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- Pirate's Cove
- =====================================================================
-
- Program now uses Door Patch 3.8 (other versions used GAPQBDR
- from GAP) and supports the following BBS drop file formats: DOOR.SYS,
- PCBOARD.SYS, SFDOORS.DAT, CALLINFO.BBS, DORINFO1.DEF, DORINFO2.DEF
- and CHAIN.TXT. Compatible with at least these BBS systems: PCBoard
- 14+, GAP 4+, RBBS-PC 17+. WILDCAT 2+ and Spitfire 3+. Also supports
- baud rates up to 115,200 BPS. Runs on only one node at a time.
-
- My programs may be on various BBSes around the country under
- different archive extensions and types. This is the state of all the
- BBSes around the country.
-
- If you are currently running a version earlier than 5.00 you
- must delete all existing data and start over with the contents of
- this archive. This will prevent extra files remaining on your system,
- deleting any wrong files, format incompatibly with earlier versions,
- etc. Some file names have been changed starting with 5.00.
-
- The archive file should contain the following files:
-
- PCOVE.EXE.....................: Main program
- PCMAINT.EXE (new).............: Daily maintenance program
- PCMAINT.CFG (new).............: Rollover file
- PCEDIT.EXE (FIXPC.EXE)........: Pirate's Cove Editor
- PCOVE.CFG (new format)........: Sample .CFG file
- PCOVE.DOC.....................: This file
- PCOVE.SCR/PCOVEG.SCR (new)....: Pirate's Cove screen mono /
- color
- PCOVE.HLP/PCOVEG.HLP (PCHELP).: Help file mono/color
- HELLO.TXT.....................: Sample start up messages
- READ.ME.......................: Update messages, etc.
- SYSOP.DOC.....................: Docs provided by Door Patch
- author contains additional
- information about DP setup
- SUPPORT.TXT...................: BBS and network where I can be
- reached other than my home
- FILE_ID.DIZ...................: BBS file description
-
-
- PCOVE.CFG
-
- This door comes with an example PCOVE.CFG. It is supplied to
- show you how to set up the configuration file. The file may be
- modified to suit. Please try and not exceed PCBoard's name length of
- twenty-seven characters (total length) for Sysops name. The sixth
- line is for registration serial number. If you change the
- "Unregistered BBS" name or serial number it will still come up in the
- door as "Unregistered BBS" until you get a valid registration serial
- number. No bulletin is generated until registered.
-
- There has been a major change in the format of the PCOVE.CFG
- file starting with version 5.00, which follows:
-
-
-
-
-
- (1) C:\PCB\PCBOARD.SYS <BBS drop file
- (2) Unregistered BBS <changes only take effect with reg.
- (3) Sysop first name <sysop first name
- (4) Sysop last name <sysop last name
- (5) Your Sysop <donor's name, not used
- (6) 0000 <reg. number, must be 0000 or valid #
- (7) PCOVE.BLT <ASCII/PCBoard bulletin
- (8) PCOVEG.BLT <ANSI bulletin
- (9) PCB <type of bulletin(s)
-
- See the SYSOP.DOC for details on lines 1 through 5 and must be
- populated. These entries are required by the Door Patch 3.8 software.
- My requirements follow, which also must be populated:
-
- Line 6 is where your serial number goes when the door is
- registered. Changes here only take effect with valid serial numbers.
-
- Line 7 is for the ASCII or PCBoard versions of the bulletin
- (only generated with registered doors).
-
- Line 8 is for the ANSI bulletin. These two lines (7 and 8) can
- be any file name you want and may include path statements. If you are
- using "PCB" or "ASCII", which only generates one bulletin you still
- have to populate Line 8 (not used).
-
- Line 9 can be "ANSI", "PCB", or default "ASCII" file with no
- extended IBM graphic codes and no color. If you choose "PCB" or
- "ASCII" then only the Line 7 bulletin is generated. The Line 8
- bulletin is for "ANSI" coded version only. PCBoard (PCB) uses only
- one file to show mono and color displays and ASCII only needs one.
-
- Every line must be populated whether the entry is used by the
- program or not. The program expects to find each entry exactly where
- it is located in the configuration file.
