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Assassins 2 - Ultimate Games No. 2 (1995)(Weird Science)[!][Amiga-CD32-CDTV].iso
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_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 1 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| THIS SOFTWARE - (C) - 1992 Elbow Cay Enterprises |
|_______________________________________________________________|
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|_______________________________________________________________|
Section Page % More
0.0 Before you begin 2 7%
1.0 The story (so far) 3 11%
2.0 What is interactive fiction? 3 13%
3.0 Tips for novices 4 18%
4.0 Starting and Stopping 5 23%
4.1 Loading the Story 5 23%
4.2 Saving and Restoring 5 24%
4.3 Quitting and Restarting 6 28%
5.0 Communicating with the story 6 31%
6.0 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE 8 41%
6.1 Important Commands 9 44%
6.2 Some Recognised Verbs 10 51%
7.0 Common Error Messages 11 54%
8.0 Trouble with the game itself 12 60%
8.1 Error Requestors 13 62%
8.2 HELP ME! 14 67%
A Trouble Shooting Guide
8.3 System Requests 17 87%
8.4 Reporting a Bug 18 90%
9.0 Copyright information 19 94%
(as if anyone really cares)
Mailing Address 20 100%
BBS Listed on 21 100%
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 2 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 0.0 Before you begin |
|_______________________________________________________________|
If you have not yet read the file READ_ME do so now.
Make sure you have everything you will need to use this software.
There were two releases of this program. One a floppy-disk based
release consists of three disks named HERO1, HERO2, and HERO3.
The other is a BBS release consisting of three ZIP files named
HEROINE1.ZIP, HEROINE2.ZIP, and HEROINE3.ZIP. Any other release
is not recognized by Elbow Cay Enterprises.
NOTE: If you have the BBS release read the file BBS_NOTES before
using this software.
NOTE: For those users wishing to install this software to a
Hard Disk you should read the file INSTALL.DOC first.
Disk HERO1 contains these files:
DEINSTALL
DEINSTALL.BAT
HEROINE
HEROINE.0
HEROINE.DOC
HEROINE.DIC
HEROINE.UTX
INSTALL
INSTALL.BAT
INSTALL.DOC
READ_ME
and various graphics files
Disks HERO2 and HERO3 contain various graphics files.
Required:
- 512KB RAM memory
- Kickstart 1.2 or higher
- 1 Floppy Disk Drive
Recommended or Optional:
- Second Floppy Disk Drive
- Hard Disk drive
- Printer
If you have any problems with using this software consult either
section 5.0 Communicating with the story or section 8.0 Trouble
with the game itself.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 3 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 1.0 The Story (so far) |
|_______________________________________________________________|
Welcome to Heroine. This, in case you haven't noticed, is an
interactive fiction game. If you haven't a clue what this means
you will find out in the next section.
Several years ago this young lady I knew complained that all
the computer games ( at least those she had seen ) were male
oriented. ie: Macho male hero blasts bad guys to rescue helpless
female heroine. What she suggested was a game were the female
heroine outsmarts the bad guys ( with some blasting ) and rescues
the bumbling male hero. In response to this suggestion I created
"Heroine" which I hoped would appeal to both male and female
players.
The version of the game ( the original was supposed to be a
laser-disk game ) you have is my first effort at writing an
interactive fiction game and took me a full year to create. One
week to come up with the storyline and 51 to design and write the
code. Why so long? Simply put, I wanted to make as much of the
code generic so I could re-use it in my next project, and spend
more time working on the storyline. This should explain why this
story seems a little weak in parts and downright silly in others,
but keep in mind this is a first effort and gives me something to
build on in future projects.
Now, onto the plot. Heroine involves a teenager named Cindy.
On her way home from a spring-break vacation her plane is forced
down by a band of terrorists. All the passengers are taken
prisoner, except for Cindy who has somehow managed to evade
capture. To find out the rest of the story you will have to play
the game.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 4 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 2.0 What is interactive fiction? |
|_______________________________________________________________|
Interactive fiction is a story in which you assume the role
of the main character. Your actions determine the outcome of that
story from start to finish.
Each interactive fiction story presents you with a series of
locations called "rooms". The story will refer to a location as a
room even if you are outdoors.
