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1995-06-15
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23KB
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733 lines
CONTROL STATION v4.15
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SYSOP'S MANUAL
Written By
James Berry
Copyright (c) 1990-95 by Midas Touch Software, all rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 1990-95 by James R. Berry, all rights reserved.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introduction Pg. 3
Program Layout Pg. 3
Edit Pit Configuration Pg. 4
Edit Node Configuration Pg. 4
Multiline Settings Pg. 4
Resetting THE PIT Pg. 4
Load/Edit New Config Pg. 5
Edit Description of Config Pg. 5
Save Config File as... Pg. 5
Modem Settings Pg. 5
Door File Settings Pg. 7
Game Time Settings Pg. 8
Monitor Settings Pg. 8
Hardware Settings Pg. 9
SysOp Flag Settings Pg. 10
Bulletin Creation Pg. 10
LAN/Multitasker Pg. 11
PIT Game Setting Pg. 12
2
Introduction
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the configuration program for The Pit 4.x. Use this program
to tell the game about your system. We've done our best to provide
useful options and make things easy to configure.
Most problems that people encounter running The Pit can be solved by
adjusting these settings. If something isn't functioning properly,
check your configuration file first.
System Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Pit 4.x can run on any IBM system. It takes up 310k of memory
and 2 Megs of disk space initially. It is possible to play The Pit
in Local mode without being connected to a BBS.
This version of The Pit supports multi-line BBS's. Specific
information is provided later in this document.
Program Layout
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just use the standard control keys (Arrows, Pg Up, Pg Down) to move
to the item you wish to change and press Enter. The area will be
highlighted while you're working on it. When you're done, just press
ESC.
3
MAIN MENU: SELECT A COMMAND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Edit Pit Configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command allows you to select a specific PIT configuration to
edit. You simply select a configuration file and we will enter an
editing menu.
2. Edit Node Configuration
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command allows us to select which pit configuration a specific
BBS node (phone line) will run from.
3. Toggle Multiline Active
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command toggles multiline play on or off.
4. Edit Number of Nodes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We use this command to select how many nodes we wish to run. This
setting will effect the number of nodes displayed in the "Edit Node
Configuration" menu. This number should be set to the number of lines
you are running on your BBS. It can be changed to a number greater
than "1" if "Toggle Multiline Active" is set to Multiline Play
Active.
5. Reset THE PIT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A) Reset Entire Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command clears all of the data files used by THE PIT.
This effectively restarts the game.
B) Reset Player Node List
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command resets the player node list. This is the list
that tells the game which node a user is on and also controls
multiline challenges/chat. This file may require resetting to
solve a persistent multiline error.
C) Reset Immortal List
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command resets our immortals list. We provide this in
case of possible file corruption. If the immortal list keeps
resulting in game crashes, reset this file.
6. Quit CONTROL STATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This command as well as the <ESC> key will allow us to exit the
CONTROL STATION.
4
EDITING THE PIT CONFIGURATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Load/Edit New Config
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Choose a pit configuration file you would like to edit.
2. Edit Description of Config
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can attach a description to a pit configuration file to make it
easier to keep track of its function.
3. Save Config File as...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can save the file you are currently editing under any name you
wish. Choose a file name to save it as, or choose "<F2>New" to save
it under a new file name.
4. Modem Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section allows us to setup the modem so that it will function
properly with in the game.
A. Fossil Driver Usage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This defaults to "Inactive". Normally THE PIT uses its own
internal communication routines to handle the modem.
Sometimes the fossil driver is required for our software to
run on your BBS system. If you have X00.SYS, BNU.SYS, or a
digiboard fossil loaded you can set this option to "Active".
The game will automatically detect the driver and utilize its
communication routines instead.
B. Com Port Addressing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section will allow you to change the default settings
for your com ports. Normally these do not require any
changes, as they are already set to the default addresses
used by 99% of all BBS systems.
Notice that these settings are used internally by only our
game. They will have no effect on your BBS Systems settings
nor DOS.
C. Baud Rate Setting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We provide the ability to lock the baud rate of your modem to
almost all of the baud rates possible for a modem.
For most BBS systems the best selection is "Auto-Detect".
This option forces THE PIT to run at the baud rate at which
the BBS is already connected to the caller. Any
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other option results in THE PIT setting the baud rate on the
modem to the rate specified.
