Licence and copyrights¶

Pyskool is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. See the file ‘COPYING’ (distributed with Pyskool) for the full text of the licence.

The copyright in the original ZX Spectrum game code and graphics for both Skool Daze and Back to Skool is held by Microsphere Computer Services Ltd.

Requirements¶

Pyskool requires Python (version 2.7) and Pygame (version 1.8+).

On Linux/*BSD, Python and Pygame are available via the package management system. Python is in the python package on all systems; Pygame is in the python-pygame package on Debian-based distros and openSUSE, the pygame package on Fedora, the devel/py-game port on FreeBSD and NetBSD, and the devel/pygame port on OpenBSD.

Windows and Mac OS X users should take care to select the Pygame installer that matches the version of Python that is installed.

Installing Pyskool¶

There are various ways to install the latest stable release of Pyskool:

• from the zip archive or tarball available at pyskool.ca
• from the DEB package or RPM package available at pyskool.ca
• from PyPI by using easy_install or pip

If you choose the zip archive or tarball, note that Pyskool can be used wherever it is unpacked: it does not need to be installed in any particular location.

However, if you would like to install Pyskool as a Python package, you can do so by using the supplied setup.py script. After installation, the required images, ini files and sound files for each game will need to be created. This can be done by using the --setup option; for example:

$ skool_daze.py --setup

> setup.py install

# ./setup.py install

Running Pyskool¶

> skool_daze.py

> back_to_skool.py

$ ./skool_daze.py

$ ./back_to_skool.py

Pyskool data files¶

When skool_daze.py, back_to_skool.py or one of the other game launcher scripts is executed, it looks for the following things:

• a file named pyskool.ini (the main ini file)
• a directory named images
• a directory named sounds
• a directory named ini/<game_name> (where <game_name> is skool_daze, back_to_skool, or whatever)

Each of these things must be present in one of the following directories in order for Pyskool to find it:

• the current working directory
• $HOME/.pyskool
• the directory containing the game launcher script
• /usr/share/pyskool
• $PACKAGE_DIR/data

$HOME refers to the user’s home directory. On Windows this is typically C:\Users\username or C:\Documents and Settings\username.

$PACKAGE_DIR refers to the directory in which the pyskool package is installed (as shown by the --package-dir command line option).

When you need a reminder of the locations that Pyskool searches for data files, run one of the game launcher scripts with the --search-dirs option.

If Pyskool doesn’t start, run the game launcher script from the command line and read the diagnostic messages that are printed to the console for clues about what’s going wrong.

When Pyskool is running, it will dump screenshots to, save games to, and load games from either $HOME/.pyskool (if it exists or can be created), or the current working directory.

Command line options¶

skool_daze.py, back_to_skool.py and the other game launcher scripts support the following command line options:

• --version - show the version number of Pyskool and exit
• -h or --help - show a summary of the available options
• -c or --cheat - enable cheat keys; equivalent to --config=Cheat,1, this option overrides the Cheat parameter in the [GameConfig] section
• --config=P,V - set the value of the configuration parameter P to V; this option may be used multiple times
• --create-images - create the images required by the game and exit
• --create-ini - create the ini files required by the game in $HOME/.pyskool/ini/<game_name> and exit
• --create-sounds - create the sound files required by the game in $HOME/.pyskool/sounds and exit
• --force - overwrite existing images, ini files and sound files (when using the --create-images, --create-ini, --create-sounds or --setup option)
• -i INIDIR or --inidir=INIDIR - use ini files from a specified directory
• -l SAVEFILE or --load=SAVEFILE - load a previously saved game
• --package-dir - show the path to the pyskool package directory and exit
• -q or --quick-start - start the game quickly by skipping the scroll-skool-into-view and theme tune sequence; equivalent to --config=QuickStart,1, this option overrides the QuickStart parameter in the [GameConfig] section
• -r SAVEDIR or --load-last=SAVEDIR - load the most recently saved game from the specified directory
• --sample-rate=RATE - set the sample rate of the sound files created by --create-sounds (default: 44100)
• -s SCALE or --scale=SCALE - set the scale of the display; equivalent to --config=Scale,SCALE, this option overrides the Scale parameter in the [ScreenConfig] section
• --search-dirs - show the locations that Pyskool searches for data files and exit
• --setup - create the images, ini files and sound files required by the game in $HOME/.pyskool and exit

The --create-images option first looks for Skool Daze and Back to Skool tape or snapshot files by the following names in $HOME/.pyskool:

• skool_daze.tzx
• skool_daze.sna
• skool_daze.z80
• skool_daze.szx
• back_to_skool.tzx
• back_to_skool.sna
• back_to_skool.z80
• back_to_skool.szx

If no such files are found, TZX files are downloaded from one of the sources listed in images.ini and saved to $HOME/.pyskool. Then the required images are built from the tape or snapshot files and saved to the appropriate subdirectories under $HOME/.pyskool/images/originalx1.

Skool Daze mode¶

Back to Skool mode¶

Keys¶

The keys to move Eric around are:

• ‘q’ or up arrow - go up stairs, or continue walking in the same direction
• ‘a’ or down arrow - go down stairs, or continue walking in the same direction
• ‘o’ or left arrow - left
• ‘p’ or right arrow - right
• ‘f’ - fire catapult
• ‘h’ - hit
• ‘j’ - jump
• ‘s’ - sit/stand
• ‘w’ - write on a blackboard (press Enter/Return to finish)

Eric always walks fast. In the original games Eric walked slow unless you held down the shift key; I always held down the shift key, so didn’t feel motivated to include a ‘slow mode’.

Other useful keys are:

• Escape - quit the game
• End - pause/resume
• Insert - take a screenshot
• F2 - save the game
• F6 - load the most recently saved game
• F11 - switch between full-screen and windowed mode
• F12 - show/hide the menu

Use the up and down arrow keys to move between items in the menu, and press Enter or the space bar to execute a menu item.

Cursing CREAK¶

Maybe the simplest thing to customise is what the characters say. In this example we customise Mr Creak’s sit down message (i.e. how he tells the kids to sit down when it’s time to start a lesson).

To do this, find the [SitDownMessages] section in skool_daze/messages.ini and edit the line:

CREAK, BE QUIET AND SEATED YOU NASTY LITTLE BOYS

so that it reads:

CREAK, ARSES ON SEATS YOU SCUMMY LITTLE BUGGERS

(or whatever other polite request you’d like to see Mr Creak utter). Then run skool_daze.py and giggle like a schoolboy (or girl) as the profanities pour from the history teacher’s mouth.

Blackboard blasphemy¶

An equally simple and giggle-inducing trick is to change what the characters write on the blackboards. In this example we’ll modify Mr Withit’s blackboard messages in Back to Skool.

Open up back_to_skool/messages.ini and find the [BlackboardMessages WITHIT] section. In there you will see the following messages:

ARTESIAN^WELLS
THE DOLDRUMS
TASTY^GEYSERS
THE GREEN^REVOLUTION
TREACLE^MINING
FROG FARMING

For fun, you can replace these messages with something more interesting, or add more messages (having only six to choose from makes Mr Withit a dull man). Note that the ^ character will be replaced with a newline.

Then run back_to_skool.py and smile with satisfaction as Mr Withit complies with your particular blackboard message whims.

800 LINES PERKINS¶

Did you ever think it was unfair that the little kids in Skool Daze (i.e. not Eric, the swot, the tearaway or the bully) never got lines? Eric would down a teacher with a catapult pellet, but any little kids in the vicinity could breeze past the teacher with complete impunity while Eric (or, if he was lucky, one of the other big kids) got slapped in the face with a bunch of lines.

Well this is Pyskool, and we can change all that. To make the little kids in Skool Daze potential lines recipients, go to the [Characters] section in skool_daze/sprites.ini and find the lines corresponding to the little boys:

BOY01, PERKINS, BOY, WALK0, -1, (43, 17), (1, 1), F
BOY02, GIBSON, BOY, WALK0, 1, (44, 17), (1, 1), F
BOY03, FANSHAW, BOY, WALK0, -1, (45, 17), (1, 1), F
...

The last field in each line (which contains F by default) is the character flags field. The character flag that turns a character into a potential lines recipient is R. So add that flag to each line, thus:

BOY01, PERKINS, BOY, WALK0, -1, (43, 17), (1, 1), FR
BOY02, GIBSON, BOY, WALK0, 1, (44, 17), (1, 1), FR
BOY03, FANSHAW, BOY, WALK0, -1, (45, 17), (1, 1), FR
...

Now run skool_daze.py, find a teacher milling about with a bunch of little kids, let rip with the catapult, and experience the satisfaction of seeing the hitherto nameless ones get their come-uppance.

Punch the pedagogue¶

The teachers in Skool Daze and Back to Skool - well, Mr Wacker and Mr Creak in particular - were always asking for a smack. Unfortunately, in the original games teachers were inexplicably impervious to Eric’s pugilistic efforts. Eric could always whip out his catapult and send a teacher to the floor with a pellet, but it’s not quite the same thing.

Anyway, with Pyskool, you get to change the rules. To make the teachers punchable with effect, open up skool_daze/sprites.ini or back_to_skool/sprites.ini and go to the [Characters] section. There you will find the lines corresponding to the teachers; in skool_daze/sprites.ini they look like this:

WACKER, MR WACKER/Sir, WACKER, WALK0, -1, (10, 17), (1, 0), ALPSTW
ROCKITT, MR ROCKITT/Sir, ROCKITT, WALK0, -1, (10, 17), (1, 0), ALPSTW
WITHIT, MR WITHIT/Sir, WITHIT, WALK0, -1, (10, 17), (1, 0), ALPSTW
CREAK, MR CREAK/Sir, CREAK, WALK0, -1, (10, 17), (1, 0), ALPSTW

The last field in each of these lines is the flags field (see [Characters]). To make a teacher punchable, we need to add the F flag. For example:

WACKER, MR WACKER/Sir, WACKER, WALK0, -1, (10, 17), (1, 0), AFLPSTW

Make the change for each teacher you’d like to see Eric (and, as a side effect, the bully too) be able to punch, and off you go and get your long-awaited revenge.

History in the Map Room¶

A somewhat more involved customisation is creating a new lesson. In this example we’ll create a lesson where Mr Creak teaches Eric in the Map Room. In the original Skool Daze, Mr Creak never taught anywhere but in the Reading and White Rooms, so it’ll be good for him to stretch his ageing legs and get on over to the Map Room.

[Timetable]
Playtime-4
Withit-MapRoom-2
RevisionLibrary-3

[Timetable]
Playtime-4
Creak-MapRoom-1
RevisionLibrary-3

[Lesson Creak-MapRoom-1 CREAK, MapRoom]
BOY01, ReadingRoom-Boy
BOY02, WhiteRoom-Boy
BOY03, ReadingRoom-Boy
BOY04, WhiteRoom-Boy
BOY05, ReadingRoom-Boy
BOY06, WhiteRoom-Boy
BOY07, ExamRoom-Boy
BOY08, ReadingRoom-Boy
BOY09, ExamRoom-Boy
BOY10, ExamRoom-Boy
BOY11, MapRoom-Boy
WACKER, ExamRoom-Teacher
ROCKITT, WhiteRoom-Teacher
WITHIT, MapRoom-Teacher
CREAK, ReadingRoom-Teacher
TEARAWAY, ExamRoom-Tearaway
BULLY, MapRoom-Bully
SWOT, MapRoom-Swot

WITHIT, ReadingRoom-Teacher
CREAK, MapRoom-Teacher

All aboard the Science Lab¶

Let’s try our hand at a completely new lesson in Back to Skool this time. What about one where every boy and girl piles into the Science Lab with Mr Rockitt? That should be interesting.

[Timetable]
Playtime-5
Creak-YellowRoom-2
Assembly

[Timetable]
Playtime-5
Rockitt-ScienceLab-AllAboard
Assembly

[Lesson Rockitt-ScienceLab-AllAboard ROCKITT, ScienceLab]

GIRL01, ScienceLab-Boy
GIRL02, ScienceLab-Boy
...
BOY01, ScienceLab-Boy
BOY02, ScienceLab-Boy
...
BOY10, ScienceLab-Boy

WITHIT, Walkabout1-Teacher
ROCKITT, ScienceLab-Teacher
CREAK, Walkabout2-Teacher
TAKE, GirlsSkoolWalkabout-Teacher

TEARAWAY, ScienceLab-Tearaway
BULLY, ScienceLab-Bully
SWOT, ScienceLab-Swot
HEROINE, ScienceLab-Boy

Where’s the chalk?¶

So you’ve modified messages and lessons, but to be brutally honest, you haven’t proved yourself as a Pyskool modder until you’ve created your own command list. Recall that a command list is a list of commands (!) that control a character during a lesson.

In this exercise we’ll take the command list that controls the tearaway when he’s on a blackboard-defacing spree in Skool Daze:

[CommandList WriteOnBoards-Tearaway]
GoTo, ExamRoomBlackboard:Middle
WriteOnBoardUnless, Dirty
GoTo, WhiteRoomBlackboard:Middle
WriteOnBoardUnless, Dirty
GoTo, ReadingRoomBlackboard:Middle
WriteOnBoardUnless, Dirty
SetControllingCommand, FireNowAndThen
GoToRandomLocation
WalkAround, 10
Restart

and turn it into a command list that leaves the tearaway frustrated by the global chalk shortage. One simple way to do this is to replace the three WriteOnBoardUnless commands with these commands:

Say, "Hey, where's the chalk?"
Say, "OMG, no chalk here, either!"
Say, "WTF? Has Mr Creak been eating the chalk or something?"

