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WINFOCOM.DOC
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1992-11-27
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WINFOCOM v1.00 (C) Copyright 1992 Pillar Communication
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** CONTENTS
I Introduction
II Installation
III Using WINFOCOM
IV Command Line Options
V Restrictions
VI Disclaimer
VII License
VIII Author Info
** INTRODUCTION
WINFOCOM is a game external for the WAFFLE uucp/bbs package. WINFOCOM
allows you to give access to many of Infocom's Interactive Fiction
games to your users. NOTE: WINFOCOM is only an interpreter and cannot
be used without the *.DAT file from an Infocom game.
Infocom has been sold to Activision and they are the sole distributors
of Infocom games. The only way to obtain these games at this time is
to buy one of the "Lost Treasures of Infocom" sets. There are currently
two sets available (there is possibly a CDROM version that combines
both sets) at an approximate cost of $50 USD each. Further info will
be provided in later versions. For further info send mail or check
with your local Software store (see AUTHOR INFO).
** INSTALLATION
Here is an example of how to set up WINFOCOM to play a game called
"MEGAGAME" (This is only an example and does not really exist).
1 - Copy WINFOCOM.EXE to "/waffle/bin"
2 - Make a directory for your DAT files. Ex:
c:\waffle\bin\winfocom
3 - Add the following line to /waffle/system/static:
WINFOCOM : c:\waffle\bin\winfocom
Substitute the directory that you created in step 2.
4 - Copy the DAT file from the Infocom disk to the directory
that you created in step 2. Ex: MEGAGAME.DAT
5 - Create a subdirectory in the directory from step 2 with the
name the same as the first 8 letters of the DAT file. Ex:
c:\waffle\bin\winfocom\megagame
this will be the save-file directory.
6 - Create an entry for the game in /waffle/extern. Example:
/waffle/extern/megagame:
/command="winfocom %A %O c:\waffle\bin\winfocom\megagame.dat"
Repeat step 4-6 for each Infocom game you wish to install.
** USING WINFOCOM
The commands available (and much of the look and feel) when using
WINFOCOM are determined by the DAT file for the game. The rest
will be explained. You may want to make a info file for your
users explaining some of these peculiarities.
o Prompt
Your command prompt will normally look like, "XX>" where "XX" is
the number of minutes left before your time is up. When ever
this prompt is displayed you may type a command.
o Saving
When you invoke the save command (usually SAVE, check game documentation)
you will be asked what number you wish to save to. You may choose any
number between 0-9 for the save file. The SAVE FILE will be saved in
a subdirectory with the same name as the DAT file in the directory pointed
to by the WINFOCOM STATIC file variable.
NOTE: You may want to check this directory and delete save files from
users who no longer are active.
EX: For the game MEGAGAME.DAT (see above) the save file for a user
named KILGORE who chooses "1" for the save file will be:
c:\waffle\bin\winfocom\megagame\kilgore.1
o Restoring
To restore a saved games you need to invoke the restore command
(usually RESTORE, check game documentation) and choose a number
between 0-9 that corresponds to a previously saved game.
o Quitting
To quit a game type the quit command (usually QUIT, check game
documentation). You will be asked to verify this action.
NOTE: Games are *not* automatically saved. You must do this yourself.
** COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
C:\> WINFOCOM [-at] <username> <time_left> <game_file>
C:\> WINFOCOM -[hwo] <game_file>
C:\> WINFOCOM -v
-a show attributes during game.
-t show object transfers during game.
-w display game file vocabulary.
-h display game file header.
-o display game file objects.
-v licensing, version, etc.
WINFOCOM will normally be used without any of the above options.
The options are mostly for debugging and cheating purposed.
The <username> and <time_left> will usually be replaced with
"%A" and "%O" respectively when used as a Waffle extern.
** RESTRICTIONS
WINFOCOM may only be with Infocom games that use the series 3 Infocom
interpreter. Use the "-h" option to determine which version of Infocom
game that you have. This specifically excludes all Plus series, Gold
series, and Graphic Infocom games. It is believed that about 75% of
the games from the "Lost Treasures of Infocom 1" set will work with
WINFOCOM but at this time though it has not been tested.
The error reporting is very limited especially when dealing with
save files. Usually the success or failure is the only thing
reported.
** DISCLAIMER
WINFOCOM is intended for use by only people who have actually
purchased Infocom games. Please read your software license on
any Infocom games that you intend to use and verify that you
are not violating it. In the authors opinion, use of WINFOCOM
and Infocom games on a public system should be okay assuming that
the following is observed:
o Limit use to one person at a time on one machine at a time
for each copy of game purchased.
o Keep DAT files from public view. Make sure they are UNavailable
for download and for users to copy.
Infocom is believed to be a trademark of Activision. Please forgive
improper recognition of this fact.
** LICENSE
WINFOCOM may be used free of charge on any system that is using a
registered version of WAFFLE. WINFOCOM may be used on an unregistered
system for the duration of the WAFFLE trial period as set forth in the
documentation distributed with WAFFLE.
** AUTHOR INFO
Send all inquiries, bug reports and donations to:
o Email Address
kilgore@obelisk.pillar.com
kilgore@wuntvor.pillar.com
kilgore@obelisk.okc.ok.us
...!obelisk!kilgore
o Postal Address
Pillar Communications
Stan Hall
918 Duncan Drive
Oklahoma City, Ok 73107 USA
------------------------------------------------------
WINFOCOM v1.00 (C) Copyright 1992 Pillar Communication
Portions of WINFOCOM (C) Copyright 1987 InfoTaskForce.