1 - Introduction


1.1 - Welcome

Centipede 128 was written by Adam Fanello.  In February of 1999 Adam released
the program to the public domain.  This text manual is a modification of the
manual shipped with Centipede.  This should provide all the information
you need to get your bbs up and running.  Adam no longer suupports this
software in any way. He has left us with a truly great software package, thanks
Adam!

See the information at the end of the manual for complete contact information
regarding this "centfree" public domain version of Centipede 128

At the end of the manual I have enclosed the text files that came with the 5
updates sent out for Centipede users.  All of the updates have been installed,
I just added this files for information and to keep the manual current.  They
are named Update 1 thru Update 5.  Also included is a "latest" update text
file.  This is just things we are learning as more people use Centipede.

Enough said!

I hope you get as much enjoyment out of these files as I have!

Keep the faith!

Mike Martin (aka Voyager) sysop of the Last Stand BBS Minneapolis, Minnesota


1.2 - Heritage

Centipede traces its roots back to 1985, and the release of Color 64 BBS by
Greg Phountz. Color 64 spent five years receiving updates from the author and
mods (changes made directly into the base program code) and games from other
authors. In 1990, the author of Centipede decided that he wanted to run his
own BBS. Liking Color 64's flexibility and large selection of mods and games,
but wanting to use the full power of the Commodore 128, he wrote Version 128;
an upgrade to Color 64 v7.3x that ran the system in native C128 mode. This was
followed by years of updates, mods, and games for V128 that lasted until 1995,
when the lack of availability of Color 64 and requests from customers led to
the announcement of Centipede. Unlike V128, which was simply an upgrade,
Centipede is an entirely new system. Some low level programming from V128 have
been reused, and long time Color 64/V128 users will certainly see similarities
between Color 64/V128 and Centipede; a result of years of influence. Much of
this similarity on the program code level was done purposely in order to
facilitate usage of Color 64/V128 on-line games and mods with Centipede. One
thing people accustom to Color 64/V128 programming will not find in Centipede
is ten years worth of updates, mods, duplicated code, and hacks. What these
people will find is a clean system with all modern features built in and
facilities for easily, and cleanly, adding new features in the future.

1..3 - Using This Manual

This manual serves as both a step-by-step overview of setting up a Centipede
BBS, and as a reference manual. Before you begin, you may find it useful to
skim through this entire manual to familiarize yourself with it, as well as
Centipede. Then, next time you have a free day, clear your desk, cuddle up
with this manual, some scratch paper, a pencil and your Commodore 128, and get
started!

This manual is split into chapters, which are subdivided into sections, which
are subdivided into subsections. For instance, chapter 4 covers configuring
your BBS, section 4.1 covers the bbs-setup program, and subsection 4.1.1
covers the file locations selection part of bbs-setup. The following is a
brief overview of what you will find in each chapter:

*    Chapter one is your introduction to Centipede, and a few general things
     you will need to know. Read it completely.

*    Chapter two is the planning stage of your BBS. Read all applicable
     sections thoroughly and take notes.

*    In chapter three, you will be instructed on how to select and install
     the Centipede files onto your storage units.

*    Chapter four will guide you through configuring Centipede to your
     specific hardware and preferences, as well as converting any
     existing BBS support files you may have from a Color 64 or V128 BBS. This
     chapter also serves as reference for making changes in the future.

*    With chapter five, you will boot your BBS for the first time. From
     hereon, this manual becomes a reference guide. The remainder of chapter
     five explains the maintenance and configuration tools that are available
     from within the BBS.

*    Chapter six explains the concept of networking, and gives a brief
     overview of two of the networks available for Centipede at the time
     of this writing.

*    For the skilled programmers, chapter seven describes the process of
     converting Color 64/V128 games for use with Centipede - using the
     Cocoon program.

*    In chapter eight, we wrap things up with information about contacts,
     updates, and other concluding remarks.

*    Appendix A contains a complete listing of all files used by Centipede,
     and how to use them. This information is invaluable for customizing
     your BBS, as well as for programmers to make use of existing
     routines.

*    Appendix B covers the powerful Message Code Interpreter (MCI) that is
     built into Centipede.

*    The flexible Centipede scripting language is documented in Appendix C.


*    The manual concludes with Appendix D and a listing of keyboard commands
     that can be used throughout Centipede.


1.4 - Terminology

There is a whole language of terminology used on bulletin board systems. Most
of these terms should be clear to you from prior experience with computing, or
from context. A point that can cause confusion, however, is synonymous terms.
Throughout this manual and Centipede, many terms are used synonymously. I will
attempt to describe these synonymous terms here.

Member, Caller, and User:
For the most part, these words refer to the same person. A member is someone
who has an account on your BBS. A caller is one who calls the BBS, and a user
is someone who uses the BBS.

Posting and Message:
A posting or message is simply a piece of written text. A posting generally
refers to such a text that is made for public display. Message is a more
generic term.

Upload/Download, U/D, and File Transfer area:
These are all terms for the same thing: an area of the BBS where members can
publically exchange files.

DOS mode, DOS prompt, and File Maintenance:
This is an area of the BBS where files can be viewed, scratched, and renamed.
Directories can be listed, and numerous file maintenance utilities run from a
line prompt. DOS is a generic term meaning Disk Operating System.

Add-on, Games, and Doors:
An add-on is some sort of system that can be added to the base Centipede BBS.
A game is a specific type of add-on. Networks are also add-ons. On some other
BBS programs, these same sort of systems are called doors.

Check marks, carets, and up-arrows:
Color 64/V128 systems use the check mark character to start many of their file
names. This naming convention has largely been dropped with Centipede, but you
will run across it in a few places; particularly when dealing with games
converted from Color 64/V128. To type this check mark, press SHIFT-@. Since
the check mark is not part of the ASCII character set, some editors cannot
produce it. In these cases, it has been common convention to substitute a
caret or up-arrow (^) symbol, for the check mark. Whenever you see
documentation which shows a caret or up-arrow as the first character of the
file name, you will need to substitute a check mark in its place.


1.5 - Running Programs

In several places through this manual, you are instructed to run programs. For
instance, to boot up the BBS, you will be told to run the program "bbs". There
are several ways to do this, some of which are dependent on the hardware you
using. The following steps form a general outline that will work on any
system:

*    Make sure your Commodore 128 is turned on, in C128 mode, 80 columns, and
     not running any other programs. It is often a good idea to reset the
     computer between programs.

*    If necessary, switch to the disk location (partition, subdirectory) of
     the program you wish to run.

*    Type in the BASIC command: run"program name",u8. Replace program name
     with the name of the program to run, and the 8 with the device unit
     number of where the program is stored. Actually, the device number
     defaults to 8, so the ,u8 is optional in this case.

