Copyright: (c) 1995, IDG Nieuwe Media


Index
WELCOME TO HEIMDALL

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

CLICK ON THE DESIRED SUBJECT

Loading instructions

Storyline

Objectives of the game

Gameplay controls

Control bar

Spell bar

Item screen

Shops

Treasure piles


PC LOADING INSTRUCTIONS

This version requires an IBM or 100% compatible PC system with at least 640k of RAM, a hard disk drive, a VGA graphics card (256k) and monitor capable of displaying 256 colours. We also recommend the use of a computer with at least a 20 Mhz 386 processor, a Microsoft compatible mouse or a Joystick. Roland, Adlib and Soundblaster sound cards as well as PC speaker are supported.

Heimdall 2 must be installed onto a hard drive:

1. Go to your CD-ROM drive. (e.g. d: or e:)

2. Go to the Heimdall 2 directory (cd \heimdall)

3. Type INSTALL and press Return.


STORYLINE

It is the Age of Ragnarok, the Age of a thousand years, that ends with the epic battle between the Gods of Asgard and the outcast former god Loki and his armies.

The age began when Loki was exiled from Asgard and in revenge stole the weapons of the gods Thor, Odin and Frey. Heimdall, guardian of the rainbow bridge, sacrificed his divinity so that he could walk the earth in search of these stolen weapons. Once his quest was successful, he returned to Asgard with the missing weapons and regained his status as a God. This marked a bitter defeat for Loki, who swore to avenge himself against his eternal enemy, Heimdall.

Two hundred years passed in the Age of Ragnarok. In Midgard, the land of humans and Utgard, the land of strange creatures such as dwarves and giants, Loki's warriors, the Hakrats ravaged the land attacking wherever they could, from the smallest village to the largest city. Their attacks always met with resistance, some successful, some not, but the inhabitants of the world, known as Yggdrasil, were weakening and before long the Hakrats would become too powerful for any to resist at all.

In Asgard, the Gods were concerned. Unable to intervene, they could only watch as events unfolded. What they could not understand was why Loki himself did not appear with his warriors because unlike the other Gods, Loki was able to walk on the earth during Ragnarok. This was because Loki was stripped of some of his powers as a punishment for stealing the weapons from Asgard. This made him less powerful than the other Gods and therefore he did not have the same restrictions as they did.

Another puzzle was the occurrence of a few random and inexplicable incidents. Once, a village was burnt to the ground, but there were no traces of enemy tracks leading to the village. No other villages in the area were touched, and there wasn't a Hakrat within a hundred miles who could have sneaked in and attacked it. The assailants seemed to just appear, burn the village and then disappear.

Eventually, Odin the Allfather gathered the Gods in his Hall to discuss what action, if any, could be taken against Loki. As they talked they realised that if they simply defeated Loki, he would just return and continue his evil as he had done before. What they needed to do was trap Loki in such a way that he could never cause trouble again. But how? As the young Gods discussed ways of trapping Loki, Odin sat deep in thought. After a while he called them to be quiet and rose to speak.

Odin told them of the time shortly after the creation of Yggdrasil, when he and his brothers had just built Asgard, and the rest of the world was still forming into the lands that we now know - Midgard, Utgard and Niflheim. This was the time when Odin first discovered the Hall of Worlds, a magical hall which contains the gates and portals that lead to various points in the lands. Odin used the portals often as an easy and quick means of exploring his new home. As he travelled more, he discovered the destination of each portal, and learnt a little about how the portals operated. There were however, a few strange gates in this Hall which Odin found he was unable to travel through. As he studied these gates further he began to realise that they lead not to places in the worlds of Yggdrasil, but in fact to other Halls in distant parts of the universe. These other Halls were undoubtedly each connected to entire worlds of their own, totally alien to those that Odin knew.