In order to move from place to place simply type the
direction in which you want to move, it is also possible to be
moved to a new location by performing certain actions. When you
find yourself in a new location, explore it. See what you can
find. Examine all objects and characters you may meet and read
each description carefully.
This brings us to the most important element of any
interactive fiction story: puzzle solving. Many, but not
necessarily all, of the locations in the story contain a puzzle
or puzzles that must be solved in order to complete the story.
This may involve bringing a certain object with you and using it
in a certain way, or simply performing a certain action.
Another feature of interactive fiction, at least the way I
design them, is that nothing happens in the story until you
actually do something (typing a command on the keyboard). This
means that no matter how harrowing the situation you find
yourself in you have all the time in the world to plan your next
move.
Finally, the story may award you points for performing
certain actions, solving puzzles, or simply visiting a location.
Seeing which actions give you points (and in some cases take away
points) will help you learn what the goal of the story is.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 5 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 3.0 Tips for Novices |
|_______________________________________________________________|
1. Draw a map. Include each location, its exits, and where they
lead. Also list any significant objects and/or characters
located there.
2. Most objects that you can pick up are important for solving
puzzles later on. Take as many objects forward in the story
with you.
3. Save your place often. That way if you get killed or
hopelessly fouled up you won't have to start over again from
the beginning. SEE section 4.2 Saving and Restoring.
4. Read the descriptions of rooms, characters, and objects
carefully. They often contain clues that are important in
solving puzzles later on. Note that some objects take on new
characteristics as the story progresses.
5. Don't become "gun-shy". There is a SAVE/RESTORE feature in
this story, so you can save your place as often as you like.
That way if you get killed or fouled up you only need to
RESTORE to the most recently saved position and go at it
again.
6. Don't assume that this interactive fiction story is going to
be like other ones you may have played. Doing so will make
the game harder than it actually is.
7. If you really get stuck there are "Hints" disks available
but please try to solve the puzzles on your own. Not only is
it more enjoyable to do this, but I have noticed that once
someone gets a "Hints" disk they have a tendency to go to it
too quickly or even to cheat a little.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 6 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 4.0 Starting and Stopping. |
|_______________________________________________________________|
4.1 Loading the story.
You can run the story from either the CLI or the Workbench.
From the CLI:
At the "1>" prompt type HERO1:HEROINE <return>
From the Workbench:
Position the mouse pointer over the "Heroine" icon and
double click the left mouse button.
The story will now load and give you the description of the
first location in the story, and display the ">" prompt.
NOTE: If for some reason the story will not start
SEE section 8.0 Trouble with the story itself.
4.2 Saving and Restoring.
Don't you just hate those games that won't let you save your
place and make you start over again back at the beginning when
you die, or if its three in the morning and your roommate wants
you to shut off that %*@%$ computer.
Since it will more than likely take you some time (several
days perhaps) to finish the story, you will need to use the SAVE
and RESTORE commands after and before each session. This way you
can go back to the saved position even after you have died or
become hopelessly messed up.
To use the SAVE/RESTORE commands you will need a formatted
disk with some space on it. (Preferably you should use a disk
specifically meant for this purpose)
WARNING: DO NOT SAVE TO THE STORY DISK(S)!
To save your place type SAVE <return> this will bring up a
requestor asking "Which Drive?" with choices of DF0, DF1, DH0, or
CANCEL. Select which drive you wish to use, or select CANCEL if
you decide not to go through with the save.
Once you have selected which drive you wish to use a second
requestor will appear asking "Which Position?" with choices of 1
through 5, or CANCEL. Select which position you wish to use, or
select CANCEL to abort the save.
CAUTION: Previously saved positions will be overwritten
without warning if selected again.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 7 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
To restore a previously saved position type RESTORE <return>
this will bring up requestors similar to the ones above. Make
your selections. Don't worry if you're not sure if a position
number actually exists or not. The program will not crash if it
can't find the specified position.
4.3 Quitting and Restarting
If you want to start over again from the beginning simply
type RESTART <return>. A requestor will appear asking you if you
are sure you wish to do this. If you do wish to do this select
YES, if not select NO.
If you wish to quit the story entirely simply type QUIT
<return>. Again a requestor will appear asking if you really want
to do this.
Remember that prior to restarting or quitting you should
perform a save if you want to return to that position later on.
