Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of doc/faq


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Timestamp:
04/19/2011 01:25:11 PM (13 years ago)
Author:
Sam Hocevar
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FAQ 1.1.0.

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  • doc/faq

    v1 v1  
     1= Abuse FAQ =
     2
     3Current version 1.1.0.
     4
     5Copyright (C) September 11th, 1995 Mike Perry
     6
     7== Construction Note ==
     8
     9The construction of this FAQ is currently in progress.  If you find any
     10glaring errors or information that is incorrect, please mail me at the
     11address at the top of the FAQ.
     12
     13== Introduction ==
     14
     15This FAQ contains answers to (f)requently (a)sked (q)uestions about the
     16computer game Abuse.  In actuality most of the questions are not actual
     17questions that have been presented to me but are questions that, if I were
     18totally new to the game, would want to have answers to.  I have
     19tried to provide answers to questions that would be asked by newcomers,
     20intermediate and advanced players alike.
     21
     22If you feel that there is a question or feature of the game that has not been
     23properly addressed, please e-mail me so that I can review your question for
     24possible inclusion into the FAQ.  If you already have the answers (or a good
     25description of the feature you want to have included) please mail those also.
     26Include your name and e-mail address so that I can give you proper credit.
     27If you happen to create a document pertaining to Abuse let me know and I will
     28add it to a list of supplementary documentation in the FAQ.  And now prepare
     29to be abused.
     30
     31== Overview of Contents ==
     32
     33 * Construction Note
     34 * Introduction
     35 * Overview of Contents
     36 I.  What is Abuse?
     37   A.  General Information
     38   B.  What is the Plot?
     39   C.  Who Wrote Abuse?
     40   D.  What Kind of Game is Abuse?
     41   E.  Was Abuse Written Entirely in Lisp?
     42   F.  How Long Did it Take to Develop Abuse?
     43 II.  Can You Tell Me a Little Bit More About Crack Dot Com?
     44 III.  Who and What Are the Main Characters/Objects in the Game?
     45   A.  Weapons and Ammo
     46   B.  Power-Ups
     47   C.  Health Boosters
     48   D.  Nick Vrenna
     49   E.  Enemies
     50   F.  Tricks, Traps, Harmful Objects and Other Interactive Objects
     51   G.  Scenery
     52 IV.  What are the Main Components That Comprise a Level?
     53 V.  Which Dialect of Lisp Does the Lisp Interpreter Implement?
     54 VI.  What Constructs are Missing From the Lisp Interpreter?
     55 VII.  What Add-Ons are Available for Abuse?
     56 VIII.  Where Can I Learn More About Level Editing and Game Alteration?
     57 VIIII.  What Channels Exist on IRC for Discussing Abuse?
     58 X.  What Newsgroups Exist for Discussing Abuse?
     59 XI.  What Mailing Lists Exist for Discussing Abuse?
     60 XII.  Where Can I Get Abuse?
     61 XIII.  Where Can I Get Satan Paint?
     62 XIIII.  FAQ Change History
     63 XV.  Credits
     64 * Copyright Recognition
     65 * Disclaimer
     66
     67== I.  What is Abuse? ==
     68
     69=== A.  General Information ===
     70
     71Abuse is the first game to be released by the budding new computer
     72game company Crack Dot Com.  Abuse is an action game that pits you --
     73assuming the role of Nick Vrenna, resistance fighter -- against ruthless
     74alien killers, called ants, that have taken control over humanity.  The game
     75an engine that allows modification to the stock game through such means
     76as a built-in lisp interpreter, external game-object lisp code, a windowing
     77system, multiplayer support through IPX or TCP/IP protocols and network
     78file support.
     79
     80=== B.  What is the Plot? ===
     81
     82Here is the plot from the finger info at help@crack.com:
     83
     84   The Ants were fearless, efficient killers.  The Unified Underground's
     85   only opening was that the Ant defense systems were designed by engineers
     86   too arrogant to consider the threat of an individual.  It was enough to
     87   justify the covert Abuse Missions.
     88
     89   On August 31, 2021, eight bytes were zeroed in a computer, and Nick
     90   Vrenna's identity was erased.  A suit of armor cradling a smoking auto
     91   rifle stood in shadows appreciating the stench coming from the first
     92   retired Ant of the day.  The armored soul feared the effort would end up
     93   as pathetic as the Terran Surrender Terms, but humanity had nothing
     94   else.
