The Devil's Doorknob BBS Capture (1996-2003)/devilsdoorknobbbscapture1996-2003.iso/Dloads/BBSONLIN/CLFB121.ZIP/CLFBSYSP.DOC

Text File | 1991-03-04 | 19KB | 334 lines

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+-|- EAGUE FOOTBALL VERSION 1.21
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Copyright 1991 by Stephen David
Sysop Documentation

Introduction:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Crunch League Football is a unique addition to the world of on-line games.
Before, on-liners could be divided into a few categories: The "Hack and Slash"
genre, in which the player has a character who can gain levels and get better
weapons and armor (e.g. _Food Fight!_), the "RPG" genre, in which the player
also has a character that gains levels, etc, but usually has less interaction
with other players (e.g. _Masters of the Universe_), and the "Space Wars"
genre, in which the player controls a whole empire, or dynasty, and trades with
and fights other players (e.g. _Space Dynasty_).  There are, of course, a few
exceptions, with Crunch League Football now joining the ranks.  Crunch League
Football was designed for use on WWIV systems, but can be used on BBSes which
support a few functions (see Installation, below).

   There has never been a "sports" on-liner to my knowledge.  This is for a
good reason, also.  They are extremely hard to make, but we think we have
succeeded with Crunch League Football.
   In CLFB, players go through all the processes of a real football coach and
owner:  They draft players; they prepare their line-up for oncoming games; etc.
As a CLFB football coach, you get to watch your team go from the beginning of
the season, with all new players, to the playoffs (hopefully), and to the
Superbowl (doubtfully).
   Playing CLFB requires a commitment, but not a major one.  Players should
try to call before each game, so they can prepare for the upcoming game.  More
details about playing CLFB can be found in the player documentation.

