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Eamon Dungeon Designer 6.0 Differences
The Newest version of the Eamon Dungeon Design System has the following new
features:
1. New types of artifacts are available. The old versions had only
treasures (of fixed value and variable value) and weapons. (Standard and odd.)
The new version allows all sorts of new types of artifacts with the code
already installed to handle them. In addition, you may create your own types of
artifacts.
2. The Dungeon Edit program has been completely re-written to allow
easier entry of data. The new program now allows default data for all fields
for rooms, artifacts and monsters. This makes it faster to key in data when you
want most fields to be the default. You can also change the defaults within the
program. A list of improvements is given here:
a. Defaults for fields
b. Defaults can be changed
c. Field labels may be changed
d. New fields may be added to rooms, artifacts or monster definitions.
e. Fields definitions may be saved to and reloaded from disk
f. New types of artifacts may be added dynamically
g. Artifact formats may be defined or redefined
3. The dungeon list program has been modified to accept version 6.0
data and describe it during the list process.
4. The base program has been enhanced to allow the new artifact types
including the commands to activate the new artifacts. Some previous bugs have
been corrected.
5. The base program has had a read effects routine added that can be
performed by the designer to read and print effects.
6. Embedded artifacts have been installed. Embedded artifacts are those
that are not listed as being in the room, although they can be acted upon by
the adventurer. For example you could code the description of a room to
describe a large statue in the room and then create an artifact for the statue.
The description of the statue will not be listed when the adventurer enters the
room. This makes it easier to hide things from the adventurer.
7. Locked doors and gates may be set up with no special programming.
Simply put the door or gate in the room and set up the data for it. The gates
or doors will automatically block the way until they are unlocked or broken
down. (yes, they can be attacked and broken with sufficient power.)
8. Bound monsters can be simulated automatically. The programming
required is already set up. Simply code the data required.
9. Secret Passages are handled automatically.
On the following pages are some additional details regarding these new features
and how to use them.
ARTIFACTS
The new types of artifacts that have been added are listed below:
Old New Format Ptr
0 Gold 0 Gold 0
1 Treasure 1 Treasure 0
2 Weapon 2 Weapon 1
3 Odd Weapon 3 Magic Weapon 1
4 Container 2
5 Light 3
6 Healing 4
7 Readable 5
8 Door/Gate 6
9 Key 7
10 Bound Monster 8
Because these new artifact types must supply the base program with additional
information, the designer will have to code this additional information when
setting up the adventure. To assis the designer in this task, there have been
groups of labels and default data set up for each general purpose. These are
called formats. There are eight different formats available as the standard
ones. In addition, the designer may set up his own formats using functions in
the dungeon edit program. Each artifact type has a format pointer that tells
the program which format will be used for fields 5 thru 8. The format pointers
for a particular artifact type may also be changed by the designer, although
this is probably not ever necessary. The formats available are:
Format 1 Format 2 Format 3
Fld 5 = Weap. Type Fld 5 = Key # Fld 5 = Counter
Fld 6 = Compl. Fld 6 = Strength
Fld 7 = Dice
Fld 8 = Sides
Format 4 Format 5 Format 6
Fld 5 = Chances Fld 5 = 1st Eff. Fld 5 = Room#
Fld 6 = Heal Amt Fld 6 = #Eff. Fld 6 = Key#
Fld 7 = Nbr Uses Fld 7 = Read Flag Fld 7 = Strength
Format 7 Format 8
none Fld 5 = Monster#
Fld 6 = Key#
Fld 7 = Guard#
Fld 8 = Att.Flag
The new artifacts are explained in some detail below:
Magic Weapons - These weapons are locally magical. That is, they are magic
weapons within the scope of the current adventure. If they are taken out of the
adventure, they will revert to standard weapons. While they are magic, they
cannot break except by magical means. This is the extent of their natural magic
power. If you want other magic effects, you will have to program them.
Container - This type of artifact can contain other artifacts. The artifact may
be opened at which time, the program searches the artifact table looking for
any artifact having a room number of 100 plus the number of the arifact being
opened. Any artifact meeting this criteria is moved into the room by the
program and the message YOU FOUND SOMETHING. is printed.
