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The Windows version

The Windows version (LORDFPW.ZIP) is a DOOR32.SYS door for Windows BBSes: 64-bit lord.exe and lordcfg.exe. Your BBS answers the caller and then starts lord.exe; it writes a drop file, DOOR32.SYS, that tells the game who the caller is and gives it the caller's connection (a socket). The game talks to the caller over that connection, and when the player quits, the BBS takes over again.

It is the same game as the Linux version and uses the same files (lord.ini, player.bin, lordtxt.lrd and the other .lrd screens). DOS LORD 4.06 In-Game Modules run in DOSBox-X, which is in the zip.

You need 64-bit Windows 10, 11 or Server 2016 or later, and a BBS that can run DOOR32.SYS doors: Synchronet and Mystic are covered below.

Running your own copy of the game this way is different from linking your BBS to our LORD Server: with this zip the game, its players and its data are all on your own computer.

Install the game

1. Download LORDFPW.ZIP from https://games.theiguru.au/lordfp/.

2. Make a folder for the game and unzip the zip into it. For example:

BBS	Folder
Synchronet	`C:\sbbs\xtrn\lordfp`
Mystic	`C:\mystic\doors\lordfp`

Keep the dosbox folder next to lord.exe: the game looks for DOSBox-X there.

3. Open the folder, and double-click lordcfg.exe. The first time, it makes lord.ini. Look through 1 (Game options), then press Q to quit.

4. Try the game on this computer. Open a Command Prompt in the game folder (in File Explorer, type cmd in the address bar and press Enter) and type:

lord -l -u YourName

You play in the Command Prompt window. Quit the game with Q in the town square.

Windows may say lord.exe is from an unknown publisher the first time: the programs are not signed. Your BBS does all the networking, so no firewall rule is needed for the game.

Synchronet

1. On the computer running Synchronet, run SCFG: C:\sbbs\exec\scfg.exe.

2. Choose External Programs, then Online Programs….

3. You see a list of program sections (for example “Games” or “Doors”). Choose the one you want the door in, and press Enter.

4. You see the list of programs in that section. Press the Insert key (or move to the empty line at the bottom and press Enter) to add one.

5. At Online Program Name, type what your callers will see, e.g. LORD - Legend of the Red Dragon, and press Enter.

6. At Internal Code, type a short code with no spaces, e.g. LORDFP, and press Enter.

7. The new program's settings open. Move to each of these with the arrow keys, press Enter, and set it:

Setting	Set it to
Start-up Directory	`C:\sbbs\xtrn\lordfp` (your game folder)
Command Line	`C:\sbbs\xtrn\lordfp\lord.exe -d %n -r %r`
Multiple Concurrent Users	Yes
Native Executable	Yes
I/O Method	Socket
Use Shell or New Context	No
BBS Drop File Type	Mystic DOOR32.SYS
Place Drop File In	Node Directory

Leave everything else as it is. Older Synchronet versions have Intercept I/O in place of I/O Method: set it to No.

8. Press Esc until SCFG asks Save Changes?, and answer Yes. Then leave SCFG. Synchronet picks up the change by itself within a minute or so (or restart the BBS).

9. Log in to your BBS, go to the section you chose, and run the door.

What the command line means

Part	Meaning
`C:\sbbs\xtrn\lordfp\lord.exe`	The game.
`-d %n`	Synchronet puts the node folder there (e.g. `C:\sbbs\node1\`); the game finds `DOOR32.SYS` in it.
`-r %r`	The caller's screen rows (DOOR32.SYS doesn't have them).

Mystic

You add a menu item that runs the game with Mystic's D3 command (run a DOOR32.SYS door).

The menu editor's layout differs a little between Mystic versions; the steps below say what to set. Mystic's own help is on its wiki: menus and menu commands.

1. On the computer running Mystic, open its configuration: mystic.exe -cfg, in Mystic's folder.

2. Open the Menu Editor (in the Editors menu), choose your theme, and open the menu your doors are on (for example doors; if you don't have one, use main).

3. Insert a new menu item, and set:

Item setting	Set it to
Text	`LORD - Legend of the Red Dragon` (what callers see)
Hot key	a letter not used on that menu, e.g. `L`
Access	blank, or the security level your callers have

4. Give the item one command:

Command setting	Set it to
Command	D3 (Exec DOOR32 door)
Data	`C:\mystic\doors\lordfp\lord.exe -d %P`

%P is the node's temporary folder, where Mystic writes door32.sys. Use your own game folder in place of C:\mystic\doors\lordfp.