Intrigued, Odin was faced with the problem of opening these other gates. Travel through the normal ports was possible by possessing a magic talisman unique to that portal. Each talisman acted like a kind of key and activated the portal for use. Odin had found these talisman in various forms throughout the worlds, so he decided to search once more for a similar talisman that would operate one of these other gates. Odin's efforts were eventually rewarded when he found a strange talisman in the tower in Niflheim. Returning with it to the Hall of Worlds he approached one of the locked gates in which a shadowy veil appeared, signalling that it was now open. With anticipation he stepped through.

As he adjusted his bearings he saw that he was in a Hall that was similar to the one he knew, but also very different. Looking around he saw that another one of the portals was open, so he strode forward and stepped through it.

The sight that greeted him was breathtaking. Asgard was as beautiful as this land, but he was awe-struck at how different it was. As he explored, he saw some of the inhabitants and disguised himself as one of their kind, so that he could pass unnoticed. As he travelled he came across a huge forest with a clearing in it's centre. In the clearing stood a strange looking building. It seemed uninhabited, so Odin entered.

Inside the building, in the centre of it's main hall, stood a pedestal that had an amulet mounted on it. This amulet was like none that Odin had ever seen before. While he was standing there, he was suddenly startled by a voice behind him. He spun around and saw before him a man who was no different from the others he had seen. The man greeted Odin, saying that all travellers were welcome, and offered the amulet to Odin as a gift from his people. Odin suspected that this strange man knew that he had actually travelled from another world yet Odin accepted the offer of his gift because he knew that the amulet had magical properties. As he took the amulet down from the pedestal, the man said that he hoped that Odin had enjoyed his visit and, without warning, Odin found himself no longer in the building but standing beside the gate in his own Hall of Worlds. He held the amulet in his hands and, troubled by this strange turn of events, he made his way back to Asgard.

Once in Asgard, Odin and his brothers inspected the amulet to see what it's purpose might be. It looked as if it was made to be worn, so they decided that the only way to find out it's purpose was to try it on. Odin's youngest brother, Vili, volunteered. As he placed it around his neck he froze, statuelike. To Odin and his brothers, watching in horror, it seemed that Vili had been killed by the amulet. Quickly they pulled the amulet from their brother and, as it fell, Vili returned to his normal self. Odin still didn't know what this amulet was but now knew it was strong enough to overpower a God.

Together they broke the amulet into four pieces and cast each piece through a different portal in the Hall of Worlds. Thus they reasoned that the pieces would be separated from each other and hence the amulet would no longer be a threat. Then they returned to Asgard and put all thought of the amulet behind them.

As Odin finished his story, he sat back in his seat and waited for the other Gods to speak. As they talked, they all seemed to agree that the amulet was the means they were looking for to deal with Loki safely and permanently. There was only one option. As before, one of them had to sacrifice his divinity so that he could walk the earth in search of the amulet pieces. Only then would they be able to reconstruct the amulet and use it against Loki. The next problem was where to search. Odin suggested the answer. He reasoned that, as each piece of the amulet passed through a portal, it would be attracted to the Ro'Geld - the source of all magic in that particular world. Find a Ro'geld and there you would in all likelihood find a piece of the amulet.

The Gods listened and then finalised their plan. One of them had to travel through the portals into each world, find that world's Ro'Geld and see of a piece of the amulet was there. When they had found all the pieces they would then have to find Loki and use the completed amulet to imprison him. The next question was who should go. Heimdall's immediate thought was 'Here we go again' but Odin intervened saying that one of the younger Gods should go this time because Heimdall had gone before. Eventually Baldur, the youngest son of Odin, was chosen. Once again Thor travelled to the edge of Asgard. There he took Baldur and cast him down to Midgard in mortal form so that he could begin his search.

In Asgard, the Gods watched anxiously as Baldur travelled through the lands. Baldur was hindered by the fact that the talisman for some of the portals from the Hall of Worlds had been lost. He not only had to search for the pieces of the amulet but for the missing talisman as well.

