
Prima: 4th War BBS Door -- Beta version 2
Written & Copyright (c) by Mike Counts, 2000

Below are installation instructions...any questions? Email me. (address 
somewhere below)
Below the intructions are comments & feedback info, 3rdparty info, etc.

PRIMA FEATURES:
* Support for every major BBS system, plus any that use a common dropfile 
  format!
* Easy editing of monster, weapons, locations, etc.!
* Easy IGM creation (even comes with file-locking routines!)
* No unregistered delays!
* Simple but deep gameplay!
* Supports internal I/O routines, or uses a FOSSIL if present! (which it
  autodetects!)
* Supports telnet setups!

CONTENTS
	[0] Installation Intructions
	[1] Optional parameters
	[2] Registration
	[3] Feedback
	[4] Prima notes (other crap)
	[5] Adding 3rdparty quests & IGMs
	[10] Thanks to...
	[11] Troubleshooting
	[9999] For whom the bell tolls

[0] Installation Instructions - Read them, they're simple.

[.001] YOU CAN RUN PRIMA IF...
You should be able to run Prima with almost any BBS system.  You do not
need a specific drop file format, Prima will automatically find one in
the path you specify.

[.01] UNZIP FILE
Unzip this archive to a new directory.

[.02] RUN INSTALL.BAT
Just run it from your Prima directory, it will make the new directories
DATA, MAIL, ANSI.  It will then copy all the ANSI files, etc. to
the correct directories.

[.03] RUN CONFIG.EXE
Run CONFIG.EXE and setup your game options (however you want).  

[.04] MODIFY RUNPRIMA.BAT
Edit RUNPRIMA.BAT so that the directory is correct.  
Don't modify anything else.

[.05] SETUP ON YOUR BBS
You need to shrink/swap your BBS for Prima to run, unless your BBS is
special.  

WWIV SYSOPS: Make sure that the Intercept DOS Calls option is DISABLED.
Otherwise, the game will not run, and probably lock up your BBS.

Prima requires the following parameters:
-N # -D ???
You should put the node number you are running from in place of #, and the
dropfile for that node in place of ???.  Most systems have macros 
that will fill these in for you.  See your BBS documentation.
An example for Instance 1 of a WWIV system would be:
D:\PRIMA\RUNPRIMA.BAT -N 1 -D D:\WWIV\DOOR.SYS

If you want to, you can include only the path to the directory where
the door file is stored:
D:\PRIMA\RUNPRIMA.BAT -N 1 -D D:\WWIV
Prima will then try to find a door file in that directory.

Please do not call PRIMA.EXE directly, as the batch file RUNPRIMA.BAT is
required to make IGMs, etc. function.

[.06] PLAYING LOCALLY
You can play locally by running RUNPRIMA.BAT with no parameters.

[.1] DISCLAIMER
There are no assurances as to the functionality of this program.  The
author will not be held responsible for any undesirable effects this program
has.  This program has been reasonably tested and should work with most
BBSs and computers.

[1] Optional parameters (or screwy setups)
Just run PRIMA.EXE with the -HELP, -H, or -? parameter(s) to recieve a list
of optional parameters (heh, OpenDoors rules).  If you are running a 
non-standard setup, you can set almost all of the parameters manually
through the command line (BPS, COM, etc.).

[2] Registration
You damn well better read REGISTER.TXT.  Yes, Prima does have features that
need to be registered to unlock, but letting people register voluntarily
does not work.  Registering will unlock some add-on features, and allow
players to complete the game.  A game without registration will still be
fun, and can be played limitlessly.  KEEP DOOR GAMES ALIVE BY REGISTERING!

[3] Feedback
Email me at frag16@yahoo.com with feedback!

[3.1] What the name means (if anything)
Prima: 4th War should not mean anything to a casual observer.  In fact, it
really has no deep base.  I just made up this cool fantasy world (kinda like
Tellos, for you comic freaks) that has all these cool critters running 
around and killing each other.  Most of it is Tolkien-inspired.  4th War is
just the general time period, refering to the 4th big-ass war between the
four major races (Ork, Human, Elf, Dwarf).  Each race naturally recruits
the other smaller races to help them fight...it's kinda like a World War
type thing.  I have also tried to add to the game with some anime
style action, etc., cuz I love anime and manga.

[3.5] Getting Users to use Prima
Put up INTRO.ANS as an ad.  Post a notice that you are running the game
and are a beta site.  Let users know that it exists, and that they can
*change the game* by emailing me with feedback.  Many times I have had
the urge to tell the author about something that was wrong with the game,
but he left no address to contact him by.

[4] Other crap
  This game was my first attempt at a BBS door.  My first try at this was
more or less a complete copy of LORD...I just made my game do what it did.
Now, however my game is completely original coding (using Opendoors, cors)
and the ideas are not straight from LORD.

  While not wishing to copy LORD, LORD does have good things in it which I
have attempted to emulate: fairly good node-to-node communication, good
support of different BBS/FOSSIL systems, and easy IGM managing.  I have taken
the best parts of LORD to complement my own game, which is very different...
it even uses a completely different file-locking system, etc.
 
  Inspiration to make this game comes from other great door games, namely:
LORD, The Hunt, and the fairly new DOORMUD, which I think just kicks ass.

  Go visit my website at http://www.angelfire.com/la/venomc.  I also have
pages dedicated to general anime/manga, Ranma 1/2, and plan on making pages
for Aa! Megami-sama (Oh! My Goddess), Gunsmith Cats/Riding Bean, and more.

[5] Adding stuff
  Read 3RDPARTY.TXT & SCRIPT.TXT for info on writing IGMs and quests.

[10] THANKS TO:
Brian Pirie for Opendoors.  The people who bitched at me to reg OD. 
The guys at Elysium Software.  Anybody who reported bugs, gave me 
encouragment, etc.  And I thank whoever is reading this now, because I
*KNOW* that you are going to register.  I can use that money.

** Many thanks to Evan Elias (http://dmud.thebbs.org) for the OD bug fix! **

[11] When in Trouble
Q: Something is wrong and the game won't inititilize?
A: Try using a different drop file.  Most BBS systems make several formats,
so try a passing a different one.  If that still won't work, Prima will
tell you what is wrong (can't init serial port for instance), and you should
be able to manually pass the needed info through the command line.
Type PRIMA.EXE -? to get all the other parameters you can use.

Q: Nobody plays your damn game.
A: Try putting a notice in your login procedure.  If you ran the old version,
*make sure* that you put a *NEW* sign or something by it to let everybody
know that it's a better version.

[9999] THE BELL TOLLS...
This will be my last (my first, actually) BBS game ever.  Writing BBS doors
is just not rewarding in anyway anymore.  I'm moving on to 3d game
writing, a more promising field.  I will still accept registrations, and
I hope to find someone with the time to develop Prima.

