@DATABASE amigaguide.guide @WORDWRAP @NODE main "ENGiNE Adventure Code v1.3" @{BG SHINE} contents @{BG BACK} @{" " LINK INTR} Introduction @{" " LINK REQ} Requirements @{" " LINK USE} The EAC environment @{" " LINK DEVE} Creating your own adventures for EAC @{" " LINK EAC2} EAC to EAC-2 converter program @{" " LINK CRED} Credits @{" " LINK CONT} Contacting ENGiNE NiNE DESiGN @{" " LINK FURT} Further development plans @{" " LINK HIST} EAC History & What's new. @{" " LINK DISC} Disclaimer @{" " LINK PROD} Information about other ENGiNE 9 products @{" " LINK shar} Shareware notice @ENDNODE @NODE INTR "Introduction" @{BG SHINE} welcome to the world of interactive fiction @{BG BACK} So how many text adventures are there around the world? mmm... let me count. 1.2.20.145..214... Okay, so there's a hell of a lot of them, and just about all of them are pretty boring, and with most text adventures you are given some text and a rather sad text input requester for you to type `Go north' or `Go south' countless times. EAC is not like that at all. There's is no typing, and the adventure possibilities are endless, with it's AmigaGuide style programming language. By using a simple text editor such as Ed or Transwrite, it is possible to easily create wonderful text adventures for PD release. @{BG SHINE} so what can EAC do? @{BG BACK} With EAC it is possible to include IFF ILBM pictures into your text adventures, which quickly remap to your current workbench palette. Standard tracker modules can also be added into your adventures to give them that extra bit of atmosphere. You can also place items such as keys, weapons and treasure in your adventures by using a simple variable system. @{BG SHINE} so why EAC? @{BG BACK} One of my first games ever was a text adventure. Andrew Fitzgerald and I produced a game called `Skool kids revenge' for the ZX Spectrum, and the idea of it all was to walk around school and bash as many teachers as possible. Although the game was never finished, and caused us great trouble with the staff department, it was still kind of fun to play. A few years later I got hooked on text adventure books by people such as Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, and it was their work that was a great inspiration to me. Having looked at lots of text adventure games, engines and interpreters such as Inform, TADS, Hugo and Level 9, I felt that there was something missing from them all. Although most of the adventures were okay, the interpreters were not very impressive at all. One thing which I hated most about these interpreters was the fact that you had to type north, south, east and west hundreds, even thousands of times just to get any where, making the whole thing just a big waste of time and very boring, so I designed EAC in a way that adventure books are created, by giving the player a limited amount of options to go somewhere or do something. Another thing which I could not really understand about these interpreters, was why the authors made the language for them very complex, almost at a C++ level infact. Surely, a person wishing to write a text adventure game would not spend days or even months. trying to figure out how to code in the language first. EAC (I hope!) has a fairly basic language, which can easily be understood. I like to think of it as a cross between AmigaGuide® and BASIC. @ENDNODE @NODE req "System Requirements" @{BG SHINE} system requirements @{BG BACK} To run EAC you will require a system with at least the following specification: OS 2.00 1 MEG of RAM Hard drive Reccomended @ENDNODE @NODE use "The EAC Environment" @{BG SHINE} the EAC environment @{BG BACK} @{I} The EAC Menus @{UI} Adventure menu -------------- Restart adventure : Allows you to restart any loaded adventure. Load adventure : Loads an adventure file. Reload adventure : Mainly for people developing adventures. Simply reloads the entire adventure. Save position : Allows you to save you current adventure position. Load position : Load back any saved game positions. About : Gives information about the program and the currently loaded adventure code. Quit : Quit from EAC EAC menu -------- Edit Prefs : Brings up the preferences menu, which allows you to alter the music volume, colour remapping modes and other various preferences. Note that image remapping time takes longer if selected as BEST. Save Prefs : Saves your preferences. Prefs are saved to ENVARC: as EAC.prefs. Your ENVARC should be an assign to: Sys:prefs/Env-archive or something similar. @{I} The Buttons @{UI} The only thing you will be needing to play a text adventure is the six buttons at the bottom left hand corner of the window. Use these buttons to go to different places, pick up items, activate switches etc. A list telling you what each button will do or what affect it will have on the adventure will usually be given. @{I} The `More' gadget @{I} The more gadget is used for adventures which have a lot of text, and is used to un-pause scrolling text. A and onscreen prompt will usually inform you that there is more text. @ENDNODE @NODE DISC "Disclaimer" @{BG SHINE} disclaimer @{BG BACK} EAC has been released as shareware, and is not a commercial product. You may freely distribute this program as long as the EAC archive REMAINS intact. no files may be altered, deleted or added without prior permission from Matthew Briggs. Matthew Briggs and anyone else related with ENGiNE NiNE DESiGN are in no way responsible for any damage caused to your