ftp.wwiv.com/ftp.wwiv.com.zip/ftp.wwiv.com/pub/BBS/LODNEWS2.ZIP/LODNEWS2.TXT

Text File | 1992-07-28 | 23KB | 550 lines

                 Land Of Devastation News
                    Volume 1 Number 2

                  Editor: Scott M. Baker

Contents
 1) Welcome to Issue Number Two!......Scott Baker
 2) Version 3.30: Team Support........Scott Baker
 3) Some Tips for Advanced Players....Art Rainy
 4) Special Questing..................Gurlock The Almighty
 5) Crippleware/Bonusware/Delayware...Scott Baker
 6) The Death of Nuke Man.............Pit Bull (James Cox)
 7) Salvation of the Puritron I.......Pit Bull (James Cox)
 8) People I wish to thank............Scott Baker
 9) Letters to the Editor.............n/a

Welcome to Issue Number Two!
By Scott M. Baker

    Welcome to the second issue of LODNEWS. If everything
goes as planned, then this issue will be released on the
same date as Land of Devastation version 3.30 which has
some nice new features. (See the section about version
3.30 below)

    We're still running a bit low on user submissions. I
know there are many of you out there playing Land Of
Devastation, so how about sharing your knowledge and
strategies with the rest of us? Or why not personalize
your character by sending in a short story describing his
history?

    We'd really like to hear from you!

------------

Version 3.30: Team Support!
By Scott M. Baker

    I'm very excited about version 3.30 and I hope some of
you are too. This is the first version of LOD that has
team support built in! You can now band together with your
comrades! For you lower players out there, teaming up will
allow you to make some progress against those higher above
you.

    So what can a team of lower players do to fight
someone immensely larger than them? How about laying siege
to your enemy's fortresses? Although a fortress's defenses
may be great and powerful, a band of determined players
can exhaust the fortress's energy supply, effectively
neutralizing it's defenses. Then you just walk in and take
inventory of your new home! Or perhaps you sell out it's
defenses and self destruct the fortress! That ought to get
your adversary more than just slightly upset.

    A prime advantage for team play is a pooling of
resources. Sharing fortresses can be a great advantage.
For example, you may have more Warper/5's then you know
what to do with, but your friends may be in desperate need
for a warper. So, leave it in your fortress and your
teammate [assuming he has your fortress's password] can
pick it up when he needs it.

    Those are all things that you could previously do on
your own. So, what does the new built in team support
grant you?

    First of all, if you buy a smart mine and set it
somewhere, it is smart enough not only to spare your life
if you re-enter the area, but your teammates as well. The
nice thing about mines is that an adventurer never knows
how many are there. This element of uncertainty can allow
you to build up a decent defense around an important area
(such as your favorite fortress!)

    Secondly, your teammates can view the location of your
fortresses (with the fortlist ROM and with the fortress
teleporter command) and teleport to/from them for free.
This allows you to set up a "transportation network". One
of you could build and maintain a fortress by Sacre Base,
another by Freedom City, and another by the Death Warrior
camp. Instantly, you have the capability to travel between
three of the main cities!

------------

Some Tips for Advanced LOD Players
By Art Rainy

Warpers--The EM-Warp program always uses the highest
numbered warper in your inventory.  Free up inventory
slots by always placing your lowest numbered warper
highest in your inventory.  That should eliminate the
problem of two or three warpers with only one warp left on
them.

[Editors note: Making the EM-Warp program a bit smarter
about which Warper is used is on my list of things to do,
so the above may or may not be valid at the time you read
this]

Stealth fields and Inviroblurs--These units operate
cumulatively.  The use of multiple units can double your
chances of increasing those valuable experience points or
of surviving as you sneak away from dangerous territory.

Kill Objects--Most players quickly learn the advantage of
leaving items where they fall if they need neither its
cash value or its advantage in conflict. Thus they
exchange items of value and bypass Sacre Base.  However,
when most players have advanced into levels two and
higher, no player is interested in picking up daggers and
cloth armor.  It is to your advantage to kill those
useless objects and benefit from the janitorial fee.
Sysops might consider raising that fee to more than $5 per
unit to further temp players to clean up the board.