And for good measure we’ll insert another Say command after GoToRandomLocation:

Say, "Anybody got any chalk?"

When these modifications are complete, the command list should look like this:

[CommandList WriteOnBoards-Tearaway]
GoTo, ExamRoomBlackboard:Middle
Say, "Hey, where's the chalk?"
GoTo, WhiteRoomBlackboard:Middle
Say, "OMG, no chalk here, either!"
GoTo, ReadingRoomBlackboard:Middle
Say, "WTF? Has Mr Creak been eating the chalk or something?"
SetControllingCommand, FireNowAndThen
GoToRandomLocation
Say, "Anybody got any chalk?"
WalkAround, 10
Restart

Now run skool_daze.py and watch as the hapless tearaway’s blackboard-daubing career is dashed to the ground.

Ready-made customisations¶

Some ready-made customised ini files are distributed with Pyskool to demonstrate what’s possible with the Pyskool engine. These customisations are described in the following sections.

Contact details¶

To make complaints about or suggest improvements to Pyskool, or to submit some other piece of constructive criticism, contact me (Richard Dymond) at <rjdymond AT gmail.com>.

Bugs¶

No doubt there are bugs in Pyskool - and in this documentation - or ways it deviates unacceptably from the original games. Please report any bugs (reproducible crashes, especially) you find, and help to make Pyskool a solid and stable platform for developing new Skool-based games. If you can provide a saved game that demonstrates the bug shortly after being loaded, all the better.

Frequently asked questions¶

How does Pyskool differ from the original games?

Though the conversion of the original games to Python/Pygame is pretty faithful (I think), there are some differences, noted below.

General differences:

• More than one character can be talking at any given time
• Characters can talk while off-screen (so it’s possible for the scrolling screen to reveal a character mid-sentence)
• Eric cannot walk slowly

In Skool Daze mode:

• Boys can find the back seat in the Reading Room
• Eric will not be expelled until he has more than 10000 lines (in the original game, he could be expelled when he had exactly 10000 lines)
• Eric will get lines if a teacher spots him writing on a blackboard
• The broken jumping sound effect has been fixed

In Back to Skool mode:

• Eric can release mice anywhere (not just in the girls’ skool)
• Eric can re-catch mice that he has released; well, why not?
• The frog is visible from the start of the game; I think the only reason it was hidden in the original game was a lack of RAM (the frog shares its character buffer with the mouse, and the mouse needs to be visible from the start)
• The ‘conker’ sound effect is played when Albert (instead of when Einstein or Angelface) is struck by a conker

Why Python (and Pygame)?

Because Python is an elegant, expressive, and excellent programming language. Plus it enables rapid development, which is good because I develop Pyskool in my limited spare time. Pygame’s pretty good too. When I started Pyskool back in 2008, I don’t know how else I’d have done graphics with Python.

Why Skool Daze and Back to Skool?

If you need to ask, you probably shouldn’t be here. Actually, what are you doing here? Go and play Jet Set Willy, or something.

1.2.1 (2016-05-21)¶

• Added missing verbs to the [AssemblyMessages] section for Back to Skool
• When Eric is writing on a blackboard, the text now automatically wraps to the second line when the end of the first line is reached
• Updated the worldofspectrum.org URLs in images.ini
• Fixed links to classes, methods and variables in the API documentation

1.2 (2015-01-14)¶

• Dropped support for Python 2.6 and Pygame 1.7
• Added support for Python 3.4
• The Insert (screenshot), F2 (save), F6 (load), F11 (toggle full-screen mode) and F12 (menu) keys now work when Eric is writing on a blackboard
• Fixed the quit menu so that it works when Eric is writing on a blackboard

1.1.2 (2014-06-14)¶

• Customised the theme tunes, ‘all shields’ tunes, ‘open safe’ tunes and ‘up a year’ tunes in Skool Daze Take Too, Ezad Looks and Back to Skool Daze
• Customised the lesson questions and answers in Skool Daze Take Too, Ezad Looks and Back to Skool Daze
• Customised the ‘sit down’ messages and ‘lesson’ messages in Back to Skool Daze
• Added the --config command line option (to set the value of a configuration parameter)

1.1.1 (2014-01-26)¶

• Added the ConfirmClose and ConfirmQuit parameters to the [GameConfig] section (to control whether a confirmation screen is shown when Escape or the window close button is pressed)
• Added the Volume parameter to the [GameConfig] section (to set the volume for sound effects)
• Added support for appending content to existing ini file sections by adding a ‘+’ suffix to the section name (e.g. [SkoolLocations+])
• Added a menu item to switch between full-screen and windowed mode
• Added the --force command line option (to overwrite existing images, ini files and sound files)
• Added the --sample-rate command line option (to set the sample rate of the sound files created by --create-sounds)
• Fixed the bug that freezes the game if Eric’s lines total goes over 10000 while he’s being fetched by the teacher on dinner duty

1.1 (2013-12-01)¶

• Replaced all the sound files with high-quality (44.1kHz) versions
• Added hitting sound effects (HIT0, HIT1) to Skool Daze
• Added the ALARM sound effect ID (for when Albert is telling Mr Wacker that Eric’s escaping)
• Screenshots are now saved to the screenshots directory by default
• Added the --create-sounds command line option (to create the sound files required by a game)
• Added the --package-dir command line option (for showing the path to the pyskool package directory)
• Added the --search-dirs command line option (for showing the locations that Pyskool searches for data files)
• Added the --setup command line option (to create the images, ini files and sound files required by a game)
• Added a second source for the Skool Daze TZX file to images.ini
• Removed the documentation sources from the Pyskool distribution (they can be obtained from GitHub)

1.0.1 (2012-12-07)¶

• Moved the man pages to section 6

1.0 (2012-12-03)¶

• Added the --get-images command line option (to download TZX files of Skool Daze and Back to Skool from sources listed in images.ini and extract images from them)
• Added the --create-ini command line option (to create the stock game ini files)
• Added the ability to switch between full-screen and windowed mode by pressing F11
• Man pages for the game launcher scripts are included in the man directory
• Fixed the audio latency that can occur when using Pygame 1.8+
• Fixed the bug that enables Eric to ride the bike past Albert when he has his arm raised
• Fixed the bug that makes Eric remain aloft after the knocked out kid he’s standing on (near a staircase) has risen
• Fixed the bug in Back to Skool Daze that makes the shield on the shelf in the boys’ skool turn into a cup when Eric goes onto the next year
• Fixed the ezad_looks/mutables.png image (each pair of shield/safe images was in the wrong order)

0.6 (2011-06-05)¶

• Pyskool can be installed as a Python package using setup.py install
• Changed the menu show/hide key from F10 (which activates the menu bar in Windows) to F12
• Added default key bindings to pyskool.ini
• Fixed the bug that enables Eric to kiss Hayley while she’s sitting down
• Fixed the bug that makes Mr Wacker give Eric lines for being on the floor or not in skool while expelling him for jumping out of the top-floor window
• Fixed the bug that causes sprite graphics to lose their transparency when a game saved at one colour depth is loaded at a higher colour depth

0.5.4 (2011-03-15)¶

Fixed the bug that causes a crash when Eric tries to get on the bike.

0.5.3 (2010-12-16)¶

Fixed the bug that prevented a saved game from loading when using GraphicsMode 0 (hi-res colour).

0.5.2 (2010-11-03)¶

• Added a jumping sound effect to Skool Daze
• Fixed a graphic glitch in the girls’ shoes

0.5.1 (2010-06-21)¶

Fixed the bug that causes a crash during a non-question-and-answer lesson when the teacher has returned to the blackboard after fetching the truant Eric.

0.5 (2010-06-08)¶

• Added an in-game menu
• Screen can be rescaled while Pyskool is running
• Key bindings are defined in pyskool.ini

0.4 (2010-05-28)¶

• Added the ability to save and load games
• The score box is drawn using labels defined in the [MessageConfig] section
• Added lesson box background images
• Added message box images (now the message boxes in Skool Daze mode look like those used in the original game)

0.3 (2010-05-18)¶

• Moved data that was embedded in the Python code into the ini files: there are now over 100 more parameters to tweak in the [GameConfig], [ScreenConfig], [LessonConfig], [TimetableConfig], [TimingConfig] and [AnimationPhases ...] sections, and extra character-controlling arguments to play with in the WalkAround, MoveAboutUntil, MoveMouse, MoveFrog, and WatchForEric commands (for example)
• Added utility scripts createini.py (generates ini files) and extract-png.py (extracts graphics from memory snapshots of the original skool games)
• Added documentation sources in docs-src

0.2.4 (2010-04-30)¶

Added the following features:

• ‘Back to Skool Daze’ example customisation
• Keyboard is checked during long sound effects (so you can pause or quit while the tune is playing, for example)
• Screenshots can be taken while the game is paused
• [Screen] section in the ini files
• API documentation

0.2.3 (2010-04-13)¶

Added the ‘Ezad Looks’ example customisation.

0.2.2 (2010-04-02)¶

Added the following features in Back to Skool mode:

• Eric is paralysed and expelled after jumping out of the top-floor window
• Albert alerts Mr Wacker if he spots Eric trying to escape
• Mr Wacker shadows Eric after being alerted by Albert
• Mr Creak and Mr Rockitt behave correctly during assembly
• Mr Withit does assembly duty
• Eric gets lines for not sitting down facing the stage during assembly
• Eric gets lines for standing on plants
• Miss Take chases Eric out of the girls’ skool if she spots him there when it’s not playtime

Also fixed the following bugs:

• Game crashes if Eric tries to sit back on the saddle of the bike after standing on it
• Eric gets lines for riding the bike in the playground
• Eric gets lines if spotted falling from a window
• Screen scrolls right every time Eric kisses Hayley

0.2.1 (2010-03-26)¶

Added the following features in Back to Skool mode:

• Eric can release mice
• The girls and Miss Take will jump up and down or stand on a chair if they spot a mouse nearby
• Eric can kiss (or try to kiss) Hayley
• Eric can open desks and collect the water pistol or stinkbombs
• Eric can drop stinkbombs
• Mr Wacker will open a nearby window if he smells a stinkbomb
• Eric can fire the water pistol
• Eric can fill the water pistol with sherry
• Eric can throw away the water pistol
• Cups can be filled with water or sherry
• Plants grow when watered
• Eric can stand on plant pots
• Eric is lifted by a growing plant
• Eric can step off a fully grown plant through an open window
• Eric can step off a fully grown plant over the skool gate
• Drops of water or sherry can be knocked out of a cup with a catapult pellet
• Teachers reveal bike combination digits when hit by a drop of water
• Eric can unchain the bike by writing the combination on a blackboard
• Eric can ride the bike
• Eric can stand on the saddle of the bike
• Eric can jump off the saddle of the bike
• Eric is launched over the closed skool gate if he hits it while standing on the saddle of the bike
• Teachers reveal storeroom combination letters when hit by a drop of sherry
• Eric can get the storeroom key (and hence the frog) by writing the combination on a blackboard
• Conker falls from the tree when hit by a catapult pellet
• Falling conker can knock people out
• Eric can place the frog in a cup
• Eric can get the safe key by knocking the frog from a cup onto Miss Take’s head
• Eric can open the safe by jumping up to it when he has the key

Also fixed the following bugs:

• Game crashes if a character is chasing or looking for Eric while Eric is on a staircase or jumping
• Eric does not get lines if caught writing on a blackboard
• Eric gets lines for being in the assembly hall during non-assembly periods

0.2 (2010-03-16)¶

• Added mice and frogs and the ability to catch them
• Fixed glitches in the animatory state graphics (sprites.png)
• Added the SHERRY sound sample
• Added the GameFps and ScrollFps configuration parameters

Also fixed the following bugs:

• Game crashes if you press ‘Delete’ while writing on a blackboard
• If a little boy talks to ERIC while he’s writing on a blackboard, pressing ‘U’ has no effect
• During dinner, the teacher on duty keeps giving Eric lines for not finding a seat

0.1.2 (2009-07-22)¶

Fixed bug in Skool Daze mode where shields stay flashing after Eric’s been expelled.

0.1.1 (2009-04-29)¶

Fixed bug where Eric gets trapped in his seat if he’s knocked out of it by a catapult pellet and then tries to stand up.

0.1 (2008-11-12)¶

• Eric is expelled after exceeding the lines limit
• The swot tells tales
• Teachers track down Eric if he tries to skip class

In Skool Daze mode:

• Special playtimes have been implemented
• Teachers give lines for all possible infractions
• All commands required in Skool Daze mode have been implemented

0.0.4 (2008-10-24)¶

• Eric can write on blackboards
• Improved keyboard responsiveness
• Added ready-made example customisation: Skool Daze Take Too

In Skool Daze mode:

• Teachers reveal safe combination letters when all shields are flashing
• Eric can open the safe after writing the combination code on a blackboard
• Eric can unflash all the shields after opening the safe

0.0.3 (2008-10-08)¶

• Sound effects and tunes
• Teachers give lines for some infractions
• Eric can jump (into the air and onto other kids, too)
• Eric can make shields flash

0.0.2 (2008-09-23)¶

• Added --scale and --ini command line options
• Bully can knock people out
• Tearaway can fire catapult pellets
• Eric can do these things too
• Tearaway writes on the blackboards
• Implemented several previously unimplemented commands

0.0.1 (2008-09-09)¶

Initial public release.

