********* Welcome to Project 64! The goal of Project 64 is to preserve Commodore 64 related documents in electronic text format that might otherwise cease to exist with the rapid advancement of computer technology and declining interest in 8- bit computers on the part of the general population. If you would like to help by converting C64 related hardcopy documents to electronic texts please contact the manager of Project 64, Cris Berneburg, at 74171.2136@compuserve.com. Extensive efforts were made to preserve the contents of the original document. However, certain portions, such as diagrams, program listings, and indexes may have been either altered or sacrificed due to the limitations of plain vanilla text. Diagrams may have been eliminated where ASCII-art was not feasible. Program listings may be missing display codes where substitutions were not possible. Tables of contents and indexes may have been changed from page number references to section number references. Please accept our apologies for these limitations, alterations, and possible omissions. Document names are limited to the 8.3 file convention of DOS. The first characters of the file name are an abbreviation of the original document name. The version number of the etext follows next. After that a letter may appear to indicate the particular source of the document. Finally, the document is given a .TXT extension. The author(s) of the original document and members of Project 64 make no representations about the accuracy or suitability of this material for any purpose. This etext is provided "as-is". Please refer to the warantee of the original document, if any, that may included in this etext. No other warantees, express or implied, are made to you as to the etext or any medium it may be on. Neither the author(s) nor the members of Project 64 will assume liability for damages either from the direct or indirect use of this etext or from the distribution of or modification to this etext. ********* The Project 64 etext of the unofficial Adventure Construction Set instructions. Converted to etext by anonymous, supplied by "Frank" Jeno E. Kontros , the Non Stop Cracker. Some of the information in this etext is assumed to be close enough to the original hardcopy version until an original can be converted, which is likely to be called ACS10B.TXT. ACS10A.TXT, September 1996, etext #84. ********* ***************************************************************** * ADVENTURE CONSTRUCTION SET * ***************************************************************** * Docs By Docs "R" Us BBS 914-668-3664 Open 24 hours 7 days * * a 8 week with over 5 Megs On-Line * ***************************************************************** 1. MAKING AN ADVENTURE will need your ACS disk and a blank disk (or one which you will no longer need). Boot your ACS disk and select "Make an Adventure Disk." Then use your controller (joystick, keyboard or mouse) to move the cursor down and into the name of the adventure you want (either "Land of Adventuria" or "Rivers of Light") and press the button (or space bar). "The Land of Adventuria" contains a "How to Play" tutorial adventure plus 6 other mini-adventures. "Rivers of Light", is a large, complex adventure designed to delight even t he most experienced adventurer. (It was built entirely with the same ACS system you have, by the way. Except it was not done with a pirated copy! !.) Creating an adventure disk may require several disk swaps if you do not have 2 disk drives. Follow the instructions as they appear. When the process is complete use the controller to move the cursor up to EXIT, and press the button as prompted. 2. CREATING A CHARACTER - Select "Play an Adventure," then press the button as prompted. Select "Create a New Player" when it appears (by pressing the button while that option is highlighted), and continue to follow the prompts. When a character picture appears, move the controller (joystick, mouse, or keyboard arrows) right and left to look at different picture choices, and press the button to select the one you want. Then type in a name and press the button once more. Up to 4 characters can play at once. And since players take turns moving, all four can be controlled from the same input. More information about adding people to the adventure can be found farther down the doc. 3. READING THE ON-SCREEN STATUS REPORTS - Once you've selected a character, the display will change. You'll find your character standing somewhere in the adventure you chose . If you chose "Land of Adventuria" your character will be standing just above a castle in a valley between 2 mountain ranges. The castle marks t he entrance into a simple adventure called "How to Play." 4. MOVING YOUR CHARACTER - To move your character, move the controller in the direction you want the character to go. The bar on the left side of the screen will shorten with each move. When the