megazeux/help.doc

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$~Aº~F           MegaZeux  Help           ~Aº
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:072:  Major Help Topics:

>#FAQ.HLP:1st:FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
>#CMDLINE.HLP:1st:Command Line Options
>#MEMORY.HLP:1st:EMS Memory/Boot Disk Tips

>#HELPONHE.HLP:000:Help on Help (Press F1 Within Help to Read This)
>#DIALOGBO.HLP:098:How to use dialog boxes
>#MOUSESUP.HLP:1st:Mouse support in MegaZeux
>#1ST_TIME.HLP:071:Overview of MegaZeux- First Time Users Read This!
>#CONTROLS.HLP:091:Controls
>#ADVANCED.HLP:1st:Advanced Play Info, Tips
>#FRIENDSA.HLP:1st:Friends and Foes- Objects You will Encounter
>#POTIONFX.HLP:1st:Potion and Ring Effects
>#THEWORLD.HLP:1st:The World Editor
>#GENERALE.HLP:1st:General Editing Tips
>#EDITINGK.HLP:080:Editing Keys and Options Reference
>#CHAREDIT.HLP:079:The Character Editor
>#PALEEDIT.HLP:093:The Palette Editor
>#GLOBALIN.HLP:086:Global Info Options
>#BOARDINF.HLP:085:Board Info Options
>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:MegaZeux's Sound System
>#TOVERLAY.HLP:081:Editing and Using the Overlay
>#SCROLLSS.HLP:1st:Signs and Scrolls in the Editor
>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors- What They Are and How to Use Them
>#ROBOTSWH.HLP:1st:Robots- What They Are and How to Use Them
>#ROBOTICT.HLP:1st:Robotic Tutorial
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#ERRORMES.HLP:1st:Error Messages
>#MEGAZEUX.HLP:1st:MegaZeux Limitations
>#IFYOUFIN.HLP:1st:If You Find a Bug...
>Please:Registration Info- MegaZeux is Not Free
>#NEWINVER.HLP:1st:NEW in Version 2.51! (Changes Since Version 1.03)

$** Credits and Acknowledgments **

$Programming and Overall Design by Gregory Janson
$Music/Sound code by Edward Schlunder

$Included Game Modules by Gregory Janson
$Included Music by Gregory Janson

$Beta Testing and Special thanks:

$Jason Albanese
$Alek Benedict
$Chris Bromley
$Christopher Christensen *
$Chris Cooper
$Carlos DaSilva
$Jacob Farmer
$Geoff Friesen *
$Tim Gallagher
$Themie Gouthas *
$Jamie Holub
$Jason Kim
$Dave Kirsch *
$Elbert Lim
$Joe McManis
$Vic Putz *
$Robin Rudge *
$Brian Schweitzer
$Allen Shirvanian
$Tim Sweeny (author of ZZT)
$Tony Vanvranken

$* = Thanks for the public domain code!

$AOL Beta Testers

$Compukid
$DMcgee1008
$Herbie III
$JustJoshua
$MegaKev
$NL Aric
$Shammydog
$SkreenNme
$SpectreB1
$Spider124

$Version 2.50 Beta Testers
$(Tons of thanks!)

$Greg Beauchesne
$Dave Bishop
$John Howard Davison
$Luke Drelick
$Brad Faler
$Timothy Fernandez
$Luc French
$Evan Furchtgott
$Scott Hammack
$Peter Holzaepfel
$DeadPhrog (J.W. Kaufmann)
$Ben Krause
$William Lovas
$Matthew McGee
$Jason E. Neufeld
$Jacob Page
$Adam Parrish
$Dan Patalano
$Geoff Paulson
$Kevin Rohleder
$Mike Sambrone
$Adam Smith (Aldar)
$Kevin Vance
$James "Raptor" Wong

:Please:Registration Info

Megazeux is now freeware, no registration required.

>072:Table of Contents
#HELPONHE.HLP
:000:Help on Help

Using MegaZeux's help system is very simple. Press F1 at almost
any time to bring up help relating to the current situation.
Within help, use the arrow keys to Scroll the current section.
Press PageUp and PageDown to Scroll faster. Many sections of
help contain selections, like this:

>sl:Selection
:sl:
Scroll the section until the selection is aligned with the
arrows on the edges of the help box, and press Enter. You will
jump to a help section indicated by the selection. Example:
If a selection says "Controls", Scroll until the word is
aligned with the arrows on the left and right, and press Enter.
You should now be reading help on Controls.

Press F1 within help to jump to this section. Press Alt+F1
within help to jump to the Table of Contents. (Table of Major
Help Topics) Press ESC to exit help. Press Alt+P to print out
the current help section.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#1ST_TIME.HLP
:071:Overview of MegaZeux

$~EWelcome to MegaZeux! Use the arrow keys to Scroll
$~Ethis text, and ESC when you are done reading.

$~BPress END to learn about the NEW FEATURES in
$~BMegaZeux 2.51s2!

As you may already know, MegaZeux is a game system which
allows you to play almost limitless worlds in EGA graphics
and with beautiful digitized music and sound. MegaZeux comes
with worlds, and new worlds are being uploaded every day to
major on-line services such as America On-line. But the most
fabulous feature of MegaZeux is the World Editor.

Using the World Editor, ANYONE can create the world of their
dreams. Make it as simple or complex, as easy or difficult,
as long or short as you please. And we aren't just talking
about worlds made up of petty, pre-programmed enemies and
objects. MegaZeux has it's own, easy to use PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE called Robotic that allows you to create enemies,
objects, and worlds that do almost anything you desire.

For the new user, I recommend you play Caverns, the first
included game, to get the feel of MegaZeux. You may wish
to read the help section entitled "Controls" to learn how
to play MegaZeux.

Once you have the feel for the game, however, feel free
to dive into the World Editor and get messy! You should
probably read the help section entitled "The World Editor"
first.

To go to one of these sections now, hit Enter after
aligning the arrows with one of these choices. Press
ESC now to exit to the game.

>#CONTROLS.HLP:091:Controls
>#THEWORLD.HLP:1st:The World Editor

>#NEWINVER.HLP:1st:WHAT'S NEW in version 2.51s2!
#CONTROLS.HLP
:091:Controls

MegaZeux is very easy to play, once you understand the
simple control system. After that, experimentation will
prove to be the best teacher, although you can discover
everything within Help as well.

To start a game, press 'P' during the title screen. To
select another world, press 'L' during the title screen.
Use ESC during the title screen to exit to DOS, or during
the game to return to the title screen. You know it is
the title screen if a message on the bottom says "Press
F1 for help, Enter for menu". Enter will bring up a menu
of options on the title screen, also.

Your character is represented by a little smiley face
in the included games. @1~B@8~F In other games, he may be
a stick person, animal, spaceship, or other entity.
Usually it is obvious where you are, since you are usually
colored to stand out.

To move your character, press one of the arrow keys on
the keyboard or numeric keypad. If you hold it down, you
will continue to move in that direction.

To interact with objects and other characters, you usually
must stand next to them and touch them. This basically
means push against them using the arrow keys. Watch out
for enemies and evil creatures, who will often hurt you
when you touch them.

To stop enemies, you will usually have some type of weapon,
often with limited ammunition. The actual weapon depends
upon the game, and may even differ from game to game, but
by default you have a small pistol. To fire your weapon,
hold Space and press an arrow key. You can also hold the
arrow key and press Space. You must press both keys TOGETHER.

To see your current status, such as Health points, Coins,
Gems, Ammunition, and Keys, press Enter. This will bring up
a box containing all your stats, as well as a menu detailing
other options you have available.

In some games, you may encounter bombs. (as usual, push
against them to pick them up.) To use a bomb, press the
Del key. Then run! The bomb will not actually burn its
fuse until you step away from it. There are two styles of
bomb- Low strength and High strength. You can tell which
kind you pick up by the pitch of the sound it makes. To
change which TYPE of bomb you are using, press Ins. A
message at the bottom of the screen will inform you of
your new selection.

Other games may have other controls, such as 'S' to cast
a spell, or 'J' to jump, but they should be detailed within
the game. Some basic play tips:

~A*~F Make sure you visit every screen. To get to other screens,
  enter passageways, stairs, caves, or doors. (by pushing
  against them.) You can also often reach another screen
  by pushing against the edge of the screen, leading to an
  adjacent screen.

~A*~F Touch everything! Even things of seemingly little value
  may prove worthy of your attention. If it kills you, then...
  well... hope you saved.

~A*~F Save your game! It is rather simple- Press F3 to save your
  game to disk at the EXACT point you are at. Press F4 to
  reload a game off of disk. You can use F9 and F10 to
  quick-save and quick-load, which work on the last game
  you saved. Remember to save often- If something kills you,
  you'll want a game to go back to.

~A*~F Collect supplies! Make sure you grab every coin, gem,
  ammo dump, bomb, chest, and pouch you see! You will often
  be in want of supplies, so don't push things.

~A*~F Remember how things work. Most things in MegaZeux have
  patterns, and the same object will usually do the same
  thing all the time. (although two objects may look alike
  and not really be the same thing)

For more help, see one of the following sections-

>#ADVANCED.HLP:1st:Advanced Play Info, Tips
>#FRIENDSA.HLP:1st:Friends and Foes- Objects You will Encounter
#ADVANCED.HLP
:1st:Advanced Play Info, Tips

You've tried some MegaZeux worlds, and they are fun, but you
have the feeling you are missing something. This is it- the
remaining knowledge you might need to survive in a given world.

First, let me warn you that many worlds you get from public
services or BBSes may not be of a very good quality. They may
be unfair, boring, have bugs, and/or not give proper
instructions. My advice is to E-Mail the author and tell him
what you think of poor quality MegaZeux games. There is no
problem in MAKING them, but PLEASE don't upload them. Don't
let a few losers ruin the fun.

Now to cover the game keys, in detail-

F1- Help
Use this at any time to bring up help relating to the current
situation. Within the game, you will go to the Controls
section.

Enter- Menu/status
Use this to bring up a menu of options and a list of your
current stats, such as Score, Gems, etc.

ESC- Exit to title
This will quit the current game and return to it's title
screen.

:092:F2- Settings
This will bring up a dialog box where you can change the
current game settings, such as Game Speed, Music, and
Sound. To speed up the game, lower the speed and/or turn
music off. A speed of 1 will cause flicker in most machines,
so it is not recommended unless it is your only option.

:096:F3- Save game
This will prompt you for a filename, then save the exact
state of your current game. Some games may not allow saving
on some or all of its screens. This lets you quit your game
in the middle or take precautions against unknown dangers.

F4- Restore game
This will let you select a saved game from a list of filenames.
The game will then be reloaded from the same point you left off
at.

F5 or Ins- Toggle bomb type
This will switch your current bomb type between High Strength
and Low Strength.

F6- Debug mode
This will bring up a small box in the lower left corner of the
screen, detailing your position and the current memory
situation. It is generally only necessary when testing and
fixing your own games. Press F6 again to turn the box off. The
debug menu, when active, will also increase the sensitivity to
module and SAM problems. Normally during the game, no errors
relating to modules and SAMs will be shown. With the debug menu
on, errors loading modules and SAMs and out of memory conditions
will be shown.

F9- Quicksave
This will save the game, like F3, but to the last filename you
used, without prompting you for a filename. The old file will
be overwritten. If no game has been saved since MegaZeux was
started, a filename of SAVED.SAV will be used.

F10- Quickload
This will reload the last game saved using F3 or F9. If no
game has been saved since MegaZeux was started, a filename of
SAVED.SAV will be used.

Arrows- Move
The arrow keys will move your character and allow him to
interact with most objects.

Space- Shoot
Use this key in conjunction with an arrow key to fire your
weapon in the selected direction. Weapons vary from world to
world.

Del- Bomb
This will drop a bomb of the current type BENEATH the player.
Move out of the way to see it, then run before it explodes!

The following keys are active at the title screen-

F1- Help (see above)

Enter- Menu
This is similar to Enter within the game. However, there is
no status screen.

ESC- Exit to DOS
Pressing ESC will exit MegaZeux, returning to the DOS prompt
or other operating system.

F2 or S- Settings (see above)

F3 or L- Load world
This will allow you to load up the title screen of any MegaZeux
world. A list of choices will be presented to you to select
from. After the world is loaded, you may watch the title
screen, then press 'P' to play.

F4 or R- Restore game (see above)

F5 or P- Play game
This will stop the title screen and actually begin game play.

F6- Debug menu (see above)

F8 or E- World editor
This will quit the gaming portion of MegaZeux and enter the
integrated World Editor. For detailed info on using the World
Editor, view the appropriate help sections.
>#THEWORLD.HLP:1st:The World Editor

F10- Quickload (see above)

We'll close this section with some more playing tips, some
general hints and others specific to certain sections of
Caverns of Zeux, the first included game.

* Don't take anything for granted. If it looks like a spike,
  it PROBABLY is. PROBABLY. Although it is rare that these
  types of puzzles must be solved to complete a game, there
  are often bonuses, hidden rooms, etc. behind illusions.

* Don't trust anyone. All characters in a game, (including
  yourself) have the potential to lie, cheat, and backstab.

* Try things twice. Sometimes objects respond differently a
  second time. If you get a new treasure, go talk to all
  the citizens- maybe one of them will say something new!

* Caverns hint- (DON'T READ UNLESS YOU ARE STUCK!) Many people
  often get stuck early in the game, after a couple of bosses.
  If you have the three amulets, did you talk to the dwarf in
  town who wants them? Make sure you change back to a dwarf
  by talking to the spirit. Later make sure to lavawalk across
  the lava on the left of the room where you got the three
  amulets.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#DIALOGBO.HLP
:098:How to use dialog boxes

A large portion of MegaZeux's interface are dialog boxes. They
are rather simple and intuitive to use, but instructions for
the uninformed are included in this section.

A dialog box is a form of inputting various information. An
example of a dialog box is the Save Game box, or the Settings
box. (both in the game) To use a box is simple- Use TAB and
SHIFT+TAB to highlight an element, and type or use the cursor
keys to change the value. Press ENTER on a button (Rectangle
with a label) to exit the dialog or produce an effect.

If you have a mouse, you can click on a dialog box element to
select it, or click on a selected element to change it. Click
on a selected button to activate it.

You can usually use Home to jump to the first section of the
dialog box, and End to jump to the OK or NEXT button.

The different dialog box elements and special related keys
are explained in detail for the remainder of this section.

INPUT- This is where you type in a series of characters,
usually letters and numbers. You can move the cursor around
within the line, type to insert characters, move to the start
with Home, and move to the end with End.

NUMBER- This is where you have a number and you change it
with the arrow keys or mouse clicks on buttons. Up and Down
will change it by 1, Alt+Up and Alt+Down will change it by
10, and PageUp and PageDown will change it by 100. You can
also hold the mouse button down on one of the arrows to
change the number.

NUMBER LINE- This is a line of numbers, with one highlighted.
Similar to the above, but in a limited range.

CHARACTER- This is where you can select a single character.
Press a character to use that character, or click on it or
press Enter to get a large menu of characters to select from.

COLOR- This is where you can select a single color. Press
Enter or click on it to get a large menu of colors to choose
from.

CHECK BOXES- These are On/Off switches. Use Up/Down to move
within the list of choices, and use Space, Enter, or mouse
clicks to toggle choices on and off. An [X] means the option
is currently on.

RADIO BUTTONS- These are similar to Check Boxes, but are
mutually exclusive. The mouse or arrow keys will select the
current and ONLY option that is on. The () shows the current
option.

BUTTON- These are rectangles with labels. When selected,
press Enter or click to activate. OK or Done will verify the
contents of the dialog box. Cancel will cancel any changes
you've made. (ESC will usually do this as well.) Next and
Previous move between multiple dialog boxes. Other buttons
do what their label signifies and are explained in the
appropriate help section.

LISTS- These show a selection from a list of choices. The
current selection is shown. Press Enter or click on it to
bring up a list of choices from which you can select a new
choice.

>#MOUSESUP.HLP:1st:Mouse support in MegaZeux
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#MOUSESUP.HLP
:1st:Mouse support in MegaZeux

The mouse is only supported outside of the gaming functions.
It's use is very simple. Move the mouse to move the mouse
cursor. Press the Left mouse button to select something,
activate something, etc. Within the game or title screen,
the Left mouse button will bring up a menu from which you
can select an option. The Right mouse button ALWAYS means
Escape or Cancel, just as if you had pressed the ESC key.
This will not work in certain areas.

***ADDENDUM*** as of mzxs1, certain games may make use of
the mouse. The right mouse button will no longer emulate
ESC key.  The left likewise does not emulate Enter.


>#DIALOGBO.HLP:098:How to use dialog boxes
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#FRIENDSA.HLP
:1st:Friends and Foes- Objects You will Encounter

The following help section contains a list of the different
objects, enemies, items, and terrains you will find within
the different MegaZeux worlds.

$@0~8± ~FTerrains~8 ±@8

~BSpace

This is the simplest terrain, it does absolutely nothing!

~BNormal          ~A@0²
~BSolid           ~EÛ
~BTree            ~A
~BLine          ~FÍÍÍÍÍ
~BCustom Block    ~7?

These are all basic walls, they just get in the way.
Sometimes trees can be burned down.

~BBreakaway       ~C@0±
~BCustom Break    ~7?

These block movement as well, but they can be destroyed with
most weapons, such as bullets or bombs. Certain other things
can destroy them as well.

~BFake            ~A²
~BCarpet          ~4@0±
~BFloor           ~9@0°
~BTiles           ~0@Fþ
~BCustom Floor    ~7?

These are all treated as flooring, or "background". Anything,
including yourself, can move onto and over these. They are
primarily for decoration.

~BWeb             ~7Å
~BThick Web       ~7Î

These are another type of flooring. However, webs are often the
home for spiders, so watch your step!

~BForest          ~2@0²

This terrain will block the path of almost anything. You,
however, can move through it with ease, clearing a pathway.
Once the path is cleared, however, enemies may move along it
at will.

~BInvis. Wall

This LOOKS like just an empty space... until you bump into it.
Then it becomes a normal wall, blocking your path.

$@0~8± ~FItems~8 ±@8

~BGem             
~BMagic Gem       

Collecting gems is fun! Your total number of gems is shown on
the status screen, and each gem gives you one point. Many games
also use them as a type of currency, where you can trade gems
for stuff like food, ammo, weapons, or hints. Magic Gems also
give you one health point apiece when taken.

~BHealth          ~C

This will improve your outlook dramatically- Your health is
increased by a certain amount. The amount varies for different
hearts.

~BRing            ~Eo
~BPotion          –

These mystical items will bestow a magical effect on you when
you wear or drink them. The effect, however, is unknown to
you until you try it... and some effects aren't so nice.
>#POTIONFX.HLP:1st:Potion and Ring Effects

~BEnergizer       ~1›

After grabbing an energizer, you will flash colors for a
limited time. During this period, you are invincible against
enemies, bullets, fire, and most other forms of pain. Be
careful not to get into a dangerous situation as your energy
runs out!

~BAmmo           ~3£ ¤

When you grab ammunition, it will add a certain amount of
ammo to your supplies. The amount may be different for
different piles. Some worlds or sections of worlds may have
weapons with infinite ammunition.

~BBomb            ~0

Each bomb you grab adds another to your supply. The sound made
when you grab the bomb will be high-pitched for a high strength
bomb, and low-pitched for a low strength bomb.

~BKey             ~A

Collect keys to open locks, doors, and gates later on. The key
and the lock/etc. must match colors, and a key will only work
once. You can carry up to sixteen keys at once. The status
screen will show your current supply of keys.

~BLock            ~A

A lock will only open if you have a key of the same color to
unlock it. The key can only be used once and will disappear
along with the lock.

~BCoin            ~E

Collecting coins is a good idea- they not only increase your
score, but can usually be used to purchase valuable items or
services from vendors.

~BLife            ~Do

A life orb will give you yet another chance for survival in
MegaZeux.

~BPouch           ~7Ÿ

A pouch is usually filled with coins and gems. The amount
varies, but often you will find yourself pleasantly rich...

~BChest           ~6 

A chest can contain numerous things. The contents will be one
of the following: Empty, a Key, Coins, Lives, Ammo, Health,
a Potion or Ring, Bombs, or Gems. Once you grab the contents,
the chest itself will remain, but be empty.

$@0~8± ~FCreatures~8 ±@8

~BSnake           ~2ë

A snake moves in a straight line until it hits an obstruction,
then aims itself in another direction and continues. Hitting a
snake (like all enemies hereafter unless noted) will cause you
to lose 10 health, then kill the snake.

~BEye             ~Fì

An eye chases you down like any ordinary enemy, but when it
catches you or dies, it explodes! The size of the explosion
varies with each eye.

~BThief           ~C

A thief chases you, but doesn't hurt you. Instead, it steals
your gems!

                ~A*
~BSlime Blob     ~A*±*
                ~A*

A slime blob can't always hurt you (although you can often
still kill it by touching or shooting it) but it can quickly
become annoying because of its habit of dividing into more
slime blobs, then hardening into "solid slime", (breakables)
quickly filling rooms...

~BRunner          ~C

A runner does that- runs back and forth. Often they take more
than one hit to kill- up to four hits may be required. But they
are rather dumb and often slow.

~BGhost           ~7ê

A ghost is the simplest enemy, simply chasing you. While some
of them are invincible, most can be killed.

~BDragon          ~4 ~C ~E*~C

Some dragons move around slowly, but their main advantage is
their offense- they can shoot barrages of scorching flame. They
also have a strong defense, taking up to 8 hits to kill. These
powers make them one of the most formidable inhabitants of
MegaZeux. Touching them will take 10 health, but will NOT hurt
the dragon.

~BFish            ~Eà

Fish have to stay in the water (duh...) and often won't hurt
you. Some take two hits to kill.

~BShark           ~7

Sharks swim in the lava, and attempt to chase you. They fire
projectiles at you from their relatively safe position. These
projectiles can be bullets, seekers, or fire.

               ~0ÚÅ¿
~BSpider        ~0ÄÅ~7•~0ÅÄ
               ~0ÀÅÙ

Spiders, although eager to catch you, are usually restricted to
movement on webs. Certain spiders, however, can actually stray
off the webs. Some spiders take 2 hits to kill.

~BGoblin          ~2

Goblins are curious little creatures. They rush at you, then
stop for a moment to consider the situation. This is usually a
very good time to kill them.

~BSpitting Tiger  ~Bã  ~Fù  ù ù

Spitting tigers act very similar to sharks, except tigers move
on land and therefore are much more likely to reach you and rip
you limb from limb.

~BBear            ~6¬

Bears only move if you get too close, then they lumber over for
the attack. Many require 2 hits to kill.

~BBear Cub        ~6­

Bear cubs are very lively, rushing all over the place. Since
they move so fast in a seemingly random manner, they are often
hard to kill.

~BBullet Gun ~F”  ” 

Bullet guns fire in one direction only and are indestructible.
They usually fire bullets, but some may fire scorching flame.
Some guns aim better or fire more often than others.

~BSpinning Gun ~C~E* ~F

Spinning guns are similar to bullet guns except they are
constantly rotating, for a broader aiming range.

~BLazer Gun       ~0Î~1‚~9‚~3‚~B‚~F‚‚‚‚~7‚

Lazer guns fire off lazer walls at regular intervals, and
sustain these walls for a specific length of time. They are
very logical in their manner, and are also indestructible.

~BMissile Gun     ~0

Missile guns fire missiles in one direction. Some fire just
once while others can fire missiles indefinitely. The gun
itself is indestructible.

$@0~8± ~FPuzzle Pieces~8 ±@8

The following objects are often used in conjunction with each
other to create mind-twisting puzzles requiring you to push
objects all over the place to reach a goal. Be warned.

~BBoulder         ~7é
~BCrate           ~6þ
~BCustom Push     ~7?

Boulders and crates can be pushed in any direction, with any
number of pushable things in a row. They can be blown up.

~BBox             ~Fþ
~BCustom Box      ~7?

Boxes can also be pushed in any direction, but cannot be blown
up.

~BPusher          ~0 ~7þþþ

Pushers cannot hurt you, but they constantly move in one given
direction, pushing almost anything in their path- Boxes,
crates, and even you!

~BSlider NS       ~E
~BSlider EW       ~E

Sliders can be pushed also, but ONLY in the pointed direction,
Slider NS can only be pushed north/south, while slider EW can
only be pushed east/west.