[Keys]¶

The Keys section defines the key bindings. Each line in the section has the form:

actionId, key1, key2, ...

where actionId is the identifier of the action to bind to the keys key1, key2 and so on. Any number of keys may be bound to an action.

Pyskool recognises the following action identifiers for moving Eric:

• LEFT - move left
• RIGHT - move right
• UP - move up
• DOWN - move down
• SIT_STAND - sit down or stand up
• OPEN_DESK - open a desk
• FIRE_CATAPULT - fire the catapult
• FIRE_WATER_PISTOL - fire the water pistol
• DROP_STINKBOMB - drop a stinkbomb
• HIT - throw a punch
• JUMP - jump
• WRITE - start writing on a blackboard
• ENTER - finish writing on a blackboard
• CATCH - try to catch a mouse or frog
• UNDERSTOOD - acknowledge understanding of a message
• MOUNT_BIKE - mount the bike
• DUMP_WATER_PISTOL - throw away the water pistol
• RELEASE_MICE - release some mice
• KISS - try to kiss someone

In addition, Pyskool recognises the following identifiers for actions not related to moving Eric:

• QUIT - quit Pyskool
• FULL_SCREEN - toggle full-screen mode
• PAUSE - pause the game
• SCREENSHOT - take a screenshot
• SAVE - save the game
• LOAD - load the most recently saved game
• MENU - show the menu
• MENU_EXIT - hide the menu and resume the game
• MENU_PREV - move to the previous item in the menu
• MENU_NEXT - move to the next item in the menu
• MENU_EXEC - execute the selected menu item

Pygame uses keyboard constants to identify keys; a full list of those constants can be found in the pygame documentation. The key names (key1, key2 etc.) declared in a line of the Keys section should match the names of the Pygame keyboard constants, but with the K_ prefix removed.

[Menu ...]¶

Each Menu ... section defines a menu and its appearance. The section name has the form:

Menu menuId

where menuId is a unique identifier for the menu. The section may contain the following configuration parameters:

• Alpha - the transparency of the menu (0=fully transparent, 255=fully opaque)
• Highlight - the background colour of the selected menu item
• Ink - the ink colour to use for the title, menu items and status bar
• Paper - the main background colour
• StatusBar - whether to show a status bar (0=no, 1=yes)
• StatusPaper - the background colour of the status bar
• Title - the menu title
• TitlePaper - the background colour of the title bar
• Width - the width of the menu (as a fraction of the screen width)

pyskool.ini contains the definitions for two menus, whose unique IDs must be Main and Quit.

[MenuItems ...]¶

Each MenuItems ... section defines the menu items for a menu. The section name has the form:

MenuItems menuId

where menuId is the unique identifier of the menu (defined by a [Menu ...] section).

Each line in the section has the form:

operation, text

where:

• operation is the unique ID of the operation to which the menu item is bound
• text is the text of the menu item

The operation IDs recognised by Pyskool are:

• LOAD - load the most recently saved game
• QUIT - quit Pyskool
• RESUME - hide the menu and resume the game
• SAVE - save the game
• SCALE_DOWN - decrease the scale factor by 1
• SCALE_UP - increase the scale factor by 1
• TOGGLE_FULLSCREEN - toggle fullscreen mode

[AnimationPhases ...]¶

The AnimationPhases ... section names take the form:

AnimationPhases phaseSetId

where phaseSetId is a descriptive unique ID for the list of animation phases that follows.

The format of an animation phase depends on who uses the phase set.

Each phase in the phase sets used by the frog (FrogTurnRound, FrogShortHop and FrogLongHop) looks like this:

animatoryState, xInc, directionChange

where:

• animatoryState is the ID of the animatory state
• xInc is the x-coordinate increment
• directionChange is the direction multiplier (-1 to change direction, 1 to not)

Each phase in the phase sets used by Eric (DescentMiddleWindow, DescentUpperWindow, ClimbSkoolGate and FlyOverSkoolGate) looks like this:

xInc, yInc, animatoryState

where:

• xInc is the x-coordinate increment
• yInc is the y-coordinate increment
• animatoryState is the ID of Eric’s animatory state

Each phase in the phase set used by the stream of water or sherry fired from a water pistol (Water) looks like this:

animatoryState, xInc, yInc, hit

where:

• animatoryState is the ID of the animatory state
• xInc is the x-coordinate increment
• yInc is the y-coordinate increment
• hit is 0 if the water cannot hit anything, 1 if it can hit a cup, or 2 if it can hit a plant or the ground in this phase

Each phase in the phase set used by a stinkbomb when dropped (Stinkbomb) looks like this:

animatoryState, direction

where:

• animatoryState is the ID of the animatory state
• direction is the direction (-1 for left, 1 for right)

[AssemblyMessages]¶

The AssemblyMessages section contains all the information required to build a message used by the headmaster during assembly.

There are two types of entry in this section. The first type of entry is the message template entry:

MESSAGE, assemblyMessageTemplate

which defines the template for an assembly message. The section can contain one or more message templates.

The second type of entry is the macro replacement entry:

MACRO, text

where MACRO is the name of a macro that appears in a message template (prefixed by $), and text is the text to which the macro should expand. Multiple macro replacement entries may be defined for any given macro. When an assembly message is created, the message template is chosen at random, and the macro replacements are chosen at random.

In the stock Pyskool ini files, there is only one assembly message template, which contains two macros ($VERB and $NOUN).

[Bike]¶

The Bike section contains a single line of the form:

bikeId, spriteGroupId, animatoryState, unchainXY, commandListId, topLeft, size, coords, moveDelay, pedalMomentum, maxMomentum

where:

• bikeId is the bike’s ID
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the bike
• animatoryState is the bike’s initial animatory state
• unchainXY is the bike’s initial coordinates (in (x, y) form) after being unchained
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the bike will use
• topLeft is the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the top left of the image of the base of the tree with no bike attached
• size is the size of the image (in (width, height) form)
• coords are the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the mutable image in the play area
• moveDelay is the delay between consecutive movements of the bike when wheeling along or being pedalled (the higher the number, the slower the bike will go)
• pedalMomentum is the momentum increment when the bike is pedalled
• maxMomentum is the maximum momentum the bike can have

The bike images can be found in mutables.png (or mutables_ink.png and mutables_paper.png if GraphicsMode is 1 - see [ScreenConfig]). mutables.png is arranged so that the image of the bike attached to the base of the tree is at (x + width, y), where (x, y) are the coordinates of the image of the base of the tree with no bike attached. These two images are the same size.

[BlackboardMessages ...]¶

The [BlackboardMessages ...] section names take the form:

BlackboardMessages characterId

where characterId is the unique ID of a character (see [Characters]).

Each BlackboardMessages section contains a list of messages (one per line) that may be written on a blackboard by the character whose ID is characterId.

There are two special characters used in blackboard messages: ^ and $. ^ represents the newline character (as defined by the Newline configuration parameter in the [MessageConfig] section). $ is used to prefix the unique ID of a character, as in:

i hate^$WACKER

where $WACKER will be replaced by whatever name has been given to the character whose unique ID is WACKER.

If no blackboard messages are defined for a particular character, that character will never write on a blackboard.

[Blackboards]¶

The Blackboards section defines the blackboards in the classrooms. Each line has the form:

roomId, topLeft, size, chalk

where:

• roomId is the classroom’s unique ID (see [Rooms])
• topLeft is the coordinates of the top-left of the blackboard
• size is the size (width, height) of the blackboard
• chalk is the chalk colour (as an RGB triplet) to use when writing on the blackboard

In the stock Pyskool ini files, chalk is set to (255, 255, 255) - bright white - which coincides with the transparent colour used in the skool ink image (see SkoolInkKey in the [ScreenConfig] section). This means that in graphics mode 1 (see GraphicsMode in the [ScreenConfig] section), anything written on the board will take on the background (paper) colour, which is how blackboards worked in the original games.

[CatapultPellets]¶

Each line in the CatapultPellets section has the form:

characterId, pelletId, spriteGroupId, commandListId, range, hitZone, hitXY

where:

• characterId is the unique ID of the catapult-wielding character
• pelletId is the unique ID of the catapult pellet
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the pellet
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the pellet will use
• range is the distance the pellet will fly after being launched
• hitZone is the size of the interval at the end of the pellet’s flight where it can knock a character over
• hitXY is the coordinates of the pellet within its sprite (used for collision detection)

Each character whose unique ID appears in this section will be fitted out with a catapult. In the stock Pyskool this will be Eric and the tearaway - the only characters with catapult-firing sprites.

[Chairs]¶

The Chairs section contains one line for each classroom in the skool. Each line has the form:

roomId, x1, x2, x3..., xN

where:

• roomId is the classroom’s unique ID (see [Rooms])
• x1, x2, x3 and so on are the x-coordinates of the chairs in the classroom

The order in which the x-coordinates are listed is significant: x1 should correspond to the ‘front seat’ and xN should correspond to the ‘back seat’. So if x1 < xN, characters will sit down facing left; if x1 > xN, characters will sit down facing right.

[Characters]¶

Each line in the Characters section has the form:

characterId, name[/title], spriteGroupId, animatoryState, direction, (x, y), headXY, flags

and corresponds to a single character, where:

• characterId is the character’s unique ID (which should be alphanumeric and is used to refer to the character in other parts of the ini file)
• name is the character’s name (as displayed in the game), and title (if supplied) is the name used by the swot to address the character
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the character
• animatoryState is the character’s initial animatory state
• direction is the character’s initial direction (-1 for left, 1 for right)
• (x, y) are the character’s initial coordinates
• headXY are the coordinates of the character’s head within his sprite when he’s standing upright (used for collision detection)
• flags is a string of flags defining the character’s abilities and vulnerabilities

Recognised flags and their meanings are:

• A - is an adult
• B - belongs in the boys’ skool
• C - can be knocked over by a conker (see also Z)
• D - can open doors and windows
• F - can be knocked out by a fist
• G - belongs in the girls’ skool
• K - holds the key to the safe
• L - can give lines
• M - is scared of mice
• N - can smell stinkbombs (and will open a nearby window if possible)
• P - can be knocked over by a catapult pellet
• R - can receive lines
• S - holds a safe combination letter
• T - can be tripped up by a stampeding kid (see TripPeopleUp)
• U - lines received by this character will be added to Eric’s total
• V - lines received by this character will be added to Eric’s score
• W - usually walks (unlike kids who sometimes run)
• X - holds a bike combination digit
• Y - holds a storeroom door combination letter
• Z - will be temporarily paralysed if struck by a falling conker (see also C)

[CommandList ...]¶

The [CommandList ...] section names take the form:

CommandList commandListId

where commandListId is a descriptive unique ID for the list of commands that follows. These unique IDs are used in the [Lesson ...] sections: for each type of lesson there is, every character is assigned a single command list to follow.

One example of a command list is:

[CommandList Walkabout1-Wacker]
GoTo, HeadsStudy:Window
GoToRandomLocation
Restart

This command list is used occasionally by the headmaster; it makes him repeatedly go to one of his random locations and then back to his study.

Each line in a command list contains the command name followed by a comma-separated list of arguments. See the command reference for more details on the commands that may be used to control a character.

[Conker]¶

The Conker section defines a conker (as knocked out of the tree by a catapult pellet). It contains a single line of the form:

objectId, spriteGroupId, commandListId, minX, maxX, minY, maxY, hitXY

where:

• objectId is a unique ID for the conker
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the conker
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the conker will use when knocked out of the tree
• minX, maxX, minY and maxY define the rectangle inside the tree that contains the conker; a pellet that hits a spot in that rectangle will cause a conker to fall
• hitXY is the coordinates of the conker within its sprite (used for collision detection)

[Cups]¶

The Cups section contains information about cups. Each line describes a single cup, and has the form:

cupId, emptyTopLeft, size, coords

where:

• cupId is the unique ID of the cup
• emptyTopLeft is the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the top left of the image of the cup when empty
• size is the size of the image (in (width, height) form)
• coords are the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the cup in the skool

The cup images can be found in mutables.png (or mutables_ink.png and mutables_paper.png if GraphicsMode is 1 - see [ScreenConfig]). mutables.png is arranged so that the image of a cup when it contains water is at (x + width, y), and the image of a cup when it contains sherry is at (x + 2 * width, y) (where (x, y) are the coordinates of the image of the cup when empty). The three images for any given cup are the same size.

[DeskLid]¶

The DeskLid section contains a single line of the form:

deskLidId, spriteGroupId, commandListId, xOffset

where:

• deskLidId is the unique ID of the desk lid
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the desk lid when raised
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the desk lid will use
• xOffset - the offset (relative to the desk being opened) at which the desk lid should be displayed

[Desks]¶

Each line in the Desks section has the form:

roomId, x1, x2...

where

• roomId is a classroom’s unique ID (see [Rooms])
• x1, x2 and so on are the x-coordinates of the desks in the classroom (which should be a subset of the x-coordinates of the chairs in the classroom - see [Chairs])

Any chair that is in a room and at an x-coordinate that appears in the Desks section will be fitted out with a desk lid that can be raised (see [DeskLid]).