NOTE: PRESSING THE LEFT-AMIGA KEY ALONG WITH THE "B" KEY IS
EQUIVALENT TO SELECTING YES AT A REQUESTOR, AND LEFT-
AMIGA "V" IS THE SAME AS SELECTING NO. THESE WILL ONLY
WORK WITH THE SIMPLE YES OR NO REQUESTORS NOT THE
SAVE/RESTORE REQUESTORS.
WARNING: ALWAYS USE THE QUIT COMMAND TO END THE STORY.
NEVER SHUT OFF THE COMPUTER WHILE A PROGRAM IS RUNNING
SINCE SOME DATA MAY STILL RESIDE IN THE DRIVE BUFFERS,
WHICH HAS NOT YET BEEN SENT TO THE DISK, AND SHUTTING
OFF THE COMPUTER WILL CAUSE THIS DATA TO BE LOST.
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 5.0 Communicating with the story. |
|_______________________________________________________________|
The story consists of two display areas. One contains the
text of the story and accepts input from you, while the other
displays a graphical representation of the current room. Try
experimenting by moving these display's with the mouse. You may
drag either display up or down as well as rearranging their depth
on the screen. Note; however, that no matter how high up you drag
the text display no more than five lines of text are displayed at
one time. You may also notice that every time this display
returns to the ">" prompt it jumps back to its original position.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 8 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
The story accepts input at the ">" prompt. When you finish
typing your sentence press the <return> key. You may notice that
only five (5) lines of text can fit on the screen at once (this
is regardless of how you drag the text screen). This means that
from time to time you will see the <<MORE>> prompt appear. What
this indicates is that there is more text to come but the screen
can't hold all of it at once. When you have finished reading the
text that does appear simply press a key and the remaining text
will be displayed.
There are some rules governing this input; however, and
these are listed below.
1. Only the first six (6) letters of each word are recognised.
Therefore, bulldog and bulldozer are considered the same
word.
2. The first word of every sentence you type MUST be a verb.
3. Only one verb per sentence; therefore, only one command.
4. A maximum of two nouns (characters or objects) are
permitted. Some verbs expect only a certain number of nouns
while others allow a variable number.
5. The story can recognize only one form or meaning of a word.
The dictionary on your desk may have a word listed as being
both a verb, noun, and adjective, but the story might
acknowledge it as a verb ONLY.
6. You can add filler words to your sentence for the
convenience of grammar. But these words, mostly articles
such as "the" "to" "at" etc, are ignored by the story.
ie: GIVE THE COIN TO THE USHER can also be typed as
GIVE COIN USHER
If the story can't properly interpret your sentence it will
respond with some sort of message, or error.
SEE section 7 Common Error Messages.
The story may use many words when it describes a character
or an object. For example the story may refer to an object as
"the disgusting yellow necktie your aunt gave you last
christmas", but only recognize the word NECKTIE. This means that
the words DISGUSTING and YELLOW and perhaps even AUNT were simply
added to spice up the description of the object are not
necessarily part of the story's vocabulary.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 9 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
Some objects have two word names. The story breaks this down
by making the first word an adjective and the second word the
noun. For those of you who flunked grammar, an adjective modifies
a noun or simply put determines which noun you are referring to.
For example there might be two objects, one is called
"fountain pen" and the other "ballpoint pen", where "pen" is the
noun and "fountain" and "ballpoint" are the adjectives modifying
"pen". Now here's the problem. What if you were to type
TAKE THE PEN. In this case the story does not know which pen you
mean. You would get the message "Could you be more specific?
Which pen do you mean?". The story is telling you that there is
more than one object that the word "pen" refers to and you now
have to retype the line supplying the modifying adjective.
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 6.0 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE |
|_______________________________________________________________|
1. To start the story either type "hero1:heroine" at the CLI
prompt or double click the Heroine icon on the workbench.
2. When you see the ">" prompt enter your input and press
return. Each sentence must start with a verb.
SEE 6.1 Important Commands and 6.2 Recognized Verbs
3. The status line at the top of the text window will display
the name of the current location, your score, number of
turns taken, and any obvious exits.
4. You can use the drag gadget to pull down the text window to
reveal more of the graphics screen.
5. You can pick up and keep many of the objects you will find
in the story. If you type TAKE THE SPOON you will be
carrying it. Type INVENTORY to find out what you have.
6. When you wish to stop playing, start over from the
beginning, or save your place SEE section 4.0 Starting and
Stopping.
