Cheats, Hacks & Hints/Cheats_Hacks_and_Hints.bin/games/blkcauld/bc.txt

Text File | 1990-09-12 | 21KB | 330 lines

                               BLACK CAULDRON

                    1 Introduction, Hen Wen, Briars, Food
                    2 Rock Maze, Castle, Cell, Wine Cellar
                    3 Magic Items, Henchman, Witches, Endgame

                             THE BLACK CAULDRON
                                   Part 1

 THE BLACK CAULDRON, by Sierra On-Line, is loosely based on the Walt Disney
movie of the same name and was written in conjunction with Disney's personal
computer software staff. It's a 3-D game almost totally controlled by joystick,
mouse, or various keys depending on your computer and personal choice. In my
version, only one command, FAST (NORMAL and SLOW are options too), may be
entered on the keyboard and everything else is done with the DO, USE, or LOOK
commands using the mouse, joystick, number keypad, tab, and various function
keys.

 This is not as easy as it sounds as you must decide which item to "use" and
must place your character in just the right place and al. However, it was
thought that typed commands would be more difficult for children. If you are
having trouble with an arcade sequence killing you by surprise, it may help to
use the "slow" command to slow Taran down. To use an item in your inventory,
press the appropriate buttons, and keys to see it on your screen, move the
"highlight" to the item you want to use, and press again to return to the game
screen.

 Since I am a long-time adventure game player, I normally use north, east, etc.,
as directions. However, you may be newer at this than I am and up, right, and so
forth, may be more comfortable. I've tried to make these directions clear; but
if you get confused, just think of your screen as having a set of compass points
on it with north is pointing up and it should be clearer. In addition, since you
may be reading this mainly to help your child, I've tried to make it as clear
and complete as possible.

 You are Taran, assistant pig keeper and would-be adventurer. Your mission, as
it evolves during the game, is to deliver th visionary pig, Hen Wen, to safety
and destroy the evil cauldron. You begin outside the cottage of Dallben in Caer
allben in Prydain. If your computer has enough memory, type FAST on the
keyboard and press the carriage return. (Try it. If you don't have enough
memory, it won't work.) Then move Taran up to the door of the cottage and use
the DO command to open the door and go in. Move over in front of Dallben and DO
again. He'll tell you it's time to feed the pi  so move up to the fire and DO to
get the food cooking there. Go outside and east (right) to the pen. DO at the
gate to open it, go in, highlight the pig food and USE it to feed Hen Wen.
(There's corn in the shed too and you can use it to feed Hen Wen instead of the
gruel.)

 She will take off in a hurry so follow her back into the cottage. (Don't worry
if she gets ahead of you -- just keep going back to the cottage.) Move fairly
close to Dallben and read about Hen Wen's vision and your mission. When Dallben
gives you the rope, move to the upper right side of the room and DO to open the
cupboard and take out everything in it. (If you keep on pressing the DO command
you will end by closing the cupboard.) Leave the cottage (Hen Wen will follow)
and move around to the bottom left side of the water trough right in front of
the low place. Highlight the water flask and then USE it. Move North and West
(up and left) keeping close to the edge of the screen.

 When you get to the tree with the hole in it, move right in front of it and DO.

You'll find a lute. It looks quicker and easier to move straight up the middle
of the screen but the evil Horned King has sent his despicable gwythaints after
Hen Wen; and the method for avoiding them (and almost all Sierra bad guys is to
move to another screen FAST! So stay close to the edge of the monitor and move
two screens up (north) to a briar patch as best you can. This is the first, and
easiest, of a series of arcade sequences in this game. You want to move north
but must, through trial and error, find a twisty path through the briars. This
one's not hard. Just go around the rock to the west (left), north a little, east
around a bush in front of you, and west around the back. (If you came in from
the east from behind the tree, just go west until you can't go any further,
north, and straight west.)

 When you have successfully negotiated the briars and gone north to the next
screen, you'll see a door to a underground house in front of you. Move up to it
and DO. You open it and go inside. This is the home of the Fair Folk who will
take care of Hen Wen for you. When Gwystyl has given you the new message from
Dallben, the magic word, ad takes the pig to safety, move up and right to the
cupboard at the back. DO and you'll get the cookies. Go back outside and you
begin the next phase of the game.

 Go straight east to the next screen. Wander around here for a bi,, moving a
screen or two if necessary, and you should see Gurgi, a little creature who's
dirty but cute, and hungry. Give him the cookies (or the apple) and he'll be
your friend for life. This isn't mandatory but you get points and it is part of
one (not the best but still useful) of the solutions to the game. Go south
(down) to the lake with the smooth stones. Cross over it in any way you like,
just don't get too close to the waterfall. You can walk around or swim (You can
also go as far east (right) as possible and north (up) from there, across the
footbridge, etc.) With te waterfall on your right, move across the bottom of
the screen close to the rocks in the falls.

 When you're near a flatish rock that sticks up rather high in the water,
highlight the magic word and USE it. The rock will drop. Be careful here and
step on the rock going slightly up to the next flat area but not really straight
up. The graphics aren't right here and it looks like you're walking on thin air
but if it's dark, you're in the right place. Keep going east and there you are
in the Land of the Fair Folk being challenged by King Eiddileg! A bit battered
for falling down the hole but none the worse for wear. DO to tell him who you
are, highlight and USE the lute to give it to him as a token, and he'll give you
some flying dust. Highlight and USE the dust, fly out, USE the magic word to
lower th  rock again and return to the ground. Go North two screens to the
bridge. If you go into the stream and LOOK at the bridge from the side you'll
see a food wallet. DO to get it and you'll never run out of food although I
never had any problem using just the bread and the apple.

 Now you're ready to tackle the castle. Go West three screens to a frightening
forest that has a tree with a dagger holding up a "no trespassing" sign. Move to
the tree in a sort of NNE direction and DO to get the dagger. Now go North to
the next screen by going between the two black trees at the top "The rapids are
turbulent and treacherous. This is not a good place to dive in.") and West to
the Base of Eagle Mountains.

                           THE BLACK CAULDRON
                                Part 2

 You are confronted with a large number of rocks which make up another maze,
quite a bit more difficult this time. Make some notes for yourself so you'll
know how to do this. You have to come back down this way and do it all over
again later. Start navigating the maze from slightly up on the right.
(Specifically, where you came in from the east (right).) Move in (west) and
north a bit, west, northeast, west, north, west in a bit of a loop and back
around east-northeast (east on a slight north angle), and, finally, north up
the rocks somewhat to the right (east) of the center of your screen. After
you've gotten into the maze the main rocks you are concerned with are the big
one in the center and slightly to the right of your screen (around to the right
and across the back) and the large pointed ones in the top half to the left
(around the