 ͻ
  GRID v. 3.81a                          by Ema.
 ͼ



                           Ŀ
                            WHAT IS GRID ? 

GRID is a program designed to allow you to create and manage hexagon maps in
a rather simple way, without using your pencil, tons of sheets of hex. paper
and centuries of time just to check for elapsed time and encounters.
It has been created for the AD&D 2nd Ed. system, specifically for Dark Sun
campaigns, but this is not an imperative, as you can change all the terrain
types and maps, as you will see below, and manage up to 100 (yes, ONE HUNDRED)
different settings, as Dark Sun, Forgotten Realms, Al-Qadim, Spelljammer, etc.,
including any custom-made setting.
It allows a fast, mouse-driven way to do all this for you, and, last but 
DEFINITELY not least, it's FREE.



                     Ŀ
                      WHAT DO YOU NEED TO USE IT 

The system requirements aren't very strict, in fact you need:

- a IBM compatible machine (a 386+ is recommended, or it will CRAWL, not run!);
- a VGA video adaptor (a normal, plain VGA is OK);
- a mouse;
- some space on your HD ;-)
- a EMS 4.0 (or higher) or XMS 2.0 (or higher) driver loaded.

Optional requirements:

- a printer;
- a math coprocessor.



                            Ŀ
                             MEMORY USAGE 

GRID will run only if a XMS or EMS driver is loaded. GRID will recognize it 
and make use of the expanded or extended memory, requiring, to properly run, 
about 525 KB of free memory, and 256 KB of EMS/XMS.

From version 3.81, GRID keeps track of the available memory, and disables some
of its features if there is no enough free memory. Namely, the help system, the
encounters on screen, the quick redraw of the zoomed map, and the quick erasing
of a map can be automatically disabled. To work at peak performance, GRID 
requires about 585 KB of free memory.

From version 3.10, GRID can be run with a parameter, namely:

        XMS     for XMS usage (if XMS is actually found, of course),
        EMS     for EMS usage (if EMS is found),
        HELP    briefly gives these info.

If you do no give any parameter, GRID will first search for XMS, then for EMS;
not founding either, it will abort.

If you find any problem with one type of memory usage, try the other switch
(someone had problems with EMS).

There is some bad news, anyway. Using a memory manager can decrease the
performance of video refresh (QEMM, HIMEM and EMM386 are approximately the
same). The best performance I found was when the program was running in a
Windows 95 DOS-box.



                             Ŀ
                              DISCLAIMER 

GRID has been tested in almost every possible condition, but it is possible
that someday, somewhere, one of the few UNTESTED conditions will arise and 
cause strange behaviour (you are encouraged to report ANY strangeness,
of course!). So I take no responsibility in eventual data loss, time loss,
anger, nerve exhaustion or anything else (just think if you finished your 
wonderful 100x80 map, and something went bad _before_ you saved it... ready
for straight-jacket, isn't it?)



                          Ŀ
                           ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

In the program creation, I've used some routines not written on my own, and
hereby give proper credit to the original authors:

Thanks go to:

   - Mauro Casu, the original author of the mouse routines I'm using (they were
     heavily modified, but the core is still there);

   - Fabio Torti, for the color-component detection fragment I've used, as well
     as for his THOPO program, invaluable for icon drawing;

   - the Independent JPEG Group, for their complete sources which were highly
     inspirational for my routines for handling BMP images;

   - Michael Graff, for creating the XMSLIB library, which was REALLY useful
     for implementing XMS support.

   - Jef Poskanzer, for the code fragment I used to manage Postscript output,
     which is officially his own copyright.

   - the unknown author of the F11F12.COM program. It was put in the Public
     Domain, and I found it on a SimTel mirror as f11f12.arc.


Besides, some of the material included in the package is not my own work:

Thanks this time go to:

   - Larry Clark, for sending hexagons and map for the Omega game (see below),
     as well as for his Caverns setting (again, see below), and for his
     availability to draw new hexes (see next section, 'Program Distribution').

   - Richard J. Pugh, for sending hexagons for the Spelljammer setting (see
     below).

   - William Ragsdale, for sending hexagons and maps for the Greyhawk setting
     (see below).

   - Maya Deva Kniese, for sending hexagons and maps for the Riann setting 
     (see below).