$@0~8± ~FTransport~8 ±@8

~BStairs          ~F¢
~BCave (or door)  ~0¡
~BWhirlpool       ~9@1@—

When you enter any one of these, you are transported to another
location within the current world. These are not always two-way
connections, either.

~BCW              ~A/
~BCCW             ~A\

These rotate in the given direction (ClockWise or
CounterClockWise) rotating everything around them at the same
time. Walls and other solid objects will not be affected.

                ~Fv
~BTransport      ~F} {
                ~F~~

A transporter is an interesting thing. Most of them face a
single direction. Entering these on the "open" side, or
pushing other things into them, will transport to another
location. Some transporters rotate 360 degrees and can be
entered from any side.

The destination of your transport is rather complex, but the
search pattern is as follows:

1. If the other side of the entered transport is empty, move
   there. If there is something there that can be pushed out
   of the way, move there and push it out of the way.
2. If the other side is blocked, continue in that direction
   looking for the first non-blocked transporter facing the
   OPPOSITE direction, or an "any-direction" transport.
3. If none can be found, no transport takes place.

$@0~8± ~FElements~8 ±@8

~BStill Water     ~9@1°
~BN Water         ~9@1
~BS Water         ~9@1
~BE Water         ~9@1
~BW Water         ~9@1

Water is a type of floor that can be moved onto by you, some
enemies, and certain other objects. Often water has a current,
moving you constantly in a certain direction.

~BIce             @3\

Ice is another type of floor. However, you slip on it,
constantly moving in the last direction you moved, out of
control.

~BLava          @4~C±²°±²

Lava is another floor. However, it is very deadly. Only a few
things can survive over it.

~BFire          @0~C±°~E²±~C²

Fire is yet another type of floor. It often will spread across
the floor, enveloping trees and chests. It is rather painful
to stand on or near, but it does not mean instantaneous death.
Most fire will eventually burn out.

~BLit Bomb        ~0©

A lit bomb is an explosion on a fuse. You DON'T want to be
nearby when the fuse runs out...

                ~F@E±
               ~F@E±~C±~F±
~BExplosion     ~F@E±~C±@4±@E±~F±
               ~F@E±~C±~F±
                ~F@E±

An explosion is very cool. It starts at a certain point, quickly
spreading outward, wreaking havoc in it's wake. Some explosions
are smaller than others. Explosions will also cause explosives
such as bombs to explode, leading to some very cool chain
reactions.

~BGoop           ~8@1°°°

Goop is pretty much untraversable terrain to anything, although
sharks may occasionally inhabit it. Bullets, lazers, and other
projectiles will traverse it freely. Goop may also be treated as
water or other terrains in certain worlds.

$@0~8± ~FMiscellaneous~8 ±@8

~BDoor         ~2±²Û~AÄ~2Û²±

A door is what you would expect- When you touch it, it will open
itself, closing after a brief pause. Certain doors are locked
and require you to use a key to open them. They then remain
unlocked.

~BGate         ~7±²ÛÛ²±

A gate also opens up when touched, but doesn't move anywhere. An
open gate simply looks like this: Ä  and can be freely moved
across. Like doors, certain gates may be locked.

~BRicochet Panel  ~0/

When a bullet hits a ricochet panel, it is reflected to travel
in a new direction, depending upon the way the panel is facing.

~BRicochet        ~A*

When a bullet hits a ricochet, it is reflected back in the
original direction.

~BMine            ~4�

A mine will just sit there, blinking. Until it is touched or
otherwise activated. Then it will be gone, prey to it's own
destructive explosion. What a pity.

~BSpike           ~7
~BCustom Hurt     ~7?

Spikes and other painful devices will simply hurt you if you
touch them. So don't. Often used in conjunction with ice.

~BText            ~7?

Another type of wall. Gets in the way, but often provides hints
or other enlightening messages.

~BMoving Wall N   ~7?
~BMoving Wall S   ~7?
~BMoving Wall E   ~7?
~BMoving Wall W   ~7?

Moving walls are like Runners- They just sit there and move back
and forth, to and fro... They can't hurt you by touch, but can
get in the way very easily.

$@0~8± ~FObjects~8 ±@8

~BPlayer          @1~B

This is you. Really. Different worlds might have different
representations for the player, however.

~BScroll          ~Fè

Touch this to read a message. A Scroll will disappear after you
finish reading it.

~BSign            ~6â

Touch this to read a message. The sign will remain afterwards.

~BMissile         ~0

Missiles fly around the room, turning at obstructions. They will
explode if they hit you or a dead end.

~BBullet          ~F”

Bullets (or other projectile weapons such as arrows) will fly
in a straight line until they hit something (and disappear) or
do damage to someone or something. Ricochets can change the
direction a bullet is traveling in. Different worlds may have
different projectile weapons.

~BSeeker          ~A|

A seeker, thrown by a Tiger, Shark, or other enemy, will chase
you all over the screen until they collide and do 10 damage.
They have a limited life, however, and will expire after
a certain amount of time. They are still, however, one of the
deadliest weapons you will face.

~BShooting Fire ~C  ~E*~C

Shooting fire will continue in a straight line until it hits
you, resulting in pain, or a wall, resulting in a small fire.
The fire may quickly spread out of control in some areas, or
just burn out in others.

~BSensor          ~7?

Sensors are a form of floor that only you can move onto. They
will usually then produce some form of effect, by interacting
with a Robot.

~BRobot           ~7?
~BPushable Robot  ~7?

Robots are very cool. They are a highly flexible object that
can do almost anything. They utilize their own full-scale
programming language, dubbed Robotic. If another object can
do something, a Robot can do it better. They can show messages,
fight the player, play music or sound, and do countless other
things. See the appropriate help sections for more information.

>#ROBOTSWH.HLP:1st:Robots- What They Are and How to Use Them
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#POTIONFX.HLP
:1st:Potion and Ring Effects

All effects are limited to the current room only, except for
healing, hurting, and invinco.

~BDud

This effect does absolutely nothing.

~BInvinco

Just like an energizer, you will become invulnerable to most
forms of pain until you stop flashing.

~BBlast

Scatters explosions around the screen randomly. Little of the
screen is untouched.

~BHealth - 10
~BHealth - 50

Gives the player 10 or 50 additional health points.

~BHurt - 10

Reduces the player's health by 10.

~BBlind

Temporarily blinds the player. The viewport will appear in dark
gray. You can still move and interact, but you won't be able to
see anything.

~BKill

Kills all enemies in the room, including "Invincible" enemies.

~BFireWalker

Allows the player to temporarily walk on lava and fire.

~BExplode Bombs

Explodes all bombs and lit bombs in the room.

~BDestroy Dragons

Turns all dragons into ghosts.

~BCreate Dragons

Turns all enemies into dragons.

~BAvalanche

Scatters boulders randomly around the screen.

~BFreeze Time

Freezes ALL on-screen objects (including Robots) except for
the player, for a short time.

~BWind

The player retains normal control but will also move around
a bit randomly for a while, while the wind blows him in all
directions.

~BSlow Time

Slows ALL on-screen objects (including Robots) except for the
player, for a short time. The resulting speed is approximately
half normal speed.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#IFYOUFIN.HLP
:1st:If You Find a Bug...

...we want to know! We're very interested in any problems or
bugs you find in MegaZeux. We also welcome any comments,
criticism, or suggestions. We especially appreciate QUALITY
MegaZeux worlds.

Since greg has left the community, please email me, JZig,
at jzig@cncn.com if you have any bug reports.


>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#FAQ.HLP
:1st:Frequently Asked Questions

The following is a list of questions that I have received
through mail or E-mail about MegaZeux repetitively.

Q: My robot can't change it's/the player's characters! I
   use CHAR "A" but it turns invisible!

A: Use CHAR 'A' instead. You MUST use single quotes
   (apostrophes) or it will use the value of the COUNTER
   A which is probably 0.

Q: Can I distribute a world I made with MegaZeux? Is it
   legal? Must I/Can I include MegaZeux with it? Can they
   be shareware worlds?

A: Of course you can distribute your worlds! That is what
   MegaZeux is for! Please refrain from uploading worlds
   that you made as a novice user, if they contain only
   built-in enemies, items, and no plot/etc. People will
   only yell at you. Get creative and use Robots! Please
   include any SAM, module, and CHR files with the games,
   as well as a short TXT description file if necessary.
   Don't include MegaZeux, but make sure MegaZeux itself
   is available on any BBS or on-line system that you
   upload worlds to. (MegaZeux is available on AOL) Your
   worlds can be freeware, public domain, or shareware,
   whichever you prefer.

Q: Can I use the music from Caverns in my games? How about
   the music from the registered games? How about the SAM
   files?

A: I would prefer it if you did not use Caverns music in
   any games you distribute, because most people have
   heard it and it is getting old. The music from the
   registered games is illegal to distribute. The SAM
   files are public domain and may be used as you please.

Q: Where can I get module files?

A: If you can't make them, search public BBSes and on-line
   services for public domain ones. AOL has a large MOD/S3M
   library, as do many CD-ROM collections. Or employ a
   friend to do it for you. I myself (Greg Janson) am
   not available to create module files unless I am being
   paid well for my time.

Q: What is some good software to create module files?

A: For modules, Fast Tracker II by Triton is fairly good, but
   you have to avoid using the XM features. ScreamTracker 3.0
   is good for making S3M files.

Q: How do I make SAM files?

A: There are three easy ways to create SAM files. First,
   you get recording software, a sound card, and a mike.
   Hook 'em all up (read the instructions) and go for it.
   Second, you can download them or get them from module
   files or other games. Third, you can take existing files
   and change them with effects like echo. Blaster Master
   is a good piece of software to handle numbers one and
   three.

Q: But I can only find software to make WAVs! (or VOCs)

A: There is a nice small program called CVT2SAM which can
   convert most WAVs and VOCs to SAMs. I believe it is in
   the public domain. It is available on AOL.

Q: The TELEPORT PLAYER command doesn't work!

A: It does now. That was a small (er... big) bug in version
   1.02, which was corrected in version 1.03 and 2.51.

Q: Is the world design contest still going?

A: Until you see a Best of MegaZeux series OR the calendar
   reaches 1-22-97 without sufficient entries, the contest
   will continue. So far I've received only one board,
   which wasn't even acceptable. However, I've received
   E-mail from several interested parties, so the contest
   continues. See CONTEST.TXT for details.

Q: I need more than 256 characters!

A: Then you'll need to carefully utilize the Robot command
   LOAD CHAR SET and ration your characters carefully. The
   limit of 256 is a hardware limit and cannot easily be
   worked around.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#MEGAZEUX.HLP
:1st:MegaZeux Limitations

MegaZeux has to impose a number of limitations to insure
compatibility. This allows worlds to work on any computer
that can run MegaZeux.

$Memory Limitations

Module and SAM files must fit in memory (including EMS)
to play. If they don't fit, they will still be active
and selected, just not playing. This allows you to create a
world with modules that your memory can't handle, but others'
might be able to.

The total memory taken up by all Robots, signs, and Scrolls,
other than the Global Robot, cannot exceed 64k. The global
Robot can be up to 31k. No single Robot, sign, or Scroll can
exceed 31k in size.

$Quantity Limitations

Item-           Largest number allowed-

Robots          199 per board plus Global Robot
Scrolls/signs   49 per board
Sensors         19 per board
Boards          150 per world
Counters        50 active (value other than 0) at a time,
                not including built-in counters such as
                Ammo. Setting a counter to 0 clears up a
                spot for another counter.
Note: counters increased to about 1000 in s1.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#THEWORLD.HLP
:1st:The World Editor

Ready to start creating your own worlds? Then let's get
started! This section is a short editor tutorial, it will teach
you the basics of creating your own worlds.

To get into the editor, press E from the title screen. You will
be presented with a blank board with a small menu at the bottom.
You can use PageUp and PageDown to change the currently shown
menu, and you will be presented with various keys and options.
The mouse also works here. Feel free to fool around with these
various options. Press Alt+R to restart and clear everything.

For your first world, you should start simple. The screen you
begin on is your title screen, so pick a simple name for your
game, such as "Mike's World". Move the flashing cursor down a
few lines and over a few spaces, using the arrow keys. Press C
and use the arrow keys to select an appropriate color. Press
Enter to select this color. Now press F2 to write Text. Type
in the name of your world, and then press F2 to stop writing
text. This screen will be your title screen.

Now you need to create the first board, or location, of your
game. Press A to add a board, then type in a short description
of the board, such as "Starting Board". Press Enter to go to
this new board.

Now you are free to doodle around. Use C to change the active
color. Use F3 through F9 to bring up menus of items, terrains,
and creatures. Selecting one with the arrows and Enter will
allow you to place it using arrow keys and space.

For example, press F3 for terrains, and select Line. (This is
a form of wall.) Now move around, placing walls. To ease this,
you can press Tab to toggle draw mode. When draw mode is active,
every move of the cursor will place the current item/color. The
current item and color is shown on the top line of the menu.

Try to create a pleasing-looking screen, with walls, items, and
creatures. Some items will require that you set settings to
determine their behavior. To place the player's starting
position, move the cursor to the destination, press F10, and
select Player.

When you are done, press G to go to the Global Info screen. TAB
to the Next button and press Enter. You will now be highlighting
the option "Starting Board". Press Enter, and select the
starting board (NOT the title screen) from the list and press
Enter. Then TAB to OK and press Enter. This tells MegaZeux which
board you want the game to start on.

You could now press Alt+N to select a module (music) file for
the board, if you wished. Then press S to save the world, and
type in a filename of eight or less characters. (The extension
of .MZX will automatically be added.) Press Enter twice to save.
Press ESC to exit the editor, and now you can play your game!
You can use L to reload your world in the editor to make
changes, if necessary. See General Editing Tips for more
advanced editing info.

>#GENERALE.HLP:1st:General Editing Tips
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#GENERALE.HLP
:1st:General Editing Tips

The following is a list of important editing tips. They assume
you are familiar with MegaZeux's dialog box system, and that
you can navigate the editor's menus.

$Linking Boards

One-board games get boring REAL fast. There are two ways to
connect multiple boards. The first way is to add stairs, doors,
and whirlpools using the Transport (F7) menu. Then you select a
destination board. The destination board should contain a
similar transport, leading back. The two entrances will now lead
to each other.

The other method of connecting boards is with X, the Board Exits
dialog. Here, you can select boards that you will reach if you
walk off of the screen in a given direction. The destination
board shouldn't have anything in the way, and will not
automatically lead back- You must set the exit on that board
too.

To add boards, press A, or select (new board) from a board list.
To switch to other boards, use B.

$Board Sizes
:sizepos:
You can change the maximum size, and the view position, of a
board, with Alt+P. Here you can move and re-size the view, or
center it on-screen.

You can also change the actual size of the board, as well as
the maximum, overall size. The lowermost radio control
determines the MAXIMUM size possible for the board, one of
60x166, 80x125, 100x100, 200x50, or 400x25. The Virtual size
is the ACTUAL size of the board, which is always equal to or
less than the MAXIMUM size. Example- If you wanted a board
that was 180 wide and 40 high, you would select a MAXIMUM
size of 200x50, then set the Virtual size to 180x40.

Note that reducing the size of a board will permanently
destroy anything outside the new limits.

$Other Important Editing Keys

You can use Ins to "grab" the object beneath the cursor, or
Enter to edit it and then grab it as well. Use P to modify the
current object's settings. Use Alt+N to select music for the
current board, or turn the music off if it is already selected.
Use Alt+Z to clear the current board entirely. You can edit
important Board Options with I, and important Global (world)
Options with G.

>#EDITINGK.HLP:080:Editing Keys and Options Reference
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#EDITINGK.HLP
:080:Editing Keys and Options Reference

The following is an alphabetical listing of keys within the
Robot editor. This is followed by a detailed description of
what each one does.

>_A:    A - Add (board)
>075:Alt+A - Select Char Set
>_B:    B - Select Board
>073:Alt+B - Block
>_C:    C - Color
>AltC:Alt+C - Char Edit
>_D:    D - Delete (board)
>AltD:Alt+D - Default Colors
>AltE:Alt+E - Palette
>_F:    F - Fill
>097:Alt+F - Sound Effects
>_G:    G - Global Info
>_I:    I - Info (board)
>078:Alt+I - Import
>_L:    L - Load
>AltL:Alt+L - Test SAM
>AltM:Alt+M - Modify
>AltN:Alt+N - Music
>AltO:Alt+O - Edit Overlay
>_P:    P - Parameter
>084:Alt+P - Size/Pos
>_R:    R - Redraw Screen
>AltR:Alt+R - Restart
>076:    S - Save
>082:Alt+S - Status Info
>AltS2:Alt+S - Show Level
>AltT:Alt+T - Test
>_V:    V - View
>083:    X - Exits
>077:Alt+X - Export
>AltY:Alt+Y - Debug Mode
>AltZ:Alt+Z - Clear (board)

>F1:   F1 - Help
>F2:   F2 - Text
>F3:   F3 - Terrain
>F4:   F4 - Item
>F5:   F5 - Creature
>F6:   F6 - Puzzle
>F7:   F7 - Transport
>F8:   F8 - Element
>F9:   F9 - Misc. (thing)
>F10:  F10 - Objects

>ShF1:Sh+F1 - Show InvisWalls
>ShF2:Sh+F2 - Show Robots
>ShF3:Sh+F3 - Show Fakes
>ShF4:Sh+F4 - Show Spaces

>Ar:Arrow - Move
>AltAr:Alt+Arrow - Move 10
>BkSp: Backspace - Delete
>Del:  Del - Delete
>End:  End - L/R Corner
>En:Enter - Modify+Grab
>Enter2:Enter - Character
>ESC:  ESC - Exit/Cancel Mode
>Home: Home - U/L Corner
>Ins:  Ins - Grab
>Sp:Space - Place
>Tab:  Tab - Draw
>PgDn: PageDown - Next Menu
>PgUp: PageUp - Previous Menu
>095:    * - Protection


:_A:    A - Add (board)

Press A or select (new board) from any board list to add another
board to the current world. You will be asked for the name of
the new board, and then a new board will be created. The
settings for the new board will be copied from the current
board, specifically- music, size, view, and the board info menu.
If you used A, you will now be spirited to the new board. If you
selected (new board) from a list, the new board will be used for
the setting, but you remain on the current board. There is a
limit of 150 unique boards per world.

:075:Alt+A - Select Char Set

Press Alt+A and select one of the three different character
sets. Select OK to confirm your choice. This will change the
character set to one of the three defaults. ASCII is the
default EGA ASCII characters. MegaZeux default is the default
MegaZeux characters. Blank is the MegaZeux default, but with
most graphical characters blank instead. Text, lines, arrows,
blocks, and certain other symbols are not affected.

:_B:    B - Select Board

Press B to change the current board by selecting from a list.
Selecting (new board) will create a new board and then select
it.

:073:Alt+B - Block

Press Alt+B to start block mode. Then move the cursor to the
opposite corner of a rectangular block, and press Alt+B again.
You can then select an action to perform upon the block. Copy
will allow you to duplicate the block by moving the cursor to
a destination and pressing Enter. The cursor marks the new
UPPER LEFT corner. Move will allow you to move the block to a
new location. Clear will erase the contents of the block.
Flip will flip the block upside down. Mirror will flip the
block left to right. Paint will change the entire block to the
current color. Copy to/from overlay will copy the block to or
from the overlay, depending on where it currently is. Save as
ANSi will save the block as an .ANS file, which can later be
viewed outside of MegaZeux. Destinations for Move and Copy can
overlap the original block safely.

:_C:    C - Color

Press C to select a new current color from a menu. The thing
under the cursor is not affected.

:AltC:Alt+C - Char Edit

Press Alt+C to edit the character set. The character editor is a
separate section of the world editor and is discussed in another
section.

>#CHAREDIT.HLP:079:The Character Editor

:_D:    D - Delete (board)

Press D to select a board from a list to be deleted. You cannot
delete the first board (title screen). A deleted board will be
shown as (no board) in other lists, and cannot be selected. New
boards will fill up deleted slots first. A deleted board cannot
be recovered.

:AltD:Alt+D - Default Colors

Press Alt+D to toggle default colors on and off. When it is on
(I.E. the option is highlighted in white) things such as Health
and Ghosts default to their natural colors. When it is off,
selecting things will not change the current colors. Default
Colors is on by default.

:AltE:Alt+E - Palette

Press Alt+E to edit the palette (colors). The palette editor is
a separate section of the world editor and is discussed in
another section.

>#PALEEDIT.HLP:093:The Palette Editor

:_F:    F - Fill

Press F to fill in an enclosed area with the current thing and
color. The area must be completely surrounded by things other
than the thing beneath the cursor. For example, you can fill
over a solid square of Fakes with something else. The current
fill command may not work right for very large and complex
areas- In this case, you must move to the unfilled areas and
press F to continue filling. This happens very rarely, however.

:097:Alt+F - Sound Effects

Press Alt+F to enter the sound effects editor. First you must
decide whether to use the default set of sound effects, or edit
your own. You can't edit the default set. If you edit your own,
you will be in a series of three editing screens. Use the Next
and Previous buttons to move between screens. Sound effects, and
the format used to represent them, is described in detail in
another section. The format is the same as used for the Robotic
command PLAY. (digitized sounds are allowed here.)

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:MegaZeux's Sound System

:_G:    G - Global Info

Press G to enter the global info dialog boxes. The global info
options are covered in another section.

>#GLOBALIN.HLP:086:Global Info Options

:_I:    I - Info (board)

Press I to enter the board info dialog box. The board info
options are covered in another section.

>#BOARDINF.HLP:085:Board Info Options

:078:Alt+I - Import

Alt+I allows you to import a number of different file types
into the current board or world. You can import a board file
(MZB) unique to MegaZeux. You can import a character set file
(CHR) which can also be edited with Software Visions' Z-Cel
editor. You can import an ANSi file (ANS) as either overlay,
blocks, text, or floor. You can import another world (MZX)
which is appended to the list of boards. Note that references
within the new boards to other boards, within exits and
transports, will NOT be correct. Finally, you can import a
palette (PAL) file or a sound effects (SFX) file, both unique
to MegaZeux.

If you select the lowermost option for ANSi import, you will
get to choose where on the board to import it. Move the
cursor to the desired location and press Enter. The ANSi
will be clipped automatically.

:_L:    L - Load

L brings up a list of worlds in the current directory and allows
you to select one to load. You will be warned if the current
world has not been saved yet.

:AltL:Alt+L - Test SAM

Alt+L brings up a list of SAM files in the current directory.
Selecting one will play it at a frequency of 420, or middle C.
This has no effect on the actual board or world.

:AltM:Alt+M - Modify

Alt+M allows you to modify the settings of the thing UNDER the
cursor. The current thing is not affected in anyway.

:AltN:Alt+N - Music

Alt+N brings up a list of module files in the current directory.
Selecting one will select it as the default music for the
current board. If music is already playing, Alt+N will turn it
off. The music will still be selected as current even if it
doesn't fit in memory.

:AltO:Alt+O - Edit Overlay

Alt+O enters overlay editing mode. The overlay must first be
turned on within the board info menu. The overlay editing mode
is similar to the normal editing except only certain keys are
active, and the Enter and Alt+S keys have new purposes. The
overlay is explained in further detail in another section.

>#TOVERLAY.HLP:081:Editing and Using the Overlay

:_P:    P - Parameter

P allows you to change the settings of the current thing. The
thing under the cursor is not affected.

:084:Alt+P - Size/Pos

Alt+P allows you to change the size of the current board and the
viewport size and location. See another section for details.

>#GENERALE.HLP:sizepos:Board Sizes

:_R:    R - Redraw Screen

R will redraw the screen, erasing any junk or other problems
that may be on-screen. This option is rarely needed.

:AltR:Alt+R - Restart

Alt+R will clear the entire world. You will be asked for
confirmation.

:076:    S - Save

S will prompt you for a filename, then save the current world
as a MZX file. The save option will be highlighted if the world
has changed since the last save or load.

:082:Alt+S - Status Info

Alt+S will allow you to type in six different counters that will
be shown on the status screen within the game. This allows you
to have your own items that the player can collect, and see how
many he has. Counters are discussed in further detail with
Robots.

