This is MANUAL for the Legend Entertainment Company's game: * Spellcasting 101 - Sorcerers Get All The Girls * Author of the game: * Steve Meretzky * =========================================================================== | WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! | | Spellcasting 101 is NOT shareware! | | THESE COPIES OF THE GAME, THE MANUAL AND OF ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS SUPPLIED | WITH THE ORIGINAL GAME PACKAGE A R E I L L E G A L ! | =========================================================================== Welcome to ------------------------------ S O R C E R E R U N I V E R S I T Y ------------------------------ Class of '41 Orientation Guide *=page=0=*================================================================= What is A LEGEND Adventure Game? In a Legend adventure game, you become the main character in an evolving story that takes place in a new world populated with interesting people, places, and things. You see this world through your main character's eyes, and you play the game by dire directing his actions. Like a book or a movie, the story is organized into chapters or scenes. In each chapter you will travel from location to location, encountering situations which require action on your part. You will come across locked doors, mysterious magic spells, threatening creatures, scheming villains, and damsels in distress. You will want to figure out how to open the locked doors, use the magic spells, dispatch the threatening creatures, thwart the scheming villains, and deliver the distressed damsels from a fate worse than death. You can think of each of these situations as a puzzle. The key to solving these puzzles will often be creative thinking and clever use of objects you have picked up in your travels. You will get points as you solve puzzles, and your score will help you monitor your progress. Throughout the game the richly textured graphics, prose, sound effects and music will draw you into a spellbinding adventure that could only be brought to you by the master story-teller of Legend. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legend Entertainment Company 14200 Park Meadow Drive Chantilly, Virginia 22021 703-222-8500 Customer Support: 1-800-658-8891 9:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m EDT/EST 24-Hour Hint Line: 1-900-PRO-KLUE (1-900-776-5583) $.75 For the first minute, $.50 for each minute thereafter FAX: 703-968-5151 CompuServe E-Mail: 76226,2356 *=page=1=*================================================================= S O R C E R E R U N I V E R S I T Y --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Eaglebeak Congratulations! Your application to Sorcerer University has been approved and we are holding a place for you in this year's freshman class. As you know, Sorcerer University is Peloria's oldest, most famous, and only institution of wizardly learning. Founded by Marvin Meltingwolf (who later died in a bizarre fund-raising accident), the University has housed the world-famous Sorcerer's Appliance since the device was first built by Waldo Nimblefingers in the years of the Great Melon Shortage. From humble beginnings, the school has grown to prominence in the following areas: Athletics. ---------- The University has a proud athletic tradition that dates back to 814 when its varsity pokkaball team first decided to wear uniforms. After an unbroken string of losses that lasted until 997, the team won the coveted Squishingbug Trophy in 1035 when t hey wrested the championship from Farffling University, the other member of the league. Research. --------- At the forefront of thaumaturgical research, the Sorcerer University faculty has developed and patented more spells *=page=2=*================================================================= than most people. Think how much our lives have been enriched by just the ones listed below: Nee spell (create a shrubbery) Urg spell (lift a massive weight) Phlub spell (drop a massive weight) Hrlgut spell (induce vomiting) Wufbam spell (cause small dogs to explode) Bahnzo spell (turn a world leader into a monkey) Emverdoo spell (create organizational chart) Sashakol spell (summon a beautiful young woman) Slugbgon spell (cause lawyer to vanish) Academics. ---------- Scholastic achievement at the University has never been higher. Under my leadership, the wild fraternity parties that once marred our reputation have been replaced by nightly study groups. And since the controversial ban on classroom torture (the ''rach and rune'' decree), more students than ever before are surviving their entire stay at the University, with as many as 15% each year now graduating in reasonably good health. ***** As you may gather, I am very proud of our University. I hope this orientation manual will help you enjoy your years with us, and I look forward to greeting you personally when you arrive on campus. Stop by any time - my door is always open. -- Aaron Snowbunny President *=page=3=*================================================================= Table of Contents Page The Story of SPELLCASTING 101 ................................4 Quick Start: Installation ....................................5 Quick Start: Playing the Game ................................6 Starting the Game ............................................7 Playing the