   - Kerry Jordan, for sending hexagons and maps for the Gamma World setting
     (see below).

   - Stephen A. Said, for sending hexagons and maps for Steve Jackson's Ogre
     setting (see below).



                        Ŀ
                         PROGRAM DISTRIBUTION 

GRID comes in 2 formats:

- either in a single self-extracting archive, named GRIDxxx.EXE, where xxx
  is the version number, which will create in the current directory all the
  files and directories needed;

- or a ZIP file named GRIDxxx.ZIP, with the same meaning as above, which must
  be unzipped WITH THE FULL DIRECTORY STRUCTURE (i.e. PKUNZIP -d GRIDxxx).

                     -= The program is FREEWARE =-

Feel free to use the program as you like, spread it, give it to your friends,
upload it to your favourite BBS, put it on your Web pages or on your favourite
FTP site, etc., as long as:

        1) no charge is added (beyond the eventual disk cost);
	2) you don't change the files (you can create a new file and add it
	   SEPARATELY, but please don't change the distribution files);
	3) you drop me an E-mail (I'd like to know if you like the program,
	   and to track its spreading);
	4) if you put it on a Web or FTP facility, the reference to the 
	   original author (me) is shown.

If you can, please send me (via E-mail) any new map/terrain/encounter file you
create, even custom settings you want to share, so I can include them in the 
next release.

 Ŀ
  If you are interested, I'm maintaining a list for automatic announce      
  of the most recent releases of this program; if you would like to         
  be added to this list, just follow the directions in my Web page.         
                                                                            
  My Web page, which is the official source for the program, is at:         
                                                                            
       http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/7649/                          
                                                                            
  My E-mail address is:  emass@mbox.vol.it                                  
 

 Ŀ
  Recently, Larry Clark told me to announce that you are free to E-mail     
  him any suggestion for new hexagon types you would like to see;           
  Larry is a GREAT designer with an almost-unlimited patience: just look    
  at his 400+ hexagons!                                                     
                                                                            
  His address is: lclark@concentric.net                                     
 


NOTE:
I've received and keep receiving lots of mail about the program, with 
questions, comments, bug reports, suggestions and the like. It really makes me
glad, for it means lots of people use this program and like it, or at least 
use this program at all...

Thanks to all, and keep on writing !!



                        Ŀ 
                         HOW DOES GRID WORK ? 

GRID is totally mouse-driven: a mouse driver MUST be loaded; if no driver is
loaded, the program warns you and exits.


When you launch the program, after a brief Copyright notice, if there are more
than one setting installed, you will be given a choice between them. If there
is only one setting, it is assumed by default; if there isn't any, you are
prompted for the name of a new one.

You can create up to 10 folders (named xxx.SET, where xxx stands for any name
you like), which can contain up to 10 settings each, for a total of up to 100
different settings!

You will then enter the main window, with an empty hex. grid on the top left
corner (well, actually a half-screen), and a set of buttons on the right.

The scrollbars on the right and on the bottom of the main window will allow
a fast and easy scrolling through the maps.

The buttons can be replaced by a function key, from F2 to F12, as shown on
screen in a very small font.
Note that some DOS versions (for example DR-DOS 6.0) normally won't recognize
F11 and F12 (MS-DOS 6.22 recognizes them well :-), so I've included a tiny PD
TSR, named F11F12.COM (it can be found in the UTILS directory). Just run it,
and the keyboard will be correctly interpreted.

If you press the F1 key, a brief popup online help will appear, explaining
a little about the current mode.

The buttons are:

	Edit Map             
	Walk Map             
	Roads/Rivers         
	Places of Interest     They are rather self-explanatory, but they
	Load Map               will be explained later...
	Save Map             
	Print Map            
        Edit Hexagon  ĳ Import Hexagon
        Configuration                Export Hexagon
        Change Setting       
        Link Maps            
        Quit                 

Let's see them one by one:


