Game Killer/Game_Killer.bin/101.MANUAL.DOC

Text File | 1990-01-14 | 9KB | 249 lines

            HUGO'S HOUSE OF HORRORS
            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Copyright 1990, David P. Gray, Gray Design Associates
              All Rights Reserved

         Member, Association of Shareware Professionals




-----------------------------[ C O N T E N T S ]-----------------------------


        1.      Specification.
        2.      System Requirements.
        3.      Files Distributed.
        4.      Revision History.
        5.      Future Versions.

        6.      USER GUIDE
            6.1     Start-up Procedure.
            6.2     How to Play.
            6.3     Function Keys.
            6.4     Record and Playback.
            6.5     Statistics.

        7.      Comments to the Author.
        8.      Association of Shareware Professionals.




----------------------------[ 1.  SPECIFICATION ]----------------------------

HUGO'S HOUSE OF HORRORS is an exciting and challenging adventure game for all
ages, using a combination of colorful three-dimensional animated graphics and
text.  You control HUGO'S destiny as he tries to rescue his sweetheart,
Penelope, imprisoned somewhere inside the haunted house, and must solve the
various puzzles and challenges encountered during his quest.

The registered version allows you to record and playback games and comes with
a pre-recorded game which automatically runs from start to finish, achieving
the maximum score possible.




----------------------------[ 2.  SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ]----------------------

Version 1.0 requires an IBM compatible computer with EGA graphics, at least
360Kb of ram and 850Kb of disk space.




--------------------------[ 3.  FILES DISTRIBUTED ]--------------------------

    MANUAL.DOC              :       This file
    README.DOC              :       Important Information
    HHH.EXE                 :       HUGO'S HOUSE OF HORRORS program
    PLAYBACK.DAT            :       Automatic playback file for entire
                    game (registered version only)
    VARIOUS                 :       Various data files for the game




---------------------------[ 4.  REVISION HISTORY ]--------------------------

    1.0     01/01/90        :       Baseline version.
    1.1     01/03/90        :       Fixed register incompatibility with
                    VGA cards which caused freeze on
                    first screen.
    1.2     01/14/90        :       Fixed ASP compliance 'bug'




---------------------------[ 5.  FUTURE VERSIONS ]---------------------------

We shall be releasing German and French versions of HUGO'S HOUSE OF HORRORS.




-------------------------[ 6.  U S E R   G U I D E ]-------------------------




-------------------------[ 6.1  START-UP PROCEDURE ]-------------------------

Start HUGO'S HOUSE OF HORRORS by typing HHH.

The registered version allows you to add one or more switches as follows:
        HHH -s          Disables the sound
        HHH -r          Runs the program in RECORD mode
        HHH -p          Runs the program in PLAYBACK mode

To finish the game early, type either QUIT or EXIT at the prompt.




-----------------------------[ 6.2  HOW TO PLAY ]----------------------------

To move HUGO, use either your arrow keys or the numeric keypad.  (Remember to
turn the Num-Lock off).  If using the keypad, diagonal movement is possible.

Use simple english to instruct HUGO to perform an action.  For example "Look
around" or "Look at door" to look at things.  To pick something up try "pick
up the gold" or "get gold" or "take gold".  Many synonyms are allowed but if
HUGO doesn't seem to understand, try re-phrasing your command.

Certain actions carry a bonus score when carried out, as does picking up
useful objects.  When you have successfully completed the game, your score
should match the maximum score shown on the status line at the top of the
screen.

If you have trouble solving some of the puzzles in this game, there is a free
hint booklet available.  This contains a range of hints, from subtle to obvious,
for each room.  To obtain your hint booklet, simply follow the directions
in the readme file to register this program.

Registered users also receive a self-running version of the game (see section on
record and playback).




----------------------------[ 6.3  FUNCTION KEYS ]---------------------------

    F1      :       Press once for a reminder of the other function keys.
            Press twice for help.

    F2      :       TURNS SOUND ON OR OFF.  Note that sound does not play
            continuously.  The status of this button is shown in
            the status line at the top of the screen.

    F3      :       REPEATS LAST COMMAND.  This key is useful to allow you
            to repeat a command or edit the last command.

    F4      :       SAVES A GAME.  If you have to leave the game early but
            wish to save your current position, use this feature by
            pressing F4.

            You will see a text box appear with eight rows of
            dotted lines and an arrow pointing to the first.  These
            are empty "slots" which allow you to save up to eight
            versions of the game.  Press return and the arrow will
            flash by the first slot, prompting you to enter a short
            description of your current game, e.g. "In the Kitchen",
            press return to save the game and then either continue
            or leave the game by typing QUIT or EXIT.

            When you return to run the game again, use the F5 button
            to restore it.  You may re-use any slot and either
            retain the same description or type another.

    F5      :       RESTORE A PREVIOUSLY SAVED GAME.  Select a "slot" as
            described in function F4.  Note you may not select an
            empty slot !  Hit return to restore the game.

    F6      :       INVENTORY.  Pressing F6 puts up a text box to show you
            what objects you are currently carrying.

    F9      :       BOSS BUTTON.  So-named because it instantly removes all
            traces of the game from the screen and places you in a
            normal DOS environment from which you can perform your
            regular work-like commands.  Note, however, that the
            game is still lurking unseen in the background and the
            amount of memory available to you is reduced by about
            280Kb.  Resume your game at the next opportune moment by
            typing EXIT.




-------------------------[ 6.4  RECORD AND PLAYBACK ]------------------------

The registered version of the game includes record and playback modes.  This
effectively allows you to construct a self-running version of the game and a
sample playback file is included which runs right through the game from start
to finish, achieving the maximum score possible.

To run this playback file, make sure the supplied PLAYBACK.DAT file is in the
same directory as your registered version of the game and type: HHH -p

This self-running game might be suitable for, say, a child who is too young to
play the game but can watch the game like a story.  To disable the sound during
the playback, type: HHH -p -s

To record your own game, start the program by typing: HHH -r   Note that this
will create a file PLAYBACK.DAT which will overwrite any previous file of that
name, including the one supplied.  If you wish to save a previous PLAYBACK.DAT,
copy it to another directory or rename it.

Some points to watch when recording are
1.      When a text box appears on the screen, it will stay up for a period of
    time which depends on how much text there is to read.  When the time is
    up, the program beeps to let you know you can continue.  This is because
    during playback, there should be no manual intervention.
2.      Don't try to use the Save and Restore features, this would require
    manual intervention during playback.
3.      The same goes for the BOSS button.
4.      You may use the F1, F2, F3, F6 buttons during recording.




-----------------------------[ 6.5  STATISTICS ]-----------------------------

HUGO'S HOUSE OF HORRORS was written in Microsoft's QuickC version 2. It consists
of approximately 6000 lines of C code, of which 250 are QuickC in-line assembler
to speed the graphics drawing routines and 2000 are data statements which
comprise the story's database.




------------------------[ 7.  COMMENTS TO THE AUTHOR ]-----------------------

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  Please direct any comments to author
personally via mail to David P. Gray, Gray Design Associates, P.O. Box 333,
Northboro, MA 01532, U.S.A.




----------------[ 8.  ASSOCIATION OF SHAREWARE PROFESSIONALS ]---------------

This software is produced by David P. Gray who is a member of the Association
of Shareware Professionals (ASP).  ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you.   If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related
problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able
to help.

The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member,
but does not provide technical support for members' products.  Please write to
the ASP Ombudsman at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006, USA or send a CompuServe
message via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.




----------------------------[ END OF MANUAL.DOC ]----------------------------