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                       The Second Step Read Me

                   (C) Copyright 2002 by Lars Gottlieb.
                           All Rights Reserved.
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                            TABLE OF CONTENTS
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   Section I   - The Second Step License.
                Terms of use.
                Distributing The Second Step.
                The Postcard Quest.

   Section II  - Installation.
		How to Install The Second Step.
		Problems.

   Section III - The Second Step Development.                
		I have some great ideas about The Second Step. Are you interested?
		Is The Second Step still being developed?
		What can I do to further The Second Step's development?
		When will the next version of The Second Step be released?

   Section IV  - Bugs.
		Bugs.
		What to include.
		Where to send it.
		The Carrot.

   Section V:  - Miscellaneous Stuff.                     
		Personal Presentation.
		Trivia.


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                   Section I: The Second Step License
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Terms of use.
=============

  You may use The Second Step freely provided you acknowledge the following
  terms and abide by them:

    1. You do not challenge The Second Step's copyright in any way.

    2. You acknowledge that the author of The Second Step is in no way
       responsible for damage done to your system due to The Second Step
       usage.

    3. You may not in any way try to alter the two program files included in 
       this package. 
       
    4. You are allowed to alter the table files included to suit your game. I 
       recommend using the Table Editor included in this package for this, but 
       you may use any editor you prefer. 

  Failure to honor these terms will be a severe violation of the license
  and could result in legal measures being taken.


Distributing The Second Step.
=============================

  You can freely distribute The Second Step provided you abide by the following
  terms:

    1. You may not charge more than the price of the media on which The
       Second Step is distributed for the distribution of The Second Step.

    2. You must agree to notify the author of The Second Step, Lars Gottlieb,
       either by email at SecondStep@trc.dk or by sending a written
       letter to the following address:

                Lars Gottlieb
                c/o A. Lund
                Lindevangshusene 54 st th
                2630 Taastrup
                Denmark

    3. You must send one complimentary copy of your product for examination to
       the address given under #2 (or, if it is an electronic publication,
       to the email address given above). 

    4. You must distribute The Second Step in one of two formats. You may not, 
       without explicit permission from the author, distribute any part of The 
       Second Step in any other form. 
       
       a) The complete and unmodified archive found in the 'download' section of 
          the Second Step website.
       b) As a compilation of data files, in any format you like.

    5. Character files, in any and all forms, are yours. 
       You may do with them what you like ...

  Failure to honor these terms will be a severe violation of the license
  and could result in legal measures being taken.


The Postcard Quest.
===================

  The Second Step is free for all users, but if you want to thank me for creating
  it, maintaining it, fixing all discovered bugs, providing support and 
  generally spending a lot of time on it, please consider rewarding my efforts 
  by sending a postcard to the following address from wherever you live:

                Lars Gottlieb
                c/o A. Lund
                Lindevangshusene 54 st th
                2630 Taastrup
                Denmark


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                       Section II: Installation.
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How to Install The Second Step.
===============================

  Installing The Second Step is very simple:
  
  The download file is a zip file. To open that, you will need a zipping tool, 
  such as WinZip, found at www.winzip.com
  
  When you have installed the zipping tool, you can start installing The Second 
  Step by double-clicking the file you downloaded - it should be SecondStep.zip 
  or  something similar. Assuming you are using WinZip, you can let it handle 
  the files for you - just click the 'install' button. 
  
  Otherwise you will have to extract the files somewhere on your hard disk and 
  double-click the file called setup.exe from there. After installation you 
  should then remove these temporary files manually.

  The Setup program will allow you to select where you want the program files to 
  be installed to, and where to put the shortcuts in the windows Start menu. The 
  computer will copy the files to the selected place, register the file types 
  and create icons in the start menu for easy acess. If it is the first time you 
  install the Second Step on the computer, you may have to restart Windows to 
  complete the install.

  Now you should be ready to run the program for the first time.



