This is the README file for MAngband 0.2.4 (5/31/97)

MAngband 0.2.4 is an semi-stable release that is meant for testing purposes
only.  Any bugs found in MAngband 0.2.4 will be fixed in MAngband 0.2.5,
the next public release.

Send all bug reports to the mailing list at mangband@keldon.student.umr.edu.
Please remember to check the Bugs Page though, to avoid sending bug reports
that I already know about.

These are things that are new or that you should watch out for:
  * The ':' command sends a message to everyone else in the game
  * If you are being asked for a direction, say for a magic missile,
      you can wait and watch your target as it moves.
  * The only key to stop a run is one of the walk direction keys.
  * If you are looking at your inven/equip, the screen isn't updated,
      so you could be getting attacked without your knowledge.
  * I find it much easier to get somewhere with a warrior than with
      a mage/priest/etc.
  * Changing levels always puts you near an up staircase.
  * You cannot affect other players yet.
  * Macros/keymaps/options/visual info can only be set using the "pref
      files".  After doing so, you must reload the pref file using the '"'
      command (or by restarting your client).
  * The Home doesn't do anything.
  * Resting takes no arguments, and you regenerate at double speed.

	
Every server reports to a metaserver running in California.  To ask questions
about it, send mail to hao@mit.edu.  To see a list of servers running and the
number of people playing on each of them, telnet to gondor.jkoss.com at port
8801 (for example, type "telnet gondor.jkoss.com 8801").  It should give you a
list of servers with number of people on each.

Visit the MAngband Home Page "http://www.umr.edu/~keldon/mangband" for
more information about recent changes and improvements.

There are MAngband binaries of the server and client at hirvi.ton.tut.fi.
Make sure that you download everything you need (read the README's in the
correct directories).

Make sure to edit the .mangrc file to set your race/class/sex/name.  If you
don't, you'll default to a Male Human Warrior named My Name.  Also, make sure
that your .mangrc file is in your home directory.  Read README.mangrc for
lots more info on setting up that file.

If you are only going to use the client, the "lib" directories do not need
to be installed anywhere.  However, to use the "pref files", you must install
the "lib/user" directory correctly.

If you are going to run a server, the "lib" directories must be installed
in the location pointed to in "config.h" and must be readable/writable by
the owner of the server process.



=== General information ===

MAngband is a "graphical" dungeon adventure game using textual characters
to represent the walls and floors of a dungeon and the inhabitants therein,
in the vein of "rogue", "hack", "nethack", and "moria".  MAngband differs
from normal Angband in that more than one human player inhabits this
dungeon, and the players can interact in peaceful or violent ways.

There are extensive ascii "on line help" files in the "lib/help" directory.

This version of MAngband will only work on Unix (X11/Curses), Linux 
(X11/Curses), and similar platforms that are UNIX-ish.  However, this 
version has only been tested extensively on a Linux machine.  It has been
tested and compiles and works on SGI's, HP-UX, and Sun's, however.

See Makefile, h-config.h, and config.h for details on compiling.

Also see .mangrc to configure your client to use your preferred race, class,
sex, and name.

Visit the MAngband Home Page ("http://www.umr.edu/~keldon/mangband") and
browse through the Angband newsgroup ("rec.games.roguelike.angband").

Send bug reports, suggestions, etc, to Keldon Jones ("keldon@umr.edu").


=== Quick and dirty compilation instructions (for Unix/Linux) === 

Step 1: Acquire.  Use a web browser to acquire the source at
                  "http://www.umr.edu/~keldon/mangband/download.html".
Step 2: Extract.  Try "gunzip *.gz" then "tar -xvf *.tar"
Step 3: Prepare.  Try "cd mangband*/src", then edit "Makefile"
                  You should also edit "h-config.h" and "config.h"
Step 4: Compile.  Try "make", and then "cd .." if successful
Step 5: Execute.  Try "mangclient keldon.student.umr.edu" to connect
                  to a server running on my personal machine.
Step 6: Play....  Read the "online help" via the "?" command.



=== Directory "src" ===

The "src" directory contains the complete set of source files.

The "src" directory has two subdirectories. The "server" directory
contains the source for the MAngband server, and the "client" directory
contains the client source.

The "main-???.c" and "Makefile.???" in the "client" directory may
eventually allow compilation on various systems.

Some of these systems (Macintosh, Windows) require "extra" files, most of
which are located elsewhere (except for the "A-mac-h.*" Macintosh files).


=== Directory "lib" ===

The "lib" directory contains all of MAngband's special sub-directories.


=== Directory "lib/apex" ===

The "lib/apex" directory contains the "high score" files.

The "scores.raw" file contains the "high score" table, in a "semi-binary" form,
that is, all the bytes in the file are normal ascii values, but this includes
the special "nul" or "zero" byte, which is used to separate and pad records.
You should probably not attempt to modify this file with a normal text editor.
This file should be (more or less) portable between different platforms.  It
must be present (or creatable) for the game to run correctly.


