PC Gamer 2.3/1996-04_-_Disc_2.3.bin/dagdemo/readme.dag

Text File | 1995-11-09 | 15KB | 325 lines

            Daggerfall Demo ReadMe
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Welcome to the The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall interactive demo.

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                   To Install:

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               ***  IMPORTANT NOTE ON DEMO ***

      In order to minimize the size of this demo copy of The
    Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, we had to make some tough
    decisions about what to include and what to leave out.
    There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. The
    outside world in the actual game, the hills and valleys,
    swamplands and deserts, are roughly twice the size of
    Great Britain and therefore we had to exclude them from
    the demo.

      The thousands of cities, farms, shrines, temples, inns
    and other places that populate the landscape are also too
    large to include in this demo. What we did provide are
    sample versions of The Character Generator(tm),
    SpellMaker (tm),    ItemMaker(tm), PotionMaker(tm),
    Bestiary and a little bit of the history should give you
    a tantalizing glimpse into the breadth of Daggerfall.

      As for the sample dungeon, The Pit of Jagadha may
    seem huge, but it is actually dwarfed by many of the
    dungeons in the complete Daggerfall game.
    It is not meant to represent more than just that.
    After all, nothing short of the game itself would do
    justice to the size, detail, and depth of the world.

      The towns and wilderness of Daggerfall are far more
    grand and spacious than that in Arena. The landscape
    rises and falls with hills and valleys. Towns are replete
    with completely furnished houses. You can even
    choose to buy a home to hold your prize possessions.
    Travel from town to town can be done on foot, horseback,
    or with a horse drawn wagon. Distant cities can be
    reached by sailing a ship. Not some flat 2D graphic,
    but a real 3D ship. The high seas are dangerous, so be
    prepared for encounters to be fought on the decks.

      In the full game, you will be able to talk to thousands of
    NPCs. There are thousands of adventures and quests that
    both noble and notorious folks can give you. Each is
    uniquely detailed and richly described. As you complete
    quests and interact with the people of Tamriel, your
    reputation with them will ebb and flow. Treat the guards
    of Wayrest poorly and eventually the king himself will
    learn of it and no longer speak to you. No role-playing
    game has ever had this level of social interation.

      The final version of the game will include features
    to improve performance on slower computers or those with
    only 8MB of RAM. This demo does not. If you have only 8MB
    of RAM, Bethesda Softworks recommends that you do not run
    a disk caching program, such as Smartdrive, or any other
    TSR software that uses extended memory. If your computer
    has more than 8MB of RAM, a disk caching program like
    Smartdrive will significantly improve performance.

      We hope you understand that in order to have a demo
    small enough to meet magazine and on-line service
    requirements, major cuts have to be made. That
    being said, if you enjoy the taste, you will love
    the meal.


                    BETHESDA

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Now about the system requirements. The demo requires between 35 and 50 MB of hard drive space. 20 MB of that is used as
a virtual swap file. Also the minimum system requirements are:

486DX2/66
8MB of RAM
VLB/PCI or other fast graphics card.


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                 Within the Game:

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Exit: Clicking this exits you from the Daggerfall demo

Character Generation: Clicking this brings you to character generation
        Begin by selecting a home province. Be sure to read all
        the text carefully, so you can create the character you
        want.
        *IMPORTANT NOTE* Character Generation is for demonstration
        purposes only. You cannot save the character you create.

Go to Dungeon: Clicking this brings you to the Pit of Jagadha off Sentinel
        See the INTERFACE section below for details on handling
        inventory, spellcasting, movement, and combat.

SpellMaker: Clicking this brings you to the new, graphical SpellMaker
        To create a spell, click the name bar and give the spell a
        name. Next, click on the large Effects button to select
        the spell effects. These effects can be adjusted by
        clicking on the up and down arrows, with an equivalent
        adjustment in the cost of casting and buying the spell.
        You can also choose an elemental base for the spell
        so you can create fireballs, lightning bolts, and other
        effects. Finally, choose a means of spell delivery.
        The default level is always the least expensive means.
        For example, damage spells will default to casting when
        you strike another object with your hand or a weapon.
        If you wish to cast a spell at a distance, or have it
        explode in a radius around you, you can, but it will
        cost more.
        *IMPORTANT NOTE* Right-clicking on any button gives a
        description of that button.

