THE LEVEL MANAGER
=================

v1.1 Released August 15th 1996

Copyright (c) August 1996 by R.A.Sandow


WHAT IS THE LEVEL MANAGER ?
---------------------------

THE LEVEL MANAGER is a utility to enable you to catalogue all your DOOM, 
DOOM II and DUKE NUKEM 3D add on levels and to be able to play the add on
level directly from the catalogue. You can also play the orginal levels
directly from the catalogue. The game parameters, skill, sound, music etc. 
can be set from the directly the catalogue.


INSTALLING THE LEVEL MANAGER
----------------------------

The LM110.ZIP file which you have downloaded or received on disk should
contain the following files.

LM.EXE      - The Main LEVEL MANAGER Executable
LICENSE.TXT - The License Agreement etc...
MANUAL.TXT  - This File
ORDER.TXT   - A form for registering your copy of THE LEVEL MANAGER

To install THE LEVEL MANAGER

1. Create a new directory.

2. Copy LM110.ZIP to this new directory and unzip it.
   (You will need PKUNZIP for this, not supplied)

3. At the DOS prompt (assuming you are still in the new directory) type

   LM

   then press <Enter>

LM will now run.

After the opening screens you will be asked to enter the paths to the DOOM 1,
DOOM 2 and DUKE NUKEM 3D, if you don't have all of these games, just enter 
the ones you do have.

If you are updating an earlier version of THE LEVEL MANAGER your previous
catalogue will not be affected (it wouldn't hurt to make a back up of course)
and your existig INI file will be used.


THE MAIN CATALOGUE SCREEN
-------------------------

Working from the top down the main catalogue screen shows the following:

Title     : The title and version number of your copy of THE LEVEL MANAGER.

Menu      : Shows File, Game, Config, Index and Help with one letter of each 
            menu title having a highlighted letter in red (the 'hot' key).

Catalogue : The browse window with the current catalogue section consists of
            five columns.
            
  Title/Reference. Here you enter any title or reference you like for each
                   level. You can have THE LEVEL MANAGER list the catalogue
                   in order of this Title/Reference. (Index Menu - ALT I).

  File Name        This is the first eight characters of the file, or the 
                   ZIP file which contains one or more game levels.

  Ext              This is the file extension which identifies whether the 
                   file is a playable level (GRP, WAD or MAP) or it is a 
                   compressed file which contains a playable level (ZIP).

  Level            For DOOM and DOOM II catalogue sections this entry allows 
                   you to specify the episode and mission, or map which the 
                   file replaces. Filling this information in enables THE 
                   LEVEL MANAGER to warp you directly to the correct level.
                   For DUKE NUKEM 3D level files this entry is redundant but 
                   may be used in future developments.

  Rating           Use this entry to record how you rated the level, on a 
                   scale of 1 to 10. 10 being excellent, 1 being rubbish.

Notes     : Add any notes you like here for each entry in your catalogue.
            ALT N to start editing, ALT S to save the changes. ESC to 
            abandon any changes.


THE CATALOGUE SECTIONS
----------------------

THE LEVEL MANAGER catalogue is split into three sections one for each of the
games (DOOM, DOOM II and DUKE NUKEM 3D). The currently active section is
shown in the title bar at the top of the screen. 
To change from one section to another use the Game drop down menu; Press 
ALT G from the main catalogue screen and select the appropriate section from
the drop-down list.


ADDING RECORDS TO THE CATALOGUE
------------------------------

There are two main types of files which you can add to THE LEVEL MANAGER 
catalogue.

1) add on levels for DOOM, DOOM II and DUKE NUKEM 3D (.WAD or .MAP files).
2) ZIP files which contain add on levels as in 1).

Let's say you want to add all the MAP files in your DUKE NUKEM 3D directory.

1. Make sure you are in the DUKE NUKEM 3D section of the catalogue.

2. From the main browse screen press the Insert key.

   An 'Add Records' dialog will be displayed requesting three pieces of 
   information.

3.  File Name(s). What file names do you wish to add to the catalogue ?
    In this case the file names required are

    *.MAP

    (i.e. All files with the extension .MAP, if you wanted to add WAD files 
    it would be *.WAD etc.)
   
    then press the Enter key.
   
4)  File Path. This is the path to where these files are located.
    For example, if they are located in the directory C:\GAMES\DUKE3D then
    you should type

    C:\GAMES\DUKE3D

    then press the Enter key.

5)  Notes. Any notes which you wish to include with the new entries to the
    catalogue can be typed in here. These notes can be edited later from the
    main browse screen by highlighting the appropriate record and pressing 
    ALT N.
   
THE LEVEL MANAGER will now add these files to the current section of the
catalogue.

If successful a brief message will be displayed saying how many records were
added.


PLAYING AN ADD-ON LEVEL STORED IN A ZIP FILE
-------------------------------------------

* You will need a copy of PKUNZIP.EXE in order to make use of this facility  *
*    It must be located in the same directory as LM.EXE or on your path      *

Magazine cover CDs often contain lots of MAP or WAD files. These are usually
located in one directory of ZIP files. Each ZIP file usually contains the MAP
or WAD file and accompanying text file(s). LEVEL MANAGER enables you to add 
all these ZIP files to the catalogue automatically. Once in the catalogue THE
LEVEL MANAGER enables you to play the MAP or WAD file or view the accompanying 
text files automatically.