bar is gone, that character's turn is over. (The bar will also shorten gradually even if you don't move. Time passes as you play, and you aren't given forever to decide what to do.) If you try to move onto a square which contains impossible terrain (mountains, for instance) or an obstacle, your character won't move and your movement bar won't change. If you try to move onto an object which you can pick up, you'll be told the name of the object you are adding to your list of possessions and you'll be prompted to press the butt on to continue. If you try to move into a creature and you have a melee weapon (like a knife, a sword or a club), a battle will be initiated. The computer will give you a blow-by-blow account of the battle, prompting you to press "!" button when necessary. If there's only one character in the game and there are no computer controlled creatures on the screen, that character may move again when the movement bar reappears. If others are playing or if there are creatures in the room, each will get a turn be fore the first character moves again. (Note: If different players are simultaneously exploring different regions, each will be given several turns each time his or her turn comes around.) 5. EXPLORING THE WORLD OF AN ADVENTURE - As you move, you'll see more map scroll into view. The main map of an adventure can cover an area 40 squares by 40 squares but only a 10 by 10 area can be seen at once. Scattered about on the main map are "doors" into regions within the map, like the castle that leads to " How to Play" in the "Land of Adventuria". The Land of Adventuria contains 7 such regions, one for each of the 7 mini-adventures. A region can itself contain up to 16 different rooms. When you move into rooms, new area does not scroll into view. Instead, when you move onto a door that leads to another room (or another region or even back to the main map,) the picture of the new location completely replaces the picture of the old one. 6. THINGS YOU CAN DO DURING YOUR TURN - If you press your button when it's your turn, a menu containing additional options will appear in the message bar. To select one of the options, use your control to move the highlight to it, then press the butt on. SUMMARY OF PLAYER OPTIONS This section describes actions a player/character can take during a turn. To produce the menu containing these options, press the button. To select an option, move the highlight bar to it then press the button again and follow the prompts, if any, as they appear. MOVE - Select this to remove the menu so you can move your character. REST - Select this to attempt to restore some Life Force into a wounded character. FIRE - Select this to use a missile weapon (if you're carrying one) like a bow, rifle, grenade, etc. USE OBJECT - Select this to use a magic object you are carrying. Magic objects always work, but some magic items must be dropped instead of used to be activated. DROP OBJECT - Select this when you want to drop a possession to see if it's magic or to put it on a particular square you're adjacent to, or when you simply want to stop carrying something. If you use the option on the main map, whatever you drop will be lost forever from that adventure. USE POWER - Select this when you want to cast a spell you possess. The greater your character's Power, the greater the chance that spells will work. Note: be careful with spells which banish creatures. A banished creature takes all its possessions with it, so don't banish the creature who just stole the key you need to get into the next room. NEW WEAPON - Select this so you can ready a weapon you're carrying for use. (Note: Picking up a weapon automatically readies it.) NEW ARMOR - Select this to put on or ready a piece of armor you're carrying. PROFILE - Select this to look at your character's rating in the categories described in the next sect ion and to see your possessions. ADD SOMEONE - Select this to add another character to the adventure. (Up to 4 can play at once. ) The character will come onto the map at the same place the first one did, regardless of when the new character begins playing. If you choose to add a character from another ACS adventure, you'll be prompted through the necessary steps. The character will come with its traits and skills intact, but it will keep none of its possessions. RETIRE - Select this to save your character for later use or to remove a character from an adventure altogether. SAVE GAME - Select this to save an adventure in progress but continue playing. IMPORTANT! If your character should happen to fall victim to a powerful monster of deadly trap, all is not lost. You will be given the opportunity to resume the game at the point where you last used "SAVE GAME". "SAVE GAME" is automatically invoked when you enter or leave a region. SUMMARY OF TRAITS AND SKILLS In the course of an adventure the numbers will change to reflect the outcome of battles. To see your ratings, select profile from the menu. (A mark like this "®!