BATTLETECH MAP EDITOR
Version 1.4
------------------------------------------------
----------------
Code, Graphics, Mouse Interface by Brian Futrell
Sprite overlappi
ng routines by Fred Sexton Jr. (QB News Vol 2, No 3) and 
  modified by Brian Fut
rell to include 2D and 3D array support
Other routines from the PBClone QuickBASI
C library v1.7 (registered)
  by Thomas G. Hanlin III
Battletech is a registered t
rademark of FASA Corporation
QuickBASIC is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.

NOTICE!!
!
=========
This program is SHAREWARE.  This means that a person or a group of peo
ple
decided to release this software on a "try before you buy" basis.  Try the
pro
gram out for thrity (30) days.  If you continue to use the program after
that, se
nd a $12.00 check or money order to:

	Brian Futrell
	2633 Pleasant Hill Dr.
	Zebulo
n, NC 27597

	For support or the latest versions of my programs call:

	The Cat's Cr
adle  (919) 269-6517
	Running VBBS 6.1 at 14.4 k-baud
	WWIVNet @19988
	I'm user #7 
on this bulletin board

Registered users will recieve the latest version of this p
rogram along with a
software key that will remove the shareware screens for futur
e versions of this
program.

WARRANTY
========
This program is distributed AS IS, mea
ning that there is no warranty of any
kind attached to this program.  I, Brian Fu
trell, am not responsible if this
program damages your computer (it shouldn't) or
 is not suited to a particular
task.  I have tried the program on my computers (a
 386 operating at 40 and 16
mhz and a 286 operationg at 10 mhz) and the program h
as worked without difficulty.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
====================
A knowledge
 of the Battletech science fiction combat game,
An IBM PC/XT/AT/386/486 with 512k
 of memory (AT or above recommended - the
  faster your computer is, the faster t
he screen is updated),
A Microsoft or compatable mouse and mouse driver,
A MCGA/VG
A video graphics card and monitor,
A 720k or higher capacity floppy disk or hard 
drive (hard drive recommended)
At least 64k of free disk space after archive expa
nsion for temporary files.
Also highly recommended is a disk cache of approximate
ly 512k to speed up disk
operations.

BATTLETECH MAP EDITOR
Version 1.4
-------------
---------------------------------------------------

STARTING THE PROGRAM
=========
===========
To load this program, switch to the directory that the map editor is 
in and
type in BTMAEDIT.  The program will then check to see if all of the files 
are
present, and then for a mouse and a VGA/MCGA graphics card.  If the program
fi
nds both of the forementioned items, it will load data into the computer's
memory
, then display the title screen.  To start editing maps, press the OK
button.  To
 exit back to dos, press the EXIT button.

NOTE:  The program stores much of its d
ata on disk and retrieves it as needed.
PLEASE KEEP THE PROGRAM DISK IN THE DRIVE
 IF YOU ARE RUNNING THIS PROGRAM ON
A FLOPPY DISK!

TO PREVIOUS USERS OF THIS PROGR
AM:
==================================
Please read this documentation to learn abo
ut new changes in the program.

I have registered users now!  A big thanks to: 
   
  Jason Riley of Austin, TX;
     Wil Vargas of Queens Village, NY;
     and Zack 
Knowlton of Onondaga, MI 
for their registrations.  They are the main reason that
 this update was coded.

OS/2 USERS
==========
The printing should work without modi
fying the printer object.  To speed the
program up some set the following two swi
tches in the Settings/DOS Settings 
area:

     VIDEO_8514A_XVGA_IOTRAP to OFF,
    
 VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION to OFF.