5. Save the menu. If the menu uses its own ANSI screen rather than a generated list, add the item to that screen too.

6. Log in to your BBS, go to that menu, and press the hot key.

Other BBS software

Any Windows BBS that can run a DOOR32.SYS door works the same way: run lord.exe with -d and the path of the DOOR32.SYS it writes, or the folder it writes it in. Add -r and the caller's screen rows if your BBS can supply them.

DOS IGMs (Other Places)

DOS LORD 4.06 In-Game Modules run in DOSBox-X, as in LORD Server. For each visit lord.exe starts dosbox\dosbox-x.exe with no window, with:

Drive	What it is
`C:\LORD`	The game folder, as LORD sits on a DOS BBS.
`D:`	The node folder, with a `DOOR.SYS` for IGMs that want one.
`COM1`	The caller, with LORD Server's FOSSIL driver (`LSFOSSIL.COM`) loaded for it.

It runs the IGM's command from 3RDPARTY.DAT and brings back what the IGM changed (see In-Game Modules). If the player hangs up, the IGM sees the carrier drop and has 15 seconds to save and leave.

Installing an IGM

1. Unzip the IGM into a folder of its own in the game folder, e.g. VAULT.

2. Double-click DOSPROMPT.BAT in the game folder. A DOSBox-X window opens at C:\LORD, the game folder, as the IGMs will see it.

3. Run the IGM's set-up program there, e.g. CD VAULT then VAULTCFG. Where it asks for LORD's folder, give it C:\LORD\. Many IGMs offer to add themselves to Other Places (3RDPARTY.DAT); let them. Type EXIT to close the window.

4. If the IGM didn't add itself: run lordcfg.exe, choose O (Other Places) and add it, with the DOS command line its docs give (* is the node number), e.g. C:\LORD\VAULT\VAULT.EXE * C:\LORD\ 1.

IGM settings

In lord.ini (or lordcfg > 1):

[IGM]
DOSBoxCycles=fixed 10000
DOSBoxFossil=1

Setting	What it does
`DOSBoxCommand`	How DOSBox-X is started: `%x` is DOSBox-X, `%c` the `DOSBOX.CONF` made for each visit, `%n` the node. Take out `-silent` to watch an IGM in a window, for testing.
`DOSBoxCycles`	DOSBox-X's speed for IGMs: `fixed 10000` (a fast 386), `auto` or `max`.
`DOSBoxFossil`	`1` loads `LSFOSSIL.COM` before each IGM. Most IGMs want a FOSSIL driver.

MAINT.BAT in the game folder runs in DOSBox-X once a day, at the first login after the daily maintenance, as LORD 4.06 does.

If it doesn't work

What you see	What to do
The door starts and ends at once, or the caller sees nothing	Synchronet: check I/O Method is Socket (or Intercept I/O is No) and the drop file is Mystic DOOR32.SYS. Mystic: check the command is D3, not D- or DD.
`DOOR32.SYS socket handle … is not a socket` in a console window or the BBS log	The BBS didn't hand over the connection: the same settings as above.
`comm type 1 (serial) is not supported`	The BBS is set up for a modem or serial line. Use telnet (comm type 2).
`Unable to read drop file`	The path after `-d` is wrong. Synchronet: `-d %n`; Mystic: `-d %P`.
An IGM says the player's file is missing, or nothing happens	Check the IGM was set up for `C:\LORD\` (step 3 above). `error.log` in the game folder says why an IGM didn't start.
Screens are cut off at the bottom	Give the caller's rows with `-r` (Synchronet: `-r %r`).

The files

File	What it is
`lord.exe`	The game.
`lordcfg.exe`	The set-up program (see lordcfg, the set-up program).
`dosbox\`	DOSBox-X (GPL; `SOURCE.TXT` says where its source is) and `LSFOSSIL.COM`, for IGMs.
`DOSPROMPT.BAT`	A DOS prompt at `C:\LORD`, for setting up IGMs.
`WINDOWS.TXT`	This page as plain text.
`SYSOP.TXT`	The options, LADY scripts and set-up program.

The rest is the same as the Linux version's: see its list of files.

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