Poacher v1.0 The FIRST On-Line Arcade Game! Copyright(c) 1990 by Mike Hamilton - All Rights Reserved Table of contents - PART I - The Basics! Section I.i.........................Introduction Section I.ii........................Installation Section I.iii.......................Registering PART II - The Works! Section II.i........................Playing Section II.ii.......................Winning Section II.iii......................Losing Section II.iv.......................Chatting PART III - Extras! Section III.i.......................Support PART I - The Basics! Section I.i - Introduction Poacher is, as the above title states, the first OnLine Arcade Game. The object of the game is to shoot the animals that travel either left-to-right or right-to-left on the screen by firing one of 5 guns. Every shot fired detracts from the user's on-line time, and every animal s/he successfully hits adds to his/her on-line time. Poacher alters the user's on-line time by means of TYM2XBBS, TYM2QBBS, or TYM2RA. Each of these files are available in the HamBank distribution file or in the separate archive TYM2Vxx.* where 'xx' is the current version number. Both HamBank and TYM2xx.* is available at any of the distribution sites listed at the end of this document. If your BBS type is not supported, please see the section "Support" to find out how to contact the author and ask for support. In the distribution archive, Poacher is unregistered. An unregistered version of Poacher does not inhibit play at all: the game plays the same if it is registered or not. However, a registered version of Poacher allows you to alter the default values for winnings and losses. Please see the section titled "Registering" for information on how to register your copy of Poacher. Section I.ii - Installation Installing Poacher is very simple. Place the following files in a directory (either your BBS directory or a separate one, it does not matter to Poacher): POACHER.EXE - Main Executable POACHER.CFG - Configuration File TYM2*.EXE - The TYM2* file for your BBS Type POACHER.CFG is not necessary if your copy of Poacher is unregistered. You can also place the TYM2*.EXE file in your BBS root directory if you are using more than one MysticWare/HamSoft door (i.e.: Poacher and HamBank). Next, create a batch file to run Poacher. Your batch file should look something like this: @Echo Off CD \XBBS\Poacher Poacher.Exe E:\XBBS \XBBS\TYM2XBBS.Exe E:\XBBS CD \XBBS This batch file is the one I use for my board, which runs the XBBS Bulletin Board software. As the example states above, the only parameter to pass is the path to your DORINFO1.DEF file (commonly created in your BBS root directory). Then, you must run TYM2*.EXE to convert HAMBANK.TYM (created by Poacher) to your BBS's exit files (ONLINE.XBS for XBBS, ExitInfo.BBS for QuickBBS/RemoteAccess). If you run XBBS, you must use either one of the following two commands to run Poacher: EsC:\Command.Com /C BatFile.Bat EdBatFile.Bat If you do not use one of the above two commands, the time changes will not be recorded when the user returns to your board. If you run QuickBBS or RemoteAccess, you must use a Type 15 exit. Please refer to your BBS documentation on the procedure for a Type 15 exit. This installation procedure may seem rather long, but it isn't. The most difficult part of the procedure is creating the batch file to fit your system. If you have any difficulties setting up Poacher, please contact one of the distribution sites listed at the end of this document. Section I.iii - Registering I spent a lot of time on Poacher, making sure it does what it is told and that it does not harm your board in any forseable way. I think it is only fair that I be compensated for my efforts. Therefor, I am asking you to send in a donation of $5 to register your copy of Poacher. When you register Poacher, many new options will be made available to you. You will then be able to configure how much each shot will take away from your user's time. You will also be able to configure how much time will be rewarded when a user hits an animal. As you can see, registering Poacher is not buying Poacher, but simply informing me that you like what I write, and it will encourage me to write more. To register your copy of Poacher, send me a letter containing the following information: Your name, Your BBS's name, your FidoNet address (if applicable), your street address (with city, state, and zip!), and how you want me to return your registration number (by mail (will send it to the enclosed address), by NetMail (will send it to the enclosed FidoNet address), or by a voice phone call (please enclose your telephone number as well). Send all the above information to: MysticWare Registrations c/o Mike Hamilton 310 Berry Street North Andover, Ma, 01845 PART II - The Works! Section II.i - Playing Poacher is very simple to play. There are on-line help screens available for the user if s/he gets confused. Basically, the only action takes place on the 4-5-6-7-8 keys. At the start of each round, a number of animals will appear (1 animal up to 6 animals at one time can appear) heading in either direction. The user must time his or her shots in order to directly hit an animal. The user presses one of the 5 gun keys (4-5-6-7-8) and watches the shot travel upward toward the moving animals. Since the animals move at different rates, a user can not fall into a "pattern" of shooting. As the bullet travels upward, it will either the animal (the animal will turn into a red star and then disappear) or the bulletin will miss entirely. Section II.ii - Winning If a bullet hits an animal, then the user will be rewarded with a certain amount of time. The amount of time is calculated by how close the gun was to the starting point of the animal. If the animal started on the left side of the screen, and the user hit the animal with the 4 gun, then s/he will get the most amount of time. If the s/he hits the animal with the 8 gun, then s/he will get the least amount of time. The amount of time won for each cannon in the unregistered version is: Animals Going Left to Right Gun 4: 7 Minutes Gun 6: 5 Minutes Gun 5: 6 Minutes Gun 7: 4 Minutes Gun 8: 3 Minutes Animals Going Right to Left Gun 4: 3 Minutes Gun 6: 5 Minutes Gun 5: 4 Minutes Gun 7: 6 Minutes Gun 8: 7 Minutes In the registered version of Poacher, you can define the winnings for each cannon. Section II.iii - Losing Each shot a user takes will subtract some time from his remaining on-line time. In the unregistered version, each shot is worth 2 minutes. In the registered version, you can define the cost. The amount of time a user loses depends on the number of shots s/he takes and the number of animals s/he hit. Section II.iv - Chatting You can chat with a user while s/he is playing Poacher. Simply press ALT-C anytime during the game (or at a prompt) and the screen will be cleared, allowing you to chat with the user. Hitting ALT-C again will return the user to the game. If the game was in progress, the screen will be redrawn and the animals will reappear as well as any shots the user has taken. If the user was at a prompt, the prompt will not be redrawn; the user must hit return. PART III - Extras! Section III.i - Support I will support Poacher in the following way: If you have any suggestions or (shudder) problems, there are a multitude of ways you can get in touch with me. Please pick one of the following: 1) Send a NetMail message to Mike Hamilton at 1:324/131. This is by far the best way to get in touch with me since I'll most likely reply within a few hours. 2) Log on to The Mystic Tribunal at (508)689-4493 and comment to Mike Hamilton. The latest versions of any MysticWare are always downloadable on your first call. Or, you can call any one of the official MysticWare support boards. They are: The New EDGE BBS (508)688-8657 Fido 1:324/118 Lawrence, Ma. (2400) The Business Card (508)682-5329 Fido 1:324/121 Lawrence, Ma. (14.4DS) FunTime BBS (201)273-8709 Summit, NJ. (2400) 3) You are also able to pick up the 'MYSTICWARE' echo from me or any of the above listed support BBSs. If things go right, MYSTICWARE may even be on the backbone shortly! 4) The worst you could do would be to send SnailMail to MysticWare, c/o Mike Hamilton at 310 Berry Street, North Andover, Ma, 01845. This is a slow method, but if that's the way it has to be done, there's no stopping it.