GALACTIC EMPIRE Version 2.41 Setup Instructions (C)1988-1992 by Bill Mountney & Bill Coffman Galactic Empire is a multi-player BBS doors game of space conquest. Players will attempt to acquire the most planets, credits (money), and military strength, through warfare, diplomacy, and trading in order to become the most powerful Empire in the galaxy! For complete instructions on game play consult the file GE_PLR.TXT (which is also available for players to read when playing the game). SETTING UP THE GAME =================== You will need to add "GE.TOS" to your BBS's doors system, so that it can be run by the User's who call your BBS. The method of doing this varies with the type of BBS software you are running, and you should consult your BBS documentation for details. The game automatically handles all modem I/O routines itself, so if your BBS provides options for manually redirecting I/O from the doors system, you should not use them. The game also checks for dropped carrier and has a two minute timeout so that your BBS will not be left in limbo if the player decides to hang up or walk away from their computer for a while. There are are also several methods available for the game to automatically determine the Username of the player from your BBS. You should read through this entire document to familiarize yourself with these options before actually attempting to set the game up on your system. To begin with, copy the following files into the folder where you will be running the game from: GE.TOS --- The Program File GE_PLR.TXT --- The Game Play Instructions File This will normally be the same folder in which your BBS program resides. However, if your BBS allows you to change the "current folder" before running doors programs, you may locate these two files in an alternate folder. Note that just specifying the complete path of the "GE.TOS" file when running it may not change the current folder. This depends on your BBS. For example, if your BBS resides in "C:\BBS\" and you decide to put the GE files in "C:\GE\" you could put a command in your doors system to run "C:\GE\GE.TOS". This will successfully execute the "GE.TOS" file, however your BBS may still leave the current working folder set to "C:\BBS\". In this case, GE will end up looking in "C:\BBS\" to find the "GE_PLR.TXT" file. You may have to experiment with this to see if your BBS is actually changing the current folder. It is also possible that you may be able to use a separate command to change the folder before the command to run the game. The next thing you must do is use the GE Setup Mode to configure the various game options the way you want them, and create the necessary data files. When you first run the program it presents the following options: nstructions, etup Mode,

lay Game or uit: Since your are running the program locally (that is, you are not connected to it through the modem) it knows you are the Sysop, and gives you the Setup Mode option. This option will not appear for the players who are connected to the game through their modems. Press the "S" key to indicate that you wish to enter Setup Mode. The program will then create a file named "GE_SETUP.DAT" which contains the setup information for the game. This file will be created in whatever is set as the current folder. This is important to note because if you are running GE from somewhere other than your BBS (such as the GEM Desktop) the current folder may be different from what it will be when later the program is run from within your BBS. Then it would not be able to find the "GE_SETUP.DAT" file later. So, unless you are sure of which folder the BBS will be setting as current later, it is best to always run GE from the BBS doors system even whether for setup or playing the game. Next, you will be presented with the following menu: Setup Menu ====================== BS Options ame Options nitialize Files essage Reinitialize xpand Message Base ename a Player elete a Player oday's Log esterday's Log rite To Champ List ====================== Select Option, =Menu or uit: You select the option you want by typing the highlighted letter of the option. The functions of the menu options are as follows: BS Options ============= This option presents the following sub-menu: BBS Options Menu ================================ Select Preset BBS Type +++ Custom Setup +++ Pause on exit : NO Get Username From : BINARY FILE File Pathname : FOREM.DAT Line/Byte # of Name : 3477 Length in Lines/Bytes: 30 ================================= Select Option, =Menu or =Quit: When a User plays Galactic Empire, the game has to know what his or her Username is in order to distinguish one User's Empire from the others. The options on this menu provide several ways of doing this. Select Preset BBS Type: By selecting this option, you may pick one of four preset BBS Types. Selecting one of these will automatically configure the other options as required for your system: orinfo1.def: This option is for any BBS that writes out the relatively standard doors information file "DORINFO1.DEF". This includes newer versions of the Forem BBS, and may be used instead of the orem option for those systems. After selecting this option it will ask for the path where it can find the "DORINFO1.DEF" file. For example, if your BBS writes the file in a folder called "BBS" on drive "C:" you would enter "C:\BBS\". This would cause the program to look for the file "C:\BBS\DORINFO1.DEF" to find the user's name. orem: This option will attempt to read the user's name from the "FOREM.DAT" file. This file is written out by Forem and Forem compatible BBS systems. After selecting this option it will ask for the path where it can find the "FOREM.DAT" file. For example, if your BBS created the file in a folder called "FOREM" on drive "C:", you would enter "C:\FOREM\". This