Light - When rooms are coded in version 6.0, a code for light is included. If
the room is too dark to see in without artificial light, you code a 0. If there
is a normal amount of light, a 1 is coded. A light artifact is lit using the
LIGHT command. This will activate the light so that all rooms entered are lit
up. A light will expire after awhile. There is a field coded to indicate how
long a light will last. When this number is exceeded, the light will go out
never to work again. (There is currently no way to reactivate a light without
special programming.)
Healing - This type of artifact will heal the user by the amount specified at
the time the artifact was set up. It may be used only a limited number of times
before being exhausted.
Readable - This type of artifact will allow the user to read it. The program
will automatically read the effects from the effects portion of the EAMON.DESC
file. These effects must be added by the designer and the pointers established
according to the prompts given by the readable artifact format.
Door - A door has a 'room into' and a strength factor. The 'room into' code is
very important, since it takes the place of a room connect code where the door
is located. The strength factor is how strong the door is. Doors may be broken
down by beating on them.
Key - A key artifact is used for opening containers, doors or freeing bound
monsters. The artifacts they are used on will indicate which key works on it,
so no additional data is needed currently. Keys point to format 7 which
contains no useful prompts. This may be changed if you wish, however.
Bound Monster - This type of artifact is used to simulate a bound monster. The
key number needed to free the bound person, the monster guarding the bound
monster and a pointer to the monster being bound makes up the data fields of
this artifact type.
Location of Artifacts
Version 6.0 also allows artifacts to be in special places. Artifacts are
normally coded with room numbers ranging from 1 to the number of rooms in a
dungeon. There are now additional codes recognized by the program.
+100 .... Inside a container artifact
+200 .... Embedded in a room description
+300 .... Hidden in a room
For example, if you want to place an artifact inside artifact #9, code it's
room code as 109. If you want an artifact to be in room number 17, but not be
listed as a separate artifact, code it's room code as 217. If you want an
artifact to be hidden in room number 25 (so you have to look to find it), code
it's room code as 325.
The dungeon edit program will also allow you to build your own artifact types,
or modify existing artifact types, formats, or even monster or room data. This
was done to prevent the need for a custom edit program when special fields are
needed by an adventure.
ROOMS
The Eamon.Rooms file contains the rooms that you can move into. This file now
has the ability to contain new codes that permit the ability to have automatic
secret passages, and locked doors. Before this was installed, you had to
program these manually for every adventure you wrote.
Room numbers from 1 to 99 are normal.
Room number -99 means exit to the Main Hall.
Room numbers less than 0 and greater than -99 are secret passages. The absolute
value of the number is used for the pointer to the room when the passage is
discovered. Passages are discovered by using the LOOK command. If you want them
discovered by other means, you will still have to program it.
Room numbers greater than 100 are locked doors. The difference between 100 and
the room code is used to point to an artifact. This artifact must then be a
door or gate. The artifact will specify the room to be moved into, the key
number, the strength of the door necessary to enter the room.
MONSTERS
Monsters have not changed from previous versions of Eamon, but the ability to
add fields or modify field labels has been added. This allows you to more
easily put special programming into your base program when this programming may
require additional data to be on the Monsters file.
ADDITIONAL ARTIFACT TYPES
Additional artifact types may be added, using the functions in the dungeon
edit, but these additional artifacts will have to be supported via changes you
must make to the base program.
Customized fields added or changed from the standard may be difficult to
remember and duplicate when you go back to edit a dungeon a second or third
time. For this reason, the ability to be able to save and restore these
parameters to disk has been installed. The data that is saved off for
parameters is listed below.
You should decide before starting your adventure what changes will be made (if
any) to the standard layouts, since these changes must be made before any
fields are defined. If this is not done, you will end up with monsters or
artifacts with the incorrect layyout. If you are not adding any fields, it will
not make any difference, but if you are the program could bomb while trying to
read data from the disk that does not exist.
The file that stores the parameters is sequential and contains the following
data.
AF - # fields in an artifact (not counting last 4 variable fields)
Field Name 1
Field Name 2
... af
Default 1
Default 2
... af
NF - # of Formats
Format Label $ (F,1)
Format Label $ (F,2)
Format Label $ (F,3)
Format Label $ (F,4)
Default (F,1)
Default (F,2)
...
MF - #monster fields
Monster Label 1
... mf
Default Monster 1
... mf
---End of Parameters File---