-
-
- PCMAINT.EXE
-
- I have removed the maintenance routines from the main program,
- trying to make the main program smaller. This program should be put
- in your daily event. If added to your event make sure you change into
- the Pirate's Cove directory to run the program. If you are not
- running a daily event then you can put it in your calling batch file
- and before you call PCOVE.EXE. An example follows:
-
- echo off
- D:
- CD \PCB\DOORS\PCOVE
- PCMAINT
- PCOVE PCOVE.CFG
- CD \
- C:
- CD \PCB
- BOARD
-
-
-
-
-
- The program is very quick for normal maintenance, but if a
- rollover takes place this time could be lengthy depending on the
- number of players. If it has already run it does an instant exit with
- no harm done. The caller will see nothing on their screen.
-
- The maintenance routine deletes players that have not played for
- more than 30 days. Team messages are checked and messages over 14
- days old are deleted. As messages are erased new ones are inserted
- into the blanks. If the message base contains only blank entries the
- program will erase the file. If it gets too large you can also delete
- it without hurting the rest of the program. Players that have
- remained on the island for more than two consecutive days are
- randomly placed on rows 14 or 15. A new set of Galleons are also
- initialized during maintenance.
-
- If there are any unknown errors, internal or external, the
- errors are written to a file called PCMAINT.ERR with date and time
- stamp. If PCMAINT.ERR exists then there has been at least one error.
- Additional errors are appended to the end of the file. If you have a
- lot of errors and you are pressed for space this file may be deleted
- without any harm.
-
-
- PCMAINT.CFG
-
- This is a rollover file. The default is 90 days. The sample file
- included in the archive is as follows:
-
- (1) 90 <Number of days between rollovers
- (2) 01-01-1993 <Rollover date. Always on First of month
-
-
- Auto-Config PCMAINT.CFG
-
- If you delete PCMAINT.CFG when PCMAINT.EXE is run it will create
- a new one like the sample with a rollover three months later on the
- 1st of the third month (not 90 days). When this is done, if HELLO.TXT
- exits, it will append the end of the file with three rollover
- messages. If HELLO.TXT does not exist it will create one with three
- lines in it. (see Rollover Messages)
-
- If you do not want a rollover change to the following:
-
- (1) NO <Do not roll over door program
- (2) <optional line not needed here
-
- Valid days are 30, 60 or 90. If less than 30 becomes 30, if
- greater than 90 becomes 90. Rollovers always take place on the first
- day of month that PCMAINT.EXE is run, normally on the 1st day. Date
- is the date you want the program to rollover the first time. After
- the first rollover (unless auto configured) the PCMAINT.EXE supplies
- the date based on the number of days (months). (see Rollover
- Messages)
-
-
-
-
-
- Rollover means that all data in the data files are reset to new,
- but any team information is retained. If a player is on a team before
- the rollover the player is still on the same team after rollover.
- Only points, treasure, etc. are reset. The player is then randomly
- placed on the grind any place except on the island.
-
- Any bulletin(s) that have been created are not updated by
- rollover and are changed when the first player enters and exits the
- door. PCMAINT.EXE does not alter any existing bulletin(s). The
- bulletins actually reflect the last play in the door and even after
- rollover this is still true (until the first player uses the
- program).
-
-
- SYSTEM DATE
-
- The system date is vital to the operation of Pirate's Cove and
- must be as accurate as possible since it is used for user deletions,
- messages and message deletions, penalties, rollover and etc.
-
-
- PCEDIT.EXE
-
- This is a maintenance program that allows the you to edit most
- files in the database. Since most of the data is interconnected more
- than one file might have to be changed during an edit routine. The
- editor works with the main data file PCOVE.PCD, WHO.PCD, TEAM.PCD and
- PIRATES.PCD, adjusting the data where needed. If you try to alter
- data in a way other than the way it must be handled warning messages
- are displayed. If you try to alter a record so the player has
- treasure on board when there is no treasure you get a warning about
- your procedure and you are returned without changing any data. In
- this case you must add the treasure before you change the other flags
- (most are changed for you automatically).
