ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» ºÛ²±° DOS DOORS RUNNING UNDER OS/2 AND MAXIMUS/2 °±²Ûº ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ A suggestive document by: Peter W. Lazenby The Back Door 60 Starling Street Kitimat, BC V8C 1K5 Canada Phone: (604) 632-4640 BBS (604) 632-4645 BBS (604) 632-4644 BBS (private node) (604) 632-4883 Voice FidoNet 1:359/520 1:359/521 DISCLAIMER: This is one SysOp's approach to using running dos doors with with Maximus/2 v2.xx (Max). It is not the only way, just the way I do it. The ideas outlined herein are what I have found works best for my purposes. You will find other approaches to the same ends in various other documents and files. Give them all a try, and use whatever suits your application. This document assumes a working knowledge of Maximus, and the MECCA script language. It is in no way intended to be a tutorial on the workings of same. I cannot promise that using these methods will be the answer for you, nor can I guarantee that using these methods won't break your system. I do know that everything described herein works as I have outlined it on my system. To date, nothing bad has happened to my setup. CONTENTS OF THIS ARCHIVE: DOORS.FAQ - This document. MENUS.CTL - A small portion of my menus.ctl file showing the door games sections. DROPFILE.ZIP - The dropfiles The Back Door/2. These are intended primarily as an example, but if you wish to incorporate them into your own setup, please feel free to do so. The beginning of each one is commented to explain the difference in naming conventions. Note that I have only included the dropfiles that I actually use. BATFILES.ZIP - These are my working batch files. I only included the node 1 versions of each. I have learned that I could use only one batch file for each door, but by the time I learned that, I had at least 30 doors on line with 3 batch files for each. I opted to stick with the 3 batch file approach rather than use a single batch file for each. Call it laziness :) CONFIG.ZIP - My config.sys file (compressed into .zip format so as not to cause anyone undue problems). This isn't really a FAQ... the question is how to run dos doors with Maximus/2. This is just one big answer (and it is only my solution... there are other methods, but I like to keep things simple). Programs needed: Maximus/2 (redundant... if you didn't have Max/2 you probably wouldn't be reading this) Ray Gwinn's Sio drivers. As of this writing, the current version is 1.45a Some doors (redundant again, I know) First of all, install the Sio drivers. This is fairly painless... the install program will do most of the work for you. Next, edit your config.sys to add the proper com port definitions to the lines that were just added with the install program. The '-' parameter at the end of the example below is the important part for running dos doors... it allows dos to share the com port with OS/2. This MUST be the fourth parmater for each com port. Example: DEVICE=C:\SIO\SIO.SYS (COM1:19200,3F8,IRQ4,-)(COM2:38400,2F8,IRQ3,-) You may want to add a line after the two sio lines (I've only shown the first of the two here) to install the fossil driver that comes with Sio (then again, you may not): DEVICE=C:\SIO\VX00.SYS I've found I prefer loading the fossil in this manner. True, it loads for every dos door, but most of them require a fossil anyway, and the ones that don't will allow the use of one (or say 'fossil not installed' for those games). While we are on the subject of Sio drivers, there's a neat little trick that can be done with non-standard IRQ's within the Sio com port definitions themselves, rather than having to muck with door configuration files and the like. I run 3 nodes, with only one running on a standard IRQ (the SIO.SYS line above shows only my mouse port (com 1) and my node 1 port (com 2). For com 3 and 4 (non-standard IRQ) I simply put the following: (COM3:38400,3E8,IRQ4:IRQ9,-)(COM4:38400,2E8,IRQ3:IRQ5,-) The IRQx:IRQx is like the old dos 'assign' command. Any dos program that's looking for standard IRQ's will get them, thanks to Sio. See the enclosed config.zip (config.sys) for working examples. Next, you have to edit your dropfiles. The 'canned' versions that come with Max won't work with OS/2. These dropfiles have the line: [write]COM%P If you are running a single node system, you just have to replace %P with the actual com port number, and it'll work: [write]COM2 [comment The bbs uses com port 2 only] If you're multi-node, there's two options. If you are lucky enough to have all com ports corresponding to task numbers, replace the %P with %k (that's a lower case k) and it'll work. If your task and com port numbers differ, use the following