=== Directory "lib/bone" ===

The "lib/bone" directory contains special "player ghost" template files.

The files in this directory have filenames of the form "bone.NNN" where
"NNN" is the level on which the player died.  They contain information
about the dead player, currently, one line each for the player name,
maximum hitpoints, race, and class.  These files are probably portable,
and are probably compatible with older bone files, if those files are
renamed, and a final newline is added for compatibility.  Actually,
only the "player name" from these files is actually used.


=== Directory "lib/data" ===

The "lib/data" directory contains various special binary data files.

The files 'f_info.raw', 'k_info.raw', 'a_info.raw', 'e_info.raw', 'r_info.raw',
and 'v_info.raw' are binary image files constructed by parsing the ascii
template files in "lib/edit", described below.  These files are required,
but can be created by the game if the "lib/edit" directory contains the
proper files, and if the game was compiled to allow this creation.


=== Directory "lib/edit" ===

The "lib/edit" directory contains various special ascii data files.

The files 'f_info.txt', 'k_info.txt', 'a_info.txt', 'e_info.txt', 'r_info.txt',
and 'v_info.txt' are ascii template files used to construct the binary image
files in "lib/data", described above.  These files describe the "terrain
features", "object kinds", "artifacts", "ego-items", "monster races", and
"dungeon vaults", respectively.

The ascii template files are easier to edit than hard-coded arrays, and also
prevent compilation errors on some machines, and also shrink the size of the
binary executable, and also provide a user-readible spoiler file of sorts.

These files are optional if the game is distributed with pre-created
binary raw files in "lib/data".


=== Directory "lib/file" ===

The "lib/file" directory contains various special ascii data files.

The 'news.txt' file is displayed to the user when the game starts up.  It
contains basic information such as my name and email address, and the names
of some of the people who have been responsible for previous versions of
Angband.  You may edit this file (slightly) to include local "site specific"
information such as who compiled the local executable.  You should refer the
user to a special "online help" file, if necessary, that describes any local
modifications in detail.  The first two lines of this file should be blank,
and only the next 20 lines should contain information.

The 'dead.txt' file is displayed to the user when the player dies.  It
contains a picture of a tombstone which is filled in with interesting
information about the dead player.  You should not edit this file.

The optional file 'wizards.txt' may be used to specify which users may enter
'wizard' mode.  A missing file provides no restrictions, and an empty file
prevents everyone from entering 'wizard' mode.  This file is only used on
multi-user machines, otherwise there are no restrictions.

The optional file 'time.txt' may be used to restrict the "times" at which
the game may be played, by providing specification of which hours of each day
of the week are legal for playing the game.  See 'files.c' for more details.
A missing file provides no restrictions, and an empty file will, by default,
forbid the playing of the game from 8am-5pm on weekdays.  This file is only
used on multi-user machines, and only if CHECK_TIME is defined, otherwise,
there are no restrictions.

The optional file 'load.txt' may be used to restrict the "load" which the game
may impose on the system.  See 'files.c' for more details.  A missing file
provides no restrictions, and an empty file will, by default, restrict the
"current load" to a maximal value of 100*FSCALE.  This file is only used on
multi-user machines, and only if CHECK_LOAD is defined, otherwise, there are
no restrictions.


=== Directory "lib/help" ===

The "lib/help" directory contains the "online help" files.

This directory is used to search for normal "on line help" files.


=== Directory "lib/info" ===

The "lib/info" directory (optional) contains the "spoiler" files.

This directory is used to search for any "on line help" file that cannot
be found in the "lib/help" directory.

The user may "redirect" this directory to point at any available directory.

Note that the default "help.hlp" file allows the "9" key to access a help
file called "spoiler.hlp", and allows the "0" key to access "user.hlp".

These special help files can thus be placed in the user's own "info"
directory to allow the on line help to access his files.


=== Directory "lib/save" ===

The "lib/save" directory contains "savefiles" for the players.

Each savefile is named "NNN" where "NNN" is the name of the character.

The savefiles should be portable between systems, assuming that the
appropriate renaming is perfomed, and any file "type" information is
specified (for the Macintosh).  However, I must really recommend
against copying savefiles from one server to another, because this
could cause problems about having multiple artifacts on one server,
etc.  Don't do it.


=== Directory "lib/user" ===

The "lib/user" directory contains the "user pref files", if any.

In general, these files are used to "customize" aspects of the game for
a given site or a given player.  These files can define "macros" (which
allow a single keypress to perform a complex action), set options (which
affect how the game will handle various situations), and specify visual
mappings for various monsters, objects, or terrain features.

Many of these files are not read by the server, but most are read by
the client.

See "files.c" for more information on the proper "format" of these files.


=== Directory "lib/xtra" ===

The "lib/xtra" directory contains special system files, if any.


--- Ben ---

    Keldon 