EDIT MAP:  This button is the core one if you want to draw a map: it will 
-   show all the terrain types allowed, and will let you click on any
hexagon to change its contents. The name and MP (movement points) of the 
selected terrain are showed. When you select a terrain with 'Special' MP cost
(like cities, oases, and the like), you can click on the MP Cost zone and
manually insert the real cost that you prefer (if you don't do this, the cost
will be 0). You can drag the mouse to fastly edit maps, and you can scroll up 
and down the hexagon types (now up to 500 types are supported). The buttons 
with a single arrow on them will scroll the hexagons one row, the ones with 
2 arrows will scroll 4 rows.
Using the right mouse button, you can delete hexagons (i.e. insert empty
hexes) if you are in the insertion area, while if you are in the selection
area a right-click will bring you to the hex. edit window.
From version 3.60, you can also specify the name of a BMP file you want the
hex. grid superimposed to. Using this feature might be tricky, anyway: see
below, 'Importing BMP files'.
From version 3.80, using the 'Fill' button you can quickly fill the current
area of the map (the 25x19 hexagons in the main window) with the currently
chosen hexagon type. Any road/river in the area is deleted.


WALK MAP:  This is the most complex thing of all the program, as it lets
-   you move on the map just as you want. You can choose to travel by
day (09-19) or by night (20-06), magically, you can opt for aerial move, modify
your speed and use forced marches (now the standard rules for CON checks and
exhaustion apply, and you will be prompted to determine if the CON check is
successful or not), change the walking period, change wind force and
temperature, and save all the output (with ENCOUNTERS and the total distance)
on a file or print it (just use PRN: as file name - default if an online
printer is found at the program start).
From version 3.80 you can also have encounters and special messages (rest, 
etc.) sent to screen. See below, "Configuration".
The program lets you choose if you want 'manual' path (the traditional
hex-to-hex clicking), or 'automatic' path, where you just click on the start
hex. and the final one, and the program traces the 'best' route ('best' in
the computer opinion isn't necessarily THE best one: BE CAREFUL!); if you
select auto-path you cannot change other options, like weather or forced march,
until the path is complete.
You can select 'Automatic Weather' to have the program randomly change the
weather during the day and night (temperature and wind).
When you zoom out you can easily scroll the active window, when you zoom in 
you are ready to travel; zooming is attained with the right mouse button.
The 'Encounter %' option has been added; it allows you to 'filter' the
encounters (which are too numerous in many cases): just specify what percentage
of the rolled encounters should be kept.
When you choose 'End Walk', the programs shows a new button: 'Clear Path'. It
is used to reset the walked path without exiting to the main menu.
If there is no temperature file, or no wind file, or no weather file, the
program will automatically disable the corresponding options.
When you want to select a 'creature' or other mean of transport, a pull-down
menu will appear, showing all the possible selections.


ROADS/RIVERS:  This button will allow the user to insert roads and/or rivers
-   into the map. You can choose among the types defined in the
ROADS.TBL file (see below for details).
Roads/river insert is limited to a hex-by-hex basis, that is you can only
create a road segment by segment, and each segment just crosses once the
border between two adjacent hexagons.
If you select 'Delete', you will enter delete mode, which lasts as long as:
1) you de-select it;
2) you delete all the roads/rivers previously inserted.


PLACES OF INTEREST:  This option will open a window in which you can look at
-   the description of each hex., and eventually modify it.
On screen is given indication of the MP cost of the chosen hex., too. Left
button means selection, right one selection + modification (just like selecting
an hex. and choosing 'Description'). If you hold down the left button, like in
the 'Walk Map' option, a small window will appear on-screen, too, to show the
description (if any, and if this option is selected - see below).
From version 3.60, there is the possibility to zoom to other maps. You can
select an hexagon, and then associate it with the name of the map it will
zoom to when double-clicked.
If you select 'Interval', you can specify large areas for zoom: click on the
first hexagon, select the zoom map, then click on the opposite corner of the 
rectangular area you want to be active.
From version 3.80, there is the possibility to see in the files window either
any map, or only the stand-alone ones; the 'All' button is used to this end.


LOAD MAP:  Rather self-explanatory: you just have to enter the name of the
-   map you have chosen. There is a menu on screen, which allows to
easily choose the map name without being forced to remember how it is spelled.
You can load the map simply by double-clicking on it.
If there is no saved file, the 'Load' button won't appear on screen.
The 'New' button allows you to reset the map to the empty state it was on
startup, ready for edit.
If, in any setting, you name a map AUTOLOAD, it will be automatically loaded
when you enter the appropriate setting.
From version 3.61, the map format is different. You can choose which format
to load by selecting 'PK' (the new one) or 'MAP' (the older) with the 2 buttons
under the filename menu.
From version 3.80, there is the possibility to see in the files window either
any map, or only the stand-alone ones; the 'All' button is used to this end.