As Baldur approached what he thought to be the first Ro'Geld, Loki appeared with a host of Hakrats. Loki had led Baldur to believe that he was approaching a Ro'Geld but it was a trap. Although Baldur was vastly outnumbered, he fought with the spirit and courage of Asgard. Many Hakrats fell before he was finally caught by a strike from Loki himself. Laughing, Loki and his remaining followers left Baldur's body where it had fallen. With sadness the Gods watched as Hela, the ruler of Niflheim, rose up from the ground to claim Baldur's body and take it back with her to her realm.

Odin mourned the loss of his son, but had to think about their next move. Despite the loss, he decided that what Baldur had attempted was still the only way that Loki could be defeated. Another had to go in his place. As soon as he spoke of this, Heimdall stood and volunteered to return. Odin knew that Heimdall was the most likely of all the Gods to succeed, because of his experience and familiarity with being mortal. Having already lost one of their number to one of Loki's devious tricks, the other Gods insisted that Heimdall ought to at least have someone with him to watch his back. Odin at first disagreed, as no one else had any similar experience of dealing with the mortal's world. Then Thos spoke up pointing out that the Valkyries dealt with mortals all the time. Not only were the Valkyries excellent warriors but their job was conducting those mortals who had died in battle to the Halls of Valhalla.

While the Valkyries didn't normally collect such souls directly from the mortal's world but rather from the half-world of the newly dead, some experience was probably better than none. Odin had to concede and a young Valkyrie named Ursha volunteered to accompany Heimdall on his quest. Shortly thereafter, Thor, Heimdall and Ursha journeyed to the edge of Asgard and Heimdall returned once more to the land of Midgard. Only this time he was not alone...


Objectives of the game

As the player, you control Heimdall and Ursha in their quest to defeat Loki. Your main task is to find all four pieces of the amulet and use it to trap Loki. In order to find the pieces of the amulet you will need to find the Ro'Geld for each world. In order to travel between worlds, you will also need to find the talisman to open the portals in the Hall of Worlds. Along the way you should keep an eye out for any of Loki's devious schemes and thwart these wherever you can (after all, you ARE supposed to be the good guys!).


Gameplay Controls

Movement:

mouse:	position cursor to destination and single click left mouse key.

keyboard:	left arrow:	rotate character anticlockwise

right arrow:	rotate character clockwise

up arrow:	start character walking

down arrow:	halt character

Hand to hand combat (Only applicable when baddies on screen):

Defend

   mouse:	Position cursor roughly on baddy and double click with left mouse key

   keyboard:	Press 'd' to defend in direction currently facing

Attack

   mouse:	When near baddy, position cursor roughly on baddy and double click with right mouse key.

   keyboard:	Press 'a' when near baddy and facing him.

Throw item / Shoot bow:

Requires that items are appropriately equipped and that the Throw Action icon on the control bar is set to 'throw projectile' rather than 'cast combat spell'.

   mouse:	position cursor roughly at required destination and single click right mouse button

   keyboard:	face required direction and press space bar.

Cast combat spell:

Requires that the desired spell is prepared and selected as the current active spell. Also that the Throw Action icon on the control bar is set to 'Cast combat spell' rather than 'Throw projectile'.

   mouse:	position cursor roughly at required destination and single click right mouse button.

   keyboard:	Face required direction and press space bar.

Cast non combat spell:

Requires that the desired spell is prepared and is selected as the current active spell.

   mouse:	single click with left mouse button on the spell runes displayed on the control bar.

   keyboard:	press 's'.

Picking up items:

If the items are on the floor then simply walk over them. If not, then stand next to and facing the item and use 'push' action. NOTE: if the current active character has no free slot for items of the required category then the item will not be picked up.

Push/Operate/Give action (Does NOT apply when baddies on screen):

Requires character to be stood next to and facing the required area/item/character. For 'give' action also requires item to be given to be the equipped general item.

   mouse:	position cursor in required direction and single click left mouse key.

   keyboard:	press Enter key.

Conversation:

At various points in the game you may wish to try talking to other characters. To do so, simply walk up to them. If they want to talk they will. If not you may try again later. What they have to talk about may change as the game progresses.