     95
     96=== C.  Who Wrote Abuse? ===
     97
     98Abuse is engineered by the game company Crack Dot Com.  The programmer behind
     99the game is Jonathan Clark.  The artwork was created by Doung Dai Nguyen and
     100Murray Macmillan.  Rounding up the cast is Bobby Prince (sound effects) who
     101also designed the music and sound effects for Doom, and Dave Taylor
     102(funding and beating), programmer at iD software -- creators of Doom and the
     103upcoming Quake.
     104
     105=== D.  What Kind of Game is Abuse? ===
     106
     107Abuse is an 2D side-scrolling shoot-em up action/puzzle game.  Although the
     108game borrows features from many genres of games it best fits under the
     109platform category.  The Abuse game engine boasts many features with a
     110built-in Lisp interpreter (for modification and extension of the game world)
     111most likely being the most promising and exciting feature.
     112
     113Here are the features of the game engine that are listed in the finger
     114information at help@crack.com:
     115
     116  This is THE game to see.
     117
     118  - Beautiful shaped, point-source lighting
     119  - Engine has built-in Lisp Interpreter.  You can
     120    add code into the game, or create a whole new
     121    game which is instantly ported to many platforms,
     122    has lighting, sound, mouse/joystick, network,
     123    hi-rez and window support.  You will be able to
     124    licence copies of the engine to sell as your own.
     125  - Multi-player. IPX and TCPIP [*]
     126  - Server/client.  Start your game as a server and people can
     127    join in/leave later, automatically downloading the current
     128    level and state of game. [*]
     129  - Built in Network File System abilities.
     130    When you start up net games, just connect to the server and
     131    access files like they were on your computer.  Connect to
     132    a "pacman" server and automatically download art, sfx, and
     133    lisp code.  Game compiles and starts running. [*]
     134  - Color matching system ensures you will see perfect graphics
     135    even if your moniter is miscalibrated.
     136  - Animation rendered with in-house vector animation CAD (VCAD).
     137  - Explosions and special effects rendered with in-house PART (particle
     138    animation rendering tool).
     139  - Artwork is editable by users with Satan Paint (free with CDROM
     140    version). (beta available now at npc.ece.utexas.edu:/pub/satan_paint)
     141  - Weapons, weapons, weapons.
     142  - Hi-rez support with VESA drivers
     143  - Ports for DOS, Linux Console, Linux X11;  *(348,486,Pentium Linux)
     144    SGI has graciously given us a Indgo II to port abuse
     145    other ports to be announced.
     146
     147[*] Not in initial release (we didn't have time to finish & test it as well,
     148    as it should be).  Look for a patch shortly after release.
     149
     150=== E.  Was Abuse Written Entirely in Lisp? ===
     151
     152This has the unfortunate possibilty of becoming a well spread misconception.
     153While the external entity code that you will write for modifications and
     154additions (or total reconstruction) of the game will be in Lisp, the game
     155engine was written in C++.  There is also a small amount of 80x86 assembly
     156in the DOS version.
     157
     158Here is the wc (word count) output on the source code.
     159
     160{{{
     161Lisp code:   5374     16377    142220 total
     162 C++ code:  67904    185889   1717174 total
     163 Asm code: (negligible)
     164}}}
     165
     166Approximately seven percent of the game engine and Abuse combined is
     167Lisp code.  The rest is C++.  There 5044 lines of Lisp code distributed in
     168the 0.3.2 version of the Linux version, so you are seeing _all_ of the Lisp
     169code (the difference is likely due to some lisp net Abuse code that hasn't
     170been finished yet).
     171
     172=== F.  How Long Did it Take to Develop Abuse? ===
     173
     174After the game engine was completed the development of Abuse took approximately
     175four months.
     176
     177== II.  Can You Tell Me a Little Bit More About Crack Dot Com? ==
     178
     179Crack Dot Com is a budding new computer game company owned by programmers
     180Dave Taylor (of iD software) and Jonathan Clark.
     181
     182Abuse will be Crack Dot Com's first published game but it is was not the first
     183game that they worked on.
     184
     185== III.  Who and What are the Main Characters and Objects in the Game?  ==
     186
     187=== A.  Weapons and Ammo ===
     188
     189Laser Rifle
     190
     191   The laser rifle is the most basic weapon in the game.  It shoots red
     192   laser pulses (ala Star Wars) in the direction in which you point the rifle.
     193   You can use the laser rifle even without the proper ammunition because if
     194   you couldn't shoot, as JC puts it, that would suck.  Having ammunition for
     195   the laser rifle is still a crucial item to have as a loaded laser rifle
     196   fires considerably faster than an unloaded laser rifle.  The laser rifle
     197   does not care whether the rifle ammo count is 1 or 1000 -- it will still
     198   fire at the same rate.
