A large commit.
[pdp8.git] / sw / adventure / src / ADVENT.DC
1 This version of adventure is based on the RT-11 version
2 by Bob Supnik. It is essentially a recoding of the FORTRAN-IV
3 sources into RALF code. The RALF code has been optimized
4 to fit into 32K. Also, many modifications were made to
5 the code to increase execution speed.
6
7 Because it is based on the RT-11 version of ADVENTURE,
8 the following features of the FORTRAN-10 version are not
9 supported:
10
11 1) MAGIC mode was removed
12 2) The SUSPEND and HOURS commands were deleted
13
14
15 The program requires a secondary storage device with
16 at least 250 blocks of free space for working storage.
17 Included with the sources are batch stream files for
18 compiling and loading the program.
19
20 COMPILATION:
21
22 .SUBMIT COMPILE
23
24 LOADING:
25
26 .SUBMIT LOAD (this creates a load map - LOAD.LS)
27
28 EXECUTION:
29
30 .R FRTS
31 *ADVENT.ld (the ".LD" is optional)
32 *$ (altmode or escape)
33
34 execution proceeds.
35
36 When the program is first started, it prompts for the
37 locations of database files:
38 Location of text database (ATEXT.DA) >
39 Location of text index (AINDX.DA) >
40 Location of saved games (ASAVE.DA) >
41 Location of text input (ADVENT.TX) >
42
43 The value in parenthesis is the default values for those files.
44 You can place files on other than the current SYS device by giving
45 the device name and filename, such as RKB0:ADVENT.TX, etc. See
46 the section below on the ADVENT.IN file for more information on how
47 to place the database files.
48
49 When first started, the program will take approximately
50 two to three minutes to set up its data base (ATEXT and AINDX).
51 Initialization and execution can be optimized by placing
52 the data file (DATA) on a different device from the text
53 file (ADVENT.TX). Also, it is more efficient to have the
54 load module (ADVENT.LD) on a different device than the
55 data file (DATA). For a two-drive DECtape system, for
56 example, put ADVENT.LD and ADVENT.TX on SYS:, and have the
57 database files written on DTA1:.
58 i.e.
59 .R FRTS
60 *ADVENT
61 Location of text database (ATEXT.DA) > DTA1:ATEXT.DA
62 Location of text index (AINDX.DA) > DTA1:AINDX.DA
63 Location of saved games (ASAVE.DA) > ASAVE.DA
64 Location of text input (ADVENT.TX) > ADVENT.TX
65
66
67 The ADVENT.TX file is only used to set up the text database.
68 Once the ATEXT.DA and AINDX.DA files have been built, you can
69 delete this file as it is not needed for normal program operation.
70 The file locataion values given during this startup dialog are
71 stored in a file called ADVENT.IN, which is a simple text file
72 with KEYWORD=VALUE lines for the four filenames. You can edit
73 this later to move the files to other devices, or delete the
74 ADVENT.IN file to completely restart the dialog.
75
76 To run the program, only the files ADVENT.LD and
77 ADVENT.TX need to be copied from the distribution tape.
78 These are the load module and the text file. The rest
79 of the files are sources.
80
81
82 The SAVE command in Adventure writes the ASAVE.DA file. If the
83 file already exists, it is overwritten by subsequent SAVE operations.
84 A saved game is restored using the RESTORE command.
85
86 Good luck and happy adventuring!