Game with a Mouse ...............................10 Playing without a Mouse .....................................12 Save, Restore, and Quit .....................................14 Talking to the Game .........................................15 Using Magic .................................................17 Game Commands and their Abbreviations .......................18 Sample Transcript ...........................................22 Tips for Novices ............................................26 About the Author ............................................27 Credits .....................................................28 Technical Information .......................................29 Hard Disk Installation .................................29 Hard Disk Start-Up .....................................29 Floppy Disk Installation ...............................30 Floppy Disk Start-Up ...................................31 Configuration Default Overrides ........................32 Music and Sound ........................................33 Troubleshooting ........................................35 Technical Assistance ...................................37 Legal Stuff..................................................38 Even if you are an experienced adventure game player who thinks that instruction manuals are best used as confetti at sporting events, you should still read the following sections for valuable information about this game: The Story of SPELLCASTING 101 Quick Start: Installation Quick Start: Playing the Game Using Magic Game Commands |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | Hey Parents! This game will start up in NICE mode and it will stay | | that way until you type NAUGHTY. The game has no way of knowing if | | you think your child is old enough for NAUGHTY mode, so you'll have | | to make that decision yourself. | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| *=page=4=*================================================================= The Story of SPELLCASTING 101 SPELLCASTING 101: SORCERERS GET ALL THE GIRLS is set in the magical realm of Peloria. You'll play the role of a young, slightly nerdy fellow named Ernie Eaglebeak. Ernie, the victim of a mean stepfather, dreams of becoming a famous sorcerer and winning the attentions of the delectable Lola Tigerbelly. Thus will you enter Sorcerer University, spending your days studying with Peloria's wisest mages - and your nights swinging with Peloria's hottest babes. Your "experience" will stand you in good stead after the school is sacked by minions of a sinister adversary and you are left alone to explore the deserted campus. Now your adventure really begins, as you embark on an epic odyssey across the great ocean of Peloria, gaining spellcasting experience, uncovering your opponent's trail, and generally catering to the special needs of women across the land. Finally, the game will climax with an incredible battle of wits and magical powers amongst the ancient ramparts of Fort Blackwand. *=page=5=*================================================================= Quick Start: Installation If you are an experienced gamer using a hard disk, and if you are wise in the ways of DOS, hard disks, and music cards, then do the following: 1) Make backup copies of the disks. 2) Make sure you have at least 3,870,000 bytes of free space on your hard drive. 3) Insert System Disk #1 in drive "A" and type A: to set the default drive. The type INSTALL to start the installation program and follow the directions on the screen. (You need to use this install program instead of just copying over all the files so that the sound-effects files get decompressed). 4) If you have an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card be sure to run SOUND.COM before starting the game. 5) If you have a mouse, be sure you have loaded the mouse driver. 6) Start the game by typing S101. The game will automatically detect what kind of graphics card you have (CGA, EGA, VGA, etc.) and it will default to the highest standard that it finds. If you have an EGA of VGA card but wish to force the game to run with CGA graphics, type S101 CGA. If you have a Roland MT-32 (or compatible) sound module, start the game with the command S101 MT32. If you have an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card (and you have run SOUND.COM), the game will automatically detect its presence and will default to it upon start-up. If the above makes no sense to you, or if it doesn't work, or if you do not have a hard drive, or if you just like to read manuals, then please see the Technical Information section starting on Page 29 for detailed installation and start-up instructions. *=page=6=*================================================================= Quick Start: Playing The Game The big news here is that this game is unbelieveably easy to play without ever touching the keyboard. Using the mouse you can: * Move from place to place by clicking on the compass rose. * Single-click on objects in a picture to look at them. * Double-click on objects in a picture to take them, open or close them, greet them, etc. * Select a verb from the verb menu and then click on an object in a picture to apply that verb to that object. * Build complex commands quickly from the verb, object, and preposition menus. (Single-click selects the word, double-click