SAVE MAP:  Self-explanatory, too. Up to version 3.60, when you saved a map,
-   up to 5 files were created (.MAP, .CST, .KEY, .RDS, .TTL). From
version 3.61, one single file .PK (which stands for 'packed') is created,
with all the information in it.
There is a north-direction selector: just click in the little squares around
the hexagon, and the pointing arrow will turn to match the new north
direction.
From version 3.80, you can also specify whether the current map is a stand-
alone map or a particular of a larger one. Just check or uncheck the 
'Enlargement' box.


PRINT MAP:  You can print the current window, or the whole map (it will be
-   printed by sectors, using from 1 to 25 pages of paper), or only
the hexagons you crossed in the last 'walking' session (anything between the
start and the 'close file' or the 'menu' command). 
From version 3.80, you can also print the overview of the current map.
You have the choice to 'print' on a file.
You can use almost any printer, as the control codes are totally configurable.
You can send the output to a .BMP file, or to Postscript file(s). So you can,
for example, import a map section into a Word or Pagemaker document.
When the program asks for a PS or BMP filename, you can use the '*' character,
which means 'filename completion': e.g. if you want the files to be named
TRY11.PS, TRY12.PS, etc., all you have to do is give the program the string
TRY* and it will complete it for you with the current sector number. Just hit
<Esc> at the prompt if you want to abort.
If you choose to print the whole map, and you select the BMP format, the
resulting file can be a SINGLE .BMP file, with all the map on it. It will be a
HUGE file (up to 1.5 MBytes), and it could take VERY LONG to create it (up to
15 minutes!)... be warned!


EDIT HEX.:  One of the option-richest buttons: here you can draw your
-   favourite new hex., or just modify the ones provided with the
program. It's also possible to change the encounter heading to be serched for,
the encounter frequency and time distribution, the color used on the 'Walk'
map (the little rectangle), the MP cost and so on...
For the MP cost, a positive cost is just that, a negative one requires a 
special means of transport (e.g. water, lava, etc.), a zero value means
special cost (you can modify it when you create your map), and -99 is a fixed
value meaning Empty Hex.
Use the right mouse button to draw in black color.
A 'Fill' button will fastly fill the current hexagon with the currently
selected color. You can also drag the mouse to fastly edit hexagons.
The order of available colors for editing is as follows:
those above the barred one are printed as black, the others as white.
The hex. to be edited can be chosen directly directly with the '<' and '>'
buttons, or with the '<<' and '>>', which jump 10 hexagon types in a row, or
with the '|<' and '>|', which jump to the first and last hexagon.
All the hexagons are packed together in the HEXES.TBL file, and the encounter
frequency is to be rolled on a d20.
The 'Preview' will print, or send to file, to BMP or to Postscript one or more
sheets showing all the available hexagon types with their names.
The program asks for confirmation, as the Preview will wipe the current map
from memory.
If you right-click in the encounter selection area, a sample encounter will
be rolled using the currecntly selected encounter file.
You have also access to 2 other buttons:

        IMPORT:  This option allows you to import hexagons previously
           exported. There is a preview of the hex. appearance, and
        you can import it as the last one of the setting (the update will be
        automatic), or as the current hex. (in this case you have to save the
        hexagon to make the change permanent).

        EXPORT:  With this button, you can export the current hexagon, to
           easily move it between settings. The hexagons will be saved
        in the _SHAPES_ directory. The program, not founding it, will create
        it.


CONFIGURATION:  This menu lets you choose if you want the description
-   boxes to pop up when you hold the mouse button in 'Places of
Interest' and 'Walk Map' selections; if you want those labels printed, too;
lets you change the hex. cursor color, if you want highlighted path when
you walk, if you want to keep track of water consumption, of temperature and
wind, and if you want to have a 'continuous print' of multi-screen maps
(setting it to ON won't display the 'continue print' message - WARNING:
if you set it to ON, there is NO WAY of aborting print until it's over... be
careful!)
You can also set the hexagon outline color by specifying its RGB components:
move the mouse in the 3 color bars while holding the left button; if you hold
the right button a grey scale will be used. You can also add numbers to the
hex. map, and specify if you want the numbers to be printed in black or white.
From version 3.80, you can also choose whether you want to have a hex. grid 
superimposed to the map, and if you want to have an on-screen output of
encounters and special events happening in the 'Walk' time.
Of course, you can save your favourite configuration: it will be a GRID.CFG
file, about 30 bytes long.


