----===================================================================---- The Wheel of Fortune, v6.0 README! File by Dotoran of Frontiers! ----===================================================================---- What is it? ~~~~~~~~~~~ The latest version of "The Wheel of Fortune" received MANY, MANY, MANY enhancements, changes, additions, etc... that should prove to make this the most POWERFUL version of "WOF" being run on ANY Bulletin Board Software for ANY Computer Platform! (Really! Honest! hehe) You will need the following commands in your C: directory in order to use this pfile: rename \ These are used for maintaining the three delete / WOF Game Logs(In Ascii, ANSI, & IBM-ANSI) sort - Is used to keep Players list alphabetized. How to Install: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Follow these steps: 1: Copy the "WoFortune.Loader" file into your PFILES: directory. 2: Copy the "WoFortune.Config" file into your PFILES: directory also. 3: Copy the "WoFortune/" directory into your PFILES: directory as well. 4: Add this line to your "sys.welcome" file, or somewhere else in your bbs's logon sequence: {#0pfiles:WoFortune.Loader} ^ Control-Q 5: Now, add this line to the bottom of Menu # 2, Available Everywhere in your "cnet:bbsmenu" file: WOF | {#0pfiles:WoFortune.Loader} `??-?? ^ ^ Control-Q Access Groups (Use `1-23 if v2.63, `1-31 if v3.0) 6: Use the "AL" (Add List) CNet Command to create a directory in one of your PFILE areas where you can ADOPT numerous files. When it asks you for the "unique filename" for directory, use the "pfiles:WoFortune/" directory to make it use the included directory. This will save you from having to create another directory, simply to hold CNet's "data/" directory. 7: Use the "AO" (Adopt Orphans) command to adopt the following files into the new directory you created in # 6 above: pfiles:WoFortune.Loader - The WOF Game Progress Indicator, and Game Loader. pfiles:WoFortune/Game.ASC - The Ascii Game Version (No Color or IBM Graphics are used.) pfiles:WoFortune/Game.ASC - The Ansi Game Version (Uses Color, but no IBM Graphics are used.) pfiles:WoFortune/Game.ASC - The IBM Game Version (Uses both Color and IBM Graphics!) pfiles:WoFortune/Config - The Config Module (Allows SysOp to define exactly how the Game will act, feel, and perform!) pfiles:WoFortune/Maint - The Maint Module (Allows SysOp to weed players, or reset the game.) pfiles:WoFortune/SetUp - The SetUp Module (Sets up Game Files for the FIRST Time you play the Game.) The "WoFortune.Loader" file should be added as a MULTI-Use Arexx Pfile that can be run by any users on your bbs, using the same Access Groupings you specified in # 5 above. The "Game.ASC", "Game.ANS", and "Game.IBM" files should ALL be added as EXCLUSIVE-Use Only Arexx Pfiles that can be run by any users on your bbs. Use the same Access Groupings as the Loader uses. The "Game" modules do NOT have the "play check" routines built in, as the "Loader" does, which is why it is VERY important you add these as EXCLUSIVE-Use Only! The "Config", "Maint", and "SetUp" files should be added as EXCLUSIVE-Use Only Arexx pfiles that only the SYSOP has access to use. It would NOT be wise to give your users access to these files! Setting Up The Game: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before the first player uses the game, you will want to configure the game to run exactly the way YOU wish to run it. The first file you should use is the CONFIG module. Although the CONFIG Module can be loaded from within any of the "Game" Modules, it is a good idea to use it externally the FIRST time you use it. The "Config" file allows you to set over 30 variables telling the Loader and Game Modules how they should perform certain tasks. The "Config" Module is written in ANSI-ARexx, meaning it is used similarly to the way Cnet's VDE Editors work. Simply press the appropriate ARROW KEYS to highlight the item you'd like to edit, then press ENTER or RETURN to edit the item. When you are satisfied with the settings, press your ESC key to save them to disk. You can also press the "V" key to swap between the two different screens(Note the "V" of the word "View" is both underlined and highlighted to remind you!) The current Config Variable Settings are listed below: Found on the First Config Screen: Path to Game Files ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - This field should contain the full path where the "GameData" and other support files can be found. If you decide to NOT store these files in the default "pfiles:WoFortune/" directory, then it will be necessary to edit this field accordingly. ASC Key1 ASC Key2 ~~~~~~~~ - Define what the two "press any key" prompts will look like in the Ascii version of the game. The numbers appearing AFTER these two fields represent the number of MCI commands you used in each prompt(This info is used to keep centering correct!) ANS Key1 ANS Key2 ~~~~~~~~ - Define what the two "press any key" prompts will look like in the Ansi version of the game. The numbers appearing AFTER these two fields represent the number of MCI commands you used in each prompt(This info is used to keep centering correct!) IBM Key1 IBM Key2 ~~~~~~~~ - Define what the two "press any key" prompts will