CONFIGURATION FILE SUPPORT

GearHead now has configuration file support. Yay!

To create a configuration file, make a new text file named "arena.cfg"
in the configuration folder (usually a folder named "gharena" in your home
folder; on Linux, you will find this folder in .config). To this file you can
add various labels which will alter the behavior of the program.

Here's an overview of what the configuration file is capable of:

REDEFINE GAME KEYS
  To redefine a game key, you're going to have to know the command's
  proper name. This can be found via the in-game help menu. Just type
  the command's name followed by the new key you want to use for it.
  For instance, to redefine the ApplySkill command so that it is
  activated by the "n" key, you'd use the following line:

    ApplySkill n

  Note that no checking is done to ensure that the keys are unique.
  If you assign two commands to the same key, only one of them will
  work.

CONTROL ANIMATION SPEED
  You can redefine the animation speed, if you'd like combat animations
  to proceed faster or slower. To change the animation delay to 100 you'd
  use the following line:

    AnimSpeed 100

  Note that the lower the AnimSpeed value, the faster the animations
  will be. Default values are 100 for ASCII and 50 for SDL.

SET CONTROL TYPES
  There are three commands that cover this: MechaControl, CharaControl,
  and WorldControl. Each one can be assigned either M for Menu-based
  input or R for RogueLike input. For example, to change things so that
  your mecha is controlled using the RogueLike interface, use the
  following line:

    MechaControl R

SET WEAPON ATTACK OPTION
  You can set the default burst value for each type of burst-firing
  weapon. There are three commands that cover this: MissileBV,
  BallisticBV, and BeamGunBV. They can be assigned four possible values:
  Off, 1/4, 1/2, and Max.

  To set the default missile BV to 1/2 load, use the following line:

    MissileBV 1/2

CONTROL DIRECT XP
  By default, direct skill XP will not cause the PC to learn new
  skills. This is to prevent the PC from learning unwanted skills.
  If you would like to enable the learning of skills from direct XP,
  add the following label to your configuration file:

    DIRECTSKILLOK

NOAUTOSAVE
  Whenever your character visits a new location or you quit the game, the
  campaign is saved to disk. Some people don't like this behavior... using
  the label NOAUTOSAVE will disable this.

ALWAYS SAVE CHARACTER
  Normally, when a character enters an adventure, the CHA file is deleted
  and doesn't get restored until the adventure is finished. By setting
  the label ALWAYSSAVECHARACTER you can override this behavior.

DISABLE COMBAT TAUNTS
  If the game runs slowly on your computer, disabling combat taunts may help.
  Yes, it's pathetic, I know... type NOCOMBATTAUNTS in your config file to
  achieve this.

CONTROL ALPHA BLENDING
  For SDL mode only. If you don't like the transparency effect, or it it doesn't
  run well on your computer, use NOALPHA to disable it. You can set the amount
  of transparency with "ALPHALEVEL x"- enter a value from 0 (transparent) to
  255 (opaque).

CONTROL NUMBER OF PLOTS PER ADVENTURE
  The number of plots currently in play can have a great effect on the speed of
  your game. The default maximum number of plots is 50; to reduce this (and
  hopefully get things moving faster) use "NUMPLOTS x". For example, to reduce
  the maximum number of plots to 30, insert the following line in the config
  file:

    NUMPLOTS 30

LIMIT PLOT LOADING TO START OF SCENE
  Normally the game will load new plots every 5 minutes. This may cause a noticeable
  pause on some computers. To change things so that plots are only loaded when
  entering or exiting a scene, add LoadPlotsAtStart to your config file.

CONTROL SIZE OF ASCII SCREEN
  You can control the size of the screen with SCREENWIDTH and SCREENHEIGHT. The minimum
  size for the screen is 80x25.

ACTIVATE MINI-MAP
  You can activate the mini-map by adding MINIMAPON to your config file.

PLAY IN WINDOW
  You can play in a window on your main screen by adding WINDOW to the config file.
  You can play in fullscreen mode by adding FULLSCREEN to the config file.

DISABLE MOUSE
  You can disable the mouse with the NOMOUSE option.

ENABLE NAMES-ABOVE_HEADS
  Add NAMESON to your config file, and the names of all gears on the map will appear
  above their heads.

DISABLE PILLAGING
  Add NOPILLAGE to your config file to not automatically pillage everything on the map
  after winning a mission.

ENABLE TACTICS MODE [experimental]
  Add USETACTICSMODE to the config file, and the player will be able to control
  lancemates directly in mecha combat.
  This mode is experimental and may result in the game crashing or other unexpected
  behavior. You have been warned.