:AltS2:Alt+S - Show Level

Alt+S while editing the overlay will toggle whether the level
beneath the overlay is shown when editing the overlay.

>#TOVERLAY.HLP:081:Editing and Using the Overlay

:AltT:Alt+T - Test

Alt+T will allow you to test the current world, starting on the
current board. You cannot save or restore during this test, but
two "cheat" keys are active- F7 will fill your health, gems,
etc. to maximum, and F8 will destroy the eight things around the
player. Quitting will return to the editor.

:_V:    V - View

V will allow you to see the current board as it would appear in
the game. Use the arrows to Scroll the view, and ESC to return
to the editor.

:083:    X - Exits

X will bring up a menu where you can select exits for each board
direction. For example, selecting a destination board of "City"
for north will cause the player to go to that board when he
presses against the north edge of the current board. Boards are
not automatically back-linked- To make "City" lead back here,
you must go to that board and make a south exit back. Make sure
the linked boards don't obstruct each other's exits, and that
they are of the same size.

:077:Alt+X - Export

Alt+X will allow you to export a number of different file types.
You can export a board file (MZB) unique to MegaZeux, good for
giving single boards to others. (the character set, palette, and
global info isn't included!) You can export the character set
(CHR) for transportation or to edit in Software Visions' Z-Cel
editor. You can export a picture of the board to a ANSi (ANS) or
text (TXT) file. The ANSi is better for graphical uses, and the
text file is better for making maps of your boards. Finally, you
can export palettes (PAL) and sound effect collections (SFX) for
transportation, both of them file formats unique to MegaZeux.

:AltY:Alt+Y - Debug Mode

Alt+Y will toggle a red box in the lower corner of the screen.
This box shows, on labeled lines, the current position of the
cursor and the current memory situation. This information is
quite helpful when programming Robots.

:AltZ:Alt+Z - Clear (board)

Alt+Z will clear the current board entirely. You are asked for
confirmation.

:F1:   F1 - Help

F1 will bring up help on the current action. You can press F1
at almost any time.

:F2:   F2 - Text

F2 will toggle text mode on and off. When text mode is on, Enter
will go to the next line, and Backspace will delete going
backwards. All printable characters will type in as text.

:F3:   F3 - Terrain
:F4:   F4 - Item
:F5:   F5 - Creature
:F6:   F6 - Puzzle
:F7:   F7 - Transport
:F8:   F8 - Element
:F9:   F9 - Misc. (thing)
:F10:  F10 - Objects

The above eight keys will bring up a menu of things to select
from. Selecting one will ask you to enter settings
(if appropriate) or choose a character for that thing. Then a
copy of that thing will be placed at the cursor, and will also
become the current thing. Scrolls, Signs, Sensors, Robots,
and Pushable Robots (all in the Objects menu) will be discussed
in another section. The current thing, color, and settings
parameter (p##) is shown in the upper left corner of the menu.
The settings parameter isn't important except for certain
Robotic programming situations.

>#SCROLLSS.HLP:1st:Signs and Scrolls in the Editor
>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors- What They Are and How to Use Them
>#ROBOTSWH.HLP:1st:Robots- What They Are and How to Use Them
>#ROBOTICT.HLP:1st:Robotic Tutorial
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual

:ShF1:Sh+F1 - Show InvisWalls
:ShF2:Sh+F2 - Show Robots
:ShF3:Sh+F3 - Show Fakes
:ShF4:Sh+F4 - Show Spaces

These four keys will flash on-screen the location of the noted
thing. They are good for locating "hidden" or camouflaged
Robots, passages, etc.

:Ar:Arrow - Move

The arrow keys will move the cursor. The edit window will Scroll
when necessary.

:AltAr:Alt+Arrow - Move 10

Alt with the arrow keys will move the cursor up to ten spaces at
a time.

:BkSp: Backspace - Delete
:Del:  Del - Delete

These two keys will delete everything under the cursor. The
current thing is not affected.

:End:  End - L/R Corner

End will jump the cursor to the lower left corner of the entire
board.

:En:Enter - Modify+Grab

Enter will modify the settings of the thing under the cursor, if
applicable, then select that thing as the current thing. It is
just like pressing Alt+M and then Ins.

:Enter2:Enter - Character

Enter during Overlay editing mode will change the current
character. Select it from a menu and then press Enter to confirm
your choice.

:ESC:  ESC - Exit/Cancel Mode

ESC will exit the editor, asking for confirmation if your world
has not been saved. If you are in block, overlay, text, or draw
mode, ESC will instead cancel the current mode and return to
normal editing.

:Home: Home - U/L Corner

Home will jump the cursor to the upper right corner of the
entire board.

:Ins:  Ins - Grab

Ins will select the thing under the cursor as the current
thing. The actual thing is not affected.

:Sp:Space - Place

Space will copy the current thing to the location under the
cursor. Trying to place something over a similar thing will
instead delete it. Placing something over a floor type will
actually place it OVER the floor, not deleting the floor.
Other things will be deleted if they are in the way.

:Tab:  Tab - Draw

Tab will toggle the current draw mode. When drawing is on, you
will place a copy of the current thing every time you move the
cursor.

:PgDn: PageDown - Next Menu
:PgUp: PageUp - Previous Menu

These two keys will cycle through the different menus. The menu
bar can wrap around. You do not have to be viewing the menu with
an option before you can use that option- the menus are purely
for reference.

:095:    * - Protection

Pressing * will access the protection menu. There are three
forms of protection- No-save, No-edit, and No-play. No-save
allows someone to edit your game, thereby learning from it. But
they cannot export or save it, so they cannot directly rip off
your work. I suggest the use of this mode, since it encourages
others to learn from your work but not steal it. No-edit
prevents anyone from looking at your work in the editor, and
No-play prevents anyone from playing your game at all. The
password is used to protect the world and is case-insensitive.
The entire MZX file is encrypted. Please don't distribute or
upload files that are No-play protected to the general public.

>#THEWORLD.HLP:1st:The World Editor
>#GENERALE.HLP:1st:General Editing Tips
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#CHAREDIT.HLP
:079:The Character Editor

The character editor is an important part of MegaZeux. With it,
you can change the appearance of the character set. For example,
you can make bricks, rockets, stones, and demons. Although the
coloration is limited to normal text mode forms, the pixel
resolution is high- 8x14 per character for a total of 640x350
for the entire screen.

To use the character editor, press Alt+C in the editor. You will
be shown a zoomed version of the current character, a menu of
options, a list of numbers, and a row of characters. The numbers
are only important for certain Robotic programming situations.

To edit the character, move the cursor with the keys and use
Space to toggle pixels on and off. Use + and - to move one
character up or down through the character set. Use Enter to
select the current character from the entire set. The current
character is highlighted on the row in the upper right corner.

Use Del to clear the character. Use N to "negative", or
inverse, the character, turning all on pixels off and all off
pixels on. Use Alt with the arrow keys to shift the entire
character to one direction. Pixels shifted off of one edge
wraparound to the other edge.

Use M to mirror the character, flipping it left to right. Use
F to flip the character top to bottom. F2 will copy the current
character to an internal buffer, while F3 will copy the buffer
to the current character. The buffer is retained between uses
of the character editor.

Tab will toggle draw mode on and off. When draw mode is on,
every movement of the cursor will produce an effect. There
are three different draw modes, the current mode listed by
the word "draw". (set) mode will turn all pixels crossed to ON.
(clear) mode will turn all pixels crossed OFF. (toggle) will
toggle the state of all pixels crossed, from ON to OFF and vice
versa.

The character editor is a key element in creating decent games
with MegaZeux. If you can't seem to draw well with it, that's
okay, since it has awkward limitations. You can copy characters
or character sets from other games as well, or get a friend to
draw characters for you.

>#EDITINGK.HLP:080:Editing Keys and Options Reference
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#PALEEDIT.HLP
:093:The Palette Editor

The palette editor, although not needed for most games, can
certainly spruce up a game. It allows you to change the
appearance of the 16 different available colors. It is the only
way to get a decent orange color, for example.

To use it, press Alt+E in the editor. The palette editing screen
will appear. The current palette will be shown along the top,
with the current color marked. The RGB values of the current
color are shown along the right side of the screen, and the menu
is shown on the lower half.

Some color theory is in order here. Computer monitors display
colors by projecting various amounts of Red, Green, and Blue
light. Combined, these three colors can produce almost any shade
and hue of color. This is how colors are represented in MegaZeux
as well. Each color has a Red, Green, and Blue value, each
ranging from 0 to 63. 0 is off, 63 is full brightness, and the
other values range in shade.

To make colors other than red, green, and blue, you must mix
them. Purple is red plus blue, cyan is green plus blue, and
yellow is red plus green. (really.) Whites and grays are made
from equal amounts of all three. For example, red 42 blue 42
green 0 would be a deep purple, and all as 20 would be a dark
gray. To brighten a color, raise all the numbers, or lower them
to darken it. Orange is made with full red and 31 green.

Anyway, back to the editor. Use the arrow keys to select the
current color. R, G, B, and A will increase Red, Green, Blue,
and All, respectively. Alt+RGBA will decrease the same values.
Alt+D will reset the palette to it's default colors. 0 will
blacken the current color. Finally, F2 will store the current
color to an internal buffer, while F3 will restore the buffer
to the current color.

Note that in EGA mode, RGB values can only be 0, 21, 42, or 63.
Other colors will be shown as the nearest shade possible.

>#EDITINGK.HLP:080:Editing Keys and Options Reference
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#GLOBALIN.HLP
:086:Global Info Options

To edit Global options, press G within the editor. This will
bring up various dialogs where you can edit options that affect
the entire world. The first dialog you see has the following
options-

$Death board/X/Y/mode

This tells MegaZeux what happens when the player dies. If mode
is Same position, then the player will simply lose a life. If it
is Restart board, then the player will also teleport to the
location on the board where he entered. If it is Teleport, the
player will instead teleport to the board and x/y location
stated in the above three settings.

$Endgame board/X/Y/mode

This tells MegaZeux what happens when the player runs out of
lives. If mode is Game over, then the game will simply end. If
it is Teleport, the player will be given one last life and then
he will be teleported to the board and x/y location stated in
the above three settings. Next time he dies, the game will end.

$Play game over sfx

If this option is on, the game over sound effect will be played
repeatedly when the game has ended and the Game Over message is
flashing along the bottom of the screen.

$More

This button leads to another screen of settings.

$Edit Chars

:089:This button leads to a series of dialogs where you can edit the
characters and colors used to represent various internal things.

$Edit Dmg

:090:This button leads to a dialog where you can edit the amount of
damage done by various internal things.

$Edit Global Robot

This button allows you to edit the global Robot, which is a very
special Robot that is present at all times, although it is not
physically on every board. It is a very important part of
MegaZeux. See the Robotic manual for more information.

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual

:088:The second dialog of settings for global info has the
following options-

$First board

Here is where you select which board will be the starting board
for the game. The player will start on this board. This defaults
to the title screen.

$Edging color

This is the color of the border around the entire screen, where
the viewport does not extend. It defaults to dark gray.

$Starting/Maximum lives

This is where you set the number of lives the player starts
with, and how many lives he can accumulate at any one time.

$Starting/Maximum health

Same as above, but for health points.

$Enemies' bullets hurt other enemies

If this is on, then bullets shot by enemies, such as tigers,
will destroy other enemies that they hit. It basically turns
all Enemy bullets into Neutral bullets.

$Clear messages and projectiles on exit

If this is on, the current message and all bullets and shooting
fire are cleared whenever the player leaves the screen.

$Can only play world from a 'SWAP WORLD'

If this is on, then the current world is unplayable in a normal
fashion. The only way to play it is to swap to it from another
world, using the Robotic command SWAP WORLD.

$Previous

This will go to the previous global settings dialog.

The character editing dialogs (there are eight of them) are
screens of characters and colors used to represent internal
things. Select one to change the color or character used. Use
Next and Previous to move between the screens, and Done when
you are finished. Lit Bomb Anim 1 is special, setting it will
set the other 6 frames of Lit Bomb Animation to the succeeding
characters.

The damage editing dialog allows you to change the amount of
damage dealt by various things within the game. Select one and
use the usual dialog keys to change the values, which can range
from 0 to 255. 0 will leave the player invincible versus that
thing.

Editing the global Robot is covered in the Robot tutorials, as
it is exactly the same as editing any other Robot. The actual
use of a global Robot is covered in the Robotic Reference
Manual.

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#EDITINGK.HLP:080:Editing Keys and Options Reference
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#BOARDINF.HLP
:085:Board Info Options

To edit Board options, press I within the editor. This will
bring up a dialog where you can edit options pertaining to the
current board. The options are as follows-

$Board name

This is the name of the board. It is mainly for reference;
However, the name of the first board (the title screen) is
also used to represent the entire world on a file listing.

$Can shoot/bomb

These options determine whether or not the player can utilize
shooting or bombs. If off, then the player cannot perform the
noted action.

$Fire burns space/fakes/trees/brown

These options determine what fire will and will not burn
through. Space is empty space, NOT floors. Fakes includes fakes,
floors, carpets, and tiles. Trees are self-explanatory. Brown
is anything other than the player or a Robot/sign/Scroll that
is colored brown.

$Forest to floor

If on, when the player moves through forest, it will become
floor. If off, the forest will simply disappear.

$Collect bombs

If on, the player will collect bombs normally. If off, bombs
will be instantly lit when touched.

$Fire burns forever

If on, fire will never burn out. If off, fire will eventually
turn into ash, which is actually a dark gray floor. Of course,
if fire is set to burn fakes, the ash will probably relight
immediately.

$Restart if hurt

When on, anytime the player loses health, he will be teleported
to the place on the current board that he entered the board.

$Time limit

If greater than zero, the player has the noted amount of time to
complete the board. The current time is shown in the lower left
corner during game-play. If time runs out, the player loses ten
health and the time limit is reset. This option is most useful
with the Restart if hurt option. The time is in units
considerably faster than seconds; test the board to get a feel
for the amount of time needed. The current time is reset if the
player exits and re-enters the board.

$Explosions to space/ash/fire

This determines what explosions will leave in their wake- Empty
space, ash (dark gray floors), or burning fire.

$Can save/Can't save/Can save on Sensors

This determines when the player can save his game. The first two
options are self-explanatory. Can save on Sensors allows the
player to only save if he is standing directly over a Sensor.
Sensors are explained in another section.

>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors- What They Are and How to Use Them

$No/Normal/Static/Transparent overlay

This sets the type of overlay for the current board. No overlay
means just that- overlay mode is completely off. Normal overlay
is a normal overlay that Scrolls with the board. Static overlay
is a normal overlay that remains in a fixed position even when
the board Scrolls. A Transparent overlay is similar to no
overlay in that none is shown, but it allows you to edit it so
that one may appear later. Overlays are discussed in full in
another section.

>#TOVERLAY.HLP:081:Editing and Using the Overlay
>#EDITINGK.HLP:080:Editing Keys and Options Reference
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#SOUNDEFX.HLP
:1st:MegaZeux's Sound System

MegaZeux has two types of sound- Digitized sound, played through
a sound card, and sound effects, played on the PC speaker only.

When MegaZeux starts up, you are prompted for the output device
for digitized sound and music. This can be a SoundBlaster,
SB-Pro, SB-16, PAS-16, Gravis Ultrasound, or compatible. Then
you are asked for the desired sound quality. Higher qualities
take more processing power. You can then choose from between 1
and 4 digitized sound channels. More channels again takes more
processing power, but sounds cooler and allows more simultaneous
sound effects. You then determine whether to have regular PC
speaker sound effects on or off.

Note that since the Gravis Ultrasound does all the processing
on-board, you automatically get the highest quality at no cost
of processor power. However, MegaZeux does not support sound
effects on the GUS.

$Music files

Music files, referred to as MODULES, can be any one of the
following formats-

* MOD (or NST/WOW/OCT)
* S3M or STM
* MTM
* 669
* ULT
* FAR
* MED (MMD0)
* GDM (converted from one of the above)

Currently, only MOD/NST/WOW/OCT can be loaded natively. ALL
other formats must be converted to GDM format using the
included 2GDM program. To use it, simply type 2GDM [filenames]
at the DOS prompt, and your music files will be converted to
GDM format. A .GDM extension will automatically be added. Note
that GDM is a "proprietary" format and not generally
compatible with any other software. MODs can be loaded
directly, without prior conversion. This allows older MegaZeux
games to play without conversion.

$Using sound and music in your own games

There are three ways to utilize sound and music in your own
games-

  1- Select default modules for each board.
  2- Edit the built-in speaker sfx.
  3- Use Robots to play modules, SAMs, and speaker sfx.

$Selecting default modules for each board

This is perhaps the easiest method to get music in your games.
Simply make sure that the proper module files are in the
current directory, and use Alt+N to select music for a board.
Press Alt+N to turn it back off again.

>#EDITINGK.HLP:AltN:Details on Alt+N

$Editing the built-in speaker sfx

To edit the built-in speaker sound effects, use Alt+F. The
format for them is discussed later in this section.

>#EDITINGK.HLP:097:Details on Alt+F

$Using Robots

Robotic has a large number of commands for playing modules,
SAMs, and speaker sfx. A knowledge of Robotic basics is
required, so see the following sections to learn about Robots.

>#ROBOTSWH.HLP:1st:Robots- What They Are and How to Use Them
>#ROBOTICT.HLP:1st:Robotic Tutorial
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual

The following sections discuss individual commands relating to
sound and music.

>#COMMANDR.HLP:_m3:~AMOD "file"
>#COMMANDR.HLP:_s1:~ASAM # "file"
>#COMMANDR.HLP:_e2:~AEND MOD
>#COMMANDR.HLP:_e4:~AEND SAM
>#COMMANDR.HLP:_e3:~AEND PLAY
>#COMMANDR.HLP:_p2:~APLAY "string"
>#COMMANDR.HLP:_p3:~APLAY SFX "string"
>#COMMANDR.HLP:_w4:~AWAIT PLAY "string"
>#COMMANDR.HLP:_sL:~ASFX #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_j1:~AJUMP MOD ORDER #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m7:~AMOD SAM # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m5:~AMOD FADE IN "file"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m6:~AMOD FADE OUT
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m4:~AMOD FADE # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_w2:~AWAIT MOD FADE
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_w3:~AWAIT PLAY
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c6:~ACHANGE SFX # "string"

$Format for sound effects

The sound effects editor and Robotic PLAY commands all use the
same format for playing sound effects. The format consists of
a single string of characters, each character representing one
note or command. Spaces are ignored, and capitalization is not
important. A knowledge of music is required to use the format
effectively. The commands-

~A  A B C D E F G
    Plays the note stated, at the current octave and duration.
    The scale starts at C and continues DEFGAB before going up
    an octave. Use # and $ for sharps and flats, placing them
    after the note.
~A  # $
    Sharps (#) or flats ($) the previous note. Does not affect
    any note other than the note directly before the sharp or
    flat. Constructs such as B# are allowed.
~A  0 1 2 3 4 5 6
    Sets the current octave. Octave 3 starts at middle C. The
    lower the number, the lower the notes.
~A  + -
    Raises or lowers the current octave by 1, but only if
    possible. You cannot go below octave 0 or above octave 6.
~A  X
    Plays a rest of the current duration. A rest is a period of
    silence.
~A  Z T S I Q H W
    These letters change the current duration of notes and
    rests, I.E. the length of time each subsequent note is
    played. Each one is twice as long as the previous one,
    with Z being the fastest and W the slowest. Duration
    defaults to Z. The counterparts to the durations follow-
      Z = sixty-fourth note
      T = ~AT~Fhirty-second note
      S = ~AS~Fixteenth note
      I = e~AI~Fghth note
      Q = ~AQ~Fuarter note
      H = ~AH~Falf note
      W = ~AW~Fhole note
    Duration (and octave) does not carry over from one string to
    the next.
~A  .
    A dot will change the current duration to 150% that of
    usual. This is a permanent duration change and will only
    affect subsequent notes. It's use is similar to that of a
    dot in regular music, except this dot affects multiple
    notes.
~A  !
    An exclamation point will change the current duration to 33%
    that of usual. This is a permanent duration change and will
    only affect subsequent notes. It's use is similar to that of
    triplets in regular music, except it affects ALL subsequent
    notes.
~A  &
    & is a very special command. It is used to play SAM files
    (digitized sounds) within a sfx string. It allows digitized
    sounds within the sound effects editor. The general format
    for & is as follows:

$"&FILENAME.SAM&3C"

    This will play middle C using FILENAME.SAM. Multiple notes
    are ignored- only the last is played. Duration is
    irrelevant.
~A  _
    An underscore is usually used in conjunction with &. It
    basically turns off digitized sounds for the rest of the
    string, and ignores the rest of the string IF digitized
    music/sound is on. For example:

$"&SHOT.SAM&C_+C-C"

    The above will play SHOT.SAM at frequency 428 (middle C)
    if digitized sound is on, OTHERWISE it will play the normal
    shooting sound of "+C-C".

$Sound effect numbers

The PLAY SFX command in Robotic plays one of the built-in sound
effects. The numerical values corresponding to these sound
effects are listed below.

0 - Gem
1 - Magic Gem
2 - Health
3 - Ammo
4 - Coin
5 - Life
6 - Lo Bomb
7 - Hi Bomb
8 - Key
9 - Full on Keys
10- Unlock
11- Can't Unlock
12- Invis. Wall
13- Forest
14- Gate Locked
15- Open Gate
16- Invinco Start
17- Invinco Beat
18- Invinco End
19- Door Locked
20- Open Door
21- Hurt
22- AUGH!
23- Death
24- Game Over
25- Gate Closing
26- Push
27- Transport
28- Shoot
29- Break
30- Out of ammo
31- Ricochet
32- Out of bombs
33- Place bomb (lo)
34- Place bomb (hi)
35- Switch bomb type
36- Explosion
37- Entrance
38- Pouch
39- Ring/Potion
40- Empty chest
41- Chest
42- Out of time
43- Fire ouch
44- Stolen gem
45- Enemy HP down
46- Dragon fire
47- Scroll/Sign
48- Goop
49- Unused

$SAM frequencies

SAMs played using the SAM command in Robotic need a frequency
value. Frequencies corresponding to MOD file notes follow-

             C   C#  D   D#  E   F   F#  G   G#  A   A#  B
 Octave 1 : 856 808 762 720 678 640 604 570 538 508 480 453
 Octave 2 : 428 404 381 360 339 320 302 285 269 254 240 226
 Octave 3 : 214 202 190 180 170 160 151 143 135 127 120 113
 Octave 4 : 107 101  95  90  85  80  75  71  67  63  60  56
 Octave 5 :  53  50  47  45  42  40  37  35  33  31  30  28

The following table lists frequencies corresponding to PLAY
statement notes-

       C    C#   D    D#   E    F    F#   G    G#   A    A#   B
 0 : 3424 3232 3048 2880 2712 2560 2416 2280 2152 2032 1920 1812
 1 : 1712 1616 1524 1440 1356 1280 1208 1140 1076 1016  960  906
 2 :  856  808  762  720  678  640  604  570  538  508  480  453
 3 :  428  404  381  360  339  320  302  285  269  254  240  226
 4 :  214  202  190  180  170  160  151  143  135  127  120  113
 5 :  107  101   95   90   85   80   75   71   67   63   60   56
 6 :   53   50   47   45   42   40   37   35   33   31   30   28

$Where to get module and SAM files

These questions are answered in the Frequently Asked Questions
section of help.

>#FAQ.HLP:1st:Frequently Asked Questions
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#TOVERLAY.HLP
:081:Editing and Using the Overlay

The overlay is a rather simple but useful part of a board. If
you look at Floors and Fakes as a floor layer, and Walls as a
central layer, the overlay is a ceiling layer. Basically, the
overlay, when on, appears OVER anything on the board. The
player, enemies, Robots, etc. all move underneath it. The
overlay is purely for show and graphical effects. For example,
you could create archways that the player moves under, or have
a score and lives display that is overlaid over the view at all
times. (Using Robotic)

To turn the overlay on, go to board info (I) and set the overlay
to a mode other than Off. The editor will prevent you from
editing the overlay if it is Off, since it will not be saved
if it is. The available overlay modes-

Off- No overlay is saved, none is shown. Default for boards.
On- The overlay is shown normally, Scrolling along with the rest
    of the board.
Static- The overlay is shown, but it does not Scroll with the
    board- It always shows the top left position.
Transparent- The overlay is saved and can hold info, but is
    currently not shown.

