Robert J. Deutsch 1152 N. 14th St. Allentown, PA 18102 Net: madman6@ix.netcom.com *** WELCOME TO MORBIUS' ISTHMUS! *** A World-Simulation RPG by Robert J. Deutsch SYSTEM NOTES, PLAYER'S GUIDE For: Morbius' Isthmus (Version 1.0) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: You will need at least a 386SX PC compatible machine with 16mhz speed, MS-DOS 5.0, and 2 megabytes RAM. Recommended is a 486+ but it is alright on a 386SX/16. Installing a drive CACHE is also recommended. ************ FINE TUNING FOR YOUR SYSTEM ********************* You can adjust several speed factors such as how fast monsters and people walk when the hero is walking or standing still as well as the speed at which torches flicker and clocks tick, etc. This can be very important if you are running a fast machine like a 66 or Pentium. When in the game, press SHIFT plus the _ underline key. You will see three numbers, like maybe 3000,8,8 You can enter new ones. Here are a few examples: Good numbers for a 386SX/16 are: 1100,2,4 (Enter with commas) Good numbers for a 486DX/33 are: 2000,8,8 (Enter with commas) Good numbers for a 486SX/50 are: 3000,12,12 (Enter with commas) Good numbers for a 66/Pentium : 9000,11,11? 11000,13,13? Varies. (This can vary on different machines. All values can be in the range of 1-32000 for a wide range of optimization.) The first number is a ratio that controls how fast people and monsters will move in RELATION to your character -- when he is walking as opposed to standing still. The goal is to enter some number between about 1-32000 so that people walk at the same speed whether you are walking or standing. You can determine an accurate value by watching as NPC's walk nearby. Walk a bit, stop, walk again. The NPC's should continue at the same pace, whether you are walking or standing still. If not, try a higher or lower value. Lower values speed them up. Higher values slow them down. The second number controls the speed of moving things, like torches, waterfalls, blinking things, etc. Use the above reference to modify it, probably a value between 2 and 100 or so. Higher if needed. The third number is for the various grandfather clocks you will find. Again, experiment with values between 2-100. They will not affect the actual time in the game, but merely adjust the realism of the tick and pendulum for different machines. This number is usually close to the things number. Walk near a clock and watch it's tick. Try different numbers until it goes at a realistic speed. The installed program will require about 2.5 megabytes of hard drive space. It has been tested with everything except hard disk compression utilities. Although it might work, we would recommend not to use a disk compression utility. It will also help speed the game. You should also exit WINDOWS because sometimes the game can conflict with Windows. Run it from the DOS prompt, exited from windows. The game CAN run in Win3.1 or Win95, but if you experience wierds slurs in the speaker and slow-ups, its best to exit windows, or if in Win95, re-start it in the true DOS mode. MORBIUS' ISTHMUS -- The Story so far... A long time ago, legend says an alien from the stars visited some people living in a dormant volcano. That was generations ago. Lately there has been a strange unrest growing amongst the people in this underland world. Does it signify the return of the alien, whom legend calls: Morbius? Or is something more evil invading the dungeon? Thrust here by a mystery which you hope to be a dream, YOU must confront the truth in mankind's first contact with an alien entity from the stars! *** PLAYGUIDE *** ***MAKE SURE THE CAPS AND NUMLOCK KEYS ARE ON!*** Just run the file MORBI to begin the game! You'll see other EXE's in the list, but it'll crash if you don't run only MORBI to play. You'll need to be in the right directory, for example: CD C:\MYSTUFF\DOWNLOAD (ENTER) or whatever, then type MORBI or run MORBI.EXE from Win3.1's file/run menu, or Win95's start. Again, if you hear wierd sounds and slow-ups, get into DOS. When you are done looking at the title screen, tap any key. You will be taken to the main menu. When first running the game, you should select V for view introduction. It tells about the mountain and why you're here. When it is done, you will be back at the menu. Now select S to start a new game. If you type Q for quest onward by mistake, it could crash until you have a SAVEd game. After the game loads, you will see a viewport where the hero has arrived. Everything happens in this viewport. Underneath is his statistics and a quick-list of commands. The stats line contains the following: LEV:1 HP:65 HM:65 EXP:0 MANA:15 AC:0 ATC:0 AMMO:0 GOLD:5 These are abbreviations for: Level, Hit Points, Hitpoints Maximum, Experience, Mana Points, Armor Class, Attack Class, Amount of Ammo, and Amount of Gold. Level is an over-all indicator of how powerful you are. It also controls how many hitpoints you have, as well as