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1992-03-03
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DungeonMap
==========
A Programmer's Plea
-------------------
SID is shareware. If you find this program useful, please send $ to:
Bill Elliot
727 94 Ave SW.,
Calgary, Alberta
T2V 0X8
Some suggested amounts are as follows:
$5 - You like the software
$10 - You like the software, and would like a copy of the next upgrade.
$25 - You like the software, and would like a copy of the next upgrade
and a copy of the source.
If outside Canada and the US, and are choosing the $10 or $25 option,
please add an extra $4 for the extra international postage & handling.
Even if you think that DungeonMap is terrible, I would appreciate a letter
giving me CONSTRUCTIVE ideas on how I can improve it.
Please promote the shareware system by making a contribution to the authors
of the shareware products you commonly use. There are many advantages to
the shareware system:
-- You can receive quality programs at a decent price. Had this been
a commercial program, you could expect to pay at least $19.95.
-- You can thoroughly examine a shareware program before reimbursing
the author. Once you've purchased a commercial program, however,
you're stuck with it.
-- You promote the creation of a number of exciting and diverse
programs that would otherwise not reach the public if commercial
marketing was the only alternative.
Along with your $, please send your name, address, and the version number
of DungeonMap that you are currently using. This can be found by displaying
the Information requester located in the Program menu.
Disclaimer
----------
DungeonMap is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, either expressed
or implied. By using DungeonMap, you agree to accept the entire risk as to
the quality and performance of the program. Bill Elliot will not accept any
liability for this product.
Legal Bits...
-------------
Now, for the legal stuff. You don't need to read this unless you plan on
uploading, distributing, marketing, or stealing DungeonMap...
DungeonMap is © Copyright 1992 by Bill Elliot
All Rights are Reserved Worldwide
DungeonMap is freely distributable as long as all of the following
conditions are met:
1) All of the files must be included in their original form without
additions, deletions, or modifications of any kind. Any such
modifications must appear in separate files.
2) All copyright notices must remain intact.
3) DungeonMap may not be sold commercially alone or as a component in
another product.
4) DungeonMap may not appear on shareware or public domain disks for
which the consumers are charged more than a nominal disk copying fee
of seven dollars (US $7) per disk.
5) DungeonMap may not appear on any electronic service which charges
more than the basic access fee to download DungeonMap.
6) DungeonMap may not appear on any electronic service that claims
copyrights to uploaded programs, either alone or as part of a
collection.
If you would like a variance to any of the above conditions, please contact
me for written permission.
Now, on to DungeonMap (IE. What your really reading this for)...
Software Requirements
---------------------
This software was written and tested on AmigaDos versions 1.3 and 2.0. So
it should run on most machines. It has not been tested with ENFORCER, as I
don't have an MMU (If any one does test it with ENFORCER and finds a
problem, please drop me a note and tell me).
DungeonMap uses the REQ.LIBRARY. Since I hate getting shareware software
that requires some special library and does not include it, I have included
the library and a routine to install the library for those that don't have
REQ.LIBRARY. Future releases may not need this library, as I intend to
convert over to use the new ASL.LIBRARY of AmigaDos 2.0 (once I get some
docs on using the new routines of AmigaDos 2.0).
Using DungeonMap
----------------
DungeonMap is intended to be used as an aid to Dungeon Masters (DM's) for
creating dungeons (and eventually towns) for use in Dungeons & Dragons
(D&D). But, you can use it for what ever you like. The legend says "Door"
and "Arch". But, these can be interpreted any way you please (Eg. Door's
could be locked or secret doors, and Arch's could be open or unlocked
doors). Just use your imagination. For the most part the program is self
explanitory. I'll just cover some of the more subtle points/features.
Loading Saved Maps...
DungeonMap will first look for a directory (in what ever directory you
ran DungeonMap from) called DATA. If DATA is found DungeonMap will
display the files in this directory. Otherwise, it will display the files
in the current directory. NOTE: All files saved by DungeonMap are forced
to have a suffix of ".DAT". Therefore, only files ending in ".DAT" are
displayed. This helps save some time scrolling through other unrelated
files.
As the dungeon data is loaded, messages are displayed in the drag bar
after every 100 nodes are loaded. This gives you some idea of what is
happening during those long loads (Eg. a 1400 node map).
Saving Maps...
The same proceedure as above is used for selecting which directory to
display files from. But, this selection process is only for the first
save or load. The requester will keep the directory you may change it
to (at least till you quite the program).
Creating new dungeons...