Conversion:
~~~~~~~~~~~
   If you are not currently running CLFB version 1.0, you can ignore this
section.  In order to convert your current game up to 1.21, it is necessary to
simply run CLCNF.EXE before allowing either of the other programs to run (i.e.
FB or PLAYFB).  CLCNF will convert all data files into the necessary 1.21
format.  No matter what point you are at in the season (whether all the teams
have not been filled yet, the season is in progress, or the season is over),
you MUST run CLCNF first.  The program will automatically assign dates for the
remaining games.  If the teams have not all been filled yet, approximately one
week will be allowed for every five empty teams before the first game (see
Initialization step 3, below).  These dates, of course, can easily be changed
(see Using CLCNF, below).
   No conversion is necessary from 1.1, 1.11, or 1.2 to 1.21, simply copy the
new files over the old ones.  The format for saving team data is different,
but CLFB will automatically convert the files for you when any CLFB program is
executed.  (Note that Crunchware News will not convert the team files.  Run any
CLFB program before using CWNEWS.EXE.)

Installation:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Installing CLFB is a simple and, for the most part, self-explanatory
process.  Just follow these simple steps:

   1. Make a sub-directory of your BBS directory called CLFB.  You can do this
by going to your BBS directory and typing "MD CLFB".

   2. Copy all of the vital CLFB files into that directory.  They should
include: CLCNF.EXE, FB.EXE, PLAYFB.EXE, LASTNAME.DAT, CLINTRO.TXT, and
FOOTBALL.TXT.

   3. Run CLCNF from DOS.  This will help you configure CLFB.  It will first
ask for the sysop's name or alias.  Next, it will ask you if you want to have
a password for CLFB.  This is to prevent game leeches from doing nothing but
playing games.  If you answer yes, it will prompt you for the password.  Be
sure to tell people what it is!  These two options can be changed at any time
during a season although it would rarely be necessary.
   The program will then ask you if you would like to have two leagues.  If you
only have one league, there will not be a Super Bowl.  Next, it will ask you
how many divisions you want in each league.  Thirdly it will ask you how many
teams you want in each division.  It is generally more fun to have more teams
in fewer divisions, than fewer teams in more divisions, but remember, all the
teams must be filled for the season to start, so don't make more than you think
people will fill up.
   The next step is to make a schedule for the season.  You will first be asked
if you would like a regular or shortened season.  During regular seasons, each
team in a division plays every other team in its division twice, once at home,
once away.  In a shortened season, each team plays each other team once,
randomly selecting whether each game will be home or away.  You would usually
want to select a longer season, but if you wanted to play the season especially
quickly, you would want to have fewer games.  It will then ask for the date of
the first game.  The date you enter can be the current or any later day.  If
you are starting the game for the first time, you would want to leave some
time before the season begins so the teams can be filled.  Otherwise, the games
will not be played until the evening after the last one is filled.  If you
enter a date other than Sunday, the first game will be scheduled for the Sunday
following that date.  Each successive game is scheduled for the following
Sundays.  By selecting the "Date setup" option from the main menu, these
default dates can be changed at any time during the season.
   It will then prompt you for the name of the league(s) and division(s).  Do
NOT put "league" in the name because CLFB will add it to the end (i.e. if you
named league #1 "Blueberry Muffin", CLFB will call it "The Blueberry Muffin
League").
   Next it will ask you if you are in the correct directory for CLFB.  This
directory should contain all vital CLFB files and will contain all CLFB data
files.  Next it will ask for the complete path to the G-Files section of your
board.  For WWIV this is "\BBS\GFILES" (or whatever your BBS dir is named,
maybe "\WWIV\GFILES").  This is used in order for CLFB to be able to access
logon messages and update them (if you use that option).
   Finally, it will ask you if you would like CLFB to advertise in the WWIV
logon screens.  If you say yes, it will put a message at the beginning of
LOGON.ANS and LOGON.MSG describing the status of the game.  Messages will be
posted stating that CLFB is installed and all teams need to be filled, and
when all the teams are filled, saying so.  Each week after that, CLFB will post
a message stating the outcome of the latest games.  It posts messages
throughout the playoffs and the Super Bowl.  The messages are short and will
not hog *your* message.  They are only meant to add excitement to the feeling
of a real football season.  It is a good idea to make backups of your logon
screens, though, because CLFB rarely, but occasionally, screws them up,
depending on whether or not they have strange ANSI commands in them.  If you
make your logon screens with "TheDraw", do not have it clear the screen, or
home the cursor, as this usually messes up with the Crunch League
announcements.  Instead, do nothing to it, and the Crunch League announcements
will clear the screen for you.  Note that if a LOGON file does not already
exist, CLFB will not create a new one.  This is done because some sysops elect
to only use LOGON.MSG for all their users.  Note that you can also select CLFB
to not update the logon screens and instead use Crunchware News, a new
Crunchware product (see below).
   Once you have completed the main configuration, you will enter the
configuration menu (see using CLCNF, below).  Once you quit the program, CLFB
will save the teams and schedule for the season.  This can take up to a couple
of minutes, depending on the number of teams and the speed of the computer.
   Now that you have initially set up CLFB, it is easy to change any or all of
the settings by selecting them from the menu.  Be careful, however, not to
accidentally reset the season or teams.

   4. Run your WWIV Init program and install "\BBS\CLFB\PLAYFB.EXE" as your
BeginDay Event program (or add it to a batch file).  This is obviously
EXTREMELY important if you want CLFB to work.

   5. Run ChainEdit from WWIV and install CLFB as a chain with the file name
"\BBS\CLFB\FB.EXE %1".
   WWIV has been known to sometimes cause a problem with the program running
correctly.  If you get the message, "ERROR: Data file 'CLFB.CNF' not found.",
create instead a batch file (say "RUNFB.BAT") in the Crunch League directory
containing the following lines:

   @ECHO OFF
   REM  Change to CLFB parent directory here (whatever you specified during
   REM  configuration):
   CD \BBS\CLFB
   FB %1

Implement this file with ChainEdit, and the problem should be solved.
   Additionally, set WWIV to compress itself before running CLFB, especially if
you are using the gambling option in the registered version.  Otherwise, it
will not record changes in gold, security level, and upload credit when the
user returns to the BBS.

   NOTE:  For non-WWIV BBSes, it is just as simple to use CLFB, but, because
of chaining incompatibility, the %1 parameter should not be passed.  Instead,
the user will be asked for a password to use with his alias.  This can be
either good or bad, since it allows users to coach more than one team (which
some people like while others don't).  It would be a huge task to have CLFB
support all BBSes, but if you would like newer versions of CLFB to support your
BBS, please send all chaining information possible about your BBS type with
your registration.  Otherwise, CLFB should work if your BBS supports the
functions listed in steps 4 and 5.

   That's it!  You can now go about making your own team.

Using CLCNF
~~~~~~~~~~~
   Once the game has been set up, you will rarely need to use CLCNF again.  The
season should run smoothly through the superbowl.  If, however, at any time you
would like to make changes, simply run CLCNF and select options on the menu:

   Complete reset.  This function will reset the game completely.  You must go
through the procedure explained above and reset leagues, teams, etc.  Be
careful not to do this accidentally, or you might have some angry players!

   Date setup.  This option allows you to change the scheduled dates of games
once they have been scheduled.  For regular games, this is at any point in the
season; but for post-season games, the date can only be changed once the teams
involved have been decided.  By default, CLFB will set games to be played on
Sunday nights.  It is also possible to ignore the scheduled date for a game and
simply play it, using the "/D" option with PLAYFB (see Using PLAYFB, below).

   Gambling setup.  (Registered version only).  If you wish to allow users on
your WWIV BBS to gamble their gold, upload credit, and/or security level, you
may use this option to configure gambling for your BBS.  NOTE:  Gambling will
not necessarily work if you have modified your WWIV source so that the user
list format has been changed.  Using it in conjunction with such a change MAY
cause problems on your BBS.  Otherwise, it should work.
   If you select to allow gambling, you will be prompted for the complete path
and NAME of your user list file (e.g. "C:\WWIV\DATA\USER.LST").  You will then
be given the option to allow gambling of gold, upload credit, and security
levels.  For each of these, you must enter the maximum bet and the maximum
amount allowable to be obtained.  Visitors to the game who are not actual
coaches may also bet if the option is available.
   NOTE:  You MUST also direct WWIV to shrink itself before running CLFB in
order to use this option.  Otherwise, changes made to the user record will not
be recorded.

   Edit teams.  If, for any reason, you have a reason to change aspects of a
team's configuration, the edit teams option allows you to do so.  After you
select it from the main menu, it will give you the choice to edit any team with
a coach.  You are given the opportunity to change the name, coach's name, city,
and (if applicable) password for the selected team.  If the team does not yet
have a coach, these can not yet be changed.  Note that, if you are using the
pre-named teams option, this feature overlaps with it somewhat.  You may change
a team's name and city either here or using the team names option.
   The ability to change a coach's name can be especially helpful on WWIV
BBSes, where a user might sometime decide to change his alias but want to keep
the same CLFB team.  These changes can be made at any point during the season,
but they will not appear in records or the rankings until a new set of games
has been played.

   Logon announcements.  If you are running on a WWIV BBS and would like to
start having logon announcements or you would like to remove this option, select
this from the menu.  If you select yes, the program will ask you if you want it
to redo the most recent logon announcement.  Selecting yes for this will have
CLCNF redo the latest logon announcement when you leave the program.  From
that point onward in the season, CLFB will add messages to LOGON.MSG and
LOGON.ANS.  If you select no, CLFB will not change either file any longer.
Note that this can be done at any point during the season.
   If you do not direct CLFB to make logon announcements in LOGON.MSG and
LOGON.ANS, it will instead write them to files called SCORES.MSG and
SCORES.ANS.  These files are used by Crunchware News (see below).

   Names of divisions and teams.  This option will display the names of all the
league(s) and division(s), allowing you to change them at any point during the
season (although you would rarely need to).

   Reset season.  This important option allows you to reset the CLFB season at
any time, including the middle of the season.  First, CLCNF will bring up a
screen allowing you to edit the number of teams per division, divisions per
league, and number of leagues as well as to move and erase individual teams.
Be careful when using this not to accidentally erase more than you mean to.
Reducing the number of divisions or teams per division will cause the existing
teams at the end to be deleted.  (e.g. If you currently have six teams per
division and reduce the number to four, the last two teams of each division
will be deleted.)  All these operations are pretty self explanatory.  If you
do accidentally delete more than you mean, there is always the last resort of
aborting the whole program (see below).  The program will then ask you for
information in creating the schedule (see above).