7. If you encounter difficulties refer to the appropriate
section of this manual for more detailed instructions.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 10 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
6.1 Important Commands
What follows are some commands that are considered
important. Some of these may or may not cost you a turn.
BRIEF This tells the story to give a full description of any
location on the first visit only. The story starts up
in this mode.
This command does not cost you a turn.
INVENTORY This gives you a listing of all objects that you are
carrying. You can abbreviate Inventory to I.
This command does cost you a turn.
LOOK This gives you a complete description of the location
including characters and objects. You can abbreviate
this to L.
This command does cost you a turn.
NOPICTURE This stops graphics from being displayed. Does remove
current graphic from screen.
This command does not cost you a turn.
PICTURE This causes graphics to be displayed. Does not take
affect until the story calls for the next graphic,
usually when you enter a new location.
This command does not cost you a turn
QUIT This allows you to quit the story. You can abbreviate
this to Q.
This command does not cost you a turn.
RESTART This causes the story to start over again from the
beginning.
This command does not cost you a turn.
RESTORE This restores the story to a previously saved position.
This command does not cost you at turn.
SAVE This saves your place in the story.
This command does not cost you a turn.
SCORE This lists your score in points and number of turns
used.
This command does not cost you a turn.
SCRIPT Causes a transcript to be produced by your printer.
This command does not cost you a turn.
SUPERBRIEF This command causes the story to stop giving you a
complete description of a room even if you've
never been there before. Does not cost you a turn.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 11 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
UNSCRIPT Stops the production of the transcript.
This command does not cost you a turn.
VERBOSE Causes the story to give you a complete description of
the location even on subsequent visits.
This command does not cost you a turn.
VERSION Causes display of the version/release number of the
story and the serial number of the disk. This
information is important if you ever detect a "bug" in
the program and wish to report it.
This command does not cost you at turn.
WAIT Causes time to pass. Normally nothing happens in the
story until you actually type something. This command
acts as a DUMMY statement that you could use when you
want to see what happens next.
This command does cost you at turn.
6.2 Recognized Verbs
There are also many synonyms that you could use in place of
any of these verbs.
ASK CLOSE CONNECT CONSULT DROP
ENJOY EXAMINE FOLLOW GIVE HINT
KILL LOOK MOVE OPEN PUT
REMOVE SIT STAND START STOP
TAKE TURN TYPE WEAR
There are also several directions you can use.
NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST UP DOWN
Each can be abbreviated to N S E W U D respectfully.
You can also add prepositions such as ON and OFF.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 12 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 7.0 Common Error Messages |
|_______________________________________________________________|
When you type in a sentence that the story cannot understand
it returns an error message. What follows are some of the common
ones.
COME AGAIN?
You pressed <enter> without typing anything.
THERE WERE TOO MANY NOUNS IN THAT SENTENCE.
You are only allowed two nouns per sentence.
I DON'T KNOW THE WORD "your word"
The word you typed in is not in the story's vocabulary. Try
using a synonym or rephrasing. If this fails the action or the
thing you are referring to is not important to the story.
IT'S TOO DARK TO SEE
There is not enough light present to perform the specified
action.
YOU USED THAT VERB IN A WAY I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
You can only use a word in the form in which the story is
programmed to accept it. You may be using too many or too few
nouns with it.
YOU DON'T SEE ANY "you word" HERE.
The item you referred to is either not present or not
visible. Perhaps it is inside something or otherwise concealed.
THAT SENTENCE DID NOT START WITH A VERB.
Each sentence you type MUST start with a verb.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 13 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
YOU USED THE WORD "your word" IN A WAY I DON'T UNDERSTAND.
The word you used is recognized but not in the way you used
it. Remember that the story can only accept one usage of a word.
THAT SENTENCE ISN'T ONE I RECOGNIZE.
Your sentence is syntactically correct, it just doesn't mean
anything to the story. Try rephrasing.
YOU ARE ALREADY IN THAT MODE.
You typed BRIEF or SCRIPT while the story was already in
that mode.
COULD YOU BE A BIT MORE SPECIFIC?
WHICH <your word> DO YOU MEAN?
You typed something like TAKE THE PEN when there is a
FOUNTAIN PEN and a BALLPOINT PEN in the story. Retype the
sentence specifying which item you wish. If you are not sure,
type LOOK.