would cause the program to look for the file "C:\FOREM\FOREM.DAT" to find the user's name. itadel: This option will work with STadel, adel and possibly other Atari ST variations of Citadel. It will attempt to get the User's name from the command line. In order for this to work, you must specify an "n" parameter as one of the mode switches in your BBS's "CTDLDOOR.SYS" file. Consult your BBS's documentation on setting up doors for further information. ther: If your BBS system is not one of the three listed above, you may either select this option or attempt a custom configuration as explained below. Choosing "Other" will set the game up in "PROMPT USER" mode. This will ask the user to enter a name and password when they begin playing the game. Read the section about the "PROMPT USER" option below for more information. Pause On Exit: The default for this option is "NO". When set to "YES" it will prompt the user to "Press to exit to the BBS" whenever they exit the game. Use this if your BBS clears the screen after running doors programs, so that the user will have a chance to see any final messages from Galactic Empire before the screen is cleared. Custom Configuration Options If you are running one of the preset types of BBS Systems listed above you can probably skip over most of this next section. If you cannot use one of the presets, you may be able to configure automatic Username detection on your system using the following options. Get Username From: This option tells Galactic Empire where to look for the User's name: SCII FILE: Select this option if your BBS writes out an ASCII file containing the User's name. An ASCII file is one in which the information in the file is plain text separated by carriage return/linefeed characters. INARY FILE: Select this option of your BBS writes out a binary file containing the User's name. A file containing anything other than text separated by CR/LF characters would be considered a binary file. A good test of this is if the file looks like it contains mostly "garbage" characters when you attempt to view it's contents. OMMAND LINE: Select this option if your BBS is capable of passing the User's name on the command line. If you select this option, you will not need to set the other custom options. However, you will need to properly configure your BBS software's doors system to make it pass the User's name on the command line.

ROMPT USER: If your BBS does not provide any of the above methods of automatically determining the current User's name, you will have to settle for this manual option. This will simply prompt the User for a Username and Password. This method will prevent one user from having access to another's Empire, however it will not provide a method of ensuring that any user is playing only one Empire at a time. If you do not wish for Users to play multiple Empires, it is recommended that you insist they make their game Username the same as their BBS Username. Then, you will be able to keep watch on the GE Log file, to see if there are any users playing who's names do not match members of your BBS. You can then delete them with an option in the Setup Menu. File Pathname: If you have selected to get the Username from an ASCII FILE or BINARY FILE, this is where you specify the name of the file. You should specify the complete pathname of the file, for example "C:\BBS\FOREM.DAT". You may need to modify this option even if you have selected one of the Preset BBS Types, because if the "GE.TOS" file is not located in the same directory as your BBS program, it will need the complete pathname in order to find this file. Line/Byte # in File & Length in Lines/Bytes: If you have selected to get the User's name from either an ASCII or BINARY FILE, these two options specify where in the file to get it from. For an ASCII FILE they are specified in LINES, for a BINARY FILE, they are measured in BYTES. The Line/Byte # in File option specifies at which Line or Byte position in the file to look for the name. The Length in Lines/Bytes option specifies how long the name is in Lines or Bytes. Examples of Custom Configuration: As an example of how to set these custom options, let's look at how the orinfo1.def and orem presets are defined. The "DORINFO1.DEF" file is an ASCII file containing the User's first name at line 7 and their last name at line 8. The orinfo1.def preset sets the options as follows: Get Username From: ASCII FILE File Pathname : DORINFO1.DEF Line # in File : 7 Length in Lines : 2 This tells Galactic Empire to extract two lines from the file starting at line 7. The lines will automatically be appended together with a space in between, forming the User's complete name. As another example, the "FOREM.DAT" file is a BINARY file containing the User's complete name at a location 3477 bytes into the file. The name may be up to 30 characters long. The orem preset sets the options as follows: Get Username From: BINARY FILE File Pathname : FOREM.DAT Byte # in File : 3477 Length in Bytes : 30 This tells Galactic Empire to extract up to 30 characters from the file starting at location 3477. Any extra trailing spaces will be stripped away automatically to form the final Username. Exiting the Menu: After setting these options the way you want them, hit RETURN to exit the menu. You will be given the choice of saving the setup. Answer "Y" to save it or "N" to abort the changes and revert to the previous settings. ame Options ============== This will present the following sub-menu: Game Options Menu =========================================== GE Files Path : C:\GE_A\ News Path : C:\GE_A\GE_NEWS.TXT Log Path : C:\GE_A\GE_LOG.TXT Score Path : * Default * Champs List Path : C:\BBS\DATABASE\DB0 Daily Turns : 5 Turn Accumulation : 5 Protection Turns : 25 Auto Delete Days : 5 Auto Reset on 1st : NO Auto