Ubuntu Manpage: dMagnetic — A Magnetic Scrolls Interpreter

NAME

     dMagnetic — A Magnetic Scrolls Interpreter

INTRODUCTION

     You wake up on a sunny August morning with birds singing, and the air fresh and clear.
     However, your joints are stiff and you have not woken up in your bedroom as you would have
     expected. Trying to recall what happened the night before, you manage to piece together a
     few brief glimpses to give the following account...

SYNOPSIS

     dMagnetic [-mag MAGFILE.mag] [-gfx GFXFILE.gfx]
     dMagnetic [-msdosdir DIRECTORY/] [-vmode high_ansi2]
     dMagnetic [-tworsc DIRECTORY/TWO.RSC] [-vmode high_ansi]
     dMagnetic [-d64 DIRECTORY/FILE1.d64,DIRECTORY/FILE2.d64] [-vmode sixel]
     dMagnetic [-amstradcpc DIRECTORY/FILE1.DSK,DIRECTORY/FILE2.DSK] [-vmode utf]
     dMagnetic [-spectrum DIRECTORY/DISKIMAGE.DSK] [-vmode none]
     dMagnetic [-archimedes DIRECTORY/DISKIMAGE.adf]
     dMagnetic [-atarixl DIRECTORY/FILE1.ATR,DIRECTORY/FILE2.ATR]
     dMagnetic [-appleii 1.NIB,2.2MG,3.WOZ]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vrows ROWS] [-vcols COLUMNS]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode none]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode monochrome]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode low_ansi]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode low_ansi2]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode high_ansi]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode high_ansi2]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode utf]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode sixel] [-sres 1024x768] [-sforce]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-valign left]
     dMagnetic [-savegames advanced]
     dMagnetic [-savegames classic]
     dMagnetic [-vlog LOGFILE] [-vecho]
     dMagnetic [-help] [-helpini] [-nodoc] [-v] [-bsd]

DESCRIPTION

     dMagnetic is an interpreter for classic text adventure games, or interactive fiction, such
     as "The Pawn" and "The Guild of Thieves". The following games are being supported:

     The Pawn

     The Guild of Thieves

     Jinxter

     Fish!

     Myth

     Corruption

     Wonderland

GAME BINARIES

     Currently, binaries in the .mag and .gfx format from the magnetic scrolls memorial at
     https://msmemorial.if-legends.org/memorial.php are being supported.  Once downloaded, their
     position has to be made available to dMagnetic by editing dMagnetic.ini first.
     Other possibilities are loading the games from original releases, such as

     the MS-DOS binaries

     the Magnetic Windows Resource Files

     the Commodore C64 images in the d64 format

     Amstrad CPC and Spectrum128 images in the DSK format

     Acorn Archimedes images in the ADF/ADL (aka ADFS) format

     AtariXL/Atari800 images in the ATR format

     Apple II images in the 2MG, NIB or WOZ format

STARTING THE GAME

Once the game(s) have been downloaded, the .mag and .gfx files can be provided via

dMagnetic -mag pawn.mag -gfx pawn.gfx

Alternatively, binaries from the MSDOS version of "The Pawn" or "The Guild of Thieves" can
be used. The directory, in which they are, has to be provided via

dMagnetic -msdosdir DIRECTORY/ -vmode high_ansi

It is recommended to use the [-vmode high_ansi2] option, since this renders the half-tone
images slightly different.

A third option is to use the resource files from "Wonderland" or the magnetic scrolls
collection. For this, the location of the file ending with "TWO.RSC" has to be provided.

dMagnetic -tworsc DIRECTORY/TWO.RSC -vmode high_ansi
dMagnetic -tworsc DIRECTORY/GTWO.RSC -vmode high_ansi -ega
The names of the other resource files is being calculated from that. With the optional
parameter -ega, the EGA versions of the pictures are being shown.

