Amiga Collections: The Best of Public Domain/Best of Public Domain, The Nr.39 (19xx)(Garfield, Andi)(DE).zip/Best of Public Domain, The Nr.39 (19xx)(Garfield, Andi)(DE).adf/docz

Text File | 1989-11-20 | 22KB | 470 lines

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               Lost Dutchman Mine documentation


   I.     THE LEGEND:

     Somewhere deep in the vast and rugged Superstition  Mountains
of Arizona,  there lies hidden a gold mine of immense richness. It
was allegedly discovered by a prospector named Jacob Waltz, an old
German  immigrant who wandered the Superstitions during the  early
1880's.  He  claimed the mine was so rich that the gold  could  be
removed with only a knife.

     Waltz died on October 25, 1891, but he left behind many clues
as to the location of his fabulous mine.  One clue was to look for
a  pointed  peek.  Many people believe this peak is  the  landmark
known  today  as Weaver's Needle.  He also claimed  his  mine  was
located  where  no  miner would ever  look.  Many  old  maps  have
A surfaced purporting to show the location of Waltz's treasure,  but
none have proven genuine.

      Today the Superstition Mountains continue to draw those  who
seek  the  fabled  wealth of the  King  of  precious  metals.  And
Weaver's Needle still stands guard over Jacob Waltz's  tantalizing
secret...
          the LOST DUTCHMAN MINE.

   II.    THE STORY

      The  hot  sun  beats  down on you  and  the  dust  from  the
stagecoach ride still coats your throat as you look around at  the
new surroundings.  You are in Goldfield,  a mining town nestled in
the foothills of the legendary Superstition Mountains of  Arizona.
It's 1896,  and gold fever has struck you,  as it has thousands of
others  who  have  dreamed of riches and set  out  to  seek  their
fortune in the West.  Some have continued on to California but you
have decided to travel to the Superstitions because of the legends
that have reached your ears of the fabulous LOST DUTCHMAN MINE.

     Your  throat parched from the long,  dusty ride,  you  decide
that the first stop should be the Saloon. You amble in through the
swinging doors and walk over to the well-stocked bar.

   "What'll it be, old-timer?", the burly bartender asks.

   "Old-timer, indeed", you retort angrily, but as you stroke your
white beard you have to admit that perhaps better days are  behind
you.  But age has also brought with it experience and a  toughness
that belies the whiteness of your hair. Countless younger men have
searched in vain for the LOST DUTCHMAN MINE, but you are convinced
that  you will succeed where all others have failed.  You order  a
drink  and savor the cool liquid as it quenches the fires in  your
throat and brings a smile to your lips. Yes, you will succeed!



                                                       page 2

     Suddenly there is a commotion behind you.  You turn to see  a
tall,  elegantly dressed man pull a gun from his coat and point it
across the table at a man seated opposite him.

   "You accuse me of cheating?", he shouts loudly for all to hear.

   "Other men who have said that are no longer drawing breath", he
continues ominously.

      The other gentleman quickly gets to his feet and  flees  out
the  doorway,  while  the gambler smiles and gathers the  pile  of
coins and bills into his bag.
     "Thats Dapper Dan",  explains the bartender under his breath.
"He's  a card shark,  but don't ever call him a cheat.  He's  fast
with a gun and he's not afraid to use it."

     You eye him cautiously as you sip your drink.  You know  that
one day soon you'll have to try your luck.  And hopefully live  to
tell about it.

      With  the  excitement over,  the  bartender  now  turns  his
attention back to you.  "Stranger in town?",  he asks as he  pours
you another drink.  You reply with your story of arriving by stage
to do a little prospecting.
    "Prospecting,  huh",  he  replies with an  indifferent  shrug.
"Well,  you  may want to talk to Old Ned down at the Assay  Office
before  you head out to the mountains.  He'll give you  some  good
advice  on what you need to survive out there.  He's also the  one
who'll assay your gold, so you might as well get to know him."
   You thank him,  slap down a couple of coins for the drinks, and
head out to find Old Ned.

