Changes between Initial Version and Version 1 of doc/faq Tweet

Timestamp:

04/19/2011 01:25:11 PM (14 years ago)

Author:

Sam Hocevar

Comment:

FAQ 1.1.0.

doc/faq

@@ +1 @@
+= Abuse FAQ =
+
+Current version 1.1.0.
+
+Copyright (C) September 11th, 1995 Mike Perry
+
+== Construction Note ==
+
+The construction of this FAQ is currently in progress.  If you find any
+glaring errors or information that is incorrect, please mail me at the
+address at the top of the FAQ.
+
+== Introduction ==
+
+This FAQ contains answers to (f)requently (a)sked (q)uestions about the
+computer game Abuse.  In actuality most of the questions are not actual
+questions that have been presented to me but are questions that, if I were
+totally new to the game, would want to have answers to.  I have
+tried to provide answers to questions that would be asked by newcomers,
+intermediate and advanced players alike.
+
+If you feel that there is a question or feature of the game that has not been
+properly addressed, please e-mail me so that I can review your question for
+possible inclusion into the FAQ.  If you already have the answers (or a good
+description of the feature you want to have included) please mail those also.
+Include your name and e-mail address so that I can give you proper credit.
+If you happen to create a document pertaining to Abuse let me know and I will
+add it to a list of supplementary documentation in the FAQ.  And now prepare
+to be abused.
+
+== Overview of Contents ==
+
+ * Construction Note
+ * Introduction
+ * Overview of Contents
+ I.  What is Abuse?
+   A.  General Information
+   B.  What is the Plot?
+   C.  Who Wrote Abuse?
+   D.  What Kind of Game is Abuse?
+   E.  Was Abuse Written Entirely in Lisp?
+   F.  How Long Did it Take to Develop Abuse?
+ II.  Can You Tell Me a Little Bit More About Crack Dot Com?
+ III.  Who and What Are the Main Characters/Objects in the Game?
+   A.  Weapons and Ammo
+   B.  Power-Ups
+   C.  Health Boosters
+   D.  Nick Vrenna
+   E.  Enemies
+   F.  Tricks, Traps, Harmful Objects and Other Interactive Objects
+   G.  Scenery
+ IV.  What are the Main Components That Comprise a Level?
+ V.  Which Dialect of Lisp Does the Lisp Interpreter Implement?
+ VI.  What Constructs are Missing From the Lisp Interpreter?
+ VII.  What Add-Ons are Available for Abuse?
+ VIII.  Where Can I Learn More About Level Editing and Game Alteration?
+ VIIII.  What Channels Exist on IRC for Discussing Abuse?
+ X.  What Newsgroups Exist for Discussing Abuse?
+ XI.  What Mailing Lists Exist for Discussing Abuse?
+ XII.  Where Can I Get Abuse?
+ XIII.  Where Can I Get Satan Paint?
+ XIIII.  FAQ Change History
+ XV.  Credits
+ * Copyright Recognition
+ * Disclaimer
+
+== I.  What is Abuse? ==
+
+=== A.  General Information ===
+
+Abuse is the first game to be released by the budding new computer
+game company Crack Dot Com.  Abuse is an action game that pits you --
+assuming the role of Nick Vrenna, resistance fighter -- against ruthless
+alien killers, called ants, that have taken control over humanity.  The game
+an engine that allows modification to the stock game through such means
+as a built-in lisp interpreter, external game-object lisp code, a windowing
+system, multiplayer support through IPX or TCP/IP protocols and network
+file support.
+
+=== B.  What is the Plot? ===
+
+Here is the plot from the finger info at help@crack.com:
+
+   The Ants were fearless, efficient killers.  The Unified Underground's
+   only opening was that the Ant defense systems were designed by engineers
+   too arrogant to consider the threat of an individual.  It was enough to
+   justify the covert Abuse Missions.
+
+   On August 31, 2021, eight bytes were zeroed in a computer, and Nick
+   Vrenna's identity was erased.  A suit of armor cradling a smoking auto
+   rifle stood in shadows appreciating the stench coming from the first
+   retired Ant of the day.  The armored soul feared the effort would end up
+   as pathetic as the Terran Surrender Terms, but humanity had nothing
+   else.
