Dungeon Master - Chaos Strikes Back

Actuator Documentation

All the pushbuttons, pressure pads, counters, etc. have the same format.  Also see Introduction to Actuators.  But they behave very differently because of special cases in the code.  Here I have tried to document the behaviour of the various actuators by drawing a sort of 'flowchart' for the code that processes each type of actuator.

Pushbuttons are very complex....they implement all sorts of seemingly different kinds of objects in the dungeon.  A Wall Switch operated by an Empty Hand.  A Torch Holder.  A Keyhole.  A wall Niche that is operated by removing a Worm Slice.  All are examples of 'Pushbuttons'.  So the documentation is divided into several basic types:

Most of the pushbuttons utilize a common function (named QueueSwitchAction) to queue the resulting action.

The Pressure Pad actuator is quite simple in structure compared to Pushbuttons.  True, there are eight different varieties of Pressure Pad, each operated by a different kind of action or Object.  But as the diagram indicates, these different types only change how it is decided whether the Pressure Pad has been activated and the rest of the processing is identical for all types.


Then there are the actuators that perform special functions.  They are all actuated by timer messages rather than directly by party or monster actions.

Paul Stevens
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