 












                 Ŀ
                                                             
                             The Dark Castle V8.5            
                             ********************            
                 *                                            *
                 *                 Original                   *
                           Game Release 03-19-91             
                                                             
                            (C)opyright 1989-2006            
                                BBSFiles.com                 
                                                             
                            Original Programming:            
                                Marvin Davis                 
                                                             
                            Conversion & Updates:            
                              Marty Blankenship              
                                                             *
                                                             
                                                             
                 



















                      The Dark Castle! (C)opyright 1989-2006







                            D a r k   C a s t l e
                      T A B L E   O F   C O N T E N T S 
                      ---------------------------------
 



  Warranty, Disclaimer ......................................... page 1
  
  Registration ................................................. page 1
 
  Zip contents, tech support ................................... page 2
 
  Game descriptions & features.................................. page 3
 
  WildCat! Setup................................................ page 4
 
  RBBS/QuickBBS Setup........................................... page 4
 
  GAP & GTPower Setup........................................... page 4
 
  Phoenix Setup................................................. page 4
 
  PCBoard setup................................................. page 5 

  Generic BBS setups............................................ page 5
 
  GENERIC BBS setup from batchfile.............................. page 6
 
  Keyboard/LOCAL play........................................... page 6

  Line 25 (Game Status Line).................................... page 6

  Wildcat batchfile example..................................... page 6
 
  RBBS Door batchfile example................................... page 7
 
  Game Installation Tips........................................ page 8
  
  Multi-Note Installations...................................... page 9

  KEY file/auto registration.................................... page 10

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                       Dark Castle!  (C)opyright 1989-2006



  Warranty
  ========
  This is product is provided  "as is" without warranty of  any kind.  The 
  entire risk as to the results  and program performance is assumed by you.  
  Also, in addition, I the author  do not warrant, guarantee, or make  any  
  representations regarding the use  of, or the results of the use of  the  
  program and you rely on the program  and results solely at your own risk.  
  The author cannot accept responsibility  for system damage, profit  loss, 
  or any other special, incidental or consequential damages resulting from
  the use, misuse or inability to use this product. If you understand this,
  then please proceed.
 

 
  Copyright
  ---------
  The 'Dark Castle' game is distributed as  SHAREWARE.  Under  this  concept 
  you may use a SHAREWARE (unregistered) version for a reasonable period  of
  time, which I CONSIDER TO BE 30 DAYS, after which you MUST either register 
  your copy or DISCONTINUE usage altogether!
 


  Registration
  ------------
  With registration you will receive the latest version of The Dark Castle
  with the ability to download any futher updates from BBSFiles.com
  at no extra cost.  You will also receive any support the author can give
  in reference to bugs or other problems that may arise in using the game. 

  The door can be registered at BBSFiles.com

  When registered, the Doorware message and DELAY will not be  present.  Do
  not attempt to delete or alter the Doorware message as the game will cease
  to function entirely.


  Distribution
  ------------
  You are free, in fact encouraged, to distribute a SHAREWARE (unregistered)
  version of Dark Castle live game, provided that all files contained in the 
  ORIGINAL Dark Castle archive are distributed in absolute ORIGINAL form.
 
 
 
               The Dark Castle!  (C)opyright 1989-2006, Page 1



Files found in the distribution file CASTLE85.ZIP

These files are found in your Zip or will be created during runtime;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  README   TXT  ;read this first!  Startup Info...
  SETUP    EXE  ;Setup program for game, just run.
  REGISTER TXT  ;Info on registration.
  DOORWARE ASC  ;Doorware announcement - WARNING, DO NOT DELETE OR EDIT!
  DCASTLE  EXE  ;The Dark Castle Game executable file.
  DCASTLE  DAT  ;formatted ASCII file to hold current players/scores.
  DCTITLE  ASC  ;ASCII title screen file.
  DCTITLE  SCR  ;ANSI color title screen file.
  DCASTLE  CFG  ;game configuration file
  DCASTLE  TXT  ;game documentation and setup info.
  DEATH    SCR  ;Killed exit screen (color)
  EXIT     SCR  ;Exit game screen (color)
  DRAGON   SCR  ;Killed screen (color)
  DUNGEON  SCR  ;quick peek at Castle's dungeon.
  TROLL    SCR  ;Killed screen (color)
* DCASTLE  ERR  ;logs runtime errors for record.  
* SCORBORD SCR  ;Top 10 Color scoreboard
* SCORBORD ASC  ;Top 10 Mono scoreboard
* BULL#xx  BBS  ;MONO bulletin  (auto TOP TEN) Path in DCASTLE.CFG
* BULL#xx  SCR  ;COLOR bulletin (auto TOP TEN) Path in DCASTLE.CFG
* ???????? USR  ;(Registered version, player/user game datafiles)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* DENOTES that file is updated/created during RUN-TIME.