-
- An example of adding a person to a team is to change record <K>
- to whatever team you want to put the player on or return to that
- team. You just type in the record number and press <ENTER>. The
- program looks up the team name, inserts it in the player's records
- and updates the team data to reflect the changes in the current
- status. If the player has a score this is added to the Team data. You
- can delete a person from a team or you can change teams using the <K>
- option from the Player List.
-
- The team information that is directly changeable is the team
- name, password or delete all data from the team record. What the
- deletion means is to delete all members from the team but to keep the
- team name and password intact.
-
- The editor is a very complex program and it might still contain
- problem areas. It is difficult to test all circumstances under all
- conditions. If the editor needs an option(s) please contact me. It is
- my hopes that no one has to use the editor. It's main function is to
- let you change players names once they are entered which the players
-
-
-
-
-
- cannot do from inside the main program. The other function is to
- restore data that might become corrupt for unknown reasons without
- having to delete the database (erase *.PCD) and start over again.
-
- Some of the data in the editor uses defaults and if you choose
- an option that uses defaults do not think that nothing has changed.
- An example of this is the date the user was last on, option <G>. If
- you press "G" the current date is put into the current data. If you
- give a player treasure the program automatically sets the maturity
- date for three days (current day + 2).
-
- If you have to use the editor and it is too confusing please let
- me know and I will try to write more detailed instructions. At this
- time it seems pretty straight-forward with the menus and options
- clearly displayed. Or so I believe! (grin)
-
- If scores are getting too high you can just "ERASE *.PCD" and
- delete all current user data. It would seem to me that if the program
- is real active you might consider a monthly rollover, if not, set it
- up as a quarterly rollover. This gives newer players a chance to
- start even with other players. Of course how you handle the program
- on you BBS is up to you. These are only suggested guidelines.
-
-
- HELLO.TXT
-
- There is an optional message routine that can be initiated by
- the sysop(s). Please see the included sample file HELLO.TXT. A
- maximum of 97 lines. I had to put some kind of limit on it since
- PCMAINT.EXE may use it depending on your setup. You can display one
- line messages during entry into the door. They appear just before the
- "Welcome back" is displayed after user data is loaded into memory.
- Any word processor that can produce an ASCII file (DOS text file) can
- be used including EDLIN. The first four digits are the date (MMDD),
- maximum length for the data is 79 characters. If you exceed this
- length the extra characters will be ignored. Here is an example of an
- entry for Christmas Day;
-
- 1225Merry Christmas
-
- This would display "Merry Christmas" on the 25th of December.
- The entries can be in any sequence. The program scans all records in
- the file and looks for matches for the current month and day (MMDD).
- The file must be named "HELLO.TXT." It is named .TXT so that if you
- do a roll-over and delete all the *.PCD files you do not delete your
- messages as well. If the file is not present in the default directory
- the routine is ignored.
-
- DO NOT TO USE A COMMA (,) OR QUOTATION MARK (") IN THE ASCII
- FILE, but under the following conditions: If you want to use a comma
- inside of your text make sure that you put a quotation mark as the
- first and last character:
-
- "0101Hello, Joe, nice to have you back"
-
-
-
-
-
- This makes the record as if it were written using BASIC's WRITE
- command. Using a comma within the text, without a quotation mark as
- the first and last characters in the string, the data after the comma
- is ignored and considered part of the next record. Without a leading
- date it is also ignored as a next record.
-
- If you have a message you want repeated each day use 9999 and it
- is displayed everyday. This is can also be used in text that has
- quotation marks.
-
- "9999Good hunting, pirates. Keep your powder dry!"
-
- This message would appear everyday. Say you are running a
- quarterly contest giving away six month subscriptions. You could put
- a message telling people the contest is on, perhaps telling them when
- it is going to start or end, even tell people when the program is
- going to roll over (this can now be automated).
-
- "9999The program rolls over on the 1st"
-
- And then on the first you can remove this message. You can have
- more than one "9999" dated message. You must press (ENTER) after each
- message line. It might make multiple line messages seem somewhat
- strange but I had to do this because the displays that followed, or
- many messages, could scroll messages right off the screen. Pressing
- (ENTER) controls the scrolling.
