Moraff Help File
| Format type | Text |
|---|---|
| Text purpose | Help |
| Line endings | CRLF |
| Character set | ASCII |
| Games |
The format used by the *.HLP files in Moraff's World and the *.UHP files in Dungeons of the Unforgiven is a simple text-based format with designated characters to change the color of the text. The color or control tag can be specified anywhere in the line. All of the color or control tags are in lowercase, while all displayed text is printed in uppercase. Numeric values and punctuation are also acceptable printed characters. Any unrecognized tag character will be printed normally.
If the line of text is too wide to be displayed, the game will horizontally stretch the font to make it fit. The maximum number of lines that can be displayed appears to be 30. ! Tested with 1024x768. Verify with other screen resolutions.
Color Characters
The following characters select the output color of the text. If one of these are specified, all of the text following this tag will be printed in the specified color.
| Character | Resulting Color |
|---|---|
| b | Cyan (#51CDFF) |
| g | Green (#00FF00) |
| n | Gold (#FFB600) |
| o | Orange (#D75100) |
| r | Red (#FF0028) |
| w | White (#FFFFFF) |
| y | Yellow (#FFFF51) |
- Multiple color changes can be specified in a single line, but only the last one will take effect. Inline color changes are not possible.
Control Sequences
The following character sequences provide a way of controlling the flow of text in the dialog box.
| Character | Resulting Effect |
|---|---|
| eX | Pauses and waits for a key. When a key is pressed, the text pane is cleared and the next rows of text are displayed. |
| ee | Pauses and waits for a key. When a key is pressed, the player is brought back to the help menu. This must be included, otherwise the game will freeze after the help text is displayed. |
- Both of these sequences can appear in the middle of a line. If ee is encountered, the line that it appears on is not displayed. If eX is encountered, the line that it appears on will not be displayed at all on the first page, but the characters following the sequences will be displayed on the second page, skipping the one immediately following the sequence. For example, if the string "HELLO WOeXRLD!" is in the file, the first page will be blank and the second will contain "LD!"
Moraff's World Help Filenames
! Work these out and create a table.
Dungeons of the Unforgiven Help Filenames
The *.UHP files are named using numbers, starting from 0 and ending with 29 (skipping 18 and 19, giving a total of 30 help files. The following table shows which files are mapped to each help menu option:
| Shortcut Key | Option Heading | Help File |
|---|---|---|
| A | A-CHANGE (A)RMOR | 4.UHP |
| C | C-(C)AST SPELL OR SPELL HELP | 13.UHP |
| D | D-GO (D)OWN LADDER | 9.UHP |
| E | E-SHOW (E)XPERIENCE NEEDED | 12.UHP |
| F | F-(F)IGHT MONSTER | 2.UHP |
| G | G-(G)RAPHICS CONTROL | 0.UHP |
| I | I-USE MAGIC (I)TEM | 6.UHP |
| L | L-(L)OSE OR DROP THINGS | 8.UHP |
| M | M-(M)ONEY (FINANCIAL) STATEMENT | 5.UHP |
| O | O-(O)PTIONS MENU | 16.UHP |
| P | P-CHECK (P)OCKETS (INVENTORY) | 14.UHP |
| Q | Q-(Q)UIT AND SAVE CHARACTER | 1.UHP |
| S | S-(S)ECTION MONSTER INFORMATION | 11.UHP |
| U | U-CLIMB (U)P LADDER | 10.UHP |
| V | V-VIEW YOUR (V)ITAL STATS | 7.UHP |
| W | W-SELECT (W)EAPON FOR ATTACKING | 3.UHP |
| X | X-E(X)PAND THE MAP | 17.UHP |
| Z | Z-(Z)OOM IN ON FORWARD VIEW | 15.UHP |
| 0 | 0-OBJECTIVE, (MEANING OF LIFE) | 20.UHP |
| 1 | 1-MOVING AROUND THE DUNGEON | 21.UHP |
| 2 | 2-GENERAL PLAY OF GAME | 22.UHP |
| 3 | 3-VISITOR'S GUIDE TO THE TOWN | 23.UHP |
| 4 | 4-SPELLS, SCROLLS, WANDS, PAPER | 24.UHP |
| 5 | 5-HOW TO USE MAGIC ITEMS | 25.UHP |
| 6 | 6-GENERAL HINTS FOR SUCCESS | 26.UHP |
| 7 | 7-MORAFF'S SPECIAL SECRET HINTS | 27.UHP |
| 8 | 8-TOP SECRET HINTS NO ONE KNOWS | 28.UHP |
| 9 | 9-HISTORY OF THIS UNIVERSE | 29.UHP |
- The options in the help menu cannot be changed without modifying the strings in UNF.EXE.
- While 18.UHP is included with the game, it is not used. It's a duplicate of 16.UHP, sans the "HIT A KEY" prompt and eX control character.