ROSTER OF DEVONLINE PRODUCTS –
Unlike many other DOOR authors and DOOR writing groups, DevPal MetroNet Communications places much more emphasis on research and development of new projects and on product debugging and reinforcement than on selling our products. This has fortunately given us a solid reputation for providing top-notch software and friendly, personal support… not just to our customers but to anyone requiring assistance or having questions about our products.
Unfortunately, regrettable side effects of this are:
a) a certain lack of product promotion, on our part
and
b) a lack of knowledge concerning all of our product lines, on the
part of sysops.
This list of short blurbs is a little step in improving our product pro- motions so that you, as an intelligent and discerning sysop, will be more informed concerning our products, both current ones and ones which are very close to completion. We hope that you will continue to send in your suggestions for improving our online games and ideas for the creation of more online games, as we are deeply committed to both the continual im- provement of our own products and the advancement of BBS-related software technology in general.
ARM OF THE DRAGON :
AotD is the introductory BattleTech(tm) simulations online game that
has brought the excitement and complexity of 'Mech warfare from FASA
Corporation's combat system to online (and offline) game players the
world over. AotD was the first online game released to bring home
the action of huge war machines to game players before any other
software house, and AotD remains the premier game of this genre.
The AotD game itself is now in its third edition, and although
development for AotD/3 has effectively ceased, related products and
a "successor" to AotD are currently being developed and are going to
be released shortly. Our AotD development team is hard at work to
match a GUI-like environment for game players with the universality
of BBS communications to bring about the same suspense derived from
DevOnline's 1984 AotD/UNIX game to the DOS arena.
AVATARS OF SCREAMING STEEL :
AoSS is DevOnline's entry into the Simple Personal Combat Category
of online games, with a post nuclear war holocaust theme and an
involved combat scheme. AoSS introduces a revolutionary approach to
combat, using the concept of anticipating your opponent's moves and
offering a special method in which to enter in your combat actions.
COHERENCE :
Coherence is not a single game, but rather a series of cyberpunk
online games following an ultra-dark storyline (very much in keeping
with the cyberpunk genre). Coherence brings the nightmarish gloss
and glamour of the rogue themes of cyberpunk into a cutting-edge
sharp focus that will engulf your players in its intimations of the
stormy near-future on Earth. Our Earth. Of only a few years away...
The Coherence Project originally began in 1988, with the AI guru
Alexander Wei at the head of the development team. However, because
of unexpected production and integration delays and the even more
unexpectedly demise of Dr. Wei, none of the games in the Coherence
line were ever released to the public. In early 1992, the Coherence
Project was reopened by a some of Dr. Wei's friends and proteges,
and the first Coherence game, BLACKJACK 20/40, is due out shortly.
FLUMEN MUSAE NOVAE :
One of the first DOS online games produced under the DevOnline
banner, FMN was also the first fantasy wargame and true role-playing
game available for play on BBS's. This game was originally produced
for WWIV systems (way back when the only BBS program to support
"DOORs" was WWIV). Although the original rendition is no longer in
circulation, an updated version for all major BBS programs will be
making its appearance very soon, bringing back the mystery and magic
that -is- Flumen Musae Novae, the River of the New Muse!
METRO-MEZZANINE :
"A BBS carousel? What's that?" Thousands of BBS users from all over
the world have paused at the sometimes bewildering and definitely
exciting Ghostwheel that has graced the entrypoints to DevPal
systems for over a decade. A BBS carousel enables the enterprising
sysop to run more than one BBS program on a phone line. It also
allows a sysop to add a special flair to his system that makes it
truly unique, even though the particular BBS programs used on that
system may not have many options that allow customability.
Metro-Mezzanine helps to bring together any front-end/mailer program
(like BinkleyTerm, FrontDoor, QFront, and many others) and any
number of BBS programs which accept command-line options in a
coherent manner which enable users, upon login (and at other points)
to choose to access one BBS program (and, depending upon the BBS
programs, even switch between BBS programs!). No other product
offers such configurability at the same registration price, or even
beyond!
PEREGRINE, Reforging the Galactic Trust :
This is one of the few online games which has a strong following
even BEFORE it has been released! Peregrine is currently still in
alpha-testing stages, but many sysops and users have "peeked" at
technical documents and source literature pertaining to this game,
and they have fallen in love with this interstellar conquest/trading
game. If your players enjoy the concept of a science fiction online
game but are sick and tired of the blandness of Trade Wars and its
clones, Peregrine may be your cup of tea. Coming soon to a DevOnline
distribution site near you!