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============================================================ Table Of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------ INTRODUCTION...............................................1 INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION.............................2 SYSTEM SETTINGS..........................................3 GAME SETTINGS............................................4 LINE SETTTINGS...........................................7 PLAYER EDITOR............................................9 QUESTION PACK EDITOR.....................................9 TRIVDEN COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS...........................10 RUNNING TMD FROM YOUR BBS USING A BATCH FILE..............10 PROGRAM MAINTENANCE.......................................11 TRIVPACK COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS........................11 EXTERNAL FILES............................................12 PROGRAM SUPPORT...........................................13 LICENSING INFORMATION.....................................13 SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT..............................13 LIMITED WARRANTY..........................................14 ============================================================ ===================================================================== T R I V I A M A S T E R ' S D E N ===================================================================== Version 3.00 Copyright 1996 by John Parlin All Rights Reserved INTRODUCTION The all-new, complete rewrite of the 1.x and 2.x versions which were last updated in 1990! Every scrap of code and documentation has been rewritten from scratch to bring you and your users the best in a uniquely hosted, bulletin board-based trivia game. The Trivia Master's Den allows you to to assign a user of your BBS as the Trivia Master who sees to the complete administration of the game. This can be a fun assignment for the right user and makes for an interactive trivia game that is fun for all users. If you don't want to assign a Trivia Master (TM), the Trivia Master's Den allows you to run in Free Running mode which means that all users have the ability to enter questions under the same provisions as the Trivia Master would. Free Running mode means that I, as a player, would have the ability to enter a limited number of questions into the database each day. I would then be responsible for grading answers to those questions, if necessary. I could also participate in the game by entering answers to questions posted by other players. This allows me the player to compete in the game and help with upkeep at the same time. And getting started is easy using external question packs. These question packs come packed with trivia that can be imported into the game by using the TrivPack maintenance program. A third and final consideration in regards to Free Running mode is that you can have an assigned TM *AND* allow limited player participation in terms of entering/grading questions/answers. Just assign a TM and turn Free Running mode ON. Then limit the number of questions that players can enter each day. For example, the TM might enter 10 or more questions on any given day while limiting players to entering 1 question per day. This may be enough to throw in some variety. When you have this level of flexibility, all of the possibilities are difficult to explain. There are no solid rules when setting up. Only precautions, which are pointed out here and in the TRIVCFG program help. Any way you setup, you the Sysop need to do very little (if any) - 1 - maintenance. Pertinent database maintenance is done by the maintenance utility TRIVPACK.EXE. The rest is handled by the Trivia Master or the players themselves. You can also use Question Packs to "jump-start" your Trivia Den when you first start out. See the Question Pack Editor in the Installation and Configuration section later in this document. Most trivia games designed for BBS systems have many limitations when it comes to consistent data formats. For example, some always allow all users to enter questions. This can get messy if users don't use a consistent format or the program itself doesn't force one. Others use their own databases only which eventually become exhausted or require updating through update releases. Not the Trivia Master's Den (henceforth referred to as TMD). Yes, you can run TMD so that all users can enter questions, but TMD features allow for consistent question format. But more, TMD running with a Trivia Master (henceforth referred to as TM) means complete consistency since one person is in charge of administering the questions database. TMD supports automatic grading of questions during game play. Instead of players waiting for their answers to be graded by the host TM, many questions may be auto-graded for real-time grading and scoring. This is done using two types of formats. TMD offers both standard (free-form) and multiple-choice question formats. In standard mode, an "exact answer" mode is also supported. When standard-exact-answer or multiple-choice formats are used, the TMD can automatically grade player responses to questions. Only the standard non-exact answer responses must be graded by the Trivia Master. This type of flexibility allows the TM to provide a consistent, fast-paced game versus the completely manual process used in 1.x versions. The TMD also uses a question database history that TMD itself creates and maintains. This database grows as the game progresses and administration is automatic! Questions that are automatically removed due to age are stored in the historical database. The TM determines how old a stored question must be before it may be re-used again. So the historical database grows while also being managed. And you the Sysop have the ability to determine whether or not this feature is used (later in TRIVCFG > Game Settings). And if the historical database grows to be larger than the limit set forth for the questions database, it is truncated (oldest records are removed) automatically during maintenance. I would personally like to thank Al Chapman of Squiggy's Place BBS for inspiring me to rewrite this program. It took a lot of hours, but it was worth it. I hope you and your users will think so too. I would also like to thank Kurt Johnson (North Starr) for being an excellent TM throughout the development and testing process. Thanks guys! - 2 - INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION TMD was designed to be easy to install and maintain. By following these easy instructions, you'll be up and running in no time. There are three executable programs included in the distribution archive. These are: TRIVDEN.EXE The main program executable. This is the door program itself that is run from the BBS. TRIVCFG.EXE This is the configuration program to make your life easier. Use this to easily configure TMD to suit your system and your tastes. TRIVPACK.EXE This is the maintenance program. Run this from within your BBS maintenance routines (eg nightly message packing, etc.). This program performs the auto-answer, history, user and score card database administration routines. To get up and running, the first thing you need to do is to fire up TRIVCFG.EXE to configure TMD to run on your system using your preferred operating parameters. Pressing F1 on any prompt field will give you on-line help for that particular prompt. Each prompt is also documented here. For some, it is best to print this documentation first and then follow it while running through the installation. TRIVCFG is fully-menu driven. It is used to configure common system and game settings as well as specific line settings (used by each line or "node" you run). We'll start at the top of the first menu with System Settings. SYSTEM SETTINGS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BBS Name: This is the BBS name that you wish to use with the program. This is the BBS name that you should specify when filling out the registration form (TRIVDEN.REG). System Operator Name: This is the BBS System Operator (Sysop) name that you wish to use with the program. This is the Sysop name that you should specify when filling out the registration form (TRIVDEN.REG). Drop File Type: TMD supports DORINFO1.DEF (and DORINFOx.DEF) as well as DOOR.SYS drop file formats. These are text files created by your BBS software when a - 3 - caller runs the TMD door program. TMD obtains information about the current user online such as the player's name and time remaining. Press <SPACEBAR> to toggle this setting to the format used by your BBS. Registration Number: This is the registration number you received when you registered TNT. Adopted By: This is the optional name of a user who may have adopted (registered) TMD for you. This is used only when TMD has been registered. The name entered here is given credit in the program introduction screen. GAME SETTINGS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The next menu section is for Game Settings. These settings determine the operating parameters for the game itself. All of these settings may be edited here initially, and some can later be changed by an assigned Trivia Master should you choose not to run Free Running mode (explained later). Keep in mind that there are 2 distinct methods of running the program. The game can either be hosted by a Trivia Master or run by the users and the Sysop (Free Running mode). If Free Running mode is disabled, the game is hosted by a Trivia Master that you assign. Otherwise, the game still has a Trivia Master to oversee things but players themselves post and administer their own questions. The TM always has priveleged access which allows the use special commands for administering the game. The individual game settings that you can define are explained in detail below. These settings may be later changed by the Trivia Master. Trivia Master's Name: This is the BBS user name of the Trivia Master you want to assign. If you're using Free Running mode, set this to your own BBS user name. If you are assigning a host Trivia Master, enter the BBS user name of the person assigned. The person whos name is here will have rights to the Trivia Master Services Menu from within the game. - 4 - Name of this Trivia Den: This is the name of the Trivia Den. You give your Den its own name. Enter a name up to 40 characters long. How many days ANSWERED + INACTIVE questions be will be retained?: Once a question is answered, players generally don't post further comments against them. You can specify how long a question will be retained if it is inactive (no comments being posted against it). For example, if set to 7, questions that have been answered will be removed if there has been no response activity for 7 or more days. TRIVPACK.EXE performs this function. How many days inactive players should be retained?: When players log-on only never to return, you can specify the number of days they will be retained. Just enter the number of days and TRIVPACK.EXE will take care of the rest. How many days before questions should be auto-answered?: When no one can answer a question within this specified number of days, it can be auto-answered because the correct answer is stored along with the question. Just specify the number of days that a question can be left unansswered and TRIVPACK.EXE will do the rest. What is the maximum number of questions for the database?: The larger the questions database, the more disk space and time is used while operating. This setting really allows you to specify a much larger questions database size. The default is 100 questions which is usually sufficient but if you'd like it larger or, for some reason smaller, you have the freedom to choose. How many historic questions should be re-used each day?: When TRIVPACK removes