finishes the command.) * Avoid pesky typing and parser errors. If you don't have a mouse, you can pretend that you do by pressing . This puts a mouse cursor on the screen which you can move around using the arrow keys. "Click" by pressing and "double-click" by pressing . Again, if you don't have a mouse, there is yet another fast way to build commands by selecting verbs, objects, and prepositions from the menus. Press again to begin using this feature. Then use the arrow keys to move the highlight bar back and forth between the menus, press the space bar to select a word, and press to execute your command. And of course you can still enter commands the old-fashioned way - by typing them. For more details and complete instructions, please see the sections on Starting The Game, Playing the Game with a Mouse, or Playing Without a Mouse. *=page=7=*================================================================= Starting The Game To install and start up the game, see the Technical Information section on Page 29. When the game begins, you will see the title screen, followed by the credits and some introductory text. If you wish to skip to the beginning of the story, you can hit any key during this sequence to abort it. The game will then ask you if you wish to restore to a previously saved position. (If you're playing the game for the first time, the answer is no.) After this sequence, the main interface screen will appear and you are ready to begin the adventure. [IN THE ORIG. MANUAL, THERE IS A PIC OF THE MAIN INTERFACE SCREEN HERE .] *=page=8=*================================================================= GRAPHICS WINDOW [main interface screen, top right] This window can contain: A picture of your location A map of the surrounding area Your inventory (what you are wearing and carrying) Your status (score, number of turns taken, etc.) A verbal description of your surroundings COMMAND BUTTONS [m. i. s., top left, to the right from the compass rose] Many of these buttons have function key equivalents. See the information on function keys on Page 13 for more details. HELP Displays a help screen HALF Removes the menus and makes more room for text ERASE Removes the last word from the command line DO Executes the command on the command line PICT Displays a picture in the graphics window MAP Displays a map in the graphics window INV Displays your inventory in the graphics window LOOK Puts a verbal description of your surroundings in the graphics window COMPASS ROSE AND DIRECTIONAL BUTTONS If you have a mouse, you can move around by clicking on the various points of the compass rose and the IN, OUT, UP, and DOWN buttons. Legitimate exits from your current location are always highlighted. VERB MENU [m. i. s., bottom left] The verb menu contains every verb you need to play the game. There are other verbs you can use, but you will have to type them in and hope your mother isn't watching. The most commonly used verbs are grouped at the top of the list. The rest of them are in alphabetical order. PREPOSITION MENU After you select a verb, the verb menu is replaced with a preposition menu. The amazing thing is that the game will display only those prepositions that you can use with the verb you have selected. Voila! No more pesky parser errors. *=page=9=*================================================================= OBJECT MENU [m. i. s., to the right from the verb/preposition menu] This menu contains all the things that you see from your current location. If you want to refer to other objects in the game, you must type them in. HIGHLIGHT BAR This is an inverse video bar you can move around to highlight the next word you want to place on the command line. ELEVATOR BOXES Clicking on these boxes and dragging them down is a fast way to navigate through the menus. Watch the index letter at the bottom of the column as you drag the box - when the first letter of the word you are looking for is displayed, release the mouse button and the highlight var will jump to the first word in the list that starts with that letter. Clicking in the column above or below the box will page up or page down through the menu. Clicking on the arrows at the top or bottom of the column will move the highlight bar up or down one entry in the menu. STORY WINDOW [m. i. s., bottom right] This is the window where all that wonderful prose we've been telling you about appears. If the window fills with words and you see "MORE" at the bottom, press any key or click the mouse button and the rest of the message will appear. If you would like to expand the size of the window and you don't mind sacrificing the menus, press for a half-screen of for a full screen of text. If you would like to see the text displayed before the picture is updated, then type the command TEXTFIRST. To switch back, type PICFIRST. COMMAND LINE [m. i. s.,> -character in the story window] All your commands will appear on this line, whether you enter them by typing, selecting from the menu, or clicking on the compass rose or graphics window. STATUS LINE [m. i. s., between the story- and the graphics-windows] This line lists your location, time of day, and day of the week. *=page=10=*================================================================ Playing The Game With A Mouse If you have a mouse, playing this game is simplicity