system due to usage of this program. @{BG SHINE} font sensitivity bugs? @{BG BACK} Where possible, I have tried to make EAC 100% font sensitive. v1.0 of EAC had several bugs if the font size was over 8 points, I have now hopefully fixed all of these problems, but however, if you do spot a bug in EAC, try using an 8 point screen font - it might go away!. Please feel free to send bug reports to us. @ENDNODE @NODE DEVE "Creating your own adventures" @{BG SHINE} creating your own text adventures @{BG BACK} Hopefully, if EAC is a success, lots of different people will create adventures for you to play with EAC. If this will happen, I don't really know. I'll just have to wait for any feedback from this version. If you would like to create your own adventures look in the Developers drawer, and hopefully there should be all the information there about programming them. If you create an adventure for EAC please do not hesitate to release it into the public domain for other people to play, or you could even send us a copy of your adventure(s), which we may include along with the next version of EAC. You'll find a good few tutorials in the Developers drawer, which you can load into a good text editor. Also read the UserManual.Guide carefully for details about the EAC programming language. @ENDNODE @NODE EAC2 "EAC to EAC-2" @{BG SHINE} eac-2 @{BG BACK} EAC-2 converts normal EAC scripts into an encrypted binary file format. There are two advantages of using EAC-2. The first is that your code is very secure, as it can't be viewed or altered because it is encrypted. This makes it very hard for people to cheat whilst playing your adventures. Secondly, EAC-2 loads allot faster than normal EAC scripts because all the jump tables are contained within the code. The EAC-2 converter program can be found in the EAC:Developers drawer. @ENDNODE @NODE CRED "EAC Credits" @{BG SHINE} credits @{BG BACK} Programming, Graphics & Design : Matt Briggs Testing : Mick & Gaz Andrew Fitzgerald Comments and Support : Roy Krister Ellingsen Net : Andrew Fitzgerald Play16 1.8 020 : Thomas Wenzel AmiWelcome 2.1 : Matt Briggs @ENDNODE @NODE CONT "Contacting ENGiNE NiNE DESiGN" @{BG SHINE} contacting ENGiNE NiNE DESiGN @{BG BACK} ENGiNE NiNE DESiGN Matthew Briggs 50 Thicket Drive Maltby Rotherham South Yorkshire S66 7LB U.K. E-Mail: engine9@onlineamiga.demon.co.uk @ENDNODE @NODE FURT "Further EAC development plans" @{BG SHINE} further EAC development plans @{BG BACK} Okay, lets get one thing straight. Any further developments of EAC will NOT be released unless I get any kind of response from this version. So if you like this program please contact me and say that you do! So at least I know I am on to a good thing. If you don't, then I'm sorry, but EAC will most likely die forever, and I will do something else :( @{BG SHINE} coming soon... (maybe) @{BG BACK} FONT : Hopefully I will add BOLD, ITALIC and UNDERLINE TEXT GADGET : To allow you to speak to people. `OR' : `OR' extensions to all the IF commands. DEBUGGER : A much better internal debugger system. TONS MORE COMMANDS AND EXTRAS : Lots more commands and extensions will be added. @{BG SHINE} your ideas please! @{BG BACK} If you have any ideas or suggestions, then please contact me!!! @ENDNODE @NODE E9P01 "Other title from ENGiNE NiNE DESiGN" @{BG SHINE} coming soon from ENGiNE NiNE DESiGN... @{BG BACK} Although I can't give too much away, I am currently working on absolutely amazing 3D adventure game. Watch out for a demo coming soon! @ENDNODE @NODE HIST "EAC history" @{BG SHINE} EAC history @{BG BACK} v1.0 * First release to Aminet on 12 September 1998. v1.1 * Several bugs fixed, mainly font related problems. * RND: command added. * Gadget `flicker' fixed. * Preferences added. * Adventure file no longer copied to RAM: , EAC now uses `proper' memory locations. * Improved page jump tables. * Adventure file sizes can now be over 32k !!! * Page limits raised to 3500. v1.2 * Startup font bug fixed. * RED: GREEN: BLUE: and YELLOW: commands added. * WRITEIF: ENDWRITE: commands added. * VERSION: command added. * New about requesters * AND extensions added to IF commands * EAC-2 file format support. v1.3 * LET extension. It is now legal to do: LET:[VariableName]=[VariableName] * GETRESULT: command added * Info menu added. * Settings and main EAC window now function together :) * A few more bugs fixes. * Said goodbye to `Unpause the program first' requester. * New groovy funky busy bar! * Program break function, to get you out of nasty loops! @ENDNODE @NODE shar "Shareware note" @{BG SHINE} shareware note @{BG BACK} Please note that this software IS shareware. This means that if you like this program and or any of our other programs you are kindly requested to consider sending us a donation for our efforts. By registering our software you are giving us the incentive to CONTINUE developing software for the Amiga. Please send donations to the below address. ENGiNE NiNE DESiGN 50 Thicket Drive Maltby Rotherham South Yorkshire S66 7LB U.K. If we receive a donation from you over £4.00 we will send you our latest software productions, as well as the registration code for EAC-2. If sending cheques please make them payable to Matthew Briggs. Please make sure that you give us details about: Your name, Address, Day time phone number (if available) your system spec and configuration and whereabouts you found this software. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Long Live Amiga! @ENDNODE