look like in the IBM-Ansi version of the game. The numbers appearing AFTER these two fields represent the number of MCI commands you used in each prompt(This info is used to keep centering correct!) Show OLD Game Log Show NEW Game Log ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - These fields state whether or not you wish one or both of the Game Progress Logs to be shown right before the user PLAYS the game for the first time each call. The log(s) will be shown only ONCE before they start play. Note that the logs are now version specific, meaning there's an ASCII, ANSI, and IBM-ANSI log created. Show Vanna Picture ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Some of you had requested that I permanently remove the Vanna picture that appears right before Game Play starts. I kinda like the picture myself, so decided to create this flag for those who wish the picture to be SKIPPED instead. Winner 1st Player ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - This option allows you to specify whether or not you'd like the WINNER of the LAST Game to be able to be the FIRST player of the NEW Game. Can $0-$100 GUESS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - I thought it kinda unfair that the "real" players of the Game could do the majority of the work solving the puzzle, only to have a NEW player come in and immediately GUESS the puzzle. This option allows you to specify if a player with between $0 and $100 is eligible to GUESS the puzzle. VIEW MORE CONFIG OPTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Takes you to the second Config Screen. ASC Hide Character ANS Hide Character IBM Hide Character ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - The "hide" character is the character used in place of any UNSOLVED letters. These three fields allow you to specify a different character for each module, as some characters are easier to read than others. Note, however, that using certain characters, like: - . ' etc. are NOT a good idea, because these characters MAY also be included in the actual puzzle. Bonus Timer Limit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - This is the amount of time a user has to guess the Bonus Puzzle. You may need to adjust this value if you're using a faster cpu than I am(most SysOps are!). I've found a value of 250 to be a fairly competitive value on an unaccelerated Amiga 500. Note that if you're running a faster CPU, then you will need to make this value LARGER, not smaller. ANS Wheel Graphics IBM Wheel Graphics ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - In the Ansi and IBM-Ansi modules, there are two different types of Wheel Graphics: Wedges and Rotating Wheel. These options let you select which graphics to use in each version. Last Puzzles Last Bonuses ~~~~~~~~~~~~ - These values specify the max number of past puzzles to keep on file for the "Last ?? Puzzles" commands. Values between 5 and 20 are reccommended. Bonus Length ~~~~~~~~~~~~ - This is the MINIMUM length a puzzle must be to be used in the Bonus Round. This lets you make sure a user isn't given a REAL easy(short) puzzle in the Bonus Round. Puzzle lengths range from 10 to 50 characters, although I don't reccommend using values over 20, unless you're using over 1000 puzzles, because you'll see a fast turn-around rate in puzzles. - I am told 1000 is a good value to use on 68030 machines. This is about 18 to 20 seconds in duration. Found on the Second Config Screen: The Lowest Port Loaded The Highest Port Loaded ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - These two fields are used in the Loader to determine what other ports are playing WOF(because only ONE port can play at any one time). By looking at your CNet Control Window, you can get these values easily enough. The WOF Quick Command ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - This is the command you added to your BBSMENU file that will automatically load the WOF Loader. If you are NOT using a command in BBSMENU, then make sure this field is empty. The Loader uses this info when telling the user another player is playing the game. If no command is given, the user is simply told they may play the game "through the pfiles". Which CNet Version ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Use "2.63" if you're running CNet v2.63, however if you're using any version LATER than CNet v2.65, then select "3.0p". The Loader uses this info to determine how it should get the WHERE info from the Control/Who windows. Use Which Loader Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - The Loader received a bit of attention this version, in that it is now possible to select WHICH info is shown to the user when the Loader is displayed. There are three areas of info that can be displayed: Last Game Winner, Current Game Info, and Last Bonus Game Winner. You can choose to show any of the following seven(7) combinations of this info: - Last Game Winner Only - Current Game Info Only - Last Bonus Winner Only - Last Game & Current Game Info - Last Game & Last Bonus Winner - Current Game & Last Bonus Winner - ALL THREE (Last Game/Current Game/Bonus Winner) Close the ASC Module Close the ANS Module Close the IBM Module ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - These flags allow you to CLOSE one or more of the Game versions when loaded from within the Loader. Closing ALL THREE Versions will effectively CLOSE the entire game(is it being abused?). Note, however, that the CLOSED status is only checked from in the LOADER, and NOT from within any of the "Game" Modules. Ask to Load DEFAULT Game ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - If this option is enabled, the user's terminal mode will be used to determine a "DEFAULT" Game Module to load, and they will be asked if they wish to load THIS module. This can be a time saver, provided the user has his/her term mode set to the proper settings. Who Has Maint Access ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Determines who can use the "Config", "Maint" and "SetUp" files from within one of the "Game" modules. There are presently four(4) settings: ID # 1 - Only the user with ID # 1 Group23 - All users with Access Group 23 Group31 - All users with Access Group 31 MaintAcc - All users with System Operator Flag Set Use Play Again Chance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Normally, once a user has played out his/her full turn, they have to wait until another user has played before they get a chance to play again, but if this option is enabled, the user has a 1 in 10 chance of being allowed to play again. Smart Bonus Letters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - When a user starts the Bonus Round, they are given, UP FRONT, the letters: R, S, T, N, L, and E. If this option is enabled, the game will NOT allow them to enter one of these letters for their additional letters. If this option is disabled, the user can type one or more of the above letters for their additional letters, perhaps to make the Bonus Round more challenging! Allow NEW/GUEST Plays ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Enable this option if it's ok if NEW user's or GUESTS can play your WOF game. Disabled, and they'll have to wait until they are validated. This option was included, because I saw this as another possible way CHEATING could be done in the game! 9600 Spinning Delay 14400 Spinning Delay ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - These values specify the wait durations used in the Rotating Wheel used in the ANSI and IBM-ANSI versions. Because the wheel spins too fast to be seen at the higher baud rates, use these options to set wait times between "clicks" of the wheel. - I am told 150 is a good value to use on 68030 machines. Regular Prize Amount ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - You can choose to give the WINNER of a REGULAR Game one of the following five choices: - None - Don't Give Anything. (Just Congratulate Them!) - Time - Minutes Added to Time Remaining. - GameP - An Amount of Pfile Game Points. - ByteC - An Amount of Byte Credits. - FileC - A Number of File Credits. - The "Amount" determines the number of minutes, game points, byte credits, or file credits to give the user. When "None" is used above, this field is moot, however if you're afraid the program won't catch the "None" setting, use a "0" value. - Also note that checks are NOT done to see if the current user has an INFINITE number of the award to begin with, so even though they will be given the prize, it will still be meaning- less to them, so choose wisely. Bonus Prize Amount ~~~~~~~~~~~ - You can choose to give the WINNER of a BONUS Game one of the following five choices: - None - Don't Give Anything. (Just Congratulate Them!) - Time - Minutes Added to Time Remaining. - GameP - An Amount of Pfile Game Points. - ByteC - An Amount of Byte Credits. - FileC - A Number of File Credits. - The "Amount" determines the number of minutes, game points, byte credits, or file credits to give the user. When "None" is used above, this field is moot, however if you're afraid the program won't catch the "None" setting, use a "0" value. - Also note that checks are NOT done to see if the current user has an INFINITE number of the award to begin with, so even though they will be given the prize, it will still be meaning- less to them, so choose wisely. VIEW PREVIOUS CONFIG OPTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Takes you to the First Config Screen. Starting the First Game: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After you have Configured the game to play the way YOU want it to, all that's left for you to do is initialize the first game. To do this, you will need to run the "SetUp" module. You can do this in one of two ways: - Run it directly out of your pfiles directory. - Run one of the "Game" modules. If run directly out of your pfiles, the game will be set up and you will be deposited back at the same prompt you started it from, but if you select to run one of the "Game" modules, the game will be set up and you'll be able to play the game as the first player ever! It's YOUR choice! The "SetUp" program doesn't need any input from you, so unless you're using an 030/040, you can go and catch a cup of coffee, use the bathroom, etc, while it does its work: - All additional game support files are created. - The Puzzle file is thoroughly shuffled and cut. - The first Game is chosen, encrypted, and saved to disk. Reading