Once the overlay is on, press Alt+O in the editor to edit it.
This brings you to the overlay editor. The menu at the bottom
of the screen will change, and you will have access to the
following keys and options-

:074:Alt+B - Block

Press Alt+B to start block mode. Then move the cursor to the
opposite corner of a rectangular block, and press Alt+B again.
You can then select an action to perform upon the block. Copy
will allow you to duplicate the block by moving the cursor to
a destination and pressing Enter. The cursor marks the new
UPPER LEFT corner. Move will allow you to move the block to a
new location. Clear will erase the contents of the block.
Flip will flip the block upside down. Mirror will flip the
block left to right. Paint will change the entire block to the
current color. Copy to/from overlay will copy the block to the
main level from the overlay. You will have to select the type
of thing it will be copied as- Floor, Text, etc. Save as ANSi
will save the block as an .ANS file, which can later be viewed
outside of MegaZeux. Destinations for Move and Copy can overlap
the original block safely.

:_C:    C - Color

Press C to select a new current color from a menu. The character
under the cursor is not affected.

:_F:    F - Fill

Press F to fill in an enclosed area with the current character
and color. The area must be completely surrounded by characters
other than the character beneath the cursor. For example, you
can fill over a solid square of A's with something else. The
current fill command may not work right for very large and
complex areas- In this case, you must move to the unfilled areas
and press F to continue filling. This happens very rarely,
however.

:AltO:Alt+O - Edit Overlay

Alt+O will exit overlay mode and return to editing the main
board.

:AltS2:Alt+S - Show Level

Alt+S will toggle whether the level beneath the overlay is
shown. Without the level, only the overlay is shown, and no
board bits are seen through the holes in the overlay. However
it is a good idea to show the level to see how it looks beneath
the overlay.

:F1:   F1 - Help

F1 will bring up help on the current action. You can press F1
at almost any time.

:F2:   F2 - Text

F2 will toggle text mode on and off. When text mode is on, Enter
will go to the next line, and Backspace will delete going
backwards. All printable characters will type in as text.

:Ar:Arrow - Move

The arrow keys will move the cursor. The edit window will Scroll
when necessary.

:AltAr:Alt+Arrow - Move 10

Alt with the arrow keys will move the cursor up to ten spaces at
a time.

:BkSp: Backspace - Delete
:Del:  Del - Delete

These two keys will delete everything under the cursor. The
current character is not affected.

:End:  End - L/R Corner

End will jump the cursor to the lower left corner of the entire
overlay.

:Enter2:Enter - Character

Enter will change the current character. Select it from a menu
and then press Enter to confirm your choice.

:ESC:  ESC - Exit/Cancel Mode

ESC will exit overlay mode. If you are in block, text, or draw
mode, ESC will instead cancel the current mode and return to
normal overlay editing.

:Home: Home - U/L Corner

Home will jump the cursor to the upper right corner of the
entire overlay.

:Ins:  Ins - Grab

Ins will select the character and color under the cursor
as the current. The actual character is not affected.

:Sp:Space - Place

Space will copy the current character and color to the location
under the cursor. Trying to place something over itself will
instead delete it. Other things will be deleted if they are in
the way.

:Tab:  Tab - Draw

Tab will toggle the current draw mode. When drawing is on, you
will place a copy of the current character every time you move
the cursor.

The basic method of editing the overlay is to use C and Enter to
select characters and colors, and use Space, arrows, and Tab to
draw with them. Do not switch overlay mode to Off once you have
drawn your overlay, or it may be permanently erased.

The overlay and overlay mode can also be changed using Robotic.
A knowledge of Robotic basics is required, so see the following
sections to learn about Robots.

>#ROBOTSWH.HLP:1st:Robots- What They Are and How to Use Them
>#ROBOTICT.HLP:1st:Robotic Tutorial
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual

The following sections discuss individual commands relating to
overlays.

>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cL:~ACOPY OVERLAY BLOCK # # # # # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c4:~ACHANGE OVERLAY [color] [char] [color] [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c5:~ACHANGE OVERLAY [color] [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_o2:~AOVERLAY ON
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_o3:~AOVERLAY STATIC
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_o4:~AOVERLAY TRANSPARENT
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_pE:~APUT [color] [char] OVERLAY # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_w7:~AWRITE OVERLAY [color] "string" # #

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#SCROLLSS.HLP
:1st:Signs and Scrolls in the Editor

Signs and Scrolls are a simple way to get messages across in the
game. To place them in the editor, press F10 and select Sign or
Scroll from the list. You must then edit the text of the Sign or
Scroll.

The Scroll editor is very simple. You can move the cursor among
the different lines and characters. Type to insert text
anywhere. Press Ins to toggle between insert mode (default)
and overwrite mode, where typed characters will overwrite any
characters already there. Backspace and delete work as normal,
as do PageDown, PageUp, End, and Home. Finally, use Enter to
start or insert new lines.

Press ESC when you are done editing your Scroll. It will be
placed at the current cursor position and will become the
current thing. Note that although you can now copy the Scroll
freely, there is a limit of 19 Scrolls and Signs per board. This
limit shouldn't ever be a problem, however.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#ERRORMES.HLP
:1st:Error Messages

The following is a list of error messages in alphabetical order,
which link to descriptions of the error and possible remedies.
Pressing F1 during an error message will take you directly to
the description.

>035:All Robots in use
>045:All Scrolls in use
>030:All Sensors in use
>004:Attempt to load nonexistent board
>001:Attempt to overwrite board in storage
>036:Bad Robot command
>022:Board is from a more recent version of MegaZeux
>032:Can't test password-protected world
>027:Cannot import password protected world
>062:Cannot overwrite player- move him first
>034:Code/message is too large to fit into Robot memory
>007:Error accessing boards
>038:Error accessing clipboard file, ~ROBOCLP.TMP
>047:Error exporting .SFX file
>048:Error importing .SFX file
>015:Error exporting ANSi
>018:Error exporting board
>019:Error exporting char. set
>046:Error exporting palette
>039:Error exporting Robot
>020:Error exporting text
>025:Error importing ANSi
>021:Error importing board
>024:Error importing char. set
>036:Error importing palette
>040:Error importing Robot
>026:Error importing world
>059:Error initializing sound card/music code
>051:Error loading module
>060:Error loading MSE music driver
>053:Error loading SAM
>033:Error loading save game
>013:Error loading world
>055:Error opening module file
>012:Error saving world
>003:Error storing current board
>044:Error swapping to next world
>054:File "MZXBLANK.FIL" not found; Music code compromised
>037:Invalid "thing" for parameters
>016:Invalid password
>041:Line too long to import
>006:Low on memory; Music code compromised
>050:Music is off- Module is set for board but not loaded
>043:Music is off- SAM cannot play
>061:MVSOUND.SYS must be loaded for PAS support
>011:No available boards
>010:No available Scrolls
>008:No available Sensors
>009:No available Robots
>023:No files found to select from
>002:Out of memory and/or disk space
>042:Out of memory for SAM
>005:Out of Robot memory
>017:Overlay mode is not on (see Board Info)
>056:Sound card I/O address detection failure
>057:Sound card IRQ level detection failure
>058:Sound card DMA channel detection failure
>029:Too many boards- only partial import will be done
>031:Windowing code bug
>014:World is from a more recent version of MegaZeux
>028:World is from version 1- Use conversion program
>049:You can only play this game via a swap from another game

:001:~AAttempt to overwrite board in storage

This is an internal error. It occurs when two boards try to
occupy the same slot. Try to isolate the reason for the problem
and notify Software Visions, as this error signifies a bug in
MegaZeux.

:002:~AOut of memory and/or disk space

You have no more free core memory, EMS, or hard disk space on
the current drive. Clear up some memory and disk space before
running MegaZeux again.

:003:~AError storing current board

This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files. This can also be caused by a bug in MegaZeux, although
this is unlikely.

:004:~AAttempt to load nonexistent board

This is an internal error. MegaZeux tried to load up a board
that does not exist. This error may signify a bug in MegaZeux.
If so, try to locate the problem and notify us. This error can
also be caused when boards or worlds are imported. The boards
may contain references to other boards that do not exist through
their entrances and exits.

:005:~AOut of Robot memory

This error occurs when you try to copy Scrolls or Robots, and
there is not enough room within Robot memory to make another
copy. Robot memory for normal Robots is limited to 64k total;
use Alt+Y in the editor to view current memory usage.

:006:~ALow on memory; Music code compromised

This error occurs when memory is VERY limited. No digitized
music or sound effects will be able to play. This error can
also occur if the file MZXBLANK.FIL is corrupted.

:007:~AError accessing boards

This is an internal error. Try to isolate the reason for the
problem and notify Software Visions, as this error signifies a
bug in MegaZeux.

:008:~ANo available Sensors

You tried to make a duplicate of a Sensor in the editor; but
you had already reached the limit of 19 Sensors per board.

:009:~ANo available Robots

You tried to make a duplicate of a Robot in the editor; but
you had already reached the limit of 199 Robots per board.

:010:~ANo available Scrolls

You tried to make a duplicate of a Robot in the editor; but
you had already reached the limit of 49 Scrolls per board.

:011:~ANo available boards

You tried to add a board or import a world, but you already
had the limit of 150 boards for the current world.

:012:~AError saving world

This is caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files. It can also result from an attempt to overwrite a
read-only file.

:013:~AError loading world

This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files.

:014:~AWorld is from a more recent version of MegaZeux

The .MZX file you tried to load or import is from version 3.00
or greater of MegaZeux; at this time, version 3.00 does not
exist and is not planned to exist; however, this error message
will alert you to its existence if necessary.

:015:~AError exporting ANSi

This is caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files. It can also result from an attempt to overwrite a
read-only file.

:016:~AInvalid password

You entered the wrong password for the world.

:017:~AOverlay mode is not on (see Board Info)

You cannot edit or copy to the Overlay if it is Off; go to
board info and turn it to On, Static, or Transparent.

:018:~AError exporting board
:019:~AError exporting char. set
:020:~AError exporting text

This is caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files. It can also result from an attempt to overwrite a
read-only file.

:021:~AError importing board

This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files.

:022:~ABoard is from a more recent version of MegaZeux

The .MZB file you tried to load or import is from version 3.00
or greater of MegaZeux; at this time, version 3.00 does not
exist and is not planned to exist; however, this error message
will alert you to its existence if necessary.

:023:~ANo files found to select from

You tried to select a file somehow (load world, restore game,
select module, etc.) but there were no files of that type in the
current directory. In cases where directories are listed, a file
box will be brought up with no files and a list of directories.

:024:~AError importing char. set
:025:~AError importing ANSi
:026:~AError importing world

This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files.

:027:~ACannot import password protected world

You cannot import a world with any form of password protection;
load up the world separately and save it without any protection.

:028:~AWorld is from version 1- Use conversion program

You tried to load a .MZX file from version 1.00g, 1.01, 1.02, or
1.03 of MegaZeux. In order to use these worlds, they must first
be converted to 2.51 format using the included VER1TO2 program.
Run VER1TO2 without any command line arguments and it will tell
you what to do.

:029:~AToo many boards- only partial import will be done

You are attempting to import a world, but that world's boards,
plus the boards in the current world, will total over 150
boards. If you select Fail, the import will be canceled. If you
select OK, the import will take place, but boards will only be
imported up to number 150.

:030:~AAll Sensors in use

You tried to create a Sensor in the editor, but the limit of 19
Sensors per board had already been reached.

:031:~AWindowing code bug

This is an internal error. Try to isolate the reason for the
problem and notify Software Visions, as this error signifies a
bug in MegaZeux.

:032:~ACan't test password-protected world

You cannot test a protected world from the editor; remove the
protection or play it normally.

:033:~AError loading save game

This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files.

:034:~ACode/message is too large to fit into Robot memory

The Robotic line you just inputted will cause the Robot to
overflow Robot memory. Shorten the line or remove it. This
message indicates that either Robot memory is near full or
that the current Robot is close to 31k in size.

:035:~AAll Robots in use

You tried to create a Robot in the editor, but the limit of 199
Robots per board had already been reached.

:036:~AError importing palette

This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files.

:036:~ABad Robot command

The Robotic line you entered cannot be translated to a known
command. Look up the command in the command reference to be
sure you are spelling it right and have the correct parameters.

:037:~AInvalid "thing" for parameters

You used F4 in the Robot editor to enter a parameter, but the
word right before the cursor is not a valid thing, such as Gem,
Ammo, or CustomBlock.

:038:~AError accessing clipboard file, ~ROBOCLP.TMP

There is a problem reading from or writing to ~ROBOCLP.TMP,
which is used for storage of blocks cut or copied from the
Robot editor. This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk
space shortage, sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not
closing their files. You may also be trying to overwrite a
read-only file. Finally, the file may simply not exist, if you
are trying to paste and you haven't copied or cut anything yet.

:039:~AError exporting Robot

This is caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files. It can also result from an attempt to overwrite a
read-only file.

:040:~AError importing Robot

This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files.

:041:~ALine too long to import

The file you were importing contained a line that is too long to
read in and translate. Shorten all lines over 200 characters and
try again.

:042:~AOut of memory for SAM

A SAM file couldn't fit into memory to play. This error will not
occur in normal game-play unless the debug menu is active. (the
SAM will simply not play.)

:043:~AMusic is off- SAM cannot play

A SAM file couldn't play because music is off. This error will
only occur in the editor or when testing games from the editor.
(Otherwise the SAM will simply not play.)

:044:~AError swapping to next world

A Robotic command, SWAP to WORLD, was issued, but the stated
world could not be found or otherwise could not be swapped to,
due to version conflicts, file errors, etc.

:045:~AAll Scrolls in use

You tried to create a Scroll in the editor, but the limit of 49
Scrolls had already been reached.

:046:~AError exporting palette
:047:~AError exporting .SFX file

This is caused by file errors or a hard disk space shortage,
sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing their
files. It can also result from an attempt to overwrite a
read-only file.

:048:~AError importing .SFX file

This can be caused by file errors or a hard disk space
shortage, sometimes caused by TSRs or other programs not closing
their files.

:049:~AYou can only play this game via a swap from another game

This error occurs when you try to play a game that has the
option set to disallow normal game-play. The world can only be
played as a swap from another game. For example, this may be
the second half of another game.

:050:~AMusic is off- Module is set for board but not loaded

A module file couldn't play because music is off. This error
will only occur in the editor or when testing games from the
editor. (Otherwise, the module will simply not play.) The module
is still current for this board, however.

:051:~AError loading module

The module file could not be loaded, possibly because it hasn't
been converted to GDM format. (only required for files other
than MODs) The file may also be corrupted. This error will not
occur in conventional game-play unless the debug menu is active.
(Instead the module will simply not play.) This error will also
occur if there is not enough memory (EMS or otherwise) to hold
the module file. A small amount of non-EMS memory is required to
load a module, no matter how much EMS you have.

:053:~AError loading SAM

The SAM file could not be loaded, because of a file error, or
it was too large. This error will not occur in conventional
game-play unless the debug menu is active. (Otherwise, the SAM
will simply not play.)

:054:~AFile "MZXBLANK.FIL" not found; Music code compromised

The file MZXBLANK.FIL must be in the MegaZeux directory for the
music code to work properly. Otherwise, you will not be able to
play sound effects on levels without music.

:055:~AError opening module file

The module file could not be loaded because there was an error
in opening it. Perhaps it does not exist in the current
directory.

:056:~ASound card I/O address detection failure
:057:~ASound card IRQ level detection failure
:058:~ASound card DMA channel detection failure

The settings for your sound card could not be detected. Either
your sound card is not configured or installed properly, or you
need to specify the settings by hand. See command-line options
for details on sound card settings.

>#CMDLINE.HLP:1st:Command Line Options

:059:~AError initializing sound card/music code

There was an error initializing the sound card or the music
code. Perhaps your card is not installed or configured properly,
or possibly there is an extreme shortage of non-EMS memory. The
MSE files (see next error message) may also be corrupted.

:060:~AError loading MSE music driver

The MSE file for your sound card could not be loaded properly.
For music/sound support, MegaZeux requires that the MSE files
be in the MegaZeux directory. The MSE files contain drivers and
code to control the sound card. The file required for each sound
card is as follows:

SB1X.MSE - Soundblaster 1.x
SB2X.MSE - Soundblaster 2.x
SB16.MSE - Soundblaster 16
SBPRO.MSE- Soundblaster Pro
PAS.MSE  - Pro Audio Spectrum 16
GUS.MSE  - Gravis Ultrasound

If you do not plan on using certain sound cards, you can safely
delete the corresponding MSE file(s).

:061:~AMVSOUND.SYS must be loaded for PAS support

For MegaZeux to support the Pro Audio Spectrum, the resident
driver 'MVSOUND.SYS' must be loaded. See your sound card
documentation for details.

:062:~ACannot overwrite player- move him first

In the editor, the player must always exist exactly once on the
current board. You cannot delete him or overwrite him with
something else. This warning is primarily in place to prevent
you from trying to overwrite the player with a Robot, typing in
a lot of code, then having the Robot just disappear since it
can't be placed over the player.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#SENSORSW.HLP
:094:Sensors- What They Are and How to Use Them

Sensors have two real purposes. The first, is to act as save
points. The second, is to interact with Robots as a type of
floor. The first use is simple- Just set the board to "Save only
on Sensors," and then the player can only save when standing on
a Sensor.

The second use is more complex, and requires a knowledge of
Robotic. Sensors are like controllable CustomFloors. When
creating one, give it a name and a character, then enter the
name of a Robot that it will interact with.

Sensors interact with Robots using labels (messages) and SEND
commands, just like Robots interact with each other. Any Robot
can SEND a message to a Sensor, but the Sensor will only SEND
messages to the Robot stated in its settings. If you entered a
Robot of ALL, then it will SEND messages to all Robots.

$Messages TO Sensors

The following messages can be sent to a Sensor. A Sensor can
receive messages even when it is beneath the player.

~EDIE

This will cause the Sensor to disappear forever.

~ECHAR'X'

This will cause the Sensor to change its character to X.

~ECHAR###

This will cause the Sensor to change its character to that
represented by the number ###, from 0 to 255.

~ECOLORxx

This will cause the Sensor to change its color to that
represented by the code xx, a hexadecimal number from 00 to
FF. The color coding is the same as used for Robotic commands,
except without the c and ?'s are not allowed.

~EN
~ES
~EE
~EW

This will cause the Sensor to move north, south, east, or west,
respectively. If the player is on top of the Sensor, he will
move along with it. If the Sensor tries to move towards the
player, it will instead move beneath him.

$Messages FROM Sensors

Sensors will send Robots the following messages.

~ESENSORON

This is sent when the player steps onto the Sensor, or when the
Sensor is told to move and it ends up beneath the player, or
when something pushes the player onto the Sensor.

~ESENSORTHUD

This is sent when the Sensor is told to move, but it is blocked.

~ESENSORPUSHED

This is sent when something (not the player, of course) pushes
the Sensor.

$Notes on Sensors

Only the player can step onto a Sensor; other things will push
it. The Sensor, when moving, will move UNDER the player if he is
in the way, or will take the player with it if he is on the
Sensor.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#ROBOTICR.HLP
:087:Robotic Reference Manual

Use the following help links to see your desired topic(s).

>#COMMANDS.HLP:1st:Command Syntax
>#COMMANDR.HLP:1st:Command Reference
>#USINGTHE.HLP:1st:Using the Editor
>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors
>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions
>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors
>#BUILTINL.HLP:1st:Built-in Labels
>#COUNTERS.HLP:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters
>#COMMAND2.HLP:pre:Prefixes
>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting
>#COMMANDS.HLP:con:Conditions
>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music
>#BULLETTY.HLP:1st:Bullet Types
>#CHANGECH.HLP:1st:CHANGE CHAR ID- The CHAR ID Table

>#ROBOTSWH.HLP:1st:Robots- What They Are and How to Use Them
>#ROBOTICT.HLP:1st:Robotic Tutorial
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#COMMANDS.HLP
:1st:Command Syntax

Commands in Robotic must conform to a certain syntax-

   COMMAND [param] [param] ...

COMMAND is the words or symbol that specifies exactly which
command you are using. Params are the values used to supplement
the command's function-

~E"string" or "counter" or "label" or "Robot" or "file"

Strings are a series of characters surrounded by quotes.
Counters are strings representing the name of a counter. Labels
are strings representing the name of a label, a point within a
Robot. Robots are strings representing the name of a Robot.
Files are strings representing a file on disk, always including
the extension. Examples- "Hi", "Gems", "Label5", "*1230 +725",
etc. The quotes can be left off if the string contains no spaces
and is not the same as any word found in any command or
parameter, I.E. a word that the editor could not mistake for a
part of a command. For example, "Tooly" and "Drive" don't need
quotes, but "Ammo", "N", "Goto", and "You died" do.

~E#

Numbers are allowed to be integers within the range of -32768 to
32767. They can also be represented in hexadecimal, using $xxxx
format. In this case, xxxx can be any number from 0 to FFFF.
Numbers can be replaced with a string representing the name of a
counter at any time. Examples of legal numbers- 3200, -79k,
$FA9, "Ammo".

:col:~E[color]

The format for colors is cXX, where X is 0-9, A-F, or ?. The
first X represents the background color, the second X represents
the foreground color. The numbers and symbols represent the
following colors-

0  Black      ~0(color #0)
1  Blue       ~1(color #1)
2  Green      ~2(color #2)
3  Cyan       ~3(color #3)
4  Red        ~4(color #4)
5  Purple     ~5(color #5)
6  Brown      ~6(color #6)
7  Lt. Gray   ~7(color #7)
8  Dk. Gray   ~8(color #8)
9  Lt. Blue   ~9(color #9)
10 Lt. Green  ~A(color #10)
11 Lt. Cyan   ~B(color #11)
12 Lt. Red    ~C(color #12)
13 Lt. Purple ~D(color #13)
14 Yellow     ~E(color #14)
15 White      ~F(color #15)
?  Any color/No change in color

The use of ? is not always a logical option for some commands.
When used, it signifies to replace it with the current color or
ignore that part of the color for that command. Colors may be
selected from a menu within the Robot editor using F2. Colors
can also be replaced with the name of a counter at any time. In
this case, the value of the counter is BK*16+FG, where BK and FG
are 0-15. To use ?, use the following values-

     256+FG = c?X
     272+BK = cX?
     288    = c??

A color of c?? will be inserted into commands when you have a
thing and you do not put a color as well. Examples of legal
colors- cF9, c02, c?5, c??, "Colored".

~E[char]

Characters are a single character surrounded by apostrophes-
'X'. X can be any character except #0. A character can be
selected from a menu in the Robot editor using F3. Numbers and
counters can be used to represent characters as well, with
values from 1 to 255. Examples of legal characters- 'a', '±',
20, "Count".

:dir:~E[dir]

Directions are used to denote a direction on the board. A
direction is one of the following-

   NORTH (or N or UP)
   SOUTH (or S or DOWN)
   EAST  (or E or RIGHT)
   WEST  (or W or LEFT)
   IDLE
   NODIR
   ANYDIR
   RANDNS
   RANDEW
   RANDNE
   RANDNB
   RANDB
   SEEK
   FLOW
   RANDANY
   UNDER (or BENEATH)

The four cardinal directions (N, S, E, W) are self explanatory.
Descriptions of the other directions-

~BIDLE

No direction, as in the absence of any direction. Used with-

:_w5:~AWALK [dir]
>#COMMANDS.HLP:con:Conditions

~BNODIR

No directions satisfy the condition. Used with-

>#COMMANDS.HLP:con:Conditions

~BANYDIR

Any direction satisfies the condition. Used with-

>#COMMANDS.HLP:con:Conditions

~BRANDNS

Randomly NORTH or SOUTH.

~BRANDEW

Randomly EAST or WEST.

~BRANDNE

Randomly NORTH or EAST.

~BRANDNB

Randomly any direction that the Robot is not blocked by
something in.

~BRANDB

Randomly any direction that the Robot is blocked in.

~BSEEK

The direction towards the player. If the player is on a
diagonal, it will randomly be one of the two directions
comprising the diagonal.

~BFLOW

The direction the Robot is currently walking in.

~BRANDANY

Randomly NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, or WEST.

