                           Global Backgammon
                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                     Copyright (c) 1994 Joel Bergen
             ProVision BBS: (206) 353-6966 & (206) 353-2494
                            Fidonet 1:343/65

   First of all, let me assure you that if you don't follow these
   instructions, Global Backgammon will not work.

   Global Backgammon must be executed in its own subdirectory.  Your BBS
   ideally should call a batch file which should change to this
   subdirectory, execute the game, change back to your BBS subdirectory,
   and return to your BBS.  If your BBS can't execute a batch file, you
   may have to run the game from your main BBS subdirectory.

   For example purposes, this document will assume your main BBS
   subdirectory is named "C:\BBS" and that Global Backgammon is in
   subdirectory "C:\BBS\GAMMON".  Substitute your actual subdirectory
   names if they are different.

Installing Global Backgammon on your system:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Make a subdirectory anywhere on your hard disk to contain the Global
   Backgammon game (C:\BBS\GAMMON for example).  Put all the files in
   the Global Backgammon archive into this directory except GAMMON.BAT,
   which you should copy into your main BBS directory (C:\BBS for
   example).

   Edit GAMMON.CFG, following the instructions found in that file.

   Now change back to your main BBS directory.  You will need to edit
   GAMMON.BAT to tell Global Backgammon what type of BBS software you're
   using. Global Backgammon will work with PCBoard, Wildcat, RBBS, WWIV,
   QuickBBS, RA Spitfire, Searchlight, TAG, Telegard, GAP, Maximus,
   Genesis Deluxe, and any other BBS program that can run doors made for
   any of these BBSs.  Select one of the following installation methods:

RBBS/QBBS/RA (or any system which uses DORINFOx.DEF)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Many BBS systems can create a file called DORINFOx.DEF which Global
   Backgammon can read.  Use the "/R" switch to tell Global Backgammon
   where to look for DORINFOx.DEF.  The calling convention is:

                GAMMON /R d:\path\DORINFO1.DEF

   NOTE: Multi-Node BBS systems may substitute a node number in place of
   the "x".  For example, Node 1 may write dorinfo1.def, node 2 may write
   dorinfo2.def, etc. Be sure and specify the correct filename.

   Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /R C:\BBS\DORINFO1.DEF
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different.


WWIV version 4.20+ (CHAIN.TXT)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE: CHAIN.TXT was changed in WWIV 4.20.  Global Backgammon will not
read the old CHAIN.TXT format from WWIV prior to version 4.20.

   WWIV creates a file called CHAIN.TXT which Global Backgammon will
   read. Use the "/W" switch to tell Global Backgammon where to look for
   CHAIN.TXT.  The calling convention is:

                 GAMMON /W d:\path\CHAIN.TXT

   Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /W %1
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names, of course.

   Run WWIV, go into Chainedit (hit "C" at WFC) and create a new entry
   for Global Backgammon with the following information:

                A. Description     :  Global Backgammon
                B. Filename        :  GAMMON.BAT %1
                C. SL              :  10
                D. AR              :  None
                E. ANSI            :  Required
                F. DOS Interrupt   :  Not Used      <-- IMPORTANT!!
                G. 300 baud        :  Not allowed     door will lock up if
                H. Shrink          :  No              set to "used"

Older versions of Wildcat! BBS using CALLINFO.BBS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Old versions of Wildcat BBS create a file called CALLINFO.BBS which
   Global Backgammon will read.  (Newer versions of Wildcat use
   DOOR.SYS).  Use the "/I" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for
   CALLINFO.BBS.  The calling convention is:

                GAMMON /I d:\path\CALLINFO.BBS

   Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /I C:\BBS\CALLINFO.BBS
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different.


Genesis Deluxe BBS version 4 (unique CALLINFO.BBS)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Genesis Deluxe 4 creates a file called CALLINFO.BBS which Global
   Backgammon will read.  NOTE: THE CALLINFO.BBS FILE THAT GENESIS
   DELUXE CREATES IS SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT THAN THE MORE UNIVERSAL OLDER
   WILDCAT FORMAT.  DO NOT CONFUSE THE TWO, THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGABLE.
   Use the "/G" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for
   CALLINFO.BBS. The calling convention is:

                GAMMON /G d:\path\CALLINFO.BBS

   Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /G C:\BBS\CALLINFO.BBS
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different.