+
+=== C.  Who Wrote Abuse? ===
+
+Abuse is engineered by the game company Crack Dot Com.  The programmer behind
+the game is Jonathan Clark.  The artwork was created by Doung Dai Nguyen and
+Murray Macmillan.  Rounding up the cast is Bobby Prince (sound effects) who
+also designed the music and sound effects for Doom, and Dave Taylor
+(funding and beating), programmer at iD software -- creators of Doom and the
+upcoming Quake.
+
+=== D.  What Kind of Game is Abuse? ===
+
+Abuse is an 2D side-scrolling shoot-em up action/puzzle game.  Although the
+game borrows features from many genres of games it best fits under the
+platform category.  The Abuse game engine boasts many features with a
+built-in Lisp interpreter (for modification and extension of the game world)
+most likely being the most promising and exciting feature.
+
+Here are the features of the game engine that are listed in the finger
+information at help@crack.com:
+
+  This is THE game to see.
+
+  - Beautiful shaped, point-source lighting
+  - Engine has built-in Lisp Interpreter.  You can
+    add code into the game, or create a whole new
+    game which is instantly ported to many platforms,
+    has lighting, sound, mouse/joystick, network,
+    hi-rez and window support.  You will be able to
+    licence copies of the engine to sell as your own.
+  - Multi-player. IPX and TCPIP [*]
+  - Server/client.  Start your game as a server and people can
+    join in/leave later, automatically downloading the current
+    level and state of game. [*]
+  - Built in Network File System abilities.
+    When you start up net games, just connect to the server and
+    access files like they were on your computer.  Connect to
+    a "pacman" server and automatically download art, sfx, and
+    lisp code.  Game compiles and starts running. [*]
+  - Color matching system ensures you will see perfect graphics
+    even if your moniter is miscalibrated.
+  - Animation rendered with in-house vector animation CAD (VCAD).
+  - Explosions and special effects rendered with in-house PART (particle
+    animation rendering tool).
+  - Artwork is editable by users with Satan Paint (free with CDROM
+    version). (beta available now at npc.ece.utexas.edu:/pub/satan_paint)
+  - Weapons, weapons, weapons.
+  - Hi-rez support with VESA drivers
+  - Ports for DOS, Linux Console, Linux X11;  *(348,486,Pentium Linux)
+    SGI has graciously given us a Indgo II to port abuse
+    other ports to be announced.
+
+[*] Not in initial release (we didn't have time to finish & test it as well,
+    as it should be).  Look for a patch shortly after release.
+
+=== E.  Was Abuse Written Entirely in Lisp? ===
+
+This has the unfortunate possibilty of becoming a well spread misconception.
+While the external entity code that you will write for modifications and
+additions (or total reconstruction) of the game will be in Lisp, the game
+engine was written in C++.  There is also a small amount of 80x86 assembly
+in the DOS version.
+
+Here is the wc (word count) output on the source code.
+
+{{{
+Lisp code:   5374     16377    142220 total
+ C++ code:  67904    185889   1717174 total
+ Asm code: (negligible)
+}}}
+
+Approximately seven percent of the game engine and Abuse combined is
+Lisp code.  The rest is C++.  There 5044 lines of Lisp code distributed in
+the 0.3.2 version of the Linux version, so you are seeing _all_ of the Lisp
+code (the difference is likely due to some lisp net Abuse code that hasn't
+been finished yet).
+
+=== F.  How Long Did it Take to Develop Abuse? ===
+
+After the game engine was completed the development of Abuse took approximately
+four months.
+
+== II.  Can You Tell Me a Little Bit More About Crack Dot Com? ==
+
+Crack Dot Com is a budding new computer game company owned by programmers
+Dave Taylor (of iD software) and Jonathan Clark.
+
+Abuse will be Crack Dot Com's first published game but it is was not the first
+game that they worked on.
+
+== III.  Who and What are the Main Characters and Objects in the Game?  ==
+
+=== A.  Weapons and Ammo ===
+
+Laser Rifle
+
+   The laser rifle is the most basic weapon in the game.  It shoots red
+   laser pulses (ala Star Wars) in the direction in which you point the rifle.