Technical Support:
------------------
If you have questions about Dark Castle, email: support@BBSFiles.com


Registration/ Order Information:
--------------------------------
Please visit BBSFiles.com to get your "vanity" key



                The Dark Castle (C)opyright 1989-2006,  Page 2


                              -The Dark Castle-
                           (C)1989-91 Marvin Davis
                           (c)2003-06 BBSFiles.com

In this game, you will be taking the challange of finding your way inside
the 'Dark Castle' and recovering a treasured item.  You however will become
BLIND when you set eyes on the main gate!  But, your companion * a FireFly *
will give you hints and quide you through the insides and will give you a
surprize at the end of your journey - IF you make it!  The game is VERY 
easy and simple BUT challenging at the same time.  Good Luck!
   
This game supports both MONOchrome and ANSI Color graphics modes.  Ports on
COM1 - COM4, game exit on loss of carrier, and complete keyboard control
during runtime.  Game is configured by the configuration file below.  Support
for the popular BBS programs, WildCat V2.x, RBBS v17.x, Phoenix and a command
line 'generic' setup for use with basically any board program.  Game "dead
time" is a two minute timeout at any prompt and the game is terminated.

The following ASCII file is commented so that it can easily edited to comform 
to your BBS.  The file must be in this format to correctly pass important 
parameters to the game.  All the text to the right of the ";" semicolons are 
just remarks.  There is a SETUP.EXE program that you may use to create this 
instead of an ASCII editor.  Just run SETUP and follow the prompts exactly.

DCASTLE.CFG                    ;game config file  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starvin' Marv's                 ;Your BBS's name
Marvin                          ;Sysops first name
Davis                           ;Sysops last name
C:\BBS\CALLINFO.BBS             ;BBS caller file supported (see list)
C:\BBS\BULLETS\BULL#22.BBS      ;PATH for Text bulletin       
C:\BBS\BULLETS\BULL#22.SCR      ;PATH for ANSI Color Bulletin
N/A                             ;Locked DTE baud rate use N/A or LOCKED {baud}
N/A                             ;Printer LPT1-3 log or use N/A
DIRECT                          ;use DIRECT or BIOS screen writes
NONE                            ;your registered name
00000                           ;your registered serial number


BULLETINS
---------
On a game completion, automatic TOP TEN Bulletins, both MONOCHROME and COLOR 
can be created to the PATH/FILESPEC designated.  If the user aborts the game
at a speed prompt with 'Q',then the game is exited and no bulletin created.

If NO BULLETINS ARE WISHED, or no color bulletin is supported, then place
a N/A in the line where the PATH parameters/filespec is!


PRINTER LOG
-----------
If a printer is being used to keep a running LOG of  callers, errors,  etc.,
then place in upper case the port  (LPT1 - LPT3) instead  of the N/A in  the
above config file.  Game minutes, start time and end time is printed on  the
printer connected to printer port (LPTx).  Any untrapped errors are now also
recorded and are useful in debugging or isolating a problem.


                The Dark Castle (C)opyright 1989-2006,  Page 3


               Command Line parameters to call The Dark Castle!