     You find the Assay Office easily (there's only one street  in
Goldfield),  and  pushing  the  door open,  you  enter  the  small
building.  You find yourself in a dusty room with what appears  to
be a ton of rocks of various sizes strewn about the floor.  At the
back  of  the room you spy a bearded man chipping away at  a  rock
with a small hammer. He turns as the door closes behind you.
    "Who's  there?",   he  asks  gruffly,  squinting  through  old
spectacles  perched precariously on the end of his long  nose.  As
you  explain the purpose of your visit his manner softens  and  he
wades through the piles of rock to great you.
    "If you're going to prospect,  you've come to the right place.
There's  gold out there,  plenty of it,  but it will take lots  of
work,  lots  of  sweat  and lots of luck.  First  you'll  have  to
together  a grubstake.  That's your supplies.  You'll be  spending
weeks,  maybe  even a month at a time out there in the desert  and
what  you  take with you will greatly determine whether  you  come
back.
   "First off,  you're gonna need a gun. You'll be traveling along
in  the desert and you'll find it will come in mighty  handy  when
you're up against rattlers,  Indians or robbers. Of course, you'll
need a pick and shovel,  and a pan for panning in the  river.  And
you're  gonna  need  food  and  lots  of  water.  The  hotter  the
temperature,  the  more  water  you'll need so  always  keep  your
canteens full.
                                                       page 3

     "They're expensive",  he continued,  "but as soon as you can,
you'll  want to buy yourself a burro.  They can double  your  load
carrying which means you can carry more food and supplies which in
turn  means  you'll  be  able  to  travel  farther  out  into  the
mountains. The burro you can buy at the Livery Stable. The rest of
your food and supplies can be had at the General Store.  It's  the
green  building down the street called the Mercantile.  You  might
want to carry some fish hooks. In an emergency you can catch a few
fish  in the river.  They'll tide you over if you run out of  food
and you can make it back to town."

     Old Ned paused and scratched his scruffy beard.  "Let me  see
what else I can tell you. Oh yeah, carry some anti-venom with you.
You're  bound to get bit by a rattler but if you drink  the  anti-
venom it will counteract the effects of the poison. If you get bit
and you haven't got any anti-venom, then get to the Doc as fast as
you can!  He's got an office at the end of town and he'll fix  you
up  if you get bit or shot.  He's a nice guy.  He'll  even  extend
credit in case you don't have enough to pay him.
   "Watch out for Indians and bandits.  The Indians will be  after
your burros, the bandits after your gold and cash. You can usually
scare  off  the  Indians if you put up a  little  fight,  but  the
robbers  you'll have to wound or kill before they'll give  up.  If
you do capture a robber, you can sometimes collect a reward at the
jail.
    "One  more thing.  There are lots of old mines and  caves  out
there.  Be  careful if you go exploring.  And if you do  find  the
'motherlode', come back here to stake your claim.
    "Good luck,  partner. Oh, and here's one more piece of advice.
Stay away from Dapper Dan.  He's a real card shark and a dangerous
man. Although I have heard rumors that he carries with him a piece
of an old map showing the location of the LOST DUTCHMAN MINE."

     With Old Ned's words ringing in your ears,  you head down  to
the Mercantile to begin your adventure.


   III.   PLAYING THE GAME

     Unlike most computer games,  LOST DUTCHMAN MINE makes use  of
both the mouse and the joystick throughout the game. Use the mouse
in port 0 and the joystick in port 1.
      You  guide the Prospector through his adventures  using  the
joystick.   Where  appropriate,  you  can  move  in  one  of  four
directions;  right,left,up or down. The joystick button is used as
an  action  button in various circumstances  (firing  a  gun,  for
example). The mouse is used solely as a selection device. Think of
the mouse being the prospectors hand.  Using the mouse is simply a
method  of  allowing  the prospector to choose  items  or  options
during the game such as purchasing items at the store. To activate
the  mouse  at ant time during game play,  simply click  the  left
mouse  button  once.  With the mouse active,  use the  left  mouse
button  to click on icons or press section buttons on  the  Status
Panel.
   The game isn't protected and CAN be played from the Hard Drive.

