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Amiga Format CD 49
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Amiga Format CD49 (2000-01-17)(Future Publishing)(GB)(Track 1 of 3)[!][issue 2000-02].iso
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-readerstuff-
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tim_kinnear
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readme
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Text File
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1999-11-30
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8KB
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198 lines
SERIAL - BY TIM KINNEAR
SERIAL - GAME AND GENERAL INFORATION.
THIS COULD BE QUITE VAST, BUT I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL
ANYTHING SO PLEASE READ ON SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT
YOU WILL LEARN NEXT TO NOTHING.
ENSURE THAT YOU FULLY READ THIS README FILE BEFORE
PLAYING THE GAME.
-------------------------------------------------------
STORY
SINCE YOU MET HIM AT PRIMARY SCHOOL, CHRIS HAS ALWAYS
BEEN YOUR BEST FRIEND. YOU GREW UP TOGETHER, AND
DESPITE THE ODD ARGUMENT, YOU REMAINED INSEPERABLE FOR
SIXTEEN YEARS. YOU VIRTUALLY LIVED TOGETHER, AND COULD
NOT IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT HIM. YOU HAD CONSIDERED
MOVING INTO A FLAT TOGETHER, BUT NO - YOU WOULD END UP
WANTING TO MURDER EACH OTHER - YOU AREN'T THAT
COMPATIBLE! HE LIVED JUST AROUND THE CORNER, AND
ALTHOUGH YOU GREW APART, YOU REMAINED GOOD FRIENDS
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
THEN HIS PARENTS DECIDED TO MOVE AWAY. CHRIS STILL
LIVED WITH THEM, AS HE HAD JUST BROKEN OFF ENGAGEMENT
WITH HIS GIRLFIREND, AND HAD NO OPTION BUT TO MOVE WITH
THEM. YOU KNEW THAT YOU WOULD RARELY, IF EVER SEE HIM,
AND THAT YOU WOULD EVENTUALLY GO ON TO LEAD DIFFERENT
LIVES, AND LOSE CONTACT. AND SO YOU DID.
ONE MORNING A LETTER DROPS ONTO YOUR DOORMAT, HAND
DELIVERED WITH NO STAMP. YOU OPEN IT AND DISCOVER IT
TO BE AN INVITATION TO A REUNION OF YOUR PRIMARY SCHOOL
CLASS. YOU NOTICE THAT THE ADDRESS IS ABOUT AN HOURS
DRIVE AWAY, AND DECIDE THAT IT IS WORTH THE JOURNEY,
JUST TO SEE YOUR OLD FRIENDS AND RECOLLECT EXPERIENCES
OF A FORGOTTEN ERA. YOU CHECK YOUR MAP, AND PLAN A
ROUTE THAT TAKES YOU ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE
COUNTY.
THE DAY BEFORE THE REUNION, YOU BEGIN TO HAVE SECOND
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WHOLE THING. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO
SEE THESE PEOPLE? WOULD IT BE BETTER TO JUST LEAVE THE
PAST WHERE IT IS? I MEAN, YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING WITH
YOUR LIFE, YOU ONLY WORK PART TIME AND HAVE NOTHING TO
SHOW FOR THESE YEARS GONE BY. WHAT IF THESE PEOPLE HAD
BEEN REALLY SUCCESSFUL, AND SOME ARE MD'S OF COMPANIES
OR WHATEVER?
YOU CONTINUE TO DEBATE THESE QUESTIONS DURING THE DRIVE
UP - HAVING MADE YOUR MIND UP TO GO - BUT WHILST YOU
KNOW THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, YOU HAVE A REALLY
BAD FEELING ABOUT ALL OF THIS. YOU ARRIVE.
YOU FIND YOURSELF WALKING UP TO NOW RELATIVE STRANGERS,
WHO APPEAR TO KNOW YOU, BUT YOU CAN'T REMEMBER THEM.
