Hell's Front End (c) Scott Leis, 1996 HellFE is a front end for Doom, Doom2, Heretic, and Hexen -games by ID Software and Raven Software 1. Installation Unzip all files into one directory. You should have: HELLFE.EXE HELLFE.INI HF.BAT HFSETUP.EXE SETUP.BAT Run SETUP.BAT (not HFSETUP.EXE) and provide the following information as it is asked for: 1. Directory to install HellFE into 2. Directory for Doom 3. Directory for Doom 2 4. Directory for Heretic 5. Directory for Hexen If you do not have one or more of the games, just type anything (or nothing) for that game's directory. 2. Running the program HellFE uses a batch file to run the games, so you must run HF.BAT rather than HELLFE.EXE. If you run the EXE, the game launch function will not work. 3. Using the program Left and Right cursor keys move the cursor through the options one at a time. Up and Down keys move to the first option in each group. The Space bar changes options. If an option has a text box, begin text entry by turning the option on; if the option is already on then it must be turned off then on again to move the cursor into the text box. The wad list may be activated in the same way. Options may also be changed by clicking on the button with the mouse. In the wad list, use the Up and Down keys to select a wad entry. Press Enter to edit the selected entry; Enter again to end editing. Editing may also be triggered by clicking the desired entry or clicking on "Add/edit". Ctrl-D deletes the selected entry, as does clicking on "Delete wad entry" Exit the wad list by pressing Esc or clicking on "Exit". Start a game by moving the cursor to "Single Player Launch" or "Netgame Launch" and pressing the Space bar. "Single Player Launch" causes HellFe to ignore most of the Netgame parameters, however the Deathmatch parameter still makes a difference, so choose Cooperative for a normal one player game. You can also use the mouse to start the game by clicking on the "Single Player Launch" or "Netgame Launch" text. Exit Hellfe by pressing Space with the cursor at "Exit Hellfe" or clicking on "Exit HellFE" Please note: For Doom2 or Hexen, the warp parameter can be a one or two digit number, being the map to warp to. Doom and Heretic should be given a two digit number; the first digit being the episode 1-3, and the second being the map 1-9. An invalid entry will usually result in warping to an unexpected map, but may cause the game to crash and HellFE to restart. 4. Requirements I believe HellFE will run fine on a 286 with 1MB RAM, but of course you can't the game without a 486 and 4MB :-( Basically, if your computer can run any of the games, then it should have no problem with HellFE. 5. Problems If you try to run a game for which you have not provided the correct path, DOS will say "invalid directory" and/or "bad command or filename" and then return to HellFE. A bad path will not cause HellFE to crash. HellFE will not start if HELLFE.INI is not in the same directory as HELLFE.EXE. I do not know of any bugs in the program (although several were found and fixed during testing). 6. Thanks To Ben Morris for DCK - a great map editor, and the batch file method for running the games was very useful. To ID Software and Raven Software for such WICKED games. To Bill Kirby for the Wolfenstein map editor, from which I used the mouse unit (written in Turbo Pascal!). To Borland for Turbo Pascal 7.0, otherwise I might be using Modula-2, or even BASIC, as a programming language. 7. Legal Stuff HellFE is copyright Scott Leis, 1996 HellFE may be distributed, but only in the original zip file with all files unaltered. HellFE may not be charged for or distributed in software collections without prior permission from me (Scott Leis). HellFE is freeware, but if you want to send donations (or bug reports), you can send email to: sj_leis@postoffice.utas.edu.au and I might give you my postal address... maybe. Doom and Doom2 are copyright ID Software. Heretic and Hexen are copyright ID Software and Raven Software.