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|  SYSop's EXchange magazine - The Magazine for the exchange of BBS Info.   |
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|  JANUARY 1995                                                     FREE!!! |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *********************************   +===================================+ |
| *  Editor: Charles McColm       *   I * Complete Door Software Reviews! I |
| *                               *   I * The Truth about Multinode!      I |
| *  Please send any comments via *   I * Top 10 Doors!                   I |
| *  INTERNET email to my address *   I * BBS Software - PCBoard          I |
| *                               *   +===================================+ |
| *  charles.mccolm@canrem.com    *                                         |
| *  or FAX (705)726-1740 during  *                                         |
| *  the hours of 8pm to 6am      *                                         |
| *********************************                                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
------------
TOP 10 DOORS
------------

     Rather than create a list of 10 doors that I find popular on local BBS's
I thought I could use some space in this issue to list a number of BBS doors
and get your opinion on each door.

     Please use the following rating system:

 1 = Door is never used on my BBS.
 2 = Door is hardly ever used by my users.
 3 = Door gets some activity every day.
 4 = Door is heavily populated each day.
 5 = Most active door on my system.
 X = Door not on system.
 N = Never heard of door.

     Feel free to add your own doors to the bottom of the list!

+-------------------------------------------------------------+
1001 MUDD                               [ ]
Advanced XORU                           [ ]
Adventurer's Maze                       [ ]
Avatars Of Screaming Steel              [ ]
Baron Realms Elite                      [ ]
BBS Crash                               [ ]
Bordello                                [ ]
Card Sharks                             [ ]
Caribbean Contraban                     [ ]
Chain Reaction                          [ ]
Chess Magic                             [ ]
Complete Tarot, The                     [ ]
Fantasy Land                            [ ]
Food Fight                              [ ]
Global Wars                             [ ]
InterStellar Annihalation               [ ]
Keno                                    [ ]
Kannon's 'N Katapults                   [ ]
Legend Of The Red Dragon                [ ]
Match Maker                             [ ]
Phantasia                               [ ]
Rescue                                  [ ]
RIP Solitaire                           [ ]
Sex Quiz                                [ ]
Sex Trivia                              [ ]
Stack 'Em                               [ ]
Studette                                [ ]
Studs                                   [ ]
Super Rig                               [ ]
Tradewars 2002                          [ ]
Usurpers                                [ ]
Warlords Of The Balance                 [ ]
Wheel Of Fortune                        [ ]


This small list of doors doesn't even come close to the amount of doors that
are actually available today, but it's a start.  You're welcome to add your
own doors; but for my sake, please add your list to the end of mine so I
can properly sift through the doors.  To send your list of doors please
either send me INTERNET email at charles.mccolm@canrem.com or fax me at
(705)726-1740.  If you get a human voice on the fax line please try again,
the person will turn on the fax.  Generally it's best to fax during the
evening hours after 8 p.m.  I will try to acknowledge each INTERNET email
message.

------------
DOOR REVIEWS
------------
                                                +--------------------------+
        Each month I will be reviewing at least | -= DOOR RATING SYSTEM =- |  
three doors.  My goal is to provide you with a  |--------------------------|
good look at each door before you spend all     | * = Very Poor            |
your time downloading the door.  There's been   | ** = Poor                |
many times that I've spent hours trying to get  | *** = Good               |
a specific door only to find out that it isn't  | **** = Above Average     |
really what I wanted or didn't work with my     | ***** = Excellent        |
system.  I've created a rating system much like +--------------------------+
what Home Office Computing uses.  I think it's important to know registration
information beforehand.  Some door prices are absolutely ridiculous!
Please note that for the sake of my poor phone bill I did not call any of
these authors.  If I encounter a later version of a reviewed door it will
be posted in the DOORLIST area.  I can't guarantee everything is accurate or
that registration prices are still the same.  You have to check the doors
out for yourself.