Map the Board--LOD's intrepid designer has included
editing capabilities that allow sysop's to modify the
design of the map.  Just because the Clone Center was at a
certain location in the last game does not imply that it
will remain there after a reset.  To avoid confusion about
locations prepare a 125 by 125 grid and map the locations
of obstructions as well as those of cities and camps.  You
can eliminate trips into cul-de-sacs and excessive danger
zones

--------------

Special Questing
By Gurlock The Almighty

[Editors note: The following gives information on solving
2 of LOD's special quests. Players who don't want the
secret "given away" may wish to skip this secion]

    Ok now, the best way that a starting player can get
going quickly is to use the quests.  Land Of Devastation
has many special quests.  There's hard ones and there's
easy ones.  I'll describe an easy one or two for you new
guys out there!

    The first thing that you should do is perform the
steaks special quest.  Do this when you are like level 2
or 3 (other wise you might get wasted).  Ok - here's what
you do: Follow the road that leaves sacre base and keep
going east.  If you come to any "T" intersections, then
choose the upper path.  At some point you'll enter zone
#2, so start running from all of monsters (otherwise
they'll waste you).  Eventually, you'll come to another
city. This city is freedom camp.  Now, follow the
mountains south of Freedom Camp.  You'll first see a pylon
(ignore it) and the as you continue, you'll run into the
horticulture center (HS).  Enter the HS, talk to the
manager, and pick up Troy's Steaks.  Then go back the way
you came - back to sacre base.  When you will return, you
will have won the first special quest!!!!!!!!

    The next quest is also pretty easy.  First you'll need
to buy a pylonkey.  Do this at either Sacre Base or
Freedom City. Remember that pylon you passed in the above
quest? Well, go back there.  Now, try all the code
combinations at the pylon.  Write down where you end up
with one. Important-- if you run into Xeboc, RUN FROM HIM!
or he'll waste you!!! Eventually, you'll find the
T.A.D.S.U.  When you find it, you've won another special
quest!!!!  (Now, you just gots to remember the right pylon
code [You wrote them down, right?] to get back to where
you cam from!]

    If I remember, you got like 5,000 experience for each
of those quests!  Wow!  For a beginner, that's a level or
two!!!  Plus you also get to talk to the tadsu and learn a
bunch of information!  And theres more! Once you buy a
laptop, you can go to the computer store and pickup Troy's
Rom and get a whole lot of info!!!

------------

Crippleware/Bonusware/Delayware
By Scott M. Baker

    As most of you notice, LOD is distributed in a manner
similar to shareware. The fully functional working version
is distributed to everyone. Those who like the program,
use it a lot, etc are supposed to send in a registration
fee (aka donation) to support it. Once a donation is
received, I enter their information into the Reglook door
on my bbs where they can call and pick up a code. The code
then enables the message "This copy is registered to xxxx.
Please thank your sysop for registering."

    I have had several sysops who have told me that this
is not enough incentive for them to register. They say
they would only register if they receive something above
the current version. They want their registered copy to be
something better than John Doe's unregistered copy across
town. They want users to appreciate the fact that they
have registered. Before I continue, let me explain a few
terms:

    Crippleware: In this method, the game is distributed
to the public with many of it's features disabled. Limits
on the number of players are imposed, etc. When the sysop
sends in the donation, he receives a "key" which enables
the full features.

    Bonusware: Very similar to crippleware, but the
philosophy is slightly different. The full version is
distributed, but sending in a donation will get the sysop
some sort of "bonus". Something like an external player
editor. The problem is, there is a fine line between
bonusware and crippleware. Is removing the editor
considered "crippling" a program or is the editor a
"bonus" for registered users?

    Delayware: This is where you put a delay in the
unregistered version. Something similar to "This copy is
unregistered. Please wait 10 seconds."