World maps:

Travel from island to island within a world is conducted using the world map screens. To travel to a particular island, simply single click with the left mouse key on that island on the map and your ship will sail there. Once there, you can disembark to explore the island by again single clicking on the island with the left mouse key.


Control bar

a) Heimdall	Active (NO shadow box overlaid)

b) Ursha	Inactive (Shadow box overlaid). Click on either character to activate them. A skull graphic indicates the character is dead.

c) Access backpack	Go to item screen for current active character's items.

d) Gold counter	PARTY total of gold pieces

e) Weapons or magic	Toggle in game throw action between using projectile weapons or combat spells. A dagger icon indicates throw action causes projectile weapon to be used, a lightning bolt icon indicates throw action causes combat spell to be cast.

f) Access spell bar	Enter the spell creation bar.

g) Currently selected spell	The 4 runes show the ready for use spell.

Single click here with left mouse key to cast spell IF spell is a non combat spell.

Single click here with right mouse key to cycle through the choice of prepared spells.

h) Current active spells	If for example a shield spell is being used, a shield symbol will be shown here while the spell lasts. All these symbols are temporary and the appropriate symbol will vanish once the spell has run out.

i) Ro'geld indicator	This symbol indicates your rough proximity to the nearest Ro'geld. It will change colour on a location by location basis, as you get nearer the Ro'Geld. When you are a long way from the Ro'geld, it will be black and using magic will be difficult and expensive. As you get nearer the Ro'Geld it will go through blue, then red, to purple. Purple represents close proximity to the Ro'geld where magic is easier and cheaper than normal. Red represents roughly standard magic conditions.

j) Health bar	The length of this bar indicates the current active character's state of health relative to their maximum. The bar turns green if character is poisoned.

k) Mana bar	The length of this bar indicates the current active character's mana relative to their maximum.


Spell bar

a) Exit:	Once you've finished preparing your selection of spells, click here to go back to the control bar.

b) Runes:	In these boxes will be placed the runes you find during your journey through the game. A Single Click with the left mouse key on a rune will place the rune in the next free rune slot of the currently selected spell.

c) Cast spell:	A single click with the left mouse button will cast the currently selected spell IF it is a non-combat spell. The second row of the spell bar is where you actually mix spells. There are 4 spell slots in which a spell can be stored. Inactive spells are overlaid with a shadow box, the currently active spell is not overlaid. To select a spell as the current active spell, single click on it with the left mouse button. To select a spell slot AND clear it at the same time, single click on it with the right mouse button. Throughout the game you will come across new combinations of runes that enable you to cast new spells. You can also experiment with rune combinations, but be warned that some spells cause you damage if you are not skilled enough to cast them and some rune combinations can have unpredictable effects.

d) Active spell.	This is the spell that will be displayed on the control bar.

e) Inactive spell.

f) Clear spell slot.	Clears the currently selected spell slot. Use if you make a mistake creating a spell or if you simply need to make room for a new spell.


Item screen

General operation

To do things with a displayed item you must first 'pick it up' with the cursor. When an item is 'picked up', it's name will be displayed in box 's'.

When the cursor is placed over an item slot, the mouse keys perform the following actions:

   Left key single click:	pick up' ALL of item from a filled slot OR Drop' ALL of 'picked up' item into empty slot OR exchange ALL of 'picked up' item with all of item in a filled slot.

   Right key single click:	Pick up' ONE of item from a filled slot OR 'Drop' ONE of 'picked up' item into empty slot.

To exchange items between characters, 'pick' them up with the cursor and single click with the left mouse key on the control bar character icon for the other character.

To access the items of the other character whilst in the item screen, just click on the character's icon and it will switch to their backpack. N.B. This is the only way to access the items of a dead character.