[Doors]¶

The Doors section contains details of the doors in the game. Each line has the form:

doorId, x, bottomY, topY, initiallyShut, autoShutDelay, shutTopLeft, size, coords[, climb[, fly]]

where:

• doorId is the door’s unique ID
• x is the door’s x-coordinate
• bottomY and topY are the y-coordinates of the bottom and top of the door
• initiallyShut is Y if the door should be shut when the game starts
• autoShutDelay is the delay before the door swings shut automatically; if zero or negative, the door will not shut automatically
• shutTopLeft is the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the top left of the image of the door when shut
• size is the size of the image (in (width, height) form)
• coords are the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the door in the skool
• climb is the ID of the sequence of animation phases to use for Eric if he climbs over the door when it’s shut; if not defined, Eric will not be able to climb over the door
• fly is the ID of the sequence of animation phases to use for Eric if he flies over the door after hitting it while standing on the saddle of the bike; if not defined, Eric will not be able to fly over the door

The door images can be found in mutables.png (or mutables_ink.png and mutables_paper.png if GraphicsMode is 1 - see [ScreenConfig]). mutables.png is arranged so that the image of a door when open is at (x + width, y), where (x, y) are the coordinates of the image of the same door/window when shut. The open/shut images for any given door are the same size.

[Eric]¶

The Eric section describes our hero, Eric. It contains a single line in the format:

characterId, name, spriteGroupId, animatoryState, direction, (x, y), headXY, flags[, bendOverHandXY]

where:

• characterId is Eric’s unique ID (which should be alphanumeric)
• name is Eric’s name
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for Eric
• animatoryState is Eric’s initial animatory state
• direction is Eric’s initial direction (-1 for left, 1 for right)
• (x, y) are Eric’s initial coordinates
• headXY are the coordinates of Eric’s head within his sprite when he’s standing upright (used for collision detection)
• flags is a string of flags defining Eric’s abilities and vulnerabilities
• bendOverHandXY is the coordinates of Eric’s hand within his left-facing BENDING_OVER sprite (used to determine where a mouse or frog should be when caught or released)

For a description of the available flags, see [Characters].

[Font]¶

The Font section is used to determine the location and size of the font character bitmaps in the font.png graphic. Each line has the form:

"char", offset, width

where:

• char is the font character (e.g. f, @, !)
• offset is the font character’s distance in pixels from the left of the image
• width is its width in pixels

[Floors]¶

The Floors section contains details of the “floors” in the skool. A “floor” (note the quotes) is a region of the skool that cannot be reached from another region of the skool without navigating a staircase. For example, in Skool Daze, the region to the left of the Map Room wall is one floor, and the region to the right of the Map Room wall is another floor. You can’t get from one to other without going up or down a staircase (walking through walls is prohibited).

Each line in this section has the form:

floorId, minX, maxX, y

where:

• floorId is the floor’s unique ID
• minX and maxX are the x-coordinates of the left and right limits of the floor
• y is the y-coordinate of the floor (3 = top floor, 10 = middle floor, 17 = bottom floor)

The unique IDs are used in the [Routes] section.

[Frogs]¶

Each line in the Frogs section has the form:

frogId, spriteGroupId, animatoryState, (x, y), commandListId, turnRound, shortHop, longHop, sitXY, ericProximity

where:

• frogId is the unique ID of the frog
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the frog
• animatoryState is the frog’s initial animatory state
• (x, y) are the frog’s initial coordinates
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the frog will use
• turnRound is the ID of the sequence of animation phases to use when the frog turns round
• shortHop is the ID of the sequence of animation phases to use when the frog makes a short hop
• longHop is the ID of the sequence of animation phases to use when the frog makes a long hop
• sitXY is the coordinates of the frog within its sprite when it’s sitting (used for collision detection and placement in cups)
• ericProximity is the minimum distance from the frog that Eric can be before it will try to hop away

Any frog defined in this section will be catchable by ERIC, and show up in the on-screen inventory when caught.

[GameConfig]¶

The GameConfig section contains configuration parameters in the format:

parameterName, parameterValue

Recognised parameters are:

• AllShieldsScore - points awarded for hitting all the shields
• AssemblyHallId - ID of the assembly hall (as defined in the [Rooms] section); this is used to check whether Eric can sit or should be sitting on the floor
• AssemblySitDirection - the direction Eric should face when sitting down for assembly (-1 for left, 1 for right)
• BesideEricXRange - maximum horizontal distance from Eric at which a character can be to be considered beside him
• BikeCombinationScore - points awarded for writing the bike combination on a blackboard
• BikeSecrets - valid bike combination characters
• Cheat - 0 = disable cheat keys, 1 = enable cheat keys
• ConfirmClose - whether to show a confirmation screen when the window close button is pressed (1 = yes, 0 = no)
• ConfirmQuit - whether to show a confirmation screen when Escape is pressed to quit (1 = yes, 0 = no)
• ConkerClockTicks - the number of ticks by which the skool clock is rewound (that is, the number of ticks by which the current period is extended) when a character is paralysed by a falling conker
• ConkerWakeTime - the time (clock ticks remaining before the next bell ring) at which a character paralysed by a conker will remobilise
• DrinksCabinetDoorId - the ID of the drinks cabinet door (see [Doors]); this is used to detect whether Eric has jumped up to it (to get the sherry)
• EvadeMouseDelay - the delay before a character frightened by a mouse will either get off a chair or stop jumping
• ExpellerId - the ID of the character who is responsible for expelling Eric
• FireCatapultProbability - the probability that the tearaway will fire his catapult if conditions are suitable
• HitProbability - the probability that the bully will throw a punch if conditions are suitable
• Icon - the name of the icon file to use
• ImageSet - the name of the image set to use
• GameFps - the number of frames per second at which the game should attempt to run; raise it to increase the game speed, or lower it to decrease the game speed
• KissCounter - the initial value of the kiss counter for a character
• KissCounterDeckrement - the amount by which a character’s kiss counter is decreased after being knocked over
• KissCounterDecrement - the amount by which a character’s kiss counter is decreased after kissing Eric
• KissDistance - the exact distance in front of Eric a character must be in order to be kissable
• KissLines - the number of lines a kissee does for Eric on each kiss
• LinesGivingRange - the maximum horizontal and vertical distances a character must be away from a target character to be considered close enough to give or be given lines
• LinesRange - minimum and maximum number of lines (divided by 100) that may be given out in one go
• LocationMarker - prefix used in a destination ID to denote the location of a character
• MaxLines - the maximum number of lines Eric may accumulate before being expelled
• MaxMiceRelease - the maximum number of mice to release per attempt
• MinimumLinesDelay - the minimum delay between two non-immediate lines-givings by the same teacher
• MouseCatchScore - points awarded for catching a mouse
• MouseProximity - maximum distance at which a musophobe can detect a mouse (and so be scared by it)
• Name - the name of the game
• Playground - the x-coordinates of the left and right boundaries of the playground (used for checking whether Eric’s in the playground)
• PlayTuneOnRestart - 1 to play the theme tune after restarting the game for advancing a year; 0 otherwise
• QuickStart - 0 to scroll the skool into view and play the theme tune (as in the original games); 1 to skip this sequence
• RestartOnYearEnd - 1 if the game should restart after advancing a year (as in Back to Skool); 0 otherwise (as in Skool Daze)
• SafeKeyScore - points awarded when the safe key is obtained
• SafeOpenScore - points awarded for opening the safe with the correct combination
• SafeSecrets - valid safe combination characters
• SaveGameDir - the directory in which saved games will be stored
• SaveGameCompression - the compression level to use when saving a game (0 = no compression, 9 = maximum compression)
• ScreenshotDir - the directory in which screenshots are dumped
• SherryId - the ID to use for sherry fired from a water pistol; by default this is different from the value of WaterId so that sherry will not make plants grow
• SpriteSize - the width and height of a sprite (in tiles)
• StoreroomCombinationScore - points awarded for writing the storeroom combination on a blackboard
• StoreroomDoorId - the ID of the science lab storeroom door (see [Doors]); this is used to detect whether Eric can open a door with the storeroom key
• StoreroomSecrets - valid storeroom combination characters
• TooManyLinesCommandList - the ID of the command list Mr Wacker should use to expel Eric after he’s exceeded the lines limit
• UpAYearScore - points awarded for advancing a year
• Volume - the sound effects volume (0.0 = silent, 1.0 = maximum)
• WaterId - the ID to use for water fired from a water pistol; liquid with this ID will make plants grow (see SherryId)
• WindowProximity - maximum distance at which a window is considered nearby (i.e. worth opening if a stinkbomb is smelt)

[GrassMessages]¶

The GrassMessages section contains five lines of the form:

Writers, characterId[, characterId...]
WriteTale, <text>
Hitters, characterId[, characterId...]
HitTale, <text>
AbsentTale, <text>

The information in this section is used by the swot to determine who can be blamed for hitting him or writing on a blackboard, and what to say when telling tales.

The Writers line contains a comma-separated list of IDs of characters who can be blamed for writing on a blackboard. The WriteTale line contains the text of the blackboard-writing tale.

The Hitters line contains a comma-separated list of IDs of characters who can be blamed for hitting the swot. The HitTale line contains the text of the so-and-so-hit-me tale.

The AbsentTale line contains the text that will be spoken by the swot when he’s telling on Eric for being absent during class.

The text of a tale may contain any of the following macros:

• $TITLE - which will be replaced by the teacher’s title, as defined in the [Characters] section; to change this macro, set the TitleMacro configuration parameter in the [MessageConfig] section
• $1 - which will be replaced by the name of the hitter or writer chosen from the Hitters or Writers list; to change this macro, set the GrasseeMacro configuration parameter in the [MessageConfig] section
• $characterId (where characterId is the unique ID of any character) - which will be replaced by the name of that character

[Images]¶

Each line in the Images section has the form:

imageId, path

where

• imageId is the unique ID of an image
• path is the location of the corresponding image file on disk (relative to the images directory)

Recognised image IDs and the images they refer to are:

• FONT: the skool font
• INVENTORY: mouse, frog, water pistol etc.
• LESSON_BOX: the lesson box background
• LOGO: the logo
• MESSAGE_BOX: the message box used to display messages above a character’s head (lines messages, escape alarm messages, and safe, bike, and storeroom combination characters)
• MUTABLES: mutable objects (e.g. doors, windows, cups, shields, safe) - full colour
• MUTABLES_INK: mutable objects (e.g. doors, windows, cups, shields, safe) - ink colours only
• MUTABLES_PAPER: mutable objects (e.g. doors, windows, cups, shields, safe) - paper colours only
• SCOREBOX: the score/lines/hi-score box background
• SKOOL: the skool - full colour
• SKOOL_INK: the skool - ink colours only
• SKOOL_PAPER: the skool - paper colours only
• SPEECH_BUBBLE: speech bubble and lip
• SPRITES: the characters in various ‘animatory states’

[Inventory]¶

Each line in the Inventory section has the form:

itemId, topLeft, size

where:

• itemId is the unique ID of an item that can be collected
• topLeft is the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the top left of the image of the item in inventory.png
• size is the size of the image (in (width, height) form)

The item IDs recognised by Pyskool are as follows:

• FROG - a frog
• MOUSE - a mouse
• SAFE_KEY - the key to the head’s safe
• SHERRY_PISTOL - a water pistol (containing sherry)
• STINKBOMBS3 - three stinkbombs
• STINKBOMBS2 - two stinkbombs
• STINKBOMBS1 - one stinkbomb
• STOREROOM_KEY - the key to the science lab storeroom
• WATER_PISTOL - a water pistol (containing water)

The order in which the items appear in the Inventory section determines the order in which they will be printed in the on-screen inventory.

See also the [Mice] and [Frogs] sections (for details on those animals), and the InventoryPos and MouseInventoryPos configuration parameters in the [ScreenConfig] section.

[Lesson ...]¶

The [Lesson ...] section names take the form:

Lesson lessonId [*]characterId, roomId

if the lesson will take place with a teacher in a classroom or the dinner hall, or:

Lesson lessonId locationId

if the lesson is an unsupervised period, where:

• lessonId is the lesson ID as it appears in the [Timetable] section
• characterId is the character ID of the teacher taking Eric’s class (prefixed by ‘*’ if the teacher’s name should not be printed in the lesson box, as during DINNER)
• roomId is the ID of the room in which Eric’s class will take place
• locationId is one of PLAYTIME, REVISION LIBRARY, and ASSEMBLY

Each line in a [Lesson ...] section has the form:

characterId, commandListId

where

• characterId is the unique ID of a character (see [Characters])
• commandListId is the ID of the command list that will control the character’s movements during the lesson

A command list is a sequence of commands - such as GoTo or FindSeat - that make a character appear intelligent (kind of). See [CommandList ...] for more details.

In any [Lesson ...] section there should be one line for each character defined in the [Characters] section.