On a high speed modem the baud rate might readjust itself
based on the integrity of the phone line. This might result
in THE PIT setting the baud rate incorrectly. The most
noticeable effect will be the appearance of ANSI trash on the
screen instead of the ANSI expected.
D. Flow Control
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This selection has only three options, "Auto-Detect", "None"
or "CTS/RTS Flow Control". "Auto-Detect" is the default
setting, and should work in most cases. The program detects
baud rate the modem is running at, and turns on the CTS/RTS
flow control if a speed greater than 2400 is detected.
If you are running a modem that is faster than 2400 you are
REQUIRED to have CTS/RTS turned on. Under this setting, the
game uses the CTS and RTS pins on the modem to regulate the
flow of data across the phone line.
Without the CTS/RTS set on, the result would be that no data
would flow at all. The remote caller would see nothing on
their end, and they would be unable to get a response from
any key press.
E. 16550 FIFO Buffer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This setting allows you to select the size of the "First-In
First-Out" buffer on your 16550 chip. This buffer is used
primarily by high speed modems to achieve an effective
transfer rate greater than the normal 19,200 baud rate. The
safest setting is "Use default FIFO Settings". However, if
you know what your BBS is using, you can always change it to
1, 4, 8, or 14 byte buffers.
6
5. Door File Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option is used primarily to choose which BBS door file type we
are using and where it is located (i.e. its path).
A. BBS Door File Type
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can select which BBS door file your BBS system passes its
user information through. We currently support 9 different
door file types.
B. Path To Door File Type
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You select this option to tell the game where your BBS door
file (i.e. DOOR.SYS) is located. There are also several
parameters available (%P, %N, and %Z) to make setting this
easier for multiline BBS's. By passing specific codes on THE
PIT's command line, you can take advantage of these
parameters.
%P : This parameter is replaced by a path that is passed to
THE PIT at run time. This is done by a command line
parameter called "/PATH=".
For example, if you set the path as "%P\NODE1\" in the
pit configuration. Then you passed a run time parameter
to THE PIT like so: "PIT /PATH=C:\BBS".
The game would replace the %P parameter with the run
time information passed to THE PIT. This would result in
the path internally rewritten as: "C:\BBS\NODE1\".
This parameter was primarily added to allow BBS's with a
hundred or more phone lines, an easy way to define the
path of the door file on the fly.
%N : This parameter is replaced by the node number that is
passed to THE PIT at run time. This is done by a command
line parameter called "/NODE=".
For example, if you set the path as
"C:\WILDCAT\WCWORK\NODE%N\" in the pit configuration.
Then you passed a run time parameter to THE PIT like so:
"PIT /NODE=12".
The game would replace the %N parameter with the run
time information passed to THE PIT. This would result in
the path internally rewritten as:
"C:\WILDCAT\WCWORK\NODE12\".
%Z : This parameter works exactly the same as %N except the
internal number is expanded into a 3 digit zeroed
number. For example if the node number passed is "3"
then %Z would be replaced by "003".Or if the number is
"12" then %Z would be replaced internally by "012".
7
6. Game Time Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section deals with the length of and display of game time.
A. Maximum Time Per Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the maximum number of minutes you will allow the
caller to play THE PIT per day. This value self-adjusts for
each caller, depending on how much actual time they have left
on your BBS system each day.
B. Show Time Left In Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This setting has two options, either "Yes" or "No". If set to
"No", the time left will not be displayed to the players.
If set to "Yes", THE PIT will display how many minutes the
user has left in the game on the menu. Each time a key is
pressed in the game, the displayed time is updated.
C. Game Down Time
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will make THE PIT inaccessible for the duration
of time given.
7. Monitor Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section deals with the video monitor's settings. How data is
written to the screen as well as what mode the game will run in.
A. Monitor Type
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option allows you to either specifically tell
the game what kind of monitor you are running, or let
it auto-detect it. If Monochrome is selected, the
game will always run in black and white. If CGA is
selected, it will result in the game running in color
text mode, but graphics will be inaccessible. The
other modes allow you to play in either text or
graphics mode.
B. Video Write
~~~~~~~~~~~
This option tells the game what kind of text mode
screen writes you wish the game to perform. "Direct
Video Write" is the best option since it writes to
the screen four times faster than any other mode.
"Bios Video Write" is provided strictly for
compatibility sake. Bios writes are not recommended
because they are so slow.
8
C. Snow Checking
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option is given for compatibility. Only very old
CGA monitors require this selection. It can be left
OFF in most cases.