+   You can use the laser rifle even without the proper ammunition because if
+   you couldn't shoot, as JC puts it, that would suck.  Having ammunition for
+   the laser rifle is still a crucial item to have as a loaded laser rifle
+   fires considerably faster than an unloaded laser rifle.  The laser rifle
+   does not care whether the rifle ammo count is 1 or 1000 -- it will still
+   fire at the same rate.
+
+Grenade Launcher
+
+   This weapon launches grenades in a realistic parabolic arc.  Realistic that
+   is if you ignore the fact that the game world would have to be a vacuum in
+   order for the trajectory of the grenade to be that perfect.  You will
+   probably be too busy watching the pretty explosions inflict your opponents
+   with massive damage to notice anyway.
+
+Guided Missle Launcher
+
+   The guided missle launcher is Abuse's version of the second most popular
+   weapon in Doom (the shotgun is almost unarguably the favorite weapon of
+   Doomaholics everywhere).  The highly manueverable missles that this weapon
+   launches will follow your opponent to the ends of the Earth.  That is, if
+   you don't overshoot.
+
+Firebomb Rifle
+
+   You might have a hard time distinguishing this weapon from a flamethrower.
+   However, this weapon is projectile based an produces a trail of flaming
+   particles that follow each other like the cars of a train.  Since the
+   weapon is particle based, the projectiles _are_ affected by gravity and
+   you do not have to fire straight at an opponent in order to hit them.
+
+Plasma Gun
+
+   Another weapon found in Doom, this plasma gun produces a burst of plasma
+   that looks more like the maximum energy burst that you can shoot in the
+   game R-Type.  This weapon is available only in the commercial release of
+   Abuse.
+
+Death Frizbee
+
+   This weapon is available only in the commercial release of Abuse.  Maybe
+   someone will design some Tron modifications to Abuse.
+
+Laser Saber
+
+   You've always wanted one and now you have it.  The Star Wars weapon is
+   a reality in Abuse.  This weapon is available only in the commercial
+   release of Abuse.
+
+Death Ray
+
+   Expectation is what sometimes makes the unknown or unseen even more
+   alluring than the known fact.  This weapon fits this mold pretty well...
+   its not even written yet!  The death ray is available only in the
+   commercial release of Abuse.
+
+=== B.  Power-Ups ===
+
+Fast Power-Up
+
+   This power up looks like a giant IC emblazoned with a lightning bolt.
+   When you run over this power-up you gain robotic legs that allow you to
+   run twice as fast as normal, jump higher and climb ladders much more
+   quickly than normal.
+
+Fly Power-Up
+
+   This power-up gives you the the ability to fly.  It is only available in
+   the commercial version of Abuse.
+
+Health Power-Up
+
+   This power-up ups the players health maximum from 100 to 200.  It is
+   available only in the commercial version of Abuse.
+
+Sneaky Power-Up
+
+   This power-up allows the player to become partially invisible.  It is
+   available only in the commercial version of Abuse.
+
+Visor Power-Up
+
+   I swear that I caught mention of this somewhere.  I would guess that it
+   turns off lighting effects or provides the user with a high beam headlight.
+   It is available only in the commercial version of Abuse if at all :)
+
+=== C.  Health Boosters ===
+
+Health boosters increase your characters health as the name would imply.  They
+take the form of miniature hearts and when you move over them your health is
+raised by a variable number of points depending on the difficulty level.
+
+=== D.  Nick Vrenna ===
+
+This is your character.  Its Nick's job to exterminate the Ants and free
+humanity from certain slaughter.
+
+=== E.  Enemies ===
+
+Ants
+
+   The ant is the enemy that you will meet most frequently.  Much more deadly
+   than the insect variety, these ants will _REALLY_ spoil your picnic.
+   Straight out of _Alien_ these creatures will gnash, claw and shoot their
+   way to a chance to dine on your tender flesh.  Ants are somewhat
+   intelligent predators in that they will use their ability to walk on
+   ceilings in order to avoid your attempts to destroy them.  Beware: ants
+   often travel in packs.
+
+   There are seven varieties of ants in the commercial release of Abuse and
+   four varieties in the shareware release.  Each type of ant is a different
+   color and fires one of the eight (or four) weapons provided in the game.