   For Genesis Deluxe info & support, contact:
          Prism Software, Box 267, Hannibal NY, 13074
          Late Night BBS  (315) 564-5700  FidoNet 1:2608/15


PC-Board v14.x (not v12.x) (PCBOARD.SYS)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   PCBOARD creates a file called PCBOARD.SYS which Global Backgammon can
   read. Use the "/P" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for
   PCBOARD.SYS.   Global Backgammon does not require PCBOARD.DAT. The
   calling convention for the PC-BOARD version is:

                 GAMMON /P d:\path\PCBOARD.SYS

   Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /P C:\BBS\PCBOARD.SYS
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different.


GAP, TAG, Telegard, Wildcat (any system using DOOR.SYS)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   DOOR.SYS is a standard door info file format used by many BBS
   systems.   Use the "/D" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for
   DOOR.SYS. The calling convention is:

                GAMMON /D d:\path\DOOR.SYS

   Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /D C:\BBS\DOOR.SYS
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different.


Spitfire (SFDOORS.SYS)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Spitfire creates a file called SFDOORS.DAT which Global Backgammon
   can read.  Use the "/S" switch to tell Global Backgammon to look for
   SFDOORS.DAT.  The calling convention is:

                GAMMON /S d:\path\SFDOORS.DAT

   Your GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /S C:\BBS\SFDOORS.DAT
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different.


Searchlight BBS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   For the Searchlight .DEF file, modify GAMES.DEF or DOORS.DEF
   (whichever is chosen) as follows:

        0;0;0;10;Global Backgammon;.;GAMMON.BAT %B %T %N

        GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /C %1 1 %2 %3 %4   <-the "1" assumes COM 1
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names and com port if different.


Maximus BBS (DORINFOx.DEF, DOOR.SYS, CALLINFO.BBS)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Maximus can create DOOR.SYS, CALLINFO.BBS or DORINFOx.DEF.
   DORINFOx.DEF is recommended since it supports multi-node
   applications.  NOTE: The CALLINFO.MEC file supplied with Maximus 2.01
   and prior is not correct and will not work with Global Backgammon (or
   any other door most likely).  Use of DORINFOx.DEF is recommended. Your
   MENUS.CTL file should have an entry something like this if you are
   using DORINFOx.DEF.

                Display_File Misc\Dorinfo  Normal  "Global Backgammon"
          NoDsp Xtern_DOS    GAMMON.BAT_%k Normal  "G"

   GAMMON.BAT should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /R \BBS\DORINFO%1.DEF
                CD \BBS

   Substitute your actual subdirectory names if different.


Command line parameters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   If your BBS can specify command line parameters (QuickBBS's menu 7
   for example) you will use this.  The calling convention is:

           GAMMON /C BaudRate ComPort MinutesLeft FirstName LastName

   Edit GAMMON.BAT, which should look something like this:

                ECHO OFF
                CD \BBS\GAMMON
                GAMMON /C %1 1 %2 %3 %4 %5
                CD \BBS

   In this example (for QuickBBS), the BBS is passing the caller's
   baudrate (%1), time remaining in minutes (%2), caller's first name
   (%3) and last name (%4).  Include an extra parameter (%5) if you
   anticipate having more than 2 word names (example: W. C. Fields). The
   comm port (COM1) is hard coded in the batch file (1).  A baud rate of
   0 will cause Global Backgammon to run in local mode.

   Global Backgammon can be run locally from DOS using this method.
   For example, typing...

                GAMMON /C 0 1 60 FirstName LastName

   ...will let you try out the game in local mode from DOS.


The Statusline
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   The bottom line on your screen will display several important bits of
   information.  For example:

   JOEL BERGEN | 23.14 | 02/05/93 17:24:27 | 122k | <flags>
        1          2             3            4         5

   The information is:
   1. The player's name exactly as it was passed to Global Backgammon
      from the BBS.
   2. The amount of time the player has left in minutes.  The player
      will receive a warning when he has less than 5 minutes left, and
      the door will drop carrier & return to the BBS if he runs out of
      time.
   3. The current date and time.
   4. The amount of free memory remaining.
   5. The <flags> are:
      Local     : The door is operating in Local Mode.
      Fossil    : A FOSSIL driver is being used for all comm I/O.
      DigiBoard : A DigiBoard driver is being used for comm I/O.
      Uart      : Comm I/O is being handled directly through hardware.

