DESCRIPTION
===========
MergePacScores is a simple ARexx script for merging two PACMAN.HISCORE files
produced by Edgar Vigdal's DeluxePacman game. You simply choose the two
highscore files to be merged, and the script will write a new highscore file
filled with the highest entries of the original files.
So now you can play DeluxePacman on different machines without worrying about
different or inconsistent highscore tables!
REQUIREMENTS
============
* Amiga
* DeluxePacman for creating the highscores (yeah, I know the files are not
encrypted in any way, so everyone COULD produce gigantic highscores without
even playing once; but, hey, that's not fair anyway, and a real Amiga fan
wouldn't even think of that, would he/she? ;-) I don't know whether the
coding format of the highscore files ever changed since Edgar's first
release; the version I used for testing is 1.6 including free keyfile.
* running ARexx task (RexxMast is usually started in original startup-sequence)
* ENV: assign
* the following AmigaDOS commands accessible via standard PATH: "Delete",
"RequestChoice", "RequestFile".
INSTALLATION
============
... is trivial: Copy the file "MergePacScores.rexx" to any directory you want.
The .asc files are signatures made by PGP5; if you do not want to test for
authenticity of the archive, you can delete them.
USAGE
=====
To merge two DeluxePacman highscore files, simply type the following command
using a shell or workbench's "Execute Command" menu entry («dir» must
be
replaced by the directory that was used during installation):
Rx «dir»/MergePacScores.rexx
During script execution, three file requesters will appear: The first one will
ask you for the name of your highscore file, the second one for the "foreign"
file (e.g. the highscores your friend has reached). In the last requester you
can define the name of the merged destination highscore file.
The merging process itself is displayed in the console window: Highscore
entries which were taken from your own file are typed in normal text style,
whereas foreign highscores are marked as bold to indicate that your friend
isn't as bad in eating pills as you probably have thought :-)
For using the merged highscores, you must rename the file to PACMAN.HISCORE and
copy it into the game's directory; otherwise it won't be recognized.
BUGS
====
Uh? I neva mäk enny fallts ;-}
No format check is done for the input files; if they are not of DeluxePacman
highscore file type, then it's pretty likely for the script to crash instantly.
MergePacScores is tested by hard; if you don't trust me, look at the code!
HISTORY
=======
1.4: first official version. (Look into source code for details.)
DISCLAIMER
==========
Well, I know you would be glad to see me being responsible for everything that
may happen to your Amiga; sorry for disappointing you, but I will give no
guarantee nor warranty regarding any rising problems you might associate with
my script. If your electronic friend explodes when running this script, it's
definitely not my fault!
This script is freeware; you may change it for private use. If you want to
re-publish it, you are encouraged to send me a copy of your work (you see, I
want to benefit from your optimizations!).
THANKS
======
... to Edgar Vigdal for the fantastic game conversion (the best playable PacMan
clone I've ever seen!), to Kurt Ziegenbein for his testing (hope I never killed
one of your scores in early versions?) and for his never-ending effort in
beating my scores (ha, 765.590 Punkte im Normalmodus warten darauf, von Dir
geschlagen oder wimmernd hingenommen zu werden 8-) and to former Commodore for
the versatile ARexx script language.
CONTACT
=======
Author: Michael Krüger (MiK), Kohlweg 2, D-66123 Saarbrücken/Germany.
Pseudonym: MiK, Central Intelligent Software Agency (CISA Corp.)
E-Mail: krueger krypt.cs.uni-sb.de, mikstudcs.uni-sb.de
PGP-PublicKeys: http://www.mpi-sb.mpg.de/~krueger/MiK_pgpkeys.asc
or use "finger -l kruegerkrypt.cs.uni-sb.de"
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