THE PRODUCTION PROGRAMS - GPRO AND GDC ====================================== Finally, a little documentation for the "production" programs GPRO and GDC. The Diskinfo File ================= The programs rely on a "diskinfo" file to tell them which files should be copied. A diskinfo file must contain the following: On line 2 (and nowhere else): The common part of the delivery diskette volume name, for example MYADVENTURE_DISK When GDC does its stuff later, the diskettes will then be labelled MYADVENTURE_DISK A MYADVENTURE_DISK B and so on. Below line 3: The names of all the files, grouped according to delivery diskette. Each filename is on its own line, preceeded by the diskette suffix and a space. For example: A 1.room means the file 1.room is delivered on MYADVENTURE_DISK_A. Remember: The files should be grouped according to volume, and the groups should be sorted alphabetically, starting with everything on diskette A. You may have as many comment lines and empty lines in between the file entries as you like. The following stuff should ALWAYS be on diskette A: 1) GRAAL_2 The main program. It does not have to be called GRAAL_2 - rename it to anything you want your adventure called. 2) FONTS A special entry which copies the entire fonts: drawer in your development directory. 3) graal.main The graal.main file 4) The picture files for the command and dialogue areas (if you don't specify DEFAULT, in which case the graphics included in the GRAAL_2 program itself are used). 5) The resource file for requesters (suffix .rsb). If you use the DEFAULT, no entry is needed - it's already in the GRAAL_2 program itself. GPRO ==== The GPRO program is used for copying the files that make up your adventure (the ones that should go on the delivery diskette) from the development directory (which can be a right old mess) to a test directory, containing only what is needed to run the adventure. You should test the adventure thoroughly in the test directory, making sure everything is included, before making the delivery diskettes. This program is only available to registered users (in other words, it needs the personal keyfile to work). Unregistered users are confined to copying the game files directly onto the delivery diskettes from the development directory using GDC, and then testing the diskettes. Starting GPRO ------------- GPRO runs from CLI only. Open a shell, and switch to your development directory. Then type GPRO. The user interface is as follows: +------------------------------------------------+ | | | Encrypt: < > Yes < > No Simulation: < > | | | | | | Diskinfo: [ diskinfo file name ] | | | | | | Destination: [ destination directory name ] | | | | | ! ============================================== | | | | | | [ message field ] | | | | | | ( Copy ) ( Exit ) | | | +------------------------------------------------+ Encrypt: Click "Yes" if the script files should be encrypted, and the comments removed, when copying the files. Do this only in the very last run when you are certain everything is OK. Note that encrypted games ALWAYS require the keyfile to run, so include an entry for the keyfile (on diskette A) in the diskinfo file when you produce the final, encrypted master diskettes. Simulation: Click this if you just want to test the contents of the diskinfo file. The Copy function will just "go through the motions", showing what would happen if you had been copying for real. Diskinfo: You can choose the name of the diskinfo file to use here. You can, for example, have one diskinfo file for demo versions and one for "live" versions in your development directory. (I use this facility to produce a GRAAL delivery from the "Olaf" development directory, which normally produces only the "Olaf" game itself.) Note that the selected file is renamed "diskinfo.graal" (the default name) in the destination directory, and therefore, "diskinfo.graal" is the name that should ALWAYS be used when referring to the diskinfo file IN the diskinfo file! Destination: The name of a hard disk directory, which, by the way, must exist already. GPRO saves the names of the last diskinfo file and destination directory in a file, and so remembers the settings until the next time it is used. Status bar: A green stripe shows how far the copying has progressed. Message field: A text shows what is currently going on during the copy operation. Copy and Exit: Really... you'll just have to find out for yourself! GDC === GDC is the program that copies the game files to the final delivery diskettes. You MUST use this program to prepare the diskettes. However, GDC is not intended for making copies of the game. Just use GDC to make the "master diskettes", and then use some proper diskette copying software for the copies. If you have run GPRO, the GDC program was copied to the test directory automatically, and you should run it from there. If you don't have access to GPRO, you run GDC directly from the development directory. GDC runs from CLI only. Open a shell, and switch to the appropriate directory. Then type GDC. The user interface is as follows: +------------------------------------------------+ | | | Format: < > Quick < > Normal ( Check Sizes) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R | | | ! ============================================== | | | | | | [ message field ] | | | | | | ( Copy ) ( Exit ) | | | +------------------------------------------------+ Format: To prepare the diskettes, and label them properly, GDC first formats each diskette. This can be done quickly, if the diskette has been pre-formatted, or in the normal fashion, in which case the previous formatting status of the disk is not important. Check Sizes: This is normally done automatically when you start GDC. The "gauges" or "meters" labelled A, B, and so on, are updated to show how much space is used on each disk. If you have specified too much for a certain volume in the diskinfo file, that meter turns red to show you must edit the diskinfo file and re-distribute the files to make it all fit. (We're talking standard DD 880K diskettes here, of course.) If you have left GDC running while editing the file, you could use the button to re-calculate the space requirements. (On the other hand, it might be a good idea to exit the program, make d*mn sure you update the right file in the right place, and only then re-run GDC...) Status bar: When you press Copy, each diskette meter in turn is gradually emptied, and this line starts growing instead to show how far the copy operation has progressed. Message field: If anything goes wrong, this is where you should get told. ( Copy ) and ( Exit ): Once more, pretty obvious... You don't need more than 18 diskettes, do you? Please! Tell me you don't! EXTREMELY NICE TIP: It's good practice to keep the diskinof.graal file updated during development, and start GDC now and then to see if the distribution of files seem about right with respect to the space requirements...