+-------------------------+
| The Complete Tarot Door |
+-------------------------+

Version Reviewed:       v1.1
Author:                 James R. Davis
Registration:           $30 U.S.
Date Of Program:        1993

The Complete Tarot door is a single node fortune telling door.  It is by
far the best fortune telling door that I've tried to date.  Although the
graphics leave a lot to be desired, only tiny ANSI representations, the
door is complete with all kinds of different Tarot spreads.  If you're not
familair with the TAROT, it's a set of 78 fortune telling cards.  The
cards consist of 22 Major Arcana and 56 cards from 4 different suits - 
much like the playing cards of today.  According to Mr. Davis people have
been using the TAROT to tell fortunes as far back as 1390 A.D.

My knowledge of the TAROT is a far cry from any serious fortune teller
but I know that many of the spreads available in CTAROT are spreads that
are shown in TAROT manuals.

The door is very easy to setup and comes complete with a configuration
maker.  As with any door software, reading the documentation is a good
idea.  Although the documentation could be more detailed it adequately
covers how to get to the configuration program.

Registered owners of CTAROT also get a bulletin generator which creates both
ANSI and ASCII bulletins.  The registration is a bit high but the door is
quite unique and well done.

I like CTAROT because I don't take it seriously.  The answers are usually
quite simple.  It's fun for kicks once in awhile, but it's not my everyday
ritual.

QUALITY      : ****     [This door has many options]
PLAYABILITY  : ***      [I load it up for kicks once in awhile] 
REGISTRATION : **       [Higher than normal for a single node door]    
DOCUMENTATION: ***
OVERALL      : ***      [Worth putting up if your BBS is astrology related
                        or contains a number of unusual doors.  CTAROT is
                        fun - but not somthing that will attract every
                        user.]

Support BBS: DavisWARE Support BBS (516)737-4637


+--------------------+
| Solar Realms Elite |
+--------------------+

Version Reviewed :      0.992b
Author:                 Amit Patel
Registration:           ???
Date:                   1992

Solar Realm's Elite is the second door in what seems to be a series of
doors programmed by Amit Patel; the first being Baron Realms Elite.  Much 
like Baron Realms Elite, SRE is a game in which players try to build an 
empire and at the same time build up enough forces to defend against other 
players.  SRE is limited in that only 25 players can build an empire in a 
galaxy.  SRE is also not multinode compatible yet.

On the brighter side, SRE does support many BBS dropfiles and runs without
many problems once it's configured.  SRE is highly configurable, letting you
edit all sorts of ANSI/TEXTFILES to suit your BBS.

There are no graphics but die hard Tradewars fans would tell you that
graphics don't make an online game good.  SRE fits this mould.  It's very
different from Tradewars 2002 but in many ways it's alike.  Players can
attack each other after a protective grace period.  Or they can use
secret agents to stir up trouble in other empires.  My favourite tactic
is building up enough muscle to attack the various computer controlled
pirate teams then building up enough cash to advance my empire to the
stage where I can start attacking players that have played for a longer
period of time.

Players can trade amongst each other and can sign various peace treaties;
of course nothing is ever written in stone.  [this is the space age lads]
SRE works on a layered menuing system that presents options and sub-options.
Like BRE the game is very complete.  The only real problem I have had with
SRE is the fact that none of the archive's I've downloaded, all from
reputable places have had registration information included!!!

QUALITY      : *****            [The game has lots of options]
PLAYABILITY  : ****             [If there's lots of players games are fun]
REGISTRATION : ?????
DOCUMENTATION: ****             [Good Documentation]
OVERALL      : ****             [Easy setup, detailed play.  SRE is the
                                most fun when played with many players.]