+
+Juggernauts
+
+   These giant robots have in their possesion an unlimited number of grenades
+   and they aren't exactly conservative with their supply.  Some models of this
+   robot are immobile while later models will walk towards your character in
+   order to get a better shot.  Juggernauts are quite tough and can take a lot
+   of direct hits before they shatter to pieces but unfortunately you usually
+   aren't given a choice to run away.
+
+Flyers
+
+   These agile robots have the ability of flight.  Flyers never stand still
+   so they are often difficult to target however a steady stream of laser
+   pulses or guided missles usually do the trick
+
+=== F.  Tricks, Traps, Harmful Objects and Other Interactive Objects ===
+
+Bombs
+
+   Bombs are explosive devices which can kill a player if they are within
+   the blast radius.
+
+Blocks
+
+   Blocks are destroyable objects which impede the players movement.
+
+Boulders
+
+   Boulders are gigantic spiked metal spheres.  They are affected by gravity
+   and will fall when if in the air.  When they hit the ground they will
+   bounce.
+
+   A boulder will cause damage to a player when it collides with them.
+   Boulders can also damage aliens and other objects that can be hurt.
+   When a boulder is dealt enough damage it will break up into smaller
+   boulders which will then explode on contact with the floor.
+
+Concussion Mines
+
+   These small mines will cause damage to the player upon contact.  They can
+   be found in the air as well as on the ground.  Sometimes they even move.
+
+Doors
+
+   Doors block entrances to rooms.  Two varieties of doors exist: sensor
+   activated doors and switch activated doors.
+
+Force Fields
+
+   Force fields are walls of energy which prevent the user from moving
+   through them.  Force fields may be as high as one screen.
+
+Hidden Tiles
+
+   Secret areas are hidden behind these tiles.  Hidden tiles look like
+   ordinary tiles except that they will break up when dealt enough damage.
+   When the tiles have been destroyed completely they will explode and cause
+   damage to any near-by aliens.
+
+Ladders
+
+   Use these to climb up and down to different levels.
+
+Lava
+
+   Lava tiles will do constant damage to a player while they are in contact
+   with the lava.
+
+Shock Pulses
+
+   These objects intermittently shoot out pulses of electricity which deal
+   a healthy amount of damage to the player.
+
+Spray Guns
+
+   Spray guns are turret-like guns which will rotate in a left-right-left
+   fashion shooting out sprays of shots.  Spray guns may fire any type of
+   weapon.
+
+Tunnel Robots
+
+   This large robot can chase a player down a hall, forcing the player to
+   either destroy it or to die a horrible death within the robot's spinning
+   blades.
+
+Track Guns
+
+   Track guns are similar to spray guns except that track guns will track
+   the motion of a player.
+
+Trap Doors
+
+   Trap doors on the floor can be activated by sensors and switches.  Watch
+   where you chose to take a breather when playing net Abuse.
+
+Doors
+
+   Abuse contains both switch activated and sensor activated doors.
+
+Springs
+
+   Springs provide a player with an upward boost when they player comes in
+   contact with one.
+
+Switches
+
+   These state changing devices will hopefully activate something beneficial
+   to your player like a trap door with more ammo.  If you aren't so lucky
+   you might unleash a pack of ants.
+
+   Abuse contains both select-activated switches and shot-activated switches.
+
+Platforms
+
+   Platforms are moving tiles that can lift and move you to different floors
+   and sections of a level.
+
+Pushers
+
+   Pushers are objects that will give your player a push in the direction of
+   the arrows on the pusher.  Pushers have varying strengths so it may or
+   not be a futile attempt to avoid going with the flow.
+
+=== G.  Scenery and Graphics ===
+
+Foreground
+
+  The foreground scenery is made up of the floor, ceiling, wall textures and
+  other graphics components that your character interacts with.  Foreground is
+  created using combinations of tiles that you choose from a foreground
+  palette.  When you place an object in the screen it is placed in the
+  foreground as well although it can be moved and manipulated as a seperate
+  entity.
+
+  Abuse comes with a large palette of predefined foreground tiles that include
+  floor tiles, walls, ceilings, ramps, cavern textures, forest textures,
+  ladders, pipes and more
+
+Background
+
+   The game engine that Abuse is based on allows for two levels of parallax
+   scrolling.  Using the background palette one can make a background which
+   can be set to scroll at a defined rate in order to add the feeling of
+   depth to the level.