    Annoyware: Here we find other ways to annoy the sysop
into registering. We could throw up a long message on the
screen every time a user enters the door. We could put in
a message attacking the sysop for not registering, etc.

    As I said before, I don't currently use any of the
above methods. You get the full version whether you
register or not. Sysops who send in registrations simply
have the piece of mind of knowing they have paid for the
software, and of course, a message saying "Please thank
your sysop for registering."

    As more and more people keep telling me they think I
should do something more, I am starting to consider it.
After all, LOD is no small project - it does require a lot
of my time and I wouldn't mind an increase in donations.

    So what I would like is comments, what would people
think? Here is what I would do under each of the above
ideas:

    Crippleware: (Out of the question - I hate crippled
programs)

    Bonusware:   Only give registered sysops the editor
package (LODxxxE.ARJ)

    Delayware:   Add in a 5 or 10 second delay after the
"encourage your sysop to register" message.

    Annoyware:   Make the user read a screen at the end of
the game (i.e. when the user quits or camps out) about how
his sysop should register, how important registering
shareware is, etc.

    My question is, if I was to instate one of the above
policies, which one would people prefer? Right now, I like
the delay idea. 5 seconds isn't too long to turn people
off and it is long enough to make the "please register"
message stick in peoples' minds. If you have a response,
you can send it to me at the bbs number listed at the end
of this document.

------------

The Death of Nuke Man
By Pit Bull

    I woke up to an alarming situation. I was no longer
within the safe confines of my fortress - I was laying on
the bare wasteland. It is pure luck that I am alive. A
single Biomutant could have done me in while I slept
unprotected.
    But what had happened to my fortress? My protection
against this hellish land? I could just see it's
smoldering ruins a few meters to the east. The cause was
clear: Another warrior, one who should have been my
companion in this struggle for freedom, had ruthlessly
desecrated my base. He must pay.
    I bootup up my laptop which had luckily been spared
from the attack. I typed in the commands to retrieve the
previous few days log. And I waited.... waited... for the
name of the one who had done this. The name of the person
who would suffer my vengeance.
    And then it appeared: Nuke Man. Why had he done this
to me? Perhaps I shall never know. I had never met Nuke
Man personally. From the rankings posted in the troop
quarters, I could tell that he was nearly as good as
myself. Perhaps he was in need of some quick cash and my
glorious fortress caught his eye. Or perhaps he wanted the
glory of capturing the puritron parts himself.
    Something else caught my eye in the log. Those two
words would burn in my mind for the next two days:
"Fortress Constructed". After Nuke Man had destroyed my
own home, he had constructed himself a fortress. This
would be my vengeance. I will find his fortress and show
him that what goes around comes around.
    For two days I searched. Across the plains surrounding
Sacre Base, within the mountains around Freedom City. Even
as far as the EEEE center and then I found it. Hidden
around the bend amongst some impassable mountains.
    I leveled my phaser-3 at the base's defense field and
fired. Electric fire shot up when the two energy fields
met. By now, Nuke Man would be panicking with the sounds
of sirens and alarms. I entered the moat surrounding his
fortress and I saw it - the alligator ... It was
approaching fast. I tried to swim faster, but it was no
use - MY right leg was nearly town apart by it's jaws.
    Luckily I managed to reach the bank of the moat with
my life still intact. I slashed several times with my
electrolance, burning into Nuke Man's defense fields. I
took a few slugs from his robopistol. But I was more
powerful then his measly defense. The fortress's defense
field fell. Then it was just me and Nuke Man.
    He had an electroblade. He must have thought that he
would be able to handle me in my weakened condition - but
he was wrong for my dexterity and agility were much
greater than his. He lunged forward, hoping to stab me
with his electroblade. One quick swing with my
electrolance and the electroblade, along with the majority
of Nuke Man's hand and lower arm was now lying across the
room.
    He cried in pain and begged for his life. I was not
without mercy. I let him live. After all, I had gained a
new fortress - and I would not self destruct this one as
the foolish Nuke Man did when he conquered mine. I figured
that would be the last of Nuke Man - that he had learned
his lesson. But sadly, it was not so.
    The very next day the log showed an attempted attack
on my new fortress - by none other than Nuke Man. The log
simply said that he had perished. But I knew what had
happened. That alligator in the moat - the one that Nuke
Man had bought - had a very full belly that day.
    I hope this sad tale will convince those out there
that I, Pit Bull, am not to be toyed with. I have shown
mercy and let one evil one live, only to have him attack
my fortress the very next day. The next time someone
attacks one of my fortresses I may not show any mercy.
After all, the alligators do need to eat.