     199
     200Grenade Launcher
     201
     202   This weapon launches grenades in a realistic parabolic arc.  Realistic that
     203   is if you ignore the fact that the game world would have to be a vacuum in
     204   order for the trajectory of the grenade to be that perfect.  You will
     205   probably be too busy watching the pretty explosions inflict your opponents
     206   with massive damage to notice anyway.
     207
     208Guided Missle Launcher
     209
     210   The guided missle launcher is Abuse's version of the second most popular
     211   weapon in Doom (the shotgun is almost unarguably the favorite weapon of
     212   Doomaholics everywhere).  The highly manueverable missles that this weapon
     213   launches will follow your opponent to the ends of the Earth.  That is, if
     214   you don't overshoot.
     215
     216Firebomb Rifle
     217
     218   You might have a hard time distinguishing this weapon from a flamethrower.
     219   However, this weapon is projectile based an produces a trail of flaming
     220   particles that follow each other like the cars of a train.  Since the
     221   weapon is particle based, the projectiles _are_ affected by gravity and
     222   you do not have to fire straight at an opponent in order to hit them.
     223
     224Plasma Gun
     225
     226   Another weapon found in Doom, this plasma gun produces a burst of plasma
     227   that looks more like the maximum energy burst that you can shoot in the
     228   game R-Type.  This weapon is available only in the commercial release of
     229   Abuse.
     230
     231Death Frizbee
     232
     233   This weapon is available only in the commercial release of Abuse.  Maybe
     234   someone will design some Tron modifications to Abuse.
     235
     236Laser Saber
     237
     238   You've always wanted one and now you have it.  The Star Wars weapon is
     239   a reality in Abuse.  This weapon is available only in the commercial
     240   release of Abuse.
     241
     242Death Ray
     243
     244   Expectation is what sometimes makes the unknown or unseen even more
     245   alluring than the known fact.  This weapon fits this mold pretty well...
     246   its not even written yet!  The death ray is available only in the
     247   commercial release of Abuse.
     248
     249=== B.  Power-Ups ===
     250
     251Fast Power-Up
     252
     253   This power up looks like a giant IC emblazoned with a lightning bolt.
     254   When you run over this power-up you gain robotic legs that allow you to
     255   run twice as fast as normal, jump higher and climb ladders much more
     256   quickly than normal.
     257
     258Fly Power-Up
     259
     260   This power-up gives you the the ability to fly.  It is only available in
     261   the commercial version of Abuse.
     262
     263Health Power-Up
     264
     265   This power-up ups the players health maximum from 100 to 200.  It is
     266   available only in the commercial version of Abuse.
     267
     268Sneaky Power-Up
     269
     270   This power-up allows the player to become partially invisible.  It is
     271   available only in the commercial version of Abuse.
     272
     273Visor Power-Up
     274
     275   I swear that I caught mention of this somewhere.  I would guess that it
     276   turns off lighting effects or provides the user with a high beam headlight.
     277   It is available only in the commercial version of Abuse if at all :)
     278
     279=== C.  Health Boosters ===
     280
     281Health boosters increase your characters health as the name would imply.  They
     282take the form of miniature hearts and when you move over them your health is
     283raised by a variable number of points depending on the difficulty level.
     284
     285=== D.  Nick Vrenna ===
     286
     287This is your character.  Its Nick's job to exterminate the Ants and free
     288humanity from certain slaughter.
     289
     290=== E.  Enemies ===
     291
     292Ants
     293
     294   The ant is the enemy that you will meet most frequently.  Much more deadly
     295   than the insect variety, these ants will _REALLY_ spoil your picnic.
     296   Straight out of _Alien_ these creatures will gnash, claw and shoot their
     297   way to a chance to dine on your tender flesh.  Ants are somewhat
     298   intelligent predators in that they will use their ability to walk on
     299   ceilings in order to avoid your attempts to destroy them.  Beware: ants
     300   often travel in packs.
     301
     302   There are seven varieties of ants in the commercial release of Abuse and
     303   four varieties in the shareware release.  Each type of ant is a different
     304   color and fires one of the eight (or four) weapons provided in the game.
     305
     306Juggernauts
     307
     308   These giant robots have in their possesion an unlimited number of grenades
     309   and they aren't exactly conservative with their supply.  Some models of this
     310   robot are immobile while later models will walk towards your character in
     311   order to get a better shot.  Juggernauts are quite tough and can take a lot
     312   of direct hits before they shatter to pieces but unfortunately you usually
     313   aren't given a choice to run away.