[LessonConfig]¶

The LessonConfig section contains configuration parameters in the format:

parameterName, parameterValue

Recognised parameters are:

• BlackboardBacktrack - the distance a teacher walks back after wiping a blackboard
• BlackboardPaceDistance - the distance a teacher should pace up and down in front of the blackboard during a lesson without a question-and-answer session
• EricsTeacherWriteOnBoardProbability - the probability that a teacher will write on the blackboard during a lesson with Eric and the swot
• GrassForHittingProbability - the probability that the swot will grass on someone for hitting him
• LinesForTalesProbability - the probability that the teacher will give the swot lines for telling tales
• QASessionProbability - the probability that the teacher will start a question-and-answer session with the swot
• WriteOnBoardProbability - the probability that a teacher will write on the blackboard during a lesson without Eric and the swot

[LessonMessages]¶

The LessonMessages section contains a list of messages that will be used by teachers who are not teaching Eric, or teachers who are teaching Eric but have chosen not to do a question-and-answer session. Each line in the section takes the form:

characterId|*, lessonMessage[, condition]

where:

• characterId is the unique ID of a teacher
• lessonMessage is the message to add to that teacher’s repertoire
• condition is a condition identifier that must evaluate to true before the message can be used

If * is used instead of a specific character ID, the message will be placed in every teacher’s repertoire.

A lesson message may contain a character sequence $(N, M) (where N and M are numbers); if so, it will be replaced by a random number between N and M.

The only recognised condition identifier is:

• BoardDirty

(as defined by the BoardDirtyConditionId parameter in the [MessageConfig] section) which, if specified, means the message will be used only if the blackboard (if there is one) has been written on. Any other condition identifier will evaluate to true.

[LinesMessages]¶

The LinesMessages section contains a list of admonitions delivered by lines-givers when Eric has been spotted doing something he shouldn’t. Each line in this section has the form:

characterId|*, linesMessageId, linesMessage

where

• characterId is the unique ID of the lines-giving character
• linesMessageId is the unique ID of the following message
• linesMessage is the admonition itself

If * is used instead of a character ID, the lines message will be used by all lines-givers (unless they have been explicitly assigned a lines message with the same lines message ID). For example:

WITHIT, NO_HITTING, BE GENTLE^NOW
*, NO_HITTING, DON'T HIT^YOUR MATES

would make Mr Withit scream “BE GENTLE NOW” whenever he sees Eric throwing a punch, whereas every other teacher would scream “DON’T HIT YOUR MATES” instead.

A lines message always spans two lines on-screen. A caret (^) is used by default to indicate where the words should be wrapped; to change this, set the Newline configuration parameter in the [MessageConfig] section.

The recognised lines message IDs are:

• BACK_TO_SKOOL - Eric should be back in the boys’ skool by now
• BE_PUNCTUAL - Eric was late for class
• COME_ALONG_1 - the truant Eric is being guided to the classroom
• COME_ALONG_2 - the truant Eric is still being guided to the classroom
• COME_ALONG_3 - the truant Eric still hasn’t made it to the classroom
• GET_ALONG - Eric is not in class when he should be
• GET_OFF_PLANT - Eric is standing on a plant
• GET_OUT - Eric is somewhere that only staff are allowed to be
• GET_UP - Eric is sitting on the floor
• NEVER_AGAIN - a teacher thinks Eric knocked him down
• NO_BIKES - Eric is riding a bike inside the skool
• NO_CATAPULTS - Eric is firing a catapult
• NO_HITTING - Eric is throwing a punch
• NO_JUMPING - Eric is jumping
• NO_SITTING_ON_STAIRS - Eric is sitting on the stairs
• NO_STINKBOMBS - Eric has dropped a stinkbomb
• NO_TALES - the swot gets his just deserts
• NO_WATERPISTOLS - Eric is firing a water pistol
• NO_WRITING - Eric is writing on a blackboard
• SIT_DOWN - Eric is standing up in class
• SIT_FACING_STAGE - Eric is not facing the headmaster during assembly
• STAY_IN_CLASS - Eric popped out of class and then returned

The lines message IDs are used internally, and should not be changed. If a particular lines message ID is missing from the list, then lines will not be given for the infraction it refers to. So if there were no entry in the LinesMessages section with the lines message ID NO_HITTING, no lines would ever be dished out for hitting.

[MessageConfig]¶

The MessageConfig section contains messages and message-related configuration parameters that apply skool-wide. Each line in this section has the form:

parameterName, parameterValue

Recognised parameters are:

• BoardDirtyConditionId - the ID of the condition used to indicate that a blackboard is dirty; this identifier may be used in the [LessonMessages] section
• GrasseeMacro - the macro that expands to a grassee’s name in the swot’s speech
• HiScoreLabel - the label for the hi-score in the score box
• LinesMessageTemplate - the template used for lines messages
• LinesRecipientMacro - the macro that will be replaced in LinesMessageTemplate (see above) by the lines recipient’s name
• LinesTotalLabel - the label for the lines total in the score box
• Newline - the character that will be replaced by a newline character in messages written on a blackboard, in a lines bubble, or in the lesson box
• NumberOfLinesMacro - the macro that will be replaced in LinesMessageTemplate (see above) by the number of lines being given
• ScoreLabel - the label for the score in the score box
• TitleMacro - the macro that expands to a teacher’s title in the swot’s speech
• UpAYearMessage - the message printed in the lesson box when Eric has completed the game and advanced a year

[Mice]¶

Each line in the Mice section has the form:

mouseId, spriteGroupId, animatoryState, (x, y), commandListId, spriteXY

where:

• mouseId is the unique ID of the mouse
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the mouse
• animatoryState is the mouse’s initial animatory state
• (x, y) are the mouse’s initial coordinates
• commandListId is the ID of the command list that the mouse will use
• spriteXY is the coordinates of the mouse within its sprite (used for detecting whether Eric has caught it)

Any mouse defined in this section will be catchable by ERIC, and show up in the on-screen mouse inventory when caught.

[MouseLocations]¶

The MouseLocations section defines the locations at which a new immortal mouse may appear after Eric catches one. Each line has the form:

x, y

where (x, y) are the coordinates of the location.

[NoGoZones]¶

Each line in the NoGoZones section corresponds to a region of the skool Eric is never supposed to enter. The lines take the form:

zoneId, minX, maxX, bottomY, topY

where:

• zoneId is a descriptive ID for the zone (not used anywhere else)
• minX is the lower x-coordinate of the zone
• maxX is the upper x-coordinate of the zone
• bottomY is the y-coordinate of the bottom of the zone
• topY is the y-coordinate of the top of the zone

Whenever Eric is spotted in one of these zones by a teacher, the GET_OUT lines message will be delivered in screeching tones.

[Plants]¶

The Plants section contains information about plants. Each line describes a single plant, and has the form:

plantId, spriteGroupId, x, y, commandListId

where:

• plantId is the unique ID of the plant
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the plant
• x and y are the coordinates of the plant (when it is growing or has grown)
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the plant will use when watered

[QuestionsAndAnswers ...]¶

The [QuestionsAndAnswers ...] section names take the form:

QuestionsAndAnswers characterId

where characterId is the unique ID of a teacher (see [Characters]).

There are at least three types of entry in a [QuestionsAndAnswers ...] section. The first type of entry is the Question entry:

Question, questionId, groupId, questionTemplate

where:

• questionId is a unique (within the section) ID for the question
• groupId is the ID of the group of Q&A pairs (see below) the question is associated with
• questionTemplate is the question template

There should be at least one Question entry in a [QuestionsAndAnswers ...] section.

The second type of entry is the Answer entry:

Answer, questionId, answerTemplate

where:

• questionId is the ID of the question to which this is the answer
• answerTemplate is the answer template

There should be one Answer entry for each Question entry in a [QuestionsAndAnswers ...] section.

The third type of entry in this section is the Q&A pair entry:

groupId, word1, word2

where

• groupId is the ID of the group of Q&A pairs to which this particular pair belongs; the ID should be something other than Question, Answer, SpecialGroup, SpecialQuestion or SpecialAnswer, which are reserved words in a [QuestionsAndAnswers ...] section
• word1 and word2 are the words that will replace the macros in questionTemplate and answerTemplate

There should be at least one Q&A pair defined per [QuestionsAndAnswers ...] section (and ideally many more than one, to prevent the question-and-answer sessions between teachers and the swot from being rather monotonous).

The optional fourth type of entry in a [QuestionsAndAnswers ...] section consists of three lines:

SpecialQuestion, question
SpecialAnswer, answer
SpecialGroup, groupId, qaPairIndex

and is used to define the “special” question Eric will need the answer to in order to obtain the relevant teacher’s safe combination letter. The SpecialQuestion keyword is followed by the text of the special question (which will be posed by the teacher at the start of the lesson). The SpecialAnswer keyword is followed by the text of the swot’s answer to the special question (which will contain a macro to be expanded). The SpecialGroup keyword is followed by groupId (which specifies the ID of the group of Q&A Pairs from which the “magic word” will be taken), and qaPairIndex (which is 0 or 1, and refers to the element of the Q&A pair that will be the magic word). Once Eric has figured out what the magic word is, he will need to write it on a blackboard and hope that the teacher sees it, whereupon the teacher will reveal his safe combination letter.

If the SpecialQuestion, SpecialAnswer and SpecialGroup lines are not present, there will be no magic word associated with the teacher. In that case, simply knocking the teacher over with a catapult pellet will make him reveal his safe combination letter.

[RandomLocations]¶

The RandomLocations section contains lists of suitable locations for the characters to visit when they go on walkabouts (e.g. during playtime). Each line has the form:

characterId, (x1, y1), (x2, y2)...

where:

• characterId is the character’s unique ID (see [Characters])
• (x1, y1) and so on are the coordinates of locations in the skool

There must be at least one pair of coordinates per line, and there should be one line for each character defined in the [Characters] section.

[Rooms]¶

The Rooms section contains one line for each room or region in the skool that Eric will be expected to show up at when the timetable requires it. Each line has the form:

roomId, name, topLeft, bottomRight, getAlong

where:

• roomId is the room’s unique ID
• name is the room’s name (as displayed in the lesson box at the bottom of the screen)
• topLeft is the coordinates of the top-left corner of the room
• bottomRight is the coordinates of the bottom-right corner of the room
• getAlong is Y if Eric should get lines for being in the room when the timetable does not require his presence

[Routes]¶

The Routes section is one of the most important sections in the ini file. It defines the routes (a route may be considered as a list of staircases) that the characters must take to get from where they are to wherever they are going. Any errors here will result in the characters wandering aimlessly around the skool, unable to find classrooms, the playground, or the toilets. Disaster!

Anyway, each line in this section has the form:

homeFloorId, *|destFloorId[, destFloorId[, ...]], nextStaircaseId

where:

• homeFloorId is the unique ID of one floor (see [Floors]) - the ‘home’ floor
• destFloorId is the unique ID of another floor (see [Floors]) - the destination floor
• nextStaircaseId is the unique ID of the staircase (see [Staircases]) that must be climbed or descended first on a journey from the home floor to the destination floor

How this works is best illustrated by example. Let’s look at the routes defined for the bottom floor in Back to Skool to everywhere else in the skool:

Bottom, LeftMiddle, LeftTop, UpToToilets
Bottom, GirlsMiddle, GirlsTop, GirlsSkoolLower
Bottom, *, UpToStage

The first line says that to get from the bottom floor (Bottom) to the floors called LeftMiddle and LeftTop (see [Floors]), the first staircase you need to navigate is UpToToilets (see [Staircases]). The second line says that to get from the bottom floor to the middle floor (GirlsMiddle) or top floor (GirlsTop) in the girls’ skool, you need to use the GirlsSkoolLower staircase first. The third line says that to get anywhere else (*) from the bottom floor, you need to take the stairs up to the stage (UpToStage).

[Safe]¶

The Safe section contains a single line of the form:

topLeft, size, coords

where:

• topLeft is the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the top left of the normal image of the safe
• size is the size of the image (in (width, height) form)
• coords are the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the safe in the play area

The safe images can be found in mutables.png (or mutables_ink.png and mutables_paper.png if GraphicsMode is 1 - see [ScreenConfig]). mutables.png is arranged so that the inverse image of the safe is at (x + width, y), where (x, y) are the coordinates of the normal image of the safe.

If the safe will never need to flash (as in Back to Skool), topLeft and size will not be used, and so may be set to any value.

