Barons


Registration:
=============
Barons is distributed as shareware.  Please read and return the registration
form in REGISTER.DOC.  If you are already a registered user (ie. you sent in
$10 for some version previous to 3.00), then you are entitled to a registered
version of Barons 3.00 without paying any additional fee.


File list:
==========
This document is a simple instruction to use to setup Barons
for your BBS.  The following files are included:

          BSYSOP.DOC   -  SysOp documentation (this document)
          BEDITOR.DOC  -  SysOp editor documentation
          REGISTER.DOC -  SysOp game registration form
          BARONS.DOC   -  User documentation
          BARONS.BAT   -  DOORS execution file (sample)
          BARONS.EXE   -  The executible program (will run stand-alone)
          BCONFIG.DAT  -  Configuration file (info)
          NODES.BBS    -  A list of your comm port assignments by BBS node

          TIMEGEN.EXE  -  Time control file generator
          TIMES.DEF    -  Sample time control file



Executing Barons:
=================
To execute directly as a door, you can use the file BARONS.BAT.  The
program must be executed from the directory containing all of the
above listed files except that NODES.BBS must be in the RBBS directory.

Barons is invoked one of five ways.

        1. BARONS
        2. BARONS node
        3. BARONS node path
        4. BARONS node path bbs

The first is used to run Barons in local mode.  This will play as any
other game on your IBM PC.  The second method is used to run Barons
under the door monitor.  The node parameter is automatically supplied by
the door monitor itself.  The third method is used when running as a
door under RBBS 15.  The path parameter is the current full path containing
the RBBS configuration files.  The node is the RBBS node number.  The
node number is passed to door batch files as parameter 1.  The fourth
method may be used for a variety of BBSs.  The fourth parameter is
used to specify the BBS type.  Set this to:

        (empty)         for RBBS 15.x
        RBBS            for RBBS 16.x
        QBBS            for Quick BBS
        PCBOARD         for PC-Board BBS 12.1
        PCBOARD14       for PC-Board BBS 14.0
        WILDCAT         for Wildcat BBS
        GAP             for GAP BBS
        WWIV            for WWIV BBS


Assumed RBBS 16.x files:
========================
Barons assumes that the following files are in the directory specified
by the path parameter when running directly under RBBS 16.x:

        NODES.BBS       Node definition file.

        MESSAGES        This file contains the information pertaining
                        to each node on the BBS.

        DORINFOx.DEF    This file contains all of the users settings
                        such as graphics, parity, baud rate, etc.


Assumed RBBS 15.x files:
========================
Barons assumes that the following files are in the directory specified
by the path parameter when running directly under RBBS 15.x:

        NODES.BBS       Node definition file.

        MESSAGES        This file contains the information pertaining
                        to each node on the BBS.

        USERS           This file contains all of the users settings
                        such as graphics, parity, baud rate, etc.

        PASSWRDS        This file MUST contain an entry for each security
                        level allowed to run doors.  Barons gets the
                        users daily time limit from this file.


Assumed Quick BBS files:
========================
Barons assumes that the following files are in the directory specified
by the path parameter when running directly under Quick BBS:

        NODES.BBS       Node definition file.

        DORINFOx.DEF    This file contains all of the users settings
                        such as graphics, parity, baud rate, etc.


Assumed PC-BOARD files:
=======================
Barons assumes that the following files are in the directory specified
by the path parameter when running directly under PC-Board:

        NODES.BBS       Node definition file.

        PCBOARD.SYS     This file contains the information pertaining
                        to the BBS node and the callers information.



Assumed Wildcat files:
======================
Barons assumes that the following files are in the directory specified
by the path parameter when running directly under Wildcat:

        NODES.BBS       Node definition file.

        CALLINFO.BBS    This file contains all of the users settings
                        such as graphics, parity, baud rate, etc.



Assumed GAP files:
==================
Barons assumes that the following files are in the directory specified
by the path parameter when running directly under GAP BBS:

        NODES.BBS       Node definition file.

        DOOR.SYS        This file contains all of the users settings
                        such as graphics, parity, baud rate, etc.



Assumed WWIV files:
===================
Barons assumes that the following files are in the directory specified
by the path parameter when running directly under WWIV BBS:

        NODES.BBS       Node definition file.

        CHAIN.TXT       This file contains all of the users settings
                        such as graphics, parity, baud rate, etc.



Assumed Monitor files:
======================
Barons assumes that the following files are in the local directory with
the game when running under an RBBS monitor:

        NODES.BBS       Node definition file.

        TIMEOFFx.DOR    This file contains all of the users settings
                        such as graphics, parity, baud rate, etc.


Barons assumes that the following files are in directory specified in the
path parameter of the TIMEOFFx.DOR file:

        USERS.DOR       Monitor users file.

        MONITOR1.EXE    This file will be executed when the program
                        terminates.


