EgoEdit release 1.16.00 Foreword -------- This is kind of a beta product. I don't like releasing anything until it's capable of what I want. Unfortunately, this program has been long in the making and doesn't appear to be headed for an ending anytime soon. So, I've decided to upload the core program and I'll release updates and expansions in the future. Much of the information that would be found in this file is either outdated or missing. I'll fill it in as time permits. The program is simple and should be pretty self-explanatory. Please send a note to me should you find anything amiss or anything that catches your fancy--even if to say that you like it or despise it! Many thanks. Introduction ------------ This progam will allow you edit the attributes, spells and special attributes of characters designed for SSI's Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures (FRUA). In my quest to become a programmer and to contribute to the FRUA community; I decided to undertake a grand plan...I wanted to see an update the character editor. I attempted to contact Bart Jackson to see if I might convince him to release an update to his program; but, to no avail. So, pushing up my sleeves and calling on the expertise of several friends, I began. This program is simple to use; but, should you have any problems, feel free to tell me and I'll do everything I can to fix them. I am a neophyte programmer, but this program has served me well and I hope it works well for you as well. Brief Overview -------------- Edits a saved character, NPC, or monster for FRUA. EGOEDIT [CKIT.EXE] [filename] [/?]" CKIT.EXE The location of the main executable of FRUA. filename The location of the character to edit. The location of the files may be reversed. Program Explanation: When Run ----------------------------- Of course you can enter the parameters in any order. If you use the "/?" parameter it will automatically call up the help screen; otherwise, it'll either load your character or return an error message stating that the program couldn't find something. A few examples: EGOEDIT C:\UA\KRYNN.DSN\TASSELHO.CCH C:\UA\CKIT.EXE EGOEDIT C:\FRUA\CKIT.EXE D:\BKUP.DSN\MONST101.DAT EGOEDIT C:\UA\ASTTEOJ\SAVE\JADE.CCH ..the last example shows the easiest way. This assumes that the main executable of FRUA is within the current directory and either EgoEdit is within the PATH statement (of your AUTOEXEC.BAT file) or within the current directory. If you use EgoEdit through UAShell, you won't worry about having to pass the parameters, UAShell will direct EgoEdit where to look. EgoEdit will allow you to edit playing characters, NPC's, or monsters. Each format is only minutely different and you have nothing to worry about. I'll take care of everything. Program Explanation: Your Input ------------------------------- ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί Ί Ί 2 Ί Ί Ί Ί 1 Ί Ί Ί Ί 3 Ί Ί Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ Ί Ί Ί Ί ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ Ί Ί Ί Ί ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝ» ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ Ί 5 Ί Ί 6 Ί ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί Ί Ί Ί Ί 4 Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ Ί Ί 7 Enter command... ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ The Progress of the File: ------------------------- The Future: ----------- Well, I'm quite pleased with what I've released. Eventually, I'll add template support so you can edit a large number of files with the same characteristics. I'd like to tidy up the help system, it works; but, not as I'd like. I'd also like to tighten the coding, as an example, Mr. Jackson's program is smaller and is capable of much the same as mine, albeit mine is easier and contains more; but, take a look at the numbers: Program UnCompressed Compressed Memory Required CharEdit 91,197 63,725 58k EgoEdit 134,752 70,480 141k ...I was also thinking about splitting up a few things. The mother program would make calls on two separate programs to take care of the spell book and the special abilities. With this I could make an external help file similar to David Knott's UAShell program. Here's a few more ideas: Mother program: - Eventual support for basic item editing - Set the experience for killing a character - A blinking cursor when entering data - Set Special Ability Flags (Bytes 191 and 192 of the CCH files) - Edit former and pre-drained levels of experience - A better algorithm for the Dexterity bonus and Thieving skill bonuses Special Abilities: - Alphabetical listing. I've already started basic support of this but I haven't perfected the sort routine. - Permanence. I'll add support to allow editing of the number of rounds the special effect will last. I think that will be pretty cool. - More navigation. Like, if you press a number, it will open a small box where you can finish typing. It'll then take you to that number after you press enter. - Less flicker ...of course I still need to finish the spellbook editor. Other than that, and my future plans, the program is nearly finished. The only problem that I forsee is that if I do split the mother program up it will make the EgoEditor at least five files large. Concluding Remarks: ------------------- Should you have any questions, feel free to ask them. I'm open to other programmer's suggestions, I realize my programming is novice at best, but I'm trying. List-keeping is more my strength than multi-lingual skills. The program is written in QuickBasic 4.5 and I feel that I'm gaining a good knowledge of it. Any suggestions on improvements that could happen would be greatly appreciated. I realize that this text file may be a little overdone, but I figure that more help is better than none. I do have several things to bring to the forefront. Much thanks to Dan Autery, Bart Jackson, and David Knott. I constantly compared my program against Mr. Jackson's to see how it measured up. And without him laying down the foundation, my work would have never been started. Mr. Knott has provided much information for the world to use in creating and editing FRUA files. I used two such documents and was able to create a new, updated character editor. Not only has he provided such works; but, he is willing to work to expand, update, and assist with new projects. Dan Autery is a great man. With programming experience, the occasional nudge, and easy-going demeanor, he has been a great boon to this program. My thanks, good friend Don Ewald dpe@mindless.com Credits: -------- Research Material: Dan Autery (Autery@aol.com) Programming mentor David Knott (Kaviyd@aol.com) Format of the "CKIT.EXE" file (ckitform.txt) Format of the "*.CCH" files (cchform.txt) QBasic Programming For Dummies by IDG Books Worldwide, Incorporated The Revolutionary Guide to QBasic by Wrox Press Limited Pocket PCRef by Sequoia Publishing, Incorporated Microsoft MS-DOS Programmer's Reference by Microsoft Press Software: PKZip and PKUnzip v. 2.50 for DOS by PKWare Incorporated The Norton Commander v. 5.0 by Symantec Corporation WordPerfect v. 5.1 by WordPerfect Corporation Windows Socket FTP Client Application v. 4.50 by Ipswitch, Incorporated Windows Eudora Lite v. 1.5.4 by QUALCOMM Incorporated MS-DOS 6.22 by Microsoft Corporation Microsoft QuickBasic v. 4.50 by Microsoft Corporation Netscape Communicator v. 4.51 by Netscape Communications Corporation Microsoft Windows 95 v. 4.00.950 B by Microsoft Corporation ...all registered to Don Ewald or Chaotic Dementia.