CHANGE SETTING: This option, fast way to change the world setting WITHOUT 
  exiting and re-running the program. As changing the setting
destroys unsaved maps, a popup will ask for confirmation before actually
changing the setting.


LINK MAPS: This option, added in  version 3.60, makes it possible to
  specify which maps lie north, south, east and west of the current
one.
You can also quickly jump to maps linked to the one you are using. Just
double-click the direction you want.
From version 3.80, there is the possibility to see in the files window either
any map, or only the stand-alone ones; the 'All' button is used to this end.


QUIT:  Guess! Anyway, the program asks confirmation before quitting.
-



                          Ŀ
                           IMPORTING BMP FILES 

From version 3.60, you can freely import BMP files to accurately draw maps.
Here's what you have to do:

1. Draw a map with a paint program and save it as a 16 colors BMP file, or
   (MUCH BETTER) if you have access to a scanner, you can easily scan an 
   existing map and save it as a BMP file.

   VERY IMPORTANT: if possible, do it under Windows, as I assume that the
   standard Windows palette is used for the 16 colors. Personally, I scan the
   images in truecolor, then use Photostyler to convert them to 16 colors
   (Windows system palette, diffusion dithering for those who use this
   program, too).

   If you want to "personalize" your map's colors, or if you have to manually
   change them because you didn't use Windows palette, you can just create a
   file named PALETTE.COL in the appropriate setting directory. The structure
   of this file must be:

        Orig. color|Mapped color          e.g.   1|2
        ...                                      2|4

   Please note that color 13 HAS to be modified (if you specify 13|13, the
   program could behave strangely, as 13 is the color code of the hex. grid).

   In the UTILS directory, the default PALETTE.COL is included.

   Note that the whole map space (100 x 80 hexagons) translates into a 
   1980 x 1190 pixel BMP image.

2. Copy the BMP file in the directory corresponding to the setting you want to
   use it in (i.e. the xxx.SET directories).

3. In 'Edit Map' choose the name of the picture (WITHOUT the .BMP extension),
   and click on 'Superimpose'.

4. Using the underlying map as a guideline, fill the screen with the 
   appropriate hexagon types, without bothering to set the MP cost for the
   hexagons with a 'special' MP cost (see below, '6.').

5. You can also draw roads/rivers without the need to fill the hexagons first.
   Note that if you 'Delete' part of the roads, the screen won't be updated
   until you scroll it (it's annoying not to see the roads effectively 
   deleted, but waiting for a complete refresh of the BMP file each time
   would be MUCH MORE annoying!).

6. After you have finished the map, de-select 'Superimpose', and re-enter all
   the hexes which have a 'special' cost (i.e. cities, oases, ruins and so - 
   the hexes with a MP cost of 0).

7. Add the eventual hexes comments, map links, zoom areas, and whatever you
   like. The map is ready to be saved.



                     Ŀ
                      FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Q. When I print a map, I get a large gap between each line of printout.
A. Some printers require a CR character to go to newline, others a LF, others
   both characters. Just change the PRINTER.DRV file to suit your printer (see
   below). If the gap is small (1 mm or so), your printer doesn't recognize
   the 1/8 inch code (see below): you have to change it to a value correct
   for your printer.

Q. I changed the settings in the .drv file to the hex values, but it didn't
   work.
A. It didn't work in older versions. From version 3.22, you can use, besides 
   \r for CR, \n for LF, and \e for Escape, also \x followed by a TWO digit
   hexadecimal value (e.g. the escape character can be represented as \x1B).

Q. Is the source code available?
A. Of course. The source code is considered my own Copyright, but I'm gladly
   distributing it on request. Just mail me, asking for it, that's all.
   Anyway, the source code is literally changing every day, so the source you
   receive will be probably already old a few weeks after.