[ScreenConfig]¶

The ScreenConfig section contains parameters that determine the appearance and layout of the screen. Each line has the form:

parameterName, parameterValue

Recognised parameters are:

• Background - the background colour of the screen
• EscapeAlarmInk - the ink colour to use for the escape alarm message box used by Albert
• EscapeAlarmPaper - the paper colour to use for the escape alarm message box used by Albert
• FlashCycle - length of the cycle in which a flashable object (such as a shield) flashes once
• FontInk - the ink colour in font.png (used to create transparency)
• FontPaper - the paper colour in font.png (used to create transparency)
• GraphicsMode - 0 = hi-res colour; 1 = spectrum mode, meaning just two colours (ink and paper) per 8x8-pixel block
• Height - the height of the screen (in tiles)
• HiScoreOffset - the y-coordinate offset used to position the printing of the hi-score
• InitialColumn - the x-coordinate of the leftmost column of the screen when the game starts
• InventoryKey - pixels of this colour in inventory item and captured mouse images will be made transparent when the items are drawn
• InventoryPos - the x, y coordinates of the inventory on screen
• InventorySize - the size of the inventory (width and height in tiles)
• LessonBoxInk - the ink colour to use when writing in the lesson box
• LessonBoxPos - the x, y coordinates of the lesson box on screen
• LinesInk - the ink colour used in a lines message box
• LinesOffset - the y-coordinate offset used to position the printing of the lines total
• LinesPaperEric - the paper colour used in a lines message box when Eric is the recipient
• LinesPaperOther - the paper colour used in a lines message box when Eric is not the recipient
• LogoPos - the x, y coordinates of the logo on screen
• MessageBoxColour - the colour of the ‘inside’ of the message box in the MESSAGE_BOX image (see [Images]); pixels of this colour in the image will take on the designated paper colour (e.g. LinesPaperEric) when the message box is drawn
• MessageBoxKey - pixels of this colour in the message box image will be made transparent when the message box is drawn; in the stock Pyskool, this feature is not used
• MouseInventoryInk - the ink colour to use when writing in the mouse inventory
• MouseInventoryPos - the x, y coordinates of the mouse inventory on screen
• MouseInventorySize - the size of the mouse inventory (width and height in tiles)
• Scale - the scale factor to use for graphics; 1 = original Spectrum size
• ScoreBoxInk - the ink colour to use when writing in the score box
• ScoreBoxPos - the x, y coordinates of the score box on screen
• ScoreOffset - the y-coordinate offset used to position the printing of the score
• ScrollFps - the number of frames per second at which the screen should be scrolled (when the game starts and during play); raise it to make the screen scroll faster, or lower it to scroll more slowly
• ScrollColumns - the number of columns to scroll when Eric approaches the left or right edge of the screen
• ScrollLeftOffset - how close Eric can get to the right edge of the screen before it scrolls left
• ScrollRightOffset - how close Eric can get to the left edge of the screen before it scrolls right
• SecretInk - the ink colour of the message box used to display a safe, bike or storeroom combination character
• SecretPaper - the paper colour of the message box used to display a safe, bike or storeroom combination character
• SkoolInkKey - the transparent colour used in the skool ink image
• SpeechBubbleInk - the ink colour to use when drawing text in a speech bubble
• SpeechBubbleKey - the transparent colour used in the speech bubble image (bubble.png)
• SpeechBubbleInset - the inset (in pixels at scale 1) of the text window from the top-left of a speech bubble
• SpeechBubbleLipCoords - the coordinates of the lip within the speech bubble image (bubble.png)
• SpeechBubbleLipSize - the size of the speech bubble lip (width and height in tiles)
• SpeechBubbleSize - the size of the bounding rectangle of a speech bubble, including the lip (width and height in tiles)
• SpriteKey - the transparent colour used in the sprite matrix image
• SpriteMatrixWidth - the number of sprites in a row of the sprite matrix image
• Width - the width of the screen (in tiles)

[SherryDrop]¶

The SherryDrop section defines a drop of sherry (as knocked out of a cup by a catapult pellet). It contains a single line of the form:

objectId, spriteGroupId, commandListId, hitXY

where:

• objectId is a unique ID for the drop of sherry
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the drop of sherry
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the drop of sherry will use when knocked out of a cup
• hitXY is the coordinates of the sherry drop within its sprite (used for collision detection)

[Shields]¶

The Shields section contains information about shields. Each line describes a single shield, and has the form:

score, topLeft, size, coords

where:

• score is the number of points awarded for making the shield flash or unflash
• topLeft is the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the top left of the normal image of the shield
• size is the size of the image (in (width, height) form)
• coords are the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the shield in the play area

The shield images can be found in mutables.png (or mutables_ink.png and mutables_paper.png if GraphicsMode is 1 - see [ScreenConfig]). mutables.png is arranged so that the inverse image of a shield is at (x + width, y), where (x, y) are the coordinates of the normal image of the shield.

[SitDownMessages]¶

The SitDownMessages section contains one or more lines for each teacher of the form:

characterId, sitDownMessage

where

• characterId is the teacher’s unique ID (see [Characters])
• sitDownMessage is what the teacher may say while standing at the classroom doorway at the start of a lesson

If multiple sit-down messages are defined for a teacher, he will choose one at random when the time comes. If no sit-down messages are defined for a teacher, he will say nothing at the classroom doorway.

[SkoolLocations]¶

The SkoolLocations section contains a list of descriptive IDs for commonly used locations in the skool. These descriptive IDs are used by the GoTo command in the command lists that control the characters. Each line in this section has the form:

locationId, x, y

where

• locationId is the descriptive ID
• x and y are the coordinates of the location

An example of a location ID is BlueRoomDoorway, which means exactly what you think it means.

[Sounds]¶

Each line in the Sounds section has the form:

soundId, path

where

• soundId is the unique ID of a sound effect
• path is the location of the sound file on disk (relative to the sounds directory)

path may be the full name of the sound file (e.g. tune.wav), or just the base name (e.g. tune); in the latter case, Pyskool will look for a file with the base name and a .wav or .ogg suffix.

Recognised IDs and the sound effects they refer to are:

• ALARM: Albert is telling Mr Wacker that Eric is escaping
• ALL_SHIELDS: Eric has hit all the shields
• BELL: the bell
• BIKE: Eric has written the bike combination on a blackboard
• CATAPULT: Eric has fired his catapult
• CONKER: Eric has knocked out Albert with a conker
• DESK: Eric has found the water pistol or stinkbombs in a desk
• FROG: Eric has caught the frog or placed it in a cup
• HIT0, HIT1: Eric has thrown a punch
• JUMP: Eric has jumped into the air
• KISS: Eric has kissed someone
• KNOCKED_OUT: Eric has been knocked over or out of his chair
• LINES1: lines screech 1
• LINES2: lines screech 2
• MOUSE: Eric has caught a mouse
• OPEN_SAFE: Eric has opened the safe (by getting the combination)
• SAFE_KEY: Eric has got the safe key
• SHERRY: Eric has filled the water pistol with sherry
• SHIELD: Eric has hit a shield
• STOREROOM_KEY: Eric has written the storeroom combination on a blackboard
• TUNE: opening tune
• UP_A_YEAR: Eric has gone up a year
• WALK0, WALK1, WALK2, WALK3: Eric walking
• WATER_PISTOL: Eric has fired his water pistol

If an entry for a given sound effect is not present in the Sounds section, then that sound effect will never play. For example, if there is no CATAPULT entry, then Eric’s firings of that weapon will be completely silent.

[SpecialPlaytimes]¶

The SpecialPlaytimes section contains a list of lesson IDs that refer to playtimes which will be considered “special”. A special playtime does not appear in the timetable proper (though you could insert it), but with a given probability (defined by the SpecialPlaytimeProbability parameter in the [TimetableConfig] section) a special playtime chosen at random is substituted for an actual playtime from the main timetable. In Skool Daze the SpecialPlaytimes section looks like this:

Playtime-Mumps
Playtime-SwotGrass
Playtime-HiddenPeaShooter

Thus, occasionally in Skool Daze mode a playtime will be one of those where you have to steer clear of the pestilential bully, prevent the swot from reaching the head’s study, or fix the race to the fire escape between the tearaway and the headmaster.

[SpriteGroup ...]¶

The [SpriteGroup ...] section names take the form:

SpriteGroup spriteGroupId

where spriteGroupId is a unique ID for a group of sprites in sprites.png (see Graphics) - such as BOY for the little boys, or TEARAWAY for the tearaway. The unique ID can be anything you like; it is used only in the [Characters] section later on to link a character to a specific group of sprites.

Each line in a SpriteGroup section represents a single sprite from sprites.png and has the form:

spriteId, index

where

• spriteId is the descriptive ID for the sprite (unique within the section)
• index is the index of the sprite as it appears in sprites.png

Recognised sprite IDs and their meanings are:

• ARM_UP: arm up (as if writing or opening door) - Eric, the tearaway, the Heroine and teachers
• BENDING_OVER: bending over - Eric
• BIKE_ON_FLOOR: bike resting on the floor
• BIKE_UPRIGHT: bike upright
• CATAPULT0: firing catapult (1) - Eric and the tearaway
• CATAPULT1: firing catapult (2) - Eric and the tearaway
• CONKER: conker
• DESK_EMPTY: desk lid (empty desk)
• DESK_STINKBOMBS: desk lid (with stinkbombs)
• DESK_WATER_PISTOL: desk lid (with water pistol)
• FLY: catapult pellet in flight
• HITTING0: hitting (1) - Eric and the bully
• HITTING1: hitting (2) - Eric and the bully
• HOP1: frog hopping (phase 1)
• HOP2: frog hopping (phase 2)
• KISSING_ERIC: kissing Eric - the Heroine
• KNOCKED_OUT: lying flat on back - kids
• KNOCKED_OVER: sitting on floor holding head - adults
• PLANT_GROWING: plant (half-grown)
• PLANT_GROWN: plant (fully grown)
• RIDING_BIKE0: riding bike (1) - Eric
• RIDING_BIKE1: riding bike (2) - Eric
• RUN: mouse
• SHERRY_DROP: drop of sherry (knocked from a cup)
• SIT: frog sitting
• SITTING_ON_CHAIR: sitting on a chair - kids
• SITTING_ON_FLOOR: sitting on the floor - kids
• STINKBOMB: stinkbomb cloud
• WALK0: standing/walking (1) - all characters
• WALK1: midstride (1) - all characters
• WALK2: standing/walking (2) - all characters
• WALK3: midstride (2) - all characters
• WATER_DROP: drop of water (knocked from a cup)
• WATER0: water fired from a pistol (phase 1)
• WATER1: water fired from a pistol (phase 2)
• WATER2: water fired from a pistol (phase 3)
• WATER3: water fired from a pistol (phase 4)
• WATER4: water fired from a pistol (phase 5)
• WATERPISTOL: shooting water pistol - Eric

[Staircases]¶

The Staircases section contains details of the staircases in the skool. Each line has the form:

staircaseId[:alias], bottom, top[, force]

where:

• staircaseId is the staircase’s unique ID
• alias is an optional alias for the staircase (also unique)
• bottom and top are the coordinates of the bottom and top of the staircase (in (x, y) form)
• force, if present, indicates that the staircase must be climbed or descended by Eric if he moves to a location between the bottom and the top

In the stock Pyskool, force is used for the staircase in Back to Skool that leads down to the assembly hall stage; it’s the only staircase in the game that you must go up or down if you approach it.

An example of a line from the Staircases section is:

UpToStudy:DownFromStudy, (91, 10), (84, 3)

which defines the staircase that leads up to the head’s study in Back to Skool. This staircase’s unique ID is UpToStudy, but it can also be referred to as DownFromStudy. These unique IDs and aliases are used in the [Routes] section.

[Stinkbombs]¶

Each line in the Stinkbombs section has the form:

characterId, stinkbombId, spriteGroupId, commandListId, animationPhases, stinkRange

where:

• characterId is the unique ID of the character to give stinkbomb-dropping ability to
• stinkbombId is the unique ID of the stinkbomb
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the stinkbomb when dropped
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the stinkbomb will use when dropped
• animationPhases is the ID of the sequence of animation phases that the stinkbomb cloud will use
• stinkRange - the maximum distance at which the stinkbomb can be smelt

Each character whose unique ID appears in this section will be given the ability to drop a stinkbomb. In the stock Pyskool this will be Eric.

[Timetable]¶

The Timetable section contains an ordered list of lesson IDs. Lessons happen starting with the first in the list, and proceed one by one to the end of the list. When the last lesson in the list is finished, the game loops back round to the first lesson in the list.

An example of a lesson ID is Creak-BlueRoom-1, which refers to the first of a set of lessons in which Eric and the swot are taught by Mr Creak in the Blue Room. The lesson ID could be anything, but it’s helpful to make it descriptive.

A lesson can be thought of as a set of entries from the personal timetables of the characters. These sets of entries can be found in the [Lesson ...] sections.

[TimetableConfig]¶

The TimetableConfig section contains configuration parameters in the format:

parameterName, parameterValue

Recognised parameters are:

• AssemblyPrefix - what a lesson ID must start with to be regarded as Assembly
• GetAlongTime - maximum time allowed to leave a classroom or the playground after the bell rings
• LessonLength - the length of a lesson period in frames (see GameFps)
• LessonStartTime - when a lesson starts (i.e. teacher will tell kids to sit down) in frames (see GameFps) from the start of the period
• PlaytimePrefix - what a lesson ID must start with to be regarded as Playtime
• SpecialPlaytimeProbability - the probability that a playtime in the main timetable will be replaced by a special playtime

[TimingConfig]¶

The TimingConfig section contains configuration parameters in the format:

parameterName, parameterValue

Recognised parameters are:

• BendOverDelay - the delay (in frames) before Eric stands upright after bending over (as when releasing mice)
• DethronedDelay - the delay before a character rises after being pushed out of a seat
• EricWalkDelay - the number of frames between successive movements of Eric when he’s walking
• JumpDelay - the delay (in frames) before Eric returns to the floor after jumping
• KnockedOverDelay - the delay before a knocked over teacher rises
• KnockoutDelay - the delay before a knocked out kid rises
• GoFast - the number of frames between successive movements of a character who is moving quickly; this parameter is used when a character is running or speaking
• GoFaster - the number of frames between successive movements of a character who is moving even quicker; this parameter is used when a character is throwing a punch or firing a catapult
• GoSlow - the number of frames between consecutive movements of a character who is moving slowly; this parameter is used when a character is walking at a normal pace
• ReprimandDelay - the delay before a knocked over teacher gives lines to someone for knocking him over
• SpeedChangeDelayRange - the minimum and maximum values of the delay between a character’s walking speed changes (used by kids, who walk half the time and run the other half)
• TellEricDelay - the length of time a character will wait for Eric to respond to a message before repeating it

[Walls]¶

The Walls section contains details of the impenetrable barriers in the skool. Each line has the form:

wallId, x, bottomY, topY

where:

• wallId is the wall’s unique ID
• x is the wall’s x-coordinate
• bottomY and topY are the y-coordinates of the bottom and top of the wall

For example:

FarLeftWall, 0, 20, 0

defines the wall at the far left (x=0) of the skool, which stretches from the bottom floor (y=20) to the ceiling of the top floor (y=0).