A fourth option is to use D64 image files from the Commodore 64 releases. They come in
pairs, since both sides of the floppy disk were occupied. So the parameter requires a list
of them, separated by komma:

dMagnetic -d64 DIRECTORY/FILE1.d64,DIRECTORY/FILE2.d64 -vmode sixel

A fifth option is to use DSK image files from the Amstrad CPC releases. They come in pairs,
since noth sides of the floppy disk were occupied. So the parameter requires a list of them,
separated by komma:

dMagnetic -amstradcpc DIRECTORY/FILE1.DSK,DIRECTORY/FILE2.DSK -vmode sixel

A sixth option is to use DSK image files from the Spectrum releases. Since this platform did
not have the pictures, a single floppy disk was enough:

dMagnetic -spectrum DIRECTORY/DISKIMAGE.DSK -vmode none

A seventh option is to use ADF/ADL/ADFS image files from the Acorn Archimedes releases.

dMagnetic -archimedes DIRECTORY/DISKIMAGE.ADF

An eigth option is to use ATR image files from the AtariXL/Atari800 releases. Those come in
pairs.

dMagnetic -atarixl DIRECTORY/FILE1.ATR,DIRECTORY/FILE2.ATR

An ninth option is to use image files from the Apple II releases. dMagnetic can handle NIB,
2MG and WOZ. For this platform, up to three disks were used, so three floppy images are
required.

dMagnetic -appleii 1.NIB,2.NIB,3.NIB
dMagnetic -appleii 1.2MG,2.2MG,3.2MG
dMagnetic -appleii 1.WOZ,2.WOZ,3.WOZ

It is also possible to edit the dMagnetic.ini file and start a specific game, by using one
of

dMagnetic -ini dMagnetic.ini pawn
dMagnetic -ini dMagnetic.ini guild
dMagnetic -ini dMagnetic.ini jinxter
dMagnetic -ini dMagnetic.ini corruption
dMagnetic -ini dMagnetic.ini fish
dMagnetic -ini dMagnetic.ini myth
dMagnetic -ini dMagnetic.ini wonderland

When you see the prompt, the game is ready to accept your commands. For example EXAMINE
CLOTHES. Or GO EAST. Or ASK KRONOS ABOUT THE WRISTBAND.

LEAVING THE GAME

     Type in "QUIT". Duh!

SAVING/LOADING PROGRESS

     The game can be saved at any type by typing SAVE, and loaded by typing LOAD. Followed by a
     filename.

     SAVE myprogress1.sav
     LOAD myprogress1.sav

TEXT ALIGNMENT

     Changing the alignment of the output text can be done with the .ini file or the commandline.
     dMagnetic -valign left
     dMagnetic -valign block
     dMagnetic -valign right

GRAPHIC MODES

     dMagnetic has been developed with ANSI-consoles in mind. To select a video output that best
     suits your needs, please try one of the following

     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode none]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode monochrome]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode monochrome_inv]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode low_ansi]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode low_ansi2]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode high_ansi]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode high_ansi2]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode utf]

     To change the number of rows/columns to render the images, use

     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vcols COLUMNS]
     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vrows ROWS]

     Sixels are a signalling mode for some terminal emulators (like mlterm, or xterm -ti vt340 ,
     for example), that offer the possibility of drawing high resolution images. It can be
     selected with

     dMagnetic [-ini ini-file] [GAME] [-vmode sixel] [-sres 1024x768] [-sforce]

     where the -sres option offers a way to scale the images. The maximum allowed width is 4096
     pixels. Instead of automatically using a matching aspect ratio, the -sforce option can be
     used to force the resolution.

GRAPHICS IN WONDERLAND AND THE MAGNETIC SCROLLS COLLECTION

     Before you can see the beautiful graphics in "Wonderland", or from the Magnetic Scrolls
     Collection, you have to type in "graphics" to enable them.

COMMAND LINE OPTIONS

     [-bsd]
     Shows the license.

     [--help]
     Shows the detailed help.

     [--helpini]
     Shows an example for a working dMagnetic.ini file.

     [-nodoc]
     Allows playing without the original documentation.