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   IV.    THE STATUS PANEL

     The Status Panel is displayed at the bottom of the screen and
is assessed by clicking once on the left mouse button to  activate
the  Hand cursor.  Once the cursor is in view,  you may select  an
icon  by  clicking with the left button or by pressing  the  F1-F6
keys corresponding to each icon's position.

        The Icon's:

THERMOMETER (a thermometer)
      This displays the current temperature.  If the  temp.  rises
above 90 degrees,  you will require water more often.  If the temp
drops below 50 degrees,  and you are not adequately  dressed,  you
will require more food.

TIME (a clock)
     Displays the current time and date.  At night,  the temp will
drop and all buildings in town (except the Saloon and Livery) will
close at 6 PM.

F1-CASH (coin)
      Displays  your current cash on hand.  This amount  does  not
include  any  money  you may have in the bank or  any  gold  being
carried.

F2-HEALTH (head)
      Changes color depending on your overall heath:
             GREEN==good   TAN==fair   RED==poor
       A flashing red means that your health is in extreme  danger
and requires immediate attention. Selection this icon will display
a status box showing your heath, food, water, and any wounds.

F3-FOOD INVENTORY (pan n' fire)
     This icon will show your total food inventory.  To eat a food
item, click on the item then click on CONSUME. To drink water from
a full canteen,  click on canteen and then on CONSUME. The canteen
will remain in your inventory but will now be empty.  Canteens can
only be filled at the river.  To move an item,  click on the  item
once  with the left mouse button to select it,  then click  on  an
empty  inventory box with the right mouse button to place  it.  In
this way items maybe moved between yourself and any burros.

F4-TOOLS INVENTORY (pick n' shovel)
     Displays your inventory of tools and non-food  supplies.  You
must  be  carrying a tool in your personnel inventory to  use  it.
Items maybe moved by the same means as the F3 key selection.

F5-SHOTS LEFT (gun)
      Icon become active only after you buy a gun and  then  shows
how many shots you have left.





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 F6-DISK (disk)
       Displays a selection box which enables you to  SAVE,  LOAD,
RESET, or QUIT the game.
   SAVE-a game in progress,  click on SAVE,  after a selector  box
appears,  enter  the  filename for the save.   You may  save  your
position anywhere within the game including within  mines,caves,or
in  the  town.  Because you may enter a unique filename  for  each
saved game, multiple save can be saved on one disk.
   LOAD-to load a previously saved game.
   RESET-allows a brand NEW game to be started without turning the
         computer off.
   QUIT-The preferred method of exiting the game!!

     To PAUSE the game press <TAB> key! Press <RETURN> to continue.

   V.     THE TOWN

     Your adventure begins in the town od Goldfield.  As you  walk
down  the  main street,  you will see many building which  may  be
entered to conduct business.  Normal open hours are from 8 AM to 6
PM,  however  the Saloon and the Livery are always open  for  your
convenience like 7-11 and Stop n' GO.
      The town doctor maintains a small office next to the  Saloon
and  treats snakebites as well as victims of gunfights and  Indian
attacks.  The Doctor will mend them for prices stated.  All wounds
will be fully healed by clicking on the appropriate button and the
fee will be automatically deducted from your cash. The doctor will
extend credit if you are short on cash.  If you have money in  the
bank,  he will take the money automatically from your account.  If
you  have  no money,  he will collect the remainder  at  the  next
opportunity.

   VI.    MERCANTILE

      The  Mercantile carries a wide variety of food  an  supplies
needed by any enterprising prospector.  Many items are  available,
most of which are necessary at some point in the game for for your
success or survival.  To make a purchase,  click on the item  with
the mouse cursor. An arrow will appear next to the item confirming
your  selection and a description of the item and it's price  will
be displayed.  Click on the BUY button and the item will be  added
to  your inventory,  with the purchase price being  deducted  from
your  available cash.  Food items are automatically added  to  the
FOOD inventory,  other items are added to the TOOLS inventory.  If
you attempt to purchase more items that you can carry, you will be
alerted  of  that  fact.  All purchased items are  added  to  your
inventory  only.  If  you have a burro,  move some  items  to  the
burro's  inventory which will allow you to carry more  items.  The
Mercantile does not extend credit.