itself. Merely by pointing and clicking you can do all of the following: Move around from place to place by single-clicking on the compass rose or the directional buttons next to it. Legitimate exits from your current location are always highlighted. Double- clicking on an exit that is pictured in the graphics window will move you through that exit. If you are playing with the map in the graphics window, you can also move to adjacent rooms by double-clicking on them. Examine objects by single-clicking on them in the graphics window. Take objects by double-clicking on them in the graphics window. Open/close doors and windows by double-clicking on them in the graphics window. Greet characters you meet in the game by double-clicking on them in the graphics window. Customize the interface by clicking on the command buttons. BUILDING COMMANDS In addition to the above, you can use the mouse to build commands. A single-click on a word in the verb menu will place that word on the command line. The verb menu will then be replaced by a preposition menu that lists the prepositions you may legitimately use with the verb you have just selected. At this point you can select one of those prepositions, or select a word from the object menu, or execute your command by clicking on the DO button. Naturally, we've built in some short-cuts. For example, if you know prior to clicking on a word that it will be the last word in you command, you can double-click on it and your command will be executed. Or, if you've already clicked on the last word in your command and you don't want to move the mouse up to the DO button, just double-click on the last word and the command will be executed. Another short-cut is to select a verb from the menu and then single-click on an object in the picture in the graphics window. *=page=11=*================================================================ FINDING WORDS QUICKLY Because the menus sometimes contain many words, we've also included a few short-cuts for getting to words that are far down in the menu. You can click in the grey area to the right of each menu to "page-down" in that menu. (If there is no grey area, the entire menu is visible.) Or you can click on the "elevator box" in the column to the right of each menu and drag the box down while keeping the mouse button depressed. As you do so, you will see the index letter at the bottom of the column change. When it gets to the letter that is the first letter of the word you want, release the mouse button, and the highlight bar will jump to the first word that begins with that letter. An even faster method is to hit the key on the keyboard and the first letter of the word you want. The highlight bar will then jump to the first word that begins with that letter. You can also use the and keys on the keyboard to jump to the top or the bottom of the list. RANDOM NOTES To remove a word from the command line, click on ERASE. Double-clicking on an object in the graphics window is intended to "do the obvious thing" with that object. For example, climb stairs, eat food, turn off lamp, etc. If you are using the mouse and you want to begin to type, go ahead. However, once you have begun typing on the command line, you cannot go back to using the mouse until that command has been executed or erased. If you select a noun as the first word in your sentence, the game assumes you are trying to speak to that person or thing, and therefore it adds a comma after the word. (For example, SAILOR, GIVE ME THE ROPE.) If Your mouse is destroying the picture, then the mouse driver is probably not Microsoft compatible. Try returning to DOS and starting the game by typing S101 XMOUSE. *=page=12=*================================================================ Playing Without A Mouse EMULATING THE MOUSE If you don't have a mouse, there are still quick and easy ways to build commands from the menus without typing. To do this, first you need to press the key. When you do so, a mouse cursor will appear on your screen. You can move this cursor around by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Then you can "lick" by hitting , and "double-click" by hitting . This will let you do all the things mentioned in the previous section, Playing the Game With a Mouse. If you do have a mouse, this feature will not work. USING THE MENUS If you don't want to use the method outlined above, pressing the key again will give you yet another alternative. This system puts a highlight bar over the first word in the verbs menu. You can move this bar back and forth between menus (and up and down within them) by using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Once you have highlighted the word you wish to select, hitting the space bar will place that word on the command line. After you have finished building your command, hitting will execute it. TYPING If you like to type, go ahead. No matter what method you have been using to place words on the command line, you can always begin to type. The cursor will magically appear on the command line, as it did in days of old when adventure games were young. If you definitely don't want to use the menus, press and they will go away, creating more room for text. If you really want to return to the golden years of adventuring, press for the all-text look. *=page=13=*================================================================ FUNCTION KEYS You can use function keys to customize the interface as follows: Displays the help screen Returns the menus to the screen if they are not there Removes the menus and creates more room for text Puts you into full-screen text mode Displays the picture in the graphics window Displays the map in the graphics window Puts your inventory in the graphics window Puts a verbal description of your surroundings in the graphics window Displays your status in the graphics window Many of these function keys have command button equivalents. See the information on command buttons on Page 8 for more details. *=page=14=*================================================================ Save, Restore, and Quit Once you have begun the game, you can use the SAVE command whenever you want to capture and store everything you have done so far. SAVE allows you to define a point you can return to if you are "killed" or if you just want to turn off the machine for a while. When you type SAVE (or when you select it from the verb menu), you will be asked to name the SAVE file. Choose a name that will remind you of where you are, like INCASTLE or DRAGON1. The filename can have up to eight letters in it, and the game will automatically append a ".SAV" extension. In the course of playing the game, you may create as many different SAVE files as you like. However, if you pick the name of an already-existing file when you SAVE, the original file will be erased and the new file of that name will take its place. When you are ready to return to place you saved, type RESTORE (or select it from the verb menu). As a reminder, a list of your previous SAVE files will appear in the story window. When the game asks you for a filename, type in the name of one of the files you created previously. The game will return you to the spot as if you had never been away. You will have the same score, inventory, status etc. that you had when you left. If you want to stop playing, use the QUIT command. However, if you quit without making a save file, you'll have to start from the beginning of the game the next time you play. *=page=15=*================================================================ Talking To The Game You "talk" to SPELLCASTING 101 by telling the game what you want Ernie to do at each turn. You do this by typing your input on the keyboard, or by clicking the mouse on the menus, the compass rose, or the pictures [See Starting the Game and Playing the Game With a Mouse.] Your simplest inputs will be directions -- moving around from place to place: >NORTH >DOWN >SW Equally simple are inputs which are just verbs: >JUMP >SCREAM Let's get a bit more complicated, and add some nouns (or, if you combine them with adjectives, noun-phrases). >TAKE THE COIN >READ BOOK >EAT THE JUICY POMEGRANATE >SLICE THE HOT RED PEPPER >KISS THE TALL BLOND WAITRESS (Note that you can use articles like "the" or "a" if you wish; most people just omit them to save time.) Shall we add a dash of prepositions? >TURN AROUND >SIT DOWN >LOOK OUT WINDOW >HIDE BEHIND BROWN CURTAIN Take a deep breath. So far, the noun-phrases we've looked at have all been the direct object of the sentence. Now we're going to throw in a second noun-phrase, the indirect object! Don't freak out, okay? *=page=16=*================================================================ >GIVE APPLE TO BOY >POINT MAGIC WAND AT THE GORILLA >BUY VELVET STRIPS FROM BELINDA Sorry, it's time to introduce some mind-bogglingly complicated concepts. You can include several inputs after a single prompt, as long as you separate them by a period or by the word "then": >GET IN BOAT THEN START ENGINE >LOOK THROUGH KEYHOLE. SLIDE NOTE UNDER DOOR. You can also use pronouns: >TAKE TOASTER OVEN. TURN IT ON. PUT PIZZA IN IT. >TAKE FEATHER FROM LISA. TICKLE HER WITH IT. You can use multiple objects with certain verbs (like TAKE and DROP) as long as you separate the noun-phrases with a comma or the word "and." You can even use the amazingly useful word "all": >TAKE PANTIES AND BRA >DROP BRA, TEDDY, NYLON STOCKINGS >TAKE ALL >GIVE ALL THE UNDERGARMENTS TO AUNT EUNICE You'll probably want to fortify yourself with some good strong scotch before moving on to the next area: talking to characters in the game. This can be useful if you want to ask a character to do something for you: >MABEL, GIVE ME THE HIP BOOTS >TELL MABEL TO GIVE ME THE HIP BOOTS >ASK MABEL TO GIVE ME THE HIP BOOTS >ASK MABEL FOR HIP BOOTS or if you would like to get some information from them: >PROFESSOR BROKENBONE, TELL ME ABOUT THE MAGIC SPATULA >ASK BROKENBONE ABOUT SPATULA *=page=17=*================================================================ Using Magic Once you arrive at Sorcerer University, you begin learning to cast magic spells. To cast a spell, you must be holding your spell book. There are several ways to cast a spell. For example, to cast the PUF spell (produce a cloud of smoke) you can use any of the following: >CAST THE PUF SPELL >CAST PUF >PUF A spell like PUF is fine to cast into "thin air." However, most spells need to be cast at something or somebody. So, to cast a BIZ spell (put honeybees to sleep): >CAST THE BIZ SPELL ON THE BEEHIVE >CAST BIZ ON BEEHIVE >BIZ HIVE All spells have a "level" associated with them. To start. you are a mere Level 1 Sorcerer and can cast