Q. I've done a nice map, but I'd need to physically scroll it because I
   forgot a line of hexagons on top. How can I do?
A. See below, 'Utilities'.

Q. I created lots of new hexagons for my favourite setting with versions up to
   2.2. Now, how can I use them? Do I have to redraw them from the beginning?
A. You can use them without necessity to redraw anything.
   Just move all the old hexes in the _SHAPES_ directory, and import them under
   the 'Import' option.

Q. How can I create a new setting?
A. Go to 'Change setting': the program will allow you to create a new
   setting. You can later change the GRID.CFG file in the newly created
   directory to best suit your preference.

Q. How can I create hexagons, encounters, temperature tables and the like for
   a new setting?
A. See below, 'Creating settings'.

Q. Have you ever thought of making GRID work under MS-Windows?
A. I'm thinking of it... it will be probably a really hard work...

Q. Why don't you implement <a nice new idea for the program>?
A. Because you haven't told me yet. E-mail me any suggestion!

Q. I've found <a really nasty bug>. Can you correct it?
A. It's not a bug; it's an undocumented feature. Joking, of course. Yes,
   E-mail me any bug you find - I'll do my best to correct them for the
   next release.



                   Ŀ
                    THE PRINTER CONFIGURATION FILE 

The file PRINTER.DRV contains the definition codes for the printer. You can
change it as you like, specifying the codes for:

- 1/8 inch vertical spacing (or graphics initialization);
- 1/6 inch vertical spacing (or graphics disabilitation);
- initialization for a line of graphics;
- form feed;
- newline;

and specifying if the printing must be vertical (pin printers) or horizontal
(jet printers and laser ones).

N.B. If you select a 'horizontal' printing, the number of pixels (504) and the
     number of bytes (63) MUST be embedded in the initialization string (as I
     did for DeskJet printers).
     For 'vertical' printing it MUST NOT be embedded, as the program takes it
     into account already.

Please see the file itself for details - it is commented.

If the program does not find any PRINTER.DRV file in the current directory, it
assumes as defaults the codes for HP Deskjet printers.



                           Ŀ
                            READY SETTINGS 

The program comes with some ready settings:

TSR Settings:


     o  Dark Sun:       31 hexagon types (from the boxed sets),
                        temperature & wind tables (from Valley of Dust & Fire),
                        encounter tables (from the Dark Sun MC App. 2)
                        speed tables (from the boxed set),
                        7 maps:

             DARKSUN  - from the boxed set, with a little more on the east;
             DUSTFIRE - from the 'Valley of Dust & Fire' supplement;
             KALIDNAY - from the 'Forbidden Lore' boxed set;
             DARK_N1  - from the revised boxed set, the northern part;
             DARK_N2  - from the revised boxed set, the southern part;

             IVORY    - zoom map from the 'Ivory Triangle' boxed set;
             DR-CROWN - zoom map from the 'Dragon Crown' epic adventure;



     o  Al-Qadim:       45 hexagon types (from Land of Fate),
                        temperature & wind tables (from DMG),
                        encounter tables (from the Al-Qadim MC),
                        speed table (from DMG).
                        2 maps:

             ZAKHARA1 - from the Land of Fate boxed set, northern part;
             ZAKHARA2 - from the Land of Fate boxed set, southern part.   



     o  Dragonlance:    17 hexagon types (from Tales of the Lance),
                        temperature & wind tables (from DMG),
                        speed table (from DMG).
    
       NOTE: In the Dragonlance setting, the MP cost of the various
       hexagons has been inferred from the DMG, eventually modified if it
       seemed better in my opinion. This material is SUBJECTIVE, not official;
       so if you have better solutions, along with encounter files, please
       send me - I'll include them in the next version.
    

     o  Spelljammer:    21 hexagon types,
                        1 map:

             SAMPLE   - a sample map.


        Sent by Richard J. Pugh and modified a little.



     o  Greyhawk:       27 hexagon types,
                        temperature & wind tables,
                        speed table,
                        2 maps:

             GREY1    - from the From the Ashes boxed set, part 1;
             GREY2    - from the From the Ashes boxed set, part 2.

        Sent by William Ragsdale, and modified a little.
                
