What is the object of Realmz?

Other scenarios have more of an end goal, but The City of Bywater  has no underlying goal for its completion.  You are a group of adventurers who have arrived in the city of Bywater with a small amount of money and a great desire for adventure.

This was a first attempt at creating a scenario so I pretty much winged it as I created the scenario driver.  The storyline is fairly loose, so you can pretty much go wherever you like, whenever you like.  Some people will like this better than strictly linear games that guide you along a path.  Finish X, so you can try Y, to get to Z.  What happens if X is boring, or you can't figure it out?  You would be stuck in that case.  Never fear!  Now you will be able to do what YOU want to do, not what the game designers want you to do.  Pretty slick!

Disclaimer

I have not had the chance to beta test this on every configuration.  Hell, Apple is adding them so fast, who could?  It may not work 100% on some systems or with some inits/cdevs/extensions.  I do not make any guarantees as to the compatibility now or in the future with any hardware or software, nor do I accept responsibility for any damage caused by this software package for any reason.  This software is supplied AS IS, and any payments on your part are refundable at my discretion.

We reserve the right to make any changes to the game driver, scenarios or their playability at any time.  This may be necessary as we develop new scenarios in order to maintain good gameplay, or to add new features.

Preferences

After you've played a bit, you may want to customize the game to fit your needs.  The preferences menu will allow you to do this.

Volume can be set from within Realmz.  When you quit Realmz, the volume will be reset to the volume you had before starting Realmz.

Delay Speed refers to the general length of time between messages on the screen, as well as the speed at which you and enemies move around on the game screens.  The higher the number, the slower the game will play.

Default To Last Spell will automatically pre-select the last spell cast by a character, whenever that character casts another spell.  (Real handy!)  You will still be required to select the power level of the spell because it will default to power level 1.

Faster Spell Casting will speed up the flight time of spells for those that hate to wait.

Max Sound Channels:  If you select Max Sound Channels, Realmz will attempt to allocate four sound channels for game play.  Otherwise it will only attempt to allocate three.  This will help keep the sounds from lagging behind.

Horse Party Icon will change the default icon used to depict the party's location to a horse, which you may prefer.

Drop Item Protection will prevent you from accidentally dropping items and losing them forever.  With Drop Item Protection turned on, you must hold down the command key (âŒ˜) while clicking the drop button or hitting the 'D' key.

Forget Treasure Protection will alert you if you are about to leave money behind during the collection of treasure.

Fast Trade/Buy/Sell This option eliminates the need to drag items left or right across the screen in order to trade/buy/sell items.  With this option on, you only have to click on the item and it will automatically be traded, bought or sold.

The big downfall to this method is that you will not see the weight/cost/offer of the item prior to the action.

NOTE:  Even with this option off you can still perform this method by holding the shift key when clicking on an item.  This will give you the added flexibility of being able to trade items quickly while still being able to see more information prior to the action at selected times.

If you have a 660AV, 840AV or a IIcx that crashes in the shop/trade screen, you may want to turn this option on.  It may prevent the game from crashing on these systems.

Auto Identify  With this option on, the first member in the party who is capable of casting IDENTIFY will attempt to identify items as they are taken during the collection of treasure.  This will prevent you from having to cast identify on items in the items screen.

Auto Join  When you take items during the collection of treasure, or buy or trade items, they will automatically be joined with similar items. i.e.  If your PC has 12 torches in a bundle and buy 6 more he will now have a single bundle of 18 instead of a bundle of 12 and a bundle of 6.

Not all items can be bundled.  Items such as torches, parchment, flasks of oil, darts, throwing stars etc... are examples of some that can.

Auto Cash In  If your PC does not have enough gold to purchase an item, gems and jewelry will be cashed in to make enough gold to buy the item. Gems and jewelry from the pool are cashed in first.  If there is still not enough gold, then the PC's gems and jewelry will be cashed in.
Only gems and jewelry from the pool and the PC attempting to buy the item will be cashed in.  Gems and jewelry from other PC's will not be cashed in.

Default Application Font  If this item is checked, the Theldrow font will not be used for text. Instead, the default application font will be used which is less artistic but easier for some people to read.