DCASTLE {space} /game switch(s) {space} /node switch(s)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                                 WILDCAT! V2.xx
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCASTLE /WC         ;the ' /WC' parameter instructs the game to run under
                    ;WildCat! and get its user info from the CALLINFO.BBS
                    ;file that WildCat! produces when running a door.
                    ;CALLINFO.BBS path and filespec are configured in the
                    ;DCASTLE.CFG file line # 4.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  RBBS V17.xx
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
DCASTLE /RBBS       ;the ' /RBBS' parameter instructs the game to run under
        /QBBS       ;RBBS and to get its user info from the DORINFOx.DEF
                    ;file, where 'x' is the node number. For a single line
                    ;board x = 1 and the infor file would be DORINFO1.DEF
                    ;DORINFO1.DEF path and filespec are configured in the
                    ;DCASTLE.CFG file line # 4.

 QuickBBS users whose BBS software writes the DORINFO1.DEF file can use the
  /RBBS command line switch to inform the game that it is to get its caller 
 information from the same compatible file DORINFO1.DEF.  So QuickBBS users
 can use the RBBS setup for their board software.  If you wish to run port 
 locked DTE then set that spec in the DCASTLE.CFG file and it will ignore 
 any baud rate in the DORINFO1.DEF file.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     GAP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCASTLE /GAP        ;Set game for GAP and read in DOOR.SYS as it caller
                    ;file.  filename entered on line #4 of DCASTLE.CFG.
                    ;If you are a GAP user and wish locked port DTE baud
                    ;then RUN SETUP.EXE or enter LOCKED {baud} on line # 7
                    ;of DCASTLE.CFG file.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   GTPOWER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCASTLE /GTP        ;Sets game for GTPower and read in GTUSER.BBS caller
                    ;file for caller information.  Since this BBS's caller 
                    ;file does NOT contain current COM PORT configuration
                    ;you may need an additional switch to set the game up.
                    ;to COM: port # 2 with an additional switch parameter.
                    ;EXAMPLE: DCASTLE /GTP/2
                    ;this sets the game for COM: port #2 from the DEFAULT of
                    ;COM: port #1.  If using COM:1 ignore the "/2".
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCASTLE /PHX        ;Sets game for PHOENIX and read in INFO.BBS for caller
                    ;info.  Game gets baud speed from this file and if you
                    ;are a HST user - use the DCASTLE.CFG file to setup
                    ;LOCKED PORT of 19200 or 38400 baud to ignore the caller
                    ;connect DCE baud rate.  This can be done in SETUP also.

                The Dark Castle (C)opyright 1989-91,  Page 4



PCBoard 14.x
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCASTLE /PCB        ;instructs the game to get its caller information from
                    ;the file PCBoard.SYS.  Place the PATH to the file in
                    ;the DCASTLE.CFG or COPY PCBoard.SYS to the game dir
                    ;when invoking the game's batchfile.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERIC BBS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCASTLE /GEN        ;the ' /GEN' parameter instructs game to look for its
                    ;basic configuration info on the command line!  You can
                    ;set up the game to run on any BBS with these basic
                    ;parameters shown below with parameters separated with
                    ;a SPACE character.
 
                     DCASTLE /GEN COM1 n AN
 
                    ;where COM is either COM1 or COM2, where "n" is the
                    ;specified baud rate:
    
                     0 = 300
                     1 = n/a   [NOTE: 1 is NOT USED!]
                     2 = 1200
                     3 = 2400
                     4 = 4800
                     5 = 9600
                     6 = 19200

                    ;8 data bit, 1 stop bit and no parity are defaulted.
                    ;
                    ;The AN instructs DCASTLE to display ANSI color graphics
                    ;and an AS instructs to use standard ASCII text.
                    ;Without ANSI or ASCII specified, ASCII is defaulted.
                    ;The following is an example of a 'generic' setup.

 
DCASTLE /GEN COM1 3 AN           -> sets PORT as COM1, speed as 2400 and
                                    also use ANSI COLOR graphics 
 

















                 The Dark Castle (C)opyright 1989-2006, Page 5


KEYBOARD PLAY or Local mode
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DCASTLE /LOCAL     ;sets game to play on the keyboard, with no color.
DCASTLE /LOCAL/C   ;set game to play on keyboard and use COLOR graphics.

> NOTE: LOCAL mode is an EVALUATION mode and Bulletins are NOT created in 
        this mode. 


