
                         Dirty Play Door Instructions
                          By ConscienceWare Software
                        (----------------------------)
                      Copyright (C) 1990 by David Truong
                             All rights reserved.

              "Play the bad guy ... there are NO good guys here!"

 You pick up the brochure of the city. You begin to read and realize  that this
is the place for you! Crime, no punishment and lots of money to be had! Quickly
you pack your belongings (some clothes and thieving equipment) and hurry off to
the city. Upon arriving, the area is dismal and filled with seedy looking char-
acters that you've only read about in supermarket paperback books. In city hall
you pick up another brochure describing the good points of the city, you read:

  To enter our city, you will first need to create a character who will repres-
ent you. This is done automatically and you have probably already done it. Just
answer the three  questions that the  Dirty Play asks  you to  personalize your
character. The first  is the total sum of  two cards (when visiting the Casino)
to stop taking more cards when playing Baccarat. The default is "9" and is rec-
commended because you always want the highest card number.  The second question
is the amount of money to borrow every time you're challenged in the Casino and
have no money left. You must specify something because  everyone is  able to be
challenged by another player. The last question is the way your  character will
react when someone challenges him/her and (s)he loses. The five choices are:

Angry - Your character will usually react by shouting and yelling.
Casual - Real cool character. Nothing phases him/her.
Whine - Most likely will beg for the money back and complain.
Excuse - Will make up excuses as to why (s)he lost.
Happy - Will actually be happy that (s)he lost!

  "That seems easy enough", you think to yourself, so you read on:

  Every occupant of this city is only after one thing.  Since this is  the most
crooked  place  in the world,  everyone wants  to prove  that they're  the most
crooked! Every new thief that enters will be assigned the title of  Thug, which
is the lowest level (0). Through stealing, gambling and bartering,  you will be
able to raise up in rank. Since being a thief means  that you will  need flashy
items to  show off,  that is how you raise in rank. By  buying things  from the
stores around the area, your rank will increase from Thug to Robber to Thief to
Prowler to Master Thief and FINALLY Crime Lord.  Being a Crime Lord  is a dream
of everyone who lives in this city, but unfortunatly, it will be a long road to
the goal and when you get there, you may find that there's not as much  room at
the top as you think.  Becoming a Crime Lord is only part of it,  after you are
fortunate enough to  attain that title,  you will then have  to fight  off your
fellow thieves (there are NO friends in this city!) to keep on reigning  as the
Crime Lord. Everyone will try to have the longest  reign as  Crime Lord without
being toppled down. Once you get on top,  you will have to be aggressive & take
initiative by making the first moves to stop others from doing harm to you!
  You attain levels by buying  products of higher and  higher quality  with the
money that you've stolen. There are four products that you can buy, each having
five different items of higher and higher value. They are (from least expensive
product to most expensive):  furniture, car, house  and business.  Within those
four categories are five other items (each category) that are increasingly more
expensive. In order to become the Crime Lord, you will need to buy the  BEST of
each category. By buying mixes and matches of the different items in each cate-
gory, you will attain different levels. Such as buying two 2nd  least expensive
item in two different categories and buying one least expensive item in another
category, you will attain level 1 (robber), or three least expensive  items and
and one 2nd least expensive item. Now that I've told you ONLY a couple  of ways
to get to 1st level, I will leave the rest of the level combinations up to you.
  Stealing  things can happen in many of the areas. Be careful, though,  if you
are only starting out, stealing could be a little risky. Many starters  who are
not careful are caught by the police. Don't worry, everyone gets caught eventu-
ally, so it is not the end of the world. If you are caught,  the police'll fine
you (increasingly more expensive as you get caught more times).  If you are un-
able to pay, the police will then take some of your turns for the day away dep-
ending upon the amount you owe, the amount of turns taken away could range from
1 to 30!  Considering you only have  35 turns a day, that could be devastating.
I hear that the police department here does get fed up with  you after  you get
caught too often and have some very effective way of punishing you, though I am
not aware of anyone who's actually had that done to him, yet! Good news! As you
raise in rank, your thieving abilities will become better,  so you  will have a
better chance of success. If you're new here,  I'd stick with the easier,  less
expensive heists first before you go for the big bucks.
  Even walking the streets are dangerous in this city (remember where you're at
and you'll see why). See, there are people waiting, hiding behind cars,  houses
and even bushes, waiting to jump you. When you travel from one area to another,
you have choices as to what method of transportation you want to use. The least
expensive is, of course, by foot (costing nothing), up to a limo ride  which is
($50) a pop. Just remember, the more expensive the ride, the better  chance you
have of NOT getting mugged. Also, the higher level  you are,  the better chance
you have for not being mugged, also.  When you are mugged  (and it  will happen
more than you'd like), the mugger will take either money, or items that you are
carrying (items are things you steal from characters).
  Here is a quick run down of the commands available to you when you're  on the
streets:

  "?" or "H"elp - lists the commands available to you.
  "E"nter Current Location - Allows you  to enter the location that you  are in
(1 of the 14 available to you).  Each location serves a  different purpose  and
you'll most likely be needing something from each of them some time or another!
  "G"o To Another Location - Allows you to go to another area. (1 of 14). After
you pick this menu, it will list the areas and then it will ask you what method
of transportation you will use to get there.  The time  in-between one  area to
the other is when you have a chance to  get mugged!  Once you are familiar with
the different area locations and the  methods of  getting there,  you may stack
commands to skip having to wait for the location  and transportation  menues to
be displayed every time you move. You're able to do this by typing "G" plus the
number of the location you wish to go to, then the number of the transportation
you want to use. IE: "G 14 1" will take you to the park by foot.
  "I"nstructions - What you're reading right now!
  "M"ode (Color off/on) - Allows you to turn the ANSI color on/off.
  "N"ew Events Since - Lists events that happened (such as someone buying a new
house,  car, business,  destroying a house,  stealing from another player, etc)
since a date that you specify, or the date that you were last on.
  "O"ther Users - Lists all the other thieves in the game currently, plus their
level and title.
  "Q"uit Dirty Play Door - Allows you to quite and return to the board.
  "R"ead Daily Newspaper - Allows  you  to read  "The Dailey Crime Scene Post".
It will  list events such as  mercenaries that have been  paid to steal  from a
player, re-possession's of player's items due to the  fact that they  failed to
pay overdue loans from "The Boss", or even news about the town!
  "S"tatistics - Lists your stats, what kind of business, car, house, furniture
you own, how many grenades and bullets you have left, your last date on, if you
have a burglar alarm, the number of times caught by the police,  how much money
you have, how much money you owe to the loan shark,  how many days you  have to
pay the loan shark back, plus other things.
  "U"pdate Your Record - Allows you to change your  choices that  you chose  at
beginning of the program (when you first made your character).
  "V"ersion of Dirty Play - Lists the version number and compile date.

  The city  has fourteen major areas and there may be sub-areas in some  of the
areas. They are as follows:

 1. The ConscienceWare casino.  The ritziest place in the whole city,  but just
 remember where you are! In here, you can play  against the  dealer and  try to
 win money from the dealer or against other players. Real players that you cha-
 llenge will actually lose money and their scores will reflect that.  This is a
 good place to do some damage to your fellow thieves (other players).   In case
 you don't know how to play baccarat, here is a quick run down of the rules.
  You are dealt two cards, the amount of the two cards cannot be over nine,  if
 it is,  the tens digit is  dropped from sum  (so 8+7=15, so you would have 5).
 The object is to get closest to 9 with two or three cards as possible.  Losing
 to a real player/opponent here will give the player your money,  but also vice
 versa. So you could gain some money and hurt your fellow players with 1 stone.

 2. The ConscienceWare Mall. This place is a dump! Almost everything's closed!!
 It's also a good place to steal money,  though.  There  are five  stores still
 ranging from cheap to extremely ritzy and the amount of money you can steal'll
 vary depending on which store. Remember, you CAN (will) get caught sometimes!

 3. The Suburbs.  Forget what you  know about "home town"  neighborhoods.  This
 place is CRAZY! This is where all the player's houses are located at. (That is
 all the players that HAVE bought houses). You will be able to enter the 'burbs
 and try to break into your neighbor's house (other players)  to  try and steal
 their money or their furniture. Remember, if your neighbor's  tougher  (higher
 leveled) than you, it'll be tougher and if he has a burglar alarm, forget it!!
 Crazy thing, you'll also be able to bomb their houses  and destroy it,  making
 sure that they'll go down in rank and also won't be a threat to you.  Why, not
 only that, but you'll even be able to spray paint all over their house!! Isn't
 that just like your neighborhood?!! Here is a brief description of commands:

"B"reak In & Steal Furniture - Allows you to break in and steal your neighbor's
furniture. As before, the higher level he is, the tougher it'll be, unless,  of
course, you are high leveled, also! Watch out for burglar alarms, they make the
stealing harder and the cops'll be on the way!
"D"estroy House - Allows you to grenade your neighbor's house until there's not
one shrewd left. Depending on what type of house it is,  it will  take anywhere
from five to a hundred grenades to destroy a house. You'll have  to experiement
to find out the correct number.
"L"eave House - Allows you to leave the yard and return to the streets.
"P"eek Through the Window - You'll look through the house's window and see what
type of furniture (if any) and how much money you can steal from another player
"R"ead Graffiti - You'll be able to read the graffiti that's been spray painted
on the walls by other players (or yourself). Newest graffiti is  listed first &
the graffiti will be DIFFERENT for each different house in the neighborhood!
"S"tatistics - Will list your statistics (as described before)
"T"hief Money from Owner - You'll attempt to steal money from the owner  of the
the house, and the risks are the same as stealing furniture.
"V"andalize House - You'll be able to use your spray paint and write a one line
mess(age) across the wall. Keep it clean!  We're a "respectable"  neighborhood!

 4. Businesses - You will enter the corporate business section of the city. You
will be able to see who owns a business (and what type) here and you  will also
be able to buy a business (provided that you've stolen the proper funds).

 5. Police Station - This is the place you'll end up in  front of when  you are
caught and fined. Go inside and you'll also be able to read the ten most wanted
criminals in the city list (hopefully your SysOp will have that up in a bullet-
in  so you  won't have to waste a turn to look at it here)  and you'll  also be
able to converse with the friendly neighborhood desk sergeant. I hear  he's got
some very HELPFUL hints to tell you  (for a price).  A different price will get
you a different hint (the higher the price the more helpful the hint).  I would
recommend that you write down everything you hear from him, even if  it doesn't
make sense now it will in the future as you learn more about the game. One word
of caution, though, sometimes paying too much is worst than paying too little!

 6. Car Dealership - The dealer here will be more than happy to sell you a car!
They have a wide selection, from cheap C-Go's to  the expensive  and impressive
Torch convertibles.  You have to pay CASH upfront, so no easy monthly  payments
are accepted or even considered. They did that once, but everyone skipped town.

 7. Mercenary Guild - Here, you will be able to hire mercenaries to steal money
from other thieves (players). The amount of money you're willing to pay will be
a factor on the amount stolen.  The better the  mercenary you hire,  the better
and the bigger the heist will be! All mercenary action is carried out at night.

 8. Realtor - The  realtors here will be more  than happy to sell  you a house!
Depending on the price you're willing to pay, you'll end up with a shack  or up
to a mansion! You will also be prompted to give  a name for  your "estate",  so
make up a good name for it to impress the neighbors (other players).

 9. Ammunition Store - This is the busiest store of the whole city!  Here,  you
will be able to buy bullets or/and grenades.  Bullets are 100 a piece  and when
in combinations of six, MIGHT be able to scare off  your victims in  the city's
park after an unsuccessful attempt to steal  from them.  Grenades  are $5000  a
shot, and a certain amount of grenades will be able  to destroy a  certain type
of house. You'll have to experiment as to how many will destroy what.  One word
of caution: you may only carry 32,000 bullets AND 32,000 grenades at  any given
time. So if you buy more than 32,000 of either of these, you're wasting money!!
You DO have to keep light on your feet, can't have things weighing you down!

10. Loan Shark - The only city where a loan shark operation is legal! You gotta
love it! You'll have to come here to re-pay back "loans"  and/or to  take out a
loan.  This is the hang-out of  "The Boss".  The city's only loan shark, he was
able to drive every other  one out so he  wouldn't have to  offer "competitive"
rates, and uncompetitive they are. Depending on your level, you will be able to
take out a loan anywhere from $5000 to $600000! Be warned! "The Boss" will only
give you a week (7 days) to pay back the "loan" AND he also charges  a whopping
50% interest!  So, you see how someone could  easily be  wiped out  in baccarat
when (s)he has to borrow money when challenged! If you don't pay it back by the
7 days, The Boss will send his boys after you and they will re-possess  some of
your "stuff" to make up for it. You're lucky "The Boss" is a pacifist!

11. Pawn Shop - This is the place  to go when  you want to  unload some  of the
rather "warm" merchandise  that you  have picked up  at the park.  Scrooge, the
owner of the place will probably try to get a bargain  from you  (and  who said
this game wasn't like real life?!). He will offer you a price,  but you will be
able to barter with him, accepting or not accepting until you reach  either the
actual price, or a price you both like. Be warned, Scrooge is  not a  very nice
or patient man, so there is  a chance that  he will kick you  out of his store.
The longer you hang around and try to barter with him,  the shorter  his temper
gets. You'll be able to go back in and try to barter with  him again  after you
are kicked out, but that wastes a valuable turn!