     314
     315Flyers
     316
     317   These agile robots have the ability of flight.  Flyers never stand still
     318   so they are often difficult to target however a steady stream of laser
     319   pulses or guided missles usually do the trick
     320
     321=== F.  Tricks, Traps, Harmful Objects and Other Interactive Objects ===
     322
     323Bombs
     324
     325   Bombs are explosive devices which can kill a player if they are within
     326   the blast radius.
     327
     328Blocks
     329
     330   Blocks are destroyable objects which impede the players movement.
     331
     332Boulders
     333
     334   Boulders are gigantic spiked metal spheres.  They are affected by gravity
     335   and will fall when if in the air.  When they hit the ground they will
     336   bounce.
     337
     338   A boulder will cause damage to a player when it collides with them.
     339   Boulders can also damage aliens and other objects that can be hurt.
     340   When a boulder is dealt enough damage it will break up into smaller
     341   boulders which will then explode on contact with the floor.
     342
     343Concussion Mines
     344
     345   These small mines will cause damage to the player upon contact.  They can
     346   be found in the air as well as on the ground.  Sometimes they even move.
     347
     348Doors
     349
     350   Doors block entrances to rooms.  Two varieties of doors exist: sensor
     351   activated doors and switch activated doors.
     352
     353Force Fields
     354
     355   Force fields are walls of energy which prevent the user from moving
     356   through them.  Force fields may be as high as one screen.
     357
     358Hidden Tiles
     359
     360   Secret areas are hidden behind these tiles.  Hidden tiles look like
     361   ordinary tiles except that they will break up when dealt enough damage.
     362   When the tiles have been destroyed completely they will explode and cause
     363   damage to any near-by aliens.
     364
     365Ladders
     366
     367   Use these to climb up and down to different levels.
     368
     369Lava
     370
     371   Lava tiles will do constant damage to a player while they are in contact
     372   with the lava.
     373
     374Shock Pulses
     375
     376   These objects intermittently shoot out pulses of electricity which deal
     377   a healthy amount of damage to the player.
     378
     379Spray Guns
     380
     381   Spray guns are turret-like guns which will rotate in a left-right-left
     382   fashion shooting out sprays of shots.  Spray guns may fire any type of
     383   weapon.
     384
     385Tunnel Robots
     386
     387   This large robot can chase a player down a hall, forcing the player to
     388   either destroy it or to die a horrible death within the robot's spinning
     389   blades.
     390
     391Track Guns
     392
     393   Track guns are similar to spray guns except that track guns will track
     394   the motion of a player.
     395
     396Trap Doors
     397
     398   Trap doors on the floor can be activated by sensors and switches.  Watch
     399   where you chose to take a breather when playing net Abuse.
     400
     401Doors
     402
     403   Abuse contains both switch activated and sensor activated doors.
     404
     405Springs
     406
     407   Springs provide a player with an upward boost when they player comes in
     408   contact with one.
     409
     410Switches
     411
     412   These state changing devices will hopefully activate something beneficial
     413   to your player like a trap door with more ammo.  If you aren't so lucky
     414   you might unleash a pack of ants.
     415
     416   Abuse contains both select-activated switches and shot-activated switches.
     417
     418Platforms
     419
     420   Platforms are moving tiles that can lift and move you to different floors
     421   and sections of a level.
     422
     423Pushers
     424
     425   Pushers are objects that will give your player a push in the direction of
     426   the arrows on the pusher.  Pushers have varying strengths so it may or
     427   not be a futile attempt to avoid going with the flow.
     428
     429=== G.  Scenery and Graphics ===
     430
     431Foreground
     432
     433  The foreground scenery is made up of the floor, ceiling, wall textures and
     434  other graphics components that your character interacts with.  Foreground is
     435  created using combinations of tiles that you choose from a foreground
     436  palette.  When you place an object in the screen it is placed in the
     437  foreground as well although it can be moved and manipulated as a seperate
     438  entity.
     439
     440  Abuse comes with a large palette of predefined foreground tiles that include
     441  floor tiles, walls, ceilings, ramps, cavern textures, forest textures,
     442  ladders, pipes and more
     443
     444Background
     445
     446   The game engine that Abuse is based on allows for two levels of parallax
     447   scrolling.  Using the background palette one can make a background which
     448   can be set to scroll at a defined rate in order to add the feeling of
     449   depth to the level.
