GEINST.DOC
Version 3.2
Installation
and
Operations
Guide1.0 Overview
2.0 Installation
3.0 Game Operations
4.0 Configuration Option
5.0 Documentation
6.0 Support
1.0 Overview
Congratulations on purchasing the most popular add on to the MajorBBS. Galactic Empire has been installed in MajorBBS's since 1988 and provided thousands of players an exciting and challenging game that continues to generate thousands of hours of usage.
Release 3.2 represents the latest in an ever evolving game of space battle and conquest. With the increased processing power and expanded memory available in today's systems, and the standardization provided by Galacticomm's release 6.0 of the MajorBBS, we are able to include many advanced features which just a few years ago would not have been possible.
Galactic Empire 3.2 is simple to install and even simpler to operate. To get your game on-line and your users playing simply follow the instructions in the following section.
NOTICE: The software is distributed to you un-registered. You can begin running it prior to registration. Send in the registration documentation (attached to this guide) immediately as there is a limited number of days it will operate without a Registration ID.
Upon receipt of your Registration Documentation you will be sent a unique Registration ID valid for your specific MBBS system. Simply enter this ID in the REGNO field in the configuration options. For further information refer to section 4.0 below.
2.0 Installation from a release diskette
Use this procedure if you received your Galactic Empire on a release diskette. If you downloaded a .ZIP file from our support system refer to section 2.2 and 2.3.
STEP 1:
Copying files from install diskette to your system.
In order to install Galactic Empire place the release diskette in your floppy diskette drive and type the following command;
A:
INSTALL A: C:\BBSV6
Note: If your floppy diskette is B: then substitute "B:" for "A:" above. Also, if your BBS is installed on another drive or in another directory, please substitute your drive and directory for the "C:\BBSV6" above.
The install procedure will copy the appropriate files to your BBS directory with virgin databases ready to play.
STEP 2:
Adding Galactic Empire to your menu.
Using the procedure outlined in your MajorBBS Guide, add Galactic Empire to your menu.
STEP 3:
Play the game.... and have fun.
2.1 Upgrade from a release diskette
Use this procedure if you received a Galactic Empire update on a release diskette. If you downloaded a .ZIP file from our support system refer to section 2.2 and 2.3.
NOTE: ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM PRIOR TO MAKING ANY MAJOR CHANGES!
STEP 1: Copying files from install diskette to your system.
In order to update Galactic Empire place the release diskette in your floppy diskette drive and type the following command;
A:
UPDATE A: C:\BBSV6
Note: If your floppy diskette is B: then substitute "B:" for "A:" above. Also, if your BBS is installed on another drive or in another directory, please substitute your drive and directory for the "C:\BBSV6" above.
The update procedure will copy the appropriate files to your BBS directory but will not effect your existing databases.
STEP 2:
Play the game.... and have fun.
2.2 Installation from a downloaded ZIP file.
Use this procedure if you received your first copy of Galactic Empire by downloading it from our support BBS. If you are updating a previous release please refer to section 2.3 below.
STEP 1:
Copy the downloaded file to your BBS directory
COPY MBMGEnnn.ZIP C:\BBSV6
Note: replace nnn with the actual files version number (i.e. MBMGE30J.ZIP)
Note: If your BBS is installed on another drive or in another directory, please substitute your drive and directory for the "C:\BBSV6" above.
STEP 2:
Unzipping the downloaded file.
PKUNZIP MBMGEnnn.ZIP
The install procedure will create the appropriate files to your BBS directory with virgin databases ready to play.
STEP 3:
Adding Galactic Empire to your menu.
Using the procedure outlined in your MajorBBS Guide, add Galactic Empire to your menu.
STEP 4:
Play the game.... and have fun.
2.3 Upgrade from a downloaded ZIP file.
Use this procedure if you downloaded an update from our support BBS. The main difference is that an update will not contain empty databases unless absolutely required.
NOTE: ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM PRIOR TO MAKING ANY MAJOR CHANGES!