Champ on 1st : NO Tournament Mode : OFF Starting Date : 12/10/88 Starting Time : 1800 ========================================== Select Option, =Menu or =Quit: These are the options for how you would like your game set up and where to store its data files. If you are setting up a new game, there will be a list of default options, many of which you'll probably change. Select an option to change by typing its highlighted letter. GE Files Path: The "GE Files Path" is the complete pathname (i.e. "C:\BBS\GE\") of the folder where all of the GE data files for the game will be created. This folder will hold the following files: GE_PLR.DAT --- The player data file GE_MSG.DAT --- The message base file GE_ERROR.LOG --- A record of any errors occurring during play This path may be the same place you have the "GE.TOS" and "GE_SETUP.DAT" files stored, or you may opt to keep these files in a separate folder. Whatever folder you specify here, make sure it exists before initializing the data files, or you will get an "Error 34" (Path Not Found). Each game will also have News and Log files, and optionally Score and Tournament Champions files. These can be stored in this folder, but may be directed elsewhere, such as your BBS's database or bulletins menu. News Path: The "News Path" is simply the complete pathname (i.e. "C:\BBS\NEWS.TXT") to where you want to store the Galactic Empire Daily News file. This is a text file containing notable events which have occurred between empires during the game, such as battles, alliances, etc. Common places to put this file are in the system bulletins or database area. However, it can be read from within the game itself when someone is playing, so it is not really necessary to have it available for reading elsewhere on your BBS. If you leave this option blank, it will default to a file called "GE_NEWS.TXT" in the GE Files Path specified above. The program will also keep a backup file of yesterday's news with the same path and filename, but with an extension of ".BAK". So, for example, if your news file was called "GE_NEWS.TXT" the backup would be "GE_NEWS.BAK". Log Path: The "Log Path" is the complete pathname to store the GE Log file. The log file contains more detailed information as to what has transpired during the current day of game play. The choice is up to you as to whether it should be for the general public to read or just you, the Sysop. If you leave this blank it will default to a file called "GE_LOG.TXT" in the standard GE Files Path. The program will also keep a backup of the previous day's log file with the same path and filename, but with a filename extension of ".BAK". Score Path: The complete pathname of the GE Score file, containing Empire Name, Score and Number of Planets for each player. If left blank, it will default to "GE_SCORE.TXT" in the GE Files Path. Champs List: The complete pathname of the GE Champions List file. This file holds the names of the top ten empires of all time, in descending order of their scores. It also records the name of the most recent winner, even if they did not make the top ten. It works slightly differently depending on whether it is a normal or tournament game. In a normal game the Champions List is only created automatically if the "Auto Champ on 1st" option is enabled. In that case, the name of the empire who has the highest score at the first of every month will be added to the file. However, even if the "Auto Champ on 1st" option is disabled, the Sysop may still add the current highest scoring player to the list at any time by selecting the "Write To Champ List" option on the Setup main menu. In a tournament game, the name will only be added when an empire finally wins the tournament. The filename will default to "GE_CHAMP.TXT" in the GE Files Path if left blank. Daily Turns: This is the number of game turns each player gets per day. Usually set to 4 or 5, but the choice is up to you. Turn Accumulation: This option is designed to help players who don't play every day. If you set the turn accumulation value higher than the turns per day, then players will be able to accumulate up to that many turns. For each day they do not play, they will accumulate their daily number of turns, up to the maximum set with this option. Protection Turns: This is the number of turns of protection from attack that are given to new players. This is typically set to 25, but you may change it as desired. Note that a players forfeit any remaining turns of protection once they perform an aggressive act such as attacking or covert missions. Auto Delete Days: This is the number of days which the game will allow a player to be inactive before deleting them. The default value is 5 days, but you may wish to reduce this to encourage people to play often enough to keep the game exciting for other players. Auto Reset on 1st: If this is set to "YES" the game will automatically reset at the beginning of each month. This option has no effect in Tournament Mode where the game will continue until only one empire is left. Auto Champ on 1st: If this is set to "YES" the game will automatically add the highest scoring player to the Champions List at the beginning of each month. This has no effect in Tournament Mode where only the last surviving empire will be added to the list. Tournament Mode: If "Tournament Mode" is turned on then the game will become a tournament game. This is should be done before initializing the game. If it is turned on in the middle of a normal game then the game must be reinitialized or things will not work correctly. A tournament game has two other options which must be set: Starting Date: This is the date the tournament will commence, in the format MM/DD/YY. Starting Time: The time the tournament will begin, in the format HHMM (24 hour time). Before the starting date