example: [iftask]1 [write]COM2 [comment These are my com ports, yours will] [iftask]2 [write]COM4 [comment probably differ] [iftask]3 [write]COM3 [iftask]4 [write]COM0 [comment My local node is node 4] Do this with all dropfiles you plan on using (dorinfo.mec and doorsys.mec for sure... these are the two most used), and meccap them. Your menus.ctl only needs to call the door's batch file (as is usually provided by example with the door). Here's a snippet from my menus.ctl: NoDsp Display_File Misc\doorsys Disgrace "1" Xtern_Dos batch\Usurper.bat Disgrace "1:Usurper" (I keep all my batch files in d:\max\batch for easy access) Re-siltp max and you should be all set. I have a file available on my system (1:359/520 @ 28800 and 1:359/521 @ 14400) that includes this text, some sample batch files for the more popular doors, the doors section of my menus.ctl, some other little tricks that don't really apply here, but do apply to dos doors, a list of doors that I run (about 50), and a very short list of those doors I've found won't run for me. The file is called DOORMAX2.ZIP and is available for FREQ 23 hours/day. If anyone finds any errors or omissions, please let me know and I'll fix up this FAQ wannabe. List of doors that are currently running for me (or were running at one time or another): 2151 Majyk Empires ArrowBridge MiniBBS Assassin Mad King's Dungeon Axe and Fang Outpost Trader Business Cards Online Galactic Overlord Barren Realms Elite Rip Sweeper Carribean Contraband Rip Puzzle Jet Combat RipVersi BBS Crash Castle Seige Double Solitaire Spiked! Diamond Dice Star System Space Domain DataLink Swords of the Lost Dragon's Yen Planets: The exploration of space Dr. Dread The Pit (not the new one) Excalibur Thunder Valley Fileit File request door The Lost Lands Future Runner Tracker Godfather of Crime Ultimate Universe Mines of Gorr Usurper iMMortal VGA Planets Jewel Thief Don't wake the Sysop Lords of the Irongate Global War Legend of the Red Dragon Yahtzee (Triple Yahtzee) LORE List of doors that I can't get to work under OS/2 (any help would be appreciated... about half of these are the registered versions) Tradewars 2002 - I can't get this one to do anything but lock up the system - both the B5 version, and the one prior that required a different registration code (yup... I have registrations for both versions). Thabean Knights - also wants com 1 Operation Office - May work for you, as a fellow sysop up here is running it successfully. This one quit on my as soon as I applied the registration code. The author is working on an OS/2 version of it though. Smurf Combat - Same thing... registered it and it quit, but the other sysop is running it no problem. Cripple Smash - I forget why... maybe it does work. The Simpsons - same thing. FOOTNOTES: I've tried to keep things as simple and straight forward as possible, but I've had plenty of experience running dos doors graphics with Maximus/2, so I may have made some assumptions that could cause confusion. If you do need any help, feel free to drop me a note, either Netmail @ 1:359/520, or in the Fido MUFFIN or MECCA echos (both of which I read daily), or you can call my BBS - The Back Door/2 - (604) 632-4640 Node 1 (604) 632-4645 Node 2 (604) 632-4644 Node 3 (private, but you can log on to this node using the name 'visiting sysop' and the password 'guest'. However, if you do call node 3, you must leave me a message stating who you were, and what board you run. Otherwise I'll have to remove the guest account. I have enough problems with users trying to gain advantage in the door games by trying to use alternate accounts. I have spent a great deal of time and effort producing this document. If you find it of use, please let me know. I'd like to feel that my efforts have not been wasted. If you have any comments or suggestions pertaining to this document or the example files, please forward same to me. SPECIAL THANKS TO: My loving wife for not ragging on me too much about the hours I spend at the keyboard. The users of The Back Door/2 for putting up with my experiments without too much complaint. Scott Dudley for the best BBS package on the market today, namely Maximus/2-CBCS v2.0x The folks at IBM for developing OS/2 without which, I would not have been able to run multi-line. All the door authors who have brought so much pleasure to my users. My apologies to anyone whom I may have overlooked. There have been so many people involved in my experimenting that it's easy to overlook a few. *** This document, and the suggestions contained within are the sole property of Peter Lazenby. Permission is granted to anyone who wishes to use this document to aid in the implementing of dos doors with Maximus/2. þ