     450
     451   Abuse has background tiles that can be used to construct a city skyscape,
     452   forest backgrounds and cavern backgrounds.
     453
     454== IV.  What are the Main Components That Comprise a Complete Level? ==
     455
     456=== A.  What are Objects? ===
     457
     458The two main components of any level are (disregarding foreground and
     459background graphics) objects and links.
     460
     461   Every entity in the game that interacts with the player is an object
     462   an object.  All objects have corresponding Lisp source files that
     463   determines how they behave.  The Lisp code can be arbitrarily complex.
     464
     465   Objects are not always required to have links.  In general, if an object
     466   contains has no links (that is, if no links _originate_ from that object)
     467   then that object will start off in the active state.
     468
     469=== B.  What are Links? ===
     470
     471   Links provide the means to let objects modify each other.  Links also
     472   act as the graphical method of specifying the parameters for the Lisp
     473   code of the linking object.
     474
     475   Every link requres two objects.  The link is originated at the object that
     476   is to do processing (thinking).  It is then attached to another object which
     477   will act as the stimulus that determines whether or not the originating
     478   object is active or it will act as a parameter for some type of object
     479   manipulation.
     480
     481   Links are stored in a list inside the level format such that an object may
     482   have multiple links and the order of the links is important.  Facilities
     483   exist in the editor for deleting the first or last link beloning to an
     484   object.  If the first link from an object is deleted then the remaining
     485   links shift up by one.  That is, if an object has three links and the first    is deleted then the old second link becomes the new first link and the
     486   old third link becomes the new second link.
     487
     488=== C.  What Predefined Objects Come with Abuse? ===
     489
     490Ammunition
     491
     492These objects increase the ammunition count of the weapons. All ammunition is
     493invisible, untouchable and unaffected by gravity until activated.
     494
     495   DFRIS_ICON10, DFRIS_ICON4
     496
     497   Adds ten or four to the death frizbee count.
     498
     499   FBOMB_ICON5, FBOMB_ICON1
     500
     501   Adds five or one to the fire bomb rifle count.
     502
     503   GRENADE_ICON10, GRENADE_ICON2
     504
     505   Adds ten or two to the grenade launcher count.
     506
     507   LSABER_ICON50, LASER_ICON10
     508
     509   Adds fifty or ten to the laser saber count.
     510
     511   MBULLET_ICON10, MBULLET_ICON5
     512
     513   Adds ten or five to the laser rifle count.
     514
     515   PLASMA_ICON50, PLASMA_ICON10
     516
     517   Adds fifty or ten to the plasma gun count.
     518
     519   ROCKET_ICON5, ROCKET_ICON2
     520
     521   Adds five or two to the guided missle count.
     522
     523Enemies
     524
     525All of these objects are entities that are bent on destroying the player.
     526
     527  ANT_CRACK
     528
     529  This crack will spit out a variable number of ants when it is activated.
     530  The ant type may be changed so that the ants may fire one of eight weapons.
     531
     532  ANT_ROOF
     533
     534  This is an ant whose normal state is an invulnerable cocoon.  It will
     535  activate when the player comes within range underneath it.
     536
     537  FLYER
     538
     539  This is a flying robot that can fire any of the eight weapon types.
     540
     541  GREEN_FLYER
     542
     543  A green flying robot that can fire any of the eight weapon types.
     544
     545  HIDDEN_ANT
     546
     547  This ant is like an ANT_ROOF except that it is invisible in its normal state.
     548
     549  JUGGER
     550
     551  A giant robot which tosses grenades at a definable angle and can walk or
     552  stay immobile.
     553
     554  WHO
     555
     556  This is another flying robot with the same attributes as the FLYER.
     557
     558Lighting objects
     559
     560Besides the light source objects that are used to create the point source
     561lighting, two special objects may be used to allow any object to act as a
     562light source and to dynamically change the shape of a light.
     563
     564   LIGHTHOLD
     565
     566   The LIGHTHOLD object glues a light source to another object.
     567
     568   SWITCH_DIMMER
     569
     570   The SWITCH_DIMMER causes a light source to shrink or grow when the dimmer
     571   is activated.
     572
     573Sensors
     574
     575   The SENSOR object is a switch which turns on when the player enters the ON
     576   box of the sensor and will turn off when the player leaves the OFF box.
     577
     578   The DEATH_SENSOR object is a switch which turns on when all of the objects
     579   linked to it are destroyed or deleted.