-
-
- Rollover Messages
-
- If you are not using HELLO.TXT the option is skipped, but if you
- are using the ROLLOVER option PCMAINT.EXE will create a HELLO.TXT
- when the first rollover is executed. If you are using the HELLO.TXT
- option PCMAINT.EXE on rollover will add three lines to the file.
- These will be dated the month before the next rollover on the 15th,
- 20th and 25th of the month. This will inform the users when the next
- rollover is going to take place. There is no need for the sysop to
- add a rollover messages unless the sysop wants to.
-
- When PCMAINT.EXE performs the rollover it reads in HELLO.TXT and
- looks for "Rollover" following the four character date. If found it
- deletes the line from the file. When finished rewrites out the
- original file plus three new lines with the rollover message. Sample:
-
- 0215Rollover on March 1, 1993
- 0220Rollover on March 1, 1993
- 0225Rollover on March 1, 1993
-
- This message would then be displayed on the 15th, 20th and 25th
- of February. If you want a similar message to come up on your first
- rollover you have to add it yourself using the above format or use
- the auto-configure if you want the default 90 days and the HELLO.TXT
- file created/updated. After the first rollover PCMAINT.EXE will
- delete and add lines as needed using your preset value (30,60 or 90).
-
-
-
-
-
- I have tried to automate as much of the program as possible so
- that the sysop, who has enough to do, does not have to worry about
- this door. If there is something you want added please let me know.
-
-
- PLAYING THE GAME
-
- Pirate's Cove is a multi-player program where you play as an
- individual as well being able to play on teams. Play is on a 16x16
- grid, the island is 12x12 grid. The object of the game is to sink as
- many Treasure Galleons as you can, bury the treasure on Pirate's Cove
- Island for three days, dig it up and transfer it to grid row one
- where it is converted into points. You also get bonus points for
- sinking other pirates plus any treasure they might be carrying.
-
- You get 18 turns per day, 5 if you are carrying treasure. Your
- ship is diminished by 10% each time it is hit by a galleon or another
- pirate. When you fire at another ship, pirate or galleon, you can be
- hit, the other can be hit, both can be hit or both miss. If you reach
- 0% you are sunk. When you are sunk you cannot play until the next
- day.
-
- The other pirates may fire at you when you come across them. The
- odds are 50x50 on all options and in the following order: They do
- nothing, they shoot and miss, or they shoot and hit you. If there are
- more than one pirate in a sector each one, in turn, may take a shot
- at you.
-
- There is even a British Fleet that is randomly placed on the
- playing grid each time the user enters the program. The British Fleet
- always attacks you causing 20 percent damage. This was to add a
- little more randomness to the play.
-
- You can go gambling on Pirate's Cove Island at Rosa's Casino
- where most anything can, and often does, happen. A pirate has to
- watch their back here all the time...
-
- With registration you receive a serial number that disables the
- "Unregistered BBS" and enables the bulletin. The bulletin is a two
- part display. Part one is ALL players, points and current status; the
- second part is the team standings. Now written out in color and non-
- color versions. What follows is an example of the bulletin that is
- generated for the BBS.
-
- =============================================================
- Pirate's Cove Standings as of 19:18, 11-26-1992
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- Pirate's Name Individual Points Team # Status
- =============================================================
- Cap'n Blight......................16000........3 afloat
- Capt Squid.........................7300........3 dead, 11-18
- Captain Hook.......................4500........1 afloat
- Long John Pewter...................2500........2 afloat
- Leng Deng Duc......................1500........2 sunk, 11-19
-
-
-
-
-
- Long John Silver......................0........0 afloat
- -------------------------------------------------------------
- There are currently 6 pirates on the grid
- =============================================================
- Team Name Total Team Points Team #
- ====================================================
- Swashbucklers.....................23000........3
- Gold Diggers.......................4500........1
- The Blue Falcon....................4000........2
- ====================================================
-
- There is a current player standings option inside the program so
- that players are not at a complete loss if your version is not yet
- registered (bulletin option disabled). The internal display only
- shows players and their current status in sorted order. An example of
- the internal display follows:
-
- Pirate's Cove Player Standings as of 19:18:34, 11-26-1992
- Cap'n Blight.......................16000
- capt squid..........................7300
- Captain Hook........................4500
- Long John Pewter....................2500
- Leng Deng Duc.......................1500
- Long John Silver.......................0
-
-
- OTHER STUFF
-
- The program is hard coded for a maximum of 48 players and 12
- teams with a maximum of four players per team. The program, including
- Door Patch uses up to buffer five.