Show Spell Description  If this item is checked, a brief description of a spells use, range, damage and effect will be displayed on the game screen during the spell selection process.

Never Attack Friends  If checked and you attempt to attack a friendly PC or monster, the game will ignore your attack.

Hide Desktop  If this item is checked the desktop will be hidden.

Manual Bandage Only In Combat  If checked, you will have to bandage bleeding PC's by clicking the  'Bandage' button or by typing 'B' on the keyboard during combat.  This will prevent a character that is under 'AUTO' control from bandaging a bleeding PC by default.

Ignore Bleeding PC's Message  A reminder message will appear at the end of each combat round if one of your PC's is bleeding.  This option will turn that reminder off if it really bugs you.

Ignore Next Round Message  At the end of each combat round, a message box will appear in the center of the screen to inform you that the next combat round has begun.  If this message bugs you, you may turn it off by selecting this option.

Append PC Class to Portrait  This option will append the PCs class to the bottom of their portrait whenever it is displayed.  When you turn this option on and off, it may not take effect immediately.

Switch to 256 Colors on Startup  With this option on, Realmz will not ask for permission to switch to 256 Colors if your main monitor is in other than 256 Color mode.  It will just do it, and continue to load without bothering you.

Auto Switch to Melee in Combat  Your PC will switch to a melee weapon automatically in combat if you attempt to attack with a missile weapon, but are too close to an enemy.

Disable Music  Realmz will not initialize the music driver.  This will prevent any background music from playing on startup.  You will not be able to activate any music unless this option is checked before you launch Realmz.

Allow Only Game Related NPCs  This option will allow you to only use game related NPCs.  If you don't want to look at the monster selection list after each battle, then select this option.  Special NPCs that are related to the scenario will still be allowed to join the party.

Smooth Combat  This option will eliminate the jerky screen as it centers on each enemy during combat.  The screen will only center on your PCs when it is their turn to move.  WARNING!:  This option may cause problems on some systems.  If you find the game locking up a lot in combat, try turning this option OFF.

Disable Weapon Fumbling  This will eliminate all types of weapon fumbling for both your party and all enemies.  All fumbling spells will be worthless as well. Using this option will reduce experience awarded by 5%.

Disable Unique Items  This will eliminate all unique item restrictions.  Turning this option ON is only available to registered users. Using this option will reduce experience awarded by 10%.

Notes about the included scenario: The City of Bywater

The City of Bywater is an honest city.  The average man has little to fear except for the occasional cutpurse.  The city is ruled by a kind king.  Recently, a tower has been built by a cult of spider worshippers just to the east of the city.  Though they have broken no laws, it is widely known that they practice evil ceremonies, and rumored that they plan on the eventual overthrow of the king.   Many believe the spider tower actually contains NO spiders, but other forms of arachnids instead.   Open ranges frequented by goblins lie south of the city.  Eastward, tribes of orcs rove the land.  Southeast of the city, the land is largely unexplored.  Rumors say that the lands are occupied by small groups of hill giants.

SOME TIPS:

1)  Don't be paranoid.  Bywater is an honest town.  Do not walk around in fear of the town guard unless you have done something wrong.  Realmz is unlike many adventure games that plunge you into trouble for no apparent reason.

2)  A good defense is often your best offense.  Before engaging in a known battle, it is helpful to camp and cast a few defensive spells. This will significantly improve your chances for success in battle.

For example:  Just prior to a battle, you should camp, then cast any defensive spells such as Bless, Bark Skin, Protection from cold, etc...

3)  Save your game often!  This can't be stressed enough!  After the successful completion of an encounter or major battle, it's wise to save the game.  If your party dies, you will be able to pick up where you left off.

4)  A well-balanced party is essential for success.  To survive, almost any party will need at least one Cleric and either a Magic User or Enchanter.   Clerics are very defensive in nature and have a wide variety of defensive and healing spells.  Magic Users and Enchanters have a few defensive spells, but as a whole, have many more offensive spells.  Magic is sometimes the only way into certain situations, or out of trouble.