the WHO Displays: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Depending on WHICH WOF6 program is currently loaded, different things will be printed in the WHO Display and/or Control Window as follows: "WOF, v6.0 LDR!" ---- The "WoFortune.Loader" Module is loaded. "WOF, v6.0 ASC!" ---- The "Game.ASC" (ASCII Version) Module is loaded. "WOF, v6.0 ANS!" ---- The "Game.ANS" (ANSI Version) Module is loaded. "WOF, v6.0 IBM!" ---- The "Game.IBM" (IBM-ANSI Version) Module is loaded. "WOF 6.0 BONUS" ----- The "Bonus Round" is being played by a "Game." Module. "WOF 6.0 CONFIG" ---- The "Config" Module is loaded. "WOF 6.0 SETUP" ----- The "SetUp" Module is loaded. "WOF 6.0 MAINT" ----- The "Maint" Module is loaded. "WOF 6.0 GamEDIT" --- The "Game Editor" (In Registered Versions Only!) "WOF 6.0 PuzEDIT" --- The "Puzzle Editor" (In Registered Versions Only!) "WOF 6.0 RegEDIT" --- The "Reg Editor" (In Registered Versions Only!) "WOF 6.0 ColEDIT" --- The "Color Editor" (In Registered Versions Only!) The "WoFortune.Loader" file checks to see which, if any, ports have the first three letters "WOF" as their WHO Display, and if any other ports DO, then the present port is not allowed to LOAD(Play) Wheel of Fortune, v6.0. (Note that v7.0 will allow multiple games, like in Global War!) Differences In The Versions: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although great care was taken to make sure the three versions of the game PLAY alike, there ARE some differences between them you may want to be aware of: "Game.ASC" ~~~~~~~~~~ - This version uses NO ANSI CODES whatsoever. It also does NOT use any of the following MCI Commands: \c, \f0, \>, \<, \^, and \!, however MCI Color Commands are used when writing to the LOGS. - This version also does NOT use ANY IBM Graphic Characters. ALL the graphics were accomplished using standard Ascii (Keyboard) graphics. - This version does NOT support the "rotating" wheel graphic. Also, because of the inability to HOME the cursor WITHOUT clearing the screen, the Wedge Graphics that ARE used appear on the screen after screen clears, although without MCI's & ANSI's to interpret, this pause is fairly negligible. - Because of the lack of any color commands, etc., this version of the game is VERY fast in it's execution. 300 to 2400 bauders may enjoy playing this version over the other two, if COLOR is not an issue... "Game.ANS" ~~~~~~~~~~ - All MCI & ANSI Codes were FAIR GAME in this version. The only thing missing from this version are IBM Graphic Characters. - This version was written with the 8-Color user in mind. High intensity colors WERE used within the program, but not in such a way as to be invisible if played in 8-Color Mode. I even played it once in 4-Color mode, and although not as visually appealing, it IS PLAYABLE. - This version is the second fastest version available, next to the ASCII version. This is for those users who don't mind NOT having the IBM Graphics, but WOULD like some COLOR in the game. These could be your 64/128 users, TRS users, etc... "Game.IBM" ~~~~~~~~~~ - I spared NOTHING in this version! It has EVERYTHING! Graphics, 16 Awesome Colors, and rock solid coding, not to mention it's FUN as all hell to PLAY! hehe. Differences Between MY v5.0-v6.0 & Trebor's Previous Versions: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although I tried to make this game as close to Trebors as possible, I did make some changes, which I think really make this thing sparkle: - This version uses a Wheel format which, with the exception of the SURPRISE, is identical to the Board Game & TV Show. - Certain "realism" routines were added to the way the wheel spins, for example, on the TV show, the wheel must spin around at LEAST once for the value to be valid. These "little" kinds of things were added just to make the game play more like the TV show. - The Wedge Graphics in ALL THREE VERSIONS are completely NEW. Trebors were nice looking, but were rather large, and took a while to print on the screen, especially at 2400 baud. I also didn't like the idea that the screen cleared right after the wheel stopped spinning. Both of these concerns were addressed in MY versions. - The Game LOGS are COMPLETELY NEW to ANY WOF Game! I got the idea from the Paragon Version of Global War(See the NEWS Files)... - In previous versions of the game, if a player ENTERED the file, but didn't actually PLAY(Either Spin, Buy Vowel, or Guess Puzzle), it would STILL mark them as being the Last Player. This version will only tag the user as the Last Player if they actually PLAYED the game. - I did some spell-checking, editing, weeding, etc of the main listing of puzzles, plus added the 100 that were found in the WOF Board Game, and also included the 100 Registered Puzzles from the v5.? series. (The Registered v6.0 SysOps will be getting OVER 1000 Puzzles!) - This version ENCRYPTS the Puzzles file, so even the SYSOP can enjoy playing the game, as unless they know Arexx, there won't be an easy way to DECRYPT the puzzles. Other Files Created For The Game: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Within the archive you've unpacked, you have these files: - WoFortune.Loader \ - WoFortune.Config \ - WoFortune Directory/ \ - Game.ASC \ - Game.ANS > Already discussed above. - Game.IBM / - Config / - Maint / - SetUp____________/ - Docs.ASC \ - Docs.ANS > Graphic Specific Instruction Files. - Docs.IBM_________/ - PuzData ----------- 350 Encrypted Puzzles. - WOF6.README! ------ This text file. - WOF6.HISTORY! ----- Changes, Additions, etc. - WOF6.REGISTER! ---- How & Why You Should Register This Game! - Register/ Dir ----- ANSI Screen Shots from the REGISTERED WOF Utilities (That are already completed!) After the game has started, these other files will be created: - GameData ----- Holds data for the current game. - Stats -------- Holds the Hall of Fame data. - Players ------ Holds info on ALL Players of WOF6. - LastPlayer --- Holds info on the LAST Player of the Game. - Winner ------- Holds data of the last WOF6 Winner. - Winners ------ Holds the Last "x" Winner's Data. - BWinner ------ Holds data on the last BONUS Winner. - BWinners ----- Holds the Last "x" Bonus Winners Data. - Log.OLD.ASC \ - Log.OLD.ANS > Holds Game Events from LAST Game. - Log.OLD.IBM / - Log.NEW.ASC \ - Log.NEW.ANS > Holds Game Events from CURRENT Game. - Log.NEW.IBM / - NewPuz ------- Holds puzzles created by user winners. See the REGISTER! file for more info! Other Things You Might Want To Know About: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Whenever you restart the game(using the "SetUp" Module, or by deleting the "GameData" file and running one of the "Game" Modules), you'll see some text files being created, followed by the "Mixing" info. The puzzles are "shuffled" randomly seven times, in two steps. The "shuffle" mode is when half the puzzles are randomly rearranged. The "cutting" mode is when the first half and the last half of the puzzles are swapped. This enables the next "shuffle" mode to be able to pick puzzles that were on the ENDS of the range(and most probably weren't randomly selected the first time). I've found this to be a fairly reliable way of insuring a nice randomity to the shuffle. If the users start complaining about an "unsolvable" puzzle, which might be the result of a spelling error or something of that nature, the SysOp, or other designated "Maint" user has access to the "C" command off the Main Menu to CANCEL the current game. A new game will be autogenerated in this event. There is one other "hidden" command, but I'll let you figure out WHAT it is, and WHAT it does. It is also only available to "Maint" users. When the LAST Puzzle in the list has been solved, the program will start again at Puzzle # 1, but it will NOT reshuffle the puzzles. If this is your intent, please RESET the game by either running "SetUp" or deleting the "pfiles:WoFortune/GameData" file and running a "Game." file. The Bonus Puzzles work in reverse order from the Puzzles, whereas the Puzzles start at 1, then use 2, then 3, the Bonus Puzzles will start at 350, then go to 349, 348, etc. This was done so that the puzzle used for the BONUS Round doesn't also turn out to be the puzzle used in the next regular Game. In the WOF6 Logon Display Window, where the Guessed Letters are shown, an arrow pointing to the LEFT will be shown in FRONT of the letters if too many letters have been guessed to be shown in this area. Only the most recent guessed letters will be shown, along with the arrow, like this: Guessed: <---W-R-S-T-A-F-G-I What About Bugs? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This file has been, by far, one of my more ambitious projects, and although I've gone to GREAT LENGTHS to insure this file is as bug free as possible, I'd be kidding myself if I were to guarantee you there are NO bugs within at least ONE of these files. What I WILL guarantee, however, is that if you DO encounter a bug, or some other quirky nature within any of the command files, please alert me to the specific details which produced the bug(especially which command file it was that GAVE you the error), and I will have a fix for you within 24 hours! This version has incorporated a "wof.errors" log that will contain any error messages that were trapped within any of the "Game." files. The first three characters of the error line will tell you WHICH version of the game was faulty. If you find a REALLY MAJOR bug in ONE version, but not the others, then CLOSE just THAT version of the game and get me the specifics ASAP! Lastly, this version(minus bug fix updates) WILL be the last UNREGISTERED version I release. Both the Head to Head Module, as well as v7.0 (with the multiple games settings) will be available to REGISTERED OWNERS only. This project has left the scope of being a "fun/for enjoyment only" purposes, and is turning out to be a hell of a lot of work. I lost command files three times during this writing, and had to start from scratch for two of them. Well, enough soap-boxing. Please ENJOY this work, and if the Registered files sound appealing, please read the "WOF6.REGISTER!" file for the details on registering this puppy! Thanks for reading this! - Dotoran, David Weeks. ============================================================================ Written by Dotoran of Frontiers BBS (716)/823-9892! ============================================================================ Last Modified: November 26, 1993! Please REGISTER This Game! ~~~~~~~~