ItemMaker: Clicking this brings you to the Daggerfall enchantment menu.
        To enchant an item, first find the item in your inventory.
        Double-left-clicking on a sack opens it. You can scroll
        through the items in a sack using the arrow buttons. When
        you find the item, a left-click picks it up. Drop it in
        the box to the left of the inventory list with another
        left-click over the box.
        The information box in the upper left-hand corner of the
        ItemMaker shows the item's inherent enchantment points.
        Normally, this is the limit to the degree the item can
        be enchanted. Adding powers to the item costs enchantment
        points, and adding side-effects buys back enchantment
        points.

PotionMaker: Clicking this brings you to the Daggerfall cauldron
        On the left-hand side of the screen are all the sundry
        ingredients you have in your inventory. Clicking on an
        item sends it to the cauldron on the right. Once you
        have all the ingredients you want in the cauldron,
        press the MIX button, and you will create a bottle
        of a potion called Unknown. In this demo, unfortunately,
        you cannot sample your creation. In the game, of course,
        you can, for better or for worse. The more you play
        with the PotionMaker, the better you will become at
        creating the exact potion you want. But you're going
        to have to make some mistakes first ...
        If you click on the RECIPE button, the cauldron will
        be automatically filled to create the potion desired
        if you have all the items the recipe calls for. If you
        do not, you will be told what you are missing.

History: Clicking this brings up a scroll describing the story background
        To scroll down, click on the bottom part of the scroll.
        To scroll up, click on the top part of the scroll.

About the Game: Clicking this brings up a scroll describing the features of
        Daggerfall
        To scroll down, click on the bottom part of the scroll.
        To scroll up, click on the top part of the scroll.

Bestiary: Clicking this brings up animations and text descriptions of nine of
        the adversaries you will face. There are over forty others not
        pictured.
        To see a new creature, click on one of the nine creature names
        under the animation.

Keys and Commands: Clicking this brings up the interface description, also
        given below.
        To scroll down, click on the bottom part of the scroll.
        To scroll up, click on the top part of the scroll.

Hot Keys: Clicking this brings up a list of hot keys as shortcuts to some of
        the features of Daggerfall.
        To scroll down, click on the bottom part of the scroll.
        To scroll up, click on the top part of the scroll.

Quotes: Clicking this brings up a selection of critical reaction to The Elder
        Scrolls: Daggerfall.
        To scroll down, click on the bottom part of the scroll.
        To scroll up, click on the top part of the scroll.


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                Interface:

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Mouse General Controls:

If you have played Arena, you will find the controls very similar:
    - Moving the cursor around the screen turns it into an arrow
        pointing in any one of eight different directions.
    - At the center of the screen, the arrow turns into an X.
    - Holding down the left mouse button while the cursor is an
        arrow moves you in the direction of the arrow. The
        further the arrow is located from the center of the
        screen, the faster you will move.
    - Holding down the SHIFT key while moving the mouse
        rotates your view around. Thus, you can look
        down into pits or up a set of stairs. Releasing the buttons
        holds your view. Pressing the HOME button returns your
        view to the default setting.
    - Left-clicking an object when the cursor is in the X position
        allows you to interact with the object. This may be
        anything from entering into dialogue, casting a spell,
        picking a pocket, picking up treasure, pressing a button,
        or opening the door.
    - Right-clicking while the left mouse button is depressed makes
        your character jump.

    Combat:
    - Make certain you have readied a weapon. To ready a weapon, go
        to your inventory, select the Armor and Weaponry section,
        select a weapon with a left-click, and drop it to your
        character with another left-click. If the item appears
        on your character portrait, it is ready to be used.
    - Click on the clashing swords icon on your character bar to
        bring your weapon up. If a fist appears, you do not have
        any other weapon ready.
    - To swing a weapon, hold down the right mouse button and move
        your mouse in the direction you want your weapon to move.
    - If you have a spell or a bow-and-arrow ready, left-clicking
        when the cursor is in the X position, fires the spell or
        arrow in that direction.