   VII.   SALOON

DRINKS:  To buy a drink,  approach the bar.  A selection box  will
appear  offering you a choice of drinks.  Select one.  All  drinks
cost  $1.00 and will add to your water status,  although too  many
drinks may decrease your overall health status.
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SLEEP:  After 6 PM, an option to SLEEP is available. Although your
health does not rely on sleep,  there are times when you will want
to take advantage of this feature.  Clicking on SLEEP will  result
in the immediate passage of time. After a brief fade to black, you
will  find yourself in front of the saloon at 9:00  the  following
morning.

GAMBLING:  If Dapper Dan is sitting at a table in the Saloon,  you
can choose to try your luck in a friendly game of poker. Just walk
over to Dan's table and move the joystick up.  Dan will ask you if
you  want  to  play a game.  Click on the  PLAY  button  to  begin
playing.  Dan  plays  a simple game of poker  with  the  following
rules:
        $10 ante for both players...pot=$20

    a) DISCARD- After each hand is dealt,  you may discard upto  4
cards.  Click  on the card(s) you wish to discard.  If you  select
fewer  than  4  cards then you must select DONE  to  receive  your
replacement cards.  If you discard 4 cards, your replacement cards
will be dealt without any further action on your part.
    b) FOLD or BET- After you have discarded and received your new
cards,  you may place a bet. If you do not think your hand is good
enough to win,  you may choose to FOLD. Iived your new
cards,  ou choose this option,
you  will  forfeit  your ante and be asked if  you  want  to  play
another hand. The rest is just like poer.
     c) CALL- If Dan chooses to raise,  you may respond by  either
Calling, Raising or Folding.
      d) RAISING- Any time Dan raises,  you may counter with  your
own raise.  Anytime you you select RAISE, you are actually placing
an  amount  equal to Dan's raise into the pot PLUS the  amount  of
your raise!

   VIII.  ASSAY OFFICE
      The Assay Office has two functions in  Goldfield;  to  assay
your gold (exchange gold for cash) and to file your mining claim.

   To get your ore assayed and converted to cash,  enter the assay
office.  Once inside, press the ASSAY button and you will see your
personnel  inventory.  Click on a bag of ore.  It wl be  removed
from your inventory and its ore content and value  displayed.  The
cash  amount (if any) will be added to your cash.  Repeat for  any
extra bags you or your burro(s) carry.

   IX.    BANK
     Bank transactions are very simple.  When you enter the  bank,
your current balance is displayed and DEPOSIT and WITHDRAW buttons
appear in the Status Panel. To deposit cash use the DEPOSIT button
and enter the amount to be deposited.  The same procedure is  used
for Withdraws. Use the bank to keep safe large amounts of money!

   X.     NEWSPAPER
      You may peruse the daily newspaper and find out whether  the
Indians are on the warpath,  whether a hot spell is  forecast,  or
catch up on the latest town gossip.


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   XI.    JAIL
     Upon entering jail,  you will see the wanted posters of  some
of  the claim jumpers and bandits that unfortunately roam in  this
area.  If you engage in battle with one of them in the desert  and
choose  to  collt  the  reward  for  capturing  him,   you  will
immediately in the town jail to collect the reward.

   XII.   LIVERY STABLE
      The Livery Stable has burros for sale.  These sturdy  little
beasts  of  burden eat little and have amazing  endurance  in  the
desert.  You may purchase up to three burros during the game, with
each  pack  animal greatly increasing  your  load  capability.  To
purchase,  click on the one you wish with the hand cursor and then
on the BUY button in the Status Panel. The burro will now be yours
and  you  will be able to transfer items from your FOOD  and  TOOL
inventories to the burro.
     If you decide to sell a burro,  return to the Livery  Stable,
click on an empty stall and select SELL. YOU WILL RECEIVE ONLY 50%
of the amount originally paid!