Barons will build the following files are in the local directory with
the game when running under an RBBS monitor:

        POINTSx.DOR     This file contains returns the amount of time
                        used in the game and a Monitor score value.



Restarting a new game:
======================
AT any time should you wish to start a new game, simply delete all the data
files (.DAT) in the barons directory.



Adding time controls:
=====================
Barons contains the ability to control access of the game by security level,
time of day, total play time per day, total play time per game, total game
count per day, and time required to wait in between games.

The time control file may be used directly under a BBS or also with the door
monitor.  If not included, then only the standard time controls are used.

The time definition file is an ASCII file used to create the time control
data file.  It has the following format:

:SYSOP 1000 2330                                         ; Sysops hours
:LEVEL  006  007  008  008  008  008  008  008           ; Level access classes
:DAYT   000  000  000  000  000  000  000  000           ; Daily time limits
:DAYG   001  002  003  003  003  003  003  003           ; Daily game limits
:WAIT   000  030  030  000  000  000  000  000           ; Time between games
:TIME  0000  060  060  060  060  060  060  060  120      ; Per game access
:TIME  0600  000  030  030  030  030  030  030  030      ; Per game access
:TIME  1000  000  045  045  045  045  045  045  120      ; Per game access
:TIME  1600  000  030  030  030  030  030  030  030      ; Per game access
:TIME  2000  000  045  045  045  045  045  045  060      ; Per game access

The first entry defines the SysOp hours.  This controls when the player may
use the page command.  These entires are expressed as HHMM.  The second entry
may be smaller than the first.  As an example, ":SYSOP 0700 1900" allows the
player to use the page command from 7am until 7pm.  The entry ":SYSOP 2200
0200" allows the page command to be used between 10pm and 2am.

The ":LEVEL" entry defines how different security level users have access to
the game.  This line consists of 8 entries in ascending order.  Each entry
corresponds to a game control level.  As an example let us consider the
following entry: ":LEVEL 010 020 030 040 050 060 070 080".  Any user with
a security level of less than 10 would not have access to the game.  Users
with security level 10 through 19 would have level 0 privelidges.  Users
with security level 20 through 29 would have level 1 privelidges, etc.
Priveledges are explained below.

The ":DAYT" entry defines the maximum time in minutes each privelidge level
may play the game per day.  This entry consists of 8 values each corresponding
to a privelidge level in ascending order.  Each value is in minutes.  A value
of 0 represents no daily time limit for that particular privelidge level.

The ":DAYG" entry defines the maximum number of times the user may enter the
game on a gien day.  It consists of 8 values each corresponding to a
privelidge level in ascending order.  A value of 0 represents no game limit
for that particular privelidge level.

The ":WAIT" entry defines the amount of time in minutes each user must
wait between entering the game.  This entry consists of 8 values each
corresponding to a privelidge level in ascending order.

The ":TIME" entries define the amount of time each user may spend during a
single play session.  It consists of 9 values.  The first is the time of
day the period starts.  The remaining 8 are the game time limits for
each of the 8 privelidge levels.  Time limits are in minutes.  A 0 value
here means that the user my not play the game during that time period.
Each ":TIME" entry must be in ascending time of day order.  There may be
a maximum of 8 ":TIME" entries.

To build the time control file, the following command line is used:

                TIMEGEN def_file time_file

Where def_file is the ASCII file defining all time controls and time_file
is the output file that the game will read.  For Barons, use the following
command line:

                TIMEGEN times.def barons.tim



SysOp controls:
===============
The SysOp has similar controls as to those provided in RBBS.  The following
set of functions are available:

    Alt F1      This key will eject a user from the game by
                setting all his time to consumed.

    Right Arrow This key will add one minute of game time to
                the current users current game session.

    Left Arrow  This key will subtract one minute of game time
                from the current users current game session.

        F4      The F4 key will toggle the state of the SysOp
                annoy toggle.  Note that it is reset to its
                original state when RBBS is reentered.

        F6      The F6 key will toggle the state of the SysOp
                availability toggle.  Note that it is reset to
                its original state when RBBS is reentered.

        F9      The F9 key will toggle the state of the SysOp
                snoop toggle.  Note that it is reset to its
                original state when RBBS is reentered.

        F10     The F10 key is used to initiate CHAT mode.  This
                allows the SysOp to converse with the user via the
                keyboard.  Unlike RBBS, CHAT mode in Barons does
                not support word wrap and you will need to hit the
                ENTER key at the end of each line.

        ESC     The escape key is used to answer a user page.  It
                is also used to terminate CHAT mode.


Epilog:
=======
Please enjoy the program and feel free to contact Mycroft RBBS with any
comments or questions.  The BBS and virtual I/O are performed by the Mycroft
DM library.  The game author may also be contacted on Mycroft RBBS under the
login of Richard Wilkes.

                                                Thanks,

                                                Michael W. Bayley
                                                MYCROFT RBBS
                                                (408) 927-0105


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