+
+   Abuse has background tiles that can be used to construct a city skyscape,
+   forest backgrounds and cavern backgrounds.
+
+== IV.  What are the Main Components That Comprise a Complete Level? ==
+
+=== A.  What are Objects? ===
+
+The two main components of any level are (disregarding foreground and
+background graphics) objects and links.
+
+   Every entity in the game that interacts with the player is an object
+   an object.  All objects have corresponding Lisp source files that
+   determines how they behave.  The Lisp code can be arbitrarily complex.
+
+   Objects are not always required to have links.  In general, if an object
+   contains has no links (that is, if no links _originate_ from that object)
+   then that object will start off in the active state.
+
+=== B.  What are Links? ===
+
+   Links provide the means to let objects modify each other.  Links also
+   act as the graphical method of specifying the parameters for the Lisp
+   code of the linking object.
+
+   Every link requres two objects.  The link is originated at the object that
+   is to do processing (thinking).  It is then attached to another object which
+   will act as the stimulus that determines whether or not the originating
+   object is active or it will act as a parameter for some type of object
+   manipulation.
+
+   Links are stored in a list inside the level format such that an object may
+   have multiple links and the order of the links is important.  Facilities
+   exist in the editor for deleting the first or last link beloning to an
+   object.  If the first link from an object is deleted then the remaining
+   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
+   old third link becomes the new second link.
+
+=== C.  What Predefined Objects Come with Abuse? ===
+
+Ammunition
+
+These objects increase the ammunition count of the weapons. All ammunition is
+invisible, untouchable and unaffected by gravity until activated.
+
+   DFRIS_ICON10, DFRIS_ICON4
+
+   Adds ten or four to the death frizbee count.
+
+   FBOMB_ICON5, FBOMB_ICON1
+
+   Adds five or one to the fire bomb rifle count.
+
+   GRENADE_ICON10, GRENADE_ICON2
+
+   Adds ten or two to the grenade launcher count.
+
+   LSABER_ICON50, LASER_ICON10
+
+   Adds fifty or ten to the laser saber count.
+
+   MBULLET_ICON10, MBULLET_ICON5
+
+   Adds ten or five to the laser rifle count.
+
+   PLASMA_ICON50, PLASMA_ICON10
+
+   Adds fifty or ten to the plasma gun count.
+
+   ROCKET_ICON5, ROCKET_ICON2
+
+   Adds five or two to the guided missle count.
+
+Enemies
+
+All of these objects are entities that are bent on destroying the player.
+
+  ANT_CRACK
+
+  This crack will spit out a variable number of ants when it is activated.
+  The ant type may be changed so that the ants may fire one of eight weapons.
+
+  ANT_ROOF
+
+  This is an ant whose normal state is an invulnerable cocoon.  It will
+  activate when the player comes within range underneath it.
+
+  FLYER
+
+  This is a flying robot that can fire any of the eight weapon types.
+
+  GREEN_FLYER
+
+  A green flying robot that can fire any of the eight weapon types.
+
+  HIDDEN_ANT
+
+  This ant is like an ANT_ROOF except that it is invisible in its normal state.
+
+  JUGGER
+
+  A giant robot which tosses grenades at a definable angle and can walk or
+  stay immobile.
+
+  WHO
+
+  This is another flying robot with the same attributes as the FLYER.
+
+Lighting objects
+
+Besides the light source objects that are used to create the point source
+lighting, two special objects may be used to allow any object to act as a
+light source and to dynamically change the shape of a light.
+
+   LIGHTHOLD
+
+   The LIGHTHOLD object glues a light source to another object.
+
+   SWITCH_DIMMER
+
+   The SWITCH_DIMMER causes a light source to shrink or grow when the dimmer
+   is activated.
+
+Sensors
+
+   The SENSOR object is a switch which turns on when the player enters the ON
+   box of the sensor and will turn off when the player leaves the OFF box.
+
+   The DEATH_SENSOR object is a switch which turns on when all of the objects
+   linked to it are destroyed or deleted.
+
+Switches
+
+  SWITCH
+
+  This is a switch object that can be turned off and on.
+
+  SWITCH_ONCE
+
+  This is a switch that can be toggled only once.
