=============================================================================
          The Magic Oracle -- Version 6.2 -- Developed by Sean Dennis
                        (C) 2002 by Sean Dennis
                          All rights reserved.

        Another Cheepware Production (http://cheepware.lordlegacy.org)

                      Released in partnership with
         
                 Elysium Software (http://www.elysoft.net)
                               * and *
           Warlock Productions (http://sector7bbs.com/warlock)

                      Win32 Version (ORACLEW.EXE)
=============================================================================

        *** PLEASE SEE LICENSE.TXT FOR PROGRAM USAGE LICENSE! ***


{ What is The Magic Oracle? }
  -----------------------
  
The Magic Oracle is a freeware BBS door (although it can be run without
a BBS too!) that will answer to the most pressing questions in your
life!  It's like the famous Magic 8 Ball(tm), but for your BBS.

Features of The Magic Oracle:

  - Up to 32767 sysop-definable answers in a simple text file.
  - Main prompts editable in a text file.
  - Splash screen is customizable.
  - Use of Telegard-style color codes in all prompts.
  - No ANSI.SYS needed; the door has its own routines.
  - DOS, Win32-native and OS/2-native flavors available!

             You are using the Win32 version (CZOCW32.EXE).

This door will only run on Win32-native BBSes that recognize the DOOR32.SYS
format.  Currently, the only BBSes that can do this are:

 - Mystic BBS (http://www.mysticbbs.com)
 - EleBBS (http://www.elebbs.com)
 - Synchronet (v3.00c or higher) (http://www.synchro.net)

This version will ONLY work with the DOOR32.SYS format!

If you are running a DOS-based BBS, please get the CZOCDOS.ZIP archive.
If you are running an OS/2-native BBS, please get the CZOCOS2.ZIP archive.




{ How do I install the door? }
  --------------------------
  
It's actually quite simple to install The Magic Oracle.  Here's the
instructions:

 1) Create a directory for the door and put the archive into it.
 2) Unzip the archive in the directory.
 3) If you want to try out the door now, just type: ORACLEW.EXE /L and
    have fun!

 4) To install it on your BBS, I'd recommend making a batch file like:
 
    @echo off
    d:
    cd \doors\oracle
    oraclew.exe /DD:\BBS\NODE%1\DOOR32.SYS
    cd \bbs
    
    Due to the nature of the DOOR32.SYS format, you don't need to put
    in any other information on the command line.

  5) Set up the door in your BBS.  (At the time of this writing, I don't
     have any examples of how to set up this door in a DOOR32.SYS-enabled
     BBS.  If you run another BBS software package and have The Magic Oracle
     successfully installed, I would appreciate a screen shot of your
     setup or if your BBS uses text files for setup [a la Maximus BBS],
     I'd appreciate those also for future inclusion with this
     documentation.  See "How To Contact The Author" for contact
     information.)
      
      
      
{ How can I customize the door for my needs? }
  ------------------------------------------
  
I wrote this door to be very customizable so sysops and users all over
the world can use my doors in their native tongue.  Almost all of the
prompts and strings in this door are configurable.  Here's the information
about the .DAT files:

  * LANGUAGE.DAT
    This controls the three prompts used within the program.  I'd
    recommend that they be 78 characters or less.  The first line
    is prompting the user for their question.  The second line
    is introducing the answer and the third line is the pause
    prompt to return to the BBS or OS.  

  * SPLASH.ANS
    This is the screen that's shown to users when they go into the
    door.  I'd keep it about the same size it is currently in the
    archive to make sure the door works right.

  * ANSWERS.DAT
    This is the "answers" file.  You can put up to 32767 answers
    in this file.  They all should be 79 characters or less for
    each answer.  You can use color codes in these strings, however,
    the lines will look "off" when translated and displayed in the
    door due a problem in the doorkit I use.  You can use spaces in
    the strings to fix that problem if it's that big of a deal to
    you. :)

  * INDEX.DAT
    This is a special file that TMO keeps the current count (in lines)
    of ANSWERS.DAT.  This file is created the first time you run the
    door to speed up load time when the door is entered.   If you edit
    ANSWERS.DAT (meaning if you add or subtract lines), delete INDEX.DAT
    so TMO will have a correct line count.  If INDEX.DAT is wrong, TMO
    will crash.



{ Special note for sysops running doors under DOSEMU }
  --------------------------------------------------

I made sure that the program, when opening files, only uses lowercase
filenames.  However, because I use a Windows-based system to develop
my doors in, some of the filenames may be in uppercase.




{ Color code support}
  ------------------
  
This door supports color codes in the strings using the Telegard BBS-style
color codes.  They are identical to the pipe codes used by Renegade, but they
use the left-handed apostrophe (`) to signify a color code.  Please see the
file COLORS.TXT, included in the program archive.




{ Known problems with the Win32-native door }
  -----------------------------------------

 There seems to be a bug in Windows that affects the way screens are redrawn
 in console mode, so the door's output may seem a bit jerky or have a
 "scrolling" effect at times.  I am working with the doorkit author and
 other people to see if there is a way around it, but so far, there isn't.
 If you are able to run the DOS version of The Magic Oracle, you won't
 run into the scrolling text problem.




{ Thanks and credits }
  ------------------

Thanks to Mike Hodgson (http://www.mhdev.com) for writing FreeDoor, the
Pascal doorkit I use to write my doors.  Thanks also go out to Fusion
(http://cfbbs.net) for testing my OS/2 compiles (suckah, heheh).  Yes,
thanks to the crew living and dying on #bbs (irc://irc.lordlegacy.org:6667).

I develop my doors using Turbo Pascal 7.0 (patched for the RTE200 bug) and
Virtual Pascal 2.1 for the Win32 and OS/2 versions.  The doorkit I use is
FreeDoor v1.50 (http://www.mhdev.com).

All names of other products are copyrighted by their respective owners.





{ How to contact the author }
  -------------------------

You can contact me via:

  * Fidonet : 1:11/200 (Check in DOORGAMES for me)
  * Micronet: 618:618/2
  * Email   : hausmaus@midnightshour.org
  * WWW     : http://midnightshour.org
  * BBS     : 1-618-529-3176 (Carbondale, Illinois)

Please note that this information will probably become incorrect over the
years, so please check the current Fidonet nodelist or my web site to
make sure that I'm still around. <G>  Nothing like a disappearing BBS
door author to piss you off, eh?

I hope this door will be fun for you and your users and be trouble-free
for years to come.  Don't forget to support your local sysops and BBSes!

--Sean Dennis
  Cheepware Author
  
<eof>