YOU CAN'T GO THAT WAY.
This is no exit in the direction you specified.
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| 8.0 Trouble with the Story itself. |
|_______________________________________________________________|
It may be possible that the Story (program) may do something
totally unexpected, perhaps even crashing. These are called
software errors. (The previous section dealt with user errors,
that is the user attempted to do something that they weren't
supposed to do). Some of these the program can recover from and
continue, called NON-FATAL ERRORS, while others cause the program
to terminate, called FATAL ERRORS. When either of these
situations arise the program will attempt to at least exit to
the system in a normal fashion and/or display a requestor
containing information about the error.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
| | |
| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 14 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
8.1 Error Requestors.
An Error Requestor will appear any time that the story
detects a problem within its own program. How serious this
problem is depends on the severity of the error.
This requestor will contain the following information...
SEVERITY: Either FATAL, NON-FATAL, FYI, or INTERNAL.
LOCATION: The area of the story's program where the error
occurred.
CODE: This number gives a more precise indication of the
error's location. Combined with LOCATION it
specifies a unique location in the program.
MESSAGE: A brief description of the error.
The severity value is the most important piece of
information in the requestor while the location and code values
would be of use only in reporting a "bug" ( SEE Section 8.4 ).
At the bottom of this requestor the user is given two
choices either PROCEED or ABORT, except in the case of a fatal
error when ABORT is the only choice given. If PROCEED is selected
the story will continue as if the error had never occurred;
however if ABORT is selected then the story immediately exits to
the system (if it can).
Here is a list of each error severity and what action should
be taken by the user if they appear.
FATAL Note Location and Code value. Check with HELP ME! List
in next section. If not listed or if problem persists,
report to support.
(SEE Section 8.4 Reporting a Bug.)
NON-FATAL Note the message and check with HELP ME! list in next
section. Select PROCEED if it appears you can continue
the story without side-affects from the error.
FYI This message is for your information only and no action
is needed by you. Select PROCEED.
INTERNAL You should never see this since it is generated by one
part of the program as a message to another which in
turn should clear it. Select PROCEED.
_______________________________________________________________
| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
| |
| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 15 of 21 |
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8.2 HELP ME! A Trouble Shooting guide.
One of the more irritating habits of people who work with
computers is that they assume that any problem is never their
fault or responsibility but someone else's. For example I once
spent several hours checking modems, programs, and consulting
with on-call experts because a certain bank (who shall remain
nameless) was convinced that their problems were the result of
something wrong at our end and was our responsibility to fix.
After all this time and effort it was discovered that their modem
at their site had become unplugged. So, all I ask of you the user
is to kindly check and re-check everything at your end before you
go telling me there's something wrong with my program. That
includes making sure your joystick is plugged in the right
gameport and that all software is installed properly.
The following section is for all those users who cry out
"HELP ME!" and gives a general description of a problem with
possible caused, resolutions, and of course whose responsibility
it is to fix it.
HELP ME! When I go to run the program it crashes.
There are two possible causes.
1. The Library version in your computer is lower than the version
number my program is requesting which is 33, and is the lowest
non-obsolete version supported by Commodore-AMIGA. If this is the
case then your operating system is obsolete and you will need to
upgrade it. Responsibility: YOURS!
2. There is not enough memory available in your computer to allow
the program to start. Heroine requires a minimum of 270KB to
start up. Stop all other programs and close any windows you do
not need. If this fails to work then reboot and follow the same
procedure. If this still fails to work then you will need more
memory.
Responsibility: YOURS!
HELP ME! The program gives me a FATAL error and a message about
a TERM or a SERVER failing to start.
Terminals and Servers handle input and output in various
capacities and only require a simple memory allocation in order
to start. Therefore the only way one can fail to start is if
there is not enough available memory in your computer. Stop all
other programs and close any windows you do not need. If this
fails to work then reboot and follow the same procedure. If this
still fails to work then you will need more memory.
Responsibility: YOURS!
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| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
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| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 16 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
HELP ME! The program gives me a FATAL error and a message about
a memory allocation failing.
A memory allocation fails when there is not enough free memory
available in your computer to fulfill the allocation. This is a
matter of making the memory available to the program. Stop all
other programs and close any windows you do not need. If this
fails to work then reboot and follow the same procedure. If this
still fails to work then you will need more memory.