+
+  SWITCH_DELAY
+
+  This is a switch that, once toggled, will revert back to its default
+  state after a user definable delay.
+
+Logic Gates
+
+  Logic gates can be used to create sophisticated triggering devices for
+  objects.  They work in the same way that real logic gates work.
+  The available gates are:
+
+  GATE_AND    : will be in the ON state when all of its links are ON
+  GATE_DELAY  : reflects the state of its link with a definable delay
+  GATE_NOT    : outputs the opposite state of its link (ie NOT ON <=> OFF)
+  GATE_OR     : will be in the ON state when any of its links are on
+  GATE_PULSE  : when on will switch between on and off states w/ delay
+  GATE_XOR    : will be in the ON state when an odd number of links are ON
+
+Respawners
+
+   Respawners are used to place objects at locations at specified times.
+   There are two types of respawners, the death respawner and the object
+   respawner.
+
+   The DEATH_RESPAWNER lets you spawn an object at another objects place
+   when it dies.  The first link to the death respawner is the object that
+   is to be spawned.  Any number of links may be added after the first and
+   will cause the spawning object to appear when all of the secondary link
+   objects are dead or destroyed.  If the first link to the death respawner
+   dies then the second link becomes the new first link.
+
+   The RESPAWNER is a simplified death respawner that takes only one link
+   which is the object to be respawned.  The respawner will respawn an object
+   after a specified amount of time provided that the object has been deleted
+   since the first time it has been respawned.  The RESPAWNER is primarily
+   used in network games where ammunition and health is used up rapidly.
+
+   ** NOTE: The respawner currently only works with HEALTH objects and
+      should not be used until the network patch is released **
+
+Generic Object Manipulators
+
+   The OBJECT_MOVER moves an object to a specified endpoint at a user
+   defined speed.  The object movers may be linked together (ie, using
+   another OBJECT_MOVER as an endpoint) in order to move an object in
+   an arbitarily shaped path.
+
+   The OBJ_HOLDER object allows any object to hold another.  A third link
+   to the OBJ_HOLDER can act as a switch to control when this behavior
+   will take place.
+
+   The SWITCH_MOVER object will move an object to the current position
+   of a second object when the state of the second object is in the ON
+   state.  Once the movement of the first object is executed the switch
+   mover is deleted.
+
+Force Fields
+
+   When these objects are activated they will prohibit a player from
+   crossing them.  They can be up to one screen in height.  They are
+   useful for forcing a player to move in a certain direction.
+
+Doors and Trap Doors
+
+   The SWITCH_DOOR object is a switch activated door that is closed when
+   its link is inactive and open when its link is active.
+
+   The TRAP_DOOR2 and TRAP_DOOR3 objects are placed on the floor and behave
+   in the same way as the SWITCH_DOOR object.
+
+Platforms and Steps
+
+   The SMART_PLAT_BIG, SMART_PLAT_RED, and SMART_PLAT_SMALL objects are
+   platforms which can be used as elevators or moving floors.
+
+   The STEP is a platform-like object which has no features other than the
+   ability to be walked upon.
+
+Teleporters
+
+   The TELE2 object will transport the player to the position of the object
+   that it is linked to.
+
+   The TP_DOOR object will transport the player to another TP_DOOR that is
+   linked to it.
+
+Markers and Indicators
+
+Markers
+
+   MARKER objects serve no purpose other than to hold links for other
+   objects that require links.  Markers can also be used to mark features
+   of a level for editing purposes without requiring a visual cue that will
+   be visible when the level is played.
+
+Indicators
+
+   The INDICATOR object changes color from red (when its link is active)
+   to green (when its link is inactive).  This object is used to give
+   the player a visual clue as to the state of an object.
+
+   The POINTER object is a golden arrow that is used for guiding the
+   player's attention to some feature of a level.
+
+Start, Restart Position and Next Level Objects
+
+   The START object determines where the user will start when the level is
+   started.
+
+  The RESTART_POSITION object is a player-activated save game position.
+  Currently the number of health points that a player has is not stored
+  when the position is saved.
+
+  The NEXT_LEVEL object takes the player to the next level when activated.
+  The NEXT_LEVEL_TOP object is the top part of the next level transporter.