®" next to a trait in your profile signifies a higher than average rating for that item. A similar mark pointing downward signifies a lower than average rating.) THE TRAITS The maximum possible number for each trait is shown in parentheses following the trait description. Normal starting range is 90 to 11 for all traits except Speed. Normal starting range for speed is 6 to 7. SPEED - How far an individual can move each turn. Speed may be permanently increased and decreased by magic spells. An individual's movement range can be decreased by trying to carry too much weight and by being adjacent to an individual who is aggressive and not friendly. Movement range is indicated by the rising bar on the left side of the screen. (Maximum of 15.) LIFE FORCE AND CONSTITUTION - Life Force (shown by the rising bar on the .k!Qside of the screen) is an individual's physical durability. Blows received from an enemy in battle sub tract from an individual's Life Force as does being the victim of certain spells. Being the 'victim' of other spells can add to Life Force. When Life Force goes to 0, an individual dies. (Maximum of 63 for Life Force and 31 for Constitution.) Constitution is an individual's natural capacity for Life Force. For new characters, initial Life Force is al ways the same as Constitution. Wounded individuals may restore lost Life Force up to the limit of their Constitution by using the "REST" option. If they do not rest, their lost Life Force will return, but it will take 6 times as long to do so. Characters whose Life Force is greater than their Constitution will fight better. POWER AND WISDOM - Blows received from an enemy in battle also reduce an individual's Power. So does using magic spells and objects, and being the victim of certain spells you may encounter. Other spells may increase Power. The higher an individual's Power rating, the greater the chance that the spells he casts will succeed. Individuals with higher Power ratings also fight better than those with lower ones, and they are more resistant to battle damage. Power is not stable. On each turn, an individual's Power will increase or decrease by a small amount in the direction of the individual's Wisdom rating. Thus Wisdom is an individual's natural spell casting ability, toward which his Power will always end. Wisdom also helps an individual make better deals when selling items to a store. (Maximum of 127 for Power and 31 for Wisdom.) STRENGTH - Swords, treasures, armor, gold, etc. all have weight, An individual's strength determines how much weight he can carry without being slowed down. If you notice a decline in your movement bar, yet have not been the victim of a "reduce speed" spell and are not standing next to any aggressive unfriendliness, chances are that you're trying to carry too much stuff. You need to drop some things or find a magic bag or horse or some other means of carrying more we ight. If you are wounded, your ability to carry things declines. I t returns as you heal. (Maximum of 31) SIZE - Larger individuals make more powerful fighters. Smaller individuals dodge and parry better. Size cannot be changed, so take note of what it tells you about your character's limits and plan your strategy accordingly. (Maximum of 31.) DEXTERITY - When the battles start, dexterity comes in very handy. Like size, high dexterity increases the force of blows that land. Further, it increases the likelihood of landing an unusually powerful. It also helps determine how many blows an individual can get in and how many shots he, she, or it can get off. (Maximum of 31.) THE SKILLS. In calculating the effects of a battle, the program considers the weapons and armor being used and the Skills, Power and Life Force of the combatants. (Some weapons and armor ARE better than others. If you'd swear you were doing better before you started using that shield or sword, maybe you should leave it behind for some other poor soul to find.) To determine the likelihood that you 'll hit the mark with a long-range weapon like a bow, ACS looks at your MISSILE SKILL. To determine the probability that you were able to ge t out of the way of a shot from such a weapon, it looks at your DODGE SKILL. For gauging the accuracy of your blown in close range fights, ACS looks at your MELEE SKILL. To determine the likelihood that you were able to meet an opposing blow with your own close range weapon, it looks at your PARRY SKILL (provided you had your weapon readied, of course). ARMOR SKILL lets you overcome the disadvantages of armor (because it tends to make you clumsy, armor reduces the accuracy of your blows) without giving up the advantages (it absorbs some percentage of blows from the enemy). ********* End of the Project 64 etext of the unofficial Adventure Construction Set instructions. *********