only Level 1 spells. However, as you gain experience, your level will increase, and you will be able to cast longer, more powerful spells. As your progress through SPELLCASTING 101, you will come across various spell boxes. These each contain a new magic spell. If you open such a box in the presence of your spell book, teh spell will be transferred to the book. You can then cast the spell over and over at your convenience. However, if you open a spell box when your spell book isn't present, the spell will be cast into thin ari. While the spell may seek out something in the room, there is no guarantee that it will be the target you intended, and remember that the spell will then be gone forever. (NOTE: In accordance with EPA regulations, neither the PUF spell nor the BIZ spell actually appears in SPELLCASTING 101.) *=page=18=*================================================================ Game Commands And Their Abbreviations Many of the mode commands below have function key or command button equivalents. These are listed in parentheses after the description of the command. AGAIN (G) Repeats your last input. CAST Shows you a lista of all the characters you've met so far in the game, along with a short description of who they are. Useful for those players with poor memories who abhor taking notes. CREDITS Is a list of everyone who worked on SPELLCASTING 101 and what they did. Yes, we know you wouldn't care less, but we all have egos the size of a zeppelin. FULL MODE Removes the menus, compass rose, and graphics window, leaving you with a full screen of text. ( key) HALF MODE Removes the menus, but still displays the compass rose and the graphics window. ( key) (HALF button) HELP Displays the help screen. ( key) HINT Will print a message telling you that hints aren't available in the game. The message will go on to recommend that you call an on-line service such as GEnie, CompuServe, PRODIGY, or PC-Link and ask their gamers for hints. Or, it will tell you, you could simply dial our 24-hour hint line, which is 1-900-776-5583 (1-900-PRO-KLUE), but which will cost you $.75 for the first minute, and $.50 for each subsequent minute. INVENTORY (I) Tells you what Ernie is carrying. ( key)(INV button) *=page=19=*================================================================ LOOK (L) Will give you a full description of your current location. Always a good thing to try if you don't know what else to do. LOOK MODE Displays a verbal description of your surroundings in the graphics window. ( key)(LOOK button) MAP MODE Displays the map in the graphics window. ( key) (MAP button) MENU MODE Restores the menus to the screen if you have removed them previously. ( key)(MENU button) MUSIC OFF Turns off the music. (To turn off the sound effects, however, use SOUND OFF.) MUSIC ON Turns the music back on. NAUGHTY Puts you in Naughty Mode, with gutter language, lewd encounters, and all sorts of other fun stuff. NICE Puts you back in Nice Mode, which is the mode the game starts in. Nice Mode is kind of like TV - no four-letter words, no sexual acts, no elimination of bodily wastes, but still plenty of gratuitous violence. NOTIFY Normally, the game will tell you when your score changes. If you don't want to be bothered, NOTIFY will turn off this feature. And, if you change your mind, NOTIFY will turn it back on! Yow, what a versatile command, eh? OOPS (O) If you mistype a word, use OOPS instead of re-typing the entire input. For example, you type >PUT THE HARNESS ON THE HORE, and the game responds, "I don't know the word 'hore'" You would simply type OOPS HORSE. (That IS what you meant to type, isn't it?) Naturally, you menu-users will never need to use OOPS. *=page=20=*================================================================ PICFIRST Will display a new location picture before the accompanying room description appears in the story window. See TEXTFIRST. PICTURE MODE Restores the picture to the graphics window. ( key) (PICT button) QUIT (Q) Tells the game "Hey, I'm outta here!" You might want to SAVE first. RESTORE Brings you back to any point in teh game where you've previously made a SAVE file. SAVE Creates a file which the RESTORE command can use to return you to this point in the story. You should SAVE now and then, and especially before trying dangerous things like >PUT MY HEAD IN THE RABID DRAGON'S MOUTH. SCRIPT Sends all the text output of the game into the specified file, which you can then read, print, edit, delete, etc. SOUND OFF Turns off the sound effects. (To turn off the music, however, use MUSIC OFF.) SOUND ON Turns the sound effects back on. STATUS Gives you a brief report of your progress in the game, such as your score, your rank, whether you're being naughty or nice, and the number of turns you've taken. STATUS MODE Displays your status in the graphics window. ( key) TERSE Tells the game to give you the normal level of descriptiveness, in which you see a full description of a place only the first time you go there. On subsequent visits to the location, you won't get a full-blown description, although you can always get one by saying >LOOK (or by playing with the graphics screen in "LOOK" mode. (See also VERBOSE). *=page=21=*================================================================ TEXTFIRST As you move from location to location, you will encounter a wait