+  Each of the next level objects should be linked to each other for future
+  expansion.  In other words the NEXT_LEVEL object should originate a link
+  to the NEXT_LEVEL_TOP object and vice versa.
+
+Training Messages
+
+  TRAIN_MSG objects can display a message on the screen when activated.
+  The messages are defined externally in a .lsp file.
+
+== V.  Which Dialect of Lisp Does the Lisp Interpreter Implement? ==
+
+Common Lisp is the dialect of Lisp that is understood by the built-in
+Lisp interpreter.
+
+== VI.  Which Constructs are Not Supported by the Lisp Interpreter? ==
+
+Structures and Objects are the two main Lisp constructs that are not
+implemented by the built-in Lisp interpreter.
+
+== VII.  What Add-Ons are Available for Abuse? ==
+
+Single Player Levels
+
+   No new single player levels have been widely publicized yet but many
+   denziens of #abuse are working very dilligently to be the first to be the
+   authors that release the first levels.
+
+Multiplayer Levels
+
+   Because the net code has not been released to the public yet there are
+   probably few people that are working on multiplayer levels at this time.
+
+Commercial Add-Ons and Level Compilations
+
+   Currently no commercial products involving Abuse are available however Crack
+   Dot Com is releasing a CD-ROM in November chock full of new levels, add-ons
+   and new game games based on the Abuse game engine.  Add-on authors can even
+   get their levels and add-ons included on the CD and will earn royalties
+   based on the quality of their product.  Check out www.crack.com for more
+   details.
+
+== VIII. Where Can I Learn More About Level Editing? ==
+
+=== A.  General Level Editing Information and Guidelines ===
+
+Duong Nyugen's documentation of the built-in level editor is the best place to
+start if you are totally new to the editor. It is not a tutorial, regardless
+of the title (Tutorial Number One), but it does document the features of the
+built-in editor and lists all of the objects available an describes their
+purpose and usage thoroughly.
+
+The author of Abuse has put out a small example distributed as example.zip
+which shows how to create a small lisp file so that the main startup.lsp
+file does not need patching when you add new graphics and wish to start
+your homebrew level as the first level.
+
+=== B.  Level Editor Documentation ===
+
+Currently the only documentation on the supplied level editor is the abuse.doc
+file that comes with the beta version of Abuse.
+
+=== C.  Lisp documentation and tutorials ===
+
+Guy Steele's definitive description of the Common Lisp language, _Common Lisp
+the Language_, second edition, can be accessed through the World Wide Web.
+The address is www.supelec.fr/docs/cltl/cltl2.html.  From this web page
+you can access the online html version of the book as well as obtain a .tgz
+archive of a postscript or html version.
+
+Please note that CLtL2 will probably be of the most benefit if you already
+know a high level language other than BASIC such as C++ or Pascal.
+
+A brief tutorial that covers some of the basics of the language is available
+as the tutorial packaged with the Linux version of CLisp ( possibly
+obtainable elsewhere ).
+
+A Lisp FAQ and other messages pertaining to Lisp can be found on the Lisp
+newsgroup comp.lang.lisp.
+
+== VIIII.  What Channels Exist on IRC for Discussing Abuse? ==
+
+#Abuse, the official Abuse discussion channel, will be the main IRC channel
+for discussing the game.  You will probably be able to strike up a
+conversation about Abuse on #doom as well.  Dave Taylor (of iD Software and
+Crack Dot Com) makes appearances quasi-frequently on #doom and has been
+frequenting #abuse virtually every day along with Jonathan Clark.
+
+== X.  What Newsgroups Exist for Discussing Abuse? ==
+
+Currently there are none but comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action often has
+posts concerning Abuse although they are mostly messages asking when the
+game will be released.
+
+== XI.  What Mailing Lists Exist for Discussing Abuse? ==
+
+There are no mailing lists as of yet.  Firehawk of #abuse is looking into
+starting one, however.
+
+== XII.  Where Can I Get Abuse? ==
+
+Fingering help@crack.com will provide you with a list of the latest binary
+revisions and their respective FTP sites.  If you can't remember the FTP
+sites or cannot find the files you are looking for you can get Abuse and
+Satan Paint from my FTP site at par0511.urh.uiuc.edu.
