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TIMEPORT.DOC
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1995-06-24
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--=---=----=-----=----=---=--
Time Port Version 1.0a Beta
--=---=----=-----=----=---=--
Written by: Mike Snyder
(C) 1995 Hunter Computer Inc.
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DOCUMENTATION
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Note: This is the FIRST version ever of Time Port. There are lots of
options I plan to add right away. You might let your users know this,
too. Also, this is a beta version and may be full of bugs and errors.
Expect new, improved versions to be released very soon. :)
To get the latest version of Time Port, call Orion's Realm BBS: 405-924-7939.
You'll also find the latest version of our first hit Door game, Lunatix.
Note: The FILE_ID.DIZ for Time Port contains ANSI codes for color. If your
BBS file area will not handle the ANSI in the listing, you can use the
DESC.SDI file which is a plain text "description" file.
Time Port is ShareWare After a 30-day trial period you should register it for
$15, which will allow your players to advance past level 5 and win the game.
User REGISTER.TXT when registering Time Port.
Time Port is a door game, designed soley for the purpose of online play,
usually for a BBS. Setting it up RIGHT is important. You may be able to
get it to run by setting it up wrong, but it may cause you problems,
especially on Multi-Node play. Here is the way Time Port needs to be
set up, and hopefully I can explain this right.
First of all, make a directory in which to put all the files from the
Time Port archive (.ZIP, usually, but may be another archive) file. If you
want to varify that your archive is complete, check the LISTING.DAT text
file. It will explain which files should be in the archive, plus a listing
of some that INSTALL creates and which should NOT be in the archive. If
your archive of Time Lord contains extra or not all the files listed in the
LISTING.DAT file, please contact Hunter Computer immediately with information
about where you found the corrupted archive.
Once all the Time Port files are in a directory of their own, you are
ready to begin installation. Change the current directory to the Time Port
Directory and type INSTALL.
Starting with B, (you won't have Reg codes, option A, to start with)
select the menu options to Create LinkTo.BBS, Create TimePort.CFG, Create
.DAT and .TXT files, and Reset Player files. Pay close attention to the
prompts when creating TimePort.CFG and LinkTo.BBS. These files are VERY
important to Time Port and if you mess up on even 1 line, Time Port might
not run correctly, or at all, generating a "Fatal Error" when you try to
run TIMEPORT.EXE from your BBS.
When creating LinkTo.BBS, you will be setting up a common bond between
Time Port and your BBS drop file/modem setup. You will be asked several
questions you will need to know the answers to. First of all, what drop
file will you be using? Time Port currently supports CALLINFO.BBS,
DORINFO1.DEF, CHAIN.TXT, and DOOR.SYS. After selecting one of these, you
will be required to supply a path to the drop file. This is very important:
If you are on a single-node BBS, you will not have to worry about copying
the drop file that your BBS makes, because there should be no chance of it
getting overwritten by another user.
However, if you have multiple nodes, you will ultimately have to either
A) Create multiple Linkto.BBS's, or B) Edit the first one to change the
path of each drop file. For Multi-Node play you MUST have a separate
directory for the configuration files for each node. This means you'll have
directories such as C:\BBS\TIMEPORT\NODE1\, C:\BBS\TIMEPORT\NODE2\, and so on
for however many nodes you have. These directory names and placement are
your own choice. However, you will also have the MASTER Time Port directory
which might be C:\BBS\TIMEPORT\. This is the directory where all your main
files will be, and on a single-node BBS, this can also be the node directory.
I can't emphasize enough the importance, though of separate NODE directories
if your BBS has more than 1 node. These directories may all reside on a
main server, or on separate machines, it doesn't matter.
For Multi-Node, if all your modem setups are the same, you can simply
copy the LinkTo.BBS file into each node directory. If one node has a
slightly different setup, though, you'll have to make a LinkTo.BBS for that
node. You may need to do this for a node that has a modem on a different
IRQ than the standard, or something.
Also, for Multi-Node, remember that the drop files (be it Door.Sys or
one of the others) MUST be preserved throughout the game. This means you'll
need to be sure that the batch file that calls Time Port will COPY the drop
file for that node into, for instance, the C:\BBS\TIMEPORT\NODE1 directory,
where it will stay. This means the LinkTo.BBS for that node must also
point to that directory to find the Drop File. Unlike the TimePort.CFG
which will be discussed later, you CAN directly EDIT the Linkto.BBS and
alter the first line (the path to the drop file) and save it into each
node. I hope you've got all that because it's VERY important for multi-node
play to work correctly.
The TimePort.CFG is also important, as it gives default game setup
information. Most of this, such as the Player Fights allowed per day, the
"Hour" turns per day, and so on, should be the same for every node because
you'll want every node to have the same setup. What may or may not be the
same, however, is the path to the MASTER Time Port directory. I Know I've
been using the word "Important" frequently through this .DOC, but this is.
Hopefully you have your system configured so that every node sees the
server (or the main node) as the same drive letter. In this manner, every
node, whether they reside on the same machine or some other machine, will
"think" that the MASTER Time Port directory is the same. For our own LAN,
8 computers (including the BBS) have a Z: drive, which is actually the C:
drive of the BBS. (We use Novell Personal Netware). We have even mapped
a Z: drive on the BBS itself which is its own C: drive. If your setup
allows you to do this, by all means do it. It will make things MUCH easier
because all reference, from every computer, to the Z: drive is the BBS's
hard drive.