               
                
     o  Gamma World:    61 hexagon types,
                        temperature & wind tables,                
                        encounter tables,
                        speed table,
                        2 maps:
       
             LEGION   - from the module 'Legion of Gold' (GW1);
             FAMINE   - from the module 'Famine in Far-Go' (GW2).
                
        Sent by Kerry Jordan.
                
               
                
     o  S.J. Ogre:      26 hexagon types,
                        temperature & wind tables,                
                        encounter tables,
                        speed table,
                        4 maps:
       
             FRANCE   - a map of real-world France;
             GERMANY  - a very zoomed map;
             OGRE_I
             OGRE_II
                
        Sent by Stephen A. Said.



Custom Settings:


     o  Omega:          21 hexagon types,
                        1 map:

             OMEGA    - the complete world map for the Omega game.

    
       Omega is a FreeWare/PD/Net-Domain Net-Hack-based adventure game. The
       maps and hexagons were sent by Larry Clark.
    


     o  Caverns:        468 (!!)  hexagon types,
                        2 maps:

             SAMPLE   - a sample 3-levels map;
             OUTCITY  - an outdoors city.

    
       This setting, again by Larry Clark, was named by the author 'Caverns
       and Dungeons and Continents', and can be used to draw caverns,
       dungeons and so (with INCREDIBLE detail, including doors, stairs,
       etc.), or coastal lines for continents and so.
    


     o  Riann:          134 hexagon types,
                        temperature & wind tables,
                        speed table,
                        encounter tables,
                        15 maps:

             KNOW1    - central-southern part;
             KNOW2    - central-northern part;
             KNOW3    - eastern-southern part;
             KNOW4    - eastern-northern part;
             KNOW5    - western-southern part;
             KNOW6    - western-northern part;
             STARCHAR - a star chart;

             DRENNYA     
             FECHTON     
             FIRESTON    
             FIRETEET    
             GLANTRI       zoomed maps.
             MINROTHA    
             RHIANDA     
             YANO        

                        1 text file:

             MAGIC-P.TXT - describing magical places of the campaign.

    
       This setting has been sent by Maya Deva Kniese. It is loosely based
       upon the D&D Known World.
    


     o  Tactical:       25 hexagon types,
                        1 map:

             TACTICAL - a sample map.
                
    
       This setting has been sent by Bernhard Schaffer.
    


                         Ŀ
                          CREATING SETTINGS 

When you want to create a new setting, or to modify an existing one, you will
have to consider various aspects:

1. Hexagons
2. Encounters
3. Temperature & wind tables
4. Weather table
5. Speed table
6. Roads/rivers table

You can have a different set of files in each of your setting directories.


1. HEXAGONS
   
When you create a new setting, the first time the program enters it, finding
out that no hexagon is defined, it automatically creates a file HEXES.TBL
containing an empty hex. You can then add new hexagons, drawing or importing
them from other settings.


2. ENCOUNTERS
   
From version 3.00, all the encounters are packed in a single file, named
ENCOUNT.TBL. They follow this structure:

        Encounter name                  <- The name you chose in 'Edit Hex'
        Dice to use                     <- See below the correct format
	Roll up to...|Encounter
	...

For example:

        DESERT                            FOREST
        1d4                               1d6+2
        1|Djinni                          3|Tiger
        2|Marid                           6|Badger    <---  It means 'up to 6'
        3|Dao                             7|Baboon          As the precedent
        4|Efreeti                         8|Snake           was 3, it covers
                                                            4, 5, and 6.

From version 3.60, the new format for specifying dice is much more natural.
The allowed formats are:

        mDn             'm' rolls of a 'n-sided' die
                                                                (e.g.  2d12)

        mDn+a           'm' rolls of a 'n-sided' die plus a fixed amount 'a'
                                                              (e.g.  2d10+4)

        mDn+xDy         'm' rolls of a 'n-sided' die plus 'x' rolls of a 
                        'y-sided' die.
                                                            (e.g.  1d8+1d12)

Of course the old format (with monstrosities like a 88,000-faced die!) is
still supported.


3. TEMPERATURE AND WIND
   
The files SKY.TBL and TEMPERAT.TBL are the wind-force and the temperature 
tables. If the program doesn't find them, you won't be able to set these
options to 'On' in the 'Configuration' menu, and they will be unusable.