                            SETUP EXAMPLES
                            --------------
Setting up The Dark Castle Game for WildCat! version 2.xx
---------------------------------------------------------
Create your batch file to;
    
     1. call the game with file DCASTLE /WC
     2. last line in batch file calls WILDCAT! back

An "example" of a batch file from WildCat1 ver 2.xx, named DOOR35.BAT
might look like this;

CD DOORS
CD CASTLE
DCASTLE /WC
CD \WILDCAT
CAT

 ** Be very careful with PATH for files, it must be complete and correct! **


Game STATUS LINE;
-----------------
While the game is up, at the bottom screen line (line 25) will be the current
Player Status Line.  The Game name, players name, date, time of game start,
callers baud rate and current state of the CLOCK.  This will let the SysOp
know how much time the user has left in the game or online.  If the SysOp 
wishes to 'nuke' a player out of the game, the ESC key is the kill key.  
Once pressed the game is immediately terminated, so be carefull on that as 
some keyboards (84 and 102) have the ESC key right next to the number 1!

FOR REGISTERED USERS!!
----------------------
When your game is registered;

The annoy screen will dissappear and your registered Name or BBS name will
be shown to all players.

Players are be allowed to <S>ave out their game where they're at when the 
Quit option is used.  All the inventory they have, position and remaining 
moves in their 'life' are stored to disk in a "????????.USR" file.  The "?"
marks will be the first 6 char's of their first and the first two of their 
last name for the fileame.  Since only 8 characters are available from DOS 
for filenames, there may be a remote possibility of players having the same 
eight characters, so FULL names will be saved within the file and compared 
to the name passed to the game from the BBS.  


                 The Dark Castle (C)opyright 1989-2006, Page 6


RBBS sample batch file (door)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RBBS example by Wayne Aiken, Sysop, StarFleet BBS, Raleigh NC  919-782-3095
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RBBS has the capability to call DOORs by either by SHELLing out to DOS, or by
quitting RBBS completely.  My system does the latter.  When RBBS quits to a 
DOOR, it dynamically builds a file called RCTTY.BAT.  This file is dynamically
created, and contains the name of the next batch file in the sequence, the 
batch file that invokes the particular door:

------------------------------- RBBS.BAT ------------------------------------
echo off
    cd \RBBS
    if exist RBBS1F1.DEF del RBBS1F1.DEF
    if exist RBBS1TM.DEF del RBBS1TM.DEF
    if exist RCTTY.BAT   del RCTTY.BAT
    WATCHDOG OFF
    RBBS-PC
    if exist RBBS1F1.DEF goto Exit
    if exist RCTTY.BAT   RCTTY.BAT
    if exist RBBS1TM.DEF RBBS1TM.BAT
    E:\RBBS\RBBS.BAT
:Exit
-------------------------------- RBBS.BAT -----------------------------------

In the example above, the presence of the file RBBS1F1.DEF means that RBBS
has been ordered to shut down, RCTTY.BAT means a DOOR will be executed, and
RBBS1TM.DEF means that the daily event has been invoked.  All of these files
are deleted when RBBS starts up, if it is recycled as in the case of a DOOR
or scheduled event.

RCTTY.BAT contains the lines:

   G:\COMMAND /C xxxx 
   E:\RBBS\RBBS.BAT

where xxxx is the name of the batch file for the Door.  This name must also
appear in MENU5x, which is the Doors menu.

A sample batch file for the door, in this case the Dark Castle door is:

   watchdog off
   e:
   cd \rbbs\game
   dcastle /rbbs
   cd \rbbs

I set WATCHDOG off because the Dark Castle door automatically monitors 
carrier detect.  After the program terminates, I have it go back to the 
proper directories.  When it quits, it falls back to RCTTY.BAT (/c parm), 
which then invokes RBBS.  RBBS is a pretty big file to be re-loading each 
time, but I have it in a RAM disk so it does it fairly quickly.

Some sysops may use the SHELLing method to do it.  In either case, this 
shouldn't affect your Doors programs, except possibly if this SHELLing makes
memory tight.  RBBS takes up about 384K of memory, which is why I use the
RUN method in the case that I got a DOOR which was also memory-hungry.

