Game ini files¶

The game ini files determine many aspects of the game, such as the names of the characters, the order of the lessons, and what characters do during lessons.

By default, the ini files for a particular game are arranged in one of the subdirectories of the ini directory thus:

command_lists.ini - command lists
config.ini - configuration parameters
font.ini - font character bitmap descriptions (see [Font])
lessons.ini - the main timetable and lessons
messages.ini - messages
skool.ini - walls, floors and other parts of the skool
sprites.ini - sprite and character definitions

However, this arrangement is quite arbitrary; Pyskool will read every file with a .ini suffix in the subdirectory regardless of its name or contents. So you could, if you wish, concatenate all the ini files into one large ini file, and Pyskool will still work.

Pyskool reads ini files in alphabetical order of filename, and if a particular section appears in more than one file, the contents of that section in the last file read take precedence. So the best way to modify a game is to add customised sections to a file named zzz-custom.ini (for example), which will be read after all the stock ini files.

If you want to customise a section by adding lines to it rather than completely replacing the existing contents, you can append a ‘+’ to the section name. For example, if zzz-custom.ini contains a section named [SkoolLocations+], then the contents of that section will be appended to the contents of the [SkoolLocations] section defined in config.ini. By this method, you can customise the [SkoolLocations] section in a supplementary ini file without copying its original contents first.

What follows is a description of every section of the ini files. Armed with this knowledge, and by consulting the command reference where necessary, you’ll be able to start mucking around with how Pyskool works and how the game characters behave.

If you can’t be bothered to read any of this and instead just want to get your modding hands dirty right now, head over to Example customisations.

If you’re even lazier than that, head over to the ready-made customisations that are distributed with Pyskool.

[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)

Version	Changes
0.3	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `moveDelay`, `pedalMomentum` and `maxMomentum` parameters
0.2.1	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Each character gets his own `BlackboardMessages` section

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `size` and `chalk` parameters

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `hitXY` parameter
0.2.3	Added the `pelletId` parameter
0.0.3	Added the `range` and `hitZone` parameters
0.0.2	New

[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)

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `headXY` parameter and the `U` and `V` flags
0.2.1	Added the `K`, `N`, `X`, `Y` and `Z` flags
0.0.4	Added the `S` flag
0.0.3	Added the `R` and `T` flags

[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)

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `hitXY` parameter
0.2.1	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.2.1	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `xOffset` parameter
0.2.3	Added the `deskLidId` parameter
0.2.1	New

[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]).

Version	Changes
0.2.1	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `autoShutDelay`, `climb` and `fly` parameters

[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].

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `direction`, `headXY` and `bendOverHandXY` parameters
0.0.2	Added the `animatoryState` and `flags` parameters

[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

Version	Changes
0.3	Renamed from `[CharacterWidths]`
0.0.2	Added the `offset` parameter

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `turnRound`, `shortHop`, `longHop`, `sitXY` and `ericProximity` parameters
0.2.1	New

[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)

Version	Changes
1.1.1	Added the `ConfirmClose`, `ConfirmQuit` and `Volume` parameters
0.5	Added the `MouseCatchScore` parameter
0.4	Added the `Icon`, `SaveGameDir`, `SaveGameCompression` and `ScreenshotDir` parameters
0.3	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.3	Renamed from `[Grass]`
0.1	New (as `[Grass]`)

[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’

Version	Changes
0.4	Added the `LESSON_BOX` and `MESSAGE_BOX` image IDs
0.0.4	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.2	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.3	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.0.3	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.0.3	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.4	Added the `HiScoreLabel`, `LinesTotalLabel` and `ScoreLabel` parameters
0.3	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `spriteXY` parameter
0.2.1	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.0.4	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.2.1	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.2.1	Added the `getAlong` parameter

[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.

Version	Changes
0.0.4	New

[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)

Version	Changes
0.5	Added the `SpriteMatrixWidth` parameter
0.4	Added the `InventoryKey`, `MessageBoxColour`, `MessageBoxKey`, `MouseInventoryInk`, `MouseInventorySize`, `SpeechBubbleKey`, `SpeechBubbleLipCoords` and `SpeechBubbleLipSize` parameters
0.3	New

[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)

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `hitXY` parameter
0.2.1	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.0.4	Added the `score` parameter
0.0.3	New

[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.

Version	Changes
1.1	Added the `ALARM`, `HIT0` and `HIT1` sound IDs
0.5.2	Added the `JUMP` sound ID
0.2.4	Added the `BIKE`, `DESK`, `KISS`, `OPEN_SAFE`, `STOREROOM_KEY` and `WATER_PISTOL` sound IDs
0.2	Added the `FROG`, `MOUSE` and `SHERRY` sound IDs
0.0.3	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.1	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.2.1	Added the `BIKE_ON_FLOOR`, `BIKE_UPRIGHT`, `DESK_EMPTY`, `DESK_STINKBOMBS`, `DESK_WATER_PISTOL`, `KISSING_ERIC`, `PLANT_GROWING`, `PLANT_GROWN`, `SHERRY_DROP`, `WATER_DROP`, `WATER0`, `WATER1`, `WATER2`, `WATER3` and `WATER4` sprite IDs
0.2	Added the `HOP1`, `HOP2`, `RUN` and `SIT` sprite IDs
0.0.3	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `animationPhases` and `stinkRange` parameters
0.2.3	Added the `stinkbombId` parameter
0.2.1	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.3	New

[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

Version	Changes
0.3	New

[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).

Version	Changes
0.2.1	Added the `wallId` parameter

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `animationPhases` parameter
0.2.3	Added the `waterId` parameter
0.2.1	New

[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)

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `hitXY` parameter
0.2.1	New

[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.

Version	Changes
0.3	Added the `descentPhases` and `notABird` parameters
0.2.1	New

Navigation

Game ini files¶

[AnimationPhases ...]¶

[AssemblyMessages]¶

[Bike]¶

[BlackboardMessages ...]¶

[Blackboards]¶

[CatapultPellets]¶

[Chairs]¶

[Characters]¶

[CommandList ...]¶

[Conker]¶

[Cups]¶

[DeskLid]¶

[Desks]¶

[Doors]¶

[Eric]¶

[Font]¶

[Floors]¶

[Frogs]¶

[GameConfig]¶

[GrassMessages]¶

[Images]¶

[Inventory]¶

[Lesson ...]¶

[LessonConfig]¶

[LessonMessages]¶

[LinesMessages]¶

[MessageConfig]¶

[Mice]¶

[MouseLocations]¶

[NoGoZones]¶

[Plants]¶

[QuestionsAndAnswers ...]¶

[RandomLocations]¶

[Rooms]¶

[Routes]¶

[Safe]¶

[ScreenConfig]¶

[SherryDrop]¶

[Shields]¶

[SitDownMessages]¶

[SkoolLocations]¶

[Sounds]¶

[SpecialPlaytimes]¶

[SpriteGroup ...]¶

[Staircases]¶

[Stinkbombs]¶

[Timetable]¶

[TimetableConfig]¶

[TimingConfig]¶

[Walls]¶

[Water]¶

[WaterDrop]¶

[Windows]¶

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