













BCTERM
Terminal Emulator Program for Bridge 
Crew








































 Introduction

BCTERM is a Terminal Emulation Program produced for use with Bridge 
Crew.  It allows any IBM or compatible computer to operate as an
inteligent Bridge Crew terminal.

The main computer will have one or more PCs running BCTERM and/or
dumb terminals attached via serial ports to COM1 and COM2
using null-modem cables.  

BCTERM allows PCs to be 'daisy-chained' together using 
null-modem cables.  In this configuration, a PC (lets call it PCa)  
running BCTERM is connected from the main computer's COM1 port to 
PCa's COM1 port, then an additional PC or a dumb terminal is 
connected to PCa through PCa's COM2 port.   PCb and an additional PC 
are connected to the Main computer's COM2 port in the same manner. 

 Daisy Chaining

				Main Computer                   
			Com1                            Com2            
			  |                               |     
			  |                               |     
			aCom1                           bCom1   
			 PCa                             PCb
			aCom2                           bCom2
			  |                               |             
			  |                               |             
		       Terminal                          PC

BCTERM can be used with multi port cards provided the relevant port is set
up using BCREWSET (value 2)

 Multi-port Card Configuration

				Main Computer
Com1          Com2          Port1         Port2         Port3         Port4
  |             |             |             |             |             |     
  |             |             |             |             |             |     
Terminal        PC            PC          Terminal      Terminal       PC
  
 Features

BCTERM supports the following features:
	Programmable function keys
	Variable screen layout
	Up to four different sounds (the Sound Blaster compatible sound 
	card must be installed in the machine running BCTERM.)
	A lightbox attached to the printer port.

Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 1
 Screen Layout

The screen layout of BCTERM can be altered by the user.  The screen 
consists of four areas:
	Reports
	Messages
	Input
	Function keys

The generic form of the screen is shown below.  To run BCTERM with the 
generic screen, type                
	BCTERM GENERIC.DAT
at the command prompt of the PC that is to run BCTERM. 

+-------------------------REPORTS------------PGUP PGDN--------------+ DEFAULT
                                                                    F1
                                                                    WHO
                                                                    =======
                                                                    F2
                                                                    RECON
                                                                    =======
                                                                    F3
                                                                    THINGS
                                                                    =======
                                                                    F4
                                                                   
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+ =======
+-------------------------MESSAGES----------------------------------+ F5
Terminal initialised                                               
Connections established                                             =======
                                                                    F6
                                                                   
                                                                    =======
                                                                    F7
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
+-------------------------INPUT-------------------------------------+ =======
                                                                   | F8
                                                                   |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+ =======

 Contents of the Input Window

The text of the most recent command that you entered.  Eg if you 
typed the command WHO, it will appear in the input area; the response 
will appear in the messages area (see below).







Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 2
 Contents of the Reports Window

The response to the latest REPORT command that you entered. Eg if 
you entered the command REPORT CREW, the report shown will appear 
in the reports area.  It will stay there while other (non-report) 
commands are entered, until another report is requested.  

	Damaged Functions    0
	Casualties           0
	Damage Remaining  2120
	Failure Point      585
	Hull Before Fail  1535

There are two additional components to the REPORT area:
	PGUP    view the result of the previous REPORT command.
	PGDN    view the result of the REPORT command entered after the 
		one you are currently viewing.

 Contents of the Messages Window

Contains the response to non-report commands.  Eg if WHO was entered,
	logical port 6
	physical port 7
will appear in the messages area.

 Function Keys

You can load frequently used commands into the function keys area 
(labeled DEFAULT in the example shown) using the Change Function Keys 
screen in BCTERSET.

Pressing a function key during play will cause its command to be 
executed.  Eg, if using the example screen shown, pressing F2 will 
cause the command RECON to be executed.

 CUSTOMISING THE BCTERM PROGRAM

The size and location of the Reports, Messages and Input areas of the 
screen can be altered using the Change Windows option in BCTERSET. The 
headings of these areas and the special characters used in the borders 
of the areas can be altered using the Change Boiler Plate option of 
BCTERSET.  The size and location of the function key area can be altered 
using the Change Function Keys option of BCTERSET.