~BUNDER

The direction signifying whatever is BENEATH something, such
as floors. Used with-

:_l1:~ALAYBOMB [dir]
:_l2:~ALAYBOMB HIGH [dir]
>#COMMANDS.HLP:con:Conditions

Most directions can be used with the following modifying
prefixes-

~BOPP

The opposite direction. NORTH becomes SOUTH, etc.

~BCW

The direction clockwise of the named direction. NORTH becomes
EAST, etc.

~BRANDP

Randomly a direction perpendicular to the named direction.
NORTH becomes EAST or WEST, etc.

~BRANDNOT

Randomly any direction OTHER than the given direction.

~E[thing]

The name of any thing from the editor, other than the player.
Use the name from the thing list, minus any punctuation or
spaces. In addition to the things on the lists, you can use
Lazer for any lazer walls shot by lazer guns or Robots. You can
use OpenGate for a gate that has been opened. Examples of legal
things- Gem, CustomFloor, LitBomb, Robot.

~E[param]

A code representing the settings for a thing. (see above) The
format is p# or p??. # is a hexadecimal code from 0 to FF. ??
represents settings that you don't care about or shouldn't
change. To enter parameter codes easily, use F4 in the Robot
editor after you have typed in a thing. p?? will be inserted
automatically any time you have a thing without a parameter.

~E[item]

One of the following- TIME, SCORE, GEMS, AMMOS, LIVES, LOBOMBS,
HIBOMBS, COINS, HEALTHS. Note the plural format- This
distinguishes items from things.

~E!<>=

A conditional for comparing two numbers or counters-

= or ==         Equal to
.<               Less than
.>               Greater than
.<= or =<        Less than or equal to
.>= or =>        Greater than or equal to
!= or <> or ><  Not equal to

:con:~E[condition]

A word, sometimes followed by a direction, signifying a certain
condition, use in IF [condition] and IF NOT [condition] commands
to test whether a condition is currently present.

~BWALKING [dir]

Tests whether the Robot is currently walking in a given
direction. IDLE, NODIR, and ANYDIR are allowed here.

~BSWIMMING

Tests whether the Robot is currently in water.

~BFIREWALKING

Tests whether the Robot is currently in either lava or fire.

~BTOUCHING [dir]

Tests whether the player is next to the Robot in the given
direction. NODIR and ANYDIR are allowed here.

~BBLOCKED [dir]

Tests whether the Robot is blocked by something in the given
direction. NODIR and ANYDIR are allowed here. This condition
has a special mode- If the IF command has a REL PLAYER prefix
before it, it will instead check next to the PLAYER for being
blocked. If the IF command has a REL COUNTERS prefix before
it, it will instead check next to the position pointed to by
the counters XPOS and YPOS.

>#COMMAND2.HLP:pre:REL COUNTERS
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r2:REL PLAYER

~BALIGNED

Tests whether the player is aligned with the Robot either
horizontally or vertically.

~BALIGNEDNS
~BALIGNEDEW

Tests whether the player is aligned with the Robot, but only
tests horizontally (EW) or vertically (NS), not both.

~BLASTSHOT [dir]

Tests whether the last direction the Robot was shot in was
the given direction. For example, if the Robot had just been
shot on the north side, then LASTSHOT NORTH would be true.

~BLASTTOUCH [dir]

Similar to the above, tests whether the last direction the
Robot was touched by the player is the given direction.

~BRIGHTPRESSED
~BLEFTPRESSED
~BUPPRESSED
~BDOWNPRESSED
~BSPACEPRESSED
~BDELPRESSED

Tests whether the indicated key is currently being held down.

~BMUSICON

Tests whether digitized music and sound effects are currently
on.

~BPCSFXON

Tests whether PC speaker sound effects are currently on.

~EMiscellaneous

When typing in a command, the following symbols and words, as
well as spaces, can be used freely- They have no effect on the
final command and are only used to clarify its meaning.

, (comma)
; (semicolon)
A
AN
AND
AS
AT
BY
ELSE
FOR
FROM
INTO
IS
OF
THE
THEN
THERE
THROUGH
THRU
TO
WITH

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
#STRINGSA.HLP
:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

Generally, a string is a series of symbols within quotes- "BUG",
"Hi there!", or even "Åà*A9 _±Ç". There are two special aspects
or features of strings that may be useful at times.

$Color

Used in Robotic commands *, %, ?, and &, strings can contain
color codes. There are two color symbols- ~~ for changing
foreground, and @@ for changing background. These should be
followed by one of these characters-

0 Black (color 0)            8 Dk. Gray (color 8)
1 Blue (color 1)             9 Lt. Blue (color 9)
2 Green (color 2)            A Lt. Green (color 10)
3 Cyan (color 3)             B Lt. Cyan (color 11)
4 Red (color 4)              C Lt. Red (color 12)
5 Purple (color 5)           D Lt. Purple (color 13)
6 Brown (color 6)            E Yellow (color 14)
7 Lt. Gray (color 7)         F White (color 15)

To show a ~~, use a ~~~~. To show a @@, use @@@@.

$Counters

Strings can show the values of counters, using the counter name
surrounded with &'s. For example, if the player has 55 gems,
"You have &GEMS& gems." will become, "You have 55 gems." If you
use &INPUT&, then the last inputted string will be shown. Use &&
to show a true '&'. The above features are available in ALL
Robotic commands that use strings, including in the name of
OTHER counters. This can be used to simulate array-like
constructs.

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#COMMANDR.HLP
:1st:Command Reference

The following table is a list of all Robotic commands in
MegaZeux. They are listed as help links, in alphabetical order.
After the table are the actual command descriptions, in order of
importance/difficulty. Note that because of it's size, the
command reference is split into two parts.

>__1:% "string"
>__2:& "string"
>__3:* "string"
>__4:. "string"
>_4b:. "@@string"
>__5:/ "string"
>__6:: "label"
>__7:? "counter" "label" "string"
>__8:? "label" "string"
>__9:[ "string"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:__0:| "label"
>_a1:ABORT LOOP
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_a2:ASK "string"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_a3:AVALANCHE
>_b1:BECOME [color] [thing] [param]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b2:BECOME NONLAVAWALKER
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b3:BECOME NONPUSHABLE
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b4:BECOME LAVAWALKER
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b5:BECOME PUSHABLE
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b6:BLIND #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b7:BOARD [dir] "string"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b8:BOARD [dir] NONE
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b9:BULLETCOLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_b0:BULLETE [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_bA:BULLETN [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_bB:BULLETS [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_bC:BULLETW [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c1:CENTER MESG
>_c2:CHANGE [color] [thing] [param] [color] [thing] [param]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c3:CHANGE CHAR ID # [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c4:CHANGE OVERLAY [color] [char] [color] [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c5:CHANGE OVERLAY [color] [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c6:CHANGE SFX # "string"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c7:CHANGE THICK ARROW CHAR [dir] [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c8:CHANGE THIN ARROW CHAR [dir] [char]
>_c9:CHAR [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c0:CHAR EDIT [char] # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cA:CLEAR MESG
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cB:CLIP INPUT
>_cC:COLOR [color]
>_cD:COLOR FADE OUT
>_cE:COLOR FADE IN
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cF:COLOR INTENSITY # PERCENT
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cG:COLOR INTENSITY # # PERCENT
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cH:COPY # # # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cI:COPY [dir] [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cJ:COPY BLOCK # # # # # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cK:COPY CHAR [char] [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_cL:COPY OVERLAY BLOCK # # # # # #
>_cM:COPYROBOT "Robot"
>_cN:COPYROBOT # #
>_cO:COPYROBOT [dir]
>_cP:CYCLE #
>_d1:DEC "counter" #
>_d2:DEC "counter" RANDOM # #
>_d3:DIE
>_d4:DIE ITEM
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_d5:DISABLE MESG EDGE
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_d6:DISABLE SAVING
>_d7:DIVIDE "counter" #
>_d8:DOUBLE "counter"
>_d9:DUPLICATE SELF # #
>_d0:DUPLICATE SELF [dir]
>_e1:END
>_e2:END MOD
>_e3:END PLAY
>_e4:END SAM
>_e5:ENDGAME
>_e6:ENDLIFE
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_e7:ENABLE MESG EDGE
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_e8:ENABLE SAVING
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_e9:ENABLE SENSORONLY SAVING
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_e0:ENEMY BULLETCOLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_eA:ENEMY BULLETE [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_eB:ENEMY BULLETN [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_eC:ENEMY BULLETS [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_eD:ENEMY BULLETW [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_eE:EXCHANGE PLAYER POSITION
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_eF:EXCHANGE PLAYER POSITION #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_eG:EXCHANGE PLAYER POSITION # DUPLICATE SELF
>_eH:EXPLODE #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_f1:FIREWALKER #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_f2:FILLHEALTH
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_f3:FLIP CHAR [char] [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_f4:FREEZETIME #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_g1:GIVE # [item]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_g2:GIVEKEY [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_g3:GIVEKEY [color] "label"
>_g4:GO [dir] #
>_g5:GOTO "label"
>_g6:GOTOXY # #
>_h1:HALF "counter"
>_i1:IF "counter" !<>_= # "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i2:IF [condition] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i3:IF # # "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i4:IF [dir] PLAYER [color] [thing] [param] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i5:IF [color] [thing] [param] # # "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i6:IF [color] [thing] [param] [dir] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i7:IF ALIGNEDROBOT "Robot" "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i8:IF ANY [color] [thing] [param] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i9:IF FIRST STRING "string" "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_i0:IF NO [color] [thing] [param] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iA:IF NOT [color] [thing] [param] [dir] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iB:IF NOT [condition] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iC:IF PLAYER # # "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iD:IF STRING "string" "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iE:IF STRING MATCHES "string" "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iF:IF STRING NOT "string" "label"
>_iG:INC "counter" #
>_iH:INC "counter" RANDOM # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iI:INPUT STRING "string"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_j1:JUMP MOD ORDER #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l1:LAYBOMB [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l2:LAYBOMB HIGH [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l3:LAZERWALL [dir] #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l4:LOAD CHAR SET "file"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l5:LOAD PALETTE "file"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l6:LOCKPLAYER
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l7:LOCKPLAYER ATTACK
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l8:LOCKPLAYER EW
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l9:LOCKPLAYER NS
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_l0:LOCKSCROLL
>_lA:LOCKSELF
>_lB:LOOP #
>_lC:LOOP START
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m1:MESSAGE ROW #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m2:MISSILECOLOR [color]
>_m3:MOD "file"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m4:MOD FADE # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m5:MOD FADE IN "file"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m6:MOD FADE OUT
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m7:MOD SAM # #
>_m8:MODULO "counter" #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_m9:MOVE ALL [color] [thing] [param] [dir]
>_m0:MOVE PLAYER [dir]
>_mA:MOVE PLAYER [dir] "label"
>_mB:MULTIPLY "counter" #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_n1:NEUTRAL BULLETCOLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_n2:NEUTRAL BULLETE [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_n3:NEUTRAL BULLETN [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_n4:NEUTRAL BULLETS [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_n5:NEUTRAL BULLETW [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_o1:OPEN [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_o2:OVERLAY ON
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_o3:OVERLAY STATIC
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_o4:OVERLAY TRANSPARENT
>_p1:PERSISTENT GO "string"
>_p2:PLAY "string"
>_p3:PLAY SFX "string"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_p4:PLAYER BULLETCOLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_p5:PLAYER BULLETE [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_p6:PLAYER BULLETN [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_p7:PLAYER BULLETS [char]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_p8:PLAYER BULLETW [char]
>_p9:PLAYER CHAR [dir] [char]
>_p0:PLAYER CHAR [char]
>_pA:PLAYERCOLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_pB:PUSH [dir]
>_pC:PUT [color] [thing] [param] # #
>_pD:PUT [color] [thing] [param] [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_pE:PUT [color] [char] OVERLAY # #
>_pF:PUT [color] [thing] [param] [dir] PLAYER
>_pG:PUT PLAYER # #
>_pH:PUT PLAYER [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:pre:REL COUNTERS
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r2:REL PLAYER
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r3:REL SELF
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r4:REL COUNTERS FIRST
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r5:REL PLAYER FIRST
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r6:REL SELF FIRST
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r7:REL COUNTERS LAST
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r8:REL PLAYER LAST
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r9:REL SELF LAST
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r0:RESETVIEW
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_rA:RESTORE "label" #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_rB:RESTORE PLAYER POSITION
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_rC:RESTORE PLAYER POSITION #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_rD:RESTORE PLAYER POSITION # DUPLICATE SELF
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_rE:ROTATECW
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_rF:ROTATECCW
>_s1:SAM # "file"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s2:SAVE PLAYER POSITION
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s3:SAVE PLAYER POSITION #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s4:SCROLL CHAR [char] [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s5:SCROLLARROW COLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s6:SCROLLBASE COLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s7:SCROLLCORNER COLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s8:SCROLLPOINTER COLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s9:SCROLLTITLE COLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_s0:SCROLLVIEW [dir] #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sA:SCROLLVIEW POSITION # #
>_sB:SEND # # "label"
>_sC:SEND "Robot" "label"
>_sD:SEND [dir] "label"
>_sE:SEND [dir] PLAYER "label"
>_sF:SET "counter" #
>_sG:SET "counter" RANDOM # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sH:SET COLOR # # # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sI:SET EDGE COLOR [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sJ:SET MAXHEALTH #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sK:SET MESG COLUMN #
>_sL:SFX #
>_sM:SHOOT [dir]
>_sN:SHOOTMISSILE [dir]
>_sO:SHOOTSEEKER [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sP:SLOWTIME #
>_sQ:SPITFIRE [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sR:STATUS COUNTER # "counter"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sS:SWAP WORLD "file"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_sT:SWITCH [dir] [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_t1:TAKE # [item]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_t2:TAKE # [item] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_t3:TAKEKEY [color]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_t4:TAKEKEY [color] "label"
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_t5:TELEPORT PLAYER "string" # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_t6:TRADE # [item] # [item] "label"
>_t7:TRY [dir] "label"
>_w1:WAIT #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_w2:WAIT MOD FADE
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_w3:WAIT PLAY
>_w4:WAIT PLAY "string"
>_w5:WALK [dir]
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_w6:WIND #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_w7:WRITE OVERLAY [color] "string" # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_u1:UNLOCKPLAYER
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_u2:UNLOCKSCROLL
>_u3:UNLOCKSELF
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_v1:VIEWPORT # #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_v2:VIEWPORT SIZE # #
>_v3:VOLUME #
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_z1:ZAP "label" #

$Command Descriptions

:__3:~A* "string"

This command displays the given string as a message on the
message line, usually shown at the bottom of the screen.

>#STRINGSA.HLP:~A1st:~AStrings and Special Formatting

:__5:~A/ "string"
:_p1:~APERSISTENT GO "string"
:_g4:~AGO [dir] #

Use / followed by a string to move the Robot around the board.
The string must consist of a series of N, S, E, W, and I. NSEW
will move the Robot in that direction, and I will wait for one
cycle. One action is performed each cycle.

Use PERSISTENT GO in the same way as /. However, if the Robot
attempts to move in a given direction and it cannot, the Robot
will wait until it can before moving on to the next symbol.

Use GO to move in a single direction for a given number of
spaces.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:__6:~A:~A "label"

A : is used to denote actual LABELS within a Robotic program.
These labels are used as points within the program to branch
to when a Robot receives a message from another Robot, GOTO's
a label of its own, or otherwise receives an external message.
Label names can be any length and consist of any characters.
They are not case-sensitive.

>#BUILTINL.HLP:1st:Built-in Labels

:_g5:~AGOTO "label"

This will send the current Robot to the label given.

:_sC:~ASEND "Robot" "label"
:_sD:~ASEND [dir] "label"
:_sE:~ASEND [dir] PLAYER "label"
:_sB:~ASEND # # "label"

Use SEND to send another Robot to the label given. This is
called "messaging" a Robot, and the label given is the
"message". The target Robot can be given one of four ways,
as listed above respectively-

1- State the target Robot's name. Use "ALL" to message all
   Robots.
2- State the direction of target Robot.
3- State the direction of target Robot, relative to the player.
4- State the x/y coordinates of target Robot.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:__9:~A[ "string"
:__2:~A& "string"
:__1:~A% "string"
:__8:~A? "label" "string"
:__7:~A? "counter" "label" "string"

Use these commands to bring up a "Scroll", or box-message,
during the game, containing the given text. The box-message will
contain all consecutive lines using the commands [, &, %, or ?.
Blank lines and labels will be skipped over. Description of box
message commands-

   [ will simply display the given message.
   & will display the given message, centered within the box.
   % will display the given message, which can have color
     codes.
   ? will display an option, which, when selected, will send
     the current Robot to the given label. If a counter is
     included, the option will only be shown if the counter is
     NOT zero.

All box-message commands can use ~~ and @@ color codes, EXCEPT
for [. The advantage of [ is that it will be clipped to 64
characters if it is too long, thereby preventing the display
from being screwed up. The other commands are not clipped and,
if too long, can mess up the display. (no permanent damage is
done- it just looks stupid.)

>#COUNTERS.HLP:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters
>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:__4:~A. "string"

This command does nothing. It is used for comments and other
notes you may wish to make within your Robots. There is one
exception- If "string" begins with a @@. (see next)

:_4b:~A. "@@string"

If a comment's string begins with a @@, then the rest of the
string becomes the new name for the robot. For example,
"@@hiya" would name the robot "hiya".

:_e1:~AEND

This command ends the Robot's program. The Robot will not run
any further commands until an external event affects it.

:_d3:~ADIE
:_d4:~ADIE ITEM

These commands destroy the Robot forever. DIE ITEM will also
put the player at the location the Robot previously occupied,
useful for creating Robots that simulate items.

:_w1:~AWAIT #

This command will cause the Robot to do absolutely nothing for
a given number of cycles.

:_c9:~ACHAR [char]

This command will change the Robot's character (appearance) to
that given.

:_cC:~ACOLOR [color]

This command will change the Robot's color.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_sF:~ASET "counter" #
:_sG:~ASET "counter" RANDOM # #

These commands set a counter to a certain value. Counters are
internal variables that can be changed through Robots. They are
usually used for custom purposes, although there are many
counters with pre-defined uses as well, such as "Gems". The
RANDOM version will set the counter to a random number within
the given range, inclusive.

>#COUNTERS.HLP:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters

:_iG:~AINC "counter" #
:_d1:~ADEC "counter" #
:_iH:~AINC "counter" RANDOM # #
:_d2:~ADEC "counter" RANDOM # #

These commands will increase or decrease a given counter by a
given amount. The RANDOM versions will increase or decrease by
a random number within the given range, inclusive.

>#COUNTERS.HLP:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters

:_i1:~AIF "counter" !<>= # "label"

This command tests to see if a given counter is equal to, less
than, etc. another counter or value. If the conditional is met,
the current Robot is sent to the given label. The following
conditionals are allowed- = Equal, < Less than, > Greater than,
.<= Less than/equal, >= Greater than/equal, <> Not equal.

>#COUNTERS.HLP:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters

:_cP:~ACYCLE #

This command changes the Robot's speed to one command for every
given number of update cycles. An update cycle is how often
everything on-screen is updated, such as most enemies. Every
time a given Robot gets to run commands, is called a cycle in
terms of that Robot.

:_e6:~AENDLIFE
:_e5:~AENDGAME

These commands will end the player's current life or the entire
game, just as if the player died or lost.

:_w5:~AWALK [dir]

This will cause the Robot to move one space in the given
direction every cycle. Use a direction of IDLE to turn walking
off.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_sM:~ASHOOT [dir]
:_sN:~ASHOOTMISSILE [dir]
:_sO:~ASHOOTSEEKER [dir]
:_sQ:~ASPITFIRE [dir]

These four commands all shoot a weapon in the given direction-
A bullet, a missile, a seeker, or a shooting fire, respectively.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_t7:~ATRY [dir] "label"

This will have the Robot attempt to move in the given direction.
If it can, it will. If it can't, it will jump to the given
label.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_b1:~ABECOME [color] [thing] [param]

The Robot will end its program permanently, and instead become
a specified object with a given color and parameter. Becoming
another Robot type will not destroy the program.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_c2:~ACHANGE [color] [thing] [param] [color] [thing] [param]

All objects on-screen of the given type will become objects of
a new type. This command, if used too much, can slow down the
game.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_pC:~APUT [color] [thing] [param] # #
:_pD:~APUT [color] [thing] [param] [dir]
:_pF:~APUT [color] [thing] [param] [dir] PLAYER

This will put a given object somewhere on-screen. The target
location can be given in one of three ways-

1- State the direction.
2- State the direction, relative to the player.
3- State the x/y coordinates.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors
>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_m3:~AMOD "file"

Load up the given module file as background music.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music
>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:_s1:~ASAM # "file"

Play the given SAM file at a given frequency.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_e2:~AEND MOD
:_e4:~AEND SAM
:_e3:~AEND PLAY

Ends the playing of the current module, SAM, or PC speaker
sound effects, respectively.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_d8:~ADOUBLE "counter"
:_h1:~AHALF "counter"

Doubles or halves (rounding down) the value of the given
counter, respectively.

>#COUNTERS.HLP:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters

:_mB:~AMULTIPLY "counter" #
:_d7:~ADIVIDE "counter" #
:_m8:~AMODULO "counter" #

Multiplies, divides, or modulos (rounding down) the value of
the given counter by the given value or counter. To modulo is
to set to the remainder when dividing. Example- 7 modulo 3 is
equal to 1, since 7 divided by 3 gives a remainder of 1.

>#COUNTERS.HLP:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters

:_p2:~APLAY "string"
:_p3:~APLAY SFX "string"
:_w4:~AWAIT PLAY "string"

These all play a series of PC speaker sound effects notes. PLAY
SFX will only play if there are no other notes currently
playing, while PLAY will add its notes to the end of the current
sound effects queue. WAIT PLAY will wait until the queue is
almost empty before adding its notes.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_sL:~ASFX #

Play the given built-in sound effect.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_eH:~AEXPLODE #

The Robot will explode, destroying it and its program forever.
The radius of the explosion is stated in the command.

:_cD:~ACOLOR FADE OUT
:_cE:~ACOLOR FADE IN

Fade the palette out to black or in to full color. Fading in
will not work if you haven't faded out, and neither will affect
the current palette or current intensities.

:_g6:~AGOTOXY # #

The Robot will go to the given x/y coordinates on the current
board.

:_lC:~ALOOP START
:_lB:~ALOOP #
:_a1:~AABORT LOOP

These three commands define a loop, or sequence of commands to
be repeated. LOOP START marks the start of a loop. LOOP # will
loop back to LOOP START the given number of times. ABORT LOOP
will jump out of the loop, to the command after LOOP #. The loop
count is kept in the Robot-specific counter, LOOPCOUNT.

:_m0:~AMOVE PLAYER [dir]
:_mA:~AMOVE PLAYER [dir] "label"

The player attempts to move in the given direction. If he is
blocked, and the command contains a label, the Robot will jump
to that label.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_p0:~APLAYER CHAR [char]
:_p9:~APLAYER CHAR [dir] [char]

Changes the character (appearance) of the player. The second
form allows you to change the appearance of one of the four
directions at a time, while the first form changes all four
directions at once.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_pA:~APLAYERCOLOR [color]

Changes the color of the player.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_pG:~APUT PLAYER # #
:_pH:~APUT PLAYER [dir]

The player will go to the given x/y coordinates or to the given
direction of the Robot.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_lA:~ALOCKSELF
:_u3:~AUNLOCKSELF

Locks or unlocks, respectively, the current Robot. When a Robot
is locked, no external messages will be acknowledged- Only
internal GOTOs, etc. will be processed.

:_v3:~AVOLUME #

Changes the volume of the MOD playing. From 0 (silent) to 255.

:_cM:~ACOPYROBOT "Robot"
:_cN:~ACOPYROBOT # #
:_cO:~ACOPYROBOT [dir]

The current Robot becomes an exact duplicate of the noted Robot,
and then begins its program anew at the first command. The Robot
to copy can be stated in one of three ways-

1- State the target Robot's name.
2- State the direction of target Robot.
3- State the x/y coordinates of target Robot.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_d9:~ADUPLICATE SELF # #
:_d0:~ADUPLICATE SELF [dir]

The current Robot creates an exact duplicate of itself and
places it at the noted x/y coordinates or direction. That Robot
then begins its program at the first command.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

~EThe remaining Robotic commands are covered in another section.