mana. Hit points are your current energy. It will go down in combat, but can be restored by sleeping (if you have food in your pack), or by magical means. You can also restore a bit by eating. In the jungle dungeon area, you can eat as much as you want from the trees. You will also find nourishing berries in the game. Hitmax is controlled by level. It shows the maximum hit points you can have. This also can be modified by magical means, and will rise as your level rises. You will discover early in the game how to move up levels. Experience is an over-all measure of how much you have accomplished. Mana is like hit points, but determines how much magical energy you have for casting spells. It will go up when you rest to a maximum determined by level, or can be adjusted with certain herbs you will find in your quest. It will always restore to full when you sleep at an Inn. Armor Class is a value from 0-15, with 15 the strongest. It determines how much you will resist enemy blows, and is determined by what type of helm, shield and armor you are wearing. Some people claim there is magical armor, but most Arms Masters regard this as hogwash, since it supposedly raises one's AC to 18. Attack Class determines how powerful your current weapon is, and gives an indication of how hard you will hit an enemy. Many variables in combat can modify this somewhat. Ammunition shows how many projectiles you have for a ranged weapon. These are kept in a seperate quiver, and will not clutter your inventory pack. Gold is how many gold pieces you have in your purse, also seperate from the main inventory pack. *** COMMANDS *** The keyboard inputs are very intuitive and easy to use. They are all highlighted at the bottom of the screen. Please remember to keep NUM and CAPS lock ON. At every step of every command, a display line will appear at the bottom of the screen listing available options. We firmly believe the player should have it easy with inputting commands, and save his problem solving for the quest! Movement is controlled with the KEYPAD arrow keys. For now, you can move in four directions. In COMBAT, however, you can ATTACK in all eight, using keys 7,9,1 and 3 as well as 4,6,8 and 2. (See addendum) L-Look: When tapped, you'll see a red cursor. Move it with the same arrows as for walking. The cursor will move all over the screen. Tap L again to get a description of anything in the land. Remember to LOOK in open chests, and BLOODSPLATS if you kill a monster. Many neat items are found in this manner! This is also needed to LOOK in a hole you may have dug for treasure. G-Get: When tapped, you'll be asked to enter a direction. Simply tap an arrow keypad key. If you have room in your inventory, and are next to the item, you'll pick it up and it will be in your inventory. This is also true of getting things from open chests, cabinets, and other containers, as well as any holes you might dig with your shovel. T-Talk: This works just like get, but move next to a person beforehand. You will enter talk mode and see a nice portrait of the person. Ask his NAME or JOB, and BYE to exit. Tapping ENTER with no input will work the same as BYE. Many words will be seen in RED highlight, and later in your quest you'll find even more words that the people can talk about. Just type what you see hilighted in RED, or any special topics you might learn from others. NPC interaction is an important part of this game. For example, all characters respond to NAME or JOB, but someone may say: "Be sure to ask Hector about the GEM". (gem will be in red) - Later, if you meet Hector, you could ask him about GEM even if it is not highlighted in red. (Perhaps it's a secret clue or something!) Remember, each red highlight is all you need. For example, if MAGIC SCROLL is highlighted, you type MAGIC SCROLL, not: TELL ME ABOUT THE MAGIC SCROLL. No periods or punctuation is needed. U-Use: This is the do it all command. You can open chests, close them, open and close doors, sit on certain chairs, throw switches on and off, pick fruit from trees and bushes, get bones from a skeleton, dig holes, read books and scrolls, and even climb up glaciers! (With the right tool readied.) Using items on land asks you to then enter a direction. In your inventory, some items, like a watch or sextant, get used right away by moving the cursor over the item and tapping 'U'. But if an item in your inventory needs to act upon something on the land, you will be prompted. We made it easy to do! Just tap the direction of what you want to USE it on when asked. Items in hand, like a shovel, are used immediately, without needing to open your pack. For example, if you have a SHOVEL armed in your hand where you usually hold a weapon, you can USE the ground in front of you to dig a hole, then LOOK inside! It's very realistic! The 'use' command will always attempt to use what ever you have in hand. If nothing is in your hand, it means bare hands. See inventory about