Using BCTERSET you can construct a number of setups and save than as
different names these can be loaded into BCTERM when it is run eg:
	>BCTERM MYSETUP.DAT
would load setup file MYSETUP.DAT


Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 3
 BCTERSET - BCTERM Setup Program

In order to use BCTERM effectively, details of the Main Computer and the 
computer running BCTERM must be entered via the setup program - BCTERSET.
BCTERSET has three options in its main menu
	File
	Change
	Help

 File Menu
The File menu has the following options:
	New
	Read From
	Save
	Save As
	About
	Exit

 New
New initialises all the BCTERM setup details

 Read From
Reads the setup details from an existing file and loads them into BCTERSET's 
work area.  An example screen is shown below:
  File  Change  Help
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________+-[_]-------------- Read File ------------------+______________
______________                                               ______________
______________  Name                                         ______________
______________   *.DAT                      _     Open   _  ______________
______________                                    _________  ______________
______________  Files                                        ______________
______________   BCTERSET.DAT   ..\              Cancel  _  ______________
______________   COX.DAT                         _________  ______________
______________   TEMP.DAT                                   ______________
______________   TEST.DAT                                   ______________
______________   TESTHIN.DAT                                ______________
______________   TESTHOUT.DAT                               ______________
______________   TESTNIN.DAT                                ______________
______________   TESTNOUT.DAT                               ______________
______________   _____________________________               ______________
______________                                               ______________
______________ D:\BCTERM\*.DAT                               ______________
______________ BCTERSET.DAT 23446      Oct 18,1994  08:33p   ______________
______________+-----------------------------------------------+______________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
 Alt-X Exit  F9 View Screen  F10 Menu

Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 4

 Save
Saves the current settings.

 Save As
Saves the current settings in a file of your choosing.

 About
Displays information about the author of the program.

 Exit
Exit from BCTERSET.  You can also exit the program by typing Alt X.




































Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 5
 Change Menu

The Change Menu has the following options:

	Function Keys
	Boiler Plate
	Graphic Mode
	Ports
	Light
	Sound
	Windows

The options Function Keys, Boiler Plate and Windows used together, 
allow you to design your own BCTERM screen.  If you wish to design 
your own screen rather than use the one(s) supplied, the F9 key 
allows you to view the screen layout as you work.  F10 will return 
you to the BCTERSET menu.

 Function Keys
Selecting Function Keys from the Change Menu will display the screen 
shown below:

  File  Change  Help
______________________________________________________________________________
___+-[_]--------------- Setup function keys for BCterm -------------------+___
___    Text on                                                           ___
___    Screen      Command to send out                                   ___
___ F1  WHO         WHO                                                  ___
___ F2  RECON       RECON                                                ___
___ F3  THINGS      THINGS                                               ___
___ F4                                                                   ___
___ F5                                                                   ___
___ F6                                                                   ___
___ F7                                                                   ___
___ F8                                                                   ___
___                                                                      ___
___ Start X pos  73     Increment X  0      Separator  61                ___
___ Start Y pos  2      Increment Y  3      Length     7                 ___
___                             Display Function Keys Yes                ___
___                                                                      ___
___     Ok   _   Cancel _                                                ___
___   ________   ________                                                ___
___+----------------------------------------------------------------------+___
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 Alt-X Exit  F9 View Screen  F10 Menu

Enter the text that you wish to appear on the screen for each 
function key under the heading Text on Screen.  Enter a valid 
Bridge Crew command under the heading Command to Send Out.  You 
cannot use a macro in the command.


Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 6
It is also possible to alter the location and size of the function 
key area on the BCTERM screen using fields shown towards the 
bottom of the screen.

	Start X pos     The horizontal starting position of the function 
			key area - the number entered is the number of 
			characters from the left hand side of the screen.
	Start Y pos     The vertical starting position of the function key 
			area - the number entered is the number of 
			characters from the top of the screen.
	Increment X     The number of characters in the x-direction (i.e. 
			horizontally) from the start of one function key to 
			the start of the next.
	Increment Y     The number of characters in the y-direction (i.e. 
			vertically) from the start of one function key to 
			the start of the next.
	Length          The length of text (and separator) for each 
			function key.
	Separator       The ASCII code for the separator character (61 is 
			the code for the equals sign - =).

In the example above, the function keys appear vertically down the 
right hand side of the screen.  See the picture of the BCTERM 
screen in the Screen Layout section.
































Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 7
 Boiler Plate 
Selecting Boiler Plate from the Change Menu will display the screen 
shown below:

  File  Change  Help
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______+-[_]------------ Boiler Plate Setup for Bcterm -----------------+______
______                                                                ______
______ Color   4       Background Character  32                       ______
______                                                                ______
______                                                      Insert    ______
______  X    Y    Text                             X    Y   Character ______
______  29   1     REPORTS                         71   23   24       ______
______  48   1     PGUP PGDN                       71   24   25       ______
______  29   14    MESSAGES                        0    0    0        ______
______  29   22    INPUT                           0    0    0        ______
______  73   1     DEFAULT                         0    0    0        ______
______  0    0                                     0    0    0        ______
______  0    0                                     0    0    0        ______
______  0    0                                     0    0    0        ______
______                                                                ______
______     Ok   _   Cancel _                                          ______
______   ________   ________                                          ______
______+----------------------------------------------------------------+______
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 Alt-X Exit  F9 View Screen  F10 Menu

This screen can be used to change the colour of the screen, the 
background character, the headings of the various screen areas on 
BCTERM and the positioning of the special characters used as up/down 
arrows on the messages area.  The screen areas, as titled in the 
above screen, are

	REPORTS         the response to the latest REPORT command.
	PGUP            view the result of the previous REPORT command.
	PGDN            view the result of the REPORT command entered after 
			the one you are currently viewing.
	MESSAGES        The response to the last non-report command that you 
			entered.
	INPUT           The text of the most recent command that you entered
	DEFAULT         The heading of the function key area.

The values for X and Y shown on the left hand side of the headings 
are the starting positions of those headings.  For example, 29 1 SPY 
INFO will place the heading SPY INFO 29 characters from the left of 
the screen and 1 character down from the top of the screen (rather 
than the heading REPORTS).

The area on the right hand side of the boiler plate screen, headed up 
Insert Character and requiring X and Y characters, is used for 
including special characters in the screen design.  In the layout 
defined by the above screen, the up arrow is placed in location 

Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 8
(71,23); the down arrow in location (71,24) - the right hand side of 
the INPUT area.  BCTERM retains the last four commands entered by the 
player.  When the up arrow is activated, the previous command is 
displayed and can be sent, clicking on the down arrow will display 
the command entered after the one currently shown.



















































Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 9
 Graphic Mode

Selecting Graphic Mode from the Change Menu will display the screen 
shown below.  To bring up a selection of available graphics modes, 
click on the triangle at the right hand side of the Setup Graphics 
Mode box.

  File  Change  Help
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________+-[_]-- Setup Graphics Mode ------+______________________
_____________________                                 ______________________
_____________________ Graphics Mode EGA/VGA           ______________________
_____________________                                 ______________________
_____________________                                 ______________________
_____________________     Ok   _   Cancel _           ______________________
_____________________   ________   ________           ______________________
_____________________+---------------------------------+______________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 Alt-X Exit  F9 View Screen  F10 Menu

The following table of values will be displayed:

+-[_]------------- Table Values -----------------+
                                                
           Select Value                         
     Mono                    -                  
     CGA                     _                  
     EGA/VGA                 _        Ok   _    
                             _      ________    
                             _                  
                             _                  
                             _                  
                             _      Cancel _    
                             _      ________    
                             _                  
                                               
                                                
+------------------------------------------------+

Select the required graphics mode and click on Ok.

Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 10
 Ports

If you intend running Bridge Crew with daisy-chaining, you must set 
up the port parameters.  Selecting Ports from the Change Menu will 
display the screen shown below.

  File  Change  Help
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________+-[_]---- Setup port parameters for BCterm ---------+_____________
____________                                                   _____________
____________ Port Attached to Main Bridge Crew Machine COM2    _____________
____________ Other port Type Nothing                           _____________
____________ Am I the first Bcterm in this chain Yes           _____________
____________                                                   _____________
____________     Ok   _   Cancel _                             _____________
____________   ________   ________                             _____________
____________+---------------------------------------------------+_____________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 Alt-X Exit  F9 View Screen  F10 Menu

 Port Attached to Main Bridge Crew Machine

To tell BCTERM which communications port is attached to the main 
Bridge Crew machine, click on the triangle to the right of the "Port 
Attached to Main Bridge Crew Machine" literal.  A Table Values box 
will be displayed, giving the options of:
	COM1
	COM2
Select the appropriate port and click on OK (or highlight the Ok box 
using the tab key and press enter).  In the screen shown above, COM2 
has previously been chosen as the port attached to the main Bridge 
Crew machine.








Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 11
 Other port Type

To tell BCTERM about the other port on the local machine (i.e. the 
machine running BCTERM) click on the triangle to the right of the 
"Other port Type" literal.  A Table Values box will be displayed, 
giving the options of:
	Nothing
	Mouse
	Dumb Terminal
	PC running BCTERM

If the local machine is the last (or only) machine in this daisy 
chain, choose Nothing or Mouse, depending on whether the other COM 
port has nothing or a mouse attached to it.

If the local machine is the first machine in this daisy-chain, it may 
have either a dumb terminal attached to it or another PC (IBM 
compatible, Amiga, Atari or Macintosh) running a VT100 terminal 
emulation program.  If either of these two situations applies, select 
the option Dumb Terminal.

If the local machine is the first machine in this daisy-chain, it may 
have another (IBM compatible) PC running BCTERM attached to it.  If 
so, select the option PC running BCTERM.

 Am I the first Bcterm in this chain?

Click on the triangle to the right of the "Am I the first Bcterm in 
this chain" literal.  A Table Values box will be displayed, giving 
the options of:
	Yes
	No

Choose the appropriate option and click on Ok.


















Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 12
 Light

This feature is only used with the Light box produced by Mithril
Software and is of no value to people without one. This option makes
the coloured light for the condition selected illuminate as the
command is executed. (Eg blue light for condition blue).

Selecting Light from the Change Menu will display the screen shown 
below.  This screen is used when setting the parameters to use a 
light box when running Bridge Crew.  The light box is plugged into 
the parallel port LPT1 (printer port).  The light box has been 
specially developed for use with Bridge Crew and is only available 
through Mithril Software.  

  File  Change  Help
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________+-[_] Setup light box parameters for Bcterm ----+_______________
______________                                               _______________
______________ Light Box in use No                           _______________
______________                                               _______________
______________ Light Number For Ship is Hit      Light 8     _______________
______________                                               _______________
______________ Light Number For Condition Green  Light 1     _______________
______________ Light Number For Condition Red    Light 2     _______________
______________ Light Number For Condition Blue   Light 3     _______________
______________ Light Number For Condition Yellow Light 4     _______________
______________                                               _______________
______________                                               _______________
______________     Ok   _   Cancel _                         _______________
______________   ________   ________                         _______________
______________+-----------------------------------------------+_______________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 Alt-X Exit  F9 View Screen  F10 Menu

Click on the triangle to the right of the "Light Box in use" literal.  
A Table Values box will be displayed, giving the options of:
	Yes
	No
Choose the appropriate option and click on Ok.

If you choose Yes and have a light box available, you can tell BCTERM 
which light should be activated for each condition code.

Eight lights are available.  In the example above, coloured lights 
are inserted into each of the first four sockets, one for each 
condition code (red for condition red, green for condition green 
etc.).  The eighth light is currently a power point mounted on the 
box, into which we plug a table lamp that can be pointed at the 
players.  This is then configured, using the Light Number For Ship is 

Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 13
Hit option, to flash when the players' ship is hit by an opponent.  
The select the light number for any of the condition codes or for the 
Ship is Hit option, click on the triangle to the right of the 
literal.  A Table Values box will be displayed, giving the options 
of:

	Light 1
	Light 2
	Light 3
	Light 4
	Light 5
	Light 6
	Light 7
	Light 8

Choose the appropriate option and click on Ok.








































Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 14
 Sound

Please read SOUND.TXT for details on enabling sound in BCTERM.

Selecting Sound from the Change Menu will display the screen shown 
below.  This screen is used when setting the parameters to use a 
sound effects when running Bridge Crew.  Note that the sound card 
must be in a machine running BCTERM, not the main machine running 
Bridge Crew.

  File  Change  Help
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_+-[_]--------------- Setup sound parameters for BCterm --------------------+_
_                                                                          _
_ Sound type in use          Sound Blaster                                 _
_ Sound to be read from file No     (Sounds Must be on a Ram Disk if Yes)  _
_                                                                          _
_ Sound File for Hit on Shields  D:\BCTERM\BC5.VOC                         _
_ Sound File Condition Green                                               _
_ Sound File Condition Red                                                 _
_ Sound File Condition Blue                                                _
_ Sound File Condition Yellow                                              _
_                                                                          _
_ Sound files must be in .VOC format and have some size restrictions       _
_ see help on sound for details                                            _
_                                                                          _
_     Ok   _   Cancel _                                                    _
_   ________   ________                                                    _
_+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+_
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 Alt-X Exit  F9 View Screen  F10 Menu

To tell BCTERM whether or not sound is in use, click on the triangle 
to the right of the "Sound type in use" literal.  A Table Values box 
will be displayed, giving the options of:
	None
	Sound Blaster

Choose the appropriate option and click on Ok.