If your setup is similar, and the Path information is identical for
each node, you can then copy the TimePort.CFG into each of the node
directories (a step not needed if you just have 1 node). However, If
your drive specifications are not the same, you can still customize a
TimePort.CFG for each node and put it into the Node directory where it
belongs.
After running these options through the INSTALL program, and creating
your node directories (for more than one node, remember), you should have
A) the MASTER Time Port directory with a LinkTo.BBS and TimePort.CFG file
for a single-node BBS, or B) the MASTER Time Port directory plus another
directory for each NODE which contains 2 files each: TimePort.CFG and the
LinkTo.BBS.
You are now ready to set up your BBS to run Time Port. For reference,
I have included a sample .BAT batch file, called MULTI.BAT for a multi-node
BBS setup. You MUST edit this or create your own, as it's doubtful it will
work for your setup as it is. In can be used for any setup clues you might
need, though. :)
Basically, here is what your .BAT file must do: It must change into
the Time Port Node directory for the node from which it was called. (The
MULTI.BAT file will demonstrate the use of a command-line perameter passed
from your BBS, such as MULTI.BAT 1 for the 1st node, MULTI.BAT 26 for the
26th node, or whatever, although you may have a different .BAT for each
node if that is easier for you). For a single-node BBS, the MASTER Time Port
directory can, and probably should be your Time Port node directory also.
Also, a copy of the drop file must also take place. It should be
copied from wherever the BBS puts it, into the Node directory (or perhaps
MASTER directory if you just have one node). Then you should call Time Port
(TIMEPORT.EXE) in its directory. For a quick view of this, here are two
samples for doing this
Example #1 Example #2
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
C: G:
CD C:\NODE1\TIMEPORT CD G:\BBS\TIMEPORT\NODE1
COPY F:\BBS\CALLINFO.BBS C: COPY G:\BBS\NODE1\CALLINFO.BBS G:
F:\BBS\TIMEPORT\TIMEPORT.EXE G:\BBS\TIMEPORT\TIMEPORT.EXE
In Example #1, the drive is set to C: which is that node's drive. The
directory is then changed into the TimePort node directory for that node.
Then the BBS drop file is copied from wherever it is for that node (in
that example, on F: drive in the BBS directory) and into the current
directory, which is the node for Time Port. Then TIMEPORT.EXE is called
at its MASTER directory in drive F:. In this example, the entry in
LinkTo.BBS concerning the path to the drop file would have been
C:\NODE1\TIMEPORT\ and the path to the master Time Port directory would
have been F:\BBS\TIMEPORT\.
In Example 2, the drive is set to G: which is that node's drive. This
might be something like you'd find if several simple nodes used one
dedicated server. Then, the directory is changed to the Time Port
node directory, G:\BBS\NODE1. Then the Drop file is copied from where
the BBS makes it (this example, G:\BBS\NODE1) into the current directory,
which is the node directory. Then Time Port is called in the MASTER
Directory, which would be G:\BBS\TIMEPORT\. Take note, you can put the
drop file anywhere you want, or not even copy it at all, just as long as
your entry in LinkTo.BBS tells where it's going to be. Just remember that
for a Multi-Node BBS you want this file somewhere to be preserved for the
time the player remains in the game. :)
Notice that in these examples, the directory is changed to the node
directory, not the MASTER directory (unless you just have 1 node). This
is the directory where it should STAY until TIMEPORT.EXE is finished
running. The node directory (unless you just have 1 node) will only contain
LinkTo.BBS and TimePort.CFG, initially. You only call TIMEPORT.EXE by
giving the path to it, so the directory will remain in the current node
directory. When Time Port starts, it will open the LinkTo.BBS and
TimePort.CFG, which it expects to find in the current directory. Using
the information you put in those files (with the INSTALL program) it will
stay in the node directory where those 2 data files are. It has the path
to the MASTER directory from the info in these files.
And that's it. The last step is to set an option in your BBS to
actually spawn the drop file and run the .BAT file for Time Port. Most all
of you will already have done this, so this step should be easy for all. :)
Okay, why, why, why did I make the setup require a directory for each
node (with the exception of single-node setups)? I could have created a
node-listing file that contains the info for each, and have you call
Time Port with the node number such as TIMEPORT.EXE /N1 or something. But
I didn't, and here's why: There are temporary files that Time Port makes,
and the easiest way to do this is to just open a file in the current
directory. So, with each node sitting in its own node directory, there is
no problem with these files overwriting each other, and there is no need
to keep track of what directory is which, and which node is this and blah
blah blah. Each node has its own config and temp files, and these point to
the main copy of Time Port. That's why. Just felt the need to explain. :)
I can be reached by Internet E-mail at snyder@hunter.com. Hunter
Computer Inc. is open from 9:30 to 5:30 weekdays, Central Time, and our
phone number is 405-920-0136. Our Fax is 405-920-0526. Our BBS is
Orion's Realm, 405-924-7939. It's worth calling our board just to pick up
the latest version of Time Port, Lunatix, IGM's for either, or whatever
else we have to offer. :)
Also, don't forget that your players are limited to level 5, no name
changes, no bank interest, and no option to win, unless you register for
a mere $15. Just print the REGISTER.TXT file and get it to us somehow,
along with your payment. (Note, Credit Card registrations are $16).