[Water]¶

Each line in the Water section has the form:

characterId, waterId, spriteGroupId, commandListId, animationPhases

where:

• characterId is the unique ID of the character to give water pistol-firing ability to
• waterId is the unique ID for the water sprite
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the water fired from the pistol
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the water will use when fired from the pistol
• animationPhases is the ID of the sequence of animation phases that the water will use after being fired from the water pistol

Each character whose unique ID appears in this section will be given the ability to fire a water pistol. In the stock Pyskool this will be Eric alone; he is the only character with a water pistol-firing sprite.

[WaterDrop]¶

The WaterDrop section defines a drop of water (as knocked out of a cup by a catapult pellet). It contains a single line of the form:

objectId, spriteGroupId, commandListId, hitXY

where:

• objectId is a unique ID for the drop of water
• spriteGroupId is the ID of the sprite group to use for the drop of water
• commandListId is the unique ID of the command list that the drop of water will use when knocked out of a cup
• hitXY is the coordinates of the water drop within its sprite (used for collision detection)

[Windows]¶

The Windows section contains details of the windows in the game. Each line has the form:

windowId, x, bottomY, topY, initiallyShut, openerCoords, shutTopLeft, size, coords, descentPhases[, notABird]

where:

• windowId is the window’s unique ID
• x is the window’s x-coordinate
• bottomY and topY are the y-coordinates of the bottom and top of the window
• initiallyShut is Y if the window should be shut when the game starts
• openerCoords are the coordinates (in (x, y) form) at which a character should stand in order to open the window
• shutTopLeft is the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the top left of the image of the window when shut
• size is the size of the image (in (width, height) form)
• coords are the coordinates (in (x, y) form) of the window in the skool
• descentPhases is the ID of the sequence of animation phases to use for Eric if he jumps out of the window
• notABird is the ID of the command list Mr Wacker should switch to when Eric hits the ground after falling out of the window; if defined, Eric will be paralysed when he hits the ground

The window images can be found in mutables.png (or mutables_ink.png and mutables_paper.png if GraphicsMode is 1 - see [ScreenConfig]). mutables.png is arranged so that the image of a window when open is at (x + width, y), where (x, y) are the coordinates of the image of the same window when shut. The open/shut images for any given window are the same size.

AddLines¶

The AddLines command is used to add to Eric’s lines total after he has been found guilty of misdeeds. The number of lines to be added to the total is specified by the command’s sole argument.

Catch¶

The Catch command is used internally to control Eric while he’s trying to catch a mouse or frog. It makes Eric bend over, checks to see whether an animal is present (and if it is, adds it to the appropriate inventory), and then makes Eric stand up.

ChaseEricOut¶

The ChaseEricOut command controls Miss Take as she chases Eric, with the intent of making him leave the girls’ skool and return to the boys’. It is very similar to the ShadowEric command, except that it makes the headmistress go no further than the skool gate (the x-coordinate of which is supplied as the command’s sole argument).

CheckIfTouchingEric¶

The CheckIfTouchingEric command is used by the bully when he has mumps. It checks whether the bully is touching Eric, and if he is, raises the signal that is being watched by whoever is on mumps duty (Mr Rockitt by default).

ConductAssembly¶

The ConductAssembly command makes the headmaster tell the kids they’re in detention.

ConductClass¶

The ConductClass command is used by teachers to make them conduct lessons. The command controls a teacher from the point where he reaches the edge of the blackboard. If the teacher is teaching Eric, it makes the teacher wait until the swot shows up, and then hands over control to the ConductClassWithEric command. Otherwise it immediately hands over control to the ConductClassWithoutEric command.

The command takes two optional arguments:

• the name of the signal that indicates that the swot is ready
• the name of the group of questions and answers to use for the lesson (see [QuestionsAndAnswers ...]); if not specified, the questions and answers will be chosen at random

ConductClassWithEric¶

The ConductClassWithEric command is used internally to control a teacher who is teaching Eric and the swot. It takes over control from the ConductClass command as soon as the swot shows up and sits down. It’s responsible for making the teacher:

• listen to the swot’s tales (if any)
• dish out lines after the swot has told tales
• wipe the blackboard
• walk to the middle of the blackboard
• write on the blackboard (occasionally)
• tell the kids what to do during class, or ask questions and wait for the answers
• hunt down Eric if he’s playing truant

The command takes a single, optional argument: the name of the group of questions and answers to use for the lesson (see [QuestionsAndAnswers ...]); if not specified, the questions and answers will be chosen at random.

ConductClassWithoutEric¶

The ConductClassWithoutEric command is used internally to control a teacher who is teaching a class that does not contain Eric and the swot. It takes over control from the ConductClass command immediately. It controls a teacher from the point where he reaches the edge of the blackboard and is responsible for making him:

• wipe the blackboard
• walk to the middle of the blackboard
• write on the blackboard (occasionally)
• tell the kids what to do during class

DoAssemblyDuty¶

The DoAssemblyDuty command is used to control Mr Withit as he does assembly duty. It makes Mr Withit do nothing (i.e. stand still) unless Eric is absent from the assembly hall, in which case it hands over control to the FetchEric command; when that command exits, the command list is restarted. The DoAssemblyDuty command itself exits when assembly is over (i.e. Mr Wacker has finished speaking).

The command takes two arguments that inform Mr Withit when to start and when to stop assembly duty:

• the signal that indicates when assembly has started
• the signal that indicates when assembly has finished

These signals are raised by Mr Wacker.

DropStinkbomb¶

The DropStinkbomb command is used internally to make a stinkbomb-carrying character (i.e. Eric) drop a stinkbomb.

DumpWaterPistol¶

The DumpWaterPistol command is used internally to make Eric throw away the water pistol. The water pistol will be relocated in a random desk, and will contain water (as opposed to sherry).

EndGame¶

The EndGame command is used to end the game (when Eric has exceeded the lines limit, for example).

EvadeMouse¶

The EvadeMouse command is used internally to control a character who is scared of mice and has spotted one nearby. It makes the character either jump up and down or stand on a chair.

Fall¶

The Fall command is used to control the descent of a drop of water or sherry from a cup, or the descent of a conker from a tree. Until the object has been knocked out of its resting place, the command does nothing. Otherwise, it guides the object to the floor, and interacts appropriately with any character it hits. After the object has hit somebody or the floor, it is hidden from view.

FallToFloor¶

The FallToFloor command is used internally to control Eric’s descent to the floor. It is invoked in the following situations:

• by the RideBike command when Eric falls off a bike that has lost momentum
• when Eric falls off a fully grown plant that has just died

FetchEric¶

The FetchEric command is used internally by the ConductClassWithEric command to make a teacher track down the truant Eric and shepherd him back to the classroom.

FindEric¶

The FindEric command is used to make a character look for Eric (to give him a message); it also stops the skool clock (which can be restarted later on with a SetClock command) to allow Eric to be found before the bell rings. When Eric has been found, he is frozen so that he has no choice but to listen to the message.

FindEricIfMissing¶

The FindEricIfMissing command is used by whichever teacher is on dinner duty to make him go and look for Eric if he’s not in the dinner hall.

FindSeat¶

The FindSeat command is used to make a boy or girl find a seat in a classroom and sit down; it also makes the character find another seat if he’s knocked out of one (unless the character is the swot, who must return to the same seat to avoid having to move his speech bubble during lessons).

The command takes two optional True (1) or False (0) arguments (which are both True by default). When the first argument is True, the character will seek out the back seat in the classroom first. Otherwise, when the second argument is True, the character will go to the next seat in front of him, or to the back seat if there isn’t one (which is what happens when a character is pushed out of his seat). When both arguments are False, the character will sit in the seat he’s standing next to (which is what happens when a character rises after being decked while seated).

FireCatapult¶

The FireCatapult command is used internally to make a catapult-carrying character (i.e. Eric or the tearaway) fire his catapult.

FireNowAndThen¶

The FireNowAndThen command is used as an argument to the SetControllingCommand command to make the tearaway fire his catapult occasionally. If the command decides that the time is ripe to send a projectile whizzing through the air, it passes control to the FireCatapult command.

FireWaterPistol¶

The FireWaterPistol command is used internally to make a water pistol-carrying character (i.e. Eric) fire his water pistol.

Flight¶

The Flight command is used internally to control Eric when he is either stepping off a fully grown plant through an open window or over the closed skool gate, or flying over the closed skool gate (after hitting it while standing on the saddle of the bike - see the RideBike command). The command guides Eric through his trajectory to the ground, upon which he may land with his feet, his backside, or his back.

Floored¶

The Floored command is used internally to control a child character who has been pushed out of his seat or knocked out cold (by Eric, the bully, or the tearaway). The command keeps the character on the floor for a brief period and then makes him stand up; after that, the character will either resume whatever he was doing before, or look for another seat (see FindSeat).

Follow¶

The Follow command is used by little boys 2-11 to sync their movements with those of the stampede leader, little boy 1. (Internally it syncs destinations, and hands over control to the GoTo command.) The command takes a single argument: the unique ID of the character to follow.

Freeze¶

The Freeze command is used internally by the FindEric command to freeze Eric once he has been found. It continually monitors the keyboard to check whether Eric has acknowledged delivery of a message (by pressing ‘U’). It is then up to the TellEric or TellEricAndWait command to unfreeze Eric as appropriate.

GoTo¶

The GoTo command is arguably the most important command ever in the history of Pyskool. Without it, the characters would stay rooted to the spot, Pyskool would be boring, and you wouldn’t be reading this. Sad. Anyway, GoTo takes a single argument, which must be one of the following:

• a skool location identifier (as found in the [SkoolLocations] section)
• an identifier of the form Location:characterId, where characterId is the unique ID of a character

A Location:characterId identifier resolves to the current location of the character with the given ID. To change the recognised prefix of such identifiers, set the LocationMarker configuration parameter in the [GameConfig] section of the ini file.

I leave it to the reader to guess what the GoTo command does.

GoToRandomLocation¶

The GoToRandomLocation command is used in many command lists to make a character go to one of his random locations.

GoTowardsXY¶

The GoTowardsXY command is used internally to make a character turn round or take one step in the direction of the destination x and y coordinates specified in the two arguments, instead of continuing all the way to the destination. The command is used primarily by the FindEric and FetchEric commands, which require tracking of a moving target (our hero) rather than a fixed destination.

GoToXY¶

The GoToXY command is used internally to make a character go to a location specified by an (x, y) pair of coordinates. In fact, the GoTo command resolves its location ID parameter into an (x, y) pair of coordinates and then hands over control to GoToXY. Unsurprisingly, GoToXY takes two arguments: x and y, as in:

GoToXY, 23, 17

Although GoToXY is not used explicitly in any of the stock command lists, there is nothing to stop you using it in a command list if you wish.

GrassAndAnswerQuestions¶

The GrassAndAnswerQuestions command is used by the swot to make him tell tales to the teacher just before class starts, and answer the teacher’s questions later.

Grow¶

The Grow command is used to control the growth of a plant after it has been watered. If the plant is not growing, the command does nothing. Otherwise, it animates the plant growth, and lifts any characters who are standing on the plant. When the plant dies, it drops any characters who were standing on the plant, and hides it from view.

The Grow command takes three arguments, which specify the delay between the plant being watered and:

• appearing at half-height
• growing to full height
• dying

Hit¶

The Hit command is used internally to make a fist-wielding character (i.e. Eric or the bully) throw a punch.

HitNowAndThen¶

The HitNowAndThen command is used as an argument to the SetControllingCommand command to make the bully throw a punch occasionally. If the command decides that the time is ripe to send a fist whizzing through the air, it passes control to the Hit command.

Hop¶

The Hop command is used internally by the MoveFrog command to control the movements of a frog as it embarks on a long hop or a short hop, or turns round.

Jump¶

The Jump command is used internally to control Eric while he’s jumping. It lifts him into the air, checks to see whether he has reached a shield, a cup, or the safe, and then lets him drop (unless there is an unconscious kid or a plant pot below).

JumpIfOpen¶

The JumpIfOpen command is used to jump back or forward in the command list if a door is open. The command takes two arguments: the door’s unique ID (see [Doors]), and the number of commands to jump back or forward, as in:

JumpIfOpen, SkoolDoor, -5

JumpIfShut¶

The JumpIfShut command is used to jump back or forward in the command list if a door is shut. The command takes two arguments: the door’s unique ID (see [Doors]), and the number of commands to jump back or forward, as in:

JumpIfShut, SkoolGate, 3

JumpOffSaddle¶

The JumpOffSaddle command is used internally to control Eric when he is jumping off the saddle of the bike (see the RideBike command). It lifts him into the air, checks to see whether he has reached a cup (into which a frog may be placed), and then lets him drop to the floor.