   XIII.  THE DESERT

     Once you leave town,  you'll find yourself looking down  from
an aerial view of the surrounding desert. Use the joystick to move
in any direction over the terrain.  Movement is faster and  easier
along  the main road.  If you decide to head out over the  desert,
remember  that  you will move slower and your need  for  food  and
water  will increase.   At any time,  you may stop and  press  the
joystick  button  to reveal a ground level view of  the  area  and
allow  you to see details that you would otherwise miss  from  the
overhead  view.   You  can  travel  through  the  desert  to   the
surrounding  mountains  to search for caves and  abandoned  mines,
fish or pan for gold at the river, or return to town.
     Travel in the desert is not without its hazards.  You must be
ready for rattlesnakes, robbers, and indian attacks. These attacks
will  generally  occur  without  any  warning.  Your  screen  will
immediately  switch to a ground level view and  your  adversary(s)
will proceed to attack.  You may choose to run or fight.  You  may
run  from rattlesnakes without penalty (in fact most  people  do).
However,  running from Indians or robbers will result in the  loss
of most of your possessions.  (if you kill a rattler,  it will  be
added to your FOOD inventory...It will keep you alive if needed!)

   XIV.   THE RIVER

      Move to any area of the river on the overhead map and  press
the joystick button.  You will be at that point at a ground  level
view.

     a). PANNING FOR GOLD
           If  you  have a pan in your  inventory,  a  new  button
labeled PAN will appear on the Status Panel.  Click on it to begin
panning  for gold.  The results of each panning are added to  your
inventory  as  a brown bag of ore.  Some areas of the  river  will
produce better results than others.

                                                       page 8

     b). FISHING
          If you bought a fish hook,  a new button will appear  on
the  Status Panel labeled FISH.  Click on it to  fish.  Each  fish
caught  must be brought to the surface and will then be  added  to
the FOOD inventory.  As in real life,  there won't be any fish  in
certain  areas of the river,  and it is possible to clean out  the
river by over-fishing!

     c). WATER
           Click on the WATER button to give yourself  a  soothing
drink from the river.  In addition, any empty canteens marked with
an 'E' (empty) in your inventory will also fill up and show a  'F'
for FULL.

     Clicking EXIT will return to the overhead view.


   XV.    CAVES AND MINES

      There  are  over  100 caves and mines  within  the  area  of
Goldfield  that can be explored.  From the overhead  aerial  view,
move  to any desired area and press the joystick button to have  a
quick look around.  As you get closer to the mountains,  you  will
start to see certain details such as a cave opening.  Get as close
as you can until you are at the cave or mine opening and you  will
automatically  enter  it.  Be  sure you have a  lantern  and  some
matches to light your way.  Also make sure you have everything you
need  in your personnel inventory while exploring these  areas  as
you cannot bring your burro with you.
   Using the PICK:  In some parts of the mines there maybe a small
deposit  of raw gold ore.  Pushing the joystick button will  allow
you  to  begin digging.  After several swings  of  the  pick,  the
results of your efforts will be added to the TOOLS inventory as  a
bag  of  ore.  The pick is also useful for clearing  away  falling
rocks.
   Using thedded to tPE: If you have rope, you can descend the shafts in
the caves by pressing down on the joystick.  A rope will attach to
a  convenient  point  overhead and you can descend  to  the  lower
level.  Climbing  up  is just the reverse...just press up  on  the
joystick.
   Using the LADDERS:  Simply move the joystick up or down to  use
them.

   XVI.   USING MIDI

     Adjust volume so that your monitor plays slightly louder than
your MIDI device.  Gunshots,  footsteps,  and other sound  effects
will not be sent through the MIDI channels, only music!

      The  sounds are currently programmed to  play  through  MIDI
channels 1,2, & 3 optimized for the presets of the Casio.