     [-mag MAGFILE.mag] [-gfx GFXFILE.gfx]
     [-msdosdir DIRECTORY/]
     [-tworsc DIRECTORY/TWO.RSC]
     [-d64 DIRECTORY/FILE1.d64,DIRECTORY/FILE2.d64]
     [-amstradcpc DIRECTORY/FILE1.DSK,DIRECTORY/FILE2.DSK]
     [-spectrum DIRECTORY/DISKIMAGES.DSK]
     [-archimedes DIRECTORY/DISKIMAGES.ADF]
     [-atarixl DIRECTORY/FILE1.ATR,DIRECTORY/FILE2.ATR]
     [-appleii 1.NIB,2.2MG,3.WOZ]
     dMagnetic is a Magnetic Scrolls Interpreter. To actually play the games, their binaries have
     to be provided. Either in the .mag and .gfx format from https://msmemorial.if-
     legends.org/magnetic.php, as the name of the directory in which the original MS-DOS version
     can be found, the location and the name of the second resource file TWO.RSC, as D64-images
     from the Commodore 64 releases, as DSK-images from the Amstrad/Schneider CPC releases, as
     DSK-images from the Spectrum releases, as ADF/ADL/ADFS images from the Acorn Archimedes
     releases, as ATR images from the AtariXL/Atari800 releases, or even as NIB/2MG/WOZ images
     from the Apple II releases.

     [-ini dMagnetic.ini pawn]
     [-ini dMagnetic.ini guild]
     [-ini dMagnetic.ini jinxter]
     [-ini dMagnetic.ini corruption]
     [-ini dMagnetic.ini fish]
     [-ini dMagnetic.ini pawn]
     [-ini dMagnetic.ini myth]
     [-ini dMagnetic.ini wonderland]
     An alternative way to provide the location of the .mag and .gfx, the image files or the
     directory name, is through a dMagnetic.ini file. See helpini or dMagneticini(5) for an
     example of a working dMagnetic.ini file.
     IT SHOULD BE NOTED that the default location for dMagnetic.ini is in the user's home
     directory. If the file is located there, "The Pawn", for example, can be started by typing
     dMagnetic pawn

     [-rmode pseudo] [-rseed SEED]
     [-rmode real]
     Certain elements of the game rely on chance. For this, the virtual machine within dMagnetic
     offers two possibilities: Playing against a "pseudo" random generator, which results in a
     certain degree of determinism. On the other hand, playing with "real" random values from the
     operating system, allows for a completely new experience.

     [-savegames advanced]
     [-savegames classic]
     Saving and restoring game states is a major part of playing interactive fiction.  dMagnetic
     is capable of loading the "classic" formats, to allow players to continue their 30 year old
     game. However, it prefers the "advanced" format, which is more robust.

     [-vrows ROWS]
     [-vcols COLUMNS]
     dMagnetic has been designed with terminal windows as main output in mind. The terminal
     window has a fixed number of rows and columns to print out text. Its size is limited, but it
     is used by dMagnetic to render the beautiful BEAUTIFUL pictures as well. To restrict the
     space in which they are rendered (in glorious ANSI art), those options can be used to set
     the upper limits.

     [-vecho]
     When trying to run dMagnetic and redirecting the output into a file, the inputs are missing.
     This option reprints what was typed in, to allow for a spoilery script.

     [-vlog LOGFILE.log]
     Sort of a travel journal, this option lets you write the commands that where typed into a
     file.

     [-vmode none]
     [-vmode monochrome]
     [-vmode low_ansi]
     [-vmode low_ansi2]
     [-vmode high_ansi]
     [-vmode high_ansi2]
     [-vmode utf]
     [-vmode sixel] [-sres 1024x768] [-sforce]
     This option allows for selecting a different mode to render the images, should the actual
     one prove to be unsuitable for the preferred terminal program.

     [-version]
     Shows the current version of dMagnetic

BUGS

     Report bugs to <dettus@dettus.net>.  Make sure to include DMAGNETIC somewhere in the
     subject.

AUTHOR

     Written by Thomas Dettbarn