     580
     581Switches
     582
     583  SWITCH
     584
     585  This is a switch object that can be turned off and on.
     586
     587  SWITCH_ONCE
     588
     589  This is a switch that can be toggled only once.
     590
     591  SWITCH_DELAY
     592
     593  This is a switch that, once toggled, will revert back to its default
     594  state after a user definable delay.
     595
     596Logic Gates
     597
     598  Logic gates can be used to create sophisticated triggering devices for
     599  objects.  They work in the same way that real logic gates work.
     600  The available gates are:
     601
     602  GATE_AND    : will be in the ON state when all of its links are ON
     603  GATE_DELAY  : reflects the state of its link with a definable delay
     604  GATE_NOT    : outputs the opposite state of its link (ie NOT ON <=> OFF)
     605  GATE_OR     : will be in the ON state when any of its links are on
     606  GATE_PULSE  : when on will switch between on and off states w/ delay
     607  GATE_XOR    : will be in the ON state when an odd number of links are ON
     608
     609Respawners
     610
     611   Respawners are used to place objects at locations at specified times.
     612   There are two types of respawners, the death respawner and the object
     613   respawner.
     614
     615   The DEATH_RESPAWNER lets you spawn an object at another objects place
     616   when it dies.  The first link to the death respawner is the object that
     617   is to be spawned.  Any number of links may be added after the first and
     618   will cause the spawning object to appear when all of the secondary link
     619   objects are dead or destroyed.  If the first link to the death respawner
     620   dies then the second link becomes the new first link.
     621
     622   The RESPAWNER is a simplified death respawner that takes only one link
     623   which is the object to be respawned.  The respawner will respawn an object
     624   after a specified amount of time provided that the object has been deleted
     625   since the first time it has been respawned.  The RESPAWNER is primarily
     626   used in network games where ammunition and health is used up rapidly.
     627
     628   ** NOTE: The respawner currently only works with HEALTH objects and
     629      should not be used until the network patch is released **
     630
     631Generic Object Manipulators
     632
     633   The OBJECT_MOVER moves an object to a specified endpoint at a user
     634   defined speed.  The object movers may be linked together (ie, using
     635   another OBJECT_MOVER as an endpoint) in order to move an object in
     636   an arbitarily shaped path.
     637
     638   The OBJ_HOLDER object allows any object to hold another.  A third link
     639   to the OBJ_HOLDER can act as a switch to control when this behavior
     640   will take place.
     641
     642   The SWITCH_MOVER object will move an object to the current position
     643   of a second object when the state of the second object is in the ON
     644   state.  Once the movement of the first object is executed the switch
     645   mover is deleted.
     646
     647Force Fields
     648
     649   When these objects are activated they will prohibit a player from
     650   crossing them.  They can be up to one screen in height.  They are
     651   useful for forcing a player to move in a certain direction.
     652
     653Doors and Trap Doors
     654
     655   The SWITCH_DOOR object is a switch activated door that is closed when
     656   its link is inactive and open when its link is active.
     657
     658   The TRAP_DOOR2 and TRAP_DOOR3 objects are placed on the floor and behave
     659   in the same way as the SWITCH_DOOR object.
     660
     661Platforms and Steps
     662
     663   The SMART_PLAT_BIG, SMART_PLAT_RED, and SMART_PLAT_SMALL objects are
     664   platforms which can be used as elevators or moving floors.
     665
     666   The STEP is a platform-like object which has no features other than the
     667   ability to be walked upon.
     668
     669Teleporters
     670
     671   The TELE2 object will transport the player to the position of the object
     672   that it is linked to.
     673
     674   The TP_DOOR object will transport the player to another TP_DOOR that is
     675   linked to it.
     676
     677Markers and Indicators
     678
     679Markers
     680
     681   MARKER objects serve no purpose other than to hold links for other
     682   objects that require links.  Markers can also be used to mark features
     683   of a level for editing purposes without requiring a visual cue that will
     684   be visible when the level is played.
     685
     686Indicators
     687
     688   The INDICATOR object changes color from red (when its link is active)
     689   to green (when its link is inactive).  This object is used to give
     690   the player a visual clue as to the state of an object.
     691
     692   The POINTER object is a golden arrow that is used for guiding the
     693   player's attention to some feature of a level.
     694
     695Start, Restart Position and Next Level Objects
     696
     697   The START object determines where the user will start when the level is
     698   started.
     699
     700  The RESTART_POSITION object is a player-activated save game position.
     701  Currently the number of health points that a player has is not stored
     702  when the position is saved.