Selecting the category of items displayed

Icons 'a)' to 'f)' select the category of items displayed in the item slots. To select a category, single click the left mouse key on the required category icon.

a) Hand to hand combat weapons

b) Armour

c) Throwing weapons	(includes bows)

d) Miscellaneous:	(Food, drink, general items and arrows).

e) Holy symbols of the Gods:	These items will help you in your quest at certain points, and can also be of general use eg: with Thor's hammer you'll be able to create lightning spells with greater ease.

f) Talisman:	Once found, these will allow you to pass through the other gates in the Hall of Worlds.

Icons 'g)' to 'i)' operate when you have an item 'picked up' with the cursor. All are operated using a single click of the left mouse key.

g) Look at:	A detailed description of the 'picked up' item will appear in the area below.

h) Eat or drink:	'picked up' item to regain strength and/or mana.

i) Discard an item:	Character drops currently 'picked up' item.

j) Statistics:	Current character's vital statistics (eg: strength, magic ability etc.) are displayed in the area below.

k) Save:	your current position in the game. The game is automatically saved to hard drive.

l) Load:	previously saved game.

m) Exit:	Once you've finished with the arrangement of your backpack and are happy with your choice of weapons etc., click here to re-enter the game.

Equipping items for use.

The 4 slots 'n)' to 'r)' are where you place the items of a given category that you wish the character to be able to use.

n) Hand to hand combat weapon: The character will use the weapon placed here to fight with.

p) Armour:	The armour placed here will be treated as that actually worn by the character and will contribute to their defence and reduce the damage they take.

q) Throwing weapons:	ANYTHING placed in this slot may be thrown using the in game throw projectile icon. You may throw projectile weapons or Miscellaneous items. Exception: To use a bow and arrows, equip the bow in this slot and the arrows in the general items slot.

r) Miscellaneous:	Items placed here can be given to non-player characters in the game using the push/give action when enabled.


Shops

Throughout the game you will come across shops, within which you may buy or sell goods. As you enter you have the choice of two areas to approach. To the right is the larger of the counters, where you buy items. To the left is the smaller selling counter.

To buy goods

If you wish to buy goods, walk up to one of the three sections of the counter to the right of the door. These sections are:

a) Weapons	(A sword is shown on the counter front)

b) Miscellaneous	(A jar)

c) Magic	(A scroll)

Depending on the type of goods you want, you must approach the relevant area, eg: if you want a sword, you'll approach the weapons area.

The 'keeper' will walk up to you and a screen will pop up showing the shop's stock of goods applicable to that section. Using the up and down arrows, you can scroll through the current stock of that shop. The unit price of the goods is displayed beneath each item. To do anything with an item, you have to first 'pick it up' with the cursor (this works in the same manner as when examining the contents of your backpack in the item screen). Once you have an item 'picked up' you can examine it by single clicking with the left mouse key on the eye icon. To buy the item, simply click on the character icon for the character you wish to possess the item(s) and IF you have enough party gold, the gold will be deducted from your party fund and the item(s) will be added to the backpack of the selected character. NOTE: that character must have a backpack slot available of the required type in which to place the item(s).

To sell goods

If you wish to sell goods to raise gold, or because you simply don't need them, cross to the counter on the left of the shop. A 'keeper' will await you. When you approach him a different window will appear, showing your backpack's contents. The icons at the top of this screen are the same as the item screen and allow access to the different types of items in your pack.

Beneath each item is the unit price the 'keeper' is willing to buy them off you for. If you want to sell items, first pick them up with the cursor and then single click with the left mouse button on the sell icon. The item will vanish and the appropriate amount of gold will be added to your party fund. Once you've finished selling items, click out of the window using the exit icon.


Treasure piles

During the game you'll come across the treasure piles. These are to simply indicate that there is more than one item here. As you move over it or pick it up, a window will open that is very similar to the selling screen you find in the shop. The only difference is that there is no price listed beneath each item. If there are more than nine items, you can scroll up and down through them using the arrow keys. Selecting items and giving them to a particular character is conducted in exactly the same way as in the shop buy screen (except that they cost you nothing!).