BATTLETECH MAP EDITOR
Version 1.4
----------------
------------------------------------------------

THE SCREEN
==========
The screen i
s divided into three sections, as shown below:

	  +----------------------+-------
--+
	  |                      |         |
	  |                      |         |
	  
|                      | Terrain |
	  |         Map          |         |
	  |     
                 |  Area   |
	  |         Area         |         |
	  |           
           |         |
	  +----------------------+---------|
	  |          Menu   
               |
	  |          Area                  |
	  +-----------------------
---------+

The Map area is where a window of the map is displayed.  To scroll aro
und the
map, use the blue arrows under the Map Area.

The Terrain Area is where the
 selected terrain and the terrain height is 
changed.  To change the height, use 
the 2 buttons on the top of the Map Area.

The Menu Area is where the map is named
, saved or loaded, printed, or viewed in
miniature.  Each of the items is describ
ed in detail below, although I have
tried to make this program as easy to use as 
possible.  The empty space on the
right of the Menu area is for future expansion.


MAIN MENU
=========
The main menu contains everything to manipulate the map except
 the terrain
controls.  This has been changed from version 1.35o.  The commands l
isted are
starting from the left.  To exit any choice press on the EXIT button di
splayed
under the option's window after it has been displayed on the screen.

+----
---------+         EXIT Button:  Press this button to exit the program.    
|    
         |         A window will come up to confirm your choice.
|   E X I T   |
|
             |
+-------------+

+-------------+         NAME Button:  Press this bu
tton to change the name of
|     /\      |         the map.  The name is displaye
d on the bottom of the
|    /__\     |         file window when loading or saving
 maps.
|   /    \    |
+-------------+

+-------------+         RESIZE Button:  Pres
s this button to resize the map.
|  |_____  |  |         There are four sizes ava
ilable: 16 x 17 hexes,
|  |     | |  |         32 x 17 hexes, 16 x 34 hexes, and 
32 x 34 hexes.
|  |_____|_|  |         WARNING: Selecting a map size will CLEAR t
he map, so
+-------------+         use this option with caution.

+-------------+  
       ERASE Button:  Press this button to erase the map from
|  +-------+  |    
     memory, but keep the same size.  This also erases the
|  |_______|  |       
  name of the map.
|  |       |  |
+-------------+

BATTLETECH MAP EDITOR
Version 1.4

----------------------------------------------------------------

+-------------+ 
        LOAD Button:  Press this button to retrieve a map from
|    +---+    |   
      the disk.  This button uses the file window, described
|  < | o |    |     
    in detail after these button listings.
|    +---+    |
+-------------+

+-------
------+         SAVE Button: Press this button to save a map to the
|    +---+   
 |         disk.  This button uses the file window, described in
|  > | o |    | 
        detail after these button listings.
|    +---+    |
+-------------+

+------
-------+         MINI MAP Button: Press this button to view a scaled-
|  +-------
+  |         down view of the map you are working on.  To relocate
|  |       |  
|         the map window, click on the mini map where you want to
|  +-------+  |
         move to.
+-------------+

+-------------+         PRINT MAP Button:  Press
 this button to print your map.
|             |         After you press this butt
on, a window will be displayed
|   Printer   |         showing which pages will b
e printed.  Pages filled in 
|             |         with pink are not present in
 the current map.  Click
+-------------+         on a page to toggle it as printe
d (yellow) or unprinted 
			(red).  Click PRINT to send the output to the printer
.
			The other items on the "Select Pages" window are
			described in detail after
 the button listings.
    
    +---+               MOVE MAP Buttons: Press on thes
e to scroll the map in
    | ^ |               the direction indicated.  For long
-distance scrolling,
+---+---+---+           use the Mini Map button to relocate 
the map window 
| < | v | > |           quickly.
+---+---+---+

EDITING THE MAP
=====
==========
Editing the map is quite easy.  To change a hex in the map window, cli
ck on it
with the left mouse button.  To undo your last terrain change, press the

middle or the right mouse button.