------------

Salvation of The Puritron Part I
by Pit Bull

    It was a lonely day in the wastelands. When I awoke, I
had no special feeling of greatness - no idea of the glory
that would come later in the afternoon. No idea that I
would earn my place in the great plaque of the puritron
room.
    I set out to do my usual exploring. First on my list
was the pylons. I had already mapped out two of the
locations and I was going to find the rest. These pylons
are of a powerful nature. Able to teleport matter all
around the wasteland. I wondered where the codes I would
try today would lead me.
    The first one took me out into Zone four somewhere.
Not a very pleasant place. I was nearly killed by a Black
Widow before I was able to escape back into the pylon and
get back to Zone two.
    The next one took me into some computer. The feeling
of disorientation was incredible. I think that I was
actually inside of the computer itself. The information
and insight I gained was incredible. Knowledge that would
help the fight for peace and the salvation of the
wasteland was in my grasp. I had also completed one of the
special quests. This day was shaping up tp be pretty good.
    Then I tried another pylon code. This one brought me
to a strange room. The walls were made of a metal that I
had never seen before - something from beyond this world.
I walked ahead. A lone humanoid stood before me. I yelled
"I am Pit Bull ... Of Sacre Base ... I come in search of
the lost Puritron Parts". The response I received was not
very pleasant.
    "I am Xeboc the almighty... Xeboc the all powerful...
I will destroy you!". I raised my weapons in preparation
for a fight. I sighted him in with my Comp Blaster. A
stream of electric death shot forward from my weapon...
and right into the wall next to Xeboc. Damn! I had missed.
    We clashed into hand to hand combat. I hit and he hit.
Then I missed. He missed. I hit and I hit again. Finally
he fell. I had succeeded! Or at least I thought. I was
tricked.
    The image before me vanished. I was fighting a
hologram. Xebocs voice came across the speaker, mocking
me. I would have to search elsewhere for this villain.
    I prepared to leave. But something caught my eye - it
was one of the puritron parts. I reached for it. I ran all
the way back to Sacre Base with my treasure.
    Defs Sacre and Troy Hadley were waiting for me. They
eagerly installed the part into the puritron room. "Well,
Pit Bull, you only have four more left to find" Defs Sacre
grinned.
    And then I rested, knowing that I had accomplished
something great that day.... and preparing for what would
lie ahead. I was sure I would have to face Xeboc again.
And it would not be a pleasant experience.

------------

People I Wish to Thank
Scott M. Baker

    In this section, I'm going to start listing a little
about the people who help me support LOD, who submit
information that isn't presented here.

    Anthony Malone: Anthony wrote up the nice history text
file that is used in the HISTORY ROM / special quest in
LOD. His story fit nicely into the game and is much
appreciated.

    Joseph Johnson: Joseph submitted me a very extensive
listing of combat strings for use in LOD. His board [place
bbs name here] at 212-893-2318 [Note: This is a correction
from the original LODNEWS2 where the incorrect area code
was specified], is running a highly customized copy of
LOD. I haven't seen it myself, but I hear it's quite a
thing to see.

    Jonas Saunders: The infamous Xenon in my LOD game here
on the bbs. He's as skilled a bug-finder and playtested as
he is a LOD warrior! Jonas also happens to be the very
first winner of a LOD game!