while the new picture loads. If you would like to spend this time reading the text that accompanies the new location, use this command. See also PICFIRST. UNDO Probably the single most useful thing ever conceived in all of recorded human history. Undo simply takes you back one turn, undoing the effects of whatever bonehead thing you just did. UNSCRIPT Stops sending the text output to a file. VERBOSE Puts you in the level of maximum location descriptions; you'll get a full description of your location every single time you enter it. (See also TERSE). VERSION Gives you the release number of your copy of SPELLCASTING 101, as well as some legal stuff. VOLUME # If you have a sound card or sound module, the VOLUME command, followed by a number from 1-10, allows you to control the volume of the game's music. This command has no effect on the volume level of the RealSound sound effects. WAIT (Z) Ernie will just stand around while time passes in the story. You can also say things like WAIT 45 MINUTES or WAIT 3 HOURS or WAIT UNTIL 8:00. ABBREVIATIONS A - You would think this would be the abbreviation for AGAIN, wouldn't you. Well, you would be wrong. If that were the case, then a simple input like >GIVE A DOG A BONE would turn into the nightmarish >GIVE (AGAIN) DOG (AGAIN) BONE. Consequently, we treat "a" as an article rather than an abbrevation, and shorten "AGAIN" to "G". D-down O-oops X-examine E-east Q-quit Y-yes G-again S-south Z-wait I-inventory T-time NE-northeast L-look U-up SE-southeast N-north W-west SW-southwest NW-northwest *=pages=22=to=25=*========================================================= [These pages of the manual contain a sample transcript showing a typical interaction with a game like SPELLCASTING 101. I'm fucking tired of writing this teeny weeny manual, so I won't bother copying this transcript here. And WHAT would you have needed it for anyway?!?] *=page=26=*================================================================ [This page includes "...ten rules of thumb for those of you new at adventure gaming." I suppose you just CAN'T be a beginner with this kind of gaming, if you have succeeded in downloading this file. So I skip this one too... There was nothing but save-every-five-seconds -stuff here anyway...] *=pages=27=and=28=*======================================================== [Phew... Page 27 tells facts about the author of Spellcasting 101, Steve Meretzky. Steve is a great guy. If you want to know anything else about him, send e-mail to 76226,2356. Page 28 is available in the game itself - just type CREDITS...] *=page=29=*================================================================ [Oh no...] Technical Information HARD DISK INSTALLATION Before you play SPELLCASTING 101, we urge you to make backup copies of the disks that came in your game package. [:-)] The INSTALL.BAT batch file on System Disk #1 should be used to copy the game files from the floppies to the hard drive and to decompress the sound files. You will need at least 3,870,000 bytes of free space on your hard drive. If you don't have that much space to spare, you may consider deleting some of the following files from the hard disk after they gave been installed: *.MUS if you don't have a sound card *.RS if you don't want to hear the sound effects S101_E.PIC if you don't want to see the EGA graphics S101_C.PIC if you don't want to see the CGA graphics To use INSTALL.BAT, first turn on your machine and then insert System Disk #1 if drive "A". Type: A: and then press the key (hereafter, when we want you to press the key, we'll indicate this by printing ). Then type: INSTALL and follow the directions that appear on the screen. (NOTE: if you tore open the box, copied the diskds straight onto the hard drive, started up the game, wondered why you didn't here any sound effects, and THEN came hunting through the manual, it's because you didn't use INSTALL to decompress the sound files. Not to worry. Simply go to the directory to which you copied the disks and type UNPACK. This will decompress the sound files and you'll be hearing the miracle of digitized sound in no time.) HARD DISK START-UP If you have an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card be sure to run SOUND.COM before starting the game; see Music And Sound for more information. *=page=30=*================================================================ To start the game on the gard drive, (having already followed the installation procedure above) change to the directory in which you installed the game. For example, if you installed the game on "C" drive in \GAMES\LEGEND\S101, then you would type: C: and then CD \GAMES\LEGEND\S101 After this, type S101 and the game will run. If you get an out-of-memory message when starting the game, be sure you gave removed all of your TSR (terminate and stay resident) programs from memory. If on a 512k machine this still does not free up enough memory, you may wish to reboot your machine without your mouse or sound drivers and then play the game without your mouse or the musical score. You can also save memory by specifying CGA graphics instead of EGA. If you have a Roland MT-32 (or compatible) sound module, start the game with the command S101 MT32. If you have an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card (and you have run SOUND.COM), the game will automatically