Support BBS: The Solar Realm (713)855-1665

+-----------+
| Phantasia |
+-----------+

Version Reviewed:       v8.1
Author:                 Edward Boston
Registration:           $20 U.S.
Date:                   1992

Phantasia is a multi-node fantasy role playing game.  Players roll up
various types of characters to do battle with all sorts of powerful
monsters and other plares.  It lacks graphics but is menu driven and
easy to pick up.  One of fun features of Phantasia is the ability to
play other characters.  When a player first generates a character, he/she
gives the character a password.  This allows players to create multiple
characters and play each character seperately.  This option can also be
set by the sysop so that players may only play 1 character at a time.
Characters that are level 0 are not saved so players that try the game
and leave immediately will have to create a character and at least do a bit
of exploring.

The documentation is INTENSE to say the least.  Two sets of docs, one for
the players (PLAYERS.DOC) and one for the sysop (WIZARD.DOC) contain
detailed instructions on how to play and setup Phantasia.  The Sysop can
also designate one player to be the "WIZARD."  The Wizard takes care of the
various needs of the users and has control over many of the options in the
game.  The author gives a warning that the WIZARD should be someone the
sysop trusts will be fair to all users.  (We've all had our share of
SYSGOD's and problem users)

Installation is simple.  A setup program is provided in the archive.
Phantasia is highly configurable.  Multi-node setup is a bit more difficult -
though aren't most multi-node programs a little trickey to setup.  Phantasia
supports non-standard IRQ's, so if you have multiple nodes running on odd
IRQ's you can add them in the command line.  There is also Fossil and
DigiBoard support.  (DigiBoard is basically a board that lets you use 4 or
more modems and only take up one slot in your computer - assuming external
modems)

Because of frequent disk accesses, something most multi-player games do, 
Mr. Boston recommends in the WIZARD.DOC that a RAMDisk be created to take
some of the load off your hard drive.

The game play is mainly about combating monsters.  Players can pick up all
kinds of treasures along the way, from swords to crowns.  Amulets are one
of the most common and important items players can get.  It seems that there
are more than a few cursed items in the game.  Players that only kill
monsters gain a lot of SIN.  If they run into a priest and have too much
SIN the priest may not help them.

Like real role playing games there are sometimes rewards for killing
monsters.  Rewards such as gold, gems, holy water, charms, crowns, amulets
and even virgins.  No, this is not a sick adult game.  Virgins are used to
tame unicorns.  Also, if your character dies when you have a virgin at
hand you're given the option to spare your life by spareing or taking her
life instead of yours.  (In the unregistered version this can only happen
once per character)

As a character moves forward or backward, creatures become increasingly
stronger.  Some monsters possess the power to play with the players stats;
which can be a blessing or a curse depending on how the monster toys
with you.  Beware of Trolls; they're nasty!  Like most RPG's they can
regenerate.  Beware of Baconnians, their FART is very deadly!  These are
only the moderately dangerous creatures.

I have yet to play Phantasia on a multi-node system.  It seems that the
author, Ed Boston, never really continued promoting Phantasia.  I haven't
seen it on many bulletin boards, in a file area or as a door.  It's a
wonderful RPG and really worth checking out!

QUALITY      : *****            [Very detailed RPG]
PLAYABILITY  : *****            [Simple to play and is multi-user]
REGISTRATION : ****             [Very good price for a multi-user game]
DOCUMENTATION: *****            [More than adequate player and sysop docs]
OVERALL      : *****            [Phantasia is a little difficult to learn
                                at first.  The movement in particular can
                                be confusing.  However, there are so many
                                hidden gems in this game which make it
                                a very fun game to play.]

Support BBS: Edward Boston's BBS (208)939-1350

+------------------+
| Domain Bulletins |
+------------------+

Version Reviewed:       v1.10
Author:                 Domain Entertainment
Registration:           $10 U.S. (FREE)
Date:                   1993

First, this door software is for Synchronet BBS Software only.  Synchronet
uses a proprietary door dropfile (although it supports at least 10 other
door dropfiles) which Domain Bulletins uses.  DB is multi-node compatible
and is capable of handling up to 20 bulletins.

If the sysop has previously purchased software from Domain Entertainment
registration for this version is free.  Otherwise all shareware principles
apply and the registration is a very reasonable $10 U.S.

