To run Prince of Destruction, simply double-click the POD Master icon. You will be faced by a succession of three dialogs窶ｦ
On non-PowerPC Macs you will first see a dialog offering Compatible or Faster operation. We recommend Compatible mode except for slower colour Macs, such as the II, IIx, IIcx, IIci, LC, LC II, IIsi, and IIvi.
Select a Scenario
Only one scenario 窶 Prince of Destruction 窶 is currently provided with MARS. Future scenarios will be forthcoming as our spare time and enthusiasm permits. We are also willing to supply the necessary software to sufficiently persuasive third parties to create their own scenarios.
Pick the scenario you want (using the Previous and Next buttons) and then click OK.
Information
Here follows information about POD and the scenario you窶况e chosen. Click OK when you窶况e read enough.
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Select a Character
Finally, select one of the four characters (these may vary with scenario) and click OK.
Playing the Game
The action in POD is viewed from above.
We recommend playing POD two-handed, using your right hand to control movement and your left hand for violence or spellcasting. The information below is available by pressing the Help key (but only if you have a 640x480 or larger display).
You can move your character by turning (clockwise or counter-clockwise) and walking (forward or backward). To do this use the keys on the numeric keypad (4, 5, 6 for counter-clockwise, forward, and clockwise; 2 is walk backwards). You can turn while walking: experiment. To run, hold down either shift key while moving forward.
Powerbook owners: you can move with [, ], ¥ for counter-clockwise, forward, and clockwise, and 窶'窶 for walk backwards.
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Characters may also be able to attack, shoot/cast spells, select spells, and defend. A variety of key combinations are provided: A, S, D for attack, shoot, and defend; Z, X, C for for defend, shoot, and attack; and <, >, / for select spell backward, forward, and cast. The shift-keys enable your character to run (at double speed) rather than walk.
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Casting spells requires initiating a spell (with the cast/shoot key), selecting a spell (look at the centre of the ball of energy), then pressing the cast/shoot key again. Simply hold down the cast/shoot key for magic missiles.
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You can also (T)alk to NPCs, save games (P), (O)pen saved games, get an (I)nventory, (U)se items, (L)eave items behind, and (Q)uit. Walk over items to pick them up (walking over corpses allows you to grab their belongings).
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Talking to other people (including other players in multi-player games) causes a speech balloon to appear; type what you want to say then press return. Computer controlled characters look for keywords in your statements; they all understand 窶徂ello窶, 窶從ame窶, 窶徊ob窶, and 窶徘lace窶; they may also recognise words they窶况e already used and words you窶况e been told to use when speaking with them. Human controlled players are generally smarter.
Example of POD dialog
Player: 窶徂ello窶
Computer Character: 窶弩hat do you want? I窶冦 busy with these aphids.窶
窶彗phids?窶
窶弋here are aphids all over me? Can窶冲 you see? Are you blind?窶
Here, the phrase "APHIDS! aiyeeeeee!" indicates the computer character understands nothing. Note that punctuation such as "?" is ignored but can be included for aesthetic reasons.
If you have a 640x480 or larger display, a side-panel providing additional information is visible. This can be controlled with the left and right cursor keys. Among the panels are the Help screen (also available by pressing the Help key on extended keyboards).
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For one-handed play, the numeric keypad provides access to all combat actions (see the Information screens for details).
We realize that many people like being able to configure their own controls, but there are a lot of different commands in POD and being able to provide good online help for a fixed (and carefully chosen) set of commands seemed a better solution.
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Multiple Players
Multi-player POD uses a client/server architecture. The POD Master application (appropriately registered) operates as the server, while up to three copies of POD Player (together with the Game Data folder) on other Macs operate as clients. Obviously, the Macs must be networked via AppleTalk or EtherTalk. (AppleTalk Remote Access won窶冲 work.)
Launch the POD Master application first. The POD Players then join the game. If you save a game while multiple players are playing, the game will wait until all have rejoined before starting when you resume.
For best results, we recommend switching off file sharing for multi-player play.