You can choose your own sound files to run with Bridge Crew, provided 
that they are in .VOC format, take less than two seconds to play and 
are smaller than 32 kilobytes in size.  Enter the path and file name 
of each of the sound files that you wish to play.






Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 15
 Windows

Selecting Windows from the Change Menu will display the screen shown 
below.  This screen is used to change the screen layout for BCTERM, 
in conjunction with the Boiler Plate and Function Keys screens.

There are four windows on the BCTERM screen, Main, Reports, Messages 
and Input.  The Main window contains all the other windows (function 
keys are placed within the bounds of the Main window).  The 
definition shown below is for the BCTERM screen shown at the start of 
this document.  The other windows are:

	REPORTS         the response to the latest REPORT command.
	MESSAGES        The response to the last non-report command that you 
			entered.
	INPUT           The text of the most recent command that you entered

  File  Change  Help
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______+-[_]-------------- Windows Setup for Bcterm -------------------+_______
______  Window      Left  Top   Right Bottom Colour Border           _______
______  Main         1     1     80    25     1     No               _______
______  Reports      2     2     70    12     2     Yes              _______
______  Messages     2     15    70    20     3     Yes              _______
______  Input        2     23    70    24     15    Yes              _______
______                                                               _______
______  Vertical Line Char    186     Top Left Corner Char      201  _______
______  Horizontal Line Char  205     Bottom Right Corner Char  188  _______
______                                Top Right Corner Char     187  _______
______                                Bottom Left Corner Char   200  _______
______                                                               _______
______     Ok   _   Cancel _                                         _______
______   ________   ________                                         _______
______+---------------------------------------------------------------+_______
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 Alt-X Exit  F9 View Screen  F10 Menu

You define window's area on the screen by telling the program the 
starting position of each side of the window.  For example, the 
Reports window is defined as Left 2, Top 2, Right 70 and Bottom 12.  
This means that the left hand of the report starts 2 characters from 
the left of the screen, and finishes 70 characters from the left of 
the screen, the top of the window starts 2 characters from the top of 
the screen and finishes 12 characters from the top of the screen.  
You may choose a colour for the window - use the ASCII code.  Each 
window may have a border - click on the triangle under the literal 


Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 16
"Border" for the given window.  A Table Values box will be displayed, 
giving the options of:
	Yes
	No

Choose the appropriate option and click on Ok.

If a border is chosen, the characters that make up that border may be 
chosen using the ASCII codes for the desired special characters.  
These are selected using the fields shown at the bottom of the 
screen:

Vertical Line Char              186     Double Vertical line

Horizontal Line Char            205     Double Horizontal line

Top Left Corner Char            201     Double top left hand corner

Bottom Right Corner Char        188     Double bottom right hand corner

Top Right Corner Char           187     Double top right hand corner

Bottom Left Corner Char         200     Double bottom left hand corner


 Help Menu

The help menu is not yet fully implemented.


























Copyright Mithril Software Pty Ltd                     Page 17
			TABLE OF CONTENTS

   Introduction..............................................1
    Daisy Chaining..........................................1
    Multi-port Card Configuration...........................1
   Features..................................................1
   Screen Layout.............................................2
    Contents of the Input Window............................2
    Contents of the Reports Window..........................3
    Contents of the Messages Window.........................3
    Function Keys...........................................3
   CUSTOMISING THE BCTERM PROGRAM............................3
   BCTERSET - BCTERM Setup Program...........................4
    File Menu...............................................4
      New...................................................4
      Read From.............................................4
      Save..................................................5
      Save As...............................................5
      About.................................................5
      Exit..................................................5
    Change Menu.............................................6
      Function Keys.........................................6
    Boiler Plate ...........................................8
    Graphic Mode............................................10
    Ports...................................................11
      Port Attached to Main Bridge Crew Machine.............11
      Other port Type.......................................12
      Am I the first Bcterm in this chain?..................12
    Light...................................................13
    Sound...................................................15
    Windows.................................................16
    Help Menu...............................................17



