Thank you for using Mantra! Mantra is FreeWare, so there are no obligations, fees, or time limits attached to this game. We are making Mantra free as a way to contribute to the Macintosh gaming community and because it is our first game. Of course, if anyone wanted to send us money, checks, or credit card numbers we would be the last to object. Actually, what we would like most is feedback on Mantra: since this is our first game and we would like to know if people like/hate it, if you would like to see more games of this sort available, how you acquired Mantra, et cetera. The Syzygy Cult may be reached at:
E-Mail:
SyzygyCult@aol.com
US Mail:
The Syzygy Cult
114 Noyes Street
Portland, ME, USA, 04103
World Wide Web:
http://www.biddeford.com/~benyc/home.html
Mantra 1.02
Mantra 1.02 fixes a few bugs found in 1.01 and contains a few other improving twiddles, but is not essentially different from Mantra 1.01.
Story
Saric, a servant of the Ambassador of Kish, had been aboard the ship Seraphim, en route to the kingdom of Zarin. A great storm arose, however, blackening the sky with great billows. Rain smashed across the decks day and night, as if it planned to torture the ship before smashing it across whatever land was handy. Sometime near the peak of the storm, Saric ventured out on deck, partly from curiosity, and partly from a need for fresh air. As he was leaning against the rail, he and several other crew members were lifted from his feet by a huge wave and dashed overboard. Struggling to the surface, Saric saw that the ship was already passing away, too far to reach.
Sure that he was doomed, Saric was relieved when he caught sight of one of the sailors, clinging to a piece of flotsam. He and the sailor clung to the barrel, simply drifting with the current, as neither had either knowledge of the direction of land, nor the strength to seek it out. As dawn broke, Saric could see a most welcome sight ahead: Land! A beach pink on the horizon beckoned to him and the sailor. The two swam with all their might, and now, on the beach at last, Saric has recovered his wits, but the sailor, fatigued and suffering from injuries incurred as he was washed overboard, is dying.
Now Saric wonders where he is, whether this is the land of Zarin, and how he can possibly find his master, the Ambassador, again.
Movement
Both the arrow keys and the keypad can be used to help you move Saric around the screen.
The Command key (the “” key, also known as the “Open Apple” key) makes Saric run whenever it is held down with one of the movement keys. Keep in mind that running for too long will deplete Saric’s stamina.
Weapons and Items
The Space Bar will make Saric thrust out his sword or dagger, if he has one.
The Shift Key will make Saric use the selected alternate weapon or item. These items can range from magic spells and wands to keys and healing potions.
You can select your weapons by pressing “I” at any moment during game-play. This will bring up a list of all of the items that you have. You can then select, for example, the sword you want to use by clicking on it and then pressing the “select” button. (As a short cut you can double-click on the sword/item in the list to select it.) A check-mark will appear to the left of the icon to show it’s your current weapon.
Important: You must select a weapon before you can use it: nothing is automatically equipped.
To find out more information about Saric you can press “S” at any moment during game-play. This will show a dialog with some statistics concerning Saric.
You can acquire weapons and items from treasure chest, bags left over from dead enemies, or from people. To pick up bags and open treasure chests all you have to do is walk over them.
People and Signs
To see what a person (or a sign) has to say, simply walk up and run into them. A box containing the message will appear. Messages tend to vary from useless to very important, so talk to everyone!
Some people are merchants, and when you talk to them, a store dialog will appear. You can then use cash acquired from enemies which you have killed to purchase various types of healing potions.
Extra Information
To get information on your current status press the “S” key at any moment during game-play.
If you forget what certain controls are you can press the “H” key for extra help.
Problems: Game Play
A few things which can be confusing in game play have been brought to the attention of the Syzygy Cult, so we are going to document them here:
Saving: In order to save, you must first pause the game, then either hit the Save button or choose Save from the File menu.
Getting in over your head: it is possible to go the wrong direction in Mantra and enter an area where the monsters are too difficult for your current power or that of your weapons. If this happens, try exploring other areas to see if there is an easier route.
Tough monsters: some monsters are just nasty! If your sword just stays out when you hold it against a monster, or if the monster does not yelp when you hit it, it is probably too tough for you. Some monsters cannot be hurt with lesser weapons, so you must wait until you acquire better swords and Mantras. Some monsters can only be killed with certain types of weapons or Mantras. There are even a few monsters which are practically immortal...
Getting lost / Getting stuck: Always remember three things when you journey in Zarin: One, some boulders can be pushed, some trees conceal secret passages. Two, sometimes barriers need magic to demolish them. Three, SyzygyCult answers its mail.
Townspeople: Yes, they are annoying, and yes, they sometimes got in the way, so you can now kill them. Take care when you choose to do this, because some of them actually have something important to say.
Leaving rooms: when you leave a room, any items in that room will be gone when you next enter the room. This can, in particular, cause trouble with the keys left behind by many boss monsters. If you do somehow manage to lose a key this way, you can send your saved game to SyzygyCult, and we will give you a key.
Using Keys: Equip the key as an other weapon, walk up to a door, and hit the 'use' button. Remember, keys can only be used once.
Some people have also experienced general difficulty in finding keys: again, we are able to give assistance here if you get stuck.
Problems: Bugs
Mantra has very few known bugs and should run with no difficulty on any 68020 (or greater) or PowerPC system capable of 256 color/grays. In other monitor settings Mantra will operate correctly, but at a slower speed.
Mantra works best with Sound Manager 3.0 or greater. Mantra has problems using sound and music at the same time on earlier versions of the Sound Manager.If you do not have Sound Manager 3.0, turn off one or the other before playing the game. Music, in particular, has been known to cause an "Unimplemented Trap" error on occasion: if this happens, turn off the music. This error is known, but is beyond our control.
Occasionally, a key will disappear after it has been picked up. We have not been able to find the source of this bug yet, and are still pursuing the matter. In most cases, there will be no problem, but if this happens to you, send your saved game to SyzygyCult@aol.com, and we will fix it.
If the game is slow or jumpy try setting the animation speed from the “Game” menu and using the “Animation” sub-menu.
If memory is low, Mantra should be safely able to squeeze into an allocation of 1,700 kilobytes.
Please report any bugs to SyzygyCult@aol.com.
Special Thanks
“We would like to thank Brett Thayer for doing the graphics in this game. He is a superb graphic artist and has made the game of a higher quality. Thank you for all of your patience!”