and time, users who attempt play the game will be given the option to register for the tournament. After the game begins no new players can enter the game and it will continue until only one player is left. That player will then have his or her name logged to the Tournament Champions List file, and the game will be deactivated until a date and time is set for the next tournament. Saving the Game Options: After setting these options the way you want them, hit RETURN to exit the menu. You will be given the choice of saving the setup. Answer "Y" to save it or "N" to abort the changes and revert to the previous settings. Now, back to the remaining Main Menu options: nitialize Files ================== This option of the main menu will create all of the necessary game data files in the folder you specified in the Game Options Menu. It will also reinitialize and destroy a game already in progress, so be careful! When selected, it will verify that you really want to do this. It will then ask you the maximum number of messages you would like the Galactic Empire Mail message base to hold. This may range from 50 to 250 messages, with the more the better as long as you are not low on disk space. Each message currently takes 1155 bytes, so the file size will range from 57750 to 288750 bytes depending on the number you select. The space for the messages is reserved in the "GE_MSG.DAT" file at initialization, so it will not grow or shrink at during use. Note that the GE Message system is used for more than just messages between players. It is used for Battle status reports from the player's Generals during the game, so it will get more use than you might think. It may be expanded later if needed, so it is not that critical a decision. If the message base is full, and a new message is entered, it will simply erase the oldest message whether it has been received or not. After making this decision, the program will double check that your intentions, then go ahead and create the necessary files. essage Reinitialize ====================== This will allow you to reinitialize the message base. This will destroy any messages currently active, but will leave the rest of the game otherwise untouched, so it probably won't affect game play too much. You would only need to do this if you wanted to make the message base smaller, or if the message file were somehow corrupted. If you wish to expand the message base, that may be done without disturbing its contents by using the next option. xpand Message Base ===================== This will let you expand the message base from the number of messages it can hold now, anywhere up to the limit of 250 messages. It will do so without erasing the current contents of the message file. If you find that the message base is "wrapping around" faster than the players can receive their messages, you may need to expand it. ename a Player ================= This will let you chance a players Empire name, should you ever find the need to do so. It will list the players in the game and let you select the player to rename. It will then ask for the new name. elete a Player ================= This will allow you to delete a players Empire from the game, freeing the slot to someone else. The players in the game will be listed, and you may select the player to delete. oday's Log ============= This option will view the Galactic Empire log file for the current day, which will be created each day the first time someone plays after 12:00AM. esterday's Log ================= This will view the previous day's log file, if present. rite Champions List ====================== This will find the empire in the current game with the highest score and write the empire's name to the Champion's List. This will create a new Champion's List if one is not already present. This could be used to add the currently winning player's name to the list before resetting the game. uit ====== This exits the program and saves the player files if there have been any changes. If you have used the Initialize option to create the necessary files, you may then rerun "GE.TOS" and this time select

lay at the opening prompt to play the game! Sysop Control Menu ================== While a user is online playing the game the sysop may hit the key to call up a menu of Sysop Control Options. There are four options available on the menu: SYSOP - hat, nd Game, ave & End, iew [ON]: hat: Selecting hat or pressing a second time will enable a Chat Mode so you may communicate with the user who is currently playing the game. Pressing will exit from the Chat Mode. nd Game: Pressing will abort the user's game without saving the data files. Everything that they did during the current game session will be canceled, except for any News and Log file entries that occurred during their game. ave & End: Pressing will end the user's game and save the data files. The user will be able to start again from the beginning of the current turn the next time he plays. iew [ON/OFF]: This will enable or disable the Sysop's viewing of the player's game. This defaults to off when a player first begins playing, but may be toggled by the Sysop at any time from this menu. It will inform the player when it is changed. If you have selected either of the options to end the game, they will exit from the program immediately. After using hat or toggling the iew mode, you will return to the Sysop Control Menu from which you may press or to exit. This will return the player back to whatever point in the game they were at before the interruption. Multi-Game Option ================= If you wish to run more than one Galactic Empire game at one time there is an easy way to do this from within the game, instead of having multiple entries for Galactic Empire on your BBS's Doors menu. Whenever the game first runs it looks