Responsibility: YOURS!
HELP ME! The program is asking for a disk I don't have!
This is a "depends" question. It depends on whether you are
running Heroine as a floppy disk based game or have installed it
onto a "hard disk". Read whichever case applies to you...
NOTE: The game comes on three disks HERO1 HERO2 HERO3.
I am running from floppy disks:
If it is asking for DF0: DF1: or DH0: then you must have selected
a disk drive that is not mounted on your system. If you have such
a drive then mount it. If not avoid further references to this
drive. If it is however asking for HERO1: HERO2: or HERO3: then
you are either missing one of the 3 game disks or one is not
named properly. Files needed to run the program (including the
program itself) reside on disk HERO1: therefore your main game
disk should be named as such. Make sure that the disks you have
are named properly, and contain the right files. The other two
disks contain graphics files and if you are missing one of these
simply enter the NOPICTURES command at the ">" prompt and these
requests will go away. If you are missing a disk and/or a file
then you should return this program and disks to whomever
gave/sold it to you.
Responsibility: THEIRS!
I am running from a hard disk:
If you installed Heroine to a hard disk and you are
experiencing this problem then I am afraid you've botched it old
chap. Prior to installing software to a hard disk there are two
things you should do first. One is to leave yourself an out, a
way to back out of the installation should something go wrong,
this means to backup your hard disk prior to the installation.
Two is to make use of any author provided installation procedures
before resulting to doing it yourself.
I have provided a batch file named INSTALL.DH0 that will install
Heroine properly to your hard disk, and another file
DEINSTALL.DH0 that will remove it from your hard disk. See the
file INSTALL.DOC for instructions.
Responsibility: YOURS!
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| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
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| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 17 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
HELP ME! The program gives me a FATAL error and a message about
a file failing to be opened.
There are 4 files that the program needs to start up, they all
reside on disk HERO1. They are HEROINE.DIC (dictionary file),
HEROINE.UTX (Utility Text file), HEROINE.0 (startup data file),
and P00.PIC (Title Graphic file).
If this event followed a system request for a disk you did not
have and which you cancelled then you should consult the above
event. Otherwise the files may simply be wrongly named (difficult
to locate), or wrongly placed. If all else fails then you don't
have an intact copy of this program and should get after the
person(s) you got it from.
Responsibility: YOURS! if you received an intact copy of game
THEIRS! if not
HELP ME! The program gives me a FATAL/NONFATAL error and a
message about a read/write/seeking error on a file.
The program has received a message that a read, write, or a seek
performed on a file has failed. There are many possible causes
for this to occur.
1. The file has become corrupt. Make a new copy from the
original disks (you are using copies I hope!) and proceed.
Responsibility: YOURS!
2. The file is bogus. That means that this file is not the file
that the program is expecting. Compare files with someone who is
not experiencing this problem. You may find that the files do not
match in which case the file is bogus. WARNING! This may indicate
that you or the person(s) from which you received this program
may have a virus on their system.
Responsibility: THEIRS!
3. A genuine BUG! Follow the procedures in Section 8.4
Reporting a Bug. But first try to run the program again and
follow the same steps that lead to the error. If you cannot
recreate the error and it does not occur again then it was not a
bug but most likely a power fluctuation in your computer that
modified the code. (Yes any fluctuation in voltage levels can
wreck havoc with a computer).
Responsibility: OURS!
NOTE: If this error occurs when restoring to a previously saved
position in the story. You could find yourself half and half.
Half of the story is set to the previous position while the other
half is still in the same place. In this case you will need to
either perform another restore or a restart.
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| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
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| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 18 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
HELP ME! The program gives me a FATAL error and a message
"Internal Error".
This is a genuine BUG! A value in the program was found to be
invalid. Report as a bug following the procedures in Section 8.4
Reporting a Bug. But first try to run the program again and
follow the same steps that lead to the error. If you cannot
recreate the error and it does not occur again then it was not a
bug but most likely a momentary hiccup in your operating system.
Responsibility: OURS!
HELP ME! I am missing a disk/file!
When obtaining software either over-the-counter, shareware, or
bulletin boards, you should make sure you are getting the full
package. If you don't then it is the responsibility of the party
that sold/gave/provided this software to make good on this.
Responsibility: THEIRS!