Kiss¶

The Kiss command is used internally to control Eric while he’s kissing (or trying to kiss) Hayley. If Hayley is neither facing Eric nor in front of him at the time of the attempted kiss, Eric will take a step forward and then back again, with no kiss scored. If Hayley is in front of Eric and facing him, one of two things will happen: (a) Eric will score a kiss, or (b) Hayley will smack Eric in the face (if she feels he’s tried to grab one kiss too many already). If Eric does land a kiss, his lines total will be reduced by 1000 (or to zero if he has less than 1000 lines).

KnockedOver¶

The KnockedOver command is used internally to control an adult character who has been downed by a catapult pellet or a stampeding boy. KnockedOver stuns the character, makes him reveal his safe combination letter (if appropriate), also makes him give lines to the nearest main child character (if any), and then helps him up off the floor; after that, the character will resume whatever he was doing before.

MonitorEric¶

The MonitorEric command is used as a subcommand (set by the SetSubcommand command) by Miss Take; it makes her keep an eye out for Eric in the girls’ skool when it’s not playtime. It takes two arguments:

• the ID of the command list to switch to in order to chase Eric
• the x-coordinate beyond which Eric must be to be regarded as worth chasing

MoveAboutUntil¶

The MoveAboutUntil command is used to make a character repeatedly walk a random number of paces away from a fixed point (the walkabout origin) and back again. The walkabout origin is the point the character reached before MoveAboutUntil was invoked.

The command takes two arguments:

• a signal to listen for; when it is raised, the character will proceed to the next command in the command list
• (optional) the minimum and maximum distances to walk away from the walkabout origin; the default is (1, 7)

MoveBike¶

The MoveBike command is used to control the bike when Eric is not sitting on the saddle. If the bike has not been unchained yet, or is resting on the ground, the command does nothing. Otherwise, it moves the bike along until it runs out of momentum, at which point it will fall over.

MoveDeskLid¶

The MoveDeskLid command is used to control a desk lid when it has been raised (by Eric). When the desk lid is not raised, the command does nothing. Otherwise, it transfers the contents of the desk (if any) to Eric’s pocket. When the desk lid is ready to drop - after the delay specified by the command’s sole argument - it is hidden from view.

MoveFrog¶

The MoveFrog command is used to control the movements of a frog. When a frog decides to move, it chooses from three options: turn round, short hop, and long hop. Each of these movements is controlled by the Hop command.

The MoveFrog command takes three arguments, which specify the probability that the frog will:

• keep still if Eric is not nearby
• turn round (if he decides to move at all)
• attempt a short hop (instead of a long hop) if not turning round

MoveMouse¶

The MoveMouse command is used to control the movements of a mouse: sprint up and down a few times, hide for a brief period, repeat.

The MoveMouse command takes four arguments:

• the minimum and maximum delays before the mouse comes out of hiding (e.g. (5, 20))
• the minimum and maximum number of sprints the mouse will make before hiding (e.g. (2, 5))
• the minimum and maximum distances of a sprint (e.g. (2, 5))
• the minimum and maximum number of sprint sessions the mouse will engage in before dying (if released by Eric; e.g. (10, 41))

MovePellet¶

The MovePellet command is used to control a catapult pellet. If the pellet has not been launched, the command does nothing. Otherwise, it moves the pellet through the air, checking whether any shields or unfortunate characters lie in its path. When a pellet has finished its flight, it is hidden from view.

MoveWater¶

The MoveWater command is used to control a jet of water fired from a water pistol. If the water has not been fired, the command does nothing. Otherwise, it moves the water through the air, checking whether any cups or plant pots lie in its path. When the water has finished its flight, it is hidden from view.

OpenDoor¶

The OpenDoor command makes a character open a door. It takes one argument: the unique ID of the door (see [Doors]) to open. If the door is already open, the command does nothing.

Pause¶

The Pause command is used internally by the Kiss command to occupy Hayley (i.e. prevent her from executing her current command list) while she is responding to an attempted kiss from Eric. The command exits (and Hayley will resume her current command list) after the response (a kiss or slap in the face) has been made.

ReleaseMice¶

The ReleaseMice command is used internally to control Eric when he’s releasing mice. It makes Eric bend over, releases up to five mice (depending on how many Eric has caught) at the spot in front of Eric, and then makes Eric stand up.

Restart¶

The Restart command is used to return to the first command in the command list.

RideBike¶

The RideBike command is used internally to control Eric while he’s on the bike. It may hand over control to another command depending on what happens while Eric is on the bike:

• FallToFloor (if the bike runs out of momentum)
• JumpOffSaddle (if Eric jumps off the saddle)
• Flight (if the bike hits the closed skool gate while Eric is standing on the saddle)

Say¶

The Say command is used internally to make a character say something. It takes two arguments: the thing to say, and an optional second argument specifying whether to notify listeners when done (which defaults to False, and is set to True only during lessons so that the teacher and the swot don’t talk over each other). For example:

Say, 'Hello mum!'

would make a character say ‘Hello mum!’.

Although Say is not used explicitly in any of the stock command lists, there is nothing to stop you using it in a command list if you wish.

SetClock¶

The SetClock command restarts the skool clock with a certain amount of time remaining until the bell rings, specified by the sole parameter. It is used (for example) to ensure that the bell rings shortly after Mr Wacker has finished delivering the detention message in assembly.

SetControllingCommand¶

The SetControllingCommand command is an awkwardly named command that takes another command - and that command’s parameters - as its arguments, as in:

SetControllingCommand, OtherCommand, SomeParameter

What happens then is that on every pass through the main loop of the game, OtherCommand (the ‘controlling’ command) will be called for the character so controlled. The idea is that OtherCommand will make the character do something continuously (e.g. walk fast) or occasionally (e.g. fire a catapult or throw a punch).

The ‘controlling’ command remains in effect until the following command in the command list has completed.

SetRestartPoint¶

The SetRestartPoint command has the effect of discarding itself and all previous commands in the command list, so that any Restart or StartLessonIfReady command appearing further down the command list will bring control back up the list to the command following SetRestartPoint instead of the top of the list.

SetSubcommand¶

The SetSubcommand command places a subcommand in the character’s current command list. This subcommand is then executed on each pass through the main loop, before and in addition to the current command in the character’s command list. The parameters of SetSubcommand are the subcommand name and the subcommand’s parameters, as in:

SetSubcommand, SomeSubcommand, SomeParameter1, SomeParameter2

SetSubcommand is used (for example) by Miss Take to place the MonitorEric subcommand in her command list, which makes her keep an eye out for Eric in the girls’ skool when it’s not playtime.

The subcommand persists for the duration of the command list (which is usually until the end of the lesson).

ShadowEric¶

The ShadowEric command is used by Mr Wacker when he’s been alerted that Eric is trying to escape (see the WatchForEric command). The command makes Mr Wacker track down Eric and shadow him until the bell rings.

ShutDoor¶

The ShutDoor command makes a character shut a door. It takes one argument: unique ID of the door (see [Doors]) to shut. If the door is already shut, the command does nothing.

Signal¶

The Signal command is used to raise a signal. Signals are used, for example, by the MoveAboutUntil command to make a character pace up and down until the time is right to proceed to the next command in the command list. This scheme allows characters’ movements to be coordinated.

The Signal command takes a single argument: the name of the signal to raise.

See also the Unsignal command.

SitForAssembly¶

The SitForAssembly command makes a character find a spot to sit down in the assembly hall until the headmaster has finished speaking. The command takes three arguments:

• the signal to wait for before standing up (see StartAssemblyIfReady)
• the direction to face when sitting down (-1 for left, 1 for right)
• (optional) the minimum and maximum distances the character should walk back to find a spot to sit; the default is (1, 4)

SitStill¶

The SitStill command is always found immediately after the FindSeat command when it appears in a command list. It makes the character stay seated (in other words, do nothing).

StalkAndHit¶

It sounds brutal, but there really was a command list in Back to Skool that contained instructions to make the bully track down Eric’s girlfriend in order to knock her about. In Pyskool, the equivalent (but more flexible) command is StalkAndHit, which takes a single argument: the unique ID of the character to track down.

StalkAndHit should be used as an argument to the SetControllingCommand command, as in:

SetControllingCommand, StalkAndHit, HEROINE

As a controlling command, StalkAndHit continually updates the character’s destination to match that of the target, and makes him throw punches now and then along the way.

StartAssemblyIfReady¶

The StartAssemblyIfReady command makes Mr Wacker return to the start of the command list unless it’s time to go down to the stage for assembly, at which point the signal named by the command’s sole argument will be raised (so that the kids know when to sit down; see SitForAssembly).

StartDinnerIfReady¶

The StartDinnerIfReady command is used by teachers on dinner duty. It restarts the command list unless it’s time to start looking out for Eric during dinner.

StartLessonIfReady¶

The StartLessonIfReady command is used by teachers to get a lesson under way (if enough time has passed since the bell rang). The command takes a single argument: the name of the signal that indicates which room the teacher will teach in (which is listened for by the kids in the classroom so that they know when to sit down). If it’s not time to start the lesson yet, the command list is restarted.

Stink¶

The Stink command is used to control a stinkbomb after it’s been dropped. If the stinkbomb has not been dropped, the command does nothing. Otherwise, it animates the stinkbomb cloud, checking whether any characters with a sensitive nose are nearby, and compelling them to open the nearest window. When the stench has dissipated - after a period specified by the command’s sole argument - the cloud is hidden from view.

StopEric¶

The StopEric command is used internally by the WatchForEric command to make Albert raise his arm and alert Mr Wacker when he has spotted Eric trying to escape. The command exits when Eric leaves the ‘danger zone’ near Albert.

TellClassWhatToDo¶

The TellClassWhatToDo command is used internally by the ConductClassWithEric and ConductClassWithoutEric commands to make a teacher tell the class what to do (which usually involves writing an essay, turning to a certain page in their books, or revising for their exams).

TellEric¶

The TellEric command is used to make a character deliver the message specified in the command’s sole argument, and then unfreeze Eric (if he was frozen, as by the FindEric command).

TellEricAndWait¶

The TellEricAndWait command is used to make a character deliver the message specified in the command’s sole argument, and then unfreeze Eric (if he was frozen, as by the FindEric command) as soon as he has registered understanding of the message so delivered. If Eric is slow to respond, the message will be repeated periodically.

TellKidsToSitDown¶

The TellKidsToSitDown command is used internally by the StartLessonIfReady command to make a character (a teacher, normally) tell the kids to sit down when it’s time to start class.

TripPeopleUp¶

The TripPeopleUp command is used as an argument to the SetControllingCommand command to make a character trip up anyone in his path as he proceeds to his destination.

Unsignal¶

The Unsignal command is used to lower a signal previously raised. It takes a signal name as its sole argument.

WaitAtDoor¶

The WaitAtDoor command is used to make Albert wait at the skool door or the skool gate until all the characters are on the correct side and it’s therefore safe to shut the door or gate. The character flags B and G (see [Characters]) are used to determine which skool (and hence which side of the door) a character belongs to. The WaitAtDoor command takes a single argument: the unique ID of the door or gate (see [Doors]).

WaitUntil¶

The WaitUntil command is used to make a character do nothing (i.e. stand still) until a signal is raised. The command takes a single argument: the name of the signal to wait for.

WalkAround¶

The WalkAround command makes a character walk up and down about a fixed point (the walkabout origin).

The command takes two arguments:

• the number of walkarounds to do - a “walkaround” being a short trip away from the walkabout origin (wherever the character was when the WalkAround command was invoked) and back again
• (optional) the minimum and maximum distances to walk away from the walkabout origin; the default is (1, 7)

The WalkAround command is also used internally by the MoveAboutUntil command.

WalkFast¶

The WalkFast command is used as an argument to SetControllingCommand to make a character walk fast.

WalkUpOrDown¶

The WalkUpOrDown command is used internally by the ConductClassWithEric and ConductClassWithoutEric commands to make a teacher turn round and walk three paces. Called repeatedly, it makes the teacher walk up and down.

WatchForEric¶

The WatchForEric command is used as an argument to SetControllingCommand to make Albert keep his eyes peeled for our hero jumping out of skool windows. If Albert does spot Eric trying to escape, control is handed over to the StopEric command.

The WatchForEric command takes five arguments

• the ID of the character who will be alerted by Albert when he spots Eric trying to escape
• the ID of the command list to use for the character who will be alerted
• the alert message to be screamed by Albert
• the x-coordinate beyond which Eric should be regarded as trying to escape (96 in the stock Pyskool, which is the x-coordinate of the boys’ skool door)
• the minimum and maximum distances to the left of Albert that Eric would have to be between for Albert to raise the alarm

WipeBoard¶

The WipeBoard command is used internally by the ConductClassWithEric and ConductClassWithoutEric commands to make a character wipe a blackboard clean.

Write¶

The Write command is used internally to control Eric while he’s writing on a blackboard. It would be of no use in a command list.

WriteOnBoard¶

The WriteOnBoard command is used internally by the ConductClassWithEric, ConductClassWithoutEric and WriteOnBoardUnless commands to make a character write on a blackboard. The character should (ideally) be standing at the target blackboard before this command is invoked.

The command takes a single argument, namely the message to be written on the board. So if you wanted to use the command explicitly in a command list, you could put something like:

GoTo, ExamRoomBlackboard:Middle
WriteOnBoard, 'Pyskool rox!'

WriteOnBoardUnless¶

The WriteOnBoardUnless command is used by the tearaway to make him write on a blackboard unless the board has already been written on or the signal named in the command’s sole argument has been raised.