This is really what you're here for. You will be presented with a
requester which asks how about the size of dungeon to create and how you
want it created. (IE. What proportion of the exits will be OPEN, WALLS,
DOORS, and ARCHS). Just a warning on size. I would not try anything
larger than say 1400 nodes. Even this will take a very long time. The
current method for finding undefined nodes is not the best and will have
problems once the 2 sides of the display area are all used up.
If you get tired of waiting for the dungeon to be completed, or you have
enough dungeon created, then the process can be stopped. Just select the
NEW option again. You will notice that the while creating a maze the
NEW option will read "STOP MAZE".
There are a few of messages you wll see displayed in the drag bar, while
the maze is being created. They, and their meanings are as follows:
"Creating maze of xxx nodes. yyy nodes created."
This is just a progress report saying that xxx nodes of the requested
yyy nodes have been created. You will also see the maze being drawn as
it is created.
"Searching maze for UNDEFINED exit..."
As the maze is created, the computer is wandering around the maze
looking for undefined exits from defined nodes. If no undefined exits
are found randomly, it will simply stop, display this message, and then
do a sequential search of all defined nodes looking for an undefined
exit. Then it will continue with the maze creation.
"Choosing a new start point for maze generation..."
If the above search for an undefined exit finds that there are none,
a new one is created at random on one of the two sides. Then the
dungeon creation will continue from there.
Editing the maze...
Just click the mouse close to a wall, door, arch, or opening to change it
to the item selected under menu item "Change to". The selection process
looks at each node like it had a diagonal cross through it, and selects
the exit from the node that it is in. This is easier to visualize with a
picture. So....
Exit
+--------+
|\ /|
| \ / | <------- Entire square is a node on the map.
| \ / |
Exit | \/ | Exit
| /\ |
| / \ |
| / \ |
|/ \|
+--------+
Exit
If you try to create an exit on an undefined node, the node will be made
defined (IE, turned grey). If this was an accident and you want the node
to be undefined (IE. white), then just select "Change to - Undefined" and
click the mouse anywhere on the node.
Printing the maze...
While the dungeon map is being printed, you sometimes want to cancel the
printout. This could be because you chose the option by accident or
because it is taking too long (due to the print density chosen). Well,
this is no problem. While a dungeon is printing the print option will
read "STOP PRINT". Just select this option again and the print will be
stopped. This should happen immediately. The only output that should
still be printed is just what is already in the printers internal buffer.
The printing controls for DungeonMap are all controlled via your
preferences (set through Workbench). Note: that B/W gives a much better
print out over grey scale, and that density 2 is usually good enough.
Choosing a maze type...
This is a dummy menu option for now. It is going to be active in a
future release. See future plans below.
Exiting from DungeonMap...
If you are printing, creating a new maze, or haven't saved your most
recent creation/change, them you will be told this, and asked what you
wish to do about it. I believe in graceful exits.
Future Plans for DungeonMap
---------------------------
I have a lot I would like to do with DungeonMap. The following are a few
of my ideas and a rough grouping of them into releases. This is only
tentative. So if you would like to see an option sooner, or have any
other ideas, just drop me a note and I'll see what I can do.
V1.0
- This release.
V1.1
- Creation of town type mazes with streets, buildings, and town squares.
- Allow background printing of one maze while the next is being created.
- Improve the speed and quality of the creation method.
V1.2
- Allow the random creation and editing of encounters in dungeons & towns.
These encounter decriptions will be able to be specified by the user
& the user will be able to specify a maximum number of occurances in
the map.
- Create Icons for data files, and allow starting of DungeonMap from the
Icon.
- Save the configuration options in the program Icon.
V2.0
- Convert to ADos 2.0 ASL.LIBRARY from REQ.LIBRARY.
- Allow for mazes which are larger than a single screen. This will
require the ability to scroll the maze on the screen.
- Convert appearance to conform to 2.0 look and feel. Some of this will
be done throughout the prior releases. But, this will be a complete
review to ensure it conforms to the Amiga Style Guide.
Another Way to Contact Me + An Ad
---------------------------------
I am also on the Amiga Users of Calgary (AMUC) bulletin board on a fairly
regular basis. This is the first BBS to use the full power of the Amiga's
ability to multitask. Some of it's features are:
- It has a mouse and pull-down menu driven interface.
- A 2.0 look and feel.
- Can download, upload, read your messages, take part in an on-line
conference ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
- While a file is downloading, and you see another file you want, you
can just add it to the list to be downloaded.
- There are already 2 offline readers available for it, with the
ability to do offline responding.
You can use a regular ASCI terminal package to access the BBS initially to
get a copy of the special required terminal package. This term package is
what gives all the above features. Just look for a file called "TERMnn.LZH".
The most current version, as of this writing, is TERM81.LZH.
The phone numbers to call are:
(403)284-5624
(403)284-5625
(403)282-5137