The menus

There are 6 menus in Infinity Quest II. The first menu is the standard Apple menu. The “About Infinity Quest II” item is self-explanatory. The second item is “Help manual”, which brings up this window.

The File menu contains the various operations you may perform on game files. Choose the Open option to open a game file. Its title will be displayed in the board rectangle (see after). To start the game, use “New game” under the Game menu.

Once a file has been opened, you may choose the Close option at any time to close the file. If you are in the midst of a game, you will be asked to confirm your decision.

Quit exits the program altogether.

The Edit menu is for use with Desk Accessories only.

The Game menu contains the commands you may want to use while playing.
 
New game will start a game using the current game file.

Save game will save the game you are playing into a Saved Game file, which allows you to stop playing and pick up a game later.

IMPORTANT NOTE: the state which is saved in the Saved Game file is not the current state; it is, rather, the player’s state at the beginning of the current level.

The Save Game command may be used at any time; the program remembers your status and updates it only when you progress from one level to the next.

Restore a saved game will change your status to conform to the information found in the Saved Game file you specify. You will begin at the start of the appropriate level. Note that the program will not let you use a file saved under game “A” for game “B”.

Restart this level will let you restart at the beginning of the level. This is useful if you’ve painted yourself into a corner. Only cowards abuse this privilege!

Set game parameters allows you to modify several parameters of the game. You may control the sounds made by the program: you can silence any or all given classes of sounds.

You may also select the Playing Speed, which specifies how much time is allowed between moves (if you have not moved by that time, you automatically make a pass move; see “Moving and Fighting”).

Monsters are normally animated, in that they “glide” when moving from one spot to the other. The game will speed up a bit if you uncheck this option, but it won’t look as good.

Finally, there is an option for those who find they have a tendency to make moves too fast for the game to follow. Check the “1 move at a time” box, and the game will disregard any clicks or keystrokes you’ve made before it’s ready to receive another command. This option makes the interface somewhat clumsy; use it only if you must.

Set movement keys allows you to choose what keys correspond to movement in the game. By default, you will use the keypad, but you may change this as you wish—which is especially nice if you don't have a keypad…

The Pause menu has a single option that reads “Pause game” while the game is being played. If you pause the game, the board rectangle will become hidden and the Pause menu option will read “Resume game”. Choose it to begin playing again.

The Help menu brings up the help window. You can choose three different subjects. “Basics” shows how to move, shoot and identify objects. “Monsters” allows you to get information on every monster in the game. “Item values” shows a summary of how many points each item is worth.

The Window menu allows you to move from one window to another.  There are four different windows in the game, although three of them can be hidden away. The game window is the one where play occurs. The Help window displays simple help. The Legends window shows you the High Scores file associated with the current game file. The High Scores records the 10 best scores, together with the player’s name and the date of the achievement. The manual window is this one.

The display

When Infinity Quest II starts, it puts up a large rectangle in a frame, at the left of the screen. This is the board rectangle. During a game, it displays your view of the level. Prince Argonn is always at the center of the board display, which is 13 squares high and 13 squares wide. At the start of every level, the board rectangle will display the title & information for that level.

When a file is open, but a game hasn’t started, the board rectangle will indicate the name of the open game file.
The right side of the screen is blank until a game is started. It will then display your current score, your current Life points, and the contents of your pack. If and when you gain a magic weapon or shield, its picture will appear. Likewise, while you are under the effect of a magic item, its picture will be shown. The lower right area of the screen is used to display messages.

Identifying things

Infinity Quest II can be somewhat confusing to play, given the number of different monsters and objects. If you should wish to identify a given object, simply hold down the shift key and bring the cursor onto the board display. The cursor is now a question mark. Click and hold the mouse button down on any object or monster on the board, and a little window will appear, identifying it (i.e. “A wall”, “An orc (Life =3)”, “A bomb”). The window disappears when you release the mouse button. You can also identify objects you’ve gathered in your pack.