In most cases you'll want to set this door up as a logon event so that once
a user has logged on the bulletins appear.  Sysops have the option of
setting DB up so that it asks a user if he/she wants to see the bulletin
menu.  The bulletins program keeps track of which bulletins the user has
read, which have been updated since then.

Domain Bulletins is an excellent utility for Synchronet Sysops that have
all kinds of bulletins to post.  Although the Synchronet BBS software does
provide an area (G) Textfiles for bulletins, Domain Bulletins is great
because it lets the Sysop setup the bulletins so they appear everytime
the user logs on.  There is also a switch that may be used so that users
MUST read all bulletins.  This is especially good if your system has a
NUP (New User Password) or set of rules that need to be read.

Overall Domain Bulletins is a quality program and for the price, you
couldn't go wrong.

QUALITY      : *****            [Complete program, ANSI/RIP/ASCII]
PLAYABILITY  : N/A            
REGISTRATION : *****            [Very Low Registration] 
DOCUMENTATION: *****            [Synchronet sysops are blessed with easy
                                door setup]
OVERALL      : *****            [A worthwhile addition, well worth
                                registering if you're a Synchronet Sysop!]


Support BBS: Domain Entertainment (714)529-9525



                  *********************************************
                  THE TRUTH ABOUT MULTI-NODE/MULTI-LINE SYSTEMS
                  *********************************************

        There is a lot of confusion about multi-node/multi-line systems.
For years companies have argued about what works and what doesn't.  Most
use the terms multi-node and multi-line interchangeably.  I think it was
Jack Rickard, editor of BoardWatch Magazine that first made the distinction
clear.

        Multi-node systems consist of 2 or more computers hooked together
via ethernet cables.  One computer serves as a LAN file server and each of
the other computers on the network are nodes.  Each node has a modem hooked
up to the computer.  This makes multi-node systems very efficient because
there's a full computer to service one phone line.  The drawbacks are
obvious.  A network of 5 computers runs about $6000 CDN.  Add the price of
your BBS software, your networking software and you're looking at about
$8000 CDN.

        Multi-line systems are much more common.  Multi-line systems run
off one computer.  Since there are only 4 COMM (Commpunications) ports in
a computer there's a problem because only 4 COMM ports can be used.  If
you're familiar with computers then you'd know that COM 1 & 3 and COM 2 & 4
share the same IRQ's which limits us to 2 modems unless you use non-standard
IRQ's.  If you use non-standard IRQ's you might not be able to run some
doors which only accept standard IRQ's.  To rectify this problem and to
allow you to use more COMM ports companies have made what are called
multiport serial cards.  These cards take up a slot in your computer and
hook to external modes via octopus cables.  (A cable that hooks to the
multiport serial card and each of the 4, 8 or 16 cards)  Typically,
multiport serial cards can handle 4, 8 or 16 modems.  Since performance is a 
key factor in running a BBS a good system is needed to run a multi-line 
system.  A 486Dx33 with 8 megs of RAM is about what you'd need to run an 8 
line system; although I have no doubt some have run their 8 line BBS on 
less.  

Multi-line systems also require special multi-tasking software to 
run each node under.  The most common multi-tasing software in the BBS world 
is DesqView, a dos based multi-tasking software package.  OS/2 is 
increasingly gaining popularity among sysops although it still has a few
bugs and requires some tweaking.  Jack Rickard scoffs at windows as a serious
multi-tasking software platform for BBS's.  Having used terminal software
in Windows I can see what he means; although I think they're trying to
improve...they have a long way to go.

Let's consider the cost of a 4 node multi-line system assuming you have a
486Dx33 with 8 megs of RAM:

        Synchronet 4 node BBS Software.....................$199.00 U.S.
        PC/4 w/16550's (Multi-port serial card)............$360.00 U.S.
        PC/4 Cable.........................................$ 40.00 U.S.
        DesqView Multi-Tasking Software....................$ 91.10 U.S.
        4 x US Robotics External Modems (@ $XXX ea)........$139.50 U.S.
                                                           ------------
                                                Total      $829.60 U.S.