------------

Letters to the Editor

    Well, every newsletter/magazine has a letters to the
editor section, right? So here is ours! I've posted a few
messages out of my comments area on the bbs and a few of
the national echos to get things started, but in the
future, anyone who wants to, just mark that you would like
your letter to appear here and I'll post it up!


Scott,
    Let me start off by saying that I don't usually post
messages, or write letters.  Today I Installed LOD321
(from Wildcats(MSI) BBS). I have never been a fan of Role
playing games at all. But, somehow your is different, you
dont get sucked into it (although i played for 12 hours,
thats besides the point), anyway I am thoroughly
impressed, I have never seen such graphics/details (Pixels
and or ansi) in a door game, not to mention the plot of
the game. At any rate keep you the EXCELLENT work. You can
rest-assured that come pay day you will get whatever it
takes (I believe $20 or so) to get the game registered.

Craig Salmond
SYSOP of Craig's DATA Exchange [phone] 14.4k FREE!

PS, You need to hold a conference on how you got you modem
to answer flawlessly at 14.4k with a non-usr modem. Most
people I connect to I get a measly 9600, but not on your
BBS. keep on BBSing

-=-

    Thanks for the kind words, Craig. I try my best to
keep LOD at the leading edge of technology and from the
comments I get, I see that I am being successful! As for
the modem, I don't know of anything particular that I've
done, but I'm glad it works!

    Scott Baker

-=====-

  Hey Scott, I really like LOD, and am grateful that you
got my registration up so quickly... I run a bbs here, and
want to get Galactic Warzone for it as well. Also I want
to be a Registered user on your BBS, so if ya could
validate me, I would Appreciate it. And thanks for the
great game... Wish I was able to Write games myself...

                             Thanks....
                                  Wayne Gay

-=-

    I'm glad to hear you like LOD, Wayne. With my current
registration system, I usually get registrations up on the
bbs either the same day they arrive or shortly later. As
for Galwars, I have sold the rights to Jim Kiersey who
will be continuing support for it. Expect a new release
from him very soon!

    Scott Baker

-=====-

[From Joel Boutros to Jeff Hanson in Area Ooii. Subject:
L.O.D.]

JH -=>writing a door yourself.

Ah, but is it the next best thing to copying a door?  Or
Copying 5 or 6 doors?

Let's see...OOII, TW1000, Never got SZModem working and
when I mailed the wanna-be he never replied, MechWars
never worked right...  Gee, Jeff, you seem to be a
brown-noser to this guy...What else did he make that
wasn't worth 30 seconds to download?

Oh, tell the little bag of toejam that I _still_ can't get
SZ working after 1 year and a half. --- GEcho/beta *

Origin: Cosmix Station [phone]  (1:280/2)

-=-

    Joel, I'm sad to see that you feel this way about me
and my software. Such negative comments are the mark of an
immature mind and an eyesore to the entire bbs community.
    Let's start at the top. LOD is not a copy of OOII.
Galactic Warzone was written with Al Davenport's (author
of TW1000) support and encouragement. I'm sorry you
couldn't get SZModem to work - you might wish to try the
latest version which has new Async routines. I don't
recall ever receiving a letter from you. MechWars is
written by Shane Chambers, not myself, and it seems to
work fine on my system and many more across the country.
    In addition to LOD, GW, and SZMODEM, I have written
NEWGAL (GWII), Door Driver, CMENU, CDRDoor, Locread, and
the initial Echodor mail reader. (All of which have an
established registered user base)
    Jeff Hanson is a friend that I had mind the system for
a week while I was gone. And I must admit, he did a good
job here, possibly even better than when I'm operating the
bbs myself.
    You seem to be quite full of criticism. Tell me, where
is some of the software that YOU have written that I may
download and evaluate? I'll be sure to send my comments
your way.
    Scott Baker

------------

You can download copies of this newsletter, upload
submissions, or whatever from the following bulletin board
system:

The Not-Yet-Named bbs
Node #1: [phone]  (v.32)         FIDO: 1:300/9
Node #2: [phone]  (USR Dual)     FIDO: 1:300/29