS A FREE UPGRADE. To get your updated codes fast: INTERNET: E-mail info@gameport.com with your name, address, BBS name, OLD CODES and request your TEOS 2.00 codes. We will attempt to reply within 24 hours. (you can also do this at our website at http://teleport.com/~sethable) U.S. MAIL: Same as above (name, address, bbsname, and old codes).. Send the info to TEOS RegCode Request Metropolis Systems 8650 College Blvd, Suite 111 Overland Park, KS 66210