     703
     704  The NEXT_LEVEL object takes the player to the next level when activated.
     705  The NEXT_LEVEL_TOP object is the top part of the next level transporter.
     706  Each of the next level objects should be linked to each other for future
     707  expansion.  In other words the NEXT_LEVEL object should originate a link
     708  to the NEXT_LEVEL_TOP object and vice versa.
     709
     710Training Messages
     711
     712  TRAIN_MSG objects can display a message on the screen when activated.
     713  The messages are defined externally in a .lsp file.
     714
     715== V.  Which Dialect of Lisp Does the Lisp Interpreter Implement? ==
     716
     717Common Lisp is the dialect of Lisp that is understood by the built-in
     718Lisp interpreter.
     719
     720== VI.  Which Constructs are Not Supported by the Lisp Interpreter? ==
     721
     722Structures and Objects are the two main Lisp constructs that are not
     723implemented by the built-in Lisp interpreter.
     724
     725== VII.  What Add-Ons are Available for Abuse? ==
     726
     727Single Player Levels
     728
     729   No new single player levels have been widely publicized yet but many
     730   denziens of #abuse are working very dilligently to be the first to be the
     731   authors that release the first levels.
     732
     733Multiplayer Levels
     734
     735   Because the net code has not been released to the public yet there are
     736   probably few people that are working on multiplayer levels at this time.
     737
     738Commercial Add-Ons and Level Compilations
     739
     740   Currently no commercial products involving Abuse are available however Crack
     741   Dot Com is releasing a CD-ROM in November chock full of new levels, add-ons
     742   and new game games based on the Abuse game engine.  Add-on authors can even
     743   get their levels and add-ons included on the CD and will earn royalties
     744   based on the quality of their product.  Check out www.crack.com for more
     745   details.
     746
     747== VIII. Where Can I Learn More About Level Editing? ==
     748
     749=== A.  General Level Editing Information and Guidelines ===
     750
     751Duong Nyugen's documentation of the built-in level editor is the best place to
     752start if you are totally new to the editor. It is not a tutorial, regardless
     753of the title (Tutorial Number One), but it does document the features of the
     754built-in editor and lists all of the objects available an describes their
     755purpose and usage thoroughly.
     756
     757The author of Abuse has put out a small example distributed as example.zip
     758which shows how to create a small lisp file so that the main startup.lsp
     759file does not need patching when you add new graphics and wish to start
     760your homebrew level as the first level.
     761
     762=== B.  Level Editor Documentation ===
     763
     764Currently the only documentation on the supplied level editor is the abuse.doc
     765file that comes with the beta version of Abuse.
     766
     767=== C.  Lisp documentation and tutorials ===
     768
     769Guy Steele's definitive description of the Common Lisp language, _Common Lisp
     770the Language_, second edition, can be accessed through the World Wide Web.
     771The address is www.supelec.fr/docs/cltl/cltl2.html.  From this web page
     772you can access the online html version of the book as well as obtain a .tgz
     773archive of a postscript or html version.
     774
     775Please note that CLtL2 will probably be of the most benefit if you already
     776know a high level language other than BASIC such as C++ or Pascal.
     777
     778A brief tutorial that covers some of the basics of the language is available
     779as the tutorial packaged with the Linux version of CLisp ( possibly
     780obtainable elsewhere ).
     781
     782A Lisp FAQ and other messages pertaining to Lisp can be found on the Lisp
     783newsgroup comp.lang.lisp.
     784
     785== VIIII.  What Channels Exist on IRC for Discussing Abuse? ==
     786
     787#Abuse, the official Abuse discussion channel, will be the main IRC channel
     788for discussing the game.  You will probably be able to strike up a
     789conversation about Abuse on #doom as well.  Dave Taylor (of iD Software and
     790Crack Dot Com) makes appearances quasi-frequently on #doom and has been
     791frequenting #abuse virtually every day along with Jonathan Clark.
     792
     793== X.  What Newsgroups Exist for Discussing Abuse? ==
     794
     795Currently there are none but comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action often has
     796posts concerning Abuse although they are mostly messages asking when the
     797game will be released.
     798
     799== XI.  What Mailing Lists Exist for Discussing Abuse? ==
     800
     801There are no mailing lists as of yet.  Firehawk of #abuse is looking into
     802starting one, however.
     803
     804== XII.  Where Can I Get Abuse? ==
     805
     806Fingering help@crack.com will provide you with a list of the latest binary
     807revisions and their respective FTP sites.  If you can't remember the FTP
     808sites or cannot find the files you are looking for you can get Abuse and
     809Satan Paint from my FTP site at par0511.urh.uiuc.edu.