The Bar:

Across the bottom of the screen when you are in the 3D world is a bar with
a series of icons across it. Some of these are similar to icons in Arena,
some are quite different.

Left-clicking on the following icons have the following effects.

    - The face icon brings you to the character sheet.
    - The Starburst icon brings you to the spellbook. From here you
        can cast any spell in your spellbook.
    - The Bags icon brings you to your inventory screen.
    - The Wand icon brings a list of magic items and other items
        that must be used to be activated. Clicking on the item
        from this list activates the item's effects.
    - Right-clicking on the Eye icon scrolls it through a group of four
        icons: the Eye the Picking Fingers, the Word Balloon, and
        the Grabbing, Hand. Clicking on these icons activates,
        the Observe, Steal, Dialogue, and Grab modes with a click
        of the X cursor.
    - The Ear icon allows you to eavesdrop on all conversations in
        the area.
    - The Map icon activates your automap.
        *IMPORTANT NOTE* The automap is disabled in this demo.
    - The Crossed Blades readies whatever weapon you have equipped.
    - The Compass shows the direction you are facing. Clicking on it
        brings you a status report -- your location, the time,
        and the date.

Character Sheet:

    - INFO BOX: clicking on the top left-hand corner information box
        allows you to rename your character whenever you like.
    - INVENTORY: clicking on this button brings you to your inventory.
    - SPELLBOOK: clicking on this button brings you to your spellbook.
    - AFFILIATIONS: clicking on this button and holding down brings up
        a list of all guilds, orders, and temples to which you belong.
    - SKILLS: clicking on the primary, major, minor, and miscellaneous
        skills buttons and holding down brings up a list of all your
        skills at that level.
    - NOTES: clicking on this button brings you to your notebook.
    - LOG: clicking on this button brings you to your logbook.
    - MAPS: clicking on this button brings you to all your saved automaps.
        * IMPORTANT NOTE * This feature is disabled in this demo.
    - DONE: clicking on this button exits you from the character sheet.
    - STR, INT, WIL, AGI, END, PER, SPD, and LUC: clicking on any of these
        buttons and holding down brings up a text description of that
        attribution, describing how that score affects your character.

Inventory:

Items currently in your inventory are divided into groups: Armor and Weaponry,
Magic Items, Clothing and Miscellaneous, and Ingredients. Click on the
category you are interested in viewing. All items within that category will
be shown on the left-hand vertical column.

If you want to get information on an item, select it with your left mouse
button and press the INFO button.

If you want to use an item, select it with your left mouse button and press
the USE button.

If you want to hide an item to avoid detection by city guards and other
interested parties, select it with your left mouse button and press the
HIDE button.

If you want to equip an item on your character, ready a weapon, for example,
or put on a pair of boots, select it with your left mouse button and click on
the image of your character.

If you want to drop an item to the ground where you are standing, select it
with your left mouse button and press the DROP button.

The right-hand vertical column shows any items you can view, but you have not
placed in your inventory yet. There may be items here if you have just clicked
on a treasure pile or a book shelf, but have not taken everything yet. From the
right-hand vertical column, you can get INFO on the items in the standard way,
equip your character with the items, or place the items in their appropriate
place in your inventory. To bring an item to inventory, right-click on it.


Spellbook:

    - To cast a spell, double-click on one of the spells listed on the
        left-hand side of the screen.
    - On the left-hand side of the screen are the specifics of the spell.
        Across the top of the spell description is the icon that
        represents the active spell, which can be changed with a
        left-click. Next to the active icon are the icons representing
        the area of effect and the elemental composition of the spell.
        Under the icons are three boxes listing the spell's effects.
        Clicking and holding the left-mouse button over these boxes
        gives a complete description of the spell effect.