inactive, answered questions, it stores the question in a separate historical database. Only questions not already stored are saved. Then, each time TRIVPACK is run, the number of questions you specify here will be re-posted from the historical database to the questions database. To disable the use of a historical database altogether, set this field - 5 - to 0. See the next prompt as well. How many days old must a question be before it can be re-used?: To ensure that re-posted questions are not re-posted too frequently, you specify how old they have to be before they can be re-posted. Each time a question is saved TO the historical database or re-posted FROM the historical database, the question's date is saved. It will not be re-posted again for the number of days you specify here. How many questions should be stored in the historic database? If a historical database is used, this value determins how many questions will be maintained. The historical database is like a circular file of records. When the file reaches the size specified here, the oldest questions are removed as new questions are added. It is recommended that this setting be at least the same as the maximum size of the question database. Should game run in Free Running mode (players post questions)?: You should consider this option carefully. This is probably the option that most effects how the game operates. As explained earlier, Free Running mode allows you to be the Trivia Master to oversee things while players themselves post and administer their own questions. Players cannot get credit for answering their own questions but they can answer other player's questions. When this is set to on, you can limit the number of questions players may enter into the database on any given day (see next field). So if you can't get or don't want an assigned TM, you can still have a fun game run by the players themselves. If you enter NO to Free Running mode, you can assign a Trivia Master to oversee the game. This should be someone you trust with the program and is an assignment that requires a certain amount of dedication to the game. But there are also built-in features that make the Trivia Master's life much easier than previous versions. How many questions can players post per day in Free Running mode?: If you chose Free Running mode, this is the number of questions each player may post per day. A good setting would be 3 but of course you have the freedom to choose differently. - 6 - How many Make-Up Days can players use per day?: This feature allows players to enter answers (take turns) for days they previously missed (did not enter the game). Whenever a player enters TMD, the current day (of month) is marked as having been played. Enter 0 to disable this feature or enter a maximum value of 10. WARNING: This feature assumes that the TM is maintaining a MONTHLY tournament. Outside of a monthly tournament (longer or shorter), this feature is not applicable. Since the TM manually ends the game, this should be taken under consideration. When the Player Score Card is zeroed by the TM (game ended), all player Make-Up Day fields are reset. LINE SETTTINGS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When running TRIVDEN.EXE, you tell it the line number entry to use. For example, if you fire up TMD using the command line TRIVDEN.EXE 1 then TMD will load the communications and paths settings for line 1 specifically. Each line may be setup with different drop file paths and communications settings. This is achieved through the use of the Line Settings Editor. From within the editor you can press ALT-A to add a new line entry, ALT-D to delete the current entry or ALT-L to select another entry from a list of available entries. Line Number: This is the BBS line number for this line entry. For example, if the line entry being edited is for BBS line 2, enter 2 here. This is reflected on the status bar. DropFile Path: This is the path where the program will search for the drop file indicated by the DropFile Type setting (in the System Settings menu). If you do not specify a trailing backslash, one will be appended automatically. Communication Driver: This setting allows you to choose between using an installed FOSSIL driver or the internal ASYNC ENGINE. When using the ASYNC ENGINE, you can also specify non-standard communications port settings (see below). The recommended setting is to use the ASYNC ENGINE. Comm. Port Name: This setting can be changed only when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications - 7 - driver. Valid selections are COM1 through COM8 and LOCAL. Use the <SPACEBAR> to toggle this setting. By setting this field to LOCAL, you specify local mode operation for the profile being configured. NOTE: When selecting COM1 through COM4, default values are assigned to the Comm. Port Address and IRQ Number settings. These may then be changed manually. Comm. Port Address: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. This allows the use of non-standard communications port base addresses to be used. The "$" symbol which proceeds the base address denotes that the value is represented in hexadecimal format. When entering a value in this field, you should NOT include the "$" symbol. NOTE: When selecting standard addresses $03F8, $02F8, $03E8 or $02E8 a default value will be assigned to the IRQ Number setting. The IRQ Number setting can then be changed manually. Standard Port Standard Address Standard IRQ ============= ================ ============ COM1 $03F8 4 COM2 $02F8 3 COM3 $03E8 4 COM4 $02E8 3 When using COM5 through COM8, you should specify the correct base address and IRQ line number settings that you are using. If you are using an IBM PS/2, Address and IRQ line settings might be: - 8 - Standard Port Standard Address Standard IRQ ============= ================ ============ COM1 $03F8 4 COM2 $02F8 3 COM3 $3220 3 COM4 $3228 3 COM5 $4220 3 COM6 $4228 3 COM7 $5220 3 COM8 $5228 3 IRQ Number: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. Valid selections are 1 through 7. Locked Baud Rate: This setting can be changed when the ASYNC ENGINE is selected as the communications driver. If this is set to any value other than 0, the baud rate used to communicate with your modem will be equal to the value specified here. Valid entries are 0 (no lock), 9600, 19200, 38400 and 57600. PLAYER EDITOR ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This portion of the configuration program allows you to edit some of the aspects of individual user entries. This should not be done while a player (any player) is on-line. Some of the fields displayed are read-only and cannot be edited. QUESTION PACK EDITOR ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Question Pack editor in TRIVCFG is for editing 'Question Packs' which are intended for distribution among Sysops. Two formats are supported; multiple-choice and standard questions. Each is stored in its own database consisting of up to 255 records. The files that are created and used by this editor are: MULTIPLE.QES Question Pack of up to 255 multiple-choice questions. STANDARD.QES Question Pack containing up to 255 standard questions (exact answer and free-form. The Question Pack structure is an abbreviated form of the question database used by TMD. When the questions are imported into TMD, the remaining structure is "filled-in". This makes for small distribution archives. - 9 - Use this editor to add, edit, or delete questions. Build your own question database and share it with others. Unpack someone else's question packs and use them. You get the idea. The fields in the editor are easy to follow and help is available at the press of the F1 key at any field. Be sure to see the section on PROGRAM MAINTENANCE below for more information about using TRIVPACK to import questions from Question Packs. TRIVDEN COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS TMD supports one other command-line parameter and that is the /A parameter. If this is used, it must be passed after the line number. This instructs TMD to read the player's BBS alias instead of the player's BBS real name from the DOOR.SYS drop file. If DORINFO1.DEF is the drop file being read, this parameter has no effect because DORINFO1.DEF only contains one name. Whether or not that name is the user's real name or alias is determined by how the BBS software generates it. Example: TRIVDEN.EXE 1 /A Read communications and path settings for line 1. If DOOR.SYS is the drop file being read, read the user's BBS alias instead of the user's BBS real name from the drop file. RUNNING TMD FROM YOUR BBS USING A BATCH FILE It's not the intent to provide instruction on batch file programming technique because it is assumed that if you can run a BBS, you already know about batch files. TMD is run by running the program TRIVDEN.EXE and passing the line number you want to load communications/paths settings for. For example, if you specify TRIVDEN.EXE 2 then TMD will load the Line Settings created in TRIVCFG for line 2. This makes batch file programming a snap. Just change to the TMD directory and run TMD with the line or "node" number of your BBS and if you set your Line Settings correctly in TRIVCFG.EXE you're up and running. Example batch file assuming that the BBS node number is passed to the batch file: - 10 - @echo off cd \bbs\trivia trivden %1 cd \bbs\node%1 Hopefully, this is a clear enough explanation without having to go into too many details. PROGRAM MAINTENANCE TMD is maintained through the use of a maintenance program called TRIVPACK.EXE. This program should be run daily (or nightly) during your routine BBS maintenance tasks. This program sees to the maintenance of the databases and performs functions such as user and question database maintenance, auto-answering and auto-posting of questions, and more. Without running this program periodically, the databases can become unmanageable and inefficient. To perform routine maintenance, TRIVPACK.EXE is run without any command line parameters. It knows what to do based on the system and game settings you specified in TRIVCFG.EXE. TRIVPACK COMMAND LINE PARAMETERS TRIVPACK supports the following command-line parameters which affect program operation. ? Shows help for command line parameters and functions. After displaying the help, the program ends. /R Instructs the program to perform a restart. A restart kills the current game in progress and deletes ALL database files (*.DAT files) as well as index files (*.IDX files). This includes historical database (HISTORY.DAT) but does not include Question Packs. This feature is intended for use only when you want to start all the databases over from scratch. You'll be prompted for confirmation first, though. /I Imports questions from external Question Packs. You can import questions from a Question Pack into TMD by passing the additional command-line paramters. You can import multiple- choice questions, standard questions, or both. You also specify how many questions to import. Examples: TRIVPACK /I Imports (/I) ALL qualified questions from the multiple-choice AND standard Question Packs. Questions not previously exported from the Question - 11 - Packs will be imported. TRIVPACK /I /M 10 Imports from the multiple-choice (/M) Question Pack. Up to 10 qualified questions will be imported. TRIVPACK /I /S 10 Imports from the standard (/S) Question Pack. Up to 10 qualified questions will be imported. When a question is imported, it is marked in the Question Pack as having been exported. This flag may be cleared through the editor in TMD if you want to re-import the questions. EXTERNAL FILES There are several files used by TMD that are customizable and/or optional. These files reside in the ANSFILES directory off the TMD directory and include: TMASTER.DOC This is a MEMO from me to the person you select as your TM. This gives an overview of the TM's job and