for the file "GE_SETUP.DAT". If that file is found it enters single game mode. Otherwise, it will look for files named "GE_SETUP.1" through "GE_SETUP.5" and if any of them exist it will present a menu to select which game to play. (In the case of the Sysop, it will present this menu after selecting whether to Play or Setup.) So, to enter multi-game mode, first go through the process of creating a single game, then rename the "GE_SETUP.DAT" file for that game to "GE_SETUP.1". Once that is done, run the game once again and select Setup mode. You will be presented with the Select Game menu and may select any of five different games to create or edit. Some points to keep in mind about multi-game mode: o Once you rename the "GE_SETUP.DAT" file to "GE_SETUP.1", the game will know it is in multi-game mode and will automatically use the correct "GE_SETUP.x" name for the other games you create. In other words, you only have to rename the file once. o To revert to single game mode, simply rename any of the "GE_SETUP.x" files back to "GE_SETUP.DAT". You may then delete the other setup files if you wish, but they will be ignored as long as a "GE_SETUP.DAT" file is present. o The "GE_SETUP.x" files must all be kept in the folder with the "GE.TOS" file. o Each game's data files must reside in separate folders. You must create a separate folder for each game and set the "GE Files Path" for each game to the correct folder. o There only needs to be one copy of the instructions file, "GE_PLR.TXT". This must be in the folder with "GE.TOS", not in any of the separate game folders. o It is possible for multiple games to share the same Champions List file, if you wish to have one "ultimate" list. To do this, simply set each of the games to point at the same file in the same path. However, it is best if you do not share the same file between both normal and tournament games, because a tournament game uses a title of "Tournament Champions List" in the file, while a normal game just calls it a "Champions List". It will still work, but the title will change in the file depending on which was the most recent type of game to write to it. For that reason, it's best to keep at least one list for the normal games and another for the tournament games. Solutions To Some Common Setup Problems ======================================= Problem: Error 33 (File Not Found) Solution: This usually occurs if the "GE_SETUP.DAT" or "GE_PLR.TXT" files are not in the correct folder. They must reside in the folder which your BBS leaves set as the "current folder" when running doors programs. This usually defaults to the same folder in which the BBS program itself is stored, but depending on the type of BBS you run, it may default to another folder, or allow you to specify whatever folder you want. In any case, make sure the following files end up in the that folder together: GE.TOS --- The Program itself GE_SETUP.DAT --- The Setup File (Created during Setup) GE_PLR.TXT --- The Player Instructions file Problem: Error 34 (Path Not Found) Solution: This occurs when the GE Files Path points to a folder which does not exist. If it occurs when attempting to initialize the files, make sure the folder you have specified exists. If it occurs when trying to begin playing the game, make sure that the path hasn't been changed or the folder renamed or deleted since the game was first initialized. Program History & Information ============================= The original version 1.0 of Galactic Empire was first released in February of 1988. It became quite popular and progressed through several versions up until V1.26 in May 1989. At that point the support BBS for the game went down, and it was thought that would be the final version. Then, over a year and a half later in December 1990, we were inspired with several new ideas for the game. We converted the code to GFA BASIC 3 and began actively working on it again. This version is the result, and we are releasing it as Shareware. If you like this program and appreciate the amount of work that has gone into it, please send a modest contribution (10 or 15 dollars suggested) to the following address: Bill Mountney 11 Lake Road Vincentown, NJ 08088 If you have any suggestions, comments, or bug reports you may contact us either at the above address or through GEnie E-mail to W.MOUNTNEY. Or, for fastest response, call our support BBS and either leave a message in the Galactic Empire topic, or send E- mail addressed to Bill Mountney. Official Support BBS of Galactic Empire: * The Round Table BBS * (609) 268-7524 Vincentown, NJ Running BBS Express ISIS Link Node # 39 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week You will be sure to find the latest version of Galactic Empire there when you log on, and if you take a little time to look around you'll find many other things of interest including many other online games to play, numerous message base topics, and over 1000 files online specializing in desktop publishing and clip art. So give it a call today! I would also like to thank all of the people at Gateway BBS at (609) 931-3014 who have been a great help in beta testing and providing useful suggestions for improving the game. Disclaimer: Galactic Empire may not be sold. However, it may be freely distributed provided all files (GE.TOS, GE_SETUP.TXT, GE_PLR.TXT and README.TXT) are included in unmodified form. The program and documentation is (C)1992 by Bill Mountney and Bill Coffman. All rights reserved. Galactic Empire is distributed "as is" and the authors make no warranty as to its performance for any particular purpose. The program has been thoroughly tested and there is no record of it causing any problems on any computer system. However, the authors accept no liability for any damages arising from the use or misuse of this software.