THE EVENING CONTINUES IN THIS FASHION, WITH YOU HOLDING
THE SAME, FALSE, SUPERFICIAL CONVERSATION WITH EVERYONE
YOU ENCOUNTER. NONE OF THEM ARE FAMOUS, OR EVEN VERY
WELL OFF. BUT THEN YOU SEE CHRIS. YOU WALK UP TO HIM
AS IF HE IS A STRANGER. YOU GET THAT SAME SUPERFICIAL
FAKE FEELING ABOUT ANYTHING YOU SAY TO HIM. BUT YOU
CAN BOTH REMEMBER THE OLD DAYS.
THE EVENING DRAWS TO A CLOSE, AND YOU REALISE THAT
WHILST YOU HAVE HAD LITTLE TO DRINK, YOU MAY BE 'OVER
THE LIMIT'. YOU APPROACH CHRIS TO ASK FOR A LIFT AND HE
IS 'ONLY TOO HAPPY TO HELP'. LIAR. YOU STEP INTO THE
CAR AND HE DRIVES YOU HOME. THERE IS LITTLE
MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION FOR THE JOURNEY. YOU ARRIVE
HOME AND CHRIS COMES IN FOR A COFFEE. HE INVITES YOU
AROUND TO VISIT HIM AND HIS PARENTS, AND SEE THE HOUSE
THAT YOU HAD SEEN COUNTLESS PICTURES OF - AND NEVER
LIKED. NATURALLY, YOU ACCEPT, AND YOU ARRANGE FOR
A TAXI BACK TO THE PLACE OF THE REUNION, TO PICK UP
YOUR CAR, WHICH YOU WILL THEN DRIVE TO SEE CHRIS.
EVERYTHING GOES TO PLAN, AND YOU ARRIVE AT CHRIS' HOUSE
AT EIGHT PM.
YOU STILL HAVE A REALLY BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS.
YOU ENTER THE HOUSE, AND YOU ARE GREETED BY A DARK,
DINGY, OLD-FASHIONED, OVERGROWN COTTAGE. YOU SIT DOWN
WITH A DRINK AND BEGIN TO TALK TO CHRIS' PARENTS, AFTER
CHRIS HASTILY LEAVES THE ROOM TO GO AND 'DO SOMETHING'.
AFTER TEN MINUTES OF PAINFUL CONVERSATION JEAN AND PAUL
LEAVE THE ROOM, JUST POPPING OUT TO GET - YOU CAN'T
REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS BUT YOU ARE SURE IT WAS NOTHING
THAT COULDN'T WAIT. THEY LEAVE YOU WITH THE ASSURANCE
THAT 'CHRIS'LL BE BACK SOON'.
YOU SIT, AND WAIT.
NOT LONG NOW.
------------------------------------------------------
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM SERIAL
SERIAL IS AN ADVENTURE LIKE NO OTHER - AS YOU MAY HAVE GATHERED FROM
THE '100% CHEESE' STORYLINE. IT WORKS IN TWO TIME MODES - REALTIME
AND PRE-FIXED. THIS ALLOWS THE GAME TO KEEP SOME RISK ELEMENT BUT
STAY LINEAR ENOUGH FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK WITH WHAT IS GOING ON! USE
YOUR HEAD - AND REFLEXES - TO GET OUT OF TOUGH SITUATIONS (OF WHICH
THERE ARE MANY!) AND DON'T GIVE UP! THERE IS A LOT OF HIDDEN STUFF IN
THE GAME THAT YOU MIGHT NOT SPOT THE FIRST TIME ROUND SO PLEASE DO
REPLAY IT. I KNOW THE GAME CAN BE FRUSTRATING BUT WITH A GAME OF
THIS NATURE (I PROMISED I WOULDN'T SPOIL ANYTHING!) WHERE YOU GET
CHASED AROUND BY A SERIAL KILLER (OH, SORRY...) IT IS INEVITABLE THAT YOU
WILL GET, WELL, I WON'T SPOIL THE STORY FURTHER. PLEASE ENJOY YOUR
GAME AND IF YOU LIKE IT THEN REGISTER SOON TO SEE JUST WHAT AWAITS
YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE OF....
CONTROL
SIMPLE AND INTUITIVE. PRESS THE APPROPRIATE KEY ONCE.