>#COMMAND2.HLP:1st:Command Reference Part II
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#COMMAND2.HLP
:1st:Command Reference Part II

>#COMMANDR.HLP:1st:Command Reference (Part I)

:_b9:~ABULLETCOLOR [color]

Changes the color of all bullets.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_p4:~APLAYER BULLETCOLOR [color]
:_e0:~AENEMY BULLETCOLOR [color]
:_n1:~ANEUTRAL BULLETCOLOR [color]

Changes the color of a specific type of bullet- Player, Enemy,
or Neutral (ricocheted/Robot) bullets.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors
>#BULLETTY.HLP:1st:Bullet Types

:_bA:~ABULLETN [char]
:_bB:~ABULLETS [char]
:_b0:~ABULLETE [char]
:_bC:~ABULLETW [char]

Changes the character (appearance) of one of the four directions
of bullet, across all three types.

:_p6:~APLAYER BULLETN [char]
:_p7:~APLAYER BULLETS [char]
:_p5:~APLAYER BULLETE [char]
:_p8:~APLAYER BULLETW [char]
:_eA:~AENEMY BULLETE [char]
:_eB:~AENEMY BULLETN [char]
:_eC:~AENEMY BULLETS [char]
:_eD:~AENEMY BULLETW [char]
:_n3:~ANEUTRAL BULLETN [char]
:_n4:~ANEUTRAL BULLETS [char]
:_n2:~ANEUTRAL BULLETE [char]
:_n5:~ANEUTRAL BULLETW [char]

Changes the character of one of the four directions of bullet,
for one of the three types of bullet- Player, Enemy, or Neutral
(ricocheted/Robot) bullets.

>#BULLETTY.HLP:1st:Bullet Types

:_b5:~ABECOME PUSHABLE
:_b3:~ABECOME NONPUSHABLE

The Robot becomes a pushable or nonpushable Robot, respectively.

:_i2:~AIF [condition] "label"
:_iB:~AIF NOT [condition] "label"

These test whether a given condition is present or not, and if
it is, the first will jump to the given label. If it isn't, the
second will jump to the given label. Conditions are covered in
another section.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:con:Conditions

:_i3:~AIF # # "label"

Jump to the given label if the current Robot is at the x/y
coordinates given.

:_i4:~AIF [dir] PLAYER [color] [thing] [param] "label"

Jump to the given label if the given thing is to a given
direction of the player.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors
>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_i5:~AIF [color] [thing] [param] # # "label"
:_i6:~AIF [color] [thing] [param] [dir] "label"
:_iA:~AIF NOT [color] [thing] [param] [dir] "label"

Jumps to a label if a given thing is at the given x/y
coordinates or to the given direction of the current Robot.
The third form jumps if the thing is NOT in the given
direction.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors
>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_i7:~AIF ALIGNEDROBOT "Robot" "label"

Jump to the given label if the current Robot is aligned either
vertically or horizontally with the named Robot.

:_i8:~AIF ANY [color] [thing] [param] "label"
:_i0:~AIF NO [color] [thing] [param] "label"

If there are ANY of a given thing on the current board, jumps
to the given label. The second form searches for the absence
of the given thing. These commands can slow down your game
if used too often.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_iC:~AIF PLAYER # # "label"

If the player is at the given x/y coordinates, jump to the given
label.

:_g2:~AGIVEKEY [color]
:_g3:~AGIVEKEY [color] "label"
:_t3:~ATAKEKEY [color]
:_t4:~ATAKEKEY [color] "label"

Attempts to give or take keys to or from the player. The
label-less forms will give or take the key if possible,
otherwise they will do nothing. The forms with labels will jump
to them if you try to give a key when they have no room for
keys, or you try to take a key they don't have.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_g1:~AGIVE # [item]
:_t1:~ATAKE # [item]
:_t2:~ATAKE # [item] "label"

Gives or takes a number of a certain item. The third form jumps
to a label if the player doesn't have enough of the stated item.

:_t6:~ATRADE # [item] # [item] "label"

Gives the player a number of the first item and takes a number
of the second item in exchange. If the player doesn't have
enough of the second item, jumps to label and has no other
effect. This command eases the writing of shops and vendors.

:_l6:~ALOCKPLAYER
:_l9:~ALOCKPLAYER NS
:_l8:~ALOCKPLAYER EW
:_l7:~ALOCKPLAYER ATTACK
:_u1:~AUNLOCKPLAYER

The first four commands lock the player, preventing him from
doing anything, moving north or south, moving east or west,
and attacking, respectively. The fifth command will clear all
locks on the player, allowing him free movement and attacking.
These have no relation to the Board Info options "Can Bomb" and
"Can Shoot". Player locking is local, only affecting the current
board.

:_b7:~ABOARD [dir] "string"
:_b8:~ABOARD [dir] NONE

Changes the board exit in the given direction to lead to the
given board or to nowhere.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions
>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:_z1:~AZAP "label" #
:_rA:~ARESTORE "label" #
:__0:~A| "label"

ZAP will scan the Robotic program from the top down, changing
a given number of the stated label to a ZAPPED label. A ZAPPED
label is inactive- It cannot be jumped or sent to under any
circumstance. This has two uses- It will prevent interference
from a certain outside event, and it allows multiple instances
of the same label. For example, you could have five SHOT labels
in a row, and ZAP one each time the Robot was shot, and the
last one could lead to an explosion.

RESTORE will scan the Robotic program from the bottom up,
changing a given number of the stated label from a ZAPPED label
back to a normal label. Both ZAP and RESTORE can have a number
larger than the number of instances of the stated label. The
final command, |, is a ZAPPED label, allowing you to have labels
in your Robotic programs that are already ZAPPED and inactive.

:pre:~AREL COUNTERS
:_r2:~AREL PLAYER
:_r3:~AREL SELF

These are a special type of command, called PREFIXES. Prefixes
don't do a thing by themselves, but when placed before another
command that uses x/y coordinates, they change the origin of
the x/y coordinate system for that one command. REL COUNTERS
moves the origin to the x/y location stated in the counters
XPOS and YPOS. REL PLAYER moves the origin to the x/y of the
player. REL SELF moves the origin to the x/y of the current
Robot.

The movement of the origin changes the 0/0 coordinates from the
upper left of the board to somewhere else, effectively adding
that x/y position to any coordinates entered. For example, if
the Robot is at the 5/5 position and uses REL SELF on a 2/2
coordinates, it will effectively be 7/7. If the player is at
the 7/2 position and a Robot uses REL PLAYER on a -3/6 pair
of coordinates, it will effectively be 4/8.

Let's look at an example-

~EPUT c0E GEM p?? 5 5

This places a gem at the x/y coordinates 5,5.

~EREL PLAYER
~EPUT c0E GEM p?? 5 5

This places a gem 5 spaces to the right and 5 spaces below
where the player currently is.

~EREL SELF
~EPUT c0E GEM p?? -2 -3

This places a gem 2 spaces to the left and 3 spaces above
where this Robot currently is.

~EREL COUNTERS
~EPUT c0E GEM p?? 1 -4

This places a gem at the coordinates XPOS+1,YPOS-4.

Prefixes only have an effect on the very next command.

Prefixes also affect two other things- The built in counters
THISX and THISY will be offset by a prefix, and the command
IF [dir] BLOCKED will check next to the player or next to the
position noted by the counters, if a prefix is present. See
these for details.

:_r4:~AREL COUNTERS FIRST
:_r5:~AREL PLAYER FIRST
:_r6:~AREL SELF FIRST
:_r7:~AREL COUNTERS LAST
:_r8:~AREL PLAYER LAST
:_r9:~AREL SELF LAST

These prefixes are similar to the above prefixes, but they only
affect the first or last x/y coordinates in the next command.
For example, COPY accepts two pairs of coordinates. If you
precede it with the following-

REL PLAYER FIRST
REL SELF LAST

Then the first pair of coordinates will be relative to the
player, and the second, relative to the Robot. There is one
other difference with these commands- REL COUNTERS FIRST works
off of FIRSTXPOS and FIRSTYPOS, and REL COUNTERS LAST works off
of LASTXPOS and LASTYPOS.

:_j1:~AJUMP MOD ORDER #

The current module jumps to the stated order. For example,
JUMP MOD ORDER 3 will begin playing the fourth order in the
module, which is the fourth section of the module. Sometimes
your music editor will refer to this as 'Pattern' or 'Track'.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_l1:~ALAYBOMB [dir]
:_l2:~ALAYBOMB HIGH [dir]

Places a bomb (high strength for the second form) next to the
Robot in the given direction. Use a direction of UNDER or
BENEATH to place the bomb underneath the Robot.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_l3:~ALAZERWALL [dir] #

The Robot shoots a lazer in the given direction, and the lazer
has the color of the Robot and the duration given.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_cH:~ACOPY # # # #
:_cI:~ACOPY [dir] [dir]
:_sT:~ASWITCH [dir] [dir]

Copies the thing at one location to another, with the location
stated through x/y coordinates or directions relative to the
current Robot. The third command will swap the things at the
two directions.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_cJ:~ACOPY BLOCK # # # # # #
:_cL:~ACOPY OVERLAY BLOCK # # # # # #

Copies a block of things from one location on the board or
overlay to another section. The first two numbers state the
upper-left corner, the second two numbers state the size of
the block, and the third two numbers state the destination
block's upper-left corner. This command can slow down the game
if used too much.

>#TOVERLAY.HLP:081:Editing and Using the Overlay

:_s2:~ASAVE PLAYER POSITION
:_s3:~ASAVE PLAYER POSITION #

Saves the player's coordinates and board in one of eight
internal slots. If no number is given, slot one is used.

:_rB:~ARESTORE PLAYER POSITION
:_rC:~ARESTORE PLAYER POSITION #
:_rD:~ARESTORE PLAYER POSITION # DUPLICATE SELF

Relocates the player to the coordinates and board stored in
the given slot, or slot number one if none is given. The third
form also duplicates the current Robot where the player used to
be, this Robot then starts its program at the first command.

:_eE:~AEXCHANGE PLAYER POSITION
:_eF:~AEXCHANGE PLAYER POSITION #
:_eG:~AEXCHANGE PLAYER POSITION # DUPLICATE SELF

Exchanges the player's current coordinates and board with the
coordinates and board stored in the given slot, or slot number
one if none is given. The third form also duplicates the current
Robot where the player used to be, this Robot then starts its
program at the first command.

:_f2:~AFILLHEALTH

The player's health is refilled to maximum.

:_cA:~ACLEAR MESG

The message row is cleared to show no message.

:_m1:~AMESSAGE ROW #

The message row is moved to the stated row, from 0 to 24.

:_sK:~ASET MESG COLUMN #

The message is displayed at the given column, from 0 to 79.

:_c1:~ACENTER MESG

The message is centered on its row instead of being shown at a
constant column. (see above)

:_l4:~ALOAD CHAR SET "file"
:_l5:~ALOAD PALETTE "file"

Loads in the specified character set or palette, exported using
Alt+X from the world editor. The new character set or palette is
permanent and affects the entire world, until a new one is
loaded.

>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:_t5:~ATELEPORT PLAYER "string" # #

Teleports the player to the given board at the stated x/y
coordinates.

>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting
>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:_c4:~ACHANGE OVERLAY [color] [char] [color] [char]
:_c5:~ACHANGE OVERLAY [color] [color]

All of the stated character and color are changed to the new
character and color on the overlay. The second form doesn't
care about the character, only the color.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors
>#TOVERLAY.HLP:081:Editing and Using the Overlay

:_m9:~AMOVE ALL [color] [thing] [param] [dir]

All of the stated thing are moved in the given direction.
Overuse of this command can slow down your game.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors
>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_o1:~AOPEN [dir]

If there is a gate or door in the given direction, it will open.
If the door is going to open towards the Robot, the Robot will
be pushed out of the way if necessary. It is suggested that you
wait a couple cycles before then continuing on through the door.
(gates aren't a problem.)

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_m7:~AMOD SAM # #

Plays a sample (instrument) from the current module file. The
first number states the frequency to play it at, the second is
the number of the sample, from 1 on.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_l0:~ALOCKSCROLL
:_u2:~AUNLOCKSCROLL

Locks or unlocks Scrolling. When Scrolling is locked, the view
will remain showing the same thing, even if the player moves. It
will not Scroll.

:_c0:~ACHAR EDIT [char] # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Changes the appearance of the given character, using a 14-number
code from the character editor. To insert these codes easily,
use F5 in the Robot editor, select the desired character, and
press ESC.

:_m5:~AMOD FADE IN "file"

Fades in the stated module file, from 0 volume to 255 volume.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music
>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:_m6:~AMOD FADE OUT

Fades out the current module file, from current volume to 0
volume.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_m4:~AMOD FADE # #

Fades the current module file to a given volume at the given
rate. The first number is the target volume, the second number
is the speed at which to fade.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_m2:~AMISSILECOLOR [color]

Changes the color of all missiles fired from this point on.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_pB:~APUSH [dir]

Pushes anything in the given direction one space forward, if it
is pushable. The Robot itself does not move.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_sI:~ASET EDGE COLOR [color]

Changes the color of the edging shown around the view.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_sJ:~ASET MAXHEALTH #

Changes the player's health limit, or maximum health rating.

:_w2:~AWAIT MOD FADE

Waits for the module to finish its fading. (see MOD FADE IN,
MOD FADE OUT, and MOD FADE)

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_w3:~AWAIT PLAY

Waits for all queued PC speaker sound effects to finish playing.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_a2:~AASK "string"

Brings up a dialog box asking the player a question. The player
can select YES or NO. The Robot is then sent to either the YES
or NO label. If the player presses ESC, the NO label is used.

>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:_a3:~AAVALANCHE

Enacts the potion/ring effect, Avalanche, placing boulders
randomly about the board.

>#POTIONFX.HLP:1st:Potion and Ring Effects

:_b4:~ABECOME LAVAWALKER
:_b2:~ABECOME NONLAVAWALKER

The current Robot can or cannot move on lava now. Robots can
always move over fire.

:_b6:~ABLIND #
:_f1:~AFIREWALKER #
:_f4:~AFREEZETIME #
:_sP:~ASLOWTIME #
:_w6:~AWIND #

The stated potion/ring effect is now active for the given
number of cycles. Potion/ring effects are global, IE they
affect the entire world.

>#POTIONFX.HLP:1st:Potion and Ring Effects

:_c3:~ACHANGE CHAR ID # [char]

Changes the character/color/number at the stated (numerically)
location within the CHAR ID table. The CHAR ID table is internal
and is covered in another section.

>#CHANGECH.HLP:1st:CHANGE CHAR ID- The CHAR ID Table

:_c6:~ACHANGE SFX # "string"

The PC speaker sound effect referenced by the given number is
changed to the new string. This is the same as editing sound
effects with Alt+F in the world editor.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:Sound and Music

:_c8:~ACHANGE THIN ARROW CHAR [dir] [char]
:_c7:~ACHANGE THICK ARROW CHAR [dir] [char]

Changes the character used to represent thin arrows (for guns)
or thick arrows (for pushers and spikes) for the specified
direction.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_iI:~AINPUT STRING "string"

Asks the player to input a string, using the given string as
a prompt, or question. The inputted string is stored in memory.
This string can be displayed within box messages or on the
message row by using &INPUT& within a message. Inputted strings
are local to the current board.

>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:_iD:~AIF STRING "string" "label"
:_iF:~AIF STRING NOT "string" "label"

Jumps to the given label if the inputted string is or is not
equal to the given string. Case is ignored.

:_iE:~AIF STRING MATCHES "string" "label"

If the string matches a given pattern, jump to the given label.
(Case is ignored) The pattern is a series of characters and
symbols to match. Characters must match exactly. The following
symbols apply-

.# matches any number from 0-9
_ matches any letter from A-Z or a-z
? matches any character
* matches the remainder of the input string

:_i9:~AIF FIRST STRING "string" "label"

If the first word in the inputted string matches the given
string, jump to the given label.

:_cB:~ACLIP INPUT

Chops off the first word of the inputted string. For example,
"Hello there" will now read in memory as "there".

:_cF:~ACOLOR INTENSITY # PERCENT
:_cG:~ACOLOR INTENSITY # # PERCENT

The first command changes the intensity of the entire palette
from 0 to 100 percent. The second command only changes one
color, stated by number from 0 to 15.

:_cK:~ACOPY CHAR [char] [char]

The character picture of the first character is copied to the
second character.

:_d5:~ADISABLE MESG EDGE
:_e7:~AENABLE MESG EDGE

Disables or enables the edging on the message row- When enabled,
all messages have a space tacked on to each end for display
clarity.

:_d6:~ADISABLE SAVING
:_e8:~AENABLE SAVING
:_e9:~AENABLE SENSORONLY SAVING

Disables or enables saving on this board, or enables saving on
Sensors only.

>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors

:_f3:~AFLIP CHAR [char] [dir]

The character picture of the stated character is flipped up and
down if direction is north/south, or left and right if direction
is east/west.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_o2:~AOVERLAY ON
:_o3:~AOVERLAY STATIC
:_o4:~AOVERLAY TRANSPARENT

Turns the overlay on, to static mode, or to transparent mode.

>#TOVERLAY.HLP:081:Editing and Using the Overlay

:_rE:~AROTATECW
:_rF:~AROTATECCW

Rotates all pushable items around the Robot in a clockwise or
counter-clockwise direction, respectively. This is done in the
same manner as a CW Rotate or CCW Rotate.

:_s4:~ASCROLL CHAR [char] [dir]

The character picture of the stated character is Scrolled one
pixel in the given direction, with wraparound.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_s5:~ASCROLLARROW COLOR [color]
:_s6:~ASCROLLBASE COLOR [color]
:_s7:~ASCROLLCORNER COLOR [color]
:_s8:~ASCROLLPOINTER COLOR [color]
:_s9:~ASCROLLTITLE COLOR [color]

Changes the color used to represent a specific element of the
Scroll and box-message system-

ARROW   = The arrows used to denote options
BASE    = The overall box and text color
CORNER  = The color of the corners of the box, and of the
          options in the option box at the bottom
POINTER = The color of the pointers on the left and right
TITLE   = The color of the Scroll/box title

>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_s0:~ASCROLLVIEW [dir] #
:_sA:~ASCROLLVIEW POSITION # #
:_r0:~ARESETVIEW

The first two commands Scroll the current view a number of
spaces in one direction or until the given coordinates are in
the upper-left corner. RESETVIEW resets the view to normal,
showing the player in the center of the screen when possible.

>#COMMANDS.HLP:dir:Directions

:_sH:~ASET COLOR # # # #

The given color (stated by the first number, from 0-15) is
changed to the RGB values of the next three numbers. The RGB
values must range from 0 to 63. These are the same numbers
shown in the palette editor.

:_sR:~ASTATUS COUNTER # "counter"

The status screen counter stated is changed to the given
counter. The numbers of the counters range from 1 to 6.

>#COUNTERS.HLP:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters

:_sS:~ASWAP WORLD "file"

Transfers play to the first board in the stated world file.
All counters, items, keys, etc. are retained from the current
world.

>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting

:_pE:~APUT [color] [char] OVERLAY # #
:_w7:~AWRITE OVERLAY [color] "string" # #

Puts the given color/character at the given coordinates on the
overlay, or writes a message in the given color at the given
coordinates on the overlay.

>#STRINGSA.HLP:1st:Strings and Special Formatting
>#TOVERLAY.HLP:081:Editing and Using the Overlay
>#COMMANDS.HLP:col:Colors

:_v1:~AVIEWPORT # #

Moves the viewport's upper-left corner to the given screen
coordinates. X ranges from 0 to 79, and Y ranges from 0 to 24.

:_v2:~AVIEWPORT SIZE # #

Changes the size of the viewport. X size must be from 1 to 80,
and Y size must be from 1 to 25.

>#COMMANDR.HLP:1st:Command Reference (Part I)
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#BULLETTY.HLP
:1st:Bullet Types

There are three different types of bullets in MegaZeux- Player,
Enemy, and Neutral. The player shoots Player bullets, enemies
shoot Enemy bullets, and ricocheted bullets become Neutral
bullets. A Robot can shoot any type of bullet, according to its
BULLETTYPE counter, but it defaults to Neutral bullets. All
Enemy bullets become Neutral bullets when the option "Enemies
can hurt enemies" is set.

Player bullets can only hurt enemies. Enemy bullets can only
hurt the player. Neutral bullets can hurt either. Robots go to
different labels when shot with each one, or to a generic SHOT
label if there are none of the specific PLAYERSHOT, ENEMYSHOT,
or NEUTRALSHOT labels.

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#CHANGECH.HLP
:1st:CHANGE CHAR ID- The CHAR ID Table

The Robotic command CHANGE CHAR ID has many uses. It basically
changes a character, color, or number from the Global Chars
or Damage tables from Global Info. The first number in the
command states what is to change. (note- if noted, the number
corresponds to a color or damage. Otherwise, it is a character)
These numbers are also listed next to things in the Global Edit
Chars menus.

Number   Changes
------   -------
0        Space
1        Normal
2        Solid
3        Tree
4        Line
6        Breakaway
8        Boulder
9        Crate
11       Box
13       Fake
14       Carpet
15       Floor
16       Tiles
20       Still Water
21       N Water
22       S Water
23       E Water
24       W Water
27       Chest
28       Gem
29       Magic Gem
30       Health
31       Ring
32       Potion
33       Energizer
34       Goop
36       Bomb
38       Explosion
39       Key
40       Lock
43       Stairs
44       Cave
47       Gate
48       Open Gate
50       Coin
55       Pouch
57       Slider NS
58       Slider EW
65       Forest
67-70    Whirlpool Anim 1-4
71       Invis Wall
73       Ricochet
80       Snake
81       Eye
82       Thief
83       Slimeblob
84       Runner
85       Ghost
86       Dragon
87       Fish
88       Shark
89       Spider
90       Goblin
91       Spitting Tiger
94       Bear
95       Bear Cub
125      Sign
126      Scroll
128-143  Thin Lines (Web) (see below)
144-159  Thick Lines (Thick Web, Lines) (see below)
160      Ice
161-163  Ice Anim 1-3
164-166  Lava Anim 1-3
167      Small Ammo (below 10)
168      Large Ammo (above or equal to 10)
169-175  Lit Bomb Anim 1-7
176-183  Energizer Color Anim 1-8
184-187  Explosion Colors 1-4
188      Horizontal Door
189      Vertical Door
190-193  CW Rotate Anim 1-4
194-197  CCW Rotate Anim 1-4
230-233  Transport N Anim 1-4
234-237  Transport S Anim 1-4
238-241  Transport E Anim 1-4
242-245  Transport W Anim 1-4
246-249  Transport All-Dir Anim 1-4
250      Thick Arrow N (Pusher/Spike)
251      Thick Arrow S (Pusher/Spike)
252      Thick Arrow E (Pusher/Spike)
253      Thick Arrow W (Pusher/Spike)
254      Thin Arrow N (Guns)
255      Thin Arrow S (Guns)
256      Thin Arrow E (Guns)
257      Thin Arrow W (Guns)
258-261  Horizontal Lazer Anim 1-4
262-265  Vertical Lazer Anim 1-4
266-271  Fire Anim 1-6
272-277  Fire Color Anim 1-6
278-281  Life Anim 1-4
282-285  Life Color Anim 1-4
286      Ricochet Panel \
287      Ricochet Panel /
288-289  Mine Anim 1-2
290-291  Shooting Fire Anim 1-2
292-293  Shooting Fire Color Anim 1-2
294-297  Seeker Anim 1-4
298-301  Seeker Color Anim 1-4
302-305  Whirlpool Color Anim 1-4
306-309  Player Bullets, NSEW
310-313  Neutral Bullets, NSEW
314-317  Enemy Bullets, NSEW
318-321  Player, NSEW
322      Player Color
323      Missile Color
324      Player Bullet Color
325      Neutral Bullet Color
326      Enemy Bullet Color
353      Lava Damage
365      Explosion Damage
386      Lazer Damage
388      Bullet Damage
389      Missile Damage
390      Fire Damage
402      Spike Damage
403      Custom Hurt Damage
405      Shooting Fire Damage
406      Seeker Damage
407      Snake Damage
410      Slimeblob Damage
411      Runner Damage
412      Ghost Damage
413      Dragon Damage
414      Fish Damage
415      Shark Damage
416      Spider Damage
417      Goblin Damage
418      Spitting Tiger Damage
421      Bear Damage
422      Bear Cub Damage

Do not use any numbers that are not listed above- They may cause
strange things to happen in the game.