+
+I will carry the latest versions of Abuse and Satan Paint for the various
+platforms as well as this FAQ, documentation, tutorials and the best of the
+best modifications and levels to please the masses but please do not
+consider my system as a primary FTP site for these files.  Try to find the
+files elsewhere before consulting my site.
+
+Please be aware that my site may not always be up.
+
+As for the commercial release of Abuse you can get information on ordering
+from Crack Dot Com by fingering abuse@crack.com or by checking out Crack Dot
+Com's web page at www.crack.com.  The game will also be carried in stores but
+most likely won't include the t-shirt that comes with the orders from Crack
+Dot Com.
+
+== XIII.  Where Can I Get Satan Paint? ==
+
+The latest version of Satan Paint (v1.4) is available from the following
+FTP site:
+
+        par0511.urh.uiuc.edu (my site)
+
+The DOS version is available there but the Linux and SGI releases are not.
+Satan Paint has vanished on ftp.island.net so I would be very grateful if
+someone could transfer it to the incoming directory on my site.
+
+Again, please use my site only after all else fails.
+
+== XIIII.  FAQ Change History ==
+
+ * Version 1.1.0:  Added death ray to weapons list.  Added my ftp site to
+   the list of sites to obtain Abuse (which is now summarized
+   neatly in the phrase "finger help@crack.com."
+
+ * Version 1.0.0:  Finished object descriptions.  Added information on where to
+   download the shareware release of Abuse and where to get
+   Satan Paint.
+
+ * Version 0.2.0:  Added credits section.  Fixed minor errors.  Finished
+   descriptions of scenery components and tricks/traps/objects.
+
+ * Version 0.1.1:  Fixed misspellings of Crack Dot Com employees.  Added
+   FAQ Change History list.  Updated revision number (which
+   was labeled incorrectly in the header).
+
+ * Version 0.1.0:  First public release of incomplete FAQ.  Sections involving
+   level entities and objects incomplete.  Made available
+   on August 31st, 1995, the DOS Beta release date.
+
+== XV.  Credits ==
+
+Thanks go to:
+
+ * Jonathan Clark, author of Abuse, for providing me with detailed
+   information on the exact amount of Lisp code in the game in respect
+   to the size of all of the code in the game and information and for
+   stopping by #abuse on the eve of the DOS shareware release and answering
+   a barrage of questions from Hank Leukart and myself.
+
+ * Duong Nguyen, Abuse artist, for providing the editor tutorial from which
+   the object descriptions in the FAQ were based.
+
+ * Dave Taylor, John Romero and Shawn Green, again, for stopping by #abuse
+   on the day of the DOS shareware release which generated a lot of activity
+   in the channel.
+
+ * The crew at Crack Dot Com for giving us such a great looking game that
+   plays so smoothly.
+
+== Copyright Recognition ==
+
+ * _Abuse_ is a registered trademark of Crack Dot Com.
+ * _Doom_ and _Quake_ are registered trademarks of iD Software.
+ * _Star Wars_ is a registered trademark of Lucasfilms.
+ * _Tron_ is a registered trademark of the Walt Disney Company.
+
+This FAQ is the intellectual property of the author, Mike Perry.
+
+I cannot keep anyone from copying this FAQ and editing it for
+redistribution nor can I lay claim to any of the underlying
+information on this page other than its wording.  There is no
+copyright on this FAQ registered with the copyright office however
+I have placed a copyright notice at the bottom of the FAQ for dating
+purposes.
+
+You are free to distribute this FAQ in any form as long as the contents
+are not changed in any way (realistically speaking... I am not going to
+butcher you if you correct a spelling error or two).  Please make sure
+to distribute only the most recent revision of the FAQ.  The most recent
+revision will always be available from my FTP site (in the pub/abuse
+directory) mentioned earlier in the FAQ.
+
+== Disclaimer ==
+
+The information and ideas conveyed in this FAQ are not guaranteed to be fact.
+The author of the FAQ dismisses all responsibilty for any financial loss and
+for any physical or emotional damages caused by any placement of faith upon
+the ideas and answers contained this document. It is up to the reader to decide
+what he or she contends is fact.  Should the support of any product, software
+package or add-on mentioned in this document cease or if an upcoming software
+release becomes vaporware, the author must not be held responsible for that
+outcome.