=============================================================================
          Chinese Zodiac -- Version 1.2 -- 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 (CZOCW32.EXE)
=============================================================================

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


{ What is Chinese Zodiac? }
  -----------------------
  
Chinese Zodiac is a BBS door (although it can be run without a BBS too!) that
allows you to see what sign of the Chinese Zodiac that you were born under.
This door will work with birthyears from 1907 and up (you can see years up to
the year 34674, so this door will work for quite some time! :).  There are
versions for DOS, Win32-native (DOOR32.SYS) and OS/2-native BBSes.  The DOS
door will work under DOSEMU in Linux.

             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 (v3.10c 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 Chinese Zodiac.  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: CZOCW32.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\czodiac
    czocw32.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 Chinese Zodiac
     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
    (asking you for your birth year) should be 70 characters or less.
    I'd also put a space on the end of the first and second lines.
    The last line is the pause prompt used when the door is done.

  * SIGNS.DAT
    This is the file that holds the actual signs of the Chinese
    Zodiac.

  * 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.

  * 1-12.DAT
   These are the sign description files.  These are simple text files,
   but you can use ANSI codes in them if you want to make them fancy.
   Again, I'd keep them close to the size they are so everything can
   fit onto a single screen.




{ 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.





{ 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>