To change a character, use the following form:

CHANGE CHAR ID # [char]

.# is the number corresponding to the character that you want to
change, or a counter representing that number. [char] is the
character (or counter representing the character) that you wish
to change it to.

To change a color, use the following form:

CHANGE CHAR ID # [color]

.# is the same as above, but corresponding to a color. [color]
is the color or a counter representing the color that you wish
to change it to.

To change damage values, use a number or counter in place of the
[char] or [color].

After typing in a [color] or damage value, it may change to a
character representation, but the value will still remain the
same.

To change line characters-

Take the base number for the type of line you wish to change
(128 for thin, 144 for thick) and add one of the following
values to represent which sides are connected via other web or
lines-

0  -
1  N
2  S
3  N S
4  E
5  E N
6  E S
7  E N S
8  W
9  W N
10 W S
11 W N S
12 W E
13 W E N
14 W E S
15 W E N S

>#COMMAND2.HLP:_c3:CHANGE CHAR ID # [char]
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#BUILTINL.HLP
:1st:Built-in Labels

Robotic has many built-in labels (messages) that are activated
on certain external events. The cause of each label is listed
below.

~ETOUCH

This is sent when the player touches the Robot, I.E. he stands
next to it and presses an arrow key towards it.

~ETHUD

This is sent when the Robot is walking and it runs into a wall.

>#COMMANDR.HLP:_w5:WALK [dir]

~EEDGE

This is sent when the Robot is walking and it runs into the edge
of the board. If EDGE is not found, the Robot is sent to THUD.

>#COMMANDR.HLP:_w5:WALK [dir]

~EBOMBED

This is sent when the Robot is hit with an explosion.

~EKEY?

This is sent when the player presses a key from A to Z or from 1
to 9. ? is replaced with the key pressed.

~EINVINCO

This is sent when the player grabs an energizer.

~EPUSHED

This is sent when a pushable Robot is pushed by something other
than the player.

~EENEMYSHOT
~EPLAYERSHOT
~ENEUTRALSHOT

One of these is sent when the Robot is shot, according to the
type of bullet used. If the appropriate label is not found, the
Robot is sent to SHOT instead.

~ESHOT

This is sent when the Robot is shot by a bullet and the more
specific label cannot be found.2

~EPLAYERHIT

This is sent when the player is shot. If not found, the Robot is
sent to PLAYERHURT instead.

~EPLAYERHURT

This is sent when the player is hurt by anything other than a
bullet. Bullets send the Robot to PLAYERHIT, and only send it
to PLAYERHURT if PLAYERHIT cannot be found.

~ESPITFIRE

This is sent when the Robot is hit with shooting fire.

~EJUSTLOADED

This is sent when the world was just loaded or restored from a
saved game.

~EJUSTENTERED

This is sent when the board was just entered or the world was
just started on this board.

~ESENSORON

This is sent by a Sensor when it is stepped upon by the player,
or the Sensor moves beneath the player.

>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors

~ESENSORTHUD

This is sent by a Sensor when it tries to move and is blocked.

>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors

~ESENSORPUSHED

This is sent by a Sensor when it is pushed by something.

>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors

~ELAZER

This is sent when the Robot is hit with a lazer.

~EGOOPTOUCHED

This is sent when the player touches Goop.

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#SENSORSW.HLP:094:Sensors
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#COUNTERS.HLP
:1st:Counters and Built-in Counters

Counters are built-in variables, or stored values with names.
Each counter has a name, such as "Yellow" or "Apple Pies". A
counter can hold a value from -32768 to 32767, in most cases.
A counter is "active" when it has a value other than 0. There
can be up to 50 active counters at any one time, in addition
to the built-in counters. Counters retain values between
different boards.

The following is a list of built-in counters, which all have
special meanings. There are three types of built-in counters-
Global, which affect everything, Robot, which are different for
each Robot and are only available to read by that Robot, and
Local, which are specific to the current board. Some built-in
counters are read-only.

$Global Built-in Counters

~BGEMS, AMMO, LOBOMBS, HIBOMBS, COINS, LIVES, HEALTH

These contain the current number of the stated item that the
player currently has.

~BINVINCO

The number of cycles of invincibility the player currently has.

~BSCORE

The player's current score. Only use INC and DEC on SCORE if it
will ever exceed 32767. If you only use INC and DEC, SCORE can
reach over four billion.

$Local Built-in Counters

~BKEY

The last key from A-Z and 1-9 that the player inputted.
Numerical values- 65 through 90 for A-Z, and 49 through 57 for
1-9.

~BTIME

The current timer value, between 0 and the time limit for the
current board.

~BTIMERESET

The time limit for the current board. 0 for no time limit.

~BINPUT

The numerical value of the last string inputted.

>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iI:INPUT STRING "string"

~BINPUTSIZE

The size, in characters, of the last string inputted.

>#COMMAND2.HLP:_iI:INPUT STRING "string"

$Robot Built-in Counters

~BBULLETTYPE

The current type of bullet shot by the Robot. 0 for Player, 1
for Neutral, and 2 for Enemy.

>#BULLETTY.HLP:1st:Bullet Types

~BPLAYERDIST (read-only)

The distance from the Robot to the player, in spaces. The sum
of HORIZPLD and VERTPLD.

~BHORIZPLD (read-only)
~BVERTPLD (read-only)

The horizontal or vertical distance from the Robot to the
player, in spaces.

~BTHISX (read-only)
~BTHISY (read-only)

The current X or Y coordinate of the Robot. Affected by
prefixes- If a command that uses THISX and THISY is prefaced
with a REL PLAYER command, THISX and THISY will be generated
based on the player's current position. For example, if the
player is at 2,2 and the Robot is at 5,5, THISX and THISY
will be 3. If the player is at 7,7, THISX and THISY will be
-3. If a command that uses THISX and THISY is prefaced with
a REL COUNTERS command, THISX and THISY will be generated
based on XPOS and YPOS. Basically, THISX and THISY will be
set to THISX-XPOS and THISY-YPOS.

>#COMMAND2.HLP:pre:REL COUNTERS
>#COMMAND2.HLP:_r2:REL PLAYER

~BLOOPCOUNT

The counter used for looping commands in Robotic- LOOP START,
LOOP #, and ABORT LOOP.

>#COMMANDR.HLP:_lC:LOOP START

~BPLAYERLASTDIR

The last direction the player moved- 0 for none, or 1 2 3 4 for
N S E W. Used to determine ice slippage and certain other
effects.

~BPLAYERFACEDIR

The direction the player is facing- 0 1 2 3 for N S E W. Used to
determine which player character to display.

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#USINGTHE.HLP
:1st:Using the Editor

The Robotic editor is quite simple to use. After selecting your
Robot's character and name, you will enter the editor screen.
There are three major sections to the editor screen- The top
box, showing current statistics; The middle box, showing the
Robot's program with the current line highlighted in the center;
The bottom box, showing the available editing commands.

To edit the Robot, you enter lines just as in editing Scrolls.
Use up and down or PageUp and PageDown to Scroll between lines,
and use Enter to insert new blank lines.

When you enter a line, it will be checked for proper syntax. You
will be told if the command fails syntax checking. If it passes,
it will be reformatted and redisplayed, and you can then enter
another line. The reformatting is unpreventable- Since MegaZeux
tokenizes Robotic lines to conserve space, all irrelevant
information such as extra spaces is lost. The editor attempts to
print the lines in a visually pleasing manner.

All lines other than the current line will have the various
elements such as strings and numbers highlighted in different
colors. Color codes will be shown as their actual color. The
current line is shown in a solid color and color codes are shown
in the usual cXX format.

The following keys are active within the editor-

>_a:F1       - Help
>_b:F2       - Color
>_c:F3       - Character
>_d:F4       - Parameter
>_e:F5       - Char edit
>_f:F6-F10   - Macro
>_g:Alt+Home - Mark block top
>_h:Alt+End  - Mark block end
>_i:Alt+Esc  - Unmark block
>_j:Alt+Enter- Block action
>_k:Alt+Ins  - Paste
>_l:Alt+O    - Options
>_m:Alt+X    - Export
>_n:Alt+I    - Import

:_a:F1       - Help

Use F1 to bring up context-sensitive help at any time.

:_b:F2       - Color

F2 will bring up a menu of colors. Select one and press Enter to
insert a cXX color code into the current line corresponding to
that color.

:_c:F3       - Character

F3 will bring up a menu of characters. Select one and press
Enter to insert that character into the current line. No quotes
or apostrophes are added.

:_d:F4       - Parameter

If you have just typed in the name of a thing, such as Ammo,
F4 will allow you to select settings for it in order to insert
a pXX parameter code.

:_e:F5       - Char edit

Use F5 to insert series of numbers corresponding to character
pictures, for use with the Robotic CHAR EDIT command.

:_f:F6-F10   - Macro

F6 through F10 will insert short macros, customizable using
Alt+O.

:_g:Alt+Home - Mark block top
:_h:Alt+End  - Mark block end

Alt+Home/End will mark the top or bottom of a block of lines.
You can then perform various block actions on these lines. The
marked lines are highlighted.

:_i:Alt+Esc  - Unmark block

The current block is unmarked.

:_j:Alt+Enter- Block action

Allows you to perform an action on the current block of lines-
Copy it to an internal clipboard, Cut it to an internal
clipboard (copy it and then delete it), Clear it from memory,
or Export the block to a text file on disk.

:_k:Alt+Ins  - Paste

Alt+Ins will paste in the block last copied to the internal
clipboard. The clipboard is preserved between Robots and even
between worlds.

:_l:Alt+O    - Options

Alt+O will bring up a dialog box where you can edit settings
pertaining to the Robot editor. You can change the values of
the five macros here. Use ^ for Enter in the macros.

:_m:Alt+X    - Export

Use Alt+X to export either the current block or the entire
Robot program to a text file on disk. You can then edit the
program outside of MegaZeux, or use the text file in other
ways.

:_n:Alt+I    - Import

Use Alt+I to import a text file into the current Robot. The
new lines will be inserted into the current program. Any
errors will stop the importation. This allows you to edit Robot
programs outside of MegaZeux. The import process may take a
while, so be patient.

The following Robot editor options can be changed through Alt+O-

~EMacros

You can change the text of the five macros here. Use ^ for
Enter.

~EShow Colors

If this is off, then color codes will always be shown in cXX
format, never as the actual color.

~ESyntax Highlighting

If this is off, then the program will not have different colors
for the various programming elements such as strings and
numbers.

~EUppercase

If this is on, uppercase will be used. If this is off, lowercase
letters will be used.

~EBase 10/16

If set to base 10, numbers will be shown in decimal. If set to
base 16, numbers will be shown in hexadecimal, in $xxxx format,
where xxxx is a number from 0 to FFFF.

The statistics line across the top of the Robot editor shows the
current line number, the current character within the line, and
the size of the Robot program versus the maximum size this Robot
can reach, based on remaining Robot memory and the 31k per Robot
limit.

Use ESC to exit the Robot editor when you are done editing your
Robot program.

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#CMDLINE.HLP
:1st:Command Line Options

The following command line options are available for use when
starting MegaZeux. To use them, type them in after MEGAZEUX
at the DOS prompt. Separate all options with spaces.

~A-?

Bring up command line option help screen.

~A-lxxxxxxxx.MZX

Loads up xxxxxxxx.MZX at start up. (the .MZX is optional)

~A-nomouse

Don't activate the mouse, even if one is present. Use if the
mouse gets in the way or MegaZeux seems to think you have a
mouse when you don't.

~A-noems

Don't use any EMS memory. Use if MegaZeux's use of EMS memory
is causing a problem. Note that with this option, you will
probably not have enough memory for module and SAM files.

~A-ega

Use EGA mode even on VGA or higher. This only affects the
granularity of palette fades and color changes.

~A-keyb2

Use another style of keyboard handler. Use if your keyboard is
locking up or otherwise causing problems.

$Sound Card Options

~A-port###
~A-irq#
~A-dma#

Allows you to specify the settings for your sound card. -port
sets the base port and must be followed by a hexadecimal number
such as 220. -irq sets the IRQ line number, and should be
followed by a single digit such as 7. -dma sets the DMA number
and should be followed by a single digit such as 1. See your
sound card manual for details. These options are only neccesary
if autodetection fails. An example of a command line for the
default SoundBlaster settings-

MEGAZEUX -port220 -irq7 -dma1

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#MEMORY.HLP
:1st:EMS Memory/Boot Disk Tips

MegaZeux makes extensive use of EMS and conventional (first
640k) memory. The more you have available, the better it will
run.

To have EMS memory available, you must have an EMS driver
installed. Most EMS drivers also require an XMS/HIMEM driver
loaded first. You will need lines similar to the following in
your CONFIG.SYS to load HIMEM and an EMS driver, respectively-

DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE 3072 H=160

The second line has three parts that are optional. The -HIGH
after DEVICE is optional, but recommended, as it conserves
conventional memory, a valuable resource. The 3072 tells DOS to
reserve up to 3072K of memory (3 megabytes) for EMS. Feel free
to lower or raise this value, but a minimum of 2048K (2
megabytes) is recommended. The H=160 tells DOS to reserve at
least 160 EMS handles. A number of 160 or greater is required
here for MegaZeux to run at maximum efficiency.

To help free up conventional memory, you may need to create a
boot disk. This is a common procedure for many games, and if a
certain boot disk works for one game, it may work just fine for
MegaZeux. However, you must remember to include HIMEM and an EMS
driver if you have EMS, and include a mouse driver if you want
your mouse to be available.

To create a boot disk, stick a blank disk into your A: drive and
type the following:

FORMAT A: /S <enter>

Answer Yes to all questions. Give the disk a label if you wish.
Answer No to "Format another?" and then type:

COPY CON A:CONFIG.SYS <enter>
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS <enter>
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE 4096 H=160 <enter>
DOS=HIGH <enter>
.<ctrl+z>

The 4096 can be increased or decreased, depending on how much
memory you have. Use 1024 * the number of megabytes. Now type:

COPY CON A:AUTOEXEC.BAT <enter>
PATH C:\DOS <enter>
C:\MOUSE\MOUSE <enter>
C: <enter>
CD \MEGAZEUX <enter>
MEGAZEUX <enter>

The line to load the mouse driver is optional, and may vary on
different computers. The drive and directory you have MegaZeux
in may differ as well. Insert other lines for SMARTDRV, etc. if
appropriate. It is best if you get a computer-wise friend to
help you, if you can't get the above to work.

>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#ROBOTSWH.HLP
:1st:Robots- What They Are and How to Use Them

Robots are the heart and soul of MegaZeux. Anything you could
want to do in MegaZeux, anything you see done in a MegaZeux
game, many things you didn't know were possible, can be done
with MegaZeux's Robots.

Robots are programmed in their own programming language, called
Robotic. Robotic is a fairly simple language to learn, somewhere
along the lines of BASIC, although a bit more complex. If you've
ever used Epic Megagame's ZZT, Robotic is a bit more complex
than ZZT-OOP, although it is similar and more logical in style
and syntax.

To place a Robot in the editor, press F10 and select Robot, or
Pushable Robot if you want things to be able to push the Robot.
Then name the Robot, and select a character to represent it. Now
you are brought to the Robot editor, where you can program the
Robot in Robotic.

>#ROBOTICT.HLP:1st:Robotic Tutorial
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
#ROBOTICT.HLP
:1st:Robotic Tutorial

(note- if you've never used Robots before, you should probably
 print this out so you can read it while doing the tutorial in
 the editor.)

Robotic has a few concepts that you must understand before you
begin to program in it. You can skip this if you want, but it
will help you learn Robotic much faster. A large portion of this
will be obvious to anybody who has ever programmed in any
language or used computers extensively.

$Commands

You can have one command per line. A command is an instruction
to MegaZeux or the Robot telling it to do something. A program
is a series of commands, that are run right after another.

$Parameters

A parameter is the part of the command that can change, such
as numbers or colors. They specify how the command should be
run or what it should effect. For example, in the command-

WAIT 6

WAIT is the command, and 6 is the parameter. Many commands have
multiple parameters. Parameters are often specified using #,
"string", or [color] [char] etc.

$Labels

A label is a point in a Robotic program that has been given a
name. It is used as a reference point so the Robot can return
to that point at any time, to allow repeating sections of
commands, etc. Labels are written as follows- :"label"

$Messages

A message is something one Robot sends to another, or an
external event sends to a Robot, to tell it to do something.
That something entails jumping to the label corresponding to
that message. For example, a Robot can tell another Robot to
"Bounce"; That Robot will now be executing commands starting
at the label :"Bounce".

$Coordinates

X/Y coordinates are a pair of numbers representing a point on
the current board. 0/0 is the upper left corner of the board,
and the coordinates increase going down and right. You can find
coordinates easily using Alt+Y in the editor, or F6 in the game.
X/Y coordinates can be negative, but this is uncommon and used
for special purposes only.

$Strings

A string is a series of letters or characters, inside quotes.
For example, "STRING", "Booga!", "MegaZeux Rocks", or "[[]]".

$Characters

A character is a single symbol, letter, number, punctuation
mark, space, graphic, etc. All things are viewed as single
characters. When using single characters in Robotic, they must
be enclosed in apostrophes- 'X'.

$Colors

A color is a code representing a background/foreground color
pair. They follow the format cXX, where X is 0-9 or A-F. To
enter color codes easily, use F2 in the Robot editor. The exact
format of color codes is covered in another section.

$Directions

Directions represent one of the four cardinal directions of
NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, or WEST. They can be abbreviated to N, S,
E, and W. There are other directions, but these are the most
commonly used.

Hopefully you understood the above material, as knowledge of it
is essential to program in Robotic. If you don't quite grasp
it, you can return to it later, but you will need to understand
it eventually.

$Your First Robotic Program

Create a Robot in the editor, and give it the following program-

.: "start"
GO NORTH 2
GO SOUTH 2
GOTO "start"

Now test the world. As you can see, this program makes the Robot
move up and down. Let's analyze it line by line-

~B: "start"

As we know, this is a label. It marks the beginning of the
program.

~BGO NORTH 2

This quite plainly tells the Robot to move north two spaces.

~BGO SOUTH 2

This tells the Robot to move south two spaces.

~BGOTO "start"

GOTO tells the Robot to jump to a label. In this case, the Robot
returns to the label "start", effectively restarting it's code.

Pretty easy so far, huh? You will probably find that Robotic's
basics are easy to grasp. Let's try something a little more
complex.

$Your Second Robotic Program

Try the following Robot program-

.: "loop"
/ "NNEESSWW"
GOTO "loop"

.: "touch"
* "Hello!"
CHAR 'X'
END

Testing will show you that this Robot runs around in a small
square. Now try touching it. If you can catch it, the Robot
will change to an X and greet you! Let's look at this program-

~B: "loop"

A label.

~B/ "NNEESSWW"

The / command tells the Robot to move along a given path. The
path is represented with a string of the letters N, S, E, W, and
I. NSEW represent the four cardinal directions, while I tells
the Robot to wait for a sec before continuing. Our path tells
the Robot to go north twice, east twice, south twice, and west
twice, forming a square path.

~BGOTO "loop"

The Robot will now return to the "loop" label, continuing in a
square path forever. Without an outside stimuli, the Robot will
never do anything else.

~B: "touch"

Another label, but this one is special. When the player touches
a Robot, by standing next to it and pressing against it, the
Robot is sent the message "touch". So the following commands
will be run when the player touches the Robot.

~B* "Hello!"

The * command displays a message along the bottom of the screen.
In this case, the message is a traditional greeting.

~BCHAR 'X'

This tells the Robot to assume the appearance of character X.
Make sure that the X is in apostrophes ' and NOT quotes ".

~BEND

This tells the Robot to end it's program and do nothing more.
The Robot will sit there until an outside event wakes it up,
such as the player touching it again. If the Robot reaches the
end of it's program, it will automatically END, so this END is
not technically necessary. However, it will be important if you
need the Robot's program to END somewhere in the middle.

$Robot Interaction

Let's get some Robots to interact with each other. Put two
Robots on a board, right next to each other. Name the left one
Lefty, and give it this program-

.: "dance"
/ "WWWEEE"
SEND "Righty" to "dance"
END

Name the right one Righty, and give it this program-

END
.: "dance"
/ "EEEWWW"
SEND "Lefty" to "dance"
END

Now test this board out. You will see a silly pair of dancing
Robots, as they bump each other left and right. Let's examine
their programs more closely.

Since Righty has an END command as the first line, he isn't
going to be doing anything until told to. So we look at Lefty.
Nothing we haven't seen, until the SEND command.

~BSEND "Robot" to "message"

The SEND command allows one Robot to send messages to another,
telling it what to do. In this case, Lefty will tell Righty to
"dance", sending Righty to the label "dance".

Knowing this, the behavior of the two Robots should be clear.
Each one, in turn, moves away and back again, then it tells
the other one to do this. This repeats ad infinitum.

For a little practice, see if you can get them each to display
a message at the start of their dance step. Make the messages
different for each Robot.

$Some New Commands

The following Robot will demonstrate some new commands and
features. Make sure you put some ammo and bombs on the screen
with this Robot-

END
.: "shot"
COLOR c2C
[ "Owie! That hurt!"
[ "Now I'm all icky bloody. Thank you."
END
.: "bombed"
.. "Check this out..."
DIE
.: "touch"
* "Watch out!"
WAIT 10
SHOOT NORTH
END

Test this Robot out, bombing, shooting, and touching it. The
new commands and labels are explained below.

~B: "shot"

When the Robot is shot by a bullet, it is sent this message.

~BCOLOR c2C

This changes the Robot's color. The c2C represents Lt. Red on
Red. To enter colors, press F2 in the Robot editor and select
the color you want. The appropriate cXX code will be typed in
for you.

~B[ "Owie! That hurt!"

The [ command is very cool. When encountered, all the [ commands
in the same area are put together to form one long message,
which is then displayed in a Scroll-like window, which can be
Scrolled and viewed by the player.

~B: "bombed"

When the Robot is bombed, or otherwise hit by an explosion,
it is sent this message.

~B. "Check this out..."

Notice how this message was not shown in any way. The . command
is used for comments, I.E. messages that are not to be shown.
They are good for your own reference, so you know what you were
trying to do with this Robot, or so you can keep notes of
important things.

~BDIE

Very simple, this command destroys the Robot forever.

~BWAIT 10

WAIT causes the Robot to stop and sit for an amount of time, the
amount of time specified as a number. The time is in cycles,
which is the amount of time it takes to update the board once,
moving all the enemies and bullets, etc.

~BSHOOT NORTH

The Robot will shoot a bullet in the indicated direction.

$Conclusion

You now should know enough Robotic for simple programs. Even
more importantly, you should be able to scan the Robotic
reference manual, including the command reference, and be able
to learn many new commands. There are many important commands
in the command reference that we have not yet mentioned,
such as ENDGAME and GOTOXY. It is recommended that you at least
browse over each of the Robotic reference manual sections.

Make sure you (eventually) read over every part of the reference
manual, as there are many sections not covered in the tutorials.
Especially of interest will be the 'Strings and Special
Formatting' section for more advanced programming.

>#ROBOTICR.HLP:087:Robotic Reference Manual
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#NEWINVER.HLP
:1st:NEW in Version 2.51! (Changes Since Version 1.03)

For information on mzx s2, read readme.1st.

$~ENEW in version 2.51- ALL NEW music/sound code! 32-channels;
$~Ebug-free; support for stereo, 16-bit, GUS, and PAS-16;
$~Esupport for many formats and effects; up to four
$~Esimultaneous sound effects!

Note that the new music support requires that you CONVERT all
non-MOD files using the included program, 2GDM. See 'MegaZeux's
Sound System' for details on the NEW music system.

>#SOUNDEFX.HLP:1st:MegaZeux's Sound System

Note- This is a direct translation from the file WHATSNEW.251,
included with MegaZeux. If you haven't used version 1.03 or
before, you probably won't understand much of this list.