-
- What is needed to run the program is its own directory; If you
- are tight for space you can delete the *.DOC files and READ.ME.
- HELLO.TXT is optional. All other files are needed. PCOVE.EXE and
- PCMAINT.EXE generate all other necessary files. Any file ending in
- .CFG can be used (PCOVE PCOVE.CFG).
-
- If you have comments on the program, please feel free to contact
- me. Also, if program errors develop, please contact me at once so
- that corrections can be made.
-
- Usable idea's for door programs (games or anything else) will
- provide the donor BBS with a free, registered, copy of that
- particular program. This is my way of saying "Thank you" for your
- program ideas.
-
- At this time the programs are written to work on any computer
- with an eighty column screen. These are my current doors: Music
- Review for entering reviews on music recorded on any medium: Software
- Review that is used to do reviews on Public Domain, Freeware and
- Shareware programs; Movie View where reviews are done on all kinds of
- movies; BBS Review where users enter reviews on various BBS systems;
- Book Review where users can enter reviews on any kind of books;
-
-
-
-
-
- Community Service (Public Service Announcements) that is used to list
- local and nearby activities; Restaurant Review for doing reviews on
- your favorite eateries; Wine Review for doing reviews on your
- favorite wines, goes hand in hand with Restaurant Review; BBS Door
- Review for viewing BBS doors (mainly for users to use); The Rime List
- Door for viewing the worldwide RelayNet nodes; GT Power List for
- viewing the worldwide GT Power BBS network.
-
- I have a game called Gotcha! where the user tries to see how
- many doors can be picked before they are caught. As of this writing
- this is now an enhanced version.
-
- Registration is for one BBS/Network configuration! More than one
- copy may run on the same BBS/Network at the same location. If the
- program changes new holder must pay an update fee, which may include
- a new serial number (if BBS name is different), most current release,
- and registration name changed in my records.
-
- Also please supply me with your BBS data telephone number as
- well as voice telephone number. This is for my records. Several
- people have registered doors and never given me any telephone
- numbers. I would imagine it difficult to have a BBS without a
- telephone.
-
-
-
- J A M E S H U C K A B E Y
- software with a heart
- DATE:
- James Huckabey
- 3621-A Fraser Street
- Bellingham, Washington 98226
- ===============================================================================
- QUANTITY| DESCRIPTION | | TOTAL
- ===============================================================================
- | Registration of Pirate's Cove (PCOVE.EXE) | 20.00 |
- | For current copy of software U.S. please add | 2.00 |
- | Outside U.S. please add | 4.00 |
- | Please check disk type below. | |
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- | Upgrade from earlier version to current | FREE |
- | version send diskette with return postage. | |
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- | Registration of any two to three doors | 35.00 |
- | at one time ($17.50 each). | min. |
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- | Registration of four or more doors at | 60.00 |
- | one time ($15.00 each). | min. |
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- | 1 set of all door software on your diskettes | FREE |
- | in your postage paid mailer. | |
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- (prices are subject to change) SUBTOTAL |
- (Washington state residents please add 7.6%) SALES TAX |
- ==============
- (U.S. funds only) GRAND TOTAL |
- check or money order payable to James Huckabey
- ................................................................................
- FROM:
- NAME:
- -------------------------------------------------------
- ADDRESS:
- -------------------------------------------------------
- CITY:
- -------------------------------------------------------
- STATE & ZIP:
- -------------------------------------------------------
-
- DATA PHONE NO: VOICE PHONE NO:
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Please supply name of BBS to be added to program(s). It may include other
- data up to forty-five characters. This is to be on one line of code and must be
- legible. I cannot be responsible for unreadable data. Please print. Case
- sensitive!
-
- Example: "Jim's Graphics BBS". In the program it comes out:
-
- This program is registered to
-
- Jim's Graphics BBS
-
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- 1.44 meg [ ] 720K [ ] 1.2 meg [ ] 360K [ ]