To add all the ZIP files in a directory:

1.  Make sure you are in the DUKE NUKEM 3D section of the catalogue.

2.  From the browse screen press the Insert Key (Add Record(s))

3.  For File Names type:
   
    *.ZIP
   
    then press <Enter>
    
4.  In the File Path box enter the directory path to where the ZIP files are
    located. For example 

    D:\LEVELS\DUKE3D

    then press <Enter>

5.  Add any notes which you wish to include with the new entries. This is
    especially useful when adding multiple files from a CD. You can add a 
    description of the CD in the notes at this time which will be included
    with all the new entries.


MAIN CATALOGUE SCREEN - KEYS
----------------------------

F1      Help Screen

Cursor  Use can use the left, right, up & down cursor keys, page up, page down
Keys    keys to move the highlight bar through the records.

Insert  Add New Record(S) To The Catalogue

Delete  Delete The Current Record

ALT F   Display Help Drop Down Menu.

ALT G   Display Game Drop Down Menu - Use to select catalogue section.

ALT C   Display Configuration Drop Down Menu - Use to set parameters for the
        current game.

ALT I   Display Index Drop Down Menu - Use to select catalogue order.

ALT H   Display Help Drop Down Menu.

ENTER   If the file is a MAP or WAD file - play it.

        If the file is a ZIP file copy it to a temporary directory, unzip it,
        and list the contents.

ESC     Exit THE LEVEL MANAGER


THE DROP-DOWN MENUS
-------------------

Near the top of the screen is a menu with four items. File, Game, Index and
Help. By pressing the hot key for each item (the letter shown in red) the
appropriate drop down menu will be displayed. The drop down menu items are
explained below:

FILE
 Add records...
 Delete Record...
 Edit Notes
 Set File Locations...
 Reindex Catalogue
 Exit Program

GAME
 Doom                  Show only Doom catalogue entries.
 Doom II               Show only Doom II catalogue entries.
 Duke Nukem 3D         Show only Duke Nukem 3D catalogue entries.

CONFIG
 Skill                 Press ENTER while selected to change the skill level 
                       for the current game.
 Monsters              Press ENTER to toggle monster on/off for the current 
                       game.
 Music                 Press ENTER to toggle background music on/off for the current 
                       game.
 Sound                 Press ENTER to toggle sound effects on/off for the current 
                       game.

INDEX
 By Title/Reference    List the catalogue sorted by Title/Reference
 By Filename           List the catalogue sorted by File Name
 
 (Note that the orignal levels are always listed at the top of the catalogue
  no matter what index is selected)
  
HELP
 Browse Page Help      Display a help screen.
 View LICENSE.TXT
 View MANUAL.TXT
 View ORDER.TXT
 About Box


SOME ASSUMPTIONS 
----------------

 THE LEVEL MANAGER makes the following assumptions, if any of these are not
 the case for your system then THE LEVEL MANAGER may behave unpredictably...
 
 o If DOOM is installed on your system it runs correctly from the DOS prompt.
   The Executable File For DOOM is called DOOM.EXE

 o If DOOM II is installed on your system it runs correctly from the DOS 
   prompt. The Executable File For DOOM II is called DOOM2.EXE 

 o A file added to the catalogue with the file extension of WAD is a DOOM or
   DOOM II add on level file.
   
 o If DUKE NUKEM 3D is installed on your system it runs correctly from the 
   DOS prompt. The Executable File For DUKE NUKEM 3D is called DUKE3D.EXE
 
 o A file added to the catalogue with the file extension of MAP is Duke Nukem 
   3D add on level file.

 o PKUNZIP is somewhere on your PATH.


IT'S A SHAREWARE PROGRAM
------------------------

 THE LEVEL MANAGER is shareware, that means, if you find it useful you must 
 register your use with author with a payment of a fee, in this case œ10 or 
 $15.

 The number of registrations I receive will have a direct bearing on future
 updates. Here are some of the things that I will be adding if enough people
 register.

 o Run level editors, automatically loading the current catalogue map.

 o Selection of multiple maps in the main browse screen enabling a number
   of episodes to be played seamlessly one after the other.

 o Support for other types of compressed files ARJ, LZH etc.

 o Support for other games which use a similar add-on level system 
   ( HEXEN, HERETIC, DESCENT, DESCENT II, QUAKE ? ) 

 o A Version For Windows.
 
 o Any other workable suggestions which I receive along with registrations...
 
 Please send your payment by cheque, postal order or money order made payable
 to RCS Computer Solutions. (If you must send cash it is entirely at your own
 risk - notes only).

 Address your registration to:

 RCS Computer Solutions
 5 St. Keyna Road
 Keynsham
 Bristol
 BS18 1BJ

 (Please note only registrations will be dealt with by post, other matters
 must be communicated via e-mail)

 I can be reached at:
 
 Compuserve: 100711,2174 
 Internet  : rob@rcs1.demon.co.uk 
             or
             100711.2174@compuserve.com
 WWW       : http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/RCS1/

 The latest shareware version will available via the Web Page listed above.

 This is my first release into the big wide world and the number of 
 registrations I receive will make my decision on whether to update this 
 program or release other programs.

 (By the way, don't worry if you think I might have moved or died or
 something. I WILL have left a forwarding address !)

 Regards Rob Sandow, August 1st 1996.