STEP 1:
Copy the downloaded file to your BBS directory
COPY UPDGEnnn.ZIP C:\BBSV6
Note: replace nnn with the actual files version number (i.e. UPDGE30J.ZIP)
Note: If your BBS is installed on another drive or in another directory, please substitute your drive and directory for the "C:\BBSV6" above.
STEP 2:
Unzipping the downloaded file.
PKUNZIP UPDGEnnn.ZIP
The update procedure will create the appropriate files to your BBS directory but will leave your existing databases in place.
STEP 3:
Play the game.... and have fun.
3.0 Operations
Galactic Empire is designed to be simple to operate, requiring almost no intervention on your part. There are however some operational aspects which you may wish to consider.
3.1 CPU Performance
Galactic Empire is a complex game and depending on how configured can consume a sizable amount of CPU time. In order to maintain acceptable performance you must insure that your system is configured appropriately. The following parameters effect CPU performance dramatically and should be configured carefully for your specific CPU.
Note: The default parameters are set for performance on a 33 MHz 386 CPU. Your system's performance may vary and require changes to these settings.
MAXPLRS - Controls how many "real" players can be in the game at the same time. You may wish to limit this value to decrease the load on the CPU.
SHOWOPT - Controls how many "GE" informational messages are generated. Leave set to "0" for optimal performance.
PLANTOCK - Controls how frequently all the sectors in a Galaxy are updated. Setting this value lower increases CPU load.
WORMODDS - This option controls the odds of a newly created planet being a wormhole instead. The lower then number the higher the odds. Since when a wormhole is created the destination wormhole sector also must be created, additional disk I/O must occur. The lower you set this number the more disk I/O you will experience. Depending upon the speed of your hard disk and cache this may or may not be a problem.
NUMSHIPS - Controls how many "robot" ships are in the game. Set this value as high as you can, while maintaining acceptable performance. The more ships in the game, the more enjoyable it is. This value has the most dramatic effect on the CPU as each of the additional ships requires the same CPU resources as a live player.
UNIVMAX - Controls the size of the Galaxy. You can reduce this number to control the number of sectors that the game has to process in the time specified by PLANTOCK above. Reducing this number decreases the CPU load. Because the Galaxy grows as the game is played you may notice decreased CPU performance as the game progresses for some time, and the databases grow correspondingly.
3.2 Database Growth
In order to insure that your game continues to operate un-interrupted, you must make sure that there is plenty of disk space available for database growth.
The MBMGEUSR.DAT, MBMGESHP.DAT, MBMGEXRF.DAT, and MBMGEMAL.DAT are proportional to the number of users in the game. The MBMGEPLT.DAT database grows as more players explore the galaxy. Most sectors created will be void of planets and only take a small amount of storage. Since sectors are not created until a player actually scans it the total storage required is minimized. The average space required is 512 bytes per sector created. Reserving 32,767,000 bytes (32.7 meg) for growth allows for about 64,000 sectors. If you have less space available you may consider decreasing the MAXPLREC option in the next section.
Each time the system performs the nightly cleanup it will tell you the approximate size of the planet database. Additionally the MajorBBS allows you to display how much disk remains unused. If you have a relatively limited amount of disk storage please monitor these values regularly to insure the integrity of your entire system.
3.3 Campaigns
Galactic Empire is best when played in campaigns lasting 1 to 3 months. You may wish to award players some additional bonus such as credits based upon their performance at the end of the campaign.
When you reset a campaign simply initialize the Galactic Empire databases by typing the following while in your BBSV6 directory.
COPY MBMGE*.NEW MBMGE*.DAT
You can now begin a new campaign. You may wish to "tweak" some of the configuration options such as Galaxy Size, and/or ship configurations to vary a campaign from the previous one. See the following section for more details.
3.4 System Operator Special Commands
Included in Galactic Empire are several commands reserved specifically for your use. These commands are enabled with the SYSCMDS and SYSONLY options detailed in section 4.2 below.
These special commands provide some assistance in debugging problems. They can however give a player a distinct advantage if discovered, and it is not recommended that they be used in the production system all the time.