putting things on. An armed grappler hook will allow you to USE the icy land before you to climb glaciers, etc. A-Attack: Weapon readied in hand, you approach a monster, or he you. Hit A for Attack. You'll see a printout on the screen bottom as to what you are attacking with. Just tap in a direction of which way you're attacking, and whamo! Your heroic senses will also detect how many hit points the monster has. Remember, you can attack in all eight directions, and there are also some ranged weapons. (Just tap in the direction of the distant monster.) And don't forget that these monsters fight back! If the screen flashes red, it means you're going critical, so move away quick! I-Inventory Control: When tapped, your inventory will open, graphically displaying your items. A little pointer will appear, which looks much like a professor at a school would use. Again using the arrow keypad, move it around. You will also see a new list of options appear at the screen bottom. Move the rod over an item to select it. The SELECTED item is what the following commands will act upon. You'll see this list when in inventory: L-Look: Describes the item currently pointed to. U-Uses the item. (Watches, sextants, keys, read book, etc.) D-Drops the item. Get near any open chest. (Baldwin doesn't like to litter!) You'll need to be east, west, north or south of the chest to drop things, and the chest must be empty. I guess Lord Baldwin could only afford small chests! P-Put on items -- When selected, you'll be asked Helm, Shield Weapon, Armor. Just tap in the first letter. If you already have something there being worn, the items will automatically switch places. Really! Remember, the item going ON is the one over which you currently have the cursor. Use this to 'arm' shovels, etc, too. An item like a shovel will go in the weapon hand so select 'W'. T-Take off armor -Like above, but will remove the item as long as there's a blank spot in your backpack. Since items switch automatically if something is already worn, you don't really need this, but it's nice to have anyway. After all, you won't want to be wearing 100 pounds of armor while visiting the girls of level six! The rod cursor can be anywhere in the pack to do this. ESC -Key -Close your backpack. *** OTHER COMMANDS *** S-Savegame: Saves your current game progress. R-Restore : Restores a previous savegame. This will happen automatically whenever you begin play with (Q)uest Onward from the menu screen when you begin a play session, if you have a saved game. Please don't (Q)uest onward without first saving a game, or it'll crash and you'll need to start your quest over! Y-Yell: You will learn many magic spells from Leomund. They are words shouted in a deep, resonant voice, and will burn some mana. After you tap Y for yell, just enter one of these words. For a list of spells and their words, USE the spellbook that Leomund will give you. Talking with Leomund you'll learn everything you need to know about spells. You will also find that the herbalist on Level One knows much about herbal magic. Magic is endless in this game! Remember, LOOK and USE are two different things. If you L for LOOK at a book, it will simply say you see a book. To READ the book means to USE it. Q-Quit: When you are done adventuring, use this command to exit the game. Be sure to save your current game first, as it does not automatically save. *** ADDENDUM *** NEW features in this version! -FULL save/load game feature is very Fast! -Detailed overhad map now available all the time! Type 'M'. -B for Blink command allows you to teleport to any level! -Online help (this document), when you type H for HELP. -Improved prompts and highlighted commands for easier play. -New monster artificial intelligence! Watch out for the spirit demons! -You may now also use the ARROW keys for ALL functions! This SHAREWARE version allows you to explore quite a bit of the huge land, about one third. The rest of the quest is inexpensive at $14. Registrations in check or MO can be sent to: Robert J. Deutsch 1152 N. 14th St. Allentown, PA 18102 If you have any questions regarding any of these games, feel free to contact me at my net id of madman6@ix.netcom.com or write the above address. But wait... You may ask, why register something like this at all? What will the result be of registering above and beyond getting the full game? Well, we need some newer equipment for what we're >CURRENTLY< working on, to complete it. I've included some early snaps from...IT... ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* If you have a PAINT program, or a picture viewer program that supports 256 colors, fire it up and get into the directory where MORBIUS resides. Look for six files with a .PCX extension. Banco! ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* ************************************************************************* *************************************************************************