BATTLETECH MAP EDITOR
Version 1.4
---------------
-------------------------------------------------

LOADING OR SAVING FILES
========
===============
When the Load Map or Save Map button is pressed, a file window wi
ll be
displayed, looking similar to the one below:

   +---------------------------
---------------------------+
   |   +-----------------------------------+ +---++-
--+   |
   | o |                                   | | ^ || ^ |   |              
         
   | o |                                   | |/ \|| ^ |   |
   | o |    
                               | +---++---+   |
   | o |                         
          | +---------+  | < Load or save,
   | o |                              
     | |Load Save|  |   depends on
   | o |                                   | +
---------+  |   function chosen
   | o |                                   | +---
------+  |
   | o |                                   | |   New   |  | < Displaye
d when
   | o |                                   | +---------+  |   saving only
 
  | o |                                   | +---++---+   |        
   | o |      
                             | |\ /|| v |   |                       
   | o |    
                               | | v || v |   |
   |   +-------------------------
----------+ +---++---+   |
   |                 Map Listing                      
    |
   |    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX               |
   |            
     Current Map                          |
   +---------------------------------
---------------------+

There is room on it to display twelve (12) map names at on
e time,
and the current map name on the bottom of the window.  If there are more 
than
twelve, the scroll buttons used to move the listing will be highlighted when

there is more names to display in that direction.  To scroll quickly through
the 
listing, use the right scroll buttons to move through the listing twelve
names at
 a time.

To select a filename, click on the map you want.  The square beside the 
map
will light up indicating that the file has been selected.  Then press the Loa
d
or Save button, whichever is displayed.  

If you are saving a map and want it ad
ded to the list of names, press the New 
button.  If saving over another name, yo
u will be asked if you want to 
overwrite the filename.  Press on the YES button 
to do so.

BATTLETECH MAP EDITOR
Version 1.4
---------------------------------------
-------------------------

PRINTING MAPS
=============
Much to everyone's relief, GR
APHICS.COM is no longer needed to print out maps.
Since I now control how the pri
nting works from within the program instead of 
relying on an outside one, I have
 added a few items to the Select Pages
window to help out.

The first addition is t
he "F.Feed" toggle (form feed).  When the toggle is
active each map section will 
be printed on a separate page.  If the paper was 
positioned properly before prin
ting a section will not fall on a perforation.

Another addition is the "S. Dens" 
toggle (single density).  By default,
printing is done using the double density g
raphics mode on the printer at
120 dots per inch.  By making this toggle active, 
printing is done using the
single density graphics mode at 60 dots per inch.  Sin
gle density graphics 
prints faster, but is not as dark since it only has half of
 the resolution of
double density graphics. 

Finally the "Choose" button has been 
added to change printer manufacturers.  
If your printer is not Epson-compatable,
 press Choose and move the up and down
arrows to change between printers.  When t
he currently selected printer is 
displayed the text background will be gray.  To
 selet the displayed printer
press the OK button.  Currently there are only defin
itions for Epson and 
IBM Proprinter models.

BUG FIXES FROM V1.35o
================
=====
There were two bugs in V1.35o:
  1) The undo function did not work properly.
  It made the last terrain 
     modified Cliff 0.
  2) This one was not a coding 
bug:  For the key on the Mini Map window, the
     lowest level number was displa
yed as one, not zero.
Both of these "features" have been fixed.

FUTURE RELEASES
===
============
At least one more release of the Map Editor is planned, with 24-pin 
printer
support (they print at a 1:1 aspect ratio so the output seems stretched),

land mine markers, sinkholes, and buildings.

Verion 2 of the Battletech Mech Edit
or is planned, with Clan/Inner Sphere
weapons and items.  Version 1 was programme
d using the Second Edition rules,
which do not contain these items.  Hopefully th
e first release of this program
WILL have the execautable file in it. :>

Also plan
ned is Digital Battletech, where with the maps from my map editor and
the Mechs f
rom the planned revision of the mech editor will play your FAVORITE
game on your 
computer!  All that will be needed is a knowledge of the
Battletech game itself, 
and some time.

Until next time, enjoy!