                The Dark Castle  (C)opyright 1989-2006, Page 7



Installation tips;
------------------
Place ALL files in this ZIP archive in the same DOOR# directory.

Everything that you need to operate this software game is included in this 
ZIP archive. To print the documentation file on a printer type:

 

         Thank you for trying The Dark Castle, I hope you enjoy it!
                 

 
 
To set up this door in Synchronet, use the following command line:

civilwar %f

Then define whatever door drop file you prefer. DOOR.SYS works well









              The Dark Castle (c) 1989-2006 Page - 8

                             The Dark Castle 
                     Multi-Node Setup Configurations
                     -------------------------------
An additional switch setting can now be added to the command line with the
particular Node that is calling up the game.  This is to be  placed  after
the command line switch for the particular BBS that  is  using  the  game.
An example command line below is set for a WildCat BBS on Node #1; 
 
DCASTLE /WC /NODE1
 
The following additional switch will cause the game to read in a file  in
the current game directory called CASTLE1.CFG instead of a normal  single
BBS configuration file called "DCASTLE.CFG".  You may directly edit these 
files with an ASCII editor or use SETUP.EXE and fill in the prompts care-
fully, to create them.

Up to 99 Nodes can have separate CASTLExx.CFG files (where xx= 1-99) in the
game directory, and in this file you can point to the NODE directories call
info file.  Below is a sample BATCHFILE that might call the game on  NODE 2
for instance named CASTLE2.BAT.

CD DOOR#3
DCASTLE /WC /NODE2
ECHO Game finished, returning to BBS
CD BBS
CAT
EXIT
 
The NODExx (where x= 1-99) switch will instruct DCASTLE.EXE to read a 
different game "CASTLExx.CFG" file when its envoked.  Note the complete 
PATH to the caller file for the particular Node.  Example, a CASTLE2.CFG 
might contain the following data;

 Starvin' Marv's
 Marvin
 Davis
 C:\BBS\NODE2\CALLINFO.BBS
 C:\BULLETS\BULL#22.BBS
 C:\BULLETS\BULL#22.SCR
 N/A
 N/A
 DIRECT
 NONE
 00000
 
At present, four COMM ports are supported (ie. COM1 - COM4) and they are
normally assigned to their respective COMM ports, NODE1 to COM1 and NODE2 
to COM2, etc.  Although, the game will look into the caller file that is 
specified in the BBS caller file listed in the DCASTLE.CFG file, and the 
game will use that COM port specified for that caller.

Under the different 'node' configuration files, you could have two different
scoreboard bulletins created, one for each node, but the game will only have
one scoreboard file in both ANSI and ASC format in its own door directory
at the completion of a successful run by a player.  These are created every
time on a good run even if the .CFG file lists an N/A for BBS bulletin msg
creation.

            The Dark Castle (C)1989-2006 - Page 9


Registration Format Update!
---------------------------
     A new scheme is now being  used to  'register'  ALL  game(s) with me.  
 Instead of having your name encoded into the game, a ".KEY" file will now 
 be used and you will be issued an individual "serial number" in which  to 
 place in the same directory as the door game.  This  key file will be  in 
 ASCII format and contain your name (or BBS name if you so wish) and  your 
 individualized serial number for registration  identification/validation.  

 Every time the game is invoked, the current directory will be polled  for
 its "key" file and if found will be automatically read in by the  program
 and your registered name and serial number will be validated and the game
 then be unlocked and registered automatically!   

 
V6.0 and above Registration Update!
-----------------------------------
 If you are a prior registered user of any Late-Nite door, you can take the
 information in a game .KEY file (ie. registered name and serial #) and now
 enter this into the GAME.CFG file via an ASCII editor or  SETUP.EXE.   You
 will NO LONGER NEED the .KEY file system as you now have your registration
 information as to the registered name and serial number!  This  will  skip
 the test for a ".KEY" file in the current directory.  Either methods, will
 function to register your door and display the registration information.




                  Dark Castle! (C)opyright 1989-2006,  Page 10

