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From: ceforma@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu (Christopher E. Forman)
Subject: Desperately need help w/ Inform
Message-ID: <1995Aug4.011553.123788@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu>
Date: Fri, 4 Aug 1995 01:15:53 GMT
Organization: Illinois State University
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
Lines: 65

(Please reply via e-mail)


Sorry to have to bother you all again, but I'm ready to compile the first
alpha version of my game.  Unfortunately, I'm having an awful _awful_ AWFUL
time getting the initialization and introduction part to compile successfully.
It keeps giving me the error message,

     Expected "," in 'print' list, but found "^".

I've tried rearranging the series of 'print' statements every way I could
think of, but nothing works.  (A single 'print' is not an option, since the
intro is quite long and will not fit within a pair of double-quotes.)

Here is a general overview of what's in my initialization and introduction
routine (I'm reluctant to include the actual game text here, since I'd
really like to keep the game a surprise):


[ Initialise;
  location = Center_of_Town;
  move Old_Shovel to player; move Pack_of_Rations to player;
  "^Would you like to resume a saved game (Y/N)?";
  if (YesOrNo() == 0) {
    <<Verbose>>;
    erase_window $ffff;
    print "^The Story Begins...^\
       ^     Game text goes here.  Game text goes here.  Game text goes \
       here.  Game text goes here.\
       ^     New paragraph.  Game text goes here.  Game text goes here. \
       Game text goes here.  I'll need to start a new 'print' statement \
       at the end of this line.  Game text goes here.\";
    print "^     Beginning of second 'print' statement.  Continue the game \
       intro.  Game text goes here...";
    print "^^     End of game text.  Let the adventure begin!^^";
  }
  <<Restore>>;
];


I've set it up so that the game should prompt the player as to whether or
not a saved game should be loaded (since the intro is quite long).  If the
player says 'yes,' the intro is skipped and the "Restore" routine is called.
If the player specifies 'no,' the game is set in Verbose mode, the screen is
cleared, and the intro is printed...or at least, that's how it _should_ work.
But I keep getting the same #$%!& error message every time!  (I've tried
using commas instead of semicolons; simply putting the text in quotes instead
of using 'print,' and so on, but it doesn't help.)  Can someone PLEASE tell
me what it is that I'm doing wrong?

On a similar note, I keep receiving 'Obsolete usage' warnings, after the error
message about the introduction (the game compiles perfectly up to that point).
Are these messages caused by the error I'm receiving, or is there something
wrong with the library files?  I am using version 5.5 (I55-386.ZIP), with
the 5/11 library files (dated 7-13-95).  Or could it be one of the other
files that's causing the problems?  Or perhaps there's been an update to
the Inform language that I'm not aware of?  (I downloaded the manual a few
weeks ago, with version 5.5, and it was identical to the one I already had.)

Please reply via e-mail -- I'm going to be away from the newsgroup for a few
days.

And, as always, thanks in advance.