SYS GET xxxxx <item name> This will grant to the ship xxxxx of the items requested. Example: SYS GET 100 TOR gets you 100 torpedoes.
SYS KILL <userid> Causes a player in the game to have his ship destroyed for unknown reasons. Example SYS KILL GREMLIN will kill Gremlins ship
SYS CASH xxxxx This will grant to the ship xxxxx C's of cash. Example: SYS CASH 999999 will give the ship 999999 in C's
SYS GOTO x y This will move the ship to the sector in the universe with the specific x and y coordinates. Example: SYS GOTO 10 10 will move the ship to the x=10, y=10 sector.
SYS SHIELDTYPE n This will give the current ship a shield of type n. Valid types are 1 to 5. A special type of 20 is an ultimate sysop shield.
SYS PHASERTYPE n This will give the current ship a phaser type on n. Valid types are 1 to 4. A special type of 20 is an ultimate sysop phaser.
SYS CLASS n This will change the current ship to a ship class of n. Valid classes are 0 to 7 and 13. NOTE: IF you set the class to 8 or 9 (Cybertrons) problems may result.
SYS MAINT This will begin a fast Maintenance Procedure on the current ship regardless of your orbit status.
SYS UNJAM This clears the effects of a jammer on the current ship immediately.
SYS LIST This command lists all the active ships in the game, their location, and damage status.
SYS CLASSLIST will list the classes currently loaded in the game. This will tell you what class the SYSOPIAN DEATH STAR is for the SYS CLASS command.
3.5 Undocumented Commands
In addition to the commands documented in the Galactic Empire Users Guide, there are a few special commands which are undocumented. There are two classes of undocumented commands;
3.5.1 System Information Commands
These commands are included to assist us in determining problems when you call for Technical Support.
RG#
Reports the Galactic Empire Registration number, and Test Drive status.
Special Terminal Program Commands
These commands are included specifically to support terminal programs for Galactic Empire. As we further develop this interface more commands will be added.
WHO
Provides the Users Name, and Systems MBBS Registration Number. This is for Terminal Programs which may be registered to a specific User, and/or System.
DATA QAZWSX SCAN
Provides a comma separated data format scan for the current ship. This is useful for terminal programs that display the ship information in another (i.e. Graphical) representation.
DATA QAZWSX REPORT
Provides a comma separated data format of all the information on the current ship. This is useful for terminal programs that display the ship information in another format.
4.0 Options
All of the configurable options are contained in the MBMGEMSG.MSG file and can be modified using the Galacticomm Configuration option on the BBS menu.
The options are preset to optimal values. You need not adjust any to begin using the game. You may, however, wish to modify some of these options to challenge your players more, or provide a more interesting game.
Please note that some of the options are included to give you maximum configurability but modification is not recommended. These are indicated with a CAUTION note following the option description.
Listed below are some of the more important options that you may wish to change. For a complete list of options please refer to the Configuration Options selection on the MajorBBS menu.
4.1 Security Options
Option: REGNO
Description: Registration Number
Value: 00000000
Type: String
Range: 8 Characters
This is the Registration Number specific to your MBBS system. This number will be sent to you upon receipt of your registration document. Galactic Empire will function fine for a limited period without this number. After the trial period your system will continue to function properly, although GE will be temporarily suspended. When you place the valid number in this field the game will continue where it left off.
Option: PLAYKEY
Description:Key required to play GE
Value: NORMAL
Type: S
Range: 15
This option defines the KEY the player must have to play GE. Refer to your MajorBBS Users Guide for a detailed explanation on Locks & Keys.
Option: SYSKEY
Description: Key required for sysop powers
Value: SYSOP
Type: S
Range: 15
This defines the key required to use the special sysop commands. You can set this to something other than SYSOP and then assign that key to specific GAMEOP's or players as needed.
4.2 Configuration Options
Option: MAXPLRS
Description: The maximum players in the game at once
Value: 30
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 256
You can limit the number of players who can simultaneously play the game. You may wish to set this value in order to keep your systems performance within an acceptable response. The more players in the game the more CPU resources the game consumes.