detect its presence and will default to it upon start-up. See the Configuration Default Overrides section to override these and other start-up defaults. FLOPPY DISK INSTALLATION First of all, we strongly recommend that you play the game from a hard disk if you have one. Doing so will significantly reduce the time it takes to load each picture, it will allow you to hear the game's Realound (TM) music and sound effects, and you won't wear your arm out swapping disks while you play the game. If you do gave a hard disk and want to follow this recommendation, please see the Hard Disk Installation section above. To play off floppies you must have two floppy drives (5 1/4" or 3 1/2"). Before you play SPELLCASTING 101, we urge you to make backup copies of the disks that came in your game package. Use the DOS COPY command to copy the contents of each floppy in the package to a blank formatted floppy. If *=page=31=*================================================================ one or both of your drives support disks larger tha 360k (i.e., 1.2M 5 1/4" floppy drive, or 720k 3 1/2" drive) you may combine the contents of the two System Disks, or two Picture/Music disks on a single floppy to reduce the amount of disk swapping required. Be sure to label each disk so you will know which one to use when the game requests a new floppy. NOTE: The Startup and System files should not be combined with the Picture/Music files (the computer wants to see them on different disk drives). See instruction for COPY in your DOS manual if you need information about copying files between floppies. FLOPPY DISK START-UP If you have an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card be sure to run SOUND.COM before starting the game; see Music And Sound for more information. To start the game from the floppies, (having already made your backups as described above) insert System Disk #1 in drive "A," insert Picture/Music Disk #1 into drive "B," and type: A: and then press the key (hereafter, when we want you to press the key, we'll indicate it by printing ). Then type: S101 to run the game. Follow the instructions on the screen as they appear. If you get an out-of-memory message when starting the game, be sure you gave removed all of your TSR (terminate and stay resident) programs from memory. If on a 512k machine this still does not free up enough memory, you may wish to reboot your machine without your mouse or sound drivers and then play the game without your mouse or the musical score. You can also save memory by specifying CGA graphics instead of EGA. If you have a Roland MT-32 (or compatible) sound module, start the game with the command S101 MT32. *=page=32=*================================================================ If you have an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card (and you have run SOUND.COM), the game will automatically detect its presence and will default to it upon start-up. See the Configuration Default Overrides section to override these and other start-up defaults. CONFIGURATION DEFAULT OVERRIDES The game will automatically detect what kind of graphics card you have (CGA, EGA, VGA, etc.) and it will default to the highest standard it finds. The game expects you to be using a Microsoft compatible mouse driver. If you mouse is wreaking havoc with the pictures, it's probably not Microsoft compatible. In this event, return to DOS and start the game by typing S101 XMOUSE. If you have a Roland MT-32 (or compatible) sound module, start the game with the command S101 MT32. If you have an AdLib Music Synthesizer Card (and you have run SOUND.COM), the game will automatically detect its presence and will default to it upon start-up. If you are playing from a hard disk, the game will play sound effects through the PC speker using RealSound, regardless of whether or not you have any sound cards or modules. (If you are playing from floppies, you will not hear any RealSound sound effects.) If you wish to override any of these defaults, you may type one or more of the following options, separated by spaces, after typing S101, but before pressing . CGA to force the game into Black and White CGA graphics if you have an EGA or VGA graphics card NOCYCLE to disable color cycling for Color EGA or VGA graphics *=page=33=*================================================================ MT32 # where the # is optional, and is a number from 3 to 9. This number will override the default MIDI IRQ channel 2. XMOUSE to override default mouse driver So, for example, if you have an EGA graphics card but you wish to see CGA graphics, then you would type: S101 CGA NOTE: The game will automatically default to high resolution EGA color graphics with AdLib music, if available, and RealSound sound effects. See the Music And Sound section of this manual for more information. *=ALL=THE=REMAINING=PAGES=(34=TO=39)======================================= [If you managed to download this file, all you have to know from the remaining pages is here: - S101 supports AdLib and these Roland MIDI modules: MT-32, MT-100, CM-32L and LAPC-1. !!!! - DO NOT USE ANY OTHER MIDI DEVICES! This software transmits System Exclusive MIDI data which may destroy system and patch data on MIDI synthesizers not supported by this product! E=N=D===O=F===F=I=L=E=!====================================================