      (Timeslices are given up when idle if any of the following
       multitaskers are detected)

      DESQview  : DESQview.
      Win-Enh   : MicroSoft Windows in Enhanced Mode.
      OS/2      : OS/2 detected.
      DoubleDOS : DoubleDOS.
      MultiDos  : MultiDos.
      VMiX      : VMiX.
      TopView   : TopView.
      TaskView  : TaskView.
      DOS-TS    : DOS 5 & 6 Task Switcher
      Win-Std   : MicroSoft Windows in Standard Mode.
      Win-NT    : MicroSoft Windows NT

MicroSoft Windows users
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   SHARE.EXE must be loaded BEFORE running Windows or the door will lock
   up.  Windows automatically loads SHARE if it isn't already loaded,
   but the door will still lock up unless SHARE.EXE is loaded first.
   It's a good idea to load SHARE.EXE in your Autoexec.Bat file.

DESQview users
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Global Backgammon is DESQview aware.  You should see a "DESQview" on
   the statusline which indicates that Global Backgammon has detected
   DESQview and is giving up time slices and using DESQview's virtual
   screen address. On a 286 or XT class machine, set "Writes Directly to
   Screen", "Displays Graphics", and "Virtualize text/graphics" all to
   "N" and Global Backgammon will multitask in a small window.

DigiBoard users
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   The DigiBoard universal device driver (XIDOS5.SYS) must be loaded in
   your CONFIG.SYS file to enable Global Backgammon to communicate with
   your DigiBoard.

   The "universal device driver" is DigiBoard's name for their
   INT14-based device driver that works with any of the following
   DigiBoards: COM/Xi, PC/Xi, PC/Xe and, presumably, any new boards the
   DigiBoard might produce. This device driver replaces the
   board-specific device driver that used to accompany each board.

   You are responsible for properly configuring your DigiBoard multiport
   board, properly configuring XIDOS5.SYS and installing XIDOS5.SYS in
   your CONFIG.SYS file. Please refer to your DigiBoard instructions for
   completing these operations.

Multi-Node support
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Global Backgammon includes support for multi-node BBSs.  Global
   Backgammon supports any number of users in the door simultaneously.
   DOS's SHARE.EXE MUST be loaded to support file sharing.  SHARE is not
   required for a single line BBS.  No other special requirements are
   necessary for multi node-use.  Global Backgammon supports real-time
   multi-node play.  Whenever there is a change to any game, the screens
   of all other players are updated automatically.

Files included or created by the game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   GAMMON.DAT   Data file containing info for all games.
   MESSAGES.DAT Messages sent from player to player.
   SCORES.DAT   Data file holds winner's names, accumulated points,
                number of games won and lost. Sorted (and must remain
                sorted) in decending order by accumulated points.
   SCORES.TOP   When the rankings are reset, SCORES.DAT is saved as
                SCORES.TOP and then SCORES.DAT is deleted. (see
                GAMMON.CFG for info on score configuration)
   BULLETIN.ANS You may replace this file if you want to display some
                sort of bulletin to all players.  Displayed once when
                game entered. May be ANSI or ASCII.
   GAMMON.DOC   Rules of the game (required)
   GAMMON.CFG   Configuration file.  Edit this using an ascii text editor.
   GAMMON.EXE   The Global Backgammon game itself.

Other notes
~~~~~~~~~~~
   If you would like to make some sort of announcement to all
   players, such as a Hall of Fame list, you can create a file called
   BULLETIN.ANS and place it in your Global Backgammon directory. Global
   Backgammon will output this file after displaying the copyright
   notice. BULLETIN.ANS may be an ANSI file or a plain ASCII file.

   All *.TXT files included in this archive are for your information
   only and are not required by the game.  The rest of the files ARE
   required.

   If you can't get Global Backgammon to work with your system, feel
   free to contact me at ProVision.  Together, we'll make it happen!

   Global Backgammon requires no maintenance or Sysop intervention.  Set
   it up once and forget about it.  Completed games are automatically
   deleted after a specific number of days (see GAMMON.CFG).  Even games
   that have been "forgotten" will automatically be deleted.

   Known bugs:  PC-Board Sysops, you will need to lower your online time
   to under 9 hours per call (32767 seconds). If you don't, your time
   remaining stored in PCBOARD.SYS will wrap around and go negative, and
   you won't be able to get into Global Backgammon.

   Give my BBS, ProVision, a call for the latest version of Global
   Backgammon, Global War and additional support software and
   documentation.  The phone number is (206) 353-6966 or (206) 353-2494.
   Or you may contact me by sending netmail to Joel Bergen at Fidonet
   node 1:343/65.

   I hope that you and your callers enjoy Global Backgammon, and that
   you find it worthy of your support.  Please read the file
   REGISTER.TXT for information on how to register your copy of Global
   Backgammon.

                                Joel Bergen