Option: TRANSOPT
Description: Allow goods transfers to planets not owned?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option controls if a player is allowed to transfer goods to a planet which they do not own. If YES a player can transfer goods to another players planets. This could give players with multiple USERID's an unfair advantage as they could transfer goods from multiple accounts to a single account giving that account an initial boost in the game. Note: If you only permit paying accounts to play the game this is of less concern.
Option: SYSCMDS
Description: Allow sysop commands?
Value: YES
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option enables the special SYSOP commands. These commands are documented in the SYSOP.DOC file included on the release diskette. Caution: This option WILL give an unfair advantage to players who use it. It is strongly recommended that it remain set to NO during normal operation or the SYSONLY option be set to YES.
Option: SYSONLY
Description: Allow sysop only to use sysop commands?
Value: YES
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
If sysop commands are enabled are they restricted to players with SYSOP class only. Caution: It is strongly recommended that this option remain set to YES.
Option: PLANTOCK
Description: How long to take to update all planets (seconds)?
Value: 21600
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 32767
This option controls the Dynamic Planet Update Feature. The system will monitor how long it takes to process through all the planets in the galaxy and dynamically adjust the update frequency to keep the total cycle time as close to the time below as it can. Caution: Setting this value too small will cause the system to consume more CPU time than may be available. It is recommended that this value be set to 6 hours (21600 seconds) which will cause four updates a day. After you have run a campaign you can reduce the value if CPU performance remained acceptable throughout the campaign.
Option: PLODDS
Description: Frequency factor for planets
Value: 8
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 20
This value controls the odds of a sector having planets. The lower the number the more likely a sector will have planets.
Option: WORMODDS
Description: Frequency factor for wormholes
Value: 20
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 100
This value controls the odds of a sector having a wormhole. The lower the number the more likely a sector will have a wormhole
Option: NUMSHIPS
Description: The number of additional ships (robots) in game?
Value: 20
Type: Numeric
Range: 0 to 256
Depending upon your CPU's performance you can have up to 256 additional Robotic Ships (Automatons) in the game. The system will randomly generate ships to give your players automated combatants. Caution: This value can DRAMATICALLY effect CPU performance. If you are not confident about your specific system please set to a lower value at first and experiment with increased values as you evaluate your CPU's performance.
Option: MAXDROID
Description: Max Droid class ships in game.
Value: 10
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 500
This value limits the number of DROID class ships in the game at the same time. This insures that there are plenty of Cybertrons for players to fight. The recommended setting is half of NUMSHIPS.
Option: UNIVMAX
Description: The radius of the Virtual Galaxy
Value: 32000
Type: Numeric
Range: 10 to 32767
This value controls how far from the center (sector 0 0) the galaxy extends. The Galaxy is square and UNIVMAX sectors in each direction (N,S,E,W). NOTE: The size of the galaxy has some pretty dramatic effects on the game. You may with to try various values in each of your campaigns to determine which works best for you.
CAUTION: Do not change this value without resetting all the Galactic Empire Databases as explained in Chapter 3.0. Failure to do so will result in unexpected problems.
Option: MAXPLREC
Description: The size of the GEPLANET.DAT in Kbytes
Value: 32767
Type: Numeric
Range: 0 to 32767
This value controls how large the MBMGEPLT.DAT data file will grow to. Each time a sector is "teraformed" the MBMGEPLT.DAT database grows by the following formula;
space added = (number planets * 512) + 512
In order to prevent your disk from filling up you can specify the maximum size that the database will grow to in Kbytes. When the maximum is reached no more planets will be created.
Note: a 32,767K database will hold 65,535 planets and sectors. That should keep most players busy for awhile.
4.3 Configuration Tables
The following options concern two key tables that are provided to give you maximum flexibility over your systems "look and Feel".
4.3.1 Sector 0 0 Planet Table
This table configures the number of planets and the planet details for the neutral zone (sector 0 0). Some SYSOPS expressed an interest in being able to make this sector look like the SOL System (our Solar System). You can modify the following table and add additional planets as required. The only constraint is that the game requires a Trading Planet, and a Population Planet. You can designate any planet you like to be each, but MUST have one and only one of each.