Wind force table is as follows:

	Number of possibilities     -----> DON'T CHANGE!!!
	Color|Overland multiplier|Aerial multipl.|Name
	...

Even if you are not interested in multipliers, you must specify them, as 1.

Temperature table is so structured:
	
	Number of possibilities     -----> DON'T CHANGE!!!
	Color|MP penalty|Water consumption modif.|Name
	...

Even if you are not interested in water consumption, you must specify it as
1.0.

See below for the color table.


4. WEATHER
   
The file WEATHER.TBL contains the weather (temperature and wind combined)
specifications. It is based on a 2d6 roll.

The table is structured as follows:

	Temp. (day)|Temp. (night)|Wind (day)|Wind (night)
	...

It refers to the numbers in the previous 2 tables for temperature and wind.


5. SPEED
   
The file SPEED.TBL contains the speed table, so structured:

        Number of possibilities (max. 30)
        Speed|Forced march speed|Max. walking hours|Aerial|Magical|Name
        ...                                           
                                                        0 or 1

N.B.  - Speed value of 999 is reserved for teleport and similar means, and is
        considered instantaneous (i.e. it does not eat up movement points).
        Walking hours value of 99 is reserved for magical means which can 
        move continuously for an indefinite period.


6. ROADS / RIVERS
   
From version 3.50, the file ROADS.TBL contains the specifications for roads,
rivers and so.

The table is so structured:

        Number of possibilities         -----> max. 8
        Color|Operation|Amount|Name
        ...                    
                                  5 characters max.

The 'operation' field can be one of the following:

        =       to make the value equal to the 'amount' field;
        +       to add the 'amount';
        -       to subtract the 'amount' (from version 3.52);
        x       to multiply the cost by the 'amount'.

The 'divide by' operator has not been implemented, as it can be easily 
substituted by the 'multiply by'.


              Ŀ
                             COLOR TABLE               
                0 = black           8 = dark gray      
                1 = blue            9 = light blue     
                2 = green          10 = light green    
                3 = cyan           11 = light cyan     
                4 = red            12 = light red      
                5 = magenta                            
                6 = brown          14 = yellow         
                7 = light gray     15 = white          
              

           Note: Color number 13 is RESERVED and CANNOT be used.


N.B. - From version 3.54, the ROADS.TBL, TEMPER.TBL, SKY.TBL, WEATHER.TBL and
SPEED.TBL files can be joined together. This way, if you have a huge cluster
size on your HD, you can spare some space.
All you have to change is: inserting the original file name in the TABLES.TBL
file, followed by the original contents; I've already prepared the files for
the 'standard' TSR settings included.
For example:

[ROADS.TBL]
...                     <- original data previously in the ROADS.TBL file

[TEMPER.TBL]
...
and so on...



                             Ŀ
                              UTILITIES 

In the UTILS directory, you can find some programs:


MOVEMAP 1.20

It is useful for physically scrolling maps. It is a command-line program, and
its arguments are:

        MOVEMAP  diffx  diffy  mapname  output_name

diffx, diffy are the amount (in hexes) the map must be translated horizontally
             (diffx) and vertically (diffy). They can be negative; if diffy is
             odd, it will be rounded to the next even number.
mapname      is the name of the map you want to move.
output_name  is the new name you want to give the map. It cannot be the same as
             <mapname>.


STRIPMAP 1.10

It is useful for 'stripping' maps and HEXES.TBL of all the unnecessary data.
It looks at the map, keeps a record of the USED codes, strips HEXES.TBL
of the unused ones, then re-maps the file.
Anyway, it saves a HEXES.OLD and a <mapname>.OLD, just to be sure.
Its arguments are:

        STRIPMAP  mapname

mapname      is the name of the map you want to strip, without extension.


MOVEMAP and STRIPMAP will remain command-line only utilities, as they can be
quite destructive for maps if used in the wrong way.



                           Ŀ
                            THINGS TO COME 

In the future releases you will PROBABLY see (mainly depending on my spare
time between exams):

- more and more settings (with the collaboration of you all, I hope);
- fewer bugs ;-)
- the whole re-writing of the code in order to compile it in protected mode,
  or even a whole re-write under Windows 95, who knows...



That' all, Folks!

		Have fun....


						Ema.