ONLY ONCE. IT MAY TAKE TIME TO REACT BUT PLEASE ONLY
PRESS THE KEY ONCE! ALSO DON'T GET IMPATIENT. IF YOU
HAVE FINISHED READING A PIECE OF TEXT, THEN JUST WAIT -
DO NOT PRESS ANYTHING - AND THE GAME WILL CATCH
UP WITH YOU.
WHEN THE GAME ENDS
WHEN THE GAME FINISHES YOU WILL BE PRESENTED WITH AN
ENDING SCREEN. YOU WILL BE TOLD THAT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED
ENDING 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' OR 'E'. ENDING 'E' IS THE LEAST
SUCCESSFUL, AND IS CONSIDERED AS THE WORST OUTCOME.
ENDING 'A' HOWEVER IS THE BEST ENDING AND IS NOT AT ALL
EASY TO ACHIEVE. FOR OBVIOUS REASONS YOU CANNOT GET
THE HIGH-LEVEL ENDINGS IN THE UNREGISTERED VERSION.
ENDING 'A' IS SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF.
ON THIS SCREEN YOU WILL ALSO BE GIVEN A COMMENT,
RESPECTIVE TO THE ENDING YOU ACHIEVED, YOU WILL BE
TOLD HOW MANY SURVIVORS THERE WERE, AND MOST
IMPORTANTLY YOU WILL BE TOLD TO ENTER YOUR OWN
COMMENTS. IMPORTANT: THIS SCREEN WILL THEN BE SAVED
TO DF0: AS AN IFF FORMAT FILE CALLED 'SCORE.IFF'.
PLEASE HAVE AN APPROPRIATLY FORMATTED DISK IN DF0:
BEFORE COMMENCING PLAY (THE GAME DISK MIGHT DO). THIS FILE CAN THEN
BE LOADED INTO A SUITABLE PROGRAM WHERE IT CAN BE PRINTED. THIS IS
ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO PROVE YOU HAVE ACHIEVED THE 'A'
ENDING!
INSTALLATION
OK, THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO PLAY THE GAME AND ENSURE THAT NOTHING
SHOULD GO WRONG.
COPY THE GAME ONTO A FLOPPY DISK AND NAME THIS DISK 'SERIAL'. MAKE
SURE THAT 'GOSERIAL' AND THE DRAWER 'SERIAL' ARE BOTH AT THE ROOT OF
THE DISK. THEN JUST CLICK ON 'GOSERIAL' AND AWAY YOU GO. YOU SHOULD
ALWAYS ACCESS THIS GAME FROM FLOPPY FOR THE BEST RESULTS - IT WAS NOT
DESIGNED TO WORK FROM A HARD DRIVE.
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GETTING THE FULL VERSION
PLEASE REGISTER AT THE ADDRESS BELOW, PROVIDING ME WITH YOUR NAME
AND ADDRESS DETAILS. A THREE POUND (UKPS) SHAREWARE FEE APPLIES - AS A
CHEQUE MADE PAYABLE TO 'TIM KINNEAR'. FOR REGISTERING, YOU WILL
RECEIVE ACCESS TO THE FULL VERSION OF THE GAME (THE SOFTWARE IS
ALREADY YOURS, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT - YOU DO NOT PAY ANYTHING FOR IT).
I WILL ALSO TRY TO INCLUDE A HELP SHEET, INCLUDING GAME INFORMATION
AND ASSISTANCE TO HELP YOU SEE EVERYTHING THE GAME HAS TO OFFER.
NOTE: A COPY OF THE UNREGISTERED GAME IS REQUIRED TO REGISTER AS THE
SOFTWARE IS ALREADY YOURS (AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY) FOR FREE. I WILL
JUST PROVIDE A 'KEY' TO UNLOCK THE FULL GAME, THAT IS ALL I DO - GRANT
ACCESS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO GIVE FEEDBACK ON THE GAME E-MAIL ME AT:
TKINN55@HOTMAIL.COM
PUTTING 'SERIAL' IN THE SUBJECT LINE
OR TO REGISTER:
TIM KINNEAR
131 PARSONAGE LANE
BISHOPS STORTFORD
HERTS
CM23 5BB
UK
----------------------------------------------------------
SERIAL - BY TIM KINNEAR, 1999