D. Display ANSI Graphics Only
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option was installed primarily for Desqview
users. It forces THE PIT to never allow graphics mode
activation in THE PIT.
When a user activates the PIT Terminal in graphics
mode, THE PIT will change modes on the BBS end to
match the remote terminal. Desqview BBS Systems
suffer from screen bleeds when too many nodes utilize
the graphics screens. Setting this option to "Yes"
will prevent this from occurring.
8. Hardware Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section is used to set up the hardware peripherals that are
attached to the system. Sound Cards, Mouse and Joystick are covered.
A. Music
~~~~~
MIDI music will be played through a sound card, the pc
speaker, or not at all. You must choose the best choice for
your system.
Remember to not choose a sound card if you are running under
DESQVIEW. Multiple users accessing the same sound card might
cause a system crash.
Notice that the Sound Blaster Pro 16 is not given as a
choice. At the time this game was written we did not own a SB
16. We believe that it will only function if "Sound Blaster
v1.5" is chosen as the sound card type.
B. Sound FX
~~~~~~~~
Sound Effects will be played through a sound card, the pc
speaker, or not at all. You must choose how your sound
effects will be played. (See the notes about Desqview and the
Sound Blaster Pro 16 above.)
C. Sound Blaster Card Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This selection will allow you to change your Sound Blaster
settings from the defaults. If you have your sound card dip
switches set to alternate settings, you will have to change
these settings to match it. We provide you the standard
choices of IRQ's and Addresses provided by the manufacturer.
9
D. Adlib Card Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section will allow you to change your Adlib settings
from the defaults. If you have your sound card dip switch set
to alternate settings, you will have to change these settings
to match it. We have provided you with the standard choices
of IRQ's and Addresses available from the manufacturer.
E. Mouse
~~~~~
This option allows us to either auto-detect the existant of a
mouse and utilize it, or claim to have none.
F. Joystick
~~~~~~~~
This option allows us to either activate the use of a
joystick or not activate it.
9. SysOp Flag Settings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This option will effect the setting for the Hangup Penalty. If a user
hangs up in the game, this flag will penalize the user if it is set
to "Active", or not if it is set to "Inactive". Notice that this
penalty can be individually controlled with in the PLAYER EDITOR
(PEDIT.EXE).
10. Bulletin Creation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section controls the creation and file name used when creating a
top ten list of players.
A. Create Bulletins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This section activates the creation of a particular bulletin
and when exactly you would like to have it created.
B. ANSI Bulletin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the full path and file name of the color ANSI
bulletin.
C. B&W ANSI Bulletin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the full path and file name of the B&W ANSI Bulletin.
D. ASCII Bulletin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the full path and file name of the ASCII Bulletin.
10
11. LAN/Multitasker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select which kind of mutliline platform you are running.
A. None
~~~~
This is the default setting. This is the only choice if you
are running a single line system. If any other setting is
selected while in single line mode, this mode will over-ride
all others.
If you are running in Multiline Play mode this selection will
default to "Share.exe" mode. Multiline play is impossible
without share loaded. The game utilizes share excusively to
perform its multiline file locking.
B. Share.exe
~~~~~~~~~
This selection is the best choice if you are unsure of which
choice to make. As long as SHARE.EXE is loaded, running this
game in multiline mode should give you no problems.
C. Desqview
~~~~~~~~
This selection tells the game that you are running desqview.
Actually the game automatically detects the existance of
desqview and will utilize its functions regardless of what
you choose. This selection verifies your choice of running
Desqview and share.exe as your multiline system. The game
will give up time desqview time slices while it runs.
D. OS/2
~~~~
This selection tells the game that you are running OS/2 as
your multitasker. The game will require that SHARE be loaded
as well. It will also give up time slices under OS/2 as a
result of your selection.
E. Windows
~~~~~~~
This selection tells the game that you are running Windows as
your multitasker. The version of Windows you are running will
be auto-detected and displayed at the intro to the game. The
game will require that SHARE be loaded, and time slices will
be given up under Windows.
F. Net Bios Compat. LAN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This selection tells THE PIT that a netbios compatible LAN is
being run. The game will attempt to detect the existance of
NETBIOS in memory. If this selection fails for you, or you
are running NETWARE, choose "Share.exe" instead.
"Desqview" could also be chosen if you are running a
combination of Desqview and Netbios.
11
12. PIT Game Setting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select which set of game data files to use in THE PIT. This will
control which set of weapons, armor, enemy's, ect will be used for
game play.
12