Problems.
=========

  If you have any problems installing The Second Step, please write me at the 
  address found in the bugs section.


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                Section III: The Second Step Development.                
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I have some great ideas about The Second Step. Are you interested?
==================================================================

    Sure - bring 'em on! By email at SecondStep@trc.dk or by letter to
    the following address:

                Lars Gottlieb
                c/o A. Lund
                Lindevangshusene 54 st th
                2630 Taastrup
                Denmark
                
    But please do note that I don't have unlimited time to spend implementing 
    your ideas. 

    If I include a feature based on your input, your name will be added to the 
    credits and Fame Eternal will be yours 8)
    

Is The Second Step still being developed?
=========================================

  Yes, there are still lots of issues pressing. 


What can I do to further The Second Step's development?
=======================================================

  Send me praise, ideas, comments, maybe even a postcard 8)


When will the next version of The Second Step be released?
==========================================================

  When it's done 8)
  
  If you want a notification when I release a new version, drop me a line at 
  SecondStep@trc.dk 


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                             Section IV: Bugs.                             
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Bugs.
=====

  Despite my best efforts, The Second Step probably contains many bugs (as do
  most programs of a certain size).

  In case you happen to encounter a bug, you will probably have to cope
  with one of the following two kinds of scenarios:

  1. The program creates a character that is somehow 'wrong', or is at least
     displayed or printed wrong in some kind. If this is the case, please send 
     me a character save file or a screenshot image with a description of the 
     problem.

  2. The program crashes. This is very, very bad... try to remember what you did
     last. Try to reproduce the error. If you manage to reproduce it, write a 
     step-by-step description on what one has to do to see the error. If you do 
     not manage to reproduce it, try to describe what you did last in as much 
     detail as possible.


What to include.
================

  Please include the following data (if possible):

  * The version of The Second Step you are using; This should be shown on the 
    about form (help|about)
  * The system your version is running on (OS name, OS version).
  * The bug description (see above).
  * Any other comments that you feel would be helpful.
  * Your full real life name, or whatever you want to be known as. (so that I 
    can include you in the credits section in case you have discovered a new 
    bug) 
    

Where to send it.
=================

  Send the bug report to SecondStep@trc.dk or by snail:
  
                Lars Gottlieb
                c/o A. Lund
                Lindevangshusene 54 st th
                2630 Taastrup
                Denmark

  When I have received you bug report, I'll try to do something about
  it as soon as possible. You might receive another email requesting more 
  information or asking specific questions. 


The Carrot.
===========  
  
  If I manage to fix a bug because of your input, your name will be added to the 
  credits and eternal fame will be yours 8)



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                       Section V:  Miscellaneous Stuff.                     
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Personal Presentation.
======================
  
  My Name is Lars Gottlieb

  I was born in 1971 and live in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm currently studying 
  Advanced Computer Science at the Copenhagen Business College.
    
  I've been playing Earthdawn since '95 or '96; GM'ing it since march 2001. 
  Jacque deVille, my Flamboyant T'skrang is currently a sixth circle 
  Swordsmaster / third circle Warrior, and has won fame and glory by winning the 
  Travar election/championship - twice. But then of cause he had a bit of help 
  from the other guys... 
  
  I like playing roleplaying games, coding, painting miniatures, listening to 
  inspired music and watching the TV show 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. 
  

Trivia.
=======

  The Second Step is written in C++ for Borland C++ Builder 6. 
  On 18/12/03, when I was bored enough to count'em, it consisted of 15 forms
  and 36 c++ units; the Table editor consists of 11 more forms with c++ units; 
  and the Creature Creator is a single form and three indigenous units. This 
  amounts to a bit more than 35000 lines of code for the main program, a bit 
  over 10000 for the editor and 4124 in the Crature Creator; in all more than 
  2MB raw source, and well over 2.5MB in forms.


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                                                        --  Lars Gottlieb
                                                           December 2003