HELP ME! One of the disks/files is corrupt/damaged/lost and I
don't have a backup or original to restore it from.
Never work from an original disk, use a copy. Always leave
yourself an out, a way to recover, make a backup. Too late now!
Responsibility: YOURS!
8.3 System requests.
A system request (see you Amiga users manual) is a DOS
generated message requesting certain action by you. The most
common of these requests you might receive is...
PLEASE INSERT VOLUME "volume name" IN ANY DRIVE
If you receive this message insert the disk who's name
matches the volume name requested in a drive. This will satisfy
the system request.
However, it is possible that the system may ask for a disk
you do not have. If this is the case refer to the trouble
shooting guide in the previous section.
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| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
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| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 19 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
8.4 Reporting a bug
If you have a problem that you cannot resolve through your
own resources you should report that problem to the author of
this software.
NOTE: Support is only given for problems with the program
itself NOT with solving puzzles. There are hints disks
available for this purpose.
Prior to doing this you should obtain the version/release
number of the story and the disk serial number (use the VERSION
command).
Mailing Address:
Tom Landers
o/a Elbow Cay Enterprises
176 Redgrave Drive (Bsmt)
Etobicoke ON
M9R 3V9
Include the following information.
1. The name of the program/game.
2. The version/release number.
3. The disk serial number.
4. Information from any Error Requestors that appeared.
5. A brief description of what happened and what you were doing
and where in the story you were when the problem occurred.
6. You're name, address, postal code (that's zip code for all
you Yanks), and phone number.
If by chance one or more of the story disks have been
corrupted or fouled up you'll have to replace them by your own
means as I cannot assume responsibility for these events.
NOTICE: This program is released as SHAREWARE and as such I can
only give assistance to those users who have abided by
the shareware agreement (SEE section 9 Copyright).
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| | |
| ELBOW CAY ENTERPRISES | Program Documentation |
|_____________________________|_________________________________|
| | | |
| Project: Heroine | Version: 1.0 | Date: 30 Aug 92 |
|_____________________________|______________|__________________|
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| Type of Document: User Manual for Heroine |
|_______________________________________________________________|
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| Author(s): Tom Landers | Page: 20 of 21 |
|____________________________________________|__________________|
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| 9.0 Copyright Information |
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DISCLAIMER
This software is provided "as is" without warrant of any kind
either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the
implied warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. User or
purchaser of this software, and any other user of this software
agrees that Elbow Cay Enterprises has no liability for errors,
faults or omissions and Elbow Cay Enterprises shall not be liable
for any loss, damages, injury or expense which the purchaser or
user incurs. In no event will Elbow Cay Enterprises be liable for
direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages,
even if Elbow Cay Enterprises has been advised of the possibility
of such damages. Users and purchasers agree that, as a condition
precedent to sue of this software, the user or purchaser agrees
to these terms.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
The characters, concept, story, program, and related files are
copyright (c) 1984,1992 by Tom Landers o/a Elbow Cay Enterprises,
and are for the private non-commercial use of the user in
accordance with the following rules.
1. This software is released as shareware and a fee of $10 is
recommended.
2. This software is freely redistributable.
3. No one shall charge a fee for the distribution of this
software without the prior consent of the author.
4. The author shall give no service, support, or correspondence
except with those who have paid the shareware fee.
A FINAL NOTE
When you startup the game you will see a title screen made of
digitized graphics. It cost me money to make that picture. Why?
Would you work for nothing? The rest of the graphics in the game
are not up to the quality of the title screen since I used
graphics made by myself or obtained from various sources. In
the future I would like to use more digitized graphics as they
give realism to a program. By paying the shareware fee on this
game you give me an idea of how much I can spend on future
projects.
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| MAILING ADDRESS |
|_______________________________________________________________|
Tom Landers
o/a Elbow Cay Enterprises
176 Redgrave Drive (Bsmt)
Etobicoke ON
M9R 3V9
_______________________________________________________________
| |
| BBS LISTED WITH |
|_______________________________________________________________|
BBS: Comspec Online
Phone: (Comspec customers only)
ID: Thomas Landers
BBS: CRS (Canada Remote Systems)
Phone: 798-7730 or 798-7731 (Toronto)
629-7000 or 629-7044 (Mississauga)
ID: Tom Landers
BBS: The Daily Planet
Phone: 436-6509
ID: Tom