     810
     811I will carry the latest versions of Abuse and Satan Paint for the various
     812platforms as well as this FAQ, documentation, tutorials and the best of the
     813best modifications and levels to please the masses but please do not
     814consider my system as a primary FTP site for these files.  Try to find the
     815files elsewhere before consulting my site.
     816
     817Please be aware that my site may not always be up.
     818
     819As for the commercial release of Abuse you can get information on ordering
     820from Crack Dot Com by fingering abuse@crack.com or by checking out Crack Dot
     821Com's web page at www.crack.com.  The game will also be carried in stores but
     822most likely won't include the t-shirt that comes with the orders from Crack
     823Dot Com.
     824
     825== XIII.  Where Can I Get Satan Paint? ==
     826
     827The latest version of Satan Paint (v1.4) is available from the following
     828FTP site:
     829
     830        par0511.urh.uiuc.edu (my site)
     831
     832The DOS version is available there but the Linux and SGI releases are not.
     833Satan Paint has vanished on ftp.island.net so I would be very grateful if
     834someone could transfer it to the incoming directory on my site.
     835
     836Again, please use my site only after all else fails.
     837
     838== XIIII.  FAQ Change History ==
     839
     840 * Version 1.1.0:  Added death ray to weapons list.  Added my ftp site to
     841   the list of sites to obtain Abuse (which is now summarized
     842   neatly in the phrase "finger help@crack.com."
     843
     844 * Version 1.0.0:  Finished object descriptions.  Added information on where to
     845   download the shareware release of Abuse and where to get
     846   Satan Paint.
     847
     848 * Version 0.2.0:  Added credits section.  Fixed minor errors.  Finished
     849   descriptions of scenery components and tricks/traps/objects.
     850
     851 * Version 0.1.1:  Fixed misspellings of Crack Dot Com employees.  Added
     852   FAQ Change History list.  Updated revision number (which
     853   was labeled incorrectly in the header).
     854
     855 * Version 0.1.0:  First public release of incomplete FAQ.  Sections involving
     856   level entities and objects incomplete.  Made available
     857   on August 31st, 1995, the DOS Beta release date.
     858
     859== XV.  Credits ==
     860
     861Thanks go to:
     862
     863 * Jonathan Clark, author of Abuse, for providing me with detailed
     864   information on the exact amount of Lisp code in the game in respect
     865   to the size of all of the code in the game and information and for
     866   stopping by #abuse on the eve of the DOS shareware release and answering
     867   a barrage of questions from Hank Leukart and myself.
     868
     869 * Duong Nguyen, Abuse artist, for providing the editor tutorial from which
     870   the object descriptions in the FAQ were based.
     871
     872 * Dave Taylor, John Romero and Shawn Green, again, for stopping by #abuse
     873   on the day of the DOS shareware release which generated a lot of activity
     874   in the channel.
     875
     876 * The crew at Crack Dot Com for giving us such a great looking game that
     877   plays so smoothly.
     878
     879== Copyright Recognition ==
     880
     881 * _Abuse_ is a registered trademark of Crack Dot Com.
     882 * _Doom_ and _Quake_ are registered trademarks of iD Software.
     883 * _Star Wars_ is a registered trademark of Lucasfilms.
     884 * _Tron_ is a registered trademark of the Walt Disney Company.
     885
     886This FAQ is the intellectual property of the author, Mike Perry.
     887
     888I cannot keep anyone from copying this FAQ and editing it for
     889redistribution nor can I lay claim to any of the underlying
     890information on this page other than its wording.  There is no
     891copyright on this FAQ registered with the copyright office however
     892I have placed a copyright notice at the bottom of the FAQ for dating
     893purposes.
     894
     895You are free to distribute this FAQ in any form as long as the contents
     896are not changed in any way (realistically speaking... I am not going to
     897butcher you if you correct a spelling error or two).  Please make sure
     898to distribute only the most recent revision of the FAQ.  The most recent
     899revision will always be available from my FTP site (in the pub/abuse
     900directory) mentioned earlier in the FAQ.
     901
     902== Disclaimer ==
     903
     904The information and ideas conveyed in this FAQ are not guaranteed to be fact.
     905The author of the FAQ dismisses all responsibilty for any financial loss and
     906for any physical or emotional damages caused by any placement of faith upon
     907the ideas and answers contained this document. It is up to the reader to decide
     908what he or she contends is fact.  Should the support of any product, software
     909package or add-on mentioned in this document cease or if an upcoming software
     910release becomes vaporware, the author must not be held responsible for that
     911outcome.