Additionally, you can "give" the planet to a specific USERID, such as SYSOP. To do this change the owner option for the planet. This has the effect of allowing the owner to administer the planet as they would any other planet they own.
The table is organized into sets of the following options. Each set is numbered as S00Pnxxx where Pn is the table entry, and xxx is the specific option.
If you elect to add additional planets to the table, simply copy the entire set (S00P1NM to S00P1RES) after the last option in the third table entry (S00P3RES). Change the P1 to P4 (or P5, P6, etc.) in the newly copied entries, and update the S00PLNUM option to reflect the new number of planets.
Option: S00PLNUM
Description: Number of Planets in Sector 0 0
Value: 3
Type: Numeric
Range: 3 to 9
This option specifies the number of planets in the neutral zone (sector 0 0). Note: You need not change this unless you want more than 3 planets in the Neutral Zone.
Option: S00P1NM
Description: Zygor
Value:
Type: String
Range: 19 Characters
This is the name of planet # 1 in the Neutral Zone.
Option: S00P1OWN
Description: Owner of Planet #1
Value: "*EMPIRE*"
Type: String
Range: 30 Characters
This field specifies the Owner of this planet. If desired you can specify a specific USERID and that user will be able to administer this planet.
Option: S00P1TYP
Description: Planet Type
Value: 1
Type: Numeric
Range: 0 to 2
Type of planet indicator. One planet in Sector 0 0 -MUST- be each of the following types;
0 = Nothing Special
1 = Base trading planet (Zygor)
2 = Population Planet (Tahanian Station)
Option: S00P1X
Description: X Coordinate of Planet
Value: 5000
Type: Numeric
Range: 100 to 9900
This value specifies the X coordinate of this planet.
Option: S00P1Y
Description: Y Coordinate of Planet
Value: 5000
Type: Numeric
Range: 100 to 9900
This value specifies the Y coordinate of this planet.
Option: S00P1ENV
Description: Environment for planet
Value: 3
Type: Numeric
Range: 0 to 3
This value specifies the Environment for this Planet.
0 = Poor
1 = Marginal
2 = Good
3 = Very Good
Option: S00P1RES
Description: Resources for planet
Value: 3
Type: Numeric
Range: 0 to 3
This value specifies the Resources for this Planet.
0 = Poor
1 = Marginal
2 = Good
3 = Very Good
4.3.2 Ship Class Description Table
The message file MBMGESHP.MSG controls the ships available in the game. You can modify the names, performance, weapons, and cargo weight. You can also add additional ships to the table.
When adding additional ships simply use one of the unused entries between 1 and 41 in the table.
Note: The rules concerning the addition of ships must be followed carefully.
Add USER ships before the CYBORG ships.
Add DROID ships after the CYBORG ships.
Add any special sysop ships after the DROID ships.
Set the NUMSHIPS option in the MBMGEMSG.MSG file to the sum of all the active SnnMAKE options in the MBMGESHP.MSG file.
If you have changed the Cyborgs or Droids mid-game, use the SYS KILL @ option after the board is loaded to kill existing Cybs and cause them to "re-generate" according to your new rules.
There are blank entries in the .MSG file already for your use. Please use these and do not add any additional items as this WILL cause program failures.
The Following options are repeated for each of the 12 classes of ships. The first 8 classes are user ships, the next 2 are Cybertron ships, and the final 3 are droid ships. Caution: You are free to adjust the values of these parameters, however, removing or adding parameters may cause unexpected problems.
Option: S01TYPE
Description: Type of Ship?
Value: USER
Type: Enumerated
Range: USER CYBORG DROID
This option specifies the TYPE of ship.
USER = A ship a user can purchase and fly.
CYBORG = A Cybertron ship controlled by the automated battle logic in the game.
DROID = A non-combatant ship (sometimes) controlled by much simpler navigation logic.
Option: S01NAME
Description: Ship Class-01 Name
Value: Interceptor
Type: String
Range: 30 Characters
This option is the Class Name of class 01 ships.