the TM features of the game. RULES.TXT The TM sets the rules for the game and this text file should be created/edited by your TM so that users can display the rules from within the game. A default file is included. WELCOME.TXT This is the TM's personally-customized welcome screen which is displayed to all players each time they play. A simple sample is included. TRIVIA.ANS This is a program introduction ANSI screen. If you feel there are too many screens at login, or would like to customize the introduction ANSI screen, this one is optional and can be deleted or freely-customized. ????MENU.ANS If ANSI menu help files exist, they are displayed when a player requests help by pressing the "?" key from a menu. These files are optional. If they do not exist, TM displays an internal replacement. GRAPH.ANS This is the ANSI screen for the score percentages graph. QGRAPH.ANS This is the ANSI screen for the question database - 12 - statistics graph. CALENDAR.ANS This is the ANSI screen for the make-up days calendar function. PROGRAM SUPPORT You can find me and the latest version of Trivia Master's Den at Squiggy's Place BBS (Al Chapman) at 612-458-9799, Fidonet 1:282/70.0. If you file request TMD, I would recommend requesting TMD*.* to ensure you get the latest version. My programs are also available from The Gondor BBS (Kevin Jendro) at 804-872-0543, Fidonet 1:271/380.0. I can also be reached through the Fidonet DOORWARE conference. I drop in on that echo from time to time. LICENSING INFORMATION This Software is Licensed, not sold. The Software in this package is licensed according to the terms of the following agreement: SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT IMPORTANT: Please read this license agreement before using this software. By using this software you acknowledge your agreement to the terms of this license. If you do not wish to follow the terms of this license agreement, you must remove this software from your system. The only portion of the software that you may retain is the distribution archive itself which may be used solely for distribution purposes. This program is not guaranteed to do anything but take up disk space. It was written for a DOS-based platform. This means that if you run another operating system and have problems, you're basically on your own. This program should operate fine under Windows 3.1x though I do not specifically test for it. - DEFINITIONS The term "Software" as used in this agreement means the full system and all utility computer programs contained in the distribution archive, together with any updates subsequently supplied by John Parlin. The term "Related Materials" means all the printed materials provided in this package or later supplied by John Parlin for use with the - 13 - Software. - TERMS You are granted a limited license to use this software for a sixty-day trial period. You are encouraged to run this software for the full sixty-day period to ensure proper operation. After expiration of the trial period, you must either register with the author or remove the Software from your system. No special "demo" key files are required during the trial period. The registration fee is $20.00 U.S. Funds. A Registration Form is included in the distribution archive and is called TNT.REG. Once registered, you will receive a license to use the Software on your system for an indefinate period of time. You may copy the Software and documentation for backup purposes. You also may copy and share UNMODIFIED copies of the distribution archive, providing that the copyright notice is reproduced and included on all copies and no fee is charged for distributing the Software. You may not sell this software for a fee and/or distribute this software along with other products without express written permission from John Parlin, nor may you modify or remove the Copyright Notice from the program or the documentation. You may not transfer ownership of your software license without express written permission from John Parlin. You may not alter the machine-readable object files or program documentation files for any purpose including but not limited to; Defeating the internal key system structure for purposes of gaining an unlawful registration or; Modifying the program copyright notice or any other text therein. You also may not alter any embedded installation archives in such a way as to render them unreadable by program installation files used by the Software. Those who register this program within one year of the release date indicated at the beginning of this document, will receive a non-transferable registration number. This number will be delivered either by personal upload, or postal service. Allow up to 6 weeks for delivery to locations outside the continental U.S. For locations within the continental U.S., allow 2-6 weeks for delivery. All registrations are processed in a timely manner and usually only take a few days to deliver. However, when unforseen circumstances arise, registration turnaround times may be delayed. John Parlin reserves the right to revoke software licenses in lieu of any violation of the terms of this license agreement. - 14 - LIMITED WARRANTY THIS PRODUCT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS ASSUMED BY YOU. JOHN PARLIN DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF, RESULTS OF, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OF THE SOFTWARE. SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION. FURTHER, JOHN PARLIN DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF, OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE; AND YOU RELY ON THE SOFTWARE AND RESULTS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. JOHN PARLIN WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SYSTEM DAMAGE, SERVICE, REPAIR, CORRECTION, LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF SAVINGS, OR ANY OTHER INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT. - 15 -