   Sysop name and password.  This option allows you to change the sysop name
and change or remove the password.

   Team names.  For those of you who would like to set up the season with teams
of a specific name, you can select this option and go through each division,
creating (or editing) the name and city of each team.

   Quit and save.  This option will return you to DOS and save any files that
have been changed.

   Abort.  If you have accidentally reset the season or worse, simply
select this and return to DOS without saving anything.

Using PLAYFB
~~~~~~~~~~~~
   There are two parameters which can be passed to PLAYFB.  They must be typed
with a slash (e.g. "PLAYFB /D /I").  The first parameter is the "/D" option.
This allows you to play the next games regardless of the date they are
scheduled.  The "/I" option will give version and registration information when
the program is run and give the scores of games as they are played.

Chat Mode
~~~~~~~~~
   There is a chat mode in Crunch League Football that can be entered by
pressing F10 whenever the user is at a prompt.  The chat mode is nothing fancy,
just a quick way to jump in and say, "Why the heck are drafting THAT bag of
bones?"  Chat can be exited at any time by pressing F10.

Crunchware News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   It was noted that logon messages sometimes became rather long and time-
consuming for users who do not participate in CLFB.  Starting with version 1.2,
CLFB now supports Crunchware News.  Crunchware News is a small program that
can easily be added to your logon event.  It will only give the latest scores
to CLFB coaches and other interested players.  If the user is also a coach,
CWNEWS will additionally give his team's win-loss record and current rank.
   CWNEWS should be available on BBSes in your area.  If you are interested and
can not find it, contact the Temple of Nine BBS (703 820-0109) for a copy.

Registration:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   If you like Crunch League Football and decide to use it as a chain on your
BBS, we would appreciate it if you registered it with Crunchware.  By
registering, you will receive a personalized registration code which will allow
you to use functions not available in the unregistered version:

   -Trading.  Coaches can trade players on their teams with other coaches at
    any time during the season.

   -Gambling.  If you are running a WWIV BBS, you may elect to allow gambling
    on games.  This option adds extra dimensions to the game, especially by
    being available to coaches and visitors to the game alike.

   By registering CLFB, you will also be supporting Crunchware and encourage
us to make updates as well as new programs.  There is now only one method of
registering, and the cost is always $10.  Why, you might ask, have we switched
from the personalized copy to registration code method?  Well, it makes
upgrading a whole lot easier.  When you receive a later version of CLFB, you
will not need to send off another order form or contact us for an upgrade.
Simply copy the new files over the old ones and the new version will
automatically be registered.
   Please print out the enclosed file called "REGISTER.TXT" (Use "COPY
REGISTER.TXT PRN" from DOS) and fill it out NEATLY (Some of those more obscure
aliases are a little tricky to figure out).  Include any comments and/or
suggestions you have with it.  Then send it to:

             Stephen David
             6030 Fort Hunt Road
             Alexandria, VA  22307

   We suggest that you do not send cash, rather a check or money order.  Please
make all checks payable to Stephen David.  Allow up to three weeks for
delivery.  Please register!  It keeps us in business and allows us to keep
making great Crunchware software!  Thank you for your support.

Bugs:
~~~~~
   Please!  We have spent a long time testing CLFB, but it is still possible
that there are some bugs.  If you find any, please notify us of them with your
registration, or simply contact us either by mail, e-mail (Infinity, 4 @ 17303
WWIV-Link or 27 @ 7309), or calling The Temple of Nine (see above) to tell us.
Any help in this respect would be greatly appreciated.

Credits:
~~~~~~~~
Programmer and Refiner: Infinity
Grunt Worker and Idea Man: Maelstrom
Alpha Testers: The Users of the Temple of Nine

The End
~~~~~~~
   We hope you will enjoy Crunch League Football!  Keep your eyes open for
other great Crunchware products!