~E2.51s2final release:
  
 + Fixed bug involving mod * settings being lost when loading
 + Should have fixed ems problems some were reporting, if not,
  just try to get more conventional memory.  Enclosed document
  (convmem.txt) should help you.
 + Fixed a bug involving direction checking.
 + Pressing ']' at most any time will now save a screenshot to
   screen.pcx
 + Pressing alt+8 in the editor will set the current mod to *.  


~E2.5.1s2beta release:

 + Added MOD "*", which allows a board to use whatever module
   the previous board was using; this necessitated a change in
   the .SAV file format (still need changes in the editor UI
   to access this feature outside of Robotic)
 + inmate's semantics for MOD "SOMETHIN.MOD*" aren't
   immediately possible, although a rough hack is in already
 + char edits are now not displayed until the beginning of the
   next cycle; the deferred display should eliminate a lot of
   flickering
 + an (at least partial) fix for the infamous UNDER bug 
 + MOUSEX, MOUSEY and BUTTONS are now buffered.
 + more sane magic handling
 + can load MZX 2.51 and 2.51S1 worlds, but will only save
   2.5.1spider2 format


~ENew in version 2.51: (quick fix before I do 3.00!)

 * Bug where moving north or west towards a board that is
   larger than 100 tiles in a dimension may not work properly
   fixed.
 * Bugs in 2GDM.EXE preventing proper conversion of some S3Ms
   fixed.
 * A rare bug preventing internal MOD conversion fixed.
 * "Error opening MOD" will no longer appear during normal
   gameplay.
 * Exporting ANSis now adds a color to the end returning text
   to normal grey.

~ENew in version 2.50:

 * FOR ALL YOU 2.07 USERS- THE MAJOR UPGRADE is the new sound
   code! Support for stereo, 16-bit, more cards, 4 sound
   effects channels, 32 music channels, higher quality, and
   faster sound code! Less bugs! More formats supported! All
   non-MOD files MUST be converted to GDM using the included
   2GDM.EXE program. Formats supported- MOD (up to 32 channels),
   WOW/OCT/NST, S3M, 669, and MTM.

 * Volume controls (overall and SAM) added to F2-Settings (saved
   in .CFG file)
 * SAMs play at 2x volume.
 * MTM support added to 2GDM.EXE. Other formats aren't added
   because they aren't needed (not used often enough) or in the
   case of XM, because they support too many advanced features
   that MZX does not support. Partial XM support MAY be added
   later.
 * Many minor bug fixes in 2GDM.EXE's conversion routines.
 * Internal MOD conversion (in MegaZeux) sped up considerably.
 * For all those that upgraded from 2.07, see 2.49g and 2.48b
   WHATS-NEW for more stuff, including a couple interesting
   new Robotic features

~ENew in version 2.49g-

 * New Import function added- You can import an ANSi to any
   position on the board.
 * Full SAM sound effect support as in the original 2.07 version
   (but using the new MOD code for up to 4 simultaneous
   channels)
 * The OPEN Robotic command will now push the Robot out of the
   way if the door would be blocked by the robot.
 * REL PLAYER and REL COUNTERS now affects the THISX/THISY
   counters (giving the distance FROM the player/counters TO
   the Robot) and the prefixes also affect the IF [dir] BLOCKED
   command, allowing you to check for blocked status next to
   the player or an arbitrary position.
 * [ box message statements now clip their message to 64
   characters (the maximum) on display. Note that all other
   box-message statements are NOT clipped!
 * Color codes are allowed in ? and & box message statements
 * Invalid sound card settings no longer cause a lock-up
 * You can hold down the mouse button to cycle through RGB
   values in the palette editor
 * Changing something to an explosion no longer can cause weird
   colors
 * Whats New section of help sorted by version
 * Placing a robot over the player is prevented with a warning
 * The "Alt+N- Music" lights up properly in the editor now
 * When chaning from a larger board to a smaller board, you can
   no longer accidentally have the cursor outside of the board
   size
 * GUS owners don't need to enter # of SFX channels, since
   MegaZeux cannot support GUS sound effects anyways.
 * Fileboxes (loading MODs, worlds, etc.) can now hold as many
   filenames as memory allows.
 * GUS setup shown properly on configuration screen
 * 2GDM.EXE rewritten- In THIS release, it can only convert
   MOD, NST, WOW, OCT, 669, and S3M files! The final (2.50)
   release will have support for the remaining file formats.
   It is being rewritten to fix many small bugs and make it
   smaller and faster, as well as possibly add more file
   formats.
 * 2GDM.EXE- F00 effect in MODs deleted during conversion
 * 2GDM.EXE- Bad effects S8x, S0x, and Xxx deleted during S3M
   conversion
 * 2GDM.EXE now works properly from other directories
 * INTERNAL MOD loading support. You can now load MODs, NSTs,
   WOWs, and OCTs from within the game without having to
   convert them to GDM first. The only exception is 15-
   instrument MODs- they must first be converted. Note that
   all other formats, such as S3M, 669, etc. must still be
   converted. NST/WOW/OCT support was only added because they
   are extremely similar to MODs, and MODs were required for
   backward compatibility.
 * Insert doesn't display those "Lo bomb selected" messages,
   etc. if the player is Attack Locked or settings say he
   cannot bomb.
 * Minor bugs in ANSi import corrected. (problem fixed- caused
   errors on import of ANSis with more or the same number of
   lines as the current board size maximum)
 * "Ammo <10" and "Ammo >9" entries in Global Chars changed to
   "Small Ammo" and "Large Ammo" to prevent confusion.

~ENew in version 2.48b-

 * ALL NEW music code! Features include faster, NO BUGs, 32
   channels, more formats supported (sorry, no MID or XM) etc.
 * Bug where selecting "(no board)" to add a board caused an
    error if that wasn't the first "(no board)" on the list.
 * Bug where if a robot line entered consisted of only
    semicolons, spaces, and commas, it would screw up that
   robot's program, fixed.
 * Command line options (-port,-dma,-irq) added for setting
    sound card parameters. Only needed if auto-detection fails.
 * Minor help corrections.
 * Save/load during testing in editor disabled.
 * Pressing \ no longer causes problems during gameplay.
 * Bug where "Restart board" for death option in global
    options didn't function properly on first board, nor did
   restart-if-zapped. (fixed)
 * Filling in the overlay no longer locks up if you fill over
    something of the same color and picture.
 * Overlay no longer messed up when resizing board.
 * Lock up on Import World removed.
 * Setting the counter "INVINCO" to 0 works properly.
 * Hopefully fixed rare lockups after robot box messages.
 * Added confirmation for board deletion in editor.
 * All included worlds are NO LONGER password protected. (The
    old password was "megahertz".)
 * Minor bugs in passage search algorithms corrected.
 * Obscure bug involving REL prefixes if used in "infinite-
    loop" type constructs (fixed)
 * In editor- Alt+Dir to move 10 spaces now works as expected
    with draw mode on. (IE it will draw in ALL 10 spaces)
 * Bug where passages on screens wider than 256 spaces didn't
    work properly. (fixed)
 * Bug where fire-to-player's-right would lock up and kill him
   FIXED.
 * Counters can be used in ALL strings in &COUNTER& notation.
   For example, SEND "ROBOT" "LABEL&COUNTER&" will replace
    &COUNTER& with a number. This works for ALL strings-
   counternames, labels, robots, etc. See Robotic help for
   details.

~ENew in version 2.07-

 * Labels and NON-valid counter-regulated options in robot box
   messages are not blank lines; Instead they are just removed
   from the message.
 * Passage (stairs/caves/whirlpools) search algorithm
   corrected.
 * Digitized sample SFX works properly with the note B now.
 * Bug where getting multiple energizers in a row screwed up
   player's color is fixed.
 * Bug where chests with invinco potions will die when taken
   is fixed.
 * Filling in editor, with a robot/scroll/sensor over itself,
   is now handled properly.
 * Whee!! More minor help typos fixed.

~ENew in version 2.06-

 * Yet more cursor safegaurds inserted. (Where do you GET
   these problems!? :)
 * Saving a game no longer asks for overwrite confirmation if
   the file doesn't really exist.
 * Help and tutorial- Minor textual errors fixed
 * Save dialog boxes only allow entry of 12 characters now,
   instead of 13.
 * Help file can be accessed from any directory.
 * -l cmd line option will no longer cause a loading error with
   an oversized filename. (it will instead be ignored)

~ENew in version 2.05-

 * Cursor bug fixed. (If it isn't, then get a new BIOS! :p)
 * MegaZeux now utilizes overlaid code, for almost 50k core
   memory savings.
 * LOCKSCROLL cmd fixed
 * Moving into the lower-right corner of full-size boards no
   longer warps you to the upper-left corner.
 * SET COLOR and COLOR INTENSITY don't blow up if the color is
   not from 0 to 16.
 * Code for activating 16 background colors is now shorter and
   uses BIOS calls for compatibility.

~ENew in version 2.04-

 * Slight modifications to Robotic Tutorial (help file)
 * Sending a robot a message, when it hadn't done anything yet
   that turn, activates it immediately. This helps with
   syncronized activities, such as large, multi-robot
   creatures.
 * ALT+Numerics feature of BIOS keyboard routine DISABLED (IE
   ALT+3 will no longer break to DOS)
 * Counters' code optimized.
 * The temp file ~EDITRSZ.TMP created when resizing a board is
   now deleted when finished.
 * a KEYBOARD CODE kink was worked out (hopefully got 'em
   all...)
 * Made printer code more general (should work on any printer
   in text mode)
 * PALETTE BUG on some SVGA cards FIXED. (black now looks like
   black) If it still isn't, please notify me.
 * HOME and END will jump to the top/bottom of a box
   message/help/scroll.
 * PgUp/PgDn/Mouse navigation work properly in box
   messages/help/scrolls
 * HOME and END in dialogs works properly now- Unless you are
   editing a number, they will jump to the FIRST item and the
   NEXT or OK button, respectively. In a string, they will
   still jump to the start/end unless you are already there,
   then they will jump to the proper dialog location.
 * Robots (especially when there are lots of them) sped up.
 * DUPLICATE SELF and COPY ROBOT cmds sped up some, except when
   used by global robot.
 * Palette intensities reset when going into editor after the
   title screen changes them.
 * MODULO "str" # will no longer crash if # is 0.
 * Extreme palette activity no longer causes snow or (on EGA)
   screen breakup. Palette activity also sped up.
 * Bug fixed- If a SAM/MOD command had to free up board memory
   (showing the little "freeing up board memory..." meter) then
   that robot stopped running.
 * Bug fixed- If the robot changed it's surroundings (IE
   Putting a SPACE to it's NORTH) and then did a RANDNB or
   RANDB, the new surroundings weren't always taken into
   consideration.
 * DIVIDE ERROR crash/bug fixed. (It was related to usage of
   RANDNB and RANDB)
 * CHAR "A" vs. CHAR 'A' question added to F.A.Q.
 * README.TXT changed- Boot disk/support info added.
 * Help on cmd ."@string" corrected.
 * SPEED defaults to 4 (settings) and is saved in MEGAZEUX.CFG.

~ENew in version 2.03-

 * Intensity of palette (and other stuff?) now resets after a
   test game.
 * Messed-up black color on certain graphics cards- Attempted
   to fix.
 * Minor bug in VER1TO2.EXE fixed
 * Robot section of Tutorial corrected (the descriptor scrolls)
 * Speeds based on real time (IE speed 3 will be the same on
   ANY computer, unless the computer itself is so slow that it
   forces a slower speed.)
 * CAVERNS has game over screen fixed
 * MOVE PLAYER [dir] "label" command now works properly.
   (Before, the label was almost always ignored)

~ENew in version 2.02-

 * Bugs with Enter in text mode on small boards fixed
 * Bugs with slime fixed
 * If you have screen faded out (COLOR FADE OUT) and go to
   another screen, it no longer fades it in for you
   automatically.
 * HELP.DOC- CHANGE CHAR ID section fixed
 * Fill really does now fill properly on boards larger than
   127x127. :)
 * Sped up sensor interactions somewhat
 * Fixed problems with boards not scrolling with the player,
   in the game on over-sized boards. Run FIX.EXE in all
   directories containing version 2.01 or 2.00 .MZX/.MZB files.
 * Nothing can give you negative coins, gems, etc. (such as
   thieves)
 * Minor robot speed improvements
 * Turning Music Off (Settings in Game) really keeps it
   off... :)

~ENew in version 2.01-

 * Sensor command CHAR'X' fixed
 * TAKEing health now counts as hurting the player for the
   :playerhurt label
 * Can load help from any drive/directory
 * Copy block in editor now properly clips the block's
   destination
 * Move block in editor now properly clips the block's
   destination
 * ."@new_robot_name" command added
 * If the player runs up against a player bullet, it won't
   hurt him
 * JUSTENTERED, JUSTLOADED, and GOOPTOUCHED labels fixed
 * UNLOCKSCROLL and locked scrolling in general fixed
 * Global info now properly sets endgame/death boards
 * Robot ASK command works properly now
 * Help- internet address/address validity date corrected
 * Help- CHANGE CHAR ID help section- added note about how the
   numbers are also listed in the Global Edit Chars menus
 * ENTER can now exit robot box messages/scrolls
 * Message line (bottom) shows color correctly
 * EXCHANGE/RESTORE w/DUPLICATE SELF fixed
 * Attempted to fix cursor problems in editor. If it doesn't
   work now, then I have no solution, as I use documented BIOS
   routines with many safegaurds.
 * Minor speed improvements
 * Minor size reduction
 * Fill in editor now works with board sizes over 127x127

>#NEWIN200.HLP:1st:New in version 2.00
>#MAIN.HLP:072:Table of Contents
#NEWIN200.HLP
:1st:~ENew in version 2.00-

 * All code has been rewritten or at least stepped through line
   by line, except for the music code.
 * New user interface style and startup screen. Lots of neat
   little items like shadows, nicer colors, etc. Mostly
   aesthetic but nice. Mouse support also improved.
 * Keyboard code rewritten (again) All alt-lock, shift-lock,
   and ctrl-lock problems, as well as most other keyboard
   problems, should not be a problem anymore. You may have to
   use the -keyb2 command line option. If a key locks, tap it
   a couple times.
 * No flicker- The game engine now page flips.
 * Better string input- ANYWHERE you can enter a string, you
   can now move with the cursors and insert in the middle...
 * Better character selection box- Shows all the characters.
 * New default character set- Much nicer, more general use
   characters.
 * Now detects processor to avoid lock ups on an old 8086/8088.
   If an invalid graphics card is found, DOS services are used
   for printing.
 * Different command line options. (use -? to get info on them)
 * Context sensitive help.
 * Bombs and Sensors under the player no longer mess up floors,
   etc.
 * CHANGEing something to lava, fire, etc. now works correctly.
 * Transporting onto a Sensor works properly.
 * New conditions- MUSICON and PCSFXON
 * Changing things to spaces CLEARS them, to avoid screwing up
   floors.
 * Restart position not changed during a save/load
 * Label- :playerhurt for when player is hurt, not sent on
   invincible hurts
 * Maximum Robot commands per cycle is 40, not 25
 * Global Robot runs normally in freeze/slow time
 * Choice of 100x100, 200x50, 400x25, 80x125, or 60x166 for
   each board.
 * Character editor remembers character you were editing.
 * Robo-P renamed to Robotic
 * Scrolls now allow proper use of mouse, pgup, and pgdn.
 * Scrollborder became Scrollcorner.
 * :gooptouched auto label added, for when the player touches
   Goop.
 * Messages like "You got a red key" are now "You got a key" so
   palette fiddling won't make strange words. :)
 * Within Robotic messages (box/line) a &INPUT& will be
   replaced by the exact text of the currently inputted string
 * Notes in play of same freq. won't run together
 * Explosions won't destroy entrances, lava, water, ice, or
   goop
 * Robots are stopped from firing if there is already a bullet
   of the same dir/type in that dir.
 * Other things will push the player ONTO a Sensor.
 * The above will trigger the SENSORON label.
 * If player is on an entrance without having been there before
   the update, use it. (I.E. can now be pushed onto entrances)
 * Teleporting or walking onto a screen and starting on a
   Sensor will trigger the SENSORON label
 * Non-players/puzzle pieces now transport properly.
 * PLAYERLASTDIR (0-4) and PLAYERFACEDIR (0-3) as counters.
 * Points for killing enemies (3) and points for rings/potions
   (5)
 * Way to disable edging spaces on message row- ENABLE MESG
   EDGE, DISABLE MESG EDGE.
 * Cmds- LOOP START, LOOP # TIMES, ABORT LOOP, uses Robot
   counter LOOPCOUNT
 * Counter limit increased to 50 plus built-in.
 * New passage search order- 1) Same type, same color 2) Same
   color 3) Same type, same foreground 4) Same foreground 5)
   Same type 6) Default player position
 * Palette import/export
 * If the starting board is deleted, change starting board to
   title.
 * "Sets of five" numerical input actually increase by fives
 * Holding the mouse button on a numeric arrow button cycles
   the num.
 * Removed the "." Directory from file menus
 * Six (not four) status counters.
 * CHANGE blah p?? blah p?? (notice the p?? added for the first
   thing)
 * Doors, if can't move, don't advance in anim. I.E., doors
   won't get "stuck" if they are blocked.
 * PERSISTENT GO command, like /"nsew" but WAITS to move if
   blocked.
 * No chest message on empty.
 * Startup "help" screen on first use.
 * Explosions Leave Empty doesn't mess up ANY floors, etc.
 * Much better fill routine.
 * Entering a non-cmd with the first character as a [, ., :,
   etc. automatically formats it. Leading and trailing spaces
   and quotes are cleared first.
 * Save/Load game/etc. are accessed through F-keys in the game.
 * Removed special menu for Alt+M (modify) in editor
 * In editor, keeps track of whether world has been modified.
 * Ceiling layer- noninteractive, but overlays things and looks
   neat. Included in editor- Edit, display toggle. Robots-
   changing it by character, copying areas of it, and filling
   an area of it by cmd or string (I.E. set area to "A string")
   Char of 32 is see-thru. Layer during game can be on, off, or
   static (I.E. not Scrolling, just showing upper left portion)
 * Robot commands to change the mode of saving.
 * Limit any one Robot/Scroll to 31k.
 * Allow placing shooting fire in editor.
 * Make all enemies without speed arguments move 1/2 their
   speed.
 * Player CANNOT be overwritten, you must place him anew to
   move him.
 * First line of Robot now shows if it is a box mesg.
 * Speed 1 in game does NOT page flip, for speed.
 * Inputted strings allow input of spaces.
 * Time limits- Out of time zaps to entrance automatically,
   THEN RESETS TIMER. Counter TIMERESET holds reset value for
   timer, and the TIME counter holds the current time.
 * MOD code has only an error on no memory. Errors for loading
   MODs and SAMs (I.E. not enough memory) are active if the
   debug menu (F6) is shown. SAMs have errors for file errors/
   out of memory. These errors are always in the editor/testing
   games.
 * First test of a game doesn't give GAME OVER.
 * Sound effects aren't cut off across screens.
 * Placing a bomb while upon a passage no longed warps to title.
 * Sensors are pushable by things other than the player.
 * New Sensor-activated label- SENSORPUSHED, when the Sensor is
   pushed, with or without the player on it.
 * Label- JUSTENTERED when the player just entered the screen
   or the game is started. (NOT restored)
 * Command- Can lock/unlock board Scrolling temporarily-
   LOCKSCROLL, UNLOCKSCROLL.
 * IF ALIGNEDROBOT "Robot" "label"
 * Damage editing- Changing the amount of damage things
   inflict.
 * Load title screen directly when loading game for title.
   Prevents music on first board from playing, and saves time.
 * New Robot-specific auto-counters- (read only) THISX, THISY.
 * Anywhere a number can go in a Robotic command, a counter can
   too. Wherever there is a number, character, or color, you
   can use a counter name in quotes instead.
 * Cmd line- load MZX file. (-lxxxxxxxx.MZX)
 * Config file for options, ask "OK?" on startup. Removed all
   config cmd line options.
 * Cmd- SCROLLVIEW X Y. (upper left hand corner is specified)
   Based off of current player position.
 * Cmd- SWAP TO WORLD "world.mzx" as if starting the world up.
   Skips any title screen. (you could put a message there) The
   other world can have a "Only play from swap" option set.
 * Quicksave key in game- Saves without asking for filename and
   confirmation.
 * Quickload key in game- Same idea.
 * Option (default off) on world to clear messages, bullets,
   and spitfires from a screen when exited.
 * Label JUSTLOADED sent to as soon as the game is started or
   restored. (including the title screen and actual playing)
 * Shows character number on char edit and char selection.
 * Shows color number on color selection.
 * Multiple spots to SAVE/RESTORE/EXCHANGE PLAYER POSITION. (8)
 * RESTORE/EXCHANGE PLAYER POSITION with the option to
   duplicate the Robot to take his place. When the player moves
   back, the Robot is, of course, deleted.
 * Remove RANDOM POS/SIZE options.
 * Allow labels to interrupt in a Robot's box-message code and
   have the message still show uninterrupted.
 * Show a pic of the item next to it in the THINGS menus.
 * Different bullet pics/colors for player, neutral, and enemy
   bullets.
 * Status shown counters won't show if the value is 0.
 * Prefixes that affect only the first or last x y pair of a
   command. (REL COUNTERS LAST, REL SELF FIRST, etc.)
 * Mod fading commands (background)
 * Allow lives/health to max out at 65535.
 * Score as a counter.
 * Maximum of 150 boards. (not 127)
 * Cmd- COPY BLOCK x y x y x y.
 * Label for SpitFire hitting a Robot- "spitfire"
 * Label for Lazer hitting a Robot- "lazer"
 * Cmd- CLIP INPUT (chops first word + spaces off of input)
 * Cmd- IF FIRST INPUT "str" "label"
 * KEY1 through KEY9 labels. (like KEYA thru KEYZ)
 * Allow viewport sizes down to 1x1.
 * PUSH Robot command- push things to dir without moving there.
 * ONE global Robot. (No ID) Stored seperate from a board, and
   is active on ALL boards.
 * Robots- Allow importing of a character into a CHAR EDIT
   command.
 * Robots- Have SCROLL CHAR, FLIP CHAR, and COPY CHAR commands.
 * Full backward compatibility w/old Megazeux via a conversion
   program. (VER1TO2.EXE)
 * Editable built-in sfx. (including to digitized)
 * Elements- Goop, which is like Water from ZZT.
 * EGA/VGA palette editor, with easy fading. Commands- COLOR
   INTENSITY # PERCENT, COLOR INTENSITY "counter" PERCENT,
   COLOR FADE IN, COLOR FADE OUT, SET COLOR # TO r g b, SET
   COLOR # TO INTENSITY # PERCENT, SET COLOR "counter" TO
   INTENSITY "counter" PERCENT. (note- the FADE OUT/IN cmds
   are "quick" fades, IE not in the bk, but they actually
   stall the game a bit. They also end the current cycle.)
 * Display counters within strings, IE. * "You have &GEMS&
   gems." (use && for &)
 * Robot command- LOAD CHAR SET "file.chr"
 * New default characters for global chars and char set.
 * When adding another board, copy most of the options (can
   attack, etc.) from the current board, including MOD file.
 * Edit ANY character/color from Global Chars.
 * Char editor- Revert to Ascii, Revert to Megazeux, changed
   REVERSE to NEGATIVE.
 * Alt-Y Debug info LABELs each line.
 * Block command- Paint (w/color).
 * Board editor- Scroll when cursor is five spaces from the
   edge.
 * Fade in/out between screens and program areas.
 * Ice does NOT keep pushing you against something. If you are
   blocked, cease movement.
 * Make sound test available in editor as an option, from the
   sound effects editing screen.
 * Can't test a save-locked game w/o pw, and it no longer locks
   up from this.
 * REMOVED Scroll coloring on line by line. (using ! codes)
 * Export .ANS file.
 * Energizer will return player color to old color.
 * Capture and throw away Ctrl-C, PrintScreen, SysRq, and
   Pause.
 * Return in editor at end of program can now add a blank line.
 * Allow marking of a section of Robot, in lines. You can now
   Copy, Cut, Clear, or Paste blocks.
 * Remove useless "pro" mode.
 * Robot commands- DIVIDE, MULTIPLY, MODULO.
 * Different player pics per direction.

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