Option: S01SHLD
Description: Maximum Shield Type
Value: 2
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 5
This option specifies the MAXIMUM shield type for this class of ship.
Option: S01PHSR
Description: Maximum Phaser Type
Value: 2
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 4
This option specifies the MAXIMUM Phaser type for this class of ship.
Option: S01TORP
Description: Has Torpedo Capability?
Value: YES
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option specifies if this ship class has torpedo capability.
Option: S01MISL
Description: Has Missile Capability?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option specifies if this ship class has missile capability.
Option: S01DECY
Description: Has decoy capability?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option specifies if this ship class has the ability to launch decoys.
Option: S01JAMMR
Description: Has Jammer Capability?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option specifies if this ship class has the ability to launch jammers.
Option: S01ZIPPR
Description: Has Zipper Capability?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option specifies if this ship class has the ability to launch Zippers.
Option: S01MINE
Description: Has Mine Capability?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option specifies if this ship class has the ability to launch mines.
Option: S01ATTK
Description: Has Attack Planet Capability?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option specifies if this ship class has planetary attack capability.
Option: S01CLOK
Description: Has Cloaking Capability?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option specifies if this ship class has cloaking capability.
Option: S01ACCL
Description: Acceleration Rate
Value: 1000
Type: Numeric
Range: 20 to 20000
This option controls the acceleration rate for this class of ship.
Option: S01WARP
Description: Maximum Warp
Value: 4
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 100
This option specifies the maximum warp for this class of ship.
Option: S01TONS
Description: Maximum Tonnage (in 100's)
Value: 5
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 5000
This option specifies the maximum weight in tons for this class of ship.
Option: S01PRIC
Description: Price for each ship (in 1000's)
Value: 60
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 32000
This option specifies the price for each ship in this class.
Option: S01PNTS
Description: Points awarded for kill
Value: 10
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 to 1000
This option specifies the points awarded to another player for killing this class of ship.
Option: S01SRNG
Description: Scan Range (in 1000's)
Value: 25
Type: Numeric
Range: 1 32767
This option specifies the maximum range in thousands for the range scanners in this class of ship.
Option: S01CATK
Description: Cyb's can attack this class ship?
Value: NO
Type: Boolean
Range: YES/NO
This option determines if this class of ship is "attackable" by cybertrons. If NO then Cyb's will only attack it if provoked. If YES then they will attack on sight.
Option: S01NATK
Description: Number of Cyb's to attack this class?
Value: NO
Type: Numeric
Range: 0 to 255
This option determines the number of Cybs that will come after this class of ship at the same time. Set to 0 to have Cyb's leave it alone. Set to higher numbers to have this class massed by Cybertrons.
5.0 Documentation
Included with the files on your release diskette is the file MBMGEMP.DOC. This is a complete users guide to Galactic Empire specifically written for your users.
Upon installation the MajorBBS will attach this document to the NEWUSER.DOC file automatically. You may wish to make this document available for download in your Library also.
6.0 Support
In order to receive update notification and on-line support for this product you MUST send in the attached Software Registration Document. Please complete and mail within 10 days of purchase.
NOTICE: With your registration you will be given access to a special Forum on NETWORX and permitted to download any enhancements to release 3.2 for a period of one year from purchase. Future releases will also be available at reduced prices to registered customers.
For Technical Support dial our on-line system;
NETWORX
(813) 541-5876
2400 to 9600 Baud Supported
Our mailing address is;
M.B. Murdock & Associates
P.O. Box 2194
Pinellas Park, Fl. 34665-2194
(813) 545-8050
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Galactic Empire
Software Registration Document
Name_________________________________________________
Company______________________________________________
Address______________________________________________
Phone No.____________________________________________
BBS Name_____________________________________________
BBS Phone No.________________________________________
No. Ports____________________________________________
MBBS Reg. No.________________________________________
Place of Purchase____________________________________
Comments_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Mail to:
M.B. Murdock & Associates
P.O. Box 2194
Pinellas Park, Fl. 34665-2194
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