12. City Park - The nicest place in the whole city (relatively speaking).  Many
different and STRANGE people come around here. Over 80 different  characters in
all inhabit the park and many strange items they carry, too! These items can be
stolen off them and sold at the pawn shop.  Be warned! Some characters are more
aware and stronger than other characters. Although their descriptions don't say
anything about their level, you may be able to tell from the description or the
items they carry. If your level is the same as theirs, you have a  good chance,
if you level is higher, a great chance!  But if your level  is lower  (and some
are much, much lower) your chances drop severely and you'll probably get caught
by the character and taken to the police station. I hear that the desk sergeant
MAY know what the levels of some of the characters are (for a price!). The time
of day you play the game may also have some bearing as to the encounter rate of
characters, also. Like in real life, people don't like  going out when  it gets
late. If you "W"ait around for more than five turns and nothing  shows up,  you
get bored and leave the park (thus wasting another turn to get back in if you'd
like). You may only steal five items before you have to pawn, also, as a thief,
you have to stay light on your feet & can't get bogged down by too much stuff!!
Here's a brief description of the commands you'll be able to use when ya enter:

 "I"tems in Possession - Will list the items you have  currently stolen.  Items
stolen only last with you during the CURRENT game play, so if you quit, hang-up
or are kicked out of the door, those items will be gone,  so pawn often!  Also,
remember that some of your items MAY be stolen when you get mugged!
 "L"eave The Park - Allows you to leave the park and go back into the streets.
 "S"tatistics - Lists your statistics (as described earlier).
 "T"hief Victim - You'll attempt to steal from the person that is  currently in
the immediate area. Be careful of his/her level, it may mean success or a visit
to the police station (AGAIN! and again.)
 "V"iew Victim's Desc. - Will give you a brief description of the character, so
you can size him/her up better and decide to steal from them or not!
 "W"ait For Another Victim To Come - If you don't like the character here  (you
think he's too tough for you to handle, or don't like the items he's carrying),
you can just "W"ait and another character should come in a little while. Like I
said before, the encounter rate is dependant on the time you play the game!

 A few final and closing words from the mayor  of the city and the "architect":

 Although this place seems  very complicated and hard  to understand,  like any
good game, you will need to experiment  a little to get  the feel of  the game.
Don't be afraid to get caught  by the police,  I can't even play  without being
caught! It's part of the game, but the fines could get a bit high!  Start slow,
as in real life, experience comes slowly,  but once you  have it,  everything's
like clock-work. Keep good notes of things (such as how hard a character  is to
steal from (in the park), things  the police  sergeant says, etc).  Some of the
characters in the park are tough to steal from, learn to recognize them, but if
you are successful against them,  the rewards are amazing!  Baccarat is  only a
small part of the game, but it does have it's purposes, think about it  and I'm
sure you'll be able to figure out some uses for it. Once you  purchase an item,
such as the cheapest car,  and you want to move up to a better item,  the price
that you paid for that car will not be subtracted if  you buy a more  expensive
car, so you'll have to make a decision as to save up and buy big all at once or
move up slowly. Me? I'd go for the slow, there's always  a chance  that someone
could steal your money and when you move up slowly,  you have  the advantage of
going up in rank making stealing easier and easier instead of struggling  for a
long time and then becoming really powerful all at once. Write some graffiti on
the houses, or at least your own. Gives it a nice personal  touch and  makes it
more of a game and interesting. Keep it clean, though, that keeps everyone nice
(at least in real life it does, here... no one's nice! :-)). Most of all,  tell
more people to play. The more people who participate, the more  interesting and
challenging the game will be (although if you're the only one playing,  it will
still be very challenging). I promise that  it'll be more  interesting  and fun
once everyone's established and everyone's trying to gain  control of  that all
elusive Crime Lord title. You'll have to stay on your toes if you're it! That's
it! That's all  I have to say,  it's not everything  about the game.  I've only
scratched the surface. You, as the thief, as the player and possibly Crime Lord
will have to experiment and  find some  things out for  yourself!  Have fun and
remember, if I steal from you, or destroy your house (or anyone else does),  it
isn't anything personal. It's just a game! Take care!


Dave Truong
Programmer of Dirty Play Door
ConscienceWare Software