Lets say for the sake of us Canadians that we can get all this for $950 CDN.
We haven't counted taxes, the cost of phone lines, a power supply (who
wants an investment like this going down the drain because of power surges?)

While we haven't equalled the multi-node system; it's easy to see that
investing in anything more than 2 lines gets pretty expensive.  Sure you can
cut corners, buy cheap BBS software, cheap modems, cheap multi-port serial
cards.  What happens when you have problems?

Running a multi-line BBS or a multi-node BBS is not a cheap investment.
If you're thinking of running a multi-line or multi-node system, make sure
that you can handle the financial end of the system.

        

*****************************
BBS Software Review : PCBOARD
*****************************

Version: 15.0

        I remember quite a few years back when I was deciding which software
I should run my first BBS on.  I knew someone that ran a 5 line PCBoard BBS
so I decided to check PCBoard out.  I think the version then was something
like 14.5 or so.  The person I knew talked about how wonderful PCBoard was
and how easily it ran.  Was I ever disappointed when I downloaded PCBoard
and tried to install it.  Files didn't install properly, parts of the archive
seemed to be missing, it was a nightmare just trying to get PCBoard up.

        Then for kicks I downloaded version 15.0.  It was in the FREE FILES/
NO TIME area of a BBS so I had nothing to loose by trying it out.  I was
very pleasently surprised.  After all the horrors I had with the old version
of PCBoard I had serious doubts about this version; I guess many other
people did too and voiced their opinion.  Clark Development has done a
great job of making the installation process a matter of less than 10 minutes
of your time.

        The installation even checks your config.sys to see if your setup
for single or multinode and optimizes your config.sys!  Like most BBS
software, the sysop account is created first.  Next a program called
PCB modem runs and detects what kind of modem you have and determines the
proper initialization string.

        PCBoard has RIPscrip support and comes complete with a set of RIP
menus.  Menus are customizable but like all software you have to remember
that if you change an ANSI/ASCII menu, you should be changing all your menus.
Sub-menus can be ran off main menus which lets you create many levels and
paths to commands.

        The file system is very nice.  Users can flag files and PCBoard
automatically imports FILE_ID.DIZ.  (A file in some archives describing what
the archive is about)  Clark Development has increased the support for
CD-ROM.

        Sysops with Caller-ID on their phones will be happy to learn that
PCBoard has support for Caller-ID and FAX modems.  PCBoard is one of the
best multi-line/multi-node BBS software programs.  Clark Development has
included Multiport Fossil Support to allow the sysop to run a multi-line
system and use a fossil driver to keep doors from hanging.

        The messaging system permits users to enter up to a 400 line
message and includes space in the TO field for INTERNET addresses.  A built
in QWK reader rounds off the message support nicely.

        Of course my favourite feature is the multinode chat.  I love talking
it up and PCBoard has a relatively nice chat features.  Users can change
chat handles, topic, make the discussion private, send private messages to
other nodes and more.  The only thing I missed in PCBoard chat was ACTION
commands.  (ACTION commands let a user enter 1 word and a full phrase comes
out, i.e. KICK, Node 1: Charles Kick's you in the head)

        I think PCBoard is a wonderful BBS software package.  Although the
price is a bit higher than most two node BBS software packages, Clark
Development Company has done a great job at revising PCBoard so that it is
a credible multi-line/multi-node BBS software package.

        NOTE: I don't think BBS Software should be "rated" as doors are.
        BBS Software is designed with different things in mind and some
        software packages are completely different from others.  It's with
        this in mind that I'm not rating BBS software.



******************
 CLOSING COMMENTS
******************

        Well, it's short and sweet!  Next month there'll be much more to
print.  Hope everyone has a wonderful 1995!

