The Pit (BBS door)
Encyclopedia
The Pit is a Bulletin Board System (BBS
) game using basic ANSI art
(compare with ASCII art
) and text database information. A graphical front end is also available, with EGA
graphics and sound. Players fight in a rectangular grid against computer or human opponents. Starting out with thin armor and a weak sword, with each win over opponents, your character becomes stronger with better weapons. Aside from Melee weapon
s, you can also purchase or find projectile weapons (e.g. a longbow). In addition to basic combat items, you can also use potions and other magic items (though you don't always know what you are using). If you find an opponent too powerful, you can beg for mercy (not always successfully), or exit through the single doorway (assuming you can reach the doorway without getting killed). Opponents include the most basic and easy to defeat slave and the near-immortal Norse gods, such as Odin and Thor. You can also attack other human players, who are set on automatic.
Players get a number of play sessions per day (usually three), and each play session ends in either a player death or the session timer expiring.
Originally created and programmed by James R. Berry in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The art for the EGA client was made by D. Gregg Hargrove. The source code is now owned by BBSFiles.com and it is currently being updated for modern operating systems.
To play the game, you will need either a telnet client capable of displaying code page 437
like SyncTERM, or the EGA graphics client.
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
) game using basic ANSI art
ANSI art
ANSI art is a computer art form that was widely used at one time on BBSes. It is similar to ASCII art, but constructed from a larger set of 256 letters, numbers, and symbols — all codes found in IBM code page 437, often referred to as extended ASCII and used in MS-DOS and Unix environments...
(compare with ASCII art
ASCII art
ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters...
) and text database information. A graphical front end is also available, with EGA
Enhanced Graphics Adapter
The Enhanced Graphics Adapter is the IBM PC computer display standard specification which is between CGA and VGA in terms of color and space resolution. Introduced in October 1984 by IBM shortly after its new PC/AT, EGA produces a display of 16 simultaneous colors from a palette of 64 at a...
graphics and sound. Players fight in a rectangular grid against computer or human opponents. Starting out with thin armor and a weak sword, with each win over opponents, your character becomes stronger with better weapons. Aside from Melee weapon
Mêlée weapon
A melee weapon is any weapon that does not involve a projectile — that is, both the user and target of the weapon are in contact with it simultaneously in normal use...
s, you can also purchase or find projectile weapons (e.g. a longbow). In addition to basic combat items, you can also use potions and other magic items (though you don't always know what you are using). If you find an opponent too powerful, you can beg for mercy (not always successfully), or exit through the single doorway (assuming you can reach the doorway without getting killed). Opponents include the most basic and easy to defeat slave and the near-immortal Norse gods, such as Odin and Thor. You can also attack other human players, who are set on automatic.
Players get a number of play sessions per day (usually three), and each play session ends in either a player death or the session timer expiring.
Originally created and programmed by James R. Berry in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The art for the EGA client was made by D. Gregg Hargrove. The source code is now owned by BBSFiles.com and it is currently being updated for modern operating systems.
To play the game, you will need either a telnet client capable of displaying code page 437
Code page 437
IBM PC or MS-DOS code page 437 is the character set of the original IBM PC. It is also known as CP 437, OEM 437, PC-8, MS-DOS Latin US or sometimes misleadingly referred to as the OEM font, High ASCII or Extended ASCII....
like SyncTERM, or the EGA graphics client.